Camelot said: Tinker Bell Paul is a fake Libertarian. He suggested that John Brennan should have his pension taken away for exercising his First Amendment right. He is as looney as his old man IMO. Click to expand... Tell me why former CIA, NSA and FBI top officials were never seen on the public airwaves in days gone by, giving their opinions on politics...good or bad? If nothing else, this sure as hell shows us the creeping takeover of the US Government by the permanent government class of FBI, DOD, and spy agency heads, who never come up for election! If they're deciding they want/or need public profiles today, that might mean they're all getting tired of political interference and just want permanent insider government from now on!And, let's not forget what this implies, if this creep/asshole Brennan is charging Trump with treason: he's opening the door for, and justifying a possible assassination attempt on Trump from the deep state insiders! The only thing stopping them right now from either shooting Trump, or using the more sophisticated killing methods of today like chemical, biological or radiological agents that can cause fast acting forms of cancer, is they're still worried about Trump's hardcore base of rightwing supporters...most of whom own firearms PLUS many of whom are members of police forces and lower ranks in the military!So, if Trump all of a sudden dies of cancer within the space of a year...in a manner that happened to Hugo Chavez or former Argentinian president and austerity refusenik- Nestor Kirchner, Trump's supporters are going to suspect foul play! The days are long gone when an assassin with a gun is needed for the job...like JFK, RFK, MLK etc.. PITTSBURGH, July 20, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Following months of research, technical and creative presentations, interviews and evaluations, the Allegheny County Airport Authority today announced the architectural and engineering firms selected to design a new terminal that will transform Pittsburgh International Airport for a modern travel experience. Gensler, headquartered in San Francisco, Calif., and HDR, headquartered in Omaha, Neb., have entered into a joint-venture agreement to design and deliver the Terminal Modernization Program. The joint venture team has formed an association with luis vidal + architects, headquartered in Madrid, Spain, to develop the architectural design vision for the new terminal that consolidates check-in, ticketing, security and baggage operations into one connected facility. HDR will handle engineering implementation of the design. On Friday, Airport Authority Board members approved a $15 million contract with the joint venture team for initial design concepts to be drafted over the next few months, as the Authority also works to engage key stakeholders and gather input into final design of the new terminal. The initial design concept is expected to be unveiled early next year. We are confident that we have assembled a world-class team with the vision, knowledge and experience necessary to work with all of our partners in building Pittsburghs airport an airport that will transform the travel experience now and into the future and continue advancing our region, said Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis. Our selection team has carefully researched best airport design and modernization practices and worked to review qualifications of the firms, their proposals and references. Eleven firms responded to the initial request for qualifications in January. Of those, four were invited to submit full proposals, make creative and technical presentations and be interviewed by a selection committee. The firms were evaluated on criteria including experience, team composition and responsibilities, design and management approach, quality assurance and cost control, and DBE/local participation. Gensler, which has offices in 46 cities around the world including in Pennsylvania, designed the 32-story Tower at PNC Plaza in Downtown Pittsburgh, along with Incheon International Airport in Korea. From facilities serving executive or regional aircraft to those at the largest, most prestigious international hubs, Gensler provides experience-focused, award-winning, responsible design. Gensler is thrilled to be part of this transformational project, says Ty Osbaugh, Aviation Leader and Principal at Gensler. At our core, we seek to enhance the passenger experience through design. Meshing our team with the ambition of the ACAA, we look forward to jointly creating a world-class experience for Western Pennsylvania. The portfolio of HDR, which has 10,000 employees and more than 200 offices worldwide, including an office on Stanwix Street, Downtown, includes universities, hospitals, modernization of the Honolulu International Airport, and locally, the Greenfield Bridge replacement project. HDR is committed to leveraging our technical, multidisciplinary expertise to help create Pittsburghs next world class airport, said Bill Peduzzi, HDR Aviation Director. As a lifelong resident, I am thrilled to apply what I have learned from a career spent in airport development and hope to inspire the next generation of aviation leaders to continue to innovate and enhance the role great airports can play in a community. luis vidal + architects, which has offices across Spain, the UK, Dominican Republic, Chile, and the U.S. cites Terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport among its impressive list of projects. In the U.S. the practice is currently working at the international airports of Denver, Boston Logan and Dallas Fort Worth. Vidal himself also was a leader of the design team of the Terminal 4 project at Madrid-Barajas Airport in Spain. The Pittsburgh International Airport project will be reflective of its community; a design that is bold, unique and competitive and that will provide the first and last impression that people will carry with them of the Pittsburgh region, Luis Vidal said. In addition to the firms impressive resumes, each has received numerous international awards and recognition. Gensler is consistently ranked among the top architecture firms by publications including Architectural Record and Engineering News-Record and their work at the Jackson Hole Airport, noted for its efficacy and regionally inspired ambiance, was awarded the AIA Institute Honor Award for Architecture. HDR is consistently ranked among the top firms by Engineering News-Record, World Architecture and Healthcare Design. It has won four Grand Conceptor Awards from the American Council of Engineering Companies, the nations top civil engineering honor. The firm is also noted for innovations in green building design and sustainability. Founded in 2004, luis vidal + architects received the Skytrax World Airport Award for World's Best Terminal - Heathrow Terminal 2. The firm has developed more than 200 projects in different scales, achieving worldwide recognition for its expertise in the field of airports and transportation architecture. About Allegheny County Airport Authority: Allegheny County Airport Authority, which manages Pittsburgh International Airport and Allegheny County Airport, is committed to increasing air service, improving customer service and inspiring growth in the Pittsburgh region. Its 2017 Annual Report detailing growth and improved financial position can be found at www.flypittsburgh.com/AR17. Pittsburgh International Airport serves nearly 9 million passengers annually on 17 carriers. Over the past three years, the airport has doubled its nonstop destinations to include 74 airports. Air Transport World named Pittsburgh International its 2017 Airport of the Year. Travel + Leisure has again named Pittsburgh International a Top 10 Domestic Airport in 2018. In addition, TripAdvisor ranked Pittsburgh International Airport a Travelers Choice Favorite for Shopping in 2016. Charlotte won its second national convention in a decade Friday, kicking off two years of planning, fundraising and anticipation.The city joined a small group of cities that will have held both major party gatherings after the Republican National Committee on Friday formally awarded the 2020 event.The vote capped a dramatic week in which the Charlotte City Council agreed to host the convention Monday by a single vote. Four Democrats joined two Republicans in support. Five Democrats voted no."We could not be more excited," North Carolina GOP Chair Robin Hayes said in a statement. "Today's announcement is a testament to the strong leadership in Charlotte that has followed a long North Carolina tradition of putting the needs and opportunities of our people before politics."But politics was behind the contentiousness surrounding the council decision.More than 100 people debated the convention publicly and passionately before Monday's council vote. Through it all, Democratic Mayor Vi Lyles championed the event and urged people to put partisanship aside.Asked Friday if she would have started the bidding process had she known the opposition it would spark, she said she would have. She said the city would have had the same debate, even if the outcome may have been different."I think we would have done exactly what we did," she told reporters. "The outcome I can't project."Friday's RNC vote means Charlotte will host its second national political convention eight years after finding itself the site of Democrat Barack Obama's nomination for a second term.Lyles and council members who joined her in Austin said they're confident that law enforcement officials can provide security for the convention and the city."We've got two years to plan for protests we know will happen," said Mayor Pro Tem Julie Eiselt, a Democrat.Republican council member Ed Driggs agreed."We were very clear-headed about the political climate we're in right now," Driggs said. "We felt the benefits to the city outweigh the risks."Businessman Ned Curran co-chairs the host committee with Doug Lebda, the founder of Lending Tree, and attorney Walter Price. Former council member John Lassiter will be the host committee's executive director.Curran said the committee is "way ahead of schedule" in reaching its $70 million fundraising goal. In 2012 Democrats fell $10 million short of their goal. Duke shareholders footed about $6 million of that after the company was not repaid.Other Republicans applauded the RNC's selection."I think it's going to be great," said Saul Anunzis, Michigan's former GOP chairman. "It'll make sense politically for us.""To be one of only a few American cities to host conventions from both political parties is a testament to the people of our state," Pat McCrory, North Carolina's former governor and Charlotte's former mayor, said in a statement.The convention is expected to involve not only uptown Charlotte but venues around the region."Every venue in the region is in play, and part of the attraction," Curran said. (TNS) A new specialized high school for Norcross students is opening its doors for the 2018-2019 school year.Paul Duke STEM High School will have at least 650 students in grades 9 through 11 for its first year. It will have its first senior class in the 2019-2020 school year.The school is in the Norcross cluster, meaning students zoned for that area can choose whether to go to Norcross High School or Paul Duke STEM High School. Students do not have to test into the school, and it is not a magnet nor charter school.Paul Duke STEM High School provides students with a technology-focused STEM curriculum that incorporates active, hands-on learning. Students attend classes Monday through Thursday and participate in digital learning days on Fridays, according to Gwinnett County Public Schools.Students have the opportunity to take part in a dual enrollment program that will give them two years worth of college credits by the time they graduate high school. There are also opportunities to enroll in AP classes, research classes and industry certification programs.The school cost more than $37.7 million to build and has 43 classrooms, three lecture halls, multiple labs and a dance studio. It does not have competitive sports, but there will be traditional extracurricular activities like student council, robotics and theater.Paul Duke STEM High School is the only completely new school for the 2018-2019 year, but there is also a new extension of Phoenix High School, which gives students work-based learning options and individualized support. The new facility is located at Sugarloaf Mills. He gave him our intelligence agencies. In front of the whole world he said he trusted Putin more than our own intelligence agencies. He gave him carte Blanche to invade other countries and to murder people on foreign soil. By not canceling the summit or announcing stricter sanctions for what is going on in the Ukraine or for the murder of opponents in Britain, Trump basically told Putin he can do what he wants and the US wont do a damn thing. Hell, Trump didnt even mention these things during the #treasonpressconference. He gave him NATO. Just before the Helsinki summit Trump met with our NATO allies and treated them worse then he treated Putin. Do you think he needed to give him more? Frederic Vasseur is not denying speculation Kimi Raikkonen could switch to Sauber for 2019. The Swiss team's boss was also asked by a reporter about a rumour linking Sergio Perez to Sauber. "It's very nice that the team attracts strong drivers," said Vasseur. "This allows us to choose rather than wait for the decision of other teams." Asked if he has Raikkonen's phone number, he laughed: "I have every driver's number!" Raikkonen, now 38, started his career with Sauber in 2001. "We will discuss the issue with Ferrari and then we will make a decision," said the Sauber chief. "For Alfa Romeo it is important that the team achieve good results, so we need to find two drivers that are suited for our future." Raikkonen himself said at Hockenheim that he is hoping for certainty as soon as possible. "Knowing what I am doing is important in many ways, and not just for me. My family also wants clarity," said the Finn. "So I hope that we will have a decision soon. But as I said, you have to ask the team." (GMM) Among its exhibits at AirVenture Oshkosh 2018, held next week at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, NASA will showcase the all-electric X-57 Maxwell aircraft (earlier post). The X-57 takes to the skies in 2019 to demonstrate how electric propulsion can be 500% more efficient than conventional aircraft. On 23 July, NASAs Jeffrey Vike will present a talk on the X-57 at the event. The goal of the NASA X-57 Electric Airplane was to utilize the versatility and efficiency of electric propulsion to design a cruise-optimized airplane. The wing planform was reduced 42%. A slotted flap and distributed fan system were developed to achieve CLs in excess of 4.0. Viken will discuss performance objectives, features of the wing and high-lift system, as well as integration considerations. He will also present CFD performance analysis and details of the integrated structure. Theres strawberry compote in there somewhere. Photo: Kate Previte Questlove recently enlisted a bunch of chef friends to do various cooking stunts on his Instagram account, for reasons that are opaque but also entirely consistent with everything we know about Questlove. Mark Ladner of Pasta Flyer put on a bonnet and made breakfast sandwiches with ice cream. His brioche con gelato is a faithful rendition of the Italian original, which some Sicilians eat on the go in the early mornings when it feels too hot to move otherwise. At Pasta Flyer, it consists of chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla gelato doled in thirds into a fried brioche bun slicked with strawberry jam. It costs $5. Originally, this was a one-day special, breakfast hours only. Yesterday, Ladner told Gothamist that the soft brioche sandwiches will be sold all day. Today, the news out of Greenwich Village is that the breakfast (or dessert) gelato sandwich will become a permanent part of Pasta Flyers menu. Sure, it may sound strange, even for folks who reflexively might otherwise agree that the world needs this. People in Sicily tend to be correct about food. No hamburger has ever been improved by a brioche bun, Anthony Bourdain once declared, in ten words of crystalline truth. The opposite is true, of course, for gelato. News Sultan instructs municipality to check violations in residential towers The municipality has assigned a department to follow up on all violations and wrong practices such as bachelors' and labour accommodations that violate the laws and regulations and the cleanliness of towers and buildings. Haiti - Economy : $3M to develop Micro and Small Businesses The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Global Affairs Canada and Desjardins International (DID) of Canada partner to increase access to business loans, savings products and loans. Services for Micro and Small Enterprises (MPE) in Haiti. The project entitled "Support for the Establishment of a Specialised Micro and Small Business Financing Assessment Unit, within the Le Levier Federation (a network of savings and credit cooperatives)" will support the Federation in implementing place of a unit specializing in finance for MEPs. The project provides for an investment of US $3.04 million, which includes a $500,000 loan component for on-lending, to Le Levier's first-rate credit and savings cooperatives, which use the Center's model. affiliate for Financial Entrepreneurs (CFE) for the financing of MSEs. The remaining resources will be used to support the establishment and implementation of the CFE model in participating financial cooperatives. The CBD will focus specifically on underserved and unserved MSEs in Haiti, commiting up to USD500,000 for funding activities related to the establishment of CFE in northern and southern Haiti "Providing credit and savings support for MSEs will contribute to enterprise growth and sustainability, while improving the living and economic conditions of several rural householders in Haiti, who otherwise would experience financial exclusion" said Peter Blackman, Portfolio Manager and Guillermo Aguilar Rios, Operations Officer of the Private Sector Development Unit at CDB. HL/ HaitiLibre Meanwhile, something worth contemplating is the $1 billion lent to Donald Trump by a bank with some shady practices. Justin Kennedy, the bank official who made the loan, is the son of the Supreme Court justice who just stepped down in time to give Trump a nomination to make just ahead of the mid-terms. Justin Kennedy made that astonishingly large loan when he was an executive at Deutsche Bank, which has been sanctioned by the U.S. for laundering the money of Russian oligarchs. Haiti - News : Zapping... Joseph Lambert denies rumors Wednesday Joseph Lambert, President of the Senate and the National Assembly denied the rumors that he would be interested in the position of Prime Minister, saying he is not interested in leaving the Senate before the end of his term of office lasting 6 years. Bank fraud, caution Following the attempted bank scam detected in Haiti https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-25017-haiti-flash-attempted-scam-with-fraudulent-emails-from-unibank.html Jean Marie Altema the Director General of the National Council of Telecommunication (CONATEL) calls on users of banking services and banks "I urge all users of banking services to remain calm and be careful while asking the bank concerned to inform their customers about protection techniques against these types of attacks. I invite people to cultivate a digital culture." Moise has 8 days to explain his caravan "Jovenel Moise is summoned to explain within 8 Days on his Caravan opaque! The change of the living conditions of the Haitian people goes through the fight against the lake !" said Friday Andre Michel See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-25012-haiti-justice-caravan-of-change-could-end-up-in-the-courts.html Reinforcement of the biological corridor Friday in Santo Domingo at the celebration ceremony due to the creation of the Caribbean Biological Corridor (CBC) between Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-12513-haiti-environmentcaribbean-biological-corridor-signature-of-a-tripartite-agreement.html took place the launch of a new project to strengthen the CBC with the support of UN Environment and the financial contribution of the European Union in the presence of representatives of the Ministry of the Environment, the EU Delegation to Haiti , the Office of the National Authorizing Officer and the UN Environment Office in Haiti. Youri Latortue conditions his vote The Senator Youri Latortue conditions are vote on the ratification of the declaration of General Policy of the next Government, to the formal commitment of the next Prime Minister to go to the end with the folder PetroCaribe. Launch of the 4th edition of the caravan of Art Friday in the gardens of the National Bureau of Ethnology (BNE) took place the launch of the 4th edition of the ART caravan organized by the National Organization of Art Promoters (ONP-Art). Remember that the caravan of art will move from July 20 to August 15, 2018 in several cities in the country (Carrefour, Leogane, Trouin, Jacmel ...). HL/ HaitiLibre A FARMING family say they feel lucky none of their livestock or property was lost in a blaze which destroyed farmland in Ewelme. The huge field fire spread to more than 800sqm of land at Ewelme Down Farm, with roads in the area closed and large plumes of dark smoke visible in nearby Benson. The land is owned by the Wallis family and Rachel Wallis, who runs the Chilterns View, a collection of six private lodges for guests, said she feared they would be destroyed by the fire. The blaze, which is believed to have started accidentally, needed 10 crews, including one from Henley, to get it under control. They were called shortly before 5.30pm on Saturday and neighbouring farmers also created fire blocks on the edges of their fields by ploughing through crops. Miss Wallis had to evacuate six couples from their lodges and call the Five Horseshoes pub in nearby Maidensgrove, where another couple were, to warn them. She said: I was in my house and my brother Bernard called me to say the farms alight, the fields are alight, evacuate your guests from the Chilterns View which we did immediately. I saw smoke coming over the hill. By the time Id got the guests out and come back to suss it out there were flames coming towards the lodges and you could hear loud crackling noises from the burning crops. I thought I was losing the business. It was the change of wind direction that saved the lodges, plus the fire service and the local farmers and the community. We had five local farmers who stopped their harvest to help us. The wind changed and the fire went back on itself, so the farmers really helped save Grundon and Potters Farm. Miss Wallis, a former Benson and Crowmarsh district councillor, added: I feel extremely fortunate. I feel very proud of the farming community around us, theres nothing like it they are good friends and good people. They stopped everything. My guests havent been put off coming to stay again. They couldnt believe the support and how everybody rallied around and they all stayed that night. The fire was extinguished using hose reels and beaters. The National Police Air Service also offered air support to help direct firefighters to the edges of the blaze. Mr Wallis said hed lost 66 acres of standing barley plus 50 acres of straw used for bedding for his pigs, which were all unharmed. He said: I just want to thank my neighbours who came out and helped it could have been an awful lot worse. They saved the day really. Its quite a flinty field so we think the combine might have gone over a flint and that might have caused the fire, but were speculating. I feel very fortunate. We had six houses on the farm and we could have lost those. Firefighter Dave Bray, who attended the incident, said: This was a very challenging incident for all of the fire crews as they had to work in very hot ambient temperatures. We were also aided greatly by local farmers, who upon identifying fire immediately commenced creating fire breaks around the outside of the fields. This helped us in preventing the fire spreading to a nearby pig farm, as well as other buildings. Dominic Taylor-Lane, 50, who lives in the village was preparing for his 50th birthday party at the time. He told the Henley Standard: I looked up and thought there was a thunder cloud. Within a couple of minutes it was fairly clear it was smoke. I went down to the common to have a look and there were literally flames coming above the top of 40ft trees. Mr Taylor-Lane praised the efforts of firefighters saying he feared the blaze may spread to the common and closer to the village itself. He explained: It was fairly obvious that the fire in the field was literally just the other side of the hedge and a road near the common, which is tinder dry also. They did an amazing job to stop it getting across. At the beginning of the fire the wind was pushing it towards the common and then the wind seemed to swing around and take it towards the pig farm. Given the ferocity of it it could have been a whole lot worse than it was. He added: It did flair up again on Sunday apparently and there were two engines up there in the afternoon. 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. After a rough decade with its Russian neighbors, the Ukrainian capital of Kiev is looking to rebrand itself as an Eastern European center of science, industry, education, and culture. The city of 3 million has developed a hub whose main goal is to inspire leaders and agents of change continue the development of both Kiev and Ukraine. In addition to creating a healthy city environment that caters to (and fosters) innovation, the city is looking for one key component to drive forward development: its citizens. Here are three of the ways the Kyiv Smart City initiative is helping the city become an influential player in Ukraine, developing modern solutions that will benefit the entire country. - Bruno De Man Molding a modern city Over the last two years, Kyiv Smart City has helped to establish a smart urban infrastructure by bringing together the city authorities, businesses and activists, incorporating principles like open data and transparent city governance. With the project, the city hopes to use a range of services and actions that in the short term make life in the city better, safer and more comfortable for its inhabitants. Here are three of the sectors the smart city initiative is honing in on: Information technology: One of the growing sectors in Kiev, information technology is crucial to the citys smart development. In order to prepare the next generation of specialists, the city is creating a code academy, offering free education in IT and coding. Citizen participation: By introducing a participatory budget, Kiev is opening up city operations to citizens so they can get involved in day-to-day processes. For example, citizens can analyze and weigh in on how the citys budget is being used in areas like health, education, and housing, eventually debating over how the final budget will be divided up. Urban infrastructure: Considered more of an urban project than a technological one, Melnykova Smart Street will incorporate solutions like solar panels, a Bluetooth beacon system, smart traffic lights, environmental sensors, traffic timetables, adaptive lighting and e-car charging stations. In the district, citizens will find improved street zoning with more pedestrian space (and less emphasis on cars); a dedicated public transport lane; and areas devoted to children and pets. Traffic lights are monitored remotely thanks to an automated control system, with future plans to have cameras count the number of vehicles passing through. Apps like Smart Roads, meanwhile, will instantly alert citizens when there are accidents or traffic on the street, helping to reduce congestion and time stuck in cars. As Kiev establishes its living lab, everyone from the mayor to the citys residents will have the chance to collaborate and innovate on ways to improve life in the Ukrainian capital, one smart solution at a time. Source: https://eu.smartcitiescouncil.com/article/3-ways-kiev-ukraine-rebuilding-its-reputation The college received word in July that the program was being placed on a warning status. BCC's Nursing Program Placed on Warning Status PITTSFIELD, Mass. The nursing program at Berkshire Community College has been placed on warning. The Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing cited the college on a number of issues, which college officials have characterized as "housekeeping," and dropped the state accreditation to "approval with warning." College officials have now created a blueprint to address the cited issues and are hoping to be back into the board's good graces as early as January. "These are not student facing issues, it is not about our curriculum. These are procedure and policy issues that we need to address. We have begun preparing our materials to help us focus on the things we need to do. We've taken the report and broken it down into each bit we have to respond to by Sept. 30. We have every confidence we will be ahead of time and fully responding," BCC President Ellen Kennedy said. The change in status stems from a board visit in May that was triggered by a low percentage of graduates passing the NCLEX -- the National Council Licensure Examination exam for nurses to become certified. In 2017, just 74 percent of the program's graduates passed the exam on their first try. Program Director Tochi Urbani chalked part of that up to changes in the way the state judges the program based on those scores. In the past, that rate was compared to the national mean and on a three-year average. But now, Urbani said, the program is judged based on a single year and under 80 percent triggers a notice from the board. The college's rates have fluctuated as low as 81 percent in the last five years and as high as 91 percent and being a smaller school means a single failure on that first exam means more percentage-wise than larger programs. "The rest of them have passed. But since they look at it as the composite of those who took it and passed the very first time, the calculation comes down to this 74.1," Urbani said. In 2017, 46 students graduated from the program and only 33 of them passed on the first exam. Urbani said the other 13 later passed the exam but the college is judged on those who pass the first time. Nonetheless, that number is still concerning for the college. Kennedy said additional tools such as a number of practice exams have been added to the program to help better prepare students to take it. While those results triggered the board's May visit, that visit also led the college to get cited on a number of other issues, which was detailed in a report to the college in July. The number of citations were shocking at first, but Kennedy said once officials were able to dig into the details of the report, none of the findings were out of the college's ability to fix. Most of the findings require a revamping of the program's policies and handbook. "When we broke the report down into what we actually have to do, we have every confidence that will successfully address them," she said. One example was that the college's policies state that student records would be kept for two years. But the board found records dating back further than that. Urbani said simply changing the wording in the policy to "at least" will solve that issue. Another issue is related to language in contracts with the college's clinical partners that Urbani said has been added to the contracts. Others include meeting minutes not being detailed enough and specific policies for evaluation and job descriptions not meeting certain criteria. On Thursday, the college sent emails to more than 200 students, those currently enrolled, recently graduated but have yet to take the exam, and those in the licensed practical nursing program. The emails are being followed up with letters. The college is also preparing a FAQ, or frequently asked questions, sheet as well. That FAQ includes information such as that the approval with a warning means that the college needs to meet a deadline and that it is still accredited, that there is nothing in the curricula or calendar that requires changing, that there will be no changes to the program for students enrolling this fall, and outlining the issues that led the college to get to this point. The issue is particularly concerning for the college because the nursing program is one of its most important offerings. It is in high demand and enrollment is capped. So far, one student accepted into the program has inquired about a deferral to see how the accreditation plays out. Ubani said the state has scheduled another visit to the college on Oct. 23. The state has set deadlines and will be reviewing the 2018 report in January. But there is no specific timeline on when the college can get back to the approved status. "If we meet those deadlines, no problem," Urbani said. iciHaiti - MICT : Payment of 18 months of salary arrears out of 24 Friday, the Ministry of Interior and Territorial Communities (MICT) has paid a tranche of 17 million gourdes, consisting of 6 months of salary arrears, to the employees assigned to the maintenance and cleaning of public squares in the metropolitan area. With this second installment, which follows a previous disbursement last December for these employees, the State honored a total of 18 months of salary arrears, over 24 months that were payable. The last six months will soon be paid and will put an end to all of these arrears. At the same time, the Ministry of the Interior is gradually carrying out the formal transfer of the management of the public squares of Petion-ville, Delmas, Tabarre and Port-au-Prince, in particular to their respective Town Halls. IH/ iciHaiti Tell me, katsung47, were you one of those that was upset that President Trump tweeted about Harley Davidson? If so, why are you now upset that he did not tweet about Tesla? Tesla's problems aren't that they can't sell cars. The problem is that they cannot assemble and deliver them. Yes, I'd rather Tesla, an American company assemble their cars here in the USA but thus far they have not been able to do it. If they want to assemble in China, fine. But every vehicle they assemble there gets hit with the tariffs, if brought back to the USA. Home Search ICH Trump Is Israels Useful Idiot By Philip Giraldi July 20, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - The claim made by many neoconservatives that Israel and the United States are partners in the Middle East because their strategic interests are identical is belied by the fact that the Israelis are more than willing to ignore Washington when its suits them to do so. The claim of identical interests has always been false, promoted by the Zionist media and an intensively lobbied Congress to make the lopsided relationship with an essentially racist and apartheid regime more palatable to the American public, but, in wake of the slaughter in Gaza and pending legislation in the Knesset empowering Israeli communities to ban non-Jewish residents, it completely lacks any credibility. It would probably surprise most American friends of Israel to learn that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has visited Moscow three times so far this year, particularly as Russia has been getting vilified in the U.S. mainstream media on an almost daily basis. There is a reason for the Russophobia beyond what Moscow might or might not have done in the 2016 election. Russia has become a particular target of hostility for the burgeoning number of neoconservative foundations, also closely linked to Israel, whose funding from defense contractors depends on having a powerful enemy. The ability of Israel and its supporters to play both sides regardless of what the accepted perception of what American interests might be should therefore be an issue of some concern. The United States military is deeply engaged in Syria, in part due to Israeli pressure, seeking to depose the existing government of President Bashar al-Assad and replace it with a Syria composed primarily of fragmented local jurisdictions representing tribal and religious groups rather than a unified state. Israel believes that a shattered Syria would not pose any threat to its continued possession of the occupied Golan Heights and might even offer an opportunity to expand that occupation. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter In response to Israeli interests, the U.S. has sought regime change in Syria and has toyed with the creation of mini states within the country controlled by the Kurds and the so-called moderate rebels. It would mean the end of Syria as a nation, which has been an Israeli objective since 1967. Israel has contributing to the turmoil by attacking targets inside Syria. The targets are generally described as either Iranian or Hezbollah, but they have also included Syrian Army installations. One such attack took place last week after a drone allegedly entered Israeli territory. Israel has also collaborated with rebel groups inside Syria, to include al-Qaeda affiliates and ISIS, which puts Washington in an awkward position as it claims to be in Syria primarily to defeat ISIS and other terrorists. In one bizarre episode, ISIS actually apologized to Israel for inadvertently attacking Israeli positions in the Golan Heights. There have also been reports of Israeli hospitals treating wounded terrorists. The Israeli willingness to play all sides in the Syrian conflict recognizes that Russia rather than the United States has assumed the pivotal role in determining what the ultimate political outcome of the fighting is likely to be. Apart from weakening and fragmenting Syria itself, Israels clearly stated objective has been to reduce or, even better, eliminate Iranian presence in the country, which Netanyahu describes hyperbolically as very important for the national security of the state of Israel. Benjamin Netanyahus visits to Russia can be seen as efforts to get Moscows backing to pushback against Iran, admittedly a Sisyphean task as both Russia and Iran are in Syria by invitation of the legitimate government and both have been critical to the success of Damascuss successful counter-offensive. There are, however, differences in perception, as Moscows role has been limited and largely high-tech while Iran has supplied as many as 80,000 of the foot soldiers in the conflict. Russia would prefer that Syria not become an Iranian satrapy after the fighting is over. With both Iran and Israel courting Russian favor, President Vladimir Putin hosted last week back-to-back visits by Netanyahu and Iranian senior foreign policy adviser Ali Akbar Velayati. Netanyahu was open about his desire to explain to Putin why a significant Iranian presence in Syria post-war would be undesirable and even dangerous. He pushed for restoration of a United Nations monitored demilitarized zone along the Golan Heights and also for complete withdrawal of Iranian forces from the country. In return, the Russians suggested that they would support an Iranian military presence tens of kilometers away from the Israeli border, but Putin also made clear that Syria would be reunited under its government in Damascus and that the Iranians should have a role in the countrys reconstruction and defense. Netanyahu did not get what he wanted but the conversation with a basically friendly Russia will continue. Expect more visits. The Iranians, for their part, were dealing with the broader issue of impending United States sanctions on the Iranian oil industry. They obtained a commitment from Putin to continue investment in Iranian oil development and also to continue cooperation to stabilize Syria and drive out the last of the so-called rebels. As Russia is an energy exporter, the issue of buying Iranian oil was irrelevant, but Velayati was reportedly on his way to China to press for a commitment from Beijing to continue purchases of oil in spite of the threat of sanctions from Washington after November 4th. Whatever one believes about the Syrian conflict and Washingtons role in it, the adherence to Israeli points of view in framing policy has made the United States largely irrelevant and has handed control of the situation to enemy du jour Russia. The Israelis have found the new administration in Washington to be what Lenin once described as a useful idiot, prepared to support whatever Netanyahu proposes while at the same time so clueless that the Israeli government can freely and openly simultaneously cut deals with Moscow that undermine the U.S. continued presence in the country. Donald Trumps recent comment that the United States might move to get out of Syria completely by the end of the year suggests that he might actually be figuring things out and is no longer willing to be the Israeli patsy in developments in that country. It just might also be that the White House has finally realized that continued engagement in Syria is a lose-lose no matter how it turns out. Philip Giraldi is Ph.D., Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest. A former CIA Case Officer and Army Intelligence Officer who spent twenty years overseas in Europe and the Middle East working terrorism cases. He holds a BA with honors from the University of Chicago and an MA and PhD in Modern History from the University of London. This article was originally published by "Council for the National Interest " - The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. ====== Norman Finkelstein - Israel is a Lunatic State - BBC Hardtalk - 2012 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. By Off Guardian July 20, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - In the hysterical wake of the Trump-Putin Summit in Helsinki, President Donald Trump was roundly criticised in the media for taking the side of a hostile state over his own intelligence agencies. The Guardian referred to Mueller as a heroic marine who Trump disbelieved in favour of a Russian dictator. In the past, when Trump has criticised the FBI, CIA or NSA he has been accused of undermining faith in our institutions. Hes been blamed for a collapse of trust in the government. But was this trust ever earned? At every corner, we are urged to simply believe what we are told. Whether it is about believing Porton Down and MI6 about novichok, or believing the White Helmets about Sarin, or believing the FBI about collusion, we are present with no facts, just assertions from authority. Those who question those assertions are deemed bots at best or traitors at worst. Well here, fellow traitors, are the Top Ten reasons to question anything and everything the CIA or any intelligence agency has ever told you. OPERATION PAPERCLIP well start with an oldie but a goody. In 1945, as the allies were advancing on Berlin from both sides, American Army Intelligence (this was before the CIA were founded) were capturing (read: recruiting) over 1600 Nazi scientists and engineers. Most famous of them was Werhner von Braun sorry, SS Sturmbannfuhrer von Braun. Whilst Allied soldiers died in the name of defeating fascism, the CIAs predecessors were actively recruiting Nazis to come and build bombs for them. 9. OPERATION NORTHWOODS The original, and important, precedent for accusations that the CIA et al. might engage in false-flag attacks. Operation Northwoods was a joint CIA/Pentagon proposal designed around the idea of escalating a war with Cuba by stoking public anger: The proposals called for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) or other U.S. government operatives to commit acts of terrorism against American civilians and military targets, blaming it on the Cuban government, and using it to justify a war against Cuba. The idea was vetoed by President Kennedy. Fifty years later, the CIA and Pentagon still very much exist, but theres no longer a Kennedy there to veto their more psychopathic ideas. Funny how that worked out. 8. ALLENDE COUP In 1970 Salvador Allende was elected to the Chilean Presidency. A Physician and dedicated socialist, Allende was the first socialist president elected in South America. The Nixon-lead government of the United States immediately implemented economic warfare (as they do, to this day, against Cuba, Venezuela and others). The economic warfare did not work, and in 1973 Allendes socialist party increased their parliamentary majority. In response, the US assisted (read: instructed) the Chilean military in carrying out a coup. Allende allegedly shot himself, and Augusto Pinochet was placed in power as the first dictator in Chiles history. Pinochet was a fascist who executed Chilean subversives by the thousandand was the darling of Western leaders. 7. MOSADDEGH COUP I could just copy-and-paste the above paragraph and the change the names for this entry. In 1953, the Prime Minister of Iran Mohammad Mosaddegh, a democratic socialist wanted to audit the income of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company with an eye to limiting foreign control of Irans oil. Within a few months, a joint US/UK operation Operation Ajax had removed Mosaddeghs elected government and turned over full control of the state to the Shah. He was a brutal absolute monarch, but the question of Western control of Irans enormous oil reserves wasnt raised again under his leadership. 6. OPERATION MOCKINGBIRD A CIA operation that you could deduce existed, even if were not proven.and it is proven. Mockingbird was the CIA project to coerce, train, control or plant CIA-friendly journalists in major news networks all across the country and in every medium. Its existence is no longer disputed, thanks to FOIA releases of internal memos. Mockingbird was allegedly shut down in 1976 just after its existence was leaked then CIA director George HW Bush claiming: effective immediately, CIA will not enter into any paid or contractual relationship with any full-time or part-time news correspondent accredited by any U.S. news service, newspaper, periodical, radio or television network or station. If youre willing to stake anything on the word of a Bush, well, good luck with that. Its a decision that flies in the face of historical evidence. Remember this one when you hear about the need to trust the CIA from some pundit on CNN or MSNBC. 5. MASS SURVEILLANCE Its not really talked about much these days what with the vast majority of the media and huge sections of the supposedly anti-establishment progressive left marching in-step with the Deep State but the NSA spied on the whole world. The whole world. We know this to be true because an employee of the Deep State Edward Snowden leaked the information. When challenged on this issue, representatives of the NSA and CIA lied. They lied to the public, and they lied to congress. When they were proven to have lied, they carefully qualified their lies. A qualified lie is still a lie. There is no indication they have stopped this illegal surveillance, but they may have passed laws to make it legal. 4. NAYIRAH A classic of atrocity propaganda, Nayirah should be required reading material for anybody looking top hop on a pro-war bandwagon. Nayirah who originally gave only her first name was a fifteen year old girl who testified in front of the United States Congress. She claimed to be a volunteer from at a Kuwaiti hospital, and to be an eye-witness to Iraqi soldiers throwing Kuwaiti babies out of incubators and leaving them to die: I volunteered at the al-Addan hospital with twelve other women who wanted to help as well. I was the youngest volunteer. The other women were from twenty to thirty years old. While I was there I saw the Iraqi soldiers come into the hospital with guns. They took the babies out of the incubators, took the incubators and left the children to die on the cold floor. It was horrifying. It was later revealed, not only that her full name was Nayirah al-Sabah and she was the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador, but that she had never volunteered at a hospital and had seen no babies, soldiers or incubators. The whole thing was a fiction. A fiction paid for by the Citizens of Free Kuwait, an NGO (and obvious CIA front) set up to lobby the US to intervene in the Iraq-Kuwait war. By the time this fiction was revealed it was too late, and the US had launched Operation Desert Storm.which was, of course, the entire point of the exercise Remember this, when you hear about Assad gassing children or bombing kittens. 3. COINTELPRO The FBIs long running (and sometimes illegal) COunter INTELligence PROgram, COINTELPRO was a series of domestic projects carried out by the FBI (with cooperation from other agencies), over decades, with the aim of surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting domestic political organizations. These political organizations included anti-Vietnam protestors, civil rights groups (including both MLK and Malcolm X), socialists, Communist Party USA, environmental groups and feminist organizations. The brief for these disruptions came straight from J. Edgar Hoover who wanted the FBI to expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise Neutralize people he perceived to be enemies of the state. The capital N in neutralise is no accident, as the FBI was implicated in the deaths of several Black Panther leaders, including Fred Hampton. COINTELPRO didnt just involve undermining left-wing groups, but also creating right-wing groups: The FBI also financed, armed, and controlled an extreme right-wing group of former Minutemen, transforming it into a group called the Secret Army Organization that targeted groups, activists, and leaders involved in the Anti-War Movement, using both intimidation and violent acts. Whether this was done to actually push a right-wing agenda, create a fake threat to step up police powers, or just sow division and chaos, is unclear. But it definitely happened. Much like MKUltra (below), COINTELPRO was officially shut down, not long after the public found out it existed. However, the accidental outing of undercover policeman at a rally in Oakland, and recent relaxation of the laws limiting the FBIs powers, means that COINTELPRO or a modern successor is very likely still a thing. The aim of COINTELPRO was to Neutralize anti-establishment political figures the vast majority of targets were left wingers through smearing individuals and groups using forged documents and by planting false reports in the media. Remember that when you see Rand Paul called a traitor on twitter, or read about Russian collusion, or see Jeremy Corbyn branded an anti-Semite. Remember that it is proven that the Deep State our trusted intelligence agencies pay people to plant false stories and discredit political opponents. 2. PROJECT MKULTRA It might sound like something from a 70s sci-fi TV series, but it is unfortunately real. MKUltra was a series of (illegal) experiments carried out by the CIA from 1953 until it was *cough* officially halted in 1973 (just after its existence was leaked). The experiments were wide-ranging, achieved varied levels of success, but pretty uniformly brutal and unethical. They included, but were not limited too: Giving LSD to unsuspecting soldiers to see what happened. Mass hypnosis and mass suggestion Torture studies Studies on the effect of verbal and/or sexual abuse Well never know the full range of studies, or how they were carried out, because in 1973 Richard Helms, then director of the CIA, ordered all MKUltra files destroyed. Only a fraction of them survive, thanks to FOIA requests, but its reasonable to assume they destroyed the worst parts and kept the more quote-unquote innocent files. The CIA were not unique in this regard either, MKUltra was their baby but there were parallel projects in other quarters of the deep state. Army Intelligence had Edgewood Arsenal, whilst the Department of Defense had Project 112. All these projects were officially halted in the early 70sjust around the time the public found out they existed. The CIA (et al.) have strongly denied that these experiments and projects have ever been continued in any way, shape or formbut if youd asked them in 1969, they would have denied they had ever taken place at all. 1. THE IRAQ WAR This might not be the most callous, the most dangerous, the most recent, the most secret or the most insidious of the items on this list, nevertheless it is must be number onebecause it is the most brazen. The war was started in the name of weapons of mass destruction that everyone everyone knew never existed. They all knew the truth, but they lied. The President lied, the vice-president lied, the secretary of defence lied, the secretary of state lied. The Prime Minister lied, the defence minister lied, the foreign minister lied. They lied to the press, the people and the UN. The CIA, the NSA, the FBI then headed by the heroic marine Robert Mueller they lied too. The press repeated these lies, without question (see: Operation Mockingbird). They werent misinformed, they werent mistaken. They lied, they lied repeatedly and provably and they did it in order to start a war, make money, take control, spread influence. One million Iraqis died. Our ruling class is peopled with psychopaths and war criminals, who have so little regard for the people they lie to they recycle the same childishly simple falsehoods to further their evil agenda again and again and again. They tried the same in Libyait worked again. They tried again in Syrialuckily, it didnt work there. Our democratic institutions lie to start wars. Theres no reason to think they arent doing or wouldnt do the same thing about Iran, North Koreaor Russia. Ecuador to Hand Over Assange to UK In Coming Weeks or Days, By RT's Editor-in Chief July 20, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Ecuador is ready to hand over the WikiLeaks founder to the UK in coming weeks or even days, RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan said citing her own sources, as prospects of his eviction from the embassy are back in the media. My sources tell [Julian] Assange will be handed over to Britain in the coming weeks or even days, Simonyan wrote in a recent tweet which was reposted by WikiLeaks. Like never before, I wish my sources were wrong, she continued. , . , . (@M_Simonyan) July 19, 2018 Editor-in-chief of RT: "My sources tell me that @JulianAssange will be handed over to the #UK in the next weeks or days. Like never before I wish that my sources are wrong'' https://t.co/rvN3ne3ifd WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) July 20, 2018 Simonyan's message comes, as speculations Ecuador is in talks with the UK over the future of Assange are back again in British press. Earlier this week, the Times reported Britain is locked in top-tier discussions with the Ecuadorians in a bid to remove Assange from their London embassy. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter Which is the greater threat to press freedom: (a) sending Julian Assange to the US to be prosecuted by the Sessions DOJ for publishing classified and hacked docs or (b) Donald Trump tweeting mean insults at Chuck Todd and Wolf Blitzer and being rude to Jim Acosta? Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) July 20, 2018 Sir Alan Duncan, the Foreign Office minister, is said to be spearheading the diplomatic effort. Sources close to Assange said he himself was not aware of the talks but believed that America was putting significant pressure on Ecuador, including threatening to block a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) if he continues to stay at the embassy. The Times report comes just weeks before a visit to the UK by the newly-elected Ecuadorian president Lenin Moreno, who has labeled Assange a hacker, an inherited problem and a stone in the shoe. There have been other worrying signs indicating Assange is steadily becoming a troublemaker for Ecuador. In late March this year, the Ecuadorian government has suspended Assanges communication privileges with the outside world, cutting off his Internet connection at the embassy. The move was sparked by Assanges alleged breach of an agreement to refrain from interfering in other states affairs. Previously, he blasted the Spanish government for cracking down on the Catalan independence movement. Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy since 2012 when he asked the Latin American state for asylum. The 47-year-old was wanted by Sweden on sexual assault allegations, but feared the extradition would lead to him being transferred to the US and prosecuted without a fair trial. The US has been saying that Assange was engaged in terrorism, with Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, last year calling his arrest a priority. Over the years, WikiLeaks has published hundreds of thousands of classified US files, including the cables on the Iraq War, leaked by whistleblower Chelsea Manning in 2010. Despite the Swedish investigation against him being closed in May last year, the Australian journalist was still unable to leave the embassy because of an outstanding British warrant for allegedly breaching bail conditions and no guarantees of him not being sent to the US. Over the years, the whistleblower has been supported by activists and human rights groups, who demanded he be freed. A UN panel also found that Assanges stay in the embassy amounted to arbitrary detention, but it wasnt enough to change his fate. This article was originally published by "RT " - The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. July 20, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - A great miracle occurred on Moshav Tkuma. A cinder carried by a paper kite from Gaza landed in a kindergarten yard. The kindergarten teacher called what she saw in the sky a finger-size glowing ember. She was the first to detect it and rushed to get all the children into the protected area. A small boy wearing a large kippa said a miracle had happened. The reporter of Kan 11 TV in the south, Itzik Zoaretz, did not miss the opportunity to explain the proportions of the averted disaster: The cinder landed a few meters away from a jute roof in the yard. Jute is flammable material. If the jute had caught fire, all the kindergarten children would have burned to death. Maybe the fire would have spread, destroying all the moshavs homes. Maybe it would have consumed the entire south, and from there the way to destroying the country would have been very short. Almost-Treblinka in Tkuma, and it was all prevented thanks to the miracle. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter The tiny stain in the sand, slightly abashed, seemingly caused by a thrown match, was somewhat contradictory to the reporters apocalyptic description, which was a war correspondents dramatization in a kindergarten sandbox, but thats how it is with miracles and wonders. The days of kites abound with miracles. The fact that more people were scratched while shaving in recent months than from kite fires is attributed entirely to miracles. Not a day goes by without an emotional report by one of the indistinguishable reporters in the field about a disaster that was miraculously avoided. The Qassam rocket that fell nearby, the kite that went out at the last moment thats how to conduct the well-timed campaign when you need to finally start the war we crave so much. Meanwhile, a state that describes its establishment as a miraculous event continues to live on its miracles, even when its a regional power. The miracles intensify the danger. Thats good for everyone. If a cinder that hasnt hit anyone is a flying miracle, then its clear that if not for the miracle, a disaster would have occurred. Clearly the cinder has the power to sow death, so we must wage war on it. But the fact is that no kite or balloon, not even a helium balloon, the latest advance by Gazas military industries, has harmed anyone. The chance of this happening is negligible. The kites harm the environment and agriculture its a huge hazard and distress, but not a cause for war. Ever. There has never been a just war that was started over a kite. The reports of miracles are meant to change this. Dont think of that flying cinder as a cinder. It might as well be a cruise missile. Only by miracle is it not a cruise missile. Thats why we have to bludgeon Gaza. The culture of miracles takes us back to the divine promise, the rock of our existence here, and dont belittle it. Miracles dont happen in Gaza. Over there our snipers, pilots, drones, bombs and shells strike and kill, with no miracle discounts for the targets. Miracles are only for the chosen people. The miracles also take us back to the lie of the make-believe war between the almost equal sides, Gaza and Israel. If not for a miracle, Hamas might have destroyed us already. Under cover of the lie of the almost equal sides, we can bomb and shell them without restraint and say that thats war. But the IDFs assaults on Gaza were never a war, because nothing close to an army has ever faced them. It wasnt miracles that prevented disaster for Israel, only the pitiful destitution of the other side. Gaza has no army, no weapons, certainly not the kind that can threaten the IDF in any way, not in the wildest imagination. The fires in the south are distressing. Life in the south is hard. No military strike can solve lifes hardships on either side of the fence, and no miracle can extract Israel from the need to change direction dramatically, to move from arrogance and aggression to humanity and compassion. That is something Israel has no intention of doing. Until then well live from miracle to miracle, from attack to attack on bleeding, beaten Gaza, where miracles like ours never happen, only death and destruction. This article was originally published by "Haaretz " - The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. Government Pays $775 Per Night For Children Separated From Parents At U.S Border Newly created tent cities for separated children cost two to three times what it would to keep them with their parents. By Emily Stewart July 20, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Family separation at the border is not a cost-cutting measure for President Donald Trump: Newly created tent cities for migrant children being separated from their parents cost $775 per night per person, according to a new report. Thats two to three times what it costs to put them in a permanent facility or to keep them with their parents. NBC Newss Julia Ainsley, citing an official at the Department of Health and Human Services, reported on Wednesday that the tent cities the US government is setting up to hold the influx of migrant children cost nearly $800 per night, much more than other alternatives. Theres a lot of urgency to get these temporary facilities up and running fast, and bringing in security, air conditioning, medical workers, and other government contractors at such a pace is expensive. For comparison, NBC News reports holding a child in a permanent HHS facility in Brownsville, Texas, costs $256 per night per person. And keeping kids with their parents in a detention center costs about $298 per resident per night. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter In other words, its most cost-effective to keep kids with their parents or, at the very least, in preexisting facilities. The HHS official told NBC News it is aggressively looking for more potential sites for tent cities as more and more children arrive. More than 2,300 children have been taken from their parents at the US-Mexico border since the Trump administration announced its zero tolerance policy for illegal entry in May. More than 11,000 immigrants under the age of 18 are in custody. The image created by tent cities is not a pretty one, and the idea of putting children in essentially outdoor camps is disturbing. But the actual scenario might be a lot more complicated, as Voxs Dara Lind recently explained. The Flores settlement, a court order thats been in place for decades, requires that immigrant children in custody be placed with a close family or friend without unnecessary delay, and if there isnt a family or friend, children have to be kept in the least restrictive form of custody possible. The government might prefer to actually keep families together in immigrant detention, in part because of costs. And keeping families together makes deporting all of them at once easier if they arent granted asylum. The Trump administration has blamed the Flores settlement for its separation of families, but of course, its not required to split up children and parents. As Lind explains, though, the imagery of tent cities is more complicated than meets the eye: Which is more humane? To take a child from her parent, keep her in a temporary tent for a few days or weeks, and then place her with a relative? Or to keep child and parent together, in detention, for months or years? Most of the administrations critics would probably answer that the only humane option is to release the whole family together and find another way to monitor their cases to make sure they show up for their court dates. But that is the one option the administration refuses to put back on the table. This article was originally published by "VOX " - The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. ====== Detaining Immigrant Kids Is Now a Billion-Dollar Industry : Detaining immigrant children has morphed into a surging industry in the U.S. that now reaps $1 billion annually a tenfold increase over the past decade. Sen. Elizabeth Warren blasts Trumps CFPB nominee, Kathy Kraninger, for her role in family separations. Map Shows Immigrant Childrens Shelters Near You The Waiting Game : The U.S. is supposed to be a safe haven for people fleeing persecution. But asylum-seekers face years of uncertainty when they arrive. Play this game to see how long you can last in their shoes. Join the Discussion By Greg Hunter July 20, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Former CIA Officer and whistleblower Kevin Shipp says what Hillary Clinton did with her charity and Uranium One while she was Secretary of State was a crime for the history books. Shipp explains, Hillary Clinton used this to launder money in foreign banks so it wasnt subject to U.S. laws, congressional subpoenas or FOIA demands for the evidence. This was done to launder this money globally into the Clinton Foundation so the U.S. government could not examine it at all. Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller was the head of the FBI while the Uranium One deal was being done by Clinton and the Russians. One fifth of U.S. uranium production was bought by the Russians in a deal Clinton pushed and approved. The Clinton Foundation received more than $140 million from some of the same Russian players who were involved with Uranium One. Why didnt Mueller stop the deal? Shipp says, Mueller is either a complete moron, which he is not, or he overlooked the biggest counterterrorism cases in U.S. history. It involved Hillary Clinton, the Clinton Foundation, Uranium One and, of course, the destruction of all the emails and evidence and her secret server, and on and on and on it goes, and he (Mueller) ignored it all. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter How did she get away with obvious crime? Shipp says, The most bizarre thing is the people who protected her from clear felonious activity and violations of the Espionage Act. James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, was protecting her and leaking things to the media and lying. You had John Brennan, Director of the CIA, protecting her by starting a false investigation (on Trump) and stirring things up with this (false/unverified) dossier. You had James Comey, Director of the FBI, protecting her. . . . Then, youve got Peter Strzok protecting her, and now it appears the United Kingdom GCHQ was using NSA information to target Donald Trump and protect Hillary Clinton. You have to ask yourself what kind of power or connections does this woman have to get all of these members of the Deep State, Shadow Government to risk their own criminal penalties to protect her and try to get her elected? That is the Shadow Government. That is the Deep State. That is what is so chilling about this whole thing. . . . This is deep. This is dark. This is as dark as it gets, and this is the biggest espionage case involving government officials in the history of this country. Shipp also points out that, this time, it will not be business as usual for the Deep State and Shadow Government. They are going to be brought to justice because Shipp says, indictments are coming because of Donald Trump coming into the White House from the outside. Trump cannot be bribed. Join Greg Hunter as he goes One-on-One with former CIA Officer Kevin Shipp of ForTheLoveofFreedom.net. (To Donate to USAWatchdog.com Click Here) After the Interview: There is free information on Kevin Shipps website ForTheLoveofFreedom.net. You can also order his book there on the homepage, and help him get his message out by sending him a donation. The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. A 10 year-old girl in Somalia, has died from Female Genital Mutilation, FGM, according to new reports. FGM, which is sometimes called female circumcision, can ktake many forms but often includes the removal of the clitoris and some parts of the labia. Experts say it can cause lifelong health problems, including dangerous complications in childbirth. Last week, a Somali activist announced that a 10-year-old Central Somalia girl died, following what she said was the direct result of an FGM procedure. Hawa Aden Mohamed, executive director of a Somalian Non-governmental Organization known as Galkayo Education Center for Peace and Development, said in a statement that the circumciser is suspected to have cut an important vein in the course of the operation. The girl died two days later. The executive director of the NGO which advocates for women said: The woman who performed the operation has not been arrested, but even if she was, there is no law that would ensure she is punished for the act. This is just one among many cases happening on a daily basis across Somalia. Reuters report. Nigerian business magnate and Politician, Benedict Murray-Bruce has lambasted the people, President Muhammadu Buhari associates himself with. The Bayelsa East Senator accused the President of being surrounded by people who cannot find an ultimate solution to the end of killings in Nigeria He tweeted ; The people you surround yourself with reflect who you are and when I look at the people that President Buhari surrounds himself with, I see a reflection of failure! How can you be surrounded by people who are still cracking their heads after three years of killings in Nigeria! Meanwhile the Senator is also advocating that Nigerians be allowed to vote by SMS in future elections. The Bayelsa State Lawmaker is advocating this method as a means to help check electoral malpractice following the fallout from Saturdays election in Ekiti State. (Read more here) Leave a Comment comments Senator Ademola Adeleke who is popularly known as the dancing senator has been accused of certificate forgery just as his political ambition gathers momentum. The group, in a statement signed by two of their leaders, Muftau Adegoke and Rasheed Adegbenro, and made available to newsmen in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, on Thursday, said they were taken aback by a report linking Adeleke to certificate scandals. Two days to the primary election of the Osun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, a social political group in the state, Renewal Youth Movement, has challenged one of the governorship aspirants, Senator Ademola Adeleke, to publicly present his certificates within 24 hours or he will be dragged to court without delay. The group, in a statement signed by two of their leaders, Muftau Adegoke and Rasheed Adegbenro, and made available to newsmen in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, on Thursday, said they were taken aback by a report linking Adeleke to certificate scandals. According to them, the story, tagged: The Man Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke, which has been streaming on the social media in the last 12 hours, became a source of worry to them and that germane issues raised on the post must not be swept under the carpet. The statement said: Senator Adeleke is not a private person. He is a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria representing Osun West Senatorial District and he is one of the 11 aspirants seeking the PDP ticket. We cannot therefore keep mute as if nothing was going on. The claim was that Senator Adeleke has no WAEC certificate and that he was recently held and later released by the State Security Services (SSS) in an attempt to use a pseudo person to help him write his WAEC examination at Alajue Grammar School, Ede. Is it true? Can that be the case? If he has WAEC certificate as he claimed, he must bring it out now. There is no shame in that. If not, why was he claiming that he possessed one? A 19-year-old boy, Junior Omo Shaba, has killed his girlfriend and dumped her corpse by a roadside along Siluko road in the outskirts of Benin, Edo State. The deceased, Matilda Odiri, 18, was said to have been stabbed to death inside the room of her boyfriend at 2, Akugbe Street, Off Sikuko road, Ogida, last Saturday. She was said to have gone to the boys house where she was expected to pass the night. An allegation of infidelity levelled by the suspect against the visitor, was said to have degenerated into a fierce argument. In a counter-accusation, the girl was said to have also expressed resentment over her boyfriends returning home late as he was already seeing another girl. In a fit of anger, he allegedly stabbed her with a knife in her right breast. Shaba was said to have fled to Aduwawa area of the Edo state, to evade arrest, but his furious father gave him up. He was arrested that same day by policemen. The Edo State Police spokesman, Chidi Nwabuzor said the suspect confessed that he murdered Matilda and dumped her body on the street to cover up the deed. Nwabuzor noted that the suspect admitted to having killed his girlfriend with a knife which she used to peel some oranges they took that night. Punch Leave a Comment comments Flanders111 said: First off, those 29 Montenegro soldiers are not fighting to defend the U.S. against Russias aggression in Afghanistan, they are fighting for the United Nations. Click to expand... mercenary (adjective) 1. Motivated solely by a desire for monetary or material gain. 2. Hired for service in a foreign army. plural mercenaries (noun) 1. One who serves or works merely for monetary gain; a hireling. 2. A professional soldier hired for service in a foreign army. I don't know what Trump said during that two hours when he met privately with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but like so many in the media, I know what I hope he said: Mr. Putin, I need you to publicly admit your complicity in our illegal alien problem. Only if Putin owns up to deploying a vast network of Russian assets to personally direct the movements of millions of illegal aliens across the Sonoran Desert, through dozens of checkpoints and into our country, in fulfillment of his master plan to attack America's financial viability, national security and future prospects, will the media, the Democratic Party and corporate Republicans ever emerge from their stupor and admit that we have a huge problem on our southern border. Illegal immigrants have killed multiple times more Americans than Russia has in its entire history -- or could ever hope to kill, even with a well-placed nuclear bomb. But nothing will be done, unless we can prove Putin is behind it. Our media and government want you to fixate on Russia's annexation of Crimea as the big problem facing our country, hoping you'll forget about the gaping hole on our border. I haven't counted to see how many Americans died as a result of Putin's reacquiring Crimea -- yes, I have! ZERO. Meanwhile, Mexican drug couriers kill more Americans every week than the Communist Soviet Union did when it shot down Korean flight 007 for flying into its airspace, almost starting a nuclear war. Obsessing over irrelevant, unsolvable problems in remote parts of the globe is how liberals prove they are intellectuals. North Korea, Syria, Russia -- that's what you're supposed to care about. Not your own country. Only Walmart shoppers care about their own country. It would be as if in 1939, as the Nazi threat was looming, British newspapers discussed nothing but the bushfires in Victoria, Australia. How many died? Do they need our help? What shall we do? Where does the prime minister stand? With Russia, liberals get an extra bonus of bludgeoning Trump over his nonexistent collusion with Russia -- our greatest enemy since very, very recently. At least no Democratic president ever publicly embraced a Russian dictator, while handing him all of Eastern Europe at Yalta, so the left's conscience is clear! Actually, no. Until all the Roosevelt statues come down, liberals need to settle down about Russia. At least Trump isn't calling Putin "Uncle Vlad" and giving him one-third of Europe, as he is being advised by two Russian spies. While I'm sure Russia's invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea were a grave threat to every man, woman and child in America, Putin should also be held to account for the rape and murder of thousands of Americans on our own soil every year, as a result of apparently unstoppable illegal immigration. (Who knew a wall was such an inconceivable engineering feat?) Where else to lay the blame for this monstrous attack but on Putin, the most evil man since Hitler? True, liberals have spent decades lobbying for a never-ending flow of illegal aliens. But that shouldn't be a problem. They also spent decades defending Russian dictators. Abandoning every position they've ever held to attack Trump is standard operating procedure these days. In addition to Trump's not challenging Putin to a fistfight in Helsinki, the media have gone bananas over the fact that he cited the findings of our intelligence agencies -- but then added that Putin denied the charges. HE'S BELIEVING PUTIN OVER OUR OWN INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES? Moral equivalence! Treason! High crimes and misdemeanors! Kristallnacht! Trump might as well have trampled on a portrait of George Washington. (Or, since we're talking about liberals, Stalin.) But the way I remember it, elected Democrats -- even Democratic candidates for president -- have criticized our intelligence agencies pretty ferociously, particularly regarding the Iraq War. The media turned that clown Joe Wilson into a national hero for ridiculing the findings of our intelligence agencies. At the inception of the war, U.S. intelligence, British intelligence and the Senate Intelligence Committee concluded that Saddam Hussein had been seeking massive quantities of uranium from Niger. But Joe Wilson was sent by his wife, a non-covert, paper-pushing CIA agent, on a trip to Niger, where he looked government officials directly in the eye and asked them: Did Saddam send envoys to this godforsaken country that has nothing to sell but uranium in order to buy uranium? Be honest! I have absolutely no way of knowing if you are lying, and powerful, nuclear-armed nations will be really mad at you if you say "yes." It was on the basis of this conversation that Wilson concluded, as he wrote in The New York Times: "I have little choice but to conclude that some of the intelligence related to Iraq's nuclear weapons program was twisted to exaggerate the Iraqi threat." Far from condemning this unpatriotic lout for crapping on our intelligence agencies, the media made him a star! Only a fool like George W. Bush would believe our inept intelligence agencies over the word of a government official from Niger. So doing an about-face on a previous, long-held position is no problem for liberals, provided it serves the larger purpose of getting Trump. I don't know if liberals have noticed, but trying to work the public into a white-hot rage over Putin's annexation of Crimea hasn't been wildly successful. Apart from the fact that who owns Crimea is of absolutely no conceivable national security interest to the United States, Crimea has been a part of Russia since forever. (Technically, since 1783 -- when they took it from the Muslims, bless them.) Google "Potemkin village." The story is that an aide to Russian Empress Catherine II, Grigory Potemkin, tried to impress her with her newest territorial possession by setting up fake villages along their route through it. Dateline: Crimea, 1787. The left needs something a little more consequential to make us mad at Russia -- and illegal immigration is just the ticket! The only thing liberals care about is Russia, but the only thing most Americans care about is their own country. The solution is staring us right in the face. Convince Putin to admit that he is responsible for the millions of foreign invaders sneaking into our country, depressing wages on a good day, and raping little girls and committing sickening murders on the bad days. A Nigerian lady has fallen prey to the hand of a local scammer who pretended to be a big boy in Lagos city on social media but is actually more or less a pauper in the South west of Nigeria. According to the conned lady, she came all the way from Abuja to see this fine boy whod painted a picture of himself as a big boy who lives in Lagos to her and so they scheduled to meet and when they did, she got the shock of her life. She says because she hadnt been to Lagos before, she couldnt initially tell she was in Ogun state, not until people then told her her location. Her interesting story was shared as thus, Good morning Uncle Ben please I need advice. I met a guy online and decided to go visit him which Im here in Ogun state. This guy lied to me about staying in Lagos Ikeja but Ben he stays in Ogun state in one small room, he even cooks inside the one room, everywhere is just smelling, even my room in Abuja is bigger and neater than this. Now told him I want to go back but he refused to give me transport saying he is broke he doesnt have money. Since I came, I have been eating yam for the past 3 days now only yam and the yam has finished. Please I need help and advice please. Im in Sango Bridge sugar, Im really tired of staying, I want to go back home please I need advice. He said he stays in safe contain in Ikeja. I have never been to Lagos before, it was my first time. I didnt even know Im in Ogun state until people stared saying Im in Ogun not Lagos. I thought Im coming to Lag to have dun after all he promised me ooooo. I didnt know Im coming to suffer Leave a Comment comments A 39-year-old mother of five, Mrs Eunice Atuejide, has announced her intention to contest for the presidency in 2019. In declaring for President Muhammadu Buharis job, Mrs Atuejide, a legal practitioner and businesswoman, said Nigeria was not developing because of the problem of vested interests. The indigene of Enugu State said she was gripped with the fear of the unknown as she promised a transparent and accountable administration if given the mandate in 2019, WuzupNaija reports. Read her below. Have we stopped to look behind the curtains to see what is keeping us at a standstill in Nigeria? It is not just the lack of education, blueprints or leadership. We need level-headed people who will not focus solely on any groups vested interest. In offering to lead the country, my administration will not focus solely on the interests of any person, tribe, religion or ethnic group. No side is superior to another side. Nigeria will have a transparent and accountable government. This will be a government where every public account can be scrutinised and our funds followed up by our people. I disagree with the notion that Nigeria is too complex; that our people are too difficult to govern, that our democracy will not work. I disagree. Lima Sound act, Jhybo aka Jibola Jasper releases his second single of the year after the Sound Sultan featured Para, a fun party summer jam. The track entitled Pogba is a Afro pop inspired love song, which Jhybo cleverly teases us with his witty lyrics & catchy hooks. Produced by Bahdman Clarke & Mix & Mastered by Spyritmix. Listen and Enjoy! https://www.yabaleftonline.ng/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Jhybo--Pogba.mp3 DOWNLOAD MP3 Leave a Comment comments Hip-Hop rapper, Offset of the popular trio, Migos and the husband of hip-hop star Cardi B, was arrested on Friday afternoon, July 20th on gun and drug charges after he and his bodyguard were pulled over outside of Atlanta. The rapper, with real name is Kiari Kendrell Cephus, and his bodyguard, Senay Gezahgn, were pulled over in Jonesboro, Georgia, for the illegal lane change when Clayton County police searched his 2014 Porsche 911 Carrera and found three guns and less than one ounce of marijuana and over $107,000 in cash, according to Atlanta ABC affiliate WSB. The 26-year-old who is already on probation for a 2015 arrest on drugs and weapons charges, was charged with possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of a weapon during a crime. He also faces misdemeanor charges for marijuana possession and making an improper lane change. His bodyguard, Gezahgn, 27, was also charged with possession of less than one ounce of marijuana and possession of a weapon during a crime, records show. According to the report, both men are still being held at Clayton County jail. Their bail was set at $17k. The news comes days after Offset and Cardi B welcomed their daughter, Kulture Kiari Cephus. Offset has three more children from previous relationships. Leave a Comment comments A 24-year-old Kenyan beauty queen, Ruth Kamande has been sentenced to death for murdering her boyfriend by stabbing him 25 times. Kamamde, who won a prison beauty pageant while awaiting trial, was said to have shown shown no remorse for the vicious attack which left blood all over the crime scene. The judge, Jessie Lesiit, while giving the sentence said: I want young people to know that it is not cool to kill your boyfriend or girlfriend even where you feel disappointed or frustrated dont do it. Instead, it is cool to walk away and thereafter to forgive. I think passing any other sentence than the one prescribed death would turn the accused into a hero. However Amnesty International has described the judgement as cruel, outdated and inhumane. The human rights organisations director Irungu Houghton said: This sentence is a blow to Kenyas progressive record in commuting death sentences to terms of imprisonment. Few weeks back, the General Overseer of Royalty Christian Centre, Pastor David Adeoye and his wife Sunmbo Adeoye, welcomed their first child together, a son. Some hours ago, Sunmbo shared the first photo of her new born on her Instagram page and wrote a caption which showed utmost delight. She shared the photo above with the caption: Of All the beautiful things my hands have held in 2018, the BEST by far is YOU my Son #babyAdeoye Sumbo who is an event planner, entrepreneur, music minister and public speaker, got married to Pastor David who is the General Overseer of Royalty Christian Centre in 2013. Celebration filled the air at The Royalty Christian Centre, Nigeria upon the announcement of the birth of the first child of their General Overseer and his wife. The announcement that the expecting parents had welcomed the bundle of joy which turned out to be a male child rendered the entire church overjoyed as they danced happily, worshiping God for the miracle. The General Overseer of Royalty Christian Centre and his wife had been expecting the baby, and welcomed the baby boy in the United States of America. The lovely mother had also shared photos of herself with her baby bump in a post which she captioned, Somebody pinch me Forgeraboutit!THIS GOD IS TOO GOOD O My baby bump routine was a rockstars schedule My prince was always up around noon, and partying in my womb till the wee hours of the morning. Even though I loved my bump, Im so glad to finally have him in my arms. #36weeks #Tbt #BabyAdeoye #OurPrinceIsHere ps: DONT GIVE UP ON GOD. Photos below, Leave a Comment comments Today Sunny with gusty winds developing this afternoon. High 83F. WSW winds at 5 to 10 mph, increasing to 20 to 30 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph. Tonight Mainly clear skies. Low 56F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph. Tomorrow Sunny skies. High 79F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. A few days ago I went to a fundraiser for a congressional candidate here in L.A. One of the artists you see frequently here at DWT, Nancy Ohanian, donated a huge aluminum rendition of the Bernie Sanders characature you see above. It's spectacular and comes up to my chest. I offered to auction it with the proceeds going to the candidate, a super-duper progressive who, in fact, had endorsed Bernie in 2016. I got to the event early so I could set up. While the host was helping me find a suitable place to display the art, a craggy old man-- let's say 80, but I'm not certain-- ambled over and started growling and barking at either me or the art. His point was one that young people who admire Bernie never make but this nasty old codger was spitting mad and demanded that Bernie retire. To be fair, I should also mention that he also screeched that Pelosi also retire. Anyway, his whole argument seemed to be about age. Later during the event he was snarling again, this time how the Democrats would lose if they nominate a progressive in 2020. CBS Evening News who he thinks his Democratic opponent will be, he said: I don't often meet people ignorant enough to spout off like that in celebration of the Blue Dogs and New Dems who make up the Republican wing of the Democratic Party. But ole shit-for-brains was all in for it. I didn't want to upset myself by arguing with him about corruption or policy so I wandered over to another part of the gigantic backyard and thankfully never saw him again. Yesterday, however, Buzzfeed ran a report about the conference the Republican wing of the Democratic Party was holding in Columbus, Ohio. They're desperate to find someone to unite behind who will defeat the Bernie/Elizabeth Warren ticket in 2020. Trump wasn't invited but he's hoping they pick Biden, who, he claimed Obama took out of the garbage heap . asked by Jeff Glor on thewho he thinks his Democratic opponent will be, he said: Well, I dream, I dream about Biden. That's a dream. Look, Joe Biden ran three times. He never got more than 1 percent and President Obama took him out of the garbage heap, and everybody was shocked that he did. I'd love to have it be Biden. I think I'd like to have any one of those people that we're talking about You know, there's probably-- the group of seven or eight right now. I'd really like to-- I'd like to run against any one of them, but Biden never by himself could never do anything. President Obama took him, made him vice president and he was fine. But you go back and look at how he succeeded in running, when he ran two or three times, I don't think he ever break-- broke one. He was at the one or less level, 1 percent or less level. Biden is popular among centrist Democrats, not so much among progressives-- he had a long career as a corporate whore and Wall Street kiss-ass-- and not so much among Independents. Molly Hensley-Clancy wrote that at the centrist conference "the burning question was how to create an economic message that could beat two people in 2020 who have crystal clear economic messages: Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders... Centrist Democrats are eager to take on the partys ideological left. But nearly 30 years after Bill Clinton won with an explicitly moderate brand of Democratic politics, they are smaller in number, and in a sign of just how much the Democratic Party has changed in the last five years, they're explicitly defining themselves in response to a democratic socialist from Vermont. Theyre still searching for their message-- and their messengers. At the presidential election-- focused Opportunity 2020 conference, hosted by the center-left think tank Third Way, there wasnt much in the way of presidential candidates. The featured speakers were currently much lower key players in the increasingly serious field of prospective Democratic contenders-- Jason Kander, who just announced his run for mayor of Kansas City, Missouri; Virginia Sen. Mark Warner; Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan." Third Way is not "center left"-- unless you're comparing the group to neo-fascists like Jim Jordan and Steven Miller. This are the people who use big corporate money and GOP billionaires to defeat progressives in primaries. They're the worst of the worst. You'll notice how how an idiot fake journalist like Hensley-Clancy refers to the furthest right segment of the Democratic Party benignly as "center left" while smearing the people who go to the grassroots Netroots Nation convention as "ultra-progressives," including in her empty-headed smear Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Idiots like Hensley-Clancy make the error of conflating crooked politicians, like Jim Himes, for example, who are whores for Wall Street, with "moderates." Himes, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, has taken $2,869,907 in bribes from Wall Street, more than any Democrat currently serving in the House. So, of course Hensley-Clancy goes right to him for some wisdom. When it comes to moderate voices in the 2020 election, I think there is a risk that they get drowned out, said Rep. Jim Himes, of Connecticut, who chairs the Houses moderate Democrat caucus, the New Dems. Theres a lot of volume and emotion and energy around the more activist wing of our party. Former Delaware Governor Jack Markell is basically a moderate Republican pretending to be a Democrat, like many attendees at the Third Way conference. He was delighted at the opportunity to smear mainstream Democrats like Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, not to mention Benie. "Right now the only narrative were getting is from the far left," growled Markell. The Opportunity Democrats big ideas-- carefully constructed, polled on, and laid out by Third Way in Columbus-- are not nearly as big as the far lefts, though thats partly by design. Theres a venture-capital-like bank that will lend on a massive scale to underserved areas, an apprentice program modeled in part after land-grant colleges, a universal private retirement fund. Also, an Americorps-like program for retirees, called Boomer Corps. Sanders loomed over much of the conference in Columbus-- as an adversary, a comparison point, and, in some ways, as an inspiration. To his credit, Bernie has offered something that is coherent, and big, and is very well-known, said Matt Bennett, Third Ways vice president of public affairs. If you walked out on the street of Columbus, 6 of 10 people could tell you what Bernies economic vision is. There is a pervasive narrative that the energy in the Democratic Party is mostly among progressives. Thats true particularly when it comes to the looming 2020 presidential election, where most of the partys buzzed-about contenders, from Harris to Warren to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, have spent their time in the Senate outdoing each other to come out in support of what are traditionally considered very liberal policies on economics. Its accurate to say most of the energy on Twitter is on the far left, and a lot of the energy in Washington is on the far left, Bennett said. But he believes many are inaccurately conflating the energized Democratic base with Bernie Sanders supporters. If you go talk to the resistance, the likelihood is that they voted for Hillary, and they hate Trump to the bottom of their soul," he said. "That doesnt mean they want a [$15] national minimum wage. hate the idea of a living wage almost as much as Republicans do. That's because they are Republicans but with a less right-wing social agenda. They tend to be less racist, less sexist, less homophobic, etc. These right-of-center Democraps attracted to Third Way are furious that progressives like Kara Eastman, Dana Balter and Alexandria Ocasio beat their crap candidates in recent primaries-- and have way less red than the one he won, but he still votes with a Republicans as frequently as he can. These right-wing Democratsthe idea of a living wage almost as much as Republicans do. That's because theyRepublicans but with a less right-wing social agenda. They tend to be less racist, less sexist, less homophobic, etc. These right-of-center Democraps attracted to Third Way are furious that progressives like Kara Eastman, Dana Balter and Alexandria Ocasio beat their crap candidates in recent primaries-- and have persuaded the DCCC to undermine them -- but they are basking in the glory of having watched progressive voters march in unity-- a word the right does not realize is a two-way street-- to win seats for Conor Lamb (PA) and Doug Jones (AL). Since winning, by the way, both have scored "F" on their voting records. Jones votes more often with the GOP than any other Senate Democrat, including even Manchin, Heitkamp, Donnelly and McCaskill, who at least have the excuse that they're voting with Republicans because they're afraid of the midterms. Jones has no reelection battle to worry about. Lamb is running in a redrawn district that isless red than the one he won, but he still votes with a Republicans as frequently as he can. them. She's one of us. The Republican wing of the party has no use for her. She vanquished one of their worthless Blue Dog standard bearers. "In our primary race," she explained, "my team knocked on more than 60,000 doors. We know that direct contact with people at their doors is the best way to win votes, but more importantly, this personal touch shows voters in my district that I am sincere when I tell them that I want to work for them, and with them, to create tangible solutions for the concerns they have. I am the kind of Congresswoman who is accessible, compassionate and dedicated to serving people in my district-- not just donors. I believe this sincere effort to connect with voters made a difference in our race, and we will continue spending as much time as possible in the field in the general election." Kara Eastman isn't one of. She's one of us. The Republican wing of the party has no use for her. She vanquished one of their worthless Blue Dog standard bearers. "In our primary race," she explained, "my team knocked on more than 60,000 doors. We know that direct contact with people at their doors is the best way to win votes, but more importantly, this personal touch shows voters in my district that I am sincere when I tell them that I want to work for them, and with them, to create tangible solutions for the concerns they have. I am the kind of Congresswoman who is accessible, compassionate and dedicated to serving people in my district-- not just donors. I believe this sincere effort to connect with voters made a difference in our race, and we will continue spending as much time as possible in the field in the general election." One name that Democrats in Columbus did, occasionally, offer: former vice president Joe Biden, who has been publicly mulling a presidential run. Jeff Danielson, a state senator from Iowa, said at first that there was no one he was excited about when it came to 2020. But Biden, if he would agree to run, was an exception, Danielson said. Elderly white men are not necessarily whats popular in our party right now, Danielson conceded. But I think that there will be a shift in the moment. Voters are going to look for stability, and I think he embodies that. Others said they were excited by state-level politicians: mayors like Mitch Landrieu of New Orleans, and Los Angeles Eric Garcetti, and governors like Deval Patrick, Steve Bullock, and John Hickenlooper. (Bullock, considered to be more moderate, is nonetheless speaking at the progressive Netroots in August.) Rep. Cheri Bustos, an Illinois moderate who carried a district Donald Trump won handily, said shed heard a marked shift in the most important issue people brought up to her in the supermarket aisles of her district. For years, she said, it was jobs and the economy; then, for a year, it was health care. Now, she said, the refrain is simply: Just get something done. Im tired of all the fighting. Governors and mayors like Bullock and Garcetti are a remedy to that frustration: working in smaller confines and freed from the snarl of Washington, they have a long and detailed record of accomplishments to point to. But even as they crafted their message in Columbus through polling, strategy sessions, and debate, attendees were aware that, especially against Trump, theres a necessary piece theyre still searching for. How do we compete with were bringing the coal mines back? said Himes, the Connecticut congress member. Were not suited to lying to the American people, and were not naturally arbiters of emotion and anger, and so how we tell our story in a way that makes people want to mount the barricades is, I think, one of the biggest challenges that we have. And Im not sure, sitting here today, that I have the answer to that. These self-proclaimed centrists and "moderates" think they know everything, so they didn't invite any modern economists like Stephanie Kelton or play this Stephanie Kelton interview Derrick Crowe did with her at the conference; but they don't know everything--or much of anything worthwhile-- so they should have. Watch; it'll help you understand what a bad joke the Republican wing of the Democratic Party is. ICMS Education System Pakistan Chamkani Branch Jobs Latest ICMS Education System Teaching Posts Peshawar 2021 Male / Female Teachers having MA / MSc Degree from HEC Recognized University with Teaching experience are required in ICMS Education System Pakistan Chamkani Branch in Peshawar. How to Apply on ICMS Education System Job Advertisement Apply as per details in job advertisement. In some cases, you may apply online at vacancies after registering at https://www.jobz.pk online. Note: Beware of Fraudulent Recruiting Activities. If the employer asks you to pay money for any purpose including processing to shortlisting, do not pay at all and report us using our contact us form. Apply as per instuctions & dates mentioned in official job ad. Govt jobs cannot be applied online here. Error & omissions excepted. Trumpanzee is furious about his DNI's interview with Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC.reporters say that Trump enablers "were in an uproar" over the optics of Dan Coats' making a laughing stock out of a fake president who was in way, way over his head in his dealings with Putin. I assume he'll be even more angry if someone reads the Will Hurd (R-TX) OpEd in the Trump Is Being Manipulated By Putin. What Should We Do? to him. "Over the course of my career as an undercover officer in the C.I.A., I saw Russian intelligence manipulate many people. I never thought I would see the day when an American president would be one of them... By playing into Vladimir Putins hands the leader of the free world actively participated in a Russian disinformation campaign that legitimized Russian denial and weakened the credibility of the United States to both our friends and foes abroad... Over the course of my career as an undercover officer in the C.I.A., I saw Russian intelligence manipulate many people. I never thought I would see the day when an American president would be one of them." And a good old slap in the face for Devin Nunes, Trey Gowdy and Paul Ryan who are protecting Trump and his treasonous behavior: "As a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, I strongly believe in the importance of Congress's oversight responsibilities and will work with my colleagues to ensure that the administration is taking the Russian threat seriously. Without action, we risk losing further credibility in international negotiations with both our friends and foes on critical trade deals, military alliances and nuclear arms." And then there was the cover of today'sm an essay by Blake Hounshell, Why I'm No Longer A RussiaGate Skeptic . He now says that when he wrote back in February, that he was skeptical that Senor Trumpanzee would ever be proved to have secretly colluded with Russia to sway the 2016 election in his favor, he mistyped. "What I meant to write was that Iskeptical. Last weeks events have nullified my previous skepticism." Politically speaking, Trumps devotion to his pro-Putin line doesnt make sense. Yes, the GOP base is impressionable, and perhaps Republican voters would accept it if Trump came out and said, You bet, Russia helped get me elected, and wasnt that a good thing? We couldnt let Crooked Hillary win! But nobody would say his odd solicitousness toward the Kremlin leader is a political winner, and it certainly causes an unnecessary amount of friction with Republicans in Congress. Hes kept it up at great political cost to himself, and that suggests either that he is possessed by an anomalous level of conviction on this one issue, despite his extraordinary malleability on everything else-- or that hes beholden to Putin in some way. You dont have to buy Jonathan Chaits sleeper agent theory of Trump to believe that something is deeply weird about all this. Nor do you need to be convinced that Putin is hanging onto a recording of something untoward that may have taken place in a certain Moscow hotel room. You dont even have to buy the theory that Trumps business is overly dependent on illicit flows of Russia money, giving Putin leverage. As Julia Ioffe posits, the kompromat could well be the mere fact of the Russian election meddling itself. ...We might never get clear evidence that Trump made a secret deal with the Kremlin. It would be great to see his tax returns, and perhaps Mueller has evidence of private collusion that we have yet to see. These details matter. But in a larger sense, everything we need to know about Trumps strange relationship with Russia is already out in the open. As The Donald himself might say, theres something going on. If Trump is indeed a tool of Putin, what might we expect him to do next? Well, I wouldnt be sleeping too soundly in Kiev, Podgorica or Riga right now. If the Kremlin tests Americas wobbling commitment to NATO, watch how Trump responds. And pay attention, too, to what the White House says about Russias absurd demand that the U.S. hand over former ambassador to Moscow Mike McFaulWednesdays spectacle of Sarah Huckabee Sanders refusing to immediately rule out the idea flies in the face of decades of American diplomacy. Trump may have grudgingly admitted that Russia did the deed, but nobody should be surprised if he starts shedding doubt on it all over again. Maybe, just maybe, he cant admit that Moscow tried to put him in the Oval Office because hes under strict instructions not to. GRANTS PASS, Ore. Just one day after a Oregon Parks officials announced a total ban on campfires in state parks, officials with Josephine County announced that open fires will be similarly banned at all county-operated parks, effective immediately. The ban includes campfires, charcoal fires, cooking fires and warming fires. Portable cooking stoves using liquefied or bottled fuels are permitted if they can be turned off with a valve. Much like the ban at state parks, Josephine County says that their ban comes due to Governor Kate Brown's declaration of a fire emergency, issued earlier this week. "Typically, campfires are allowed year round in campsites, as sites and fire pits at Josephine County Parks are inspected and approved by the Oregon Department of Forestry," said a statement from County Parks Manager Sarah Wright. Josephine County first limited the sale of firewood to one cord per campsite on Friday morning, advising the public to "keep campfires small." "However, further clarification that fire pits with a wedge shape are effected by the ban, due to the campfire pit not being fully enclosed, means that our parks will now also have a fire ban," said Wright. "We apologize for the inconvenience of conflicting statements made to the public." Jackson County announced their own, identical campfire ban on Thursday: "Due to recent fires, high temperatures, and dry conditions, the Oregon Department of Forestry has raised fire danger level to EXTREME. Due to this new notification, we have banned campfires at ALL of our Jackson County Parks, including campgrounds at Emigrant Lake, around Howard Prairie Lake, Willow Lake, Rogue Elk, Southern Oregon RV, and Cantrall Buckley parks. With fire crews stretched to their limit and the current EXTREME FIRE DANGER LEVEL, we have decided to ban campfires at all Jackson County Parks, until further notice. We will update our website if there are any changes. Thank you for your cooperation during these extreme conditions." For more on restrictions under Extreme fire danger level conditions, click here. CORVALLIS, Ore. -- The Substation Fire is burning through wheat fields in Wasco and Sherman Counties, threatening the livelihoods of farmers. That wildfire is now more than 70,000 acres and 15 percent contained. Farmers were just getting into the wheat harvest before the fire started. Range Ecologist Lisa Ellsworth with Oregon State University said it was going to a particularly good year for farmers. She said this fire is devastating for them. Ellsworth said even when this wildfire is out, it could bring problems for farmers for years to come. "In the coming years, there will be maintenance. They'll be worried about erosion and soil loss, so it's more than just the immediate impact," Ellsworth said. Some evacuation notices have been reduced as of Friday night. That's thanks to a major air attack on Thursday, along with a lot of hard work on the ground. Ellsworth said wheat is one of the main agricultural crops in Oregon. She said it's also a major export, so the loss of crops could be felt nationally. EUGENE, Ore. -- Eugene polices bait bike operation led to an arrest Thursday evening. Braxton Lavell Walker-Holmes, 20, who is on felony probation for possession of methamphetamine, took the bike from a downtown location while on his way home to the Highway 99 area, police said. RELATED: EUGENE POLICE USING BAIT BIKES TO STOP THIEVES Detectives contacted Holmes along with his parole and probation officer, and Holmes was arrested for first-degree theft. As part of the downtown bait bike initiative, the department has been proactively conducting operations throughout the area and will continue throughout the summer. With bicycle thefts on the rise, police said its important that bike owners use proper locking techniques, register their bikes and report thefts. To register your bike for free with Eugene police, click here. TEXAS God answered prayers above and beyond what we had asked for regarding our Be The Voice event, exclaimed TEF President, Trayce Bradford, seen above speaking to the crowd. Our Attorney General did a wonderful job addressing what he and the OAG of Texas are doing to fight human trafficking on both the sex trade and labor victims. Over 200 signed up, 50 different groups were represented including several sheriffs and their task force leaders, as well as some incredible groups from all areas of this fight against trafficking. Connections were made with groups that work in other areas such as pro-life organizations reaching people and having a significant impact through social media, a group that houses girls/victims coming out of trafficking and some that train task force units around the world. We are excited for all of the opportunities that come out of new relationships and so grateful for Gods provision for those that had attended, she said. So many were involved in this effort and it is a tremendous blessing to have such incredible and talented people to join forces with us to get this event accomplished. Meetings are set up with each of these groups and TEF is looking forward to working with them on CPS, pro-life, security and trafficking issues. MASON CITY, Iowa - Blood donations are in high demand with the American Red Cross issuing an emergency call for blood, and a drive in Mason City Friday aimed to ease that summer shortage. John Hildahl is just one of the people who came to donate blood at HyVee West. The American Red Cross says donations have come up short for the past two months, causing a significant drop in the supply. Hildahl says while he doesn't find the process of donating to be pleasant, he feels it's important to help others. "I enjoy it very much. I don't enjoy the actual process, but I enjoy the idea of helping the people out, especially considering that there's quite a bit of blood that they need every day." He has a message for those who have not either given blood or may be afraid of the procedure. "It's a very, very small prick. It's very short, and as they say, you can look away if need be when they put the needle in, so that helps quite a bit if you don't like the sight of it." This year, the American Red Cross started a movement called "Missing Type", referring to type O, which is the most in-demand type and often the first to be depleted from hospitals. CLEAR LAKE, Iowa - In the aftermath of Thursday's tragic Ride the Ducks boat capsizing in Missouri that left 17 dead, this brings questions as to how safe tourist watercraft is in North Iowa and Southern Minnesota. Scott Monson is the owner and operator of the Lady of the Lake in Clear Lake, which operates during the summer months and is a large draw for tourists. He and his crew pay close attention to the weather, with staff having at least three mobile weather apps on their phones to ensure conditions are favorable to sail, and won't take a chance if conditions get worse. "We do not cruise if the winds are over 18 mph, just for public safety. It's hard to control the boat when you've got that high of a wind. And wind direction, sometimes it might be 15 mph, but if it's blowing straight out of the south, it makes it real hard to come in and do our landing." Monson has experienced being on the water during a storm before, during a private charter run, and had no choice to but to ride it out. "The gusts were up to 60, close to 70 mph, and it took us about 45 minutes to get the boat turned around and headed into the wind. We just sat out there and rode the storm out, and as soon as the winds came down, we drove back in and got parked." Monson adds that people must be aware of their surroundings while out on the water, as they have experienced close calls before. He also recommends having your boat serviced so you don't find yourself stranded if the weather takes a sudden turn for the worst. ROCHESTER, Minn. - "Statewide, it's about 4.2% for teachers of color. Most of those teachers are found in the metropolitan area, so we do find that school districts out in Greater Minnesota do have smaller percentages of teachers of color," explains Minnesota Department of Education Assistant Commissioner Hue Nguyen. Only about 3% of Rochester Public School staff are people of color. While that number sounds low, it's not unique to Rochester. Across the board, there is a struggle to find Minnesota teachers, especially teachers of color. Minnesota schools are required to keep account of how many people of color they have on staff, and have a plan for how to increase that number, but there is no legal minimum of diverse people schools must have on staff. At the beginning of the month, the Minnesota Department of Education revamped their teacher licensing project in an effort to help bring more out-of-state teachers to Minnesota. The MDE tells KIMT that obstacles, such as price, can inhibit people from becoming teachers. There are also programs and grants, such as loan forgiveness programs, to help combat those obstacles. However, there is hope for a growing diverse Minnesota teacher force. The MDE's 2017 Report of Teacher Supply and Demand in Minnesota's Public Schools states that almost 8% of newly licensed Minnesota teachers are people of color. "We have a lot more work to do, but that is moving in a positive direction," comments Nguyen. KIMT asked Nguyen and MDE Chief Academic Officer Greg Keith if having the demographics of teachers reflect the demographics of the students they are teaching is realistic. "I think it's realistic to say that this tends to be long term work and a long term priority and I don't think it's realistic to say that it would never happen," says Keith. But even when the numbers begin the even out, there is still more work to be done. "A big piece of that work is not just hiring more diverse candidates, but then you'd have to create that inclusive environment to fully leverage and benefit from having that diverse workforce," explains Keith. To view the full 2017 Supply and Demand report, click here and scroll to the second to bottom report. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lori Swanson stood by her running mate, U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan, on Friday despite pressure from liberal groups to dump him over his handling of a top aide accused of sexual harassment, and her campaign suggested that her political rivals had a hand in raising the allegations. The online news site MinnPost reported Thursday that Nolan's legislative director, Jim Swiderski, was allowed to leave quietly in 2015 rather than be fired over the alleged sexual harassment of several young female staffers. Swiderski was then hired by Nolan's re-election campaign months later, which Nolan now acknowledges was a mistake. Liberal groups, including TakeAction Minnesota, DFL Feminists and Land Stewardship Action, called on Swanson to drop Nolan or for him to quit the race, while Swanson's opponents in next month's close three-way primary issued sharply critical statements urging Swanson to speak out. After more than 24 hours of silence, Swanson campaign spokeswoman Ruth Stanoch suggested that Swanson's primary opponents, U.S. Rep. Tim Walz and state Rep. Erin Murphy, are trying to exploit the matter for political gain. She said some of the women in the MinnPost story have links to their campaigns. "It is unfortunate that candidates who are behind in the polls seek to exploit this matter for their political advantage," Stanoch said. In an accompanying statement, Nolan made the same point but said that doesn't diminish the fact that the harassment was wrong, and he apologized to the women. Swanson's brief statement noted Nolan's apology and said he "has fought for gender equality throughout his entire career." She said sexual harassment would have no place in her administration. Swanson, the state's attorney general, shifted abruptly to the governor's race last month two days after she lost the endorsement for another term as attorney general at the party's state convention, and announced Nolan as her running mate the same day she announced her candidacy. MinnPost reported that the staffers, who requested anonymity to protect their careers, said Swiderski frequently made inappropriate comments. One said Swiderski groped her often. Months after Swiderski left, Nolan's re-election campaign hired Swiderski to work remotely. Joe Radinovich, who was Nolan's campaign manager in 2016 and is now running for his seat in Congress, told the AP on Thursday that he promptly fired Swiderski when he learned of the allegations. Murphy said earlier Friday that Nolan "enabled and protected a predator." "Engaging in sexual harassment or sexual assault or sweeping it under the rug is unacceptable. Lori Swanson's silence reveals a troubling lack of leadership at a moment that demands it, especially from someone seeking to serve all Minnesotans as our next Governor," Murphy said in a statement. Walz tweeted that "the predatory behavior" in Nolan's office was "an inexcusable failure of leadership." TakeAction Minnesota , which endorsed Murphy, staged a demonstration outside Swanson's Capitol office on Friday. "This is what the #MeToo movement is all about. Women are breaking the culture of silence that perpetuates sexual harassment in the workplace," Elianne Farhat, the group's program director, said in a statement. DFL Feminists also called on Nolan to drop his bid for lieutenant governor, and later tweeted that the campaign's statement was an "empty" non-response "that shows that they are not treating this with the compassion and decisiveness that it deserves." Land Stewardship Action, which has not endorsed anyone in the governor's race, issued a statement calling on Nolan to resign from Swanson's ticket and for Swanson to address "the issue of gender injustice in our society." Republicans also chimed in. "The lack of response from Lori Swanson and her campaign team regarding accusations of sexual harassment against Rick Nolan's staff member and close friend is inexcusable, and a direct reflection on the type of leadership she would display if elected as Minnesota's next governor," state party spokeswoman Rachael Grooms said. 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searches for ways to increase young people's access to technical education and help develop tomorrow's workforce. Aiding this effort, the company's philanthropic arm DENSO North America Foundation (DNAF) - is donating nearly $1 million in overall funding to 22 institutions of higher learning across North America to support science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) educational programming. These grants help achieve DENSO's goal of exposing students to the rewarding careers available in manufacturing and advance the industry forward by enhancing programs that will produce the next wave of highly skilled problem solvers. The DNAF board confirmed its 2018 North American college and university grants on June 13. DNAF funds will be delivered to programs focused on design, materials management, mechanical and electrical engineering principles, thermodynamics, robotics and more all intended to help cultivate and encourage a new generation of engineers and skilled workers. "As a global technology and automotive leader, it's vital for DENSO to advance young people's education in engineering, technology and other related programs," said Doug Patton, president of the DENSO North America Foundation and executive vice president of Engineering at DENSO International America, Inc. "To remain competitive in this ever-evolving, hi-tech landscape, it calls for a workforce that is skilled, well-trained and able to adapt quickly. We feel great responsibility to prepare students for what's next for the health of our industry and their future careers." "Manufacturing and automotive companies need technically-minded associates now more than ever," said David Cole, DENSO North American Foundation board member. "By supporting programs that emphasize STEM learning experiences in real-world settings, we hope to help students explore their passions, find a worthwhile and fulfilling career path, and help our communities prosper." DNAF has supported STEM education through grants at colleges and universities since 2001, enabling students to access tools, technology and experiences that better prepare them for technical careers after graduation. DENSO education grant proposals are invite only and evaluated based on technical merit, student experience and alignment with industry needs. This year's grant recipients, which play key roles in training the future automotive workforce, include: Arkansas State University - Jonesboro California State Polytechnic - Pomona California State University Long Beach East Tennessee State University FIME; Mechanical and Electrical Engineer College Kettering University Lawrence Tech Michigan State University Michigan Tech North Carolina State Northeast State Community College Oakland University Ohio State University Pellissippi State Community College Tennessee Tech University of Alabama Tuscaloosa University of Guelph University of Michigan Dearborn University of Tennessee Chattanooga University of Tennessee Knoxville West Virginia University Western Michigan University DENSO is looking to hire new talent across North America as it continues its pursuit to shape and improve future mobility solutions for all. Positions are available in a variety of roles, business units and locations. Those interested can apply at www.densocareers.com. DENSO is a leading global automotive supplier of advanced technology, systems and components in the areas of thermal, powertrain control, electronics and information and safety. With its North American headquarters located in Southfield, Michigan, DENSO employs more than 23,000 people at 28 consolidated subsidiaries and 4 affiliates across the North American region. Of these, 25 are manufacturing facilities located in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In the United States alone, DENSO employs more than 17,000 people in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Iowa, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. DENSO's North American consolidated sales totaled US$10.9 billion for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018. For more information, go to www.denso.com/us-ca/en. Connect with DENSO on Facebook at www.facebook.com/DENSOinNorthAmerica. Source: DENSO Published July 21, 2018 The United States on Friday welcomed the U.N. Security Council's united support for the fully verified denuclearization of North Korea and pressed China and Russia to strictly enforce U.N. sanctions to get Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused North Korea of violating an array of tough sanctions imposed by the council. He warned that ''when sanctions are not enforced, the prospects for the successful denuclearization of North Korea are diminished.'' Nonetheless, Pompeo told reporters after meeting behind closed doors with the 15 council members that President Donald Trump ''remains upbeat about the prospects for denuclearization'' following his historic summit in Singapore with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. ''So do I, as progress is happening,'' he added without elaborating. The Trump administration hopes that one day North Korea will be at the United Nations ''not as a pariah but as a friend,'' Pompeo said. But ''it will take full enforcement of sanctions for us to get there'' as well as Kim following through ''on his personal commitments'' to Trump. At the summit, Trump and Kim agreed to work toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, without describing when and how it would occur. Follow-up talks this month between Pompeo and North Korean senior officials in Pyongyang had a rocky start, with North Korea accusing the United States of making ''unilateral and gangster-like'' demands. Pompeo stressed Friday that the 15 Security Council nations ''are united on the need for final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea.'' Pyongyang for decades has been pushing a concept of ''denuclearization'' that bears no resemblance to the American definition, vowing to pursue nuclear development unless Washington removes its 28,500 troops from South Korea and the nuclear umbrella defending South Korea and Japan. China, which is North Korea's closest ally and responsible for more than 90 percent of the isolated country's trade, backs North Korea's call for a ''phased and synchronous'' approach to denuclearization. Last month, Beijing suggested the Security Council consider suspending or lifting sanctions on North Korea if it is in compliance with U.N. resolutions and making progress in negotiations. Russia said Friday it also backs this approach. Russia's deputy U.N. ambassador, Dmitry Polyansky, said that Pompeo confirmed the U.S. ''will seek the full denuclearization'' of North Korea. ''It is necessary that the denuclearization go step by step with parallel actions by the international community,'' Polyansky said. ''We are talking about easing sanctions pressure through the U.N. Security Council, as well as the removal of unilateral U.S. sanctions.'' Some exemptions have already taken place. This week, South Korea received exemptions from the Security Council committee monitoring North Korea sanctions for communications lines between the North and South and for some goods for the North including furniture, transport vehicles and a bus. The U.S. has pushed for rapid moves toward ridding North Korea of its nuclear weapons and says sanctions will remain until Pyongyang follows through on Kim's pledge. But Trump has recently been playing down expectations of quick results, saying this week there was ''no time limit'' on getting North Korea to denuclearize. U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley, standing beside Pompeo, made clear that Kim Jong Un must take action first. ''We continue to reiterate we can't do one thing until we see North Korea respond to their promise to denuclearize,'' Haley said. ''We have to see some sort of action. And so until that action happens, the Security Council is going to hold tight.'' As for the broader international community, she said, ''we ask you to hold tight as we go forward.'' Pompeo said ''the scope and scale'' of denuclearization ''is agreed to'' and ''the North Koreans understand what that means,'' though he didn't elaborate and sidestepped a question on what the first step should be. ''We need to see chairman Kim do what he promised the world he would do,'' Pompeo said. Chinese Ambassador Ma Zhaoxu said that ''China is committed to denuclearization'' and ''to peace and stability on the Peninsula.'' He added that China will ''fully implement'' U.N. sanctions resolutions, adding that ''everyone'' else should as well. But, Pompeo said, North Korea is ''illegally smuggling'' in refined petroleum products beyond the quota of 500,000 barrels per year allowed under U.N. sanctions, mainly by ship-to-ship transfers. U.S. documents sent to the committee and obtained by The Associated Press cite 89 instances between Jan. 1 and May 30 in which North Korean tankers likely delivered refined products ''illicitly procured'' via such transfers. The U.S. says Russia and China both informed the sanctions committee that they were supplying refined products to North Korea. Pompeo said North Korea is also evading sanctions by smuggling coal by sea and across borders, through cyber thefts and other criminal activities, and by keeping workers in some countries that he didn't name. These actions are all ''generating significant revenues for the regime and they must be stopped,'' he said. Haley criticized ''some friends who want to go around the rules,'' and especially Russia and China for blocking the sanctions committee from demanding that all countries halt shipments of petroleum products to North Korea immediately. Moscow and Beijing said they need additional time to investigate the U.S. allegations and put a six-month ''hold'' on the U.S. request. ''Are they telling us that they want to continue supplying this oil?'' Haley asked. ''They claim they need more information. We don't need any more information. The sanctions committee has what it needs. We all know it's going forward.'' Dutch Ambassador Karel Van Oosterom said the Security Council made clear to Pompeo that it wants to see ''concrete actions and deeds'' from North Korea to denuclearize. Van Oosterom, who chairs the North Korea sanctions committee, told reporters: ''I think for all of us it's clear that the progress is in the talks so far, that the engagement is there and the discussions are taking place.'' South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said North Korea made ''a clear commitment on complete denuclearization repeatedly and, of course, very forcefully at the Singapore summit with President Trump, and we will hold them up to that commitment.'' (AP) Korea Railroad Corp., the operator of South Korea's KTX high-speed rail network, said Saturday it has reached an agreement with a labor union to rehire cabin crewmembers who had been sacked, ending a 12-year battle over their employment status. The dispute began after the company fired 280 cabin crewmembers who had been contracted under one of its affiliates in May 2006 after they declined to be transferred to another subsidiary. The workers had been demanding that the Korea Railroad directly hire them, arguing that it is the actual employer who has control over the workers. The deal, which was made between Korea Railroad and the Korean Railway Workers' Union, will affect crewmembers who brought the case to the court in 2008. While the lower courts ruled in favor of the employees, the Supreme Court overturned the decision in 2015. Freely accessible local news is vital. Please power our reporters and help keep us independent with a donation today. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe Dana Rohrabacher, a pro-marijuana, climate-change-doubting, Libertarian surfer, is no stranger to controversy. Locked in a tough reelection fight, the Orange County Republican, known for close ties to Russia, made news again this week. Rohrabacher, who has served coastal Orange County in Congress for 30 years, was one of the few GOP congressional members to defend President Donald Trump's pro-Russia press conference statements. He also called Monday's indictment of an accused Russian spy whom he met in St. Petersburg in 2015 "bogus." Then there was Rohrabacher's appearance on Sacha Baron Cohen's new satire series. He was one of several congressmen tapped by a disguised Cohen to support a fake program to train kindergartners to use guns. Cohen pitched it as "Kinderguardians." Rohrabacher called the deception "a sick fraud at that, and its intention was to deceive the American people for political purposes." Amid the rest of it, a billboard went up in Newport Beach (paid for by an activist group dedicated to getting Trump impeached) quoting a secretly recorded conversation with fellow California Republican Kevin McCarthy. Here's what that looks like: Rohrabacher was in Irvine on Friday touring a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center. He invited local reporters to ask him questions in a parking lot outside of the facility following his tour. Rohrabacher started by slamming the House Democrats who refused to vote Wednesday on a resolution officially supporting the immigration agency. "This is a disgrace. It's an insult to these people that I visited today who are doing such job in trying to protect us and trying to make sure this onslaught of illegal immigration is brought under control," Rohrbacher said. When reporters tried to ask Rohrabacher about the latest news of his connection to the Russia investigation, he loudly shut them down. "You should be ashamed of yourself for bringing that up when we just talked about something really important," he told reporters. Rohrabacher said he had already done "hundreds of interviews on the issue of Russia." After repeated refusals to answer any questions about Russia, and several testy interactions with reporters, the news conference ended. For observers watching closely to see if this once solidly red district flips to blue, the bottom line is: Do any of these negative headlines matter? Or will it just be water off this surfer's back as Rohrabacher heads into, by far, his most difficult election yet? WHAT THE NUMBERS TELL "He has a tough race ahead of him," said Jon Fleischman, an OC-based, Republican political strategist. Rohrabacher's seat is one of two dozen that Democrats must flip in November if they hope to take control of the U.S. House of Representatives, which means his challenger Harley Rouda, a businessman, is getting a lot of support. The 48th Congressional District, a coastal district stretching roughly from Seal Beach to Laguna Niguel, is traditionally a Republican stronghold. But demographic shifts -- especially the rise in young, Latino and Asian voters who tend to vote Democratic -- is changing the political landscape. Learn more about the demographics of the district: More voters in the district cast ballots for Hillary Clinton in 2016 than for Donald Trump. Still, Rohrabacher handily won re-election on the same ballot. That advantage may be fading. A recent poll of voters in the 48th congressional district found Rohrabacher and challenger Rouda in a virtual tie. The poll, carried out by New Jersey's Monmouth University and released Tuesday, also found that one in four Republican voters wish Rohrabacher wasn't their party's candidate. "That tells you a lot about a lack of enthusiasm there among his own base," said poll director Patrick Murray. Lack of enthusiasm, Murray said, could translate into lower Republican turnout in November. Rouda has been hitting hard both on Rohrabacher's ties to Russia and on Trump (who, remember, lost to Clinton in this Republican district.) Friends, Here's my statement on the revelation that @DanaRohrabacher is part of the FBI's 'Russian NRA Spy' Investigation. https://t.co/JgHWRUIJiZ RT if you agree! "The full truth about Dana, Russia, @NRA...must be known..." pic.twitter.com/gFuMz7lVrx Harley Rouda (@HarleyRouda) July 18, 2018 What is it going to take for the @GOP to stand up to the Trump agenda? All of us mobilizing together to unseat every single one of them. We can do it and we are going to do it. #DebateMeDana #CA48 November 6, 2018 @RepRohrabacher pic.twitter.com/a0sbbRyVvM Harley Rouda (@HarleyRouda) July 18, 2018 The incumbent's best path to victory? Fleischman, who backed a Republican challenger in the primary, says Rohrabacher needs to focus on key local issues like immigration and taxes. "The more that Rohrabacher can frame the campaign on the local issues that the voters care about, the better chance he has," he said. "The more it gets nationalized and tied to the stuff that swirls around Donald Trump ... that creates challenges." Fleischman said he's now fully behind Rohrabacher, echoing many of the sentiments of loyalists. "Dana believes in individual liberty and freedom and he's running against Obama junior," Fleischman said, referring to Rouda. "We're talking about two completely different visions of America." The congressman's fans seem unfazed by the periodic firestorms surrounding his words and actions. Asked whether she was concerned about the latest stories about the congressman, Orange County Republican Janine Heft said, "Not at all." "He's true blue. He's an American patriot," said Heft, a Laguna Hills City Council member and friend of Rohrabacher. Heft said she respected Rohrabacher's deep experience and straightforwardness. "What you see is what you get," she said. Michael Schroeder, a spokesman for Rohrabacher's campaign and a former state GOP chairman, said he doubted the congressman's pro-Russia statements would affect his popularity among Republican constituents. "He believes, and I think he's correct, that you can't have a coherent foreign policy ... if you want to ignore Russia," Schroeder said. "The fact that other people want to debate the fine points of that and disagree is not a problem for the campaign." He said Rohrabacher would be focusing his campaign on local and national issues, not foreign policy. These include immigration, repealing the state gas tax and opposing Democrat Nancy Pelosi's attempt to regain her position as speaker of the U.S. House. Paul Mitchell, a bipartisan political consultant, said that given the tight race for the 48th Congressional District and the climate of extreme partisanship, the election could be decided by a small number of undecided voters. That means getting out their core voters will be key for both parties. The general election is scheduled for Nov. 6. News happens every day. Here at LAist, our goal is to cover the stories that matter to you and the community you live in. Now that we're part of KPCC, those stories (including this one you're on right now!) are made possible by generous people like you. Independent, local journalism isn't cheap, but with your support we can keep delivering it. Donate now. Freely accessible local news is vital. Please power our reporters and help keep us independent with a donation today. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe Ref Rodriguez is having a bad year. He was charged with three felonies. He's at the center of a separate financial scandal. He has faced regular, repeated calls to resign from the Los Angeles Unified School Board. He's already given up the board's presidency. And on Friday, Rodriguez and his cousin Elizabeth Melendrez appeared ready to admit that they had done what they've been accused of doing -- urging 25 friends and family members to donate to Rodriguez's 2015 election campaign and then reimbursing the donations. The admission would come as part of a proposed settlement with the L.A. City Ethics Commission announced Friday. If commission members vote to approve the settlement Monday, Rodriguez and Melendrez would pay a fine of $100,000. Rodriguez is still due in court on Monday for a preliminary hearing for the criminal case against him related to the alleged money laundering. The Ethics Commission's posting says that Rodriguez hopes to enter into a "global resolution" with the district attorney's office as well, but does not outline a possible plea deal for the criminal charges. There's been a lot to track as Rodriguez's bad year has unfolded. We put together this guide to help you catch up. ** PROLOGUE: WHO IS REF RODRIGUEZ? Refugio "Ref" Rodriguez, 47, made his name in L.A. education circles as a co-founder of a charter school network called PUC Schools. (That's an acronym for "Partnerships to Uplift Communities.") Rodriguez also started a non-profit "social venture investment fund," Partners for Developing Futures, to help finance educators of color looking to open charter schools. In 2015, Rodriguez ousted incumbent Bennett Kayser for a seat on the L.A. Unified School Board. His district represents two clusters of communities north and southeast of downtown L.A.: from Los Feliz to Eagle Rock, and from Vernon to South Gate. ** THE CRIMINAL CHARGES HOW DID RODRIGUEZ END UP IN CRIMINAL TROUBLE? This part of the story starts more than three years ago with a $26,000 check. On December 19, 2014, as his campaign for the L.A. Unified School Board was just getting off the ground, Rodriguez cashed out what prosecutors described as a "$26,000 business investment. According to prosecutors, Rodriguez and his cousin, Elizabeth Melendrez, then urged 25 other family members and friends to donate to his campaign on the promise they'd be paid back. Rodriguez and Melendrez allegedly used the $26,000 to reimburse these straw donors. Prosecutors argue that amounts to "political money laundering," which is illegal. HOW DID THEY (ALLEGEDLY) PULL THIS OFF? Prosecutors and city ethics officials said Rodriguez and Melendrez took steps to cover their tracks. Rather than handing out the $26,000 themselves, Rodriguez and Melendrez allegedly laundered the money through Rodriguez's parents' bank account. Prosecutors said Rodriguez's mother signed 16 checks -- at Melendrez's direction -- dividing up most of the $26,000 to reimburse the 25 donors. When Rodriguez's campaign reported its list of donors, it did not show a $26,000 gift from Rodriguez himself. Instead, the report showed 25 donations from family and friends -- totaling $24,250 -- that prosecutors and L.A. City Ethics Commission officials say really came from Rodriguez. FILE - LAUSD Board of Education candidate Ref Rodriguez , far right, speaks with attendees after a debate at Eagle Rock High School on Feb. 5, 2015. (Photo by Cheryl A. Guerrero for KPCC) WHY MIGHT ANY OF THAT BE AGAINST THE LAW? In short, prosecutors say Rodriguez is lying on official campaign finance reports, and you can't lie on your official campaign finance reports. After all, the $24,250 contributed to Rodriguez's campaign came from him, not those straw donors -- as the campaign filings say. L.A.'s city charter is also pretty clear in its prohibition of making a donation in someone else's name or of making a contribution with money that isn't yours. But what's strange is that the city charter is also clear on another point: school board candidates can contribute as much money as they like to their own campaigns. That means if Rodriguez had simply dumped the money from that $26,000 investment into his campaign coffers, we probably wouldn't be here right now. SO WHY WOULD RODRIGUEZ DO THIS? We don't know for sure; Rodriguez and his attorneys have refused multiple interview requests. Here's one theory: early fundraising totals are often a strong indicator of a school board candidate's viability. Remember, all of this allegedly happened in mid-to-late December 2014, just weeks into the campaign, and just days before candidates had to report their year-end finances. At the time, the extra $24,250 was a big deal -- it doubled what Rodriguez's campaign had in the bank up to that point. The donations also helped Rodriguez catch up to another candidate who had been leading the fundraising race. But politically, it can make a difference whether that money comes from donors or from Rodriguez himself. (I mean, don't 25 donations 'from the community' make for a better-looking donor list than one big cash contribution from a candidate's own pocket?) AND IT TOOK THREE YEARS FOR ALL THIS TO COME TO LIGHT? Well, reporters from certain news organizations -- ahem, ahem... KPCC -- were actually asking questions about Rodriguez's campaign finances way back when. In 2015, we noticed that several of the contributions to Rodriguez's campaign came from employees at his charter school network, PUC Schools. These were gifts approaching the maximum $1,100 allowed, coming in some cases from janitors and office clerks. In 2015, KPCC reporter Adolfo Guzman-Lopez asked PUC Schools office worker Luz Maria Lopez whether she was reimbursed for her $900 gift to Rodriguez's campaign. No, she replied, "It's a donation. How are you going to get reimbursed?" Rodriguez, too, said in 2015 that these early donations were neither coerced nor reimbursed. "It's been sort of an outpouring of folks' belief in me," he told KPCC in 2015. But it apparently didn't take long for the city's campaign finance watchdog to take notice either. When the charges came down in September 2017, Rodriguez issued a statement saying he and his lawyers had been negotiating with the L.A. City Ethics Commission for two years "to resolve these issues." FILE - LAUSD School Board Member Dr. Ref Rodriguez visits Luther Burbank Middle School on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2016 during the first day of instruction. (Photo by Maya Sugarman/KPCC) COULD RODRIGUEZ GO TO JAIL? Yes, it's possible -- he faces felony charges. So does his cousin, Melendrez. On September 13, 2017, prosecutors charged Melendrez and Rodriguez with one count each of conspiracy. Additionally, Rodriguez faces one count of perjury and one count of "offering a false or forged instrument" -- essentially, filing a false campaign document. He and his cousin also face 25 misdemeanor counts for each one of the reimbursed donations. Both Melendrez and Rodriguez have pleaded "not guilty." But these criminal charges are not the only scandal to break open around Rodriguez in recent months... ** THE CONFLICT-OF-INTEREST COMPLAINT WHAT IS THIS SECOND RODRIGUEZ SCANDAL ALL ABOUT? One month after the prosecutor unveiled the criminal charges, another round of bad headlines hit for Rodriguez. On Oct. 19, 2017, The Los Angeles Times reported PUC Schools -- the charter school network Rodriguez had co-founded -- had filed a formal "conflict of interest" complaint against him with a state ethics agency. At the center of that complaint was a question: Was Rodriguez "self-dealing?" That is, did Rodriguez take more than $285,000 the charter school network's money -- public money, taxpayer money -- to enrich businesses in which he had a personal stake? Or was Rodriguez simply paying back vendors who had offered legitimate services to the school? The answer, even now, is by no means clear. FILE - LAUSD School Board Member Dr. Ref Rodriguez, left, and Superintendent Michelle King visits Luther Burbank Middle School on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2016 during the first day of instruction. (Photo by Maya Sugarman/KPCC) WHAT EVIDENCE DID PUC SCHOOLS PROVIDE TO SUPPORT THEIR COMPLAINT? The evidence: more checks -- 16 of them, all signed by Rodriguez between March and October 2014. These checks drew funds out of PUC Schools accounts and sending them to two businesses to which Rodriguez was also tied. Fourteen of the checks, totaling about $265,000, went to Partners for Developing Futures -- that's the "social venture investment fund" that Rodriguez founded to help finance start-up charter schools. Two of the checks, totaling $20,400, went to Better 4 You Fundraising -- a company that appears to have helped schools raise money. Rodriguez, at least at one point, had been an investor in Better 4 You Fundraising. WERE THESE PAYMENTS PROPER? It's hard to definitively say. For instance, Rodriguez was still formally listed as the CEO of Partners for Developing Futures at the time of the payments, meaning he would've been on both ends of that transaction. But Rodriguez may have simply been reimbursing Partners for Developing Futures for contracts with PUC Schools that were all above-board... Or, were they? Partners for Developing Futures had agreed to create a training program for the charter school network in 2012, but PUC Schools' conflict-of-interest complaint said Partners for Developing Futures did not follow through on the contract until 2014. A spokesperson has said PUC Schools is still investigating whether any training program was ever delivered as a result of that contract. When asked about the conflict-of-interest complaint, Rodriguez's attorney declined to answer specific questions but said Rodriguez denied doing anything wrong. WHAT ABOUT THE PAYMENTS TO BETTER 4 YOU FUNDRAISING? Well, you're already this far down the rabbit hole -- might as well come a little further down, because there are even more confusing questions about his payments to Better 4 You Fundraising. Rodriguez's public filings tell two very different stories about his relationship to Better 4 You Fundraising during this period. (KPCC illustration) When he launched his candidacy for the L.A. Unified School Board in November 2014 -- months after he authorized the last payment to Better 4 You Fundraising -- Rodriguez listed Better 4 You Fundraising as an investment on his formal financial disclosure form. Rodriguez has subsequently confirmed to KPCC that he did, in fact, have an investment in Better 4 You Fundraising in November 2014. But would PUC Schools leaders have known that at the time? KPCC learned Rodriguez filed another version of his 2014 financial disclosure forms with PUC Schools -- and this version makes no mention of Better 4 You Fundraising, even though it covers almost the exact same period of time. WHY DOES THE DISCREPANCY MATTER? Remember, this is public money that was paid out here -- it matters whether that money was spent for legitimate purposes. It's not clear whether Rodriguez's omission of Better 4 You Fundraising on that second form was intentional or simply a mistake. But either way, without that information, could PUC Schools have taken steps to avoid, if not actual conflicts of interest, then perceived conflicts of interest, between Rodriguez and these outside entities? L.A. Unified regulators have argued PUC Schools should've known about these conflicts anyway. School district officials said they were raising red flags with PUC Schools about Rodriguez's links to Better 4 You Fundraising and Partners for Developing Futures as far back as 2015. In a way, PUC Schools has been left holding the bag. LAUSD has now been aggressively seeking answers from PUC Schools about why they investigate Rodriguez's payments earlier. The charter could face serious consequences if they can't satisfactorily answer LAUSD's questions. At one point, PUC leaders publicly begged their co-founder to break his public silence about the scandal. "Now, more than ever, [Rodriguez] needs to explain these transactions, where the payments went and how they could have possibly benefitted the schools," PUC officials wrote in a letter to L.A. Unified. "Only Dr. Rodriguez can shed light on the documentation PUC Schools has uncovered." DOES RODRIGUEZ FACE CRIMINAL CHARGES FOR ANY OF THIS? No. He only faces criminal charges for the campaign finance matters. The conflict-of-interest complaint was dismissed very quickly after PUC Schools filed it in October 2017. The state's Fair Political Practices Commission, the ethics agency that handles these complaints, sometimes chooses not to investigate these matters when the subject already faces the possibility of bigger consequences, like criminal charges, even if the cases aren't directly related. ** WHAT NOW WHAT'S THE NEXT STEP IN THE CRIMINAL CASE? After months of delays, Rodriguez and Melendrez are set to appear in L.A. Superior Court on Mon., July 23, for their preliminary hearing. At the hearing, prosecutors have to establish that they have enough evidence to support the charges they've brought. In doing so, it's possible the public may get sneak peaks at the cases both sides plan to mount in the event of an actual trial. We also may get some answers to questions that are still unanswered: for example, what is the $26,000 "business investment" that Rodriguez cashed out? Was the $26,000 "business investment" tied somehow to either of the entities in the conflict-of-interest case, like Better 4 You Fundraising or Partners for Developing Futures? But many observers wonder whether this case will ultimately go to trial at all. Many have speculated Rodriguez could cut a plea deal in which he could resign his school board seat in exchange for avoiding jail time. FILE - Ref Rodriguez, a member of the Los Angeles Unified School Board, listens during a board meeting on June 5, 2018. (Photo by Kyle Stokes/KPCC) WHAT HAS RODRIGUEZ BEEN DOING AS THIS ALL PLAYS OUT? Rodriguez gave up the presidency of the L.A. Unified School Board not long after charges were filed. The bad publicity has left Rodriguez's political standing greatly diminished. But he has ignored calls -- mostly from teachers union activists and other political opponents -- to resign from the board altogether. In the meantime, Rodriguez has cast some important votes -- including one in favor of hiring new LAUSD superintendent Austin Beutner. Rodriguez was also arrested for public drunkenness Pasadena in March, the L.A. Times reported. According to KCBS-TV, which obtained police body cam video of Rodriguez's arrest, was not charged. ** THE TL;DR VERSION LAUSD board member Ref Rodriguez is accused of lying on important campaign finance reports from 2015. He faces the possibility of prison time if convicted. The charter school he ran also raised the possibility that Rodriguez was self-dealing with public money. But there are many unanswered questions, and in any event, Rodriguez does not face criminal charges in the conflict-of-interest matter. On both counts, Rodriguez has denied wrongdoing. News happens every day. Here at LAist, our goal is to cover the stories that matter to you and the community you live in. Now that we're part of KPCC, those stories (including this one you're on right now!) are made possible by generous people like you. Independent, local journalism isn't cheap, but with your support we can keep delivering it. Donate now. Hi, Im Carolyn Kellogg, books editor of the L.A. Times, with the news in books this week. THE BIG STORY Raymond Chandlers iconic private detective Philip Marlowe has been rebooted before, not particularly successfully, which made Lawrence Osborne reluctant, at first, to take the case. But as the British writer explains to journalist Ross Davies over drinks in Bangkok he found a way in with Only to Sleep, which publishes Tuesday. In the novel, its 1988 and Marlowe is retired, living in Mexico and feeling disconnected from the world around him when he gets involved with a murder investigation. Davies has a delightful sense of place and personality dont miss it. Lawrence Osborne brings Raymond Chandlers P.I. Philip Marlowe back to life in Only to Sleep. (Shonagh Rae / For The Times) Advertisement THE BIG REVIEW After the presidential election, many readers in Southern California turned to books to try to better understand the Red States that elected him; one of those, JD Vances Hillbilly Elegy, is in its 76th week on our bestseller list. There are other narratives, however particularly What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia by Elizabeth Catte, reviewed this week by native daughter Leah Hampton. She also takes a look at the novel Whiskey & Ribbons by Leesa Cross-Smith as an example of the kind of home-grown narratives that often get less attention from readers on the coasts. A bridge in West Virginia, in Appalachia (Clifton Adkins / Getty Images/iStockphoto) BESTSELLERS For the fifth week running, the No. 1 bestseller in fiction is The President Is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson. Having debuted a week earlier, David Sedaris Calypso is doing the former president and mega-selling author one better its the No. 1 bestseller in nonfiction this week, after six weeks on the list. Sedaris previous book, Theft by Finding: Diaries (1977-2002), returns to the bestseller list as well, landing at No. 8. You can find all the books on our bestseller lists here. Humorist David Sedaris has two books on this weeks bestseller list, Calypso and Theft by Finding. (Ingrid Christie) MORE IN BOOKS The novel The Shades by Evgenia Citkowitz is thrilling and hushed, writes Scott Cheshire in our review. The Times TreVell Anderson talks to Michael Arceneaux about his debut memoir, I Cant Date Jesus and gets in a few questions about Beyonce. Sean Spicer is not hiding in the bushes any longer: President Trumps former press secretary is doing lots of publicity for his forthcoming book, The Briefing: Politics, the Press, and the President. California Senator Kamala Harris has a book of her own on the way; The Truths We Hold: An American Journey is coming in January. Stephen King jumped into politics by voicing support for Sen. Ted Cruzs Democratic opponent Beto ORourke. In turn, Cruz swiped at the bestselling author in this King-Cruz Twitter feud. Twitter isnt just for fighting: Its where the Tony Award-winning creator of the musical Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda, has been posting morning and evening affirmations that remind his followers to be joyful and creative. Those tweets with illustrations by Jonny Sun will be collected in a new book, Gmorning, Gnight!: Little Pep Talks for Me & You, coming in October. Lin-Manuel Miranda has a book coming this fall, Gmorning, Gnight! (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) Thanks for reading! carolyn.kellogg@latimes.com @paperhaus Josh Flagg, the Westside real estate agent and Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles personality, has bought a home in Beverly Hills for a little over $6 million. He and husband Bobby Boyd intend to use the Spanish-style house as their primary residence, Flagg said in an email. Fronted by lush landscaping and lawn, the classic two-story has about 4,600 square feet of living space, five bedrooms and five bathrooms. Features include a formal entry hall and a step-down living room. A breakfast room sits off the kitchen and has a view of the backyard. The Spanish-style house sits on a little over a quarter of an acre with a swimming pool and pool house. (Rodeo Realty) Advertisement French doors open from the rear to a covered patio. The house, built in 1928, sits on just over a quarter of an acre and has a swimming pool and pool house. The home had been listed by Flagg, who is an agent with Rodeo Realty, for about $7 million. He also represented Boyd and himself in the deal. The purchase is hardly Flaggs first foray into the Beverly Hills market. Three years ago, he bought the longtime home of late TV and Broadway producer Michael Filerman with the intention of renovating the property. He sold the traditional-stye house later that year to Myspace co-creater Chris DeWolfe for $5.5 million. neal.leitereg@latimes.com Twitter: @LATHotProperty If you could communicate with dogs, what would you ask them? Having pondered this problem more than I should probably admit, I think my first question would be: Why do you roll on dead worms? Followed closely by: Whats your issue with mailmen? Then I would go on talk shows and write books and use my miraculous gift to usher in a new era of human-canine understanding. Eddie Corbin (Ryan McCartan), the protagonist of the cute, callow, formulaic new musical Mutt House, now having its world premiere at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, makes a different choice. Mocked since childhood for believing he can talk to animals, he has found a home of sorts at a city-funded dog shelter. During the day he cares for the inmates, consoling them, moderating their set-tos and tenderly putting them, when the time comes, to sleep. At night he bunks in the storage room. Everybody besides the dogs thinks Eddie is crazy, including his tenderhearted boss, Gerry (Boise Holmes), who loves him like a son. But there are bigger problems on the horizon: Mayor Jenkins (Heather Olt) has decided to close the shelter. When her aide, a pretty senators daughter named Hannah Matthews (Claire Adams), stops by to collect some final paperwork, Eddie remembers her from school. He has never recovered from an unrequited crush on her. Advertisement Hannah has her own problems: her famous fathers ambitions for her, her unscrupulous boss and a fear of dogs left over from a childhood trauma. Its not hard to see how the pieces of this puzzle will come together the final picture might as well be printed on the box lid. Still, watching them snap into place under Ryan Bergmanns warm and lighthearted direction is entertaining and ultimately heartwarming. Creator and book writer Tony Cookson leads with his good intentions, flirting at times with the preachy tone of puppet shows aimed at young children. Luckily he also has a playful sense of humor that, like a seasoned dog trainer, invites our trust, smooths any hackles raised by his more far-fetched plot twists and promises a lively romp. The 18 original pop-rock songs, by a team including Cookson, John Daniel, Robb Curtis Brown and David O, vary pleasingly in style, and when theyre not laying on the animal-rights propaganda too thick, are funny and clever. Standouts include the torch song When He Sniffs Me, the cri de coeur Im Lying Here (Scratch Me) and the lively, Latin-tinged Beware of This Dog. Accompanied by an onstage band led by music director Anthony Lucca, and set to Janet Rostons snazzy choreography, the numbers get their narrative jobs done with cheerful efficiency, never outstaying their welcome. Best of all, though, are the dogs! Theyre played by six charming actors in Allison Dillards irresistible costumes and makeup, which evoke rather than mimic dogginess. Each is a different breed: Max (Max Wilcox), a dumpling shaped, belly-scratch-loving corgi; Digger (Ben Palacios), a charismatic golden Lab; Donna (Amanda Leigh Jerry), a mutt with a New York accent; a ritzy show poodle, Sophie (Valerie Larsen, who also plays an elderly bloodhound named Joanie); a chihuahua named Pepe (Gabriel Gonzalez); and a misunderstood pit bull named Bradley (Garrett Marshall), a kind of dog version of Judd Nelsons character in The Breakfast Club. Their different personalities are keenly and lovingly observed. Im going to run round the kennel until I can run around no more! Pepe announces in a burst of happiness. Its hard to watch this show without wishing that we could all be a bit more like dogs. Mutt House Where: Kirk Douglas Theatre, 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City When: 8 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays, 8:30 p.m. Thursdays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays; ends Aug. 5 Tickets: $39-$59. Info: (213) 628-2772, MutthouseTheMusical.com Running time: 2 hours calendar@latimes.com Universals double-header theatrical panel kicked off with a first look at Glass, filmmaker M. Night Shyamalans follow-up to 2016s Split and 2000s Unbreakable. Shyamalan, who moderator Yvette Nicole Brown credited as kicking off the big-screen superhero craze with Unbreakable, revealed that he was advised against mentioning the words comic book or superhero in campaign materials because it was deemed too fringe. An origin story about the hero David Dunn (Bruce Willis) and villain Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson), Unbreakable also originally included Kevin Wendell Crumb, the antagonist of Split, but the character was pulled out because he made the story too unwieldy. It was fitting that Shyamalan & Co. came to Comic-Con to debut the trailer for Glass because The Sixth Sense director said he was inspired to make its predecessor, Split, at the convention. He recounted that he got the idea to make the movie after he ran into James McAvoy at a party when the actor was promoting one of the recent iterations of X-Men films. McAvoy, whose hair had been closely cropped for the role of Professor X, inspired the look of the character hed play in Split, the filmmaker revealed. Advertisement Though McAvoy was not present on the panel (he was sick and shooting in Canada, Shyamalan reported) stars Willis, Jackson, Sarah Paulson and Anya Taylor-Joy were on hand to introduce the world premiere trailer for Glass and to answer audience questions. FULL COVERAGE: San Diego Comic-Con 2018 Jackson, who plays the titular character, says he was drawn to the role because of the characters complexity. He has a fragile body but his mind is so strong, said Jackson, who also praised the fact that the character is quiet. I dont actually play the same mother ... all the time, he said to huge laughs from the audience. Though he did concede that he has an affinity for the loud ones. Glass hits theaters Jan. 18. Star Trek: Discovery broke new ground by featuring the franchises first openly gay TV characters. And in the first season, their love saved the world. During a recent visit to the Los Angeles Times video studio at San Diego Comic-Con with members of the Discovery family (ahead of their Hall H presentation), actors Anthony Rapp and Wilson Cruz addressed their characters relationship as well as that big surprise from their Season 1 storyline. It was really amazing how quickly our relationship was embraced, said Rapp, who plays anastromycologist Lt. Paul Stamets on the series. Just from the really simple little scene where were brushing our teeth together in the bathroom. We thought it had meaning and resonance but you just never know how its going to be received. Rapp added that they were thrilled to be able to make history with their story, even though it was long overdue. Advertisement Its been too long that it hadnt happened with this particular story. It was a missing piece in the Star Trek lore which had broken so many other barriers, Rapp said. That was the one that just hadnt been broken. So were really honored and thrilled that we got to do it. FULL COVERAGE: San Diego Comic-Con 2018 Cruz, who played Dr. Hugh Culber, elaborated about the couples entire Season 1 trajectory. The arc itself for last season was unexpected. There were a lot of surprises, Cruz said, referencing Culbers shocking demise. But in the end, when you think about it, it was our gay love that not only saved the world but saved the universe and not just our universe, but all universes. Ive always said that gay sex is going to save the world, Cruz quipped. Watch the full interview below. Sonys Venom unveiled its villain Friday at Comic-Con, dropping an impressive trailer for the Oct. 5 action release that wowed Hall H as director Ruben Fleischer and stars Tom Hardy and Riz Ahmed teased the studios next foray into the Marvel universe. Unlike other Marvel films, this is a much grittier, grounded, complicated character, more violent, and unlike most superhero movies there are no heroes in this movie, said Fleischer. Its full of complicated and complex characters. The trio took the stage as audience members chanted, We are Venom, which also happens to be the catchy line Hardy utters as the titular symbiote at the end of a crowd-pleasing extended trailer that premiered to the Comic-Con crowd. I dont want to upset anyone, but I think hes the coolest Marvel superhero, said Hardy. Advertisement The Marvel antihero gets his own standalone movie Oct. 5, with Hardy playing both disgraced journalist Eddie Brock and the alien parasite that bonds with him, lending him superhuman powers whenever he transforms into the slick-skinned, razor-toothed alter ego. His adversary? A fellow symbiote named Riot who is stronger and more powerful than Venom and, Fleischer added, has the ability to jump from host to host: You never know quite where Riots going to show up. Hardy pulled double duty recording lines in his Venom voice before playing scenes as the human Eddie Brock, acting against his own recording. Im a bit of a geek about acting, he said, referring to his 2015 film Legend in which he played real life identical twin criminals. That experience, he said, gave him insight into playing two disparate characters sharing the same body. But it was his sons love for the Venom character that convinced Hardy to do the role.I wanted to do something my son could watch. Because a lot of the films Ive done Im pretty aggressive or violent, or I swear a lot in this one, I bite peoples heads off, he laughed. His Eddie Brock is a disgraced journalist with a questionable moral code investigating a shadowy organization called the Life Foundation a group run by Ahmeds supervillain Carlton Drake. Ahmed, dressed head to toe in black like the megalomaniac Drake and sporting bleached blond hair, offered a glimpse into the psyche of his Venom character. Hes trying to answer the question of, What does the future for humanity look like? Because Planet earth is almost done, said Ahmed. Were on the brink of ecological and environmental collapse. He thinks to space, and its in exploring that, that he comes across the symbiote. Notably absent from Sonys high profile Hall H panel was filmmaker James Gunn, who was never officially announced as a panel guest but had teased his involvement in the panel on Twitter earlier in the week. Any chance of a surprise Gunn appearance was squashed by midday after Disney publicly severed ties with the Guardians of the Galaxy helmer over controversial older Tweets of his resurfaced online, losing him the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 gig. Sony also brought the makers of their December animated Spidey film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse onto the Hall H stage where rollicking footage drew enthusiasm from the audience, and from stars Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, and Hailee Steinfeld. One of the biggest reactions erupted from the audience reacting to the appearance of alternate universe hero Spider-Ham, while producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller revealed that the animated films Spider-Man Noir is voiced by Nicolas Cage. Back on the Venom panel, further expansions into comics canon were also teased, hinting at the future Sony might be planning for its Marvel properties. Fleischer said that beyond Riot, additional unnamed villains will show up in the film, which also stars Michelle Williams and Jenny Slate. Were planning a huge world with this Venom story and we want to be able to satisfy our own desires and the desires of fans to explore all beloved characters from the universe, he said. He also hinted that hed like to see Hardys Venom meet the MCUs Tom Hollands Spider-Man onscreen. I think we can all agree it would be pretty amazing to see Spider-Man and Venom face off in a film, said Fleischer, so I have to think that the studios thinking the same way, and at some point down the road theyre going to run across each others paths. FULL COVERAGE: San Diego Comic-Con 2018 The first scene in the premiere of FXs critically acclaimed and groundbreaking drama Pose is a high-energy trip into the underground world of New York Citys ballroom culture in the 1980s. After swiping garbage bags full of gowns, crowns, jewels and fur coats from a museum, Elektra Abundance (played by Dominque Jackson) leads a group of proteges to a ball a competition and safe haven for LGBTQ people of color that celebrates originality and extravagance. There is a competition among groups of men and women to see who can best embody royalty. Elektras group sashays, twirls and poses on a wood-paneled floor surrounded by an audience that cheers them on. In their stolen, authentic aristocratic wear they easily earn perfect 10s from the judges. Its the first of many balls shown in Pose, which concludes its first season Sunday. Advertisement To capture the true essence of ballroom culture, creators Ryan Murphy, Steven Canals and Brad Falchuk assembled the largest cast of transgender actors in leading roles in a TV series, multiple consultants who lived through the 1980s ballroom and a creative team that included trans activist and writer Janet Mock, trans writer-director Silas Howard and trans producer-writer Our Lady J. Getting the crucial ball scenes just right also meant employing world-renowned vogue choreographers Leiomy Maldonado, a transgender woman known as the Wonder Woman of Vogue, and Danielle Polanco. The choreographers worked extensively with the cast and creative team to represent ballroom in an original yet authentic way. I know how things get watered down, and I really didnt want that to happen to the ballroom, Polanco said. Choreographer Leiomy Maldonado at a party for FXs Pose at New York Citys Hammerstein Ballroom. (Anthony Behar / Fox) The history of ballroom culture traces back to New York Citys drag balls in the 19th and 20th centuries. After facing discrimination and rejection from white gay spaces, black drag queens began forming their own communities and performance gatherings, eventually creating a ballroom scene that still thrives today. In general, ballroom culture consists of houses and balls. Houses, often named after fashion designers, served as familial structures for gay and transgender black and Latinx youth, many of whom faced rejection from their biological families. Balls are performance-focused gatherings, welcoming spaces for men and women of color from across the gender and sexuality spectrum. Balls were also the birthplace of vogue, an improvisational dance form that mixes exaggerated model poses; fluid, mime-like movement; and acrobatics. Ballroom gave us a sense of belonging, said Luis Camacho, a 48-year-old choreographer who came of age in the 1980s ballroom scene. Camacho and Jose Gutierez, both members of the House of Xtravaganza, are credited with introducing Madonna to the ballroom scene. The two also choreographed and starred in the Queen of Pops 1990 Vogue video, which brought ballroom culture to the masses. It gave us empowerment. It gave us an outlet to be creative and express ourselves, Camacho said. Polanco, 32, and Maldonado, 31, met in New Yorks ballroom scene in the early 2000s. Although they came from different dance backgrounds, they each found rapid success as voguers, eventually teaching the dance style across the U.S. and around the world. For both, working on Pose was an opportunity to bring the spotlight to real-life stars in the ballroom community. Respected voguers such as Jason A. Rodriguez, known as Slim Ninja, were hired to help bring the shows ball scenes to life. Were trying to keep it in the family and make the ballroom community stand out, Polanco said. Theres not really a spot for ballroom people in the real world, sometimes. A lot of times, people dont know what our community has gone through, Maldonado said. They hear about ballroom, they think its fun and cool and exciting. Its more than that. Its a part of everything that we stand for, everything that we have to fight for. Choreographer Danielle Polanco at a party for FXs Pose at New York Citys Hammerstein Ballroom. (Anthony Behar / Fox) As dancers who came up in 2000s ballroom, Maldonado and Polanco did extensive research to choreograph for the show, which is set in the late 1980s. Like the shows costume designers, they looked to documentaries such as Jennie Livingstons Paris is Burning and Diane Martels House of Tres. Its hard because theres not a lot of footage of things back then, Polanco said. On YouTube, you cant find balls from the 80s, you could only go off of peoples stories and how people used to dance back then. The choreographers worked with the cast for months to prepare them for filming. Though Jackson, who plays Elektra Abundance, was already an icon in the ballroom scene, others were not as familiar with the technique. More than teaching individual steps, Maldonado and Polanco trained the cast how to improvise. They prepared actors to compete in the wide range of real-life ball categories shown in the series, including runway being able to strut like supermodel Naomi Campbell, who perfected her signature walk with vogue pioneer Willi Ninja. Other categories are rooted in realness, which relies on the performers ability to convince onlookers that they are something they may not be. Its really important to know how to pose and knowing musicality, Polanco said. Knowing how to dip, knowing how to catwalk, knowing hands performance and floor performance theres many elements to it. The attention to detail has paid off for Camacho. What Pose is doing and what theyre presenting is really, really close to what was happening back then, he said. For Maldonado, the most important aspect of working on the series was the opportunity to bring visibility to a community that has often been pushed to the margins. Pose overall has been able to showcase the LGBT community in a way where people can see that we are also talented, Maldonado said. We can do anything just like any other person. makeda.easter@latimes.com Twitter: @makedaeaster As the sun rose over this harbor town, four scuba divers with cameras and notepads finned toward canopies of undulating kelp. They were teeming with small fish that flashed kaleidoscopically vivid colors. The small fish attracted larger fish opaleye, kelp bass, sheephead and bright orange garibaldi, the California marine state fish. But they were of little interest to the divers from UC Santa Barbara and the Aquarium of the Pacific, who descended in search of something much bigger. Their mission: to confirm reports of unusually large numbers of giant sea bass gathering at Avalons Casino Dive Park, one of the most popular scuba diving sites in California. Advertisement Its part of an effort by scientists to understand and encourage the remarkable but still fragile comeback for one of the biggest fish of all, which all but disappeared from the Southern California coast due to overfishing. Briana Fodor, senior aquarist with the Aquarium of the Pacific, joins a dive to observe giant sea bass in kelp beds off Catalina Island. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Giant sea bass can live at least 70 years, grow 7 feet in length and weigh up to 560 pounds. The breeding population of giant sea bass which is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature is believed to be only about 500 individuals. Three decades ago, there were no giant sea bass returning to spawn around Catalina each year, scientists say. Today, there are about 40 to 50, and many are under 20 years old, which suggests they were hatched around the time that catching them was banned in California. The divers depth gauges read 30 feet when one of the silvery behemoths, with black spots, pouty lips and a downward mouth, emerged from the kelp and almost bumped noses with Douglas McCauley, a marine biologist at UCSB. Within a few hours, the group documented nine more of the bottom-dwelling fish within a few hundred yards of Avalons curving, cafe-lined promenade one of the largest gatherings of spawning giant sea bass seen in the area since the 1970s, when the species was driven to the brink. Ashore, people asked, Whatd you see down there? Giant sea bass can live up to 75 years and grow to 7 feet long and more than 500 pounds. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) We saw a remarkable number of giant sea bass as rare as black rhinos, McCauley said with a smile. Thats encouraging, because this species is an important part of the history and culture of California, and it appears to be making a comeback just 22 miles off the mainland. Since spot patterns on the flanks of individual giant sea bass are unique and can be read like natural bar codes, the divers took photos of both the right and left sides of specimens they encountered. The photos will be uploaded to Spotting Giant Sea Bass, a new website to be launched by the Aquarium of the Pacific on July 26 as a place where researchers and recreational divers can share information and images about when and where individual fish were seen. The website will make matches by using pattern-recognition algorithms first developed by astrophysicists to spot patterns in star constellations. With more than 1 million dives logged annually in California, makers of the website hope it will help with the recovery of the species by identifying their spawning grounds, calculating how far they move, determining whether they inhabit protected marine areas, and observing the threats they encounter in their travels. The largest carnivores in the kelp forests off Southern California, giant sea bass were once very common, scientists say. But their slow reproduction and tendency to aggregate in large groups made them vulnerable to commercial fishing and spear-slinging divers. The few that remained were hunted as trophies until the state in 1982 made it a misdemeanor to kill the fish (commercial fishers who accidentally capture giant sea bass in gill nets are not prosecuted). Since the species was protected by state law, fishers have mostly kept their distance though they are still memorialized in bygone snapshots hung in Southern California bait shops showing proud anglers and spear fishermen beside 500-pound catches. Giant sea bass snared in gill nets occasionally wind up in local fish markets. Giant sea bass sold for $19.99 a pound at a market in the Ventura earlier this month, according to a conservationist who visited the business. Historically, the fish were found from Humboldt Bay in Northern California to Baja California. The largest on record measured 7 feet and 563 pounds. They congregate around the Channel Islands from April through October to spawn, and then they disappear each winter. No one knows where they go. That may change, however. A research team led by Larry Allen, a professor of marine biology at Cal State Northridge, recently attached acoustic transmitter dart tags to six giant sea bass off Catalina in order to monitor their movements. Other hot spots for giant sea bass include Anacapa Island, about 11 miles off the coast of Port Hueneme, and a shipwreck off the Santa Monica Pier. An effort to raise giant sea bass in captivity has been difficult. The Aquarium of the Pacific in 2016 became the first public aquarium to spawn, hatch and rear a giant sea bass, providing a valuable glimpse into the early life of the species that was fished out before scientists had a chance to study its behavior. Today, that fish is doing great, said Sandy Trautwein, vice president of animal husbandry at the aquarium. Its about 8 inches long, weighs a little more than a pound and on public display. At Catalina, recreational scuba diving with adult giant sea bass has become one of the hottest attractions around. Marine biologists photograph an endangered giant sea bass swimming through the kelp beds off Catalina Island. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Were seeing crazy numbers of giant sea bass out there right now up to five, six and seven at a time, said Robert Park, 26, a staffer at Avalons Catalina Divers Supply. Customers arrive each day with this burning question: Will I see a giant sea bass? he added with a laugh. I say, No problem. But dont touch them because theyre endangered, have really big mouths and get kind of [cranky] in breeding season. Louis.Sahagun@latimes.com @LouisSahagun Summer is here. Los Angeles County officials have issued a warning for next week, when they expect temperatures to soar as another heat wave descends on Southern California. High temperatures are forecast to arrive on Monday. The alert covers areas prone to dangerous summertime heat. They include downtown Los Angeles, the Antelope Valley, Santa Clarita Valley, San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Valley and the Pomona area. The National Weather Service is forecasting record-breaking highs and has issued a heat advisory until Thursday evening. Advertisement Inland temperatures are expected to hover in the 90s for much of the week and will probably hit 100 on Wednesday. Temperatures along the coast will be in the mid-80s. County officials have asked schools and summer camps to take special precautions, such as limiting outdoor activities to mornings and evenings. In a sign of what is sure to be a difficult week for firefighters across California, the wildfire that has been burning just west of Yosemite National Park has continued to grow. The Ferguson fire is now spreading northward, according to the U.S. Forest Service. It has blackened 42 square miles and is only 7% contained. Since the fire began on July 13, one firefighter has died and four have been injured while trying to contain the blaze. No buildings have been destroyed. On Saturday morning, forest service officials announced a mandatory evacuation order for Yosemite West, an unincorporated area. Glacier Point Road, a scenic route in Yosemite, is closed. But other areas of the park remain open. Visitors should expect smoky conditions, the parks Twitter account advised on Saturday. anna.phillips@latimes.com Twitter: @annamphillips The Parkland students survivors of a February mass shooting in Florida brought their activism to Los Angeles this week as they try to maintain momentum in their push for greater gun control at the local and national level. The students, part of a recently formed organization called March for Our Lives, are on a bus tour to accelerate voter registration among young people. The lack of voter turnout is unacceptable, said David Hogg, 18, one of the highest-profile student leaders, speaking at a Los Angeles event. Voting is the best form of civil discourse that is out there. The groups underlying agenda remains tighter gun controls, including banning assault weapons, high-capacity ammunition magazines (which allow shooters to fire for long periods without reloading) and bump stocks (which convert semiautomatic weapons into rapid-fire guns). Advertisement The students also plan to target politicians who oppose gun control in the November elections, Hogg said in an interview. In highlighting voting, the group is trying to strike a nonpartisan and unifying chord. But this issue, too, has politics attached. Young voters the kind the march organization focuses on registering are presumed more likely to vote for candidates in favor of gun control. And in the broader political sphere, Democratic political consultants generally favor a large, younger, diverse voter turnout; Republican strategists often prefer elections dominated by habitual, older voters who need no encouragement or assistance to cast ballots. The groups Road to Change bus tour began June 15 in Chicago, where students participated in a march. Students from around the country are taking part in an itinerary of more than 50 stops in 20 states, including some where pro-gun rights demonstrators have displayed holstered weapons. A separate Florida tour will have 25 stops, hitting every congressional district. This week, March students set down on friendly turf. Thursday events in the Los Angeles area included one with L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti and California Secretary of State Alex Padilla. The setting was the library of the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools complex, which occupies the site of the Ambassador Hotel, where an assassin gunned down Kennedy 50 years ago. The library was built on the footprint of the hotels ballroom, where Kennedy gave his last speech minutes before being shot. Garcetti referred to the campus as hallowed ground where gun violence changed the course of history. The assassination of Robert Kennedy, as told 50 years later Padilla who is running for reelection highlighted the states strides in voter registration. Garcetti who possibly has political aspirations beyond Los Angeles recited local gun-control and social welfare efforts, and called attention to his newly formed Student Advisory Council on Gun Violence in Schools & Communities. He said these students would work with local officials on voter-registration and civic-engagement campaigns. The 2016 election of President Trump spurred student protests in L.A. and elsewhere. But student activism seemed to sharpen in focus after the Feb. 14 shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which killed 14 students and three staff members. Since then, March for Our Lives and other groups have organized more than 800 demonstrations. Who they were: The victims of the Parkland school shooting They also successfully pressured Floridas largely Republican and strongly pro-gun-rights Legislature to pass a $400-million school safety bill with some gun-control measures. The students have had no luck so far at the federal level. The activism remains a work in progress, an effort to maintain momentum and find the right tone and issues. Parkland students quickly decided to leverage public outrage over the mass shooting at their suburban campus to take on the everyday neighborhood gun violence that afflicts students in urban and minority communities. In that light, Hogg on Thursday criticized the media for making walkouts at minority schools look like riots while presenting walkouts at schools in prosperous neighborhoods as enlightened civic involvement. For Hogg, another prime issue is Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who could become part of a court majority that would strike down bans on semiautomatic weapons in California and other liberal states, and establish a universal right for law-abiding citizens to carry guns openly. Hogg added that while the student group would oppose certain politicians, it avoids endorsements. A public relations consultant for the group later said that Hoggs anti-Kavanaugh views are his own, and that the group has not taken a position on the nominee. The group also has not released a list of targeted officials. Organizers say that March for Our Lives is set up as a nonprofit social welfare organization, under federal tax laws. Partisan groups and special interests have used this tax vehicle to leverage a maximum amount of political messaging with a minimal amount of cost and disclosure. Left-leaning analysts have accused wealthy, shadowy conservatives of misusing social welfare organizations as tools for political gain. The student group and supporters see themselves very differently. Thank you for shaking this country out of its complacency, Garcetti told the delegation of students. Gun violence cannot be normal. It cannot be accepted. It cannot be settled for. It cannot be a fact of life. howard.blume@latimes.com Twitter: @howardblume The stage appears to be set for a deal that would resolve political money-laundering allegations against Los Angeles school board member Ref Rodriguez, based on a filing posted by the citys Ethics Commission. The deal is likely to include his resignation from office, although parties involved in the negotiations would not confirm that. In the filing, Rodriguez, 47, admits that he engaged in money laundering to further his 2015 campaign for a seat on the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education. The commission staff is recommending a $100,000 penalty that would be paid by Rodriguez and his co-defendant, Elizabeth Melendrez. Advertisement That fine would resolve Rodriguezs case before the Ethics Commission, but that is just one half of his troubles related to political money laundering. The other and the more serious is a criminal case based on the same actions. In that proceeding, Rodriguez is charged with three felonies and 25 misdemeanors. If convicted on all counts, he could face several years in prison. Because Rodriguez has now apparently admitted guilt to the citys Ethics Commission, it would be seemingly impossible for him to claim that he is not guilty of the same offenses in the criminal case. For that reason, all signs suggest that the criminal case also has been resolved with a separate plea deal. Details of the expected deal in the criminal case have not been made public. Legally, Rodriguez could probably remain in office if prosecutors agreed to lower the felony charges to one or more misdemeanors. But observers and those close to the case said its difficult to imagine a deal that would allow Rodriguez to keep his board seat, even if he is able to avoid time in jail. The ethics filing describes in some detail what happened, according to investigators. Late in 2014, Rodriguez, who was then a senior executive at a charter school organization, was putting together his first run for office. That December, he instructed Melendrez, his cousin, to enlist contributors and later reimburse them with Rodriguezs money. Melendrez worked under Rodriguez as an administrator in the same charter-school organization. Rodriguez held an event at a family members residence later that month to announce his candidacy. During the event, he asked family and friends for support. Afterward, Melendrez promised contributors that Rodriguez would reimburse them. From Dec. 23 through Dec. 31, Rodriguezs family and friends, including employees under his supervision, made 25 campaign contributions ranging from $775 to $1,100. The contributors included low-wage custodians for the charter schools and totaled $24,350. Soon after, on Jan. 15, Rodriguez attended a mandatory Ethics Commission training for candidates. It included a detailed discussion of city law regarding contributions, including prohibitions on money laundering. Rodriguez declined to come forward. Had he done so, the fallout could have derailed his campaign. Instead, when Rodriguez filed his first campaign statement, he reported raising $51,001. Nearly half of that was the laundered contributions. In the same reporting period, incumbent school board member Bennett Kayser reported raising $13,739, and another challenger, Andrew Thomas, reported raising $10,732. Therefore, Rodriguezs first public disclosure statement identified him as having received more contributions in that reporting period than any other candidate in the LAUSD District 5 race, the Ethics Commission noted. Rodriguez could have contributed the money openly and legally to his own campaign. It is against the law to disguise the true source of campaign donations. The violations were deliberate, and Rodriguez knowingly received and made use of laundered funds during the election, the filing states. The actions reflected an intent to conceal, deceive and mislead. It is possible that the ethics case and the criminal case could be resolved simultaneously Monday. The Ethics Commission, which has jurisdiction over local campaigns, has called a special meeting at City Hall for 10 a.m. The Rodriguez matter is the only item on the agenda. Meanwhile, for the criminal case, a hearing also is scheduled for Monday morning in the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, which is across from City Hall. If the plea bargain happens as expected, Rodriquez would not necessarily be free from legal jeopardy. Sources tell The Times that the U.S. attorneys office has looked into unrelated conflict-of-interest allegations against Rodriguez. Those allegations arose when his former employer, Partnerships to Uplift Communities, or PUC Schools, reported that Rodriguez had an improper conflict of interest when he authorized more than $285,000 in payments. The payments were made from PUC to a separate nonprofit under Rodriguezs control and to a private business in which Rodriguez may have owned an interest. Through his attorney, Rodriguez has denied wrongdoing regarding the alleged conflict of interest. On Friday, attorneys for Rodriguez and Melendrez could not be reached or had no comment. The prosecutor on the case also did not return calls. howard.blume@latimes.com | Twitter: @howardblume Times staff writers David Zahniser and Emily Alpert Reyes contributed to this report. UPDATES: 8 p.m.: This article was updated with additional information about the case. This article was originally published at 5:30 p.m. After Los Angeles Countys public defender expressed concerns about possibly illegal recordings of privileged attorney-client meetings at a downtown courthouse, a spokeswoman for the district attorney has acknowledged that such recordings had inadvertently occurred in one case. The spokeswoman, Shiara Davila-Morales, said Friday that recordings had been made of conversations between a defense attorney and a client in a case involving three individuals accused of kidnapping and extortion. For the record: An earlier version of this article reported that the recordings had been made by the district attorneys office, according to an office spokeswoman. In fact, the spokeswoman did not specify who made the recordings. Davila-Morales said the district attorneys office has not listened to the recordings and has no intention of using them in the prosecution of the case. The statement from the district attorneys office in response to inquiries from The Times came after Interim Public Defender Nicole Davis Tinkham sent a confidential memo to the county Board of Supervisors on Wednesday. Advertisement The memo, a copy of which was obtained by The Times, said the public defenders office had launched an investigation into a recording operation by sheriffs and police officials of attorney-client conversations at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center. Informally we have been told [the L.A. County Sheriffs Department] regularly conducts these Perkins recording operations in any facility they deem to be a custody facility, including courthouse facilities, and that a Perkins operation did in fact occur in the attorney conference room, Tinkham wrote. We are not clear how many attorney-client communications were recorded. The term Perkins operation is generally used to describe a sting operation in which an undercover law enforcement official or informant records an inmate in custody. The memo does not state how or when the public defenders office became aware of the recording operation or for how long it took place. Two people familiar with the matter said an incident in the courthouses 14th-floor attorney conference room in recent weeks raised concerns. The room is dedicated for use by attorneys, who must identify themselves to sheriffs deputies before their clients are brought in. The clients are placed inside narrow, confined spaces and then allowed to communicate with attorneys through a glass wall via telephone. There is no notice indicating that communications may be recorded. The case in which Davila-Morales said the recording occurred involved a trio charged with 17 felonies, including kidnapping, assault with a firearm, grand theft and mayhem. All three defendants are in custody, the third having been arrested earlier this month. A video of the arrest, which shows several police officers aiming their guns at an unarmed woman, elicited outrage on social media. Davila-Morales declined to comment on where the recorded attorney-client conversation occurred, how it was inadvertently recorded or whether it was an isolated incident. Communications between attorneys and their clients are generally confidential and protected under the law. The protection may not apply when those communications are used to further a crime, civil violation or fraud. We firmly believe recording our attorney-client communications is in violation of the law, Tinkham, the public defender, wrote in the memo. As we uncover more details we will develop a comprehensive strategy to enjoin this activity. Tinkham declined to comment on the memo but said in a statement, The attorney-client privilege is a cornerstone of our justice system. I am deeply concerned about any actions that could jeopardize this tenet. A police spokesman said in an email, The Los Angeles Police Department does not record any conversations between clients and attorneys, however investigators may record inmate to inmate conversations. The spokesman declined to elaborate. The Sheriffs Department said in a statement, The Sheriffs Departments policy is to NOT record conversations between attorneys and their clients without a court order, and there is no practice of recordings of any attorney conversations. Lou Shapiro, a criminal defense attorney and former public defender, said the allegation of recording is upsetting but perhaps unsurprising. As disturbing and offensive as this appears to be, unfortunately the argument can be made that the [courthouse] room is an extension of the county jail and therefore there is no expectation of privacy, he said. Shapiro later clarified that his comment was referring to inmate-to-inmate conversations, not those between lawyers and their clients. Others said that even one such recording violates a defendants right to due process and could undermine the already low levels of trust indigent clients have in the public defenders office. The issue of recorded attorney-client calls has been raised somewhat prominently in recent months in the prosecution of former rap mogul Marion Suge Knight, whose attorneys have been accused of discussing witness tampering during jailhouse phone calls. A judge signed an order allowing investigators to listen to the calls, but the order has been contested as invalid. Times staff writer James Queally contributed to this report. nina.agrawal@latimes.com Twitter: @AgrawalNina UPDATES: This article has been updated with attorney Lou Shapiros clarification that the comment referred to conversations between inmates, not between lawyers and clients. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti will leave Monday for a 10-day trade mission to Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and Hong Kong, a trip focused on bringing jobs and investment to L.A. and boosting tourism in the city, his office said. Tourism and trade with Asia are integral to our local economy, Garcetti said in a statement Friday, adding that Los Angeles has a special bond with our neighbors on the Pacific Rim. The mayor will visit Tokyo, Seoul, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Hong Kong. A 56-member delegation that includes city staff, elected officials, business leaders and City Hall lobbyists will join Garcetti on all or part of the trip. Councilmen Joe Buscaino, Paul Krekorian and David Ryu are scheduled to visit all or some of the cities, the mayors office said. Advertisement Executives from American Airlines, United Airlines, Cathay Bank, Trammell Crow and other companies, as well as non-city employees in the delegation, will pay their own way, the mayors office said. Travel costs for elected officials and staff, estimated at $319,000, will be covered by the Port of Los Angeles and Los Angeles World Airports, the mayors office said. America Airlines and Delta will also sponsor tourism events on the trip, Garcetti spokeswoman Vicki Curry said. Garcetti is scheduled to meet with politicians and U.S. ambassadors, as well as executives from Hyundai Merchant Marine, Vietnam Airlines and Hongkong International Terminals on the trip. Several events are also planned to announce agreements related to Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, a nonprofit focused on green energy thats subsidized by the L.A. Department of Water and Power. Garcetti also traveled to Asia in 2014 on a trade mission. dakota.smith@latimes.com Twitter: @dakotacdsmith The state agency that regulates physicians on Friday ordered USCs former medical school dean stripped of his license to practice medicine, citing an appalling lack of judgment in his use of drugs and association with a circle of addicts and criminals while leading the major institution. The Medical Board of California announced that it was adopting the findings of an administrative law judge who heard days of testimony this spring from Dr. Carmen Puliafito and other witnesses. The decision does not go into effect for 30 days, and Puliafito has the option to appeal. His attorney, Peter Osinoff, did not respond immediately to a request for comment. During the hearing, the Harvard-trained ophthalmologist and his attorney said he suffered from bipolar disorder and a hypomanic state that poisoned his judgment and skewed his understanding of how his behavior would be viewed by others. They argued that Puliafito has been in recovery about a year and should be allowed to practice medicine under supervision. But the administrative law judge, Jill Schlichtmann, rejected that argument. The judge said that while Puliafito had made some important strides ... the evidence did not establish that his rehabilitation has progressed to the point that would justify allowing his continued licensure, even on a restricted basis. Advertisement She also said Puliafitos testimony lacked insight and was inconsistent with one who has fully accepted responsibility for his misconduct. Even during the hearing, Schlichtmann said, Puliafito continued to minimize his misconduct and his testimony lacked complete candor, raising ongoing concerns about his honesty and his rehabilitation. Read the decision The decision comes a year after The Times detailed his drug use and partying, prompting the states investigation and its accusation that the former dean used methamphetamine and heroin, smoked methamphetamine within hours of seeing patients and provided drugs to criminals and addicts. The judge said the evidence did not rise to a clear and convincing level that the ex-dean used drugs the same day he practiced medicine.During the proceeding, Puliafito denied supplying street drugs to them. Deputy Atty. Gen. Rebecca Smith argued at the hearing that Puliafito cared only about himself and recounted the chaos of Puliafitos last few years, placing the blame at his feet as images of the ex-dean consuming drugs were projected onto a white screen for the judge to see. He provided drugs to a young prostitute, Sarah Warren, and her underage brother, and misled authorities about her Warrens condition and history of drug use when the woman overdosed in his Pasadena hotel room, she argued. In her decision, Schlichtmann particularly criticized Puliafitos response to Warrens overdose. His failure to seek appropriate treatment for [Warren] when she suffered an overdose and his misstatements to medical personnel constitute shocking behavior by a physician, the judge wrote. Osinoff attacked the states evidence during the hearing, particularly the three witnesses who made allegations about Puliafito providing drugs to other people. He pointed out that on the first day of the trial, Warren and her brother were excused from testifying after their attorney cited their 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination. They provided declarations with their allegations to the court. Full coverage: The secret life of a USC med school dean Another witness for the state, karaoke deejay Don Stokes, repeatedly gave conflicting accounts, veering during the same testimony from denying he ever saw Puliafito smoke methamphetamine to acknowledging it. In an audio interview played for the court, Stokes said Puliafito was the source of drugs at several parties he attended. He testified he had been drinking before the interview and before he gave the state a sworn declaration, and said he couldnt recall Puliafito providing drugs to others. In her decision, the judge found that Puliafito improperly prescribed dangerous drugs to Warren and her teenage brother and provided alcohol and marijuana to him. Puliafito testified for hours, apologizing to his colleagues, students and family for harming them. He also said he was sorry for damaging the reputation of USCs Keck School of Medicine and the integrity of the medical profession. And he also apologized to Warren for enabling her addiction through his financial support, even though during his mania he believed he was rescuing her from a life of drugs and prostitution, his attorney said previously. I was supposed to be a beacon of morality and judgment, and I fell flat on my face after decades of doing the right thing, Puliafito said. Im not placing blame on anyone except myself. At the core of this I forgot that I was a physician 24/7. I failed to recognize that and did things outside the workplace that were wrong. The Medical Board said that a USC investigation launched after The Times report on Puliafito found unprofessional and belligerent conduct, but no evidence of compromised patient care while he served as dean. USC declined to comment Friday. Times staff writers Adam Elmahrek and Paul Pringle contributed to this report. matt.hamilton@latimes.com Twitter: @MattHjourno A Navy commander with 23 years of military service pleaded guilty to a drug charge Friday in San Diego federal court, admitting that he conspired to buy and sell ecstasy and other drugs on the dark web for at least 18 months that ended with his March arrest at his home. Adolph Garza, 54, faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine up to $500,000 when hes sentenced in December. He pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances by internet. The San Diego resident admitted using the dark web to make multiple purchases of ecstasy, ketamine, cocaine, amphetamine and other controlled substances from August 2016 to March of this year. Garza was arrested during a March 7 raid at his Hillcrest condo, according to Sherri Walker Hobson, an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California. Advertisement While serving the search warrant at Garzas residence, inspectors from the U.S. Postal Service and special agents from Homeland Security Investigations and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service seized ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine, amphetamine and other controlled substances. They also discovered sealers, packaging and mailing materials, including DVD cases that were used to conceal what was being shipped. According to court documents, a package of ecstasy from the Netherlands was bound for Garzas condo unit on Aug. 12, 2016, when it was intercepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection investigators at the Chicago International Mail Facility. It was the first of more than a dozen packages sent to Garza that was found to contain illegal drugs, according to postal inspector David Jones. Four days after the first package was seized, another shipment of ecstasy was seized at the same Chicago airport. The other shipments of ecstasy bound for Garzas address were discovered at airports in Chicago, San Francisco and New York, and at mailboxes in San Diego. According to investigators and federal prosecutors, Garzas name and address were also discovered on two separate drug ledgers during investigations into other dark-web drug distributors. Garza is set to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cynthia Bashant. Although he faces up to 20 years in federal custody, prosecutors agreed in a plea deal to recommend the low end of the advisory guideline, though its not yet clear what the advisory guideline will be. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 10. alex.riggins@sduniontribune.com Riggins writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune. Lincoln Brower, who was considered one of the foremost experts on the iconic monarch butterfly and a scientist who advocated for protection for the declining species, has died. He was 86. Linda Fink, his wife, confirmed Friday that Brower died July 17 at home in Nelson County, Va., after a long illness. Brower studied the orange-and-black-winged insect for more than six decades. It is famous for its epic migration each year. What attracted Lincoln is theyre so incredibly interesting, said Karen Oberhauser, a monarch expert and director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum. Advertisement Light as a paper clip, the butterflies migrate like birds or whales. Most travel 2,000-plus miles from various states in the U.S. and Canada to the mountains of Mexico. A much smaller number goes to the California coast. In those places, the winter climate typically doesnt freeze them. But its cool enough that the insects maintain their fat preserves to begin their return. Its a multigenerational journey north as the butterflies and their offspring feed off milkweed. Eventually, the cycle starts anew. Brower spent a lot of time in Mexico, where massive clusters of monarchs hang like Spanish moss in fir forests. Just imagine a place where there are a hundred million of whatever you were studying hanging from the trees, said Browers son, Andrew Brower, who studies butterflies and is a biology professor at Middle Tennessee State University. Brower also charted the butterflies stark decline. Its overall population has fallen by about 80% over the last two decades, according to the Center for Biological Diversity, a conservation group. Herbicide use, logging and severe weather events have all threatened the butterfly. In 2002, freezing temperatures and rain led to a massive die-off in Mexico. Sticking my hand to gently pull out the beautiful delicate creatures Ive worked with for 25 years, there was an almost overwhelming feeling of sadness, Brower told the Associated Press. In 2014, Brower placed his name alongside conservation groups to petition the federal government to protect the monarch under the Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is expected to make a decision next year. He was the only scientist who joined the petition its a gigantic deal, said Tierra Curry, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity. A lot of scientists shy away from advocacy. Brower grew up in northern New Jersey, his son said. He earned a biology degree from Princeton University and a doctorate in zoology from Yale University. He taught at Amherst College before moving to the University of Florida. At the time of his death, he was a professor at Sweet Briar College in Virginia and an emeritus professor at the University of Florida. If the monarch butterfly migration is to survive, it will be in large part thanks to Dr. Lincoln Browers dedication and work during the past half century, Homero Aridjis, a former Mexican diplomat and environmentalist, said in a statement. Besides his wife and son, Brower is survived by a daughter, Tamsin Barrett, his son said. It was a week of bewilderment over what President Trump really thinks about Russian interference in the U.S. election and what he and Russias Vladimir Putin told each other in their private meeting. The confusion was fed by Trumps vacillating statements about the summit. On another front, Trump inaccurately claimed that Queen Elizabeth II had bestowed upon him an honor that she had never before granted during her reign. A week in review: Advertisement President Trump and Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle on July 13. (Pool) Helsinki summit TRUMP: The Summit with Russia was a great success, except with the real enemy of the people, the Fake News Media. I look forward to our second meeting so that we can start implementing some of the many things discussed, including stopping terrorism, security for Israel, nuclear ... proliferation, cyber attacks, trade, Ukraine, Middle East peace, North Korea and more. There are many answers, some easy and some hard, to these problems ... but they can ALL be solved! tweets Thursday. THE FACTS: Trump implied that he reached broad agreements with Putin during the Helsinki meeting that the two countries can start implementing with a second meeting. If he did, his own White House and State Department seem not to know about it. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders mentioned humanitarian aid for Syria, Iran, Israel, arms control, Russias annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and its meddling in the 2016 U.S. election as having been discussed. When pressed for details on any planned action, she could not provide any. This is the beginning of the dialogue with Russia and our administration and theirs and were going to continue working through those things, Sanders told reporters Wednesday. The State Department offered its own take on the Helsinki meeting, saying no agreements were reached and that there just general proposals on matters mainly related to economic and strategic cooperation. 2016 election TRUMP, addressing whether Russia was interfering in the 2016 election: The whole concept of that came up perhaps a little bit before, but it came out as a reason why the Democrats lost an election which, frankly, they should have been able to win, because the Electoral College is much more advantageous for Democrats, as you know, than it is to Republicans. We won the Electoral College by a lot 306 to 223, I believe. remarks Monday. THE FACTS: Trump made the misguided assertion, again, that Democrats have an advantage in the Electoral College. Its unique system of electing presidents is actually a big reason why Trump won the presidency. Four candidates in history have won a majority of the popular vote only to be denied the presidency by the Electoral College. All were Democrats. In the 2016 election, Democrat Hillary Clinton received nearly 2.9 million more votes than Trump after racking up lopsided victories in big states such as New York and California, according to election data compiled by the Associated Press. But she lost the presidency due to Trumps winning margin in the Electoral College, which came after he narrowly won less populous Midwestern states including Michigan and Wisconsin. Unlike the popular vote, Electoral College votes are set equal to the number of U.S. representatives in each state plus its two senators. That means more weight is given to a single vote in a small state than the vote of someone in a large state. Trump also misstates the Electoral College vote. The official count was 304 to 227, according to the AP. Queen Elizabeth TRUMP: We met with the Queen, who is absolutely a terrific person, where she reviewed her honor guard for the first time in 70 years, they tell me. We walked in front of the honor guard, and that was very inspiring to see and be with her. remarks Tuesday during a meeting with members of Congress. THE FACTS: No, Queen Elizabeth II did not review her honor guard for the first time in 70 years when Trump visited last week. Shes only been on the throne for 66 years. The queen regularly inspects her honor guard as part of royal duties, often during visits from foreign officials. That included when President Obama visited in 2011. Russian meddling TRUMP, on his intelligence officials on Monday: They said they think its Russia. I have President Putin. He just said its not Russia. I will say this I dont see any reason why it would be. TRUMP, reading from a statement, on his intelligence officials on Tuesday: I accept our intelligence community conclusion that Russia meddling ... took place and the sentence should have been I dont see any reason why it wouldnt be Russia. TRUMP, when asked by CBS on Wednesday if he agrees that Russia meddled in the 2016 election: I have said that numerous times before, and I would say that is true, yeah. THE FACTS: Was Trumps comment Monday a misunderstanding set off by his saying would instead of wouldnt? Or was his rare admission of a mistake rooted in the ferocity of the stateside response by those Republicans among them who said he undermined U.S. intelligence services by seeming to side with Putin? Whichever the case, Trump at various points in his Monday news conference made clear that he found Putins position on the matter compelling. I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today, Trump said at the joint news conference. He made the untenable assertion Monday that I have confidence in both parties his intelligence officials, who say Moscow interfered, and Putin, who says it didnt. Trump has been a nearly solitary figure in his administration in holding onto doubts about whether Russians tried to sway the election. Trumps top national security officials, Democrats and most Republicans in Congress say U.S. intelligence agencies got it right in finding that Russians secretly tried to sway the election. Putin denied anew that the Russian government interfered, but he acknowledged Monday that he favored Trump in 2016. NATO spending TRUMP, on increased military spending by NATO countries: I had a great meeting with NATO. They have paid $33 Billion more and will pay hundreds of Billions of Dollars more in the future, only because of me. NATO was weak, but now it is strong again (bad for Russia). tweet Tuesday. THE FACTS: No, increased military spending by NATO members is not only because of him. The broader move toward rising spending by NATO countries began under Obama. NATO members agreed in 2014 to stop cutting their military budgets and set a goal of moving toward spending 2% of their gross domestic product on their own defense by 2024. Most NATO members are spending less than 2%, though more are moving in that direction. The issue is not one of payments to NATO, as Trump repeatedly puts it, but how much members spend on their own armed forces. After being prodded by Trump to give him credit, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg indicated that Trumps big demands had some effect on the military spending. He estimated European allies and Canada will add $266 billion to their military spending by 2024 and said of Trump, This is really adding some extra momentum. By one NATO estimate, alliance members apart from the U.S. collectively increased their military budgets by $33 billion last year. Ten months after Hurricane Maria destroyed Puerto Ricos electric grid, the local agency responsible for rebuilding it is in chaos and more than $1 billion in federal funds meant to strengthen the rickety system has gone unspent, according to contractors and U.S. officials who are anxious to make progress before the next hurricane. The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority has seen two chief executive officers and four board members resign in less than a week in a messy fight over how much the bankrupt agency should pay its CEO. The agencys fourth CEO since the hurricane lasted less than 24 hours on the job last week before resigning amid public outrage over his $750,000 salary. Gov. Ricardo Rossello of the New Progressive Party named the former head of Puerto Ricos water and sewer agency Wednesday as the fifth head of the electric company since Maria, at a salary of $250,000 a year. Jose Ortiz starts work Monday. In spite of missteps in the past, everybody will see that we have the right person at the right time, Rossello said. Advertisement The turmoil has fueled delays in launching $1.4 billion worth of work that includes replacing creaky wooden power poles vulnerable to collapse in the next storm, the chief federal official in charge of rebuilding Puerto Rico told the Associated Press. There is no permanent work thats been done, said Mike Byrne, the Federal Emergency Management Agencys assistant administrator for field operations. What Im worried about is the next level, the permanent work, the going in and building the grid the way Ive been tasked to do by Congress. From shut-down medical equipment to the spread of waterborne diseases, the cascading effects of power grid failure likely led to hundreds of deaths in the aftermath of the Category 4 hurricane, although the exact number remains a subject of debate and ongoing investigation. The one reason why so many people died in the aftermath of the hurricane was the lack of energy, said Sen. Eduardo Bhatia of the opposition Popular Democratic Party. And the lack of energy comes from how fragile the system was because of years of neglect. Several hundred Puerto Ricans remained without power Thursday in the longest-running blackout in U.S. history. The entire island remains vulnerable because much of the massive damage from the storm was resolved with temporary fixes that are liable to fail in the next hurricane. These include thousands of weakened and damaged poles and power lines that were reused in the absence of new supplies. In some cases, lines were bolted to trees. The Puerto Rico power authority notified three large mainland U.S. companies in March that they had been selected to carry out $1.4 billion worth of contracts that include finishing emergency restoration work and beginning the long-term task of overhauling the power grid. Nearly four months later, the agency has not issued the final orders required to send the linemen into the field to do the permanent work, according to federal officials and some contractors. The power authority has not explained why, and a spokesman did not return repeated AP calls for comment. As with virtually all post-hurricane disaster relief in Puerto Rico, the work is contracted and paid for by bankrupt local agencies using money disbursed by FEMA from billions appropriated by Congress. The governments major contracts are reviewed by the board created by Congress to oversee Puerto Ricos finances and bankruptcy-like proceedings. In May, it found problems with the contracts of two of the power companies chosen to do the first stages of permanent work. These include vague descriptions of the scope of the project and a lack of detailed evaluation of costs. Ortiz, the power authoritys new head, indicated potential problems with at least one contractor: Cobra, a subsidiary of Oklahoma-based Mammoth Energy. Cobra has been awarded more than $1.8 billion in federal money, at rates of about $4,000 per worker per day in many cases. Ortiz said the cost of the contractors would be getting a second look. It will be reevaluated, he told reporters Wednesday. Certainly the numbers merit being looked at very closely. Cobra representatives declined to comment. The problems at the power authority are prompting calls for urgent change to Puerto Ricos decades-old system of putting its power generation and transmission under the control of a government agency run by the governors appointees rather than an independent, government-regulated corporation, as occurs in virtually all other parts of the United States. Rossello has proposed privatizing the generation of energy and awarding concessions to private contractors for power transmission and distribution. Puerto Rico legislators have approved a measure that would allow for those changes, and they expect to approve another bill in the coming months to establish a regulatory framework. For many on and off the island, that isnt fast enough. The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority needs to be depoliticized in order to be a functional, modern and reliable utility. The people of Puerto Rico deserve at least that much, said Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah), who oversees the issue as chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources. The committee will hold a July 25 hearing on the power companys future. Agency employees say that for decades, near-total control by the governors office has led to the power authority being stuffed with unqualified, politically connected managers. Political influence also drove a string of unrealistic, expensive projects that were canceled by subsequent administrations. The electric company was also used as a piggy bank for the commonwealths government by providing years of power to government agencies that didnt pay their bills, and giving highly discounted rates to important island businesses like major hotels. Essential maintenance like trimming trees back from power lines and replacing decrepit poles was delayed for years, even decades. In May 2017, Puerto Rico filed for the biggest municipal bankruptcy ever in the U.S. The government carries a $70-billion public debt load, which includes more than $9 billion held by Puerto Ricos power company. Bankrupt and debilitated by mismanagement, the Puerto Rican electric grid was already in a state of near-collapse when Maria devastated the island in September and left millions without power. That has been followed by a cascade of CEO departures at the power authority. First to go was Ricardo Ramos, amid allegations that he hired an underqualified power contractor, Whitefish. His temporary successor was replaced by Walter Higgins, a veteran power executive. But on July 11, just four months into the job, Higgins resigned. Among the factors influencing his decision, he said, was that compensation details stipulated in his contract could not be met. A month earlier, Puerto Ricos justice secretary had said it would be illegal for a public employee like Higgins to receive bonuses on top of his $450,000 salary. Power company officials then named board member Rafael Diaz as the new CEO, with a $750,000-a-year salary. Diaz lasted only a day, resigning along with four other board members after Gov. Rossello criticized his salary and said those unwilling to adjust their compensation expectations amid an 11-year recession should step down. The rapid turnover has set off alarms among ordinary Puerto Ricans and criticism from Rossellos political opponents. The economy is being affected, the quality of life is being affected and the lives of people who depend on the electrical system are being put at risk, said Rolando Ortiz, who oversees an association of mayors from the Popular Democratic Party. Byrne, the FEMA assistant administrator, said stability was urgently needed at the power authority to protect Puerto Rico from future disasters. This is a whole machine of activity that needs to take place, Byrne said. It needs a director, it needs leadership, it needs capability. Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It is Saturday, July 21. Heres what you dont want to miss this weekend: TOP STORIES Fish tales: Off the coast of Catalina, giant sea bass are finally making a comeback after reaching the brink of extinction because of fishing. Now scientists are using their spot patterns, which function as natural bar codes, to better understanding the massive fish and help them survive and thrive. Los Angeles Times Medical board decision: The state agency that regulates physicians on Friday ordered USCs former medical school dean stripped of his license to practice medicine, citing an appalling lack of judgment in his use of drugs and association with a circle of addicts and criminals while leading a major institution. Los Angeles Times Advertisement Family separations: A San Diego federal judge on Friday said he was impressed with the massive effort to reunite some 2,500 children separated from their parents at the border and that it appeared promising that a very significant number of families would be brought back together by next Thursdays deadline. San Diego Union-Tribune A brave little boy: With everything going on, with what he was going through, he was always smiling. It just shows what kind of kid he was. Friends and family remember Anthony Avalos, the boy authorities said was tortured and killed despite warnings of possible abuse. Los Angeles Times Healthcare woes: Can California fight crazy kidney dialysis costs? Los Angeles Times A line in the sand: For decades, California has battled over access to its beaches, with the government often on one side and property owners on another. In Santa Barbara County, this war is about to reach a head. New York Times Given the boot: James Gunn, the director behind the wildly successful Guardians of the Galaxy series, was fired by Disney after offensive tweets from his past surfaced. Gunn responded: Many people who have followed my career know, when I started, I viewed myself as a provocateur, making movies and telling jokes that were outrageous and taboo. Hollywood Reporter Not in the job description: A brigadier general at Camp Pendleton will receive administrative actions for reportedly misusing his aide to perform servant-like tasks while deployed to Iraq. Orange County Register Stealing the show: Jamie Lee Curtis rallies the #MeToo forces at Comic-Con with emotional words in San Diego. Los Angeles Times Sounds fun: The scooter treasure hunt in San Francisco. San Francisco Chronicle Plea deal brewing: The stage appears to be set for a deal that would resolve political money-laundering allegations against Los Angeles school board member Ref Rodriguez, based on a filing posted Friday afternoon by the citys Ethics Commission. Los Angeles Times Fatal shooting: A 4-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his 2-year-old cousin in a small San Bernardino County town Friday, and authorities have arrested the victims grandfather on suspicion of leaving his gun in a spot accessible to the children. Los Angeles Times Jobs, jobs, jobs: Silicon Valley is adding jobs like crazy. Still. Mercury News THIS WEEKS MOST POPULAR STORIES IN ESSENTIAL CALIFORNIA 1. Former Family Affair child actor Johnny Whitaker now has the role of a lifetime. Los Angeles Daily News 2. How to keep plants alive in this blistering summer heat. Los Angeles Times 3. Drivers were trapped on Interstate 5, and 10 vehicles were seized, in a rash of Saturday night sideshows. Sacramento Bee 4. Map: L.A.s strange and wonderful lost amusement parks. Curbed LA 5. Climate change has come to your neighborhood, and the sizzle may never subside. Los Angeles Times GREAT READS L.A.s Camelot: Times Mirror Square was built with money from successive boom years in Los Angeles the roaring first decades of the 20th century, then the postwar suburban explosion. At its height, the landmark building housed Americas most financially successful but far from most celebrated newspapers. The building had its Camelot years, and then its Dark Ages. Los Angeles Times Plus: An incredible graphic tour through The Times building through the years. Los Angeles Times Get the Essential California newsletter (Los Angeles Times) Unbelievable: His mother sent a check to a scammer in Rancho Cordova, and so began an odyssey of a small crime and its long shadow. The New Yorker Laid to rest: David Rosenkrantz was a hometown hero in the summer of 1943. L.A. Paratrooper, Buddy Capture 200 Italians, read one newspaper headline. Los Angeles Warrior Captures his Captors, read another. But the next year Rosenkrantz was killed by German machine-gun fire. His remains stayed unidentified until this year. Los Angeles Times Homelessness crackdown: L.A. sterilized itself for the 1984 Olympics. That effort had a long legacy. Curbed Los Angeles 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. One of the great success stories in Californias fight against climate change has been the rapid greening of the states electrical grid. In 2002, when California enacted its first target for green energy, the state relied heavily on electricity generated from fossil fuels, including coal and natural gas. Just 12% of the supply came from renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind and geothermal power. The renewable portfolio standard the state adopted that year was dubbed the nations most ambitious green power goal; it required the states three largest investor-owned utilities to produce 20% of their energy from renewable sources by 2017. Within a few years, it became obvious that 20% was going to be easy to reach, so lawmakers accelerated the mandate to 20% by 2010. Then they upped to standard even more first to 33% by 2020, then to 50% by 2030. Even those targets have become attainable. Utilities are on track to deliver 50% renewables by 2020, a full decade before the deadline. Now California lawmakers are considering the most ambitious target of them all: requiring all utilities to obtain 100% of their power from renewable or zero-carbon sources by 2045. Advertisement The sooner California sets the target of 100% renewable and zero-carbon energy, the better. Senate Bill 100, written by Sen. Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles), would first accelerate the existing renewable portfolio standard to require that utilities provide 60% of their power from renewables by 2030. That target shouldnt be much of a stretch, given the growing number of solar and wind power projects across the West that are producing electricity more cheaply than fossil fuel power plants. Weaning the state completely off electricity produced from fossil fuels is a much more challenging job in part because nobody knows exactly how it will be done. California still relies on power plants fueled by natural gas to provide electricity when renewables arent available. Industrial-scale batteries can store renewable power for when the sun isnt shining or the wind isnt blowing, but there are few in use by utilities. There are other power storage technologies being developed but, again, theyre still in the nascent stage. SB 100 would give state agencies and utilities flexibility to address the remaining 40% of the electricity supply. The bill says the power has to be carbon free, which means the production doesnt emit the greenhouse gases responsible for global warming. Thats a broad category that would include hydropower generated by dams, which is a major source of fossil-fuel-free electricity in California but not counted as renewable energy. It also would encompass new technologies that might emerge over the next two decades. Because the electricity sector is evolving and its difficult to set policy 27 years into the future, the bill does not create an ironclad 100% renewable mandate. Rather, it sets an aspirational target, a planning goal for the state. There are no penalties if the state doesnt hit 100% by 2045. That helps protect against economy-damaging power shortages and cost increases that could result from an inflexible and overly ambitious mandate. Critics of SB 100, including business groups and the states major power companies, have asked, Why now? California already is ahead on its clean power targets. Plus, utilities face an immediate and expensive challenge of making their systems resistant to more climate-change-fueled wildfires, which could increase electricity rates. Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute from L.A. Times Opinion But if not now, when? To meet its incredibly ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goals, California will have to transition to a carbon-free electricity sector. Senate Bill 32, passed in 2016, requires the state to cut greenhouse emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. That will require the state to more than double the rate at which it has been cutting greenhouse gases. Greening the electrical grid is probably cheaper and easier than, say, switching 30 million cars, trucks and motorcycles from fossil fuels to electricity or other zero-emission technology. The sooner California sets the target of 100% renewable and zero-carbon energy, the better for creating a road map on how to get there efficiently and affordably. Power plants and power purchase agreements often last 30 to 40 years; utilities need to know Californias clean-energy plans now so they dont, for example, build new natural gas power plants that would be useless in two decades. Making a long-term commitment to green and carbon-free power also will send a strong signal to the market. It will prompt more investments in renewable electricity, encourage innovation in new clean energy technology, and push the upgrades to grids and transmission lines needed to make 100% clean electricity a reality. The world is warming, and the effects are going to be devastating. There will be more searing summer days, more severe droughts, floods and wildfires. The work of slowing climate change cannot wait, and California should keep leading it. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook No mans a hero to his valet. President Donald J. Trump is no exception. Hes plainly lost whatever Caesar status he once had with his longtime valet I mean lawyer Michael Cohen. According to media reports Friday, Cohen surreptitiously recorded a shady conversation with Trump two months before the 2016 presidential election. The two goons reportedly discussed how to suppress the 1st Amendment rights of Trumps alleged former extramarital girlfriend Karen McDougal, a darling-looking skin-mag model. Their cunning plan? To trick McDougal into thinking she was signing a contract to write about the affair exclusively for the National Enquirer. As for so many of us, journalism seemed like a chance for McDougal to make an honest, fully-clothed living. But, according to McDougal, Trump supporter David Pecker, who runs the company that publishes the Enquirer, killed her story. He wouldnt let her take it elsewhere, she maintains, but he did promise her a bogus fitness-writing deal that never came to pass. The writers life! Karen, Im here for you. Advertisement Dont confuse McDougal with Stormy Daniels, the porn actress who accepted money through Cohens office to put the lid on her alleged affair with Trump in 2006, around the time that Trumps third wife, Melania, gave birth to their son, Barron. Daniels is blond. Sure, McDougal describes a similar affair with Trump that overlapped with Daniels, as well as Melanias postpartum adjustment to new motherhood and of course Barrons early infancy. But McDougal is a brunette. Cohen reportedly has lifelong ties to the Russian mafia, and hes showing a KGB-level knack for betrayal. Oh, one more clarification: McDougal is not the other skinmag model, Shera Bechard, who was also allegedly silenced through Cohens machinations. Bechard, whose hair is a whiter-blond than Daniels, has said she had an abortion after getting pregnant by Elliott Broidy, onetime finance chair of the Republican National Committee Never mind. Whats this stupid bedroom farce have to do with the fate of the nation? If no one but a prude like me is feeling scandalized by the presidents ritual humiliation of his wife and infliction of trauma on his young son, maybe all this prurient chatter should stop here. Instead, you can approach the presidents perfidy through the indictments of Russian military intelligence commanders for undermining American democracy. But then you have to wade through a lot of Russian and hacker names. (To be honest, I find the actual name of cyber-attack commander Nikolay Yuryevich Kozachek and his online nom de guerre, blablabla1234565, equally hard to remember.) Its more summery to go the farce route and focus on McDougal, Daniels, Bechard and the Republican bribers who loved them. Plus, Cohen forms a bridge between from Russia and with love. Recall that Cohens one-stop valet shop, Essential Consultants, took money from AT&T, Korean Aerospace Industries and Swiss pharma company Novartis, as well as an offshoot business of Viktor Vekselberg, a Russian oligarch and Putin ally. This looks a lot like Cohen was peddling influence. And the deal with Vekselbergs business well, that goes to the heart of the matter: Trumps financial ties to Russia. Cohens apparent willingness to pay hush money on Trumps behalf especially in re. sex capers also gives credence to the 2016 Trump-Russia dossier by ex-spy Christopher Steele. The dossier warned that the president was vulnerable to sexual blackmail and, if elected, could be grievously manipulated by the Kremlin. In the Steele dossier, the story goes that the Kremlin knew about Trumps financial tomfoolery and maybe knew or had recorded something to do with urine and one of those luxe Stearns & Foster mattresses the Ritz-Carlton chain is known for. Or, as the journalist Julia Ioffe wrote this week, Russian President Vladimir Putins kompromat might be hiding in plain sight: Hes the one who knows, and can say, that Trump didnt win the presidency fair and square. Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute from L.A. Times Opinion On the home front, kompromat also seems near to hand. If Cohen recorded his boss prattling on about his sexual needs, his extramarital girlfriends and his efforts to silence them, Cohen probably has some other receipts, too. According to Michael Avenatti, Daniels sharp-dressed lawyer, some 16 phones were found when the FBI raided Michael Cohens office in April. Lordy: tapes. Or the digital equivalent. Theres a useful app called iHere3, which pairs a small keychain device with an iPhone. It lets you wiretap anyone without anything fishy on your phones lock screen. If Cohen can manage that kind of spyware, kudos. Impressive especially while keeping track of all the nude models and Russian oligarchs. One way or another: bugging Trump. Thats some cold, cold valet work right there. Cohen reportedly has lifelong ties to the Russian mafia, and hes showing a KGB-level knack for betrayal. I think I admire it. Twitter: @page88 Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook The authors of a statement opposing a Newport Beach ballot proposition have filed an objection with the city after staff did not accept their submission for an official voter information pamphlet. Local voters are invited to submit arguments for and against ballot items in such pamphlets, which the city and the Orange County registrar of voters office distribute in print and electronic formats in advance of elections. Former Newport Beach Mayors Keith Curry, Rush Hill and Mike Henn and former Mayor Pro Tem Jean Watt wrote a statement against an as-yet-unnamed measure slated for the November ballot that will ask voters to approve an amendment to Newports city charter to require 55% voter approval whenever the City Council wants to spend at least $50 million on capital projects using a financing method known as certificates of participation, or COP. But local activist Bob Rush also handed in an opposing argument, and because he had written on behalf of his city-registered association of citizens or political action committee, Newporters for Ethical Government, City Clerk Leilani Brown pegged his for the pamphlet. The authors of the rejected argument followed up with a request this past week asking Brown to toss Rushs argument and use theirs. Their attorney, frequent council critic Phil Greer, argued that Rushs argument contains factual inaccuracies, that flawed organizational paperwork for Newporters for Ethical Government means it isnt a bona fide association of citizens and that Rush isnt a true opponent of the ballot measure. Greer cited some approving statements Rush had made about the measure and Rushs previous support for Councilman Scott Peotter, who wrote a supporting argument for the proposition with Councilman Kevin Muldoon and Mayor Marshall Duffield. The facts and circumstances surrounding the filing of the opposition to the proposed charter amendment are rife with misdirection and misstatement, Greer wrote. To allow this statement to be the official statement of those who truly oppose the charter amendment is to silence a significant portion of the public and prevent a true, full and transparent discussion of the pros and cons of the issue. In response, Brown said she was following state election code, which gives citizen associations priority over individual voters such as Curry and his allies. I respectfully appreciate your clients disappointment in not having their opposition argument selected; however, California Elections Code is very clear in how opposition arguments should be selected, and I simply do not have the discretion to stray from what is required under the city charter and state law, she wrote. Greer did not return messages seeking comment. The argument by the former council leaders urges voters, Dont be fooled; this measure may sound good, but consider that no other city in California has adopted this restriction. That should tell you that it is not a good idea. Do you really want to vote on a new police headquarters building or vehicle replacements? Do you want to have to raise campaign funds to get a new park near your home? The statement reiterates arguments Curry presented at a City Council meeting in June, when the council agreed to pursue the ballot measure. He said vital big-ticket projects like dredging could be hard sells for residents who dont live along the harbor and that the timeline from introduction to an election could make bids several months old. That could cause them to expire, contractors to pad their figures to address the financial risk or projects to hit the ballot without cost estimates, he said. Rushs argument states the proposed charter amendment is a good first step but doesnt go far enough. We should reject it and send it back for a higher two-thirds voter approval threshold and lower $25-million debt ceiling, he wrote. In an email, Curry described Rush as a decoy. Using a shill like Bob Rush to file phony opposition arguments against a phony ballot measure speaks volumes about the underlying dishonesty of the entire effort, Curry said. Rush, who has feuded with members of the rival opposition in the past, said in an interview that he thinks the voter-approval threshold should be $5 million but he was trying to be reasonable. As for their opposition to his opposition: They can kiss my ass, he said. In a certificates of participation arrangement, the city creates a revenue stream by essentially leasing its own facilities to itself technically, as a different public facilities corporation with the facilities offered as collateral to bondholders. When the debt is repaid, the facilities become the agencys unencumbered by a lease. Certificates of participation do not require voter approval like general obligation bonds, which lead to increased local property taxes. The city last used the COP funding mechanism in 2010 for the Civic Center and its park, a $140-million undertaking completed in 2013 with about $17 million in cash and $123 million in certificates of participation. When construction started, it was estimated to cost about $105 million. hillary.davis@latimes.com Twitter: @Daily_PilotHD Following a two-month delay, a proposal from St. Mary Armenian Church to revamp its Eastside Costa Mesa property will go back before the city Planning Commission Monday. During the commissions previous hearing in May, much of the discussion centered around how many people should be allowed to attend events in a new assembly hall that would be built on the church site, 148 22nd St., as part of the project. City staff originally suggested setting the maximum occupancy of the proposed 8,618-square-foot structure at 198, a figure based on the expectation that two people, on average, would be in each vehicle arriving to attend events. Church officials, however, said they felt that ratio was too low and asked for additional time to collect evidence to make their case that it should be higher. After reviewing the additional information the church submitted, staff now recommends allowing the assembly hall which could be used for events such as baptisms, cultural activities, funerals, fundraisers and weddings to host up to 248 people at a time. Along with the assembly hall, the project would add 1,374 square feet of classrooms and office space to St. Marys sanctuary and entails demolishing the 7,634-square-foot Zorayan building onsite and nearby residential structures on church-owned property at 118 and 126 E. 22nd St. Also proposed are a new landscaped courtyard and plaza, parking lot improvements and exterior renovations to the sanctuary. Animal adoption center proposed Planning commissioners also are scheduled to review a request from Priceless Pet Rescue to open an animal adoption center in an existing 2,202-square-foot building at 1536 Newport Blvd. Costa Mesa currently contracts with the nonprofit rescue organization to handle the citys animal adoption services and recently extended that agreement through January. As envisioned, the center would include dog kennels, cat condos, indoor play areas, adoption rooms and space to bathe and clean the animals. Proposed hours of operation are noon to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Though the facility would be closed to the public on Monday and Tuesday, volunteers and staff would still care for the animals housed there. Mondays Planning Commission meeting starts at 6 p.m. in City Hall, 77 Fair Drive. luke.money@latimes.com Twitter @LukeMMoney Mayanjali Bodla is determined to become a marine biologist. Shes about to start seventh grade. Bodla was one of 24 girls mentored by a team of female FBI special agents, intelligence analysts and assistant United States attorneys during the weeklong G-Girl STEM Academy that concluded Friday at the Discovery Cube in Santa Ana. They were very inspiring, the Fountain Valley resident said. Some of the stuff I have learned is applicable to marine biology. The Girl Scouts of Orange County and Discovery Cube staff organized the academy to introduce girls entering grades 6-8 to internet safety, cyber investigations and careers in science and criminal justice. The FBI employees and attorneys donated their time, said Stephanie Christensen, executive assistant U.S. attorney for the states Central District. It took nearly a year for organizers to coordinate the camp. Four squads of girls were tasked Friday with different parts of a mock investigation into a hacker who threatened to release revealing photos of a girl to her ninth-grade class unless she paid a ransom. Giggles ensued when the junior investigators learned the photo was actually of a monkey wearing makeup and jewelry. Girls explored the process of investigation, search warrants, social media intelligence and a digital forensic exam of the suspects laptop. Ultimately, they were able to indict Joe Badguy after presenting their evidence to a mock grand jury an audience of parents, camp counselors and mentors. After the mock trials, FBI agents and Discovery Cube staff presented each girl with a G-Girl STEM Academy badge for her Girl Scout sash, an FBI challenge coin, an FBI Los Angeles patch and an official certificate for completing the academy. Voviette Morgan, special agent in charge of the criminal division for the FBI Los Angeles Field Office, congratulated the academy graduates as she handed them their certificates. I want to take you back to the office with me, she said. Morgan added that its important for all girls to have confidence in pursuing higher education and careers. Theyre our future workforce, Morgan said. Hopefully, it just opens their minds that they have other opportunities. Alivia Seard, a rising sixth-grader and Girl Scout from Seal Beach, said she liked learning from women who work in a male-dominated field. It was just really great to see what they do, and they werent worried about the small percentage of women, she said. They just want to get their work done the best they can. Daniel Langhorne is a contributor to Times Community News. Last week, my husband and I walked over to an open house in our neighborhood. It was the third weve visited in the last month, all of them former homes of friends whove moved away. This last house happened to be one of the first homes we saw when we were house hunting in 1981, when its price was about one-eighth what it is now. We chose and still live in another home nearby, but this one became Maxs house to our kids. To me, it was his mom Arlenes house. Arlene became one of the founders of our neighborhood association and also served as PTA president at the elementary school. Our sense of history was strong then, as we entered the house, and it got stronger when the Realtor greeted us. Dont you have a son who went to John Muir, Wilson and Glendale High? asked Daniel Shalvardzhyan, with a handshake and an engaging smile. Increasingly, I find the adults I encounter are our childrens ages, our kids generation, if not their classmates. It can come as a jolt, but more like a cup of coffee than an earthquake, a gentle reminder of passing time. After we sorted out which of our kids went where for middle school and when he and they all graduated from Glendale High (he was midway between our two sons), we had a delightful conversation about the teachers he remembered and his path to real estate. Always curious about career paths, I was interested to hear about his experience working in a local movie studio before he got his degree in economics and how he uses his various talents in marketing homes. I was also interested to hear him talk about his experience with home buyers. It didnt surprise me that buyers want to know about area schools. But what they look for and how they look for it have changed over the years. In our home search, we first heard about the desirability of Glendale schools from our Realtor, Mary Ann Plumley, who was later elected to Glendale City Council. She also urged us to look into the Glendale Community College parent education preschool program when the time came for children. We didnt do any other research. We bought because of the neighborhoods charm and relative affordability, its proximity to work and our parents homes, and because we loved the fabulous hillside views. A couple of years later, after our daughter was born, I took Plumleys advice and signed up for the colleges parent-child class. Thats where I heard what I needed about our neighborhood school. Betty DeRosas son goes there, and she likes it, some of the other moms told me. A call to introduce myself to Betty, followed by a visit with another mom she knew, was all I needed to feel ready to enroll our daughter in the school down the hill. Not that I had a lot of options. The district wasnt in the habit of granting intra- or inter-district transfers in those days, years before its magnet and language-immersion programs. Children could attend their neighborhood school or parents could apply for private schools. I wasnt inclined toward private. Such was our childrens route to John Muir Elementary, and, like Daniel Shalvardzhyan, theyre grateful for the community of teachers and families they encountered and the lessons they learned there. The school, like many in south Glendale, had more than its share of challenges related to a dramatic spike in enrollment and the resulting year-round school schedule (since ended), but the educators and students seemed to take it in stride. Teachers worked hard to meet the varying needs of their students. Our children and many of their classmates progressed to excellent colleges and have become contributing members of society. Todays prospective home buyers have a lot more options to consider and, in some respects I dont envy them their difficult choices. While academic offerings have increased over the years, to include language- and science-focused schools along with the proliferation of publicly funded charter schools, I wonder about diminished neighborhood relationships and added stresses for parents who end up driving longer distances. Shalvardzhyan told us that many of his buyers use greatschools.org. to find out about schools. Hes concerned they may be getting an incomplete impression of local schools, based on how many likes a school gets on social media. The website, funded in large part by major corporations, describes Great Schools as the leading national nonprofit empowering parents to unlock educational opportunities for their children. It also offers on-the-ground organizers and advocacy groups, tools and information to push for better schools. When I typed our ZIP Code into the site, up popped a school in South Pasadena. Patty Scripter, a PTA friend who has spent many years serving the California State PTA, recommends another website for prospective home buyers, caschooldashboard.org. In a phone conversation, she described the Department of Educations website as more complicated [than Great Schools] but, in her view, considerably more thorough, so parents can look at all aspects of a school, including side-by-side comparisons with other schools. She said the PTA offers help on using the dashboard at capta.org. As she pointed out in an email earlier this year, PTA is a unique voice because we are volunteers and our only interest is whats best for children and families. Parents make big investments in their homes and their childrens education. For big decisions, it pays to have good information. JOYLENE WAGNER is a past member of the Glendale Unified school board, from 2005 to 2013, and currently serves on the boards of Glendale Educational Foundation and other nonprofit organizations. Email her at jkate4400@aol.com. The disturbing footage from a May protest in Paris begins with a man in a black jacket, gray hoodie and police helmet forcefully pushing a woman down the street, his right hand tight around the back of her neck. When those two disappear from the frame, the camera shows a group of police officers dragging a young man down the street. Another man in what appears to be civilian clothes is struggling against the protester, who is now kneeling. Then the first man in the black jacket reappears, approaches the kneeling man from behind, grabs him by the neck and yanks him away from the group. Then he beats him. The video, which circulated on social media, was recorded at a Workers Day protest in May, and this week, the French newspaper Le Monde identified the black-jacketed man as Alexandre Benalla, a security aide to French President Emmanuel Macron. That identification prompted a series of questions, including what Benalla was doing at the protest to begin with, why he beat the protesters and whether his superiors knew about it and failed to respond appropriately. On Monday, French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb will have to answer some of them as Parliament plans to grill him over whether the government mishandled the incident. Regular parliamentary work has been paralyzed for two days with questions about why it took more than two months to inform judicial officials and why Benalla stayed in his post during that time. Questions over whether there was an official cover-up of his actions also have been raised, and whether Elysee employees have a measure of impunity not granted to others. Advertisement The incident and its aftermath have grown into a political scandal that took another turn Saturday as French investigators raided Benallas home in Issy-Les-Moulineaux, a suburb of Paris. Collomb is facing accusations that he knew about Benallas behavior and didnt take appropriate action. The 26-year-old Benalla was suspended for two weeks at the time but has appeared at a number of high-profile events since then. (The BBC reports that he worked as a bodyguard for Macron during his campaign and later was hired by the presidents chief of staff.) Following outcry over the footage released this week, the Elysee dismissed him Friday. Benalla was taken into custody Friday along with another bodyguard, Vincent Crase, who also reportedly also appears in video footage from the May protest and has previously worked for Macrons political party. Agence-France Presse reported Saturday that three police officers also were taken into custody to face questioning over whether they provided Benalla with security camera footage that he hoped would prove himself innocent. The Washington Post reported Thursday that Benalla is not a police officer, but was wearing a visor that made him look like one. Le Monde reported that he asked for the day off in early May to observe the Workers Day protest; however, the footage that emerged this week makes it seem like he did more than just observe. Collomb said he has strongly condemned Benalla and Crases behavior. But the incident has led to an awkward silence from Macron as his government faces questions over whether an Elysee employee was given special treatment to avoid legal trouble. And the belated referral of the issue to judicial authorities and what was widely viewed as insufficient action at the time by the Elysee Palace has triggered a firestorm from the opposition. If Macron doesnt explain himself, the Benalla affair will become the Macron affair, far-right politician Marine Le Pen tweeted. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Early Wednesday morning, a Cape Coral Police patrol officer attempted a traffic stop on a vehicle for failing to stop at a stop sign and having an equipment violation. The reported violation took place in the 2600 block of Shelby Parkway, with the stop also on Shelby Parkway. According to a report from the CCPD, once the vehicle stopped, the driver, John Edwin Durlacher, 38, of 4446 Orchid Blvd., Cape Coral, fled on foot. The officer gave chase and Durlacher threw the backpack he was wearing into a nearby and then jumped into the water, swimming to the middle of the canal. The report indicates that after additional officers arrived on scene, Durlacher swam to a nearby dock to get out of the water. He then removed his pants and threw them on the dock before climbing out of the canal, where he was immediately apprehended. Officers recovered the backpack and a search revealed four syringes as well as a Tupperware container with a white powder residue inside that tested positive for cocaine. The report states that officers located several pieces of crack cocaine and a crack pipe inside Durlachers vehicle. Durlacher was charged with resisting arrest without violence, driving on a suspended drivers license 3rd offense, possession of cocaine, five counts of possession of drug paraphernalia and tampering with evidence. Durlacher was later transferred to the Lee County Jail. Business Manufacturer of office tables in India Manufacturer of office tables in India 21.07.2018 08:56:02 - Office furniture that is boring not just makes you lazy, yet it additionally will make you irritated and clumsy by the mountains of work on your desk. Being surrounded with boring furniture, individuals oftentimes lose interest in work and it'll affect someone's productivity to a large extent. (live-PR.com) - The front desk (office), a term used for the reception area at a medical facility and its personnel (receptionists), is one of the unsung heroes of multi-tasking and keeping everyone happy. This is the first and last area clients visit, and thus it is on the frontlines of keeping customers happy and things running smoothly. From scheduling appointments to collecting - The front desk (office), a term used for the reception area at a medical facility and its personnel (receptionists), is one of the unsung heroes of multi-tasking and keeping everyone happy. This is the first and last area clients visit, and thus it is on the frontlines of keeping customers happy and things running smoothly. From scheduling appointments to collecting payment, the front desk seems to do it all! Why the Front Desk Is Important The people working at the front desk can truly be deal breakers in a clinic or hospital. Would you like walking into a clinic with Joy Kil greeting you with a frown every time? Or would you rather walk in and be greeted with a smiling, happy face by Ray F. Sunshine? And it's not just about making clientele and patients feel warm and welcome. It's about: Scheduling the appointments at the correct time and with the correct doctor Listening to clients well and communicating in a positive and confident manner with those over the phone or clients in the reception area Handling billing errors and detailing client invoices Collecting payment to ensure the practice turns a profit so everyone can get paid Being on the frontlines of many complaints Pulling up medical records for the doctors Copying, faxing, and e-mailing documents between clinics, hospitals, and clientele Keeping the reception area clean That's just the gist of it. There's a whole lot more that goes into making a clinic a great place to work, an even better place for clients to visit, and ensuring things run smoothly and efficiently from the moment the doors open. Hiring a great front desk staff that has excellent communication and customer service skills is one of the most important aspects of running a hospital. Specifically referring to the work place, every piece of furniture is going to play an important part in boosting your productivity, as well as potential. With the inclusion of great furniture, you'll have the ability to take your productivity to an entirely new level. It's the reason why nearly all office spaces in the world are providing a makeover to their boring and old furniture by including stylish, as well as new furniture within their offices. Futurehospicare offers the highest quality of office tables, as well as the finest customer care and service. 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We create products and also modify them according to our customers requirement. We produce high quality ergonomically designed furniture that lasts lifelong with least maintenance required. Our main focus is to provide after Sales Service as soon as possible to our customers. We are well known manufacturer of office tables in bareilly and hospital beds including fowler beds, semi fowler beds, manual hospital beds, plain hospital beds, adjustable hospital beds, hydraulic & electric hospital beds etc. Browse online catalog and get a free quote now! payment, the front desk seems to do it all!Why the Front Desk Is ImportantThe people working at the front desk can truly be deal breakers in a clinic or hospital. Would you like walking into a clinic with Joy Kil greeting you with a frown every time? Or would you rather walk in and be greeted with a smiling, happy face by Ray F. Sunshine?And it's not just about making clientele and patients feel warm and welcome. It's about:Scheduling the appointments at the correct time and with the correct doctorListening to clients well and communicating in a positive and confident manner with those over the phone or clients in the reception areaHandling billing errors and detailing client invoicesCollecting payment to ensure the practice turns a profit so everyone can get paidBeing on the frontlines of many complaintsPulling up medical records for the doctorsCopying, faxing, and e-mailing documents between clinics, hospitals, and clienteleKeeping the reception area cleanThat's just the gist of it. There's a whole lot more that goes into making a clinic a great place to work, an even better place for clients to visit, and ensuring things run smoothly and efficiently from the moment the doors open. Hiring a great front desk staff that has excellent communication and customer service skills is one of the most important aspects of running a hospital.Specifically referring to the work place, every piece of furniture is going to play an important part in boosting your productivity, as well as potential. With the inclusion of great furniture, you'll have the ability to take your productivity to an entirely new level. It's the reason why nearly all office spaces in the world are providing a makeover to their boring and old furniture by including stylish, as well as new furniture within their offices.Futurehospicare offers the highest quality of office tables, as well as the finest customer care and service. We are your best source for low prices on hospital furniture and manufacturer of office tables in india.We have a big selection of hospital furniture like Hospital Semi Fowler Beds, ICU Bed Mechanically, Hospital Bed Mattress, Bed Side Locker, Bed Side Screen, Electric OT Table, Over Bed Table, Examination Table, Labour Table, Examination/Gynae Table, Computer Table, Office Table, and just about anything else your hospital might need.We are one of the fast growing and fast improving company in the field of manufacturing hospital furniture, Office table manudacturer in bareilly and display racks. We are in the field of manufacturing hospital furniture since 1980 by the name of Kapoor Steel Enterprises. But now we have come up with our new brand name FUTURE HOSPICARE.Our factory is equipped with state of the art machinery and powder coating plant that allows us to manufacture bulk quantity of high products in less time. We create products and also modify them according to our customers requirement. We produce high quality ergonomically designed furniture that lasts lifelong with least maintenance required. Our main focus is to provide after Sales Service as soon as possible to our customers.We are well known manufacturer of office tables in bareilly and hospital beds including fowler beds, semi fowler beds, manual hospital beds, plain hospital beds, adjustable hospital beds, hydraulic & electric hospital beds etc. Browse online catalog and get a free quote now! Press Information: Futurehospicare Under Hartman Over Bridge, near chaudhary Talab Crossing, Bareilly (U.P.) Contact Person: geet sethi MD Phone: +91-9719100985 eMail: eMail Web: http://www.futurehospicare.com 21.07.2018 08:56:02 - Disclaimer: If you have any questions regarding information in this article please contact the author. Please do not contact Live-PR.com. We are not able to assist you. Live-PR.com disclaims content contained in this article. Live-PR.com is not authorized to give any information about content and not responsible for content posted by third party. Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2018 > RSS in Education, Rampant Bullying in Schools MUSINGS The RSS intrusion into the education sphere is writ large. The RSS-affiliated Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas, headed by Dina Nath Batra, had sent a list of recommendations to the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) demanding a host of changes in its textbooks. Batra had asked the NCERT to remove English, Urdu, and Arabic words, a poem by the revolutionary poet Pash and a couplet by Mirza Ghalib, the thoughts of Rabindranath Tagore, extracts from painter M.F. Husains auto-biography... Batra also wanted references to the Mughal emperors as benevolent, the BJP as a Hindu party, the National Conference as secular, an apology tendered by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the 1984 riots, and a sentence that nearly 2000 Muslims were killed in Gujarat in 2002 to be removed. News reports had further stated that the Nyas objected to the facts that the Class 11 Political Science textbook mentions the massive majority of the Congress in 1984 but does not present the 1977 election details, the Class 12 Political Science textbook terms National Conference of J&K a secular organisation, and the Class 10 English textbook places nationalism against other ideals as an attempt... to show a rift between nationality and humanity by citing the thoughts of Rabindranath Tagore. It also wanted that the Hindi textbooks must mention that the medieval Sufi mystic Amir Khusrau increased the rift between Hindus and Muslims. The Nyas had on earlier occasions demanded the removal of A.K. Ramanujans essay Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translation from the undergraduate syllabus of the University of Delhi, and had gone to court demanding that Wendy Donigers The Hindus not be sold in India. Their demands were fulfilled! Ramanujans essay was removed from the DUs reading list, and Penguin India, the publisher of Donigers book, pulled it out from circulation. It would be more than relevant to mention that in 2014, government schools in Gujarat were given six textbooks written by Batra as supplementary literature that claimed cars were invented in ancient India and told children to draw an enlarged nation to include Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Not to overlook the distortion of certain words like roza (Muslims fast during the month of Ramzan) and their meanings published in textbooks taught in the Gujarat schools. And in the summer of 2017, the ICSE Boards Class VI textbook, circulated in schools across India, blamed mosques and azaan for causing noise pollution. A chapter on noise pollution in the book, published by Selina Publishers, focused on sources that cause noise pollution. The image published in the chapter of Integrated Science shows trains, cars, planes and mosques as sources of noise pollution. The image also has a man shutting his ears in frustration right in front of a mosque! Today new forms of bullying are rampant in schools. Singing of Vande Mataram is forced on Muslim students. Also, Surya Namaskar in schools of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Not to overlook the recent announcement by the Haryana Education Minister, Ram Bilas Sharma, that the Gayatri Mantra will be part of the morning prayers in Haryanas government schools. Describing the mantra as a gift by our saints and sages to the world, he announced that a decision to this effect was taken during his meeting with senior Education Department officials. One report after another of harassment faced by Muslim students by school teachers. If youd recall just a few months back, a Kanpur-based student, Arsh Mohammad, tried killing himself after his schoolteachers not just taunted and ridiculed him in front of his fellow students but even searched for a gun in his school bag! This happening on the premises of one of the branches of the Delhi Public School (Kanpur). Children are getting threatened and humiliated by school teachers if they dont follow the new dictates of todays developed India! Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2018 > Responsive Coalition Government vis-a-vis Authoritarian Majoritarian (...) by Vijay Kumar As the 2019 general election draws near, and in the wake of the recent setbacks to the BJP in by-polls across the country and it being outsmarted by the Congress in forming the government in Karnataka despite emerging as the single largest party, the talk of a coalition government with the perceived image of mis-governance inherent in messy arrangements has been agog. The Narendra Modi-led BJP Government will try hard to convert the coming election as a presidential one and seek vote around his masculine image and aggressive nationalist postures and belittle the alternative comprising of dozen coalition parties, perhaps led by the Congress, or supported by it. I argue here that the proposition that the coalition government is a charter of mis-governance and a strong majoritarian government alone can deliver is a myth that needs to be interrogated with all the intellectual resources at our command. Democracy is not only about election, though it is one of the most important parts of it. No less significant is the importance of institutions and the practice of checks and balances through it. In Germany, the coalition government was formed after five months of political stalemate, and yet, the governance did not suffer because robust independent institutions were in place and those performed their functions even in the midst of political uncertainty. Governance is secured best by efficient functioning of institutions rather than by the size and number of the majority. Given the existence of democracy, the institutions and their efficient and independent functioning become inescapable concomitants. The institution can function efficiently only when it is independent and seen to be so. Experience has shown that institutions in India have functioned more independently and credibly at the time of a coalition government and their performance and autonomy have come under strain whenever there was a government by majority. In the context of the functioning of the Supreme Court, F.S. Nariman, the most respected legal luminary of the country in our time, has been reminding us ever since the 2014 election that the highest Court of the land has been tamed before a strong government and has asserted its independent role at the time of a coalition government. Once institutional effectiveness and credibility are compromised, the efficacy of checks and balances, which lies at the core of the theory of separation of power, loses its potency. In all mature democracies, utmost importance is attached to institutional effectiveness and wellbeing. The significance of checks and balances through autonomous functioning of institutions is evident in the US even at the time of imperial presidency of Donald Trump with all the elements of his narcissism and megalomaniac instinct. The instrumentality of checks and balances operates at both the constitutional and political levels. Constitutionally, the function of checks and balances operates through the doctrine of separation of power which has been declared as the basic feature of the Constitution. The theory of separation of power demarcates the area of sphere among legislature, executive and judiciary. Under the principle of separation of power, the legislature is supposed to hold the executive to account and it is the duty of the judiciary to intervene when the executive and legislature transgress the limits of their powers. At the constitutional level, the powerful and independent court can and ought to tame the majoritarian impulse by upholding the rights of the citizens which is what constitutionalism is all about. At the political level, there has to be strong countervailing forces to interrogate the government. Here, the role of the Opposition parties, civil society and media becomes crucial as these institutions can individually and cumulatively act as countervailing forces, and thereby interrogate the excesses and arrogance of the government. In India, except the majoritarian government under Pandit Nehru, all governments with strong majority have demonstrated proclivities to undermine institutions and their independence. The government of Narendra Modi with just a comfortable majority has shown all the tendencies to subvert the autonomy of the institutions, whether it is the judiciary, Election Commission, universities and media. We need independent and powerful judiciary to uphold the right of the citizens, especially those who have no effective political voice against the government. The legitimacy of the electoral process can only be secured by a robustly independent functioning of the Election Commission. We can have liberal space only when universities and educational institutions are autonomous and insulated from governmental interference. And, last but not the least, we need a strong and fearless media to expose the lapses and excesses of the government. Francis Fukuyama, one of the tallest political scientists of our time, has chosen Scandinavian countries as a model for ideal democracy because of the impersonal rule that governs the functioning of institutions there rather than the cult of personality which has become the norm in many countries. Apart from efficiency, the issue of legitimacy and fairness of action also assume significance; these can be ensured through impersonal rule rather than external political influence. The empirical evidence has demonstrated that the function of institutions comes under pressure under a majoritarian government and the sturdy functioning of it is better achieved in a coalition government. The short point which deserves to be pressed home is that the functioning of checks and balances is performed more vigorously by independent institutions in a coalition government, and, conversely, gets undermined by a government having a strong majority. The principle of accountability and responsiveness lie at the heart of democratic governance. The coalition government is undoubtedly more accountable and responsive, and strong majoritarian government, on this count, suffers from democratic deficit. Here, the following comments, in the context of the debate on the Parliamentary vis-a-vis Presidential system, made by Dr B.R. Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, on 25.11.1949, that is, the penultimate day of the sitting of the Constituent Assembly, are extremely apt: The second thing we must do is to observe the caution which John Stuart Mill has given to all who are interested in the maintenance of democracy, namely, not to lay their liberties at the feet of even a great man, or to trust him with powers which enable him to subvert their institutions. There is nothing wrong in being grateful to great men who have rendered life-long services to the country. But there are limits to gratefulness. As has been well said by the Irish Patriot Daniel Oconnel, no man can be grateful at the cost of his honour, no women can be grateful at the cost of her chastity and no nation can be grateful at the cost of its liberty. This caution is far more necessary in the case of India than in the case of any other country. For India, Bhakti or what may be called the path of devotion or hero-worship, plays a part in its politics unequalled in magnitude by the part it plays in the politics of any other country in the world. Bhakti in religion may be a road to the salavation of the soul. But in politics, Bhakti or hero-worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship. The admonition of Dr B.R. Ambedkar has turned out to be prophetic. The BJP is going to contest the 2019 general election on the basis of the personality of its leader Narendra Modi by side-stepping the issue of governance, ranging from economic issues, the farmers distress, unemployment, the alarmingly shrinking space for liberal values, increasing intolerance resulting in the rise of lynch mentality and the foreign policy. It is incumbent upon the Opposition parties and their leaders to keep on harping on these issues and resist the election being hijacked into a presidential form. Dr Ambedkar administered the warning a long time back and it is for all of us to pay heed to the same. The author is a Supreme Court Advocate. Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2018 > Art of Reducing Constitutional Democracy to a Joke ALL THIS AND MUCH MORE IS TO BE LOCATED IN A SINGULAR OBSESSION WITH ELECTORAL POLITICS by M.A. Sofi Looking at what has been a long trail of unedifying events having hogged the headlines over the past four years, the single-most motivating factor for these events having come about has been the manner in which electoral politics is being played out, more often than not, by resorting to tactics which are questionable in conception and devious in intent. The list of such unsavoury developments is endless: cow vigilantismand the accompanying mayhem involving cases of lynchingLove-Jihad, Ghar Wapsi, Ram Mandir, Triple Talaaq, Jinnah Portrait, appeasement of the Hindu militant fringe through state-managed acquittal of those involved in Malegaon, Mecca Masjid and Samjhauta Express blasts etc. The breaking up of the alliance with the PDP is the latest gimmick as part of this long chain of electoral strategies! In regard to this latest piece in the arsenal of its tactics having been employed by the spin doctors of the BJP I, like so many other Kashmir-watchers across the board, was least surprised by the chain of events that had led to the BJP pulling the plug from its alliance with the PDP. However, what baffles me no ends is the realisation that someone of the stature and standing of senior Mufti as a dyed-in-the-wool political heavyweight of the J & K State could not have seen through the mischief, the stratagem, the deviousness and the Chanakyan cunning that are readily on offer while dealing with those schooled in the Sangh Parivar. All the same, one is left to constantly wonder how upon earth he had convinced himself of the BJP doing anything that would even remotely help mitigate the sufferings of the people of the Valley, a presumption he had brought himself to fancy would inform the coming together of the north and south poles. His naivete and stupidity compare so favourably with the shenanigans of his grand daddy of the Kashmir politics for the latters monumental deception and betrayal of his peoples noble cause for a life of freedom, honour and dignity. How he had allowed himself to reckon that if an otherwise suave, educated and a genuinely secular leader of Nehrus stature had betrayed and played dirty with the tall and towering SMA, he would be treated differently? As it turned out, that was a will-o-the-wisp that his successor has learnt the hardand in fact, the most forgettableway. He should have known better that fancying visions of a successful alliance with a non-secular, fascist outfit like the BJP would be an act of self-immolation. Whereas part of the reason for this break-up has certainly been the recent developments involving the electoral reverses the BJP had suffered in the recent by-elections in UP, Bihar and Maharashtra following the earlier debacle in Karnataka, the likely impact of these developments on the outcome in the 2019 elections has been the chief motivation for the volte face on its part. In the garb of a democratically elected coalition government, what has the outgoing government achieved other than to push the J & K State to the precipice by destroying all prospects of peace returning to the State any time soon and increasing the level of violence that has led in its wake to dozens of young Kashmiris joining the militant ranks during these past four years of unprecedented turmoil in the Valley. This, besides the development front, where the less said the better. However, a likely outcome of the break-up of the unholy alliance would be for the alliance partner from Jammu throwing its weight behind the effort to sabotage the ongoing investigations into the Kathua rape case by manipulating things so as to give the culprits and their masters a clean chit. Something similar is expected being planned in the case of those who had hatched the conspiracy to eliminate Shujaat Bukhari in a recent brutal attack in Srinagar. A tongue-in-cheek comment by some of the Sangh poster boys of the Ashok Pandit/Sushil Pandit variety lays it all bare about who these culprits could have been. In a tweet, the former had stated that Shujaat was a voice of terrorists and azadi, implying thereby that he could have been killed by none other than those who are out to crush the voices of azadi in Kashmir! And doesnt he know too well who these guys actually are for whom azadi is a national anathema. If that was not hint enough, hark back to the chilling warning issued by that ex-BJP Minister Lal Singh of the Kathua rape case infamy that if the Kashmir-based journalists transgressed the red line while reporting on political developments in the J & K State, they would be meted out the same fate as was reserved for Shujaat Bukhari! In line with the same strategy, the twin ploy involving the out of box invention of an assassination plot having been hatched against the PM coupled with the coup detat which the Sangh had pulled earlier a few days back involving Pranab Mukherjees visit to Nagpur and which redounds to the evil genius of its spin doctors is part of a game that the Sangh expects to pull off for the BJP at the hustings. That serves to provide yet another vindication of my long held belief that barring an ever-dwindling crop of genuine practitioners/advocates of secularism, a large chunk of Indians come across as Sanghis at heart. If an ex-President of the republic, who could as well have been the Prime Minister of a secular country, reveals himself in his true colours, what would one say about the teeming millions of Indians who are either not sufficiently educated or sophisticated enough to tell a secular polity from one based on religious extremism and hatred. And that surely doesnt augur well for the country as in that event, they would have no qualms resorting to their time-tested ploy of playing the communal card by creating conditions for a communal cataclysm to devastating effect! An explicit reference to that effect was made in a recent interview by none other than Subramaniam Swamy, the BJP ideologue who has made no secret of their strategy to divide Muslims on sectarian lines between Sunnis, Shias, Bareilwis etc! I have long since maintained that the brand of politics spawned by the electoral compulsions in the sham called Indian democracy is the source of much of violence and bad blood amongst different sections of the Indian society that has been on the rise, especially since the present dispensation took over more than four years ago. With the BJP finding itself pushed to the wall involving its electoral prospects in the 2019 elections, the only dependable ploy for it to exploit and milk it to the hilt unfortunately happens to be our own Kashmir which it seeks to convert into a killing field where massive security operations are planned to be undertaken with the sole aim of killing Kashmiris in their hundreds and destroying property worth billions, and thus to polarise the society purely on communal lines. Whereas on the one hand, the Resistance as an outcome of the scourge of occupation has been used as a ruse to deprive Kashmiris of the windfall of economic growth whose benefits have been extended to people across vast swathes of India, the same ruse is now being used to reap electoral dividends by subjecting the people here to unspeakable indignity and violence that we have been witnessing here and going through on a day-to-day basis. And this only because there are plenty of takers for this Indian version of the Holocaust across mainland India. What a great curse it indeed is to be reeling under forced occupation, with no ray of hope in sight for deliverance! With the chips looking down for the BJP in its fight for survival in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and MP and in the general elections in 2019, the situation demands of all of us to remain ever so vigilant against the distinct possibility of an apocalypse in the run-up to the elections being contemplated to be unleashed by it as part of its stock-in-trade response when it is in the middle of an existential crisis. This devious campaign is designed to create chaos and mayhem in the country that is meant to take its toll upon certain sections of the society and to polarise it on communal/sectarian lines like never before. As is to be expected, these dirty tricks are going to be played out mainly in the free for all theatre of violencethe Kashmir Valley which has always been used as a favourite hunting ground in pursuit of their narrow and wicked political agenda. And in this act, both the victims and the perpetrators would be predetermined in a way that would lead to a massive backlash across mainland India with an eye on consolidating the majority vote, while making sure to apportion the blame squarely on Kashmiri militants and their supporters in the Valley. The main take-away from what has been conveyed in the previous paragraphs is that the Sangh model of division of labour has truly scuppered and backfired as has been seen in all these turf wars during the recent electoral battles with their opponents in mainland India. Let them understand that the policy of minority bashing punctuated by brutal acts of violence including lynching by the party riff-raff and supported by the small-time politicians and Ministers, with the blabber of vikas, sab ka sath etc and all that nonsense thrown in by the man at the top has lost its steam. The fact remains that the price for remaining intransigent while relying on strong-arm tactics and resorting to unrestricted use of fire power is already too heavy to deliver in the long run. However, as opposed to these tactics which flow from the politics of hate and divisiveness, a natural and a far more desirable option would be for more inclusive strategies to be evolved to win the hearts and minds of the people and to engage with those who are being looked upon as the other, a bete noire, if you like. That alone would be the mantra for genuine vikas and happiness of the people of India. This applies as much to the ground reality in mainland India as it does to the violence-hit J & K State which has been pushed to the abysmal depths of despair and darkness in pursuit of a policy that is born out of bile and paranoid hatred. The author is a Professor Emeritus, Department of Mathematics, Kashmir University, Srinagar. He can be contacted at e-mail: aminsofi[at]gmail.com Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2018 > Spy Talks between Chiefs of RAW and ISI leave Room for Speculation BOOK REVIEW by K.S. Subramanian Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace by A.S. Dulat, Asad Durrani and Aditya Sinha; Harper Collins Publications India; 2018; Price: Rs 799; pp. 319. This book relates to a unique series of candid conversations between A.S. Dulat and Asad Durrani, retired spy chiefs of India and Pakistan respectively. They explore the problems and possibilities of their bilateral security concerns. Senior journalist Aditya Sinha choreographs the conversations in the book Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace. The conversational format makes for easy reading. Peter Jones of the University of Ottawas Centre for International Policy Studies, who helms the Track-II Intel-Dialogue series, facilitated the project. The conversations are full of information and insight on intelligence issues between India and Pakistan not easily available in one place. The spy masters, once part of the Deep States of the two enemy countries, practised, as Dulat puts it, licenced skulduggery on each other. Amarjit Singh Dulat served for long in Indias Intelligence Bureau (IB) with the main focus on Kashmir and ended up as chief of Indias external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing or the RAW (1999-2000). On retirement he joined the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) contributing to high-level policy implementation on Kashmir (2001-04). Durrani, from the Pakistani Army, was an accidental spymaster who headed Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate or the ISI (1990-91). The authors have displayed remarkable courage in undertaking this unusual venture. At the book launch in New Delhi when one of the main speakers waxed eloquent on nationalism, the eminent Kashmiri journalist Shujaat Bhukari declared: Kashmiris hate India. Journalist Aditya Sinha has intelligently organised his vast material into 33 chapters in seven parts. The spy chiefs begin with stating that a healthy India-Pakistan relationship has more benefits than downsides. They then call for spy-to-spy communication channels between India and Pakistan and want an open post in each others national Capital. The spy masters proceed to explore the issue of Jammu and Kashmir and break the frozen status quo. The composite dialogue between the two countries and the unmet expectations from the Narendra Modi regime are then explored. The best way to go forward, they say, is not to be overoptimistic and advocate a take-what-you-get approach.The situation has got worse since the July 2016 killing of the militant Burhan Wani. Muscular statements by the Indian Army chief have worsened the situation. The spy chiefs go on to look at the meat of the India-Pakistan relationship and the main personalities involved, including the hawks as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. They appreciate the four-point formula for border settlement developed by President Musharraf and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. But the Agra Summit 2001 failed to deliver. Dulat says Prime Minister Vajpayee was head and shoulders above Modi but he had to deal with hardliner L.K. Advani, his Deputy Prime Minister. Narendra Modis surprise moves embarrassed and angered Pakistan, says Durrani. Modi, who was different from Vajpayee, could destroy Indias secular image. Durrani feels Modi is a showman who likes to keep people guessing. Many, including the National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, hold that Modi is the best thing that happened to India. Modi doesnt have much of a Cabinet. He sticks to Doval and ignores others. The Doval Doctrine, which is basically militaristic, is not addressed sufficiently by the spy chiefs. The authors then look at Flashpoints: Hafiz Sayeed and the 26/11 terrorist attack on Mumbai; the saga of the alleged spy Kulbhushan Jadhav captured by Pakistan; the surgical strikes by the Indian military across the Line of Control; the futile rhetoric on talks and terror cannot go together; and the pros and cons of war. Dulat says the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008 were the outcome of frustration in Pakistan. David Headley had referred to Hafiz Sayeed and to a Major of the ISI. Dulat adds that President Pervez Musharraf must have known about the preparations. Durrani is not sure about Pakistans complicity. He hints at other possibilities. Dulat is silent. The Kulbhushan Jadhav case, Durrani feels, was a matter of one-upmanship on the part of Pakistan, which feels besieged. If indeed the Jadhav case was a RAW operation, it was a pretty sloppy job, says Dulat. He wants better cooperation between the spy agencies of the two countries. He is not sure if Jadhav was involved in operations in Balochistan as alleged by Pakistan. Doval and Modi had threatened action in Balochistan in response to Pakistan fishing in the troubled waters in Kashmir. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at Sharm el-Sheikh had hinted that if there were any Indian activities in Balochistan, suitable action would follow. This caused a diplomatic ruffle and the idea of setting up a joint mechanism on terrorism was pushed back. The authors go on to look at Afghanistan in the light of great power rivalry in South Asia. Durrani admits Pakistan cooperated with the US in identifying the location and killing of Osama bin Laden. The authors also examine the role of Russia in South Asia. Finally, the authors look at the prospects of peace between India and Pakistan. Dulat favours confidence building measures but Durrani wants new structural arrangements. But both are convinced that the madness between India and Pakistan must be ended. There are interesting insights: i) there are fresh views on the conflicts in Kashmir, Afghanistan, and Balochistan; ii) Hafiz Sayeeds role in the Mumbai terror attacks of 26/11 is examined; iii) the detention of Kulbhushan Jadhav by Pakistan is examined in detail; iv) Durrani exposes the fake character of Indias surgical strikes; v) the play of selfish self-interests in Afghanistan is examined; vi) Nudger-in-Chief Donald Trump and Pakistans Pal Vladimir Putin are commented upon; vii) the roles of Narendra Modi and his chief National Security Adviser, Ajit Doval, are examined; viii) the futility of the talks-and-terror rhetoric is exposed; ix) politics of war is illuminatingly discussed; x) composite dialogue and how to end the madness between the two nations are gone into. Durrani notes that the arrest of Kulbhushan Jadhav was intended to prevent possible Indian attack in the wake of the Pathankot terrorist attack, January 1, 2016. (p. 190) He says Indias National Investigative Agency (NIA) did not find any link between Pakistan and Pathankot; that Pervez Musharraf had kept Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif partly in the dark about the Kargil attack; that despite the Musharraf-sponsored attack on Kargil, Pakistan accepted that Kargil fell on the Indian side of the LoC; that Pakistan had resisted US pressure to go after the Haqqani network; that Pakistan had been clumsy in its handling of issues in Balochistan; that at the Agra summit, 2001, India had put all its eggs in the basket of Prime Minister Vajpayee leading to its failure; that Pakistan knew of the presence of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad; that he had opposed Musharrafs attempted coup against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif; that Americans felt they could do business with Musharraf since he was smart and spoke English; that the media are opposed to peace; and that the Al Faran operation in which four foreign tourists had been kidnapped (1995) was a false flag operation by the Indian intelligence agencies. Dulat notes that the RAW had tipped off Pakistan on the possible US terrorist attack on President Pervez Musharraf following 9/11; that several secret peace talks had happened between RAW chiefs and Pakistan during Prime Minister Narasimha Raos time and later; that Prime Minister Vajpayee knew that Kashmir was central to peace-building between India and Pakistan though Prime Minister Modi did not share the view; that Kashmir had become hostage to electoral politics; that a security-centric solution to a fundamentally political problem would not work; that Track-II discussions had revealed similarities between the issues in Kashmir, Afghanistan and Balochistan; that truth is a kaleidoscope and there are always more than two sides to a problem; that eminent author Ahmed Rashid had told him that if the Kashmir dispute were resolved, Afghanistan would be easily resolved; and that Rustom Shah Mohmand, a Pakistani diplomat, had remarked that Pakistan should put its own house in order in Balochistan before finding fault with India on Kashmir. The spy chiefs notably avoided discussing China. Was this deliberate? China is the elephant in the drawing room in Indo-Pak relations. It plays a significant role in the economic development of Pakistan as well as other countries in South Asia. India should have participated in the One Belt One Road (OBOR) inaugural ceremony in 2016 at Beijing. Talks on Sino-Indian border and Indo-Pak border disputes could perhaps be resolved if all three countries were part of the OBOR project of China. Interestingly, while India claims to be the biggest victim of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, the Indian website www.satp.org has put out data showing that Pakistan suffered a larger number of terrorist attacks than India. Thus India can utilise the counterterrorism mechanism available with the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to debate the terrorism problem with Pakistan. India should provide leadership in promoting regional cooperation in South Asia. It is a pity the spy chiefs failed to debate the issues. Durranis comment on false flag operations by Indian intelligence in the context of Al Faran operation in 1995 is revealing. Finally, why did not Aditya Sinha include in the dialogue process at least one informed expert each from India and Pakistan? A comprehensive critique of the Modi Governments security policies since 2014 emerges from the book. This is an interesting and informative book. Congratulations to the three authors and the publisher. The reviewer, a former Director General of Police in North-East India, is the author of Political Violance and the Police in India (Sage, 2007) among other publications. Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2018 > Hindi Journalism Loses Two Stalwarts COMMUNICATION In June Hindi journalism lost two stalwarts who were committed to justice, equality and communal harmony. Rajkishore was widely known as one of the senior most columnists in Hindi who wrote very regularly for several leading newspapers and journals for several decades. He also edited several magazines from time to time. His commitment to equality and justice was steadfast. He was very firmly opposed to casteism. He tried to integrate the views of Ambedkar, Gandhi and Lohia in his own way. In this effort he was close to the views of Samajwadi Jan Parishad, a group with which he was associated for several years. However, he was also keen to take up the task of evolving other, bigger alternative forces. Apart from his articles, he was also known for his efforts in literature including fiction and poetry. He edited several volumes of writings on various current issues. He edited Hindi and English journals on Panchayati Raj and rural decentralisation for the Institute of Social Sciences for several years. He was very concerned about some of the recent trends in India, including violations of democratic norms and increasing problems of minorities. Prabhakar Chaubey who breathed his last at a Raipur hospital in mid-June was known best for his commitment to weaker sections and socialist ideals as expressed in his weekly column in Deshbandhu newspaper, a column which continued uninterrupted for about 20 years. Prabhakar Chaubey, earlier a teacher and then the principal of a school, was a regular contributor to this newspaper for 58 years and also edited its evening daily for some years after his retirement from school. Although he was best known for his column, he also contributed short stories, satires and poems to this newspaper in earlier days. His column had many loyal leaders . He encouraged many young writers and budding poets. It will be difficult to fill the void left behind by these veteran writers. Bharat Dogra Raksha Kunj, Paschim Vihar, New Delhi 110063 Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2018 > The Crisis in Jammu and Kashmir: Who reset the clock to 1993? by Mustafa Khan What blunder has brought such a crisis in J&K that many perceive that India is killing its own people rather than the terrorists or the armed militants fighting the Army? The long promised plebiscite has simply become an illusion. Instead there is the shackle of abolition of the kind of limited autonomy that was promised decades ago. The Kashmiris of this new generation have not lost the relevance of history. They do not need to read the Irish history and the plight of the people there. The protagonist in The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man muses thus: Do you know what Ireland is? Asked Stephen with cold violence. Ireland is the old sow that eats her farrow? He claims that Ireland metaphorically devours its own children. All this on account of Irelands thwarted sense of nationhood. The Kashmiris in the Valley have a distinct culture. That does not match with that of different groups of Muslims in the rest of the country. They have different aspirations, too. Their movement is for freedom, called azadi. In the rest of the country there is no such thing. Hence when they are killed by the security forces they want their dead bodies buried in the graveyard meant for freedom fighters, their martyrs. When Kashmiris are hanged like Maqbool Bhatt or Afzal Guru, their burial into the Indian soil is a moment of anguish. On the mainland India there is no such ground for those who laid down their life for building a temple or a graveyard of Muslims killed in riots and pogroms. With the return of Governors Rule in Kashmir after the Ramzan ceasefire 2018 there is recrudescence of more killings and threat to civilian life. The new dispensation under N.N. Vohra is also contemplating not returning the bodies of the locals killed in police action. The reason: more charged atmosphere would make people more prone to violence, and protest. It is strange that the PM of India way back on February 28, 2002 was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. He had allowed the bodies of those killed in the Sabarmati Express fire incident at Godhra to be displayed after handing them over to the virulent RSS wing, Vishwa Hindu Parishad. That was done deliberately to turn the people against the Muslims and that started the pogrom. It lasted full three days and killed more than a thousand innocent Muslims. The earlier times when such pogroms visited India were in 1992 and 1993. Indian politics had a watershed in 1993. The clock was reset then and there thanks to the BJP leaders A.B. Vajpayee and L.K. Advani in the Narasimha Rao era. In the massacre of more than 50 Kashmiris at Bijbehara during the siege of Hazratbal on October 22, 1993 only one BSF jawan was injured. Human Rights Watch had thus rejected the Indian explanation of this ambush. Many know that the massacre was the offshoot of former Governor Jagmohans insistence for more repressive measures he voiced on July 15, 1993 even after his two terms as the Governor in Kashmirfrom 1984 to 1989, and then from January to May 1990. The government inquiry in 1994 indicted 14 BSF jawans for firing into the crowd. However, the Vajpayee Government later acquitted all the accused. It was this that led to US Assistant Secretary of State Department Robin Raphel rejecting Indias Instrument of Accession of Kashmir. Her statement in the background briefing was: As I said, we view Kashmir as a disputed territory. We do not recognise...(pause)...that instrument of accession as meaning that Kashmir is forevermore an integral part of India. And there are many issues at play in that timeframe, as we all here know.1 There is no permanent enemy as far as foreign affairs are concerned. PM Nehru took the issue of Kashmir to the UNO when the relations between the neighbours were not of the nature as of today. Comparing them in terms of a popular movie is less in significance than a masterpiece of frustrated nationalism. The situation on the ground in Kashmir is at a flash-point. There is imminent danger to the civilians despite the reported claim that the National Security Advisor Ajit Kumar Doval and not the Governor is on watch in the State. And he advocates peace in the Valley on the second anniversary of Burhan Wanis killing. The agitated people and not the militant leaders, on the other hand, are issuing ultimatums. In Lonepora village pictures of those who laid down their live in their struggle for freedom were displayed. A native invited the media: Take a picture of this. Show India that we are not afraid. Shake them up.2 Such a sense of finality was never seen before. If that was on the eve of the death anniversary of Burhan Wani, in fast motion was on in the village of Hawoora an encounter and in cheek by jowl attack on protesters in which 21-year-old Shakir Khanday and 14-year-old Andlee Jan lost their lives in firing by the security personnel. The killing instinct was manifest in action. This was buttressed by soldiers entering lanes and by-lanes and throwing stones at the tin-shed houses forcing the inmates to come out and be shot. We have orders to kill you whenever we have to. ENDNOTES 1. https://www.firstpost.com/world/the-robin-raphel-saga-what-happened-in-washington-that-soured-indo-us-ties-1798123.html 2. https://scroll.in/article/885756/once-again-a-south-kashmir-village-mourns-its-dead-including-a-14-year-old-girl The author belongs to Malegaon, Maharashtra. He can be contacted at mustafakhan1948[at]gmail.com Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2018 > Modis Kashmir Policy has brought Disrepute to India by Tapan Bose The cynical break-up of the PDP-BJP coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir by the BJP without any prior notice is a clear evidence of its plans to continue with the policy of no dialogue and harsh suppression of all forms of protest. The policy that the Modi Government has been following is a combination of (a) harsh crackdowns on the agitating youth; (b) undermining the initiatives of all mainstream parties; and (c) taking Kashmir out of the India-Pakistan equation. It seems that having the PDP as a partner was cramping its policy of harsh crackdown on the youth, and now having removed the PDP it will give full authority to its security forces for disciplining Kashmir. The Modi Governments Kashmir policy has brought disrepute to India. Earlier the inter-national community upheld the Indian states legitimacy in Jammu and Kashmir as it recognised that elections were held fairly regularly, even under very difficult circumstances and the State was ruled by elected governments. Modi is seeking global legitimacy through its military crackdown on Kashmiris in the name of fighting Islamic terrorism. The Modi Government is unperturbed by the worldwide condemnation of blinding hundreds of Kashmiris through the use of pellet guns, which even Israel does not use, and tying up Kashmiri civilians in front of military vehicles as human shields. Clearly Modi and the RSS have little regard for international reactions. It seems they feel that by buying weapons from Western countries and offering the latter market access, they can buy up the international communitys silence on what it is doing in Kashmir. This has not worked. The first ever report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the human rights and humanitarian situation in Indian Administered Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan controlled Azaad Kashmir, is a clear proof of that. The Modi Governments rejection of the report on the ground that it violated Indias sovereignty and its refusal to engage in any discussions on the content of the report has not fooled anyone. Reference to the High Commissioner for Human Rights as a Muslim and questioning his motivation has not gone down well with the international community. The Modi Governments refusal to engage in any political dialogue with Kashmiri groups and political parties is evidence of the fact that it views all the parties in Kashmir with suspicion. According to Mr Doval, Narendra Modis NSA, the objective of state policy is to prevent Kashmiris from getting involved in any kind of political dialogue. They should not be allowed to express their grievances in political terms. The Modi Government believes that the mainstream parties are politicising Kashmiris by encouraging talks on autonomy and self-rule and thus turning the minds of Kashmiris towards political questions. Modi wants to discourage Kashmiris from thinking politically. All Kashmiris who ask for a political solution of this seventy-year-old dispute are branded as Pakistani agents. Given the social and cultural make-up of the vast majority of BJP supporters, its acceptance of the lynching of mainly of Muslims but also of Dalits by its followers with local police looking the other way is a clear indication that the security forces will be given total freedom in Kashmir. Modi and Shah are looking at elections in 2019 and they seem to have concluded that hardline Hindutva to be a winning strategy in 2019. Modi has been investing immensely in defence to fulfil his dream of India becoming one of the biggest military powers. In 2017, India became the fifth largest defence spender with a budget of Rs 3.59 lakh crores ($ 53.5 billion). It overtook the United Kingdom. While the share of defence budget in the Central Governments expenditure has risen to 16.76 per cent of the overall Central Government Budget, the governments social spending is at the lowest. There is virtually no money for education, health and it cannot even pay the approved minimum wages to the rural workers under the employment guarantee scheme because of lack of funds. It is not just a financial issue. It is a moral and an ethical issue. Should India be spending such huge amounts on defence, when a vast majority of its people are in urgent need for healthcare, education, housing and sustainable employment? Eminent economist Amartya Sen said that despite being the fastest-growing economy the country has taken a quantum jump in the wrong direction since 2014. He also said that due to moving backwards, the country is now the second worst in the region. Things have gone pretty badly wrong... It has taken a quantum jump in the wrong direction since 2014. We are getting backwards in the fastest-growing economy, As we are aware, Indias commitment to secularism had earned global admiration and respect. The fact that India had devised a way of politically and socially empowering its minority communities was appreciated globally. Researchers were trying to understand how a developing country like India, with such mega diversity and a vibrant democracy, could also achieve remarkable economic growth like an authoritarian country like China. India is no longer seen as a vibrant democracy. Several international political commentators have started to compare the state of democracy in India with the growing authoritarianism and Muslim nationalism in Turkey. Narendra Modi is being seen as Indias Erdogan. India is not any more a democratic success story. Under Modi there has been a huge setback for Indias international standing as a modern country, which promotes the spirit of scientific inquiry. Apart from Modis references to Karna and Ganesh supporting the claim that cosmetic surgery and genetic science existed in India thousands of years ago, his governments aggressive promotion of the so-called Vedic science has raised serious controversies among the scientists within the country and abroad. It has been claimed that internet and satellite communications existed in India during the days of Mahabharata. The governments obsession with cow urine and dung has puzzled the scientific community and reduced India to an object of mockery. There is an urgent need for intervention in this critical hour by the mainstream political parties and Indian civil society to dissuade the Modi Government from pursuing such a flawed counterinsurgency strategy which neatly dovetails with the BJPs goal of polarising India on religious lines. As we are aware, the Kashmiris will continue to resist and pro-BJP sections of the Indian media will continue to represent them as saboteurs inspired by Pakistan while ignoring the shooting of unarmed civilians pushing the region into an up-and-down cycle of civilian uprisings which will be used to periodically whip up Hindu nationalist sentiment. By pulling out of the government in Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP is attempting to entrench the image of Muslims as being ungrateful and unreasonable, while looking to Pakistan for support. This is an integral part of the efforts to reinforce the so-called sentiment of neglect suffered by the majority Hindus, alongside consolidating the upper-caste vote-bank by isolating the Dalits. (Courtesy: Countercurrent.org) Tapan Bose is an independent documentary filmmaker, human rights and peace activist, author and regular contributor leading journals and news magazines in India, Nepal and Pakistan. His award winning documentaries on human rights and democratic issues include An Indian Story (1982) on the blinding of under trial prisoners in Bhagalpur and the nexus between landlord, police and politicians and Beyond Genocide: Bhopal Gas Tragedy (1986). His film Behind the Barricades; Punjab (1993) on the state repression in Punjab, as with the earlier cited films, was banned and after a long legal struggle was shown. His latest film is The Expendable People (2016), a passionate appeal for justice for the tribal peoples of India, cheated, dispossessed, pauperised and criminalised in their forest homes, made to pay the price for extractive development. Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2018 > Why ISRO Spy Case Is Important IMPRESSIONS Indias biggest achievement since independence is its march to leadership ranks in space technology. In June last year the national space organisation ISRO put into space a rocket as heavy as 200 fully grown elephants, making it a major player in the satellite launch industry alongside the US, France and Russia. The pioneers who prepared the ground for this great leap forward were Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai, men of impeccable scientific credentials. Bhabha pioneered nuclear research while Sarabhai focussed on space and rocketry. Both had the nuclear bomb at the back of their minds, according to Ready to Fire, the important and moving book by Nambi Nara-yanan, the ISRO scientist who pioneered cryogenic technology in India at great personal cost. Sarabhai had developed close contacts, says Nambi, with Dadieu, the German rocket engineer. (Germanys V-2 rocket, symbol of its space technology leadership, had stunned Britain in World War II.) He also knew Itokawa, specialist on Japans pencil rocket. Nambi writes: With faith in the Japanese wisdom on onboard-control systems and the German mastery over fabrication, both not allowed by the US to be put to use by those countries, Sarabhai was trying to forge a deadly brotherhood. The US was ostensibly unhappy. Then, at 56 Bhabha died in an aircrash in Switzerland in 1966. At 52 Sarabhai died in a hotel room in Trivandrum in 1971 for no apparent reason. In 1994, when ISRO was close to mastering cryogenic technology on its own after having been obstructed by the US, Nambi Narayanan and Sasikumar were arrested, tortured and virtually destroyed by the Kerala Police in the notorious ISRO spy case. Nambi, a man of almost superhuman willpower, went through it for four years before he could go to the Supreme Court which declared him and others as innocent. It all started with a Kerala Police Inspector eyeing a six-foot Maldivian woman. Spurned by her, he set out to get her tied up in legal knots, then found an opportunity to file spying charges against her. The case quickly became a cause celebre used by multiple agencies for multiple purposes. The end result, as summed up by Kumar Chellappan in a 2013 article, was that the case not only finished the careers of Indias two exceptionally brilliant space scientists, but also put the countrys cryogenic engine development on hold for more than 19 years. Nambi Narayanans account of the drama, subtitled How India and I survived the ISRO spy case, fills us with equal parts of pride and shame. Sarabhais vision and the dedication of his team of scientists make up an inspiring episode of recent history. It makes us feel that we are a people who can achieve anything if only the dreamers are given a free hand. The next moment, though, reality makes us feel ashamedthe reality that we will never do well because of the dishonesty and crookedness of those who are in positions of power. The Kerala Police, known for its love of third-degree methods and the selfishness of some of its officers, played a dastardly role in the spy case. The CBI itself rejected all its findings and case diaries which reflect adversely on the methods and intentions of the investigating officers of the Kerala Police. One bows in awe before Nambi Narayanan who withstood the cruelties of the sadistic police which Sasikumar could not. The first blow landed when they asked him to give the name of a Muslim friend and he, quite honestly, gave the name of his colleague A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. For more than 30 hours he was made to stand, answering questions, taking beatings. When he asked for water, the answer was: You third-rate criminal, you want water? This astonishing man gathered strength by telling himself: I cannot let down Sarabhai, my father, my gurus and myself. As he puts it: I took deep breaths and stood my ground. I spoke, You guys are committing a big crime, and you will be punished for this. It is sickening to learn that a scientist working on a nationally important project became a victim of cunning politicians (Congress leader Oommen Chandy used the ISRO case to get rid of the then Congress Chief Minister). And scheming police officers (a DGP used the case to malign another officer who stood in the way of his promotion). Nambi Narayanan lost his career, but recovered his honour. May his tribe increase and may he succeed in getting just dessert for those police tormentors found guilty by the CBI itself. Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2018 > Was Emergency in India akin to Hitlers Regime? by Ram Puniyani On the eve of the 43rd anniversary of the Emergency, which was imposed on the country in 1975, the BJP has come out strongly condemning the event, issued a half-page advertisement and Modi said that it was imposed to save the power of a family. There are claims that the BJPs parent organisation, the RSS, and its political predecessors valiantly fought against the Emergency. Surprisingly many streams of Indian politics, like the CPI(M), shades of socialists, and sections of dissident Congress, who fought against the Emergency, did not make any noise about their role. While the Congress itself has not overtly criticised the act of its leader, Indira Gandhi, it needs to be recalled that Mrs Gandhi had regretted the excesses during this period in a speech in Yavatmal in 1978. Apart from Jaitly and BJP leaders there are many others also who compare the authoritarian Emergency regime and its excesses with what happened during Hitlers fascist regime. Its true that during this period there was a serious violation of democratic freedom. The similarity with Hitlers fascist regime ends there. The main mechanism of Hitlers regime was to instigate emotions, intensifying divisiveness by activating the storm-troopers and targeting against the racial minority, the Jews. Other characteristics of his regime were to promote the interests of big business houses and suppress the rights of the working class in particular. It projected the golden past and also promoted ultra-nationalism and implemented a muscular foreign policy leading to soured relations with its neighbors. People like Einstein left the country. The targeting of racial minorities was the central and most conspicuous part of the policy. The excesses which took place during the Emergency were not targeted against any minority. Its true that the pavement dwellers suffered a lot, demolitions and the compulsory vasectomy of the poor sections affected Muslims as well, but it was not targeted against the Muslim community in any way. How can one say that the Emergency which was authoritarianism was not fascism in any way? In fascist methods what is central to the undermining of democracy is to operate through the mechanism of mobilisation of foot soldiers, whipping up mass hysteria and giving promi-nence to emotive issues. Lets remember Indira Gandhi herself had lifted the Emergency and called for elections in a democratic way, elections in which she suffered a massive defeat. In Germany the fascist regime destroyed Germany itself. While a lot is being said about the Emergency, what was the role of the RSS during this period? The claims that the RSS was a central force to fight against this regime fall in the category of a cock and bull story. T.V. Rajeswar, who served as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh and Sikkim, after his retirement from service, in his book, India: The Crucial Years [Harper Collins], tells us: Not only they (RSS) were supportive of this [Emergency], they wanted to establish contact apart from Mrs Gandhi, with Sanjay Gandhi also. Rajeswar, in an interview with Karan Thapar, disclosed that Deoras quietly established a link with the PMs house and expressed strong support for several steps taken to enforce order and discipline in the country. Deoras was keen to meet Mrs Gandhi and Sanjay. But Mrs Gandhi refused.As a matter of fact the executioners of the Emergency excesses found good favour with the BJP as it was formed after the Jana Sangh component left the Janata Party. One recalls the Emergency time slogan, Aapatkal ke tin dalal: Sanjay, Vidya, Bansilal (three executioners of Emergency: Sanjay, Vidya, Bansilal). Later the BJP gave ticket to Vidya Charan Shukla, and allied with Bansilal to form the Government of Haryana. Sanjay Gandhis wife, Maneka, was taken into the BJP and became a Minister without ever condemning the excesses committed during that period. As a matter of fact what is happening today is much more repressive though there is no official Emergency. Many have labelled it as undeclared Emergency. Nayantara Sahgal, who was a strong critic of the Emergency, has stated very aptly that ...we have an undeclared Emergency; there is no doubt about that. We have seen a huge, massive attack on the freedom of expression. The observation is that there are killings of innocent, helpless Indians; they were killed because they did not fit into the RSS view of India. Every dissent is labelled as anti-national. She continues: Writers like Gauri Lankesh have been killed. And there has been no justice for the families of the wage earners who have lost their lives in this fashion. In fact they are now being called the accused. So we have a horrendous situation, a nightmare which is worse than the Emergency. Similarly we know that today the danger to civil liberties and democratic rights is through the ideologically indoctrinated foot-soldiers, who have been called fringe elements, but as such they are part of a clear division of labour, working against Indian Constitution and for Hindu Nation. The prevalence of violence against religious minorities, the intimidation, the lynching in the name of the Holy cow, beef, love-jihad,ghar wapsi has become a sort of New Normal of the present regime. It not only goes beyond the authoritarian regime but borders on the divisive politics which is out to relegate the religious minorities to second class status in the country. While the top rulers keep quiet in cases of serious violations, the ground level vigilantes have a field day in furthering the agenda which is the outcome of the RSS ideology. Lately even the use of tricolour to instigate violence as witnessed in Kasgaonj is further stifling our democracy. We need to distinguish between the authori-tarian regime of the Emergency where the machinery of the state was used to suppress democratic rights with fascist regimes which are guided by narrow nationalism and target the minorities while pushing forward Hindu nationalism and bringing in divisions in society on sectarian grounds. Democracy is stifled in both cases, but in narrow nationalism the very concept of citizenship is denied to sections of society on the grounds of their religion or race. And this is the crucial marker of sectarian nationalism. The author, a retired Professor at the IIT-Bombay, is currently associated with the Centre for the Study of Secularism and Society, Mumbai. Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2018 > Too Harsh a Judgment? Pakistans Supreme Court has sentenced twice popularly elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for 10 years in prison. The general remarks about the verdict is that it is too harsh. Nawaz Sharif, who heard about the judgment in London, has said that he would return to Pakistan. However, sources close to the rulers say that he would be arrested as soon as he lands in the country. Once again it seems that the confrontation between the civilian rulers and the military is building up. Perhaps, the Army did not like the way in which the people were beginning to assert themselves. Nawaz Sharif obviously did not want to be a tool in the hands of those who vote for the khaki. The Army appears to have assessed that Nawaz Sharifs return to power would pose a challenge to its authority. Nawaz Sharif has so much wealth at his command that he would have paid even a bigger fine. The Supreme Court was in a quandary. On the one hand, it did not want to provoke the Army and, on the other, it wanted to do justice to Nawaz Sharif. Therefore, it awarded the maximum punishment it could while remaining within the contours of law. I met Nawaz Sharif at his luxurious flat in the heart of London. The opulence did not surprise me because many leaders from the subcontinent have a flat in England. The 150 years rule by the British had ingrained in their heart that London represented luxury and power. Nawaz Sharif had invited me for breakfast. But the table laid had the best of non-vegetarian dishes. His family had several factories in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Therefore, it did not come as a surprise to me that his wife and daughter have a flat each in London. As far as Sharif is concerned, no charge has been made against him. He himself has underlined this point. It is difficult to ascertain the veracity of the allegation. When the Army has the last word in the country, every allegation has to be taken with a pinch of salt. True, the judiciary in Pakistan has been independent but it has to avoid any situation that may appear to be a challenge to the Army. It looks that despite all pressures and threats, the death sentence given to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was opposed by two judges. They left the country surreptitiously because they feared their elimination. Nawaz Sharif does not want to run away from the adverse judgment. He has said that he would return to Pakistan and face imprisonment. The elected leaders have to pay this price to stay popular. Otherwise, it would seem that they do not care for the Supreme Court if it gives a verdict against them. There was a time when people in Pakistan came on to the streets to defend their democratic system from the onslaught by the military which wanted a role in the affairs of the country. Today, the same people want the military to come to their rescue, whatever is left of the democratic structure in their country. This was visibly seen when the popularly-elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met the Chief of Army Staff, General Raheel Sharif, to request the latter to assist him. Nawaz Sharif thought that he could get away quietly with a civilian Prime Minister seeking military help. But the Army had issued an official press release to state that the Prime Minister made the request which the Army Chief did not accept. The Armys explanation was that traditionally its role in a democratic set-up was to defend the country, not to run it. In fact, the ousted Prime Minister had brought this misery upon himself. His mis-governance had alienated the people. They wanted him and his brother, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, to quit and hold mid-term polls. Instead, Nawaz Sharif had a resolution passed by Parliament to back him. It did not help the situation because both of his opponents, Imran Khan of Tehreek-i-Insaaf and Qadiri of Pakistan Awam-i-Tehreek (PAT), represented the civilian parties. Some leaders opposed to Nawaz Sharif had demanded a mid-term poll. Their thinking was that the people must once again decide whether they want Nawaz Sharif or someone else should run the government. Not long ago, Nawaz Sharif had been pulled down by the Army from prime ministership. His call on the Army Chief then to intervene was a full turnabout. But he did not realise that the Army would have no hesitation in staging a coup as and when it felt or whenever the situation demanded. That was the reason why Nawaz Sharif brought in parliamentary democracy in his statements to underline that the role of the Army could, at best, be only temporary. I met Nawaz Sharif, then the Chief Minister, for the first time in Delhi after partition. It took him no time to tell me that I was from Sialkot. He said that the way in which I spoke Punjabi had a distinctive flavour, a kind of accent, which was confined to the Sialkotis. Prime Minister Narendra Modis meeting with Nawaz Sharif at Lahore should have opened a new chapter. Both countries would have fostered not only friendship but taken steps to benefit the region economically. There should have been trade between the two across the border instead of using Dubai as the place for import and export of capital goods. Modis statement after the visit that such an occurrence would be common and they would be coming and going to each others country without any protocol is what should have been done earlier. Former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was a visionary who could think of it. Modi appeared to follow him because soon after his return from Lahore the first thing he did was to call on Vajpayee, representing the liberal face of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The latter is incapacitated but did say by gestures that what Modi did was something which he would have himself done. Modis rule should have reflected that spirit. Instead, Nawaz Sharif faces a 10-year imprisonment. People would want some concrete evidence to see that Nawaz Sharif and his family had indulged in corrupt practices. The author is a veteran journalist renowned not only in this country but also in our neighbouring states of Pakistan and Bangladesh where his columns are widely read. His website is www.kuldipnayar.com SSI Group Inc., a leading distributor of global lifestyle and retail brands in the Philippines, has seen the growth of its food brand investments, through the opening of SaladStop!, Good Eats and TWG Tea restaurants. (Left) SSI Group president Anton Huang and (right) Shake Shack chief executive Randy Garutti It is eyeing further expansion of its food business through its next import, New Yorks iconic modern-day roadside burger stand, Shake Shack. Given the success of Salad Stop! in the Philippines and the availability of many interesting restaurant brands that have yet to open in the country, the group is planning to selectively expand its food business through 2019. This will allow the group to leverage on the experience we have acquired in operating SaladStop!, TWG Tea, Good Eats, and our central kitchen, said SSI Group president Anton Huang. Shake Shack, an American icon popular across the globe, resonates with the Philippine market and SSIs brand identity. It is critically-acclaimed and known for its 100-percent all-natural Angus beef burgers, chicken sandwiches and flat-top Vienna beef dogs, fresh-spun frozen custard, crinkle cut fries, craft beer and wine. The brands fine dining heritage and commitment to real, premium ingredients, along with its fun environment has earned it a cult-like following around the world and makes it a perfect fit for the SSI Group, which has been successfully curating quality retail and food concepts for the country for 30 years. The groups expanding food business will also leverage on the Groups expertise in identifying concepts that resonate with Filipino consumers, said Huang.Michael Kark, vice president of global licensing at Shake Shack, said SSI is the ideal partner for the brands launch in Manila. Manila is an incredible city; its heart beats with a distinct warmth and hospitality. We are excited to begin the search for our first site in Metro Manila and look forward to becoming part of this community, he said. Huang said it has been a mission of the SSI Group to provide complete lifestyle offerings and global partnerships that aim to enrich and elevate the lives of Filipino consumers.With Manila becoming a credible location for food finds, it was inevitable for us to bring to our local shores one of the best burger joints with a worldwide cult following around the world Shake Shack. We are most excited to partner with them and bring the complete gastronomic experience, coupled with its fun and lively environment to food lovers here in the Philippines, he said. Shake Shack will open its first store in Manila in the first quarter of 2019. President Rodrigo Duterte has made the Philippines a far more dangerous place by rolling back the Filipinos human rights protections instead of making it a safer place, Amnesty International Philippines says. Impunity and the lack of accountability have been shamelessly displayed at almost all levels of his administration, failing to meet its basic job to protect the Filipino people and meeting their basic economic needs and civil liberties, the group said in a statement on Thursday. Malacanang on Friday rejected the groups accusation. There is no truth to that statement, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said in a statement. He said Amnesty Internationals statement contradicted a Social Weather Stations survey showing the victims of common crimes were at a record-low of 6.1 percent in 2017. But Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel said Amnesty Internationals observation has a hint of truth. I believe the delivery of basic services is more important than this war on drugs, said Pimentel, chairman of the House committee on good government and public accountability. AI Philippines section director Jose Noel Olano said the Duterte administration does not know how to listen and that his human rights agenda had been on a downward spiral since his first State of the Nation Address in 2016. While the President said in his 2016 speech that his administration shall be sensitive to the States obligation to promote, protect and fulfill human rights, especially the poor, marginalized and the vulnerable; that social justice will be pursued and the rule of law at all times will prevail, his human rights agenda basically went on a downward spiral from that time onwards, Olano said. What contributed to this, he said, was the Presidents resistance to recommendations put forward by more diverse sectors in lieu of the opinion of his few trusted advisors.Olano also blamed Dutertes refusal to accept criticism from the international community. Earlier this year, Duterte announced the Philippines withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, citing its baseless, unprecedented and outrageous attacks against him related to The Hague-based tribunals probe into summary killings being linked to his administration. Dutertes Cabinet had also fired back at the 38 states that urged the Philippine government to put an end to the drug killings. Olano warned about the consequences that might come from Dutertes audacity to smear human rights. It is not only his speeches about keeping our country safe that has become mere lip service but in his audacity to smear human rights, he has rolled back on hard-won human rights protections that are supposed to keep everyone safe, he said. Abandoning human rights values and principles is a failure on his part and comes with a huge cost of essentially guaranteeing that no one can ever be safe because the country has become a far more dangerous place. Olano said Duterte had actively created a climate where anyone can kill or be killed, the poor were the obvious prey but more recently even government officials. By denying Filipinos true and lasting justice, this administration will only fuel despair with no limit or end, Olano said. China is Now Officially at War With the US and Japan It is not a war of guns and soldiers, but a war of finance. The Trump White House is aggressively going after China on trade. Every other month we are seeing a new round of tariffs announced on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Chinese exports. China is retaliating by devaluing the Yuan against the US Dollar at a pace not seen since early 2016. In real terms, the 10% in tariffs the Trump administration will implement on Chinese goods has ALREADY been negated by Chinas 14% Yuan devaluation. A 10% tariff wont add up to much when Chinas currency is nearly 15% cheap relative to the US Dollar. There is a second component here China is well aware that President Trump takes GREAT pride in the fact US stocks have rallied since his election in 2016. With that in mind the Yuan devaluation can be seen as a direct attack on US stocks: the last two times the Yuan was devalued at this pace, the S&P 500 dropped 11% and 12% respectively. So who does President Trump call to defend the S&P 500? Japan. One country has been noticeably absent from all the Trump speeches, tweets and tariffs this year that country is Japan. According to the Trump White Houses rhetoric, Mexico is a problem, Canada is a problem, China is a problem, the EU is a problem but Japan doesnt even get a mention. This is not coincidence. The Bank of Japan is now actively using the Yen carry trade to prop up US stocks. Every single day we are seeing interventions in the $USD: Yen pair trade to prop up the S&P 500. Its gotten to the point that the market is no longer even a market but just one giant rig. You can see this in the chart below. The S&P 500 is tracking $USD: Yen pair almost tick for tick. Put simply, the Bank of Japan is doing this to counter Chinas attempts to crash the S&P 500 by devaluing the Yuan. In return, the Trump White House refrains from attacking Japan on trade issues. So weve got Japan working with the Trump White House to prop up President Trumps darling stock marketwhile he runs an aggressive trade negotiation strategy on China which is devaluing its Yuan to A) negate the tariffs and B) crash US stocks. Put another way, the financial markets have become one gigantic battle in which the three largest economies are attacking one another via the currency markets. Regardless of which side youre on, you have to accept that this wont end well. This kind of interventionist game never does. And its ordinary investors who will get hurt the most. The time to prepare for this is NOW before the carnage hits. Graham Summers Phoenix Capital Research http://www.phoenixcapitalmarketing.com Graham also writes Private Wealth Advisory, a monthly investment advisory focusing on the most lucrative investment opportunities the financial markets have to offer. Graham understands the big picture from both a macro-economic and capital in/outflow perspective. He translates his understanding into finding trends and unde74rvalued investment opportunities months before the markets catch on: the Private Wealth Advisory portfolio has outperformed the S&P 500 three of the last five years, including a 7% return in 2008 vs. a 37% loss for the S&P 500. Previously, Graham worked as a Senior Financial Analyst covering global markets for several investment firms in the Mid-Atlantic region. Hes lived and performed research in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the United States. 2018 Copyright Graham Summers - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors. Graham Summers Archive 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. In late 2017, Montana legislators voted to substantially cut funding for mental health care, in response to a budget shortfall. In the wake of the budget cuts, a group of Montana newsrooms, in collaboration with High Country News and the Solutions Journalism Network, explored how communities are preventing the states mental health crisis from worsening. What we found was a rise in informal treatment options: Rather than replacing the mental health workers whose jobs disappeared, communities are building on-the-ground care networks. The effects of that shift on Montanas mental health system are still emerging. This series is just the beginning of a statewide conversation about what a successful system could look like. Erika Fredrickson https://missoulanews.com/coverstory/can-community-design-take-the-loneliness-and-angst-out-of/article_9550a734-8ac9-11e8-b1bd-5f5545a57245.html#utm_source=missoulanews.com&utm_campaign=%2Femail-updates%2Fweekly-best-of%2F%3Frefresh123&utm_medium=email&utm_content=64CC3B5D9718727B8670189A16E07BEC629326AA Incoming chair of the National Governors Association, Gov. Steve Bullock, D-Mont., joins Morning Joe to discuss 2020, why its not enough for Democrats to just be opposed to Trump and security at the ballot box. Video: https://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/new-head-of-governor-s-association-looks-to-future-1281056323665?playlist=associated *** Chris Mathews Show Hardball Gov. Bullock on 2018: Dems have to stick to pocketbook issues https://view.yahoo.com/show/hardball-with-chris-matthews/clip/61154364/gov-bullock-on-2018-dems-have-to Jerry started his business in the mid-1990s when he moved into the area with his wife, Sandy. Now the successful business is starting to outgrow its facility. Jerry recently was the recipient of a $204,892 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) loan through the Montana Department of Commerce. This is a low-interest, 2-percent, 10-year loan which will give him the chance to expand his operation with plans to hire 10 new full-time employees. This will be added to the approximately 13 employees they currently have on staff. By KATHLEEN WOODFORD Mineral Independent http://www.vp-mi.com/business/20180718/superior_meats_to_use_cdbg_loan_to_expand_business 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. July 21, 2018 Either Trump Fires These People Or The Borg Will Have Won President's Trump successful summit with President Putin was used by the 'resistance' and the deep state to launch a coup-attempt against Trump. Their minimum aim is to put Trump into a (virtual) political cage where he can no longer pursue his foreign policy agenda. One does not have to be a fan of Trump's policies and still see the potential danger. A situation where he can no longer act freely will likely be worse. What Trump has done so far still does not add up to the disastrous policies and crimes his predecessor committed. The borg, financed and sworn to the agenda of globalists and the military-industrial-media complex, has its orders and is acting on them. The globalists want more free trade agreements, no tariffs and more immigration to prevent higher wages. Capital does not have a national attachment. It does not care about the 'deplorables' who support Trump and his policies: [P]olls show that Trump appears to still have the support of the bulk of Republican voters when it comes to tariffs. Nearly three-fourths, or 73 percent, of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who responded to a Pew Research survey out this week said they felt increased tariffs would benefit the country. His 'isolationist' economic policies make Trump an enemy of the globalists: Donald Trump is, indeed, a kind of traitor to the Washington Consensus, a hyper-militarized capitalist utopia of corporate dominated global supply chains that doubled the international wage-slave workforce in the last two decades of the 20th century and herded these desperate billions into a race to the bottom. The leadership of both corporate parties conspired to force U.S. workers into the global meat-grinder. The weapon industry and the military recognize that the 'war of terror' is nearing its end. To sell more they need to create an new 'enemy' that looks big enough to justify large and long-term spending. Russia, the most capable opponent the U.S. could have, is the designated target. A new Cold War will give justification for all kinds of fantastic and useless weapons. Trump does not buy the nonsense claims of 'Russian meddling' in the U.S. elections and openly says so. He does not believe that Russia wants to attack anyone. To him Russia is not an enemy. Trump grand foreign policy is following a realist assessment. He sees that previous administrations pushed Russia into the Chinese camp by aggressive anti-Russian policies in Europe and the Middle East. He wants to pull Russia out of the alliance with China, neutralize it in a political sense, to then be able to better tackle China which is the real threat to the American (economic) supremacy. This week was a prelude to the coup against Trump: Former CIA chief John Brennan denounced Trump as a traitor who had committed high crimes in holding a friendly summit with Putin. It cant get more seditious than that. Trump is being denigrated by almost the entire political and media establishment in the US as a treasonous enemy of the state. Following this logic, there is only one thing for it: the US establishment is calling for a coup to depose the 45th president. One Washington Post oped out of a total of five assailing the president gave the following stark ultimatum: If you work for Trump, quit now. Some high ranking people working for Trump followed that advice. His chief of staff John Kelly rallied others against him: According to three sources familiar with the situation, Kelly called around to Republicans on Capitol Hill and gave them the go-ahead to speak out against Trump. (The White House did not respond to a request for comment.) Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan held televised press conferences to assert that Russia did meddle in the election. Others who attacked Trump over his diplomatic efforts with Russia included the Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats who used an widely distributed interview for that: The White House had little visibility into what Coats might say. The intelligence directors team had turned down at least one offer from a senior White House official to help prepare him for the long-scheduled interview, pointing out that he had known Mitchell for years and was comfortable talking with her. Coats was extraordinarily candid in the interview, at times questioning Trumps judgment such as the presidents decision to meet with Putin for two hours without any aides present beyond interpreters and revealing the rift between the president and the intelligence community. FBI Director Wray also undermined his boss' position: FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday defended Special Counsel Robert Mueller as a straight shooter, and said the Russia investigation is no witch hunt. Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado, Wray said he stood by his view that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election in some capacity and that the threat remained active. A day later Secretary of Defense Mattis also issued a statement that contradicted his president's policy: Secretary of Defense James Mattis took his turn doing the implicit disavowing in a statement about new military aid to Ukraine: "Russia should suffer consequences for its aggressive, destabilizing behavior and its illegal occupation of Ukraine. The fundamental question we must ask ourselves is do we wish to strengthen our partners in key regions or leave them with no other options than to turn to Russia, thereby undermining a once in a generation opportunity to more closely align nations with the U.S. vision for global security and stability." Pat Lang thinks that Trump should fire Coats, Wray and Rosenstein, the Deputy Attorney General who is overseeing the Mueller investigation. My advice is to spare Rosenstein, for now, as firing him would lead to a great uproar in Congress. The Mueller investigation has not brought up anything which is dangerous to Trump and is unlikely to do so in the immediate future. He and Rosenstein can be fired at a latter stage. But Wray and Coats do deserve a pink slip and so do Kelly and Mattis. They are political appointees who work 'at the pleasure of the President'. The U.S. has the legislative and the judicial branch as a counterweight to the president who leads the executive. The 'deep state' and its moles within the executive should have no role in that balance. The elected president can and must demand loyalty from those who work for him. Those who sabotage him should be fired, not in a Saturday night massacre but publicly, with a given reason and all at the same time. They do not deserve any warning. Their rolling heads will get the attention of others who are tempted by the borg to act against the lawful policy directives of their higher up. All this is not a defense of Trump. I for one despise his antics and most of his policies. But having a bad president of the United States implementing the policies he campaigned on, and doing so within the proper process, is way better than having unaccountable forces dictating their policies to him. It will be impossible for Trump to get anything done if his direct subordinates, who work 'at his pleasure', publicly sabotage the implementation of his policies. Either he fires these people or the borg will have won. Posted by b on July 21, 2018 at 18:43 UTC | Permalink Comments next page next page SALEM, Ore. (AP) Strip searches. Overcrowded cells with open toilets. Scant meals that violate religious restrictions. Federal public defenders say 120 asylum seekers are enduring those conditions at a federal prison in Oregon where some have considered suicide and at least one has attempted it. "We are dying day by day inside here," one detainee said, William Teesdale, chief investigator for the federal public defender's office in Oregon, wrote in a filing in federal court in Portland. The immigrant was unwilling to be identified in the filing due to fear of persecution or retaliation, Teesdale said in the documents. Most of the asylum seekers held at the prison in rural Sheridan say they faced risks in their home countries, including India, Nepal, Guatemala, Mexico and China. Instead of being welcomed to the U.S., they ran into the "zero-tolerance" policy of the Trump administration that calls for the detention of people who try to enter the country illegally. "Here we have come to save our lives but I think we will die here in jail," one detainee said, according to Teesdale's affidavit. Several detainees have untreated medical conditions, including a heart problem, gunshot wound and broken leg. He said they are triple-bunked and confined for long hours in cells with open toilets. They must eat in the cells and have no indoor or outdoor recreational opportunities. They are strip-searched in front of other detainees, and Hindus were given beef and pork to eat, even though it's against their religion, and tried to survive on just the vegetables accompanying the meals, Teesdale said. Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently transferred four detainees to a center in Tacoma, Washington, for specialized medical care, ICE spokeswoman Clarissa Cutrell said. The agency has no comment on the conditions in Sheridan due to pending litigation, Cutrell said. Leland Baxter-Neal, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, called the conditions inhumane and unconstitutional. The Trump administration's decision to put the immigrants in the prison, where they mixed for three weeks with the general prison population, has caused "chaos, confusion and massive human suffering," he said. Federal Public Defender Lisa Hay said in a letter to Warden Josaias Salazar and Acting ICE Field Office Director Elizabeth Godfrey that her office learned of an apparent suicide attempt by a detainee. "Both those who witnessed the incident and those who heard of it have expressed great distress," Hay said. Other detainees also considered killing themselves, court documents state. Petitions were filed Wednesday by Hay's office seeking court hearings for five detainees, whose names were redacted because of their security concerns. "I have to cry in my pillow," an immigrant identified as ICE detainee No. 1 said in his habeas corpus brief. "I have suicidal thoughts but then I remember my family. My family is all that keeps me going." The public affairs office of the Federal Bureau of Prisons did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A statement filed in court shows the prison had to scramble to take in the immigrants, who were sent there because other holding facilities used by ICE were overloaded. The prison received only one day of notice on May 30 that about 130 detainees would be arriving, Amberly Newman, an adviser to the prison warden, said in a declaration in federal court. She said they had to be mixed with the general prison population for the first three weeks before they could be separated into different units. One of the detainees described guards making him and his two cellmates strip to their underwear. "In the night, it gets so cold in the cell and when l was in boxers and T-shirt, I was terribly cold," he said, according to his habeas corpus filing. Victoria Bejarano Muirhead of Innovation Law Lab said her Portland-based group has engaged over 80 volunteers to provide legal services to the detainees. Those seeking asylum must show authorities they have credible fear in their homelands. Twenty of those immigrants at the prison have provided statements that lead to hearings before a judge, Muirhead said in a conference call with journalists. Hay wrote on July 9 to Salazar and Godfrey that some conditions have improved, "but continue to fall below the minimum standards set by our government for immigration detention and, in my view, violate the Constitution by imposing punitive detention on civil detainees." ___ Follow Andrew Selsky on Twitter at https://twitter.com/andrewselsky Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The U.S. government awarded Lockheed Martin an Undefinitized Contract Action (UCA) award for the production of the Multi-Mission Surface Combatant for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Lockheed Martin is being awarded a contract totaling $450 million to begin the detailed design and planning for construction of four Multi-Mission Surface Combatants (MMSC) that will be built at Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin. The U.S. government awarded Lockheed Martin an Undefinitized Contract Action (UCA) award for the production of the Multi-Mission Surface Combatant for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Lockheed Martin is being awarded a contract totaling $450 million to begin the detailed design and planning for construction of four Multi-Mission Surface Combatants (MMSC) that will be built at Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin. The Royal Saudi Navy MMSC on Lockheed Martin stand at SNA 2018 The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) will acquire four Multi-Mission Surface Combatants as part of a larger agreement between the United States and KSA to enhance global security and stimulate economic progress in the two regions. "We are pleased the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has selected the Multi-Mission Surface Combatant to support its Royal Saudi Naval Forces fleet," said Joe DePietro, vice president, Lockheed Martin Small Combatants and Ship Systems. "The MMSC provides the Royal Saudi Naval Forces a lethal and highly maneuverable multi-mission surface combatant, which features the flexibility of the Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship steel mono-hull with expanded capabilities that include an integrated Mk41 Vertical Launch System, an increased range of 5,000 nautical miles and speeds in excess of 30 knots, making it capable of littoral and open ocean operation, and able to confront modern maritime and economic security threats." MMSC utilizes the COMBATSS-21 Combat Management System, built from the Aegis Combat System Common Source Library, enabling anti-air and anti-surface capabilities in a small surface combatant platform. With proven combat management system lineage, Lockheed Martin's MMSC has the interoperability necessary for today's joint and allied naval force maneuvers. In March, Lockheed Martin was awarded $481 million for long lead material for MMSC. The contract award of the MMSC is a significant milestone in the relationship between Lockheed Martin and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. "Lockheed Martin values our 50-year partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and is committed to helping fulfill the Kingdom's long-term vision," said Richard H. (Rick) Edwards, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin International. "Through investment in IT infrastructure, training, tooling, equipment and enhanced collaboration with KSA industry, together we will increase the capacity of the Kingdom's economy while creating sustainable jobs for a brighter future." Over the past 10 years, the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Freedom-variant industry team has invested more than $120 million to modernize the Marinette shipyard, hire more than 1,000 people and train a new workforce. "This prestigious award proves the farsightedness of our decision to enter the U.S. market," said Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri. "Since then, over the past 10 years we have become a reference builder not only for the U.S. Navy, but also for several foreign navies, while contributing to the development of the industrial base and of the economic fabric in the Midwest." The Lockheed Martin-led team is comprised of shipbuilder Fincantieri Marinette Marine, naval architect Gibbs & Cox, and more than 800 suppliers in 42 states. The LCS is the Navy's most affordable surface combatant shipbuilding program. "Fincantieri Marinette Marine has been in this community for more than 75 years and has produced over 1,500 vessels," said Jan Allman, President and CEO of Fincantieri Marinette Marine. "We are proud to have one of the most technologically advanced shipyards, employing nearly 2,000 of the best shipbuilders, technicians and engineers. On behalf of Fincantieri Marinette Marine and our suppliers in Wisconsin and throughout the Midwest who will support this program, we are pleased to partner with Lockheed Martin to construct the Multi-Mission Surface Combatant for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia." From left to right: Decoy launchers, 2x Nexter Narwhal 20mm RWS, 8x Harpoon anti-ship missiles, Saab CEROS 200 FCR, Raytheon SeaRAM and 12.7mm weapon station (manned). About MMSC: On May 22nd 2017, the KSA expressed its intent to procure more than $28 billion worth of Lockheed Martin integrated air and missile defense, combat ship, tactical aircraft and rotary wing technologies and programs. The agreement includes four MMSC based on the Freedom-class LCS Lockheed Martins industry team is building for the U.S. Navy. The four vessels are part of a modernization program for the Royal Saudi Navy's eastern fleet called SNEP II (Saudi Naval Expansion Program). Back in October 2015, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced via press release that the U.S. State Department gave its green light for a proposed sale to Saudi Arabia of four MMSC Ships. The model on display at SNA 2018 was a new one reflecting the latest and final configuration selected by the Saudi Navy: - A BAE Systems Bofors 57mm main gun (while an earlier design was fitted with an Oto Melara 76mm main gun), - 8x MK41 VLS cells placed forward ahead of the bridge (2x8 cells used to be placed on each side of the helicopter hangar in the earlier design) - 8x Harpoon anti-ship missiles (in two launchers), - A Raytheon SeaRAM launcher on top of the helicopter hangar, - 2x Nexter Narwhal 20mm remote weapon stations (these were Mk38 turrets in a previous scale model unveiled at SNA 2016 however the DSCA release mentionned Nexter's Narwhal 20mm RWS as early as 2015). Two triple torpedo launchers present on the 2016 scale model appear to have been removed on the final MMSC design. Our video on the MMSC for the Royal Saudi Navy during SNA 2018 In terms of sensor systems, two CEROS 200 radar and optronic tracking fire control director by Saab are fitted: One forward (on top of the deck house) and the other one back aft, between the harpoon launchers and the SeaRAM system.The main radar system is an Hensoldt (formerly Airbus D&S) TRS-4D AESA Radar. Other sensors likely include a Variable Depth Sonar (likely Thales CAPTAS type), Argon ST WBR-2000 Electronic Support Measure and Threat Warning System. The combat management system is set to be similar to the one fitted onboard the Freedom class LCS: The COMBATSS-21 by Lockheed Martin. The KSA flag on the MMSC. Below the helicopter deck is a mission bay area with built in modularity. Hull size and shape, propulsion system, power output, helicopter hangar etc remain unchanged compared to the U.S. Navy Freedom class LCS. The deal signed in 2017 also include spares, training and other logistics items for the program. A Memorandum of Understanding between Lockheed Martin and Saudi Arabian Military Industries for the parties to work together to build defense capabilities in the KSA to support Vision 2030 and provide for localization efforts associated with Multi-mission Surface Combatants was signed as well. By PTI NEW DELHI: Conceding a year-long demand, sanitary pads today exempted from GST as the GST Council reduced tax rates on an array of daily use appliances and products. While GST tax on sanitary pads was cut from 12 per cent to zero, rakhis were exempted from the tax, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal told reporters here. "Sanitary napkins exempted from GST," Goyal said. Among items on which GST was reduced include footwear, small televisions, water heater, electric ironing machines, refrigerators, lithium-ion batteries, hair dryers, vacuum cleaners, food appliances and ethanol. "GST Council cuts tax rate on an array of products. Rakhis have been exempted from GST, tax on ethanol has been cut to 5 per cent, small handicrafts have been exempted," Goyal said. Besides, tax rates on worked up Kota stone, sandstone and similar quality of local stones were cut from 18 to 12 per cent, with the purpose of avoiding classification disputes. The value limit of footwear was enhanced from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 for 5 per cent rate. GST on 17 items used by middle class viz Paints, Refrigerators, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, storage water heaters, TVs up to 68 cm was reduced from 28 to 18 per cent. The next GST Council meeting will be held on August 4. Anuradha Shukla By Express News Service NEW DELHI:In order to clarify its stand on cryptocurrency and come up with better regulations, the government will come up with a detailed paper on the digital currency by September this year. The government will finally come up with detailed guidelines on cryptocurrency. The draft is ready and consultation is on with all the stakeholders, including market regulator SEBI, Indias central bank RBI and the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) before coming up with the final paper. We expect it to be ready by September, a senior official from the Finance Ministry told TNIE. The ministry has constituted an interdisciplinary committee under the chairmanship of Special Secretary (Economic Affairs) to examine the regulatory framework regarding the virtual currency. According to the official, SEBI and RBI have expressed some reservations regarding clauses in the initial the draft. Cryptocurrency is a new phenomenon and naturally, governments across the globe are struggling with it. Most of the officials have serious reservations against it, which all of us agree with. However, we want to arrive at a common conclusion. There must be an appropriate mechanism to regulate the same, the official said. What has initiated this move was also the fact that earlier this month, the IAMAI had moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the RBI circular that effectively disallowed dealing in cryptocurrencies. Even though the court refused to stay the RBI circular, it asked RBI to come up with its response within three weeks. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra acceded to the request made by the petitioners and the matter has been listed for final disposal on September 11. The IAMAI was represented by Advocate Gopal Subramanium, while Advocate Shyam Divan appeared for RBI. On Friday, the RBI also informed the court that allowing dealings in cryptocurrencies will encourage illegal transactions, with Divan stating that the policy of the RBI is of extreme caution. The government is yet to get a detailed response from the RBI and SEBI in this regard and as soon as it comes, it will incorporate the views in the draft, the official said.In a statement on April 5, the RBI had said that such currencies raise concerns of consumer protection, market integrity and money laundering, among others. In view of the associated risks, it has been decided that, with immediate effect, entities regulated by RBI shall not deal with or provide services to any individual or business entities dealing with or settling VCs, it had said. The ban came into effect on July 6, after the SC refused to grant a stay on the ban. By Express News Service NEW DELHI:Chaired by Interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council will meet on Saturday for the 28th time to discuss some crucial changes in the new indirect tax regime, including simplified tax return, lowering tax slabs on about 30 odd items and to consider cess on sugar. The most-awaited decision is on the single tax return filing system. The GST Council is likely to come up with more details on this regard, which will give relief to thousands of taxpayers under the new GST regime. The government is likely to implement it by the end of this year.Also in the pipeline is reduction of GST on 30 odd items including sanitary napkins, handlooms and handicrafts, among others. This will be the first time when Piyush Goyal will chair the meeting of GST Council after taking charge as Fiance Minister in the absence of Arun Jaitley.There are also reports that the GST Council may consider setting up a National Appellate Tribunal in Delhi with three regional branches, so that there is no contradiction and dispute in the various pleas filed with it. A decision is likely to be arrived at with regard to sugar cess, which remains undecided till date. So far, the Group of Ministers (GoM), headed by Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, is not in favour of imposing the cess, as they fear it would be against the principle of the GST and detrimental to some states. In this matter, opinion of Attorney General KK Venugopal has also been sought. The change in the form, manner of returns submission and admission of ITC is much awaited by businesses. This will surely impact the buyer-seller contractual relationships, said Archit Gupta, Founder and CEO, ClearTax. There seems to be no intention of introducing cess and digi-linked incentives (if any) on the tax rates, so as to encourage ease of reporting among taxpayers and to continue with a simple GST rate structure, Gupta added. Cess on sugar or not? By Express News Service MUMBAI:Vacating its earlier stay, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Friday allowed lenders of Bhushan Power & Steel to finalise a bid for the debt-ridden company. The next hearing will be on August 1. The tribunal also directed the Committee of Creditors (CoC) to consider the resolution plans submitted by three firms Tata Steel, Liberty House and JSW Steel and vote the best plan, which is in consonance with Section 30(2) and also viable, feasible and acceptable to the CoC. The CoC would call for urgent meeting to take the resolution plan for discussion and approval, said a two-member bench headed by Chairman Justice S J Mukhopadhaya. Resolution professional (RP), after consulting CoC, will invite operational creditors and all three resolution applicants will remain present on the date of consideration of the resolution plan. The suspended board of directors are also allowed to attend the meetings in which resolution plan will be considered by CoC, NCLAT said in its orders. The tribunal further said that CoC will place selected resolution plan before adjudicating authority, which may approve it, but will not give effect without prior approval of the tribunal (NCLAT).During its last hearing, NCLAT pulled up the RP for not following its previous orders to allow operational creditors, who alleged their representatives werent allowed to attend the CoC meeting. Moreover, Liberty House, a resolution applicant, has alleged that information was not supplied about the meeting and on July 11, RP gave a 19-page checklist seeking the companys compliance on 29 A of Insovency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).Earlier, the companys lenders had rejected the resolution plan submitted by Liberty House citing delay, following which the UK-based company moved NCLT. By Express News Service BENGALURU: The IIMB leadership conclave, termed IIMBue, organised and funded by its alumni, saw a host of provocative sessions on its first day from speakers in different spheres. Speakers included IPS officer Roopa Moudgil, son of business Magnate Anil Ambani Akash Ambani, filmmaker Karan Johar and former badminton player Prakash Padukone. On Saturday, the first session scheduled is a discussion between Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh and spiritual leader Jaggi Vasudev. IIM-B director G Raghuram announced that the Karnataka government had agreed to provide 110 acres of land to the institute at Belatahalli and Mahantajiganipura. He added that on the lines of technology parks being created at IITs, IIM-B will set up an innovation park where students could learn about the softer aspects of organisations. Biocon MD and chief patron, IIMBue, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, said leaders today needed to innovate, pioneer and be game-changers, and the event hoped to influence the thought process of participants to develop leadership. Former DG (Prisons) Roopa Moudgil spoke about her decision to become the whistle-blower in the Sasikala case and why she stands by it. Akash Ambani was part of a session titled From fragile 5 to five trillion dollar economy: Young business leaders. Other members of the panel included co-founder of ID Fresh Food PC Mustafa and Bookmyshow co-founder Ashish Hemrajani. By Express News Service CHENNAI: Within a span of six hours, five cases of theft and robbery have been reported from various places in the city. The miscreants have targeted high-end mobile phones and other gadgets. Starting at 11 pm on Thursday, the looting spree continued till 5 am on Friday. In all, four mobiles and a laptop were stolen. Two unknown men snatched the mobile phone from A Keerthi, who works in a private pharmacy in Jafferkhanpet. She was returning home on her bicycle and speaking to the friend when the incident happened. Vinodh Kumar lost laptop worth `40,000, which was kept in his car parked on the 11th Avenue Road. Miscreants have broken the rear glass of the car and made away with the laptop. Both incidents happened around 11 pm on Thursday in the Ashok Nagar police limits and cases were registered. In KK Nagar police limits, a mobile phone was stolen at knife-point from S Jayakumar, an employee with a private company. The robbery happened when Jayakumar was walking alone on RK Shanmugam Salai around 11 pm on Thursday, said a police officer. Similarly, Gothandapani, an employee at Express Avenue Mall, lost his mobile and wallet when two masked men threatened him with a knife on Thiruveethi Amman Koil Street in Koyambedu. The CMBT police have registered a case. In the wee hours on Friday, two bike-borne men made away with the mobile phone of M Shafiullah, an autorickshaw driver. He was sleeping in his auto near Woodlands Theatre in Royapettah. The Anna Salai police have registered a case. By Express News Service CHENNAI: Several parents, whose children study at the branches of Srimathi Sundravalli Memorial (SSM) School at Perungalathur and Chromepet, took to the streets on Friday, after the institution asked them to pay a caution deposit of `2 lakh. This is ten times more than what parents have paid until last year. A circular was given to parents of wards in both branches on Thursday stating that they have already paid a caution deposit of `20,000 and added that an additional `1,80,000 has to be paid. It further read, Those parents who are not willing to or cannot pay the enhanced caution deposit as stated above can take a final decision before 31.07.2018 and communicate the same through the acknowledgement slip enclosed. Those who commit to leave the school at the end of the year, the TC (Transfer Certificate) will be issued at the end of this academic year. This information is a must for the management to plan for running the school for the next 10 years and also for making the necessary arrangements for the academic year 2019-20. The school claims the decision was painful and taken with a heavy heart, but added that it was ready to run on low strength. Parents have been given till July 31 to respond to the demand for the deposit. Parents on the other hand, were irked and shocked. They alleged the school often demands money. Although we pay fees at the start, they keep asking us for money and we cant deny it mid-term because all my daughters classmates would pay it, said a parent who did not wish to be identified. She added that the management had earlier sent out circular asking parents to contribute whatever they can towards the school. She added that with only 12 days to decide when school term has already begun, most parents will be forced to pay. The school management, however, called protesting parents as unruly elements through a note. The Correspondent K Santhanam further said he would shut the schools down permanently or transfer control to some other agency. Parents have taken the matter to CBSE, pointing out that the management has cornered them into either paying the amount or removing their ward from the institution for the next academic year. Some parents have even approached the Chief Educational Officer of Chennai.CBSE officials were unavailable for comments. A senior source aid the fee fixation committee does not regulate CBSE schools. Aihik Sur By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Apart from being lacklustre and appalling, the Light and Sound show at Golconda Fort could also possibly be contributing to the degradation of the Forts ruins, indicates a study. Earlier, not only was the sound quality up to the mark but, at times, it also stopped working due to loose connections. A recent study, published in the January issue of South Asian Journal of Tourism and Heritage (SAJTH) on issues concerning conservation of heritage sites in India, found that light and colour shows were a major contributor to the degradation of historical sites. The intense light and high pitch of sound system and the vibrations create cracks on the walls of these monuments. The light generates heat that harms the plaster and colours of monuments, the study said. The issue was highlighted in another study conducted by a professor of tourism at Kurukshetra University, who wrote that the vibrations and the high pitch also affected the bats, birds and other animals which made such heritages sites their homes. The issue, however, is not new. There have been instances of the reasons for damage of heritage buildings being attributed to light and sound shows. In 2016, when a portion of the Rajwada Palace in Madhya Pradesh collapsed, the government in that state blamed the light and sound show for it. While the Archaeological Survey of India is the custodian of the Golconda Fort in Telangana, the Light and Sound show is under the administration of the tourism department. An ASI source said, The lights are not up to the mark. Why wont people leave in the middle of the format of the show hasnt been changed in the last 20 years? An ASI source said, "The lights are not up to the mark and many people are not interested in history. We have to make it accessible to all. Why won't people leave in the middle if the format of the show hasn't been changed in the last 20 years? The State government plans to install LED lights in place of the present lights." Anuradha Naik, a conservation architect, said, "The Light and Sound show should be arranged only after a proper research and the equipment should be installed by expert technicians. LEDs should be used as they emit less heat." The study also said that there is a dearth of persistent lobbying to grab the world's attention towards "our heritage". The findings are further validated by the fact that even Charminar, with its history and popularity, still hasn't been able to acquire the much-coveted World Heritage Site tag. "Though India has one of the most ancient cultures, this country is very poor in international participation. Out of the 1,052 World Heritage Sites all over the world, it has only 36 to date. Countries like Italy, Spain, France, and Germany which are smaller than India (in area and size) have more such sites," the study pointed out. By Express News Service KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has observed that inordinate delay in the investigation and prosecution of criminal cases involving serious offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and thereby prolonging the trial is a blot on the justice system. Lack of staff and high-end equipment to test new generation drugs remains a hurdle. The court also pointed out as many as 5,148 narcotic cases were registered in 2017-18 alone. The delay in upgrading the state-run laboratories and the failure to set up new labs will definitely affect the investigation and the trial. The court issued the order while considering a bail petition by an undertrial prisoner involved in a drug case. Though the final report has been filed in this case, the prosecution has not come with any material to conclusively establish the seized substance is brown sugar or any other narcotic substance. When the analysis report was sought, the prosecutor did not file it, saying the analysis of the contraband cannot be taken up expeditiously due to poor infrastructural facilities of the labs. The court observed that this was not an isolated case. Lack of infrastructure, inadequate manpower, exponential increase in narcotics cases and the absence of pure reference samples have been cited as reasons by the Chief Chemical Examiner and the Forensic Lab Director for the delay in providing analysis reports. Jijo Malayil By Express News Service KOCHI: Onam, the grandest of festivals celebrated in Kerala, is the time when most businesses record the maximum sales in a year, with industry experts estimating about 50-60 per cent of yearly business in the state being recorded during that period. Onam, also considered as the harbinger of the festive season in the country that extends till Diwali, is often looked upon as the indicator of how various industry segments are to grow in the second half of the year. No wonder, small-scale shop owners to large corporate behemoths, invest so heavily in attracting customers to their showrooms. The growth figures, with Kerala being a testing ground, serves as a morale boost for large companies to spread out into other festive markets across the country. With Onam being just a month away, a slew of offers has already started to roll out, like assured gifts with each purchase, lucky draws, exchange offers and attractive finance schemes, all in the hope of increasing footfalls and their eventual conversion. Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industries president Biju Ramesh said the home appliances, consumer electronics segment and textiles industry witness a huge surge in demand as most consumers generally tend to plan their major yearly purchases to coincide with festive offers. A large number of NRIs visiting their families during Onam, local school vacations add to the rise in demand during this season. Bismi Home Appliances LLP sales head Sudeesh B S says consumers generally have the feeling of getting a better deal during the festive season. We witness nearly three times the average monthly demand for home appliances in the 20-25 days leading up to Onam, says Sudheesh. He adds that large consumer appliances companies, understanding the importance of Onam season, had started investing heavily in promotions since the last decade or so. Apart from offers and gifts, the attractive finance schemes with zero interest EMIs are a major attractant to the majority. Even though the market is still yet to fully recover from the effects of GST introduction and demonetization, we expect this festive season sale to better the last years by a considerable margin, said Ramesh. Biggies join the race Sony recently announced its 170 crore sales target this Onam, for which they will be spending 17 crores for advertisement and marketing, in this time period. While Godrej Appliances plans to achieve their 200 crore target this Onam, which will be a 30 per cent growth over the last season. peangdao/iStock/Thinkstock(WILMINGTON, Del.) -- The pool employee who allegedly told children wearing hijabs that they could not go into a public pool has been reassigned as tensions over accusations in Delaware continue to make waves. The leaders of a Muslim children's summer camp joined with an advocacy group to sent a cease and desist letter to the Wilmington mayor's office over what their attorney called conduct that "contravenes basic standards of decency." The cease and desist letter was the latest move in a weeks-long saga over whether the Muslim children were appropriately treated at the pool, the fallout from which included a public apology from the city's mayor and a postponed meeting between the camp leaders and the mayor. The letter was written by attorney Juvaria Khan, who works with the civil rights group Muslim Advocates and is representing the staff of Darul Academy, which runs the summer camp. Khan wrote that the staffers at the pool "the staff has consistently used derogatory terms to refer to these children, creating a hostile environment and, on several occasions, preventing them from accessing the pool altogether." When "pushed for an explanation," the staff allegedly pointed to an unwritten policy banning cotton in the pool, which presented a problem based on the children's religious clothing. "In reality, the staff can point to no such written policy, and these purported explanations are merely pretext for the true motivation behind their conduct: discrimination against these children on the basis of their race, religion, and/or socio-economic status," Khan wrote in the cease and desist letter. John Rago, the deputy chief of staff for Wilmington Mayor Michael Purzycki, released a statement saying that the letter and the allegations are "being taken very seriously." The manager at the Foster Brown pool has been reassigned, Rago said in the statement, and noted that the investigation into the allegations is ongoing. "For the remaining 15 days or so of this pool season, there will be a very liberal policy in place regarding proper swimwear without restrictions on the types of fabrics worn. During the off-season, the City will review its pool regulations to strike an appropriate balance among several factors, include religious expression and the safety of the swimmers," Rago said in the statement. Purzycki apologized on July 14 for one of the alleged incidents that happened on June 25, saying that officials used "poor judgment" in the situation. "We should be held accountable for what happened and how poorly we assessed this incident," he said in his July 14 statement. Khan told ABC News that the camp leaders, including principal Tahsiyn A. Ismaaeel, felt the mayors initial response trivialized what they experienced and what theyre still going through. What they want out of this is to be treated equally and to know that they can show up at Foster Brown or any other pool and know they can use it like anybody else, Khan said. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. By AFP SAN DIEGO: "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchise director James Gunn has been axed from the third movie over a series of offensive messages posted on Twitter several years ago. The tweets, mainly from 2008 and 2011, joked about taboo topics such as rape and paedophilia. Disney, which owns the franchise as the parent company of Marvel Studios, sent AFP a statement confirming the studio was parting ways with one of its biggest stars. "The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James' Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsistent with our studio's values, and we have severed our business relationship with him," said Alan Horn, chairman of Walt Disney Studios. Gunn has been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump and has drawn the ire of conservative critics, who went back through his timeline and dug up the tweets. ALSO READ | The heart behind the vision of Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Vol. 2 Jack Posobiec of The Daily Caller and right-wing commentator Mike Cernovich are among those who unearthed the messages. Photo | Twitter "Many people who have followed my career know when I started, I viewed myself as a provocateur, making movies and telling jokes that were outrageous and taboo," Gunn wrote on Twitter after the offensive tweets resurfaced late Thursday. "As I have discussed publicly many times, as I've developed as a person, so has my work and my humor." Gunn, who has deleted his account, described himself as a "very, very different" person than when he wrote the tweets, now focusing on love rather than anger. 1. Many people who have followed my career know when I started, I viewed myself as a provocateur, making movies and telling jokes that were outrageous and taboo. As I have discussed publicly many times, as Ive developed as a person, so has my work and my humor. James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 20, 2018 "My days saying something just because it's shocking and trying to get a reaction are over," he added. Gunn directed both "Guardians of the Galaxy" films, and was planning to head to San Diego's huge annual Comic-Con fan convention this week with a secret film project that he had teased on Instagram. "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" is due out in 2020. By ANI WASHINGTON: 'Insatiable', a Netflix original dark comedy, is facing a backlash for promoting "fat-shaming". In the trailer that came out on Thursday, Disney actress Debby Ryan plays the role of Patty, a high school girl who loses a lot of weight during summers and shows up for the first day of her senior year, thirsty for revenge against everyone who bullied her for being overweight. WATCH TRAILER: This storys full of some crazy shit. @debbyryan is Insatiable. August 10. Only on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/MrsWMrKyYf insatiable (@insatiable_) July 19, 2018 Shortly after the trailer was released, Twitter exploded with comments criticising the plot of the series. A user tweeted, "Hey @netflix and @insatiable_. Stop creating/endorsing shows about how it's "cool" and "quirky" for girls to starve themselves. Also, painting the fat girl as a revenge-filled villain isn't cute or original. You're disgusting." Another tweet said, "you have a chance to make creative, engaging, original content from fat people about fat people's lives and you choose to ... put a skinny person in a fat suit and make jokes about how sad her life is and about what a crazy bitch she turns into. That's so lazy and pathetic." "I hate the concept for insatiable so f*****g much because it's rooted with the idea that fat=ugly that cause SO MANY people to have body image issues and I just wish people would stop pushing these disgusting unhealthy concepts onto a young/impressionable audience ugh" read another tweet. Just saw the trailer for Insatiable. I hear the actors and team behind it are asking us to look beyond the trailer but trailers are supposed to entice us - this trailer repelled me. How in any world is weight loss from a jaw being forced shut inspiring? Do they know what implies? 'Commando' actress Alyssa Milano, who plays the role of Patty's lawyer, responded to the backlash by tweeting, "We are not shaming Patty. We are addressing (through comedy) the damage that occurs from fat shaming. I hope that clears it up" Lets talk about that #Insatiable trailer! https://t.co/LlntnVYy1K Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) July 21, 2018 Milano also tagged a 'Teen Vogue' article in the tweet saying the article will explain "it" more clearly. The link to the article was also tweeted by Debby. https://t.co/UIxiUYL2jp pic.twitter.com/Irkek4j22e Insatiable is scheduled to release on August 10. A Sharadhaa By Express News Service J Chandrakala, director of Manoranjan starrer Chillum will be replacing Raghavendra Rajkumar with another actor and with a heavy heart, she says. The reason being, Raghavendra Rajkumar who was to make a come back after a hiatus was chosen to play a negative character in Chillum. He decided to opt out of the project after fans requests. They apparently didnt wish to see the star in a negative shade. The director in fact tried her best, but Raghavendra is said to be determined to not go against his fans. Chandrakala now has no option but to look for a replacement. Raghavendra Rajkumar I was so excited and felt like an achiever when I brought in Raganna on board for my film. Now I feel very sad that he had to make an exit. Though he has a valid reason, I wish I could explain the characterisation I created to his fans and a few film makers who requested him to not do this role. Hope to work with him in future projects, she says. Chandrakala has now approached Jagapathi Babu, with whom she is in discussion with. The first round of discussion has been done over phone. I will soon be heading to Hyderabad to meet the actor and narrate to him his role. An official announcement will be made after he signs on the dotted line, the director tells CE.Chillum has Priyanka Thimmesh in the female lead with Diwakar, Raghav Nath, Sandeep and BharathChandrakala playing vital roles. Naveen Kumar is the films cinematographer. Arunkumar Sekhar By Express News Service Bodha Director: Suresh G Cast: Vicky, Mippu, Vinoth,Eshwar, Udhayabanu,Shanmuga Sundaram Rating 2/5 The trailer of Bodha hinted at a film about gigolos. Or in the words of its lead, Madhan (Vicky), aambala item. This is another attempt in an industry thats getting more and more experimental in the stories it tells. I liked that Bodha talks about sex work in a matter-of-fact way. Take the moment when Madhan reveals to Karthick (Mippu) that he is in this profession and that the biggest worry in his mind is how shameful it will be if his mother gets to know about this. Or the time when he has to sleep with a much older woman, who isnt as beautiful as the woman he has so far been with. His face contorts, he is in anguish, and tries to leave. But once the woman shows him the money, he puts on a straight face and gets on with it. He doesnt judge, or deliver any sermons over women indulging in extra marital pleasures. The story is light and engaging during these portions and is ably supported by music director Siddharth Vipin (of Idharkudhaane Aasaipattai Balakumara fame). It takes the better part of the first half hour for the film to get set up. The reason why Madhan does what he does is straightforward. He wants to be a cinema hero but isnt able to get opportunities. He requires money to make his dream come true, and so becomes a gigolo. Credit should go to Vicky for doing a good job selling us this idea, and some of his mannerisms, coupled with his looks, reminded me a bit of Vijay Sethupathi during his Nalaya Iyakkunar/Pizza days. The problem with Bodha comes when the film veers off from this light-hearted section into a whodunit. A famous film that follows a very similar storyline is American Gigolo written and directed by Paul Schrader. But regardless of whether this film was indeed inspired by the Hollywood film, Bodha fails as a standalone product because of the absence of a screenplay worthy of a crime thriller. Also, this quirky comedy deserved better lines and the film would have quite benefitted from having a better dialogue writer. The quirkiest character in the film is someone called a Temple Runner who is always running, at all places and at all times, silently scaring the bejesus out of everyone. This quirkiness aside, almost all of the supporting cast deliver wooden performances.Bodha is a film about money and what people do for it. Its too bad the film isnt good enough to justify the money you part with to see it. Navein Darshan By Express News Service CHENNAI: In a blow to the usual theory that overseas screenings are the reason for piracy, the owner and operator of a theatre called Nayanthara, located in Krishnagiri, got arrested recently for allegedly aiding the piracy of a recent Tamil film, Goli Soda 2, directed by Vijay Milton. Producer-director Ghazali, who was behind the tip-off that led to the arrest, says: Theatre owners in the State have always suggested that piracy doesnt occur within the state and that affected producers should supervise overseas screens. But I have shown this is not the case. Ghazali has apparently been on the hunt for such theatres from February, when his film, Manushana Nee, got leaked on the web. Being a small film that was only released in the State, I realised that our theatres had to be complicit. Thats when I decided to get to the bottom of this issue. He goes on to explain how he identifies the theatres in question: Any producer who finds a pirated version of his film online can download footage and submit the video to the digital service provider QUBE for a forensic report. This will reveal the encrypted server number of the theatre's projector. Using this, they can file a complaint to the Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Cell of Police, which will, in turn, find the name and location of the theatre and proceed with the arrest of the criminals involved. This is usually followed by the shutting down of the theatre. A still from Goli Soda 2 Ghazali says that this is not the first time a Tamil Nadu theatre owner has been arrested for the issue. In recent times, the piracy of films like Manushana Nee and Oru Kuppai Kadhai were found to have occurred in theatres here. He reveals that the producers of the recent releases, Tamizh Padam 2 and Mr Chandramouli, have also applied for a forensic report from QUBE, and hopes that his efforts to create awareness about piracy will gain traction. Sashikanth, the producer of Tamizh Padam 2, believes that the problem can be solved only by the intervention of an organisation. This isnt an issue that can be handled by one individual. Intellectual property theft is dealt with very seriously abroad, but that is not the case here. Also, the process of finding out the theatre aiding the crime in India takes about 20-30 days, during which time the effective running days of the film are over. Barath Seeni, the producer and one of the leads of Goli Soda 2, says that his prime motive of lodging a complaint was to create awareness. We just want the issue of piracy to come to an end. If producers start working towards a solution, it will definitely draw the attention of theatre owners. The guilty parties will stop aiding piracy. By PTI NEW DELHI: Four judges of the Supreme Court today took a round in the apex court corridor inspecting day-to-day activities. Justices Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur, R Banumathi and Deepak Gupta were seen taking stock of the activities in the apex court corridors. Justices Gogoi and Banumathi, who were sitting in court number two, and justices Lokur and Gupta, who were holding the court proceedings in court number three, rose around 11 AM. After the judges took a round of the corridors, both the benches re-assembled around 11.30 AM. Later in the day, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra visited the two press lounges situated inside the Supreme Court premises and discussed with the scribes about the facilities there. The CJI also asked the scribes about the problems and the facilities which could be made available in the press lounges. The CJI, who was accompanied by the secretary general, other registrars and staffs of the apex court, asked the journalists about the facilities in the press lounges and on being told about certain issues, CJI Misra directed the officials to fix them soon. The CJI also had an informal chat with journalists over a cup of tea in both the press lounges. By Express News Service CHANDIGARH: Trouble for Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) does not seem to end in Punjab and its raining controversies one after the other. After 16 party leaders including some district presidents resigned from their posts recently, yesterday a video had gone viral on Facebook in which leader of the opposition and senior party leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira alleged he is the victim of internal party conspiracy, backstabbing and character assassination. In a video on Facebook, Khaira lambasted the state co-president Balbir Singh for accusing him of taking cash (packets) from party workers in Patiala recently. "A few days back I had gone to Punjabi University in Patiala and after that went to a house to have tea where around 80 off workers and supporters of AAP were there. Now three days back a few party leaders and workers from Shatrana went to meet Balbir Singh for some work and their Balbir told them that Khaira had taken money from party workers in Patiala to which one party worker objected and told him that he was present there and nothing of this sport happened. A marriage card was given to Khaira by a party leader for his sisterrs marriage, said Khaira. He added, "He (Balbir) should retract his allegations and tender an apology to me or get an impartial inquiry done into these allegations. Khaira alleged a conspiracy in the party for his removal from the post. He said he had informed Manish Sisodia about the matter who promised him to get it investigated. "Till date never ever SAD or Congress leaders accused him to taking money which his own party leader has done now, he said. Khaira alleged that there is a deep-rooted conspiracy within the party to create a rift between him AAP National Convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Deputy Manish Sisodia, who is in-charge of party affairs in Punjab to get him removed from the post of leader of opposition in the state assembly. Terming these allegations baseless and bogus Punjab co-president of AAP Dr Balbir Singh said, "I have high regard for him (Khaira). Nothing of this sort happened. The person who is being quoted has made an utterly baseless claim. I dont know that person, he said. He accused Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal of trying to create a rift in the AAP. Around 16 party leaders, including some district presidents of the party had resigned on July 15 from their posts, accusing Dr Balbir Singh of changing officer-bearers arbitrarily. In their joint resignation to Manish Sisodia, they had blamed Balbirs wrong decisions for the partys plummeting graph. Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar has demanded the resignation of Sukhpal Singh Khaira as Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the wake of the serious allegations of corruption levied by his own party colleagues. He said that given the gravity of the charges against Khaira, he should quit on moral grounds, failing which he should be sacked by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leadership. The Congress president cited the reported allegations made by Punjab AAP co-president Balbir Singh, purportedly to some AAP workers, that Khaira takes cash from party workers. Describing the charges as shocking, he said the AAP leader had lost all moral right to continue in the responsible position of LoP. By UNI SAMASTIPUR: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Lok Sabha about government's inability to grant special status to Andhra Pradesh, senior JD (U) leader and Bihar building construction minister Maheshwar Hajari today demanded special status for Bihar. After holding a meeting with party workers, Hajari in his interaction with media-persons at district JD (U) office said here that common people were demanding special status to Bihar. He said that a resolution to that effect was unanimously passed in Bihar Assembly too. Hajari said JD (U) had organised a rally at Ramlila Ground in New Delhi in support of special status to Bihar. To a query, he said his party`s stand on special status to Bihar was unchanged. JD (U) Rajya Sabha member Ramnath Thakur, former minister Ram Lakhan Mahto, JD (U) MLA Vidyasagar Nishad, former MP and district JD (U) president Ashwamegh Devi and former state JD (U) vice-president Prof. Shahid Ahmed and other leaders were present on the occasion. By Online Desk Moin Siddique Noori, an NGO head in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly, stirred a controversy by allegedly announcing a reward to anybody who stones and shaves the heads of the two triple-talaq victims, Nida Khan and Farhat Naqvi. These people issuing such fatwas should be stopped. I will take a proper appointment to meet PM Modi and will appeal to him about it. He was in Shahjahanpur today but I decided not to go to meet him due to my own security issues: Nida Khan, triple talaq victim #Bareilly pic.twitter.com/AEO4IpEgzi ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) July 21, 2018 Nida Khan hit the headlines when she took to the court after being divorced by her husband through instant Triple-Talaq. She was also forced to marry her father-in-law and brother-in-law, apart from consummating the marriage with them under the Islamic practice of 'Nikah Halala'. However, the court declared her divorce invalid and had ordered a probe into the allegations of domestic violence. She came into the spotlight again on June 16 when a fatwa was issued against her by Dargah Aala Hazrat clerics, ordering a social boycott of the former. The Fatwa reportedly said, "No medicines will be provided if she falls ill. If she dies, no one is allowed to offer 'namaz' on her 'janaja' (funeral procession). She cannot be buried in kabristan (graveyard) after her death." Farhat Naqvi, the sister of Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, was divorced by her husband 11 years ago for giving birth to a girl child. In an attempt to prevent other Muslim women from falling prey to the practice of Triple-Talaq, she formed an NGO Mera Haq in 2014 to fight for justice to the divorce victims, according to Hindustan Times. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to meet both Khan and Naqvi during a rally at Shahjahanpur on Saturday. The two were formally invited by Rajesh Kumar Mishra, the BJP MLA from Bareilly, reported Hindustan Times. Early last year, Bareilly NGO head had made a similar announcement which drew flak of many. He announced a reward for anybody who succeeds in decapitating Shia Waqf Board chairperson Waseem Rizvi and Canada-based scholar Tarek Fatah. Aishik Chanda By Express News Service KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said the BJP would win only 100-150 Lok Sabha seats in the general elections next year as the anti-BJP alliance of regional parties would defeat the saffron party in most states, and exuded confidence that her party would win all 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Speaking during an event to mark the 25th anniversary of July 21 TMC Martyrs Day at Esplanade, the TMC supremo said that the no-confidence motion on Friday showed how the BJP was fast losing numbers and allies. The BJP somehow managed to slip through no confidence motion by 325:126 votes. They pulled it off because of AIADMKs support. Had Jayalalithaa been alive, the BJP would have never got their vote. But the BJP lost its oldest ally, Shiv Sena. The BJP is fast losing numbers and allies. It does not have a majority in Parliament. It won the no confidence motion through some votes of acquaintances, she said. The chief minister made some interesting predictions for the Lok Sabha elections. MK Stalin (DMK working president) will defeat AIADMK in Tamil Nadu. In UP, if Akhilesh and Mayawati come together, their alliance will win 50 of the 80 seats that BJP won in 2014. In Madhya Pradesh, BJP will win only eight of the 28 seats it won in 2014. In Rajasthan, they will win only five of the 25 seats they won in 2014. They will score a duck in Gujarat. Lalu ji in Bihar, Naveen Patnaik in Odisha and Amarinder Singh in Punjab will decimate BJP. The 300 seats they have today will become at most 150 in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, she added. Some 12-15 lakh TMC workers from across the state congregated in Kolkata on the occasion. The TMC supremo called for an even larger mobilisation during the oust BJP rally on January 19.All anti-BJP parties of the Federal Front will converge at Brigade Parade Grounds on January 19 next year, from where we will give a call for dislodging BJP from power in Lok Sabha elections with Bengal showing the way, she added. Sources revealed that Mamata Banerjee was likely to send invitations to former Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Left Front leaders to the Federal Front rally. However, she also targeted the Congress on its purported dual face. Congress cant have two faces in Delhi and Bengal. On one side they ally with BJP and CPM against us in panchayat elections in Bengal and in Delhi they pretend to be our ally. Congress has to be very clear whom they want to ally with. Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she said: He considers himself a bigger dictator than Hitler and Mussolini. A person who still has blood of riots on his hands will come to my state and preach intolerance and I will have to tolerate that? Impossible! India is going through a constitutional crisis. Democracy was never threatened as it is now. Ramananda Sengupta By Express News Service NEW DELHI: France on Friday denied Congress leader Rahul Gandhis assertion that the Indian government had lied to the country about a secrecy pact with France on the Rafale jet deal. In Parliament, Rahul asserted that French President Emmanuel Macron himself had told him that there was no secrecy pact with India on the Rafale jet deal, and accused PM Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman of lying to the nation. I personally met the French President and asked him if there was a secrecy pact with India. He told me that no such pact was signed between the two countries. He said he had no hesitation in saying this and that I can tell this to my country, Rahul said. But, the French Foreign ministry spokesperson asserted that there was indeed a security agreement which prohibited the disclosure of details of the Rafale deal. We have noted the statement of Mr Rahul Gandhi before the Indian Parliament, the Spokesperson of the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs said. France and India concluded in 2008 a Security agreement, which legally binds them to protect the classified information provided by the partner, that could impact security and operational capabilities of the defence equipment of India or France. By ANI SAGAR: A 16-year-old girl has allegedly committed suicide on Friday after she was allegedly gang-raped by three men in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar. A case has been registered and all the three accused have been arrested by the police. Further investigation is underway in the matter. Superintendent of Police, Satendra Singh said, "A case has been registered. All accused have been arrested. Further investigation is underway." Taking note of the increasing number of rapes in the state, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had earlier requested Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra to look into the issue of expediting the hearing of rape cases by setting up of fast-track Higher Courts. Singh had said that an arrangement should be made in the current system to accord high priority to such cases. On a related note, the Madhya Pradesh Assembly had unanimously passed a Bill in December last year awarding death penalty to those found guilty of raping girls aged 12 and below. (ANI) By Express News Service JAIPUR: Barely a week after the Supreme Court urged Parliament to enact a law against lynching, a mob in Rajasthans Alwar district killed a man on Friday night, on suspicion that he was smuggling cows. ALSO READ | No specific data on lynching: Centre in Rajya Sabha Akbar Khan At 12:40 am on Saturday, the police heard that two persons were smuggling cows from Rajasthan to Haryana by foot. By the time they reached the spot, near Lalawandi in Ramgarh, one of the men, Akbar Khan (28), had been seriously injured. He told the police that he and his friend Aslam had bought two cows from Laadpur and were going to their village in Haryanas Mewat district, according to a release from the office of the Additional DG, Jaipur Range. A group of people suspected they were cow smugglers and beat them up, leaving Akbar with fractured ribs and injuries to his hands. He collapsed while talking to the police and was declared dead at the CHC hospital in Ramgarh. Two persons standing nearby with two cows were interrogated and arrested, the police said, adding that a case has been registered against unidentified people under sections 321/18, 143, 341, 323, 302, and 34 of the IPC .Alwar district was in the news in April last year after another man, Pehlu Khan, was lynched on suspicion of cow smuggling. While the accused were let off lightly, Khan and his family still face cases under the Bovine Act. Last November, the body of one Umar Khan was found in the region. He, too, was allegedly killed by cow vigilantes. Fayaz Wani By Express News Service SRINAGAR : Militants on Saturday killed a policeman they had abducted from his home in south Kashmirs Kulgam district, while Army and CRPF patrol parties came under attack by militants. A police officer said the body of policeman Mohammad Saleem Shah was recovered from an orchard in Qaimoh area of Kulgam district on Saturday afternoon.He said the body bore bullet wounds and marks of violence and torture.It is apparent that the policeman was killed after being tortured by the militants, the officer said. The policeman was abducted by militants from his home at village Mutalhama in Kulgam on Friday evening. Saleem was recently promoted as constable from Special Police Officer (SPO) rank and was undergoing training at the police training centre in Kathua in Jammu province. The police officer said Saleem was on leave and had returned home some days ago. He said the police had launched a manhunt to identify and track down the killers of the policeman.No militant group has claimed responsibility of the attack so far. This is the second incident this month of a policeman being abducted and killed by militants. On July 6, militants had shot dead policeman Javaid Ahmad Dar after abducting him near his residence in Vigil village of south Kashmirs Shopian district. Dar was Personal Security Officer of former SSP Shopian Shailendra Mishra and had participated in anti-militancy operations in the volatile south Kashmir. On June 14, Army man Aurangzeb was abducted by militants from Shopian village. His bullet ridden body was recovered next day. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Issues related to Andhra Pradesh dominated the Lok Sabha on Friday, with TDP MP Jayadev Galla opening the debate on party colleague K Srinivas no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi-led NDA government. Expressing anguish over non-implementation of the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganisation Act especially the special status, Galla slammed the Congress for bifurcating the state to create Telangana.The first-time Lok Sabha member from Guntur said his state did not get a fair share in distribution of resources, including the capital. The BJP too made similar promises but never implemented them, Galla said, reminding Modi of what he had promised during the 2014 Lok Sabha poll campaign. He also targeted Union minister Arun Jaitley for backtracking on the issue of special status to Andhra Pradesh and justified Chief Minister N Chandra Babu Naidus decision to break away from the ruling NDA. We are not asking to turn the clock back. We are only asking for justice, he said. The saga of Andhra Pradesh during the Modi and Shah regime is just that a saga of empty promises and unfulfilled commitments by the Government of India to the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh, a new State with an old name and a population of five crores. At the debate, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said he could sense the pain in the speech of Galla.I heard the speech of Galla very carefully. I listened to everything which he said. In his speech, I sensed a certain anxiety. I sensed a deep feeling of pain, and I want to tell him from here that they are the victim of the 21st century political weapon, a very fantastic political weapon. I want to also tell him that he is not alone. There are many victims like him in this country, he added. Later, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge too supported the TDP MPs demands and added that his party too was fighting for the cause of the southern state. The BJP-led central government is following the divide and rule policy. We are supporting the TDP even if they dont support us, he asserted. BJP MP jumps to defend party Hari Babu Kambhampati, BJP MP from Andhra Pradesh, said the special category status does not guarantee industrial corridor. It will only give additional aid, he said, adding Delhi had given more than what special category status would guarantee. By Express News Service NEW DELHI:Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh sought to blunt the Oppositions attack on the spike in lynching deaths, while reminding the Congress of the anti-Sikh pogroms of 1984. Stating that the biggest mob lynching in the history of India was the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Singh asked the Congress not to preach the government and shed crocodile tears. At the debate on the motion of no-confidence against the government in the Lok Sabha on Friday, Singh said the state governments should firmly deal with the menace of mob lynching. If necessary, the state government should enact tough laws to deal with mob lynching, he said, adding that the Centre would firmly deal with the issue. The government is also ready to offer all necessary help to the state governments to curb such incidents in the country, Singh asserted. The Union home minister took potshots at the Congress, saying the NDA government constituted the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the riots. The government will ensure justice to the families of the victims, he said. We have seen the sufferings of our Sikh brothers and sisters. Rebutting Congress president Rahul Gandhis assertion that his party ensured democracy in the country, Singh said the biggest assault on democratic framework of the country was the imposition of the Emergency. He also recalled the quote of the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi that only 16 paise reached beneficiaries out of 100 paise released by the Centre. The Narendra Modi government has ensured that 100 per cent money reaches the beneficiary through the facility of direct benefit transfer (DBT), the home minister said. Hitting out at Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoors Hindu Pakistan remark, the minister wondered what kind of India the opposition party wanted to envisage of.Where do they (Congress) want to take the country and what does it want India to become. Here, there is a talk about Hindu Taliban. India is the only country where minorities are prospering. Do they not want such an India, the Home Minister said. Singh took potshots at the opposition parties for their doubts about their leadership and policies. Against whom are you bringing no-confidence? The appeal of the prime minister is such that several people gave up the gas subsidy after he urged them do so. They (the opposition) do not trust each other. And when it comes to talking about the leadership, then gayi bhains paani mein , Singh said. Singh also refuted claims of the Opposition on economy by stressing that world agencies have consistently noted India being the fastest growing economy in the world. The country has risen from number 9 to number six over the last four years under the NDAs and PM Modis rule, the Home minister added. By 2030, India will be among the top five world economies. Santwana Bhattacharya By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Unlike chess, a Parliament debate offers the advantage to the one who plays last. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with his long speech playing out at prime time, found enough biting wit and aplomb in his rhetoric to even the scores as he was expected to. And the numbers in the end 325 Noes and 126 Ayes offered the NDA a resounding win. But the real surprises of Fridays no-confidence motion debate perhaps still lay in the first half. After a strong opening by the TDPs industrialist MP Galla Jayadev, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi set the terms of the debate with a caustic attack on Modi and followed it up with the headline event of the day, a theatrical hug that took everyone by surprise. The PMs verbal skills came to the rescue, with class and caste thrown in to mock the elitism of the Congress dynasty. But the BJP had been thrown into reactive mode, an unusual role for it, having to recover ground in a script not of its choice making for an interesting contest where the two were more evenly matched than ever before. Earlier, raking up the Rafale deal, Rahul had called the PM not a chowkidar, but a bhagidar (not a sentinel, but a partner of profiteering industrialists). The question of a secrecy pact with France became a parallel debate with Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman springing to counter Rahul after he accused her of lying. But the point of interest was not the technical details of bilateral pacts. Rahul had personalised his critique, accusing Modi of crony capitalism. And saying, tauntingly, that the PM was feeling nervous and unable to meet his eyes as he laid out the charges. After riffing on hate and lynchings, and how the BJP/RSS had taught him how to be a real Hindu that is, by not hating he pulled the rabbit out of his hat. Walking over to the treasury and hugging a startled Modi, who finally shook his hands. ALSO READ | No-confidence vote HIGHLIGHTS: Motion defeated in Lok Sabha Later, Modi deployed Rahuls own words against him with devastating irony. How could I dare to look into their eyes, he asked mockingly, alluding to the class gap. Woh naamdar hain, hum kaamdar hain (They are people with a name, we are workers). He also read out a list of those who had dared to look the Congress high command in the eye and what became of them from stalwarts of the early decades to Pranab Mukherjee. He also quoted P Chidambaram from the 1990s, when he had analysed the Congresss loss of pre-eminence as an effect of power flowing to formerly disempowered strata of society, including the intermediate castes. The PMs wordplay then took the event of the day and turned itthe Congress had no confidence in Indias institutional strengths, he said.No confidence in economic data, in the RBI, the Election Commission, in EVMs, in the Chief Justice. ALSO READ | Pained to hear PM Modi talk about petty things: Chandrababu Naidu He rounded it off saying he was both a chowkidar and a bhagidar (sentinel as well as the partner of the poor) and never a saudagar or thekedar (those who strike deals and contracts).On Rafale, he admonished Rahul in an almost paternalistic tone for bringing disrepute to a defence procurement entered into by two nations. In effect, hinting at his immaturity, a frame in which the BJP likes to cast him. Rahul asked to substantiate allegations New Delhi: The BJP MPs were on their feet and shouted down Gandhi, forcing an adjournment of the House. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, on resumption of the proceedings of the House, cautioned that the tradition of Parliament demanded proof for allegations. Ive no documents before me to substantiate your allegations against Prime Minister. I will check the records and expunge unsubstantiated claims, she quipped. Gandhi also touched upon issues of demonetisation, unemployment and agrarian distress. But later, BJP MP Prahlad Joshi served a breach of privilege motion against Gandhi for levelling unsubstantiated allegations against the PM. Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ananth Kumar also told reporters that Gandhi would have to substantiate his allegations. Namita Bajpai By Express News Service LUCKNOW: A day after winning the trust vote in Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on opposition saying coming together of parties against BJP government will make such a dal-dal (muddy land) which would only help the 'lotus' bloom. In a veiled reference to Congress, SP and BSP, the PM said what if cycle and elephant had come together and many more may join them, but people of the country couldn't be befooled as they had now understood the theatrics of opposition. Visiting the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh third time in a month and addressing the fifth public rally in three weeks, the PM's narrative established the importance of the state in BJP scheme of things for 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Addressing the farmers from six districts of central UP mainly the sugar belt, hit out at Congress president by saying: "While we are running to your homes with electricity and working for your welfare, they (Congress) are trying to bring us down in parliament through no-confidence papers...Yesterday in Lok Sabha, I did what I had to do...Are you satisfied?" asked the PM to get "Yes" in response from a cheering crowd. "Their whole focus is on the PM's chair. When I asked them in the house what made them bring a no-trust motion against me, they could not give me a reason saying 'Modi Hato' is the sole aim," he said adding that then he got a sudden hug by the Congress chief but could not get a satisfactory explanation for no-trust. "Till people of the country are with me no party can do anything," reiterated the PM adding that the entire country saw how opposition used the floor of the Lok Sabha to bring a no-confidence motion against his government to test their own unity and future. Farmers in large numbers from Hardoi, Lakhimpur Kheri, Pilibhit, Sitapur, Bareilly and Badaun were present at Saturday's rally. Trying to find the reason for no-confidence, the PM said that it appeared that my only fault was that he was fighting against corruption. "My only fault is that I am fighting corruption. I have blocked all the roads to corruption. I am at fault for ending the rule of one family," he stated. "During demonetisation, Rs 90,000 crore were confiscated and it put a lot many in pain as their shops were closed. Their pain is understandable. Why would they trust a government which has sealed all their ways of earnings," pointed Modi. "While the countrymen have faith in my government and its policies, the Congress and opposition say that they don't trust Modi and to remove him as their main agenda. No one can remove me till I have people's mandate and their continuing support," asserted the PM. Modi said that his only aim was to create a 'New India' by 2022 and he had no time to pay any heed at Congress and opposition's drama, egos and over-confidence till people of the country continue to have faith in him. "Even the countrymen are no more ready to tolerate arrogance and subjugation of those who have always lived with these traits," said the PM. It was Prime Minister's first direct address to farmers after increasing MSP of 14 Kharif crops, including Sugarcane. On the occasion, he listed steps taken by his government to increase the income of the farmers. Modi claimed that while opposition continued to shed crocodile tears on farmers' plight without providing any respite, his government had taken a number of steps which would ensure to clear dues of 5 crore sugarcane farmers and to double their income by this year-end. Kumar Vikram By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The governments decision to bring a basic hygiene product like the sanitary napkin under GST has been sharply criticised for many months now. In a country where a large number of women in rural areas dont have easy access to sanitary napkins, the decision to keep it under the 12 per cent GST slab has not gone down well with the public. The GST Council is set to meet on Saturday to take a decision on this. Online community platform LocalCircles conducted a poll to ascertain what people think about this decision and what the government should do in this regard. In response, 48 per cent citizens said that sanitary napkins should be exempt from GST, and only 14 per cent said that it should be left at the current rate of 12 per cent GST. Twenty-eight per cent said the GST rate should be lowered to 5 per cent, while 10 per cent said they were unsure about what should be done. The poll received more than 7,000 responses. The government had earlier said that keeping the Input Tax Credit mechanism in mind, the new tax on sanitary napkins is lower than the earlier rate. It said that earlier there were several hidden taxes which led to sanitary pads having an effective tax rate of 13 per cent over the price. This has now been reduced to 12 per cent by bringing it under the GST. However, the citizens say that instead of taxing sanitary napkins in India, the import duty on the ones coming from China should be increased to end unfair competition. The National Family Health Survey, whose findings were revealed sometime ago, showed that almost 62 per cent women in the age group of 15-24 years still use cloth for menstrual protection. It also said that only 48 per cent women use sanitary napkins in rural areas, compared to 78 per cent women in urban areas. The big question is, would a cut in the tax on sanitary napkins lead to its increased accessibility or usage across the country? Anand ST Das By Express News Service PATNA: The ongoing probe into the sexual assault on inmates of a government-funded short stay home for girls in Bihars Muzaffarpur now includes a murder charge after an inmate revealed that a girl was killed there after being frequently sexually assaulted. One of the 46 minor girls who were shifted out of the shelter home after the prolonged sexual assault on them came to light in May has told police that one of the inmates was killed after being frequently sexually assaulted a few years ago. The revelation has been made a part of the case diary and is being probed. At least two other inmates have also corroborated that the murder took place at the shelter home and the body was dumped somewhere nearby, said a police official involved in the investigation. The inmates of the shelter home run by the NGO Seva Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti were so terrorised by the managers and welfare department officials that they kept quiet about the murder, he added. The murdered girl was 14 at the time and was swiftly buried either in the shelter homes backyard or in a nearby litchi firm, according to the revelations. After police approached a special POCSO court in Muzaffarpur with the fresh information in the case and sought permission to look for and exhume the body, the court on Saturday gave the go-ahead. POCSO court judge RP Tiwari also ordered that a magistrate be deployed and all facilities be provided to the probe team to substantiate the inmates claim about the murder. All preparations are being made to substantiate the claims. We will take the girls to the probable spots where they think the body was buried, said Muzaffarpur SSP Harpreet Kaur, declining further details about the probe. A medical examination of the girls at the shelter home, aged between seven and 17, at Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) confirmed that 16 of them were subjected to rape several times during their stay there. Some of these girls are aged seven years. Altogether ten people have been arrested in the case that came to light in a social audit conducted by a team from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) at the invitation of the state government. The arrested people include Brajesh Thakur, who runs the NGO and also owns a Hindi daily newspaper named Pratah Kamal. Sana Shakil By Express News Service NEW DELI: The Student Police Cadet (SPC) programme, an initiative that seeks to build a bridge between the police and the larger community through school students, will first be implemented in government schools of the country. Union Minister for Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar made the announcement on Saturday, saying, though the initiative will be first implemented in governments; it will soon be expanded to cover all schools in the country. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh launched the national programme in Haryana, saying the programme would help in making students responsible citizens through police-student interaction. The Home Minister said that a sum of Rs 67 crore had been released to the states for implementation of the programme. An amount of Rs 50,000 would be given to each school to be spent on educational aids, training and contingency. It would be carried out on pilot basis in all states and Union Territories, he said. Singh said that the objective of the programme is to instil values in students and to make them responsible, disciplined, virtuous and future citizens with character, besides starting strong interface between students and police. This would help in getting assistance from citizens for ensuring peace and public safety in the society. The minister said that feeling of social commitment would be generated among youths which would help them in keeping themselves away from crime and other social evils like drug abuse, alcohol, intolerance and vandalism. Encouraging children to participate with utmost zeal and dedication in SPC programme, Singh said the children are the future of the nation and the SPC programme would help in making the nation stronger and prosperous. The SPC programme would also build a strong foundation of harmonious relationship between police and public and help in making peaceful and prosperous society, said the home minister. Apart from this, Police Department could also get assistance in knowing about the expectations of youth from it and can improve its image, he added. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who was also attended the function, said that preference would be given to SPC Cadets in the Haryana Police recruitment drive in future. By PTI KOLKATA: BJP National Secretary Rahul Sinha today said Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee should "stop dreaming" about being the next prime minister as her ambitions will never be fulfilled. The BJP leader's comment came on a day Banerjee gave a call to oust the BJP in the next Lok Sabha elections at her party's annual Martyrs' Day rally here. "There are doubts whether she will be able to retain power in Bengal and she is dreaming of Delhi. She should stop dreaming about being the next Prime Minister as her ambitions will never be fulfilled," Sinha said reacting to Banerjee's call for 'BJP hatao, desh bachhao'. On the TMC chief's announcement that she would hold a mega rally of opposition parties in January next year, the BJP leader said his party's West Bengal unit will also hold a rally at the Brigade parade ground here on Januray 23 which is likely to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Yesterday during the no-confidence debate (in the Lok Sabha) we have seen the result of opposition unity in the country. The people of this country strongly stands beside Narendra Modi and his policies," Sinha added. Banerjee today gave a call to oust BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and accused the saffron party of trying to create "an atmosphere of Talibans, lynching, hatred and violence". At the rally, she claimed that her party would win all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state and that the BJP's strength would come down to 150. By Express News Service Describing love as "a blind and an innate humane instinct," the Kerala High Court quashed the decision of a college in the state to oust a boy and girl student for love affair and eloping. The court issued the order on the petition filed by BBA student Malavika Babu, 20, at Varkala CHMM College for Advanced Studies and her senior Vyshak, 21, challenging the decision of the college. The court said the college authorities failed to understand the intimate personal relationship is the matter of privacy of individuals upon which it has no authority to interfere. In the absence of evidence that it had affected the classes conducted by the college or the congenial environment for learning, no action can be taken on the ground of indiscipline. "Love is all about the individuals and their freedom." In this case, the college authorities as well as their parents objected to the affair. Finding them as barriers, Malavika eloped with Vyshak. Malavika's mother lodged a man-missing complaint following which the police produced them before the magistrate. However, the court set her free as she was not wrongfully detained. Malavika's parents retracted from the opposition and supported their marriage. Now the pair are husband and wife. However, the college's approach was indifferent and it decided to expel them citing their act amounts to gross indiscipline. The petitioners' counsel Syam J Sam submitted Malavika wanted to continue her degree course in the college while Vyshak decided to discontinue the course and sought for the return of his academic records retained by the college. The court said that the right of management to administer an educational institution would also include the power to impose discipline among the pupil to secure the objective standards of education. "But that doesn't mean the authority can assume the role to impose moral paternalism upon students notwithstanding their disagreement to such values of the authority. The educational institution's campus must be a place of neutral value, leaving moral choice to the discretion of students to uphold freedom of the latter and overcome personal biases." The court pointed out the love affair and eloping termed as immoral amounting to a breach of discipline was based on the moral values of the persons in management. It was a sin for some and not a sin for others. In law, it was the choice of freedom which is the essence of liberty. How and what manner love affair and eloping have impacted the academic discipline was a matter to be explained by the college. There was nothing on record to justify that power was exercised for the aim which was conferred on the college authorities. The course of personal life and choice of partners are left to the individual autonomy, that is the essence of the right to privacy, stated in the verdict. The court directed the Kerala University to readmit Malavika within two weeks and directed the college to return the records of Vyshak. Judge declines to accept earlier order While recognising the freedom to have a choice, Justice A Muhammed Mustaque declined to accept the earlier order of High Court passed in 2016. The court had upheld the decision of a college expelling a girl student for eloping with her classmate and for living together. Justice Mustaque said he was not able to follow the judgment for the simple reason that the judgment had rendered without adverting to the fundamental right of right to privacy. In view of the declaration of the right to privacy on a fundamental right in Puttaswamy's case, that judgment lost its significance as binding precedent. By Express News Service VIJAYAWADA: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday suggested that the TDP government forget about Special Category Status and utilise the special package extended by the Centre in the interests of the State. Singh, who spoke for 50 minutes in the Lok Sabha opposing the no-confidence motion moved by the TDP, discussed issues related to AP only after TDP MPs protested in the well demanding a response. The House was adjourned for 10 minutes due to the furore, following which the Minister spoke regarding AP for less than eight minutes. Special Category Status (SCS) cannot be accorded as the 14th Finance Commission removed the distinction between normal and special category States. We have extended special assistance in lieu of SCS, so I suggest, in the interests of AP, that the TDP avail special package, he said, adding that TDP supremo and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu would remain a friend of the BJP despite his decision to leave the alliance. He added that the Centre had increased the share of States by hiking devolution to 42 per cent. Besides the devolution, we give grants to States that still have a revenue deficit, he explained and noted that the Centre was able to implement many provisions of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014. He listed out aid given to AP for the construction of Amaravati, grants to institutions, revenue deficit and other issues. AP will receive a financial assistance of `2.07 lakh crore from the Centre between 2015-20. The TDP has some issues regarding the quantum of funds allotted to Amaravati and backward regions. We can give more, if necessary, he stated. While Rajnath Singh did not speak about the Central assistance in detail, his party colleague and Visakhapatnam MP K Hari Babu gave a point-by-point rebuttal to TDP MP Galla Jayadevs speech. He launched an attack on the TDP for not fighting for AP in Parliament during the bifurcation debate. When the Act was being passed, all the TDP did was just shout slogans, he claimed. He even alleged that the soul of TDP founder, late NT Rama Rao, would feel insulted given that the TDP was working with the Congress to take on the BJP in Parliament. He criticised Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharges remarks saying, If the Congress leaders were really sincere, why did they not include the provision for SCS in the Act? The former AP BJP president blamed the yellow party government for not accepting funds from the Centre and recalled that the TDP had accepted special package, which offers more funds than SCS, initially but later took a U-turn for political gain. By Express News Service BENGALURU: Farmers top the priority list in Prime Minister Narendra Modis poll strategy for 2019, and he is already on course to reach out to them with plans for 50 mega rallies all over the country in the next two months. BJP hopes to win at least 20 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka and Modi is set to turn the poll heat on in the state with a mega farmers rally in Chikkodi on July 29. Modi will address a mega farmers rally in Chikkodi on July 29. The rally is part of the warm-up exercise to reach out to farmers ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, BJP State General Secretary N Ravikumar told Express. About 1 lakh farmers are expected to attend the proposed rally. These rallies will be in addition to the poll-related rallies to be addressed by Modi in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh later this year. The Prime Minister is said to be keen to cover about 150 constituencies through these 50 rallies. Apart from Modi, party national president Amit Shah and other senior leaders like Nitin Gadkari and Rajnath Singh will also be addressing a slew of rallies with a clear plan to cover all the Lok Sabha constituencies. Amit Shah, whose July 28 visit to Bengaluru has been deferred, is now likely to visit the state only after August 10. The visit has been deferred due to Monsoon Session of Parliament and engagements with party related work in Delhi. By Express News Service MALKANGIRI :Normal life was thrown out of gear in the district on Friday as heavy rains coupled with the bandh called by Maoists heaped miseries on residents. Incessant rains have been lashing the district since Thursday night with the highest of 131 mm rainfall recorded from Korukonda block. The intensity of the rain can be gauged by the fact that between 9.30 pm on Thursday and 8.30 am on Friday, the district recorded 75.86 mm rain. The heavy rains have led to flooding of arterial roads and routes connecting the district headquarters town, thereby affecting traffic movement. The district headquarters town remained cutoff from Motu, Kalimela, Balimela, Chitrakonda, Khairput, Mathili and Podia as rain water was flowing 4-5 feet high above the low lying bridges at Korukonda, Tarlakota, Potteru and Pangam between Malkangiri-Balimela-Chit r a k o n d a a n d Malkangiri-Mathili- Jeypore. Communication on the State highway between Jeypore and Malkangiri has also been affected because of landslide in Govindpalli ghat region due to heavy downpour during the last 24 hours. A flood-like situation cannot be ruled out in the district if the rain continues. District Emergency officer Pramod Kumar Behera termed the showers as very heavy. On the other hand, the bandh call given by Malkangiri-Koraput- Visakhapatnam Border (MKVB) division of CPI (Maoist) protesting the Polavaram project brought traffic at different places to a standstill. Passengers faced a harrowing time as Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) and private buses remained off roads. Hundreds of commuters were stranded at different places, including Malkangiri bus stand. Vehicular traffic was also hit in the Maoist-hotbed of Kalimela. However, business establishments remained open as usual. Admin starts evacuation With rains showing no signs of relenting, the district administration has started evacuating people residing in low-lying areas under Mathili panchayat. Teams comprising personnel of Fire, Health and Police departments as well as PRI members have been pressed into service for shifting people residing near Atalguda river of Gangrajgumma in Mathili area to safer places, said Collector Manish Agarwal. The Collector urged the public not to panic. The administration is fully prepared to meet any kind of eventuality, said Agarwal. By Express News Service CHENNAI: State Health secretary J Radhakrishnan has informed the Madras High Court that the government has proposed to sanction nearly `90 crore for providing ramp and fire safety equipment in all government hospitals in the State. This submission has been made in a counter before the first bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice PT Asha last week when a PIL from Jawahar Shanmugam of Tiruvanmiyur came up again for hearing. The petition prayed for directives to the government to make it mandatory to provide a ramp from the top floor to ground floor and fire-fighting equipment in government hospitals. Fire-fighting equipment will be installed in 34 government medical college hospitals and institutions at a cost of `41 crore in Chennai. While it will be about 3 crores for Tiruvannamalai, it will be `1.57 crore for Kanniyakumari district. For providing ramp facilities, `16.30 crore and for providing generator rooms in 19 government hospitals `27.36 crores has been earmarked. The counter further said that of 4,141 hospitals in the State, 1,215 hospitals have ground with the first floor and 1,170 hospitals have ground floor with two floors. While 1,877 hospitals have a valid fire safety licence, 538 had applied for renewal. About 1,400 hospitals have no valid fire safety licence at the time of inspection. As many as 3,808 hospitals have a fire safety plan/patient evacuation plan. Over 2,000 hospitals either have no plan or not display them on their campus. Of the 1,939 hospitals with ground plus two floors or above, 1,059 have usable ramp provision and 880 have no such usable facility. Of the 1,939 hospitals that are mandated to have ramp facility, only 668 have both valid fire safety license and ramp. The remaining hospitals either did not have either valid fire safety licence or ramp, the counter said. The matter has been adjourned till July 30. By ANI WASHINGTON D.C.: United States President Donald Trump on Friday hit out at the mainstream news media for the way they acted towards his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during their bilateral summit at Helsinki earlier this week. In a tweet, Trump said that he was "severely criticised for being too nice to Putin" before he termed the "fake news media" as "hypocrites." The US President wrote on the micro-blogging site, "I got severely criticized by the Fake News Media for being too nice to President Putin. In the Old Days they would call it Diplomacy. If I was loud & vicious, I would have been criticized for being too tough. Remember when they said I was too tough with Chairman Kim? Hypocrites!" Trump touched off a major political controversy following his comments on the alleged meddling of the 2016 US presidential election by Russia at his joint press conference with Putin in Helsinki. Earlier on Monday, Trump had endorsed Putin's stance on Russia's non-involvement in the 2016 US presidential election, insisting that he ran a clean campaign. Addressing a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki after their summit, Trump had said that there was "zero collusion" and that he ran a "clean campaign." The US President had also mentioned that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign was "a disaster for our country," while also saying that it had negatively impacted US-Russia relations. However, on Tuesday, Trump claimed that he misspoke on the issue. Taking a complete U-turn on election meddling, Trump on Wednesday blamed Putin for Moscow's alleged attempts in interfering in the 2016 election. In a CBS interview with anchor Jeff Glor earlier this week, the US President had said that he held Putin "personally responsible" for the election interference. By ANI JERUSALEM: A day after an Israeli soldier was killed at the Gaza Strip, Israel and Hamas on Saturday announced a ceasefire ending hours-long Israeli strikes across the border. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum took to his Twitter handle and said, "With Egyptian and UN efforts, [an agreement] was reached to return to the previous situation of a ceasefire between the occupation and Palestinian factions." Hamas is the Islamic militant group that controls Gaza and has been waging a war with Israel since its founding in 1987. On late Friday evening, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced that their soldier was killed after being shot at in the Gaza Strip, The Times of Israel reported. "Today, an IDF combat soldier was killed during operational activity near the southern Gaza Strip. During the incident, a terrorist squad shot at IDF troops and the IDF soldier was severely injured. He later succumbed to his wounds," it said in a statement. Following this, the Israeli air force launched airstrikes at Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip. An IDF spokesperson wrote on Twitter, "The IDF struck 60 sites in 3 Hamas battalion compounds. The targets included weapon manufacturing sites, a shaft to a tunnel network, a factory used for underground infrastructure manufacturing, a UAV warehouse, military operations room, training facilities, and observation posts." The Palestinian health ministry previously stated that four of its nationals were killed by Israeli forces near the Gaza-Israel buffer zone on Friday. The four Palestinians were killed in two separate incidents, as per the report. Since March 30, Israeli forces have killed over 150 Palestinians and wounded more than 13,000 people. On May 15, the 'Great March of Return' rallies culminated to mark the anniversary of 'Nakba' or 'The Catastrophe', the forced removal of 750,000 Palestinians from their homes to clear the way for Israel's establishment in 1948. Prior to that, a large number of Palestinians gathered to protest the relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on May 14. The Palestinians are also demanding an end to Israel's 11-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has affected nearly two million people from getting access to basic needs. By PTI ISLAMABAD: Jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's daughter Maryam has refused to shift to the Sihala Rest House, saying she would prefer staying at the high-security Adiala Jail with her father and husband, according to a media report. Sharif, 68, and his daughter Maryam, 44, were arrested in Lahore on July 13 on their arrival from London after an accountability court found them guilty over his family's ownership of four luxury flats in London. They were later taken to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. Both Sharif and Maryam have been sentenced by the accountability court to 10 and 7 years in prison respectively for corruption charges linked to the Panama Papers scandal. Maryam's husband Captain (retd) Safdar was sentenced to one year. Earlier, the Islamabad chief commissioner said Sihala Rest House had been converted into a sub-jail in the suburbs of Islamabad. The jail authorities wanted to shift the father-daughter duo to the rest house as the prison they are in lacks facilities for female prisoners, Geo News reported. "Maryam has told the authorities that she would prefer to stay at the Adiala Jail with his husband and father," the report said. On Monday, Sharif, his daughter and son-in-law filed an appeal in the Islamabad High Court against the verdict in one of the corruption cases and had sought their release on bail. Nawaz and his sons Hussain and Hasan are accused in all three graft cases whereas Maryam and Safdar were accused in the Avenfield case only. Earlier, media reports said that Safwat Lodge, commonly referred to as Sihala Rest House, located on the premises of Sihala Police College, had been cleaned and decorated with flowers, paintings and photographs. A total of 2 million rupees have been spent by the authorities on the arrangements, the Geo report said yesterday. This is the same lodge where former president and PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari had been detained when his party's government was dismissed in 1996. Other political leaders have also been detained in the rest house in the past. By Express News Service Donald Trumps longtime lawyer Michael Cohen secretly recorded a discussion they had about payments to a former Playboy model who claims to have had an affair with the US President, according to a report in The New York Times on Friday. Whats more, the tape is now in the FBIs hands, if the bombshell revelation is anything to go by. The recording was seized during a raid on Cohens office in April this year, the newspaper said, quoting lawyers and others familiar with the matter. Cohen, who no longer represents Trump, is being investigated by the Justice Department over payments made to women to hush up embarrassing news stories about Trump ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Besides putting the spotlight on the tactics the US President and his associates used to keep facets of his life a secret, the report highlights the potential legal and political threat Cohen could pose to Trump. In a recent interview, Cohen apparently signalled a potential willingness to cooperate with prosecutors against the Republican president. The Presidents current personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, reportedly confirmed the veracity of the recording, saying Trump had discussed the payments with Cohen, but no payment was made and he had not been party to any wrongdoing. Nothing in that conversation suggests that he had any knowledge of it in advance, Giuliani told the newspaper, adding that Trump told Cohen that if a payment were to be made to the woman, it should be through a cheque not cash. The conversation between Trump and Cohen came weeks after the National Enquirer's parent company reached a $150,000 deal to pay McDougal for her story of a 2006 affair, which it never published, a tabloid practice known as catch and kill. Trump denies the affair ever happened. The company, American Media Inc., is run by Trump friend and supporter David Pecker. In this April 26, 2018 file photo, Michael Cohen leaves federal court in New York. | AP The company's payment effectively silenced McDougal through the election, though days beforehand news of the deal emerged in The Wall Street Journal. At the time, a Trump spokeswoman said his campaign had "no knowledge of any of this." But in the recorded conversation, Trump and Cohen appear to be discussing buying the rights to McDougal's story from the Enquirer's parent company, according to the person familiar with the investigation. McDougal's lawyer and an American Media spokesman didn't immediately respond to messages seeking comment on Friday. The recording, first reported by The New York Times, likely will revive questions about what other recordings of Trump's conversations might exist. As a businessman, Trump occasionally recorded his phone calls, a former Trump Organization executive told the AP last year, although Trump once denied doing so. The FBI raided Cohen's office, home and hotel room in April, searching in part for information about payments to McDougal and porn actress Stormy Daniels, who received a $130,000 payment from Cohen before the election to keep quiet about a sexual relationship she says she had with Trump. Meanwhile, a government watchdog group has asked the Department of Justice and the Federal Election Commission to investigate whether American Media's payment to the former centerfold amounted to an unreported and illegal corporate campaign contribution. The Cohen investigation, by federal prosecutors in New York, is separate from an ongoing inquiry by special counsel Robert Mueller into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia. Cohen hasn't been charged with any crime. A self-described fixer for Trump for more than a decade, he said last year he would "take a bullet" for Trump. But he told an interviewer this month that he now puts "family and country first" and won't let anyone paint him as "a villain of this story." On Twitter, he scrubbed mentions and photos of Trump from a profile that previously identified him as "Personal attorney to President Donald J. Trump." Cohen wouldn't say in the recent interview whether he would cooperate with prosecutors. If he decided to do so, it could be risky for the Republican president, given the pair's close relationship over the years. (with inputs from Associated Press) By AFP BERLIN: Nine people were injured in an attack by a man wielding a knife on a bus in northern Germany, officials said, although his motive remained unclear. The packed bus was on Friday heading in the direction of Travemuende, a popular beach destination close to the city of Luebeck, when a man pulled the weapon on passengers, Luebeck chief prosecutor Ulla Hingst said. Regional interior minister for Schleswig-Holstein state, Hans-Joachim Grote, told DPA news agency that six people suffered knife wounds and three others different injuries, while the attacker also punched the bus driver. "Luckily no-one was killed," Hingst said. "The background to the act as well as exactly how it happened are completely unclear and the objects of our investigation." The bus driver had immediately stopped the vehicle, allowing passengers to escape. "The passengers jumped out of the bus and were screaming. It was terrible. Then the injured were brought out. The perpetrator had a kitchen knife," a witness who lives close to the scene, Lothar H., told local daily Luebecker Nachrichten. Grote said the bus driver had avoided the worst by acting in a "fast and courageous manner". An unnamed female passenger on the bus said one of those injured had only just given up his seat to an elderly woman, "when the perpetrator stabbed him in the chest". A police car which happened to be close by arrived at the scene quickly, allowing officers to detain the assailant, the newspaper reported. Prosecutor Hingst told mass-market daily BILD that the suspected attacker is "a 34-year-old German citizen of Iranian origin". "We have no indication of political radicalisation of any kind," she said, adding that the suspect had so far not spoken about the incident. He is due to appear before a judge on Saturday. DPA reported that the man ignited a bag he was carrying with fire accelerants. There was no trace of explosives, the agency added. Police from Schleswig-Holstein said on Twitter that "people were injured. No one was killed. The perpetrator was overpowered and is now in police custody." While the motive has not yet been established, Germany has been on high alert after several deadly Islamist extremist attacks. Jihadist attack risk Security services had long warned of the threat of more violence after several attacks claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group, the bloodiest of which was a truck rampage through a Berlin Christmas market in December 2016 that left 12 people dead. That attacker, Tunisian asylum seeker Anis Amri, hijacked a truck and murdered its Polish driver before killing another 11 people and wounding dozens more by ploughing the heavy vehicle through the festive market in central Berlin. He was shot dead by Italian police in Milan four days later while on the run. Germany has since been targeted again in attacks with radical Islamist motives. In July 2017, a 26-year-old Palestinian asylum seeker wielding a knife stormed into a supermarket in the northern port city of Hamburg, killing one person and wounding six others before being detained by passers-by. German prosecutors said the man likely had a "radical Islamist" motive. IS also claimed responsibility for a number of attacks in 2016, including the murder of a teenager in Hamburg, a suicide bombing in the southern city of Ansbach that wounded 15, and an axe attack on a train in Bavaria that left five injured. In June, German police said they foiled what would have been the first biological attack with the arrest of a Tunisian suspected jihadist in possession of the poison ricin and bomb-making material. Germany remains a target for jihadist groups, in particular because of its involvement in the coalition fighting IS in Iraq and Syria, and its deployment in Afghanistan since 2001. Security services estimate there are around 11,000 Islamist radicals in Germany, some 980 of whom are deemed particularly dangerous and capable of using violence. Around 150 of these potentially dangerous individuals have been detained for various offences. Chancellor Angela Merkel has allowed in more than one million asylum seekers since 2015 -- a decision that has driven the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which charges that the influx spells a heightened security risk. By PTI ISLAMABAD: Lawyers for Pakistan's jailed former premier Nawaz Sharif, his daughter and his son-in-law, today met them to discuss the appeal against their conviction. Sharif, 68, and his daughter Maryam, 44, were arrested in Lahore on July 13 on their arrival from London after an accountability court found them guilty over his family's ownership of four luxury flats in London. They were later taken to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. Both Sharif and Maryam have been sentenced by the court to 10 and seven years in prison, respectively, for corruption charges. Maryam's husband Muhammad Safdar was jailed for one year. But all of them lodged appeals in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against their conviction and the court after initial hearing on Monday adjourned the case till the last week of this month. Counsel Amjad Pervaiz, a member of their legal team, said they met with Sharif, Maryam and Safdar and discussed legal matters. He said Sharif was in good health but the former premier complained that facilities they deserved were not provided to them. Pervaiz also said Safdar had some health issues. ALSO READ | Jailed former PM Nawaz Sharif's daughter Maryam refuses to shift to Sihala Rest House "Safdar is a heart patient and his medical record is available. He doesn't want to opt for any other medical facility than the one in jail, nor does Maryam," he said. Earlier, the legal team was not given access to the Sharifs and their meeting on July 18 was cancelled. By PTI RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has slammed a controversial Israeli law as "perpetuating racial discrimination" against Palestinians by defining the country as the nation state of the Jewish people, state media reported. The law adopted by Israel's parliament on Thursday also defines the establishment of Jewish communities as being in the national interest and downgrades Arabic from an official language to one with special status. Citing a Saudi foreign ministry source, the official Saudi Press Agency said late yesterday the kingdom "rejects and disapproves" of the new legislation which it argued contradicts international law. The source called on the international community to "confront such a law and or other Israeli attempts, aimed at perpetuating racial discrimination against the Palestinian people", SPA reported. Saudi Arabia said the adoption of the law would also be a barrier to ending the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Earlier this year King Salman reaffirmed Saudi Arabia's "steadfast" support for the Palestinian cause, after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signalled a shift in the country's approach. Prince Mohammed in April said in a magazine interview that Israelis as well as Palestinians "have the right to have their own land". Arab citizens account for some 17.5 per cent of Israel's more than eight million population and have long complained of discrimination. The Israeli legislation was also condemned by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, comprised of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Adoption of the law "reflected the regime of racism and discrimination against the Palestinian people," GCC secretary general Abdullatif al-Zayani was quoted by SPA as saying. Zayani accused Israel of trying to obliterate the Palestinians' "national identity and depriving them of their legitimate civil and human rights on their occupied homeland". By PTI UNITED NATIONS: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo today urged UN member-states to keep tough economic sanctions fully in place on North Korea and maintain pressure on Kim Jong Un to dismantle Pyongyang's nuclear program. "We need to see Chairman Kim do what he promised the world he would do," Pompeo told reporters after meeting with the Security Council. The United States believes that North Korea can shed its "pariah" status from its nuclear and missile programs, but "it will take full enforcement of sanctions for us to get there," he said. Pompeo traveled to New York for the one-hour meeting with the council to provide a first briefing to the top UN body on North Korea since Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un's summit. China and Russia have argued that North Korea should be rewarded with the prospect of eased sanctions for opening up dialogue with the United States and halting missile tests. But US Ambassador Nikki Haley made clear that the best way to support US diplomacy on North Korea was "to not loosen the sanctions." "We can't do one thing until we see North Korea respond to their promise to denuclearize," Haley said. Pompeo's talks in New York came a day after Russia and China put a six-month hold on a US request to cut off deliveries of refined oil to North Korea. Last week, the United States asked a UN sanctions committee to order a halt to shipments of oil products to North Korea after accusing Pyongyang of exceeding a cap on fuel deliveries with illegal imports. But Russia and China said they needed more time to consider the US request and to review Washington's allegations of sanctions-busting by North Korea. Pompeo called for an end to the illegal ship-to-ship transfers of fuel while Haley rejected the Chinese and Russian appeal for more time, saying the United States had photographs as proof of the violations. Trump opened up prospects for an end to the standoff with North Korea when he met in Singapore on June 12 with Kim, who agreed to work toward denuclearization of the peninsula. The agreement however was short on details -- North Korea has long trumpeted a denuclearization goal, but one that it sees as a lengthy process of undefined multilateral disarmament, rather than a unilateral dismantlement of its nuclear arsenal. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. (Newser) The parents of a boy with an incredibly rare disease say they've run out of money and options and are asking for the public's help. Tim and Natalie Rogers of Alamosa, Colorado, say their 12-year-old son, Jaiden, is essentially turning to stone because of a condition called stiff skin syndrome, reports People. "It's like tapping on a countertop," Natalie Rogers has previously said of her son's skin in places. Only a few dozen people have ever been diagnosed with the syndrome since it was discovered in the 1970s, according to the clinical geneticist treating Jaiden at Children's Hospital Colorado. story continues below As WSMV notes, the condition causes the entire body to harden and will eventually lead to immobility. Jaiden's parents, however, are now hoping to get him into a treatment program currently unavailable in the US. They want to fly him to Europe to undergo a stem cell treatment for rare skin diseases, according to a GoFundMe page dedicated to raising $1.5 million. "If we can't raise the money to save Jaiden, we are left with nothing to do for him," wrote the couple. The fund had raised about $77,000 as of Saturday. (This rare disease was for the first time diagnosed in a female.) (Newser) A company in need of good news just got some: Starbucks announced this week that it plans to open its first US signing store, the Washington Post reports. Slated to be near Gallaudet University in Washington, DCthe only university for the deaf and hard-of-hearing worldwidethe new Starbucks will have up to 25 employees who all know American Sign Language whether they are deaf, hard-of-hearing, or hearing. Visual displays will also help customers and show when the orders can be picked up. The system is similar to Starbucks' first signing store, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where customers write notes on paper and see their orders appear on a screen. story continues below Sadly, it's far from the typical experience for deaf customers: "Before I go into any store, I'm anticipating and figuring out how I'm going to order and communicate," Adam Novsam, a Starbucks deaf utility analyst at the company's Seattle headquarters, tells NPR. "Typically, it is not an easy or smooth experience. Sometimes I'll try to lipread, and that often results in misunderstanding my order, especially if they have a question." So Novsam advocated for the Washington store, which will feature a mug and art by a deaf artist, employee aprons with "Starbucks" shown in sign language, and events geared toward the local deaf community, CNN reports. (In less-good Starbucks news, baristas are accused of insulting customers by stuttering or writing a slur on a cup.) (Newser) Houston cardiologist Mark Hausknecht earned his 15 minutes of fame back in 2000 when he treated former President George HW Bush for an irregular heartbeat and appeared at a news conference with him. Eighteen years later, Hausknecht is again in the headlines, for the worst of reasons. Police say the 65-year-old was shot to death Friday morning as he rode his bike to work at the Texas Medical Centerand he was shot by another bicyclist, reports the Houston Chronicle. The gunman is still at large, and police have no idea what prompted the shooting. All they know is that the two bicyclists passed each other on Main Street about 8:50am, and the gunman then turned around and shot the doctor. story continues below "There are a lot of cameras, so we're hoping we can get some footage of this and bring this violent criminal into custody, where he needs to be right away," says a Houston police official. Authorities describe the shooter as a slender, white or Hispanic male about 30 years old, reports Click2Houston, and they're still trying to figure out whether Hausknecht was a target or whether it was a random attack. The former president took note of the shooting. "Mark was a fantastic cardiologist and a good man," he said in a statement. "I will always be grateful for his exceptional, compassionate care. His family is in our prayers." (Read more Houston stories.) (Newser) Not everyone is hating the Russia thing: Certain neo-confederates are promising to post a Russian-language page to share ideas with Russians about "Southern nationalism," reports AL.com. Called League of the South, the Alabama-based group made its announcement only days after President Trump and Vladimir Putin met to discuss issues off the record in Helsinki. A letter from league president Michael Hill argues that Southerners and Russians have a lot in common. "As fellow Whites of northern European extraction, we come from the same general gene pool," writes Hill. "As inheritors of the European cultural tradition, we share similar values, customs, and ways of life." story continues below Hill goes on to argue that "as Christians, we worship the same Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ," and says cooperation between the two peoples "could indeed be the foundation for a better world." Labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the League of the South has chapters in 16 states and advocates for a second Southern secession. As of this writing, their website has mysteriously gone down. Regardless, analysts are seeing a fresh alliance between Trump boosters, Russia, and white nationalists, Newsweek reports. "The current Russian government ... cites figures who are unambiguously fascist and Nazi," says historian Timothy Snyder. "There's been a kind of renaissance of the 1930s which has crept up on us." (Read more Russia stories.) (Newser) The New York Police Department has begun disciplinary proceedings against a white officer nearly four years after he was accused in the chokehold death of an unarmed black man who gasped, "I can't breathe." A police spokesman says departmental charges were presented Friday to Officer Daniel Pantaleo regarding the July 2014 death of Eric Garner, the AP reports. Police officials had been waiting to see whether federal prosecutors would bring criminal charges but decided to move forward. In a sharp letter, the NYPD's senior lawyer told the Justice Dept. about a disciplinary case that could get Pantaleo dismissed because "there is no end in sight" in the federal investigation, reports NBC New York. story continues below A police watchdog agency called the Civilian Complaint Review Board will prosecute Pantaleo, who has had a paid desk job since Garner's death. A grand jury declined to prosecute Pantaleo in 2014, notes CBS New York, and the Justice Dept. launched a civil rights probe that apparently never came to fruition. Pantaleo appears on a cellphone video putting Garner in an apparent chokehold, which is banned under NYPD policy, but Pantaleo's lawyer says he used a takedown move taught by the police department and expects to be vindicated after trial. Garner's death became a rallying cry for protests about police department treatment of black people. (Read more NYPD stories.) Virginia Beach: Google says it will string a trans-Atlantic cable from France to Virginia. The web giant said in a statement this week that the undersea cable will land stateside in Virginia Beach. It's expected to become operational in 2020. Google said the project will better serve customers with an expanded network. Internet traffic across the Atlantic is among the busiest. The cable will also support growth of Google Cloud. And it will land in relative proximity to Google's planned data center in northern Virginia. Also Read | Future smartphone circuits may be printed like newspapers The project is named after innovator Henri Dunant, the first Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the Red Cross. Last year, a cable between Virginia Beach and Bilbao, Spain, became operational. It's the result of a joint project between Microsoft, Facebook and global telecommunication company Telxius. For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: After facing severe criticism from all sections, the central government has finally decided to exempt sanitary napkins from the current Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. The decision to remove tax from the sanitary pads was taken during the 28th GST Council meeting comprising officials of federal and 29 states. Sanitary napkins have been exempted from the current Goods and Service Tax (GST) regime along with some other products, ANI quoted Delhi Finance Minister Manish Sisodia as saying. Sisodia, who is also the Deputy Chief Minister of the national capital, was among the 29 state government officials attended the meeting. Until now, Sanitary napkins attracted 12 per cent tax under the GST regime. The government's decision to tax sanitary pads was criticised by various quarters. Also Read | Google to string undersea cable from France to Virginia For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Defending constant attacks from the opposition on the heated and controversial topic of mob lynchings, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said the 1984 anti-Sikh riots was the biggest incident of mob lynching. He also criticised the opposition parties for being limited to regional quarrels. Speaking in the no-trust motion debate, the home minister lashed out at Congress MP Shashi Tharoor for his Hindu-Pakistan comment and said, Where do they want to take the country and what does it want India to become? There is the talk of Hindu Taliban. India is the only country where minorities are prospering. Do they not want such an India? Referring to lynching incidents, Singh said the Centre would give every possible help required but state governments need to take strict steps to put an end to such incidents. He further said that the 1984 anti-Sikh riots were the biggest case of mob lynching. The biggest incident of mob lynching happened in 1984, Singh said. Who are you bringing a no-confidence against? The appeal of the PM is such that several people gave up gas subsidies after he urged them to do so. They are bringing a no-trust motion against the government but they (the opposition) do not trust each other. And who is their leader when it comes to talking about the leadership, then they lose steam, said Singh expressing his displeasure at oppositions attempt to bring a no-confidence motion despite magical numbers being in favour of the NDA government. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Waking up to a new day after hogging the limelight with his antics in the Lok Sabha that sparked off applause and laughter in the House, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the only way to build a nation was by love and compassion for the people. Gandhi took to Twitter on Saturday and said that Fridays debate in Parliament on the no-trust vote was about Prime Minister Narendra Modi using hate, fear and anger in the hearts of some people to build his narrative, and the Congress countering it with love and compassion. The point of yesterdays debate in Parliament.. PM uses Hate, Fear and Anger in the hearts of some of our people to build his narrative. We are going to prove that Love and Compassion in the hearts of all Indians, is the only way to build a nation (sic), he tweeted. Gandhi walked across to Modi and hugged him with a wink after delivering his 45-minute speech during the no-confidence motion debate in the Lok Sabha. Also Read | At mega Martyrs Day rally, Mamata Banerjee vows to oust BJP in 2019 In his speech, Gandhi accused Modi of unleashing jumla strike on people in the form of demonetisation, joblessness, Rafale deal, poor state of economy, mob violence, lynching, and incidents of alleged atrocities on Dalits and women. Modi shook Gandhis hands but ignored his call to stand so that he could hug the BJP leader. The Congress chief, however, embraced him as he remained seated. Modi, who initially looked nonplussed, recovered quickly and called Gandhi back and patted him on the back. Despite his endearing gesture, the PM, during his reply to the debate, hit back at Gandhi. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (YSR Congress) supremo Jagan Mohan Reddy has called for Andhra Pradesh bandh on Tuesday against the unfairness done by the Narendra Modi-led BJP government. "YSR Congress Party in Kakinada We are calling for Andhra Pradesh bandh on Tuesday, 24th July against the injustice done by the BJP government. We will support any party at the national level. Our only demand is special category status to Andhra Pradesh," Jagan Mohan Reddy said at a press meet in Kakinada. Andhra Pradeshs special category status has become a heated political issue between the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and YSR Congress. Telugu Desam Party moved the debate on the no-confidence motion with TDP MP Jayadev Galla crying for justice to Andhra Pradesh and requested the Centre to fulfil the promises made in 2014. Galla said that the Centre had tricked the State into accepting the package by using the 14th Finance Commission as an excuse and thanked the opposition parties for supporting TDPs motion. "You did not even bother to give it legislative backing. To add insult to injury, we have not received a single paisa promised in the package. Since nothing has been done so far on the special package, we are demanding the implementation of the Cabinet decision on SCS," he said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday claimed that her party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) will win all the 42 Bengal seats in 2019 Lok Sabha elections and oust the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to save the nation. We will win all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state. It is our pledge. We will oust the BJP to save the country. We will organise a big rally here in January and invite all the (opposition) leaders, Banerjee said while addressing TMCs annual Martyrs Day rally in Esplanade near Kolkata. The West Bengal CM, who introduced the idea of a federal front to take on the BJP in 2019, also pulled her out of the race for Oppositions prime ministerial face saying she didnt bother about the chair but the people of the country. Also Read | Alwar mob lynching: Vasundhara Raje condemns mob violence We dont bother about the chair. We only bother about the people and the country, the TMC chief said in front of the massive crowd gathered in Esplanade to watch and hear their leader. Banerjee also took a dig at the BJP for the collapse of a marquee during Prime Minister Narendra Modis rally in Midnapore. They cannot build a pandal. How can they build the country? she said. Referring to Fridays no-confidence motion victory of the BJP, she said that the saffron party won the trust vote in the Parliament but its tally will come down to 100 in the upcoming general elections. During the no-confidence vote in the Lok Sabha yesterday, they (NDA) got 325 votes, but in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, their strength will come down to barely 100 seats, she added. (With inputs from agencies) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The no-confidence motion moved by the opposition against the Narendra Modi-led NDA government was rejected on Friday with a total of 325 MPs in the Lok Sabha voting aNoa and 126 voting aYesa among the 451 MPs present in the House. Even though Rahul Gandhi stole the headlines with his aunscripteda hug to PM Modi but the Saffron party leader got the better of the Congress supremo with his no-holds-barred speech in the Lok Sabha. Here are the Top takings from the speech: PM Modi said Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and TDP chief, who moved the no-confidence motion that the government is working and supporting the development of the state. "I want to tell the people of Andhra Pradesh that we will keep working for them. We will do everything possible for the development of AP," Modi said. "Atal Ji created 3 states- Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. These states are now prospering. Congress divided Andhra Pradesh and their conduct then was shameful. It was done peacefully." Modi added. The Congress and other parties were raising the issue of lynching and PM Modi in his speech assured stern action against the rising violence. "Any instance of violence brings shame to the nation. I will once again urge the state governments to punish those who indulge in violence," he said. During the no-confidence motion debate, the Congress president Rahul Gandhi had earlier in the day accused the government of alyinga to the nation on the issue of Rafale deal and had termed PM a abhaagidaara (collaborator) in cases of alleged corruption and not a achaukidaara (guard) to which PM Modi replied, "Due to one careless allegation in the House on Rafale, both nations had to release statements. We should not indulge in such childish behaviour." "In the morning, the voting was not over, the debate was also not over one member comes running to me saying- Utho Utho Utho...What is his hurry to come to power? Let me tell this member it is the people who elected us. That is how we have come here," said PM Modi citing Rahul Gandhias hug with him. "We are here because we have the blessings of 125 crore Indians. We are not here for selfish interests," added Modi. "You are a 'naamdaar' (known by name) and I am 'kaamdar' (known by work). I cannot dare see you eye-to-eye," said PM Modi countering Rahul Gandhias statement that PM Modi could not see him eye-to-eye. aYou called the surgical strike a Jumla Strike. You can abuse me as much as you want but stop insulting the jawans of India. I will not tolerate this insult to our forces," said the prime minister while talking about the surgical strike adding that the Congress asking for proof was an insult to the armed forces. "I want to tell you about the NPA problem. Much before Internet Banking, Congress Party invented Phone Banking and this caused the NPA mess. A phone call would get loans for their cronies and the nation suffered." The Congress had earlier accused that NPAs rose by 230 per cent under the Modi government and loans rose by 317 per cent,a said PM Modi on the issue of bad loans and non-performing assets (NPA). "NDA has the confidence of the Lok Sabha and the 125 crore people of India. I thank all the parties that have supported us in the vote today. Our efforts to transform India andA fulfilA the dreams of our youth continue. Jai Hind!" PM Modi tweetedA after defeating the no-confidence motion with 325 MPs in the Lok Sabha voting aNoa and 126 voting aYesa among the 451 MPs present in the House NDA has the confidence of the Lok Sabha and the 125 crore people of India. I thank all the parties that have supported us in the vote today. Our efforts to transform India and fulfil the dreams of our youth continue. Jai Hind! a Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 20, 2018 For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: A 22-year-old woman from Panchkula district in Haryana has been allegedly raped by 40 men after holding her captive in a guest house for four days from July 15 to 18, PTI reported on Friday. The Chandigarh Police lodged an FIR in Manimajra police station after the woman approached them with the complaint, the case has been transferred to the Panchkula Police, under whose jurisdiction the alleged incident took place. The woman stated in a complaint filed with the Chandigarh Police on Thursday that one of the accused was known to her husband and had promised to provide her a job at a tourist attraction in Panchkula. Two staff members of the guest house have been arrested in relation with the incident, said Ranjit Singh the station house officer at the Manimajra Police Station to a leading media house adding that the district and sessions court in Panchkula has sent them to 14 days judicial custody. "One of the accused had promised a job to her at the guest house. He had agreed to employ her at a monthly salary of Rs 11,000 to 12,000 for cleaning the guest house. We did not know anybody, except him," claimed the womans husband. "Every day, about 10 men would brutalise her and this continued for four days between July 15 and 18. Then she somehow managed to call me over phone and told me that she was in great trouble. I spoke to the guest house manager and told him to leave her or else I would call the police. My wife later reached home and narrated the ordeal after which we lodged a police complaint," he said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will explain her tactics for the next Lok Sabha at the partyas annual Martyrs' Day rally on Saturday, as per reports. Every year on July 21, the Martyrs' Day rally is organised by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the memory of 13 Youth Congress activists killed in police firing in 1993. #MamataBanerjee ends the meeting with the call of JOY BANGLA pic.twitter.com/tuqFydGtYi a News Nation (@NewsNationTV) July 21, 2018 "Like every year, we are organising our annual 21 July Shahid Divas rally in Dharmatala. Our workers and supporters from across Bengal and other States have come to the city. We welcome one and all. Dharmatala Chalo," tweeted Mamata Banerjee ahead of the rally.A Like every year, we are organising our annual #21JulyShahidDibas rally in Dharmatala. Our workers and supporters from across #Bengal and other States have come to the city. We welcome one and all. Dharmatala Chalo. a Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) July 21, 2018 Banerjee was a leader of the West Bengal Youth Congress back at the time. The party is set to use the platform to explain their strategy for the Lok Sabha elections, as per sources. "Tomorrow we will get the directive from our supremo for the Lok Sabha poll next year. We will also give a befitting reply to allegations made by BJP leaders during Narendra Modi's (Midnapore) rally," a senior TMC leader said. Party supporters and workers from every part of the state along with Congress MLAs and senior leaders will participate in the rally. A "We will take the pledge at the July 21 rally to oust the BJP in 2019. The country will definitely get the opportunity to see Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's developmental work nationwide after 2019," TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee had recently said.A Banerjee, along with few TMC leaders, visited the Esplanade area (venue) in Kolkata and checked the preparations. Trinamool Congress is hoping to cash on its excellent performance in the May panchayat polls where it won all the zila parishads and around 80 per cent of gram panchayat seats. The party currently had 34 Lok Sabha seats from West Bengal out of 42. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: In another shocking incident coming days after the Greater Noida twin building collapse, five people were left injured and one child is still feared trapped under the debris as a 2-storey building collapsed in Mundhwa area of Pune in Maharashtra. The rescue operation is on. Pune: 8 people have been rescued while one child is still feared trapped inside the building. The building was 30 years old and it was served a notice by municipal corporation; Rescue operation underway. a ANI (@ANI) July 21, 2018 A total of eight people have been rescued and the injured have been rushed to the nearest hospital. The building was around 30 years old and it was given a notice by the municipal corporation, as per reports. #SpotVisuals: Rescue operation underway after a building collapsed near Keshavnagar in Pune's Mundhwa. 8 people have been rescued while one child is still feared trapped inside. The building was 30 years old and it was served a notice by municipal corporation. #Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/7qpnbNAb3M a ANI (@ANI) July 21, 2018 The PMC had issued a notice to the building residents to evacuate the premises because it was in an extremely dangerous condition, said Anil Patrudkar, Senior police inspector, Mundhwa police. More details are awaited. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: A fresh fatwa was issued against triple talaq crusader Nida Khan, which allegedly announces a reward of Rs.11786 for anybody who stones and chops her hairs. Nida said she had been asked to leave India within three days or shell be stoned. A fatwa issued against me says whosoever brings chopped hair of Nida Khan will be rewarded with an amount of Rs.11786 and if I do not leave this country within 3 days, I will be attacked with stones, ANI quoted Nida Khan as saying. Nida said she will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urge him to take actions against the people issuing fatwas. She added she decided not meet the prime minister citing security issues. These people issuing such fatwas should be stopped. I will take a proper appointment to meet PM Modi and will appeal to him about it. He was in Shahjahanpur today but I decided not to go to meet him due to my own security issues, Nida said. On Friday, a Bareily NGO, All India Faizan-e-Madina Council announced rewards of Rs 11,786 to anyone who stones and shaves the head of Nida Khan and Farhat Naqvi. Our group will award Rs 11,786 to anyone who stones Nida Khan and Farhat Naqvi, shaves their heads and scares them away from India, All India Faizan-e-Madina Council head Moin Siddique Noori announced. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The United States was working with India and other partner countries to help them identify and avoid sanctions under the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), Trump administration said on Saturday. We have discussed CAATSA with the government of India, and the United States is working with our partners including India to help them identify and avoid engaging in potentially sanctionable activity, news agency PTI quoted a state department spokesperson as saying. The statement holds significance for India as it has decided to purchase the S-400 Triumf air defence system from Russia, who is at the heart of the new US sanctions. The CAATSA Act was aimed at restricting countries from purchasing significant defence equipment from Russia. However, the act was also having unintentional consequences on India which decided to go ahead with the S-400 deal worth around USD 4.5 billion. The spokesperson also said that the US was fully committed to implement CAATSA which put certain economic sanctions on countries indulging in any kind of trade in the defence and intelligence sectors of Russia. Also Read | India to go ahead with S-400 deal with Russia despite US sanctions This administration is fully committed to implementing CAATSA, including Section 231, which provides for sanctions on any person determined to knowingly engage in a significant transaction with a person that is a part of, or operates for or on behalf of, the defense or intelligence sectors of the Government of the Russian Federation, the spokesperson added. The statement from the Trump administration came ahead of the crucial 2+2 dialogue between India and the US scheduled to be held on September 6 in New Delhi. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis will visit India and meet their counterparts Sushma Swaraj and Nirmala Sitharaman for the first ever 2+2 dialogue. The issue of CAATSA sanctions would likely to be on the agenda of the meeting. Earlier, the White House had said that no countries, including India and China, would get exemptions from the sanctions. (With inputs from agencies) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Bengaluru: All said and done, the anti-BJP Opposition was better off without Fridays trust vote---with a plethora of parties combining against the ruling alliance they gave the impression of a fairly formidable phalanx. When the no-confidence motion was put to vote late on Friday, the Oppositions combined vote was a mere 126 while the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) added up to an impressive 325. Others whose votes were not counted were in the category of undecided or abstentions. All the bravado about the might of the Opposition which could shake the foundations of the NDA in the Lok Sabha elections next year stood punctured. Interestingly, it looked like Narendra Modi versus the rest which is what the BJP wanted. The Narendra Modi-Amit Shah combine now know somewhat clearly which parties to work on for 2019. By walking out soon after the debate on the motion began, the Biju Janata Dal signalled that it trusts neither the Congress nor the BJP. The Shiv Sena has been a recurringly unreliable ally under Uddhav Thackeray. For a while it appeared that BJP president Amit Shah had managed to win over Uddhav when the Shiv Sena announced that it would oppose the motion and stand by the BJP. But as the new day began on Friday, the party was back to its familiar ways. It instructed its members to abstain on the vote. Also Read | Congress partys golden boy Rahul Gandhi misses golden opportunity to redeem himself The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is rarely on firm ground. It finally voted with the NDA but spoke in the debate as though it was opposed to the Narendra Modi government. Considering that thanks to late J Jayalalithaa, the party has a whopping 37 members in the Lok Sabha it has an undoubted air of importance but the current ruling dispensation is a pale shadow of what it was in Ammas days. The strange thing about Telugu Desam was that it was totally self-obsessed. It was its own motion that the other opposition parties were supporting but the TDP had nothing to say about the demands of the rest of the Opposition. It made one wonder if the TDP is still open to re-joining the NDA if the special status demand is met. With the quality of the debate touching abysmal levels and Congress president Rahul Gandhi displaying crass immaturity and lack of depth, it was left to the redoubtable Narendra Modi to lend a measure of brilliance to the otherwise dull proceedings. Modis digs at Rahul were sharp and scathing, yet in a way subtle. While Rahul mocked Modi that he was not looking into his eyes, Modi turned the tables on him by saying that he was but a small man with a modest lineage while Rahul was a man of high lineage. Modi added that leaders like Netaji Subhash Bose, Jayaprakash Narayan, Vallabhai Patel, Charan Singh, Morarji, Sharad Pawar, Chandrashekar had all tried looking in the eye but the country saw how they were insulted. On the Congress propensity of calling everything Modi does as a jumla, Modi tore into Rahul for calling the surgical strikes against Pakistan and the Chinese standoff with India troops at the border mere jumlas. Read More | Challenging time ahead for new Congress leadership Alluding to Atal Behari Vajpayees formation of three statesUttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and JharkhandModi said he did so peacefully but the Congress divided Andhra Pradesh and its conduct was shameful. When Rahul went over to Modi and sprung a surprise by hugging him, the Prime Minister said why are you in such a hurry to come to power, in a subtle dig at him. Taking another dig at Rahul and earlier seeking a postponement, Modi said: "If you were not prepared for the debate why did you bring the motion? Why such a tearing rush to bring down the government? Would the sky have fallen or a bhukamp (earthquake) come. The word Bhukamp drew laughter from the government benches, since the word was associated with Rahul Gandhi's promised "earthquake". Alluding to Sonia Gandhis boast that the Congress would win the no-confidence vote, Modi reminded her of an earlier occasion when she had made the same boast which proved hollow. What arrogance! he added. Indeed, the no-trust motion was a Modi show all the way even as Rahul and the Congress came out as poor losers. Manama : A large number of expat workers are facing extreme financial situations due to unpaid wages mainly in the construction sector, according to sources. In June, workers of two contracting companies staged separate protests over unpaid salaries. They also marched towards the Labour Court demanding strict action from the part of authorities. Speaking to Tribune, a labourer employed by a contracting company, said, We, a group of 120 labourers, working at a construction site in Zallaq, havent been paid for almost a year now. We worked for over 16 hours a day to complete various projects on time, but never received any money for our hard work. He said there are many in the group who dont even have proper visas. The company kept on telling us that our dues would be paid. But nothing happens. We are stuck in the Kingdom with no food to eat. The labourer said most often company officials dont give proper response to their pleas. Another labourer, an Indian expat said, back home the families of labourers are living in extreme poverty. We would work in extremely tough conditions and at times we only got 15 minutes of lunch break. I lost my son a few months back. Neither could I visit my home nor I had the money to pay for his medical bills, he lamented. We are left here with no money and no food. Though Tribune made efforts to contact the employers of these workers, they could not be reached. Though the trade unions in the Kingdom pledged support to labourers, who work allegedly without being paid in the Kingdom, the unionists are finding it difficult to have a proper communication channel with these workers as they dont belong to any trade unions. Only two companies in the construction sector are unionised. How can we address the issues faced by these workers? General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU) assistant secretary for international relations, Karim Radhi was quoted by Tribune earlier. There is no proper communication channel between the labourers and the companies. When companies are unionised, both parties can sit together and discuss the problems and try to find a way out of it, he had said. Speaking to Tribune, Labour Ministry Undersecretary Sabah Al Dosari said the ministry is constantly in the process of helping workers who are in need. We ask all labourers who have disputes with their companies to come to Labour Court and file a petition so that we can take it up. We are now dealing with a few cases involving unpaid wages. The ministry is hopeful that these issues could be solved by taking up the cases with the managements of these companies. With the emergence of social media sites, applications and networks in the past decade, more people around the world would explore it as a platform to broadcast their talents leading to the birth of online celebrities. The phenomenon has spread throughout the different cultures and nations of the world, including Bahrain, where Bahraini Saad Al Ameeri, 23, became a prominent comedian on Instagram, YouTube and other sites. Tribune interviewed Mr Al Ameeri who spoke about his story and how he became an online celebrity across the GCC, with around 100,000 followers on Instagram alone. When did you start posting your videos on social networks and what motivated you? I started recording short clips back in 2012 and was initially sharing them only with family and friends, mainly through WhatsApp groups. Then, my friends and family appreciated my talent and encouraged me to go public. A year later, I started posting different videos online. They quickly gained popularity and were shared on different social media apps, including Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter. My family and friends helped me grow more in this field and theyve always guided me on the type of topics and materials before posting online. What is the content you focus on and the audience you target? I usually film posts touching various topics. I have filmed videos giving religious advice, discussing wrong social behaviours and funny videos. I have noticed that my audience is mainly between the age of 16 and 32. They are mostly Bahrainis, but I have received a positive interaction from followers from fellow GCC countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE. I also observed that the most shared and liked videos of mine were the funny videos and the clips touching social issues in a comedian frame. What were the main challenges you faced? The most difficult phase was the beginning, as I was suddenly exposed to thousands of viewers after my videos were initially shown to family and friends. I have received some harsh comments and had many critics in the beginning. This didnt stop me. It actually motivated and showed me some mistakes that I would avoid in my later works. Interacting with my critics and listening to their comments have actually gained me more followers. Even harsh comments served me a platform for growth. What are your future plans? I look forward to develop my acting career. I havent studied it, I was told by many that I have a natural talent. My ambition is to act on a stage or on TV one day. Anyhow, this wont stop me from posting on social media networks, as it was my beginning. Whats your advice to young people who are planning to build a career similar to yours on social media? My advice is to believe in yourself and work hard. As everyone knows, its more difficult to excel on social media nowadays unlike a few years ago. Its because of the existing competition. So I think one will only succeed if he/she comes with a new and innovative idea. When I began, many accounts that have big numbers of followers helped me by sharing my videos. Ill be glad to do the same with any upcoming Bahraini talents. Manama : A Bahraini man was sentenced after he was found guilty of consuming drugs and setting his room on fire. When asked, he told prosecutors that someone was doing black magic on him. The 37-year-old was arrested after his mother reported the incident to police. According to court files, the defendant told his mother that someone was doing black magic on him by keeping a special paper in his room. To get rid of all these papers, he burnt them, which led to a big fire that destroyed the room. Police officers seized several items used to consume hashish and shabu and other illicit narcotic pills. The 37-year-old man admitted to police officers during investigations that he has been a drug addict for over 20 years. He was charged with consuming drugs, and the High Criminal Court sentenced him to one year behind bars along with BD1,000 fine. Manama : A 23-year-old Bahraini man accused in a rioting case has been acquitted due to lack of evidence. He was tried before the High Criminal Court, which cited inconclusive evidences before acquitting the accused. The incident occurred in 2014 and the initial investigations could not identify the culprit. After two years, a detective blamed the defendant for committing the crime based on the report of the Criminal Investigation Laboratory, the court ruling stated. However, the detective said in his report that he relied on confidential sources in his investigations despite the fact that two years have passed since the incident occurred, it added. Terming the investigations unserious and inadequate to hold the accused guilty, the ruling said, The fingerprint recovered is not enough to confirm the involvement of the accused in the case. The man has been charged on the basis of assumptions. The defendant was charged in connection with a riot that broke out in Samaheej. A police officer said that he saw five tyres that were set on fire surrounding a gas cylinder, which didnt detonate thanks to police officers who put out the fire. The detective said in his report that the defendant committed the crime along with unknown men. Manama : Sixty Information and Communications Technology (ICT) organisations including companies and government agencies are expected to be part of the Bahrain national pavilion at the GITEX Expo to be held in Dubai. The popular international ICT expo will be held in Dubai in October; dozens of companies and government entities from Bahrain are expected to take part. Thousands of people will attend the event which will be held at Dubai World Trade Center from 14th to 18th October 2018. The organiser of the pavilion Bahrain Technology Companies Society (BTECH) said that up to 60 companies and government entities from Bahrain are expected. BTECH, in cooperation with WorkSmart, has ensured Bahraini participation at GITEX in the past 12 years. BTECH Chairman Ubaydli Ubaydli said that the continuous Bahraini participation at the event showcases the vibrancy of the ICT sector in the Kingdom. Through the Bahraini National Pavilion at GITEX, Bahrains ICT companies have kept abreast of the latest developments in the global technology sector, engaging in fruitful deals and partnerships, and exploring best ways for Bahraini companies to develop their services and products according to international standards and regional market needs, GITEX is a platform for the development of the ICT sector in the presence of stakeholders from the public and private sectors. This will contribute to the development of the technology sector, especially towards attracting and localising international expertise in the fields of cloud computing, large data, etc, he added. Ahmed Al Hujairy, CEO of WorkSmart said, We are looking forward to continuing to work with all partners and exhibitors so that we can enhance the competitiveness of this sector locally and regionally. We believe that GITEX is one of the best platforms to meet annually and discuss the prospects of developing the Bahraini technology sector according to the latest global trends. At least 16 killed in Pakistan traffic collision Riyadh : The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has allocated a new website link to receive the requests of Qataris who wish to perform Hajj after the Qatari authorities blocked the old one. The new link was made available as part of King Salmans efforts to facilitate the arrival of all pilgrims and ensure that any obstacles that they may face are overcome. The ministry said that it welcomes the arrival of Qatari pilgrims this year irrespective of the ongoing Gulf dispute. The arrival and departure of Qatari pilgrims will take place via King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah and through any airlines except Qatar Airways. Micheal Jackson and brother get more than 80 suits designed for a net worth of BD100,00 from Bab Al Bahrain, Bahrain. The proportion of women with children who said they were employed stood at a record high of 70.8 pct in 2017, exceeding 70 pct for the first time, a survey by the labor ministry showed Friday. The figure was up 3.6 percentage points from a year earlier, the ministry's comprehensive survey of living conditions said. The result has highlighted the need to support mothers who are working while raising their children. Explaining the increase of working mothers, the ministry said a growing number of companies have adopted childcare leave and shorter working hour systems. Of the working mothers, 24.7 pct were regular workers, 37 pct were nonregular workers and 9.1 pct were in other working situations, including company executives and working on the side. 70 1173400070.8 Japan's Council for Cultural Affairs on Friday recommended that three people including "Edo komon" kimono fabric dyer Yasumasa Komiya, 62, be designated as living national treasures. The other two are Noh drum performer Takashi Kakihara, 77, and "chinkin" gold-inlaid lacquer ware artisan Kazuo Yamagishi, 64. The council made the recommendation to education and cultural affairs minister Yoshimasa Hayashi. The number of people with the status, granted to preservers of important intangible cultural properties, will increase to 113 if the three are designated. Komiya's father and grandfather also won the status in the field of Edo komon, hand-dyed fine patters on kimono. The family will be the first to see the status given to three consecutive generations. Komiya studied under his late father, Yasutaka, inheriting the dyeing techniques passed down from his late grandfather, Sadakichi. Kochi District Court on Friday rejected a claim filed by former Japanese fishermen and bereaved family members for state compensation over records of radiation exposure from 1954 U.S. hydrogen bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific. In the lawsuit, 45 plaintiffs in Kochi Prefecture, western Japan, mostly crew members of a tuna fishing boat, sought a total of some 65 million yen in state compensation, claiming that they lost an opportunity to recover their health after the Japanese government hid the records in question. It was the first ruling issued over lawsuits filed in Japan to seek state compensation over the Bikini Atoll radiation, according to the plaintiffs. They claimed that the Japanese government hid the records intentionally for some 60 years until it released them in 2014. But Presiding Judge Osamu Nishimura said it cannot be concluded that the government concealed the records on purpose. As people in Japan treated themselves to grilled eels on eel-eating day Friday, many were faced with a larger bill amid soaring prices for the endangered fish. The domestic catch of juvenile eels for cultivation dropped this season to the second-lowest level since records began being kept in 1982, leading to a rise in the wholesale price of grown eels by about 30 percent from a year ago. On what is traditionally referred to as the "day of the ox" in summer, which falls twice this year, on Friday and Aug 1, many people in Japan eat eel, typically grilled with sweet soy sauce, to honor an old saying which promotes the consumption of eel to help the body withstand the summer heat. Waiting in line for Kawatoyo, a well-established eel restaurant near Naritasan Shinshoji temple in Chiba Prefecture, to open at 10 a.m., 40-year-old Takanori Matsushima said, "I love eel and I always eat it on the day of the ox, even if it is a little more expensive than before." Amid heightened concern over the depletion of the population of Japanese eels, which were designated as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2014, debate over tradition versus conservation continues. Police in Kyotanabe, Kyoto Prefecture, have arrested an unemployed 38-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder after he stabbed a 19-year-old girl who lives in the same apartment building, because she was making too much noise. According to police, at around 8:45 a.m. on Thursday, a call was placed to 119, reporting that someone was crying for help and that blood could be seen outside. When firefighters arrived at the scene, a girl was found collapsed at a nursery school near the condominium, Fuji TV reported. The victim had been stabbed multiple times in the back with a kitchen knife. She was taken to hospital, but her injuries were not life-threatening, police said Friday. Popular human rights lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, has dragged the Lagos state publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, M... Popular human rights lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, has dragged the Lagos state publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Mr. Joe Igbokwe before a Federal High Court, Lagos, seeking to sanction him for accusing the Supreme Court of selling justice to the governor of Rivers State, Mr. Nyesom Wike. Igbokwe had written on his Facebook page: Wike will not have the audacity and the temerity to kill again in Rivers state and run to the Supreme Court to buy Justice. It will never happen again in Nigeria where Buhari is President. In a 32 paragraph affidavit deposed to in support of the new suit, Mr. Adegboruwa claimed that Mr. Igbokwes post was capable of generating loss of confidence in the judicial system. According to him, such a situation of zero confidence in the judiciary could discourage people from seeking redress from the law courts and which would in turn lead to lawlessness and resort to self-help and rule of the might. He also said that it will lead to loss of patronage for lawyers, who would no longer be able to handle cases in court, given that it is now possible to buy justice with money. Adegboruwa contended that as a public officer, Mr. Igbokwe should not be involved in disparaging other public institutions and that his offending post is a clear case of abuse of public trust for which he should be sanctioned appropriately. He contended further that the Attorney-General of the Federation, being the leader of the official Bar in Nigeria and chief law officer of the federation, was the one best placed to take up the case against Mr. Igbokwe, on behalf of the judiciary, lawyers and indeed the general public. The rights lawyer disclosed that before filing the suit, he took up the Facebook post with Mr. Igbokwe asking him to substantiate his claims. Similarly, the Rivers State Government also demanded explanations from Mr. Igbokwe and threatened court action. Subsequently, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, invited security agencies to probe Mr. Igbokwes allegations and deal with the judges found culpable and if the allegations are false, to take appropriate steps to prosecute Mr. Igbokwe. Rather than withdraw the offending post, Mr. Igbokwe proceeded to issue a more comprehensive post, wherein he specifically stated that the Chief Justice of Nigeria was under the influence and payroll of Mr. Nyesom Wike. Reliefs sought in the case are also follows: A declaration that Joe Igbokwe is not entitled to make any statement to the effect that a judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria was bought and paid for. A declaration that the statement of Joe Igbokwe, to the effect that the judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria was bought and paid for is reckless, unjustifiable and amounts to an unwarranted denigration of the integrity and authority of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in particular and the judiciary in general. A declaration that Joe Igbokwe is not a fit and proper person to be elected or appointed into or to hold any public office in any part of the federation of Nigeria. An order directing the Abubakar Malami to forthwith interview, engage and demand proof from the 2nd defendant, of the latters statement that the judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria was bought and paid for, failing which the said 1st defendant should forthwith prosecute the saidJoe Igbokwe. Perpetual injunction restraining Joe Igbokwe, his servants, officers and agents, or otherwise howsoever, from further issuing, uttering, publishing or making any statement, of and concerning the judiciary and the legal profession in Nigeria, capable of undermining the credibility, authority, integrity and sanctity of judgments of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and of all other courts in in Nigeria, generally. Nigeria Police has said arrangements have been concluded to declare Senator Dino Melaye wanted. Nigeria Police has said arrangements have been concluded to declare Senator Dino Melaye wanted. Senator Melaye had accused the police of shooting at his convoy on his way to inaugurate a project in his constituency on Thursday in Kogi State. Reacting on Friday, the Kogi State Commissioner of Police, Mr Ali Janga, noted that the police opened fire in defence of a purported shooting by some individuals in the lawmakers convoy. The police boss stated this on Friday while addressing newsmen in his office. Unidentified civilians inside (a vehicle in the convoy) decided to open fire on my policemen. You dont expect the police to fold their arms; eventually they replied and opened fire too, Janga said. Dino has been going round telling people that he was attacked by unidentified armed men; no, they were real police officers. They were there on assignment. Nobody attacked Dino but rather, his convoy attacked my policemen and they repelled, he added. The commissioner while condemning the alleged assault on the police officers at the scene of the incident, said the lawmaker had been invited for questioning and that the police would be forced to declare the embattled lawmaker wanted, should he refuse to honor Their invitation. There were strong indications that President Muhammadu Buhari, the All Progressives Congress and governors are considering juicy offers ... Automatic return as the President of the Senate in 2019 More consultation and inclusiveness in key decisions henceforth Mutual Executive-Legislature relationship Revisiting all issues raised by nPDP Caucus which formed the basis of talks in the past few months Reconciling with all aggrieved leaders of nPDP Avoiding a repeat of past mistakes which led to his humiliation Grudges on the conduct of state congresses Alleged refusal of the party leadership to stamp its feet on parallel congresses in some states In the constitution of the Federal Executive Council, (FEC) the New PDP block was generally sidelined as virtually no position was conceded to it. The only member of FEC that belonged to former New PDP block comes from a state that contributed virtually no vote to the APC in the 2015 presidential election. There has been no significant patronage and appointments to executive positions in various government agencies such as Chief Executives and Executive Directors of government agencies and parastatals as members of our block of the party continue to helplessly watch as these positions are shared by the erstwhile CPC, ACN, ANPP and even APGA blocks of the party and those who have no party at all. In appointments into boards of various government agencies, very few former New PDP members were patronised. These are, however, not commensurate with our contributions to the growth and victory of the party. When members of the former New PDP block showed interest in running for the offices of President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives, they were subjected to a vicious and relentless political opposition as if they were not legitimate members of the APC family. During the party primaries preparatory to the 2015 general elections, most of the promises made to sitting members of the National Assembly, who belonged to the former new PDP in terms of a level playing field were reneged upon or observed more in breach. There has been general lack of consultation, non-recognition and even persecution of former New PDP members and leaders by the party and government. For example, some of our leaders are denied the security cover necessary to visit their constituencies even though they are elected representatives of the people in a government they sacrificed so much for. Harassment, intimidation and persecution of former New PDP leaders by the government is still an ongoing affair. We do not want to overstate the obvious by cataloguing names of former new PDP stalwarts that are targets of this political pogrom. It was learnt that some prominent leaders of the party, especially the coordinator of the reconciliation initiative, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, might be involved in the negotiation with Saraki.Tinubu was said to have been briefed about the Presidents interaction with Saraki and others.But Saraki, who bowed well for the President after a meeting at the Presidential Villa, was frank in expressing his mind.He said he felt humiliated by the party he co-founded and the government he jointly put in place with others.He was solemn in expressing his disappointment to the President and some APC governors.Investigation conducted by our correspondent revealed that the President and some APC governors met with the Senate President as a follow-up to the talks with New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) caucus of APC being coordinated in the past few months by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.It was gathered that most APC leaders, governors and other members were unhappy that the party was on the verge of losing Saraki to PDP.They believed that the defection of such a political heavyweight to the opposition might affect cohesion in APC for the 2019 poll.The consequences of a depleted APC impelled some governors and party leaders to broker understanding between the President and Saraki.A source, who spoke in confidence, said: At least, for the first time, there was a frank session between the President and Saraki.He expressed disappointment with his humiliation by the government he fought hard to put in place.We were all sober while he relived his travails, because none of us would pray to be in such a situation.We understood with him but we felt it was time to forgive and forget in order to move forward.As part of preventing Sarakis defection, we may offer him juicy terms including:We also appeal to Saraki to shelve moves to defect to PDP or any other party. We agreed that he has a better stake in APC than any other party.Asked if Saraki made any commitment, the source added: There was none yet, but the atmosphere was cordial and hopeful.After the meeting, he even bowed well to the President.The session was the climax of talks in the past few months. As one of our leaders, we leave the final decision to Saraki to take.But one thing was clear from Saraki: he will want all commitments put into writing and documented in case of any breach in the future.To some of us who have been wooing him, such a demand is in order. It is a case of once bitten, twice shy.Responding to a question, the source said: The final stage of talks with Saraki will still involve some of our leaders, like Asiwaju Bola Tinubu who is coordinating the reconciliation in the party.In fact, Tinubu has been briefed on the outcome of the meeting at the Villa and why he has to play a key role too.Some of the major complaints on nPDP are: The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, AYCF, has come hard on the presidency for attacking the coalition of Nigerian socio-political groups. ... The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, AYCF, has come hard on the presidency for attacking the coalition of Nigerian socio-political groups. It had in a strong worded statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Shehu Garba, condemned the gathering of prominent elders that passed a vote of no confidence on the President Muhammadu Buhari government for its failure to end the incessant killing of innocent Nigerians by suspected Fulani herdsmen in various parts of the country. The coalition of Northern Elders Forum, NEF, Afenifere, Ohanaeze Ndigbo and the Pan Niger Delta Forum had during the week, passed a vote of no-confidence on Buhari, over what they described as the Presidents inability to find a lasting solution to the countrys problems. In a statement AYCF entitled This Insensitive Presidency, signed and forwarded to DAILY POST on Saturday by its National President, Alhaji Yerima Shettima, the group said, Our attention has been drawn to the intemperate and highly immature response by the Presidency to the historic summit of the Northern Elders Forum, Afenifere, Ohanaeze and PANDEF on the spate of killings in Nigeria under the incompetent government of President Muhammadu Buhari. It is sad that instead of facing the honest assessment of the killing fields Nigeria has become under this government by elders and leaders who have nothing at stake but the best interest of Nigeria, the Presidency resorted to crude attacks and motor park insults. To say that elders who have no material needs in their very old years are shedding crocodile tears because a government that has been rated the most corrupt in this history has blocked their access to public funds is laughable as a ridiculous claim but sad because it reflects how petty and shallow the minds of those in charge of our affairs are. The response has confirmed the take of the leaders that Nigeria needs a dynamic and visionary leadership to take over from the current incompetent,insensitive and visionless bunch running the country to the edge of the precipice. We understand that the coming together of patriots from every corner of Nigeria to take a common stand against the misgovernance called government in our country has robbed this presidency of its desperate card of divide- and-rule of playing sections of the country against themselves. It is now clear that this government represents no section of Nigeria except the cabal of evil doers . This achievement of oneness that is now driving the administration to extreme desperation is a good reason for the very senior citizens across Nigeria to ignore the vituperation of a sinking administration. Some aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party in Osun State have announced their withdrawal from the governorship primary election of the party shortly before the exercise commenced.Some of the aspirants who announced their withdrawal from the governorship primary are Professor Adeolu Durotoye; former Minister of Youth Development, Mr Olasunkanmi Akinlabi and Felix Ogunwale.Other aspirants who would also not contest because of their decision to withdraw from the race are: Chief Lere Oyewunmi; former Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Mr Adejare Bello; Jide Adeniji and Ayoade Adewopo.With the withdrawal, the primary election is now among Senator Ademola Adeleke; former Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Fatai Akinbade; the Chairman, Mutual Assurance, Dr Akin Ogunbiyi and Mr Nathaniel Oke ( SAN).The Chairman of the Osun State PDP Governorship Primary election, Seriake Dickson, who is the Bayelsa State Governor, promised that the primary would be free, fair and credible.He said the delegates would pick the most popular aspirant as the flag bearer of the party in the governorship poll holding on September 22, stressing that the panel would not tamper with the wish of the people.He said, This exercise will be free, fair, transparent and credible. The delegates will pick the candidate of the party. We wont tamper with the wish of the people. Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, has alleged that Dino Melaye, the Senator representing Kogi West, could have staged the burning of a ... Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, has alleged that Dino Melaye, the Senator representing Kogi West, could have staged the burning of a block of four classrooms, which he donated to Government Girls Secondary School, Sarki Noma, Lokoja. Speaking in an interview with Osasu Igbinedion on The Osasu Show, Bello called Melaye an attention seeker, who could have organized the incident, to get public sympathy. The Governor also categorically denied that he or his supporters played a role in the attack. The project that was embarked on by him that was burnt down is highly condemnable. I condemn it in its entirety. Remember the person in question is an attention seeker, remember he has orchestrated self-attacks severally in the state and I wont be surprised in order to draw public sympathy if he organised that for himself. This is a project he started; nobody stopped you from starting it. You continued it and you completed it, nobody stopped you. You are about commissioning it, why would anybody go and burn it down? Why would any right thinking person go there and burn it down? That is not our character, that is not my own style of politicking. If anything, any development is for the people. The money did not come from his pocket, it is public fund meant for the people. So, if he tries to do that, and turn around to seek for public sympathy and orchestrated that on himself again, it is most unfortunate. That is the only way I can attribute it. The President Muhammadu Buhari-led government has reacted to the vote of no confidence passed on his administration by the Northern Elders... The President Muhammadu Buhari-led government has reacted to the vote of no confidence passed on his administration by the Northern Elders Forum, NEF, and other socio-political organizations in the country. The coalition of Northern Elders Forum, NEF, Afenifere, Ohanaeze Ndigbo and the Pan Niger Delta Forum had during the week, passed a vote of no-confidence on Buhari, over what they described as the Presidents inability to find a lasting solution to the countrys problems. Reacting through his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, the President described the leaders as selfish. According to him, the communique was shedding of crocodile tears by selfish leaders. According to Buharis spokesperson, the leaders felt alienated after a transparent and accountable system, halted their disproportionate survival on resources of the state. He called on Nigerians to ignore what he described as the unholy alliance by the groups. The statement added that the groups were only stepping up their assault on the All Progressives Congress administration as it expands its national dominance and moves closer to securing an outright victory in the elections next year He said, The Presidency notes with dismay that the refrain about President Buhari not doing anything about security in the country had turned into the number one fake news item being peddled in the media. The Presidency refers all the purveyors of falsehood to a State House press release published a few days ago and signed by the Special Adviser to President, Femi Adesina, which clearly outlined the governments major achievements and initiatives in tackling security challenges from January to July, 2018. The press release which was titled: Combating Insecurity in the Country: Lest We Forget Presidency listed out ongoing security operations: (1) Nigerian Armys Exercise Ayem Akpatuma covering Benue, Taraba, Kogi, Nasarawa, Kaduna and Niger States launched in February to tackle cases of kidnappings, herdsmen/farmers clashes, among others; (2) Nigerian Air Force establishment of three new Quick Response Wings (QRW) in Taraba, Nasarawa and Benue States respectively, and deployment of Special Forces personnel. The press release also noted President Buharis approval for the establishment of a new Battalion of the Nigerian Army, as well as a new Police Area Command, in Birnin Gwari Local Council in Kaduna State, as part of measures to scale up security in response to the banditry affecting the area. President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday reiterated Nigerias readiness to assist African countries in distress.President Buhari stated this When he received the outgoing High Commissioner of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Mrs Haja Afsatu Kabba, at the State House, Abuja, on Friday.The President said brotherly assistance extended to the West African country during the Ebola epidemic and the recent mudslide natural disaster, was the least Nigeria could do.I congratulate your new President on his election, and believe that our long-standing relationship, which dates back to almost 60 years, will continue to flourish, he said.He wished Kabba, who had spent two years in Nigeria, the best of luck in her next assignment.The outgoing High Commissioner expressed gratitude to the government and people of Nigeria for the support granted her and her country.She expressed optimism that the good bilateral relations between Nigeria and her country would continue. Gboyega Oyetola, currently the chief of staff to Rauf Aregbesola, governor of Osun state, is the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate... Gboyega Oyetola, currently the chief of staff to Rauf Aregbesola, governor of Osun state, is the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the September 22 governorship election. Aregbesola? Some see him as a thoroughly bred technocrat; others say he is a politician with a graceful flair for workers. But theres more to the 63-year-old politician. Despite the rumblings over the decision of the party to use direct primary to pick its candidate, members trooped out to participate in the election. Moshood Adeoti, secretary to the state government, and Babajide Omoware, senator representing Osun east, withdrew from the exercise. Some would ask; who is Oyetola, the man in whom APC is well pleased to succeedAregbesola? Some see him as a thoroughly bred technocrat; others say he is a politician with a graceful flair for workers. But theres more to the 63-year-old politician. FOUNDING MEMBER OF ALLIANCE FOR DEMOCRACY Born on September 29, 1954, in Iragbiji, Boripe local government area, Oyetola attended Ifeoluwa Grammar School in Osogbo before proceeding to the University of Lagos (UNILAG). He is contesting a political office for the first time. Oyetola is said to be among the prominent Nigerians who founded the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in 1998, and was a chieftain of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) before it metamorphosed to APC. PILLAR BEHIND AREGBESOLA Seen as one of the pillars behind Aregbesolas administration, Oyetola has on several occasions denied being endorsed by the governor. Yet, most political actors in the state taunt him as the governors favourite. At the flag off of his campaign, he said, If Aregbesola endorsed me, I will not need to struggle or campaign as Im doing now. I have toured every nooks and crannies of this state consulting the stakeholders. I dont discuss campaign issue with the governor. So, he (Aregbesola) has been fair to all APC aspirants. He is also said to be close to Bola Tinubu, a national leader of the APC. UNILAG-TRAINED INSURANCE BROKER Oyetola obtained a bachelors of science degree in insurance in 1978 from UNILAG and a masters of business administration (MBA) in 1990 from the same institution. He is an associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute, London and Nigeria and a member of the Nigerian Institute of Management. After he completed his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Potiskum, Yobe state, in 1980, Oyetola started his career as an insurance broker with Leadway Assurance Company as an assistant manager. In 1991, he founded his own company where he was the managing director until his appointment as chief of staff in 2011. A PHILANTHROPIST Rotimi Makinde, former member of house of representatives, said Oyetola, aside being a complete gentleman and a vast technocrat, is a silent philanthropist. He said, What if I tell you that as a revered community leader in Iragbiji, he has sponsored well above 200 indigent students to tertiary institution who today are all doing wonderfully well in their chosen career, that shows he has always been part of the educational and human capacity development in the state. In that respect, Oyetola said his goal is to make the state known for employment and jobs in the country. The Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has accused the All Progressives Congress, APC, of demonizing him for obvious selfish reasons. ... The Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has accused the All Progressives Congress, APC, of demonizing him for obvious selfish reasons. Ortom said this while alleging that the state arm of the party on several occasions passed a vote of no-confidence on his administration. In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Tever Akase, the governor rubbished claims by the state arm of the party that it never gave him red card. Ortom had on Monday stated that he was given red card by the state arm of the party. Dismissing the governors claim, the Director of Publicity of APC in the state, Peterhot Apeh insisted that such was not the case. However, the governor met with the National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, yesterday, after which he recanted his earlier declaration to quit the party. Reacting to Apehs comment, Ortom said the spokespersons remark was hypocritical. Ortom also accused the party of opting to mortgage the interest of the people of the state. He said, We read a statement credited to the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Benue State in which it claimed that the party raised issues of governance with Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, following which he gave himself red card. We find the statement as the hypocrisy of the highest order. It is on record that APC in Benue State has on many occasions, passed vote of confidence on Governor Ortom as a result of his performance. During the State Congress of the party at Aper Aku Stadium in Makurdi, it adopted the Governor as its consensus candidate. Again, the party publicly said its decision was based on the sterling stewardship of Governor Ortom within the last three years. But being the true democrat that he is, the Governor decided that other aspirants be also allowed to vie for the governorship seat to deepen internal democracy in the party. We challenge APC in Benue State to bring out facts to back their claim that they had faulted the performance of the Governor. We equally challenge the party to make public evidence regarding their claims that bailout funds and Paris Club refund were diverted. While Governor Ortom appreciates the platform which APC gave him to offer service to the people of Benue State, it is regrettable that the same party has now turned to demonize him for obvious selfish reasons. Governor Ortom has encouraged regular caucus and other stakeholders meetings at which he constantly gives briefings about the security and financial challenges in the state. He also gets feedback and input at such meetings. His successful conduct of the local government elections which APC candidates overwhelmingly won chairmanship and councillorship positions throughout the state is proof of the popularity of his administration. There has really been no need for the party to raise governance issues with Governor Ortom because he gives the leaders and the state working committee regular briefings at meetings and platforms mentioned above. Besides, the Governor announces to the people of the state receipts of monies and expenditures. Governor Ortom gave the people of the state information about the bailout, Paris Club refunds, and all other federal government interventions and explained how they could not meet all the final obligations with respect to payment of salaries, gratuities, and pensions. The claim by the APC that such matters were raised at the last State Congress or at a secret forum is therefore not tenable, misleading and insincere. The APC State Congress was conducted in the public domain and issues of governance were not raised at the meeting. It may also be necessary to point out that the last State Congress was not convened for the purpose of endorsing or electing the Governor, Senators and other representatives in the state or National Assembly. Even if that were the case, no one moved any motion for such endorsements and none supported or opposed. It is therefore absurd for anyone to make heavy wind out of an endorsement that has no legal backing and cannot be relied upon. At no time did Governor Ortom ever mention that the APC in Benue State gave him a red card. He stated categorically that it was the leader of the party who said at several fora that he had given him red card. The Governor made internal efforts to resolve the matter within the structure of the party at the state level before going public. That APC in the state has issued the statement as if it is the leader of the party or as if they are one and the same, underscores Governor Ortoms concern that the party structure in the state is out to satisfy the whims and caprices of one individual. It is now clear that APC in Benue State has opted to mortgage the interest of the people of the state. The partys unprovoked attack on Governor Ortom points to where its interest lies. More ridiculous is the fact that APC has become a one-man show in Benue State. It should be on record that the attacks on Governor are coming now because he couldnt meet some inordinate personal ambitions and interests of those who want to perpetually shortchange the people. The media attack on Governor Ortom by the state chapter of APC is the beginning of the smear campaign about which we alerted Benue people and other Nigerians. More of such disparaging statements should be expected in the days to come. Dino Melaye, the lawmaker representing Kogi West Senatorial District, has said he will honour the invitation by the police. Dino Melaye, the lawmaker representing Kogi West Senatorial District, has said he will honour the invitation by the police.He disclosed this in an interview with Channels Television on Saturday, a day after the police accused some persons in his convoy of attacking their personnel in Kogi State.The account of the police is false and illogical, the lawmaker said, adding, I will honour the invitation of the Kogi State Police Command on Thursday, despite the attempts on my life.Senator Melaye had accused the police of shooting at his convoy on his way to inaugurate a project at his constituency on Thursday in Kogi.He explained that he was riding in a convoy of about 20 vehicles headed for the scheduled event and his cars were the second and third, having being led by the out riding Hilux vehicle of the personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).The lawmaker noted that the police claimed that the vehicles at the back shot at them and wondered why they shot at my cars which were in the second and third on the convoy.He alleged that the incident clearly indicated an attempt on his life if not for his bulletproof vehicles, claiming that the gunshots were directed at the owners sitting side of the cars.Melaye purported further that after the scenario which played out on the road, there was another attack on his house in Aiyetoro where gunshots were fired sporadically.He also said he had written to the police and the NSCDC through his lawyer, to seek protection for his planned visit.The lawmaker claimed that while the NSCDC deployed some personnel to escort him, there was no provision made by the police.On the other hand, the police said they were aware of the senators visit and had already deployed personnel to strategic points in the state.The Commissioner of Police in Kogi, Mr Ali Janga, told reporters on Friday that part of the personnel deployed were those involved in the incident in which an officer was fatally injured.He insisted that Senator Melaye was not attacked, but the police repelled an alleged initial attack by some individuals on his convoy.Unidentified civilians inside (a vehicle in the convoy) decided to open fire on my policemen. You dont expect the police to fold their arms; eventually, they replied and opened fire too. Nobody attacked Dino but rather, his convoy attacked by policemen and they repelled, Janga had said.He said they had invited the lawmaker for questioning, noting that the police would not hesitate to declare Melaye wanted should he ignore their invite. A private secondary school based in Ondo State on Saturday came under fire for allegedly printing the names of final year students, who ... What would you do if you find out your childs name was printed on his/her schools send forth magazine as Debtor because he/she didnt pay N5000 to buy the school a parting gift? A school you were paying N104,000 per term for six years? Thread Bhadmus Hakeem (@Bhadoosky) July 21, 2018 What would you do if you find out your childs name was printed on his/her schools send forth magazine as Debtor because he/she didnt pay N5000 to buy the school a parting gift? A school you were paying N104,000 per term for six years? Thread Bhadmus Hakeem (@Bhadoosky) July 21, 2018 A private secondary school based in Ondo State on Saturday came under fire for allegedly printing the names of final year students, who didnt contribute towards the purchase of a television set in the school.A Twitter user, Bhadmus Hakeem @Bhadoosky revealed the anguish of parents of the graduating students, who discovered that the names of their children and wards, had been printed in the schools send-forth magazine as debtors.Hakeem in his Twitter thread said that the students were required to contribute the sum of 5,000 naira towards the purchase of a 32 television set. Yesterday (20/7/2018), a school in Arigidi Akoko, Ondo state, decided to throw over 24 parents and their children into sorrow on a day they should be the most joyous because they didnt pay N,5000 to buy the school 32 inches TV.On a graduation day, the worst thing you can ever do to a parent and child is make them sad and also document their sadness forever. How do you explain unprofessionalism of this magnitude to people? What were (sic) the school management trying to achieve with this stupidity?When our source reached out to the school, they revealed shock at the news, saying that it was the decision of the graduating students to buy a television set for the school as a legacy of their setAccording to the School Coordinator, Mr Austin Duyi, Hundred per cent of the information posted by Hakeem is incorrect.He said, SSS three students were the ones that organised the project to help their school and leave a legacy. The person, who posted the malicious information about the school, we dont know.When asked if the students had been the one to put the names of indebted students in the magazine, Duyi said, In every school magazine, there is a page given to the student to allow themselves to express themselves. They are the ones who wrote everything and said it should be printed.It is, therefore, a surprise to us that someone would pick up only that column of the magazine, which is between 60-70 pages. The person didnt see the good aspects of the school, only the negative. We are shocked.Tweet below.... The visit will be made at the invitation of Chairwoman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan. Vietnam and Australia officially established diplomatic relations on February 26th, 1973. Through the decades, Vietnam and Australia have built a strong partnership with the establishment of comprehensive partnership in 2009. They signed a declaration on enhancing the bilateral comprehensive partnership in 2015. Chairwoman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (L) shakes hands with Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives Tony Smith during her visit to Australia in 2017 (Photo: VNA) Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull signed a joint statement on the establishment of the Vietnam-Australia Strategic Partnership following their talks in Canberra, Australia, on March 15th, 2018, as part of the formers official visit. Trade and economic partnership is an outstanding example in bilateral ties, with trade revenue increasing 200 times since 1990 to reach USD6.46 billion in 2017 and expected to hit USD10 billion in 2020. Australia currently ranks 19th out of 116 foreign investors in Vietnam with total investment of USD1.82 billion in 396 projects. The two nations already signed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and actively engage in negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Australia has been a regular ODA provider of Vietnam in various fields, including infrastructure, poverty reduction, innovation, climate change response, gender equality and startup support. In tourism, Australian tourists to Vietnam have increased through years, reaching over 370,400 in 2017, making it one of the 10 leading source markets of Vietnams tourism. Australia is the fourth most favourite destination of Vietnamese students with about 30,000 Vietnamese students. Meanwhile, Vietnam is also one of the five popular options for study of Australian students. Along with economic cooperation, Vietnam and Australia have enjoyed effective affiliation in all fields of politics-diplomacy, security-defence, science-technology and culture-education./. Seven of the 11 aspirants in the Osun Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary election have withdrawn. Seven of the 11 aspirants in the Osun Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary election have withdrawn. The politicians made their decision known on Saturday before the commencement of the exercise which is being overseen by Seriake Dickson, Bayelsa state governor. Adejare Bello, Sunkanmi Akinlabi, Felix Jumoko, Ayoade Adewepo, Adeolu Durotoye, Jide Adeniji and Lere Akogun are the aspirants who stepped down from the race. While announcing his withdrawal, Bello said: I withdraw for peace and stability to reign and enable PDP to coast home victory in the coming election. Whichever way it goes, we should all team up and work for the party. Akinlabi, on the other hand, said hes going along with the wish of the party and giving his support to Akin Ogunbiyi whom he described as the preferred choice. Akogun, meanwhile, said he will support the candidacy of Ademola Adeleke, a serving senator. Fatai Akinbade, Akin Ogunbiyi, Ademola Adeleke and Nathaniel Oke are the four aspirants still in the race. The winner of the primary will represent the party in the governorship election scheduled for September 22. aijohn784/iStock/Thinkstock(HOUSTON) -- Houston police are searching for the suspect who fatally shot the prominent cardiologist who treated former President George H.W. Bush. Dr. Mark Hausknecht was riding his bike Friday when he was shot and killed, according to Houston Methodist Hospital. The former president released a statement about his doctor's death through his spokesman. "Mark was a fantastic cardiologist and a good man," President George H.W. Bush said in his statement. "I will always be grateful for his exceptional, compassionate care. His family is in our hearts." In a statement from the hospital, Hausknecht was prasied for his "kind bedside manner" and his compassion. Police are searching for a white or Hispanic male suspect who was wearing a dark jacket and fled the scene, according to ABC station KTRK. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Photo taken on July 20, 2018 shows the passenger plane for the first Atlanta-Shanghai flight at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, the United States. U.S. airline giant Delta Air Line relaunched a non-stop flight route Friday between Atlanta, state of Georgia, and China's Shanghai. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) ATLANTA, the United States, July 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. airline giant Delta Air Line relaunched a non-stop flight route Friday between Atlanta, state of Georgia, and China's Shanghai. The first flight of the route took off Friday afternoon at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, marking the official operation of the sixth daily non-stop flight run by Delta between the United States and China. The 291-seat Boeing 777-200LR is set to arrive at Shanghai Pudong International Airport in roughly 16 hours and the service will be operated on a daily basis. "China is a very important market for Delta," the airline said in a statement. "Delta is growing its footprint in the China-U.S. market." "With the commencement of this flight, we look forward to receiving many more Chinese visitors and we're working very hard to make sure you all feel welcomed in our city," said Marva Lewis, chief of staff for Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, during an inaugural flight ceremony. The first passengers of the flight include a Georgia business and trade delegation, whose members hope that their visit to China could help strengthen the state's booming economic and business ties with the world's second-largest economy. Their trip also comes amid U.S.-initiated trade disputes with other countries, including China, its largest trading partner, but officials from Georgia believe that trade and business opportunities would follow connectivity. "As soon as this route is up and flying again, I think we're going to see more trade, more business investment and more tourists flowing between our two countries," Pat Wilson, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, told Xinhua. "The things that happen in Washington, they're very different than what happens in the state. So I think you're going to continue to see trade continue to increase following this connectivity," Wilson said before boarding the plane. Delta, which started and then stopped service between the two cities twice during past years, relaunched the route as it eyes to connecting its Atlanta hub with China Eastern Airlines' operations in Shanghai. As a result of the partnership, customers will have one-stop access to more than 150 destinations in the United States and Latin America from Shanghai and be able to connect beyond Shanghai to more than 70 destinations in interior China. Founded in 1924 and headquartered in Atlanta, Delta operates a mainline fleet of more than 800 aircraft and provides over 15,000 daily flights in both domestic and international network that includes 324 destinations in 57 countries on six continents. Besides the Atlanta-Shanghai route, Delta runs five other daily non-stop flights from Beijing/Shanghai to both Seattle and Detroit and from Shanghai to Los Angeles. 10 1 [ Editor: zyq ] Participants attend the International Cooperation Day Forum in Santa Fe, New Mexico, July 19, 2018. Government officials, diplomats and business representatives met at a forum in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Thursday, addressing concerns on the recent trade frictions between the United States and China. (Xinhua/Liu Liwei) SANTA FE, the United States, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Government officials, diplomats and business representatives met at a forum in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Thursday, addressing concerns on the recent trade frictions between the United States and China. The International Cooperation Day Forum, jointly sponsored by China General Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. National Governors Association (NGA), focused on U.S.-China economic ties, growth, strategies and investment cooperation to build a platform for better mutual understanding. The Chinese Consul General in Los Angeles, Zhang Ping, said the trade frictions are causing a negative impact on the normal trade dealings between the two countries. "Trade war brings mutual destructions and is in nobody's interest," he said, adding that after nearly four decades of development, China-U.S. relations have made great progress where the two country's interests are closely connected and intertwined. In order to promote the relations, China and the United States should enhance communication not only between business communities and local governments, but also between Chinese provinces and U.S. states, Zhang said. His remarks were echoed by the governors of Colorado and Utah. Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper told Xinhua his state highly values the good relationship built between the two countries, expressing the hope for subnational cooperation to help maintain it. "Almost all the governors are trying to work very hard to make sure we maintain our good economic relationships with our trading partners in China. We are very focused on maintaining momentum," he said. When "your national government isn't successful in a relationship, [the] subnational can maintain relationships in a constructive way," the governor said. "We can go a long way in terms of continuing building relationships we have with individual trading partners in each ... state. I think that's very important." With 130 languages spoken in Utah, its Governor Gary Herbert takes communication very seriously. He said "the final three feet" is vital to build real trust and understanding. "China is halfway around the world from Utah," he said. "The final three feet is where you can sit and talk to each other eye to eye." The governor, an advocate for free and fair trade, said the United States should not isolate itself from the rest of the world. "I believe in international trade and international business. I believe the marketplace is global in nature... We need, in fact, to work together and find ways to have international exchange," he said. Chinese business representatives shared their views on the recent U.S. tariff hikes and expressed support for closer U.S.-China collaboration and communication at the subnational level. The forum was part of the NGA Summer Meeting held from July 19 to 21. Over 20 U.S. governors attended the event and all 50 U.S. states sent representatives. Delegations from China, Canada, Kenya, Japan and Mexico also participated. 5 1 [ Editor: zyq ] China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ma Zhaoxu (front) addresses the ministerial meeting of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, at the UN headquarters in New York, July 19, 2018. Ma said Thursday that the international community should remain committed to equitable, open, comprehensive and innovative development. (Xinhua/Li Muzi) UNITED NATIONS, July 20 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy said Thursday that the international community should remain committed to equitable, open, comprehensive and innovative development. The world should "put development high on the global agenda," with a focus on helping the developing countries break through development bottlenecks in an effort to rigorously implement the 2030 Agenda, Chinese ambassador to the UN Ma Zhaoxu said at the ministerial meeting of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. "We must strive for equitable development to make development opportunities more equal, pursue open development that benefits all, strive for comprehensive development and solidify the basis of development and promote innovative development to unlock development potential," he said. Referring to unilateralism and protectionism, he said that they "have threatened global economic growth, causing widespread concern and rejection around the world." "China opposes unilateralism and trade protectionism and advocates rational handling of differences and problems in trade relations. China is willing to work with all parties to safeguard free trade and the multilateral trading system and resolutely defend the common interests of all countries," he added. Talking about China's contributions to the world, the ambassador said that since 2002, China's average contribution to world economic growth has approached 30 percent, and China's huge consumption and investment space have created more jobs for the world. The "Belt and Road Initiative" has created a broad prospect for win-win cooperation between China and the world, he noted. In the past five years, China's trade with countries along the route has exceeded 5 trillion U.S. dollars, its accumulative investment over 70 billion dollars, creating more than 200,000 jobs for local communities. In the next 15 years, China is expected to import 24 trillion U.S.-dollar-worth of goods and absorb 2 trillion dollars in foreign investments. Its outbound investment will reach 2 trillion dollars, he said. "We are willing to work with all parties to build an open world economy, maintain the multilateral trading system and rules, and steer globalization towards greater openness, inclusiveness, universal benefits, balance and win-win results," said the ambassador. 2 1 [ Editor: zyq ] Mr Bin WANG, Chairman of China Jiangsu International, and H.E Ahmed Al Sayegh, Chairman of ADGM in Abu Dhabi sign the agreement in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, July 20, 2018. (Photo provided to Guangming Online) ABU DHABI/ BEIJING, July 20 (Guangming Online)-- Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the international financial centre of Abu Dhabi, is pleased to approve the first Chinese state-owned financial services firm to be established in ADGM to provide strategic investment and financial support to Chinese enterprises as part of the Belt-and-Road initiative. This follows from the signing of the framework agreement between the China-UAE Industrial Capacity Co-operation Demonstration Zone (the Demonstration Zone led by the Jiangsu Provincial Government) and ADGM to further strengthen the China-UAE economic ties and advance mutually beneficial collaborations. The agreement was exchanged in the presence of President Xi Jinping and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, at the Crown Princes Court during the state visit by Xi and his Ministerial delegation to Abu Dhabi. The agreement was signed by Mr Bin WANG, Chairman of China Jiangsu International, and H.E Ahmed Al Sayegh, Chairman of ADGM in Abu Dhabi. The state-owned financial services firm, known as the Industrial Capacity Co-Operation Financial Group Limited (ICCFG), is the first of such Chinese financial services firm to be approved by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of ADGM, to conduct the regulated activities of providing and arranging credit via the ADGM platform. The ICCFG will play a critical role in promoting the Demonstration Zone and providing efficient lending facilities to support the investment and financial needs of Chinese enterprises established in the Zone located in the Khalifa Industrial Zone of Abu Dhabi (KIZAD).The ICCFG in ADGM aims to: Offer a comprehensive suite of financial services to support the Demonstration Zone, Belt-and-Road initiative, and Chinese companies expanding in the region; Serve as a platform to support the internationalization of Renminbi for investment and financial projects in the Demonstration Zone. HE Ahmed Al Sayegh, Chairman of ADGM said: Strategically located along the Belt and Road corridor, Abu Dhabi, as the capital of the UAE, is a natural link to fast developing economies of Middle East and Africa region, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Greater China. As part of Abu Dhabis economic blueprint, ADGM is honoured to be able to contribute constructively towards the Belt and Road initiative and work closely with our Chinese partners in fulfilling their business goals. The ICCFG will support the anchoring of more Chinese enterprises in Abu Dhabi seeking commercial opportunities along the Belt and Road route including the MENA region. ADGM remains committed in enhancing the cross-border connectivity and creating new opportunities between the two economies. Mr Bin Wang, Chairman of China Jiangsu International Group, said: We are pleased to advance this new cooperation with our important partner, ADGM, and look forward to the operations of the financial services platform by the end of 2018.The Capacity Cooperation Demonstration Zone plays a key bridge between China serves as a vital bridge between China and Abu Dhabi, and it is a vital measure supporting the'One Belt, One Road' initiative. In the future, we expect about US$2 billion of investment will be managed by this financial services platform to support the Chinese enterprises in the Demonstration Park. With more integrated and comprehensive financial services available, we expect even more Chinese enterprises and companies to establish themselves in the Demonstration Zone, at the same time, to support them in successfully fulfilling their growth and expansion in Abu Dhabi. The ICCFG intends to scale up its services and presence in other Belt and Road-related industrial capacity zones in the near future. Following the signing of this agreement, ADGM, the Jiangsu Provincial Development and Reform Commission and JOCIC will continue to explore and collaborate on mutually beneficial initiatives to facilitate the co-operation between Abu Dhabi and China. [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] 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. On Thursday, trans woman Hilde Hall took to ACLU Arizona's website to speak about an incident in April when a CVS pharmacist refused to give her her hormone prescription. She had three prescriptions from her doctor, a hormone therapy specialist, and proceeded to collect her medication from a local CVS in her town of Fountain Hills, Arizona. However, she wrote that the pharmacist at the counter refused to do so and gave no reason. "He did not give me a clear reason for the refusal. He just kept asking, loudly and in front of other CVS staff and customers, why I was given the prescriptions." A transgender woman in Arizona is speaking out after she says a CVS pharmacist denied her hormone prescription.https://t.co/DfATaREXIL pic.twitter.com/4rZfEAYqzO THV11 (@THV11) July 20, 2018 At this point, she was on the verge of tears. She then asked for her doctor's prescription notes back, but even that request was refused by the pharmacist. She wrote, "I was not even able to take it to another pharmacy to have my prescription filled. I left the store feeling mortified." Even when she had asked her doctor's office to intervene, there was no convincing the pharmacist. And so her doctor ended up ordering her meds through Walgreens instead. Hall then proceeded to file a complaint with the Arizona State Board of Pharmacy and asked CVS to take action. CVS has now responded by firing the pharmacist at the Forest Hills branch, issuing a statement that says, "The conduct of the pharmacist, who is no longer employed by CVS, violated company policies and does not reflect our values or our commitment to inclusion, nondiscrimination and the delivery of outstanding patient care." CVS Statement on Arizona Store Incident pic.twitter.com/OzZP84tLec CVS Health (@CVSHealth) July 20, 2018 While Hall's case is a win for the LGBTQ+ community, the larger problem lies with state policies. As CBS affiliate local news channel THV-11 reports, Arizona is one of the six states that allow pharmacists to refuse customers on the basis of religious and moral grounds. They are also not obligated to tell customers the reason why they are being denied their medication. Reporter Bree Burkitt spoke with ACLU Arizona about what you can do if you get refused at a pharmacy. Watch the video below. The Three Jewels (triratna in Sanskrit, tiratana in Pali) represent what for many is the quintessential hallmark of being or becoming a Buddhist: going for refuge. The refuges and jewels are: the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. The Awakened one, the Truth or his Teachings, and the four-fold community of lay men and women and monks and nuns. In some traditions, Buddha is expanded beyond the historical Buddha and his teachings to a more abstract sense of awakening. And the Sangha too can take on different meanings, but generaly it means community (of folks on the same path as me, from most beginning beginners to the Buddha/Buddhas). In many traditional Theravadin ceremonies, taking the triple refuge (ti-sarana) is often chanted at the begining: Buddham saranam gacchami. Dhammam saranam gacchami. Sangham saranam gacchami. The translation is: I go to the Buddha as a refuge. (word-by-word: To the Buddha, for refuge, I go) I go to the dhamma as a refuge. I go to the sangha as a refuge. The Buddha did not include a clause here demanding that other faiths be abandoned. Nor did he create a system of beliefs and practices that was fixed and immutable. The Buddhists of his time, and after, continued to hold beliefs and engage in practices beyond hist teachings (the dhamma). As one story goes, the Buddha was asked near his time of death if the Vinaya rules for monks and nuns that had developed over time could be altered. The Buddha responded that the minor rules could be changed, but not the major ones. After some confusion in the community about which rules were minor and which were major, they decided to change none of them. As such, the developing, fluid, evolving nature of the Vinaya became static. But even that has undergone changes as different schools developed slightly different sets of rules and the interpretation of them has varied according to time and culture. Even more so, the philosophical ideas of the Buddha have been open to interpretation and debate. Emptiness (sunyata) was not a terribly important aspect of the Buddhas early teachings. But it was drawn into central importance several hundred years after his death in the Perfection of Wisdom (prajna-paramita) literature and Middle Way (madhyamaka) philosophy of Nagarjuna and others. The Buddha was also clear that language or the sounds of words had no intrinsic value or power: the teachings themselves must be understood and implemented for change to occur. Nonetheless, the Brahmanic (proto-Hindu) idea of mantras made its way into Buddhist thought and practice. The Buddha seemed to oppose guru-worship, instead establishing a community with basic rules of seniority and spiritual friendship (kalyana-mittas). Nonetheless, ideas of guru veneration crept in to several traditions. All of this is to say that Buddhism has evolved. Or that there are many Buddhisms if one examines the distinct histories of the many threads of Buddhist development. Today in Thailand there are often shrines to Brahma in or just outside of Buddhist temples. I am in Fuding, China now, and Ive just learned that this Brahma statue has similarly made its way north, likely via Burma, into South China and is called the four-faced Buddha. There is one of these in the entrance shrine of the temple Im at now. There is literally a Hindu god looking out over a courtyard in our Chan Buddhist temple. In China and Taiwan, Daoist gods find similar place and many Buddhist practitioners also go to Daoist temples for certain activities. In Japan there is a saying that one is, born Shinto, married Christian, and dies a Buddhist, as each religion has found a particular niche in the society. One doesnt make a great leap (or conversion) from one religion to the other. One can still be involved in Shinto rituals throughout life. As Buddhism went to Tibet, the beliefs, practices, and gods there were not denied or shunned, but rather selectively incorporated into Buddhism. Then Buddhism comes to the West dominated by the exclusivist religious mores of Christianity. Here, to be born a Jew, married a Christian, and die a Muslim would involve clear shifts in religious allegiance. And so, some Buddhists in the West project this demand of allegiance and exclusivity back into Buddhism. In this way, Buddhism is being co-opted by a culture of exclusive allegiance. On the other hand, many Buddhists in the West continue the long Buddhist tradition of interacting with other faiths, even accepting dual-allegiance (and triple perhaps, even quadruple?). Terms such as Jubu (or Jewbu or similar) have arisen to signify Jewish-Buddhist affiliation. Christian-Buddhists, both Catholic and Protestant, have come forth out of this encounter. Secular Buddhists, too, represent a continuation of the Buddhist tradition of hybridity. So while one goes to refuge in the three jewels as a Buddhist (and this is a fairly standard traditional definition of a Buddhist), one can also take part in other religious practices and beliefs without sacrificing any of their Buddhist-ness. Again, the idea of exclusivity seems much more a product of the exclusivity of Abrahamic faiths, which Westerners then assume apply to non-Abrahamic religions. Of course this also brings to light the difficulty of religion as a category, but that is best left for another day. May all who take refuge in awakening, truth, and community, be they Buddhist or otherwise, find peace and fulfillment in their journey. Enjoy reading this blog? Please support independent coverage of Buddhism and join a community of patrons here. What is to be made of the increasing moral confusion and seeming collusion of the Catholic bishops in the new wave of sexual scandals? Ed Condon at Catholic News Agency outlines the problem here. He points out that the case of Cardinal McCarrick is just one of a number of scandals on the level of bishops, archbishops and cardinals. Commenting on the Pineda resignation and the McCarrick scandal he goes on to say, Many had hoped that Church was seeing an end to the litany of sexual abuse scandals which rocked it during the first ten years of the millennium. Instead, there seems to be a new generation of scandals, in which abuse of adults, especially seminarians, and financial impropriety are the main offenses. But perhaps the most important difference between todays scandals and those of the early 2000s is that they concern bishops and cardinals, not priests. The differences between how these cases are handled, and their impact on the Church, is considerable. We are now in a situation that is unprecedented in the modern church. In the research for Triumphs and Tragedies my twenty part podcast series on the history of the church I have, of course, come across financial and moral corruption in the church. In the ninth and tenth centuries the papacy was controlled by the mafia and the corruption was rife and unashamed. Today, however, we have a global church and instant global communications. As Condon points out, the Vatican has to tiptoe through a minefield of accusations from Chile, to Honduras and from Washington DC to England. And doubtless there is more where that came from. The difficulties in this situation are complex. If a bishop is expelled he may very well, like Archbishop Milingo set out on his own and start consecrating renegade bishops, and that leads to a proliferation of little schismatic churches all with bishops who, technically, have valid orders. Apostolic succession and valid orders of bishops and priests is a closely defended treasure of the Catholic Church, and naturally when such schisms take place the apostolic orders are then diffused and continue to spread into the future. Condon also highlights the culture of silence. If a bishop was accused the hierarchy closed ranks. A chilling culture of silence regarding allegations of sexual misconduct in the Church has been exposed. In addition to the well-attested fear and shame felt by victims, both accusers and authorities who should have helped them often keep silent for fear of scandal. The hesitation to hurt the Church by making allegations public has led in many places to a culture of winking tolerance of sexual misconduct by senior clerics. By allowing more victims to be hurt in the meantime, this silence leads to the eventual scandal being all the more grave. When the scandal does blow up what is done about it? The bishop resigns, or if retired, is removed from ministry and then goes to live quietly in a house provided by the church. Perhaps the most likely example that could be followed is that of Kieran Conry, who was forced to resign as bishop of the English diocese of Arundel and Brighton at the age of 63 in 2013. Conrys resignation was prompted by a string of inappropriate relationships with women, which were also common knowledge among the English hierarchy at the time of his appointment. Since then, he has been living in a church-owned house in southern England and out of public ministry. Cardinal OBrien lived in similar conditions until his death in March of this year; while he resigned the rights and privileges of a cardinal, he was allowed to keep the title. Is this sufficient punishment? Many would think not, but on the other hand, we have to balance outrage with justice. While the offenses are creepy they are usually not criminal. We should remember that for a manespecially a priestto have his secret sins on public display and to be disgraced is a severe humiliation. In addition to the sin and scandal Condon points out the more pervasive problem: Indeed, the great scandal, which remains unaddressed in all these cases Pineda, McCarrick, Barros, OBrien, Conry is the extent to which other bishops were aware of the allegations against them and did nothing. Expressions of surprise, sorrow, and sympathy for the victims seem almost robotic at this point. Until such time as bishops who ignore misconduct among their peers are held to account for their effective complicity, there seems little hope that the cycle of scandals will be broken. In acknowledging these problems we should also step on the brakes and remember that most of the priests and bishops are hard working, good and honest men who are doing their best in what are very stressful and disturbing times. Pray for them not to be devoured by the wolves. Sons of Iranian Canadian Who Died in Evin Prison Sue State Broadcaster For Slander 07/20/18 Source: Center for Human Rights in Iran Ramin and Mehran Seyed-Emami have sued Iran's state-run TV, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), for slandering their father Kavous Seyed-Emami, who died under suspicious circumstances in Tehran's Evin Prison in February 2018. The late Kavous Seyed-Emami with his wife and sons IRIB has a long history of working with Iran's hardline judiciary and security forces to smear defendants facing politically motivated charges, including by broadcasting forced confessions. Typically well-staged productions, the confessions and pseudo "documentaries" produced by IRIB are used to defame dissidents, intellectuals, and other individuals whom the authorities wish to discredit, legitimize their prosecution, and amass public support for their sentences. Four IRIB officials have been named in Seyed-Emami lawsuit, including its director Abdol-Ali Aliaskari, who was appointed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. "My clients filed a complaint at Branch 9 of the Culture and Media Court against the said individuals for spreading falsehoods with the intention to disturb public opinion, commit slander, make insults and threaten national security," Payam Derafshan, one of the family's attorneys, told the state-funded Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on July 15, 2018. "The display of private family photos in the aired program, 'Restricted Area,' violated the Constitution, the Eight-Point Decree of the Founder of the Islamic Republic, the Charter on Citizens' Rights, as well as the Criminal Procedures Regulations," he added. Kavous Seyed-Emami's family was told he committed "suicide" on February 9, 2018, a few weeks after he was arrested in a crackdown on environmentalists by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Five months after his death, an autopsy report has not been released by the Medical Examiner's office but a preliminary one noted strange marks on his body. Seyed-Emami, a Canadian citizen who worked as an academic in Tehran, was the chairman of the Persian Heritage Wildlife Foundation whose current and past staff members and officials have been in detention since late January 2018. Smearing a Dead Person On February 13, 2018, a few days after Seyed-Emami's death, IRIB's Channel 2 aired "Restricted Area" on its 20:30 news show painting him as a spy who had passed secrets about Iran's missile sites to US and Israeli intelligence agencies-a bogus charge for which no evidence was presented. "The authority responsible for arresting my clients' father had no jurisdiction in interfering in matters of espionage and we reserve the right to file a complaint about this. Also, the charge of espionage has yet to be proven in court... However, regardless of all that, broadcasting this program was essentially in violation of Article 91 of the Criminal Procedures Regulations," Derafshan told IRNA. According to Article 91, "Preliminary investigations against suspects must be carried out in secret, except in cases specified by law. All individuals involved in preliminary investigations have a duty to protect its secrecy and violators will be punished for revealing professional secrets." Ramin and Mehran Seyed-Emami are currently in Canada. They left Iran on March 7 but security forces have banned their mother, Maryam Mombeini, from joining them. In June Mombeini was hospitalized for stress after agents entered her home and interrogated her for hours without a lawyer. According to the opposition news site Kalame, the environmentalists were targeted by the IRGC for opposing the installation of missile sites on protected lands. "Kalame has received information that the environmental activists are not spies but in fact had resisted the IRGC's excessive demands to encroach on environmentally protected regions for the installation of missile sites," Kalame reported on April 16. The report continued: "Although these regions were registered in the United Nations as protected areas, the IRGC thought it could build military sites there without any problem, thus it went ahead with installing missile silos and equipment. The move met opposition from environmental groups that repeatedly asked the IRGC to evacuate. The groups made it clear that the IRGC was endangering their activities to collect information and take photos of animals and plants for the UN. But the IRGC did not agree and asked these groups to instead submit old photos in their annual reports to the UN. The conflict between the two sides went on for years and eventually, the IRGC's Intelligence Organization used espionage as an excuse to arrest the environmentalists so that it could continue its activities in the protected regions without any problem." Islamist Hardliners Are Threatening Iran's Very Survival 07/21/18 By Shireen T. Hunter (source: LobeLog) Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei with IRGC & Militarty leaders Tehran, June 2018 (source: Etemad daily) Since last year, Iran's economy has seriously deteriorated as speculators have rushed to exchange national currency for dollars while others, fearing more troubles to come, have been moving their capital out of the country. Close to $30 billion has reportedly left the country since the currency crisis began. The mounting economic problems have also caused social and political instability. The first manifestation was in January 2018, when large-scale protests occurred in Tehran and other major cities. Last month, protests broke out in the south-western province of Khuzestan over shortages in drinking water. Iran's south-eastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan is also facing serious water shortages, and the available water, mostly delivered by tankers, is of poor quality. A very hot summer, especially in the country's south, has caused shortages of electricity resulting in blackouts. Even the capital, Tehran, has not escaped power cuts. Electricity shortages have even caused diplomatic problems. Because of rising domestic demand, Tehran has been unable to meet its commitment to provide Iraq with electricity. Electricity shortages contributed to recent demonstrations and upheavals in Basra, which some key Iraqi political figures interpreted as an Iranian pressure tactic. These politicians ignored Iran's own increased needs and the fact that Iraq owes Iran for already delivered electricity. In a tweet, Muqtada al Sadr said that those countries that want to influence Iraq's politics by pressuring it will not succeed. Some demonstrators in Basra also displayed anti-Iran sentiments. These economic difficulties even threaten President Hassan Rouhani's government. Hardliners have called for his resignation and that of his entire cabinet, with some hinting that a military-dominated government would manage the economy better. Eventually, cooler heads prevailed, and a major political crisis was avoided. But the episode showed how politics in Iran have become increasingly vulnerable to economic developments. These economic problems, coupled with social restrictions, are undermining Iran's national unity. Water shortages are causing disputes between provinces that are relatively rich in water resources and those that are not. According to reports in the Iranian media, migration has increased from southern provinces to the northern parts of the country, a process that potentially could cause further problems. The government's frequent calls for national unity are evidence of the country's deep divides. Many in the country blame American and international sanctions for these problems. The economic sanctions of the last decade have no doubt adversely affected Iran's economy and exacerbated its other difficulties. However, Iran's problems had already reached a critical level when the most severe sanctions were imposed in 2008. The more fair-minded observers, including some within Rouhani's cabinet, admit that Iran's problems have mostly domestic roots. Recently, Iran's Minister of Intelligence Mahmoud Alavi commented that Iranians "are responsible for 60-80 percent of our problems. Outsiders only add seasoning, salt and pepper, to them. Yet so far, there is no evidence that the regime is prepared to alter the outlook and policies that have caused Iran's current problems. On the contrary, the hardliners in particular are continuing their ostrich-like behavior of burying their heads in the sand. Despite the demands of a group of politicians and intellectuals who wrote a letter recommending negotiations with Washington, they are adamantly refusing to talk to America. The commander of the Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Ali Jafari, said that if Iran talks to the United States, nothing would remain of the Islamic revolution. Such hardliners insist that Iran can overcome all its problems by relying on its domestic resources. Yet, their policies have exhausted and destroyed much of these resources. Ignoring the realities of international politics and economics, they are pinning their hopes on Russia and China to save them from their current predicament. Iran's Anti-Iran Sentiments A major reason why Iran's Islamists persist on continuing their bankrupt policies is their ideological and anti-Iran outlook. Unlike the Arab world and Turkey, where Islamists are also Turkish or Arab nationalists, Iran's Islamists view Iran and its culture, especially its pre-Islamic dimensions, as rivals. Even the Iranian left, in contrast to other socialist movements like those of Russia and China, has anti-nationalist tendencies. For instance, In response to a question about what he felt on returning to Iran in 1979 after so many years, Ayatollah Khomeini answered: nothing. For him and other Islamists, Iran did not and does not matter except as a launching pad for their ideology. Their priority is Islam and the Muslim world. They even have trouble mentioning the Iranian nation. It took Khomeini and other Islamists a decade and a devastating war with Iraq before they would use the term grudgingly. Since then, their use of Iran and Iranians has been merely instrumental. Only when it is in trouble does the Islamic Republic call on Iranians to love their country, be patient with difficulties, and help overcome them. This outlook has also been responsible for Iran's distorted and costly foreign policy priorities. Palestine, not Iran, has been the Islamists' priority, which has isolated Iran and cost it so much in economic terms. Iran's hardliners blame others for their anti-Iranian actions, but they fail to admit that their revolutionary policies have elicited these hostile reactions. They don't seem to understand that states cannot challenge the international system and its key players without paying a price for it. Greed and Lust for Power When they came to power, the Islamists dismantled Iran's economic and administrative infrastructure. Instead of professionals, they put uneducated and inexperienced people in charge of the country, including the running of its foreign policy. As a result, they forced a large percentage of the country's best and the brightest, including those born after the revolution, to leave their homeland. They set up organizations whose sole purpose is the enrichment of the new ruling elite-which include certain influential clergy and their offspring, many of whom now live in Europe, Canada, or Dubai-as well as military organizations such as the Revolutionary Guards. Corruption, cronyism, and abuse of power are nothing new in Iran. But under the Islamic regime, they have reached gigantic proportions, becoming a major cause of economic mismanagement. Moreover, for these elites, revolution and its slogans are mere instruments to retain their hold on power and to enrich themselves even if it means the impoverishment of the rest of the country. They enforce strict Islamic rules on Iranians, but their children often flout the same rules when abroad. The son of the late President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mohammad Hashemi, was reported to have said recently that Iran is facing a worse situation now than in 1988, when Ayatollah Khomeini likened agreeing to a ceasefire with Iraq to drinking from a poisoned cup. Would Iranian leaders do the same today to save the country from further hardship? The biggest responsibility lies with the Supreme Leader and the Revolutionary Guards. Would they be courageous enough to admit to past mistakes and set the country on a new course, with more cultural and political freedom and a more outward-looking and conciliatory foreign policy? More importantly, would they finally put Iran and Iranians ahead of unrealistic and selfish objectives? If not, they might go down in history as responsible for Iran's demise. About the Author: Shireen T. Hunter is a Research Professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. Her latest publication is God On Our Side: Religion, Foreign Policy and International Affairs (Rowman & Littlefield, December 2016). The event was co-organised by the Son La provincial Peoples Committee, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade. The event features 20 booths showcasing a number of specialty goods and is aimed at promoting and creating a stable market for safe agricultural products in Son La province, in which longans are the key product. At present, Son La has 60 cooperatives which plant longans on an area covering more than 950ha, including 12 cooperatives which have been awarded the VietGAP certificate, with an estimated output of 1,594 tonnes. Around 61.3 hectares have been granted area codes to grow longans for export to the US, Australia, the Republic of Korea and ASEAN with an output of around 500 tonnes. Son La is maintaining 27 chains of safe fruit, including 13 chains of safe longans on an area of 457 hectares with an output of 4,012 tonnes, 2,000 tonnes of which are certified by VietGap. Terrorist attack near Iraq border leaves 10 Iranian forces dead: Report 07/21/18 Source: Press TV A terrorist attack on a military checkpoint on the western border with Iraq and subsequent blast at an arms depot has left 10 members of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) dead, Fars News Agency reported Saturday. Iranian border guards (file photo) The overnight attack in the village of Dari in the Marivan district led to clashes which entailed in an explosion at an arms depot, following which 10 IRGC members were "martyred," it quoted a statement by Hamza Sayyid al-Shohada Headquarters as saying. "In the clashes, a number of terrorists were killed and several others fled with injuries," the statement said. "Terrorist and counter-revolutionary groups and their supporters who lack any base among the Iranian nation, especially the wise and revolutionary people of Kordestan, should anticipate the harsh and deadly retaliation of the brave and devoted warriors of Islam for this crime," it added. Over the past years, Iranian security forces and border guards have engaged in clashes with terror groups, many of whom cross the country's borders with Pakistan and Iraq to carry out attacks inside Iran. PJAK claims responsibility for Marivan terrorist attack Source: Mehr News Agency TEHRAN, Jul. 21 (Mehr News Agency) - The PJAK terrorist group officially claimed responsibility for Saturday terrorist attack on an IRGC base in Marivan in Kurdistan province of Iran. "The terrorist and anti-revolutionary group of PJAK has claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack of early Saturday in the village of Darry in Marivan, Kurdistan province," said Mohammad Shafiei, the Governor of Marivan County, on Saturday. The ambush attack occurred at 2:30 a.m. and according to the governor eleven people were martyred and 8 people were wounded in the attack. He added that out of the eleven martyred guards at the base, ten were permanent members and one was serving his military service. "Seven of these martyrs are from Marivan, one is from Sanandaj and three are from Ghorveh," recounted the official. "Most of the martyred guards were killed suffering from shrapnel spread around after the explosion of the ammunition depot of the base," added Mr. Shafiei. "Some terrorists of this terrorist group were killed and some others of them fled; however, some injured terrorists sought shelter in the mountainous area," he said. Khamenei Supports Blocking Region's Oil Exports If Iran's Exports Stopped 07/21/18 Source: RFE/RL Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on July 21 backed President Hassan Rohani's suggestion that Iran may block oil exports from the Persian Gulf if its own exports are stopped. Khamenei's website said Khamenei supported Rohani's statement earlier in July that "if Iran's oil is not exported, no regional country's oil will be exported." Straits of Hormuz The website said Rohani's comments were "important remarks that reflect the policy and the approach of [Iran's] system." Rohani's apparent threat to disrupt oil shipments from neighboring countries came in reaction to imminent U.S. sanctions and efforts by Washington to force all countries to stop buying Iranian oil. Iranian officials have in the past threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, the oil sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and one of the world's most strategically important choke points, in retaliation for any hostile U.S. action. If the Strait of Hormuz was successfully blocked at its narrowest point, a 54-kilometer wide waterway between the coasts of Iran and Oman, it would cut off sea shipments of oil by Iraq, Saudi Arabi, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The Gulf coastal areas of those countries contain the largest source of crude oil in the world. Persian Gulf Tehran has harshly criticized the decision in May of U.S. President Donald Trump to unilaterally pull the United States out of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers and reimpose sanctions. Khamenei told officials in Iran's Foreign Ministry earlier on July 21 that it would be an "obvious mistake" to negotiate with the United States because Washington is unreliable. "The word and even the signature of the Americans cannot be relied upon, so negotiations with America are of no avail," Khamenei's official website quoted him as saying. During the past week, with Khamenei and other hard-liners questioning whether Tehran should continue honoring its obligations under the nuclear deal after Trump's decision, Iran announced it is continuing to acquire uranium and is close to finishing a plant where it can build more centrifuges to enrich uranium. Vice President Ali Akbar Salehi, who heads the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, said Iran will continue adhering to the nuclear deal and that the country's stepped up nuclear activities will remain within the limits set by the accord. Iran also filed a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against the United States on July 18 in response to Trump's decision. Iran says its nuclear program is strictly for civilian purposes, while Washington has accused it of attempting to develop nuclear weapons. Trump said during a NATO summit earlier in July that with the U.S. increasing sanctions on Iran, he expected Iranian negotiators "at a certain point" to "call me and say, 'Let's make a deal,' and we'll make a deal." But Iran's Foreign Ministry responded by saying that if Trump wants to negotiate after pulling out of the international agreement, he would have to "initiate the call himself" because Iran's top leadership is now rejecting any talks with the United States. With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, Al-Jazeera, and Tasnim The Inspector General of Police (IGP), David Asante-Apeatu, yesterday boycotted a crunch meeting with aggrieved members of the Zongo Community at the Central Mosque in Kumasi at the eleventh-hour due to security reasons. The police chief and scores of senior police and government officials were supposed to calm the tempers of the Zongo youth who have been rioting for the past two days due to the fatal shooting of seven residents suspected to be armed robbers. Few minutes to the Central Mosque, the IGP and his team realized that the charged Zongo youth had blocked the road and set tyres ablaze, amidst the singing of war songs and threats to shed innocent blood. The Zongo youth have been protesting since the police killed seven people, calling for the head of the Ashanti Regional Police Commander. Some of the Zongo youth were seen holding stones of different sizes, while others were allegedly wielding locally manufactured pistols and other offensive weapons as if they were going to war. Mr. Asante-Apeatu ordered his men to leave the place peacefully due to the conduct of the irate youth. Earlier reports suggested that the IGP and his team were chased away by the angry youth, who allegedly pelted them with stones. Other reports indicated that the IGP was about to address a crowd of Muslims at the Central Mosque when the youth hurled stones at him to cut short his speech. The IGPs entourage, which included the Zongo Minister, Abubakar Sadique and the Information Minister, Mustapha Hamid, did not enter Central Mosque. Setting the Records Straight The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, who is the head of REGSEC and part of the IGPs convoy, told DAILY GUIDE that nobody chased the IGP and his team away as being speculated. According to him, the IGP, who detected that the tension was high at the place, asked that the meeting be rescheduled. The minister explained: We were almost at the venue where the IGP, sector ministers and I were supposed to address the rampaging Zongo youth to calm down and also assure them that the shooting incident would be thoroughly investigated, but few minutes to the Central Mosque, the venue of the crunch meeting, we realized that some of the Zongo youth had blocked the roads and were burning car tyres which clearly indicated that tension was high at the place. IGP Meets Otumfuo Earlier in the day, the IGP and his entourage met Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, in a closed-door meeting at the Manhyia Palace where he briefed him about plans to address the concerns of members of the Zongo Community. The IGP informed Otumfuo Osei Tutu that he would hold a meeting with the aggrieved persons at the Central Mosque to help find lasting peace in the Zongo communities. Crunch Meeting As at the time of filing this report, the IGP, the Ashanti Regional Minister, other ministers and security officials in the region were in a crunch meeting at the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) to stop the riots in the Zongo Community. Mr. Osei Mensah declined to disclose security measures to DAILY GUIDE, saying that definitely the problems in the Zongo areas would be addressed soon. Shooting of Robbers Seven males, who are indigenes of Zongo communities in Kumasi, were gunned down by the police, who claimed they were armed robbers. The police asserted that the seven people were planning to launch an attack on a mining site, but people in the Zongo Community have since debunked the claims. 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 Audio Attachment: Listen to Ken Ofori-Atta Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta says there will be no increase in Value Added Tax (VAT) as widely speculated. He made this known while presenting the mid-year budget review in Parliament, Thursday. There were earlier reports that government intended to increase VAT from 17.5% to 21.5%. The minority after hearing this, vowed to resist any VAT increment since Ghanaians are already facing hardship. However, Mr Ofori-Atta swerved the minority saying "Ill like to inform the house Mr Speaker that there will be no increase in VAT". According to him, "last year we abolished numerous taxes. The scale of tax reductions had never been implemented in the 60 years of Ghanas economic history since independence. The evidence shows that the economy has responded positively to these tax cuts. What is also clear to us Mr Speaker is that we are not collecting as much as we should". To solve this problem, government instead of resorting to the imposition of many taxes, has brought out four measures: - ensure compliance with existing tax laws, - plug the leakages in the existing system, - ensure value-for-money for the expenditures that government undertakes and - ensure that the wealthy also pay their fair share. Apart from this, to meet fiscal deficit target and to ensure that Ghana exits from the IMF programe: "we are converting the NHIS 2.5% to a straight levy of 2.5%; Converting GETFUND of 2.5% to the straight levy of 2.5%. VAT will thus be maintained at 12.5%. We are imposing a luxury vehicle tax. We are reviewing personal income tax of 10,000 cedis, intensifying compliance measures". 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 Photos of the policeman who assaulted a lady at Midland Savings and Loans, Frederick Amanor Skalla, hit the web Friday not long after the video went viral. Amanor was seen in one of the photos with recently married actor John Dumelo. Many have been questioning why Dumelo has been seen in a photo with this woman beater and the actor has come out to defend himself. Writing on social media, he said hes a friendly dude who takes pics with all who ask therefore him being in a pic with the guy means nothing. He also pointed out that the picture is old. Dumelo continued by categorically condemning the assault. He wrote: Bro, this picture must have been taken ages ago. But the policeman is a coward for doing what he did. Under no circumstance should he have physically abused that woman. Im a friend to everyone and hence I do take pictures when asked. Its unfortunate the assault incident happened but I believe the Police service will deal accordingly with the policeman. Men who beat women are cowards let alone a man assigned to protect us. God bless Ghana. Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The scene at the July 19th "Demo Day" at the Pennovation Center, hosted by Penn LPS Coding Boot Camp. Photo by Evan Kaucher Photography, from Trilogy Education Services Read more Michael McVeigh, 27, of Abington, used to moonlight as a gravedigger at West Laurel Hill Cemetery. But last year, he decided to plot a career change, and enrolled in the Penn LPS Coding Boot Camp. Now he's working as a software developer at 21PSTEM, an educational software firm in Conshohocken. The Penn LPS Coding Boot Camp, co-sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania College of Liberal and Professional Studies and Trilogy Education Services, a for-profit workforce accelerator, aims to facilitate career changes for students looking to break into Philly's tech market. The program held a "Demo Day" on Thursday to celebrate the end of the boot camp's first session, which ran from Jan. 22 through Saturday, and showcased the students' coding projects at the Pennovation Center, a Penn building that houses coworking facilities and startups. The event resembled a cross between a networking event and a science fair. Projects ranged from Curlboodle, which scans hair product barcodes and cross-references them with a database of properties to find the best formula for natural hair, to Intervw.Me, a "cross between Glassdoor and Twitter" that provides sample questions for logic-based job interviews like those famously offered by Google and Facebook. One sample question "where does the child seat go in a Porsche?" Trilogy Education Services, started in 2015 by CEO Dan Sommer, works with 37 universities to provide similar bootcamp-style programs, including Penn and Rutgers University. The Penn program will graduate 45 students, and meets three times a week for about six months. Tuition is $11,950. A comparable 24-week program offered by Trilogy's competitor Fullstack Academy costs $15,680, according to its web site. A 2017 survey of 1,450 boot-camp graduates by Course Report found that the median post-boot-camp salary was $65,000. Most took one to six months to find a job. And those who taught themselves beforehand reported higher salaries. Still, the survey was voluntary and likely skewed positive. Sommer says the teachers must have "at least five to seven years of work experience," and go through a screening process administered by Trilogy, but Penn has final say over hiring. Rita McGlone, executive director of professional and organizational development at Penn's LPS, calls the program "rigorous but achievable." The 45 students are "about 22 percent with only high school diploma or GED," 30 percent women, and 12 percent African American. Some participants, Sommer says, are looking to "upskill," while others are seeking to make a change in industry. The median age is 26 across Trilogy's programs. The Economy League of Greater Philadelphia's report on information technology jobs in Philly attributes 25 percent of net job growth in the area to new IT jobs from 2002 to 2017, and says that IT employers here "are struggling to fill high-skills jobs openings." This employment gap for tech skills is fueling more coding bootcamps like Trilogy's. "Still, most of these programs are relatively small; combined, they do not reach sufficient scale to fully address the supply/demand gap in our region," the league's report said; Employers ultimately need to partner with K-12 schools to get enough workers. Shahrukh Tarapore, head of engineering at Arcweb Technologies, a software firm in Old City, says coding programs are helpful but not sufficient by themselves. "If I see a resume with coding boot camp on it, I would also look for past projects," he said. "Knowing a design pattern or language syntax is very different from knowing about testing rigor or system performance or code elegance and maintainability." He adds: "The compressed time frame may not allow for consideration of the larger implications of software decisions." Nora Granahan, 30, of Delaware County, previously worked in fundraising for the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Her background inspired her project, "Free Public Art in Philadelphia," which culls a mapable database of public art from OpenData Philly onto a website for users to create collections of their favorite works. It hasn't been rolled out publicly yet. Granahan chose to attend the boot camp rather than apply to graduate school, and the compressed time frame of the bootcamp was a big draw. In the program's 15th week, she was hired as a junior web developer at P'unk Avenue LLC, a design firm that works with socially conscious companies. Penn State trustees made it official Friday: For just the second time in more than 50 years, there will be no tuition hike for in-state students at the university's flagship campus this year. Tuition rates for all in-state, undergraduate students would remain unchanged for the 2018-19 academic year. At University Park, annual tuition for full-time, freshmen and sophomores who reside in Pennsylvania will be $17,416, same as the 2017-18 school year. Out-of-state students, who are 30 percent of the student body, will see a 3.54 percent tuition hike, to $33,800 from $32,644. There will be a 3.3 percent rise a $9 increase in the student activity and facilities fee at the main campus. Tuition at eight of Penn State's 19 campuses Beaver, DuBois, Fayette, Greater Allegheny, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango, and Wilkes-Barre have seen no tuition rise for several years running, and that streak will continue. The tuition freeze, proposed by university president Eric Barron, was adopted by the full board of trustees Friday and follows the Pennsylvania legislature's increasing Penn State's state funding by 3 percent, giving the university $7.5 million more in state aid. Schools in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education received a 3.3 percent boost in funding. "Access and affordability are top priorities at Penn State," Barron said in a statement. "We must do all that we can to keep the door to a Penn State education open to and within financial reach of the best and brightest students across the Commonwealth. Our increased state support and this tuition freeze is a tangible example of how the University's land-grant partnership with the Commonwealth directly impacts Pennsylvania citizens." The school last froze tuition systemwide in 2015-16. Preserving the grasslands near Cowtown Rodeo took a number of years and agencies. Read more Almost 375 acres of grassland surrounding Cowtown Rodeo in Salem County will be permanently preserved under an agreement financed mostly by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and brokered by the New Jersey Conservation Foundation. Officials plan to officially announce the $2.6 million deal Wednesday on the property adjacent to the rodeo site. Cowtown, near Woodstown, bills itself as the oldest weekly rodeo in the nation. The land is part of 1,700 acres owned by the Harris family, which has operated the rodeo for five generations. About $2.1 million of the money to preserve the land comes from the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service. It will be the first such preservation agreement in New Jersey under the Grasslands of Special Significance program, according to Gail Bartok, assistant state conservationist for programs with the conservation service. "It won't ever be used for anything other than as grasslands," Bartok said. The program is for livestock farmers. Cowtown uses the grasslands for breeding and grazing. Under the agreement, 374 acres will be permanently preserved, although the family retains ownership. About 100 horses and up to 500 head of cattle use the land. The New Jersey Conservation Foundation said the history of the deal stretches back almost 15 years, when a developer offered Grant and Betsy Harris "a ridiculous amount of money" for the 1,700 acres. It wasn't until the USDA became involved in 2016 that preservation money became available. The couple said they couldn't imagine parting with the land and wanted to pass it on to future generations. The deal is for less than the appraised value of the property and the family will use some of the money to purchase land it has been leasing. "I get to make my living at my hobby every day it doesn't get any better than that," said Grant Harris, a former professional rodeo rider, in a statement. "The opportunity to make a living doing this means more to me than money." The couple plan to pass the land on to family including daughter Katy and her husband, R.J. Other money for the deal came from the Open Space Institute and the William Penn Foundation. Natural Lands of Media provided strategic assistance. Pilesgrove Township also provided assistance. "In addition to protecting a viable and profitable agricultural operation, this preservation provides conservation benefits," said Carrie Lindig, also with the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service. "Large blocks of well-managed grasslands like the Harris property support groundwater recharge and bird habitat. " Officials say rare bird species such as bobolinks, grasshopper sparrows, and American kestrels breed on the grassland. Bald eagles and Northern harriers also forage there. When the jet-black toilet was introduced by Kohler in the 1920s, it was considered so avant-garde that it was featured in a 1929 Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibit about the design of the "modern bath and dressing room." This spring, when designer Scott Sanders installed a black toilet (Kohler's Memoirs Stately) and black sink (Kohler's Caxton undermount) in his powder room at the 2018 Kips Bay Decorator Show House in New York City, it was still considered avant-garde. "A white toilet and a white sink are the most expected thing you can do in a bathroom," says Sanders, who is based in New York. "A powder room should be chic and interesting. It's great to treat your guests to something really unexpected." Sanders admits that it's not a look for everyone. "It's not the first time I've used one. Sometimes if you suggest it, though, you do get some pushback. 'A black toilet?' They look at you like you have two heads." But Sanders explains that basic black blends in more than white does, allowing for a greater number of wallpaper choices. Betsy Froelich, a Kohler marketing manager, says black has been in its line almost continuously for 90 years. But in some decades, such as now, sales of black go up. To put it in perspective, the overwhelming choice in toilets is still white or biscuit. But black is No. 3, and it seems to be getting more attention these days. Luxury brand Toto sells 15 toilet models that come in black, and spokesperson Lenora Campos says the company has been getting more requests for them recently. The styles and shades of black toilets do evolve over time. In the 1920s, black toilets were inspired by art deco; in the 1980s, they had a resurgence because of the popularity of Italian modern design and black lacquer. Today, fashion-forward designers are showing them in dramatic ways and in different finishes and textures. Kohler has more than 30 toilet options in black (as well as 40 black sinks) in a wide range of styles and prices. And the brand is seeing a lot of interest in a new matte finish it is offering in Numi, its luxury "intelligent toilet." Part of the reason for the surge, Froelich says, is the recent popularity of black stainless kitchen appliances and matte black finishes on cars. Also, she says, "You see a lot of moody man-cave bathrooms, and that look is brought to life through the use of black fixtures. Black gives the toilet a look of sophistication that the standard white toilet doesn't offer." Sanders says he chose black to add drama to his tiny space at Kips Bay. To dress it up more, he used brushed brass hardware that had a gold hint. He says the black looks great with dim lights, a burning candle and fresh flowers. "The black tends to blend in more, while a white toilet is all you see when you walk in." Other designers are not convinced. "I'm not too fond of them," says Camille Saum, a Washington-area designer. "I don't like the water spots that show up on the shiny black finishes." New York designer Nick Olsen, who grew up in a house in Florida with a black toilet, pedestal sink and tub that his mom was never fond of, says he finds that look quirky and "a bit too out there" for residential bathrooms. "It would require a very adventurous and open client," Olsen says. "In a restaurant bathroom, a black toilet could be glamorous and sexy. But at home, it could feel like a 1980s nightclub." Chief Justice Stuart Rabner of the New Jersey supreme Court wants to dismiss old, low-level municipal court cases, saying they "raise questions of fairness." He has appointed three Superior Court judges to a panel tasked with holding hearings on the issue and issuing recommendations. Read more At least 787,764 open warrants in New Jersey for low-level municipal offenses the likes of parking tickets and driving offenses such as running stop signs are more than 15 years old. Many of the alleged offenders might not even know about them or have long forgotten them, advocates say, or may be unaware that the fines have ballooned beyond what they could possibly afford, especially for low-income people. Now the New Jersey Supreme Court wants to move forward with a plan for a onetime mass dismissal of minor municipal offenses that predate 2003, over the objections of local prosecutors, who contend that such action would reward people who failed to pay their fines. Following a report this week recommending a variety of municipal-court changes, the high court has ordered a series of hearings on the idea of dismissing the unresolved cases. In an order Thursday, Chief Justice Stuart Rabner assigned three Superior Court judges to hold hearings on the proposal. "Those old outstanding complaints and open warrants in minor matters raise questions of fairness, the appropriate use of limited public resources by law enforcement and the courts, the ability of the state to prosecute cases successfully in light of how long matters have been pending and the availability of witnesses, and administrative efficiency," Rabner wrote in the order. (See the full order below.) He assigned Superior Court judges Ronald Bookbinder, Ernest Caposela, and Yolanda Ciccone to the panel. After the hearings, the judges are to issue a report to the Supreme Court, Rabner ordered, including a recommendation for how to handle the cases and "if appropriate" a recommendation on how to challenge the dismissal of specific complaints. It's the first move by the state Supreme Court following Tuesday's report, whose recommendations are meant to ensure that municipal courts are fair forums not revenue streams for towns, the court said. Jeanne LoCicero, deputy legal director at the ACLU of New Jersey, said Thursday's order is an important step toward improving a system that penalizes poor people for being poor. "One of the fundamental problems with municipal court debt collection is they're allowed to layer penalty after penalty on these small violations that really have an impact on everyone," she said, "and a disproportionate impact on poor people." LoCicero gave the example of one of her clients, a homeless man in Watchung, Somerset County, who was fined for a moving violation in 2001. It was a relatively small amount, she said, but he couldn't pay it. The client was placed on a payment plan, but that was no help. By 2015, when the man was picked up by police, his 13-year-old fine had grown to $1,350, plus a contempt-of-court charge. When he was arrested, he ended up spending 10 days in jail because the town's court convened infrequently. "It was this total burden, it was an outrage," LoCicero said. In the end, she said, a judge cleared his case. But for municipal prosecutors, dismissing old fines is akin to amnesty of a sort, rewarding people for simply waiting out the clock. At its quarterly meeting in April, members of the New Jersey State Municipal Prosecutors Association overwhelmingly voted to oppose the Supreme Court's proposal. In what said Annette DePalma, the group's president and a municipal prosecutor in Maplewood, Essex County, called "a very lengthy and spirited conversation," local prosecutors from across the state argued that dismissing old cases would send the wrong message to defendants. In addition, the prosecutors argued that there should be at least some small monetary fine so that there is still some penalty. "The overriding sentiment was that Justice Rabner's order would undermine the fundamentals of justice," DePalma said. Asked whether the current system disproportionately punishes the poor for being poor a fundamental injustice of a different sort DePalma distinguished between the two issues. "If someone is charged with something that falls into the jurisdiction of the municipal courts, that is not in and of itself punishing someone for being poor," she said. At least two months before the hearings, which have not yet been scheduled, the judges will release a list of eligible cases to the municipalities so they can see what would be affected. Of the current open warrants that would fall under this proposal, Rabner wrote, 355,619 of them involving parking tickets and 348,631 involve moving violations. The rest involve less common offenses, including local ordinance violations and fish-and-game violations. The proposal would not include dismissing more serious cases, such as driving without a license, driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, passing a stopped school bus, or driving without insurance. The theme of this year's Delhi Dialogue is 'Strengthening India-ASEAN Maritime Co-operation'. The event was attended by more than two hundred delegates, including ministers, officials and leaders of the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and India, as well as scholars, researchers and related organisations and individuals, and the Chief Ministers of North Eastern states of India. In her opening remarks, Preeti Saran, Secretary (East) of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs highlighted the importance of the dialogue in making policies and promoting the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership, while affirming that India attaches great importance to ASEAN's role. India places ASEAN at the heart of the Act East policy and the centre of its dream of an Asian century, she said. Speaking at the Dialogue, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nguyen Quoc Dung, stressed that maritime connection is one of the important issues which ASEAN and India should take advantage of to further strengthen the economic and trade cooperation between the two sides. The diplomat expressed his hope that negotiations on the ASEAN-India maritime transport agreement would soon be concluded. Furthermore, ASEAN and India need to strengthen and develop their marine infrastructure. He also highly appreciated result of the second ASEAN-India Workshop on the Blue Economy, which took place in New Delhi on July 18. The Delhi Dialogue is an annual dialogue to discuss politics, security, economics and culture-society issues between ASEAN and India. HARRISBURG Though a judge has cleared the way for the release of a key court document involving the grand jury report on Catholic clergy's sexual abuse in Pennsylvania, the state's highest court on Friday closed for the day without making it public and without explaining why. The court document was written by the state Attorney General's Office, which led a nearly two-year grand jury investigation into allegations of abuse by Catholic clergy in six of the eight dioceses in the state. It is expected to reveal new details of what is in the more than 800-page report the grand jury produced, portions of which lawyers for current and former clergy members are attempting to block from release on grounds that the report is inaccurate or unfair. Late last week, the state Supreme Court released filings by lawyers for those clergy, who are named in the grand jury report but whose identities have not been publicly revealed. But on Friday, the court delayed posting the attorney general's response to their claims, despite a court order earlier in the day by Cambria County President Judge Norman A. Krumenacker III paving the way for its dissemination. Krumenacker was the judge who oversaw the grand jury's work. Stacey Witalec, spokesperson for the Supreme Court, declined to explain why the court had not made the filing public. The Attorney General's Office also declined comment. The battle over the report's release has become fraught. Dozens of victims of clergy abuse who testified before the grand jury about their experiences have anxiously awaited its public dissemination, and fear that their voices will be silenced again if lawyers for the clergy succeed in court. In a statement late Friday, State Rep. Mark Rozzi (D., Berks), a survivor of clergy abuse, called the legal jousting in the case "reprehensible." "The millions of dollars of congregants' money spent on lawyers and lobbyists, the secrecy, scare tactics, collusion, and disgraceful cover-up of pedophiles all of it must stop," he said. The high court previously said the clergy members could challenge the attorney general's response if they believed it contained secret grand jury material. The seven-page order issued Friday by Krumenacker indicated that some had done that, objecting to the inclusion of passages they contend contain "the specific factual findings" by the grand jury. Krumenacker disagreed, saying the attorney general's response "may be filed as a public record at the discretion of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court." He also said the clergy raised additional issues that were outside of his jurisdiction. The grand jury report is the culmination of an investigation by Attorney General Josh Shapiro's office into allegations of clergy sexual abuse stemming back decades. In addition to the six dioceses, those of Philadelphia and Altoona-Johnstown went under similar scrutiny in the past and were not included in the grand jury's inquiry. Shapiro had been expected to make the report public last month. The number of people named in the report has not been released. About two dozen of the former and current clergy members named in the report appealed to the state's highest court, claiming that the grand jury's report violated their right under the state constitution to their reputation. They have also taken aim at the grand jury, an investigatory body that meets in secret and that has been used in the state for decades. The petitioners contend they were stripped of due process while the grand jury was hearing evidence, leaving them unable to counter evidence prosecutors were presenting. Under state law, investigating grand juries can recommend charges or produce a report. The law gives the judge supervising the grand jury the discretion to allow individuals who are referenced in the report, but not charged with a crime, to submit a written response prior to the report's public dissemination. That happened with this report, as the six dioceses under scrutiny Pittsburgh, Erie, Allentown, Harrisburg, Scranton, and Greensburg were allowed to review it. Individuals named in it also received parts of the report that referred to them. Late last month, the seven-member Supreme Court placed a temporary stay on the report's release so it could sort through the arguments from both sides. Much of the court fight has played out in secret. Only recently did the justices order that documents related to the case be made public, although in redacted form. Nine media organizations, including the Inquirer and Daily News and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, have petitioned the court for access to the full report. One pupil was bothering another in James Slater's classroom at James R. Lowell Elementary School in Olney, so Slater grabbed a chair to move the 8-year-old aggressor away. The pupil told authorities he fell and was hurt. Slater denied that, but was cited for child abuse in January 2017, and hasn't returned to work since. The allegation against Slater was among 280 last year in which Philadelphia school employees were accused of violating the state's Child Protective Services Law, which protects children from abuse. From January to October, he sat in the reassignment room at School District headquarters at 440 N. Broad St., a room widely known among school personnel as "teacher jail," or less so as "the rubber room." The city's Department of Human Services ultimately determined that the case was unfounded, but the School District still recommended that Slater be terminated, according to a district spokesperson who declined to elaborate. Meanwhile, he's suspended without pay, pending a hearing before the school board. Child abuse reports statewide have skyrocketed since 2015, when an amendment added teachers, administrators, and personnel to the definition of perpetrators of child abuse. That year the first full year in which the amendment was in effect there were 126 reports of suspected child abuse by a school employee in Philadelphia. The previous year, there were four. DHS Commissioner Cynthia Figueroa offered a simple explanation for the increased numbers in the city: "We are in Philadelphia County, we have more complaints because it's the largest." Last year, state authorities received 1,207 reports alleging abuse by Pennsylvania school employees. Of the 280 in Philadelphia, only 18 were substantiated. The updated legislation, amended in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal, took effect at the end of 2014, and the most significant change came in the "chain of command" reporting procedures that educators must follow. Every school employee is now a "mandated reporter" and must report any suspicion of child abuse to the school principal or dean, who is required to report the incident to DHS. Under previous guidelines, only specific school employees were mandated reporters. Union leaders welcome legislation that protects children, but they're concerned it may come at the expense of school employees' reputations. "It's been taken to the extreme," Philadelphia Federation of Teachers president Jerry Jordan said. "They're devastated when the accusation is made." At a protest last month in South Philadelphia, Robin Cooper, president of the Commonwealth Association of School Administrators, demanded that legislators revisit the changes to the law, which she said have made teachers hesitant to defend themselves and their students. "It's part of my job, I have to touch kids every day to break up a fight, so if by chance it gets reported, I have to wait for DHS," which can take several months, Cooper said in an interview. "Now you're humiliated, you're under suspicion of child abuse. But how can you keep children safe if you can't touch them?" Accused employees are removed from job duties while DHS and the School District complete separate investigations. While those investigations proceed, the employee must report to the reassignment room. Accused employees continue to be paid and are encouraged to complete administrative work for the district, prepare courses, or grade papers. But they cannot work on personal projects or discuss with colleagues from their school the incident that landed them there. Twelve teachers were in the reassignment room at the end of the 2017-18 school year. A spokesperson for the School District said such rooms are a "longstanding practice in public education." Although the law allows the use of force for safety, control, and supervision, school employees still must report any suspicion of abuse. DHS must be shown substantial evidence to prove abuse. Marianne Kennedy, a teacher at Willard Elementary School in Kensington, was accused in September 2017 of child abuse for trying to stop a student from banging his head against the floor. She sat in the reassignment room for six months, eventually was cleared of the charges, and returned to school in February. "I didn't sleep at all," she wrote that month in an email to her colleagues when she learned she'd been reassigned. "To know that my nightmare is over and I am just waiting to be returned has made me so excited." Richard W. Migliore, a Havertown lawyer who represents Slater and represented Kennedy, said the new guidelines leave teachers in a bind. "If they fail to act in such situations, then the teacher can be accused of wrongdoing and even prosecuted for child abuse," he said. "If they do act, and a child falls or gets hurt, then they are also open for an allegation of child abuse or other wrongdoing." Meanwhile, an allegation can land an experienced educator like Slater or Kennedy in "teacher jail." "It's a very negative place," Slater said. "Everybody there is very unhappy." Jeremy Piven, known for his role a Ari Gold in HBO's 'Entourage,' brings as live stand-up comedy tour to the Punch Line starting Friday, July 20. Read more For once, this isn't a laughing matter. Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning actor Jeremy Piven is set to headline this weekend at Punch Line Philly for "An Intimate Evening with Jeremy Piven and Friends," but some local comedians are outraged and say Piven shouldn't have been booked because of lingering sexual misconduct allegations. The 52-year-old, best known for his role in HBO's Entourage, was accused by eight women of sexual misconduct but has denied any wrongdoing. Two women, Ariane Bellamar and Anastasia Taneie, claimed Piven groped them on the set of Entourage, while others said the actor forced himself on them. Piven's lawyers have denied the allegations as "works of fiction," and the actor has passed a polygraph test. Piven's first show in a series of three was to be held Friday, but since late last week, dozens of frustrated local comedians have attempted to get the two-year-old Fishtown comedy club, owned by Live Nation, to shut the show down. Erin Dohony has sent three emails to the club, on a hunt for answers about who decided to book Piven. In her third email to Punch Line sent Thursday, she told the club that its "indifference to this situation is shocking." "If [Piven] is allowed to make a comeback and convince the public that he didn't do anything wrong, that opens the floodgates for other sexual predators to do the same," she wrote. "You are setting a standard in Philadelphia, and it's a bad one." The club hasn't responded to her inquiries. Dohony, 25, performed at Punch Line for the first time last year and said being ignored by the comedy club makes her feel "small insignificant." She described Piven's appearances as a "public relations rebranding tour" where he's using his star power and "stand-up as a vehicle to make people forget that he assaulted women." "We want to know why a predator is being welcomed into our city despite all of the complaints," she said. Emails to Live Nation and Punch Line Philly were not returned. A call to Piven's lawyer, Patti Felker, was not returned. For Libby Reindl, another Philadelphia comedian, Punch Line's booking of Piven solidified her belief that the comedy scene "caters to these men, like their careers are more important than what they did." When she saw Piven was booked, she said, "it sucked." "That just sends the message, 'We're going to reward this guy with stage time even though several women have come forward,' " Reindl said. The comedy scene, she said, is "very male-dominated," and she hopes this situation opens a conversation about sexism in the comedy industry. "The women work really hard and it's almost like we have to work even harder just to be taken seriously as comics," Reindl said. "We have to be extra funny just to be seen as funny." Other comedians and locals have taken to social media to express their outrage, with some calling for the show to be canceled. Comedian Beth Eisenberg was shocked by Punch Line's move to book Piven, because it seems contradictory to the usually inclusive space. "Punch Line actually does a good job of creating spaces for women comics, queer comics, and all different identities," Eisenberg said. Eisenberg founded Philadelphia's Bechdel Test Fest, a comedy festival for women, non-binary and trans comics of all genres. "It's just pathetic that they haven't responded or made a statement, at least," she said. "There's no other comic you could think to bring up?" Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and U.S. President Trump give a joint news conference at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, on Monday, July 16, 2018. Read more Russia provided additional details Friday of what it said were agreements made at the presidential summit in Helsinki this week, shaping a narrative of the meeting with no confirmation or alternative account from the Trump administration. Not surprisingly, the Russian story line tended to favor the Kremlin's own policy prescriptions, at times contradicting stated administration strategy. Russia already has sent formal proposals to Washington for joint U.S.-Russia efforts to fund reconstruction of war-ravaged Syria and facilitate the return home of millions of Syrians who fled the country, following "agreements reached" by President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev, the three-star head of the Russian National Defense Management Center, said Friday. Mizintsev, speaking in Moscow at a joint session of planners from the Defense and Foreign Ministries, said that Russia had already begun work on the ground in both areas but that additional resources and international coordination are needed. Russia's U.S. ambassador, Anatoly Antonov, said separately that Syria had been the primary topic in the Trump-Putin conversations, along with "the removal of the concerns that the United States has regarding the well-known claims about alleged interference in the elections." Administration officials have said repeatedly in the past that no U.S. or European reconstruction assistance will go to any part of Syria that remains under the expanding control of Russian-backed President Bashar Assad. Asked about Russian claims that agreements had been reached, a National Security Council spokesman said: "As President Trump stated, the two sides agreed that their national security council staffs will follow up on the presidents' meetings, and these discussions are underway. There were no commitments to undertake any concrete action, beyond agreement that both sides should continue discussions." The spokesman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the NSC and its Russian counterparts were "continuing a working-level dialogue" to review suggestions by Putin for a new "cyber-group" and "restarting a counterterrorism group." The two leaders also discussed forming groups of businesspeople and of retired diplomatic and military officials to provide ideas for cooperation, the administration has said. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking to reporters at the United Nations after meetings on North Korea, said that "there was a discussion between President Trump and President Putin about the resolution in Syria and how we might get the refugees back," but he did not provide details. Pompeo said he was "happy" that Trump wants the Russian leader to visit Washington this fall to continue their talks. "I think it's all to the good," he told reporters. Russia and Iran have enabled Assad to decimate Syrian opposition forces, once backed by the United States, with airstrikes and ground forces that have been blamed for much of the civilian displacement and deaths in Syria's seven-year civil war. Withdrawal of Iranian forces "throughout the entirety of Syria" is at the top of the administration's Iran strategy, most recently spelled out in a major speech by Pompeo in May, and persuading Russia to help accomplish that goal has been a key rationale for administration outreach to Moscow. The Pentagon and U.S. allies in the region have pushed back at Trump's stated desire to withdraw the relatively small U.S. military contingent currently in Syria, where it has organized and armed local proxy forces to fight against the Islamic State. Removal of U.S. forces on the ground, currently numbering about 2,200, is seen as reducing whatever leverage the United States has to press both Russia and Iran. U.S. intelligence does not believe the Russians will deliver. "We have assessed that it's unlikely Russia has the will or the capability to fully implement and counter Iranian decisions and influence" in Syria, Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats said Thursday at the Aspen Security Forum. "Russia would have to make significantly greater commitments [in Syria] from a military standpoint, from an economic standpoint," he said. "We don't assess that they're keen to do that." On Friday, Russia's ambassador to Iran, Levan Dzhagaryan, said that Moscow has no intention of pressing Iran to withdraw and denied any strain between them. "We are actively interacting with Iran, both on the ground and on the political track," Dzhagaryan told Interfax, the Russian news agency. "Like Russia's military presence" in Syria, he said, Iran's military presence there "is legal because our military presence and Iran's is taking place at the request of the legitimate government of the Syrian Arab Republic." To the extent they focused on Syria during their Helsinki news conference, both Trump and Putin said they were working to address Israel's concerns about Iranian forces close to its border, where Assad is fighting to reclaim a remaining pocket of opposition-held territory in southwest Syria. The Kremlin press service announced Friday that Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had spoken by telephone, as had their defense ministers. Russia's ambassador to Israel said they had reached "an understanding" on the withdrawal of "certain well-known armed units . . . so many kilometers" from Syria's border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Interfax reported. Netanyahu's office said only that the two spoke about developments in the region and that he had "noted that Israel will continue to act against the Iranian military entrenchment in Syria." Coats was among several senior national security officials who have said they have not yet been briefed on the Helsinki summit. While Defense Secretary Jim Mattis met with Trump on Thursday, other top military officials are still expecting a readout from the president or his national security adviser, John Bolton, next week. Pompeo, who participated in an expanded meeting with aides after the one-on-one between Trump and Putin, is scheduled to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday. The U.S. ambassador to Russia, Jon Huntsman, provided a preliminary briefing to allied diplomats in Moscow following the summit. On Thursday, representatives in Washington from the "Five Eyes" countries Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand who are part of a multilateral intelligence agreement with the United States, were briefed by an NSC official who reassured them that "no agreements were made" in Helsinki and no "negotiations" took place, according to one attendee. Ukraine also was discussed in the meeting. The crisis in Ukraine has been a particularly sensitive issue for U.S. allies, given Trump's previous suggestion that the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014, should belong to Moscow. Pompeo had told Sergei Lavrov, his Russian counterpart, in a separate meeting in Helsinki that Russia's pointsman for the Ukraine, Vladislav Surkov, needed to engage constructively with U.S. envoy Kurt Volker. The two men have struggled to agree on the introduction of United Nations peacekeepers in eastern Ukraine, where government forces continue to battle Russian-backed separatists. At the NSC briefing for allies, an NSC official did not mention what Putin said Thursday was his suggestion to Trump that a referendum be held in the separatist regions of Ukraine. On Friday, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the Trump administration is "not considering supporting a referendum." Speaking earlier Friday at Moscow's Valdai Discussion Club, Antonov, the Russian ambassador who this week has been a primary conduit for Russian claims about the summit, said that "the Ukrainian issue was not at the center" of the Trump-Putin talks, Interfax reported. The Washington Post's John Hudson contributed to this report. FILE In this Oct. 13, 2017, file photo, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats speaks at a Heritage Foundation event in Washington. Coats' drumbeat of criticism against Russia is clashing loudly with President Donald Trump's pro-Kremlin remarks, leaving the soft-spoken spy chief in an uncomfortable _ and perhaps perilous _ seat in the administration. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf, File) Read more The most unforgettable image of the week was the look on the face of Dan Coats, U.S. director of national intelligence, when NBC correspondent Andrea Mitchell read him a breaking news bulletin that Vladimir Putin had been invited to the White House. "Say that again!" Coats exclaimed, shaking his head. The nation's top intelligence official had been blindsided by President Trump, never consulted or informed of this invitation, no doubt because he would have warned against it. And Trump still hasn't told Coats what he promised Putin in their one-one-one meeting with only interpreters present. Why should we be surprised? The president's bizarre behavior at Helsinki and since has made moot the question of whether he colluded with Putin's election meddling in 2016. >> READ MORE: Trump surrenders to Putin at Helsinki summit | Trudy Rubin Trump is colluding with Putin now. Whether from blackmail or ego, the U.S. president is actively aiding Kremlin efforts to undermine U.S. institutions. His war on his own intelligence and law enforcement agencies is a perfect example of how he is advancing Russia's goals. Trump went to Helsinki unprepared and ignored his briefers, leaving himself open to manipulation by a shrewd ex-KGB colonel who masters details. "I guarantee that Vladimir Putin was prepared for that meeting and knew what buttons he was going to push [with Trump]," said Mike Rogers, the former GOP chair of the House Intelligence Committee. "You must have an agenda. To go just to make friends or have a selfie is dangerous policy." Putin's public remarks contained many digs at U.S. intelligence agents and the Mueller investigation, insinuating they were plotting against Trump. He was clearly playing to Trump's conspiratorial suspicions about the "deep state." Trump's humiliation of Coats (a popular former GOP senator whom the president says he admires) is another win for Putin. Last week the president also insulted three former intelligence chiefs John Brennan, Michael Hayden, and James Clapper for criticizing his refusal to confront Putin over Russian election meddling. Clapper confirmed that Trump was shown detailed evidence in January 2017 that Putin personally directed this cyber-espionage. What better gift could Trump give Putin than to undermine the agencies that have detailed Russian spying? "This was the summit Putin waited for his entire life," says Russia expert Alina Polyakova of the Brookings Institution. "He entirely set the agenda." >> READ MORE: Trump's homage to Putin at Helsinki proves him unfit to make foreign policy | Trudy Rubin Putin was probably astonished at how easily he could roll Trump: The president repeatedly praised Putin's outrageous suggestion that Russian security agents be allowed to interrogate U.S. officials whom Putin dislikes, including a former U.S. ambassador to Moscow, Mike McFaul. The White House only reluctantly retracted this infamous idea after the Senate passed a 98-0 resolution denouncing it. But White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said it had been a "sincere offer." This illustrates how neatly Putin has penetrated Trump's mind. The danger is multiplied by the president's determination to act without advice from advisers. The Kremlin (which no doubt taped the meeting) has been able to control the global narrative by leaking what supposedly happened in the private meeting in Helsinki, claiming Trump adopted Putin's positions on western Ukraine and Syria. This stirs further fears amongst America's allies who also don't know what really happened. What we do know is what Putin hopes to achieve. In January 2017, the joint intelligence report on election meddling that Trump received warned: "The Kremlin sought to advance its longstanding desire to undermine the US-led liberal democratic order." Putin is manipulating Trump to help him accelerate that order's demise. In conversations with Russian foreign-policy experts in Moscow, I've been told that Putin believes the "collective West" that emerged after World War II is collapsing, including the NATO alliance and the European Union. If he can get Trump's help in weakening the EU which still resists Putin's expansionist goals all to the good. Looking ahead, the Kremlin chief sees a future world run by a configuration of big world powers with the United States presenting the main challenge to Russia. But Putin also sees U.S. democracy as troubled, while (illiberal) Russia is more stable. The Russian leader hopes to exploit divisions within America, and undermine its institutions, with help from Trump. If he can prevent a strong U.S. pushback against cyber-espionage (which Trump refuses to direct), that's the frosting on the cake. Thus, at Helsinki, Putin's agenda was clear: further undermine Mueller and accelerate Trump's break with the U.S. intelligence community. Most clever, play on Trump's illusion that the ex-KGB agent can be a good partner. "Hopefully someday he'll be a friend," Trump foolishly said of Putin. Putin didn't have to try hard. Trump pandered. Despite indictments that track right back to Putin, Trump invited the Russian leader to the White House in the fall, to coincide with elections in which the Kremlin is still meddling. "Useful Idiot" is a political term for a person who is manipulated into serving a political cause that is not their own. It used to be applied to naifs who mouthed Soviet propaganda. Now it fits Trump. Beth Camp, who helped organize NBCares, shows a sign she planted in front of her family home to work against an onslaught of tractor trailers that could have come down her street from a giant warehouse project in Mansfield Township, N.J. Read more The first Amazon fulfillment center to open in New Jersey, four years ago, was greeted with excitement. Amazon, the online shopping giant, came into Robbinsville promising jobs and significant tax revenues and downplayed concerns there could be any adverse impact on the small town. But within a year, Mayor Dave Fried was threatening to sue and shut down the facility, citing safety concerns. Amazon had projected that it would have 1,000 employees, but that number quickly quadrupled, clogging streets and neighborhoods that were already reeling from the onslaught of tractor-trailers rumbling through the town, he said. Now, as two more Amazon centers and a few other mega-warehouses move south into Burlington County, the residents in the rural towns that would host their facilities are mobilizing. Uniting under the banner Northern Burlington CARES, or NBCares for short, the residents say Robbinsville is a cautionary tale, and they are demanding that developers take measures to minimize potential traffic problems ahead of time. "Throughout Northern Burlington we're becoming sandwiched in by all these warehouses," said Michelle Rosenblum of Florence. "The problem is the cumulative impact of all these warehouses and increasing traffic and noise." The grassroots NBCares scored perhaps its first victory last week after waging a bitter legal battle against a developer in Mansfield Township, a predominantly agrarian community centered on the quaint village of Columbus. The group announced Thursday that it reached a legal settlement with a developer who had proposed an 1.8 million-square-foot warehouse project that would have consumed 200 acres of farmland off the New Jersey Turnpike and I-295. Plans called for hundreds of tractor-trailers to leave the warehouse each day and thunder down a narrow, hilly, two-lane road lined with farms and about 20 homes that sit on wooded lots. Now, the plans have been revised to reflect that the shoulder-less Hedding-Jacksonville Road will be spared the traffic, and all of the vehicles entering and exiting the warehouses will use Columbus-Florence Road, which is only about 1,000 feet from a ramp onto I-295. "The tractor-trailers are dangerous, and there would be too many of them on that narrow street," said Beth Camp, the secretary/treasurer of NBCares. Her father built their family home in the 1960s on that street and she had rallied her neighbors when she learned it would bear a major share of the traffic from the warehouse project. Proposed a decade ago by Margolis Enterprises of Boca Raton, Fla., the project is now being developed under the name VA Florence Co. A spokesperson said construction on the first of three proposed 55-foot-tall warehouses, which total almost 1.8 million square feet, would begin immediately. At a planning board meeting jammed with almost 200 residents on Thursday night, the developer's lawyer said the company doesn't have tenants yet, but does not plan to sell or lease to Amazon. NBCares attorney George Hulse filed appeals after the county planning board approved the plan. He also filed a complaint in Superior Court seeking to have the developer pay its full share of taxes rather than being offered a tax abatement. Abatements are offered to developers on land that is declared in need of redevelopment, but Hulse argued that the 200-acre farm is not blighted and does not fit the legal definition of an area that should be redeveloped. The complaint helped persuade the developer to settle because "it involved a significant risk to the tax abatement program, which offered a significant incentive for them to build," Hulse said in an interview. The agreement calls for the complaint to be dismissed. Hulse said the settlement also was a win for his clients because it avoided the risk that the planning board could have approved the plans without changing the traffic patterns. Michael Gross, the attorney for VA Florence, said at the meeting that the developer was revising its plans "because we have listened to the sentiments of the neighbors." The developer agreed to build a bridge over Craft's Creek, a tiny waterway that bisects the warehouse site, so that all the warehouse traffic can use the single entrance closest to I-295. However, if environmental approvals are denied, the developer has the option of returning to the planning board and can again ask permission to have some of the trucks use Hedding-Jacksonville Road. Residents at the meeting said that traffic in the area is already congested and that they fear new warehouses will only make it worse. "Do you realize 295 is a train wreck at rush hour now?" said Patrick Sullivan of Florence, to loud applause. The Margolis warehouses will be about five miles from an Amazon distribution center that opened recently in Florence. Several miles away, a second Amazon center is under construction at the site of the closed U.S. Pipe plant, which straddles Burlington City and Burlington Township. It would be one million square feet. Mansfield residents created NBCares but invited people from neighboring towns to join. Camp said the group will be a watchdog for the whole area to make sure the developments that are proposed are feasible and won't destroy residents' way of life. "Would we prefer to not have the warehouses? Of course. But someone owns the land and they have a right to develop it, but just not at the expense of the neighbors," she said. Rosenblum, who joined NBCares, said that one problem is "towns say they are only responsible for what's within their borders, and no one is taking a look at this from a macro-level." She said that fighting these projects "takes a lot of civic activism and resources" to go up against the "deep pockets that these companies have." The Mansfield warehouses will be built adjacent to the Liberty Lake Day Camp and a sprawling farm. Andy Pritikin, owner of the popular day camp, said he initially was concerned about the impact the warehouses might have on his land. But he said the developer agreed to provide an adequate buffer and take steps to mitigate against potential flooding to address his concerns. Robbinsville Mayor Fried said that the first year that Amazon opened, after it was built on farmland, was fraught with problems. "But we have worked out all the kinks," he said. Amazon agreed to stagger employee shifts and to provide park-and-ride shuttle service for its employees to reduce congestion. The company also reduced the trip and delivery volume, he said. An Amazon spokesperson said the company worked with the town to solve issues. "The problem is now under control, but we had to be tough and hold them to the rules and what they agreed to do," Fried said. "At the end of the day, they are our biggest taxpayer and they brought in good-paying jobs." The lower lever of the College of Physicians' Mutter Museum. Read more CANBERRA, Australia (AP) An Australian soldier's skull has been buried in a French war grave a century after it was taken for eventual display in a Philadelphia medical museum, Australia's government said Saturday. Private Thomas Hurdis was wounded in Belgium on Sept. 26, 1917, and died a week later in a U.S. field hospital in France at the age of 26. The Australian government was alerted last year that the skull of an unnamed Australian soldier, with a bullet lodged in bone between his eyes, was on display at the Mutter Museum of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. >>READ MORE: Controversy erupts over WWI Australian soldier's skull at Mutter Museum The skull was buried in Hurdis' grave on Friday at the Mont Huon Military Cemetery in Le Treport in a ceremony attended by Hurdis' family and Australian troops, Minister for Defense Personnel Darren Chester said. The rest of Hurdis' body had been buried there on Oct. 12, 1917 nine days after his death. Hurdis' head had been removed for pathological study purposes and according to protocols, Chester said. "Although this was a rare event, it was a product of a desire to learn from the medical developments and experiences of the World War One," Chester said in a statement. The museum said in a statement that the British government gave it the skull in 1919. >> READ MORE: Mutter Museum to return skull of Australian soldier killed in WWI The museum had displayed a photograph of the skull on its website with an explanation that as well as the bullet in his forehead, Hurdis had been shot in the mouth by another bullet that had passed through his palate and right eye. Shrapnel had also removed part of his jaw. The museum website said that he was blind and disoriented while in U.S. medical care. Hurdis eventually removed his bandages and bled to death. His skull was removed from public display and the website at Australia's request last year after a member of the public complained. The Sydney-born soldier's younger brother John has been listed as missing in action in France since July 1916. A memorial service will be Friday, Aug. 3, for Wesley D. Smith, 88, of Roxborough, a former classics professor at the University of Pennsylvania, who died Saturday, June 23, of respiratory failure at Cathedral Village in Philadelphia. Dr. Smith began teaching in Princeton University's classics department in the fall of 1955. In 1961, he joined the department of classical studies at Penn, and he taught and wrote dozens of scholarly papers before retiring in 1996. His area of expertise was Greek and Roman literature, including poetry and plays. He was most interested in the intellectual themes he uncovered and how the original meaning of those themes evolved over time. "I have done considerable work to clarify the ideas of health and disease in ancient literature," he wrote in his CV. "I have worked on the history of theatrical production to clarify the staging of classical tragedy, and I have worked [on] ancient music." Dr. Smith was most interested in Hippocrates, the ancient Greek who is viewed as the father of Western medicine. Hippocrates established ethical standards for the practice of medicine and devised the oath in which doctors pledge, among other things, to do no harm. Dr. Smith's signature 1979 book, The Hippocratic Tradition, chronicled Hippocrates' life and writings as viewed through the eyes of other thinkers throughout history. The book was published by Cornell University Press and reproduced for online in 2002. "It is difficult to isolate the facts of Hippocrates' life from the later tales told about him, or to assess his medicine accurately in the face of centuries of reverence for him as the ideal physician," Dr. Smith wrote in an online synopsis of the book. "About 60 medical writings have survived that bear his name, most of which were not written by him." Joseph Farrell, Dr. Smith's friend and colleague in classics studies at Penn, said that "in an ideal sense, all academics are trying to establish the truth" in any field of inquiry. What makes this tricky is that two parallel lines of thought can emerge. One is the truth as someone like Hippocrates wrote or spoke it. A second is the interpretation of scholars over time, which creates a different meaning. "Sometimes these things gather two meanings over time," Farrell said. "That is one of the key problems we have as a researcher and an intellectual." What Dr. Smith gave credence to was comparing the two lines of thought as a legitimate intellectual task, Farrell said. At first scholars resisted that comparison, but now it is accepted, Farrell said. Born in the copper-mining town of Ely, Nev., Dr. Smith moved with his family to Seattle, where he attended the public schools. He earned a bachelor's degree in Greek and Latin from the University of Washington in 1951. He completed a master's degree in 1953 and a doctoral degree in 1955, both in the classics from Harvard University. Dr. Smith lived in Powelton until 2006, when he moved to West Mount Airy. He had lived at Cathedral Village since 2012. He was married twice, first to the film and Broadway stage actress Lois Smith, and second to Karen Faulkner. He had a daughter by Smith and a son by Faulkner. He was twice divorced, and both wives survive. Dr. Smith was known for planning lively vacations. "He always retained his love of the West and liked to travel there by car with his family every few years while his children were growing up," Faulkner said. They explored caves, hiked up mountains, and visited historic sites. In one trip, he and his family followed the route author Laura Ingalls Wilder made famous in the Little House on the Prairie books. The Wilder family moved from the East to North Dakota in the 1870s, as the railroad expanded the frontier. Dr. Smith sang with the Philadelphia Chorus. He played squash regularly. Shortly before retiring, he learned ceramics and painting at Community College of Philadelphia, and art became his passion, Faulkner said. In addition to his former wives, he is survived by a daughter, Moon Elizabeth Smith; a son, Anthony Smith; five grandchildren; and Faulkner's son, Josh Olson. A memorial service will be at 3 p.m. Friday, Aug. 3, at Cathedral Village, 600 E. Cathedral Rd., Philadelphia. Burial is private. Donations may be made to the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services via https://www.raicestexas.org/donate/. During the trip, the delegation paid a courtesy call to Vice President cum President of the Senate of Argentina Marta Gabriela Michetti, and held talks with Provisional President of the Senate Federico Pinedo. The Vietnamese lawmakers also had meetings with Commander-in-Chief of the Argentine Armed Forces Gen. Bari Del Valley Sosa, Acting Foreign Minister Daniel Raimondi, Vice Chairman of the Senates Foreign Relations Committee Omar Perotti, and representatives of the Argentina-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians Group. At the meetings, Ty affirmed Vietnams external policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification of international relations, with much attention paid to developing strategic ties with Argentina. He underlined that Vietnams NA supports and appreciates the development of ties between the two countries, and is willing to promote exchanges and cooperation with the Argentine parliament. Highlighting the friendship, solidarity, and mutual support between Vietnam and Argentina, Ty stated that Vietnam has always highly valued the Argentine peoples solidarity with Vietnam during its struggle for independence in the past. Vietnam wishes to foster its partnership with Argentina in a comprehensive manner and developing cooperation in economy, investment, trade, defence, and security on a par with the sound political relations and potential of both sides, he said. He thanked Argentina for its support at the UN and other multilateral platforms, affirming that Vietnam is willing to coordinate with Argentina on mechanisms for common interests and for peace, stability, and development across the world. The Argentine officials expressed hope to further strengthen the partnership with Vietnam both bilaterally and multilaterally. Michetti said that Argentina is keen on further promoting collaboration with Vietnam in all fields, pledging that she will direct Argentine agencies to hold meetings with their Vietnamese counterparts to discuss measures to expand bilateral cooperation to other areas such as defence and tourism. The Argentine leader also hoped that the two legislative bodies would introduce suitable legal policies to create optimal conditions for businesses of both nations to strengthen their partnerships, thus dealing with the imbalance in bilateral trade. Meanwhile, both Pinedo and Perotti said that Argentina is ready to work with the Vietnamese NA in law-building and supervising the implementation of signed deals between the two countries and at multilateral forums. The Senate of Argentina wants to soon organise a visit to Vietnam to forge stronger cooperation between the two legislatures as discussed during the ongoing visit. Valley Sosa and Raimondi lauded the outcomes of the Vietnamese delegations visit. Argentina can support Vietnam in defence personnel training and in joining UN peacekeeping operations, they said. Within the framework of the visit, the Vietnamese delegation also laid flowers at President Ho Chi Minhs statue in Buenos Aires. The June solstice 2018 issue of The Planetary Report is about to mail and will arrive at Planetary Society members homes within days. Members who want to read it sooner can access the magazine here. This is my last issue as editor of The Planetary Report. By the time you read this I will be retired from this position and looking at a nice, long stretch of free time. A colleague recently pointed out that Id worked for The Planetary Society for a third of a century, and that is spot on. Ive noticed that people often cringe when they have to admit to how long theyve worked at a place, as if theres something wrong them for not being constantly on the move. Why? What if there is something so worthwhile about ones work that there is no reason to go anywhere else? At The Planetary Society, we have several staffers whove been here almost as long as I have, and some younger ones whove said they aspire to be lifers. That says it all. When your employers vision statement is To Know the Cosmos and Our Place Within It, you might feel hard-pressed to find something better. Nevertheless, people do have to retire, and you will be happy to learn that The Planetary Reports newest editor will be none other than Emily Lakdawalla. Youll be hearing from her very soon. She has an exciting Fall issue in the works. BUGIRI: The candidate for Justice Forum (JEEMA) in the Bugiri Municipality parliamentary election, Asuman Basalirwa, has said the gunshots that ended the life of his bodyguard on Friday morning targeted him. Ramanthan Walyendo, 30, succumbed to gunshot wounds he sustained on Thursday during a campaign rally held along Saza Road in Bugiri municipality. And speaking to this website in an interview on Saturday morning, Basalirwa said he narrowly survived being shot since he was standing next to the deceased at the time of the rally. Basalirwa promised to follow up the matter and ensure the police officer who shot dead his supporter is arrested and arraigned in court. Basalirwa further warned police against indulgence in violence, adding that Ugandans have freedom of movement. Busoga East region police spokesman James Mubi said investigations into the matter are underway, adding that police will prosecute the officer who shot at crowd, accusing him of being reckless. Mubi, however, blamed Basalirwas supporters for pelting stones at police officers who were assigned to ensure that no rally is held at Busoga University playgrounds following prior destruction of windows as a result of holding rallies inside. The deceased, who doubled as a Boda Boda rider at Namutumba Stage, was on Thursday shot around 4:30pm as police battled a group of Basalirwas supporters who wanted to forcefully hold a rally at Busoga University playgrounds. Walyendo who was hit in the chest by a stray bullet as he tried to escape from a group of supporters who pelted stones at police, was immediately rushed to First Line Medical Centre within the municipality, before transferred to Bugiri Hospital in critical condition. However, a health worker at the hospital who preferred anonymity, said the deceased died as a result of excessive bleeding. FDCs Eunice Namatende, JEEMAs Basalirwa, NRMs John Francis Oketcho and Independents Siraji Lyavala Samanya and Joel Wamono are tussling for the seat ahead of election on July 27. Bugiri Municipality was annexed from Bukooli County. Related RUKUNGIRI/KABALE The candidate of the ruling NRM party in the recently concluded Rukungiri District Woman Parliamentary by-election, Winnie Masiko, has run to the High Court, seeking nullification of the election victory of FDCs Betty Muzanira over allegations of rigging and other irregularities. In her petition filed at Kabale High Court on July 9th through her lawyers of Karuhanga, Tabaro and Associates, Masiko says the May 31 election was marred by acts of violence, intimidation and voter bribery, all perpetuated by the FDC candidate. She blames the Electoral Commission for the irregularities. The electoral commission failed to conduct the elections in accordance with the provisions and principals laid down by the electoral laws which affected the outcome in a substantial manner. The first respondent (Ms Betty Bamukwatsa) in turn engaged in acts of voter bribery, intimidation, sectarianism, defacement of campaign posters and defamation all calculated to gain unfair advantage over the petitioner (Ms Komuhangi Masiko), the petition reads in part. Read: Museveni concedes defeat in Rukungiri polls Masiko claims that the arrest of Muzaniras agents during the elections such as Buhweju Member of Parliament Francis Mwijukye and the former Member of Parliament for Rwampara Vincent Kyamadidi are a clear testimony of electoral violence. She adds that Muzaniras agents that included the member of parliament for Kawempe Division Munyagwa , the former FDC party president Rtd Maj Gen Mugisha Muntu, Rukungiri Municipal mayor Mr Charles Makuru and the FDC party president Mr Amuriat Oboi among others were engaged in wide spread voter intimidation and violence of voters at several polling stations on the polling day. Read: FDCs Betty Muzanira takes Rukungiri Woman seat As a result, she wants court to order for fresh elections, claiming that the electoral process was marred with several irregularities and electoral malpractices. Masiko also asked court to ban Ms Bamukwatsa from contesting or participating in any other political elections for seven years because of her alleged misconduct. She also asked for costs of the suit and any other relief the high court deems fit. Court has not set the date for the hearing of the case. Muzanira was declared winner of the by-election after getting 50,611 votes while Masiko got about 46,000 votes. Related VIDEO: Texas Officers Honor Officer Killed by Suspected Drunk Driver A Dallas police officer working on a funeral escort was reportedly struck and killed by a suspected drunk driver on Saturday morning, according to Fox News. The fallen officer has been identified as Senior Corporal Earl Jamie Givens, a 32-year veteran of the force. He had been part of the motorcycle unit since 2012. Givens was blocking an entrance ramp on Interstate 20 when an SUV struck him "at a high rate of speed," according to ODMP. Givens was reportedly conducting the escort for fellow officer Tyron Andrews who died from cancer. Officers assembled at Baylor University Medical Center to salute Senior Corporal Givens as he was transported from the hospital following his death. Its not just here in California and New York that climate change lawsuits are being dismissed. Over in Britain a similar lawsuit has just been dismissed: Environmental campaigners lose High Court battle over carbon target Environmental campaigners have lost their High Court challenge against the Government over its policy for tackling climate change. Charity Plan B Earth brought legal action against the Governments stance on the 2050 carbon target, set under the Climate Change Act 2008. The charity and 11 UK citizens aged nine to 79 including publisher Dame Carmen Callil wanted to bring a judicial review against Business Secretary Greg Clark over the policy. But Mr Justice Supperstone rejected Plan B Earths case on Friday, saying it was unarguable. . . But, refusing permission for a full hearing, Mr Justice Supperstone said Plan B Earths arguments were based on an incorrect interpretation of the Paris Agreement. He said: In my view the Secretary of State was plainly entitled to refuse to change the 2050 target at the present time. I do not consider it arguable that the Secretary of States refusal to amend the 2050 target is an unlawful exercise of his discretion. Discretion in the executive branch? Ahit seems the administrative state is just as strong on Britain as it is here. And as Trump is proving, live by executive power, die by executive power. Meanwhile, apparently the political class in Baltimore didnt get the memo from the federal judges who rejected the California and New York climate lawsuits: Baltimore joins cities filing climate change lawsuits against fossil fuel companies Baltimore on Friday became the latest city to file a lawsuit against oil and gas giants seeking to hold the companies financially responsible for contributing to global climate change. The city filed a suit challenging BP, Exxon, Shell Oil and 23 other oil and gas giants that do business in the city, accusing the companies of knowingly emitting harmful carbon dioxide pollution. The lawsuit, which seeks damages and legal penalties from the companies, cites eight alleged offenses including failure to warn the public and public nuisance. . . Fridays suit is the latest in a string of similar cases many of which have been promptly thrown out by courts that cities across the U.S. have filed challenging fossil fuel companies for knowingly contributing and profiting off of a product that directly contributes to climate change. The suit follows on the heels of a case dismissed by a federal judge in New York on Thursday evening. I guess Baltimore is doing such a great job fighting crime that they have time on their hands to save the world. Clearly someone should file one of these cases in Hawaii. A new poll of the West Virginia Senate race suggests that Sen. Joe Manchin is a shoe-in for reelection if he votes to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, but faces an extremely close race if he votes against confirmation. According to the survey, taken by the Trafalgar Group, West Virginia voters favor Manchin over Republican Patrick Morrisey by 29 points if Manchin votes for confirmation but by only two points if he votes the other way. The two point spread is within the polls margin of error. When likely voters were asked by Trafalgar whom they favor without any reference to the Kavanaugh vote, Manchin came out 10 points ahead. Manchins lead in the Real Clear Politics poll average is seven points. Im not sure I believe that Manchins vote on Kavanaugh will be quite as impactful as the Trafalgar poll indicates. However, if Manchins lead is somewhere between seven and ten points, its easy to believe that a no vote by Mancin on Kavanaugh would create a much closer race than the Senator wants and possibly a toss-up. Keep in mind too that, as the election approaches, stepped-up advertising in the state and/or visits by President Trump could drive up the cost of a vote by Manchin not to confirm. In January, a Gallup poll placed President Trumps approval rating in West Virginia at 61 percent. Since then, the presidents national numbers have improved, so his West Virginia approval rating is probably even higher than it was in January. Joe Manchin has always been popular in West Virginia, and remains so. However, I infer that West Virginia voters dont want to see significant distance between their senior Senator and their President on key issues. A vote to confirm Kavanaugh would signal the kind of relationship between the two that most West Virginia voters would like to see. A vote not to confirm would signal the opposite, and likely cause Trump to campaign vigorously against Manchin. Thus, it seems clear that, as things stand now, the smart move is for Manchin to vote in favor of Brett Kavanaugh, just as he voted in favor of Neil Gorsuch. And his Gorsuch vote shows that Manchin is willing to buck his party in these cases. Ive commented on two appalling aspects of Trumps Helsinki news conference his placing equal blame on the United States for the problematic state of RussianAmerican relations and his refusal to side with his own intelligence appointees on the matter of Russias cyberespionage. Andy McCarthy finds it even more mind-boggling that Trump touted Putins incredible offer to have Robert Muellers team come to Russia to work with Russian investigators regarding the dozen officers in Russias military-intelligence service indicted by Mueller. McCarthy explains: As a condition of so generously helping Mueller, Putin expects that our government would reciprocate by making available for questioning by Russian investigators officers of law enforcement and intelligence services of the United States, whom we believe have something to do with illegal actions on the territory of Russia. This is classic Putin. The former KGB agent takes every Western misstep as a precedent, to be contorted and pushed to maximum advantage. . . . Naturally, Putin expects us to help him investigate Bill Browder. . .Browder (who is British, though American born and educated) was the force behind both Magnitskys investigation and the sanctions legislation enacted in the U.S. and elsewhere in retaliation for Magnitskys murder legislation that has cost Putins cronies lots of money, and the regime lots of embarrassment. But thats not all: Two days after Helsinki, the Russian prosecutor general issued a list of Americans the Kremlin wants interrogated for illegal activities. The list includes Michael McFaul, the Obama administrations ambassador to Russia, and at least one former intelligence official. Memo to DOJ: Expect Russia to issue indictments and international arrest warrants soon as Putin said, its all about reciprocity. Yes, it is outrageous for Russia to demand investigative access to our diplomats and officials. But what did we expect was going to happen? After the president seemed to gush at Putins incredible offer that we assist each others investigations, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders was in no position to dismiss Russias proposal out of hand. Only when senior administration officials and Congress erupted in protest (with the Republican-controlled Senate quickly passing a 980 resolution in opposition) did the White House beat its retreat. First, though, the president made sure to invite Putin to come to Washington for another meeting in the fall. What could go wrong? The incredible deal that Putin proposed wont materialize. But the fact that Trump characterized Putins offer that way, and crowed about it as if this vindicates his diplomacy, is shocking. Putin and his associates are probably engaged in a lively debate over who is the bigger fool, Donald Trump or Barack Obama. Speaking of Obama, McCarthy reminds us that Trump is not the first president to be rolled by Putin. True. But each succeeding president has less excuse than his predecessor for being rolled. Bush was mistaken to see Putin as other than a thuggish tyrant opposed to our interests However, the record when Bush made his initial assessment wasnt conclusive. Obama was foolish to blame America for poor relations with Putin and to think that the relations could be reset by the push of a button, plus major U.S. concessions. But then, Putin had annexed part of Georgia. Yet, he had not yet annexed Crimea, intruded into Eastern Ukraine, or committed atrocities in defense of the Assad regime. Now that he has done all of this and more, there is no excuse for Trumps performance in Helsinki. I dont say Trump shouldnt have met with Putin. But to espouse Russian talking points after the meeting in what McCarthy calls a delusional quest for bromance with Vladimir Putin was a disservice to our nation. The BA Advertising, PR and Media programme is a full-time programme delivered wholly in English and franchised by Middlesex University with 12 highly practical modules. The programme is run in line with the principles and standards of quality by Middlesex and taught by accredited Vietnamese lecturers, media practitioners and international experts. The programme aims to train students to be fluent in English, good at media skills and knowledgeable about the Vietnamese society, says programme leader Van Vu. To achieve this objective, the AJC imported Middlesex Universitys programme with certain localisation where local case studies and examples are utilised to help the students understand the lesson in the specific context of Vietnam. In the academic year 2018-2019, the programme will admit 50 students who should meet the minimum English requirements and pass a capacity test. According to Dr Van Vu, maintaining the quality is a top priority. He said that students must achieve an IELTS score of at least 6.0 to be qualified for the programme; otherwise, they will have to study for one year to meet the English requirements. Middlesex University will be responsible for developing the programme, assuring the quality and awarding the degrees to the graduates while the AJC will do the job of recruiting the students, providing learning facilities and organising the lectures. 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 Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Corruption, poor public services, rising unemployment and expensive commodity prices are the main causes for the current wave of protests in Iraq, which started in Basra province before spreading to other provinces and cities in the south. Protesters stormed into the headquarters of government agencies and political parties. Many extremists set fires, threw stones at security forces, and blockaded the streets. The clashes between protesters and police forces left at least eight civilians dead and nearly 500 wounded, including hundreds of police officers. The wave of protests in Iraq is just the last straw, as the Middle Eastern nation has been experiencing so much turbulence and incidents. Despite once being a wealthy country in the region, Iraq has been immersed in constant waves of violence due to war, conflict, and terrorism, with infrastructure being devastated and the peoples lives faced by numerous difficulties. The protesters criticised that, since 2003, the shortages of electricity and water have seriously affected the lives of the people, especially during the hot summer in the Middle East. In the parliamentary election last May, the majority of voters did not cast their ballots in order to show dissatisfaction with the administration. In an effort to reassure protesters, Iraqi Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, has pledged to allocate a budget of US$3 billion to Basra province, while promising to increase budget spending for housing, services and schooling programmes in such an oil-rich but neglected region. Oil accounts for 89% of Iraqs budget revenues and 99% of the countrys export earnings. However, the sector only meets 1% of the employment demand of local labourers, while the remaining employment is open for foreigners. The unemployment rate in Iraq currently stands at 10.8%, with youth unemployment twice as high as that figure. With a production output of 4.55 million barrels a day, Iraq is the second largest crude oil producer in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), after Saudi Arabia. Such a large oil potential, with a proven reserve of more than 150 billion barrels, has made the distribution of black gold revenues a sensitive issue in Iraq. This country often falls into profound disputes and divisions concerning the distribution of the profits from oil. According to analysts, the wave of protests over recent days has shaken Iraq in the context that the cabinet of PM Al-Abadi is outgoing and political parties are conducting negotiations aiming to form a new coalition in the parliament in preparation for the establishment of a new government. From just the economic and social uncertainties, Iraq is in danger of falling into political turmoil, as protests turn into violence with no sign of calming down. After more than eight years since the Saddam Hussein regime was overthrown, followed by the fight against terrorism lasting for the past four years, Iraq has been seriously devastated. Despite claiming victory over the IS, the threat of terrorism remains a constant concern for the Baghdad administration. Iraq was not directly hit as the wave of protests of the Arab Spring swept through the region in 2011. But the recent developments suggest that if the deadlocks, turbulences, and underlying contradictions in society are not promptly resolved, it is quite possible that Iraq will face a similar hurricane in the near future. 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 Cos ask US treasury to discuss data localisation norms with Indian officials at all platforms the two countries would meet, including G-20, US-India Strategic Dialogue, and IMF Annual Meet. Major US multinationals operating in India have sought the help of the US treasury to ensure that strict local data storage norms of the Reserve Bank of India are watered down. Highly-placed sources said companies like Visa, Mastercard, American Express, PayPal, Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Amazon, as well as global banks, had several calls between themselves to form industry-level lobby groups opposing the RBIs data localisation guidelines. A few other powerful lobby groups such as the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, the Global Financial Markets Association, and the US-India Business Council are also working on behalf of the US companies to try and dilute local storage rules. Business Standard has learnt that the groups asked the US treasury to discuss the data storage issue with Indian officials at all platforms the two countries would meet, including the G-20, the US-India Strategic Dialogue, and the IMF Annual Meet. According to a Reuters report, finance ministry officials, in a meeting with RBI officials and payments industry representatives in June, offered data mirroring as an alternative to storing payments data exclusively in India. The RBI has remained non-committal and said a frequently asked questions (FAQ) section on the issue would address much of the apprehensions. The RBI on April 6 directed all payments service providers to make sure that the entire data relating to payment systems operated by them are stored in a system only in India to enable better monitoring through unfettered supervisory access to data stored. The circular gave companies six months, till October 15, to comply with the circular. The RBI has also called for an audited compliance report to be submitted before the end of this calendar year. The companies took up the issue at inter-government level when their lobbying with the central bank failed, and the RBI remained adamant on not even extending the deadline on its strict data storage norms, said sources. Besides, at a policy level, the US government is opposed to financial data localisation and has promoted the importance of free flow of data across borders in all of its multilateral trade and investment negotiations. According to US policies, data localisation prevents cross border flow of trade and delays routine business. Data localisation measures pose a significant problem for US firms doing business across borders, due to the importance of free-flowing data for digital trade, said a paper by the United States International Trade Commission. At a time when the US is imposing trade restrictions on countries, including India, the data localisation issue can make trade relations complicated between the two nations. Most of the US companies mentioned in the story did not respond to emails sent. Some replied back saying they wont be commenting. An email sent to the RBI also remained unanswered. However, a person familiar with the thinking of the RBI said the central bank was absolutely sure it didnt want to give up on its demand, no matter what the lobbying was. The government cannot technically order the RBI to water down the issue, but any such request is hard to ignore for the regulator. These are suggestions from the finance ministry, not an order, said the person. Tough Stance On April 6, the RBI directed all payments service providers to store their data only in India The deadline for compliance of data localisation norms is October 15 Payment companies also need to submit audited compliance report by the end of this year Major US firms failed to soften RBI stance, despite repeated pleas US companies have formed industry-level lobby groups to approach the US treasury US treasury officials requested Indian counterparts to dilute the RBIs stance FinMin has suggested mirroring data instead of exclusive storage But, RBI remains non-committal on the issue According to sources, India is justified in insisting on local data storage, but the bone of contention is keeping an exclusive access on the data. Even in the strictest cases, such as in Russia and China, specific data can be transferred but only after storing it first onshore. In Europe, the UK and Sweden are in favour of free flow of data, whereas others such as Germany and France strongly oppose it. The RBI maintains that it has every right to store the financial data of Indians. The RBI has no problem if the foreign leg of a cross-border transaction be stored overseas, but why would it allow sharing financial data of its citizens with other countries, said the person cited above. International payment and switch providers had earlier told Business Standard that the RBIs directive on data localisation would weaken its measures to prevent and trace global frauds and financial crimes. It would also serve as a roadblock to bringing new technology to India as well as impair innovation and data analytics. It would force all global players to reconsider their business models for the region, even causing some of them to close operations due to economic unfeasibility or conflict in regional privacy laws. In 2016, for example, the online payment company PayPal suspended its Turkish operations in response to a requirement that PayPal fully localise its information systems within Turkey. Photograph: Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters. Ola in India makes money on every ride. Our focus over the past couple of years has been to keep growing the market and our share in the market and build up on sustainable business, says co-founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal. After years of intense competition and burning millions of dollars, Indias ride-hailing giant Ola claims it has come out on top of its main competitor Uber and is now making a profit on every ride it offers in India. Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Bhavish Aggarwal said the company was operationally profitable and would soon become cash flow positive. Ola in India makes money on every ride. Our focus over the past couple of years has been to keep growing the market and our share in the market and build up on sustainable business, Aggarwal said at a fireside chat in Bengaluru on Friday. Turning a profit would essentially bring down the firms reliance on raising capital from investors to grow its business in the country and beyond. Ride hailing has been termed as one of the most capital intensive businesses. However, unlike more traditional companies, Aggarwal said Ola would not push to go public immediately after making a profit. The ambition for me and (co-founder) Ankit Bhati has always been to build a sustainable, long-term, independent business. And, in that direction, we are definitely going to IPO. Our goal is to aim for an IPO in the next three-four years, Aggarwal said. These comments come at a time when some of the early investors in Ola are looking for exits, both partial as well as full. The company has been in talks with Singapore-based Temasek Holdings to pick up shares on the secondary market. Mint reported on Friday that Temasek had bought shares worth $30 million from early and existing employees of Ola at a valuation of $2.5-3 billion. Business Standard could not ascertain if the deal had indeed been completed. By showing certainty over future plans, Aggarwal brushed off concerns that SoftBank, its largest investor, was trying to steer the company in a different direction. Sources in the know have said that the Japanese investor had asked Uber and Ola to consider a merger (SoftBank is also the largest shareholder in Uber). Talks reportedly fell apart after neither side was able to agree on any terms. We are probably among the few large Indian internet companies that are independent. SoftBank is a shareholder, they have a voice at the table, but thats only one voice. In the end, we do what the entire group of shareholders or stakeholders jointly feel is valuable, Aggarwal said at the event. In a valuation document that Business Standard had reviewed last year, Ola had said it would turn profitable by FY19, projecting to earn a profit of Rs 11.7 billion in that year. The document added that the firm would earn Rs 64.23 billion in profits by FY21, equating to almost $1 billion in projected profits. The valuation of the company according to that document stood at about $3.5 billion. Photograph: Shailesh Andrade/Reuters. A representative of the Confederation of ATM Industry said ATM players were not consulted about the move and they received the news via media platforms. The new Rs 100 notes will require a recalibration of 240,000 automated teller machines across the country, and the process will cost the industry about Rs 1 billion and take more than a year, said ATM operators. The Reserve Bank of India announced on Thursday it would soon release lavender-coloured Rs 100 notes bearing the signature of Governor Urjit Patel. The dimensions of the new banknote, according to the RBIs notification, would be 66 mm x 142 mm, significantly smaller than the existing one, which measures 73 mm x 157 mm. We believe the exercise of recalibration for new Rs 100 notes could cost over Rs 1 billion and take 12 months, Loney Antony, managing director, Hitachi Payment Services, said, adding the process could take longer if not managed well. A representative of the Confederation of ATM Industry said ATM players were not consulted about the move and they received the news via media platforms. This is the fifth new banknote size to be issued by the central bank since demonetisation in November 2016, and is different from the sizes of both Rs 200 and Rs 2,000. The production of the new notes has already started in Devas and will start in other mints as well, a senior government official said. The difference in dimensions of the old and new Rs 100 notes could pose a serious problem. There are four cassettes in every ATM. The different dimensions of the Rs 100 note will mean that two cassettes will be used for a single denomination, leaving only two cassettes for the higher denomination notes. This will reduce the cash carrying capacity of ATMs, said Sanjeev Patel, managing director, Tata Communications Payment Solutions. He added it would not only increase the cost of carrying cash for ATM operators but could also cause a cash crunch. Having learnt its lessons from previous experiences of cash shortages, the RBI, after consultation with the government, will go slow in rolling out the new, smaller Rs 100 notes. The pace of the roll-out depends on the demand for Rs 100 notes in various parts of the country, and it is one of the most demanded denominations. It also depends on the old Rs 100 notes, which come back to RBI chests. A lot of those notes will be put back into circulation. We dont want to extinguish them till there are enough of the new notes in circulation, an official said, adding the recalibration of ATMs would -09o*be a slow process and carried out in phases./ The ATM industry raised the possibility of a cash shortage if the supply of the new notes did not match the number of cassettes being recalibrated. There is a likelihood of an imbalance between the supply of the new notes and the withdrawal of the old notes, especially in the hinterland. If the supply of the new currency is unable to fill the gap created by the withdrawal of the old currency, the dispensation of Rs 100 notes through ATMs will get affected till such time as the imbalance exists, said Radha Rama Dorai, managing director, ATM & allied services, FIS, a payments service provider. The RBI started slow on new Rs 200 notes and has ramped up production in the last few months because of demand, and the same process would be followed for new Rs 100 notes, an official said. One of the key reasons for the cash crunch in April was the conversion of Rs 2,000 cassettes for new Rs 200 notes. The supply of Rs 200 notes is not enough. While some ATM operators have not recalibrated their cassettes, the ones that have recalibrated are suffering from empty cassettes, said an ATM operator. 'In one mansion we visited, I was told the doors in the back courtyard had to be kept closed because to have the front and back doors open at the same time would result in Chettiar wealth flowing away,' notes Rahul Jacob after a memorable visit to Karaikudi. Two hours from Madurai in Chettinad is the gracious hotel The Bangala at Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu. Photograph: Kind courtesy The Bangala/Facebook It is six months since I stayed at The Bangala, a small boutique hotel in Chettinad, and yet I remember it as if I had just awoken from a dream. The memories are of dining tables with silver cutlery, surrounded by staff, in white shirts and white lungis, carrying salvers and pressing more food upon hotel guests. Quail curry one moment, crab the next; The Bangala felt akin to being at the home of my Tamil grandmother, who awoke at dawn to prepare enormous feasts of idlis and chicken curry if we were visiting. A major reason for visiting The Bangala is to stuff your face with double meals of divine Chettinad food. Photograph: Kind courtesy The Bangala/Facebook The first dinner I ate at the Bangala with a group of friends began with a carrot soup, which was followed by two helpings of a delicious red cabbage and orange salad. After that, we had exceptionally light appams served with fish curry, cashew curry and a sambol. Between meals swimming in the hotel pool is key to building up an appetite for the next lip-smacking platter of Chettinad food at The Bangala. Photograph: Kind courtesy The Bangala/Facebook I ate with the abandon of a teenager on parole from boarding school. The plates were cleared and another waiter arrived offering us a Chettinad Chicken Biryani. One becomes quickly acclimatised to this strange custom at The Bangala of serving two dinners for the price of one, all the while feebly protesting and promising to eat less at the next meal. The Bangala is just one of the grand mansions in Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu, and the only hotel till The Park opens a Chettinad bungalow hotel next year in this town. Photograph: Kind courtesy The Bangala/Facebook And, so it went at breakfast, lunch and dinner for three days of unrestrained gluttony. Every meal was like being at an old-world Indian wedding rooted in the best of a local cuisine before 'live' pasta/dosa/galouti counters took hold. The hotel has one of India's better collection of books, procured from the iconic bookshop that used to be at the Connemara in Chennai. Photograph: Kind courtesy The Bangala/Facebook I have never accomplished less on a holiday than I did at The Bangala. We visited no temples and did very little sightseeing except to view the fantastically grand jumble of styles of nearby Chettinad mansions. Houses in Tudor, Victorian, Art Nouveau and Indo -- crumbling chic all sit side by side as if the town were a large-scale model for an accelerated course in architecture. I swam in the pool regularly, but largely to work up an appetite for the next meal. Can you miss tucking into The Bangala's Egg Appam? Photograph: Kind courtesy The Bangala/Facebook By day three, the octogenarian spirit behind The Bangala, Meenakshi Meyyappan, whose family owns it, had a quiet word with me. She was worried that I and "the boys" (my friend's sons in their 20s) weren't enjoying ourselves because we had done so little. Cookbook writer-actor Madhur Jaffrey learns about the storms cooked up in the kitchens of The Bangala. Photograph: Kind courtesy The Bangala/Facebook But erratic Wi-Fi in our wing of the 25-room hotel and epic dinners meant we had more time for conversation; I came to admire the eclectic interests of my friend's sons. One of them was interested in hilarious British Indian words from Hobson Jobson, the colonial-era dictionary that is a reminder of the khichdi that English is, with words like shampoo and indeed bungalow and kedgeree having Indian origins. Our favourite phrase was 'darwaza bandh' used by the major-domo when the memsahib and sahib did not wish to be disturbed. Tea time matches the dreamy pace of this laidback hotel. Photograph: Kind courtesy The Bangala/Facebook Meyyappan, 84, is a much more energetic memsahib than her colonial counterparts. She embarked on her career as a hotelier two decades ago when she was in her 60s, an age when the rest of us are winding down. She and a relative by marriage, Visalakshi Ramaswamy, who is responsible for the understated design of the property, were worried that Chettiars with ties to Karaikudi and the means to maintain 85-room villas were dwindling. Two decades on, their project to revive the region as a tourism destination seems about half complete. The octogenarian spirit behind The Bangala is Meenakshi Meyyappan, right, who owns it. Photograph: Kind courtesy The Bangala/Facebook 'My son tells me to take things day by day, but that is impossible for me. There is too much at stake,' Meyyappan told The New York Times last year. Even if you are a laidback underachiever as I am, witnessing the work ethic of this octogenarian, who now doubles as manager of the hotel after her long-time manager retired, is reason enough to visit. When I suggested a sturdy orthopaedic quadri-pronged walking stick was what she needed after hip surgery last year, she dismissed the idea with the vehement impatience of someone in a hurry. If you can get off your full bellies to go strolling in Karaikudi do visit the town's quaint Chettinad bungalows. Photograph: Kind courtesy The Bangala/Facebook On our last evening, I asked if she ever felt lonely living away from her family in Chennai. Her reply was matter-of-fact. After overseeing dinner at the hotel -- or rather ensuring that her guests had wildly overeaten while she dined on a small plate of curd rice -- she returned home tired to her family's stunning Art Nouveau mansion, with checker floors that look like they have been made for a chess game; she only had time for reading "biographies". I doubt there is a hotel in the country with a better collection of books, procured from the iconic bookshop that used to be at the Connemara in Chennai. Born in Bangalore and raised in colonial Ceylon, Meyyappan could probably run Chennai if she were younger. There is the melancholy of a town that looks to the past rather than to the future. Photograph: Kind courtesy The Bangala/Facebook Instead, she has focused her energies on helping put Karaikudi, an unremarkable two-hour drive from Madurai mostly through a harsh landscape of dry shrub, on the map by opening The Bangala and publicising its cuisine through an exceptional cookbook, The Bangala Table, published in 2014. A cast of international chefs have been visitors to the property. I was travelling with a Kiwi friend, a well-known chef, and soon got used to her tendency to lapse into a reverential silence at meal-times at The Bangala. Naptime and sleep are important at The Bangala to recover from the sumptuous meals. Photograph: Kind courtesy The Bangala/Facebook Still, helping India and the world discover Chettinad remains an uphill battle. The Chettiar community had a great run as bankers in colonial times in places such as Burma and Malaysia, but their genius as the equivalent of Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs of the 150-year colonial era now seems a mere historical curiosity. The Chettiars became celebrated carnivores on their long sojourns overseas; a barbecued fish recipe in the cookbook uses garlic chilli sauce, recalling the Nyonya cuisine of Malaysia rather than southern India. A revival of a sort is underway. The Chettiar community who built this town had a great run as bankers in colonial times, but their genius as the equivalent of Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs of the 150-year colonial era now seems a mere historical curiosity. Photograph: Kind courtesy The Bangala/Facebook A childhood friend of mine, Priya Paul of the Park Hotel group, piled suggestions upon me of what to do in and around Karaikudi. The Park is restoring a house that will be made into a 21-room and suites hotel and open in 2019. The group will open a large cafe there next month. But get lost, as we did one morning wandering the streets, and Karaikudi does not feel like a place about to pole-vault onto a list of '100 places to visit before you die' as, say, Fort Cochin did a couple of decades ago. This is part of Chettinad's charm. The guides tell you stories shot full of nostalgia and lost fortunes. I took no notes so may have this wrong but in one of the mansions we visited, I was told that the doors in the back courtyard had to be kept closed because to have the front and back doors open at the same time would result in even more Chettiar wealth flowing away. A slice of Chettinad charm. Photograph: Kind courtesy The Bangala/Facebook There is the melancholy of a town that looks to the past rather than to the future. Sidhpur in Gujarat, where the Bohra Muslims, a similarly globe-trotting trading community, built mansions in a very Italian style has much the same feeling. In Chettinad, one sees many wonders: Murano glass chandeliers brought from Italy, teak imported from Burma and used as handsome doors with carvings venerating Shiva and Vishnu. The tiling on the floors is one of a kind, like carpeting. The tile factory in Athangudi will leave most visitors fantasising about importing a truckload to redo their living room floors. The Bangala is packed with lovely moments of leisure and grace. Photograph: Kind courtesy The Bangala/Facebook But one also often sees large mansions that are darkened by soot, black mould and dust. We walked into one by mistake. The lady of the house had made a paltry business selling savoury snacks to tourists. In the gloom and squalor, I could see her husband understandably scowling at the intruders. What was once a grand mansion felt like a rundown house, like India in microcosm. The sights of Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu. Photograph: Kind courtesy The Bangala/Facebook The other problem is that Karaikudi is a thoroughly mofussil town, bypassed by industry and prospects. In such a setting, the grand mansions sometimes seemed a reminder, to paraphrase Joan Didion writing about grand houses in Newport built in the early 20th century by America's robber baron industrialists, of 'how prettily money can be spent', but also 'of how harshly money is made'. An irresistible breakfast. Photograph: Kind courtesy The Bangala/Facebook As admirable as the Chettiar community is today, there is a moral ambiguity to the narrative of Chettinad: Being financial intermediaries for the British in dealing with the small trader and farmer in places such as Burma, India and Malaysia must often have required being the very opposite of Robin Hood. Back at The Bangala, the ceaseless bustle of a kitchen out of a myth keeps such thoughts at bay. Return from sightseeing and you are rewarded with lunches on banana leaf that include crab curry, crab rasam, mutton apu kari, a pomegranate raita and several vegetable dishes. When I looked at my bill as I left, I thought I had been under-charged; lunch and dinner cost just Rs 1,000 each. After a day of sightseeing you are rewarded with lunches on banana leaf that include crab curry, crab rasam, mutton apu kari, a pomegranate raita and several vegetable dishes. Photograph: Kind courtesy The Bangala/Facebook We met families who had been coming back every year to The Bangala for more than a decade. My friends and I have already spoken about returning. It is an unusual hotelier who leaves guests with the illusion they are reclaiming an ancestral home. Against considerable odds, that is what Meenakshi Meyyapan's generosity has accomplished at The Bangala. Singapore is slated to bring in Singapore Variable Capital Company, a new legal entity which can be used as a vehicle for investment. SVACC is expected to simplify the process of redemption for open-ended funds. Singapore may usher in a new regime for offshore funds in the next few months, making it simpler to invest through the country. One of the chief beneficiaries of this will be Indian offshore funds operating out of Singapore. This change will also be a shot in the arm for offshore funds from the recently tagged high-risk jurisdictions such as Mauritius and Cayman Islands that are looking to re-route their investments through Singapore. The biggest change on the anvil is easier norms for investment through open-ended structures. Currently, the redemption process for open-ended funds is cumbersome. This has dissuaded entities from setting up offshore funds in Singapore. Open-ended funds allow investors to put in money and take it out when needed. Under the current regime, the process for redemption is inefficient as entities wanting to redeem have to draw up their accounts, get them audited, and provide a certificate stating that they are solvent. This often delays the redemption process. Singapore is slated to bring in Singapore Variable Capital Company, a new legal entity which can be used as a vehicle for investment. SVACC is expected to simplify the process of redemption for open-ended funds. It (SVACC) has been on cards for some time and will be operational by the end of this year or early next year, said a person familiar with the development. The requirement to provide an insolvency certification for open-ended funds will be done away with under this new entity, he added. At present, there are three options to set up investment funds in Singapore, which includes trusts, limited partnerships or companies under Singapores Companies Act. All these have limitations. For instance, trust structures cannot take the benefit of the India-Singapore tax treaty under existing norms. The enactment of SVACC is expected to enhance Singapores competitiveness as a domicile for investment funds and re-domicile foreign corporate funds to the country. The variable capital structure will allow entry and exit into funds and ensure privacy, allowing for easy distribution of capital and profits, said Girish Vanvari, founder, Transaction Square, a tax consultancy. According to a report by PwC, the new regime will bring in a customised corporate structure that dispenses with elements of Singapores existing company law that is not conducive to investment funds. A corporate form fund could be set up as an open-ended or as a close-ended fund, and used for mutual fund-type strategies meant for retail investors, or as alternative investment fund strategies for sophisticated investors. Today, most offshore funds opt for closed-ended structures or create a feeder fund in jurisdictions such as Cayman Islands which invests in India through Singapore special purpose vehicles, or SPVs. In the case of the latter, the open-ended structure operates at the Cayman level, letting investors come in and go out as desired. Investments in the Singapore entity, however, remain stable, with little or no redemption. The key disadvantage of these feeder structures is the uncertainty surrounding their compliance from an Indian tax standpoint. Base erosion and profit shifting, or BEPS, refers to tax avoidance strategies that exploit gaps and mismatches in tax rules to artificially shift profits to low or no-tax locations. Mauritius, Cyprus, Cayman Islands, UAE and China are among 25 high-risk jurisdictions recently identified by global banks and act as custodians for offshore funds. This, experts believe, may force existing offshore funds from high-risk jurisdictions to migrate to Singapore. Photograph: Tim Chong/Reuters 'The entire swathe of Internet trolls -- who now apparently serve as the ideological brains-trust of the BJP -- would have looked at each other in puzzlement, thinking: What kind of warning is that?' says Mihir S Sharma. We are now a very angry country. In fact, we're so angry, so often, about so many different things that it can be hard to keep track. It is therefore no doubt my own fault that I am completely and utterly mystified by the fury being expressed at Shashi Tharoor's warning that the Bharatiya Janata Party might, if allowed to, 'turn India into a Hindu Pakistan'. Even by the standards of Indian news television, this seems to me to not be sufficiently astounding a statement to merit the usual line-up of boot-licking anchors, apoplectic spokesmen and ominous background music. And, oddly, most of the anger was not at Tharoor's accusation against the BJP. It is now generally accepted, even celebrated that the BJP's programme is hardcore Hindutva in a way that was alien to the BJP of Vajpayee's time. No, the anger seemed directed at the phrase itself. Something about it was wrong -- was a 'contradiction in terms', as one anchor complained. What does the phrase 'Hindu Pakistan' imply, anyway? It contains in it the following assumptions. First, that Pakistan was formed as a home for a particular religious community, in a way that India was not. Second, that something in the nature of Pakistan's formation or history has caused it to lose its way -- to flirt with failure as a State, to mistreat its minorities, to silence its liberals. And third, that such could happen in India if it forgets its founding principles and those things in its history that set it apart from its neighbour. So, I ask again, what on earth is there in these assumptions that is objectionable? I have in fact heard objections to the phrase 'Hindu Pakistan' before, but not from the Hindu right. Some argue that using the phrase as a warning minimises the degree to which the treatment of minorities, for example, in India now mirrors that in Pakistan. I myself do not hold this view, and believe there is ample evidence to justify my belief that we are still doing better than Pakistan in this respect. Yet, I know several Indians who, in spite of being familiar with the situation of religious minorities in Pakistan, are convinced it is worse in India. However, this is not, I suspect, what animates the BJP's anonymous Internet trolls and its official spokespeople -- two tribes that are rapidly becoming indistinguishable. It seems what actually has caused this indignation is two-fold. First, that anyone could dare claim that Pakistan has struggled in so many ways because of the primacy it has given to religion. It is clear to them that Pakistan's struggles are not because it has never given secular liberalism a real chance, but because it is a Muslim-majority country. Ergo, nothing can happen to India if it abandons the threadbare remnants of its commitment to secular liberalism, since it is a Hindu-majority country. It's Islam that is the problem. This belief also causes the appalled fury that greets every mention of the phrase 'saffron terror'. For them, terrorism is a phenomenon that is inherently Islamic. The mobs roaming our countryside stringing up Muslims in the name of cow protection are not, of course, indulging in terrorism. They are merely acting in anticipation of the law. So, yes, everyone who objects to Tharoor's phrasing is, in essence, the worst kind of illiberal bigot. But then, you already knew that. The second aspect of this anger is essentially at Tharoor for actually pointing out the plan to become a religious State, and comparing it dismissively with Pakistan. We should actually welcome the notion of becoming a religious State, in other words. We have progressed so far that a commitment to a Hindu Rashtra is taken for given, and must not be challenged or demeaned in these terms. The BJP is no longer apologetic or furtive about it; it has reached that phase of its dominance where it wishes to silence objectors. Ah, if only Tharoor had said 'We might become a Hindu Israel' instead, he would have run into no such trouble. Those who agree with him that liberalism and secularism are important would have nodded gravely at the warning about religion cannibalising the State, while the entire swathe of Internet trolls -- who now apparently serve as the ideological brains-trust of the BJP -- would have looked at each other in puzzlement, thinking: What kind of warning is that? Locking up Muslims in small enclaves, ensuring that Muslim members of the polity are suspect and cannot rise beyond a certain level, giving control of the State to a unique national religious tradition -- what's wrong with that? Sounds like a plan. 'The biggest winner of the day was Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan who ran her ship with self-confidence and aplomb, says Sudhir Bisht. The Modi Sarkar subjugated the divided Opposition by a score of 325-126 in a 12 hour match on July 20 in a game called the 'No-Confidence Motion'. The result was easy to predict, but what is heartening is the fact that the Lok Sabha functioned for one full day with nearly all members in attendance. I sat glued to the television from start to finish and I give my assessment of the best and worst performers of the day. IMAGE: Speaker Sumitra Mahajan conducts proceedings in the Lok Sabha. Photograph: PTI photo The biggest winner of the day was Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan who ran her ship with self-confidence and aplomb. She was undoubtedly the biggest star of the day. I would like to remind Rediff readers here that I wrote in December 2016 that the Speaker and the Vice-President must share the blame if any Parliamentary session is washed out. I am happy that the Lok Sabha Speaker took it upon herself to see the motion was put to vote smoothly. She played the role of a pacifier who assuaged the hurt feelings of some members and she roared like a tigress when some members tried to disrupt the House. The way she managed to subdue Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of the Indian National Congress, was remarkable. When Kharge didn't pay heed her repeated requests to conclude his speech, she gave permission to the next member to speak. As a befuddled Kharge appeared distraught, Speaker Mahajan gave him a final one minute to conclude. To his credit, the veteran Congress leader took the hint and concluded his speech almost immediately. It was a master move by the Speaker. She showed the House who the boss was and by letting Kharge complete his speech, she gave a message that she could melt too, but only if she wanted to. I think that is the only way Parliament can function in a productive way. The way she handled the forced hugging of Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi by a hyper-excited Rahul Gandhi was a class act too. She reproached the Congress president, but qualified that by saying that her observations were in her capacity as a mother-like figure and not as Speaker of the House. The second big winner was Prime Minister Modi who turned the no-confidence motion debate into a campaign for the next Lok Sabha election. With the entire nation watching him, he proved yet again that as a debater he is unmatched. There is no leader in the Opposition ranks who can come anywhere near him in oratory. The sequencing of the parts of his speech, the references that he picks, the pauses that he takes, the little dance movements of his very large fingers, the modulation of his voice, the clinching of his fists, the occasional clap of his right palm with his left index finger and the rich baritone that God has bestowed upon him make him the best-ever debater in the Parliamentary history of India, on par with Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Modi used his time on television to demoralise the Opposition by telling them that they should come back with the same motion towards the fag end of the next Lok Sabha in 2024. He was able to sow the seeds of disunity in the Opposition by praising Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. He was able to send the message to people of Andhra Pradesh that he stood by them even as their gullible chief minister was playing in the hands of Jaganmohan Reddy of the YSR Congress. Modi also destroyed the reputation of the Congress party by giving several references from the past when Congress propped up certain groups to power only to dump them after a while. The third big winner was Home Minister Rajnath Singh. The HM has often played second fiddle to Modi in the Lok Sabha and to Amit Anilchandra Shah outside Parliament. Far too often he has been reduced to a figurehead who could only utter hackneyed phrases like 'kadi ninda (strong condemnation)' when confronted by journalists on the killings of our soldiers in Kashmir. The fact his ministry has a great track record in fighting Maoist terror groups is seldom mentioned in the media- -- mainstream or social. The no confidence motion gave Rajnath Singh -- MSc (physics) from Uttar Pradesh -- to come into his own. The fact that he had prepared his speech very well was clear to all as he spoke with confidence and complete ease. He referred to written notes only when he had to give out numbers and he largely spoke extempore. He spoke about the government's achievements in all fields. From job creation to the rising GDP and to the ease of doing business, the HM spoke for 56 minutes, covering issues like the funds that have been released to Andhra Pradesh. Rajnath Singh finally gave a speech that was expected from a man of his stature. His speech must have warmed the hearts of many in Uttar Pradesh. IMAGE: TDP MP Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu speaks in the Lok Sabha on the no-confidence motion, July 20, 2018. Photograph: PTI Photo The fourth big winner, according to me and this could surprise many readers, is Ram Mohan Naidu K, the young MP from Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh. By the time Ram Mohan's turn to speak arrived, many had forgotten the name of the party that had moved the no-confidence motion. The motion was moved by Ram Mohan's party colleague Jayadev Galla, but the speakers after that didn't mention Andhra Pradesh much in their addresses, for or against the motion. Ram Mohan was able to bring the focus back to Andhra, but he wasn't parochial in his approach in a crass manner. When he demanded funds for his state, he gave examples of other states to whom funds were released in the past. The content of his speech was crisp and concise. He spoke about the need for creation of a railway zone in Visakhapatnam with facts and figures. He reminded the ruling party of Modi's promise to build a new capital city in the new Andhra Pradesh that would be better than the capital of India. He spoke of the need for the Metro rail project and wondered if Delhi and Mumbai could have a high speed freight corridor, then why couldn't Vizag and Chennai have one too? He made comparisons with other states and his comparisons were not outlandish. The important part of Ram Mohan's speech was that he spoke extempore and spoke in chaste Hindustani. This made his speech comprehensible to millions of Indians who don't understand English. He was able to put the zing back in the TDP motion. I would rate his speech as one of the best speeches on the day and I wonder why this first-time MP was not given the opportunity to open the debate in place of Jayadev Galla. Ram Mohan Maidu K is one MP to watch out in times to come. A big loser was the man who opened the debate in the Lok Sabha at 11:18 am. Jayadev Galla, the man who has declared his assets to be worth Rs 600 crores (Rs 6 billion) in an affidavit, spoke for 58 minutes. His speech was centered on Andhra Pradesh as if the Republic of India was confined to the state boundaries of Andhra Pradesh. Galla has a degree in economics and political science from University of Illinois and speaks with a clipped accent. His English is fine, but his reading out a long speech straight from a paper, without looking up even once, was uninspiring. A long speech can be made interesting by sprinkling it with some humour. But Galla's speech was like the renditions of Devdas, pining for his Chandramukhi. Galla was not shy of dueling with Speaker Mahajan, with a shadow of arrogance and belligerence when she asked him to stick to his time schedule. A member who was given nearly 55 minutes to open the debate was not asking for an extension of time with humility, but was demanding it as a matter of his right. Not a very gracious sight, I say. Another big loser was Dinesh Trivedi of the Trinamool Congress. Ordinarily, Trivedi is a reasonably good speaker who doesn't succumb to a form-over-content style of speaking. But on the debate on July 20, he was unimpressive in form as well as in content. He started out with a rather unintelligent jibe that his request for postponement of the date of the debate wasn't acceded to. He informed the House that his party celebrates July 21 as 'Martyr's Day' and he and his MPs had wished to be in Bengal on that day and hence he had requested that the debate be taken up on July 23. He went to say how not agreeing to his request proved that the hovernment had a wide chest, but a small heart. Trivedi didn't stop at that as he took a crack at the ruling party and said it knows nothing about martyrdom. 'Aap ka kabhi palla nahin pada hoga (you may never have had any cause to deal with it),' Trivedi said. Upon checking with my friends from Bengal, I learnt that July 21 is commemorated as 'Martyr's Day' in remembrance of the shooting of 13 Youth Congress workers in police firing on July 21, 1993. That agitation was led by the present chief minister of Bengal, Mamata Banerjee. Dinesh Trivedi for me is a surprise loser on the debate. His speech was full of rhetoric, aimed at pleasing the TDP in anticipation of buying its support to prop up Mamata Banerjee as one of the contenders for the leadership of a united Opposition, as and when that elusive unity is achieved. Another entity that lost out was the group of 18 Biju Janta Dal MPs who walked out minutes before the debate. I can understand the predicament of these MPs. They don't want to be seen supporting the government led by the BJP, a party that is taking them on, with all guns blazing in the state politics of Odisha. They also don't want be seen standing with the Opposition whose fulcrum remains the dilapidated Indian National Congress, which is still the second largest party in the Odisha assembly. But they should have participated in the debate and put forth their points of view. Their leader, Bhartruhari Mahtab, could have spoken on key issues of governance, fund allocation and Centre-state relations. The biggest loser in the debate was not the TDP, the party that introduced the motion and lost. The party with all the egg on its face is the Shiv Sena whose 18 MPs stood outside the House only to announce that they would not attend Friday's Lok Sabha session. It was as if 18 schoolboys in a class had decided to mass-bunk an examination because they were not prepared for it. The voters of Maharashtra would surely get an impression that the Shiv Sena MPs are neither with the NDA nor with the Opposition, nor do they want to go solo. They always seem to be in a state of bargaining and negotiation with the main power blocs. Not a very good picture of the representatives of a state that has the highest GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product) in India. IMAGE: In this combo of four photographs is seen Congress President Rahul Gandhi as he hugs Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi after his speech in the Lok Sabha on the no-confidence motion, July 20, 2018. Photograph: PTI Photo I have deliberately not included Rahul Gandhi's speech in my analysis as I personally feel that Rahul made an impressive speech but wasted it all by the theatrics of a fake embrace of the man who is a thorn in the side of the Congress party. His wink after the embrace took away the innocence factor from Rahul Gandhi's behaviour. It is a matter of concern that the oldest national party is stuck with Rahul Gandhi at the helm. Finally, let me come to the mother of all questions in the domain of art and craft of public oratory in Parliament. Is there any MP who can take on Narendra Damodardas Modi in a Hindi debate? Yes, there is one. And she sits two seats away from Modi, but fortunately for the party, she is on the same side. Sushma Swaraj, take a bow! I wish you had spoken and mesmerised us with your oratory. Sudhir Bisht, PhD, author and columnist, tweets at @sudhir_bisht 'Modi has shown political courage by instituting several economic reforms which include demonetisation, ushering in GST, eradication of benami transactions...' IMAGE: Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Indira Gandhi's eldest grandchild, hugs Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi during the no-trust debate in the Lok Sabha, July 20, 2018. Photograph: PTI Photo A Stormy Interlude could perhaps be among the most dramatic titles for a book written on Indira Gandhi so far. Former Union home secretary Dr Madhav Godbole wrote a book in Marathi on Indira Gandhi to commemorate her birth centenary in 2017. It was published under the title Indira Gandhi: Ek Wadali Parva (A Stormy Interlude) last year. Its more comprehensive study in English, Indira Gandhi: An Era of Constitutional Dictatorship, was published last month to coincide with the declaration of the Emergency in June 1975. Dr Godbole presented a copy of the book to Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi on June 22. The book brings out how Indira Gandhi -- who served as prime minister for 16 years -- would be judged by history in terms of her impact on the social, political and economic life of the country. Dr Godbole served the country for 33 years as an IAS officer before resigning as home secretary after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992. The author of several books and an important voice on the India of today, he discussed the decisions made by Mrs Gandhi that continue to affect the nation to this day, the stormy interlude of the Emergency imposed by her and the similarities and differences with Narendra D Modi in an e-mail interview with Rediff.com's Archana Masih. Why did you want to write a book on Indira Gandhi? Dilip Majgaonkar of Rajhans Prakashan, Pune, a well known Marathi publishing house, had requested me to write a book on Indira Gandhi to commemorate her birth centenary in 2017. The book brings out the positives and negatives of her long years in office and what it has meant for the public life in the country. In a sense, it is the first draft of history. Do you remember your first meeting with her? I did not work with her directly and had no occasion to interact with her, but I worked for three-and-a-half years on the personal staff of Y B Chavan who was home and finance minister in her government. I also worked as secretary to the chief minister of Maharashtra during the Emergency when S B Chavan was chief minister. I negotiated a loan from the World Bank for fertiliser projects, which were mired in controversy because of the (Ottavio) Quattrochi angle, when I was working in the department of economic affairs. I had interacted closely with several officers and public figures who worked for Indira Gandhi. These impressions and recollections form critical inputs in the book. What was it like for bureaucrats who worked under her? Her close advisors, among officers, were all Kashmiri Pandits, often known as 'Panch Pandavas' -- P N Haksar, D P Dhar, P N Dhar, T N Kaul and R N Kao. Others like I G Patel who saw her at close quarters have often written critically about her style of working. So has P N Dhar who was secretary to prime minister. She was a strong advocate of 'committed bureaucracy' and expected intense personal loyalty. She frowned on the concept of an independent, apolitical, civil service. The present woes of the civil service are largely her legacy. What kind of a leader was she? She was a ruthless, authoritarian and inscrutable leader who was suspicious of everyone around her. She demolished the internal democracy within her own party. Even state chief ministers used to be chosen by her. She reshuffled her Cabinet any number of times. It was one woman rule. She established family dynasty, without any scruples. First, it was Sanjay who was declared as her heir. After his death, it was Rajiv. The highlights of her prime ministership were bank nationalisation, the victory in 1971, the Emergency, Operation Blue Star -- which of these has affected India most? The impact adversely or positively that is continued to be felt today? Each one of these events have left their scars behind which have become more pronounced over the years. As she herself told I G Patel, who was secretary, economic affairs, bank nationalisation was a purely political decision. The politicisation of the banking structure and the crony capitalism it has generated has transformed India into a banana republic. Successive bank scams and huge recurring burden of non-performing assets are bleeding the budgets year after year. After defeating Pakistan in the Bangladesh war, an excellent opportunity was squandered away during the Simla talks with Pakistan by not settling the Kashmir dispute. Operation Bluestar was totally avoidable and showed how several opportunities for settling the Punjab problem were lost. The Emergency was the climax of her regime in which all democratic institutions were devalued and the rule of law was trampled. The worst part was that Indira Gandhi refused to take any responsibility for all the misdeeds, injustices and excesses. After she came back to power in 1980, she ordered the withdrawal of the Shah Commission report on Emergency excesses and had its copies destroyed. Series of reports of other commissions of inquiry appointed by the Janata (Party) government which had indicted her regime were consigned to the archives. The million dollar question of how to punish Indira Gandhi for her wrongdoings in the Emergency remained unanswered. As I have argued in the book, the only way she could have been punished was to disfranchise her from contesting and voting in elections for a period of 12 years, by passing a special legislation for the purpose. If she had not ridden rough shod over the higher judiciary, India's Constitution would have been quite different today. For example, the powers of selection of high court and Supreme Court judges would not have been taken over by the Supreme Court to itself. The court would not have laid down the Laxman Rekha of basic structure for delimiting the powers of Parliament to amend the Constitution. Strength of democracy lies in its institutions. Indira Gandhi weakened and devalued all of them. This is her devastating legacy. IMAGE: Then prime minister Indira Gandhi with her younger son Sanjay Gandhi Many say there are similarities between Mrs Gandhi and Mr Modi, how are they similar? They are unmistakably alike in their style of functioning. Both being leaders with mass appeal, charisma and all India following. It needs to be noted that in most Western democracies, it is seen that there is effectively prime ministerial form of government in which the lead in all matters is given by the prime minister. Cabinet form is only in name. And so has it been in India. But the similarity between Indira Gandhi and Modi ends there. Modi has been scrupulously honest. His personal integrity is beyond doubt, while Indira Gandhi institutionalised corruption. She had laid the foundations of family dynasty. Modi has no family at all! As I have brought out in my book, though Indira Gandhi had two-thirds majority not only in Parliament but most state legislatures which would have enabled her to get the Constitution amended as required, she deliberately did not take any action on five major issues confronting the country at the time, namely electoral reforms, giving a decisive blow to the politics of defections, appointment of Lokpal, dealing with black money, and separation of religion from politics. The manner in which a series of ill thought out Constitutional amendments were carried out showed that it was purely majoritarianism at work. Modi, on the other hand, has shown political courage by instituting several economic reforms which include demonetisation, ushering in of goods and services tax, increasing the pace of divestment from public sector enterprises, eradication of benami transactions, enacting a code of bankruptcy, making a beginning of privatisation of coal mines, and so on. * China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Friday (July 20) decided to upgrade their bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership. The decision was made as visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with UAE Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. * Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said on July 20 that his country is open to a new meeting between President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump. * British Prime Minister Theresa May issued a defiant message Friday to the European Union over one of the biggest stumbling blocks in the Brexit negotiations, the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. May said she had put forward her blueprint for a trading relationship with the EU after Britain ends its membership of the bloc next March. * The European Union (EU) has settled 80 percent of the withdrawal agreement with Britain, EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier told reporters on July 20. * The German government is not convinced by British proposals for a new relationship between the European Union (EU) and Britain after the country leaves the bloc, Germany's Europe minister Michael Roth (SPD) told the public broadcaster ZDF on July 20. * Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Friday that he is still considering whether to run for a third term as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). * The first batch of the rebels and their families left Syria's southern province of Quneitra on Friday as part of a deal for the full withdrawal of rebels from that area near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, according to the state news agency SANA. * More than 1.7 million Syrian refugees may return to their places of permanent residence in the near future, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday. * Turkey and the Netherlands have decided to normalize bilateral relations and reinstate ambassadors after more than one year of diplomatic row. The Hague and Ankara simultaneously declared decision to normalize diplomatic relations on Friday after an agreement was reached in a phone call between Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Dutch counterpart Stef Blok. * The Russian Armed Forces received over 600 new weapons in the second quarter of this year, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on July 20. * The Hungarian parliament adopted the 2019 budget on July 20, aimed at guaranteeing Hungary's security, according to Finance Minister Mihaly Varga. The defense budget will increase by about 263 million to about 1.57 billion, or more than 1.16 percent of GDP. * At least five Abu Sayyaf militants and a soldier have been killed in most recent clashes between government forces and the terrorist group in the southern Philippines, military officials said on July 20. * At least eight police personnel and 18 Taliban militants have been killed in two separate clashes in Afghanistan's northern province of Kunduz, authorities said on July 20. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday dismissed opposition attempts at unity as an opportunity for the Bharatiya Janata Party and mocked Congress president Rahul Gandhi for hugging him in Parliament, virtually calling it clingy behaviour. At a farmer's rally, on his third visit to politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, Modi questioned the motive behind the no-confidence motion moved by the opposition in the Lok Sabha. "Hum karan poochtey rahe avishvas ka, karan nahi bata payey to gale pad gaye," he said. Roughly translated, the phrase conveyed unwanted clingy behaviour: "We kept asking the reasons for their no confidence, they failed to answer but clung to my neck." The reference was to Rahul Gandhi's gesture yesterday during the debate walking up to the prime minister's seat in the Lok Sabha and giving him an unreciprocated hug. Modi also played with words to assert that the Bharatiya Janata Party's election symbol -- the lotus -- will rise from the mud in the 2019 general election. "If one dal (party) is added to another dal, then it becomes dal-dal (muck), which is favourable for the 'kamal' to bloom," he said, in an apparent reference to the opposition's unity attempts. Modi said the opposition's bid to join hands is an opportunity for the BJP. During his nearly 45-minute speech, Modi said the opposition was merely running after the prime minister's post while ignoring the poor, the youth and farmers. "Are you satisfied with what happened in Lok Sabha?" he asked the people at the rally in Uttar Pradesh's sugarcane belt. "Have you come to know who is at fault? They are not looking at the poor and the country but have their eyes only on the PM's chair," he said. "Have I done anything wrong? I am only working for the poor and the country, fighting corruption and this is my crime," the prime minister said. Accusing the previous governments of lacking the will to help farmers, Modi listed the decisions taken by his government for them. It was for the first time in the country, he said, that a government has decided to allow mills to produce ethanol from molasses and sugarcane juice. Modi said the government has hiked the fair and remunerative price of sugarcane by Rs 20 to Rs 275 per quintal for the 2018-19 marketing year, which begins in October. Shahjahanpur is the biggest wholesale grain market and a prominent sugarcane growing district in Uttar Pradesh. This was his third visit to the state which sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha in less than a month. Barely a week ago, he addressed rallies in Varanasi, Azamgah and Mirzapur. A large number of farmers from adjoining districts of Hardoi, Lakhimpur Kheri, Pilibhit, Sitapur, Bareilly and Badaun attended Saturday's rally, Modi's first public address after his party won the no-trust vote. "We kept telling them that people's mandate is supreme in democracy and it will prove costly for them to go against it. But it looked that they were obsessed to teach a lesson to Modi and remove him," he said. He said the real power in a democracy rested with the 125 crore people of the country and the Constitution. The prime minister said he had understood the opposition party's designs and will not allow them to succeed even if the 'bicycle' (the Samajwadi Party's election symbol) teamed up with the 'elephant' (Bahujan Samaj Party). Without taking names, he recalled former Congress prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's infamous admission of corruption in the system, when his party was in power from the panchayat to Parliament. "Which was that 'panja' (a reference to the hand symbol of the Congress) which made one rupee turn into 15 paise," he said. "We have found a way out and with the help of technology. The money is now directly going into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries," Modi said. Elaborating on the his government's welfare schemes, he said 18,000 villages have been electrified and rued that even this move was condemned by some people. "If villages remained in darkness even 70 years after Independence, who was responsible? We have decided that all households will have electricity by 2019," he said. "We are trying to get your houses electrified but they are moving about in Parliament with the chit of no-confidence," he said. Modi also hailed the efforts of Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh over the past year, saying it has won the trust of the people. Rahul Gandhi has seriously hurt image of Indian politician before the world: Jaitley Accusing Rahul Gandhi of "concocting" a conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, Union Minister Arun Jaitley said the Congress president has seriously hurt the image of an Indian politician before the world at large. Participating in the debate on 'no-confidence motion' in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi said that Macron told him that there was no binding secrecy clause in the Rafale deal. The statement was denied by the French government. "Rahul Gandhi, by concocting a conversation with President Macron, has lowered his own credibility and seriously hurt the image of an Indian politician before the world at large," Jaitley said in a Facebook post. The minister also hit out at the Congress president accusing him of trivialising the no-confidence motion debate stressing "facts are always sacrosanct". "None should ever trivialise the debate. Those who desire to be prime minister never blend ignorance, falsehood and acrobatics." In the post titled "Frivolity and the No Confidence Motion", Jaitley said the lead participants in the debate are normally senior political leaders. They are expected to raise the level of political discourse. "A Vote of No Confidence against the Government is a serious business. It is not an occasion for frivolity," he said. The minister said if a participant in the debate happens to be a president of a national political party nourishing prime ministerial aspirations, every word he speaks should be precious. His facts should convey credibility. Stating that Gandhi missed a great opportunity, Jaitley said "if this was his best argument for 2019, God help his party". Attacking Gandhi, Jaitley said his lack of understanding is not only confined to basic issues but also to the niceties of protocol. "One should never misquote a conversation with a Head of Government or a Head of State. You do it once, serious people will be reluctant to speak to you or speak in your presence," the minister said. On Gandhi's accusation about secrecy of the Rafale fighter jet deal, Jaitley said the UPA government itself had entered into the secrecy pact. "Rahul has repeatedly shown that he is ignorant of facts. But to insist on disclosure of financial details, which indirectly involves the disclosures of the strategic equipment on the aircraft, is to hurt national interest. Cost gives away a clue to the weaponry in the aircraft," Jaitley said. He said there is no minister who either desires to change or is constitutionally entitled to change the Constitution of India. Referring to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Jaitley said the last Indian politician who wanted the power to change the Constitution was Rahul's grandmother and "she too failed". Taking a dig at Gandhi, he said hallucinations can give momentary pleasure to a person. "Therefore, to hallucinate after an embarrassing performance that he has won future election or to hallucinate that he is the reincarnation of Mark Antony being complemented by friends and foes alike, may give him self-satisfaction but for serious observers it is more than just self-praise in fact a serious problem. "Even in dynasties many successors remind you of the virtues of their predecessors. Yesterday, I reread two of Panditji's (former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru) legendary speeches -- Tryst with Destiny' and Light has gone out of Lives', Jaitley said. A man was allegedly lynched in Rajasthan's Alwar district by a group of people who accused him of smuggling cows, police said. Akbar Khan, 28, and his friend Aslam were taking two cows to their village in Haryana through a forested area near Lalawandi in Alwar district on Friday night when five men attacked them, Ramgarh police station station house officer Subhash Sharma said. They suspected that Khan was smuggling cows but the allegation is yet to be verified, Sharma said. The police arrested two men, even as Rajasthan chief Minister Vasundhara Raje promised stern action in the case. The opposition Congress called it a horrific incident, which comes a little over a year after another Muslim man, Pehlu Khan, was allegedly killed by cow vigilantes. Akbar narrated the incident to policemen who arrived at the spot. He died on the way to a government hospital in Ramgarh. Akbar's family members have demanded quick action in the case. "We want justice. The culprits should be arrested soon," his father Suleman said. The police have registered a case of murder. Jaipur range Inspector General Hemant Priyadarshi said two of the accused, Dharmendra Yadav and Paramjeet Singh Sardar, have been arrested, According to the victim's last statement, he was thrashed by five people, the official said. Others involved in the attack will be arrested soon, he said at a press conference. He said Khan and his friend Aslam had reportedly purchased the cows from Ladpur village and were taking them to Kolgaon in Nuh district in Haryana when they were beaten up. Khan's friend Aslam escaped from the mob, and his statement was yet to be recorded, police said. Prima facie, Khan died due to internal injuries and it was under investigation whether he and Aslam had any past record of cow smuggling, Priyadarshini said. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje condemned the lynching. "The incident of alleged lynching of a person transporting bovines in Alwar district is condemnable. Strictest possible action shall be taken against the perpetrators," she said. But opposition leaders criticised her government for failing to stop such attacks. Congress general secretary Ashok Gehlot termed the incident horrific. He said the man was lynched despite the Supreme Court's warnings. Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot too blamed the BJP government, saying killing of people on "suspicion" is sadly becoming a norm in Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states. He said Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh's words in Parliament on Friday that it was the state governments' responsibility to stop incidents of mob lynching seemed even more hollow now. Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said he condemns mob lynching but added that this was wasn't an isolated incident. "You have to trace this back in history to know why does this happen and who should stop this? What happened with Sikhs in 1984 was the biggest mob lynching of this nation's history," he said, referring to the anti-Sikh riots that year. In April last year, Pehlu Khan, a dairy farmer, was lynched by cow vigilantes in Alwar district when he was transporting cattle to his village in Haryana. The mob suspected that Pehlu Khan was smuggling cows. He died two days after being attacked. Also in Alwar district, 35-year-old mar Khan was found dead near the railway tracks in November. His family members alleged he was killed by cow vigilantes. On Tuesday, the apex court said "horrendous acts of mobocracy" cannot be allowed to overrun the law of the land. It had asked Parliament to consider enacting a new law to deal with incidents of mob lynching. Claiming that the Trinamool Congress would win all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal in the next general elections, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said that her party would oust the Bharatiya Janata Party to save the country. IMAGE: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee addresses a rally in Kolkata. Photograph: Kind courtesy @AITC/Twitter She said the BJP's strength would drastically reduce in the next LS polls. "We will win all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state. It is our pledge. We will oust the BJP to save the country. We will organise a big rally here in January and invite all the (opposition) leaders," she said at the TMC's annual Martyrs' Day rally in Kolkata. The party presently has 34 Lok Sabha seats from West Bengal. IMAGE: An aerial view of Trinamool Congress party's annual Martyr's Day rally. Photograph: PTI Photo Banerjee, who mooted the idea of a federal front to defeat the BJP, said, "We don't bother about the chair. We only bother about the people and the country." Taking a dig at the saffron party for the collapse of a makeshift tent at PM Narendra Modi's rally at Midnapore, she said, "They cannot build a pandal. How can they build the country?". IMAGE: Heavy traffic jam during TMC's rally. Photograph: PTI Photo The CM said the number of BJP's Lok Sabha seats would significantly come down in states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. "During the no-confidence vote in the Lok Sabha yesterday, they (NDA) got 325 votes, but in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, their strength will come down to barely 100 seats," she said. Every year the Trinamool Congress hold the Martyrs Day rally on July 21 to pay homage to 13 Youth Congress workers who allegedly killed in police firing 1993 during Left Front Government regime. Banerjee was a leader of the Youth Congress at that time. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- In a tweet describing himself as "your favorite President," Donald Trump fired back at claims that his former personal attorney secretly recorded a phone call in which they allegedly discussed hush money paid to a former Playboy model. The recording, which hasn't been made public, was discovered as part of an FBI raid in April on attorney Michael Cohen's home office and hotel in New York, sources told ABC News. The Playboy model in question is Karen McDougal, who has claimed she had an affair with Trump. "Inconceivable that the government would break into a lawyers office (early in the morning) - almost unheard of," Trump tweeted Saturday morning. "Even more inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client - totally unheard of & perhaps illegal. The good news is that your favorite President did nothing wrong!" President Trump's legal team tells ABC News that the president has chosen "not to assert" attorney-client privilege on the audio recording. "It was already out there, so no point in objecting except on principle," said Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal attorney. A source with knowledge of Cohen's legal team, however, said it was a "very foolish strategy by Team Trump." "It is the client who owns the privilege and not the lawyer. In this specific instance, it was Trump who waived the privilege after Special Master Jones ruled the tape was privileged," the source said. "Team Trump actually contacted the judge and waived the privilege, thus, permitting Rudy the ability to release his version of the tapes content. "It is ironic that Trump would complain about a privileged tape that would not have been released and then chooses to make it public himself," the source added. The raid on Cohen's home office and hotel stemmed from an investigation by New York federal prosecutors for potential violations of banking and election laws. The seized recording includes a short conversation between Cohen and Trump -- then a candidate for president -- talking about a plan allegedly devised by Cohen to prevent McDougal from publicly disclosing claims she had an affair with Trump in 2006, according to sources familiar with the investigation. Trump, who married first lady Melania Trump in January 2005, has repeatedly denied having an affair with McDougal, the 1998 Playboy Playmate of the Year. Laws in New York governing the recording of phone conversations do not require two-party consent. However, 11 states -- including Florida, where Trump spends a lot of time -- do require that both people in a conversation are aware a recording is taking place. It's unclear where Trump and Cohen were when the recording was made, which sources said was about two months before the November 2016 election. Around that time, Trump was campaigning heavily in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, two states that do require two-party consent. Rudy Giuliani, now Trump's personal attorney, confirmed to ABC News that the president did have a discussion with Cohen before the election, but the former New York City mayor said the payment to McDougal discussed on that call was never made. Giuliani also said the recording in question is less than two minutes long. In the conversation, Cohen and Trump discussed purchasing the rights to McDougal's story from American Media Inc. (AMI), since the company, which publishes the National Enquirer, had already bought the rights to her story, according to sources familiar with the audio recording. Cohen proposed paying about $150,000 to AMI, the sources said. On tape, Trump can be heard telling Cohen to make sure the payment is properly documented in order to keep a record of it, according to the sources. The sources said that payment never happened. "Nothing in that conversation suggests that he had any knowledge of it in advance," Giuliani told ABC News. "In the big scheme of things, it's powerful exculpatory evidence." McDougal, 47, alleges that she had a 10-month romantic affair with Trump in 2006. After being silent for more than a decade, she started speaking about it earlier this year, first opening up in an interview with The New Yorker's Ronan Farrow in February. She told CNN's Anderson Cooper in March that her first intimate encounter with Trump was in June 2006, after she met him at the Playboy mansion during a taping there of The Apprentice. "I was attracted to him," McDougal said in the CNN interview. "He's a nice-looking man. I liked his charisma." Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. US Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing Marshall Billingslea has met with Turkish Foreign Ministry, treasury and central bank officials, as well as Turkish companies having trade with Iran during two-day of talks in capital Ankara. "What we discussed with Turkish government are potential implications for Turkish companies and Turkish economy to take different measures," Anadolu Agency quoted the US official as saying on July 20. Turkish Foreign Ministry said that the upcoming sanctions on Iran are of importance for Turkey. "Our relevant authorities are carrying out necessary work for Turkey not to be negatively impacted by the upcoming sanctions. In this regard, we are holding consultations with our American counterparts," said the ministry in a written statement. "Iran is an important neighbour for Turkey, in view of both our bilateral economic and commercial relations as well as our energy imports. Therefore, we will continue to monitor US sanctions within this framework," said the Turkish ministry. US President Donald Trump announced on May 8 that Washington would withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was put into effect on January 16, 2016, and sanctions on Iran would be reimposed. However, the Turkish leadership defied cutting off trade with Iran and criticized the United States for its wrongdoing. "Iran is a good neighbor and we have economic ties. We are not going to cut off our trade ties with Iran because other countries told us so," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said last month, saying Ankara was not obliged to abide by "unilateral" US decisions. He accused the United States of acting over the "manipulation" of Israel and warned that isolating a country like Iran is a mistake. Turkey is dependent on imports for almost all of its energy needs, and neighboring Iran is one of Turkey's main sources of oil and natural gas imports. Turkey purchased more than 3 million tons of crude oil from Iran, almost 55 percent of its total crude supplies in the first four months of 2018, according to data from the Turkish energy watchdog (EPDK). Last week, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnunchin said that his country will consider waivers for countries that need more time to wind down their oil imports from Iran. "We want people to reduce oil purchases to zero, but in certain cases if people can't do that overnight, we'll consider exemptions," Mnunchin told reporters on July 13. The United States is sensitive about implicating sanctions on Turkish economy, but it is early to talk about any exemptions for the case of Turkey, Billingslea said. He called on the Turkish companies and banks to use 180 days before the sanctions get full effect to wind their business down and warned that if those companies continue to do business with the Iranians in the prescribed areas, that they will not be able to do business in US market or in US financial system. The first of major sanctions will be imposed in the beginning of August and then the sanctions on oil trade and central bank of Iran will get effect in November, he said. The previous US sanctions on Iran caused tension between two NATO allies, as Turkish officials and a Turkish-Iranian gold trader Reza Zarrab were accused by US side of using fraudulent gold and food transactions to help Iran evade sanctions between 2010 to 2015. A former Turkish state-owned Halk Bank banker was sentenced in May to 32 months in a US prison for plotting to help Iran evade American sanctions. When recalled the case of Turkey, Billingslea said new treasury sanctions will be enforced "very aggressively and very comprehensively" than the previous experience. "It would certainly be a very bad idea to think that when somebody is going to trade with Iran in gold and avoid US actions," he added. Share Tweet Pin 0 shares Note all articles are independently researched and written by myself. However, if you buy via one of the links it may be an affiliate and I may earn a small commission. Its a bit ouch when it comes to the price, but we still love these handmade Walkman-style bags by Sarahs Bag. I guess thats the result of these being high fashion. But regardless of the price, I still love the look of these bags, which really do capture the excitement of the 1980s. Thats because the Sony Walkman was such a groundbreaking and exciting design of that era. Music was portable before, in terms of suitcase record players and transistor radios. But the Walkman broke the mould, shrinking things down and allowing you to take your own albums and compilations wherever you went. This is a tribute to those boxy early models in the form of a bag. Each is the work of Lebanese designer Mira Hayek, with a keen eye for detail on each to recreate the vintage cassette player look, right down to the hand written label on the cassette. The detail here really is everything. Three colours / players to choose from, with the bags made of wood and with a painted brass handle plus 100 per cent leather lining. The size is 18cm x 12cm x 4cm and the price is wait for it $550. That works out at about 419 at the current exchange rate. Not exactly cheap, but definitely a design to turn heads on a day or night out. Just dont lose it. Find out more at the Sarahs Bag website Save Seth was born in Northampton, Massachusetts, to Ebeneezer and Sarah (King) Pomeroy. His father was a prominent local citizen, and had been a Major in the militia. Seth became a mechanic and gunsmith, as well as joining the local militia in Hampshire County. He earned a reputation as one of the best gunsmiths in the colony. Pomeroy married Mary Hunt (17051777) on December 14, 1732. They had nine children: Seth (b.1733), Quartus (b.1735), Medad (b.1736), Lemuel (b.1738), Martha (b.1740), Mary (b.1742), Sarah (b. 1744), A child born in 1747, and Asahel (b.1749). ==King Georges War== When Massachusetts undertook an expedition against the French in Nova Scotia, Major Pomeroy answered Governor William Shirleys call for volunteers. He was part of the expedition led by William Pepperrell that captured Fortress Louisbourg in Nova Scotia in 1745. He used his professional skills in support of Richard Gridley, the expeditions chief engineering officer. He reconditioned the guns captured from an outlying position after the French had spiked them and supported 46 days of heavy bombardment. ==French and Indian War== In 1755 Lt. Colonel Pomeroy was second in command of the regiment led by Colonel Ephraim Williams. They marched to New York to support a move to capture Crown Pont. While on the march, they were ambushed by a force of 800 French and Canadian troops, supported by 600 Iroquois warriors, and led by Baron Dieskau at the Battle of Lake George. Of all the commanding officers, Pomeroy was the only one to survive the battle, and in lieu of Williams death assumed the rank of Colonel. Although suffering significant losses, they withdrew to the English camp at the south end of Lake George. There they built a hasty wall of wood and carts and made their stand, supported by cannon and additional forces under General William Johnson. The Indians and Canadians would not attack in the open. When Baron Dieskau was wounded, the entire French force withdrew for Fort Carillon (later called Fort Ticonderoga). Dieskau was captured, and Johnson would build a more permanent Fort William Henry to protect the site. ==Revolutionary War== Although a senior officer in the Massachusetts militia at the start of the war, Pomeroy had a limited role. He was, after all, nearly seventy years old. But when the Siege of Boston began in 1775, he was among the volunteers that went in support of it. On June 17 a British naval bombardment marked the start of the Battle of Bunker Hill. He borrowed a horse from General Artemas Ward and set out for Charlestown. When he reached the neck of the peninsula, he found troops piled up because the narrow strip was under fire from British warships. Giving the horse to a soldier to return, he shouldered his musket and marched through the barrage. He declined any command, but took a post at the rail fence, fighting with John Starks 1st New Hampshire Regiment. The next week, the Continental Congress named him a brigadier general in the Continental Army. Since his health was not the best, when difficulties arose about seniority, he declined this commission and served instead as a major general in the Massachusetts militia. When General George Washington asked for support in New Jersey the following year, Pomeroy marched with his militia unit. He didnt complete the trip, but fell ill and died in Peekskill, New York. He is buried in St. Peters Churchyard, in an unmarked grave. The churchyard is now part of Hillside Cemetery. Honoring Seth Pomeroy in Hillside Cemetery is an estimated 26-foot high monument, being a large square base, a column, and a ball on top. Inscribed in a wreath on one side is General Seth Pomeroy. Born at Northhampton, Mass., May 20th 1706. Died near this spot Feb. 19th 1777. Inscribed on another side is a quote from him dated February 11, 1777, at Peekskill, perhaps referring to his facing his last days: I go cheerfully, for I a sure the cause we are engaged in is just, and the call I have to it is clear, and the call of God. Source(s): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Pomeroy A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. Egypts President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi attended the graduation of new police officers at the police academy in New Cairo on Saturday. According to the police academy's head Police General Ahmed Ibrahim, the police academy is celebrating the graduation of 1281 police officers in academic year 2017/2018 with a success rate of 92.10 percent. He also added that 245 foreign students from Arab and African countries were among the graduates. Ibrahim added that the police academy organized a joint exercise with the military academy in 2018, as well as special training programs in the ministry of the interior for nearly 13,000 police officers of different ranks. The graduation of the 2018 police academy class was attended by a number of current and former Egyptian officials including former interim President Adly Mansour, Head of the Coptic Orthodox Church Pope Tawadros II and former head of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi. For his part, Minister of Interior Mahmoud Tawfik said that the ministry is keen on enhancing relations between citizens and the police by upholding rights and duties, and that the police will continue to exert tireless efforts to achieve security throughout the country. "I extend my appreciation and gratitude to the nation's shield and sword, our valiant Armed Forces for their solidarity," Tawfik said, praising police and army personnel for their sacrifices throughout recent years. The minister affirmed that the combat efficiency of police academy students confirms that they do not compromise with those who threaten Egypt's security. Search Keywords: Short link: New annual data released by White House Drug Policy Office shows record high poppy cultivation and potential heroin production in Mexico. The annual estimate of "Mexican Poppy Cultivation and Heroin Production" by the Office of National Drug Control Policy found that poppy cultivation reached a record high in 2017, the White House said in a statement Friday. Poppy cultivation in Mexico rose 38 percent, from 32,000 hectares in 2016 to 44,100 hectares in 2017. Similarly, potential pure production rose by 37 percent, from 81 metric tons in 2016 to 111 metric tons in 2017. Provisional data suggests over 49,000 Americans, or 134 per day, died of opioid involved overdoses in 2017. Nearly 16,000 of these deaths involved heroin. This increase in Mexican poppy cultivation and heroin production represents an increased threat to the United States, according to the White House. As the consequences of heroin trafficking are felt by the citizens of both the United States and Mexico, the US Government will work to enhance its longstanding partnership with the Government of Mexico to address this problem, the White House said. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Political News The White House has made it clear that the US government is not considering supporting a referendum in Eastern Ukraine. "A referendum would have no legitimacy," StateDept Spokesperson Heather Nauert said on Friday. She made the Trump administration's stand on the issue clear by saying that "We continue to support Minsk agreements for solving the conflict in Donbas, Ukraine." She was responding to reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin told Russian diplomats that he made a proposal to his US counterpart Donald Trump at the Helsinki summit about holding a referendum to help resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Meanwhile, in a move that is expected to irk Moscow, the US defense department has announced it will give Ukraine $200 million to strengthen its defense capabilities For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Political News In a move that is expected to irk Moscow, the US defense department has announced it will give Ukraine $200 million to strengthen its defense capabilities. $200 million is allocated to Ukraine in security cooperation funds for additional training, equipment and advisory efforts to build the defensive capacity of Ukraine's forces, the Pentagon said in a statement. This reaffirms the long-standing defense relationship between the United States and Ukraine, and brings the total U.S. security sector assistance to Ukraine to more than $1 billion since 2014, it added. The security cooperation builds on Ukraine's recent adoption of the Law on National Security. This law, which provides a legislative framework for aligning Ukraine's national security architecture with Euro-Atlantic principles, constitutes a major step toward Ukraine's goal of achieving NATO interoperability. The implementation of these reforms will bolster Ukraine's ability to defend its territorial integrity in support of a secure and democratic Ukraine, the Pentagon says. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Political News The U.S. Government has promised to provide an additional $6.5 million in development assistance "to support a more prosperous, safe, and free Western Hemisphere". This was announced by USAID Administrator Mark Green during a meeting with members of the local Nicaraguan, Venezuelan, and Cuban communities in Miami. The funding would include $5 million to help Colombian communities address the influx of Venezuelans who are fleeing repression and chaos in their home country. This brings the total amount of U.S. humanitarian and development assistance to assist displaced Venezuelans to over $60 million since Fiscal Year 2017. $1.5 million is allocated to continue US support for freedom and democracy in Nicaragua. "The United States continues to support democracy and human rights in Nicaragua, and we are a critical lifeline for civil-society organizations, human-rights defenders, emerging leaders, and independent media who are currently under threat from the Ortega regime," Green said. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Political News (file photo) Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz are unlikely to be transferred to the Sihala Rest House owing to its lack of proper security arrangements needed for the high-profile prisoners, media reports said on Saturday. The accountability court that had convicted Sharif and his daughter had ordered they be sent to Adiala Jail after they were taken into custody at the Lahore airport and produced before it on July 13. However, the Islamabad Chief Commissioner had also ordered shifting of both the father and the daughter and her husband Capt Safdar (retired), who was already in the Adiala Jail, to the Sihala Rest House situated inside the Sihala Police Training College. The authorities said the rest house was not safe for the Sharif family, Dawn News reported. The rest house has six rooms, all with air conditioners, proper beds and wash rooms, but no boundary wall. A major indication that the Sharifs might not be shifted to the rest house was that the authorities were considering shifting some very dangerous prisoners to somewhere else in the province to ensure proper security for the former Prime Minister and his daughter, the report quoted an Adiala Jail official as saying. The official said it was twice or thrice attempted to shift Maryam to Sihala Rest House but she firmly refused. The penultimate day of the 2018 Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival saw Pozo Izquierdo continue to produce howling winds and waves. In the morning the Youth's contest was completed in lighter winds, while one women's heat was finished just before 1pm before the remaining competitors were placed on hold for 4 hours.After playing the waiting game, the waves began to improve with the tide on the push, while the wind cranked up an extra notch or two to provide an amazing end to the day and heading into Saturday only the top two sailors in both the men's and women's draw remain.Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) will line up in the Women's Final tomorrow against Daida Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) after winning both of her heats today.The Aruban produced an excellent performance against Lina Erpenstein (Severne / Severne Sails), which included a sick tweaked pushloop and a backloop to set up a tie against Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne /Maui Ultra Fins). Erpenstein meanwhile made a solid start to the heat with a stalled forward, but then struggled to build on that and bows out in an excellent 4th place in the second women's event of the year.Sarah-Quita Offringa then took down reigning world champion - Iballa Moreno - in Heat 34 after a hard fought battle, which saw the lead switch hands on a couple of occasions. Iballa scored her best wave of the heat on her opening wave as she linked a backside air with two fluid frontside turns to earn 6.62 points. Meanwhile, Offringa was able to land a stylish tweaked pushloop again and moved into the lead with a couple of low wave scores, which made her vulnerable.After changing down sail size, Iballa was then able to find the ideal ramp to launch into, and land, a high backloop, which sent her into the lead. However, her advantage was short-lived as Offringa almost immediately landed a perfectly clean backloop - but much lower - to regain the lead and then did her best work on the wave with her final 3 waves. Iballa's strongest part of her sailing is usually her wave riding, but after a solid start she was unable to find another wave score above 1.12 points - which is perhaps testament to how tough the conditions were - but she will also be a bit gutted knowing that 'just' a 4.25 point wave or better would've seen her defend her second place.Ricardo Campello (Point-7) produced a superb performance in Heat 49 to overcome his nemesis Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / Duotone / Shamal Sunglasses), who for the first time in 11 years, not only misses out on a place in the top two, but also on the podium, with Campello moving into the top 3. The 33-year-old earned an almost perfect 19 points out of 20 for his jumping after landing an amazing pushloop forward and a stalled double forward while earning two wave scores of 8.12 and 7.88 points to leave Fernandez almost helpless, which is unheard of - especially in Pozo. The Spaniard made a fine start to the heat with a perfect double forward of his own, and an 8.38 point wave, but clearly knew he was in trouble as he attempted two pushloop forwards, but to no avail.Campello then faced good friend Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing) in the battle for second and third, which saw a great battle unfold. Both sailors landed excellent double forwards while racking up similar wave scores in the early stages to leave the duel delicately poised. However, with just a couple of minutes to go, it looked as though Campello had won the heat as he finally found the ramp he was looking for to land a now trademark pushloop forward and with hardly any time to respond it looked like Campello would continue his march back through the double. However, Browne had different ideas and the Brazilian went for broke in the last minute as he landed the first double forward off the lip in a competition before adding one or two backside turns, which turned the heat in his favour and claim victory by just over half a point, while stunning Campello. Upon hearing the result, Campello was perplexed that his first two wave scores hadn't been scored as one wave as he felt he had continued to ride the same wave, but those pleas fell on deaf ears leaving him to settle for third place at this year's Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival. The stage is now set for tomorrow, which will see a grandstand finale in both the men's and women's with only the top two sailors in each division left standing. In the men's Philip Koster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) will sail against Marcilio Browne, while Daida Moreno will face Sarah-Quita Offringa. And remember if Browne and Offringa want to dislodge the single elimination winners' from there throne then they will have to beat Koster and Daida not only once, but twice. Girls U13+U15 Alexia Kiefer Quintana (Fanatic / Duotone) completed a clean sweep today by winning the third final of the contest ahead of Maria Morales (Goya Windsurfing), but today's final was quite so straightforward as she started on the wrong size sail. However, once on the right setup she sailed straight out and landed a clean forward loop to take the top spot with a perfect record. Boys U13 Tobias Bjrnaa (Fanatic / Duotone) just held on to the No.1 spot in the overall rankings after a somewhat surprising 4th place finish today - having won both finals yesterday. Pepe Krause (Quatro / Hot Sails Maui) won today's final and finishes just 0.3 of a point behind Bjrnaa, while the top 3 is completed by Carlos Kiefer Quintana (Fanatic / Duotone). U15 The under 15s division saw a hotly contested final with backloops, forwards and some quality wave riding impressing the crowd and the judges. In the end though it was Lennart Neubauer (Starboard / Severne), who takes the victory just ahead of Liam Dunkerbeck, who was missing a cleanly landed second jump, (Starboard / Severne), Jahdan Tiger (Severne / Severne Sails) and Alex Di Giosafatte (I-99 / Challenger Sails). U17 Marino Gil (Goya Windsurfing), who finished 17th overall in the Men's main draw, claimed a deserved victory in the U17s division, but it was quite a tight affair with Corto Dumond (Starboard / GA Sails) and Takuma Sugi (Tabou / GA Sails) - not far behind - and both excelled on the wave with Sugi earning the highest wave score in the final after landing a frontside aerial. However, Gil's superior jumping proved to be the difference. U20 Miguel Chapuis (JP / NeilPryde) sailed a superb final to claim a clearcut victory ahead of Adam Warchol (Quatro / Goya Windsurfing), Valentino Pasquale (Fanatic / Duotone) and Jake Schettewi (JP / NeilPryde). Chapuis landed a sick tweaked pushloop and a one-handed backloop, while linking together a couple of solid waves to take top honours here. The forecast looks as though the nuclear winds will continue, while the swell is expected to increase slightly overnight. The skippers' meeting has been called for 10am with the action commencing from 10:30am (GMT+1) onwards. You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Gran Canaria- including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page. Dear Editor, In this debate, I like the E.F.K.S. position as it resonates with the cultural basis for our nation which when Samoa became independent it removed the taxing of faifeau carried out by the colonial powers. Now H.R.P.P. wishes to bring it back. What is so hypocritical is they are using the E.F.K.S. as a scapegoat for the nations financial woes by insinuating that pastors are avoiding their fair share of the responsibility by failing to pay taxes. Its rather ironic that a government with a history of failure to disclose the financial status of the government is assuming the mantle of fair play. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. If the government were more efficient and fair in the execution of its responsibilities in the running of Samoas affairs, we would not be in such a bind where the government is so desperate to get money, that they have to tax the lafoga or alofa. What are the donations that the government seeks to tax? These are the offerings made by members of the congregation as symbols of their devotion to God. In Samoas history there was a special place reserved for the Faifeau as Samoa transitioned from Idol worship to Christianity. It is a relic of our past that carries with it a most valuable significance. This is how we came out of paganism and became united under Christianity thus ushering in a modern era of peace. For the last 56 years our people have maintained this unique balance that unified the culture and religion in a manner that established a foundation of stability for our nation. Samoa didnt even skip a beat when it became independent because the transition from old Samoa and the new was such a smooth continuation of who we were. Samoa did not have the inevitable clash of cultures that put our culture down in the face of the western cultures. If anything we hardly noticed any change because our tofiga remained intact and with the ascension of the church to a status of respect the culture was never in danger. That allowed Samoa to move forward comfortably which was made possible because of the fact that our community was solidly founded on a foundation of two compatible ideas: Christian faith and the Samoan culture. They both were based on love and respect. In our culture these are the highest values we aspire to as is the case with Christianity. How convenient and how intelligent of our forefathers. But alas the impudence of power rears its ugly head in 2018. All the wisdom and intelligence of our forefathers is being removed due to a spoiled childs determination to destroy our historical links to our past. The child wants to destroy the peace of the home for its own attention. I would like to know how is taxing the Church going to benefit the country? Is there so much money involved that it will alleviate Samoas financial woes or is it merely a self-aggrandizing show of strength? I doubt the benefits of taxing the church will bring much benefit. All I see is a bucket of crabs. By undermining the cultural value of the church the government now is also inserting itself into the exercise of religious devotion. A religious act by a member of the church is protected under the Constitution as the act allowed under freedom of religion...so long as it does not result in criminal behavior. By regulating the donations (as tax is a regulation) the government now is interfering with that devotion. The freedom to donate for the purpose of faith now will be second-guessed as the donating person must also include the government in their donation. It will cause the donating member to pause and perhaps decide not to donate as the donation is contaminated now. The government has inserted itself into an act of pure devotion and is profiting off of this devotion contrary to the nature of the freedom of religion. This is a burden on the church that will weaken it and contribute to a loss of spirituality in Samoa. Persecution is expected for churches and Christianity has experienced a lot of persecution in the past but I never expected persecution from Samoas Parliament in the 2010s. And in Samoa of all places where it claims it is founded on God. Maybe we should change that motto. Namulauulu Albert Ainuu If youre into cakes, then you will love the scrumptious products of Delicious Cakes. Owned and operated by couple, Natashia and Francis Ah Ben, the name Delicious Cakes speaks for itself, producing mouthwatering pastries and chocolate cookies to the delight of many of their trusted customers and followers. In May this year, the couple opened their second branch in Savalalo, Apia to cater for their many customers living within the town area and the increasing demand for their products. This was my husbands and Is idea because we had a lot of comments from our customers at the Lotopa branch that they love our cakes, they love our products but they find it really difficult driving out to Lotopa like before our closing time, because we close at six in the evening. So we thought by opening this branch, we would make it accessible for our customers in town, make it easier for them to pop in and pick up what they need from us, rather than have to fight the traffic to go all the way to Lotopa, Natashia said. It took a lot of saving over the years to open their Apia branch because they had faced difficulties in getting their loan approved. We applied for a loan to open this branch, but it got turned down so we had to do a lot of saving and find the money to buy equipment that we need to start this up. We saved for a long time. Just the freezer alone is quite expensive, she said. For Natashia, challenges that present itself to her are windows of opportunities. I dont like to look at things as challenges but as opportunities. I dont like the word challenge because it has a cut down side to it. When things come out in hard ways than normal, I think of ways to fix it and look for ways to solve it proper. Mastering the skills of baking and decorating wedding cakes, birthday cakes, reunions and cakes for every occasion, was part of Natashias bloodline. The recipes she uses are all her grandmothers, which she passed on to her mother, Adria. According to Natashia, her mum owned Adria's Cakes in Lotopa, but when she retired, she took over the business rebranding it to Delicious Cakes. I grew up baking. I was a child in the cake shop, baking cakes, creaming cakes and stealing cupcakes. This is my life. This is all I have ever known, decorating and baking, Natashia said. Everything is made from scratch in our cake shop. We dont use cake mix or ready-made stuff from overseas. All my cakes are my grandmothers and mothers recipes, so the family recipes were passed down to us. So these are all her recipes and everything I know, is everything my mother taught me. Natashia said she studied to be a nurse in New Zealand but it was natural for her to blend into the cake making industry when she returned to Samoa. I was always there to help my mum in her cake shop. For me, the core thing was to help my family and be there however they want me to help. So after university, my mum needed an extra hand in the cake shop, so it was easier for me to just come back and help her. She said their standard cakes made every day are chocolate cakes, butter cakes, lemon butter cakes and vanilla sponge cake, which is their more affordable range. We do carrot cakes, pineapple pies and chocolate pies, but for products like that, customers have to give us a weeks notice. In terms of ingredients, whatever we can source locally, we do, like our banana cakes are made from local bananas and lemon cake, from local limes and lemons. We dont have Flour Mills in Samoa we source from overseas through Ah Liki Wholesale. Natashia acknowledged that major competition for the business are home bakers who sell their products on Facebook and operate without business licenses and are not paying taxes. There are lots of competitions and its really hard to differentiate yourself from other similar businesses because its practically the same, but I guess its the mutual trust between you and your customers that both have built over the years is what counts. I dont see them (cake making businesses) as competitors but people who I can work with. She said the business is earning enough to cater for their expenses. Like any new business, its not going to be exploding straight away; everything needs to build up in its own time. Delicious Cakes employs about six people and has plans to create new products for customers in the town area. More than fifty women under the Nofotane project from Upolu, Savaii and Manono displayed their handicraft works during a market day on Thursday. Held in front of the Government Building at Eleele-Fou, the event organised by the Samoa Victim Support Group (S.V.S.G.) gave the women an opportunity to showcase fine mats, table mats, jewelry accessories and locally produced foods. President of S.V.S.G., Siliniu Lina Chang, said she was happy to see the creative minds of these women. You can only train them in something small but then they take over from there, Siliniu said. I have noticed the spirit of coming together, they support each other. We used to individually train them but now they come in groups. Not only that, they are sharing their knowledge with others to empower anyone. The Market Day was one of the last activities for the project. Siliniu said it is the S.V.S.G.s hope that these women continue their work to help them develop their lives. Nofotane woman, Felila Kirisome from the village of Lufilufi said the project is a great way to help women generate a stable income through the skills they learn. For the women of my village and me, we utilised plastic bottles, spoons, forks or knives to create handicrafts or arrangements. It is a good initiative to also keep our environment clean, Felila said. Fuatai Tolomaa from Salailua, Savaii echoed similar sentiments. It is very important for me to pass on this knowledge of weaving fine mats to my grandchildren and great grandchildren so that they can carry it on. This programme has helped me through empowering women. I want everyone to realise that everyone should not live depending on others but independently live life through working hard to earn everything, Fuatai said. S.V.S.G. in partnership with United Nations Women Fund, initiated the Nofotane project, which targeted gender equality. Nofotane is a Samoan word used to describe a married woman who lives with her husbands family. The Egyptian foreign ministry said that the new law undermines the chances of achieving peace in the Middle East or reaching a fair solution in the Palestinian issue Egypt has announced that it rejects a newly passed Israeli law that defines Israel as "the nation-state of the Jewish people" and states that only Jews have the right of self-determination in the country. In a statement released on Saturday, the Egyptian foreign ministry said that the new Jewish state law, which was passed by the Israeli Knesset on Thursday, solidifies the concept of occupation and apartheid. The law also defines the establishment of Jewish communities as being in the national interest and downgrades Arabic from an official language to one with special status. The Egyptian foreign ministry said that the new law undermines the chances of achieving peace in the Middle East or reaching a fair solution in the Palestinian issue. The law can possibly undermine the right of Palestinian refugees to return, which is a right that has been internationally recognised and cannot be dismissed, the statement read. The ministry also said that the law's assertion that Jerusalem is the "complete and unified" capital of Israel has dangerous implications on the prospects for a fair resettlement for Palestinians and reviving talks between the Palestinians and Israelis. Egypt has repeatedly voiced its support for a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state. The Egyptian foreign ministry also demanded that the international community preserve the historical and legal rights of the Palestinian people and to work on restoring peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis as well as supporting the two-state solution. Search Keywords: Short link: Roles of women under the Nofotane Project were honoured during the official closing of the project in front of the Government building, yesterday. Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr. Sailele Malielegaoi congratulated everyone involved. United Nations Women Country Program Coordinator, Papalii Mele Maualaivao acknowledged the success of the project launched by the Samoa Victim Support Group (S.V.S.G.) two years ago. I want to thank the S.V.S.G. for the incredible efforts they have made, but especially to all the women here for participating, putting all your heart and soul into the work that you have created and it has indeed flourished, Papalii said. In terms of the Pacific, Samoa is the only successful applicant for the U.N. fund of gender equality, so I think we should all applaud the amazing efforts of S.V.S.G. and Samoa. Since the start, some 5,000 women were trained from over 200 villages. Papalii said this shows the drive and the investment the United Nations Women have contributed to these communities. S.V.S.G. commissioned the programme with the hope that it will improve the access of nofotane women in rural Samoa to sustainable employment and increased participation in domestic and community matters. The Nofotane project trained more than 500 village representatives, advocating for support of 900 village leaders in 166 villages in Upolu, Savaii and Manono Tai. It trained 5,000 unemployed nofotane women in livelihood skills, and ensured sustainable self-employment of 500 of these unemployed nofotane women. It also strengthened the understanding and enforcement of legal protection for 3,000 nofotane domestic workers. Twenty star earners who have been outstanding, not only with behavioural changes being alluded to by members of the community, were also awarded yesterday. Samoas weather is a bonus for any tourist looking to escape winter in their homeland. Kiwi, Lynaire Kittelty made this statement to the Dear Tourist team highlighting Samoas natural beauty and lush green valleys that make Samoa a perfect getaway destination. She flew into Samoa with a group of nine people on a one week holiday just to escape winter back in New Zealand. Lynaire told the Dear Tourist team she loves the adventure and spending quality time with her family. It has been great. Samoa is very colourful and it is very different, compared to where I am from, we are worlds away. It is just a really nice lifestyle, here it is more relaxed and the people are friendlier, she said. Like there was a time when I was crossing the road they would wave at you, but in Auckland they would run you down probably. It is very traditional here, it is very hot and the weather is amazing and the people are nice. We have been in our resort and today (yesterday) we are just going to drive around. We are currently staying at the Sheraton Beach Resort. Today (yesterday) we are off to do all the things, we are to go to sliding rocks, the fish feeding caves and do other stuff, she said. Lynaire said the weather would have to be the highlight of their trip. And also it is culturally different as well, so it is interesting for the kids. This is a family trip and this is not all of us, there are some who are still at the resort. It is a group of nine people that is here, grandparents and brothers. She said Samoa needs more street signs to help tourists visiting the country. The roads here have no signs of directions, which is hard for us to make our way through here. Even for tourists to ring a car is quite tricky because there are so many different taxi stands and the things that we get. It is very expensive here for us even just going into your local shops, it is not cheap and I can understand how hard it is for people to live here. However, Lynaire said they would still return if time permits. So we normally go to Fiji, but we decided to try Samoa for the first time. Fiji and Samoa are quite similar, but I think Samoa is way more laid back, it is nice to be around town and you dont have people that are hounding at you whereas in Fiji you have people who are always hounding at you but here you are just left alone. Similar in some ways but Samoa is more basic in terms of roads and things like that. They depart this Sunday. WASHINGTON (AP) The maker of a permanent contraceptive implant subject to thousands of injury reports and repeated safety restrictions by regulators said Friday that it will stop selling the device in the U.S., the only country where it remains available. Bayer said the safety of its Essure implant has not changed, but it will stop selling the device at the end of the year due to weak sales. The German company had billed the device as the only non-surgery sterilization method for women. As complaints mounted and demand slipped, it stopped Essure sales in Canada, Europe, South America, South Africa and the United Kingdom. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has placed multiple restrictions on the device following patient reports of pain, bleeding, allergic reactions and cases where the implant punctured the uterus or shifted out of place. In May, the FDA said doctors must show women a checklist of the device's risks before implanting it. More than 16,000 U.S. women are suing Bayer over Essure. One of them, Amanda Rusmisell, of Charlotte, North Carolina, said she's "immensely thrilled" by Bayer's action. Rusmisell said she got the device in 2008 and developed severe pain and bleeding. She took part in patient-organized rallies accusing Bayer for not disclosing potential risks and said, choking back tears, "Our very grassroots effort has worked." Bayer received FDA approval to sell Essure in 2002 and promoted it as a quick and easy permanent solution to unplanned pregnancies. Essure consists of two thin-as-spaghetti nickel-titanium coils inserted into the fallopian tubes, where they spur the growth of scar tissue that blocks sperm from fertilizing a woman's eggs. Because of the reported complaints, the FDA added its most serious warning to the device in 2016 and ordered the company to conduct a 2,000-patient study. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said Friday the agency would work with Bayer to continue the study, but noted "Bayer will not be able to meet its expected enrollment numbers" for new patients. The study was designed to follow patients for three years to better assess complications. More than 750,000 women worldwide have received Essure. Demand has declined in recent years and plunged 70 percent after the 2016 boxed warning, the FDA said. Gottlieb said the FDA will continue to monitor adverse events reported to its database after Essure is removed from the market. "I also want to reassure women who've been using Essure successfully to prevent pregnancy that they can continue to do so," he said. Those who think it's causing problems, such as persistent pain, should consult with their doctors, Gottlieb added. Essure's original label warned that the device's nickel can result in allergic reactions. Its current labeling lists hives, rash, swelling and itching as possible reactions. But many women have attributed other problems to the implant, including mood disorders, weight gain, hair loss and headaches. Those problems are listed in the current FDA labeling for the device, with the qualifier: "It is unknown if these symptoms are related to Essure or other causes." Informational material Bayer supplied to doctors and patients lists potential problems and says the devices are meant to be permanent. It also says removal may require complicated surgery, including a hysterectomy, that might not be covered by insurance. Gottlieb noted that device removal "has its own risks." Diana Zuckerman, president of the nonprofit National Center for Health Research, said Essure is among medical devices approved without "clear evidence of safety or effectiveness." "As a result, when thousands of women reported serious complications from Essure, there was no unbiased long-term research to refute or confirm those reports," Zuckerman said. "If patients had been listened to when the first clinical trials were conducted on Essure, better research would have been conducted to determine exactly how safe and effective Essure is." Dr. Kristyn Brandi, a Los Angeles family planning specialist, called Bayer's move disappointing. She says most of her Essure patients have been satisfied. "I would hope Bayer would use this opportunity to think about future research and product development," Brandi said. "Being able to offer women contraception that's permanent without surgery is a really great option." Bayer spokeswoman Courtney Mallon said the company had no plans to re-design the device. Kate Nicholson, of Dallas, got an Essure implant last year after she and her husband decided not to have children. She said she sympathizes with women who have had problems but said ending Essure sales is the wrong move. "Pulling it from the market is yet another way to limit our choices about our own bodies," Nicholson said. "I personally always had horrible experiences with different versions of 'the pill,' but it's still on the market and many women swear by it." The Attorney Generals application to the Supreme Court for an overseas judge to hear an appeal against a District Court decision is set for next Wednesday. The President of the Land and Titles Court Fepuleai Atilla Ropati was discharged by District Court Judge Alalatoa Rosella Papalii, after the police charged him with assault, being armed with a dangerous weapon and causing injury, and causing grievous bodily harm. The charges were connected to an incident at a party last year, when the defendant allegedly hit a security guard twice on the head with a glass bottle. But the Office of the Attorney General has decided to appeal the district court decision and are applying to the court for an overseas judge to chair the proceedings. The matter returned to the court yesterday but the prosecution was not ready when the counsels appeared before the Chief Justice, His Honour Patu Tiava'asue Falefatu Sapolu. Are you ready now to proceed? I have your written submission before me. Are you proceeding to be heard on your submission now? the Chief Justice asked. But Rexona Titi from the Office of the Attorney General, in response, asked for more time as they were not ready. No your Honour, we seek for your Honours indulgence to have time to address the submissions orally and to submit fully on the case of Attorney General and Vaai. The request did not go down well with Aumua Ming Leung Wai, who is representing Fepuleai Attila Ropati in the proceedings, with the counsel submitting that the matter has gone on for too long. Your Honour, I was hoping we can do this today (yesterday), I mean the case of Attorney General G versus Vaai is already submit together, I see its listed with the submission that was filed by prosecution on Tuesday so I dont see this as a surprise that theyve only come across it if they mentioned it in their submissions your Honour. So this is being dragging on too long your Honour and I was wondering if we can have it served today (yesterday) if possible. However, the Chief Justice said he had to adjourn the hearing to next Wednesday 10 am as the prosecution was not ready. The Chief Justice last week questioned the application by the Office of the Attorney General, saying it was the first time such an application came before him, as when there are concerns of bias in a court proceeding a new local judge is appointed to chair the matter. Q:Can the homeowners association install a camera in one garage area but not others? The HOA also installed a camera in the pool in order to catch one persons possible violations. Is this legal? K.Y., San Jose Q:We are fans of your weekly column. Have you written about security cameras? Can you offer any direction as to legal issues and sound policy? B.D., San Diego Advertisement Q:I would like to find out if installing a camera with audio in the parking area is legal in California. Please advise. C.R., Encinitas Q:Our complex has had a number of trespassers who have hopped locked pedestrian gates or tailgated resident cars through garage gates into resident parking areas. The board refuses to circulate images of these trespassers captured on surveillance cameras. Many of us want this video/image information in case we see the intruders or their vehicles in the future. We strongly believe this is a personal safety issue. The board says this is a possible liability issue. Can the board appoint a volunteer committee of residents to review the surveillance videos, with the committee deciding whether to circulate the trespasser-related images to all residents? B.A., Newport Beach A:Dear K.Y., B.D., C.R. and B.A.: As the affordability and technical quality of surveillance increases, cameras are increasingly considered by associations. However, cameras are not an answer to all HOA problems, and can create more problems. For example, placing a camera only to surveil a single resident will almost certainly offend the resident and create a possible claim of privacy invasion. If surveillance is not for the entire community, perhaps there are other ways to deal with the problem resident. Recording audio could record private conversations without the parties consent and so violate the law, so stay with video, not audio. Secret surveillance is a bad idea, so signs should always be posted, alerting persons in a given area that recorded surveillance is present. I am often asked if the HOA can post such signs but install dummy cameras. A dummy camera could lead residents to a false sense of security, if they were facing danger and erroneously stayed within view of a phony camera. Individual owners in planned developments or detached condominiums sometimes wish to install their own cameras. A reasonable written rule is a good idea, requiring cameras not point into neighboring windows or adjoining yards. If the association has recorded video monitoring, the privacy interests of all residents are best protected by prohibiting residents or owners access to the recordings. I often draft policies providing access only to the manager, security company, and law enforcement. A certain director or committee chair will occasionally take too much an interest in watching their neighbors on recorded videos. A reasonable policy, keeping the recordings private, helps assure residents that their privacy is protected and respected. If your association has a history of problems in the common area or garages, the board might be required to take reasonable steps to increase the security of those areas, and cameras might be one such step. Boards may want to consult with their local law enforcement, security vendor, manager, and legal counsel before installing cameras. Kelly G. Richardson, Esq. is a Fellow of the College of Community Association Lawyers and Senior Partner of Richardson Ober PC, a California law firm known for community association advice. Submit potential column questions to Kelly@Richardsonober.com. Past columns at www.HOAHomefront.com. For more than three decades, Coronado has made it clear its residential neighborhoods are off limits to vacationers looking to book a short-term stay. San Francisco has seen its citys online vacation rental listings plummet amid its fight to rein in rentals popularized by Airbnb and HomeAway. Del Mar is preparing to go to court to defend its right to sharply limit short-term vacation stays in the beachside retreat. While the particulars differ, cities up and down the state are joining an increasingly pitched battle to contain the proliferation of short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods. Complaints about mini hotels disrupting once quiet communities and fears of short-term rentals cannibalizing long-term housing have sharpened the debate. Advertisement San Diego will soon be caught up in a similar fight as it prepares to implement controversial rules approved last week that are expected to dramatically curtail short-term home stays across the city. Under the new regulations, expected to go into effect next July, vacation rentals will be limited to primary residences only, meaning investors and out-of-towners will no longer be able to rent out secondary homes for stays under 30 days. While the outcome is still uncertain, legal challenges loom as does a possible clash with the California Coastal Commission, which has repeatedly warned cities and counties from Santa Cruz to San Diego against overly restricting what it regards as an affordable option for overnight stays at the beach. Some cities have been more successful than others in legislating tough regulations in the face of litigation and Coastal Commission objections, while others have decided to take a more permissive approach rather than face a prolonged battle. The sharing economy started out as a renegade, an outlaw really. It has grown to the point where it is having negative impacts, said attorney Christi Hogin, who successfully defended the city of Hermosa Beachs ban on short-term rentals in a lawsuit filed by homeowners. That is when local government steps in to regulate the businesses so they can function harmoniously. San Diegos initiative is just that. It is a function of local government to say this use is getting out of hand and address how we can get this activity in conformance with land use laws but also allow our property owners to use their properties in this new way. The city can do that through these new regulations and there is nothing in the coastal act that keeps them from doing it. While the new regulations approved last week by the San Diego City Council cover the entire city, the biggest impacts will be felt in the coastal neighborhoods, which account for almost half of the citys more than 11,000 short-term rentals. The council will meet Aug. 1 for a second and final reading of the home sharing ordinance. A coalition of vacation rental operators known as Share San Diego already is talking about lawsuits asserting violation of constitutional property rights. And Coastal Commission staffers have not exactly warmly embraced San Diegos new rules. They have put the city on notice that it will have to make its case before the proposed restrictions for the coastal zone will get the commissions blessing in a hearing expected to take place later this year. That includes compiling an inventory of San Diegos existing lodging by type, location and pricing, as well as an assessment of demand for overnight accommodations relative to the supply. So pervasive are efforts by local governments to clamp down on short-term rentals that there has been a commission agenda item related to the issue nearly every month for the last year, said Deborah Lee, the commissions district manager for the San Diego area. The premise behind the commissions rejection of short-term rental bans has its roots in the 1976 Coastal Act, which includes a specific section to protect, and, where feasible, " provide lower-cost visitor facilities, which can include overnight lodging. There is no one-size-fits-all approach the commission takes for coastal jurisdictions, says Lee, who stresses that whatever action is taken inevitably depends a lot on how ample a supply there is of hotel rooms and how affordable they are. Theres a concern that we have very limited affordable accommodations for the broader public in our coastal zone so were looking at each community on its own characteristics and merits, said Lee. If a community has an abundance of hotel rooms and a good number are affordable, then there may not be that big of an issue but unfortunately, in much of the coastal zone there isnt much of an inventory of affordable lodging. Some cities have been more successful than others in defying the commission. Years ago, before Airbnb even existed, Imperial Beach sought to ban vacation rentals. When the commission denied the request the city returned in 2004 with a modified plan to allow them in three mixed-use commercial districts while grandfathering them in one residential area near the coast. Solana Beach fought for a seven-day minimum stay for short-term visits in residential neighborhoods and ultimately prevailed several years ago even though the commission felt the restriction was excessive. Laguna Beach, however, proposed a ban that was rejected last December by the commission. The city of Carlsbad had also hoped to bar short-term rentals because of resident complaints but realized it would have a fight on its hands with the Coastal Commission. Instead, the city enacted regulations in 2015 that allow such rentals in its coastal zone but bans them everywhere else. We decided to not look at banning them because we didnt want to have a battle with Coastal and we knew they wouldnt approve that in the coastal zone, said Debbie Fountain, Carlsbads community and economic development director. There has been some push from residents who say they like San Diegos model but right now the council isnt looking at changes. The city of Del Mar, though, has no intention of being compliant. The Del Mar council decided last year to limit vacation rentals to a minimum of seven days at a time, and no more than 28 days per year. The commission countered with a more permissive proposal. Unwilling to accept looser restrictions, the City Council said last week it will file suit to clarify the Coastal Commissions authority over home-sharing in residential neighborhoods. Del Mar could well get some guidance from the city of Hermosa Beach, which was sued by homeowners over its short-term rental ban. An appellate court early this year rejected the legal challenge, concluding the rental ban did not violate the Coastal Act and that the city is not required to get permission from the Coastal Commission to enforce the ban. The homeowners had also asserted at the lower court level that their property rights were violated but abandoned that argument on appeal. The Coastal Commission has taken a very broad view of its own authority but that theory hasnt held up in court, said Hogin, who works for a private law firm but also is assistant city attorney for Hermosa Beach. The property rights argument doesnt concern me as a lawyer because a city can enact regulations as long as theyre rational. In this case, the legitimate government purpose is to maintain the residential character of the neighborhoods. The city of Santa Monica is embroiled in a similar legal fight, although its courtroom foes are Airbnb and HomeAway. The citys home-sharing regulations are especially strict, prohibiting homeowners from listing their properties on sites like Airbnb unless they are present during the stay. Although the city prevailed in U.S. District court earlier this year, the case is on appeal. Attorneys for the home sharing sites argued, among other things, that the citys regulations run afoul of the Coastal Act. Scott Shatford, who at one time had seven short-term rentals in Santa Monica several years ago before getting shut down by the city, believes much of the momentum driving larger cities to crack down on Airbnb listings is fueled by the hotel industry looking to quash competition. As long as the Coastal Commission doesnt lose their motivation and ambition, well continue to see these debates, said Shatford, co-founder of AirDNA, a data analytics firm catering to Airbnb hosts and investors. Local communities dont have the perspective they need to think about the greater implications of what these bans mean, for property rights, tourism, coastal access. For those cities that insist on toughening regulations, effective enforcement that requires the cooperation of the online rental platforms is crucial, says Shatford. In New York and Santa Monica, which have some of the most stringent regulations, he maintains that the number of listings have not diminished. That is not the case, however, in San Francisco, where the city battled Airbnb and HomeAway in court to enlist their support in providing listings data needed to ensure vacation rentals are legally registered. In the case of San Francisco, Airbnbs beef with the city was less about the home-sharing restrictions themselves than the platform accountability the city was insisting on, say city officials. Like San Diegos new rules, San Franciscos regulations limit short-term rentals to ones primary residence but only for 90 days out the year instead of San Diegos 180-day maximum limit. San Diego officials say they are modeling the citys enforcement program after San Franciscos. We didnt have a major constituency here saying I want to engage in year-round short-term rentals and do what I want with my property, said Omar Masry, senior analyst in San Franciscos short-term rental office, which was established in 2015 to support the citys new regulations. In San Francisco, the planning code (before 2015) was clear. Short-term rentals were illegal. Meanwhile, Coronado, which outlaws all short-term stays of 25 days or less, does not intend to change its regulations any time soon. It has taken multiple property owners to court over illegal rentals and prevailed, said Assistant City Manager Tom Ritter. In the citys most recent citizens survey, we asked, Do you think Coronado should change the policy and allow short term residential rentals for shorter periods of time, Ritter, said. Seventy-six percent said no. We are a beach town and also a bedroom community and people want to preserve their neighborhoods residential character. RELATED:San Diego council votes to limit Airbnb rentals to primary residences only No big deal or a bloodbath? Mission Beach reacts to city council limits on Airbnb rentals Del Mar takes state to court over short-term rentals Business lori.weisberg@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-2251 Twitter: @loriweisberg A proposed staircase down to Beacons Beach must be redesigned to make it look less like a Las Vegas-style skywalk or freeway overpass and more like something that fits with Leucadias funky vibe, Encinitas Planning Commissioners decided Thursday. The decision -- a 4-0 vote with Commissioner Al Apuzzo absent -- came after hours of public testimony dominated by project opponents. Some 30 people spoke to the commission. Many of them stayed to hear the vote, then jumped to their feet to give the commissioners a standing ovation afterward. The whole process is going to take longer, but were going to come up with something thats right for Beacons -- I just know it, Commissioner Kevin Doyle, who lives near the beach access point, said as the cheering crowd quieted. Located in the 900 block of Neptune Avenue, Beacons Beach is accessed via a switchback, dirt trail down a coastal bluff thats prone to landslide activity. The rustic trail, which the city has posted with Danger: Enter at Your Own Risk signs, is beloved by people who live nearby. Advertisement On Thursday night, trail supporters said the trail is easier for the elderly and young children to use than a gigantic staircase down the bluff, better connects beach visitors to the surrounding environment and is truly the center of community life. I would hate to see the Beacons Beach trail go, said Leucadia resident Jessica McDermott said, her voice breaking with emotion as she described how her four children regularly use the trail. I think its like the most beautiful thing in the world ... Theres no other place like it on earth. City planning employees and city-hired consultants said the trail may look stable, but landslide activity has occurred there in the past; thats why this small section of coastline doesnt have homes right on the bluff. And, they said, more slides are very likely in the years to come. There is no warning when these landslides, or when these bluff failures, are going to happen .... Like I said, the movement is not just imminent, its not predictable -- it could just happen, warned geotechnical consultant James Knowlton, who has done coastal bluff research in the Encinitas area for more than 35 years. After a decade of exploring various options to replace or reconstruct the trail and having them rejected by state coastal regulators, the city recently settled on a staircase design that appears to float above the landscape because it rests on big concrete pillars. The project meets state requirements because it doesnt call for sea walls or armoring the bluff, and it allows coastal erosion activity to continue naturally, city associate civil engineer Stephanie Kellar said. Representatives for both the California Coastal Commission and State Parks system, as well as the nonprofit Surfrider Foundation, have expressed support for the plan, she added. On Thursday night, the Planning Commission was asked to approve a design review permit for the proposed staircase and the accompanying reconfiguration of the tiny parking lot, which would eliminate 11 of the 26 spaces. Trail proponents said the projects estimated $3.5 million price tag could be better spent on many decades of future beach trail maintenance work as well as other city projects, and argued that the staircase proposal should be dropped. But several coastal beach sand advocates, including Surfrider Foundation policy manager Julia Chunn-Heer, said the staircase was the citys best shot at preserving beach access without causing harm to coastal environmental conditions. Chunn-Heer, an Encinitas resident, said Surfrider didnt have an opinion about whether the staircase ought to be made of wood or concrete, and said she would support the use of the trail in the short term, but the best long-term solution was the staircase. Planning Commissioners took the middle ground, saying that they believed a staircase was eventually going to be necessary, but there was plenty of time for a redesign. I dont think the bluff is going to fail this year, Doyle said, adding that hes not a betting man, but if I was in Vegas, Id take those odds in a flash. Commissioners decided to direct city employees and consultants to host a series of community meetings to craft a compromise design that would better blend in with the hillside. They also said they would like to see a full-scale environmental assessment of the project, or at least an updating of an environmental report done years ago. This really is the focal point of Leucadia -- its kind of iconic, Commission Chairman Glenn OGrady said of the trail access route. Big news broke on Friday, day two, at San Diego Comic-Con 2018. Here are some of the major announcements and things we saw Friday. 4:20 p.m.: The highly anticipated trailer for the M. Night Shyamalan movie made its debut at Comic-Con today. 3:20 p.m.: Watch this time-lapsed video of the crowds at Comic-Con 1 p.m.: Comic-Con Museum unveils teaser video for Balboa Park location The Comic-Con Museum on Friday offered a preview of its upcoming museum location at San Diegos Balboa Park. 12:45 p.m.: Andrew Lincoln confirms he will be leaving Walking Dead show Andrew Lincoln, the actor who plays Rick Grimes in AMCs The Walking Dead, confirmed to fans at San Diego Comic-Con 2018 that season nine will be his last on the show. Show creator Robert Kirkman had said that much on Thursday, but the news has now been confirmed by the actor himself just as the cast makes an appearance at Comic-Con. 12:25 p.m.: Guardians of the Galaxy franchise director James Gunn fired James Gunn, the filmmaker who directed the first and second Guardians of the Galaxy movies, was fired Friday after conservative pundits resurfaced shocking remarks about pedophelia and rape he made on Twitter. Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn told The Hollywood Reporter that the company severed ties with Gunn after learning about the tweets. On a Twitter thread, Gunn offered a response to his old deleted tweets some of which joked about intercourse with boys on Thursday. I used to make a lot of offensive jokes. I dont anymore, he said on Twitter. Gunn was also set to appear in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday at 6:15 p.m. but it remains to be seen whether he will appear. 12:10 p.m.: The Good Places almighty burrito makes its Comic-Con debut The burrito see in one episode of NBCs The Good Place the episode is titled The Burrito made its debut at Comic-Con where fans got to take photos with the, uh, giant burrito on a platter. 11:40 a.m.: Fear The Walking Dead, Season 4 trailer debuts at Comic-Con AMC dropped its trailer for the second half of its fourth season of the Fear The Walking Dead at its Friday panel event, The Hollywood Reporter said. 9 a.m.: The Walking Deads Andrew Lincoln to leave show after season nine Day two of San Diego Comic-Con 2018 kicks off with the big announcement from the hit show The Walking Dead. Andrew Lincoln who plays Rick Grimes in AMCs The Walking Dead is expected to leave the show after season nine, show creator Robert Kirkman confirmed at Comic-Con on Thursday. At a press conference with the cast on Friday, Digital Spy reported that the cast was tight-lipped on Lincolns exit. Email: luis.gomez@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @RunGomez Read The Conversation on Flipboard. ALSO How Thursday at Comic-Con 2018 unfolded in San Diego Comic-Con 2018: 20 items for under $20 in the exhibit hall Here are some of the announcements and exciting things that happened Saturday, day three, at San Diego Comic-Con 2018. 3:39 p.m.: Impractical Jokers annual block party in full swing truTVs Impractical Jokers block party has become a staple of Comic-Con and it took over the park at Petco Park on Saturday starting a 1 p.m. The party includes a zipline, autographs with the cast, music, food trucks and more. 2:32 p.m.: Fans of Rose show their support Kelly Marie Tran left Instagram in June after months of online harassment and fans of her and her Star Wars: The Last Jedi character Rose rallied at Comic-Con to show love for the San Diego native. 12:10 p.m.: Aquaman makes a splash appearance in Hall H Jason Momoa, who plays Aquaman in the latest DC Universe movie, made a splashy appearance in Hall H. And heres the trailer for Aquaman: 11:56 a.m.: Shazam! trailer brings laughter to Hall H Fans were able to see a surprise first look at DCs upcoming Shazam film staring Zachary Levi. The film is expected to hit theaters in April of 2019. 11:50 a.m.: Wonder Woman 1984' takes the stage at Hall H Chris Pine, Gal Gadot and director Patty Jenkins took the stage at Hall H to discuss the upcoming Wonder Woman movie sequel without spoiling any secrets. Jenkins said Pines character, Steve Trevor, would be a very important part of the movie, according to Deadline.com. A short clip of the movie was also shown, which Deadline described as one showing Wonder Woman flying into a mall and rescuing a child. 11:37 a.m.: The Good Place finds a home at Comic-Con The Good Place may not seem like an obvious choice for Comic-Con, but the Hilton Bayfronts Indigo Ballroom was jam-packed for the shows panel. The cast was asked whether they personally would make it into the Good Place and only Ted Danson and Kristen Bell gave thumbs up. 11:20 a.m.: Millie Bobbie Brown appears on Hall H for Godzilla panel Millie Bobbie Brown, the actor who plays Eleven in the Netflix show Stranger Things, made an appearance at Hall H for the Godzilla panel. A longer trailer for the movie also dropped at Hall H. 11:05 a.m.: Johnny Depp makes surprise appearance as Grindelwald at Fantastic Beasts panel Johnny Depp, who plays Gellert Grindelwald in the movie Fantastic Beasts, made a surprise appearance in full character at the movies panel in Hall H on Saturday. 9:35 a.m.: Doors open to huge crowds Day three at San Diego Comic-Con opened to huge crowds as seen through the lens of social media. Heres one tweet from Joblo.com editor in chief Paul Shirey. Email: luis.gomez@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @RunGomez Read The Conversation on Flipboard. Hamas said on Saturday it had agreed a truce with Israel in the Gaza Strip, a day after clashes killed an Israeli soldier and four Palestinians along the volatile border. The Israeli occupying military declined to comment on the reported ceasefire. Israel's government and army rarely acknowledge ceasefires with Hamas, but a military spokeswoman said civilian life should return to normal in areas next to Gaza. In what appeared to be an isolated incident, with no reports of casualties, an Israeli tank fired on a Hamas post in Gaza after Palestinian suspects breached the border fence and entered Israeli territory before retreating back into Gaza, the occupying military said. There were no other reports of unrest in the area. On Friday, Palestinian gunmen killed an Israeli soldier and the Israeli military launched dozens of strikes that killed four Palestinians, including three Hamas fighters. At least 120 Gazans were wounded. "With Egyptian and United Nations efforts it has been agreed to return to the era of calm between (Israel) and Palestinian factions," said Fawzi Barhoum, spokesman for the Hamas Islamist group that controls Gaza. The soldier was the first member of Israel's occupation army to be killed on the Gaza front since a 2014 war between Israel and Hamas, a military spokesman said. During the flare-up which lasted several hours, the Israeli military said its jets and tanks hit 68 Hamas targets, and destroyed "buildings and infrastructures and revoked significant military and command and control capabilities." Egyptian security officials and a diplomat from another unnamed state held contacts with Hamas and Israel in an effort to restore calm and prevent further deterioration, a Palestinian official told Reuters. If confirmed, it would be the third ceasefire between Israel Islamist Hamas to be brokered by Egypt this year and the second truce to be agreed this week after a day-long flare up last Saturday. Weekly clashes at the Israel-Gaza border have kept tensions high for months. At least 149 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli occupation forces during protests at the frontier held every week since March. Protest organizers say they are demanding the right to return to lands lost to Israel in the 1948 war of its foundation and for an Israeli blockade to ease. The surge in violence comes as Palestinian hopes for an independent state have dwindled and peace talks remain stalled. Gaza, home to 2 million people, most of whom depend on foreign aid, has been under Israeli economic sanctions for 12 years. Palestinians in Gaza have for months been demonstrating against Israel's decade-long blockade of the territory and in support of their right to return to lands they fled or were driven from during the war surrounding the creation of Israel in 1948. In the wake of the Great March of Return demonstrations, which started on 30 March, Gazas already overstretched health sector has been struggling to cope with the mass influx of casualties. At least 149 Palestinians have been killed and thousands injured by Israeli occupation forces during the protests near the border with Israel. Israel has maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza which it argues is necessary to isolate Hamas. The blockade is worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza, which human rights advocates have described as collective punishment of the Palestinians living in the strip. The Gaza Strip faces an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, caused by over 10 years of Israeli blockade, alongside an internal Palestinian divide, which worsened in 2017, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). *This story was edited by Ahram Online. Search Keywords: Short link: Batman and Catwoman were supposed to get married. At least, thats what DC Comics had teased for months in their much-publicized Batman No. 50 wedding issue and plenty of tie-in books that fans eagerly bought. Then, it didnt happen. To the shock of many readers, Catwoman called off the engagement at the last minute and many readers went to the Internet to express outrage that they had been misled. Advertisement To make matters worse, the big reveal of what would happen appeared in The New York Times several days before the issue hit the shelves. A lot of the blame has been thrown at Batman writer Tom King, who addressed fans at the DC Nation panel Friday at Comic-Con International. He also had a bodyguard standing behind him throughout the panel, which he said came from death threats over the issue. The anger you guys felt, the disappointment you felt, that passion, is exactly what Batman felt, King said to the room of roughly 600 fans. He was on that roof. He thought he was getting married. He bought every (expletive) tie-in. King said he wanted readers to actually feel the same pain as Batman, which is why it was necessary to have readers believe it was going to happen. Batman No. 50 (Courtesy of DC Entertainment) He asked readers for patience because they were in the middle of a 100-issue story and to not walk away from the book now. From day one, this was always going to be a story about someone breaking Batman, he said. King said the point of the story was finding a way to hurt Batman, because the physical ways that he has been hurt have been done before. Even emotional pain over his sidekick dying has happened more than once. Even his Robins. He has a Robin die every third Sunday, King joked. He said the story will examine whether Batman will ever be able to rebuild himself and find some sort of happiness again. Its unclear from King how serious he took the death threats over Batman No. 50. It seemed from Twitter that the bodyguard seemed to be enjoying himself and signing autographs. Were aware of the comments directed at Tom King on Twitter and are supportive of his decision to engage security to ensure a perfectly safe environment in San Diego, said DC in a statement. We take any and all threats against DC talent and employees seriously. Comments such as these go against everything our company and industry represents. Threats over something that happened in a comic book do have precedent. In 2016, Captain America writer Nick Spencer got death threats when the character went evil for a story arc. It turned out Captain America had just been manipulated by his arch-nemesis Red Skull, but that wasnt explained in the first issue. Even as more was revealed, the story line showing that it was not really Captain America who become a fascist, fans and retailers still had plenty to say. Like King, Marvel Comics issued a statement to ABC News asking fans them to allow the story to unfold before coming to a conclusion. Because of the Batman 50 death threats they got me a bodyguard for the Con. This is David. He is presumably already very bored with endless looking for toys. For my uh kids. pic.twitter.com/snbBYMHwcx Tom King (@TomKingTK) July 19, 2018 Business phillip.molnar@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1891 Twitter: @phillipmolnar ALSO San Diegos new single-family homes are pricey, modern and in short supply Tijuana condo craze continues in to 2018 Last years housing market broke records UPDATES: July 23: This article was updated with a longer statement from DC Comics that included it was supportive of (Kings) decision to engage security. From blues and Western swing to rockabilly and vintage R&B, few albums released so far this year celebrate American roots music as joyfully as Dave Alvin and Jimmy Dale Gilmores Downey to Lubbock. The 12-song album is an outgrowth of a short 2017 tour by Alvin, the co-founder of The Blasters, and veteran Texas troubadour Gilmore. Whether rocking out or doing a tender ballad, the two have an endearing musical chemistry. They also have exemplary taste in material be it Woody Guthries ever-timely Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos), Lloyd Prices rollicking Lawdy Miss Clawdy or Lightnin Hopkins Buddy Browns Blues and sufficient skill to put their own stamp on such enduring classics. Its safe to assume these songs sound even more inspired when Alvin and Gilmore perform them live with Alvins ace band, The Guilty Men, as they will Wednesday at the Belly Up. The opening set by The Mekons co-founder Jon Langford should be worth arriving early to hear. Advertisement Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore, accompanied by The Guilty Ones, with special guest Jon Langford: 8 p.m. Wednesday. Belly Up, 143 South Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. $25 (general admission; $45 (reserved loft seating); must be 21 or older to attend. (858) 481-8140. bellyup.com george.varga@sduniontribune.com Twitter @georgevarga For the newlyweds in Neil Simons Barefoot in the Park, the ups and downs of settling into married life are more literal than usual: The pair have moved into a sixth-floor Manhattan flat with no way to get there but the stairs. But while that kind of walkup apartment may be more of a New York than San Diego phenomenon, the metaphorical walkup to working out a new relationship possibly in new, unfamiliar digs is something couples anywhere on the planet probably can relate to, says Jessica Stone, whos directing a fresh revival of the 1963 comedy for the Old Globe. Those early disagreements, as you first start to live with someone I feel that is universal, says Stone, a Broadway actor turned director who has made a splash with three previous shows at the Globe. Being in a sixth-floor walkup in a teeny-tiny place thats quirky, and the radiator only works if you figure out the tricks I feel as though that does have more than a small nod to a New York experience. Advertisement But I still think everyone can relate to their first hideous apartment. And the affection you have for it. New York stories The director and stars of Barefoot in the Park share memories of their first apartments in New York City: Jessica Stone: My first apartment in New York was above a dog-grooming salon. It was five floors up, on 86th Street between West End Avenue and Broadway (in Manhattan). And the halls smelled like wet dog. It was two rooms and had an outdoor space that was as big as a bathroom. It was ridiculous, and I still look back on it fondly. It was my first years on my own. But I dont miss the smell. I love dogs, and it was a disgusting smell. Kerry Bishe: My first New York apartment was in Brooklyn at North Eighth and Havemeyer, in Williamsburg. And the shower was in the kitchen. It was literally, you had the refrigerator door here, and then you had the shower door here, and then the sink. Really cozy! And I shared that with two roommates. Chris Lowell: My first apartment in New York was at 13th and A (in Manhattan). It was above a bar called Heathers. It was the top story of a five-floor walkup. The whole top was unfinished, and there wasnt a bedroom, so I had a ladder that came down in the kitchen, and I would crawl up into this crawl space, with just a mattress on the floor where I slept. It was a studio with a foldout couch, but the bedroom was up this ladder. I moved there in, like, February, and I just remember lying down in this crawl space in which I couldnt sit up all the way and seeing a mouse at eye level. I think I spent probably 90 percent of the rest of my time there sleeping on the couch. And beyond that, says Kerry Bishe who joins fellow film and TV star Chris Lowell in the shows lead roles the kind of give-and-take required to get by in a big urban environment like New York mirrors the spirit of accommodation that helps make a relationship work. Theres something about everybody living together in kind of a big melting-pot, mash-up soup, where we have to figure out a way to live together, says Bishe, a New Jersey native whose credits include TVs Halt and Catch Fire and Scrubs, as well as Broadways Pygmalion and the Oscar-winning movie Argo. And I think thats one of the things the play fundamentally deals with how do you live with people who are different from you? In the same city, in the same building, in the same household or marriage? How do you negotiate differences? The Atlanta-born Lowell, a star of the current Netflix series GLOW whose TV appearances also include Private Practice and the San Diego-shot Veronica Mars, concurs. That feeling of having to negotiate and compromise, he says, is a big part of what this play is about. Director Jessica Stone (center) with cast members Jere Burns, Mia Dillon, Kerry Bishe and Chris Lowell (from left). The cast also features John Garcia and Jake Millgard. (Jim Cox) Barefoot centers on Corie and Paul Bratter, whove just begun their life together on the top floor of a brownstone apartment building. Paul is a high-strung lawyer, and Corie, who doesnt really have a career (one of the aspects of Barefoot that tends to date the play), is a prototypical free spirit who wants her new husband to chill out a bit by, among other things, running shoeless in Central Park in winter. The conflicts that flare between them form the core of the story, which roves over four days in the pairs lives. Like other Simon plays, Barefoot which was adapted into a 1967 movie starring Robert Redford (picked up from the Broadway production) and Jane Fonda has a bit more going on than the playwrights reputation for light comedy might suggest, although Stone notes its not necessarily his most adventurous work. I think that often, writers of comedies are underrated and underestimated, the director says. I think people dont quite understand the skill it is a puzzle. You have to have the stakes of a scene, you have to have characters who need and want very real, very vital, urgent things. And then they have to crack a joke. There has to be a real understanding of human behavior and psychology and history in order to lampoon them. That added skill of the music and math to comedy, and just the skill of writing a good joke, is really difficult, and I think people dismiss it too quickly. And with Simon, I think its just an easy jab to say hes all fluff and theres not much there. I think its incorrect. That being said, this play is a souffle. And that has its place as well. This is about love, really. So youve got a young couple in the early days of their marriage, and you have parental love, neighborly love, community love. And I think for an hour and a half, that is a really sweet way to spend your time. (Stones production, going up in the Globes arena-style White Theatre, also features Mia Dillon as Mrs. Ethel Banks, Cories mom; Jere Burns as the entertaining neighbor Victor Velasco; Jake Millgard as the telephone repairman; and John Garcia as the deliveryman.) So has the 60s sensibility of the play presented some challenges in staging it for a modern audience? Without a doubt, Stone acknowledges. This was the urbane/urban comedy of its day. And as I was saying the other day at first rehearsal, those are always the first shows to creak. Theyre the first ones to show signs of aging. It has required some softening of edges. We had to make sure that, as (Corie) is dying to spend their first night together in their first apartment, and he has to prep for his first case in the morning, shes not only seeming whiny and irrational. There also were matters of dealing with some language that could threaten to take us right out of the play, Stone adds. But at the same time, says Lowell, it was important to retain the real sense of tension that courses below the comedy. I think it makes the experience of seeing the play that much more rewarding, when youre able to pepper in big truths and realities and drama, he says. When the stakes feel high. We just started rehearsing the big fight at the end of Act 2, and Jess told us not to play for any jokes, and just to really lean into the truth of this fight to have it be a real fight. It just felt great to not be thinking about anything but the truth of the moment. It just felt so alive to me. Bishe, who has known Lowell since well before they came to the Globe, responds to his thoughts with a name-check of a famous playwright who predates Simon a bit: George Bernard Shaw always said he wrote comedies to try and make people laugh so theyd open their mouths and he could shove the truth down them, she observes. I think theres some of that here. Its a really sweet, charming play that kind of puts your guard down, and theres this sort of subtle lesson about learning how to compromise. And that couldnt be a more important story to tell right now. But I also think it shouldnt be overlooked that its like a piece of cotton candy. Its like a frothy summer treat. Barefoot in the Park When: Previews begin July 28. Opens Aug. 2. 7 p.m. Tuesdays-Wednesdays (plus 2 p.m. Aug. 22); 8 p.m. Thursdays-Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays. (No matinee today, and no performances Aug. 25-26). Through Sept. 2. Where: Old Globes Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, Balboa Park. Tickets: $30 and up Phone: (619) 234-5623 Online: theoldglobe.org jim.hebert@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @jimhebert Sen. Kamala Harris, D-California, visited with sailors and toured a fast-attack submarine at Naval Base Point Loma on. Friday Harris, at a news conference afterwards, praised the work of the submarine force and blasted what she called President Donald Trumps disgraceful and irresponsible stance toward U.S. allies and a historic foe, Russia. This administration does not fully understand... who is an ally and who is an adversary, she said. It is...foolhardy to embrace ones adversary and push away and insult ones ally. Many U.S. allies are currently participating in the biannual Rim of the Pacific or RIMPAC the largest maritime military exercise in the world. Advertisement Twenty-five nations are participating in RIMPAC including many from the European Union, which Trump called a foe in comments made just before his now infamous meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. I hope that our allies trust working with us, Harris said. And I trust that they know that we as a nation, and we as Americans, are forever grateful for those friendships and alliances that have surpassed who happens to be in the White House. Harris, who serves on both the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said it was important to get out of Washington, D.C.s wood-paneled rooms and see what was going on in the fleet first-hand. I want us to have the best fleet in the world, she said. I dont want it to be that were competing with China or Russia I want there to be no competition. Harris toured the fast-attack submarine Scranton. She said she wants to make sure sailors have the best resources available to them, and to see where the government could do better. I will always stand in support of military families, she said. That means giving them the resources that they need, the benefits that they need and also taking care of them when they come back. Harris did not answer questions about the 2020 presidential race. A Navy commander with 23 years of military service pleaded guilty to a drug charge Friday in San Diego federal court, admitting that he conspired to buy and sell ecstasy and other drugs on the dark web over at least an 18-month period that ended with his March arrest at his Hillcrest condo. Adolph Garza, 54, faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, and a fine up to $500,000, when hes sentenced in December. He pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances by internet. The San Diego resident admitted using the dark web to make multiple purchases of ecstasy, ketamine, cocaine, amphetamine and other controlled substances over an 18-month period from August 2016 to March of this year. Garza was arrested during a March 7 raid at his Hillcrest condo, according to Sherri Walker Hobson, an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California. Advertisement While serving the search warrant at Garzas residence, inspectors from the U.S. Postal Service and special agents from Homeland Security Investigations and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service seized ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine, amphetamine and other controlled substances. They also discovered sealers, packaging and mailing materials, including DVD cases that were used to conceal what was being shipped. According to court documents, a package of ecstasy from the Netherlands was bound for Garzas condo unit on Aug. 12, 2016, when it was intercepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection investigators at the Chicago International Mail Facility. It was the first of more than a dozen packages sent to Garza that was found to contain illegal drugs, according to Postal Inspector David Jones. Four days after the first package was seized, another shipment of ecstasy was seized at the same Chicago airport. The other shipments of ecstasy bound for Garzas address were discovered at airports in Chicago, San Francisco and New York, and at mailboxes in San Diego. According to investigators and federal prosecutors, Garzas name and address were also discovered on two separate drug ledgers during investigations into other dark-web drug distributors. Garza is set to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cynthia Bashant. While he faces up to 20 years in federal custody, prosecutors agreed in a plea deal to recommend the low end of the advisory guideline, though its not yet clear what the advisory guideline will be. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 10. Twitter: @Alex_Riggins (619) 293-1710 alex.riggins@sduniontribune.com The Syrian army and its allies made advances in the southwest that bring it closer to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights border, state television and rebels said on Saturday. The army, backed by a Russian air campaign, has been pushing into the edges of Quneitra province following an offensive last month that routed rebels in adjoining Deraa province who were once backed by Washington, Jordan and Gulf states. The offensive has restored Syrian government control over a swathe of the southwest, strategic territory at the borders with Jordan and Israel. The capture of a string of villages in a zone extending between the two southwestern provinces, announced by the army on Saturday, comes as a second group of rebels and their relatives are expected to evacuate to northern Syria later in the day. A deal negotiated by Russian officers with rebels in the Quneitra area last week allows safe passage to rebels opposed to a return to state rule, while offering others who decide to stay Russian guarantees against army encroachments in their own localities, rebels say. It also allows the return of Syrian army brigades that existed before the 2011 conflict back to where they were stationed near a 1974 demilitarized zone with Israel on the Golan frontier. More than 2,500 people, among them fighters from Islamist groups who have rejected the deal, left on Friday headed to opposition areas in northern Syria. Other phases of the agreement, which includes the handover of weapons and the entry of Russian military police in some villages, were expected to be implemented in coming days, a rebel source said Tens of thousands of people have been sheltering at the frontier since the Russian and Syrian aerial bombing campaign that the opposition called a scorched earth policy began one month ago. Russia has been exerting pressure on the Syrian army to facilitate the return of many of the displaced and has also lobbied the United Nations to send regular convoys of aid to ease the humanitarian crisis triggered by the offensive, U.N. officials said. A senior Western diplomatic source said Moscow, which has reached understandings with Israel and Jordan that made it possible to move with the offensive, was keen to stabilise the border area to prove that its Syria intervention sought a political settlement to the seven-year-old conflict. Search Keywords: Short link: A San Diego federal judge on Friday said he was impressed with the massive effort to reunify some 2,500 children separated from their parents at the border and that it appeared promising that a very significant number of families would be joined by next Thursdays deadline. It appears this process is working, is on track and is on time, U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw said during a court hearing. Theres a lot of work left to do, responded August Flentje, an attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice. Were hoping to get it done. Im thinking theres going to be some complicated issues that are going to arise next week. The reunions appear to be happening at a good clip within a large group of parents who are already in immigration custody, have been vetted as mothers and fathers and have passed a background check. Advertisement As of Friday morning, 450 children ages 5 and older had been reunited, and 954 parents had been greenlighted, according to the latest numbers. The complicated issues the government is anticipating involves tracking down parents whove either been previously released into the U.S. which is at least more than 200 or deported to their home countries a figure that hasnt been released yet. Authorities are also working to confirm the parent-child relationship in an unknown number of situations that have raised red flags. The judge has ordered the government to use DNA testing as a last resort when necessary. The American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the class-action lawsuit challenging the family separations, expects to receive detailed lists by Monday of parents who have either been deported, who have final removal orders, or who have been released into the interior of the U.S. The delay to do so appears to be caused by the continuing effort to match up databases from separate federal agencies Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Health and Human Services as well as federal and state law enforcement agencies that might have some parents in criminal custody. The ACLU has asked for the lists so it can dispatch its vast network of advocacy partner groups to help locate parents, as well as to make sure those facing imminent deportation have been counseled on their options as a family. About 860 parents already have final removal orders. However, removals of reunited families have been temporarily halted by the judge until he can consider whether to implement a waiting period between reunification and removal. Briefing on the issue is due on Monday and a hearing to discuss it will occur Tuesday. Authorities said at least 136 parents so far have told officials in their final interview that they would like to be removed without their child likely so the children can pursue their own unique immigration claims or because the parent has identified a sponsor in the U.S. ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt urged the government to provide them with a list of those parents as a priority to make sure they understand their rights. The decision they made is fairly momentous to not ever see their child again, said Gelernt, appearing telephonically for the hearing. The government has given little detail about what is happening to families after they are being reunited at one of eight immigration facilities. Most families who have been reunified have been released on parole at the offices of local social services agencies for assistance, according to the DOJ. But it is unclear how many. It appears some parents with final removal orders are being detained with their children upon reunification. When at least 57 children under age 5 were reunited with their parents under an earlier deadline this month, the families were released into the community on parole. Sabraws optimism at the current progress has grown considerably since a week ago Friday, when he asked attorneys to call in for a last-minute status hearing to address a filing by an HHS official. The filing portrayed a reluctance on the part of the government to carry out a truncated vetting process to reunify families and repeatedly warned that children could be put in danger. Sabraw said the comments made him question if the government was in fact acting in good faith and he scolded HHS for seeming to be operating in a vacuum where they are either not reading the courts orders or they are reading the courts orders and selectively plucking out the provisions it likes and then disregarding the ones it does not like, according to the transcript. DOJ attorneys assured Sabraw on the call and during a later hearing that the government understood its duties and were carrying out the judges orders to reunite families both safely and quickly. kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @kristinadavis A developer has significantly softened community opposition to a 52-unit complex in Clairemont planned for formerly homeless people by agreeing that all of the residents will be senior citizens with medical conditions. Concerns this spring that the complex could house drug addicts, sex offenders and other dangerous residents created an uproar among community leaders and prompted them to form a new civic group called Clairemont Cares. Similar controversies are likely across San Diego in coming years as city officials strive to solve the local homelessness crisis by subsidizing housing projects that aim to help homeless people get back on their feet. We definitely heard loud and clear from the community that seniors would be preferred in that location, Rebecca Louie, chief operating officer for developer Wakeland Housing, said by phone this week. People are more comfortable with this population and they can really see the need. Advertisement Louie said the initial community uproar and subsequent softening of opposition could be a lesson for the city and developers planning housing projects for the formerly homeless. In the interest of transparency, Wakeland held a community meeting about the project before making some key decisions, such as which population of homeless residents it would serve. Its hard because if you come out with the project too far along, people complain that you are too far along, she said. And if you come out in the conceptual stage, people want more detail. So I think its hard to find that middle ground. In the future, we would definitely want to have a better picture of exactly what were doing before we go in front of the community. While leaders of Clairemont Cares have softened their opposition, the detail-oriented group still has concerns about exactly who will live in the complex, how they will be chosen and how the on-site support services will be funded. Clairemont Cares is encouraged by recent clarifications made to this project and continues to dialogue with, and be a force for accountability with, all parties on items of continuing concern as well as project details which are still up in the air, Eddie Bradford, one of the groups leaders, said by phone this week. The group also opposes the housing first model for getting homeless people off the street that the city has adopted and that most federal funding for homeless programs and projects depends on. The main idea of the model is that homeless people cant effectively deal with their drug or mental health problems while living on the street, so they need to be immediately housed so their lives can be stabilized before treatment. In a shift from the past, that sometimes means that scarce housing for the homeless can include families living next to drug addicts or people with mental illnesses that make them a danger to themselves and others. Clairemont Cares would like the city, at least in the case of the project proposed in Clairemont, to follow a different model. Clairemont Cares advocates for a safe, family-friendly community free from drug abuse and we oppose the housing first model as its currently being implemented, Bradford said. Instead, we advocate for a direct-access-with-conditions model, which combines elements of Housing First and the traditional model. We believe this will be the most effective way to break the cycle of addiction and dependency that plagues a significant portion of the homeless population. Louie said Wakeland believes limiting the Clairemont project to seniors age 55 and up makes sense regardless of the community opposition. She said the site, which is near large shopping plazas at Balboa and Genesee avenues, is close to grocery shopping, which is crucial for formerly homeless seniors because they rarely own cars. The complex would replace an aging office building on Mt. Alifan Drive. Wakeland hasnt yet submitted plans for the complex to the city. Louie said the earliest it could be built and open to residents is late 2021. For details on the resident group, visit clairemontcares.com. david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick For decades, law enforcement officials across California have had access to a powerful computer network that, with a few keystrokes from a desk terminal or patrol car, can access information on any Californian with a drivers license, registered car, parking ticket, restraining order or dozens of other digital records. The sprawling California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System, or CLETS, also gives police access to national databases maintained by the FBI and the neighboring state of Oregon. Its a little known and widely used police tool officials estimated its used by law enforcement about 2.8 million times every day. But sometimes law enforcement workers tap into the vast trove of information improperly, breaking the rules about when the detailed information can be properly accessed, according to a batch of records of CLETS misuse held by the state Attorney General and collected by a privacy rights group. In 2017, the San Diego County Sheriffs Department investigated 19 suspected incidents of misuse of the network by department employees. Records show four were determined to have violated CLETS-use policies: two people received reprimands, one was suspended, and one resigned over the misuse. The other 15 cases resulted in no administrative action taken. Advertisement That wasnt an unusual year. In 2015, there were 22 investigations that resulted in one termination and one suspension. And in 2014, there were 28 investigations that found four violations. Three people resigned; one was fired that year. The department annually has the largest number of investigations into CLETS misuse of any agency in San Diego, and is one of the highest in the state, the records show. But exactly what the violations entailed isnt known: both the one-page form that agencies are required to turn in dont detail the violations, and the Sheriffs Department citing confidentiality of police personnel records declined to provide details. In an email response to questions, spokeswoman Lt. Karen Stubkjaer said the department takes CLETS abuse seriously and has a robust auditing system that in turn triggers many investigations. We stand behind our aggressive approach to monitoring and auditing CLETS use, she wrote. The Department is prohibited by law from releasing specific and confidential details of personnel investigations. However, when there is the appearance of misuse, we investigate it. The accounting of misuse of the powerful network is the result of a years-long effort by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital privacy rights organization based on the Bay Area. The organization through annual Public Records Act requests to the state Attorney General has collected misuse reports that every agency that taps into CLETS is required to fill out and submit annually. The problem was that for years many agencies did not comply. In 2016, for instance, barely more than half of the required agencies submitted reports, according to the foundation. But earlier this year the Attorney Generals office put its foot down. In April, a bulletin went out that lamented the increasingly low submissions of misuse reporting and warning that in the future agencies that dont file the reports will be subject to sanctions. The warning worked. This year 98 percent of the roughly 1,500 agencies with access to CLETS filed reports. And while some employees have been fired or resigned and a handful have been prosecuted, records show that many violations dont result in any formal action taken against the employee. Misusing the system can take a variety of forms. Its broadly defined as obtaining information outside the normal course of police business. Law enforcement are allowed to access the information if its required for the performance of official duties or functions and if it is okay to do so under state law. Examples of misuse are things like getting information on a family member, friend or ex-wife, or querying the system to get home address or vehicle registration information for personal use. Other examples of misuse given by the Attorney General include querying a firearm to determine if it is stolen prior to purchase and querying high profile individuals in the media. Dave Maass, an investigative researcher with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said the higher compliance was a welcome step but more information about how the system was misused was needed. For police departments this is like Google, he said. Its what they interact with every day. The relatively high number of investigations by the San Diego County sheriff may show a department that is diligent, or one with a chronic problem. Is it that there are more things going on in the San Diego Sheriffs Department? Or are they actually doing a better job of investigating and reporting? Maass said. If thats the case, if San Diego Sheriffs department is doing a good job, what does that say about the other agencies in San Diego? Last year, the San Diego Police Department reported three investigations into misuse, one of which resulted in an administrative action defined only as Other not a resignation, termination, suspension or counseling. The county Probation Department had three investigations that resulted in one termination. Oceanside Police Department reported a single investigation that resulted in termination. And the San Diego Community College District Police Department reported four investigations, none of which resulted in resignation or termination. The majority of agencies in the county said they had no instances of misuse of the system in 2017, the records show. And that has been true for nearly every year since 2010. There have been exceptions, however. In 2012, for example, San Diego Unified School District Police reported 15 misuse investigations. All were closed with no official finding of misuse. Statewide in 2017 there were 143 violations of the rules for using the system reported by the agencies, Electronic Frontier Foundation records show. From that 22 law enforcement employees were either terminated or resigned as a result of CLETS misuse. Twitter: @gregmoran greg.moran@sduniontribune.com A pursuit suspect was shot and injured Friday night in Del Mar Heights after telling 911 dispatchers during the chase that he had a handgun and wanted to commit suicide by cop, police said. The high-speed chase ended a little after 9 p.m. when two sheriffs deputies shot the man after his car became stuck in a marsh east of Torrey Pines State Beach, San Diego police Capt. Mike Hastings said. The deputies, whod likely been informed that the suspect claimed to be armed, believed something was pointed at them by the suspect, Hastings said. Thats when they opened fire. The man was struck in the upper torso and taken to a hospital. Police did not list a condition but said he was stable. Advertisement The events that led to the shooting began about 8:30 p.m. Friday when a deputy tried to pull over a suspected DUI driver in a 2005 Audi near Linda Vista Drive and Poinsettia Avenue in Vista, police said. But instead of pulling over, the Audis driver sped away, leading deputies onto westbound state Route 78, and then southbound Interstate 5 in a chase that reached speeds of 100 mph, Hastings said. At some point during this part of the pursuit, the Audis driver called 911 and said he was armed with a 9 mm handgun and had a woman in the car, Hastings said. At Leucadia Boulevard, the Audi exited the freeway and a woman got out, Hastings said. Some California Highway Patrol officers and deputies detained the passenger, while the Audi got back on southbound I-5. The car got off at Carmel Valley Road and headed west toward Torrey Pines State Beach when the driver veered into the marshland of Los Penasquitos Lagoon, between Portofino Drive and Via Grimaldi, Hastings said. At least two deputies entered the lagoon on foot until they came upon the Audi stuck in the marsh. Thats where they encountered the suspect, continued to advance on the deputies despite their commands to stop, according to police homicide Lt. Anthony Dupree. The suspect kept his right hand behind his back and at one point quickly pointed something at the deputies while taking a shooting stance, Dupree said. Two deputies opened fire. As of just after midnight Saturday, no suspect weapon had been found, the captain said. Investigators were likely going to wait until sunrise Saturday to search for a possible weapon and other evidence. A press release issued after 7 a.m. did not mention whether a weapon had been found. This is a very tough area to do this investigation, because investigators are going to have to get in that marshland and have to walk a very long area to try to find all the evidence thats in there, Hastings said. No deputies or officers were injured in the incident. The names of the deputies and the suspect were not immediately released. The deputies involved have served with the Sheriffs Department for five years and two years. A long line of police lights at the scene was visible from northbound I-5 late Friday night. Amy Jackson, who lives on Carmel Valley Road, was home reading around 9 p.m. when she heard a vehicle race by. She then heard the sirens of the law enforcement vehicles in close pursuit and looked out a window to see them speeding past. Jackson went outside, but soon retreated when she heard four or five gunshots. The perpetrators car must have drove into an embankment, and then shortly after that, there were the shots, Jackson said from the driveway of her residence roughly 100 yards from where the pursuit ended. San Diego police, sheriffs deputies and CHP officers remained at the scene past midnight, and San Diego homicide detectives were expected to be there until well past sunrise Saturday. Because the shooting occurred in San Diego Police Department jurisdiction, Hastings homicide unit is responsible for the investigation. The unit typically investigates all officer-involved shootings in the city, even when the shootings are non-fatal. Twitter: @Alex_Riggins (619) 293-1710 alex.riggins@sduniontribune.com UPDATES: 9:25 a.m. Saturday: This article was updated with additional details. 1:30 a.m. Friday: This article was updated with addition details and quotes. 11:05 p.m. Friday: This article was updated with additional details. This article was originally published at 10:30 p.m. Friday. A motorcyclist was fatally injured Friday afternoon in Lemon Grove when he lost control around a curve, struck a curb and was thrown from his motorcycle, authorities said. California Highway Patrol officers said the victim was a 48-year-old National City man. His name was not immediately released. The deadly crash happened just after 2:45 p.m. on westbound Jamacha Road approaching Osage Drive, just east of the Lemon Grove-San Diego border. The National City man was speeding on his 2018 Harley Davidson Sportster when he failed to slow for a sweeping left-hand curve in the road, CHP spokesman Officer Travis Garrow said. He drifted right through the curve and struck a concrete curb. Advertisement The motorcycle continued out of control up a dirt (and) rock embankment, at which point the rider was ejected off the motorcycle, Garrow said in a statement. Several motorists stopped to help the victim, and firefighters and paramedics attempted to save the man, who was taken to Scripps Mercy Hospital in Hillcrest. Doctors at the hospital pronounced him dead upon arrival. An investigation into the crash was underway Friday evening, Garrow said. It was unknown if drugs or alcohol contributed to the crash. Twitter: @Alex_Riggins (619) 293-1710 alex.riggins@sduniontribune.com Egypt's Sahar Nasr and Hala El-Saeed -- respective ministers of investment and international cooperation and of planning and administrative reform -- discussed Sinai development projects and ways in which the World Bank (WB) can support the plans alongside WB officials during a visit to Washington, Al Ahram Arabic website reported on Sunday. Nasr and Saeed discussed how the WB and the International Finance Cooperation (IFC) can support and participate in development projects with the private sector, which will be carried out by the Egyptian-Saudi investment fund in the Sinai Peninsula. According to Nasr, the Egyptian-Saudi investment fund has US$16 billion of Saudi capital to inject investments into a number of projects in Egyptian governorates. The minister added that the projects would be chosen from Egypt's investment map, which was prepared by Egypt's Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation in coordination with the rest of the ministries and governmental agencies. Nasr added that the majority of the projects would focus primarily on the Sinai Peninsula. Practice Manager at the WB Jean Pesme expressed great anticipation for the WB's upcoming support for the private sector in development projects in Sinai. Saeed spoke about the new Egyptian sovereign wealth fund, and how Egypt is learning from other countries experiences. The two ministers also met the Middle East and North Africa vice president of the WB in Washington, discussing future development projects the WB could support, as well as how to accelerate procedures to receive the $1 billion of support for Sinai development along with the $5 million to support affordable social housing projects. Search Keywords: Short link: The man police believe fatally shot a Hawaii officer during a traffic stop was gunned down during a wild shootout with cops after a three-day manhunt. Justin Joshua Waiki, 33, evaded police with the help of people on the Big Island, before they tracked him down at the extreme southern end of the island, according to police. An officer and a woman who was with Waiki were also injured in the gunplay. They were taken to area hospitals, but their conditions are unknown. Hawaii County Police Officer Bronson Kaimana Kaliloa, 46, a father of three, was shot to death while making a traffic stop Wednesday, July 18, 2018. (Hawaii County Police Department via AP) Advertisement Police had been looking for Waiki since Wednesday when investigators believe he shot and killed Officer Bronson Kaimana Kaliloa during a traffic stop near the town of Hilo. He fled into the brush on the mostly rural island where the Kilauea volcano has been erupting in recent months. Police arrested two people who they suspected of harboring the fugitive on Thursday on the opposite side of the island from where the officer was killed. A plainclothes officer stopped a pickup truck with a man and woman inside. When the officer ordered them out of the vehicle, they tried to flee, but were quickly captured. Kaliloa, 46, was the first officer killed in the line of duty on the island. His death launched a 24-hour task force to find his killer. Federal law enforcement agencies had set up a $30,000 reward for information that led to his arrest. Police believe they received false leads on his whereabouts from people helping him evade authorities. The fallen officer was the father of three adopted kids, who had been married for 23 years. He was awarded Officer of the Year in 2014. He was strong and kind and funny and smart and chivalrous and served his community every day as an honest and upstanding police officer whose convictions guided him to always do the right thing, his niece Kawehi Haug wrote in a Facebook message. With News Wire Services. In 2002, the George W. Bush administration consolidated all immigration enforcement agencies under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the largest restructuring of the U.S. government since the creation of the Department of Defense, under the narrative of his war on terror. Twenty-two federal agencies, including all immigration agencies, were placed under DHS jurisdiction. The primary function of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under its Enforcement and Removal Operations has been to identify, detain, arrest and deport all unauthorized migrants, immigrants and refugees that cannot prove lawful status within the U.S. The central issue for many in the migrant rights movement has been the question of lawful status in the context of a shifting national security police state that criminalizes migrant workers; a far departure from the administrative violations previously considered under U.S. immigration policy for those without status. Related: ICE provides vital service for Americans Early in its creation, ICE used questionable tactics, functioning as a secretive police force; entering a community in unmarked vehicles brandishing a federal agent badge or jacket and taking people away in unmarked vehicles with no license plates. This practice continues to this date. The scenes have been effectively viewed as kidnappings as families targeted were not informed of what agency was carrying out the detention. Today, while we do know the name of the agency, locating a person in ICE detention and ensuring meaningful legal consul, prior to a removal proceeding, remains a serious challenge. Advertisement Communities have grown far too accustomed to seeing early morning or late evening dragnets carried out when most people are either getting ready for work or getting ready for bed, instilling a sense of persecution and generalized fear within large segments of migrant communities. The persecution of workers is highlighted when agents carry out large-scale workplaces raids, and underscores the function of ICE as an anti-worker police force that function against the interest of working people. The use of unmarked vehicles added a Gestapo-like tactic of secrecy with many families unaware of the whereabouts of their loved ones. The proceeding process of holding someone for ransom, also known as bond, economically cripples many working families and adds a disastrous impact on peoples ability to defend their case in immigration proceedings, especially considering the cost of immigration lawyers. The destruction of the family unit as a matter of state policy is a reflection of the violence this institution is willing to carry out in the name of law and order. The psychological trauma the shame it is meant to inflict on working people, to endure an arrest in front of children, to be taken from their homes, and to shift the burden of raising a family onto the shoulders of eldest children often left to fend for themselves is a crime all onto itself. The grotesque correlation between immigration enforcement and the use of for-profit prisons or detention centers adds insult to injury. There is a direct correlation between the laws that criminalize migration and the growth of private prison expansion and use. The same people who were once legislators at the state and federal level, who used the legislative process to manufacture a for-profit prison industry, are some of the same corporate investors who today operate or work for private prison corporations. The exorbitant cost of detention, and the lack of transparency in instances of abuse, has led to numerous people dying in ICE custody. The most recent atrocity of forced family separation that is taking place throughout the borderlands as part of the zero tolerance policies of the current administration accentuates the cruel and illegal treatment of children at the hands of ICE and Customs and Border Protection. The use of ICE as an instrument of fear in order to deter future migrant flows or as a deterrent against asylum seekers amounts to international crimes against the right of children. The level of carelessness revealed in recent court proceedings where we learned that there are children who have been separated from their parents who the government either deported without their children or who are unable to locate their parents in detention is evidence that this agency has reached its limits as a useful or meaningful agency in the interest of the public good. When an agency or government entity is destructive to the pursuit of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, it is up to the people to reform or abolish it. It is the view of the American Friends Service Committee that it is time to abolish this cruel and inhumane agency to stop it from destroying the nucleus of our society, and it is time to ensure all families are able to live without the constant fear of family separation. Prado is program coordinator, U.S.-Mexico Border Program, American Friends Service Committee. Family separation at the border has fueled a public outcry that has inflamed the call to abolish the Immigration, Customs and Enforcement agency. But ICE is not in charge of determining family detention or separations at the border; the responsible agency is Customs and Border Protection. Many elected officials, including Sen. Kamala Harris, D-California, have utilized family separation to justify their contempt for ICE due to its enforcing civil immigration law and for other duties that ensure effective interior enforcement. Already, a bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives to abolish ICE. In the U.S. Senate, Harris has introduced a bill that would eliminate funding for any construction or expansion of any ICE detention facility. It also would cut in half the number of current detention beds, which would effectively decimate ICE functions. Related: Why ICE agency should be abolished New York Democrat gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon called ICE a terrorist organization, but ICE was primarily formed in 2002 to prevent terrorism. ICE tracks illegal movement of suspects, goods, exporting of military firearms and ammunition, among many other enforcement tasks. A few days ago, ICE officers were conducting apprehensions with cooperation from the Oakland Police Department while breaking up a human trafficking ring when these law enforcement officers were confronted outside by demonstrators protesting ICE with signs, one reading No Person is Illegal. Advertisement On a daily basis, on average, ICE jails 842 aliens, arrests 279 criminal aliens, deports 645 illegal aliens, arrests seven child predators, blocks 3,055 malware attacks and confiscates 2,973 pounds of illegal narcotics. ICE also initiates eight new sensitive technology investigations, manages more than 6,500 active legal cases, obtains five convictions for human smuggling and completes three removal flights carrying dozens of deported individuals to their native country. If ICE is abolished or defunded, the American people should brace themselves for diminished interior enforcement, more illegal drugs with increasing crime rates caused by more transnational gang crime and criminals left here undeported. A recent Rasmussen poll shows 54 percent of Americans believe the parents, not the federal government, are to blame for the child separations caused by their crossing our borders illegally. San Diego-based U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw has upheld separating children when a parent is criminally charged at the border for committing non-immigration crimes or if held in detention for felony re-entry. Misdemeanor first-time entry carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail and there are increasing numbers of these cases being prosecuted. Rather than blaming ICE, those behind the nationwide uproar over family separation need to focus on the real problem. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen stated the vast majority about 10,000 of the children in the care of her agency were separated by their own parents in their native countries and sent here alone to cross our borders; some have been documented as MS-13 or other gang members. Another major concern for public focus are the large numbers of criminal aliens illegally entering the United States. Organizations supporting illegal migrants have private research stating immigrants commit less crime than citizens, ostensibly mixing illegal migrants with legal immigrants. Illegal migrants are 3.5 percent of the U.S. population. The U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Sentencing Commission last reported illegal aliens were convicted and sentenced for about 13 percent of all crimes committed in the U.S., according to the political website The Hill. The General Accounting Office reviewed the criminal histories of 55,322 illegal migrants in federal or state prisons and local jails, and found an average of 8.3 arrests per undocumented migrant. The U.S. Sentencing Commission data shows illegal migrants committed 74 percent of all federal drug possession crimes, 20 percent of all kidnapping and hostage-taking cases, 17 percent of all drug trafficking crimes, 12 percent of all money laundering and 12 percent of all murder cases, according to a 2015 International Business Times article. ICE must continue to decrease the unlawful criminal element and fight terrorism. If ICE can no longer fulfill its role in immigration enforcement, we will draw more poverty and crime into the United States. Any reduction of its interior enforcement obligations must be soundly rejected by Congress and the American people. Hilton, a San Diego resident, advocates for entitlement and immigration reforms. Trump questions U.S. intel, backs Putin on meddling (July 17): Enough is enough. Donald Trump continuing to lie about Russias interference in the 2016 presidential election is both preposterous and unbelievable. Stating he asked Vladimir Putin if Russia interfered in the election and believing him when he says it did not, its clear Trump is siding with Russia against the U.S. Both Dan Coats, director of the National Intelligence Agency, and the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee have unequivocally stated there is ample proof Russia did, in fact, interfere in the election. Its time to impeach and remove Donald Trump from office before he does any more irreparable harm to the U.S. Karen Elise Pacific Beach Advertisement I continue to see unrelenting press and political outrage over so-called Russian election meddling, but not enough explanation of what is meant by this term. Were voter rolls altered? Were polling place devices or procedures or counts compromised? Were any illegal votes cast or any legal votes negated? Its common knowledge that individuals, companies and governments (yes, even the U.S.) routinely use sophisticated computer techniques to try to gain information and thereby strategic advantage over adversaries. Is it really any surprise that Russia or China or Google or Amazon routinely pursue confidential information? How about the previous administration interfering in the Israeli election or hacking German Chancellor Merkels private communications? If laws were broken, disclose the facts and prosecute those responsible. But please, cut all the feigned surprise and banal chatter about meddling. Eric Witt San Diego President Trump has shown his true loyalties. He is compromised under the influence of Russia. Addressing Putins role in election meddling, he states, I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today. This, of course, is an authentic reaction from our president. When he stated in addition, I will say this: I dont see any reason why it would be. But I really do want to see the server, but I have confidence in both parties, this was a statement made because he was afraid of confronting Putin. When he replaced, a day later, would with wouldnt (read from a transcript), it was read under duress. He didnt believe any word of it. We as U.S. citizens must ask for an inquiry into this issue up to and including possible removal from office. Chris Real Rolando Park President Trump has come under fire, once again, for speaking off the cuff after his NATO meeting and then at his press conference after meeting with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki. After dissing NATO, the E.U., Angela Merkel and Theresa May, he then ignores the FBI, the CIA and the Department of Justice and puts his faith in Putins strong denial of anything to do with the hacking during our 2016 election. Benjamin Franklin, more than 200 years ago, could have predicted this conundrum: By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. Steve Blumenschein Clairemont Why would Russia want to see Trump as our president? Obviously so it could control him, to Russias benefit. It knew that Hillary Clinton would have been much tougher, and apparently it thought Trump would assist it in all of its treachery. With all of Trumps fawning over his idol, it is also obvious that he would do what he could to lessen any sanctions the Congress might impose. That Trump cant see it is a testament to his ignorance and narcissism. Of course, the other possibility is that Putin has something on Trump in order to make him a traitor to his own country. Everything about that relationship has the smell of corruption about it. Ex-CIA Director John Brennan has called his behavior treasonous. Lets hope some Republicans can grow a spine and join the Democrats in stopping him before he does something to drag our country even deeper into the gutter. Greg Morrill Escondido Can anyone explain to me why lending respectability to a murderous, despotic KGB operative (whose career has been devoted to systematically attacking and trying to degrade Western democracies) with a White House visit invitation, is a good idea? R. Lowell Smith Mission Heights A bear can never be made to look pretty. Pile on the lipstick, dress it up nice, appeal to its better nature, even take it out for a fancy dinner. Just dont act surprised when the bear bites your hand off when you reach for the salmon. Hunter Johnson San Carlos What is the most important responsibility of the President of the United States? The national security. At this moment where lies the greatest threat to our security? Well, who has given great comfort to our enemies, most recently Russia? Who has disparaged and weakened NATO and most of our closest allies? Who continues this disastrous pattern of behavior? Who currently sits in the Oval Office? Irony is often softened by an element of humor; but not this time. To wait for the November election and hope for a remedy would be to ignore and perhaps exacerbate the clear and present danger. We can only imagine what POTUS might do between now and then. Therefore we must urge Congress to act now, and act decisively to stem further erosion of the safety and security of our nation. Jeff Ghelardi Point Loma Recently, Republican William Hurd, a Texas Congressman and ex-CIA agent, has come out publicly and stated that Donald Trump commited treason as the result of being manipulated by Vladimir Purtin in Helsinki. Now two local Republican voters also have stated that they feel Trump has become the worst President we have had and they will not support his reelection in letters to the editor. Finally Republicans themselves are seeing the light, that this man represents the worst in politics for our democracy. This is not an issue of Party dominance, it is an issue of how this nation will regain respect internationally in the future. Raymond Schwartz San Diego Donald Trump thinks of Democracy and freedom as the creeds of cowards. He views those who would listen to all the viewpoints and try to find compromise as weak. He wants absolute power and attacks anyone that stands in his way. Comments like his president for life and my people should sit up at attention like Kim Jong Uns expose his dictatorial ambitions. In regards to his censorship of the free press with claims of fake news; fake news occurs when Trumps state-run media, Fox News, says whatever he wants. Anthony Kopec San Marcos The administration intelligence committee / advisers are hopeless and disregarded by Trump. Instead of the committee advising Trump, its Trump giving advise on them. Its called a reversed intelligence and its happening only in America. Eduardo C. Dizon San Diego I predict the name Donald Trump will soon become synonymous with Benedict Arnold in the history of the United States. When will Congress act? Michael Lemieux Rancho San Diego 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. During the golden age of classical Greek democracy, in those glorious days when remarkable men like Pericles walked the streets of Athens and boldly spoke of wisdom and truth, citizens there would regularly gather together in the Agora, the city states main square, to debate the weighty issues of the times. The best of these were the persuasive orators. Ancient Greeks placed considerable importance upon a good speech, delivered well and with genuine authority, so much so that oftentimes important state decisions hinged upon one solitary speech. Skillful debate was highly prized and worthy of admiration. Barry Cronin We seem to have lost something of that ancient discipline. Consider the current debate regarding illegal immigration, especially anything involving the children. A debate is supposed to be logical, informative and complete. It is supposed to include opposing points of view. This debate is anything but. It is almost as if everything you read, see, or hear regarding this subject ignores inconvenient truths and goes straight after the heartstrings. This can make for a powerful emotional argument, for sure, but it is ultimately flawed because it is incomplete. It is also a very poor way to make policy. Like it or not, it is still against the law to enter this country illegally. People who choose to do so face the risk of being caught and detained. I spent three years in El Paso brokering military support for the U.S. Border Patrol. I have been to their sectors and stations. All I ever saw was decent men and women who treated the detainees well. That included the kids. To even imply otherwise is wrong and unfair. Why do you think there is so much horrific violence south of the border? You need look no further than your own mirror. It is Americas insatiable demand for illegal drugs that is the primary fuel for the growing cartel violence and corruption that is wrecking those countries. That is from what these people are running. I periodically traveled to Mexico City to attend joint working meetings with Mexican military counterparts and the U.S. Embassy representatives. While much of what we did was classified, I can say our Mexican colleagues sometimes seemed frustrated with the U.S. lack of progress on our end. Who can argue? This one is on us. So please feel free to skip all that righteous indignation. As John Wayne would say, Step down off of that high horse, mister! Many people, to include growing numbers of Democratic politicians, have already begun calling for the elimination of the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). OK. But with what do they intend to replace it? Nothing? No one will be manning the border? Not exactly a well-thought-out plan. The main objection seems to be the separation of families. Fair enough. But if this is what is proving so problematic, why is there no clamor over all the other times we separate children and parents? Do we not take children when abuse or neglect is suspected? If an adult is arrested and ends up going to jail, the children do not also go. That would certainly be wrong. Half of all marriages in the U.S. end up in divorce. If there are children involved, they will be separated, at least from one of their parents. And oftentimes the kids themselves end up being taken away for juvenile delinquency and crime. And what about the saddest separation of all? Fifty-five million Americans who never got to draw even one single breath since Roe v. Wade. We lament the border but celebrate the clinic. Any truly caring person would surely know a mothers womb should be the safest place on the planet. A free-will offering will be accepted from those who attend a lasagna dinner in Rancho Bernardo next week to help a childrens hospital in Uganda. The ninth annual fundraiser will be held in San Rafael Catholic Churchs parish hall at 6 p.m. Saturday, July 28. The church is at 17252 Bernardo Center Drive in Rancho Bernardo. Mark Rahall, the dinners chairman and member of the parishs Knights of Columbus, said organizers hope to raise more than $120,000, the amount donated at last years event from the 400 attendees. We are saving childrens lives ... in another country ravished by disease, where they die from the common cold, Rahall said. We are giving them a chance to live by reducing infant mortality. San Rafael parishioners led the effort to found Holy Innocents Childrens Hospital in Mbarara, Uganda. It is a non-political, non-sectarian, faith-based facility that provides medical care to all children, regardless of religious background, on a sliding cost scale based on families ability to pay. The hospital was co-founded by Poway resident Lee Freestone and the late Harold Tom Thomas of Rancho Bernardo in 2007. The Rancho Bernardo-based organization consists of many San Rafael parishioners and other groups in the area. Since 2007, it has raised more than $2.5 million. Finance officer Lee Haney said proceeds from this years dinner will go toward the medical facilitys third phase, which is constructing housing for eight medical personnel and their families at a cost of around $400,000. He said the housing is required by the Ugandan government and needed in order to attract skilled surgeons, anesthesiologists and nurses. Additional housing is slated for the future. A later phase will include building a neonatal wing since Holy Innocents has become a regional resource center, Haney said. Other improvements are taking place now. They include replacing the flagstone walkways with covered sidewalks, an amenity needed when it rains. Since the hospital opened it has been using government-supplied water, which must be boiled before consumption, Haney said. A donor provided funds so two 300-foot wells could be drilled and provide clean drinking water to the facility. In 2009 the first phase of construction began. It included constructing and equipping a 60-bed hospital, administration building, outpatient department, lab, pharmacy and X-ray facility. The second phase included constructing and furnishing a surgical center with two operating rooms, pre-op and post-op areas, a diagnostic center, X-ray and anesthesia area and exam spaces. Rahall said since Holy Innocents opening in 2009, it has treated over 183,000 children as outpatients and admitted over 38,000 children as in-patients due to life-threatening diseases. Haney said 97 cents of every dollar raised goes toward the hospital since all involved on the fundraising side are volunteers. He said the amount of children served thus far is really a staggering number. Since more than 35 percent the 41 million Ugandans earn less than $2 a day, the hospital charges $3.30 for outpatient visits and $8.20 for the first nights hospital stay. For those unable to afford the cost, a sister organization in Northern Ireland raises money that goes into the Holy Innocents charity care fund. For details on the nonprofits work and ways to contribute, go to HolyInnocentsUganda.com. Email: rbnews@pomeradonews.com Police lights file. U-T file photo A pursuit suspect was shot and injured Friday night, July 20, in Del Mar Heights after telling 911 dispatchers during the chase that he had a handgun and wanted to commit suicide by cop, police said. The high-speed chase ended a little after 9 p.m. when two sheriffs deputies shot the man after his car became stuck in a marsh east of Torrey Pines State Beach, San Diego police Capt. Mike Hastings said. The deputies, whod likely been informed that the suspect claimed to be armed, believed something was pointed at them by the suspect, Hastings said. Thats when they opened fire. The man was struck in the upper torso and taken to a hospital. Police did not list a condition but said he was stable. The events that led to the shooting began about 8:30 p.m. Friday when a deputy tried to pull over a suspected DUI driver in a 2005 Audi near Linda Vista Drive and Poinsettia Avenue in Vista, police said. But instead of pulling over, the Audis driver sped away, leading deputies onto westbound state Route 78, and then southbound Interstate 5 in a chase that reached speeds of 100 mph, Hastings said. At some point during this part of the pursuit, the Audis driver called 911 and said he was armed with a 9 mm handgun and had a woman in the car, Hastings said. At Leucadia Boulevard, the Audi exited the freeway and a woman got out, Hastings said. Some California Highway Patrol officers and deputies detained the passenger, while the Audi got back on southbound I-5. The car got off at Carmel Valley Road and headed west toward Torrey Pines State Beach when the driver veered into the marshland of Los Penasquitos Lagoon, between Portofino Drive and Via Grimaldi, Hastings said. At least two deputies entered the lagoon on foot until they came upon the Audi stuck in the marsh. Thats where they encountered the suspect, who continued to advance on the deputies despite their commands to stop, according to police homicide Lt. Anthony Dupree. The suspect kept his right hand behind his back and at one point quickly pointed something at the deputies while taking a shooting stance, Dupree said. Two deputies opened fire. As of just after midnight Saturday, July 21, no suspect weapon had been found, the captain said. Investigators were likely going to wait until sunrise Saturday to search for a possible weapon and other evidence. A press release issued after 7 a.m. did not mention whether a weapon had been found. This is a very tough area to do this investigation, because investigators are going to have to get in that marshland and have to walk a very long area to try to find all the evidence thats in there, Hastings said. No deputies or officers were injured in the incident. The names of the deputies and the suspect were not immediately released. The deputies involved have served with the Sheriffs Department for five years and two years. A long line of police lights at the scene was visible from northbound I-5 late Friday night. Amy Jackson, who lives on Carmel Valley Road, was home reading around 9 p.m. when she heard a vehicle race by. She then heard the sirens of the law enforcement vehicles in close pursuit and looked out a window to see them speeding past. Jackson went outside, but soon retreated when she heard four or five gunshots. The perpetrators car must have drove into an embankment, and then shortly after that, there were the shots, Jackson said from the driveway of her residence roughly 100 yards from where the pursuit ended. San Diego police, sheriffs deputies and CHP officers remained at the scene past midnight, and San Diego homicide detectives were expected to be there until well past sunrise Saturday. Because the shooting occurred in San Diego Police Department jurisdiction, Hastings homicide unit is responsible for the investigation. The unit typically investigates all officer-involved shootings in the city, even when the shootings are non-fatal. A security guard outside a branch of one Iraq's most powerful paramilitary groups shot and killed a protester on Friday while trying to push back a crowd, police sources said, ratcheting up tensions over a lack of basic services sweeping southern cities. Two people were wounded when demonstrators throwing bricks and stones gathered outside the local headquarters of the Iranian-backed Badr Organisation. "We received the body of a protester with a bullet wound to the head," said a doctor in a hospital in the city of Diwaniya. Friday's death brings to four the number of protesters killed in nearly two weeks of demonstrations against corrupt politicians blamed for failing to deliver basic services and jobs to the crumbling oil hub of Basra and other cities. Dozens of members of the security forces have been injured in the protests, some of which have taken place at the entrance to oilfields. Officials say production has not been affected. Anger has also been directed at paramilitary groups such as Badr, which is unusual. Badr politicians had a strong showing in the May 12 parliamentary election which was tainted by allegations of fraud. Thousands protested in southern cities and Baghdad on Friday, calling for the downfall of political parties, as they escalated demonstrations backed by the country's most influential clerics. In Basra, crumbling from years of neglect and under-investment, about 3,000 people gathered outside the headquarters of the provincial governorate. "The people want the downfall of political parties!" they chanted, a slogan similar to one used in the 2011 "Arab Spring" uprisings, as politicians struggled to form a new government. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is seeking a second term, promised that his Shia-led government would fund electricity and water projects in Basra, where the colour of tap water is often brown because it contains dirt and where garbage is piled up along many streets. "The promises they make are all lies," said Khaled Hassan, 42, a health worker in Basra. "We will not keep quiet." On Thursday, Shia Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose bloc finished first in the election, said politicians should suspend efforts to form a coalition until the protesters' demands are met. Sadr won the election promising to eradicate poverty and corruption and resist interference from Iran. Sadr, whose militiamen staged uprisings against U.S. forces after the 2003 invasion, has in the past mobilised tens of thousands of people to press his demands. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most powerful cleric in Iraq, has also expressed solidarity with the demonstrators. Iraq's Shia heartland in the south has long been neglected, first by Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein and then by Shia-dominated governments after him. "We are demanding the sacking of the governor and removal of all corrupt officials from the province," said Faris Abdel Karim, who helped organise a protest outside the house of the provincial governor in the city of Nasiriya, where police fired in the air, wielded batons and fired tear gas. About 300 people demonstrated at one of Baghdad's main squares. One held up a poster which read: "The revolution of the poor." Riot police used water cannons to disperse the crowd. Search Keywords: Short link: Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 07/19/2018 -- The paints & coatings industry is focusing on environmental-friendly technology that can replace harmful chemicals with sustainable material due to the rise in consumer awareness and tighter regulations on VOC emissions. Technologies such as waterborne coatings, powder coatings, and energy curable coatings are shining examples of environmental-friendly technologies. These energy coatings are dried as well as cured with electron beam (EB) sources, as well as UV rays, instead of conventional heat sources, as they require less energy, low cost, and possess quick drying time. Energy curable coatings possess superior gloss and high curing speed. Additionally, they have exceptional adhesion and flexibility and are also environmental-friendly in nature. They are utilized in several end-use applications such as hybrid inks & foil, offline coatings paper, screen coating paperboard, food packaging, electronics, overprint varnish, plastics, and optics. Request Sample Copy of Report @ https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1506832 The global energy curable coatings market can be segmented based on type, chemical, application, and formulation. Based on type, the market can be classified into UV and EB (electron beam). Both EB and UV curing technologies are advanced, environmentally-friendly, and are more effective methods for curing inks, laminating adhesives, and coatings than water-based or solvent-based technologies. EB technology a considerably powerful industrial coating, which is most suited for low density materials such as polyolefin films and papers, high opacity ink layers, and laminating adhesive layers, while UV technology is more suitable for low optical density based materials such as printed ink, metallic ink, etc. Numerous UV coatings are available in the market with various viscosity grades such as roller coatings, which have low viscosity in the range of 65-200 cps, web offset coatings (160-300 cps), blanket coatings (180-400 cps), cylinder screen coatings (200-500 cps), and ink train coatings (1000-3000 cps). Based on chemical, the market can be segregated into epoxy acrylates, polyester acrylates, and urethane acrylates. Demand for epoxy acrylates based energy curable coatings is expected to rise significantly during the forecast period due to its better chemical and mechanical properties. Based on application, the market can be segmented into wood, metal, plastic, glass, and paper. The wood application segment dominates the market in terms of value as well as volume consumption. Increase in infrastructure spending, particularly for the residential and commercial sectors across the globe is expected to boost the segment during the forecast period. Based on formulation, the market can be classified into oligomers, monomers, photoinitiators, and additives. Characteristic properties such as low energy consumption, low volatile organic compound (VOC), rapid curing & drying, coupled with superior hardness and abrasion resistance properties of energy curable coatings are driving the market. However, volatility in raw material prices and high production cost of these coatings are expected to hamper the market. Rising research activities in the field of bio-based materials in the formulation of energy curable coating products is also expected to provide new growth opportunities. In terms of geography, the global energy curable coatings market can be segmented into Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa.North America is the leading manufacturer as well as consumer of energy curable coatings, followed by Asia Pacific and Europe. The U.S. is the leading market for these coatings due to stringent environmental regulations, increasing adoption of low VOC, eco-friendly, and non-hazardous coatings in the end-user industries in the country. The market in Asia Pacific is expanding rapidly due to the rise in population, rapid economic growth, increase in investment in infrastructure in China, India, and Japan, and rise in production of electronics in the region. The energy curable coatings market in Middle East & Africa is expanding at a moderate pace due to low product awareness in these regions. Browse Detail Report @ https://www.researchmoz.us/energy-curable-coatings-market-global-industry-analysis-size-share-growth-trends-and-forecast-2017-2025-report.html Major players operating in the global energy curable coatings market are RAHN AG, Allnex, BASF SE, Royal DSM, and Sartomar. The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications. The study is a source of reliable data on: - Market segments and sub-segments - Market trends and dynamics - Supply and demand - Market size - Current trends/opportunities/challenges - Competitive landscape - Technological breakthroughs - Value chain and stakeholder analysis The regional analysis covers: - North America (U.S. and Canada) - Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others) - Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg) - Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia) - Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand) - Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa) The report has been compiled through extensive primary research (through interviews, surveys, and observations of seasoned analysts) and secondary research (which entails reputable paid sources, trade journals, and industry body databases). The report also features a complete qualitative and quantitative assessment by analyzing data gathered from industry analysts and market participants across key points in the industry's value chain. Get PDF for More Professional and Technical insights @ https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1506832 A separate analysis of prevailing trends in the parent market, macro- and micro-economic indicators, and regulations and mandates is included under the purview of the study. By doing so, the report projects the attractiveness of each major segment over the forecast period. Highlights of the report: - A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent market - Important changes in market dynamics - Market segmentation up to the second or third level - Historical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volume - Reporting and evaluation of recent industry developments - Market shares and strategies of key players - Emerging niche segments and regional markets - An objective assessment of the trajectory of the market - Recommendations to companies for strengthening their foothold in the market About ResearchMoz ResearchMoz is the world's fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMoz's service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators. Contact Us: Mr. Nachiket Albany NY - 12207 United States Tel: +1-518-621-2074 Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free) Email: sales@researchmoz.us 'It's great to be involved in this new venture. It's ridiculously exciting,' Richard Branson said Friday at Fincantieri's Sestri Ponente yard on the occasion of the steel-cutting for the second ship. The third will follow soon and 'We're pushing. Hurry up with the fourth!' Branson said. To which Virgin Voyages president and CEO Tom McAlpin responded: 'I feel your pressure.' McAlpin elaborated there might be a fourth ship in the series or 'opportunities for a different class of ship as well ... We don't know yet.' Meanwhile, Scarlet Lady is taking shape, and the company unveiled its innovative 'Vitamin Seas' wellness program. All the tables must be strong enough to stand on 'We love to create real quality products which are fun, fun, funand make sure all our tables on the boat are strong enough to stand on,' Branson quipped. Virgin Voyages' product will be 'cool and fun' with every little detail thought throughin the same way that made the Virgin Hotel Chicago Conde Nast Traveler's No. 1 US hotel (and it's the first one stateside) and how the airline has won many awards. 'Everything's going to be five-star, really, really great quality and not five-star prices,' he said. Branson expressed distaste for the little things people hate being charged for, like a bottle of water. 'You bought the cruiseyou don't want to be ripped off,' he said. Pricing will be more inclusive than that of others in the marketplace but shore excursions won't be bundled in, according to McAlpin, who added the tours will be curated and very different. Some day, a Virgin ship for kids The first three ships are likely to stay adults-only, but 'at some stage we'll definitely have cruise ships with kids,' Branson told reporters. He compared the no-kids policy to Virgin Atlantic's no-smoking flights decades ago: 'People thought we were mad ... [but] everyone all over the world came to fly on us.' For its cruise venture, 'We wanted to do something fairly radical,' hence the 'adult by design' concept. On Virgin Voyages, people will 'like to go off on their honeymoon or meet other people and fall in love and party.' 'By not having children, it really allows us to elevate the product,' McAlpin added. Virgin can deliver a much more sophisticated experience in a child-free environment. No screaming kids in the pool or 'gangs of teenagers running around.' 'If you're not having kids, your nightclub can be oriented to adults,' Branson chimed in. 'The experiences when you come to cities can be more adult-oriented. 'In a few years' time,' he added, 'we'll have a lot of fun creating a kids' ship: Virgin Kids.' While he may have been joking, Branson did seem serious about going beyond three Lady Ships. As he put it: 'We want to keep this yard busy for decades to come.' Virgin Voyages is not a millennials' cruise line, as many have speculated. Rather, it's for the young at heart. 'We're for people who want an elevated, premium experience that's a bit edgier,' McAlpin said. Bain Capital's research determined 'We can open the market for cruising massively to millions and millions who'd never consider going on a cruise ship,' Branson stated. Second ship to the Mediterranean It's likely the second ship will be deployed seasonally somewhere other than the Caribbeanprobably the Mediterraneanand return to Miami in the winter. 'We have a lot of different options,' McAlpin said. 'We're looking at the Med, the Baltic, the Southern Caribbean. We've looked at Barcelona. The Mediterranean is a fun place to go.' He added that sailors (passengers) want to visit the big-name places but also places off the beaten track. 'Hidden gems' are going to be in the itineraries. Scarlet Lady will be a 'sunshine ship,' though, sailing in warm-weather destinations so sailors can get the most of the 85% balcony cabins. Following Scarlet Lady's delivery, Virgin might show her off in the UKpopping up the Thames (a bit) or maybe in Southamptonbut probably won't cruise from there. 'I think most people in the UK would rather get out of the UK and go somewhere else, whether Italy or Spain,' Branson said. Unfortunately, he noted, the collapsing pound and Brexit make it more costly for Britons to cruise abroad. (As an aside, Branson views Brexit as a 'dreadful mistake' because it will impact people's earning power: 'The pound is below $1.20. We had the strongest GDP in Europe; now it's the weakest.') Imitators expected As the newly announced 'Vitamin Seas' programming shows, Virgin Voyages intends to stand out in every area. Competitors will certainly be looking to copy some aspects, but that doesn't bother Branson. 'We'll have five or six years when our cruise ships are unique, then other people will start copying them, and by then we'll have reinvented it,' he said. With reporting from Italy by Luca Peruzzi Press Release July 20, 2018 De Lima slams 'unconscionable' expenditure of Duterte's office Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has criticized the excessive spending of the Office of the President (OP) whose expenses in 2017 were 500 percent higher than in 2016. De Lima, the staunchest critic of the administration's war on drugs, considered the huge increase in the expenses of the OP for 2017 as "unconscionable, scandalous, and extravagant." "Parang tumatae ba ng pera ang Pilipinas at mga Pilipino, para gumastos ng walang pakialam ang Malacanang sa perang pinaghirapan ng mga Pilipino?" she lamented in her recent Dispatch from Crame No. 341. In its annual report, the Commission on Audit (COA) noted that the OP spent P14.9 billion in maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) in 2017, compared to P2.3 billion in 2016. This shows that Mr. Duterte's office spent 500 percent more in 2017 than it did in 2016. De Lima noted that the astronomical increase in the President's budget includes the use of intelligence funds, which may have been used to support his administration's intensified anti-narcotics campaign. "Is this where the budget for monetary incentives in the PNP's drug war quota comes from? Are we actually funding death squads and summary executions through the President's discretionary intelligence funds?" she asked. It may be recalled that during the plenary debate of the 2017 national budget, De Lima had questioned the ballooning allocation of confidential and intelligence funds under the OP. Confidential funds are for surveillance activities in civilian government agencies to support its mandate, while intelligence expenses are for intelligence information-gathering of the military, police and intelligence agents on matters of national security. De Lima, who chairs the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development, urged Mr. Duterte to be sensitive to the dire situation of the poor who can hardly afford to buy food and other basic commodities. "Pangulong Duterte, hindi na po makabili ng pagkain ang mga mahihirap nating kababayan, pero para pa ring mga prinsipe at prinsesa kung gumastos ang iyong opisina, pera na hindi man lang ninyo pinaghirapang kitain at ipunin," she said. "Sinasadya ba ninyong ibangkarote ang pamahalaan, o talagang napakamanhid lang ng iyong mga tauhan?" she added. The Senator from Bicol also reminded Congress anew of its constitutional mandate to exercise its oversight function and be the check and balance against the many excesses of the Executive Branch. "Congress should not allow itself to be the enabler of illegal and criminal acts of the Executive by blindly approving an indefensibly huge discretionary budget for the Office of the President," she said. "Sobra na ito. Ginigisa ang sambayanan sa sariling mantika, at tila walang pumapalag, kabilang ang mga representante ng Kongreso na dapat nagbabantay sa kaban ng bayan," she added. Press Release July 20, 2018 Gatchalian commends MILF, MNLF for bicam approval of Bangsamoro Law Senator Win Gatchalian on Friday commended the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) for their contributions to making the historic Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) a reality. "We recognize the sacrifices of the MILF and MNLF and we thank them for their patience and their willingness to set aside political differences for the sake of lasting peace in Mindanao," he said after the approval of the BOL by the bicameral conference committee. Gatchalian said the inputs of both groups were vital in making sure the BOL was inclusive and would end all conflict with various secessionist factions. "The support of both groups for the BOL means there is a greater chance for the new Bangsamoro region to succeed," he said. The lawmaker from Valenzuela previously said the BOL will guarantee that the new Bangsamoro political entity will be a fertile ground for investment and inclusive economic development. "Peace always fosters greater economic development. When there are more economic opportunities, it will be easier for people to rise from poverty and be financially independent," he said. The BOL was approved by the bicameral conference committee Wednesday night after six days of deliberations. It paves the way for the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which will replace the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The Senate and the House of Representatives are expected to ratify the BOL during the opening of the Third Regular Session on July 23. President Rodrigo Duterte Duterte is expected to sign the bill into law before he delivers his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) later that day. Press Release July 20, 2018 Jurors to Deliberate on Proposals for Phl Pavilion Venice Art Biennale 2019 The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), in partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Office of Senator Loren Legarda, will hold the deliberations on the submitted curatorial proposals for the Philippine Pavilion in the 58th International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia on July 20, 2018 at the NCCA in Manila. The open call for curatorial proposals was launched on January 17, 2018 with a deadline set on May 24, 2018. The Philippine Arts in Venice Biennale (PAVB) Coordinating Committee received a total of 12 proposals. The jurors, composed of three international and two local members, who will deliberate on the submitted proposals are Dr. Apinan Poshyananda, Ms. June Yap, Ms. Imelda "Meps" Cajipe Endaya, NCCA Chair Virgilio Almario, and Senator Loren Legarda, principal advocate of the project. Legarda, a three-term senator who chairs the Senate Committees on Finance, Foreign Relations, and Climate Change, is a staunch advocate of arts and culture. She supports initiatives to promote and preserve the tangible and intangible heritage and to protect the rights of indigenous peoples. She is the visionary behind the Philippines' return to the Biennale Arte in 2015 following a 51-year hiatus and the country's first participation in the Biennale Architettura in 2016. The French Government bestowed upon her the title of Knight in the French National Order of the Legion of Honor, while the Italian Government also awarded her the title of the Knight in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. Legarda was recently conferred the Doctorate of Laws degree, Honoris Causa, by the University of the Philippines Diliman. Almario, a National Artist for Literature, is the Chairman of the NCCA and the Head of the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF). Aside from being a prolific writer and critic, Almario has translated works of Nick Joaquin, Bertolt Brecht, Euripides, and Maxim Gorky for theater production. Moreover, he translated works of Jose Rizal, namely Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, which gained him the 1999 award for translation by the Manila Critics Circle. Dr. Poshyananda is the Permanent Secretary and Acting Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Thailand. He has curated various international exhibitions including the Asia-Pacific Triennial, Istanbul Biennial, Johannesburg Biennale, Sao Paulo Biennial, Sydney Biennale, Venice Biennale. Furthermore, he received 3 medals at National Exhibition of Art in Thailand and was responsible for Tsunami Sculpture Memorial by Louis Bourgeois at Krabi, Thailand. Yap, a former Guggenheim UBS MAP Curator, South and Southeast Asia, was selected by a committee of five esteemed experts in South and Southeast Asian art as the first curator for the Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative from 2012 to 2014. She organized the first exhibition in the initiative, No Country: Contemporary Art for South and Southeast Asia, focused on the artistic practices and cultural traditions of the region, which traveled to Asia Society Hong Kong Center and to the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore. In January 2015, the exhibition of No Country in Singapore received the honor of Best Exhibition of Asian Contemporary Art at the Prudential Eye Awards. Endaya has gained recognition in the contemporary art for her works focused on identity, gender, race, nation, migration, displacement, and globalization. She was also the co-founder and first president of the KASIBULAN women's art collective. From 1995 to 2001, she was a member of the Executive Committee on Visual Arts of NCCA and during her stint, she was co-instrumental in consolidating visual artists from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao into a national network. Moreover, she curated the "Who Owns Women's Bodies?" exhibition for the Creative Collective Center and the Ford Foundation, touring over 12 sites in the Philippines, Thailand and Japan in 2000-2004. The five jurors will review all 12 proposals to select the winning proposal. Only one proposal is recognized by La Biennale for each participating country. Thus, the formal invitation to participate is coursed through the highest concerned government agency of a country, which in turn initiates a distinct process of selecting and realizing a proposal for the country pavilion. The selected proposal will officially represent the Philippine Pavilion in Venice for the 58th International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, which will be curated by Ralph Rugoff and will run from May 11 to November 24, 2019. In 2015, the Philippines successfully returned to the Venice Art Biennale following a 51-year hiatus and, in 2016, it mounted its first national pavilion in the Venice Architecture Biennale. The 2015 and 2016 pavilions were housed at the Palazzo Mora. Meanwhile, in 2017, the Philippines has staged a national pavilion at the Arsenale, the largest pre-industrial production center of the world, where national pavilions of participating countries are located. For the 58th International Art Exhibition (2019), the Board of La Biennale di Venezia has appointed Ralph Rugoff as the curator. Rugoff has been the Director of the Hayward Gallery of London since 2006. He was also the Artistic Director of the XIII Biennale de Lyon in 2015, and has written extensively on art and cultural criticism. He has curated exhibitions at the Hayward Gallery over the past 11 years, such as The Painting of Modern Life (2007), Psycho Buildings (2008) and theInfinite Mix (2016). He has also curated retrospectives and solo shows of Ed Ruscha, an American artist associated with the pop art movement; Tracey Emin, an English artist known for her work that is intensely personal and "confessional;" and George Condo, an American contemporary visual artist who has worked using painting, sculpture and printmaking. The theme for the 58th International Art Exhibition is May You Live in Interesting Times, a phrase invented by the English but mistakenly "cited as a Chinese curse, which invokes periods of uncertainty, crisis and turmoil."[1] For more information on the Biennale, please contact [email protected] or (+632) 5272175. ________________________________________ [1] http://www.labiennale.org/en/news/biennale-arte-2019-outline STATEMENT OF SENATOR SONNY ANGARA ON MAYOR SARA DUTERTE'S ENDORSEMENT I am deeply honored and humbled by the endorsement of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, one of the country's recognized leaders in local governance. As a gratitude for her support, I assure Mayor Duterte that we will continue our hard work in the Senate and push legislation that will uplift the lives of our kababayan and create a suitable economic condition that will give each and every Filipino access to employment and livelihood opportunities, free education and quality healthcare. A big thank you, Mayor Sara, for recognizing our efforts to build better communities and a better nation. Press Release July 21, 2018 On #Mandela100, De Lima files bill on 'unified corrections and jail system' Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has filed a measure which seeks to integrate the management of the country's jails and prisons under one agency tasked to provide better treatment and rehabilitation programs for all detainees and prisoners. Inspired by the legacy and teachings of the late South African leader Nelson Mandela on the occasion of his 100th birth anniversary, De Lima filed Senate Bill No. 1879 which seeks to institute a unified corrections and jail management system in the country. "On the 510th day of my unjust detention as a prisoner of conscience of the Duterte administration, during the Nelson Mandela Day and Centenary, I am filing this bill to help reform the corrections and jail management system in the Philippines," she said. Last July 18, the world celebrated the Mandela Day and his 100th birth anniversary. He is best remembered as the head of the anti-apartheid movement, the first President of a free South Africa, and one of the world's greatest moral and political leaders. De Lima pointed out that the present conditions of the country's jails and prisons violate not only the 1987 Constitution but also the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, also known as the "Nelson Mandela Rules." According to her, the perennial congestion problem of the country's prisons and jails have resulted to other related problems, such as jail disturbances, escapes, substandard living and working conditions, poor sanitation and other infectious diseases. "Severe congestion is also a root cause of prison-based criminality," she said, as she cited other problems such as maltreatment of inmates, official misconduct, cruelty and plain incompetence of some personnel manning jail and correctional facilities. The former justice secretary also explained that the highly fragmented corrections and jail management system has also resulted in the lack of integrative and uniform development programs on correctional services and jail management. "This measure will help address the fragmented set-up of the Philippine corrections and jail system, the overcrowding of our prisons and jails, the lack of uniformity of standards in the treatment of all persons deprived of liberty, and the need to further capacitate our personnel," she added. At present, the prisons and penal farms are under the Bureau of Corrections - Department of Justice (BuCor-DOJ), while the provincial jails are under the provincial governments and the district, city and municipal jails under the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (BJMP-DILG). "The management of these various facilities, the custody and reformation of the prisoners and detainees in these places, and the supervision of personnel manning the facilities and handling the inmates all follow disparate sets of laws, rules and regulations," De Lima pointed out. "This is not conducive to efficiency, effective management and an integrative and uniform development of programs on correctional services and jail management," she added in her bill's explanatory note. Under SB 1879, a National Commission on Corrections and Jail Management (NCCJM) shall be created to carry out a system integrating the correctional and jail services provided by BuCor-DOJ, BJMP-DILG, and the provincial governments. Once approved into law, the BuCor under DOJ and BJMP under DILG shall be effectively abolished, along with the correctional and jail services being administered and maintained by the respective provincial governments. "The idea of adopting the 'Nelson Mandela Rules' into law in the Philippines to be made applicable to all persons deprived of liberty, coupled with the desire to integrate, modernize and further professionalize the management of all prisons and jails in our country, has motivated me to come up with a bill pushing for a unified corrections and jail management system in the Philippines," De Lima said. "We are advocating for the integration of all jails and prisons under one central authority, the expansion and regionalization of facilities, the enhanced professionalization of government personnel, and, most importantly, the promotion and protection of the fundamental rights and legitimate interests of all persons deprived of liberty," she added. Press Release July 21, 2018 Sen. Leila M. de Lima's statement on the murder of broadcaster Joey Llana My deepest condolences go to the family of Joey Llana. Llana, the hard-hitting broadcast journalist killed in Bicol yesterday, is yet another victim of the dark cloud of impunity enveloping our land. And frankly, to my mind, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque's condemnation of this killing and promise of justice sound hypocritical. What could we expect but a spiral of violence and bloodshed when the centrepiece program of government, its all-out war against drugs, gave license to security forces and vigilantes to kill? This was also why it sounded hollow when the Palace mouthpiece talked about getting justice for Llana's killing while the police seemed to be not lifting a finger to investigate thousands of drug-related killings. They have also allowed masked killers to freely roam and litter the streets with lifeless bodies. Naaalarma rin po ako na tila gustong i-konekta sa drugs ang pagkamatay ni Llana. Sinabi ng mga pulis sa media na may natagpuang shabu sa sasakyan ng napatay na broadcaster pero mariing tinutulan ito ng mga kaanak at kasama ng namatay. Why are they linking his death to illegal drugs? Was it to taint Llana's reputation and justify his death? Needless to say, murder is murder and it is wrong under any circumstances, contrary to what this government wants us to accept. If established that Llana's death was related to his work, he would be the 12th journalist killed under Duterte's term and God forbid but I am afraid that more would fall prey to assassin's bullets. Contract killings have flourished because this is the perfect environment shaped by this bloodthirsty President. This was one of my apprehensions. That drug-related killings would spill over to members of the press prompting me to file SB 1860 seeking hazard pay and insurance for journalists on the field. In Llana's case, we also saw the intersection or at least an attempt to overlap drug killings and threats against media to further instil fear among our people. This is not just about normalizing and conditioning the mind of the public to accept killings but also to lay the ground for subservience of the people and tyranny of those in power. Press Release July 21, 2018 Senate resumes session; to tackle priority bills The Senate will resume its session to continue working on its priority measures for the 3rd Regular Session of the 17th Congress on Monday, July 23. The Upper Chamber is also expected to act on the bicameral conference committee report on the Bangsamoro Organic Law or the 'Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao,' which was approved last July 18. Senate President Vicente Sotto III said that senators will hold a caucus on Tuesday, a day after President Rodrigo Duterte's State of the Nation Address (SONA), to determine the "common priority legislative agenda" the Senate will tackle in the coming months. According to Sotto, each senator had been asked to submit their list of priority bills for consideration of the whole body. The senators would then compare their list of common priority measures to that of the House of Representatives and the executive branch. Sotto said that for his part, his priority measures would include the proposed Special Protection of Children in Situations of Armed Conflict Act, the Prevention of Terrorism Act, the Medical Scholarship Act, the Presidential Anti-Drug Authority Act, and the Medical Scholarship Act of 2016. He also said that during the caucus, senators would discuss the Consultative Committee's draft federal constitution in order to "determine and gauge what would be the stand of the Senate" regarding charter change. After the opening ceremonies at the Senate plenary hall on Monday morning, the senators will proceed to the Batasang Pambansa Complex in the afternoon to attend the joint session of Congress and hear the president's third SONA. The Senate will go back to its legislative work while enjoying the highest public approval and trust ratings among key government agencies, according to a recent Pulse Asia poll. The survey conducted last June said the Senate received a 69 percent approval rating and 61 percent trust rating by Filipinos throughout the country. Actor Aryas comedy entertainer film Ghajinikanth which was supposed to release on July 27 has been postponed to August 3. An official announcement on the release date will be soon revealed by Studio Green. Directed by Santhosh P Jayakumar of Hara Hara Mahadevaki and Iruttu Arayil Murattu Kuthu fame, Arya plays an absent-minded scientist in the film and Sayyeshaa is his romantic interest. Santhosh's first two films received A certificate but Ghajinikanth is said to be an unadulterated family entertainer that the film bagged a clean U certificate. 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Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fd27beef8)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd2279b08)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fd27beef8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd2279b08)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fd27f5d80)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd2279b08)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd2279b08)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd227a820)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd279fde0)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd279fde0)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0 System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28:
29: ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25 /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951 /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17 /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149 Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fd63d70c8)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd78498b8)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fd63d70c8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd78498b8)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fd635e728)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd78498b8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd78498b8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd227a1b0)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd4ded030)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd4ded030)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0 System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28:
29: ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25 /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951 /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17 /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149 Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fd26ca428)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd37fa780)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fd26ca428)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd37fa780)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fd227a1c8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd37fa780)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd37fa780)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd27c1fa8)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd3831d30)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd3831d30)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0 System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28:
29: ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25 /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951 /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17 /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149 Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fd27d7bf0)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd27bf560)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fd27d7bf0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd27bf560)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fd28070f0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd27bf560)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd27bf560)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd22798f8)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd27bfb18)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd27bfb18)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0 US Senate Republicans drop bid to block Trump's ZTE deal Washington, July 20 (AFP) Jul 20, 2018 US Senate Republicans on Friday dropped their effort to reimpose tough sanctions on Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE, a move Democrats lambasted as capitulating to President Donald Trump and his negotiating strategy with Beijing. ZTE, found guilty of violating sanctions by selling US goods to Iran and North Korea, had been slapped with Commerce Department penalties that barred US firms from doing business with the smartphone-making giant. But the Trump administration had ordered an end to the penalties as the president sought to prevent an undermining of trade talks with China, and the US formally lifted the crippling ban last week. Senators had drafted an amendment that reimposes the strict sanctions, including blocking ZTE from buying US components. The legislation passed 85-10 last month as part of a broad defense spending bill, the National Defense Authorization Act. But the House version of the legislation did not block Trump's agreement with ZTE. It barred government agencies and contractors from doing business with ZTE but allowed the company to keep working with private American firms. Senators who pushed hard for the tougher language criticized Senate Republicans for agreeing to keep the watered-down version. "By stripping the Senate's tough ZTE sanctions provision from the defense bill, President Trump -- and the Congressional Republicans who acted at his behest -- have once again made President Xi and the Chinese Government the big winners and the American worker and our national security the big losers," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said. Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who had aimed to drive ZTE out of business, expressed disappointment that lawmakers decided to "cave on ZTE" as part of a trade-off for strengthening the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. CFIUS vets foreign investments in the United States and overseas transactions involving cutting-edge American technology. UN warns of war as deadly Israeli strikes pound Gaza Gaza City, Palestinian Territories, July 20 (AFP) Jul 20, 2018 Israeli forces unleashed a wave of strikes across the Gaza Strip on Friday after saying its troops came under fire, killing three Hamas members as fears grew of a wider conflict. Fireballs exploded into the sky over the Palestinian enclave and Israel reported projectiles had been fired back at its territory, prompting the UN to urge all sides to step "back from the brink" after months of tensions. A fourth Palestinian was also shot dead during protests along the frontier with Israel, Gaza's health ministry said. Israeli Defence Avigdor Lieberman warned of a "much tougher" response to any fresh missile fire by Hamas after the army reported "three launches" from the territory, two of which were intercepted. The United Nations envoy for the Middle East peace process, Nickolay Mladenov, said "everyone in Gaza needs to step back from the brink. Not next week. Not tomorrow. Right NOW!" "Those who want to provoke Palestinians and Israelis into another war must not succeed," he wrote on Twitter. The Israeli army said aircraft and tanks struck back after troops came under fire during renewed protests along the Gaza-Israel frontier. Spokesman Jonathan Conricus called the shooting incident a "very severe event", but said he could not divulge full details. "The attack today... was a severe one, one that we cannot tolerate," he said, dadding that sniper fire and grenades had been directed at soldiers on the border. The military wing of Islamist group Hamas, which has fought three wars with Israel since 2008, said three of its fighters were killed in strikes. Air raids were continuing into the evening, with a number of explosions in different parts of Gaza, AFP correspondents said. Israel's military said its aircraft and tanks targeted "eight military posts" belonging to Hamas and that the strikes formed part of a "wide-scale attack". "Hamas chose to escalate the security situation and will bear the consequences for its actions," the military warned. - 'Emergency briefing' - Israeli media reported Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was receiving an emergency briefing from the army on the situation. Last weekend saw the most severe exchange of fire between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza since a 2014 war. Israel hit dozens of sites it said belonged to militants in the Gaza Strip in Saturday's strikes, killing two Palestinian teenagers. The same day, around 200 rockets and mortars were fired at Israel from Gaza and four Israelis were wounded when a rocket hit a house in the nearby Israeli city of Sderot. Since protests broke out on March 30, at least 149 Palestinians have been killed. Most were shot during demonstrations and clashes along the border, but others were killed in air strikes or by tank fire. No Israelis have been killed. For more than a week, Israel has been hardening its response to kites and incendiary balloons launched from Gaza, which authorities say have set ablaze more than 2,600 hectares (6,400 acres) on Israeli territory. In recent days, the Israeli army has opened fire at groups launching such devices. Lieberman has raised the threat of a large-scale operation in the Gaza Strip if Hamas does not stop the kites and balloons being launched. Israeli television this week broadcast footage of army training manoeuvres for an incursion into the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu also toured the border region for the first time since the start of the clashes. Government officials such as Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan have called for systematic attacks on kite launchers. Israel has also further tightened its blockade of Gaza by closing the only goods crossing, suspending oil and gas deliveries. Air raids on last IS pocket in south Syria kill 26 civilians: monitor Beirut, July 20 (AFP) Jul 20, 2018 Twenty-six civilians were killed in air strikes Friday on areas controlled by the Islamic State jihadist group in southern Syria's Daraa province, a war monitor said. Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said 11 children were among those killed in day-long strikes by regime and allied Russian aircraft on the last IS-held pocket in Daraa. The Observatory said that hundreds of air raids and barrel bombs struck several towns controlled by a local IS branch known as Jaish Khaled bin Walid. The bombing caused severe damage to infrastructure, and "whole neighbourhoods were destroyed", the monitor said. The Syrian regime and its allies are currently looking to retake full control of Daraa on the border with Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights after forcing rebel groups to sue for peace following a bloody offensive. Syria's conflict has killed more than 350,000 people since it began in 2011 with a brutal government crackdown on protesters. Pentagon to provide $200 mn to Ukraine in security funds Washington, July 20 (AFP) Jul 20, 2018 The US Defense Department said Friday it would give $200 million to Ukraine to help the war-torn nation bolster its military's defensive capabilities. The amount is part of a series of Pentagon payments now totaling more than $1 billion to Ukraine since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea. Ukraine is fighting a separatist insurgency in its Russian-speaking eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk. All of the military aid, which comes from the Pentagon's security cooperation funds, will be non-lethal in nature. "The added funds will provide equipment to support ongoing training programs and operational needs, including capabilities to enhance Ukraine's command and control, situational awareness systems, secure communications, military mobility, night vision, and military medical treatment," the Pentagon said in a statement. The announcement came days after US President Donald Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin sparked outrage at home, where even some Republicans said the US leader had been far too conciliatory to his counterpart. More than 10,000 people have been killed since the Moscow-backed insurgency broke out in April 2014 following Russia's annexation of Crimea. Ukraine and its Western allies accuse Russia of funneling troops and arms to the pro-Moscow rebels across the border. Moscow denies the allegations. The conflict has become a focal point of stresses in the Washington-Moscow relationship, with the US hitting Russia with stiff economic sanctions. Bir Lehlu, July 21, 2018 (SPS) - The Polisario Front has expressed its deep concern over the imminent receipt in Germany of a shipment of fish products from the occupied Western Sahara, considering that this is an abnormal behavior which is in spite of the will of the Saharawi people. In a letter addressed by Mr. Emhamed Khaddad, in charge of Intarnational Relations in the National Secretariat of the Polisario Front, to Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany, Heiko Maas, he expressed the deep concern of the Polisario front on the imminent receipt in Germany of a fish shipment from the occupied territories of Western Sahara, scheduled to arrive on Dutch Vessel Bente on July 19 to the port of Bremen, Germany, loaded with 3000 tons of fish powder coming from El Aaiun, the capital city of occupied Western Sahara. Mr. Khaddad added that the Polisario Front, recognized by the United Nations as the legitimate and sole representative of the Saharawi people, condemns strongly this illegal export of natural resources from the occupied territories of Western Sahara, which isdespite the will of the Saharawi people. (SPS) 062/SPS/TRA Tim Pinske, well known at racetracks throughout North America and along with his family owner of Southern Oaks Training Center in Florida, has died. He was 71. In recent months Mr. Pinske's health declined from the effects of Lewy body dementia but this past winter he was at Southern Oaks, keeping an eye on the horses owned by the Pinske family and the training center while in the company of his wife, Marlys, son Karl and grandson Carter. The Pinske family has campaigned many top stakes horses over the years and most notably won the North America Cup with Yankee Cruiser (1:49.3 - $1,457,346), who had been developed and trained by their son Brian, who died six months earlier while attending the Harrisburg yearling sale. The Pinske family also enjoyed great success with Mister Big (1:47.4 - $4,143,492). In addition to their involvement with harness racing, the Pinske family's main business is Plato Woodworking in Plato, Minnesota. Mass of Christian Burial will be held Tuesday (July 24) at 1:30 p.m. at Church of St. Pius X in Glencoe, Minn., with interment following at the Glencoe Catholic Cemetery in Glencoe. Gathering of family and friends will be held Monday (July 23) from 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. at the Johnson-McBride Funeral Chapel in Glencoe. Memorial contributions can be made to the Harness Horse Youth Foundation, 217 East Main St., Sudlersville, MD 21668. Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Tim Pinske. (with files from harnessracing.com) Join the Journey Cameroon Branch Reports 15 Killed in Tiben Village at Hands of Military Forces Contact: Don Beehler, 615-566-0776TIBEN, Cameroon, July 21, 2018 / Standard Newswire / -- Residents of Tiben, a rural village in Cameroon's Northwest region where Join the Journey conducts empowerment programs, are still mourning but returning to life after an alleged military-led retaliation took the lives of 15 people July 12.Reports indicate that people were collecting their wares to head to the nearby market when trucks of people wearing military-like fatigues and with advanced weapons stormed into the village and opened fire, targeting women and children. The apparent soldiers shot a number people as they fled and then proceeded to kill a family harboring those fleeing the conflict, taking the life of a teacher who owned the house."We are deeply saddened by the loss of life in Tiben and the overall conflict taking place in Northwest Cameroon," said Adam Cole, executive director for Join the Journey."Join the Journey is committed to justice and serving others as Jesus Christ would, and we stand with the people of Tiben in this period of recovery. May God heal these wounds."Tiben lies in Cameroon's English-speaking Northwest region, near the border with Nigeria, where a long-running conflict has smoldered between residents here and the national French-speaking majority government. Those in the Northwest who are striving for their own country or at least autonomy under the name Ambazoniaseek to establish public services and other rights of life that have been ignored by the government.Ambazonia's call for independence has increased over the last several months and so have killings like the ones in Tiben. Similar reports and accompanying video of shootings occurred elsewhere in Cameroon. Amnesty International's recent analysis links that particular killing to military forces: bit.ly/2ut5Gbc One of the deaths in Tiben was Enjeck Helen Enjei, who had been selected as one of five candidates for Join the Journey's micro-loan program. The program was in the early stages of launching before the recent tragedy. Join the Journey had already been running a poultry empowerment program in Tiben and had assisted several churches in the village with rice distributions during holidays.Now that life has returned to normal, Join the Journey's Cameroon chapter looks to restart work in the community.Join the Journey is a Christ-centered compassion-in-action organization set on uplifting the most impoverished through economic empowerment and connecting them deeper to the vine of Jesus Christ. For more info: www.jtjourney.org The Israeli Barak 8 SAM (surface-to-air missile) system has been reorganized and expanded. There are now three Barak missiles, all variants of the Barak 8 that entered service in 2013 and was seen as a missile that could be easily reconfigured. The first customer for this was India, which wanted Barak 8 customized to operate from ships as well as land-based launchers. This collaboration was beset by many problems with Indian developers and manufacturers. Meanwhile, the Israeli manufacturer went ahead on their own and developed three versions of the Barak 8 missile. The Barak 8 was renamed Barak LRAD. A Barak 8 with a smaller rocket motor (and a range of 35 kilometers) was called Barak MRAD. Adding a booster rocket to the Barak 8 resulted in the Barak ER (with a range of 150 kilometers). All three versions retained the terminal radar guidance in the warhead. But the major selling point is the new Barak configuration was the MX fire control system. This is a separate product customized to work with all three Barak missile types. Barak MX was designed to easily accept sensor (usually radar) data from numerous sources and then use threat assessment software to determine which Barak missile systems should be used against each target. This approach has long been used with the Iron Dome system, which ignores rockets or shells that are calculated to land in uninhabited areas and instead only fires missiles at incoming projectiles that threaten lives or valuable military or civilian structures. Barak 8 was developed from the Barak 1 missile which entered service in the mid-1990s as a short-range defense against anti-ship missiles and aircraft. The Barak 1 missile weighed 98 kg (216 pounds) each, with a 21.8 kg (48 pound) warhead. The missiles are mounted in an eight-cell container. The radar system provides 360-degree coverage and the missiles can take down an incoming missile as close as 500 meters away from the ship. The missile has a range of ten kilometers and is also effective against aircraft. The Barak 8 is a larger 275 kg (605 pound) missile with a 60 kg (132 pound) warhead and a range of 70 kilometers. The warhead has its own seeker that can find the target despite most countermeasures. The missiles are mounted in a three ton, eight cell container (which requires little maintenance), and are launched straight up. The compact (for easy installation on a ship) fire control module weighs under two tons. Meanwhile, India had run into problems changes for its naval version (LRSAM) and land version (MRSAM). Not surprisingly the LRSAM/MRSAM soon fell way behind schedule. This is the norm for Indian state-run defense firms. And theres not much India can do about because Indian politicians and defense officials insist on Indians (mainly state-owned defense firms) doing the modifications. In this case, this minor bit of work would enable Indian politicians to claim LRSAM and MRSAM are Indian developed and made. The Israelis go along with this because India is a big customer. A growing number of Indians, especially those in the military who are put at risk by all this, know what is going on and want change. This is all about the persistent Indian problems with managing the development of military technology. The Barak 8 fiasco began in 2006 when India and Israel agreed to jointly develop and manufacture a customized (for India) Barak 8 variant. India calls their naval version LRSAM (Long Range Surface to Air Missile) and the land version MRSAM. Both of these systems will replace older Russian weapons as well as Russian offers of new Russian made replacements. While most (70 percent) of the Barak 8 development work was done in Israel, India is the major customer because it is buying $1.1 billion worth of LRSAM for their warships and even larger orders to replace older Russian SA-6 and SA-8 land-based systems. Since India has larger armed forces (and weapons needs), they will be the major user. The two countries evenly split the $350 million development cost. The Indian delay is because of problems developing features India wanted as well as setting up manufacturing facilities for the few Indian made components in LRSAM. While the Barak 8 was installed in Israeli ships in late 2013, Israel cannot just install Barak 8 in Indian warships until the two countries resolve some differences over the transfer of some Israeli technology to India. This has also been a problem with other Western nations and the Indian government has not been willing to change Indian laws and patent protections to avoid these problems. In 2010 Indian defense officials realized they had a major, and embarrassing, problem with LRSAM/MRSAM; they did not have enough engineers in the government procurement bureaucracy to quickly and accurately transfer the Israeli technical data to the Indian manufacturers. In addition, some of the Indian firms that were to manufacture Barak 8 components either misrepresented their capabilities or did not know until it was too late that they did not have the personnel or equipment to handle the job. In 2016 another self-inflicted problem arose two state-owned defense manufacturing firms got into a dispute with each other and the government over which of them would be in charge of managing the Indian work on LRSAM/MRSAM. This dispute also involves efforts by state-owned defense firms to get more political support for increasing pressure on Israel to give ground on exporting defense tech to India. What no one wants to say openly is that the corruption in India, especially in defense matters, is epic and most Western states do not trust the Indians unless there are strong (and embarrassing to Indian officials) legal guarantees about the security of exported tech. Meanwhile, Israel has already manufactured and installed Barak 8 on its three 1,075 ton Saar 5 class corvettes. Thus Barak 8 was ready for action over a year before its scheduled 2015 service date. Israel is believed to have rushed this installation because Russia has sent high-speed Yakhont anti-ship missiles to Syria and Barak 8 was designed to deal with this kind of threat. Barak 8 is also Israels first air defense system equal to the American Patriot (and similar systems like the U.S. Navy SM-2, Russian S-300, and European Aster 15). An improved Barak 8 would be able to shoot down short-range ballistic missiles. And the Israeli manufacturer went ahead with that as well as the three different versions of Barak 8 as well as the Barak MX fire control system. Meanwhile, India continues to order Barak 1 for its ships and slogs along on its customized (and now much delayed) Indian versions of Barak 8. Born small and being small View(s): In February 2010, representatives from all countries in Asia and the Pacific region gathered in Beijing to attend a conference. It was organised to assess the impact of the global financial crisis on the economies of countries in the region. One of the country presentations that fascinated me was the study from the Cook Islands which had been affected severely by the financial crisis. My curiosity over this country swelled because of the tiny size of the country which was revealed by some of the information presented there. Apparently, the size of the country was an important determinant of the severity of the crisis impact on its economy. The Cook Islands was a topic of our chats even outside the conference venue especially because of the smallness of the country. Someone remarked that the total population there is just 12,000 only. Another took it to crack a joke: you are exaggerating! He added a few more hundreds and, revealed its population figure as closer to the exact number as possible. Today, I thought of speaking about the economics of the smallness from a different angle. Some nations are born small because they are physically small; the Cook Islands is one extreme case of this nature. At the same time some other nations continue to remain small as a choice. The economic repercussions of both types are the same. Cook Islands: Physically small The Cook Islands got that name from Captain James Cook who visited there in 1773. It is an independent country located in the South Pacific Ocean; it is known as a self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand. Since the time I came to know about the small size of the country, I felt a series of fascinating questions; they are all about the particular economic challenges that it has to face due to the unusually small size of the country. Even though the severity of economic challenges has been minimised through economic policies and being in free association with New Zealand, still its economic vulnerability is high. The Cook Islands comprises 15 islands spread in a vast area of 1.8 million square kilometres. This means that the tiny nation of the country is split further into smaller groups and scattered far away from each other. Imagine the cost of infrastructure and logistics needed to establish physical connectivity and a transport system among the islands! Even if it is done, it is just for less than 18,000 people, according to latest population estimates. How can a nation run such facilities, just for a few thousand people? Little bit of everything What about the cost of building social infrastructure? The Cook Islands needs just only a few doctors, a few teachers, a few professionals and, just a handful of technicians from each field. By Sri Lankan standards, the Cook Islands need just 20 doctors; the number is too small to make them specialised doctors. Similarly, the country does not need more than 100 school teachers; again they cannot be specialists in different subject streams as the number is too small. Even a single hospital or a single university seems too big for the country. From each and every consumer good, they need to produce just a little bit only each day a few loaves of bread and buns, a few kilograms of potatoes and tomatoes, and a few litres of milk and coffee, and so on. This is because there are only a few thousand people to consume. The economic problem of producing a little bit of everything is enormous, however. No nation can afford to do that by modern standards because the cost of that effort is overwhelming for a marginal return. Every economic activity in the Cook Islands is just like that. The cost is high and, compared to that the return is too small. Overcoming the smallness The Cook Islands, however, did not want to remain small. It has been struggling to become big because otherwise it cant even survive. It is quite possible that nations as such might get reduced to isolated tiny tribal groups. The Cook Islands is already in the category of high-income countries. It has a per capita income of about US$ 20,000 as at present. The Cook Islands export about US$ 5 billion worth commodities; pearls, marine products and agricultural products this means, its per capita exports amount to US$ 300,000. Compare it with Sri Lanka which has about US$ 10 billion worth exports a year; with 20 million population, per capita exports amount to US$ 500 only. The major economic activity of the Cook Islands is the tourism industry annually a few 100,000 tourists arrive in the Cook Islands. Tourism industry accounts for about 60 per cent of the GDP. Challenges The Cook Island is, however, not free from the challenges. The challenges that the nation is facing are mostly related to its physical location and smallness. Its rate of annual economic growth is slower, and it is highly vulnerable to external shocks. The major economic activity the tourism industry, cannot grow either because it is faced with the lack of infrastructure and human resource constraints. The country is also faced with the problem of depopulation, as people are leaving the country. Due to its isolated location, the country is far from been connected to global business centres as well as to international travel and transport routes. Smallness by choice Smallness can be a choice of a nation too. Some countries choose to remain small, even if they are physically not as small as the Cook Islands. Some of them are even blessed with their strategic location in the global business environment and closer to the international travel and transport routes. Yet they choose to remain small due to the policies and regulations that constrain their growth to a big nation a nation that is integrated well with the global economy. The main economic problem of smallness is the inability to sustain higher growth momentum. If a nation thinks of sustaining a higher economic growth, in the first place it should have a higher level of investment every year, which is primarily coming from the private sector. Private investment does not grow, if the economy is too small. This is because investment itself is costly on the one hand and, returns to investment is too small on the other hand. In the second place, sustaining higher growth requires a bigger market, which is the international market. This means that exports do not expand, if the economy is too small affecting integration with the global market. A small economy does not provide space for higher growth which should originate from private investment and which should go to international markets. At both ends origin and destination, choose to be big is a fundamental requirement. Choose to be big Nations that choose to be big have a big vision what the nation wants to be in the long-run. The vision has to be achieved through a programme designed for that mission. Even in Asia we can identify the countries which were guided by a big vision and a long-term mission designed to achieve that. What is our vision for Sri Lanka? How do we imagine the nation of Sri Lanka in another 10 20 years time? What is our programme to reach the status of our imagination? I must say that I have high regard for the leaders of the countries who had big visions for their nations and, led their nations to overcome the economic problems of smallness. (The writer is a Professor of Economics at the Colombo University. He can be reached at sirimal@econ.cmb.ac.lk) Dankotuwa Porcelain-made collection honoured by Londons V&A Museum View(s): A stunning tableware collection from Portmeirion, exclusively manufactured by Dankotuwa Porcelain PLC in Sri Lanka, has achieved the rare honour of being entered into the permanent ceramics collection of the prestigious Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum in London. This accomplishment is especially noteworthy since the museums collection of ceramics is the most comprehensive in any museum across the world, the local company said this week. Portmeirions Choices collection was designed by Queensberry Hunt (a specialist design house that is amongst the most experienced in Europe), and is manufactured by Dankotuwa Porcelain exclusively for Portmeirion. It has been particularly well received due to the use of flat backs for plates, a unique feature of Choices, which prevents scratching and ensures that the top surfaces of the plates are perfectly flat, it said in a media release. Globally recognised for its luxurious and elegant porcelain tableware one with remarkable whiteness that radiates a sense of pristine beauty, Dankotuwa Porcelain manufactures superior quality porcelain tableware for reputed international brands such as Portmeirion, Oneida, Macys, Lenox, John Lewis, Crate & Barrel, Migros, Jashanmal, Ralph Lauren, the Walt Disney Company and Dilmah. As a result, the company has been instrumental in significantly expanding the profile of Sri Lankan porcelain tableware, taking it to new heights worldwide. Commenting on this truly global recognition, Dr. Sajeeva Narangoda, Chief Executive Officer of Dankotuwa Porcelain PLC, stated that, It is indeed a rare honour for any product made in Sri Lanka to be showcased at the prestigious Victoria and Albert Museum in London and we acknowledge this feat with pride. Over the years, Dankotuwa Porcelain has designed, developed and mastered the art of producing innovative world-class tableware. This accomplishment is testament to our dedication, passion and attention to detail and the reason as to why Dankotuwa Porcelain is a leading exporter of tableware in Sri Lanka. Dankotuwa Porcelain PLC, a subsidiary of Ambeon Holdings PLC commenced its commercial operations in 1984. From superior glazing technologies, personalised designs and endless options, the company continues to create a timeless and modern collection of porcelainware that expresses exclusive dining experience for every occasion. The Ambeon Group holds catalysing opportunities through readiness above all else, with our philosophy being to constantly challenge ourselves to look beyond the status quo and innovate, design, develop and action results, stated Murali Prakash, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Ambeon Capital PLC and Ambeon Holdings PLC. Dilmah Tea Founder honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award by World Association of Chefs View(s): Sri Lankan Tea pioneer Merrill J. Fernando was honoured at the WorldChefs Congress 2018 with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award for his extraordinary passion and commitment to tea, and for his unique philosophy of making business a matter of human service. The award was presented by WorldChefs President Thomas Gugler at the biennial global Congress which took place in Kuala Lumpur last week with the participation of over 1,000 chefs representing 100 Chefs Societies from around the world. Merrill J. Fernando is recognised for his commitment to tea, especially the harsh early years when he fought for value addition at source, and against the colonial economic system that saw his countrys prized crop sold at auction in London. When eventually he succeeded his struggle against the interests of big businesses that dominate the global tea industry had taken nearly 40 years. When his brand Dilmah was born in 1988, it was a victory for farmers around the world as it was the first time tea, coffee or cocoa was offered grown, picked, packed and branded at source by a farmer, Dilmah said in a media release announcing the award. Less well known is Mr. Fernandos commitment to family values and their embodiment in his brand through the philosophy of making business a matter of human service. That principle requires each of the Dilmah Tea, plantation, packaging and ancillary businesses to contribute a minimum 10 per cent of their pre-tax profits to the Merrill J. Fernando Charitable Foundation www.mjffoundation.org which utilises these funds to empower youth, and women in difficult economic and social circumstances, children with special needs, communities that are economically marginalized, and the environment. Amongst the outcomes of the Dilmah philosophy is the Empower Culinary School, a WorldChefs approved training school that offers culinary training free of charge to young women and men who are economically, socially or otherwise disadvantaged. Amongst those that have benefited from the Empower School are youth with cerebral palsy, down syndrome amongst other typical persons. The second Empower Culinary & Hospitality School will open in August this year at the MJF Centre East, the largest privately funded charitable initiative in Sri Lanka, which is designed to serve differently abled children, youth, women and communities that are economically disadvantaged through the principle of empowerment with dignity. Early childhood development to play significant role in 2019 budget By Raj Moorthy View(s): View(s): While education is at the heart of empowerment endowing people with skills to actively participate in the economy and development of the country, investment in Early Childhood Development (ECD) is of great importance to Sri Lanka as it has the potential to improve school learning outcomes which can have long lasting effects on the well-being of the population. Minister of Finance and Mass Media, Mangala Samaraweera made these remarks at the Building Brains Building Futures event held at the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel in Colombo on Monday. Three proposals related to ECD were presented to the minister for consideration in the 2019 budget. Mr. Samaraweera stated, the fundamental principle of governments economic development policy is empowerment of Sri Lankas citizens. We want to create an economy where citizens are able to take their economic destiny in their hands without relying on the state. ECD enhances school readiness, children increase their retention rates and achieve better results in standardised tests leading to a reduction in school dropout rates. By learning more and for longer periods of time children are able to benefit the most from the schooling system overall. ECD interventions have better benefit cross ratios, allowing the government to maximize the returns of the public investment in education. Studies across the world have proved that children who participate in ECD programmes attain higher earnings, he added. He also mentioned that investment in ECD helps government provide a social endowment to future generations, reducing income disparities in society. The government is aiming to increase investments in enhancing education quality in two initiatives; 13 years of education programme and budget proposal for a public-private partnership model for child care facilities. The first 13 years of education programme aims at adapting the school system to enhance different types of skills children have and to adequately respond to the needs of the labour market. An exam-centric curriculum has resulted in a large dropout rate after O/L. Modifying the curriculum in a way that it responds to the creative and technical skills of children will allow better exploitation of their potential and help retain them within an efficient school system. ECD is a perfect initiative to achieve the proposed goals in the education front. The childcare facilities initiative will be a first step in promoting quality services for the early childhood stage. Mr. Samaraweera reiterated the governments commitment for investment in education with renewed focus on ECD. The government has increased the investment in education from 1.46 per cent in 2015 to 3.5 per cent in 2017 and the goal is to reach 6 per cent by 2025. UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia, Jean Gough at the event emphasized that Sri Lanka is a trailblazer in terms of human capital investments in the South Asian region. This position is because of enlightened and consistent health and education policies implemented by the government over a number of years. Compared to other countries in South Asia, Sri Lanka has advanced in these areas, she added. As Sri Lanka becomes a knowledge based economy, growth will be driven by innovation of its workforce who will produce knowledge-based products and services. The market for these products and services and trading partners are likely with the fast growing economy in the Asia Pacific region. Unless Sri Lanka invests on its workforce to enable innovation and increase productivity to meet the needs of the future, it will be trapped in the middle class status unable to transform its economy. This will result in a struggle to compete in the existing knowledge-based economy in the region, she noted. Hingurakgoda, next airport in Sri Lanka By Sunimalee Dias View(s): View(s): Sri Lanka is currently looking at the prospect of establishing an airport in Hingurakgoda at an estimated cost of US$65 million. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has a vision of airports around the island with the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) on the West coast, Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) on the South coast and another airport for the East that would be the thinking behind the Hingurakgoda airport, Airport and Aviation Services Ltd. (AASL) Executive Director Johanne Jayaratne told the Business Times. He noted that the cost estimate for the Hingurakgoda airport has been identified at US$65 million as it would only involve the development of mainly the runway, lighting and terminal construction to cater to international standards with a capacity of one million passengers arriving on narrow body aircraft like A320 and A319. The runway length would be 2287 metres and a width of 46 metres. At present the airport is manned by the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) and operated as a military facility that was in operation since 1942 during the time of the Royal Air Force and in proximity to Polonnaruwa. However, Mr. Jayaratne, an expert in the aviation industry, believes the BIA and Mattala airports are sufficient and connected to the 12 domestic airports in the country. So many international airports may not be viable, he said adding that authorities would need to convince airlines to fly in directly to the airport. This plan for an Eastern airport is currently being worked out under the Megapolis plan of action for the development of Trincomalee as an economic hub. Meanwhile, the interim terminal at the BIA is estimated to cost US$19 million capable of handling two million departures only (since this is where the congestion peaks) and due to be in operation by the first quarter of next year. In the meantime, state officials are in talks with the Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA) in a bid to work out the loan given to them for the construction of the Stage II of the airport with a second terminal and runway. With the apron and taxiways construction already being awarded to Hazama Ando Corp it is currently under construction and being built at a cost of US$39 million. The US$441.5 million part of the loan from JICA for the construction of the terminal and piers has been stuck in talks as authorities are seeking to convert it to a general loan since the bid made for this part of the project is 46 per cent higher than the estimates. Meanwhile, the detailed design and consultancy work of the project would be carried out by Nippon Koei Services in joint venture with Japan Airport as consultants. The new terminal is likely to have a capacity of nine million and Sri Lanka is continuing to attract an increase in passenger numbers as 9.94 million went through in 2017 and by 2022 the airport with the new terminal would be at capacity. Political versus commercial decisions View(s): Are we entering dangerous ground by having two super-powers India and China controlling two vital installations in one city? Some people think so, including Kussi Amma Sera while others sweep aside any danger of a fuse blowing between the two in Hambantota. Indiawa saha Cheene, eka thenaka innakota, apita prasnayak wey-ida? (Will there be a problem when India and China are in one place), asked KAS from her down-the-road neighbour Mabel Rastiyadu. Hambantota Cheene-ta, Yapanaya Indiawa-ta, Tirikunamale Singappuruwata. Hondai, Hondai, (Hambantota to China, Jaffna to India, Trincomalee to Singaporegreat! laughed Mabel, chatting under the margosa tree within earshot distance from my office room. Their good-natured banter could be heard clearly. The crux of the conversation was last weeks news that the Government plans to invite India to run the Mattala International Airport, hot on the heels of the Hambantota port being given to the Chinese in a debt-for-equity swap. Adding to this weeks news were reports that the Government is planning a third international airport at Hingurakgoda, home base of President Maithripala Sirisena. Another international airport after the struggle to maintain Mattala Airport? Another foolhardy proposal? Pondering on this and the margosa tree-conversation, the silence is broken by the telephone ringing. It is Kalabala Silva, the often-agitated academic, on the line. I say..why are they trying to build another airport when we are struggling to maintain one and forced to sell the second one? Kalabala asks. Well maybe they have got wiser after Mattala and may now be thinking of getting an investor on a Build, Operate, Transfer (BOT) arrangement, I reply. But shouldnt we first settle our debts SriLankan Airlines, CEB, CPC, Railways, Transport Board, etc before getting into debt again? he poses the question, adding: Furthermore, having India and China controlling two vital installations in one city.would that not create problems with both countries seeking to control this region? Would we be drawn subconsciously into a battleground for supremacy? Very unlikely, I said, but my meek response was not too convincing to him. Kalabala muttered that both companies about to control the airport and seaport are state companies and controlled by political powers rather than commercial interests. Cutting short the conversation with a lets talk later as I have a deadline to meet, I call an aviation veteran in Sri Lanka who is widely respected for his views on the aviation industry. He too is surprised by the decision to build a third international airport. Mattala itself is a disaster because there are no proper facilities, no proper infrastructure and no engineers to handle any emergency, he said, adding that a feasibility study should be done before deciding on the viability of a third airport. Consider the cost: Mattala airport was built and opened in 2013 at a cost of over US$200 million (around Rs. 27 billion at the then exchange rates), while Hambantota port was built at a cost (phase 1) of $361 million (over Rs. 45 billion). A third airport with proper infrastructure will cost a fortune, at least $100-200 million (around Rs. 30 billion) at current costs. Is that wise? Can we afford it? Wouldnt it be wiser to upgrade the regional airports and have an efficient shuttle-service from Katunayake to Trincomalee or Hambantota to Trincomalee and vice versa to cut down on internal, time-consuming road travel, particularly for tourists and VIP passengers? Hambantota was seen as an attractive proposition or port call for hundreds of ships that ply this route to Singapore and Europe. But if that was the case, why has the port failed to live up to this need under Sri Lankas care? Is it mismanagement, poor marketing or what? In the case of the Mattala airport, most people agree that the airport was not internationally, marketed properly. The fact that Sri Lanka has been able to attract the Indians imply they see some value in the airport (or are there political reasons), while under Sri Lankas care it was like a ghost airport dubbed by the international media as the loneliest airport in the world. The phone rings again. Its Seeni Bola, my banker friend (so named by colleagues after he once boasted that other banks were handling seeni bola deposits compared to his bank). Machan, what is going on? Why are they building a third airport, he asked, in an exasperated tone. Maybe they believe more people might come to Trincomalee than Hambantota, I said. The problem is that these are political decisions being made instead of commercial ones. If you look at a project with a commercial objective, then it has to work, otherwise you wont undertake to do it. But when it is a political decision, its immaterial whether it works or not, he said also alluding to the case of the Indian IOC getting the Trincomalee oil tanks in 2003. What has happened to these tanks? No development. The same will happen to all projects with a political motive, he added. Hmmm, I reply in agreement. One of the problems of todays governance is that the Government seems to be resorting to knee-jerk decisions without any proper rational thought. For example, the decision to enforce the death penalty has already triggered a response from the European Union which is threatening to pullout GSP+ concessions. Sri Lanka was struggling to restore GSP+ and when it happened, the powers-that-be were gung ho. Now we are likely to give it up on a platter. Shouldnt someone have advised the President on the repercussions of such a move? Or are we ready to give up these concessions for the greater good of putting to death those who commit violent crimes and sale of drugs? No one denies that violence is on the rise and criminals are also directing operations from inside prison cells. But shouldnt the rule of law be enforced firmly without political interference rather than resort to an antiquated form of punishment which Sri Lanka itself appealed against in the case of Sri Lankan domestic Rizana Nafeek who was subsequently executed in Saudi Arabia? The GSP+ concessions were won after a long-drawn battle and in this context a decision like the death penalty should have first been examined by a Government-appointed committee on different ways of deterring crime including stiffer penalties and better law enforcement. At a news conference this week, State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne asserted that the Mattala airport will be run on a commercial basis by the new joint venture with India. Having burnt our fingers in many political and not commercial decisions, lets hope that both Mattala and Hingurakgoda are based on commercial interests. Otherwise, Sri Lankans will be coughing up more debt payments for generations to come. Sri Lankas fuel pricing formula By Dr. Tilak Siyambalapitiya View(s): View(s): Apparently, there is a fuel pricing formula in operation in Sri Lanka. Professionals support a pricing formula, because that is the only way to move away from politically-determined pricing of petrol, diesel, kerosene and fuel oil. Ever since the government poked its finger into the petroleum industry in the 1950s, politics, not commercial sense, determined fuel prices in Sri Lanka, except for a narrow window between 2002-2004. More on that later. Sadly enough, it is not the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) or the Minister in charge or his Ministry that determines the fuel prices. It is the Finance Ministry. Despite highly respected civil servants and even PhD economists holding the position of Secretary Finance, all were happy to determine prices of petroleum products themselves, with little or no knowledge about the petroleum industry and its market. When CPC runs into losses, the same Secretary Finance would be quick to blame CPC, soon followed by the politicians. 2001 formula A fuel pricing formula was introduced by the government of 2001. The formula was operational over February 2002 to about January 2004. At its inception, the formula and the sources of data were published in the newspapers. Fuel prices were adjusted upwards or downwards by not more than Rs. 2 per litre, on the last Sunday of every month. If the calculated adjustment was more than Rs. 2 per litre, the balance amount would be passed on to the next price adjustment. If the formula was correctly applied, customers would be further compensated for the accumulated funds if the drop was to be over Rs. 2, but curtailed at Rs. 2 per litre. Such compensation at the subsequent revision would be owing to excessive income to CPC that would carry an interest income; the reverse was also applicable. In summary, the formula published in 2002-2004 looked like the following (FOB means free on board, CIF means cost, insurance and freight, bbl means barrel and LC means letter of credit): Data sources were transparent Data sources for the Singapore quoted price, the starting point of the calculation, were published, which could be checked independently by anyone interested. If the government moved further and wanted to be honest back in 2002-4, they could have published the actual calculation for every month, and even compared each component of cost against regional (eg: India) and international prices and norms. No such thing happened, but price adjustments were operational for nearly two years. Customers got used to the adjustments, made on a specific date. Accountants liked it because prices were stable for a month. The CPC and the newcomer LIOC loved it because the sins of politicians decisions were not brushed aside as their inefficiency. Elections 2004 Alas! An election was announced for April 2, 2004. The same government that brought in the fuel pricing formula abandoned it, presumably because in the run-up to the elections, each monthly adjustment was to be positive. The government thought they could deceive the petroleum customers by not implementing the formula, but the customers were wiser. The government of 2001 that introduced the formula, operated it fairly accurately for nearly two years, and then abandoned it for political reasons, was thrown out of power. Not that the new government of 2004 embraced the formula, either; the words of the new Energy Minister were the following: to increase the prices when world market prices increase, why should there be a government? So that was the end of the pricing formula for petroleum products in 2004, until it resurfaced in 2018. Unlike the last attempt the formula now operational is invisible. No journalist is asking for it; the government has not published it. The opposition is not looking for it. Calculations are not published anyway. Therefore, the public have no idea of how the prices are calculated. There seems to be no fixed date for its implementation. Different arms of the government have different views on the formula and its date of implementation. Minister of Petroleum says do not increase. Finance Ministry says must increase. The President says why so much of an increase? This means that the government is unable to perform its tasks on petroleum pricing at least as well as the same government did in 2002, a good 16 years later, when the people are more educated and aware, and the media stronger. Electricity pricing: PUC and CEB Although the government also spoke of an electricity pricing formula, there is no such formula. However, there is comprehensive electricity costing and pricing policy and a methodology. The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) calculates the costs of electricity for each month. According to the law, if prices are not increased to match costs of CEB and LECO, the PUC should get the subsidy from the government and pay CEB and LECO. Instead of adjusting electricity prices (upwards of course), the PUC is busy debating with CEB on future power generation projects. CEB is having a field day, since any cost of today or the future can now be attributed to the PUC. For eight years, CEB has been resisting the establishment of the bulk supply transaction (BST) account. This BST account is where all its income, government subsidies (paid or unpaid), extra payments to renewable energy, losses owing to rooftop solar (buying at Rs. 22 and displacing energy worth about Rs. 12 per unit) and benefits (or losses) from good (or bad) rainfall are accumulated. This account was to be transparently published for all to see, but the CEB never did that for eight long years, ever since the Electricity Act of 2009 became operational. So, the PUC has an excuse not to fulfil their duty, be as independent as when the PUC reviews the generation plan, to raise electricity prices to account for government policies. The CEB has an excuse not to cooperate on anything that causes losses to increase, ranging from purchasing wind power at the worlds highest price to purchasing from rooftop solar and increasing staff from 15,000 to 19,000 after elections whereas customer numbers are stagnant. Meanwhile, the World Bank and IMF are reported to be busy preparing an electricity pricing formula, when all ingredients and the pricing formula itself are already available and operational since year 2010. But not implemented. There is no point in blaming the CEB, CPC, PUC or anyone, without clearly separating out the costs, prices and income. I know it is enjoyable for politicians and armchair critics to blame state agencies when losses are reported. None of them, including the most learned economists sitting in the Cabinet, care to examine in detail, the costs, prices and disaggregate the losses, and have a road map to achieve cost reflective pricing. For example, many electricity regulatory commissions in India have resolved that cross subsidies (or surcharges) will be limited to -30 per cent (+30 per cent) of the cost, by year 2020. In most states, when the state government says for example subsidize electricity used in small scale power looms, the state treasury actually sends a cheque every month to the electricity board to pay for their policy. Over here in similar situations, the politician would say, CEB is a state organisation and they should do public service, and weeks later, thunder when annual accounts are presented to Parliament. Publish the formula! So if the government is honest, publish the fuel pricing formula, sources of data, and its actual calculations. Make price revisions on a fixed date of the month (eg: last Sunday). Remove the requirement to ask for Cabinet approval for each revision, up or down. For the obvious subsidy on kerosene, actually send a cheque to the CPC every month, to show that you care for transparency. (The writer is a renowned energy specialist and can be reached at tilak@rmaenergy.lk) Singapore quoted FOB Price (USD/bbl) +freight (USD/bbl) +ocean losses (%)+ insurance = CIF price in USD/bbl x exchange rate (LKR/USD) x litres/bbl (158.9) = CIF price in rupees per litre + Jetty pipeline charge+ Port development charge+ LC charge = Landed cost + Taxes (excise duty, customs duty, and other levies) + Finance cost of working capital + Storage terminal cost+ storage Terminal margin = Wholesale cost + Marketing company margin = Dealer delivery price +Provincial council tax +VAT +Dealer margin = Max retail price A damp squib with a smattering of mud By Chandani Kirinde- Lobby Correspondent House Debate on NYT's How China Got Sri Lanka to Cough Up a Port View(s): View(s): The UNP-sponsored debate in Parliament, on Thursday, based on a New York Times (NYT)-article in June, titled How China Got Sri Lanka to Cough Up a Port, resulted in another damp squib, with the debates sponsors unable to cough up sufficient numbers to retain a Quorum in the House, to sustain the debate till the end of its scheduled time. There were early signs when the debate began, it was not going to yield any new or useful information, given the large number of vacant seats in the Chamber. The debate also got off to a rather muddled start, with Kurunegala District MP Thushara Indunil Amarasena who moved the motion, unable to get across clearly why exactly a debate was being held, other than give a forum for both sides to wallow in the same allegations against each other. The NYT article alleges that President Mahinda Rajapaksa was given more than US$ 7.6 million by the China Harbour Engineering Co. to fund his 2015 presidential election campaign. MP Amarasena said, Accepting money from a foreign nation was a great betrayal. The very people who speak so highly of patriotism have accepted money from a foreign country to fund their elections, he said. He was backed by Minister of Highways Kabir Hashim who said the former regime was waiting to barter away the countrys sovereignty by accepting money for their personal use, but their plans were averted due to the election defeat. They act like hermits but, in reality, they are men who go hunting on a Poya Day, he said. However, the allegations leveled at the former President were dismissed by Colombo District [(Joint Opposition Group (JOG)] MP Wimal Weerawansa who said these allegations have been publicised since 2015. There were reports that the US State Department spent US$ 500 million to bring about regime changes in various countries including Sri Lanka.Why arent you investigating these. There were also reports in the Australian press, making allegations against the present President. Why werent these looked into? he queried. Neither the former President, his son Namal Rajapaksa nor Chamal Rajapaksa was present to answer the allegations leveled at them. Instead, it fell on the JOG MPs to come to their defense. Chief Opposition Whip and JVP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayaka said that, when there were serious allegations leveled at the former President, he had a duty to be present in the Chamber to defend himself. I felt the former President would remain in the Chamber throughout the day the debate is being held but, on the contrary, neither he nor other members of his family are here. Similarly, his supporters in the JOG have tried to thwart this debate from the start, he said. Despite some upbeat speeches by UNP MPs and equally loud rebuttals of the allegations by the JOG MPs, the debate ended 45 minutes before the scheduled time. By 6.45 pm there were less than 20 MPs in the Chamber, the number needed for a Quorum, and hence, the Quorum bells were rung to gather sufficient numbers. Despite the bells sounding for a reasonable length of time, there were only 8 MPs in the Chamber. Without sufficient numbers, the presiding member adjourned the days sittings. An extraordinary lapse of good Judgement View(s): The fact that the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) had accepted sponsorship from tainted primary dealer Perpetual Treasuries for the holding of the 2016 Law Asia conference led to incredulous responses in some quarters when this fact was initially disclosed some weeks ago. Before long however and in the nature of all things in this country, this was allowed to gently slip by into the ether of forgetfulness, even as the incumbent in the post of the President of the Bar sought to pass the disclosure off with an airy shrug and the explanation that this sponsorship (accepted prior to his term) was nothing extraordinary and that the funds were legally accounted for. Integrity of the funding But make no mistake that this explanation is, by itself, quite extraordinary, quite apart from the very fact of the sponsorship. The main issue here is not the legal accounting of the funds or indeed, who signed off on the acceptance thereof and conflicts of interests arising or not as the case may be. And at no point was an allegation made that the fund had been swindled by the Bar. The question is far more minimalistic. It concerns the integrity of the funding being given in the first instance and the suspect connections of the man behind the sponsorship, now led out periodically in handcuffs for court hearings.Regardless of protests therein, it must surely be accepted that this was no ordinary scam, this was no ordinarily deviant businessman and certainly, this was not like any other sponsorship quite apart from the question as to whether the funds were solicited/canvassed or accepted along with other sponsors. Rather, it is indisputable that one of the Bars flagship annual talkfests had been financed by a company in the centre of a scam involving bond transactions of the Central Bank that has been responsible almost singlehandedly for cutting the democratic ground away from this administration and catapulting this country to a dangerously slippery slope of non-accountability for high financial fraud. A blush and a shrug is not enough The scam has already defined the yahapalanaya administration by its singularly mortifying stamp. The costs have been considerable with the United National Partysmoral high ground to complain against the corruption of the Rajapaksas dissipating to virtual nothingness as a result. It has incurred very heavy electoral punishment and will probably need to prepare itself for worse, barring an economic miracle in the short time left in store. Let it be said strongly therefore that a shrug, a blush and a flimsy excuse is no way to deal with a disclosure that should be viewed with far more gravitas by the Bar. And as much as ignorance of the law is no excuse, the leadership of the Bar at the time cannot profess naivete in regard to who was Arjun Aloysius or what was Perpetual Treasuries when the funding was accepted. True enough, neither the primary dealer nor his company had been under formal investigation at the time. But when the LawAsia conference was held in 2016, this particular primary dealer and his company had already become a virtual household name. The first controversial treasury bond auction had taken place in February 2015 and four months later, the first investigation had been held by a 13-member Special Parliamentary Investigation Committee whose interim report was thereafter leaked to the media, causing consternation in regard to details of what became known later, as a monumental financial scandal and provoking a nasty reaction from the Government. Dissolution of the Parliament thereafter prevented this report from being taken further though the later report by the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) dealt comprehensively with the matter, followed by long drawn out hearings and a damning report of a Presidential Commission of Inquiry. Accountability standards must apply to all And the larger question concerns as to how and why the Bar should consider itself immune from accountability standards that apply to others? In other words, if such a furore can arise over Government parliamentarians accepting money from Aloysius and rightly so, as it casts doubts on the integrity of decisions taken by these worthies in respect of parliamentary inquiries into his conduct, by what logic does this not hold true for powerful professional lobbying bodies such as BASL? If reports that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the members of his family accepted donations to their institutional and personal funds can cause a scandal as well they should, it is only a small step from that to the countys main body of lawyers accepting tainted funds and worse, professing that there is nothing really wrong about that. So let us be quite clear. Accountability in terms of funding does not and should not apply to political parties or politicians only. While the law in respect of campaign finance should be tightened by all means and necessary policy measures taken in regard to the same, that scrutiny should be similarly applied to professional bodies and their sponsors. This fracas speaks to a lamentable slide from the energy that once vitalized the Bar to forcefully move against threats and intimidation by the Rajapaksa regime involving sending its goons into Hulfsdorp and unceremoniously sacking a sitting Chief Justice. At that time, the provincial Bar Associations, ranging from the Southern Bar to the far flung zonal divisions of the Central, Uva and Northern provinces came together transcending political loyalties of individual lawyers to protest against excesses of a political family running wild. That energy quickly dissolved from 2015 onwards when key voices of the Bar were perceived as aligned to one political faction at one point and then to the other, with disastrous impact on the public legitimacy of the entire association. The socio-legal relevance of the Bar While capturing that apolitical energy remains a key challenge, other questions remain.Lawyers in Sri Lanka are perceived as being occupied only in their individual practice with little concern regarding larger issues of social justice. A base preoccupation with money and money alone predominates. These are the points at which change has to begin. Phrases such as the independence of the judiciary and the independence of the Bar must not be perceived as theoretical maxims and an abstract preoccupation only of the elite. The effort of the Bar must not be to cajole politicians to provide it with greater facilities and privileges. Instead, it must return to a state of socio-legal relevance in this country. Certainly, the first step in this arduous journey must be to enforce rigorous standards of transparency and accountability in its own functioning. Dayan for Russia: Nyet from High Posts Committee View(s): President Maithripala Sirisena has been called upon to decide whether or not Dayan Jayatilleke should be Sri Lankas Ambassador to Russia. This was because a majority of those at the Parliamentary High Posts Committee were not in favour of his posting. The Sunday Times learns that Speaker Karu Jayasuriya has written to President Sirisena telling him that whilst some members of the committee favoured his appointment, the majority were not. They felt he was not suitable to hold that position. That included UNP ministers and MPs. The Sunday Times also learnt that those not in favour of Dr. Jayatillekes appointment alleged that some of his recent statements in the public domain were allegedly crude and not in the national interest. Hence, they argued that he is not a suitable person to serve as ambassador. This is the first time the President has been asked to re-consider one of his own ambassadorial nominees. In the light of this, Speaker Jayasuriya has sought President Sirisenas advice. A Parliament source said if President Sirisena, who appoints heads to Sri Lanka missions overseas, still wants Jayatilleke appointed, the Committee would convene again. Weeks earlier, a group of academics opposed Mr Jayetillekes appointment for a string of reasons. The functions of the Committee on High Posts, in terms of Parliament rules, are to examine the suitability of any person who has been either appointed to any post or nominated to hold office in any post determined by the Cabinet of Ministers and to make recommendations in regard to such persons. In the case of persons appointed or nominated for the posts of Secretaries to Ministries, Heads of Missions abroad and Chairpersons of selected Corporations as determined by the Committee on High Posts shall be examined within three months. Russia pushing for Lanka to buy OPV? Is Russia still trying to persuade Sri Lanka to buy the Gephard Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV)? The Defence Ministry recently chose to buy Mi-17 helicopters in place of the OPV but a diplomatic source said yesterday that Moscow was still keen to ask Sri Lanka to conclude the controversial deal. This is on the basis that an assurance has been given to Russia to utilise a part of a re-validated credit line. A private jet bringing a top level delegation led by Niki Alexandrova, head of Rosboronoexport, the state trading arm, is due in Colombo on July 29. According to diplomatic sources, the team is expected to discuss the OPV deal amongst others. Since Sri Lanka is buying 33 units of Russian-built armoured personnel carriers (BTRs), the head of marketing will also arrive with the team. Army Chief expresses concern to President Army Commander Mahesh Senanayake has complained to President Maithripala Sirisena about the alleged interference by a retired senior officer now in politics. Lt Gen Senanayake has said the officer turned politician is giving instructions to officer cadres without his knowledge and has also spoken to him about transfers and promotions. Pro-Eelam lobby claims credit for Paisley probe A British Parliamentarian made an emotional apology in the House of Commons on Thursday for failing to acknowledge two family holidays funded by the Sri Lankan government in 2013. This came after a British Parliamentary inquiry found him guilty of engaging in paid advocacy. Ian Paisley Jr, representing the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of Northern Ireland, has been suspended for 30 days from the House of Commons for his failure after the House of Commons Committee on Standards recommended the suspension. Mr. Paisley Jr said his failure to acknowledge the Sri Lankan holiday trips was a genuine mistake and total failure while noting I accept the report but I do so regret its sanctions. The inquiry found that the two Sri Lanka trips which included business class air travel sponsored by SriLankan Airlines, first class accommodation at top hotels, and helicopter tours to tourist destinations provided a very substantial personal benefit to Mr Paisley and his family. The inquiry has also established that Mr Paisley Jr breached the Houses rule on paid advocacy (lobbying in return for reward or consideration) by writing to the British Prime Minister on March 19, 2014 to lobby against supporting a UN resolution on Sri Lanka. Britains active pro-Eelam lobby claimed credit for calling for an inquiry on Mr. Paisley by the House of Commons Committee. ITS LASANTHA AND NOT NIMAL LANZA Deputy Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna will contest the next parliamentary elections on the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) ticket and not Nimal Lanza as erroneously reported last week. The error is regretted. Austin envoy to India Former Presidential Secretary Austin Fernando is to be Sri Lankas High Commissioner in India. He will succeed former Foreign Secretary Chitrangani Wagiswara who is concluding her term. Taking the vacant post of High Commissioner in London will be Manisha Gunasekera. She is now Sri Lankas Ambassador in South Korea. Jail for errant bus conductors The instances of failure of state-run bus conductors to issue tickets are on the rise resulting in severe losses to the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB). Transport Minister Nimal Sripala de Silva has come up with a new plan to take action against the errant conductors. He plans to file action against them under the Public Property Act for depriving the state of its due revenue. Those who deprive the SLTB of its revenue will have to spend time in remand custody without bail in future, the minister remarked at a meeting. But, the question remains as to what has happened to the ticket checkers whose duty is to carry out random checks on buses. There is a need to check on the checkers. Who gave these files in Parliament? Opposition members in Parliament were somewhat surprised to receive copies of a file. It contained newspaper clippings of allegations against a big boss and someone had expected the issue would be raised when Parliament met to debate the recent New York Times report about Chinese funds for former President Mahinda Rajapaksas election campaign. The debate ended abruptly when there was no quorum. The question now doings the rounds is as to who gave the files to the Opposition? Vijayakala speech: Probe on top officials who cheered The day after the controversial speech made by Vijayakala Maheswaran in Jaffna on the need for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for a violence free region, Jaffna District Secretary N. Vedanayahan sent letters to senior government officials seeking answers to what he calls unruly behaviour among those who cheered when the former State Minister made the claim. Senior state employees including Divisional Secretaries, Samurdhi officers, Grama Niladharis were among the audience where there were cheering and whistling when the emotional speech was made by the former State Minister of Children and Womens Affairs. Two cabinet ministers, Tilak Marapana and Vajira Abeygunawardena and Chief Minister C. V. Wigneswaran were present at the event. Last Mondays statement from PMs office avoided his reference to the Political Editor allegedly supporting the Pohottuwa Ranil silent on our disclosure China Harbour issued cheques to all major-political parties New war erupts between UNP and those around Mahinda Rajapaksa as parties prepare for upcoming elections With President Maithripala Sirisena abroad, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe functioned as the de facto head of government running the affairs of state. He was both active and aggressive though the privilege of chairing weekly cabinet meetings was not his. Sirisena had decided there would be no weekly meetings when he travels abroad. This is after the in-fighting between the leaders of the United National Party (UNP) and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) climaxed. Nevertheless the fragile coalition continues and Sirisena has since returned after visits to Italy and Georgia. Yesterday, Wickremesinghe flew by helicopter to Kilinochchi and proceeded to Jaffna. This week, a significant event he saw through was the inauguration of a five-year National Export Strategy (NES). When it takes full effect, it will no doubt be a boon to the national coffers, for there will be a steady influx of foreign exchange. Since becoming Premier, he launched many similar projects. Among them the 100 Day development programme, the Balagathu Lankawa, launched in December 2016. This project was for district and provincial development. Then came Vision 2020 which he declared would propel Sri Lankas emergence into an era of prosperity for all citizens. Among the ambitious plans promised under this project was an unprecedented thrust with the creation of economic corridors and secondary corridors to form economic arteries. They were the South Western Monsoon Corridor, the North Eastern Monsoon Corridor, the Highlands Corridor, and the establishment of a Ceylon City. Adding hopes for a prosperous Sri Lanka were also the formal statements by Wickremesinghe in Parliament. In the past three years, it came just days ahead of the Finance Ministers budget and spoke of ambitious future economic and fiscal reforms. Whether all these pledges and many more not mentioned here have been achieved remains debatable. However, Premier Wickremesinghe cannot be faulted. He told an audience in Singapore just days ago that Sri Lanka will become a fully developed country in 2050 in 32 years. If most in the present generation would not be able to savour the fruits of that developed island nation, the younger generation sure would. Even the founding father of Singapore, the late Lee Kwan Yew did not take that long to turn his country into a prosperous city-state with a rule of law that was equal to all citizens. Barring a few instances, the word corruption was confined only to the dictionary. Singapores world reputation as an economic miracle and stability was proof when US President Donald Trump and his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-un created history by meeting on its soil. It was also a testament to the law enforcement agencies of that nation. There were no major incidents except for the amusement of coping with the look-alikes of Trump and Kim. Amidst his onerous responsibilities, Premier Wickremesinghe also found time to berate the Sunday Times for some contents in last weeks political commentary. First to the formal media statement issued by the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) soon after he spoke at a meeting of the government parliamentary group at Temple Trees last Monday. The speech in Sinhala has been translated into English. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe today (July 16) told the United National Party (UNP) Parliamentary Group that investigations have not been halted into a complaint alleging that a large number of cheques had been cashed before the 2015 presidential election and the money given to officials who were then serving at the Presidents office. He insisted that reports that these investigations have stopped are completely false. Speaking further at the UNP Parliamentary Group meeting held at Temple Trees today, the PM further said: The Police Special Investigation Unit (SIU) started an investigation on May 9, 2016 after an individual by the name of Dissanayke Mudiyanselage Sarath Dissanayake lodged a complaint alleging that a large number of cheques were cashed before the 2015 presidential election and the money delivered to the Presidents office. These investigations revealed that 82 cheques amounting to Rs 1,398 million had been cashed between December 1, 2014 and January 8, 2015, with the money being handed over to officials at the presidents office. This includes cheques belonging to China Harbour Engineering Company. The SIU has sent the relevant files to the Attorney Generals Department. The investigations are being conducted under the direct supervision of Deputy Solicitor General Yasantha Kodagoda. These investigations have not been halted at any stage. In 2015, the Central Bank had forwarded cheques from Standard Chartered Bank to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) requesting that an investigation be initiated in this regard. Accordingly, the CID is still conducting its probe. There is already some evidence that has come to light. Some evidence is yet to be unearthed. None of the probes has been stopped. In this backdrop, several people asked me about an article in yesterdays (15) edition of the Sunday Times. In a section of the report, it is claimed that these investigations had been stopped. I have been informed that the report also contained references to a folder number. Today, I met with the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police (SDIG), the heads of both relevant departments and the AG. They all told me that these investigations were ongoing. They said they knew nothing of reports which appeared in the newspaper. They further denied that investigations were stopped on the instructions of a Central Bank official, as claimed in the news report. They also said that there was no folder by the number quoted in the newspaper. They gave me the folder numbers that had been presented. According to them, the Sunday Times report is completely false. Nothing of the sort has happened because the SIU is under the Police. The Central Bank cant stop a probe coming under the police. What the Central Bank had done was to submit its cheques to the CID. Therefore, nothing has happened in the way it was stated in the report. The press release, however, left out some of the references made by Premier Wickremesinghe in his speech. He said Iqbal Athas mahata pohottuwata vede karenney or Iqbal Athas works for the Pohottuwa or the budding flower, which is the symbol of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP). It swept the local polls on February 10 after routing both the UNP and the SLFP. Its membership is made up largely of former SLFP stalwarts and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is the de facto leader. There was also another statement from the Prime Ministers Office on Friday. It was a speech Premier Wickremesinghe made at a ceremony to distribute letters of appointments to graduate teachers. There, his close ally, Education Minister and the United National Party (UNP) General Secretary Akila Viaj Kariyawasam complained that the media were not giving publicity to the good things the government was doing. This is what Wickremesinghe, who followed, had to say: We have received support from the media for this programme (providing 13 years of education in schools), but I regret that Iqbal Athas of the Sunday Times writes against this programme of providing 13 years of education. I dont know the reasons for that. These remarks, to say the least, are nothing less than pure fiction. On NO occasion have I dealt with matters relating to education in these columns except to report on events that have occurred. I can assure the Prime Minister that if what he wants is my support, if at all it is of any significance, to ensure a programme of education for 13 years, I am all for it. Yet, the remarks transparently manifest something else. The references to me come in two statements from the PMO one after another this week. The reasons appear to be too obvious. The speech he made to the government parliamentary group and released later in the form of a media statement deserves comment both in the public and national interest. He is stoically silent on some matters contained in last weeks political commentary and deafeningly eloquent on some selected aspects. In order to place issues in perspective, the two paragraphs published last week are relevant. They are: The Sunday Times is able to reveal today that the funding for major political parties did come from the China Harbour Engineering Company, a firm owned by the Chinese government. As reported earlier in these columns exclusively, this formed the subject of an investigation by the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) in early 2015 after evidence was first discovered by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL). A former top official of the CBSL, it has now been confirmed, had sought the investigations to be halted though the reasons are not clear. The Sunday Times is also able to reveal today that the file which contained material about the China Harbour Engineering Company funding is 3122015 CB. This CBSL file has been closed in June 2016. Whether the file is still available with the Central Bank with its contents intact or it was taken over by the SIU is not clear. Four cash cheques totalling Rs 100 million were issued by China Harbour Engineering Company as part of payments for political parties. Three cheques are dated January 7, 2015, a day before the presidential election whilst the fourth is dated January 6, 2015. Wickremesinghe confirms that he told his government MPs that the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) of the Police is indeed investigating what he calls a large number of cheques cashed before the 2015 presidential election. He says the SIU investigations began on May 9 after D.M.S. Dissanayake lodged a complaint. That is indisputably one of the main elements of our report as could be seen from the above paragraphs in italics. How then can he claim that the Sunday Times report is completely false. What about the facsimile of four different cheques issued by China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) on its Chartered Bank account amounting to Rs 100 million reproduced in these pages last week? Are they also completely false? Wickremesinghe does not say which parts of the story, according to him are right and which parts are wrong. He argues that SIU investigations revealed that 82 cheques had been encashed between December 1, 2014 and January 2015 with the money being handed over to officials at the former Presidents office. Contrary to our report, the Premiers contention is that the SIU probe in question was also directed to ascertain funds received by Rajapaksa for his presidential election campaign. If that is the true position, it raises more questions than it answers. He is completely silent on our exclusive disclosure that the SIU probe centred on CHEC funds for all major political parties during the elections in 2015. Is he suggesting that the SIU probe was also to determine only whether Rajapaksa received funds? If so, why then ask the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to carry out a new probe? Surely, two investigative arms of the state cannot be probing one matter? What is the progress made by the SIU investigation since it began 38 months ago? What did the reports, which the Premier says were sent to the Attorney General, contain? Or is it the Premiers contention that the 82 cheques amounting to Rs 1,398 million, or Rs. 1.3 billion, which the SIU reportedly uncovered, went for Rajapaksas presidential election campaign? If that was so, why was the United National Party (UNP) government remaining silent for 38 long months? Why did it have to wait until The New York Times report in its Business Page made the disclosure about CHEC funding Rajapaksa to seek a new probe? The Premier says the Police have denied that investigations were stopped on the instructions of a Central Bank official. He also said that the folder number given in the report was wrong and claimed that according to the Police the Sunday Times report was wrong. As for the role of the former Central Bank official, and that he cannot statutorily or administratively give instructions to the Police, he is quite right there. That having been said, a Commission of Inquiry that probed the bond scandal has laid bare that the CBSLs former Governor Arjuna Mahendran acted contrary to the law, administrative norms, laid down codes of conduct and violated accepted procedures. It transpired during the Commissions inquiry that he had the backing of politicians. Mahendran is now wanted by the Interpol after the Colombo Magistrates Court issued an open warrant for his arrest. The former CBSL chief is now absconding. Hence former top officials giving instructions to those not under their purview is not strange but has remained a common practice as the Commission heard. I agree with Premier Wickremesinghe that there was an error in my account last week. I am a firm believer in the dictum enunciated by one of the worlds best known journalists, Carl Bernstein, who said reporting is to give the best available version of the truth. He was then a young reporter for the Washington Post. In 1972, Bernstein teamed up with Bob Woodward to report on the Watergate scandal that ousted US President Richard Nixon. When errors are pointed out, they are corrected in these columns. In this instance too I stand corrected. The correct file number at the Financial Intelligence Unit of the CBSL should read as C 12 2015 CR. However, this does not mean there was no file on the subject matter. The PMOs statement also makes another significant point. Asserting that the Central Bank cannot stop a probe coming under the Police, Premier Wickremesinghe has said what the Central Bank had done was to submit its cheques to the CID. True indeed, but he does not elaborate on that. The Sunday Times can reveal today that D.M.S. Dissanayake (known to be a driver) first made his complaint to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). It is here that a multitude of questions arose even before investigations began. Among them: Did an officer from an investigative arm associated with the CBSLs Foreign Intelligence Unit (FIU) come under suspicion for receiving assistance from a person under probe? Did that see the then Police chief being directed to request the SIU to take over the investigation? Are reports of ten million rupees changing hands true? Did Dissanayake and another make a complaint to the FIU on March 6, 2015 on the conduct of the officer and was this not communicated to the CID? Did or did not the China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) at first refuse to release invoices that accompanied the cheques it issued to some local political parties? Did some of those invoices go missing? Did CHEC operate over 50 bank accounts? Were 37 of them in two foreign banks and 13 in local banks? Has there never been an investigation into CHEC funding political parties during 2015 polls? For many reasons, Premier Wickremesinghes remarks are unfortunate. He is no stranger and I have known him well. I have been impressed with his vast knowledge on most subjects from space to minerals. He speaks to the point with a fine sense of humour. He has been at the forefront, as a champion of media freedom, during my troubled times. One instance is worthy of mention. I had revealed in the Sunday Times the saga of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) procurement of MiG-27 jet fighters. I was then labelled a traitor by those in the Rajapaksa administration and had to flee to live temporarily in a foreign country. The present government ordered a probe after I made a formal complaint. It has uncovered irrefutable evidence of corruption in the MiG-27 deal though no action has still been taken on those who stacked their monies in a secret bank account in Panama. Those in power earlier used the full force of their office through the media, both print and electronic, to malign me. Wickremesinghe spoke out and I know of some Colombo-based foreign envoys telling me of how he expressed concerns. Of course, all these were when he was the Leader of the Opposition. He is now the Prime Minister. Sadly though, the tragic irony is the fact that Wickremesinghe carries a big tar brush. He has blackened many of my colleagues including me since he became Prime Minister more than three years ago. Once again, when campaigning hard to become the UNPs presidential candidate, Wickremesinghe has begun using the tar brush. He does not seem to believe in the recourse of turning to the media with a correction or clarification if he does feel there was something wrong or his viewpoint had to be heard? Is it because he is embarrassed by the reportage of the truth? Are those attempts to blacken journalists, who have no other recourse like political platforms? Is it to instil fear into journalists and drive them into the graveyard of the silenced? It does raise concerns when someone who aspires to be the countrys next leader uses his own bizarre carrot and stick policy. I asked former President Mahinda Rajapaksa for his reactions on CHEC funding for his presidential campaign and the developments related to it. He was in Singapore and found time to respond to questions. After more than three years in office, they are now talking of so-called funding for my presidential election campaign. This effort and an accompanying propaganda campaign are all intended to obscure the bond scam at the Central Bank where billions of public funds have been looted, he told the Sunday Times. He charged that the so-called investigations were only a ploy with the eye on the impending elections. This is why my family and I are being targeted. He pointed out that it was not only in Sri Lanka that campaign donations were going to political parties but also in neighbouring India. Some are trying to pretend that political parties do not receive donations from different sources. There was one presidential candidate who got paid in dollars. What happened to that, he asked. Rajapaksa said that the more the government went ahead with vindictive acts, the more people will rally round the Opposition. The former President said he was both saddened and disheartened when he spoke to some investors who wanted to come to Sri Lanka. They told me the country was so unstable they do not want to place their monies, he added. This weeks developments show that a new war is gradually erupting between the UNP and those around Mahinda Rajapaksa. The detente is over as eyes are cast on the upcoming elections. In this midst Speaker Karu Jayasuriya chaired a meeting of party leaders on Friday to examine the possibility of conducting Provincial Council elections. He named Wickremesinghe to chair a Committee that would examine the Delimitation Commission report, a time consuming process. Caught up in the ongoing political whirlpool are the media. In some of the autocracies, the media are told, you have the freedom to write what you want. But we have the freedom to shoot you if we dont like what you write. In Sri Lanka, it appears to be slightly different. The message is You can write what you want. If we do not like, we will name and shame you . That is whilst making in their manifestos pledges to protect media freedom. Political stability vital for FTAs to work View(s): While the world is at war on trade, and one-time proponents of free trade have turned to protectionism and vice-versa, Sri Lankas current dispensation has opted for free trade. The US has waged a trade war on the EU and on China both of whom have retaliated with tit-for-tat tariffs on imports from each other. Britain is in absolute turmoil over its exit strategy from the EU with senior ministers resigning in protest blaming their Prime Minister for not protecting local industry from the fallout. Still, Sri Lanka is jumping onto the Free Trade Agreements (FTA) wagon trying to play catch-up with the train it missed in years gone by. Trade agreements are still being signed throughout the world. This week, the EU signed one with Japan. One might have thought there was one already in existence between the two economic powerhouses, but the signing seems to send a message to the current US Administration that free trade agreements are not dead. This nomenclature free trade has new meaning. FTAs give preferential treatment between countries at the expense of others. The EU advocates free trade but imposes conditions as part and parcel of free trade. This week the EU wrote to Sri Lanka protesting against the imposition of the death penalty and once cut GSP + duty concessions because Colombo did not comply with its writ. The US, though adopting protectionist policies nowadays, imposes economic sanctions on its enemies as a political weapon. On the other hand, one of the biggest advocates of free trade today is China, once an inward-looking nation.According to the Government, the FTA with Singapore is aimed at opening a door to the vibrant South East Asian (ASEAN) markets. These countries, especially Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea had phenomenal economic growth through exports and are among the rich nations of the world today. All this happened while Sri Lanka stagnated and languished behind till in 1977, a liberalised open economy gave it some impetus but not enough. In a statement issued before this weeks debate in Parliament on the FTA with Singapore, the Ministry of International Trade argued that the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area Treaty (2006); ASEAN-India FTA (2010); China-Singapore FTA (2009); Japan-Singapore Economic Partnership (2002); US-Singapore FTA (2009); Vietnam- South Korea FTA (2015) were win-win agreements that helped both parties to prosper. Opponents of the Singapore FTA claim that it would allow Singaporean services and professional services, and labour to come here. That is an incorrect premise. Where Sri Lankan labour is concerned, it is more in an outward direction; while many sectors locally are starved of labour. Young people entering the job market each year, prefer jobs overseas, or are driving tuk-tuks at home. The bigger concern, however, may well be the China FTA which is on the drawing board. If the sale of the Hambantota harbour and the Colombo Port City are anything to go by, Sri Lanka better watch out for the local Chinaman who is doing the negotiations on its behalf. For the fact that the Chinese have leading Sri Lankan politicians in their silk pyjama pockets is no state secret anymore. Then again, no country today can get along without all-powerful China. Local manufacturers need to therefore, up their ante and keep a watchful eye on these negotiations. Unfortunately, pending foreign negotiations are outside the scope of the Right to Information Law, and were kept out by this Government when the law was being drafted, for obvious reason. Things could also come to grief with India if China uses the proposed FTA with Sri Lanka in order to gain preferential access to the huge Indian market mainly through the proposed Hambantota Industrial Zone. The Chinese, having gained a geo-strategically crucial foothold at Hambantota for the next 99 years must have an industrial park there to make it commercially viable. India also has an FTA with Sri Lanka on the drafting table that is causing even more jitters in this country purely because of its proximity. No one can envy the Governments position; desperately wanting to show some visible, tangible results on the stagnant economic front domestically, and being in-between two emerging economic powerhouses in the neighbourhood breathing down each others necks. But for all this to work, the Government must also put its own house in order. Political instability within the National Unity Coalition Government has become the very antithesis of unity and bi-partisanship. Coupled with a negative bureaucracy and corruption from top to bottom of the administration, these need to be fixed for any FTA to work. Waste of Presidents time President Maithripala Sirisenas latest overseas sojourn raised a few eyebrows at home; not least, that he attended two low-level meetings in Italy and Georgia. So much so, questions were being asked if these visits were for astrological reasons; reasons notoriously associated with some Presidents and Prime Ministers of this country. The Rome meeting on forestry was organised by the UNs Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The President later vowed to ensure Sri Lankas forest cover was maintained at 32 per ent (it is now recorded at 29.7%). It would be a good start to achieving his grandstanding targets if he can stop the destruction of the Wilpattu National Park for a controversial housing scheme by a politician in his own Cabinet. The meeting in Georgia was organised by the Open Government Partnership (OGP), an initiative of former US President Barack Obama and his Secretary of State John Kerry as a quid-pro-quo- for the largesse the US State Department was offering to countries subscribing to its mandate. In Sri Lankas case, the re-positioning of the UNHRC resolution in Geneva and the re-establishment of democracy and good governance credentials were early advantages the country received from a once hostile Government in Washington DC. However, the President visiting Tiblisi, Georgias capital, for what essentially was a working level official meeting begs the question if he is being properly advised on these matters. Sri Lankas participation at the 2016 OGP in Mexico City was by the then Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. If the President believed that his presence would score brownie points with the present US Administration, it was a waste of Presidential time, and the taxpayers money. A lot to chew on as a meaty script is well executed The Pillowman that went on the boards on July 7 & 8 left the viewer not knowing whether to laugh or gasp, says Francesca Mudannayake View(s): View(s): Martin McDonaghs scripts often embrace the most violent parts of our psyche, allowing it to run parallel with humour and dark wit making for a performance where youre not sure you should be laughing or gasping. Films such as Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri or 2008s In Bruges are classic examples of this and The Pillowman is no different, involving a young writer, Katurian, who is taken into custody in connection with a string of child murders that resemble some of the grizzly short stories he has written. In terms of production, its a play where you can do as little or as much you want and in the quaint space that is the Punchi Theatre, director Shannon Misso opted for a modest approach with hardly anything by way of set, instead letting the acting and storyline take centre stage. Katurian and his brother Michel were subjects of an artistic experiment at the hands of their parents, where the former was nurtured lovingly and encouraged to write his stories which became darker as he heard the latter being tortured and abused. Upon this discovery, Katurian kills his parents and takes care of his brother who becomes disabled because of the abuse. Overall, the acting from the entire cast was solid, and it is not lost on the audience how four of the characters were re-gendered as women (which did not alter the plotline in any way but felt like a natural choice). Like Katurian and Michel, the cops who interrogate them have both been exposed to some form of abuse as children which has played a part in how they act as adults. Both actresses pulled off their characters with aplomb with Ashini Fernando embracing the aggressive and sadistic nature of Ariel in opposition to the cool and scrupulous Tupolski played by Bimsara Premaratna. McDonaughs greatest strength is his command of speech which means sentences are regurgitated, re-analysed, rephrased and spat out alongside numerous expletives which is something Premaratna used to her advantage as she psychologically manipulated Katurian. But the play really comes into its own in the second act when it is just Katurian, (Yasas R. Ratnayake) Michel (Biman Wimalaratne) and their younger alternative selves (played by Swasha Perera and Tracy Jayasinghe) onstage and ideas regarding the nature of brotherhood are thrown about. I found myself constantly comparing them to George and Lennie from John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men one is fiercely protective of the other and though Michel is sweet, he is often careless, turning Katurians patience into anger. But he is unwavering in his loyalty towards his brother. Ultimately, Wimalaratne gave the most compelling performance. Its always tetchy trying to play somebody with a mental disability because youre in danger of offending a community that frequently gets misrepresented but he handled it perfectly, capturing Michels idiosyncrasies, humour and charm. In some ways though this isnt just about art imitating life it feels more like life imitating art. Katurian chooses not to write happy endings in his stories as he believes there are rarely any happy endings in real life, but this just prompts his own (*spoiler alert*) brother to go and mutilate some children thus giving the situation a cyclical nature. I liked that the production went one step further and chose to enhance the stories with excellent animated videos (created by Dinendri Indatissa) although I wished they had been formatted to fit the entire backdrop instead of just half of it. Its a long show with a run time of 110 minutes but it did go by quite quickly and it never felt laborious because the play gave you a lot to chew on by way of dealing with abuse, suicide, murder and quite prominently, the effects of childhood trauma. Its hard to walk away from a play like this and not think about the dismal reality of life and I dont think any parent went away not thinking about the long term consequences of their actions (whatever they may be) on their children. Ive always thought that half the directors battle is won if you have a fine script and a meaty story to work with but of course the next half is dependent on your ability to do it justice for which Shannon Misso and her entire cast should be commended. Jubilee Celebrations for Housewives View(s): The year 2018 marks a milestone for the Sri Lanka Housewives Association as SLHA is Celebrating their Diamond Jubilee. Sixty years of hard work, serving the housewives of Sri Lanka both young and old wives, mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers, from Colombo and 17 other branches spread island wide, SLHA is one of the pioneering women organisations. We have created bonds of friendship among all communities helping them to improve their quality of life said the President Suhaila Hussain. The Diamond Jubilee Celebrations 2018 will be held at the Balmoral Hall, Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo on 3rd August 2018 at 6.00pm onwards. Popular band C & C with Chandani Hettiarachchi will be the main attraction of the night while Faizal Bongso will be the master of ceremonies.Chandana Wickremasinghe Dance Guild too will perform at the event. Tickets are priced at Rs. 3750/- per person inclusive of Sumptuous sit down dinner. The Jubilee Queen, Best Dancing couples for Jive and Baila will be selected. Prizes and Surprises galore with two air tickets on the entrance ticket draw and the Souvenir draw she added. Tickets are available at the Sri Lanka Housewives Association, Head Quarters, 179, Sir James Pieris Mawatha, Colombo-2. Tel: 0112449715 My main aim was to share the stories I knew with the world Interview with Sanjeewa Pushpakumara director of Devena Vihagun- Burning birds View(s): View(s): Sanjeewa Pushpakumara is a prominent Sri Lankan film director, who directed much acclaimed and awarded movies like Flying Fish and Burning Birds. After completing a Masters Degree in mass communications, he studied filmmaking in Chuang Ang University in South Korea. Sanjeewa Pushpakumara made three short films before directing two full length features. We speak with him about Sri Lankan and world cinema, his influences, career, awards and his future endeavours. From a Masters Degree in Mass Communications to filmmaking, can you elaborate on this journey? During my school days, I always dreamt of being a TV presenter. That is the only reason why I came to Colombo, the capital city of Sri Lanka from my home town. After arrived in Colombo, I began to work as a TV presenter. Later on, I became script writer and TV producer as well. However, I wasnt successful and also not pleased with what I was doing. I decided to be a filmmaker after I watched This Is My Moon by Asoka Handagam, Death on a Full Moon, Walls Within by Prasanna Vitanage. Mainly these 3 contemporary Sri Lankan films made a huge impact on me. How did your filmmaking affected with your birth and the childhood in war affected easter province? I was born and grew up in very remote village, in Trincomalee district, in Eastern Province. When I was 5, the Tamil Tigers killed my school principal and his wife along with other villagers. Since that on several occasions we had to stop our schooling. Not only that, I have spent my childhood in refugee camps as well. When I decided to be a filmmaker, my main intention was to share those stories I knew with the world. As a filmmaker, I cannot live without telling these stories. You made three short films before making any full length feature, Touch, Wings to Fly and An Encounter in the Woods. What were those about? Could you please tell us a bit about them? Touch is about an army soldier who has lost both his arms. The film discusses how important touch is for people to live. I made Wings to Fly in Korea, during one of the film workshops which I underwent in 2007. The film is about a young and beautiful blind girl and her military boyfriend. An Encounter in the Woods is a short film we made during our workshop of Asian Film Academy of Busan Film Festival. I worked as the production designer. What inspired you to shoot Burning Birds? In 1989, when we lost our father, I was just 11 years old. That time I had 4 brothers and 3 sisters. I am the eldest child of the family. My mother was just 37 years. This is the first inspiration. Year 1989 is not only important for my family, it is very important year for Sri Lanka history too. The second Marxist insurrection from the Southern part of the country was intensely taking place in 1989. Unfortunately, government defeated this struggle the same year, killing more than 60,000 young people. One inspiration for Burning Birds came from my own experience. Then the other one was what my country went through. You have mostly used long-shots in the movie. What was the idea behind that? I wanted to give a meditative and realistic style to the narrative. Therefore, I was very careful not to create a drama with the quick camera movement. Always tried to make audience to observe the narrative. Human figures and their relationship with space was also a very important fact I considered. The film contains some very hard scenes, particularly regarding rape. Why did you decide to include them? Those scenes are an integrated part of the narrative form. Through these scenes, we can see how strong is the narrative evolution. These scenes signify how brutal and cruel our human behaviours are. Anoma Janadari and Samanalee Fonseka give impressive performances in the film. Can you tell us about the casting process and the way you guided them through the movie? In general, what do you look for in the actors you are casting? Anoma Janadaree was mainly in Asoka Handagas films. However, she didnt have a chance to act in films for 12 years. I do not know the reason for that. Since we only have a few resources in Sri Lanka I decided to work with Janadaree. The biggest challenge working with Janadaree was balancing her physical act with the mental turmoil her character undergoes. I had many discussions with her. I kept insisting for her to be restrained in her performance. Samanalee Fonskea is very good young actress. I think she is a good asset to Sri Lanka cinema. I carefully directed them. Some times, I took more than 40 takes just for one shot. I strongly insist them to be Kusum and Wasana, not themselves. Which are your most important influences as a filmmaker? Anyone from Sri Lanka? Ingmar Berman, AndreI Tarkovsky and Robert Bresson, Yasujiro Ozu, and Micelangelo Antonioni are always my gretest influences. Filmakers like Carl Dreyer and Hou Hsiao Hsien I also admire very much. From Sri Lanka, I highly respect the work of Lester James Peries, Prasanna Vitange and Asoka Handgama. By Sankha Ray Of timeless wit and Wilde characters By Purnima Pilapitiya Director Jith Peiris together with the cast of the Creative Arts Foundation gear up for The Importance of Going Wilde View(s): View(s): Oscar Wilde was a man who refused to be boxed in- both in his life and his works. His resume spans from sensuous dramas like Salome to sharp satires like The Importance of Being Earnest, a novel which shocked Victorian society in The Picture of Dorian Grey and casually flung phrases which are made for Facebook . This July Jith Peiris and the Creative Arts Foundation invite audiences to experience a taste of the mannerisms, wit and timeless characters in what Wilde himself might have remarked as a serious evening of theatre dedicated to The Importance of Going Wilde. The production will span over two of the Irish playwrights plays- His most popular piece The Importance of Being Earnest and An Ideal Husband. The former is the play that Wilde is quintessentially known for, and is popular for its movie adaptation starring Rupert Everett and for being the most popular Wilde play among school productions. While An Ideal Husband doesnt share the same amount of fame that Earnest does, it was one of Wildes last and most relevant plays at the time. More than a hundred years later, audiences might still find the comedy of manners relevant- from its James Bond like hero to the fierce females and the financial scandal and blackmail (sound familiar?) that provides the background to the plot. Playing the Earl of Caversham is Hans Billimoria. A character from the older generation of values, the Earl is a public servant who sees politics as a noble profession What Hans loves about the plays is Wildes ability to capture the human condition, making his plays so magnificent. Coloured with sharp, beautiful dialogue, Wilde- despite coming from the British upper class, realistically breaks down their absurdity and hypocrisy long before reality TV did. Hans has been acting under Jiths direction since he was five years old but this will be his first exposure to acting in a Wilde play. Jiths choices have always been relevant. They make people think. Amaya Wijesinghe and Christina Vancuylenburg play Lady Chiltern and Mrs. Chevely respectively. Wildes genius has always been in his exploration of human relationships. The drama within the drama is helped by the two ladies who have their own school-day rivalry which follows them. Wildes women always stand out despite the shackles of Victorian society. Smart and unapologetic, Amayas Lady Chiltern is one half of the Chiltern power couple. Symbolic of the suffragette movement she is still feminine while being the worshipper of the ideal husband. Were all waiting for the knight on a white horse, Christina laughs rolling her eyes. Channelling Mrs. Chevely, Christina plays that one guest who ruins your perfectly planned dinner party. The opposite of Lady Chiltern, Chevely might just be the Victorian femme fatale- ambitious, beautiful and machiavellian. Coming to the rescue isnt the above mentioned knight but Danu Innasithamby playing Lord Goring. Next to wit and conversation Wilde himself was a figure of flamboyance and luxury- personified in the dandies that appear in all his works. When we meet Lord Goring- his style and clever dialogue immediately signal his role in the play. Devinda de Silva (20) plays the not so ideal husband- Sir Robert Chiltern. The problem, the young actor explains is that women put men on a pedestal. While Sir Robert has more than his share of problems to face in the play, he is one of the plays less glittery males- simple and humble because of his past, Devinda reflects. Playing Mabel Chiltern is Mithara Fonseka. Mabel; the younger female maybe one of the more enlightened characters in the play despite not revealing her thoughts as much as the others. Joining her is Phipps, played by Kovindu de Saram. In Phipps we see anther Jeeves. In fact he follows orders to the letter which actually causes problems, smiles Kovindu. Wildes main men and leading ladies may have the chunk of his poker face over tea dialogue but like Phipps, none of his characters are unmemorable. In The Importance of Being Earnest you cant help but follow Miss Prism and Dr Chasuble. The unmarried governess figure and country priest with their stuffy, fake stoic personas are natural targets for Wildes playful sense of humour. The old bachelor- spinster duo is played by Meth Bandaranaike and Melmari Cruse, who has seen a few Chasubles and Prisms in real life as well. Its a hilarious script explains Meth. For the two younger thespians the chance to perform Wilde for younger audiences like themselves has a lot of potential, they add. Playing the two young ladies caught between the two Earnests are Daniella Perera and Shawnee Algama. Daniella plays Cecily, the younger of the two who captures the heart of Algernon while Shawnee takes on the older sophisticated Gwendolen; Johns counterpart. In a play where almost everyone is coupled up, one character stands alone; Lady Bracknell. Played by Melanie Bibile, the overbearing, domineering symbol of the upper crust; Lady Bracknell is Gwendolens aunt who keeps her from marrying John for all the Victorian reasons. Melanie is not afraid to play the controlling diva- having played the wicked stepmother in her most recent role in the musical Cinderella. Dimintha Fonsekas first introduction to Wilde was in a production of the same play produced by his grandmother who taught speech and drama. Rehearsals for Dimintha remind him of scenes from Downton Abbey- its very different from anything Ive done, he remarks, from the poise and style of drawing room theatre to the humour that is typically British. One misconception he hopes will change when people watch the production is that they would realise that beyond the costumes and lingo- the people of the past werent so different after all. The Creative Arts Foundation present The Importance of Going Wilde directed by Jith Peiris from July 28-29 at the Lionel Wendt Theater. Tickets priced at Rs. 2500, Rs.2000, Rs.1500, Rs.1000 , Rs.600 (balcony) while school and university students will be charged a special rate of Rs. 300 (balcony). Tickets will be available at the Lionel Wendt. 1990 emergency ambulance service now in Jaffna View(s): The 1990 Suwaseriya Emergency Ambulance Service was yesterday launched in Jaffna under the patronage of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi too joined the occasion via a video conferencefrom New Delhi. Speaking on the occasion, Premier Wickrememsinghe thanked the government of India for the generous assistance, and noted that this was an important milestone in Indo-Sri Lanka bilateral relationships. Prime Minister Modi expressed happiness that the promise he had made during his visit to the country last year, regarding the expansion of the ambulance service islandwide, will soon be a reality. Recalling his last two visits to the island, the Indian Premier highlighted that India had been and would always remain the first responder for Sri Lanka, in both good times and bad. The two Prime Ministers flagged off the first two ambulances. The Suwaseriya service was first launched in 2016 in the Western and Southern Provinces under an Indian grant of USD 7.5 million. This grant included the purchase of 88 ambulances, operational expenditure of the service for one year and the setting up of an emergency response centre. The service is now being expanded to the remaining seven provinces with an additional grant of USD 15.02 million, covering the cost of 209 ambulances, training costs and operational expenditure for one year in these provinces. The emergency ambulance service can be contacted by dialing a toll free number, 1990, on any network in Sri Lanka. Several government and opposition politicians, as well the Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran and Indias High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Taranjit Singh Sandhu were present. Criminals or victims? How men entangle women in drug trade View(s): Women engaged in the drug trade are mostly traffickers rather than users and are pushed into that dark world by their husbands or partners, according to drug control officials who say the need for rehabilitation resources is urgent, with lonely women who come to Colombo looking for work the most at risk. Their perilous situation was highlighted this week with news that a woman who investigations by the Sunday Times found was a heroin pusher is among the criminals facing the death penalty. Police sources said the woman, Chamali Perera from Colombo 15, had been arrested twice once while out on bail for the first offence for selling heroin. First the man starts taking drugs, then eventually the women are introduced to this alien substance, National Dangerous Drug Control Board (NDDCB) Chairman Professor Saman Abeysinghe said. It is usually husbands who drew women into the drug trade, National Committee on Women Chairperson Swarna Sumanasekara concurs, citing easy money coming from trafficking. Getting them out of it will be a difficult task, she said. The rehabilitation centre for women at Talangama, receives around 35-40 patients every year, who receive counselling and vocational training. Many of these women are not from Colombo, they come to Colombo from far off places and land a temporary job in the city. They get involved with individuals who use drugs and eventually get used to the idea of using drugs on a daily basis, NDDCBs Assistant Director of Outreach, W. Marasinghe said. Only 20-30 women drug addicts were rehabilitated each year, Professor Abeysinghe said. We are expecting to expand facilities in order to cater to at least 30,000 women because there is a need to rehabilitate that many, he said. Women were more engaged in trafficking than consuming drugs, a senior police official who declined to be identified said. Many women were caught selling drugs in the streets and some of them were caught while engaging in deals, he said. He said women were sometimes used to smuggle drugs into prisons, often for their husbands. Women are not easily suspected, so the chances of escaping detection are very high, he said. He said a problem often faced by police on raids was that women hid drugs in their clothing and reacted violently to attempts to search them, falsely accusing police officers of sexual harassment. The NDDCBs Director of Research, Bhadrani Senanayake, described how tragedy deepens for women who become addicts. Because the cost of drugs is high the women are forced into prostitution to earn money to buy them, she said. This profession provides an income of somewhere close to Rs. 60,000 and the whole amount is spent on buying drugs, as a result of which they become addicted to both the profession and the use of drugs, Ms. Senanayake said. Women are more violent and aggressive when they consume drugs, she added, underlining the fact that drug use has a greater mental impact on women. The violence has social consequences, not the least in the fact that drug-taking parents took little interest in bringing up their children. Ms. Senanayake, like other officials, said women did not voluntarily use or sell drugs but were led into it by others. The habit began with cigarette-smoking, from which they were tempted into trying substances such as heroin and cocaine. The chances of rehabilitation are few, due not only to the lack of facilities highlighted by Professor Abeysinghe but also because many women refuse to enter rehabilitation centres. The reason is that many of the women are reluctant to leave their kids behind, the NDDCBs Mr. Marasinghe said. Legal action against nearly 500 dons who broke the bonds View(s): Legal action is to be filed against nearly 500 university lecturers who went overseas for higher education and have not returned to their universities, in keeping with the bonds they have signed, Higher Education Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe warned yesterday. He told the Sunday Times that those who had violated their contracts had been informed of the decision, but most of them had ignored the warnings sent by the University Grants Commission (UGC). Our own inquiries have revealed that most of them who had gone for higher studies abroad have obtained employment in the same university overseas or found other jobs, thereby violating the contracts with the UGC, he said. The minister said that as a result, some of the local universities were forced to recruit visiting lecturers at a higher salary while vacancies existed in several universities, affecting their academic programmes. UGC estimates show that more than Rs 800 million has been spent for travel, course fees and other expenses for 486 academics who have not returned to their posts. They have gone to countries such as the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands. Mr Rajapakshe said the ministry would disclose the names of the academics who had signed the bond but had failed to return. He said that in future, the ministry would have to tighten the bond conditions. Micro Finance Cos. lend money sans Central Bank authority By Chris Kamalendran View(s): View(s): Many Micro Finance Companies (MFCs) operating in Sri Lanka, only use a Business Registration Licence to provide loans to low income people, including farmers, without Central Bank (CB) authority to do so. Hence, when a problem arises between the lender and the borrower, the CB cannot intervene, said senior officials at the CBs Non-Banking Section. They are also aware that many of the debtors are regularly harassed by these MFCs, whenever they default on their loan repayments. However, the CB has duly authorised some recognised MFCs, the official added. However, Commerce Ministry Secretary Ranjith Asoka told the Sunday Times that, whenever these MFCs deal with money, it is the responsibility of the CB to take action against them. The responsibility of the Registrar of Companies is only to issue Business Registration. He has no authority to supervise MFCs, Mr Asoka said. The Secretary further said that loan agreements are written in English and therefore, the debtors, all of whom are poor, dont really understand the conditions of the loans they are signing for. Meanwhile, this week, an MFC in Hingurakgoda, Polonnaruwa, had lodged a complaint with the Hingurakgoda Police against farmers who failed to pay their instalments. Accordingly, the police had summoned the farmers to the police station and allegedly compelled them to sign in the police book, assuring they would pay their arrears without any delay. A senior police officer of the area said he was unaware of the aforesaid incident, and pledged to inquire into it. More bonus seats; 50:50 ratio for provincial councils By S. Rubatheesan View(s): View(s): The Delimitation Commission has proposed to increase from two to five the number of bonus seats for provincial councils to ensure more stability in the PCs. Delimitation Commission Chairman K. Thavalingam on Friday briefed political party representatives on the proposal. The meeting was presided over by Speaker Karu Jayasuriya. The Commission is recommending that distribution of bonus seats for each province should be based on a mechanism that would ensure representation of minority communities in the PCs. Accordingly, the party which forms the provincial government should get five bonus seats. Two should be from the majority ethnic community in the province, two from the second largest community and one for the third largest. The distribution of bonus seats should be based on the last population census of 2012 and it is recommended that this criteria be made mandatory by an amendment to the Provincial Council Act. The Commission is also proposing that a total of 437 members be elected to the councils, compared to the 455 members elected under the present system. Under the proposed mixed electoral system, 222 members would be elected on the First-Past-the-Post (FPP) basis and the rest on a Proportional Representation (PR) basis. The ratio is 50:50. Dr Thavalingam told party representatives that the commission believed that the merger of two single-member electorates into one multi-member electorate would not bring any advantage to any minority community as claimed by political parties during the deliberations. Speaker Jayasuriya expressed the concerns of civil society groups that that any further delay of PC polls would be a breach of democratic norms. He urged representatives of political parties to come to an common ground on fixing the polls as early as possible. Most party representatives said they believed the PC polls could be conducted by the first week of January next year, if necessary steps were taken accordingly. This would include the passing the Delimitation Commission report with a two-third majority in Parliament. It was decided at the meeting to appoint a review committee headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to address the shortcomings. The committee also includes Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan, Senior Cabinet Ministers Nimal Sripala de Silva, Rauff Hakeem, Election Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya and Delimitation Commission Chairman Thavalingam. The review committee is expected to meet on July 26. SriLankans million plus salary details out following pilots RTI petition By Namini Wijedasa View(s): View(s): A year-long effort by the Airline Pilots Guild of Sri Lanka (APGSL) to secure details of salaries, allowances and other benefits of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the Head of Human Resources and the Chief Commercial Officer of SriLankan has borne fruit, with the details being released to the Right to Information Commission (RTIC) this Tuesday. Also released were the cost of personal flying training of the CEO; agreement for the wet lease of one of SriLankans A330 aircraft to Pakistan International Airlines (PIA); agreements cancelling leases on A350-900 aircraft taken by SriLankan from Aercap; and minutes of board meetings that discussed and approved the purchase and lease of several A350 aircraft. The RTIC had directed SriLankan to redact what is sought to be withheld on the basis of commercial confidence sections of reports commissioned by the airline from aviation specialists Nyras Ltd, SeaWorks Training and Consulting, and Seabury Consulting. These will be submitted to the Commission to be scrutinised for conformity with the RTI Act after August 21, 2018. The RTIC will make its assessment by September 11. The APGSL filed an RTI request in June 2017 for all correspondence and information, including profits, losses and damages, related to PIAs entry into a lease agreement with SriLankan and the subsequent termination of that contract; and information related to the cancellation of orders for Airbus A350s from Airbus SAS. It also asked for all information related to the cost of personal flying training for the A320 jet conversion borne by SriLankan Airlines for the CEO Suren Ratwatte. After the carriers information and designated officers refused the request citing exemptions, the APGSL lodged an appeal with the RTIC in September 2017. Later, Sri Lankan raised a preliminary objection that it was not subjected to the jurisdiction of the RTI Act which was dismissed by the Commission earlier this year, which dismissal was accepted by SriLankan. Last month, the Commission ordered SriLankan to release the salaries of top management and disclose the cost of the CEOs flying training. It also called for disclosure of all agreements entered into for the wet lease of its A330 aircraft to PIA and information related to the rental of several A350 airbuses from AerCap as well as subsequent cancellation of those leases as the matter is now concluded. However, the RTIC upheld SriLankans decision to withhold information related to the cancellation of purchase of aircraft from Airbus SAS as the negotiations are still ongoing. But all minutes and board papers pertinent to the above were ordered to be released subject to any redaction that the public authority may establish in law as necessary regarding commercial confidence or excluded as coming within the ambit of information given by a third party which was treated as confidential at the time. However, SriLankan has opted not to redact any section of the minutes. The release of informationwith SriLankan declining to exercise its option to appeal to the Court of Appeal against the RTIC ordermarks an important step for release of salaries of top officials and board meeting minutes and for release of agreements notwithstanding confidentiality clauses impacting positively on the growth of the emerging RTI regime in Sri Lanka. According to the documents, CEO Suren Ratwatte was earning a basic monthly salary of Rs 3.27 million (net salary was Rs 2,140,884). His flying training cost the national carrier US$ 23,568 (Rs 3.74 million). He received a company-maintained vehicle and driver, actual fuel cost and reimbursement of one annual membership subscription at any club in Sri Lanka, among other benefits. The information released also detailed the basic salary of the Head of Human Resources (HHR) and the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) as LKR 998,004/- and GBP 9500/- respectively, along with similar benefits as the CEO with the addition of furnished accommodation of up to max Rs. 250,000 a month for the CCO. The documents confirm that SriLankan agreed to pay a total of US$ 161,770,000 (Rs 25,698,782,200) to Aercap for the termination of lease agreements for four Airbus A350s. State-run Milco in a muddle owing millions to farmers By Chrishanthi Christopher View(s): View(s): A leading state-owned dairy producer, Milk Industries of Lanka Company, or Milco has for years not been able to manage its liquidity risk not having cash to meet its financial commitments and once again, it owes million of rupees to its supplier famers. Milco, however says it is awaiting billions of rupees in handouts from the government. Dairy farmers who supply milk to Milco, say, they are owed millions by the company and are selling their produce elsewhere. The National Centre for Protecting Dairy Farmers (NCPDF) said dairy farmers have no other alternative but to sell their produce elsewhere even at a lower price. NCPDF organiser, Susantha Kumara Navaratne, said that Milco has not paid dairy farmers for more than four weeks beginning June 15. Payments have been made to districts with fewer farmers since June following agitations, but those districts in which there is a high population of farmers have not yet been paid and this includes Rs 70 million in Anuradhapura, Rs 50m in Kurunegala and Rs 35m in Polonnaruwa. These farmers have started selling their milk to other dairy companies including Cargills and Pelawatte, although they receive less for a litre, he said. The general manager for administration at Milco (Pvt) Ltd , M A S Sudath, dismissed rumours that the company is being targeted by the government for privatisation. He said Milco (Pvt) Ltd had been promised Rs 4.2 billion from the Treasury and the farmers could be paid when the money is available. There is a delay in the administrative work, we will get it in another two weeks, he said. Explaining the reasons that led to the crisis he said that the company has being paying dairy farmers from its revenue. But in the last two years, he said a considerable amount had been spent on investment projects. Now we have no reserves and have overdrawn our account. We upgraded our milk powder plant at Ambewela with new infrastructure facilities at a cost of Rs 450 million, he said. In the past, presidential contenders repeatedly made promises in their election manifesto to reduce the price of milk powder. This government subsidised Milco milk powder by Rs 30 for a 400 gram pack and Rs 75 for a kilogram pack after the presidential election in 2015, he said. We buy from farmers at high rates because of governments promising the dairy farmers higher prices for liquid milk. They may go to other dairy companies but will come back to us, he said. Milco pays up to Rs 65 per litre. The company, he said, lacks a proper chilling and processing facility and was forced to throw away large quantities of liquid milk. In 2012, 2016, and in 2017 milk collected from farmers was thrown away, he said. Liquid milk is collected from 375,000 dairy farmers countrywide but since Milcos powdered milk does not compare with imported milk powder it has no demand locally. Also, it has been found that more dairy companies are finding it cheaper to use imported powdered milk for their products. Hence the demand for liquid milk is sliding down. The government in 2017 drew up a plan to import 20,000 high yielding milch cows from Australia and New Zealand to be distributed among dairy farmers. Mr. Navaratne of the NCPDF said the governments move to boost milk production locally has been a failure as the cattle were not yielding the promised quantities of milk. They have only brought bacterial and viral diseases that are spreading among the local cattle, he said. In the first stage, 4,000 Friesian, Jersey, and hybrid milk cows were imported from New Zealand and distributed to National Livestock Development Board farms at Ridiyagama, Bopatalawa and Diyagama.In December 2017, a further 3,000 high yielding milch cows were imported from Australia and distributed among 50 middle-scale entrepreneurs in Nuwara Eliya, Matale, Kandy, Kurunegala and Badulla districts. If given the same care, local cattle will yield more and our industry will flourish, he claimed. The former head of the Department of Livestock Development, Professor H W Cyril, told the SundayTimes that the government needs to draw up a proper plan to control substandard small-scale dairies by providing incentives to middle and large-scale farmers. He said the government should set up such industries and when they are established hand them over to the private sector with a 51% stake holding. Support local farmers. This will give youth employment in the dairy sector promoting commercial farming. It is estimated that Sri Lanka spends over Rs 40 billion on imports of powdered milk and the bulk is used by manufacturers in producing flavoured milk, yoghurt, ice cream and other dairy products. Research shows that the demand for milk is growing at 13% a year but only 30% of our dairy demand is being met locally. Of this 80% is produced by small-scale farmers. As Sri Lankans only can afford to have just a quarter of the recommended dairy intake milk collected goes wasted. Lack of refrigeration facilities in rural homes is also a contributing factor to the waste. Also research point out that the one litre pack is too large and expensive (at Rs 200 to Rs 220 a litre) for the rural wage earner. To counter this small packs can be introduced and sold in schools promoting the habit of drinking milk. Also Sri Lanka needs to revisit its strategy in feeding cattle because unlike in the past land for grazing is becoming scarce. The solution is to bring the feed to the animals. In this way we can feed more animals and they can be kept in an enclosed space, Prof Cyril said. Grass can be grown in the dry zone and brought to the wet zone, as the imported animals need cooler climates, he said. Tea-oil deal with Iran to overcome sanctions issues By Chandani Kirinde Central Bank considers Tea Board's proposals, as Foreign Ministry issues regulations View(s): View(s): The Sri Lanka Tea Board has proposed that the payments due from Iran for tea purchases from Sri Lanka be offset against the US$ 250 million that the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) owes to Tehran for oil. The proposal was made to the Central Bank in the wake of fresh regulations Sri Lankas Foreign Ministry has issued in compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1737 of 2006 and 2231 of 2015. Resolution 1737 establishes a Security Council Sanctions Committee (1737 Committee); imposes sanctions on Iran for failing to stop its uranium enrichment programme following resolution 1696 (2006); imposes a ban the supply of nuclear-related technology and materials and imposes assets freeze on key individuals and companies related to the enrichment programme. Resolution 2231 (2015) provides for the termination of the provisions of previous Security Council resolutions on the Iranian nuclear issue and establishes specific restrictions that apply to all States without exception. This resolution was adopted after the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. In May this year, President Donald Trump announced the US withdrawal from the deal and outlined fresh US sanctions on Iran. Tea Board Chairman Lucille Wijewardena said the board had made the proposal as under the UN sanctions, there were restrictions on financial transactions with Iran. If the CPC pays us, we can continue the export of tea to Iran as there is no ban on this commodity. The amount the CPC owes Iran can offset payment for a year of tea export to Iran, he said. He said Tea Board officials met CB Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy this week and more talks would be held in the coming week to reach an agreement on how to overcome the sanctions problem and continue tea exports to Iran. He said they hoped to reach an agreement soon. The United Nations (Sanctions in relation to Iran) regulations issued this week by Foreign Affairs Minister Tilak Marapana prohibits certain financial dealings with Iran and provides for the appointment of a Competent Authority to ensure compliance with the sanctions. The regulations are to enable Sri Lanka to implement targeted financial sanctions relating to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction giving effect to several UN resolutions. The Competent Authority and the Central Banks Financial Intelligence Unit will be providing guidelines and directions to institutions on their obligations and duties under these regulations. Iran is Sri Lankas fourth largest tea buyer. In 2016, Sri Lanka exported 33,929 metric tonnes of tea to Iran but this fell to 27,419 in 2017. Worms in imported canned fish: 190 containers detained View(s): Health inspectors have intensified checks on canned fish in Sri Lanka following reports that some imported consignments contained worms, Health Services Director General Dr Anil Jasinghe said yesterday. According to the Customs Department more than 190 containers of canned fish have already been held back after the Health Ministry and the Sri Lanka Standards Institute declined to give approval for the clearance of the stocks. However, before the Health Ministry imposed the restrictions some of the stocks had been cleared by importers, the Sunday Times learns. Dr Jasinghe said the Health Ministry had directed public health and food inspectors to closely check canned fish stocks in the market. He said the Health Ministry had told the Customs and importers to send back the consignments of canned fish to the country of origin, as the ministry feared that the canned fish could be smuggled into local markets if the containers were taken out of the Customs for the stocks to be destroyed in Sri Lanka. He said canned fish production companies need to maintain quality standards to make sure there are no worms or impurities. Dr. Jasinghe said the importers might have bought the products at a lower price from companies that had poor quality standards. Public Health Inspectors Union Secretary B.M.M Balasooriya said they were advised to inspect 28 brands of canned fish which have the same manufacture dates, expiry dates and batch numbers of the stocks that were in the containers detained by the Customs. The Sri Lanka Standards Institute Chairman, H.M.B.C. Herath, told the Sunday Times that they had detected dead worms in the canned fish samples imported from China and alerted the Health Ministry and the Customs. He said that internationally, if fewer than two worms were present in a sample, the products were accepted, but as Sri Lankas premier standards institution they were concerned about the worms and refused to certify the products. The Customs Consumer Protection Unit is taking action against the importers who had got some containers released before the Health Ministry ordered the reshipment. Meanwhile, canned fish importer M.S.M. Zaneer said there was a shortage of canned fish in the market. He said that 12 of his containers of carrying 250,000 cans had been detained by the Customs. Lanka Sathoasa Chief Executive Officer S.H.M Faraaz said that despite the production of local canned fish, there was a shortage in the market in view of the worm issue in the imported stocks. Bombers who became monks The mystery behind the much talked about crash of a Japanese bomber aircraft into an oil tank during the 1942 attack on China Bay in Trincomalee, is revealed in a new book by retired Air Force Officer Wing Commander Ranjith Ratnapala. Chandani Kirinde reports View(s): View(s): Britains war-time Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill famously called the Japanese attack on the naval base in Trincomalee the most dangerous moment of the Second World War. He feared that the capture of then Ceylon, the consequent control of the Indian Ocean, and the possibility at the same time of a German conquest of Egypt would have closed the ring and spelt defeat for the Allied Forces. Such fears however, were not realized as the attack on the naval base was successfully repulsed. The Trincomalee Naval Base bore the brunt of the Japanese attack launched on April 9, 1942 but it was the crash of a Japanese bomber aircraft into an oil tank located at the Oil Tank Farm at China Bay that has been much talked and written about. For years, it was believed that the attack on the oil tank was a deliberate one carried out by Japanese raiders in which all three airmen on board perished. What remained after the fire that engulfed the oil tank was a human skull and a part of the aircraft engine, all else charred in the smouldering fire that eyewitnesses say burnt for a week. Now, more than 75 years after the incident, retired Air Force Officer Wing Commander Ranjith Ratnapala who recently released a book on the history of the Air Force in China Bay and Morawewa, in the course of researching material for his book, has uncovered some hitherto unknown facts of the incident at the Oil Tank Farm. Wing Commander Ratnapala served two stints in China Bay during his career in the Air Force between 1962-1982. These were related to the author by retired Navy Officer Lieutenant Commander Somasiri Devendra who visited the site some years ago. While he took photographs at the site, his brother had gathered information and published an article which had been seen by the relatives of one of the three Japanese pilots whose names transpired in the book written byJohn Clancy titled, The Most Dangerous Moment of the War Japans attack on the Indian Ocean 1942. They had later contacted Lt.Cdr. Devendra and visited China Bay accompanied by him. The visitors had explained that the aircrew were not suicide bombers as many had assumed but were Imperial Japanese Air Force pilots who took part in the air raid on the Trincomalee harbour. During the bombing mission, their aircraft engine failed and the pilot asked two of them to eject. The two had ejected and landed in the jungle and crept through the jungle till they had reached a big Buddhist temple in the area, Lt.Cdr. Devendra recounted. He believes the temple in question that the two airmen had reached after trekking through thick jungle was the Seruwavila Raja Maha Viharaya. This temple was the biggest in the area and is located about 50 kilometres from China Bay. I believe they had a plan and had some knowledge about the whereabouts, he said. The two pilots had made contact with the priest of the temple and were treated well, upon hearing they were Buddhists. They were taken in, their heads shaved and ordained as monks. After a stay of several months there, they had been smuggled out to Burma now Myanmar. The two had continued to live as Buddhist monks for the rest of the war and when the war was over one of them had disrobed and made his way to Japan where he had narrated the entire story while the other one had decided to remain a monk and lived and died in Burma. Those who had visited Sri Lanka were relatives of the Japanese pilot who made his way back to his home country after miraculously escaping the plane crash and living in robes to evade capture by British troops, Lt .Cdr.Devendra said. The skull of the dead pilot was recovered from the site along with the engine parts and kept in a makeshift enclosure at the site for many years. The skull was returned to the relatives for a burial in Japan in later years while the engine part and a half burnt oil tank remain at the site as a grim reminder of the day when the Japanese came close to dealing a major blow to the British Navy in Trincomalee. A board erected close to the oil tank which was destroyed in the incident displays the names of Shigenori Watanabe, Mr.Tukyagota and Sutomu Toshira as the three occupants of the aircraft which crashed at 6.45 a.m. on April 9, 1942 into an oil tank. Trail of destruction in Trinco Having bombed Colombo on April 5, 1942, the Japanese raided Trincomalee on April 9. A total of 91 bombers and 38 Zero fighters had taken part in the raid but as the Royal Air Force (RAF) was forewarned, they were ready to counter the attack. However the Japanese raid left a trail of destruction both in terms of human life as well as damage to property and military ware.Around 700 persons died in the Japanese raid on Trincomalee, the majority of them from the RAF but also some civilians, many who were dockyard workers in the Trincomalee Harbour.Several Japanese fighters too were killed in the attack. The British aircraft carrier HMS Hermes, the destroyer HMAS Vampire as well as several merchant craft were sunk by the Japanese bombers. Finding the true essence of food in people and culture By Tarini Pilapitiya In Colombo recently as part of a Colombo Supper Club initiative to bring down guest chefs, Brazilian chef Ivan Brehm went shopping at the Kollupitiya market View(s): View(s): The bustling Kollupitiya market is where we meet Brazilian chef Ivan Brehm as he critically inspects the fresh produce available there. Arriving in Colombo last month, Ivan whipped up two exclusive meals for local patrons on June 20 and 21 at The Grill restaurant at the Kingsbury Hotel. Brehm is just one of the many celebrity guest chefs invited by Colombo Supper Club (CSC), an initiative spearheaded by Singaporean Naserah Tybally. Chef Ivans resume is impressive: Having trained with culinary genius Heston Blumenthal at the three Michelin Star awarded UK based restaurant The Fat Duck, he went on to head kitchens around the world, being awarded Chef of the Year by the World Series in 2015 before taking Bacchanalia, Singapore to its first Michelin star as its Executive Chef. At the Kingsbury dinners Chef Ivan gave customers a sensory exploration of his signature style of crossroads cuisine. This is the culinary culture he presents at his own restaurant Nouri which opened its doors to Singaporean patrons in June 2017. Nouri, a word rooted from the Latin word for Nourishment, draws its inspiration from global cuisines highlighting the cross-cultural similarities and connections people share, irrespective of background. Chef Ivan stands firm in his philosophy which he serves hot to us whilst among the vendors and buyers of the Colombo market. Culture is a reflection of peoples interactions with their spaces, he says philosophically. Food is a cumulative story of the people that went into harvesting and growing the food. Glancing around the Kollupitiya market he grins, 90 percent of the produce in the market isnt what came from here. When you think of cuisine there isnt a thing called British, there isnt a thing called French. I want to create inclusive food. His craft was greatly influenced by his aunts, grandmothers and mother and much like his food philosophy, Ivan himself comes from a multicultural lineage. A Brazilian native he describes himself as a product of a divorce. Having had to travel from one parents house to another between states, Ivan shares, Something I noticed from a young age was that food connected us all. He adds During the process of growing up the real parts where I saw people together were during meals. Revealing that he once planned on going to law school, he decided instead to choose a calling where he can make good food and make people happy. Thats what the world of food meant to me a focus on culture and relationships. Ivan paints an image of what can be visually coined crossroads cuisine. Just imagine a European guy with his suit and tie and an Australian Aboriginal man happily sharing a meal whilst clinking glasses thats crossroads cuisine. Although not speaking a word of Sinhala, Chef Ivan seemed attuned to non-verbally communicating with the vendors at the market. You have to stay present and stay engaged with the people selling the produce, he says, adding that until he flies down to a country he has to creatively find menu alternatives based on what produce is available at the time allowing him to further explore the markets. Vacationing in Sri Lanka three years back with his wife to check out the tea country as tea is one of his passions, having explored the upcountry he jovially recalls how they decided to hitch-hike their way to Kandy. From that visit, he remembers a spicy- sour chicken curry (the name of which he cannot recall). The interpersonal culture of the hospitality in Sri Lanka which he likens to the environment in Indonesia is the atmosphere he attempts to emulate in his restaurant. The people are genuinely happy to receive you and act like they really want you there, he muses adding that this anthropological moment is what ties up his philosophy that people and culture truly are the essence of good food. Im merely an instrument of my artDruvinka Back in Sri Lanka to hold an exhibition, this mystic cum artist talks to Yomal Senerath-Yapa View(s): View(s): Druvinkas gaze is locked on something far, far away. She seems oblivious to the things that clutter the austere room in Barefoot where we sit: even the stacked paintings of Barbara Sansoni, Laki Senanayake and her own art (which she completely disowns after she has perfected them). Druvinka has a carelessly elegant poise, a by-product of her spiritual life in India as a mystic and yogi. Often she is photographed with a massive poisonous snake sinuously garlanding her. That pile of medusa-like dreadlocks, the abundant rings, the red pottu and chic black clothing add to a presence that whisks you to the snowy heights of the Himalayas, her home both spiritual and temporal. Yet who is this unusual mystic, born to a wealthy Sri Lankan milieu and now a nagini, an almost-venerated spiritual healer in India and also one of our major contemporary artists? We met her at Barefoot Gallery prior to Druvinka 2018, her first solo exhibition since 2012. Druvinka Madawela was born to a family of artists, particularly her father and brother. Painting was instinctive and she was to go on to do her BFA at the Shanthiniketan. India moulded her into a yogi and into the spiritual healer Druvinka Puri Matha Ji (which is another avatar- and so another story). Druvinka is inspired to create art solely by her own experience and nature; nature- here- not just in the sense of distant mountains or the sea at dusk, but any way in which the great force leaves its mark: even a damp patch on an old wall. Over the past two decades she has developed a distinctive body of work, devoted to the deepest mysteries of the human experience, and the transcendent realms beyond. Her work has been exhibited in Sri Lanka, India, London and Malaysia, but she hesitates to recognize a person labelled Druvinka or to call herself an artist. The process of painting she likens to a spirit entering her and working through her. Its as if I am just the instrument. She prefers to work at night because of its silence. But it is also the time of the spirits- beings with whom she shares a bond just like the snakes. She performs rituals to summon out spirits that possess people, just as she can dispose of dangerous serpents. Apart from her pen and ink art, all her work employs the tempera method. She stretches out the canvas and then, on it, rice paper. Then the paint is tempered onto the rice paper layer upon layer. Druvinka uses only paint, water and a brush and executes many pieces at the same time. While a layer of acrylic paint is drying on one canvas she works on another, circumambulating canvases spread across the floor. Many layers of different-coloured acrylics have to go to create a single shade. After completing each work meticulously, Druvinka abandons them completely. You can burn it in front of me and I will say nothing; feel nothing; because its finished. She uses words with a beautiful economy filled with meaningful silences. When asked about the long lapse between the last exhibition and this one, Druvinka explains, I was hibernating. This entailed holing up in a secluded place and deep meditation, with least possible communication with the outside world. Druvinka believes in evolving.Observing her art over the years, one detects the transformation. Her earlier work has been described by critics as exhibiting tight control: flat planes and square edged boxes which constrained a swirling universe, like narrow windows into outer space. In later work, deities and human figures feature prominently, especially the divine feminine- including Lakshmi adorned with dreadlocks and twirling nagas. These figures occur against a backdrop of liquid shadows and cloudy dreamscapes. The earlier relentlessly dark palette has also lightened- to mauves and pinks, and creams and yellows. As critics have pointed out, many of the symbols she weaves into her art may stem from Hindu mythology, but it would be reductive to read her paintings as emblematic of one religious tradition. Druvinka 2018 is now on at the Barefoot Gallery until August 5 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Pillai returns with regular partners to spread music By Namali Premawardhana View(s): View(s): Ashan Pillai is a globally acclaimed violist. And Colombo highly esteems this Sri Lankan-born British musician. He will perform at the Lionel Wendt on August 2 with Juan Carlos Conelles (piano) and Joana Thome (mezzo soprano) to raise funds for The Sunshine Charity. The concert will also mark an important milestone in the relationship between Pillais musical career and Colombos audience for classical music: the 20th anniversary of the violists first performance in this city. I love playing in Sri Lanka, seeing family and helping a good cause, Pillai says. The Sri Lankan-born British violist last performed in Sri Lanka five years ago as a soloist with the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka and The Commonwealth Resounds at the Commonwealth Festival Orchestra Concert in November 2013. This time it is special because Im playing with my regular partners, he says, and the programme is especially attractive. Pillai met pianist Juan Carlos Conelles and his wife, mezzo soprano Joana Thome, at a festival in Malaga, Spain, in 2009. The violist and pianist started performing together and have been a permanent duo since then, with multiple recording collaborations. There is a special chemistry between us, Pillai says, and I am very happy to find, after many collaborations with pianists, my very own chamber partner. Pillai was keen that Conelles and his wife have an opportunity to experience Sri Lanka and get to know its beauty. There were no limits on selection of music for the 2nd of August, Pillai points out, adding that the pieces, including Bach, Brahms and Glinka have been selected based purely on audience appreciation. It was an obvious choice to programme the gorgeous Brahms songs with Joana, he says. The programme also includes an 18th century work by Spanish composer Felipe de los Rios written in the Royal Palace, Madrid. This is one of eleven sonatas which Pillai has rediscovered, edited and recorded with Conelles. In theory, it should be a very listening-friendly concert, he guarantees. In the last 20 years Pillai has contributed not a little to the development of Western Classical music in Sri Lanka through performances, helping bring international artists to the country, and through numerous workshops and educational programmes for young people. Born in Sri Lanka in 1969 and educated at Merchant Taylors School in England, Pillai studied music at the Royal Academy of Music, London and graduated with first class honours in viola performance. He then continued his studies at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Julliard School in New York and the Banff Center for the Arts, Canada. He has won numerous international competitions and played at prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall and Weill Hall early on in his career. In February 1998 the English Chamber Orchestra travelled to Colombo to perform for Prince Charles as part of the grand 50th anniversary celebration of Sri Lankas independence. Pillai had been assistant principal viola since 1994. Twenty years ago, in February, Pillai gave his first performance in Colombo: Vivaldis Viola Concerto in D. The twenty-nine-year-old, in a stylish red jacket gave an entrancing virtuoso performance, wrote Hussain Saibo for The Sunday Times on February 15, 1998. After the first taste of what he could contribute to Sri Lankas music sphere, January 1999, just under a year later, Pillai was back in Sri Lanka. This time he not only performed in Colombo, but also conducted workshops in Kandy and Colombo with pianist Rohan De Silva. It took three years for another appearance to take place. In the interim, Pillai was appointed Principal Viola with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and Professor of viola in the Conservatoire Superior in Barcelona. In 2002, Pillai returned to Colombo with Rohan de Silva and a focus on sharing their common gift of music. The duo brought with them Indian-born violinist Jagdish Mistry and Spanish cellist Damian Martinez for two nights of Mozart, Brahms, Britten and other classical composers at the Lionel Wendt. The proceeds from the concerts facilitated a Music Development project geared towards introducing children between the ages of 7 and 12 to an international music environment. The four musicians conducted workshops, in the first phase, in Kurunegala, Kandy, Panadura and Colombo, in partnership with the British Council and the Western Music Department of the Ministry of Education. In 2005 Pillai was invited to join the Zukerman Chamber Players, following which he was recorded prolifically as a soloist and as a chamber musician. It was August 2009 when the violist next performed in Colombo, this time with Eshantha Peiris. The event was the first of two shows titled Intimate Conversations for Viola and Piano. The programme featured works by Bach, Schubert, Schumann, Telemann and Weber. The second set was performed by the duo in September 2011, and included works for piano and viola by Beethoven and Vivaldi among others. The 2009 concert with Peiris was also the first time that Pillai played in aid of The Sunshine Charity. Unfortunately, that concert did not raise funds, and I was determined to return and have another try, Pillai explains. This is why he reached out to the Trusts Sharadha de Saram earlier this year about another fundraiser. The Sunshine Charity functions on an ethic that goes beyond money-based philanthropy into an extension of the concept of shramadana. Donations come in the form of money, time and energy and the roles of benefactor and beneficiary are interchangeable. I would like to go personally and see Sunshines work and meet the people, maybe even play for them, Pillai says, true to the spirit of the cause he performs for. Ashan Pillai (viola) will perform in aid of The Sunshine Charity, with Juan Carlos (piano) and Joana Thome (mezzo soprano) at the Lionel Wendt Theatre on August 2 at 7.30pm. Tickets are now available at the Lionel Wendt box office. Trump in hot seat over the indecisive summit By Somar Wijayadasa View(s): View(s): In a historic bilateral summit, the United States President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on July 16. The summit took place notwithstanding myriad objections, conjectures and apprehensions from many US political leaders who oppose rapprochement with Russia over a plethora of issues: Crimea, East Ukraine, Syria, and Russias alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential election. Just two days before the summit, the US Justice Department indicted 12 Russians for interfering in the 2016 US presidential election, giving impetus to a steady drumbeat of demands that Trump cancel the meeting. The New York Times reported that according to an internal government document, the US has imposed sanctions on 213 Russian-related targets. Following the summit, the US media have been flooded with derision and condemnation of Trump for not berating Putin over the controversial issues. Perhaps, adding fuel to the fire, Trump tweeted before the summit and reiterated at the news briefing that Our relationship with Russia has never been worse thanks to many years of US foolishness and stupidity. Nevertheless, I firmly believe that the meeting between the Presidents of the United States and Russia the worlds most powerful nuclear-armed superpowers is a momentous occasion that helps avert catastrophic confrontations. Highlights of the summit In the absence of a communique on the two-hour private meeting between Trump and Putin, only the press briefing that followed provided clues to what had been discussed. Putin opened the briefing by saying, we believe it necessary to work together to interact on the disarmament agenda; on military and technical cooperation; on the agenda of non-placement of weapons in space; re-establish the working group on anti-terrorism; help Syrian refugees go back to their homes; and to help Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan to decrease the migratory pressure upon the European states. Putin praised Trump for taking the initiative to resolve the North Korean issue, and his willingness to adhere to the Minsk agreement on the Ukrainian crisis. On Russias interference in the US elections, Putin insisted that Russia did not interfere and is not going to interfere in Americas domestic affairs. Trump agreed on Putins brief on the summit, and said that the two leaders agreed to work together on nuclear proliferation; to help Syria to reach peace and resolve its humanitarian crises. On the denuclearisation of North Korea, Trump said that Putin was committed to work with US to end the Korean problem. I would rather take a political risk in pursuit of peace than to risk peace in pursuit of politics, Trump said, adding that A productive dialogue is not only good for the United States and good for Russia, but it is good for the world. 200 years of diplomatic relations From the early 20th century, the US and the Soviet Union, of which Russia was the core, were basically on a collision course as they had two vastly different ideological systems capitalism and socialism. The leaders of both countries have met many times at summits as well as other venues. For example: John Kennedy met Nikita Khrushchev (1961), Richard Nixon met Leonid Brezhnev (1972), Gerald Ford met Brezhnev (1974 and 1975), George Bush Sr. met Mikhail Gorbachev (1990), and Bill Clinton met Boris Yeltsin (1997). During those meetings, the leaders agreed on a range of security, nuclear disarmament and economic issues.A few noteworthy accomplishments are: Russian support for the United States during the American Civil War; commercial joint ventures; American humanitarian assistance during the 1921-1923 famine in Russia; joint efforts during World War II against Nazi Germany; and cultural, sports, scientific, and educational exchanges. Even more significant are: The two countries reduced nuclear weapons from an estimated 100,000 warheads during the cold war era to about 13,800; joint efforts in the Limited Test-Ban Treaty in 1963, and the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty in 1972; the Apollo-Soyuz project in space where the cold-war rivals met in orbit in 1975; the first joint US-Russian space shuttle mission in 1994; and in 1995, the US space shuttle Atlantis docked with Russian space station Mir in outer space forming the largest spacecraft ever in orbit. Furthermore, Russia agreed to convert 500 tons of highly enriched uranium from the former Soviet nuclear arsenal into low-enriched uranium suitable for use in nuclear power stations; and the US agreed to purchase $12 billion worth of lowenriched uranium over a 20-year period. Despite these stupendous achievements, the relations between the two nations have always been volatile. Worst ever relations The relations decayed steadily after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, which Putin described as the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century. From 1991, Yeltsin embraced free market principles and sought Western guidance to revamp the Russian economy. However, the effort went awry, causing Russia to endure a traumatic decade of economic and social upheaval. In 1999, Yeltsin resigned, and handed over to Vladimir Putin a run-down military and a literally bankrupt Russia in a deep recession and complete chaos. In 2000, Putin was elected as President in Russias first democratic transfer of power. He hastily adopted democratic and capitalist structures, revamped all sectors of the Russian economy and military, improved living conditions, and injected law and order into the society of the largest country on earth while protecting Russia from foreign interference making Russia a true democratic nation. The significance of his presidency, and his monumental accomplishments were outlined in my article: The Importance of Putin and Russias Presidential Election. (https://www.indepthnews.net/index.php/the-world/eu-europe/1729-the-importance-of-putin-and-russia-s-presidential-election). A golden opportunity During the past 18 years, Putin held summits with US Presidents Bill Clinton (2000), George W. Bush (2001), Barack Obama (2016), and met them regularly during the UN General Assembly sessions. There was hope for strong relations, but the matters turned sour due to geo-political events such as the US invasion of Iraq, the US intervention in Libya, NATOs expansion towards Russia, the West inspired color revolutions in Ukraine and Georgia, the Crimean crisis, and mass demonstrations against Putin in 2012 that many believe were instigated and funded through US-backed NGOs, many of which were later asked to leave Russia. During these interventions, western leaders were disappointed that Putin was not amenable to their suggestions. For example, recently in a BBC interview, a US Congressman said, We like to improve relations with Russia but on our terms, not on Putins terms. Therein lies the problem. Putin abhors orders, especially if the Wests demands are contrary to the best interests of Russia precisely why Putin said that US prefers diktat rather than dialogue. US leaders have totally ignored Putins often repeated proposition that we do not want confrontation: We want to engage in dialogue but a dialogue that acknowledges the equality of both parties interests. Frustrated with Putins inflexible steadfastness, the West began to demonise him with names: KGB thug, new Hitler, new Tsar, Bogeyman to name a few followed by Russophobia and concluded that Putin is a crafty statesman ready to re-establish the defunct Soviet Union, and invade Eastern European countries. But there is no proof that Russia has ever invaded its neighbours or other countries. According to Tom Mayer, a US peace activist, it is the U.S. military interventions that destroyed Iraq, destabilised Libya, fostered dictatorship in Egypt, accelerated civil war in Syria, and the destruction of Yemen, and helped squelch a pro-democracy movement in Bahrain. Referring to these failed interventions, Putin said: Instead of the triumph of democracy and progress, we got violence, poverty, and social disaster. The Crimean crisis pushes Russia into the abyss The US and the EU have vowed not to lift sanctions against Russia until it hands over Crimea to Ukraine. During the Helsinki press briefing, Putin invoked Article 1 of the UN Charter, and stated that Crimea re-joined Russia following a referendum based on the right of nations to self-determination. No matter what, Crimea will remain with Russia as it has been for centuries prior to 1954 when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev gifted it to Ukraine. The US and the EU imposed a barrage of sanctions on Moscow making Russians believe that the sanctions, enormous pressure, and innuendos are aimed at causing a regime change. I have written exhaustively about US-Russia relations and on sanctions against Moscow in articles titled The United States and Russia Relations on Life Support and Sanctions Will Not Cause Regime Change in Russia. These can be found in InDepthNews.net. Eternal peace or nuclear apocalypse Despite his shortcomings, Trump deserves credit for his perseverance in taking the prodigious first step to engage in a dialogue instead of confrontation with Russia. Also, without wielding nuclear weapons to dominate the world, both leaders should spearhead the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons to eliminate all nuclear weapons, and promote peace and prosperity around the world. The US and Russia have a choice: Diplomatic engagement for peace and prosperity of their people or confrontation for a nuclear apocalypse. (Somar Wijayadasa, a Moscow educated International lawyer was a UNESCO delegate to the UN General Assembly from 1985-1995, and was Representative of UNAIDS at the United Nations from 1995-2000.) At home on the range With hunting season now in full swing throughout the State of Iowa, a new business in the Tama-Toledo area looks to ... Posted on Friday, July 20, 2018 Dr. Chris Hearon, professor and chair of the health and kinesiology department at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, has received word that he has won the Jerry R. Thomas Distinguished Leadership Award from the American Kinesiology Association (AKA). Hearon will receive the award for the masters degree level. I was actually at a loss for words when I got the call from AKA and as anyone who knows me will attest, it is a rare occurrence for me, Hearon said. So, clearly, I was taken aback a bit and was certainly not expecting that. This award for Dr. Hearon speaks volumes about the work he has done both in his department and on campus, said Dr. Albert Ruiz, dean of the College of Education and Human Performance. It seems just that the department that produced two AKA National Scholars would now produce a leadership award winner. I am honored, but it also is humbling given the nature of the award, Hearon added. There are so many quality kinesiology administrators across the nation, and to have my career as a department chair chosen for this award is truly special. It is a testament to the outstanding faculty and students whom I have had the good fortune to manage and lead over the last two decades, both at Northeastern Illinois and here at Texas A&M-Kingsville. A student from the health and kinesiology department at Texas A&M-Kingsville has won the National Scholar Award from the AKA two years in a row. Samantha Cantu was the first in 2015. She was followed by Joel Pena in 2016. Our faculty are key to the student accomplishments we have seen over the years. I am proud that we have been able to recruit exceptional faculty who are engaging and preparing our students to be competitive at all levels, with students from all over the state, region and nation, he said. The student accolades we have seen over the years in our department, serves as advertisement to potential students and has allowed us to continue to recruit elite students to our department. The Jerry R. Thomas Distinguished Leadership Award recognizes outstanding kinesiology-related administrative and leadership performance of an individual in an administrative role at an AKA member institution. The award is given independently for each level of membership based on the highest level of degree awarded. The award recipients must have made significant contributions in several areas: built innovative curricula to strengthen the undergraduate core of kinesiology; expanded faculty and student research productivity focused on physical activity; established partnerships and outreach activities that significantly impact the unit; achieved success in obtaining new or renovated facilities for teaching and research; inspired others to achieve at a high level; and made significant changes that enhanced the effectiveness and efficiencies of programs and services. About Dr. Chris Hearon In addition to being professor and chair of the health and kinesiology department, Hearon is coordinator of the exercise science program and the human performance laboratory. His areas of expertise include exercise physiology, applied statistics and exercise testing and prescription. His research interests are human performance in environmental extremes, body composition and estimation practices. Hearon earned his bachelors and masters degrees from Texas Tech University and his doctorate from Louisiana State University. About the American Kinesiology Association (AKA) The AKA is comprised of departments kinesiology or academic units that house kinesiology-related programs at nearly 200 colleges and universities across the nation. The Texas A&M-Kingsville department is one of 16 member departments in the state of Texas. -TAMUK- This is pretty big news. After a not-very-quiet extended negotiation, the University of Illinois Chicago is now officially set to acquire John Marshall Law School, creating Chicago's first public law school. This means that the various other private schools in town will now have to deal with a competitor offering state school tuition. The precise level of that tuition is unclear - the current UIC MBA tuition looks to be $21K per year in-state. U of I College of Law charges $35K right now. The leadership at Loyola-Chicago, Illinois Tech-Chicago Kent, and DePaul law schools will be watching that decision closely because competition in the Chicago market is tough already. Dean Darby Dickerson will continue to lead the law school - and the merger was surely helped along by the fact that UIC's provost is Susan Poser, the former dean of Nebraska Law. It's all of some personal interest to me. My grandfather, Samuel Holland, received his LLB from John Marshall back in 1915 at the age of 23 - having arrived in the United States only six years earlier. (Click through to read the extended commencement address Sam heard that fine Tuesday evening, as Mr. Rome Brown, of the Minnesota Law School, railed against the judicial recall movement.) I'm glad to see JMLS do well. No one can predict with certainty the direction of womens magazines, which have struggled to maintain print circulation as newsstand sales continue to fall. But if youre placing bets on a strategy that might help them flourish, look no further than Samantha Barry, the 36-year-old woman who is reinventing Conde Nasts legacy title, Glamour. An Irish-born millennial with hard-news experience via BBC and CNN, shes using her digital expertise to drag the title into the 21st century. Part of her plan is political. Shes seizing the moment to remind female readers that the big glossies have always been the best source of reporting on topics critical to women. With Donald Trump in the White House, Republicans in control of Congress and a potential abortion-outlawing majority coming to the U.S. Supreme Court this fall, magazines that were once fairly understated about politics have decided to take a stand. Editors at top womens titles such as Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire are ramping up coverage of sexual harassment, reproductive rights and identity politics. As younger American women use digital platforms to mobilize politically, these editors know theyll have to meet readers where theyre most engaged. Theres a lot of money to be made there, too. Read also: Fashion industry sets new guidelines to fight sexual misconduct The general public doesnt understand the appetite women in America have today for all things politics, digitally, Barry said in an interview at Conde Nasts headquarters on the 30th floor of One World Trade Center. I could not have picked a better year to come and work at Glamourto talk to and with women. And shes not alone, as the biggest name in womens magazines lends credence to this industrywide shift. At a time when our world is so politically active, its only right that we should be as engaged and as vocal as our readers, said Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour. I've always believed Vogueindeed, all Conde Nast titlesshould really stand for something, and right now thats more important than ever. Since the 2016 election, Americans have shown an increased interest in politics and demand for news. But when it comes to women, that thirst has proven unquenchable. Women of either political party are more likely than men to say theyre paying more attention to politics, according to a 2017 Pew Research Center survey. Thats almost 60 percent of women, compared with 46 percent of men. Political involvement is up among women, tooparticularly among those who are young and college-educated. Almost one in three women aged 18 to 49 have attended a political event or protest since the election, the Pew report shows. And a record number of womena whopping 516are running for seats in Congress this November. Glamour, Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire are looking to capitalize on this new landscape. Theyve all made political news coverage a priority, while some are hiring reporters with experience in political journalism and promoting their content aggressively on digital platforms. While cosmetics, celebrities and other lighter fare remain prominent, these magazines have staked a claim in the world of hard news. We cant be everything to everybody when it comes to political coverage, Barry said. The two things we want to feature this year in our storytelling are how women are voting and how theyre running for office. Women are leading the resistance, and womens magazines have been invaluable assets in covering that story. Cosmopolitan has published features looking to educate women on how to run for office and started a #VoteTwice campaign encouraging them to vote in both the primaries and midterms. Our ambition is to spur action, whether thats running for office, registering to vote or going to the polls during the midterm elections, said Editor-in-Chief Michele Promaulayko. Women are leading the resistance, said Stephanie Schriock, the president of Emilys List. And womens magazines have been invaluable assets in covering that story. Read also: Urgency of quota system for women in regional elections The pivot toward more aggressive political coverage is also an existential imperative. Last fall, the top editors of Glamour and Elle (as well as those at Vanity Fair and Time) announced they were stepping down in the span of two weeks. Conde Nast subsequently cut dozens of jobs and decided to publish one fewer issue a year of Glamour, GQ, Allure and Architectural Digest. Ironically, the media group shuttered the print edition of Teen Voguethe title whose sudden, unexpected political relevance established the template for what was to come. Meanwhile, Cosmopolitans parent, New York-based Hearst Corp., cut 130 jobs in January after acquiring Rodale Inc. Magazine print-advertising sales in the U.S. are expected to fall a further 14.5 percent this year; the rate of decline is expected to exceed 20 percent by 2020, according to Bloomberg Intelligence, citing advertising-insights firm Magna Global. The U.S. magazine market, made up of consumer and trade magazines, will bring in $28.9 billion by 2022, down from $30.2 billion in 2017, according to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers forecast. Still, as print sales continue to decline, digital traffic for glossies is skyrocketing. Overall, U.S. magazine publishers are estimated to grow digital circulation revenue by 3.6 percent by 2022, increasing it from $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion, according to PwC. The gain will push total consumer magazine revenue back into growth for a short period of time, but thats not likely to last past 2020, when the decline in total consumer magazine circulation revenue is expected to resume. Promalayko and Barry said the rise of digital is, in part, due to the success of their online political content. With a print circulation of 14.9 million, Cosmopolitan is the best-selling young womens magazine. Online, the brand drew an all-time high of 26 million unique visitors in May, and its political content has reached more than 3 million readers on the website this year, according to a company representative. Glamour, which has a print circulation of 8.7 million, has raked in more than 11 million unique monthly visitors and 5 percent month-over-month growth in total engaged minutes. The brands social platforms, which together total more than 15 million unique followers, have experienced similar growth this year. Glamours exclusive interview with Cynthia Nixon, the former Sex in the City star running for governor of New York, drew four times as many total minutes spent than the websites 2018 average. Meanwhile, a profile of black women running for office in Alabama saw 79 percent more unique visitors and 95 percent more minutes spent online than the average. Indeed, by broadening their reporting to include politics, and especially issues important to minority women, big glossies are moving into territory that Essence and Ebony, magazines largely geared toward black Americans, have occupied for years. Were seeing a more diverse representation in content, said Amy Aronson, a professor at Fordham University and author of Taking Liberties: Early American Womens Magazines and Their Readers. She added that these magazines have historically been white-dominated, but theres a greater push to reflect multiracialism and other forms of diversity. Teen girls are so much smarter than anyone gives them credit for. Magazine digital and social channels are drawing younger audiences, and Americas youth are the most active participants in online political discoursewhether connecting with local officials, using political hashtags or looking up nearby rallies, according to Pew. When it comes to young female readers, pushing political content on digital platforms is the not-so-secret ingredient for success. Teen Vogue was one of the first titles to draw attention for having successfully reached young women on digital platforms during the 2016 election. Policy wonks and media junkies expressed surprise when an opinion piece, Donald Trump Is Gaslighting America, dominated the news cycle with more than 1.4 million unique views. Teen Vogue has seen increased engagement, particularly with content on sexual health, reproductive rights and gun reform. More than one third of Teen Vogues top performing content in 2017 was under the News and Politics vertical, according to a company representative. The brands social media channels now reach 12 million. An op-ed on the post-Parkland teen gun-control movement became the top-performing Teen Vogue digital cover story of all time. Teen girls are so much smarter than anyone gives them credit for, said Phillip Picardi, Teen Vogue's digital editorial director, in an interview. Weve seen an immense resonance of political coverage with our audience. While womens magazines are moving to where they think the money is, analysts say digital has yet to prove a bankable savior. In the interim, the legacy glossies are looking to diversify revenue streams in untraditional ways. Cosmopolitan has launched a jewelry collection and subscription box service and partnered with Amazon.com Inc. to introduce Amazon SmileCodes to magazine pages, so readers can purchase items instantly. At Glamour, Barry said shes working on building out brand experiences, such as the magazines annual Women of the Year award ceremony. But while the magazines bet on digital via bolder, progressive political voices, some question their ability to avoid blowback from the right. In todays momentthe Trump era, the #MeToo momenta lot of magazines are going further to the left, Aronson said. Historically, it has always been the case that magazines that have reached younger women have been more progressive. And the digital magazine appeals to younger women. Its true that some 70 percent of millennial women identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party, a recent Pew report showed. But among all age groups, only 56 percent of women are registered Democrats, and 37 percent are registered Republican. And while the political behavior of white married women tends to be geared toward furthering husband and family interests, younger, single women are more likely to align with those of other women, showed a 2017 study from Oregon State University. Read also: Commentary: Choose more women leaders. It's good for us all Barry said shes committed to telling the stories of both liberal and conservative women. To this end, Glamour has hired local reporters in communities across the country to cover topics that include how the NRA has mobilized women or the experience of migrant girls at government facilities. The onus is on Glamour to not be a silo for peoples opinion, she said. She added that Glamours September issue will feature writing from prominent Republican women. However, neither Cosmopolitan nor Glamour will compromise coverage advocating for womens reproductive rightsan issue both magazines have championed throughout their histories. Schriock of Emilys List, which has raised over $250 million for pro-choice Democratic candidates, said womens magazines have functioned as a valuable asset in giving these campaigns visibility. Glamours Barry said that, when it comes to reproductive rights, her magazines position is non-negotiable. That is something we have a firm view on, she said. Aman Rochman, Malang, East Java Sunarti, 48, looks different from the other Hindu women who are wearing kebaya (traditional blouses) because she is wearing a headscarf and carrying the ashes of family members in a young coconut wrapped in white cloth as part of a recent Hindu ngaben (cremation) ceremony on Balekambang Beach, Malang, East Java. The mass ngaben ceremony was conducted by the Hindu community of three villages, namely Banaran, Kesamben and Babatan. The three villages are home to a large Hindu community. The ceremony began at 1 a.m. on Sunday, July 15, with the cremation being conducted in the village temple, a process that ran until 10 a.m. Following the cremation, the ashes were scattered on Balekamang Beach, which is located 30 kilometers from Banaran village. While in transit, the ashes were stored in a jar-like container wrapped in white cloth. A mass ngaben ceremony in Malang, East Java took place on July 15. (JP/Aman Rochman) Sunarti was born into a Muslim family and at the age of seven was taken into the care of her adopted father and raised by a new family who were Hindu. Sunarti says she is Muslim and is helping family members who are Hindu adhere to their religious commitments at the mass ngaben. She adds that eight family members were put to rest during the ceremony, including her adopted parents, uncle and aunt, as well as several nieces and nephews who were exhumed from the villages public grave. Her adopted parents passed away 20 years ago, while several other family members lay buried for around six years. "Upon receiving the information about the mass ngaben in Banaran village, we as a family consulted the committee to see whether we as Muslims would be allowed to include our family members, who are Hindu, in the ceremony," Sunarti said. "This is a form of repaying their kindness, even though we are from different religions, as they were my adopted parents who raised me. I want to help in the completion of the faith that they held. It is also a form of family responsibility by helping each other when possible," she added. Read also: Surakarta Palace's Mahesa Lawung ritual highlights tolerance, harmonious living Meanwhile Ngantini, 46, who is Hindu, says 20 members of her family were laid to rest during the ngaben ceremony. "With the mass ngaben, it simplifies the process and the fees can be split among the group. After the ceremony, our family was relieved by the completion of the body of the father, mother and other family members to the house of God," Ngantini said. The ngaben ceremony began with the exhumation of the remains from public cemeteries across the three participating villages, which this year amounted to 44 corpses. Santoso, a local Hindu leader, says the ngaben ceremony is also called the ceremony of entas (removal), which is to remove the corpse from the shackles of the earth and raise the status towards perfection to a place with God by scattering the ashes into the sea. The Hindu cremation ritual includes the scattering of ashes into the sea. (JP/Aman Rochman) Ngaben upholds three values, he added, namely ethics (devotion and respect of family members to members that have passed away), philosophy (in the meaning of the ngaben process) and ceremony (respecting rituals). The mass ngaben ceremony in Malang this year was the third time it was held. "A simple ngaben ceremony can cost a minimum of Rp 10 million [US$689]. It is common to have villagers, who are not Hindu, ask family members who are to join the ngaben ceremony," Santoso said. As a form of tolerance and respect for different beliefs, the ngaben ceremony welcomes members of different religions. "For us it is common, because 50 percent of the residents in the three villages are Muslims. We are happy to remain in harmony, kindness and helping family members and villagers of different faiths," Santoso said. (liz/kes) If you often wake up after a nights sleep drenched in sweat, do not be alarmed this is fairly common and there are a number of reasons why this could be happening to you. According to one study originally published in the Annals of Family Medicine, about one-third of patients reported night sweats over the course of a month. The figure may be greater the study's author, James Mold, MD, a professor of family medicine at the University of Oklahoma, said that most patients do not inform their doctors when they have night sweats. The study suggests that heavy blankets or sickness can push your body into a thermoneutral zone, forcing it to sweat to regulate body temperature and bring it back to normal. Molds study also found that those who exercise more often may be conditioned to sweat at lower temperatures, making it more likely that frequent gym-goers find themselves sweaty after a nights rest. In a review published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, Mold says that there are other factors that can play a role in night sweats, such as panic attacks, sleep problems, fever, numbness in hands and feet, anxiety and stress, and trouble breathing at night. Read also: Nine sleep myths debunked Night sweats may also be a side effect of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which are medications commonly prescribed for depression. Though causation has neither been proven nor disproven with certainty, it seems likely that SSRIs are a cause, Mold told Mens Health. In most cases, night sweats are not a problem, but if you are waking up every morning soaked, Mold suggests seeing a doctor and keeping a record of other symptoms. (sul/kes) When we think about our first memories, its difficult for most to think about anything earlier than 4 or so years old. But a new study has shown that our brain might still be holding onto memories earlier than that. Researchers from the University of Toronto have studied mice to figure out just how and when our brain loses these early childhood memories. "Rapid forgetting has been attributed to the fact that children lack the cognitive tools to successfully consolidate and organize autobiographical memories at this early developmental stage," the team of neuroscientists wrote in the study. "However, similar accelerated forgetting in infancy is also observed in non-human species, including mice, suggesting that a complete neurobiological account cannot be limited to purely human phenomena." The team trained infant mice to associate a small box with a mild shock to the foot, and the mice then forgot about this association after 15 days, which in human terms, is similar to a child forgetting infant memories at around age 7. Read also: Childhood obesity: 5 prevention tips for parents They then took a new set of mice and did the same thing, but this time, they also tagged the specific neurons trigged in the hippocampus when zapped. Over two weeks afterward, the mice behaved as if they recognized the box when the same tagged neurons were stimulated, even though they should have forgotten the box. "The memory recall was remarkable," senior author Paul Frankland, a neurobiologist from the SickKids Research Institute and the University of Toronto, told Science Alert. "These results suggest our earliest experiences are not completely forgotten or erased from the brain. Instead, we can bring them back through direct stimulation." Frankland continued to explain, "What we're doing by stimulating the collection of neurons, which are active during encoding, is giving the system a little bit of a boost. The researchers now believe that in terms of human recall, both memory recovery and storage in the mind are the biggest issues hindering humans from accessing those childhood memories. (sul/kes) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, July 21, 2018 17:11 1192 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9eeeb48d 1 City Asian-Games,Asian-Games-2018,kali-item,environment,#AsianGames2018,jakarta,pollution Free Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said the cover on the Sentiong River, also known as Kali Item or Black River, in Central Jakarta is a back-up plan that is expected to reduce the pungent smell and cover the dirty river. The administration, he said, was still trying to clean the river ahead of the 2018 Asian Games that will begin on Aug.18. An athletes village is located near the river. The back-up plan uses the net while we keep trying to clean the river, he said as quoted by kompas.com. So if we fail to clean it [by the time the Asian Games starts], we have it as a contingency plan. Just to be safe. Read also: Too ugly, too smelly: Jakarta covers up Black River for Asian Games Anies claimed that the rivers condition was better than a few months earlier. The administration has been criticized for covering the river. People accused officials of trying to hide the river instead of cleaning it. It has also cleaned another two nearby reservoirs in Sunter, which are also close to the athletes village. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, July 21, 2018 11:53 1192 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9eee2831 1 City Kelapa-Gading,gas-poisoning,beauty-clinic Free Seventeen people were rushed to a hospital on Friday evening after they vomited and suffered seizures as a result of gas poisoning at a beauty clinic in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta. The victims started to choke at 6:18 p.m. after carbon monoxide emitted from a drilling machine at a room in the shophouse where the clinic is located. The drilling machine was being used to create a well for a water pump. The smoke came from the drilling machine, said North Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Reza Arief Dewanto as quoted by kompas.com. With poor ventilation as a result of an absence of windows, the gas poisoned those inside the clinic. Reza said the police were questioning three witnesses in the case. We will investigate and find an explanation from the witnesses. Weve only interviewed three. More may come forward later, he said. (acr) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, July 21 2018 A 25-year-old man allegedly burned and damaged his parents house in Karang Tengah, Ciledug, Tangerang, at 11 p.m. on July 13 after they reportedly refused to pay for his wedding reception. The man reportedly took fuel from his motorcycle and threw it on clothes drying in the garage. He then lit a match and threw it on the clothes, quickly setting fire to the house. Ciledug Police chief Comr. Supiyanto said as quoted by kompas.com on Thursday. Supiyanto, the alleged perpetrator, fled the scene after lighting the fire. He was arrested on Tuesday at a friends house in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta. TheJakartaPost Please Update your browser Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below. Just click on the icons to get to the download page. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Arya Dipa (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, July 21, 2018 18:22 1192 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9eeec4c2 1 National sukamiskin,KPK,corruption,arrest Free The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) arrested Sukamiskin prison warden Wahid Husen in Bandung, West Java, over bribery allegations on Saturday at 12 a.m.. Wahid was arrested along with five other individuals during an operation at the penitentiary, which houses graft convicts. The six [people arrested] include a government official at the penitentiary, graft convicts and their relatives and a prison staffer, Febri said as quoted by kompas.com on Saturday. KPK deputy chairman Laode Muhammad Syarif said the individuals had been brought to Jakarta for questioning. The KPK has 24 hours before deciding the status of the people we arrested as stipulated in the Criminal Law Procedures Code [KUHAP], Laode said. Law and Human Rights Ministry West Java office head Indro Purwoko confirmed that Husen had been arrested on Friday at 12 a.m. Some media reports have identified the arrested convicts as businessman Fahmi Darmawansyah and a graft convict that works for him, Andre. Fahmis wife, actress and model Inneke Koesherawati, was reportedly nabbed during the operation. Fahmi has been convicted of corruption for his role in a graft case related to the Maritime Security Board (Bakamla) procurement project. Investigators confiscated local and foreign currencies at the graft convicts cell during the operation. The KPK suspected graft convicts had bribed several officials in the penitentiary in exchange for special facilities for the convicts. The commission has also sealed several empty cells in the prison. (dya/ahw) Bali has once again nabbed the top spot as the favorite mid-year destination among Indonesian travelers, according to the latest data compiled by Agoda. The online booking platform said in a statement recently that Bali's lineup of mid-year festivals was among the reasons tourists were attracted to the area. "From the 40th annual Bali Arts Festival (June to July), which celebrates local culture and art, to the Bali Kites Festival (July to October), which dots the sky with hundreds of colorful kite creations, the Makepung Buffalo Races (July to November) featuring a series of buffalo racing competitions and the Ubud Writers Festival, travelers have plenty of reasons to keep returning to Bali," the statement said. Read also: Jakpost explores Bali West Java's provincial capital of Bandung came in second place, according to the list, which featured the top 10 mid-year destinations for Indonesian travelers. In addition to being a sought-after weekend getaway for those in neighboring cities like Jakarta, Bandung is also famous as a shopping and culinary destination. Other top spots domestically include Yogyakarta, sixth, Jakarta, eighth, and Malang, 10th. Indonesian travelers also evidently favor Japan, as two cities in the East Asian country made the list, with the country's capital Tokyo placing third and Osaka ninth. Read also: Jakarta City: Past & Present Tokyo's Ueno Summer Festival, which runs through July and August, is expected to draw huge crowds with its charming toro nagashi (flowing lantern) ceremonies, outdoor ice sculpture exhibitions and live performances at the Suijo Ongakudo open-air theater. Meanwhile, tourists can enjoy Osaka's summertime festivals such as Tenjin and Gion Matsuri, as well as enjoying the local beaches and water parks. Neighboring Southeast Asian cities also made the list, such as Singapore, sitting in fourth spot, Kuala Lumpur, fifth, and Bangkok, seventh. (liz/kes) The number of drunk mostly British and Irish tourists ending up in hospital in Spain's Balearic Islands after jumping from balconies has spiked this year, a surgeon who has studied the dangerous craze warned Friday. The so-called "balconing" craze, which had eased over the last two years after an awareness campaign, has now taken off again in the Mediterranean archipelago of Magaluf and Ibiza fame, said Juan Jose Segura, a surgeon at the Son Espases hospital in Palma de Majorca. "Balconing" refers to people who throw themselves from the balcony of their room into pools or to get to another balcony, most of them very drunk or perhaps high on drugs, sometimes smashing onto the ground with tragic consequences. It's become a form of daring challenge during a hedonistic holiday and is particularly popular among British and Irish tourists, Segura said. While he does not have definitive figures, Segura said his trauma centre had treated at least six cases of "balconing" so far this year by British and Irish tourists and one French national. Three of them died while the rest were very seriously injured, some paralysed. It marks a significant rise from 2016 and 2017, which he said saw a total of six cases and no deaths. "It seems this year isn't going to be like the previous years but will resume the initial 2010-2015 trend that saw 10 to 15 cases every summer," said Segura who has authored a study on "balconing" trauma. His figures however only concern those treated at Son Espases hospital, meaning there were likely more such cases in the archipelago. Just this week alone, three people fell from their balconies in the Balearic Islands --- although police are still investigating the incidents and it's unlikely all of them were cases of "balconing". Read also: These are the best undiscovered beaches in the world - 'Prime of life' - On Wednesday, a 14-year-old boy from Ireland died after falling from a balcony of a hotel in Majorca where he was staying with his mother, the Guardia Civil police said. It appears "he was playing on the balcony" and fell, a police spokesman said. The same day, a man in his early twenties fell from a balcony in his holiday resort on the island of Ibiza, and is hospitalised in serious condition. British media have identified him as Tolga Aramaz, a British Labour councillor in London. It is unclear why he fell. On Friday, emergency services said they attended to a man also in his early twenties who fell from a balcony in Es Pujols on the island of Formentera. Police and the Spanish government's office in the Balearic Islands were not able to give the total number of "balconing" cases this year. Segura, who as a surgeon sees "a lot of dramatic cases due to illnesses like cancer with older people," said injuries from "balconing" were particularly distressing. "It's really shocking to see a young person who has absolutely no problems, who was in the prime of life, who had thousands of projects ahead, a life to live, to suddenly die or be left totally incapable to do anything for themselves for the rest of their life." Read also: Winter escape in Mallorca - Fines and booze ban - In his 2010-2015 study, Segura found that his hospital alone treated 46 patients for "balconing" trauma, with over 60 percent of them British followed by Germans and then Spaniards. Only one case involved a woman, all the others were men, aged 24 on average. The fall from the balcony was from an average height of eight metres (26 feet). Segura said he had taken part in awareness campaigns in Britain, cooperating with the British embassy in Spain. Authorities in the Balearic Islands are also trying to rein in the problem. "Hotel managers distribute pamphlets, they warn people," Segura said, adding they also put young people they think may balcony-jump on lower floors. He said he had taken part in a meeting with officials from Calvia municipality, which includes Magaluf, infamous for its booze-fuelled tourism. "The city hall is fining all those who try to jump from one balcony to another, it's banned pub crawling tours and is banning the sale of alcohol in shops at night time." Segura also pointed out that "balconing" wasn't the only craze among drunk tourists, who also dare themselves to cross highways or other dangerous activities. "There are many accidents linked to this wild alcohol consumption." Located in South Tangerang, Banten, Pasar Modern Bintaro (Bintaro Modern Market) is a neatly organized traditional farmers' market-style shopping complex and culinary center that offers a wide range of traditional Indonesian foods from different regions. Conveniently situated near the residential areas of Bintaro, the market is a popular shopping hub and can get extremely crowded on the weekends. How to get there As it is located just outside Jakarta, one of the most convenient ways to reach Pasar Modern Bintaro is by train. The closest train station is Jurangmangu Station. From there, the journey takes another 30 minutes on foot, or alternatively app-based ride hailing transport can be used to travel the remaining 2 kilometers to the market. What to wear As a farmers' market, albeit with a modern layout, it is best to wear casual clothing, such as jeans, t-shirt and comfortable shoes. What to buy Fresh produce, meat, poultry and seafood are available in abundance in the market hall (JP/Wienda Parwitasari) The market is a well-organized complex that houses a wide range of items for the household, as well as basic daily needs. Fresh produce, meat, poultry and seafood are available in abundance in the market hall, making it a convenient one-stop shop for groceries. Cured foods can also be easily found, such as different types of salted fish, squid and shrimp, with prices starting at Rp 10,000 (less than US$1) per 100 grams. A wide variety of salted fish, shrimp and squid is sold in the market. (JP/Wienda Parwitasari) Numerous market stalls also sell condiments and other necessary ingredients for cooking, such as spices, butter, soy sauces and chilies. There is also Toko-Organik.com, which sells organic foods at a stall inside the market hall, as well as a store outside the hall. In addition to organic fruits and vegetables, there are also health foods, such as imported almond meal and roasted almonds, which cost Rp 100,000 (US$20.7) for 300 grams. Aside from foods, there are also shops and stalls that sell a wide range of homeware and household necessities, such as cookware, cleaning tools, as well as house decor, wallpaper and curtains. Clothing stores in the market. (JP/Wienda Parwitasari) Clothing, including Muslim clothing, is also available, with prices ranging from Rp 150,000 to Rp 500,000 for skirts, shirts and dresses. For kids, there are also toy stores offering a wide range of items, including dolls, car toys and balloons. For special purchases, the market hall is also home to several jewelry stores, selling an array of accessories made of gold, silver and precious stones. Read also: Jakpost guide to Pasar Modern BSD City What to eat Pasar Modern Bintaro hosts a wide range of food choices. (JP/Wienda Parwitasari) In addition to being a convenient grocery-shopping destination, the market also hosts a plethora of food vendors, with light snacks, coffee and a wide range of meals readily available. One of the most popular establishments is Pastellia, which welcomes guests entering by the north door of the market. Its most popular dish is siomay, a generously sized fish dumpling that can be served with peanut sauce. A post shared by @pastellia (@pastellia.id) on Jul 3, 2018 at 8:51pm PDT For something sweet, head on over to try Ibu Tati's kue lumpur, a soft and custard-like bite of cake that comes in five different flavors, namely coconut, jackfruit, pumpkin, yam and pandan. Each cake costs Rp 4,000. Additionally Ibu Tati also offers other traditional sweets such as dadar gulung (rolled coconut crepes) and klepon (sweet rice balls stuffed with palm sugar). Dapur Ibu Tati is a local favorite among sweet lovers. (JP/Wienda Parwitasari) Several coffee shops can also be found in the market complex, such as Mata Kopi, which sells its signature es kopi susu pasar (market iced milk coffee) for Rp 20,000. To satiate your hunger, you can find restaurants selling a wide variety of Indonesian cuisine from the countrys many different regions. Among them is Pecel Pincuk Ibu Ida, located near the south entrance. Pecel is a local dish from East Java that consists of veggies drenched in a sweet and spicy peanut sauce with a side of peyek (deep-fried savory Javanese cracker with peanuts). Diners can also choose to add side dishes, such as fried chicken, perkedel kentang (fried potato patties) and quail eggs skewers. Pecel Pincuk Ibu Ida offers a delectable serving of 'pecel'. (JP/Wienda Parwitasari) Uniquely, the dish is served on a bed of banana leaves on a bamboo pincuk (dome-shaped bamboo plate). A basic dish of pecel starts at Rp 14,000, with side dishes starting from 3,500. Guests can also take home a generous bowl of pecel sauce for Rp 60,000, which can be kept for about two months when stored in the refrigerator. For a different choice, there is also Waroeng Garang Asem, which serves the Central Javanese dish garang asem (sour and spicy soup) with either chicken or beef. Other delicacies include gongso (spicy stir-fry style) tripe or tongue. Horas serves traditional Batak cuisine. (JP/Wienda Parwitasari) Batak cuisine is also available, with the restaurant Horas offering traditional North Sumatran barbecue pork and saksang (a Batak dish made from minced pork stewed in blood, coconut milk and spices). Tips Martin Friesl, Lancaster University Netflixs latest half-year results have disappointed the market, sending shares in the TV streaming giant down 13% overnight. When this is the reaction to adding 5m subscribers in three months, taking your total to 130m around the world, it certainly tells you something. r. classen Sofa so good. months the stock had In the last 12the stock had skyrocketed from US$158 to US$396, light years ahead of the S&P 500 average . This was partly driven by a stellar quarterly earnings report in April, which raised analysts and investors expectations about whether the company could maintain its incredible growth trajectory. Netflix had set its quarterly target at 1.2m more subscribers from the US and 5m from the rest of the world. Some analysts decided even this was conservative, publishing still higher growth expectations to justify the ambitious company valuation. was help up to blame. Yet the notes of caution creeping in shortly before the new results have turned out to be justified. A Macquarie analyst had argued that expectations have gotten ahead of themselves. Netflix missed both its US and international targets, adding 700,000 and 4.5m subscribers respectively. Cutthroat competition from the likes of Amazon, Hulu and HBOup to blame. capitalise on the huge subscriber base. Netflixs commissions are based on a deep understanding of its subscribers viewing patterns and preferences. This has enabled the company to raise its charges despite the competition, and thuson the huge subscriber base. The aim for the next few years is for half of the entire library to be shows and films made exclusively for Netflix. In 2018 alone, the company is expected to spend US$12 billion to US$13 billion on new content way ahead of the US$8 billion that was previously planned. and big content giants: This has created a service second only to HBO in terms of worldwide subscriber numbers (and a large part of HBOs 142m total base is US customers who buy its package of channels via cable networks). Netflixs approach to streaming is different to many other players in the market. We can broadly split the rest of the contenders into three categories: bundlers, broadcastersbig content giants: 1. The bundler Amazons streaming service is bundled into its Amazon Prime offering, which gives Amazons retail customers a whole raft of benefits ranging from cheap nappies to faster delivery times. Offering video and music streaming as a complex bundle of products and services has important competitive implications. It means Amazon is potentially able to run the streaming service at a loss, provided it can create sufficient margins elsewhere in the service. This makes it easier for Amazon to put other streaming providers under pressure with low subscription charges. Amazon Prime is Netflixs nearest streaming rival with around 100m subscribers worldwide. 2. The broadcaster Wikimedia streaming as an add-on to their existing TV or cable TV offering. Such offerings can be without additional cost to the consumer, such as the Most broadcasters offeras an add-on to their existing TV or cable TV offering. Such offerings can be without additional cost to the consumer, such as the BBC iPlayer , or part of a subscription model, such as the HBO Now offering. Similarly to Netflix, these companies also compete by offering unique content. For free broadcasters, its a means of maximising the size of their audience whether for public service or for the benefit of advertisers. For the likes of HBO, its a way of tapping into customer segments they would otherwise not capture with their traditional cable TV service. 3. The big content giants In future, the market for streaming services is set to get even more contested as production giants move in. Im thinking particularly of Disney, which is on track to launch its own streaming service next autumn. Streaming providers already pay a substantial share of revenue in fees to major producers for the rights to blockbusters like Frozen or the Toy Story franchise, but Disney for one has decided it can do better. It will end its exclusive supply deal with Netflix once its own service launches. It has not yet said if the Star Wars and Marvel movies will be included, but Disneys move is clearly a major blow to Netflix. The road ahead Netflixs decision to bet on unique rather than licensed content looks like the right decision in this context. Yet it faces a challenging future. Apple is also due to launch a streaming service next year and has been spending upwards of US$1 billion on original content in preparation. Spotify and Hulu also recently announced a tie-up to offer a combined video and music streaming service. maximise the international appeal of the business. Commendable on one level, investing in more regional content that might not find mass appeal may be a problem for profitability. From Netflixs point of view, there is arguably little room for growth in the core US market, with almost one in every two households already signed up. It dwarfs Comcast and DirecTV, the largest respective cable and satellite providers in the market, who have little over 20m US subscribers each. Netflix is already putting more emphasis on productions in different languages tothe international appeal of the business. Commendable on one level, investing in more regional content that might not find mass appeal may be a problem for profitability. Netflix is experimenting with additional routes to market to increase its subscriber base in other ways. One is joining the bundlers via a collaboration with Comcast, in which Netflix is being offered as an added attraction to Comcast pay-TV subscribers. Netflix recently did a similar deal with BSkyB for the UK and Europe. We all love our birkenstocks and our flip-flops, but some occasions call for something with a little more substance. Whether you're looking for breathable shoes for work, comfort during the endless sightseeing on your holiday, or just something a bit different, here are some shoes perfectly designed for summer, that aren't sandals: Designed for running, these trainers are perfect for those of you working on your feet all day. Featuring great breathability and comfortable sole, the black colour makes these a subtle addition to an outfit and widley accepted in most workplaces. Another shoe ideal for work, this particular design of loafers is smart and elegant, as well as being versatile enough to go well with most outfits. These shoes can be worn with socks, tights or bare footed, making them great for all kinds of weather, but particularly the summer. They are cool, while still keeping your toes hidden - if that's what sends your boss reeling. If there's one brand famous for creating comfy summer shoes, Toms is it. These sweet little canvas shoes come in a plethora of colours and patterns for you to choose from (including some newly added vegan options). The brand is proud of its European heritage, making it an essential addition to European holiday packing. Boots are not top of our lists when we think about creating a summer outfit. However, some occaisions (such as summer weddings) require something a little more substantial on your feet. This pair have a peep toe and cutouts around the ankle, making them breathable, as well as incredibly feminine . The sock fitting hugs the shape of your foot in a material that is a little thinner than the usual faux leather fabric used on high-street ankle boots. A great summer buy. Ballet pumps should be another favourite in the summer months, but this pair from Dorothy Perkins are particularly good thanks to their microfiber fabric. Microfiber is often used in sportswear in order to help with perspiration, and so is ideal for the dreaded consequence of summer: sweaty feet and blisters - no thank you! This might be walking the line between sandals and shoes, but these, almost slipper-like, mules are gorgeous. The woven pattern is intricate and special, something I haven't seen much of on the high-street. Great for adding an unexpected pop to your summer wardrobe. For those of you still looking for a last minute graduation shoe, these are the ones. While subtle in colour, the slingback ankle makes them a little more unique to your average heel, and is flattering to wear. The block heel will also aid in balance, if you are looking for the confidence of a little extra height, but nothing too extreme. Another peep-toe ankle boot, but I simply could not resist including this absolute gem from River Island. These are even more dressy than the pair mentioned earlier on the list, with circle buckle and suede fabric making it a very classy shoe. Plus, the dark teal colour is a great addition to your summer palette, complimenting all that yellow and pink. Brogues have a reputation for being expensive, dull and unfashionable. However this aubergine pair from Clarks, while being on the expensive style, is a more fashionable addition to your workwear. The colour is to-die-for, while the platform sole adds some extra height and trend. The price is reflected in its comfortable sole and incredible quality - these will last you for years. If you're still not convinced, then this cheaper pair from Pull&Bear should appeal to your student budget, while the chunky laces carry a quirky and peppy vibe to your outfit. The laces may prevent these from being acceptable in the workplace, however these are definitely well suited to lengthy shopping trips and tourist activities abroad. Come on, @hm - you guys NEED to sort this out! H&M 16 (blue) vs Primark 16 (black). Not cool. pic.twitter.com/aHgDo5tkqm Samantha Bell (@SamanthaJBell) 21 August 2017 The store is currently adjusting their sizes in line with UK size measurements - meaning that a size 12 will now be recognised as a size 14. They sent the following leaflet with orders, informing their customers that the garment label will not match the size they ordered.This comes after complaints that H&M sizes were too small. Several H&M customers have gone viral with their complaints, in which they had to severely upsize after not being able to fit in their normal size. This has sparked many to compare H&M sizes with other brands, discovering a shocking discrepancy.To add to this, the clothing brand found themselves hugely under fire after removing the plus-size clothing section in their New York stores, further limiting their clothing options for people that often have to upsize in H&M. One customer, Rebecca Parker, received a lot of support after writing an open letter to H&M, expressing her disgust in trying on a pair of size 14 jeans that she failed to pull past one thigh, despite having always been a size 12-14. She issued a strong statement in her letter saying the more I thought about it, and those jeans, I realised it wasnt MY failure that prevented me from pulling on a pair of trousers, but yours." Parker didnt necessarily write the letter to complain about its impact on her, though it was undoubtedly an inconvenience at the very least. She voiced her concerns about the effects that H&M sizing would have on her younger self . She wrote that the girls may begin to feel an impact on their confidence for having to upsize in clothing. Image: Rebecca Parker She also highlighted the hypocrisy of the brands ethos, saying: Surely, in a shop in which I can buy a glittery pencil case with #GRLPOWER written on it or a t-shirt with SISTERHOOD emblazoned over the chest is the very place that should be glorifying women of every shape and size and making them feel amazing. "How can you expect women to feel empowered if the clothes you try to sell to them do the exact opposite? At the end of her letter, she pleaded with the brand to 'be honest' and not dismissive in their response. "If a pair of jeans says it is a size 14, please make it a size 14." Speaking to TNS, Parker told us that she was pleased with the response to her open letter. "Friends, friends of friends and strangers all came forward to say they had had the same experience, which made me even more determined to call H&M out for the inaccurate sizing." Parkers fight against this de-moralisation has not been easy. "The responses were very dismissive originally. I had to go back and forth to them numerous times. They used a number of interesting justifications; my favourite was that their sizing is based on a Northern European sizing which was bizarre considering that Britain is in Northern Europe last time I checked! "They clearly wanted to shirk responsibility for how they were making their customers feel, but my voice, along with hundreds of others, refused to go away quietly." This is seen as, by many, not only Parker as a great step forward into a positive change in all high street shops to actually make clothes that fit women properly and make them feel like the incredible goddesses that they are." "For every single person who has ever felt a bit rubbish in an H&M changing room, this victory is ours." The director of the previous two movies has been fired due to controversial tweets he made several years back surfaced. That escalated rather quickly. James Gunn has been fired from writing and directing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The move comes after several conservative personalities dug up tweets the director posted several years ago in 2008 that ranged from joking about pedophilia, rape, and monkeys (which I find shocking. SHOCKING that a man who originally started in Troma Pictures has a wide dark taste in humor. Yes, absolutely shocking that). The reason Gunn was targeted by conservatives folks was due to his massive dislike of Donald Trump. The tweets caught on with so much last night, that just a few minutes ago it was confirmed that Gunn has been fired from working on the third film of the Guardians franchise. Disney chairman Alan Horn posted a statement of the firing: The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James' Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsistent with our studio's values, and we have severed our business relationship with him. Gunn has since deleted his entire Twitter account prior to the announcement having this to say in his final tweet: Many people who have followed my career know when I started, I viewed myself as a provocateur, making movies and telling jokes that were outrageous and taboo. As I have discussed publicly many times, as I've developed as a person, so has my work and my humor. Gunn had been expected to be at SDCC today for a panel for something from Sony Pictures' in Hall H at 6pm (PST). It is still unclear if Gunn plans on appearing, or if the panel will even happen now. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was expected to be released in 2020, and Gunn had confirmed that he was writing on the script to it. That looks to be up in the air. We'll update you more on this developing story. The mystery Seeker from the trailer is revealed, a bit more of the plot is detailed, and JOHN CENA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Source: SAN DIEGO COMIC CON 2018 - BUMBLEBEE MOVIE PANEL Though I wasn't at the panel over for the Bumblebee: Movie at SDCC today (and who knows if one of the stars of the movie John Cena was), but here's the lowdown from the panel courtesy of TFW2005: - The Seeker in the trailer isn't Starscream it's-- Blitzwing?! Wait, then why is he red and not purple like he usually is in media form? Where are his shade eyes? I HAVE QUESTIONS on the choice of design and feel betrayed!! I SHALL BE AVENGED!!!! - All the villains are triple-changers. - John Cena was on stage, but of course not visible. - "Bringing humor and heart to Bee movie." Wait, the last films didn't--- oh nice joke there Travis Knight. HA! - Cybertron will be in the movie. - A Gobots reference? What the hell is it with the Gobot resurgence?! - Cena will play Agent Burns the human antagonist of the movie. - Shatter and Dropkick, the two other Decepticons in the movie, will offer to help the military in finding Bumblebee because he's a "criminal". - Footage of the forest scene with Bumblebee fighting Blitzwing is shown. - A scene featuring a hologram of Optimus Prime looking rather G1 is shown. - Peter Cullen popped up during the Q&A session of the panel asking Knight in his Optimus Prime voice of the lack of Optimus Prime in the movie and, "What does an Autobot have to do to get his own movie?" Bumblebee rolls out December 21st. We guess they had to deal with Godzilla first Source: RU's Views Neon Genesis Evangelion was a smash hit anime that aired in Japan starting 1995 and ran for 26 episodes. The series took place fifteen years after a cataclysm and featured the efforts of the shadowy organization NERV fending off aliens called "Angels". The cast of characters typically went through hell, not only from the aliens and battle, but also from within. The series came to the USA on video, and eventually ended up on Adult Swim/Toonami. Back in 2002, work began on the "Rebuild of Evangelion", a series of movies that would soft reboot the series and update it with computer graphics, and new settings and characters. The intent was to not only modernize the series, but to make it more accessible to non-fans. The first film in this new series, Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone. (Evangelion Shin Gekijoban: Jo in Japan) was released in 2007 in Japan, and 2009 in the USA. The second movie, Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance. (Evangelion Shin Gekijoban: Ha in Japan) was released in 2009 in Japan, and 2011 in the USA. Both of these films were eventually aired on Toonami. The third film, Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo (Q Evangelion Shin Gekijoban: Kyu in Japan) was released in Japan in 2012 and took quite a while to get to the USA 4 years, and took until 2016 to be released on video. The third film took a larger departure from the original story than the first two films, but the fourth film was to be largely a new story. The fourth film Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 (Shin Evangelion Gekijoban: :|| in Japan), was intended to have a 2013 release in Japan. However, the writer Hideaki Anno, fell into depression and could not work on story. Instead, Anno turned to Godzilla, working on the live-action Shin Godzilla film. Now it seems that the fourth Evangelion film is back in production and now has a 2020 release year. The current image on the official Japanese Evangelion page has a graphic noting the 2020 target year at the bottom: The production company for the movie, Studio Khara, tweeted the staff for the film, along with a CG model and sketch of Evangelion Unit 08: Let's hope that they can meet the 2020 deadline. Seven years is already a long enough wait. If they follow the same pattern as they did for the third movie, we may not be seeing the film localized until 2024. Yeesh. Here's Funimation's "coming soon" trailer for the third rebuild movie: 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 Fraudsters are using new tactics to plunder peoples bank accounts. They include social engineering and computer takeover fraud. When David Couldwell received a call on his landline from a BT engineer explaining that his internet router had been hacked and urgent security tests were needed, he was only too willing to help. But unbeknown to David, the call was not from BT. It was from a fraudster who, by taking control of his computer remotely, removed almost 7,800 from his bank and saving accounts with NatWest. Ring of truth: David Couldwell fell for the elaborate hoax The fraud David suffered is the new game in town. Such computer takeovers are increasingly used by criminals developing new ways of emptying victims bank accounts. Last year, we reported on a near identical case involving financial adviser Joanna Coull, who was also scammed out of 7,800. According to the latest data on banking fraud from trade body UK Finance, last year 121 million was removed from customers accounts by criminals who had gained unauthorised online access. This is a 19 per cent increase on the year before and more than double the figure five years ago. By contrast fraud losses overall are falling, according to UK Finance, with banks and card companies preventing 2 in every 3 of attempted unauthorised fraud. The report says that computer takeovers often result from criminals using social engineering tactics to deceive and manipulate people into divulging key details. The manipulation stems from the criminal purporting to be from a trusted organisation, such as a persons bank, the police, a government department or utility firm. In many cases, they ring claiming there has been suspicious activity on the victims bank account or there is an internet problem that needs fixing. For the problem to be resolved, the victim is asked for more details. This allows them to be tricked into giving away sufficient information for the criminals to gain remote access to their bank account and steal money. For David Couldwell, the trusted company was BT. Late last month, the 73-year-old was at home in Norfolk and took a call from a man claiming to be from the telecoms giant. The individual said the internet router which David and his wife Brenda use had been hacked and that he needed to carry out urgent tests. David, a retired computer manager, agreed and was reassured by the fact the caller proceeded to get the router to flash. But the fraudster had only just begun. He then asked if he could have access to Davids computer to ensure no hacker had managed to log into it. Tactics: Our story last year about how Joanna Coull was scammed It was then the caller said David would receive 500 by way of a thank you for the inconvenience caused. The call was transferred to BTs accounts department so it could effect the payment. David was asked to provide his account details and then instructed to log in to his NatWest account to check the money had gone in. When he looked he found that 5,000 not 500 had been deposited. He was asked to refund the overpayment to Wells Fargo Bank in San Francisco. When he queried this, he was told BT was a global firm and had accounts worldwide. By this stage, the fraudsters had taken control of his account not just the main one but three others including an Isa that he either held in his own name or jointly with Brenda. The 5,000 was not a deposit but money moved by the criminals from the other accounts to look as if it were a fresh credit. By the time David discovered this and alerted NatWest to the fraud, it was too late. The criminals had extracted 7,767 from his accounts. In the shadows: Last year 121m was removed from customers accounts by criminals who had gained unauthorised online access Initially, NatWest told David he would not get a full refund, holding him partly culpable. But last week it backtracked after The Mail on Sundays intervention and agreed to refund the full loss. David is grateful. He says: I am sure we would have had a long battle getting our money back had it not been for The Mail on Sunday. Maybe I should not have allowed myself to be tricked, but at the time I was convinced I was dealing with bona fide BT employees. He says the criminals tried the same scam on both his neighbours but failed. On Friday, NatWest said: We appreciate this has been a distressing experience for the Couldwells. We take our responsibilities seriously in preventing fraud and remind customers to remain vigilant against scams. It added: Customers should never give anyone remote access to their computer and not divulge security details to someone over the phone. They should decline and report it to their bank immediately on a phone number they can trust. Katy Worobec, at UK Finance, said: Criminals have become adept at impersonating legitimate organisations such as banks and utility companies to trick people into giving away their bank details. Never let someone else have access to your computer remotely, especially if they have contacted you via an unsolicited phone call. BT said it was working with law enforcement agencies to bring fraudsters to justice. Financial consultant Tom Patrick got the shock of his life this month when he was woken early one morning by the police ringing his doorbell. They told him his car had been badly damaged in a hit and run accident half an hour earlier while it was parked outside his flat. The offending driver had fled the scene, though he had left his own wrecked vehicle behind. Unsettling as the incident was, no one had been hurt and Tom was relaxed because he knew the accident was not his fault as he had been safely tucked up in bed. Shock: Tom Patrick was penalised when a driver ran away after smashing into his parked car But he was to get a second rude awakening. As most innocent victims of hit and run drivers discover, he was 'rewarded' with a sharp rise in his annual motor insurance premium. It is one of the stark injustices of the insurance industry that blame-free victims pay the price of a prang in this way. Even if they do not claim, perhaps because damage is minor, their premiums still rise. When Tom, who lives in Battersea, South West London, contacted his insurer Admiral to arrange repairs, he was told he would have to pay the garage 850 the excess he had agreed when he took out the policy. An excess is the sum a driver must pay towards any claim. Tom, 25, says: 'It was obvious the incident was not my fault so I was surprised to have to pay the excess.' But more financial pain was to come. Just a fortnight before the episode he had received a renewal quote from Admiral because his annual cover was due to expire on July 14. The new premium had come in at an acceptable 708. But after the hit and run Admiral's quotations department contacted Tom again to inform him that his no-claims bonus which he had built up over four years was lost and his new premium would be bumped up to 1,125. Tom says: 'I could not believe it how unfair that I should be punished so harshly for someone else's mistake.' When The Mail on Sunday contacted Admiral on Tom's behalf, the insurer said it recognised the timing was unfortunate with both an excess for the repairs and a higher premium to meet. It added: 'We are currently chasing the other driver's insurer for a response and will pursue them for our outlay for the claim. This would normally include the customer's excess. But due to the circumstances of the claim and as a goodwill gesture we will now waive the excess and allow his no- claims bonus to stand.' Despite Tom's no-claims bonus being reinstated, the refreshed renewal premium offered was 12 per cent higher than the original quote at 793 rather than 708. Vanishing act: The offending driver had fled the scene, though he had left his own wrecked vehicle behind Admiral says: 'Non-fault incidents are something we consider when calculating a renewal premium.' It argues that those with a non-fault claim in the previous year go on to have 30 per cent more claims than customers without suggesting they have higher than average exposure to everyday driving risks such as driving in the rush hour or accident black spots. This type of sneaky premium increase is common practice in the industry with innocent drivers punished for others' poor driving. The Mail on Sunday has long pressed insurers to take a fairer stance on unreasonable surcharges. James Daley, of consumer group FairerFinance, says: 'From October the insurance distribution directive says companies will have to act in their customers' best interest. Let's hope things change for the better.' HOW TO MANAGE COSTS Drivers who are a victim of a motoring incident just before they renew their policy can struggle to meet the unexpected extra costs. Like Tom, they are faced not only with an excess to pay, but also two increases to their premium because of the lost no-claims bonus and the 'enhanced' premium. This can put a severe dent in their wallet. Graeme Trudgill, of the British Insurance Brokers' Association, says the payment of an excess can sometimes be a temporary nuisance. He says: 'The insurer will often try to get the excess back at the same time as recovering its own costs. If it is successful, they usually refund the policyholder. Flashback: How we previously covered the treatment of victims of so-called 'no-fault' accidents 'If it turns out the fault is the other party's, then any no-claims bonus will probably be reinstated and the insurer should recalculate the premium.' If the excess is not repaid, policyholders who have legal expenses cover as part of their motor policy can arrange for lawyers to chase the culprit driver's insurer. Even with a claim pending it can make sense to compare the cost of cover elsewhere at renewal as many insurers accept customers mid-claim. Trudgill says: 'If you change insurer keep the new provider updated about the claim so it can recalculate your premium if you are found not to have been at fault.' Drivers tempted not to report incidents to insurers and arrange repairs themselves can be in for a shock because some companies will respond by invalidating cover. Incidents can come to insurers' attention if the third party involved decides to make a claim against you perhaps for whiplash. If money is tight, monthly payments can help spread the cost of motor insurance. But the price will be higher overall than if you pay a one-off lump sum for the year, as the insurer is effectively providing cover without you paying the full cost immediately. When hardline Brexiters talk blithely about a no-deal scenario where the UK operates under World Trade Organisation rules, you really do wonder whether they have lost the plot. Either they have no idea of just how dysfunctional an organisation the WTO actually is particularly with Donald Trump in the White House or they are being wilfully blind to its defects. The WTO, in its present incarnation, dates back to 1995, but its roots are in the global economic architecture that was built to secure peace and prosperity post-Second World War. More than 70 years on, though, the strains and tensions within the WTO are all too evident among the 164 member countries. Your country needs you: Usually, the WTO looks to America for leadership, but that has not been forthcoming from Donald Trump It is meant to be a bulwark against the trade disputes and protectionism that blighted the world economy after the Great Depression of the 1930s but it is now facing an existential crisis as Trump tramples over all its most cherished principles. This week the organisation was the subject of an agonised editorial in The Economist, which may seem arcane, but trade has a huge potential impact on all of our jobs, pockets and lives. In order to progress, deals need unanimous agreement from all members, which is tricky enough in normal circumstances, let alone with a protectionist president in the White House. Usually, the WTO looks to America for leadership, but that has not been forthcoming from Trump. The reverse: he has used a loophole known as Section 232 which allows countries to impose trade restrictions if there is a risk to national security in order to slap tariffs on aluminium and steel. The US is also threatening to neuter the WTO by blocking appointments to its appellate body, which arbitrates trade disputes, so that it risks being unable to function after next year. Trump has already made abundantly clear that he sees no special relationship on trade with the UK, and as a small nation on our own we will be more vulnerable to collateral damage in his trade wars. The EU has put in place provisional anti-dumping safeguards to stop European markets being swamped with what the industry estimates could be as much as 20 million tons of imported steel that would have gone to the US. Post-Brexit, faced with protectionist actions by Trump, it could be much harder for the UK to mount a solo defence either through the WTO or other means. There are separate issues vexing the WTO, namely the gulf between mature and developing economies on a range of issues including agriculture, the environment and pharmaceuticals. Regardless of the rights and wrongs of Brexit, it is quixotic to imagine the WTO is the solution. ..................................................................................................................................... At a high level event on UK-China relations last week at the Institute of Directors, an economics professor from a leading Beijing business school openly mocked the UK Government. Dr Leslie Young, from the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, was greeted with applause and a nod from Jaguar Land Rover's German boss Ralf Speth when he pointed out how bad it all looks seen through Chinese eyes. If investors lose confidence in the UK because of the political maelstrom, our credit rating is likely to fall and government debt will become more expensive to service. This is a non-trivial consideration, because the public finances are on an unsustainable path no matter what happens politically, because of our ageing population. The Tories are in such disarray that firms and investment managers are already braced for the possibility of a Corbyn government. Again, whether all of this is right or wrong is beside the point: either way, it is deeply worrying. Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below. Ms P.S. writes: I hired a car from Avis in Coventry and used it for four months with no problems. Then the car was stolen along with my house keys and everything in the car, including my daughter's new 850 pram. I informed the police and the car was recovered in London the next day. The thief was arrested and charged. I had insured the car through Avis and a month later the company took 885 from my NatWest Visa card without my permission, leaving me overdrawn as I had also had to pay for a replacement pram and new locks at home. I wrote endless letters to Avis and NatWest without reply. NatWest has now told me I have run out of time for reclaiming the 885. Confusion: Avis's bill included charges for refuelling, a one-way fee and damage done when the car was stolen You did all the right things. You were insured, reported the theft to the police and even went to court as a witness when the thief was prosecuted and convicted though he absconded. So what was the 885 supposed to pay for? It has not been easy to match up various Avis charges, some of which were justified and others not. I did find Avis had already credited 58 back to you. What I ended up with was charges for the car rental itself, damage to the car, refuelling and a one-way fee. The rental was correct and came to 338. But there was no way you could or should be held responsible for damage caused by the thief when the car was stolen. Similarly, I do not see how you could reasonably be charged for the cost of the fuel it took to recover the car from London and get it back to Coventry. The oddest bill of all was the one-way fee charged by Avis for picking up its own car from the police in London and driving it back to the Midlands. All of these charges added up to 399 and Avis has now credited this sum in full to your Visa card. A warrant was issued for the arrest of the thief and he was caught. It turns out he has been committing similar offences for years and in 2013 he was jailed for 16 months. He is now back in prison thanks to your evidence. 66 for extra leg room? Pull the other one Footing the bill: BA charged extra but couldnt guarantee space Mrs H.S. writes: My husband and I believe we have been mis-sold seats by British Airways. We wanted more comfortable seating with extra leg room for our flight from Heathrow to Australia and were happy to pay an extra 66 each for seats 29J and 29K. This was after being told by BA that these were bulkhead seats giving extra legroom. But at Heathrow we were told they were not bulkhead seats. BA says we are not entitled to our money back because of its terms and conditions. It is never possible for any airline to give every passenger the seat they want. But if you paid extra it raises the question of what you got for your cash. If the extra leg room did not exist with the seats you booked, it looks as if you got nothing for your 66 apiece. I asked British Airways to look into this. It is true the airlines terms and conditions say it cannot promise passengers they will always get the seat they want. But the company operates a paid-for reserved seat scheme which was introduced after passengers requested it. So what went wrong? Well, it turns out that one possibility is that on a different type of aircraft those seats would have provided the extra space you wanted. BA told me there had been a misunderstanding with one of its booking agents when you reserved your seats. It has now refunded the 132 you paid and added 5,000 Avios points for you to use against future flights, an upgrade, hotel or car hire. The buck should stop with South Bucks for council tax In the red: The council never made contact despite the arrears growing Ms S.K. writes: Last year, I had fun and games with my local authority, South Bucks District Council. After much disagreement I set up a direct debit to pay council tax. Now, after just getting a Pin for my bank account, I have found that though the direct debit was set up, the council never requested the money from my Nationwide account and I owe them more than 2,200. The council blames me, saying I should have checked my bank account every month. I do not know why the council never contacted me as the arrears grew. I cannot afford 2,200 on top of the council tax due for the current year. While I would never discourage anyone from checking their bank account regularly, it is a bit much for the council to blame you for its failures first to collect its tax by using your direct debit and then its failure to check why it was not getting the tax it expected. The start of your problem goes back a couple of years when you were in dispute with the local authority over the amount of council tax you should pay. You lost that argument and later made an arrangement to pay the arrears that had accumulated and then to pay current taxes as well. South Bucks District Council has told me: Unfortunately, due to human error, the arranged amount was not correctly coded as a direct debit at that time, meaning payments were not taken and the standard reminders were not produced, for which we apologise. The authority has now reconsidered and settled for a payment of 1,279 as a lump sum which you have managed to pay. That leaves 935 of arrears, plus the normal council tax for this year which you are paying by instalments. Not such a Smart move by Barclays Ms J.W. writes: I am so disgusted with Barclays. For many years I have been a customer and share investor with the bank. Last year it changed its share dealing business into Smart Investor not very smart at all. Since then issues take months to resolve and phone calls last at least half an hour. I tried to buy shares, but it would not let me. I was informed this was because my husbands address was in New Zealand which we left four years ago. I was told to go to a branch and change the address. However, the branch could not help me because the postcode did not fit its criteria. The young woman at the branch had never heard of Smart Investor. I have received a flood of complaints about Smart Investor since it was launched. It was supposed to allow customers to see their bank account and share deals in one place online, but many people found it did not work. When they tried to switch to a different investment company, transfers that should have taken days stretched for months. Barclays has admitted your incorrect address was Smart Investors oversight. One official told me: It does not reflect the level of service she should rightly expect. You have now received an apology, a refund of 25 in charges and a further 250 as a gesture of goodwill. You have now opened an account with Halifax. Holidaymakers routinely overpay when buying currency and there are many ways to get stung. Often this is because of costs buried in poor exchange rates, time constraints when rushing to get away, misplaced loyalty in high street providers or uncertainty about how to get a better deal. Follow our guide to how exchange rates work and where to get the best currency deal. I swapped : Now Jess Hargreaves uses a prepaid WeSwap card to get a better deal on currency WE WERE CHARGED 60 JUST TO USE BANK CARDS Jess Hargreaves learned the hard way how to get a better deal on currency. On a trip last year to Lisbon in Portugal, Jess, 24, and her boyfriend Blake, paid around 60 in charges when using their bank cards for spending and withdrawing cash from ATMs. These fees comprised non-sterling transaction fees, cash withdrawal fees and interest. Jess, who lives in Acton, West London, and works for an investment firm, says: It was a shock. We had no idea how bad the charges were from using our cards abroad until we got back. It is such an easy way to waste money and the worst thing is most people have no idea. It was our fault for not checking but we decided never to do that again. Jess swiftly got a WeSwap prepaid card following a recommendation from a friend. She has since used it for trips to Australia and Bali and says she saved a small fortune as a result. Cash withdrawals of 200 or more are free while the fee for converting currency is capped at two per cent. Jess adds: Having the right card means that when I book a holiday, travel money is one thing I can now check off my to-do list straight away. How are you being ripped off? In paying to swap pounds for holiday money, it is not always easy to ascertain whether you are getting a good deal or not. Marketing hype about commission-free currency regularly dupes customers into buying, masking a poor exchange rate. Some also wrongly believe their bank will give them the fairest rate as a reward for loyalty over many years. No way. In reality, even if your bank gives you a slightly better rate as a valued customer, it may still offer you a poor deal compared to alternatives. Meanwhile, many travellers who believe they have left it too late to buy currency at a competitive rate rely either on their bank or a 'sucker's bureau' one located at the airport. The latter will inevitably offer a poor value exchange rate because they are the last chance saloon for those jetting off without overseas currency already in their wallets. Using the wrong cards abroad and racking up fees, as well as being bamboozled about which currency to pay in while away, also add to the currency rip-off that millions of people experience on holiday every year. The different exchange rates A mid-market exchange rate is the benchmark for all currency deals. This is the mid-point between the rates at which a trader wants to sell and a buyer wants to purchase. It might also be referred to as the 'interbank' or 'spot' rate. Derek Taylor, director of cash currency provider Travel Money Club, says: 'The spot rate is the exchange rate you will find advertised on Google or Yahoo. 'But it is not a rate the average consumer can buy currency at.' High street banks and foreign exchange bureaux load this rate for consumers making it worse to cover costs and make a profit. Rather than paying close attention to the exchange rate a confusing set of digits at first glance many people fall for the 'zero commission' marketing ploy. This simply means there is no additional fee on top of the one already buried in the exchange rate offered. On a swap of 1,000 to euros, a handful of commission-free high street providers checked by The Mail on Sunday on one day last week showed a difference of 37 euros between the worst and best rate. This gap widens significantly when compared to the best rates available online or elsewhere. The difference is even starker for other currencies. MasterCard, Visa and American Express offer competitive exchange rates for credit and debit cards. But card providers such as the banks may add their own additional charges on top of this exchange rate when customers use them usually around 3 per cent. Taylor adds: 'Banks who issue these cards may apply their own foreign transaction fees, so many cardholders will not get the exchange rates advertised by the card network.' Other companies competing with the banks will waive such fees and use the wholesale rates of the card network offering some of the very best deals on currency conversion. Adding to currency confusion is how exchange rates differ online and on the high street. This difference may even exist within the same company such as the Post Office where rates even vary between branches. So, the rate you see online might not be the rate you get in-store. Rip-off: By far the worst place to change your money is at the airport Similarly, a company offering decent rates on holiday cash might charge a poorer rate for currency loaded on to a prepaid card. Finally, the mid-market rate is heavily loaded at the airport where you are sure to find the worst walk-up exchange rates. Modern way to swap Anyone keen on maximising the returns on their British pounds should consider modern alternatives to the high street known as currency disruptors. Some of these companies use the mid-market rate and then charge a small fee on top. This often works out cheaper for customers. They include WeSwap which loads currency on to a prepaid card and TransferWise which offers a 'borderless account' and debit card for travel. Travel Money Club is another new way to order holiday cash. It charges members 60 a year or 71.88 for those who pay monthly, but 'guarantees the best exchange rates'. After placing an order, holiday money is delivered to your door the next day by Royal Mail Special Delivery. If you do not save at least the sum of your membership each year compared to high street exchange rates, you will be refunded the difference. The club targets frequent travellers or those exchanging large sums as you need to buy 2,500 worth of currency to benefit from the 'moneyback guarantee'. Taylor adds: 'One customer recently saved 280 on a single Hungarian forint order compared with the high street while another saved 228 on Swiss francs. Last week 35 per cent of customers who used our guest feature to test drive the service would have saved their annual membership fee on their first order. It just shows how much margin is hidden in the exchange rates you find on the high street.' Tips for 'offliners' Online is where you will find the best deals on currency which is of no use to someone who does not have the internet, lacks the confidence to use it or simply does not want to shop via the web. Confusing: Rates for currencies vary hugely across the high street Options are more limited for 'offline' shoppers but first ask local banks for their exchange rates. Then compare at places such as John Lewis and M&S both of which offer the same exchange rate in-store as they do online. If you can use a computer but do not want to pay via the internet, then you can reserve currency at a better rate online then pay for it when you pick it up in person. Top travel fund tips Give yourself plenty of time to apply for a new card or account as it could take as long as a fortnight to arrive. Check your credit score before applying for a new credit card to see how likely it is that your application will be accepted. Free-to-use websites such as ClearScore and noddle will show your score. Compare rates and fees for using your existing cards abroad if you only have time to take one already in your wallet. Contact the providers of each to ask about transaction costs, purchase fees and cash withdrawal charges. Research ways to pay in the country you are visiting. Hannah Maundrell, editor of comparison website money.co.uk, says: 'Some countries are pretty much cashless societies and other places you might travel to will not always accept cards everywhere. Do not travel without checking otherwise you could end up paying lots in fees for withdrawing cash or getting stuck with poor exchange rates.' Say no to paying in pounds while away. Overseas restaurants, shops and even cashpoints may offer you the chance to pay in sterling but you should insist on paying in the local currency. Otherwise a process known as 'dynamic currency conversion' stings your wallet. The foreign retailer can set their own exchange rate to convert their currency back to pounds, and it is unlikely to be cheap. Ian Strafford-Taylor, chief executive of travel money provider FairFX, says: 'Dynamic currency conversion is nothing but a hyper-inflated rip-off, duping tourists into paying unnecessary fees and accepting unfavourable exchange rates. Holidaymakers are being fleeced by 490 million each year.' The average washing machine uses 70 litres of water per cycle and commercial machines use far more. With drought a growing issue and water prices rising worldwide, these figures matter for both households and businesses. Xeros Technology has developed a way of reducing water usage in washing machines by up to 80 per cent and the group has just signed a major licensing deal with Sea-lion, one of the leading manufacturers in China. Xeros shares are 69p and should rise as the company completes more such deals in commercial and domestic markets around the world. Xeros was spun out of Leeds University in 2006 and has spent much of the past 12 years working on its pioneering technology and trying to turn a great idea into a profitable business. Now, chief executive Mark Nichols finally seems to be making meaningful progress. Clean start: Xeros chief executive Mark Nichols finally seems to be making meaningful progress The technology revolves around so-called XOrbs, small round polymer beads that last for a thousand cycles and mechanically remove dirt, stains and stray dyes. Water usage is substantially reduced, less detergent is required and the machine can operate at lower temperatures. Clothes and other textiles last longer and garments even need less ironing when washed with these little baubles. The benefits have been proven, but big manufacturers take a lot of convincing, so Rotherham-based Xeros spent years selling washing machines with its technology built in. Top hotel such as the Hilton in Universal City, Los Angeles, now use these machines and have seen their water bills, detergent costs and machine replacement rates come down significantly. At heart, however, Xeros is a technology company, not a washing machine distributor. So Nichols intention is to move towards a licensing model, signing deals with big manufacturers and receiving a fee every time they sell a machine. The China transaction is the first such contract and was introduced last week at a Chinese laundry exhibition. Other deals are expected this year and beyond. The groups technology has other applications. Firefighters uniforms, for example, cost about 2,000 each. Washing them with XOrbs helps them last longer and removes toxins, which should boost firefighters health and wellbeing. Tanneries are also starting to use the technology to cut the amount of water they consume and the effluent they generate when producing leather. Nichols is even in talks with jeans makers to see how XOrbs can help denim production. Midas verdict: Xeros joined Aim in 2014 at 123p. The shares hit 300p in 2015 and again last year. They have slumped since then, as shareholders have grown tired of waiting for the business to deliver licensing deals and move towards profitability. Profits are unlikely to materialise for the next three years but new deals should be forthcoming, and with increasing frequency. At 69p, the shares are a buy for adventurous, long-term investors keen to back a British technology pioneer. Traded on: Aim Ticker: XSG Contact: xerostech.com or Instinctif Partners on 020 7457 2020 Battling: Television presenter Noel Edmonds Lloyds Banking Group should be forced to stop using its 'By Your Side' advertising slogan because of its treatment of small firms, according to a nationwide opinion poll commissioned by TV star Noel Edmonds. Therium, the company that funded Edmonds' litigation against Lloyds, paid for a survey of 2,006 UK adults, conducted by ComRes. The TV star says he was a victim of a crooked banker at the Reading branch of HBOS, which was taken over by Lloyds during the financial crisis. He is planning to sue the bank for 70 million. Edmonds, 69, has complained to the Advertising Standards Authority about the 'By Your Side' slogan. He considers it hypocritical because of the frauds at Reading where small firms had their assets stripped and Lloyds's subsequent treatment of victims. Asked what their decision would be if they were in the ASA's shoes, 57 per cent of those polled said they would ban the slogan. The opinion poll is the latest skirmish in Edmonds' dispute with Lloyds, which has seen him set up a radio station and target celebrities who have appeared in its recent advertising campaign about mental health issues. He was embroiled in a Twitter spat with Countdown star Rachel Riley who said on Friday she had given her 8,000 fee to charity and was 'proud to have taken part'. Lloyds said: 'We commission a quarterly survey of 1,800 customers to monitor trust. The independent survey, run by Ipsos Mori, shows 75 per cent of our customers trust Lloyds Bank. We are still waiting for Mr Edmonds to file his legal claim. If he does file his claim, it will be contested.' It is as quintessentially Scottish as haggis, tartan, midges and mist. Legend has it that Mary Queen of Scots invented the modern version, though it is said to date back to medieval times. Millions of us love to munch petticoat tails, rounds, or fingers of shortbread but now its bakers have been hit by a huge rise in the price of butter. The butter spike has prompted Walkers Shortbread, which has been making the crunchy biscuits on Speyside for more than a century, to complain it has faced one of the most challenging years since its founder Joseph Walker first fired up his ovens back in 1898. Traditional: Boss Jim Walker does not want to compromise quality The company, which exports a large proportion of its biscuits, tarts and oatcakes, also said it faces uncertainty over Brexit. Managing director Jim Walker grandson of founder Joseph has worked in the family business for more than 50 years and said the current conditions were among the most difficult he has experienced. The wholesale cost of butter has soared from under 2,000 per ton in spring 2016 to more than 5,000 per ton last month, forcing him to put up the prices of his shortbread twice and he says even that wasn't enough to make up for his increased costs. 'This is absolutely the biggest spike I have ever seen,' he told Financial Mail. Butter accounts for almost 70 per cent of the cost of his shortbread dough, so the sharp hike has had a severe impact on the margins of Walkers, which exports to more than 100 countries. Profits at the company based in the picture postcard town of Aberlour, North East Scotland fell by 60 per cent to just over 5 million last year, despite growing sales as customers tucked into more biscuits. Biscuit bonanza: Walkers Shortbread has been making the crunchy biscuits on Speyside for more than a century Walker said he is not contemplating switching away from butter to a cheaper alternative such as vegetable fat to reduce production costs because he does not want to compromise on taste. 'Our customers know that when it says Walkers on the packet, it's made with pure butter,' he said. The company has boasted of making 'the world's finest shortbread' for 120 years. Last year, sales overall rose by 3 per cent and export revenues increased by 7.5 per cent. Export sales accounted for more than 40 per cent of the total last year, with 10 per cent of revenues coming from the European Union. 'I think the whole country is hoping that commerce can continue with as few interruptions [from Brexit ] as possible,' Walker said. Taste: Butter is central to shortbread production at Walkers The company said in a report last week, 'We must be vigilant' ahead of March 2019 and manage costs 'to protect the company'. Employing around 1,600 staff many of them working at Aberlour, it is a lynchpin of the local economy. By many standards, the firm is still making healthy profits and is debt free. Walkers and other shortbread-bakers are not the only trade to be affected. Other delicacies such as croissants and brioche have also gone up as butter prices have recently risen to record highs due to falling milk production. That has been combined with more demand from nations such as China where butter was not traditionally on the menu. 'Far Eastern countries that have historically consumed very little now can't get enough of it,' Walker said. Recent research also suggests that butter, previously linked with heart disease and obesity, should be making a comeback as a healthy food, if eaten in moderation. The price of a 250-gramme own-brand packet of butter in Tesco and Asda has increased from 1.09 in February 2017 to 1.45 today. Producers including leading firm Arla, which owns the Lurpak and Anchor brands have warned of further significant hikes due to Brexit. A report this month by the London School of Economics found that butter and cheese could become luxury items after Brexit due to price rises caused by delays from the farm to the table. The report highlighted other costs such as increased bills for veterinary checks on cattle. Britain does not produce enough dairy goods to meet demand from families, meaning we are heavily reliant on imports the vast majority of which come from the European Union. Tesco is set to launch a chain of discount shops to take on cut-price German retailers Aldi and Lidl at their own game. The supermarket giant has earmarked as many as 60 existing stores to transform into a low-price chain expected to operate under a new brand name. Sources speculated that the stores may be called Jack's a reference to Tesco founder Jack Cohen because an obscure Tesco subsidiary recently tried to register the name as a trademark. However, it is not clear whether approval has been granted and the new name remains a closely guarded secret. Counter-attack: Scores of existing stores are to be rebranded Tesco, which declined to comment on the plan, has begun advertising for staff and is offering 9 an hour more than its standard wages. The new stores could open as early as September. Aldi and Lidl have doubled their share of the UK grocery market to almost 13 per cent in five years. Tesco and its rivals have tried to fight back by launching new product ranges, cutting prices and closing poorly performing stores. Now Tesco has decided that if it cannot beat them, it will join them. Putting his tanks on the discounters' lawn is the boldest move yet by Tesco chief executive 'Drastic' Dave Lewis, who took over in 2014 after a 250 million black hole in profits emerged under his predecessor. Lewis has since steered the supermarket chain back to health. Profits have bounced back to more than 1 billion and he recently forged an alliance with French group Carrefour. One source said Tesco could open 50 to 60 stores in the first wave. In some areas it has closed stores to be refurbished in readiness for the discount launch. Locations are said to include London, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Liverpool. Analyst Steve Dresser, of market researcher Grocery Insight, said: 'It's difficult to take on Aldi and Lidl, but if Tesco can get it right this could run and run.' He said Tesco was busy combing through its existing 3,400 stores to find the best locations for the project. These are believed to include Metro town-centre convenience stores that have so far failed to respond to Lewis's medicine. Strategy: Aldi and Lidl have been eating away at the market share of traditional supermarkets Dresser said: 'There is an opportunity to look at any stores still struggling and say, 'let's see if we can try something else here rather than closing them and losing them to a competitor'.' He pointed out that Tesco had introduced a number of own-brand discount labels including its 'farms' brands, Miss Molly's and Hearty Food Co, adding that these had already helped to narrow the price gap with Aldi and Lidl. The discount chain move is likely to be scrutinised by Tesco investors concerned the stores will steal custom from its main chain. But Bryan Roberts, global insights director at marketing group TCC Global, said: 'It's better to eat your own lunch than stand by and have someone eat it for you.' He said Tesco should 'avoid a complete facsimile of Aldi or Lidl and come up with something different because otherwise it's not going to be compelling enough to win shoppers back from the Germans'. Roberts added: 'The key thing is scale. They need to go at it hammer and tongs otherwise it will never escape the shadow of their main business.' A top Japanese official has issued an ominous warning to Theresa May's Government, saying a 'no-deal' Brexit would be 'impossible for us to accept'. Shinichi Iida, a minister in the London embassy, said Japanese manufacturers are holding off on committing to the UK with new investments due to the uncertainty and that potential new investors are steering clear of Britain. Iida who represents 1,000 Japanese firms with British operations including car giants Nissan, Toyota and Honda said it was 'imperative' that the UK and EU reach an agreement on Brexit before a meeting of the European Council in October. Looking ahead: The EU's chief negotiator dismissed large swathes of Theresa May's proposals on Brexit The EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, last week dismissed large swathes of the Government's proposals on Brexit, as set out in a White Paper. 'Japanese manufacturing companies, including automakers, are seriously concerned with the current circumstances,' Iida told The Mail on Sunday. 'They have been avoiding expansion and investment for the future because of the uncertain circumstances surrounding Brexit. That needs to be lifted.' On the prospect of a 'no-deal' scenario, he said: 'The bottom line for us is clear. There are some people who claim including the Prime Minister that no agreement is better than a bad agreement. That would be impossible for us to accept.' Iida said it was 'a disappointment' that little progress was made on Brexit at a European Council meeting in Brussels last month. Eighteen years after the guns fell silent following Ethiopia\s bloody border war with Eritrea, the frontier town of Zalambessa is a quiet, rubble-strewn outpost crossed by a road to nowhere. But change could be on the horizon after the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea agreed to re-establish relations, raising hopes that trade will resume and towns like Zalambessa will boom again. "There\s no question," said Tirhas Gerekidan, a hairdresser in the town. "If the road opens, things will change." Both small and large businesses in Ethiopia, one of Africa\s fastest-growing economies despite widespread poverty, would be expected to benefit from the border re-opening. But analysts warn that Eritrea, which under President Isaias Afwerki has become one of the world\s most closed societies with an unwelcoming business climate, may not share the economic spoils of the new era of engagement. "The potential for this accord to revitalise its economy is huge," said Seth Kaplan, a professor at Johns Hopkins University in the United States who has studied Eritrea\s economy. "The great unknown is what will Isaias do." Eritrea, once a province of Ethiopia that incorporated the single nation\s entire coastline, fought a decades-long independence war before voting to leave in 1993. The decision landlocked Africa\s second-most populous country although Ethiopia continued to export through Eritrean ports until a border dispute erupted into war in 1998. \Systematically bulldozed\ Eritrean troops poured south into Zalambessa which is the last Ethiopian town on the main road between the countries\ capitals. Eritrea then "systematically bulldozed" it, the local Catholic bishop wrote in a 2003 letter to the United Nations Secretary General. "There wasn\t anything left. All we found were rocks that weren\t even a metre in size," said Taema Lemlem, the owner of a cafe in the town. A peace treaty ended fighting in 2000, but hopes that the frontiers would re-open were scuppered when Ethiopia rejected a UN-backed effort to definitively settle the border question two years later. The road from Zalambessa to Eritrea is blocked by the military, and the once-bustling trade hub where cactuses sprout from conflict-damaged buildings is eerily quiet. Barred from Eritrea\s ports, Ethiopia shifted its sea trade to neighbouring Djibouti, investing heavily in a railway and other infrastructure as it became one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. But facing soaring debt and a foreign exchange shortage, Ethiopia\s new prime minister Abiy Ahmed announced in June that he would privatise key state-owned companies including Ethiopian Airlines and Ethio telecom. Like slavery Getachew Teklemariam, a consultant and former Ethiopian government adviser, said that while the economic reforms and warming relations were not necessarily linked, they could both reinvigorate the economy. "The rapprochement relieves resources from the military buildup that has been going on over the years," Getachew said. Eritrea responded to Ethiopia\s rejection of the UN border settlement with an extensive crackdown on dissent that in turn deterred investment. Repressive policies stifled its emerging entrepreneurial class, dissidents were arrested and an indefinite military service programme was mandated that drew comparisons to slavery from the UN. "Eritrea has done almost everything it can to keep foreign investment out," Kaplan said. Hundreds of thousands of Eritreans have fled abroad, partly to avoid conscription which many migrants say contributes to poverty. \Listening to gunfire\ Isaias insisted the mandatory national service was necessary to deter Ethiopian aggression, but has not commented on the scheme\s future since the thaw with Addis Ababa. Kaplan suggested Eritrea may not change its hardline policies or become more welcoming to foreigners, but could instead seek investment for two of its most promising sectors ports and mining. Getachew added that trade between Ethiopia and Eritrea had been fraught even before the war. The smuggling of Ethiopian contraband through Eritrean ports and Asmara\s manipulation of its nakfa currency strained relations and contributed to the border conflict. "My fear is now, even after all these years, our regulatory capacity is not really strong enough to avoid those sorts of malpractice," he said. And even though Ethiopia is eager to access Eritrea\s more cost-effective ports of Assab and Massawa, Getachew warned that both are believed to be run-down after trade dried up following the war. In another sign of the rapid rapprochement, Ethiopia\s foreign ministry spokesman Meles Alem this week that roads to Assab were already being repaired to enable rapid use of the port. Residents living along the frontier are hopeful that cross-border trade will begin to flourish and occasional shootouts between Ethiopian and Eritrean troops will end. "While other people were listening to music, we were listening to gunfire," said Taema, the cafe owner. "Being open is better than being closed, and peace is better than war." SOURCE: AFP Hundreds of rebel fighters and their families arrived Saturday in northwestern Syria after their evacuation from a southern province under a deal with the regime, an AFP correspondent said. Air strikes by regime ally Russia, meanwhile, on a southern jihadist holdout killed six civilians, a Britain-based monitor said. The evacuations from Quneitra province, which borders the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, came after a Russia-brokered agreement struck earlier this week for rebels to cede the territory to the Syrian regime. Rebel elements who opposed the territorial handover were given the option to leave. On Saturday afternoon, state news agency SANA said preparations were underway to ferry a second wave of people from Quneitra to the north of Syria. In the morning, a first wave of around 50 buses carrying opposition fighters and their families reached the Morek crossing on the edge of northwestern rebel-held Idlib province, an AFP correspondent at the scene said. Near the parked buses in Morek, a woman and five children waited by a cluster of small suitcases, the eldest among them carrying bottles of water and a blanket. Men with light weapons slung on their backs shared a bite to eat and some water as they stood around waiting. Several wore scarves wrapped around their faces. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said the first convoy to reach Morek transported around 2,800 people. They were to be transferred to other buses run by local NGOs, before travelling further north to temporary camps in rebel-held areas in Idlib and Aleppo provinces, the Britain-based monitor said. "More than half of the evacuees are women and children," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said. \Six dead\ in air strikes The evacuations follow a deadly regime offensive on Quneitra, a thin, crescent-shaped province that lies along the buffer zone with the Israel-occupied Golan to the west. The Russia-negotiated rebel surrender also saw fighters hand over heavy and medium weapons and the return of government institutions to the area. Syrian forces launched their southern offensive on June 19, targeting the province of Daraa on the border with Jordan, before turning their attention to neighbouring Quneitra. With a mix of military power and negotiated surrenders, President Bashar al-Assad\s troops this month captured more than 90 percent of Daraa, where protests against him first erupted in 2011. Regime forces backed by Russia have continued their campaign in Daraa, aiming to retake areas still controlled by Islamic State group jihadists, which are not party to the Russia-backed withdrawal deals. On Saturday, Russian air strikes killed six civilians in that IS-held pocket, the Observatory said. The deadly raids came just a day after strikes in the same area took the lives of 26 non-combatants including 11 children. On Saturday, clashes between loyalists and jihadists in the area also killed 13 regime fighters, including eight in a car bombing. Syria\s conflict has killed more than 350,000 people and displaced millions since it began in 2011 with a brutal government crackdown on protesters. SOURCE: AFP Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the leading international financial hub in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, region, has signed a MoU with China Everbright Group (CEG). CEG, a Chinese state-owned enterprise that operates across banking, securities, insurance, funds, asset management, futures, and investment management, is exploring collaboration opportunities relating to Chinas Belt and Road initiative. In addition, the agreement will support the Groups business development across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region. The partnership will enable CEG to benefit from the Centres strategic location and world-class platform to manage its investments and access growth opportunities in the region, remarked Arif Amiri, the chief executive of DIFC Authority after inking the deal with Ge Haijiao, the deputy general manager of CEG. The signing of the partnership agreement comes following a meeting between Essa Kazim, Governor of DIFC and Li Xiaopeng, Chairman of CEG. Commenting on the tieup, Kazim said: "Dubai and Chinas continued collaboration is driving economic growth and social impact in the region. Through our collaboration with China Everbright Group, we believe that DIFC is perfectly positioned to facilitate significant opportunities as part of the Belt and Road initiative." "We are proud of the record growth that Chinese institutions have achieved through the Centre, and are looking forward to supporting the Group as it expands its global footprint," he stated. Xiaopeng said: "The synergies between China and the UAE continue to go from strength to strength. Dubai, in particular, has proven to be the ideal location from which we can access the potential of the fast-growing emerging markets in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region." "Our agreement with DIFC is the natural next step in our global expansion strategy, and we are confident that the Centres credible and enabling infrastructure will help us to build our business by tapping into vast regional opportunities," he added. DIFC is already home to Chinas four largest banks, which have successfully upgraded their banking licences from subsidiaries to fully-fledged branches. In addition, the regional headquarters of large Chinese corporations, including PetroChina, Shanghai Electric Investment, ZTE Corporation, New Silk Road Company and CMEC Thar Mining Investments, are currently based in the Centre.-TradeArabia News Service Leading ratings agency S&P Global Ratings has affirmed its 'AA/A-1+' long- and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Kuwait with a stable outlook. The stable outlook reflects S&P expectation that Kuwait's public and external balance sheets will remain strong over the next two years, backed by a significant stock of financial assets. "We expect these strengths to offset risks related to volatile oil prices, Kuwait's undiversified economy, and rising geopolitical tensions in the region," it stated. "We could lower the ratings if we lower our assessment of monetary flexibility in the country. We could also lower the ratings if Kuwait's domestic political stability deteriorated, or if geopolitical risks were to significantly escalate," said S&P in its report. The ratings agency could raise the ratings if political reforms enhanced institutional effectiveness and improved long-term economic diversification, although we think such a scenario is unlikely over the forecast horizon. The ratings on Kuwait continue to be supported by the sovereign's high levels of accumulated fiscal and external buffers. The ratings are constrained by the concentrated nature of the economy and regional geopolitical tensions. Kuwait derives around 55 per cent of GDP, more than 90 per cent of exports, and about 90 per cent of fiscal receipts from hydrocarbon products, said the report. Given this high reliance on the oil sector, we view Kuwait's economy as undiversified, it stated. The sharp fall in oil prices since 2014 caused some deterioration in Kuwait's income levels as well as in its fiscal and external metrics, similar to other large oil exporters. However, large fiscal and external assets that were accumulated owing to past oil windfalls have afforded policymakers the space to phase in fiscal reforms gradually and counter the decline in the hydrocarbon sector by increased spending under the Kuwait National Development Plan, particularly on infrastructure projects. According to S&P Global Ratings, the economic activity would pick up over the next four years after contracting in 2017. "We expect rising oil production from the second half of 2018 and public investment to drive real GDP growth of 2.8 per cent on average over 2018-2021," he added. Despite higher oil prices of $55/bbl in 2017 relative to the previous year, Kuwait experienced a large contraction in real GDP growth of 2.9 per cent, said the ratings agency in the report. The decline was mainly due to a 5 per cent decrease in oil production implemented under the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreement,, it added. On the 2018 outlook, S&P Global Ratings said it expected growth to return to positive territory in 2018 on the back of some recovery in oil production expected in the second half of the year (following an agreement reached by Opec on June 22, 2018, and steady public spending on infrastructure projects. Higher oil prices in 2018-2019 and the delay of the introduction of value added tax (VAT) will also likely support private and public consumption, it stated. Over the medium-term, the ratings agency anticipates that Kuwaiti oil output will rise to over 3 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2020, from around 2.7 million bpd currently. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation plans to raise oil production capacity to 4 million bpd by 2020, said the report. This ambitious target would be supported by recent news that Kuwait and Saudi Arabia plan to resume oil production at their shared neutral zone from 2019, it added.-TradeArabia News Service Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB), leading provider of Sharia compliant integrated financial solutions, said it has signed a partnership agreement with Dadabhai Travel, one of the leading travel agencies in the kingdom. This comes on the heels of the Banks relaunch of AlThuraya Privileged Banking Services, which offers a selection of new, unique features as part of its ongoing commitment to the continuous development of its products and services, said a statement from BisB. The deal was signed by Dalal AlQais, the general manager of Retail Banking of BisB and Shahnaz Al Qaseer, the chief operating officer of Dadabhai Travel, in the presence of a number of officials from both the companies, it added. AlQais said: "At BisB, we are always seeking to cater to the needs of our customers, by offering access to a wide range of exclusive services that simplify their daily life." "This alliance will allow us to offer our Al Thuraya account holders special travel related deals, promotional offers and exclusive holiday packages," she noted. Al Qaseer said: "For more than 35 years, Dadabhai Travel has continued to strengthen its position as a leader in the tourism industry of Bahrain." "We are proud to partner with BisB, the leading provider of Sharia compliant integrated financial solutions, through which we will be able to offer an unprecedented range of services by virtue of our first-rate, experienced consultants at Dadabhai Travel," she added.-TradeArabia News Service The domain turkeytelegraph.com may be for sale. Please click here to inquire | By Patricia Fanning Long before Jay A. Perman, MD, began a career as a physician or became the president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), he pondered another path. I grew up in Chicago in an Orthodox-Conservative Jewish family, he told writer Simone Ellin, who was preparing a story for the Baltimore publication Jmore about five Jewish university and college presidents. A group of rabbis had approached Permans widowed mother, Rose, about the possibility of her son becoming a rabbi. They offered to pay tuition to Hebrew high school. I had always wanted to be a doctor, but we talked and thought about it a lot, whether to become a doctor or a rabbi, Perman says in the July 2018 issue of the magazine. He chose medicine. UMB President Jay A. Perman, MD, is shown in his office in this and a cover photograph by Justin Tsucalas to illustrate the article A Class of Their Own in the July 2018 issue of Jmore magazine. A pediatric gastroenterologist, Perman continues to practice weekly at his Presidents Clinic, where he treats young patients and teaches UMB students the concepts of team care. In that way and in his role as president, Perman said he gets to be like a rabbi by performing acts of tikkun olam (repairing the world). The article goes on to discuss aspects of Permans leadership since he became president in 2010 that help UMB and its graduates serve the public good. It notes that many of these graduates, from six highly ranked professional schools and an interdisciplinary graduate school, are in human services. The article describes outreach to West Baltimore through the Office of Community Engagement and pending expansion of the Community Engagement Center. And it devotes ample attention to another pet project of the president's, the UMB CURE Scholars Program. The program offers ongoing enrichment and mentorship to students in three West Baltimore middle schools and is poised to shepherd the first group of entrants into ninth grade at several selective high schools. The program was conceived as a response to the shortage of African-Americans in science, technology, math, and engineering (STEM) careers and the health disparities tied to that gap. The UMB CURE Scholars are the youngest to participate in the National Cancer Institutes Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences (CURE) program, the magazine notes. As a teenager, Perman decided he wanted to be a doctor. Perhaps many of the CURE Scholars will aim to be like him or like the other UMB researchers and health care providers who have become their role models. I hope Im still around to see the first of these kids walk across the medical school stage, he told Jmore. The article, A Class of Their Own, by Aliza Friedlander and Ellin, with photography by Justin Tsucalas, also profiled Jose Antonio Bowen, PhD, MA, president of Goucher College; Elliot Hirshman, PhD, president of Stevenson University; Ronald J. Daniels, JD, LLM, president of Johns Hopkins University, and Fred Bronstein, DMA, MM, dean of Peabody Institute. 'Honest data' key to successful environmental outcome United Nations, July 21 (UNI) The United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA), to be held in Kenya next March, offers an opportunity for each country to present honest data and propose innovative solutions for environmental challenges, especially for sustainable consumption and production, the Assemblys President has told UN News. I ask every Minister of Environment of our Member States to actively take part in the preparation process, talk about problems very openly, disclose all relevant information because sometimes its not pleasant, especially for politicians, to admit that they have environmental problems, such as pollution, (and) overuse of resources, said Estonias Minister of Environment, Siim Kiisler, who will preside over the 11-15 March gathering in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. He said that disclosing information is crucial because formation of effective environmental policies and making the economy greener hinges on collecting, presenting, exchanging and analysing data. Conditions around Yemens Hudaydah still very bad United Nations, July 21 (UNI) United Nations migration agency staff in Yemen say the key port city of Hudaydah remains a difficult environment for the delivery of aid to thousands of people displaced by heavy fighting this week. The situation is very bad and were doing our best to provide them with temporary shelter and support for the time being, said Stefano Pes, IOM Yemens Officer in Charge, noting that agency staff and partners are working in a difficult environment to deliver food, and non-food items, shelter kits and good quality tents. Hudaydah the primary gateway for food and humanitarian aid for a population on the verge of starvation has been racked by fighting between Houthi rebels, who control the port, and government forces backed by a Saudi-led military coalition. GIS labs established at Mini Secretariats of District HQ in Haryana Jind, July 21 (UNI) The Geographic Information System (GIS) labs established at Mini Secretariats of District Headquarters in Haryana has been proved to be an effective measure to monitor the activities of each department through satellite. In this direction, GIS lab has been established at Jind with the assistance of District Administration and Haryana Space Application Centre. After establishing the lab, work on the planning of future projects of various departments was started in the lab. The data of all departments is being digitized through satellite images. The specialty of this lab is that the projects being executed by the departments could be monitored through satellite. After completion of data, there would be no need to visit different departments for any information. In the first phase, the lab has started collecting data of property tax of Municipal Council, Jind. After completion of data, all details such as name of property owner, contact number, area of the property, whether the property is located in residential area or commercial area and photo of the property would be made available online. Also, the location of property and available public facilities in the area would be easily available. Not only this, authorised and unauthorised colonies could also be identified easily through satellite. On this pattern, the same work would be carried out in Narwana Municipal Council, and Safidon and Julana Municipalities. While buying property, people would get to know whether it is authorised on not. DFC, Biological E finalise financing arrangement for Quad vaccine initiative 25 Oct 2021 | 10:30 PM Hyderabad, Oct 25 (UNI) Taking forward the Quad initiative on vaccines agreed to during the in-person summit in September, the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and Biological E. Limited on Monday unveiled the expansion of Biological E.s vaccine manufacturing facility in Hyderabad and finalized a US government financing arrangement formalizing $50 million to expand the companys capacity to produce COVID-19 vaccines. see more.. Shami abused, Facebook moves swiftly to shield him 25 Oct 2021 | 10:05 PM New Delhi, Oct 25 (UNI) Facebook has moved swiftly to shield Indian bowler Mohammad Shami from the abuse on social media following India's humiliating defeat at the hands of Pakistan in T20 World Cup match and vowed to take action against those violating its community standards. see more.. Crime Branch searches at 37 locations of Chandra brothers, former Tihar Jail officials 25 Oct 2021 | 10:00 PM New Delhi, Oct 25 (UNI) The Delhi Police Crime Branch on Monday conducted raids and searches at thirty seven locations in Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan of Unitech owners Ramesh Chandra, Sanjay Chandra and Ajay Chandra, including former senior Tihar Jail officials, police said. see more.. Measures in place to take down abusive comment against cricketer Shami, says Facebook 25 Oct 2021 | 9:22 PM New Delhi, Oct 25 (UNI) Amid volley of abuses on social media targeting bowler Mohammed Shami following India's crushing defeat to Pakistan in T20 World Cup, Facebook on Monday said that it had introduced measures to remove the comments that directed abuse at the cricketer. see more.. Tripura scholar seeks Bangladesh study centre in Tripura Agartala, Jul 21 (UNI) To make relation stronger in the edge of ASEAN to pursue Act East Policy of India, development practitioners of Tripura proposed to set up Centre for Bangladesh Studies at the Tripura University to facilitate an academic platform for the scholars of both India and Bangladesh. While sharing the ideas in Delhi Dialogue hosted by Ministry of External Affairs yesterday, Assistant Professor of Rural Development and Rural Studies of Tripura University Dr Jayanta Choudhury advocated that multilateral relationship between Indo and Bangladesh is pre-requisite for harnessing the potential of ASEAN. He opined that Act East Policy could be made instrumental for development of South East Asia. Many banks have reported impressive profit growth in the first half off 2018. - Photo cafef.vn Nghiem Xuan Thanh, chairman of State-owned Vietcombank, said that by the end of June, his bank surpassed half of the profit target set for the year. In the first half of this year, Vietcombanks pre-tax profit rose to more than VND7.72 trillion (US$340 million), up 52.7 per cent year-on-year and equivalent to 55.2 per cent of the banks annual target. Vietcombanks other financial indicators of net interest margin (NIM), return on average asset (ROAA) and return on average equity (ROAE) also improved sharply against 2017. Accordingly, VCBs NIM reached 2.76 per cent, ROAA 1.24 per cent and ROAE 22.71 per cent. Pham Manh Thang, deputy general director of Vietcombank, said that taking into account Vietcombanks business performance in the first six months and its positive prospects, the bank is expected to exceed all targets set for this year. The results are thanks to a shift in the banks investment focus away from wholesale banking services and towards the retail banking segment, while non-performing loans (NPLs) were tamed below the permitted threshold of 3 per cent, Thang added. Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) also reported acceleration in performance in H1 with a strong profit surge of 24.7 per cent to VND4.05 trillion, equal to 54 per cent of its annual target. Bank for Industry and Trade of Vietnam (VietinBank)s profit in H1 also increased by 8 per cent year-on-year to VND5.2 trillion, following more efforts put into tackling NPLs. Le Duc Tho, general director of VietinBank, said during the first half of this year, VietinBank repurchased its entire bad debts that it previously sold to Viet Nam Asset Management Company (VAMC). Tho said that his bank was on track to achieve its target set for 2018, especially in capital mobilisation, which is higher than the average growth rate of the banking industry. Business performance of private commercial banks in the first half of this year also witnessed impressive results. Vietnam International Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VIB) reported pre-tax profit of VND1.15 trillion, up three times from the same period of 2017. Contributing the most to the profit growth of VIB in H1 was the operation of retail banks with revenue increasing 100 per cent from the same period last year. VIBs credit quality in the period also improved with its provisioning costs maintained at a low level of VND234 billion despite a 8.94 per cent credit growth. VPBanks after-tax profit also surged sharply by 34 per cent against the same period last year to more than VND4.37 trillion. By the end of the second quarter, the banks return on asset (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) were at 2.46 per cent and 22.36 per cent, respectively. Tien Phong Joint Stock Commercial Bank (TPBank) reported pre-tax profit at VND1.02 trillion in H1, a rise of 121 per cent year-on-year and exceeding its six-month target by 12 per cent. As of the end of June 2018, TPBank also had total assets of more than VND126.5 trillion while its charter capital increased to VND6.718 trillion, up VND876 billion. Economist Nguyen Tri Hieu attributed the banks impressive profits in the first half of this year to the high credit growth, the improvement from the retail banking segment and the countrys high economic growth. Hieu forecast that banks profits would rise further in the remaining months of the year. A recent survey by the State Bank of Viet Nam also showed that a majority of commercial banks expect an upward trend in their business in the remaining months of the year. According to the business sentiment survey, which covered domestic and foreign commercial banks operating in the country, 76.1 per cent of respondents expected better results in the third quarter, while 82.6 per cent hoped their business performance throughout 2018 would improve further compared to last year. Of this, 20.7 per cent and 32.6 per cent anticipated significant improvement in Q3 and the entire year, respectively. Eighty-eight per cent of the respondents predicted their pre-tax profit in 2018 would rise compared to last year, helping the average growth rate of the entire banking system to reach 19.05 per cent, higher than the 18.2 per cent forecast in the previous survey conducted in May. Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) and UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (R) arrive at the presidential palace in the capital Abu Dhabi on July 20, 2018 AFP/KARIM SAHIB Xi met UAE Vice President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, who is also ruler of Dubai, and Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan on the second day of a three-day visit. "We have substantial political and economic agreement and a solid base of projects in energy and technology sectors and infrastructure," Dubai's ruler said in a tweet. "More than that, (we have) a strong political will to start a larger phase of cooperation," he added. China and the UAE already agreed oil and trade deals in the runup to Xi's visit. The two delegations signed more "memorandums of understanding and agreements" on Friday, Crown Prince Mohammed said on Twitter. This takes the total number of memoranda of understanding and deals struck this month to 13, official UAE news agency WAM said. A strategic cooperation framework between state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) and China National Petroleum Company was among the deals signed on Friday, ADNOC said. The agreement "outlines opportunities for possible future collaboration across ADNOC's upstream and downstream value chains and support for China's growing energy needs", ADNOC said in a statement. ADNOC announced on Thursday it had awarded two contracts worth US$1.6 billion (1.4 billion) to BGP Inc, a subsidiary of CNPC, for a seismic survey in the emirate. The survey will search for oil and gas in onshore and offshore sites covering an area of 53,000 square kilometres (20,500 square miles). Also on Thursday, the UAE's state-owned DP World announced an agreement between the two countries to build a new trade zone in Dubai. The project is part of China's trillion-dollar "One Belt, One Road" infrastructure initiative, an ambitious plan to revive the ancient Silk Road trading routes with a global network of ports, roads and railways. In a further sign of strengthening ties, Dubai-based real estate developer Emaar Properties on Wednesday announced plans to build the Middle East's largest Chinatown in the UAE. Abu Dhabi is the Chinese president's first stop on a tour which also includes Senegal, Rwanda and South Africa. June was the deadliest in the Mediterranean in recent years with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reporting some 564 deaths or disappearances. (Photo: AFP/Giovanni Isolino) The salvoes follow a fractious EU summit in June which agreed to set up "disembarkation platforms" outside the bloc to process migrants after Italy's new populist government said it was closing its ports. "Italy does not want to be the only country where migrants saved at sea by its own naval units disembark," Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi said in a letter to EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini. The Italian position and its implications were discussed at a meeting on Friday by member states in Brussels where diplomats said countries agreed to a "strategic review" of the EU's own naval operations. Italy commands the European military operation Sophia launched in June 2015 following a series of deadly shipwrecks in the Mediterranean. "Operation Sophia is maintained," an EU diplomat involved in the talks told AFP on Friday. "The aim remains to reach a consensus on future action within a European framework and in an orderly process," the source added. Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj meanwhile rejected the EU proposal for asylum processing centres in his country, saying: "We are strictly against Europe officially placing illegal migrants who are no longer wanted in the EU in our country." Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia were also approached by the EU but have already refused to host such centres. "We also won't agree on any deals with EU money about taking in more illegal migrants," the Libyan premier told Germany's Bild newspaper. Sarraj said European leaders should instead put pressure on migrants' origin countries to stop them embarking on their journey in the first place. Most of the migrants are from the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has written to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker saying his country would no longer take in migrants plucked from the Mediterranean until other member states accepted some of them. Over the last decade, the Italian coastguard has coordinated the rescue of hundreds of thousands of migrants off the coast of Libya, in many cases pulling them from the water themselves in treacherous conditions. But as of June, they have been ordered to transfer calls for help and reports of boats in distress to the Libyan capital Tripoli. 'AD HOC SOLUTIONS WON'T WORK' Juncker wrote back to Conte saying "these ad hoc solutions will not be feasible in the long term," according to a copy of a letter seen by AFP. But Juncker agreed to try and identify nations that would shelter rescued migrants until a definitive framework was agreed upon as to who would take charge of them. June was the deadliest month in the Mediterranean in recent years with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reporting some 564 deaths or disappearances, despite the fact that overall departures have dropped sharply since the summer of 2017. Under a controversial deal with the EU, Libyan coastguards intercept migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean. But the UN has slammed the policy as "inhuman", noting that the migrants are simply brought back to "horrific" detention centres in Libya. The European Court of Human Rights also opposes the repatriation of migrants to Libya on the ground that they could face rights abuse. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, will discuss in the coming weeks proposals for controlled holding centres for migrants in member states and cooperation in rescue efforts, spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud said earlier this week. The Uber office in Viet Nam closed after Grab acquired the formers operations in Southeast Asia. The deal allowed Uber to retain 27.5 per cent of Grabs shares.-VNA/VNS Photo Doan Tung After Ubers exit, Vietnamese apps TaxiGo, Vivu, T.net, Xelo and Vato were set up to compete with Grab. But they have failed to attract as many passengers, mostly due to lack of advertising and promotions. After Uber left, Grabs rates increased, especially during peak hours, holidays or during bad weather, according to many passengers in HCM City. Tran Thi Kim Hong, 50, of HCM Citys District 4, who uses Grab to go to work every day, said: They no longer offer discounts as much as before, with prices rising 10-20 per cent, and even 50-80 per cent during peak hours. The peak period now is one hour longer compared to the past period. The rates also went up during non-peak hours, especially in areas where there are fewer cars, she said. Grab drivers have complained about high commission rates, nearly 20 per cent for veteran drivers, and more than 28 per cent for new drivers. Some drivers said they were working more hours but earning less money, while others who took out loans to buy a car said they were driving 10-12 hours a day so they could pay back their loans. Local apps Despite complaints from drivers and some passengers about Grab, the company still retains the most market share. Vietnamese companies have invested less in advertising and have had fewer promotions. In addition, since many of them do not have enough cars and drivers, passengers often have to wait for a long time. In some areas, for example, passengers have complained that it was difficult to get in touch with Vato, which received a US$100 million investment from Phuong Trang Tourism Service and Transport JSC in a bid to compete with Grab. Although the prices for T.net and Xelo are reasonable, passengers have also complained that it was difficult to reach them by phone. To attract drivers, many Vietnamese businesses have exempted the commission rate for drivers during the initial period, and then later take a low commission rate of no more than 15 per cent. However, due to a limited number of passengers, the local businesses cannot find enough drivers. Drivers for the Vietnamese businesses have also complained about changing policies. As soon as revenue increases, the companys commission rate usually goes up as well, they say. As of the end of 2017, Grab had attracted US$2 billion worth of investment from partners to serve the Southeast Asian market. In May, Toyota raised $1 billion for Grab. Meanwhile, most Vietnamese ride-hailing app businesses must rely on their own resources, and have not called for investors. Nguyen Xuan Thuy, of the Division of Transport under the Ministry of Transport, said: What they (Vietnamese passengers) need is good service at a reasonable price. The more competitive the market is, the more customers will benefit. Its important that Vietnamese businesses recognise their shortcomings to improve their services, he said. Economist Bui Quang Tin said Vietnamese ride-hailing apps should take advantage of Ubers exit to expand their market share and offer more choices for local commuters. Those who provide the best service will be the winners, he said. As of April 8, all Uber rides had shifted to the Grab app, which meant that former Uber drivers had to either join Grab or stop working. In the deal when Grab took over Uber operations in Southeast Asia, Uber was allowed to retain 27.5 per cent of Grabs shares. Mumuso may be fined VND100 million ($4,440) for its violations. Photo: kenh14.vn Trinh Anh Tuan, deputy director of the MoITs Competition and Consumer Protection Authority, said that Mumuso Vietnam will be handled in accordance with Decree No.185/2013/ND-CP, stipulating the fines for administrative violations for producing and trading in fake goods, as well as in accordance with Decree No.71/2014/ND-CP, stipulating the sanctions on violations of the Law on Competition. Thus, according to the Decree 185, Mumuso Vietnam is set to face the maximum administrative fine of VND100 million ($1,440). Many domestic consumers consider the fine to be too small compared to Mumusos violations and not high enough to threaten the firm. Several days ago the MoIT announced the results of its inspection of Mumuso Vietnam which investigated the extent to which the company complied with the laws of Vietnam between early 2016 and May 31, 2018. The inspection found that, contrary to the companys claims, 2,257 out of Mumusos 2,273 goods (99.3 per cent) are imported from China, with the rest being bought from domestic suppliers. The inspection also found that the firms MUMUSOKR brand was registered by MUMUSOKR Limited at 601,47 Sejongdaeero 23-Gil, Jongro-Gu, Seoul (South Korea). However, MUMUSOKR Limited has authorised Mumuso Shanghai (China) to use the MUMUSOKR brand all over the world. According to an MoIT representative, Mumuso has violated the law on consumer protection by providing insufficient information related to its products origins. In addition, the information on its products relates to South Korea, but there are no legal documents to prove they were produced in South Korea. In March 2018, the Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee also placed a fine of over VND322 million ($14,185) on Mumuso Vietnam due to the company conducting business in illegally imported goods, including illegal cosmetic goods. This was in accordance with Decree No.176/2013/ND-CP, stipulating the imposition on administrative offences in cosmetic, drug, and medical equipment segments, as well as with Decree 185/2013. According to Pannir Chelvam, senior director of Keppel Land Vietnam, there are many different criteria for green development within the real estate sector. Among these are reducing energy and water consumption, minimising a projects carbon footprint and environmental impact. Real estate developers aim for sustainable development All of these criteria are having been applied in our projects in Vietnam, to ensure sustainable development in the real estate sector, Chelvam said. In the Sustainable Development Seminar themed Green Strategy held in Ho Chi Minh City on July 19, Palm City and Saigon Centre were held up as an example of a project applying green criteria in Vietnam. The seminar was organised as part of the strategy Developing Sustainable Real Estate The seminar was organised as part of the strategy Developing Sustainable Real Estate, along with a range of annual seminars and events to increase awareness for people on environmental protection, organised by Business Review, DKRS Vietnam and GreenViet. According to a report released by the United Nations, the construction and development of real estate projects is one of the highest contributors to environmental problems. Across the world, construction accounts for one third of the total energy used, releasing a quarter of the total CO2 and consuming 12 per cent of the fresh water supply. According to Tran Ngoc Chinh, chairman of the Vietnam Urban Development Association, real estate projects continually face challenges in harmonising between urban development and the protection of natural resources. The development in Sapa and Dalat are examples of a development strategy where the effects on the environment have not been considered, Chinh said. Sapa and Dalat have gone from peaceful, quiet cities to huge construction sites full of cranes, concrete and a mass of buildings. Green building meanwhile is an inevitable trend that has been strongly developing both in the region and globally. It aims to achieving high efficiency in energy and material use, minimise negative impacts on the environment and limit risks to human health and the natural environment. According to Pham Lam, general director of DKRA Vietnam, one of the three factors which property buyers consider when buying a property is the landscape around their projects. Two others are high security and facilities. This factor is even more important for vacation properties. Green factors are presented in all aspects of the project such as a green environment, green landscape and green management. To date, Vietnam has around 150 constructions and buildings which have being certified with green certifications. According to Do Huu Nhat Quang, founder and director of GreenViet, the high fee, lack of support from the government and low awareness from developers are three major factors that hinder buildings in Vietnam from obtaining green certifications. Leaders of Societe Generale and PV Power discuss about the co-operation opportunity in Nhon Trach 3&4 thermal power plants Societe Generale, a French multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Paris, expressed its interest in offering commercial loans for the two projects. Previously, the prime minister approved the proposal of PV Power to take over the two projects from PetroVietnam after collecting the opinions of ministries and relevant authorities. According to the plan, the two thermal power plants will cover an area of 34 hectares and have the total investment capital of VND33.3 trillion ($1.46 billion), with generation capacity of 750-800MW each. Nhon Trach 3 will occupy nearly 16.6 hectares, while the second power plant will be spread over an area of 17.4ha (excluding the complex area, surface water, and public service buildings). They will use liquefied natural gas (LNG) imported from the Thi Vai storage terminal. Nhon Trach 3 is expected to come into commercial operation in 2020, while Nhon Trach 4 is due for 2012. PV Power will spend VND9.99 trillion ($438.29 million) of its equity and VND23.31 trillion ($1.02 billion) from loans developing the two projects. The cooperation with Societe Generale will help PV Power address concerns about the ability to arrange capital for the two projects. Entering Vietnam in 1989 with two representative offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Societe Generale supplied commercial loans for numerous large-scale projects for Vietnam in general and PetroVietnams projects in particular, including Song Hau 1 thermal power plant and Nghi Son Refinery. The new board members of Sabeco The 2018 general meeting of Sabeco this morning is a significant one, as it marked the debut of Thai Beverage as Sabecos controlling shareholder. As expected, four representatives from the Thai beer firm were elected to the seven-person board, and Koh Poh Tiong, who hails from the Singaporean affiliate F&N, was named Sabecos chairman. Vietnams Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), who owns 36 per cent of shares, had two seats in the board. Lastly, Nguyen Tien Vy, deputy head of the Vietnams Beer Alcohol Beverage Association, became the only independent member in the board. According to chairman Koh Poh Tiong, Sabeco will focus on slashing expenses to improve its business efficiency. Vietnams top brewery will collaborate closely with Thai Beverage to reduce material costs, as well as devising plans to trim logistics fees. The Thai investor will also restructure Sabecos complex web of subsidiaries and affiliates, which amount to 36 companies in total. We will keep the Saigon Beer brand, as it is a national pride of Vietnamese people, and bring the brand to overseas markets via our region-wide distribution system, said Koh. Thai Beverage previously garnered backlash in Vietnam as some accused the investor of erasing Vietnams heritage beer brand. The new board at Sabeco includes four members from Thai Beverage, two from Vietnam's MoIT and one independent member At the meeting, Sabeco decided to scrap its foreign ownership limit, paving the way for the MoIT to divest its remaining stake there. There is no concrete timeline yet for the state divestment. In 2018, Sabeco aims to reach VND4 trillion ($174 million) of post-tax profits, down by 19 per cent from 2017 due to anticipated tax hikes. The dividend payout ratio is slated to remain the same at 35 per cent. Sabeco is an important part of the pan-ASEAN strategy at Thai Beverage As part of the revamping efforts by Thai Beverage, Sabeco will also replace its inspectorate committee with an internal auditing team, following in the footsteps of dairy giant Vinamilk. Koh Poh Tiong reckoned that this move will help Sabeco reach international standards of corporate governance. It is noteworthy at 18 per cent of Vinamilk is also owned by Thai Beverage, via its affiliate F&N. Michael Chye Hin Fah, another representative of Thai Beverage in Sabecos board, is concurrently a board member at Vinamilk. Last year, Thai Beverage noted that it would use F&N as the main tool for mergers and acquisitions within ASEAN. Following todays meeting of Sabeco, Thai Beverage is now controlling two of Vietnams biggest food and beverage firms, an important milestone in its quest to take advantage of ASEANs rising consumption and growing middle class. Sabeco 2018 profits set to be lower than last year The backing of ThaiBev has not helped Saigon Beer, Alcohol and Beverage Corporation (Sabeco) to overcome fierce competition from foreign breweries, forcing Sabeco to decrease ... Sabeco relents to Thai Beverage pressure for board presence Three foreigners, all of whom were allegedly nominated by Thai Beverage, will join the Sabeco management board at the coming meeting. Lawyer-talk: can and should Thai Beverage gain control of Sabeco now? Lawyers Luong Van Trung from the Vietnam International Arbitration Centre and Tran Thi Anh Tho from Lexcomm Vietnam LLC discuss whether Thai Beverage has the ... Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc ordered the implementation of online public services to benefit people and firms, Source: Government Office At Estonias e-Estonia showroom based in the capital city of Tallinns own Silicon Valley, IT expert Onnik Indrek showed off an electronic identity card, which, he said, can help him do almost everything in life. According to him, Estonia, known as one of the most advanced e-states of the world, is home to the most highly developed national ID card system in the world. Much more than simply a legal picture ID, this mandatory national card serves as a digital access card for every secure e-service in Estonia. The chip on the card carries embedded files using RSA 2048-bit public key encryption, which enable it to be used as definitive proof of identity in an electronic environment. The electronic ID card was introduced in 2002, and by 2015, more than 94 per cent of Estonian residents were carrying one. The ID card is the ultimate key, used in the real world as well as to gain secure access to a large number of services online. Many countries have tried to implement similar solutions. The card is used as a national ID card for legal travel within the EU and Schengen area, and as proof of identification for e-banking, telecom, and other private sector services. It can also serve as a customer loyalty card, library card, and public transportation card, Indrek said. In addition, it can be used for accessing all government services and data to check ones medical records, to file taxes, and also for picking up prescriptions, as a national health insurance card, as a drivers license, for digital signing, and for e-voting. I know that Vietnam also wants its citizens to have such cards in the future, Indrek went on to say. I believe that with its great potential in the usage of the internet and smartphones, Vietnam can achieve its goal. Great potential On October 14, 2015, the prime minister issued Resolution No.36a on e-government development in Vietnam. E-government is considered an effective mechanism for increasing government productivity and efficiency and a key enabler of citizen-centric services. However, despite the Vietnamese governments considerable investment in e-government, the results are still far below expectations. Vietnam is therefore learning from several nations, including Estonia, South Korea, and France, how to develop an efficient e-government system. Indrek said Vietnam could have an e-government system based on the effective use of the potential in the countrys extensive internet coverage and smartphone usage the same way used in the past by Estonia. According to the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), as of late June, Vietnam had over 123 million mobile phone subscriptions including 2G, 3G, and 4G services. Some 54.2 per cent of the countrys population are using the internet. According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Vietnam, Vietnam ranked 89th globally in e-government development in 2016, and this rank could improve if the government learns how to tap the potential of its internet usage. A recent UNDP survey of nearly 14,100 Vietnamese people conducted late last year showed that 37.97 per cent of respondents have an internet connection in their home, up from 31.34 per cent in 2016. Nearly 92 per cent use the internet less than five hours per day. Some 84.2 per cent read information on smartphones and personal computers, with nearly 58 per cent using smartphones. Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Minh Hong said that these numbers are quite favourable for Vietnams ambitions to successfully build an e-government system. Vietnam has many opportunities in developing its e-government system and improve its public services by applying digital-based solutions, as many nations like Estonia, France, and South Korea have done. Vietnam has also worked with these nations on its plans to develop an efficient e-government system, Hong said. However, the problem now is working out how to apply the lessons from these nations to Vietnam, and how to integrate data among ministries, agencies, sectors, and individuals into one integrated and shared system, according to experts. According to the Government Office, several results have been produced by the governments efforts to build an e-government system. Ministries and localities have applied IT in their systems to provide online public services for people and enterprises. They have dealt with many types of dossiers from entities such as the Ministry of Public Security (8.8 million dossiers), the Ministry of Industry and Trade (772,000 dossiers), the Ministry of Education and Training (270,000 dossiers), the Ministry of Transport (over 144,000 dossiers), Hanoi (225,200 dossiers), as well as the provinces of Lam Dong (110,625 dossiers), Ca Mau (95,000 dossiers), Thai Nguyen (91,200 dossiers), and Ha Nam (82,000 dossiers). Much remains to be done However, at a conference on Vietnams e-government development 2018 held in Hanoi last week, Do Thanh Huyen, expert in public policy of the UNDP in Vietnam, cited an example of how Vietnams efforts to build an e-government system are being slowed down. The UNDP in Vietnam sent a message to the peoples committees of many cities and provinces nationwide, based on the email addresses posted on their e-portals. However, one-third of the emails were returned immediately due to wrong addresses, another third were returned due to technical errors two days later, and the rest failed to get a response. The way for Vietnam to reach an efficient e-government remains a long one if this situation continues, Huyen said. Recently, at another meeting on e-government development in Hanoi, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc warned that the sluggish establishment of the e-government system will lead to low productivity and backwardness. Emphasising the significance of a national database, PM Phuc said that the problem lies with the negligence of some ministries, agencies, and localities, not a lack of resources. Administrative reform should go in tandem with IT application, he said, describing IT as a tool to realise reform targets. PM Phuc also agreed with the Government Offices proposal to establish a national committee on e-government systems by revamping the national committee on IT application in building the e-government system. According to Onnik Indrek from the e-Estonia showroom, only by effectively using the strengths of IT and the internet can Vietnam follow in the footsteps of Estonia and build a successful e-government system. Estonia has by far the most highly developed electronic ID system in the world, covering over 94 per cent of the population. It is successfully used by members of the public and in the private sector, allowing access to digital signatures, he told VIR. Currently, 99.8 per cent of all bank transfers in Estonia are performed online, making bank offices next to unnecessary, eliminating fraud and the fear of a grey economy. In addition, about 98 per cent of personal income tax returns are filed via the e-tax board, and around 99 per cent of medications are prescribed electronically. BEIJING, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Veteran Affairs and the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission have issued a joint circular to promote military-civilian relations across the country. The circular, issued as the 91st anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) approaches on Aug. 1, urged local governments and PLA units to organize educational activities, including visits to memorial halls of revolutionary history, performances, contests, and military camp opening days. It also asked local authorities to accelerate the establishment of military-civilian coordination mechanisms. PLA units are encouraged to help in remote and poor areas by playing a bigger role in poverty alleviation, medical assistance, educational aid, and road construction, farmland and water conservation, and living environment improvement in rural areas. The circular asked PLA units to be well prepared for disaster relief work in flood-affected areas. It also vowed to help demobilized military personnel find jobs and improve the employment situation of military spouses living with service members at military duty stations. Mytel is the 4th mobile phone network in Myanmar This is the fastest growth of subscribers Viettel has seen in any market around the world, including Vietnam, and is an achievement few telecom companies can match in the context of the slowdown in the global telecom industry. The Vietnamese market has in the past held world records for the fastest growth, but it still took Viettel one year to reach two million subscribers in the country. Recently, the company to reach two million subscribers in the fastest time was Halotel, Viettels Tanzanian operation, which took nine months. According to Nguyen Thanh Nam, Mytels general director, reaching two million subscribers is considered a milestone for Mytel, creating a large enough customer community to contribute to improving overall business results. Having a large customer base will enable Mytel to carry out promotion campaigns to attract new clients, he said. Before starting operations, Viettel had set itself a goal of signing up two to three million customers in 2018. However, within one month of starting operations (Mytel began operations on June 9), Mytel signed up two million subscribers and growth has remained rapid since then. 4G subscribers account for 70 per cent of customers. The reason for the success is that Myanmarese are excited to have a new mobile phone network that is good quality and offers a wide range of 4G services, cheap rates, plenty of attractive promotion campaigns, and numerous different services. In Myanmar, Mytel is the only mobile network to provide 4G services nationwide with 30,000 kilometres of fibre-optic cable, which make up 50 per cent of the countrys total cable infrastructure. Mytel has set up a nationwide distribution system with 50 stores and 50,000 sales agents, 70 per cent of which are in rural and remote areas. Mytel charges in 1-second blocks instead of 15- or 20-second blocks like its competitors. Along with its huge infrastructure and distribution system and ideal products, careful market research into the Myanmarese mindset and habits was another factor that has helped Mytel grow rapidly. One of its most effective promotion campaigns, based on diligent market research, has been Shaking the Amazing. It is a new and totally different technological experience in Myanmar. Customers install the self-care app and shake their mobile phones to receive bonuses on their Mytel smartphones, English scholarships, millions of GB of data, calling minutes and SMSs. The promotion campaign has created a youth movement that has never occurred before in Myanmar with 600,000 700,000 young people joining the campaign and giving their phones 6 7 million shakes per day. Viettel Group reported profits in eight of its 10 overseas markets including Peru, Cambodia, Laos, Haiti, Burundi, East Timor, Mozambique and Cameroon in the first half of the year. In the three countries of Laos, Cambodia and East Timor, Viettels investment has been returned and the company has taken the leading position in their telecommunications network markets. The markets brought revenue worth four to five times the investment value. Viettels two overseas markets, Tanzania and Myanmar, have been in the planned loss period as the group has operated for two years in Tanzania and over a month in Myanmar. However, both markets saw high growth. Of Viettels 10 international markets, Myanmar is the biggest in terms of population and is expected to grow at the fastest rate in 2018. The growth of the Myanmar market will be an important factor in Viettel Groups international business growth this year. Under a new plan, Mytel targets four million subscribers by the end of 2018 and to break even by the end of 2019. Anthony Anderson. Photo: Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed on Friday that Black-ish star Anthony Anderson is the focus of a criminal investigation, the details of which are still emerging. He was listed in a crime report as a suspect and the investigation is ongoing, an LAPD spokesperson told BuzzfeedNews, while declining to give more details. According to TMZ, however, a woman reported to police earlier this year that Anderson had allegedly assaulted her. The actor subsequently denied any wrongdoing through a spokesperson on Friday. Its unfortunate that anyone can file a police report whether it is true or false, they said. The authorities have not contacted Anthony or any of his representatives about this matter. Anthony unequivocally disputes the claim. Next week Netflix is set to debut the documentary The Bleeding Edge from the directing and producing team behind The Hunting Ground and The Invisible War, Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering. The film examines the darker side of the medical technology industry, and follows patients and activists pushing for safer medical devices. One such device is the birth control Essure, a metal coil used by women as an alternative to tubal litigation. The device has been controversial for years due to womens reports of pain and a myriad of alleged medical issues, including potential damage to the fallopian tubes and uterus. Now, ahead of The Bleeding Edges release on July 27, Essures manufacturer Bayer has decided to pull the product from the United States market entirely by the end of the year. In a statement issued by Netflix, Dick and Ziering praised Bayers decision as a a gratifying affirmation of the power of documentary. Said Dick, This is exactly why we do this work: This film has already changed policies and changed history. While Bayer has not publicly acknowledged a direct correlation between the decision and the films impending release, the push to pull Essure is not a new one. Seven long years of fighting to get Essure off the market has finally paid off, patient advocate Angie Firmalino said as part of Netflixs release on the decision. Not one more woman will be harmed by this device. We have won, we have finally won. On Friday, Bayer said Essures removal was a business decision based on declining sales. The pharmaceutical company has maintained the FDA-approved product is safe for use. According to the Washington Post, the United States was the last country where Essure was being sold. The product had already previously been pulled from shelves in Canada, Finland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. James Gunn. Photo: Anthony Harvey/Getty Images On Friday, James Gunn was fired from directing the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, owing to the discovery of old tweets that joked about rape and pedophilia. The tweets were recirculated on the internet by alt-right Donald Trump supporters. Gunn, a vocal critic of Trump, both acknowledged that his musings were stupid, not at all funny, wildly insensitive, and certainly not provocative like I had hope and accepted Disneys decision. Regardless of how much time has passed, I understand and accept the business decisions taken today, he said. Even these many years later, I take full responsibility for the way I conducted myself then. Dave Bautista, who plays Drax the Destroyer in the Guardians franchise, is far less accepting of Disneys decision to fire his leader, though. I will have more to say but for right now all I will say is this James Gunn is one of the most loving, caring, good natured people I have ever met, he wrote on Twitter. Hes gentle and kind and cares deeply for people and animals. Hes made mistakes. We all have. Im not ok with whats happening to him. Fellow Marvel-adjacent actor David Dastmalchian also lamented on Instagram how Gunn is one of the most amazing people Ive ever known. I will have more to say but for right now all I will say is this..@JamesGunn is one of the most loving,caring,good natured people I have ever met. Hes gentle and kind and cares deeply for people and animals. Hes made mistakes. We all have. Im NOT ok with whats happening to him Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) July 21, 2018 Disney has yet to name a successor for Gunn. Have any thoughts on the matter, Chris Pratt? Update, July 22: Gunn has also received the public support of actress Selma Blair, whos encouraging her Twitter followers to sign a petition to get the director reinstated on Vol. 3. Because if people are punished despite changing, then what does that teach people about owning mistakes and evolving? she wrote. This man is one of the good ones. Marvel: RE-HIRE JAMES GUNN - Sign the Petition! https://t.co/JeVbFZkQLL via @Change. Because if people are punished despite changing, then what does that teach people about owning mistakes and evolving? This man is one of the good ones. Selma Blair (@SelmaBlair) July 22, 2018 Update, July 23: More members of the Guardians of the Galaxy cast have commented on James Gunns firing. Star Chris Pratt (Star-Lord) alluded to the news with a Bible verse: Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters. Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. JAMES 1:19 chris pratt (@prattprattpratt) July 22, 2018 Zoe Saldana, who plays Gamora, said its been a challenging weekend, but signaled support for Gunn. Its been a challenging weekend Im not gonna lie. Im pausing myself to take everything in before I speak out of term. I just want everyone to know I love ALL members of my GOTG family. Always will. Zoe Saldana (@zoesaldana) July 22, 2018 Two members of the Guardians cast Michael Rooker (Yondu Udonta) and James Gunns brother Sean Gunn (Kraglin) issued their support for the director: 2/2 This account will be inactive after today. We're very tired & upset over the ongoing BULLSHIT... neither I nor my rep will use Twitter again. Twitter sucks and I want nothing to do with it. Thank you to all who gave kind words & support. See you on Instagram. - MR pic.twitter.com/uAyIOPoAle MichaelRookerOnline (@RookerOnline) July 22, 2018 *This post has been updated throughout. Donald Trump is President, but he is not king of America; the country is not his private property. When he was running his "Trump Organization," he was free to hold secret meetings -- even with his enemies -- to ignore everyone's advice and then tell no one what transpired. But the US is not a wholly-owned subsidiary of Trumpworld, and the country needs answers about what happened in Helsinki. So far, we have virtually nothing. All we have is a new plan likely to make it all worse with another meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. On Thursday, America's top intelligence official, Director of National Security Dan Coats happened to be on stage, on camera, when he was informed by NBC's Andrea Mitchell that the White House had just tweeted yet another bombshell: Trump had invited Putin to visit the White House this fall. His reaction -- a deep breath, exhalation, nervous laughter -- confirms the danger. "That's going to be special," Coats said, to more nervous laughter in the audience. Coats had already said he was not consulted about Trump's Helsinki summit and would have advised against it. After hours spent with the Russian President, Trump went on to disparage the conclusions from Coats and other intelligence agencies: that Putin not only led attacks on US democracy in 2016 but continues to do so and plans further interference in US elections this fall, when Putin presumably will be Trump's guest. This, to put it mildly, is a travesty. The dispute between Russia and the United States is not a Hatfield and McCoy feud -- the notorious decades long dispute between two families in the South perpetuated over ancient grievances. There is a reason why the US and its allies imposed sanctions on Russia. The tensions are caused by ongoing grievances, of which Russia's assault on American democracy is only one. Russia continues perpetrating egregious actions against its own citizens, against its neighbors and against America's allies. In Russia, Putin's critics are routinely suspiciously murdered. Those who go against the Russian President are not safe even in England. But Trump, for reasons that may ultimately be explained by the Mueller investigation, is determined to transform America's ties to Russia. His actions are already affecting US foreign policy on symbolic, substantive, and shameful fronts. A recent example is the Trump administration's silence during this week's anniversary of the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, which killed 298 people, most of them citizens of the Netherlands, a loyal ally of the US. Dutch soldiers fought in Afghanistan to support America's post-9/11 campaign and dozens of them died there. An international investigation concluded that MH17 was shot down by a missile belonging to Russian military forces in Ukraine. This year, as it did on every anniversary, the State Department prepared a strong statement. It called on Russia to stop its "callous disinformation campaign and acknowledge its role." But the statement was reportedly deleted from the State Department website, and Washington remained silent. Trump has been aligning his views with Putin on NATO, attacking newest member Montenegro, which is very telling and enormously troubling. Americans still don't know what happened in that Helsinki meeting, but Russia has been making intriguing comments. The day after the summit, Russia's defense ministry said it was ready to implement the agreements the two presidents reached. The next day, Russia's ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, speaking in Moscow, vaguely described "important verbal agreements," and on Thursday, Putin said in a speech that he and Trump had made "useful agreements." To what did Trump commit America? Nobody is quite sure. Coats doesn't know. The National Security Council doesn't seem to fully know. According to a spokesman, they are still "reviewing the discussion." The top US general in the Middle East doesn't know. The President gave us a hint on Twitter, referencing "things discussed" in his "very successful" summit, including, terrorism, the Middle East (possibly meaning Syria), Israel, Ukraine, trade, and other topics. What we did hear in the Helsinki press conference is reason enough for alarm. On stage there, Trump characterized as "an incredible offer" Putin's proposal to have Russian agents question American citizens, including former US ambassador Mike McFaul, in exchange for US officials interviewing indicted Russian agents. The idea was so outrageous that the Senate rejected it by a 98-0 vote. On Thursday, the White House said that Trump now disagrees with Putin's proposal. There is talk of other plans. Antonov said one agreement was to "cooperate" in Syria. Congress, in its National Defense Authorization Act, banned "military-to-military cooperation" between the US and Russia after Russia seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. The head of US forces in the Middle East says he knows nothing of a new agreement, which could require congressional action. But Congress, part of whose job is to prevent presidential abuse of power, is guilty of gross negligence. With US intelligence repeatedly confirming Russian cyberattacks on the elections, the Republican-controlled House defeated a proposal to increase security spending for the elections. Remember, Trump once, incredibly, touted a Putin idea to establish a joint US-Russian cybersecurity force. The idea seemed to resurface in Helsinki when Putin suggested that the US and Russia should work together to go through evidence of Russia's interference in the 2016 election. So, now, when we still don't know what happened in Helsinki, Trump's Washington invite to Putin is scandalous. Let's speak plainly: The United States is currently investigating whether agents for Trump and Putin worked together, secretly, illegally, to subvert the 2016 election. No matter how many times Trump inserts the words "no collusion" into unrelated sentences, we still don't know what occurred, and what may or may not be happening now. The special counsel has issued dozens of indictments, so this is not a "witch hunt." Trump's behavior has done nothing to allay the worst fears of many Americans, quite the contrary. Against this reality, how is it possible that Trump was allowed to meet in secret with Putin? Against that reality, plus the mysteries surrounding the first meeting, how is it possible that the US government, people, institutions, will seemingly allow it to happen again? This is malpractice of the highest order. Trump is not king. No matter what his approval ratings among Republicans, government officials have a duty to the country. Standing by and just watching another meeting take place -- and failing to find out what happened in the last one -- would amount to a dereliction of duty. "I told my grandkids come on lets go we are gonna go down to the storm shelter not going to take the chance," Brown. James E. Brown told me when there's a tornado warning near his home in Lawrence county he heads to his local community shelter. "It was packed full of people who wanted to be in there and not out there." EMA director for Lawrence Co. Johnny Cantrell told me Brown's community shelter is already open for potential storms this evening "We just thought it would be easier to go ahead and do it this morning and have them already prepared and open," Cantrell. The EMA director told WAAY that as soon as they determine weather will be severe enough they send out a notification to local fire departments through the 911 system. Representatives from the fire departments then come to shelters like this one to make sure they are open and ready for people. Brown's storm shelter is about a 3 minute drive down his street but he told me he wants to build his own in his front yard. "That way I leave my space open for someone else," Brown said. For now he hopes he wont have to head to his community shelter anytime soon Each county has different protocol for storm shelters and not all are open at all hours. For a list of Tennessee Valley storm shelters click here. The scheduled night swimming event at Point Mallard Park Friday night was cancelled as north Alabama prepared for severe weather to move into the area. The park said anyone who needed more information could call the park at 256-341-4900, or visit the park's website or Facebook page. Get the latest on tonight's weather threat here. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insisted Friday that the international community must continue to keep the pressure on North Korea to denuclearize. "Strict enforcement of sanctions is critical to our achieving this goal," Pompeo told reporters after a series of quick meetings Friday at the United Nations in New York. "When sanctions are not enforced, the prospects for the successful denuclearization of North Korea are diminished." Pompeo held one-on-one sessions with his South Korean counterpart, Kang Kyung-wha, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. He also briefed the full UN Security Council plus Japan on his latest trip to Pyongyang, which occurred earlier this month. U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley accompanied the secretary. The top U.S. diplomat warned that North Korea is trying to get around the sanctions, smuggling petroleum products into the country by sea at levels that exceed what is allowed under international sanctions. "These illegal ship-to-ship transfers are the most prominent means by which these transfers are happening," Pompeo said. "These transfers happened at least 89 times in the first five months of 2018 and continue to occur." Last week, the United States asked the UN Security Council committee that monitors sanctions implementation to ban further fuel shipments to Pyongyang in a bid to cut off revenue to its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. On Thursday, Russia and China moved to block the U.S., putting a six-month hold on the request. Pompeo did not give any details on his meetings in Pyongyang. Asked what North Korea needed to do, the secretary said that Kim Jong-un committed to denuclearize and that he understood what that meant. "What do we need to see?" Pompeo asked. "We need to see Chairman Kim do what he promised the world he would do. It's not very fancy, but it's the truth." Home Just In Deuba to visit Dr Govinda KC today Kathmandu, July 20 Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba is paying a visit to medical education reform activist Dr Govinda KC at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu on late Friday afternoon. A source at Deubas secretariat says he will go to the Hospital after 4 pm today. The main opposition party has extended support to Dr KCs ongoing fast-unto-death as the activist has demanded that the government table the Medical Education Bill in Parliament without changing any provision of the Medical Education Ordinance that previous Deuba-led government enacted some months ago. The party has already decided to obstruct federal and provincial parliamentary meetings till demands of Dr KC are met. The senior orthopaedic surgeon is on a fast-unto-death for last 21 days. Email To : Multiple e-mail addresses must be separated with a comma character(maximum 200 characters) Email To is required. Your Full Name: (optional) Your Email Address: Your Email Address is required. Advertisement By Mike Cooper Jul. 20, 2018 | OLMSTED By Mike Cooper Jul. 20, 2018 | 08:18 PM | OLMSTED The Army Corps of Engineers held an information session Friday afternoon at the new Olmsted Lock and Dam. Friday's session was moderated by Chief of Engineers and USACE Commanding General, Lieutenant General Todd Semonite, Commander Great Lakes/Ohio Division Engineer, Major General Mark Toy, and Louisville District Commander, Colonel Antoinette "Toni" Gant. Lieutenant General Semonite explained that the Olmsted Lock and Dam is the nation's largest inland navigation civil works project. It represents generations of innovative modernization efforts to help secure the nation through infrastructure. Its two new 1,200-foot locks and 2,500-foot dam, across the river at Olmsted, IL will help with the efficient movement of more than 90 million tons of commerce, worth more than $10 billion annually. This efficient transporting of goods impacts American's lives every day. Colonel Gant explained that The Olmsted Lock and Dam, replacing the older existing Locks 52 and 53 at Brookport, will increase reliability of navigation. From a regional and national perspective, the Corps continues to ensure the Olmsted project remains a priority and a critical national economic driver. She pointed out that when operational, the time to traverse the new dam will be approximately 30 minutes, compared with up to 1 hour and 30 minutes for each of the older ones, (Locks 52 and 53). Lieutenant General Semonite stressed that this can potentially save up to 2 1/2 hours of navigation time, and unscheduled down times for Olmsted will be far less than that of the older ones, which will also improve navigation time. Major General Mark Toy spoke of how this project has had much cooperation between the Corps of Engineers and private sector partners which has led to many improvements. He praised the hard work of all those that have participated and explained how this helps the entire nation because of the economic impact. More tonnage passes through this point than any other place in the nation's inland navigation system and 25% of all coal shipped goes through this portion of the Ohio River. The entire project took 30 years to complete, mostly due to funding issues with each different Congress. It will use cutting edge technology, including GPS systems for wicket control, using taller, concrete wickets, compared with the existing wooden wickets currently in use at Locks 52 and 53, that were built in 1929. The project represents over 45 million labor hours and stands as an example of the benefits provided from work done by the Corps on the nation's critical inland waterways. The ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Olmsted Lock and Dam is scheduled for 10:00 am on August 29th. Advertisement By Bill Hughes Jul. 20, 2018 | BARDWELL By Bill Hughes Jul. 20, 2018 | 07:53 PM | BARDWELL A hemp processing plant that broke ground this spring won't be coming to Carlisle County, after all. Carlisle County Judge-Executive Greg Terry said farmers in Carlisle and Hickman Counties agreed to work with King's Royal Biotech and planted a combined 2,300 acres of hemp, anticipating that when it was time to harvest, King's Royal would be ready to process the crop to extract Cannabidiol CBD isolate for pharmaceutical use. But, when May arrived, the farmers realized that King's Royal wasn't going to be ready. The company said they were having trouble getting investors to help fund their construction, but the anticipated harvest required action. Terry says the farmers chose to use someone else to process the hemp. "They're upset, but you know, we don't know what to do, and there's other opportunities out there, and we just chose to move a different direction, because we seen that they couldn't get nobody to follow them" Terry said. He said there are plenty of other companies that would like to process the hemp. Terry said, "What we have found out is that nobody in the United States is growing as much as we are here in these two small counties. It grows here, and we were bold enough to plant 2,300 acres. We've ended up with about 1,700, we had to destroy some of it - it just didn't come up and the weeds took it - but we've got a really good crop between the two counties that everybody in the United States is looking at. We're getting calls from Oregon, Washington, West Virginia, North Carolina, Colorado, those places that we thought were the hemp capitals. Well, heck, they can't even grow it there to suit them!" He said one added benefit is that their plots are planted so they can be harvested with a combine. Although the amount of CBD in the plant is not as high as some other strains of hemp or hybrids, those types are planted in small plots and harvested by hand. Processors can use the large harvest from Carlisle and Hickman Counties to get the same quantity of oil. Terry said after the loss of over 100 potential jobs with King's Royal, he believes their relationship with the company is over. "You know, they built false hopes for Carlisle County, and the job creation is what we were after - myself and the county people - that's what we were looking at is those jobs. Good paying jobs, too," Terry said. He said he's heard from "plenty of other people" who are ready to step in and bring a hemp processing plant to western Kentucky. Terry said these companies are realizing the soil in counties bordering the river are perfect for growing hemp. The farmers that are growing hemp this year had previously been growing corn, soybeans and wheat. Advertisement By West Kentucky Star Staff Jul. 20, 2018 | TRIGG COUNTY By West Kentucky Star Staff Jul. 20, 2018 | 06:13 PM | TRIGG COUNTY The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet personnel, along with other emergency responders are along westbound I-24 in Trigg County, where manure has been spilled along the roadway. Traffic is restricted to one lane between the 62 and 60 mile marker. Officials say the tailgate of a dump truck apparently popped loose, spreading cow manure along the road. KYTC personnel have been joined by firefighters in their attempt to clean up the spill. Water sprayed by firefighters, a sweeper truck, and a snow plow have been used in an attempt to clear the manure from the interstate. Drivers are asked to slow down and use caution in this area, since the manure has created slick driving conditions at some locations. It's estimated the road could be restricted for about 2 hours. By West Kentucky Star Staff Jul. 21, 2018 | 01:29 AM | MURRAY Murray State University is launching the new Center for Adult and Regional Education, (CARE), to provide greater access and support for the unique needs of non-traditional learners.CARE allows a renewed focus on the returning adult student who wishes to advance their career and improve their skills. In order to accommodate adult students with busy schedules, new programming will offer more convenience and lexibility at the Universitys main campus in Murray, the regional campuses and beyond.The mission of CARE is to enhance our academic program offerings throughout the service region, explained Mark Arant, provost and vice president for academic affairs. Murray State University is committed to helping all students, including adult learners, achieve their dream of earning a college degree.CAREs initiatives include new program offerings and services at the regional campuses and educational presences in Paducah, Hopkinsville, Madisonville, Henderson and Fort Campbell. Several new degree programs will be offered at some of the regional campuses beginning this fall, including the Bachelor of Science in Organizational Communication, Master of Science in Mass Communications and a ield of study in rural tourism and hospitality. The Center has started offering summer camp programs at the regional campuses as well.CARE also serves as the academic home of military science; recreation and health care administration courses; the Associate of Arts in General Studies degree; and the Bachelor of Integrated Studies degree-completion program for returning adult students. Additionally, CARE will include centralized student support for online learning as well as non-credit community outreach,summer camps and career education courses. Other programs include ROTC, the Training Resource Center and the Kentucky Transitional Assistance Program (KTAP).The creation of CARE is an opportunity for Murray State University to promote and develop lifelong learning opportunities for adult students throughout our service region and beyond, said Dan Lavit, executive director for the Center. How we serve the adult learner is to recognize the time and place restrictions that most non-traditional students have. For more information about the Center for Adult and Regional Education, visit murraystate.edu/care or call 1-800-669-7654. On the Net: Advertisement By West Kentucky Star Staff Jul. 20, 2018 | MURRAY By West Kentucky Star Staff Jul. 20, 2018 | 05:49 PM | MURRAY A woman was arrested Thursday after she reportedly pointed a gun at a man and threatened him. According to Murray Police, The victim said he went to the 4th Street home of 59-year-old Dinah Crews to retrieve an item. He said when he knocked on the door, Crews opened it, then pointed a gun at his head and said she wished he was dead. The victim said Crews then stepped outside the home and pointed the gun at his chest from just a few feet away. Police went to the home and spoke to Crews, and say she denied having any weapons. However, when she allowed police to look around, they reportedly found two handguns, one of which matched the description given by the victim. An arrest warrant was issued for Crews on charges of 1st degree wanton endangerment and 3rd degree terroristic threatening. She was taken to Calloway County Jail. Rep. Ted Yoho, a Florida Republican who has been a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, said the US should "absolutely not" invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to Washington. "I think with what you reported earlier and what we've seen with these three other candidates being already hacked this year, if indeed this does go back to Russians that are in the Russian military or government, absolutely not, I don't think we should invite President Putin over here at this time," Yoho said Friday on CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer." On Thursday, the White House announced it had invited Putin to the nation's capital later this year for a second meeting between the two heads of state following the summit in Helsinki, Finland. When asked about the announcement, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he was "happy that the two leaders of two very important countries are continuing to meet. If that meeting takes place in Washington, I think it's all to the good." However, Yoho, who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Russian interference in US elections is something that should not be tolerated. "I do agree that we should have relationships with all leaders of all nations, but if it's something like this so soon after the election of (the) President, of the last election, and Russian meddling is still going on, I think we need to bring an end to it and send a strong signal," he told Blitzer. The goal of China's influence operations around the world is to replace the United States as the world's leading superpower, the CIA's Michael Collins said Friday. Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum during a session on the rise of China, Collins, the deputy assistant director of the CIA's East Asia Mission Center, said Chinese President Xi Jinping and his regime are waging a "cold war" against the US. "By their own terms and what Xi enunciates I would argue by definition what they're waging against us is fundamentally a cold war, a cold war not like we saw during the Cold War, but a cold war by definition. A country that exploits all avenues of power licit and illicit, public and private, economic and military, to undermine the standing of your rival relative to your own standing without resorting to conflict. The Chinese do not want conflict," Collins said. RELATED: Xi Jinping heads to Africa to clinch China's hold over the continent "At the end of the day they want every country around the world, when it's deciding its interests on policy issues, to first and foremost side with China and not the United States, because the Chinese are increasingly defining a conflict with the United States and what we stand behind as a systems conflict." By looking at the writings of Xi, whose "thought" or world view was recently enshrined in China's constitution, it's clear, Collins says, that the threat China presents is the greatest global challenge the US currently faces. "It sets up a competition with us and what we stand behind far more significantly by any extreme than what the Russians could put forward," Collins said. Collins' comments on the third day of the forum echoed those of other senior US officials there, including FBI Director Christopher Wray and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, who both pointed to China as the most significant danger for the US today. "I think China, from a counterintelligence perspective, in many ways represents the broadest, most challenging, most significant threat we face as a country," Wray had told his audience on Wednesday. "And I say that because for them it is a whole of state effort. It is economic espionage as well as traditional espionage; it is nontraditional collectors as well as traditional intelligence operatives; it's human sources as well as cyber means." Coats said Thursday that the US needed to decide if China was a "true adversary or a legitimate competitor." He criticized Chinese state efforts to steal business secrets and academic research. "I think that's where we begin to draw the line," he said. China's growing defense posture Marcel Lettre, a former undersecretary of defense for intelligence, said that influence operations -- in which the ruling Communist Party uses political, financial and military strategies to establish and solidify its presence in countries in its region and beyond -- were only one tool China deploys as part of a larger effort to expand and grow. "It's a country that has the second largest global defense budget, the largest standing army of ground forces, the third largest air force in the world, a navy of 300 ships -- including more than 60 subs -- all of this is in the process of being modernized and upgraded," he said, adding that those upgrades were "oriented around the innovations we've been taking on the US side for the last decade or two." China unveiled its first homegrown carrier, a 50,000-ton ship, in May. The carrier's maiden sea trial followed a speech by Xi on April 12 in which he announced plans to build a "world-class" navy under the banner of the Chinese Communist Party. While the new carrier will enhance China's military power in the region, experts said it was still outdated and lagged far behind the standard of American aircraft carriers. At the same time, China has established ports along the Indian Ocean that extend to Djibouti, where last year it dispatched two warships carrying an undisclosed number of troops to its first overseas military base. Susan Thornton, who serves as the acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, pointed to the impasse in the South China Sea as an area where the US presence might press Beijing to negotiate with other nations in the region that claim territory in the disputed waters. In recent years, the Chinese government has built a number of artificial islands in the South China Sea with military installations, including radar facilities and airstrips. Beijing asserts that much of the South China Sea is its sovereign territory, claims most of the internationally community view as spurious. "Will China be bound by rules and will it negotiate with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) multilateral partners or will it try to pick off one by one each individual and get more leverage that way?" she asked. Thornton, who was initially President Donald Trump's nominee for the assistant secretary position, resigned in June when she was notified she was no longer his choice. She told Friday's audience that her service would conclude at the end of the panel discussion. 'Our soft power is ... more powerful than their soft power' Part of Trump's new national security strategy announced in December includes moves to combat China on the technological and cyber fronts, but also to work with partners around the world to contest Chinese practices and persuade Beijing to agree to international conventions and standards. While much of the world's attention has been focused on crises including the terror attacks of 9/11, the Chinese have maintained a singular focus for years. "They are learning to be more coercive, learning to be more aspirational, learning to be more assertive by what they're getting away with," said the CIA's Collins. "9/11 is one example where the international community had to shift its attention to something else and the Chinese drove through that decade to especially expand where they are, so it's a long way of saying that there are things that happened in the international system, things that ... helped to explain to some degree the speed and expanse of where the Chinese have gotten to where they are today." Both Thornton and Collins pointed to events over the past decade to partly explain China's rapid expansion and growth. "The Chinese are very good at taking advantage of opportunities, which they may have been able to do in the recent past with our focus on the Middle East for the first part of the 2000s and following that the financial crisis," Thornton said. "We have to get back to doing what we do well. Our soft power is incredibly more powerful than their soft power. They don't really have that same kind of attractiveness that the US system has, and I think that's because our partners around the world know we stand by them and know we won't impose our will on them, that we'll work together with them." Collins said that even China's partners would not want to subscribe to the country's way of life. "I too am optimistic that in the battle for norms and rules and standards of behavior, that the liberal national order is stronger than the repressive standards that the Chinese promulgate," he said. "I'm confident others won't want to subscribe to that." A World War II-era military aircraft carrying 13 passengers crashed and caught fire shortly after takeoff in central Texas on Saturday. All passengers on board the cargo plane survived and were able to exit the aircraft, according to the Burnet County Sheriff's Office. In addition to several minor injuries, one person was airlifted by helicopter to a medical center, they said. The aircraft, a vintage Douglas C-47 named "Bluebonnet Belle," was on its way to an air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, when it crashed in the town of Burnet. In a video of the incident, the plane can be seen dipping dangerously to the left just after takeoff. The plane's wing hits the ground and the aircraft comes to a stop as it bursts into flames. Chris Dowell, a staff member in the Highland Lakes Squadron of the Commemorative Air Force, which owns the plane, told CNN affiliate KXAN that the aircraft is a "total loss." "We are very fortunate that everybody that was on board the aircraft got out of the aircraft safely, with a few minor injuries," Dowell said. He added that while some of the passengers were volunteers with the Commemorative Air Force, others were guests and family members. According to Dowell, the C-47 is a military cargo plane that transported service members during WWII. For volunteers in the Commemorative Air Force, who spend their spare time maintaining and operating the aircraft, Dowell said the loss of the plane is tragic. "We spend a lot of time and energy maintaining these aircrafts," Dowell said. "It becomes part of your family. It becomes part of your life." Dowell said the accident won't stop his squadron from continuing its mission to educate young people about WWII history. "We have an air show scheduled in September, right here in Burnet," Dowell said. "That air show will continue." The Federal Aviation Administration is handling an investigation of the incident, according to the sheriff's office. ILION- Chairs lined Otsego Street in Ilion by 4:30 p.m. to reserve a spot for the parade that started at 6:30 p.m. This years Grand Marshal was Don Polley Sr. He'll turn 103 in August. Ilion days schedule: http://www.iliondoodah.com/schedule.html UTICA- A traffic light fell in the road at the intersection of Champlin Ave, Burrstone Road, and French road near Friendly's. Officials with the New York State Department of Transportation said that intersection will be what is considered a "blacked out" intersection which means the traffic lights won't be in operation. Currently, there are people directing traffic, and drivers are only allowed to turn right. Officials are urging people to avoid the area. Crews are currently working to fix the lights. Officials with State DOT said, the lights will be out Saturday night into Sunday afternoon for repairs and are urging travellers to be careful through that area. NEWSChannel 2 will have updates as they become available. HAMMOND, Ind. (WLFI) -- A Lafayette man believed to have ties with a Mexican cartel is going to prison. Rafael Ramirez, 37, pleaded guilty to in the Northern Indiana district of federal court to two charges: Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Heroin, and Illigal Alien in Possession of a Firearm. Court documents say Ramirez was an organizer for a Mexican cartel. Investigators say he coordinated deliveries for 30 to 90 kilograms of heroin. He was sentenced in federal court today to twelve years in prison. 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 Appeal to parents to help stamp out deliberate fires This article is old - Published: Saturday, Jul 21st, 2018 North Wales Arson Reduction Team is appealing to residents to help them stamp out deliberate fires as the summer holidays start this week. Tim Owen, Arson Reduction Manager said: During the holidays often young people are out later in the evenings during the warm weather. During this time we often see a rise in the number of deliberately set fires. We are appealing to the community to help us tackle deliberate fires. I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to parents to be aware of the whereabouts of their children and impress upon them the message that deliberate fires endanger lives. Deliberate fires place tremendous pressure on resources, with our crews committed for a considerable length of time trying to bring them under control which prevents them from attending genuine emergencies. Remember setting fires is a criminal offence and we are actively working alongside North Wales Police to combat deliberate incidents. Anyone with information on such crimes is advised to anonymously call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or North Wales Police on 101. Top pic: An archive shot of a car subject to arson in Wrexham. Following parliamentary votes on customs and trade legislation so close as to threaten Theresa Mays premiership, calls have been made from pro-European Union (EU) sections of the Conservative Party for a national unity government to break the deadlock over Brexit. Divisions over Brexit cut across all existing party lines. Around 10 Labourites have consistently voted with the Tories hard-Brexit wing, while a more substantial section of the partys MPs are united with the soft-Brexit/pro-Remain wing of the Toriesnot just in seeking to preserve UK access to the EUs customs union and single market, but also ensuring that the crisis facing Mays government doesnt precipitate a general election and a Labour government led by Jeremy Corbyn. The votes in Parliament Monday and Tuesday were on amendments authored by the Tories hard-Brexit wing to quash the soft-Brexit agreement nominally reached by May with her cabinet just days earlier. More than 10 pro-EU Tory MPs voted against the government, leaving May reliant on four pro-Brexit Labour MPs and another former Labour MP who votes as an Independent for a majority. Speaking to BBC Radio Fours Today programme Wednesday, pro-EU Tory rebel Anna Soubry called for a cross-party government of national unity. She denounced the threats by party whips that failure to get the legislation through would result in a no confidence vote in May that would open the way for a Corbyn government. Soubry told the BBC she would support May in a vote of no confidence but, Problem is, I dont think that shes in charge any more. Ive no doubt [leader of the hard-Brexit faction and leadership contender Jacob Rees-Mogg] is running our country. Also endorsing moves towards a national unity government are leading Tories such as Dominic Grieve and Nicholas Soames. Soubrys call is directed first to Labours right-wing, which last summer sought Corbyns removal as leader on the basis that he had not fought hard enough for the partys pro-Remain position in the Brexit referendum. But she also counts on an attempt to either ameliorate the impact of Brexit or overturn the referendum result by winning the support of the Liberal Democrats, the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymruthe Party of Wales. She was obliged, however, to address widespread fears within ruling circles that Mays downfall would end with Corbyn in Number 10. Despite Corbyns constant retreats in face of his right-wing and the charm offensive conducted by Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell in the City of London, dominant sections of big business still fear that such a change in government would become a focus for opposition to austerity among workers and youth that Corbyn would be unable to control. Labour has the old Trotskyists in charge, Soubry declared, so I personally would abandon the Labour frontbench and I would reach beyond it, and I would encompass Plaid Cymru, the SNP [Scottish National Party] and other sensible, pragmatic people who believe in putting this countrys interests first and foremost. Soubry has established intimate relations with the Blairites. In March, she co-authored an article with Chukka Umunna as co-chairs of the All Party Parliamentary Group on EU Relations in the London Evening Standard, stating, We reside in different political parties and rarely inhabit the same voting lobby in the House of Commons but on Brexit we are as one. An issue that continues to divide our country also forges new alliances and a determination to put the interests of the country over and beyond traditional tribal politics and party loyalty. A month later, both attended the launch event of the Peoples Vote, a campaign calling for a second referendum on any final Brexit deal between the UK and EU. The campaign for a Peoples Vote is seen by its initiators as a mechanism for avoiding a Corbyn government. At its launch, Umunna made an appeal to the Tories saying, We need more Conservative members of Parliament to be as brave as Anna and many others who defied the whip and put their country before their party." The Liberal Democratswho explicitly call for Brexit to be stoppedsignalled that they would be onboard in any national unity government. Speaking to the Business Insider web site, party leader Vince Cable said he was preparing for a radical shift in British politics, as [t]here are large numbers of Labour MPs and quite a lot of Tories who are just bitterly alienated by their own people. I cant see the present system can be kept going. In the New Year, new groups may emerge my instincts are that if theyre aligned with us on basic values, we can work with them. Jonathan Edwards, of Plaid Cymru, said of maintaining our place in the single market and the customs union if making it happen requires entering into an all-party government, so be it. The Times noted that Ian Blackford, the SNPs Westminster leader, did not rule out taking part. Several leading figures in the pro-Corbyn pressure group Momentum are campaigning to change Labours position on Brexit to back a Peoples Vote/second referendum on EU membership if Parliament rejects whatever is agreed between May and the EU next year. A petition to secure a discussion on the issue has almost reached the required 4,000 signatures. They have been afforded friendly coverage by the Financial Times. The FT produced a video citing the comments of Alison McGovern, described as a leading Remain Labour MP on the right of the party, that a lot of parts of the Labour Party, Momentum included, are now thinking that they should have a say on the Brexit deal, and the British public should have a say. I think people are wondering if the House of Commons cant sort it out because its a hung parliament, maybe we need to go back to the British public. With Labour now five points clear of the Tories in a YouGov poll, Corbyn is preparing for a snap election. He has called a shadow cabinet meeting for next week to outline a draft election manifesto and draft a Queens Speech containing up to 35 bills. To counter this, the Blairites are doing everything to destabilise his leadershiprelaunching their bogus campaign alleging that Corbyn and his supporters are anti-Semitic. This week, leading Blairite Margaret Hodge cornered Corbyn behind the Speakers chair in Parliament and screamed in his face, Youre a fucking anti-Semite and a racist. Hodge carried out her attack just minutes after Tuesday evenings Brexit vote. The following morning, Blairite warmonger John Woodcock resigned as a Labour MP to stand as an independent. He had become an MP, his resignation later declared, [T]o promote a credible alternative government through strong defence and national security. I now believe more strongly than ever that you [Corbyn] have made the Labour Party unfit to deliver those promises and would pose a clear risk to UK national security as prime minister. May remains in office, but this is a pyrrhic victory, with the ruling party split asunder and under siege. May has pinned her hopes on a set of proposals for a soft Brexit that have already been undermined by her compromises with the Brexiteers. The EUs Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier complained that parts contradict the guidelines of the EU council, the heads of government and state, namely the indivisibility of the four freedoms and the integrity of the single market. He warned, There is not a lot of justification for the EU running the risk of weakening the single market. The practice of separating children from refugee parents, being carried out by the Trump administration to universal condemnation and revulsion worldwide, has been practised in the UK for years. As the audio recording of caged children sobbing in distress went viralwith the US admitting to 3,000 children being affectedUK Prime Minister Theresa May was forced to make a statement in Parliament condemning these barbaric practices. She said that children being separated and caged was deeply disturbing and wrong and not the British wayjust as her ailing government prepared to welcome Trump to the UK! Contrary to Mays declaration, the Bail for Immigration Detainees (BiD) charity says they have represented 155 parents this year already who have been separated from their 170 children while in UK detention. BiD was set up to end the incarceration of immigrants and the separation of children from parents in detention. In 2013, BiD published a study that followed the cases of 111 parents who had been separated from their 200 children over a three-year period. The average period of detention was 270 days. Of the children in the study, half were placed in the care of foster parents or local authority homes. In the period studied, half the parents were eventually released. Fifteen were deported without their child. Follow-up research in 2014 revealed that 11 parents were deported without their children. BiD say they cannot publish the real figures of separations and deportations due to the refusal of the Home Office to divulge the requisite information. While in most cases it handles, one parent is not in detention, the charity has represented single parents in detention or dealt with cases where both parents face deportation. It cites a case where a father was deported because the Home Office argued he was not involved in his childs life because the child was born during his detention. As the mother was unable to take parental responsibility, the child is destined for a life in care due to the decision of the Home Office. The psychological effect of separating a child from a parent or parents is extremely damaging. BiD director Celia Clarke said, The impact is devastating and long-lasting. Children of parents we have supported regressed, developed behavioural difficulties and suffered from night terrors. The enduring legacy was a constant fear that their parent or parents might be taken from them again. In March, Kenneth Oranyendu was detained while signing on at the Home Office, even though his wife was attending her fathers funeral in Nigeria and there was no one to care for their three young children but him. Now reunited with his family, Oranyendu told the Independent, My children are always scared the government is taking me away from them again. Theyre afraid every time I leave the house. We cant be living like this. The Independent reported seeing many letters from schools, social services and the National Health Service to the Home Office confirming the deleterious impact of separation. The Home Office is violating its own guidelines, which state that a child should not be separated from a parent if it results in the child going into care. The Home Office has been accused of breaching government policy by stipulating DNA testing to prove parenthood, a practice also adopted in the US. For example, a letter was received by one applicants solicitor from the Home Office declaring a DNA test was imperative to confirm paternity to settle their childs UK status. This was despite the fact that the child had a UK passport. This sinister compilation of DNA databases echoes the policies of the Nazis against the Jews and other groups deemed undesirable in the 1930s. Only a month ago, immigration minister Caroline Nokes answered a question in Parliament essentially confirming that the practice took place, saying that if any DNA was submitted it was on an entirely voluntary basis. According to the National Council for Civil Liberties (Liberty), the Home Office incarcerates almost 30,000 people each year, fleeing the horrors and poverty which are a consequence of 25 years of unending imperialist warssupported by successive Labour and Conservative governments. Arriving on the shores of the UK, totally traumatised, asylum seekers face further crueltythe UK is the only EU country that practises detention without a time limit. They are incarcerated without due process at the whim of the Home Office, with no idea when they might be released. Some people are held for years in notorious immigration detention centres like Yarls Wood and Brook House, where abuse and neglect have been widely reported. Some staff at Brook House near Gatwick Airport, run by private security firm G4S, were filmed last year by undercover Panorama journalists physically and verbally abusing detainees. Channel 4 likewise exposed the inhumane treatment of womenwho had fled violence in their own countriesin Yarls Wood, Bedfordshire, which is run by Serco. Like the men in Brook House, these vulnerable womenoften victims of rape in their own war-torn countrieswere subjected to indignities and had their privacy violated during detention. In Yarls Wood, children are segregated from their mothers and visiting time is strictly regulated. Immigrants live in constant fear of Home Office raids. Earlier this month, a 23-year-old Sudanese migrant tragically fell to his death from a rooftop while fleeing immigration officers who arrived at his place of work, a car wash in Newport, Wales. This hostile to immigrants climate is creating a backlash, as seen in growing protests against the persecution of immigrants in the US and Germany. Earlier this month in London, immigration officers clashed with members of the public protesting attempted arrests of immigrants in the Chinatown area. The officers had to call in local police for back up. During the raid, an elderly lady was hit by an immigration vehicle and was later manhandled by officers. She was protesting the arrest of a relative, one of four Chinese nationals alleged to have outstayed their visas. The four are now in custody pending deportation, and the fifth man arrested has to report regularly to the Home Office. The woman in question was taken to hospital as a precaution but later released. Businesses in Chinatown complain they are being aggressively targeted by immigration. The restaurant where the men worked was issued with a notice threatening fines of up to 20,000 for each illegal worker they employ. The Home Office is raking in huge sums from the plight of immigrantshaving received almost 100 million over five years by charging extortionate fees to obtain British citizenship. By charging fees far in excess of the cost of processing applications, the department earns more than 51,600 a day, and more than 361,000 per week. Children born in the UK, whose parents, like many of the Windrush generation, had not formally settled in the country, are not considered British. They are in fact stateless until they pay the citizenship fees. The Windrush generation refers to those immigrants from the Commonwealth countries invited to Britain to fill the post-war labour shortage. The first to arrive from the Caribbean disembarked from the SS Windrush in 1948. Though the 1971 Immigration Act granted them leave to remain, it did not issue any paperwork or keep records. Legislation passed in 2012, however, demanded proof of residency to obtain healthcare, open a bank account, get a job or rent a home, creating a Catch-22 situation. Obtaining citizenship has proved prohibitively costly for manythe cost for a child stands at 1,102 and an adult, 1,330. As a result, thousands have been denied healthcare and benefits, lost jobs and an unknown number were deported. The war on terror has morphed into a war on immigrants. Such inhumane treatment of refuges is the favoured policy of capitalist governments across the planet. Even as the existence of brutal camps for immigrants in the US housing thousands was made public to the world, the European Union agreed to establish mass internment camps on the continent to hold refugees in detention. The media hysteria surrounding US President Donald Trumps meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki has become the occasion for a radical shift to the right in the US ruling elite and media apparatus. Thinly-veiled calls for police state measures and the intervention of intelligence agencies into state affairs that would have been considered beyond the pale just a week ago, are now rife within the editorial pages of US newspapers. On Friday, Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson published a column entitled God Bless the Deep State, in which he presents the public servants derided by Trumpists as the supposed deep state as an antidote to a treasonous president and an ineffectual Congress. Robinson never defines precisely what he means by the deep state, but he cites Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats as among those high-ranking officials who have countered Trumps assertion that Russia did not meddle in the 2016 elections. It is to such intelligence and military officials that the Post columnist is appealing. The knowledgeable and experienced professionals that make up the state and intelligence bureaucracy are not participants in any kind of dark conspiracy, he writes. Rather they have spent yearsoften decadesmastering the details of foreign and domestic policy. God bless them. With a supine Congress unwilling to play the role it is assigned by the Constitution, the deep state stands between us and the abyss. He concludes, Democrats in Congress are powerless; the Republican leadership, spineless. Experienced government officials know that their job is to serve the president. But what if the president does not serve the best interests of the nation? In this emergency, the loyal and honorable deep state has a higher duty. Its called patriotism. The term deep state has traditionally been reserved for countries such as Egypt, Pakistan and Turkey to denote the military/intelligence apparatus that has been the source of countless coups and attacks on fundamental democratic rights. Their deep states have presided over murder, torture, and the mass jailing of political opponents. But these countries are now, Robinson implies, to serve as a model for political rule in the United States. Under other circumstances, Robinsons article would read as a satire. Instead, it is a frightening testament to the types of reactionary attitudes prevalent within the ruling class critics of Trump. For this layers, Trump can do anything he wants on domestic policyincluding a massive increase in military funding and his own efforts to increase the role of the military in domestic affairs. However, there is an overwhelming consensus in the military-intelligence apparatus, and its spokesmen in the media, that the anti-Russia policy must be maintained. Dictatorship, war, domestic repressionall are being promoted in the furious, right-wing hysteria that is gripping the ruling elite. Throughout the 20th century, those who have advocated dictatorial forms of rule have begun with Robinsons premise: that elected government is ineffectual, and that unelected officials would do a better job defending the country from its enemies, foreign and domestic. Robinsons panegyric to the state intelligence bureaucracy is entirely outside of and alien to the American democratic tradition, which is notably distrustful not only of all concentrated power, but of unelected power in particular. Robinsons open embrace of the deep state is particularly ironic given that, until recently, newspapers aligned with the Democratic Party, such as the New York Times and Washington Post, denied that it even existed in the United States. Just four months ago, Times columnist Max Fisher wrote a column entitled What Happens When You Fight a Deep State That Doesnt Exist. Fisher declared, American institutions do not resemble the powerful deep states of countries like Egypt or Pakistan, experts say. Nor do individual leaks, a number of which have come from President Trumps own team, amount to a conspiracy. The diagnosis of a deep state, those experts say, has the problem backward. But now, Robinson, a Pulitzer prize winner and supporter of President Obama, has proclaimed to the readers of the Post that not only does this deep state exist, but that it should run the country. Following the theft of the 2000 presidential election, the World Socialist Web Site warned that there no longer exists a constituency for democracy in the American ruling elite, as growth of social inequality had made democratic forms increasingly impossible within the United States. Eighteen years later, all of these processes have only intensified. Social inequality has risen to unprecedented levels, expressed most directly in the person of online retail oligarch Jeff Bezos, who owns the Washington Post and has a net worth of some $150 billion. With the campaign launched in the wake of Trumps meeting with Putin in Helsinki, the charge that Trump has betrayed the United States to Russia is associated with the most flagrant demands for military rearmament against Russia and for a police-state build-up in the United States. The declaration by the intelligence agencies that Russia meddled in the 2016 US election has been treated as gospel truth, and anyone who questions the record of the US intelligence agencies, despite their role in coups, sweeping attacks on democratic rights, and flagrant lies about weapons of mass destruction in the United States, has been branded a traitor. The fact that such statements are being made in the American press is a warning of the direction in which the US government is headed. Whether or not sections of the US ruling elite, together with the state intelligence forces, move to oust or impeach Trump, this campaign portends a massive intensification of the policies, supported by both the Democrats and Republicans, of censorship, domestic repression, and militarism. The Jacobin magazine, which functions as a kind of house journal for the middle class pseudo-left milieu, in particular the Democratic Socialists of America, has published an interview with the academic David Harvey, purporting to show why Marxs Capital is still the defining guide to understandingand overcomingthe horrors of capitalism. Harvey, variously described as a social theorist, a historical-materialist geographer and sometimes a Marxist, has attracted a wide following over the past decade in the wake of the global financial crisis due to his online lectures on Capital and a number of books critical of capitalism and its irrationalities. The interest in his writings and lectures, particularly from among younger people and students, is an expression of the growing hostility to capitalism, increasingly regarded as having failed, and the growing receptiveness towards socialism, coupled with a turn to Marx in the search for answers to the mounting problems and crises caused by the ongoing breakdown of the capitalist order. But as with all of Harveys work, this interview does not provide a clarification or guide to Marx but serves to prevent an understanding of his masterwork, seeking to render him suitable to the political and life-style sensibilities of a middle class left audience. This emerges from the very outset of the interview. Asked to give an overview of the three volumes of Capital, Harvey says: Marx is very much into detail and its sometimes hard to get a sense of exactly what the whole concept of Capital is about. This has been a recurring theme virtually since the day Capital was publishedthat it is too difficult and too dense to be comprehended. Capital is certainly no easy work but that difficulty arises not from Marx but from the fact that capitalism is the most complex form of socio-economic organisation in the historical development of mankind. However, as Harvey well knows, Marx provided a very clear explanation of the essential thread of his theoretical labours. In the postface to the second edition of Capital, Marx favourably cited a Russian reviewer of the first edition published in 1867 who had set out the objective logic of his analysis. The reviewer had begun by citing Marxs famous Preface to the Critique of Political Economy, published in 1859, in which he set out the materialist basis of his method. There Marx had written: In the social production of their existence, men inevitably enter into definite relations, which are independent of their will, namely relations of production appropriate to a given stage in the development of their material forces of production. At a certain stage of development, the material productive forces of society come into conflict with the existing social relations of production From forms of development of the productive forces these relations turn into their fetters. Then begins an era of social revolution. Basing himself on this explanation, the Russian reviewer concluded that Marx concerns himself with one thing: to show, by an exact scientific investigation, the necessity of successive determinate orders of social relations, and to establish, as impeccably as possible, the facts from which he starts out and on which he depends. For this it is quite enough if he proves, at the same time, both the necessity of the present order of things, and the necessity of another order into which the first must inevitably pass over. In other words, Capital was the application of the theory of historical materialism, worked out by Marx and Engels in the late 1840s, to the analysis of capitalist society in which the central social relation of production was the buying and selling of the labour power of the new social force, the working class, which this society had brought into being. It was aimed at demonstrating how the very development of the productive forces to which this new social order had given rise inevitably came into conflict with the social relations on which it was based, leading to social revolution and the transition to a new and higher form of society. While Capital was grounded on a thorough-going scientific analysis of capitalist society, it was not an academic treatise. It was written with the aim of providing the working class, its historical gravedigger, with the theoretical weapons necessary for its overthrow and the transition to a higher socio-economic order, international socialism. It is highly significant, therefore, that in Harveys interview on Capital and its significance, the words social revolution and working class never appear. What then is the essential content of the interview? It is the dressing up in Marxist-sounding terminology of the politics of the middle class pseudo-left, focusing on protests against some of the irrationalities and outrages of the capitalist system, concerned not with its overthrow but life-style changes. Its role is to seek to divert those seeking answers away from a real grappling with and understanding of Marxs masterwork. Harvey presents the three volumes of Capital as something of a jumble, that Marx was saying in volume one, I deal with this, in volume two I deal with that and in volume three I deal with something else. Harvey goes on to say that Marx has in mind the totality of the circulation of capital but then points to a problem because Marx did not complete volumes two and three (they were edited by Engels from Marxs drafts) and so they arent as satisfactory as volume one. The upshot of this focus on circulation is twofold. First, it leaves the impression that there is no inherent logic to Marxs presentation. Second, it downplays the centrality of capitalist production, dissolving it in the process of circulation, a move which, as we shall see, forms a key foundation of Harveys political perspective. Contrary to Harvey, Marx is very clear on the logic of the three volumes, which he sets out at the beginning of volume three. There he explains that the investigation in volume one concerns the process of capitalist production itself, leaving out the external secondary influences on this process. But as he notes, the analysis does not complete the life cycle of capital and so in volume two he considers how the process of production is supplemented by the process of circulation. In volume three the issue is to discover and present the concrete forms which grow out of the process of capitals movement considered as a whole. The configurations of capital, as developed in this volume, he writes, thus approach step by step the form in which they appear on the surface of society, in the action of different capitals on one another, i.e., in competition, and in the everyday consciousness of the agents of production themselves. [1] The materialist method employed by Marx is to ascend from the most abstract forms to the concrete. Capital, therefore, begins with the cell-form of the capitalist economy, the commodity, in which the product of human labourthe basis of all societypresents itself in the social form of a product produced for exchange. The significance of this starting point was noted by Lenin: In his Capital, Marx first analyses the simplest, most ordinary and fundamental, most common and everyday relation of bourgeois (commodity) society, a relation encountered billions of times, viz. the exchange of commodities. In this very simple phenomenon (in this cell of bourgeois society) analysis reveals all the contradictions (or the germs of all the contradictions) of modern society. The subsequent exposition shows us the development (both growth and movement) of these contradictions and of this society in the summation of its individual parts, from its beginning to its end. [2] From the analysis of the commodity and its value, Marx reveals the origin of money as the material expression of value. The analysis of money discloses the nature of capital as self-expanding value. The most decisive breakthrough made by Marx was to discover the source of this self-expansion. The issue which had tortured the minds of Marxs classical predecessors in the science of political economy, in particular its two leading representatives, Adam Smith and David Ricardo, was how, on the basis of market relations in which equivalents exchange for equivalents, could a surplus arise? In particular, how out of the most important exchange in commodity-capitalist society, could profit rise, if equivalents were exchanged for equivalents according to the laws of the market. Marx established that the commodity that the worker sold to the capitalist was not his or her labour, as had previously been maintained, but the capacity to work, or labour power. Like every other commodity its value was determined by the time taken to reproduce it, that is, it was determined by the value of the commodities needed to sustain the worker and enable the raising of a family to produce the next generation of wage workers. The surplus value appropriated by the capitalist owner of the means of production, to whom the worker sold his or her labour power, arose from the fact that the value of labour power was less than the value created by the worker in the course of the working day. That is, while it may take, say three hours, for the worker to reproduce the value of labour power, the working day extended for much longer and this additional, or surplus, value fell to capital. This epoch-making discovery had vast political implications. Marx was by no means the first socialist. Others before him had trenchantly criticised the operations of the capitalist system and pointed to its irrationalities, the increasing exploitation of the working class and widening social inequality. But as Engels explained: The socialism of earlier days certainly criticised the existing capitalistic mode of production and its consequences. It could not explain them, and, therefore could not get the mastery of them. It could only simply reject them as bad. [3] It was necessary, Engels continued, to present the capitalist mode of production as necessary during a given historical period and also to present the inevitability of its downfall and to lay bare its essential character. The critics had attacked its evil consequences rather than reveal the secret of the thing itself. This was revealed by the discovery of surplus value. With these two great discoveries, he concluded, the materialist conception of history and the revelation of the secret of capitalist production, socialism became a science. The next step was to work out the details. Marxs discoveries revealed that not only was the working class an exploited class but, in laying bare the source of that exploitation in the social relations of capitalism itself, established that it was a revolutionary class. That is, to secure its own emancipation the working class had to overthrow the entire system of social relations, deriving from wage-labouron which capitalism was grounded. One of the most important details to which Engels referred, was the way in which the contradiction between the growth of the productive forces under capitalism and the social relations based on wage-labourthe contradiction that was the driving force of social revolutionmanifested itself in the capitalist economy. This was discovered by Marx in his analysis of the tendency of the rate of profit to fall. He demonstrated that this tendencythe nemesis of the capitalist mode of production whose driving force is profitarose from the very development of the productive forces to which it gave rise. The sole source of surplus value and profit, the basis for the self-expansion of capital, is the living labour of the working class. But the more capital grows the greater must be the extraction of surplus value from the working class in order to expand it yet again. To the extent that the extraction of surplus value fails to keep pace with the growth of capital, the rate of profit tends to fall. This leads to a crisis to which capital responds by reorganising production, in order to intensify exploitation in order to continue. But the very development of these crises, growing ever more serious, drives the working class into struggle against the capitalist system and its ruling class. This is the source of the realities of everyday life, as Marx put it, in which we see the vast accumulation of wealth and an enormous growth in the productive forces and the social productivity of labour on the one hand and the growth of poverty, misery and degradation, accompanied by ever widening social inequality on the other. The discovery of the secret of surplus value as the basis of the capitalist accumulation process and the contradictions arising from it, had, as we noted, far-reaching political implications. It concretised, as Marx had set out in in his early writings, the revolutionary role of the working class. It is not a question of what this or that proletarian, or even the whole proletariat, at the moment regards as its aim. It is a question of what the proletariat is, and what, in accordance with this being, it will historically be compelled to do. Its aim and historical action is visibly and irrevocably foreshadowed in its own life situation, as well as in the whole organisation of bourgeois society.[4] The key to Harveys politics is his rejection of and outright hostility to the analysis made by Marx of the revolutionary role of the working class which is central to Capital. Therefore, as far as his socialism is concerned it is clouded in the mists of pre-Marxist conceptions. Capital has built the capacity, technologically and organisationally, to create a far better world, he says in the Jacobin interview. But it does so through social relations of domination rather than emancipation. This is the central contradiction. And Marx keeps saying, Why dont we use all of this technological and organisational capacity to create a world which is liberatory, rather than one which is about domination? Here Harvey follows the road taken by previous social theorists who, while identifying some of the irrationalities of the capitalist mode of production, separated Marxs scientific analysis of capitalism from its central purpose, that is, the arming of the working class for the revolutionary struggles in which it is driven by the crises of the profit system. The Frankfurt School, for example, sought the agency for social transformationinsofar as it had not completely abandoned such a perspectivein the cultural criticism of the irrationalities of capitalism and consumerism. Paul Sweezy, the independent Marxist, writing in the 1960s, wrote off the working class in the advanced capitalist countries and glorified the national liberation movements in what was then known as the Third World. Herbert Marcuse, the darling of the New Left in the 1960s, maintained that the working class had been completely integrated into advanced capitalist societyand was even a potential basis for fascismand found the agency for social change in the marginalised sections of society. On the basis of his historical materialist analysis, Marx was well aware of the fact that the advancement in the productive force under capitalism had created the basis for socialist society, free of class exploitation and domination in which the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all. But he rejected as utopian any perspective which sought to bring about this transformation by drawing out the contrast between what was possible under a different form of social organisation and what presently existed in capitalist society. Such a perspective made the socialist transformation a question of the criticism of capitalist society by so-called enlightened individuals. The crucial question for Marx was what was the social material forcethe classcreated by capitalist society itself, which would be the agency, the driving force, of this transformation. Today, the point at issue is not that socialism will somehow be more advantageous for humanitythat was already clear in Marxs daybut that it is an historic necessity if human civilisation is to survive and progress. The contradictions of capitalism are not, as Harvey attempts to portray them, the contrast between what would be possible under socialism as compared to present reality but are rooted in the inexorable drive of the profit system towards the impoverishment of the working class, the development of authoritarian forms of rule and war, threatening the very destruction of human civilisation, and a relapse into barbarism. For socialism to become a reality and not simply a dream of human advancement, there must be a social force in capitalist society whose material interests drive it forward to its realisation. That force is the working class, that is, the class separated from the control and ownership of the productive forces which is compelled in order to sustain its existence to sell its labour power. One of the most significant historical developments of the past three decades has been the transformation of the overwhelming majority of the worlds population into proletarians, forced to sell their labour power. Hundreds of millions of peasants in China, India and elsewhere have been transformed into wage workers while in the advanced capitalist countries hundreds of millions of people, employed in what were once considered secure middle class occupations, have discovered, through relentless job cuts, downsizing and cuts in their incomes, that they are proletarians with nothing to sell but their labour power, no less than the millions engaged in the factories. In his criticism of the utopian socialists of his day, Marx pointed to their dreams of experimental realisation of their social utopia as they opposed all political action by the working class. It is therefore significant that Harvey says nothing in his interview about the resurgent movement of the working class, manifested in the widespread teachers strikes in the US, the strike movements in Europe and in countries such as India after decades of suppression by the trade unions and the social democratic and labour parties, and focuses attention on life-style movements. Now, there are revolts against certain things that are happening, he writes. People are beginning to say, look, we want something different. I find little communities all around the place in urban areas, and in rural areas, too, where people are trying to set up a different lifestyle. The ones that interest me most are those which use new technologies, like cell phones and the internet, to create an alternative lifestyle with different forms of social relations than those characteristic of corporations, with hierarchical structures of power, that we encounter in our daily lives. To struggle over a lifestyle is rather different than struggling over wages or conditions of labour in a factory. Of course Harvey does not leave matters there. He would rapidly lose all credibility in the eyes of those who consider him to be an interpreter and a guide to Marx if he did. And so he maintains that those who are struggling over lifestyle issues, or race, or the environment need to recognise from the standpoint of the totality of capital the relationship between those struggles and how they are related to the forms of production. Putting them all together provides a picture of what a capitalist society is all about and the kinds of dissatisfactions and alienations that exist in different components of the circulation of capital, which Marx identifies. Harvey recognises the struggle of the working class, though it is not so much as mentioned in the interview, but he identifies it as purely the struggle over wages and conditions within a given factory, and thus purely within a trade union perspective. But as workers are coming to realise, on the basis of their experiences, even struggles which begin on this limited basis rapidly extend to embody broader, political, issues. Workers fighting for improved wages and conditions are immediately confronted not just with the management of the individual corporation or firm within which they work but the apparatuses of the trade union bureaucracy and behind them the capitalist government and the state. Every struggle of the working class, whether it begins over wages, social conditions, health, pensions or today the increasing use of internet censorship to try to prevent them organising themselves, places them more and more directly in conflict with the entire capitalist organisation of society and raises the question of political power, that is, which class is to rule. As Marx put it, every class struggle is, therefore, a political struggle. The political aim of Harveys work now comes into clearer focus. It is aimed at subordinating the struggles of the working class to the politics of the pseudo-left and middle classes concerned with questions of sexual orientation, life style and individual, not class, identity. This political orientation makes clear why Harvey, insofar as he deals with questions of political economy and the structure of Capital, seeks to downplay the centrality of production and dissolve it into the question of the circulation of capital. He maintains that if one really wants to understand Marxs conception of capital, then you cant just understand it as just being about production. Its about circulation. Its about getting it to the market and selling it, then its about distributing the profits. The issues related to circulation and the distribution of profits are, of course, vital to an understanding of the capitalist economy, its movement and contradictions. But the key point at issue is this: what is the essential determinant of the structure of society, its political relations and state apparatus and the driving force of its development. In volume three of Capital, Marx directly addresses this question as follows: The specific economic form in which the unpaid surplus labour is pumped out of the direct producers determines the relationship of domination and servitude, as this grows directly out of production itself and reacts back on it as a determinant. On this is based the entire configuration of the economic community arising from the actual relations of production and hence also its specific political form. It is in the direct relationship of the owners of the conditions of production to the immediate producers, Marx continues, in which we find the innermost secret, the hidden basis of the entire social edifice, and with it the political form of the relation of sovereignty and dependence, in short, the corresponding specific form of the state.[5] As Marx goes on to point out, the same economic forms can display variations and gradations in the political forms of rule, depending on a series of external factors and historical circumstances. But there is no question that the essential content of these various political forms is the mode in which surplus labour is pumped out of the immediate producers. Volume one of Capital is concerned with the way in which under capitalism, a specific historical mode of production, this unpaid surplus labour is pumped out of the immediate producers, the working class, through the system of social relations based on wage labour to yield surplus value. Harvey wants to de-emphasise or outright dissolve this fundamental structural foundation by pointing out that there is more to capitalism than simply the production of surplus valuethere is also the process of realisation, detailed in volume two and distribution in volume three. However, the essential foundation of capitalism is in productionnot the production of commodities as such, or the means of production, the production of the material needs of society as a living organismbut the production of surplus value which forms the essential driving force of this society. Volume two is concerned with the relationships pertaining to realisation. But this, it must be emphasised, is the realisation of the surplus value, its transformation from the commodity form back into money so the process of surplus value extraction can begin again. Likewise, volume three is concerned with the distribution of this surplus value among the various owners of property in the form of profit, interest and rent. In his recent writings, Harvey has drawn out the connection between his focus on the process of circulation and realisation and his downplaying of the centrality of the production of surplus value and his political perspective. In his latest book, Marx, Capital and the Madness of Economic Reason, Harvey writes: Struggles at the point of valorisation inevitably have a class character Those at the point of realisation focus on buyers and sellers and trigger fights against the predatory practices and accumulation by dispossession in the market place Such struggles are not well theorised. In the field of social reproduction issues of social hierarchy, gender, sexuality, kinship and family and the like become much more predominant and the primary political focus shifts to the qualities of daily life rather than the labour process. These struggles have often been ignored in the Marxist literature. What follows from this dissolving of the centrality of the production of surplus value within the capitalist system is that the social and political struggles against the power of capital within the totality of capital circulation take different forms and call for different kinds of strategic alliances if they are to succeed.[6] There is no question what kind of strategic alliances Harvey has in mindalliances with sections of the radical petty bourgeoisie and its concern for life-style politics and even sections of the bourgeoisie itself. This is done on the basis of a misrepresentation of Capital, implying that it was not directed to politically and theoretically arming the working class for social revolution but was aimed at merely drawing out the irrationalities of capitalist society. By this means, Harvey is seeking to misdirect those who are turning to Marx and have followed his own work in the hope that it might provide a guide. He seeks to divert them away from a struggle in the working class, to mobilise it as an independent revolutionary force, and channel them into the milieu of pseudo-left and middle-class radical politics and there to fight for strategic alliances that ensure the continued domination of the bourgeoisie and capital. Notes: [1] Marx, Capital Volume 3 (London: Penguin, 1991) p. 117 [2] Lenin, Collected Works Volume 38 (London: Lawrence and Wishart, 1961) p. 360 [3] Engels, Anti-Duhring (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1969) p. 38 [4] Marx, The Holy Family (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1975) pp. 4445 [5] Marx, Capital Volume 3 (London: Penguin 1993) p. 927 [6] David Harvey, Marx, Capital and the Madness of Economic Reason (New York: Oxford University Press, 2018) p. 48 A recent analysis published in the journal Nature (A global slowdown of tropical-cyclone translation speed, James P. Kossin, 7 June 2018), studying the intensity and resultant damage of hurricanes over the past three quarters of a century, predicts that future hurricanes will be more severe as a result of human-induced climate change. Changing wind patterns, warmer air and higher humidity have already created superstorms which have displaced hundreds of thousands of people and caused billions of dollars in damages, a trend which is expected to accelerate. The analysis by Kossin, who works for the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), looked at data collected between 1949 and 2016. Comparing the changes to hurricane rainfall and wind speeds to the rise in average global temperatures, which rose by 0.5 degrees Celsius in that period, Kossin found a strong causal link between global warming and increasingly severe hurricanes. First, atmospheric warming slows summertime tropical circulationthe general speed of prevailing winds closer to the equator, where hurricanes tend to form. Consequently, the forward motion of storms (but not necessarily the speed of internal circulation) slows. This means that a hurricane will spend more time over any particular locationpotentially days instead of hours. Second, atmospheric warming results in higher temperatures within storms. Warmer air has a higher capacity to carry moisture. Therefore, other things being equal, rainfall quantities from any given hurricane will tend to increase, especially toward the center of circulation, that is, near the eye of the storm. Kossin predicts that the combination of slower-moving storms and higher rainfall rates means that when a hurricane hits a particular area it will tend to linger, thus dumping larger quantities of water than would have been the case in the past. This conjunction of factors was especially evident last year when Hurricane Harvey devastated Texas. Such events are likely to become more frequent if the current trend of increasing global temperatures continues. While local factors will influence the rate at which this change occurs, the general trend is clear. During the period studied, speed of tropical cyclones and hurricanes decreased by 10 percent globally. In the northwest Pacific the reduction was 30 percent, in the north Atlantic 20 percent, and in the Australian region 19 percent. Significantly, the rate of change has accelerated over the second half of this time span, again linking more intense hurricanes to climate change. Of further concern, Kossin cites studies which indicate that tropical cyclones are migrating farther northward in several regions, another consequence of global warming. This means that areas where such storms rarely ventured in the past, and are little prepared, are now increasingly vulnerable. The devastating effects on coastal portions of New York and New Jersey from Superstorm Sandy, the largest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded, foreshadows what will likely become the new normal. Preparation for this futuresuch as was evidenced last year by hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Mariais totally inadequate for the scale of the devastation to come. Another recent study published by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), Hurricanes and Climate Change (1 December 2017), corroborates and expands on this dire prognosis. In the North Atlantic, hurricane intensity, if not frequency, has been increasing since the 1970s. In the future, there may not necessarily be more hurricanes, but there will likely be more intense hurricanes that carry higher wind speeds and more precipitation as a result of global warming. The impacts of this trend are likely to be exacerbated by sea level rise and a growing population along coastlines. For example, since the late 20th century, the probability of storms of the intensity of Hurricane Harvey hitting Texas has risen from 1 in every 100 years to 1 every 16 years. Furthermore, Since the mid-1970s, the number of hurricanes that reach Categories 4 and 5 in strength [the two highest wind speed categories] has roughly doubled. The UCS report also correlates the intensification of hurricanes with human-induced global warming. Of particular significance is the rise in sea surface temperatures, which has been especially pronounced in the North Atlantic. Warmer seas pump more moisture into developing tropical storm systems and create greater atmospheric instability. The damage to coastal areas during hurricanes is compounded by sea-level rise, also a consequence of global warming. Since the beginning of the 20th century, on average, sea level has risen 7-8 inches, and the rate is likely to accelerate in the future, with predictions of between one and four feet by the end of the 21st century. Combined with a hurricanes storm surge, higher sea levels will increase the extent of flooding in low-lying areas, especially if landfall occurs at high tide. During Harvey, the combination of enhanced storm surge coupled with increased rainfall wrought havoc in low-lying areas of Houston, where both industrial and residential development had taken place in increasingly vulnerable terrain. Roughly 123 million people in the US, 40 percent of the population, live in coastal counties. These processes have been developing over decades, with consequences that have been predicted. After each major event, such as Katrina and Sandy, bourgeois politicians repeat that there are lessons learned. And yet, when new catastrophes occur, with hundreds of thousands of people affected and hundreds losing their lives, the total inadequacy of the response is repeated. A just-released self-evaluation by FEMA of its response to the devastation of Puerto Rico by Hurricane Maria is a damning indictment of the callous indifference and utter lack of preparation for the storm that was predicted in advance to have a major impact on the island. The link between human activity and climate change is no surprise. Ever since the development of agriculture, succeeding technological advances, and the concomitant growth in human population size, anthropogenic alterations to the environment have progressively increased. At first, the effects on climate were relatively minor and localized. However, since the beginning of the industrial revolution, human impacts on the environment and climate, caused by activities such as massive deforestation, alterations to hydrologic patterns, and environmental pollution, have accelerated markedly, as evinced by such indicators as increasing storms, droughts and wildfires. These processes are rapidly reaching a crisis point, threatening a catastrophic collapse of civilization on a global scale. Since the development of class society, climate-changing human activities have been blindly driven by the interests of various ruling classes, with little knowledge or concern regarding their consequences to the lower classes or humanity as a whole. Under capitalism, this process has accelerated exponentially. Now, just as the anthropogenic effects on the environment are reaching a qualitatively higher stage, with potentially devastating outcomes, the global capitalist crisis is also approaching a breaking point. Consequently, even the meager efforts undertaken over the last few decades seeking to at least slow the progress of environmental degradation and climate change (e.g., the Paris agreement), as inadequate as these have been, are being undermined or swept away entirely. This conjunction of factors is no accident, but expresses a fundamental contradiction. The very technological and scientific progress whose byproducts are having such dangerous consequences produces the tools necessary to effectively address these problems (renewable energy, pollution controls, biodegradable or otherwise recyclable materials, etc.) The resources, both technological and financial, exist to effectively avert environmental catastrophe. But these are under control of the parasitic ruling class, which seeks only to perpetuate and expand its wealth, regardless of the consequences, even if that leads to the ultimate catastrophenuclear war. The Trump administrations attack on environmental regulations, undertaken simultaneously with major increases in military spending, are only the most acute expression of this worldwide process. Under a rationally planned economy, democratically controlled by the working class, the vast scientific, technological and financial resources that already exist would be engaged to halt and reverse environmental degradation and associated climate change. This can only happen, however, if the working class expropriates the major banks and corporations and establishes a socialist society. The author also recommends: Climate change and the struggle against capitalism [14 July 2017] Lost among the wall-to-wall press coverage of allegations of Russian interference in US politics is a recent revelation that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) received 1,310 reports of rape and sexual assault of immigrant detainees by ICE officials between 2013 and 2017 alone. On July 17, Emily Kassie of the New York Times published a short documentary with interviews with two women who were sexually assaulted by guards at immigrant detention facilities in Texas and Pennsylvania. An ICE agent was driving one immigrant woman from T. Don Hutto detention center in Texas after she was released on bond. Kassie wrote: After gathering her belongings, she was escorted to a loading area fenced with razor wire and placed into a cage inside a van. The driver was a male guard named Donald Dunn. Shortly after leaving Hutto, Dunn pulled off the road. He grabbed my breasts He put his hands in my pants and he touched my private parts, she said. He touched me again inside the van, and my hands were tied. And he started masturbating. Many women who seek asylum in the US are escaping sexual assault and rape at the hands of their persecutorsin many cases the US-backed police and paramilitary forces of Central America. Kassie interviewed another asylum seeker who was 19 years old when a detention center guard raped her. I didnt know how to refuse because he told me that I was going to be deported, the asylum seeker said. I was at a jail and he was a migration officer. Its like they order you to do something and you have to do it. Cristina Parker, communications director for the Texas immigrant rights nonprofit Grassroots Leadership, told the World Socialist Web Site: Its terrible to say, but this report doesnt shock me. Those of us who know these facilities thought, Thats about right. Its a common thing we hear. Its been a problem. Its not just at [T. Don] Hutto [detention center], its endemic and pervasive in the system. The corporate media has largely ignored the reports of widespread rape and sexual abuse by US immigration officials. The New York Times buried Kassies video shortly after it was published, while the Washington Post made only a passing reference to it at the conclusion of an article summarizing the days news. Otherwise, the story was not covered in the bourgeois press. The fascistic abuse of immigrants has been drowned out by the hysterical anti-Russia campaign dominating the airwaves. Its disturbing that this doesnt get more coverage and isnt met with more outrage, Parker said. The media is more interested in the reality television show that is our current federal administration and not the impact that its having on individuals and human beings on the border. Even though immigration has fallen off the national radar, only a fraction of the children separated from their parents have been reunited. The detention system is operating at a mass scale. The bulk of the reports of rape and abuse were made from 2013 to 2017mostly during the Obama administration. In an effort to cover up widespread abuse, ICE found roughly 60 percent of the abuse claims to be unsubstantiated. I do not believe there is a culture of abuse, for the past six years its been less than 1 percent of our population that has reported an incident, Philip Miller, former deputy executive associate director of ICE, told Kassie. Hundreds of thousands of people have passed through immigration detention centers in recent years, indicating that tens of thousands have been raped or assaulted. The legal doctrine of qualified immunity makes it extremely difficult for inmatesespecially immigrantsto file lawsuits against guards. The total number of assaults is much higher than the number reported, as most detainees are too fearful of retribution to step forward. The report comes one month after the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) sent a letter to ICE demanding internal records about two immigrant women who were sexually abused by a prison supervisor at T. Don Hutto detention facility in 2017. In addition, the letter states that four immigrant detainees saw the supervisor on multiple occasions, masturbate in the dorm area while staring at detainees in a lewd manner. An ACLU report released in May exposed widespread physical and sexual abuse of detained immigrant children from 2009 to 2014. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents forced one 16-year-old girl to strip and forcefully spread her legs, and touched her private parts so hard that she screamed. Employing the depraved and brutal language of fascist thugs, agents put another child in a room and said, Right now, we close the door, we rape you and f*** you. A male and female agent forced another child to get naked while they watched her for 15 minutes, threatening to lock her in a room with a large male inmate to force her to be his wife. Kassies documentary, which deals with complaints brought by both adults and children, proves that the abuse did not stop in 2014. Among the exposures included in the ACLU report is the fact that the Obama administration actively covered up the abuse of immigrant children. Responding to a complaint by one immigrant child in 2014, an Obama administration inspector wrote, Are we sure we want to open this given the huge amount of more serious complaints we have? The CBP responded to the ACLU report by claiming allegations of abuse are unfounded and baseless. Reports of sexual assault equate allegations with fact, the report said. None of the leaders of the #MeToo movement have made public statements about the US governments rape and abuse of the most impoverished and oppressed. While figures such as actresses Rose McGowan, Asia Argento, Ashley Judd and former State Department official Ronan Farrow engage in endless acts of self-promotion on Twitter, their pages remained silent about Kassies report. The #MeToo campaign has no interest in the fate of refugees who are the victims of US imperialisms wars in Central America, Africa and the Middle East. The focus of the wealthy initiators of that anti-democratic campaign is not on halting abuse of power, but advancing their own careers and inflating their own bank accounts. Asia India: Sanitation workers strike in Punjab Sanitation workers in Punjab state walked out on strike for two days on July 17 to demand on time payment of wages and an end to the contract labour system. They also called for a pension scheme, permanent jobs for all temporary workers and a 1,000-rupee ($14.50) allowance. The strike was called by Punjab Municipal Workers Committee and involved members of the Sanitation Workers Union. About 800 workers protested outside the Bathinda municipal corporation office in southern Punjab chanting slogans against the state government. The strike had a major impact across the state with uncollected garbage piling up on roadsides. In Bathinda heavy rain pushed garbage into sewerage pipes, causing blockages in parts of the city. Sanitation workers in India are have been protesting for years for better working conditions and an end to the contract labour system. Punjab bus drivers demand permanent jobs for contract workers Drivers for the state-funded bus company in the Indian state of Punjab began a three-day strike on July 16 to demand an end to the existing contracting system and implementation of Supreme Court guidelines for equal wages for equal work. The walkout was organised by called by the Punjab Roadway Punbus Contractor Workers Union. The strikers also want the driving permits of 12,210 private buses cancelled as ordered by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. While workers have struck six times this year over these demands the states transport minister has ignored their appeals. A Punjab Roadway Punbus Contractor Workers Union official told the media that the transport minister claimed that Punjab Roadways employees were not registered workers but labourers. The striking workers demanded that government and bus authorities meet with the union and resolve all outstanding demands. India: Madhya Pradesh electricity workers continue indefinite strike Thousands of Madhya Pradesh outsourced electricity workers remain on strike after walking out on June 25 over a 15-point log of claims. Their demands include permanent jobs for all temporary workers employed for more than three weeks, equal pay rates and benefits to all employees, and implementation of the seventh pay commission ruling. Strike was called by the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Outsourced Workers Association. The workers are employed by about 30 private contracting companies for six government-owned electricity companies. Strikers have maintained a three-week protest at a site in Tower Chowk. Manoj Bhargava, state convenor of the union, told the media said that the 45,000 outsourced employees performed dangerous work but were only paid 6,000 and 8,000 rupees per month. Workers with up to 12 years service were deprived of decent salaries, he said, and pointed out that the Indian government and a few state governments paid 18,000 rupees per month to employees doing in the same work. In April 2017, more than 20,000 workers from all of Madhya Pradesh states power distribution companies struck work over the same demands. Workers also held state-wide demonstrations in October against the state governments moves to fully privatise electricity. Hundreds of truck and motorcycle drivers protest in Taiwan On Sunday, over 500 trucks and motorcycles formed a procession blocking roads and ending at the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) in Taipei. They were protesting laws that tighten emission regulations on vehicles. New Air Pollution Control Act allows the EPA to introduce more stringent emission standards for cars that are more than 10 years old. This includes barring them from service and forcing workers to replace vehicles, largely out of their own pockets. Those hit hardest are contractors with precarious work arrangements. Workers pointed to the hypocrisy of the government taking measures against drivers while doing nothing to crack-down on the pollution of the major corporations. They shouted slogans such as We do not want air pollution, but we want comprehensive measures [to combat it] and Stop taking action against small civilians. Migrant workers protest in Taiwan Over 30 members of the Taiwan International Workers Association gathered outside the Taipei Railway Station on Sunday to demand equal labor rights for migrant workers. The protesters called on the government to acknowledge a petition which asks for the repeal of amendments passed in the Labor Standards Act, which took effect on March 1. They are hoping that it will take prominent place during the local elections of November. The new laws allow employers to force migrant employees to work 12 continuous days, with only 8 hours of rest between each two shifts. They also raised the cap on overtime to 54 hours per month from 46. Millions of Indonesian motorcycle taxi drivers threaten to strike Up to two million motorcycle taxi drivers in the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang have threatened to disrupt the Asian Games sporting competition in mid-August with stoppages and protests, if their demands are not met. The impoverished drivers are employed on a piecework basis by ride-sharing apps Go-Jek and Grab. They are calling for greater minimum fees for drivers, and the introduction of legal protections in the precarious and seasonally-driven industry. Drivers are currently paid on average as little as 12 US cents per kilometre driven with a passenger in the traffic-jammed streets of Indonesias major cities. Cambodian garment workers end strike Over 1,000 garment workers at You Li International, in Cambodias Bavet city, ended a week-long strike and rally outside the factory on Thursday. Workers opposed a company productivity drive which included shorter deadlines and increasingly intolerable working conditions. Management had said that workers who did not meet their monthly targets would be sanctioned. Pregnant women were being made to work the same hours as other employees. The workers were also demanding a wage increase but the company refused. The provincial labor department, however, claims that workers demands for an end to the productivity drive were agreed to by the company. Australia and the Pacific Bus drivers take further industrial action in Victoria Bus drivers employed by the private transport company CDC Victoria took further industrial action in Melbourne and key regional cities, including Ballarat and Geelong, on Thursday, in opposition to demands for effective wage reductions and further cuts to conditions. The action involved CDC Victoria employees refusing to collect fares for passengers. It followed earlier 24-hour strikes on July 10 and 13. The global company has offered a paltry wage rise of just 2.5 percent per annum, well below the rapidly rising cost of living. The Transport Workers Union (TWU), which covers the employees, has called for a meagre 4 percent pay increase per year. Neither the union or the company has proposed any remedy to the issues cited by drivers, including long shift times, stressful work situations and health and safety issues. The TWU called off a possible 24-hour stoppage yesterday, in a signal that it is prepared to push through yet another sell-out deal. New South Wales track maintenance workers to strike on Monday Maintenance workers at the federal government-owned Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) will strike on Monday in a dispute over a new enterprise agreement. The 24-hour walkoutfrom 3 a.m. Mondaywill involve 180 Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) members across New South Wales, and follows a five-hour stoppage last week. ARTC has only offered an annual 2.65 percent increase but refuses to improve conditions or provide adequate living-away-from-home allowances. The workers spend long periods away from home maintaining tracks in regional and remote areas but were not being adequately compensated. Negotiations over a new enterprise deal have dragged on for 18 months. Management has also refused to back-date its pay offer. Australian meatworkers union agrees to compulsory Saturday overtime The Australian Meat Industry Employees Union (AMIEU) has brokered an in-principle agreement covering workers at the JBS processing plant in the rural town of Scone in New South Wales. The workers walked off the job for two hours last week and imposed an overtime ban in opposition to the companys demands for a new work roster. The changes would force employees to work overtime on Saturday at least 13 times a year. Currently Saturday overtime is voluntary. The union claimed that during negotiations after last weeks stop work that the company had substantially moved forward on its initial offer, as well as backing away from their attempt to take control of workers weekends and family time. Under the union-brokered deal, however, employees would be required to work compulsory overtime 10 Saturdays a year. The agreement also includes a 13.5 percent wage increase over four years and a $300 one-off bonus. The pay rise will barely keep up with the rapidly rising cost of living. It is a sop to get workers to endorse the agreement, in a ballot to be held over coming weeks. JBS is a global meat processing company that employs around 260,000 workers in 17 countries. It purchased the Scone processing facility from Primo Smallgoods in 2015. New Zealand: ACC medical advisers strike Thirty-nine senior doctors serving as medical advisers at state-owned health insurer Accident and Compensation Corporation (ACC) walked off the job on Tuesday after failed pay negotiations. The industrial action follows last weeks 24-hour strike by 30,000 nurses and healthcare workers. The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) have been in negotiations for a one percent pay increase, redundancy provisions matching other ACC staff, and a statement in their collective agreement acknowledging health and safety. The ASMS have prolonged the negotiations since last November, and limited the strike on Tuesday to four hours, from 8 a.m. to midday. Already facing a hysterical storm of opposition after his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump has sought to stem criticism on another frontthe failure of his much-vaunted meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on June 12 in Singapore to produce concrete results. Both issues are bound up with vicious political infighting in Washington over the direction of American foreign policy. As Trump ramps up his trade war measures and confrontation with China, powerful sections of the military and intelligence apparatus backed by the Democrats are pressing for more aggressive moves against Russia and accuse Trump of appeasement towards Putin. Trumps push for a summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim was driven in part by his desire for a diplomatic win to answer critics at home. More fundamentally, however, the White House is seeking a deal with Pyongyang, not so much over its nuclear programs, which pose no serious threat to the US, but rather to align itself with Washington against Beijing. Following the Singapore summit, Trump declared that North Korea no longer posed a nuclear threat. His joint statement with Kim, however, spoke only in general terms about a commitment to the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsulaa phrase that can, and will be, interpreted differently. The gulf between the two sides was highlighted earlier this month. Following negotiations in Pyongyang with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the North Korean regime issued a blistering denunciation of Washingtons gangster-like demands, saying they ran counter to the spirit of the Singapore summit. In a bid to answer his critics at home, Trump on Tuesday declared that the US has no time limit for the concretisation of agreement that he struck in Singapore. Despite Pyongyangs condemnation of the talks with Pompeo, he told reporters: Discussions are ongoing and theyre going very, very well We have no time limit. We have no speed limit. Trump bragged about his administrations achievements, declaring: The sanctions [on North Korea] are remaining. The hostages are back. There have been no tests. There have been no rockets going up for a period of nine months, and I think the relationships are very good, so well see how that goes. The remarks underscore Washingtons bullying methods in talks with North Korea. In return for a temporary, readily reversible, suspension of joint US military exercises with South Korea and worthless security guarantees, North Korea has halted its nuclear and missile tests, as well as handed over three imprisoned US citizens. Moreover, the US has maintained crippling economic bans on North Korea and rejected suggestions by China and Russia that the sanctions be eased as a sign of good faith. UN and unilateral US sanctions block virtually all North Korean exports, and place severe limits on its imports, particularly of oil and petroleum products. Washington is also pursuing its unsubstantiated allegations that Russia, China and South Korea are breaching the sanctions. Critics of the Singapore summit have pointed to North Koreas failure to begin to dismantle its nuclear weapons and programs, and accuse Pyongyang of extending its facilities. In other words, North Korea should unilaterally disarm, despite bellicose threats by Trump over the past year to totally destroy the country, and before steps to remove sanctions, let alone provide any genuine security guarantees. As well as hailing the achievements of the Singapore summit, Trump declared that his meeting with Putin would assist in forcing North Korea to accept US demands. He tweeted on Wednesday: Russia has agreed to help with North Korea, where relationships with us are very good and the process is moving along. There is no rush, the sanctions remain! Big benefits and exciting future for North Korea at end of process! Pompeo also defended the deal struck in Singapore, echoing Trump in insisting there was no time-frame for denuclearisation. Speaking to Fox News on Thursday, he declared the critics were simply speculating. He said North Korea had consistently reaffirmed their commitment to the agreement, adding: No one was in any confusion that this was going to happen in hours or days. After Trumps remarks this week, Japans government said it did not expect any change to its policy on North Korea, and urged Pyongyang to follow through on its commitment toward complete denuclearisation. At a news conference on Wednesday, Yoshihide Suga, Japans chief cabinet secretary, said: We are co-ordinating closely with the US regarding how North Korea will achieve denuclearisation. The lack of any time-frame is undoubtedly generating concerns among US allies, South Korea and Japan, that their interests are being ignored in the talks between Washington and Pyongyang. Last Friday South Korean President Moon Jae-in urged both sides to try harder to achieve a breakthrough in talks, warning they would face the stern judgment of the international community if their promises in Singapore were not kept. Moon has staked his own political capital on ending tensions and the danger of another devastating war on the Korean Peninsula, as well as transforming North Korea into a cheap labour platform for South Korean corporations. While publicly backing the US-North Korean negotiations, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is seeking direct talks with Kim Jong-un to push his own agenda, including the return of Japanese citizens abducted decades ago by North Korea. Abe has exploited the North Korean threat to advance plans for Japanese remilitarisation. If Pyongyang were allowed to keep short- and medium-range missileeither through lengthy delays or tacit US agreementAbe would quickly come under pressure from his right-wing, militarist constituency in the ruling elites. The danger of a rapid slide back toward war remains. The comments by US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats on Thursday at the Aspen Security Conference in Colorado underscore the cynical character of the Trump administrations approach to negotiations with North Korea. Coats agreed with Trump and Pompeo that any agreement was a much more complicated process than most people think and was going to take some time. He noted that the punitive economic sanctions were supported by China, Russia and other nations, dramatically driving down Pyongyangs exports and forcing Kim Jong-un to consider a potential collapse of his economy if he cant do something moving forward with this. In a rather off-hand justification for the talks, Coats declared: Having the opportunity to try to succeed here instead potentially going to war with a potentially nuclear-armed nation and what we have evaluated as a somewhat unstable leader, why not give it a shot? In other words, if the economic pressure being brought to bear does not force North Korea to capitulate to US demands, the military option remains on the table. This would be a war, potentially involving nuclear weapons, that could drag in major powers such as China and Russia. Early voting is a tricky indicator for predicting elections, since it's hard to know whether voters who cast ballots early would have voted anyway on Election Day but are simply doing it sooner -- or if they represent new voters altogether. But one thing is clear: the share of younger people voting early in Texas and Georgia is far outpacing anything seen at this point during the last midterm election, in 2014. The trend holds for both those voters aged 18-30 and those 30-50. And while the share of younger voters has gone up so far, the percentage of seniors over 65 voting early, even though they are still the largest single bloc of early voters in either state, their overall share has fallen sharply. The group between the ages of 50 and 64 stayed virtually the same. Both states are the scene of closely watched races: in the Texas US Senate race, Rep. Beto O'Rourke is trying to unseat Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, while in Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams and Republican Brian Kemp are vying to become the state's next governor in a contest that's largely mirrored the national political climate. If these early voting numbers actually do turn out to be a harbinger of increased turnout among younger voters, that could be great news for Democrats. According to a Harvard Institute of Politics poll released earlier this week, voters under 30 are much more likely to say they'll vote now than they were in 2014, and they are a deeply Democratic-leaning group. In most midterm election years, turnout among younger voters is meager in comparison to older voters. According to the Census bureau, just 17% of citizens under age 25 voted in 2014, compared with 59% of seniors. The new data is not to say older voters still don't make up the biggest piece of the pie in early voting -- they still do. But in other key states, their dominance has barely budged since the last midterm election, whereas in Texas and Georgia a clear break in the pattern is evident. Check out Arizona and Florida as a comparison to see what we mean: Despite hugely contested Senate races in both states this year, the age groups' share of early voting is largely static, overwhelmingly dominated by seniors just like they were at this point in 2014. CNN is partnering with Catalist, a data company that works with Democrats and others, to compile these counts of early ballots cast before Election Day, either in-person or by-mail. Catalist compiles these data by matching ballot request and return data from official sources to their database of voter records. This allows for analysis of ballots returned based on voters' partisan affiliation and certain demographic traits. Here are the total ballots cast so far in several key states with a high percentage of early or absentee voters, plus a comparison to votes cast at this point in 2016 and 2014.\ In several states the vote count is approaching what it did during the presidential election year in 2016 -- which is notable because generally fewer people vote in midterm elections than presidential ones. That could either represent greater interest in the election or be part of a steady trend toward more Americans choosing to cast their votes early. Or both. Keep in mind that in the totals above, Florida and Nevada have Senate races this year - they didn't back in 2014. But each state featured a statewide governors race both in 2014 and 2018. Some states also provide information on a voter's party affiliation, and here are three key states where they do: Arizona, Florida and Nevada. Remember, of course, these numbers only reflect someone's party registration, not for which candidate a person actually voted. As new numbers flow in tomorrow morning, we'll continue to post updates on what we know about who is voting early. The Russian ambassador to the United States said on Friday that Moscow was "open" to a follow-up summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump in Washington, four days after the leaders' private one-on-one meeting in Helsinki. Asked at the Valdai Discussion Club in Moscow to comment on controversial plans by the White House to invite Putin to the US this fall, Anatoly Antonov said: "The Russian side has always been open to possible proposals. We are ready for discussions on that point." Plans to welcome Putin were announced by White House press secretary Sarah Sanders in a statement on Thursday, hours after Trump tweeted that he was "looking forward" to meeting again with Putin to "begin implementing" issues they discussed during their summit earlier this week. Trump has been widely criticized for his performance in Helsinki, Finland, at which he was deeply deferential to the Russian leader and lashed out at his own country. "President Trump asked (national security adviser John Bolton) to invite President Putin to Washington in the fall and those discussions are already underway," Sanders tweeted Thursday. The invitation was extended to Putin by Bolton earlier on Thursday, according to a National Security Council spokesman. Antonov said that it was "up to the Kremlin to decide" the timing and number of such meetings. "The task is not to necessarily multiply the number of summits, the task is to prepare them carefully and substantially," he said. "At this stage, when we see that our leaders don't meet that often, we are of course in favor of continuing this dialogue so that it is ongoing, that our leaders meet not just occasionally, but regularly, so they would know and understand each other better." The visit will be controversial because it will bring a US adversary accused of masterminding a scheme to help put Trump into power to the United States at about the same time as midterm elections that US spy agencies say are already falling victim to Moscow's meddling. News of the invitation -- which caught many, including Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, off guard -- was welcomed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Asked about it during a news conference in Berlin on Friday, Merkel said she was "pleased whenever there is a meeting" between the US and Russia. "I believe that it has to become normal for a US President and Russian [President] to meet," adding that it is always good "especially when these two countries talk" because they control 90% of the world's nuclear arsenal. EDGAR COUNTY, Ill. (WTHI) - A manhunt out of Edgar County, Illinois has come to an end. The Edgar County Sheriff's Office says Benjamin Hornbrook has been taken into custody. Police records show Hornbrook was arrested in Vigo County before 3 a.m. Saturday. He had been on the run for several days. Officials say Hornbrook was wanted for escape out of Howard County, Indiana. They say he was also wanted for receiving stolen property out of Edgar County, Illinois. That's after officials say he and a female accomplice burglarized the Pleasant Hill Church. Police tried to arrest Hornbrook and the female at the church. While the female was able to be taken into custody, Hornbrook escaped. He was able to avoid being caught until now. TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Pole vaulters from across Indiana will meet in Terre Haute on Saturday. It's part of the first ever Mike Hanna Street Vault. It will take place at the Indiana Track and Field Hall of Fame Museum. News 10 caught up with workers as they got ready for the event. Organizers say they're excited about the amount of participation they've received so far. It takes place on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. PARIS, Ill. (WTHI) - The Paris, Illinois police department has issued a warning after credit card skimmers were found at a gas station. According to police, two skimmers were found in the gas pumps at the Circle K gas station on Jasper and Main Streets. Skimmers are used to steal credit or debit card information, including your pin number. Police say these skimmers were different though. Normally, when they are used on a gas pump, they are connected to the outside of the pump. These were located inside the pump. Police say the best way to tell if you are getting scammed is to check for a magnetic attachment on the outside of the pump, or check and see if the security tape along the pump door is intact. TUPELO, Miss. (WTVA) - It's supposed to be making things easier for Tupelo during possible dangers. That's the app Code Red, which has experienced glitches since its recent launch in the city. Things got so bad that the mayor tweeted out how you can disconnect from the service. "I connected with Code Red folks, and we went over what the glitches were," said Leesha Faulkner, the city's communications director. "Since then we sent out an apology to everyone who received the Silver Alert." WTVA also spoke with Lee County EMA Director Lee Bowdry, who explained more about how the system and what went wrong. "What happened Sunday, is she punched one wrong number different, and it caused the alert to go out that had been issued for Alabama," Bowdry said. The director says the Code Red mobile app is being used now by the city because of limited personnel. Code Red not only pushes out weather alerts but also when other immediate emergencies happen. "That'd be alright to be alerted for something like that," commented resident Angela Crawley. "I don't want to be bombarded with something meaningless." A young girl in Tennessee quenched thirsts and warmed hearts Saturday while raising more than $1,000 to benefit the family of a fallen deputy, CBS Nashville affiliate WTVF-TV reports. Caroline Freeman Piche, a 6-year-old in Mt. Juliet, set up a lemonade stand outside her home with a goal of collecting funds for the wife and daughter of Dickson County sheriff's Sgt. Daniel Baker, who was shot and killed in the line of duty May 30. And it didn't take long for the word to spread. Donning a white apron with rainbow letters, she raised $1,125 in less than five hours, with many of her customers being officers from the area. Some even let the 6-year-old climb into the driver's seat of their squad cars. "Thank you, Caroline, for touching all of our hearts," Mt. Juliet Police said in a video about her efforts. "Your compassion is a strong reminder of the goodness in the world." Caroline hopes to become a police officer when she grows up, the department said, and her mother told WTVF she let her daughter choose the charity her lemonade stand would benefit. Mt. Juliet Police Captain Tyler Chandler said he visited Caroline's lemonade stand to show her how much the "department appreciated her efforts." Baker, a 10-year veteran of the Dickson County department and a member of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, was shot while responding to a call from a resident about a suspicious car. Authorities believe 31-year-old Steven Wiggins shot Baker, and he was arrested on June 1 after a two-day manhunt. Authorities arrested and charged a second person, Erika Castro-Miles, who they believe "participated in the incident." "There are no words to describe the level of devastation myself and my family are dealing with," Baker's wife, Lisa, said in a statement earlier this month. "His service to his country and community will always be remembered." Caroline, holding a pink poster board with the total raised, thanked all those who came out to her stand and bought a cup of lemonade. There's something very Portland about sticking two things together that, at first blush, make zero sense. Bacon...on a doughnut? An arcade...that's a bar? Film composers...who play rock clubs? That's Federale, which creates soundtracks for imaginary spaghetti-western films. "We just really liked spaghetti-western soundtrack music, and we liked those sorts of movies," says Collin Hegna, the band's guitarist and "lead whistler." That's all there was to Federale's inception, according to Hegnano manic brainstorming session or drug-trip realization. "We just didn't know why people wouldn't play that music anymore." Hegna's sitting on a bench in Revolver Studios, the Southeast Portland recording space he co-owns. He's sharing post-session beers with Dasa Kalstrom (melodica, percussion), Carl Werner (guitar) and Sebastian Bibb-Barrett (trumpet, percussion). The band's core roster is rounded out by Chris Greene on drums and Colin Sheridan on keyboard, trumpet and percussionbut many "hired guns" make their way through any Federale show or record. Of the assembled Federalistas, Hegna and Kalstrom do most of the talking. "We had a band previously that myself and Dasa and Carl were in called Cocaine Unicorn, which had broken up," Hegna says. "So we were kind of looking for something different to do. We tried a couple different things, [but] hadn't really come up with the formula." A new project didn't gel until 2004, when they decided to indulge their shared love of westerns. Now Federale is releasing its second album. The group's music, both live and recorded, features a blend of classic genre instrumentation: whistling, noisemakers and samples. It's a lush, fully realized sound that flawlessly conjures the spirit of Italian western maestro-composer Ennio Morricone, circa 1966. And Federale's songs tell a story, which required a bit of a learning curve for the band's members, becausein true western-score formFederale's songs don't have lyrics. The challenge quickly turned into part of the enjoyment. "That's one of the funnest things about it, as far as I'm concerned," says Kalstrom. "Telling a story, but figuring out how to do it with music." Hegna doesn't think instrumental music limits what you can express. On the contrary: "You don't have to sing like Metallica or Creed to convey, 'Man, I'm really fucking feeling this!'" he says. "You can convey those emotions without words, and I think it makes it more interesting because you aren't so literal." Federale's first album, 2008's Music From: La Rayar, told the story of a man named Santiago and his revenge against the Indian tribe who killed his family. The band's new disc, Devil in a Boot, tells the tale of a man named Jack, soundtracking his vengeance against the railroad baron who killed his family. The simple, linear nature of western story lines and characters is one of the things that draws the musicians to the genre. "There's not a lot of conversation about what needs to happen," says Kalstrom. "'That guy fucked my shit up, and so I have to kill him.' It's just A and B." He slaps the back of one hand into the palm of the other like a pair of whip cracks or gunshotsbam, bam. The members of Federale don't want to write soundtracks just for imaginary filmsthey'd like to work on real films, too. The band scored 2008's cop-revenge story/urban western Pray for Hell by local filmmaker Todd Freeman, and the group's members would eventually like to see La Rayar and Devil in a Boot realized as actual movies. "I think you can express yourself more articulately in the context of a film," Hegna says, than through music alone. "Being able to illustrate [a] scene with music is, I think, a really powerful way to convey emotions." "I think we'd rather be scoring films," Kalstrom saysbut he sees less of a division between the two realms of music, between being a band and being soundtrack musicians, than most people would. "We're capable of doing both. There's nothing wrong with doing both." Thus far, Portland seems to agree with him. Now how about another beer with your haircut? SEE IT: Federale releases Devil in a Boot on Friday, Sept. 25, at Mississippi Studios, with Little Pieces and Ryan Sollee. 9 pm. $8. WWeek 2015 Ankazotoho, a slum in Antananarivo, was flooded following the passage of cyclone Enawo in Madagascar since March 7, 2017. (Xinhua/Eric Laperozy) ANTANANARIVO, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Cyclone Enawo has killed six people and displaced 12,321 others in Madagascar since it hit the northern coast on Tuesday, said a government office Thursday. Some 305 houses were flooded throughout the Madagascar, according to provisional data published by the national office of risk and disaster management (BNGRC). Analanjirofo, the eastern region of the country, was the most affected with more than 7,000 people removed from their houses. All schools were closed on Wednesday and Thursday in the country but students will resume courses on Friday, the communication office of the Ministry of Education said. Data from the Ministry of Education said that three students were killed, two schools were damaged while 11 others were flooded. Sixty-five classrooms were completely destroyed, 50 were severely damaged, and 54 others were dismantled following the passage of cyclone Enawo in Madagascar, the website of the Ministry of Education said. National roads number 2 linking the capital to Toamasina northeast of the country, and the national road 25 southeast of the country, were cut amid the rise of water, the BNGRC said. The capital Antananarivo was in red alert, especially for the plain crossed by the main rivers of Ikopa, Sisaony and Mamba. Several dozen localities were flooded. In Maroantsetra, in the north of the country, where Enawo brought gusts of 300 km per hour and winds of 205 km per hour on Tuesday, three others, including two children, were killed, BNGRC added. Madagascar's government held a special meeting Thursday morning, according to a communication from the presidency. More than 50 common sites have been installed to host more than 10,000 homeless. Cyclone Enawo continue to weaken and causes gusts of 60 km per hour and winds reaching 50 km per hour. It is expected to go out to sea in the Anosy region, southeast of the country Thursday evening around 10:00 p.m. local time. Enawo is the sixth cyclone of the current cyclonic season of Madagascar between Nov. 1, 2016 and May 31, 2017. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 02:28:30|Editor: yan Video Player Close NAIROBI, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday ordered freezing of all new government projects until those that are ongoing are completed to curb wastage. Kenyatta warned all government accounting officers that they would be held responsible if they sanction new projects without express authority from the National Treasury. "Even if new projects are aligned to the Big Four they cannot be started without express authority from CS (cabinet secretary) or PS (principal secretary) of the National Treasury," said Kenyatta in a statement issued in Nairobi. He said the directive is aimed at stopping wastage of resources and the habit of government agencies abandoning incomplete projects before jumping onto others. The Kenyan leader also announced that the Government will soon launch a new internet portal where all procurements will be publicized. He said all procurements, tenders and contracts will be advertised on the portal to create transparency in order to safeguard public resources from theft. He added that the portal will help create accountability because Kenyans will be able to see the processes followed in awarding of tenders. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 02:38:33|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close A Palestinian disabled protester uses a slingshot to hurl stones at Israeli troops during clashes on the Gaza-Israel border, east of Gaza City, on July 20, 2018. Four Palestinians were killed and 210 wounded on Friday during a mounting tension between the Israeli army and Islamic Hamas movement, which rules the Gaza Strip, medics and local media reported. (Xinhua/Stringer) GAZA, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Four Palestinians were killed and 210 wounded on Friday during a mounting tension between the Israeli army and Islamic Hamas movement, which rules the Gaza Strip, medics and local media reported. The health ministry in Gaza said in a statement that three Palestinians were killed in the Israeli tank shelling on eastern Gaza Strip and one was shot dead by Israeli troops' gunfire during protests close to the border with Israel. Hamas armed wing, al-Qassam Brigades, said in a short text message sent to reporters that the three killed in the Israeli tank shelling were members of the group. As Gaza militants and Israeli soldiers exchanged fire, dozens of Palestinians joined the 17th Friday of the protests and rallies, which was called the "Great March of Return" by the Palestinians starting from March 30 this year. The health ministry said that in the protests, around 210 others were also injured and most of them suffered suffocation after inhaling tear gas fired by the Israeli soldiers stationed at the border between eastern Gaza and Israel. Meanwhile, the Israeli army said in a statement that its tanks and war jets attacked eight military posts that belong to Hamas militants along the border. The army said that two roadside bombs were also detonated under the borderline area east of Rafah town close to the commercial crossing of Kerem Shalom close to the border with Israel. Senior Hamas leader Ismail Radwan told reporters that the crimes of the Israeli occupation will not pass for free, adding that the protests and breaking the Israeli siege will not stop until it achieves its goals. "The enemy's threat won't terrify us and won't break our determination to carry on with Jihad (Holy War) and resistance," he said, adding "shelling for shelling, blood for blood and demolition for demolition ... this is the equation with the occupation." On Friday, the high commission of the protests and defying the Israeli siege called on the Palestinians to demonstrate at five different locations in eastern Gaza close to the border with Israel. Eyewitnesses said that Palestinian demonstrators burned tires, pulled parts of the barbed wire of the border, released dozens of arson balloons and kites from eastern Gaza into southern Israel, and clashed with the Israeli soldiers stationed at the borders. Ashraf Al-Qedra, spokesperson of the health ministry in Gaza, said in a press statement that since March 30, the Israeli army killed 147 Palestinians, including two children in an airstrike and wounded more than 16,000. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 03:38:49|Editor: yan Video Player Close MOSCOW, July 20 (Xinhua) -- More than 1.7 million Syrian refugees may return to their places of permanent residence in the near future, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday. According to preliminary estimates, these refugees include up to 890,000 from Lebanon, up to 300,000 form Turkey, about 150,000 from Jordan, up to 100,000 from Iraq and Egypt each, and up to 200,000 primarily from the EU countries, said Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian National Defense Management Center. "To date, 336,500 people can already be accommodated in 76 settlements of the country least affected by the war," Mizintsev said, according to a transcript by the Defense Ministry. More than 6.9 million people have left Syria since 2011 when the the Syrian civil war broke out, most of whom are living in 45 countries, the official said. Russia's newly established refugee center in Syria has started restoring infrastructure and vital facilities in 48 Syrian populated settlements, Major General Alexei Tsygankov said, according to the transcript. On Monday, the Defense Ministry announced that Russia has established a center for the reception, distribution and accommodation of refugees in Syria. The center will monitor the return of temporarily displaced persons and Syrian refugees from foreign countries to their homes and arrange humanitarian aid deliveries to Syria, as well as help restore the healthcare systems and other human services, the ministry said. SAN FRANCISCO, July 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. aerospace giant Boeing Company said Friday that it has achieved a "key milestone" in a major contract with the U.S. Air Force after it presented the air force with design options for America's next intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD). "We offered the Air Force cost and performance trades for a deterrent that will address emerging and future threats," said Frank McCall, vice president of Boeing Strategic Deterrence Systems. The Air Force can prioritize its system requirements by considering various capabilities and opportunities for cost savings before it proceeds to next stage, he said. Boeing called the review an "achievement of a key contract milestone." The Air Force awarded Boeing a contract worth 349 million U.S. dollars in August last year to mature the GBSD weapon system design to replace the aging Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile system. "The Minuteman III is 45 years old. It is time to upgrade," Air Force Chief of Staff David Goldfein said last year when the contract was awarded to Boeing. Boeing completed a system requirements review last November and a system functional review will occur later this year. The U.S. aerospace giant will present its preliminary design review to the Air Force in 2020. The GBSD weapon system is viewed by the U.S. military as a reliable deterrent to nuclear threats over the next 50-plus years, and the replacement of the Minuteman III ICBM will not start until the late 2020s. German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks to U.S. President DonaldTrump during the second day of the G7 meeting in Charlevoix city of La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada, June 9, 2018. (Xinhua/ REUTERS) by Xinhua writers Zhu Dongyang, Gao Pan, Ye Shan BEIJING, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The United States filed challenges against China, the European Union (EU), Canada, Mexico and Turkey at the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Monday, claiming that the U.S.-initiated steel and aluminum tariffs were "wholly legitimate and fully justified" on national security grounds, while the countermeasures taken by these economies were "completely without justification." The United States is fiddling around with double standards and violating international rules, and its bullying has been resisted by other WTO members. First of all, steel and aluminum are mostly civil products which are part of the commodities in international trade. If imports of steel and aluminum harm national security, there would be no product that does not harm national security. The imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports with the excuse of "national security" is an abuse of the WTO's national security exception clause. Such an abuse would put the entire international trading system and multilateral trade rules at risk, and cause serious damage to the multilateral trading system. According to the statistics of the U.S. Commerce Department and Defense Department, steel imports only account for about one-third of its domestic consumption, of which the U.S. defense industry needs only 3 percent. It is safe to say that U.S. domestic steel production is sufficient to meet the needs of national defense, and it is impossible for steel imports to harm its "national security." International trade experts have repeatedly pointed out that U.S. imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum is utter trade protection. This has become a broad consensus among WTO members. It is clear who is undermining and violating multilateral trade rules. Secondly, during its negotiations with trade partners over the exemption of steel and aluminum tariffs, Washington forced them to implement "voluntary export restraint." Such an attempt to bring back the quota era is another serious violation of WTO norms. While the United States imposed high tariffs on steel and aluminum, it granted exemptions to some individual economies for political and economic reasons. Washington's discriminatory double standards violate the WTO's most-favored-nation treatment principle. The United States has abandoned multilateral trade rules in favor of self-serving double standards, forcing some economies to set limits on their exports, while granting exemptions to others solely for its own interests, thus seriously disrupting the international trade order. Thirdly, the fight against U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs by other economies is a righteous move to uphold the basic principles of the WTO and safeguard the multilateral trading system. It is also a necessary move to urge Washington to comply with its WTO obligations. It is a typical gangster logic for the United States to impose tariffs and not allow others to retaliate. The current multilateral trading system, represented by the WTO, was established by all parties worldwide through consultation, and the more than 160 members, including the United States, are obliged to follow the rules of the world trade body. As the world's largest economy and a founding member of the WTO, the United States' trade bullying has threatened the foundation of the multilateral trading system. If other economies do not fight back, the international trade system will be reduced to a status that is governed by the "law of the jungle." The international community sees clearly who wields sticks of high tariffs at will at the price of international trade rules, or who is taking necessary "legitimate defense" to uphold the multilateral trading system. It is also believed that the WTO will make a just verdict. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 04:29:05|Editor: yan Video Player Close HELSINKI, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The entry of Sweden's Telia into TV broadcasting was welcomed in Finland as the Nordic telecom operator announced Friday its purchase of Swedish group Bonnier Broadcasting, the parent company of Finnish TV channel MTV. Some analysts expected the deal to increase the chances of survival for MTV that has been losing money for years. MTV received last year a unique 3-million-euro state subsidy in order to to be able to continue producing "quality news" as an alternative to the Finnish state owned YLE. Jarkko Nordlund, CEO of MTV, welcomed the opportunities the change of ownership of the channel will open up. Nordlund noted that "watching television" is moving increasingly to mobile gadgets. Both Nordlund and Telia CEO Johan Dennelind underlined the need to produce domestic content in the competition against global players such as Netflix. Meanwhile, representatives of MTV staff unions were cautiously optimistic. The purchase of Bonnier Broadcasting services in Sweden and Finland came only a few days after Telia had announced the purchase in Norway of the GET and TDC Norway from the Danish TDC. Telia has now mobile, fixed-line and TV operations in all seven Nordic and Baltic markets. Commercial television started in Finland in the mid 1950s, decades before Sweden. MTV -- short of Mainostelevisio -- is the oldest commercial television company still in business in the Nordic area. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 05:59:24|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close People look at the newly painted ground mural in Doyers Street in Manhattan's Chinatown, New York City, July 20, 2018. Doyers Street, a 200-foot-long (61-meter) street in the heart of Chinatown, is being covered with a vibrant mural by artist Chen Dongfan titled "The Song of Dragons and Flowers." Dongfan's work is in partnership with Art Bridge and part of the NYC Department of Transportation's Doyers Street Seasonal Street Public Art program, as well as the Chinatown Partnership's pedestrian plaza project. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) NEW YORK, July 20 (Xinhua) -- One of the oldest streets in Manhattan's Chinatown, New York City, is currently being painted into a grand mural of a dragon. Doyers Street, a 200-foot-long (61-meter) street in the heart of Chinatown, is being covered with a vibrant mural by artist Chen Dongfan titled "The Song of Dragons and Flowers." Dongfan's work is in partnership with Art Bridge and part of the NYC Department of Transportation's Doyers Street Seasonal Street Public Art program, as well as the Chinatown Partnership's pedestrian plaza project. The technicolor mural is part of the organization's efforts to boost foot traffic to Chinatown, Wellington Chen, Executive Director of the Chinatown Partnership, told Xinhua on Friday. "Chinatown's history is full of hardship, but also full of love. Doyers Street is located in Chinatown, intersecting with Pell Street at its very end, as if a flying dragon is winding its way up and resting at the intersection of two streets," Chen said of the work on his Instagram account. "I was inspired by the immigrant experience and how they perceive this neighborhood as home. Thus, I believe that dragon, both from its visual form and the cultural meaning, can best represent the area," he said. Doyers Street was infamously known as the "Bloody Angle" in the early 20th century. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 06:39:30|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close Photo taken on July 20, 2018 shows the passenger plane for the first Atlanta-Shanghai flight at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, the United States. U.S. airline giant Delta Air Line relaunched a non-stop flight route Friday between Atlanta, state of Georgia, and China's Shanghai. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) ATLANTA, the United States, July 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. airline giant Delta Air Line relaunched a non-stop flight route Friday between Atlanta, state of Georgia, and China's Shanghai. The first flight of the route took off Friday afternoon at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, marking the official operation of the sixth daily non-stop flight run by Delta between the United States and China. The 291-seat Boeing 777-200LR is set to arrive at Shanghai Pudong International Airport in roughly 16 hours and the service will be operated on a daily basis. "China is a very important market for Delta," the airline said in a statement. "Delta is growing its footprint in the China-U.S. market." "With the commencement of this flight, we look forward to receiving many more Chinese visitors and we're working very hard to make sure you all feel welcomed in our city," said Marva Lewis, chief of staff for Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, during an inaugural flight ceremony. The first passengers of the flight include a Georgia business and trade delegation, whose members hope that their visit to China could help strengthen the state's booming economic and business ties with the world's second-largest economy. Their trip also comes amid U.S.-initiated trade disputes with other countries, including China, its largest trading partner, but officials from Georgia believe that trade and business opportunities would follow connectivity. "As soon as this route is up and flying again, I think we're going to see more trade, more business investment and more tourists flowing between our two countries," Pat Wilson, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, told Xinhua. "The things that happen in Washington, they're very different than what happens in the state. So I think you're going to continue to see trade continue to increase following this connectivity," Wilson said before boarding the plane. Delta, which started and then stopped service between the two cities twice during past years, relaunched the route as it eyes to connecting its Atlanta hub with China Eastern Airlines' operations in Shanghai. As a result of the partnership, customers will have one-stop access to more than 150 destinations in the United States and Latin America from Shanghai and be able to connect beyond Shanghai to more than 70 destinations in interior China. Founded in 1924 and headquartered in Atlanta, Delta operates a mainline fleet of more than 800 aircraft and provides over 15,000 daily flights in both domestic and international network that includes 324 destinations in 57 countries on six continents. Besides the Atlanta-Shanghai route, Delta runs five other daily non-stop flights from Beijing/Shanghai to both Seattle and Detroit and from Shanghai to Los Angeles. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R), accompanied by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, speaks to the press at the UN headquarters in New York, July 20, 2018. (Xinhua/Li Muzi) UNITED NATIONS, July 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo endorsing U.S. President Donald Trump's continuing of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said on Friday the two leaders began discussing the return of millions of Syrian refugees. "The president shared with me the conversations that they had," Pompeo told reporters at UN Headquarters after a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "There was a discussion between President Trump and President Putin about the resolution in Syria and how we might get the refugees back," the Washington envoy said. "It is important to the world that at the right time, through a voluntary mechanism, these refugees are able to return to their home country," Pompeo said. "It's what we've all been working on. It's what the UN has been working on ... and President Putin and President Trump did discuss that." "There's lots of work to do to figure out how to implement that," he said. "But, the United States certainly wants to be part of helping achieving that resolution in Syria. Make no mistake about it." Asked about what he thought of Trump inviting Putin to the White House this autumn, Pompeo said: Yeah, I'm happy that the two leaders of two very important countries are continuing to meet. If that meeting is in Washington it is all to the good. Those conversations are incredibly important." "We have our senior leaders meeting with people all across the world, people that we have deep disagreements with," he said. "It is incredibly valuable to the people of the United States of America that President Putin and President Trump continue to engage in dialogue to resolve the difficult issues that our two countries face between each other." "I think that it makes enormous sense and I'm very hopeful that that meeting will take place this fall," Pompeo said. CHICAGO, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) agricultural futures closed higher on Friday, as world demand for U.S. grains will probably increase amid falling crop yields elsewhere. The most active corn contract for December delivery rose 4 cents, or 1.1 percent, to settle at 3.69 dollars per bushel. September wheat went up 11.75 cents, or 2.33 percent, to close at 5.16 dollars per bushel. November soybeans were up 3.25 cents, or 0.38 percent to settle at 8.6475 dollars per bushel. Latest official data showed that export sales of grains and soybeans jumped week to week, indicating rising demand for U.S. supplies, though the uncertainty still lingers over CBOT soybeans amid unsolved trade disputes between the U.S. and China. Russian wheat export offers have become limited due to declining winter wheat crop quality. In France, the largest grain grower in European Union, is also expected to produce less wheat this year because of unfavorable weather conditions. As Paris wheat prices are rising amid falling supplies, U.S. wheat, with high protein, will help offset the losses of other areas and buoy U.S. export demand beyond October, said analysts with AgResource, a Chicago-based agricultural research firm. As a result, CBOT wheat futures have posted sharp gains in the past two sessions. Demonstrators attend a rally to protest against the 'Jewish Nation-State Bill' in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv on July 14, 2018. (Xinhua/AFP PHOTO) UNITED NATIONS, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations on Friday expressed concern over the newly passed "nation-state" law by the Israeli Knesset, which critics say institutionalizes discrimination against the country's Arab minority. "We reaffirm the United Nations' respect for the sovereignty of states to define their constitutional character while emphasizing the need for all states to adhere to universal human rights principles, including the protection of minority rights," said Farhan Haq, a UN spokesman. A negotiated two-state outcome of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in line with UN resolutions and previous agreements is the only way to achieve enduring peace that resolves all permanent-status issues and realizes the national aspirations of both peoples, Haq told a daily press briefing. "We call once more on all parties to refrain from unilateral moves that undermine the two-state solution." The Knesset, Israel's parliament, on Thursday narrowly passed the controversial bill that defines Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. It states that only Jews have the right of self-determination in Israel. The law also revokes Arabic of its status as an official language alongside Hebrew. Arabs comprise about 20 percent of Israel's 9 million population. SAN FRANCISCO, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Mayor Jenny Durkan of Seattle in the U.S. west state of Washington Friday vowed not to back off in defending the city's new law on gun control amid a lawsuit by pro-gun representatives and groups. The National Rifle Association (NRA), Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and two Seattle residents Friday filed in the state's King County Superior Court over the city's new gun-safety law. The legal action by the pro-gun groups and representatives came only two days after Durkan signed a bill passed by Seattle's City Council into law on Wednesday, which requires gun owners to lock up their guns. Durkan voiced her opposition to the lawsuit and pledged to fight for the safety of the public who should not fall victim to gun violence. "We are taking urgent action to save lives, and the NRA and SAF want to stop it. We will prevail and will continue to push for more protection for our children and community," Durkan tweeted. She said she is committed to reducing gun violence and standing up for safer communities. "We can't prevent every gun death or injury, we can take steps to help prevent tragedies," she tweeted. She snubbed the challenge of the pro-gun groups who accused Seattle's ordinance on the requirement of "safe storage" of guns violates a Washington state law, which prevents cities from regulating guns. "While they go to court - kids go to the hospital," Durkan tweeted. Under the law signed by the Seattle mayor two days ago, a gun owner in the city could be fined up to 500 U.S. dollars if a firearm isn't locked up, up to 1,000 dollars if a minor, "at-risk person" or unauthorized user accesses the weapon, and up to 10,000 dollars if someone uses the weapon to hurt someone or commit a crime. The legislation is going to take effect in 180 days. SAF founder Alan Gottlieb claimed the Seattle city has no authority to pass a gun-control law. "Seattle simply can't break the law to adopt an ordinance as a political statement," he said. The controversial lawsuit came at a time of heightened national concern around gun safety and mass shootings. A series of deadly gun-related violence, including the mass shooting in Douglas High School of Florida that killed 17 students and staff members in February this year, have sparked March for Our Lives demonstrations across the U.S. in March, when hundreds of thousands of students joined one of the biggest pro-gun control campaigns in the country since the Vietnam era. HOUSTON, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Spokesman of Former President George H.W. Bush said Friday afternoon that the former president was deeply saddened by doctor Mark Hausknecht's death and sent condolences to his family, colleagues and his friends. "Mark was a fantastic cardiologist and a good man," President Bush said. "I will always be grateful for his exceptional, compassionate care. His family is in our prayers." In 2000, Hausknecht appeared at a news conference at Methodist with George H.W. Bush after the former president was treated for an irregular heartbeat. According to the Houston Police Department (HPD), the doctor was shot dead Friday morning while riding a bicycle in Houston, U.S. state of Texas. The gunman, also on a bicycle, rode off after the shooting and is on the run, Houston police said. It's not known if the shooting is thought to be random or targeted. LOS ANGELES, July 20 (Xinhua) -- A 2-year-old girl was accidentally fatally shot by a 4-year-old boy Friday morning in the San Bernardino County in the western U.S. state of California, said police. Deputies responded to a home in Muscoy reference a shooting. Preliminary investigation leads investigators to believe that a 4-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his 2-year-old cousin, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff' s Department. The girl died about an hour after being hospitalized. The adults in the house at the time of the shooting or shortly after were taken to Sheriff' s Department headquarters for questioning, a local news outlet, the San Bernardino Sun, reported. A 72-year-old neighbor of the family called the news "devastating" and told the San Bernardino Sun that people who got guns have to lock them up so kids can't get them. The San Bernardino County Sheriff' s Department said the investigation is continuing and updates will be provided as new information becomes available. Investigators are trying to determine how the boy got hold of the gun. According to the Gun Violence Archive, an independent data collection and research group that provides free online public access to accurate information about gun-related violence in the United States, there are 7,965 people were killed in gun-related violence in the country to date, including 380 children under age of 11. Photo taken on July 20, 2018 shows the passenger plane for the first Atlanta-Shanghai flight at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) ATLANTA, the United States, July 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. airline giant Delta Air Line relaunched a non-stop flight route Friday between Atlanta, state of Georgia, and China's Shanghai. The first flight of the route took off Friday afternoon at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, marking the official operation of the sixth daily non-stop flight run by Delta between the United States and China. The 291-seat Boeing 777-200LR is set to arrive at Shanghai Pudong International Airport in roughly 16 hours and the service will be operated on a daily basis. "China is a very important market for Delta," the airline said in a statement. "Delta is growing its footprint in the China-U.S. market." "With the commencement of this flight, we look forward to receiving many more Chinese visitors and we're working very hard to make sure you all feel welcomed in our city," said Marva Lewis, chief of staff for Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, during an inaugural flight ceremony. The first passengers of the flight include a Georgia business and trade delegation, whose members hope that their visit to China could help strengthen the state's booming economic and business ties with the world's second-largest economy. Their trip also comes amid U.S.-initiated trade disputes with other countries, including China, its largest trading partner, but officials from Georgia believe that trade and business opportunities would follow connectivity. "As soon as this route is up and flying again, I think we're going to see more trade, more business investment and more tourists flowing between our two countries," Pat Wilson, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, told Xinhua. "The things that happen in Washington, they're very different than what happens in the state. So I think you're going to continue to see trade continue to increase following this connectivity," Wilson said before boarding the plane. Guests cut the ribbon at the inaugural flight ceremony at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, the United States, July 20, 2018. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) Delta, which started and then stopped service between the two cities twice during past years, relaunched the route as it eyes to connecting its Atlanta hub with China Eastern Airlines' operations in Shanghai. As a result of the partnership, customers will have one-stop access to more than 150 destinations in the United States and Latin America from Shanghai and be able to connect beyond Shanghai to more than 70 destinations in interior China. Founded in 1924 and headquartered in Atlanta, Delta operates a mainline fleet of more than 800 aircraft and provides over 15,000 daily flights in both domestic and international network that includes 324 destinations in 57 countries on six continents. Besides the Atlanta-Shanghai route, Delta runs five other daily non-stop flights from Beijing/Shanghai to both Seattle and Detroit and from Shanghai to Los Angeles. ISLAMABAD, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan on Friday welcomed foreign observers for the upcoming parliamentary elections. Two observer groups from the European Union and Commonwealth are currently deployed to observe elections on July 25. Former President of Nigeria and Head of Commonwealth Observers Group, Abdulsalami Abubakar, called on Pakistan Foreign Minister Hussain Haroon at the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs and discussed matters relating to the forthcoming general elections, the Foreign Ministry said. Abubakar is leading a 24-member delegation of Commonwealth Election Observers Group to observe general elections 2018. Commonwealth Election Observers Groups were deployed in Pakistan during 2002 and 2013 general elections. Abubakar said he was looking forward to a peaceful electoral process and conveyed his positive impressions on the preparations for the general elections, according to a Foreign Ministry's statement. "Pakistan has a tradition of welcoming international election observers," the statement said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 08:59:56|Editor: Liu Video Player Close Players of Algeria celebrate during the awarding ceremony of the Judo group final at the 3rd African Youth Games in Algiers, Algeria, July 20, 2018. Algeria won the gold medal. (Xinhua) ALGIERS, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Algerian judo teams grabbed three gold medals Friday at the 3rd African Youth Games held here, which will last to July 28. The judo competition took place at Hacen Harcha Sport Hall in downtown Algiers. The Algerian team of four boys took gold in a great battle with Nigeria, while the girl's team also followed on the boy's path, as they overcame Nigeria in the final. The boy-girl mix team also snatched the gold medal, as they managed to take the best of Nigeria in the final, leaving the third place for Burundi. Algerian boy and girl judo athletes have already shined in individual completion on Thursday, as they grabbed seven medals, including three golds. The 3rd African Youth Games kicked off on Wednesday in the Algerian capital of Algiers, as some 3,300 athletes from 54 African countries compete in 30 sports. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 10:25:07|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close COLOMBO, July 21 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese sea sand dredger working on a sea reclamation project near the Colombo port had rescued two shipwrecked Sri Lankan fishermen, local media reported Friday. The captain of the vessel working for the Colombo Port City project, spotted the two drifting fishermen who were clinging on to an empty fuel diesel drum. The rescue team from the Port City used a barge to reach out to the fishermen amid waves as high as 2 meters, the vessel's company said. The two local fishermen aged 64 and 57 were then transferred to hospital. The two fishermen had left in a deep sea fishing boat on July 14. The engine had failed and the drifting boat had later struck a reef. The fishermen had abandoned ship and started swimming to the shore with the help of the empty fuel drum. The fishermen had been without food and water for 48 hours. HOUSTON, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Spokesman of former U.S. President George H.W. Bush said Friday afternoon that the former president was deeply saddened by doctor Mark Hausknecht's death and sent condolences to his family, colleagues and friends. "Mark was a fantastic cardiologist and a good man," Bush said. "I will always be grateful for his exceptional, compassionate care. His family is in our prayers." In 2000, Hausknecht appeared at a news conference with George H.W. Bush after the former president was treated for an irregular heartbeat. According to the Houston Police Department, the doctor was shot dead Friday morning while riding a bicycle in Houston, U.S. south state of Texas. The gunman, also on a bicycle, rode off after the shooting and is on the run, Houston police said. It's not known if the shooting is thought to be random or targeted. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 10:55:14|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close LILONGWE, July 20 (Xinhua) -- A lion suspected to have escaped from Zambia's South Luangwa National Park has killed six cattle and injured at least three people in north Malawi's border district of Chitipa, officials confirmed Friday. Sergeant Gladwell Simwaka, police spokesperson for Chitipa, told local media that Malawian game rangers and police officers have intensified the hunt for the beast and that there was hope they could succeed in bringing it back or killing it if necessary. "The lion is still causing problems in Chitipa and on Thursday, July 19 it was spotted at Kasisi village where it has injured three people who were trying to kill it with spears and axes," said Simwaka in a statement. The injured people were rushed to the nearest local hospital and later referred to the biggest referral health facility in the region, Mzuzu Central Hospital for treatment. Police have warned people around the area where the lion was spotted to be on guard as the hunt continues. According to a local reporter, residents in the area are staying indoors and have stopped grazing their animals for fear of the lion. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 11:35:20|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close LUSAKA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Zambia's main political parties pledged on Friday to end violence in campaigns for the upcoming mayoral elections in Lusaka. The ruling party Patriotic Front (PF) and the main opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) agreed to "call a truce and disarm their militant members," according to the communique issued after a meeting organized by the Electoral Commission of Zambia. "(We) will allow the electorate to vote freely on July 26, 2018 without any threats of violence, force or intimidation," the communique added. Both parties have become "the biggest stumbling block" to peaceful elections in the capital of Zambia as clashes often broke out between their supporters, according to local media. WASHINGTON, July 20 (Xinhua) -- In a latest gesture to counter Moscow's influence in Ukraine, the Pentagon announced Friday it will provide Ukraine with 200 million U.S. dollars in security assistance. The aid will fund additional training, equipment and advisory efforts to build the defensive capacity of Ukraine's forces, the Pentagon said in a statement. "This reaffirms the long-standing defense relationship between the United States and Ukraine," the statement noted, adding that U.S. security assistance to Ukraine totalled more than 1 billion dollars since 2014. It will be determined later when the equipment will be delivered. The statement came after the White House on Friday rejected a proposal from Russia to hold a referendum in eastern Ukraine on the fate of the region. "To organize a so-called referendum in a part of Ukraine which is not under government control would have no legitimacy," Garrett Marquis, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said Friday. U.S. media reported Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin raised the possibility of a referendum in Ukraine during his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday in Finland. Russia's Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov confirmed Friday that Putin had raised the topic with Trump and made "concrete proposals" on how to handle the conflict. The conflict in eastern Ukraine started in 2014 between Ukrainian government forces and armed groups which declared independence from Kiev. Ukraine has long accused Russia of aiding the insurgents while Moscow has repeatedly dismissed Kiev's claims. SYDNEY, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government Friday announced several new plans including firing salt into clouds and covering a "sun shield" in water to save the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef has suffered from bleaching for two straight years as sea temperatures rise due to climate change. It's also threatened by farming runoff, development, and the predatory crown-of-thorns starfish. The government collected plans to protect the reef in January, and six ideas out of 69 submissions will be tested. One of the selected plans is firing salt crystals extracted from seawater into clouds to make them more reflective and deflecting solar rays back into space. "The water vaporises and you're left with a salt particle which will float around, and if you can introduce those into the system you can increase the amount of sunlight reflected back," said David Mead, a researcher at the Australian Institute of Marine Science, who thought the plan has real potential. Another idea is putting a thin film with light-reflecting particles in seawater to cover the reef and protect corals from heat stress. "The great thing about the film is it is only a molecule thick so you can swim straight through it and it'll just keep self-forming," Andrew Negri from the Australian Institute of Marine Science told national broadcaster ABC. These ideas are parts of the "Reef 2050" plan which was first released by the Australian government in 2015 to protect the reef and improve water quality. According to a recent research by University of Queensland and Australian Institute of Marine Science, the marine ecosystem of the Great Barrier Reef is losing the ability to recover from damage, and average coral recovery rates have recorded a sixfold drop. MEXICO CITY, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from Friday's head-on crash between a public transport bus and a cargo truck in the central State of Mexico has risen to 13 after a woman died of her injuries in hospital, authorities announced. According to official reports, the crash occurred at 5:45 a.m. local time (1045 GMT) in the municipality of Ecatepec on a road connecting Mexico City and Pachuca, the capital of Hidalgo state, to the northeast of Mexico City. Authorities said 12 people were killed at the scene, including two women and 10 men, and at least eight others were sent to hospital. Governor of the State of Mexico Alfredo del Mazo expressed his condolences to the victims' families on Twitter. The bus was travelling towards Mexico City and "apparently speeding" along the edge of the freeway when it hit a broken-down truck, according to a state government report. The local government said relatives of the victims were being supported by psychologists and legal advisors, while social workers visited the injured in hospital. More investigation into the cause of the accident is still underway. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 12:45:28|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close by Annie Cheung HONG KONG, July 21 (Xinhua) -- People's zest for reading are spurred in China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) around this time of year when the Hong Kong Book Fair takes place in town. Luggage bags, cash, and a floorplan in hand, everyone is geared up for a shopping spree at the annual literary fest, which attracted close to 1 million visitors last year. Middle school student Jolie Lam stuffed all her spoils in a 22-inch yellow suitcase after shopping for an hour at the fair. Wearing a contented smile, the 16-year-old local told Xinhua that she is going to have a substantial time reading this summer. Launched by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council on Wednesday, the 29th fair is themed "Romance Literature" to lead readers to appreciate love through reading, by showcasing works of local authors in an exhibition and a string of seminars. Meanwhile, parents and young readers are showing more of their passion for the search of cut-price books and items that can enhance learning. "We spent over 1,000 HK dollars (about 127 U.S. dollars) for these books, mostly English fictions. It's cheaper to buy here," Lam's mother said, pointing at the suitcase filled with around 40 books, that reading has polished up her daughter's writing skills. Larissa Tong, 11, who is especially fond of teen novels, spent a few hundred dollars on her favorite titles. She agreed that most of the exhibitors are offering great deals, which is appealing. "Normally I prefer borrowing books from the library, but I think the book fair is a nice place (to do shopping) when you are looking for new releases," she said, adding that reading has broadened her range of vocabulary and imagination. As the HKSAR government has been putting more emphasis on the development in innovation and technology, exhibitors see it as a business opportunity and put on sale more STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education products. In "Children's Paradise," one of the 14 thematic zones of the fair, a smorgasbord of colorful, eye-catching educational toys and games, including robots, puzzles, building blocks, are presented. A mother of two toddlers, who wished to be named Leung, said that it is worth investing in toys and learning kits that can stimulate children's creativity and thinking in this era of information explosion. "Like most parents, I will do as much as I can to provide my kids with opportunities to acquire different kinds of knowledge, so they won't lag behind others of the same age," she said. Priscilla Wong, marketing manager from a local exhibitor selling STEM education products, told Xinhua that they expected a better sales this year as the atmosphere of innovation and technology in Hong Kong is improving. "In the past, parents would buy workbooks for their children, but now they aim for inspirational toys and games," Wong said. She said she noticed that the mindsets of parents are changing and children are expecting something more challenging at playtime. She added that people are more willing to spend money on educational toys, with some customers paying more than 4,000 HK dollars (509 U.S. dollars) for one single set of robotic arm at their booth. To combine learning with technology has become a trend. At a seminar in the fair, Natasha Leung, senior publishing manager at Pearson Hong Kong, talked about their collaboration with technology companies in adapting artificial intelligence to English learning. This collaboration has enabled the publisher to create a custom curricula that match each student's needs and ability and provide students with a virtual one-on-one tutor, which guide them on their learning path. Teachers in real life can then learn from the data about students' needs. A total of 680 exhibitors from all over the world participated in this year's fair, which runs until July 24. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 12:45:29|Editor: Liu Video Player Close Actors celebrate the opening of the 28th Qingdao International Beer Festival in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, July 20, 2018. The beer festival, gathering 200 beer brands from over 30 countries and regions, kicked off here on Friday. (Xinhua/Li Ziheng) QINGDAO, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The 28th Qingdao International Beer Festival, one of the largest beer festivals in China, opened Friday in the coastal city of Qingdao. The festival this year will gather 200 beer brands from over 30 countries and regions and offer more than 1,300 types of beer, said Mi Desheng, director of tourism commission of the Xihai'an (West Coast) New Area, where the festival takes place. The festival will last 38 days, longer than previous years, to accommodate more tourists, Mi said. The festival venue occupies more than 800,000 square meters, he added. Qingdao hosted the 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit on June 9 and 10. The beer festival features SCO countries, including a venue for Russian beer, Mi said. Qingdao is home to Tsingtao Brewery, a time-honored beer brand in China. Its international beer festival is an annual carnival and one of the largest in the country. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 13:20:33|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close BEIJING, July 21 (Xinhua) -- China's internet sector received about 27.6 billion U.S. dollars in the second quarter of 2018, up 72.5 percent year-on-year, according to a report released Friday. The number of internet companies receiving investment and financing in Q2 reached 727, up 87.4 percent year-on-year, said the report by China Academy of Information and Communications Technology. Areas receiving the most investment were internet finance, enterprise service, e-commerce and online education, with 131, 100, 89 and 72 investment cases respectively. Internet financing companies received 16.2 billion U.S. dollars during the period, accounting for nearly 60% of the total investment. CANBERRA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government is preparing to direct a larger percentage of the country's migrant intake to rural areas. The new policy, being developed by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, would seek to ease the impact that rapid population growth has had on major cities such as Melbourne and Sydney while stimulating growth in regions where it has stagnated. It comes as the government finds itself divided over immigration policy and whether the migrant intake should be reduced or allowed to grow. Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has suggested cutting the annual intake by 80,000 but Treasurer Scott Morrison warned that doing so would cost the national budget 5 billion Australian dollars (3.71 billion U.S. dollars) over the next four years. MPs from major cities largely side with Abbott amid concerns that the population growth, half of which can be attributed to migration, is adversely affecting the quality of life. One of the major challenges faced by Turnbull is how to convince migrants to stay in regional towns once they arrive there. Christopher Pyne, a member of the government's inner sanctum and minister for defence industry, on Friday conceded that population was a "tricky" issue for the government. "We have a continent the size of the U.S. yet we have 25 million people versus their over 200 million people," he told Sky News. "I feel like we can take more people in Australia and we have an obligation in many cases to do so. "The management of population is all about infrastructure, it is about water, it is about local, state and commonwealth governments making the right decisions. "People in Sydney and I'm sure Melbourne have quite a different view to the growth of the population than people, for example, in Adelaide or Hobart or the Northern Territory, or North Queensland where they welcome more migrants and growing populations." SYDNEY, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Seagulls have hit record numbers in Australia's Tasmania island state, baffling ornithologists and animal watchers who also highlighted the birds' changing food supply and nesting areas, latest conservation group figures showed. All major gull species in the southern state's southeast area have increased significantly, with a nearly 200 percent rise in Pacific gulls from last year's numbers to surpass 1,000 birds, according to bird conservation group Birdlife Tasmania's annual winter gull count reported late this week. Silver gulls recorded the second-highest population in more than three decades, at about 16,000 birds, the group's Eric Woehler told local media. The exact cause of the record number of seabirds, some of which can live for 30 years, was not known, said Woehler. "Every year the gulls surprise us ... The different species respond differently to the environment," the ABC radio channel in state capital Hobart quoted him as saying. The seabirds were also shifting away from dwindling food sources scavenged from rubbish dumps to feed in other spots including fish farms in water channels, said Woehler. Seagull nesting areas were similarly changing amid their rising numbers. "What little roosting space there is around here has become highly competitive," the radio channel quoted waterfront worker Jack Cooper as saying. Tasmania's winter gull count is touted as the country's longest-running survey of its kind, with the birds tracked since 1980. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 13:50:38|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close LILONGWE, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The Malawi government warned all Malawians living in the country and abroad not to be used to carry or deliver luggage or parcels to unknown contacts abroad, so as to avoid becoming unwitting drug mules. A statement by the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation dated July 19 expressed concern that an increasing number of Malawian nationals, mostly young women, are being arrested and detained abroad in connection to drug trafficking offences. According to the statement, the Malawian women are either duped or coerced by foreigners (mostly males) to engage in the illicit drug trade with promises of monetary rewards, better life and sometimes even marriage. It added that sometimes unsuspecting women are asked by dealers posing as businessmen trading cosmetics and other items to carry luggage (sealed or otherwise) concealing drugs when passing through airport security check points, ending up being arrested. "Two young Malawian ladies were recently arrested at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for trafficking dangerous drugs and they are currently in detention awaiting trial," reads the statement. In early April, a 38-year-old woman addicted to drugs died in a hotel in the country's commercial city of Blantyre, and in late April a 26-year-old Malawian man died in Brazil allegedly after a drug-stuffed condom he had swallowed to traffic burst before delivery point. YANGON, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's trade with foreign countries has reached 10.2 billion U.S. dollars as of July 17 during the six-month transitional period which started in April, according to the figures of the Commerce Ministry Saturday. The country has changed its fiscal year period from original April-March to Oct-Sept beginning 2018-19, producing a six-month transitional gap. During the over three months, the country's export amounted to 4.5 billion U.S. dollars while its import shared 5.6 billion U.S. dollars. Meanwhile, the country suffered foreign trade deficit of 1.29 billion U.S. dollars in the first three months of the transitional period, with a decrease of nearly 50 million U.S. dollars, compared to the same period in last fiscal year 2017-2018. In last FY 2017-2018 which ended on March, the total foreign trade amounted to 33.3 billion U.S. dollars. The country targets to reach 13.5 billion U.S. dollars' foreign trade during the six-month transitional period. The country's agricultural products, animal products, fisheries, minerals and forest products are mainly exported while capital goods, intermediate goods and consumer goods are imported into the country. The authorities are exerting efforts to boost the country's exports as well as to reduce the imported luxury commodities to reduce the trade deficit. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 14:40:46|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close URUMQI, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Each summer, Harin Apalahon travels with his family and friends to a pasture 80 km away from their village to herd livestock. The pasture is located in the Pamir Plateau with an altitude of more than 3,000 meters in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The grass there is rich, and the sky is bright blue; however, it's too remote a location for electricity cables to reach. For years, Apalahon and his fellow herders had to make do with no electricity on the summer pasture. "Herding life was tedious in the past," said Apalahon, "we had to use kerosene lamps or candles for lighting." In 2005, considering the sufficient sunlight in the mountainous region, Apalahon bought a small solar generator for 600 yuan (around 89 U.S. dollars) to get electricity. However, the generator could only power two light bulbs for three to four hours. In 2014, the local government entrusted Huaneng Xinjiang Energy Development Co. Ltd. to supply electricity to 2,817 households living in the mountainous areas of Akqi County. Apalahon's family was among those who received a portable solar generator as well as basic training from the company on how to use and maintain the equipment. "Each set of equipment cost nearly 10,000 yuan, and is designed to be used for 20 years," said He Yi, who heads the company's branch in Akqi, "Herders can use it to power their television, fridge, and lights." The increased electricity has given Apalahon's life at the summer pasture more freedom, and more income as well. Apalahon bought a washing machine to bring with him each summer to the pasture, not for washing clothes, but for fermenting horse milk. In the past, his family made around 40 to 50 kilograms of horse milk per day. They used a heavy wooden stick to stir the milk in a sheepskin bag to ferment it. "We had to stir it for thousands or even tens of thousands of times to speed up the fermentation," said Apalahon, "With this slow method, we could barely make enough for ourselves." Now the family uses the washing machine to complete the process. With the new method, they can make more than 60 to 70 kilograms of fermented horse milk a day and sell it at 10 yuan per kilogram. "Last summer, we made 40,000 yuan from selling fermented horse milk," Apalahon said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 15:15:50|Editor: ZX Video Player Close KIGALI, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The China-Rwanda relationship is in a period of fast development, Chinese Ambassador Rao Hongwei told Xinhua in a recent interview, envisaging Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to bring the relationship into a new era. Xi is to pay a state visit to the country at the invitation of his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame. His visit to Rwanda will be the first ever by a Chinese head of state in history. The visit is highly expected by the Rwandan people from all walks of life and will strongly accelerate and deepen the development of the bilateral relations between China and Rwanda, Rao said ahead of the visit. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1971, the two countries have continuously strengthened their political trust and consolidated the friendship between the two peoples, said the envoy. Both sides have maintained good coordination in regional and international affairs and have conducted extensive and deep cooperation in areas of infrastructure, agriculture, education and health care, he said. China is Rwanda's largest trading partner, and it has provided many supports for the country in its process of reconstruction and industrialization. The Chinese government started to provide scholarships to Rwandan students in 1976, said Rao, adding that Chinese language teaching in Rwanda is developing with a sound momentum. As for health care, China started to dispatch its medical team to Rwanda in 1982, and there have been hundreds of medical staff working in Rwanda since then. Since President Kagame's visit to China in March last year, the bilateral relationship between the two countries have entered a period of fast development and the bilateral cooperation have embraced new opportunities, he said. The two countries have great potentials in synergizing the China-proposed Road and Belt Initiative and Rwanda's national development plan, or Vision 2020, and enhancing their mutually beneficial cooperation, he added. Over the last two decades, Rwanda has maintained political stability and realized economic development, said the envoy. Now, it has clean roads, good security, and a favorable business environment, he said. Rwanda's development not only improves the livelihood of the Rwandan people and gains a reputation for itself in the international community, but also provides investment and business opportunities for foreigners, said Rao. Rwanda also wants to further promote its tourism industry and attract more Chinese tourists to the country, he added. NEW DELHI, July 21 (Xinhua) -- A man was beaten to death allegedly by cow vigilantes on suspicion of smuggling cows in India's western state of Rajasthan, police said Saturday. The incident took place late Friday night near Lalawandi village of Ramgarh in Alwar district, about 175 km east of Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan. Reports said the victim, a resident of adjacent Haryana state, along with another person were transporting two cows from their native village when the mob attacked them. While the victim was lynched on the spot, the other one managed to escape. "We have come to know that villagers in Ramgarh caught two men who were taking cows on foot. The two were brutally beaten up and one of them died on the spot," a local government official said. Police officials said they have launched an investigation into the case and would soon arrest the attackers. "It is not clear if the two men were cow smugglers. The body has been sent for post-mortem and we are trying to identify the culprits. Arrests will be made soon," senior police official in Alwar, Anil Beniwal told reporters. The fresh lynching comes four days after India's Supreme Court terms mob lynchings as "horrendous acts of mobocracy." The top court urged the Indian parliament to consider enacting a new penal provision to deal with mob violence and provide deterrent punishment to offenders. There has been an increase in the cases of mob lynching in India either in the name of cow protection or on rumors of child lifting. According to the official data, between 2014 and March 2018, in 40 cases of mob lynching across the country, 45 people were killed. The ministry says 217 people had been arrested in these cases. The fresh incident happened hours after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in parliament urged states to take strict actions against those involved in mob lynching. He was responding to the attacks from opposition over government's inaction in stopping the cases. Cow slaughtering is a sensitive issue in India and sometimes flares up communal passions. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 16:21:03|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close GAZA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Islamic Hamas movement announced late on Friday it has reached a cease-fire agreement with Israel after a bloody day. "After Egyptian and United Nations' (UN) efforts, a cease-fire was agreed between Palestinian factions and Israel," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a press release. A UN source told Xinhua that it has been agreed to resume an already agreed truce between Israel and Gaza militants and rounds of cross-border violence. "The efforts were led by the Egyptian intelligence, UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process Nickolay Mladenov and other international players," the source told Xinhua. Under the agreement which went into force by midnight, all parties should abide cease-fire and stop escalations and hostilities, the UN source added. Four Palestinians were killed and 210 wounded on Friday during a mounting tension between the Israeli army and Hamas rulers of Gaza. The Israel army confirmed that a combat soldier was killed during operational activity near the southern Gaza Strip on Friday. In response to the soldier's death, the Israeli army carried out a wide-scale attack against Hamas military targets throughout the Gaza Strip. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 16:21:04|Editor: ZX Video Player Close DUBAI, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China's state-owned Everbright Group (CEG), the DIFC said on Saturday in an e-mailed statement. As the biggest free zone in the Middle East, DIFC said that CEG aims to explore collaboration opportunities related to China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The agreement will support the Group, which operates across banking, securities, insurance, funds, asset management, futures and investment management, expand its business across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, said DIFC. The MoU was signed by Arif Amiri, Chief Executive Officer of DIFC Authority, and Ge Haijiao, Deputy General Manager of CEG, following a meeting between Essa Kazim, Governor of DIFC, and Li Xiaopeng, Chairman of CEG. The UAE government supports BRI, proposed by China in 2013, which refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, aiming at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes of the Silk Road. Kazim said "through our collaboration with China Everbright Group, we believe that DIFC is perfectly positioned to facilitate significant opportunities as part of the Belt and Road Initiative." He added "we are proud of the record growth that Chinese institutions have achieved through the DIFC, and are looking forward to supporting the Everbright Group as it expands its global footprint." Li said the synergies between China and the UAE continue to grow stronger. Dubai, in particular, has proven to be the ideal location from which we can access the fast-growing emerging markets in the MEASA region. DIFC is already home to China's four largest banks, which have upgraded their banking licences from subsidiaries to fully-fledged branches. In addition, numerous Chinese corporations headquarter in the region, including PetroChina, Shanghai Electric Investment, ZTE Corporation, New Silk Road Company and CMEC Thar Mining Investments. DIFC has continued to see growth from the registered Chinese financial institutions, which accounted for 22 percent of total assets in the financial center at the end of the third quarter of 2017. The total value of these assets reached 33.4 billion U.S. dollars, a 30.5-percent increase from 25.6 billion dollars reported at the end of 2016. By 2024, DIFC aims to harbor 1,000 financial companies from across the globe. SUVA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Fiji launched on Saturday a free Wifi hot spot at the iconic Ratu Sukuna Park in the capital Suva, as part of the government's efforts to make more ordinary Fijians access free internet service. Launching the free Wifi hot spot at the park in downtown Suva, Fiji's Acting Prime Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said that this is an effort made by the Fijian government to further empower ordinary Fijians. He said that young Fijians will now be able to chat with each other, download and upload materials through the use of free WiFi connection and use this information to benefit their schools, towns, cities and the country. "The idea is to ensure that our young people as well as every Fijian citizen is able to access this technology. This will create a more knowledge based society," he said, adding that "this is the first of many Wifi hot spots that will be set up throughout the country." Sayed-Khaiyum said that the free Wifi is adopted to benefit the 70 percent of the population that are below the age of 40. People can receive free high speed Wifi for 60 minutes everyday on a daily basis in certain areas around the country, which has a population of more than 880,000. Sayed-Khaiyum said that this program will shortly be made available in other main parks in the country. Some 40 million Fijian dollars (about 18.9 million U.S. dollars) has been allocated to the ICT sector for increased speed in public Wifi hot spots in the island nation. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 16:26:07|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close An Afghan security force member checks a vehicle at a security checkpoint in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, July 21, 2018. At least two security personnel including a district police chief were killed as Taliban fighters stormed security checkpoints in Rashidan district of Afghanistan's eastern Ghazni province on Saturday, provincial police chief Farid Ahmad Mashal said. (Xinhua/Sayed Mominzadah) GHAZNI, Afghanistan, July 21 (Xinhua) -- At least two security personnel including a district police chief were killed as Taliban fighters stormed security checkpoints in Rashidan district of Afghanistan's eastern Ghazni province on Saturday, provincial police chief Farid Ahmad Mashal said. "A group of Taliban rebels stormed security checkpoints in Rashidan district early today morning to overcome the district headquarters but their conspiracy has been foiled and the attack repulsed. But unfortunately two police including the district police chief lost their lives in the firefight," Mashal told Xinhua. The official said the Taliban fighters fled after suffering "huge casualties." Meanwhile, Zabihullah Majahid, who claims to speak for the Taliban outfit in contact with media, confirmed the clash, saying the militant group has gained ground and inflicted casualties on security personnel. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 16:31:09|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close JERUSALEM, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli army hit 68 Hamas targets throughout the Gaza Strip on Friday evening in retaliation for the death of an Israeli soldier, according to a statement issued early Saturday morning by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The IDF announced Friday night that an Israeli combat soldier was killed by Palestinian gunmen during operational activity near southern Gaza. The soldier was the first killed on the Gaza front in active duty since the 2014 war between Israel and Hamas, said an IDF spokesman. The IDF also called it the "most serious incident" since the 2014 Gaza war. In response, the IDF carried out massive strikes against Hamas' military targets across Gaza. "After hitting eight targets immediately by IDF's tanks and aircraft, IDF fighter jets targeted 60 other military targets," read the statement. According to Israeli media report, Hamas announced a cease-fire with Israel in the early hours of Saturday morning. So far, Israel has not made official comment on the cease-fire announcement of Hamas. The Israeli army said that the strikes centered on three Hamas' battalion compounds, including the Zaytun battalion in the northern Gaza Strip, the Khan Yunis battalion in the southern Gaza Strip and the Bureij battalion in the central Gaza Strip. The strikes eliminated about 60 buildings and infrastructure, dealing a "severe blow" to the Hamas' training array, command and control abilities, weaponry, aerial defense and logistic capabilities along with additional military infrastructure. Among the targets were weapons manufacturing sites, a shaft to a tunnel network, a factory used for underground infrastructure manufacturing, a UAV warehouse, a military operations room, training facilities and observation posts. Four Palestinians were killed in the IDF retaliatory action and three were members of Hamas' armed wing, Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, according to Israeli media. The Israeli army noted that the IDF views Hamas offensive acts with "great severity," and holds Hamas accountable for all threats emanating from the Gaza Strip, adding that the IDF is "prepared for a wide variety of scenarios and is determined to fulfill its mission to protect and ensure the safety of Israeli civilians." Israeli media reported that the Ministry of Defense will have to decide Sunday whether to extend the harshest set of restrictions it has imposed on Gaza since the 2014 war. PYONGYANG, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Officials of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Russia have discussed building a peace-keeping mechanism on the Korean Peninsula, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Saturday. Russian Vice Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov met with DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho and held talks with Choe Son Hui and Sin Hong Chol, vice ministers of foreign affairs, said the KCNA. The two sides had in-depth exchanges of views on DPRK-Russia relations, building a peace-keeping mechanism on the Korean Peninsula and other issues of mutual concern, said the KCNA. Morgulov left Pyongyang Friday after a three-day visit. The DPRK and Russia are marking the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations and DPRK official media said earlier this week that the two sides would strengthen their traditional ties. UNITED NATIONS, July 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday that President Donald Trump remains optimistic about the prospects of denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula. Pompeo briefed reporters at the United Nations' (UN) headquarters following his meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and members of the Security Council. "President Trump remains upbeat about the prospects of denuclearization of North Korea (DPRK). So do I, as progress is happening," said the top U.S. diplomat. "It is the Trump administration's hope that one day the DPRK could be in our midst here at the United Nations," he said. "The countries of the Security Council are united on the need for final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea (DPRK), as agreed to by Chairman Kim (Jong Un). Strict enforcement of sanctions is critical to our achieving this goal," said Pompeo, who was accompanied by U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley. During their historic summit last month, Trump and the DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un agreed to work towards the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula. Despite progress made with Trump and Kim's historic meeting in Singapore last month, uncertainties remain regarding the Korean Peninsula. Washington is still exerting great pressure on Pyongyang even after the DPRK dismantled some of its nuclear facilities. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 17:36:20|Editor: ZX Video Player Close Abu Dhabi, July 21 (Xinhua) -- An economic forum on the business opportunities between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and China was held Friday evening in the UAE's capital Abu Dhabi, as part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to the Arab country. The UAE-China Economic Forum, co-hosted by China's Ministry of Commerce and the UAE's Ministry of Economy, was attended by 450 officials and business representatives from the two countries, including Chinese Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan and UAE's Economy Minister Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori. In his keynote speech, Zhong hailed the agreement to lift the China-UAE bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership during Xi's visit. He pointed to the bright future for the pragmatic cooperation between the two countries against the backdrop of economic globalization and diversification, stressing China's determination to uphold global free trade against unilateralism and protectionism. Zhong said a total of six UAE companies have so far signed up for the China International Import Expo scheduled in early November in Shanghai, China's main financial hub. The Chinese minister also encouraged to further cooperation in the areas of energy, services and new and high technology under China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Meanwhile, Al Mansoori expressed his optimism and high expectation for the prospect of the comprehensive strategic partnership with China, the largest trading partner of the UAE. He said the China-UAE economic cooperation covers nearly all key sectors including wholesale, finance, insurance and construction, as reflected in the record non-oil trade volume of 53.3 billion U.S. dollars between the two countries in 2017. The UAE's minister linked the UAE 2021 Vision, a national knowledge-based campaign to rely on its own talent to achieve significant economic changes, to China's BRI, adding that the UAE can become the key westward gateway for the Chinese initiative. Proposed by China in 2013, the BRI refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, aiming at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road trade routes to seek common development and prosperity. The UAE welcomes investments from Chinese enterprises, especially in the sectors of scientific and technological innovation, advanced manufacturing and infrastructure, Al Mansoori noted. The economic forum was highlighted by the power-point presentation of Omar Bin Sultan Al Olama, UAE's minister of state for artificial intelligence, as he harked back to the exchanges between China and the Arabian Peninsular through the ancient Silk Road about 1,500 years ago, while looking forward to learning from China in developing artificial intelligence (AI). "China is leading in the field of AI, especially in the big data," he said. Al Olama spoke highly of China's tech giants including Tencent, Alibaba, Baidu, Xiaomi and Huawei, expecting further cooperation on digital visual technology, driverless traffic and advanced robotics. He also praised China's leading digital economy, exemplified by Wechat, a Chinese multi-purpose messaging, social media and mobile payment application developed by Tencent. KATHMANDU, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Nepal's central bank has allowed foreign companies involved in Nepal's infrastructure development to receive Short-Term Advances from foreign countries through their parent companies abroad. The Nepal Rasra Bank (NRB), the central bank of the Himalayan country, said the facility was extended to help them sustain their administrative expenses during the construction of infrastructure projects. "Foreign investors and foreign contractors can benefit from the new provision," spokesperson of NRB Narayan Paudel told Xinhua on Saturday. "The short-term advances will help them address their short-term need for working capital and administrative expenses." Foreign companies are involved in Nepal's big infrastructure projects, such as hydropower, road, airport and drinking water project. Paudel said the facility was provided after receiving a few requests from foreign companies. In order to receive the short-term advance, a company has to fulfill a number of conditions as per the NRB. The borrowed fund should be interest free and the repayment period of short-term advances should be less than one year. Likewise, the companies can borrow such money only through their parent companies abroad. "It means, the parent company should secure funding for the company working in Nepal," said Paudel. The advances should enter Nepal through banking channel only. The borrowing company should submit details including an agreement signed between the borrower and lender, Swift Message and the bank statement within 15 days after the fund enters Nepal. The concerned infrastructure project should write recommendation letter to the NRB for allowing the foreign company to borrow and repay the amount borrowed, according to the central bank. Medical personnel carry a wounded man at the scene of an explosion in Mogadishu, Somalia, July 7, 2018. At least 12 people were killed and 17 others injured in twin blasts in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Saturday, police said. (Xinhua/Faisal Isse) MOGADISHU, July 21 (Xinhua) -- At least one person was killed and three others were injured in a car bombing in the Somali capital of Mogadishu early Saturday, police said. The blast occurred at a place near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Mogadishu when an improvised explosive device which was planted under a vehicle with civilians went off. "One person was killed and three others -- a man and two women -- were injured. The injured have been rushed to the hospital," a police officer who declined to be named told Xinhua by phone. He said investigations have been launched to establish the motive behind the latest attack which comes amid tight security in the restive capital. No group has claimed reasonability for the latest attack but the extremist al-Shabab military group often launches attacks on government, military and civilian targets. YANGON, July 21 (Xinhua) -- A flight of Myanmar's domestic airline, Air KBZ, made an emergency landing on Friday as a crack was reported in its windshield, the Home Affairs Ministry said on Saturday. With a total of 42 passengers including 10 foreigners aboard, the ATR-72 plane, which took off from Thandwe airport in western Rakhine state to Yangon, was reported a crack in its front windshield at 3:25 p.m. local time on Friday. The passengers were sent to the hotels in nearby Ngapali beach for a one-night stay. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 18:41:29|Editor: Lu Hui Video Player Close URUMQI, July 21 (Xinhua) -- A seminar for senior editors from 18 countries along the the Silk Road Economic Belt opened in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Twenty-three senior editors from countries including France, Germany, Russia, India, Pakistan, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Egypt participated in the seminar, which was hosted by the Information Office of the State Council. The five-day seminar is aimed at helping the participants achieve an extensive and deeper understanding of the social and economic development of Xinjiang. The participants will exchange views with experts and scholars on China's economy, culture, ethnic and religious affairs, as well as visit two prefectures in the region. They will also visit Beijing. Silk Road Economic Belt is part of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative. The initiative refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, with hopes to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes of the Silk Road. The Information Office of the State Council has held the seminar annually since 2012. LOS ANGELES, July 20 (Xinhua) -- A grandfather was arrested Friday for child endangerment after a four-year-old boy got hold of his gun and fatally shot the man's two-year-old granddaughter in San Bernardino, California, said police. The shooting happened at 9:16 a.m. local time (1616 GMT). Deputies and medical aid arrived and found the two-year-old victim suffering from a gunshot wound. The toddler died about 50 minutes after being hospitalized. Investigators determined that the four-year-old boy, the victim's cousin, got access to the weapon and shot the girl by accident, according to the local sheriff's department. The boy's 53-year-old grandfather, Cesar Lopez, was arrested and will be booked for child endangerment and felon in possession of a firearm. A 72-year-old neighbor of the family called the news "devastating" and told a local news outlet, the San Bernardino Sun, that people who got guns have to lock them up so children wouldn't have access to them. Another neighbor said it was an unfortunate accident and she could not understand how a boy as young as four could be left alone long enough to find a gun. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said an investigation is underway. According to the Gun Violence Archive, an independent data collection and research group that provides free online public access to accurate information about gun-related violence in the United States, there have been altogether 7,982 people killed in gun-related violence in the country to date in 2018, including 381 children under the age of 11. Photo taken on April 12, 2018 shows the World Trade Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. (Xinhua/Xu Jinquan) GENEVA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- World Trade Organization (WTO) members on Friday again failed to agree on the initiation of the selection process to fill three vacancies on its Appellate Body. That was after the United States repeated it could not accept the proposal, a Geneva-based trade official said. At a meeting of the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) on Friday, the United States said it could not accept a proposal backed by 67 members calling for the start of the selection process as soon as possible. The matter now goes forward to the next DSB meeting on Aug. 27. In a speech Friday made separately, for non-resident members and observers, WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said, "The dispute settlement function underpins the whole trading system, and so the problems here are, again, extremely serious and urgent." He said that support for the WTO is needed, noting, "Tensions are running high. We are seeing the proliferation of trade-restrictive measures between members, with the announcement of new tariffs potentially covering many billions of dollars of trade." Back in May, the Chinese Ambassador to the WTO Zhang Xiangchen had said in a meeting here that the United States is abusing decision-making at the organization by holding hostage the selection process of new members to the Appellate Body. The Appellate Body functions as the WTO's de facto court of appeals and is composed of seven members. However, only four of the seven members are in office since Washington has refused to initiate the process to fill vacancies. At Friday's meeting, the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries of the WTO said in a document, "If this problem continues without being solved, it will imply, in the short term, practically the paralysis of the Appellate Body, putting the entire dispute settlement system at risk." At the DSB meeting, Honduras said it was taking the initiative to put forward an informal paper aimed at fostering discussions among members regarding concerns with the functioning of the Appellate Body. The United States said it would examine the paper. WTO Information Director and spokesperson Keith Rockwell told Xinhua, "We are seeing an intensification of members' engagement on a full range of activity from dispute settlement to agriculture to subsidies for fisheries and industry. We expect this to accelerate in the autumn." Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 19:11:37|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close PUL-E-KHUMRI, Afghanistan, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Security forces in Afghanistan's northern Baghlan province have repulsed a Taliban attack, forcing the militants to flee after suffering casualties on Saturday, a provincial government spokesman said. The Taliban militants, according to spokesman Mahmoud Haqmal, launched coordinated offensives on the central bazaar of Nahrin district in the early hours of Saturday, triggering gun battle which lasted for two hours and the attacking militants ran away after suffering casualties. Three people including two militants and one police personnel had been killed and 13 others including seven militants and six police personnel sustained injuries in the fighting, the official added. Taliban militants have not commented on the attack. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 19:16:38|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close TEHRAN, July 21 (Xinhua) -- A total of 11 forces of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) were killed in clashes with the militant groups in west of Iran on Saturday, official IRNA news agency reported. Eight other IRGC forces were injured in the conflict which erupted early Saturday morning. The terrorist attack targeted a military base in Dari village near Marivan city in Kurdistan province. Iran's western Kurdistan province has been the scene of bloody clashes between the Iranian security forces and the Kurdish rebels during the past years. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 19:21:41|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close SANAA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- A Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen killed at least five people of a family in the country's northern province of Saada on Saturday, a local security official said. The five, including a mother and four children, were killed after the airstrike destroyed the family's house in Kud area of Razih district Saturday morning, the official told Xinhua by telephone on condition of anonymity. He said the coalition air campaign has intensified on the district since late night on Friday. Saada is the key stronghold of the Iranian-allied Shiite Houthis fighting government forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition forces. Saturday's attack was the latest in a series of airstrikes that resulted in the deaths of civilians in Yemen. Earlier this month, a coalition airstrike hit near a school in Zabid district in Yemen's western Red Sea port city of Hodeidah province, killing three residents and injuring four others, according to official reports by both warring forces. The impoverished Arab country has been locked in a civil war since the Houthi rebels overran much of Yemen militarily and seized all northern provinces in 2014, including the capital Sanaa. Saudi Arabia leads an Arab military coalition that has intervened in the Yemen war since 2015 to support the government of exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. More than 10,000 Yemenis, mostly civilians, have been killed in the war, and about 3 million have been displaced. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 19:36:45|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close TEHRAN, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday said any negotiation with the United States to solve the existing mutual problem is an "obvious mistake," official IRNA news agency reported. "The United States seeks to restore its status in Iran as they enjoyed before the Islamic Revolution (in 1979), and they will not accept less than this," Khamenei said in a meeting with the Iranian Foreign Ministry staff in the capital Tehran. "The United States has basic and fundamental problem with the (Islamic) establishment," Khamenei was quoted as saying. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 19:36:46|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close SHIBERGHAN, Afghanistan, July 21 (Xinhua) -- At least 15 Taliban militants and two Islamic States (IS) fighters have been killed in clashes between the rival groups in the northern Jawzjan province, a local government official said Saturday. "The clashes (that) erupted between Taliban and IS fighters in Darzab district on Friday morning have so far left 15 dead from Taliban and two from IS group," Mohammad Reza Ghafori, spokesman for provincial governor, told Xinhua. Seven more militants, including four from Taliban outfit, have been injured in the ongoing fighting, the spokesman said. Neither Taliban nor the IS group has made comment on the clashes. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 19:51:47|Editor: ZX Video Player Close GUANGZHOU, July 21 (Xinhua) -- For 16 years, Mouhamadou Moustapha Dieng, a Senegalese businessman, has been living in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, exporting Chinese commodities from China to Africa. But now he plans to open a packaging factory in Senegal and bring his home country's products to China. In early July, he visited a factory in Wuxi City in east China's Jiangsu Province and planned to introduce its bottling production line to Senegal. "We have many good products, but it's hard to export them because we lack packaging technology," said Dieng. GOLD RUSH ERA Dieng was among the tens of thousands of African business people who have flocked to Guangzhou over the past four decades. The city has become the heartland of Sino-African trade since China's reform and opening up 40 years ago. In 2002, Dieng, then a trader based in Bangkok, Thailand, first visited Guangzhou, to attend the China Import and Export Fair, commonly known as the Canton Fair. He was amazed by the cheap but high-quality Chinese commodities. Two months after the visit, he moved both his family and business from Bangkok to Guangzhou. In the beginning, Dieng rented a 70-square-meter apartment in Guangzhou to accommodate his family and set up his trading company. The living room was transformed into a showroom packed with a wide variety of merchandise, ranging from garments to home appliances. The company was named "Teranga," meaning "hospitality" in Senegal's local language, Wolof. By purchasing goods for his clients at lower prices, Dieng earned fame and profit. His business boomed and expanded. From 2006 to 2010, Dieng's company shipped an average of some 150 containers from China to Senegal per month, with merchandise in each container worth around 1 million yuan (about 147,800 U.S. dollars). "A container is like a supermarket. It has all kinds of goods ranging from jeans to motorcycles," he said. ERA OF CHANGE AND NEW OPPORTUNITIES Dieng's business has experienced tough times in the past four years, with rising labor costs and commodity prices. Some of his fellow African traders have returned to Africa, while others have chosen to seek their opportunities in east China's Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, where the world's largest small commodity market is located. "Those who remain in Guangzhou need to make a change," Dieng concluded. Dieng's company, Teranga Trading Co., Ltd, has now shifted its focus from exporting commodities to logistics. His company is helping other traders, including Chinese ones, ship commodities from China to Africa. Dieng also owns large warehouses in Guangzhou and Foshan, also in Guangdong. The company's office no longer displays miscellaneous commodities, but a poster of an oceangoing freighter and models of containers and excavators. Dieng's company has also witnessed a change in the commodities shipped from Guangzhou to Africa. The amount of smartphone accessories, LCD televisions and building materials has seen sustained growth, while that of sneakers, hats, and garments has decreased. High-tech products, such as solar-powered refrigerators, are more popular with today's African consumers, said Dieng. The era of change has also brought new opportunities, as many African business people hope the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative will usher in a new golden age for Sino-African trade. "China has provided African countries with opportunities to boost their development. This is more meaningful than simply buying low and selling high," he said. Customs data showed bilateral trade volume between China and African countries reached 170 billion U.S. dollars last year, up 14.1 percent year on year. In breakdown, Chinese exports to Africa rose 2.7 percent to 94.74 billion U.S. dollars, while Chinese imports from Africa surged 32.8 percent to 75.26 billion U.S. dollars. Besides opening a packaging factory in Senegal, Dieng also plans to send his 17-year-old son, who is learning Chinese in a Confucius Institute in Senegal, to study at a Chinese university. "Computer Sciences at Tsinghua University might be a good choice," he said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 20:21:53|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close SHIBERGHAN, Afghanistan, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Some 11 militants affiliated with Islamic State (IS) have surrendered themselves to the government in Jawzjan provincial capital Shiberghan on Saturday, a senior police official in the northern Afghan province said. All the former IS militants, according to police official Ghulam Ali, were active in anti-government activities in Darzab district and their reintegration to community and joining their families would encourage others to follow suit. Commander of the group Mullah Joora said fighting between Taliban and the IS group had disheartened them to continue their war against the government and therefore decided to give up fighting. Scores of people have been killed in clashes between Taliban and the IS group in Darzab district over the past 10 days. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 20:21:53|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close JOHANNESBURG, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The BRICS Business Council is vital for identifying trade and investment in BRICS countries, South African Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies said on Saturday. "The BRICS Business Council is a crucial element of the BRICS block due to the critical role that it plays in promoting and strengthening business, trade and investment ties amongst the business communities of the five BRICS countries," said Davies. "The Council is also mandated to ensure that there is regular dialogue between the business communities... and the governments of the BRICS countries," said Davies. Davies said BRICS Business Council identifies problems and bottlenecks and recommend solutions. He added that the council also identify intra-BRICS projects for investments and increased exports. BRICS Business Council meeting will be held in Durban on Sunday. The business community from five BRICS countries will attend the meeting and exchange ideas on trade promotion, investment, E-commerce, small and medium enterprises and so on. BRICS is an acronym for the grouping of the world's leading emerging economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 20:36:56|Editor: ZX Video Player Close DAKAR, July 21 (Xinhua) -- A signed article by Chinese President Xi Jinping published Friday in a mainstream newspaper in Senegal has been applauded by the African country's public for the article's focus on bilateral relations and cooperation. In the article titled "SUNU JAPPO, China and Senegal!" carried by Le Soleil ahead of his state visit to Senegal, Xi praised the lifting of bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership while expressing hope for greater progress in ties. Bara Ndiaye, the administrator of Senegal's Maison de la Presse, said Xi brings forth brighter prospects for bilateral relations by proposing to "enhance our mutual understanding and friendship, and deepen cooperation" between the two countries. "The article was written by a leader who knows about and understands Africa well," he said. Idrissa Faye, a Senegalese citizen, said "I hope Senegal will participate in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), so that our country could have greater development." Xi said in his article that by leveraging the BRI and the platform of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, China will work with Senegal to tap both countries' strengths in the trade and processing of agricultural and aquatic products. "I watched on TV that the Chinese people are fond of seafood, and I wish more and more Chinese would eat fish caught by our people," he said. Senegalese journalist Birane Cisse said he was especially happy with Xi's proposal to strengthen people-to-people ties. "If more Senegalese students can study in China, and return equipped with China's development experiences, our country will be able to develop faster," Cisse said. In his article, citing the Wolof proverb "Nit, nit ay garabam (Man is the remedy of man)" as well as a Chinese saying to the similar effect of "One for all, all for one," Xi wrote that China and African countries including Senegal cherish a common dream of prosperity and should work together to make it come true. "Having gone through thick and thin together, China, Senegal and the vast African countries are bound by similar historical experiences, the same development tasks and a shared aspiration for a better life," Xi wrote. "To achieve common development and prosperity, we need to join hands to build an even stronger China-Africa community with a shared future," he said. Agreeing with such a prospect, a Chadian software engineer currently living in Senegal called Hamid, who only gave his first name, believed that developing Senegal-China cooperation will bring progress in the ties between China and the West African countries. In particular, he said he is longing for Chinese initiatives to facilitate Africa's development of information technology at the upcoming Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in September. Sana Badji, a student at the Confucius Institute at Dakar University, thanked China for providing the Senegalese people with a lot of support."The Chinese government helped us build the National Grand Theater, and Chinese companies built roads and schools," Badji said. What's more, he said, "China has offered medical assistance, sending doctors. We are very happy with and obliged for the help." Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 21:07:01|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close TEHRAN, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday said that any negotiation with the United States to solve the existing mutual problems is an "obvious mistake," official IRNA news agency reported. "The United States seeks to restore its status in Iran as they enjoyed before the Islamic Revolution (in 1979), and they will not accept less than that," Khamenei said in a meeting with the Iranian Foreign Ministry staff in the capital Tehran. "The United States has basic and fundamental problem with the (Islamic) establishment," Khamenei was quoted as saying. The U.S. disagreement with Iran's nuclear and enrichment capability, as well as Iran's regional role is an indication of Washington's enmity with the Islamic republic, he said. Iran's presence in the region is elemental for Iran's power and security and it is a strategic policy, he stressed. "I have reiterated that we cannot rely on the American words and even their signature, therefore, negotiations with them are fruitless," he was quoted as saying. To press Iran to go back to the negotiation table over the internationally-recognized nuclear deal in 2015, U.S. President Donald Trump has said that sanctions on Iran will snap back in August and November. "The first part of our sanctions will snap back on August 6. These sanctions will include targeting Iran's automotive sector, trade in gold and other key metals," Brian Hook, director of policy planning for the State Department of the United States, said on July 2. "The remaining sanctions will snap back on Nov. 4. These sanctions will include targeting Iran's energy sector and petroleum-related transactions, and transactions with the Central Bank of Iran," he added. Following Trump's decision to quit the historic Iran nuclear pact on May 8, the United States vowed to re-impose sanctions lifted under the accord against Iran and inflict punishments like secondary sanctions on nations that have business links with Iran. Washington's withdrawal from the landmark Iran nuclear deal was criticized across the world. Some of its major European allies have been working to prevent the 2015 deal from falling apart. SAN FRANCISCO, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Officials of the western U.S. state of California Friday voiced their commitment to maintaining strong relationships with China despite the trade tension between Washington and Beijing. California Governor Jerry Brown said in a video message for a farewell reception hosted by Chinese Consul General in San Francisco Luo Linquan Friday evening that California has maintained a productive relationship with China. "We've built a harmonious and productive relationship between China and California," he said. Brown said he valued the opportunities to "entertain Chinese visitors to work on our mutual goals of reducing climate pollution, (and) of building clean energy technologies." The California governor has been an enthusiastic advocate for the cooperation with China on climate change and green energy strategy as the Golden State views China as a valuable export market, a source of new investment and an innovation collaborator. "Never have the relationships between Chinese leaders, and Chinese companies, Chinese government officials and their counterparts in California been better," Brown said. London Breed, the first African-American female mayor of San Francisco, who took office last Wednesday, told the audience at the reception that the Chinese side has supported fostering good, strong relationships "between our city with businesses to develop economic development opportunities in our communities." She promised to continue to foster and grow the relationships with the next Chinese consul general in the near future. Fiona Ma, a member of the California State Board of Equalization, praised Luo for making great efforts to build a friendship between China and California. "In this time of trade war, I am grateful to have someone like Consul General Luo to bring diplomacy and common sense to our state. I agree with the consul general's message that there is no winner in a trade war," she said. "Here in California, just like in China, our small business owners, farmers and wineries are all being hurt because of what is going on in (Washington) D.C.," she said. Ma was referring to a trade spat U.S. President Donald Trump's administration started by slapping extra tariffs on a massive amount of Chinese products. China has vowed to defend its legitimate rights and the international free trade order. California enjoyed great friendly international relationships, Ma said. "My office hosts international students from China that are attending college in the U.S., where we provide them with exposure on how the state government operates, work experience and research projects," she said. Luo, who will complete his term of office in San Francisco later this month, said China greatly attaches importance to developing its relations with the United States. Although there are some differences between the two sides over trade, China and the United States both have the ability and wisdom to address their differences in a constructive manner, properly address each other's concerns, and stabilize the overall sound China-U.S. relationship, if the two parties follow a spirit of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and the pursuit of win-win results, Luo said. "China will never close its open door to the outside world," he said, adding that China will steadfastly adhere to the path of peaceful development, and firmly pursue an open strategy based on mutual benefit and win-win results. China will always act as a builder of world peace, and a player that contributes to global development and follows the path of a new international order, Luo said. The China-U.S. relations concern not only the well-being of both peoples, but also world peace, stability and prosperity, he said. "Cooperation is the only viable choice for China and the United States," Luo said. Also, Luo said he hopes both China and the United States will work to move in the same direction for a better future. File photo: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said recent terrorist attacks in Iran will result in hatred towards U.S. and Saudi Arabia on June 9, 2017. (Xinhua) TEHRAN, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday said that any negotiation with the United States to solve the existing mutual problems is an "obvious mistake," official IRNA news agency reported. "The United States seeks to restore its status in Iran as they enjoyed before the Islamic Revolution (in 1979), and they will not accept less than that," Khamenei said in a meeting with the Iranian Foreign Ministry staff in the capital Tehran. "The United States has basic and fundamental problem with the (Islamic) establishment," Khamenei was quoted as saying. The U.S. disagreement with Iran's nuclear and enrichment capability, as well as Iran's regional role is an indication of Washington's enmity with the Islamic republic, he said. Iran's presence in the region is elemental for Iran's power and security and it is a strategic policy, he stressed. "I have reiterated that we cannot rely on the American words and even their signature, therefore, negotiations with them are fruitless," he was quoted as saying. To press Iran to go back to the negotiation table over the internationally-recognized nuclear deal in 2015, U.S. President Donald Trump has said that sanctions on Iran will snap back in August and November. "The first part of our sanctions will snap back on August 6. These sanctions will include targeting Iran's automotive sector, trade in gold and other key metals," Brian Hook, director of policy planning for the State Department of the United States, said on July 2. "The remaining sanctions will snap back on Nov. 4. These sanctions will include targeting Iran's energy sector and petroleum-related transactions, and transactions with the Central Bank of Iran," he added. Following Trump's decision to quit the historic Iran nuclear pact on May 8, the United States vowed to re-impose sanctions lifted under the accord against Iran and inflict punishments like secondary sanctions on nations that have business links with Iran. Washington's withdrawal from the landmark Iran nuclear deal was criticized across the world. Some of its major European allies have been working to prevent the 2015 deal from falling apart. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 21:17:03|Editor: ZD Video Player Close Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena (2nd R), Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne (1st R) and Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Cheng Xueyuan (2nd L) attend a groundbreaking ceremony to launch the construction of a China-Sri Lanka friendship hospital in Polonnaruwa, north central Sri Lanka, July 21, 2018. (Xinhua/Gayan Sameera) COLOMBO, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena attended a groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday to launch the construction of a China-Sri Lanka friendship hospital in Polonnaruwa in north central Sri Lanka. The National Nephrology Specialist Hospital is being constructed following a request by President Sirisena to the Chinese government. The 25,517-square-meter hospital, which will be the largest kidney hospital in South Asia, will include 200 inpatient beds and 100 hemodialysis beds. The construction of the hospital is expected to be completed in two years. Speaking at the ceremony, President Sirisena said this hospital would not only benefit the people of Polonnaruwa, but would benefit the entire island country. He said with the assistance of China, this kidney hospital would have state-of-the-art facilities and would be one of the finest kidney hospitals in the region. Sirisena thanked the Chinese government for fulfilling his request and conducting the feasibility studies to build the hospital. Noting that China and Sri Lanka shared very strong ties, he said China had also contributed to Sri Lanka's economic development. Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said the hospital would include all the latest facilities to treat patients suffering from kidney diseases and it was being constructed in Polonnaruwa as it was the district which had the highest number of patients with chronic kidney diseases. Senaratne said to date officials were unable to detect the specific reasons leading to kidney diseases in this area and this hospital would be beneficial for these patients as it would also include facilities to conduct kidney dialysis. "Foreign patients who are suffering from kidney diseases can also seek treatment in this hospital once it is completed in 2020. We are thankful to the Chinese government for fulfilling the president's request and constructing this hospital," Senaratne said. Chinese Ambassador Cheng Xueyuan said Polonnaruwa, which was dubbed as 'Asia's capital,' is a UNESCO World Heritage Center. He said the construction of this special hospital in Polonnaruwa would add more value to this city and the hospital itself would treat thousands of people suffering from chronic kidney disease. The China-Sri Lanka Friendship Nephrology Hospital will also include an Out Patients Treatment Department and six modern surgical theatres needed for kidney transplants. There will also be a 200-seat auditorium with a car park which can accommodate 300 vehicles. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 21:42:07|Editor: ZD Video Player Close Chinese Consul General in Los Angeles Zhang Ping receives an interview by Xinhua in Santa Fe, the United States, July 19, 2018. (Xinhua/Liu Liwei) SANTA FE, the United States, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Local governments in the United States are looking forward to establishing more in-depth and extensive economic and trade cooperation with China, a Chinese diplomat has said. China-U.S. economic and trade relations have been closely intertwined after more than 40 years of development, said Chinese Consul General in Los Angeles Zhang Ping in an interview with Xinhua on Thursday when he attended the International Cooperation Day Forum in Santa Fe, the capital city of New Mexico State. Jointly sponsored by the China General Chamber of Commerce (CGCC) and the U.S. National Governors Association (NGA), the forum focused on discussing and exploring U.S.-China economic and trade ties, strategies for cooperation and opportunities for investment. Local governments in the United States are enthusiastic about developing economic and trade relations with China because this helps promote the growth and prosperity of a local economy. "From the statement of the U.S. governors who participated in the forum, we can see and feel that everyone's voice and aspiration is the same at the local level in the U.S.," Zhang said. "They all hope to end the current trade conflict as soon as possible and ensure that the fruits of economic and trade cooperation be protected," he said. Introducing the economic achievements between China and the United States, Zhang said that Chinese companies have invested in 46 U.S. states, creating more than 140,000 jobs there. In the past ten years, 49 U.S. states have increased their exports to China, of which 17 states doubled their growth, he said. All U.S. states' service exports to China had increased significantly and 31 states had service export growth of more than 300 percent, he added. "For example, New Mexico exported more than 1 billion U.S. dollars of goods to China in 2017, a double over the previous year, supporting nearly 4,000 local jobs," he said. Zhang also pointed out that the development of China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation has brought tangible benefits to peoples of both countries. However, the economic and trade relationship is currently facing "great difficulty and unprecedented challenge." The U.S. federal government unilaterally decided to impose extra tariffs on a massive amount of Chinese imports. Zhang said the current trade friction is having a negative impact on bilateral trade. Zhang said, however, that the benefits of Sino-U.S. economic and trade cooperation are tangible. "The key is how to maintain a macro environment and make this cooperation continue," he said. He called for further local-level cooperation between the two countries to minimize the impact of trade disputes, and urged for more efforts in mobilizing social communities to let more people in Washington know that China-U.S. cooperation is mutually beneficial and that the interests of both countries are very much intertwined. The forum was part of the NGA Summer Meeting held from July 19 to 21. Representatives from all 50 U.S. states, including over 20 state governors, attended the forum, while delegations from China, Canada, Kenya, Japan and Mexico also participated. NEW DELHI, July 21 (Xinhua) -- A dead body of an Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel and remains of an IAF plane which crashed more than 50 years ago have been found in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, official sources said Saturday. According to the sources, the IAF plane had crashed at the same spot in February 1968, where the remains have been found. The remains were found when a team of mountaineers was on a cleanliness drive on the "Chandrabhaga-13" peak, and suddenly came across the frozen dead body and the crashed plane's remains. The AN-12 aircraft, built by the erstwhile Soviet Union, had gone missing on Feb. 7, 1968, after the pilot had decided to retreat while on way to Leh from Chandigarh because of inclement weather. The plane was reportedly over "Rohtang Pass" in Himachal Pradesh when it lost radio contact, said the defence sources. "We were somewhat taken aback to come upon something we had not expected when we found the remains of the wrecked aircraft as well as the decayed body of a soldier at Dhaka Glacier located at an altitude of around 18,000 feet above sea level," English daily Hindustan Times quoted the team leader Rajiv Rawat as saying. He reportedly said: "First we stumbled upon parts of the wrecked aircraft which was followed by the discovery of the frozen body of a soldier lying with its head down. The hand and hair were almost intact despite 50 years of the crash." The clean-up expedition was organised jointly by the Indian Mountaineering Foundation and the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to collect garbage left in high altitudes by tourists and climbers. File photo shows former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan attends a press conference during his visit in Bogota, Colombia, on Feb. 25, 2015. (Xinhua/Jhon Paz) HARARE, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The Elders on Saturday wrapped up their three-day visit to Zimbabwe ahead of the July 30 visit and urged mature political campaigning devoid of hate speech as the poll nears. While rallying Zimbabweans to vote in numbers in the polls, the Elders urged Zimbabweans to put the national interest first, reject all forms of violence and work together to ensure free, fair and transparent elections. Head of the three-member delegation, former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan told a media conference the upcoming poll was crucial for Zimbabwe. "This is a crucial election for the country, perhaps as crucial as the first election following independence (in 1980)," he said. "You are at crossroads and the direction you will decide to move in is going to be extremely important and every Zimbabwean should vote, express their views and not sit back at home and complain after the elections," Annan said. The Elders is a grouping of eminent global leaders working to promote world peace and human rights. Annan was accompanied by former Ireland President Mary Robinson and former Algerian Foreign Minister Lakhdar Brahimi. During their visit, the leaders met President Emmerson Mnangagwa, opposition leaders, Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) officials, diplomats and civil society groups, among other stakeholders. Annan hailed the improvement in fundamental freedoms obtaining in the country since end of 2017 and President Mnangagwa's repeated emphasis on free and fair polls. Annan underscored the need for political leaders to desist from hate speech and focus more on articulating their policies to woo voters. This comes as hate speech, particularly on social media against Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) women officials and women candidates has been increasing in recent weeks. Supporters of the ruling party Zanu-PF attend a political rally at the Chipadze Stadium in Bindura, Mashonaland Central Province, Zimbabwe, July 7, 2018. Zimbabwe will hold the first post-Mugabe elections on July 30. (Xinhua/Shaun Jusa) "In our discussions with political leaders and civil society we did urge them to watch the language they use. We all know that language can inflame, it can excite but it can also harm. We can discuss without insulting each other. "We should also try in the last 10 days to encourage the political leaders to talk about their programs. Let's move away from personalities," Annan said. He said in their speeches, political candidates must discuss more about polices on job creation, economic development and improvement of health services. "These are the issues of concern to every Zimbabwean. Discourage them from telling you about personalities." Mary Robinson concurred and decried the vilification of women election officials on social media as well as the low number of women candidates in the polls. "You have a good constitution as far as gender equality is concerned but I am a little disappointed that although something like 2 million women have registered to vote, the number of women candidates has gone down and there has been a kind of attack of women candidates on social media and elsewhere," she said. Supporters of Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance hold posters during a demonstration for electoral reforms, in Harare, capital of Zimbabwe, July 11, 2018. MDC Alliance on Wednesday staged another demonstration in the capital Harare to demand key electoral reforms ahead of the July 30 vote. (Xinhua/Shaun Jusa) Annan encouraged ZEC to continue improving the electoral field by addressing some of the concerns that have been raised by the opposition on alleged lack of transparency on voters roll and the ballot paper. "In the last few days some positive progress has been made. There is ongoing discussion and hopefully there is going to be give and take to try and resolve some of the issues before the elections. "It is important that ZEC is transparent, independent and open to all the political parties," he said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 22:27:17|Editor: ZX Video Player Close TAIPEI, July 21 (Xinhua) -- A human skeleton hangs on the wall above a creepy plastic baby head. A smiling female doll stares down at the customers from a high shelf. A gramophone blasts out eerie music amid the silence. In Tommy Tan's "Murder Ink" bookstore, everything exudes a dark, mysterious vibe. The bookstore is located in a quiet alley in downtown Taipei and is one of the few bookstores in Taiwan focusing mainly on detective novels. "I launched the bookstore because I wanted to help the detective genre take root in Taiwan," said Tan, 47. "I have always loved detective books, and it makes my life more meaningful if people can share the joy of literature with me." Tan said he hoped that establishing a bookstore could help enrich people's lives. "I thought about creating a bookstore where readers could communicate and make friends with each other, and authors could share their ideas and draw inspiration from each other," he said. "That would be my dream bookstore." But his idea came at a time when brick-and-mortar bookstore businesses in Taiwan are struggling in an increasingly digitized era. According to a report by the People's Daily in May, in Taiwan's South Chongqing Road, where there were once more than 100 bookstores, now, only ten remain. For Tan, even with all the classic books he has collected from around the world, the carefully decorated reading room, and the book discounts, public interest in traditional bookstores seems to be diminishing in today's digitized world. Tan said these days, his bookstore sometimes receives only one or two customers a day. But despite the setback, Tan is determined to hold on to his bookstore. "I think brick-and-mortar bookstores are unique and irreplaceable," Tan said. "It's a place where you can be inspired, enlightened, and create something special." Tan said bookstores give people a unique experience in the world of books, something that e-books will never replace. DETECTIVE BOOKS Before Tan started "Murder Ink," he was an independent documentary online editor. His real passion, however, has always been detective books. "I have always loved experiencing the craziness in detective books and mystery novels," Tan said. "You learn about compassion, and you can find comfort in books." "Every time I read the mystery genre, I feel like a detective myself," he said. Tan has translated many detective stories, which further inspired him to create a detective-themed bookstore. "When I launched Murder Ink, I had a small collection of second-hand books from Taiwan and the mainland, but I wanted to find more," he said. An elderly woman in Taiwan heard about the store, contacted Tan and donated her 600 plus detective book collection to him. "We also decorated the store in a special way to attract more people, with items such as the plastic dolls, the skeleton, and the gramophone," he said. But despite his efforts, business has been "tepid," he said. At the worst point, the store only made about 400 new Taiwan dollars (13 U.S. dollars) in two days. "I remember we were making ends meet, and I had to sell one of the store's antique furniture to pay rent," Tan said. Tan said that at this point of his life, it's no longer about making big bucks, but about living a meaningful and worthwhile life. The bookstore allows him to do that. "I would not be doing this if I wanted to make money," he said. "Plus, the bookstore helps preserve culture." A NEW PAGE? Tan said at first, he just wanted to focus on selling books, but discovered only selling books was not enough to keep the store together. "To help the bookstore survive, we studied how to make drinks and beverages to make some extra money," Tan said. "We also rented our store to people making films or advertizements," he said. Local authorities in Taiwan have caught wind of the brick-and-mortar stores' troubles and are subsidizing those sticking with the business, Tan said. "We are also coming up with novel ways to promote the bookstore to attract more readers," Tan said. "I often go on radios to talk about the latest books I read," Tan said. "We also invite book authors and readers to the store to share their ideas." The store also sells some special items, such as calendars, fedora hats, and nail polish. Tan is also thinking about transforming the bookstore into a homestay, which offers accommodation, food, and books to tourists. "I heard that some bookstores are even selling vegetables and rice, and some bookstores on the mainland host weddings to win back customers, which is great," Tan said. "Essentially, the store is all about bringing people back to the world of books and enjoying a moment of life," he said. "I believe in the power of literature." Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 22:47:19|Editor: yan Video Player Close RABAT, July 21 (Xinhua) -- After canceling 10 flights on Friday, Morocco's flag carrier Royal Air Maroc (RAM) announced to cancel another four flights on Saturday as "social tensions" with pilots continue. RAM said that the cancellations included flights between Morocco's largest airport in Casablanca and France's Orly in Paris Orly and Geneva in Switzerland. Tensions between RAM and its pilots have intensified since Monday, as the two parties failed to reach an agreement after months of negotiations. The pilots association said in a statement on Friday that a "heavy social climate" prevails over the company, adding that it has "exacerbated by 20 months of sterile social dialogue." On Tuesday, RAM Director Abdelhamid Addou criticized in a letter to the association what he called "the absence of willingness to see the company's development," stressing that organizing a strike "will have devastating effect" on the company. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 22:47:20|Editor: yan Video Player Close CAIRO, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Egypt on Saturday voiced its rejection to a new Israeli law declaring that "only Jews have the right of self-determination in the country," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "The law consecrates the principles of occupation and apartheid, and undermines chances of peace and a fair and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian cause," the statement said. The Israeli parliament passed the "Jewish nation-state" law on Thursday that makes Hebrew the country's national language, and Jerusalem as its capital. It will also grant diaspora Jewry the right to return to Israel. The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated that the law will affect the right of return for the Palestinian refugees. The statement highlighted the possible obstacles that would emerge after the law's stipulation of Jerusalem as the unified capital for Israel. "The law will jeopardize the future for reaching any fair settlement for the Palestinian cause, as well as peace and the efforts exerted to encourage the concerned parties for resuming negotiations," it said. Egypt presented last week an initiative to both Hamas and Fatah, aiming at ending Palestinian internal division and pushing forward the reconciliation talks stalled since December last year. Islamic Hamas movement, which rules the Gaza Strip, accepted on Thursday the Egyptian initiative. Egypt stressed its firm stance towards the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, topped by establishment of an independent Palestinian state, the statement added. It urged the international community to undertake its role for preserving the historical and legal rights of the Palestinian people, and to press for resuming negotiations based on the two-state solution. Earlier Saturday, Saeed Abu Ali, assistant Secretary General of the Arab League for Palestinian and Occupied Arab Territories Affairs, warned against the recently approved Jewish nation-state law for it will enshrine racism and ethnic cleansing. Abu Ali called for launching an international probe into crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against Palestinians. ISLAMABAD, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan will deploy 800,000 security personnel to maintain security during next week's general elections, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said on Saturday. Elections for the National Assembly, lower house of the parliament, and four provincial assemblies will be held on July 25. Secretary of the ECP Babar Yaqoob told reporters that 350,000 army troops and 450,000 police officers will perform duties on the polling day across the country. He said all forces will work under the ECP's code of the conduct. Security has already been enhanced for political leaders and election rallies following a series of bomb attacks on gatherings which killed nearly over 170 people, including two candidates in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The attacks were claimed by the Islamic State and Pakistani Taliban groups. Security officials said that the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and a Taliban splinter group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar could carry out more terrorist acts during the election campaign. "The election campaign is progressing well and all parties are free to run their campaign," Yaqoob said. He dismissed the western media reports that extremist groups, which are designated by the United Nations on the terror list, are allowed to take part in the elections. He said Pakistan's Interior Ministry will share with the election authorities if anyone violates the law. Yaqoob disagreed with remarks by some political parties that they are not allowed a level playing field during the campaign, saying all leaders had equal opportunities to run campaign. He said the election commission took notice whenever he received any complaint. The official said the whole polling scheme will be uploaded at the Google map for information of the people. The ECP has also briefed foreign observers on the election process and arrangements, who are in Pakistan to monitor the elections. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 23:07:23|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close XIAMEN, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Zhang Xiaoyan, vice CEO of e-commerce platform Umka, saw her company's trade volume in Russia increase five times from September to June. Umka brings Chinese products to Russia and Russian speaking countries. It was set up by Wangji Group, a Chinese company based in Xiamen, China's Fujian Province. In four years, Wangji Group built a more than 20,000 square meters warehouse in Moscow, shortening the time for Chinese goods to reach Russian customers from more than one month to less than a week. Xiamen hosted the BRICS summit in September, featuring cooperation between the world's major emerging markets: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Statistics released by Xiamen Customs show, in the first four months of 2018, trade volume between Fujian and the four other BRICS countries reached about 4.3 billion U.S. dollars, up 14.1 percent year on year. "After the BRICS Summit, we reaffirmed our decision to develop the Russian e-commerce market," Zhang said. "We plan to bring 3,000 to 5,000 premium Chinese brands to Russia and Russian-speaking countries via e-commerce in three years." Youth from BRICS countries said they are increasingly optimistic about the prospects of the cooperation and are seeking business opportunities. Marcelo Gomes, a 27-year-old Brazilian, was sent to Xiamen last September by his company Stella, a leading Brazilian LED distributor. Gomes, who is responsible for R&D and quality control in the company, said suppliers in Xiamen offer very competitive products which are popular among Brazilian consumers. In the past few months, he has purchased LED products worth about five million U.S. dollars. In his opinion, the BRICS Xiamen summit worked to deepen the partnership between BRICS countries, especially regarding economic and trade cooperation. "China is the largest trading partner of Brazil. Both economies are highly complementary," Gomes said. "I am confident about our cooperation. I hope there can be more cooperation programs which can bring benefits to both countries." Niren Anand, from Darbhanga city of Bihar Province, India, established Xiamen Ever Trade Import and Export Co., Ltd. in 2011, focusing on designing, manufacturing and exporting shoes. Anand joined a business forum held during the BRICS Xiamen summit. "The way all five countries supported multilateral cooperation gave us more optimism and confidence." Anand's business is growing bigger and bigger. Other than the office, he has more than 20 designers, 200 workers, and a development center. "The BRICS summit made Xiamen well-known. I have many new customers from all over the world, and from India as well," Anand said. "Many of our shoes are sold to India and the European market." In 2017, Anand's company made around five million U.S. dollars. He is scheduled to fly to Las Vegas next month to join a fair to explore the U.S. market. Anand said he is closely watching the coming BRICS summit in South Africa. "With global economic growth slowing down and rising protectionism, the cooperation between BRICS countries is not only good for the countries but also for the global economy," Anand said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-21 23:57:34|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close CAIRO, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Egypt on Saturday increased the prices of natural gas by up to 75 percent, official news agency MENA reported. The move aims to meet an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan deal and push the implementation of economic reform plans, the report said. Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli issued the decision to raise the prices based on tiered gas pricing system, the report said. The price for one cubic meter of gas increased from 100 piasters (about 0.06 U.S. dollars) to 175 piasters for those consuming 0 to 30 cubic meters, the report said. People who consume 30 to 60 cubic meters will pay an increase of up to 43 percent. The new decision will be enforced in August. In June, Egypt increased fuel and electricity prices by up to 66.6 percent and 26 percent respectively, also moves described by the IMF to continue the implementation of the country's economic reform program. Over years of instability due to turmoil, Egypt has suffered economic recession. It started a strict three-year economic reform program based on austerity measures including fuel and energy subsidy cuts and tax hikes. The IMF supported Egypt's economic reform plan with a 12-billion-dollar loan, two thirds of which has already been delivered. HANOI, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Bamboo Airways, owned by Vietnamese property developer FLC Group, plans to launch its first flight on Oct. 10, Vietnam News Agency reported on Saturday. With a charter capital of 700 billion Vietnamese dong (31.4 million U.S. dollars), the new carrier will focus on direct services connecting international markets with emerging tourist destinations in Vietnam, instead of major urban areas where the aviation infrastructure is already overloaded. Prior to the Vietnamese government's approval of its operation license on July 9, the airline had already signed deals worth a total of 8.6 billion U.S. dollars to purchase 44 Boeing and Airbus aircraft in March and June. According to the Vietnamese Ministry of Transport, the local aviation markets annual growth rate will be 16 percent from now to 2020, and 8 percent for 2020-2030. Local carriers are expected to serve 64 million passengers by 2020 and 131 million passengers by 2030. Vietnam currently has four operational airlines, namely Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air, Jetstar Pacific, and Vietnam Air Services Company, with national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air currently holding the lion's share of the local aviation market. Earlier, two Vietnamese carriers, Air Mekong and Indochina Airlines, closed after a short period of operating, mainly due to fierce competition and high operation cost. Vietnams aviation industry served 24.6 million passengers in the first half of this year, up 15.2 percent on-year, and transported 176,400 tons of cargoes, up 14.8 percent, according to the country's General Statistics Office. This file photo shows Palestinian protesters confront Israeli security forces near the border fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip, on Oct. 11, 2015. (Xinhua/JINI/Albert Sadikov) UNITED NATIONS, July 21 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday expressed his "grave concern" over the dangerous escalation of violence in Gaza and southern Israel. "I deeply regret the loss of life. It is imperative that all sides urgently step back from the brink of another devastating conflict," the secretary-general said in a statement. "I call on Hamas and other Palestinian militants to cease the launching of rockets and incendiary kites and provocations along the fence. And Israel must exercise restraint to avoid further inflaming the situation," said the UN chief. "I encourage all to engage with the UN, and particularly my special coordinator, and work to find a way out of this dangerous situation. Any further escalation will endanger the lives of Palestinians and Israelis alike, deepen the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and undermine current efforts to improve livelihoods and support the return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza," he noted. Four Palestinians were killed and some 210 Palestinians wounded on Friday during fierce fighting between Israel and Hamas, the most serious one in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip since the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict that killed thousands. The attack began after an Israeli soldier was killed during operational activity near the southern Gaza Strip on Friday. The soldier was the first one to be shot dead by Palestinian fighters since 2014, the Israel Defense Forces said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-22 01:12:49|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close TIRANA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The Albanian government passed a decision that requires all Food Business Operators (FBO) in the country to declare on the label of the food the values and ingredients that the product contains, local media reported on Saturday. According to the decision, from this year onwards, FBO must provide the above-mentioned criteria, and by 2019 the authorities will impose a ban on the products that fail to declare the origin of the raw material. In this way, the Albanian government aims to avoid all abusive efforts and to guarantee a genuine tracing system, which is the first link in the chain of food safety. The labeling decision adopted this week also aims to inform and build the confidence of consumers in the food market, especially with regard to food characteristics, effects and properties. Up to now in Albania, the presentation of food nutritional values by FBO was optional. All products currently on the market and affected by the amendments to the government decision will continue to be sold with the current approved labels, but not more than one year from the date of entry into force of this decision. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-22 02:02:55|Editor: yan Video Player Close MOGADISHU, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Somali security forces on Saturday rounded up several suspects following the car bombing in Mogadishu in which one security official was killed and three others injured. Bondhere District Commissioner Zeinab Yusuf told reporters that the Saturday incident in Bondhere district saw a remote-controlled explosive device go off, resulting in the death of the National Intelligence Service Agency (NISA) official. "Security forces have arrested several suspects following the blast," Yusuf said, noting that the victims were people of the same family except a passer-by woman who was injured. "An explosive device fitted into the vehicle caused the blast and he died on the spot," the commissioner said. The security forces have not established why the improvised device was fitted in the car with the civilians onboard but sources said a senior police officer who is believed to have been the target escaped unhurt. Security officials told Xinhua that the official was carrying his family to the Mogadishu Airport. Witnesses reported the blast was huge and caused panic in the area. "We heard huge blast this morning and we learnt that it had targeted security official. Heavily armed forces arrived at the scene and arrested some people," an eyewitness, Amina Abdullahi, told Xinhua. No group has claimed reasonability for the latest attack but the extremist al-Shabab military group launches regular attacks on government, military and civilian targets in Somalia. The latest attack comes a week after two people were killed when a suicide car bomb detonated at the checkpoint, which is close to the presidential palace. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-22 02:07:56|Editor: yan Video Player Close NAIROBI, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Kenya is considering offering a number of incentives to spur the development of low-cost housing units, a government official said on Saturday. Charles Hinga Mwaura, Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, said in Nairobi that the real estate sector has concentrated on the high-income housing segment due to enormous returns from investments. "In order to spur development of more low-income housing units, the government has set aside 7,500 acres of serviced land for property developers to construct affordable housing units," Mwaura said. He said the incentives are meant to overcome the systematic problems that have made the construction sector spurn the affordable housing category. Other incentives include a 15-percent tax relief for taxpayers who purchase houses under the affordable housing scheme. Government data indicates that the national housing demand stands at 250,000 units annually with 80,000 for high-income and 170,000 for low-income households. However, Mwaura said that the real estate industry constructs on average 49,000 housing units for the rich and only 1,000 units were targeted at the low-income segment of the population. "This has lead to the development of informal settlements as the poor cannot find affordable decent houses," he added. The PS said Kenya has one of the highest costs of land in Africa and as a result real estate developers tend to concentrate on constructing expensive houses in order to make returns on their incentives. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-22 02:22:59|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close By Stefania Fumo ROME, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) appointed high-ranking in-house executive Mike Manley to replace ailing Sergio Marchionne as its chief executive officer (CEO), its board of directors announced Saturday. Marchionne, 66, has not been seen in public since last month, when he underwent surgery on his shoulder. "During the course of this week unexpected complications arose while Mr. Marchionne was recovering from surgery and that these have worsened significantly in recent hours. As a consequence, Mr. Marchionne will be unable to return to work," the carmaker said in a statement. In a separate statement, FCA Chairman John Elkann said: "I am profoundly saddened to learn of Sergio's state of health. It is a situation that was unthinkable until a few hours ago, and one that leaves us all with a real sense of injustice." A dual Italian and Canadian citizen, Marchionne became CEO of Fiat in 2004 and orchestrated the successful merger between the historic Italian brand and American carmaker Chrysler in 2014. He also served as chairman of CNH Industrial and Chairman and CEO of Ferrari. British-born Manley joined the company in 2000 and heads its Ram and Jeep brand divisions. He also sits on the FCA U.S. board and on FCA's governing body, its Group Executive Council (GEC). Manley oversaw the expansion of Jeep into China as chief operating officer (COO) of FCA's Asia-Pacifica region. He formed close relationships with Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. executives to significantly grow a joint venture with the Chinese automaker, Automotive News reported. On Saturday, he was also named COO of FCA's NAFTA region, which includes Canada, Mexico and the United States. He will implement the company's 2018-2022 business plan presented on June 1 this year, the board said. Last year FCA shipped 2.4 million vehicles in the NAFTA region, sold almost one million cars and other vehicles in Europe, with its various divisions posting year-on-year sales increases of 3.5 percent and upwards. It employs 90,000 people worldwide, according to its corporate website. Fiat, which is the acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino, was founded in Turin in 1899 by the Agnelli family, of which Elkann is an heir. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-22 02:58:03|Editor: yan Video Player Close BRUSSELS, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission said on Saturday that it has been sending resources to Sweden to battle forest fires. The Commission said it sent 5 planes, 6 helicopters, 56 vehicles and 194 personnel, after a request for assistance from Sweden. There are also additional offers from European Union member states. The EU's emergency Copernicus satellite is also helping Sweden provide damage assessment maps of the affected areas. Unprecedented forest fires have been raging hundreds of hectares in the Swedish regions of Jamtland, Gavleborg, Dalarna, Norrbotten and Vasterbotten. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-22 02:58:03|Editor: yan Video Player Close TEHRAN, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday said that any negotiation with the United States to solve the existing mutual problems is an "obvious mistake," official IRNA news agency reported. Khamenei also said that negotiations with the Europeans should continue to secure Iran's interests from the 2015 international nuclear deal. "The United States seeks to restore its status in Iran as they enjoyed before the Islamic Revolution (in 1979), and they will not accept less than that," Khamenei said in a meeting with the Iranian Foreign Ministry staff in the capital Tehran. "The United States has basic and fundamental problem with the (Islamic) establishment," Khamenei was quoted as saying. The U.S. disagreement with Iran's nuclear and enrichment capability, as well as Iran's regional role, is an indication of Washington's enmity with the Islamic republic, he said. Iran's presence in the region is elemental for Iran's power and security and it is a strategic policy, he stressed. "I have reiterated that we cannot rely on the U.S. words and even their signature, therefore, negotiations with them are fruitless," he was quoted as saying. To press Iran to go back to the negotiation table over the internationally-recognized nuclear deal in 2015, U.S. President Donald Trump has said that sanctions on Iran will snap back in August and November. "The first part of our sanctions will snap back on Aug. 6. These sanctions will include targeting Iran's automotive sector, trade in gold and other key metals," Brian Hook, director of policy planning for the State Department of the United States, said on July 2. "The remaining sanctions will snap back on Nov. 4. These sanctions will target Iran's energy sector and petroleum related transactions, and transactions with the Central Bank of Iran," he added. Following Trump's decision to quit the historic Iran nuclear pact on May 8, the United States vowed to reimpose sanctions lifted under the accord against Iran and inflict punishments like secondary sanctions on nations that have business links with Iran. "Negotiations with the Europeans should not be cut off, but we should not wait too long for a European package and instead, we should do a lot of work inside the country," Khamenei said on Saturday. Before Khamenei's remarks, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Saturday that his ministry had made a comprehensive plan to help expand the country's economic bonds with neighbors as well as others. Zarif said Iran's Foreign Ministry had also been able to foil an Israeli project to portray Iran as a threat. He described efforts by Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to scare the world away from Iran as "cheap theatricals" that had resulted in nothing but their own isolation. Zarif said that "war rooms" had been created in certain countries to pressure Iran, but those efforts were futile. "We have gone through hard times," he said. "We will be able to overcome problems through cooperation and unity without suffering any harm under the guidance of the leadership and the help of the people." Earlier, Khamenei dismissed the U.S. political and economic pressures against the Islamic republic as desperate attempts. Khamenei said that the United States is not able to pressure Iran alone, so it has made coalitions with "disgraceful and reactionary states" in the region. "We will increase our bond with the people day by day," he said, noting that "the hatred of the Iranian nation for the United States has been increasing day by day." Washington's withdrawal from the landmark Iran nuclear deal was criticized across the world. Some of its major European allies have been working to prevent the 2015 deal from falling apart. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-22 03:38:09|Editor: yan Video Player Close TEHRAN, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the recent law approved by the Israeli parliament as "racist," Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday. "The legislation bears witness to the racist nature of the Tel Aviv regime," Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Bahram Qasemi said in a statement. "The illegitimate and racist Zionist regime (of Israel) was formed upon the occupation of Palestine and the massacre of its real owners, and the recent move by this regime's parliament is yet another testimony to the racist nature and approach of this regime over the past 70 years," said Qasemi. Racism in occupied Palestine will be stamped out, he said, lashing out at Washington for backing Israeli measures. The Israeli parliament passed the "Jewish nation-state" law on Thursday that makes Hebrew the country's national language, and Jerusalem as its capital. It will also grant diaspora Jewry the right to return to Israel. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-22 03:43:11|Editor: yan Video Player Close BERLIN, July 21 (Xinhua) -- A man who is believed to have attacked passengers on a packed bus with a kitchen knife in the northern German city of Luebeck on Friday made a court appearance on Saturday, German news agency DPA reported. The 34-year-old suspect, who was born in Iran but has German citizenship and lives in Luebeck, injured 10 people in the attack, three of them seriously. There was no indication the suspect had been radicalized and a terrorist motive was unlikely, DPA cited officials as saying. Following the court appearance, the man has been remanded in custody, it said. A judge in Luebeck issued a warrant at the request of the prosecutor on charges of attempted murder. The suspect is also accused of attempted serious arson, dangerous bodily harm and bodily harm, police and the prosecutor's office said. The suspect has remained silent about his motive for the attack. According to witnesses cited by the local Luebecker Nachrichten newspaper, the bus was full and en route to nearby Travemuende when a passenger suddenly dropped a rucksack. He then pulled out a knife and began attacking people. Initial investigations showed that the rucksack contained fire accelerants, but there were no signs of an explosive device, said Hans-Joachim Grote, interior minister for the state of Schleswig-Holstein, cited by DPA. NEW YORK, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The second International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Workshop on Standardizing Digital Fiat Currency (DFC) and Applications was held at the Cornell University Bloomberg Tech Campus in New York City. During the event from July 18 to 20, David Wen, chairman of the ITU Focus Group on DFC, welcomed the participants with an update of what the Focus Group has achieved since the first conference in Beijing last October. More than 20 central banks around the world has joined the Focus Group only eight months after its kick-off, creating the world's most comprehensive platform and highest level of gathering of global experts working on DFC, or the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), Wen said. Representatives of central banks from China, Brazil, Egypt, Sweden, Norway and the Philippines shared their DFC research and pilot programs at the gathering. Sarah Raskin, U.S. deputy secretary of treasury, gave a keynote speech on how the United States is looking at the proliferation of crypto currency and Initial Coin Offering (ICO) from the historic perspective. The lack of liquidity and the small number of key players behind the hundreds of crypto currencies will allow bad actors to manipulate the prices of these crypto currencies, and result in losses for unsuspecting investors, Raskin said. The former member of Federal Reserve Board of Directors expressed the belief that DFC will eventually bring stability, trust and efficiency to the innovation and confusion brought about the digital currency revolution. Yao Qian, vice director general of Chinese central bank's technology department and director of institute of digital money, shared with the audiences the detailed function and architecture of the Chinese central bank's two-layer model. China has been leading the world in the research and design of a DFC solution since 2014. Gabriela Guibourg from Swedish Central Bank described the eKrona project, a DFC project that has attracted 33 Fintech companies around the world to participate through opening bidding process. A decision on which solutions may be selected will be made toward the end of 2018. In the Philippines, the ePiso project, supported by the Philippine Central Bank under its regulatory sandbox framework, was commercialized by Rizal Commercial and Banking Corp (RCBC), using DFC technology provided by eCurrency, a Silicon Valley based technology company. Margarita Lopez, first senior vice president of RCBC, presented a convincing case on how DFC technology can be used to enhance security and provide efficient and interoperable settlement solution among many micro-loan as well as a vast array of vendor networks. Both Brazilian and Egyptian central banks described their case studies on DFC with detailed plans. Legal and economics experts from Bank of International Settlement, IMF, Gates Foundation, Federal Reserve of New York, U.S. Department of Treasury, professors from Stanford, Berkeley and Cornell held round table discussions with live debate and discussions of these central bank projects and technologies. David Chaum, the father of DigiCash, Joey Mandoza who created the first mobile wallet in the Philippines, and Prof Udungu, the ex-governor of Bank of Kenya who made nPesa the most successful mobile payment system in the world, also shared their experiences of pioneering breakthrough technologies for the past 25 years while providing advices on how to successfully promote, deploy and manage a digital revolution. The three-day conference was jointly hosted by Cornell University, Digital Fiat Currency Institute of San Francisco, and other international organizations. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-22 03:53:13|Editor: yan Video Player Close ADDIS ABABA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Recent positive developments in the Ethiopia-Eritrea relations demonstrated the commitment of leadership that the world needs to demolish walls and build bridges among communities and nations, said the outgoing UN Development Program (UNDP) Resident Representative and UN Humanitarian Coordinator to Ethiopia, Ahunna Eziakonwa-Onochie. "We are facing a world where many leaders are not promoting this kind of reconciliation and bridge building," Eziakonwa-Onochie told Ethiopia's state news agency ENA on Saturday. "The two countries, in agreeing to this peace deal, have demonstrated leadership that we need to tell the world not to build walls between the hearts of families, communities and nations," she added. After 20 years of hostility, Ethiopia and Eritrea resumed diplomatic relations this month. On July 8, Ethiopia's Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, made a landmark visit to the Red Sea nation and a week after, Eritrea's President, Isaias Afwerki, paid a visit to Ethiopia. Leaders of the two countries have now agreed to end the situation and forge closer political, economic and social connections. Amid the easing tensions, telecom services between the two countries have resumed, and Eritrea has reopened its embassy in Addis Ababa. Ethiopian Airlines also started regular flights to Asmara on Wednesday. "This is a proud moment because this is a teaching moment for the world. We really hope that the world could rally behind this kind of initiative," Eziakonwa-Onochie said. Eziakonwa-Onochie further reiterated UN's recognition regarding reconciliation among the two countries, saying that "We welcome this historic initiative to soften the borders between the two countries, and then allow for rejuvenation of the friendship and relationship." Following Eritrea's separation from Ethiopia in 1991, a border dispute had contributed to two years of armed conflict starting in 1998, which killed more than 70,000 people from both sides. The Institute for Security Studies (ISS), an African non-profit organization, in its latest publication on Friday entitled "Can improved Ethiopia-Eritrea relations stabilize the region?" has also indicated that the "entire Horn of Africa region will benefit" from the restart of good relations among the two East African nations. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-22 04:28:16|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close TEHRAN, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) claimed responsibility for a clash on Saturday, killing 11 forces of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), PJAK spokesperson Amed Shaho told Rudaw Media Network. Eight other IRGC forces were injured in the clash with Kurdish militant groups in west of Iran, official IRNA news agency reported. The "terrorist" attack targeted a military base in Dari village near Marivan city in Kurdistan province, the report said. The PJAK said it launched the attack in retaliation to the killing of its forces and the assassination of one of its members in the Sulaymaniyah province of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region. The PJAK, an anti-Iranian Kurdish rebel group, is linked to Turkey's outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK). Iran's western Kurdistan province has been the scene of bloody clashes between the Iranian security forces and the Kurdish rebels during the past years. U.S. President Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, on July 16, 2018. (Xinhua/Lehtikuva/Heikki Saukkomaa) MOSCOW, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday discussed prospects of Russia-U.S. relations and possible cooperation on Syria and the Korean Peninsula, Russia's Foreign Ministry said Saturday. During a phone conversation, Lavrov and Pompeo exchanged views on the prospects for further normalizing relations between the two countries "on an equal and mutually beneficial basis", a ministry statement said. The diplomats also discussed a number of pressing international issues, including, in particular, possible interaction of Russia and the U.S. with other countries to address humanitarian problems in Syria as well as to promote the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, according to the statement. On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump held a full-fledged summit in Finland's capital Helsinki, at which the two leaders discussed a wide range of topics including Russia-U.S. relations, national security and top international issues. Pompeo on Friday confirmed Trump's continuing of talks with Putin and said that the two leaders began discussing the return of millions of Syrian refugees. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-22 04:33:18|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close RABAT, July 21 (Xinhua) -- A Moroccan anti-terror court has sentenced 18 people to one to 20 years in prison for terror-related crimes, the official MAP news agency reported on Saturday. Two main defendants were given 20 years in prison, the report said, adding that one was sentenced to 19 years in prison, three to 16 years, and five to 15 years. The other seven received one to 10 years in jail. The convicts were sued for "forming a gang to commit terrorist attacks, glorifying a terror group, inciting others to commit terror crimes and failure to report a terror crime." They were arrested in October 2017 in police raids in several Moroccan cities for suspected links to the Islamic State group. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-22 04:43:20|Editor: yan Video Player Close CAIRO, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Egypt on Saturday increased the prices of natural gas by up to 75 percent, official news agency MENA reported. The move aims to meet an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan deal and push the implementation of economic reform plans, the report said. Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli issued the decision to raise the prices based on tiered gas pricing system, the report said. The price for one cubic meter of gas increased from 1 Egyptian pound (about 0.06 U.S. dollars) to 1.75 pounds for those consuming 0 to 30 cubic meters, the report said. People who consume 30 to 60 cubic meters will pay from 1.75 pounds to 2.50 pounds per cubic meter. Consumption of over 60 cubic meters will cost from 2.25 pounds to 3 pounds per cubic meters. The government's decision, published in the official gazette, should come into effect starting August. "The decision was expected, especially with the recently hike of the fuel prices," Waleed Gab-Allah, professor of financial and economic jurisdictions at Cairo University told Xinhua. "The rising prices of gas was planned to cover the cost of production, and to continue the policy of shrinking energy subsidy," he said. He reiterated that the government's recent austerity measures seek to enable the country's economy to be controlled by real prices and market demand, instead of being run by the government. He urged the government to develop social protection networks that match the speed of liberating the economy. The move is the latest among tough austerity measures aimed at rebuilding the country's economy battered by years of unrest since the 2011 uprising. In June, Egypt increased fuel and electricity prices by up to 66.6 percent and 26 percent respectively, also moves described by the IMF to continue the implementation of the country's economic reform program. Over years of instability due to turmoil, Egypt has suffered economic recession. It started a strict three-year economic reform program based on austerity measures including fuel and energy subsidy cuts and tax hikes. The IMF supported Egypt's economic reform plan with a 12-billion-dollar loan, two thirds of which has already been delivered. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-22 05:28:26|Editor: yan Video Player Close CAPE TOWN, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Unidentified gunmen opened fire on a mini bus taxi, killing several people on board on Saturday night in the latest violence among South Africa's taxi ranks, police said. The incident happened just before 8 p.m. as the mini bus was carrying a number of passengers who were returning to Johannesburg after attending a funeral in Ematimotolo in KwaZulu-Natal Province, police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker said. On their way between Colenso and Weenen, unknown people jumped onto the road from the bushes and opened fire at the taxi, he said. Several people were killed, Naicker said, adding that police could not give the specific number at the moment. Those killed were from a taxi association in Gauteng Province and they went to Ematimotolo to attend the funeral of one of their members, according to Naicker. This was the latest incident in a series of attacks related to violent rivalry among taxi ranks in the country, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal Province, a hot bed of rising taxi violence. On April 27, a group of heavily armed gunmen stormed a taxi rank in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal Province, killing one and seriously injuring three others. Following the incident, police arrested 16 suspects and seized 17 firearms. South Africa has seen a spate of taxi violence resulting from rivalry among taxi drivers vying for dominance of profitable routes. Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-22 06:28:35|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a grand welcome ceremony held by Senegalese President Macky Sall at the airport in Dakar, Senegal, July 21, 2018. Xi arrived here Saturday for a state visit to Senegal. (Xinhua/Li Xueren) DAKAR, July 21 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping arrived here Saturday for the first state visit to Senegal by a Chinese head of state in nine years. Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, were warmly received by Senegalese President Macky Sall and his wife Marieme, as well as Prime Minister Mohammed Dionne at the airport. Sall held a grand welcome ceremony in Xi's honor. Xi, on behalf of the Chinese government and the people, conveyed cordial greetings and good wishes to the government and the people of Senegal. He said it is his fourth visit to Africa since he assumed office as Chinese president in 2013, and that Senegal is the first stop of his ongoing African tour and his first visit to a West African country as Chinese president. China and Senegal are good friends and good partners, he said, adding that in recent years, bilateral relations have enjoyed rapid development with fruitful results in cooperation in various areas. China and Senegal, he said, have witnessed close political exchanges, ever increasing mutual trust, steady advancement of mutually beneficial cooperation, rich and colorful cultural and people-to-people exchanges and close coordination and cooperation on regional and international affairs. Xi noted that he and Sall agreed to elevate the two countries' ties to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and reached many consensuses on expanding bilateral cooperation in 2016. The Chinese president said he was glad to see that those consensuses have been implemented step by step to the benefit of the two peoples. He said he looks forward to having an in-depth exchange of views with Sall on bilateral relations and regional and international affairs of mutual concern. Sall extended warm welcome to Xi on behalf of the Senegalese government and the people. He said the arrangements of Xi's visit testify that the Chinese side attaches great importance to its relations with Senegal. The visit will play an important role in promoting the development of Senegal-China relations, as well as Africa-China ties, Sall said. China has made remarkable achievements in development, he said, adding that his country looks forward to learning more from China's success and deepening cooperation between the two countries. The Chinese president arrived in Senegal after finishing his state visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday. Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leading ministers and members of the royal family saw him off at the airport. Calling the visit to the UAE a complete success, Xi said upon departure that it further consolidated and lifted the friendly relations between the two countries and deepened the friendship between the two peoples. Xi said he believes the UAE will make greater achievements in national construction, and that China is ready to constantly deepen practical cooperation with the country and advance their comprehensive strategic partnership. The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi said the visit will further promote the mutually beneficial cooperation between the UAE and China. He wished China prosperity and progress. Senegal is the second stop in Xi's first overseas trip after being re-elected Chinese president in March. He has already visited the UAE and will pay state visits to Rwanda and South Africa, attend the 10th BRICS summit in Johannesburg, and visit Mauritius during a stopover. MADISON, Wis. As expected, Gov. Scott Walker is asking the federal government to help parts of the state recover from the mid-June rainstorms that caused widespread flooding in several counties, including Iron County. Walker sent a letter to President Donald Trump Friday asking for a federal disaster declaration for Ashland, Bayfield, Iron, Burnett, Clark and Douglas counties. Federal damage assessments showed more than $13.1 million in damage to public infrastructure in northwestern Wisconsin. This is an area that is still recovering from major flooding that occurred in 2016, Wal... 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... Luxembourg: Police in Luxembourg have added two Tesla electric cars to their fleet, hoping that their rapid acceleration capacity will help them nab more criminals and speed offenders while also trimming the tiny country`s carbon emissions. The purchase of the two Tesla Model S cars - which can accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour (97 kmph) in seconds - is part of a pilot project to move some 10 percent of the cars on Luxembourg`s roads towards electric and hybrid vehicles, the Grand Duchy`s transport minister said. "Police cannot use a 2CV on the motorway, they need a car that can move fast," Francois Bausch told state broadcaster RTL. One of the key concerns surrounding electric vehicles - the need to regularly recharge their batteries - is less of a problem in Luxembourg, which measures only some 100 km (60 miles) from north to south, police said. "Our patrols are 200 kilometres per outing. We can easily see that the battery life as it is does not pose any problems," said Laurent Lentz, deputy commander of Luxembourg`s highway police. But Lentz said it was too early to say whether Luxembourg would buy more Tesla cars. Local media said the police had paid some 100,000 euros ($116,450) for each car due to special police requirements. Police declined to confirm the figure. Luxembourg Environment Minister Carole Dieschbourg said the transport sector accounts for about two thirds of the country`s CO2 emissions. "I think it is of utmost importance to show leadership in order to have legislation and strategies that will make us able to reach our Paris target," she said. Luxembourg is one of nearly 200 nations to have signed the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, which aims to limit a rise in global temperatures to below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times. ($1 = 0.8587 euros) A 16-year-old girl committed suicide after allegedly being gangrape by three men in Sagar in Madhya Pradesh. According to the police, a case has been registered while all accused have been arrested. Sagar Superintendent of Police on Friday told news agency ANI that further investigations in the case were underway. More details are awaited. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday submitted a privilege notice against Congress president Rahul Gandhi, alleging that he misled Parliament in his speech during the no-confidence motion debate in Lok Sabha. The privilege notice was submitted by the ruling BJP over Rahul Gandhis remark that Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had lied to the country on the Rafale deal under pressure from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Even as the BJP moved the privilege notice, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar hit out at the Gandhi scion while speaking to reporters outside Parliament. He termed the Congress presidents behaviour in the Lok Sabha as "childish". "It's unfortunate that he has not grown up. It's unfortunate that the president of the Congress is so ill-informed and immature," said the minister, adding that according to the rules of the House, Rahul Gandhi should have given prior notice before making any allegations against any member. He should have given substantiating material to the Speaker, the minister said. "BJP MPs will move a privilege motion against Rahul Gandhi for falsehood and misleading Parliament," he further said. While referring to the Rafale deal with France, Rahul Gandhi had said in the Lok Sabha on Friday that even as the government claims that there is a secrecy agreement to not reveal the details of the deal, French President Emmanuel Macron had confirmed to him that there was no such pact between the two nations. However, shortly after his speech, the French government issued a statement saying a secrecy pact was inked between India and France in 2008, which legally binds the two States to protect the classified information provided by the partner, that could impact security and operational capabilities of the defence equipment of India or France. The response was released by the French government in a Q & A format that spared it the need for an explanatory note on the controversy. "These provisions naturally apply to the IGA concluded on 23 September 2016 on the acquisition of 36 Rafale aircraft and their weapons. As the President of the French Republic indicated publicly in an interview given to India Today on 9th March 2018, 'In India and in France, when a deal is very sensitive, we can't reveal all details'," said an unidentified spokesperson of France's Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs. Reacting to the statement, the Congress president had said, "Let them deny it if they want. He (Macron) said that before me. I was there, Anand Sharma and Dr Manmohan Singh were also there." A mahant at a temple in Haryanas Fatehabad was on Friday arrested by the police after videos of him allegedly raping women surfaced online. The police confirmed that a case had been filed and an investigation was underway. Haryana: Baba Amarpuri, a Mahant at Baba Balaknath Temple in Fatehabad's Tohana, was nabbed by police y'day after videos of him allegedly raping women surfaced online. Police say 'We filed a case & started probe. His premises were also raided & we seized some suspicious articles' pic.twitter.com/RGw7HIWwdZ ANI (@ANI) July 21, 2018 New agency ANI quoted a police official as saying, We filed a case and started the probe. His premises were also raided and we seized some suspicious articles. The arrested mahant has been identified as Baba Amarpuri of Baba Balaknath temple in Tohana area of Fatehabad. As per a report in The Times of India, Baba Amarpuri allegedly raped at least 120 women and filmed the act on camera. He reportedly used the video clips to allegedly blackmail the women and rape them repeatedly. The report further said that the police carried out searches and recovered 120 video clips. Each video clip reportedly was of different women. NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday here rolled out the 'Student Police Cadet' (SPC) programme, under which high school students across the country will be taught to become much more responsible citizens. Speaking at the formal launch at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium here, he said that the SPC programme, for students of classes 8 and 9, will be implemented across the country with a vision for citizens to respect and follow laws willingly, practice responsible behaviour towards others, demonstrate empathy for weaker sections of society, and participate in tackling community issues. A sum of Rs 67 crore had sanctioned to states for the programme's implementation and each school would get Rs 50,000 for educational aids, training and contingency for the programme, to be carried out on pilot basis in all states and union territories. Rajnath Singh said that the venture aims to unlock the potential of India's youth and make them capable of becoming social leaders with global vision guided by humanitarian values. India has the world's largest population of youth and there is a paradigm shift in the policing function from enforcement to facilitation of law, he said. Referring to the ill-effects of rapid modernization and incidents aired on news, TV and social media on daily basis, he said that they put a negative impact on entire society and there was a need to give moral character education at both home and school. "Though it is a tough task and would take a long time, but we have to achieve this... Keeping this in view, SPC is being launched at national level to help in building a bridge between the police and the larger community through school students by inculcating values and ethics in them," he added. Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar, who was also present, said that the SPC programme works on Education-Values-Law linkage, to enable school community to create safe school environment with confident and discipline youth. It will also facilitate development of good health, physical and mental fitness, self control and discipline in youth while enabling youth to work with police in this project, he said, adding teachers will be trained by police to act as Community Police Officers (CPO) and Additional CPOs. Noting that students of classes 8 and 9 form nearly 4 crore of the 26 crore students across the country, Javadekar said that programme, including classes, physical training, field visits, SPC camps and practical projects, will be first introduced in the government schools and later will be extended to the private educational institutes. Students will be studying about law and constitution, communication skill, disaster management health and hygiene and about setting goal, he said. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar described the SPC programme a milestone and assured that priority would be given to these cadets in the Haryana Police recruitment drives. Over 7,000 students, both boys and girls, from across the country participated in the launch programme. Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh, who is the Gurugram MP, Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir, Haryana minister Rao Narbir Singh and several MLAs were also present. (With PIB inputs) JAIPUR: Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal has warned that more incidents of mob lynching will happen with the rise in popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The minister said this while referring to the alleged lynching of a 28-year-old man by a violent mob in Rajasthan's Alwar district over suspicion of cow smuggling on Friday night. Meghwal, who is the Union Minister of State in Ministry of Water Resources, also assumed that PM Modi's detractors are trying to defame the central government by raking up the lynching incidents. "The more popular Modi ji becomes, the more such incidents will happen. In Bihar elections, it was 'Award Wapsi', in Uttar Pradesh elections, it was mob lynching. In 2019 elections, it will be something else. Prime Minister Modi gave several schemes, their effects can be seen, this (lynching) incident is just one reaction to it," Meghwal was quoted as saying by ANI on Saturday. Referring to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, the Union Minister said that it was the biggest case of mob lynching in India ever. Meghwal, however, condemned the Alwar incident in strongest terms and demanded strict action against those responsible for it. "We condemn mob lynching but this isn't a single incident. You have to trace this back in history. Why does this happen? Who should stop this? What happened with Sikhs in 1984 was the biggest mob lynching of this nation's history," Meghwal said. A 28-year-old man, identified as Akbar Khan, was allegedly beaten to death by a violent mob on the suspicion of cow smuggling in Alwar on Friday night. After getting information, the police reached the spot immediately and rushed the man to a nearby hospital. However, he succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment at the hospital. The incident occurred in the Ramgarh area of Alwar. The body of the deceased was moved to Alwar mortuary and later sent for post-mortem. While the autopsy report is awaited, Khan's family members have demanded quick action in the case. "We want justice. The culprits should be arrested soon," his father Suleman said. A case of murder has been registered in connection with the incident. Jaipur range Inspector General Hemant Priyadarshi has confirmed that two of the accused, Dharmendra Yadav and Paramjeet Singh Sardar, have been arrested. Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has condemned the latest incident of cow vigilantism and assured stern action against the perpetrators. "The incident of alleged lynching of a person transporting bovines in Alwar district is condemnable. Strictest possible action shall be taken against the perpetrators," Raje tweeted. Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria too assured strictest possible action against those involved in the alleged lynching incident. "Proper investigation will be done and strict action will be taken against the accused. We try to rise above the cast and religious boundaries and investigate the case thoroughly. We have never left any lynching case untouched. In the same way, the culprits, in this case, will get the punishment they deserve according to the law," Kataria said while speaking to reporters. In a similar incident, 50-year-old Pehlu Khan was beaten to death by cow vigilantes in the same district in April last year. Replying to the no-confidence motion on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had urged state governments to take stringent action against the culprits of mob lynching. Despite several measures taken by the Centre and the state governments, the cases of mob fury have been on a rise in India. As per the data compiled by the Ministry of Home Affairs, at least 45 persons were killed in 40 cases of mob lynching across nine states between 2014 and March 3, 2018. (With ANI inputs) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday responded to the hug given by Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Lok Sabha on Friday. Hitting out at the Congress chief without taking his name, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) strongman said, "You saw how they came running to the Prime Minister's chair, they can see nothing but the Prime Minister's chair." Addressing a public gathering in Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, his first after the NDA government at the Centre won the no-confidence motion moved by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Modi said that the government asked the opposition as to why they could not trust them. "When they failed to answer, they came and hugged me," said Prime Minister Modi. He further listed the measures taken by the NDA government since 2014 for the welfare of farmers, accusing the opposition parties of shedding crocodile tears. Here are the highlights of what the Prime Minister said: # This government has earned the confidence of people. We are constantly undertaking developmental activities. # We asked them reasons for not having trust in our government, but when they failed to answer, they came and hugged. # My only crime is that I have done no wrong, and that I am on the right path. # You saw how he (Rahul Gandhi) ran towards the Prime Minister's chair. He can see nothing but PM's chair. # We have vowed to bring electricity to all households in the country by 2019. # No confidence motion did not come for no reason. We plugged loopholes from where people earned free money, hence they brought no-confidence motion against Modi government, but people of the country decimated it. # Provisions for helping farmers were always there, what missed was the intention to implement it, says Prime Minister Modi. # Farmers will get 80% profit on MSPs on sugarcanes. # People who are shedding crocodile tears in the name of farmers, did not do anything for them when they were in power. NEW DELHI: A day after surprising the whole country by giving an unexpected hug to the Prime Minister, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that he would tackle Narendra Modi's "hate and fear" with ''love and compassion''. The Congress chief took to Twitter and tweeted, ''The point of Friday's debate in Parliament...Prime Minister uses hate, fear and anger in the hearts of some of our people to build his narrative. We are going to prove that love and compassion in the hearts of all Indians is the only way to build a nation." The point of yesterdays debate in Parliament.. PM uses Hate, Fear and Anger in the hearts of some of our people to build his narrative. We are going to prove that Love and Compassion in the hearts of all Indians, is the only way to build a nation. Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 21, 2018 The response from Rahul Gandhi came shortly after the Prime Minister hit out at the Congress chief, without taking his name, and said, "You saw how they came running to the Prime Minister's chair, they can see nothing but the Prime Minister's chair." The PM made these remarks while addressing a public gathering in Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh - his first after the NDA government at the Centre won the no-confidence motion moved by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). PM Modi said that the government asked the Opposition as to why they could not trust them, during his speech. "When they failed to answer, they came and hugged me," said Prime Minister Modi. He also highlighted the achievements of his government and the various welfare measures taken by the NDA regime since 2014 for the welfare of farmers, while also accusing the Opposition parties of shedding crocodile tears. In a major victory for the ruling BJP, the Modi government comfortably won the no-confidence motion tabled by the Opposition, which was defeated in the Lok Sabha after a 12-hour long heated debate. The motion was defeated by 325 votes against it while 126 in its favour out of the total 451 votes cast in the Lok Sabha. Thought the two sides traded charges, it was Rahul Gandhi who virtually stole the show after delivering a blistering speech. The Gandhi scion walked over to the PM's chair and hugged him. He said love and tolerance, not hatred and lynchings, was the way forward for India. "I have not an iota of hatred or hard feelings against you. You hate me. You may call me Pappu, you can use a stream of expletives for me. But I don't hate you or have even slightest of anger for you. I am the Congress," Rahul Gandhi said at the end of his nearly 40-minute fiery speech. PM Modi later hit out at him accusing the Congress chief of arrogance, negativity, childish conduct and a burning desire to become Prime Minister. The BJP strongman also said he was extending best wishes to the Congress and other opposition parties to bring another no-confidence motion in 2024. The Prime Minister, while replying to the debate on the no-confidence motion, moved by the TDP, against the government in the Lok Sabha, said the Congress lacked self-confidence and had no faith in the Chief Justice of India, Election Commission, Electronic Voting Machines, Reserve Bank of India and programmes like Swachh Bharat. The Shiv Sena, an estranged ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre, has lauded Congress president Rahul Gandhi in its mouthpiece Saamana over the latters speech during no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha on Friday. The moment of Rahul Gandhi hugging Prime Minister Modi on the floor of the House was highlighted on the front page of the Shiv Sena mouthpiece with headline in Marathi Bhawa Jinkalans, which roughly translates to brother you stole the show. The article in Saamana highlighted parts of Rahul Gandhis speech such as his allegation of Prime Minister Modi colluding with big business houses and jumla strike. According to Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, Rahul Gandhi displayed political tradition by hugging Prime Minister Modi after his speech. The article pointed how the gesture of the Congress president ruled the media and social media platforms. After lashing out at Prime Minister Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during his speech in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi said he might be a pappu for the ruling party, but he had no hatred for them in his heart. Soon after, Rahul Gandhi walked up to the Prime Minister. PM Modi first extended his hand for a handshake but was caught off guard as the Gandhi scion embraced him in a hug. The Prime Minister responded to it with a handshake and patted Rahul Gandhi on the back. The Prime Minister later took a dig at the Gandhi scion over his action. Imitating the Congress chief, PM Modi said that some people were in hurry to grab the Prime Ministers seat. Rahul Gandhis action did not go down well with Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan as well. She said that the Gandhi scion should have taken the position of Prime Minister into consideration before walking up to him and hugging him. The Speaker didn't approve of the entire move of Rahul and objected to it saying she was surprised at the 'drama' that was taking place inside the House. (Reporting by Sidhant Sibal) Russia has accused the US of taking steps specifically aimed at reducing Russia's defence, military and political ties with India. In an interview to Russian international news agency RIA Novosti, Moscow's ambassador to New Delhi Nikolay Kudashev said the sanctions that the US has imposed on Russia are among other things aimed at replacing Moscow as a key ally of New Delhi. The US sanctions against Russia also target organisation and countries which have strategic, defence and military ties to Russia. Top US officials have appealed to members of the US Congress to take steps to ensure India is not affected by these sanctions since India, despite the bulk of its hardware coming from Russia, is rising as an important defence and strategic ally for the US. The American have been clear that India cannot be expected to abruptly get rid of all the military hardware and fighter jets it has purchased from Russia over the decades. This has come even as a number of top US defence industry players have been looking to make huge sales to India, which is the world's top arms importer. "A distinctive feature of the present time is the sanctions against Russian producers, which are a means of unfair competition and which are pursuing the goal of driving Russia out of the Indian defence sector and its military and political space," Kudashev said in his interaction with RIA Novosti. He added that Russia is "ready for equitable, fair and open competition" but sanctions and what the US is doing "is not a competition, it is something opposite to competition." He acknowledged that the US sanctions do pose difficulties of a certain kind. "These difficulties are surmountable. We are searching for the solution of these problems and undoubtedly it will be found," he said. Kudashev also struck an upbeat note on ties between India and Russia. He said the two counties "remain closest partners, and all our defence industry agreements are being implemented." Among the deals and projects he was referring to is India's likely purchase of the advanced S-400s air defence system and the proposed joint production of Kamov Ka-226 helicopters. Kudashev's remarks come even as India and the US prepare for the '2+2' meet between the foreign and defence ministers of the two countries on September 6. India will, soon after the US meet, also take part in its 19th annual summit with the Russian leadership. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has said that we must hang our heads in shame over alleged gangrape of a woman by 40 men in Panhckula in Haryana. The Congress chief said that incident and shocked and disgusted him. Taking to microblogging site Twitter, Rahul Gandhi said, The rape of a young woman in Haryana, by 40 men, has shocked & disgusted me. Ironically, today in Parliament, I had drawn attention to the issue of growing violence against woman. As a nation, we must hang our heads in shame, for our inability to protect this daughter of India. The rape of a young woman in Haryana, by 40 men, has shocked & disgusted me. Ironically, today in Parliament, I had drawn attention to the issue of growing violence against woman. As a nation, we must hang our heads in shame, for our inability to protect this daughter of India. pic.twitter.com/5rYqBeqZRq Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 20, 2018 According to a complaint filed by the woman with the Chandigarh police, she was held captive in a guest house for four days and allegedly gangraped by 40 men. She alleged that she was held captive in a guest house in Morni hills from July 15 to 18, reported news agency PTI. The woman said that she knew one of the accused, who had promised to get her a job at the guest house where she was allegedly gangraped. The police arrested two guest house staffers in the connection, Station House Officer of Manimajra Police Station Ranjit Singh said, adding that a case had been registered and further investigations were underway. The Panchkula Police have also set up a Special Investigation Team under IPS officer Anshu Singla, who is currently posted as ASP, to probe the matter. Panchkula Police DCP Rajendar Kumar Meena said three police personnel - two Assistant Sub-Inspectors (ASI), including a woman officer, and a constable - have been placed under suspension for negligence in the matter and failing to inform higher officials about the incident. "They have been suspended for negligence in dealing with the it, failing to proactively pursue the matter and not informing senior officers in the sensitive matter," he said. "The case is being transferred to Panchkula police from Chandigarh," Meena told PTI. Dismissing reports that the woman had approached the Chandigarh Police after their Haryana counterpart failed to address her complaint, the DCP said, "This is not true. She went to Chandigarh Police as someone had told her that it would be easy for her to do so as she lived in Chandigarh." Srinagar: A Polish couple celebrated their wedding here on Saturday in the traditional Kashmiri style. The couple, Wlodek and Bata, dressed in typical local dress hosted their wedding reception on the banks of the Jhelum River. "We decided to host our wedding reception in Kashmir because we are impressed by the grandeur and beauty of the place," the couple said. Inspired by the culture of Kashmir, a couple from Poland remarried in Kashmiri style on the bank of river Jhelum in Srinagar. Bata, the groom says,"I love everything about Kashmiri culture and was inspired by it, so I decided to have the celebration here." pic.twitter.com/wiuT33bcZH ANI (@ANI) July 21, 2018 The couple's reception was facilitated by a local family who are friends of the couple. The bride said she has been coming to Kashmir as a tourist for the last few years. Some of the couple's family members have also come to celebrate the wedding. The dishes served during the reception were all local dishes, forming part of the traditional local cuisine called the 'wazwan'. The bride said she has been eating the local dishes during her visits to the Valley and she loves the flavour and the taste of Wazwan. The couple would now visit the Ladakh region during their honeymoon. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress is slated to hold Shahid Divas rally at Esplanade on Saturday, and it is expected to be attended by more than 10 lakh people. To be presided over by the Trinamool Congress chief, lakhs of people have already arrived in Kolkata from different parts of the state. The event is scheduled to begin at 11 am. Shahid divas or Matryrs Day is an annual event organised by the Trinamool Congress on July 21 every year, in the memory of 13 people who were killed in police firing in the year 1993. Mamata Banerjee was then the leader of West Bengal Youth Congress and the Left Front was ruling West Bengal. Mamata Banerjee had launched a Writers Chalo Andolan march to the West Bengal secretariat demanding that the voters identity card be made the only document to allow people to cast their votes. Police had opened fired at the agitators, killing at least 13 of them. According to political analysts, the Trinamool Congress supremo is likely to sound the bugle for the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. To ensure smooth organisation of the event, the Kolkata Police has chalked out elaborate security arrangements while the traffic police department has also taken all measures to keep the city snarl free during the grand event. Security arrangements: Sources told Zee News that a total of 6,000 police personnel have been deployed across the city while at least 40 police pickets have been put in place. Apart from this, five watch towers have been set up for round-the-clock monitoring of the crowd. The administration has also installed more than 100 additional CCTV cameras in different part of the city to monitor the crowd. Similar arrangements have also been made at the venue of the event. As many as 18 ambulances are expected to be positioned around the venue. Three Quick Response Teams (QRT), Heavy Radio Flying Squads (HRFS) and four teams of Reserve Force from Kolkata Police will also keep an eye on the law and order situation across Kolkata. A sub-control room has also been set up on the terrace of the Victoria House (CESC building), beside the venue, to keep a close watch on the movement of people. Bomb squad and Dog squad will be stationed near the venue. Roads to avoid: Dorina Crossing, Rani Rash Moni Avenue, SN Banerjee Road, Chowringhee Road, JL Nehru Road, Park Street, Central Avenue, Hastings, Queens Way, Babu Ghat and Lenin Sarani Roads to take: # All Howrah station-bound vehicles take Vidyasagar Setu # All airport-bound vehicles take AJC Bose-Maa flyover # MG Road, AJC Bose Road, APC Road are also free for vehicular movement Roads for packing vehicles: Strand Road, Strand Bank Road, Amherst Street, CIT Road, Clive Row, Napier Road, Hastings. Metro train security arrangements: As many as 350 Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel, including commandos, have been deployed at different metro stations to avoid any untoward incident amid the rush. Also, apart from the daily deployment of 250 staff members, an additional 104 security personnel will be posted at 14 Metro stations. Extra emphasis has been laid on some metro stations Esplanade, Dum Dum, Shyambazar, Chandni Chowk, Park Street, Maidan, Rabindra Sadan and Netaji Bhawan. The entire arrangement will be monitored by the Kolkata Metro's assistant security commissioner from the security control room at Metro Rail Bhavan. Bareilly: A fresh fatwa has been issued against triple talaq petitioner Nida Khan which announces a cash reward of Rs 11,876 for anyone who chops hair of the Bareilly-based woman, who has been in news for allegedly defying the Muslim clerics by challenging instant divorce and 'nikah halala'. Speaking to ANI, Nida Khan said, ''A fatwa has been issued against me which says whosoever brings chopped hair of Nida Khan will be rewarded with an amount of Rs 11,786.'' Khan further informed that she has been threatened to leave the country in the next three days failing which she will be attacked with stones. ''If I do not leave this country within three days, I will be attacked with stones,'' Nida Khan said. A fatwa issued against me says whosoever brings chopped hair of Nida Khan will be rewarded with an amount of Rs.11786 and if I do not leave this country within 3 days, I will be attacked with stones: Nida Khan, triple talaq victim. #Bareilly pic.twitter.com/vCs0RX49MX ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) July 21, 2018 Undeterred by the fatwas issued against her, Nida Khan said that she would meet the Prime Minister and urge him to take action against those who issue such intimidating and bizarre fatwas. ''These people issuing such fatwas should be stopped. I will take a proper appointment to meet PM Modi and will appeal to him about it,'' she said. Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Shahjahanpur today, Nida Khan could not meet him over concerns about her own safety. The fresh threat to Nida Khan comes days after a Bareilly court declared the instant divorce given to her as invalid. The court also rejected the petition filed by her husband who had sought a stay on the domestic violence case filed against him by Nida Khan. During a hearing in the matter on July 18, the court categorically rejected the petition filed Nida Khan's husband Sheeran. Court also posted the matter for hearing on July 27. The court also ordered the authorities to probe the domestic violence case against Sheeren and his family members for allegedly harassing and torturing Nida Khan. Nida Khan, who is associated with the prestigious Dargah-e-Ala Hazrat of Bareilly, had grabbed headlines when she approached the Supreme court and challenged the triple talaq given to her by her husband. Narrating her ordeal, Nida alleged that she was forced to sleep, consummate marriage with her father-in-law and brother-in-law, under the Islamic practice of 'Nikah Halala', so that her husband could marry her again. Nida Khan had last year written to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, urging him to abolish the 'evil' Islamic practice to dissolve the marriages solemnised as per the Sharia law. Nida Khan was married to Usman Raza Khan alias Anzu Miyan Sheeran of Dargah-e-Ala Hazrat family in 2015 but was divorced in 2016. Since then, she has been fighting for the rights of Muslim women. Despite her husband being a member of a prominent family of clerics, she contested the matter in civil court and won. Nida Khan runs an NGO to support women in Bareilly who, like her, have been divorced by their husbands by simply uttering the word talaq three times. Nida Khan's case came as a major shot in the arm for the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke out against triple talaq on a number of occasions. Last summer, the Supreme Court banned the concept of instant divorce as unconstitutional. The Centre also introduced a law under which Muslim men could be jailed for up to ten years who give instant divorce to their wives. Despite the hue and cry over ''triple talaq'' and ''nikah halala'', the two still remain prevalent among the Muslim communities that follow the Hanafi Islamic School of Law, who argue that triple talaq exists in the Quran and is permissible as part of Shariah. The Supreme Court is soon expected to give its opinion about nikah halala, which dictates that a man and woman divorced by triple talaq can only remarry if she first marries a second man, consummates the new marriage, and then seeks a new divorce. Khans campaigning against both evil practices has irked several Muslim clerics who have issued fatwas ordered a social boycott of Khan unless she apologises for her remarks. Riaydh: A Saudi Arabian mother who was caught on camera torturing her six-month-old twin girls has been arrested by the authorities. The woman was arrested after a video clip of the shocking incident went viral, triggering an outcry in the Islamic nation, according to the Saudi media reports. The country's Labour and Social Development Ministry confirmed that the woman was arrested after the authorities came to know about the viral video footage showing the two six-month babies being mercilessly thrashed and tortured by their mother. The Ministry officials also confirmed that the woman was arrested after it was found that the incident was genuine. The woman can be seen strangling one of the two babies in the video while also saying, ''Today I will kill you.' After the video became viral, the Saudi Arabian officials issued an appeal seeking information about the person who had posted it. The man was later tracked down and was identified as a Yemeni national called Mohanad Al Hashdi. Hashdi informed that the woman in the shocking video was a Somali national living in Saudi Arabia who is married to another Yemeni man. The couple had reportedly separated, leaving the woman in financial difficulties, and as a result, she filmed the video and sent it to her husband's father in Yemen as a warning and sought money from him. The worried grandfather then shared it with Hashdi who then posted it online on YouTube, hoping that the babies would be rescued. The twins will now be returned to the family of the father, said reports. Maryam Sharif has reportedly refused to be moved to a rest house from the jail where she is currently at in order to be with her father - former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif, who too is currently imprisoned. It has been learnt that while both Maryam and Nawaz have been lodged in the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, the jail does not have facilities for female inmates. Authorities, therefore, wanted to move Maryam to the rest house of Sihala Police Training College in Islamabad which has been converted into a sub-jail. According to a report in Pakistan-based Geo TV, Maryam however requested that she is not moved as she would want to be where her father and husband - Captain (retired) Muhammad Safdar are. All three of them have been sentenced to imprisonment after they were found guilty of having disproportionate assets in the Avenfield reference case. While Sharif has been given ten years of imprisonment, Maryam has been sentenced to eight years behind bars and Safdar will serve a year. While the three have maintained their innocence and have filed counters, they currently are lodged in Adiala Jail where - according to some Pakistani reports - the Sharifs have been given rudimentary facilities. WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump's longtime lawyer, Michael Cohen, secretly recorded a conversation with Trump before the 2016 presidential election in which they discussed payments to a former Playboy model who said she had an affair with Trump, the New York Times reported on Friday. The newspaper, citing lawyers and others familiar with the recording, said the FBI seized the recording this year during a raid on Cohen's office. Federal prosecutors in New York are investigating Cohen for a possible bank and tax fraud, and for possible campaign law violations linked to a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and other matters related to Trump's campaign, a person familiar with the investigation has told Reuters. The FBI seized documents and files as part of that investigation, which stemmed in part from a referral by the U.S. special counsel's office, which is looking into possible coordination during the 2016 election campaign between Trump's aides and Russia. The existence of a recording raises further questions about the tactics Trump used to keep his personal and business life secret while he was seeking public office. Representatives for Cohen and Trump`s attorney Rudy Giuliani did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters. Giuliani told the Times that Trump had discussed the payments with Cohen on the tape but that the payments were ultimately never made. He said the recording was less than two minutes and demonstrated the president had done nothing wrong. The former model, Karen McDougal, said she began a nearly yearlong affair with Trump in 2006 shortly after his wife, Melania, gave birth to their son, Barron, the Times said. The White House has said that Trump denies having an affair with McDougal and that he has denied having sex with Stormy Daniels. McDougal sold her story to The National Enquirer for $150,000 during the final months of the presidential campaign but the tabloid sat on the story, preventing it from becoming public, the Times said. Cohen's lawyer, Lanny Davis, declined to comment on the tapes, the newspaper said. The newspaper, citing three people briefed on the matter, said Cohen's lawyers discovered the recording during their review of the seized materials and shared it with Trump's lawyers. Health officials in the US are investigating the multi-state outbreak of cyclosporiasis illnesses after a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report said that 163 people in 10 states throughout the US had fallen sick after having salads from McDonalds restaurants. There have been no reports of anyone dying. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) along with the CDC, state and local officials are working with McDonalds to identify the common ingredients in the salads identified by those who became sick and are tracing back those ingredients through the supply chain. In a statement issued by McDonalds on July 13, the company said it has decided to voluntarily stop selling salads at impacted restaurants in Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Montana, North Dakota, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Missouri, until they are able to switch to another salad supplier. "Out of an abundance of caution, we voluntarily stopped selling salads at impacted restaurants until we can switch to another lettuce blend supplier. We have removed existing lettuce blend from identified restaurants and distribution centers which includes approximately 3,000 of our US restaurants primarily located in the Midwest," said McDonalds in a statement. "Of the 3,000 restaurants, at least one is located in the following states: IL, IA, IN, WI, MI, OH, MN, NE, SD, MT, ND, KY, WV, and MO. McDonalds is committed to the highest standards of food safety and quality control. We are closely monitoring this situation and cooperating with state and federal public health authorities as they further investigate." The FDA in its statement said that consumers who have symptoms of cyclosporiasis should contact their healthcare provider to report their symptoms and receive care. The symptoms listed by the FDA include diarrhoea, with frequent, sometimes explosive, bowel movements, loss of appetite, weight loss, stomach cramps/pain, bloating, increased gas, nausea, and fatigue. Vomiting, body aches, headache, fever, and other flu-like symptoms may be noted. The FDA also added that some people who are infected with cyclospora do not have any symptoms but if not treated, the illness may last from a few days to a month or longer. Symptoms may seem to go away and then return one or more times (relapse). At the time of filing this report, Google image search has proclaimed Donald Trump as an idiot. It's true. Just search for 'idiot' on the Google image page and the page throws back tons of photos of the US President. But before Google is blamed for what is widely being seen as an absolutely hilarious occurrence, stop. It is reported that a group of online activists are behind pumping in photos of Trump each time anyone in the world searches for 'idiot' on Google images. Critical of Trump's policies, the activists have sought to highlight the maladies of Trump administration's take on issues such as immigration, LGBTQ rights and gun control. Tech experts say the group of activists have managed the mischief by tweaking Google's ranking algorithm in a way that everytime someone types the word, pop comes Trump's photos. And why only this word? It is suspected that Britons protesting Donald Trump's recent UK visit by playing Green Day's song 'American Idiot' may have been a reason. For now, the photos are likely to remain as Google - in another matter - had clarified that it has no direct role in outcomes of search results. In a shocking incident, a septuagenarian died from a flesh-eating bacteria that health officials said he contracted from eating a bad raw oyster at a Florida seafood restaurant in the US, the ABC News reported. According to officials the man became seriously ill after eating the bad oyster on July 8 and died on July 10. Florida Health Department officials said the 71-year-old man died from Vibrio vulnificus that resulted in gastrointestinal illness. The name of the man who died, a Sarasota County, Florida, resident, was not released nor was the restaurant. "The individual who died was exposed to Vibrio vulnificus through consuming a raw oyster," the health department said in a statement to ABC News. Florida health officials said it was the first case and fatality involving the flesh-eating bacteria in Sarasota County this year. The incident occurred on the heels of a warning earlier from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that 12 people in the US contracted the Vibrio bacteria by eating fresh Venezuelan crab meat. None of those cases was fatal. The department also confirmed that there were four other cases of Vibrio in the state in the past week, but none of those was fatal or in Sarasota County. Health officials said the causes of the other cases of Vibrio are under investigation. Vibrio can also be contracted by swimming in warm saltwater with fresh cuts or scrapes. Manatee County has had one case of flesh-eating bacteria so far in 2018, but it was not deadly, officials said. There were 11 deaths reported in Florida from Vibrio in 2017. Meanwhile, the CDC said the Vibrio illnesses caused by the Venezuelan crab meat occurred in Maryland, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC. The militants used the anti-tank guided missiles Open source The militants used the anti-tank guided missiles in Donbas conflict zone, as the JFO HQ reported on Facebook. It was noted that the militants violated ceasefire eight times. The occupants opened fire mostly from the heavy machine guns and small arms at the positions of the Armed Forces near Troitske, Novoluhanske, Avdiivka, Pavlopil and Talakivka. Besides, the enemy opened adjusted fire at the defenders of Pavlopil from the anti-tank guided missiles. A sniper was working near Krasnohorivka, the message says. No casualties among the Ukrainian soldiers reported. Reportedly, the militants provoke not only the Joint Forces military but also Donbas civilians. In May, 2018 the Russian occupants shot up Hnutove checkpoint from two anti-tank guided missiles during its working hours when the civilians were completing documents to cross the demarcation line. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Pavlo Klimkin , condemned the Kremlin's intention to hold a referendum in the occupied Donbas because of the impossibility of free and fair expression of will in this region under current conditions. He wrote about this on July 20 on his Facebook page. "Nobody, literally nobody believes in any possibility of free and fair will expression in Donbas in the conditions of Russian occupation," Klimkin stated. At the same time, the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry is convinced that Donbas as such does not interest Russia. Just like the citizens who live in this region. According to Klimkin, the goal of the Russian authorities' statements on changing the status of Donbas and the federalization of Ukraine is the collapse of Ukraine. "This is a kind of" rehearsal ", which the Kremlin regime will push to ruin our country. They will not succeed!" he wrote. Earlier in the White House, they said they did not consider supporting Putin's idea for a new referendum in eastern Ukraine. We recall, the Bloomberg, citing sources, said that Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting with Donald Trump in Helsinki proposed a referendum in Donbas. According to one of the interlocutors, Trump asked Putin not to discuss the idea of a referendum at a press conference after the summit, to give the US president time to think about this idea. The source added that Putin offered to organize a vote among local residents of Donbas on the status of their region. All this should happen under the auspices of the international community. Sources in Russia argue that such a referendum should not provide for a "Crimean scenario," it can only decide about the autonomy of the Donbas within Ukraine. The embassy informs that the appropriate structures of the Ministry of Defense of the USA have initiated procedures of contractual arrangements The US is going to allocate 200 million USD to Ukraine to strengthen its security and defense in 2018. The funds are dedicated for military equipment, ammunition, and other equipment and for services of military use, logistics, and development of Armed Forces of Ukraine. Ukraine embassy to the USA claimed this on their Facebook page. Related: The US to compete with Nord Stream 2, - Trump Decision of Washington on providing 200 million USD to our country is an evidence of established position of the USA for support of Ukraine in its opposition of Russian aggression and recognition that Kyiv continues a consistent movement towards the reform of the security and defense sector in particular, as evidenced by the enactment of the Presidential Law on National Security, reads the message. The embassy informs that the appropriate structures of the Ministry of Defense of the USA have initiated procedures of contractual arrangements on the supply of the military equipment and service provision for the defense sector of Ukraine in 2018. Related: US to allocate $100 million to strengthen Ukraine's defense Related: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: JULY 16 20 Ukraine news on 112.international The US Congress actively discuss the bill, which provides tighten sanctions against Russia, if it turns out Russia interfered in the US Presidential elections in 2016 Open source Representatives of oil and gas industry of the US are trying to assure the members of the Congress not to exacerbate the sanctions against Russia. Reuters agency reports this with reference to their sources in the Senate. Yet the sources of the agency refused to name the companies who are against the sanctions. There is an intensive discussion of the bill which provides the exacerbation of Anti-Russian sanctions in case it turns out that Russia interfered in the US Presidential elections in 2016. One of the sources reported that the American-Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry expresses concerns about the bill. Related: Ukraine starts searching for oil and gas on Black Sea shelf anew Representatives of the Chamber describe it as a non-commercial organization with headquarters in Houston, which facilitates the trade between Russia and the United States. Its members are Shell, Exxon Mobil, and Chevron. Earlier, American concerns have been claiming that they are to abandon projects in the Russian Federation due to the sanctions, and competitors from other countries take their place. According to mass media, representatives of the Chamber and the company didnt respond to the request of the agency to comment the information. Related: Ukrainian oil and gas producers to expand gas extraction Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a law of Ukraine on ratification of the agreement between the governments of Ukraine and the Finland Republic on the realization of the project Finnish reform support of Ukrainian school. The law was adopted by the Ukrainian Parliament on July 3, 2018. The press office of the Presidential Administration reports. The document provides the legal basis for the effective realization of the project and attraction of technical assistance of Finland Government in support of reformation general secondary education in Ukraine, reads the message. Related: EU, US support Ukraines interests in gas transit, - Poroshenko It is noted that the agreement was signed in Kyiv on March 5, 2018. According to the document, Finland provides on non-refundable terms, support in a total amount of 7 million USD for reformation of Ukrainian school. Co-financing from the Ukrainian side is not expected - instead, the state will involve competent civil servants in the implementation of the project, as well as provide a separate room in the building of the Ministry of Education for the project office. Best Seats in the House PLEASE NOTE! Due to the March 23, 2020 NM DOH Public Health Order, These Event Listings Are Not Accurate! All non-essential businesses are closed, public gatherings are prohibited! (One day some of these events will be rescheduled or will resume, but they are not happening now!) Julianna Barwick (Dead Oceans) Describing this hazy, hallucinogenic album from Brooklyns Julianna Barwick, you can neatly take Panda Bears trippier tracks as a jumping off point, as Barwick loops and layers beautiful vocal harmonies with a similar slow-motion deep sea vibe. But this lovely debut is more than just derivative, and the wordless sound collages are transporting OTHER MUSIC Lacking definable lyrics, Juliannas songs create their own themes sonically and leave nameless emotional impressions. Juliannas talents as a vocalist push most of the musical strength in the album, her choice of melodic vocal overdubs with vocal percussion is fascinating and dizzying. Some sounds become as indecipherable as the human voice. Comparable to Bjorks Medulla approach to end instrumentation, most of the tracks are all vocal based. Juliannas all vocal album has less of a political method behind it as does Bjorks Medulla; its based more on her natural approach to songwriting: spontaneously improving and recording immediately. Many of the songs were written on the fly. TIME OUT NEW YORK Mary Lattimore - Harpist Mary Lattimore is a Los Angeles-based harpist. She experiments with effects through her Lyon and Healy Concert Grand pedal harp, concocting half-structured improvisations which can include both ambient glitter and unsettling noise. Her first solo record, the Withdrawing Room, was released on Desire Path Recordings in 2014. The solo recordings that followed, At the Dam and Collected Pieces, were released by Ghostly International. Mary has also recorded synth + harp duo projects with Elysse Thebner Miller (And the Birds Flew Overhead) and Jeff Zeigler (Slant of Light) and has co-written reimagined scores for the 1968 experimental silent film Le Revelateur, directed by Philippe Garrel (who approved of the project), and the Czech New Wave classic Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, and performed these scores live throughout the US with Jeff Zeigler and the Valerie Project, respectively. She has contributed and written harp parts for such artists as Kurt Vile, Thurston Moore, Sharon Van Etten, Meg Baird, Steve Gunn, the Clientele, Hop Along, Jarvis Cocker, Karen Elson, Ed Askew and Quilt. Ghostly International will release her third solo record in late spring of 2018. Advance tickets are $12 at sisterthebar.com #relative poverty S. Korea ranks 4th in relative poverty among OECD nations South Korea ranks fourth in relative poverty among major economies in the world, data showed Monday, in a sign of its high income inequality. The country's relative poverty rat... #Olympics Seoul to host int'l Olympic meeting in 2022 South Korea will host a meeting of over 200 national Olympic committees in 2022, one year after losing the event to the coronavirus pandemic. The Korean Sport & Olympic Comm... To be clear on that headline, a city in Japan is facing a shortage of ninja performers - so, while it's technically correct that they're looking for ninjas, they're specifically looking for people who can perform as ninjas. The whole story was outlined in a recent episode of NPR's 'Planet Money' podcast, where it was revealed that Iga - a city in southern Japan in the Mie Prefecture - is facing a shortage of ninja performers for their annual festival. Iga is known in Japan as the birthplace of ninjas, and its mayor, Sakae Okamoto, is attempting to breathe life into the city by drawing on its heritage. As Mayor Okamoto explained during an interview with the podcast, ninja tourism is a big draw. "For example, we hold this ninja festival between late April to around the beginning of May. During this period visitors and also local people come here. Everybody will be dressed like a ninja and walks around and enjoys themselves but recently I feel that it's not enough," said Mayor Okamoto. Much of the problem stems from, unbelievably, Japan's extremely low unemployment rate - which currently stands at 2.5%. That, and the fact that ninja training isn't really all that much of a draw for modern Japanese people. While ninjas aren't expected to race across rooftops, fling shurikens at enemies or creep around pagodas at night, they can expect to earn a healthy salary of anywhere between $25,000 to $80,000 depending on their experience. Sweet Rebranding The State St. Stucchi's is now Michigan Creamery. by Sabine Bickford From the June, 2018 issue As we head into ice cream season, those looking to cool down on State St. may notice that Stucchi's ice cream has become the Michigan Creamery. Owner Jim Seta, who took over the shop with his family in 2012, says that he decided to break off from the Ann Arbor-founded franchise last July. "The majority of our product wasn't coming from Stucchi's anymore," he says--in fact, he estimates only about 10 percent. The new name better reflects Michigan Creamery's collection of in-state suppliers. It currently sells Guernsey Farms ice cream (from Northville), Bearclaw coffee (Chelsea), and candy from Alpine Chocolat Haus (Gaylord). Now that his branding is his own, Seta says he is emphasizing the local, family-owned aspects of the shop, which he sees as tied to great service. "We tell our staff all the time we're one of the few family-owned businesses left on State St.," he says. Another tip for staff: "People should walk in happy and walk out happier." Seta repainted the interior with light blue and navy accents last summer, but he's kept the mural of State St. he commissioned when he first bought the shop. It still shows a depiction of the creamery under a sign that says "Stucchi's." Seta says he's not sure if he'll have it updated. Michigan Creamery, 302 S. State. 662-1700. Sun.-Thurs. noon-10 p.m., Fri. & Sat. noon-11 p.m. michigancreamery.com [Originally published in June, 2018.] YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. From Frances Marseille to Armenias Yerevan with Run For Peace. Mountaineer Ara Khatchadourian has passed 4550 km from the French city in 107 days to reach the Armenian capital. Ara says the goal of the initiative is to make a call for peace to the world. I wanted to run for peace because I was tired of hearing about wars from all sides of the world. France adopted me in 1983 when I left Lebanon. Armenia is my homeland, I wanted to connect these two countries with each other with my run, he said in Republic Square, Yerevan. Khatchadourian says he wanted to realize this initiative two years ago, but his plans got delayed due to certain reasons. He says he has no regrets now. 2018 turned out to be very symbolic because it coincided with the 100th anniversary of the First Armenian Republics independence and the 2800th anniversary of Yerevan. I came to also convey my congratulations to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for carrying out the peaceful revolution, he said. The Run For Peace initiative was organized by the AGBU. Khatchadourian passed through Europe, reached Turkey, where he was planning to give a letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but the general elections in the country obstructed his initiative. I spent the longest period of time in Turkey, my run comprised 2000 km and 45 days there. I was in Turkey during the elections and I didnt know if Erdogan would be re-elected, but next time I must definitely give the letter to him. I wrote in the letter that they should [recognize] the Armenian Genocide, and it was this very letter that gave me the idea to run to Armenia, he said. Frances Ambassador to Armenia Jonathan Lacote met with Ara in Marseille, before he took off on the journey. The Ambassador promised the mountaineer to join him in Armenia. I promised I would run the last 6km with him, and I kept my promise. We must hope that next time we will be able to open the borders of Turkey and Armenia, and run through there and come to Armenia. France has already done its share, now it is up to the two states to be able to reach an agreement, the French Ambassador said. Deputy minister of Diaspora Aramayis Grigoryan said theyve followed Khatchadourians route during the entire process and it is symbolic that it has coincided with the latest events in Armenia. His simultaneous run with the revolution process is symbolic, and we can say with humor that Ara began his revolutionary walk earlier than we did, Grigoryan said, referring to PM Nikol Pashinyans pre-election My Walk initiative. Ara plans to stay in Armenia for 15 days. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. Armenian border agents have apprehended a Ukrainian man who has been internationally wanted since 2016 by Moldovan law enforcement agencies. The arrest was made at the Armenia-Georgia borders Bavra checkpoint yesterday morning. Police said the man is wanted for traffic violations. The mans identity has not been revealed, with police only providing the first name Sergei. Moldovas authorities have been notified about the developments. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijani armed forces have made nearly 150 individual ceasefire violations in one week (July 15 July 21) in the line of contact, Artsakhs defense ministry said in a statement. Artsakhs military said Azerbaijani forces fired more than 1300 rounds at their positions during the week. Artsakh said their military controls the tactical-strategic situation and continues its service confidently. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. The City Hall of Ejmiatsin (Vagharshapat) is declaring holidays at local kindergartens from July 23 to August 20 citing weather-related health concerns. Acting Mayor of Ejmiatsin Diana Gasparyan said on Facebook that a heat wave is expected from July 25, and unfortunately many of the kindergartens are in poor conditions, and the childrens attendance in such conditions can be hazardous for their health. Gasparyan was apparently referring to the lack of ACs in the kindergartens. She said they even had cases of staff losing consciousness due to extreme heat. The acting mayor said they even carried out a survey among parents, and only 25 from 1194 parents opposed the idea of the special holidays. Head of the meteorology department at the ministry of emergency situations Gagik Surenyan told ARMENPRESS that up to 40 degrees Celsius is expected from July 25 in Armenia. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. Yerevan Police Department officers have apprehended Norayr Piloyan, a 39-year-old thief in law known by his nickname Koncho, in suspicion of possession of narcotics. The man is a local of the Aragatsotn Province. Officers found a knife and a substance resembling opium in his possession. Piloyan has been placed under arrest and an investigation has been launched, police said. This phenomenon, known as thief-in-law, emerged in the infamous Soviet gulags and became a prison culture in most of post-Soviet states. Thief-in-law is a specifically granted formal status of a professional criminal who enjoys an elite position within the organized crime environment and employs informal authority over its lower-status members. Criminals are crowned as thieves-in-law by senior members of the organized crime syndicates for many years of contributions to the criminal business or long record behind bars. Thieves-in-law are known for their distinctive tattoos and code of conduct. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan has held a meeting on July 20 with Katarina Mathernova, Deputy Director-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations at the European Commission, who is on a three-day visit to Armenia. The delegation also included EU Ambassador to Armenia Piotr Switalski and Head of Armenia Unit of Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations of the EC Vassilis Maragos. Mathernova presented to the Deputy PM the main tools of assistance of the EU and talked about new ideas of advancing cooperation. The sides attached importance to the implementation of CEPA in terms of developing the Armenia-EU relations. They also attached importance to wide involvement and awareness of the public in all EU projects. The Deputy PM and Mathernova expressed certainty that a great potential for partnership exists, which requires coordinated and harmonious work for realization. Grigoryan highlighted close cooperation with EU experts for the implementation of CEPA, and implementation of reforms stemming from it. Katarina Mathernova expressed readiness to work with the Armenian government to discover further opportunities for cooperation for maximal use of EU assistances potential. They also spoke about a new mechanism of involving high-class advisors from EU member states who would cooperation with the government in the implementation of CEPA, supporting coordination of partnership with donors, and who would also help the private sector to benefit from the CEPAs opportunities. The additional CEPA facility assistance tool will also operate, which can mobilize nearly 80,000,000 Euros for investing in the private sector. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. Industrial waste of the Alaverdi Copper Factory is being dumped into the Debed River, according to environmentalists. Members of the Armenians Environmental Front civil initiative posted a video on Facebook showing brown liquid flowng into the river. The nature protection ministry has confirmed the information. Spokesperson of the ministry Armen Vardanyan told ARMENPRESS theyve immediately notified their inspectorate upon receiving the information. Chief inspector Arthur Grigoryan told ARMENPRESS that the regional department has already been dispatched to take samples from the river. He said the samples will be sent to Yerevan to their lab to determine what substance has been dumped. Results are expected in the beginning of the coming week. Grigoryan says inspectors at the scene have reported a decreasing flow of the waste. Alaverdi is a town and municipal community in the Lori Province at the northeastern part of Armenia, near the border with Georgia. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. Temperature throughout Armenia will once again grow starting July 25, head of the meteorology center of the Hydromet Service (Ministry of Emergency Situations) Gagik Surenyan told ARMENPRESS. He said that temperature will once again rise significantly compared to these days. He said showers and a bit of a decrease of temperature is expected July 22-July 23. Temperature will reach up to 40 degrees Celsius in Yerevan on July 25. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. Armenian defense ministry spokesperson Artsrun Hovhannisyan has released photos showing Ordubad the second largest town in Nakhijevan and nearby villages. The photos were taken from Armenian positions, he said. If this means to control, then turns out we are fully controlling Ordvan-Ordubad and nearby villages. I personally took the photos, Hovhannisyan said on Facebook, sarcastically referring to the recent Azeri reports where they would take photos of certain Armenian locations in that border section and claim control over it. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian visited the Viktor Hambardzumyan Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory on July 21, where he met with the staff and was briefed on the ongoing activities. Director of the observatory Areg Michaelyan presented ongoing activities, plans and international cooperation of the facility to the president. Ideas were exchanged over the vision of development of the observatory, Sarkissians office said. The president, who himself is a scientist by profession, attached importance to pointing out priority issues and forming a clear vision for the coming decades. It is important to have a general vision, we must know where Byurakan should be in ten or twenty years from now, Sarkissian said, suggesting the staff to determine the priorities, present projects. The Armenian president expressed readiness to support the observatory as much as possible. Sarkissian also toured the facility, visited the Viktor Hambardzumyan house-museum and talked to the staff. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan A Kenyan court has sentenced a 24-year-old jail beauty queen to death for murdering her boyfriend by stabbing him 25 times. Ruth Kamande, who won a Nairobi prison beauty pageant while awaiting trial, slashed her partner Farid Mohammed, 24, to death in 2015 and was convicted in May. Ruth Kamande was crowned Miss Langata Prison in Nairobi where she was awaiting trial for killing her boyfriend. Source: Getty Images I want young people to know that it is not cool to kill your boyfriend or girlfriend even where you feel disappointed or frustrated dont do it, said High Court judge Jessie Lesiit passing sentence on Thursday. Instead, it is cool to walk away and thereafter to forgive. The judge accused Kamande of manipulative behaviour that included accessing the victims mobile phone as well as showing no remorse for the vicious attack which left blood all over the crime scene. I think passing any other sentence than the one prescribed (death) would turn the accused into a hero, said Lesiit. Rights group Amnesty International called the death sentence cruel, inhumane and outdated. Source: Getty Images Rights group Amnesty International called the sentence cruel, inhumane and outdated. This sentence is a blow to Kenyas progressive record in commuting death sentences to terms of imprisonment, said Amnesty director Irungu Houghton. The victims family insisted the sentence matched the crime. Were glad that this day came and his grandparents, his sister were actually in court today when this verdict was given, the victims tearful aunt Emmah Wanjiku told reporters after the sentencing. He had just started his job when his life was cut short. Farid Mohammed, 24, was brutally killed by his girlfriend. Source: AFP Kamandes lawyer Joyner Okonjo said she would appeal the sentence. Kenya has an effective ban on carrying out death sentences and no death row prisoner has been executed since 1987. The countrys Supreme Court ruled in December 2017 that the mandatory death sentence for murder and armed robbery was unconstitutional, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. The death sentence, however, remains on the statute books. They know the skyscrapers of Manhattan better than this small village in rural Mexico, but these 18 children are here to meet their extended families and learn about the world their parents left behind. Born in the United States, they have made the trip without their parents, who remain undocumented immigrants and -- unlike their US citizen children -- cannot travel back to Mexico for fear of being detained and deported by American border authorities. But the children wanted to meet their grandparents and other relatives for the first time back in their parents' native Teopantlan, a remote village of modest brick houses tucked into the hills of central Mexico. "My little niece, the four-year-old, keeps talking to me in English. But I don't speak a word of it," said 57-year-old Maria with a smile after meeting her four nieces. The trip was organized by charitable organizations, which got the parents' permission to take their children out of the country. After a long and winding trip from the Mexico City airport, some 120 kilometers (75 miles) away, the kids got out of their mini-bus in Teopantlan's central square. Beneath a canopy of colorful balloons, excited Mexican-American children met their equally excited Mexican relatives, who were waiting for them with flowers and gifts. "I had seen pictures of them, but it's nothing like seeing them in real life," said a beaming Mauro Ramirez, 60. "I'm so emotional I want to cry," he told AFP. After the initial embraces, though, the communication problems set in for many. Some of the older villagers only spoke the indigenous Nahuatl language, while some of the children only spoke English. The lapsed years also suddenly made themselves painfully apparent. One grandfather wearing a giant sombrero brought his 15-year-old grandson -- a nearly grown adult -- a giant children's stuffed animal. They proceeded to sit down together, side by side, in silence. - 'Mexican there, American here' - Teopantlan, a corn- and sugar cane-farming community, has long been a village of emigrants. "Around 40 percent of our young people emigrate, because there are no jobs here," said the mayor, Esteban Ramirez Rosales. He estimates about 2,000 villagers have left over the years, mainly for New York, where they have their own enclave in the borough of Queens. This is the first time anyone has organized a reunion. "It's a symbolic event reuniting families in their native community, rather than in the United States," said Francisco Romero, one of the organizers. "It gives families an alternative in the current climate of irrational immigration policy in both the United States and Mexico," he said. The children's parents joined in as best they could from afar. "Sometimes the kids don't believe us when we tell them about where we come from. They don't realize all they have," one mother told AFP from New York by telephone. The woman, who asked not to be named because of her migration status, had sent her three daughters on the trip. One group of young New Yorkers were thrilled to see their first live turkey, which their grandmother wanted to teach them to feed. "I'd like to teach them how to weave and wash clothes by hand, too," said the 60-year-old woman, Tanassia. "It's so quiet here. You don't even hear any cars. I'd like to come with my parents next time," said 14-year-old Vanessa. She neatly summed up the difficulties of growing up in a family that straddles the border. "I feel Mexican there and American here." - Overcoming the distance - Vanessa said US President Donald Trump's arrival in the White House had made her very anxious for parents and other undocumented immigrants -- there are more than 11 million in the United States, according to the Pew Research Center. She now dreams of helping get papers for her mother and father, a restaurant worker. Like the other children on the trip, the teenage Beyonce fan is learning the region's traditional dance, the "danza de las moras" (blackberry dance). They performed it for their families -- their way of showing they are carrying on the local culture. "This dance binds us together, despite the distance," said Mauro Ramirez. US-born Eleny Ramirez embraces her grandmother Atanacia Carvete during a family reunion for 18 US-born Mexican children in their parents' homeland in Puebla, Mexico Mexican Atanacia Carvete teaches her US-born granddaughters to feed hens during a family reunion The world's largest fan convention bid a poignant farewell to the star of the most successful show in cable TV history on Friday as zombies took over San Diego Comic-Con. An extensive line-up of stars descended on the city's sprawling convention center to whet appetites for AMC's "The Walking Dead" and its sister show "Fear the Walking Dead." The departure of British actor Andrew Lincoln, who has appeared as Sheriff Rick Grimes in almost every episode since the 2010 pilot, has been an open secret since May, confirmed inadvertently by executive producer Robert Kirkman. But the official announcement was reserved for Comic-Con, an annual pop culture celebration that attracts more than 100,000 devotees to southern California, many in elaborate costumes, every July. "There seems to be an elephant in the room. This will be my last season playing the part of Rick Grimes," Lincoln, 44, told the packed 6,500-seat Hall H, prompting a dismayed murmur that spread throughout the arena. "I love this show. It means everything to me. I love the people who make this show. I promise not to cry. I've done enough crying on screen," Lincoln promised. Based on a comic book of the same name by a trio of writers including one of the show's executive producers Robert Kirkman, the post-apocalyptic zombie-ridden vision of the United States portrayed in "The Walking Dead" has proved uniquely resonant. Dwarfing competition like HBO's "Game of Thrones" in the US, it has the highest total viewership in cable history and, crucially, the highest audience of 18-49s for any kind of US television between 2013 and 2017. - 'Tensions rising' - The show centers on Lincoln's Grimes, who wakes up in a hospital bed after getting shot, only to find he is alone in a world of vicious, flesh-eating reanimated corpses -- known as "walkers" on the show. "I got kind of choked up. It's been nine years of coming here," Lincoln told reporters after what will be his last sojourn to San Diego on behalf of "The Walking Dead." "I love this place and I love seeing the fans, and you've been such a vital part of this experience. But my relationship with Mr Grimes is far from over." It was unclear if he was talking about the current shoot for his final episodes, the possibility of appearing in one of the franchise's numerous side projects, or something else entirely. The ninth season, coming in October, takes place two years after the "All Out War" saga of the previous two, with story editor Angela Kang taking over from veteran showrunner Scott Gimple. AMC dropped a trailer lasting almost six minutes at Comic-Con which shows Rick in more peaceful times as the leader of a sprawling settlement of survivors -- but with tensions rising among his lieutenants. "Fear the Walking Dead" kicked off the two-hour zombocalypse earlier with a presentation that critics agreed seemed to be drawing a line under all storylines past and presenting an almost entirely new show. - 'Fermentation process' - Aired since 2015, "FtWD" doesn't get the history-making numbers of the main show -- but is still one of the top-rated US cable series with just under two million viewers per episode. "Fear" shocked its legion of ardent fans by presaging its parent show and killing its protagonist -- Kim Dickens's Madison Clark -- just before the halfway break of season four. The remaining cast -- including established stars Colman Domingo, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Danay Garcia and newcomers Lennie James, Garret Dillahunt, Maggie Grace and Jenna Elfman -- spoke passionately about their work. But it wasn't long before the conversation with journalists descended into a conversation about whether zombies were able to "poop," as well as snarling and shuffling. The tone was lowered as Gimple mentioned in passing that James's character Morgan, a crossover from the main show, is seen on the toilet in an upcoming episode and was asked if zombies "poop." "What did I say? It's going to be the next thing people want to know! It's exactly what I said!" grandstanded a faux-exasperated James. "I think there's a fermentation process that could result in projectiles," offered a wry Gimple, clearly amused by the prospect. Grace, most famous for ABC's "Lost" and the "Taken" movies, was disdainful, however, explaining that she didn't really go in for matters "scatalogical." She was game enough to suggest, though, that we might already be witnessing the effect of many a zombie call-of-nature in every episode. "That's why they walk so strangely," she said. Season four of "Fear The Walking Dead" resumes on August 12. British actor Andrew Lincoln has appeared as Sheriff Rick Grimes in almost every episode since "The Walking Dead" first aired in 2010 Actors Andrew Lincoln and Norman Reedus, at the Comic-Con International photo call for "The Walking Dead," whose post-apocalyptic zombie-ridden vision of the United States has proved uniquely resonant Actor Norman Reedus at the "Fear the Walking Dead" panel during Comic-Con International, an annual pop culture celebratoin in San Diego Family and friends of two teenagers killed in a West Australian crash have been left devastated after the local council decided to chop down the tree at their roadside memorial without telling them. City of Rockingham mayor has apologised for the lack of communication, saying there were no excuses. The spot on Secret Harbour Boulevard, south of Perth, is the place where friends and family go to remember Mason Hooton and Callum Mummery who were killed in October last year when the Toyota Supra they were passengers in slammed into the tree. Family and friends of two teenagers killed in a crash have been left devastated after the council chopped down the tree at their roadside memorial without telling them. Source: 7 News A third passenger Shaun Sparrow was critically injured but survived. The probationary driver, 19-year-old Joel Payne, was jailed for three-and-a-half years. Council workers moved in to lop the memorial on Thursday morning, with concerns the tree was dying. But the boys families were not notified first. The tree on Secret Harbour Boulevard near Rockingham is the place where friends and family go to remember Mason Hooton and Callum Mummery. Source: 7 News The first time I saw it, I was in complete shock, Ella Saltmarsh, a friend of the victims, said. I heard there was only a trim done. Theres about six-foot left of the tree. It was like a communal spot for all of us and they took it away without any notice. Theyve disregarded really what impact its still having and how raw it is for people, another friend Sam Saltmarsh said. The City of Rockingham said it regretted not informing the families before the lopping and its processes would now be reviewed to ensure this sort of thing did not happen again. The City of Rockingham said it regretted not informing the families before lopping the tree and apologised to the victims loved ones. Source: 7 News Mr Sammels said the trees removal was a safety issue. We were concerned about that tree falling, but that is no excuse. We still shouldve contacted the families. That didnt happen and once again we can only sincerely apologise, he said. The boys mothers have also written to their local member of parliament raising concerns about P-plate drivers in high-powered cars. They want Western Australia to have restrictions in place while novice drivers gain experience, like in other states, to help prevent other families needing a special place to remember their loved ones. Portugal's veteran central defender Jose Fonte has joined French Ligue 1 outfit Lille after a brief spell in China which followed a decade in the English Premier league. The 34-year-old, who played 35 times for Portugal, enjoyed six seasons at Southampton, three at Crystal Palace and also had a spell with West Ham. He was on the pitch when Portugal won the Euro 2016 tournament and was also in their World Cup squad this year. "Lille are happy to announce a deal with Jose Fonte until 2020," Lille said on Friday. Lille ended a nightmare 2017-2018 season clinging on to top flight football with a late rally of results after going into the campaign tipped to do well. Luis Suarez (L) challenges Portugal's defender Jose Fonte (R) during the 2018 World Cup Former leftist guerrillas in Colombia took up seats Friday in a congress dominated by conservatives opposed to a peace accord that ended a 50 year war and provided for the ex-guerrillas' representation in the legislature. Under a 2016 accord that ended the conflict, five seats each in the upper and lower chambers have been set aside for members of the FARC, a rebel army turned legal political party, although it only occupied eight of them. Outgoing president Jose Manuel Santos presided over a ceremony in which all new lawmakers elected in May elections took up their seats. "Here they are, for the first time, five senators and five representatives of Common Alternative Revolutionary Force, born of the demobilization and disarmament of the FARC," Santos said, alluding to the name of the FARC political party, which has the same acronym in Spanish as the rebel army. But former FARC rebel commander Ivan Marquez declined to take up his designated seat in the Senate Friday, in part because a fellow former rebel leader, Jesus Santrich, who also has a congressional seat reserved for him, has been arrested and jailed and is wanted by the US on drug trafficking charges. The peace accord, for which Santos won the Nobel peace prize, has deeply divided Colombians, with conservatives saying it goes too easy on the former rebels. In the May election Santos, who could not seek another term, was succeeded by the right-wing politician Ivan Duque, who has vowed to amend the accord, calling it too lenient toward the rebels. The ex-rebel delegation got an icy reception from Duque's party, the Democratic Center, as they took up their seats. It is led by former president Alvaro Uribe, a fierce critic of the outgoing president and the peace accord. "Congress with people convicted of atrocious crimes, without paying reparations, without fulfilling symbolic sanctions," Uribe said in a tweet posted just as Santos was speaking. "In Colombia, growing crime and criminal reorganization of FARC. Peace in appearance only," he added. In a light moment of the inaugural congressional session, a Green party senator who opposes the incoming government, Antanas Mockus, walked up to the podium where the outgoing conservative senate president was giving a speech, turned around, dropped his pants and flashed his naked buttocks. Mockus, a former Bogota mayor and former presidential candidate, later dressed himself and returned to his seat. The speaker, Efrain Cepeda, called him to order and kept talking. Duque is to take office August 7. The peace accord was reached after four years of negotiations in Cuba. The FARC were Latin America's last major rebel group. Some 260,000 people were killed, 60,000 disappeared and 6.9 million displaced during the 53-year conflict. A former commander of the FARC, Carlos Lozada, arrives to take up his seat in the Colombian congress Humanitarian aid sent by France and Russia arrived in Syria on Saturday as the two countries' leaders discussed a joint mission to distribute much-needed relief supplies in a ravaged former rebel enclave. The joint humanitarian aid operation -- the first between Russia and a Western country -- was agreed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and French leader Emmanuel Macron during talks in Saint Petersburg in May. A Russian Antonov-124 Ruslan military cargo plane carrying more than 40 tonnes of medical aid and humanitarian supplies arrived at the Russian military base in Hmeimim after departing from the central French city of Chateauroux early Saturday, the Russian defence ministry said. The aid, including medicine, medical equipment, clothes and tents, will be given to residents of Eastern Ghouta on the fringes of the capital Damascus, which was retaken by government forces in April after a five-year siege. It will be distributed under the supervision of the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid (OCHA). Russian representatives and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent will also participate in the process. The supplies will also be distributed to hospitals run by the Red Crescent, Moscow said. On Saturday, Putin and Macron discussed "humanitarian aspects of the Syria settlement" including the joint mission "to render assistance to the population of Eastern Ghouta" and other international issues, the Kremlin said. Undertaken as part of a UN Security Council resolution, "the aim of this project is to enable civilian populations better access to aid," a joint Franco-Russian statement said earlier. "Humanitarian assistance is an absolute priority and must be distributed in accordance with principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence across all Syrian territory without exception," it added. France had secured "guarantees" from Russia that the Syrian regime would not obstruct the distribution of the aid, and that it would not be misappropriated or used for political purposes, the foreign ministry said. - 'Considerable risks' - But some observers asked if it was wise for France to cooperate with Russia. "We cannot be against humanitarian assistance but France is taking considerable risks by working with Russia and the Syrian Red Crescent," tweeted former French ambassador to Syria Michel Duclos. "What mechanisms guarantee that this aid will not be diverted or exploited by (Syrian President Bashar al-)Assad for political purposes?" said Duclos, an analyst at the Institut Montaigne in Paris. The Russian defence ministry insisted that the aid would be distributed in accordance with "international humanitarian law." More than 1,700 civilians were killed during the Syrian regime's operation in Eastern Ghouta in March and April. According to the Russian military, more than 160,000 people, both military and civilians, were evacuated from the region. The medical aid is aimed at some 500 people who have been seriously injured and the 15,000 others who have received lighter injuries during the fighting in Eastern Ghouta. aj-ec-vl-as/pg The Antonov 124 cargo plane is carrying 50 tons of medical equipment and humanitarian supplies France's finance minister Bruno Le Maire told AFP on Saturday that the United States must avoid pushing the world into a "survival of the fittest" scenario through tit-for-tat trade sanctions. Le Maire said Europe as a whole was worried about being dragged into a global trade war that would leave everyone as "losers" after US President Donald Trump initiated retaliatory measures by hitting China and traditional allies the EU, Canada and Mexico with trade tariffs. "We are all, particularly us European countries, worried about this trade war that was launched a few weeks ago," Le Maire told AFP from Buenos Aires, where the two-day Group of 20 summit amongst finance ministers got underway. "This trade war will produce only losers, it will destroy jobs and put pressure on global growth. "We call on the United States to see sense, to respect the rules of multilateralism and to respect their allies." International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde opened the summit by reiterating her fears that increasing trade restrictions would hurt global GDP. Lagarde said that taking into account "current announced and in process measures" an IMF simulation "indicates" that in a worst case scenario a half point would be cut from global GDP, amounting to some $430 billion. And this despite projected growth in the world economy of 3.9 percent. What concerns Le Maire the most is how supposed allies have ended up fighting over trade. "Americans and Europeans are allies, we cannot understand how us, Europeans, can be affected by US trade tariffs," he said. "What we want is to reconstitute trade multilateralism. Global trade cannot be based on survival of the fittest. "We understand that there is a problem with global trade, a difference based on access to public markets. "In some states, access to public markets are too restricted by state aid. Certain countries give their businesses subsidies and these create unacceptable competitive imbalances." Le Maire said the only way to solve such issues was through dialogue between the US, EU and China, rather than an escalation of punitive measures. French Finance and Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said Europe as a whole was worried about being dragged into a global trade war that would leave everyone as "losers" After seven chaotic and violent hours, quiet returned to the Gaza Strip overnight. Yet on Saturday, civilians in the Palestinian enclave and Israel remained fearful of the potential for a new war. The fatal shooting by a Palestinian of an Israeli soldier during protests along the border Friday sparked a widespread wave of Israeli bombing, with three fighters from Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas killed and dozens of targets struck. After intensive indirect mediation by the United Nations and Egypt, a truce came into force at midnight, yet both populations remained on high alert of another all-out conflict between Israel and Hamas. "War is coming. I know that the (Israeli) occupation is carrying out raids to pave the way with their home base," Somaya Rabaya, 21, from Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, told AFP. While the ceasefire deal included an end to rockets and mortars, it didn't include a commitment by Hamas to stop what Israeli media have dubbed "terror kites," a senior Hamas source said on condition of anonymity. During months of border protests, young Palestinians in Gaza have attached incendiary devices to kites and balloons and floated them over the largely sealed border, sparking hundreds of fires. Ofir Libstein, 44, lives with his wife and four sons in the Kfar Aza kibbutz near the border with northern Gaza. The land around their community has seen extensive damage caused by kites and balloons. "You see all the fire, all the trees, all the flowers, everything on fire," he said. He said no fires had been started near his home so far Saturday, but worried there could be later. The flare up in violence has also sent Israelis near Gaza repeatedly running for bomb shelters in recent weeks due to rockets and mortars fired by Palestinian militants. "It's scary, but this is life next to the Gaza Strip," Libstein said, pledging to remain. Israeli politicians have threatened tougher responses against the perpetrators of the firebombs in recent days, with the army targeting groups of young men releasing them near the border. On Saturday morning in Gaza, 17-year-old Wissam was with a number of other youths fitting kites with small bottles full of diesel, while sheltering behind a sandbank for fear of Israeli strikes. "This morning, they bombed a Hamas observation post near here. I was afraid they would hit us with a missile," he said. - 'Don't want war' - The border was largely quiet Saturday, but there have been months of major protests and clashes there, peaking on Fridays. At least 149 Palestinians have been killed since late March. Friday's death was the first Israeli killed. For Israel, the army is defending its borders and halting infiltrations. It accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover to carry out attacks. Palestinians and rights groups say unarmed protesters are being shot while posing no real threat to soldiers. People in Gaza also view the kite firebombs as legitimate resistance against Israel's blockade of the strip. In recent weeks, the situation has escalated. Last weekend saw the worst exchange of fire between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza since a 2014 war. Israeli strikes hit dozens of what the army described as military targets in Gaza. Some 200 rockets and mortars were also fired back at Israel from the territory. "We don't want a new war," said Khaled Barbakh, 22, from Khan Yunis in southern Gaza. "We are tired and want to live like humans," he added, referencing Israel's decade-long blockade. Israel says the blockade is necessary to isolate Hamas, with whom it has fought three wars with since 2008, most recently in 2014. Critics say it amounts to collective punishment of the strip's two million residents and leads to further radicalisation. While civilians remain wary of another conflict, if it were to start many would likely rally behind their leaders, Nathan Thrall of the International Crisis Group think-tank told AFP. "If a war broke out now, I suspect most would (be in favour)," Thrall said. "If it had broken out last night, Gazans would have supported Hamas retaliation and many Israelis would have supported Israeli action to try and stop the incendiary kites and balloons." An explosion flare into the sky from an Israeli bombardment in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on July 20, 2018 A picture taken on July 20, 2018 shows tear gas canisters fired by Israeli forces landing among protesters along the border with Israel east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip Balloons loaded with incendiaries are flown towards Israel during a confrontation between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli troops east of Gaza City, along the border between the Gaza strip and Israel, on July 13, 2018 Palestinian paramedics wheel an injured man into the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City after he was injured by Israeli forces during protests along the border east of Gaza City on July 20, 2018 Palestinian relatives react as they arrive at the morgue of the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City where the body of Mohammed Badwan was brought after he was shot dead by Israeli forces during protests along the border east of Gaza City on July 20, 2018 A ceasefire announced by Hamas largely held Saturday after a wave of deadly strikes across the Palestinian enclave sparked by the death of an Israeli soldier shot near the border. Israel did not confirm the deal announced by Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas, which went into effect around midnight Friday. Since then there have been no reports of Israeli air strikes on the blockaded enclave or of mortar fire from Gaza toward Israel. "With Egyptian and UN efforts, we reached (an agreement) to return to the previous state of calm between the (Israeli) occupation and the Palestinian factions," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement. He gave no details of the deal. Israel's army and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office declined to confirm a truce was reached. "All we can say is that there have been no incidents or Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip since the last wave of airstrikes on Friday night," a military spokeswoman told AFP. On Friday, three Hamas militants were killed as air raids sent fireballs exploding into the sky over Gaza, while Israel said rockets had been fired back at its territory. A fourth Palestinian was shot dead in protests near the border. The United Nations urged all sides to step "back from the brink" after months of increasing tensions. The soldier, shot dead along the border in southern Gaza, was the first to be killed in and around the Palestinian enclave since a 2014 war between Israel and Hamas. Friday's flare-up is the latest as demonstrations and clashes on the frontier since March have seen at least 149 Palestinians killed. The Israeli army said they struck 60 Hamas sites including weapon manufacturing sites, a drone warehouse and a military operations room. The ceasefire is the second since in a week. Last weekend saw the most severe exchange of fire between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza since the 2014 war. A picture taken on July 20, 2018 shows a fireball exploding in Gaza City during Israeli bombardment A ceasefire announced by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas largely held Saturday after a wave of deadly air strikes across Gaza sparked by the death of an Israeli soldier shot near the border. The soldier's death was the first linked to Gaza violence since a 2014 war and raised fears that Israel's response could spiral into full-out war. But the decision of Hamas, which rules the enclave, to accept a ceasefire and not further retaliate reduced those fears for now. As has been the case with previous such truces, Israel did not confirm the deal announced by Hamas that went into effect around midnight Friday. There was relative calm on Saturday except for one incident, with the Israeli army saying a tank struck a Hamas observation point east of Gaza City in retaliation for an attempted border infiltration in northern Gaza. There were no reports of injuries in that strike and there was no major Israeli bombing campaign overnight or mortar fire from the Palestinian enclave towards Israel. "With Egyptian and UN efforts, we reached (an agreement) to return to the previous state of calm between the (Israeli) occupation and the Palestinian factions," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement early Saturday. A senior Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP the deal involved "the cessation of all forms of military escalation" including Israeli air strikes and Hamas mortars and rockets. The source said that balloons and kites attached with incendiary devices, which Palestinians have been floating over the border for months to spark fires inside Israel, were not included in the agreement. There was however one reported fire in Israel near the Gaza border on Saturday, a fire department spokesman said, although its cause was not immediately clear. Israeli politicians have been calling for a fierce response to the kites and balloons, which have caused damage amounting to millions of shekels (hundreds of thousands of dollars). Israel's army and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office declined to confirm a truce was reached. - Increasing tensions - On Friday, three Hamas militants were killed as air raids sent fireballs exploding into the sky over Gaza, while Israel said rockets had been fired back at its territory. A fourth Palestinian was shot dead in protests near the border. The United Nations urged all sides to step "back from the brink" of war after months of increasing tensions. The soldier, shot dead along the border in southern Gaza, was the first to be killed in and around the Palestinian enclave since a 2014 war between Israel and Hamas. Friday's flare-up is the latest as demonstrations and clashes on the frontier since March have seen at least 149 Palestinians killed. In addition to the shooting attack, Israel's army said explosive devices and around seven hand grenades were used, while a number of rockets were launched. The army said it struck 68 Hamas sites including weapon manufacturing sites, a drone warehouse and a military operations room. It came only a week after the most severe exchange of fire between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza since the 2014 war. Jason Greenblatt, US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace envoy, laid the blame for weeks of increasing tensions solely on Hamas. "Hamas works relentlessly to destroy Israeli lives (& Gazans suffer as a result of Hamas)," he tweeted, while offering condolences to the soldier's family. - 'Temporary reprieve' - Hamas and Israel have fought three wars since 2008. Israel has tightened its already crippling blockade of Gaza in recent weeks as it seeks to pressure Hamas to end the incendiary kites and balloons. Hugh Lovatt, Israel-Palestine fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations think-tank, told AFP another round of conflict remained highly possible. "The ceasefire is crucial and shows neither side wants war but it's only a temporary reprieve," he said. "Unless it can be consolidated and translated into a more permanent agreement that includes an easing of Israeli restrictions then we will continue to witness ever more frequent flare ups." Mustafa al-Sawaf, a political analyst close to Hamas, told AFP that the shooting was seen as a reaction to the killing of a number of Hamas fighters by Israeli strikes in recent days. Hamas, he said, would consider its strategy "successful after this round of confrontation and escalation". A picture taken on July 20, 2018 shows a fireball exploding in Gaza City during Israeli bombardment Map locating the Gaza Strip, where Israeli planes and tanks struck "military targets" on Friday in response to gunfire aimed at Israeli troops, the government said A picture taken on July 20, 2018 shows an Israeli Merkava tank patrolling along along the border with the Gaza Strip near the Kibbutz of Nahal Oz in southern Israel US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Saturday he will be pushing China and the EU to agree to a more "balanced" relationship on trade when he meets with finance ministers at the Group of 20 convention in Buenos Aires. Mnuchin arrived in the Argentine capital at the end of a week in which US President Donald Trump has ramped up his inflammatory remarks and threats with regard global trade. Trump described China, the EU and Russia as trade "foes" and threatened to hammer the entire $500 billion in goods the US imports from China with punitive tariffs. "It is definitely a realistic possibility so I wouldn't minimize the possibility. We've been very clear with our objectives," Mnuchin told reporters ahead of the start of the two-day G20 summit amongst finance ministers and central bankers from the world's 20 leading economies. "We share a desire to have a more balanced relationship and the balanced relationship is by us selling more goods (to China)." The US trade in goods deficit with China stood at almost $376 billion in 2017. - 'Tremendous opportunity' - "Although the objective is to cut the trade deficit, the desire to do that is for them to open up their markets so we can compete fairly and increase our exports," he said. "I think it's a tremendous opportunity for us and a tremendous opportunity for China. "China has a large, growing population that will consume more products and that likes American products." He pointed to energy, agriculture and technology as areas in which the US could boost its Chinese presence. But Mnuchin said joint ventures were a major stumbling block between the two countries, particularly when it comes to technology, stating that other than in certain "security" related cases, "companies are free to do business in the US without setting up joint ventures." He added: "They're very interested in technology and we're pleased for them to have our technology companies there as long as they do it in a way that our technology companies don't in any way feel the pressure to form joint ventures or transfer technology. "There's a very large, growing opportunity, if we can reach agreement, that is good for China, good for their economy and good for US companies." - Message to EU - As for the EU, Mnuchin said it would have to make considerable concessions in order for there to be a free-trade agreement between the two. "My message is pretty clear, it's the same message the president delivered at the G7: if Europe believes in free trade, we're ready to sign a free trade agreement with no tariffs, no tariff barriers and no subsidies. It has to be all three." The Treasury Secretary also spoke of current and possible future trade sanctions, mentioning North Korea, Iran, Venezuela and Nicaragua. Despite Trump's landmark meeting with North Korean supremo Kim Jong-un in Singapore last month that saw a significant thawing in previously explosive ties, a softening of sanctions isn't on the table. "We're pleased with the dialogue but there will not be sanctions relief until there is real progress," Mnuchin said. He acknowledged that the US and EU "don't see eye to eye on every single aspect" of the Iran nuclear deal but insisted there's a "consistent view that Iran should never have nuclear weapons" and that they should be prevented from exporting "terrorism" to the Middle East. He said the repression in crisis hit Venezuela by the government of President Nicolas Maduro was "unacceptable" and that US sanctions targeting those in power were to "encourage better behavior." Further sanctions could also be heading Nicaragua's way after three months of unrest in which more than 280 people have been killed as protests escalate against the ironfisted rule of President Daniel Ortega. "It's a reasonable guess that (sanctions are) something we'd be looking at," said Mnuchin. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin arrived in the Argentine capital at the end of a week in which US President Donald Trump has ramped up his inflammatory remarks and threats with regard global trade The US Defense Department said Friday it would give $200 million to Ukraine to help the war-torn nation bolster its military's defensive capabilities. The amount is part of a series of Pentagon payments now totaling more than $1 billion to Ukraine since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea. Ukraine is fighting a separatist insurgency in its Russian-speaking eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk. All of the military aid, which comes from the Pentagon's security cooperation funds, will be non-lethal in nature. "The added funds will provide equipment to support ongoing training programs and operational needs, including capabilities to enhance Ukraine's command and control, situational awareness systems, secure communications, military mobility, night vision, and military medical treatment," the Pentagon said in a statement. The announcement came days after US President Donald Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin sparked outrage at home, where even some Republicans said the US leader had been far too conciliatory to his counterpart. More than 10,000 people have been killed since the Moscow-backed insurgency broke out in April 2014 following Russia's annexation of Crimea. Ukraine and its Western allies accuse Russia of funneling troops and arms to the pro-Moscow rebels across the border. Moscow denies the allegations. The conflict has become a focal point of stresses in the Washington-Moscow relationship, with the US hitting Russia with stiff economic sanctions. A Ukrainian serviceman monitors the positions of Russia-backed separatists Spain's Popular Party (PP) on Saturday picked arch-conservative Pablo Casado to replace ousted prime minister Mariano Rajoy as leader, in a move seen as a lurch to the right. The 37-year-old lawmaker inherits the helm of a party dogged by corruption allegations and that has seen its poll numbers plunge in recent years. "A new era begins today," Casado told party members after the vote in Madrid. "We're going to try to reconquer the hearts of all Spaniards after the difficult weeks we've experienced." The appointment of Casado, a known conservative who has promised "hope" with a generational revamp of the party, will be seen as a lurch to the right for the party. He has taken a hardline stance on the Catalan independence crisis, calling for the addition of offences such as illegally calling a referendum to the criminal code to boost Spain's legal response to the secession threat. "Dialogue doesn't work with those who want to break the law," he said this week. Casado is also against decriminalising euthanasia as promoted by the Socialist government and wants to lower income and corporation taxes. He will have to breathe life into a party which lost three million voters between the 2011 general elections, when Rajoy won an absolute majority, and the last polls in 2016. Many have migrated to Ciudadanos, a centre-right party, angry over the series of corruption scandals that hit the PP in recent years. Casado beat Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, who served as Rajoy's deputy, to become head of Spain's conservatives. Rajoy's ousting in a no-confidence vote in June was partly seen as a censure for his handling of the Catalan independence crisis, and a perception that he was weak on rooting out graft. After an acrimonious campaign that saw mystery videos released attacking both candidates, 3,082 delegates cast their ballot for the successor of Rajoy, who spoke for the last time as PP leader on Friday. In a long, emotional speech, the 63-year-old who had bean a major figure of Spanish politics over the past 14 years asked PP members to "be responsible in carrying out your duties". - Looming elections - Rajoy, who has long been one of Spain's great political survivors -- he even walked away from a 2005 helicopter crash with just a broken finger -- oversaw the country's economic recovery, though unemployment has remained stubbornly high during his tenure. In May, a court announced it had sentenced former PP officials, businessmen and their spouses to a total of 351 years in jail for their role in a vast bribery scheme known as the Gurtel case. It proved to be one corruption scandal too many for the PP, which has been hit by a series of graft accusations, and Rajoy was gone a week later. "We're an honest party, there's no room here for a single corrupt individual," Casado said after his election. Santamaria, 47, emphasised her experience ahead of the vote, painting herself as the only candidate with sufficient gravitas to defeat current Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in 2020 elections. The PP, which still holds the most seats in parliament even if it lost its absolute majority, will have to rapidly prepare for municipal, regional and European elections in May 2019. Pablo Casado will replace former PM Mariano Rajoy as the leader of Spain's Popular Party Casado acknowledges delegates after being chosen as the next leader of Spain's Popular Party (PP) at the end of a party meeting in Madrid on July 21, 2018 Casado, pictured here with his wife, has promised "hope" with a generational revamp of the party and a step further to the political right Casado and his rival for the top PP job, Soraya Saenz de Santamaria UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Saturday on Israelis and Palestinians to avoid "another devastating conflict" after resurgent violence claimed five lives on Friday. "I am gravely concerned over the dangerous escalation of violence in Gaza and southern Israel," he said in a statement. "It is imperative that all sides urgently step back from the brink of another devastating conflict." The recent violence in Gaza marks the most serious escalation between Israel and Hamas since the 2014 war. Four Palestinians and an Israeli soldier died in clashes Friday. More than 130 Palestinians have died so far during violent protests, and the Red Cross says more than 13,000 have been wounded. "I call on Hamas and other Palestinian militants to cease the launching of rockets and incendiary kites and provocations" along the fence separating Israel from Gaza, Guterres said. "And Israel must exercise restraint to avoid further inflaming the situation." He encouraged all parties to work with the UN to find a peaceful solution to the crisis, saying that it endangered lives on both sides while aggravating the "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza. Diplomats at the UN said there had not yet been a call for an urgent Security Council meeting to find ways to lower tensions. A regular monthly meeting on the Middle East is on the council's agenda for Tuesday. A cease-fire with Israel, announced by Hamas, was generally being respected on Saturday. Egypt had brokered a cease-fire a week earlier. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres encouraged all parties to work with the UN to find a peaceful solution to the crisis The Vatican dismissed a Chilean deacon over sexual abuse accusations in central Chile, the archdiocese of the city of Rancagua said Friday, amid a widespread abuse scandal gripping the country's Catholic Church. Luis Rubio was arrested for improper conduct and sexual abuse of minors when he was in charge of a Las Cabras school in 2013. A year later, the archdiocese of Rancagua dismissed him from his duties while an investigation was underway, with the results sent to the Vatican, which has now expelled him. Rubio's case was brought to the forefront in May when a television report revealed an alleged network of sexual abuse carried out by a group of religious figures collectively known as "The Family." Rubio was interviewed in the report, during which he admitted he had "made a mistake, but not committed a crime." A total of 14 priests and other religious figures were suspended as the Church investigated the network, while Rancagua prosecutors also opened their own investigation. Pope Francis in May accepted the resignation of five Chilean bishops amid accusations of abuse and related cover-ups. Meanwhile last week, prominent priest Oscar Munoz was arrested over allegations of sexual abuse and rape of at least seven children. A total of 14 priests and other religious figures were suspended as the Church investigated the network of sexual abuse in Chile President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Saturday assured Zimbabwe's white farmers that their land will not be taken, calling on them to work together with the government ahead of landmark elections on July 30. Under his predecessor Robert Mugabe, white farmers were evicted in favour of landless black people from 2000 by a controversial policy that wrecked agriculture and triggered an economic collapse. But less than two weeks to go before Zimbabwe's first elections since Mugabe's ouster, Mnangagwa moved to quash any fears the practice would be repeated. "This issue of new (land) invasions is a thing of the past. The rule of law must now apply," Mnangagwa told a group of about 200 white and Asian people gathered in the capital Harare, adding that the "animal farm mentality," was a thing of the past. "I am saying we should cease to talk about who owns the farm in terms of colour. It is criminal talking about that. A farmer, black farmer, a white farmer is a Zimbabwean farmer." Mnangagwa said his government was "racially blind" and needed the expertise of everyone across the economy. Zimbabwe's white population has fallen to less than one percent of the country's 16 million after Mugabe imposed the policy to expropriate farms in 2000. Agricultural output crashed in the aftermath, with investors leaving and mass unemployment forcing millions of Zimbabweans out of the country to seek work. - 'A lot of encouragement' - Mnangagwa acknowledged the failure of the land reforms, saying the expertise of white people in the farming sector was still needed and encouraging them to take part in rebuilding Zimbabwe. "We must build the Zimbabwe we want. We want to restore the status of Zimbabwe as a food basket of the region," he said. "He gave us a lot of encouragement. We came here to ask for options for farming," Louisa Horsely, 51, told AFP. "I wanted to know if my husband's expertise is still needed if he wants to farm and wants to help other people to farm and that is what we are interested in. It sounds (like) he wants us to be part of it." Tara Chatterton, 39, who runs an auctioning business, said she attended the rally to hear what Mnangagwa's plans were since the military intervention last year that resulted in the removal of Robert Mugabe after nearly four decades. "We are here just to see... what he is aiming at in trying to bring the country back up and trying to get people to work together as one nation," Chatterton said. Paul Sexton, 71, who works for a printing company, said he was impressed that the leader "didn't make any outlandish promises". "It's going to take time and that's the truth." Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa speaks to people after assuring white farmers their land is safe at a rally in Harare Mnangagwa acknowledged the failure of the land reforms, saying the expertise of white people in the farming sector was still needed A decade ago, when Amazon acquired Audible, the two companies promised that they'd phase out their DRM , which locked listeners into using their proprietary software and devices to enjoy the books they purchased. Audible never made good on that promise, and stonewalled press queries and industry requests about when, exactly, this fairtrade version of their industry-dominating audiobook store would finally emerge. Ten years later, Audible controls more than 90% of the audiobook market, making it the last bastion of DRM in audiobooks competitors like Downpour and Libro.fm sell all the same books without DRM, and the audiobooks you get at your local library have been DRM-free for years. It's not surprising that Amazon would choose to use an illegitimate, anticompetitive technology to lock its customers (and suppliers) in. Once you control 90% of a market, you are more likely to lose users than gain them, and so anything you can do to lock those users in to your platform helps you more than it hurts. It's a signature Big Tech move, the kind of thing that monopolies use to shore up their dominance for the long term. I saw this writing on the wall more than a decade ago. I've given up hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost income by refusing to allow my audiobooks to be sold with DRM. I even created my own audiobook store so I'd have somewhere to sell my books. Every time I've dealt with someone from Amazon, I've asked them to look into the long-promised DRM-free store for me, and every time, they've promised they would but no one has ever gotten back to me. It's a far cry from the Amazon MP3 Store, which pioneered DRM-free music downloads the same year the company bought Audible. Back then, Amazon's slogan was "DRM: DON'T RESTRICT ME." Of course, Amazon's DRM-free music store was a collaboration with the record labels to break Apple's monopoly over online music (and a couple years later, Apple followed them into DRM-free land and dropped DRM from all their music). When Amazon is trying to seize control, DRM is the enemy; when it attains control, DRM is a must-have. Now it's Amazon's turn in the hot seat. Google has just launched a DRM-free audiobook store that duplicates nearly the entire catalog at Audible. When you buy your audiobooks from Google Play you can download them to any device, play it on any device, convert them, archive them, back them up. If you decide you don't want to use Google products in the future, you won't lose your audiobooks. It's fucking amazing. Google's native audiobook player has a lot of cool bells and whistles, of course (access through Google Assistant and Google Home, synch across multiple devices, tunable playback speed), but the most important thing is that you aren't restricted to using that player. If you don't like those features, or if you like someone else's features better, you're able to jump ship, and take your books with you. I've gotten to know a lot of people in the audiobook market, and they've all been praying for an alternative to Audible. When Google quietly informed the publishing world that they were launching a DRM-free competitor, I immediately heard from multiple, competing major publishers who wanted to buy the rights to sell my books, now that there was a store with major backing where they could be sold. After considering several offers, I've signed up with Macmillan Audio to publish my next audiobook as a Google Play exclusive (at least for launch time and I'll still be selling it through my own little author-operated store). What's that audiobook? Well, that's the other cool thing I get to talk about today. My novella "Authorized Bread" has been bought for a pleasingly large sum of money by Tor Books in the USA, with UK/Australian/NZ publication by Head of Zeus and German publication by Heyne. There's an accompanying screen deal whose details I'll be announcing shortly. It'll be published early this fall, with an all-DRM-free Macmillan audio edition. "Unauthorized Bread" is a story about refugees, inequality, DRM, and class struggle. Its heroine, Salima, is an Arab woman, and I have Macmillan's commitment to hire a voice actor of Arabic origin to narrate the audiobook. And just as I was able to do with my self-funded indie audiobooks, I'll be in the studio while the audiobook is recorded, able to give advice on line readings. Today is a day that a lot of people have waited a long time for. Market concentration is a modern scourge, but even by contemporary standards, the audiobook market is a disaster, with a single company in a position of total dominance that it uses to squeeze writers, actors, production staff, publishers, and, ultimately, customers. Anyone who signs an Audible-only deal for their books after today is an idiot; and anyone who buys another DRM-locked Audible book after this is just asking to be kicked in the pants by a giant, uncaring monopolist that has abused its dominance for a decade. - The Democratic Alliances call to deploy the South African army into crime ridden areas has been met with speculation and resistance - We look at 10 tweeps responses to the DAs tweet on the matter - The DAs solution has many tweeps calling for better strategies PAY ATTENTION: Click See First under the Following tab to see Briefly.co.za News on your News Feed! The DA has called for the army to be deployed into crime ridden areas. In a recent tweet they gave areas they feel the army could assist with. These included: Assisting with blockades during SAPS blockades Escorting ambulances and other state service providers Protecting taxi ranks, railways and bus stations Securing school routes and aftercares Securing clinics and social development offices READ ALSO: FFP leader Pieter Groenewald insists that black people's land was not stolen Briefly.co.za looks at 10 tweeps responses to this proposal. Training issues Not an immediate solution Obsession with the past? Clutching at straws Traumatic for residents Is the army equipped? Unintended negative consequences? READ ALSO: Mzansi celebs celebrate their love some amazing engagement rings for their loves Deploy and employ more police? Make the police security guards Soldiers trained to protect and kill It looks like this suggestion is not such a popular one for the South African public. The DA may need to dig a little deeper when it comes to solutions to the crime in the country if they want the support of the local South African. Do you have a story to share with us? Inbox us on our Facebook page and we could feature your story. This comedy animation shows a relationship between a boy and his dad. The boy trusted his dad very much and even told him about every girl he fell in love with! Unfortunately, according to his dad, his women crushes are actually his sisters! The boy is devastated. He fell in love 6 times and all of the girls are his siblings...His heart is broken into million pieces. He goes to his mother and tells her the story. What his mom tells him is rather shocking! Do you want to know how this love story ended? Click Play and get ready for a horrific ending! To stay up to date with the latest news, download our news app on Google Play or iTunes today. Source: Briefly.co.za Featured Post Apache Stronghold 'Native Religious Sacred Sites on Federal Land have no Protections from the U.S. Government' Wendsler Nosie at San Francisco Civic Center. Photo by Steve Pavey Native Religious Sacred Sites on Federal Land have no Protections from th... Facebook locks account after publication of Myron Dewey crash report Archive Search This Blog Donate to Censored News Please donate to Censored News for travel and equipment for our live coverage. Thank you, Brenda. About Censored News Censored News is published by Brenda Norrell. Since 2006, Censored News has received more than 20 million pageviews. As a collective of writers, photographers and broadcasters, we publish news of Indigenous Peoples and human rights. Contact publisher Brenda Norrell: brendanorrell@gmail.com From the publisher Censored News is published by Brenda Norrell, a journalist in Indian country for 39 years. Norrell created Censored News after she was censored and terminated as a staff reporter at Indian Country Today in 2006. She began as a reporter at Navajo Times during the 18 years that she lived on the Navajo Nation. She was a stringer for AP and USA Today and later traveled with the Zapatistas through Mexico. She has been blacklisted by all the mainstream media for 14 years. Contact brendanorrell@gmail.com Translate Business / Companies by Agencies Africa's airline for everyone, fastjet, received a traditional airline welcome with a fire truck salute yesterday morning when our first flight landed in the City of Kings. Fastjet now offers daily flights between Harare and Bulawayo.Fastjet is also the first value airline to operate the Harare Bulawayo route; it also fly between Harare and Johannesburg 4 times daily, between Harare and Victoria Falls twice daily and up to 3 times a week between Victoria Falls and Johannesburg and between Harare and Dar es Salaam. fastjet lands in Bulawayo for the first time from Hein Kaiser on Vimeo. Entertainment / Music by Staff reporter Controversial dancer Beverly "Bev" Sibanda says contrary to what some South African artists believe, she does not use juju to lure crowds to her shows.The Sexy Angels leader who was in South Africa recently for two months of touring, said everywhere she performed audiences packed her showcases and as such she fell in love with promoters there."My capacity shows fuelled rumours that I use juju to lure crowds. I was confronted by a number of dancers and Djs in South Africa over the issue," said Bev.She shrugged off the juju allegations saying hers is a pure talent."I am just a good dancer, nothing else. In fact more and more South African dance groups are copying my dancing tactics which will push me do more."The multi-award-winning dancer went to South Africa in May with only four of her Sexy Angels members and is in the country for a short time after which she will go back."In South Africa, I usually stage seven shows per week and unlike in Zimbabwe where we perform for at least four hours on stage, in South Africa the performances range from 20 minutes to an hour long."Dancing in South Africa is rewarding though there is no freedom at all," she said.However, Sibanda has no plans to settle across Limpopo River for good and will be back in September."I can only settle permanently in South Africa if my manager Harpers comes along, otherwise I will just go there, perform and come back home," she said.Before she returns to South Africa on Thursday next week, Sibanda has to fulfil four showcases in the country.Tonight, the dancer will perform in Norton at Apple Yard before returning to Harare for two shows at Club House in Mbare in the afternoon and Jongwe Corner in Hatfield during the evening.On Sunday Bev will perform at her usual hunting ground; Holly's Hotel in Harare. News / National by Staff reporter Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga yesterday disclosed that the military facilitated President Emmerson Mnangagwa's escape to Mozambique following his expulsion from both the party and government by former President Robert Mugabe last November.Addressing mourners at the burial of Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander General Valerio Sibanda's mother Yowana Kubvoruno Sibanda in Mashayamvura village, Dera in Gokwe, Chiwenga said two soldiers were deployed to whisk Mnangagwa out of the country, as he fled from Mugabe's "running dogs."He said Sibanda organised Mnangagwa's escort team."Today, I want to say something I have never told anyone, a secret that has been kept between me and General Sibanda," Chiwenga said."General Sibanda is truly a brave hero. When the then Vice-President was fired from the government last November, I was away in China on national duty. General Sibanda called me to advise me on the sad developments."I told him that Mnangagwa's life could be at stake, so please make sure he is safe. General Sibanda is the one who orchestrated our President's escape through the Mozambique boarder and he sent two soldiers, one of them did not have a passport."They managed to safely whisk him away through the border and they left him in Mozambique and came back using the same border. When I came back, we sat and insisted that we want this to be a peaceful operation. Sibanda coined the name Operation Restore Legacy." News / National by Staff reporter The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) yesterday met political party leaders or representatives and gave them samples of ballot papers to be used in the July 30 harmonised elections.The meeting, dubbed the National Multiparty Liaison Committee meeting, and is convened by ZEC to listen to concerns from political formations, also heard issues raised by parties. It also emerged at the meeting that Zanu-PF and MDC Alliance had narrowed their differences in the run-up to the election and pledged to work together to resolve conflicts under the aegis of the MPLC."ZEC Commissioner Dr Qhubani Moyo chaired the National Multiparty Liaison Committee meeting at which political parties demanded to be allowed to see where the ballot paper is being kept. They were given samples of the printed ballot paper to ascertain its quality and design," ZEC said in a brief statement on its Twitter account @ZECzim.Zanu-PF Legal Affairs Secretary Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana outlined a number of areas that the parties had discussed.Said Mangwana: "Today Zanu-PF participated in the Multiparty Liaison Committee (MPLC) meetings conducted by ZEC. A number of parties were represented including the MDC-Alliance, which had Mr (Jameson) Timba and Mr (Douglas) Mwonzora as the representatives."He confirmed the parties had been given ballot papers to test."ZEC gave specimens of the actual ballot papers to parties so those who want to test for magic or unexplained vote mutations or migrations can do so. It was noted that they had been given the blank ballots in the past for further testing," said Mangwana."There was no objection to the configuration of the ballot itself but it was also noted that a party not taking part in the elections, called PDP (People's Democratic Party), had made a court application challenging the current candidate configuration in the Presidential elections ballot paper design."Zanu-PF expressed its recognition of ZEC's responsibility to print, store and distribute the ballots and leaves it to ZEC to decide if it would allow the request of a few other parties to escort the distribution cars as well as to guard the provincial warehouses where the ballots are kept," said Mangwana.Mr Mwonzora confirmed that parties were given samples of ballots and agreed on a raft of issues. He told The Herald last night that the party would subject the papers to tests."We are still to vet the ballot papers. The MDC-Alliance also insisted on the ballot papers to be checked batch by batch and all political parties' stakeholders to monitor their storage until election day," said Mr Mwonzora."They also insisted that all political parties' stakeholders should accompany the ballot papers to polling stations on election day," he said.According to information from the meeting, some parties requested to test samples of ballots on election day by marking them and see at the end of the election where such guinea ballots would have migrated votes and the commission promised to deliberate and come back to the parties.ZEC did not object to providing parties with samples of indelible ink as requested by some parties. Zanu-PF registered its objection to the aggressive language used by other parties in threatening to halt a proclaimed election through unconstitutional means.This is in reference to threats by the opposition MDC-Alliance which has said it will disrupt elections if some of its demands are not met. Political parties also agreed not to distribute food in a partisan manner. The next meeting of MPLC will be on Tuesday next week. News / National by Staff reporter MDC Alliance presidential candidate, Nelson Chamisa was in the district on Sunday July 16, where he is said to have endorsed the candidature of Boniface Mudzingwa for the Bikita East parliamentary seat at the expense of one of the alliance principals and Transform Zimbabwe (TZ) leader, Jacob Ngarivhume.MDC Alliance Masvingo provincial chairperson, James Gumbi confirmed the developments, saying Chamisa declared 'the preferred' candidate during the visit."Yes it's true. The president was here yesterday (Sunday) to find out the preferences of the people on the ground and he declared Mudzingwa as candidate," said Gumbi.Asked if everybody was OK with the decision given the dissent from the TZ quarters, Gumbi said Chamisa's decision was final and anybody who chose to go against it would pay the political price."They would be lucky to get even 50 votes if they choose to go against the decision. It's all about what the voters want. In Masvingo South, president Chamisa declared Justin Makota as the candidate," said Gumbi.TZ officials, however, dismissed claims that Chamisa had declared Mudzingwa as candidate for Bikita East, claiming Ngarivhume was still in the race."Our leader, Mr. Jacob Ngarivhume is still the alliance's rightful parliamentary candidate for Bikita East and we are on the ground campaigning for him. Chamisa did not endorse Mudzingwa," said TZ youth provincial youth leader, Clayson Chimbidzikai.He acknowledged, however, that all was not well for the alliance in the constituency, saying the matter ought to be resolved urgently."There are serious disagreements there because of people who do not want to accept an orderly way of doing things. There are also similar problems in Masvingo South but we maintain Mr. Justin Makota is the rightful MDC Alliance candidate there. Our president is currently in Bikita but we expect him to travel to Harare for an audience with other principals," said Chimbidzikai.In Masvingo South, Lovemore Matongo of MDC-T Chamisa faction successfully filed to contest for the seat which had, from the very beginning, been allocated to TZ which in turn fielded Makota as the candidate. News / National by GroundUp A handful of Zimbabweans living in South Africa picketed outside the Zimbabwe Consulate in Cape Town on Thursday afternoon.According to GroundUP , they were demanding that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) respect the Southern African Development Community (SADC) principles and guidelines governing democratic elections. They want Zimbabwe's elections to be impartial, free, fair and peaceful.Zimbabwe will hold general elections on 30 July.Placards read: "ZEC you answer to people not Zanu PF", "Respect the SADC electoral guidelines and save Zimbabwe".Tendai Bhiza of PASSOP (People against Poverty and Suffering), who helped the Zimbabwe Solidarity Forum (ZSF) organise the picket, handed over a memorandum to Vice-Consul Katsande, who promised to send it to the presidential office in Harare.Owen Ziwa complained about the government's unwillingness to allow Zimbabweans in the diaspora to vote. "Staying in South Africa doesn't take away my right to vote," he said.Hillary Mugari said he wished to travel to Zimbabwe for the election, but he had previously helped to organise student protests at the Midlands State University in Zimbabwe and was forced to flee his country."I miss my family, but the situation doesn't allow me to go back. I should be home using my skill to build Zimbabwe but I am stuck here I hate the way I am living here; too much hardship and little freedom, but I don't have any choice. I hope people will be given a chance to vote for the party of their choice and that ZANU PF won't rig the election again," he said.In a statement ZSF said: "The militarisation of the ZEC undermines the credibility of the election not least because of the role that the military has played in the body politic of Zimbabwe since independence. An electoral commission run by the military, that includes people directly involved in endorsing the 2008 election outcome, cannot claim the impartiality and non-partisanship so essential in an election process.""The SADC Treaty, in Article 5, commits the member states to 'promote common political values, systems and other shared values which are transmitted through institutions, which are democratic, legitimate and effective'. The ZSF is concerned that Zimbabwe is in danger of violating this collective agreement, a bedrock of regional cooperation," said the ZSF. News / National by Staff Reporter I write this with a heavy heart. On Wednesday, one of my campaign team members, Sipepelapa, was abducted and tortured by thugs sent by Shadreck Mashayamombe in Harare South. This brazen act happened in broad daylight. The ordeal lasted for over three hours as we searched everywhere to locate our member's whereabouts. I reported the matter to the police (RRB N# 3609669) but much to our surprise nothing was done to apprehend the culprits. The complicity of the police in the matter baffled us. This incident comes a few days after Mashayamombe threatened to destroy my political carrier for standing as the MDC Alliance's Harare South official candidate. He has instructed his thugs to intimidate my teams. They have failed to wow supporters even with much funding received from Grace Mugabe. He is realising that they have lost the plot and are now showing their true criminal intentions. Of all the people, Mashayamombe cannot elbow us out of Harare South. He is not part of our electoral pact as MDC Alliance. As Transform Zimbabwe we will not accept any violation of the Alliance Agreement by the MDCT who are seeking to impose Mashayamombe and forcing the Alliance to have double candidates in this constituency. I again remind our erstwhile detractors that l will not give in to their machinations. My resolve to stand for our democratic space is unshakable. The violent and murderous Mashayamombe is running scared seeing the momentum we have built in Harare South. The constituency is fully behind my candidature and they will make good their choice come July 30. MDC Alliance Harare South Tichaona Saurombe The following is a press statement released by Transform Zimbabwe National Organizing Secretary Tichaona Saurombe, who is contesting in the Harare South Constituency under the MDC Alliance banner.*URGENT RELEASE* News / National by Stephen Jakes ZAPU spokesperson Iphithule Maphosa has blasted President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Mlungisi Moyo over their whatsapp messages asking him to vote for them.Maphosa is a candidate for his party in Bulawayo Central.He accused Zanu-PF and its leaders for contributing immensely to the demise of Matabeleland since the time of Gukurahundi."First I will never vote for you (Mnangagwa) because of your complicity in Gukurahundi-that genocide your Zanu government committed on my Zapu and perceived people of Ndebele extraction. Secondly, I can't and will never vote for you because you are no different from former President Robert Mugabe," Maphosa posted on facebook.He said the same corruption witnessed under Mugabe, is witnessed under Mnangagwa."The same poverty under Mugabe still prevails. The same banking queues under Mugabe still prevail, meaning that the same cash shortages are still with us," he said.He said the same junta that propped Mugabe today props Mangagwa up after staging a coup in November of 2017."You have been Mugabe's henchman since fifty years ago, having been together with him in government for thirty seven years. As such, there is really no difference between yourself and Mugabe," Maphosa lasted out."About your request that I vote for Mlungisi Moyo, here is my response; first, I will never vote for Zanu-PF in it's current state. This party of yours, whether in Lacoste or G40 form, has never had good intentions for Bulawayo and it's people."He said he will never consider voting for an illegal money changer especially with the problems of cash shortages which the likes of Mlungisi have contributed by goading cash."In fact I'm surprised you forward such characters as candidates. Liyasidelela," he said. News / National by Stephen Jakes Zanu-PF ward 2 Chairperson Moses Makumbe vice Francis Makumbe intimidated villagers in Goromonzi East,Murungweni Village Ward 2 On 16 July the Makumbe brothers forced villagers to convene in Murungweni village.Zimbabwe Peace Project said during the meeting, Alfred Tigere and Cephas Makachiveyi were cited as typical examples of opposition supporters who would face the music after the elections."They reiterated that if by any chance an election runoff is called for, the two suspected opposition supporters will be the first to be killed. They told villagers during the meeting that they were going to hire thugs from Mutoko to commit the heinous crimes," said ZPP."In Chakari Constituency Ward2 Clemence Sibanda was taken to Kadoma where he was interrogated by party youths namely John Khumalo ,Prosper Machafa and Pedzisai Chadenga in front of his uncle Edwin Masukume who is contesting to be a councillor in Kadoma urban on Zanu-PF ticket . Clemence was forced to renounce Mdc and also forced to wear Zanu-PF t/shirt ."ZPP said MDC Alliance supporter Washy Viola was left with facial injuries after being assaulted by Zanu-PF supporters led by Percy Chiwashira and one known as Jamu after the victim refused to give them chairs for their meeting."Washy Viola was forced to seek refuge at a nearby Mapfumo village.police said they are investigating," said ZPP. News / National by Social media Spotted with a 'Chamisa cap' at Zanu PF Borrowdale rally where president Emmerson Mnangagwa addressed a white majority as part of his presidential campaign. News / National by AP Sights from Mnangagwa's "Whites Interface Rally" at Borrowdale Racecourse in Harare! pic.twitter.com/Cj1SScJ75q Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) July 21, 2018 ED has asked to meet white Zimbabweans this morning. Interesting scenes at Borrowdale Racecourse. White people are wearing ZANU PF regalia. Some say they came because they thought it was fake news, while others say it's time for change and they want to hear what ED is offering pic.twitter.com/tGfXGG4sFh Violet Gonda (@violetgonda) July 21, 2018 President Emmerson Mnangagwa's whites only rally in Harare today that has people talking pic.twitter.com/BcYCXDUDyk Kholwani Nyathi (@kholwaninyathi) July 21, 2018 Whites in Harare at a rally, oh well, meeting, where President Mnangagwa was to address them. Povo will not get tea and cakes. Levels pic.twitter.com/8ZMeUvIfnL Sure Kamhunga (@sure_kamhunga) July 21, 2018 President Emmerson Mnangagwa told a meeting in the capital, Harare, that the era of land seizures from white farmers is over. The land grabs under former leader Robert Mugabe were deeply unpopular and contributed to the economic collapse of the once-prosperous country.Just 3% points now separate former Mugabe deputy Mnangagwa and leading opposition challenger Nelson Chamisa, according to a new survey by the Afrobarometer research group. It surveyed 2 400 voters across the country between June 25 and July 6.Campaigning ahead of the July 30 vote, the first without Mugabe since independence, has been peaceful but the opposition worries about possible fraud and the military's role. Opinion / Columnist Dear Honourable Justice Chigumba,I should write you this letter urgently: the message is urgent Meme Chigumba. I am sure you will find time despite your busy schedules. I know too that the pressure of work in your office, just 9 days ahead of harmonized elections is business like no other. I will then make my letter as short as possible.I am deeply concerned about this sexual harassment you are subjected to right now dear Meme Chigumba. Curiously this exercising of masculine and crude power against you is done by those very people we always held in high esteem. One of them is Edmund Kudzai. All this unauthorised intrusion in your private life is to intimidate you, humiliate you because you are a woman who is occupying one of the highest posts in the land. You have to be put into "your place" you are supposed to be ashamed and be shamed; crushed and be reduced to a silhouetted persona. Sexual harassment is experienced by women in high position: men do not want this high profile professional appearing to be challenging men folk. Men want women in "their places:" the "kitchen, living and the other ROOM" said Buhari from Nigeria. This is not an isolated mentality!Who authorized Edmund Kudzai to disclose private events, private facts (if they are true at all) about you? Is he trying to create a false light in exposing you private, very private life? Does he sincerely hope you will resign by portraying you in a false light, discrediting you? We are saying please never resign dear Meme Chigumba. Your position is powerful and could be of assistance to many women in the country. Do not get intimidated by those sex accusations. We have to get used to these people with very low esteem, who are contemptible and dissolute to women.One wonders why it is not done to men equally, but it's done constantly and unendingly to women. Amai Mujuru was baptized the same, Sis Thokozani was baptized the same, Advocate Majome was told to go back to the reserve and be a goat herderit goes on. That private life dear Meme Chigumba is yours and yours alone. We do not need or wantto know your private at all. We shall be proud if you run that institution competently. This is my demand from you and surely never to know the nitty gritty about your intimate and private life. I too have my own private life and I would hate it if one poked his/her nose on it. It is for this reason that I think you deserve our respect. We shall stand by you and make sure your dignity remains intact.We are informed by the former Minister Jonathan Moyo that President Mnangagwa has 41 children: (if that is true, we don't know, we believe it because they were friends, remember Tsholotsho Declaration!) Who told President Mnangagwa on the day of inauguration in November 2017, never to take the oath of President because he is morally unworthy of office? And who is telling him to resign and never go for election because his morals are questionable? Why is it that it's only women who have to go through this moral scrutiny and blackmail, not men equally?When Mugabe's wife Sally was critically ill at the State House, Former President Mugabe had a secret relationship that resulted in reproduction: Bona was born out of wedlock. Mugabe sired a love child with Grace when Sally was terminally ill in the same home: the State House. Where are those beautiful Zimbabwean morals that questioned as such? Who told, forced, ridiculed, and scrutinized Mugabe's morals of having a secret relationship behind the back of his wife, Sally.Why did this society with such high morals not stand up against Mugabe and force him to resign because he has shamed our society by his secret love-nesting's with Grace inside the State House? Why decent morals are only applicable in relation to women sexual lives and men's sexual behavior is wholly unchecked? How many men in public and private offices here in Zimbabwe have several women and small houses that continue to sire several children born out of wedlock?Can Edmund Kudzai start to write and shame them men in the same way? President Mnangagwa must be the first, we are told has 41 children. (How many women and mothers?) Mr. Kudzai must do the same with President Mnangagwa must resign from his position as aspiring president. Why is Edmund Kudzai not asking for Mnangagwa to step down; is he scared stiff of him? Yes he is scared stiff of President Mnangagwa because he is a man. We ask those men especially Edmund Kudzai to go and take a bath, his armpits equally smelly like most men in Zimbabwe. How many small houses does Mr. Edmund Kudzai have: some Ben10 physical appearance, I am sure he has a small house too?Please, Justice Chigumba never entertains resigning at all, you will have weakened the position of all of us women in the land. We have very few women in public institutions; we cannot afford to be blackmailed by Edmund Kudzai. If you concede to blackmail, we shall then ask ourselves who is next. We want you up there: you are a high flyer professional woman, this is what we want as women: and this is what men fear, they do not want a female in that position. For the sake of the women in this great country please stay there, stay put. We say no to blackmail! That is serious blackmail that may need legal action. I would advise you to ignore it and you put your positive energy on pending issues regarding your ZEC office.Please solve those serious ZEC issues in your department alone because we cannot assist anyhow. We are up in arms against those that want to see you leave the office; your dignity is in disrepute and we are deeply concerned as women. What we are fighting for is your dignity that should never be tampered with by anybody. As a woman and mother and sister of this great land your dignity should remain intact. Please stay firm; never give in to petty and below the belt accusations and objectification of you and all other women in the land.Yours SincerelyNomazulu Thata Appellate Court of Illinois, Second District. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. KATIE LIN STOCKTON, Defendant-Appellant. No. 2-16-0353 Decided: July 20, 2018 OPINION 1 Defendant, Katie Lin Stockton, appeals from an order of the circuit court of Winnebago County summarily dismissing her petition under the Post-Conviction Hearing Act (Act) (725 ILCS 5/122-1 et seq. (West 2016)) seeking relief from her conviction of first-degree murder (720 ILCS 5/9-1(a)(2) (West 2004)). We affirm. 2 The victim of defendant's crime was her newborn daughter. Defendant entered a nonnegotiated guilty plea and was sentenced to a 50-year prison term. The body of defendant's daughter was discovered in December 2004 on property owned by defendant's mother and stepfather. The child, who had been born alive, was wrapped in clothing and had been placed in a plastic bag. Either hypothermia or suffocation from the clothing or plastic had caused the child's death. Evidence at defendant's sentencing hearing established that she was questioned by police and that she denied that the child was hers. It was not until 2009 that police obtained a DNA sample from defendant showing that she was the child's mother. DNA testing showed that John Craig was the father. In the course of the investigation, police discovered the decomposed remains of two infants in bags in the trunk of defendant's car. Genetic testing established that defendant was the mother of the two infants and that Craig was the father of one of them. Both were full term at birth, but it could not be determined whether they were born alive. Several witnesses testified that the bags in which the infants were found contained liquid from decomposition, as well as maggots and insects. 3 Winnebago County Coroner Elizabeth Fiduccia testified that she and the sheriff of Winnebago County gave the child found in 2004 the name Crystal. She explained that the child was found near Christmas on a crystal-clear night. They took the child's handprints and footprints so that, when the child's family was identified, they would have something to hold onto because they knew this child was real and it would make it more real if they saw it. Craig testified that defendant told him that she was carrying his child. She later told him that she had a miscarriage. When Craig learned that the child had been born alive, he named her Mariah Renee. 4 The State presented numerous photographs of (1) the child at the site where her body was discovered in 2004, (2) the child's autopsy, (3) the child in an open casket with stuffed animals, (4) the child's headstone, and (5) the decomposed remains of the infants later found in the trunk of defendant's car. The State introduced evidence that there were places such as hospitals, police stations, and fire stations where defendant could have left a newborn without fear of punishment. 5 According to the presentence investigation report, defendant had been convicted of forgery in 2008 and was sentenced to probation. In addition, the State presented evidence that defendant had been dismissed from a job due to suspicion that she was stealing money from her employer. 6 Defendant's mother, Lisa Landsee, testified for defendant. According to Landsee, defendant had a son when she was in her early twenties. In 2004 or 2005, Landsee suspected that defendant was abusing drugs and alcohol. In 2008, defendant was incarcerated. After her release, defendant lived with Landsee. Defendant helped around the house, took care of her son, and had three jobs. In her statement in allocution, defendant apologized for what she had done and asked for forgiveness. 7 In imposing sentence, the trial court noted that there was no evidence that the children whose remains were found in the trunk of defendant's car had been born alive. Accordingly, the court stated that it would not consider the remains as evidence of an uncharged crime. However, the court indicated that concealing the remains in her car was arguably the act of a deranged individual. As noted, the court sentenced defendant to a 50-year prison term. 8 Defendant moved to reconsider her sentence. The trial court denied the motion, and defendant appealed. Because trial counsel failed to properly comply with Illinois Supreme Court Rule 604(d) (eff. Feb. 6, 2013), we remanded for proceedings in compliance with that rule. On remand, the trial court again denied defendant's motion to reconsider her sentence. On appeal, defendant's attorney moved to withdraw as counsel pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), and People v. Jones, 38 Ill. 2d 384 (1967). We granted the motion and affirmed the trial court's judgment, noting that there is no indication that, in any respect, the trial court erred in what it did or did not consider at sentencing. People v. Stockton, No. 2-14-1259 (2015) (unpublished summary order under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 23(c)). Defendant subsequently filed the pro se postconviction petition giving rise to this appeal. 9 We begin our analysis with a brief summary of the general principles governing proceedings under the Act. In People v. Meeks, 2016 IL App (2d) 140509, 3, we observed as follows: Under the Act, a person imprisoned for a crime may mount a collateral attack on his conviction and sentence based on violations of his constitutional rights. [Citation.] Within 90 days after a petition for relief under the Act is filed and docketed, the trial court must examine the petition and either summarily dismiss it or docket it for further proceedings. [Citation.] If the trial court finds that the petition is frivolous or is patently without merit, the petition will be summarily dismissed. [Citation.] Summary dismissal is proper if the petition is based on an indisputably meritless legal theory or a fanciful factual allegation. [Citation.] Any claim of substantial denial of constitutional rights not raised in the original or an amended petition is forfeited. 725 ILCS 5/122-3 (West 2016). We review a summary dismissal de novo. People v. Hodges, 234 Ill. 2d 1, 9 (2009). 10 Defendant's pro se petition ostensibly raised three claims, the second of which was as follows: PETITIONER'S 6TH AMENDENDMENT [sic] RIGHT TO THE UNITED STATE[S] CONSTITUTION WHICH GUARANTEES A FAIR AND IMPARTIAL TRIAL WAS VIOLATED. TO WIT: 1. The Trial Judge erred in allowing the State's Attorney to introduce evidence in that had nothing to do with the case at hand. * The Trial Judge allowed evidence that was illegally obtained from a search of the defendant's vehicle while it was in impound for an unrelated charge. There was no warrant and no probable cause to search the vehicle either time it was in impound. * The Trial Judge allowed the State's Attorney to put a person on the witness stand to testify against defendant claiming that he was the father of one of the infants found in the trunk of defendant's vehicle. * There was no way to determine if a crime even happened when the skeletal remains were found, and it was never explained how the State knew how this man was father to the infant. 2. The Trial Judge erred un [sic] taking into consideration evidence in this case where the defendant was never connected to an actual crime. * The Trial Judge considered the two bags with skeletal remains to be used as a character witness' as to the defendant's guilt in the case at hand. * The remains have never been linked to a crime or that the defendant committed a crime. * The Trial Judge should never have allowed the remains or the alleged father into evidence against defendant. 3. The Trial Judge made off colored remarks about the defendant before he handed down his sentence. * Trial Judge allowed his emotions to get involved when he sentenced defendant and by considering the evidence that never should have been allowed. 11 Defendant contends that the constitutional theory underlying this claim was that she did not receive the effective assistance of counsel on direct appeal. Defendant argues that a considerable amount of irrelevant and inflammatory evidence was erroneously admitted at sentencing, depriving her of a fair sentencing hearing. According to defendant, although trial counsel carefully preserved the errors for appeal, appellate counsel failed to raise them, thereby failing to provide effective assistance. 12 Although defendant did not use the words ineffective assistance of appellate counsel or equivalent language in her pro se petition, she contends that, at the first stage of the proceedings, the reference to the sixth amendment was sufficient. According to defendant, she placed her claim under the umbrella of the Sixth Amendment. Defendant further argues that because of the Sixth Amendment's direct association with the right to the effective assistance of counsel, when [defendant] wrote that she was denied her right to a fair and impartial trial under the Sixth Amendment, she sufficiently framed her allegation as a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. (Emphasis in original.) 13 In her reply brief, defendant acknowledges that her petition did not say whether she invoke[d] her right to [the] effective assistance of trial counsel or appellate counsel. She notes, however, that her petition asked for review of an issue that trial counsel vigorously litigated and diligently preserved for review. According to defendant, because appellate counsel did nothing on appeal, [i]t is *** a reasonable conclusion that [defendant] referred to appellate counsel's performance when invoking the Sixth Amendment. Defendant maintains that, in view of these circumstances, reading the petition as stating a claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel gives meaning to all words and concepts used by [defendant]. 14 Defendant's argument is unpersuasive. As discussed below, the sixth amendment guarantees the right to the effective assistance of trial counsel, not appellate counsel. Thus, contrary to defendant's argument, a claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel is not under the umbrella of the sixth amendment, and reading the petition to state such a claim does not give meaning to the petition's reference to the sixth amendment. 15 The sixth amendment provides, In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury *** and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense. (Emphasis added.) U.S. Const., amend. VI. Once started, the Sixth Amendment's criminal prosecution continues through to the end of the basic trial stage, including sentencing. 3 Wayne R. LaFave, Jerold H. Israel, Nancy J. King, & Orin S. Kerr, Criminal Procedure 11.2(b), at 710-11 (4th ed. 2015). Thus, the criminal prosecution has ended where the defendant is pursuing an appeal from his conviction. Id. at 711. Although there is a right to the effective assistance of counsel in a criminal defendant's first appeal as of right, that right to counsel arises from the fourteenth amendment. See Douglas v. California, 372 U.S. 353, 357-58 (1963) (There is lacking that equality demanded by the Fourteenth Amendment where the rich man, who appeals as of right, enjoys the benefit of counsel's examination into the record, research of the law, and marshalling of arguments on his behalf, while the indigent *** is forced to shift for himself.); see also Evitts v. Lucey, 469 U.S. 387, 396 (1985) (A first appeal as of right *** is not adjudicated in accord with due process of law if the appellant does not have the effective assistance of an attorney.). 16 In view of the foregoing, we conclude that, although a petition must be given a liberal construction (Hodges, 234 Ill. 2d at 21), the reference in defendant's petition to the sixth amendment did not transform her claim into one of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel. Because defendant's petition did not raise a claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel, the claim is forfeited. 725 ILCS 5/122-3 (West 2016). 17 For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the judgment of the circuit court of Winnebago County. As part of our judgment, we grant the State's request that defendant be assessed $50 as costs for this appeal. 55 ILCS 5/4-2002(a) (West 2016); see also People v. Nicholls, 71 Ill. 2d 166, 178 (1978). 18 Affirmed. FOOTNOTES . We do not hold that, if a claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel is adequately raised, merely referring to the sixth amendment would invalidate the claim. However, a sixth-amendment claim that does not contain any reference to appellate counsel is insufficient to raise a claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel. JUSTICE SCHOSTOK delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Justices Zenoff and Jorgensen concurred in the judgment and opinion. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram When it comes to the military and the judiciary, Pakistans journalists are between a rock and a hard place, Zohra Yusuf, of the independent non-profit Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, told CPJ. In recent months the judiciary, which has a history of siding with Pakistans powerful military, has remained largely silent amid attempts to censor or silence the press. Ahead of elections on July 25, CPJ has documented how journalists who are critical of the military or authorities were abducted or attacked, how the army spokesman accused journalists of sharing anti-state and anti-military propaganda, and how distribution of two of Pakistans largest outletsGeo TV and Dawnwas arbitrarily restricted. The judiciary, which has power to take up cases on its own, did not intervene on behalf of the press. But it has continued its practice of threatening legal action against its critics. Some journalists and analysts said that by not taking action, the judiciary has added to a climate of fear and self-censorship. The judiciary has at times been seen as a strong supporter of democratic values, but Yusuf said the perception among many people in Pakistan is that the judiciary and the military seem to be on the same page on certain aspects of our democracy. Now democracy and media are being presented as a problem, Yusuf said, adding that journalists are bending over backwards to avoid provoking either institution. Madiha Afzal, an adjunct assistant professor of global policy at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and the author of Pakistan Under Siege: Extremism, Society, and the State, told CPJ she thinks the judiciary is an all too willing pawn in the militarys hands. Afzal added, I also think that it is in broad agreement with the military in its stance on Pakistans politics. The judiciary did not respond to CPJs email and calls requesting comment. Pakistani authorities certainly appear to be taking a tougher stance toward the press. The countrys media regulator issued a statement this month warning news channels not to air any statements by political leadership containing defamatory and derogatory content targeting various state institutions, specifically judiciary and armed forces. And Ahmad Noorani, a senior journalist with The News, told CPJ that some media houses received instructions from certain forces not to cover anything that favored former prime minister Nawaz Sharif or went against the judiciary. Noorani did not provide further details. Owais Ali, the founder of the Pakistan Press Foundation, said a free media was crucial for free and fair elections. Whatever the political issues are, they need to be discussed. These include criticisms of the judiciary and the military in the forthcoming elections. The media should not have a price to pay simply for reporting what is being discussed by the politicians and political parties. The lack of judicial support does not appear to be linked to court capacity. Pakistans chief justice came under criticism from political analysts this year for judicial activism taking on suo motu cases, cases taken on the courts initiative, Reuters reported. The court has launched inquiries on issues ranging from water shortages, police encounters, and milk prices. Suo motu cases seem to be taken up at the drop of a hat, but when Geo asked the Supreme Court to take on its case, the court refused, Imran Aslam, president of Geo TV, told CPJ, referring to how cable operators arbitrarily blocked the broadcasters transmission earlier this year. I certainly think the judiciary could have done something about Geo. The judiciary is supposed to provide justice to the media houses and media workers, but failed to take notice of the situation that the leading news channel of the country was facing, Noorani said. The court could easily have issued an order or at least asked for a report from the relevant regulatory authority, but they didnt provide any relief to Geo, he said. Afzal said she thinks the restrictions on Geo and Dawn undermined the outlets credibility. [It] means that many in Pakistan dont get to hear liberal voices or voices that are critical of the military, which in turn ensures that they remain pro-military and skeptical of liberal voices, she said. News outlets that criticize the judiciary often find themselves threatened with legal action. Nearly every major news organization has been served contempt of court notices, Yusuf said. Last year, Noorani and his papers publisher, Jang Group, were served two notices, including one over Nooranis report on the Inter-services Intelligence. Noorani said the court withdrew the notice after he presented records of his communication and evidence backing the story. A contempt of court order brought against TV journalist Matiullah Jan and Waqt TV in February, over claims the higher court was insulted on Jans talk show, was dropped after the stations management apologized and Jan said he would exercise more caution, according to Dawn. Fakhar Durrani, a reporter at The News, said that when he reported last year on judges who were allegedly vying for plots of land that were part of a housing scheme case they were hearing, his organization came under pressure to stop reporting. Durrani, who did not specify where the pressure came from, said he was not able to publish any follow-up stories. During that era, my organization was facing contempt of court notices on other issues so they tried not to indulge in any other legal matter, Durrani said. Issuing a contempt of court notice to just one news outlet in Pakistan is a sufficient message to all the media houses because it comes from the highest court in the country and there is no way to appeal a Supreme Court order, Noorani said. If the Supreme Court orders the closure of a news station it sends a message to all other media houses to either fall in line or face the consequences, Noorani said. The uncertainty over what could draw a contempt of court notice exacerbates the situation. Aslam, of Geo TV, said criticism of any kind is looked upon as almost treasonous. He added, Its a scary situation because you dont know when youll be called up in the courts, and this has led us to tread more carefully. He added that objective reporting has been skewed in Pakistan because of the constraints looming over the media all the time. What it induces is self-censorship, even if word doesnt go down to reporters and everybody else, they are looking over their shoulders. The fourth edition of Bay of Bengal Initiatives for Multi-Sectoral, Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) will be held in Kathmandu, capital city of from 30 to 31 August, 2018. Nepal is the current chair of BIMSTEC. The main focus of summit will be to increase connectivity between BIMSTEC nations including roads, airways and transmission lines. It will also give top priority connectivity and poverty alleviation. Bay of Bengal Initiatives for Multi-Sectoral, Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) BIMSTEC is the sub-regional group of seven countries in South Asia and South East Asia lying in littoral and adjacent areas of Bay of Bengal constituting contiguous regional unity. It was established on 6 June 1997 through Bangkok Declaration. It is headquartered in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Member countries: India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka from South Asia and Myanmar, Thailand from South East Asia. They are collectively home to around 1.5 billion people which constitute around 22% of global population. BIMESTCs prime objectives: Technological and economic cooperation among south Asian and south East Asian countries along the coast of the Bay of Bengal. BIMSTEC is sector-driven cooperative organization, starting with six sector including trade, technology, energy, transport, tourism and fisheries. In 2008, it was expanded to embrace eight more sectors including agriculture, public health, poverty alleviation, counter-terrorism, environment, culture, people to people contact and climate change. 'Montenegro is a tiny country with very strong people... They're very aggressive people. They may get aggressive, and congratulations, you're in World War III,' said Trump. (Photo: File) Podgorica, Montenegro: Montenegro's government on Thursday defended its contribution to peace in response to a verbal attack from US President Donald Trump, who said this week that the tiny Balkan nation's "aggressive" people were capable of triggering "World War III". The rebuttal comes after Trump ignited outrage across Europe with his broadside, which many interpreted as the latest sign of the US president's shaky commitment to the NATO alliance, which Montenegro joined last year. In a statement on Thursday Montenegro defended its history of "peaceful politics," saying the country "contributes to peace and stability not only on the European continent but worldwide, along with US soldiers in Afghanistan." It also added that it has served as a "stabilising" force in the region, which was ravaged by wars during the break-up of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Alongside Macedonia, Montenegro was the only ex-Yugoslavian country whose decision to split from the federation did not trigger a war, though its soldiers fought against Croatia's war of independence in the 1990s as part of the Yugoslav army. The alliance with the US remains "strong and permanent," the statement added. Trump made his controversial comments during a Fox News interview on Tuesday in response to a question about NATO's Article 5, which states that an attack on one member is an attack on all. "Why should my son go to Montenegro to defend it from attack?" Fox News host Tucker Carlson asked the US president about the country of 620,000. Trump responded: "I understand what you're saying. I've asked the same question." "Montenegro is a tiny country with very strong people... They're very aggressive people. They may get aggressive, and congratulations, you're in World War III," Trump added. A former US ambassador to NATO slammed the comments as "a gift" to Russian President Vladimir Putin, while senior Republican Senator John McCain said Trump was playing into Russia's hands by "questioning our obligations under NATO." Montenegro, whose troops number about only 2,000 personnel, joined NATO in June 2017, despite strong opposition from part of the population and violent demonstrations in 2015. The move also infuriated Russia, with whom relations have soured in recent years as the Balkan nation forges closer ties with the West and eyes entry into the European Union. NATO's common defence clause has only been invoked once -- by America after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks conducted by Al-Qaeda. Nearly 17 years on, NATO troops are still operating in Afghanistan -- including personnel from Montenegro -- after the US-led invasion seeking retribution for the nation's harbouring of the terror group. Islamabad: Pakistan Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Qamar Javed Bajwa has said that Pakistan Army along with other institutions will ensure secure and safe environment enabling people of the country to freely exercise their democratic right on July 25. A statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the COAS visited Army Elections Support Centre, Rawalpindi. During the visit, he was given detailed briefing about plan for provision of assistance to Election Commission of Pakistan for free, fair and transparent conduct of General Elections. General Bajwa said that Pakistan army shall assist the ECP strictly for peaceful and transparent elections 2018 within the bounds of given mandate and as per the ECP code of conduct. Bajwa said working in synchronisation with other elements of security apparatus, all effo-rts be put in to ensure secure and safe environment enabling the people of Pakistan to freely exercise their democratic right. Earlier, a representative of General Headq-uarters said Pakistan Army had no connection with the Elections 2018. WTO panel to rule on Vietnam complaint on US duties on fish fillets Workers place fillets of Swai fish to froze at a factory of Bien Dong seafood company in southern Mekong delta city of Can Tho, Vietnam. Photo by Reuters WTO set up a dispute panel to rule on Vietnams complaint against anti-dumping measures imposed by the U.S. on fish fillets imported from Hanoi. The panel was established on Friday, an official from the World Trade Organization (WTO) said. The decision was taken after Vietnam made its second request at a closed-door meeting of the WTOs Dispute Settlement Body, in line with WTO rules. No further details were immediately available on the row. Vietnam says Washington has broken WTO rules in the way it has imposed punitive tariffs on Vietnamese fish it claims are being dumped, or sold at an unfairly cheap price, on the U.S. market. U.S. imports of fish fillets from Vietnam have grown from $100 million in 2007 to more than $520 million in 2016. That made Vietnam the third-biggest U.S. supplier after Chile and China and the U.S. the top export market for Vietnamese fish. Initial media reports of two foreigners being cheated with joss paper earlier this week contained several errors, Hanoi authorities say. The two foreigners who were cheated with joss paper as change in the capital city this week were Spanish, not French, and the fake money came from a taxi driver, not a cyclo driver as earlier reported, police said on Saturday. Miguel Angel Fernandez Lamelas and his girlfriend arrived in Hanoi on July 15. The day after, the couple took a ride with Tran Van Phong, 29, from a restautant to their hotel in Long Bien District at around 7 p.m. for VND37,000 ($1.62). They gave Phong a VND500,000 ($21.84) note and he returned them with VND900,000 in joss paper, which is usually burnt as offerings for deceased relatives in Vietnam, investigation found. The tourists said they hadnt noticed how much the change was because it was dark. They said it was the first time they were visiting the country, so they were not able to distinguish between the real paper money and joss paper. It was only a day later, when they used the money to pay Huu Phuc, another taxi driver, that they realized theyd been cheated and given joss paper. Phuc shared the tourists story on his Facebook page, prompting tourism officials and police officers to step in. Miguel Angel Fernandez Lamelas, a Spanish tourist, was allegedly given VND900,000 ($39) in joss paper as change in Hanoi. Images taken from a Facebook video by Huu Phuc Police are working on the case. They are also investigating the tourists' report that they were charged VND1.5 million for a one-hour cyclo ride in Hanoi on Monday. It is said that the normal rate ranges between VND100,000 and VND300,000 per person per hour. Earlier media reports said the cyclo driver, Nguyen Van Chinh, had given them the joss paper money. But Lamelas said Chinh simply used sign language to demand three VND500,000 note and did not give them any change. Hanoi welcomed more than three million foreign visitors in the first half of this year, up 26 percent from a year ago. Nguyen Thanh Son is escorted by police to the Friday court in Ho Chi Minh City where he is sentenced to nine years in jail for his murder crime. Photo by VnExpress/Ky Hoa A former Vietnamese policeman was sentenced to nine years in jail on Friday for strangling his Australian wife to death last September. The Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Court convicted Nguyen Thanh Son, 52, for the murder of 55-year-old Nguyen Maria, a crime punishable by up to 20 years in jail under Vietnams Penal Code. Murders deemed heinous are punishable by death. The court explained its decision to award a commuted sentence to Son by saying he had shown remorse for his act, paid compensation to the victims family and contributed to the nations public security sector through his service. According to the indictment, Son met with the Australian woman in February last year on the social media. Three months later, she came to Vietnam and they began living together in a rented house in Binh Thanh District. They got married in August. On the night of September 2, the couple had an angry argument and Maria is said to have berated Son and insulted his family. Then, she took a pair of scissors and stabbed him in his belly before asking him to get out of the house. Enraged, Son strangled his wife to death, the indictment said. After killing his wife, Son allegedly tried to commit suicide by electrocuting himself, but failed. Son admitted his crime in the court on Friday. He said his wife frequently shouted at him, and he could not restrain himself from retaliating as she stabbed him and asked him to get out of the house. It took years of observation and several months of careful planning before the final operation to capture a very careful drug lord in Vietnam. Police have affirmed that the capture of Phan Huu Hieu, the kingpin behind the large-scale transnational trafficking of narcotics from Laos into Vietnam was the culmination of a trap that was months in the making. Hieu, nicknamed Mouse in the drug underworld, and six other accomplices were arrested during the crackdown that seized 59 kilograms of heroin, hundreds of thousands of dollars, two high-end cars, foreign currency and sealed 15 houses and other properties. This is the biggest heroin seizure weve made in Ho Chi Minh City, an unnamed police officer said. Pham Huu Hieu (in glasses) is arrested by police in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo courtesy of Giao Thong Newspaper Early start Hieu, 48, was born into a poor family in the central province of Nghe An. He dropped out of school at a younger age because of difficult family conditions to work for big names in the drug trafficking world. Building on his experience of many years, Hieu struck out on his own, expanding his drug trafficking network in HCMC and nearby provinces like Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Tay Ninh, the Voice of Vietnam reported. He also teamed up with notorious drug dealers in Laos to transport a large quantity of narcotics including heroin into Vietnam through several border gates. Very sophisticated and discreet operations had made it difficult for anti-drug forces to investigate. The poor kid from the countryside went on to become a famous and feared figure in the underworld, and his extravagant lifestyle did not go unnoticed. He lived with his family in a luxury apartment in Tan Phu District, an hours drive to the west of downtown HCMC. He owned many houses, farms and other properties worth millions of dollars. He got into close relationships with many young and beautiful women, and his willingness to spend money buying them expensive gifts including houses was also noticed. But Hieu was also a superstitious man. Before carrying out a large-scale trafficking operation, he would not stay close to his lovers or make love to them or his wife in order to avoid bad luck. He also consulted fortune tellers to predict the best time for carrying out transactions and offered prayers and incense in pagodas before an operation began. Difficult to catch Police said theyd been watching Hieu for a long time, but he took each action with extreme care. So the police had no choice but to be very patient and carefully amass evidence before planning an intervention, which also had to be planned with great care. Before the final crackdown, police had to live in dangerous conditions for about three months to get closer and study the modus operandi of Hieus drug trafficking ring, and follow the drug lord as he made frequent flights back to Nghe An, his hometown. The police say that the ring always transferred drugs from Laos to the central city of Da Nang, and two of Hieus close accomplices, Bui Dinh Trung, 48, and Nguyen Thanh Nam, 37, drove their car to receive the drugs and hide them in a small house on Tan Son Nhi Street in Tan Phu District before distributing them to other areas. After months of staking out the drug ring, police officers spotted Hieu flying back to his hometown in Nghe An on July 11 and cross the border gate to go to Laos to meet his partners and place an order. When Hieu returned to Vietnam through Cau Treo border gate in the central province of Ha Tinh, his associates had driven their car from Saigon to Da Nang. A day later, hundreds of police officers surrounded the apartment block where Hieu lived in Tan Phu District and caught Hieu red-handed in a transaction involving in 19.8 kilograms of heroin. A large quantity of heroin is seized during a crackdown against Hieu's drug trafficking ring. Photo courtesy of HCMC Police Simultaneously, groups of police officers raided dozens of different locations in Districts 1, 3, 8 and the neighboring province of Binh Duong and arrested six other accomplices. This was only the first step in a long-term fight that Vietnamese police have been waging, in cooperation with their counterparts in neighboring Laos, against transnational drug trafficking rings that were bringing drugs into Vietnam through the border gates, a leader of the Anti-Drug Trafficking Department told VnExpress. Vietnam is a key trafficking hub for narcotics in and around the Golden Triangle, a lawless wedge of land that intersects China, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar and is the world's second largest drug producing region. Vietnam also has some of the worlds toughest drug laws. Those convicted of possessing or smuggling more than 600 grams of heroin or more than 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine face the death penalty. The production or sale of 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal narcotics is also punishable by death. Streets become streams in Hanoi as tropical depression rages Heavy rainfall from Friday night to Saturday morning inundated several parts of the city, with some areas under half a meter deep in water. Traffic came to a standstill in Yen Nghia District as vehicles avoided heavily flooded areas. Vehicles wade on Nguyen Trai Road. A bus on Quang Trung Street in downtown Hanoi. A person walks a motorcycle through the Duong Noi urban area. People make their way through a flooded street. Traffic slows to a crawl next to a bus station on Le Trong Tan Road. People help each other get a scooter off the flooded Nguyen Trai Road. A Hanoi Drainage Company worker on guard in Thai Ha Street. "I've been standing here since 5 a.m. to warn the people of possible sinkholes," he said. Vehicles create waves on Thai Ha Street. A motorcycle that stalled gets towed away in a pull cart. Several districts in Hanoi, including Hoang Mai, Ba Dinh and Dong Da have received continuous rainfall for the last 12 hours, with the gauge recording between 70 and 170 millimeters. Since last Friday, northern Vietnam has been experiencing heavy and persistent rainfalls due to the presence of a tropical depression, according The National Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Center. Storm Son Tinh made landfall in north central Vietnam on July 18 and weakened into a depression, but still caused torrential rains in the region and its northern neighbors. It is expected that the rainfall will continue for a few days more. Vietnam in danger of becoming a dump as China says no to trash China's ban on scrap imports has left the developed world scrambling for solutions and Vietnam facing the prospect of becoming a trash basket. Three of the most affordable beaches on earth are in Vietnam, according to TravelBird, a Netherlands-based travel site. Lets face it. Most travelers in the world are budget conscious. We make plans well in advance to be able to truly relax on beautiful beaches. So heres the good news. In its third annual Beach Price Index that breaks down the daily expenses of a beach holiday at 327 beautiful beaches in 90 countries and territories around the world, Vietnam has the top three places. Yes, you got it right. Three of the top cheapest beaches in the world are in Vietnam, not surprising, given the nations 3,000km long coastline. Tourists sunbathe at Cua Dai Beach in Hoi An. Photo by VnExpress/Nguyen Dong Cua Dai Beach near the famous ancient town of Hoi An came in first on the cheapest list at a daily cost of $15.65, followed by Nha Trangs City Beach ($16.85), and Long Beach on the southern island of Phu Quoc ($18.67). The rankings, released earlier this month, took into account the price of six popular beach purchases including sunscreen, water, beer, ice-cream, lunch and facility fees. Anse Vata Beach in New Caledonia, France, is the most expensive on earth, with beachgoers having to pay more than $91 for a typical day. Some other pricey beaches in the top 10 are in the the U.S., Australia, France and Norway. The bottom ten of the list is dominated by Vietnam and India, meaning that youd be wise to focus on these two countries in your beach itinerary. In 2015, TripAdvisor users voted Cua Dai the 18th greatest beach in Asia. This is the third year in a row that Cua Dai has been named in the list of the worlds most affordable beach holidays by TravelBird. International visitors to Vietnam skyrocketed to 27.2 percent from a year ago to 7.9 million in the first half of this year. The results appear to bode well for Vietnams target of welcoming 15-17 million foreign arrivals until late this year. Ukraine in talks with U.S., EU on possible sanctions against Russian Black Sea ports over Azov Sea pressure - minister Since the second half of April, Russian coast guards have systemically been inspecting foreign vessels bound for and heading from Ukraine ports, with the number of detained ships constantly increasing. If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter Representatives of Ukraine and Russia governments met in Berlin in an attempt to determine positions in the future gas negotiations; the Cabinet continued its fight against smuggling and, in the framework of economic deregulation efforts, simplified rules for foreigners' employment - these are the main economic news of the outgoing week. Ukrainian officials this week along with their counterparts from Russia, the country waging war against Ukraine, tried to determine positions in future negotiations on gas transit and supplies. After Putin's Russia turned gas supplies into a real weapon, this issue became one of the most acute ones in bilateral relations and spawned a number of "gas wars," forcing Ukraine a few years ago to fully reject Russian gas imports. At the EU initiative, Ukrainian officials in Berlin discussed with the Kremlin's envoys in the Ukraine-EU-Russia format the future of the contract for the transit of Russian gas via Ukraine's pipeline. The meeting was needed as the current transit contract with Russian Gazprom expires on December 31, 2019, while Ukraine could not directly agree on a new Naftogaz-Gazprom deal. The Kremlin's slow pace in the process is quite understandable as Russia has been actively promoting the construction of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline to Europe bypassing Ukraine. The new pipe is set to be completed exactly in 2019. Nostalgic for the Soviet Union, Ukraine's northern neighbor intends to reduce gas transit volumes via Ukrainian GTS by as much as possible - down to a mere 10-15 billion cubic meters a year, which would mean the collapse of the gas transmission system and billions in losses for the Ukrainian budget. Speaking as an interested mediator, the European Union never tires of repeating that Nord Stream 2 is an exclusively commercial project and that Ukraine will not lose its gas transit status, to the end thereof the EU vows to do everything possible. Naftogaz at the latest Berlin talks said that in order to preserve the volumes of transit it is ready to revise tariffs, namely, to reduce transmission fee from $2.7 to $2.2 per 1,000 cubic meters per 100 km. This will allow Ukraine GTS winning competition from the Nord Stream 2 which Russia has been promoting with the help of "Kremlin's European friends." But there was also a condition put forward before Gazprom to allow gas transit to the EU from Central Asia. Such position seems fair and, perhaps, had there been no politics in this issue, it I would have found support. But it is obvious that the Russian authorities do not want to give up on their "gas truncheon." Besides, their ego has been badly wounded by their losing in late February 2018 in the gas dispute with Naftogaz in the Stockholm Arbitration in February 2018. After all, according to the Swedish arbiters' award, Gazprom must pay the Ukrainian company $2.56 billion and supply to Ukraine in 2018-2019 some 10 billion cubic meters of gas at prices similar to those at German hubs. But paying Ukraine is something their dignity will not allow doing. Such conclusions are prompted by Vladimir Putin's recent statement that Russia will agree to extend the contract only if the Stockholm dispute is settled. In response, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin stressed that there is no way Russia will succeed in its attempt to settle cases already ruled on by the Stockholm Arbitration Court. "We need to follow generally accepted legal norms and international law," the Foreign Minister noted. However, Klimkin's words did not cool down the ardor of Russian authorities as the idea of a "peaceful settlement" in a Stockholm dispute was repeated at the tripartite talks in Berlin. The next round of negotiations between Ukraine, European Union and Russia on gas transit via Ukraine's GTS after 2019 are to be held in October this year. According to European Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, in September, a high-level meeting of top experts on gas transit will be held to lay foundations for the next tripartite meeting at the political level. The three parties will authorize high-level experts to work on four areas: EU gas demands; effect of EU rules' application in Ukraine on the future transit contract; certified GTS operator; and tariffs, according to the European Commissioner. Sefcovic suggested that the meetings could be held at intervals of six to eight weeks. The official added that the parties had agreed to separate the discussion of the new transit contract from older issues. At the same time, the European Commissioner said that the new agreement on the transit of gas via Ukraine, which will be signed after 2019, must comply with European law. Smuggling shall be stopped This week, the government reported on the first results of its intensified fight against smuggling, launched late June. Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman stated that the volume of violations detected in the last three weeks alone amounted to UAH 2.2 billion. They included understating customs value, outright smuggling (including of oil products), separating commercial batches into small parts to avoid taxation, etc. In addition, according to the government, the "Ukraine without smuggling" initiative has already allowed increasing customs clearance proceeds by an average of 20-34%. According to the Cabinet, an effective fight against smuggling will attract to the budget about UAH 100 billion. Groysman vowed further efforts to reveal various contraband schemes, claiming it would be "fair for Ukrainians and Ukraine." Among the main things in the Cabonet's focus is now timber smuggling. "Today I propose that the State Audit Service, the State Fiscal Service, the National Police, and the State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre to launch thorough business audits at all forestry enterprises across Ukraine, with concrete data on invoices, those who signed them, checkpoints of exit, and specific surnames," Groysman told a government meeting on July 18. He reported that information on schemes revealed had been forwarded to the Prosecutor General's Office. In addition, the government will request the EU data on batches that arrived from Ukraine. "And we will see that it was [cheap type] wood that had been shipped from Ukraine, while roundwood timber was entering [the EU]. I'm sure about that," the prime minister said. Also, at the suggestion of the Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelyan, the Cabinet instructed Ukrzaliznytsia to send to the authorities online all photos of railcars loaded with timber. The prime minister stressed that since June 1, nearly 1,000 rail cars with timber crossed out of Ukraine. "But behind each railcar, there is a signature. Everything has been registered. They documented themselves. Now the ball is on the pitch of the Prosecutor General's Office. I hope that they [perpetrators] will be tried by the new Anti-Corruption Court," the PM summed up. Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Ostap Semerak proposed allowing environmental inspections of forestry companies at the period time of logging. In fact, today in Ukraine, the earlier enforced moratorium on business inspections extends including on environmental checks. Groysman supported this initiative, at the same time noting that it is necessary to work out a plan of such inspections, as well as determine how the government will assess their effectiveness. Moving toward business ease In addition to fighting smuggling, the government was also engaged in further economic deregulation by approving yet another package of solutions to improve business climate, abolishing 22 obsolete regulatory acts in various spheres. It should be noted that the process of economic deregulation has been ongoing since 2014, involving the lifting or updating of most regulatory decisions. The latest major wave of deregulation was observed in late 2017, that's when the government abolished more than three hundred regulatory acts. Now the Cabinet has changed the procedure for maintaining the State Land Cadastre. In particular, the grounds were detailed for refusal to accept data, a preliminary check was introduced of necessary e-documents, and an online monitoring was installed of the processing status of all types of applications. "We expect that the number of refusals will be cut by 100,000 a year, thus saving businesses some UAH 60 million in direct costs alone," said First Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade Maksym Nefyodov. The Cabinet also simplified the employment of foreigners in Ukraine. "We are not talking about illegal immigrants coming to our country. It's about removing absolutely absurd norms of our legislation where someone who has already received a certificate for permanent employment ... must leave the territory of Ukraine and then re-enter," Nefyodov said. The corresponding decision will no further allow immigration authorities refusing residence permit applications on the grounds that the date of the applicant's entry into Ukraine precedes the date of him obtaining a work permit. In addition, the government abolished the norm on prohibiting the entry of data and keeping staff's labor books by foreign legal entities operating in Ukraine. Also, a positive signal for cell phone users was the government's decision to simplify access to infrastructure facilities for telecom operators. They repeatedly complained that one of the factors of poor mobile communication was complicated access to infrastructure. According to First Deputy Prime Minister Stepan Kubiv, the move will increase the number of connections to broadband access from 5 mln to 19 mln. New Supervisory Board at Ukrzaliznytsia Last week, finally, a long-awaited meeting took place of the new Supervisory Board of the national railroad operator Ukrzaliznytsia. With the last year's resignation of CEO Wojciech Balczun, the government twice announced a competition to select members of the Supervisory Board. Only in mid-2018 did the Cabinet of Ministers manage to approve the new composition of the Supervisory Board of the state holding, which is key for the development of the country's economy. It included seven people: Atlantic Council expert Anders Aslund, manager of the German railways operator Kun Christian, the world's leading expert in finance and accounting Andreas Mathieu, ex-head of the EBRD office in Ukraine Sevki Acuner, head of the Office for Investment in Government Ukraine, Daniel Bilak, government representative Kostyantyn Marievych, as well as another representative of the Investment Promotion Office, Ivan Yurik. At the first meeting of the Supervisory Board, its head was elected - ex-chief of the EBRD Ukraine Office Sevki Acuner. At the press conference that followed the meeting, he said that the government agreed to transfer to the Ukrzaliznytsia Supervisory Board the authority to appoint members of the company's board. At the moment, the Supervisory Board has reached a preliminary agreement with the government that they can submit their vision of a management team with which they would find it comfortable to work with, according to Acuner. In this regard, time will tell whether the acting head of the board of Ukrzaliznytsia, Yevhen Kravtsov, will remain head of the company. Next week, Ukraine farmers amid complicated weather conditions will continue to struggle for their harvest, while for the government it would be better to finally set the new gas tariffs in order to clear the path for the next IMF tranche to Ukraine. Oleksandr Kunytsky If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter Our objective is not to put Rusal out of business, the official added. The U.S. Treasury is open to removing Russian aluminum producer Rusal from a U.S. sanctions list, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Friday, adding the objective was not to put Rusal out of business. Mnuchins comment was the latest indication the Trump administration was trying to aid sanctions-hit Rusal, which has taken a series of steps to try to appease the U.S. government and get the restrictions lifted, according to Reuters. The U.S. Treasury in April imposed sanctions against billionaire Oleg Deripaska and the eight companies in which he is a large shareholder, including Rusal, in response to what it called malign activities by Russia. But the sanctions caused havoc in the global aluminum market, prompting several countries and companies to successfully lobby Treasury for a softening of the terms on Rusal. The company has approached us on certain de-listing issues (from the Specially Designated Nationals List), Mnuchin said in an interview with Reuters in Sao Paulo ahead of G20 finance meetings this weekend in Argentina. Read alsoUkraine in talks with U.S., EU on possible sanctions against Russian Black Sea ports over Azov Sea pressure - minister Im not going to go into the exact specifics of what those proposals are and where we stand on them, but, yes, if we can find an acceptable solution, that is our objective, Mnuchin said. Our objective is not to put Rusal out of business, he added, acknowledging that Rusal was important to the global aluminum market. Last month Rusal shareholders elected a new board of directors, dominated by independent directors and operational managers. Deripaska and a team of his top managers stepped down from Rusals board of directors in May and are currently working on several options to reduce his control over the company. Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze has stressed that one of the most important results of the Ukraine-EU summit held in July was the political approval of the sectoral integration of the country in several priority areas. "On the eve of the summit, the Ukrainian side offered the European Union a mechanism for integration in several priority areas: energy and digital markets, customs, justice, freedom, and security. After political approval at the summit, the bodies of the association must develop, agree and finally endorse this mechanism," she wrote in an article for the Dzerkalo Tyzhnia. Ukraine weekly. She explained that this mechanism is similar to the one used during the fulfillment of requirements for granting Ukraine a visa-free regime with the EU. "It should specify the list of decisions that Ukraine should make, provide for the overall work of the institutions in Kyiv and Brussels to develop this list and monitor compliance with the requirements. It will also include the ultimate goal of joining certain sectoral agreements and EU conventions, for example, integration into the European energy market and the single digital market of the European Union de facto," the official added. In her opinion, this mechanism, first of all, will allow Ukraine moving along the path of sectoral integration, "having a real road map for reforms and decisions." Who doesnt want to look fit and perfect, right? I mean, almost all of us have been running in this... President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has signed the law on ratification of the agreement between the government of Ukraine and the government of Finland on implementing the project "Finnish Support for the Ukrainian School Reform," the presidential press service has reported. The Verkhovna Rada passed the law on July 3, 2018. The agreement between the governments of Ukraine and Finland on implementing the project "Finnish Support for the Ukrainian School Reform" was signed in Kyiv on March 5, 2018. The document is the legal basis for the effective implementation of the project and attraction of technical assistance from the government of Finland in support of the reform of general secondary education in Ukraine. According to the agreement, within the framework of the project it is planned to attract up to EUR6 million of technical assistance from Finland to support the reform of secondary education in Ukraine. The project will be implemented in 2018-2021. The United States of America has decided to issue $200 million to Ukraine to strengthen security and defense in the 2018 budget year, the Ukrainian Embassy in the United States has reported. "The United States has decided to issue $200 million to Ukraine for strengthening security and defense in 2018. These funds will be used to provide our country with military equipment and services, logistics support and the training of the Ukrainian Armed Forces," reads a report on the embassy's Facebook page. The Ukrainian embassy is confident that providing Kyiv with another financial aid is the confirmation of the unchanged position of the United States on the further support of Ukraine. "Washington's decision to provide our state with $200 million in 2018 through the Pentagon is the evidence of the unchanged position of the U.S. regarding support for Ukraine in its counteraction to Russian aggression and the recognition that Kyiv continues a consistent movement on the path of reforms in the security and defense sector," the report says. Commenting on this decision of the United States, First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Iryna Gerashchenko said on Facebook this became possible, in particular, thanks to the adopted law on national security, which was highly appreciated by Ukrainian partners and criticized by the Ukrainian parliamentary opposition. Washington is not considering the issue of supporting a possible referendum in Donbas, Spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council Garrett Marquis has said. "The Administration is not considering supporting a referendum in eastern Ukraine. The Minsk Agreements are the process for resolving the conflict in Donbas, and these agreements do not include any option for referendum. Furthermore, to organize a so-called referendum in a part of Ukraine which is not under government control would have no legitimacy," the embassy wrote on its Facebook page, with reference to the official. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin claims that there is no prospect for the Kremlin's idea to hold a referendum in the occupied territories of Donbas, given the impossibility of free and fair expression of people's will in conditions of occupation. "Many experts and journalists call me: ask me to comment on the Russian proposal for a "referendum in Donbas"... As for this insolence I will say briefly: no one, literally nobody, believes in any opportunity for free and fair expression of will in Donbas in conditions of Russian occupation. As for political and legal aspects, everything is clear," Klimkin wrote on Facebook. At the same time, the minister expressed conviction that Russia is not interested in Donbas and the citizens of Ukraine living in this region. According to him, the steps and statements of Russian authorities on changing the status of the occupied Ukrainian region, as well as statements about changing the state structure of the country towards federalization are aimed at breaking up Ukraine. Ukraine is preparing a resolution to the UN General Assembly on the state of human rights in the annexed Crimea as of the end of this year, Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Olena Zerkal has stated. "We are preparing another resolution to the General Assembly on Crimea at the end of the year," Zerkal said on the air of Channel Five. She also noted that Ukraine is delivering its position on the rights of the Crimean Tatar population, restoring the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine on all international platforms, including parliamentary committees and international organizations. The deputy minister also specified that the International Court of Justice of the United Nations on the eve reminded the Russian Federation of the need to comply with the order to restore the activity of the Mejlis in the framework of Ukraine's lawsuit against Russia for violating the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. As reported, the UN General Assembly earlier adopted two resolutions on human rights in Crimea, on December 19, 2016 and December 19, 2017. Ukraine exported conventional weapons to six countries under contracts in 2017, the Ukrainian State Service of Export Control said in a report detailing international transfers of individual types of Ukrainian armaments last year. The figures published by the Ukrainian State Service of Export Control since 2004 are a key to the annual United Nations Register of Conventional Arms. According to the latest report, in 2017 Ukraine exported 16 units of armored military hardware, namely 16 Oplot main battle tanks to Thailand, and also more than 17,000 small arms and over 800 light weapons to the United States, Uzbekistan, Jordan, Mongolia, and Turkey. According to the figures, the main importer of Ukrainian small arms and light weapons in 2017 was the United States, which bought 15,040 automatic weapons and submachine guns, and also 790 portable anti-tank rifles and grenade launchers. Uzbekistan purchased 2,000 automatic weapons and submachine guns from Ukraine last year. A total of 22 portable anti-tank rifles and grenade launchers, two hand-held under-barrel and mounted grenade launchers, and one revolver were exported to Jordan, ten rifles were delivered to Mongolia, and three trigger mechanisms for anti-aircraft guns were exported to Turkey. Referendum in Donbas would be illegitimate - U.S. Department of State Spokesperson of the U.S. Department of State Heather Nauert has confirmed that the U.S. Administration does not consider the issue of supporting a possible referendum on independence in the east of Ukraine. "To be clear: the Administration is not considering supporting a referendum in Eastern Ukraine - a "referendum" would have no legitimacy. We continue to support the Minsk agreements for solving the conflict in Donbas," she wrote on Twitter. Earlier Spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council Garrett Marquis made a similar statement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told Russian President Vladimir Putin that Israel will continue to target Iranian military assets in Syria. The prime ministers office on July 20 wrote on Twitter that the Israeli leader told Putin during a phone converstaion that "Israel would continue to act against the establishment of an Iranian military presence in Syria." Israel has repeatedly warned Iran not to beef up its military presence in Syria and has staged several deadly air strikes against what it said were Iranian and Hizballah positions and facilities in Syria. Netanyahu on July 11 said he told Putin during a Kremlin meeting that he should encourage Iranian forces to leave Syria. Putin has tried to maintain close relations with Iran and Syria, even while trying to develop closer ties with Netanyahu and Israel. The Netanyahu-Putin call came four days after the Russian leader met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Helsinki. Trump said at a news conference following the summit that Syria and the security of Israel were among the many topics he and Putin had discussed. The U.S. president on July 19 said on Twitter that he was looking forward to a second meeting with Putin to implement "some of the many things discussed, including...security for Israel," although no details were announced. Iran and Russia back Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the country's seven-year-long civil war, while the United States backs rebels fighting against Assad's rule. ANKARA, July 20 (Reuters) An explosion at an Iranian oil storage facility in the central industrial zone of Khomein on Friday killed two people and wounded another, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. "An oil purifier unit in the Khomein facility caught fire around noon ... which caused a blast in which two people were killed," the deputy governor of Iran's Markazi province, Fatollah Haghighi, told Tasnim. "The fire has been completely contained but firefighters will remain at the scene until the cooling operation is completed." The official said that technical issues caused the fire. (Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Louise Heavens) Washington will be more aggressive in implementing measures against Iran, a United States official revealed on July 20. Speaking to journalists in Ankara after meetings with Turkish authorities, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorist Financing Marshall Billingslea said, We talked about the details of the [U.S.] sanctions [imposed on Tehran]. What we explored with the government of Turkey are potential implications for Turkish companies and Turkish economy for different measures. We agreed today that, as allies, this is something that we have to continue to study and continue to exchange details on. On July 19 U.S. official held meetings with Turkish companies the next day, July 20 they meet with officials from the Foreign Ministry, Treasury, and Central Bank. As many Turkish companies are prime trade partners with Tehran, Washington and Ankara are seeking to avoid any misunderstandings before the main batch of U.S. sanctions against Iran is implemented in November. After the talks, the Turkish Foreign Ministry, said in a statement, Turkish authorities are carrying out the necessary work for Turkey not to be negatively impacted by the upcoming sanctions and holding consultations with our American counterparts. Furthermore, the statement said, Iran is an important neighbor for Turkey, in view of both our bilateral economic and commercial relations as well as our energy imports. Therefore, we will continue to monitor U.S. sanctions within this framework. According to AP, both parties described the talks as positive." Referring to Iran as the worlds worst sponsor of terrorism," Billingslea noted, This was the first series of the conversations about sanctions, and there will be many more to come. While insisting that it was too early to talk of exemptions for Turkey, the U.S. official said, We are very sensitive about the possible effects [of the sanctions] on the Turkish economy. Thats why we are discussing the very, very specific matters of concerns for both countries. At this stage, we are not at a position to suggest that we are issuing waivers or exemptions. It would be premature to discuss that. Rather, we have to understand the content, the specifics of all these different business transactions so we can make assessments in Washington and make the best recommendations as possible. The first batch of U.S. re-imposed sanctions is scheduled to be implemented at the beginning of August, followed by the second batch, including sanctions on oil trade and the Central Bank of Iran, which will be implemented in November. We need Turkish companies and Turkish banks to recognize that the reason we gave a full 180 days before the implementation of those sanctions was to allow those companies enough time to wind their business [with Iran] down, Billingslea said, adding that it is up to the U.S. State Department to declare whether the U.S. sanctions will be zero imports of subject goods or a significant reduction. However, Billingslea added, If the Turkish companies want to continue to do business with the Iranians in those prescribed areas, then they have to understand that they will not do business in the U.S. market or in the U.S. financial system." According to Turkish Hurriyet Daily News, when asked how the U.S. will enforce the sanctions against Iran to be more successful than the previous experience, in which countries such as Turkey conducted trade in gold, the U.S. official said, The treasury sanctions will be enforced very, very aggressively and very comprehensively, even more. So, you should expect that we will be much more active than the past. I think the Turkish government understands our position on that. In terms of efforts to avoid sanctions, we will certainly encourage that efforts not be made. We certainly would be very, very concerned about trying to trade with Iran in gold. That is something that will become sanction in the beginning of August, Hurriyet cited the U.S. official as saying. But it would certainly be a very bad idea to think that when somebody is going to trade with Iran in gold and avoid U.S. actions if that occurs, he continued. Billingsleas visit coincided with a significant drop in the volume of Iranian oil exported to Turkey. A Reuters report on July 20 cited an analyst you said that Tupras, Turkeys biggest oil importer, cut back purchases of Iranian crude oil since May, when the United States said it would re-impose sanctions on Tehran. According to Reuters, "NATO member Turkey depends heavily on imports to meet its energy needs and neighboring Iran has been one of its main sources of oil because of its proximity, crude quality, and favorable price differentials, traders say." While denying that Irans oil-for-goods deal with Russia is part of a Tehran-Moscow cooperation package, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has expressed his dissatisfaction with proposals by European countries. During an interview with Euronews' Global Conversation, Zarif made clear that the European side needs to be resolute in their support for the JCPOA Zarif demanded that Iran should not be the only side in this deal that has been investing, Zarif said he does not believe the oil-for-goods deal is part of a cooperation package with Russia. "Its a much bigger package, and it includes a lot of other variables, including possibilities for energy cooperation between Iran and Russia," he maintained. Although Europe has politically committed itself to JCPOA, Zarif argued, We have seen a political commitment on the part of Europe. We have seen some technical measures put on the ground. But these are not enough. Elaborating on what would be enough for Tehran, Zarif said, If Europeans are interested indeed in preserving the deal, then they have to be prepared to invest for it. Iran should not be the only side in this deal that has been investing. We need to see banks opening accounts, we need to see SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) coming to Iran, engaging with their partners in the private sector, and so on and so forth. He added that working with Europeans has not yet ended. Work is underway as we speak so that we test the possibility. We have given Europe some time. There are two very specific timeframes. One is the timeframe of the first batch of U.S. sanctions that will be in place in August, and the other timeframe is the second batch of U.S. sanctions, which will be in place in November. And well see how Europe is dealing with this and we will respond, accordingly, and we have a very specific plan. However, Iranian authorities have so far preferred to keep the details of a European package secret and avoid elaboration on their specific plan. Echoing Zarifs dissatisfaction, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh also said on July 21 that Tehran is not happy with the package proposed by Europe. On July 5, it was reported that members of the European Parliament had proposed a motion that, if passed, would allow the European Investment Bank (EIB) to cooperate with Tehran despite U.S. sanctions. However the EIB remains skeptical about such moves. EIB President Werner Hoyer said that Iran is where we cannot play an active role. The main concern for the EIB is if the organization will retain access to U.S. market for financing of its operations. Euronews asked Zarif what Irans expectations are amid such an environment. We see that under pressure from the U.S., under the psychological atmosphere that the U.S. has tried to create, some European companies have already started to withdraw. And that should be confronted by the Europeans, Zarif said. There are many European companies, many of them have no exposure in the U.S., many of them have no dealings with the U.S. [that can come forward and cooperate with Tehran]. Despite Zarifs denial, the deputy chairman of Irans Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture, Pedram Soltani, said on July 17 that exchanging oil for goods could be a way of getting around the U.S. sanctions re-imposed after the United States pulled out of the nuclear deal in May. Such a tactic was employed during Mahmud Ahmadinejads presidency, when Iran struggled with international sanctions. Instead of directly paying for Iranian oil, special bank accounts were set up where oil buyers deposited money that could only be used to buy certain commodities. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on July 13 that a deal through which Russia would provide goods to Iran in exchange for oil is still a possibility. Moscow is studying the legal issues related to a possible deal, he said. "We are interested in Iran having the opportunity to buy Russian goods, work, and services, to increase trade turnover and develop relations," Russian News Agency, TASS, cited Novak as saying. The oil-for-goods program does not imply a direct purchase of oil from Tehran by Moscow, the minister said. "This is not the purchase by Russia and not by Russian enterprises," Novak added. Baku, Azerbaijan, July 21 Trend: Over the past 24 hours, Armenias armed forces have 82 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said July 21. Armenias armed forces were using heavy machine guns and sniper rifles. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. Baku, Azerbaijan, July 21 Trend: A serviceman of the Azerbaijani army, soldier Samad Alyshov was killed as a result of the gross violation of the ceasefire by the Armenian armed forces. Azerbaijan's Ministry of Defense expresses its deep condolences to the relatives and friends of the martyr. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. Baku, Azerbaijan, July 21 By Fikret Dolukhanov - Trend: Numerous contracts signed during the visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to France are another victory of the foreign economic policy of the country's leadership, member of the parliamentary committee on economic policy, industry and entrepreneurship, MP Rufat Guliyev told Trend July 21. The MP reminded that France has one of the strongest Armenian lobbies in Europe, and against this background, the conclusion of contracts worth more than $2 billion between Azerbaijani and French companies is an absolute success. "France is one of the three leading countries in Europe in terms of economic power. French companies are usually the most developed companies in their spheres both in Europe and in the world as a whole. Such contracts will allow the two countries to get to know each other even better and deeper. On the other hand, they will also become a kind of example for other European countries, which will strive for even deeper and closer cooperation with Baku," Guliyev said. The MP noted that European countries treat Azerbaijan with high confidence as the most stable state of the former Soviet Union. "Azerbaijan always fulfills the tasks set before itself on the international arena. Baku has repeatedly proved this, especially after the implementation of its huge transport, logistics and energy projects. The world is becoming more and more convinced that Azerbaijan is a permanent and reliable partner," the MP said. Guliyev stressed that as a result, Azerbaijan is gaining an increasing reputation on the international arena. "As you can see, the last meetings of the president are aimed at building the foreign economic potential of Azerbaijan. Politics is a concentrated expression of the economy. With such economic success we will achieve even greater political power," the MP concluded. Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov Details added (first version posted on 14:00) Baku, Azerbaijan, July 21 Trend: Anar Bagirov, a member of an organized criminal group involved in a number of grave crimes in Azerbaijans Ganja city, has been eliminated by a special operational group of the State Security Service of Azerbaijan as he showed armed resistance, reads a joint statement by the Prosecutor Generals Office, the Interior Ministry and the State Security Service on July 21. In connection with the crimes committed in Ganja city on July 3 and July 10, as a result of joint intensive and urgent investigative actions and operational search activities, eight more people were detained, and a preventive measure in the form of arrest was chosen in their regard. It was established on July 20 that previously convicted Anar Bagirov, who is one of the active members of the organized group, who committed grave crimes in Ganja and was in close relations with Yunis Safarov, was hiding in the Khojasan settlement of Binagadi district of Baku, said the statement. He was wanted as a suspect according to the relevant articles of Azerbaijans Criminal Code regarding the events in Ganja. Bagirov was killed as a result of a retaliatory measure when he showed armed resistance, according to the message. During inspection of the accident scene and the body, a Makarov pistol and ammunition were found and seized as evidence. Presently, the necessary operational and search measures continue in order to fully establish the number of persons who committed the crime. On July 10, at approximately 8 p.m. (GMT+4), a group of 150-200 people of radical religious orientation attempted to disrupt public order by meeting in the square in front of the Ganja City Executive Power building, the joint statement of the Prosecutor General's Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Security Service said earlier. Ignoring the police warnings, the crowd resisted by using cold weapons. A group of people of radical religious orientation, who tried to disrupt public order in Ganja, attacked police officers on July 10. Two police officers, Deputy Head of the Main Police Department of Ganja city Colonel Ilgar Balakishiyev, as well as Deputy Head of the Police Department of the Nizami district of Ganja city Colonel-Lieutenant Samad Abbasov were killed in the attacks. As a result of the operative search activities carried out by Azerbaijans law enforcement officers, Farruh Gasimov was arrested and handed over to the investigators, while Rashad Boyukkishiyev was eliminated July 13 as he showed armed resistance to police officers. In total, 22 people were arrested for the crimes committed July 10. This is while 13 people were arrested and 8 people were declared wanted in connection with the assassination attempt on the head of the Executive Power of Ganja city Elmar Valiyev on July 3. Baku, Azerbaijan, July 21 Trend: Azerbaijan's defense minister, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov held an official meeting with the participation of the ministry's leadership at the Central Command Point on July 21, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said in a message. The meeting involved also the commanders of the army corpses and formations via video communication. Analyzing the current situation in the frontline zone and other places of deployment of the troops based on the results of exercises, the reports of commanders, as well as the results of inspections held on comprehensive activities of the troops, the minister of defense issued relevant instructions. Hasanov defined the tasks to increase an operational efficiency and combat readiness of troops, high maneuverability and accurate interoperability of units and formations with the aim of the timely concentration of forces and means in the areas of possible combat operations by strict observance of the requirements of covert control and field camouflaging. The minister also gave instructions on general issues of strict compliance with security measures, especially fire safety, as well as an uninterruptible and comprehensive provision of troops. Baku, Azerbaijan, July 21 Trend: Azerbaijan is an active partner of both Russia and Russian public organizations, Vladimir Zorin, a member of the Russian Presidential Council on Interethnic Relations, told "Vestnik Kavkaza" during the Congress of the Peoples of Russia, dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the public organization of the Assembly of the Peoples of Russia. "I think, we will constructively interact further on this site. Azerbaijan is one of the most prominent, visible states on the Eurasian space, which plays a very large role both as a moderator and as a platform for dialogue in the Caucasus region", he said. Zorin stressed that Azerbaijan's participation in the Assembly of Peoples of Eurasia has a great perspective. Baku, Azerbaijan, July 21 Trend: Black Star Burger restaurant is planned to open in Tashkent soon, Podrobno.uz reported referring to CEO and Founder of GOSHT Groop Abdurashid Iminov. Iminov said one of the founders of the Black Star Burger chain Timati will attend the opening of the restaurant. It will be situated in the residential area -1. "We have created a restaurant of a new formation, which makes meals deliciously, with high quality and fast. We compare ourselves in quality with the world leaders of the level of Burger Umami, Gordon Ramsey, and we stand very democratically on a par with McDonald's in terms of the pricing policy", Manager of the Black Star Burger project Victor Gor said earlier. Black Star Burger is a joint project of businessman Yuri Levitas and music label Timati Black Star. The first restaurant in Moscow opened in September 2016 and is remembered by Muscovites for giant queues at the entrance. As a result, Black Star Burger on Novy Arbat paid off in 5 months, Yuri Levitas told Vedomosti newspaper. Yuri Levitas said in a conversation with RBC TV channel that he decided to use the media capabilities of Black Star Inc. for the development of the project, relying on the 20 million group of subscribers of the music label in Instagram alone. Baku, Azerbaijan, July 21 By Azad Hasanli - Trend: A factory for the production of granite and artificial marble will be opened in Azerbaijan in 1H2019, said a message from the country's Ministry of Economy. The construction site of the factory of the NB Procurement and Trade ("NB Satinalma ve Tijaret") company in Ganja has been visited by the Minister of Economy Shahin Mustafayev within the framework of his visit to Goygol district, where he received citizens. The cost of the project is 46.5 million manats. The ministry issued a document for investment promotion and the National Fund for Entrepreneurship Support allocated a preferential loan for 10 million manats for the construction of the factory. The production capacity of the factory will be three million square meters of artificial marble, ceramic granite, tiles and other products per year. The staff of the plant will consist of 280 people. The ministry noted that the plant will be able to meet the domestic demand and to export products to other countries. The plant will prevent the outflow of more than 30 million manats from the country. The minister also received residents of Shamkir, Goranboy and Goygol districts during the visit. Follow the author on Twitter: @AzadHasanli Baku, Azerbaijan, July 21 By Ali Mustafayev - Trend: Azerbaijan plans to increase its exports to Russia by the end of 2018, trade representative of Azerbaijan to Russia Ruslan Aliyev told Trend. "The main share in the increase in exports will fall on fruits and vegetables (persimmon, hazelnuts, tomatoes, potatoes), jet kerosene, cotton, aluminum and others," Aliyev said. He also noted that it is planned to open new wine houses of Azerbaijan in Russia in the near future. "In particular, wine houses are planned to be opened in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Astrakhan and Yekaterinburg," Aliyev said. The products worth $349.23 million were exported from Azerbaijan to Russia from January to June 2018, which is 5.76 percent more than in 1H2017. The volume of imports from Russia, in turn, amounted to $788.21 million, which is 0.29 percent more than in the first six months of 2017. Russia has been included in the list of Azerbaijan's five largest trade partners in January-June 2018 with the volume of trade turnover of $ 1.14 billion (8.54 percent of the total volume of trade turnover). In addition to Russia, this list includes Italy with a trade turnover of $2.07 billion and a specific weight of 15.52 percent, Turkey-$1.41 billion (10.61 percent), Israel $723.01 million (5.43 percent) and Germany $665.05 million (4.99 percent). Follow the author on Twitter: @Ali_Mustafayev Baku, Azerbaijan, July 21 By Fikret Dolukhanov Trend: President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev ordered to commission the first stage of the aboveground metro in Tashkent on the eve of celebration of Navruz national holiday (March 20-21) in 2019, the presidential press service stated. The corresponding orders were given during a visit of the president to the Yashnabad district of the capital. Construction of new metro lines, the total length of which is 52.1 kilometers, is carried out in five stages. On the first stage, a line will be laid from the Dustlik station of the Tashkent Metro to the Kuilyuk market. On this 11-kilometer segment 8 stations will be built. It is wrong that public transport depends on oil and gas. The aboveground metro is accessible, convenient and safe means of transportation. Most importantly, it will take on some of the burden of other types of public transport and help relieve the roads in the city center. Moreover, it will be easier to control the charging of fare, Shavkat Mirziyoyev said. The head of state ordered to accelerate the work, organize it in several shifts and complete the construction as early as possible. The French company Alstom earlier told Trend that they expect clarity regarding construction of rail ring around Tashkent to propose corresponding products. What is not yet sure for us is how this ring is going to work. Is it going to be single network ring connection like in Moscow or is it going to be suburban train that will go around the city and connect with the outside. On top of that, it is not yet clear how the connection between metro network and this ring is going to be done, Peille said. The company added that they continue discussions in this regard with Tashkent Metro and Tashkent municipality. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov Baku, Azerbaijan, July 21 Trend: Angren Rubber Products Plant and the Indonesian Rubber Association (GAPKINDO) have agreed to supply natural rubber to Uzbekistan, Podrobno.uz reported. A protocol of cooperation between the two sides was signed during the recent visit of the executive staff of the Angren Rubber Products (RP) Plant to Indonesia. During the talks, the parties discussed the supply of natural rubber from Indonesia to the Angren RP plant, where it is planned to establish the production of tires and conveyor belts. A protocol was signed at the end of the talks. Indonesia has the world's largest, a 3.6 million hectares of rubber plantations and shares with Thailand the world leadership in rubber production, by producing 3.5 million tons of natural rubber annually. Given that this type of product is not produced in the Central Asian region, its supply and processing in Uzbekistan has great prospects not only for covering the domestic needs, but also for re-exporting it to all countries of the region. Uzbekistan could become a kind of hub for the entry of Indonesian companies manufacturing industrial rubber products using natural rubber into markets of all countries of Central Asia and the CIS. Baku, Azerbaijan, July 21 Trend: The National Bank of Uzbekistan has held talks with the French NATIXIS corporate and investment bank during the seventh meeting of the Intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation between Uzbekistan and France, UzDaily.uz reported referring to the press service of the bank. The sides discussed the issues of expanding cooperation in financing the investment projects, including the projects of small business and private entrepreneurship entities, providing for the import of high-tech equipment and services from France and other European Union countries. The issues of long-term cooperation, the conclusion of agreements in the field of the export financing and the allocation of loans for support to strategic projects were also discussed. Establishment of cooperation with Natixis corporate and investment bank will give a new impetus to the development of trade and economic relations between the two countries and will contribute to the further entry of French business into Uzbekistan market. Baku, Azerbaijan, July 21 By Leman Zeynalova - Trend: S&P Global Ratings said today that it affirmed its 'B/B' long and short-term issuer credit ratings and outlook on Kazakhstan-based Bank CenterCredit. We also raised our long-term Kazakhstan national scale rating on the bank to 'kzBBB-' from 'kzBB+'. The outlook on the global scale rating is stable, said the report. The global scale rating affirmation reflects our expectation that the bank's asset quality indicators will continue to gradually improve through recoveries and write-offs. We raised the local scale rating because we now view the bank's relative creditworthiness as stronger than other comparable local peers with the same global scale rating. S&P expects gradual improvement in the bank's asset quality indicators through recoveries and write-offs of legacy problem loans. BCC's reported NPLs are currently at system average, and still relate mostly to legacy problem loans generated before 2008. According to consolidated accounts prepared under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), BCC's NPLs decreased to 9.7 percent as of March 31, 2018 from 14.6 percent two years earlier. Restructured loans accounted for an additional 17 percent of total loans as of year-end 2017, which is in line with domestic peers. Our view of BCC's risk position also reflects the bank's sizable single-name and sector lending concentrations and comparable loan-loss experience to other midsize Kazakh banks. S&P considers BCC's funding to be comparable to other Kazakh banks, reflecting funding by retail and corporate customer deposits complemented by local senior unsecured bonds and subordinated debt. The bank's average stable funding ratio over the past five years of 122 percent (as calculated by S&P Global Ratings) supports this assessment. We view BCC's liquidity position as adequate reflecting its adequate share of broad liquid assets, which covered wholesale debt maturing in the next 12 months by 5.7x as of March 31, 2108. In addition, broad liquid assets covered about one-third of all customer deposits, which compares positively to deposit outflows of 7 percent in 2017. Given BCC's market position as the seventh-largest Kazakh bank by assets and its sizable market share in lending and retail deposits, S&P considers the bank to have moderate systemic importance for the Kazakhstan banking sector. We believe it would likely receive extraordinary support from the government if required. Accordingly, the issuer credit rating is one notch higher than the stand-alone credit profile to reflect potential extraordinary government support. The stable outlook on Bank CenterCredit reflects S&P expectation that its business and financial profiles will remain broadly unchanged over the next 12 months. JSC Bank CenterCredit is one of the top commercial banks in Kazakhstan in terms of assets and total deposits. The Banks primary business consists of corporate and retail banking. Its corporate banking activities include a broad range of wholesale banking products to a diversified group of domestic customers, primarily small and medium sized companies. The Banks retail banking activities and products include retail lending and deposit taking and credit and debit cards. The Bank is also an active participant in the fixed income securities market and foreign currency markets in Kazakhstan. The Banks objects, as set out in the Banks Articles of Association, are to promote the development of the state economy and to ensure the receipt of dividends by the Banks shareholders through a variety of banking operations in compliance with the laws of Kazakhstan. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn Baku, Azerbaijan, July 21 By Fikret Dolukhanov Trend: Recent interest in exploration projects in Uzbekistan from Korea National Oil Corporation and Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR (with BP) attests to greater optimism about the country's exploration potential, Ashley Sherman, principal analyst, Caspian & Europe Upstream oil and gas, at Wood Mackenzie, told Trend. Uzbekistan's economic reforms most notably currency liberalization and convertibility are having a positive impact on the oil and gas sector of the country, according to Sherman. He noted that the business climate and regional relations are improving and foreign investors are re-evaluating the Uzbek opportunity set for both strategic and commercial reasons. "CNPC commissioned its Karakul gas project in 2017 and Gazprom and partners signed a new Production Sharing Contract for a sour gas field ('25 years of independence'). Appraisal drilling there is Uzbekistan's key well to watch in 2018," Sherman said. He added, however, that Uzbekistan, like any country, has to compete for investment against many other oil and gas opportunities in the region and across the globe. Sherman also pointed that of Uzbekistan's most strategic energy projects, more are in the downstream sector. "From expansion of the Shurtan Gas Chemical Complex and long-planned GTL facility to the new $2.2 billion Jizzakh oil refinery - here external financing and international expertise are needed. Technology licensing is a likely area for increased international involvement, perhaps more so than new oil and gas production projects," Sherman concluded. It was announced on May 16 that the Uzbekneftegaz JSC, State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and BP Exploration (Caspian Sea) signed memorandums of understanding to carry out technical research into the possibility of jointly exploring and developing deposits in Uzbekistan as well as the possibility of conducting geological explorations at investment blocks in Uzbekistan. On top of that, Uzbekneftegaz JSC and KNOC Fergana signed a protocol on the date of entry into force of the "Agreement on Geological Exploration at the Dekhkanabad and Tashkurgan Investment Blocks in the South-Western Gissar Region of Uzbekistan". Implementation of the aforementioned documents will allow introducing advanced foreign technologies and solutions to improve efficiency of exploration and extraction of hydrocarbons, contributing to discovery of new deposits as well as improvement of skills of local specialists. In January-May 2018, Uzbekistan produced 466 thousand tons of gas, which is 0.6 percent more than in the same period in 2017. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov Tehran, Iran, July 21 By Kamyar Eghbalnejad, A. Shirazi - Trend: The head of Iran-Turkey Trade Council rejected remarks by US Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing Marshall Billingslea that his talks in Ankara against Iran were very positive. (It is not something new and) Americans always make such claims, Reza Kami told Trend on July 21. He added that senior Turkish officials have repeatedly stressed their countrys opposition to the unilateral US sanctions against Iran, noting, I believe Turkey will not follow the US at this juncture. His remarks came after Billingslea, who met with Turkish treasury and Foreign Ministry officials on Friday, said his talks in Ankara were very positive and there was no hostility on either side. Turkeys Foreign Ministry said it was monitoring the sanctions and authorities were working to ensure Turkey is not negatively impacted by the upcoming sanctions. "I think the Turkish government understands our position on that, the US official further said, adding, "Iran may be a neighbor of Turkey but they are not a friend or an ally. Turkey, in its statement, had said Iran was an "important neighbor" for "economic and commercial relations, as well as our energy imports." The head of Iran-Turkey Trade Council further said that Ankara stood by Iran during the years of sanctions in 2012 and 2013 when the volume of trade between the two nations reached $22 billion. Iran-Turkey ties are at a good level and talks have long been underway to boost bilateral trade ties between the two countries, Kami said. President of Petroleum Association of Japan Takashi Tsukioka called for continuation of oil imports from Iran and asked Japanese government to hold negotiations with the US government in order to be excluded from sanctions to purchase oil from Iran, according to IRNA. Takashi Tsukioka told reporters that Japan is poor in natural resources and strongly needs Iran's crude oil, as one of its suppliers. He said this is illogical that Japan to be affected by the US sanctions, and called on Japanese government to ask US to exempt Japan from this prohibition. Tsukioka said if Japanese government cannot convince the US until late September, the Japanese companies should purchase oil from other countries instead of Iran. Following exit of the US from JCPOA , the US officials declared that Iranian crude oil purchasers should stop importing oil from Iran until November 4, 2018, otherwise will fall in the US secondary sanctions list. The US secondary sanctions against Iran's crude oil purchasers, which is contrary to international trade, caused negative reaction of different countries and some countries asked to be exempted from it and a number of countries announced they will not obey the rule. Baku, Azerbaijan, July 21 Trend: At least 11 members of Irans para-military Basij and IRGC forces were killed in armed clash in western Iran early morning, Irans state-run IRINN TV reported July 21. The clash took place at 2:30 local time, after members of a terrorist group attacked a rural Basij base in border areas with Iraq near Marivan city, Kurdistan province, Mohammad Shafie, governer general of Marivan said. Paramilitary volunteer militia, Basij is one of the five forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Eight Basij members were also injured in the attack, Shafie added. Deputy governer general for security and political affairs of Kurdistan province told Fars news agency that the attack was carried out by PJAK terrorist group, an offshoot of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far, according to the local officials. Irans northwest has repeatedly witnessed attacks by terrorist groups, including members of PJAK. Baku, Azerbaijan, July 21 Trend: Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called for continuation of negotiations with the Europeans after withdrawal of the US from nuclear deal. Khamenei made the remarks during a meeting with Iranian ambassadors and heads of Irans missions abroad on July 21, the official website of the leader reported. Negotiations with the Europeans need not to stop, Khamenei said, adding that however, we should not linger, waiting for the European pack. Meanwhile, the numerous tasks that need to be carried out inside the country should be followed up. He further said that resolving the country's problems through negotiation or relations with the US is a clear mistake. I have previously pointed out that US governments words or even signatures cannot be relied on, thus negotiations with the US are useless. The US has fundamental issues with the essence of the Islamic establishment. Moreover, there are many countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America which have relations with the United States, yet they are facing plenty of problems, Khamenei added. The Iranian leader said that the US opposition to Iran's nuclear and high-level uranium enrichment capabilities as well as its presence in region' arises from deep enmity towards the Islamic Republics power elements. Regional influence is among Iran's power, security elements and strategic backdrop, that's why they oppose it, he said. Khamenei went on to add that the US authorities seek to return to the position and status they enjoyed in Iran before the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and they will not be content with anything less than that. Baku, Azerbaijan, July 21 By Leman Zeynalova - Trend: Drying of Lake Urmia would caus many consequences such as social, economic, cultural problems for Iran, Hossein Shahbaz, Director of International Cooperation at Urmia Lake Restoration Program (ULRP) told Trend. "To name a few, we can point out the dust sources problem which seems to be one of the important ones. Experiences of other similar drying lakes in the world reveal the upcoming threats and risks of drying of Urmia Lake," he said. Undoubtedly, drying up 5,000 square kilometer land is not pleasant for local dwellers, according to Shahbaz. The major threats of drying and turning Urmia Lake into salty lands based on experiences and evidences are mentioned as follows: Formation of dust sources Desertification and its development to the agricultural and residential areas Spreading incurable diseases out ULB (ocular diseases, skin diseases, cancer, abortion, etc.) Destroying the agricultural land, orchards, pastures and forest Negative impact on the local livestock and husbandry Increasing unemployment rate andlocal emigration especially from lake adjacent areas Intensification of regional climate changes (temperature increase, precipitation reduction and evaporation rise) Negative impacts on tourism industry Migration of wildlife to the outside of the lake Probable diseases due to the maintaining of the status quo are asthma and Bronchitis, acute Respiratory Infections, upper Respiratory Infections, occlusive disease of the respiratory, various types of incurable diseases, cardiovascular disease and heart attacks. Taking about the current situation in Lake Urmia, Shahbaz pointed out that before the formation of ULRP, in 1995, after recording the highest level of the lake (1278.48), water level has annually decreased in average 40 cm within last two decades to the extent that it reached to the lowest level in September 2015 and the southern part of the lake was totally dried. Climate changes and other factors have resulted in a drop in runoff and surface water inflow throughout the basin. However, the dramatic descending trend has decreased by some measures done by ULRP. Date Level(m) Area(Km2) Volume (BCM) 7 Jul. 2018 1270.69 2219.51 1.88 7 Jul. 2017 1270.67 2196.58 1.84 7 Jul. 2016 1270.92 2482.89 2.42 7 Jul. 2015 1270.38 1856.18 1.25 7 Jul. 2014 1270.41 1892.54 1.31 7 Jul. 2013 1270.82 2368.44 2.18 Ecological Level 1274.10 4348.00 14.50 Baku, Azerbaijan, July 21 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: The trade war between the US and China is likely to lead to a decrease in the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) prices, the UK-based Capital Economics consulting company said in its report obtained by Trend. In general, Capital Economics expects the price of oil to fall as supply picks up, while demand slows in tandem with softer economic growth in China (2018-19) and the US (2019-20). As expected, OPEC and its allies agreed to raise oil output by up to 1 million barrels per day in June. The group had been under-producing relative to its quota in large part due to a slump in Venezuelas supply. Meanwhile, we expect US shale firms to raise output further, incentivised by high prices. Admittedly, a key risk to our forecast is Donald Trumps decision to re-impose sanctions on Iran. This is likely to restrict Irans ability to export and lead to lower production there," said the report. The current forecast of the consulting company assumes that Iranian crude output falls by 1 million barrels per day. "But we think that this will be largely offset by a rise in supply from Saudi Arabia. Accordingly, the market should be in surplus in 2018-19." The Capital Economics experts pointed out that for now, the oil market has largely shrugged off the negative implications of rising trade tensions. "However, if nothing else, a marked downturn in global trade volumes would lead to lower demand for transport fuel," said the report. Whats more, the report said that China has threatened a 25 percent tariff on crude imports from the US, which would probably depress US oil prices (WTI). US President Donald Trump has said the United States may ultimately impose tariffs on more than a half-trillion dollars worth of Chinese goods. Trump confirmed that the United States would begin collecting tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese goods and warned that subsequent rounds could see tariffs on more than $500 billion of goods, or roughly the total amount that the United States imported from China last year. China immediately accused the US of starting "the largest trade war in economic history to date" and responded by imposing 25 percent tariffs on $34 billion worth of US goods, including soybeans, automobiles, and lobsters. This marks the start of the trade war between the two countries. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn One person was killed and another was slightly injured on Saturday when a Norwegian "micro helicopter" crashed in Kilpisjarvi in northern Finland, public broadcaster NRK reported, according to Xinhua. "This kind of helicopter is a so-called gyrocopter. The helicopter is Norwegian and has space for a pilot and one passenger," the Norwegian Rescue Service wrote on Twitter. According to the Norwegian Rescue Service, its division in northern Norway collaborated with the Finnish rescue station and two Norwegian ambulance helicopters arrived on site as the rescue service was communicating with the person on board over bad connection. The weather was stable and with no rain, and the cause of accident is still unknown, the report said. "There were two Norwegians who most likely had been on trip from A to B in Norway and then entered the border with Finland, where they crashed," Oyvind Aadde, a rescue leader of the Norwegian Rescue Service, told news agency NTB. Israeli fighter jets hit another 25 Hamas targets in southern Gaza Strip after striking 15 other targets in the enclaves northern part, TASS with reference to the armys press service said. "Israels Army of Defense continues attacking the Gaza Strip with fighter jets. In the latest strike, Hamas' Khan Yunis army command in the southern Gaza Strip was destroyed," the press release said. "The strikes on the Khan Yunis camp hit 25 targets, including the headquarters, the brigades command, an air defense unit and weaponry warehouses for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV)." The bombardment was launched after an Israeli soldier had been killed by Palestinian gunmen near the Gaza border. Eritrea has appointed its first ambassador to neighboring Ethiopia in two decades, the government said on Saturday, as the former foes pushed on with a rapprochement, Reuters reports. The job went to Semere Russom, Eritreas current education minister and former ambassador to the United States, Information Minister Yemane Meskel said on Twitter. Since signing an agreement in Asmara on July 9 to restore ties, Eritrean and Ethiopian leaders have moved swiftly to sweep away two decades of hostility since conflict erupted between the two neighbours in the Horn of Africa in 1998. On Thursday, Ethiopia named Redwan Hussien, formerly Ethiopian ambassador to Ireland, to become Addis Ababas representative in Asmara. The rapprochement was triggered by the taking office in April of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who announced he wanted to implement a peace deal that ended the war. Both leaders have visited each other and Isaias this week reopened his countrys embassy in Addis Ababa. Ethiopias national carrier Ethiopia Airlines on Wednesday made its first flight to Asmara in two decades and was greeted by dancers waving flags and flowers as families separated by the war and the ensuing hostilities made an emotional reunion. Baku, Azerbaijan, July 20 Trend: Russia is ready to further develop military-technical cooperation with Turkey, Russian Ambassador to Turkey Alexei Yerkhov told TASS. "We are ready to cooperate with the Turkish colleagues in this area, but I dont want to dwell on some specific things now. There is readiness, in fact, and then well see," - he said. Asked about whether Ankara is concerned about the possible introduction of sanctions for cooperation with Moscow in this sphere, the diplomat noted that the sphere of military-technical cooperation "does not like publicity." "The one thing I can say is: we should assume that Turkey is a sovereign and independent state which has the full right to develop cooperation with the states it chooses," Yerkhov stressed. In November 2016, it emerged that Turkey and Russia were negotiating the purchase of S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems. The Russian side confirmed the conclusion of the contracts on September 12, 2017, whereas Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan reported that Turkey had already paid an advance on the contract. Turkey will become the first NATO member state to receive S-400s from Russia. The number of supplied systems was not officially specified. The Russian-Qatari Business Forum will be held in Moscow in April 2019, a substantial delegation from Qatar is expected, Russian Ambassador to Qatar Nurmakhmad Kholov told TASS. "It was planned that the business forum would be held within the framework of the intergovernmental commission (in October). However, it was decided that it should be held as a separate event. We have the Russian-Arab Business Council chaired by Vladimir Yevtushenkov. They will hold it as Russia Expo in April 2019. A substantial Qatari delegation will visit Moscow, so preparations will take some time," the diplomat said. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron discussed the implementation of a joint initiative on delivering relief to Syria over the phone Saturday, the Kremlin said, according to Xinhua. "Special attention was devoted to humanitarian aspects of the Syrian settlement process, including the implementation of a joint Russian-French initiative on rendering assistance to the population of Eastern Ghouta," the Kremlin said in a statement. Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry said that a Russian military transport aircraft had delivered 44 tons of humanitarian cargo from France to Syria. The two leaders also discussed a number of international and regional issues as a follow-up to the talks held on July 15 in Moscow, according to the statement. On July 15, Putin and Macron discussed the positive developments in Russia-France relations at their talks held in the Kremlin. Putin confirmed that the mechanisms of cooperation between the two countries are being restored. Baku, Azerbaijan, July 21 Trend: The Turkish Air Force killed 8 terrorists as part of the operation in northern Iraq, conducted against PKK July 20-21, the Turkish General Staff said in a message. The operation to eliminate the terrorists was conducted in the Avashin Baysan and Zap districts. The conflict between Turkey and the PKK, which demands the creation of an independent Kurdish state, has lasted more than 25 years, claiming more than 40,000 lives. The PKK is recognized as a terrorist organization by the UN and the EU. US President Donald Trump twitted on Friday that he would undergo condemnation in the Fake News Media regardless of whether he had been harsh or not to Russian President Vladimir Putin, TASS reports. He described his critics as hypocrites. "I got severely criticized by the Fake News Media for being too nice to President Putin," Trump wrote. "In the Old Days they would call it Diplomacy. If I was loud & vicious, I would have been criticized for being too tough. Remember when they said I was too tough with Chairman Kim? Hypocrites!" On Monday, July 16, Putin and Trump held a one-day summit meeting Helsinki. This was the first full-scale Russia-US summit since Trumps election to the White House. Earlier, they met on the sidelines of multilateral conferences. . , . - - . 9 14, 10. - .... By KiMi Robinson, KYODO NEWS - Jul 21, 2018 - 17:12 | Feature, All In 2007, Keiko Ziak's family experienced a "miracle." Sixty-two years after the end of World War II, the memory of her grandfather, believed to have gone missing in Burma during the war, returned to her family's home in Kyoto in the form of a Yosegaki Hinomaru, a "good luck flag" signed by friends and family that Japanese soldiers had carried into battle. Allied Forces often took them from soldiers' bodies on the battlefield as keepsakes. "The strong spirit of my grandfather wanted to come home," Ziak, 50, said in a recent interview with Kyodo News. This experience was Ziak's first with a Yosegaki Hinomaru, as she did not learn about the war in school or discuss it at home. She had only heard about her grandfather during the Obon season, an annual summer Buddhist tradition celebrating the spirits of ancestors, who are believed to visit living family members. After the war, the only acknowledgement of her grandfather's service was a stone they received from the Japanese government as a substitute for his remains. After a Canadian collector returned the flag, Ziak became curious about how many other people had had a similar experience. (Obon Society founders Rex Ziak (R) and Keiko Ziak (L) examine a flag) Two years later, she and her American husband Rex, 64, the son of a WWII veteran, embarked on a mission to "bring this miracle to another family" by founding Obon Society in Astoria, Oregon, a town that saw ships sail through from Portland to engage in combat in the Pacific Theater. By 2013, the Ziaks had returned their first flag to a Japanese family. While the non-profit venture, whose mission is to "heal the hearts and broken families that were a result of the war fought between America and Japan," mostly receives flags from around the world by mail, they sometimes meet American veterans' families through in-person deliveries. On May 14, Alyce Fernebok entrusted the organization with a flag that she received as a naval academy graduation present from her grandfather, a naval lieutenant who survived deadly combat in Peleliu during the war. "I really see this as human beings healing each other more than anything else," said Fernebok, a former Marine, at a separate luncheon in Santa Barbara, California. "I wish when this flag returns that it relieves some hurt and hope that helps to bring peace and happiness to the family." "This is the final chapter of World War II," said Rex Ziak. "When the families of the victorious return battlefield souvenirs to the families of the soldiers they fought, the war has finally come to a complete end." "We thought this was all about the Japanese families. But it isn't," he said. "We underestimated how many people wanted to return these. We underestimated their sincere feelings in thinking about the Japanese...and how to provide closure for them." Within five years, Obon Society's concerns evolved from "How on earth do Keiko and I convince somebody to send us an heirloom their father brought back from the war?" and "How do we find the family in Japan so the hinomaru can be returned?" to wondering how they could keep up with the volume of flags, which has seen a dramatic influx due to media coverage. In the beginning, they spent several months looking for a Japanese family's address. By the end of 2017, they were returning a flag every three days. In their nine years since founding Obon Society, the Ziaks have logged a number of accomplishments. In 2015, they dipped into their savings to fly six WWII veterans to Japan to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the war with a delivery of 70 hinomaru. There they met Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, who commended their work: "I am deeply moved to see how Japan and the U.S., who were once enemies, can reunite in this way." That same year, the local maritime museum in Astoria opened an exhibit featuring Obon Society's work, which includes a wall of Yosegaki Hinomaru that has been seen by up to 350,000 visitors in the three years since its unveiling. "You see people stop and stare," Bruce Jones, deputy director of the Columbia River Maritime Museum, said of visitors to Obon Society's exhibit. "That exhibit always captures the imagination of the visitors." In 2016, Obon Society succeeded in changing eBay's policy so flags could no longer be sold for profit on the website. As the return of Yosegaki Hinomaru garnered international media attention, the Ziaks say, surviving family members of soldiers have become more familiar with the idea that they could be reacquainted with their loved ones' flags. Several years ago, Japanese Izokukai -- associations that represent families who lost soldiers in WWII -- preferred to receive flags privately. Now, according to the Ziaks, a majority of families ask for a public returning ceremony that sometimes counts city mayors and local government officials in attendance. Over the years, Obon Society has evolved its process of analyzing Yosegaki Hinomaru and searching for their remaining family members. After their Astoria-based archivists receive flags in the mail, they process them by editing high-quality photos for scholars to examine later and assign each a number. (A visitor to the Maritime Museum in Astoria, Oregon, viewing Obon Societys exhibit) Across the Pacific, Japanese scholars hone in on the region the flag most likely originated from based on the name of the soldier. Once a family has been identified, Obon Society reaches out to the local Izokukai to contact the family with the news. "We put together the most efficient returning system in the history of Japan," said Rex. With the help of Izokukai, Obon Society was able to operate "at 100 percent" and deliver 31 flags in three months at the end of 2017. But after years of clocking in seven-day work weeks and returning a total of more than 200 flags, Obon Society's search for families has "run out of gas." "We have run out of resources to continue at this rate -- the money, the support," said Rex. "After working toward this for nine years and having this system set up that's so efficient, it's just heartbreaking for us. But we have no other recourse." While Obon Society continues to receive four to five Yosegaki Hinomaru a day, there are already 900 flags in their possession that are currently under search -- a process that "can take anywhere from months to years to find the family." Obon Society hopes to obtain consistent funding to soon resume its search operations and someday hire three full-time and several part-time employees. They hope to continue working with Izokukai to eventually return 2,000 flags. Rex Ziak has wondered whether they could one day work as a subcontractor for the Japanese government. "Here is something that really captures, in many people's minds, the true spirit of what they think America should be," he said. "You fight the wars when you have to fight them, but when you can, you make peace...And you just let it go." The Ziaks say that while they have been getting by with individual donations and their own savings, various peace foundations and companies they have reached out to, while expressing initial interest, have ultimately referred them elsewhere for funding. "I think it has to do with fear," said Rex. "It's all about image and about what the public thinks." "We're purely doing humanitarian (work)," Keiko explained, adding that Obon Society does not discuss the history of WWII. "And yet (in) the background is a war." KYODO NEWS - Jul 21, 2018 - 18:28 | All, Japan North Korea provided little new information about abducted Japanese nationals when officials from Japan had contact with Pyongyang last month, a Japanese government source said Saturday. When the officials made contact around the time of the U.S.-North Korea summit on June 12, North Korea repeated the results of its investigation into the Japanese abducted in the 1970s and 1980s that it previously provided to Japan following their talks in Stockholm in May 2014. Tokyo had repeatedly asked the United States to raise the issue of abducted Japanese nationals at the summit in Singapore between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but little is known about any response given by the reclusive state. Japan officially lists 17 of its citizens as having been kidnapped by North Korean agents and suspects the North's involvement in many more disappearances of Japanese nationals. Of the 17, five were repatriated in 2002, but North Korea has claimed eight of them died and the other four never entered the country. It is not known whether the North Korean officials provided any information on the remaining 12 people formally recognized by Tokyo as abduction victims during the contact last month. According to the source, North Korea said no Japanese nationals had come to the country since two Japanese men, who were listed as entering North Korea in an "interim" report presented to Japan shortly after the Stockholm meeting, did. The source said the two men are Minoru Tanaka and Tatsumitsu Kaneda, who used to work at the same restaurant in Kobe. Tanaka is one of the four North Korea previously said had never entered the country, and Kaneda is among those the Japanese government suspects were abducted. In the past few days, several Congress leaders had made comments welcoming Cherian back to the party. Last month I attended a gala for The Asian American Federation at The Pierre Hotel in New York City. Five women, including Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) and New York City Councilwoman Margaret Chin, were honored for their contributions to the Asian community. Halfway through their impassioned speeches, as guests were finishing their dinner rolls and second glasses of wine, an energetic man wearing a sharp tweed suit and glossy leather shoes rushed onto the stage. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free the man began reciting the most recognizable lines of The New Colossus, a poem best known for being on a plaque on the Statue of Liberty. (Coincidentally, American poet Emma Lazarus wrote the sonnet in 1883 for an auction to raise money for the Statue of Libertys pedestal.) The excerpt jump started the live auction portion of the evening. This charismatic Caucasian man captivated the entire ballroom. Attendees started whipping out their phones, recording his performance and posting the video to Snapchat and Instagram. CK Swett hosting a live auction at the Childrens Defense Funds Beat the Odds Gala at the Pierre Hotel on February 29, 2016 in New York City (Monica Schipper/Getty Images) While it may have been a memorable evening for many of us in the room, it was just another Thursday evening for CK Swett, a full-time charity auctioneer, who earned over a quarter-million dollars last year. Story continues The auction was supposed to take place at the end of the evening, but Swett made the executive decision to push it up after speeches that generated intense emotional reactions from attendees. My job is to be able to read the energy in the room and understand my avenue. Thankfully, I had that poem somewhere in the back of my head from social studies class from junior year of high school. Its easy enough to memorize, he told Yahoo Finance. It could have fallen flat, but to me it was the perfect example of my role in the current political environment. It felt like Hey, heres an outsider that is calling on you for help. What am I able to contribute to the Asian American cause? As a white man, its making myself vulnerable and doing my part to help organizations like AAF. Auctioneering full time? While Swett is helping to raise money for nonprofits, his work is very profitable. AAF raised $23,000 within 10 minutes and Swett received $3,000 for his time, which included a consulting session with the organizers prior to the event. Just a few years ago Swett, now 38 years old, never imagined he would be compensated for auctioneering gigs. He held his first auction in October 2010, a side gig he got at Christies, where his full-time job was putting together pitch books. He left Christies in 2011 and ended up working in the proposals departments at other auction houses. But by the fall of 2013, he was doing 60 pro bono auctions on top of his regular 9-to-5 job. I was miserable, being pulled too thin Charity events were my passion projects, said Swett. It took me a while to recognize I could do what I love and actually charge for my time. So, in October 2013, he became a full-time auctioneer, exclusively for charities. He realized the real value of his services wouldnt be performing the night of an event it would be to participate in the actual planning process. Id show up to events and these nonprofits are so good at helping people, but they have no idea how to throw charity fundraiser parties. I could easily identify the mistakes, but because I was doing it for free, I had no time to consult with them beforehand. I could do a lot more help in the run up to the gala. CK Swett sports a fur coat for auction at the 2018 New York Live Arts Gala at Irving Plaza (Noam Galai/Getty Images) Investing in yourself A few years into transitioning into full-time auctioneering, Swett was swimming laps at a pool in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, when he met Lucas Hunt, a fellow auctioneer who had just moved to the neighborhood from the Hamptons. Its a little bit of a lonely profession, so its always great to meet someone whos on a similar journey, said Swett. Lucas is smart and his heart is in the right place. We quickly developed a friendship. The admiration was mutual. CK was incredibly welcoming and warm, and he mentioned there arent many of us who know what its like, Hunt told Yahoo Finance. He started referring gigs to me on dates that he was already booked. Hunt, 41, grew up in Dixon, Iowa, a pig farming town of 220 people. Auctioneering was an integral part of his childhood. I was around auctions of personal property, real estate, and agriculture in a rural setting for all my young life. The mayor of my hometown was an auctioneer and I assisted him. He was also a master of ceremonies. I would work with him sometimes and I looked up to him a lot, he said. After studying journalism and poetry, Hunt landed a job as a literary agent in the Hamptons, where he was asked to help out at an auction in a pinch. Benefit auctioneer Lucas Hunt calls galas the theater of giving. He charges between $1,500 and $5,500 per live auction. I had observed auctioneering and events with a very open, fascinated child-like eye that doesnt blink. I just absorbed it at a young age. I never had any experiences in college or travels that triggered this desire. But when I was actually asked to do it, i jumped up and it was a latent desire that emerged, he described. While Swetts time at Christies served as the foundation for his career, Hunt felt compelled to take a course at an auctioneering college to fine tune his skills. In 2016, he returned to Iowa to take a class at the World Wide College of Auctioneering in Mason City, an intensive nine-day program that costs $1,895. Hunt also obtained a Benefit Auctioneer Specialist (BAS) designation from the National Auctioneers Association. I spent thousands and thousands of dollars on myself, putting everything on the table. I met a lot of auctioneers around the country who have been doing benefits for 20-30 years. I attended workshops to learn how to better consult with clients, Hunt said. Now I have a network of dozens of auctioneers around the country who are the top benefit auctioneers, who are the CKs of other cities although no one can be CK. The high-end of the spectrum The return on Hunts self-investment has been extraordinary. Depending on the organizations financial standing, he charges a flat fee between $1,500 and $5,500, plus performance incentives, essentially commission, for hitting a certain fundraising target amount. He does around 90 live auctions per year, but is constantly scouting out new talent, especially during the overwhelmingly busy spring season. He founded Hunt Auctioneers in 2016 and hires three to five contractors at any given time to take on gigs. I foresee Hunt Auctioneers growing from 100 to 250 or more events per year, becoming a regional and national provider of auctioneer benefit fundraising, he said. If organizations want to work with me and I feel like I can bring consistent, significant value to their event then Ill make it work. At the end of the day I want to use my talent to benefit society. Thats one of the reasons Im growing my businessto do multiple events per evening. Alec Baldwin and CK Swett at the 2017 National Dance Institute Gala (NDI/YouTube) Meanwhile, Swett is laser-focused on continuing to build his own brand as one of the most sought-after auctioneers in New York City. One of his recent gigs was for the National Dance Institute gala, where he and Alec Baldwin raised $200,000 in one minute. His starting rate is around $3,000 and the most he ever received was $7,500 plus accommodations to host an auction in Napa Valley, California. He does not charge commission. I started at $2,000. Ive had to raise my rate because I can only be at one place at one time. I got nine requests for the second Thursday of May, and I could only do one of those. So I bump up the price to $3500, but Im still missing out on eight other events. Think about my opportunity cost, said Swett. Hunt and Swett are certainly anomalies when looking at the broad auction industry. According to Payscale, the average annual salary for an auctioneer is $52,435. And certainly, markets like New York City offer more competitive pricing, thanks to the high concentration of glitzier galas and deeper pockets than the rest of the country. Lucas is an exception. Hes fortunate enough to be in an area where theres a large nonprofit community, said a spokeswoman at the World Wide College of Auctioneering. The whole point is to be seen buying, contributing to the cause theres social capital around that. I call the gala the theater of giving, said Hunt. I try to structure it in a way thats going to create a cathartic experience. Instead of weeping, youre giving money to overcome guilt and fear of death. For me and everyone in the room, its always about reaching deep into your own heart and soul. And pockets. Melody Hahm is a senior writer at Yahoo Finance, covering entrepreneurship, technology and real estate. Follow her on Twitter @melodyhahm. Read more: Inside the exclusive supper club in a 1-bedroom NYC apartment A father-son duo is revolutionizing this $20B industry one BBQ at a time Womens-only club The Wing opens its doors for a special occasion 25-year-olds startup is making fast fashion even faster 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. San Antonio, Texas, July 12, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BioBridge Global today announced the formation of a new Regenerative Medicine Advisory Board, composed of industry leaders with a wide range of scientific, product development and business experience, to support the organizations continued growth in regenerative medicine. BioBridge Global provides a wide range of blood, tissue and cellular source materials, products and services through its three operating entities: GenCure, QualTex Laboratories and the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center. These include blood and tissue collection, processing and distribution, biological testing, process engineering and biomanufacturing. The initial members of the BioBridge Global Regenerative Medicine Advisory Board are: Phil Vanek PhD, General Manager of GE Healthcares Cell and Gene Therapy business strategy. Dr. Vanek also served as Head of Business Development for Cell Therapy and later as Head of Innovation for Lonzas pharmaceutical division. Dr. Vanek received his doctorate in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Georgetown University. Gregory Bonfiglio JD, Founder and Managing Partner of Proteus LLC, an investment and advisory firm focused solely on regenerative medicine, and Chairman of the Board of the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine in Toronto, Canada. In 2013, Bonfiglio was listed 14 th among the Top 50 Stem Cell Influencers in the world. among the Top 50 Stem Cell Influencers in the world. Kenneth Bertram MD, PhD, FACP, is the former Commander of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and Principal Assistant for Acquisition for the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command. Dr. Bertram is board certified in internal medicine and has been board- certified in hematology and medical oncology. Full biographies are below. We recruited these highly regarded individuals because of their deep understanding of regenerative medicine, including needs, opportunities, roadblocks and how the field may change in the future, said Martin Landon, Chief Executive Officer of BioBridge Global. As we advance our work at BioBridge Global, we are fortunate to have access to Phil, Greg and Ken, not only for their advice as industry leaders, but for their shared commitment to realizing the potential of regenerative medicine to heal and save lives. About BioBridge Global: BioBridge Global (BBG) is a San Antonio, Texas-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that offers diverse services through its subsidiaries the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center, QualTex Laboratories, GenCure and the Blood & Tissue Center Foundation. BBG provides products and services in blood resource management, cellular therapy, donated umbilical cord blood and human tissue as well as testing of blood, plasma and tissue products for clients in the United States and worldwide. BBG is committed to saving and enhancing lives through the healing power of human cells. It fulfills part of this mission by supporting groundbreaking research, addressing unmet clinical needs and enabling the development and commercialization of novel biotechnology products. BioBridge Global Regenerative Medicine & Cell Therapy Advisory Board biographies: Phillip Vanek, PhD : Vanek is General Manager of GE Healthcares Cell and Gene Therapy business strategy, a business initiative funded in part through GE Ventures and GE Healthymagination, a $6 billion strategy to revolutionize the worlds health by improving the quality, access and affordability of care. Prior to joining GE, he was Head of Business Development for Cell Therapy, and later Head of Innovation, for Lonzas pharmaceutical division, helping to drive new technology initiatives focused on cell, protein and viral therapeutic manufacturing. Vaneks career has included a number of innovation, business and market development roles at Becton Dickinson, Invitrogen and Life Technologies, as well as two start-up biotechnology companies in the Washington, D.C., area. Additionally, he was an Instructor for Johns Hopkins University Advanced Academic Programs, teaching Biotechnology Marketing for several years while working at BD and Lonza. Vanek received his doctorate in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Georgetown University Medical Center and subsequently held an IRTA fellowship at the National Cancer Institute in the Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and the Hollings Cancer Center in Charleston, South Carolina. He is an active board member of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, where he has served as an officer and chair of the Governance and Oversight committee. He also has been a board member of the ARM Foundation. Vanek serves on the board of the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine in Toronto, Canada, where he chairs the HR and Governance committee. He has published a number of industry position pieces and serves on the Editorial Board of Cell and Gene Therapy Insights. Gregory Bonfiglio JD : Bonfiglio is the Founder and Managing Partner of Proteus LLC, an investment and advisory firm focused solely on regenerative medicine. Formed in 2006, Proteus provides fund management and consulting services to the regenerative medicine industry. Proteus works with regenerative medicine companies across all levels of development, from early stage entities to large pharma and biotech companies, as well as governmental organizations pursuing regenerative medicine initiatives. He is the Chairman of the Board of the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine in Toronto, Canada. Bonfiglio serves on the Board of Healios KK, one of the largest publicly traded regenerative medicine companies in Japan. In addition, he has served on the boards of several other regenerative medicine companies, including VistaGen Therapeutics (in vitro tools from hESCs); Advanced Cell Technologies (hESC therapeutics); California Stem Cell (hESC tools and therapeutics); and StemCyte, Inc. (cord blood storage and therapeutics). Bonfiglio was an early investor in the field of stems cell and regenerative medicine, and he continues to be actively involved in the field. He is a frequent speaker at regenerative medicine conferences and is a member of the ISSCR, as well as serving on its advisory board, as well as its Finance Committee. He also is a member of the ISCT. In 2013, Bonfiglio was listed 14th among the Top 50 Stem Cell Influencers in the world. He has more than 25 years experience working with technology companies. From 2000-05, Mr. Bonfiglio was a General Partner with Anthem Venture Partners an early stage venture fund in California. While at Anthem, Mr. Bonfiglio led investments in both biotechnology and IT. Prior to joining Anthem, he was a Partner with Morrison & Foerster, where he worked extensively with technology clients. Bonfiglio was an Adjunct Professor of Law at Stanford Law School from 1996-2000. He has been a Guest Lecturer at the Stanford Business School on the Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine Technologies. From 1995-2005, he was a regular Guest Lecturer at the UC Berkley Haas Business School in the Entrepreneurship Program. Bonfiglio received his bachelor of arts degree in Mathematics (magna cum laude) from Michigan State University in 1975, and his J.D. (magna cum laude) from the University of Michigan Law School in 1981. Kenneth Bertram, MD, PhD, FACP: Bertram is retiring as the Principal Assistant for Acquisition for the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC), Fort Detrick, Maryland, and as a member of the Senior Executive Service. He is responsible for the advanced development and acquisition of medical products (drugs, vaccines, and devices) for the U.S. Army. In addition, Bertram serves as the Surgeon Generals Sponsors Representative to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and as the U.S. Armys Milestone Decision Authority (MDA) for medical products and therefore is responsible for the life-cycle management of fielded medical products (research, development, acquisition, and sustainment). He is a member of the U.S. Army Acquisition Corps and is Acquisition Level III Certified in both Program Management and Science and Technology Management. Bertram has been awarded the highest recognition for Army civilians, the Department of the Army Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service by the Secretary of the Army for his contributions to the Warfighter. Bertram previously served in the U.S. Army, retiring as a colonel in the Medical Corps after 24 years of active duty. His assignments included: Commander, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research; Chief of Staff, USAMRMC; Director, Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (USAMRMC); and Chief, Hematology/Medical Oncology Service at Madigan Army Medical Center. Bertrams military honors include two Legion of Merit awards, the Armys The Surgeon Generals A Proficiency Designator in Hematology/Oncology, and the Order of Military Medical Merit. He is board certified in internal medicine and has been board certified in hematology and medical oncology. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians (F.A.C.P.). He completed both his Hematology/Medical Oncology Fellowship and Internal Medicine Residency at Madigan Army Medical Center. Bertram received his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Minnesota. He has held faculty appointments at the University of Washington and the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. English French QUEBEC CITY and CALGARY, Alberta, July 20, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Junex Inc. (TSX-V:JNX) (Junex) and Cuda Energy Inc. (Cuda), collectively (the Combined Company), are pleased to announce that drilling operations have commenced on the Barron Flats (Deep) Unit in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming. The acquisition of the Barron Flats assets will be completed concurrently with the closing of the arrangement between Junex and Cuda disclosed in the press release issued on June 11, 2018 (available at www.sedar.com), to be voted on at Junexs shareholder meeting to be held on August 2, 2018. The BFU 23-14V (SW 14-35N-76W06) vertical Shannon development well has been spud. The near term drilling program will include six (6) gross wells. The Operator, Southwestern Production Corp has obtained 15 drilling licenses/permits for Shannon light oil wells. Included in the drill program will be a high-graded deep vertical stratigraphic test to the Lakota formation to confirm the commercial viability of numerous high impact light oil formations below the Shannon formation which would be developed with horizontal wells. In addition to the commencement of the drilling program at the Barron Flats (Deep) Unit, the following activities are currently ongoing: Electrification is underway with wells expected to be on power by the end of August. Electrification eliminates the need for rental wellsite generators, which is projected to reduce operating costs by approximately US$3,000 per well per month. The gas processing facility and compression site has been constructed and is being prepared for installation and commissioning which is anticipated to occur in October to coincide with the completion of the gas gathering system which is currently being constructed. Sinclair-Converse Transport Midstream, a mid-stream company with assets to be held 33.33% by the Combined Company, is in the process of acquiring an existing right of way which it will utilize for the installation of (i) a spur to connect into an existing oil sales line; and (ii) a natural gas pipeline. With these active ongoing field developments, the Combined Company will be on track to achieving 2018 exit production of 2,000 boe/d (60% oil and liquids) and achieve top quartile operating netbacks forecasted to average approximately C$33.00/boe in the second half of 2018 based on strip pricing. Additionally, both Junex and Cuda continue to advance Junexs portfolio of oil and gas projects in Quebec and stand ready to proceed with a development program upon receipt of development permits and production licenses. Mr. Jean-Yves Lavoie and Mr. R. Glenn Dawson had the following to say regarding the update: We are very excited to embark on an active development program where the combined company has in place all the permits necessary to continue our fully funded 15-20 well development program in Wyoming. With the growth in cash flow from Wyoming the Combined Company will be well positioned to fund development in Quebec when appropriate. The planned development program represents a significant increase in activity for the Junex shareholders and we look forward to updating shareholders as to our progress in the coming weeks and months. About Junex Inc. Junex is a Quebec SME that seeks to be a catalyst in accessing Quebec's oil and gas resources, while ensuring that their development becomes an important means of creating collective wealth for Quebeckers. Junex's operations are conducted in a responsible manner, in strictest compliance with the rules, laws and regulations that govern oil and gas activities. To that end, every day it takes all measures to minimize the environmental impact of its activities. About Cuda Energy Inc. Cuda, a privately held corporation based in Calgary, Alberta, is engaged in the business of exploring for, developing and producing oil and natural gas, and acquiring oil and natural gas properties across North America. The Cuda management team has worked closely together for over 20 years in both private and public company environments and has an established track record of delivering strong shareholder returns. Cuda will continue to implement its proven strategy of exploring, acquiring, and exploiting with a long term focus on large, light oil resource based assets across North America including significant operational experience in the United States. The Cuda management team brings a full spectrum of geotechnical, engineering, negotiating and financial experience to its investment decisions. For further information please contact: Jean-Yves Lavoie President and Chief Executive Officer Junex Inc. (418) 654-9661 Glenn Dawson President and Chief Executive Officer Cuda Energy Inc. (403) 454-0862 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. Advisories and Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties and are based on forecasts of future operational or financial results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management. In particular, forward-looking information included in this release includes (i) expectations with regard to the transactions to form the Combined Company and acquire the Wyoming properties, their completion and the anticipated benefits and advantages of the transactions, which assume that all necessary shareholder, regulatory and third party consents and approvals required for completion of the transactions are obtained; (ii) the future prospects, including exploration potential, of the Wyoming properties, (iii) the Combined Companys drilling program and planned field development activities, (iv) production estimates, production growth rates and oil recovery rates, which assume accuracy of technical and geological information and analysis and may be impacted by unscheduled maintenance, labour and contractor availability; (v) capital expenditures and other cash costs, which assume foreign exchange rates and accuracy of production estimates, and may be impacted by unexpected maintenance, the need to hire external resources and accelerated capital plans; (vi) operating netbacks, which assume production and expenditure estimates and may be impacted by energy prices, production estimates, and the timing of payments, and (vii) reserves and resources which are forward-looking statements by their nature involving implied assessment, and may be impacted by energy prices, future drilling results and operating costs. Risk factors that could prevent forward-looking statements relating to the Combined Company and its operating activities from being realized include ongoing permitting requirements, the actual results of current exploration and development activities, operational risks, risks associated with drilling and completions, uncertainty of geological and technical data, market conditions, the availability and nature of alternative sources of energy, conclusions of economic evaluations and changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined as well as future prices of energy. Although Junex and Cuda have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. This news release provides certain information on the production rate of wells on properties in close proximity to the Wyoming properties that the Combined Company has agreed to acquire which is analogous information as defined by applicable securities laws. This analogous information is derived from publicly available information sources which Cuda and Junex believe are predominantly independent in nature. Some of this data may not have been prepared by qualified reserves evaluators or auditors and the preparation of any estimates may not be in strict accordance with the Canadian Oil & Gas Evaluation Handbook. Regardless, estimates by engineering and geotechnical practitioners may vary and the differences may be significant. Cuda and Junex believe that the provision of this analogous information is relevant to the Combined Companys activities and forecasting, given its agreement to acquire properties in the area; however, readers are cautioned that there is no certainty that the forecasts provided herein based on analogous information will be accurate. Any reference in this news release to initial, early and/or test or production/performance rates are useful in confirming the presence of hydrocarbons, however, such rates are not determinative of the rates at which such wells will continue production and decline thereafter. Additionally, such rates may also include recovered load oil fluids used in well completion stimulation. While encouraging, readers are cautioned not to place reliance on such rates in calculating the aggregate production for the Combined Company. The initial production or test rates may be estimated based on other third party estimates or limited data available at this time. In all cases in this news release initial production or test rates are not necessarily indicative of long-term performance of the relevant well or fields or of ultimate recovery of hydrocarbons. Well-flow test result data should be considered to be preliminary until a pressure transient analysis and/or well-test interpretation has been carried out. This news release contains metrics commonly used in the oil and natural gas industry, such as "operating netback". "Operating netback" equals total petroleum and natural gas sales less royalties and operating costs calculated on a boe basis. This term does not have a standardized meaning and the calculation of such metric set forth herein may not be comparable to the calculation method used or presented by other companies for the same or similar metrics, and therefore should not be used to make such comparisons. Natural gas volumes have been converted to a barrels of oil equivalent or boe using six thousand cubic feet equal to one barrel unless otherwise stated. A boe conversion ratio of 6:1 is based upon an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead. Boe may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. Im sorry to hear how things went with your GMAT, but Im happy to help you get on the right path! While a tutor certainly could help, at this point, you may consider first adjusting your study routine, because regardless of whether you work with a tutor, you are going to need the best possible study materials for your self-study.I see that you have studied mostly with prep books up to this point. While it is true that some test-takers use GMAT books to prepare for the exam, Ive found that my students are more successful when they use a self-study course for their preparation. Self-study courses typically provide detailed study plans and have granular analytics, so you can easily track your progress as you move through the course. The ability to track your progress will keep you more engaged, and youll be able to more accurately forecast when youre ready to take your real GMAT.Given that your practice scores were never higher than 650, its likely that you never fully developed mastery of GMAT quant and verbal, and thus your score plateaued. Moving forward, consider a study routine that allows you to first build mastery of GMAT quant and verbal, and then do focused practice. For example, if you are learning about number properties, you should develop as much conceptual knowledge about number properties as possible. In other words, your goal will be to completely understand properties of factorials, perfect squares, quadratic patterns, LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, and remainders, to name a few concepts. After carefully reviewing the conceptual underpinnings of how to answer number properties questions, you will want to practice by answering 50 or more questions just from number properties. As you do such practice, do a thorough analysis of each question that you don't get right. If you get a remainder question wrong, ask yourself why you got it wrong. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not properly apply the remainder formula? Was there a concept you did not understand in the question? By carefully analyzing your mistakes, you will be able to efficiently fix your weaknesses and in turn improve your GMAT quant skills. Number properties is just one example; follow this process for all quant and verbal topics.Lets say you are reviewing Critical Reasoning. Be sure that you first learn the necessary concepts of CR questions and then practice a large number of Critical Reasoning questions: strengthen and weaken the argument, resolve the paradox, find the conclusion, must be true, etc. As you go through the questions, do a thorough analysis of each question that you don't get correct. If you missed a weaken question, ask yourself why you didn't get it right. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not recognize what the question was asking? Did you skip over a key detail in an answer choice? Getting GMAT verbal questions right is a matter of what you know, what you see, and what you do. So, any time that you don't get one right, you can seek to identify what, if anything, you would have needed to know in order to get the right answer, what you had to see that you didn't see, and what you could have done differently to arrive at the correct answer.When you do dozens of questions of the same type one after the other, you learn just what it takes to get questions of that type correct consistently. If you aren't getting close to 90 percent of the questions of a certain type correct, go back and seek to better understand how that type of question works, and then do more questions of that type until you get to at least around 90 percent accuracy in your training. If you get 100 percent of some sets correct, even better.Each time you strengthen your understanding of a topic and your skill in answering questions of a particular type, you increase your odds of hitting your score goal. You know that there are types of questions that you are happy to see and types that you would rather not see, and types of questions that you take a long time to answer correctly. Learn to more effectively answer the types of questions that you would rather not see, and make them into your favorite types. Learn to correctly answer in two minutes or less questions that you currently take five minutes to answer. By finding, say, a dozen weaker quant areas and turning them into strong areas, you will make great progress toward hitting your quant score goal. If a dozen areas turn out not to be enough, strengthen some more areas.So, work on accuracy and generally finding correct answers, work on specific weaker areas one by one to make them strong areas, and when you take a practice GMAT or the real thing, take all the time per question available to do your absolute best to get right answers consistently. The GMAT is essentially a game of seeing how many right answers you can get in the time allotted. Approach the test with that conception in mind, and focus intently on the question in front of you with one goal in mind: getting a CORRECT answer.In order to follow the path described above, you may need some new verbal and quant materials, so take a look at the GMAT Club reviews for the [best quant]( https://gmatclub.com/reviews/highest-ra ... or-quant-4 ) and [verbal]( https://gmatclub.com/reviews/highest-ra ... -verbal-34 ]verbal courses).You also may find it helpful to read my article for more information regardingFeel free to reach out with questions.Good luck!_________________ Hi Kaczet,Im glad you reached out and Im happy to help! Certainly, raising your GMAT 320+ points will be a challenging task, but if you give yourself a realistic timeline and work hard, you can make some major improvements.To increase your GMAT score to a higher level, you have to go through GMAT quant and verbal carefully to find your exact weaknesses, fill gaps in your knowledge, and strengthen your skills. The overall process once you pinpoint your weaker areas will be to learn all about how to answer question types with which you currently aren't very comfortable and do dozens of practice questions category by category, basically driving up your score point by point. When you do dozens of questions of the same type one after the other, you learn just what it takes to get questions of that type correct consistently. If you aren't getting close to 90 percent of questions of a certain type correct, go back and seek to better understand how that type of question works, and then do more questions of that type until you get to at least around 90 percent accuracy in your training. If you get 100 percent of some sets correct, even better.For example, if you find that you are not strong in answering Number Properties questions, you would carefully review the conceptual underpinnings of how to answer Number Properties questions and practice by answering 50 or more questions just from Number Properties: LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, remainders, etc. As you do such practice, do a thorough analysis of each question that you don't get right. If you get a remainder question wrong, ask yourself why you got it wrong. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not properly apply the remainder formula? Was there a concept you did not understand in the question? By carefully analyzing your mistakes, you will be able to efficiently fix your weaknesses and in turn improve your GMAT quant skills. Number Properties is just one example; follow this process for all quant topics.You can work on verbal in a similar manner. Lets say you are reviewing Critical Reasoning. Be sure that you practice a large number of Critical Reasoning questions: strengthen and weaken the argument, resolve the paradox, find the conclusion, must be true, etc. As you go through the questions, do a thorough analysis of each question that you don't get correct. If you missed a weaken question, ask yourself why you didn't get it right. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not recognize what the question was asking? Did you skip over a key detail in an answer choice? Getting GMAT verbal questions right is a matter of what you know, what you see, and what you do. So, any time that you don't get one right, you can seek to identify what, if anything, you would have needed to know in order to get the right answer, what you had to see that you didn't see, and what you could have done differently to arrive at the correct answer.Each time you strengthen your understanding of a topic and your skill in answering questions of a particular type, you increase your odds of hitting your score goal. You know that there are types of questions that you are happy to see and types that you would rather not see, and types of questions that you take a long time to answer correctly. Learn to more effectively answer the types of questions that you would rather not see, and make them into your favorite types. Learn to correctly answer in two minutes or less questions that you currently take five minutes to answer. By finding, say, a dozen weaker quant areas and turning them into strong areas, you will make great progress toward hitting your quant score goal. If a dozen areas turn out not to be enough, strengthen some more areas.So, work on accuracy and generally finding correct answers, work on specific weaker areas one by one to make them strong areas, and when you take a practice GMAT or the real thing, take all the time per question available to do your absolute best to get right answers consistently. The GMAT is essentially a game of seeing how many right answers you can get in the time allotted. Approach the test with that conception in mind, and focus intently on the question in front of you with one goal in mind: getting a CORRECT answer.In order to follow the path described above, you may need some new verbal and quant materials, so take a look at the GMAT Club reviews for the best quant and verbal courses You also may find it helpful to read my article for more information regardingGood luck!_________________ 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 In her analysis on the recent uprising in Iran, she argues that the people are determined for regime change to happen soon. She explains that a local protest in the city of Mashhad in December last year quickly spread into a major uprising in the space of just a few hours. The main opposition to the Iranian regime, the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK), said that every single one of the 31 provinces in Iran held protests. Furthermore, it was not just one part of society, but all sectors including the ethnic groups such as Kurds, Arabs, Turks, and so on. The MEK has previously advised the people of Iran, especially the young people, to join together and rise up against the clerical rule. And this is exactly what happened. Sepehrrad said: The intensity, the speed, the breadth, the slogans targeting the entire regime with all factions included, representing most socio-economic classes caught the Islamic Republic by surprise. The MEK has for many years discussed and highlighted the many grievances of the Iranian people. There are a wide range of factors that have led the people to completely reject the current leadership and Sepehrrad highlights that the most recent uprising is not an extension of previous routing protests. She emphasises that they are representative of a different political undertone. Contrary to the 2009 uprising, the recent one has been more organised and more direct. Sepehrrad said: From day one, they had a specific course of action, direction, purposeful targets, and coordinated mobilization effort across the entire country. The role of women in the protests has also been remarkable. The MEK has emphasised the crucial role of women in the road to a free Iran. Indeed, the MEK organisation is made up of a large number of women, each of whom have a crucial and valuable role. During the uprising, many brave women were seen actively organising and guiding the protests. Sepehrrad recalls one woman in particular who was surrounded by security forces but defiantly chanted Death to Khamenei. In an analysis of the slogans that were chanted during the protests, Sepehrrad concludes that the vast majority of them were calling for an end to the regime. The people not only called for death to the Supreme Leader and President Hassan Rouhani, but they also called the regime out on its widespread corruption, its deceptive and depraved exploitation of Islam and its meddling abroad, especially in Syria. The MEK is positive that regime change is on the horizon and Sepehrrads research concludes that the evidence is certainly pointing that way. The people of Iran are determined to overthrow the regime and there is no room for negotiation. When that didnt work, the regime turned to state-sponsored propaganda, in the form of attack websites, fake documentaries, and even anti-MEK propaganda exhibitions. Anti-MEK propaganda exhibitions The Regime decided that the best way to stop young, educated Iranians from taking part in political activism or joining the MEK (as they did in the 2009 uprising) was to stage propaganda exhibitions at schools and universities. Overall, there were over 120 anti-MEK exhibitions in 36 Iranian cities between April 2010 and December 2012, which aimed to portray the MEK as criminals to the younger generation. The exhibitions claimed that the MEK had a long history of violence and terror, which was a barefaced lie. The Regime did, however, concede that the MEK was an integral part in the 2009 anti-regime uprising. From 2013, these exhibitions decreased, but the Regime does still hold anti-MEK events in places of learning. MEK Show Trials The Regime also held show trials at universities to demonstrate that the MEK were enemies of the state. The first of these was held at Alama University, while MEK members were fleeing persecution by the Regime in Camp Ashraf, Iraq, in October 2013 Anti-MEK Books The Regime has published hundreds of anti-MEK books to malign the resistance groups, including some that are fraudulently published under the names of former MEK members who have been threatened or coerced by the Regime. These books are given out at Regime rallies and events but are also sent to foreign politicians and reporters, hoping to sway their influence. Anti-MEK Organizations and Attack Websites There are a number of organisations, set up by the Regime, whose sole purpose is to defame the MEK by promoting negative propaganda. This includes the Habilian Association, the Nejat Association, Edalat [Justice] Association, and the Association for Victims of Violence. All of these groups maintains a website that spews anti-MEK propaganda daily, but the Regime also has many other websites that attack the MEK, both in English and in Farsi. Here are just a few to watch out for: Iran-Interlink.org CultsandTerror.org Irandidban.com SurvivorsReport.org Khodabandeh.org Saharngo.com Mojahedinmonitor2.blogspot.co.uk TheBlackFile.com Hasanzebel.blogfa.com Negaheno.net Zarrebin.com Anti-MEK Propaganda TV The mullahs have also produced many TV programmes and documentaries for the Regimes state-run TV that defame the MEK, something that only increased after the 2009 uprising. Here are just a few: Zele Sevom about the birth and demise of the MEK, which is ridiculous as the MEK is still going strong. Gery-e Khamoush a documentary featuring forced confessions from MEK members Parvaneh a 15 part series, commissioned for the anniversary of Ayatollah Khomeinis rule An End to End studies that MEK from its formation until today Black Dream a 15-part series that the Regime edited as they feared it would increase support for the MEK Leaving home to attend a college or university often leads to big changes for a student. One of them can be leaving behind a pet cat, dog or other beloved animal. Kimberly Brubaker says she feels emotionally connected to her two pets: a cat named Dino, and a snake named Mars. If an animal is part of your entire life, and caring for them is a huge part of it, to take that away is pretty dramatic, she told the Associated Press. So when Brubaker left home to attend Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, she brought her pets with her. And college officials gave her permission to live with them in a school-owned dormitory. In the United States, Eckerd is not the only school to accept pets in student housing, but it may have been one of the first to do so. Since the early 1970s, the college has accepted many kinds of animals. Brubaker heads a student organization that registers on-campus pets. It makes sure the animals are well taken care of and that students follow Eckerds pet policies. And it tries to solve any disputes. We do pet checks once a month we go around and knock on all the doors, Brubaker said. The student group receives an average of one or two reports of a problem every month. But most issues are minor, such as misunderstandings of the rules governing pet registration. Not only are the pets staying on Eckerds college campus mostly problem-free. They may actually be helpful to their owners and other people. Miranda Goodman-Wilson is an assistant professor of psychology at Eckerd. She recently helped write a study on the effect pets have on students. Goodman-Wilson noted students reported their pets reduced their levels of stress, and had incredibly favorable things to say about living with the animal. Also, a majority of students claimed that animals were a good influence on their educational performance. I think that for many students, having a pet provides a structure that they otherwise lack, Goodman-Wilson noted. If you have a dog who has to go out to the bathroom, thats a powerful alarm clock right there. The results of her study were mixed when it came to measuring exactly how helpful pets were for the students mental health. She found that pet-owning students did not have overall lower levels of stress, depression and anxiety, or nervousness. But there was an effect when it came to somatic anxiety the physical effects of stress, such as a sudden increase in heart rate. Among the pet owners, increased levels of stress did not result in increased somatic anxiety. It may be that they are serving as a buffer, said Goodman-Winslow. So yes, Im still having stress, but by having my animal, that stress is not translating into this sort of anxiety in the same way. But while pets might be good for students, some might worry whether college life is good for the animal. Last year, Mekenna Hooper decided to adopt a dog. Hooper remembers she wanted a small, older dog. A low-energy pet made sense so she could direct more attention on her studies at Johnson & Wales University in Denver, Colorado. Hooper remembers that when she contacted different pet adoption organizations, none of them liked the fact that we lived in a dorm. She eventually adopted Max, a seven-kilogram dog who is now 11 years-old. It appears that he is living a good life. Hooper and the person with whom she shares a living space attend classes at different times and have different work schedules. So Max is rarely alone more than a few of hours at a time. He also gets all the attention he could ever want in student housing. Everyone knows his name, Hooper noted. They know his name better than they know ours. Goodman-Wilson believes that there can actually be good reasons for bringing your pet to school. The activities of college students can often change from one day to the next, and there are lots of people around them to look in on the pet. More so than your typical animal, there are ways for the wellness of the animal to be checked up on, she said. And I think students generally are around their animals more than your average working adults. If you are looking for an animal-friendly college or university, know that each school has different rules. There are more schools that accept animals kept in small containers than ones that permit dogs or cats. And where dogs are permitted, school officials may set limits on a dogs breed or size. Some colleges and universities limit pets to students who have been at the school for more than a year. Even Eckerd only accepts pets that lived with students before they started taking classes. Goodman-Wilson expects the number of pet-friendly schools to grow, partly because of the increase in emotional support animals in the United States. Their owners are required to carry a doctors note stating that the person needs the animal to help them deal with a mental health condition. Once policies are in place for emotional support animals in student housing, this can open the door to permitting pets on school grounds, in general. In a few weeks, Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania will open its first pet-friendly housing. The colleges new policy grew out of increasing numbers of assistance animals, and because of requests to raise service dogs. Allison Bridgeman is an administrator with Elizabethtown College. She says that on-campus animals are now seen to have a more general value. We see this as part of creating a campus community that promotes well-being, she said. But it also seems clear that there will be more pet-friendly college campuses as long as students have anything to say about it. I answer emails all that time that say, Hey, Im trying to start a pet policy on campus, what are the first steps? Kimberly Brubaker of Eckerd College said. I probably get at least one email a week from students at other colleges asking about our program. Im Pete Musto. And Im Dorothy Gundy. Linda Lombardi first reported this story for the Associated Press. Pete Musto adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Do you think pets should be permitted on college and university campuses? Why or why not? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ______________________________________________________________ QUIZ Quiz - Some U.S. Colleges Let Students Bring Animals to School Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story dramatic adj. greatly affecting people's emotions dormitory n. a building on a school campus that has rooms where students can live campus n. the area and buildings around a university, college, or school check(s) n. the act or process of looking at or examining something to find out information or see if there is anything wrong with it stress n. a state of mental tension and worry caused by problems in your life and work otherwise adv. in a different way or manner alarm clock n. a clock that can be set to sound an alarm at any desired time buffer n. something that gives protection by separating things translating into p.v. leading to something as a result adopt v. to take an animal legally as your own pet schedule(s) n. a plan of things that will be done and the times when they will be done breed n. a particular kind of dog, cat, horse or other animal Important stuff you won't get from the liberal media! We do the surfing so you can be informed AND have a life! Border crimes, disputed territories and better border coordination would be discussed at the bi-annual meeting of Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) beginning on Sunday, top BSF official said on Saturday. Sector Commanders of BGBs Sarail and Chittagong regions and Inspectors General of BSFs three northeast India frontiers Tripura, Meghalaya, and Mizoram-Cacher would attend the four-day meeting at Tripura frontier headquarters in Shalbagan, 12 km north of Agartala. BSFs Tripura frontier Inspector General Hemant Kumar Lohia said that the two sides would fine-tune strategies to check crimes, smuggling, illegal movement and work to resolve disputes over territories. Erection of border fencing along the remaining portion of India-Bangladesh territories, water sharing and cleanliness of drainage water would also be discussed, Lohia told reporters. He said that after the first phase of the meeting, the BSF and BGB officials would go to Kolkata and meet the BSFs Special Director General (in Eastern Command) Nasir Kamal. Reduction of border crime along the borders could be possible through mutual understanding between the BSF and BGB, Lohia added. He said that the BGB has set up five border outposts (BOPs) along the unfenced Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) to maintain close vigilance alongside the mountainous border. With the help of BGB and other security forces of Bangladesh, terrorist activities in the North-East and their trans-border movement have been reduced, the BSF official said. Four northeastern states, Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Assam share 1,880-km international border with Bangladesh. Most parts of the 1,880-km frontiers are unfenced, mountainous and prone to crime. With the National Register of Citizens being updated in Assam and the talk of introduction of Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, the Lotha Students Union (LSU) has urged the Nagaland government to promptly initiate reforms in the existing Inner Line Permit (ILP) system to effectively regulate and monitor the influx of immigrants into the state. The union also wanted the state government to standardize the ILP regulation guidelines, to enforce stricter procedure to detect suspected illegal immigrants, to improve ease of ILP application and renewal for tourists and investors, to streamline ILP revenue collection process to ensure transparency and accountability and to maintain proper and accurate records through a secure online database system. In a representation to chief minister Neiphiu Rio, the LSU said the ILP system at present is being carelessly enforced with numerous loopholes enabling illegal immigrants to take advantage of the deficient system and enter the state illegally. The union also submitted a document containing Reform Recommendations with two types of reforms to the government for implementation. In it, the students body suggested that the government enact fresh ILP guidelines for Nagaland, similar to guidelines for the enforcement of the inner line regulation in Mizoram (2006), with special emphasis on stringent scrutiny of applicants from certain illegal Bangladeshi immigrants infested districts of Assam. It also asked the government to improvise the new ILP system with the latest open source technology to empower administration and police for effectively regulating and monitoring all immigration activity in the state and integrate with crime and criminal tracking network and systems (CCTNS) to enable the administration and police to check criminal record history of ILP applicants and guarantors. The union further called for online ILP portal with online form for ease of application for tourists without any physical touch points and reporting dashboard for chief ministers office, home department, police and administration to monitor the ILP applications and to analyze the immigration patterns into the state. The NSCN (K), whose fighters attacked security forces recently with a string of ambushes in areas bordering Myanmar, has reportedly bought a large consignment of weapons. Intelligence sources say the group received two truckloads of weapons that were brought to Monywa, administrative headquarters of Myanmars Sagain Division in late June. From Monywa, the weapons were taken to Sinkaling Hkamti and then to the rebel bases in Taga . The size of the consignment was not yet clear but intelligence sources estimate at least 150 automatic rifles and some other automatic weapons with an appropriate assortment of ammunition reached the NSCN (K). Whether they purchased the entire consignment or was it shared between the constituents of the rebel coalition UNLFSWEA is not clear. The sources say it is possible that a part of the consignment was picked up by the ULFA (Independent) led by Paresh Barua. The weapons of Chinese design were reportedly manufactured in an arms factory in Pangwa in the Kachin state. The factory is said to be run by one Zakhung Ting Ying, a former Burmese Communist Party commander. Ting Ying surrendered to the Burmese army Tatmadaw in 1989 and set up his own militia and his arms assembling factory. Since then, Ting Ying has controlled the Pangwa region after surviving a putsch in 2005 by a group of NDA-K dissidents who accused their leader of involvement in rampant drug-running. Ting Ying, according to Kachin sources, is protected by a bodyguard corps made up exclusively of Chinese mercenaries. The gang, said to be a few hundred, is led by Zhao Ra, a Chinese-born adopted son of Ting Ying. In 2009, the NDA-K was converted into a Border Guard Force (BGF) by the military under an arrangement that sought to co-opt many of the ethnic armies into the official fold. That has helped strengthen NDA-Ks domination over Special Region no.1 as a government-sponsored militia. A 2014 report released by the Kachin Womens Association of Thailand (KWAT) alleged that the BGF units (1001 to 1004) comprised ex-NDAK cadres under Zakhung Ting Ying and they were actively involved in the opium trade across Special Region no.1 in Chipwe, Sadung and Tsawlaw townships. The report, titled Silent Offensive alleges that the NDA-K was being allowed to grow opium in exchange for fighting against the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). The KIA has been engaged in a prolonged armed conflict with the Myanmarese military since June 2011. Ting Ying controls a large molybdenum mine located in the NDA-K territory and oversees extensive logging in the area. Wikileaks has published a 2005 United States embassy cable in which American diplomats described the NDA-K as a group that resembles nothing more than a tightly-controlled business cartel. In 2010, Zakhung Ting Ying was elected to the Upper House of Myanmar Parliament in 2010. His son Zakhung Ying Sau currently represents the same area in Kachin state parliament. Ting Yings political rise is a reward as well as an acknowledgement of his supremacy and loyalty to the military in the region. So far, the United Wa State Army (UWSA) was known to be assembling weapons on Chinese designs in their factories. That Ting Ying has now got into the business in Kachin state should worry Indian security planners because much of Yings assembled weapons was likely to find its way to Northeastern rebel groups because of the proximity of the factory to the Taga base area. This also exemplifies the lack of effort on part of the Burmese army to check the rebel activity, despite their repeated promises not to allow their soil to be used for anti-Indian activities. National Security Service (NSS) director Arthur Vanetsyan held a meeting today with Japans Ambassador to Armenia Jun Yamada, the NSS said. At the meeting, Vanetsyan expressed condolences to the ambassador over the latest deadly floods which struck Japan. The Armenian NSS chief expressed readiness to cooperate with Japanese special services in information and practice exchange. The sides also discussed the issue of acquiring Japanese special equipment for security agencies. Vanetsyan expressed hope that the meeting will serve as solid ground for cooperation and partnership between the special services of Armenia and Japan for the benefit of the interests of both states. The Japanese ambassador emphasized that Armenia is considered to be safe in terms of terror threats and other crimes, which in his assessment is the result of the effective work of the NSS. The ambassador also mentioned that the presence of Japanese tourists in Armenia also proves the safety level of the country. Ambassador Yamada expressed readiness to assist the cooperation between Armenias NSS and Japans law enforcement agencies. China FM to meet with the Taliban in Qatar Armenia Parliament Speaker, Cyprus FM discuss issues on regional and bilateral agendas Armenia Parliament Council holds session, 18 items on agenda for plenary session on Oct. 26 Armenia Deputy Prosecutor General discusses nature protection rights in basin of Araks River and cooperation with Iran Armenia parliament sets up committee to lead probe into facts impeding fair trial Armenia Deputy PM Suren Papikyan visits Zangezur Copper-Molbydenum Combine Erdogan to leave for Azerbaijan to attend opening of airport in seized Varanda of Karabakh Armenia Parliament Speaker-led delegation meets with Cyprus defense minister Armenia Parliament Speaker holding meetings in Cyprus NATO Secretary General: Too early to comment on Turkey's decision to declare 10 countries' envoys 'persona non grata' Earthquake hits Armenia, felt in Gyumri, Spitak and Tashir Dollar goes up in Armenia Azerbaijan defense minister receives NATO delegation EU is closely following situation created after Turkey decided to expel envoys Turkey offers Russia to join NATO Armenia National Security Service left several examinations incomplete in ex-defense minister case, says his lawyer Armenia Finance Ministry: Construction and industry might become main engine of economic growth in 2022 Finance minister: Armenia government national debt payment spending will continue to increase in 2022 Opposition 'Armenia' faction MP: Rallies and marches might be held sooner than Nov. 9 Azerbaijans levying of tolls from Iranian trucks is against trilateral agreement, says Iran ambassador to Armenia Direct passenger flights between Yerevan, Vilnius to kick off mid-December Artsakh offers to return Azerbaijani paintings in exchange for Armenian ones remaining in now-occupied Shushi Armenia ruling party, opposition ARF to run for post of Ijevan mayor One more person dies of coronavirus in Karabakh Artsakh state minister, US lawmaker discuss cooperation Armenia opposition MP, ex-defense minister: 'Unblocking of transport roads' will lead to deeper blockade Premier: Armenia has no intention to conquer territories Pashinyan: Border delimitation start to create favorable conditions for Azerbaijan army withdrawal from Armenia 1,184 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia PM: Projects launched to turn Armenia from raw material exporting country to developed metallurgical nation Garden of the Eternal: Parents of about 200 soldiers killed in Artsakh war partake in tree planting first phase Premier: Absolute record number of paid jobs registered in Armenia in September Russia peacekeepers, philanthropists deliver 1.25 tons of humanitarian aid to Karabakh kindergartens, schools Sudan soldiers detain country's PM Turkey, Azerbaijan presidents to meet in Istanbul PM on Armenia 2022 state budget draft: We forecast 7% economic growth World gold prices going up World oil prices on the rise Armenia village head: No compensation paid for 80 cows that came under Azerbaijan control since June 5 Armenia PM visits late statesman, writer Vano Siradeghyans family Armenia President holds discussion with Yandex Deputy Director Tigran Khudaverdyan Armenia Ombudsman meets with France Ambassador, presents urgency of Armenian POWs' return Armenia village head: No news about conscript who has gone missing from Vardenis since May 18 Earthquake hits Armenia, felt in cities and villages of Shirak and Lori Provinces Armenia opposition to hold rallies on Nov. 9 and 10 How Armenians of Cyprus greeted Armenia Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan Opposition 'Shant Alliance' releases list of candidates for local self-government elections in Armenia's Kapan Facebook accused of inciting religious hatred in India Russia has refused collaboration with NATO, says presidential spokesman China launches Shijian-21 satellite to test space debris mitigation technology Shantnews.am: How are Gyumri municipal council seats distributed? Peskov speaks on prospects of Putin's next meeting with Biden Armenia ruling party releases list of candidates for local self-government elections in Kapan Armenia health minister: Hospital bed stock is almost empty Magnitude 6.5 earthquake hits Taiwan 47 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Artsakh, 14 patients are in critical condition COVID-19 vaccination kicks off at Opera Square in Yerevan Germany responds to Erdogan's assignment to declare Ambassadors 'persona non grata' Armenia Health Ministry: Pregnant women in COVID-19 risk group can avoid difficult course through vaccination Pakistan providing assistance to the Taliban in fight against ISIS in Afghanistan 2,354 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Uzbekistan holding presidential elections Armenia defense minister, Red Cross delegation discuss missing persons as result of both Artsakh wars Yerevan-Gyumri motorway passenger van accident death toll rises to 6 Aliyevs newfound pugnacity, provocation towards Iran risks undermining Azerbaijans long-term security Armenian Legal Center files new cases before ECHR regarding Armenian captives disappearance Azerbaijan kicks off military exercises in Artsakhs Kashatagh MFA spokesman: No Armenia PM-Azerbaijan president meeting planned at this time 4 killed, 3 injured in China chemical plant explosion Peskov comments on possible Russia-Armenia-Azerbaijan summit Artsakh President visits capital Stepanakert district, Askeran region (VIDEO) Armenia parliament foreign relations committee chair briefs Italy ambassador on post-war situation in region Timeframe of next Putin- Pashinyan-Aliyev meeting in Moscow is known Pope Francis is presented with PSG shirt signed by Messi Passenger dies on board plane Minister of State in Los Angeles, lauds Armenian diasporas assistance to Artsakh Alec Baldwin did not know that prop gun was loaded with real bullets 46 new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh Turkey announces beginning of procedure for purchasing F-16s from US 1,962 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Opposition Armenia Faction MP submits petition to give up his parliamentary seat Armenia PM: Today most urgent issue that shall be discussed at Summit of Minds is modeling of geopolitics Some US agencies begin investigating Biden's withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan Secret online school for girls opens in Afghanistan Newspaper: Former ones are Armenia PMs hope in upcoming local elections Turkeys Halkbank can be prosecuted for violating sanctions on Iran, US appellate court rules Armenia Ombudsman says MOD's disclosure of phone talks was unilateral and distorted Pastinfo newspaper: Zurabov sues Armenia PM, claim is known Biden, Macron discuss efforts to enable stronger European defense while ensuring complementarity with NATO US concerned about China aspirations in artificial intelligence, several advanced technologies Opposition MP: Ombudsman's statements are in Armenia's interest, but they might not be pleasant for authorities Opposition "Armenia" faction MP: We will hold a big rally soon Father of mayor of Armenia's Goris says son won't take parliamentary mandate Alik Media: Armenia and Azerbaijan to sign two documents in Moscow on Nov. 9 Armenia mother of soldier killed during 44-day war dies during 20th week of pregnancy due to COVID-19 Armenia PM discusses with France Ambassador intensification of negotiations over Karabakh conflict settlement Karabakh State Minister holds remote consultation devoted to control over coronavirus situation Grand Duke Romanov visits Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute Door lock of Ukrainian Supreme Rada falls on MP's head Garo Paylan compares Turkish economy with a patient in a hospital's reanimation unit Six U.S. senators introduced bipartisan legislation on Thursday to restrict loans from international financial institutions to Turkey until the Turkish government ends the unjust detention of U.S. citizens, Reuters reported quoting a senate committee statement. The move followed a Turkish court decision on Wednesday to keep U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson in jail during his trial on terrorism and spying charges, a case that has deepened a rift with NATO ally Washington. The bill, dubbed the Turkey International Financial Institutions Act, directs the U.S. executive of the World Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to oppose future loans, except for humanitarian purposes, to Turkey, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations statement said. It said the opposition should continue until Turkey is no longer arbitrarily detaining or denying freedom of movement to United States citizens (including dual citizens) or locally employed staff members of the United States mission to Turkey. Prankster Vladimir "Vovan" Kuznetsov said why he decided to joke on behalf of the prime minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan. Answering the question, what is the reason for the choice, Kuznetsov said "nothing personal." "The choice of the prime minister is caused by the change of power in Armenia. The fact that the person hasn't been connected with the previous elite, the former leadership of Armenia was important for us," Kuznetsov told Sputnik Armenia. Besides, Vovan admitted, the situation in Armenia was also interesting to pranksters. They wondered how the new authorities would build relations with Russia after that. Turning to Pashinyan, Kuznetsov urged the premier not to believe that it was some kind of special action connected personally with him. Prankster also noted that they do not plan to call on behalf of the Prime Minister of Armenia in the near future, and all the records have already been posted. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced it will award the Distinguished Public Service Medal, its highest honor, to astronomer Yervant Terzian, the Cornell Tisch Distinguished Professor Emeritus. The medal will be presented by NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston on August 2. The ceremony will be broadcast live at noon EDT on NASA TV. Dr. Yervant Terzian has dedicated his life to education, public service and scientific research, according to NASA in its award citation. He has used his enthusiasm for space exploration and education to bring inspirational experiences to students and the general public across the country. NASA continued: Dr. Yervant Terzian has made an indelible impact on education and inspiring young minds. He has evoked comprehension and wonder in his students and in his public audiences. These accomplishments and his eminent humanity prove Dr. Terzian worthy of this Distinguished Public Service Medal. Terry Herter, chair and professor of astronomy, agrees. Dr. Terzian has been a relentless, eloquent ambassador for the sciences over his entire career, reaching and influencing undergraduates, graduate students, colleagues and the general public. This is a very well-deserved award. Dear Newsie Readers, Newsie has now permanently ceased it's services as of Friday 20th December 2019. Newsie has been an owner-funded operation since day one. Coming up to three years old, while we still firmly believe Newsie has a place in the New Zealand media landscape, the cost in both time and money has become too burdensome for the owners to continue alongside other ventures. With the current government looking to restructure public broadcasting, and seemingly supporting NZME buying a ring-fenced Stuff, the time seems right to call it a day. Should it happen, the combination of NZME and Stuff will ensure New Zealands national media will die a death by a thousand opinion-based articles. Newsie has always tried to stick to balanced news, to inform readers of the facts of a situation, amid being largely ignored by government. Hopefully, one day someone else will take up the challenge to fight the good fight. The good news, however, is that there were no job losses as a result of Newsie closing. Thanks to careful structuring, everyone involved in Newsie will retain their current positions. We hope you all have a happy Christmas and new year. Stay safe, and stay out of the news. The team at Newsie Vietnam ASIC Cryptocurrency miner Vietnam is closing in on a sweeping move to temporarily ban the import of ASIC cryptocurrency mining equipment after the central bank approved the proposed plan. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), the countrys central bank, is in agreement with a government ministrys proposal to suspend imports of cryptocurrency miners, local publication Vietnam News reported on Thursday. As reported previously, the proposed blanket ban was first made by Vietnams Ministry of Finance (MoF) last month and was subsequently brought forward by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) in an official letter. At the time, the MoF highlighted the absence of crypto mining hardware from the list of goods banned from importation, claiming it was difficult to place any restrictions on crypto activity. The increased scrutiny by Vietnamese authorities into the cryptocurrency sector is seemingly a direct consequence of a nationwide ICO-related fraud that allegedly conned 32,000 domestic investors out of an estimated $660 million. The severity of the fallout led to Vietnams prime minister ordering six government ministries, including the MoF, and the central bank to investigate the alleged scam. Under its mandate, the MoF contended it requires State management agencies to take strict control measures with the import and use of this [crypto mining] commodity, according to the report. As a result, the MoF proposed the temporary suspension to ban the import of cryptocurrency miners. According to figures from Vietnam Customs, over 9,300 application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) devices were imported into Vietnam in 2017. As of April 2018, Vietnamese nationals had already imported 6,300 rigs, predominantly into Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, according to a local report. Vietnam was initially thought to be preparing legislation to legalize cryptocurrencies in mid-2017. This did not come to pass, however. Instead, the central bank moved to outlaw cryptocurrencies for payments by refusing to include it into the default list of approved non-cash payment methods in October 2017. Those laws came into effect at the turn of 2018, wherein adopters of cryptocurrencies are also under the threat of prosecution and fines between VND 150 million and 200 million [approx. $8,900]. ASIC miner image from Shutterstock. The post Vietnams Central Bank Approves Call to Suspend Import of Cryptocurrency Miners appeared first on CCN. hyolyn sexiness is so awkward to me Reply Thread Link my condolences Reply Parent Thread Link how so? i am in awe of her, she is the whole package Reply Parent Thread Link Shes kinda stiff when she dances and it just looks weird Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Hyolyn REMAINS A SUMMER QUEEN I'm still a bit shook over Apink NGL while gfriend's mini was cute but not needed. At least it's better than Lovelyz single? I'm surprised Laboum is coming back but glad they're still at it. Reply Thread Link I saw that OMG video a couple of days ago. So they fixed the allergy by giving them bananas lmao? And the video looked so cheap, especially for an OMG video. Reply Thread Link I'm a GFriend stan but Sunny Summer is....well. It's no Navillera. The girls did say they wanted to do a more fun/easy to follow dance this time, so I'm taking it as a sort of chill comeback before their next big one. although if you'd told me last year that Twice's next summer single would deliver harder choreo than GFriend's.....sigh Reply Thread Link I like gfriends song ngl, cute binches RISE Edited at 2018-07-21 03:57 am (UTC) Reply Thread Link omg, your icon. Reply Parent Thread Link Dance the Night Away (80s remix) coming soon ! Reply Parent Thread Link HYOOOOOLYYYYYNNNNNN Reply Thread Link i love everything hyolyn does Reply Thread Link the concept for oh my girl's banhana song still makes me super uncomfortable even though it's a cute song Reply Thread Link I might've said this in the last kpop post but I'm on a Sechskies kick lately. Both musically and for their variety show appearances. I think if I were a Korean teen in the 90s, I 100% would have been a Sechskies fan. Reply Thread Link Not into the soft focus filter b/c I feel like I can't see shit lol and no to those contacts, but Hyolyn is everything. Reply Thread Link miss hyolyn is serving me some tinashe SUPERLOVE but with an instagram filter realness Reply Thread Link Hyolyn is ahead of her time Reply Thread Link yes. especially as a solo act in the korean music industry. she's so exciting as a vocalist (her vocals on this track are BEAUTIFUL) and all-around performer. i can see her reaching for a crown and she's gonna get it. Reply Parent Thread Link this, she is amazing Reply Parent Thread Link YAASSS i left kpop back in 2016 but my love and stanning for hyolyn/sistar is undying tbh!!!! what a true visionary!!!! haters don't love themselves!!!! Reply Thread Link i am in awe of hyolyn, such beauty and talented i like the song Reply Thread Link The amount of summer comebacks was nice in theory but some of them have been too on the nose about trying to fill the hole Sistar left. Gfriend being the biggest culprit kind of surprised me. The song is cute but I keep cringing at the title. tbh more songs need to sound like I Swear, it's one of my favorite kpop songs tbh. otoh see sea is a bop. Hopefully Red Velvet doesn't disappoint next month and that it's a red concept, fingers crossed. WM trying to promote that song in Japan was a dumb move tbh. Not just because the concept is giving me flashbacks to tvxq antis trying to accuse Yunho of being racist towards the Japanese for imitating a monkey at their concert last month, but even both the kr and jp fans in the comment section think they should have promoted with closer or secret garden first Reply Thread Link I Swear is it a good song? by whom? Reply Parent Thread Link You're right OP, he was accused of rape by an extra on the set of Kangaroo Jack, but the judge dismissed it as "the most suspicious case I've ever heard." Reply Thread Link "In 2004, an extra on set of the Oscar-winning movie Hustle & Flow accused Anderson and an assistant director of raping her in a trailer on the Memphis set." Disgusting. Reply Parent Thread Link Oop my bad, I misread the article. Yeah it was Hustle & Flow, not Kangaroo Jack. Reply Parent Thread Link I was about to say...... Damn Anthony. Reply Parent Thread Link gross Reply Thread Link "It's unfortunate that anyone can file a police report whether it is true or false." Wtf does that mean?? Wouldn't anyone who committed a crime say the report against them was false??? Anyway, ugh and I hope his alleged victim gets justice. Edited at 2018-07-21 06:48 am (UTC) Reply Thread Link all that wealth and fame you get as a victim have to be worth it!! Reply Parent Thread Link Fucking finally. Reply Thread Link i hope disney finds this indefensible and inconsistent with it's studios values too Reply Thread Link They won't. Reply Parent Thread Link the clock has been ticking for this guy. Reply Thread Link This is the second time that we know of. Hope this case is followed throughout. Reply Thread Link I was really enjoying blackish until the divorce storyline last season, but Ive been having insomnia and catching episodes of The Jeffersons and Living Single on the ONE network and it has opened my eyes as to how mediocre the execution of blackish really is. It has great moments though. But just give Tracee her own show with the kids tbh Reply Thread Link Yeah seriously, the show would be nothing without her. Reply Parent Thread Link Hes the main reason I was hesitant to start blackish but Im glad I did. Tracee is the star for sure. The divorce storyline WRECKED me. I was going to be a mess for months if they didnt get that resolved by the end of the finale episode. Reply Parent Thread Link this alleged serial r*pist has for sure been lawyering up since #metoo started resulting in consequences for predators Reply Thread Link Can it stick, this time Reply Thread Link anyone can file a police report You're goddamn right. Anyone can. Much like anyone can be a serial sexual assailant Anthony. Anyone. A lawyer,a doctor,an unfunny tv star, etc. Crazy how that works. Dude thinks his lousy, overacting stunt on Law and Order will convince others he knows the stats on false police reporting. Reply Thread Link "a lawyer, a doctor, an unfunny tv star" lmao Reply Parent Thread Link I never watched Blackish because of his history of sexually assaulting women. Dude is a serial predator and he needs to be put away. Reply Thread Link Where theres smoke theres fire. Fuck him. I already stopped watching blackish but I shouldnt have started in the first place. Reply Thread Link I always thought he got off way too easy last time around. Fuck him. I can't even watch his old L&O episodes without thinking "I was anyone else was playing this character besides you." Reply Thread Link FINALLY. this motherfucker. FINALLY. Reply Thread Link Hes always given me the creeps. Reply Thread Link RIP Reply Thread Link OP, I think he died of complications due to a massive stroke. Or at least thats what his fiancee posted. I was hoping for a better outcome in this. It sucks, but this guy had such a huge community supporting him and I think that says a lot about the man. Its a sad day. Reply Thread Link This is so heartbreaking :(( Much love to his loved ones and his fiancee Holly Payne during this difficult time. I been a fan since the AMC days, and Collider as well. He was always joyous and funny, and it says a lot about his character that there have been countless number of stories of how kind he was, and how sweet/humble he was and how passionate he was about life and his art. A good man died, RIP. Reply Thread Link This is so sad. RIP. Reply Thread Link I just cried omg he was so great Reply Thread Link Aw, he made it to Hall H. :( RIP Reply Thread Link He really was gentle giant, lovely positive man. He will be missed. Comic Book Shopping was a great show. Reply Thread Link RIP and my condolences to his family, friends, and fans Reply Thread Link Following this broke my heart yesterday. He did a lot of work on The Venture Bros, too. RIP <3 Reply Thread Link So, so sad. :( RIP. Reply Thread Link I wasn't familiar with him, but seeing all the positive thoughts go out on my twitter made me follow this story, and I"m sad he's gone :( Reply Thread Link Didnt know who he was but I saw some people post on Instagram to help the gofundme very sad Reply Thread Link a talk show about ..... about what? complications of a heart attack no, it was a stroke? maybe a little more information in a post acknowledging his death? Reply Thread Link He seemed very nice/sweet, definitely knowledgeable about comics. I loved his passion around them. And he seemed to have been a genuinely positive, supportive, and sweet guy. The world needed more like him. I'll miss seeing him on Youtube, and I really feel for his family/loved ones. That's rough. 51 is too young. Oh and it was a massive stroke he suffered, not a heart attack. Poor guy. :( Reply Thread Link Damn, this one sucks. RIP! Reply Thread Link 7 new books recommended by critics and editors at The New York Times https://t.co/nm8t1mGkg5 New York Times Books (@nytimesbooks) July 19, 2018 GIVE PEOPLE MONEY Imagine if every month the government deposited $1,000 into your checking account, with no strings attached and nothing expected in return. It sounds crazy. But it has become one of the most influential and discussed policy ideas of our time. The founder of Facebook, President Obamas chief economist, Canada and Finlands governments, the conservative and labor movements leading intellectual lightsall are seriously debating versions of a UBI.In this sparkling and provocative book, economics writer Annie Lowrey looks at the global UBI movement. She travels to Kenya to see how a UBI is lifting the poorest people on earth out of destitution, India to see how inefficient government programs are failing the poor, South Korea to interrogate UBIs intellectual pedigree, and Silicon Valley to meet the tech titans financing UBI pilots in expectation of a world with advanced artificial intelligence and little need for human labor. Lowrey also examines the challenges the movement faces: contradictory aims, uncomfortable costs, and most powerfully, the entrenched belief that no one should get something for nothing.In 2012, Beck Dorey-Stein is working five part-time jobs and just scraping by when a posting on Craigslist lands her, improbably, in the Oval Office as one of Barack Obamas stenographers. The ultimate D.C. outsider, she joins the elite team who accompany the president wherever he goes, recorder and mic in hand. On whirlwind trips across time zones, Beck forges friendships with a dynamic group of fellow travelersyoung men and women who, like her, leave their real lives behind to hop aboard Air Force One in service of the president.As she learns to navigate White House protocols and more than once runs afoul of the hierarchy, Beck becomes romantically entangled with a consummate D.C. insider, and suddenly the political becomes all too personal.Against the backdrop of glamour, drama, and intrigue, this is the story of a young woman making unlikely friendships, getting her heart broken, learning what truly matters, and, in the process, discovering her voice.Pearl's job is to make people happy. As a technician for the Apricity Corporation, with its patented happiness machine, she provides customers with personalized recommendations for greater contentment. She's good at her job, her office manager tells her, successful. But how does one measure an emotion?Meanwhile, there's Pearl's teenage son, Rhett. A sensitive kid who has forged an unconventional path through adolescence, Rhett seems to find greater satisfaction in being unhappy. The very rejection of joy is his own kind of "pursuit of happiness." As his mother, Pearl wants nothing more than to help Rhett--but is it for his sake or for hers? Certainly it would make Pearl happier. Regardless, her son is one person whose emotional life does not fall under the parameters of her job--not as happiness technician, and not as mother, either.A year has passed since Catherine and Michael Hall lost their teenage daughter in a car accident, leaving them and their sixteen-year-old son, Rowan, reeling in the aftermath of the tragedy. After Rowan escapes to boarding school, Catherine withdraws from her life as a successful London gallerist to Hamdean, an apartment in a Georgian country manor, where she and Michael had hoped to spend their retirement. When a beguiling young woman, Keira, appears at the house claiming to have once lived there, Catherine is reanimated by the promise of a meaningful connection. However, their relationship soon shifts to one of forbidding uncertainty as the mysteries of the past collide with the truth of the present.Like many first-time mothers, Rebecca Stone finds herself both deeply in love with her newborn son and deeply overwhelmed. Struggling to juggle the demands of motherhood with her own aspirations and feeling utterly alone in the process, she reaches out to the only person at the hospital who offers her any real helpPriscilla Johnsonand begs her to come home with them as her sons nanny.Priscillas presence quickly does as much to shake up Rebeccas perception of the world as it does to stabilize her life. Rebecca is white, and Priscilla is black, and through their relationship, Rebecca finds herself confronting, for the first time, the blind spots of her own privilege. She feels profoundly connected to the woman who essentially taught her what it means to be a mother. When Priscilla dies unexpectedly in childbirth, Rebecca steps forward to adopt the baby. But she is unprepared for what it means to be a white mother with a black son. As she soon learns, navigating motherhood for her is a matter of learning how to raise two children whom she loves with equal ferocity, but whom the world is determined to treat differently.Sources: 1 UK C&C It was expected by many, me included but more importantly UKOGA and a couple of the bigger oil and gas consultancies, that UK offshore oil production would increase significantly from 2017 to exceed 1000 kbpd for the yearly average in 2018. So far this is proving a bit of a challenge. March production was 934 kbpd, down 7 percent m-o-m and 2 percent y-o-y (but up 0.8 percent for the first quarter compared with 2017). Its possible that some fields have not reported but those showing zero for the month are not big producers. The biggest single field drop came from Clair but most field saw declines, even the newer ones. Jodi data indicates there will be a rise in May, but not above 1000 kbpd, and after that there is usually a summer dip because of maintenance shutdowns (plus this year some strikes at Total platforms). (Click to enlarge) Two of the largest oil producers, Buzzard and the Golden Eagle Area Development, both operated by Nexen, have started accelerated decline following increasing water breakthrough (especially noticeable in GEAD over the past year). The newest large field is Scheihallion. This is a redevelopment with its neighbouring field, Loyal, through the Glen Lyon FPSO (also called the Quad 204 project), which was started last year. So far the combined decline in Buzzard and GEAD has exceeded growth in Scheihallion. The Clair Ridge platforms, which also exploit the heavy oil in the Clair field, were installed last year but there have been multiple delays and production is not now expected until later this year. Once it is ramped up, which could take three or four years despite it having some predrilled wells, it will be the largest producer at 100 to 120 mmbpd and has an eight-year plateau, while Scheihallion/Loyal will plateau and decline quickly. (Click to enlarge) Pierce and Captain are heavy oil developments. Pierce was redeveloped in 2009 and Captain has recently switched to using polymer injection to improve the water flood performance. Heavy oil projects require many wells, tend to produce high water cuts from the outset and have low recovery factors. Clair and Clair ridge are mentioned above. Kraken was a heavy oil start-up in June last year, it has the largest water processing capacity in the UK North Sea and has already seen water at 60 to 65 percent. Mariner is another due to start later this year for Statoil, it uses condensate for EOR, and there are other heavy oil prospects like Bressay (cancelled by Statoil when the oil price collapsed) and Bentley. (Click to enlarge) Another reason for the possibly lower than expected total production is early decline in many of the smaller producers started up from late 2015 through 2017. For example the P10 production plan for Scolty & Crathes had over 7,000 bpd average in 2018 and a decline out to 2032, but the current production is around 3,000 bpd and declining, all from Crathes as the Scolty field expired after about four months. Similarly, Solan was predicted to average around 18,000 bpd in 2017 but achieved 10,000 bpd only briefly and is now below 5,000 and declining. UK NATURAL GAS (Click to enlarge) UK Natural Gas production is in decline, probably terminal, while usage continues to grow. The biggest single supplier is the Ormen-Lange field in Norway, which is also in decline but it well be augmented by newer Norwegian developments like Aasta Hansteen and Dvalin that are due in the next few years and will deliver to the same gas plant at Nyhamna as Ormen Lange and then export via the Langeled pipeline to the UK. (Grid data is from DUKES Digest of UK Energy Statistics). SHETLAND GAS PLANT The Shetland Gas Plant (SGP) in Sullom Voe is a Total operated facility, receiving production from gas-condensate fields West of Shetland, and was one of the largest recent North Sea projects. I think there is enough evidence now to declare this project to be something less than a rip-roaring success. I dont know if they will make money on it but the construction phase had a lot of problems (Petrofac took it on as a lump sum contract and lost money through various different issues) and the reservoirs look much poorer than expected, with the main ones of Laggan and Tormore only containing about a third of the expected reserves. Related: Oil Selloff Gives Trump More Room On Iran The green dots in the chart show the originally planned production for these two, with them coming of plateau to be replaced by Glenlivet and Edradour about now. In fact the original fields are approaching exhaustion and the smaller additions are now declining after being brought on-line early. The gas plant has recently been in turn around and some work may have been done to improve well delivery. (Note I think Ive got the correct data shown now after messing up the Edradour numbers in two different ways previously.) (Click to enlarge) NATURAL GAS IMPORTS (Click to enlarge) The chart shows gross imports, net numbers are slightly less as there is some balancing through the Bacton interconnectors. Imports have been fairly steady since 2010, mainly because newer production in the North Sea balanced decline in mature fields (some of the new gas production is actually the final blow down of gas caps on mature oil fields). Imports are likely to need to increase now as overall production decline is accelerating again and demand appears to be increasing. Most new gas is likely to have to come from LNG. UK PRODUCTION PROJECTIONS Previously Id made an estimate of future production based on simple, assumed decline curves and overall reserves. The steepness of the curves, especially for natural gas, was striking so I have tried to get some better data using Environmental Statements, which each project is required to submit to the UKOGA as part of the development approval process. These include expected production profiles and are usually available on the E&P company web sites. Some later prospects that are still in the planning stages Ive estimated based on available data from companies news releases and presentations. Overall the oil projection came out similar to before, but for natural gas it is slightly worse. The biggest unknown is the decline in small fields labelled Mature that Ive approximated based on eyeballing recent performance and fitting overall reserves reported by UKOGA. Related: Goldman Predicts Major Solar Market Contraction The production profiles presented in the applications are usually for P10 cases, so actual decline will be steeper than shown, for example this years drop off in Buzzard was actually not predicted until next year, even in their P50 case (which was presented as part of the Buzzard II development application), and if the new projects perform as well as Laggan or Scolty & Crathes then the decline will be very quick indeed. (Click to enlarge) (Click to enlarge) I have included all known discoveries that look commercial with reasonable oil prices but have not included any allowance for future discoveries, though there arent many of those at the moment. Also not included are some larger discoveries that have not been fully appraised (e.g. Cambo, which is close to Rosebank and of similar size, Jackdaw, which is an ultra-high pressure / high temperature marginal gas field, and some other gas prospects in the West of Shetland area) plus several smaller discoveries that may be commercial at high prices or may need neighbouring discoveries to become so. The UK oil industry is in its declining years and there is a fair number of mergers and acquisitions activity as the E&Ps seek to reduce costs. ConocoPhilips is swapping assets with BP and pulling back from the North Sea to concentrate on Alaska and LTO, Maersk Oil and Gas has sold up to Total which is now looking to offload a fair chunk of its assets, Chevron is looking to sell all its North Sea operating assets (but retain Rosebank as a development project), Repsol bought into some assets but it seems now it wants to get out again. With smaller players taking over there is sometimes a short-term production increase from mature fields, but it also tends to signify there are fewer large projects to come. By Peak Oil Barrel More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Despite significantly weakened interest towards internal political dealings in Ukraine itself, the issue of Ukraines gas transit remains a much-debated issue of the European energy community (understandably, since European countries want to make sure a viable solution is found for Russian pipeline gas supplies). Ukraines gas transit was even on the tapis during the recent Putin-Trump talks in Helsinki, where the Russian president assured his counterpart that Moscow would keep the transit route even after 2019, when the current 10-year contract runs out. Analysts have long argued that such an outcome would be highly expedient and recent Brussels-induced developments point to a potential consensus-based solution brewing already. Russia, Ukraine and the Energy Directorate of the European Commission held three-party talks June 17 on ways to solve the Ukraine gas transit limbo. The back story was pretty daunting Russia has had to backtrack on its previous pledge to completely annul Ukrainian gas transit by 2020 and is now identifying 10-15 BCm/year as the optimal transit volume (even though it will most likely need 20-30 BCm/year even after Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream are commissioned). Ukraines political leadership, too, finds itself in a difficult position because it has invested way too much political capital in depicting Russia as the ultimate cause of all of Ukraines evils, yet it desperately needs the transit revenues to finance its ailing budget. Related: Saudi Arabia's Solution To Rising U.S. Gas Prices The first results of the trilateral negotiations are overwhelmingly positive it genuinely seems that by taking on the political responsibility in case the talks fail, Brussels has managed to solve one of the key deficiencies of Russo-Ukranian relations lately, namely, that everything is used as an argument in a perennial blame game. Also, it seems that the EU is intent on seeing through the end Ukraines implementation of EU energy regulations, which, regarding tariff-setting and operator unbundling, are a positive development. The sides have agreed that it will not be Naftogaz, the traditional partner, that will be included in the final gas transit setup, but a new system operator, unbundled from it for the specific purposes of gas transportation. Ukraines long-delayed attempts at unbundling the gas transmission system operator can be characterized as nothing but chaos-ridden. Following several years wait, the Ukrainian government postulated June 2017 that the current gas transportation grid assets be transferred to PJSC Trunk Gas Pipelines of Ukraine (Mahistralni Gazoprovody Ukrainy, MGU), yet the current operator Naftogaz is bent staying in the transmission business one way or another and has been delaying the implementation for quite some time already. Naftogaz even spun out a new entity within its umbrella, the Ukrainian Gas Transmission System Operator, thus creating a situation in which there are two potential grid operators vying for their place in the sun. Naftogaz has been trying to peg the unbundling process with the Stockholm Arbitration Decision on the Gazprom transit contract, despite significant pressure from the European Commission to pursue the path that had been charted. It is important to remember that a total of $1 billion was granted to Kiev on the condition that it reforms its gas transmission system and creates an independent grid operator. The Ukrainian government, too, is trying to obfuscate the situation even though it has created a new entity, MGU, it is by no means willing to privatize it. The ensuing mess is understandable in a way, since gas transiting was traditionally the only profit-making segment of Naftogazs activities and was used for many years as a cross-subsidy to keep the company afloat. Despite many difficulties ahead, the results of the talks seem to signal a palpable shift in attitudes. Naftogaz suggested lowering the transit fee, for years a taboo, to increase the competitiveness of the Ukrainian transit conduit, from $2.50/MCm/100km to $2.17/MCm/100km. The proposal comes with several caveats, most importantly the Ukrainian side wants to establish a volume peg to the given formula. Ukraines expectations in this respect are somewhat quixotic as their considerations are built on the assumption that annual transit flows would amount to 141 BCm/year, meaning that they do not see the 55 BCmpa Nord Stream 2 being built. Moreover, Ukraine is betting on Moscow ending Gazproms export monopoly (after NOVATEK was assigned the role of Russias leading LNG exporter, definitely not going to happen) and letting Central Asian gas suppliers in, which is very ambitious indeed. Related: Yamal LNG Is Conquering China In view of the above, the upcoming task is fairly straightforward, that is to find a volume threshold that would be acceptable to both parties. Something within the range of 40 and 50 BCm per year might be a consensual number the 93.5 BCm transited in 2017 will inevitably decrease after Nord Stream 2 is brought online. However, several BCm of Nord Stream volumes will cover demand that was not previously included in Gazproms export allocation, either compensating falling Dutch output or increasing German demand. The Russian Energy Minister A. Novak estimates that European gas demand will increase by 17-25 BCm in the next five years, hence even after Nord Stream 2 eats away half of the current Ukrainian gas transit, there will be sufficient demand for the remaining volumes. Russia needs Ukraine as a backup gas conduit, but similarly to Ukraine does not want to risk a face-losing settlement. As things stand now, sooner or later Gazprom will have to accept the Stockholm Arbitration ruling and pay, if not the $2.6 billion adjudicated this February, a part of the sum (as a result of their appeal mitigating some factors). It is also imaginable that Moscows suggesting of reaching an out-of-court settlement will materialize at some point. All in all, by moving the judicial foundations of the next transit contract to Brussels and imbuing it with current EU regulative approaches, both sides stand to benefit. Now both Moscow and Kiev have to see the negotiation process through so that one of Europes greatest energy logjams can be finally cleared. By Viktor Katona for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: As southern Iraq reels from snowballing protests that threaten oil facilities at a critical political weak point, the outgoing prime minister is taking dangerous measures to stop them, including aggressive use of security forces and cutting internet access that could cost the country $40 million a day. The Iraqi central government has imposed a full internet shutdown across the southern provinces of Iraq, including Baghdad and oil-rich Basra in an attempt to prevent a further escalation of protests, and to make it more difficult for protest organizers to communicate. Theyve also blocked social media networks in the northern territory controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Mobile applications which have messaging features like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat also have been blocked. Its an expensive move, in more than one way. NetBlocks.org, an internet shutdown observatory, says that this attack on the internet by the authorities could add up to losses of $40 million per day because the blackouts are affecting businesses that rely on social media for marketing and sales. Blocking the internet, or specific social media apps, is becoming a commonplace knee-jerk reaction for the Iraqi authorities. Theyve already tested it out on school children during test time to prevent cheating by requiring all ISPs, including mobile 3G providers, to black out service for three hours per day during exam weeks. But its also been used before as a security measures. It imposed blackouts in Mosul when ISIS occupied the city, and it did the same when it was having a pricing dispute with telecommunications companies in 2013. Related: U.S. Poised To Ease Biofuel Quotas All told, one study says that the Iraqi government ordered 22 internet outages just in 2016. The same study says those outages, combined, cost the country over $200 million in lost economic growth. No blackout undertaken by the Iraqi government, however, has been as intrusive as this one. This is not about ISIS, or pricingor potentially cheating students. This is out masses of protesters who have valid grievances. They are protesting the fact that the massive oil wealth of the Basra region isnt trickling down to the peopleto the point that there is even a lack of potable water. They are also protesting the proportion of jobs handed in the oil industry to locals as opposed to foreigners. The official unemployment rate in Iraq is 10.8 percent, but the bigger problem is that the unemployment rate for Iraqs large youth population is double that. Nearly 59 percent of Iraq's population is under the age of 25. Despite living in the heart of the oil industry, which accounts for 95 percent of export, residents of Basra and Iraqs south are some of the countrys poorest. Out of some 200,000 people are employed in energy sector, 25 percent are from outside Basra, including foreigners. Protesters are demanding them to be replaced. Even if oil production has not been impacted yet, operations at several oil fields have been affected by security concerns and international oil companies have temporarily withdrawn staff from some areas that saw protests. Related: Chinese Oil Demand Growth Could Slow Down Soon As protests enter their second week and show no sign of abating, blocking the internet may hinder communications, but it will also further enrage and already engage citizenry. Politically, this is a critical time for Iraq, which is struggling to form a new coalition government following May general elections. Now, the unrest adds more pressure to this process and cutting off businesses that could end up taking $40 million a day out of Iraqs economic growth will only worsen the situation. By Damir Kaletovic for Safehaven.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Libyas oil disruptions would normally wreak havoc in Italyone of Libyas top oil consumersbut the United States is serving as a pinch hitter in the wake of civil unrest in the troubled African nation. Trade flow data from Thomas Reuters and Kpler shows that Italys imports of US crude spiked as Libya struggled to ship oil under force majeure in recent months. In June, Italy imported a record 4.93 million barrels of crude oil from the United States, or 165,000 barrels per day, according to Kpler. That represents a noteworthy increase to the 3.3 million barrels shipped from the US to Italy in May and 1.9 million barrels in April. Kpler predicts that 2.14 million barrels are set to ship from the US to Italy in July. On the flip side, Libyas shipments to Italy were 9.73 million barrels in May, followed by a drastic decrease in June to 3.45 million barrels. Libya had reopened its eastern oil ports in mid-July after they had been shuttered for weeks, but within days, the NOC declared a force majeure on loadings from Zawiya, following an attack and an abduction of oil workers. Production was set to decline substantially as a result of the closure, but Ras Lanuf, Zuwetina, Hariga, and Es Sider have either resumed or are expected to resume shortly. Yesterday, reports surfaced that even more production capacity in Libya was expected to come online as other fields gear up for restart, including Waha and Elephant. Related: Oil Investors Look To Utah For Long-Term Riches Libyas short shipments of oil come at a particularly bad time for Italy, who has also had to dial back imports of Iranian oil; another of Italys top oil suppliers. Trading sources in Italy who normally purchase Iranian crude oil told S&P Global Platts that August loading stems would likely be their last, as logistical concerns including financial, shipping, and insurance matters prove difficult for European refiners. Libyas shortcomings and Irans blacklisting are proving a boon for US oil, and may also be a boon for Iraqs oil, which also offers a light grade. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The layered forest of Lope National Park (Gabon), is an area that NASA is studying with airborne radar and laser sensors during the AfriSAR campaign. Credit: NASA/Sassan Saatchi A contingent of NASA airborne instruments and scientists on the ground has joined colleagues from space agencies in Gabon and Europe this month to study the dense African tropical forests in Gabon. Gabon, a Central African country slightly smaller than the state of Colorado, is home to one of the most pristine rainforests on the planet. During the two-week-long NASA campaign, a collaboration with a European Space Agency (ESA) mission called AfriSAR, researchers are collecting measurements of plant mass, distribution of trees, shrubs and ground cover, and diversity of plant and animal speciesnot only from Gabon's rainforest but also from the country's wetlands, mangrove forests and savanna. ESA launched the first part of the AfriSAR field campaign in Gabon in July 2015, when teams led by the French national aerospace research center collected radar and field measurements of the country's forests. Now NASA and the German space agency have joined the second leg of the campaign. The data will help prepare for and calibrate four current and upcoming spaceborne missions for NASA, ESA and the German space agency that aim to, among other goals, better gauge the role of forests in Earth's carbon cycle. "One of the questions we're really interested in at NASA is balancing the global carbon budget," said Lola Fatoyinbo, a research scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and lead of NASA's contribution to the AfriSAR campaign. "We know how much carbon dioxide is being emitted into the atmosphere by fossil fuel emissions, but we don't have a good estimate of how much carbon is being taken up from the atmosphere and where it's stored - we think that forests absorb about a quarter of all these emissions, but we need better studies of forest biomass to confirm this." "With AfriSAR, we're getting very accurate measurements of the 3D structure of an ecosystem that is representative of the larger Congo Basin rainforest and of tropical forests in general, and this is going to allow us to get a better grip on how much carbon is stored in these ecosystems," Fatoyinbo said. Gabon's forest is part of the Congolian tropical forests, altogether the second largest rainforest in the world after the Amazon. About 85 percent of the country's land is forest: only about 1.5 million people live there. "The forests in Gabon are special: they are rich in plants and animals, but empty of people and intact in most places," said Sassan Saatchi, a senior scientist from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. He is part of the NASA AfriSAR team that operates the Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR). The other NASA group participating in AfriSAR, led by Goddard scientist Bryan Blair, is in charge of the Land, Vegetation, and Ice Sensor (LVIS) instrument. During the AfriSAR campaign, UAVSAR flies 40,000 feet high mounted beneath a C-20A aircraft from NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. LVIS flies at 28,000 feet onboard a B-200 airplane from NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Both instruments collect measurements of surface topography and vegetation structure by sending out rapid pulses of either radio waves (UAVSAR) or laser light (LVIS) toward their targets. They then calculate the distance to objects below by measuring how long it takes for the signal to bounce back, creating 3D maps of the surface beneath. "LVIS studies the vertical structure of the forests by measuring the elevation of everything the photons hit: the top of the canopy, all of the leaves and branches and finally the ground" said Blair, principal investigator and developer of LVIS. "In tropical forests, the challenge is to get the laser pulse all the way to the ground because the whole canopy is closed; there's very few holes for the photons to get through." The data collected by LVIS will help calibrate and validate the information gathered by UAVSAR over the same targets, and vice-versa. The two datasets will also be compared to the airborne radar measurements that ESA and the German space agency are compiling during their current campaigns in Gabon. Finally, AfriSAR's ground teams from Goddard and JPL are performing several types of field measurements, such as tree width, forest structure and soil moisture, which will complement and refine the data gathered from the air. Both NASA airborne instruments are test beds for future space missions. LVIS is the precursor to the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation lidar (GEDI), a powerful laser altimeter that will be installed on the International Space Station in the near future to measure forests in 3D. UAVSAR will help develop the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, or NISAR, a joint U.S. and Indian radar-based satellite mission set to launch in 2020. In turn, the European space agencies' radar measurements in Gabon are aimed to prepare for ESA's BIOMASS satellite mission, which will deploy in 2020. The German space agency will also compare the data to the measurements collected by its TanDEM-X satellite constellation, launched in 2010. Furthermore, the forest data gathered in Gabon might help to inform policymakers working on climate mitigation and forest conservation policies, Saatchi said. AfriSAR is NASA's first collaboration with Gabon's young space agency, AGEOS, and also its first large international campaign in Africa since NASA participated in a hydrological study of the Sahel in the early 1990s. Explore further Forest-mapping instrument for space station passes major milestone Facebook has suspended a US analytics firm for possibly misusing customer data Facebook has suspended a Boston analytics firm from its site and says it is investigating whether the company's contracts with the US government and a Russian non-profit violated policies, the Wall Street Journal reported. The firm, Crimson Hexagon, says its platform allows clientswhich include major US corporationsto analyze audiences and to track brand perception and campaign performance. Citing people familiar with the business, the Journal said the government contracts of Crimson Hexagon, which pulls public data from Facebook, were not approved by Facebook in advance. Since 2014, US government agencies have paid Crimson Hexagon more than $800,000 for 22 contracts, the Journal said, citing government procurement data. Crimson Hexagon has sold its proprietary analytics platform abroad, including to Turkey and Russia, where in 2014 it worked with a non-profit tied to the government, the Journal reported late Friday. It said Crimson Hexagon appears at least once to have mistakenly received private data from Facebook's Instagram service. Facebook had requested further evidence from Crimson Hexagon but the Journal quoted a spokesman for the social network as saying that "based on our investigation to date, Crimson Hexagon did not obtain any Facebook or Instagram information inappropriately." Chris Bingham, a Crimson Hexagon executive, wrote in a Friday blog post that his firm only collects publicly available social media data, an act which is "completely legal." Bingham says his firm routinely vets potential government customers to ensure they comply with policies of its "data partners" like Facebook. "For example, there are special sensitivities about how government agencies can use online public data, even though that same data is freely accessible by others," he wrote. Facebook acknowledged this month that it was facing multiple inquiries from US and British regulators about a scandal involving the British consultancy Cambridge Analytica. In Facebook's worst ever public relations disaster, it admitted that up to 87 million users may have had their data hijacked by Cambridge Analytica, which was working for US President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign. Cambridge Analytica, which denies the accusations, has filed for bankruptcy in the United States and Britain. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in May that he was rolling out privacy controls demanded by European regulators to Facebook users worldwide because "everyone cares about privacy." Facebook and other online platforms have also been under pressure to better protect against being used to spread misinformation or promote division, as US intelligence leaders say Russia did during the 2016 US presidential campaign. Explore further Report: SEC probes Facebook privacy issues 2018 AFP 4 hours ago To The Moon? Teslas Price Is Going To Mars Tesla Wows Market With Q3 Results Love him or hate him, Elon Musk has taken Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) to new heights and the climb has only just begun. While the EV story here on earth is a compelling driver of the stocks value, in our opinion it is the Mars angle that will keep it moving up over the long term. Read Article F5 experts observed a spike in the attacks in the days prior to the Trump-Putin meeting on July 16 that was held in Helsinki, Finland. Important events represent an element of attraction for cyber attacks, in June we discussed the Trump-Kim summit and the way Singapore that held it was hit by an unprecedented number of attacks from June 11 to June 12. At the time most of the cyber attacks were originated in Russia. Lets analyze the effect in the cyberspace of another event, the Trump-Putin meeting that was held in Helsinki in Finland that historically is not a privileged target of hackers. The experts pointed out that they have no data to suggest the attacks against Finland were successful. Once again researchers at security firm F5 analyzed the number of attacks that hit the location during the summit and made an interesting discovery, most of the cyber attacks were originated in China. On July 16th, President Trump met with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland. As expected, attacks against Finland skyrocketed days before the meeting. Whats interesting this time around is that Russia wasnt the top attackerperhaps because Trump was meeting with Putin? In this case, China was the top attacker. reports the security firm F5. Experts observed many similarities between the attacks that were observed against the countries that hosted the two meeting. Hackers targeted the same ports, including included SIP port 5060 typically used by VoIP systems (#3 in Finland attacks, #1 in Singapore attacks), SQL port 1433 (#6 in Finland, #3 in Singapore), and Telnet port 23 (#3 in Finland, #9 in Singapore). Most of the attacks targeted SSH port 22 which is typically used for the secure remote administration of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Attackers scan for devices configured with default credentials to compromise them with brute force attacks. The second most targeted port was the SMB port 445. The challenge is that the device credentials are typically vendor defaults and, as such, are routinely brute forced. The majority of the attacks against Finland surrounding the Trump-Putin meeting were brute force attacks. continues F5. Experts noticed that some ports targeted by the attacks during the Trump-Putin meeting were not hit during the Singapore summit, for example, the HTTP port 80, MySQL port 3306, the alternate web server port 8090, often used for web cameras, and RDP port 3389. Experts highlighted that Finland is not included in the list of top-targeted countries. Which were the other top targeting countries during the Helsinki meeting? The top targeting countries were China (29%); United States (14%); France (9%); Italy (8%); Russia (7%); According to F5, ChinaNet was the top attacking network during the attack spike. If threat actors can follow anyone from an average citizen to a CIA agent, why not President Trump, or any member of his official entourage? They are perhaps the highest valued intelligence targets on the planet right now. Even allied state actors have an interest in gaining eyes or ears into any member of the Trump entourage, F5 concludes. Pierluigi Paganini (Security Affairs gaming, money laundering) Share this... Linkedin Share this: Twitter Print LinkedIn Facebook More Tumblr Pocket Share On Chinese President Xi Jinping walks with Senegal's President Macky Sall after arriving at the Leopold Sedar Senghor International Airport, at the start of his visit to Dakar Chinese President Xi Jinping walks with Senegal's President Macky Sall after arriving at the Leopold Sedar Senghor International Airport, at the start of his visit to Dakar, Senegal July 21, 2018. REUTERS/Mikal McAllister By Tim Cocks DAKAR (Reuters) - China's President Xi Jinping arrived in Senegal on Saturday for a two-day visit to sign bilateral deals, the first leg of an Africa tour at time when the continent is awash with cheap Chinese loans in exchange for minerals and construction contracts. China now does more trade with Africa than any other nation and Xi's trip - his second abroad since starting a second term under new rules that abolished term limits - will also take him to Rwanda and South Africa, for a summit of BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). China's consistent overtures to Africa contrast sharply with the United States, whose President Donald Trump has shown little interest in the continent. He will meet Senegalese President Macky Sall for the third time and sign several deals. China's ambassador to Senegal Zhang Xun was quoted in the local press in March as saying China had invested $100 million in Senegal in 2017. Xi was greeted by a brass band and hundreds of people waving Chinese and Senegalese flags and wearing T-shirts with the two leaders' faces on. Africa is in the midst of a boom in infrastructure projects, managed and cheaply financed by China and part of Xi's "Belt and Road" initiative to build a transport network connecting China by land and sea to Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa. China has pledged $126 billion for the plan, which has been praised by its supporters as a source of vital financing for the developing world. In Senegal, Chinese loans have financed a highway linking the capital Dakar to Touba, its second main city, and part of an industrial park on the Dakar peninsula. POLITICAL SUPPORT Critics say Africa is loading itself up on Chinese debt that it may struggle to repay, with estimates ranging in the tens of billions of dollars. That could leave African nations with no choice but to hand over controlling stakes in strategic assets to the Chinese state. Story continues U.S. officials have warned that a port in the tiny Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti, a host to major U.S. and French military bases, could suffer this fate, although Djibouti rejects the fear. In Guinea, meanwhile, one of the world's poorest nations, China is lending $20 billion to the government in exchange for aluminium ore concessions. As well as trade and minerals, China has also seen Africa as a source of political support. Chinese diplomacy has, as of May this year, succeeded in isolating every African country except the monarchy of Swaziland from Taiwan, which China sees as a renegade province. (Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Andrew Bolton) BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian former FARC guerrillas took their seats in Congress on Friday as part of an agreement that ended five decades of war, and outgoing President Juan Manuel Santos urged the nation to protect the nascent peace and put an end to violence. At the opening of the new Congress, one-time fighters for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) filed into the lower house where they prepared to be sworn in collectively along with other members of the two chambers. Under the terms of the 2016 peace deal between the FARC and the government, the group formed a political party, kept its famous acronym as the Revolutionary Alternative Common Force, and was awarded five seats each in the 108-member Senate and the 172-member lower house through 2026. "Today we are witnessing a true milestone in our history," said Santos, who won a Nobel Peace prize for his efforts to end the war, in his final address to Congress before leaving office on Aug. 7. "Many - we must admit it - don't like seeing them in this place of debate and civility," Santos said. "In my case, and I'm sure it's shared by millions of Colombians, it fills me with satisfaction that those who for more than half a century fought with arms against the state and its institutions, today submit to the Constitution and the laws of Colombia, as we all do. "Welcome to this temple of democracy!" Right-wing President-elect Ivan Duque will replace Santos next month and seek to guide key economic reforms - pension and tax - through the new Congress. He will also try and adjust the peace accords. Duque and his Democratic Center party want to scrap an amnesty for FARC commanders who committed crimes, including engagement in the cocaine trafficking that helped bankroll the group, and prevent them from participating in politics until they serve out prison sentences. Duque, a 41-year-old protege of former President Alvaro Uribe, whose hard-line battle offensive against the rebels helped push them to the negotiating table, has said he is incensed there would be "criminals" in Congress shaping laws after decades of kidnapping, extortion and killing. Story continues He said he would alter the peace accord by forging alliances in Congress, where his party holds just 51 of 280 seats, and by generating a national consensus. The FARC's presence in Congress promises to create tension. Uribe, whose hatred for the rebels was born after his father was killed in a botched kidnapping, has a seat in the Senate. He and his party will likely seek to block votes on initiatives put forward by the FARC for having participated in a conflict that left 220,000 dead and millions displaced. But while Duque may make minor changes to the peace accord, it would be almost impossible for him to make substantive alterations to something backed by about three-quarters of Congress, analysts have said. The left parties have said they will join forces to seek to block any changes. "We want to build a democratic, intelligent and collective opposition with aspirations to govern," Angela Maria Robledo, a lower house lawmaker from the leftist coalition of parties, told reporters. Leftwing Gustavo Petro, Duque's rival in the presidential race, will lead the opposition in the Senate. (Reporting by Helen Murphy; Editing by Leslie Adler) Gay rights activists carry a rainbow flag during the 11th annual March against Homophobia and Transphobia in Havana, Cuba, May 12, 2018. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini HAVANA (Reuters) - The draft of Cuba's new constitution opens the path to gay marriage by defining matrimony as between two individuals rather than between a man and a woman, a top government official told parliament on Saturday. The Caribbean island nation has made great strides over the past decade on rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, after persecuting them in the early years after its 1959 revolution and sending many to correctional labor camps. The Communist-run country has approved sex-change operations and banned workplace discrimination against LGBT people, but proposals to recognize same-sex unions have stalled in view of the slow legislative process and lingering stigma in the macho society. "The possibility of marriage between two people strengthens our project's principles of equality and justice," the secretary of the council of state Homero Acosta told lawmakers meeting to analyze the draft to replace Cuba's 1976 Magna Carta. "Already 24 countries have included this concept and we could not ignore this issue as we drafted the constitution." The move reflects a trend in Latin America where same-sex couples have been allowed to marry in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay and some parts of Mexico in recent years, despite church opposition. Acosta said further legal changes would be needed on the issue of gay marriage. The daughter of former President Raul Castro, Mariela Castro, has spearheaded the campaign for greater LGBT rights in Cuba, giving it greater prominence in the national agenda. "We need to have a different, more inclusive view of marriage," said Castro, the head of National Center for Sex Education, told lawmakers on Friday. Raul Castro, who passed on the presidency to his mentee Miguel Diaz-Canel in April, is heading the commission on constitutional reform. Lawmakers are expected to approve the draft constitution this weekend, and then put it to a popular consultation and later in the year a national referendum. (Reporting by Sarah Marsh, Editing by Franklin Paul) HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba's new President Miguel Diaz-Canel named his cabinet on Saturday, keeping a majority of ministers from predecessor Raul Castro including in the key posts of defense, interior and foreign relations, signaling continuity rather than change. Diaz-Canel, 58, who replaced Castro in April, announced the new cabinet at the start of Cuba's national assembly meet that will also discuss a draft of the new constitution, designed to replace the Communist-run island's Soviet-era Magna Carta. All except one of the former vice presidents on the council of ministers - Marino Murillo, the head of the Communist Party's reform commission - will remain in place. These include revolutionary commander Ramiro Valdes, 86, and former economy minister Ricardo Cabrisas, 81, suggesting the generational renewal that Cuba's leadership has called for will be gradual, like the market reforms of its economy. Two younger officials, Roberto Morales, 51, and Ines Maria Chapman, who were previously named to the council of state, Cuba's highest executive body, will join them as vice presidents. Nine of out 26 ministers are new, including Alejandro Gil, moving up a rank to economy minister, and Alpidio Alonso as culture minister. The new constitution will include the recognition of private property, something Cuba had long rejected as a vestige of capitalism, and will create the position of prime minister alongside the president, according to state-run media. (Reporting by Sarah Marsh, Nelson Acosta and Marc Frank, Editing by Franklin Paul) FILE PHOTO: A duck boat is seen at Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri, U.S., July 19, 2018 in this picture grab obtained from social media video. Ron Folsom/via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. By Tea Kvetenadze and Barbara Goldberg (Reuters) - The drownings of 17 people when a duck boat in which they were riding sank in a storm over a Missouri lake on Thursday was reminiscent of an accident involving the amphibious tourist vessel in 1999 in which 13 people died. Authorities were investigating on Friday how the boat capsized and the cause of the deaths, on Table Rock Lake near the tourist destination of Branson during a storm. A Philadelphia lawyer who has advocated for victims of other duck boat disasters said the canopy roof on duck boats turned them into a "death trap" even for anyone wearing a life preserver. "You drown if you do, you drown if you don't," said Robert Mongeluzzi, who is calling for federal and state transportation officials to immediately halt all duck boat operations. The maker of the Missouri duck boat, Ride the Ducks International, did not respond to a request for comment. A decades old report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said duck boats' canopy roof contributed to the 13 deaths in the 1999 incident, on Lake Hamilton in Arkansas. "Canopies present major safety risks that need to be addressed ... both adults and children wearing life jackets are at risk of being drowned if entrapped by the overhead canopy," the NTSB said of the sinking. Gerald Dworkin, a consultant for Lifesaving Resources, an aquatics safety training firm in Maine, said, "Even if they were wearing a life jacket when the boat went down, unless they could evacuate through the side windows they would've been trapped by that canopy." The U.S. Coast Guard did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the NTSB report but confirmed it is responsible for regulating boats. Among the questions being examined by investigators was whether passengers were wearing life jackets. 'SAFE AND COMFORTABLE' On the state-run Missouri Division of Tourism's website, VisitMO, Ride the Ducks said, "Our Ducks use the latest in marine design and safety. They are regularly inspected, tested & certified by the United States Coast Guard to ensure a safe and comfortable experience for our guests." Story continues The state agency pulled the page from its website on Friday. Kate Renfrow, an agency spokeswoman, said in an email, "Our web team made a decision to pause the listing this morning to give the associates of Ride the Ducks the ability to focus on those impacted by this tragedy." "Once we confirm the business is operating again, we intend to restore," Renfrow wrote A number of duck boat tragedies occurred in 2015 and 2016. A woman walking in Philadelphia's Chinatown neighborhood was killed by a duck boat on land in May 2015. That September, a duck boat crashed into a charter bus carrying students in Seattle, killing five and injuring dozens. In April 2016, a woman riding a scooter was killed by a duck boat in Boston. (Reporting by Tea Kvetenadze and Barbara Goldberg in New York; Additional reporting by Jonathan Allen; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Steve Orlofsky) A pair of Dutch nationals appeared in a British court on Saturday after authorities seized one of their largest-ever hauls of cocaine, aboard a yacht off the south-west coast. Maarten Peter Pieterse, 59, and Emile Adriaan Jeroen Schoemaker, 44, appeared via video-link at Bristol Magistrates' Court in south-west England charged with drug importation offences. Pieterse did not enter a plea, while Schoemaker pleaded not guilty. They have been remanded in custody and are due to appear next in court on August 20. The two were arrested Thursday after the Netherlands-registered boat that they were travelling on was intercepted by a Border Force cutter 120 miles (193 kilometres) off the far southwestern county of Cornwall. Officers discovered bales of cocaine wrapped in plastic bagging in a compartment beneath the decking area at the rear of the vessel, the SY Marcia, Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) said in a statement. Its National Maritime Intelligence Centre aided the operation alongside a European analysis and operations centre for narcotics in Lisbon and law enforcement partners in Portugal, France and the Netherlands. "This is a huge haul of class A drugs, one of the largest seizures of class A ever in the UK, and with a potential street value likely to be in the hundreds of millions," said Andy Quinn, NCA regional head of investigations. "The criminal trade in drugs is driven by financial gain, and the loss of the profit that would have been made from this seizure it will be a major hit to the international criminal networks involved," he added. The largest seizure of top category drugs in recent times in Britain remains the April 2015 capture of around 3.2 tonnes of cocaine, which was recovered from the tug boat Hamal, sailing off the coast of Scotland. Turkish sailors Mumin Sahin and Emin Ozmen were later jailed for at least 20 years following a trial in the case. A girl looks at a T-shirt with a pictures of Eritreas President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopias Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed dressed on a mannequin for sale in Asmara, Eritrea July 20, 2018. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri NAIROBI (Reuters) - Eritrea has appointed its first ambassador to neighbouring Ethiopia in two decades, the government said on Saturday, as the former foes pushed on with a rapprochement. The job went to Semere Russom, Eritrea's current education minister and former ambassador to the United States, Information Minister Yemane Meskel said on Twitter. Since signing an agreement in Asmara on July 9 to restore ties, Eritrean and Ethiopian leaders have moved swiftly to sweep away two decades of hostility since conflict erupted between the two neighbours in the Horn of Africa in 1998. On Thursday, Ethiopia named Redwan Hussien, formerly Ethiopian ambassador to Ireland, to become Addis Ababa's representative in Asmara. The rapprochement was triggered by the taking office in April of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who announced he wanted to implement a peace deal that ended the war. Both leaders have visited each other and Isaias this week reopened his country's embassy in Addis Ababa. Ethiopia's national carrier Ethiopia Airlines on Wednesday made its first flight to Asmara in two decades and was greeted by dancers waving flags and flowers as families separated by the war and the ensuing hostilities made an emotional reunion. (Reporting by Omar Mohammed; Editing by Andrew Heavens) NEW ORLEANS, July 20, 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 August 6, 2018 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. (NYSE:ANW), if they purchased the Companys shares between April 28, 2016, and June 4, 2018, inclusive (the Class Period). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. What You May Do If you purchased shares of Aegean 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-anw/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court by August 6, 2018. About the Lawsuit Aegean and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws. On June 4, 2018, Aegean provided an update on its ongoing audit committee review, specifically that approximately $200 million of accounts receivable owed to the Company at December 31, 2017 will need to be written off and that the Company cannot determine the full impact on the financial statements or how this adjustment will be recorded...there could be other adjustments that result from the Audit Committees review that could impact the financial statements. On this news, the price of Aegeans 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 Portugal's veteran central defender Jose Fonte has joined French Ligue 1 outfit Lille after a brief spell in China which followed a decade in the English Premier league. The 34-year-old, who played 35 times for Portugal, enjoyed six seasons at Southampton, three at Crystal Palace and also had a spell with West Ham. He was on the pitch when Portugal won the Euro 2016 tournament and was also in their World Cup squad this year. "Lille are happy to announce a deal with Jose Fonte until 2020," Lille said on Friday. Lille ended a nightmare 2017-2018 season clinging on to top flight football with a late rally of results after going into the campaign tipped to do well. Spain's conservatives pick a new leader Saturday after ex-prime minister Mariano Rajoy was ousted, with his former right-hand woman Soraya Saenz de Santamaria vying against 37-year-old Pablo Casado, who would take the Popular Party (PP) further right. After an acrimonious campaign that saw mystery videos released attacking both candidates in turn, 3,082 delegates will be casting their ballot in Madrid for the successor of Rajoy, who spoke for the last time as PP leader on Friday. In a long, emotional speech, the 63-year-old asked PP members to "be responsible in carrying out your duties". The delegates have a choice between Saenz de Santamaria, 47, who for six-and-a-half years was deputy prime minister, and Casado, a lawmaker who has promised "hope" with a generational revamp of the party and a step further to the political right. Both were voted through a first round of unprecedented primaries at the PP. Saturday's victor could become Spain's next prime minister if the PP wins general elections planned for 2020 at the latest. Saenz de Santamaria is emphasising her considerable experience. She doesn't think the party needs to be revamped and believes she is most capable of defeating Pedro Sanchez, the current Socialist prime minister who ousted Rajoy with a parliamentary no-confidence vote. "I have energy, I want it and I have experience," she told a campaign meeting. "Pedro Sanchez is flying a Boeing 747, and he doesn't even have the experience to pilot a light aircraft," she said of the centre-left opponent. - Re-energise PP - On the other side is Casado, who has criticised his rival's management of the separatist crisis in Catalonia when she was in charge of relations between Madrid and regions. He has taken a hardline stance on Catalonia, calling for the addition of offences such as illegally calling a referendum to the criminal code to boost Spain's legal response to the secession threat. "Dialogue doesn't work with those who want to break the law," he said this week. Casado is also against depenalising euthanasia as promoted by the Socialist government and wants to lower income and corporation taxes. The winner will have to breathe new life into a party which between 2011 general elections, when Rajoy won an absolute majority, and the last polls in 2016 has lost three million voters. Many have migrated to Ciudadanos, a centre-right party, angry over the series of corruption scandals that hit the PP in the past years. Jose Pablo Ferrandiz, lead researcher at polling company Metroscopia, believes both Saenz de Santamaria and Casado will find it "very difficult to attract those who went to Ciudadanos". The PP, which still holds most seats in parliament even if it has lost its absolute majority, will have to rapidly prepare for municipal, regional and European elections in May 2019. And then further ahead, the party will be striving to re-take power from the Socialists. Lawyer Vicente Zeballos took office Saturday as Peru's new justice minister, facing the immediate challenge of dealing with a scandal over judges allegedly selling lighter sentences for a price. The previous justice minister, Salvador Heresi, resigned last week after investigative website IDL-Reporteros in Peru published more than 20 tapes, on some of which Heresi and different judges appear to discuss arranging lenient treatment in exchange for cash or favors. The scandal sparked street protests in several cities and prompted President Martin Vizcarra, in office only since March, to promise sweeping judicial reforms. Prime Minister Cesar Villanueva told Radio RPP that Zeballos had the legal and political experience to lead the Justice Ministry and "help a lot with reform." Supreme Court president Duberli Rodriguez, as well as an appeals-court judge and three members of the National Council of Magistrates -- which appoints judges and prosecutors -- have resigned or been suspended as the scandal has reverberated through the Andean country of 32 million. While Rodriguez has not himself been accused of wrongdoing, he resigned, saying he accepted responsibility as president of the nation's judiciary. In December, Zeballos, who is 55, resigned from the PPK political alliance to protest then-president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski's decision to pardon former president Alberto Fujimori on corruption charges. - 'For serious cause' - One of the more shocking tapes seems to have the voice of Cesar Hinostroza, a Supreme Court justice, talking to an unidentified person about lowering the sentence of a person who had raped an 11-year-old girl. Hinostroza has been suspended from office and ordered to remain in the country. He may face jail time. The scandal began with the release of the 20 recordings, which were originally made by police as prosecutors tried to track a drug-trafficking ring operating in Callao, Peru's main port, near Lima. On Friday, Congress met in extraordinary session and unanimously approved the removal of all seven members of the magistrates council "for serious cause." The seven had resigned a day earlier. A key figure in the scandal, Walter Rios, who has been dismissed as chief justice of the Superior Court of Callao, has been sentenced to 18 months in preventive detention -- half the sentence prosecutors sought. Hundreds of people protested Saturday in Hong Kong after police sought to ban a pro-independence political party, as Beijing ups pressure on challengers to its territorial sovereignty over the city. Authorities said the Hong Kong National Party (HKNP), a well-known but small group with a core membership of around a dozen, is a potential threat to national security and public safety. Around 500 protesters from different pro-democracy parties gathered in Hong Kong's Wan Chai district for a march organised by the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF), a group that does not support independence. They included around 50 supporters of pro-independence groups, who waved flags and banners -- including one that read "only two countries have two systems", a reference to the "one country, two systems" arrangement under which Hong Kong is currently governed. "No matter what political ideology you have, we need to protect our freedom of speech and freedom of association," said Chung Hon Lam, high school student and convenor of pro-independence group Studentlocalism. Lam accused the government of using "national security" as an excuse to target pro-independence parties, and warned it other pro-democracy parties could be targeted too. The protest came after John Lee, Hong Kong's secretary for security, said he was considering a police request to ban the HKNP. Lee did not elaborate how the party was damaging national security, but said under the city's laws, national security includes safeguarding the "territorial integrity and the independence of the People's Republic of China". Semi-autonomous Hong Kong enjoys freedoms unseen on the mainland, which are protected by the 50-year handover agreement between Britain and China. But fears are growing that Beijing is trampling the deal. It is the first time such a ban has been sought since Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997, and is the latest move to stifle any calls for independence, which have infuriated Beijing. Britain has voiced concerns over the suppression of political activity in the city. "The UK does not support Hong Kong independence, but Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy, and its rights and freedoms, are central to its way of life, and it is important they are fully respected," the British foreign office said in a statement on Wednesday. Protesters supporting freedom of expression demonstrate in Hong Kong Pro-independence protesters supporting freedom of expression take part in a demonstration outside the Police Headquarters in Hong Kong, China July 21, 2018. REUTERS/Venus Wu By Venus Wu HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hundreds of Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters on Saturday rallied against the government's attempt to ban a political party, saying it dealt the most serious threat to the city's freedom of association since its return to Chinese rule. Organizers said 1,200 protested, while the police estimated 600 attended at the peak. The city's security chief said on Tuesday the police had advised him to ban the Hong Kong National Party, which openly promotes the city's secession from China. The chief, John Lee, has not officially banned the group yet, saying he could not do so before it has a chance to explain itself. He said Hong Kong still has freedom of association, as enshrined in its mini-constitution known as the Basic Law, but "that right is not without restriction." But the developments mark the first time since Hong Kong's handover from British to Chinese rule in 1997 that the government has moved to outlaw a political organisation. "Hong Kong is starting to prosecute people for their speech," said protester Isabella Yeung, a teacher in her 40s. "The group has not taken any action or caused any violence. All it did was speaking." Most of the protesters were not supporters of independence for Hong Kong. But trailing at the end of the march about 50 people, many wearing face masks, waved "Hong Kong independence" flags and shouted: "We are Hong Kongers, not Chinese." Piercing through the chants was the shrill of about 100 black whistles - a local metaphor for injustice. Hong Kong has a separate political and legal system from China under a "One Country, Two Systems" principle, which promises the city a high degree of autonomy and a wide range of freedoms, including freedom of speech and freedom of association. But after a months-long "Umbrella Movement" street occupation in 2014 failed to pressure Beijing to allow full democracy in Hong Kong, calls for independence emerged. Story continues Chinese President Xi Jinping has said any attempt to challenge China's national sovereignty crosses a red line. Benny Tai, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong and an initiator of the "Umbrella Movement" said the proposed ban on the Hong Kong National Party was part of a wider trend of using existing laws to restrict political freedoms. "After the Umbrella Movement, the Communist Party has started to adjust its strategy towards Hong Kong," said Tai, who joined Saturday's protests. "Part of it is to use the law to suppress." (Reporting by Venus Wu; Editing by Ros Russell) A Frenchman who served 18 years in custody for smuggling drugs into Bali was deported Saturday in a case that sparked outrage in his native country over Indonesia's tough narcotics laws. Police arrested Michael Blanc on the day after Christmas in 1999 at the tropical island's airport with 3.8 kilogrammes (8.4 pounds) of hashish hidden inside scuba diving canisters. The now 45-year-old was originally given a life term -- narrowly escaping the death sentence handed to some other foreign drug traffickers, including two members of the notorious Bali Nine who were executed in 2015. Blanc's prison term was later cut to 20 years and then in 2014 he won something that few foreigners get in Indonesia -- parole. The former cook arrived at the airport in Jakarta escorted by Indonesian immigration officials, and accompanied by his mother, Helene Le Touzey, who gave up her life in France to spend nearly two decades in Indonesia campaigning for his release. The two departed on a Turkish Airlines flight at 9:00 pm (1400 GMT). They are expected in Paris on Sunday around 11:00 am. The life sentence handed out by an Indonesian court, which rejected Blanc's claim that he was carrying the drug-filled gear for a friend, was criticised in France as overly harsh. Paris raised the issue at the highest levels, with the then-prime minister Francois Fillon bringing it up during a visit to Indonesia in 2011. In 2008, Blanc's sentence was cut to 20 years thanks in large part to his mother's efforts. Le Touzey later helped secure her son's parole in 2014, despite the fact that Indonesian law does not usually allow conditional release of foreigners after serving just two-thirds of their sentence. Blanc's three-year parole period ended in July 2017, after which he was required to finish one year of probation. Indonesia has some of the world's toughest drug laws. More than 70 people, including 42 foreigners, are facing the firing squad for drug offences, according to the Coalition for the Abolition of Death Penalty in ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). Indonesia has executed several drug traffickers since President Joko Widodo took office in 2014. Among them were foreign nationals, including two Bali Nine members arrested in 2005 for an attempt to smuggle heroin from Indonesia to Australia. The executions of Australian ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran sparked diplomatic outrage and a call to abolish Indonesia's death penalty. Although Jakarta suspended executions last year, Widodo has said the country is facing a "drug emergency" and previously ordered police to shoot traffickers who resist arrest. High-profile cases like that of Australian national Schapelle Corby, who spent more than nine years behind bars for smuggling marijuana into Bali, have stoked concern that Indonesia is becoming a drug destination. Corby was deported in 2017 after several years of parole. DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday backed President Hassan Rouhani's suggestion that Iran may block Gulf oil exports if its own exports are stopped and said negotiations with the United States would be an "obvious mistake". Rouhani's apparent threat earlier this month to disrupt oil shipments from neighbouring countries came in reaction to looming U.S. sanctions and efforts by Washington to force all countries to stop buying Iranian oil. "(Khamenei) said remarks by the president ... that 'if Iran's oil is not exported, no regional country's oil will be exported,' were important remarks that reflect the policy and the approach of (Iran's) system," Khamenei's official website said. Iranian officials have in the past threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping route, in retaliation for any hostile U.S. action. Khamenei used a speech to foreign ministry officials on Saturday to reject any renewed talks with the United States after President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from a 2015 international deal over Iran's nuclear programme. "The word and even the signature of the Americans cannot be relied upon, so negotiations with America are of no avail," Khamenei said. It would be an "obvious mistake" to negotiate with the United States as Washington was unreliable, Khamenei added, according to his website. The endorsement by Khamenei, who has the last word on all major issues of state, is likely to discourage any open opposition to Rouhani's apparent threat. Khamenei also voiced support for continued talks with Iran's European partners in the nuclear deal which are preparing a package of economic measures to offset the U.S. pullout from the accord. "Negotiations with the Europeans should not be stopped, but we should not be just waiting for the European package, but instead we should follow up on necessary activities inside the country (against U.S. sanctions)," Khamenei said. Story continues France said earlier this month that it was unlikely European powers would be able to put together an economic package for Iran that would salvage its nuclear deal before November. Iran's oil exports could fall by as much as two-thirds by the end of the year because of new U.S. sanctions, putting oil markets under huge strain amid supply outages elsewhere in the world. Washington initially planned to totally shut Iran out of global oil markets after Trump abandoned the deal that limited Iran's nuclear ambitions, demanding all other countries to stop buying its crude by November. But it has since somewhat eased its stance, saying that it may grant sanction waivers to some allies that are particularly reliant on Iranian supplies. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Ros Russell) Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara speaks during the first cabinet meeting at the presidential palace in Abidjan, Ivory Coast July 11, 2018. REUTERS/Luc Gnago ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara's government faced collapse on Friday after his junior coalition partner said it had expelled party members named to a new cabinet. Ouattara reshuffled his cabinet last week because of a row between his RDR party and the PDCI party of former President Henri Konan Bedie. The changes were largely cosmetic, and Ouattara played down friction between the two parties in a public address last week. But they went against the wishes of Bedie, who had warned party members in a letter seen by Reuters not to take part in the new government. "I ask all PDCI party members to not associate with this event, or participate," Bedie said in the letter dated July 13, referring to a meeting of the new government. PDCI spokesman Narcisse NDri told Reuters that about 10 party members named as ministers had been expelled. The PDCI move appeared to mark a break from Ouattara and possibly the end to a political marriage that was critical to his run-off victory in the 2010 presidential election and his re-election in 2015. The two parties had fallen out over the PDCI's insistence that it be able to choose the candidate for a joint ticket in the 2020 presidential vote. The row has aggravated the perennially volatile politics of Ivory Coast, where a tenuous stability has held since a brief civil war in 2010-11 that killed 3,000 people. (Reporting By Ange Aboa and Loucoumane Coulibaly; Writing by Edward McAllister; editing by David Stamp) Malawi's vice-president Saulos Chilima launched his own political party Saturday to run against the government in elections next year, persisting in his public attack on President Peter Mutharika's cabinet. Chilima, 45, was handpicked Mutharika to run alongside him in 2014 on the Democratic People's Party (DPP) ticket. But Chilima quit the DPP last month citing corruption and nepotism. Following mounting calls for him to run in the May 2019 vote, he launched the United Transformation Movement (UTM) in the capital Lilongwe, seeking to unseat the 79-year-old Mutharika. "It is because of the rot that we are seeing all over that we are launching UTM," Chilima said. "We should not allow people to continue treating us like fools. Everyone should have a bright future regardless of where they come from or the political party they support." The ruling party has been plagued by calls from civil action groups for its leader to resign after a leaked report by the Anti-Corruption Bureau accused Mutharika of receiving a $195,000 (167,000 euros) kickback from a contract to supply food to the police. Chilima continued his scathing attack on the DDP and Mutharika, accusing it of failing Malawians since gaining power four years ago. He said his party's mission was to guide Malawi on the path to prosperity by tackling unemployment, power shortages, corruption and creating viable markets for farmers. The UTM also unveiled influential politicians as party members, including the Speaker of Parliament Richard Msowoya, and former first ladies Callista Mutharika and Shanil Dzimbiri. University of Malawi political analyst Henry Chingaipe said while there was a clear articulation of policy positions on selected issues by the UTM, some of its aims appear unrealistic. "The creation of one million jobs in the first year is politically sexy, especially for the youth but the broad framework or strategy that he described for this is unlikely to be pulled off within a year," he told AFP. "On agriculture, there was nothing new... the solutions came across as hot air." Successive Malawian heads of state have been embroiled in graft and corruption scandals in the aid-dependent country. In April, thousands of Malawians took part in the country's first nationwide anti-government demonstrations since 2011. The marches, organised by civil action groups, were against alleged corruption and poor governance under Mutharika. English French Paris, July 20, 2018 The Management of Atos invites you to an international conference call to present a strategic development project. This call will be held on Monday July 23, 2018 at 08:00 am (CET - Paris). At this occasion, the Group will also present its first half 2018 results initially planned on Wednesday July 25, 2018. Related press releases will be issued on Monday July 23, 2018 at 06:30 am (CET - Paris). The webcast of the conference call will be available on our website atos.net in the Investors section. Contacts Medias: Terence Zakka +33 1 73 26 40 76 terence.zakka@atos.net Investor Relations: Gilles Arditti +33 1 73 26 00 66 gilles.arditti@atos.net About Atos Atos is a global leader in digital transformation with approximately 100,000 employees in 73 countries and annual revenue of around 12 billion. European number one in Big Data, Cybersecurity, High Performance Computing and Digital Workplace, the Group provides Cloud services, Infrastructure & Data Management, Business & Platform solutions, as well as transactional services through Worldline, the European leader in the payment industry. With its cutting-edge technologies, digital expertise and industry knowledge, Atos supports the digital transformation of its clients across various business sectors: Defense, Financial Services, Health, Manufacturing, Media, Energy & Utilities, Public sector, Retail, Telecommunications and Transportation. The Group is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic & Paralympic Games and operates under the brands Atos, Atos Consulting, Atos Worldgrid, Bull, Canopy, Unify and Worldline. Atos SE (Societas Europaea) is listed on the CAC40 Paris stock index. www.atos.net - Follow us on @Atos By Juan Medina PALMA DE MALLORCA, Spain (Reuters) - The charity Proactiva Open Arms has filed a complaint, including of involuntary manslaughter, with the Spanish police against a cargo ship for failing to help migrants adrift on a destroyed dinghy in the Mediterranean. The captain of the charity's rescue boat said on Saturday he also plans to file a separate suit against the Libyan lifeguard. The migrant rescue boat Open Arms docked in Spain on Saturday carrying the bodies of a woman and a four-year-old boy as well as one woman who was found alive floating on the remains of a dinghy off the coast of Libya last week. The boat took four days to arrive in the Spanish port of Palma after finding the migrants adrift about 80 miles (130 km)off Libya's coast after being abandoned by the Libyan coast guard, the charity said. "We have filed a complaint against the captain of the (merchant ship) Triades for failing to help and for involuntary manslaughter and we'll also do it against the captain of the Libyan patrol," Oscar Camps, the Open Arms captain and founder of the NGO, said at a news conference. Open Arms claimed the ship's crew had seen the migrant dingy but had failed to provide help. Reuters could not find a way to contact the captain of Triades, which flies a Panamanian flag. The ship is currently moored in the Libyan port of Misrata, where officials could not be reached for comment. The Libyan lifeguard also left the three migrants to float amid the shattered remains of the raft after the two women and the boy had refused to board their patrol ship, the charity said. Libya's coast guard disputed the account on Tuesday but offered no explanation for how the three migrants came to be stranded on the remains of the dinghy. The Spanish charity operates in the central Mediterranean, one of the deadliest areas of the sea and favoured by people smugglers operating out of Libya. Charity boats have been locked out of Italian ports, the closest European landing point, since Italy's new government vowed to crack down on illegal immigration from Northern Africa. Open Arms found itself at the centre of the European immigrant crisis at the start of the month when it rescued 60 migrants off Libya and brought them to Barcelona in Spain after being refused docking in Italy and Malta. (Writing by Paul Day; Editing by Ros Russell) Hundreds of protesters marched in Nicaragua's capital Saturday in defiance of an iron-fisted crackdown on dissent by President Daniel Ortega that includes a new law threatening them with up to 20 years in prison for "terrorism." The rally, for which police were absent, passed off peacefully, unlike in previous days and weeks when Ortega's police and paramilitary forces violently attacked student demonstrators in Managua and a nearby opposition stronghold city, Masaya, with live ammunition. More than 280 people have been killed since April in the unrest shaking the small Central American nation of six million people. "The people united will never be defeated," yelled the crowd. They reiterated widespread demands that Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, step down. Many of those taking part hid their faces behind masks. But they said they were still turning out despite a law passed last Monday that carries prison terms of 15 to 20 years for those found guilty of vaguely defined actions deemed to constitute "terrorism." "This law doesn't matter to us," one 23-year-old protester who gave her name as Maria told AFP. "Its a risk, but as with every big insurrection there's a risk." She added: "The protests aren't going to stop. We will continue in the streets demanding freedom." The legislation bolstered perceptions that Ortega, 72, and his government were acting in increasingly undemocratic ways. Ortega and Murillo, though, say their government is fighting a "coup" attempt by US-financed "satanic terrorists" and that stern action is required. Their supporters held a rival rally in Managua on Saturday in which they demanded justice for "victims of terrorism" -- mainly for dozens of police officers killed in the months of bloodshed. - Protesters will 'pay' - The United States, the Organization for American States and the European Union have all condemned the violence in Nicaragua and backed calls for dialogue trying to have Ortega agree to early elections to help solve the crisis. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said as he arrived in Argentina for a G20 meeting of finance ministers that more US sanctions could be leveled at Nicaragua. Two EU nations, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, announced the suspension of millions of dollars in aid projects to Nicaragua because of the rights violations reported there. But Ortega is showing no signs of ceding power. On top of sending his forces out to quash protest hubs, he has dismissed Catholic bishops mediating the talks as biased collaborators with the opposition. Murillo on Friday also signaled no quarter would be given in punishing those challenging the government. "We can pardon but never forgive these crimes against Nicaragua," she said. She vowed that arrested "coup-mongers" would face justice. "They have to pay for the destruction of so many lives." - Economy in peril - On Saturday, rights groups evacuated relatives away their makeshift camp outside a notorious Managua jail complex called El Chipote where protesters were locked up, as pro-government heavies turned up to intimidate them. "Masked armed men came and told us that if we didn't leave they'd kill us," one woman who didn't give her name told AFP. Many of the relatives were mothers and wives of the detainees. They were taken to Managua's cathedral for shelter. The unrest in Nicaragua is the biggest challenge to Ortega's authority since he returned to power 11 years ago. Until this year, Nicaragua was a relative haven of public safety and economic stability in Latin America. But the protests and crackdown have put an end to that. Triggered by ill-judged cuts to the cash-strapped social security system, demonstrations quickly grew into widespread protests cutting across society. For many -- even erstwhile allies and a previously compliant business sector -- Ortega's increasing autocracy and a belief he was grooming Murillo to take over from him were too much, and it was time for him to go. The opposition says elections originally scheduled for 2021 should be brought forward to next year. Nicaragua's economy is fragile and dependent on foreign investors and tourism. Instability means it could soon crumble perilously. "The problem is that the economic crisis will get even worse and he won't be able to govern like that. It is impossible that Ortega will make it to 2021," a sociologist, Oscar Rene Vargas, said. In protest-averse Singapore, where civil society activists rejoice when their events draw more than 500 people, the annual Pink Dot gay pride rally has become a stand-out affair for its ever-swelling crowds. Now in its 10th edition, this years rally to be held on Saturday afternoon is expected to once again pull in a crowd of more than 20,000 people comprising the countrys lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community as well as many of their straight allies. As in previous years, the event will be held in Speakers Corner, the countrys sole free speech park and the only place where authorities say Pink Dot can be held. Organisers and members of the LGBTI community say there is much to cheer about, given rising concerns that gay rights advocacy in the country, where consensual sex between men remains illegal, might be plateauing. Also being celebrated is the proliferation of Pink Dot events overseas Hong Kong is among a handful of places that hosts similar rallies. The steady rise in stature of Singapores Pink Dot was dealt a blow last year after government imposed new restrictions to keep out foreign participation. Not only did this exclude foreigners from the rally, but it also barred prominent foreign companies like Facebook, JP Morgan and Google from sponsoring the event as they had done in previous years. Alongside the new rules, police mandated tougher security checks, forcing organisers to set up barricades and security checkpoints at the event, known for its party-like atmosphere filled with many people wearing pink-coloured clothing and accessories. In 2014, the event was forced to contend with a countermovement by Christian and Muslim conservatives called WearWhite, as it had become apparent that Pink Dots benign message organisers say their only objective is to promote the freedom to love had become an effective tool for gay rights advocacy. Story continues Authorities stepped in, urging both sides to practice restraint. It is definitely a milestone, because we were uncertain if we could even reach 10 years we have had so many things thrown our way, said Paerin Choa, a spokesman for Pink Dot who has been volunteering with the movement since its inception in 2009. LGBTI activist Jean Chong was equally effusive about the milestone. 10 years is an amazing feat for a country that still criminalises consenting sex between men, Chong said, referring to Section 377A of the penal code, which makes the act illegal. The law, which dates back to British colonial rule, makes no mention of lesbian sex. While Pink Dot has tilted popular opinion slightly in favour of LGBTI rights, Chong and others in the community say the 10 years since the events inception has seen little social change because of the governments apathy about their rights. Some 53 per cent of Singaporeans accept gay lifestyles, but 55 per cent reject gay marriage, according to a survey conducted in 2013. Premier Lee Hsien Loong had previously said he was prepared to live with the uneasy compromise of living with Section 377A until social attitudes change. Along with the retention of Section 377A, which the government says it retains on the books for symbolic purposes but will not enforce, LGBTI people in Singapore say they are disadvantaged by certain policies aimed at incentivising heterosexual marriage and childbearing. In housing, for example, only heterosexual wedded couples can apply for subsidised public housing flats. Single people can only apply for such units after they turn 35. Theres no reason to get into a self-congratulatory mood just yet 10 years of Pink Dot feels good, but little has changed policy-wise, and I dont sense any urgency from within the government for change, said a gay civil servant who has attended the Pink Dot rally every year. Chong, co-founder of LGBTI rights group Sayoni, said: The lack of a right to self actualisation for a LGBT Singaporean is a signal on how [the] government treats its vulnerable minorities. In Hong Kong, where the LGBTI community is celebrating a landmark court decision on dependent visas for same-sex couples in civil unions, the activist who imported Pink Dot urged her Singaporeans counterparts to keep plugging away. The situation in Hong Kong and Singapore is different because we have certain freedoms we have our pride parade and so on to push for advocacy in a way that they [in Singapore] cant still Pink Dots achievements in Singapore is very impressive, said Lee, a Singaporean who has lived in Hong Kong for about two decades and is among a handful of activists who have been hosting Pink Dot Hong Kong since 2014. Smaller-scale Pink Dot events have been held in Taiwan, the United States, Malaysia, Canada and Japan. This years Pink Dot Hong Kong is slated for October 21 in the West Kowloon Cultural District. Said Lee: Ultimately, its Pink Dots simple but powerful message that makes it effective in Hong Kong, Singapore or anywhere: love is love and we should have the freedom to love who we want. This article Pink Dot: Singapores rare gem for LGBT community shines brighter than ever 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: Pope Francis delivers a speech after a meeting with Patriarchs of the churches of the Middle East at the St. Nicholas Basilica in Bari, southern Italy July 7, 2018. REUTERS/Tony Gentile TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Pope Francis accepted the resignation of a senior Roman Catholic bishop in Honduras on Friday, following allegations of financial and sexual impropriety against the cleric. Bishop Juan Jose Pineda Fasquelle announced the pontiff had accepted his resignation in an open letter, saying his departure would allow him more time for prayer and personal development. "If I have failed you, I ask for forgiveness," Pineda said in the letter, which was sent to reporters in Honduras. Italian magazine L'Espresso first reported in December allegations that Pineda had misused tens of thousands of dollars from a Catholic university, as well as accusations of sexual abuse lodged against the bishop by seminarians. Pineda, who did not directly address the allegations against him in the letter, said he maintained the right to continue public ministry in spite of his resignation as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Tegucigalpa. Neither Pineda nor the Archdiocese of Tegucigalpa responded to requests for comment. The 57-year-old Pineda is known as a protege of influential Honduran Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga, who serves as a top adviser to Pope Francis on church reform. (Reporting by Gustavo Palencia; editing by David Alire Garcia and Grant McCool) Anti-corruption protesters marched through the streets of Lima on July 19 following the resignation of Perus supreme court president, Duberli Rodriguez. Rodriguezs resignation follows the release of audio in which he is heard suggesting judicial influence could be paid for. The president of the National Council of the Magistrates, Orlando Velasquez, also resigned. This video shows riot police and anti-corruption demonstrators facing off on Avenida Nicolas de Pierola in Lima. A water cannon is used by police to drench the protesters. The crowds demonstrating are heard chanting, Peru, te quiero, por eso te defiendo, which translates as Peru, I love you, for this reason I defend you. A female protester is seen passionately chanting through a megaphone while a baby is tied to her on a sling. She is heard shouting no tenemos nada, which translates as we dont have anything. Members of the media are seen gathering around the woman with cameras and a microphone. Credit: Wayka/Katya Zevallos via Storyful The real SMS from SingHealth vs the fake SMS being circulated. (Photos: Facebook/Singhealth) SingHealth has warned the public to be aware of an SMS going around spreading falsehoods. Singapores largest health system turned to Facebook on Friday night (20 July) to debunk the contents of the SMS, which falsely says that patients phone numbers and financial details such as credit card information had been accessed in the massive cyber attack that was revealed on Friday afternoon. The fake SMS also claimed that medical records were accessed, which SingHealth denies. SingHealth had earlier announced that it would be sending an SMS to patients who had visited SingHealth Specialist Outpatient Clinics and polyclinics between 1 May 2015 and 4 July 2018 and had their personal particulars and information on outpatient dispensed medicines illegally accessed and copied. On Friday afternoon, SingHealth announced that the non-medical personal particulars of some 1.5 million patients who visited SingHealth clinics from 1 May 2015 to 4 July 2018 were illegally accessed and copied. The data taken include name, NRIC number, address, gender, race and date of birth. Information on the outpatient dispensed medicines of about 160,000 of these patients was also copied. The records were neither amended or deleted, SingHealth said, and no other patient records, such as diagnosis, test results or doctors notes, were breached. Related stories: 1.5M patients data, including PM Lee Hsien Loongs, stolen in major cyberattack Singapores worst cyberattack steals personal data of 1.5 million including PM Healthcare data breach in Singapore affected 1.5M patients, targeted the prime minister Two vessels of a Spanish NGO involved in rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean arrived in the Spanish port of Palma on Saturday carrying a woman found drifting on a deflated dinghy off Libya as well as the bodies of a boy and another woman. The two ships of Proactiva Open Arms were escorted to the port of the capital of the Balearic island of Majorca by a Spanish police ship at 7:15 am. The rescued woman is a 40-year-old from Cameroon named Josepha. Proactiva said it transported her to Spain -- where the Spanish Red Cross received her -- for her "protection" and to enable her to testify freely. Italy had earlier offered to take in the woman but not the bodies, telling the Spaniards that the Libyan coastguard was in charge of the rescue operation. Proactiva accuses Libyan coastguards of having saved the rest of the migrants on board the dinghy but not the two women and the child, whom they say refused to board the rescue vessel and go back to Libya. The NGO alleges that as a result, the coastguards left them and deflated the dinghy. Rescuers let air out of migrants' boats to stop them from being re-used and this boat had been slashed with a knife. Proactive Open Arms's director Oscar Camps, who said Josepha remained in a state of shock, said he and the NGO were appalled at the logistical difficulties facing rescuers. - 'We are indignant' - "We are indignant, we once again condemn the policies being followed in the central Mediterranean, not just by one government but by several. The difficulties we have faced to save one life are just incredible," Camps told a news conference. His organisation has accused the skipper of the Triades, the Panamanian-registered vessel which discovered the migrants at sea and alerted the Libyan coastguard of failing to come to their aid. Camps added they were also seeking to have legal action brought against the skipper of the Libyan coastguard patrol boat and against the Italian coastguard "who will have something to say on what happened 80 to 90 miles off their coast -- practically the same distance as from Libya." Libyan coastguards had earlier denied Proactiva's accusations and said they rescued 165 migrants from a boat in the same area on Monday night, without leaving anyone on board. They also blamed a lack of resources, particularly for night operations. Erasmo Palazzotto, a lawmaker from the leftist opposition Free and Equal party, meanwhile laid much of the blame at the feet of the Italian government. "The Italian government, with the silence complicity of Europe, is financing militia, traffickers and criminal groups which have organised themselves to form what they call the Libyan coastguard. "Today, no authority controls anything whatsoever in Libya," Palazzotto said. At the Proactiva press conference, NBA star Marc Gasol, who took part in the rescue operation, also urged a better response. "Everybody is urging a response in order to know what happened," Gasol said. But Rome rejected the accusations. "I'm sorry, but Open Arms is targeting the wrong people," said Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli, who is in charge of Italy's coastguards. "In the Mediterranean, Italy is an example of humanity and the efficiency of its rescue services... We're not interested in polemics. We're interested in working together to avoid deaths at sea," the minister said. In mid-March, a boat belonging to Open Arms was seized and held for a month in Sicily on accusations of aiding illegal immigration. On Saturday, the captain of one of the boats, Marc Reig, said his vessel would set off again for Libya, possibly "as soon as Sunday", to resume rescue operations. Culture Singer Ed Sheeran tests positive for Covid Sheeran was due to appear as a guest on 'Saturday Night Live' on November 6. It is not immediately known if he will be replaced or the appearance will be changed to a virtual one. Taiwanese shuttler Chou Tien-chen powered into the finals of the Singapore Open after a thrilling 21-12, 18-21, 21-16 win over China's Qiao Bin on Saturday. The top seed dominated the first game of the men's singles semifinal match, wrapping it up in just 12 minutes. While a spirited Qiao fought back to claim the second game, Chou's swift reflexes saw him out-rally his unseeded opponent in the rubber to secure a spot in the finals on Sunday. He will face compatriot Hsu Jen-hao, who beat Vietnam's Nguyen Tien Minh 21-15, 21-11. "I'm very excited to be in the finals, my hard work had paid off. I have to focus on my shots if I want to win," said the world number 7 after the match at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Chou is gunning for his second title of the year after winning the German Open in March. In the women's singles, China's Gao Fangjie exacted revenge on second seed Nitchaon Jindapol with a 21-15, 12-21, 21-14 win to advance to the finals. Seventh seed Gao had lost to her Thai opponent at their last encounter in the Uber Cup semifinals in May. "Uber Cup was a painful lesson. After that defeat, I learned how to better maintain my composure in big tournaments, which helped me to win today," Gao said after the match. She will take on Japan's Sayaka Takahashi, who toppled China's Han Yue 21-18, 21-14. In the women's doubles, Japanese duo Ayako Sakuramoto and Yukiko Takahata ousted top seeds Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai of Thailand 21-17, 21-19. The Japanese pair will be up against compatriots Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida, who beat Germans Isabel Herttrich and Carla Nelte 21-18, 17-21, 21-16. In the men's doubles, the Indonesian duo of Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan will face China's Ou Xuanyi and Ren Xiangyu in the finals after a convincing 21-16, 21-13 victory over compatriots Angga Pratama and Rian Agung Saputro. Olympic mixed doubles champions Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir continued their dominant form, edging out fellow Indonesians Akbar Bintang Cahyono and Winny Oktavina Kandow 26-24, 21-17. They will meet Malaysia's Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Jemie Lai in the finals. China's President Xi Jinping inked a clutch of trade accords Saturday on the first visit by a Chinese leader to Senegal in almost a decade. Senegalese President Macky Sall welcomed his counterpart to Dakar for afternoon talks before Xi continues a tour of the region Sunday, heading to Rwanda, then South Africa on Tuesday ahead of a BRICs summit of developing nations starting Wednesday. Although details of the accords signed were not immediately forthcoming, Sall told reporters both leaders held talks on "bilateral cooperation, Sino-African relations and international current affairs", hailing China as "one of the great economies of the modern era." He said China's progress along the development path was a "message of hope" showing that "under-development is not fatal and the battle for progress is above all won by (having) a combative spirit." Xi responded in kind, telling Sall: "Every time I come to Africa I can measure the great dynamism of this continent." He added he had great faith in the future of Beijing's cooperation with its African partners as it becomes a primary investor on the continent. A report last year by Ernst and Young named China the single largest contributor of foreign directive investment with 293 projects embarked upon since 2005 for an outlay of $66.4 billion. One piece of Xi's business Saturday involved the formal handover to his host of the keys to a Chinese-built wrestling venue, the sport being hugely popular in the west African nation. China is already Senegal's second-biggest trading partner behind France, with bilateral trade surpassing $2 billion in 2016, according to official data. The country's main exports to China are nuts as well as the metals, zirconium and titanium. Chinese imports are steadily gaining ground meanwhile, rising from 227 billion CFA francs (some 350 million euros/$410 million) in 2013 to 367 billion last year, construction materials leading the way as Chinese companies increasingly work on state projects. Chinese firms have built a major slice of recent Senegalese infrastructure including sports stadia in Dakar, roads, a theatre, a national wrestling arena and a museum of black civilisation. Since diplomatic relations were restored in 2005 Chinese investments in Senegal have surpassed 1.8 billion euros. 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29 Posted on 21 July 2018 by John Hartz A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week. Editor's Pick There Is No Escape for Corals Deep waters have long been seen as potential refuges for endangered corals, but a new study suggests that they offer no sanctuary. Its faintly absurd to be in one of the most obscure parts of the planeta creepy zone of perpetual gloom and imminent danger, where no other humans have venturedand have a cartoonishly squeaky voice. Thats what Luiz Rocha and his team repeatedly experienced in their attempts to study the worlds deep coral reefs. Picture a coral reef and youll likely imagine a sun-drenched world lying just below the oceans surface. But reefs also exist beyond these shallow waters, in the so-called mesophotic zone, from 100 to 500 feet down. To study the unfamiliar animals that live in this dim world, normal scuba skills wont cut it. Divers need special training and equipmentincluding larger gas tanks, rebreathers that recycle the air that divers exhale, and special gas mixes that include helium. And the helium means that anyone who enters the mesophotic zone ends up with a high-pitched squeak when they try to communicate through their rebreathers. There Is No Escape for Corals by Ed Young, Science, The Atlantic, July 19, 2018 Links posted on Facebook Sun July 15, 2018 Mon July 16, 2018 Tue July 17, 2018 Wed July 18, 2018 Thu July 19, 2018 Fri July 20, 2018 Sat July 21, 2018 A 47-year-old man in Clearwater, Florida who shot and killed a father of three during a heated dispute over a parking space will not face any criminal charges. Even though there is surveillance video that clearly shows how Michael Drejka, 47, shot Markeis McGlockton, 28, in the chest the gunman is protected by the states stand your ground law, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said. The shooting is within the bookends of stand your ground and within the bookends of force being justified, Gualtieri said at a news conference. He later emphasized that Im not saying I agree with it, but I dont make that call. The case will now be sent to the State Attorneys Office for a final decision on whether charges should be filed. The state attorney will review it and either hell concur or not. And, if he concurs, then therell be no charge. Period. If he doesnt concur, then hell make a determination as to what to do with it, the sheriff said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fatal encounter took place Thursday afternoon, when Brittany Jacobs, 24, was sitting in her car in a handicapped parking space outside a convenience store. Her boyfriend, McGlockton, was inside the store with their five-year-old son. That is when Drejka approached Jacobs and got into an argument about the parking spot. After some loud arguing, the surveillance video shows how McGlockton left the store and pushed Drejka to the ground. The video then shows how Drejka reached for his gun and fired at McGlocktons chest. The 28-year-old stumbled back into the store, where he collapsed. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. Advertisement Advertisement Gualtieri emphasized that McGlocktons push wasnt just a regular shove but he really slammed him to the ground. He also said that Drejka said he feared that McGlockton would attack him again. He felt after being slammed to the ground that the next thing was that he was going to be further attacked by McGlockton, the sheriff said. In an interview with Tampas Fox13 the owner of the convenience store where the shooting took place said Drejka had gotten into an argument over the parking space before. I told him, Dont do that, and he wont listen, Ali Salous said.* Jacobs vowed to continue seeking justice for her late boyfriend. I could have been hurt, my kids could have been hurt, he shot, fired in front the kids which was real messed up, Jacobs said. And all Markeis did was try to protect his family, he didnt do nothing wrong, he didnt do nothing wrong. What was supposed to be a fun family vacation for an Indianapolis-area family ended in tragedy when a duck boat capsized in Branson, Missouri and killed nine of the 11 members of the family who were on the boat. A total of 17 people, out of 29 passengers and two crew members, were killed, including nine members of the Coleman family. The only two members of the Coleman family who survived the accident were Tia Coleman and her 13-year-old nephew. Advertisement I lost all of my children. I lost my husband. I lost my mother-in-law and my father-in-law. I lost my uncle. I lost my sister-in-law she was my sister. And I lost my nephew, said Tia Cooleman in an interview. Im okay, but this is really hard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among the dead were three generations of the Coleman family, including 45-year-old Angela Coleman, 1-year-old Arya Coleman, 69-year-old Belinda Coleman, 76-year-old Ervin Coleman, 7-year-old Evan Coleman, 40-year-old Glenn Coleman, 70-year-old Horace Coleman, 2-year-old Maxwell Coleman, and 9-year-old Reece Coleman. The Coleman family likely would not have even been on that amphibious vesself if it wasnt for a mix up with their tickets. And once they were on the boad, Tia Coleman told Fox affiliate WXIN that the captain told them they didnt have to worry about life jackets. My husband would want me to say thishe would want the world to know that on this boat we were on, the captain had told us dont worry about grabbing the life jacketsyou wont need them so nobody grabbed them as we listened to the captain as he told us to stay seated, she said. However in doing that, when it was time to grab them, it was too late and I believe that a lot of people could have been spared. Advertisement Advertisement Among the dead were also a couple from Higginsville, Missouri, who were celebrating their 45th wedding anniversary and a grandmother from Illinois who had taken her granddaughter to Branson on a trip. Advertisement Tony Burkhart decided to ask for a refund for his ticket on the ill-fated duck boat due to the weather and he posted a video on Twitter showing how bad the weather conditions were at the time of the accident. We saw high winds + bad weather roll in, so I decided to get a refund and leave with my wife. Headed out, countless first responders + emergency vehicles were going in #Branson to help with the #DuckBoat incident. Branson Belle crew helped toss life preservers to those overboard. pic.twitter.com/71H61ir0Gy Tony Burkhart (@tonyburkhart) July 20, 2018 Advertisement Another witness who was on a dinner cruise at the time posted video on Facebook showing the last moments of the duck boat as it was slowly being swallowed up by the choppy waters. Oh my God, those poor people, someone can be heard saying in the video. President Donald Trump broke his silence on news that his former lawyer and personal fixer Michael Cohen recorder a conversation the two had about paying off a former Playboy model. In a tweet, he said that the recording, which was reportedly made two months before the presidential election, was perhaps illegal. Regardless, he confidently said he did nothing wrong. Inconceivable that the government would break into a lawyers office (early in the morning)almost unheard of, Trump tweeted in reference to an FBI raid into Cohens office in April. Even more inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client - totally unheard of & perhaps illegal. The good news is that your favorite President did nothing wrong! Advertisement Inconceivable that the government would break into a lawyers office (early in the morning) - almost unheard of. Even more inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client - totally unheard of & perhaps illegal. The good news is that your favorite President did nothing wrong! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 21, 2018 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani has confirmed that the conversation took place but insists there was no campaign money involved in the discussion over payments to Karen McDougal. The conversation, Giuliani insists, was all about reimbursing the parent company of the National Enquirer* for the rights to McDougals story. Giuiliani says the payment was never made and he continues to deny Trump and McDougal ever had an affair. Advertisement Despite all the denials, the conversation at the very least seems to demonstrate the Trump campaign lied when it said it didnt know anything about the way the National Enquirer paid McDougal for her story. Yet Giuliani says that isnt true, insisting the recording helps us, rather than hurts us and bears out the fact that Trump only found out about the payment for McDougal when Cohen told him about it. Beyond the specifics, Trumps tweet amounts to his most pointed criticism yet of Cohen, notes the Wall Street Journal. The New York Times also emphasizes that the tweet signals open warfare on Mr. Cohen. New York law allows one party in a conversation to record without the other person knowing. We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies , click here. Tourist route leads through unknown beauties of Zemplin Little Croatia is on the way, too. More information about travelling in Slovakia Please see our Please see our Spectacular Slovakia travel guide The tourist route in Vihorlatske vrchy starts in the village of Podhorod, leads through the quarry of Benatina, also known as Little Croatia, through the fortified settlement of Stary Konus and ends in the village of Konus. The route is about 13 kilometres long and it is possible to return the same way. This part belongs among the unknown corners of Zemplin, said Zuzana Argalasova from the Administration of the Vihorlat Protected Area, as quoted by the TASR newswire. The route has six tourist information points, three tables and five benches. There are several interesting stops along the route. For example, the fortified settlement. The view of Vychodoslovenska Pahorkatina is beautiful, Argalasova noted for TASR. The route has a medium level of difficulty but offers spectacular views. video //www.youtube.com/embed/sRmQLJAwOYA 21. Jul 2018 at 9:30 | TASR, Compiled by Spectator staff Biker gang complex in Dolna Krupa raises questions What does the Russian bikers gang Night Wolves do in the Slovak village of Dolna Krupa? The complex painted with combat camouflage at the end of the village of Dolna Krupa caused a stir recently when the public discovered it will be the Slovak base of the Russian biker gang Night Wolves. The Russian bikers gang is openly supported by the Kremlin, and according to security analysts, recruits fighters for the pro-Russian separatists in the east of Ukraine and stirs agitation with its promo rides across European countries every year. Aerial photos disclosed that the fence, two metres tall and lined by razor barbed wire, hides an actual military base with tanks, armoured vehicles, a tank training area, as well as a space reminiscent of a shooting range. Locals have no clue what goes on in the complex. It is owned and operated by a friend of former interior minister Robert Kalinak, orthodox biker Jozef Hambalek. Apart from the Night Wolves, the paramilitary unit Slovak Levies (Slovenski Branci) also exercises at the complex. In May, they published photos on Facebook boasting they already have a motorised battalion. They deem it a demonstration, among other things, of how serious they are about defending their homeland, and exercising. Police have been monitoring the situation surrounding the base, but so far, they have not intervened in any way. Secret services have not commented. The Defence Ministry has already admitted that the military equipment comes from its institute, and that it requires it to be returned. Equipment from history institute Tanks and armoured vehicles have been supplied by the Military History Institute, which falls under the Defence Ministry, to the Museum of Historical Vehicles Trnava civic association. Its legal representative is Hambalek who allegedly wants, through the association, to open a military museum in the Dolna Krupa complex. It is obvious that the head of the Military History Institute, Miloslav Caplovic, failed to thoroughly check on the background of this civic association, and thus, he exceeded his competences, ministry spokesperson Danka Capakova wrote. Read also: Read also: Russian bikers have established a branch in Slovakia Read more Thus, Defence Minister Peter Gajdos (an SNS nominee) temporarily suspended Caplovic from his position, until all circumstances are investigated. He also ordered immediate termination of the contract on renting the equipment, and that the equipment be returned. What do security forces say? Media and politicians have already been commenting on the establishment of the Night Wolves Slovak base. Asked by the Sme daily, intelligence services answered that they are monitoring the situation but cannot comment more in detail. While the Foreign Ministry is concerned by the founding of the Night Wolves branch, the Interior Ministry claims they have not recorded any disruption of peace or illegal activities. Apart from the Russian bikers clubhouse, Hambalek plans to create a World-War-II museum called Patriot Park near Dolna Krupa. An eponymous theme park operates in Russia, too, focusing on presentation of Russian combat equipment. Officially, it was opened in 2016. When this story was prepared, Hambalek was on holiday so Sme failed to contact him. Where do conscripts exercise? Besides the planned museum, however, the paramilitary organisation Slovenski Branci also exercise here. Their head Peter Svrcek confirmed that they had one gathering at the complex, as Hambalek offered to lend them the equipment he had borrowed. Who are the Night Wolves The oldest bikers club in Russia appeared in 1989. It has around 5,000 members and is currently led by a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Alexandr Zaldostanov, nicknamed "The Surgeon". Despite their claim to be an apolitical organisation, they actively support Putin, and are in contact with him. They organise propaganda rides across Europe, officially to hail the victims of World War II. Some countries, like Poland, have banned them from entering their territory. According to security analysts, they recruit fighters in Ukraine to join the pro-Russian separatists. We didnt know the equipment was borrowed illegally but that is none of our business, Svrcek claims. Branci have been operating in Slovakia for several years already, and present themselves as an apolitical organisation that teaches people self-defence. They openly stand against the NATO and European Union, but police have failed to prove they could commit anything illegal. Some members of the group held speeches in the past at the celebrations of the war-time (Nazi) Slovak state. In the documentary on Slovenski Branci, called Ked pride vojna (When the War Comes), released this year by director Jan Gebert, Svrcek openly declared his interest in joining politics. Dolna Krupa knows nothing On the afternoon of July 19, a pick-up with two men was driving in front of the complexs fence near Dolna Krupa. One of them was driving, the other one attached papers that said "No Photos" on the wired fence. They refused to give their names, only introducing themselves as the museums employees. 21. Jul 2018 at 13:20 | Peter Kapitan After protecting WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for almost six years, Ecuador is now planning to withdraw its political asylum, probably next week, and eject him from its London embassyeventually would turn him over to the British authorities.Lenin Moreno, the newly-elected President of Ecuador, has arrived in London this Friday to give a speech at Global Disability Summit on 24 July 2018.However, media reports suggest the actual purpose of the President's visit is to finalize a deal with UK government to withdraw its asylum protection of Assange.According to RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan and the Intercept 's Glenn Greenwald, multiple sources close to the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry and the President's office have confirmed that Julian Assange will be handed over to Britain in the coming weeks or even days.Julian Assange, 47, has been living in Ecuador's London embassy since June 2012, when he was granted asylum by the Ecuador government after a British court ordered his extradition to Sweden to face questioning sexual assault and rape.Although Sweden dropped its preliminary investigation into the rape accusation against Julian Assange just last year, Assange chose not to leave the embassy due to fears that he would eventually be extradited to the US, where he is facing federal charges for his role in publishing classified information leaked by Chelsea Manning in 2010.Founder of the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, has not been online since last three months after Ecuador cut his communications with the outside world from its London embassy.The Ecuadorian government took this decision in order to save its good relation with Spain after Assange tweeted in support of Catalan independence movement and blasted the Spanish government over alleged human rights violations.According to Ecuador, Assange had breached an agreement to refrain from interfering in other states' affairs."Sources close to Assange said he himself was not aware of the talks but believed that America was putting 'significant pressure' on Ecuador, including threatening to block a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) if he continues to stay at the embassy," RT said.Assange is currently facing an arrest warrant from the British government for a minor charge of "failure to surrender," which carries a prison term of three months and a fine.Now, what will be the future of Assange? Mountain Shadows in Wayanad is just the place for a dreamy vacation Dead Lucky, the latest 4 part drama from SBS, casts a very wide net on inner Sydney, linking clusters of multiculturalism impacted by a crime at a Sydney convenience store. At the centre of the story is Detective Grace Gibbs (Rachel Griffiths), an abrasive detective and single mother who is undergoing anger management counselling against her will. She is also reeling from an unsolved incident which saw her younger partner (Lincoln Younes) killed during a robbery. The way it played out still casts a shadow over her. Her boss (Rhys Muldoon) now partners her with Chinese-Australian Charlie (Yoson An) who blames Grace for the death of their colleague. Meanwhile convenience store owners Erica & Tony (Justine Clarke, Simon Burke), who bicker over their migrant staff, are targeted again by local robbers. They want young Iranian staffer Mani (Mojean Aria) to use a gun next time it happens, but this Australian reaction feels extreme to him. There are various other support characters including Graces ex-husband (Matt Nable) & new partner (Annie Maynard), policewoman & widow (Anna Samson), and the international student community (Xana Tang, Aldo Mignone). Writers Ellie Beaumont & Drew Proffitt (House Husbands) embark on an issues-based drama through the lens of a procedural crime. Rather than focus on a specific cultural group, Dead Lucky ambitiously seeks to ricochet its crime through several. Yet there are also touches of the personal, via the domestic life of Grace and a top-heavy support cast. The exchanges between key characters draws upon subtext although the plot directed by David Caesar is somewhat uneven. Griffiths is ever-reliable as the story lead and I would have welcomed narrowing the focus even more to her as a roadmap through this large set-up. Newcomer Yoson An is a welcome addition to this diverse cast, with presumably more scenes to come after his pairing with Grace. Justine Clarkes mutton-dressed-as-lamb, racist would be hilarious if it werent so close to the bone, proving to be a challenge for Simon Burkes long-suffering husband. Brooke Satchwell & Ian Meadows will also appear. There are also some policing moves that feel unlikely, but perhaps they speak to manoeuvring against police routine as an expression of character. Its also hard to know whether the 9:30 time slot from SBS is an attempt to find an audience in a less competitive slot, or the broadcaster decided it doesnt cut the traditional 8:30 slot. Dead Luckys heart is in the right place, hoping to take a snapshot of modern Australia and the way crime ripples throughout. Under recent criticisms, its as on-Charter as you can get. While elements of the execution are pointed, the jury is out on whether the sum of the parts will ultimately make for a gripping whole. Dead Lucky airs 9:30pm Wednesday on SBS. FILE PHOTO: Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong visits a media center for the summit between the U.S and North Korea, in Singapore, June 10, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon By Jack Kim and Aradhana Aravindan SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Hackers have infiltrated Singapore's government health database in the country's worst breach of personal data, stealing records on 1.5 million patients including the prime minister's own personal drug prescriptions, the government said on Friday. Government officials did not say who might have been behind the attack, but a joint statement by the health and communications ministries suggested a high degree of sophistication. "Investigations by the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) and the Integrated Health Information System (IHiS)confirmed that this was a deliberate, targeted and well-planned cyberattack," the statement said. "It was not the work of casual hackers or criminal gangs." The hackers stole personal details and prescription records of patients who visited Singapore's outpatient clinics between May 1, 2015 and July 4 of this year, the statement said. "The attackers specifically and repeatedly targeted Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loongs personal particulars and information on his outpatient dispensed medicines," the statement said. Prime Minister Lee said in a Facebook post that he did not know what information the attackers were hoping to find. "My medication data is not something I would ordinarily tell people about, but there is nothing alarming in it," he said. Major cyber attacks have been rare in Singapore, which has invested heavily in cyber security over the past decade. The attack comes as the highly wired and digitalized state has made cyber security a top priority both at home and for its neighbours in the ASEAN regional bloc. A Health Ministry official, who asked not to be named, said there may be "some inconvenience" as a result of the hack but the full extent of the impact was not immediately clear. Cyber attacks on healthcare systems have surged in recent years around the globe because medical records can provide information valuable both to government spy agencies and criminal hackers looking to profit from identity theft. Story continues "Medical data contains a trove of information from personally identifiable data to financial details that can be used to create a highly sought-after composite of an individual," cyber security firm RSA's Asia Pacific advisor Leonard Kleinman said. "As it could contain any amount and level of information, healthcare institutions are among the most sought-after industries by criminals who can be motivated by a multitude of possible reasons," he said. Singapore will set up a commission of inquiry to look into the hack and immediately move to strengthen government defences against cyber attacks, the Ministry of Communications said in a separate statement. (Reporting by Jack Kim and Aradhana Aravindan; Editing by Michael Perry and Peter Graff) By Matin Sahak MAZAR-I SHARIF, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Battles between Taliban and Islamic State fighters in a remote district of Jawzjan province in northern Afghanistan have caused heavy casualties and displaced thousands of people in recent days, officials said on Friday. Islamic State and Taliban militants are fighting each other in several northern provinces. On Tuesday, IS fighters attacked the house of a Taliban commander in Sar-e Pul province, killing at least 15 people at a prayer ceremony. Mohammad Reza Ghafouri, spokesman for the Jawzjan provincial governor's office, said fighting between the two groups had been going on for over a week in the southern districts of Darzab and Qush Tepa. "There have been heavy casualties, killed and wounded, on both sides, totaling close to 300 and the fighting is still going on," he said. Local people said they had been forced to flee their areas, leaving dead bodies unburied as the fighting went on around. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed there had been fighting with Islamic State in Darzab, vowing that the Taliban would drive them from the area soon. Islamic State fighters first appeared in eastern Afghanistan almost four years ago and have fought the Taliban as well as government forces, establishing a reputation for unusual cruelty even by the standards of the Afghan conflict. Top NATO commander in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, estimated this year that Islamic State has around 1,500 fighters in Afghanistan, mainly in the east and in a "pocket" in Jawzjan. A government offer for peace talks which the Taliban have not categorically rejected has given rise to speculation of a possible end to the conflict, but the fighting in the north underlines how complicated the security situation in much of Afghanistan remains with many areas out of either government or Taliban control. "When Daesh came to our area, they killed a lot of people because they said we'd helped the Taliban," said Masoma, a resident of the Aqsa area of Darzab who had taken his family to Sheberghan. "But now the Taliban have returned and they're saying we helped Daesh." Story continues "You're just left helpless, you don't know what to do." Local officials say the situation in Darzab has been dire for months, with schools closed and food running short for many families. "These families have no shelter and their children are in a very bad condition," said Halima, a member of the local provincial council. Like its neighboring Faryab and Sar-e Pul provinces, Jawzjan has important smuggling routes for weapons and contraband that have been controlled for decades by armed groups. "Commanders from the time of the (anti-Soviet) Jihad and the resistance are still around and still control the contraband traffic in weapons," said Mohammad Faqir, a police commander in Jawzjan. Darzab, where security forces control the district center but little else, and the adjacent district of Qush Tepa, have both seen regular fighting for a number of years with control passing from one group to another. Ghafouri said Taliban forces from Sar-e Pul and Faryab were also involved in the fighting and hundreds of families had been forced to flee their homes and move to the provincial capital Sheberghan. Officials from UNOCHA, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said they had an unconfirmed estimate that around 500 families, or some 3,500 people may have been displaced by the fighting but some local officials said the total may be twice that level. (Additional reporting by Qadir Sediqi in KABUL; Writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky) See Also: The period began 4,200 years ago with an abrupt mega-drought (ICS)We are living in the Meghalayan Age, a new chapter in the history of our planet, according to geologists. The International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) has classified the past 4,200 years as a distinct age the Meghalayan in geological terms. Its a subdivision of the Holocene era, one of three approved by the International Commission on Stratigraphy. The Meghalayan began with a huge drought that disrupted civilisations in Egypt, Syria and China, the geologists say. The history of our planet now has a new chapter, the Meghalayan Age, that began 4,200 years ago. The researchers say, Agricultural-based societies that developed in several regions after the end of the last Ice Age were impacted severely by the 200-year climatic event that resulted in the collapse of civilizations and human migrations in Egypt, Greece, Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and the Yangtze River Valley. MOST POPULAR ON YAHOO NEWS UK Railway signalman, 60, sacked after 44 years of service for taking a 20-minute break Boris Johnson blasts dithering Theresa May and says its not too late to save Brexit Cliff Richard wins privacy case against BBC over police raid of home MP John Woodcock quits Labour with attack on Jeremy Corbyns hard left takeover Someone just decoded ancient papyrus which baffled researchers for 500 years Evidence of the 4.2 kiloyear climatic event has been found on all seven continents. The International Commission on Stratigraphy approved proposals for two other ages: the Middle Holocene Northgrippian Age and the Early Holocene Greenlandian Age with beginnings defined at climatic events that happened about 8,300 years and 11,700 years ago, respectively. The three ages comprise the Holocene Epoch, which represents the time since the end of the last Ice Age. These are the clearest views of the moon to date (NASA) A NASA probe has captured crystal-clear images of the surface of Titan, a moon of Saturn where 300-foot dunes of frozen chemicals roll across the surface. NASA has previously said that liquid water may exist deep under Titans surface making it one of the places in the solar system where life could exist. The six new infrared images were created using 13 years of data acquired by the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) instrument on board NASAs Cassini spacecraft. Cassini was deliberately steered into Saturns atmosphere after 20 years observing the planet last year and the new views were created by combining data. MOST POPULAR ON YAHOO NEWS UK Railway signalman, 60, sacked after 44 years of service for taking a 20-minute break Boris Johnson blasts dithering Theresa May and says its not too late to save Brexit Cliff Richard wins privacy case against BBC over police raid of home MP John Woodcock quits Labour with attack on Jeremy Corbyns hard left takeover Someone just decoded ancient papyrus which baffled researchers for 500 years NASA says, Observing the surface of Titan in the visible region of the spectrum is difficult, due to the globe enshrouding haze that envelops the moon. This is primarily because small particles called aerosols in Titans upper atmosphere strongly scatter visible light. But Titans surface can be more readily imaged in a few infrared windows infrared wavelengths where scattering and absorption is much weaker. This is where the VIMS instrument excelled, parting the haze to obtain clear images of Titans surface. By Suleiman Al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) - The Syrian army and allied forces made advances in the southwest that bring it closer to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights as rebels refusing to return to state rule boarded buses for opposition controlled northern Syria, state television and rebels said. The army, backed by a Russian air campaign, has been pushing into the edges of Quneitra province following an offensive last month that routed rebels in adjoining Deraa province who were once backed by Washington, Jordan and Gulf states. The offensive has restored Syrian government control over a swathe of the southwest, strategic territory at the borders with Jordan and Israel. The capture of a string of villages, announced by the army on Saturday, comes as evacuation of rebels and their families resumed for the second day from villages along the Golan frontier towards rebel-controlled northern Syria. "We are in a bus with around sixty people young men and families and about to leave and become uprooted from our homes," said Maher Ali, 38, an activist who decided with his family to leave than risk retribution for his long record of peaceful opposition to President Bashar al Assad's authoritarian rule. The army was consolidating its control of a series of commanding heights that overlook the Golan frontier that had allowed mainly Islamist rebels who once controlled it a strong position in the sensitive border area. A deal negotiated by Russian officers with rebels in the Quneitra area last week allows safe passage to rebels opposed to a return to state rule, while offering others who decide to stay Russian guarantees against army encroachments in their own localities [L8N1UG1RO], rebels say. It also allows the return of Syrian army brigades, that existed before the 2011 conflict, back to where they were stationed near a 1974 demilitarized zone with Israel on the Golan frontier. FIGHTERS LEAVE More than 2,500 people, among them fighters from Islamist groups who have rejected the deal, left on Friday headed to opposition areas in northern Syria. [L8N1UG1RO] Story continues Russia's Interfax news agency, citing the Russian military, confirmed the same number have been taken by bus to the Idlib zone. The Syrian army wants full control over Quneitra province where Israel has deep concerns over the presence of Iranian backed militias in the so called Triangle of Death area. The area is a bastion of Iranian-backed militias including Hezbollah, according to Western intelligence sources. Israel signalled it would not impede the Syrian army presence in Quneitra as long as it steered away from the demilitarized zone, and said it will continue to escalate attacks along its frontier and elsewhere in Syria where it suspects Iranian-backed forces are stationed. A commander in the regional alliance that backs Assad said the army's victory in southwestern Syria forced Israel to accept the Syrian army's return to the old 1974 armistice lines. "The Israelis has been forced into submission.....the file of the south has ended in favour of the Syrian army," the commander told Reuters, saying Quneitra's complete recapture was expected in the coming days. Some rebels say Russia, which led the military campaign and negotiated most of the surrender deals and committed military police to oversee its implementation, has been trying to push back the army and its Iranian-backed militias from committing excesses in former rebel-held towns. Other phases of the agreement, which includes the handover of weapons and the entry of Russian military police to some villages, were expected to be implemented in the coming days, a rebel source said. Tens of thousands of people have been sheltering at the frontier since the Russian and Syrian aerial bombing campaign that the opposition called a scorched earth policy began a month ago. Russia has been exerting pressure on the Syrian army to facilitate the return of many of the displaced and has also asked the United Nations to send regular convoys of aid to ease the humanitarian crisis triggered by the offensive, U.N. officials said. A senior Western diplomatic source said Moscow, which has reached understandings with Israel and Jordan that made it possible to move on with the offensive, was keen to stabilise the border area to prove that its Syria intervention sought a political settlement to the seven-year-old conflict. (Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; additional reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin in Moscow and Laila Bassam in Beirut; Editing by Andrew Bolton) ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek police were searching on Friday for a Turkish woman and her three children missing after a boat carrying nine people capsized in the Evros river separating Greece from Turkey, police said. Police rescued four men aged between 24 and 40 and one child, a police official said, after being informed of the incident in northern Greece early on Thursday. "According to their statements, they had boarded a boat aiming to reach Greece from Turkey," a police spokeswoman said. "They said that their boat crashed on a rock, a tree or something else during their transfer and it capsized. Since that moment a woman and her three children are missing," she added. The old smugglers' route across the river border between the two countries is increasingly used by refugees fleeing war in Syria and elsewhere. Turks have also used the route in recent years following a failed coup attempt against Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in 2016. It can take five to six minutes to paddle across the Evros river, whose fast-moving waters are treacherous. The police spokeswoman said the rescued men and the child were taken to a reception-and-identification center, while police were still looking for the missing people. It was not clear whether those rescued had requested asylum. (Reporting by Renee Maltezou and Angeliki Koutantou, Editing by William Maclean) See Also: During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump promised to build a border wall between the United States and Mexico to prevent the entry of people who could be a threat to the country and its people. He indicated that Mexico would pay for the wall but the possibility appears to be a farfetched dream. Washington Times reported that the White House backed a House Spending bill which includes funds earmarked to build a border wall. The amount is $5 billion which will pay for the construction of another 200 miles of physical barrier. Such a wall is necessary from the point of view of securing the border against infiltration by unwanted elements. Border wall is essential Trump believes The United States already faced a terrorist attack that took a heavy toll of human lives. Donald Trump does not want a repetition of the Sept. 11 type of attack, or any other attack. He also wants to stop the drug cartels and criminal elements from easily entering the USA. He wants to ensure the safety of Americans, and the Mexico border wall could play an important role. There are gaps in the existing wall and those with evil intentions use them to cross over and enter the country. Sarah Sanders, the White House Press Secretary, clarified that the extra spending on beefing up border security is necessary because it is a part of national security. The purpose is to strengthen the border and plug entry points to thwart the designs of those who are involved in illegal activities like human trafficking, and child smuggling. Then there are illegal immigrants of uncertain backgrounds who can endanger the lives of others. The wall, in short, is an effort to control unauthorized immigration across the southern border. $5 billion is not enough for the border wall According to The Hill, the House Spending bill funds will take care of building a stretch of new physical barriers along with procurement of technology to give teeth to the security. Discuss this news on Eunomia The Senate had allotted $1.6 billion without the provision of any new physical barrier. However, Trump feels the $5 billion allotted will be inadequate and has demanded allotment of a higher amount. Kevin Yoder (R-Kan.), Homeland Security Subcommittee Chairman, said that the funds will be utilized to towards the barrier and help law enforcement agencies to acquire new technology for better protection. There are many natural barriers in the form of mountains and waterbodies and the guards at the border need suitable surveillance equipment to zero in on those who try to enter illegally. US-born Malayali actress Anu Emmanuel made her debut in Tollywood with Majnu in 2016. Since then, she has acted in only 5 movies, including Agnyaathavaasi and her latest outing Naa Peru Surya Naa Illu India. However, Anu says that she is in no hurry to sign more projects. Expressing satisfaction about her career, Anu said in a latest interview with a popular English daily, I dont think I am slow, I just want to take it one at a time. I want to work in the industry for a long time, so I am in no hurry to sign projects. I dont do a project unless it feels right. But I am happy with my career graph and the way it is progressing. Anu Emmanuel will next be seen in Naga Chaitanyas soon-to-release romantic family entertainer, Sailaja Reddy Alludu. Articles that might interest you: Carl Zimmer in The Globe and Mail: For four seasons, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates has been hosting the genealogy television show Finding Your Roots. In each episode, Mr. Gates presents celebrities with a book full of research into their ancestry, drawing from genealogical records and genetic tests. On a recent show, Mr. Gates introduced the actor Ted Danson to one of his 18th-century ancestors, Oliver Smith of Connecticut. Mr. Danson learned how Mr. Smith defended his seaside town against the British during the Revolutionary War. Mr. Danson proudly patted the page that chronicled Mr. Smiths heroics. Well done, well done, he said. I never imagined a one-of-mes out there in the revolution. But when Mr. Danson turned to another page in his ancestry book, his mood swiftly shifted. Now he discovered that Oliver Smith bought a slave named Venture. Mr. Danson fell silent. Mr. Gates tried cheering him up by pointing out that Mr. Smith later allowed Venture to purchase his own freedom. More here. Erica Wagner at The New Statesman: John Edgar Widemans profound new book begins, as it must, with the American Civil War. The first story in this collection, JB & FD imagines a kind of conversation between two of the most important figures of that conflict, the white anti-slavery crusader John Brown, hanged in December 1859 for treason, murder, and inciting slave insurrection, and the black abolitionist Frederick Douglass, who had himself been born enslaved. The story begins as historical fiction but swiftly moves away from the conventional, its ten sections shifting between the voices not only of Brown and Douglass but also that of the author himself, looking out of a motel window on a snowy morning, trying to imagine himself into his characters lives. He considers John Brown as a boy, driving cattle through a blizzard: I compare his predicament to mine, and Im ashamed. more . Becca Rothfeld in The Hedgehog Review: Begin, for once, with the ending: the arms at an awful angle, the face blue-lipped above a blot of blood. Only later do we glimpse the woman who corresponds to the corpse. She laughs in a flashback. Or she smiles in the photograph pinned to the board where the police map the murders with thumbtacks, charting tangled speculations with lines of yarn. In light of her death, she comes to life. This is the antiordering typical of the serial killer procedural, a narrative scramble that begins with the answer and ages back toward the question. In the television series Hannibal (NBC, 201315), a convicted murderer impales a nurse in prison. He snaps at the officers who come to question him, I was caught red-handed. Theres no mystery as to who done it. I did it! Still, the officers insist that they have something to ask. We know who did it, but the mystery of motive remains. It recurs in the spate of serial killer dramas that have proliferated in recent years, multiplying as fast as the gruesome murders we watch so raptly each week. In Mindhunter (2017), a Netflix series set in the mid-seventies, a professor of behavioral science at the FBI Academy observes that murder has become inscrutable. In the past, people killed each other for reasons: The culprit was always the jilted lover or the cheated business partner, the cuckolded husband or the scheming heir. To solve the puzzle, we only had to track the reasons back to their sources. But beginning in the seventies, when Son of Sam murderer David Berkowitz shot six people because a dog told him to, the killer became a black hole. Where do we go, the professor asks, when motive becomes elusive? More here. Many patients who go to urgent care facilities for common ailments are needlessly told to take antibiotics that are neither recommended nor effective, according to researchers for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Pew Charitable Trusts. A study released this week says that 46 percent of patients at urgent care centers who were diagnosed with acute respiratory conditions for which antibiotics are not effective received a prescription for the drugs anyway. In contrast, just 14 percent of such patients at retail health clinics, such as those in pharmacies and supermarkets, received unnecessary prescriptions, the researchers said. Health officials and many doctors have long been concerned about overprescribing, partly because antibiotics and other drugs often come with significant side effects. And overuse of some drugs may lead to the spread of antibiotic-resistant "superbugs." "This finding is important because urgent care and retail clinic markets are growing," the CDC and Pew researchers wrote in a report published in the medical journal JAMA Internal Medicine. Urgent care centers are typically places where patients come for immediate and unscheduled care instead of going to a doctors office or hospital emergency room. The study indicates that many doctors at these facilities are much too quick to prescribe unnecessary antibiotics for such ailments as the flu, bronchitis and the common cold. Antibiotics dont work for some conditions, researchers noted. And others can be caused by viruses, which should not be treated with antibiotics. The findings indicate that unnecessary prescribing at all outpatient settings nationwide may be much higher than previous CDC estimates of at least 30 percent. The researchers called for closer scrutiny, saying that "efforts targeting urgent care centers are urgently needed." This study and similar research are part of a drive to achieve a national target of cutting inappropriate outpatient antibiotic prescriptions in half by 2020. The CDC and Pew plan to also assess prescribing in inpatient settings, such as hospitals and long-term care facilities. SANTA FE It was a long time coming, but retired Staff Sgt. Dennis Ferk of the 164th infantry division of the North Dakota Army National Guard finally received the Bronze Star he earned during World War II. I didnt realize I had it coming, the 97-year-old Ferk said after the medal as well as three others were pinned to the lapel of his uniform during a ceremony at the Santa Fe Vet Center Friday afternoon. Yeah, you didnt get them all, said Maj. Gen. Kenneth Nava of the New Mexico National Guard told Ferk, a Santa Fe resident for 60 years who also wore a Purple Heart on his chest. Were making it right some 75 years later, but were making it right. Nava later said its not unusual for World War II veterans to not receive all the medals they earned. If you think about it, millions of people were getting discharged after the war, so its quite common that not everyone got the medals they were deserving of, he said. In addition to the Bronze Star, which is awarded to members of the U.S. military for heroic or meritorious achievements or service in a combat zone, Ferk also received the American Defense Service Medal, the American Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal. Ferk enlisted in the North Dakota National Guard fresh out of high school in 1939. After the U.S. was drawn into the war by the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, his unit was activated and deployed to guard the San Francisco Bay, and later the coast of Oregon, from enemy attack. His regiment was later sent to New Caledonia in the South Pacific for five months of combat training, then to Guadalcanal as an emergency reinforcement for the First Marine division. We were there to drive (the Japanese) out and off the island, said Ferk, whos still called Sarge by his friends. The 164th was later shipped to the Fiji Islands where he earned his Purple Heart when a bomb exploded near him while he was guarding a supply depot, injuring his left eye. When the war ended, Ferk returned to North Dakota, got married and was hired by the U.S. Department of Transportation. A job transfer brought he and his wife Dorothy to New Mexico in the late 1950s. Ferk probably deserves a medal for what he went through a few years ago when he was the victim of scam artists. That case was concluded just this month when the couple that was serving as his caretakers were sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay him more than $120,000 in restitution. Ferk now lives with his daughter, Denise, in Santa Fe. An Albuquerque man with a long criminal record was sentenced Thursday to 45 years in prison for beating and stabbing a friend to death in November 2016. A jury found London Word, 31, guilty of second-degree murder and two counts of tampering with evidence in March, and because of his prior convictions, the sentence for those crimes was increased by 24 years. It seems the only time hes not in trouble is when hes in the Department of Corrections, prosecutor Les Romaine argued before asking state District Judge Jacqueline Flores to impose the maximum 45-year sentence. According to a spokesman for the District Attorneys Office, Word had been staying with Lucas Bazan in exchange for drugs. When their friendship dissolved, Word was asked to move out and, at some point after that, he brutally beat Bazan before slitting his throat and hiding his body in a closet. Word told police that Bazan pulled two knives on him during an argument over methamphetamine. Afterward, Word went to his mothers home and told her that he had done something real bad, police said. Word said he is a product of what hes endured over years spent in prison who, in November 2016, was struggling with addiction and focused only on his next fix. I deserve every single year, Word said in a lengthy statement to the court. I deserve it. He said things were spiraling out of control that night, and he wanted Bazans family to know how sorry he is. I took the life of a friend, he said. I took the life of someones loved one. Martin Juarez, Words attorney, said his client, who suffered abuse as a child, had taken responsibility for the crime from the beginning. There has been a request for a maximum sentence, Juarez said. Vengeance is not justice. London Word is not irredeemable. Bazans family described sitting through a trial and seeing disturbing images of Bazans wounded, bloodied body. They described an outgoing man, who cheered on the Dallas Cowboys and had been raised to help others. Nothing will take this away or fix this hurt, said Bazans sister. And I think anything other than the maximum sentence is just going to add to this hurt and pain. Did President Trump bungle the moment in Helsinki by casting doubt on American intelligence findings that Russian agents meddled in the 2016 election? His critics, including some Republicans, say so and on Tuesday, Trump said he had misspoken when he expressed doubt about Russian culpability but several things need to be kept in mind. The first is that Russia and the United States have been meddling with, or spying on, each other for decades. That is hardly a secret. Second, according to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, no votes were altered and the election outcome was not affected by the alleged meddling. Third, the fealty most Democrats and some Republicans are showing for the credibility of U.S. intelligence today was lacking after it was discovered that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction. Every intelligence agency in the U.S. and Britain swore some under oath that Saddam Hussein had WMDs. It was the rationale President George W. Bush used to invade Iraq, topple Saddam and install a government more to his liking. Some older history might serve to prove that U.S. intelligence findings are not always accurate, or worth taking at immediate face value. On Dec. 22, 1963, former President Harry Truman wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post. In it, he said the Central Intelligence Agency, which he created, had become an operational and at times a policy-making arm of the Government. This has led to trouble and may have compounded our difficulties in several explosive areas. And so, Truman wrote, I decided to set up a special organization charged with the collection of all intelligence reports from every available source, and to have those reports reach me as President without department treatment or interpretations. I wanted and needed the information in its natural raw state and in as comprehensive a volume as it was practical for me to make full use of it. But the most important thing about this move was to guard against the chance of intelligence being used to influence or to lead the President into unwise decisions and I thought it was necessary that the President do his own thinking and evaluating. Even then, there were concerns about the accuracy and credibility of intelligence material. In 1975, a congressional committee chaired by Sen. Frank Church, D-Idaho, investigated abuses by the CIA, National Security Agency, FBI and IRS. These included allegations that the U.S. Army was spying on American civilians, and that the CIA had conducted assassination attempts against foreign leaders and covert operations to subvert foreign governments. Seymour Hersh of The New York Times wrote a story detailing attempts by U.S. intelligence agencies to collect information on the political activities of U.S. citizens. Democrats took the lead in reforming intelligence agencies to make them more accountable to Congress, though some critics said they went too far, damaging legitimate intelligence-gathering operations. In 2016, the website Politico ran a story about Democrats tumultuous relationship with the CIA. After the Senate Intelligence Committee had launched an investigation into the CIAs alleged use of torture, including waterboarding, of suspected terrorist captives, leading Democrats charged that the agency was dragging its feet and perhaps even intentionally undermining the congressional probe, Politico reported. Sens. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and Mark Udall, D-Colo., called for CIA director John Brennan to resign. Now, many Democrats and most of the left are applauding Brennan for calling President Trump a traitor and demanding he be impeached. President Trump can diffuse much of the heat surrounding Russian meddling in the 2016 election by declassifying, as William McGurn of The Wall Street Journal suggests, all material subpoenaed by Congress regarding Russia and collusion and possible FBI or Justice Department abuses. President Trump might have done better in Helsinki if he had made such an announcement while standing next to Vladimir Putin. He has the constitutional authority to do it. This controversy began when a special counsel was named under the false pretense that a dossier paid for by the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign was legitimate. This fiasco needs to be ended by getting to the truth contained in those classified documents the Justice Department has refused to share with Congress. WASHINGTON Socialism has known increments of success, basic failure and massive betrayal. Yet it is more relevant to the humane construction of the twenty-first century than any other idea. With those words, the late Michael Harrington began his book Socialism, published in 1972. In his day, Harrington was often called Americas leading socialist. He was also one of the most decent voices in politics, a view shared not just by his friends, but also by most of his critics. Harrington founded Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which, in the often splintered politics of the left, was a breakaway group from the old Socialist Party. My hunch is that Harrington whom I counted as a friend until his death in 1989 at the age of 61 would be amazed, though not entirely surprised, by the extraordinary growth of the DSA since Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign. It would thrill him that the organization is now heavily populated by the young, although I also suspect he would have spirited tactical arguments with youthful rebels about what works in politics. Harrington was a visionary realist, and the dialectic between those two words defined his life. He preached vision to those worn down by a tired political system and realism to those trying to change it. Socialists have had quite a journalistic run since Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year-old DSA member, defeated veteran Rep. Joe Crowley, a genial and rather liberal stalwart of the old Queens Democratic machine, in a primary last month. Opinion has been divided, roughly between those who see her as the wave of the future and those who warn of grave danger if Democrats move too far to the left. I use quotation marks because that phrase has been repeated so much, and because its imprecise and misleading. The triumph of a young Latina who emphasized the interests of working people caught the imaginations of not only progressives, but also many who do not fully agree with her politics. Even her posters were innovative, as Nolen Strals and Bruce Willen pointed out in The Washington Post. But she also represented something very traditional: the transition of power from one ethnic group to another. As Nathan Glazer and Daniel Patrick Moynihan taught us long ago in their classic book Beyond the Melting Pot, never underestimate the role of ethnicity in New York politics. Yet to use her victory as a prelude to a radical takeover of the Democratic Party badly misreads what has been happening. In Democratic primaries this year, more moderate candidates have done well. There have been important progressive victories, Ocasio-Cortezs being one of the most striking, but no lurch left. Moreover, Jake Sullivan, who was Hillary Clintons 2016 senior policy adviser, is right to argue in the journal Democracy that Democrats should not blush too much, or pay too much heed, when political commentators arch their eyebrows about the party moving left. Disclosure: I have long-standing ties to Democracy. Sullivan sees the center of gravity in our politics moving in a more progressive direction in response to the flaws of our public and private institutions that contributed to the financial crisis and the decades of rising inequality and income stagnation that came before. Rescuing and rebuilding the American middle class require boldness, not timidity, he says, and an engagement with the persistent experimentation that FDR championed. The presence of an active democratic socialist voice encourages the conversation Sullivan describes. It serves as a corrective to a debate that had skewed so far right that middle-of-the-road progressives former President Barack Obama, for one found themselves, laughably, labeled as socialists. Having real socialists in the arena laying out more adventurous positions among them, single-payer health care and free college moves the boundaries of discussion and could, in the long run, improve the outcomes in legislative bargaining. Radical tax cuts from the right and measured austerity from the center represents a dreary choice for discontented voters and offers little hope for solving the problems that ignite their anger. Our new left should attend to the realism Harrington preached. Social reform in our country has usually depended on alliances of the center and the left, and outright warfare between them only strengthens the right. The word democratic must always be given priority over the word socialist, and broad coalitions are the lifeblood of democracies. But Ocasio-Cortez and, if I may use the word, her comrades are shaking up politics in constructive and promising ways. For this moderate social Democrat, thats a cause for cheer. For those horrified and disgusted by President Trumps bizarre cozying up to Vladimir Putin this week at the Helsinki press conference and that would appear to be most people they perhaps can take some consolation in a new U.S. military initiative aimed at countering emerging threats from powers such as China and Russia. The U.S. Army last week announced what it calls its most significant reorganization in decades aimed at ensuring the service is ready for future wars. Gen. Mark Milley, the Army chief of staff, told reporters the military recognizes that China and Russia have improved their military capabilities while the U.S. has been fighting insurgents in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere for the past 15 years. We are in the middle of a change in the very character of war, Milley said, adding that the Army had set aside major modernization programs for years in order to concentrate on current battles. No one was solely dedicated to looking into the deep future and determining the implications to the United States Army and the conduct of ground combat of this changing character of war that were coming to grips with. The initiative will be directed from a new Army command center in Austin, Texas, and is expected to have a staff of about 500 people. Tech-savvy Austin is about an hours drive from Fort Hood, one of the biggest military installations in the country, and University of Texas regents wisely voted to provide space for the command in university-owned buildings in Austin. Its also hard to imagine how the new initiative wont rely heavily on the expertise and capabilities at another Army facility: White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Lt. Gen. Eric Wesley gave some perspective to the changing battlefield when he said the Army needs inroads with young kids with laptops that hang out at Starbucks. Brainpower is important, but it wont stand alone. Well always need the men and women who put themselves in harms way in actual combat. This is a smart investment to protect them, as well as our security, in a dangerous world. Thankfully, in spite of that press conference, it does not appear the administration is about to run up the white flag anytime soon. 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 New Mexico is violating the constitutional rights of at-risk students by failing to provide them with a sufficient education, a state judge ruled Friday in a blistering, landmark decision. Judge Sarah Singleton ordered the governor and Legislature to establish a funding system that meets constitutional requirements by April 15 next year. In the 75-page decision, Singleton rejected arguments by Gov. Susana Martinezs administration that the education system is improving and doesnt necessarily need more funding. She also turned back arguments that the state was doing the best with what it had. As a legal matter, Singleton wrote, lack of funds is not a defense to providing constitutional rights. And its clear that many students arent receiving the education they should, she said. The evidence at trial proves that the vast majority of New Mexicos at-risk children finish each school year without the basic literacy and math skills needed to pursue post-secondary education or a career, Singleton said. Indeed, overall New Mexico children rank at the very bottom in the country for educational achievement. A spokeswoman for the state Public Education Department said the department is in the process of reviewing the opinion. She wouldnt address whether the state planned to appeal the decision. State Sen. Mimi Stewart, an Albuquerque Democrat and chairwoman of the Legislative Education Study Committee, said the judge wasnt prescriptive in what has to happen next, but rather left it to lawmakers and the governor to develop a plan. But the solution, she said, will have to address teacher salaries and resources for Native American youth. Im thankful for this judge telling us to get our acts together, Stewart told the Journal. Stephanie Ly, president of the American Federation of Teachers New Mexico, said she was pleased with the ruling. Public educators see the effects from the prolonged reduction of funding to our schools and educational institutions on a daily basis, she said in a written statement. We hope the incoming administration and the legislature will use this ruling as a wake up call to act on behalf of our students, their families, educators, and the well being of public education in our state. Lack of teachers, technology The judge, for her part, said New Mexico doesnt have enough teachers. There was also testimony that New Mexico teachers are among the lowest paid in the country, she said. The evidence shows that school districts do not have the funds to pay for all the teachers they need, Singleton wrote. Gadsden, one of the better performing school districts in the state, has had to eliminate over 53 classroom positions and 15 essential teachers since 2008. The judge also faulted the lack of access to technology in rural districts and suggested the state teacher evaluation system may be contributing to the lower quality of teachers in high-need schools. In general, Singleton said, punitive teacher evaluation systems that penalize teachers for working in high-need schools contribute to problem in this category of schools. And she wasnt persuaded by arguments that no new funding is needed because at-risk student performances are improving. The at-risk students are still not attaining proficiency at the rate of non at-risk students, Singleton said, and the programs being lauded by PED are not changing this picture. Her ruling came after a nearly two-month trial wrapped up last August. Nearly 80 witnesses testified. The consolidated lawsuit, filed by the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, argued that the states schools are inadequately funded. The case is listed under Yazzie v. state of New Mexico and Martinez v. state of New Mexico. It centers on a right, guaranteed by the state constitution, to a sufficient education for all children. The lawsuit alleged a lack of resources and services to help students, particularly youngsters from low-income families, students of color including Native Americans English-language learners and students with disabilities My son just tested as gifted, but his school doesnt have the curriculum or resources to push him to his full potential, James Martinez, a plaintiff in the Yazzie lawsuit, said in a written statement. The kids who are falling behind have it much worse. All kids should have the same opportunity to learn, progress, and succeed. Start of planning House Appropriations and Finance Committee Chairwoman Patricia Lundstrom, D-Gallup, called on PED to immediately begin putting together a plan to comply with the judges ruling. The state is in decent financial position to earmark more money for public education, she said, but she cautioned much of a recent revenue uptick stems from a spike in oil production in southeast New Mexico. Whatever we come up with, I hope we have the steady revenue stream to keep it going so we dont end up back in court, Lundstrom said. Stewart said she wasnt surprised by Fridays decision. Ive talked to my other colleagues and no one is surprised and its a bit shameful none of us are surprised, she said. Journal Capitol Bureau Chief Dan Boyd contributed to this article. Copyright 2018 Albuquerque Journal The investigation into an already chaotic, fatal chain-reaction five-vehicle crash scene involving a commercial bus was made more complicated because some passengers were traveling under names different than those reported by relatives seeking information after it happened, law enforcement officials said Friday. That and other factors also contributed to initial but incorrect information that the driver of a Honda sedan involved in triggering the collision was ejected and killed after it rear-ended a Toyota pickup while both were driving south on the interstate. The Honda then became disabled on the interstate and the pickup was pushed off into the median, said Sandoval County Sheriffs Lt. Keith Elder in a news conference on the investigation into the multi-vehicle wreck last weekend that left three dead and more than 30 injured. The Honda driver, Phuong Truong, 26, of Albuquerque, was ejected but he lived and remains hospitalized. He is expected to survive. That was part of the chaos, Elder said. There was some question to what was going on and all I could do was to report back to the media what I was told at the scene. Elder said it all began about 2 a.m. Sunday when a string of four crashes occurred in a short period of time on I-25 near mile marker 244, north of Bernalillo. The sheriffs office said the following people, all passengers on a El Paso-Los Angeles Limousine Express Inc., bus traveling from Denver to El Paso, were killed: Maria Delosangeles Almanza, 65, of Mexico. Olga Hernandes de Grajeda, 58, of Mexico. Maria Dolores Orrantia Camacho, 70, of Mexico. There were also 28 passengers taken to local hospitals with injuries. All but one person have been released, Elder said. Soon after the Honda ran into the pickup, the commercial bus from Denver crashed into Truongs car, ejecting him from the vehicle. The commercial bus, after striking Truongs Honda, rolled onto its side and skidded across the median into the northbound lanes. Quirina Gabriel, 29, of Los Lunas, and Elvia Cardoza, 65, of El Paso, were the driver and co-driver of the bus, respectfully. Then an Acura being driven by a Santa Fe man had a minor collision with the bus, but the car was able to get off to the side of the road, Elder said. Then a semi-trailer truck driven by John Tapia, 62, of Chandler, Ariz., crashed into the bus. None of the deceased had any form of identification on them and the luggage on the bus was in disarray after the crash. Additionally, the bus had made stops in Greeley, Colorado Springs and Pueblo, Colo., and Santa Fe before the wreck. At the stops, people could have gotten on and off the bus. Also, the bus manifest didnt list the names of children sitting on their parents laps. Many of the passengers were traveling under names that were different than the names reported to law enforcement by friends and family members seeking information about their loved ones, Elder said. That aided in the complexity of trying to identify those that were on the bus and those that had passed as a result of the crash, Elder said. Jerry Rosenbaum, the president of the bus line, said that they rarely check identification, except in cases in which passengers buy tickets for other people. He said the company plans to transfer the luggage to El Paso, where people can claim their belongings. He said the condition of the passengers property isnt known. Elder said investigators will get a complete toxicology report from the drivers of all the vehicles but he didnt have the results. The case files will then be sent to the 13th Judicial District Attorneys Office, which will decide whether charges will be filed, he said. During the news conference, Elder said that one bus passenger was found at the hospital with a backpack with nearly $100,000 in cash, which has now become the subject of another investigation. The crash investigation continues and is not expected to be complete for about eight weeks, Elder said. MARIPOSA, Calif. A California forest fire just west of Yosemite National Park was steadily growing Saturday after two more firefighters were injured while battling the flames in blazing summer heat to protect mountain communities in the Sierra Nevada. The Ferguson fire was churning northward within Sierra National Forest, sending up smoke that obscured valley views in the park. Yosemite remained open, but one of its scenic routes, Glacier Point Road, was closed to stage firefighters. Crews were getting a break from light winds but were contending with rugged terrain and sweltering temperatures, said Deputy Chief Scott McLean of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The vegetation is so dry out there, and its so hot. This fire will continue to grow, he said. Flames have charred about 42 square miles (110 square kilometers) of timber. Two firefighters, who were hospitalized Friday after suffering back injuries, have since been released and were expected to fully recover, said fire spokesman Rich Eagan. A total of four firefighters have been injured since the blaze broke out July 13. A bulldozer operator was killed the day after the fire started while trying to stop its spread. More than 2,800 firefighters aided by a fleet of aircraft were battling the fire, but only 7 percent of its perimeter was contained. Several areas were under mandatory evacuation orders. Residents of other communities were advised to be ready to leave if necessary, but no homes had been damaged or destroyed. Wildfires burned or smoldered elsewhere in the state, including east of Los Angeles near the Riverside County city of Corona. Most evacuations ordered at the height of the fire Thursday afternoon were lifted that night, but firefighters had extensive work to do to complete a containment line around the 250-acre (101-hectare) burn scar. In Santa Barbara County, fire crews were able get a handle on a fast-moving brush fire that broke out Friday in Buellton. It was more than 30 percent contained. The National Weather Service warned that an extended period of high heat was brewing for a large swath of the state. Excessive-heat watches and warnings were to go into effect early next week across Southern California and throughout the Central Valley as high pressure strengthened over the Southwest states, the weather service said. A memorial service for Braden Varney, who was killed while operating the bulldozer for Cal Fire, will be held Monday in Modesto. Can you call it milk if it didnt come from a mammalian breast? Thats a question the Food and Drug Administration plans to take up soon, according to statements from Commissioner Scott Gottlieb at a Politico Pro Summit on Tuesday. But depending on who you ask, the agency has already answered it-either with a no, according to the National Milk Producers Federation, or with a maybe, according to the Plant Based Foods Association. The FDA will soon begin enforcing regulations that define milk as an animal product, not a plant-based food, the NMPF said in a statement on Tuesday. Thats not what the PBFA heard. Were looking forward to providing the agency with data that we have to make our case, said executive director Michele Simon. She called the Commissioners statement an opportunity, adding we feel like this is part of an ongoing conversation. Gottliebs comments, similar to those made in April at a Senate appropriations meeting, are ambiguous enough that both sides of this argument see a win. As milk sales continue a multi-decade decline, plant-based alternatives are seeing multi-year growth. Dairy farmers regularly complain about labels like almond milk since theyre not, technically, milk. This has been a little bit of a bugaboo to the dairy industry, as Gottlieb described it. As the dairy group highlights, the commissioner said the agency has a standard of identity for milk, referring to the regulation that defines it as the lacteal secretion of one or more healthy cows. More importantly, they say, Gottlieb clearly announced his intent to enforce that standard. But since the standard has not been enforced before, Gottlieb said, the FDA needs to go through a process before it begins any crackdown. Were going to open a docket very soon, solicit public comment with the hope of, you know, developing a guidance document that would enforce a standard of identity differently, he said. Or, as Simon heard it, The agency isnt just putting out a fiat. An FDA spokesperson said the agency wouldnt be commenting further. Even the experts arent sure what to make of the situation. If I were in the almond or soy milk business I wouldnt be terribly encouraged by this, says Cary Coglianese, director of the University of Pennsylvania Law Schools Penn Program on Regulation. But he notes, The silver lining is that the agency isnt going to start enforcing the standard of identity as its been written. The agency has the authority to enforce the existing standard, even if Gottlieb implies it does not, argues Brent Johnson, a litigation attorney with a focus on food at Holland & Hart. There is a regulation that is clear, he says, describing the comment period as an extra step, but not one required by law. Gottlieb seems to be taking public comments out of a sense of caution-he mentioned that the agency was likely to get sued during the process. The agency probably recognizes it wouldnt be easy to start mailing out Warning Letters tomorrow. The FDA doesnt have a slam dunk case in my assessment, Coglianese says. He cites two reasons: First, echoing Gottlieb, the agencys failure to enforce the rule as written for so long means that its essentially like they abandoned the rule. But the stronger reason, Coglianese says, is more fundamental: The current regulation is defining the word milk, not any product that uses the word, like almond milk, or other plant-based dairy alternatives. Plus, because the regulation requires the milk to come from cows specifically, even goat milk is technically in violation. The most likely outcome, Johnson says, is no outcome. He points to the lack of resolution around the word natural, which the agency has repeatedly sought comments on and repeatedly left undefined. Simon says she isnt overly concerned with the outcome: The consumer is already making their choice so we dont even care about this stupid fight over labeling. The Palestinian startup ecosystem is in its early stages and still maturing, reads a July 11 report by the World Bank. It called the Palestinian situation relatively similar to those of Lebanon and Tanzania, explaining that startup creation in Palestine has increased by 34% since 2009. One Israeli newspaper reported that it takes only 15 days to establish a tech startup in Palestine compared to at least 30 days in Lebanon and Tanzania. More Palestinian young entrepreneurs have turned to online projects and invested in technology in the absence of job opportunities due to the ongoing Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip. Unemployment in the enclave has reached 49.1% and 18.3% in the West Bank. On May 17, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology said in a joint press statement, The data from the 2017 census indicated that the number of establishments that work in the information technology and communications sector accounted for 1,008 of the total [158,573] economic operating establishments in Palestine, while this sector employed 9,200 workers of the total [444,034] employees in 2017. Al-Monitor talked to Mohammed Kodeih, the 27-year-old founder of the Gaza-based branding consultancy Haweya. He said, The technology sector in Gaza is constantly evolving and is attracting more investments since it does not require one to travel through the border crossings. It relies only on the internet. Tech startup owners can reach clients in the Arab and international market through paid advertising on social media networks and Google and through their personal relations with foreign companies. Kodeih explained, Some Gulf customers share their projects on freelance platforms such as Upwork and Mostaql, seeking people to design and complete their projects. This allows tech startup owners in Gaza to reach these clients and build long-term professional relations with them. Kodeih began his independent marketing career in early 2011. A year later, he spent eight months in the Islamic University of Gaza's Business and Technology Incubator and received a grant of $4,000. In 2013, he rented a small office with only two employees before he expanded his company in 2015 and hired 17 more. Kodeih noted that Haweya now has a strategic partnership with a Saudi company he did not name that represents it in the Saudi market. Haweya works with several international and Arab organizations. We designed the brand package for the Qatar Development Fund in 2016 and 2017, he said. We also worked with the Islamic Development Bank in Saudi Arabia and with the Kuwait Fund for Development. Since the beginning of 2018, we have been designing all of the Palestine-related monthly reports, graphics and animation for the World Health Organization. Stressing the importance of business incubators in Gaza in establishing tech startups and spreading the entrepreneurship culture among young people, Kodeih pointed to eight incubators in Palestine, four of them in Gaza. These incubators nurture young entrepreneurs for eight to 12 months, providing them with administrative, logistical and financial support. They offer them a one-time grant of between $4,000 and $7,000. Kodeih went on, Power cuts are a major obstacle. We had to pay huge amounts to buy generators, but a year ago we bought solar panels. It was an enormous outlay, he said, but necessary for the company's production. He continued, Closed crossings prevent us from traveling to acquire new expertise. New technologies that are necessary for our work have emerged in the past years around the world. We were not, however, able to travel for proper training. It is true that such technologies are available online, but practicing and participating in training in a more advanced scientific environment abroad would really hone our skills. Samer Mehani, 34, co-founded the Gaza-based New Line startup for mobile application and web services with his colleague Mohammed al-Dabbagh, 30. Young entrepreneurs in Gaza are increasingly attracted to tech startups that can penetrate international and Arab markets without the need to meet face-to-face with customers, Mehani told Al-Monitor. These companies have greater chances at success than those in other sectors because they are less affected by the blockade and the closure of crossings. However, Mehani concurs that the power blackouts in Gaza that reach up to 20 hours a day have impeded startup companies. Mehani and Dabbagh began working remotely in 2009. Today, they have an online company of 30 employees, developing and designing Android applications for Gulf companies and ministries, including the Saudi Ministries of Education and Justice. Ashraf Hijazi, a business developer at the Business and Technology Incubator, told Al-Monitor, We receive about 300 technology pitches every year. The Gazan market is closed and in very poor condition. But tech startups can break into foreign markets and find clients via international and Arab online platforms seeking freelancers or thanks to the entrepreneurs personal relationships with existing companies. Mohamed al-Abssi, technical adviser to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in Gaza, described the technology sector as vital to alleviate Gaza's unemployment crisis. He told Al-Monitor, Most startups in Gaza operate in the Gulf markets, and a few in the European and American markets. The general director of company registration at the Gaza Ministry of Economy, Abdallah Abu Ruwayda, told Al-Monitor, Most startups are referred to us by business incubators and are registered as joint liability companies. The registration fee for such companies at the Gaza ministry amount to 900 Jordanian dinars [around $1,300]. In order to encourage startups, we ask them to make a down payment and pay the rest over the course of three years. Professor of economics at Al-Azhar University in Gaza Muin Rajab noted that government institutions in Gaza are applying information technology in their interactions with citizens. This boosted the Palestinian digital economy, he said. Maher Tabbaa, public relations director for the Gaza Strip Chamber of Commerce, told Al-Monitor, The surge in the number of tech startups is only natural as Palestinians are aware of the value of working remotely and online. The technology sector does need any large capital and depends on the individuals skills. What further helps this sector grow is that it does not need crossings and is [relatively] unharmed by the restrictions imposed on Gaza. A Balch & Bingham attorney and the Drummond Company Vice President of Government Affairs have been found guilty on all federal charges involving bribery of an Alabama legislator. The verdict was announced late Friday afternoon after a four-week trial. Balch partner Joel Gilbert and Drummond VP David Roberson were convicted on all six criminal charges: conspiracy, bribery, three counts of honest services wire fraud, and money laundering. They were on trial together, but jurors were told to consider their actions and cases separately. Prosecutors said the two men bribed former state Rep. Oliver Robinson to oppose the Environmental Protection Agency's expansion of a Superfund site, and also to oppose prioritizing the site's expensive cleanup. Sentencing will be approximately three months from today, judge says. Defendants will remain free on bond until then. Kyle Whitmire (@WarOnDumb) July 20, 2018 Assistant US Atty George Martin says someone has finally spoken for the people of north Birmingham, and they said corruption will not be tolerated. pic.twitter.com/Zz3qAf0dIP Kyle Whitmire (@WarOnDumb) July 20, 2018 U.S. Attorney Jay Town said after the verdict that the case was not about the EPA nor about pollution. "This was a case about greed at the expense of too many," he stated in a prepared release. "The findings of guilt for these three individuals, by trial or plea, should forewarn anyone who would be corruptly motivated to act in similar unlawful interest," Town stated. "Voters deserve public officials who seek to represent them honestly and fairly. When elected officials, corporate executives or their lawyers violate our federal laws, they should expect to suffer the fate of these three guilty defendants. We appreciate the dedication of the federal agencies that worked tirelessly on this case." Drummond Co. immediately issued a statement after the verdict. "We are disappointed by the jury's decision to convict our employee, David Roberson. While we respect the judicial process, we consider David to be a man of integrity who would not knowingly engage in wrongdoing," according to the Drummond statement. When an environmentalist group raised allegations regarding our operations in the Birmingham area, Drummond responded by hiring one of Alabama's most well-respected environmental law firms. As testimony in the trial showed, we were assured the firm's community outreach efforts on our behalf were legal and proper." Stan Blanton, Managing Partner, Balch & Bingham LLP, also issued a statement that says Gilbert is no longer with the firm. "We respect the trial process and the jury's verdict. The jury determined that Joel Gilbert engaged in conduct that is contrary to the standards to which each of us at Balch & Bingham is committed and expected to uphold," he stated. "Although our firm was not a party to the case, I and the rest of our partners, associates and staff are deeply disappointed in any conduct that does not adhere to our commitment to the rule of law and to the communities in which we are fortunate to live and work," Blanton stated. "We all greatly value the trust our clients place in us and have redoubled our efforts to earn that trust. Mr. Gilbert is no longer a partner with or employed by Balch & Bingham." Another Balch lawyer, Steven McKinney, was also charged in the conspiracy--but he was dismissed from the case one day before closing arguments began. U.S. District Judge Abdul Kallon, who is presiding over the case, didn't elaborate on the details of McKinney's dismissal. And McKinney's lawyers didn't comment to AL.com, and court records weren't immediately available. According to prosecutors, the men formed a contract through Balch with Robinson's nonprofit organization to pressure state officials to oppose the EPA, to meet with EPA representatives, and vote on a joint resolution in the legislature to denounce the expansion and Superfund site being named on the EPA's National Priorities List. Defense teams for both men said Robinson acted alone, and the contract with his foundation was for legitimate community outreach work. They said Robinson's allegations about Gilbert and Roberson shouldn't be trusted. During the four weeks of testimony, dozens of witnesses took the stand to talk about their conversations or relationships with Gilbert and Roberson. Scores of billing records from Balch, which showed Gilbert and McKinney logging hours working on Drummond matters, were shown in court, along with emails between the men. Robinson took the stand during the trial, saying he was first approached by Roberson in 2014 and asked if he would be interested in working with Balch and Drummond on the EPA matter. Robinson met with Gilbert, and a contract between his organization-- The Oliver Robinson Foundation-- and Balch was signed in early 2015. Days after the contract was signed and Robinson picked up a $14,000 check from Balch, Robinson said he went to an Alabama Environmental Management Commission meeting and spoke on behalf of Balch and Drummond, using talking points he said Gilbert wrote. Gilbert and Roberson's lawyers said no one forced Robinson to go to that meeting, and the check was for community work--not the meeting appearance. Robinson has pleaded guilty to several federal charges. His sentencing is set for Sept. 27. It's been three weeks since a seven-week-old deaf puppy fell through a crack in the rock and into the hearts of thousands of people around the globe -- entranced by the 30-hour effort to rescue her from the 50-foot deep crevice at her Huntsville foster home. Now, the rescue group that saved Toffee and her six siblings from a field in Blount County plans on thanking those who came out to try and save the Australian Shepherd mix from her underground fate. How do you say thank you to 150 people, most of whom you've never met, and to those who watched on TV or the internet? With one big party. The animal rescue group, A New Leash on Life, is doing that on Friday, July 27, with "Toffee's Thank You Pawty -- a Community Celebration" at Mad Malts Brewery in Huntsville from 5-9 p.m. "There will be a band, and food trucks and other things ... it's just a big thank you from us, trying to reciprocate in a small way when people gave an outpouring of time and energy to save our little Toffee," said Karen Smith, who fostered Toffee and three of her litter mates. It was in her rocky backyard that Toffee dropped through a previously hidden crack, doing nothing more than running up to Smith. Huntsville artist Dustin Timbrook will also be presenting a check to New Leash from T-shirt sales from his "I Prayed For Toffee" creation, which sprung out of the social media sensation as people watched on Facebook Live from various Huntsville TV stations or followed the rescue on Twitter. (Internet sales are closed but some might available for sale at the party.) Mad Malts is also planning a toffee beer. Smith estimates that around 150 people came out to their house during the rescue -- from first responders and cave rescuers, to a crew from Roto-Rooter with a camera, to people who work with New Leash, to those bringing food, equipment, water, supplies, ideas, or just wanted to watch on that Thursday afternoon and Friday. They were rewarded about 12:15 a.m. on June 30 when Toffee emerged from the crevice thanks to a snare rigged from the Paint Rock Volunteer Fire Department -- which had followed the rescue on the internet. "This was the idea of our events team," said Smith. "We just want to thank everyone who was able to help." Toffee, scheduled to be at the event to say thanks in person, has found her forever home, as have four of her siblings including Vanilla -- who like Toffee suffers from impaired hearing and vision. Applications and inquiries about adopting the famous pup came from around the country. Another sister is expected to be adopted this weekend. "We got applications from places that were far enough away that we had to say we didn't have a way to get her to you," said Smith. "I was worried that, because she is a special needs puppy, we would have trouble finding a home for her and Nilla. But that wasn't the case. We found that some people only wanted to adopt a special needs dog." New Leash has seen an uptick in activity from the notoriety -- not only in donations, but adoptions. "If nothing else, people became aware we existed," said Smith. "It's been very beneficial for the reputation of what this rescue is, what we do and how we go about it. Adoptions usually drop off in the summer, but we had a huge number of adoptions last weekend. But people who didn't know (New Leash) existed know who we are now." Lonnie Holley, an Alabama-born, world-renowned artist and experimental musician, released his latest music video "I Woke Up in a F-----d-Up America" last week, the first single from his latest LP. "I think this song should be a lesson to wake up, get focused. Let's do the best we can do with the best we have. If it's f---d up, we have to make it back right." Pitchfork describes Holley singing "like a man shaking off a nightmare." Holley's was inspired to write IWUIAFA shortly after President Trump's inauguration and politicians spoke out about denying global warming. Holley said he has always been interested in "Mother Universe" and the effect humans have on the environment. His art is made mostly of found objects, a method he said he picked up at five years old digging in creeks for broken glass, worms, and tree roots. IWUIAFU also touches on America's connectedness to technology. He thinks people on their phones all day should be more productive with their time. "Are they volunteering or helping somebody without a proper education like myself," Holley said. "Every day I try to do something that helps advance my time" Holley grew up in Birmingham, one of 27 children. He claims he was sold at the age of four for a pint of whiskey. He began making art at 29 when he was tasked with making gravestones for his sister's children who died in a fire. He turned to making music in 2012 and is known for his improvisational performances. Holley's video was filmed in his studio in Atlanta among his sculptures, in Grace Hill Cemetery in Birmingham where his mother and grandmother are buried, and the late Alabama artist Thorntan Dial's studio. The video shows Holley in a bed with quilts from Gee's Bend in various locations in the Southeast. All of the trash, figurines, and broken objects highlighted in the video are from Holley's collection that will one day make it into one of his sculptures. Holley's LP Mith will be released September 21. Cedric O'Neal Rhodes, the man recently found guilty of manslaughter in a deadly shooting at a west Alabama Veterans Day parade has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. Hale County Circuit Judge Don McMillan sentenced Rhodes, said Hale County District Attorney Michael Jackson. The maximum sentence for manslaughter is 20 years, per Alabama law. "We are glad to bring some closure to the victim's family and also to get another gunslinger off the street," Jackson said. In May, Rhodes was accused and found guilty of fatally shooting 51-year-old Daryl Conner at the parade in Sawyerville on Nov. 12, 2016. The shooting happened about 1:15 p.m. that during the Sawyerville Veteran's Day Parade. Sheriff Keith Ellis was escorting the parade when he heard several shots fired from the area of Dedrick Circle and Topaz Road. Deputies went to investigate and found Conner had been shot multiple times. He was taken to the Hale County Hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later. Rhodes was quickly taken into custody and later charged with murder in Conner's death. The two men knew each other, and the shooting happened during a dispute. This is an opinion column. The jury's out. Not the jury in the trial of the sin-tury - the bribery and corruption burlesque that has gripped Birmingham for a month. That jury came back tonight, and convicted two powerful men charged with paying a lawmaker to thwart the EPA cleanup of a struggling neighborhood. But forget the crimes of Joel Gilbert and David Roberson for now. Because what has been exposed in the courtroom in recent weeks is a poison that goes beyond their wrongs. Alabama is toxic. Dirty. Noxious. Virulent. The stench from this trial covers the state like smog and casts a sinister shadow. On all of us. Assistant U.S. Attorney George Martin, a workmanlike prosecutor who has argued some of the biggest corruption cases in Alabama in recent years, brought the point home to jurors in his closing statements. Evidence revealed, he argued, a "shadow government" run by elites at the expense of the powerless. It did. It does. This shadow government ought to unite us in horror. Because it crosses all the lines that so often divide. We live in a world where people on the right vilify the left and people on the left vilify the right, where politics not only makes bedfellows but instant enemies, where ideology is more important than ideals and partisanship trumps citizenship. Assistant U.S. Attorney George Martin, after the July 20 convictions of a Balch & Bingham lawyer and a Drummond Co. executive. But this trial has shown the shadow government to be the most diverse group this side of the queue at Niki's West. It covers every pay grade and every hue, every creed and color and office and stated purpose in life. Despite his own protests to the contrary, documents and testimony make clear that Hezekiah Jackson, the head of the Birmingham chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, took money from self-described bribee Oliver Robinson and went into poor black neighborhoods to lug the dirty water Robinson was carrying on behalf of potential polluters. How does he keep his job? Only the shadow knows. John Powe, the deputy Jefferson County tax assessor appointed by Tax Assessor Gaynell Hendricks, was up to his eye sockets in dirty work discussed in this trial. He worked with Robinson to spread the message of Drummond and the other big companies who funded the campaign to thwart the EPA. He helped spread the message that simply having your soil tested in north Birmingham and Tarrant could hurt property values. This, mind you, from the second-in-command at the office that assesses property. How does this guy keep his job? Only the shadow knows. In this shadow government the biggest businesses in Alabama go mum when it is revealed that they were defrauded by Robinson. Because they'd rather no one probe too deeply to see how they are involved. In this shadow government lawyers for polluters routinely write letters for the signature of Democrat mayors like Loxcil Tuck in Tarrant and Republican governors like Robert Bentley, for the Jefferson County Commission, for the attorney general of the state of Alabama and its U.S. senators. In this shadow government, the so-called leaders do not govern. They sign on the dotted line. How do any of those who still have jobs still have their jobs? How? Because the shadow government is bigger and broader and more efficient than elected government. This conspiracy - criminal or otherwise - drew Democrats and Republicans, so-called community activists and corporate executives. It transcended partisanship and ideology and reason and righteousness, and played its hand with methods proven tried and true. Greed. Influence. Money. Pay them handsomely. Swear them to secrecy. Pull them into conspiracy, and they can never pull away. Can it change? That's on you and me, I guess. The jury's still out. John Archibald is a columnist for Reckon by AL.com. His column appears in The Birmingham News, the Huntsville Times, the Mobile Register and AL.com. Write him at jarchibald@al.com. As protests continue across southern Iraq, some are questioning the role of the US in the ongoing unrest. Baghdad, Iraq Is the United States behind the protests in southern Iraq? Well, the answer to that question is both yes and no. Yes, because the US led the invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003, which destroyed much of the infrastructure the country needed to remain a modern society. No, because before the US, former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein punished the souths residents by not building infrastructure after they rose up against him during the 1990-1991 Gulf War. But there was another game afoot here that did allegedly involve the US. The protests in the south, which kicked off in Basra almost two weeks ago, were sparked when Iran stopped supplying electricity to that region after it said it was owed $1.5bn in unpaid bills. The protesters didnt blame Iran but pointed to what they called an inept and corrupt Iraqi government. However, in recent days Al Jazeera has been told, off the record, that the US put pressure on Iraq not to pay the Iranians. Following its withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known colloquially as the Iran nuclear deal, in May, the US is currently preparing new sanctions against Tehran and its rallying support for those measures from allies. {articleGUID} Speaking to Al Jazeera, Iraqi politician Raheem al-Darajji said he thinks the US is using Iraq. I personally believe that there is some sort of pressure being orchestrated by the US government on the authorities in Iraq not to pay Iran for electricity, he said. When pressed on why he thought the US may be doing this, he replied that it seems there is an unannounced proxy war carried out by the US against Iran and the US administration clearly wants the Iraqi government to be part of it. Iraq, however, shares a huge border with Iran and has enjoyed close ties to it since the US-led invasion. Putting a strain on that relationship by withholding money for bills is seen as dangerous by political observers. From my conversations, I think the US has applied pressure on Iraq to withhold Iranian money, but there are other factors at play, including a weak government, unable to stand up to pressure, political analyst Ahmed Rushdi told Al Jazeera. For the residents of Basra, international political intrigue matters little. Through the time of Saddam, the US and now Iraqi democracy, they have seen little change in their lives over the decades and have now taken to the streets to express their anger. The political career of South Africas president illustrates exactly what went wrong with the ANC-led transition. On July 18, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed a crowd of dignitaries at the Nelson Mandela centenary celebrations talking about his legacy and the achievements of the ANC. [Mandela] laid the foundation for the great progress we have made since 1994 in improving the lives of our people in a number of areas, with regards to access to basic services such as water, electricity, healthcare and education, Ramaphosa declared. While Mandelas role in the transformation of South Africa is undeniable, the almost daily labour strikes and protests for access to land and basic services suggest that the foundations of inequality in the country have remained intact since 1994. Many South Africans still have no or inadequate access to utilities, education and healthcare and live in permanent and inescapable poverty. And Ramaphosa, despite his credentials as former anti-apartheid activist and unionist, is not the man who would change that. He would not inspire a new dawn of hope and progress, despite what some South African media would have you believe. In fact, his political and business careers illustrate well what went wrong with the ANC and its tripartite alliance with South Africas main union (COSATU) and the communist party, which led the transition from apartheid to democracy. His presidency will not resolve South Africas endemic problems. It will continue to maintain neo-liberal policies and social and economic structures that feed inequality and will not fulfill the promises made to South Africans back in 1994. Ramaphosa: From anti-apartheid struggle to big business Ramaphosa started his political career at the South African Students Organisation, a student group formed as part of the broader Black Consciousness movement which sought to unite black, coloured and Indian peoples of South Africa against the apartheid regime. In the painful and bloody aftermath of the 1976 Soweto Uprising, Ramaphosa was detained for six months for his participation. In the early 1980s, he went on to join the trade union movement and served as first secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and steadily rose through the ranks of the countrys then-largest trade union federation, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). In 1991, he left the COSATU to serve as secretary-general of the ANC, where he played a crucial role in the negotiations with the South African regime to bring an end to apartheid and steer the country towards its first democratic elections in April 1994. As expected, the tripartite alliance of the ANC, COSATU and South African Communist Party won a landslide victory in the historic election and a month later, Ramaphosa was elected chairperson of the newly formed Constitutional Assembly. Despite initially promoting policies to improve access to education and healthcare for the poor to build a non-racist, non-sexist society, by 1996 the ANC-led government had switched to growth-oriented economic reforms, privatisation and austerity measures which undermined the already limited capacity of the state to provide social welfare. It was around that time that Ramaphosa resigned from all his ANC roles and joined the private sector. Among the central pillars to the ANCs post-apartheid reform strategy was the policy of black economic empowerment. The government sought to increase the number of black South Africans that owned businesses and took on executive management positions in the countrys prominent companies. For this purpose, companies were compelled to adopt inclusive affirmative action plans. But some ANC heavyweights, including Ramaphosa, swiftly became the primary beneficiaries of these efforts and increased their personal wealth substantially. In the two decades after his resignation from the ANC, he would hold leadership positions at various companies, allowing him to form an unexpected partnership with the white industry leaders who he fought against in the past as a unionist. {articleGUID} One of the roles Ramaphosa assumed as part of his growing business portfolio was a directorship position at Lonmin a large British company that was founded in 1909 as a division of the London and Rhodesia Mining and Land company. It was at a platinum mine owned by this company that thousands of workers (all members of NUM, the union Ramaphosa was heading in the 1980s) started a strike in 2012 which ended with the police killing 34 miners and severely injuring 78 others. Although a commission of inquiry later cleared Ramaphosa of any responsibility for the massacre, the accusations continue to haunt him. His transformation from comrade to businessman and one of the richest men in South Africa stands as perhaps great example of the ANC leaderships failure to hold on to the ideals of the revolution they themselves made possible. Ramaphosas presidency: The rise of the opposition The Marikana massacre marked a turning point in South African politics. It caused a split in COSATU and the emergence of the independent South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) in 2017. It also precipitated the rise of Julius Malema and a number of high-profile leaders from the ANC Youth League who were expelled from the party. In 2013, Malema and his supporters formed the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), which entered the parliament in 2014 and since then has been prying political power from the ANC in major urban centres. In other words, the painful legacy of the Marikana massacre, which many still believe Ramaphosa held at least some responsibility for, stands at the heart of the waves of resistance currently challenging Africas oldest liberation movement, the ANC. So when he started campaigning for the ANC presidency in 2017, he had to address this rising electoral threat to the ANC. He started talking about a radical economic transformation. Radical economic transformation is, in essence, about building a more equal society through sustained inclusive growth, he explained. This is Ramaphosas attempt to isolate the left-wing opposition whose popularity had been growing among the increasingly radicalised electorate. When he won the presidency in February this year, he outlined a new dawn vision for the country. However, his initial actions proved to be acceptable for the elite, but more than disappointing for the most vulnerable sections of the South African society. He introduced a value added tax (VAT) increase, cut social spending, and kept the corporate tax stable . He also announced some amendments to the labour law: the introduction of a national minimum wage (set at $260 it was criticised by many as not amounting to a living wage), the requirement of a secret ballot prior to union-supported industrial strike action, and the introduction of an advisory arbitration panel which would allow a government agency to intervene in strikes deemed too violent or damaging to the economy. These changes, set to be finalised towards the end of July, met fierce public resistance. On April 25, over 10,000 workers participated in a nationwide strike led by SAFTU, allied unions and community organisations against the proposed amendments which they argued would limit workers right to strike and largely contribute to the growing precarity of employment within the country. The alliance also took a stand against the VAT increase and criticised the move as an attempt to shift the bulk burden of the slowing economy onto the working class. The ANCs attempt to capitalise on land reform by calling for land redistribution without compensation to win back some of its electorate might also fail. Since taking office, Ramaphosa has made several fiery public remarks echoing his ANC colleagues calls for swift and decisive action on what has been termed the land question. But in a June speech delivered at an Afrikaner event, he also offered public reassurances to white farmers. The EFF and SAFTU will undoubtedly use Ramaphosas economic policies and ambivalence on land reform against him in the 2019 national elections and attempt to decisively break the ANCs two-and-a-half-decade-long hegemony in South Africa. SAFTU, in particular, has been working hard to reconstruct the labour movement in South Africa since its formation, while EFFs sharp nationalist criticism of the ANC has struck a chord with a large portion of the public, particularly the youth. Both, however, still have a lot of work to do to convince South Africans that they can offer a solution to the problems of structural discrimination, poverty and unemployment. Yet whatever challenges SAFTU and EFF are facing, one thing is for certain: Ramaphosas ascent to power will not mark a new dawn for the ANC. It might, however, accelerate its collapse. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. At least 10 Iranian border guards have been killed in an overnight attack by unidentified gunmen near the border with Iraq, according to media in Iran. The incident took place near the town of Marivan, in a Kurdish area of Iran some 620km west of the capital, Tehran, according to the semi-official Fars news agency. The attack by the evil rebels and terrorists against a revolutionary border post and the explosion of a munitions depot caused the martyrdom of 10 fighters, a statement by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as quoted by the semi-official Tasnim news agency, said on Saturday. Provincial security official Hosein Khosheqbal told state television that 11 members of the Guards voluntary Basij forces were killed in the overnight violence in Marivan, which he blamed on the Kurdish armed opposition group The Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK). The latest news is that the Basij [the government-aligned militia] and Guards forces are in hot pursuit of the attackers, Khosheqbal said. It was not immediately clear why there was a discrepancy in the number of fatalities reported. It was the largest number of Iranian troops killed in a single attack on the border with Iraq in recent years, though the area has seen occasional fighting between Iranian forces and Kurdish separatists as well as fighters linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group. Earlier this month, the Guards said they had killed three fighters in a security operation near the border with Iraq. Nine others were reported killed by the Guards last month further north on the border. There is little coordination between Iranian and Iraqi forces over security of the porous border that has also been used by ISIL to enter Iran. Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said on Tuesday that security forces in southwest Iran arrested four suspected ISIL operatives who were planning attacks. In June 2017, ISIL fighters carried out coordinated attacks at the parliament building in Tehran and the mausoleum of Iranian revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini south of the capital, killing at least 18 people. Chinas President Xi Jinping has arrived in Senegal for a two-day visit, the first leg of an Africa tour that will also see him head to Rwanda, South Africa and Mauritius. Senegalese President Macky Sall on Saturday welcomed his counterpart to the capital, Dakar. The two leaders, who are meeting for the third time, are expected to sign a number of bilateral deals. Xi is also expected to formally hand Sall the keys to a Chinese-built wrestling venue, a hugely popular sport in Senegal. China is already Senegals second-biggest trading partner behind France. Chinas Ambassador to Senegal Zhang Xun was quoted in the local press in March as saying Beijing had invested $100m in Senegal in 2017. China is Africas biggest trading partner and Xis tour marks his second trip abroad since starting a second term under new rules that abolished term limits, Xis visit to Rwanda will be the first by a Chinese president. In South Africa, he will attend a summit of BRICS countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, before visiting Mauritius for a stopover. Africa is in the midst of a boom in infrastructure projects, managed and cheaply financed by China and part of Xis Belt and Road initiative to build a transport network connecting China by land and sea to Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa. China has pledged $126bn for the plan, which has been praised by its supporters as a source of vital financing for the developing world. In Senegal, Chinese loans have financed a highway linking Dakar to Touba, its second main city, and part of an industrial park on the Dakar peninsula. Critics say Africa is loading itself up on Chinese debt that it may struggle to repay, with estimates ranging in the tens of billions of dollars. That could leave African nations with no choice but to hand over controlling stakes in strategic assets to China. US officials have warned that a port in the tiny Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti, a host to US and French military bases, could suffer this fate, although Djibouti rejects the fear. In Guinea, meanwhile, one of the worlds poorest nations, China is lending $20bn to the government in exchange for aluminium ore concessions. As well as trade and minerals, China has also seen Africa as a source of political support. Chinese diplomacy has, as of May this year, succeeded in isolating every African country except the monarchy of Swaziland from Taiwan, which China sees as a renegade province. Chinas soft power in Senegal China is making massive investments in the West African nation and with that has come an influx of Chinese migrants who have settled there. Outgoing president calls for protection of peace as several former rebel fighters become legislators. Colombias former FARC rebels have taken their seats in Congress as part of a peace deal after more than five decades of war against the government. At the swearing-in ceremony on Friday, outgoing President Juan Manuel Santos, who signed the landmark agreement in 2016, urged the country to protect nascent peace and put an end to violence. Many we must admit it dont like seeing them in this place of debate and civility, Santos said. In my case, and Im sure its shared by millions of Colombians, it fills me with satisfaction that those who for more than half a century fought with arms against the state and its institutions, today submit to the Constitution and the laws of Colombia, as we all do, he added. Welcome to this temple of democracy! Santos urges the nation to protect the nascent peace [Juan Pablo Pino/Reuters] Under the terms of the 2016 peace deal between the FARC and the government, the group formed a political party, kept its famous acronym as the Revolutionary Alternative Common Force, and was awarded five seats each in the 108-member Senate and the 172-member lower house through 2026. Zeuxis Pausias Hernandez, a FARC leader also known as Jesus Santrich, was unable to take his seat in the House of Representatives because he is under arrest on charges of drug trafficking. He was detained on April 9 after the US justice department requested his extradition. Protesting his detention, another prominent FARC leader, Ivan Marquez, withdrew from his seat, accusing the government of breaching the peace deal. Former FARC rebel, Israel Zuniga, also known as Benkos Bioho, took his seat instead, according to local media. Colombians deeply divided The peace accord, for which Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize, has deeply divided Colombians, with conservatives saying it goes too easy on the former rebels. Right-wing President-elect Ivan Duque will replace Santos next month and seek to guide key economic reforms pension and tax through the new Congress. He will also try and adjust the peace accords. Duque and his Democratic Center party want to scrap an amnesty for FARC commanders who committed crimes, including engagement in the cocaine trafficking that helped bankroll the group, and prevent them from participating in politics until they serve prison sentences. Duque, a 41-year-old protege of former President Alvaro Uribe, whose hardline battle offensive against the rebels helped push them to the negotiating table, has said he is incensed that there would be criminals in Congress shaping laws after decades of kidnapping, extortion and killing. He said he would alter the peace accord by forging alliances in Congress, where his party holds just 51 of 280 seats, and by generating a national consensus. The peace deal was signed in Cuba in 2016 [Colombian Presidency handout via Reuters] The FARCs presence in Congress promises to create tension. Uribe, whose hatred for the rebels was born after his father was killed in a botched kidnapping, has a seat in the Senate. He and his party will likely seek to block votes on initiatives put forward by the FARC for having participated in a conflict that left 220,000 dead and millions displaced. But while Duque may make minor changes to the peace accord, it would be almost impossible for him to make substantive alterations, analysts have said. The left parties have said they will join forces to seek to block any changes. We want to build a democratic, intelligent and collective opposition with aspirations to govern, Angela Maria Robledo, a lower house legislator from the leftist coalition of parties, told reporters. Left-wing Gustavo Petro, Duques rival in the presidential race, will lead the opposition in the Senate. Move follows the inauguration of the Eritrean embassy in Addis Ababa by President Isaias Afwerki on Monday. Eritrea has appointed its first ambassador to neighbouring Ethiopia in two decades, the government said, as the former foes pushed on with rapprochement. Semere Russom, Eritreas former ambassador to the United States and current education minister, will head Asmaras diplomatic mission to Addis Ababa, Information Minister Yemane Meskel said on Twitter. Since signing an agreement to restore ties in Asmara on July 9, Eritrea and Ethiopian leaders have moved swiftly to sweep away two decades of hostility since conflict erupted between the two Horn of Africa neighbours in 1998. On Thursday, Ethiopia named Redwen Hussien, formerly the countrys ambassador to Ireland, to become Addis Ababas representative in Asmara. The newly appointed Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed first initiated the peace overtures and restoration of relations in April. Earlier this week, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki visited Ethiopia and reopened his countrys embassy there. Ethiopia and Eritrea had expelled each others envoys at the start of the 1998-2000 border war, which killed about 80,000 people. {articleGUID} Once a province of Ethiopia, Eritrea seceded in 1993 after a long independence struggle. A dispute over the demarcation of their shared border triggered the conflict. The Horn of Africa nations remained at loggerheads since Ethiopia rejected a United Nations ruling and refused to cede to Eritrea land along the countries border following the war. EU position on Brexit must evolve: Theresa May Predictions of Theresa Mays political demise are still swirling as she struggles to reconcile opposing views within her party and the EUs negotiating position on Brexit. Deal comes after four Palestinians and an Israeli soldier were killed in latest violence near Gaza-Israel fence. A fragile calm has taken hold in the besieged Gaza Strip as a deal between Hamas and Israel appears to be holding. The deal, brokered by Egyptian and United Nations officials, was designed to restore calm and end the Israeli onslaught on Hamas positions and other violence that resulted in the deaths of four Palestinians and one Israeli soldier on Friday. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum announced the deal early on Saturday morning, saying that it had been active from midnight local time on Friday. We reached [an agreement] to return to the previous state of calm between the [Israeli] occupation and the Palestinian factions, Barhoum said. Israel confirmed the agreement later on Saturday, with the army saying in a separate statement that communities near Gaza could return to normal activity, according to the Israeli daily Haaretz. At the end of an assessment by the southern command this morning it was decided to maintain a full civilian routine in the communities close to the Gaza Strip, Haaretz quoted the statement as saying. The deal came after Israeli forces killed four Palestinians in the Gaza strip on Friday. Israeli soldiers fired live bullets and tear gas canisters towards Palestinian protesters gathered along the fence with Israel, killing 27-year-old Mohammad Sharif Badwan and wounding 120 others, according to health officials in Gaza. Hamas also said three of its members were killed earlier in the day after Israel launched large-scale attacks in the southern part of the enclave. Sixty Hamas targets were hit by Israeli forces on Friday night. Israeli forces said the attacks came after one of its soldiers, Staff Sergeant Aviv Levy, 20, was hit by Palestinian gunmen. They later announced the soldier had succumbed to his wounds, marking the first Israeli military fatality in the area since the 2014 Gaza war. Fragile agreement {articleGUID} More than two million Palestinians are packed into the Gaza Strip, a territory the size of the US city of Detroit about 360sq km which has been described as the worlds largest open-air prison. Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005 but, citing security concerns, maintains tight control of its land and sea borders, which has reduced its economy to a state of collapse. Egypt also restricts movement in and out of Gaza on its border. While it appeared that relative calm had returned to the area on Saturday, Phyllis Bennis, a programme director at the US-based Institute for Policy Studies, said it was unlikely that any ceasefire agreement would hold. It is important that they use the word calm [in the announcement] and not the word peace, Bennis told Al Jazeera. There has been no calm in Gaza for many, many decades, she said. If there is a ceasefire that holds briefly it will not hold for very long Im afraid. Her view was echoed by Usama Antar, a political analyst in Gaza City. I dont think this ceasefire will last for a long time. Its very fragile, he told Al Jazeera. {articleGUID} Unfortunately we will have a couple of days of calm, and after that, we will have the same situation because the many problems of the people in the Gaza Strip are still not solved. Al Jazeeras Stefanie Dekker, reporting from Gaza City, called the deal to restore calm a temporary solution that is unlikely to resolve long-standing issues in the region. The pattern of escalation-ceasefire, escalation-ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will continue to go on unless there is a long-term solution to alleviate the situation for the people here, she said. Two million people are living under this blockade and everyone says the same thing how impossible life has become here. Despite the deal, Israeli forces targeted a Hamas position on Saturday morning after individuals crossed from Gaza into Israel, according to Haaretz. Also on Saturday, a flaming balloon sent from Gaza started a fire at an Israeli farm near the fence. Fridays violence comes after nearly four months of protests by Palestinians along the fence with Israel. Palestinians have been protesting every Friday since March 30, demanding their right to return to the homes and land their families were expelled from 70 years ago. Since the protests began, Israeli forces have killed more than 140 Palestinians in the coastal enclave and wounded over 16,000 people, according to health officials in Gaza. Shoppers in Iran are feeling the pinch. More video clips from the story Jill Stein on US Green party ambitions and challenges Al Jazeera spoke to the leader of the Green party about their plans to capitalise on US voters frustration with politics as usual in Washington. Supreme leader denounces US decision to withdraw from deal and calls negotiations with Washington an obvious mistake. Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has supported a suggestion by President Hassan Rouhani who hinted earlier this month that Tehran may block regional oil exports if its own sales are stopped following the US withdrawal from a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Rouhanis apparent warning on July 3 that Iran may disrupt oil shipments from neighbouring countries came in reaction to looming US sanctions and efforts by the administration of President Donald Trump to force all countries to halt purchases of Iranian oil. Even though Rouhani did not mention the Strait of Hormuz, his comments were nonetheless seen as a threat to the narrow strategic passageway located between Iran and Oman, through which at least 18.5m barrels of oil moved every day in 2016, according to a US energy department report. The strait is not only used by Iranian ships, but also by Gulf countries who rely on safe passage through the narrow chokepoint to export their oil and gas. Remarks by the president that if Irans oil is not exported, no regional countrys oil will be exported, were important remarks that reflect the policy and the approach of [Irans] system, Khameneis official website quoted him as saying on Saturday. {articleGUID} He went on to describe Rouhanis remarks as important, adding that they reflect the policy and the approach of [Irans] system. The comments come as the US demands that all countries end imports of Iranian oil by November 4 as part of its new policy towards Tehran after Washington unilaterally pulled out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known colloquially as the Iran nuclear deal. Under the landmark deal signed in Vienna, six world powers the US, UK, France, Germany, Russia, China and the European Union offered Iran more than $110bn a year in sanctions relief and a return to the global economy in exchange for halting its drive for nuclear weapons. Iran was also allowed to sell its oil and gas worldwide, although secondary US sanctions remained. That allowed Tehran to earn an estimated $41bn in oil revenues in the 2016 fiscal year ending in March 2017 and $50bn more the following fiscal year that ended in March 2018. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly confirmed that Tehran has been meeting its nuclear commitments fully. Negotiations with US useless Khamenei said on Saturday it was an obvious mistake to negotiate with the US because it does not abide by agreements. I have previously pointed out that Americans words or even signatures cannot be relied on; thus negotiations with the US are useless. The assumption that negotiations or establishing ties with the US would solve the countrys problems is an obvious error. Negotiations with the Europeans must continue, but we must not wait for their offer indefinitely, said Khamenei. After withdrawing from the landmark deal, Washington is determined to isolate Iran and pile on economic pressure with a full reimposition of sanctions. Europe opposes the move and has vowed to find ways of maintaining its trade ties with Iran. Nicaragua protests: People still living in fear Nicaraguan security forces launched what they called a clean-up operation on Monimbo, a historical bastion of resistance since the Sandinista revolution. Spains conservative Peoples Party (PP) has picked Pablo Casado to replace Mariano Rajoy as its leader after the former prime minister was removed in a no-confidence vote in June and stepped down as head of the party. Casado on Saturday beat challenger Soraya Saenz de Santamaria by 1,701 to 1,250 votes in a ballot of legislators and other senior PP members. The appointment of 37-year-old Casado, who has promised a generational revamp of the opposition party, will be seen as a lurch to the right for the PP. He has taken a hardline stance on the Catalan independence crisis, calling for the addition of offences such as illegally calling a referendum to the criminal code to boost Madrids legal response to the secession threat. Spanish democratic parties should not be able to include illegal goals in their statutes, Casado said in reference to the Catalan pro-independence parties on July 11, according to Catalan News Agency. Dialogue doesnt work with those who want to break the law, he said earlier this week. Casado is also against decriminalising euthanasia as promoted by the current Socialist government and wants to lower income and corporate taxes. He will have to breathe life into a party which lost three million voters between the 2011 general elections when Rajoy won an absolute majority and the last polls in 2016. You can not aspire to lead a party if you are not proud of its past, Casado said. I am proud of Jose Maria Aznar, Mariano Rajoy and Manuel Fraga, he said in his speech before the delegates, after defending conservative policies on life and family. The PP has returned, he said later when he took the stage as the winner. I want us to return to our towns and cities and reconnect with the people The PP will again try to win back the hearts of all Spaniards, he added. Signalling likely tensions ahead over fiscal issues, Casado criticised plans by the Socialists to raise taxes, saying he would push for lower income and corporate taxes to increase competitiveness. The 2019 budget plan, which includes the largest rise in the spending ceiling since 2014 and increases in budget deficit targets, is expected to be submitted to parliament next week. Casado has also pledged to strengthen the countrys role at the heart of Europe, adding: If there is isolationism, if there is protectionism, Spain must again return be a central part of the European Union. No vamos a gastar ni un minuto mas en hablar de nosotros, estamos dispuestos a liderar esta sociedad y lo vamos a hacer unidos. Espana nos necesita mas que nunca #ElFuturoDeEspana pic.twitter.com/qF6wVXEEHK Pablo Casado Blanco (@pablocasado_) July 21, 2018 Translation: We are not going to spend more time talking about us, we are willing to lead this society and we will do it together. Spain needs us more than ever. Upcoming elections In May, a court announced it had sentenced former PP officials, businessmen and their spouses to a total of 351 years in jail for their role in a vast bribery scheme known as the Gurtel case. It proved to be one corruption scandal too many for the PP, which has been hit by a series of corruption accusations. A week later, Rajoy who oversaw the countrys economic recovery, although unemployment remained stubbornly high during his tenure was gone, with Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez becoming prime minister. Santamaria, 47, who served for six years as Rajoys deputy, emphasised her experience ahead of the vote, painting herself as the only candidate with sufficient gravitas to defeat Sanchez in 2020 elections. The PP, which still holds the most seats in parliament even if it lost its absolute majority, will have to rapidly prepare for municipal, regional and European elections in May 2019. Steve Bannon, the controversial former chief strategist to US President Donald Trump, is planning to establish a political foundation in Europe to spark a populist right-wing revolt across the continent, according to a report. The ex-head of right-wing website Breitbart News told the Daily Beast on Friday that his organisation, called The Movement, will be a central source of polling, advice on messaging, data targeting and think-tank research for various nationalist parties in Europe. Right-wing populist nationalism is what will happen. Thats what will govern, he said. Youre going to have individual nation states with their own identities, their own borders. Bannon said he has held talks with right-wing groups and figure across the continent over the past year, including Nigel Farage in the UK and members of Marine Le Pens Front National (recently renamed Rassemblement National) in France to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and populist politicians in Poland. Earlier this year, Bannon told a Front National gathering that they should accept accusations of racism with pride. Under Bannons tenure, Breitbart pushed a nationalist agenda and became one of the leading outlets of the so-called alt-right a loosely knit coalition of far-right groups that includes populists, white supremacists, white nationalists, neo-Confederates and neo-Nazis. Many alt-rightists promote various forms of white supremacy, white nationalism, anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. Shadow President Bannon told the Daily Beast he was convinced the coming years will see an end to decades of European integration. {articleGUID} He also said he envisages the organisation, which will likely be headquartered in Brussels, rivalling the foundation of billionaire George Soros, which has given away $32bn to liberal causes since its establishment in 1984. He added that the organisation has set its sights on the 2019 European parliament elections. The architect of Trumps nationalist-populist campaign and his 2016 election victory, Bannon was nicknamed the Prince of Darkness and the Shadow President. His economic nationalism became the lynchpin of Trump policies, even as many of his other ideas were rebuffed by policy rivals. After new Chief of Staff John Kelly arrived, Bannons constant clashes with other advisers became untenable, as did his ties to the extreme right, which drew accusations that Trump fostered racists. Bannon left the White House in August 2017. The first group of Syrian rebels and their families evacuated from southern Syria after a deal was struck with the government has arrived in the countrys northwest. A total of 55 buses carrying rebel fighters and members of their families departed the strategic area in Quneitra province that adjoins the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Friday, Syrias official SANA news agency said. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said a first convoy of some 2,800 people had arrived on Saturday at the Morek transit point, in Hama province, which separates opposition from government-held areas. The fighters and their families are expected to be transferred to buses run by local non-governmental organisations before continuing their journey to rebel areas in Idlib and Aleppo provinces. Al Jazeeras Adham Abu Al Husam, reporting from Hama province, said that transports would take place until Monday, with as many as 13,000 people expected to arrive. There will be more people coming, huge numbers coming from south to north, he said, as the first group of buses was arriving. There will need to be a lot of resources and a concerted effort to accommodate such large numbers of people. They will initially be taken to already prepared shelters in northern Syria. The evacuations came after a surrender deal was reached earlier in the week between the opposition and Russian negotiators acting on behalf of the Syrian government. It provides for the safe passage of residents who do not wish to live under the rule of President Bashar al-Assad. Syrian army pushes into Quneitra province Syrian forces, backed by a Russian air campaign, have been pushing into the edges of Quneitra province following a relentless aerial bombardment campaign last month that routed rebels in adjoining Deraa province. Pro-government forces have recaptured 90 percent of the territory through similar surrender deals with the opposition whereby the latter agrees to also hand over medium to heavy weaponry. {articleGUID} On Saturday, Syrian state television announced pro-government forces had captured a string of villages in a zone extending between the two southwestern provinces. Deraa city is seen as the birthplace of the Syrian uprising after protests in 2011 against the governments torture of teenagers spread across the country. The recent evacuation deal has left the Syrian government in control over large swaths of territory that straddle both provinces and border neighbouring Jordan and Israel. It has now turned its attention to pockets of territory still in the hands of fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS). The developments in Quneitra came as the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Friday urged all parties to the conflict to provide safe passage for the estimated 140,000 civilians displaced as a result of the recent surge in violence. Last week, dozens of Syrians sought refuge near the border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights but were turned back by Israeli border guards. {articleGUID} UNHCR spokeswoman Rula Amin told Al Jazeera that Syrians have been stranded without shelter or assistance for weeks. These people left their homes weeks ago, looking for safety, trying to protect their families, she said. The UNHCR also expressed its readiness to discuss its plans to set up centres for returning Syrian refugees, insisting that returns must be safe and voluntary. An estimated 13,000 Syrian refugees returned from neighbouring countries in the first half of 2018 with some 750,000 internally displaced also going back to their homes, UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic said at a news conference in Geneva. The conflict has claimed the lives of more than 465,000 Syrians and left over a million injured. More than half the countrys prewar population, some 12 million people, have fled Syria or been internally displaced. Michael Cohens recording adds to questions about whether Trump tried to quash damaging stories before 2016 election. US President Donald Trump has reacted to reports that his former lawyer secretly taped him discussing payments to a former Playboy model two months before the 2016 election, amid questions about whether the then-Republican candidate tried to quash damaging stories before the vote. The recording was discovered when the New York offices of lawyer Michael Cohen were raided by the FBI earlier this year following a referral from Robert Mueller. Mueller is the special counsel probing alleged Russian interference in the election and whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow. The FBI investigation is separate from Muellers probe. Inconceivable that the government would break into a lawyers office (early in the morning) almost unheard of, Trump wrote on Twitter on Saturday. {articleGUID} Even more inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client totally unheard of & perhaps illegal, he said, adding that he had done nothing wrong. Cohen had made a practice of recording telephone conversations, unbeknown to those he was speaking with. Most states, including New York, allow for recordings of phone conversations with only the consent of one party; other states require all parties to agree to a recording or have mixed laws on the matter. It was not immediately clear where Trump and Cohen were located at the time of the call. Questions raised Former Playboy model Karen McDougal claims she had a months-long affair with Trump after they met in 2006, shortly after Trumps wife Melania gave birth to their son Barron. She told CNN previously that he tried to pay her for sex. The Wall Street Journal said the September 2016 conversation between Trump and Cohen was about buying the rights to McDougals story, which she had sold a month earlier to The National Enquirer for $150,000. The tabloid ultimately did not publish the story, preventing it from becoming public. David Pecker, the chairman of its parent company, American Media, is a friend of Trumps. The reports raised questions about why Trumps campaign denied knowledge of the deal between McDougal and American Media when it became public, and they fanned speculation about how much damage Cohen, who has not been arrested or charged, might be able to inflict on the president. Cohen has not been charged or arrested [File: Brendan McDermid/Reuters] Lots of tapes The recording was first reported on Friday by The New York Times. Trumps current personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, confirmed to the Times that the Cohen tape existed, but said it showed the president had done nothing wrong. The FBI raided Cohens office, home and hotel room in April, searching in part for information about payments to McDougal and porn actress Stormy Daniels, who received a $130,000 payment from Cohen before the election to keep quiet about a sexual relationship she says she had with Trump. Al Jazeeras Patty Culhane, reporting from Washington, DC, said that Trumps statement that the government would break into a lawyers office was inaccurate. They didnt break in, they had a warrant issued by a judge. To get a warrant for a lawyers office you have to have a really high bar of proof, she said. Culhane said Trump has been able in the past to dismiss these kinds of stories as fake news. [But] its very hard to claim fake news if people can actually hear you on tape the more interesting thing is that Cohen apparently has lots and lots of these tapes, she added. A self-described fixer for Trump for more than a decade, Cohen said last year he would take a bullet for the president. But he told ABC News in an interview broadcast this month that he now puts family and country first and will not let anyone paint him as a villain of this story. On Twitter, he scrubbed mentions and photos of Trump from a profile that previously identified him as Personal attorney to President Donald J. Trump. President is on the campaign trail before what is expected to be a tight contest on July 30. Zimbabwes President Emmerson Mnangagwa has told the countrys white farmers that the era of land seizures is over, calling on them to work together with the government in advance of elections on July 30. Mnangagwa, who came to power after long-time President Robert Mugabe was deposed following a military intervention in November, is on the campaign trail before what is expected to be a close-run race. His main challenger is 40-year-old Nelson Chamisa, the leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). The white Zimbabweans who are left in the country estimated at around 30,000 would usually vote MDC or for another opposition party, given the strained relationship with Mnangagwas ruling ZANU-PF. But Mnangagwa, a 75-year-old former Mugabe ally, has pledged to end the violent seizure of white-owned commercial farms, a policy that Mugabe said was intended to redress post-colonial imbalances. {articleGUID} This issue of new [land] invasions is a thing of the past. The rule of law must now apply, Mnangagwa told a group of about 200 white Zimbabweans in Borrowdale, a wealthy suburb in the capital, Harare, on Saturday. Mnangagwa said his government was racially blind and needed the expertise of everyone across the economy. I am saying we should cease to talk about who owns the farm in terms of colour. It is criminal talking about that. A farmer, black farmer, a white farmer is a Zimbabwean farmer. PR stunt Agricultural output crashed in the aftermath of Mugabes decision to impose the policy to expropriate farms in 2000. Many farms ended up in the hands of powerful politicians, soldiers or local chiefs and fell into disrepair. I know of some chiefs who have moved from one farm to another. Then they run it down. Then he leaves that farm and he is issued another one. He runs it down. That time is gone, said Mnangagwa. {articleGUID} Mnangagwa is hoping to revive a once-promising economy, end chronic cash shortages and bring down soaring unemployment. In order to do this, he needs the help of Western donors who want to see the issue of white-owned land addressed. We need to come together now, interact with our councillors, our MPs not alienate ourselves from politics, Jason Deetlefse, a ZANU-PF supporter, told Al Jazeera at the rally. Opponents, however, dismissed the event as a publicity stunt backed by people with political and financial interests, expressing scepticism about the time of the presidents reassurances a few days before the elections. Im not surprised. You have to look at where this took place, said David Coltart, an MDC senator. There are some very wealthy whites there who have long established connections with ZANU. Itll be the community who have business connections. Just three percentage points separate Mnangagwa and Chamisa, according to an opinion poll by the Afrobarometer research group, which surveyed 2,400 voters across Zimbabwe between June 25 and July 6. Heightened tensions The elections, the first held in decades without Mugabe on the ballot, are being closely watched by the international community. Kofi Annan, the former United Nations chief, is leading a team of observers known as the Elders. Parties have generally been able to campaign peacefully, Annan told reporters. Even though there have been complaints of intimidation, violence, but generally they have been able to get their work done. But the opposition has repeatedly expressed concerns, with Chamisa complaining that the electoral process is flawed. He has also alleged that the voters roll contains so-called ghost voters and that the ZANU-PF party is tampering with ballot papers. Election observers are urging politicians to resolve their differences through dialogue before voting day. Time is running out, said Al Jazeeras Haru Mutasa, reporting from Harare. Some opposition supporters say they will protest next week if their issues arent addressed these accusations and counter-accusations have heightened tensions. Zimbabwe elections: Observers appointed to oversee vote Zimbabwes main opposition group is worried that the ruling Zanu-PF will tamper with ballot papers to manipulate voter numbers. Chicago has long been nationally famous for manipulating election results. Its reputation for registering voters with a cemetery address, registering the homeless, and allowing people to vote more than once is legendary. What is not so well known is how Illinois has, along with other blue states, established new methods of stealing votes at the level of the state legislature. The plain fact is, when voters in Illinois elect state representatives and state senators, they vote for persons who are supposed to represent their interests. Republican voters want to see the Republican platform enacted into state legislation, and Democratic voters want to see Democrat ideas enacted into state legislation. That's the basis of the representative form of government. But since January of 2017, the Illinois House of Representatives, led by Speaker Michael Madigan, has developed new techniques to steal the voice of voters and control what becomes a law and what doesn't. In other words, Illinois House speaker Madigan now bypasses election results completely through new methods of manipulating the writing and passing of bills in the Illinois House. In short, the House speaker of Illinois's state government has made the Illinois House a one-man operation. This had been done through the establishment of rules that, remarkably, are allowed to stand. No one has challenged them in federal court as voting rights violations. The details of the "Madigan Rules," as they are called in Illinois, have been carefully described by the Illinois Policy Institute, the premier watchdog group in Illinois. Given the Supreme Court's rulings on voting rights, and the representative form of government as established in the U.S. Constitution, that these rules are the actual rules that control representative state government in Illinois is astonishing. Here's a brief discussion of the major House rules, as contained in House Resolution 46, passed in January 2017. To illustrate the importance of these rules, remember that when Jesse Ventura became governor of Minnesota, and Arnold Schwarzenegger became governor of California, they were frustrated in that their policy ideas had to go through legislative committees, and these committees were under the control of those already in power. Illinois House rules go one step farther and place the legislative control of the committees themselves in the hands of the House speaker through Rule 4. For example, the complete text of Rule 4(c)(13) clearly states that the speaker has the power "[t]o determine the number of majority [Democrat] caucus members and minority [Republican] caucus members to be appointed to all committees, except as otherwise provided by these Rules." The "otherwise provided" clause is meaningless; there are no other relevant rules. So the numbers of Democrats and Republicans on all committees are determined not by whether or not either party has a majority of elected members in the Illinois House of Representatives. This rule gives the speaker the power to override the results of elections and place the specific representatives the speaker wants into the committees that write all the House bills. This is clearly unconstitutional in that "the consent of the governed," as the Declaration of Independence outlines, is not the source of all governmental power in Illinois; rather, the will of only one person, the speaker, is. Another rule expands on this. Not only does the speaker have the power in Illinois to decide what political party has the majority in every committee, but Rule 4(c)(14) gives the speaker sole power "[t]o appoint all Chairpersons, Co-Chairpersons, and Vice-chairpersons of Committees (from either the majority or minority caucus), and to appoint all majority caucus members of committees" (parentheses original). And to add another layer of control over legislation, another rule states that the speaker can replace anyone on any committee at any time. The power the voters are supposed to have in Illinois state government to influence the laws passed by the Illinois House, and to be later signed by the governor, has been completely usurped by these three one-sentence rules. Currently the House speaker is Michael Madigan, who is a Democrat and has a majority in the Illinois House. But as these rules indicate, it doesn't matter how many representatives the Republicans get in the Illinois House as long as the speaker stays in power and controls how many Democrats are on committees and who the committee chairs are. Illinois is the only state in the U.S. that allows its House speaker to completely control the state Legislature through rules like these. These rules were put into place by Democrat speaker Michael Madigan over the years. He is now the longest serving House speaker in all 50 states. When he took over as House speaker in 1983, within a few months, he and the Democrats in the House passed a resolution "to suspend all Rules of the House." Since then, the Rules have been revised, each time sneaking in more and more power to the speaker. While legislative rules like Rule 4(13) have never been address by the Supreme Court, the Court has consistently ruled that the power to choose public policy at the state and federal levels belongs solely to the voters. For example, in Reynolds v. Sims, a state apportionment case, the Supreme Court ruled: "The Equal Protection Clause requires substantially equal legislative representation for all citizens in a State regardless of where they reside." The ability of the speaker in Illinois to pick and choose committee chairs and the number of committee members by party is obviously a violation of the rights of voters to have their voices heard in the Illinois House. In Baker v. Carr, the Court wrote: "[T]he question is, may a State weight the vote of one county or one district more heavily than it weights the vote in another?" It's easy to see that while Baker was an apportionment case, Rule 4(13), since it gives the power to pick and choose committee members to the speaker, violates the rights of voters by taking away the voters' choice on policy and hands it exclusively to the speaker. It is not possible to cite any specific Supreme Court rulings since no one has yet filed a case on rules like these to the Court. Since these practices are not the results of bribery and corruption, but are documented written rules and apply to any person who is speaker, they are facial violations of the Voting Rights Act and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. They interfere with elections and dilute and diminish the value of the vote as much as the cruder methods such as ballot box-stuffing and counting ballots incorrectly. Because these rules are written, they are vulnerable to federal litigation as violations of the rights of an individual person to have his voice heard in Illinois state government. A federal complaint is being written right now, for the first time. The Supreme Court will ultimately decide whether to hear such a case and decide if these rules, which negate the opportunity of voters to influence Illinois state legislation, are constitutional. Image credit: YouTube screenshot. The real danger to American democracy doesn't come from Russia. The Russians had little impact on the last election, succeeding only in revealing that the DNC was breaking its own rules to suppress Democratic Socialist Bernie Sanders. Unfortunately, there are people who are working to undermine American democracy. Here's a short list of some of them: 1. Antifa: The Washington Post's new slogan is "Democracy dies in darkness." But most of the left either overtly or tacitly approves of the use of violence by Antifa to silence voices it doesn't like. An electorate in darkness can't vote intelligently. Hence, if Americans don't know the truth, they are at risk of voting against what's best for them. Antifa undermines our system by denying people the truth. 2. Activist Judges: A core belief on which America is based is that political power flows not from elite rulers, but from the people. The people elect representatives, and if those representatives do things the people don't like, the people elect someone new. We see this in the case of Obamacare. The Democrats pushed this first step toward socialized medicine through, and in the next election, the people voted the Democrats out. When judges make up laws rather than interpret the law, including the Constitution, they subvert our democracy by arrogating to themselves the power that belongs to the people through their representatives. For example, 55,000,000 Americans voted against redefining marriage, yet a few rich white lawyers on the Supreme Court imposed gay "marriage" on the country. If the democratic process had been followed, the people could have thrown out of office the politicians who voted against the desires of the people, but because the redefinition of marriage was imposed by the courts, it's nearly impossible to throw out the judges. Impeaching a judge is much harder than electing a different senator, for example. By stealing the people's power, activist judges undermine democracy and reduce the importance of elections to what type of judges a candidate will support, since it is the judges who wield the real power in America today. If judges only interpreted the law rather than making it, no one would care whom Trump nominated to the Supreme Court. 3. The Media: The purpose of a free press is to inform the people of the facts so that the people can decide how to vote. As such, a free media will have different voices, because there are different ways to view the news. Today, the major media are all in lockstep, acting as propagandists for the left. If a news story is damaging for the left, the media will avoid covering it. When a Democrat senator was on trial for corruption for weeks, the media barely covered the story, with two of the three networks not mentioning it once on their evening news shows. Similarly, any voice that attacks Trump, no matter how lacking in credibility, will be repeated over and over. Bill Clinton's actions as a sexual predator were held by the major media to have no impact on his ability to be a good president. But when Trump was shown to be a philanderer who engaged in inappropriate but consensual acts, the same media condemned him as a monster. That the same people are saying contradictory things and hence aren't credible doesn't bother the media in the least. By trying to distort the people's view of reality through biased reporting, the media are enshrouding us in the very darkness that the Washington Post supposedly objects to and therefore impede our ability to effectively exercise our power. 4. The FBI and DOJ: It's clear that at the top, these organizations went beyond their charter and launched a massive espionage campaign against Trump to benefit Democrats. We know that unverified rumors produced by a foreigner based on Russian sources were used to focus the full power of the Intelligence Community (I.C.) on Trump's campaign. We know that Democratic political appointees in the government identified which Trump campaign personnel were doing what. We know that special prosecutor Robert Mueller was appointed in violation of the law. There was no identifiable crime James Comey admitted under oath that the claims made in his illegal leaks were not true. Trump did not in fact order him to stand down or to exonerate Michael Flynn. We know that the FBI and DOJ swept under the rug Hillary's gross negligence in handling classified information and that Bill Clinton arranged a secret meeting with Loretta Lynch while the investigation was ongoing. The only reason we know that the meeting occurred was due to the efforts of one brave local investigative reporter. To this day, the FBI and DOJ are waging a war on the president nothing less than an attempt to nullify the people's vote in 2016. Clearly, the FBI's and DOJ's malicious attacks on the president indicate that they think power belongs to the ruling elites, not the people. 5. The Intelligence Community: The fact that key players in the I.C. are amazingly biased against Trump is a serious issue. When James Clapper was chief of the I.C., he worked to get the unverified Steele dossier a gloss of credibility so that the media could publish it. When former CIA chief John Brennan calls for the president to be impeached because Trump spoke to Putin, we have good reason to believe that much of what is coming out of the I.C. can't be trusted. We have the I.C. declaring that the Russians meddled in the election, but they appear reticent to discuss the fact that the meddling had no real impact on how the vote turned out. They furthermore declare that the Russians hacked the DNC emails even though they haven't bothered to inspect the crime scene, the DNC server that was hacked. By working hard to make it seem that the U.S. election was fraudulent, the I.C. is undermining the people's trust in our elections and thereby weakening democracy. 6. Those Who Object to the Rule of Law: Whether it be refusing to enforce immigration law or refusing to enforce the Defense of Marriage Act, leftists are constantly demanding that instead of revising laws they don't like through the democratic process, those laws should just be ignored. Trump enforced our immigration laws, which resulted in children being temporarily separated from their criminal parents something that happens to U.S. kids every day resulting in the left demanding that Trump simply ignore the law. When Trump asked the Democrats to work with him to craft new laws that would remove the problem, the Democrats refused. The Democrats rejected the rule of law and the power of the people and demanded that Trump behave in a fascist and dictatorial way. Rejecting the constitutional process for creating laws is a rejection of democracy, and it serves to undermine the power of voters. Other groups are working hard to destroy democracy in America. They too aren't insidious foreign powers, but rather Americans who embrace fascism and totalitarianism. The left and the media, which are pretty much one group, are working to undermine the American system because they believe in elections only when their candidate wins and because they believe that the elites have not only the right, but the moral obligation to rule over the rest of us. Tell your friends there is a real threat to our freedom, but it's not from Russia. Rather, the real threat is the left in America, which has embraced fascism. You can read more of Tom's rants at his blog, Conversations about the obvious, and feel free to follow him on Twitter. After the Supreme Court ruling in favor of the administration in Trump v. Hawaii, continued efforts by the left to push the twin ideas of religious animus and conservative politics in the Trump administration's travel ban requires to borrow a phrase "a suspension of disbelief." The hue and cry should have been further quieted had immigration activists even modestly recalled similar actions by Democratic Party politicians not so long ago, when the shoe was on the left foot. Today, of the fifty or so countries in the world with Muslim majorities, the administration's policy affects six and only six Muslim countries. Among the ten countries with the largest Muslim populations in the world, only one is included: Iran. Plus two of the countries Venezuela and North Korea are not Muslim nations. In fact, Venezuela has a Christian Hispanic heritage, and the other country is no less than North Korea. An additional Muslim country, Chad, was removed from the list after it met the security demands and vetting guidelines of the Trump administration's State Department. The administration had cited poor cooperation with U.S. officials, terrorist activity, and technical hurdles to properly document their own travelers as reasons for the current iteration of the ban. Countries remaining on the restricted travel list did not and still do not comply with the enhanced vetting of the backgrounds of those applying for visas to enter the United States. Those possibly affected are also not U.S. citizens and therefore do not have automatic rights to enter the United States without this country's express permission. Every visa application clearly stipulates that a visa or application does not entitle an alien to enter the United States. Both the statutory and constitutional opinions of the Court's majority attached substantial deference to the national security justification for the travel ban presented by the administration. For clarity, Supreme Court chief justice John Roberts wrote for the majority that Congress's delegation of authority to the president was "comprehensive" and "exudes deference to the president in every clause." The law is the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, passed a long time before immigration became such a hot-button issue. The law reads, "Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens in the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, [the President] may by proclamation, and for such period as [he] deem[s] necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or non-immigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions [he] may deem to be appropriate." Ironically, that legislation, also known as the McGarran-Walter Act (H.R. 5678), was named after its Democratic sponsors, Senator Pat McCarran (D-Nev.) and Congressman Francis Walter (D-Pa.). President Harry Truman, also a Democrat, vetoed the act because he regarded the bill as "un-American" and discriminatory, but his veto was overridden in a Democratic-controlled Congress by votes of 278 to 113 in the House and 57 to 26 in the Senate. Chief Justice Roberts further explained why the policy is constitutional under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, writing, "The Proclamation is expressly premised on legitimate purposes: preventing entry of nationals who cannot be adequately vetted and inducing other nations to improve their practices. The text says nothing about religion." Irony is also not lost on how that same Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, referenced so prominently in the current Trump v. Hawaii decision, was read and used for similar ends by a Democratic president when the shoe was on the left foot not so long ago. In November 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini's regime seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran, holding 52 American citizens and diplomats hostage. In subsequent months, with the crisis unresolved, anti-Iranian sentiment in the U.S. reached a fever pitch. Iranians living in the U.S. many of them students suddenly found themselves in precarious situations, living in fear of deportation. In April 1980, more than five months after the crisis began, Democrat President Jimmy Carter announced he would break diplomatic ties with Iran. Carter, who enjoyed a reputation as a humanitarian, declared all U.S. visas issued to Iranian citizens invalid. Of an estimated 150,000 Iranian U.S.-visa holders, more than 56,700 were students, and sanctions against them were particularly harsh. Immediately after the embassy seizure, Carter ordered all Iranians with student visas to register with U.S. immigration officials or face deportation. In barely two months, 54,000 Iranian students reported to Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) offices for interviews. A federal judge very much like today initially ruled the order unconstitutional, but the decision was reversed on appeal. A federal appeals court (the case would not make it to the Supreme Court) then ruled that the Carter administration indeed had the right to conduct "special immigration checks" of Iranian students in the United States and to begin deportation proceedings against any who were in the U.S. illegally or who did not report to immigration officials as ordered. Much like today's case, that Court of Appeals overturned the lower court's ruling that it was unconstitutional to single out Iranians for special treatment. Writing for the appeals court, Judge Roger Robb declared, "Certainly in a case such as the one presented ... it is not the business of courts to pass judgment on the decisions of the President in the field of foreign policy." Additionally, the Iranian ruling would delineate that "the government has the right to make distinctions between different classes of aliens ... so long as such distinctions are not wholly irrational." As to the question of overriding national interest, the appeals court judges further wrote that they were not in a position to challenge the president's judgment on the matter "in the absence of acts that are clearly in excess of his authority." President Trump's proclamation restricting travel, falling well within those same authorities and parameters, was limited to nations with documented histories of extreme jihad, lawlessness, or hostility to the United States, regardless of whether it was inspired by religious, criminal, or political reasons. Further, if a citizen objects to the law as written and on the books, that person should take up the issue with his legislators. It is Congress who writes and makes the laws. Maybe most importantly, the courts then and now have made it consistently clear that the president will be given great deference on matters of national security. Citizens should be slow to malign the president for doing what he believes prudent and necessary to ensure the security and integrity of the United States. We do not have "open borders" yet. Chris J. Krisinger (Colonel, USAF ret.) writes on governance and national security topics. He lives in Burke, Virginia. The Helsinki summit is over, and the major story surprise, surprise is more tiresome drivel about Russian election meddling. The most amazing thing about this narrative is that the who can be talked about endlessly with little to no mention of the what and the how. The what at the center of it all is that the Democratic National Committee, including Hillary Clinton and DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, rigged their party's primary in favor of Hillary Clinton and against Bernie Sanders. This is not speculation or the result of a political witch hunt as is true of the Mueller investigation but a fact laid bare in the very emails contained on the server of the DNC, which, interestingly enough, was never turned over to the FBI for forensic analysis. Clinton, Wasserman Schultz, and other DNC officials actively conspired against Sanders, targeting his Jewish faith and slandering Jeff Weaver, his campaign manager. The leaked emails also showed that Clinton's campaign colluded with CNN political commentator Donna Brazile, who amazingly went on to become interim DNC chair when Wasserman Schultz was forced to step down. So here you have irrefutable documented collusion and election-rigging of the highest degree, not between Putin and Trump, but among Hillary Clinton, CNN, and the DNC. Somehow, all this has gone neatly down the Memory Hole. In its place, in spectacular Orwellian fashion, comes the narrative that "Russia Hacked the Election." To this day, the extent of Russian meddling is still debatable, yet the news has been "rectified," and history has been rewritten. Trump cheated. He's illegitimate. He colluded with Russia to steal the election. This brings us to the how, the second question that, like the what, never gets asked. How did Russia steal the election, exactly? This is where the uninformed American public who gets its news only at airports is invited to use its imagination and fill in the blanks. Perhaps Putin and his agents tampered with voting machines? Maybe they used propaganda to brainwash American voters? This sort of thinking is preposterous, yet the suggestion is still there, conveniently put forth by a frustrated liberal media. The next time the "Russia Election Meddling" narrative comes up, I'd like to see President Trump resurrect the what and the how along with it. Take Trump's recent interview with CBS Evening News anchor Jeff Glor, for example. Here is an excerpt of the exchange: GLOR: "You say you agree with U.S. intelligence that Russia meddled in the election in 2016." TRUMP: "Yeah and I've said that before, Jeff. I have said that numerous times before, and I would say that is true, yeah." GLOR: "But you haven't condemned Putin, specifically. Do you hold him personally responsible?" TRUMP: "Well, I would, because he's in charge of the country. Just like I consider myself to be responsible for things that happen in this country. So certainly as the leader of a country you would have to hold him responsible, yes." Imagine if, the next time the mainstream media pulled out the "Russia Election Meddling" narrative, instead of being hyper-focused on the who, the conversation were immediately directed toward the what and the how. Take this response for example: Do I believe Russia meddled in our election? I'm not sure I understand the question. How did they meddle, exactly? By exposing the rigged DNC primary? Is that what you mean? That really turned the Democratic National Convention on its ear, didn't it? Remember how badly Bernie Sanders's supporters were treated? Remember how the Clinton people basically bullied them into silence? Remember when Wasserman Shultz was booed off the stage at the Florida delegation breakfast for being a cheat? Or when Donna Brazile was booed at the opening of the Democratic National Convention? That's probably why she wrote that book, admitting that the Clinton campaign took over the DNC. Wasn't Donna Brazile fired from CNN for colluding with Clinton? I think she was. You get the gist. If Trump and enough of his supporters in the media would simply respond to the "Russia Election Meddling" narrative by bringing up the what and how every time the subject is broached, I suspect it would take at least some of the edge off it. At the bare minimum, it would make liberals think twice before bringing the subject up over and over again. California's Employment Development Department announced on Friday that unemployment held steady in June at 4.2%. That's the good news. The astonishing news is that the largest state in the union created a net gain of only 800 jobs. L.A. Times: The June numbers represent a pullback from May, when the Golden State added 7,200 jobs. And the gains in May were much smaller than April, when employers boosted payrolls by nearly 26,000. The slowdown could signal that California is simply reaching full employment. Employers are struggling to find workers. Or it could be a sign of sagging confidence among executives. A growing trade war with China, for example, has unnerved companies in California's logistics industry and beyond. Economists, however, cautioned against reading too much into one or two months of data. Lynn Reaser, chief economist of the Fermanian Business and Economic Institute at Point Loma Nazarene University, said June's disappointing figures "warrant attention" and could be a sign of uncertainty around trade. But they are not cause for "undue alarm at this point." "June's weak performance could be temporary," she said in an email. Others said it was too early to see effects from the tariffs the Trump administration has placed on Chinese goods. An initial levy on $34 billion of Chinese goods, along with countermeasures by China, took effect in July following months of tariff threats and saber-rattling between the world's two largest economies. More tariffs have been threatened. Michael Bernick, an attorney with Duane Morris and a former director of the Employment Development Department, said the slowdown was expected after a sustained stretch of job growth, noting that the current economic expansion is now the second longest in the post-World War II period. Robert Mueller's indictment of twelve Russians for hacking the DNC's computers and releasing emails and documents is the latest and best reason to end the Mueller investigation. The indictment does not charge that any member of the Trump campaign was involved with the Russians. Rod Rosenstein said the Russian hacking of the DNC and release of emails had no effect on the 2016 election. If there were any evidence of Trump involvement with the Russian hacking, then surely it would have been in this indictment. The authorization for Mueller's appointment states: b) The Special Counsel is authorized to conduct the investigation confirmed by then-FBI Director James B. Comey in testimony before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on March 20, 2017, including: (i) any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump; and (ii) any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation; and (iii) any other matters within the scope of 28 C.F.R. 600.4(a). So no links, no coordination, no collusion, and no effect on the election. Mueller's indictment of Paul Manafort deals with financial issues from 2005 that have nothing to do with Trump and the election. The indictment of General Flynn has nothing to do with the election, and Flynn's plea should be withdrawn and charges dismissed. The charge that Russians hacked the DNC computers should have been and should now be investigated by the FBI. We now know that because of Peter Strzok and the corrupt FISA warrants based on the Hillary-paid for dossier, the Obama FBI did not conduct a fair, honest investigation. But now, Lisa Page and James Baker resigned; Bruce Ohr was demoted; Andrew McCabe was fired; Peter Strzok was removed from the FBI investigation and demoted; and, most importantly, Comey was fired. Since these persons are no longer involved in the investigation, the FBI should be able to conclude the investigation. The results then should be made public and action taken, if necessary, by the president and Congress, such as sanctions. The Russian hacking of the DNC is not a matter for a political prosecutor like Mueller, with a staff of Hillary- and Obama-supporters masquerading as investigating attorneys in search of a crime or misdeed to pin on Trump. Again, collusion, links, and coordination are not crimes for a prosecutor to investigate. The timing of the release of the indictment is further evidence that the Mueller investigation is politically motivated to damage Trump. It was released during the week of the Strzok testimony that highlighted the corrupt Obama FBI-DOJ investigation. Worse, it was released on the eve of President Trump's visit to Britain and to meet Putin. This allowed the Dems and media to continually demand that President Trump raise this issue with Putin. Evidently, the Dems and media have forgotten, or do not care, that because Mueller chose to criminally indict the Russians, they are presumed innocent under our Constitution. Now the Dems and media and the McCain-Bush Republicans are upset because President Trump said at the press conference with Putin that he questioned the conclusions of the U.S. intelligence agencies about the Russian "interference." Given what we have learned about the efforts of the Obama FBI, the Obama DOJ, and Clapper and Brennan, all working to undermine Trump and help Hillary, it is more than reasonable to question the findings of this bunch that constituted our "intelligence" services. The Dems and media routinely challenged and questioned the findings of our CIA regarding the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. But now this same bunch acts shocked that President Trump questions the conclusions about Russian interference. Russians hacked the DNC, with no effect on the election, to release information about Hillary that we already knew. It did not involve the Trump campaign. This is the bottom line of the Mueller investigation. We knew this before the Mueller investigation. There is no charge of "links and/or coordination" with the Trump campaign because there is no evidence of it. End this waste of taxpayer funds. Democrats have been feeling their oats with socialism these days, basking in the wins they've gotten. The ascent of Democratic Socialists of America member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, in a Democratic congressional primary in New York, has given them a new battery. Ocasio's their new "it" girl. But it might not play the way they think it will play beyond New York. Sure, Bernie Sanders and Ocasio herself are out campaigning in Kansas (which has a "progressive" tradition that even the white half of President Obama's family was part of). But let them try that in Florida now. That's the thinking of longtime Miami Herald columnist Andres Oppenheimer (who is center-leftish) in a column warning that Democrats had better start blasting socialist hell-holes Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua to the south of our border in Florida, or else. He writes: If Democrats want to win the Hispanic vote in Florida a key swing state in upcoming elections, it won't be enough for them to say that President Trump locks up immigrant infants in cages, sides with Russia's President Vladimir Putin against U.S. intelligence agencies and heads one of the most corruption-ridden administrations in recent U.S. history. Democratic candidates will need to speak out much louder about the crimes against humanity that are taking place in Nicaragua and Venezuela, and denounce Trump's refusal to consider asylum petitions from large numbers of people fleeing the horrors of Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba. Apparently, the counteracting influence of the Florida's Puerto Ricans, some of whom blame President Trump for the locally corrupt response to Hurricane Maria instead of the socialists they voted for back home, isn't enough. And it may be that some are putting the blame where it belongs anyway. Two countries, which are closely watched by Florida's immigrant population, are getting absolutely hellish as a result of socialism: Venezuela and Nicaragua. Cuba already is an awful place. Venezuela, which was so praised by Sanders in the past, is already well known, and no, we have not seen anything negative about it from either Bernie or Alexandria. Don't even imagine that either will bring up the horrors of Cuba we already know they'll be touting Cuban relations. The other festering boil of socialism is Nicaragua. It's getting really bad there now; it looks as though an all-out civil war is getting underway; and yes, the news is starting to cover it. Here are a few headlines, and man, I had my choice of them when I hit Google: Student protesters say Nicaraguan forces "shooting to kill" Nearly 300 dead in Nicaragua protests since April: UN Costa Rica installs shelters for Nicaraguan migrants Nicaragua's bishops to pray for exorcism amid Ortega crackdown 'Pack Up and Get Out': Nicaraguan Unrest Shakes U.S. Expat Community Hiding in Nicaragua, Ortega's battered opponents plan comeback Crazy. The violent final call of socialism in that region. It happened during the Reagan era, too, but there was a Soviet and Cuban element of support at the time. With that less of an element now (I'm not sure about Russia), the socialists are simply fighting like cornered rats, and it's vicious and bloody. That presents a problem for Democrats, who are all in for socialism, and saying nothing, as Oppenheimer suggests. After all, other stories have headlines like this one that ran today: "Democratic socialism surging in the age of Trump." Yet Oppenheimer has a poll showing that Republican Gov. Rick Scott is beating Democrat Sen. Bill Nelson handily in the Senate race, and Nelson is a moderate Democrat, the kind who are winning races around the country in isolated special elections. His problem is that Democrats as a whole just keep keeping it silent, hoping no one will notice the socialist meltdowns in those countries, while Bernie and Alexandria continue to tout openly the wonders of socialism and all its free stuff. Oppenheimer doesn't get to the half of it as he warns: If Democrats don't pay more attention to Florida's Cuban, Venezuelan and Nicaraguan voters, and make a bigger effort to win them over, they will risk losing key congressional and Senate races. They might even lose the state and, perhaps, national elections in 2020. And Florida is a key, key, key critical swing state indeed for Democrats. So will they speak out about socialism, or keep succoring it and coddling it as Florida's denizens look on? Democrats know it's a problem, which is why they keep silent. Watch Democrats let this roll right out of their hands as their love for socialism trumps their need for Florida votes. They've got a choice: Florida, or socialism, and they can't seem to bring themselves to extricate themselves from this tar baby other than through an uncomfortable silence. In Florida, that's not going to cut it. The Democrats deride President Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan (the one that won him the presidency) a lot by implying that it is somehow racist. So they have come up with a brilliant new slogan for themselves instead. "For the People." This means they will come out with new hats with FTP to compete with the MAGA hats. I think that will go over well, but I am so disgusted with them that my first thought upon seeing this FTP is that the hat actually means: "F--- the People." Sorry. It's because they like cuss words, and their record shows that their only use for people is to take more money away from them for the government and to punish them with more regulations. Their real slogan should be "For the Government." Better still, "For the Swamp." I believe there was a people's party in the past, and I found that it was merged into the Democratic Party...in 1896. It hated banks and landowners then, as Democrats still do today, and after all these years, they all still call these ideas "progressive." Whatever you want to say about "for the people" as a slogan, one thing is for sure: it's not new. Hitler was also "for the people": Volkswagen is a car company from Germany. The word volkswagen means "People's car" in German. ... It was started in the 1930s, at the request of the country's leader, Adolf Hitler[.] Democrats should be so proud of themselves. Now, if Democrats are really serious about this, I can think of many campaign ads that the FTP party can run that will cause voters to give the Democrats the blue wave they dream about. Here are some suggestions for bringing out their true thinking: Letting people and businesses keep more of their own money will cause Armageddon. The government needs the crumbs and spends the money better than you do. They need your crumbs so they can have bigger sandwiches. Work is degrading; it is better to give people a universal basic income. Socialism is so much more effective than capitalism in moving people up the economic ladder. We believe in freedom of choice as long as it is not choice on health care, energy, or schools. We know how to stifle speech we don't like through the IRS. We are the party that believes that one death by a gun is too many and all gun-owners must be subjected to more regulations. The FTP party is the party that believes that no one is above the law, with only a few exceptions. Those would be powerful members of the FTP party and illegal aliens. Oh, well. Politicians who are in the FTP party can always count on money from a convicted felon, worldwide meddler, and filthy rich billionaire, George Soros. They can also count on most of the media just repeating what they say and ignoring what they actually do because we all know that words mean more than deeds, don't we? People who feel enlightened and want to join the FTP party should be motivated by the following quotes, starting with the top Democrat, Hillary Clinton: You can take Trump supporters and put them in two big baskets. There are what I would call the deplorables you know, the racists and the haters, and the people who are drawn because they think somehow he's going to restore an America that no longer exists. Then let's look at the Democratic Party's architect of Obamacare, Jonathan Gruber: "Lack of transparency is a huge political advantage," Gruber said. "And basically, call it the stupidity of the American voter or whatever, but basically that was really, really critical for the thing to pass." Don't forget Obama's deputy national security adviser, Ben Rhodes, who sold the Iran deal to the public through his famous "echo chamber." Wikipedia has the reference: In a controversial profile in the New York Times Magazine, Rhodes was quoted "deriding the D.C. press corps and boasting of how he created an 'echo chamber' to market the administration's foreign policy," including the international nuclear agreement with Iran. There was also this guy, a Democrat who didn't think farmers are fit for congressional office, because, well, they are farmers, without his law degree. According to the Washington Post: While speaking at a fundraiser in Texas, Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) called Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) who Braley hopes to join in the upper chamber in 2015 a "farmer from Iowa who never went to law school," according to a video released by the conservative super PAC America Rising. Today is also National Agriculture Day. I look forward to the fall campaign and the ads for MAGA versus FTP. Robert Mueller, spending millions and millions of taxpayers' dollars, is straying far afield from anything related in any way to Russian interference in the 2016 election, apparently to find leverage points to pressure someone to testify against President Trump in a way that could get him impeached. The latest example comes from TMZ: Kristin Davis, the Manhattan Madam who went to prison and was connected to former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, is being subpoenaed in the Robert Mueller investigation ... TMZ has learned. What could this possibly have to do with Trump and Russia? Even the Steele dossier didn't mention Trump consorting with a Russian version of Mata Hari at an upscale Manhattan bordello. So if he wasn't involved with anything of the madam's business operation, why pursue a subpoena? Davis worked for former Trump aide Roger Stone for a decade, and had numerous interactions with Stone and Andrew Miller who ran Davis' campaign for Governor and who was subpoenaed by Mueller a month ago. So in addition to being a madam, Davis ran for political office and hired Stone, and Stone was hired by Trump for a while during his campaign. Mueller reportedly is quite willing to forgive Democrats for crimes he will prosecute Republicans for as long as they testify against the Republicans. Taking on someone engaged in an illegal business like prostitution certainly can provide leverage to squeeze someone who can then squeeze the real target. This sounds less like justice than it does the operations of Stalin's most notorious henchman: The Ace of Spades asks the key question: Array ( [0] => 821910 ) AT&T named three more cities that will receive 5G connectivity by the end of the year, having announced its expanding its next-generation wireless program to Charlotte, Raleigh, and Oklahoma City. The companys 5G initiative has already been confirmed as encompassing Dallas, Atlanta, and Waco, with AT&T first outlining the details of its plan in February. Half a dozen more cities are also expected to be used as 5G testbeds by the company in the coming months and AT&T is likely to announce their names by the end of summer. The Dallas, Texas-based telecom giant planned its initial 5G deployment wave as including both large and medium-sized cities so as to allow it to test its next-generation technologies in a wide variety of scenarios. The firm also took a dig at T-Mobiles recent statement that it will prioritize the largest metropolitan areas in the United States with its 5G buildouts, having said it disagrees with that approach as it sees all Americans as equals in regards to their right to access high-tech wireless solutions. AT&T sees that approach as a way to avoid repeating the issue of spotty coverage thats still plaguing select 4G LTE networks in the country and believes it general efforts in the segment will allow it to offer the first truly mobile 5G service to stateside consumers. While the telecom juggernauts service will be going live in select areas this year, first 5G-enabled smartphones wont be released in the U.S. until next year, so the experimental period will only see consumers connect to the new network via 5G pucks which will essentially act as hotspots. 5G is the first generation of wireless technologies in the history of the telecom industry thats been built from the ground up with use cases in mind and is consequently expected to spur economic growth shortly following its large-scale deployment. All major carriers in the U.S. previously promised to reach nationwide 5G coverage by 2020. Regional wireless carrier C-Spire claims it already launched 5G service in the United States, having announced its now offering a next-generation fixed wireless access solution in select locations across Mississippi earlier this week. While the company is referring to its solution as 5G, its not basing it on the 3GPPs Release 15 or any other standard released by the wireless consortium. Instead, its using proprietary hardware and a set of close-sourced IEEE 802.11 specifications, so while the service offers faster speeds compared to 4G LTE, it likely wouldnt be considered as true 5G by anyone outside of C-Spire. In a statement provided to Light Reading, the Ridgeland, Mississippi-based network operator said its now offering the experimental service to both individuals and businesses, with the latter being able to sign up for the solution if theyre located in West Point, Quitman, and Clarksdale. Consumers in Byram, Pearl, Florence, and Brandon are also able to access the new FWA network. C-Spire is presently working on expanding the availability of the service to nearly a dozen additional locations, the firm said. From a practical standpoint, FWA solutions are meant to compete with broadband offerings and replace traditional wired routers, though many industry analysts previously expressed strong skepticism about the commercial viability of such technologies, arguing that no telecom company in the U.S. can actually hope to recoup the costs of such investments in any reasonable timeframe. Instead, only truly wireless service will unlock the full potential of 5G as it gradually replaces 4G LTE, offering unprecedented speeds, latencies, and capacities. Verizon is the only major carrier in the country thats seriously pursuing 5G FWA, whereas its three remaining rivals all previously expressed a largely indifferent stance toward such services. In regards to mobile networks, the big four previously promised nationwide 5G coverage by 2020, with large-scale deployment being set to start in the first half of 2019. Hello, Im planning to apply subclass 600, I'm a Filipina from the Philippines, my concerns are: 1. I have 2 son's aged 15 and 13, they are studying here in the Philippines, I will tour in Australia for 3 months if visa is granted. Can i declare my son's as a strong family ties that I will go back to my home country? 2. Im not employed and just duin part time work as referral agent in a real estate company, will they consider part time job as source of income or still unemployed. 3. I have a rent to own house through pag ibig housing loan, the title was not yet under my name because it was still under a housing loan. I have all the legal documents that I purchase it through loan. Can that be an evidence that in goin back to Philippines? 4. My Aussie boyfriend will shoulder all my tourist trip, and he will provide invitation letter and some more documents needed. 5. I have saving in the bank around 3,000 AUD. 6. I'm on my annulment process here in the Philippines. Can I add this to my cover letter stating Im goin back home because I have pending annulment case that I need to monitor too. 7. Is it possible that they will grant my tourist visa application? Thanks in advance. Peace out Hi All, We're in a process of putting everything together for visa 100 and I have some questions regarding the following: Question 12: Countries visited My wife's previous job was a flight attendant and we were still living apart after visa 309 was granted. Do we list countries that she visited from a point of view of the country she was living in, in this case it was Abu Dhabi. Or do we list countries she visited using Australia as a country of residence? Question 13: Reducing violence in the community It states that national police checks is required from a sponsor. But what about the applicant? Thanks in advance. Autonomous drones are a technology currently being researched by the U.S. Military's supplier of advanced technologies, DARPA. Called the Fast Lightweight Autonomy (FLA) program, DARPA plans to create a machine capable of flying itself to various areas and perform various tasks, including pre-mission reconnaissance in hostile urban areas or searching for survivors following major disasters.The program is currently at Phase 2 development, meaning the testing of the algorithms powering the craft. FLI was tested last week over a mock town at the Guardian Centers training facility in Perry, Georgia.As per DARPA's statement, the tests proved significant improvements in the technology. The drone was capable of flying at increased speeds between multi-story buildings and through tight alleyways while identifying objects of interest.It also went through a narrow window into a building and descended down a hallway searching rooms and 3D-mapping the interior. The drone also showed improvements when it comes to flying down a stairway and exiting the building through a doorway.The drone uses a neural net to identify roads, buildings, cars, and other objects. It then maps them and includes the info in downloadable and clickable images. This info is sent to the soldier's Android Tactical Assault Kit (ATAK) geospatial digital map, allowing troops to better understand their surroundings.DARPA's main goal of the research is to create a machine capable of working with human soldiers on the battlefield. Using autonomous drones would save crucial time in sensitive and stealth missions, as they do not require a communications link that might be picked up by the enemy.There is no official timetable set for the deployment of the drones. DARPA says algorithms developed in the FLA program will be sent to the Army Research Laboratory for further development. Hamas leaders announced on Saturday they've accepted a cease-fire with Israel, CBS reports; it's the second such agreement of the week. Why it matters: Fighting between the militant group and Israeli forces has been escalating near a brink of an all-out war of which there has been three in the past decade, per CBS. And even after the cease-fire, an Israeli tank moved on a Hamas military post in Gaza in response to "a breach of the border fence," CNN reports. The backdrop: Nicholay Mladenov, the U.N. envoy for the Israel-Palestinian conflict, called on "all parties, all sides to do their best right now. Not next month, not next week, right now, to prevent this escalation," BBC reports. On Friday, an Israeli soldier was killed by a Palestinian sniper, bringing about "an offensive [Israel] says destroyed more than 60 Hamas targets," and killing four Palestinians (three of them Hamas militants.) by a Palestinian sniper, bringing about "an offensive [Israel] says destroyed more than 60 Hamas targets," and killing four Palestinians (three of them Hamas militants.) There were also "multiple explosives thrown at Israeli soldiers," the Israeli Defense Forces said per CNN. thrown at Israeli soldiers," the Israeli Defense Forces said per CNN. Since protests started in March, more than 130 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, CBS reports. The tension along the Gaza border has been building for months now. What began as Palestinian protests around the March of the Return turned into Hamas' fight with Israel as the group took "advantage of Palestinian suffering and Israeli militarism," director of the Wilson Center's Middle East Program, Aaron David Miller, wrote for Axios. There have been four distinct instances of either hacking or suspected hacking in campaigns or election reporting processes so far this year including two reported distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) hacks, one other suspected hack in the U.S., and even one in Mexico. The big picture: Intelligence officials have warned that they believe Russia have the capability to go further on election interference. This is also a lesson in how campaigns are still playing catchup on cybersecurity. Details: Two municipal-level Democratic campaigns web sites were force to shut down when hacks flooded them with too much traffic earlier this year in DDoS attacks, CyberScoops Chris Bing reported. An election reporting web site for a mayoral election in Knox County, Tennessee, was shut down in a similar way this year, although its unclear if it was due to a DDoS attack. An opposition party in Mexico, the National Action Party, said it was hit by an attack during the final televised debate between presidential candidates this month, per Reuters. Why it matters: A lot of conversation about election hacking is devoted to whether vote capture machines can be hacked and whether voter registration databases are exposed to the internet but shutting down election night reporting web sites can cause chaos in elections even if it doesn't necessarily impact vote tallies. And targeting those web sites can be a relatively easy haul compared to other hacking endeavors, especially as states and local jurisdictions are strapped for cash to the points where they may be unable to secure their sites properly. Between the lines: Its possible these incidents are unrelated with different actors, and the Department of Homeland Security cant comment on whether it has received reports of these attacks in the U.S. because those conversations, if they happen, are confidential. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said this Saturday "there are no indications that Russia is targeting the 2018 U.S. midterms at a scale or scope to match their activities in 2016." The possibility that Russia targets our elections this year still remains a threat and Nielsen said there is consistent malicious cyber activity against U.S. election infrastructure. Go deeper: Where our election systems are vulnerable Correction: This story originally misstated the name of the author of the CyberScoop article on municipal-election-related DDoS attacks. Changing economic incentives, social expectations for women, and religious landscapes have upended the global age structure and we're only seeing the beginning. Between the lines: The developed world is having fewer babies, which means fewer working-age people to support the bulge of retiring and aging baby boomers. Meanwhile the population of Africa is surging. What the chart shows: Follow each countrys age-structure from 2000 to 2050. The bars show the percentage of the population that falls into each 5-year age group. For instance, you can see Nigerias continuing baby boom in the longer bars at the base of its pyramid; China and Germany, however, have bulges in the 60-85 age ranges. How we got here: Women's education: Better-educated women correlates with lower fertility rates and vice versa, according to Our World in Data. In poorer developing countries, women's education and opportunity outside of raising a family lags behind the richer world, resulting in more women bearing children than their developed-world counterparts. women's education and opportunity outside of raising a family lags behind the richer world, resulting in more women bearing children than their developed-world counterparts. "Women with choices lead the way to secularization," Eric Kaufmann, a demographer and politics professor at Birkbeck College, told Axios. way to secularization," Eric Kaufmann, a demographer and politics professor at Birkbeck College, told Axios. But for most of the rest of the world, fertility rates have been dropping since the 1960s as women have increasingly pursued higher education and found more opportunity in the workforce, says Richard Jackson of the Global Aging Institute. That opportunity continues to expand, further reducing the number of children born to women from the EU, the U.S., China or Japan, as well as delaying childbearing. Yes, but: Studies have found that in the U.S., women with the highest education beyond a bachelor's degree have higher fertility rates than women with only an undergraduate degree. This is probably a result of their greater financial stability as well as more opportunities to combine child-rearing with a career, according to Kaufmann. Economically, child-rearing costs have skyrocketed in much of the developed world. The 2008 recession hit middle class families hard everywhere, and some traditional financial incentives to having multiple children are no longer relevant. You dont need kids to work on the farm or provide in your old age. A lot of the economic rational for having kids has fallen away. It becomes much more of a choice. Eric Kaufmann Modern medicine and sanitation have helped reduce infant mortality in impoverished nations although many African countries still have some of the highest rates in the world. This has added to the baby boom seen now in countries such as Nigeria, Kaufmann said. Religion plays a determining role in fertility rates in both developed and developing nations. Less-religious women typically having fewer kids, and it's common for immigrants and religious women in secular, developed countries to have more children than the norm in that culture, Kaufmann said. What to watch: Fertility trends could reverse in some nations that continue to grow wealthier and more educated. Richer, developed countries already have comparatively high fertility rates, according to Kaufmann. Japan is in a population shrinkage crisis like no other developed nation. According to forecasts, its numbers are plummeting, though by how much is disputed. The optimistic projection is by the United Nations, which says the number of Japanese will fall by about a third by the end of the century, to about 85 million. More pessimistically, Japan's own National Institute of Population and Social Security Research projects a population under 50 million by 2100. Whichever is correct, Japan is one of the planet's cases of extreme demographic change, shrinking and growing old at a greater pace than any other country. One sign is the rise of centenarians: The Japanese are the oldest people on the planet, with a median age of 46.3 in 2015. More than 25% of Japan's population is over 65. But it also has the highest ratio of centenarians 4.8 per 100,000, for a total of 67,824 in 2017, according to the UN. In 2050, Japan will have 41.1 per 10,000 people, compared with 9.7 in the U.S. and 4.6 in China. The shrinkage especially is having economic consequences: The FT's Valentina Romei reports that it may be causing Japan's GDP to shrink. How it's coping: "In Japan, nearly half of old people live with their grown children," writes the Global Aging Institute. Friends of Michael Cohen have noticed that since Trump's Helsinki press conference with Vladimir Putin he's been more openly questioning Trump's fitness to be president. "It's one thing for him [Cohen] to be concerned about his suitability to be president," a knowledgeable source told me. "It's quite another thing to be concerned about his [Trump's] loyalty to his country." The source added that Cohen was sending a public signal to this effect when he tweeted, on Monday after Trump's Helsinki press conference: "As I said to @ABC @GStephanopoulos, "I respect our nation's intelligence agencies who determined that Russia, had in fact, interfered or meddled in our democratic process. I repudiate Russia's effort...and call on all Americans to do the same." Why this matters: The Trump-Cohen relationship broke down a while ago, but now the investigation of Cohen is heating up with the NYT revealing that Cohen secretly taped Trump the two have dispensed with the public pretense of loyalty. The question of what Cohen knows about Trump is now a far more compelling question than it was in the days when Cohen would tell anybody who'd listen that he'd take a bullet and, no doubt, lie for his boss. Bottom line: When I texted Cohen today he declined several opportunities to deny he made these comments to friends. He told me he "cannot comment about someone's innuendo." When I replied to Cohen that the sourcing was solid and would he like to contest the way I was characterizing his thinking, he, revealingly, would not do so. Sneak Peek: Get more stories like this from Jonathan Swan by signing up for our weekly political lookahead newsletter, Axios Sneak Peek. Between 2006 and 2015, terrorist attacks carried out by Muslim extremists received 357% more press attention in the U.S. than those committed by non-Muslims, reports The Guardian. Why it matters: A study conducted by the University of Alabama found that attacks by Muslims spurred an average of 105 headlines especially in national news outlets compared to just 15 headlines for non-Muslims. The gap is especially jarring given right-wing extremists have committed nearly twice as many attacks in the last decade, according to Reveal. Since the dawn of humans, we have faced one inexorable challenge how to support the rise and in the last half century or so explosion of the population. But, in a momentous reversal, that age-old challenge is changing: the population of most countries is shrinking for many of them at an alarming pace and at the same time aging. Much of the world teeters on the cusp of a childless, elderly future. Why it matters: A growing, youthful population is typically a bedrock sign of vitality. In the industrial age, that's included a growing economy, greater opportunity, advancing technology, and a more comfortable retirement for older people. The turnaround on all continents except Africa means supporting an increasing number of retired people with many fewer workers, and confronts the world with two primary solutions, both of them controversial. Loosen up currently fraught politics around migration from still-growing countries. Or populate our countries with robot helpers. Whichever the case, almost no one seems prepared. People are going to have to work longer, experts say. And the U.S. requires "major reforms" in its programs for the elderly, says Richard Cincotta, director of the Global Political Demography Program at the Stimson Center, and formerly a lead demographer for the U.S. intelligence community. But the government "seems to be nowhere near making the social security reforms that are needed." Largely because of Africa, the global population is forecast to continue rising through the century past 11 billion. But according to the United Nations, there is a 23% chance the world population will stabilize or fall by then in a phenomenon that some demographers call peak human. Digging underneath the numbers: By 2100, the population of the world's poorest countries will more than triple, from 954 million in 2015 to 3.2 billion. Minus immigration, the populations of the U.S., Japan and all of Europe are shrinking. By 2050, 48 countries or areas will have fewer people. Several will see a 15% decline, including Japan, the Balkans and the Baltics, and some much more. In 2016, the fertility rate in the United States was the lowest it has ever been, according to the Centers for Disease Control. It was 1,765 births per 1,000 women of child-bearing age, below the replacement rate of 2,100. At the same time, there will be more old people: forecasts include a spike in the number of people 80 and over. Global life expectancy will rise from about 70 in 2015 to 83 in 2100, according to UN figures. Except Africa, by 2050 about a quarter of the world population will be 60 or older. At about 900 million now, their numbers will rise to about 3.2 billion in 21oo. By 2080, those 65 or older will be 29.1% of the global population and 12.7% will be 80 or over, Eurostat said. The most worrying figure: The world will not have sufficient working-age people to support the elderly. Currently, North America has just under four workers per retired person. Seven European countries have three, and Japan has just a bit more than two. By 2050, seven Asian countries, 24 European and four Latin American will fall below two workers per retired person, the UN says. This means a rising fiscal burden and slower economic growth than if the population was not aging, says Richard Jackson of the Global Aging Institute. Worthy of your time: Editor's note: This deep dive was first published in July of 2018. More than 50,000 people have been arrested in the Philippines as President Rodrigo Duterte turns his focus from drugs to minor infractions such as drinking in public or "even being outdoors without a shirt," the New York Times reports. The big picture: The Philippines' brutal campaign against drugs shifted in June when Duterte said there were "simply too many crimes," the Times reports. The idea is to target simpler "crimes" before they escalate into larger problems, an investigator at the police station in Tondo, Adonis Sugui, told the NYT. "They have a drink, they hold people up, shoot each other, cause mischief. ... Once they start drinking, their mind is altered," he said. The details: One man that was arrested for not wearing a shirt charged with "causing alarm and scandal," per the NYT died in police custody. Two inmates were charged with his murder. Another man, Edwin Panis, was arrested for drinking beer in public with his friends. In response to backlash over the campaign, Duterte said that he did not order police to arrest loiterers, the NYT reports, only to break up their groups. "I think you can expect more repression, more confusion, more contradictory statements from the president. To the point that even his own people will not be sure what they should be doing." Jose Manuel Diokno, dean of the De La Salle University College of Law in Manila to the NYT JD.com, the third-largest tech company in the world behind Amazon and Google's parent company Alphabet, is focusing on hundreds of isolated villages in rural China as it has hired 85,000 delivery personnel, and focusing on locals to do its bidding in ramping up online shopping, a relatively new concept for the region, according to The New Yorker's Jiayang Fan. Our thought bubble: Axios Future Editor Steve LeVine explains, Chinese big tech is responding to its gargantuan economic and societal impact very differently from its American counterparts. Against government pressure not to disrupt social order, JD.com, Alibaba and others are working to build market power within the existing structure, rather than bulling their way forward regardless of the consequences. The backdrop China has the most internet users and the largest e-commerce market in the world, but hundreds of millions of Chinese in rural areas are still not online. Unlike Amazon in the U.S., JD.com still has regions in China it can penetrate. Because of China's recent wealth accumulation, Chinese went straight to mobile instead of from PC to mobile. The Chinese accounted for 32% of luxury items globally and JD.com partners with different brands exclusively. "Because habits of consumption are less ingrainedno ones granny shopped at Bergdorfspeople have been notably willing to buy, say, twenty-thousand-dollar watches with a mere tap on a phone," writes Fan. "Analysts predict that Chinas online retail market will double in size in the next two years." What JD.com is doing In isolated regions, JD.com is creating on-the-ground jobs by setting up Wi-Fi and testing out drone delivery. The income of JD.com employees is affected by the number of packages from the region they oversee, and promotion of the company. The impact: Leaving friends and family for Chinese coastal cities no longer has to be an option for rural residents. Locals trust JD.com representatives because they are usually from that region, which is a win for free promotion of the company and expansion, Fan reports. Go deeper: By Mher Yenokyan (Hetq's correspondent at Nubarashen Prison) What to do with those sentenced to life in prison in Armenia? Its a taboo subject inherited from the previous government in Armenia. Few want to discuss it. Before presenting the legal aspect of this appalling issue point by point, Ill briefly write about the behavior of discrimination. Since the former regime, as the current revelations show, was criminal in nature, its apparent that in regard to achieving justice that same criminal approach manifested. Numerous crimes, in which comparatively large interests clashed and you had the participation of those who, in one way or the other, were tied to the regime, were never fully investigated and solved. The reason is because the true culprits were representatives of the government or those with deep pockets and ties to the regime. Even if such people were imprisoned, they were soon released. And we have the opposite scenario. If the injured party enjoyed the favors of the former regime, then what awaited the culprit wasnt an appropriate punishment but rather revenge; extreme punishment. Oftentimes, so that one party would regard the case as closed and the injured party to feel satisfied, they would prosecute an innocent person who had neither money nor ties to the regime. It was during the days of such justice that the number of those serving life sentences in Armenia, a nation of just three million with a low crime rate, exceeded 100 in 2010. Its 95 today. The numbers dropping because some convicts are dying. None are being conditionally released. Only Soghomon Kocharyan was released due to health reasons. For comparative purposes let me cite the following numbers from my course work. In Estonia, whose population is similar to Armenia, the number of lifers is 6. In Poland, with a population of 38 million, the number is 200. Why is it that death penalty/life sentences were employed so much in Armenia when the countrys crime rate is so low? Its simply because the former regime officials either wanted to boost the number of solved cases (quantity not quality), or else the courts had become extensions of the regime and tools so that those injured parties, in tight with the regime, could seek revenge. For example, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Croatia and Slovenia have not only done away with the death penalty but have also abolished sentencing someone to life imprisonment. The main reason for banning the death penalty was that no judicial system is exempt from the possibility of committing errors. If a person is wrongly sentenced to death, and the sentence is carried out, that person is gone for good. By doing away with the death sentence, governments are creating working mechanisms to uncover and fix those judicial mistakes. In Austria, Sweden, Bosnia and Germany, the courts cannot sentence anyone under the age of 21 to life imprisonment. In Finland, if a person was 21 or under when committing a crime and was later sentenced to life, that person is eligible for conditional release after 10 years, not 20. In Belgium, if a first- time offender is sentenced to life, that person is eligible for conditional release in ten years, and in some cases, twenty. Not all countries have set the minimum number of years a lifer must serve before becoming eligible for conditional release at 20. Its 14 in England, 9 in Sweden, 10-15 in Finland, and 12 in Denmark. Now for some solutions The orders given by former Armenian President Robert Kocharian on August 1, 2003 to sentence the 42 surviving death row convicts (now numbering 35) to life sentences was unconstitutional and illegal. First, the president had no right to set punishment since the constitution states thats a function of the courts. Second, according to Article 23 of the Criminal Code in effect until August 1, 1961- if the death penalty was replaced with imprisonment, it could have been imposed for more than fifteen years, but no more than twenty years. But in one day, 42 sentenced to death were give life sentences. This matter can be solved if Armenias Human Rights Defender or a group of MPs file a case with the Constitutional Court questioning the legality of Kocharians decision. In May 2011, after changes were made to the Criminal Code raising maximum sentences from15 to 20 years, the number of life sentences stabilized. In the seven years since the change, life sentences are rarely handed out. Such sentences have been handed out twice, while in the past, on a yearly basis, five death sentences were issued. The legislature approved this change by arguing that the courts felt that 15 years was a light sentence in many cases and that sentencing someone to life was too severe. Today, courts are handing out 16, 17 and even 20-year sentences. This law was clearly meant to improve the situation of those sentenced to life, including those sentenced to death in the past, and it must be made retroactive. In other words, the cases should have entered the courts and some of the sentences should have been reviewed. Life sentences should have been replaced with those in the 15-20-year range. This issue can be resolved if the Armenian National Assembly passes a law clearly stating that the above 2011 change to the Criminal Code is to be applied retroactively in the case of those sentenced to life. There are other cases to be sure. I am hopeful that the Armenian revolution of love and tolerance will also confront these important legal issues and that there will be no more talk about the plight of lifers in Armenia. Trend: For six months of 2018, Azerbaijans Food Products Procurement and Supply OJSC sold products worth 52 million manats to structures financed from the state budget, the company told Trend July 20. Contracts for the purchase and sale were signed with 850 companies and organizations financed from the state budget, the company said. The orders were placed on the tedaruk.az website and proposals were accepted online from 286 manufacturers for 173 types of products. After carrying out certain studies, contracts were signed with 214 producers and sellers. As a result, in the first six months of this year, 28,000 tons of products worth 52 million manats of these manufacturers and sellers were procured and delivered to 1,934 supply points of central and district bodies of the executive power. About 20,000 tons of vegetables, 3,200 tons of fruits, 1,600 tons of melons and about 4,000 tons of legumes were sold in the Azerbaijani market during this period. Export of products by the company for the mentioned period amounted to over 4 million manats. At the same time, no exports were made in June. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed an order establishing "Procurement and Supply of Food Products" OJSC in April 2016. (1.7 manats = 1 USD on July 20) Trend: France will continue contributing to the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the interests of the peoples of the region, reads the communique of the Elysee Palace distributed July 20 following the meeting of French President Emmanuel Macron with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Paris, TASS news agency reported. The French president stressed that he will continue to work in search of a negotiated solution, which is the only option to end this conflict on a long-term basis and in the interests of all the peoples of the region, according to the statement of the French presidential administration. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. Oil headed for a third weekly loss as concerns that an escalating trade clash between the U.S. and China overshadowed reassurances from Saudi Arabia that it wont flood global crude markets. Futures pared gains in New York on Friday as President Donald Trump said on CNBC that hes ready to go with tariffs on $500 billion of imported Chinese goods. Crude had risen earlier after Saudi Arabia, under pressure from Trump to lower prices by pumping more, said they will keep exports steady this month and reduce them by 100,000 barrels a day in August. Trump is still keeping markets on tenterhooks, said Carsten Fritsch, an analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. Crude has retreated 6 percent this month as the escalating trade war between the U.S. and China rattled global financial markets. The drop has been aided by Libya restoring halted output and the U.S. signaling it may show some flexibility in sanctions on Iranian oil. Thats prompted concern the extra crude promised by Saudi Arabia might not yet be needed. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery, which expires Friday, was little changed at $69.54 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 11:45 a.m. London time. It has lost 2.1 percent this week. Total volume traded was about 21 percent below the 100-day average. The more-active September contract slipped 0.4 percent to $67.95. The U.S. oil benchmark closed above its 50-day moving average on Thursday after slipping below that level earlier this week. Brent for September settlement was little changed at $72.57 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, after dropping 32 cents on Thursday. The contract is down 3.7 percent this week. The global benchmark traded at a $4.60 premium to WTI for the same month. Saudi Arabias pledge to keep its crude exports steady from June to July, and reduce it in August, follows an agreement last month between OPEC and its partners including Russia to boost production by 1 million barrels a day. The kingdoms assurance clashes with signals it gave out shortly after last months OPEC meeting, when people briefed on its output policy said it planned record production of 10.8 million barrels a day. It seems the Saudis were concerned about the abrupt shift in the market sentiment from bullish to bearish, and they wanted to draw a line in the sand around current levels, said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS Group AG in Zurich. Oil-market news: Oil exports from OPEC will decline to 24.38 million barrels a day in the four weeks ending Aug. 4 compared with the period that ended July 7, according to tanker-tracker Oil Movements. Shell is preparing to start the Knarr oil field in Norway after strikes by workers were called off, spokeswoman Kitty Eide said. The field produced about 23,000 barrels a day of crude in April, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. Gabons National Organization of Oil Workers asked members to resume work at Total Gabon SA on Friday following a 11-day strike, according to an emailed statement. Baker Hughes, the worlds third-biggest oil-services provider, is expanding outside the U.S. after posting weaker-than-expected second-quarter results Gasoline futures are down 2.1 percent this week to $2.0629 a gallon, heading for a third consecutive weekly drop. --With assistance from Tsuyoshi Inajima and Heesu Lee. 2018 Bloomberg L.P. Under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, Saudi Arabia has rushed to boost oil production -- only to discover that global markets might not yet need it. The kingdoms crude output surged the most in three years last month, as Trump demanded his allys help in cooling gasoline prices and filling in the supply gap that will be created by his sanctions on Iran. Yet the Saudis are struggling to sell as much extra oil as theyd hoped, and are privately fretting that they may have opened the taps too quickly, according to people briefed by Riyadh in the last few days. Saudi Arabia and several other OPEC members have increased exports sharply ahead of sanctions on Iran, and the timing mismatch between these effects is pressuring oil prices, said Martijn Rats, managing director at Morgan Stanley in London. RELATED: Saudis offer extra oil in Asia as OPEC leader pumps more A rare public statement from the Saudi Energy Ministry on Thursday could be taken as an illustration of their unease. It rejected as without basis any concerns that the kingdom was moving to oversupply world markets. Exports would be stable this month and fall in August, it said. Price Pressure The Saudis and their allies -- which include several neighbors from the Gulf Cooperation Council and also non-OPEC producer Russia -- promised at the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries last meeting in late June to boost output by about 1 million barrels a day to offset disruptions in Venezuela and Libya, plus the looming losses in Iran. They were reacting to pressure from Trump, who was bashing the cartel on Twitter after London crude price hit a three-year high of more than $80 a barrel in May. Prices have since retreated to about $73 as Libya restored some halted output and the escalating U.S.-China trade war stoked fears about the strength of demand. Theyre pushing out a heck of a lot of crude right now, and theyre worried about the downward pressure on prices, said Mike Wittner, head of oil market research at Societe Generale SA in New York. The Saudis are trying to thread a needle right now, and the width of that needle is $70 to $80. Oil rose in response to the ministrys statement and Brent crude, the international benchmark, was 0.5 percent higher at $72.92 a barrel in London as of 8:13 a.m. on Friday. RELATED: OPEC says it's doing best to supply market but won't overdo it Saudi Arabia initially planned to reach record output of 10.8 million barrels a day this month, people briefed on production policy said late last month. That level was always dependent on the strength of domestic and international demand, so could end up ranging from 10.6 million to 11 million, they said. The kingdom told fellow producers on Wednesday that output in July will be in line with Junes level of just below 10.5 million barrels a day, people familiar with the matter said. Iran Sanctions The impact of U.S. sanctions on Irans oil shipments, which remains highly uncertain, will play a big part in determining the final outcome. Since quitting the international nuclear agreement with Iran, the Trump administration has sent conflicting signals, indicating last month that it intended to choke off Iranian crude exports entirely. More recently, however, officials such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin have suggested a more flexible approach could be taken. Iranian exports are already starting to fall, with shipments to Europe slumping by about 50 percent in June, according to estimates from the International Energy Agency. A more significant supply gap wont emerge until sanctions enter full force in November, according to the people who spoke with the Saudis, who asked not to be identified as the talks were private. As a result, the kingdom seems to be having difficulty right now placing all the barrels it wanted to. The problem is being compounded by weak appetite for crude in Asia, where concerns are building about the strength of demand, consultant Energy Aspects Ltd. said. RELATED: OPEC seeking legal strategy as U.S. pushes anti-cartel bill This is a market where the increase in GCC and Russian supplies has come at a time when the refinery bid is lacking, said Amrita Sen, Energy Aspects chief oil analyst. Uncertain Appetite Saudi crude exports fell by about 500,000 barrels a day to 6.7 million in the first half of July compared with the same period in June, tanker tracking by Bloomberg shows. According to the statement on Thursday from the Energy Ministry, which cited Saudi Arabias liaison to OPEC Adeeb Al-Aama, exports for this month as a whole will be in line with Junes levels, and will decline by 100,000 barrels a day in August. With so many factors shifting the balance between global supply and demand, the appetite for additional Saudi crude may change, especially as the extent of Irans losses becomes clearer. Market sentiment could flip again to focus on worries over whether the kingdom has enough idle production capacity to prevent a shortage emerging on the global market. We have hardly started to see a reduction in flows from Iran, said Societe Generales Wittner. Though theres a lot of crude coming out from Saudi Arabia now, spare capacity is really going to be the big issue going forward. And spare capacity is getting very tight very quickly. --With assistance from Julian Lee and Wael Mahdi. 2018 Bloomberg L.P. Two different numbers came up on the topic of school financing this week, but the link between them will be obvious to all taxpayers. The Legislature should take note and resolve to make serious progress on this long-standing problem instead of doing what it usually does talk about the challenge and pass the buck. The first number was $2.5 billion, the amount of money that Texas has taken from public education over the past decade, according to a survey by the American Federation of Teachers. Its the second-deepest cut in the country, exceeded only by Florida. The decrease seems particularly rough for Texas, which already has 5.4 million children in public schools and has added about 850,000 over that decade, the fastest growth rate in the nation. Granted, this survey comes from an organization of teachers, which wants more school funding for a lot of reason, not the least of which is better salaries for educators. But the AFT isnt the only group that has complained about school funding in Texas. Its hard to find a parent who hasnt. The other number is more encouraging, because it can help address the first problem. That number is about the same $2.8 billion, the additional money that the state comptroller estimates the Legislature will have to work with in the new session that begins in January. The states rainy day fund is also up to $12 billion, its highest total ever. When the long decline is school funding is matched up with the availability of more state tax revenues, the solution should be obvious. The Legislature must commit more money to help local school districts, especially since its share of total educational spending has dropped from about half to less than 40 percent. Local taxpayers have been making up that difference or school districts have been doing without. Neither option is ideal, and that can finally change. School districts shouldnt expect a windfall in the next two-year state budget cycle, and the Legislature shouldnt just spend every dollar it finds because someone wants it. Fund requests always exceed the bottom line, and uncontrolled growth is almost as bad as continued underfunding. There are many other needs in the state budget too, from better highways to Harvey recovery. But public school funding has lagged for at least the last three regular sessions, and it must be addressed. This doesnt even count the additional needs for school security in the wake of the tragic shooting in Santa Fe earlier this year. Texas lawmakers are proud of the states booming business climate that produced these revenues, and rightly so. But the Texas economy of the future will need educated workers to keep that momentum going. The school-funding bill that lands on the governors desk next June will have a big impact on that future. Northern Ireland business groups called for an end to "brinkmanship" between the EU and the UK government in Brexit talks as Prime Minister Theresa May continued her two-day visit to the province. And while welcoming Mrs May's trip here, many said they still required more detail on the contents of the UK White Paper proposal and how it would provide for cross-border trade. Aodhan Connolly, Northern Ireland Retail Consortium director, said: "It is very encouraging that the Prime Minister came to Northern Ireland to listen and to understand the concerns of business, on maintaining a common rulebook over goods and agri-foods and how the UK Government cannot simply "wash its hands" of the matter. "But we need more than kind words, beginning with greater clarity on how the UK White Paper proposal on customs will work for businesses and how we can avoid extra border red tape and higher costs for firms and consumers around VAT and excise on goods moving across the Irish border. "We need an end to the brinkmanship from both the UK government and the EU, a realisation that the practicalities of Brexit will affect Northern Ireland like nowhere else in the UK, and above all a fair deal on Brexit for the consumers of Northern Ireland." The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said its policy chair Tina McKenzie had questioned the Prime Minister about the White Paper proposals following Mrs May's speech at Waterfront Hall, in which she also called for an urgent restoration of power-sharing. Ms McKenzie (left) said: "It was welcome that the Prime Minister has visited Northern Ireland this week. As we share a land border with another EU state, it is absolutely crucial that the final Brexit deal works for businesses here. FSB welcomed a direction being set through the White Paper on the future relationship with the EU. However, questions still remain on the details of the vision which was set out. "For example, how will cross-border trade, which our members consider local, be affected if we leave the EU VAT regime? I was glad to have the opportunity to ask the Prime Minister about the status of the small business exemption for North-South trade, as proposed in previous position papers. "It was a welcome statement that she intends to avoid friction completely via the new customs plan, however it remains to be seen how smaller firms will be able to obtain 'trusted trader status' to ensure no additional customs issues. "For small businesses in Northern Ireland to make preparations for the future trading environment, it is detailed questions such as these which require answers. Engagement with business groups to flesh out the detail of these proposals is critical." A Northern Ireland outsourcing company has acquired Grafton, one of the best-known names in recruitment in Ireland. Staffline Group, led by Tina McKenzie, said the deal for an undisclosed sum made it the second-biggest recruitment firm on the island with 10,000 workers on its books. Grafton Recruitment, which has offices in the Boat building in Belfast, has an annual turnover of around 80m. Grafton's Recruitment and HR businesses have been operating for over 30 years and are both now part of Staffline, which provides recruitment, training and human resources services to public sector clients and private companies. Staffline Group said Ms McKenzie, who is also Northern Ireland policy chair for the Federation of Small Businesses, had led an "aggressive growth strategy" for the business. The businesswoman, also a former member of defunct cross-community political party NI21, set up the Staffline Group Ireland division in Belfast and Dublin in 2013. She led the takeovers of Diamond Recruitment in 2015 and another business in the Republic last year. Staffline Group also includes training company PeoplePlus NI. A spokeswoman said the latest deal leaves it with a turnover of 150m, 350 permanent staff and a workforce on its books of 10,000 in Ireland. Ms McKenzie said: "Following five years of significant organic and acquired growth, welcoming Grafton Recruitment to the Staffline Group is an exciting step on our journey to becoming the largest recruitment business across Ireland. "As a respected brand among employers and candidates both north and south of the border, Grafton will continue to run independently from Staffline Group companies, delivering an expert recruitment service with professionalism at the forefront. "Having completed our fifth acquisition on the island since 2015, Staffline Group has reaffirmed its commitment to the Irish market, north and south. "With Grafton's acquisition, we have exceeded our ambition of a 100m turnover within five years, and we are dedicated to continued investment in the local market, allowing further growth." She said Staffline now planned to deliver a "next generation recruitment and training service". In an interview with Business Telegraph earlier this year, Ms McKenzie said she had faced challenges. "Bad things have happened to me practically every week throughout my career," she said. "There have been failures every month and I have fallen flat on my face quite often. "But it is learning from your mistakes that keeps you going.On the whole, people are very forgiving when you make a mistake." Can you spot Laurence White in the line-up from Knocknacarry PS in 1950s Our early schooldays can bring back strong memories, but do we really recall being baptised or being taken out in a pram? Our early schooldays can bring back strong memories, but do we really recall being baptised or being taken out in a pram? Our early schooldays can bring back strong memories, but do we really recall being baptised or being taken out in a pram? A new study out this week claimed that although 40% of us think our earliest memories happened before we were two years old, these recollections were fictional, as the brain cant process memories at that age. We asked two writers how far back they can remember. Laurence White: My first memory is that first day at primary school, now a couple of tasteful apartments News that some people swear they can remember things that happened to them when they were two years old - experts say they are just fooling themselves - makes me think I must have been a very late developer. For the first memory I have is of my first day at primary school. I can clearly recall part of the walk from my home to the small, two classroom school - now a couple of tasteful apartments - and then entering the room presided over by head teacher Miss Healey. There seemed an awful lot of children there, but in hindsight there could not have been more than perhaps 30, and the same in the other room where Mrs Minnie O'Hara taught the older boys and girls. I remember being told not to let myself down by crying when I was left in the classroom and I retained the required stoical demeanour. The day was enlivened when one of a set of twins took a rather different attitude to his first day in education, bursting into tears and making repeated determined efforts to run out of the classroom, presumably to get home. If memory serves me right that behaviour may have continued for a couple of days, but then memory is a fickle thing and becomes increasingly so with age. I have often been amazed at how elderly relatives were able to recount with astonishing accuracy events from their lives six or seven decades previously and yet be unable to retain the name of one of my children. Now that the years have crept up on me, such vagaries of memory seem entirely natural. On occasion I find myself desperately trying to snatch the name of a work colleague from the memory bank. I can visualise the person perfectly, can recall conversation with them, but find their name is always on the tip of my tongue but refusing to articulate itself. Another memory difficulty I have is recalling jokes. I have a friend who can rhyme off one-liners or Billy Connolly-esque monologues at the drop of a hat, but I have never acquired that skill. I need a prompt. Many times someone has said to me 'have you heard the one about ?' but it doesn't strike a chord. It is only when they have said the first couple of lines that the joke springs to the front of the brain and then I have to pretend it is the first time I have heard it, resulting in a somewhat hollow laugh at the punch line. We all marvel at the internet and the range of Wikipedia, but our memory is so much more sophisticated. No online search engine can recall the taste of a marvellous meal, the feelings when first meeting the love of your life, or the grief as life's vicissitudes intrude, but your memory can transport you back to each of those events, combining the events and the emotions. The loss of memory must be one of the greatest burdens imposed on a person - and their relatives. How often have we read of someone describing a relative with dementia as being just a shell, not the mother, father, brother or sister they knew all their life, but someone living in a world of their own in which they have no part to play. What a bitter memory that can leave. Lindy McDowell: I remember my baptism, I was 3 (its a long story), but I didnt feel comfortable at all My first memory is of being christened. Unsurprisingly, this is a bit of a disjointed memory. I remember marble steps and people staring at me. I remember the feeling of something momentous happening and me being central to it. And not being at all comfortable with any of this. I was a shy child. I really didn't like all those people looking at me. Which is maybe why the scene stayed in my mind. When I was about 10 I discussed this odd memory with my mother. What could it be about? "That would have been you being christened," she told me. "But aren't you just a baby when you get christened?" I asked. "You weren't." It turns out I was about three at the time - which would explain a crucial detail of this flashback. Unlike most people, I walked to the baptismal font under my own steam. I remember going up the marble steps and kneeling on one of those ornate wee knee cushions they have in churches. It's a long story. My originally Presbyterian father basically didn't do church. Ironically, as a stonemason he spent a lifetime working on them. Churches of all denominations - Presbyterian, Church of Ireland, Catholic, Methodist... Even more ironically, for some of the smaller jobs where he helped out in his spare time, they paid him in Bibles. He attended churches for funerals and weddings (although sometimes under duress when it came to the latter) but that was about the height of it. He and my mother were living near his own - quite religious - parents in Co Antrim when my older brother was born. So my brother got christened around that time. But by the time I came along my parents were living in my mother's native south Derry and my da no longer bothered with church. My mother, originally Church of Ireland, was attending the local Presbyterian church. The cleric in charge there, however, refused to christen me without my father in attendance. This stand-off rumbled on until the twins were born. One of my sisters nearly died as a baby and was christened in hospital. My mother now decided it was time to have myself and my other sister attended to as well. She asked the local Church of Ireland clergyman, who said he'd be happy to perform the service - with or without our father in attendance. We were duly christened during an evening service when there were fewer people in the congregation. But still, obviously, an intimidating experience for poor, shy me. Which is possibly why it stayed in my memory. Do I remember it clearly still? Put it like this, I do remember remembering it. I've still got that hazy sense of the cushion, the marble steps... and all those big people looking at me. And so I agree, sort of, with the findings of the research that we can't really remember back to before the age of two. But who knows for sure? What stays in the mind, you would think, would be a clear recollection of the major milestones in your young life. But what I recall from my earliest years are lone, jigsaw pieces of scents and scenes and taste and touch. Short flickering video clips of days long gone, dappled with a sunlight that was maybe never as strong as it seemed then, and a wraparound sense of love that I know was. I remember watching my lovely granny Katie with her white, white hair scraped back in a bun bending over the griddle on the range. I can clearly see her flicking the hot farls over with her fingers, and hear the hollow echo as she tapped them to check if they were ready. I can smell them. I can almost taste them. I remember when I was very young my mother taking me out to show me the northern lights. I can remember the glory of the aurora borealis, yes. But more than that, I remember her that night. Her awe and wonder. She was a great one for astronomical and historical occasion, my mother. "Look at this. You'll remember this when you're old..." What I really remember from those early, early years is a cosy sense of love and warmth, occasional wonder and the odd flash of fear. I remember crying in despair when my cat ran into a bed of nettles. I thought she'd be badly stung. I can still feel my childish panic - and my anger at adult assurance that she'd be grand, when I knew full well she'd be covered in the same warbles I was when I fell into the same venomous patch of weeds. Memory is an odd thing. An illogical thing. Yet those flitting fragments of yesterday we carry with us are in some ways more potent than any photograph or recording. The great thing is, they don't just take us back to a time. They take us back to people. Those we loved who have long since passed on. But are still there, so vital and so real - and just one fond, flickering memory away. Study suggests total recall may just be our imagination A total of 6,641 people were asked about their first recollection in the largest ever study on early memory. Participants were told the memory should not be linked to photos of themselves, a family story, or any other source, only direct experience. The authors said 60% of first memories were from the average age of 3.24 years - matching research showing this is when we develop the mental faculties to form memories. But nearly 39% of people - 2,487 - claimed to have memories from between the ages of one and two. And 893 said their first memory was from their first year - an 'astonishingly' high number, say the authors. These included 'the first time I walked', 'wanting to tell my mother something before I could talk', and 'the first word I spoke'. Researchers say impossibly early memories may result from a need for older people to 'complete' the story of their life. Professor Martin Conway, of City, University of London and co-author of the paper, said: "When we looked through the responses from participants we found a lot of these first memories were frequently related to infancy, and a typical example would be a memory based around a pram. "For this person, this type of memory could have resulted from someone saying something like 'mother had a large green pram'. The person then imagines what it would have looked like. "Crucially, the person remembering them doesn't know this is fictional. In fact when people are told that their memories are false they often don't believe it. "It's not until we're five or six that we form adult-like memories, due to the way that the brain develops." A golden triangle of coffee houses, bars, restaurants and takeaways has emerged in that space between Belfast city centre's Dublin Road and Great Victoria Street. Among the mish-mash of businesses - including a mechanic's garage in Ventry Lane, a drone-filming firm, a chemist, Tesco Metro and the Chest, Heart and Stroke building - a range of small eating and drinking places has blossomed like Alpine plants on rocky ground. From the hugely popular Slum's curry burrito place on Bruce Street, up to the Tao noodle bar on Dublin Road, there are great bars, including Filthy McNasty's and the Points, one of Belfast's best Chinese, the Joy Inn, and Archana, a pukka Indian restaurant which majors on vegetarian dishes, and a new artisan pizzeria, Bella Vita. Kitch, just up the street, is also a good, informal lunchtime bistro. It's no wonder the Dublin Road is still called the Golden Mile (Back in the dark, olden days there was La Belle Epoque, which was famous for its allumette chips and long afternoons drinking cheap Beaujolais). And no matter how much commercial development has headed downtown to the Cathedral Quarter, the Dublin Road holds on to the title and keeps on truckin'. It's still delivering the goods. Better still, it has a number of tiny surprises which have taken hold in recent months. I have chosen three of these to recommend as stops on a very economical walking tour (under a tenner), allowing you to enjoy a course, or a drink, in each. The benefit of this approach to your lunch hour is, of course, the exercise, but do not be alarmed: the distances between the three venues amount to barely 200 yards. Start with Chick'n Lick'n on the Dublin Road, a fast-food joint which is spotlessly clean, independent and very friendly. A peri-peri chicken burger meal for 5.49 (sitting in) will set you up for the afternoon. The marinated fillet is moist and tender, spiced up with some chilli onions and with strong hints of Middle Eastern flavours. The only weak spot is the cheap bap, which doesn't have the robustness to maintain shape until the last bite. But never mind that, because Chick'n Lick'n is an unexpectedly relaxing place, thanks to the clever seating and creation of intimate corners and areas. I notice many foreign students like to go there. This is possibly because of its international airport feel, neutral on the one hand, but designed to be pleasant for a short while, long enough to finish your chips and Coke. Following this, you step across the Dublin Road and walk a few steps up to Bankmore, a tiny street corner counter creaking under the weight of cakes and pies beneath which, in the glass-fronted chill cabinet, are various sandwiches and bits and bobs to create your own. I don't suggest you follow your chicken burger with a ham and swiss focaccia with mushrooms combo, accompanied by the day's soup; rather, go for the banana cake. It's a French-style cake, closer to a flan, rich, thick in texture and incredibly tasty (and filling). The coffee here is decent and there are small stools and even seats outside if you really want to park yourself. Next is the Vietnamese Coffee Company, which will require you to walk down Harmony Street and on to Downshire Place to get to Great Victoria Street. Here you will find the quirky, bright little interior, cleverly disguised as a Saigon shebeen and staffed by two brothers who, after a 10-day holiday in the country, came home, invested their redundancy money in the place and created a very cosy and good-quality cafe. Here, they will make Banh Mi sandwiches just as you will find them over there, a lovely fusion of French baguette and Vietnamese pickled things, chicken, ham and so on. But it's the coffee which requires your attention. As the Moroccans do tea and the Turks do coffee, the Vietnamese approach is rich and evocative, featuring sweet condensed milk and ice. The coffee here is authentic high-grade Vietnamese-grown arabica. Afficionados rave about the coffee ice-cream and the "cafe da", iced black coffee, and I can vouch for its addictive qualities. These are three little gems. Your friends and family will be dead impressed when you take them there. Guaranteed. The bill Spicy chicken goujons meal in Chickn Lickn 5.49 Banana cake in Bankmore Cafe 2 Cafe Da, Vietnamese Coffee Co 2.50 Total 9.99 Julie Graham has learnt some acting jobs are particularly hard to let go. The Scottish actress says she and pal Martin Clunes are always plotting ways to bring back William and Mary, the much-loved drama they starred in together in the early noughties. Meanwhile, she jumped at the chance to revive another memorable role - as crime-solver Jean in The Bletchley Circle, which is returning with a US-set spin-off series. "We've proven that people want to watch women on television and they want to watch female-led shows," remarks Graham (52), who grew up in the town of Irvine, in Ayrshire, but now lives in Brighton. "Initially, when we did Bletchley, that was a huge hook because it was quite unusual. For that reason, we were disappointed that it didn't carry on but, you know, programmes come and go. "But then, to be able to revisit that, with new characters and new women and the whole fresh new storyline, was incredibly exciting." There's no denying the ITV drama, which last aired in 2014, also appeals because there's "not that many parts for women in their 50s". "Film is the worst - it's like we barely exist," suggests Graham, whose breakout role was Megan on At Home With The Braithwaites, another ITV hit. "And that's why all those fabulous film actors are turning to television. I think the more that happens, the better." When The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco starts, many years have passed since we last saw the women, but Jean is working in a library and living her same old life, while former colleague Millie (Rachael Stirling) is flitting around from job to job. Their adventure across the pond comes because, during their time working as codebreakers at Bletchley Park together in the Fifties, a young girl they both knew was murdered, which, Graham explains, "Jean always felt somehow responsible for". "Millie notices in San Francisco there's been a very similar, almost copycat, murder after all these years and she goes to Jean with the idea of investigating it," the actress elaborates. "She says, 'I've got a cousin in San Francisco - we could just go and kind of have a look'. So, Jean, eventually, is persuaded." Asked if she has anything in common with her character, mum-of-two Graham says: "I suppose we're both quite ballsy. I mean, she's ballsy in a different way - in an un-showy way. She reminds me of a lot of women that I grew up with: Scottish, Presbyterian, quite staid, quite, unemotional is the wrong word, but people who kept their counsel, were very wise and were people that you could go to." She adds affectionately: "I had an aunt Meg, whom I based Jean on. She was somebody you could go to with a problem and you just knew that she would solve it. I think Jean has got that kind of reliability." The new episodes of The Bletchley Circle were actually filmed in Vancouver, which Graham describes as a beautiful city. And she loved having her kids - Edie May was born in 2004 and Cyd Betty two years later - fly out to visit for a month. "It was hard not being there (at home)," she admits. "The time away filming was a little bit long. But FaceTime is a wonderful thing - it's a game-changer." Graham points out that, thanks to such a variety of TV channels these days, plus services like Netflix, her kids sometimes stumble across her old work. Then, the quick-witted star leans in to share a funny anecdote. "I was mortified the other day," she begins, a smile on her face. "I was in this series called Bugs and it was a, kind of, not very good spy programme; actually, it was terrible, let's be honest. I did one episode playing a car thief. Like most car thieves, I was in a catsuit and a pair of high heels. "That popped up at 11 'o'clock one night and Edie was wetting herself laughing. She was just going, 'Oh, mum, it's so bad! Look at you, what are you wearing?' "They (her daughters) are really lovely, they're really supportive. But they'll also tell you if they think it's c**p!" One show Graham's kids do love watching her in is ITV comedy Benidorm. She joined the cast in 2015 as the head of a new family, Sheron Dawson - a character she loves, because she's just so "outrageous". "Also, it was just so refreshing to read," she recalls of the script. "It was the first time in my whole career that I've played a woman that's my age who's got young children." Graham filmed her first series of Benidorm the same year her husband, actor Joseph Bennett, died. The pair met while appearing in a play together in 2001, and married a year later. And the star confides she's always found work to be cathartic, no matter what's going on in her personal life. "If you go through tough times, work is always a tonic, I think, for most people," she notes. "I just happen to be able to do something that I really love, and when you're in a good place, working is just a bonus. "I love to work and this working-mum thing, I never feel guilty about it, because I want to set an example, especially because I've got daughters, to let them see that that's what the real world is - you have to work. "I've always said to them, 'I don't care what you do, just do something you love and do something you can do anywhere in the world'. Those are my only two pieces of advice." The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco, ITV, Wednesday, 9pm The first thing I see when walking on to the set of Stan Lee's Lucky Man, Sky One's popular superhero drama, is two actors engaged in some serious martial arts. Given that I've travelled to Hong Kong to get a glimpse of the new series, this only seems appropriate - it's the home of Bruce Lee, after all. Entering a room decorated with ornate dragons, the fists and feet are flying like a scene from, er, Enter the Dragon. Meanwhile, items of heavyweight furniture are sailing across the splendiferous interior. This is The Jumbo Floating Restaurant, a huge, iconic six-storey barge which has previously played leading roles in movies such as Skyfall and Infernal Affairs 2. Our hero Harry Clayton (played by James Nesbitt) is being attacked by his dastardly nemesis, Samuel Blake (Rupert Penry-Jones), a dementedly driven villain who is immune to pain. Blake is pursuing him to the ends of the earth in order to steal the bracelet which endows Clayton with his particular superpower: that he is always lucky. From the impeccably mannered Captain Wentworth in Persuasion and the upstanding MI5 agent Adam in Spooks to the elegant QC Clive Reader in Silk and the righteous DI Chandler in Whitechapel, Penry-Jones has "previous" in playing chiselled good guys. So it is a neat thought to cast him as the charismatic psychopath in Stan Lee's Lucky Man, the third series of which began on Sky One last night. Taking a breather on one of the seats that has just been turned the right way up again after the fight, Penry-Jones explains that it was this idea of "no more Mr Nice Guy" which drew him to the character of Blake. Sporting a black V-neck T-shirt, khaki shorts and immaculately swept-back blonde hair, the 47-year-old actor explains: "I've always wanted to play a baddie. I'm used to being the good guy, so I wanted to be the bad guy here. I could be as charming as possible to begin with and then gradually become more and more psychotic." The actor, who in person brings all of that charm and none of that psychosis, is slowly getting his breath back, and continues: "Playing a baddie is an absolute joy. You're able to dig out all those things about yourself which you try to hide in the rest of your life. What's especially fun is to play someone who is doing innately bad things, but nevertheless believes he is doing the right thing. "Nobody believes they are in the wrong. As far as he's concerned, he is the good guy and everyone else has got it wrong." Throughout this third series of Lucky Man, which is based on characters created by the comic book legend Stan Lee, Blake and Clayton are locked in an exhilarating fight to the death. The two characters are linked by an aura of superhero invincibility. Penry-Jones says: "How do you beat someone who doesn't feel pain? And how do you beat someone who is always lucky? Blake and Clayton are two sides of the same coin. They're both charming - it's a real charm-off between them. Also, the parents of both men died in fires, so Blake and Clayton are both forged in the flames." Gazing out from the Jumbo Floating Restaurant over Hong Kong, a teeming harbour fringed by some of the most valuable real estate in the world, Penry-Jones reflects on how visiting a country like this is one of the perks of the job. "Spending time in Hong Kong was one of the big selling points for me. It's been absolutely fascinating to be here and have the opportunity to dip your toe into such a different culture." Penry-Jones, whose wife, actress Dervla Kirwan, has quite by chance also been filming the ITV drama Strangers in Hong Kong at the same time, continues: "I've never been anywhere like this before. It's an incredible melange of Western and Chinese cultures. You could never replicate this vibrancy in a studio in London." The actor, who has two children with Kirwan, has been travelling quite a bit of late. He has just returned from three years in Toronto, where he was starring as Mr Quinlan, an ancient half-vampire alien with a melted face, in The Strain. This is Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro's acclaimed American TV series about an evil strain of vampirism threatening to destroy New York City. Funnily enough, being encased in such major prosthetics only added to the appeal; the actor was attracted to the idea of vanishing behind an entirely different face. "I was getting stuck with the same roles, and people were getting sick of me," he says. "I felt I was trapped in shows like Whitechapel and Silk where I was all suited and booted. Producers wouldn't think of me as anything apart from policemen or lawyers. "So I wanted to do something different, and you don't get more different than a half-breed vampire who is over a thousand years old." With a wry grin, he admits that after a short while spending several hours a day in the make-up chair, he began to regret the decision. "But in the end, it was great working with the new face. I do feel that I disappeared behind the mask of Mr Quinlan. I discovered that the less I did, the better. I didn't have to do much work as Mr Quinlan - the face did it all for me." Penry-Jones adds: "Guillermo Del Toro comes with a certain amount of weight, and to work on a show run by him was great. I don't know if I would have got this part as Blake if I hadn't done The Strain." The actor closes by underlining how playing the character of Blake in Lucky Man has fulfilled many of his childhood fantasies. "It's real Boys' Own stuff. Every day I'm doing something really fun. We just shot a scene where I'm on a speedboat firing a machine gun at people. If the producers had told me that I was just doing that scene, it would have been enough to convince me to sign up." Penry-Jones concludes that, "Blake is one of those characters who has all the best bits without having to explain to the audience what's going on or do any exposition. He's constantly blowing people up, beating people up or shooting people. It's perfect". Stan Lee's Lucky Man, Sky One, Friday, 9pm Theresa May gestures as she delivers a speech on Brexit at the Waterfront Hall Theresa May has pledged that her Brexit plan will work for Northern Ireland and promised that her government won't wash its hands of efforts to avoid a hard border. Speaking in Belfast yesterday, the Prime Minister said the EU must "evolve" its Brexit position and not rely on unworkable proposals if the negotiations are to move forward. Read More Addressing business and political leaders in the Waterfront Hall, Mrs May said her White Paper offered a viable solution that honours the Good Friday Agreement, delivers on the referendum result, and benefits the UK economy. The Prime Minister also said she regretted that Northern Ireland had been without an Executive for 18 months and she called for a fresh round of talks to restore power-sharing. But she stressed that her government would not impose an agreement as any deal had to be reached by the local parties. Mrs May referred to the importance of the Union several times and said she wanted it to endure "for generations to come". In a speech well-received by the DUP, she said: "A government I lead will never be neutral in our support for the Union. We will always make the case for it." DUP leader Arlene Foster, UUP leader Robin Swann, SDLP deputy leader Nichola Mallon, and Alliance leader Naomi Long all attended the event. Mrs May was asked by the Belfast Telegraph for her views on DUP MP Ian Paisley's failure to disclose two luxurious holidays paid for by the Sri Lankan government, and if she was worried that his likely 30-day suspension from the House of Commons would cost her a key ally in knife-edge Brexit votes. She answered neither question directly, saying it was up to the House to decide Mr Paisley's punishment. She said her confidence and supply deal with the DUP was "delivering key decisions that are important across the whole UK". On the political stalemate at Stormont, Mrs May said: "It is a matter of frustration and regret that after enjoying the longest period of unbroken devolved government since the 1960s, Northern Ireland has now been without a fully functioning executive for over 18 months. "I want to see the Assembly and the Executive back, taking decisions on behalf of all of the people of Northern Ireland. They deserve no less." The Prime Minister said that current PSNI Deputy Chief Constable, Drew Harris, who is shortly to become Garda Commissioner, was "an amazing symbol of the progress made over the last 20 years". She said: "We will continue to work with our friends in the Irish government, who have been our close partners in that progress including at next week's British and Irish inter-governmental conference." Turning to Brexit, Mrs May reiterated her commitment to ensuring there was no hard border. "You only have to speak to businesses near the border, as I did yesterday, to see that the notion of a hard border is almost inconceivable," she said. "Thousands of people who cross and re-cross between the UK and Ireland in the normal course of their daily lives cannot be subject to a hard border as they go to work, visit a neighbour, or go to the supermarket. Neither would it be feasible for firms whose supply and distribution chains span the border." Mrs May said people living along the border remembered the customs border posts and security installations, and "disruption caused to lives and livelihoods". Any form of border infrastructure was "an alien concept", Mrs May said. She acknowledged that "no technology solution to address these issues has been designed yet, or implemented anywhere in the world, let alone in such a unique and highly sensitive context as the Northern Ireland border". In a clear reference to supporters of a hard Brexit, Mrs May said some argued that the UK should just declare it won't impose any border checks after Brexit and if the EU requires the Irish government to do so, the blame will lie with Dublin. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Prime Minister Theresa May during her speech at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast. Photo credit: Charles McQuillan/PA Wire PA Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Arlene Foster listens as Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May delivers a keynote speech on Brexit at Waterfront Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on July 20, 2018. With a trip to Northern Ireland this week, May began a tour of Britain to convince voters to back her blueprint for close economic ties with the bloc after Brexit next March. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / Charles McQuillanCHARLES MCQUILLAN/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Prime Minister Theresa May during her speech at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast where she urged the European Union to "evolve" its position on Brexit and not fall back on "unworkable" ideas. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday July 20, 2018. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Charles McQuillan/PA Wire PA Prime Minister Theresa May during her speech at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast where she urged the European Union to "evolve" its position on Brexit and not fall back on "unworkable" ideas. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday July 20, 2018. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Charles McQuillan/PA Wire PA BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 20: Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May (C) talks with people from the Belfast Youth Forum during her visit to the Crescent Arts Centre on July 20, 2018 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With a trip to Northern Ireland this week, May began a tour of Britain to convince voters to back her blueprint for close economic ties with the bloc after Brexit next March. (Photo by Paul Faith - WPA Pool/Getty Images) Getty Images BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 20: Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May (C) talks with people from the Belfast Youth Forum during her visit to the Crescent Arts Centre on July 20, 2018 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With a trip to Northern Ireland this week, May began a tour of Britain to convince voters to back her blueprint for close economic ties with the bloc after Brexit next March. (Photo by Paul Faith - WPA Pool/Getty Images) Getty Images BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 20: Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May (3L) talks with people from the Belfast Youth Forum during her visit to the Crescent Arts Centre on July 20, 2018 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With a trip to Northern Ireland this week, May began a tour of Britain to convince voters to back her blueprint for close economic ties with the bloc after Brexit next March. (Photo by Paul Faith - WPA Pool/Getty Images) Getty Images Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Crescent Arts Centre in Belfast. Credit: PA. PA Protestors call for the Irish language to be recognised outside the Crescent Arts Centre in Belfast, Northern Ireland, ahead of the arrival of Prime Minister Theresa May. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday July 20, 2018. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Protesters voice their concerns about gay marriage and the Irish border outside the Crescent Arts Centre in Belfast. Pic: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Mrs May speaks to workers at the factory PA Mrs May speaks to workers at the factory PA Prime Minister Theresa May (left) and Arlene Foster, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Pic: Clodagh Kilcoyne/PA Wire PA Prime Minister Theresa May and DUP leader Arlene Foster visit Belleek Pottery in Co Fermanagh yesterday Getty Images Mrs May is greeted by Mrs Foster after her arrival PA Prime Minister Theresa May arrives for a visit to the Belleek pottery factory PA A man holds a sign saying customs stop written in both English and Irish as Theresa May leaves PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Prime Minister Theresa May during her speech at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast. Photo credit: Charles McQuillan/PA Wire "This is wrong . . . this issue arises because of a decision we have taken. We can't solve it on our won, but nor can we wash our hands of any responsibility for it. So we must work together to solve it." Mrs May said a seamless border was a "foundation stone" of the Good Friday Agreement. A new border "that cuts Northern Ireland off from the rest of the UK" was as unacceptable as a hard border, she added. The free trade deal on offer from the EU excluding Northern Ireland and "creating a border within the UK" was a non-runner, the Prime Minister said. She claimed her white paper worked for both the UK and the EU and offered "a principled and practical Brexit". "It delivers on the referendum result. It takes back control of our borders, with an end to free movement," she said. "The whole of the UK will be outside the customs union and single market, free to sign trade deals with countries around the world. "It will also protect and strengthen our Union by ensuring there is no hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland and no border in the UK," she added. The Government and unionists yesterday rejected Leo Varadkar's claim that British aircraft could be barred from the Republic's airspace in the event of a no deal Brexit. A Downing Street spokeswoman said that so-called "overflight rights" are guaranteed by international treaties rather than EU membership, and that the UK was confident of reaching a deal that included "aviation access". She added: "It's wrong to claim that Ireland could simply stop the UK from flying over its land as a result of Brexit. "The reason we say that is because overflight rights are not guaranteed by the EU, rather by multilateral treaty which both ourselves and Ireland have signed up to." Speaking in Co Kerry on Wednesday, Mr Varadkar said a no deal Brexit would see Britain leave the Single European Sky programme, which co-ordinates flights, adding: "If they want their planes to fly over our sky, they would need to take that into account." He added: "The situation at the moment is that the UK is part of the Single European Sky and if they leave the EU they are not. "And that does mean if there was a no deal hard Brexit next March, the planes would not fly and Britain would be an island in many ways - and that is something they need to think about." East Antrim DUP MP Sammy Wilson accused Dublin of "dreaming up new ways of intimidating the UK to stay in the EU". He said the Taoiseach might think his "Brit-bashing" helped in his domestic electoral rivalry with Sinn Fein, and that his pro-EU rhetoric would ingratiate him with Brussels. "However, like the SDLP, he will find out that wearing Sinn Fein clothes only plays to the electoral advantage of Sinn Fein and he will also find that as they have done with Greece, the bureaucrats in Brussels will regard a small nation like Ireland as collateral damage if they believe it is necessary to sacrifice their interests in the wider pursuit of protecting the European project," Mr Wilson added. TUV leader Jim Allister pointed out that the Irish Government had recently signed an agreement to allow the RAF to operate over the Republic in the event of a terrorist attack. He said: "Given that the Irish state is dependent on the RAF for its air defence in the event of a terrorist attack, it is obviously exceedingly unwise for Varadkar to pompously and arrogantly suggest that Dublin could deny civilian aircraft from the UK access to Irish airspace. "It seems he wants to have his cake and eat it." Trade body Airlines UK said good aviation links were "vital to the continuing success and growth of both the UK economy and that of our EU counterparts". A spokesman added: "The sector brings value to both sides of the negotiation. That's the whole point, aviation is an economic enabler, not a British or EU export. "Airlines continue to support the UK Government in reaching a deal that protects market access to, from and within the EU and - like all air service agreements - can be split off from the main trade deal. "As the third largest aviation market in the world we believe this will be in the interests of EU countries like Ireland as much as the UK." A man who owes his life to the Northern Ireland Air Ambulance has paid tribute to the highly-trained helicopter medic team who raced to save him after a car crash in 2017. Tom Hadden, from Eglish, Co Tyrone, is now nine months into rehabilitation after he was injured in a serious road traffic collision last November. Read More This week the air ambulance celebrated its first year of operation, in which it flew 380 emergency missions - and Mr Hadden is full of praise for the life-saving team. "It's been a long and ongoing road to recovery," he said. "I owe great thanks to the air ambulance team, as without the initial intervention it could have been a very different ending for me. "I would also like to acknowledge the work of all the medical staff and teams in my recovery." Mr Hadden wanted to give something back to the crew who'd rushed him to hospital. "About six months after the accident, my family and I organised a fundraiser as a gesture of thanks to the air ambulance and we raised 7,000. "We were thrilled to see how the community came together in recognising the importance of this vital service." From its base near Lisburn, the air ambulance can reach any part of Northern Ireland in approximately twenty-five minutes. Its primary role is to deliver advanced critical care, benefiting those whose lives are at serious risk following significant injury or trauma, by bringing urgent medical assistance directly to the patient at the scene. Clinical lead for the team, Dr Darren Monaghan, said: "Working alongside our road crew colleagues, we are able to attend patients critically injured as a result of major trauma, for example road traffic collisions, falls from heights, or serious agricultural injuries. "During the first year, our team have been able to reach hundreds of patients - be it at the roadside, farmyard or even the city centre, providing clinical interventions and life-saving medical treatment at the scene and in the air. "We know that patients are alive today due to the care we provide in conjunction with the whole health service. "We'd like to say a huge thank you to the population of Northern Ireland for their support and donations which allow this lifesaving service to continue. Also paying tribute to the air ambulance team on the anniversary was John McMullan, whose son Conor (12) was the first patient to benefit from the air ambulance service on July 22, 2017, after it was scrambled to help the young lad who'd been injured in a farm accident. Mr McMullan said yesterday: "We are one year on from a day that could have had a very different outcome had it not been for a service that I, like many others at that time, had no knowledge of and which I can now say with confidence played a critical role in saving the life of my eldest son, Conor." In its first year, farming incidents accounted for 10% of air ambulance call-outs, the Health & Safety Executive for NI revealed yesterday. HSENI chief executive Keith Morrison urged farmers to make safety their priority. "The majority of serious injuries and deaths on our farms are caused by slurry, animals, falls or equipment," he said. "The air ambulance and our other emergency services save lives and reduce the impact of the most serious injuries. "We would appeal to the farming community to consider the risks you are taking on a daily basis. "Please 'Stop and Think SAFE' before starting any job on a farm," he said. "The air ambulance is a vital emergency service - but please do whatever you can to avoid it having to land anywhere near your farm." Stephen McGivern and Julie-Ann Burns hold the stump of the apple tree Belfast business partners who plant fruit trees to help feed the homeless have been left baffled after one was cut down deliberately. Furniture shop owner Stephen McGivern (37) and Julie-Ann Burns (44) co-founded the not-for-profit Free Food For All initiative. But they were left devastated and bewildered when they went to water a newly-planted apple tree in Carryduff on Thursday. "I have no idea who would want to fell an apple tree that has been loved so much and maintained with great care," Mr McGivern said. "I almost shed a tear when I came across the scene. "It has been hacked down and uprooted sometime between Saturday and Thursday, just months after it was planted." Ms Burns expressed disbelief over the "senseless" act of sabotage. "Why anyone would want to do this, and go to so much effort, is beyond me," she said. Mr McGivern is convinced that whoever cut the tree down knew what they were doing. "I have been told by a landscaper that this was the work of a professional," he said. "We are just totally appalled at this act." It is a blow to the pair's ethical vision of utilising nature to bring communities together and help the hungry. "We want people to nurture these plants and care for them," he said. "Our hope is that people will start requesting trees and get on board so that everyone will be able to enjoy going out to pick the most delicious fruit for free, especially the homeless." The project is rooted in what Mr McGivern said was a spiritual awakening that followed a drunken fight on board a boat on the River Shannon that eventually saw him pitch up in Co Cavan, where he stumbled across Jampa Ling, a Tibetan Buddhist meditation centre that he says changed his life. "I used to be so busy and stressed out pursuing money, but I didn't really know why," he explained. "Buddhism has transformed my life and given me a deep love of nature and now I tell anyone who will listen. This project is just my way of giving back because that's what Buddhism is all about." The duo plan to develop an online app that will map the location of fresh produce, inform users when fruit is ripe, and allow them to share recipes. They have recently reached out to the Islamic community in the hope of dedicating a tree to Muslims living in Northern Ireland. "The response has been so positive, they think it's a brilliant idea," Mr McGivern said. And he added: "We are like the Banksy of Belfast, but with trees - we just hope that this concept blossoms." A flight from Belfast to Turkey was grounded in Germany after a passenger became rowdy. (Thomas Cook/PA) A flight from Belfast to Turkey was grounded in Germany due to a disruptive passenger. The Thomas Cook Airlines flight was travelling from Belfast to Dalaman on Thursday evening, when it was required to make a stop in Munich. It was shortly before midnight when the plane touched down at Munich International Airport. A spokesman for Thomas Cook apologised for any inconvenience caused to customers. He said: "The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our first priority. "On July 19, flight MT850 from Belfast to Dalaman was diverted to Munich due to a disruptive passenger. "The flight continued to Dalaman and arrived at 1.58am local time. "We are very sorry for the delay and inconvenience caused to our customers." It is understood that upon arrival in Munich police boarded the aircraft and the disruptive passenger was taken into custody by German police. A convicted paedophile will be sentenced next month for breaching yet another sexual offences prevention order (SOPO). James White appeared at Belfast Crown Court where he pleaded guilty to two charges of accessing the internet using his Samsung mobile phone "without prior approval by his designated risk manager" between September and October last year. No details surrounding his latest SOPO breaches were given to the court. The 48-year-old - who has an address at a hostel on Belfast's Antrim Road - was remanded back into custody. Previously it was reported that White's whereabouts had been unknown for almost a year after he left an approved address without permission. A flight from Belfast to Turkey was grounded in Germany after a passenger became rowdy. (Thomas Cook/PA) A flight from Belfast to Turkey was grounded in Germany after a passenger became rowdy. The Thomas Cook Airlines flight was travelling from Belfast to Dalaman on Thursday evening, when it was required to make a stop in Munich due to the disruptive passenger. It was shortly before midnight when the plane touched down at Munich International Airport. A spokesman for Thomas Cook: "The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our first priority. "On July 19, flight MT850 from Belfast to Dalaman was diverted to Munich due to a disruptive passenger. "The flight continued to Dalaman and arrived at 1.58am local time. We are very sorry for the delay and inconvenience caused to our customers." It is understood that upon arrival in Munich police boarded the aircraft and the disruptive passenger was taken into custody by German police. The incident happened in the Ballyrawer Avenue area in the early hours of Friday. Detectives in Bangor are appealing for information following the report of a burglary at a house in the Carrowdore area on Friday. Detective Constable Armstrong said: We received a report at around 1.50pm that entry had been gained to the property in the Ballyrawer Avenue area. A sum of money was reported stolen. Its believed this occurred sometime between 11am that morning and the time it was reported to us. I am appealing to anyone with information about this incident, or who may have been in the area of Main Street or Ballyrawer Avenue in Carrowdore between 11am and 1pm and saw anything suspicious to contact detectives in Bangor quoting reference number 715 of 20/07/18. Or, if someone would prefer to provide information without giving their details they can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers and speak to them anonymously on 0800 555 111. DUP leader Arlene Foster with the partys 10 MPs outside the Houses of Parliament in London. Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said the DUP will not take a "lynch mob" approach to disciplinary proceedings against Ian Paisley after the MP was found to have broken parliamentary standards. The Lagan Valley MP did say he would support Mr Paisley in any by-election, if he was selected as the DUP candidate. It comes as party officers met on Saturday to discuss the matter on what sanctions it will hand down to the politician. A decision is not expected for some time. Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said it was only right Mr Paisley be given a fair hearing. "We are a democratic party," he told the BBC, "the clue is in the name." The North Antrim MP faces a suspension from the House of Commons for 30 sitting days for accepting lavish family holidays from the Sri Lankan government. The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner found he had breached rules on paid advocacy on behalf of the government, declaring the holidays and on registering his interests in the affairs of the South Asian state. In an at-times emotional address in parliament, Mr Paisley apologised for his "total failure" to properly declare the holidays which he estimated to cost around 50,000. Read More In the past week, Mr Paisley has faced growing calls to quit as well as the possibility of a by-election. DUP party officers are meeting on Saturday to consider the matter. DUP chief whip Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said the case demonstrated how effectively standards arrangements in the Commons worked. He was asked if the party "should just kick him out". "We are a democratic party, the clue is in our name," he responded. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close The Paisley family at home in 1988. From left to right Ian Junior, Cherith, Rhonda, Kyle. Pic Pacemaker Ian Paisley hurdles a fence during canvassing for 2010 election. Pic Charles McQuillan Pacemaker Ian Paisley with Donald Trump. The North Antrim MP has supported the US president. Ian Paisley and Ian jnr eating buns in the campaign trail in March 1982. Ian Paisley at the Seven Towers Leisure Centre in Ballymena after retaining his seat in the 2015 general election Kevin Scott / Presseye Ian Paisley junior left pictured with his father during the Drumcree stand off in 1996. PACEMAKER BELFAST 15/04/98 Ian Paisley MP at a Remembrance Day commemoration in Kenya Pacemaker Belfast - Archive Ian Paisley Jnr with "Justice for the UDR Four " at his Ravenhill office. 19-12-90 1053-90-BWC Ian with Arlene Foster after she was made DUP party leader 9 / 6 / 17 PACEMAKER PRESS Ian Paisley Jr celebrates with his son Matthew and wife Fiona after winning his seat for North Antrim in the UK Parliamentary Elections. PICTURE MATT BOHILL PACEMAKER PRESS Ian Paisley Jnr, whose father founded the DUP in 1971, says, 'everybody hates us but we've got the cash' [Photo: Marc McKormick, www.independent.co.uk] Ian Paisley with his late father. Credit: Stephen Davidson/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST. Ian Paisley and Ian Junior in Studio. 16/8/94. 704/94/bwc PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 14/1/2011: Ian Paisley Junior pictured at the Adelaide Racer awards at the Ramada hotel PICTURE BY CHARLES MCQUILLAN Paisley with Miss North West 200 Jillian Frew 3/5/2010. PACEMAKER BELFAST. IAN PAISLEY JR POSES FOR THE OFFICIAL ELECTION ARTIST, SIMON ROBERTS WHILST CANVESSING IN THE COUNTRYSIDE OUTSIDE BALLYMENA THIS AFTERNOON. PICTURE CHARLES MCQUILLAN/PACEMAKER. Pacemaker Press Belfast 22-03-2013: Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Jr, MP is the Member of Parliament for North Antrim and member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for the Democratic Unionist Party and an author. He is the son of the DUP's founder and former leader, Ian Paisley. Picture By: Arthur Allison. Ian Paisley Jr met Amari Wijewardene, the Sri Lankan High Commissioner, in Parliament to discuss a post-Brexit trade deal PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2018: North Antrim MP, Ian Paisley at motorcycle racer William Dunlop's funeral at Garryduff Presbyterian church outside Ballymoney. Dunlop was killed in a crash during practice for the Skerries 100. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER BELFAST 20/04/2017 Ian Paisley speaks to the Irish Times at Stormont Hotel in Belfast, about his father. Photo Colm Lenaghan/ Pacemaker Press Ian discusses the legacy of his father Photo Colm Lenaghan/ Pacemaker Press Ian Paisley Getty Images Pacemaker Belfast 18-06-2007: Junior Minister Ian Paisley Junior pictured at photocall at Stormont where ministers were encouraging people to cycle to work. PACEMAKER BELFAST. Copy pics from the book about the early years of the life of Ian Paisley. 13/8/86. 1197/86/bw PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 8/5/2015:DUP's Ian Paisley celebrates his victory in the North Antrim constituency count in Ballymena . PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON A picture posted by Ian Paisley (right) of Arron Banks (second left), Sammy Wilson (second right) and Leave.EU campaigner Andy Wigmore Pacemaker press 21/4/15 The Democratic Unionist Party MP Ian paisley Junior launches election manifesto at Wrightbus in Co Antrim. Picture Mark Marlow/pacemaker press Paisley with Melania Trump Ian Paisley Junior PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 8/5/2015:DUP's Ian Paisley celebrates his victory in the North Antrim constituency count in Ballymena . PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON DUP's Ian Paisley celebrates victory in the North Antrim constituency count in Ballymena in the May 2015 General Election. Picture Stephen Davison Pacemaker 8/5/2015. PACEMAKER BELFAST. Ian Paisley and Ian Jnr. PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 8/5/2015: DUP's Ian Paisley celebrates his victory in the North Antrim constituency count in Ballymena by singing the National Anthem. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 8/5/2015: Ian Paisley arrives at the North Antrim constituency count in Ballymena with his wife, Fiona. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON 9 / 6 / 17 PACEMAKER PRESS Ian Paisley Jr celebrates winning his seat for North Antrim in the UK Parlimentary Elections. PICTURE MATT BOHILL PACEMAKER PRESS 3/5/2010. PACEMAKER BELFAST. IAN PAISLEY JR AND IAN PAISLEY SR IN HARRYVILLE, BALLYMENA. PICTURE CHARLES MCQUILLAN/PACEMAKER. Pacemaker Press 8/5/2017 DUP's Ian Paisley Jnr during the Launch of the DUP's General election campaign launch at the Castlereigh Hills Golf in East Belfast on Monday, ahead of the election on the 8th of June. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 8/5/2015:DUP's Ian Paisley celebrates his victory in the North Antrim constituency count in Ballymena . PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON Pacemaker Press: 22th December 2017: Ian Paisley Jr pictured with his new and old Passport Picture By: Arthur Allison. Ian Paisley Pacemaker Press Belfast 31-03-2014: Launch of North-West 200 road races at Titanic Belfast . Pictured at the launch Ian Paisley, Jr. and Arlene Foster, MLA Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment. PICTURE BY: STEPHEN DAVISON Pacemaker Press Belfast 31-03-2014: Launch of North-West 200 road races at Titanic Belfast .Pictured at the launch Ian Paisley, Jr. and Arlene Foster, MLA Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment. PICTURE BY: STEPHEN DAVISON 9 / 6 / 17 PACEMAKER PRESS Ian Paisley Jr celebrates winning his seat for North Antrim in the UK Parlimentary Elections. PICTURE MATT BOHILL PACEMAKER PRESS / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The Paisley family at home in 1988. From left to right Ian Junior, Cherith, Rhonda, Kyle. Pic Pacemaker Read More "This matter has been referred to our party officers. They will consider the report prepared by the standards committee and they will consider what has happened and they will come to a decision. "We are not going to get into some kind of lynch mob approach to this. Ian is entitled to have his case heard, he is entitled to fairness in that respect. "We have our internal procedures... you wouldn't expect me to pre-empt those." Read More Sir Jeffrey said the behaviour of Mr Paisley was not acceptable. "Of course it isn't and Ian has accepted that in the apology he gave in the Commons, of course it is unacceptable. "I think what this case demonstrates is that the standards arrangements we have in place in the house of commons do actually work." On the possibility of a by-election, Sir Jeffrey was asked if he would campaign for Mr Paisley if he decided to run to retain his seat. "We are getting way ahead of us at this stage," he added. "If Ian is selected by the party, of course I will support the DUP candidate." Police have appealed for information Fuel pumps and a vending machine were damaged in an attack at a Belfast petrol station. The incident at the Rosetta Road business happened at around 1.15am on Saturday. Police are investigating the incident as criminal damage and have appealed for information. The funeral of Seaneen McCullough, a nurse who fell from a balcony while on holiday in Turkey last week took place withRequiem Mass in Corpus Christi Church, Ballymurphy, West Belfast. Matt Mackey, Presseye 21st July 2018 - Picture by Matt Mackey / PressEye.com The funeral of Seaneen McCullough, a nurse who fell from a balcony while on holiday in Turkey last week took place withRequiem Mass in Corpus Christi Church, Ballymurphy, West Belfast. Family, friends and colleagues gathered to pay their respects. 21st July 2018 - Picture by Matt Mackey / PressEye.com The funeral of Seaneen McCullough, a nurse who fell from a balcony while on holiday in Turkey last week took place withRequiem Mass in Corpus Christi Church, Ballymurphy, West Belfast. Family, friends and colleagues gathered to pay their respects. 21st July 2018 - Picture by Matt Mackey / PressEye.com The funeral of Seaneen McCullough, a nurse who fell from a balcony while on holiday in Turkey last week took place withRequiem Mass in Corpus Christi Church, Ballymurphy, West Belfast. Family, friends and colleagues gathered to pay their respects. 21st July 2018 - Picture by Matt Mackey / PressEye.com The funeral of Seaneen McCullough, a nurse who fell from a balcony while on holiday in Turkey last week took place withRequiem Mass in Corpus Christi Church, Ballymurphy, West Belfast. Family, friends and colleagues gathered to pay their respects. The funeral of Seaneen McCullough, a nurse who fell from a balcony while on holiday in Turkey last week took place withRequiem Mass in Corpus Christi Church, Ballymurphy, West Belfast. Family, friends and colleagues gathered to pay their respects. Pic: Matt Mackey / PressEye.com There was a large turnout for the funeral of Seaneen McCullough, the nurse who fell from a balcony while on holiday in Turkey last week. Seaneen had travelled with her son Eoin and partner Paul. She had worked at the Mater Hospital in Belfast. Requiem mass for the 37-year-old was held at Corpus Christi Church in Ballymurphy on Sunday. Scores of people turned out to pay their last respects with Belfast Trust nurses performing a guard of honour for Seaneen as her coffin was carried into the church. On Monday friends and family of the "bright and bubbly" former pupil of St Louise's Comprehensive in west Belfast gathered in New Barnsley, where Seaneen lived. In a highly emotional speech, friend and organiser Rosaleen Lynass spoke fondly of her childhood friend and schoolmate. Another of Seaneen's friends, Colleen Catney, told the Andersonstown News of the moment they found out about their friend's passing. "We had a group chat and when we heard the news we were all wrecking our heads trying to think of what we could do to help the family during this difficult time," she said. Colleen and Rosaleen decided to start a JustGiving page to help her family with travel and funeral costs. Following Saturday's service by committal took place at Roselawn Crematorium. Ireland will be forced into living with the "hardest border in Europe" if the UK crashes out without a Brexit deal, a key ally of Angela Merkel has starkly warned. Major European countries will inevitably crank up pressure on the Republic on the issue amid growing fears that the border sticking points will scupper an orderly Brexit. Read More In a blunt warning detailing the catastrophe that lies ahead if a 'no deal' Brexit materialises, Joachim Pfeiffer painted a dire picture of the outcome. Mr Pfeiffer said Ireland would "have a border like we have a border with Ukraine or Belarus" as there would no longer be treaties in place with the UK that would ensure the rules and standards of the EU would be respected. Read More Speaking to the Irish Independent, he warned that while Germany was willing to help, it had its own domestic issues to resolve. "We cannot solve the problem between Ireland and Northern Ireland," added the economic and energy policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in Germany. Senior French sources have also told the newspaper that under a hard Brexit, Ireland is primarily accountable to the EU and its single market. Read More In a no deal Brexit scenario, the new EU-UK relationship would be inferior to the EU's relationship with Russia. Under World Trade Organisation rules, and as an EU member state, Ireland will be obliged to collect EU tariffs for goods coming in to the country from the UK. In addition, under the rules of the EU's single market, the Republic has a responsibility to protect the internal market from any unauthorised or substandard goods. "I don't know any other border countries which have no treaties with the EU," Mr Pfeiffer continued. "We have Norway, Switzerland and there are hundreds of treaties and rules in place there, and still there is a border." Turning to the western Balkans and Ukraine or Moldova, he added that "even with Russia we have some rules". A huge challenge lies ahead if the UK diverges from EU rules and regulations in order to fulfil any trade deals it eventually completes. "From this second (the UK leaves) they will be going in different directions," he warned. As the country at the frontline, the Republic will be obliged to prevent such substandard goods getting into the internal market. "There will be hourly changes - there will be divergence in every sector," said Mr Pfeiffer. "I don't see at the moment a solution in detail which addresses the open questions." He said that although the rest of Europe is still "hopeful" that a deal can be thrashed out, Ireland is just one of several member states facing turmoil. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Prime Minister Theresa May during her speech at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast. Photo credit: Charles McQuillan/PA Wire PA Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Arlene Foster listens as Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May delivers a keynote speech on Brexit at Waterfront Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on July 20, 2018. With a trip to Northern Ireland this week, May began a tour of Britain to convince voters to back her blueprint for close economic ties with the bloc after Brexit next March. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / Charles McQuillanCHARLES MCQUILLAN/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Prime Minister Theresa May during her speech at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast where she urged the European Union to "evolve" its position on Brexit and not fall back on "unworkable" ideas. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday July 20, 2018. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Charles McQuillan/PA Wire PA Prime Minister Theresa May during her speech at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast where she urged the European Union to "evolve" its position on Brexit and not fall back on "unworkable" ideas. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday July 20, 2018. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Charles McQuillan/PA Wire PA BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 20: Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May (C) talks with people from the Belfast Youth Forum during her visit to the Crescent Arts Centre on July 20, 2018 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With a trip to Northern Ireland this week, May began a tour of Britain to convince voters to back her blueprint for close economic ties with the bloc after Brexit next March. (Photo by Paul Faith - WPA Pool/Getty Images) Getty Images BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 20: Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May (C) talks with people from the Belfast Youth Forum during her visit to the Crescent Arts Centre on July 20, 2018 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With a trip to Northern Ireland this week, May began a tour of Britain to convince voters to back her blueprint for close economic ties with the bloc after Brexit next March. (Photo by Paul Faith - WPA Pool/Getty Images) Getty Images BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 20: Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May (3L) talks with people from the Belfast Youth Forum during her visit to the Crescent Arts Centre on July 20, 2018 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With a trip to Northern Ireland this week, May began a tour of Britain to convince voters to back her blueprint for close economic ties with the bloc after Brexit next March. (Photo by Paul Faith - WPA Pool/Getty Images) Getty Images Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Crescent Arts Centre in Belfast. Credit: PA. PA Protestors call for the Irish language to be recognised outside the Crescent Arts Centre in Belfast, Northern Ireland, ahead of the arrival of Prime Minister Theresa May. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday July 20, 2018. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Protesters voice their concerns about gay marriage and the Irish border outside the Crescent Arts Centre in Belfast. Pic: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Mrs May speaks to workers at the factory PA Mrs May speaks to workers at the factory PA Prime Minister Theresa May (left) and Arlene Foster, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Pic: Clodagh Kilcoyne/PA Wire PA Prime Minister Theresa May and DUP leader Arlene Foster visit Belleek Pottery in Co Fermanagh yesterday Getty Images Mrs May is greeted by Mrs Foster after her arrival PA Prime Minister Theresa May arrives for a visit to the Belleek pottery factory PA A man holds a sign saying customs stop written in both English and Irish as Theresa May leaves PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Prime Minister Theresa May during her speech at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast. Photo credit: Charles McQuillan/PA Wire "Probably it is the case that you have to establish this kind of border next year. I don't want it; hopefully we can avoid it," he said. He added it would be "the hardest border we have in Europe". Mr Pfeiffer said it will be the Republic's responsibility to erect and manage the border on the EU side, and the UK's task to manage the territory of Northern Ireland. He said that other European countries had their own problems to resolve. "For you it's a problem but in Germany nobody is thinking about Brexit," he said. "Brexit is not a top issue in Germany. We have a lot of domestic problems. "Germany has a very positive image of Ireland. People like Ireland and want Ireland to stay connected to Europe, and so if there is some help needed, there's an openness to help. "But there are a lot of problems all over and everybody needs to deal with his own challenge and fulfil their own task. "We cannot solve the problem between Ireland and Northern Ireland. "Hopefully we can resolve this through negotiation, but I advise Ireland to get ready." Senior French sources have also warned Ireland over its accountability to the EU and its single market. "I'm sorry to say that Ireland may find itself at a harsh confrontation where it must obey the rules of the single market ahead of the political landscape with Britain," a French source said. "Of course we don't want this and we'll help to get a deal, but it appears impossible with the UK right now," they added. Meanwhile, yesterday the EU's chief Brexit negotiator questioned whether Theresa May's proposals for customs arrangements are workable, in his first public response to last week's white paper. Speaking after briefing ministers from the 27 remaining EU states in Brussels, Michel Barnier said the white paper has opened the way for "constructive discussions" on the post-Brexit relationship between the EU and the UK. And he indicated the EU was ready to amend its "backstop" proposals for the Irish border, which have become the biggest stumbling block in talks. He said there were elements of the plan agreed by the Cabinet earlier this month at Chequers which the European Commission did not understand, and said further discussions would be needed over the coming weeks to establish how much "common ground" exists between London and Brussels. A County Antrim man described as an "absolute danger" to women was given a nine-month prison sentence yesterday for assaulting his girlfriend when she confronted him about text messages from another female A County Antrim man described as an "absolute danger" to women was given a nine-month prison sentence yesterday for assaulting his girlfriend when she confronted him about text messages from another female. Gary Alan McKendry (24), of Heronshaw, Bushmills, pleaded guilty to assaulting his then partner during an incident in the bedroom in the early hours of April 1 after a night out in Ballymoney. A prosecutor told Coleraine Magistrates Court that the girlfriend saw a text message from another woman on McKendry's mobile phone and the defendant then pushed her violently off a bed, causing her to hit her head on a door frame. The defendant told police he had been struck with the phone by his girlfriend as he slept and claimed the assault was a "split-second reaction" while waking up. Defence barrister Michael Smyth said it was accepted that McKendry's girlfriend confronted his client and struck him with the phone as he slept, adding that the assault by the defendant was an "over-reaction". District Judge Liam McNally said it was the fourth time McKendry had appeared in court for assaulting his partners and on two occasions he had been given jail terms but the Appeal Court "gave him a chance". The judge noted McKendry was in breach of a suspended sentence for the latest assault. He said: "In my view you are an absolute danger to any female who is in your company". Judge McNally activated a suspended four-month jail term and added on five months for the new offence, making a total of nine months in prison. He also imposed a three-year restraining order banning the defendant from contacting, harassing or pestering the victim. McKendry is to appeal the sentence. Freeing him on 500 bail, Judge McNally asked if he was in a relationship at the moment and Mr Smyth said the defendant was not. The judge ordered McKendry not to enter into a relationship with a woman without disclosing to her his criminal record for assaulting females. 21st July 2018 - Picture by Matt Mackey / PressEye.com The funeral of Seaneen McCullough, a nurse who fell from a balcony while on holiday in Turkey last week took place withRequiem Mass in Corpus Christi Church, Ballymurphy, West Belfast. Family, friends and colleagues gathered to pay their respects. 21st July 2018 - Picture by Matt Mackey / PressEye.com The funeral of Seaneen McCullough, a nurse who fell from a balcony while on holiday in Turkey last week took place withRequiem Mass in Corpus Christi Church, Ballymurphy, West Belfast. Family, friends and colleagues gathered to pay their respects. 21st July 2018 - Picture by Matt Mackey / PressEye.com The funeral of Seaneen McCullough, a nurse who fell from a balcony while on holiday in Turkey last week took place withRequiem Mass in Corpus Christi Church, Ballymurphy, West Belfast. Family, friends and colleagues gathered to pay their respects. 21st July 2018 - Picture by Matt Mackey / PressEye.com The funeral of Seaneen McCullough, a nurse who fell from a balcony while on holiday in Turkey last week took place withRequiem Mass in Corpus Christi Church, Ballymurphy, West Belfast. Family, friends and colleagues gathered to pay their respects. The funeral of Seaneen McCullough, a nurse who fell from a balcony while on holiday in Turkey last week took place withRequiem Mass in Corpus Christi Church, Ballymurphy, West Belfast. Matt Mackey, Presseye The funeral of a Belfast mother tragically killed in a balcony fall while on holiday in Turkey has heard how the nurse made a huge difference to the lives of so many people in the city through her work. Seaneen McCullough had been holidaying with her son Eoin and partner Paul. The 37-year-old worked at the Mater Hospital in Belfast. On Saturday mourners gathered at Corpus Christi Church in Ballymurphy to pay their last respects. Scores of people turned out with fellow co-workers of Seaneen performing a guard of honour for her as the coffin was carried into the church. Read More Father Patrick McCafferty told those gathered it was difficult to comprehend the tragedy which claimed her life. He said: "We are united in our grief at the loss of Seaneen, who was so much loved by Paul and Eoin, by her parents, her sisters and brother, the entire family circle and wide circle of friends those friends who have known Seaneen since her childhood and youth and those friends who got to know her later in her life." Mourners heard how Seaneen - a " bright and bubbly girl" - had "in her short life made such a difference to the world, to this city and its communities". Fr McCafferty said Seaneens heart was drawn toward nursing and she made great personal sacrifices in order to prepare herself for what was her true calling in life "to serve, lovingly and generously, those vulnerable through illness and injury, those who had grown weak and frail under the burden of years, those suffering in body and mind". He continued: "Seaneen wasnt just a nurse she was an outstanding nurse. She ministered to the sick not only with the important skills she had acquired, in study and training, but also with the beautiful gifts of her own mind, heart and spirit, with which she was blessed in abundance and which were a blessing to so many others." The priest honoured the work, not just of Seaneen, but also her colleagues. Expand Close Fall: Seaneen McCullough / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Fall: Seaneen McCullough "Seaneen has made an inestimable difference to so many lives," he added. Seaneen is survived by her parents Betty and Gerry, Paul, her partner and son, Eoin, Charlene and Zoe her sisters and her brother Gerard. Reaction among Northern Ireland political parties to the Prime Minister's two-day visit focused on her hard-hitting Brexit message to Brussels - and the continued impasse blocking the re-establishment of a Stormont Assembly. Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald adopted a combative tone, accusing the Prime Minister of visiting Northern Ireland "to pick a fight with Ireland and the European Union". Read More The Dublin TD said: "We were told that the British Minister came to Ireland to listen and to reassure. It is clear that she is not listening to community and business interests and seeks only to reassure the DUP. "Her approach today has been provocative, to set aside her agreement with the EU from December and to walk away from a backstop. "Theresa May claims to want to avoid a hard border in Ireland, while pursuing a policy that will deliver a hard border." Read More Ms McDonald said the Prime Minister had demonstrated a wilful misreading of the Good Friday Agreement, speaking of respecting consent while imposing Brexit in the north against the will of the majority. But veteran Ulster Unionist MEP Jim Nicholson said the Sinn Fein leader's remarks "beggared belief". Read More "Sinn Fein don't seriously think they can get away with criticising the Prime Minister for not visiting Northern Ireland and meeting border businesses and communities and simultaneously criticise Theresa May when she does just that?" he said. Welcoming Mrs May's Waterfront Hall speech yesterday, DUP leader Arlene Foster MLA revealed both she and her party's Westminster leader, Nigel Dodds MP, had pressed Mrs May during her visit on Brexit-related issues and on the need for Ministerial-level decision-making at Stormont in the absence of the Assembly and Executive. "We urged the Prime Minister to recognise that the absence of an Executive could not be allowed to impede progress. "The Secretary of State should take decisions to ensure that schools, hospitals and roads are not impacted by Sinn Fein's boycott of the Assembly and Executive." East Belfast UUP MLA Andy Allen criticised the Prime Minister for what he called "18 months of inaction" over the restoration of devolution to Northern Ireland. "She needs to do more than offer fluffy words, and deliver," he said. SDLP Deputy Leader Nichola Mallon, said the Prime Minister's Waterfront speech was "underwhelming" and "void of substance", and that it sounded as if it had been written for her by the DUP. "The Prime Minister's rhetoric was a far cry from her recent actions; from acknowledging the 'principle of consent' despite failing to recognise the democratic majority in the north who voted to remain, to paying lip service to 'parity of esteem' whilst simultaneously being in cahoots with the DUP whose past actions, or inaction, have shown a blatant disregard for this concept," Ms Mallon commented. The former Belfast Lord Mayor added: "The Prime Minister made it clear the British Government intends to continue to do nothing to see devolved government re-established here." She accused Mrs May and her Government of abdicating responsibility as co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement. Dr Stephen Farry MLA, the Alliance Party spokesman on Brexit issues, said his party had called on the Prime Minister to "de-escalate" her tough rhetoric over Brexit, and cut the salaries of MLAs in the suspended Stormont Assembly in a bid to kick-start the stalled Stormont talks. As Theresa May's NI visit draws to a close, two commentators - one a Remainer and one a Brexiteer - give their verdict. Remainer Tom Kelly: A no deal is burning your house as you try to sell it She came, listened and left and, after the deluge of media interest, the dreary steeples of Fermanagh and Tyrone remain unchanged. It took more than two years, but Theresa May finally got to potter about the border at Belleek, the village which is nearly half in and half out of the EU. Read More She didn't say what she thought about living in a border village like Belleek, but it was easier to go there than Newry, with its international giants like Glen Dimplex, Norbrook, First Derivatives, MJ Marine and a thriving port at Warrenpoint, where the border shoots through Carlingford Lough. Mrs May didn't say much. She didn't really have to, as Brexit was done to death in the House of Commons. There's no doubt it was a relief for the Prime Minister to escape the Westminster bubble and to dine at the beautiful Crom Castle. I wondered if those who briefed her included references to Crom Castle as the setting for the Blandings comedy series, where characters have names such as Frederick Threepwood and Sir Gregory Parsloe-Parsloe. Mrs May would be familiar by now with PJ Wodehouse-inspired characters on her own benches like Jacob Rees-Mogg or Boris de Pfeffel Johnson. Read More Blandings' central character is Lord Emsworth, whose sole preoccupation is an enormous sow called The Empress. Truth is, Brexit for Mrs May is also all-consuming and it's starting to turn into a bit of a pig's ear. I don't blame the Prime Minister. She has inherited a situation she didn't create. She is aligned to a party with which she has little in common. It isn't easy to be locked into a passionless marriage of convenience where only one partner talks. She doesn't command a majority within the House of Commons and is being forced into negotiating in public. Let's be clear: I accept that the UK is going to leave the EU. Having won the referendum, albeit by a slim margin and questionable means, to exit the EU doesn't mean that the country has to adopt a crash-and-burn strategy on the way out. No deal is not better than any deal. It would be like torching your house while trying to sell it. Mrs May seems to recognise that fact and, if she doesn't, the farmers, agri-business, aerospace firms, the automotive industry, pharma, trade unions and those in financial services are hammering the point home. The UK needs a customs union with the EU. They can call it anything they want, but it has to happen. The UK also needs close regulatory alignment with the EU to enable frictionless trade - the Chequers document basically acknowledges this - for tradable goods. With Labour having moved its Brexit position, there is now a parliamentary majority for this approach. The Tories, notwithstanding the reckless comments of Rees-Mogg or Johnson, cannot afford to ignore business leaders, or tell them to clear off. That leaves the border. A backstop is needed in case Brexit lunatics force Mrs May into a zero sum game. it's not beyond the gift of No.10 and the EU to find acceptable words. Our Brexit needs in Northern Ireland are more acute than other parts of the UK, and cut across the political, social and economic. Whether for good or bad, the British Government has produced a document which, at least, opens up the prospects of proper talks with the EU. In Blandings, the pig-handler had to teach the others how to speak to The Empress in order to get her to eat and win a prize. They were all taught the call "pig-hoo-o-o-ey", which all pigs recognise. Similarly, to get to an endgame in Brexit, everyone involved needs to recognise the signals, and that starts by using the same language. Maybe then we can actually make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Dr Tom Kelly is a political commentator and the former chair of the Stronger in Europe campaign Alex Kane: Weak and alone, May is the Miss Haversham of our time The problem for Theresa May is that she is a Remainer: always has been. She kept her head low during the referendum campaign, but that's because she was confident of victory for Remain and didn't see any point getting involved in any of the party's internal squabbling. She became Prime Minister in July 2016 (David Cameron had no Plan B and scuttled out of Downing Street) and now finds herself in the extraordinary and increasingly complicated position of having to sell something to which she has no political, ideological or emotional commitment. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Prime Minister Theresa May during her speech at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast. Photo credit: Charles McQuillan/PA Wire PA Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Arlene Foster listens as Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May delivers a keynote speech on Brexit at Waterfront Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on July 20, 2018. With a trip to Northern Ireland this week, May began a tour of Britain to convince voters to back her blueprint for close economic ties with the bloc after Brexit next March. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / Charles McQuillanCHARLES MCQUILLAN/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Prime Minister Theresa May during her speech at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast where she urged the European Union to "evolve" its position on Brexit and not fall back on "unworkable" ideas. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday July 20, 2018. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Charles McQuillan/PA Wire PA Prime Minister Theresa May during her speech at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast where she urged the European Union to "evolve" its position on Brexit and not fall back on "unworkable" ideas. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday July 20, 2018. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Charles McQuillan/PA Wire PA BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 20: Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May (C) talks with people from the Belfast Youth Forum during her visit to the Crescent Arts Centre on July 20, 2018 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With a trip to Northern Ireland this week, May began a tour of Britain to convince voters to back her blueprint for close economic ties with the bloc after Brexit next March. (Photo by Paul Faith - WPA Pool/Getty Images) Getty Images BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 20: Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May (C) talks with people from the Belfast Youth Forum during her visit to the Crescent Arts Centre on July 20, 2018 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With a trip to Northern Ireland this week, May began a tour of Britain to convince voters to back her blueprint for close economic ties with the bloc after Brexit next March. (Photo by Paul Faith - WPA Pool/Getty Images) Getty Images BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 20: Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May (3L) talks with people from the Belfast Youth Forum during her visit to the Crescent Arts Centre on July 20, 2018 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With a trip to Northern Ireland this week, May began a tour of Britain to convince voters to back her blueprint for close economic ties with the bloc after Brexit next March. (Photo by Paul Faith - WPA Pool/Getty Images) Getty Images Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Crescent Arts Centre in Belfast. Credit: PA. PA Protestors call for the Irish language to be recognised outside the Crescent Arts Centre in Belfast, Northern Ireland, ahead of the arrival of Prime Minister Theresa May. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday July 20, 2018. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Protesters voice their concerns about gay marriage and the Irish border outside the Crescent Arts Centre in Belfast. Pic: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Mrs May speaks to workers at the factory PA Mrs May speaks to workers at the factory PA Prime Minister Theresa May (left) and Arlene Foster, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Pic: Clodagh Kilcoyne/PA Wire PA Prime Minister Theresa May and DUP leader Arlene Foster visit Belleek Pottery in Co Fermanagh yesterday Getty Images Mrs May is greeted by Mrs Foster after her arrival PA Prime Minister Theresa May arrives for a visit to the Belleek pottery factory PA A man holds a sign saying customs stop written in both English and Irish as Theresa May leaves PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Prime Minister Theresa May during her speech at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast. Photo credit: Charles McQuillan/PA Wire And it's not just a matter of getting a deal through the House of Commons. She has to get it through the competing cabals of Leavers and Remainers in her own party; preserve the integrity of the Good Friday Agreement; ensure that a deal doesn't spook the SNP too much or make a border poll unstoppable here; do enough to ensure a sign-off from the EU's negotiators; preserve the constitutional/geographical cohesion of the United Kingdom; and, most important of all, prevent the final split of the Conservative Party on an issue which has caused problems for them since Edward Heath began making overtures to the French and Germans in the 1960s. She is weak - politically, psychologically and arithmetically. Look how quickly the Brexit means Brexit mantra was shredded. Then her self-inflicted failure to secure a majority in last year's General Election ('strong and stable' morphed into weak, wobbly and dependent on the DUP). Her recent Chequers deal was reduced to confetti within a weekend and her skin was saved a few days ago by just three votes. To paraphrase Geoffrey Howe: her office is cobwebbed and the power has been disconnected. She is the Miss Havisham of British politics: 'I saw that the bride within the bridal dress had withered like the dress, and like the flowers, and had no brightness left but the brightness of her sunken eyes.' She tried to sound tough in the Waterfront Hall yesterday; although that was more to do with pleasing her DUP chums than anything else. But she doesn't have a big stick. And she knows, as does Michel Barnier, that while it's true that there isn't a House of Commons majority for a border in the Irish Sea, nor is there a majority for a 'hard' border where NI/UK meets the Republic. I don't think it's possible to have a final Brexit deal that is soft in some places and hard in others. And nor, I think, would she risk no deal at all. My instinct since she became PM - and I was on the Leave side of the debate - was that she would opt for the 'granny flat' solution; in which the UK would, to all intents and purposes, remain within the broad parameters of the EU. Poring over her words yesterday will reveal little of substance. It can't have substance unless it is also supported by the EU side; it can't have substance when it is internally contradictory; and nor can it have substance when she is unable to rely on her own party and a Commons majority to face down and defy Barnier. Like Cameron, she has no Plan B. Mind you, she has no Plan A, C, D, E... either. She is, in fact, the best Prime Minister the Remainers could have hoped for in the circumstances. Which probably explains why they are increasingly happy, while the Leavers continue to squabble and divide. Quite why she puts herself through this daily agony is beyond me. Alex Kane is a writer and commentator Police are hunting the driver of a car seen 'donuting' around a Northern Ireland car park. It comes after Carrickfergus officers found footage of a car driving dangerously around the castle car park at the harbour. Police said they believed the footage was shot some time this month. They appealed for the driver, or anyone who would know who they were to contact police. "The car park culture gets a bad rep and we do get numerous complaints about the noise, excessive speed and stupid stunts like this," and officer said in a Facebook post. "I know many young guys and girls spend a lot of money on their cars & much of the time we do our best to give you the benefit of the doubt. Sadly idiotic driving like this doesnt help win friends and influence the doubters." A woman aged in her 60s has been punched in the face in an attack in Lurgan. Police said the woman was punched to the face and fell to the ground, causing further injuries at around 11.30pm on Friday on the Levin Road, Lurgan. Her attacker was described as being in his 30s of stocky build, white top, blue jeans, short dark hair. DUP MLA Carla Lockhart branded the attack "absolutely disgraceful," calling on anyone with information to contact police. Former members of the demobilised Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia arrive at Congress to take up seats in the newly-elected legislature (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) Eight former Colombian rebels who once battled the government with rifles and bombs have been sworn into office. The ex-combatants with the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia took their seats in congress for the first time on Friday, in another crucial step in implementing the countrys peace accord. This is a big responsibility well be shouldering, said Sandra Ramirez, the widow of a legendary guerrilla leader. Its a change from life in the mountains, from boots in the mud. The fledgling politicians represent a small faction in a Congress that has the task of pushing forward key aspects of the peace agreement. The rebels were guaranteed 10 seats in the legislature as part of the accord, a stipulation that has angered many Colombians. In his address to the new legislature, outgoing president Juan Manuel Santos acknowledged the hesitation of Colombians to embrace the former rebels as politicians, but said including them in politics was a powerful demonstration of democracy. Expand Close Colombias president Juan Manuel Santos speaks during the inauguration of the newly-elected legislature (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Colombias president Juan Manuel Santos speaks during the inauguration of the newly-elected legislature (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) It fills me with satisfaction that those who for more than half a century fought the state and its institutions with arms today bow to the constitution, he said. The oath ceremony comes just weeks before conservative Ivan Duque assumes the presidency amid signs that the peace accord remains on shaky ground. Mr Duque vowed throughout his campaign to modify important aspects of the agreement, though he has softened some of his positions since the polarising election. Two of the former leaders of the disarmed Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia did not take their seats in Congress on Friday. Seuxis Hernandez remains jailed in Colombia on US drug charges while Ivan Marquez is holed up in a rural camp for former guerrillas, telling comrades he fears for his safety. Colombias conflict between leftist rebels, paramilitaries and the state left at least 250,000 dead, 60,000 missing and millions displaced in a war that still haunts many. Even as the number of homicides drops to a four-decade low, in many parts of the country drug traffickers and smaller illegal armed groups still wreak havoc. Since the signing of the accord, more than 300 social leaders and dozens of former rebels have been killed. Expand Close Carlos Lozada, right, and Sandra Ramirez, former members of the demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Carlos Lozada, right, and Sandra Ramirez, former members of the demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) Many fear the wave of violence could portend a repeat of events in the 1980s, when dozens of leftist politicians affiliated with the Patriotic Union party were gunned down. Ms Ramirez said the ex-combatants taking office on Friday were aware of the threats they face. It worries us immensely, she said. To prepare for life as legislators, she and her comrades took a crash course at a university that taught them about the role of congress, the various types of laws and how to introduce a bill. They are calling their coalition the Group for Peace and plan to focus on implementing the accord and defending human rights. Among their first proposals are ideas to improve conditions for young children in remote, rural parts of the country and better guarantee access to water. The former guerrillas face a steep challenge in winning over Colombians and exercising any pull in congress. They won less than 1% of the votes in the legislative elections and remain deeply unpopular in much of the country. Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov has told US secretary of state Mike Pompeo that the Americans arrest of a Russian woman on allegations of being a covert agent is unacceptable. US prosecutors have accused Maria Butina of working to infiltrate political organisations, including the National Rifle Association, before and after Donald Trumps election as president in 2016. One more Russian was arrested in the US without any plausible reason. We demand her immediate release. Lets support her with a tag #FreeMariaButina pic.twitter.com/KBpAcLlAkT Dmitry Polyanskiy (@Dpol_un) July 20, 2018 Mr Lavrov stressed the unacceptability of the actions of the US authorities who arrested Russian citizen Butina on the basis of fabricated charges, and the need for her early release, the ministry said about the call. The two diplomats also exchanged views on prospects for further building relations in the wake of the Helsinki summit involving Mr Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin, the ministry said. The history, the architecture, the food, the friendly people and, for once, the weather - tourists are visiting Belfast for a variety of reasons and they seem to be finding exactly what they want. And more are set to arrive on our shores, with cruise ships due to dock over the rest of the summer, including the Queen Elizabeth tomorrow morning, bringing over 2,000 passengers, and The Royal Princess on July 29, bringing another 3,500 visitors. And tourists from countries across the world seem bowled over by the warmth and hospitality they have found here. Alexandra Nickel had just arrived from Leipzig in Germany and says she's fascinated by the architecture. "It's a crazy place and I'm enjoying it," she said. "There's a real contrast - some broken, old buildings but some modern architecture mixed with buildings from the 1970s. "I'm looking forward to historic walks but want to go to the Causeway. I like a bit of everything and there's a bit of everything here." Rolf Brenne, Hanne Stousland and Roar Aakvik had arrived from Norway and will be in Belfast for three days. "We're enjoying a week in Ireland as part of a larger group and Belfast seems like a really nice city," Hanne said. And for the Norwegians, it's been all about the food. "We've been to the Titanic Centre so far but the seafood has been superb. We're big fans," Hanne added. "We can't say there's been anything negative and most of the money we've spent has been on food - especially the oysters." First-time Belfast cruise visitors Grace and Rino Merlo travelled from British Columbia in Canada. Rino said: "I've been most impressed with the friendliness. I'd like to come back and drive around Ireland. I would say things are more expensive here though. But we're getting so old we don't need anything. "I don't think my perception of Northern Ireland has changed much. Looking around you do feel sorry for the people that have died, one side or the other." Rino had one small criticism though: "There aren't enough public bathrooms. If we went to France we'd never be too far from a bathroom as they have them on the sidewalks." And Buddy and Lynn Lewis, from the sunshine state of Florida, had high praise for the Titanic museum. "It's fantastic. It's a really historic spot and we're definitely going to have a Guinness somewhere," Buddy said. "Everyone is very friendly, but the ladies in the museum talked very fast." Leontine Chuang is visiting from even further away - Hong Kong. "It's a very pretty city. It's our first time here. We've enjoyed walking around. We went to John Long's for fish and chips and the kids loved that," she said. "We've loved speaking to people in the stores and in the restaurants. "I'd come back for sure. When you're on a cruise you're only here for a day so don't see everything. We'd love to have seen the Titanic museum and W5 but cruises are good to get a taste of cities that you might want to come back to." She did managed to squeeze in a bit of shopping though: "My friend told me to visit Avoca and I spent about 40 buying scarves." Yi, Michael and their daughter Puato are visiting from Exeter and it's the countryside that's impressed them most. "The rope bridge (Carrick-a-rede) was great," said Yi. "We loved the Giant's Causeway." But Michael wasn't sure if he'd come back to Belfast. "We like to see different places. I felt Belfast was somewhere I should see. We've been to the Falls Road and the Shankill Road. I wouldn't say it was something I was looking forward to but I think it was good for us. I did wonder what the people who live there think of being a tourist attraction." Keeping daughter Puato happy has been a priority. "I liked Glenariff Country Park," Yi said. "But the best bit was the 24-inch pizza in Little Wing." For brother and sister Alice and Jacob from Slovakia, Belfast has been all about walking. "We're here for two days and want to see as much as we can," Alice said. "It's a great city to visit for the weekend. We'll be going on a walking tour. We're touring Ireland and we're on a budget so we'll try to do things cheaply, but it seems like a very interesting city." Belinda Reidy and Robin Bowman from Durham have made the short trip across the Irish Sea and will be spending a week on holiday in the city. "I was here four years ago at a wedding and I always said I'd like to come back," Robin said. "It's a wonderful city to walk around." Belinda added: "Lots of people we've met have made suggestions to us. And we've really noticed the sense of humour. "We've spent a good bit. But we knew that before we came. We've been to the Titanic museum and walked up the Lisburn Road to get a flavour of what the city's about. "There's been plenty of eating and drinking. "I haven't seen too many negatives that you get in other cities. We've had a wonderful time." Robin continued: "St George's Market had some fantastic stalls. We'd definitely come back, maybe in a camper van or we'll hire a car to see the country." Greek woman Alkie Dragoon is visiting her friend Edward Alsop who came to Belfast three years ago and never left. "I like the architecture and I'm looking forward to heading up to Belfast Castle to get a great view," said Alkie. "I work in England and it didn't cost too much to come here, and from what I've seen so far it's a great place to visit. "I won't get too much time to see a lot of the countryside but we'll probably spend some time in parks. It's a lovely country to be out and about in." And with that they set off, with some excitement, to explore St George's Market. Naag Panchami 2018, Dates And Significance Faith Mysticism oi-Renu Nag Panchami 2018: 2018 Boldsky The festival of Naga Panchami falls on the fifth day of the Shravana month during Shukla Paksha. This festival, dedicated wholly to the serpents, is celebrated as one of the most popular festivals in the month of Shravana. During this season, snakes come out of their nests and burrows. The Shravana month is dedicated to the worship of Lord Shiva. Snakes are dear to Lord Shiva; snakes are worshipped to please Lord Shiva. For them not to harm humans when they come out due to the rains, they are worshipped on Naag Panchami. Along with this, they are also given a bath in milk. Here we would like to mention that many people offer milk to snakes, which is believed to be a wrong practise, as snakes cannot digest milk. Rather, our scriptures mention that the snakes should be given a bath in milk and not served milk for drinking. Benefits Of Observing Naag Panchami It is believed that worshipping a snake on Naag Panchami helps remove poverty. It is also believed to give the desired husband to unmarried girls and women are blessed with a baby boy. Worshipping snakes on Naag Panchami pleases the lord of snakes, Naag Devta. He protects his devotees from snake bites and fulfils their wishes. The festival is celebrated throughout India. Types Of Naagas Or Snakes Mentioned In The Scriptures Twelve types of snakes have been described in our scriptures. These types are as follows: 1. Anant 2. Vasuki 3. Shesha 4. Padma 5. Kambal 6. Karkotak 7. Ashvatara 8. Dhritarashtra 9. Shankhpa 10. Kaliya 11. Takshak 12. Pingla Why Lord Vishnu Should Be Worshipped On Naag Panchami There is a story related to Kaliya Naag amongst these which narrates the tale of why snakes are worshipped on this day. Once Kaaliya Naag entered the waters of the river Yamuna. As a result of this, the waters of the river started becoming black. Not just this, the water of the river had even started becoming poisonous. The poison showed its effect on all the inhabitants of the river and those of the nearby forests. When the villagers came to know this, Lord Krishna, who also lived in the Gokul, went to the riverside and challenged the snake to accept a battle against him. As both of them began to fight, it is said that Lord Krishna stepped on his head. The snake tried hard but failed to win and finally accepted his defeat when he realised that it was Lord Krishna trying to save the villagers and the water of the river. The snake felt sorry for having created problems for the villagers and left the place. Thus, there is a tradition of worshipping Lord Vishnu as well on this day. The worship of snakes too gained more prominence so they do not attack the lives of those who offer them prayers. Why Lord Shiva Should Be Worshipped On A Naag Panchami Day Along with this, the incident of Lord Shiva having drunk poison during the Smaudra Manthan, too, is very prominent in relevance to the worship of snakes. He had saved the entire universe from the halahal poison which could destroy the whole universe. We offer prayers to him to seek protection from not just snakes but all problems in life. In fact, the whole month of Shravana is dedicated to Lord Shiva mainly. Since Lord Shiva hangs the snakes around his neck and is considered to be their deity, snakes are worshipped to please him. Thus, Lord Vishnu as well as Lord Shiva are offered prayers on Naag Panchami along with the snakes and Naag Devta, mainly because snakes are dear to both. Naag Chaturthi Naag Chaturthi is celebrated one day prior to Naag Panchami. It is known as Naag Chavithi in some regions such as Andhra Pradesh. People fast on this day. Naag Panchami 2018 Dates Naag Panchami is observed two days after the Hariyaali Teej festival. Naag Panchami 2018 will be observed on August 15. We will let you know about the puja vidhi as well as the mantras to be chanted on Naag Panchami in the coming articles. Devshayani Ekadashi Dates And Importance GET THE BEST BOLDSKY STORIES! Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, July 21, 2018, 13:00 [IST] PR Newswire LOS ANGELES, July 20, 2018 LOS ANGELES, July 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) and world-renowned greenhouse tomato and cucumber producer, Houweling's Tomatoes, today announced the installation of a new greenhouse thermal curtain system at Houweling's facility in Camarillo, California. The thermal curtain system is designed to reduce heat loss at night, functioning as a thermal barrier between the plants and the roof of the greenhouse, and is estimated to save the grower more than 225,000 therms per year, the equivalent of removing more than 250 cars from California roads. The system also works to reduce the volume of air that requires heating inside the greenhouse, and will provide the customer with approximately $80,000 in annual energy cost savings. The new greenhouse energy efficiency upgrade was purchased in part with a $176,000 rebate check through SoCalGas' Energy Efficiency Rebates for Businesses (EERB) program. To date, the utility has supported Houweling's Tomatoes energy efficiency efforts with more than $725,000 in rebate funding for energy- and cost-saving technologies. Photos of the facility and the new energy-efficient upgrade are available here. "Energy efficiency innovations, like these thermal curtains, help our customers save on energy costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions linked to climate change," said Rasha Prince, director of commercial and industrial services at SoCalGas. "Houweling's is a true leader in sustainability and partnerships like this can go a long way toward achieving California's climate goals, while supporting great industries and good jobs across the state." "SoCalGas' energy efficiency rebate programs have been instrumental to the success of our business," said Casey Houweling, owner and chairman of Houweling's Tomatoes. "SoCalGas has been a dedicated partner to Houweling's, not only in helping us move forward with projects we otherwise may not have been able to, but in helping us create the most efficient greenhouse operation in the country." Through SoCalGas' EERB program, commercial, industrial, and agricultural customers of the utility can apply for energy efficiency rebates on qualifying energy-efficient, natural gas-fired equipment and improvements for the business, like commercial grade dishwashers, ovens, clothes washers, space-heating and other boilers, water heaters, steam traps, and other energy-saving equipment, that help offset a portion of the cost up to $1,000,000 per customer, per year. SoCalGas has been a long-time energy efficiency partner of Houweling's Tomatoes, working together on many projects. In 2011, the utility helped the greenhouse leader fund the installation of the first-ever cogeneration power system in the United States that uses combined heat and power technology to capture traditionally wasted CO2, heat, and water for use within the greenhouse, while large natural gas-powered engines produce enough electricity to power the full operation and 8,800 local homes. In total, the new 13.2-megawatt system saves Houweling's over 14,000 gallons of water every day, and has diverted more than 21,000 tons of CO2 emissions the equivalent of taking 4,000 cars off the road by converting it into fertilizer. Energy efficiency programs and rebates are just one way SoCalGas helps business and residential customers keep their energy bills affordable. Since 1990, the utility's energy efficiency and rebate programs have reduced emissions equal to taking almost 700,000 cars off the road and have saved SoCalGas customers more than $670 million in utility bill costs. Moreover, because of energy efficiency measures and new innovative technology, business and homes account for only about 7.5 percent of greenhouse gas emissions statewide, according to the California Air Resources Board. SoCalGas offers more than 90 energy efficiency programs that deliver close to $161 million in annual cost savings directly to its customers. SoCalGas is a leader in researching and developing new technologies that improve energy efficiency, reduce emissions, and keep bills affordable for customers. The utility is working to increase the production and use of renewable natural gas, or biogas, which turns methane emissions into a source of clean energy to fuel homes and businesses. Decarbonizing natural gas pipelines with renewable natural gas will help California obtain deep greenhouse gas reductions at the lowest overall cost while preserving energy choice for residents and businesses alike. Learn more about the environmental and cost-saving benefits of renewable natural gas by viewing the utility's latest video, Digesting the Facts About Renewable Natural Gas, on SoCalGas' YouTube Channel. Natural gas is the most affordable, reliable, clean, and increasingly renewable energy choice for home and water heating and cooking in Southern California and is used by more than 90 percent of residents in the region. According to the American Gas Association (AGA), households that use natural gas for water and space heating, cooking and clothes drying save an average of $874 per year compared to homes using electricity for those applications. About SoCalGasHeadquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas is the largest natural gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable, reliable, clean and increasingly renewable natural gas service to 21.7 million customers across 22,000 square miles of Central and Southern California, where more than 90 percent of residents use natural gas for heating, hot water, cooking, drying clothes or other uses. Natural gas delivered through the company's pipelines also plays a key role in providing electricity to Californiansabout 60 percent of electric power generated in the state comes from gas-fired power plants. SoCalGas is committed to investing in its natural gas system infrastructure, while keeping bills affordable for our customers. From 2013 through 2017, the company spent nearly $6 billion to upgrade and modernize its natural gas system to enhance safety and reliability. The company is also committed to being a leader in the region's clean energy future, and is working to accelerate the use of renewable natural gas from dairy farms, landfills and wastewater treatment plants and the development of renewable energy storage technologies. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500 energy services holding company based in San Diego. For more information visit socalgas.com/newsroom or connect with SoCalGas on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas) and Facebook. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/socalgas-helps-put-the-green-in-greenhouse-with-new-thermal-technology-at-world-renowned-houwelings-tomatoes-300684469.html SOURCE Southern California Gas Company A man has been charged with impaired and dangerous driving after he allegedly drove his truck into a parked vehicle early Tuesday morning, sending both himself and a passenger to the hospital. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/7/2018 (1195 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Advertisement Advertise With Us A man has been charged with impaired and dangerous driving after he allegedly drove his truck into a parked vehicle early Tuesday morning, sending both himself and a passenger to the hospital. Police say the accused was travelling southbound in a Ram 1500 truck when he struck a vehicle, a blue Jeep, and a street light in the 1500 block of Sixth Street. A 911 call was made to police just after midnight and police say both the driver, a 28-year-old man, and his passenger, a 34-year-old man, both from Brandon, were taken to the Brandon Regional Health Centre with injuries. Sgt. Jeff Hoad from the Brandon Police Service said speed, drugs and alcohol are believed to be factors in the collision. The driver, who has since been released from hospital, has been charged with impaired driving causing bodily harm and dangerous driving causing bodily harm. TRENTIN MICKELSON PHOTO A view of the blue Jeep, left, and Ram 1500 truck that were involved in a collision on Sixth Street near Richmond Avenue early Tuesday morning. He is scheduled to appear in court later this month. The passenger remains in hospital. The two men were the only ones involved in the collision and police did not say what the extent of their injuries were. Hoad said the matter remains under investigation, and "there is the potential for further charges." Both vehicles were badly damaged and seen being taken away by tow trucks at approximately 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, between Richmond and Ottawa avenues, while the damaged street light was seen lying on the ground off to the side of the road as of noon. Manitoba Hydro spokesperson Bruce Owen said the damage was such that the force of the vehicle colliding with the street light had knocked it over. "Once police release the scene, well swing by and pick up the light standard and then our plan is once we can properly schedule it, the light will be replaced," Owen said. mlee@brandonsun.com Twitter: @mtaylorlee By Eamon Quinn Shares in Providence Resources have jumped back to the top of their recent range, as the oil explorer confirmed promising seismic survey data in the Porcupine Basin sea for its Dunquin South block. This could mean that exploration drilling can start there in 2020. It follows the disappointment over a prospect in nearby Dunquin North after drilling there last year failed to find a substantial reserve. The company is heartened by the survey which suggests that Dunquin North showed evidence of a significant potential fluid escape caused by a geological feature that does not exist at Dunquin South. The presence of a major chimney over Dunquin North has been identified as the main reason for prospect failure. It is obviously highly encouraging that no such feature has been identified over Dunquin South, which we believe substantially de-risks this exciting exploration prospect, said technical director John OSullivan. Dunquin South is part of the licence operated by Eni Ireland, with a stake of 36.9%, and includes Repsol Exploracion Irlanda, with 33.5%, and Providence, which has a stake of 26.8%. While elements of the data were already available to industry, the news confirms the receipt and analysis of the full seismic data set by the operator and participants in the Dunquin licence offshore Ireland. The data highlight the quality of the Dunquin South target and readily explain why it is likely to be drilled in 2020, broker Davy said. This points to a busy drilling schedule for Providence over the next few years, with drilling on the Celtic Sea Barryroe project, a possible well on the Newgrange target in 2019 followed by a well on Dunquin South in 2020, said Davy. There has been a call for investment into the fire service nationwide. It comes after reports of a low level of availability of staff and service vehicles this week from staff on the ground. Family members of those who died in the Berkeley balcony collapse will gather to remember their loved ones later at a ceremony in California. A memorial plaque is to be unveiled near where the six Dublin students passed away over three years ago. Puzzles hub Visit our brain gym where you will find simple and cryptic crosswords, sudoku puzzles and much more. Updated at midnight every day. PS ... We would love to hear your feedback on the section right HERE. Play A woman remains in hospital today after she was knocked down outside a shopping centre in Dublin. The woman was struck by a car in a car park outside a shopping centre in Citywest at around 3.15pm yesterday afternoon. Eugenie Bouchard's hopes of reaching her first WTA Tour final in two and a half years were dashed by injury in Gstaad. The former world number five, who is now down at 146 in the rankings, trailed top seed Alize Cornet 7-6 1-0 when she was forced to retire with a groin injury. Bouchard told wtatour.com: "It happened in the second point of the match. "I felt stress or pain in my groin. But it was getting continually worse and really hampered my movement." Cornet took the first set tie-break 7-5 and broke the Canadian in the first game of the second set before the 24-year-old decided to concede defeat. The Frenchwoman will play Mandy Minella in the final after the 32-year-old Luxembourg veteran came from a set down to beat Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic. Minella dropped her first set of the tournament against the world number 104 but hit back to triumph 4-6 6-2 6-2 and book her place in the first WTA Tour final of her career. Fourth seed Petra Martic denied Romanian hopes of a home favourite reaching the final of the Bucharest Open. Martic beat second seed Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-4 6-4 to advance to the final where she will play Anastasija Sevastova, who won the first set over Polona Hercog 6-1 before the Slovenian retired injured. - PA Australians searching Google for the fictional authoritarian regime from The Handmaids Tale, Gilead, will find an advertisement at the top of the page for a western Sydney development bearing the same name. The Lendlease masterplanned subdivision has already created a stir among Handmaids fans who have taken to Twitter to quip about what exactly the advertised new kind of community and lifestyle might entail, and suggesting the marketing has missed the mark. Dystopian world: The Handmaid's Tale's has garnered much controversy in its two seasons for its subject matter. Credit:AP The hit television show based on Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel The Handmaid's Tale, involves the imaginary Republic of Gilead, a society known for subjugating women and the LGBT community, maiming citizens that do not follow its strict rules and forcing fertile women to bear children for elite families. Aldi received angry legal letters almost the second it opened its first store in Sydney in January 2001 and, a month later, US snack food giant Frito-Lay sued Aldi over its Twisties lookalike, Cheezy Twists. Frito-Lay's Twisties and Aldi's Cheezy Twists. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer Frito-Lay emerged the victor in that legal rumble in July 2001 but the celebrations were short-lived. Aldi appealed to a three-judge bench of the Federal Court and won. A majority of the court found Aldi's Cheezy Twists, deliberately targeted at the Twisties market, did not infringe the Twisties trade mark. This was because the name Cheezy Twists was not "deceptively similar" to Frito-Lay's trade mark, meaning it was unlikely to "deceive or cause confusion" among shoppers. Crucially, because Frito-Lay limited its case to a trade mark infringement claim, the court was not asked to look at the packaging as a whole, including colours and design, but simply to compare the words "Cheezy Twists" and "Twisties" including visual and aural similarities. "The focus of trade mark law is over the brand name and the logo," the University of NSW's Michael Handler said. "That means a defendant like Aldi can escape liability very easily by choosing a sufficiently different name for its product." Professor Handler said it was possible to register as a trade mark the "get-up" of a product which includes packaging and product shapes but it was far less common. Big brands may well have been put off by Frito-Lay's bruising experience because it was almost 15 years before another company took on Aldi in the Federal Court. Top: Nurofen and Aldi's Hedafen. Bottom: Panadol and Aldi's Hedanol. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer In May 2015, Israeli beauty company Moroccanoil Israel Ltd which sells hair care products in distinctive orange and turquoise packaging sued Aldi over the budget supermarket's line of Moroccan Argan Oil hair care products. Moroccanoil lost both in the Federal Court and on appeal to the Full Court of the Federal Court, which handed down its decision last month. Head and Shoulders and Aldi's Head Strong shampoo. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer In findings in August 2017 that were not challenged on appeal, Justice Anna Katzmann found there was "no real, tangible danger" consumers would mistake Aldi's budget offerings for Moroccanoil's luxury products based on the brand names. In addition to a trade mark infringement claim, Moroccanoil claimed Aldi engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct and "passing off" misrepresenting that its goods were associated with the upmarket brand based on similarities in packaging and design. Those claims can provide additional legal protection to brand owners but are notoriously difficult to establish, because the court must be satisfied the rival brand engaged in misrepresentation. Justice Katzmann found that while Aldi's hair care line might "remind" consumers of the more expensive product, and was intended to do so, shoppers would not think Aldi's budget products came from or were associated with the luxury brand. The business model was, as Justice Nye Perram said in his appeal judgment, "to sell very inexpensive products ... which resemble, but not too much, other more expensive products", treading the "delicate line" between reminding consumers of a big brand without misleading them into thinking it is the same product. Sultana Bran and Aldi's Bran and Sultana. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer Professor Handler said the results in the Cheezy Twists and Moroccan Argan Oil cases reflected the reality that "consumers, particularly Aldi consumers, are quite sophisticated" and understand the supermarket offers products that are "similar to, but are not" a big brand. The rulings also appeared to reflect the courts' implicit desire to avoid giving companies "monopoly rights" over colours, designs and product shapes, an outcome that might lead to "anti-competitive practice". Mars and Aldi's Titan chocolate bars. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer An Aldi Australia spokesperson said the company took "market cues to ensure that our consumers understand what they are buying". "Chips are often coloured according to flavours, cereal boxes are generally rectangular, mustard bottles are yellow and cola flavoured beverages have red labelling," the spokesperson said. Those cues helped customers to navigate the supermarket but were "never used to mislead customers". Keiko, a defiantly oddball 36-year-old woman, has worked in a dead-end job as a convenience store cashier in Tokyo for half her life. She lives alone and has never been in a romantic relationship, or even had sex. And she is perfectly happy with all of it. Her creator, Japanese novelist Sayaka Murata, thinks that makes Keiko a true hero. "Keiko doesn't care or maybe she doesn't realise when she is being made fun of by others," said Murata of the narrator of Convenience Store Woman, her 10th novel and first to be translated into English. "She did not want to have sex at all and that was fine with her, and she chose that life. I really admire her character." Sayaka Murata's Convenience Store Woman is her first novel to be translated into English. Credit:KENTARO TAKAHASHI Convenience Store Woman, which won Japan's prestigious Akutagawa Prize for literature two years ago and has sold close to 600,000 copies there, is written in plain-spoken prose; the slim volume focuses on a character who in many ways personifies a demographic panic. Japanese media is filled with stories about declining marriage and low birthrates, as well as references to ominous surveys about young people who are virgins or have forsaken dating and sex. Up to 20 per cent of people who took a loan out two or three years ago would not qualify for that loan today. In the last six months lenders have had this lightbulb moment of what responsible lending means. So one of Australias only lender-agnostic mortgage brokers confided in me last week in other words, someone who knows the entire market, not just a small commission-paying slice of it. Craig Morgan, managing director of Independent Mortgage Planners, says the Hayne royal commission and longer-term loan crackdown by regulator APRA have produced an extreme tightening in lending criteria. Many interest-only loans will revert to principal and interest over the next few years. Credit:Simon Letch And, indeed, Im hearing stories everywhere of prospective borrowers getting unexpectedly refused for home loans, having to drastically reduce unused credit card limits to qualify for as much as they want and waiting six or more weeks to get approval for a loan that would previously have taken days. Gokal says they have not really noticed the cut-backs, such as eating out less and she is no longer missing her daily cup of hot chocolate. Uncomfortable with money Loading About one in three of more than 2000 people surveyed at the end of last year by comparison site Canstar said they were uncomfortable with their financial position. About one in three say they save nothing, with a further one in four saving less than 10 per cent of their after-tax income. Jacqueline Park, a qualified financial planner and the co-founder of Honest Money, is developing an online "money action plan" to help people build financial capability, focused on developing skills and achieving goals. Ultimately, the foundation of your financial health and freedom comes down to getting into good habits," Park says. "We have a pragmatic view of things as we know that budgeting is really challenging for most people. You start with a spreadsheet or with a budgeting app and then you fall off the wagon. Her business is pitched at younger people for whom saving is often an uphill battle. "It's undeniable that people see their Instagram feeds and it is all about people living these unrealistic, idealised lives that involves unrealistic consumption and that feeds into what you start thinking is normal," Park says. "The thing we ask our customers to think about first is their mind set. It'a really about what wealth means to them and what will make them happy, enduring happiness rather than momentary pleasure." Women face uphill battle Loading While both men and women could profit from learning more about money, there is strong evidence that women face a tougher battle than men in achieving financial security. For women, there are the well-known factors of unequal pay, longer lives to fund in retirement and more women than men taking time out of the paid workforce to raise children. And it seems women are more stressed than men over money. A survey of 1000 Millennials by micro-investment app Raiz Invest (formerly known as Acorns) suggests more than two out of five women are often or always feeling financially stressed, compared to just 28 per cent of men. Women felt this stress impacting their wellbeing. Among those women saying they were often or always financially stressed, nearly two out of three said they experience sleepless nights, roughly the same number experience depression and 45 per cent illness. Paridhi Jain, the founder of SkilledSmart, the course undertaken by Sandy Golka, says there are lots of structural reasons why women are financially disadvantaged. "But being under-educated means they cannot maximise opportunities within their control either," she says. "As a result, not only are women worse off financially, they're also more vulnerable. With more women living alone longer, financial capability is critical for the achievement of financial independence and resilience." Finance language masculine Bronwyn Bruce, who is studying for a research master's degree on barriers women face in engaging with the investment services industry, says industry needs to better cater to the needs of women, starting from the way superannuation and investment products are marketed. Bruce, who writes a blog, Miss Money Box, says even the language of the finance industry tends to be masculine and does not connect with women. "Check any news site or television finance segment and youll see that the people writing or talking about finance are pretty much middle-aged white men," she says. "The finance industry thrives on the use of jargon and acronyms which do more to exclude, rather than include," she says. Where to seek help There are several good sources of information and courses to get better educated on personal finances. Reading the Money section in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age is a good start! Websites The best place to find general information at no cost is the MoneySmart website run by the financial services regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. As well as having helpful tips for everything from credit cards to retirement the site has a range of calculators where you can, for example, put in the numbers and see how much you will likely have in retirement income. There are other sites that provide lots of free, high-quality information, such as Financy, which has an emphasis on helping women becoming better money managers. The Miss Money Box, by Bronwyn Bruce, is aimed at younger women and has a lot of good information that demystifies finance. Courses Money Mentor Way is the website of Fairfax Media money columnist Nicole Pederson McKinnon, with free content and a fee-paying 12-Step Prosperity Plan interactive e-Book, with Step 1 provided free. SkilledSmart has a six week fee-paying course Get Money Smart described as a money school for adults' taught by taught by an experienced financial adviser. The site recently launched a virtual classroom for those who cannot attend classes in person. If the Australian Taxation Office caught more than 400 ACT businesses underpaying their employees superannuation to the tune of $7 million, how many more are getting away with it? It's called the "superannuation guarantee" for a reason. But as the spotlight hits a growing number of businesses either purposely or mistakenly not paying wages correctly, the government needs to step up and take swift action to increase penalties and implement more rigorous checks to curb the problem. The revelation of the extent to which ACT workers are being underpaid superannuation, published in todays Sunday Canberra Times, offers but a glimpse of the wage theft epidemic in the territory. In recent days, Lush cosmetics has been revealed as the latest company to underpay its workforce by $2 million over eight years. The company touts itself as an ethical brand, and apologised profusely when it realised the mistake. It announced the large-scale error after an internal investigation. However, that mistake left some Lush staff members as much as $10,000 out of pocket. An alleged gun-wielding carjacker has been charged with a string of offences after being tracked by the police helicopter and arrested by officers following an alleged crime spree in Brisbane overnight. Police said officers were called to a unit complex in Kedron, on Brisbane's northside, after reports a man armed with a gun had followed people into the underground carpark and threatened them. Queensland police used one of their helicopters to track an allegedly stolen vehicle and arrest the alleged offender. Credit:Nine Network It will be alleged the man twice demanded the victims give him the keys to their car just before 9pm, but they refused and the man fled. It will also be alleged the same armed man threatened a separate group of people in another car on Lambert Street in Kangaroo Point at about 9.50pm and managed to steal their vehicle. A Brisbane girl will celebrate her 13th birthday on Sunday, but this is no ordinary birthday party. Instead of asking for presents, guests buy a ticket to get in and the proceeds are sent to remote Papua New Guinea to help build a new school. Jordanna Muddle said she already has everything she needs and did not want people to "waste their money", so she asked guests to donate to children who could benefit from their generosity. Jordanna Muddle is using her 13th birthday party to fund the completion of a new school in remote Papua New Guinea. Before settling in Brisbane 18 months ago, the Muddle family had lived in Bangladesh, India, the United Arab Emirates and PNG due to Jordanna's father's job. A man has been charged with arson after a house and car were destroyed by fire west of Brisbane on Friday night. Emergency services were called at 9.10pm to the home on Clive Crescent in Withcott, just outside Toowoomba, where they found the home engulfed in flames. Firefighters managed to contain the flames and all occupants escaped. Credit:7 News Brisbane A car parked in the adjoining carport also caught fire and was destroyed. The contents in a shed were also alight, but firefighters extinguished the flames before the entire structure was engulfed. "Sometimes, just with sheds that are close to homes, the radiated heat can ignite the contents inside those sheds, so we've got in and cut that front door with our disk cutter and extinguished that fire," a Queensland Fire and Emergency Service spokesman told 7 News at the scene. Howard cant hide his identity politics by calling for denunciation of others. Christopher Hood, Queanbeyan Light rail furphy Dale Welsby (July 16) offers a defence for the light rail on two grounds: (1) the transformational effects in other cities, and (2) that Canberra is an empty city with outdated transport technology. These are two of the main arguments that have been put by the government using the terms vibrant and sustainable. If I were to complete their argument, it is that greenfield development (eg Kowen) cannot be afforded on environmental and economic grounds. What a load of rubbish! Who wants to transform a unique city recognised around the world for its urban planning (pre-Barr) that integrates the city into its beautiful natural surroundings? Besides, if you want to see a lively and healthy city, just go to the playing fields around Canberra on the weekend and see real mums and dads and kids in community. Furthermore, you could do a lot for the environment by providing jobs for people in their own town. Investing many billions of dollars into a new transport system demands an evaluation of the alternatives new transport technology ranging from electric buses to automated systems abounds, all with economic, functional and environmental advantages. Recent research has cast doubt on how much environmental advantage there is in dense living and there is no reason to believe that light rail will substantially improve overall patronage of public transport, so why not invest in what people value most, their own home and bit of land? Come on light rail opponents your silence is embarrassing. John L Smith, Farrer No fair go for all On Census night, 2016, 116,000 Australians registered as homeless, an increase of 14 per cent from 2011, with 8200 sleeping rough (Australian Homelessness Monitor). Foodbank Australia says 3.6million Australians have been food-insecure in the last 12 months, one in five being children (Insight, July 10). In recognition of this latter fact, thousands of schools are now running breakfast clubs to provide a healthy start to the day. Sadly this seems reminiscent of depression soup kitchens! Ironically Australias boasted 27 years of unbroken economic growth has done nothing to ease the iniquity of homelessness (Homelessness situation not getting any better, Sunday CT, July 15, p.8). Somehow it is not prioritised, unlike the chimera threat, continually reinforced, to Australian sovereignty from hostile forces, necessitating spending eye-watering billions on anachronistic weapons designed to fight wars long past, devoid of relevance to the age of cyber technology. Politicians chose not to treat homelessness with the urgency it deserves. Australian Human Rights Commissioner Chris Sidoti, at a 1996 National Conference on Homelessness, stated: Adequate housing is essential for human survival with dignity. However home ownership has become an unattainable dream for increasing numbers of Australians, and an unaffordable luxury for many owners, condemned to slave in the gig economy for low wages and legislated-away penalty rates. Australia, land of the fair go was mere flag-waving jingoism! Albert M. White, Queanbeyan Bans dont work Theres a saying in English about closing the barn door after the horses have bolted. It could be applied to the news from Cyprus (Theres far too much online extremist content, canberratimes.com.au, July 18). Prohibition doesnt work. Nor does censorship. Leave the junk where it is. Publicise it. Criticise it. Mock it. Hack it and collect the metadata. When I first went to university one had to belong to the banned book club to even get a copy of the Kama Sutra translated by Sir Richard Burton. Then the draconian censorship laws were dropped and one could buy The Anarchist Handbook and Maos Little Red Book from Smiths Alternative Bookshop in Sydney but on the strict understanding that it could be true that ASIO photographed everyone who entered the store. Its sort of like fishing. You have to bait the hook. A bit of burley doesnt hurt either. Gary J. Wilson, Macgregor Cashed up migrants are increasingly driving small business in Melbourne and Sydney as competition heats up for lucrative investment dollars. Victoria is outstripping NSW three-to-one for nominations in the business and innovation visa category, Department of Home Affairs figures show, which requires migrants to invest up to $500,000 in a business in Sydney or $400,000 in Melbourne. There was a 58 per cent increase in applications for this visa category in the 2016-2017 financial year. Demand for places in the stream is up from 9,575 to 15,096 persons. LRG Lawyers migration mangager Mark Ryan said while a provable business background and assets were still mandatory, NSW and Victoria were targeting overseas business persons that do not have to go through the same employment and skills requirements of the old 457 visa (or current 482 visa). "They are investing in Australian business, hiring Australian workers and positively contributing to the Australian economy," he said. Voters in the NSW Riverina will head to the polls twice in a matter of months after Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced disgraced Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire would resign from State Parliament. Mr Maguire last week quit the Liberal Party and his role as parliamentary secretary, after a corruption inquiry heard secret recordings of him discussing potential commissions with a local councillor from property deals with a wealthy Chinese developer. But a defiant Mr Maguire had until now refused to quit NSW politics, saying he would remain in Parliament until the March 2019 state election. Daryl Maguire has given evidence at an ICAC public inquiry into allegations concerning the former Canterbury City Council. Credit:Janie Barrett On Saturday afternoon, Ms Berejiklian said Mr Maguire would resign some time next week, before Parliament resumes on August 7. A byelection will be held in the seat of Wagga Wagga, Ms Berejiklian said. Soul-searching weekend for WA's dual citizenship MPs In 2017, after two Greens MPs pulled the pin on their parliamentary careers because they were dual citizens in breach of the constitution, both Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten were pretty confident their MPs had nothing to worry about. But here we are a year later and 15 parliamentarians in total have been disqualified from sitting in parliament, despite those assurances, including Labor's Josh Wilson, the former Brit who will be contesting the seat of Fremantle next Saturday. Premier Mark McGowan does not want his government distracted by questions over whether his dual citizen ministers are entitled to sit in parliament. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Enter a little-known "foreign allegiance" provision of the WA constitution and analysis from constitutional lawyer Lorraine Finlay suggesting that WA politicians who have travelled on or who have renewed foreign passports might be disqualified for sitting in state parliament. Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor The NCLAT on Saturday started its hearing over the fate of debt-ridden Binani Cements, which has received bids from and Bharat Group. The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) directed the matter to be listed on August 1, from when it would start day-to-day hearings on the cross petitions filed by Bharat Group firm Rajputana Properties and the country's largest maker Earlier on July 2, the Supreme Court had transferred all matters related to corporate insolvency resolution process of Binani to the appellate tribunal from the National Company Law Tribunal, Kolkata. The apex court had directed NCLAT to hear the case on a day-to-day basis. Rajputana Properties had moved the Supreme Court against a decision by the lenders of Binani to consider the revised resolution plan submitted by The Committee of Creditors had also asked Rajputana Properties to revise its offer of Rs 69.3 billion. UltraTech Cement's revised offer was at Rs 79 billion, against its earlier bid of Rs 72 billion. was earlier the second-highest bidder and had come up with an improved offer, backed by promoters of Binani Cements. The tribunal has, however, held that Maran will be entitled to a refund of Rs 5.79 billion, the subscription amount he made for warrants and preference shares. Even so, this will not result in a new liability for the airline, since it has already deposited the amount with the high court in Delhi, said a source close to the airline. Maran sold his ... 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 A 28-year-old man was allegedly lynched by a group of people on suspicion that he was smuggling cows in Rajasthan's Alwar district, a police official said on Saturday. Akbar Khan, a resident of Kolgaon in Haryana, and another man were taking two cows to their village through a forest area near Lalawandi village in Alwar district last night, when a group of people severely thrashed Khan, Ramgarh police station SHO Subhash Sharma said. Sharma said the people suspected Khan was smuggling cows. The allegation is yet to be verified, he said. The other man with Khan managed to escape, he added. Khan was rushed to a government hospital in Ramgarh, where doctors declared him brought dead. The body has been kept at a mortuary in Alwar, the SHO said. A post mortem is expected to be conducted after Khan's family members reach the hospital. A case has been registered against unidentified people under IPC Section 302, the officer said. Senior Congress leader and former Union minister on Saturday claimed that 60,000 Indian youth, a substantial number of them from Punjab, were detained at the detention camps along the US-Mexico border. He said he had personally visited the border area during his recent US visit and was alarmed by the situation there. Addressing a party workers' meeting organised by Punjab Congress secretary Satwinder Jawaddi here, Tewari said that he was told during his visit that 60,000 Indians, who had tried to sneak illegally into the US through Mexico, had been detained by the US authorities. "Of these, over ninety per cent are Punjabis," he added. Expressing concern over the plight of these stranded youth, Tewari said their release has to be dealt at the level of the Ministry External Affairs and he had already raised the matter. He added that Punjab also needed to create job avenues for the youth. Speaking about the Congress' prospects for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the former Ludhiana MP said that the "countdown" of the NDA government had started. "Their despair and frustration were revealed during the Prime Minister's speech in the during the no-confidence motion," he said. "The NDA may have won the confidence of the House, but it has actually lost the confidence of people across India," he added Tewari asserted that after the general elections next year, a "progressive and secular" government will be in power at the Centre. The BJP-led government on Saturday announced a special package of Rs 212.22 billion for the backward regions of Vidarbha, and North in the state. Finance Minister told the Legislative Assembly that the government would set up a special "facility" in Nagpur to monitor its implementation over the next one-and-half years. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the package was a reply to those who were questioning the purpose of holding the Monsoon session of the legislature in Nagpur. "It is a very time-bound programme. You asked why the Monsoon session was convened in Nagpur. It was convened to ensure development of and Marathwada, which did not happen during your tenure," the chief minister said. "All these years, and remained backward during earlier regimes (of Congress-NCP)... Hence, we are announcing the package to fast-track the development of and Vidarbha," Mungantiwar said. He also assured people of Konkan and other backward areas that their concerns will be addressed. "Some people may have doubts from where Rs 212.22 billion will come? Don't worry. We have thought of how to raise the money," he said, adding that the demand for funds would be made to the GST Council. The package would focus on development of agriculture, industries, irrigation and tourism, the finance minister said. Under the package, the government promised to complete 83 small irrigation projects and 6 medium and big projects in the near future in Vidarbha, Marathwada and North at an estimated cost of Rs 134.22 billion. These projects would help irrigate 256,000 hectares area in these regions. "A war room" has been set up in the state secretariat in Mumbai for this, Mungantiwar said. The government is also increasing subsidy for drip irrigation by 15 per cent in all 19 districts of and Marathwada, he said, adding that Rs 1 billion would be allotted for this. The Fadnavis dispensation also aims to create 30,000 farm ponds in Marathwada, the minister said. Cotton-to-cloth industry clusters would be developed in Nagpur and Vardha, he said. A milk collection network and processing facilities would be created, Mungantiwar said, adding that a new government milk brand "Gondavana" would be created on the lines of the Mahananda brand. A plant will be set up in Gadchiroli district to manufacture products under the brand name. ALSO READ: Milk farmers strike in Maharashtra intensifies as protesters return tankers A "skill university" would be set up at Aurangabad, while hostels would be constructed in all 19 districts of Vidarbha and Marathwada, the finance minister said. The varsity would be set up through the funds which became available after the Union Minority Affairs Ministry abolished the Haj subsidy, he added. A medical college would be set up on a private-public-partnership basis at Washim and the government would bear the costs of setting up a dental college on the same premises, he said. Self-help groups would be created for women from minority communities, he informed the House. Vidarbha and Marathwada are considered less developed compared to more prosperous Western Maharashtra. A section of Vidarbha leaders have been seeking separate statehood for long. Automakers like Tesla, Toyota and Volkswagen go to great lengths to keep their technical information confidential. Details about assembly line machinery and proprietary robotics are among the industrys most closely guarded trade secrets. But this month, a security researcher came across tens of thousands of sensitive corporate documents including many from nearly all of the largest auto manufacturers on the open internet, unprotected. The trove included material from more than 100 companies that had interacted with a small Canadian company, Level One Robotics ... The Goods and Services Tax Council has pruned the list of items under the peak 28 per cent rate. It said on Saturday that it was cutting the rates for consumer goods such as refrigerators, small TV sets, washing machines and vacuum cleaners the estimated cost to the exchequer is at Rs 60 billion a year. The Council also announced cuts in rates on a number of other items, including sanitary napkins from 12 per cent to nil and on e-books to 12 per cent from 18 per cent. All these cuts will be effective from the coming Friday, said Finance Minister Piyush Goyal. It also ... All information regarding the timings and the date of the Kerala PSC 2018 exam will be out on its official website --- thulasi.psc.kerala.gov.in or click here PSC Chairman MK Sakeer informed that the candidates will be updated with proper information once the syllabus and eligibility criteria for the examination was finalised. So candidates are advised to keep checking the website "As of now, we have the facility for only 3,600 ... 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 US Defense Secretary has sought waivers from sanctions on some countries making a transition from their military dependence on Russia, asserting that it will allow them to build closer security ties with America and strengthen US' allies in key regions. Mattis' statement did not mention India, but for all practical purposes he has been seeking waivers for India from the punitive Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions ACT or CAATSA, under which sanctions kick off on countries that purchase significant military equipment from Russia. Though the act targets Russia, it is having its unintended consequences on India, which is planning to buy five S-400 Triumf air defence systems for around USD 4.5 billion from Russia which US officials say could be considered as a significant military purchase. Mattis, who recently wrote a letter on the matter to chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Senator John McCain, demanded that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo be empowered with the authority of issuing waivers to certain countries when it comes to the US sanctions on Russia under CAATSA. Russia should suffer consequences for its aggressive, destabilising behaviour and its illegal occupation of Ukraine. However, as we impose necessary and well-deserved costs for their malign behaviour, providing the Secretary of State with a CAATSA waiver authority is imperative, Mattis said. Doing so allows nations to build a closer security relationship with the US as they continue to transition from reliance on Russian military equipment, the Defense Secretary said in a statement yesterday. "The fundamental question we must ask ourselves is do we wish to strengthen our partners in key regions or leave them with no other option than to turn to Russia, thereby undermining an once in a generation opportunity to more closely align nations with the US vision for global security and stability," Mattis said. Last week, several US lawmakers had said that they were working to get CAATSA waivers for India. "One of the biggest proponents of the importance of this relationship is Secretary Mattis... This (waiver) is important for our country. This is important for India. This is important for the strategic relationships," Senator Dan Sullivan said during the annual leadership conference of US India Strategic and Partnership Forum. "I'm hopeful that we're gonna get there on something that will advance our country's interests and advance India's interest and build that trust," Sullivan said as he called for concrete actions in Indo-US defence relationship. ALSO READ: Tariffs not the only reason Trump is attacking EU and siding with Russia Responding to a similar question at a separate panel, Senator Mark Warner, who is a strong proponent of the CAATSA, said the lawmakers were looking into it and did not want India to suffer its unintended consequences. "There are some with the view that the bill does allow flexibility. House version gives a little more on the waiver side. We are trying to investigate on the Senate side, how we can allow this military partnership to grow but not undermine the principles around CAATSA," Warner said. "It would be easier, I say to my Indian colleagues and friends, if this was simply parts of old aircraft that had been purchased 20 years before rather than a USD 4 billion plus air defence system. I do understand as well this was negotiated long before," he said, adding that this long relationship cannot be broken overnight. Indian Ambassador to the US Navtej Singh Sarna said India was not the target of the federal law and should not become collateral damage of it. The administration has to find a way in which they can find a waiver for the partner on this particular thorny issue, he said. "We are hopeful that given the broad understanding on this issue on the Hill as well as the administrations enthusiasm behind it, he added. Mukesh Aghi, the president of the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF), said there was a very positive momentum. "The momentum that I am seeing is positive. The attitude and intentions (of the Trump Administration) are positive. So hopefully, we will have a positive solution (on the CAATSA and Iranian oil sanctions before the next 2+2 India-US Dialogue)," he told PTI last week. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's daughter has refused to move from Adiala jail in Rawalpindi to the rest house of Sihala Police Training College in Islamabad. According to Geo TV, Maryam told authorities that she would prefer staying with her father and husband, Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar at the Adiala jail. The jail administration wants to relocate Maryam to the Sihala rest house as the Adiala jail does not have facilities for female prisoners, as per the report. Earlier on Wednesday, sources told Geo TV that Sharif and Maryam were likely to be shifted from Adiala jail in Rawalpindi to Sihala rest house in Islamabad. The Islamabad chief commissioner had earlier declared the rest house as a sub-jail to keep the two figures. On July 6, Sharif and Maryam were convicted in the Avenfield reference case by the Accountability Court. While Sharif was given ten years of imprisonment and slapped with a fine of eight million pounds, Maryam was awarded eight years in jail and fined two million pounds. Also, Safdar was given a one-year sentence without any fine. Upon their arrival at Lahore, the father-daughter duo was taken to Islamabad by a special chartered flight, from where they were taken to Adiala jail in Rawalpindi. It should be noted that Sharif and Maryam were in London for a month to meet the former's ailing wife, Kulsoom Nawaz, who is undergoing treatment for cancer. On Tuesday, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had cancelled the bail requests of Sharif, Maryam and Safdar in connection to the Avenfield properties case. A two-judge division bench comprising Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kyani had issued a notice to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to submit a response on appeals filed by the Sharif family. The bench rejected the appeal to grant bail to Sharif, Maryam and Safdar, and directed the NAB to submit its reply to the application seeking to suspend their conviction. Furthermore, it requested the authorities to present a complete record of the Avenfield judgment in the next hearing. The United States has raised concern over the participation of Lashkar-e-Taiba-affiliated (LeT) individuals in the July 25 election, according to a media report. America has conveyed its concern to Islamabad, even as the European Union (EU) urged Pakistan to ensure "safe and secure conditions" for the polls. "We have repeatedly expressed our concerns to the Pakistani government about LeT, including the participation of LeT-affiliated individuals in the elections," the US State Department said in a statement, according to the Dawn newspaper. The State Department noted that the Pakistan Election Commission had rejected the registration of Milli Muslim League (MML) in June, citing "its linkages to LeT, an internationally-sanctioned terrorist organisation", it said. The statement pointed out that the State Department also amended its Foreign Terrorist Organisation designation of LeT in April to add the MML as a Lashkar alias. The State Department had in an earlier statement stressed the need for continuing the electoral process despite recent terrorist attacks targeting Pakistani politicians. Meanwhile, the European Union issued a statement in Brussels and urged Islamabad to ensure that electoral activities in all parts of Pakistan continued in "safe and secure conditions", the report said. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said last week that Japan strongly hoped the general election would be held this month freely, fairly and peacefully, without giving in to terrorists who wanted to disturb the democratic process in Pakistan. In Washington, State Department's spokesperson Heather Nauert said that such attacks on political candidates and their supporters were "cowardly attempts to deprive the Pakistani people of their democratic rights". The said that it expected Pakistani authorities to "take all the necessary steps to ensure that electoral activities in all parts of the country take place in safe and secure conditions". All political contestants and citizens should be able to "exercise their constitutional rights to participate in the forthcoming general elections without intimidation or fear for their security," it added. Notably, it has been reported that individuals of banned outfits were openly taking part in the elections and even forging alliances with mainstream political parties. On June 27, Pakistan's National Counter-Terrorism Authority (NACTA) officially removed the ban on Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) and unfreezed assets of its top leader, Ahmad Ludhianvi. Ludhianvi reportedly met former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who is contesting from Islamabad, and announced support to him. Autonomous vehicles that will outperform buses, cost less than Uber and travel faster than cars stuck in traffic today are two years away. Or 10. Or 30. But visions of the future theyll bring have already crept into City Council meetings, political campaigns, state legislation and decisions about what cities should build today. That unnerves some transportation planners and transit advocates, who fear unrealistic hopes for driverless cars and how soon theyll get here could lead cities to mortgage the present for something better they havent ... For all the drama of knife-edge votes in Parliament, the sniping and sabotage, the resignations and political insurrections, Britain is now staring at a hard truth. Its deadline for exiting the European Union is less than nine months away. And there is no workable plan in sight. The political fight is so noisy, stoked by a partisan British news media, that it is easy to forget what could be coming if no agreement is made: a disorderly divorce, the so-called cliff-edge scenario as in the country could metaphorically fall off one. Trucks stuck at ports. Supermarket ... At least 17 people were killed after an amphibious tour boat carrying 31 people capsized on Table Rock Lake near Branson town in Missouri. The 'Ride the Ducks' boat tipped over when strong winds and large waves swept through the area, as a result killing the driver as well, CNN reported. Rescue authorities fished out the bodies from the lake and the age range of the deceased varies from one year to 70 years. A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for Branson at around 6:30 p.m on (Friday local time), about 30 minutes before the boat capsized. There were several reports of trees falling down and structural damage, with winds reaching a high of 63 mph. Missouri Governor Michael Parson said that nine members of a family were killed in the tragedy. He also met with first responders, survivors and the victims of the families killed in the mishap. He stated that there was a forecast of severe storms for southeast Missouri on Friday, while also issuing a warning to residents to take preventive actions and follow weather bulletin reports. Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader said that the boat was at the bottom of the lake and is likely to be recovered by Monday. US President Donald Trump expressed his condolences to those killed in the tragedy. He tweeted, "My deepest sympathies to the families and friends of those involved in the terrible boat accident which just took place in Missouri. Such a tragedy, such a great loss. May God be with you all!" Meanwhile, the White House condemned the incident and said in a statement, "President Donald J. Trump and first lady Melania Trump extend their deepest sympathies to all those affected by yesterday's boating accident on Table Rock Lake near Branson, Missouri. Tragically, a tourism boat sank during a storm while out on the lake, killing 17 people and injuring several others." "Our prayers are with the victims and their loved ones. We are thankful for the brave first responders and dive crews, whose quick and decisive actions have saved many lives, and we continue to pray for their safety as their search, rescue, and recovery operations continue. Since the incident occurred, the Administration has been in contact with Governor (Mike) Parson and other state and local officials, and the President will continue to monitor and receive regular updates on the situation," the statement added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two people were arrested on Saturday in connection with brutal lynching of a 28-year-old Muslim in Alwar district on suspicion of cow smuggling. The incident occurred on the intervening night of Friday-Saturday. The police rushed the victim to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead. The investigation into the case is underway. Inspector General, Jaipur range, Himant Pridarshu, said: "Two suspects were taken to police station from the spot and later arrested after we found their involvement in the killing of the man. The investigation is being carried out to find other culprits. Postmortem of the body is being done." Narrating his ordeal to media, Suleiman, the father of the deceased, said that he wanted a speedy justice for his son's killing and demanded arrest of the remaining accused at the earliest. "We want justice. The culprits should be arrested soon," he said. Taking note of the matter, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje condemned the incident and assured stern action against the perpetrators. "The incident of the alleged lynching of a person transporting bovines in Alwar district is condemnable. The strictest possible action shall be taken against the perpetrators," Raje tweeted. The incident took place on the same day when the issue of mob lynching reverberated in the Lok Sabha during the debate on a no-confidence motion against the NDA government. Speaking in the lower house, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged all the state governments to take stringent action against those involved in mob lynching incidents and punish them to curb the menace prevailing in the country at the earliest. The incidents of mob lynching have been on the rise in the country. As per data compiled by the Ministry of Home Affairs, 45 people were killed in 40 different cases of mob lynching across nine states between 2014 and 3 March 2018. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Calling incidents of mob-lynching unfortunate, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday said stringent law is necessary to curb mob violence. Reacting to the latest Alwar mob-lynching incident in which a Muslim died, Naidu told the media: "It is very unfortunate. Even the Supreme Court has directed to bring strong laws on this. Problems of SC/STs, minorities, women are increasing. All governments should be very firm. We have to bring new laws to curb this type of mob violence." Meanwhile, two people were arrested today in connection with brutal lynching of a 28-year-old Muslim in Alwar district on suspicion of cow smuggling. The incident occurred on the intervening night of Friday-Saturday. The police rushed the victim to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead. The investigation into the case is underway. Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje condemned the incident and assured stern action against the perpetrators. The incident took place on the same day when the issue of mob lynching reverberated in the Lok Sabha during the debate on a no-confidence motion against the NDA government. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged all the state governments to take stringent action against those involved in mob lynching incidents and punish them to curb the menace prevailing in the country at the earliest. The incidents of mob lynching have been on the rise in the country. As per data compiled by the Ministry of Home Affairs, 45 people were killed in 40 different cases of mob lynching across nine states between 2014 and 3 March 2018. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hollywood actor Anthony Anderson has denied claims of allegedly assaulting a woman. According to E! Online, the woman in question claimed that the 'Romeo Must Die' actor assaulted her at a business meeting. Being inspired by the #MeToo movement, the woman later decided to file a complaint. Currently, a police investigation is underway as Anderson is listed as a suspect. Anderson's spokesperson in a statement said, "It's unfortunate that anyone can file a police report whether it is true or false. The authorities have not contacted Anthony or any of his representatives about this matter. Anthony unequivocally disputes the claim." The allegation come days after the actor was nominated for an Emmy award for Outstanding Lead actor in a comedy series. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government defeated the Opposition's No-Confidence Motion in the Lok Sabha, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has said that "Bharatiya Janata Party has betrayed" the state yet again. Naidu, who will be travelling to New Delhi later today, said that he would address the nation about the current situation of the state. "Sentiments of 5 crore people of Andhra Pradesh are hurt. I'm coming to Delhi on July 21. I want to tell the nation what is being done to the state. BJP has betrayed us yet again and that's unfortunate," said Chandrababu Naidu while speaking to ANI. Meanwhile, another Telugu Desam Party MP Jayadev Galla said that the Prime Minister is tying up with the rivals to weaken the state. "For him (PM) to say that we are doing something for political gain it is ridiculous. He is tying up with our rivals while he is still in alliance with us and trying to weaken by starving our state (Andhra Pradesh) of funds," Jayadev Galla told ANI. On the other hand, another TDP MP K Srinivas said that their party was successful in showcasing the Prime Minister's failures. "It is not about majority, it is about morality. Morality won today. We wanted to showcase the failures of PM and his govt. You take unemployment, farmers distress, economic slowdown and more. He has failed on every aspect and lost the trust of people of the country," said K. Srinivas. On Friday, Prime Minister Modi-led NDA Government had sailed through its first floor test in Lok Sabha by defeating the No-Confidence Motion moved by Telugu Desam Party (TDP). The government had a comfortable majority of 325 votes in its favour, who voted against the No Confidence Motion in contrast to 126 votes by the Opposition parties out of total 451 Members of Parliament present in the Lok Sabha. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) members had staged a walk-out while NDA ally Shiv Sena abstained from voting. The NDA's massive victory came after an 11-hour debate, followed by a 90-minute reply by the Prime Minister, during which he listed out the achievements of his government and underlined the failures of the Congress and its allies during their previous terms. This was also the first major unity strength of the Opposition parties that are planning to come together for 'Grand Alliance' hoping to fight the BJP in the 2019 general elections. Earlier on July 15, Naidu wrote letters to non-BJP, non-Congress parties' presidents and Parliamentary party leaders seeking support on a No-Confidence Motion against the Centre in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament over the demand for special category status to Andhra Pradesh. The TDP had earlier made six-subgroups of the party leaders, who would meet and handover Naidu's letter and a booklet explaining the injustice done to the state and seek support. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Following the allegations of sexual assaults filed by a woman with the Los Angeles Police Department, "Black-ish" star Anthony Anderson is under criminal investigation. Anderson allegedly assaulted the woman last year after an event that she catered for him. The incident took place when the two met again to discuss future opportunities for business, reported Variety quoting The Blast. The Emmy Nominated actor, however "unequivocally disputes" the claim. "It's unfortunate that anyone can file a police report, whether it is true or false. The authorities have not contacted Anthony or any of his representatives about this matter. Anthony unequivocally disputes the claim," Variety quoted the statement of Anderson's representative. A report against the actor was not filed by the woman immediately, she later felt comfortable in coming out with it as the #MeToo movement gained momentum. Anderson was previously accused, along with assistant director Wayne Witherspoon, of raping an extra on the sets of the 2004 film "Hustle and Flow". The charges were dropped later. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Shehbaz Sharif-led Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) received a fresh jolt when its leader Hanif Abbasi was on Saturday sentenced to life imprisonment in ephedrine quota case. An anti-narcotics court sentenced Abbasi, who was facing charges of allegedly misusing 500kg of the controlled chemical ephedrine, which he got for his pharmaceutical company, Gray Pharmaceutical in 2010, Geo TV reported. In the ruling, the court stated that nearly 363kg of ephedrine was rightly used and added that Abbasi did not provide evidence on the usage of the remaining quantity of ephedrine. Seven others accused in the case were acquitted by the court, giving them the benefit of doubt. On Tuesday, the Pakistan Supreme Court rejected Abbasi's plea to delay the trial's deadline. A day before the verdict, anti-narcotics court judge Mohammad Akram Khan also dismissed the PML-N leader's petition, as per the report. In June 2012, Abbasi and his associates were booked by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) under different sections of the Control of Narcotics Substances (CNS) Act. ANF officials had alleged that Abbasi sold ephedrine drug to narcotics smugglers, who used to make "party drugs." A CNS court had indicted Abbasi and his brother, among other accused in 2014. Abbasi was to contest from NA-60 seat in Rawalpindi and was pitted against Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rasheed, who was backed by Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Reacting to the verdict, Shehbaz hit out at its timing saying it "clearly showed a discriminatory attitude towards [the] PML-N." Former Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that justice was not served and that the verdict had made the upcoming general elections "controversial". Meanwhile, PTI chairman Imran Khan welcomed the verdict, saying "one more PML-N member was going to Adiala jail in Rawalpindi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A day after an Israeli soldier was killed at the Gaza Strip, Israel and Hamas on Saturday announced a ceasefire ending hours-long Israeli strikes across the border. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum took to his Twitter handle and said, "With Egyptian and UN efforts, [an agreement] was reached to return to the previous situation of a ceasefire between the occupation and Palestinian factions." Hamas is the Islamic militant group that controls Gaza and has been waging a war with Israel since its founding in 1987. On late Friday evening, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced that their soldier was killed after being shot at in the Gaza Strip, The Times of Israel reported. "Today, an IDF combat soldier was killed during operational activity near the southern Gaza Strip. During the incident, a terrorist squad shot at IDF troops and the IDF soldier was severely injured. He later succumbed to his wounds," it said in a statement. Following this, the Israeli air force launched airstrikes at Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip. An IDF spokesperson wrote on Twitter, "The IDF struck 60 sites in 3 Hamas battalion compounds. The targets included weapon manufacturing sites, a shaft to a tunnel network, a factory used for underground infrastructure manufacturing, a UAV warehouse, military operations room, training facilities, and observation posts." The Palestinian health ministry previously stated that four of its nationals were killed by Israeli forces near the Gaza-Israel buffer zone on Friday. The four Palestinians were killed in two separate incidents, as per the report. Since March 30, Israeli forces have killed over 150 Palestinians and wounded more than 13,000 people. On May 15, the 'Great March of Return' rallies culminated to mark the anniversary of 'Nakba' or 'The Catastrophe', the forced removal of 750,000 Palestinians from their homes to clear the way for Israel's establishment in 1948. Prior to that, a large number of Palestinians gathered to protest the relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on May 14. The Palestinians are also demanding an end to Israel's 11-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has affected nearly two million people from getting access to basic needs. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two terrorists of Lashkar-e-Taiba were arrested by the Sopore police, with the assistance of Rashtriya Rifles and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) from Danger Pora in Jammu and Kashmir's Sopore on Saturday. The police recovered one grenade, one magazine, 15 rounds of AK- 47 and two matrix sheets. The police acted upon a credible intelligence source and arrested the two terrorists identified as Tanveer Ahmad Mir and Tanveer Ahmad Najar. The police were assisted by the 22 Rashtriya Rifles of the army and 177 and 179 battalions of the CRPF. The police have registered an FIR in the case in the Sopore police station and will further investigate the matter. On July 19, terrorists opened fire on a police party at Sopore bypass. No casualties were reported in the attack. And on June 18, a group of terrorists hurled a grenade at a police post in Sopore's Watergram area. In retaliation, the armed forces also initiated a firing on the terrorists and later launched a search operation in the region. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma recently launched the draft policy on the first state-level jackfruit mission at jackfruit festival 2018 in Shillong The one-day jackfruit festival, which displayed and sold various value-added jackfruit items, was organised by the department of agriculture with the theme - "the humble jack - with a large heart." The government has come up with the initiative to release a draft policy to boost the market value of jackfruits. This is considered a major step towards tapping the unexplored potential of horticulture crops and the rich natural resources available in the state of Meghalaya. While releasing the draft policy, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma focused on the need to expand the market of the nutritious fruit. This is a five-year plan mission. The idea is starting with awareness, training and food processing and how to set up the market. The purpose of doing this plan is that jackfruit trees are already there. Around Rs 400 crores of loss was incurred by Meghalaya, especially in the Garo hills, as the fruit is not being utilized," said Conrad Sangma. The five-year plan is targeted to promote research and technology induction in jackfruit value addition, which will be useful for the whole region. Meanwhile, Sangma has written to the Union Minister for Agriculture to consider the possibility of establishing a Research Centre on Jackfruit at Tura. Moreover, CM Conrad Sangma also stressed the need to create the right policy and right system for yielding better results which would lead to the change in the entire dynamics of the mission. Through this newly launched mission, the government would be able to tap the potential of jackfruit and aims to generate employment opportunities for over 80,000 farmers. Also, with such mission on cards, nutritious fruit like jackfruit is soon likely to emerge as one of the major cash crop of the region. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Alluding that detractors are trying to defame the central government, Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Saturday said, more lynching incidents will happen with the rise in popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Meghwal was reacting to the incident of a group of people allegedly killing a man in Rajasthan's Alwar over suspicion of cow smuggling on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday. "The more popular Modi ji becomes, the more such incidents will happen. In Bihar election it was 'Award Wapsi', in Uttar Pradesh elections it was mob lynching. In 2019 elections it will be something else. Prime Minister Modi gave several schemes, their effects can be seen, this (lynching) incident is just one reaction to it," Meghwal said. The minister termed the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 as the biggest case of mob lynching in India. He said, "We condemn mob-lynching but this isn't a single incident. You have to trace this back in history. Why does this happen? Who should stop this? What happened with Sikhs in 1984 was the biggest mob lynching of this nation's history." Meanwhile, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje condemned the latest incident of cow vigilantism, and assured stern action against the perpetrators. "The incident of alleged lynching of a person transporting bovines in Alwar district is condemnable. Strictest possible action shall be taken against the perpetrators," Raje tweeted. 28-year-old Akbar Khan was taking some cows to his village through a forest near Lalawandi area in the Alwar distrcit of Rajasthan when some locals allegedly thrashed him brutally, suspecting him to be a cow smuggler. The police immediately rushed the victim to a nearby hospital, where he was declared brought dead. Police have, so far, arrested two suspects and launched a manhunt for other suspects. In a similar incident, 50-year-old Pehlu Khan was beaten to death by cow vigilantes in the same district in April last year. Just on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged state governments to take stringent action against the culprits of mob lynching. The cases of mob fury have been on a rise in India. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, 45 persons were killed by mob in 40 cases across nine states between 2014 and March 03 this year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In yet another celebration to revive unity and brotherhood- socially and culturally- the first international festival of Mizoram was organised in Aizawl, which brought the Mizo ethnic community from across borders. Mizoram, one of the hill states of India and located at the easternmost part of the Northeast region, came alive as people in the region thronged Dengthuama Hall in Aizawl city and celebrated the first international cultural festival of the Mizo ethnic group with pomp and gaiety. Bordering with Myanmar and Bangladesh, Mizoram rolled out the red carpet for Mizo Hnahthlak International festival which saw huge participation from the Mizo tribal community living in different places and region. "The festival provides the kind of bonding that one doesn't feel it every day. During this festival, everybody feels like brothers and sisters and I think it's important for all the Mizos to organize such festival time again in the future," said one of the locals. The cultural fest featured the ethnic tribes and sub-tribes of Mizo community, which showcased the rich cultural folk dances. Clad in their colourful traditional attires, dance troops displayed the famous mass bamboo dance. The flawless and graceful movement of the women dancers, the beating of indigenous drums and the men folks' cautious movement of bamboo sticks culminates the in-depth beauty of the Mizo folk dance. The agricultural dances showcased by the Chakma and Hmar communities portrayed the folktales of the indigenous people and their lifestyles during the old days. Various cultural troops from neighbouring states of Assam, Manipur, and Tripura as well as Myanmar and Bangladesh also performed their distinct sub-tribal cultural dances. "We came from Myanmar. This festival is very great and we really enjoyed it. Organizing such festival will help us to reunite the Mizo who are staying in different places," said a participant from Myanmar, Rev JH Lalhluaia. Apart from the cultural programme, local artisans also put up stalls and displayed the colourful handmade traditional costumes. The colourful traditions and culture of this tribal community is highly regarded and recognized by the art lovers from across the globe. "We are Hlunbuang Handloom and Handicraft and we handcraft Mizo dress and as well as modern traditional dress. This time, many people had also ordered the traditional attires to have worn it on this festival," said one of the local artisans showcasing their work in the festival. The festival is aimed at uniting the Mizo ethnic community socially and culturally under a single platform though physically the community is scattered in various places. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 29 newborns have died from July 1 to 21, and six within the last one week, at a Special Newborn Care Unit in Madhya Pradesh's Guna District Hospital, allegedly due to medical negligence. However, a doctor at the hospital noted that the newborns were brought in critical conditions, and had a very slim chance for survival. "29 deaths till July 21 isn't a big figure, because, 948 newborns were admitted in last three months out of which 118 died. Also, 26 newborns died in April, 43 in May and 49 in June," Dr Jain told ANI. Investigation in the matter is underway. On a related note, at least two children died and four were left in critical condition on June 27, allegedly due to dysfunctional ACs on account of voltage fluctuation at a civil hospital in Haryana's Panipat city. The two infants were admitted to the civil hospital's sick newborn care unit (SNCU). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain urged the ethnic Mohajir community to have the courage to boycott Pakistan's general election slated for July 25. He accused the Pakistan Army to have already selected the next government. As the elections draw closer, he asserted that the international community was well aware of the Pakistan Army's "political engineering." "In case, the Mohajirs under any pressure go to the polling booth then they should use a different strategy of boycotting the elections, and they should never vote for the hypocrites. Whoever participates in the elections and casts vote would solely be a hypocrite," Hussain said. In a video message, the MQM leader claimed that the "traitors" who betrayed the MQM and the Mohajir Nation are misleading the Mohajirs. "These traitors are now serving the enemies of Mohajir and are fulfilling their agenda of eliminating the MQM and the Mohajir Nation. They are favouring the ghoulish and demonic military establishment of Pakistan, its ISI and other forces that are chasing the Mohajirs," he said. Hussain said that the "traitors" may deceive the people but they can never hide their sins from the creator. He claimed that the "traitors" have even leaked information about the hideouts of the Mohajirs and MQM workers. As a result, he said, the armed forces of Pakistan that are carrying a "Mohajir genocidal military crackdown have kidnapped them, detained them unlawfully and executed them". The MQM leader vowed that he would never stop the struggle for the rights of the Mohajir Nation. "The paramilitary Rangers are raiding cities of Sindh to kidnap MQM workers, but they lack the courage to face the Indian Army in Kashmir," the MQM leader said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 'Insatiable', a Netflix original dark comedy, is facing a backlash for promoting "fat-shaming". In the trailer that came out on Thursday, Disney actress Debby Ryan plays the role of Patty, a high school girl who loses a lot of weight during summers and shows up for the first day of her senior year, thirsty for revenge against everyone who bullied her for being overweight. Shortly after the trailer was released, Twitter exploded with comments criticising the plot of the series. A user tweeted, "Hey @netflix and @insatiable_. Stop creating/endorsing shows about how it's "cool" and "quirky" for girls to starve themselves. Also, painting the fat girl as a revenge-filled villain isn't cute or original. You're disgusting." Another tweet said, "you have a chance to make creative, engaging, original content from fat people about fat people's lives and you choose to ... put a skinny person in a fat suit and make jokes about how sad her life is and about what a crazy bitch she turns into. That's so lazy and pathetic." "I hate the concept for insatiable so f*****g much because it's rooted with the idea that fat=ugly that cause SO MANY people to have body image issues and i just wish people would stop pushing these disgusting unhealthy concepts onto a young/impressionable audience ugh" read another tweet 'Commando' actress Alyssa Milano, who plays the role of Patty's lawyer, responded to the backlash by tweeting, "We are not shaming Patty. We are addressing (through comedy) the damage that occurs from fat shaming. I hope that clears it up" Milano also tagged a 'Teen Vogue' article in the tweet saying the article will explain "it" more clearly. The link to the article was also tweeted by Debby. Insatiable is scheduled to release on August 10. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Oscar-nominated producer and son of director Nicholas Ray, Anthony Ray passed away at the age of 80. Ray's family informed that the actor-producer died on June 29 in Saco, Maine, confirmed The Hollywood Reporter. Ray appeared on Broadway in the Elia Kazan and William Inge drama 'The Dark at the Top of the Stairs'. He also appeared on the big screen in Anthony Mann's 'Men in War' (1957), Sidney J. Furie's 'A Cool Sound From Hell' (1959) and on television show 'The Twilight Zone', 'The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis', 'The Untouchables' and the soap opera 'Search for Tomorrow'. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Owing to the rich natural resources of the State, the people of Nagaland are turning to honey beekeeping as an alternate way of livelihood. Some people have even made honey beekeeping as their full-fledged occupation by setting up their farm in an open space. According to Zazve Rhisu, a honey bee keeper, people of this landlocked State are striving to make apiculture farming an avenue of employment generation for unemployed youths both in urban and rural areas. He added that given the natural resources in the State honey bee keeping has a good chance to overtake the conventional farming in few years. He further said that for a decade Nagaland Bee Keeping and Honey Mission made people aware of the benefits, alternate income sources and scientific methods of bee keeping for sustainable livelihood. Apiculture has a long tradition in the state as people practiced the crude methods by using bamboo boxes, log hives and underground etc. but now the modern methods like improved wooden boxes for better bee management are used adds Rhisu. A Honey Mission staff member said that earlier there was not much interest in the honey bee farming as they did not have enough knowledge but under Honey Mission people were trained in bee keeping and ways to generate income through it. A beneficiary of the scheme said that in Nagaland although there is potential and scope for honey bee keeping but people are still ignorant about the honey bee keeping programme. He further said that the Honey Mission aims to uplift the rural area and the people by promoting this work culture. An official of the Khadi and Villages Industry Commission explained that people of Nagaland also wanted to sfaeguard this age-old practice with the help from modern technology. He also said that in line with the 'Sweet Kranti' or Sweet Revolution, an initiative of the Prime Minister to boost mass production of honey on a mission mode, Khadi and Village Industries Commission, Ministry of MSME under Major Honey Mission Programme distributed free bee boxes and bee colonies with accessories to the people of Dimapur district. A total of 40 beneficiaries were given 10 free bee boxes each and tool kits under Rs. 49.78 crore honey missions, which is being implemented by KVIC in the state. The activities and its progress will be physically monitored by KVIC on monthly basis. This mission aims to provide sustainable livelihood programme creating employment and income generating avenues in the state including the far flung areas according to the official. Bee keeping is practiced not only for honey as food but also applied in agriculture for better crop yield, for extraction of wax and in the manufacture of cosmetics, and medicines etc. It is a sustainable and agriculture supportive activity which provides nutritional benefits, besides playing a vital role in maintaining ecological balance. At present, Asian honey bee, Stingless bee, Rock bee etc are hugely found in the region. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Following the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Council meeting in New Delhi on Saturday, Interim Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal announced reduced GST rates for a variety of commodities. Addressing a presser, Goyal said, "After careful considerations and discussion with the state finance ministers, we (the GST Council) have decided to implement these changes for the welfare of the middle classes and small businesses and traders. Besides revenue collection, the GST council will now focus on job creation as well." Apart from a 100 per cent waiver of GST on sanitary pads, the council has decided to nullify tax on raw materials such as stone, marble and wood, used by for making handicrafts like sculptures. Also, rakhis, sal leaves, the raw materials used to make regular brooms have also been fully exempted from being charged under GST. The GST charged for commodities such as lithium-ion batteries, vacuum cleaners, food grinders, mixers, storage water heaters, head dryers, hand dryers, paint, varnishes, water cooler, milk cooler, ice cream coolers, perfumes, toilet sprays and other toiletries has been slashed from 28 per cent to 18 per cent. The GST on handbags, jewellery box, wooden box for paintings, glass art ware, ornamental framed mirrors, handmade lamps, wax, natural gum, iron and brass products have been reduced from 18 per cent to 12 per cent. The GST on some commodities has been slashed from 18 per cent to five per cent, including ethanol, and solid bio-fuel pellets. Goyal asserted on the importance of reducing the tax on ethanol, as not only is it used for blending with petrol and diesel, it is also vital for the sugar industry, and will thus be very beneficial for the sugarcane farmers. Various fabrics, like Chenille fabrics, mats made via handlooms, fertilizer-grade phosphoric acid, which were earlier under the 12 per cent bracket, will be charged 5 per cent, while the GST on washing machine reduced from 28 per cent to 18 per cent. The changes that were announced today will be implemented from July 27. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday digitally launched an India-assisted emergency ambulance service in Sri Lanka. Addressing the inaugural event via video conference, Prime Minister Modi acknowledged the launch of the project as a "major achievement" in the development of Indo-Sri Lankan relations. "During my visit last year, I had promised that India will work for expanding the pre-hospital Emergency Ambulance Service all over Sri Lanka. I am happy that India has fulfilled its promise in a timely manner and we have marked the beginning of the second phase of the service," he said. Prime Minister Modi further assured that India has, and will always be the first responder for Sri Lanka. "It is not just a coincidence that India has the privilege to be Sri Lanka's partner in establishing this first responder service and in its expansion. In good times and bad, India has been, and will always be the first responder for Sri Lanka," he said. The Prime Minister also noted that Sri Lanka is not just a neighbour, but a trusted partner of India in South Asia. "When I look at Sri Lanka, I see not only a neighbour, but a very special and trusted partner of India in South Asia and in the Indian Ocean. I believe that our development cooperation with Sri Lanka is an important means for translating our vision of shared progress into reality. Our people should be in constant touch with each other so that we know each other better and become even closer friends," he added. Among the dignitaries present at the event was Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. India has given a grant of USD 22.8 million- 7.6 million dollars in the first phase and 15.2 million dollars for the country-wide expansion being launched today. Under the first phase, 88 ambulances have been purchased for the two provinces, while another 209 ambulances are being provided to cover all districts in the country. The Sri Lankan Prime Minister, while signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the countrywide expansion, stated that this is a good example of the Indian success story being transferred to Sri Lanka. This is the largest Indian grant project in Sri Lanka, after the Indian housing project. Apart from providing ambulances, the grant also covers the training of manpower in India and meeting operational costs for one year. . (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit to be held in Johannesburg next week, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson. The two leaders will discuss bilateral relations and cooperation within the BRICS framework. The 10th BRICS summit is scheduled to take place from July 25 to July 27. Prime Minister Modi will arrive in Rwanda on July 23 for a bilateral visit. He will then visit Uganda for two days, before arriving in South Africa on July 25. The meeting of the two leaders comes three months after the informal summit held in China's Wuhan city. During the Prime Minister's visit to China in April, both the leaders held delegation-level talks and underscored the need for strengthening bilateral relations between India and China. While Prime Minister Modi had said that the bilateral relations between the two Asian giants will be based on shared vision and strong relationship, President Xi agreed to cooperate and work with India to seek guidance. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress Party on Saturday claimed that party president Rahul Gandhi's hug shocked and surprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "When Prime Minister Modi can shake hands with the Prime Minister of Pakistan, why not with Rahul? We all expected Prime Minister Modi to return the affection with a smile, but Modi Ji looked shocked and surprised," Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said a press conference here. In an unexpected move, Rahul, on Friday, walked up to the Prime Minister and hugged him after concluding his speech in Lok Sabha during the discussion on the No-Confidence Motion. The Congress president's unexpected gesture left Parliamentarians surprised and also earned praise from his party leaders. Meanwhile, Shergill further claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is making all efforts to turn Hindustan into 'lynchistan.' "We were expecting that after the Supreme Court order, the BJP will change their opinion and way of thinking. But after the recent lynching incident, we are clear that they (BJP) are against democracy. The Alwar incident has proved that the BJP is not following any guidelines provided by the top court," he said. Shergill's remark came after a 28-year-old man was allegedly lynched in Alwar district on the intervening night of Friday-Saturday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In yet another case of mob lynching, a man was allegedly beaten to death in Rajasthan's Alwar district by an agitated mob on suspicion of cow smuggling. The incident took place on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday. Taking note of the matter, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje condemned the incident and assured stern action against the perpetrators "The incident of alleged lynching of a person transporting bovines in Alwar district is condemnable. Strictest possible action shall be taken against the perpetrators," Raje tweeted. 28-year-old Akbar Khan was taking some cows to his village through a forest near Lalawandi area when the locals thrashed him brutally. Meanwhile, Additional Superintendent of Police, Alwar, Anil Beniwal told ANI that the culprits will be arrested soon. "It is not clear if they were cow smugglers. The body of the deceased has been sent back to the his hometown Kolgaon situated Haryana after conducting the post mortem. We are trying to identify the culprits and arrests will be made soon," he said. The police immediately rushed the victim to the nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead. The investigation into the matter is underway and the police are yet to nab the accused. Earlier in a similar incident, a 50-year-old man named Pehlu Khan was beaten to death last year by cow vigilantes in Alwar district. The Friday incident took place on the same day when the issue of mob lynching reverberated in Lok Sabha during the debate on a no-confidence motion against the NDA government. Speaking in the lower house, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged all the state governments to take stringent action against those involved in mob lynching incidents and punish them to curb the menace prevailing in the country at the earliest. The incidents of mob lynching have been on a rise in the country. As per data compiled by the Ministry of Home Affairs, 45 persons were killed in 40 cases of mob lynching across nine states between 2014 and 3 March, 2018. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Minister Rajnath Singh recently made a visit to Shillong and chaired the 67th plenary meeting on north east council (NEC), held in the premises of State Convention Centre, Shillong. Meghalaya Home Minister James K Sangma accorded a warm welcome to the Home Minister on his arrival. The meeting was attended by the union minister of development of a northeast region, governors, Chief Minister of the eight Northeastern states and discussed on various development projects concerning northeast states such as livelihood programmes, management of water resources, afforestation and road connectivity. Addressing the meeting he said our government feels that through the potential of Northeast, the socio-economic development of the country can be improved. The government is making efforts to fulfil the wish of the people of bringing peace and prosperity to the region. Further, he added Northeast can play a vital role in fulfilling the firm conviction of doubling farmers income by 2022. There are ample opportunities for the youths of the region in sectors like waste management, tourism, medical healthcare, handloom and handicrafts, agro crops etc. He mentioned that the overall development of the country is dependent on the growth of the northeast region. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) E-commerce firm has launched a three-day sale offering massive discounts across categories like mobile and electronics, fashion and home between July 20-22. The company is offering discounts on various products across price segments and categories. Along with this, SBI Bank customers get an instant 10 per cent discount on their purchase. During the sale period, the e-commerce player will be offering up to 80 percent discount on men and women's clothing and minimum 50 per cent discount on women's handbags and accessories. The customers can purchase monsoon footwear starting at Rs 499. The sale also boasts of utility items like clothes drying stands, floaters, waterproof bike chargers, backpack rain covers, all must-haves for this season at a bargain. This year, the company has also set up a Feature Phone Store which offers feature phones from brands like Reliance Jio, Micromax, Nokia, and I Kall at attractive prices. Most mobile phones available on the Feature Phone Festival are 4G-enabled, and fashionably designed with unmatched features at costs starting from Rs. 299 only. These devices also come equipped with unique features such as fake currency detector, super battery feature, FM radio, music player, dual SIM, and Bluetooth connectivity. Some of these phones include IKALL K71, Nokia 105, and Micromax Bharat 1. In addition, the sale also boasts of entry-level smartphones like iVOOMi V5 and Xolo Era priced at Rs 3499 and 4499 respectively. Besides, the 32 inch HD Ready LED Vibgyor television and 40 inch smart full HD LED Television is priced at Rs 9990 and Rs 19490. The customers can also purchase safari luggage bags at a minimum 65% discount. Bharatiya Janata Party leader GVL Narasimha Rao on Wednesday said, what happened in the Parliament on Friday was just the trailer of what will happen in 2019 and beyond. "This is only a trailer, what the people of the country have seen yesterday, on the floor of the parliament is what will happen in 2019 and beyond. And, the Prime Minister said that Rahul Gandhi and Congress party will have to move yet another no-confidence vote against him in 2024. That reflects the real situation on the ground," said Rao. Calling out Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his stunt in the Parliament yesterday, Rao called him a zero and incapable of holding a political office. "Rahul Gandhi demonstrated that he is a complete zero as far as his important attributes of a political leader. He was completely immature. He demonstrated his incapability to hold any public office," said Rao over Rahul Gandhi's behaviour. Rao also called out the opposition for being disunited, completely issueless and being united only by their hatred for the BJP. "This is possibly the widest victory for a party in a no-confidence vote. Yesterday, the first casualty was the fault lines in the opposition parties. It showed how fractured the grand opposition is," Rao on the no-confidence vote in the Parliament on Friday. Rao then slammed the Telugu Desam Party and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, the 'prime mover' of the no-confidence vote. Speaking on Naidu, Rao said, "Chandrababu Naidu has changed his position over the special category status in a U-turn. And, after the special assistance measure which was announced in lieu of the special package." "You said this special package has been granted to the state in lieu of special category status. You have hailed this measure, and this central government," he added. He further explained that only for the purpose of central assistance special category status will be extended to Andhra Pradesh. It is given in the parliamentary assurance. Rao also claimed that the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Naidu hailed this decision as a worthy replacement for the special category status. "Mr Naidu has said this if this money is given to the state; it will put the state's finances on a firmer footing," said Rao while claiming that Naidu said Rs 16,447 crores would meet the assurance given in parliament. GVL Narasimha Rao also said that political parties in Andhra Pradesh are trying to mislead people. "I think every political party in Andhra Pradesh is trying to mislead people and tell them that they are due to get some benefits which are a not a part of the Special Category Status." GVL Narasimha Rao called out the TDP for disrupting the harmony of the 'Telugu brotherhood'. "In his greed to somehow score political brownie points, the TDP and its leader Chandrababu Naidu have actually caused grave harm to the unity and brotherhood of Telugu people. What happened on the floor of the house yesterday was actually to create a wedge between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana." Rao also clarified that Special Category Status and industrial or tax incentives do not go hand-in-hand. He also accused all the political parties of fooling and misleading people. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) United States President Donald Trump on Friday hit out at the mainstream news media for the way they acted towards his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during their bilateral summit at Helsinki earlier this week. In a tweet, Trump said that he was "severely criticised for being too nice to Putin" before he termed the "fake news media" as "hypocrites." The US President wrote on the micro-blogging site, "I got severely criticized by the Fake News Media for being too nice to President Putin. In the Old Days they would call it Diplomacy. If I was loud & vicious, I would have been criticized for being too tough. Remember when they said I was too tough with Chairman Kim? Hypocrites!" Trump touched off a major political controversy following his comments on the alleged meddling of the 2016 US presidential election by Russia at his joint press conference with Putin in Helsinki. Earlier on Monday, Trump had endorsed Putin's stance on Russia's non-involvement in the 2016 US presidential election, insisting that he ran a clean campaign. Addressing a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki after their summit, Trump had said that there was "zero collusion" and that he ran a "clean campaign." The US President had also mentioned that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign was "a disaster for our country," while also saying that it had negatively impacted US-Russia relations. However, on Tuesday, Trump claimed that he misspoke on the issue. Taking a complete U-turn on election meddling, Trump on Wednesday blamed Putin for Moscow's alleged attempts in interfering in the 2016 election. In a CBS interview with anchor Jeff Glor earlier this week, the US President had said that he held Putin "personally responsible" for the election interference. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The United States (US) has expressed concerns about the participation of Lashkar-e-Taiba-affiliated (LeT) individuals in the upcoming general elections in Pakistan. "We have repeatedly expressed our concerns to the Pakistani government about LeT, including the participation of LeT-affiliated individuals in the elections," The Dawn quoted a statement by the US State Department. The US has also conveyed this concern to Islamabad. Elections in Pakistan are scheduled for July 25 and are witnessing a nexus between security agencies and candidates, who have been fielded by dreaded and banned extremist outfits. Pakistan Election Commission (ECP) refused to recognise the Milli Muslim League (MML) as a political party citing its links with global terrorist Hafiz Saeed. The outfit then stictched up an alliance Allah-o-Akbar Tehreek's (AAT), which has fielded Hafiz Khalid Waleed as its candidate. Waleed is the son-in-law of the United Nations-designated terrorist, Hafiz Mohammad Saeed. The Dawn recently reported that the AAT has fielded as many as 265 candidates across Pakistan. Apart Waleed, the other prominent AAT candidate is none other than Talha Saeed, son of Hafiz Saeed. Talha is contesting for a National Assembly seat from Sargodha. Political experts believe the brazen political activities by the proscribed extremist groups would not have been possible without the knowledge and even support of security agencies. Another extremist-turned-political aspirant is Maulana Mohammad Ahmed Ludhianvi, the chief of the illegal sectarian group, Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jamaah (ASWJ). He is fighting as an independent candidate from the Jhang constituency in Punjab. Initially, the election body rejected his nomination papers stating that his name appears on the federal terror watch-list. But later he was removed from the "schedule four" list of people with links to terrorism and his bank accounts were unfrozen. He was then free to contest elections. "We have 50 people contesting the elections for national and provincial seats from across Pakistan," the Maulana told The Dawn through telephone. The English daily quoted the Maulana as further saying, "Some are contesting as independent candidates and others on the tickets of different parties," but falling short of naming the parties that issued tickets to the ASWJ candidates. Under prevailing circumstances, there are apprehensions that some candidates belonging to extremist groups might get a chance to heat up the seats of Pakistan's National Assembly. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With India primed to acquire S-400 defence equipment, Russian ambassador to India, Nikolai Kudashev, clarified that the United States' (US) threats of imposing sanctions against Russian companies will have no significant impact on any Russian-Indian military deals. Kudashev further claimed that the sanctions against Russian producers were a "means of unfair competition", adding that the US was "pursuing the goal of driving Russia out of the Indian defence sector and its military and political space." "Our attitude to it is of course negative. We are ready for equitable, fair and open competition, but obviously, it is not a competition, it is something opposite to competition," Kudashev said in a statement on the Russian Embassy's official website. Speaking on the impact the sanctions may have on the India-Russia relations, he said, "We remain the closest partners, and all our defence industry agreements are being implemented. It concerns the purchase of S-400s and the joint production of Ka-226 helicopters, and many other projects." Acknowledging possible difficulties caused by sanctions, Kudashev assured that the difficulties are surmountable, and solutions will "undoubtedly" be found. The US had imposed sanctions on Russia, particularly for its alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election, under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), a law that mandates the US government to impose sanctions on countries who are engaged in military transactions with Russia. However, Indian Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that India would acquire five advanced S-400 Triumf defence air missile systems from Russia, irrespective of the sanctions on military transactions imposed by Washington D.C. on Moscow. For the unversed, the S-400 is considered as Russia's most advanced long-range surface-to-air missile defence system. India is looking to procure Russia's long-range missile systems in a bid to strengthen its air defence mechanism, particularly near its borders. In 2016, India and Russia inked an agreement on the S-400 deal that can destroy any incoming hostile aircraft, drones and missiles at a range up to 400 km, as per several media reports. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senior Congress leader and one of the accused in the Herald case, Motilal Vora, moved an application in a Delhi court on Saturday, to stop senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy from posting case-related details on social media. The petition was filed shortly after Swamy recorded his statement before Delhi's Patiala House Court in connection with the aforementioned case. In his petition, Vora said freedom of speech was not absolute, adding that Swamy should be restrained from posting anything on social media, in the interest of the administration of justice. The court has fixed the next hearing in this matter on August 25, when it will record the remaining part of Swamy's statement. In May, the Patiala House Court had permitted Swamy to summon those documents, officials after examination, as evidence in the Herald case. The court had also dismissed Swamy's petition in the case seeking Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his mother, Sonia Gandhi, to either admit or deny whether the documents filed by him were originals. Swamy, a petitioner in the case, had filed three applications, accusing Rahul, Sonia and others of misappropriating funds. He had also alleged that the Congress granted an interest-free loan of Rs. 90.25 crore to Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the owner of Herald newspaper. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Receives bids for 5.79 crore shares The initial public offer (IPO) of TCNS Clothing Co. received bids for 5.79 crore shares as against 1.09 crore shares on offer, as per the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) website data. The issue was subscribed 5.27 times. The issue opened for subscription on 18 July 2018 and closed on 20 July 2018. The price band for the issue was fixed at Rs 714 to Rs 716 per share. Ahead of the opening of the IPO, the board of directors of the company at its meeting held on 17 July 2018, finalised allocation of 47.14 lakh equity shares to anchor investors at Rs 716 per share. TCNS Clothing Co. (TCNS) is India's leading women's branded apparel company in terms of the total number of exclusive brand outlets as of May 18 (Source: Technopak). The company designs, markets, and retails a wide portfolio of women's branded apparel across multiple brands and formats. Over the years, the company expanded its brand portfolio to three brands, namely "W", Aurelia and Wishful; each positioned to cater to well-defined needs of their respective target consumers. The company sells its products through exclusive brand outlets, large format stores, multi-brand outlets and online channels such as online retailers and own websites. The IPO comprised offer for sale of 1.57 crore shares by the selling shareholders comprising of promoters and group including Onkar Singh Pasricha, Saranpreet Pasricha, Angad Pasricha and Arvinder Singh Pasricha, other selling shareholders including Anant KumarDaga, Vijay Kumar Misra and Amit Chand and the investor shareholder namely Wagner Ltd. The objects of the IPO were divestment and getting the benefits of listing to enhance its visibility and brand image and provide liquidity to the existing shareholders. The promoters and group will own 32.4% of total paid-up equity share capital post listing. TCNS Clothing Co. reported profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 98.10 crore on net sales of Rs 838.49 crore in the year ended March 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 stabbing of 10 people Friday on a bus in the northern city of Lubeck does not appear to have been politically motivated, German police said. "The identity of the assailant is now clear. He is a 34-year-old German national who lives in Lubeck," police said on Twitter. According to the police, the Iranian-born assailant shows no signs of "political radicalization" or having a terrorist background, Efe reported. A spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office, Ulla Hingst, told a press conference that the knife attack was carried out with a 13-cm (5-in) blade and that the suspect had lived in Germany for some years. The attack took place at around 1 pm and the prosecutor's office had repeatedly called for patience before issuing a statement, in the midst of multiple speculative accounts spread in the media. The circulation of vehicles was reestablished in the mid afternoon, after traffic had been blocked for several hours around the scene of the incident due to a suspicious abandoned backpack, which was found not to contain any explosive material. Eyewitnesses told N-TV television that the bus was full when the attack began and that the driver quickly opened the doors to let people escape. Police in the area rushed to the scene and passengers had already subdued the assailant by the time they arrived, the witnesses said. --IANS ahm/ (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 Friday said that the government should either completely abolish the 28 per cent tax bracket or reserve it only for "sin goods." Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 28th Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting, he said: "I believe 28 per cent tax should be only for sin goods, in fact, the government should completely abolish the 28 per cent tax bracket." Sisodia, who holds the Finance portfolio, said that the Delhi government has also "adopted the returns model by Infosys Chairman Nandan Nilekani", which will require taxpayers to file a single GST return, replacing three returns - GSTR 1, 2, 3 and the summarised return GSTR 3B. Under the earlier system, returns filed under forms GSTR-1 (sales) and GSTR-2 (purchase) were automatically matched with GSTR-3 to ensure that the claims made by the taxpayer were correct. Currently, taxpayers are filing GSTR 3B and GSTR 1 and claiming input tax credit. But, according to the Nilekani model, input tax credit will be available only after uploading invoices. Sisodia said that after the amendments, "the taxpayers with a turnover up to Rs 5 crores will only have to file quarterly returns now." He further accused the central government of allegedly taking Rs 3 crores of funds originally assigned for Delhi. "This issue was also taken up by Pondicherry in the meeting. The central government cheated Delhi by keeping Rs 3 crores of GST funds originally assigned for the national capital," he said. --IANS sd/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned on Friday of the current escalation between Islamic Hamas movement and Israel in the Gaza Strip, according to an official statement. The statement, published on the Palestinian state-run news agency (WAFA), said the Palestinian Presidency is calling on the international community to immediately intervene to prevent more deterioration of the situation in the Gaza Strip. The statement said that Abbas held intensive contacts on Friday with regional and international parties to contain the growing crisis in the Gaza Strip. On Friday, the Israeli army killed four Palestinians -- three Hamas militant and one demonstrator -- during a daylong military escalation between Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip and the Israeli army. According to the ministry of health in Gaza, around 210 Palestinians were injured during rallies, protests and clashes in eastern Gaza Strip. Also on Friday, Israeli war jets carried out more than 25 intensive airstrikes on Hamas military facilities and lookout posts all over the Gaza Strip, in response to opening fire at an Israeli army force at the border area and killing one Israeli army officer. --IANS ahm/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) "Dhadak", which marks the much-awaited Bollywood foray of Janhvi Kapoor and Ishaan Khatter, registered an opening day collection of Rs 8.71 crore, making a record for a Hindi movie with newcomers in India, according to its makers. "'Dhadak' wins hearts all over, making a new record for a film with newcomers. Thank you all for so much love." Apoorva Mehta, CEO of Karan Johar's Dharma Productions which has produced the movie, tweeted. He thanked director Shashank Khaitan, as well as Janhvi and Ishaan, the two actors whose performance in the movie has elicited a positive and welcoming in the Indian film industry. Veteran writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar watched the movie, and tweeted: "Loved it. Both Janhvi and Ishaan are unbelievably excellent. Brilliant is too timid word for them. Janhvi, you are really a worthy daughter of a worthy mother. Lots of love." Janhvi is the daughter of producer Boney Kapoor and late iconic actress Sridevi, while Ishaan is the son of veteran actress Neelima Azeem. He made his film debut with Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi's "Beyond The Clouds", but "Dhadak" has marked Ishaan's Bollywood entry. Actrors Suniel Shetty and Bhumi Pednekar are mighty impressed with their performance. "Very well done Janhvi and Ishaan! Absolutely outstanding performance in 'Dhadak'. Karan Johar, you have once again given Bollywood its two new rising stars guided brilliantly by Shashank Khaitan," Suniel wrote. Bhumi tweeted: "Janhvi and Ishaan you both are special. The ease and beauty with which you've performed is magical. Shashank Khaitan, Karan Johar, really enjoyed watching 'Dhadak'. Fallen in love with the love they have.The end broke my heart. What a love saga." An adaptation of Marathi hit "Sairat", the film, also backed by Zee Studios, touches upon honour killing. --IANS rb/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Barcelona B forward Marc Cardona has promised to demonstrate "commitment and sacrifice" on behalf of his new club, Eibar SD. Cardona, who comes to the Basque side on loan from Barca, said that he embraced the move to Eibar because it represented an opportunity to play in La Liga, reports Efe. Eibar management told him that they wanted a player with his characteristics, Cardona said. "I very much like to break into space, to get free, to reach the box and score," the forward said on Friday. Club executive Fran Garagarza thanked Barcelona for doing the deal and said that Eibar was happy to secure Cardona on loan with an option to make the transfer permanent. --IANS kk/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The on Saturday accused the of transforming the country into a land of lynchings and is also trying to "lynch" the Supreme Court's judgment that highlighted the need for a strict law. "Today's shocking incident in Alwar has once again proved that the is working overtime and aggressively to transform Hindustan into Lynchistan. The nation is also witnessing how rather than enforcing Supreme Court's judgment for a need of a strict law on is actually now the judgment and the Constitution," spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill told reporters. The BJP, rather than preventing and punishing the lynching mob, is promoting and patronizing the lynch mob force, he alleged. "The nation was hoping that the government will wake up after the tight legal slap by the and warning issued that the Government of India must act in a concrete manner to prevent India from becoming a republic of lynchistan," Shergill said. But Alwar's horrific incident has exposed the BJP's "notorious and dubious intentions to weaken and render the judgment meaningless", he said, accusing the and its ministers are behaving like lawyers of lynch mob force. Union Minister and senior BJP leader Arjun Ram Meghwal sparked a controversy on Saturday, saying the Alwar lynching incident was related to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rising popularity and the more popular he becomes the more such incidents would happen in the country. He said while the death by beating on Friday night of a 28-year-old man on suspicion of cow smuggling was condemnable but the 1984 Sikh riots remain the biggest example of mob lynching in India's history. "We condemn mob lynching but this is not a single incident. You have to trace this back in history. Why does this happen? Who should stop this? What happened with Sikhs in 1984 was the biggest mob lynching of this nation's history," Meghwal said. He said the such mob lynching incidents were happening to defame the BJP government amid rising popularity of Modi. "The more popular Modiji becomes, the more such incidents will happen. In Bihar elections, it was 'award wapsi'. In Uttar Pradesh elections, it was again mob lynching. In 2019 elections, it will be something else. Modiji has given (developmental) schemes and their effect is now being felt on the ground. Such incidents are reaction to (his popularity)." The killing comes four days after the central and state governments came under a sharp criticism from the Supreme Court over frequent lynching incidents. The Supreme Court also asked Parliament to come up with a law to tackle cow vigilantism and lynch, calling such incidents "horrendous acts of mobocracy" that should be nipped in the bud. It is the third such incident in Alwar since April last year when dairy farmer Pehlu Khan was beaten to death by a mob. Another man, Umar Mohammed, 35, also a dairy farmer was found dead near the railway tracks in Alwar in November 2017. He was also allegedly killed by vigilantes when he was transporting cows to his home in Pahari tehsil of the district. The latest incident came hours after Modi in his speech to the Lok Sabha on Friday said "the incidents of violence are against the basic principles of humanity", urging state governments to take strict action in such cases. The killing triggered angry reaction from the Congress. Senior Congress leader and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot tweeted his condemnation, slamming the Rajasthan government over its failure to put an end to such "heinous crimes". "Most shocking, horrific and unfortunate incident. A man was lynched by mob in Alwar despite Supreme Court's warnings and instructions. I condemn the killing of Akbar Khan in strongest words. "(The) Rajasthan government has failed to check such heinous crimes despite the recent Supreme Court judgement. For the BJP, human life has no value. Criminals guised as vigilantes are roaming freely without fear of law (and) order." Congress leader Sachin Pilot urged the state government to take appropriate action. "Saddened by news of a man beaten to death in Alwar. Killing of people on 'suspicion' is sadly becoming a norm in BJP ruled states. The Home Minister's words in Parliament about state governments responsibility in stopping mob lynching seem even more hollow now." All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen MP Asaduddin Owaisi attacked Prime Minister Narendra over the incident, calling his four years regime as "lynch raj". "Cow in India has a fundamental right to life under Art 21 and a Muslim can be killed for they have no fundamental right to life. Four years of Modi rule -- lynch raj." At a rally in Kolkata, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the BJP and RSS are creating Talibanis among people. --IANS sm-sar/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Border crimes, disputed territories and better border coordination would be discussed at the bi-annual meeting of Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) beginning Sunday, top BSF official said on Saturday. Sector Commanders of BGB's Sarail and Chittagong regions and Inspectors General of BSF's three northeast India frontiers'-- Tripura, Meghalaya, and Mizoram-Cacher -- would attend the four-day meeting at Tripura frontier headquarters in Shalbagan, 12 km north of Agartala. BSF's Tripura frontier Inspector General Hemant Kumar Lohia said that the two sides would fine-tune strategies to check crimes, smuggling, illegal movement and work to resolve disputes over territories. "Erection of border fencing along the remaining portion of India-Bangladesh territories, water sharing and cleanliness of drainage water would also be discussed," Lohia told IANS. He said that after the first phase of the meeting, the BSF and BGB officials would go to Kolkata and meet the BSF's Special Director General (in Eastern Command) Nasir Kamal. "Reduction of border crime along the borders could be possible through mutual understanding between the BSF and BGB," Lohia added. He said that the BGB has set up five border outposts (BOPs) along the unfenced Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) to maintain close vigilance alongside the mountainous border. "With the help of BGB and other security forces of Bangladesh, terrorist activities in the North-East and their trans-border movement have been reduced," the BSF official said. Four northeastern states, Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Assam share 1,880-km international border with Bangladesh. Most parts of the 1,880-km frontiers are unfenced, mountainous and prone to crime.--IANS sc/prs/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A hacker claims to have created a botnet within 24 hours that has compromised 18,000 routers of Chinese telecom giant Huawei. The cyberattacker, who goes by the pseudonym Anarchy, boasted of building the botnet by using an old vulnerability, ZDNet.com reported on Friday. According to a report in Bleeping Computer, this new botnet was first spotted this week by security researchers from a cybersecurity company called NewSky Security. Following the news, other security firms including Rapid7 and Qihoo 360 Netlab confirmed the existence of the new threat as they saw a huge recent uptick in Huawei device scanning. The botnet author reached out to NewSky security researcher Ankit Anubhav who believes that Anarchy may actually be a well-known threat actor who previously identified as Wicked. What surprised security researchers was that Anarchy built the gigantic botnet within a day using a vulnerability which had been used before -- CVE-2017-17215. Botnets, which refer to a vast networks full of enslaved devices, can be used to perform distributed denial-of-service attack (DDoS attack), send malicious packets of data to a device and remotely execute code. --IANS gb/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A team led by Union Minister Kiran Rijiju arrived in Kerala on Saturday to visit flood-hit districts amid differences over compensation promised by the Centre. Just after his arrival the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs and his team took a helicopter from the airport and headed straight to Alappuzha, the worst affected district. They will also visit Kottayam before returning to Delhi late on Saturday, an official said. Rijiju told the media here that the compensation package would be based on prescribed guidelines. "When a calamity occurs, the Centre and state jointly works and both pool in their resources. We already have cleared Rs 80 crore on Friday." Huge damage has been caused on account of heavy rains that lashed most parts of the state over two weeks. Some of the worst-hits include Idukki, Ernakulam, besides parts of Kozhikode, Thrissur, Wayanad, Palakkad and Kannur. More than 10,000 people have been put up in relief camps, he added. The death toll in these rains touched 20 and according to State Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunilkumar the total damage has crossed Rs 900 crore. "About 22,000 hectares of agricultural produce has been destroyed. The biggest lacunae is the rate of the compensation that is prescribed as these are all old norms and insufficient," Sunilkumar said on Saturday. He said the damage to the crops is around Rs 220 crore. "We will again brief the Centre the urgency to increase the old compensation rates. Explaining the lacuna in compensation, the Agriculture Minister said Rs 95,000 was being provided for a house completely destroyed. "We have sought an increase as it requires Rs four lakh," he said. --IANS sg/in (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A team led by Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju toured various flood-hit districts of Kerala on Saturday and announced compensation of Rs 4 lakh for each of the deceased from the heavy rains that had hit the state over the past two weeks. Just after his arrival at Kochi, the Minister told the media that the compensation package would be based on prescribed guidelines. "When a calamity occurs, the Centre and state jointly works and both pool in their resources. We already have cleared Rs 80 crore on Friday," he said, before he and his team took a helicopter to and head straight to Alappuzha, the worst-affected district. They then moved to neighbouring Kottayam district visiting both the rain-hit areas besides visiting several relief camps. Rijiju, who was accompanied by Union Minister K.J. Alphons, who hails from the state, besides state Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunilkumar, PWD Minister G. Sudhakaran, Kerala Chief Secretary Tom Jose and the local legislators besides top officials, announced the ex-gratia payment at Kottayam. "We visited the affected areas besides several relief camps. While we are happy with the relief camps and the facilities, the damages caused is too much. During a calamity, it's a practise where both the state and the Centre works together. We are capable of handling the situation. For the deceased, Rs 4 lakh would be given," he told the media. At a relief camp in Kottayam, Rijiju returned to speak to the inmates when some of them angrily noted the Minister did not interact with them. The Minister also announced that long-term measures would also be undertaken to deal with the situation and would be worked out by a team of experts drawn from various departments. "It was on the direction of Prime Minister that I have come and in 10 days time, we will submit a detailed report on this visit and follow up action would be based on it," he added. After going around Kottayam, he returned to Kochi, from where he left for Delhi. Huge damage was caused on account of heavy rains that lashed most parts of the state over two weeks. Some of the worst-hits include Idukki, Ernakulam, besides parts of Kozhikode, Thrissur, Wayanad, Palakkad and Kannur. The death toll in these rains touched 20 and according to Sunilkumar, the total damage has crossed Rs 900 crore. "About 22,000 hectares of agricultural produce has been destroyed. The biggest lacunae is the rate of the compensation that is prescribed as these are all old norms and insufficient," Sunilkumar said on Saturday. He said the damage to the crops is around Rs 220 crore. "We will again brief the Centre the urgency to increase the old compensation rates." Explaining the lacuna in compensation, the Agriculture Minister said Rs 95,000 was being provided for a house completely destroyed. "We have sought an increase as it requires Rs 4 lakh," he said. --IANS sg/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena attended a groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday to launch the construction of a China-Sri Lanka friendship hospital in the country's Polonnaruwa region. The National Nephrology Specialist Hospital is being constructed following a request by Sirisena to the Chinese government, Xinhua news agency reported. The 25,517-square-metre hospital, which will be the largest kidney hospital in South Asia, will include 200 inpatient beds and 100 hemodialysis beds. The construction of the hospital is expected to be completed in two years. Speaking at the ceremony, Sirisena said the hospital would not only benefit the people of Polonnaruwa, but would benefit the entire island country. With the assistance of China, this kidney hospital would have state-of-the-art facilities and would be one of the finest kidney hospitals in the region, he said. Noting that China and Sri Lanka shared very strong ties, the President said China had also contributed to Sri Lanka's economic development. Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said the hospital would include all the latest facilities to treat patients suffering from kidney diseases and it was being constructed in Polonnaruwa as it was the district which had the highest number of patients with chronic kidney diseases. "Foreign patients who are suffering from kidney diseases can also seek treatment in this hospital once it is completed in 2020. We are thankful to the Chinese government for fulfilling the President's request and constructing this hospital," Senaratne said. Chinese Ambassador Cheng Xueyuan said Polonnaruwa, which was dubbed as "Asia's capital", is a Unesco World Heritage Centre. He said the construction of the special hospital in Polonnaruwa would add more value to the city and the hospital itself would treat thousands of people suffering from chronic kidney disease. The hospital will also include an Out Patients Treatment Department and six modern surgical theatres needed for kidney transplants. There will also be a 200-seat auditorium with a car park. --IANS soni/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hours after it kept away from the no-confidence motion against the National Democratic Alliance government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ruling ally Shiv Sena came out in full praise of Congress President Rahul Gandhi here on Saturday. "Rahul is now 'the face of the Opposition' that has become clear and evident from his speech yesterday (on Friday)," said Sena MP Sanjay Raut, who is also Executive Editor of the party mouthpiece "Saamana" which has been sharply critical of the government. The Sena spokesperson added that after Friday's performance in parliament, "Gandhi has proved that he can effectively lead the Opposition". "Rahul Gandhi has demonstrated that gradually, he can effectively lead the Oppositiona People had certain expectations from him. He has lived upto them to a large extent in his speech," Raut said while speaking to a private Marathi news channel Star Majha. On Gandhi giving a surprise hug to Modi and the subsequent wink which flared up the social media, Raut shot back that "he (Rahul) did what Modi does always". "The PM had gone to Pakistan and hugged Nawaz Sharif, what happened? When Rahul hugged Modi, everybody was surprised. He (Raul) showed that he is a successful politician.. And the wink (to his Congress colleagues) indicated that he had succeeded," Raut said. On the Sena's decision to stay away from the no-confidence motion, he said that "sometimes, silence is more important". "Whether we did or did not, remained present or not, the entire focus nationally was on our party. The Sena President took the decision at aan appropriate time' on this," Raut held. Though the party did not speak by remaining away from the proceedings on Friday, he claimed that sometime silence is important, but "the message went across." He added that whatever was discussed in the Lok Sabha on Friday, the Shiv Sena has been saying for the past four-and-half years. For instance, when demonetization was announced (November 8, 2016), the first person to support it was Telugu Desam Party President N. Chandrababu Naidu, who is also Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, but Sena President Uddhav Thackeray opposed it the very next day, he said. "Whether we are in government or not doesn't matter... Balasaheb Thackeray taught us and we never run for power," Raut said. However, he declined to comment on whether BJP President Amit Shah or Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had reached out to the Sena ahead of the no-confidence motion, but mentioned that the NDA I and NDA II are very different. "Earlier, George Fernandes was the convenor and the (then) Deputy PM L. K. Advani used to meet and speak with Balasaheb Thackeray. There were relations, it was not just business," Raut pointed out. --IANS qn/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who was detained at an airport here for being involved in a verbal fight with his wife and smoking e-cigarettes on flight, said he was at fault for losing his senses and ordering a drink following a series of "frustrating" events. According to people.com, the 40-year-old actor and his wife Mara Lane were flying into Los Angeles from Miami earlier this month with their 1-year-old son Wolf when he got into a verbal dispute with Lane. Meyers opened up about the incident on American television host Larry King's show "Larry King Now", where he spoke about his drinking habits, admitting "drinking doesn't suit" him. The actor said he was also trying to quit smoking so as to not set a bad example for his son. "It is a good opportunity to apologise to anybody who was offended that that incident happened, but I learned my lesson. As soon as I got off the airplane, I went and spoke to somebody and I got back on track immediately," Meyers said. --IANS sim/rb (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 11 militants affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) have surrendered in Afghanistan's Jawzjan province, officials said. The milltants surrendered in Jawzjan capital Sheberghan on Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported quoting a senior police officer. All the former IS militants, according to police officer Ghulam Ali, were active in anti-government activities in Darzab district and their reintegration to community and joining their families would encourage others to follow suit. Commander of the group, Mullah Joora said fighting between Taliban and the IS group had disheartened them to continue their war against the government and therefore, decided to give up fighting. Scores of people have been killed in clashes between Taliban and the IS group in Darzab district over the past 10 days. --IANS pgh/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A lion suspected to have escaped from Zambia's South Luangwa National Park has injured at least three people and killed six cattle in Malawi's border district of Chitipa, officials said. Police spokesperson for Chitipa, Sergeant Gladwell Simwaka on Friday told media that Malawian game rangers and police officers have intensified the hunt for the beast. There is hope they will succeed in bringing it back or killing it if necessary. "The lion is still causing problems in Chitipa and on Thursday (July 19) it was spotted at Kasisi village where it had injured three people who were trying to kill it with spears and axes," Xinhua news agency quoted Simwaka as saying. Police have warned the people living nearby to be on guard as the hunt continues. According to a reporter, residents in the area are staying indoors and have stopped grazing their animals for fear of the lion. --IANS mag/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Italian third seed Fabio Fognini of Italy reached the first Swedish Open final after defeating fifth seed Fernando Verdasco of Spain 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 on Saturday. Fognini, the World No.15, needed only two hours and 17 minutes to earn his third win over Verdasco, the World No.33, in their seventh career match, reports Efe. Verdasco rallied from a set down to draw level, and again fought to come back from a 4-2 deficit in the decider, only to lose the match a few games later. In his 16th career final, Fognini is scheduled to face either France's world No.29 Richard Gasquet or Switzerland's Henri Laaksonen, world No.148, and is hunting for a seventh career title. --IANS pur/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A court here on Saturday granted interim bail to a priest at the iconic Mangueshi temple who has been accused of allegedly molesting two women inside the temple premises. District and Sessions Judge Bela Naik directed the police not to arrest the accused priest Dhananjay Bhave until the matter is heard again on Wednesday (July 25). Bhave has been booked under section 354 (outraging modesty) of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly molesting two young women, including a student of medicine enrolled in a US college, who have accused him of allegedly hugging and kissing them inside the temple premise in June.A Both complaints were submitted to the temple committee in June, but earlier this month the Shree Maguesh Temple committee in a reply to the victims, had said that it "could not lay hand on any dependable evidence to establish a prima facie case...," urging the complainant to take up her grievance with an "appropriate authority". A formal FIR was filed by one of the victims at the Ponda police station in South Goa on July 19. The Mangueshi temple, home to lord Manguesh who is considered to be an incarnation of lord Shiva, is one of the most visited temples in the state by tourists and locals alike. Several influential Gaud Saraswat Brahmin clans are followers of the deity. --IANS maya/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 53-year-old man has been arrested for child endangerment after his four-year-old grandson got hold of his gun and fatally shot a two-year-old girl in California, police said. The shooting happened in San Bernardino on Friday. Deputies and medical aid arrived and found the two-year-old victim, the cousin of the boy, suffering from a gunshot wound. The toddler died about 50 minutes after being hospitalised, the local media reported. Investigators determined that the boy got access to the weapon and shot his cousin by accident, according to the local sheriff's department. The boy's grandfather, Cesar Lopez, was arrested and will be booked for child endangerment and felon in possession of a firearm. A 72-year-old neighbour of the family called the news "devastating" and told a local news outlet, the San Bernardino Sun, that people who got guns have to lock them up so children wouldn't have access to them. Another neighbour said it was an unfortunate accident and she could not understand how a boy as young as four could be left alone long enough to find a gun. An investigation into the incident was underway. According to the Gun Violence Archive, an independent data collection and research group that provides free online public access to accurate information about gun-related violence in the US, there have been altogether 7,982 people killed in gun-related violence in the country to date in 2018, including 381 children under the age of 11. --IANS soni/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday ruled out talks with the US, terming it "useless" as Washington is "fundamentally at odds with the principles of the Islamic system". "I have long pointed out that it is not possible to count on the words and even the signatures of the Americans, so negotiations with the US are of no avail," Khamenei said in a meeting with the Iranian Foreign Ministry staff in the capital. Washington's opposition to Iran's nuclear capabilities and role in the region was rooted in its hostility with "the elements of the authority of the Islamic system", he was cited as saying by official IRNA news agency. "The US seeks to restore its status in Iran as they enjoyed before the Islamic Revolution (in 1979), and they will not accept less than this... They have basic and fundamental problem with the (Islamic) establishment." Khamenei said it was a "blatant mistake" to believe that negotiating with the US would help Iran solve its problems. "There are many countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America that have ties with the US but are still suffering from problems." On the other hand, negotiations with the Europeans should continue to guarantee Iran's interests under the 2015 nuclear deal which the bloc wants to preserve despite Washington's withdrawal in May, the leader said. However, he added that Iran should not count much on their package of proposals. "Negotiations with the Europeans should not be cut off, but we should not wait too long for a European package and instead, we should do a lot of work inside the country." Earlier this month, Iran said it had rejected the EU's so-called package of proposals for the future of the nuclear deal. Details of the proposals were never made public. However, Tehran said it had returned the package for revisions, saying the bloc's proposals did not guarantee that the Islamic Republic would benefit from the nuclear deal if it stayed in the agreement. Khemenei also echoed his support for Iran's President Hassan Rouhani who had warned that no oil cargo would be exported in the region if Tehran's oil exports were to be halted. Before Khamenei's remarks, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said his ministry had devised a comprehensive plan to help expand the country's economic bonds with neighbours as well as others. --IANS soni/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Stepping on the accelerator in her bid to play a prominent part in the anti-BJP political space nationally, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said her party would launch a fortnight-long campaign from August 1 calling for the ouster of the saffron outfit from power at the centre. She also announced her party would organise a "huge" rally in the city on January 19 next year, where "leaders from all over the country", including those of the Federal Front proposed by her, would call for defeating the BJP at the centre. "We will invite all anti-BJP political parties. I will invite (former Congress chief) Sonia Gandhi. I will invite the CPI-M too," Banerjee, also the West Bengal Chief Minister, said later. Addressing her party's annual Martyrs' Day rally, Banerjee predicted the BJP could end up with less than 100 seats in next year's general election. "The maximum they can get is 150." The Trinamool supremo said: "We don't like the chair (top post) that much, we don't care for the chair, but we care for the country, the people, the soil of the land. "Bengal will show the way to India, we will show the way to Parliament in the coming days." Banerjee said the August campaign would have the slogan "remove communal BJP, save the country". "On August 15 (Independence Day), all of you should raise the Tricolour and take a vow to ensure that none from the BJP raises the national flag from the Red Fort from 2019 onwards," she told her party workers. She appealed to Trinamool activists to work for the victory of the party in all 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal. "We will organise the next July 21 rally after our India triumph," she said. Referring to the NDA government's victory in Fridy's no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha, Banerjee said: "They got 325 votes compared to the opposition's 126. The AIADMK voted in their favour. Had AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa been alive, they would not have received their votes. They would have lost. "I doubt if they would manage to get even 100 seats in 2019," she said. Accusing the BJP of presenting a distorted picture of Hinduism, she said: "What sort of Hindus are they? Talibani Hindus? Are we not Hindus? We don't believe in their brand of Hinduism. We believe in our Hinduism, which is inclusive." Banerjee said the BJP led coalition has already started to crumble, with its long-time ally Shiv Sena not casting its vote in the non-confidence motion, while another ex ally Telugu Desam moved the motion itself. Former BJP leader and two-time Rajya Sabha member Chandan Mitra and four Congress legislators in the state - Samar Mukherjee, Abu Taher, Sabina Yasmin and Akhruzzman - joined the Trinamool at the rally. Banerjee announced that the Trinamol would fight the general election alone in Bengal and warned the Congress and the Left "not to join hands with the BJP" in the state while seeking her support at the Centre. "They should think twice. We don't need their support in Bengal. We will fight alone. But they should remember that we support them in Delhi." Taking a dig at the BJP for the canopy collapse during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in Midnapore last week, Banerjee said: "Those who cannot even construct a pandal, talk of nation-building." Pillorying the BJP for trying to establish its hegemony everywhere, she said it has purchased or terrorised media houses, interfered in the judiciary's functioning, and even removed Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen as chancellor of Nalanda University. Bengal's opposition parties, however, ridiculed Banerjee's call to remove BJP from power. "She should stop dreaming about capturing power in Delhi as her ambitions will never be fulfilled. Let alone harbouring hopes of becoming the Prime Minister, I doubt whether she will be able to retain power in Bengal," BJP General Secretary Rahul Sinha said. Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Sujan Chakraborty said Banerjee and her party will be in a soup if people of the state get a chance to exercise their democratic rights properly. State Congress chief Adhir Chowdhury said the Trinamool supremo was indirectly helping out the BJP by stressing on the Federal Front while neglecting the anti-BJP grand alliance (Maha Gatbandhan) that has already been formed in seven states. --IANS ssp/vdA (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Raising the pitch for her proposed Federal Front of opposition parties, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Saturday asked her party workers to launch a fortnight-long campaign from August 1 to defeat the 'communal BJP'. Banerjee predicted that the saffron outfit could end up with less than 100 seats in next year's general election. She also said her party would organise a "huge" rally in the city on January 19 next year, where "leaders from all over the country", including those of the proposed Front would call for defeating the BJP at the centre. Addressing party workers on the party's Martyrs' Day rally, she said: "Bengal will show the way to India, we will show the way to Parliament in the coming days." Banerjee said the August campaign would have the slogan 'remove communal BJP, save the country'. "On Aaugust 15 (Independence Day), all of you should raise the Tricolour and take a vow to ensure that none from the BJP raises the national flag from the Red Fort from 2019 onwards," she told her party workers. She appealed to Trinamool activists to work for the victory of the party in all 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal in the next year's general elections. Banerjee said the January 19 rally would be held at the sprawling Brigade Parade ground, "from where we will be giving a call to capture power at the Centre." "I will bring leaders from across the country on the stage, including those from the Federal Front," she said. "We will organise the rally in a big way...our workers should ensure a bigger turnout than today's," said. Banerjee The Trinamool supremo, who has in the past made clear her national ambitions, said: "We don't like the chair (top post) that much, we don't care for the chair, but we care for the country, the people, the soil of the land". Referring to the NDA government's victory in the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha on Friday, Banerjee said: "They got 325 votes compared to the opposition's 126, but BJP on its own did not get a majority. The AIADMK voted in their favour. Had AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa been alive, they would not have received their votes. They would have lost," she claimed. "I doubt if they would manage to get even 100 seats in 2019," she added. Banerjee said the saffron party would perform poorly in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Gujarat, which they had swept in 2014. "They would also not able to do much in West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha," she added. --IANS mgr/ssp/prs/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 28-year-old man has been beaten to death by suspected cow vigilantes in Rajasthan's Alwar district, police said on Saturday. Two persons have been arrested. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje condemned the Friday night incident in which some villagers caught and beat up Akbar Khan, suspecting him to be a cow smuggler. "The incident of alleged lynching of a person transporting bovines in Alwar district is condemnable. Strictest possible action shall be taken against the perpetrators," Raje tweeted. Khan, a resident of Mewat in Rajasthan, was transporting the animals to his village along with another man when they were stopped by a group of villagers near Lalawandi village in Alwar. They were brutally thrashed, the office of Additional Director General Jaipur Range, Ramgarh, received this information at 12.40 a.m. When the police team reached the spot they found an injured Khan lying in the mud. Two persons were standing there with two cows, ADGP Hemant Priyadarshi told the media. Khan told the officers that he and his companion Aslam had purchased the cows from Ladpur and were on their way to their village when they were mistaken for cow smugglers and attacked. "My limbs are broken," said Khan covered in mud before collapsing. He was immediately rushed to a hospital, where he was declared brought dead. His body was sent for autopsy. The police in Ramgarh registered a case against unidentified persons under several sections of the Indian Penal Code. Police have arrested Dharmendra Yadav and Paramjit Singh Sardar who were found on the spot standing with bovines.Further probe is on. Alwar has earlier also witnessed attacks in the name of cow protectionism. The latest killing comes more than a year after Pehlu Khan was murdered allegedly by some cow vigilantes in April 2017. The central and state governments came under a sharp criticism from the Supreme Court earlier this week over frequent lynching incidents. The Supreme Court also asked Parliament to come up with a law to tackle cow vigilantism and lynching, calling such incidents "horrendous acts of mobocracy" that should be nipped in the bud. --IANS sar-arc/in/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Regional Meteorological Centre here on Saturday warned of "heavy to very heavy rainfall" in five districts of Gangetic West Bengal for three consecutive days till July 23. "Heavy to very heavy rain (7-20 cm) with lightning likely to occur at one or two places over E & W (East and West) Midnapore, N&S (North and South) 24 Parganas and Jhargram districts of Gangetic West Bengal," said the bulletin. Heavy rain is also on the cards for other districts of West Bengal, with Purulia, Bankura, one or two places over Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Coochbehar, Kalimpong, Alipurduar, and East and West Bardhaman will also witness heavy rains over next two days. According to the officials, Friday's Well Marked Low-Pressure Area (WML) over the northwest Bay of Bengal concentrated into a depression and lay centred on Saturday morning. It is very likely to move west northwestwards and cross north Odisha and West Bengal coast between Chandbali and Digha, close to Balasore around evening. Kolkata's maximum recorded temperature at 34.9 degrees Celsius was three notches above average and the minimum at 26.9 degrees a notch above average. The relative humidity at 92 per cent has made the climate very sultry. The rainfall recorded in the last 24 hours is 3.8 mm. The sea conditions will be rough, hence the fishermen are asked not to venture into the sea. --IANS bnd/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hundreds of missing answer sheets of the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) Class 12 exam of 2017 were recovered from a scrap dealer here on Saturday and the dealer arrested, police said. Acting on specific information, a police team raided the scrap dealer's store and recovered the copies that went missing last year. Scrap dealer Rajkishore Gupra was arrested for purchasing them, police said. According to police, a peon of the BSEB along with others had sold the copies of answer sheets to the scrap dealer. Last month, a Special Investigation Team of the Bihar Police recovered thousands of missing copies of answer sheets of the BSEB Class 10 exam from a scrap dealer's shop and arrested two persons in the connection. Then shopkeeper Pappu Gupta said that peon Chotu Singh of a government-run school had sold the answer sheets to him for Rs 8,500. --IANS ik/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday for a farmers rally at Shahjahanpur, an official said. He landed at the Trishul Air Base in Bareilly in a special Indian Air Force plane. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and state Bharatiya Janata Party president Mahendra Nath Pandey were there to receive him. He also met a few other party leaders before flying off to Shahjahanpur to address the Kisan Kalyan rally. Intermittent rains have been reported at the venue, where a large crowd has gathered to hear Modi who would tell them of the various steps taken by his government in the past four years. --IANS md/in/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress on Saturday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's jibe at Rahul Gandhi for hugging him during the no confidence motion in the Lok Sabha, saying it "exposes his of hate". "Modi is mocking Rahul Gandhi's hug, which was given out of pure grace," Congress leader Jaiveer Shergill told media here. "This completely exposes Modi's of hate," he said. The Congress leader's remarks came soon after the Prime Minister, addressing a farmers' rally in Uttar Pradesh's Shahjahanpur, mocked the Congress President for hugging him during the no confidence motion in Lok Sabha on Friday. Slamming Modi for hugging his then Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif during his visit to Lahore in 2015, Shergill said: "If he can hug Pakistan's Prime Minister, then why cannot he show the same grace towards people of his own country?" He also said that nation is fed up with Modi's event management style of and is, in fact, craving for a sound governance. Hitting out at Modi, he said the Prime Minister "conveniently sidestepped vital issues raised by the Congress President", as he was "bereft of facts and statistics"d. "Yesterday, when Modi faced questions from Congress President Rahul Gandhi, he seemed like a student who was facing a question paper in exam. "It seemed like the question paper was on mathematics, but Modi's answers were of history," he said. Attacking Modi over his promises to the farmers, Shergill said: "He had promised to improve lives of farmers, but instead ruined them with his ill-thought policies." "Modi must answer why there is a 40 per cent rise in farmers' suicide cases in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh?" --IANS aks/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nepal and China will hold their second joint military exercise in China's Sichuan province from September 17, the Nepali Army announced on Saturday. Nepali Army personnel and a squad of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) will take part in the 10-day "Sagarmatha Friendship-2" exercise in Chengdu, the Kathmandu Post reported. The first joint exercise was conducted at the Army's Para Training School in Nepal's Maharajgunj area in April 2017. The platoon level training will be led by captains from both sides. The Nepali Army, which has long been holding joint military exercises with India and the US, has collaborated with the Chinese PLA, extending its military diplomacy. The national defence force said the drill is part of its regular bilateral and multilateral military exercises aimed at sharing experiences, skills and professional knowledge, a practice common with nations that have diplomatic ties with Nepal, the report said. The joint exercise, according to the Nepalo Army, is aimed at fighting terrorism and might also focus on disaster management. Army Spokesman Brig. Gen. Gokul Bhandari said the exercise will be conducted on a rotational basis. The participating platoon is likely to have around 15 personnel from each side. Nepal has been conducting battalion level exercises called Surya Kiran with the Indian Army for the last 13 years engaging some 300 personnel from both sides. The defence forces from Nepal and China have increased their engagement of late. On February 19, Maj. Gen. Zhao Jinsong of the western command of the PLA was in Nepal on a three-day visit. That was followed by a visit by former Chinese Defence Minister and State Councillor Chang Wanquan in the third week of March. The decision to hold the first ever joint military exercise was taken by then Defence Minister Bal Krishna Khand and Chang during the visit. --IANS anp/soni/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan has welcomed foreign observers for the July 25 parliamentary elections and two observer groups from the EU and Commonwealth are currently deployed to observe the polls. Former President of Nigeria and Head of Commonwealth Observers Group, Abdulsalami Abubakar, called on Pakistan Foreign Minister Hussain Haroon and discussed matters relating to the elections, the Foreign Ministry was cited as saying by Xinhua news agency. Abubakar is leading a 24-member delegation of Commonwealth Election Observers Group to observe the polls. The group was earlier deployed in Pakistan during 2002 and 2013 general elections. Abubakar said he was looking forward to a peaceful electoral process and conveyed his positive impressions on the preparations for the elections. "Pakistan has a tradition of welcoming international election observers," the ministry said. --IANS soni/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In its latest gesture to counter Moscow's influence in Ukraine, the Pentagon has announced $200 million in security assistance to the country. The aid will fund additional training, equipment and advisory efforts to build the defensive capacity of Ukraine's forces, Xinhua news agency quoted a statement by the Pentagon on Friday. "This reaffirms the long-standing defence relationship between the US and Ukraine," the statement noted, adding that US security assistance to Ukraine totalled more than $1 billion since 2014. The statement came after the White House on Friday rejected a proposal from Russia to hold a referendum in eastern Ukraine on the fate of the region. "To organise a so-called referendum in a part of Ukraine which is not under government control would have no legitimacy," said White House National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis. The US media on Thursday reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin had raised the possibility of a referendum in Ukraine during his meeting with US President Donald Trump on Monday in Finland. Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov on Friday confirmed that Putin had raised the topic with Trump and made "concrete proposals" on how to handle the conflict. The conflict in eastern Ukraine started in 2014 between Ukrainian government forces and armed groups which declared independence from Kiev. Ukraine has long accused Russia of aiding the insurgents while Moscow has repeatedly dismissed the claims. --IANS mag/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Polish couple celebrated their wedding here on Saturday in the traditional Kashmiri style. The couple, Wlodek and Bata, dressed in typical local dress hosted their wedding reception on the banks of the Jhelum River. "We decided to host our wedding reception in Kashmir because we are impressed by the grandeur and beauty of the place," the couple said. The couple's reception was facilitated by a local family who are friends of the couple. The bride said she has been coming to Kashmir as a tourist for the last few years. Some of the couple's family members have also come to celebrate the wedding. The dishes served during the reception were all local dishes, forming part of the traditional local cuisine called the 'wazwan'. The bride said she has been eating the local dishes during her visits to the Valley and she loves the flavour and the taste of Wazwan. The couple would now visit the Ladakh region during their honeymoon. --IANS sq/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Minister Arun Jaitley said on Saturday that Congress President Rahul Gandhi made the no-trust motion an occasion for frivolity by fabricating a conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron that never happened. "Rahul Gandhi, concocted a conversation with President Macron, and lowered his own credibility. He seriously hurt the image of an Indian politician before the world at large," Jaitley said a day after the government won the no confidence motion. On Friday, Gandhi said in the Lok Sabha that Macron had told him that there was no secrecy pact with India on the Rafale jet deal, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had lied to the nation about it. The spokesperson of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, France, denied the remarks in a statement. "One should never misquote a conversation with a Head of Government or a Head of State. You do it once, serious people will be reluctant to speak to you or speak in your presence," Jaitley said in his Facebook post. Jaitley said the participants in the debate should raise the level of political discourse, particularly the "President of a national party who has Prime Ministerial aspirations. He should never trivialise the debate by blending ignorance, falsehood and acrobatics". "A vote of no confidence against the government is a serious business. It is not an occasion for frivolity," he said. Jaitley said it was unacceptable that Gandhi was not aware of the fact that the Congress-led UPA government had signed the secrecy pact. He said Gandhi has even embarrassed former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by naming him a witness to the conversation. "Rahul has repeatedly shown that he is ignorant of facts. But to insist on disclosure of financial details, which indirectly involves the disclosures of strategic equipment on the aircraft, hurts national interest. Cost gives away a clue to the weaponry in the aircraft," he added. The Minister said Gandhi also seemed unaware of public issues when he equates declaration of accounts as NPA..., reminded Jaitley. "There is no minister who either desires to change or is constitutionally entitled to change the Constitution of India. The last Indian politician who wanted the power to change the Constitution was Rahul's grandmother and she too failed," he stated. "To hallucinate after an embarrassing performance that he has won future election or to hallucinate that he is the reincarnation of Mark Antony being complemented by friends and foes alike, may give him self-satisfaction but for serious observers it is more than just self-praise - in fact a serious problem," Jaitley said. "Regrettably, the President of the Congress party missed a great opportunity. If this was his best argument for 2019, God help his party. His lack of understanding is not only confined to basic issues but also to the niceties of protocol," he said. --IANS mgu/in/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress leader Ashok Gehlot on Saturday backed party President Rahul Gandhi's hugging of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament on Friday, saying that it was done to wipe out hate between the ruling and opposition parties. "Modi has hugged various leaders during his visit to foreign countries. Were they unwanted hugs. "What will they (the BJP) say to Modi hugging to various top leaders of the other country," asked the party General Secretary to counter Modi's comment that he received a unwanted hug from Gandhi. Gehlot also added that Gandhi, through his speech on no-confidence motion on Friday, has given a message of following love and brotherhood between the ruling and opposition parties despite the tense environment prevailing among them. He said that the cause of situation of violence, hatred and instability in the country is due to following of hate "I think the people are understanding all this, and in future, the public will reply to it," he said. On the lynching of a 28-year-old man by suspected cow vigilantes in Rajasthan's Alwar district, Gehlot asked: "Why lynchings did not take place during the rule of other government. Why this is happening in BJP ruled states." Countering Modi's remarked that few anti-social elements are involved in lynching, he asked: "Why it did not stop even then? Either the credibility of the PM has declined or he has just done a formality." --IANS aks-akk/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi's return to the national capital after his address to farmers in Uttar Pradesh's Shahjahanpur on Saturday was delayed by over 30 minutes due to heavy rains and inclement weather, an official said. Rains started in middle of the rally and after concluding his speech, Modi, along with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and other dignitaries, took shelter at the 'safe house' at the railway ground at Roza. Officials contemplated for taking off to Lucknow and from there to New Delhi, but as the rains stopped after 20 minutes, the fleet of IAF choppers took Modi to the Trishul air base in Bareilly from where he returned to New Delhi. --IANS md/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday here rolled out the 'Student Police Cadet' (SPC) programme, under which high school students across the country will be taught to become much more responsible citizens. Speaking at the formal launch at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium here, he said that the SPC programme, for students of classes 8 and 9, will be implemented across the country with a vision for citizens to respect and follow laws willingly, practice responsible behaviour towards others, demonstrate empathy for weaker sections of society, and participate in tackling community issues. A sum of Rs 67 crore had sanctioned to states for the programme's implementation and each school would get Rs 50,000 for educational aids, training and contingency for the programme, to be carried out on pilot basis in all states and union territories. Rajnath Singh said that the venture aims to unlock the potential of India's youth and make them capable of becoming social leaders with global vision guided by humanitarian values. India has the world's largest population of youth and there is a paradigm shift in the policing function from enforcement to facilitation of law, he said. Referring to the ill-effects of rapid modernization and incidents aired on news, TV and social media on daily basis, he said that they put a negative impact on entire society and there was a need to give moral character at both home and school. "Though it is a tough task and would take a long time, but we have to achieve this... Keeping this in view, SPC is being launched at national level to help in building a bridge between the police and the larger community through school students by inculcating values and ethics in them," he added. Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar, who was also present, said that the SPC programme works on Education-Values-Law linkage, to enable school community to create safe school environment with confident and discipline youth. It will also facilitate development of good health, physical and mental fitness, self control and discipline in youth while enabling youth to work with police in this project, he said, adding teachers will be trained by police to act as Community Police Officers (CPO) and Additional CPOs. Noting that students of classes 8 and 9 form nearly 4 crore of the 26 crore students across the country, Javadekar said that programme, including classes, physical training, field visits, SPC camps and practical projects, will be first introduced in the government schools and later will be extended to the private educational institutes. Students will be studying about law and constitution, communication skill, disaster management health and hygiene and about setting goal, he said. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar described the SPC programme a milestone and assured that priority would be given to these cadets in the Haryana Police recruitment drives. Over 7,000 students, both boys and girls, from across the country participated in the launch programme. Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh, who is the Gurugram MP, Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir, Haryana minister Rao Narbir Singh and several MLAs were also present. --IANS pradeep/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A mountaineering expedition has located the wreckage and mortal remains of a victim who, along with 98 army personnel and four crew members, was killed in an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft crash in Himachal Pradesh's icy terrain 50 years ago, officials said on Saturday. The IAF AN-12 aircraft crashed on the 17,400-feet high Dhakka Glacier in the Chanderbhaga ranges of Lahaul and Spiti district on February 7, 1968. Despite several search operations, only four bodies could be recovered so far. The last one was of a soldier that was recovered by an Indian Army expedition on August 22, 2013. "We first found some parts of an aircraft. Subsequently, our team members spotted the decayed body of a soldier a few metres away from the spot," said a media report quoting Rajeev Rawat, the team leader of the mountaineers who were on a clean-up expedition of the Chanderbhaga glacier. He said they alerted the Army's High Altitude Warfare School on July 16, which began its search operations in the area. Last time, an Indian Army expedition on August 22, 2013, recovered the mortal remains of a non-commissioned officer, Hav Jagmail Singh of Corps of EME. An identity disk, an insurance policy and a letter from his family retrieved from his pocket helped identify him, an official statement by the Chandimandir-based Western Command headquarters had said on recovery of the mortal remains of Hav Jagmail Singh. The aircraft had taken off from Chandigarh for Leh. Halfway, pilot Flight Lt. H.K. Singh decided to turn back due to the inclement weather over Jammu and Kashmir, the Western Command headquarters had said. The last radio contact was near the Rohtang Pass and thereafter the aircraft appeared to have vanished into thin air. The disappearance remained a mystery until 2003 when an expedition team accidentally discovered the debris at the Dhakka Glacier. The Indian Army in 2013 embarked on another expedition to try and locate the mortal remains of its fallen comrades and to also recover the flight data recorder (black box). The expedition of the Dogra Scouts of the Western Command comprised the finest mountaineers of the country, including an Everester. "The glacier where the operations are underway lies at an altitude of approximately 17,000-18,000 feet, is avalanche-prone and dotted with innumerable crevasses. The site itself is at an 80 degree gradient from the base camp," the statement had said. The high wind velocities and sub-zero temperatures restrict the search window to about 15-20 days a year and that too only for a few hours during the day, it added. --IANS vg/mag/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz are unlikely to be transferred to the Sihala Rest House owing to its lack of proper security arrangements needed for the high-profile prisoners, media reports said on Saturday. The accountability court that convicted Sharif and his daughter in a corruption case had ordered they be sent to Adiala Jail after they were taken into custody at the Lahore airport and produced before it on July 13. However, the Islamabad Chief Commissioner had also ordered shifting of both the father and the daughter and her husband Captain (retd) Safdar Awan, who was already in the Adiala Jail, to the Sihala Rest House situated inside the Sihala Police Training College. Authorities later said that the rest house was not safe for the Sharif family, according to Dawn News. It has six rooms, all with air conditioners, proper beds and wash rooms, but no boundary wall. One official said that it was twice or thrice attempted to shift Maryam Nawaz to the rest house but she firmly refused. A major indication that the Sharifs might not be shifted to the rest house was that the authorities were considering shifting some dangerous prisoners to somewhere else in the province to ensure proper security for the three-time Premier and his daughter, the report quoted an Adiala Jail official as saying. Later in the day, the duo and Safdar Awan met their counsels. The legal team comprised of Sharif's counsel Khawaja Haris and his daughter's lawyer Amjad Pervaiz. According to sources cited by Geo News, key legal matters were discussed during the meeting. Speaking to the media after the meeting, Advocate Pervaiz said: "The former Premier feels he was not granted the facilities that he should have been given." Speaking about Safdar Awan, Maryam Nawaz's counsel said: "He is a heart patient... but he does not want to seek any medical facilities beyond those offered in the jail manual." On Thursday, a pre-arranged meeting between the lawyers and the father-daughter duo was cancelled by authorities at Adiala Jail. --IANS soni/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Film: "Siberia"; Director: Matthew Ross; Cast: Keanu Reeves, Ana Ularu, Pasha D. Lychnikoff and Molly Ringwald, Rating: * Destructive, suicidal role selections have brought superstar Keanu Reeves' Matrix-manoeuvred marvellous movie career to a grinding halt. "Siberia" is really the end of the road for the doomed Reeves... or is it? With him, we never know what depths of destruction he may plumb next. "Siberia" is not just incomprehensible, incoherent, pretentious and perverse. It is worse. It's a dreadful dull dishwater-level of filmmaking, posturing as something deep, dark and cryptic. Reeves, looking thoroughly disoriented, travels down to Siberia for a tryst with some diamond merchants. Once in Siberia, there is little room for any warm contemplation of the protagonist's predicament as he plunges into a carnal relationship with a cafe owner Katya (Ana Ularu). I confess I had never watched Alaru's work before. After seeing her in "Siberia", I don't think I missed out on much. In all fairness, her unimpressive chemistry with Reeves has a lot to do with the conversations that script forces her to have with the Tall Dark Bewildered stranger. Also, the fact that she is at least 20 years her co-star's junior makes her look like a high-school girl taking tuition from her teacher for better grades. "What would you say if said I wanted to sleep with you?" Alaru asks conversationally. "You mean, now?" stammers Reeves. He gets an affirmative. He then tells her he can't oblige right away because he needs to go and look for his brother's friend. Do we really care whether Reeves finds the man he is looking for? Or whether the pair have sex eventually? For the record, they do. Siberia's snow-capped desolation seems perfect for its lackluster script brimming over with corny lines and weird plot points where we see Reeves locking horns with various high-end ruffians. By the time the narration puts his head into resolving the mess, we are long gone looking for ways to kill the ennui that creeps and clamps its clammy claws around our heart. Never again, Mr Reeves, I am not sitting through any of your films until you realise being different is different from being indifferent. And that's a better line than anything I heard in "Siberia". But never visiting that part of the world. --IANS skj/rb/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 28-year-old man has been beaten to death by suspected cow vigilantes in Rajasthans Alwar district, police said on Saturday. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje condemned the Friday night incident in which some villagers caught and beat up Akbar Khan, suspecting him to be a cow smuggler. "The incident of alleged lynching of a person transporting bovines in Alwar district is condemnable. Strictest possible action shall be taken against the perpetrators," Raje tweeted. Khan, a resident of Kolgaon in Haryana, was taking cows to his village along with another man when they were stopped by a group of villagers near Lalawandi village in Alwar, a police officer said. The villagers severely thrashed Khan and his accomplice, the police officer said, adding Khan's body has been sent for autopsy. Alwar has earlier also witnessed attacks in the name of cow protection. The latest killing comes more than a year after Pehlu Khan was murdered allegedly by some cow vigilantes last year in April. The central and state governments came under a sharp criticism from the Supreme Court earlier this week over frequent lynching incidents. The Supreme Court also asked Parliament to come up with a law to tackle cow vigilantism and lynch, calling such incidents "horrendous acts of mobocracy" that should be nipped in the bud. --IANS sar/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With its plush interiors and latest Bollywood flicks, the city's Raj Mandir is as popular as any other tourist place. On Saturday, instead of running Sanjay Dutt's biopic "Sanju", it hosted a different performance: the Amit Shah Show. The BJP chief came in along with an array of state BJP leaders. At the centre of attention were the party's social media volunteers. Adorned with party flags, the hall brimmed over with around 5,000 volunteers who came from different parts of Rajasthan for tips on fighting the election battle in the state later this year. "Since the city's auditoriums cannot accommodate so many volunteers, we zeroed in Raj Mandir," said a state party leader. Amit Shah called upon the 'cyber warriors' to ensure that public welfare schemes reach every person of the state. "The aim for all of us is Mission 180 (winning that many seats in the 200-member Assembly)", he said. Sharing his winning tips with them, he said that "fake claims" of the Opposition should be given a befitting reply on social media platforms. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia also reposed her trust in the social media warriors. For local party leaders, it was nothing short of a thrill. Bhawarlal Mali, chairman, municipal corporation, Jalore, said Shah has infused a new life in the party members. "The party chief has told us to stay united and win these elections," he said. Mukesh Rajpurohit, an ABVP member from Jalore, found Shah's advice quite encouraging. "Shah told us to seek help from our cyber warriors to win the Assembly elections. We will try to work on it," he said. Anjana Sharma, corporator and BJP vice-president-Nagore rural, said Shah's visit to Jaipur and Modi's address in Lok Sabha on Friday have motivated the BJP workers. "Today, instead of watching reel-time heroes, we saw the real hero in Shah," she said. BJP sources said Raj Mandir was booked for a day. The IT department's workshop for state working committee started at 11 a.m. and the cinema hall turned into a political venue. After the culmination of IT department's workshop, the social media volunteers meeting continued in this iconic cinema hall which was addressed by Amit Shah. Other prominent leaders seen were national vice-president and Rajasthan in charge Avinash Rai Khanna, Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia and other senior BJP leaders like V. Satish, Bhupendra Yadav, Chandrashekhar, Muralidhar Rao and Ramlal. (Archana Sharma can be contacted at archana.s@ians.in) --IANS arc/prs/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In yet another incident of militants killing policemen and soldiers, the bullet-riddled body of a trainee constable was found in south Kashmir's Kulgam district on Saturday. Police said Muhammad Saleem Shah was abducted from his Matalhama village and that his body was found in Qaimoh area of the district. "The trainee constable had come home on leave from police training school in Kathua", police said. On June 14, militants had abducted and killed army rifleman Aurangzeb Khan in Shoian district while he was going home to join his family on Eid festival. --IANS sq/prs/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that President Donald Trump remains optimistic about the prospects of denuclearisation on the Korean Peninsula. Pompeo briefed reporters at the UN headquarters on Friday following his meeting with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and members of the Security Council. "President Trump remains upbeat about the prospects of denuclearization of North Korea (DPRK). So do I, as progress is happening," said the top US diplomat. "It is the Trump administration's hope that one day the DPRK could be in our midst here at the UN," he was cited as saying by Xinhua news agency. "The countries of the Security Council are united on the need for final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea, as agreed to by Chairman Kim Jong-un. Strict enforcement of sanctions is critical to our achieving this goal," said Pompeo, who was accompanied by US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley. During their historic summit in June, Trump and Kim agreed to work towards the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula. Despite progress made with Trump and Kim's historic meeting in Singapore, uncertainties remain regarding the Korean Peninsula. Washington is still exerting great pressure on Pyongyang even after the latter dismantled some of its nuclear facilities. --IANS soni/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen secretly recorded a conversation between the two men prior to the 2016 election about paying a former Playboy model who said she had an affair with the leader, the media reported. The FBI seized the secret recording made by Cohen during a raid on his offices earlier this year, the New York Times reported on Friday. The report said that on the recording, Cohen and Trump discussed paying Karen McDougal, who says she had a year-long affair with Trump starting in 2006, shortly after he married Melania Trump. The conversation took place two months ahead of the 2016 election. The Justice Department was investigating Cohen's involvement in paying women to tamp down embarrassing news stories about Trump ahead of the 2016 election. His lawyer Lanny J. Davis said in a statement that he was "sensitive" to the ongoing investigation but added: "Suffice it to say that when the recording is heard, it will not hurt Cohen. The Washington Post also reported that the FBI seized a tape of Cohen's that discussed payments involving McDougal, but it had some conflicting details. It said that Trump and Cohen were discussing a payment for McDougal's story about her alleged affair. American Media Inc. (AMI), the publisher of the National Enquirer tabloid, purchased the rights to McDougal's story in August 2016 for $150,000 but never ran the piece. Trump and Cohen discussed buying McDougal's story from AMI during the recorded conversation, according to the Post. The newspaper reported that it was unclear why the men did not buy the story but they were reportedly discussing the same amount that the publisher paid McDougal. The President's attorney Rudy Giuliani confirmed to the Post that the recording existed, but did not discuss details and said a payment was never made. Giuliani asserted that the recording lasts less than two minutes and shows that Trump did nothing wrong. There was no indication on the tape that Trump knew before the conversation about the payment from AMI to McDougal, he said. Giuliani initially indicated the men discussed a payment from Trump to McDougal -- separate from the Enquirer's payment -- to buy her story. Later, he said Trump and Cohen had actually discussed buying the rights to McDougal's story from the tabloid. But the payment was never made, Giuliani said, adding that Trump had told Cohen that if he were to make a payment related to McDougal, to write a check rather than send cash, so it could be properly documented. Cohen, who has not been charged, is also under investigation for possible bank fraud and campaign finance law violations, including a $130,000 nondisclosure payment made in 2016 to adult-film star Stormy Daniels. She also claims having an affair with Trump. --IANS soni/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Abu Dhabi, July 21 (IANS/WAM) The UAE and China have agreed to enhance cooperation in all fields to higher levels and forge overall strategic partnership that would contribute to cementing and intensifying cooperation and boost development and prosperity. The two countries in a joint statement on Saturday on Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the United Arab Emirates stressed their keenness to deepen cooperation within the "Belt and Road Initiative" to establish sustainable trade and investment partnership to achieve the common interests. During Xi's visit, the UAE and China signed 13 agreements and Memoranda of Understanding aimed at enhancing bilateral cooperation and opening new horizons for joint action in various sectors. The Chinese leader concluded his three-day visit to the UAE on Saturday. Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan bid farewell to him after his historic visit. "This visit contributed to strengthening the relationship between the two countries as well as the personal friendship between us, and I am confident that the UAE under its leadership will achieve further progress and prosperity. As a strategic partner of the UAE, China will make joint efforts to achieve mutual interests," Xi said. He began a three-day visit to the country on Thursday, during which he held talks with the UAE's Vice-President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and the Abu Dhabi crown prince on cooperation prospects and strategic partnership between the two countries. They also discussed regional and international issues of common concern. --IANS/WAM soni/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a move to counter Moscow's influence in Ukraine, the US has announced $200 million in security assistance to Kiev. The aid will fund additional training, equipment and advisory efforts to build the defensive capacity of Ukraine's forces, the Pentagon said in a statement on Friday. "This reaffirms the long-standing defence relationship between the US and Ukraine," the statement noted, adding that Washington's security assistance to Kiev totalled more than $1 billion since 2014. The Pentagon statement came after the White House on Friday rejected a proposal from Russia to hold a referendum in eastern Ukraine on the fate of the region, Xinhua news agency reported. Russian President Vladimir Putin raised the possibility of a referendum in Ukraine during his meeting with US President Donald Trump on Monday in Helsinki, Finland, Russia's Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said. The conflict in eastern Ukraine started in 2014 between the government forces and armed groups that declared independence from Kiev. Ukraine has long accused Russia of aiding the insurgents while Moscow has repeatedly dismissed Kiev's claims. "To organise a so-called referendum in a part of Ukraine which is not under government control would have no legitimacy," the White House National Security Council said Friday. --IANS in/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asked the UN Security Council on Friday to keep up the pressure on North Korea by guaranteeing full application of the sanctions on Pyongyang. Pompeo, in a statement to the media, said that this punishment should not let up until North Korean leader Kim Jong-un keeps his promise to proceed toward denuclearization, Efe reported. The United States government remains "optimistic" about the chances to make progress with North Korea, but believes that when sanctions are not adequately applied, the possibilities of success diminish, he said. Pompeo met Friday in New York with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and with the Japanese ambassador before addressing a closed session of the Security Council. The meeting was the first between Pompeo and the Security Council since US President Donald Trump's meeting in Singapore with North Korea's Kim. Pompeo also informed the other powers about the results of his visit this month to Pyongyang. "The UN Security Council is united on the need for final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea as agreed to by Chairman Kim. Members of the UN Security Council and by extension all UN member-states have unanimously agreed to fully enforce sanctions on North Korea and we expect them to continue to honor those commitments," Pompeo told reporters. "When sanctions are not enforced the prospects for the successful denuclearization of North Korea is diminished," he said. The US reported last week to the UN that North Korea was violating the sanctions imposed on it, importing more petroleum products than the amount permitted by means of ship-to-ship transfers on the high seas. For that reason, Washington asked the Security Council to order all sales of those products to Pyongyang stopped immediately, a request that for now has been blocked by Russia and China, which have asked for additional information before proceeding. --IANS ahm/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Saturday her Trinamool Congress would fight the 2019 General elections alone in West Bnegal and warned the Congress and the Left "not to join hands with the BJP" in the state while seeking her support at the Centre. Addressing the party's Martyr's Day rally here, she said: "Our resolve in this rally is that we will win all of 42 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal in 2019." She said: "The Congress and the Left are helping the BJP to thrive in Bengal, while seeking our support in Delhi. They should think twice. We do not need their support in Bengal. We will fight alone. But they should remember that we support them in Delhi." Referring to her principal adversaries in the state, she asked: "How is it that they have one ideology in Bengal and another in Delhi? Didn't the Congress, CPI-M and BJP fight (the recent rural polls) together?" The Trinamool supremo said her party has not forgotten the atrocities committed on its supporters during the Left Front regime. "We would thus continue to fight the CPI-M in the state," she said. Accusing the BJP of distributing cash among the people in Bengal to buy their votes, Banerjee warned that it was impossible for the BJP to lure all the 10 crore people of the state. "I did a survey in a Gram Sabha in (northern) Bengal's Alipurduar and found that BJP gave Rs 1,000 and other freebees to each of the families there and managed to buy 100 votes. But they should keep in mind that it is not possible to buy out 10 crore voters of Bengal," she said. Taking a dig at BJP for the canopy collapse during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in Bengal's Midnapore last week, Banerjee said: "Those who cannot even construct a pandal, talk of nation-building." Pillorying the BJP for trying to establish its control everywhere, she said even Nobel laureate and economist Amartya Sen was removed as chancellor of Nalanda University. The Bengal Chief Minister also downplayed BJP's victory in Tripura earlier this year, saying it could manipulate voters as it is a very small state in terms of size and population, with the ruling CPI-M led Left Front unable to offer any resistance. In a swipe at BJP's Bengal chief Dilip Ghosh for his extreme renarks, she said the party should rein in its leaders from resorting to "Talibani fundamentalism". "He talks about lynching, beating up the police, attacking our activists and instigates people to indulge in arson," she said. --IANS mgr-ssp/prs/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Youre not vegetarian, are you? asks Atishi Marlena, scanning the menu at Cafe Lota. Oh no, I say, but I thought you might be. When I struggle to explain why her lean face, no-nonsense haircut and simple salwar kurta suggest, well, frugality, she cuts me short with a quick laugh, one that rings out more often than I would have expected. I know, she says, my friends tell me I give off vegan vibes. We go on to order a mostly carnivorous spread on a muggy day that desperately needs lifting with a good meal. ... 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 In a blistering rebuttal, Prime Minister on Saturday mocked for gesturing him to stand from the seat before the now-famous hug, saying the Congress leader was in a hurry to unseat him and grab the PM's chair, as he dubbed the no-trust vote an act of "arrogance". Modi also dared the Opposition to bring a no-confidence motion against his government again in 2024 -- a remark seen as his confidence in returning to power next year -- as he gave a point-by-point retort to the charges levelled by Gandhi. During his nearly one-and-half hour long reply to the Congress leader's hug-capped scathing attack, Modi also took a dig at the Congress president's apparent post-hug wink in Parliament saying the entire nation saw what the eyes did today, as he made gestures with his hands and eyes to show Gandhi's action. Gandhi's hug to Modi and the subsequent 'wink' after coming back to his seat prompted a furious discussion about the appropriateness of his actions, even as the Modi government won the trust vote by 325-126 votes after a 12-hour long debate. Replying to the no-confidence motion moved by the BJP's former ally TDP and supported by Congress among other opposition parties, Modi said only the 1.25 billion people of the country can decide who would sit in the prime minister's chair or who can be unseated. "What is the hurry," Modi said, while referring to Gandhi's hand gestures when he came across to PM's chair and hugged him during the non-confidence motion debate. Modi looked nonplussed initially and did not stand up, but recovered quickly and called Gandhi back and patted him on the back. In another swipe at Gandhi's apparent slip of tongue in saying that the prime minister could not see him eye-to-eye, Modi said, "You are a 'naamdaar' (known by name) and I am 'kaamdar' (known by work). I cannot dare see you eye-to-eye." The prime minister went on to list names of leaders like Sardar Patel, Subhash Chandra Bose, Chandra Shekhar and Pranab Mukherjee who he said tried to see eye-to-eye with the Congress and the result is known to everyone. Referring to the Dokalam stand-off, he said, "When the whole country was united at the time of Dokalam, you (Gandhi) met the Chinese envoy." On Gandhi's allegations on the Rafale aircraft deal, he said "we must abstain from making childish statements on sensitive issues." He also termed the surgical strikes being described as 'jumla strike' an insult to the security forces. In his reply, Modi asked all Lok Sabha members to dismiss the non-confidence motion, which he said was driven by arrogance and Congress' attempt to test its own probable allies. "Arrogance is behind the no confidence motion," Modi said and hit out at the Congress, saying this is not the floor test of the government but a "force" test of the main opposition party and its so-called allies. Modi also hit out at Gandhi's "bhagidar" (collaborator) remark, saying he is a 'chowkidar' and a 'bhagidar', but not a 'saudagar' (trader) or 'thekedar' (contractor) like the Congress president. Rahul had said an industrialist under a debt of Rs 350 billion was given a contract in the Rafale deal and he benefitted to the tune of Rs 450 billion, while asking the prime minister to answer if the Cabinet Committee on Security took the decision. Asserting that some people are indulging in "negative" politics, Modi said he was not doing of appeasement or vote bank. "We have been working with 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas' mantra," he said. Modi said the NDA government has done several things for the benefit of the people, but the opposition does not believe in the facts. "We are taking steps for doubling the income of farmers by 2022," he said. The prime minister said the opposition, especially the Congress does not trust the Chief Justice of India, the Election Commission and the electronic voting machines. He said "those who dont have confidence in themselves, cannot trust anyone." "I pray to God to give you the strength to bring a no- confidence motion in 2024 also. My best wishes are with you", Modi said. He said the major opposition party had brought the no-trust motion "to spread instability in the country." "Had it not been your arrogance, and had you understood the problems of the states, GST would have been implemented five years ago," the Prime Minister said. The prime minister also condemned the incidents of rape and atrocities against women and said "any instance of violence brings shame to the nation. "I will once again urge the state governments to punish those who indulge in violence," Modi said in an apparent reference to the cases of mob lynching and assured that his government stood with the Muslim women in their quest for justice. He blamed the Congress for division of the country at the time of the independence, as also for division of Andhra Pradesh in a manner which had left the people there unhappy. Modi said when the TDP decided to pull out of NDA, he had warned its leader N Chandrababu Naidu that his party was "getting entangled in a race of one-upmanship with the YSR Congress. Modi said the NDA government is committed towards the development of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. He said the government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee had created Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. "It was done peacefully. These states are prospering ... The Congress divided Andhra Pradesh and their conduct then was shameful," he said. The 21st batch of Amarnath pilgrims today left the base camp here for the holy cave shrine as traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway was restored after remaining suspended for several hours following a landslide, officials said today. After receiving a green signal from the traffic authorities, the officials said a fresh batch of 1,632 pilgrims, including 428 women and 50 sadhus, were allowed from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp for Kashmir under tight security cover in the wee hours today. While 1,011 pilgrims, including 184 women and 50 sadhus, are heading for the Nunwan base camp to undertake the yatra to the 3,880 metre high holy cave shrine of Amarnath from the traditional 36-km Pahalgam track, 621 people, including 244 women, are heading for the Baltal base camp after choosing the 12-km shorter route to the shrine, the officials said. A massive landslide struck the Jammu-Srinagar national highway at Digdole near Ramban yesterday, leaving hundreds of vehicles stranded. However, after hectic efforts by the concerned agencies, the road was cleared and thrown open for traffic last night. All the stranded vehicles were allowed to move towards their respective destinations, the officials said, adding that normal traffic resumed from both sides this morning. Meanwhile, two Bangladeshi nationals were briefly questioned by police after their presence near the Bhagwati Nagar base camp yesterday raised suspicion, the officials said. Mohammad Rafiq-ul-Islam (44) and Mohammad Ashraf Ali (45) were detained by police for questioning after they were intercepted near a frisking shed along the roadside leading to the Bhagwati Nagar base camp, they said. However, both of them were released after they were found in possession of valid documents, including passport and registration slips, for the yatra, the officials said. Somebody had mislead them into undertaking the yatra, assuring that the devotees would help them financially, they said. The officials said they decided not to join the yatra after they were informed about the arduous tracks. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Aam Aadmi Party today lauded Rahul Gandhi's speech during the no-confidence debate in Parliament and criticised the BJP for making a fuss over the hug the Congress president gave to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Although we have differences with Rahul Gandhi on most issues, we admit that his speech yesterday was excellent and he did a fine job of exposing the Modi government's failures, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said. Asked if the AAP was open to joining an anti-BJP front of parties like the Congress, he said as of now it was not part of any such front. But Singh, who is member of the AAP's political affairs committee, added it was the need of the hour that all parties opposed to the BJP come together. We are unable to understand the fuss being made by the BJP over his gesture of hugging the Prime Minister, he said, referring to debate on the opposition's no-confidence motion against the Modi government. Gandhi had created a flutter during the debate by walking up to the prime minister's seat and hugging him. "They are fine with the PM hugging his then Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif, US President Donald Trump and other heads of state. What is their problem with Gandhi? Singh asked. He said the prime minister's own reply to the debate on the motion was devoid of gravitas". The opposition yesterday did a fine job of putting the government in the dock for its numerous failings, Singh said. The government may have won the trust vote on the floor of the House, but it has lost the trust of the people of the country and the same would get reflected in the results of the next Lok Sabha polls, he told reporters. Singh accused the BJP of having "vitiated" the atmosphere in the entire country, mentioning incidents like the lynching of a man in Rajasthan by cow vigilantes and the recent assault on social activist Swami Agnivesh in Jharkhand. Ironically, these acts are carried out while raising slogans in praise of Bharat Mata and 'gau mata'. The BJP should tell us which mother would condone such barbaric acts in her name, the AAP leader said. Singh said the AAP supported all parties opposed to the BJP as it felt that its return to power in 2019 would be the worst thing that could happen to the country. We had therefore supported the Rashtriya Lok Dal candidate in the Kairana bypoll, he said referring to the recent opposition victory in Uttar Pradesh. He also said in states like Delhi and Punjab, the AAP planned to contest all seats. In Haryana, it will field candidates in most constituencies. Our aim is to fight 80-90 seats across the country. We will also play a role in places where we may not enter the fray but have some influence, he said. We have learnt from our mistakes in 2014 when we fought in 403 seats and ended up losing deposits in most of them, he said. We are now more focused on consolidation in places where we have acquired the potential to win and on strengthening our organization in other places, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav today termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Kisan Kalyan Rally' in Shahjahanpur a joke (uphaas) and wondered when the country's farmers would get the benefits of the recently-announced MSP for crops. In a statement issued here, Yadav said, "The Kisan Kalyan Rally held in Shahjahanpur was uphaas (joke). The farmers are unable to get their input cost realised. The need of the hour is to tell the farmers when they will get the new MSP for their crops, and through which medium." He also said that the Prime Minister did not reveal the date by when the promise of doubling the income of the farmers would be fulfilled. "The farmers were hopeful that their problems would be resolved. But after repeated assurances and speeches, their patience has run out. They are only waiting for 2019 Lok Sabha elections," Yadav said. The SP chief further said that agriculture and farmers were never the priority of the BJP. " Farmers have only been a vote bank for them. They are not interested in the development of the villages. The BJP is more interested towards corporate houses... In the five Union budgets and two UP budgets, special facilities have not been given to farming" he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP president Amit Shah arrived here today to hold meetings with the party leaders and workers to review the preparations for the upcoming assembly and 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, party's state chief Madan Lal Saini and others welcomed Shah at the Sanganer airport. A large number of party workers were present outside the airport and six other points on way to Totuka Bhawan, where meetings have been scheduled, to give Shah a warm welcome. Makeshift platforms were set up at Jawahar circle, World Trade Park, Shiksha Sankul, Gandhi circle, JDA circle and Trimurti circle to welcome the BJP president whose caravan is being escorted by police. Shah is scheduled to address the valedictory session of the party's state executive committee meeting. After that, the party chief will hold meetings with MPs/MLAs, social media volunteers, district presidents and core committee/election campaigning committee till 8 pm. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP President Amit Shah today asked party workers and leaders in Rajasthan to work for 18 hours a day for the next few months to ensure its victory in the next Assembly and the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. According to BJP MLA Ashok Parnami, Shah's message to the party workers at the concluding session of the state BJP's working committee meeting here was clear -- that they have to work with dedication. The two-day meeting began yesterday at Totuka Bhawan and the party's national president addressed the concluding session today. "The party president said that every worker of the party should dedicate 18 hours a day for the party for the next few months. The party's workers are full of energy and fully charged," Parnami told reporters after the meeting. State Housing and Urban Development minister Shrichand Kriplani said that Shah wants the party to win more Assembly seats this time compared to last state elections. "His visit has given a strength to the party and party workers and we will achieve the target of winning more than 180 Assembly seats in the upcoming elections," he said. Elections for the 200 Assembly seats in the state are due later this year. Education minister Vasudev Devnani said Shah has asked partymen to reach out to the masses on the basis of works done by the Centre and the state government. "He said the party workers should go among the masses and tell them the works done by our governments. Congress cannot do anything and victory in next elections is ours," Devnani said. Shah is also scheduled to hold meetings with the MPs and MLAs, social media volunteers, district presidents, and members of the core committee and the election campaigning committee today. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) "Black-ish" star Anthony Anderson is under criminal investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department. According to The Blast, Anderson allegedly assaulted a woman last year after an event she catered for the actor. However, police stopped short of divulging any additional details beyond confirming that the actor is "listed as a suspect in a criminal report and it is an ongoing investigation." In a statement given to the Hollywood Reporter, representative for Anderson said, "It's unfortunate that anyone can file a police report whether it is true or false. The authorities have not contacted Anthony or any of his representatives about this matter. Anthony unequivocally disputes the claim." This is not the first time Anderson has been accused of misconduct. He and assistant director Wayne Witherspoon were accused of raping an extra on the set of the 2004 film "Hustle & Flow," but the charges were later dropped when the judge ruled that there was no probable cause to try the case. Anderson recently received his fourth straight Emmy nomination for his role as patriarch Andre Johnson in Kenya Barris' ABC family sitcom "Black-ish." He is set to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame later this year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Bombay High Court has sought to know from the Maharashtra government if it distributes nutritious food to children and lactating mothers living in the tribal belt of the state. A division bench of Justices N H Patil and G S Kulkarni posed the question earlier this week while hearing a bunch of PILs highlighting the rise in malnutrition deaths and illnesses among those living in the Melghat region of Vidarbha and other tribal areas of Maharashtra. Different benches of the high court have passed several orders on the issue over the last two years, directing the government to ensure that people in the tribal areas get adequate nutritious food, proper healthcare, sanitation and education facilities. On July 17, the government submitted before the HC a chart indicating the number of health camps held in Melghat, Amravati district, to address the issue of malnutrition. The chart also shows that the government would regularly hold such camps to provide medical aid to children, newborns, women and others. The court took the chart on record, but sought to know what steps were being taken to provide food to children and lactating mothers. "The government pleader shall take instructions as to whether the departments concerned of the state machinery distribute nutritious food to children and lactating mothers," the court said. The bench posted the petitions for further hearing on August 1. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan called his actions and statements anti-national, Congress leader Digvijay Singh today said he would appear before police and they could arrest him. "I have taken the oath to follow Constitution. So I have decided to present myself before the law to protect the unity and integrity of India....I would present myself at TT Nagar Police Station (in Bhopal) on July 26," Singh said in a letter to Chouhan. "Meanwhile, submit the evidence of my being anti-national to your administration, so that they can file a case and arrest me," the senior Congress leader said. Chouhan had slammed the former chief minister for 'visiting the homes of slain terrorists' and talking about "Hindu terrorism" two days ago. "Talking about Hindu terrorism is an insult to the country and its culture....He is the kind of person who visits the homes of terrorists killed by police and glorifies them. Many times, such acts of Digvijay-ji seem anti-national," a BJP release quoted Chouhan as saying at Satna on July 19. In apparent reference to Singh's calling Osama bin Laden as "Osama-ji", Chouhan asked, according to the BJP release, if adding the honorific 'Ji' for a terrorist was not an anti-national act. In his letter, Singh said, "Being the chief minister, it is your constitutional duty to take legal action if any such case falling under the category of anti-nationalism comes to your knowledge." If the chief minister does not have any evidence against him, then he should apologise, Singh demanded. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi has granted approval to the territorial assembly to bring in and adopt the 'Appropriation Bill' with a condition to comply with the Supreme Court order to allow the three nominated MLAs of BJP to attend the proceedings of the House. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of her visit to the Electricity Department, she said her office had received the communication of the Supreme Court regarding the three nominated MLAs "to function as such and attend and participate in the proceedings of the Assembly." She had accordingly forwarded and recommended "introduction of the Appropriation Bill to the Legislative Assembly last night for its consideration with the condition to comply with the interim order of the Supreme court in respect of the three nominated legislators," she added. Bedi also requested the Speaker while forwarding her recommendation for the adoption of the Appropriation Bill "to reconvenethe Assembly to transact the important financial business." "I have requested the Speaker to reconvene the session (which was adjourned sine die on July 19 without being able to pass the Appropriate Bill for want of Lt Governor's approval then to introduce the Bill), to pass the bill and send it back to me for assent. With this compliance there will be no cause of dislocation of any public service," she said. The Budget session of the Assembly began on July 2 and Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, who also holds the Finance portfolio presented the Rs 7,530 crore budget for the fiscal 2018-2019. The House was originally scheduled to have its session till July 27. But the days of meeting were rescheduled and the House had its sittings only till July 19 as the Chief Minister and his colleagues along with the MLAs had planned to visit New Delhi on July 23 to press the Centre for grant of Statehood. The Appropriation Bill slated to be introduced on July 18 could not be brought in as the approval of Lt Governor was not available till then. The House adjourned on July 19without being able to bring in the Appropriation Bill,causing apprehension whether the disbursement of salaries and pension to retired government staff and meeting of routine commitments would be possible for want of adoption of the Bill. While Chief Minister Narayanasamy blamed the Lt Governor for the impasse, the former IPS officer said the session was originally scheduled to have sittings till July 27 but was suddenly "foreclosed." She wanted the government to make it transparent as to what necessitated this decision. The Supreme Court had on July 19 pronounced an interim order directing the Puducherry Assembly Speaker to allow the three nominated members to function as MLAs till the adjudication of the petition filed before the apex court. The petitions challenged the order of the High court delivered on March 23 this year upholding the nomination of the three members to be legislators of Puducherry Assembly. Meanwhile, the AIADMK urged the Centre to send a high level official team to study the "impasse prevailing in Puducherry following intensive face off between Lt Governor and the Chief Minister" on the Appropriation Bill for the fiscal 2018-2019. He said Bedi had claimed that she had sent in her approval last night to the Assembly to adopt the Bill after reconvening the Assembly, subject to the condition that the Apex court order relating to nominated MLAs should be complied with. "It is still a big question whether the Lt Governor could fix a condition while making her recommendation for reconvening of the House to the Speaker," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A BJP councillor of Wani Municipal Council in Yavatmal district has been arrested for allegedly raping a woman for over last three years and trying to extort money from her, police said today. The accused Dheeraj Digambar Pathe (29), a resident of Wasekar Layout in Wani town, was arrested last night based on a complaint filed by a 20-year-old woman, police said. According to Balasaheb Khade, Inspector of Wani police station, the victim said in her complaint that she lived in the same locality in Wani as Pathe's and they knew each other ever since she was a minor. "The victim said that when she was still a minor studying in Class XII, Pathe promised that he would marry her in future, and established physical relationship with her. He started repeatedly sexually assaulting her," the officer said. "When she turned major, he demanded that she marry him. When she refused to tie the knot with him, he started troubling her. He started demanding Rs 5 lakh from her as 'compensation' for refusing to marry him," Khade added. The victim, who is now a B.Sc student, said he continued to harass her over his demands. But when she stuck to her ground and turned down all his demands, Pathe opened a Facebook account in her name and started sending objectionable messages from that account to defame her, police said. The victim finally narrated her ordeal to her parents, who approached the police. Based on the complaint, Pathe was booked under IPC sections 376 (rape), 363 (kidnapping), 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person), 384 (extortion) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document). He was also booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. He was arrested last night. According to police, the BJP councillor was a co-accused in one more rape case, which is still pending before the court. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala today accused the BJP governments at the Centre and Haryana of doing nothing for the welfare of farmers and the youth, and having failed on all fronts. He claimed that the Centre has been "praising" itself for the hike in minimum support prices of Kharif crops but distressed farmers at several places continued to commit suicide. "The BJP government at the Centre and the state has been a failure on every front," Surjewala said at a rally here today. He said two lakh youth will be given employment in six months of the formation of Congress government in Haryana after the next Assembly elections. Accusing the BJP leaders of auctioning government jobs in the state, Surjewala said, "After the Congress forms government in the state, all those who took money for providing jobs will be sent behind bars." He also alleged that the atrocities on Dalits had increased during BJP rule at the Centre. (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 gave a call to oust the BJP in the next Lok Sabha elections and accused the saffron party of trying to create an atmosphere of "lynching, hatred and violence". The Trinamool Congress chief's comments come after a man, Akbar Khan, was allegedly lynched by a group of people on the suspicion of smuggling cows in Rajasthan's Alwar district last night. "The BJP is trying to create an atmosphere of Talibans, lynching, hatred and violence. We don't believe in their concept of Hinduism. Those who now rule the country have bloodstains on their hands," the TMC supremo said at the party's massive annual Martyrs' Day rally here,. "Everyday people are being lynched. Today also, one person was lynched. They (BJP) have unleashed religious terrorism. Before lecturing the states to take steps against those involved in lynching they should ask their own leaders to behave," Banerjee said Giving call of 'BJP hatao, desh bachao', the chief minister asserted that her party would win all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state and BJP's strength would drastically come down to 150. Banerjee also took a dig at the saffron party for the collapse of a makeshift tent at PM Narendra Modi's rally at Midnapore in the state. "They cannot build a pandal. How can they build the country?" she wondered. The TMC supremo, who mooted the idea of a federal front, said she would hold a mega rally of Opposition parties in Bengal in January and sound the poll bugle to capture the power in Delhi after the next Lok Sabha polls. "We (TMC) don't bother about the chair. We only bother about the people and the country. "We will win all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state. It is our pledge. We will oust the BJP to save the country," she said, stating that Bengal would show the way to the country after the next general elections. Attributing the NDA government's big-margin victory during yesterday's no-confidence vote to the AIADMK, she said, "The BJP is outnumbered outside the Parliament. In 2019 Lok Sabha election, their strength will come down to barely 150 seats." Banerjee added that the BJP's Lok Sabha seats decrease in states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal. Describing demonetisation as the "biggest scam" in the country, she said her party was not afraid of the CBI and ED, which has been "used by the Centre time and again to pursue political vendetta". Keeping up her attack against the BJP, Banerjee said, "They (Modi) are talking about 2024. But let them first cross 2019. Our political fight against the BJP will continue". Meanwhile, senior BJP leader and former Rajya Sabha MP, Chandan Mitra, who had resigned from the BJP a few days back, joined the TMC in Banerjee's presence at the rally, along with four Congress MLAs and former CPI(M) MP Moinul Hassan. The Congress MLAs who joined her party are Samar Mukherjee, Abu Taher, Sabina Yasmin and Akhruzzman. Accusing the Congress, BJP and the CPI(M) of joining hands in Bengal against her party, she asked the Congress to make clear its stand. "In Delhi they (Congress) seek our support to oppose the BJP, but here they are opposing us. They should not adopt double standards," she added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Four BJP MPs have submitted a privilege notice against Congress President Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of "misleading" Parliament by making "false" allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman BJP MPs Nishikant Dubey, Anurag Thakur Dushyant Singh and Prahalad Joshi have given the notice to the Speaker. According to the rules of the House, Gandhi should have given prior notice before making any allegations against any member. He should have given substantiating material to the Speaker, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar had said, adding notice for privilege motion against Rahul Gandhi will be given for "falsehood and misleading" Parliament While speaking in the Lok Sabha during the debate on the no-confidence motion against the government, Rahul had alleged that Sitharaman had lied to the nation by claiming that India was bound by a secrecy clause in the Rafale fighter jet deal signed with France. Gandhi said the French president had clearly conveyed to him that there was no problem in sharing details relating to the Rafale deal worth Rs 58,000 crore. Alleging corruption in the deal, the Congress has been demanding details, including cost of equipment and weapons, but the government has refused to share them citing the secrecy clause. Countering his allegations, Sitharaman said all charges were absolutely wrong" and added that the initial agreement for the deal which had the secrecy clause was signed when the UPA was in power in 2008. BJP leaders said Gandhi's accusations that Modi benefited one industrialist in the Rafale deal and 'betrayed' the Indian Army in Doklam were among his several defamatory allegations against the prime minister. Their privilege motion against him would include these "unsubstantiated" charges. The NDA government had signed a deal with France-based Dassault Aviation to purchase 36 Rafale jets. (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 accused the BJP of trying to create an "atmosphere of Talibani Hinduism and Talibani communalism" in the country and gave a call for ouster of the saffron party in the next Lok Sabha polls. The Trinamool Congress chief's comments came in the backdrop of the alleged lynching of 28-year-old Akbar Khan in Rajasthan's Alwar district today by a group of people on the suspicion that he was smuggling cows. Banerjee, a strident critic of the BJP, said the saffron party was trying to create "an atmosphere of Talbani communalism, Talibani violence and of lynching and hatred". Addressing the 25th annual Martyrs' Day rally at Esplanade in the heart of the city, she said, "We (TMC) do not believe in their concept of Talibani Hinduism and Hinduism with weapons. "We believe in Hinduism preached by Swami Vivekananda and Sri Ramkrishna Pramahansa...Those who now rule the country have bloodstains on their hands." Giving the call of 'BJP hatao, desh bachao' at the massive rally, she claimed that her party would win all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Attacking the BJP, Banerjee said, "Everyday people are being lynched. Today too one person was lynched. They (BJP) have unleashed religious terrorism. Before lecturing the states to take steps against those involved in lynching, they should ask their own leaders to behave." The TMC supremo said that she respected the BJP-RSS old timers as they were not into "playing dirty games" but not its present leaders and would organise a federal front to remove the saffron party from power at the Centre. She said the TMC would hold a mega rally at the Brigade Parade ground here on January 19 to sound the poll bugle to capture power in Delhi in the next Lok Sabha election and opposition party leaders from across the country would be invited for it. Hitting back, the BJP said that Banerjee should "stop dreaming" of becoming the next prime minister as her ambition will never be fulfilled. BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha told reporters here, "There are doubts whether she would be able to retain the Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal and she is dreaming of Delhi." The BJP will also hold a rally at the same venue on January 23 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address it, he said. Referring to the outcome of the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha yesterday, the BJP leader said, "We had seen the result of opposition unity. The people of the country stood besides Modi and his policies." Claiming that West Bengal would show the way to the country after the 2019 general election, a combative Banerjee said, "We will win all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state. It is our pledge. We will oust the BJP to save the country." She also claimed, "We do not bother about the chair. We only bother about the people and the country." The chief minister said that during the no-trust motion yesterday, the NDA got 325 votes as the AIADMK supported it. "Had Jayalalithaa been alive, the BJP would have never got the AIADMK vote," she said. She claimed, "The BJP is losing its allies. Chandrababu Naidu, who was their friend, had moved the no-confidence motion. The Shiv Sena did not vote and the BJD too is no longer with them. The BJP and the NDA have started to disintegrate." The BJP is outnumbered outside Parliament and in the next Lok Sabha polls, its strength will come down to barely 150 seats, she said. "They (BJP) are talking about 2024. Let them first cross 2019," she said in an apparent reference to Modi yesterday asking Congress chief Rahul Gandhi to prepare for moving a no-trust motion in 2024. She also claimed that the number of the Lok Sabha seats held by the BJP would come down in states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal. "Hundreds of people have been killed in the name of encounters and more than 12,000 farmers are committing suicide every year," she said, announcing a series of party programmes to take on the BJP. Describing demonetisation as the "biggest scam" in the country, she said her party is not afraid of the Central Bureau of Investigation or the Enforcement Directorate "which have been used by the Centre time and again to pursue political vendetta". Referring to the collapse of a makeshift tent during Modi's rally at Midnapore, she said, "They cannot even build a pandal. How can they build the country? Our political fight against the BJP will continue." Former Rajya Sabha member of the BJP, Chandan Mitra, four Congress MLAs and former CPI(M) MP Moinul Hassan joined the TMC in her presence at the rally. Mitra had resigned from the BJP a few days back. The Congress MLAs who joined the TMC are Samar Mukherjee, Abu Taher, Sabina Yasmin and Akhruzzman. Accusing the Congress, the BJP and the CPI(M) of joining hands in West Bengal against her party, Banerjee asked the Congress to make clear its stand. "In Delhi, they (Congress) seek our support to oppose the BJP but here they are opposing us. They should not adopt double standards," she said. On the criticism over the TMC winning several seats uncontested in the May panchayat polls in the state, she said no one raised questions when seats went uncontested in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Sikkim. "But we are being questioned even though we have won 90 per cent of the seats. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The body of a Jammu and Kashmir police constable, who was abducted by militants from his residence in Kulgam district, has been found, a police official said today. Constable Saleem Shah, who was on leave, was abducted by militants from his residence in the Mutalhama area of Kulgam district in south Kashmir last night, he said. A case has been registered and efforts are underway to nab the killers of the constable, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The body of a police constable, who was abducted apparently by Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) militants from his residence in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district, has been found, officials said today. Constable Saleem Shah, who was on leave, was abducted from his residence in Mutalhama area of Kulgam in south Kashmir last night, a police spokesperson said. He said Shah's body was recovered from a nursery near Redwani Payeen village. The body bore severe injury marks, indicating that he was brutally tortured by the militants, the spokesperson said. He said Shah had joined the services in 2016 and after completing his basic training, was posted to DPL Pulwama. The slain cop is survived by aged parents, two brothers and one sister and was the lone bread-earner for his family, the official said. He said a case has been registered and efforts were underway to nab the killers. Initial investigation has indicated that it was the handiwork of proscribed terror outfit HM, the spokesman said, adding, "we condemn such gruesome terror act and assure that the culprits shall be brought to justice. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Madras High Court has held that though documents such as Aadhaar, voter ID and marriage certificate have been obtained by a Sri Lanka-born national, she cannot claim to be an Indian national unless the status is conferred by the competent authority. Justice T Raja dismissed a plea of the daughter of a Sri Lankan woman, who has been detained at the International Airport here for the past few weeks, seeking her release. "Although she has produced the Aadhaar card, driving licence, voter identity card and the marriage registration certificate of her mother, her mother has not made any application before the competent authority seeking conferment of her status as an Indian citizen," the judge said in his order recently. "Above all, since the Sri Lankan government has admitted the status of the petitioner's mother as Sri Lankan and also issued the passport inviting her to return to the country (Sri lanka), the writ petition fails," the judge said. Following the ethnic war, the woman had migrated to Tamil Nadu in 1989 and has been residing in the state since then. She married an Indian citizen and had three children. She applied for passport in 2004 and went to work as housemaid in Italy in 2007. She was also frequently visiting India. There was no problem with immigration authorities in India then, it was submitted. But when she landed in Chennai from Italy on June 22 to attend her daughter's marriage at Tiruchirappalli, she was detained by authorities at the airport. According to Immigration authorities she was a Lankan national by birth and had fraudulently obtained the Indian passport. Authorities also found out that she held a Sri Lankan passport, which was issued on October 12, 1989 and expired on October 11, 1994. Additional Solicitor General G. Rajagopalan, who appeared on behalf of the Union Government, submitted that since she wantonly suppressed the facts, she was refused entry into India and sent back to Sri Lanka on June 23. But Lankan authorities sent her back the same day as she falsely claimed that she was an Indian national. She was again sent back on June 24. However, the Lankan immigration authority did not grant arrival clearance to her and requested Indian immigration to send her back to Sri Lanka on the strength of a valid emergency travel document issued by the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission. Accordingly, the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission was asked to issue an emergency travel document to facilitate her return to Sri Lanka. Thereafter, on June 24, an order was issued by the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer, Chennai restricting her movement under the Foreigners Act, 1946. Assailing the move, her daughter approached the high court seeking direction to the authorities to relieve her mother from detention and allow her to travel to Italy and join her employment. Declining her claim, Justice Raja said a persual of the original passport issued by the Lankan government clearly shows that the petitioner's mother was born in Jaffna and her national status as Sri Lankan. Therefore, the claim of the petitioner that by virtue of Section 5(1)(c) of the Citizenship Act, her mother has to be treated as an Indian, "is far from acceptance," the judge said and dismissed the plea. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Africa today on a four-nation visit seeking deeper military and economic ties while his rival in a bitter trade war, the Trump administration, shows little interest in the world's second most populous continent. This is Xi's first trip abroad since he was appointed to a second term in March with term limits removed, allowing him to rule for as long as he wants. That rang familiar to some of Africa's long-entrenched leaders. China is already Africa's largest trading partner, and it opened its first military base on the continent last year in the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti, which this month launched a China-backed free trade zone it calls the largest in Africa. After surpassing the US in arms sales to Africa in recent years, China this month hosted dozens of African military officials for the first China-Africa defense forum. Xi is stopping in Senegal and then Rwanda ahead of his participation in a summit of the BRICS emerging economies in South Africa that starts on Wednesday. The summit comes amid the United States' billion-dollar trade war with China and tough trade negotiations with other key economic partners. Last month the foreign ministers of BRICS members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa criticized what they called a "new wave of protectionism," saying US measures undermine global trade and economic growth. Xi's Africa visit also highlights China's sweeping "Belt and Road" initiative that envisages linking Beijing to Africa, Europe and other parts of Asia via a network of ports, railways, power plants and economic zones. While such high-profile projects bring badly needed infrastructure and generate economic growth, US officials and others have warned that African nations are putting themselves into debt to China. Its government, banks and contractors loaned more than USD 94 billion to African governments and state-owned companies from 2000 to 2015, according to the China Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University. "Public debt in the median sub-Saharan African country rose from 34 percent of GDP in 2013 to an estimated 53 percent in 2017," says a report in January by Wenjie Chen and Roger Nord of the International Monetary Fund. From oil in countries like Nigeria and Angola to rare minerals in Congo, Africa's natural resources are a major draw for China's economy, the world's second largest behind the US China's voracious appetite for resources such as timber and ivory, however, has taken its toll on Africa's environment, often with the help of corrupt local officials. On his first visit to a West African country Xi will meet with President Macky Sall of Senegal, which according to the International Monetary Fund had economic growth of 7.2 per cent last year and whose largest trading partner is the European Union. The stop highlights China's interest both in Francophone Africa and in Atlantic Ocean ports, while Senegal positions itself as a gateway to the region. Already a Chinese-backed industrial park has appeared outside the capital, Dakar, while rail and road links are being improved as part of an ambitious plan to reach the other end of the continent in Djibouti. Xi then moves on to Rwanda, becoming the first Chinese president to visit the landlocked East African country, whose economy grew by 6.1 per cent last year. He will meet with President Paul Kagame and visit a memorial for Rwanda's 1994 genocide, which killed more than 800,000 people. The Chinese leader then will make his third state visit to South Africa for the BRICS summit. South Africa's economy, one of Africa's largest, grew just 1.3 percent last year amid a drop in investor confidence because of a corruption scandal around former President Jacob Zuma, who resigned in February. Finally, Xi will stop in the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius, whose economy grew by 3.9 per cent last year. China's economic push will continue in September with the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which brings together dozens of heads of state. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) : The national child rights panel has directed its Kerala counterpart here to take immediate action on a complaint that the management of a private school here had allegedly denied promotion to two Muslim students. The direction was based on a complaint by Naushad Thekkayil who alleged that the girl students had not been promoted to the next class as they were wearing uniforms with long sleeves. The complainant alleged the girls-Fathima Thasneem and Hafsa Parveen, studying in sixth and second standards of a private school at Thiruvallam near here-had not been promoted to the next class by its principal. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) asked the state panel to take immediate action for violation of child rights and also ensure that the children should not be deprived of studies and promoted to higher classes. The directive was given in a letter sent to Chairperson of Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, C J Antony, a copy of which was released to the media. When contacted, school management sources, however, denied any kind of discrimination against students on the basis of uniform. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today filed a chargesheet in a Delhi court against Virbhadra Singh's son Vikramaditya in a money laundering case also involving the former Himachal Pradesh chief minister. Special Judge Arvind Kumar fixed the matter for consideration on July24, when he will decide on whether to take cognisance of the final report. The chargesheet, filed by special public prosecutors Nitesh Rana and N K Matta, also named Managing Director of Tarani Infrastructure Vakamulla Chandrasekhar and one Ram Prakash Bhatia as an accused. Both Chandrasekhar and Bhatia are also an accused in a CBI case related to the matter, along with Virbhadra Singh, his wifePratibha Singhand others. Besides 83-year-old Singh and his 62-year-old wife, the others named in the ED chargesheet, filed through advocate A R Aditya, are Universal Apple Associate owner Chunni Lal Chauhan, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) agent Anand Chauhan and two other co-accused Prem Raj and Lawan Kumar Roach. Anand Chauhan, arrested on July 9, 2016 by the ED under relevant provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, was granted bail on January 2 in the case. In a separate case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in relation to the matter, the former Himachal Pradesh chief minister, his wife and Chauhan were chargesheeted along with others. The couple, who have not been arrested so far in any of the two cases, and the other accused are facing trial in the CBI case. The other accused in the CBI case are Chunni Lal Chauhan, stamp paper vendor Joginder Singh Ghalta, Managing Director of Tarani Infrastructure Vakamulla Chandrasekhar, and co-accused Lawan Kumar Roach, Prem Raj and Ram Prakash Bhatia. The CBI had claimed that Virbhadra Singh had amassed assets worth around Rs 10 crore which were disproportionate to his total income during his tenure as a Union minister. The matter was transferred by the Supreme Court to the Delhi High Court which, on April 6, 2016, asked the CBI not to arrest Singh and directed him to join the probe. On November 5 last year, the apex court transferred Singh's plea from the Himachal Pradesh High Court to the Delhi High Court, saying it was not expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, but "simply" transferring the petition "in the interest of justice and to save the institution (judiciary) from any embarrassment". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Egypt today rejected a controversial law adopted by the Israeli parliament that defines the country as the nation state of the Jewish people, warning that it undermines peace efforts. It "consolidates the notion of occupation and racial segregation, and undermines the chances of achieving peace and reaching a just and comprehensive resolution to the Palestinian issue", the foreign ministry said in a statement. The law adopted Thursday also defines the establishment of Jewish communities as being in the national interest and downgrades Arabic from an official language to one with special status. Arab citizens account for some 17.5 per cent of Israel's more than eight-million population and have long complained of discrimination. The Israeli legislation was also condemned by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, comprised of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Eight persons, including four children, were injured after a two-storey residential building in Keshavnagar area in Mundhwa here collapsed around noon today, police said. While four of the victims are members of the building owners' family, the others are members of two tenant families, police said. "The building was around 30 years old. Located near a nullah, it was already in a precarious condition and incessant rains might have worsened its condition, leading to its collapse around noon," a police officer said. The fire brigade officials rushed to the spot and rescued all those trapped under the debris, including the four children, he said. According to him, the building was owned by Kailas Bhandwalkar, who is also among the eight injured. "Besides Bhandwalkar himself, three members of his family, including a girl child sustained injuries. Two families of tenants were living in the building and four of them, including three children, were injured in the incident," the officer said. All of them are undergoing treatment at a local hospital, police said adding that two buffaloes died in the mishap. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The CPI today said the "failure" of the BJP-led NDA government was thoroughly exposed and efforts to consolidate unity among secular and democratic parties got a boost during the debate on the no-trust motion in the Lok Sabha. National Secretary of CPI D Raja said though the Narendra Modi government had the numbers to defeat the no-trust motion yesterday, the prime minister has "lost the confidence of the people" as he "failed" to answer any of the substantive issues raised during the debate. "Though the no-confidence motion was defeated, Opposition parties succeeded in achieving their objective of thoroughly exposing the Narendra Modi government for its failure on all fronts," he told reporters. "Discontent and disillusionment among the people is growing because of the misrule of the BJP-led NDA. People now realise that the tall claims being made by Modi are far from reality and all his promises are hollow," Raja claimed. The CPI national secretary said the representatives of political parties raised a wide range of issues and multiple problems confronting the country. "But the prime minister failed miserably to respond to the questions. He chose to skip many important issues and stood thoroughly exposed," he said and claimed that the prime minister was silent on major issues raised by different political parties relating to Jammu and Kashmir, lynching, unemployment, price rise, plight of farmers and corruption. Raja claimed that the prime minister did not refer to Jammu and Kashmir where governor's rule has been imposed and the state assembly kept under suspended animation after the BJP snapped its alliance with the PDP. Referring to the recent incidents of lynching, Raja said the Supreme Court has termed these as "horrendous acts of mobocracy" and urged Parliament to consider enacting a new law to effectively deal with such incidents. Modi had not uttered a word on this issue too, he said. Claiming that the prime minister also failed to provide an answer to the problem of growing unemployment, Raja claimed though the BJP had promised to generate two crore employment opportunities every year, the plight of millions of jobless people had multiplied manifold during the last four years. The CPI leader termed the hike in the MSP of paddy announced by the Centre recently "meaningless" and said it failed to meet the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission. He also accused the BJP of trying "desperately" to use all powers at its command, including its "huge financial power to manipulate public opinion" before the 2019 general elections and asserted that it would not be allowed to happen. Asserting that dislodging the BJP from power is the CPI's "primary objective" in order to save the country's secular and democratic fabric, Raja claimed that all like-minded parties are now coming together to safeguard the constitutional rights of the citizens. Efforts to strengthen unity among non-BJP parties received a boost during the debate on no-trust motion in the Lok Sabha yesterday, the CPI leader claimed, and said "Our effort for unity among democratic and secular parties is continuing and we are optimistic about a positive result." On possible alliances for the Lok Sabha polls, Raja said electoral stretegies would be state specific as the situation varies from state to state. CPI would hold talks with other parties and work out strategies taking into consideration the political balance of forces, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi's aim to double farmers' income by 2022 would be achieved before the targeted year, BJP president Amit Shah asserted today,dismissing the Opposition's claim that it was merely a political statement. Speaking at a conference on 'Role of Insurance in Reforming Agrarian Economy' here this morning, he said, "The kind of changes the Modi government has brought in agriculture sector, I am convinced there will be infrastructure to not only achieve the target of doubling farmers' income but go beyond that before 2022." After independence, agriculture has mostly been a subject of "Bhashanbaji" but in the past 10-15 years, innovative contributions from different quarters have started coming to the fore, Shah said. The goal will be achieved as the Centre and state governments are working in a mission mode, he said. "The goal set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not a political statement. I firmly believe as India completes 75 years of its independence in 2022, we will achieve a big success by doubling farmers' income and raising agriculture's contribution in the economy to 30 per cent," Shah claimed. Crediting the Modi government with an "all encompassing vision" to benefit farmers, Shah claimed that the government not only managed to arrange a wider crop insurance to farmers but also effectively checked black marketing of urea in the country. The Minimum Support Price (MSP) for kharif crops announced by the government will benefit the farmers. In some cases they are getting more than 1.5 times the cost of crop, he said. Shah also praised agricultural reforms in the BJP ruled states, saying innovative farming practices in these states were mutually share, thus affecting farmers in a large part of the country "NDA government is most liberal towards their needs and open to ideas to ensure that steps are taken to facilitate them in enhancing their contribution in the economy," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kafeel Khan, who recently walked out of jail after being arrested in connection with the death of infants at a state-run hospital in Gorakhpur last year, today alleged that he is being victimised again. He also demanded that all those who failed in their responsibilities to provide oxygen to the kids be put behind bars. Khan, who worked as nodal officer at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College, at Gorakhpur, was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court on April 25. More than 60 children, mostly infants, had died at the hospital within a week in August, 2017. There were allegations that the deaths occurred due to disruption in oxygen supply. Interacting with people at an event organised by the 'Dwarka Collective', an initiative by local residents, Khan said he was the juniormost doctor and had no say in the hospital administration but despite this, he was targeted. He had written a letter from jail which was made public by his wife at a press conference in Delhi. In the letter, the former nodal officer at BRD hospital, mentioned that payment to oxygen supplier at the hospital was not made because the fund for the same was not released. "I had continuously tried to save the lives of nearly 400 kids admitted to the hospital, but we could not save the lives of 63 kids due to no oxygen," he said. "Those children lost their lives because of the callous attitude of people sitting in the capital (Lucknow)," he added. The vendors had written almost 40 letters to the HoD, the principal secretary over six months asking for dues to be cleared, Khan said, adding that they had even threatened to stop the supply of oxygen cylinders. There were allegations that the deaths occurred due to disruption in oxygen supply. The BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government, however, had denied that shortage of oxygen led to the deaths. Khan alleged that there were 10 charges against him, but government could not produce any evidence to prove those charges. "Who is going to give back the nine months I spent in jail? Another round of victimisation has started," he said, alleging that the state government was neither removing him nor revoking his suspension. Khan demanded that all those who were responsible for the oxygen supply should be put behind bars. In its report submitted on August 23, 2017, a committee under Chief Secretary Rajive Kumar had recommended initiating criminal action against then principal of the hospital Rajiv Mishra, HoD Anaesthesia Paediatric department Satish, in-charge of 100-bed AES ward Kafeel Khan and Pushpa Sales. On August 24, an FIR was filed against nine persons, including Mishra, his wife Purnima Shukla, Kafeel Khan and the proprietors of M/s Pushpa Sales. On September 2 last, Khan was arrested and subsequently removed from his post in the hospital. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Madras High Court has pulled up the I-T department for the manner in which it filed the counter in a case related to the seizure of a car which reportedly belonged to T T V Dhinakaran's aide Sukesh Chandrasekhar, arrested in the EC bribery case. Justice PN Prakash set aside the order of the Judicial Magistrate who directed the Assistant Director of Income Tax (Investigation), Bengaluru, to produce the car before the court. In his order, the judge said "on a reading of the counter filed by the Income Tax Department before the Magistrate, it is shorn of even minimum particulars and this court strongly records its displeasure and the cavalier manner in which the counter has been filed by the Income Tax Department before the Judicial Magistrate." "The department must learn to respect the judiciary and should have placed all the facts before the Judicial Magistrate in which case the impugned order would not have been passed," he added. He directed the I-T commissioner to take appropriate action against the officer who filed the counter in the case before the Judicial Magistrate-I, Coimbatore. The matter relates to the searches and seizures at the premises of Chandrasekhar, an assessee in Bengaluru who is at present an under-trial lodged in Delhi's Tihar jail for allegedly attempting to bribe Election Commission (EC) officials to secure the AIADMK's "Two Leaves" symbol for the faction led by Dhinakaran. Pursuant to the searches conducted by the I-T department in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, a Rolls Royce along with three other cars and a motorcycle were seized under various sections of the Income Tax Act. It is alleged that the vehicles were bought by Chandrasekhar through Karthikeyan alias Karthik and S Balaji-- pre-owned luxury cars dealers-- and were kept in the custody of his friends Navas and Noufal in Kochi and Ernakulam in Kerala. The original documents of the Rolls Royce which were in the name of Arvind Ratilal Shaw with transfer documents signed by him were seized by the IT officials and the car and other documents like RC and insurance certificate were in possession of Navas and Noufal. After the seizure of the car, Shaw filed a complaint with the RS Puram police in Coimbatore alleging the car was given to Karthikeyan for showing it to prospective buyers but he did not return the car. Subsequently, the judicial magistrate in Coimbatore ordered to produce the car before the court and a criminal original petition was filed by the I-T department to quash the order. Justice Prakash who set aside the order of the Magistrate found fault with the I-T official who had not filed any details before the Judicial Magistrate. The judge also pulled up the inspector of RS Puram police station for filing a petition under Section 91 of Cr.Pc knowing that the I-T department had seized the car. Since the inspector of police and the I-T department did not place the full facts before the Judicial Magistrate, the impugned order was passed, he said. Stating that it is open to Shaw to work out a remedy to take interim custody of the car, the judge directed not to use the services of the police to acquire the vehicle through the backdoor. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hundreds of people protested today in Hong Kong after police sought to ban a pro-independence political party, as Beijing ups pressure on challengers to its territorial sovereignty over the city. Authorities said the Hong Kong National Party (HKNP), a well-known but small group with a core membership of around a dozen, is a potential threat to national security and public safety. Around 500 protesters from different pro-democracy parties gathered in Hong Kong's Wan Chai district for a march organised by the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF), a group that does not support independence. They included around 50 supporters of pro-independence groups, who waved flags and banners -- including one that read "only two countries have two systems", a reference to the "one country, two systems" arrangement under which Hong Kong is currently governed. "No matter what political ideology you have, we need to protect our freedom of speech and freedom of association," said Chung Hon Lam, high school student and convenor of pro-independence group Studentlocalism. Lam accused the government of using "national security" as an excuse to target pro-independence parties, and warned it other pro-democracy parties could be targeted too. The protest came after John Lee, Hong Kong's secretary for security, said he was considering a police request to ban the HKNP. Lee did not elaborate how the party was damaging national security, but said under the city's laws, national security includes safeguarding the "territorial integrity and the independence of the People's Republic of China". Semi-autonomous Hong Kong enjoys freedoms unseen on the mainland, which are protected by the 50-year handover agreement between Britain and China. But fears are growing that Beijing is trampling the deal. It is the first time such a ban has been sought since Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997, and is the latest move to stifle any calls for independence, which have infuriated Beijing. Britain has voiced concerns over the suppression of political activity in the city. "The UK does not support Hong Kong independence, but Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy, and its rights and freedoms, are central to its way of life, and it is important they are fully respected," the British foreign office said in a statement on Wednesday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 15-year-old girl who was raped by her older brother has been jailed for six months for having an abortion, an Indonesian official said today. The girl was sentenced on Thursday alongside her 17-year-old brother in a closed hearing at Muara Bulian District Court on the island of Sumatra, court spokesman Listyo Arif Budiman said. "The girl was charged under the child protection law for having an abortion," he told AFP. Her brother was sentenced to two years in jail for sexually assaulting a minor. Indonesia forbids abortion unless a woman's life is at risk or under certain circumstances if she is raped. The law requires that an abortion must be performed by a registered professional no later than six weeks into a pregnancy, and the woman must undergo counselling. The girl, who was raped by her brother eight times starting in September last year, had the abortion about six months after becoming pregnant, Budiman said. She was helped by her mother who is facing separate charges. Police arrested the siblings in June after a male foetus was discovered at a palm oil plantation near Pulau village in Jambi province. Prosecutors had originally asked that the girl be jailed for one year and her brother for seven. They say they may still appeal the decision. Global health authorities and rights groups have long criticised Indonesia's abortion laws, which they say restrict women's rights to reproductive health and lead many to undertake dangerous abortions at illegal clinics. Abortions account for between 30 and 50 per cent of maternal deaths in the country, according to a 2013 World Health Organisation report. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today said an Industrial Model Township (IMT) would be established at Khatodada village in Mahendragarh district and announced a grant of Rs 250 crore for various development works in the Assembly Constituency, according to an official release. At a public meeting in Mahendragarh, he said the state government has been ensuring equal development of all areas in the state and has introduced a number of schemes for welfare of all sections of the society. Regarding the demands of the area put forth by the Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma, the chief minister said that drinking water schemes at a cost of Rs 123 crore would be implemented in different 'dhanis' of the Mahendragarh area. Apart from this, Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board would construct 50 km long connecting roads in the area, Khattar said according to the release. He also announced that a government senior secondary school for girls in the old building of Government College for Women at Mahendragarh city would be set up, besides establishing a skill development centre in that school. He said out of the various development works announced by the chief minister, 80 per cent had been completed and work for the remaining was under progress. Education minister Ram Bilas Sharma said that the agriculture sector would be strengthened with the increase in MSP of crops and bajra growers of the area would be benefitted with this enhancement in MSP. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Iranian authorities ruled today that a member of the minority Zoroastrian religion had been wrongly suspended from his post on a city council. Sepanta Niknam, a member of Iran's ancient Zoroastrian religion, was the only non-Muslim elected to the council in the central city of Yazd in May 2017, but he was suspended later in the year following a complaint by one of his fellow councillors. It had followed a ruling by the ultra-conservative head of Iran's Guardian Council, which oversees elections, barring religious minorities from standing in municipal polls. Because the Guardian Council has power only over national elections, the ruling was rejected by parliament, but that did not prevent Niknam's suspension. Today, Majid Ansari, a member of the Expediency Council which is charged with resolving disputes between Iran's multiple centres of authority, said they had finally ruled in favour of Niknam. "Today, the Expediency Council ruled that the 1996 law on religious minorities is applicable and they can participate in council elections in their town," Ansari told the reformist ILNA agency. He added that Niknam was now free to retake his post on Yazd city council. Iran officially recognises "Iranian Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians" as religious minorities. The national parliament has several religious minority members, including three Christians, a Zoroastrian and a Jew among its 290 deputies. Zoroastrianism was the dominant religion in Persia, prior to the arrival of Islam, but only counts around 25,000 adherents today, according to government figures. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Pakistani high court judge today alleged that the country's powerful ISI spy agency is pressuring the chief justice and other judges to get favourable verdicts in different cases, including against ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Speaking at the Rawalpindi Bar Association today, Islamabad High Court judge Justice Shaukat Siddiqui openly lashed out at the Inter Services Intelligence for "controlling" the judiciary and media. "Today the judiciary and media have come in the control of 'Bandookwala' (army). Judiciary is not independent. Even the media is getting directions from the military. The media is not speaking the truth because it is under pressure and has its interests," he said. He said, "In different cases, the ISI forms benches of its choice to get desired results. The ISI had asked the chief justice to make sure that Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz should not come out of jail before the July 25 election. It also had asked him not to include me in the bench hearing the appeal of Nawaz Sharif and his daughter in the Avenfield case. The CJ told ISI that he would make a bench of its choice." The bench deferred the Sharifs' appeal case after polls. Both Sharif and Maryam are serving 10 and seven-year terms, respectively, in Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi in the Avenfield corruption case. Both were arrested on July 13 on their arrival from London after an accountability court found them guilty over his family's ownership of four luxury flats in the UK capital. Siddiqui further said, "I was offered by the ISI that a reference against me would be withdrawn if I agreed to cooperate with it. I was even offered to be made chief justice. But I refused as believe that it is better to die than to sell my conscience." The judge said the judiciary and media are a voice of people's conscience. "If their freedom is curbed then Pakistan will remain no more an independent country. Owing to military dictatorship during half of 70 years of its history, Pakistan today is neither an Islamic nor a democratic country," Siddiqui said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar today demanded the resignation of Aam Aadmi Party leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira as the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state Assembly, following allegations of accepting money from party workers. In a statement issued here, the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief said Khaira should be sacked by the AAP leadership if he does not quit on moral grounds. Jakhar cited the reported allegations made by state AAP co-president Balbir Singh, purportedly to some AAP workers, that Khaira allegedly took cash from party workers. Describing the charges as "shocking", Jakhar said the AAP leader had lost all moral right to continue in the responsible position of LoP. The Congress leader also urged the Assembly Speaker to take cognizance of the charges against Khaira and initiate necessary action under the rules of the Assembly. Notably, Khaira accused AAP state co-president Balbir Singh of "hatching a conspiracy" to malign his image and remove him from the post of the Leader of Opposition. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The government can't strip a terrorist of his US citizenship, a federal judge ruled this month in a decision siding with a Pakistan-born man serving the last few years of a 20-year prison sentence for his guilty plea to plotting to destroy New York's Brooklyn Bridge. The case involves Iyman Faris, who was sentenced in 2003 for aiding and abetting al-Qaida by scoping out the bridge as part of a plot to cut through cables that support it. His case was among the first and highest-profile terrorism cases after the September 11 attacks. Faris met with Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan and worked with September 11 architect Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, although some critics questioned how realistic the plot was, given post-September 11 security in New York. A court filing last year in US District Court in southern Illinois argued that Faris lied on immigration papers before becoming a naturalised US citizen in 1999 and that his terrorist affiliations demonstrated a lack of commitment to the US Constitution. "The US government is dedicated to ... preventing the exploitation of our nation's immigration system by those who would do harm to our country," Chad Readler, acting assistant attorney of the Department of Justice's civil division, said in a statement at the time. The government filed in Illinois because Faris was imprisoned there then. He has since been moved to federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. Faris, who's 49, was known as Mohammad Rauf before becoming a US citizen, worked as a truck driver in Columbus and was married to an American woman for a while. He is scheduled for release December 23, 2020, according to the US Bureau of Prisons. Federal Judge Staci Yanle said this month there's not enough evidence to prove Faris' misrepresentations influenced the decision to grant him citizenship. "American citizenship is precious, and the government carries a heavy burden of proof when attempting to divest a naturalized citizen of his or her citizenship," she wrote on July 11. The Department of Justice declined to comment. One of many objections raised by Faris' attorney is that the government's action violated the terms of his 2003 plea agreement, which never included the possibility of denaturalisation or deportation. "We look forward to defending this case," Chicago defense attorney Thomas Durkin said. "It's a wrong-headed decision by the government to proceed in this fashion. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Minister Kiren Rijiju today promised more central assistance to Kerala to deal with "unprecedented rains and floods", a day after Rs 80 crore were sanctioned to the state as initial aid. A central government's inter-ministerial team headed by a joint secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs will be sent to Kerala to assess the quantum of damages and losses occurred in various sectors due to the rains and floods, he said. Officers from the Niti Ayog and various ministries including Finance, Agriculture, Health and Road Transport will be part of the team, Rijiju said while visiting flood affected areas in Kottayam. The Union minister of state for home held discussions with Kerala PWD Minister G Sudhakaran, Agriculture Minister Sunil Kumar and state government officers headed by Chief Secretary Tom Jose after visiting flood hit areas of Alappuzha district. "The Centre and the state will work together to provide relief to the people affected by the calamity," he said. The state government has Rs 203 crore in its kitty and the Centre approved Rs 80 crore as immediate relief to deal with the situation. He said both the Centre and the state have fixed assistance of Rs 4 lakh to kith and kin of the people who died in to the calamity. "We have visited many relief camps and this is one of the very bad situations which Kerala had to face because of unprecedented rains. "This is the situation in which the state government and the central government must come together," Rijiju said. The central team is satisfied with the manner in which the relief camps are managed by the local administration, he said. The minister said there were predictions for more rains from July 23 and "We have to be more prepared to face it". The central government team headed by Rijiju and accompanied by Union Tourism Minister Alphons Kannanthanam arrived in Kochi this morning. "We will extend whatever possible help from the Government of India because Kerala has witnessed unprecedented rains and floods. "We are with the people of Kerala and the central government will do whatever is required," he said on his arrival at the airport in Kochi. Meanwhile, a defence spokesperson said the Southern Naval Command (SNC) has sent five teams to Alappuzha district to assist the civil administration in relief work. The teams were dispatched after a request by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in view of widespread inundation and waterlogging in the state. Each team comprises five members and is equipped with inflatable gemini boats and other equipment including diving sets, the spokesperson said. The SNC is ready to offer assistance with food and medical services if required by the administration, he added. The toll in rain-related incidents in Kerala has gone up to 41 since the onset of monsoon on May 29. As many as 1.18 lakh people have taken refuge in 606 relief camps across Kerala as rains continued to batter several parts of the state. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The last rites of legendary Hindi poet Gopal Das Neeraj were held here with full state honours today. Rich tributes were paid to him at Aligarh Muslim University by the Vice-Chancellor Tariq Mansoor and other prominent writers and poets with whom he was associated after he shifted to this city in the mid-1950s. Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary were also present along with senior officials. Mansoor described Neeraj as an epitome of India's rich heritage of harmony, tolerance and pluralism. The vice-chancellor said that by willing to donate his body to the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, the eminent poet had shown the way even after his death. "His death has left a void that will never be filled," he added. Urdu writer-professor Shafey Kidwai said Neeraj had a long emotional connect with this institution, as the Bollywood movie 'Nai Umar Ki Nai Fasal' -- the first film for which he penned the lyrics -- was largely shot on the AMU campus. It was this film that carried the song 'Karvan Guzar Gaya, Gubar Dekhte Rahe', which took Neeraj to dizzy heights, not just in the world of poetry, but also in the world of film music. Kidwai said a singular feature of Neeraj's poetry was that he wrote in a language which could rightly be described as Hindustani, because it included a large portion of purely Urdu words as well as Hindi. Neeraj was born in Etawah district on January 4, 1925. He was awarded Padma Shri in 1991 and Padma Bhushan in 2007. He passed away on Thursday evening at AIIMS, New Delhi, at the age of 93. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao today directed the "Kanti Velugu" programme of conducting eye tests for all citizens in the state should be launched at 2 p.m on August 15. Rao, who held a meeting with officials here, said he would launch the event in a village in his Gajwel Assembly constituency near here, a release from his office said. The chief minister said he would request state Governor ESL Narasimhan to launch the programme at a place of his choice, according to the release. Rao said the programme should be launched simultaneously all over the state on the same day. State ministers, MPs, MLAs, MLCs and all elected representatives should be requested to participate in it, he said. "The chief minister has also instructed that everyone in the state should have the facility of free eye tests and for all who required, spectacles and medicines are to be supplied free of cost. If necessary, for those who require, (eye) operations are also to be done free of cost," the release said. Separately, Rao congratulated officers of Yadagirigutta Temple Development Authority for obtaining ISO certification for the temple, a release said. "The ISO certification is given for environment, security, management and power supply aspects as well as for unique management of temple. The ISO certification for the temple is the first of its kind and first in India," it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Lawyers for Pakistan's jailed former premier Nawaz Sharif, his daughter and his son-in-law, today met them to discuss the appeal against their conviction. Sharif, 68, and his daughter Maryam, 44, were arrested in Lahore on July 13 on their arrival from London after an accountability court found them guilty over his family's ownership of four luxury flats in London. They were later taken to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. Both Sharif and Maryam have been sentenced by the court to 10 and seven years in prison, respectively, for corruption charges. Maryam's husband Muhammad Safdar was jailed for one year. But all of them lodged appeals in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against their conviction and the court after initial hearing on Monday adjourned the case till the last week of this month. Counsel Amjad Pervaiz, a member of their legal team, said they met with Sharif, Maryam and Safdar and discussed legal matters. He said Sharif was in good health but the former premier complained that facilities they deserved were not provided to them. Pervaiz also said Safdar had some health issues. Safdar is a heart patient and his medical record is available. He doesn't want to opt for any other medical facility than the one in jail, nor does Maryam," he said. Earlier, the legal team was not given access to the Sharifs and their meeting on July 18 was cancelled. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Police today seized a huge consignment of Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), worth Rs 10 lakh, from Sujawalpur Chowk in Muzaffarpur district of "dry" Bihar. Acting on a tip off, a police team raided a spot near Sujawalpur chowk in Sakra police station area of the district this morning and seized 478 liquor cartons from a truck, bearing registration number of Haryana, Station House Officer Ravi Shankar Singh said. The IMFL cartons were being unloaded from the truck for dispersal in a pickup van when the police raided the area, he said. The van, a four-wheeler and a motorcycle parked at the spot have also been confiscated, the SHO said, adding that the truck driver, cleaner and others involved in unloading the liquor cartons managed to flee the scene. Bihar was declared a dry state in 2016, after the Nitish Kumar government imposed a total ban on the sale, manufacture and consumption of alcohol, including Indian-Made Foreign Liquor. As per the provisions of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, anybody found guilty of violating the law could attract a minimum of 10 years' of jail term, which may extend to imprisonment for life, and a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress's Delhi unit today alleged a Rs 750-crore scam in the procurement of 1,000 low-floor electric buses by the AAP government, a charge denied as "frivolous" by the ruling party. Citing a "status of fund report" the Delhi government filed in the apex court and a report of the EPCA, Congress's Delhi unit chief Maken alleged the government presented wrong facts in the court that it had been given Rs 40 crore under a central scheme to purchase 40 electric buses. Maken claimed that a 12-metre AC bus costs Rs 1.75 and the government in its report filed in the court said each low-floor electric bus costs Rs 2.5 crore, which is the "inflated" price. Thus, there is a scam of Rs 750 crore in the purchase of 1,000 such e-buses, he alleged. The AAP's Chief Spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said the charges levelled by Maken were "frivolous". Bhardwaj said the price cited by Maken was "estimated cost". "The government will float a global tender and any company can come ahead," he said. The Delhi government had earlier this week told the Supreme Court that the council of ministers had given "in-principle approval" for procurement of 1,000 low-floor electric buses, which are expected to arrive June-July 2019 onwards. The Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) has been appointed a consultant to study technical and financial specifications of the procurement. Maken also questioned the appointment of DIMTS as a consultant in the procurement. Bhardwaj replied that DIMTS was the consultant for all transport-related projects. "DIMTS was allotted work on nomination basis at least 150 times during the Sheila Dikshit government. Even Maken, when he was Delhi transport minister, gave work to DIMTS," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP National Secretary Rahul Sinha today said Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee should "stop dreaming" about being the next prime minister as her ambitions will never be fulfilled. The BJP leader's comment came on a day Banerjee gave a call to oust the BJP in the next Lok Sabha elections at her party's annual Martyrs' Day rally here. "There are doubts whether she will be able to retain power in Bengal and she is dreaming of Delhi. She should stop dreaming about being the next prime minister as her ambitions will never be fulfilled," Sinha said reacting to Banerjee's call for 'BJP hatao, desh bachhao'. On the TMC chief's announcement that she would hold a mega rally of opposition parties in January next year, the BJP leader said his party's West Bengal unit will also hold a rally at the Brigade parade ground here on Januray 23 which is likely to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Yesterday during the no-confidence debate (in the Lok Sabha) we have seen the result of opposition unity in the country. The people of this country strongly stands beside Narendra Modi and his policies," Sinha added. Banerjee today gave a call to oust BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and accused the saffron party of trying to create "an atmosphere of Talibans, lynching, hatred and violence". At the rally, she claimed that her party would win all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state and that the BJP's strength would come down to 150. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A man was allegedly lynched by a group of people on suspicion that he was smuggling cows in Alwar district of Rajasthan, a police official said today. Akbar Khan, 28, and another man were taking two cows to their village in Haryana through a forest area near Lalawandi in Alwar district last night, when a group of people severely thrashed Khan, Ramgarh police station SHO Subhash Sharma said. The people suspected that Khan was smuggling cows but the allegation is yet to be verified, Sharma said. The other man accompanying Khan managed to escape. Khan was rushed to a government hospital in Ramgarh, where doctors declared him brought dead. The body has been kept at a mortuary and the postmortem is expected to be conducted after Khan's family members reach the hospital. A case has been registered against unidentified people under IPC Section 302, the police officer said. The incident happened a little more than a year after Pehlu Khan, a dairy farmer, was lynched by cow vigilantes in the district, He was transporting cattle to his village in Haryana. Pehlu Khan died at a hospital two days after the incident on April 3 last year. He was attacked as the mob suspected him of smuggling cattle. Over the past year, several such attacks have happened in Alwar. Cow vigilante groups have targeted people transporting cattle. Umar Khan, 35, was found dead near railway tracks in the district in November. His family members have alleged that he was killed by cow vigilantes. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court had described the cases of lynching by cow vigilantes as a crime and not merely a law and order problem. It put the onus on the states to check such incidents, saying no one can take law into their hands. In September last year, the apex court had directed all state governments to appoint a senior police officer as a nodal officer in each district to ensure that incidents of cow vigilantism are prevented and dealt with effectively. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A man was allegedly lynched today in Rajasthan's Alwar district by a group of people who accused him of smuggling cows, police said today. Akbar Khan, 28, and his friend Aslam were taking two cows to their village in Haryana through a forested area near Lalawandi in Alwar district last night when five men attacked them, Ramgarh police station SHO Subhash Sharma said. They suspected that Khan was smuggling cows but the allegation is yet to be verified, Sharma said. The police arrested two men, even as Rajasthan chief Minister Vasundhara Raje promised stern action in the case. The opposition Congress called it a horrific incident, which comes a little over a year after another Muslim man, Pehlu Khan, was allegedly killed by cow vigilantes. Khan narrated the incident to policemen who arrived at the spot. He died on the way to a government hospital in Ramgarh. Khan's family members have demanded quick action in the case. "We want justice. The culprits should be arrested soon," his father Suleman said. The police have registered a case of murder. Jaipur range Inspector General Hemant Priyadarshi said two of the accused, Dharmendra Yadav and Paramjeet Singh Sardar, have been arrested, According to the victim's last statement, he was thrashed by five people, the official said. Others involved in the attack will be arrested soon, he said at a press conference. He said Khan and his friend Aslam had reportedly purchased the cows from Ladpur village and were taking them to Kolgaon in Nuh district in Haryana when they were beaten up. Khan's friend Aslam escaped from the mob, and his statement was yet to be recorded, police said this afternoon. Prima facie, Khan died due to internal injuries and it was under investigation whether he and Aslam had any past record of cow smuggling, Priyadarshini said. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje condemned the lynching. "The incident of alleged lynching of a person transporting bovines in Alwar district is condemnable. Strictest possible action shall be taken against the perpetrators," she said. But opposition leaders criticised her government for failing to stop such attacks. Congress general secretary Ashok Gehlot termed the incident horrific. He said the man was lynched despite the Supreme Court's warnings. Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot too blamed the BJP government, saying killing of people on "suspicion" is sadly becoming a norm in BJP-ruled states. He said Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh's words in Parliament yesterday that it was the state governments' responsibility to stop incidents of mob lynching seemed even more hollow now. Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said he condemns mob lynching but added that this was wasn't an isolated incident. "You have to trace this back in history to know why does this happen and who should stop this? What happened with Sikhs in 1984 was the biggest mob lynching of this nation's history," he said, referring to the anti-Sikh riots that year. In April last year, Pehlu Khan, a dairy farmer, was lynched by cow vigilantes in Alwar district when he was transporting cattle to his village in Haryana. The mob suspected that Pehlu Khan was smuggling cows. He died two days after being attacked. Also in Alwar district, 35-year-old mar Khan was found dead near the railway tracks in November. His family members alleged he was killed by cow vigilantes. On Tuesday, the apex court said "horrendous acts of mobocracy" cannot be allowed to overrun the law of the land. It had asked Parliament to consider enacting a new law to deal with incidents of mob lynching. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's daughter Maryam has refused to shift to the Sihala Rest House, saying she would prefer staying at the high-security Adiala Jail with her father and husband, according to a media report. Sharif, 68, and his daughter Maryam, 44, were arrested in Lahore on July 13 on their arrival from London after an accountability court found them guilty over his family's ownership of four luxury flats in London. They were later taken to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. Both Sharif and Maryam have been sentenced by the accountability court to 10 and 7 years in prison respectively for corruption charges linked to the Panama Papers scandal. Maryam's husband Captain (retd) Safdar was sentenced to one year. Earlier, the Islamabad chief commissioner said Sihala Rest House had been converted into a sub-jail in the suburbs of Islamabad. The jail authorities wanted to shift the father-daughter duo to the rest house as the prison they are in lacks facilities for female prisoners, Geo reported. "Maryam has told the authorities that she would prefer to stay at the Adiala Jail with his husband and father," the report said. On Monday, Sharif, his daughter and son-in-law filed an appeal in the Islamabad High Court against the verdict in one of the corruption cases and had sought their release on bail. Nawaz and his sons Hussain and Hasan are accused in all three graft cases whereas Maryam and Safdar were accused in the Avenfield case only. Earlier, media reports said that Safwat Lodge, commonly referred to as Sihala Rest House, located on the premises of Sihala Police College, had been cleaned and decorated with flowers, paintings and photographs. A total of 2 million rupees have been spent by the authorities on the arrangements, the Geo report said yesterday. This is the same lodge where former president and PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari had been detained when his party's government was dismissed in 1996. Other political leaders have also been detained in the rest house in the past. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said today that the overall US economy has not been harmed by the trade battles set off by President Donald Trump's get-tough policies although some individual sectors have been hurt. He said the administration was exploring ways to help farmers and other specific industries that have been affected. Mnuchin spoke to reporters on the sidelines of meetings of finance ministers and central bank presidents from the Group of 20 nations, composed of traditional economic powers such as the United States, Japan and Germany and emerging economic powers including China, Brazil, India and Argentina. Mnuchin said that there had not been an adverse effect on overall growth from the tariffs but that certain industries were being harmed because other countries were retaliating by targeting specific industries. "Certain countries have targeted very specific levels of things that are not coincidental," Mnuchin told reporters. "So if you are looking at lobsters in Maine or you are looking at bourbon in Kentucky or you are looking at soybeans, there are clearly markets being followed." Mnuchin said that the administration would be "looking at different opportunities to help the farmers" and provide assistance to other sectors being "unfairly targeted" by tariffs from other nations. "But I still think from a macro basis, we do not see yet any impact on what's a very positive growth" performance for the US economy this year, Mnuchin said. At a briefing before the G-20 meetings began, US Treasury officials told reporters that Mnuchin would be prepared to respond to concerns being raised by other countries about the Trump administration's trade policies. Also speaking in Buenos Aires at the G-20 summit, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said the recent series of trade tariffs would significantly harm the global economy. "In the worst case scenario under current measures" the impact on the global economy "is in the range of 0.5 percent" of gross domestic product on a global basis, Lagarde said. The United States and China are now in a full-blown trade war with both nations imposing tariffs on billions of dollars of each other's goods with even bigger tariffs being threatened. Despite the standoff, US officials said Mnuchin had no individual meetings scheduled with China during the G-20 meetings. Mnuchin did have about a dozen one-on-one sessions scheduled with other countries. In a recent appearance before the House Financial Services Committee, Mnuchin said that the talks with China had broken down and indicated that the United States was waiting for China to come up with concessions to break the impasse. The United States and China have hit each other with tariffs on USD 34 billion goods with another USD 16 billion in penalty tariffs in the pipeline. The Trump administration is preparing to impose tariffs on another $200 billion and Trump has threaten4ed to add USD 300 billion more to that figure. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress today accused him of "misleading and betraying" the farmers of the country and said he had a "poor track record" in the agriculture sector. Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill alleged the prime minister was a "dishonest leader", who was once again "spreading propaganda rather than giving definitive answers on farmers' issues". He said that farmers' suicide rate in UP had increased by 40 per cent since the BJP came to power in the state. In his rally at Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh today, Modi claimed that the previous governments lacked the will to help farmers, while listing the measures taken by his government for their welfare. It was for the first time in the country that a government had decided to allow mills to produce ethanol from molasses and sugarcane juice, he said, During his nearly 45-minute speech, the prime minister said the opposition was merely running after the prime minister's post while ignoring the poor, the youth and the farmers. Targeting Modi, Shergill said, "Today in UP, the prime minister once again mislead, betrayed the farmers... He should give specific replies on why he has failed the farmers in UP rather than indulging window dressing exercises." He alleged that the BJP leader ridiculed and rubbed salt on the wounds of farmers by giving Rs 1 loan waiver while he helped his corporate friends to the tune of Rs 2.72 lakh crore. "The prime minister should also fold his hands before the farmers of the country and put his head down in shame and explain why till date has he failed to recover Rs 20,000 crore owed to sugarcane farmers from the sugarcane factory owners," he said. Claiming that Modi is planning 50 rallies across the nation in the run-up to 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the spokesperson said the prime minister should instead undertake an "apology campaign for his anti-farmer policies" and apologise to the entire farming community. "The farmers of this country have stopped buying the political lolly-pops of the prime minister because they have realised that all that glitters is not gold," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said today that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reply to the Lok Sabha debate on the no-confidence motion was "full of hatred". "The country cannot run on hatred. Our country is a family. Modi's speech in the Lok Sabha yesterday was full of hatred. The need of the hour is to protect the country and its Constitution," Sibal said at a 'Bharat Bachao' meeting organised here by the Youth Congress. "It is not the BJP, but the RSS that is ruling the country," he alleged. The former Union minister alleged there was a threat to democracy and the Constitution as the BJP was "using institutions for its own interests". "The Congress doesn't hate anyone," Sibal said. "We can win the 2019 Lok Sabha elections on the strength of the Youth Congress and make Rahul Gandhi the prime minister," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A team of mountaineers stumbled upon a decayed body of a soldier and parts of the wreckage of an IAF plane which crashed in Himachal Pradesh's Spiti Valley 50 years ago, the leader of the team said today. The IAF's AN-12 aircraft, built by the erstwhile Soviet Union, had gone missing on February 7, 1968, after the pilot had decided to retreat while on way toLeh from Chandigarh because of inclement weather, according to reports. The plane was reportedly over Rohtang Pass when it made its last radio contact. The team of mountaineers which made this startling discovery was on a garbage clean-up expedition to Chandrabhaga - 13 peak from July 1 to 15, Rajiv Rawat who led the expedition team told PTI over phone from Uttarkashi today. "We were somewhat taken aback to come upon something we had notexpected when we found the remains of the wrecked aircraft as well as the decayed body of a soldier at Dhaka Glacier located at an altitude of around 18,000 ft above sea level," Rawat said. "First we stumbled upon parts of the wrecked aircraft which was followed by the discovery of the frozen body of a soldier lying with its head down. The hand and hair were almost intact despite fifty years of the crash," he said. Rawat said the discovery was made on July 11 but the army authorities were informed about it only after the team reached the first road head on its way back on July 15. "We did not touch anything, but took pictures and made a video and forwarded them to the army authorities," he said. When asked what made them conclude that the wreckage was that of the IAF plane which crashed in February 1968 and the body was that of a soldier, the mountaineer said they had read about the crash in the area while preparing for the expedition. It was confirmed that the body belonged to a soldier after we saw a bag which is used by soldiers to carry magazines, he said. "However, what we found was like a bolt from the blue as fifty long years had elapsed since the crash and discovering its remains was the furthest from our mind," he said. Throwing light on possible factors behind the discovery, Rawat said less snowfall in the higher altitudes may be a reason why things buried long under snow were coming to the surface, he said. He said parts of the wreckage and the bodies must be spread over an area of 2- 2.5 kilometer. The clean-up expedition was organised jointly by theIndian Mountaineering Foundation and the ONGC to collect garbage left in high altitudes by tourists and climbers, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A new born died soon after its birth in Haryana's Ambala, following which the family accused the doctors of not giving the mother proper treatment. Twenty-six-year-old Reena, a resident of Kadasan village, suffered labour pain after which her husband took her to Sahjadpur community health centre. She was then referred to a civil hospital in Ambala cantt yesterday. The doctors at the civil hospital further referred her to PGIMER Chandigarh when they assessed that there could be the possibility of miscarriage. Lakhwinder, the husband of the woman, alleged that instead of giving her emergency treatment, the doctor referred her to Chandigarh. When the ambulance was on the way to Chandigarh, she gave birth to a child. The ambulance then returned to civil hospital in Ambala where the doctor declared child dead, Lakhwinder alleged. When contacted, Principal Medical Officer at civil hospital Satish Kumar said the woman was referred to PGIMER because she was serious. He said a probe would be conducted and whosoever found guilty would not be spared. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today said he would not contest the next Lok Sabha polls. "..I have said that I will not contest for Parliament, I will not contest," Siddaramaiah told reporters here. After Siddaramaiah's recent induction into the congress working committee, speculation has been rife that he may be considering contesting the Lok Sabha polls. Siddaramaiah, who currently holds the post of congress Legislature party leader and the head of Congress-JD(S) coalition coordination committee, had contested the May 12 assembly polls from two constituencies. He won from Badami but lost from his home turf Chamundeshwari in Mysuru. Ahead of assembly elections, Siddaramaiah had announced that it was "most likely" to be his last election. Earlier, addressing party office-bearers, district congress committee heads at a meeting, organised by the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, he urged party men to "recharge" themselves to face the Lok Sabha polls. He said though there were strong expectationsthat the party will retain power in the assembly polls, hesaid "we lost due to false campaign by the BJP." "Let's prepare ourselves for the Lok Sabha polls, defeating BJP in that election should be our only target," he was quoted as saying by his office in a statement. The former chief minister also hit out the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre and targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi "for not fulfilling the promises made to people." "The prime minister is like a "drama artiste... what people need is 'Kaam ki Baat' and not 'Man kiBaat'," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Odisha government today decided to hikes its Contingency Fund size to Rs 1,400 crore from Rs 400 crore, a top official said. A proposal in this regard was approved at the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here today. "The Corpus of the OCF was enhanced to Rs 1,400 crore by amending the Odisha Contingency Fund Act," said chief secretary A P Padhi adding that accordingly it was decided to issue of ordinance to raise the corpus of the fund. He said the corpus amount was raised to meet the emergent expenditure. The state has recently received Central Assistance of Rs 1052.26 crore towards 60 per cent Central Share of Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) Swachh Bharat Mission - Gramin (SBM-G). As per Government of India guidelines, the Central share along-with the 40 per cent matching state share is required to be released to the implementing agency within 15 days from the date of receipt of the sanction order from Government of India. Therefore, the total amount (including 40 per cent state share) required to be released against the Central Assistance for SBM-G is Rs 1756.91 crore. The budget provision is, however, Rs 1000 crore under the unit in 2018-19, which is inadequate to meet the requirement, the official said. The Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water Department had requested for sanction of advance amounting to Rs 756.91 crore from Odisha Contingency Fund (OCF) to meet the emergent expenditure. Besides, Padhi said there is need to maintain some balance in the contingency fund to meet the emergent nature of expenditure till formulation of Supplementary Statement of Expenditure, 2018-19. Therefore, it is imperative in the interest of public service to increase the corpus of the Contingency Fund from Rs 400 (Rupees Four Hundred) crore to Rs 1,400 crore temporarily, he said. Since the Odisha Legislative Assembly is not in session and to meet the urgent and emergent need, the corpus of the fund is to be enhanced by an Ordinance, the chief secretary said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Orient Cements today expressed interest to expand the capacity of its factory in Telangana, the State government said here today. Managing director and chief executive officer of the company Deepak Khetrapal thanked the IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao for the initiatives taken by the government to introduce investor-friendly policies, an official press release said. Khetrapal discussed with the Minister about the expansion of the factory in Devapur, said the release. He told the Minister that Orient Cement Ltd was planning to invest Rs 2,000 crores to increase its production from 3.05 million tonnes to 7.5 million tonnes per annum, it said. The Minister assured the company of all support, it added. Orient Cements has got the first stage clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to expand the existing cement plant, the release said, adding that the final clearance from the Ministry was awaited. The plant was likely to provide direct employment to 4,000 people, apart from generating indirect employment, the release further said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Over 20 Indian-origin persons have been sentenced up to 20 years in prison in the US for their involvement in a multimillion-dollar India-based call center scam which defrauded thousands of US citizens of hundreds of millions of dollars. The prison sentences for the 21 people convicted this week ranges from 4 to 20 years. "The stiff sentences imposed represent the culmination of the first-ever large scale, multi-jurisdiction prosecution targeting the call center scam industry," US Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. Several of the convicted will be deported to after the completion of their sentence. "This case represents one of the most significant victories to date in our continuing efforts to combat elder fraud and the victimisation of the most vulnerable members of the US public. "The transnational criminal ring of fraudsters and money launderers who conspired to bilk older Americans, legal immigrants and many others out of their life savings through their lies, threats and financial schemes must recognise that all resources at the Department's disposal will be deployed to shut down these telefraud schemes, put those responsible in jail, and bring a measure of justice to the victims," Sessions said. According to US officials, the call center scam defrauded thousands of US residents of hundreds of millions of dollars. Prosecutors said the Indian call centers used various telephone fraud schemes to defraud mainly vulnerable Americans, including the elderly and legal immigrants. According to various admissions made in connection with the guilty pleas, between 2012 and 2016, the defendants and their conspirators perpetrated a complex fraud and money laundering scheme in which individuals from call centers located in Ahmedabad frequently impersonated officials from the Internal Revenue Service or US Citizenship and Immigration Services in a ruse designed to defraud victims located throughout America. Using information obtained from data brokers and other sources, call center operators targeted US victims who were threatened with arrest, imprisonment, fines or deportation if they did not pay the alleged money owed to the government. Victims who agreed to pay the scammers were instructed how to make a payment, including by purchasing stored value cards or wiring money. Once the payment was done, the call centers turned to a network of runners based in the US to liquidate and launder the extorted funds as quickly as possible by purchasing reloadable cards or retrieving wire transfers, the Justice Department said. In a typical scenario, call centers directed runners to purchase these stored value reloadable cards and transmit the unique card number to India-based co-conspirators who registered the cards using the misappropriated personal identifying information of the US citizens. The India-based co-conspirators then loaded these cards with scam funds obtained from the victims. The runners used the stored value cards to purchase money orders that they deposited into the bank account of another person. The indictment for the case also charged 32 India-based conspirators and five India-based call centeres with general conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy. These defendants have not yet been arraigned. Earlier, three other Indians were sentenced for their involvement in the same fraud and money laundering scheme. The PDP today welcomed NC president Farooq Abdullah's statement in Parliament on Kashmir and said the Centre should utilise the consensus among the political groups in the Valley and respond to it at the earliest. National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah in his maiden speech in the 16th Lok Sabha raised the issue of peace in Kashmir yesterday and made an emotional appeal to the government to start a dialogue with Pakistan. "PDP welcomes Abdullah's change of heart and the party hopes that it is a mere poll gimmick by the NC president. We hope Abdullah sticks to it and contributes to the resolution of the Kashmir issue in a positive manner. "It is also a high time for the central government to utilise this consensus among the political groups in Kashmir vis-a-vis the peaceful resolution of Kashmir and that the government of India should respond to this consensus at an earliest. Creating political vacuum will not help in any way," former minister and senior PDP leader Naeem Akhtar said in a statement here. Akhtar said things in Jammu and Kashmir could not be done in compartments and the central government must take a holistic approach to address the decades-old conflict amicably and peacefully. "While development of the state is important, broader political trouble has to be addressed and fixed first. Until then, peace will remain elusive. Talks with Pakistan, Hurriyat and other stakeholders is needed and through this way only, the situation will get stabilised. It is a moral responsibility of the central government to address the issue and make peace an inseparable feature of the state," he said. He said while the NC president is known for making U-turns, changing statements and stands quite often, the party was hopeful that what he said in Parliament this time for the peaceful resolution of Kashmir would remain unchanged. "Otherwise, Abdullah has openly advocated bombardment of Pakistan, demanded catching and killing of Kashmiris while stating that the prisons in Kashmir are packed to capacity. He has been a stern opponent of the ceasefire with Pakistan both at the time of Vajpayee and when it was announced recently this year. This time, it is hoped that he remains firm on what he has said," Akhtar said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The US Defence Department said it would give USD 200 million to Ukraine to help the war-torn nation bolster its military's defensive capabilities. The amount is part of a series of Pentagon payments now totalling more than USD 1 billion to Ukraine since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea. Ukraine is fighting a separatist insurgency in its Russian-speaking eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk. All of the military aid, which comes from the Pentagon's security cooperation funds, will be non-lethal in nature. "The added funds will provide equipment to support ongoing training programs and operational needs, including capabilities to enhance Ukraine's command and control, situational awareness systems, secure communications, military mobility, night vision, and military medical treatment," the Pentagon said in a statement. The announcement came days after US President Donald Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin sparked outrage at home, where even some Republicans said the US leader had been far too conciliatory to his counterpart. More than 10,000 people have been killed since the Moscow-backed insurgency broke out in April 2014 following Russia's annexation of Crimea. Ukraine and its Western allies accuse Russia of funneling troops and arms to the pro-Moscow rebels across the border. Moscow denies the allegations. The conflict has become a focal point of stresses in the Washington-Moscow relationship, with the US hitting Russia with stiff economic sanctions. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Jammu and Kashmir police constable, who was on leave, has been abducted by unknown militants from his residence in Kulgam district, a police official said today. Constable Saleem Shah was abducted from his residence in Mutalhama area of Kulgam in south Kashmir last night, he said. Security forces have launched a manhunt to trace the abducted policeman, the official said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The police today exchanged fire with cadres of a militant organisation in Assam's Karbi Anglong district, a district police release said. Some high ranking cadres of Peoples Democratic Council of Karbi Longri (PDCK) were taking shelter at Bokaram Tokbi gaon. When a police team reached the area, the militants fired at them and the police returned the fire. In the exchange of fire between the police and PDCK militants, there was no report of any injury on the police side but "it is reliably learnt some senior cadres of the PDCK were injured in the exchange of fire," the release said. The police recovered one AK rifle, 70 rounds of ammunition, two magazines of the rifle, two mobile phones, one knife and a bag from the area after the exchange of fire, it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Mesmerised by the beauty of Kashmir, a Polish couple hosted their wedding reception at the banks of river Jhelum according to the traditions of the Valley. The bride and the groom -- Bata and Wlodek -- were dressed in the traditional wedding attire for the function. "We were inspired by the culture and the cuisine of the Valley," they said. The arrangements for the reception were facilitated by a Kashmiri family the couple was friends with. I was inspired by the culture and the food here, so I decided to have the celebration here. We wanted to look like Kashmiris. We choose the attire. I love everything about Kashmir, Bata, who has been coming to the Valley as a tourist for the last three years, said. Some family members of the couple were also present at the occasion. Local chefs, known as 'wazas', cooked traditional 'wazwaan' dishes for the reception on the demand of the couple. We have all the local preparations. I have been eating it for long now. I make it at home also, Bata said. Owais Ahmad, who belongs to the family which facilitated their reception, said the couple were inspired by the wedding of one of his cousins recently and that is when they decided to have a reception in a traditional Kashmiri manner. They loved the celebration, the food and everything of a Kashmiri wedding. So, they decided to have their own reception here, he said. The couple would be travelling to Ladakh for their honeymoon. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said her government had protected Bangladesh's interests while maintaining friendly relations with India even as she blamed past Bangladeshi leaders for making compromises when in power. They all Zia, Khaleda Zia and Ershad uttered anti-Indian words in public but were out to please India for their own narrow gains, she said at a reception by her ruling Awami League here, as she referred to the past regimes of Ziaur Rahman, Khaleda Zia, and Muhammad Ershad. Hasina recounted her government's achievements in inking deals with India for fair share in the Ganges waters and ending a 68-year-long pending enclave and land boundary dispute and amicable settlements of the maritime boundary in international tribunals. We did all these maintaining friendly relations . . . the LBA (land Boundary agreement) was passed in Indian parliament in a festive manner with consent of all parties there, she said. Hasina's comments came as Bangladesh is set for its next general election in the year-end as relations with India are emerging as a political issue. Traditionally, the Awami League is largely regarded as a India-friendly party while former premier Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is generally known for its tough stance on India. Hasina also blasted the 'Prevent Boat' campaign, referring to her party's poll symbol, ahead of the election. "There is a quarter in the country who doesn't see any development and some are saying that the boat will have to be resisted. My question is those who want to thwart the boat want to bring the Razakars and war criminals in power?" she said. The premier said the people of the country won independence and the right to speak in their mother tongue by voting for the Awami League. "Bangladesh has become self-reliant in food, entered the nuclear club, launched its first-ever satellite and brought down poverty to 22 per cent as the people gave mandate in favour of the 'boat'," she said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Accusing of "concocting" a conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, Union Minister said on Saturday the President has seriously hurt the image of an Indian politician before the world at large. Participating in the debate on 'no-confidence motion' in the Lok Sabha on Friday, Gandhi said that Macron told him that there was no binding secrecy clause in the The statement was denied by the French government. "Rahul Gandhi, by concocting a conversation with President Macron, has lowered his own credibility and seriously hurt the image of an Indian politician before the world at large," Jaitley said in a Facebook post. The minister also hit out at the President, accusing him of trivialising the "None should ever trivialise the debate. Those who desire to be Prime Minister never blend ignorance, falsehood and acrobatics." In the post titled "Frivolity and the No Confidence Motion", Jaitley said the lead participants in the debate are normally senior political leaders and that they are expected to raise the level of political discourse. "A Vote of No Confidence against the Government is a serious business. It is not an occasion for frivolity," he said. The minister said if a participant in the debate happens to be a president of a political party nourishing prime ministerial aspirations, every word he speaks should be precious. His facts should convey credibility. The government on Friday faced the brought in by the Opposition in The government won the motion by 325 against 126 votes in the Lok Sabha. In his speech, Gandhi had launched a frontal attack on the government over unfulfilled promises and questioned the Rafale deal, demanding answers from Prime Minister on why he allegedly favoured a particular businessman in the contract. Stating that Gandhi missed a great opportunity, Jaitley said "if this was his best argument for 2019, God help his party". Attacking Gandhi, Jaitley said his lack of understanding is not only confined to basic issues but also to the niceties of protocol. "One should never misquote a conversation with a Head of Government or a Head of State. You do it once, serious people will be reluctant to speak to you or speak in your presence," the minister said. On Gandhi's accusation about the secrecy of the Rafale fighter jet deal, Jaitley said the government itself had entered into the secrecy pact. "Rahul has repeatedly shown that he is ignorant of facts. But to insist on disclosure of financial details, which indirectly involves the disclosures of the strategic equipment on the aircraft, is to hurt interest. Cost gives away a clue to the weaponry in the aircraft," Jaitley said. He said there is no minister who either desires to change or is constitutionally entitled to change the Constitution of India. Referring to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Jaitley said the last Indian politician who wanted the power to change the Constitution was Rahul's grandmother and "she too failed". Taking a dig at Gandhi, he said hallucinations can give momentary pleasure to a person. "Therefore, to hallucinate after an embarrassing performance that he has won future election or to hallucinate that he is the reincarnation of Mark Antony being complemented by friends and foes alike, may give him self-satisfaction but for serious observers it is more than just self-praise in fact a serious problem. "Even in dynasties many successors remind you of the virtues of their predecessors. Yesterday, I reread two of Panditji's (former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru) legendary speeches Tryst with Destiny' and Light has gone out of Lives'," Jaitley said. The Congress today claimed Rahul Gandhi's hug has come as a big "shock" to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has exposed his of "hatred and violence". The opposition party questioned why Modi could not gracefully accept such a gesture from his own countryman when he could accept being embraced by Pakistani leader Nawaz Sharif. The party's reaction came after the prime minister took a dig at Rahul Gandhi for asking him to stand up for a hug after walking across to his chair in the Lok Sabha during the debate on no-confidence motion yesterday, saying the Congress President appeared to be in a hurry to occupy his seat. At a farmer's rally in Uttar Pradesh today, Modi said: "We kept asking the reasons for their no confidence, they failed to answer but clung to my neck." Hitting out at Modi, Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said, "Mr Prime Minister, if you can accept hugs from (former) Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, why could you not show some grace to Rahul Gandhi against whom you hold perpetual grudges." "The nation wants to know if the Prime Minister of this country is more affectionate and respectful towards Pakistan Prime Minister, ex-prime minister than his own countrymen and the president of India's oldest party," he said. Shergill claimed Gandhi's gesture has shaken the BJP and has exposed its style of "We heard the Prime Minister giving tag lines speaking on the hug of Rahul Gandhi.... It looks like Rahul Gandhi's jhappi (hug) has given a big 'jhatka' (shock) to the Prime Minister. Rahul Gandhi's hug completely exposed the Narendra Modi of hatred and violence," he said. The Congress president, he said, yesterday exposed and demolished the "castle of lies" of the Modi government with facts and figures during the Lok Sabha debate. The Prime Minister, he contended, conveniently sidestepped the vital issues raised by Gandhi because he was "bereft and devoid" of any answers facts and statistics. The Prime Minister's rebuttal "completely exposed his nervousness and also showed that he behaved like a student on the tough question papers set by Rahul Gandhi on behalf of the people of India. Mr Modi behaved like a classic student who in the exam of mathematics gave reply by writing fictional history just to pacify his own gallery," he said. The proceedings in the House during the no-confidence debate are a clear indication that the "countdown of BJP has begun" and the party is now a "sinking ship" and the captain is clueless on how to save this ship, he claimed. Shergill also attacked the government on the suspected lynching incident in Rajasthan's Alwar, alleging that "BJP is working overtime and aggressively to transform Hindustan into lynchistan". Referring to a recent Supreme Court observation that the Centre should pass an anti-lynching legislation, he said that instead of waking up to the apex court's directive, the government is "actually now lynching the judgement and the Constitution of the country". Targeting BJP-ruled Rajasthan government, he alleged the ministers there are behaving like lawyers of lynch mob and not protectors of the people residing in the state. Akbar Khan, 28, was allegedly lynched in Alwar district by a group of people who accused him of smuggling cows, police said today. Shergill claimed that cases of lynching across the country have risen by 97 per cent ever since the BJP formed the government at the centre. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Professor Raj Kumar, the dean and head of the Institute of Management Studies, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), has been appointed as the vice-chancellor of Panjab University, an official release said today. Kumar has been appointed for a period of three years with effect from Monday. The term of the present Vice-Chancellor Arun Kumar Grover expires tomorrow, the release said. Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, who is the chancellor of the university, had constituted a selection committee last month for the post. The committee submitted a panel of three names for consideration on Tuesday after considering various applications and interviewing nine applicants, the release added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje will be the BJP's chief ministerial candidate in the upcoming assembly elections in the state, party president Amit Shah said today. The assembly election will be contested under her leadership and she will again become the chief minister with a thumping majority, he said at the concluding session here of the BJP's state working committee meeting. The party will once again form governments in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh also, Shah added, referring to other assembly elections to be held later this year. He asked party workers to remain dedicated and work hard to ensure that the BJP retains power in the state and also wins the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, according to a press statement. Shah said the welfare schemes launched by the Raje government have been appreciated across the country and suggested that party workers should base the election campaign on them. Raje exuded confidence that the party will get more seats this year than in the last assembly elections, and will also win all the 25 Lok Sabha seats in 2019, the statement said. The working committee meeting began yesterday but Shah came to Jaipur today to address the concluding session. Suman Sharma, chairperson of the state commission for women, told reporters that Shah gave a clear message that Raje will be the party's chief ministerial face. MLA Ashok Parnami said Shah urged that every BJP worker should dedicate 18 hours a day for the party for the next few months. The party workers are full of energy and fully charged," Parnami said. State Housing and Urban Development minister Shrichand Kriplani claimed the BJP will get than 180 of the 200 assembly seats in the elections due later this year. Shah also attended a function in the city for the wedding of Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar. Union Home minister Rajnath Singh also arrived here in the evening for the wedding function. Addressing a separate meeting of the Rajasthan BJP's social media cell, Shah said the party's cyber warriors would set the agenda of the elections. He asked them to take the work done by the central and state governments among the masses through social media. During his meetings, Shah accused the Congress of playing "negative politics". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Revelations that one of the most respected US cardinals allegedly sexually abused both boys and adult seminarians have raised questions about who in the Catholic Church hierarchy knew and what Pope Francis is going to do about it. If the accusations against Cardinal Theodore McCarrick bear out including a new case reported today involving an 11-year-old boy will Francis revoke his title as cardinal? Sanction him to a lifetime of penance and prayer? Or even defrock him, the expected sanction if McCarrick were a mere priest? And will Francis, who has already denounced a "culture of cover-up" in the church, take the investigation all the way to the top, where it will inevitably lead? McCarrick's alleged sexual misdeeds with adults were reportedly brought to the Vatican's attention years ago. The matter is now on the desk of the pope, who has already spent the better part of 2018 dealing with a spiralling child sex abuse, adult gay sex and cover-up scandal in Chile that was so vast the entire bishops' conference offered to resign in May. Francis accepted the resignation of the Honduran deputy to Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, who is one of Francis' top advisers. Auxiliary Bishop Juan Jos Pineda Fasquelle, 57, was accused of sexual misconduct with seminarians and lavish spending on his lovers that was so obvious to Honduras' poverty-wracked faithful that Maradiaga is now under pressure to reveal what he knew of Pineda's misdeeds and why he tolerated a sexually active gay bishop in his ranks. The McCarrick scandal poses the same questions. It was apparently an open secret in some US church circles that "Uncle Ted" invited seminarians to his beach house, and into his bed. While such an abuse of power may have been quietly tolerated for decades, it doesn't fly in the #MeToo era. And there has been a deafening silence from McCarrick's brother cardinals about what they might have known and when. "There is going to be so much clamour for the Holy Father to remove the red hat, to formally un-cardinalize him," said the Rev. Thomas Berg, vice rector and director of admissions at St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, the seminary of the archdiocese of New York. Recounting how the McCarrick scandal has demoralised seminarians and priests alike, Berg said the church needs to ensure that men with deep-seated same-sex attraction simply don't enter seminaries a position recently reinforced by the Vatican for seminaries at large, Francis in reference to both the Chilean and Italian churches. Berg said the church also needs to take action when celibacy vows are violated. "We can't effectively prevent the sexual abuse of minors or vulnerable adults by clergy while habitual and widespread failures in celibacy are quietly tolerated," he said. McCarrick, the 88-year-old retired archbishop of Washington and confidante to three popes, was ultimately undone when the US church announced June 20 that Francis had ordered him removed from public ministry. The sanction was issued pending a full investigation into a "credible" allegation that he fondled a teenager more than 40 years ago in New York City. The dioceses of Newark and Metuchen, New Jersey, simultaneously revealed that they had received three complaints of misconduct by McCarrick against adults and had settled two of them. Another alleged victim, the son of a McCarrick family friend identified as James, came forward in a report in The New York Times and subsequently in an interview with The Associated Press. James said he was 11 when McCarrick first exposed himself to him. From there, McCarrick began a sexually abusive relationship that continued for another two decades, James told AP. "I was the first guy he baptized," James told AP. "I was his little boy. I was his special kid." McCarrick has denied the initial allegation of abuse against a minor and accepted the pope's decision to remove him from public ministry. Asked Friday about James, a spokeswoman said McCarrick hadn't received formal notice of any new allegation but would follow the civil and church processes in place to investigate them. Even now, Francis could take immediate action to remove McCarrick from the College of Cardinals, said Kurt Martens, a canon lawyer at the Catholic University of America. He recalled the case of the late Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien, who recused himself from the 2013 conclave that elected Francis pope after unidentified priests alleged in newspapers that he engaged in sexual misconduct. In 2015, after a Vatican investigation, Francis accepted O'Brien's resignation after he relinquished the rights and privileges of being a cardinal. O'Brien was, however, allowed to retain the cardinal's title and he died a member of the college. "I think that is totally unsatisfactory," Martens said, noting that just as the pope can grant the title of cardinal, he can also take it away. "O'Brien resigned, the pope accepted it. Isn't that the world upside down that someone picks his own penalty?" O'Brien was never accused of sexually abusing a minor, however, as McCarrick now stands. The stiffest punishment that an ordinary priest would face if such an accusation is proven would be dismissal from the clerical state, or laicization. The Vatican rarely if ever, however, imposes such a penalty on elderly prelates. It also is loath to do so for bishops, because theologically speaking, defrocked bishops can still validly ordain priests and bishops. Not even the serial rapist Rev. Marcial Maciel was defrocked after the Vatican finally convicted him of abusing Legion of Christ seminarians. Maciel was sentenced to a lifetime of penance and prayer the likely canonical sanction for McCarrick if he is found guilty of abusing a minor in a church trial. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Conservation of rural heritage will help promote tourism and development in rural India, a senior official said today. Speaking at the inauguration of the seventh annual general body meeting of the Indian Trust for Rural Heritage and Development (ITRHD) here, Amit Khare, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting hailed the conservation efforts of ITRHD -- an NGO devoted to the preservation of Indian heritage and culture in rural India. Khare highlighted the ITRHD's conservation works of 17th -19th century village of terracotta temples, Maluti, Dumka, in Jharkhand, an official statement said. The Maluti Project was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The project involves conserving 62 temples of the108 temples which were in a dilapidated condition. Khare said such conservation efforts will help not just to enhance tourism in Rural India but also encourage cultural awareness among the locals. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told his US counterpart Mike Pompeo today that the arrest of a Russian gun rights enthusiast on espionage charges in the United States was "unacceptable", his ministry said. US prosecutors say Maria Butina, 29, exploited her close links with the powerful NRA gun lobby while posing as a visiting graduate student to endear herself with senior Republicans, guided by one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's major political supporters, Alexander Torshin. She was charged this week in Washington of acting illegally as an unregistered agent for the Russian government while she lived in Washington over the past three years with her boyfriend, a veteran Republican operative. In a telephone call with Pompeo, Lavrov "stressed that the actions of American authorities who arrested the Russian citizen Butina based on false accusations is totally unacceptable," the foreign ministry said in a statement. Lavrov said Butina must be released "as soon as possible," according to the statement. The two diplomats also "exchanged views on ways to develop the relationship between our countries with the objective of normalising them". Butina's arrest on Sunday added to the political turmoil in Washington over Moscow's meddling in the 2016 presidential election and allegations that President Donald Trump's campaign collaborated with the Russians. The arrest was announced Monday hours after Trump finished a summit and a press conference with Putin in Helsinki, Finland, where the US leader rejected the US intelligence community's verdict that the Russians interfered to support him over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 race. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Saudi Arabia has slammed a controversial Israeli law as "perpetuating racial discrimination" against Palestinians by defining the country as the nation state of the Jewish people, state media reported. The law adopted by Israel's parliament on Thursday also defines the establishment of Jewish communities as being in the national interest and downgrades Arabic from an official language to one with special status. Citing a Saudi foreign ministry source, the official Saudi Press Agency said late yesterday the kingdom "rejects and disapproves" of the new legislation which it argued contradicts international law. The source called on the international community to "confront such a law and or other Israeli attempts, aimed at perpetuating racial discrimination against the Palestinian people", SPA reported. Saudi Arabia said the adoption of the law would also be a barrier to ending the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Earlier this year King Salman reaffirmed Saudi Arabia's "steadfast" support for the Palestinian cause, after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signalled a shift in the country's approach. Prince Mohammed in April said in a magazine interview that Israelis as well as Palestinians "have the right to have their own land". Arab citizens account for some 17.5 per cent of Israel's more than eight million population and have long complained of discrimination. The Israeli legislation was also condemned by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, comprised of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Adoption of the law "reflected the regime of racism and discrimination against the Palestinian people," GCC secretary general Abdullatif al-Zayani was quoted by SPA as saying. Zayani accused Israel of trying to obliterate the Palestinians' "national identity and depriving them of their legitimate civil and human rights on their occupied homeland". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi BJP has formed hundreds of WhatsApp groups with its national president Amit Shah as a member in each of them for providing "direct information" and stem fake In the run-up to the 2019 general elections, BJP's Delhi unit leaders are revising teams upto Mandal-level and bringing the party office bearers and workers on various social media platforms, including WhatsApp. "We are trying to bring all the party office bearers and workers on social media platforms. So far, over 1800 WhatsApp groups have been formed and the number is increasing. The move is aimed to provide direct information and stem fake news," said Neelkant Bakshi, Head (media relations) and co-incharge of Delhi BJP's social media unit. Each WhatsApp group will have contact numbers of Shah and Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari, he said. In a meeting last month, Shah had cautioned social media savvy workers and his party leaders against posting fake and spreading false messages on social media platforms, saying it hurt the party's credibility. He had also warned against posting such posts and messages on Facebook and other social platforms, saying it hurts BJP's credibility. The WhatsApp groups formed by the Delhi BJP will go in long way to ensure that the party's directions and assignments are being undertaken sincerely by its office bearers and workers, Bakshi said. The party has also planned social media meets to be held at district and Mandal levels in the coming months to spread the messages of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and achievements of the BJP-led government at the Centre, he said. Focus will be to reach out to the younger generation that depends more on social media for information and than traditional sources like newspapers and television channels, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan's jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam are not likely to be transferred to a rest house from the Adiala Jail as it lacks proper security arrangements needed for the high-profile prisoners, a media report said. A major indication that the Sharifs might not be shifted to the rest house is that the authorities are considering shifting some very dangerous prisoners to somewhere else in the province to ensure proper security for the former prime minister and his daughter, the Dawn reported. The accountability court, which had convicted Sharif and Maryam, had ordered to send them to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi after they were taken into custody at the Lahore airport on July 13. But the Islamabad chief commissioner also ordered shifting the father, the daughter and her husband, who was already in the Adiala Jail, to the Sihala Rest House situated inside the Sihala Police Training College. The authorities concerned had been weighing the possibilities of following this order which the chief commissioner could issue under the law. But, they said, the rest house was not safe for the Sharif family which needed security much more than any home-like facilities there, the daily said. The rest house has six rooms, all having air conditioners, proper beds and wash rooms, but a boundary wall. This is the same rest house where former president and PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari was detained when his party's government was dismissed in 1996. Other political leaders have also been detained in the rest house in the past. Earlier, it was attempted to shift Maryam to Sihala Rest House but she firmly refused as she did when asked to apply for the 'Better Class' facility in the jail. She is staying in a cell situated in the recently built Vocational Training Centre for prisoner women. Her cell is better than that of her father's and husband's but except for security and personal dress, she is staying like an ordinary prisoner. Sharif is allowed personal dress, shoes, toiletries and beddings. A Better Class cook is preparing meals for Sharif, as are required by him, the daily said. The payment for all this is made from the prisoner's account in which he has deposited the required money. Sharif, 68, and his daughter Maryam, 44, were arrested in Lahore on July 13 on their arrival from London after the accountability court found them guilty over his family's ownership of four luxury flats in London. Both Sharif and Maryam have been sentenced by the accountability court to 10 and 7 years in prison respectively for corruption charges linked to the Panama Papers scandal. Maryam's husband was sentenced to one year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sri Lanka will go ahead with implementing death penalty on drug dealers ending a near-half century moratorium on capital punishment, President Maithripala Sirisena today said, despite strong objections being raised against the move. President Sirisena earlier this month had told the Cabinet that he "was ready to sign the death warrants" of repeat drug offenders. The international community, including the European Union, local civil society and human rights groups have raised concerns over the President's decision. A list of 18 convicts has been compiled and the president is to sign the documents to implement the death penalty on them. Speaking at an event in north central district Polonnaruwa, the president slammed the opponents of capital punishment and said he will implement the death penalty despite strong objections being raised against the move. He said those who oppose implementing capital punishment have not come forward to assist Sri Lanka in drug prevention work. Even school children are being now used in the drug trade. This has led to a serious social decaying," he said. I will go ahead with executing drug convicts," Sirisena said, adding that a committee to be formed by him on Tuesday with the participation of judicial and prison officials will decide who will be hanged and when. The Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission has also written to Sirisena raising concerns over moves to implement the death penalty on convicts involved in drug trafficking. Sri Lanka's last hanging took place in June 1976. Since then successive presidents have refused to sign death warrants to hang convicts. Sirisena took the decision despite Sri Lanka becoming party to a UN moratorium on death penalty in 2016. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sri Lanka surged to 151 for 3 in their second innings today -- a 365-run overall lead -- as they sought a whitewash triumph over South Africa in their two-Test series. After their spinners had skittled out South Africa for just 124 in their first innings, Sri Lankan openers Danushka Gunathilaka and Dimuth Karunaratne put on a quickfire 91 to set the foundation for another strong score on the Colombo pitch. Gunathilaka was Sri Lanka's primary aggressor, hitting six fours and two sixes in his 61 off 68 balls after tea on the second day. Keshav Maharaj struck twice to remove Gunathilaka and Dhananjaya da Silva, for a duck, but Karunaratne progressed smoothly at the other end to reach 59 while Angelo Mathews had 12. The hosts built up their domineering lead at the end of a day in which their 10th wicket pair added valuable runs to build a first innings of 338. South Africa were then routed by Sri Lanka's spinners with Akila Dananjaya taking five for 52. Dananjaya and Rangana Herath frustrated South Africa through the morning session as they added 61 runs to the overnight total. Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj eventually dismissed Herath to end the innings, and complete a haul of nine for 129 -- the second-best for a South Africa bowler and the best since the country made a post-apartheid return to Tests in 1991. But Sri Lanka's 338 was always going to be a challenge and Dananjaya, Herath and Dilruwan Perera then tore through the South African batting, already exposed by their defeat in the first Test in Galle. Dananjaya took his second five-wicket haul in Tests while Herath and Perera shared the remaining five South African wickets. Stand-in captain Suranga Lakmal was not required to deliver a single ball. Only South Africa captain Faf du Plessis and wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock showed resistance, making 48 off 51 balls and 32 off 31 respectively. South Africa lasted only 34.5 overs, after Sri Lanka had batted for 104.1 overs in their first innings. Dananjaya, left out for the first Test at Galle, struck with his second ball of the match, having Dean Elgar caught at gully with a turning offbreak. He got Theunis de Bruyn edging behind in the next over, and Perera picked up the South Africa middle order to finish on four for 40. The only batsman to put any pressure on Sri Lanka was du Plessis, who attacked the spinners after lunch, sweeping with abandon as he struck eight fours and a six. Du Plessis and Hashim Amla put on the best partnership of 55, but Perera dismissed them both within four overs of each other. Despite de Kock's aggressive innings, the remainder of South Africa's batting were easy meat when Dananjaya came back. Du Plessis left the field at the end of the day with a worried look on his face. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Describing Sri Lanka as India's trusted partner in South Asia and the Indian Ocean region, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the two countries can work together to translate their vision of shared progress into reality. Addressing an event to expand Emergency Ambulance Service across the entire island nation of Sri Lanka with Indian assistance, he said, "In good times and bad, India has been, and will always be the first responder for Sri Lanka." Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was in Jaffna, joined the event via a video bridge. "When I look at Sri Lanka, I see not only a neighbour, but a very special and trusted partner of India in South Asia and in Indian Ocean (region)," the PMO said in a statement quoting Modi. He said New Delhi's development cooperation with Colombo is an important means for translating the vision of shared progress into reality. "It is not just a coincidence that India has the privilege to be Sri Lanka's partner in establishing this first responder service and in its expansion. In good times and bad, India has been, and will always be the first responder for Sri Lanka," Modi said. He recalled that during his visit to Sri Lanka last year, he had promised that India will work for expanding the pre-hospital Emergency Ambulance Service across the island nation. "I am happy that India has fulfilled its promise in a timely manner and we have marked the beginning of the 2nd phase of the Service," he said. Modi was of the view that the people of the two countries should be in constant touch with each other so that they know each other better and become even closer friends. "I would encourage you to come to India and experience the New India that is taking shape," the PM told the gathering. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Several people were injured when protestors clashed with Nepal police as thousands of activists held demonstration outside the parliament here in support of a veteran medical activist, fasting for nearly a month, demanding reforms in the country's medical sector. Police fired multiple rounds of teargas shells and resorted to baton charge after the protestors raising anti-government slogans tried to enter the restricted area near the Parliament building at Nayabeneshwor. Dr Govinda KC, 61, has been fasting since June 30 seeking reforms in the medical sector including not allowing permission to open new medical colleges in Kathmandu and withdrawing a medial bill the government is planning to table in the Parliament, saying it was against the welfare of the poor people. Some agitators also pelted stones at a parked vehicle of a minister. In the clash over a dozen protestors were injured, officials said. Several eminent figures including former Chief Justice Sushila Karki, human rights activist Krishna Pahadi and Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala participated in the rally organised by Solidarity for Dr KC Alliance. Various groups including Tarun Dal, the youth organisation belonging to main opposition Nepali Congress, also paricipated in the protest against the government for allegedly ignoring the doctor's demands as his fast-unto-death entered the 22nd day today. The fasting doctor has been fighting for reforms in the medical sector of Nepal so that the benefit of healthcare can also reach poor people in remote areas He was airlifted to Kathmandu from Jumla few days ago while he continued fasting in a medical college and the government admitted him to the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu, where he is still continuing his fast. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A toll plaza employee was today shot dead in Bihar's Vaishali district, police said. The incident occurred at the toll plaza located at Patedha on the Hajipur-Muzaffarpur main road The toll plaza employee identified as Mukesh Kumar (45) was shot dead by one of the four persons in a car which entered the VIP lane at the toll plaza in order to avoid paying toll tax, police said adding that this led to brawl between the toll plaza staff and people in the car. One of the four persons in the car fired at Kumar killing him on the spot, they said adding that he was rushed to a near by hospital where the doctors declared brought him dead. The people in the car managed to escape from the spot after the incident, they said. The toll plaza employees took the body and blocked the main road in protest against the incident, they said. In another incident, a woman and her two-year-old son died while her two other children received burn injuries when she set herself on fire along with the children in Vaishali district. Bidupur police station SHO Manohar Kumar said that Tinku Devi (30) set herself on fire along with her three minor children due to discord in her family at Majhauli village of the district. While Tinku Devi and her two-year-old son died due to burn injuries, the two other children (a son and a daughter) aged between 8 to 10 years received burn injuries and have been rushed to a nearby hospital, the SHO added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two overground workers (OGWs) of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) were arrested today in Sopore town of Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district, the police said. Acting on credible inputs, the police, with the assistance of the security forces, arrested two active OGWs of proscribed terror outfit LeT, identified as Tanveer Ahmad Mir and Tanveer Ahmad Najar, a police spokesperson said. Both are residents of Sopore's Brath Kalan village, he added. The police spokesperson said one UBGL grenade, one AK-47 magazine with 15 rounds and two matrix sheets were recovered from the possession of Mir and Najar. A case has been registered and an investigation is underway, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Ugandan woman was arrested from near Chattarpur metro station in New Delhi in connection with the seizure of one kg of heroin by the sleuths of Special Task Force of the Punjab Police. Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Punjab police Rashpal Singh said the accused, Rubia, was arrested yesterday and during interrogation, she revealed that a packet containing one kg of heroin was buried in the ground at some place in Tarn Taran district. The police today took her to the spot in Tarn Taran and seized the packet of heroin. The AIG said Rubia's involvement in drug trafficking was disclosed by another alleged drug smuggler Kuldip Singh who was arrested with 250 grams of heroin on June 21. Rubia had already spent eight month in a jail in Fazilka in another drug smuggling case in 2016, he said. Singh said around a dozen people were still working with Rubia for the supply of drugs at various districts in Punjab. Raids were being conducted to arrest them, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Britain said today it had arrested Akin Ipek, a Turkish businessman accused of links to US-exiled preacher Fethullah Gulen, following an extradition request from Turkey. "We can confirm that Mr Ipek has been arrested in relation to an extradition request from Turkey," a Home Office spokeswoman said in a statement. His case will be heard at a central London court in September, the spokeswoman added, noting it could not confirm whether he had been released on bail. Anadolu, Turkey's state-run international agency, reported he was arrested on May 23 and had since been released. Ipek is the former head of the Kozi-Ipek media conglomerate, which has been targeted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan amid a crackdown over the 2016 failed coup to unseat him. Ankara accuses Gulen -- a one-time Erdogan ally turned arch-foe -- of orchestrating "a terrorist organisation" and being behind the failed putsch. It accuses Kozi-Ipek of helping to finance his efforts. The organisation's two newspapers and their sister television stations in Istanbul were stormed by riot police in October 2015. Ipek was then listed among 65 arrest warrants issued by Turkish prosecutors in December 2015 as part of a vast probe into suspected Gulenists, according to Anadolu. It reported he had fled on a private jet to England that August. The state-run agency said he is on a list of "wanted terrorists" and could face life imprisonment for "attempting to overthrow the Turkish government" and "violating the constitution". He also faces charges related to establishing and directing a terrorist organisation, it added. Turkey claimed in April that its intelligence service had brought back 80 alleged supporters of Gulen arrested in 18 different countries. Based in the United States, Gulen denies any involvement in the aborted July 2016 coup in Turkey. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar today slammed the state police for the "poor" law-and-order situation, while alleging that they were acting as "bouncers" of the Yogi Adityanath government and harassing the poor people. He also claimed that in the no-confidence debate in the Lok Sabha yesterday the "gimmickry of the Narendra Modi government was exposed". Addressing party workers during a protest rally here, Babbar alleged, "The Uttar Pradesh Police is behaving like bouncers of the Yogi Adityanath government and is hell bent on harassing the poor people. "The first responsibility of any elected government is to ensure security of the citizens, but the atmosphere of fear which is prevailing across the state suggest that there is no government in the state," he said. The state Congress chief said that it seems that "jungle raj" is prevailing in the state, with people being killed even in jail. "There has been an increase in the instances of rape, while those who are demanding justice are baton-charged and fired upon," Babbar claimed. Referring to the no confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government, he said, "Through the no confidence motion, not only important issues came for discussion, but the gimmickry of Modi government was also exposed. All the promises of the Modi government have translated into gimmicks (jumlaa). Even the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh have proved to be a failure on all the issues. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has decided to form 'Gau Raksha Dal' in every village in coastal Dakshina Kannada district to keep a check on theft and transportation of cattle, a VHP functionary said today. VHP Mangaluru division president Jagadsih Shenava said increasing cattle theft and the alleged "failure" of the police in nabbing the culprits had prompted them to form the squads each of which would comprise ten members. The 'Dal" would keep vigil on the illegal transport of cattle during night and stop all suspected vehicles carrying cattle and hand over the culprits to police once they were caught, he said. The VHP had to take such a stand as the police had "utterly failed to check the rampant illegal cattle transportation in the district, Shenava said. He claimed that heads of cattle were being stolen from cowsheds by some people brandishing swords and other weapons at owners during night. As many as 21 heads of cattle were stolen from Moodushedde village alone in a month, he said. Shenava said police should invoke the Goonda Act against illegal cattle transporters instead of portraying Hindu activists as "moral police." A rally would be held from Vamanjoor in the district to Moodushedde on July 26 jointly by the VHP and Bajrang Dal against cattle slaughter and the "failure" of authorities to prevent illegal cattle trade, Shenava said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The West Bengal government has nullified union activities by the employees in the state jails to improve prevailing work culture there. The state Cabinet has given its nod to this effect, following which a notification was issued recently to prohibit union activities in any of the correctional homes. "No activities (are going) to be allowed in uniformed services at any correctional home premises," read the notification issued on Thursday last. According to a senior official of the state Prisons department, from now on, "no prison establishment could be used for any sort of union activities", as per the notification. "Unions will not be allowed to put up signboards or any sort of notice inside prison premises," the official said quoting the notification. The government order has also banned all meetings, agitations, demonstrations and deputations by the unions inside the correctional homes in the state. "No employees should be extended the privilege of exemption from routine/administration transfer" only because they are members of the union, it added. It must be mentioned that the Mamata Banerjee government had in 2012 initiated a move to ban unions in the state police force. However, a single bench of the Calcutta High Court had struck the order after it was challenged following which the state government moved the division bench of the High Court. "Unions became parallel functionaries in the correctional homes in the state making it difficult for everyday operations there. It's a wise decision to improve the work culture there," the official of the Prisons department said. The state cabinet had at its last meeting given its nod to formation of the "West Bengal Correctional Services Welfare Board" to look after the interest of the employees. "The Board will be supervised by a DIG rank officer. It will work for the benefits of the employees of the correctional homes," the official said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A woman allegedly committed suicide by jumping off the ninth floor of the district court building in Athwalines locality here today, police said. The woman was identified as Shilpi Lalchand Singh (27), they said. "The woman allegedly ended her life by jumping off the ninth floor of the district court building, where she had come for a hearing of a domestic violence case she had lodged against her husband," Assistant Commissioner of Police Pinakin Parmar said. She had lodged the complaint at Limbayat police station and the matter was being heard in the court, he said. The woman's body was taken to the new civil hospital for post-mortem, Parmar said adding that further investigation was on. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Agnieszka Flak and Laurence FrostMILAN/PARIS (Reuters) - Sergio Marchionne was replaced as chief executive of Fiat Chrysler (FCA) on Saturday by the head of the firm's Jeep division, Mike Manley, after the health of the carmaker's long-time boss deteriorated sharply following surgery.British-born Manley, who also takes responsibility for the North America region, will implement a strategy outlined by Marchionne last month to ensure the company has a "strong and independent future", FCA said in a statement.Marchionne, 66, was credited with rescuing Fiat and Chrysler from bankruptcy after ... MUMBAI (Reuters) - India slashed the sales tax rate on over 50 products on Saturday in a move aimed at appealing to traders and the middle classes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government eyes next year's elections.Modi is seeking a second term in 2019 amid voter frustration over the abrupt implementation of a nationwide goods and services tax (GST) a year ago that has hit businesses and general public hard.The GST council, headed by interim finance minister Piyush Goyal, agreed to lower the indirect tax slab on products such as paints, leather goods, bamboo flooring, stoves, televisions ... 3 members of a family among 4 killed in Bajhang landslide Four people including three members of a single family died after a landslide buried them at Bayan in Khaptad Channa Rural Municipality-6 of Bajhang district on Saturday. By Richard Cowan and Timothy GardnerWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. oil and gas industry is lobbying against tighter sanctions on Russia that could impact U.S. investments there, congressional sources said on Friday.The U.S. Senate has revived a bill, called DETER, that would allow for swift sanctions if Moscow was found meddling in future U.S. elections. Both Democrats and Republicans are looking to redress what they consider President Donald Trump's weak stance on accusations of Russian interference in the 2016 election when he met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.Top U.S. energy ... By Noel RandewichSAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Tariffs are starting to bite big manufacturers and Wall Street could get another bout of caution and uncertainty from major industrial companies when a swath of reports comes in over the next week. Investors are worried about the impact on earnings should the United States' trade war with China and other major trading partners escalate. Deutsche Bank in June estimated that an escalation of the dispute to include $200 billion of imports would hit earnings growth by 1-1.5 percent. "If today's political rhetoric intensifies and translates into actual ... Popular messaging app WhatsApp on Friday announced that it will limit forwarding of messages to five chats at once in India to check the misuse of its platform at a time when rumours and fake news spread on the app has led to several killings in its largest market. The Facebook-owned application will also delete the quick forward button placed next to media messages. The steps are aimed at discouraging mass forwards in India, a country that WhatsApp says forwards more messages, photographs and videos than any other. "We believe that these changes - which we'll continue to evaluate - will help keep WhatsApp the way it was designed to be: a private messaging app," the company said in a statement. The firm is also testing the feature globally, though it did not reveal what the limit on forwarded messages would be elsewhere. In India, where it has 200 million users, they will be limited to five chats among individuals and groups, it said in its blogpost. "We are deeply committed to your safety and privacy which is why WhatsApp is end-to-end encrypted, and we'll continue to improve our app with features like this one," it added. READ ALSO: Facebook & WhatsApp! Stop paying lip service. Here's how you should 'lynch' fake news The development comes a day after the government shot off yet another letter to the company asking it to introduce stringent steps to curb the fake news menace. In Thursday's letter, the IT Ministry asked WhatsApp for more effective solutions than just labeling of forwards to help users make the distinction between personally crafted messages and mass forwards. The firm introduced the feature three weeks ago following the government's first letter asking WhatsApp to act in the face of fake news and false information circulated on its messaging platform that have incited mob-fury, triggering multiple cases of lynching across the country. Under pressure, the firm also brought full-page advertisements with tips on how to spot misinformation. But it informed the Centre that fake news, misinformation and hoaxes can be checked by the government, civil society and technology companies working together. The government's more strongly worded second letter directed WhatsApp to come up with solutions that can bring in accountability, facilitate enforcement of law and bring in traceability when a provocative or inflammatory message is detected. "WhatsApp has been told the issue is very serious and deserves a more sensitive response," it added. It also warned the company that mediums used for propagation of rumours are liable to be treated as 'abettors' and can face legal consequences if they remain mute spectators. Recently, a man was beaten to death, while three others were injured after a mob attacked them suspecting them to be childlifters, near Bidar in Karnataka. Earlier, rumours on WhatsApp sparked off a mob fury where five men were lynched on the suspicion of being child lifters in Maharashtra's Rainpada village of Dhule district. The Supreme Court, earlier this week, asked Parliament to consider enacting a new law to effectively deal with incidents of mob lynching, saying horrendous acts of mobocracy cannot be allowed to become a new norm. The 28th meeting of the GST Council has begun in the national capital. Among the key issues that the Council will take up today are the proposed amendments to the GST law, simplification of GST returns and the creation of GST appellate tribunal. The government has proposed as many as 46 amendments to the GST laws - Central GST, State GST, Integrated GST and Compensation of Sates Act. The amendments, among other things, provide for modification of reverse charge mechanism, separate registration for companies having different business verticals, cancellation of registration, new return filing norms and issuance of consolidated debit/credit notes covering multiple invoices. Earlier in June, Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia had said that the GST has entered a smooth phase and the efforts will now be to simplify tax return forms. He informed that the tax officers were working on a single page return form which will be modular in nature and "user friendly". "This year's main agenda would be to implement the new and simple system of filing of returns," he had said. The GST Council will also consider setting up of a National Appellate Tribunal in Delhi with three regional benches with members from judiciary as well as tax departments to hear appeals against the order of the appellate authority set up by states under the GST regime. According to the proposal which will be placed before the Council today, three benches of the national appellate tribunal would be set up at Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. The proposal is aimed at dealing with the problem faced by industry on account of contradictory orders passed by Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) in different states. It has also been observed that most of the AAR orders are in the favour of the revenue department as these authorities are manned by tax officials. Industry has been demanding that an independent judicial member should preside over the functioning of the national GST appellate tribunal to be set up for adjudicating disputes between revenue and taxpayers. The Centre and state governments would have to amend the GST law if the proposal is approved by the Council. Under the GST law, an aggrieved party can file an appeal against the order of the AAR within a period of 30 days, which may be further extended by a month. As per the law, all states are required to set up at least one AAR for seeking advance ruling over GST levy and one appellate authority to hear appeals against the AAR order. (With inputs from PTI) The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission has issued fines to 798 banking institutions in the first half of 2018. Photo: VCG Chinas top banking regulator has fined 798 banking institutions a combined 1.4 billion yuan ($210 million) in the first half of this year. The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) also banned 175 people from the banking industry in some cases for life in the first half, compared with 270 in all of 2017, according to the commissions latest interim report (link in Chinese), released Friday. The punishments show the regulator is intensifying its campaign on misconduct in the worlds largest banking sector by assets. Banks not owned by the state, including China Merchants Bank, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and Industrial Bank, have been the hardest hit in the crackdown. In May, the CBIRC announced that each of the three banks had violated more than 10 rules, mostly regarding interbank activities, banks bills of finance and money management services. The problems were discovered more by the financial institutions themselves than regulators, according to the CBIRC. On their own, the institutions found 136,000 issues involving 13 trillion yuan in capital, while the regulators uncovered 14,800 issues involving 2.47 trillion yuan. The CBIRC said that potential key risks have been effectively controlled, but the banking sectors situation remains severe and complicated. In January, the now-defunct China Banking Regulatory Commission announced that regulators would step up oversight on corporate governance, shadow banking and interbank activities this year. On Friday, its successor, the CBIRC, enhanced the cleanup by issuing draft rules that raised standards for the wealth management business of banks. Several bankers told Caixin that in order to cope with the greater oversight, they and their colleagues have had to spend more time reporting to the regulator, which has hurt their businesses. By the end of May, interbank assets and nonbond investment fell by 2.6% and 7%, respectively, compared with a year earlier, the report said. The regulator pointed that that banks total assets grew 20 trillion yuan less than expected over the period. In January, the regulator said it would also form special work groups to monitor regulatory and enforcement efforts in certain regions. The monitoring was supposed to include reviewing punishments to determine if they were too lenient. Contact reporter Coco Feng (renkefeng@caixin.com) news, latest-news More than 400 ACT businesses underpaid their employees' superannuation in the past financial year by more than $7 million combined. An investigation by the Australian Tax Office during the 2017-18 financial year revealed 418 ACT-based employers were found to have underpayed superannuation to their workers. The ATO reclaimed $7.7 million in superannuation from businesses as a result of the investigation. It is not known how many ACT employees were affected by unpaid superannuation, and it is unclear how many workers have been repayed. Employers who own a business in the ACT but are registered in another state or territory were not included in the figures. An ATO spokesman said the obligation for superannuation payments rests with the employer, warning businesses against underpayment. "We take non-payment of superannuation guarantee very seriously and we investigate all reports of non-compliance made to us," the spokesman said. "While the vast majority of employers do the right thing, even a small amount of non-compliance is unacceptable." Nationally, the ATO reclaimed $829 million in unpaid superannuation and completed almost 32,000 investigations into the practice in 2017-18. More than 5000 Australian employers were under investigation, according to the tax office. "In 2017-18, we received roughly 30,000 reports from people who believe that they have not had their superannuation paid by their employer," the ATO spokesman said. "We examine every report, and where suitable, we follow up by making contact with the employer to see confirmation. "If necessary, we conduct audits and apply penalties, which can be up to 200 per cent of the shortfall." Under superannuation law, employers are required to pay 9.5 per cent to workers over 18 who are earning more than $450 a month. Industry Super Australia public affairs director Matt Linden said employers underpaying superannuation contributions is endemic across Australia. "Around one in three employees are being shortchanged in terms of super, and our analysis of tax office data is the average amount is underpaid around $2000," Mr Linden said. "The risk of unpaid super is heightened for young people and those in occupations where work is more temporary in nature. "It's also the case with workers where English is a second language, and there's a cohort of workers who may not be familiar with their entitlements." Mr Linden said the current superannuation system doesn't adequately protect workers who may be getting underpaid. Under current legislation, employers have four months to pay superannuation contributions as it appears on a worker's pay slip, and Mr Linden said this should be altered. "A key change is to ensure that super is paid at the same time as people's wages and salaries," he said. "Currently, the onus is on the individual to report an employer for superannuation underpayment, and that's unacceptable." The most recent figures from the ATO on the overall superannuation guarantee gap - the difference between the theoretical amount of paid super and the amount actually paid - found employers underpaid workers by $2.85 billion in 2014-15. That figure made up 5.2 per cent of the estimated $54 billion employers were required to pay in that time period. Earlier this year, a Canberra law firm director was ordered to pay a $20,000 fine by the ACT Civil and Administrative Appeals Tribunal for failing to pay superannuation to employees. The ATO spokesman said employees can use online tools to see if they are owed superannuation, or lodge an enquiry with the tax office. "We also identify non-compliance through referrals from third parties and examination of ATO-held data, which informs reviews and audits on higher risk employers," the spokesman said. Do you know more? Email andrewbrown@fairfaxmedia.com.au /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/791876c7-437d-4be8-8bc5-650ff3c43365/r0_206_3861_2387_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, latest-news It looks pretty grim from above, but the National Arboretum boss' take on the acres of dead or dying grass at the popular tourist attraction is somewhat surprising. Aerial photos of the arboretum taken on Tuesday morning show lush, green lawns around the Village Centre and Margaret Whitlam Pavilion, but the same can't be said for the rest of the 617-acre site. The ACT is in the midst of a prolonged dry spell, with just 69.6 millimetres of rain recorded at Canberra Airport between March and June, making it the driest four-month period at that time of the year since 2004. National Arboretum executive manager Scott Saddler said far from being concerned about the state of the turf, he was pleased to be saving money on maintenance. "The only irrigated grass that we have is around the VC [Village Centre] and the Margaret Whitlam," Mr Saddler said. "If there's green grass across the whole site, we'd spend a fortune to maintain it." Mr Saddler said it was difficult to estimate how much money the arboretum was saving because mowing patterns were seasonal. While the irrigated lawns around the Village Centre and Margaret Whitlam Centre were mowed once a week, Mr Saddler said maintenance of the grass across the rest of the site was dependant on the weather. He said the arboretum always kept the grass below 50 millimetres, in line with bushfire regulations. "Sometimes the contractors will mow for four or five months of the year," he said. "In other years, they've been mowing for 11 months." Mr Saddler said the dry weather had not impacted the health of the arboretum's trees. "The 44,000 trees are irrigated by drip tubes underneath the mulch, so people don't see them," he said. "We're under no duress here at the moment." /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/53f5a82a-5587-413c-ad89-aee941cc709e/r0_10_1000_575_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, latest-news Andrew Geikie reckons the ACT is God's country for farmers. But the Lanyon farmer admits even God's country is in serious trouble unless the heavens open, with rainfall in the territory from March to June at its lowest level since 2004. Bureau of Meteorology figures show just 69.6 millimetres of rain fell at Canberra Airport between March and June - the lowest amount during that four-month period since 25 millimetres fell in 2004, during the so-called millenium drought. While large parts of NSW are in drought, there has been no official declaration in the ACT despite the combination of dry and cold weather forcing farmers to sell off large volumes of stock because there is not enough grass in paddocks to feed sheep and cattle. Mr Geikie, who has about 1200 hectares of farmland, said he hadn't seen worse conditions since the millenium drought, during which most of Australia was hit by drought between 1996 and 2010. "We desperately need rain," he said. "If we get a failed spring, everyone's in the poo ... it'll be equivalent to the millenium drought." Mr Geikie said the lack of rain had put pressure on farmers to make some hard decisions about what to do with their animals. He made an early decision to destock ahead of the winter and sold off all his weaner calves in March, while planting about 100 hectares of oats to give his animals another food source for the winter. He said he had about 1500 breeding cows and 375 breeding ewes on his property at the moment, but those numbers were down about 25 per cent on a good season. "It's really tricky for farmers out there at the moment, but in the ACT, we're in a really fortunate position," Mr Geikie said. "We're within striking distance of Canberra, but the farmers that are out west are in real trouble because they don't have the same ability to derive an off-farm income." Rural Leaseholders Association president Tom Allen said he had also destocked, having sold all his surplus livestock in January and decided not to keep 200 breeding ewes as he usually did. Mr Allen, who bought his Symonston farm in 1981, said while many farmers in the ACT had an off-farm income, an extended period of dry weather still caused great stress, particularly with a shortage of feed locally. He currently had 380 sheep to lamb and described his 330-hectare farm as small, but said even he would be in big trouble if there wasn't a decent amount of rain in spring. "I would have to spend the best part of $2000 a fortnight just to keep [the animals] alive and put some grain down their necks," Mr Allen said. "One of the biggest problems is sourcing the grain. We've got to buy it from South Australia and you can buy it over there for $300 a tonne, but it'll cost you $200 a tonne to get it here ... It causes an awful lot of stress on people even when [farming] is half your income." Mr Allen said after good seasons between 2011 and 2016, he wasn't surprised to see a rough year come around. "They say, with farmers, theres no need to go to the racetrack because were gambling every day, and thats basically what it is," he said. Bureau of Meteorology senior climatologist Ian Barnes-Keoghan said over the last four months, the ACT had experienced a "severe rainfall deficiency", which meant rainfall levels were in the driest 5 per cent of historical totals. The only more severe level on the bureau's classification scale is "record low". Mr Barnes-Keoghan said there appeared to be no end to the big dry in sight. "Unfortunately, things are not looking good," he said. "The bureau does a seasonal outlook which covers the next three months [August to October] and looks at the probability of it being a wet or dry season. "The probably is very much in favour of it being a dry season... we're talking about a 70 per cent chance of it being a dry season, compared to the long-term average for Canberra." As of Friday afternoon, just 2.6 millimetres of rain had been recorded this month at Canberra Airport. Mr Barnes-Keoghan said the July average was about 40 millimetres. He said it was hard to pinpoint a single reason behind the current lack of rainfall, but the simple reason was that the weather systems that brought rain weren't passing over the ACT as often. "We're seeing more high-pressure ridging, and when those high-pressure ridges just sit there not moving, the lows and the troughs that typically bring rain aren't coming in," Mr Barnes-Keoghan said. Mr Barnes-Keoghan said while it would be hard to draw a direct link with climate change, an increase in the number of high-pressure systems was a characteristic of a warming climate. Declarations of drought are the responsibility of state and territory governments, with large parts of NSW now in drought. In the ACT, which is not officially in drought, the task falls to the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate. An ACT government spokesperson said if drought was to be declared in the ACT, the directorate would make the decision in consultation with a range of parties including the Bureau of Meteorology, the federal government's Department of Agriculture, NSW Department of Primary Industries, rural land managers and other industry experts. The directorate and the environment minister would then make a formal announcement. But Andrew Geikie reckons he knows a drought when he sees one. "Drought would be a word I would use," he said. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/fb04c064-8111-413c-b156-ac48fbff9f3d/r0_293_5568_3439_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg Bhairahawa Customs misses revenue target The Bhairahawa Customs Office, the countrys second largest transit point, failed to meet the revenue collection target in the last fiscal year. news, latest-news Fifty-nine schools, including 49 primary schools, will lose all their dedicated bus services under the ACT government's overhaul of public transport, The Canberra Times can confirm. Amid safety concerns from parent and school groups, Transport Canberra and City Services has provided Fairfax Media with a detailed look into its new school transport plan that will see more kids catching public buses as mainstream services expand to about 30 per cent more schools. The government says it's part of a vision for a faster, more efficient network with more frequent runs but fewer stops, meaning students won't be left stranded at school stops if they miss a bus or stay back late and buses won't be taken out of the public network to carry only small numbers of students. As enrolments continue to climb in the ACT, the spokesman said it was critical Transport Canberra looked at school travel now to ensure it could meet demand into the future. "Its simply not efficient or a good use of our road network to operate more and more buses - that will just clog up the system," he said. "We need to be smarter about how we use our resources to meet the public transport needs of our growing city." But, while the new model will increase the number of school trips running in total when it launches in January, it will also more than halve the current number of dedicated school routes, from 109 to 47. As a result, some suburbs will lose their services altogether, leaving students to walk further or change buses more often to get to class. About 51 public routes will make diversions or 'S-trips' to schools during morning and afternoon peak times, while hub-and-spoke services will ferry students directly from interchanges to schools where demand is high. School and parent associations in both the public and independent sector say S-trips are no substitute for the "peace of mind" of a dedicated school service that starts and ends at the school gate. Right now, about 13 per cent of ACT school students take the bus to and from school, with most travelling by car. Of those catching a bus, about 42 per cent use a dedicated school service and most are high school or college students. But transport spokeswoman for the Canberra Liberals Candice Burch said she had long heard calls from the community for more dedicated school buses, not less. "Many parents have said they will have no choice but to drive their children to school because there is no safe alternative," Ms Burch said. "These cuts are not fair." Jennifer Hartcher only recently taught her nine-year-old daughter how to catch a dedicated bus home from her primary school so she could return to work full-time. But, with the service axed under the new network, Ms Hartcher said she would now have to consider cutting back her hours again so she could pick Emily up every afternoon. "She'd have to walk up a hill and out of sight of the school to get a bus in the afternoon, then change at an interchange, I can't let her do that by herself every day, she's too young." A spokesman said Transport Canberra was taking on board a record influx of community feedback regarding the new network, including ideas about where it could make improvements for schools such as moving bus stops, adding pedestrian crossings or installing new school gates. Two dedicated safety officers would be at every major interchange during peak school times in the morning and afternoon, and the government was still considering if officers might also be deployed at other transport hubs such as Erindale and Kippax shopping centres. A spokesman for the ACT education directorate advised parents to plan ahead for the changes and to give feedback to Transport Canberra on the proposed network. "Prior to the release of the new network, [we] provided advice to [Transport Canberra] that any planned change to the dedicated school bus service and the bus networks needed to ensure that students will still be able to easily and safely use public transport," the spokesman said. Plans to ramp up evening and weekend services on the public network have been largely welcomed, including among youth groups. But a spokesman for the ANU student association said some students had raised concerns that the current bus, which travels through the university's Acton campus, had also been cut in the changes. "We've had students with mobility issues reach out and say 'hey this is going to really affect me' or people concerned about getting around campus at night now without that bus," he said. "It's a big campus and it's tricky to get around at the best of times." Total bus coverage across the ACT will slightly reduce under the new network but remain in excess of its target of 95 per cent, with about 1000 more trips in total running during a typical week day. Schools which will only be serviced by public buses or light rail from 2019: Amaroo School Arawang Primary Bonython Primary Burgmann Anglican School Forde Campus Burgmann Anglican School Valley Campus Calwell High Calwell Primary Canberra Grammar School - Northside early childhood campus Caroline Chisholm School Chapman Primary Charles Conder Primary Covenant Christian School Curtin Primary Dickson College Duffy Primary Evatt Primary Florey Primary Garran Primary Good Shepherd Primary Gordon Primary Harrison School Hawker Primary Holy Trinity Primary Kaleen Primary Kingsford Smith School Lanyon High Latham Primary Lyneham High Macquarie Primary Majura Primary Monash Primary Mother Teresa School Namadgi School Narrabundah College Narrabundah Early Childhood School Neville Bonner Primary School Ngunnawal Primary Palmerston District Primary Red Hill Primary Rosary Primary Sacred Heart Primary St Bede's Primary St Benedict's Primary St Clare of Assisi Primary St Francis of Assisi Primary St John Vianney's Primary St Joseph's Primary St Matthew's Primary St Michael's Primary St Thomas Aquinas Primary St Vincent's Primary Sts Peter & Paul Primary Theodore Primary Torrens Primary Turner School University of Canberra High School, Kaleen Wanniassa Primary Weetangera Primary Find more information about school buses or give feedback on the new bus network until August 12: yoursay.act.gov.au/rapid-bus-network /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/bd74844f-204a-47af-aea8-49ea88f4475f/r0_242_4500_2784_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg comment, editorial Catholic bishops and community leaders were quick to issue dramatic and heart felt mea culpas over the church's failures following the release of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse's report in December, 2017. The then president of the Australian Catholic Bishop's Conference, Denis Hart, cut straight to the heart of the issue: "This is a shameful past, in which a prevailing culture of secrecy and self-protection led to unnecessary suffering for many victims and their families," he said. "Once again I reiterate my unconditional apology for this suffering and a commitment to ensuring justice for those affected." What we now know is Archbishop Philip Wilson, the eighth Archbishop of Adelaide, and the president of the ACBC from 2006 to 2010, was at the front and centre of this "shameful past". Wilson had been issued with a court attendance notice by NSW Police in March 2015 as part of an ongoing investigation into allegations he had allegedly concealed a serious offence regarding child sexual abuse in the Hunter region. He was found guilty, in the Newcastle Local Court on May 22, of failing to report allegations of child sexual abuse by convicted paedophile Maitland priest, James Fletcher, dating back to 1976. When Wilson returned to court for sentencing on July 3 he was placed on 12 months detention with a six month non-parole period. Magistrate Robert Stone said: "there is no remorse or contrition [being] shown by the offender... the sentence should not be suspended. [That would] not support the terms of general deterrence." Wilson is the most senior Catholic anywhere in the world to have been convicted of, and sentenced for, this type of offence. He has flagged his intention to appeal and, in a stand widely denounced by the victims, the broader community, many of his fellow bishops and, most recently, the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader, is refusing to resign. Mr Turnbull and Mr Shorten both say the Pope should sack Wilson given he is not willing to do the right thing of his own accord. That call has had the remarkable effect of sparking a reformation-era style debate over whether or not secular authorities can and should be telling the church what to do. This particular rabbit hole, while potentially of intellectual interest in other, less fraught, circumstances is a ridiculous red herring. While Wilson's motivations are known only to himself, it would be fair to say most people believe he is demonstrating an intransigent self-interest that has no connection whatever to the preservation of spiritual values or religious martyrdom. His words and actions have already done immense damage to the Catholic church and made a mockery of the valiant attempts by his peers to assure the world the old attitudes had been swept away. "I'm appalled by the sinful and criminal activity of some clergy, religious and lay church workers [and] I'm ashamed of the failure to respond by some church leaders [and] I stand ready to address any systemic issues behind this," the Archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher, said in 2017. How can his statement, and the many others like it that were made at the time, be taken seriously given the Catholic church's ongoing refusal to sack Wilson? /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/70519337-3c78-4721-9b49-6163189f5f3f/r0_46_900_554_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, latest-news Draft documents reveal the long-touted expansion of the Australian War Memorial could double its floor space and include a possible new underground entrance. The building concept masterplan, created in 2017 and obtained under freedom of information, shows the memorial wants to cater for more visitors and to remain relevant to future generations. The plan shows artist's impressions of what the potential extension underneath the existing southern forecourt could look like, a new courtyard and gallery to the east of Poppy's cafe, and an extension to the Bean Building, which currently houses office space for memorial staff. The presentation focuses on the constraints associated with the current entry to the memorial, including issues with accessibility. Expanding the entry is listed as one of three key issues to address for the future, along with telling the stories and connecting new audiences. "Create a new concourse to increase capacity, improve access and expand operational flexibility,"is listed under the the key objective to expand the entry. "A new concourse below the existing entrance will enable the memorial to manage increasing visitation," the plan said. The plan said the expansion would involve building about 20,000 square metres of new space and refurbishing about 10,000 square metres of space, bringing the total floor space to almost 40,000 square metres. The document also addresses the memorial's challenges around presenting more recent conflicts as well as keeping up with expectations around digital connectivity. It also mentions changing building standards. "Building codes have changed over the past decade. These will need to be addressed without impacting the heritage value of the building and site," the plan said. A spokesman for the memorial played down the significance of the draft documents. "The information provided to The Canberra Times by the National Capital Authority came from initial scoping undertaken at least two years ago. It is preliminary, outdated and not reflective of where the project is currently placed," the spokesman said. The War Memorial has been allocated $16 million by the government to develop a detailed business case for the expansion, which has been tipped to cost up to $500 million. "The memorial is currently following the strict guidance of the Department of Finance for the preparation of detailed business cases for submission to government," the spokesman said. "This business case is currently in development to be considered by government later this year; no decisions on design have been made nor further funds allocated to the memorial at this time." The spokesman said consultation about the proposed redevelopment with stakeholders, including the public and the media, would start shortly. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/73c9aa2f-bf2c-472c-b1cb-d99c43196740/r0_138_1149_787_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, latest-news I'm still hedging my bets about the future of Donald Trump, or of the world if he is re-elected. One can readily accept him to be a bad thing, who goes from worse to worst, and who deserves impeachment many times over. But if it were so self-evidently true that he has exhausted the American electorate's patience, it seems odd that there is no Democrat leader obviously preparing to take him on in 2020. It seems to be taken as read that the Democrats will do well in the mid-term congressional elections in November, winning back a majority in the House of Representatives and, possibly (if somewhat more unlikely) in the Senate. That may make a difference to his legislative agenda, insofar as he still has one, and even if, as it appears, Republicans will have, by then, captured a decisive majority on an activist Supreme Court, one that may persist for decades. A hostile congress may be able to frustrate some of Trump's intentions but it won't necessarily be able to re-establish the world as it was before him: Trump still has a veto over legislation and the Democrats are unlikely to have the numbers to override it. Trump complains endlessly of a fake mainstream media, determined to promote its own view of the world and which is more addicted to bending the truth than he is. So charged are American politics, however, and so great the chasm between the thinking, and wishful thinking, of his constituencies and the constituencies of the other side that he seems not to be much damaged by exposes, by demonstrations of his mendacity, or incidents such as those this week, when he claimed, very unconvincingly, to have "misspoken" and to have said the opposite of what he meant. His internal critics, and moderates almost everywhere else, hope and expect that, sooner or later, the electorate will see through him. One wonders, however, whether they much help their cause by proclaiming each crisis the worst ever, and suggesting the imminent implosion of his government. Or see in his every action, or statement, definite indications that he is taking America to war or ruin. Observers from afar, getting most of their information through the prisms of his critics, wonder how he stays afloat and what he will do next. In recent weeks, Trump has incited a trade war with China, then upped the ante several times, to a point of almost daring a massive and disastrous overreaction from China. The way some of his underlings talk, it could be a shooting war, if only to show who has the hairiest chest. Trump is doing much the same with trade with Europe. He has described his NATO allies in Europe as foes and treated them with supreme rudeness, accusing them of not paying enough for their security against Russia. He went out of his way to insult British Prime Minister Theresa May and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, accusing the former, in effect, of not being tough enough in negotiating Britain's exit from the European Community, and Merkel of being compromised by Germany's purchase of energy from Russia. At the same time, he seems to have become great friends with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the enemy his allies are not doing enough about. He has seemed more comfortable and accommodating with North Korea's dictator than with the democratic leaders of his North American neighbours. During his election campaign, Trump railed against the appearance of weakness Barak Obama presented in the Middle East, and made it the centrepiece of his promise to make America great again. It is unclear that either his resolution, his proclaimed policies or his actions in the Middle East have contributed much to an image of might or dignity, let alone peace. If he has appalled his allies, and mystified some of those he would usually categorise as America's enemies, he seems to have done his image no great harm among his constituents, particularly blue-collar Americans. He is telling them that his tough talk produced promises of bigger contributions to NATO, and that those who insisted he should have used only the language of conflict are playing politics and promoting tension. His soft and accommodating ways with Russia may well have reduced the risk of an ultimate conflict. But those who have parsed his achievements with North Korea doubt that North Korea will disarm itself of nuclear weapons as readily as Trump seemed to promise. His own bombast and self-certainty (and perhaps China's steadying hand on North Korea, given all the other uncertainties it faces) may have lowered the temperature and appearance of inevitable confrontation. His constituencies, moreover, buy his argument that protectionism is necessary to redress the export of American jobs that he says followed free-trade treaties. For all of his embarrassments over seeming to kowtow to Putin, being accused of effective treason, and his stumbles over double negatives, Trump would be re-elected on his current opinion-poll showings, at least if the turnout was the same as last time. To beat him, Democrats must first mobilise people hurt by, embarrassed by or ashamed of Trump's policies in significantly greater numbers than last time. Hillary Clinton may have won the popular vote in 2016 (she lost in electoral college votes because the more skillful Trump campaign gained votes in the right places). But she could not inspire sufficient passion for herself in the top job, or for keeping Trump out of it. So why is there no Democrat in the ring against Trump? Incumbency is a great advantage to an American president and, usually, a president going for a second term wins. But unpopular or unsuccessful presidents, such as Jimmie Carter and George H. W. Bush, have failed to get a second round, and Democrats, if they believe their own propaganda, should have high expectations for 2020. No doubt a good result in the mid-term elections will embolden some candidates. But no one is straining at the leash, and no one (and certainly not Clinton) is providing the Democrats with national leadership, stature or even the moral authority to take on and trounce Trump in public opinion. That's not to say that template Democrats are not saying template things to their own constituencies. What does not seem to be happening much is reaching out to the other side, the creation of new coalitions or any sense of a crusade against what Trump represents. The congressional election races are as much local as national and, even with material that could fuel grievances, such as the damage done to Obamacare, the Democrat campaigns so far seem to lack a unifying national theme. The Democrats still have two years before the convention at which they will nominate a candidate, and the primary season is more than 20 months away. No one yet seems to have a vast war chest that could sustain a very long campaign, and there is no candidate (as with Clinton last time) who gives the appearance of having most of the Democrat establishment's blessing and, thus, the support of the party's machinery. For virtually all of Clinton's campaign for the Democrat nomination, she had front-runner status, a significant edge with campaign funds and opinion-poll indications that she could trounce any Republican candidate, including Trump. Only at the fag end of the primaries did a populist candidate, Bernie Sanders, expose her hollowness to her own party, but even then there were few doubts that she could and would win. Cynics remarked that, if it were possible for her to lose, she would find a way, but it seemed unlikely. There can be little doubt that there was Russian interference in the election. Even Trump does not deny it, even as he vehemently, but not quite convincingly, denies any collusion between members of his team and the intelligence operation against Clinton. Revelations over the past year about Cambridge Analytica's techniques, and Facebook's weaknesses, have greatly increased awareness of how sophisticated such campaigns can be. But it is all too easy to suggest that Trump won only because of Russian interference. He was campaigning effectively enough in his own right, if with a style (and a disregard for truth and political convention) that made him hard to counter, and nothing has been shown about the Russian contribution that suggests it mobilised his constituencies' hopes, fears and anxieties better (or more ruthlessly) than Trump did himself. Russian dirty tricks (particularly with Democrat National Committee emails and Clinton's supposedly insecure communications) may have helped Trump point to Clinton's weaknesses, but they were pretty obvious from the start. It's interesting to reflect that Australia's two main political parties have software, and access to information about voters, that is far more sophisticated than that which was available to Cambridge Analytica. They, too, have the advantage of compulsory voting, with the result that the focus of campaigns can be on the message, rather than persuading voters that the election is important enough to get out and vote. The data about individual voters, and social media tools, add to the experience and rat cunning of politicians and their party organisations, and are particularly helpful in framing the issues. Do they end up making a big difference? The experts doubt it, sometimes even doubting that the campaigning season, and all of the advertising, makes a great deal of difference. Most voters make up their minds long before the election is called. One might expect it to be somewhat different in elections whose outcomes depend on who has created sufficient enthusiasm to get out to vote. Even here, however, effective tactics on both sides have a tendency to cancel each other out. Candidates might go negative, at some points, to frighten their allies about the prospect of the others winning: Clinton was fairly effective at showing Trump to be a boor, a potential bull in a China shop, ill-suited by experience and temperament for the top job. If he was as bad as he was painted (and he probably was, as experience has shown), it's amazing that positive parts of Clinton's record and character could not overwhelm him, despite any mud he threw in her direction. Yet Trump succeeded, in major part, because his core constituencies did not want Clinton at any price. At the same time, Clinton could not create enough enthusiasm about herself to get enough women, Latinos, African-Americans and other natural Democrat voters to come out. Both parties knew the key states, and what was at stake. If it seems somewhat unfair that Trump could be president with fewer votes than Clinton, his team was more effective than Clinton's in getting up the vote where it mattered. One sometimes gets the impression that Trump's major political weakness in relation to the special prosecutor's probe into collusion with the Russians is in its constant reminder that he won only narrowly, and that he didn't even get more votes. Trump's megalomania always seems to require him to have won big, and better, or at least to claim and pretend it was so. This seems to be worsening, judging by some of his remarks this week. And perhaps he has, by now, persuaded himself that any scoffing involves disloyalty to the nation, as much as to himself. That's a big glass jaw that someone, perhaps a Latina, should be dying to have a crack at. Jack Waterford is a former editor of The Canberra Times. jwaterfordcanberra@gmail.com news, latest-news While President Donald Trump dissembles over whether he can't see "why it would be Russia" or why it "wouldn't be" and prefers Vladimir Putin's denial over his own intelligence services, all the evidence points to Russia. Why, one might ask, would anyone trust the US intelligence services, after the post September 11 call on Iraq's so-called weapons of mass destruction? The answer is because they learned a lot from that. Barack Obama's director of national intelligence, James Clapper, in his book Facts and Fears, says the intelligence community did several things as a result. First, they made it a rule to always speak truth to power. Second, they vowed not to blur the lines between what is known, what is unknown and what is conjecture. Third, they vowed to avoid policy recommendations and just state the facts. Fourth, and most important, they got their act together and instead of each agency guarding its own turf, they co-operated and shared information. Clapper did his best to organise a smooth transition after Trump won, but was ignored and rebuffed. In October 2016, before the election, he concluded with damning evidence that the Russians were meddling on Trump's side. The intelligence agencies made that public. Alas, they did so on the very day that Trump's infamous "pussy" statement came out and it was buried. Malcolm Nance in his book, The Plot to Destroy Democracy, makes a convincing case that not only did Russia meddle, but it colluded with the Trump campaign in doing so and explains how it was done. The turning point here is not that Trump's performance at the meeting with Putin in Helsinki will swing many, if any, of his deluded supporters. Rather, it is that he has so inflamed the US intelligence community that it will be galvanised to greater efforts to uncover the truth and speak that truth to power: not to the President, but to the Congress, prosecutors and the judiciary. Remember, special prosecutor Robert Meuller was director of the FBI for 12 years under both a Republican and Democrat president. It is only a matter of time. But now to the background and evidence. Vladimir Putin was a KGB agent in the former Soviet Union. In 1987, Ronald Reagan, the president of the US, the Soviet Union's greatest adversary, came to West Berlin and said: "Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall." The wall came down. The Soviet Union collapsed. Then one after the other, 10 former Warsaw Pact nations and three former Yugoslav republics joined NATO, the treaty whose main military power was the US. The result was that the West's military power was brought to the very border of the Russian Federation. On the economic front, 12 nations which were once part of the Soviet bloc Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia joined the European Union. And others tried to, particularly Ukraine. Other eastern parts of the Soviet Union also broke from Russia, but in the long run reverted to accepting Russian influence. These were the colour revolutions, in which people seeking liberal democracy chose a colour as a symbol. In the former Yugoslavia, NATO (if belatedly) was the architect of the humiliation of the Slavic Serbs whose leaders ended up in the International Criminal Court. You can see how these events would affect a former KGB agent. Liberal democracy, led by NATO and the EU were Russia's enemies. The lesson for Putin was to slowly buy, crush or neutralise the key elements of liberal democracy: an independent judiciary, free media, fair elections, and political oppositions, but to keep up a veneer of democracy in which people go to the polls to elect him. The US was the No. 1 enemy because it was economically strong and militarily active. It had a long history of invasions and interference to effect regime change: Cuba, Guatemala, Chile, Grenada, Afghanistan, Iraq and others. In the face of that, Putin appealed to Russian nationalism a white, Christian nationalism to create an authoritarian state. It was the Soviet Union all over again without the idiotic dogma or collective ownership. All of the methods of the KGB were kept and improved. The murder of Trotsky in Mexico in 1940 was replicated by Putin's regime, 14 murders on British soil alone, according to US intelligence. The most famous was the plutonium poisoning of Russian spy defector Alexander Litvinenko in 2006. You need to be a nuclear power to get hold of plutonium. The attempted murder of Russian defector Sergei Skripa and his daughter using the nerve agent Novichok (available to the military of only a very few countries) fits the pattern. Journalists were similarly intimidated and murdered. When a regime orders murders on foreign soil, collusion in foreign election meddling is minor. Ukraine was a special threat with its 2000km land border with Russia. Putin armed Russian minorities on the Ukrainian side who used the arms to (among other things) shoot down a Malaysia airliner in the presumed belief it was a military aircraft. In 2014, he annexed Crimea (with its Black Sea port) by force with thousands of deaths, rather than pressing for a referendum which would have seen the territory peacefully pass back to Russia anyway. This led to EU-US sanctions against Russia and more importantly personally against the oligarchs who had enriched themselves by buying at next-to-nothing prices state property on the collapse of the Soviet Union. The oligarchs either sided with Putin or were repressed or jailed by him on trumped up charges with their assets renationalised. The Putin-supporting oligarchs have been especially hard hit by sanctions. Putin needs to keep them onside, so he has been desperate to get rid of the sanctions. He would not get rid of them by behaving himself, so he went the other way. He set out to undermine the liberal democracy and cohesion of those who had imposed them the EU and the US. He used cyber war with propaganda through social media to sway the Brexit referendum and the US election in 2016. Nance's book outlines how the use of fake news, "bots", and social media influenced opinion through posting to targeted audiences of hundreds of thousands (with the alleged help of Cambridge Analytica which has Trump connections) on Facebook and Twitter. He has used the same tactics to help authoritarian parties in EU countries (some of them in power) to destabilise the union. Most informed people in the US, including Republicans in Congress, realise that with enemies like Russia, you need friends. Trump does not realise that. Nor does he realise he has been utterly duped by the Russians and is little more than their puppet. It has been an even more masterful intelligence operation than the KGB's running of the Cambridge spy ring in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s and of the same parentage. We just have to wait for Meuller to get to the bottom of it. crispinhull.com.au /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/3c69d583-c232-4d7d-93d9-652649fbab74/r0_220_4281_2639_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg Dahal praises Ambassador Teplitz for positive role Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has praised the positive role played by outgoing US Ambassador to Nepal Alaina B Teplitz. As crews battle numerous fires in the Central and South Okanagan, firefighters are getting some help from their counterparts in the north along with some specialized equipment. Members of the BX/Swan Lake and Armstrong fire departments have sent five firefighters south along with a structure protection unit. We have our SPU crew and trailer in Peachland right now, said BX/Swan Lake Fire Chief Bill Wacey adding the SPU unit is designed to protect homes by setting up a series of sprinklers that keep the structure and the area around it, wet. Wacey said between the BX/Swan Lake and Armstrong departments, there are 16 personnel trained on the SPU. The departments received their first SPU four years ago and have since acquired a second unit, which allows the department to send one unit out of the region while keeping the second trailer close by in case it is needed. Wacey said an SPU will not stop a large fire, but it will extinguish embers and a creeping ground fire. It's the ember storms. You're not going to do anything to stop a rank six fire, but very rarely does that burn houses down, it's always the ember storms, said Wacey. It's their job to prevent wildfires and put them out when necessary, and the BC Wildfire Service has produced a Youtube video telling people everything they need to know about having a campfire. Brenna Ward and Kyla Fraser, with the BCWS, walk people through the dos, and don'ts, of having a campfire. The first thing they urge is for people to make sure there is no fire ban in place. As of 2 p.m. July 20, campfires were still allowed in the Kamloops Fire District which includes the Okanagan. Ward and Fraser go on to talk about what is allowed for a campfire and most importantly, how to properly extinguish a campfire. Photo: West Kelowna Fire Department The West Kelowna Fire Department responded to wildfires in the Brent Road area Thursday night. Fire crews from West Kelowna were assisting the Peachland Fire Department and BC Wildfire crews Thursday night, and they're expected to be back again tonight. West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund said they were called in to assist in the Brent Road area at about 6 p.m. Thursday, as gusting winds caused an uptick in fire activity. Typically the requests don't come until fire behaviour picks up later in the afternoon, he said. We sent a water tender, so we were supplying water to the crews that were there and helping with fire suppression in the Brent Road neighbourhood. Brolund said a crew of five members took the tanker truck to the evacuated neighbourhood and helped protect structures, supplied Peachland fire trucks with water and patrolled the streets, putting out hot spots. Our crews definitely were working in areas where the fires had crossed the road, Brolund said, referring to the wildfire crossing Highway 97. He said he didn't know if any homes had been impacted by the fires. Brolund himself meanwhile helped relieve Peachland Fire Department officers, working late into the early hours of Friday. We have a really great mutual aid system where we're always helping each other out, Brolund said. Today, Brolund says they're ready to help again, and they'll be waiting on the call in the coming hours. Madison Erhardt UPDATE 7:50 p.m. The quick action from a resident along Stoneypointe Court in Kelowna, helped douse a fire spreading fast on Knox Mountain just before 5 p.m. "It grew a lot. In the few minutes I was back there 'til they got there it went from half the size of this cul-de-sac to the full size going up the trees," the resident said. The homeowner on Stoneypointe Court saw smoke from her backyard on top of Knox and ran out with a fire extinguisher. "I did what I could do. I stomped it with my feet several times, and once fire crews got there I gave them directions to exactly where the fire was," she said. Residents in the area said the quick action from fire crews was amazing. "Excellent response to the crews. They were fast and in here and detail oriented. They moved us out to move the helicopters in and they were motivated. Good mop-up from the guys," a neighbour said. Platoon captain Steve Roshinsky says the cause of the fire has not been determined. The Kelowna Fire Department and RCMP are both investigating. Fire crews and BC Wildfire remind the public to report a suspected fire as soon as possible to 1-800 663-5555 or *5555 on a cell. UPDATE: 5:10 p.m. Crews with the Kelowna Fire Department have knocked down a potentially dangerous fire on Knox Mountain. Firefighters were called about 4:30 Friday afternoon for a fire near Stoneypointe Court. Some homes were evacuated as a precaution. The fire was initially burning in some trees, but was described later as a Rank 2 fire. It grew to about 150 feet by 150 feet. Fire crews are in mop up stage. This was the second fire on Knox Mountain in three days. On Wednesday, neighbours grabbed garden hoses to douse a fire on Mount Royal Drive. That fire was started by a spark from a garden tool. The top half of Knox Mountain Drive has been closed to vehicle traffic due to dry conditions and a high risk of fire. Madison Erhardt UPDATE: 4:55 p.m Fire crews on the scene of the Knox Mountain fire estimate the blaze to be about 150 feet by 150 feet, and burning at Rank 2. A Rank 2 is described as a "low-vigour surface fire," with open flame. The terrain the fire is burning in has been described as "not too steep," and firefighters are hitting the blaze with water. ORIGINAL: 4:40 p.m. The Kelowna Fire Department is responding to a very active fire on Knox Mountain, and homes are being evacuated. Early indications suggest the fire may be near the top of the mountain, off Stoneypointe Court. The fire is about 100 feet by 100 feet, however, the fire is apparently high into the trees. Heavy winds are also blowing in the area and a helicopter and a rappel crew have been called in to assist. Fire crews have requested the help of RCMP to help with tactical evacuations of homes. Castanet has a reporter heading to the scene. We'll have more details when they become available. Photo: Google Street View A couple set to marry at Fitzpatrick Family Winery at Greata Ranch Saturday had to change their plans due to a wildfire in the area. After Okanagan wildfires forced a last-minute change of plans for a husband- and wife-to-be, the couple has found a happy ending to the stressful ordeal. Tyler Balaban and his fiance Ronny had planned to marry along Okanagan Lake at Fitzpatrick Family Winery at Greata Ranch Saturday, but the Mount Eneas wildfire forced the evacuation of the property Wednesday, ruining the couple's plans, eight months in the making. Most of the wedding's attendees were flying in from out of town, from as far away as Europe and Australia, so rebooking the date was out of the question. On Thursday, Balaban told Castanet they were looking for a last-minute venue change somewhere in the Okanagan. This was the place, this was our dream spot to get married, Balaban said. On Friday, Balaban took to Twitter to say they have an amazing new venue locked down. While he didn't specify on the exact location, the couple's dream of an Okanagan wedding came true Saturday. What an adventure! After wedding, will be reaching out to everyone who was willing to lend a helping hand. Humans are amazing, Balaban posted to Twitter. Deuba visits Dr KC, assures Congress support Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba on Friday afternoon visited Maharajgunj-based Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) to inquire about the health of social activist Dr Govinda KC. Export earnings from NTIS goods swell 10 percent Export earnings from nine products identified by the Nepal Trade Integration Strategy (NTIS) as having high export potential swelled 10 percent in the first 11 months of the last fiscal year due to market diversification and quality improvement. Andrew Lincoln is leaving The Walking Dead. The English actor, who has starred as zombie-killing sheriff Rick Grimes on AMCs blockbuster show since 2010, confirmed during a panel at San Diego Comic-Con that season 9 of the show will be his last. This will be my last season playing the part of Rick Grimes, Lincoln said. I love this show. It means everything to me. I love the people who make this show. Lincoln said he plans a hiatus from acting and will be spending time with his family in England. He shouldnt have any trouble affording his early retirement. Lincoln has an estimated net worth of $16 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. His salary per episode of The Walking Dead Lincoln is worth a bundle, but he doesnt make as much for his starring role on the zombie apocalypse show as you might think. The actor reportedly brings home just $90,000 per episode of the show. Thats nothing to sneeze at, but compared to the sky-high salaries that some actors make its a relative pittance, noted Forbes. In comparison, the stars of The Big Bang Theory earn $900,000 per episode. However, Celebrity Net Worth estimates that his per-episode salary is closer to $650,000 per episode. But even the higher number doesnt put him close to the numbers that TVs top stars are earning. The male leads of The Big Bang Theory and Modern Family were each making $12 million a year or more per year, according to Forbes. The stars of Game of Thrones made a whopping $2.7 million per episode for the shows yet-to-air final season. Why his salary is so low Forbes had a theory about why Lincoln and other stars of The Walking Dead are paid so little, even though they appear on one of the most popular shows on cable. As every fan knows, The Walking Deads showrunners havent hesitated to kill off beloved characters. This cast churn means that the actors cant band together and demand higher salaries as a group. [T]heres always the implication that a complaint, much less an ultimatum, could result in a character becoming dinner for a zombie. And an actor looking for work, wrote Allen St. John. This actor is set to get a big payday The trend of low salaries for The Walking Deads big stars could be coming to an end, however. With Lincolns departure, Norman Reedus, who plays Daryl, is set to become the shows lead. And hes negotiated a deal worth more than $20 million, per The Hollywood Reporter. Thats a better result than the one Lauren Cohan, who plays Maggie, got in her attempt to negotiate with AMC. Frustrated by lowball salary offers, Cohan is also moving on from the show and will likely appear in just a handful of episodes in season 9. Instead of killing zombies and fighting Negan, shes landed a lead role as a CIA operative on the ABC action drama Whiskey Cavalier. The surprising way Andrew Lincoln and the rest of the cast makes extra money AMC may not be willing to pony up big cash for the shows stars, but the actors have a pretty sweet secondary revenue stream. Fan conventions are a big business, and stars of popular shows like The Walking Dead can earn six figures in a single weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter. All they have to do is show up, greet fans and sign autographs, and perhaps participate in a panel discussion. Even better, stars can keep raking in money long after their characters have been killed off on the show. Lincoln is one of the most in-demand names at fan conventions, but the money he earns isnt going to boost his bottom line. He reportedly donates his earnings to charity. The star supports the U.K. childrens non-profit Barnardos. Season 9 of The Walking Dead premieres October 7, 2018, on AMC. Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook! Biblical Scholars Warn Against False Teaching in Human Rights Campaign's LGBT Guide for Evangelicals Christian Post Reporter | 20 July, 2018 by Brandon Showalter Some biblical scholars are warning against a new guide published by a prominent gay rights organization geared toward evangelicals who identify as LGBT, saying it amounts to "false teaching." Last week, the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign released "Coming Home to Evangelicalism and to Self," a 32-page guide containing resources, advice, and testimonials for evangelical Christians who are "on the journey toward living fully in their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and in their faith and its traditions," according to its website. The guide features personal stories and practical suggestions from what they call a "wide variety of evangelical voices" in order "to spark new ideas, new dialogue and new courage," citing recent surveys and polling data showing rising support for same-sex marriage among younger generations. The voices featured all favor more liberal LGBT iterations of the Christian faith, among them Brandan Robertson, Mercer University ethicist David Gushee, and author Matthew Vines. The booklet features the words of Shae Washington, who is in a lesbian marriage and reportedly attends the evangelical National Community Church in Washington, D.C., which has Assemblies of God roots and has several locations across the region. The HRC guide describes the congregation as a place that "considers itself non-affirming of LGBTQ people but is in a process of conversation and discernment to change." Washington explains that the NCC "leaves room for people to decide that they are affirming and still participate in the church." The Christian Post reached out to National Community Church to ask what they made of the HRC's characterization of their ministry. "We don't have all the answers; instead, we continue to take time to listen and learn," said Dave Schmidgall in an email to CP Monday afternoon. Schmidgall pastors at NCC's Lincoln Theatre Campus. He continued, stressing: "NCC remains orthodox in belief and we're guided by the Jesus way of love and compassion." "Within our community, there are many LGBTQ+ people seeking to follow Jesus. Many have shared their experiences of being wronged by friends and family and being targeted for violence and mistreatment in society. In response, we remain committed to providing a safe space for all to follow Jesus, and to building bridges in the way He modeled." Other theologians who've long contended for the biblical definition of marriage being between one man and one woman and accompanying sexual ethics, are urging Christians to discern and resist the ideas set forth in the booklet. Denny Burk, professor of theology at Boyce College, opined on Twitter Thursday that it's important for Christians and other observers to recognize that those in the HRC guide and group itself are "false teachers who are leading people away from Jesus." "These teachers 'have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ," he added, referencing Jude 1:4. Read more about Biblical Scholars Warn Against False Teaching in Human Rights Campaign's LGBT Guide for Evangelicals on The Christian Post. Former Muslim: Dreams of Jesus, Miracle Healings Leading Millions to Christ Despite Persecution Christian Post Contributor | 21 July, 2018 by Stoyan Zaimov A pastor who has started hundreds of churches in Pakistan, where he suffered persecution for his faith, has chronicled his extraordinary journey in a new book where he says that divine healings and prophetic dreams are leading many Muslims to Jesus Christ. Pastor M El Masih, who started Cry of the Persecuted Church and now lives with his family in the United States, shared in an interview with The Christian Post some of his most difficult challenges growing up in Pakistan, where he studied and followed Islam and the Quran for years. In his book, From Persecution to the Promised Land, Masih, who has spoken in thousands of churches and universities, explains that he grew up in a nominally Christian family but embraced Islam at one point in his pursuit of truth, even becoming a teacher at an Islamic high school. Desperation and a lack of peace haunted him, however, and it was through the help of other believers and a pastor sharing the Gospel of Jesus with him that he decided to become a Christian in 1993. He faced heavy persecution for his newfound faith, however, and was treated as a second-class citizen by the Muslim majority, a situation that continues to this day for Christians and religious minorities in Pakistan. Masih said that the Gospel is reaching many in the Muslim world. He added that even if Islam is growing worldwide due to high birthrates, over 6 million Muslims each year become Christians in Islamic countries. Many Muslims are making decisions to convert, and not necessarily because of the Bible or a preacher who has reached them, but because Jesus Himself has visited them in dreams and visions, he noted. This is a testimony which has been echoed by other Christians in persecuted regions worldwide. In the book, Masih talks about the rise of his ministry and his efforts in establishing churches. He also says that through the power of God, he has witnessed and taken part in several healing miracles. He shares of instances where through prayer in the name of Jesus, he has seen paralyzed women stand up and start walking; and in another case for a nearly blind man, Jesus "restored his sight immediately." The pastor also warns of various dangers facing Christians around the world, including persecution at the hands of Islamists, whom he says have falsely convinced many in the West that Islam is not a threat. Additionally, he points to spiritual threats that come from demons, witchcraft, and satanic forces, which he said are not fantasy, but real. Read more about sharing the Gospel with Muslims on The Christian Post. Feasibility study of Nepals largest hydel set to begin Vidhyut Utpadan Company (VUC) is preparing to conduct a detailed feasibility study of the countrys largest identified hydropower project. After getting a survey licence for the 1,902 MW Mugu Karnali Storage Hydroelectric Project from the Department of Electricity Development (DoED) several weeks ago, the state-owned enterprise is getting ready to conduct a detailed feasibility study and prepare a detailed project report (DPR). Friendship Revivalism Christian Post Contributor | 20 July, 2018 by Nolan Harkness As I was seeking the Lord for the topic of this article a thought seemed to go through my mind. How would I describe to a single individual the path to personal revival? I have preached countless sermons on the subject through the years, always under what I was convinced was direction from scriptures and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. However, to communicate to an individual or to write an article on the process left me in the good place of praying for the Lord's help. My definition of revival to churches where I preach is that churches need to return to the practice of Biblical Christianity. Multiple "isms" have negatively affected churches and their growth for centuries. A repetitive sin in every generation is to allow the world's culture to creep into the church. At that point, the church more resembles a secular organization than a living Christ-like organism. As a revivalist with many years and many miles since I was first saved I would first challenge an individual by looking at their prayer life. They need to look at not just the amount of time or frequency of the act. I would ask them if they are actually seeing prayer as spending quality time with God. Often at an altar service when people have gathered at the end of the sermon to seek the Lord for a closer walk with Him, I whisper a question in someone's ear. "How's your prayer life?" Or "Do you meet regularly with Jesus in prayer?" Very often the response is, "Not like I should!" Or "I need to set apart more time in my life for God." Once I happened to be standing between two ministers who were arguing about doctrine. One was taking the position of unconditional eternal security, and the other was arguing the Armenian free will position, saying a Christian could fall away from the faith and lose their salvation. As the argument became more and more heated, I silently prayed for a chance to get a thought in edgewise. Finally, with a joking demeanor, I let out a whistle and stepped in saying "Whoa, timeout!" I then said to the one minister; "Have you ever thought about what you both agree on here?" They both shook their heads no. I said "My brother, in your camp you believe that if someone is living like the devil, then it's obvious to all, that they were never truly saved right?" He shook his head yes. Then to the other minister I said and in your camp you believe that they were saved but have backslidden to the point of losing their salvation correct?" Then he shook his head yes as well. My next comment was "Brethren do you know who you are both saying this individual needs? You are both saying whether he is backslidden or whether he never really came to Christ to begin with he needs Jesus! They both smiled and shook hands and went on their way. I tell that story to illustrate a simple principle of revival. We all need more of Jesus in our lives and at whatever level, if your spiritual life takes one step, or ten steps closer to Jesus, then you, my friend, have been revived! Read more about Friendship Revivalism on The Christian Post. India Needs Its Own #ChurchToo and #MeToo Movements, Bishop Joseph D'Souza Warns (Interview) Christian Post Contributor | 20 July, 2018 by Samuel Smith India is in dire need of its own #ChurchToo and #MeToo movements, a well-respected pastor and human rights leader is urging as recent reports of clergy-related sexual abuse have rocked churches in the Kerala state in the past month. Bishop Joseph D'Souza, president of the All India Christian Council, traveled to Washington, D.C., this week to discuss religious freedom issues. But since D'Souza's trip comes as much media attention has surrounded two different cases of alleged sexual abuse by Indian clergy members from different denominational backgrounds, he spoke with The Christian Post Monday about how Indian Christians and churches should respond. "It would be great to have the #ChurchToo movement in India because India probably needs it more than the West because the #MeToo movement in India is far more needed on several fronts," he said, adding that India's chauvinistic society has bred much male aggression against women and girls even inside the church. As many women in the United States have come forward this year with allegations of being abused or molested at the hands of clergy members through the #ChurchToo movement, a similar trend has been happening in the south Asian state. Last month, allegations emerged that a handful of priests with the Indian Orthodox Church in Kerala sexually abused a woman by using her confessions as blackmail to force her to have romantic encounters. The allegations led to the suspension of five priests, four of whom have been charged with rape. On June 29, an unnamed Catholic nun complained to police that she had been raped in May 2014 by Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jalandhar and sexually abused by him multiple times over the course of the next two years. However, Mulakkal has denied the claims and asserted that his "conscience is clear." The bishop remains in office. In July, another case was filed against Orthodox Church Priest Binu George, who was accused of sexuall assaulting a 39-year-old married woman when he called her to his office in the early part of 2014. Over the last 18 months, as many as 12 priests from different churches in Kerala have reportedly been arrested on accusations of sexual abuse. D'Souza believes more women will come forward with their stories of being abused by church leaders. "There will be other cases in India that will come out in this area," he predicted. "We have to be very humble because we are Christians but we also have sin in our midst. When it is talked about, we don't need to hide it." Read more about India Needs Its Own #ChurchToo and #MeToo Movements, Bishop Joseph D'Souza Warns (Interview) on The Christian Post. School Violated Law by Promoting Fellowship of Christian Athletes Mission Trip, Court Rules Christian Post Contributor | 20 July, 2018 by Samuel Smith A Colorado school district violated the law by promoting a Christian group's mission trip to a poverty-stricken Central American country, according to a federal judge. U.S. District Judge R. Brooke Jackson ruled Tuesday that Douglas County School District violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment when school officials promoted and helped fundraise for a Fellowship of Christian Athletes trip to Guatemala. The ruling comes nearly four years after an initial complaint was filed on behalf of an unnamed mother of a student at Cougar Run Elementary school who objected to school officials' promotion of the mission trip sponsored by Highlands Ranch High School's chapter of the FCA. The FCA chapter planned a trip through an organization called Adventures in Missions with stated goals to "promote Christianity" and to "introduce [children] to the Bible," according to a court document. A total of 14 high school students and two teachers went on the trip during spring break of 2014. The mother accused Cougar Run Principal John Gutierrez of overstepping his legal rights by promoting the FCA mission trip in a fundraising email sent to parents. Sixth grade teacher Micki Benge was accused in the lawsuit of spearheading a supply drive to fundraise for the trip. The supply drive took place during school hours and Benge allegedly passed out flyers in the school to raise awareness of the drive. The unnamed parent also objected to her child's preschool teacher sending out an email promoting the supply drive. The plaintiff, known as "Ms. Zoe," argued that her son "felt coerced into participating and contributing to this religious fundraiser." Jackson agreed with Ms. Zoe, who was represented by the Washington-based American Humanist Association, a national legal group that advocates for a strict separation of church and state. Jackson granted the plaintiff a summary judgment that will include the payment of reasonable costs and attorney's fees. "The Court holds that the constitutional rights of Ms. Zoe and her son guaranteed by the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution were violated by those defendants," Jackson wrote in her ruling. Jackson reasoned that the school district's actions were "an excessive government entanglement with religion" and supported an "overtly Christian cause." "Indeed, the District itself described its relationship with the FCA and the supply drive as a 'partnership,'" she wrote. "These actions and words had 'the effect of advancing . . . religion.' ... As such, I find that the District fails under the third prong of [the] Lemon [test]. Because the District fails on prongs two and three, summary judgment in Ms. Zoe's favor is appropriate." The school district attorney had argued that the fundraiser was not religious in nature and was designed to raise "an increased awareness of and appreciation for poverty in a Latin American country, and a feeling of pride that [DCSD schools] sought to help poor children in an area of the world they were studying in class." Read more about the Fellowship of Christian Athletes on The Christian Post. Sharing Christ in a Distracting and Secular Age: Author Alan Noble on Being a 'Disruptive Witness' Christian Post Reporter | 20 July, 2018 by Napp Nazworth The twin forces of secularism and distracting technologies present challenges to sharing the Gospel, Alan Noble writes in Disruptive Witness: Speaking Truth in a Distracted Age. Embracing the Gospel requires thought reflection and meditation on our own life and how that relates to God's message in the Bible yet, we are easily distracted from this life-giving task by a multitude of apps available on our smartphones, explains Noble, professor of English at Oklahoma Baptist University and editor-in-chief of Christ and Pop Culture. "Humans are tremendously gifted at hypocrisy and inconsistency, but a ubiquitous, powerful stream of information and interaction driven by technology enables these gifts to flourish. And that is precisely the problem," he writes in the introduction. Meeting this challenge is necessary, Noble writes, if the Church in the United States is to flourish. "Failure to reassess how we bear witness to our faith in the twenty-first century, and failure to take these societal changes into account, has had and will continue to have serious effects on the life of the church and our ability to have a prophetic voice in the world. ... If these trends continue, we can expect the church to dramatically weaken in the United States as Christianity as an identity becomes increasingly intolerable," he says in the conclusion. The book has two parts. Part one, the first three chapters, describes the problem. Part two offers ways to deal with the problem through personal habits (Chapter 4), church practices (Chapter 5), and cultural participation (Chapter 6). In this interview with The Christian Post, Noble says the idea for the book came while thinking about popular evangelical author and speaker Francis Schaeffer. Would his approach be effective if he were alive today? He also spoke about phone apps he uses to help him deal with the challenges of modern distractions, the influence of Charles Taylor, what it means to be a disruptive witness, and saying grace in public. Disruptive Witness was published Tuesday by Intervarsity Press. It's available on Amazon here. Here is the full interview, conducted last week via email: CP: Why did you want to write this book? Noble: It began with the question, would Francis Schaeffer's approach to bearing witness to the faith be as effective today as it was in the 1970s, or has there been a substantial change in the way people think about meaning, purpose, and God? I concluded that a change had taken place, one driven primarily by two forces: secularism and technology of distraction. Disruptive Witness is an attempt to explore what those barriers to belief are and how we should adapt our framework for bearing witness accordingly. Read more about Sharing Christ in a Distracting and Secular Age: Author Alan Noble on Being a 'Disruptive Witness' on The Christian Post. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment "Hey, don't judge." We hear those words a lot. But it takes real commitment to say them while staring at 130 thousand murder victims. Imagine walking into the Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlan in the year 1519. Situated on an island in the middle of an ancient lake where Mexico City now stands, Tenochtitlan was spectacular, even in a region known for its pyramids and plazas. But what really caught the attention of the Spanish conquistadors was the tower of human skulls that stood in front of the temple of the Aztec gods. Known as Tzompantli, this gruesome structure reportedly contained the skulls of some 130 thousand victims of human sacrifice, performed to ensure that the sun would continue to rise and rain would continue to fall. For many years, historians considered Spanish tales of the Aztec tower of skulls exaggerations or fabrications, invented to justify the conquest of Tenochtitlan two years later. That is until 2015, when archaeologists began finding skull fragments under a Colonial-era house in Mexico City. They have now uncovered hundreds of intact skulls of people who were neatly defleshed and decapitated. Archaeologists are piecing together a picture of a city built around ritual slaughter on an unimaginable scale. They estimate the Tzompantli was over a hundred feet long, forty feet wide, and fifteen feet tall. And as new victims were sacrificed regularly, it was always freshly-stocked. If anything, the old stories fell short of just how monstrous this monument to Aztec religion was. Now, you'd think we could all agree that human sacrifice is a horrific evil. But the author of the Science Magazine article about this tower of skulls begs to differ. Lizzie Wade took to Twitter to chide her readers for not seeing things from the Aztecs' perspective! The people who built the Tzompantli, she writes, saw the skulls of their victims as "seeds they planted to insure the existence of future generations of people." She continues, writing that human sacrifice may seem "weird and violent and gruesome to our Western colonial gaze. But don't for a second think that's the only way to see it, or the 'right' way to see it." What's so fun about archaeology, she concludes, is "trying to understand a worldview that is fundamentally, deeply different than the one we have been trained to think is natural and right. Try it sometime." Wade's tweet storm should help us understand a worldview that is fundamentally, deeply different, but it's not the worldview of the Aztecs. It's the worldview of cultural relativism, which rejects ultimate claims about right and wrong, good and evil, and insists that everythingeven the immorality of human sacrificeis culturally relative. Those from one culture shouldn't condemn those from another culture where right and wrong are different. Or that's the idea. The problem is Wade doesn't seem to believe it herself. Her tweets are peppered with remarks about "colonial oppression and destruction," giving the impression that she won't judge Mesoamerican human sacrifice, but she's perfectly willing to judge the Europeans who put an end to it. Now obviously, the behavior of Spanish conquistadors was indefensible. That's not the point. The point is it's impossible to live as a consistent cultural or moral relativist. We know there's absolute and universal right and wrong. The Bible says it's written on our hearts. It is the basis of all just laws, and the reason why we rightly condemn everything from the ritual burning of Indian widows on their husband's funeral pyres, to the Holocaust. Evil is evil, no matter which culture it comes from. More than this, when Christians look at a tower of skulls, we don't have to pretend to see the "seeds life." We know the One behind universal right and wrong, who chose to become a victim and sacrificed His own life, once for all, in answer to the towering and universal problem of human evil. Originally posted at Breakpoint. The former pastor, who had led the 15,000-member congregation for the past 11 years, has not yet made any public remarks on his firing nor the affair. The FBI reportedly has launched an investigation into Schaap's involvement with the young girl although the age of consent in Indiana is 16, so it is unclear if the married father of two will face any criminal charges. According to Trisha Kae, a former church member who maintains a Facebook page for ex-congregants, Schaap had forgotten his phone one night at the pulpit, and a deacon who saw it picked it up to return it to the pastor. "From what we understand, the deacon then saw a text come through from a teenage girl in the church, and it was a picture of Jack Schaap and this girl making out," Kae claims. The Board of Deacons explained the situation on Wednesday to the congregation, and asked for members to stick with them and offer their prayers for the church and the families of all involved. When First Baptist Church of Hammond first released news of the firing, officials said they were assisting the sheriff's department in the case, but declined to specify why exactly Schaap was fired and instead said the dismissal was for a "sin." "At this time, we deeply regret the need to announce that First Baptist Church has dismissed our pastor, Dr. Jack Schaap, due to a sin that has caused him to forfeit his right to be our pastor. First Baptist Church is in full cooperation with our local authorities in their investigation of this matter. Our church grieves over the need to take this action and the impact it will have on our people," the church stated in a press release. Lake County Sheriff John Buncich added that Schaap was being investigated along with Hyles-Anderson College, where the former pastor was once a vice president, and where it is believed the teenage girl took classes. Eddie Wilson, director of public relations for FBC of Hammond, had said that the church did not believe Schaap would face criminal charges, but noted that adultery is a serious moral transgression. The public relations director revealed that Schaap had been trying to reconcile his marriage to Cindy Schaap, the daughter of the Rev. Hyles, the pastor who built First Baptist Church and helped found Hyles-Anderson College. "The church will move on and begin the process of calling a new pastor," Wilson added. After almost two years of the energy sector rebounding only in the U.S., the oil and gas activity in the rest of the world is finally showing signs of life, the chief executives of two of the largest energy services firms said Friday. The CEOs of Schlumberger and Baker Hughes, both of which have headquarters in Houston, said the second quarter marked the inflection point for a larger global bounce back. More growth is still needed to catch up to rising oil demand, they said, but progress is finally occurring. Its been quite a while since weve been able to talk as positively about the international markets as we can now, said Schlumberger Chairman and CEO Paal Kibsgaard. Although there are individual countries in decline, theres some overall growth in every part of the world, he said. The need is now for new exploration and major projects that are still lacking, he said. Schlumberger is the largest energy services company by far with more than 100,000 workers worldwide, including about 11,000 in the Houston area. Kibsgaard said almost all of the firms oilfield equipment will be contracted by the end of 2018, including launching about 90 drilling rigs worldwide this year. More equipment is under construction, he said. Schlumberger reported a $430 million net profit for the second quarter on Friday that showed a big gain from a nearly $75 million loss this same time a year ago. The companys $8.3 billion in quarterly revenues jumped 11 percent from last year and 6 percent from the first three months of 2018. Kibsgaard cited new project startup costs and some operational delays for putting a dent in the companys quarterly profits. Baker Hughes, a GE company, reported a small $19 million net loss for the second quarter on Friday as the company marked its one-year anniversary as a General Electric company in July. The loss comes despite rising revenues and growing operating incomes gains that Chairman and CEO Lorenzo Simonelli contends shows the company is moving in the right direction. Baker Hughes $5.5 billion in second-quarter revenues jumped 3 percent from the first quarter, and even increased 2 percent from the combined revenues of Baker Hughes and GE Oil & Gas from the second quarter of 2017 before they merged July 1 of last year. Over the last 12 months weve made a tremendous amount of progress, and were very excited, Simonelli said. Our outlook is becoming more positive. Energy analysts said both companies earnings were in line with expectations, but they viewed them more positively because of the rosier outlooks going forward. Its finally safe to say the international recovery is underway, and its starting to broaden out, said Byron Pope, an analyst with Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. in Houston. With the exception of a freefall in Venezuela and looming sanctions impacts in Iran, Latin America, the Middle East, Russia, Europes North Sea and parts of Asia are all seeing more signs of renewed activity, he said, despite a lot of global volatility. One of the biggest regions of concern now is West Texas booming Permian Basin. where oil production is at record levels. Pipeline and labor restraints are expected to stymie much more growth until new pipelines under construction start coming online next summer. But the Permian is almost certain to keep growing in the back half of 2019 even if it plateaus until then, said Jim Wicklund, an analyst at Credit Suisse in Dallas. We havent had that kind of visibility in the sector in almost forever, Wicklund said. jordan.blum@chron.com twitter.com/jdblum23 Saturday, Aug. 25 marks an important deadline for flood insurance policyholders seeking additional money for flood damage caused by Hurricane Harvey. The fast-approaching deadline to file a Proof of Loss form makes Cate Biggs nervous. As an attorney for Long & Long, she has seen many people miss out on potential insurance payments during her 10 years in the field. Weve seen it after every single storm so many people call us a week after the deadline and theres nothing we can do to help them because they did not preserve their rights, Biggs said. There have been such terrible cases out there when we were fighting against FEMA for people who had missed the deadline even by an hour. There is a push for education outreach by some entities, like the Houston-based firm Long & Long, to inform the public about this deadline and what it means for people with insurance who were affected by Hurricane Harvey. Long & Long held a community consultation meeting in Kingwood on Wednesday, July 19. A Proof of Loss form must be submitted by National Flood Insurance policyholders in order to prove the cost amount of their actual flood damages that they are claiming. After Harvey, in an effort to get money in the hands of policyholders more quickly, the Federal Emergency Management Agency decided to waive the initial Proof of Loss requirement, which is the requirement that policyholders must submit a signed Proof of Loss form before getting their claim paid. Instead, FEMA decided that after a claim was filed, the policyholder could get an advance payment, which would be deducted from the final claim payment amount. An adjuster would be sent to assess and report the extent of damage back to the insurance company. If more flood damage is found later, or the policyholder thinks they should have received a larger payment from the insurance company, they are required to fill out and send in a Proof of Loss form along with supporting documentation. Typically, a policyholder has 60 days to attempt to get more insurance money. For Harvey claims, FEMA extended this deadline to one year after the date of loss a year after Hurricane Harvey. If a Proof of Loss is not submitted by the deadline, a policyholders claim will be closed. The deadline for submitting a Proof of Loss form extremely inflexible, she explained. Informing people about the Proof of Loss deadline faced unique challenges after Harvey when compared with other storms. Due to Hurricane Harveys vast reach across numerous communities, getting information to all who were impacted requires more of a concerted effort than in a smaller storm-affected community. Additionally, Biggs said that some people confuse the initial Proof of Loss waiver and Proof of Loss deadline extension and think that FEMA waived the Proof of Loss requirement entirely. I talk to maybe one person a day that understands what a Proof of Loss deadline is and I would say really 1 out of every 10 to 15 have no idea that this deadline is coming up, Biggs said. There are not many steps required to submit a Proof of Loss, which is a one-page document available on the FEMA website. However, Biggs said the form must be completed properly and the language may be confusing in which case people may decide to seek professional consultation. Included among what constitutes supporting documentation is an expert estimate report. You either have to get an adjusters estimate on your own and there are a lot of private estimators that work on their own, Biggs said. We have experts that work for us and then a public adjuster can give you an estimate, just to preserve your rights, and that needs to be attached to the Proof of Loss and it needs to be mailed in. The address is on FEMAs website. More information about Proof of Loss can be found on the www.FEMA.gov website. mfeuk@hcnonline.com Governance in the age of social media I dont suppose I have addictive food habits but I am compulsive about consuming information. As a journalist, Im always on the lookout for new information, especially events and happenings. Even when all other sources are exhausted, social media pages never run out of information. Day in and day out, I scroll through timelines in my quest to find new ideas and perspectives. A Plano, Texas man is mourning the loss of his wife of seven years after she was found dead in a creek on Thursday, July 19. Elizabeth "Libby" Davis who had been dealing with severe depression and anxiety ran her car off the road on July 18 and fled on foot, according to a Twitter post shared by her husband, Kevin Davis. SO SAD: Vacation takes tragic turn for Houston family after medical emergency According to the Dallas Morning News, after spending the night searching, Davis' body was discovered not far from her vehicle, face down in a creek. Foul play is not expected. Davis' husband shared a touching tribute post to Facebook where he described his late wife as a "bright light in this world" who was a "maven of friendship." "Words can't express the loss this is for me and our baby; that Michelle will grow up without her sweet loving mother is a fact that I can hardly stomach. Thank you all for the love and support, my heart is weirdly full even as I grieve," Her husband wrote. "I feel so lucky to have been married to this stunning angel of a human being for the time I had." Davis suffered from postpartum depression since giving birth to her daughter a condition that affects about one in nine women according to the CDC and can include symptoms such as crying more than usual, anger, withdrawing from loved ones, feeling distant from your baby, worrying or feeling overly anxious, thinking about hurting yourself or your baby, or doubting your ability to care for your baby. A GoFundMe campaign was set up in order to help cover some of the costs associated with Davis' funeral expenses and future care for her daughter. If you or a loved or are suffering from postpartum depression, see your doctor or call the Postpartum Support International helpline at 1-800-944-4773. Take a look through the gallery above to see a checklist that can help moms identify and combat symptoms of postpartum depression. Daniela Sternitzky-Di Napoli is a digital producer. You can follow her on twitter at @Dani_DiNapoli. A would-be robber is dead after a shootout with Harris County deputies that landed three teens in handcuffs following a botched heist Friday afternoon near Copperfield Place, according to authorities. At least four teens holed up in a vacant apartment on Point Park and ordered take-out food around 3 p.m., allegedly part of a plot to rob the delivery driver, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office. The robbery crew allegedly stole cash and other things from the driver, sheriff's spokesman Thomas Gilliland said. Responding deputies surrounded the apartment, but the suspects crept into the neighboring apartment through a shared attic space and tried to escape, Gilliland said. Deputies got a key to one of the apartments and opened the door - and one of the teens immediately opened fire, according to authorities. The deputies retreated and took cover, and the suspects escaped through an upstairs apartment, sparking a foot chase. During the pursuit, 19-year-old Javier Lopez allegedly fired several shots at deputies. He stopped near the Chesapeake Apartment complex leasing office and turned around, officials said, then pointed a revolver at police. In response, ten sheriff's deputies and a Cy-Fair ISD police officer started shooting, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. Lopez was wounded and died at the scene. The other suspects initially fled, but by 6 p.m. authorities took them into custody, Gonzalez said. Two juveniles - a 13-year-old and a 15-year-old - were charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, along with 17-year-old Joshua White. As the shootout and manhunt ensued, Abbi Trinidad was one of several residents in the complex who was forced to shelter while police searched for the suspects. Trinidad says she locked her children in a closet and stood guard with a gun in her hand as officers surrounded her building. "It's a relief," Trinidad said after learning the seven suspects were caught. "I was starting to panic, being stuck inside not knowing what was going on." This shooting is now being investigated by the sheriff's Internal Affairs unit, the Office of Inspector General and the Harris County District Attorney's Office. Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message. Jay R. Jordan covers breaking news in the Houston area. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com | Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan | Email him at jay.jordan@chron.com Community leaders in The Woodlands are asking for help to create a safer, more suicide-aware space by studying the effects of a new mobile app and also taking suicide intervention training beginning this fall. The push for awareness comes amid angst felt throughout the nation, as communities continue to see a rise in the number of people who have died by suicide and as the need to do more to prevent these deaths becomes increasingly apparent. At a recent suicide roundtable in The Woodlands co-hosted by the Grace School of Theology and Cassidy Joined For Hope - a nonprofit dedicated to teen suicide prevention many Woodlands community members came together to discuss ways in which these methods could help prevent suicide locally. Kim Hess, co-founder of Cassidy Joined For Hope, has been leading the charge to get more local involvement since her daughter Cassidy died by suicide in 2015. Talking saves lives, Hess said. Our foundation is collaborating with community members that share our mission to offer suicide awareness and intervention training to anyone in the community beginning in the fall. Suicide prevention must be a community effort. In a June report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, researchers found that suicide rates in nearly every state in the United State rose from 1999 to 2016. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death, but is one of three leading causes on the rise, according to the CDC. At the June 6 standing room only suicide roundtable, Hess, one of the speakers at the roundtable, introduced the idea of a mobile app that would connect children who have suicidal ideation to safe people who could chat with them via text. When a child was looking for someone to talk to and they couldnt just turn to their parents, they could turn to the app, Hess said. There are many suicide safe apps out there, but we liked this one the best, Hess told the room filled with parents, teachers, local law enforcement officials, chaplains, members of the military and various medical professionals. The Montana-based suicide safe app called #Lets Talk features a tab with a Google-like map with drop pins of all the safe spaces in that community. Safe spaces on this app are really all the mental health professionals in that community: counseling, therapists, Hess said. If we have people trained in this community, if we know what to look out for, can we be the safe people? Can we be the safe places on this app? Suicide Intervention Training Ken Schlenker, director of chaplaincy programs and academic affairs at the Grace School, is affiliated with Living Works, an international suicide intervention training company that works with first responders, the faith community, school districts and others in the private sector. Schlenker has trained area law enforcement throughout Harris County and in California using programs offered through Living Works such as suicideTALK, safeTalk and ASIST, which range from hour-long to two-day workshops on taking steps toward suicide prevention, reducing stigma in the community and learning how to recognize those who may have suicidal ideation. Suicide is multifaceted, Schlenker said. There is so many things that contribute to somebody going into this river of suicide. What we need to be able to do is recognize that its not that they want to die; its that they really want to end their struggle. During the courses, students learn how to recognize the symptoms of suicide and the classes provide the resources to those who may need them, Schlenker added. Schlenker said his goal is to get all our training out into the (The Woodlands) community across the board, whether its law enforcement, the faith community, or schools. Its almost like we have to create a safety net, Schlenker said. The community - thats what we are were a net. Thats why we all have to be trained in suicide safe first aid because we never know when that person is going to come across our path. Crisis Intervention in the classroom Officials with the Conroe Independent School District have for years been looking at implementing solutions that could help connect students with resources, counseling and teachers with mental health first aid training. Representatives from the Conroe ISD attended the suicide roundtable on June 6 and had input of their own. Denise Cipolla, coordinator for guidance and counseling at the district, said the school district this year is releasing Anonymous Alerts, an app where students can report or inform the school district about suspicious behavior, including other students who they believe may have suicidal thoughts. It will complement Kid Chat, the districts 24-hour anonymous tip line. Its all programmed to where it gets it to the right referral and the right people will respond, Cipolla said. The school district has agreed to a memorandum of understanding with Tri-County Healthcare for a pilot program of school-based clinics at two schools could benefit dozens of disadvantaged students who may not have otherwise had access to mental health services, she said. The Conroe ISD board of trustees approved the MOU in July. In an interview with The Villager, Cipolla said educators at the district receive yearly training in suicide awareness and prevention; and mental health training every three years. On campuses across the district each year, teachers receive suicide and CISD protocol training. In addition to the in-service education, staff development classes, mentorship programs, educational presentations and other training educators must go to throughout the year, some teachers also sponsor support clubs on campuses. One example is the Joined For Hope Clubs, which are dedicated to the memory of Cassidy Hess, a 16-year-old College Park junior, who died by suicide in December 2015. According to the Cassidy Joined for Hope Foundation, the Joined for Hope clubs help break the silence about mental health and teen suicide by beginning these conversations in the schools. The Cavs Joined for Hope, which began in the fall 2016, was the first club that was formed after Cassidy died; and in the three years since, the Cassidy Joined for Hope Foundation now sponsors a total of five clubs. Hess said the clubs are where officials from the Cassidy Joined For Hope Foundation originally got its idea for a mobile app directed at children, noting she believed the Montana-developed app could be localized for The Woodlands and used to help connect children with resources and safe people. Safe People The idea of the app gave way to a healthy discussion at the roundtable about how it would be administered. Questions about whether there would be an administration staff person behind it - such as the Cassidy Joined For Hope Foundation - or whether there would have to be background checks done on the safe people who would potentially chat with the children who needed help and whether the children would even use the app in the first place. The concept of Safe people would be defined as those who would have taken the Living Works training and had received a certificate from the classes, Schlenker said, adding that it could be anyone in The Woodlands community. The rollout of safe people would start with the Joined For Hope clubs this fall and would then continue with community. The app might contain a safe persons profile, physical safe place, such as coffee shops that could be considered neutral areas where safe people could meet. Hess contacted the creators of the Montana-based #Lets Talk app, Alliance for Youth, and discovered it cost about $20,000. After speaking to the developers, she said she got the nonprofit discount of $ 6,000, but said shes still looking for ideas to localize the #Lets Talk app. But before Hess can begin the project, the community must be willing to have an open dialogue, she said. It takes a village to battle suicide The Montgomery County Sheriffs Office and other law area law enforcement officials have been working toward maintaining safe places for those that may need support when thinking of suicide. Lt. Scott Spencer, the communications officer for the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office south county office in The Woodlands, said deputies in his agency are prepared to work jointly with other law enforcement officials in the community and are trained to maintain an open dialogue with mental health professionals, so that then they may better deal with a person who is in crisis. We need to have open communication about suicide and suicide prevention, Spencer said, adding that the agency has a 12-person crisis intervention response team and full-time chaplain thats trained to deal with mental health issues. Just down the road at Montgomery County Precinct 1 Constables Office, Lt. Brian Luly and his crisis intervention team, are the definition of it takes a village. The Precinct 1 Constables Office, together with Tri-County Healthcare, are the authority when it comes to mental health in Montgomery County, Luly claimed. Lulys team are often the first responders that go to the scene of a person who may be having suicidal ideations. :uly said its his teams job to talk them down. And they dont do it in full-blown uniforms, Luly said, adding that officials ensure the safety of person and then check on them 30 days later. We want them to feel at ease, he said. Luly agrees with leaders in The Woodlands who believe that it takes a village to cope with suicide. He said believes in a strong support system and a strong safety net. Mental health for the longest time has had a stigma, Luly said. Its almost has if we dont talk about it, you dont see it. People dont understand that its an illness. Its not something that if you just wish it, it will go away. Its something as a community that we could all help out with. We are always going to have somebody in crisis. Govt and social activist yet to begin formal talks Formal talks between the representatives of Dr Govinda KC and the government have yet to begin after the agitating doctor was forcibly flown to Kathmandu from Jumla on Thursday. Massive rally in support of Dr KC (In photos) Thousands of supporters of Dr Govinda KC took out a rally from Maitighar to New Baneshwor in Kathmandu on Saturday in support of the fasting doctor. Binod Ghimire covers parliamentary affairs and human rights for The Kathmandu Post. Since joining the Post in 2010, he has reported primarily on social issues, focusing on education and transitional justice. A Katy woman was arrested in Wichita County on Thursday after she allegedly tried mailing meth to a high-profile Conroe double murderer in a North Texas prison, according to local reports. Sara Elizabeth Russell was jailed Thursday and held on $10,000 bond after an Allred Unit mailroom worker spotted an unexpected bulge disguising a powdery packet stashed in an incoming card, according to KFDX. The handmade note allegedly included written instructions - apparently tips for how to disguise the drugs inside. The illicit supplies were allegedly headed to prisoner Jason Aaron Burkett, a Montgomery County man who later admitted he'd made the card and mailed it to Russell, according to investigators. But he said that, despite the packaging instructions, he wasn't asking her to send him drugs. The Texas Department of Public Safety crime lab tied fingerprints on the package back to Russell, the TV station reported, and jail records show she was charged with one count of prohibited substance in a correctional facility. READ MORE: Inmate executed for Conroe nurse's murder Burkett is serving a life sentence for his role in a brutal 2001 triple murder that left dead two teens and a mother. His co-defendant, Michael James "Romeo" Perry, was executed in 2010 for the drug-fueled slaying of 50-year-old Sandra Stotler, a nurse killed in her tony Bentwater home near Lake Conroe. In 2001, two fisherman found her body wrapped in a blanket and tossed in Crater Lake. The bodies of her 16-year-old son Adam Stotler and his 18-year-old friend Jeremy Richardson were later recovered in a wooded area west of Conroe. Minutes before he was put to death, Perry called his execution an "atrocity" and blamed the woman's slaying on Burkett, saying his initial confessions were coerced through physical intimidation. "Burkett should be up there, too, on the gurney with him," Charles Richardson, Jeremy's brother, said after witnessing the execution. "This was friends stabbing friends in the back." Before trial, a jailhouse snitch apparently backed Perry's claim, writing in an affidavit that Burkett had admitted to all three killings Still, Burkett netted a life sentence for the boys' deaths. It's not clear if he'll face additional charges stemming from the alleged smuggling attempt. A teen was shot to death late Friday near a south Houston gas station, according to police. Gunfire broke out around 11:30 p.m., after an argument that started by the Citgo parking lot near Kenilwood and Martin Luther King, authorities said. After the dispute, the teen left on foot, but a group of men jumped in a car and followed him. They caught up a few blocks away, where one of them shot the teen several times. First responders rushed to the scene to try to save him, but he died in the street. The suspects fled and are still at large. Authorities did not immediately offer a description, and it's unclear if any witnesses saw the shooting. Three Texas prison officials were arrested this month in an alleged scheme to set tractor parts on fire in a burn pit behind a Houston County lock-up as part of an apparent attempt to dispose of evidence in an investigation. Eastham Unit farm shop property manager Jason Omelina was charged with theft and two higher-ranking officials based in Huntsville, Terry Price and Rick Ellis, were charged with tampering with evidence, according to court records. Texas prison officials highlighted the trio of felony arrests as an example of accountability and diligent oversight, but lawyers for the accused framed the charges as agency overreach unfairly smearing good employees. "This isn't some big collusion out there to bury some evidence," said attorney Bryan Cantrell, who's representing Ellis. "I am honestly lost as to why they think the facts as alleged in the probable cause statement support the prosecution of a crime." TAMPERING: 4 Texas prison officials indicted after alleged screwdriver-planting incident at Brazoria lockup Aside from flagging the Office of the Inspector General to investigate the case, prison officials have forwarded the matter to the Internal Audit Division and the State Auditor's Office. It's not clear how much material was allegedly burned and buried. "Integrity is one of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's core values and the department is committed to rooting out wrongdoing and holding employees accountable," said prison spokesman Jeremy Desel. "TDCJ is moving forward with employee disciplinary action against the individuals." Officials couldn't immediately clarify what that disciplinary action entailed or whether the men had been suspended. The alleged misdeeds began when an inmate tried smuggling farm equipment off the unit, Desel said. An internal investigation at the prison determined the goods had come from the unit's farm shop. It's not clear whether any prisoners were charged, but an investigation into the theft uncovered another possible set of misdeeds. In early July, according to court filings, the Office of the Inspector General started probing allegations that prison employees had taken surplus tractor parts and farm equipment from the unit's farm shop. But there was already an ongoing investigation, so the men allegedly decided light the equipment on fire and bury it in a pit outside the prison. Investigators found the pit, and questioned a number of workers and inmates. Ultimately, they determined that Price had allegedly ordered Ellis, who had in turn allegedly told Omelina to "make the state's surplus assets disappear," according to court filings. But Ellis's attorney offered a different take on what happened. The tractor parts the prison workers were accused of stealing, he said, were surplus goods left in the back of the shop for several years, ever since they'd been moved from another facility. BOYS' CLUB: Still a boys club: Texas prison system faces allegations of harassment, discrimination The men hadn't been trying to steal them, he continued, and didn't know they would be considered evidence. Instead, they were just trying to dispose of surplus property - and didn't have any idea it would be done out of compliance with agency protocol. It's not clear if Omelina has a lawyer yet, and the Chronicle wasn't able to reach him directly for comment. Attorney Paxton Adams, who is representing Terry Price, didn't offer on-the-record comment. The arrests come on the heels of another set of charges against prison officials accused of tampering. Earlier this month, four officials at the Ramsey Unit in Brazoria County were indicted after they allegedly conspired to plant screwdrivers in an inmate's cell. At the time, a prison spokesman described it as an "isolated incident." The four were charged with felony tampering with governmental records and misdemeanor official oppression after a prisoner's mother came forward with the allegations. In the past five years, there have been more than 75 arrests or charges of tampering with evidence or records filed against TDCJ officers, records show. That figure only includes cases investigated by the Office of the Inspector General, and it doesn't indicate how the cases were ultimately resolved. A jury returned a not guilty verdict late Friday evening for a woman charged in the killing of a man who allegedly raped her friend at his Cinco Ranch home. Monserrat Carrillo-Castilla, 21, openly sobbed and embraced one of her attorneys, Asha Reddi, as the verdict was read around 8:20 p.m. The former dancer and escort faced a murder charge in the 2016 death of Willie Honable Jr., 36, an alleged pimp and aspiring rapper. She pleaded not guilty, but witnesses testified this week that she confessed to wanting to kill Honable because she was upset that he allegedly raped her friend. She said she also wanted to steal drugs and clothes from his home, a witness testified. During closing arguments Friday morning, the defense attorney described Carrillo-Castilla as a girl who went down the wrong path and got involved with a dangerous crowd. She was sold a dream, and she bought it, Reddi said. Still, no DNA or other forensic evidence tied Carrillo-Castilla to the crime scene, according to Reddi. All this because a friend didnt get paid for sex? Reddi said. Does this story make any sense to you? During testimony Thursday, the friend who says she was raped recounted on the stand how she and Carrillo-Castilla met in middle school and rekindled their friendship as dancers at a strip club and later as escorts. The two expected to go out for dinner with Honable and to get money from him, she said. The night took an unexpected turn, however, when the friend said Honable tried to force himself on her while they were upstairs in a room at his home. He stopped when she said no, and the two returned downstairs. The friend later said that Carrillo-Castilla admitted to killing the man. Prosecutors said the timeline of events added up to Carrillo-Castilla being at the scene and committing the murder. You need to hold the defendant accountable,attorney Susan Sweeney said to the jury. Dont let her use her violent friends as an excuse. The jury spent more than eight hours deliberating before delivering the nonguilty verdict. Part of the art Public display of affection is still frowned upon in Nepal and South Asia. Nepal Police still routinely harass couples enjoying their privacy in the quiet of hotel rooms, LGBT rights have been secured but sexuality is not yet open for public discussion. Chapters on human reproductive organs, as mandated by the government curriculum, are glossed over by teachers in schools, while sex education for young adults is either avoided or entirely dismissed by parents. AUSTIN -- His T-shirt calls him "your friendly neighborhood Democrat." His demeanor at a Cleburne rally on Friday seemed anything but. Here's what happened: Matthew Heidecker, a campaign aide to Gov. Greg Abbott, was attending an afternoon Democratic Party event in Cleburne where gubernatorial nominee Lupe Valdez was appearing with Congressional candidate Julie Oliver. In the politics biz, he's called a "tracker" who shadows an opposing candidate. Campaigns have done it for years, and Heidecker has been tracking Valdez since early this year -- so long that Valdez often introduces him as her "Greg Abbott tracker" at her events. LISTEN: Will this be the year of 'reverse coattails' in Texas Things have remained cordial. On Friday, though, after the political event ended, a man identified by Abbott's campaign only as "an event organizer" followed Heidecker out of the hall and started yelling -- as Heidecker started recording the exchange. "You gonna record me? Okay, please. Please record me," the man says on the video provided to reporters by Abbott's campaign. "Please record me, you commie bastard. You're creating more of a problem than anything else." "Now, you wanna go call the cops?" Heidecker responds with, "no, sir." "Well, make sure Abbott gets the idea," the angry Democrat, who was not identified, shouts back. "You 're not worth me . . . you little weasel," he says as he heads back into the building. Lizzie Lewis, communications director of the Valdez campaign, said Heidecker caused no disruption at the rally. She said Linda Brown, chair of the Johnson County Democratic Party, intends to meet with the man next week to address his outburst. "We don't condone that behavior," Lewis said. PM Oli proposes integrated plan to develop Tarai Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has proposed the leaders of Rastriya Janata Party-Nepals presidium of developing a plan for integrated development of Tarai region. Give People Money: How a Universal Basic Income Would End Poverty, Revolutionize Work, and Remake the World, by Annie Lowrey (Crown, 272 pp., $26) The issue is not that the United States cannot pull its people above the poverty line, writes Annie Lowrey, but that it does not want to. Americas safety net fails people because it is designed to do so, she argues, woven as it is with deliberate and large holes. The solution, per the title of her new book, is to Give People Money. The idea, specifically, is a universal basic income (UBI)a government program that would send $1,000 to every American, every month, no strings attached, giving everyone enough to live on. A family of four would get $48,000, nearly equal to the nations median household income. Lowrey is a wonderful writer, and to make her case for UBI she takes readers on a fascinating global tourfrom the border between the Koreas to rural Kenya, from the International Auto Show in Detroit to homeless shelters in Maine. The book falls short, though, when it moves from narrative to analysistranslating these examples, and the societal failings and challenges that they reveal, into the case for a radical policy. It mistakes a shiny object for a silver bullet. In Lowreys indignant telling, many perplexing problems of the human condition are merely a failure of political will or compassion. What we often think of as economic circumstance, Lowrey explains, is largely a product of policy. The way things are is really the way we choose them to be. She believes that poverty in the United States is a choicenot for those in poverty, but for the society that allows them to suffer. Guaranteeing that all households receive money in excess of the government-defined poverty threshold would, to state the obvious, end poverty. To state the obvious, it would not. Perhaps giving people money could reduce the federal governments official calculation of the poverty rate down to zero. But the poverty rate is just an abstract data point, intended to approximate the share of the population living in conditions of poverty. Giving everyone a basic income would not eliminate those conditions. For one thing, many people are incapable of using resources well. The additional cash flowing each month to drug addicts might end up in the pockets of their dealers. Nor does cash address the needs of the homeless population suffering from severe mental illness. These situations may be outliers, but so are the ones that Lowrey uses to indict the current safety net. She introduces readers to Carolyn Silvius, homeless because living with her kids was too burdensome for them and [they] thought she might get better social support if she were in a shelter; and to Sandy Bishop, who suffered from arthritis, fibromyalgia, asthma, diabetes, and attention-deficit disorder but never received disability benefits, repeatedly lost her food stamps, and wound up homeless as well, despite sending a daughter to college and receiving two modest inheritances along the way. Perhaps poverty is not just a matter of consumption. Artificially raising everyones income does nothing to make the recipients more productive or to enable their participation in the economy and society. To the contrary, a UBI would not only excuse the well-off from concern for those falling behind; it would also exempt those falling behind from the obligation of providing for themselves. A UBI would pave the otherwise-rocky road through life for people who fail to form stable families or prepare for and invest in their own futures. Having three children would guarantee a middle-class income without spouse or employment. Those children would face no imperative to get an education and a first, perhaps low-paying, job that often serves as a prerequisite to a second, better job, and a third, and so on. That they each would have $12,000 to live on is no defense. We know what this looks like because the benefit is roughly equivalent in value to disability or Social Security. People trying to get by solely on that amount in a depressed and dissolving communityor, for that matter, in a booming but high-cost metropolisare rarely held up as victories in the War on Poverty. Lowrey seems conflicted about such drawbacks. On one hand, she is committed to the claims of the books subtitlethat a UBI would not only end poverty but also revolutionize work and remake the world. Thus, she writes, a UBI would allow[] people not to work and even change societys understanding of value and labor. She disparages the American cult of self-reliance and asks, Why take a crummy job for $7.25 an hour when you have a guaranteed $1,000 a month to fall back on? On the other hand, she doesnt embrace a work-optional future. She dismisses fears of a workforce exodus as disproven conclusively. And she insists that, Surely, the members of the [Ortiz family of six] old enough to work would not stop working, even with the family receiving $72,000 per year in government cash. But in her next sentence, she notes that the Ortiz parents could now refuse what she considers terrible working conditions. Theres a fundamental tradeoff here with which the book fails to grapple. We want to help those who cannot help themselves, but we also want people who can help themselves to retain the obligation to do so. Providing too little help to the needy has real costs; so does eliminating expectations and obligations for everyone else, with an inundation of unearned benefits. We ought to have learned this lesson by now, after 50 years spent flooding impoverished communities with trillions of dollars in assistance, only to find the poverty rate higher today than it was in the 1970s. Our system sometimes fails not because we want it to, but because any system is imperfect, and because painful tradeoffs are unavoidable, and because government will never get it quite right. We can do better and should strive to, and Lowreys reporting can helpsome people in homeless shelters undoubtedly do need a temporary boost to get back on their feet. But solving the problem by indiscriminately spraying cash at everyone only guarantees that, for most people, we will be getting it very wrong. Photo: Milkos/iStock A new report finds a dramatic increase in the number of emergency removals of children by the New York City Administration for Childrens Services. Agency records show that 2,303 emergency removals which are removals when a child is taken from a home before the case is brought to a family court judge happened between October 2016 and May 2018. That number represents an approximately 30 percent increase compared to the previous 20-month period, according to the report from The New Schools Center for New York City Affairs. The jump follows a historical pattern in which high-profile deaths lead to more strain on the system as calls from anxious members of the public increase and caseworkers become more aggressive for fear of losing another child in a dangerous situation. Family courts have swelled to a new level of dysfunction, the report says, yet the total number of children actually placed in foster care remains near record lows. Observers inside and outside ACS say the surge of cases is driven by heightened anxiety and caution both among members of the public, who are calling in more reports of possible child abuse and neglect, and among child welfare staff, who are responding to those reports more aggressively, reads the report. The surge in emergency removals began in October 2016 around the same time as the deaths of 6-year-old Zymere Perkins and 3-year-old Jaden Jordan. The deaths led to the resignation of Gladys Carrion as commissioner of the agency. David Hansell was appointed commissioner in February of 2017. Caseloads spiked to nearly 14 per child protective worker from 11.6 three years ago nearly double what a proper caseload would be. And bringing on hundreds of new employees is only a partial solution given the historically high rates of staff attrition within the agency, according to Ronald Richter, a former ACS commissioner quoted in the report. Just how many of those cases leads to emergency removals remains a mystery, because the agency only discloses data on removals that received court sanction, according to the report. The ACS monthly reports upon which the report is based do not indicate a total number of children removed from their homes by ACS. They also do not tell which children are reunited with families at the initial court hearing or after the judge decides a case after the first day, according to the report. At this point everybodys so afraid, theyd rather cover their ass, one caseworker who requested anonymity said in the report. Take the case to court and let the judge say no (to an emergency removal). Then we can document we tried ... Nobody wants to end up with their face in the Daily News. They dont want to face criminal charges. The total number of emergency removals is likely much higher than those upheld in Family Court, Joyce McMillan, director of programming at the Child Welfare Organizing Project, said in a telephone interview. I think its a lot of cases and thats why ACS is refusing to capture it in its entirety because it will show their overzealousness, she added. An ACS spokeswoman did not say why the agency does not release the number of emergency removals that happen but are not endorsed by a judge at a court hearing. Additional resources and oversight have been allocated to the agency under the tenure of Commissioner David Hansell, Chanel Caraway said in an email. Commissioner Hansell has made top-to-bottom improvements at ACS, strengthening our child-protective work and expanding the services we provide to support families, she said in the email. McMillan recalled two cases where parents initially refused to cooperate with child welfare investigators who demanded inspections of their homes. The investigators came back with police officers who then stood by as the children were removed from the families though they were returned soon thereafter. The agency has filed petitions in Family Court involving nearly 26,000 children in the 20 months after Perkins death. Judges are petitioned to order a family to participate in services such as drug treatment and family therapy, according to the report. The agency can also continue to monitor the family. Placements in foster care have gone up a slight 4 percent in the 19 months after Perkins death. That runs counter to a longtime decline in the foster care population. About 45,000 children were in the foster care system in the mid-1990s, but only about 8,600 are in placement now. Still, family judges now sometimes have only 10 minutes to hear cases that will determine whether children get to stay with their parents. But they will likely not dismiss a case, according to Richter, who has served as a Family Court judge. They too are anxious about having a child die because a decision they might make, he said in the report. The system as a whole has over-reacted to the child deaths and that has led to other children getting traumatized when their parents have just a few minutes in the middle of the night to figure out how to react to ACS attempt to remove their child, Emma Ketteringham, managing director of the Family Defense Project at The Bronx Defenders, said in the report. It bears some resemblance to events at the U.S border with Mexico, she told the Center for New York Affairs in the report. With all of this attention being paid, nationally, to what removing a child from a parent actually looks and sounds like. Its no different when a child is removed from a parent here in the Bronx, she said in the report. Read the full report below: Child Welfare Surge Continues(2) by ZacharyEJWilliams on Scribd Two months after former Attorney General Eric Schneiderman resigned over allegations of abusing multiple women, and roughly two months before the statewide primary elections, the Democratic race to replace him is taking shape. New York City Public Advocate Letitia James is hoping to dispel the idea that she is the establishment candidate and Fordham Law professor Zephyr Teachout is embracing her image as an outsider who would challenge Gov. Andrew Cuomo, while the campaign strategies of Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney and Leecia Eve remain elusive. At first, James seemed to be the prohibitive favorite. She was nearly installed in the office for the rest of Schneidermans term by the state Legislature and she won the partys designation at its statewide convention in May. But the race, like the rest of New York politics, was upended by the recent victory of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over longtime Rep. Joe Crowley in the Democratic primary in the 14th Congressional District. Teachout, one of the early endorsers of Ocasio-Cortez, is hoping that the same anti-establishment, anti-corruption wave will also carry her to victory. Teachout has a history of impressive performance: in 2014, entering the race with no name recognition or fundraising network, she managed to pull one-third of the Democratic gubernatorial primary vote. The entry of two other candidates also complicated Jamess path to victory: Eve is, like James, an African-American woman and a veteran of New York Democratic politics, so they may compete for many of the same voters. Maloneys atypical political profile a gay man who is to the right of most Democrats, in keeping with his upstate district might lead him to pull votes from both James and Teachout, but he is very unlikely to take much from Teachouts activist liberal base. In a low-turnout event, such as an off-year primary, that base can comprise a sizable chunk of the electorate. Teachout may lose some progressives to James, but by lowering the percentage Teachout would need to win a plurality the entry of more candidates could give her a better shot at an upset victory. The early polling already points to a divided field. In a Quinnipiac poll released this week, James led the field with 26 percent of the registered Democrats who responded. But 42 percent of Democratic voters remained undecided, while Maloney had 15 percent, Teachout 12 percent and Eve just 3 percent. RELATED: The endorsements for AG so far Bruce Gyory, a Democratic consultant with Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, argued that the effect of the Ocasio-Cortez victory was being overplayed, and that the likeliest predictor of victory was past performance. If so, thats good news for James. Jamess steady winning streak includes two terms in the City Council and two terms as public advocate, which has raised her profile among New York City voters, who comprise 52 percent of the Democratic statewide electorate. Gyory predicted James would get strong support from the African-American community, and in particular, black women, who have supported her in previous elections. Although Teachout may have more name recognition upstate, where she won most of the counties in 2014, Gyory also noted that black voters who may turn out for James represent 20 percent of the upstate Democratic electorate. Voters could be motivated by exhaustion with corruption in Albany, as two previous legislative leaders, former state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, and a former top aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Joseph Percoco, have been found guilty on corruption charges. I do think that we might see people who are inspired and motivated by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's win, and may vote for their first choice candidate and not just for their second choice candidate, Christina Greer, an assistant professor of political science at Fordham University and a McSilver Fellow at New York University, said. After (James) endorsement from Cuomo, and how she disavowed the Working Families Party, it may inspire some progressives to not necessarily vote for Tish who has been a progressive champion but vote for someone like Zephyr Teachout. James is hardly an avatar of the white, male, moderate Democratic Party, as Crowley was. A former public defender and assistant attorney general in charge of the Brooklyn regional office, she was elected to the New York City Council in 2003 solely on the Working Families Party line. In 2013, James became the first black woman to win citywide office. James has often challenged de Blasio from the left, suing his administration on issues such as the Department of Educations insufficient tracking systems for children with disabilities, although her ability to bring sue the city has been blocked by state appellate courts. In May, James received criticism for refusing the WFP endorsement for attorney general. Her detractors believed she was denouncing her former champions in order to curry favor with Cuomo, who is engaged in a long-simmering feud with the party. Meanwhile, James has been endorsed by many figures who could be considered the Democratic establishment, including a raft of elected officials and several unions. In an interview with City & State, James said that she did not accept the WFP line in May because she was focusing on obtaining the Democratic designation for attorney general, and there are far more Democrats than WFP members in the state. (However, one can simultaneously run as the candidate of both parties, so there is no inherent conflict in seeking both nominations.) She said that there was no sunshine between her and the WFP, and that she would accept the partys endorsement if it was offered later. I have been the face of the WFP for a very long time and I have never walked away from their values, she said. Without even being prompted, James challenged the idea that she was an establishment candidate. She argued that no one had considered her to be a member of the Democratic machine until she began running for attorney general. By virtue of who I am, Im an outsider candidate, James said. As a woman, and a woman of color, I think its critically important that individuals understand that we need a diversity of opinions and positions in leadership positions all throughout New York. Many observers agree that her record and biography will insulate her from charges of being too much of an insider. I think you'd be hard-pressed to look at James and say she's not a progressive, said Jeanne Zaino, a political science professor at Iona College. However, by dint of accepting the endorsement of mainstream Democrats, James is tied to Cuomo. When you get endorsed by the governor, who is clearly the establishment candidate, I think being a frontrunner is a double-edged sword, Greer said. Similarly, Teachout is connected to Cuomos Democratic primary opponent, Cynthia Nixon, for whom she briefly served as campaign treasurer. Teachout demurred when asked if she was running on a ticket with Nixon, simply saying that there is a progressive, truth-telling outsider wave in New York politics. She did note that the volunteer bases for many of the progressive candidates across the state overlapped. According to her campaign, James has raised over $1 million for her campaign so far, with 50 percent of donors contributing $100 or less. Teachout led the attorney general candidates in small-dollar fundraising, with 97 percent of donors giving $200 or less, indicating a groundswell of enthusiasm for her campaign. Prominent city figures tout James advocacy on behalf on working class citizens. Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, called James the true progressive candidate. Bill Samuels, a progressive activist and founder of the good government group EffectiveNY, said that he respected both James and Teachout and would vote for either if they won the primary, but that James was more able to reach to average voters. Tish uniquely connects, especially in New York City, to the pains of our diverse communities that are struggling to make it, Samuels said. The calls to City & State from Appelbaum and Samuels were unsolicited. (Having high-profile surrogates contact reporters is a common tactic by Cuomo, the ultimate establishment figure in the state.) On the other end of the partys ideological spectrum, Maloneys decision to join the race remains confounding to experts. He is simultaneously running for re-election to Congress and in the Democratic primary for attorney general, which might be challenged in court, as it is impossible to appear for two positions on a ballot. If Maloney won the nomination for attorney general, he would drop out of the congressional race, leaving Democrats without an incumbent in a competitive district something that may weigh on the minds of the committed partisans who vote in primaries. Maloney sent out a press release saying he raised over $1 million in the first few weeks of his campaign with $4.1 million in cash on hand, as well as 1,500 individual donors, with 90 percent of those funds coming from donations of $200 or less. Its unclear how much of the $1 million was transferred from his congressional campaign account. Maloney said recently that he doesnt care about what the state Democratic Party which naturally would prefer that Maloney not jeopardize a congressional seat when control of the House of Representatives is being closely contested believes about his campaign. Since when the hell do we think the state Democratic Party knows what the hell its doing?, he said in a call with reporters in June. However, experts wonder if Maloney knows what he is doing. He is in a really good position to have a real impact where he is, he had no competition in terms of the primary issue, and to run for both just gives his Republican opponent something to talk about, Zaino said. Maloney would face Republican James O'Donnell in the general election. Greer described Maloney as a man who sees three women running and decides that he should jump in. I'm not exactly sure who he takes votes away from, aside from people who need to vote for a man, Greer said. Maloney is apparently aware of the risk that his gender could be a liability in this field especially when the last elected attorney general was accused of beating multiple women and he is trying to present himself as a womens rights champion. He recently called out the House Committee on House Administration for refusing to allow his office to purchase tampons. His opponents have begun to exploit his vulnerability on womens issues. On Monday, Teachout criticized Maloney for endorsing anti-abortion rights Republican candidates such as state Sen. Bill Larkin in the past. Maloney declined an interview for this article. Eves position in the race also remains somewhat of a mystery, although her campaign reported nearly $400,000 donations. A former Cuomo and Hillary Clinton official, Eve could not be reached for comment. Despite being the daughter of prominent Buffalo public officials, as a first-time candidate with no known ideological distinction from her opponents, its unclear how she can garner votes. Leecia Eve can do very well in Buffalo, but she doesn't have the support of the very popular four-term mayor and state chair, Byron Brown, nor the very popular local assemblywoman, Crystal Peoples-Stokes, who seconded the nomination of James at the convention, Gyory said. Eve has been endorsed by the Erie County Democrats. The two frontrunners, Teachout and James, offer competing visions of what the purpose of the attorney generals office should be. The New York state attorney general's office is, I believe, the most important legal office in the country in the Trump era, said Teachout. I feel like there's a tendency to look at it as another race, or number two or three in New York state, in traditional political terms. This is actually a fight about the future of law in America itself and the most important legal office in the country. James believes that being attorney general is first and foremost is about helping New Yorkers with local issues, and secondarily about challenging what she sees as federal injustices. Obviously, we need to stand up to the abuse that is coming from Washington and attacks on our rights as citizens and attacks against our values, James said, adding that she looked forward to waking up every day, going into the office, suing this administration and then going home. However, she said that she was also concerned with helping New Yorkers on more local issues, such as tenant rights and workers rights. There's a wide range of issues that are impacting New Yorkers, and what we need is an attorney general as a track record of getting things done and speaking truth to power standing up for marginalized communities. Despite her lack of institutional support, Teachout believes that she can win by redefining what it means to be a viable candidate. Viable is not defined the pundits, viable is defined by grassroots energy and moral clarity, and the old rules are off and we're creating new rules, Teachout said. She is betting that the same enthusiasm that helped Ocasio-Cortezs campaign become viable will translate into success of insurgent candidates statewide and her own victory. Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly identified the Republican running against Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney for Congress. Cookie Preferences Cookie List Do Not Sell My Personal Information When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. 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They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools. If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page. John Liu, the first Asian-American citywide elected official who served as New York City comptroller before becoming embroiled in a fundraising scandal, is attempting a political comeback. After losing both his 2013 bid for mayor and 2014 run for state Senate, he is making a second run for the 11th Senate District. Liu is challenging state Sen. Tony Avella, a member of the now-defunct Independent Democratic Conference, whom Liu previously faced in 2014, in the Democratic primary. But he tells reporters not to call it a comeback. When asked if he considered this race a political comeback, Liu bluntly said, No. When asked if he cared to elaborate, Liu responded again, No. Liu joined the race against Avella just days before the window closed to get on the ballot, taking on the mantle of progressive challenger after another Democratic candidate, John Duane, dropped out of the race. Liu said that he was dismayed by the lack of Democratic challengers to Avella, and he told representatives of progressive organizations that he would run if and only if they were able to mount a successful petition drive. Organizations like True Blue New York, No IDC NY and Empire State Indivisible helped Liu gather the necessary 3,000 signatures. New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson has also offered Liu his support. All the former IDC members are now paying the primary price for breaking away from the mainline Democratic Party, giving Republicans de facto control of the state Senate. Liu believes that the electoral terrain is different in 2018 than it was in 2014, due to increased progressive activism after what he calls the cataclysmic election we saw in November 2016 at the national level. People are coming to understand more clearly how the IDC has been disruptive and obstructive to progress in New York, Liu said. Unlike many progressive challengers to former IDC members, Liu is cautious about drawing parallels between his race for state Senate and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezs stunning victory in a slightly overlapping congressional district. I would not necessarily translate everything that happened in Congressional District 14 to Senate District 11, he said. If you ask about the excitement and affirmation of possibilities, that particular election only accentuated all the good things that could happen. Liu did not mince words, however, when discussing whether previous controversy could hinder his campaign. In 2013, Lius mayoral candidacy was derailed by a scandal in which two of his former associates used straw donors to contribute to his campaign. These donations were reimbursed by others, and they were used in an attempt to gain matching funds from the city. The city Campaign Finance Board voted to fine Liu $26,000 in 2017. However, he denied any wrongdoing. Liu remains undeterred by issues around his previous fundraising issues, and echoing another prominent New York politician has called the 2013 investigation into his campaign by then-U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara a witch hunt. The controversy was about government overreach, Liu told City & State. He added that after years of investigation, being wiretapped, and interviews with his supporters, the federal government has never charged him with anything. Im proud to say Im the most thoroughly investigated candidate in New York City, Liu said. Liu, an amateur pilot, will also not be charged for violating New York Citys airspace regulations. He said that he had never flown over his district, as it is illegal for most pilots to fly over the city. When it was pointed out that he would never be able to see his district from above, Liu laughed. You can just go to Google Earth for that, he said. Correction: This article originally referred to Empire State Indivisible as Indivisible New York. AKRON, Ohio - Families of patients at Akron Children's Hospital now have something to take their minds off their concerns. A Short Story Dispenser installed Friday in the fourth-floor surgical waiting room now delivers free stories to help families pass the time prior to their child's medical procedure. At the touch of a button, the dispenser prints one-, three- or five-minute stories from a range of genres. Two other dispensers soon will be installed at the Robert K. Pfaff Metro RTA Transit Center and the Akron-Canton Regional Airport. The Akron-Summit County Public Library is one of four libraries selected to distribute the dispensers, which were issued through a partnership between Public Library Association and Short Edition, a community publishing company. The Free Library of Philadelphia, the Richland Library in Columbia, South Carolina and the Wichita Public Library were also selected. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation funded the program as part of its efforts to foster creative community connections. The story dispensers are designed to promote reading through public libraries and their programs, while encouraging writers to share their work through Short Edition's digital content platform. Paws, the library lion cub, Library Director Pam Hickson-Stevenson, Children's Hospital President Grace Wakulchik and Knight Akron Program Director Kyle Kutuchief await a short story from the new dispenser. The Akron library is among the first group of libraries in the U.S. to use the digital short story platform. A startup company, Short Edition launched the digital dispensers in 2015 in France to bring literature to unexpected places, like airports, hospitals and shopping centers. "We are certainly delighted to have been selected as a partner in this initiative and we know that our community will enjoy printing out short stories on demand, which will reinforce the importance and the joy of reading," said Library Director Pam Hickson-Stevenson. The dispenser at Children's is stocked to dispense stories geared for kids and adults, since both will use the hospital waiting rooms, she said. The hospital waiting room is the right location for the dispenser, said Knight's Akron Program Director, Kyle Kutuchief. "It's a heavily trafficked children's hospital where kids might need a couple minutes of joy in what might need a challenging day," he said. Kutuchief commended Hickson-Stevenson and the library for partnering with Knight on projects outside the library's walls, such as the Akron Art Library, which allows patrons to borrow works of art for up to four weeks with a library card. Knight also partnered with the library on the Akron Food Computer, a project with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's MIT Media Lab. Built at the main branch in downtown Akron, the computer input -- seeds, water, light, soil and data -- results in vegetables as output. 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. Hit-skip, Noble Road: At 4:40 a.m. July 15, it was found that someone had driven a car into the Cleveland Heights Police Academy building, 2595 Noble Road. The car's driver was not on the scene when police arrived, approximately an hour after the crash took place. An officer viewed surveillance video and watched as a car was driven off northbound Noble Road, across the small curb that separates the academy and the neighboring Shell gas station, and into a large stone at the front of the building. The car's brake light did not show until the car had crossed over the curb, leading police to believe that the driver may have been asleep. The driver, a man, got out of the car, looked at the damage, then got back into the vehicle and tried several times to drive away. The car, however, was no longer in working order. The man then got a backpack from the car and walked away. Police noted that several people were seen on video witnessing the crash, but none contacted police. Officers gathered information about the car's registered owner, a woman, and went to her Cleveland home. The woman told police that she had been at a bar earlier in the morning and said she lost her car keys. She said friends drove her home and that she intended to return to the bar with a spare key to get her car. The woman said that no one had permission to use her car. Domestic violence, East Derbyshire Road: At 11:45 p.m. July 17, police were called to a home where a mother and her 15-year-old daughter had been involved in an altercation. The daughter told officers that an argument began when the mother's boyfriend told her mother that the daughter and her two siblings got home later than they actually did. The girl said her mother yelled at her and "got in her space." The mother is also accused of using one hand to choke the girl, of scratching her, and of kicking her legs as the two sat after the initial argument. The mother was also accused of blowing cigarette smoke into her daughter's face. Police arrested the mother and charged her with domestic violence, assault and child endangerment. Disorderly conduct, Mayfield Road: At 11:55 p.m. July 11, police were dispatched to the area around Lakeview Cemetery on a report of an unconscious male on the ground. Police located the man and, eventually, woke him. The man had slurred speech and smelled of alcohol. With the help of EMS, police were able to identify him as a 26-year-old. The man refused EMS treatment and, instead, held his arms up and asked police to arrest him. He was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct/intoxication. While at the jail, the man was uncooperative as he was booked. Robbery, Overlook Road: At 10:20 p.m. July 15, a woman reported that she parked and locked her car in her driveway and, as she walked to her home, was approached by a man. The man said, "Give me your backpack." The woman, 28, did as she was told and the man left on foot towards Euclid Heights Boulevard. Inside the backpack was a laptop computer, headphones and a CPA exam book. The male has not been apprehended. Theft, Mayfield Road: At 11:30 a.m. July 14, police were dispatched to Home Depot, 3460 Mayfield Road, for a theft in progress. A store asset protection specialist told an officer that a man standing in the lot had in a shopping cart two air conditioning units for which he did not pay. Police spoke with the man who said he was attempting to return the merchandise and was unsuccessful in doing so. The Home Depot employee said that the man was seen removing the units from a store shelf, then going to the return line to try and get cash for them. The units have a combined value of $498. The merchandise was recovered and the man was charged with theft. It was also found that the man was on federal probation. A federal probation officer was told of the incident. Burglary, Dresden Road: At 10:30 a.m. July 18, police were called to a home on a report of a burglary. A woman told officers that she left for work at 9:30 p.m. the previous evening and returned home at 9:50 a.m. July 18 to find that her house had been entered. Items in three rooms had been rummaged through. The woman reported nothing missing. She told officers that she had left open her second-floor bedroom window and came home to find the window and screen "wide open." Police noted that the window could be reached by scaling the home without use of a ladder. Disturbance, Glenmont Road: At 8:20 p.m. July 12, a man reported that his wife pulled a knife on him and smashed his phone. The man said he arrived home from work and that his wife began to accuse him of cheating on her. His wife, the man said, threw his phone and computer and threatened to slash the tires of his car. She then slapped him in the face. The woman said she accused her husband of cheating, then threw his belongings onto their bed. They then "tussled." She said that she "mugged" her husband. Both parties told police they did not wish to pursue charges. Police stood by as the man gathered his belongings and left the home. If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Garfield Heights man has been charged with threatening to kill his co-defendant in a case where the two were accused of holding a man gunpoint and pistol-whipping him after the man attacked their dog. Xavier Porch, 30, pleaded not guilty Friday to an intimidation of a witness charge in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. He was ordered held on $20,000 bond. Porch was charged alongside Robert Whittsette in January with felonious assault and abduction in an incident that began when a man hit and killed Whittsette's dog. The driver told police that he and a friend were headed down Revere Avenue about 6:30 p.m. Jan. 10 when a dog ran out in front of his car and he hit it, according to a police report. Whittsette came out of the house and started yelling at him, the driver said. The driver said he apologized and offered Whittsette money for the dog. More people came out of the house, including Porch, police say. Porch and Whittsette pulled out a gun, forced the man to get out of his car and started dragging him toward the backyard, he told police. Whittsette pistol-whipped the man in the back of the head, the report says. The man said he was eventually able to get back to his car and called police. Porch was no longer at the scene when officers arrived, but Whittsette was and police arrested him. He denied the driver's story, the report says. A grand jury indicted Whittsette and Porch later that month. Porch was not arrested. Whittsette pleaded guilty June 18 to two counts of attempted abduction and was released on a personal bond, according to court records. After his release, Whittsette said Porch visited his home several times and threatened to kill him for "snitching," according to a police report. Whittsette called police on June 23 and said that he and his mother were on their front porch when Porch drove by, made eye contact with him and nodded yes to a passenger in the car and then drove away, according to a police report. Whittsette and his mother went inside a few minutes later and he walked to the backdoor, where he spotted Porch in his backyard holding a pistol and an extended clip, the report says. Whittsette said he called police and Porch went back to his car, which he parked on East 112th Street. Police drove by the car and saw Porch sitting inside, the report says. When they turned around and turned on their lights and siren, Porch turned off his car's headlights and then sped away, the report says. Officers said they did not chase the car and went back to interview Whittsette. He told them that Porch had come to his home several times since he was released from jail five days earlier. He said he at first lied to police about the January incident but had recently "become truthful" and told them that Porch pistol-whipped the man. Whittsette told police that he believed Porch really would kill him to prevent him from testifying at his trial. To comment on this story, please visit Friday's crime and courts comments page. INDEPENDENCE, Ohio - Our brunch and breakfast series continues as we check out Bonefish Grill. Here's a look at what to expect: Location + hours: 6150 Rockside Place, Independence, 216-520-2606. It's at the northeast corner of Interstate 77 and Rockside Road. Weekend brunch hours: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday. Menu or buffet? Menu. The eats: Brunch offerings are not expansive but well-chosen. A trio of Benedicts are offered, as is a duo of omelets (Oscar and California-style), half-pound Wagyu beef and egg burger, and French Toast. The latter is Creme Brulee French Toast with Grand Marnier and orange-zest battered, served with a mountain of fresh, light whipped cream and seasonal berries. A side of Applewood bacon is included. The orange flavor on the French Toast was a delicious and unique touch. Don't miss: The Benedicts. We tried a Filet Mignon and Lobster Eggs Benedict. You get a pair - one with steak, one with lobster - and both are delicious. Neither ingredient is a skimpy offering. Draped over the plate were several Asparagus spears shooting out from the poached eggs and the oozing hollandaise sauce. The drinks: Bubbles brunch! Bellinis and Mimosas are $5 with brunch. Ambiance: A strong aroma of bacon wafted outside as we walked from our car to the restaurant. Upbeat pop sounds played inside. A pair of televisions are hung over the separate bar area. Ownership: Bonefish Grill is owned by Bloomin' Brands, which also owns Fleming's Prime Steakhouse, Carrabba's Italian Grill and Outback Steakhouse. Outback, by the way, is adjacent to Bonefish Grill in Independence. Have a brunch spot you've wondered about and want us to visit? Email me. Brunch: Bonefish Grill in Independence 11 Gallery: Brunch: Bonefish Grill in Independence VIEW PHOTOS HERE Previous eats: Northeast Ohio breakfast-brunch spots weve tried: 111 Bistro - Medina 35 Brix - Green Akron Family Restaurant - Akron Alley Cat - Cleveland Bay Diner - Bay Village Beau's on the River - Cuyahoga Falls Big Al's Diner - Cleveland Blue Canyon Kitchen & Tavern - Twinsburg Blue Door Cafe - Cuyahoga Falls Brim Kitchen + Brewery - Willoughby Burntwood Tavern - Brecksville Check Please Cafe - Grafton The City Diner - Cleveland The Eye Opener - Akron First Watch - Fairlawn Flour - Moreland Hills Flury's Cafe - Cuyahoga Falls Flying Fig - Cleveland Fred's Diner - Akron Fresh Start Diner - Twinsburg Gabe's Family Restaurant - Cleveland The Girves Brown Derby - Medina Hofbrauhaus - Cleveland Jennifer's - Strongsville Kelly's cafe - Brunswick Lamp Post - Akron Luxe Kitchen & Lounge - Cleveland Michael's A.M. - Akron Mom's Deli & Grille - North Royalton Mustard Seed Market & Cafe - Fairlawn Tartine Bistro - Rocky River Tony's Family Restaurant - Parma Urban Farmer - Cleveland Valley Cafe - Akron Village Diner - Orange Wally Waffle - Akron Yours Truly - Mentor Police gone wild! Somebody needs to tell our government that its not a good idea to use tear gas, laathis and boots and even bullets against students, nurses and doctors inside a hospital. EUCLID, Ohio -- A Euclid police officer suffered minor injuries Friday when a car knocked him to the ground as it fled a traffic stop. Two suspects were arrested when the car crashed minutes later following a police chase in Willowick, police said. The Euclid police officer stopped the car at 8:52 p.m. in a parking lot on Lakeshore Boulevard near Shore Center Drive, police said. Investigators did not say why the officer first stopped the car. The officer opened the passenger-side door and was talking to the occupants when the driver put the car in gear and sped away, police said. The officer was knocked to the ground and suffered minor injuries. Willowick police officers spotted the car minutes later and chased it. They took two suspects into custody when the car crashed just after 9 p.m. on East 305th Street near the ramp to Ohio 2, police said. Both suspects suffered minor injuries and were turned over to Euclid police, Willowick police said. Euclid police have not announced any criminal charges in connection with the incident. To comment on this story, visit Saturday's crime and courts comments page. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Cleveland man died and two others were hurt in a crash that followed a State Highway Patrol chase early Saturday on the city's East Side. Antonio Whitely, 30, died when the car he was driving crashed into a pole just before 1:15 a.m. on East 124th Street at St. Clair Avenue, the Highway Patrol said in a news release. A 25-year-old woman and a 17-year-old boy were also hurt in the crash, the Highway Patrol and police said. They were taken to University Hospitals for treatment. A Highway Patrol sergeant stopped chasing the car shortly before it crashed, the agency said in the news release. The sergeant tried to stop a 2004 Chrysler Pacifica when he saw it run a red light at 1:11 a.m. on St. Clair Avenue at East 93rd Street. The driver refused to stop and sped away, the Highway Patrol said. The sergeant ended the chase when the car ran another red light at East 110th Street, the Highway Patrol said. Minutes later, the sergeant saw a crowd gathered near Gas U.S.A. on St. Clair Avenue at East 123rd Street. The crowd informed him the car crashed into a utility pole. Investigators determined the car went left-of-center, then over-corrected and went off the right side of the road, the Highway Patrol said. Whitely was pronounced dead at the scene, the Highway Patrol said. The 25-year-old woman's injuries were described as incapacitating, while the teen's injuries were described as non-incapacitating. The Highway Patrol did not offer any additional information about their conditions. Neither the driver nor the two passengers were wearing seat belts, the Highway Patrol said. To comment on this story, visit Saturday's crime and courts comments page. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A 21-year-old man was shot in the head during a drive-by shooting while filming a music video in the city's Glenville neighborhood, according to police and witnesses. The shooting happened about 8:30 p.m. on Tacoma Avenue and Parkwood Drive, police said. The man was also shot in the back and arm, police said. No arrests have been made in the case. The man was filming a rap video at the intersection when a car drove by an opened fire, according to police and witnesses. A witness, who did not want to give his name, said about 25 gunshots were fired. Investigators collected about as many shell casings and took photos of evidence, including a bullet hole in a home about a half-block away on Tacoma. The man was taken to University Hospital, where he was in serious condition. CLEVELAND, Ohio - Ron Packard wants to do a better job with e-schools this time around. Packard, the founder and former CEO of e-school operator K12 Inc., says he made a few mistakes with his old company. Though K12 has made money for investors, the nation's largest operator of online schools has also been heavily criticized nationally for both its business practices and spotty academic results. So Packard wants to take a new approach as operator of the Ohio Distance and Electronic Learning Academy (OhDELA), his newly-acquired, but academically-struggling, online charter school here in Ohio. He's planning several changes to improve OhDELA's F and D grades on state report cards - many fitting a growing national consensus that online schools across the country need to overhaul how they work. Among them: - Requiring more in-person meetings between students and teachers, rather than leaving students mostly on their own to take classes their classes online and from home. "We're trying to create the next generation model, which will be a more service-intensive design to get kids engaged in the process and have more face-to-face time," he said. - Avoiding an old pattern of K12 and other large e-schools - advertising to recruit thousands of students, regardless of whether online classes suit them. "We're not going to go crazy on the advertising," he said. - Making sure that the school makes extra efforts to engage students who are not self-motivated or who don't have lots of parental oversight. - And he wants a fix from the Ohio legislature for a major issue with online charter schools - that any student can enroll in e-schools, then stay even without participating much in classes. "We're not trying to be huge," he said. "I want to make sure we do it right." K12 Inc. started in 1999 and quickly spread across the country under Packard with dozens of online schools - including Ohio Virtual Academy, now Ohio's largest e-school - using K12's online learning system to deliver classes to students. At its peak, the publicly-traded K12 was taking in about $1 billion a year in revenue. But accusations of inflated attendance (leading to inflated state payments) arose in other states, as well as complaints about weak academic results as the school added students by the thousands. In 2011, stories in both the Washington Post and New York Times raised caution about the company. The New York Times called K12 "a company that tries to squeeze profits from public school dollars by raising enrollment, increasing teacher workload and lowering standards." Packard, who had been paid as much as $5 million a year by K12, left the company in 2014. He then focused on building a new, for-profit charter school network of more traditional schools called Accel. That chain now has more than 40 schools in Ohio. In the meantime, online schools nationally have been under increased scrutiny. In 2015, Stanford University researchers reported that students learned so much less in online schools that it was equivalent to skipping 72 days of school in reading and 180 days - almost an entire school year - in math. Those findings led charter advocates to start disowning online schools, to express "outrage" over scores and start calling for changes to e-school laws. Packard's return to online schools with his acquisition OhDELA, which was formerly run by controversial White Hat Management, comes amid that backdrop and Ohio's recent promise to examine e-school funding and rules later this year. "Of course I made mistakes at K12," Packard openly concedes. The biggest? "K12 didn't quite change fast enough to reflect the student demographics that changed coming into the schools," he said. When K12 started, he said, schools would attract students that are a good fit for online schools - motivated, self-directed learners who benefit from a chance to work independently. But not every student is a good fit, he and a growing number of experts say. As K12 advertised to attract students by the thousands and increase its revenue, students came with more challenges. "The overwhelming majority of kids were coming in way behind grade level...and they didn't have support of households. The model needed to change to reflect that." Those students, he said, need far more help from the school. That's why to have students meet with staff more often. It won't be at the level of "blended" schools, which have students take lessons in person a couple days a week, while working online other days. He envisions monthly visits or having students come to a school for tutoring and to take ongoing tests of their progress. "It helps teachers form relationships with students and it helps validate that what we're seeing online is actually happening with the students," he said. That would normally pose a challenge for a statewide e-school, whose students live hours away. But Packard plans to use his 40 other schools across the state as local "resource rooms" for OhDELA students to receive in-person help. He envisions borrowing space from schools with extra room, or just having OhDELA students come in after 3 p.m., when other students leave. Controlling what students enroll in e-schools would take legislative change. As charter schools, online schools are public schools that must accept and teach any student that enrolls. That leads to many enrolling to avoid truancy, but not doing any work. Sometimes schools are happy to leave them on the rolls, so state funding keeps rolling in, but other schools sometimes don't have the ability to kick them out.. Packard views enrolling in an e-schools as a right of any student, but staying is a privilege they have to earn. He envisions an eight-week trial period for new students, followed by a review of their progress. If they do not become more engaged in a month-long probation period, he wants to boot them. "If they're not engaging after twelve weeks, they should be out of there," he said. "Not sitting there for a year." He added: "If a student isn't fully engaged in the process, they can be moved to a brick-and-mortar school," he said. A recruiter for The Art Institutes, left, greets a job seeker at a National Career Fairs job fair in San Diego. David Maung | Bloomberg | Getty Images Shaun Joyce used to sit at his desk at The Art Institute of Charlotte in North Carolina, on edge. That's because a staff member could burst into his classroom at any moment and lead him on the "walk of death." That was when students would be summoned to the for-profit school's financial aid office and told they'd "run out" of loans, Joyce said. Then the student would be informed that he or she needed to borrow more money immediately, or else leave the school. "You never knew if you were coming back," Joyce, now 29, said. On his way to pursuing his bachelor's degree in web design and interactive media at the Art Institute, a former unit of Education Management Corp., which was partially owned by Goldman Sachs at the time, Joyce received such an ultimatum. At one point, there were some 50 Art Institute campuses in operation. Scared the school would not allow him to complete his degree, he signed up for another loan. But, realizing how unaffordable the school was becoming, he also decided to leave the program after two years instead of the four years he'd planned on. The tab for his two-year associate's degree is nearly $90,000. "I switched down to an associate's degree. Why is it this expensive?" he recalled telling the Art Institute staff at the time. "'I'm paying more than what was quoted to me for a bachelor's degree.'" To make matters worse, Joyce has been unable to find a job in his field to repay that huge debt. During enrollment, Joyce claims that Art Institute employees had promised him they'd find him work, related to his studies, yet when he reached out to the school's career services department, a woman just sent him back job links on Craigslist. "This school screwed me over," Joyce said. Multiple requests for an interview with Education Management Corp. went unanswered. The company's website is now down and last month it filed for bankruptcy. "There is no current representative of the debtors available to comment," said Jay Jaffe, one of the company's bankruptcy lawyers. Borrowers are stuck waiting Joyce is now arguing to the Department of Education that it should stop collecting on his federal loans because the school he borrowed them for misled him and engaged in other misconduct. So are some 165,000 other former students, mainly from for-profit schools across the country. However, these borrowers find themselves in limbo as the Trump administration postpones an Obama-era regulation aimed at canceling the debt of those with troubled degrees. Critics argue the administration is siding with for-profit schools, of which there are some 7,000 around the country, over the people who've been burned by them. The for-profit school industry generated around $17 billion in revenue in the 2015-2016 academic year, according to Trace Urdan, a financial analyst studying the market. According to student loan expert Mark Kantrowitz, the sector took in around 15 percent of the government's financial aid funding. Shaun Joyce now owes more than $100,000 for a degree he says hes been unable to use. Source: Shaun Joyce "There should be a clear-cut process for accepting, assessing and ruling on former students' complaints that they were defrauded," said Bob Shireman, a former top Education Department official. "This is what the Obama administration tried to establish, and which the Trump administration is refusing to implement." The Education Department disputes this. "We are still adjudicating claims and are working to craft a rule that provides relief to students who were genuinely defrauded without denying due process to schools or making taxpayers pay the cost of claims lacking substance," a department spokesman said. An audit from the end of 2017 seems to undermine the Education Department's claims. The department's Office of Inspector General found that government staff working on these former students' applications for loan discharge had been instructed not to submit any additional claims for approval. Barmak Nassirian, director of federal relations at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, says the Department of Education needs to take more responsibility. "These folks need relief desperately," Nassirian said. "Their lives are on hold." Dreams aborted "I wanted to get into a field I enjoyed, said Brandon Schultz, 38. The Art Institute of Pittsburgh it sounded fancy. Source: Brandon Schultz Sick of his sales job, Brandon Schultz decided to finally pursue his dream of becoming a graphic designer in 2008. He enrolled in the Art Institute's online division. "I wanted to get into a field I enjoyed," Schultz, 36, said. "The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, it sounded fancy." He was soon disappointed to discover how basic the classes were. "It was just a bunch of beginner lessons on how to use these programs," Schultz said. "I never did any graphic design work." He says communication with professors was sparse and his time with the school's tutors was strictly limited. These folks need relief desperately. Their lives are on hold. Barmak Nassirian director of federal relations at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities "I could only talk to a tutor for so long until they cut me off," he said. "A lot of them couldn't really speak English." He was just one class shy of graduating with his associate's degree in graphic design, he said, when he received a troubling call from someone at the Art Institute. He was told he was out of loans. "I got mad," Schultz said. "I was like, 'What are you talking about? You're telling me at the end of all of this?'" Desperate, he accepted the loan. "I think schools like that prey on the fact that a lot of people don't get guidance about going to college," Schultz said. "They just do what they need to do to get their degree." Schultz went on interviews for graphic design positions, but said he was unprepared for the common job tests these employers assign. Now he strings together a living through odd jobs, such as painting and landscaping, and says there's no way he can repay the more than $80,000 he owes for his time at the Art Institute. He's filed an application with the government, claiming his federal loans should be discharged, but he hasn't heard back. "All I can do it wait for the government to give me some type of judgement," Schultz said. In response to a rash of complaints by students that they'd been defrauded by their schools, the Education Department under President Barack Obama announced a regulation in 2016 that would establish an administrative process for people to have their federal loans canceled if their school turned out to be predatory. That rule was set to take effect July 2017. Just a month before that date, however, an industry group of the for-profit college sector, the California Association of Private Postsecondary Schools, filed a lawsuit with the Education Department, arguing the regulation was outside the government's authority. Soon after, the department announced it was postponing certain provisions of the regulation. A few months later, the department announced yet another delay. Speaking at a conference, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said that under the current rule, all one had to do was raise his or her hands to be entitled to so-called free money. A reputation of deceit Education Management Corp., the Art Institutes' former parent company, was acquired in 2006 by Goldman Sachs, Providence Equity Partners and Leeds Equity Partners. "Private equity has always loved this kind of business because it throws off a lot of cash," said Urdan, who studies the for-profit school market. "It actually has negative working capital needs in that, like all schools, they charge tuition in advance of providing service." The investors took the company public in 2009, at which point Goldman Sachs owned more than 40 percent. Goldman Sachs and Providence Equity Partners both declined to comment, and Leeds Equity Partners did not respond to multiple requests for an interview. The government has acknowledged some of the problems at The Art Institutes in the past. In 2012, the Senate conducted an investigation into the for-profit school industry, finding that Education Management Corp. employed almost five times as many recruiters as it did student service staff. The Senate also found, through internal emails it obtained, that tuition increases were a source of contention on campuses. In one email the Senate reviewed, the group vice president for The Art Institutes-West wrote, I would recommend we have two enrollment agreements for high school students so that it is not a piss off factor having to tell them tuition is increasing just after they started." After one of its tuition hikes, the president of the Illinois Art Institute wrote, I am really concerned that we will lose many of those students since many of the parents are telling [Student Financial Services] that they feel that they have been deceived." The Department of Justice found that Education Management Corp. falsely obtained the $11 billion in federal funding it had received between 2003 and 2011. In 2015, the company agreed to pay $95 million in a settlement with the government to resolve allegations of illegal recruiting, consumer fraud and other violations. That same year, dozens of attorneys general, including those in Alabama, California and Texas, reached a $100 million settlement with the company, which resulted in some loan forgiveness for thousands of former students in states across the country. (For example, eligible students in New York received an average of around $1,300 in loan relief.) Still, the federal government continues to collect on the federal loans of thousands of other former Art Institute students, in some cases garnishing their wages and seizing their tax refunds. None of the requests for debt forgiveness from former Education Management Corp. students, which are up by nearly 60 percent in the last year, have been approved by the federal government, according to Toby Merrill, director of the Harvard Law School's Project on Predatory Student Lending. In theory, there's been a provision in the law for defrauded students to have their federal loans canceled since the 1990s, she said, however, "the government's willingness to create a process to actually effectuate that right is in serious flux." The current administration is working to find a process that's fair to both schools and students, Urdan said. The regulation under Obama, he said, was "incredibly loaded against the schools." "The principal at work in the DeVos department is to say, we want to find a middle ground," he said. "We want to forgive legitimate harm but not create this free-for-all." A would-be chef Kelley McCutchan says the Art Institute took out loans in her name, without her knowing. Source: Kelley McCutchan Before Kelley McCutchan, a single mother of two at the time, enrolled at the Art Institute of California, Orange County, she explained to an employee there that she couldn't take on any debt because she wouldn't be able to repay it. "I said I could only do it if it's through scholarships," said McCutchan, who would go on to study culinary arts at the school. A staffer at the school had good news for her. "He said you won't owe anything," McCutchan said. Then she signed a stack of documents, but, she said, "Nothing said anything about loans." Then, McCutchan didn't receive her tax refund of $720 this year. She quickly checked her credit report and was shocked to find there was some $30,000 in federal loans in her name that had fallen into default. She has asked the government to cancel those loans, but is yet to hear back. Anybody who walks into a program that carries the United States' Department of Education logo has every right to expect the program has been through its due diligence and is not toxic to them. Barmak Nassirian director of federal relations at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Carrie Wofford, president of Veterans Education Success, a nonprofit advocacy group, has said some for-profit schools do not explain to students that they're signing up for loans. She has argued that the "master promissory note," the legal document students sign to agree to repay their loans should instead be titled a "student loan contract," so that people are more likely to understand what they're signing up for. "Theres no question there are veterans with loans they didnt want," Wofford said. "A huge number of veterans complained to us about the Art Institute." Nassirian, the director of federal relations at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, said cases in which schools have students unwittingly sign up for loans are "point blank fraud." "Anybody who walks into a program that carries the United States' Department of Education logo has every right to expect the program has been through its due diligence and is not toxic to them," he said. While former Art Institute students wait on an answer from the government about their student loans, more than 7,000 people have organized online on the Facebook group I Am I, to detail their stories at the schools. Recruitment at the Art Institutes continues California has a history of power lines or faulty equipment sometimes sparking wildfires, and a state fire agency recently pinned the blame on PG&E for at least 16 of last year's wildfires in Northern California, including some with fatalities. PG&E is pushing to reform California laws that allow utilities to face significant liability in wildfire disasters. The state's largest utility appears to have some support from Gov. Jerry Brown, who in March suggested that lawmakers should "update liability rules and regulations for utility services," citing extreme weather and climate change. A newly formed joint conference committee on wildfire issues is scheduled to meet Wednesday and state lawmakers will be looking at issues such as utility liability and accountability along with emergency preparedness and prevention. The panel will hear testimony from utilities, Cal Fire, the California Public Utilities Commission and wildfire experts. "This is the hottest issue in Sacramento now," said Patrick McCallum, an education lobbyist and co-chair of Up from the Ashes, a coalition of fire victims, businesses, cities and counties. McCallum and his wife narrowly escaped from their burning home in the so-called Tubbs fire in Santa Rosa. Nine months later, McCallum is battling it out with his insurance companies as he recovers. McCallum plans to testify during the public comment period at Wednesday's meeting. California suffered one of its most destructive and deadly wildfire seasons ever last year with October's firestorms in the North Bay region and December's record-setting Thomas fire in Southern California. So far this year, the state is already trending above 2017 in terms of acreage losses and number of fires burned, according to Cal Fire. Wildfire prevention "We've had some huge fires and can't change what happened in the past, but we can definitely make a difference going forward," said Assembly Republican leader Brian Dahle, who sits on the wildfire committee and represents rural communities in Northern California where there's a constant risk of wildfire. One of the things that he wants looked at is the fire hazard caused by an abundance of fuel in California forests, such as an estimated 129 million dead trees. The lawmaker also believes the state should consider a better system to measure infrastructure maintenance and how well utilities clear brush and trees from power lines to prevent fires. Moreover, he suggests a review of policies for how to deal with high-wind events such as turning power off to prevent power lines from sparking wildfires. Another important issue that Dahle wants addressed by the joint committee is "security in the utilities being able to stay in business." Earlier this month, the city of Ventura sued Edison International's Southern California Edison unit, claiming the utility's negligence is to blame for the Thomas fire a wildfire that burned nearly 282,000 acres or about 440 square miles. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation. A utility spokesperson said the utility "can't comment due to pending litigation." Inverse condemnation Utilities in California face liability under what's known as inverse condemnation as well as for negligence claims for wildfire and other damaging incidents caused by such things as power lines or other utility equipment. There are state regulations requiring strict vegetation management practices by utilities, and they include standards for keeping vegetation clear of power lines. "California is one of the only states in the country where the courts have applied inverse condemnation liability to events caused by utility equipment," PG&E CEO and President Geisha Williams told investors during a conference call in November following the devastating Northern California wildfires. According to the CEO, "We don't believe that inverse condemnation is an appropriate doctrine, nor do we think it is appropriately applied to regulated utilities. We would challenge its application, if that were to be the case in these events." "It's kind of classic corporate America," said Gerald Singleton, of the Singleton Law Firm based in San Diego County's Solana Beach. "They want all the benefits, but then they don't want the responsibility under inverse condemnation that goes along with it." The benefits of owning the public utility include what Singleton called a "monopoly" business as well as "the guaranteed rate of return on their capital investment, which is anywhere from 8 to 10 percent." Singleton, who represents about 1,500 victims in last year's North Bay wildfires and about 700 individuals in the Thomas fire disaster, believes the tide has turned against the legislature making reforms for inverse condemnation. "When we initially started hearing about this about six months ago, a lot of lawmakers were very sympathetic to what PG&E had to say," he said. "As you talk more to the lawmakers, and you take them through all of the very detailed issues that are involved, there seems to be a lot less appetite to give them a 'get out of jail free' card." To be clear, even if the utilities do succeed in getting immunity against inverse condemnation claims, they would still have responsibility under negligence suits. Utilities in the state have more than 10 different lobbying firms and their in-house lobbyists pushing for liability reforms or other changes. There's also dozens of special interest groups involved in the wildfire issue, from ratepayers, trial lawyers, insurers and alternative energy companies to unions and various business and local government groups. 'Bailout' plan for PG&E There are several proposals in the state legislature that deal with reforming rules and regulations involving wildfires or preparing for the next disaster. There's also one that some critics have called a "bailout" for PG&E Assembly Bill 33, which was introduced by Assemblyman Bill Quirk, D-Hayward, whose son works for PG&E. The measure would allow state-authorized "recovery bonds" to be issued that "securitize" the costs from the 2017 Northern California wildfire claims, and it would be backed by charges on ratepayer bills. "PG&E is doing everything they can to get a ratepayer bailout," said Mark Toney, executive director of the Utility Reform Network, a San Francisco-based consumer group. "And they're doing it through AB 33, which is just blatantly written for them only for the 2017 fires." PG&E confirmed that Quirk's son, Ian, is an employee of the San Francisco-based company. It was first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper. Quirk responded to a request for comment by pointing out he's been "very vocal about my concerns on what the impact of 2017 wildfires will have on ratepayers and fire victims. My decision to author AB 33 has nothing to do with my son being employed by PG&E. It has everything to do with my concern about fire victim compensation and ratepayer protection." "This bill isnt about one individual," said PG&E spokesperson Lynsey Paulo. "Its about making wildfire victims whole in the wake of the devastating fires last year and reducing impacts to our customers bills, while protecting customers from any potential utility negligence. The system is broken and we all need to work together on solutions to address the impacts of extreme weather on our state." New normal for California Digital health is one of the hottest spaces for investment, with companies raising $1.6 billion in venture capital in the first quarter of 2018 alone. Apple, Alphabet and Amazon are also making moves in the space with their own health-tracking apps and devices. These companies are getting really good at screening populations of people for health problems before they develop into serious medical issues. But they struggle to help patients with greater medical needs. Medical experts say that digital health can't do much for users that are already sick, or at high risk of a serious medical condition. Many of these companies won't diagnose disease for regulatory reasons, even if they're picking up strong signals through sensors and algorithms, so instead they'll suggest that a user see their doctor. That's the case with smart watches from Apple and Fitbit, which are increasingly picking up on serious problems like sleep apnea, a sleep breathing issue, and atrial fibrillation, a heart rhythm disorder, but can't do much more than steer these patients to medical care. The glaring problem? Patients do not like going to the doctor. Ample studies have found that many avoid it because the experience sucks, while others are put off by the cost. "All the things done well by digital health -- they're simple, fun, visual with great user experience -- are still missing from most clinical visits -- so it remains pretty unpleasant to be a patient," said Jeffrey Wessler, a cardiology fellow at Columbia University Medical Center and the founder of a digital health company called Heartbeat. "To me, this gap gets closed by bringing the clinical experience up to the same standards as our digital health solutions." In other words, digital health companies need to get inside the clinic or hospital through partnerships or new products, rather than just focusing on the experience outside of traditional health care. Wessler is moving in that direction with Heartbeat which is leveraging existing digital health solutions but also rethinking the in-person primary care experience to help people at risk for heart disease. Others in the medical sector agree this is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. Digital health today is hampered by this "see your doctor" endpoint, explains Joel Dudley, director of the Institute for Next Generation Healthcare at Mount Sinai. He believes that the industry can move from acting as a "funnel or a stopgap rather than a revolution," once the right pieces are in place. One potential solution will be to incorporate telemedicine, or virtual doctor's visits, into the experience of care so that patients can immediately get a phone call or video consult. And that way, digital health companies can be assured that they've at least talked to a medical expert, rather than ignored the problem. Doctors can also learn from digital health apps and services by improving their practices so that patients won't dread or avoid an upcoming visit. If this gap isn't closed, he fears, "digital health solutions will really just create more separation between patient and care provider." Do you feel slightly guilty when you add a straw to a cold drink? Single use plastic straws are a small thing thats stirred up a big controversy, mainly because of its impact on the environment. Its prompted a growing number of major companies to abandon something thats almost iconic in American dining culture. On July 1st, Seattles became the largest city thus far to ban plastic straws, joining individual municipalities in Florida, New Jersey and California to already have straw bans. And just last week, Starbucks announced theyd eliminate all plastic straws by 2020. Other companies, like hotel chains Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt, to air carriers such as American Airlines and Alaska Airlines, are also planning to phase out disposable straws. I think the focus on straws has evolved because its something we dont need, most of us, in our daily life, so its an easy thing to eliminate, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson told CNBCs On The Money in an interview recently. Straws are one of top five items found in beach cleanup, so they are still a really big issue, said Johnson, a marine biologist and founder of Ocean Collectiv, an organization that works for sustainability. Straws are a really big part of pollution, especially what ends up in the ocean, she said, adding that proposed straw bans are a great way to start a conversation about single use plastics, in general because were using one million plastic water bottles every minute. Stephen Katz is the first person to take on the role of chief information security officer. Investors need to understand how the business works too, as more cybersecurity companies enter a crowded marketplace, vying for business, venture funds or new capital from an IPO. Katz says it's important for people to understand the responsibilities of the people who oversee cybersecurity. This way, people can be better prepared to interpret headlines and know what really matters. Today, Katz is a go-to name in the industry. He works as a cybersecurity consultant and has a track record of supporting high-value information-sharing initiatives in finance, and more recently in health care. The CISO role dates back to 1994, when banking giant Citigroup (then Citi Corp. Inc.) suffered a series of cyberattacks from a Russian hacker named Vladimir Levin. The bank created the worlds first formal cybersecurity executive office, and hired Steve Katz to run it. One way to start breaking through the jargon and intrigue is to try viewing these issues through the lens of the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), typically the top cybersecurity executive at a company. There's so much cybersecurity news these days, from elections integrity to stolen credit reports to the latest cybersecurity start-up, sometimes it feels like you need a decoder ring to make sense of it all. A view shows a laptop display showing part of a code, which is the component of Petya malware computer virus according to representatives of Ukrainian cyber security firm ISSP, at the firm's office in Kiev, Ukraine July 4, 2017. The responsibilities of CISOs vary by industry, size of company and how the organization is regulated. Different companies structure cybersecurity in different ways, but there are many common themes. At big companies, CISOs often oversee a team of security professionals that work for the company. Smaller firms may outsource the job to a company that provides managed services. Many do a combination of the two. We compiled this list based on research of public, private and academic resources, job postings, and interviews with cybersecurity officers and the executives who hire them. Security operations: This function involves real-time analysis of threats, including watching the tools that monitor a companys firewalls, entry points, databases and other internal environments. When something goes wrong, these folks are supposed to discover and triage the problem. Cyberrisk and cyber intelligence: Corporate boards often ask CISOs to get out ahead of new types of attacks that could be harmful, business deals that could introduce risk of a breach or new products that might weaken security. In 2017 Verizon lopped $350 million off the buying price of Yahoo, following revelations a prior data breach had affected more people than Yahoo originally stated. That's an example of Verizon quantifying how much a cybersecurity risk costs (although the company reportedly wanted a bigger discount of up to $925 million). When a senior official with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence told a panel in Aspen that Iranian operatives have cyber weapons poised on U.S. infrastructure, he's relying on a complex collection of cyber intelligence. Data loss and fraud prevention: People emailing out sensitive information, or insiders stealing intellectual property when they quit, are two examples of what these professionals handle. They use tools that monitor the flow of information in an organization, to spot when large amounts of data are leaving the company. When Elon Musk said an engineer at Tesla was flagged for sending source code outside the firm, that type of problem is usually handled by this team. Security architecture: This person builds the security backbone of a company, sometimes from the ground up, in part by deciding where, how and why firewalls are used. These pros may also make decisions like how to separate or segment certain networks. They may also rely on penetration testers or ethical hackers to test the defenses they create for the company. If you wondered how the WannaCry or NotPetya ransomware moved so rapidly between different parts of some affected companies, that's because many companies had "flat" networks with no way to quarantine the attack between business units. A security architect could help build a more resilient network. Identity and access management: These employees deal with credentials. When you get your username and password at a new company, it likely went through the hands of somebody in this field. These professionals maintain who has access to which tools, who gets which email addresses and how rapidly those credentials are taken away when somebody gets fired. That last point is key and if mishandled can lead to a lot of data loss. In one famous case involving an engineering firm in Tennessee, an ex-employee was able to access valuable information for several years after leaving for a competitor because his credentials were never retired. Program management: Once a company has measured its risks, gathered intelligence and mapped where its data is going, it may find some gaps. To fill those gaps, companies create projects and programs. Cybersecurity program managers dont always have a deep technical background, but they know how to build and manage new initiatives meant to keep the company safer. One example of a common program: patching systems on a regular basis. When program management is poorly handled, you can have missed patches -- like the one that led to the massive data breach at Equifax and cost CEO Richard Smith his job. Big companies in the United States from Amazon, Toyota Motor and Alcoa are working to counter the effect of the Trump administration's trade policies and to head off new tariffs. Companies are attempting to avoid any confrontation with U.S. President Donald Trump but want to exert as much influence as they can to dissuade him from tearing up trade agreements or introducing tariffs on a wide swath of imports. Amazon, the world's largest online retailer and cloud-computing company, which could be hurt by tariffs on items sold through its website and components for its data centers, is discussing industry-wide advertising campaigns and more extensive government lobbying, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Amazon declined to comment. Toyota Motor North America, a subsidiary of Japan's Toyota, which could suffer if Trump follows through on a plan to impose tariffs on imported vehicles and parts, flew workers to Washington for a rally this week in front of the U.S. Capitol while the unit's chief has met key members of Congress in recent weeks to discuss the potential impact of tariffs. Executives from General Motors, which could be hurt if Trump pulls the United States out of the North American Free Trade Agreement or if he imposes auto tariffs, have also held meetings with the administration and Congress over the last year to raise its concerns about trade issues. Tariffs would lead to "a reduced presence at home and abroad," the company said in June. The largest U.S. automaker is set to hire Trump's former deputy director of the National Economic Council and adviser on international economic affairs. Everett Eissenstat, who left the White House earlier this month, will head GM's public policy efforts, according to sources familiar with the matter. GM told Reuters it had an opening but declined to confirm the hire. Eissenstat could not be reached for comment. Those already suffering from the Trump administration's tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, which went into effect in June, are also pushing for relief in private. The chief executive of Alcoa told investors on a conference call this week that the aluminum producer was in "active discussions" with the Trump administration, the Commerce Department and members of Congress about the elimination of tariffs or getting an exception for Canadian aluminum. Alcoa said this week it will incur as much as $14 million a month in extra expenses, mainly from tariffs levied on aluminum imported from Canada, its biggest supplier. Rights groups pick flaws in draft bill Three international human right organisations have picked critical flaws in the draft bill on Transitional Justice. U.S. intelligence chief Dan Coats apologized on Saturday for his seemingly uncomfortable public reaction to news that President Donald Trump was planning a second face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, blaming the press for 'mischaracterizing' his response. At the Aspen Forum earlier this week, Coats told an audience that he was unaware what Trump and Putin discussed at last week's summit in Helsinki. At that very moment, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced via Twitter that the president had begun laying the groundwork to invite his Russian counterpart to the White House in the fall. Coats' real-time reaction to the news drew a laugh from the crowd, and reverberated across social media and network news channels. "Say that again?" he asked at the time. "Okay," he said after a pause. "That's gonna be special." However, Coats issued a statement on Saturday that acknowledged his response was "awkward," but was not intended to disrespect Trump who has come under withering bipartisan criticism for remarks he made in Helsinki, as well as confused messaging in its aftermath. Some press coverage has mischaracterized my intentions in responding to breaking news presented to me during a live interview. My admittedly awkward response was in no way meant to be disrespectful or criticize the actions of the President. "I and the entire intel community are committed to providing the best possible intelligence to inform and support President Trumps ongoing efforts to prevent Russian meddling in our upcoming elections, to build strong relationships internationally in order to maintain peace, denuclearize dangerous regimes and protect our nation and our allies," Coats added. Coats told the Aspen summit that he was unaware of what was discussed between the two leaders, who met privately in a one-on-one meeting in Finland. The DNI said he would have opposed that arrangement, which left Trump without an official stenographer or aides in the room. "If he had asked me how that ought to be conducted, I would have suggested a different way, but that's not my role," Coats said this week. "It is what it is." --CNBC's Kevin Brueninger contributed to this report. Rudy Giuliani, attorney for U.S. President Donald Trump, arrives for the White House Sports and Fitness Day event on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, May 30, 2018. Leah Mills | Reuters President Donald Trump blasted his former lawyer Michael Cohen on Saturday for secretly recording him, suggesting that doing so may have been illegal. Yet it was Trump's own legal team that decided to release a tape of the two men discussing a possible payment to a Playboy model which had been deemed "privileged" in a federal court, a source with knowledge told CNBC. The source said Saturday that Trump's legal team waived the protection, which would have allowed the tape to remain hidden from prosecutors. The lawyers reached out to the judge presiding over court proceedings involving a raft of materials seized from Cohen during FBI raids in April, according to the source. Doing so gave Trump's current lawyer, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, the ability to release "his version of the tape's contents," the source said. "It is ironic that Trump would complain about a privileged tape that would not have been released and then chooses to make it public himself," the source said. It was a "very foolish strategy by Team Trump," he added. Giuliani confirmed to NBC News that Trump waived the privilege protection. Yes, it was already out there so seemed no point in objecting except on principle," he told NBC. Tale of the tape The debate over the tape began Friday, when The New York Times reported that Cohen had recorded a conversation with Trump relating to model Karen McDougal, two months before the 2016 presidential election. McDougal had sold her story in which she alleged that she had an affair with Trump years earlier to The National Enquirer for $150,000, before the November 2016 election. The tabloid, in a strategy reportedly known within the industry as "catch and kill," never published the story. Giuliani told the Times on Friday that while Trump had talked about making payments with Cohen on that recording, the payment to McDougal was never actually made. He called the tape "powerful exculpatory evidence" for Trump. But his team has not released either the recording itself, or a verbatim transcript of it, to substantiate their characterization of the conversation with Cohen. Giuliani said that Trump had told Cohen that if he were to pay McDougal he should do so with a check, rather than cash, so that there would be record of the payment. However, a source familiar with the recording told CNBC on Friday night that Trump had raised the idea of paying McDougal with cash. The source also said that it was Cohen who told Trump they would use a check to pay her, if they ended up making such a payment. Lanny Davis, the newest addition to Cohen's legal team, contended on Twitter that the tape will not hurt his client. Lanny Davis tweet Trump's team waived privilege Half a trillion dollars. Thats the rough amount of money that counterfeiters displaced last year by selling phony products. Some 2.5% of all trade is for fake goods. The United States is hit hardest by the scourge of counterfeit products U.S. brands accounted in 2013 for 20% of the worlds infringed intellectual property. When most people think about counterfeiting, they think of knock-off Louis Vuitton handbags sold on the sidewalk. But fake products also include business and enterprise products, as well as everyday consumer goods. And counterfeiting can kill. Fake pharmaceutical drugs and counterfeit booze kill thousands of people every year. The World Health Organization estimates that 10% of all pharmaceutical drugs sold in low- and middle-income countries is either substandard or fake. And the problem will grow: The International Trademark Association (INTA) and the International Chamber of Commerce say the value displaced by counterfeits could reach $2.3 trillion by 2022. And the fakes are fabulous The biggest and most dangerous trend in counterfeiting, according to Entrupy CEO Vidyuth Srinivasan, is the application of artificial intelligence (AI) to create better fakes better fake products, counterfeit cash, fake content, fake advertising, fake websites and fake news. (Entrupy is a leader in AI-based counterfeit detection; its technology is being used to give a thumbs up to a Louis Vuitton bag in the photo at the top of this column.) The best-understood use for AI fakery is in videos. Deepfakes (videos that convincingly add the face of one person to the body of another) use deep learning, simulated neural networks and big datasets to create convincing fake videos. In January, an app called FakeApp was launched that enabled any user to easily create face-swap videos. Similar technology will be increasingly deployed to create better luxury goods. To oversimplify, counterfeiters will feed attributes of legitimate products into an AI system that will choose materials and guide the manufacturing process for a more convincing result. AI to the rescue As fakes get more convincing, theyll eventually reach a kind of singularity, where human experts will struggle to tell the difference between the real and the fake. Already, companies are offering sophisticated solutions to enterprises and brands. Entrupy, as well as Red Points, Cypheme and other companies, specializes in the low-cost, high-volume identification of counterfeit products. These companies offer technologies that analyze materials, colors, packaging and other attributes to spot fakes. IBM Research has developed something called Crypto Anchor Verifier, which is an AI counterfeit detector that uses blockchain and runs on a smartphone. To use it, you take a picture of any product, and the app then runs a comparison of that image against a database in a blockchain ledger to determine authenticity. That database would be stocked with images of authentic items provided by the companies that make them. Its based on the idea that every object, including products, has distinctive optical patterns that can be identified by AI. These patterns are found in the texture, color and patterns in the materials used to make the products. IBM says the technology could be used for anything from diamonds to cash to wine to pharmaceutical drugs. Fakes are everywhere. Even trusted sources such as Amazon sell huge numbers of counterfeit goods, including those fulfilled by Amazon. The entire model for online commerce makes it possible for counterfeits. The pages and product details are public and replicable. And the scale makes it almost impossible to check all the products. The Counterfeit Report (TCR), which works with brands to expose fake products, claims to have found some 58,000 counterfeit products on Amazon since May 2016. Some 35,000 products were removed based on its findings. Yet that organization was looking only for fake versions of the brands it represents. Its reasonable to assume there are vastly higher numbers of fake products on Amazon. Amazon uses machine learning, along with software engineers, research scientists, program managers and investigators, for its Brand Registry program, which the company says cut infringements by 99%. However, many brands arent part of the registry. The Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba created something called the Big Data Anti-Counterfeiting Alliance with 20 international brands. The initiative uses AI to detect tell-tale flaws in product listings and customer reviews. The Chinese government even backed an appraisal center to address the problem of counterfeit products in that country. And a Beijing-based company built an app called Smart Detective that uses AI to appraise luxury goods. The app currently focuses on luggage and purses and is working on the ability to appraise jewelry. A key element for making these systems work is secrecy. The specific criteria used to spot phony products are tightly held secrets, and they change constantly to keep the counterfeiters off balance. Why AI cant help with fake videos and photos Theres all kinds of fakery out there: products, packaging, content, signatures, cash you name it. Google demonstrated at its recent developers conference an initiative called Duplex, which showed that AI can produce a convincing telephone interaction. AI-generated fake videos are especially disturbing. Theyll bring the world of fake news into video, making false stories, propaganda and disinformation even more powerful and believable. Most disinformation has political goals. But increasingly, disinformation will be used in business. The same AI technologies that can create these fake videos can also be used to spot them. The U.S. military has been funding a program to figure out how to spot deepfake videos and other fake content created using AI. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is gathering together the worlds experts for a contest to see who can create the most convincing fakes, and also who can create the best AI tool to spot fakes. The Pentagon is not alone. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich in Germany built a deep-learning system that can automatically spot deepfake-type videos. Other organizations are doing similar research. Unfortunately, spotting fake videos wont matter much in the court of public opinion. Technology is not the problem. People are. Lets say the Russian government creates a fake video and claims its real. The U.S. government says it applied AI and determined the video to be fake. As with all fake news and propaganda, educated viewers will still have to decide whom they trust. Uneducated viewers may often simply be affected by fake videos without any knowledge or concern about its origins. Worse, real videos will be called fake by the guilty parties and propagandists. Ultimately, the public will conclude that nothing is credible, and then the goal of the dezinformatsiya will have been achieved, despite the technology. So while the Pentagons technology will help American spies, diplomats and government officials tell the real from the fake, the technology will not be able to counter its effective use for fake news or propaganda. Why its time to get on the AI anti-counterfeit bus While the war over counterfeits will never be won, its possible for enterprises and brands to gain the upper hand. By democratizing and automating anti-counterfeit systems, it will become possible to stop fakes at scale. But it wont work without the cooperation and participation of the companies that make legitimate products. And thats why its vital for any company with products, content, brands or other assets that can be counterfeited to explore the options for how to best use AI to counter the counterfeiters. Because the criminals will be using AI to steal your intellectual property. Youre going to need better AI to stop them. Yesterday on this site the ten candidates in the running to be the Conservative candidate for Mayor of London set out their credentials and policies. I am grateful to all of them for doing so. Today after an interview process a shortlist of three was drawn up. The final choice of candidate will be made by all Conservative Party members in London with the announcement in time for the Party Conference in October. The three that were chosen are: Shaun Bailey: A London Assembly Member since 2016, deputy leader of the Conservative Group on the London Assembly, former youth worker and Research Fellow at the Centre for Policy Studies. Shaun was a General Election candidate in 2010 (Hammersmith) and 2017 (Lewisham West and Penge), and served as an adviser to David Cameron between 2010 and 2013. You can read his answer to our questions here. Andrew Boff: A London Assembly Member since 2008, Andrew has stood for the Conservative Mayoral nomination several times before including in 2015, when he was one of the final four candidates. He is a former leader of Hillingdon Borough Council and a former Hackney councillor. You can read his answers to our questions here. Cllr Joy Morrissey: An Ealing councillor since 2014, Joy contested Ealing Central and Acton in last years General Election, having previously worked for Angie Bray when she held the seat. She was a list candidate in the 2016 London Assembly election, and works for the Centre for Social Justice. You can read her answers to our questions here. Congratulations to them all. Frank Young is Head of Family Policy at the Centre for Social Justice It has become almost hackneyed to state that Britain has a family breakdown crisis. The figures never seem to get any better. Only last week new stats showed that we are a country slowly but surely moving away from marriage. Last year the World Family Map showed Britain was a world leader in family breakdown with record numbers of children experiencing the break-up of their parents before they sit their GCSEs. Despite all this gloom, the government is quietly and determinedly doing something about it and starting with schools. Three cheers for Damian Hinds the new reformer on the bloc. In amongst the Brexit brouhaha the Education Secretary has launched new guidance on Relationships and Sex Education in schools, fit for a modern social media age with a big emphasis on helping young people understand the age-old ingredients of a long-term, stable relationship in adulthood and the importance of family. It has been 18 years since a government last looked at this issue but a hat tip to the current administration for making this happen (special mentions to David Burrowes and Maria Miller). It hasnt dodged the issue of marriage which young people overwhelmingly told the Government they aspire to when it comes to future relationships. The regulations which underpin the guidance make it clear that pupils should learn about the nature of marriage and its importance for family life and the bringing up of children. This isnt controversial, last year a poll commissioned by the CSJ showed that almost eight in 10 young people say they want to get married when they are older and a similar number want relationship education to help them understand how to build long-term, lasting relationships as adults. If we have any chance of climbing the family stability league we need to find a new confidence in promoting the most stable form of relationship there is marriage. The data is clear it is the gold-standard, with nearly all parents who stay together until their children get their GCSE results being married. This guidance delivers on that. It rightly places healthy, stable relationships at the heart of what children will learn as part of a new curriculum for Relationships Education in Primary Schools and Relationships and Sex Education in Secondary school. There are lots of things that we need to teach our young people who are living through a maelstrom of sexual imagery, pornography, and huge increases in sexual bullying online and inside our schools. The last time we talked about sex ed was in a pre social media and pre smartphone era. The law and guidance to schools was badly out of date. What government reforms in this area do is nicely balance the need to address modern day dangers that young people face with a positive vision for helping them build relationships now and in adulthood. There have been lots of headlines about what schools will be told to teach and plenty of it is misinformed. Parents in the new guidance stay as the prime educators for children on relationship matters. On this the government has it the right way round. New style Relationships Education is mandatory which is separated from sex ed where an opt-out remains. Young people will need to learn the building blocks of a healthy relationships whether that be a friendship in school or a romantic relationship later in life. When legislation was passing through Parliament last year the government jiggled about with letters so Sex and Relationships Education became Relationships and Sex Education. The draft guidance now shows this wasnt just semantics. Understanding the building blocks of a healthy relationship really does come first. We talk a lot about skills and relationship charities recently came together to call for the teaching of relationship skills to be considered an important life skill in its own right. It looks like the government agrees with plenty of advice to schools about helping young people develop their understanding of the characteristics of healthy family life. We wont begin to turn around decades of family breakdown without starting at school. The Government will now embark on three months of consultation which will bring with it lots of comment and maybe a little controversy but the Government should stick to its guns on this one. If it is bold enough to publish a draft document that puts healthy, stable family life at the centre of a new Relationships Sex and Health Education curriculum it should be gutsy enough to see it through. Theres big support for this on the backbenches with more than 60 Conservative backbenchers openly supporting the Manifesto for Strengthening Families which endorsed these proposals. The Secretary of State can be confident of support from his colleagues, as long as he gives his big red pen a holiday during recess. He can then be worthy of an end of term prizegiving award for the most family friendly policy of this Government. On Thursday, we wrote that Julian Smiths decision to order several Conservative MPs to break pairs during crucial votes on the Trade Bill had undermined his position as Chief Whip, probably fatally. We also noted that, rather than dismissing him, Theresa May had instead decided to shuffle two of the then team of eight assistant whips, Stuart Andrew and Kelly Tolhurst, out of the whips office. This strange decision puts a spotlight on what might be the root cause of Tuesday nights fiasco: that since 2010 both May and David Cameron have reshuffled the whips office so often and so thoroughly that they have all but obliterated its institutional memory and effectiveness. Consider this startling fact: Smith is the only member of the fifteen-strong Government whip team whose experience in the post predates Mays premiership. His two lieutenants, Christopher Pincher and Mark Spencer, were both first made assistant whips in her first reshuffle in 2016 Below them experience gets even thinner. Of the Junior Lords of the Treasury Andrew Stephenson, Craig Whittaker, Rebecca Harris, David Rutley, and Nigel Adams were all first appointed whips in 2017, and Paul Maynard not until January 2018. Of the six assistant whips only Mike Freer was appointed in 2017. All the women Nusrat Ghani, Jo Churchill, Amanda Milling, Wendy Morton, and Mims Davies took up their posts in January. (All dates from gov.uk.) Obviously none of the other whips share the blame for Smiths decision to break pair indeed several seem, when consulted, to have steered the other MPs he urged to do so back on course. Nor was the Prime Ministers aim of increasing the number of female whips a bad one. But it isnt difficult to see how this extraordinary level of churn would undermine any institution, let alone the whips office. According to sources we have spoken to familiar with the role, being a whip is a unique and challenging post and it takes at least six months for a new MP to learn the tricks of the trade assuming a strong institutional memory to learn from, that is. At a time when careful management of the House has seldom been more important, this long-term mismanagement is starting to tell. A more experienced chief whip than Smith would probably not have panicked before a crucial vote, as he appears to have done with his unilateral pleas to MPs. With a more experienced team, they might in any event have had a better handle on the numbers ahead of Tuesdays crunch division on Stephen Hammonds customs union amendment. Crucially, they would certainly have had a greater appreciation of the importance of pairing and the traditions of the House, and been more aware of how much more difficult an angry and insulted Commons could make the Governments life. Moving Andrew and Tolhurst, who had each been whips for barely a year and six months respectively, suggests that Downing Street has not yet grasped the nature and scale of this problem. The knife-edge arithmetic of the current Parliament invites comparisons with the chaos of 1974-79, but Jim Callaghans embattled government lasted as long as it did thanks to the experience and pre-modern ruthlessness of its whips. Of course, May has the luxury of facing an Opposition which has somehow managed to have larger and more spectacular rebellions on Brexit legislation than the Government, which has bought her crucial breathing space on several occasions. But if she wants to be better prepared for the parliamentary battles ahead, the Prime Minister should make it a priority to re-appoint some experienced hands to the whips office. Not only might replacing Smith go some way to placating the House, but his replacement could offer leadership and training to a relatively green team. 100% Website 3dekspert.ee uses latest and advanced technologies. It supports HTTPS and GZIP compression. The main html page has a size of 43253 bytes (42.24 kb uncompressed) and 8060 bytes (7.87 kb compressed). This CoolSocial report was updated on 2020-08-04, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. We are analyzing the site. Please wait a few seconds.. Shrestha, Gautam object to govt pick for Delhi mission Some senior Nepal Communist Party (NCP) leaders have objected to the governments decision to recommend the name of former Chief Elections Commissioner, Neel Kantha Upreti, as the ambassador to India. 96% Website olimpiacosmetics.com uses latest and advanced technologies. It supports HTTPS and GZIP compression. The main html page has a size of 99782 bytes (97.44 kb uncompressed) and 19618 bytes (19.16 kb compressed). This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-10-11, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. Face Off Apple's surprise release of an updated MacBook Pro in July aimed to address some of the biggest concerns with the laptop -- in a nutshell, by making the notebook much more "pro" than in the past. Performance does get a serious upgrade in the new MacBook Pro, but for superior battery life and portability, users still may want to look elsewhere. One alternative, which we are big fans of at the CRN Test Center, is Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon, now in its sixth generation. Which of the two laptops is a better fit for you? What follows is our comparison of the new Apple MacBook Pro for 2018 vs. Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon on specs and price. BRIDGEPORT Bridgeport police have been without dashboard and body-worn cameras for more than two months roughly since the departments pilot program came to an end. The pilot program was unveiled during a special press conference in February and crafted in response to complaints about clashes between police and the public including the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old by a rookie police officer last year. But in response to a state Freedom of Information Act request from Hearst Connecticut Media asking for body and dashboard camera footage from an incident last month, officials said the program no longer was in place and denied the request. Please be advised that there are no dash-cam or body-cam videos in connection with your Freedom of Information request made to The City of Bridgeport, the Office of the City Attorney said last week. The pilot program for the video surveillance ran from Feb. 1 (to) April 30. Police Chief Armando Perez did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Earlier this year, Perez told Hearst Connecticut Media at least 33 members of the department would be outfitted for body cameras and their department-issued vehicles would get dashboard cameras. During the pilot, Perez said in January, officers would test and evaluate products from three different vendors before deciding on one sole company from which to make a permanent purchase. Im committed to (having) ... a real program in place, he said in January. On Feb. 20, Perez and Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim held a press conference announcing the launch of the 90-day pilot program earlier that month for about 23 officers. Once a final program was selected, Perez said, all patrol officers, sergeants and specialized non-undercover units would be issued body cameras and every Bridgeport police car would receive a dashboard camera. The move was cheered by several activists and family members of the 15-year-old, who died on May 9, 2017. They had called for Bridgeport cops to be outfitted for body cameras and for the cars to get dashboard cameras. Residents also protested against police after a Nov. 14 video surfaced showing a Bridgeport cop allegedly repeatedly bashing the head of a teen being held down by other officers. Following the November incident, Police Union President Charles Paris said he had initially been against body cameras but was now leaning in favor of them. I think body cameras could have recorded a lot more of the details that were going on, he said. Paris could not immediately be reached for comment. TRUMBULL The man who found the body of Karla Elaine Storer in 1995 thought she was an old mannequin, thrown into the trash by a store. A stripper and sometime prostitute, she was found in a pile of garbage in Stratford that was brought to the transfer station from a parking lot in Trumbull near what was then the Trumbull Shopping Center. Storer, who went by the nickname P.J., died of blunt force trauma to her head. Trumbull Police Detective Sgt. Brian Weir took over Storers case in August 2016. With his average caseload throughout the year, he said, he hasnt had the chance to fully dive into another full investigation of the old case, but hopes someone will come forward with answers now that more than 20 years has passed. Shes somebody, Weir said, sitting in his office at the Trumbull police station recently, a pile of photos and files related to the case spread out on his desk. Shes somebodys child, shes somebodys family member. At the station, there are several boxes filled with information on Storers case. Weir said since taking over the lead on the case, he has only had the chance to sort through one box. Before going back to interview witnesses or further investigate, Weir said, he wants to get through every box to have a complete understanding of the killing. Theres always a possibility there is somebody out there committing these kinds of crimes that hasnt been caught somebody who keeps getting away with it, Weir said. The timeline Storer, 28, of Bridgeport, was last seen around 12:30 a.m. July 23, 1995, near where she worked at the Brass Guitar strip club in the 200 block of Middle Street in Bridgeport. The strip club is no longer there. When Storer wasnt working at the strip club, Weir said, she would be in the area working as a prostitute. Around 11 p.m. on July 23, 1995, Storers boyfriend reported her missing to Bridgeport police. The couple lived in the 800 block of Colorado Avenue. No immediate action was taken, which isnt unusual, since she was an adult and hadnt been missing more than a few hours. On July 26, 1995, around 9 a.m., security at the Trumbull mall noticed a smell from a dumpster and called to have a company pick it up, take it to a transfer station in Stratford and return the emptied dumpster. The next day, around 7:30 a.m., a dump truck took the dumpster and its contents to the Stratford transfer station. It went directly there, Weir said. No stops; there was nothing suspect there. When the driver dumped the items at the transfer station, he started to shuffle through the trash to look for loose change or valuables, the report says. He saw a foot, Weir said. He thought it was a mannequin. But then he pulled on the foot and discovered it wasnt a mannequin, but a human foot attached to a body. Once the driver realized the body was real, he called Stratford police, Weir said. When Stratford police found out the dumpster came from Trumbull, the case was referred to Trumbull police. In an attempt to identify the body, Trumbull police began to sift through missing persons reports in town and the surrounding areas. A match to Storer Two days after the body was found, on July 28, 1995, Storer was identified through dental records and X-rays. The identification opened up the investigation for police now they could visit her workplace and talk to friends and family. At 10 a.m. Aug. 2, 1995 less than a week after identifying Storers body police found evidence of a crime about four-and-a-half blocks from the Brass Guitar in Bridgeport: blood in a parking garage off Lafayette Circle between Elm Street and Fairfield Avenue. DNA testing proved that the blood at the scene was probably that of Karla Storer based on samples of blood given by her biological parents, Weir said. He said the blood was found on the ground level of the garage in the northeast corner. The usual suspects As police started to ask around in the area of the Brass Guitar, an eyewitness said they saw Storer the night police said she was probably killed. The eyewitness claimed to have seen Storer get into a vehicle with a white male who looked to be about 35 years old. Weir said the witness provided a good enough description for a sketch artist to create a guide. The image gave the department some possible leads at the time and police found a couple of men who looked similar to the sketch. But ultimately, Weir said, those leads ended up being unsuccessful. Investigators interviewed Storers co-workers and employers, the boyfriend who had reported her missing and anyone living in the area of the strip club where Storer was known to frequent. Weir said those interviews left police with more questions than answers. In areas like this, sometimes drugs are involved and we dont get straight stories from people. And peoples stories will change every time we talk to them. It makes things more complicated to find answers, Weir said. Eventually, with all immediate leads exhausted, the case went cold and its paperwork shelved until 2016, when it was given to Weir. But before Weir can move forward investigating Storers cold case, he said, he has some work to do, including checking with the state lab where evidence from the case was sent to see what they have available to be retested. For now, Weir said, Storers case remains cold. He hopes the department will be able to close it someday. I dont know if someone has answers, Weir said. I like to think someone out there does and will come forward. Anyone with information about Storers case can call the Trumbull Police Department at 203-261-3665 and ask for the Detective Bureau. Anonymous tips can be submitted online at http://www.trumbull-ct.gov/PoliceTips. An occasional series that looks at unsolved homicides, or cold cases, in Bridgeport, Fairfield and beyond. BAGHDAD - Widespread protests over miserable living conditions in southern Iraq continued Friday, but demonstrators largely avoided confronting a large deployment of police and military. Throughout the southern provinces and in the capital, protesters gathered in large public squares and demanded reforms while also chanting "silmiyah," or "peaceful." Tensions briefly flared in Baghdad when protesters began marching from Liberation Square toward a bridge leading to the fortified Green Zone. Police responded with water cannons, prompting demonstrators to throw bottles and chant: "The people demand the fall of the system!" - the signature slogan of the Arab Spring demonstrators in 2011. The skirmish lasted only a few minutes. The largely peaceful rallies were a striking departure from earlier demonstrations that began nearly two weeks ago at which protesters attacked government buildings, political party headquarters and oil company offices. The protests have been precipitated, in part, by a crisis over water and electricity supplies. These shortages come amid oppressive summer temperatures, bringing air conditioners and fans to a halt, and at a time when a punishing drought is forcing farmers to abandon summer crops. These hardships are on top of a decade of inconsistent services, particularly in Iraq's Shiite heartland. Meanwhile, public euphoria over the government's defeat last year of the Islamic State is fading. The street unrest has unsettled the Iraqi government during a halting political transition, following national elections in May, and alarmed Iraq's neighbors. Kuwait, which borders Iraq's southernmost province, Basra, began providing daily barge deliveries of 130,000 cubic liters of fuel for Iraqi electricity stations on Friday, according to an Iraqi government spokesman. Kuwaiti officials had been concerned that sustained violence could send waves of Iraqi refugees across the border. Kuwait has also expressed readiness to help with water desalination projects in Iraq, the spokesman, Saad al-Hadithi, said. Saudi Arabia has also pledged support for Iraq's overloaded energy sector, Hadithi said, and an Iraqi cabinet delegation is expected to travel to Riyadh to begin talks in the coming days. Saudi Arabia has sought closer economic and political ties with Iraq as the kingdom looks to counter Iran's outsized influence in Baghdad. The country's creaking electricity system took another hit recently when Iran halted energy supplies to Iraq. The suspension of energy exports was due to Iranian concerns over the impact of U.S. sanctions on Tehran and a dispute over Iraqi payments. "I don't think this problem will be solved in the next few months, and this is why we are going to Saudi instead," al-Hadithi said. Iraqis have increasingly turned their attention to the 15 years of poor governance that has bedeviled their country since the U.S. invasion. The result has been pervasive corruption and conditions ripe for the emergence of extremist groups like the Islamic State. "People are upset over the performance of the government since 2003, and they don't believe any of the promises prime minister has given," Muhannad al-Khafaji, a 30-year-old who has been demonstrating daily in Basra. Residents of Basra, which produces and exports the vast majority of Iraq's oil, have long complained they do not benefit from it. They have accused regional government officials of malfeasance, leaving their city decrepit and vulnerable to a bustling illicit drug trade. Demonstrators also expressed anger at the political deadlock that has followed Iraq's national election. Marred by reports of significant fraud and historically low turnout, the vote is undergoing a full recount, which has delayed the formation of a new government and the election of a new prime minister. The apparent winners of the election have been struggling to respond to the protests, seeking to cast themselves as both sympathetic to the demonstrators' demands while upholding the imperative of peaceful dissent. On Thursday, Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose coalition won the most seats in the election and is expected to retain its leading position after the recount, called on political blocs to halt negotiations over a new government until protesters' demands are met. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is seeking to retain his position despite coming in third in the May election, initially struggled to contain the protests. Security forces had met the demonstrators with water cannons, tear gas and live ammunition in cities such as Basra and Najaf - killing at least eight people and wounding hundreds more, including security forces in violent clashes. As part of the crackdown, the government cut off Internet access last week, leading protesters and Amnesty International to accuse Abadi of giving security forces cover to abuse demonstrators. Abadi's government has denied the charge and has restored Internet access but continues to block social media sites. Some 300 demonstrators who were arrested have been released. This week, Abadi adopted a conciliatory posture toward the protesters, saying their right to express their displeasure is protected by the Iraqi constitution. He called on his cabinet to implement emergency measures to expedite electricity and water projects in the south while inviting delegations of tribal leaders to meet in Baghdad. At the same time, he deployed specialized police units and two brigades of the elite Counterterrorism Service to southern provinces to guard oil facilities and government buildings. While the moves have reduced tensions, some demonstrators said they have not gone far enough and have not addressed their central demand that provincial officials and some government ministers be immediately dismissed. These protesters pledged to continue their sit-ins until they are satisfied that real reforms are coming. Toyota launches stylish new Rush in Nepal Toyota has launched their latest SUV named Rush, a five-seater compact SUV in Nepal. The Japanese carmarker is looking to dominate the local market and this latest SUV is well on its way to fulfilling that target with over 200 sold via pre-booking. It has now become a pattern for Dave Walker, former U.S. Comptroller General: lose a primary or fail to qualify and put your waterfront Black Rock home on the market. Walker put his Beacon Street home on the market for $1.25 million just over a month after missing in May the threshold for delegate support to qualify for the Republican gubernatorial primary. In 2014, he listed the house for $1.7 million after losing the Republican primary for lieutenant governor. The owners of the historic Castle House in Brumley, MO, have taken what is usually considered a negative for any homeits reputation for being hauntedand turned it into a positive. Billed as the Haunted Castle House, it's currently operating as a ghost-themed B&B, offering both ghost tours and overnight stays. The property has even earned the title of "most haunted house in the Midwest." If you're going to live in a haunted house, why not have it be the most haunted? The four-bedroom, two-bath house, built in 1850 by Dr. Walter Dixon, is called the Castle House, thanks to its unusual building style. It was inspired by a home Dr. Dixon saw in London, and its walls are made of thick, poured concrete (now clad in siding). It includes a 30-foot turret and a staircase that the good doctor had shipped from the United Kingdom. The home served as his office, and the legend is that he made even his sickest patients haul themselves up his fancy staircase to be seen. So why is it so haunted? OK, this is where creepy things start happening. Aside from the usual deaths you'd expect from a country doctor's office, the Castle House has been the site of several major tragedies. Mrs. Martha Dixon, wife of Walter, was a socialite who hosted elaborate parties in the Castle House for local notables and politicians. Legend has it that one Saturday, near the turn of the century, she was preparing to host her biggest party yet, but died suddenly before her guests arrived. Dr. Dixon found her body at the head of the stairs. According to Dave Harkins, Director of the Ozarks Paranormal Society, over the last 100 years there have been multiple reports of "a woman in an antique party dress" lingering at the top of the stairs or haunting the second floor. She's also known as the "crying woman" or "screaming woman", and there have been reports of disembodied screams on the second floor as well. But wait, that's not all! In 1862, Union troops bivouacked in the pasture around the house. After a guerrilla attack by Confederate troops, a truce was called, and injured soldiers from both sides were brought to the Castle House for treatment. Dr. Dixon had a field hospital set up on the south side of the house. Several Civil War-era artifacts have been found in the area, and in the 1960s, local kids allegedly found a Confederate uniform in a bundle under the porch, lending credence to this report. "There are at least 20 known graves on the property," says Harkins, and some of those are thought to be casualties from this skirmish. Which means there's a creepy unmarked graveyard on the property. "They had some cadaver dogs come out and found some caskets," explains listing agent Joyce Wheeler. In 1912, the house was sold to another medic, Dr. Myron D. Jones. Dr. Jones also practiced out of the house, and in 1918, when the flu pandemic tore through Brumley, tents had to be set up in the yard again to house the hundreds of sick patients that he treated. The rest of the graves are believed to be flu victims. After Dr. Jones retired, the house fell into disrepair for 50 years until it was purchased by the current owners in 2013. As you can see, you've got more than enough restless spirits, between the unmarked graves and the soldiers, and the doctors' patients, and the flu outbreak, and Mrs. Dixon. But what are the ghosts actually up to? The paranormal investigation of the Castle House "I was contacted by the owners of the Castle House to come and help them understand some of the strange occurrences they had been experiencing," explains Harkins. He and his team of paranormal investigators headed to Brumley to see what was going on. "During that preliminary investigation of the property, we experienced several strange occurrences," he says. "The two most notable were disembodied whistling that seemed to follow us around the property. The second is what sounded like footsteps following us in certain upstairs areas of the house." And that was during the day. That's how haunted this place is. A few weeks later, they braved the spirits and came back at night. "During our investigation, we had many personal experiences, including whistling, cold spots, seeing furniture moving on its own, and hearing crying or weeping," he explains. As far as solid evidence is concerned, he adds, "We captured several Class A EVPs or 'Electronic Voice Phenomena.' This occurs when we ask a question aloud and receive an answer not heard by a living person, and only captured on the recording medium, such as a digital recorder or video camera, or heard through a speaker or headphones." (You can listen to the recording here). Oh, but there's more. Harkins explains: "There is also a video shot in the upstairs bedroom that was used as the exam room. In the video, we set up a motion detector, and asked whatever may be in the room with us to manipulate it. We would ask the spirit to turn it on and off, and it seemed to react on command for several hours. There were three investigators present during this session, and all three of us were well outside of the motion detector's range." Got goosebumps yet? They attribute the weeping to Mrs. Dixon, since that seems to be her historical MO. The EVP, they think, may be from yet another tragedy: "We also think that the EVP we captured of the little girl saying 'Please help me,' could be the spirit of a young girl that was taken to the Castle House after being burnt over most of her body, after a large kettle of boiling water spilled on her while her mother was washing clothes. It is said that she died on the property eight days later." So, yeah ... pretty thoroughly haunted. Now's your chance to own all of this creepy, creepy stuff After buying the Castle House in 2013, the current owners restored it to its former glory. "They've done a lot of rehab work, but kept the haunted look," says Wheeler. And because they're looking for a change of scenery, this horror-movie-in-the-making can be yours for the low price of $119,900. That's an almost unbeatable ghost-per-dollar value. So if you're the kind of person who hears about a haunted mansion with a backyard full of unmarked graves and thinks, "That's the place for me," well, jump on this deal. After all, it's your funeral (cue maniacal laugher and organ music). The post Missouri's Castle House Is the Most Haunted Place in the MidwestBuy It If You Dare! appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com. American Consumer News, LLC dba MarketBeat 2010-2021. 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Vermilion Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of petroleum and natural gas in North America, Europe, and Australia. It owns 81% working interest in 642,300 net acres of developed land and 87% working interest in 376,700 net acres of undeveloped land, and 613 net producing natural gas wells and 3,034 net producing oil wells in Canada; and 96% working interest in 248,900 net acres of developed land and 91% working interest in 222,100 net acres of undeveloped land in the Aquitaine and Paris Basins, and 325 net producing oil wells and 3.0 net producing gas wells in France. The company also owns 49% working interest in 930,000 net acres of land and 51 net producing natural gas wells in the Netherlands; and 36,900 net developed acres and 965,900 net undeveloped acres of land, and 61 net producing oil wells and 8 net producing natural gas wells in Germany. In addition, it owns offshore Corrib natural gas field located to the northwest coast of Ireland; and 100% working interest in the Wandoo offshore oil field and related production assets that covers 59,600 acres located on Western Australia's northwest shelf. Further, the company holds 138,000 net acres of land in the Powder River basin, and 136.6 net producing oil wells in the United States; and 951,200 net acres of land in Hungary, 244,900 net acres of land in Slovakia, and 2.4 million net acres of land in Croatia. Vermilion Energy Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada. 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VI, Crown Brasil Holdings Ltda., Crown Canadian Holdings ULC, Crown Closures Spain S.L., Crown Colombiana S.A., Crown Comercial de Envases S.L., Crown Commercial Italy Srl, Crown Commercial Polska Sp. z.o.o., Crown Consultants Inc., Crown Cork & Seal Company (DE) LLC, Crown Cork & Seal Company Inc., Crown Cork & Seal Deutschland Holdings GmbH, Crown Cork & Seal Receivables (DE) Corporation, Crown Cork & Seal de Portugal Embalagens S.A., Crown Cork Kuban, Crown Cork and Seal Receivables II LLC, Crown Developpement SAS, Crown European Holdings, Crown Food Espana S.A.U., Crown Foodcan Turkey Ambalaj Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Crown Hellas Can Packaging SA, Crown Heshan Trading Company Limited, Crown Holdings Italia Srl, Crown Holdings Spain S.L., Crown International Holdings B.V., Crown International Holdings Inc., Crown Luxembourg Holdings, Crown Mexican Holdings S. de R.L. de C.V., Crown Overseas Investments B.V., Crown Packaging Commercial UK Limited, Crown Packaging Distribution UK Limited, Crown Packaging European Division GmbH, Crown Packaging European Division Services SAS, Crown Packaging European Holdings GmbH, Crown Packaging Lux I S.a.r.l., Crown Packaging Lux II S.a.r.l., Crown Packaging Lux III S.a.r.l., Crown Packaging Manufacturing UK Limited, Crown Packaging Maroc, Crown Receivables III, Crown Services Iberia, Crown UK Holdings Limited, Crownway Insurance Company, Dacro B.V., EMPAQUE, Fabricas Monterrey S.A. de C.V., Form Koruyucu Ambalaj Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Foshan Continental Can Co. Limited, Foshan Crown Easy-Opening End Co. Limited, Glass & Silice S.A. DE C.V., Globoplastt s.r.o., Gunther S.A.S., Haloila Bulgaria EOOD, Interstrap B.V., Josef Kihlberg AB, Kiwiplan GmbH, Kiwiplan Inc, Lachenmeier ApS, Liljendals Bruk AB, Litec France S.A.S., Mezger Heftsysteme GmbH, Mima Films S.a.r.l., Mima Films Sprl, Mima Packaging Systems S.A.S., Mivisa, Nordic S.A.S., Norsk Signode AS, Oy M. Haloila AB, PT CROWN Beverage Cans Indonesia, Package Design and Manufacturing, Prolatamex S.A. DE C.V., Quandel Verpackungs- und Foerdertechnik GmbH, SMB Schwede Maschinenbau GmbH, SMP Schwede Maschinenbau Weischlitz GmbH, SPG Denmark, SPG France Holdings SAS, SPG Germany Service Management GmbH, SPG Industrial Packaging S.a.r.l, SPG Netherlands B.V., SPG Packaging Ireland Limited, SPG Packaging Systems GmbH, SPG Packaging UK Ltd, Scybele S.A.S., Shippers Europe S.p.r.l., Signode BVBA, Signode Brasileira Ltda, Signode Hong Kong Limited, Signode Industrial Group, Signode Industrial Group AB, Signode Industrial Group Colombia S.A.S., Signode Industrial Group GmbH, Signode Industrial Group Holdings Lux S.a.r.l., Signode Industrial Group Holdings US Inc, Signode Industrial Group Lux S.A., Signode Industrial Group Mexico, Signode Industrial Group Sweden AB, Signode International Holdings LLC, Signode International IP Holdings LLC, Signode International Investment LLC, Signode Kabushiki Kaisha, Signode Korea Inc, Signode NZ Limited, Signode Netherlands B.V., Signode Packaging (Qingdao) Co., Signode Packaging (Shanghai) Co., Signode Packaging Espana S.L., Signode Packaging Group (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Signode Packaging Group Australia Pty Ltd, Signode Packaging Group Canada ULC, Signode Packaging Group NZ, Signode Packaging Systems Limited, Signode Pickling Holding LLC, Signode Polska sp. Z.o.o., Signode Singapore Pte. Ltd., Signode Sweden Holdings AB, Signode System GmbH, Signode System Packaging GmbH & Co. KG, Signode Systems (Thailand) Ltd., Signode US IP Holdings LLC, Silice De Veracruz S.A. DE C. V., Silice Del Istmo S.A. DE C.V., Silices De Veracruz, Societe Civile Immobiliere Rousseau-Ivry, Societe Civile Immobiliere des Baquets, Societe de Participations CarnaudMetalbox, Stopak India Pvt. Ltd, Strapex Austria GmbH, Strapex Embalagem L.d.a., Strapex Holdings Limited, Strapex S.A.S., Strapex Srl, Superior Investments Holdings Pte. Ltd., Superior Multi-Packaging Limited, TopFrame LLC, V.A.C. B.V., Vichisa S.A. de C.V., and Warehouse Automation Iberia S.L.. Zurich Insurance Group AG is a holding company. The Company and its subsidiaries provide insurance products and related services. Its segments include General Insurance, Global Life, Farmers, Other Operating Businesses and Non-Core Businesses. The General Insurance segment provides a range of motor, home and commercial products and services for individuals, as well as small and large businesses. The Global Life segment is engaged in providing unit-linked, protection and corporate propositions through global distribution and proposition pillars. The Farmers segment, through Farmers Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries, provides certain non-claims administrative and management services to the Farmers Insurance Exchange, Fire Insurance Exchange, Truck Insurance Exchange, and their subsidiaries and affiliates. The Other Operating Businesses segment includes the Company's Holding and Financing activities. The Non-Core Businesses segment includes its insurance and reinsurance businesses. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of ENI: Adriaplin Podjetje za distribucijo, Agenzia Giornalistica Italia SpA, Agip Caspian Sea BV, Agip Energy and Natural, Agip Karachaganak BV, Agip Petroli, Aldro Energy, Banque Eni SA, Burren Energy (Bermuda) Ltd(1), Burren Energy (Egypt) Ltd, Burren Energy Congo Ltd, Burren Energy India Ltd, Burren Energy Plc, Burren Shakti Ltd, D-Service Media Srl, D-Share SpA, D-Share USA Corp., Dhamma Energy Group, Dunastyr Polisztirolgyarto Zartkoruen, Ecofuel SpA, Eni AEP Ltd, Eni Abu Dhabi BV, Eni Abu Dhabi Refining & Trading BV, Eni Abu Dhabi Refining & Trading Services BV, Eni Albania BV, Eni Algeria Exploration BV, Eni Algeria Ltd Sarl, Eni Algeria Production BV, Eni Ambalat Ltd, Eni America Ltd, Eni Angola Exploration BV, Eni Angola Production BV, Eni Angola SpA, Eni Argentina Exploracion, Eni Arguni I Ltd, Eni Australia BV, Eni Australia Ltd, Eni Austria GmbH, Eni BB Petroleum Inc, Eni BTC Ltd, Eni Bahrain BV, Eni Benelux BV, Eni Bukat Ltd, Eni CBM Ltd, Eni Canada Holding Ltd, Eni China BV, Eni Congo SA, Eni Corporate University SpA, Eni Cyprus Ltd, Eni Cote dIvoire Ltd, Eni Denmark BV, Eni Deutschland GmbH, Eni East Ganal Ltd, Eni East Sepinggan Ltd, Eni Ecuador SA, Eni Elgin/Franklin Ltd, Eni Energy Russia BV, Eni Exploration & Production Holding BV, Eni Finance International SA, Eni Finance USA Inc, Eni France Sarl, Eni Fuel SpA, Eni G&P Trading BV, Eni Gabon SA, Eni Ganal Ltd, Eni Gas & Power France SA, Eni Gas & Power LNG Australia BV, Eni Gas Transport Services Srl, Eni Ghana Exploration and Production Ltd, Eni Hewett Ltd, Eni Hydrocarbons Venezuela Ltd, Eni Iberia SLU, Eni India Ltd, Eni Indonesia Ltd, Eni Indonesia Ots 1 Ltd, Eni Insurance DAC, Eni International BV, Eni International NA NV Sarl, Eni International Resources Ltd, Eni Investments Plc, Eni Iran BV, Eni Iraq BV, Eni Ireland BV, Eni Isatay BV, Eni JPDA 03-13 Ltd, Eni JPDA 06-105 Pty Ltd, Eni JPDA 11-106 BV, Eni Kenya BV, Eni Krueng Mane Ltd, Eni LNS Ltd, Eni Lasmo Plc, Eni Lebanon BV, Eni Liberia BV, Eni Liverpool Bay Operating Co Ltd, Eni Lubricants Trading (Shangai) Co Ltd, Eni Marketing Austria GmbH, Eni Marketing Inc, Eni Maroc BV, Eni Mediterranea Idrocarburi SpA, Eni Middle East Ltd, Eni Mineralolhandel GmbH, Eni Montenegro BV, Eni Mozambico SpA, Eni Mozambique Engineering Ltd, Eni Mozambique LNG Holding BV, Eni Muara Bakau BV, Eni Myanmar BV, Eni Mexico S. de RL de CV, Eni Next Llc, Eni North Africa BV, Eni North Ganal Ltd, Eni Oil & Gas Inc, Eni Oil Algeria Ltd, Eni Oil Holdings BV, Eni Oman BV, Eni Pakistan (M) Ltd Sarl, Eni Pakistan Ltd, Eni Petroleum Co Inc, Eni Petroleum US Llc, Eni Portugal BV, Eni RAK BV, Eni RD Congo SA, Eni Rapak Ltd, Eni Rovuma Basin BV, Eni Schmiertechnik GmbH, Eni Sharjah BV, Eni South Africa BV, Eni South China Sea Ltd Sarl, Eni Suisse SA, Eni TNS Ltd, Eni Timor Leste SpA, Eni Trading & Shipping Inc, Eni Trading & Shipping SpA, Eni Transporte y Suministro Mexico , Eni Tunisia BV, Eni Turkmenistan Ltd, Eni UHL Ltd, Eni UK Holding Plc, Eni UK Ltd, Eni UKCS Ltd, Eni ULT Ltd, Eni ULX Ltd, Eni US Operating Co Inc, Eni USA Gas Marketing Llc, Eni USA Inc, Eni USA R&M Co Inc, Eni Ukraine Holdings BV, Eni Ukraine Llc, Eni Ukraine Shallow Waters BV, Eni Venezuela BV, Eni Venezuela E&P Holding SA, Eni Vietnam BV, Eni West Africa SpA, Eni West Ganal Ltd, Eni West Timor Ltd, Eni Yemen Ltd, Eni do Brasil Investimentos em Exploracao e Producao de Petroleo Ltda, Eni gas e luce SpA, EniPower Mantova SpA, EniProgetti Egypt Ltd, EniProgetti SpA, EniServizi SpA, Esacontrol SA, Esain SA, Eurl Eni Algerie, FRI-EL Group, First Calgary Petroleums LP, First Calgary Petroleums Partner Co ULC, First Calgary Petroliums, Floaters SpA, Gas Supply Company Thessaloniki - Thessalia SA, Gazoduc Transtunisien SA - Scogat SA, Ieoc Exploration BV, Ieoc Production BV, Ieoc SpA, LNG Shipping SpA, Lasmo Sanga Sanga Ltd, Liverpool Bay Ltd, Mizamtec Operating Company, Mukodo Reszvenytarsasag, Nigerian Agip CPFA Ltd, Nigerian Agip Exploration Ltd, Nigerian Agip Oil Co Ltd, OOO Eni Energhia, OOO Eni-Nefto, Oleoduc du Rhone SA, Petroven Srl, Raffineria di Gela SpA, Resources (Nigeria) Ltd, S. de RL de CV, SEA SpA, SeaPad SpA, Serfactoring SpA, Servizi Aerei SpA, Servizi Fondo Bombole Metano SpA, Societa Petrolifera Italiana SpA, Societe de Service du Gazoduc, Societe pour la Construction du, Tecnoesa SA, Trans Tunisian Pipeline Co SpA, Transtunisien SA - Sergaz SA, Versalis Americas Inc, Versalis Congo Sarlu, Versalis Deutschland GmbH, Versalis France SAS, Versalis International SA, Versalis Kimya Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Versalis Mexico S. de R.L. de CV, Versalis Pacific (India) Private Ltd, Versalis Pacific Trading (Shanghai) Co Ltd, Versalis Singapore Pte Ltd, Versalis SpA, Versalis UK Ltd, Zetah Congo Ltd, Zetah Kouilou Ltd, and zemeljskega plina doo Ljubljana. The following companies are subsidiares of Exxon Mobil: AKG Marketing Company Limited, Aera Energy LLC, Al-Jubail Petrochemical Company, Ampolex (Cepu) Pte Ltd, Ancon Insurance Company Inc., Barnett Gathering LLC, Barzan Gas Company Limited, Caspian Pipeline Consortium, Celtic Exploration Ltd., Coral FLNG S.A., Cross Timbers Energy LLC, Ellora Energy Inc., Esmeroon Oil Transporta Imperial Oil Limited, Esso (Thailand) Public Company Limited, Esso Australia Resources Pty Ltd, Esso Deutschland GmbH, Esso Erdgas Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Esso Exploration Angola (Block 15) Limited, Esso Exploration Angola (Block 17) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Angola (Overseas) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Chad Inc., Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Offshore East) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited, Esso Exploration and Production UK Limited, Esso Global Investments Ltd., Esso Italiana S.r.l., Esso Nederland B.V., Esso Norge AS, Esso Petroleum Company Limited, Esso Raffinage, Esso Societe Anonyme Francaise, Exxo Holdings Inc., Exxon Azerbaijan Limited, Exxon Chemical Arabia Inc., Exxon International Finance Company, Exxon Luxembourg Holdings LLC, Exxon Mobile Bay Limited Partnership, Exxon Neftegas Limited, Exxon Overseas Corporation, Exxon Overseas Investment Corporation, ExxonMobil (China) Investment Co. Ltd., ExxonMobil (Taicang) Petroleum Co. Ltd., ExxonMobil Abu Dhabi Offshore Petroleum Company Limited, ExxonMobil Alaska Production Inc., ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., ExxonMobil Australia Pty Ltd, ExxonMobil B Resources Company, ExxonMobil Capital Finance Company, ExxonMobil Capital Netherlands B.V., ExxonMobil Central Europe Holding GmbH, ExxonMobil Cepu Limited, ExxonMobil Chemical France, ExxonMobil Chemical Gulf Coast Investments LLC, ExxonMobil Chemical Holland B.V., ExxonMobil Chemical Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ExxonMobil China Petroleum & Petrochemical Company Limited, ExxonMobil Development Africa B.V., ExxonMobil Development Company, ExxonMobil Egypt (S.A.E.), ExxonMobil Exploracao Brasil Ltda., ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc., ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Norway AS, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania Limited, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Tanzania Limited, ExxonMobil Finance Company Limited, ExxonMobil Financial Investment Company Limited, ExxonMobil France Holding SAS, ExxonMobil Gas Marketing Europe Limited, ExxonMobil General Finance Company, ExxonMobil Global Services Company, ExxonMobil Golden Pass Surety LLC, ExxonMobil Holding Company Holland LLC, ExxonMobil Holding Norway AS, ExxonMobil Hong Kong Limited, ExxonMobil International Services SARL, ExxonMobil Iraq Limited, ExxonMobil Italiana Gas S.r.l., ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Inc., ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Ventures Inc., ExxonMobil LNG Services B.V., ExxonMobil Lubricants Trading Company, ExxonMobil Oil Corporation, ExxonMobil PNG Limited, ExxonMobil Petroleum & Chemical BVBA, ExxonMobil Petroleum & Chemical Holdings Inc., ExxonMobil Pipeline Company, ExxonMobil Production Deutschland GmbH, ExxonMobil Production Norway Inc., ExxonMobil Qatargas (II) Limited, ExxonMobil Qatargas Inc., ExxonMobil Ras Laffan (III) Limited, ExxonMobil Rasgas Inc., ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company, ExxonMobil Russia Kara Sea Holdings B.V., ExxonMobil Sales and Supply LLC, ExxonMobil Technology Finance Company, ExxonMobil Ventures Finance Company, ExxonMobil Ventures Funding Ltd., Fujian Refining & Petrochemical Co. Ltd., Golden Pass LNG Terminal Investments LLC, Golden Pass LNG Terminal LLC, Gulf Coast Growth Ventures LLC, Imperial Oil Limited, Imperial Oil Resources Limited, Imperial Oil Resources N.W.T. Limited, Imperial Oil/Petroliere Imperiale, Infineum Italia s.r.I., Infineum Singapore Pte. Ltd., InterOil Corporation, Jurong Aromatics Corporation Pte Ltd, MPM Lubricants, Marine Well Containment Company LLC, Mobil Australia Resources Company Pty Limited, Mobil California Exploration & Producing Asset Company, Mobil Caspian Pipeline Company, Mobil Chemical Products International Inc., Mobil Corporation, Mobil Equatorial Guinea Inc., Mobil Erdgas Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, Mobil Exploration & Producing Australia Pty Ltd, Mobil International Petroleum Corporation, Mobil Oil Australia Pty Ltd, Mobil Oil Exploration & Producing Southeast Inc., Mobil Oil New Zealand Limited, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, Mobil Producing Texas & New Mexico Inc., Mobil SerLimited, Mobil Venezolana De Petroleos Inc., Mobil Yanbu Petrochemical Company Inc., Mobil Yanbu Refining Company Inc., Mountain Gathering LLC, Mozambique Rovuma Venture S.p.A., Palmetto Transoceanic LLC, Papua New Guinea Liquefied Natural Gas Global Company LDC, Permian Express Partners LLC, Phillips Exploration LLC, Qatar Liquefied Gas Company Limited, Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited, Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited (II), SPI Limited, Saudi Aramco Mobil Refinery Company Ltd., Saudi Yanbu Petrochemical Co., SeaRiver Maritime Inc., South Hook LNG Terminal Company Limited, Tengizchevroil LLP, Terminale GNL Adriatico S.r.l, Trend Gathering & Treating LLC, Wolverine Pipe Line Company, XH LLC, XTO Delaware Basin LLC, XTO Energy Canada, XTO Energy Inc., and XTO Holdings LLC. Wall Street analysts have given Hertz Global 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 Hertz Global wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys. View MarketBeat's top stock picks here. The Interpublic Group of Companies pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and currently has a dividend yield of 2.92%. The Interpublic Group of Companies has been increasing its dividend for 9 consecutive years, indicating the company has a new, but growing committment to grow its dividend. The dividend payout ratio of The Interpublic Group of Companies is 62.43%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%. Based on earnings estimates, The Interpublic Group of Companies will have a dividend payout ratio of 42.19% next year. This indicates that The Interpublic Group of Companies will be able to sustain or increase its dividend. View The Interpublic Group of Companies' dividend history. Novan, Inc., a clinical development-stage biotechnology company, provides nitric oxide-based therapies to treat dermatological and oncovirus-mediated diseases. Its clinical stage dermatology drug candidates include SB204, a topical monotherapy for the treatment of acne vulgaris; SB206, a topical anti-viral gel for the treatment of viral skin infections; SB208, a topical broad-spectrum anti-fungal gel for the treatment of fungal infections of the skin and nails, including athlete's foot and fungal nail infections; and SB414, a topical cream-based gel product candidate for the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases. The company also develops SB207, an anti-viral product candidate for the treatment of external genital warts; WH602, a nitric oxide-containing intravaginal gel to treat high-risk human papilloma virus (HPV); WH504, a non-gel formulation product candidate to treat high-risk HPV; and SB019 for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2. Novan, Inc. has a license agreement with Sato Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.; and a strategic alliance with Orion Corporation. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Morrisville, North Carolina. Read More Username: Password: or Register Thread Rating: 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average 1 2 3 4 5 Page: 1 2 Israel passes a law affirming a Jewish nation-state LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 442425 07-21-2018 05:08 AM Post: #1 Israel passes a law affirming a Jewish nation-state Advertisement Israels parliament voted 62-55 in favor of the long-debated Nation State bill early Thursday morning, enshrining religion-based identity in law. The bill defined Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people (rather than of Israeli citizens), revokes the status of Arabic as an official language, and affirms Jewish-only settlement as a national value. Knesset (Israeli parliament) members say that the law merely puts the countrys Jewish character into writing. But in actively encouraging Jewish-only settlement, the law elevates the unequal treatment of 1.8 million Arabs with Israeli citizenshipwho reports suggest are already discriminated against in employment, social services, and educationto the status of a constitutional norm. The bill did not pass quietly: thousands of demonstrators gathered for an emergency rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday night; 14 American Jewish organizations penned a letter last week to Knesset member Isaac Herzog expressing their opposition to the bill. In a speech at the demonstration, Ayman Odeh, chair of the mostly Arab Joint List party alliance described the laws purpose as being to stick a finger in the eyes of a fifth of Israels population, spark a dispute and polarize in order to make political gain for the Netanyahu tyranny. The Joint List party proposed a counter-bill last month that would define Israel as a state of all its citizens. The Knesset rejected it. For decades, the broad appeal of liberal Zionism in America has depended on a supposed equilibrium between the states Jewish and democratic valuesrepeatedly tested by controversies over, for example, the Gaza blockade and associated violence. With this new law, Netanyahus government may drive Israels liberal supporters further from the fold. https://newrepublic.com/minutes/150009/i...tion-state Israel passes a law affirming a Jewish nation-stateIsraels parliament voted 62-55 in favor of the long-debated Nation State bill early Thursday morning, enshrining religion-based identity in law. The bill defined Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people (rather than of Israeli citizens), revokes the status of Arabic as an official language, and affirms Jewish-only settlement as a national value.Knesset (Israeli parliament) members say that the law merely puts the countrys Jewish character into writing. But in actively encouraging Jewish-only settlement, the law elevates the unequal treatment of 1.8 million Arabs with Israeli citizenshipwho reports suggest are already discriminated against in employment, social services, and educationto the status of a constitutional norm.The bill did not pass quietly: thousands of demonstrators gathered for an emergency rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday night; 14 American Jewish organizations penned a letter last week to Knesset member Isaac Herzog expressing their opposition to the bill. In a speech at the demonstration, Ayman Odeh, chair of the mostly Arab Joint List party alliance described the laws purpose as being to stick a finger in the eyes of a fifth of Israels population, spark a dispute and polarize in order to make political gain for the Netanyahu tyranny. The Joint List party proposed a counter-bill last month that would define Israel as a state of all its citizens. The Knesset rejected it.For decades, the broad appeal of liberal Zionism in America has depended on a supposed equilibrium between the states Jewish and democratic valuesrepeatedly tested by controversies over, for example, the Gaza blockade and associated violence. With this new law, Netanyahus government may drive Israels liberal supporters further from the fold. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 442425 07-21-2018 05:13 AM Post: #2 RE: Israel passes a law affirming a Jewish nation-state So where is antifa when it comes to Israel? Hmmm... ABCDEF_Jesus Dominios Pizza User ID: 419875 07-21-2018 05:19 AM Posts: 3,332 Post: #3 RE: Israel passes a law affirming a Jewish nation-state So all of Hollywood must now boycott the Synagogue of Satan? Because they are both racist and religist against muslims? GrimShaw Asinus Asinum Fricat User ID: 447734 07-21-2018 05:21 AM Posts: 32,480 Post: #4 RE: Israel passes a law affirming a Jewish nation-state Hell yeah. Apartheid as law LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 442425 07-21-2018 05:38 AM Post: #5 RE: Israel passes a law affirming a Jewish nation-state GrimShaw Wrote: (07-21-2018 05:21 AM) Hell yeah. Apartheid as law Only for Jews. Everyone else it's "racist". Only for Jews. Everyone else it's "racist". LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 451148 07-21-2018 05:40 AM Post: #6 RE: Israel passes a law affirming a Jewish nation-state This was passed a couple days ago and I wondered why nobody made a thread on it. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 451425 07-21-2018 05:44 AM Post: #7 RE: Israel passes a law affirming a Jewish nation-state LoP Guest Wrote: (07-21-2018 05:40 AM) This was passed a couple days ago and I wondered why nobody made a thread on it. they did. but the tRumplovers ignored it. they did.but the tRumplovers ignored it. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 450174 07-21-2018 09:40 AM Post: #8 RE: Israel passes a law affirming a Jewish nation-state I love how Israel sets the perfect example... We need to use their Ethnostate set up to get our own. After all if they can have one why can't we? Complete with snipers that will shoot even if you don't make it actually across the border... That's what they do so why not? Israel is all Blood and Soil now.... ROFL love it LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 246147 07-21-2018 09:43 AM Post: #9 RE: Israel passes a law affirming a Jewish nation-state Muslims and Jews deserve eachother Damn. So the crazy inbreds made a law that will lead to more inbreeding.Muslims and Jews deserve eachother LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 451443 07-21-2018 09:43 AM Post: #10 RE: Israel passes a law affirming a Jewish nation-state Racist bastards! LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 451467 07-21-2018 10:02 AM Post: #11 RE: Israel passes a law affirming a Jewish nation-state Discretly 1/5th is illegitimatized Its chesss bit*hes Step up LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 451114 07-21-2018 10:47 AM Post: #12 RE: Israel passes a law affirming a Jewish nation-state Jewish Nazis D3VILSR3J3CT ... User ID: 451420 07-21-2018 10:50 AM Posts: 15,604 Post: #13 RE: Israel passes a law affirming a Jewish nation-state Oh dear. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 246147 07-21-2018 10:51 AM Post: #14 RE: Israel passes a law affirming a Jewish nation-state LoP Guest Wrote: (07-21-2018 10:47 AM) Jewish Nazis Which ones? The ones that reside in Israel today? Or the ones that worked for the SS during WW2? Or the ones that made a pact with Hitler to create Israel?! Which ones? The ones that reside in Israel today?Or the ones that worked for the SS during WW2?Or the ones that made a pact with Hitler to create Israel?! LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 442374 07-21-2018 10:53 AM Post: #15 RE: Israel passes a law affirming a Jewish nation-state Oh the retardation! Advertisement Sanofi, a healthcare company, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of therapeutic solutions in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Pharmaceuticals, Vaccines, and Consumer Healthcare. The company provides specialty care products, including human monoclonal antibodies; products for multiple sclerosis, neurology, other inflammatory diseases, immunology, rare diseases, oncology, and rare blood disorders; medicines for diabetes; and cardiovascular and established prescription products. It also supplies poliomyelitis, pertussis, and hib pediatric vaccines; and influenza, adult booster, meningitis, and travel and endemic vaccines. In addition, the company offers allergy, cough and cold, pain, digestive, and nutritional products; and other products, such as daily body lotions, anti-itch products, moisturizing and soothing lotions, and body and foot creams, as well as powders for eczema. It also has various pharmaceutical products and vaccines in development stage. Sanofi has collaboration agreement with GlaxoSmithKline to develop a recombinant Covid-19 vaccine; and a research collaboration with Stanford University School of Medicine to advance the understanding of immunology and inflammation through open scientific exchange. It also has a collaboration with TrialSpark Inc. to execute clinical research studies in the areas of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The company was formerly known as Sanofi-Aventis and changed its name to Sanofi in May 2011. Sanofi was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Paris, France. Read More Username: Password: or Register Thread Rating: 7 Vote(s) - 3.86 Average 1 2 3 4 5 Page: 1 2 3 Ecuador Will Imminently Withdraw Asylum for Julian Assange: REC thread! via HM He Man Subscriber User ID: 426188 07-21-2018 10:58 PM Posts: 39,440 Post: #1 Ecuador Will Imminently Withdraw Asylum for Julian Assange: REC thread! via HM Advertisement Ecuador Will Imminently Withdraw Asylum for Julian Assange and Hand Him Over to the UK. What Comes Next? A source close to the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry and the Presidents office, unauthorized to speak publicly, has confirmed to the Intercept that Moreno is close to finalizing, if he has not already finalized, an agreement to hand over Assange to the UK within the next several weeks. The withdrawal of asylum and physical ejection of Assange could come as early as this week. On Friday, RT reported that Ecuador was preparing to enter into such an agreement. The consequences of such an agreement depend in part on the concessions Ecuador extracts in exchange for withdrawing Assanges asylum. But as former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa told the Intercept in an interview in May, Morenos government has returned Ecuador to a highly subservient and submissive posture toward western governments. It is thus highly unlikely that Moreno who has shown himself willing to submit to threats and coercion from the UK, Spain and the U.S. will obtain a guarantee that the U.K. not extradite Assange to the U.S., where top Trump officials have vowed to prosecute Assange and destroy WikiLeaks. The central oddity of Assanges case that he has been effectively imprisoned for eight years despite never having been charged with, let alone convicted of, any crime is virtually certain to be prolonged once Ecuador hands him over to the U.K. Even under the best-case scenario, it appears highly likely that Assange will continue to be imprisoned by British authorities. The only known criminal proceeding Assange currently faces is a pending 2012 arrest warrant for failure to surrender basically a minor bail violation charge that arose when he obtained asylum from Ecuador rather than complying with bail conditions by returning to court for a hearing on his attempt to resist extradition to Sweden. MORE: https://theintercept.com/2018/07/21/ecua...omes-next/ Making LOP Great again since 06-07-2013! Robert Reich @RBReich "News flash: If you ban mask mandates, outlaw abortions, dictate what educators can teach in schools, and stop people from voting, you're not the party of "limited government."" REC posted this topic in my "stuff is hitting the fan" thread and I told him he should post a thread about it. He said go ahead share it. So I am, but I would not have known about it if not for REC being so up on everything.A source close to the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry and the Presidents office, unauthorized to speak publicly, has confirmed to the Intercept that Moreno is close to finalizing, if he has not already finalized, an agreement to hand over Assange to the UK within the next several weeks. The withdrawal of asylum and physical ejection of Assange could come as early as this week. On Friday, RT reported that Ecuador was preparing to enter into such an agreement.The consequences of such an agreement depend in part on the concessions Ecuador extracts in exchange for withdrawing Assanges asylum. But as former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa told the Intercept in an interview in May, Morenos government has returned Ecuador to a highly subservient and submissive posture toward western governments.It is thus highly unlikely that Moreno who has shown himself willing to submit to threats and coercion from the UK, Spain and the U.S. will obtain a guarantee that the U.K. not extradite Assange to the U.S., where top Trump officials have vowed to prosecute Assange and destroy WikiLeaks.The central oddity of Assanges case that he has been effectively imprisoned for eight years despite never having been charged with, let alone convicted of, any crime is virtually certain to be prolonged once Ecuador hands him over to the U.K. Even under the best-case scenario, it appears highly likely that Assange will continue to be imprisoned by British authorities.The only known criminal proceeding Assange currently faces is a pending 2012 arrest warrant for failure to surrender basically a minor bail violation charge that arose when he obtained asylum from Ecuador rather than complying with bail conditions by returning to court for a hearing on his attempt to resist extradition to Sweden.MORE:Making LOP Great again since 06-07-2013!Robert Reich @RBReich"News flash: If you ban mask mandates, outlaw abortions, dictate what educators can teach in schools, and stop people from voting, you're not the party of "limited government."" (This post was last modified: 07-21-2018 11:14 PM by He Man .) He Man Subscriber User ID: 426524 07-22-2018 01:03 AM Posts: 39,440 Post: #2 RE: Ecuador Will Imminently Withdraw Asylum for Julian Assange: REC thread! via HM Julian Assange will immediately be ejected from embassy to face possible prosecution: Glen Greenwald report "Wikileaks founder Julian Assange will be immediately forced out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, according to a new report from close Assange ally Glenn Greenwald. Greenwald reports that the president of Ecuador traveled to London on Friday ostensibly to give a speechbut actually to finalize negotiations on Assanges fate. The concealed, actual purpose of the Presidents trip is to meet with British officials to finalize an agreement under which Ecuador will withdraw its asylum protection of Julian Assange, in place since 2012, eject him from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, and then hand over the WikiLeaks founder to British authorities, he wrote. Assange has been blocked from the internet and unable to communicate with the outside world three months ago. Greenwald cites reporting from Russia state media on the topic and argues that Ecuadors new president is a stooge for Western governments who has shown himself willing to submit to threats and coercion from the UK, Spain and the U.S. Greenwald argues that Assanges eventual prosecution could pave the way for the prosecution of American journalists who wil not stand uop for Assange because of they are consumed with hatred for Assange due to personal reasons, professional jealousies, and anger over the role they believed he played in 2016 in helping Hillary Clinton lose." https://www.rawstory.com/2018/07/julian-...ld-report/ "Wikileaks founder Julian Assange will be immediately forced out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, according to a new report from close Assange ally Glenn Greenwald.Greenwald reports that the president of Ecuador traveled to London on Friday ostensibly to give a speechbut actually to finalize negotiations on Assanges fate.The concealed, actual purpose of the Presidents trip is to meet with British officials to finalize an agreement under which Ecuador will withdraw its asylum protection of Julian Assange, in place since 2012, eject him from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, and then hand over the WikiLeaks founder to British authorities, he wrote.Assange has been blocked from the internet and unable to communicate with the outside world three months ago.Greenwald cites reporting from Russia state media on the topic and argues that Ecuadors new president is a stooge for Western governments who has shown himself willing to submit to threats and coercion from the UK, Spain and the U.S.Greenwald argues that Assanges eventual prosecution could pave the way for the prosecution of American journalists who wil not stand uop for Assange because of they are consumed with hatred for Assange due to personal reasons, professional jealousies, and anger over the role they believed he played in 2016 in helping Hillary Clinton lose." Making LOP Great again since 06-07-2013! Robert Reich @RBReich "News flash: If you ban mask mandates, outlaw abortions, dictate what educators can teach in schools, and stop people from voting, you're not the party of "limited government."" LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 444782 07-22-2018 01:49 AM Post: #3 RE: Ecuador Will Imminently Withdraw Asylum for Julian Assange: REC thread! via HM Assange worked with Russian Intelligence to traffic stolen material to undermine free and fair elections. Talk about transparency all you want, these are facts. NormalIsSubjective User ID: 449032 07-22-2018 01:54 AM Posts: 21,495 Post: #4 RE: Ecuador Will Imminently Withdraw Asylum for Julian Assange: REC thread! via HM LoP Guest Wrote: (07-22-2018 01:49 AM) Assange worked with Russian Intelligence to traffic stolen material to undermine free and fair elections. Talk about transparency all you want, these are facts . You'll be happy to provide proof then? You'll be happy to provide proof then? LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 451548 07-22-2018 02:06 AM Post: #5 RE: Ecuador Will Imminently Withdraw Asylum for Julian Assange: REC thread! via HM LoP Guest Wrote: (07-22-2018 01:49 AM) Assange worked with Russian Intelligence to traffic stolen material to undermine free and fair elections. Talk about transparency all you want, these are facts. BS Wikileaks exposed blatant war crimes Manning among others Provided evidence That shocked the world How deceptive and corrupt the war machine is/was Under Bush Cheney Rumsfeld Exposing War Crimes Stick that in your pipe BSWikileaks exposed blatant war crimesManning among othersProvided evidenceThat shocked the worldHow deceptive and corrupt the war machine is/wasUnder Bush Cheney RumsfeldExposing War CrimesStick that in your pipe LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 451548 07-22-2018 02:18 AM Post: #6 RE: Ecuador Will Imminently Withdraw Asylum for Julian Assange: REC thread! via HM By mossad maneuvering They duped US servicemen and trannies Into creating new generations of middle eastern extremists Under failed operation to liberate iraq They simply destroyed the region A handful of years later Half the worlds wealth was also decimated In the GFC Its not going to sound rosy On the headstone of bush cheney rumsfeld LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 246147 07-22-2018 02:22 AM Post: #7 RE: Ecuador Will Imminently Withdraw Asylum for Julian Assange: REC thread! via HM Good. That Mossad agent has needed to be neutralized for some time now. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 451476 07-22-2018 02:34 AM Post: #8 RE: Ecuador Will Imminently Withdraw Asylum for Julian Assange: REC thread! via HM He Man Wrote: (07-21-2018 10:58 PM) A source close to the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry and the Presidents office, unauthorized to speak publicly, has confirmed to the Intercept that Moreno is close to finalizing, if he has not already finalized, an agreement to hand over Assange to the UK within the next several weeks. The consequences of such an agreement depend in part on the concessions Ecuador extracts in exchange for withdrawing Assanges asylum. But as former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa told the Intercept in an interview in May, Morenos government has returned Ecuador to a highly subservient and submissive posture toward western governments. It is thus highly unlikely that Moreno. will obtain a guarantee that the U.K. not extradite Assange to the U.S. Pure sour grapes from the Correa now Moreno is tearing up all his policies. Moreno has already described Assange as an "inherited problem" and a "stone in the shoe" frankly Assange should consider himself lucky that Moreno doesn't order a bullet in the back of his head and to be left out with the recycling for the Westminster bin lorry. Ecuador is neither inclined to, nor has any possibility of dictating to the UK what happens to Assange once he is handed over. He Man Wrote: (07-21-2018 10:58 PM) The central oddity of Assanges case that he has been effectively imprisoned for eight years In the same way the British have been imprisoning you in your mom's basement for the last six years. No that is a fully 100% retarded argument and you should never go full retard. He Man Wrote: (07-21-2018 10:58 PM) The only known criminal proceeding Assange currently faces is a pending 2012 arrest warrant for failure to surrender basically a minor bail violation charge that arose when he obtained asylum from Ecuador rather than complying with bail conditions by returning to court for a hearing on his attempt to resist extradition to Sweden. Which carries a maximum sentence of one year, which just shows you what an idiot Assange has been since Sweden dropped its extradition request, He thought he was going to get away without serving his time for skipping bail, that's the only reason he is still cowering in the Ecuadorian broom closet. Pure sour grapes from the Correa now Moreno is tearing up all his policies. Moreno has already described Assange as an "inherited problem" and a "stone in the shoe" frankly Assange should consider himself lucky that Moreno doesn't order a bullet in the back of his head and to be left out with the recycling for the Westminster bin lorry.Ecuador is neither inclined to, nor has any possibility of dictating to the UK what happens to Assange once he is handed over.In the same way the British have been imprisoning you in your mom's basement for the last six years. No that is a fully 100% retarded argument and you should never go full retard.Which carries a maximum sentence of one year, which just shows you what an idiot Assange has been since Sweden dropped its extradition request, He thought he was going to get away without serving his time for skipping bail, that's the only reason he is still cowering in the Ecuadorian broom closet. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 450676 07-22-2018 03:30 AM Post: #9 RE: Ecuador Will Imminently Withdraw Asylum for Julian Assange: REC thread! via HM NormalIsSubjective Wrote: (07-22-2018 01:54 AM) LoP Guest Wrote: (07-22-2018 01:49 AM) Assange worked with Russian Intelligence to traffic stolen material to undermine free and fair elections. Talk about transparency all you want, these are facts . You'll be happy to provide proof then? The have none. The have none. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 451570 07-22-2018 03:34 AM Post: #10 RE: Ecuador Will Imminently Withdraw Asylum for Julian Assange: REC thread! via HM LoP Guest Wrote: (07-22-2018 01:49 AM) Assange worked with Russian Intelligence to traffic stolen material to undermine free and fair elections. Talk about transparency all you want, these are facts. yep yep LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 451570 07-22-2018 03:34 AM Post: #11 RE: Ecuador Will Imminently Withdraw Asylum for Julian Assange: REC thread! via HM LoP Guest Wrote: (07-22-2018 03:30 AM) NormalIsSubjective Wrote: (07-22-2018 01:54 AM) You'll be happy to provide proof then? The have none. plenty of proof if you pull your fat head out your ass plenty of proof if you pull your fat head out your ass LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 246147 07-22-2018 03:41 AM Post: #12 RE: Ecuador Will Imminently Withdraw Asylum for Julian Assange: REC thread! via HM No substantial leaks about Israel at all in all of Wikileaks existence. That says it all. I hope that Israeli asset gets turned into soup. I hope that Israeli asset gets turned into soup. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 451551 07-22-2018 03:46 AM Post: #13 RE: Ecuador Will Imminently Withdraw Asylum for Julian Assange: REC thread! via HM LoP Guest Wrote: (07-22-2018 03:34 AM) LoP Guest Wrote: (07-22-2018 03:30 AM) The have none. plenty of proof if you pull your fat head out your ass Just none that you'll provide. You're just here to make grand unsupported statements. Just none that you'll provide.You're just here to make grand unsupported statements. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 451551 07-22-2018 03:47 AM Post: #14 RE: Ecuador Will Imminently Withdraw Asylum for Julian Assange: REC thread! via HM LoP Guest Wrote: (07-22-2018 03:41 AM) No substantial leaks about Israel at all in all of Wikileaks existence. That says it all. I hope that Israeli asset gets turned into soup. None about China either. Or North Korea... Or South Africa... Or Iran... Or Mongolia... Or Brazil.... None about China either.Or North Korea...Or South Africa...Or Iran...Or Mongolia...Or Brazil.... LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 246147 07-22-2018 03:49 AM Post: #15 RE: Ecuador Will Imminently Withdraw Asylum for Julian Assange: REC thread! via HM LoP Guest Wrote: (07-22-2018 03:47 AM) LoP Guest Wrote: (07-22-2018 03:41 AM) No substantial leaks about Israel at all in all of Wikileaks existence. That says it all. I hope that Israeli asset gets turned into soup. None about China either. Or North Korea... Or South Africa... Or Iran... Or Mongolia... Or Brazil.... And none of those are our closest ally either. Assange also said the official 9/11 story is legit. Why are you defending the NWO? And none of those are our closest ally either.Assange also said the official 9/11 story is legit.Why are you defending the NWO? Advertisement The following companies are subsidiares of Accenture: 2nd Road, 2nd Road Pty Ltd., ?What If!, ?What If! China Holdings Ltd, ?What If! Holdings Limited, ?What If! Innovation Singapore Holdings Pte, ?What If! Limited, ?What If! Shanghai Co. Ltd, ?What If! 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EnergyQuote S.r.l., S3 TV Technology Limited, S3 TV Technology Ltd., SEC Servizi, SEC Servizi S.p.A., SOPIA Corp., Sagacious Consultants, Sagacious Consultants LLC, Salt Solutions, Sanchez Capital Services Pvt Ltd, Schlumberger Business Consulting, Seabury Airline Planning Group, Seabury Aviation & Aerospace (UK) Limited, Seabury Aviation & Aerospace Asia (Hong Kong) Limited, Seabury Aviation Consulting LLC, Seabury Cargo Advisory B.V., Seabury Consulting, Seabury Corporate Advisors LLC, Seabury Human Capital LLC, Seabury Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Seabury Structured Finance LLC, Search Technologies BPO, Search Technologies BPO Inc., Search Technologies GmbH, Search Technologies International LLC, Search Technologies LATAM, Search Technologies LATAM S.A., Search Technologies LLC, Search Technologies Limited, Sente Partners LLC, Sentelis, Servicios Tecnicos de Programacion Accenture S.C., Shackleton, Shackleton Barcelona S.L., Shackleton Chile S.A., Shackleton Madrid S.L., Shackleton S.A., Shanghai Baiyue Advertising Co. Ltd., Shun Zhe Technology Development Co. Ltd., Silveo, Simian Pty Limited, SinnerSchrader AG, SinnerSchrader Commerce GmbH, SinnerSchrader Content GmbH, SinnerSchrader Deutschland GmbH, SinnerSchrader Praha s.r.o., SinnerSchrader Swipe GmbH, Sinnerschrader, Sistemes Consulting S.L., Solutions IQ, Solutions IQ LLC, SolutionsIQ, SolutionsIQ India Consulting Services Private Limited, Storm Digital, Storm Digital B.V., Structure Consulting Group, Structure Consulting Group LLC, Sutter Mills, Systor AG, TQuila Limited (UK), Tadata Creative Unlimited Company, Tara Insurance DAC, Tara Risk DAC, TargetST8, TargetST8 Consulting LLC, Tech - Avanade Portugal Unipessoal Lda, Tecnilogica Ecosistemas S.A., Tecnilogica Ltd., Tecnilogica, The Brand Learning Partners Limited, The Callisto Integration Corporation, The Monkeys, The Monkeys Pty Limited, The Myrtle Group, Total Logistics, Total Logistics Supply Chain Consultants Limited, Tquila, Trivadis AG, Troop Studios Pty Ltd, VanBerlo, Verax Solutions, Verax Solutions Corporation, Vertical Retail Consulting (Shanghai) Ltd., Vertical Retail Consulting Hong Kong, Vertical Retail Consulting Hong Kong Ltd., Vertical Retail Consulting Ltd., Vivere Brasil Servicos e Solucoes SA, Vivere Brasil Solucoes De Credito Ltda., Wabion GmbH, Weblinc Pty Ltd, Wire Stone, Wire Stone LLC, Wire Stone Sarl, Wolox, Workforce Insight Inc, Yesler, Zag, Zenta, Zenta Global Philippines, Zenta Global Philippines Inc., Zenta Mortgage Services LLC, Zenta Recoveries Inc, Zenta US Holdings Inc., Zielpuls, Zielpuls (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Zielpuls GmbH, avVenta, designaffairs, designaffairs Business Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., designaffairs GmbH, designaffairs group China Co. Ltd., dgroup, i4C Analytics, iDefense, and solid-serVision.com GmbH. Baker Hughes, a GE company provides integrated oilfield products, services, and digital solutions worldwide. Its Oilfield Services segment offers drilling, wireline, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention services; and drilling and completions fluids, completions tools and systems, wellbore intervention tools and services, artificial lift systems, pressure pumping systems, and oilfield and industrial chemicals for integrated oil and natural gas, and oilfield service companies. The company's Oilfield Equipment segment designs and manufactures products and services, including pressure control equipment and services, subsea production systems and services, drilling equipment, and flexible pipeline systems; and onshore and offshore drilling and production systems, and equipment for floating production platforms, as well as provides a range of services related to onshore and offshore drilling activities. Its Turbomachinery & Process Solutions segment provides equipment and related services for mechanical-drive, compression, and power-generation applications across the oil and gas industry, as well as products and services to serve the downstream segments of industry. Its product portfolio includes drivers, compressors, and turnkey solutions; and pumps, valves, and compressed natural gas and small-scale liquefied natural gas solutions. This segment serves upstream, midstream, onshore and offshore, industrial, engineering, procurement, and construction companies. The company's Digital Solutions segment provides sensor-based measurement, non-destructive testing and inspection, turbine, generator and plant controls, and condition monitoring, as well as pipeline integrity solutions for a range of industries, including oil and gas, power generation, aerospace, metals, and transportation. It serves through direct and indirect channels. The company is based in Houston, Texas. Baker Hughes, a GE company is a subsidiary of General Electric Company. Read More Westpac Banking Corp. engages in the provision of banking and financial services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Bank, Business Bank, BT Financial Group (Australia), Westpac Institutional Bank, Westpac New Zealand and Group Businesses. The Consumer Bank segment covers consumer banking products and services under the Westpac, St. George, BankSA, Bank of Melbourne and RAMS brands. The Business Bank segment involves in sales and customer service of small-to-medium enterprise, commercial and agribusiness customers under the Westpac, St.George, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA brands. The BT Financial Group (Australia) segment manages wealth and insurance division. The Westpac Institutional Bank segment delivers a range of financial services to commercial, corporate, institutional, and government customers. The Westpac New Zealand segment comprises sales and service of banking, wealth, and insurance products for consumer, business, and institutional customers. The Group Businesses segment treasury which is responsible for the management of the Group's balance sheet, group technology which includes functions for the Australian businesses, and core support which covers Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Caterpillar: Advanced Tri-Gen Power Systems LLC, Anchor Coupling Inc., Asia Power Systems (Tianjin) Ltd., AsiaTrak (Tianjin) Ltd., Banco Caterpillar S.A., Berg Propulsion International Pte Ltd., Bucyrus, Bucyrus Australia Surface Pty. Ltd., Bucyrus Europe Holdings Ltd., Bucyrus Europe Limited, Bucyrus International (Chile) Limitada, Bucyrus International (Peru) S.A., Bucyrus Mining Australia Pty. Ltd., Bucyrus Mining China LLC, Bucyrus UK Limited, Cat Rental Kyushu LLC, Caterpillar (Africa) (Proprietary) Limited, Caterpillar (China) Financial Leasing Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (China) Investment Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (China) Machinery Components Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (HK) Limited, Caterpillar (Huainan) Machinery Service Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Langfang) Mining Equipment Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Luxembourg) Investment Co. S.a r.l., Caterpillar (NI) Limited, Caterpillar (Newberry) LLC, Caterpillar (Qingzhou) Ltd., Caterpillar (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Suzhou) Logistics Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Thailand) Limited, Caterpillar (U.K.) Limited, Caterpillar (Wujiang) Ltd., Caterpillar (Xuzhou) Ltd., Caterpillar (Zhengzhou) Ltd., Caterpillar Acquisition Holding Corp., Caterpillar Americas C.V., Caterpillar Americas Co., Caterpillar Americas Funding Inc., Caterpillar Americas Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Asia Limited, Caterpillar Asia Pacific L.P., Caterpillar Asia Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Asset Intelligence LLC, Caterpillar Belgium S.A., Caterpillar Brasil Comercio de Maquinas e Pecas Ltda., Caterpillar Brasil Ltda., Caterpillar Brazil LLC, Caterpillar Castings Kiel GmbH, Caterpillar Centro de Formacion S.L., Caterpillar China Limited, Caterpillar Commercial Australia Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar Commercial LLC, Caterpillar Commercial Northern Europe Limited, Caterpillar Commercial S.A., Caterpillar Commercial S.A.R.L., Caterpillar Commercial Services S.A.R.L., Caterpillar Communications LLC, Caterpillar Corporativo Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Cote DIvoire, Caterpillar Credito S.A. de C.V. SOFOM E.N.R., Caterpillar DC Pension Trust Limited, Caterpillar Digital Services & Solutions SARL, Caterpillar Distribution International LLC, Caterpillar Distribution Services Europe B.V.B.A., Caterpillar East Real Estate Holding Ltd., Caterpillar Emissions Solutions Inc., Caterpillar Energy Solutions Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Energy Solutions GmbH, Caterpillar Energy Solutions Inc., Caterpillar Energy Solutions S.A., Caterpillar Energy System Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Engine Systems Inc., Caterpillar Equipos Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Eurasia LLC, Caterpillar FS (QFC) LLC, Caterpillar Finance France S.A., Caterpillar Finance Kabushiki Kaisha, Caterpillar Financial Acquisition Funding LLC, Caterpillar Financial Aftermarket Solutions Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Australia Leasing Pty Limited, Caterpillar Financial Australia Limited, Caterpillar Financial Commercial Account Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Corporacion Financiera S.A. E.F.C., Caterpillar Financial Dealer Funding LLC, Caterpillar Financial Funding Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Kazakhstan Limited Liability Partnership, Caterpillar Financial Leasing (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Financial New Zealand Limited, Caterpillar Financial Nordic Services AB, Caterpillar Financial Nova Scotia Corporation, Caterpillar Financial OOO, Caterpillar Financial Receivables Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Renting S.A., Caterpillar Financial SARL, Caterpillar Financial Services (Dubai) Limited, Caterpillar Financial Services (Ireland) plc, Caterpillar Financial Services (UK) Limited, Caterpillar Financial Services Argentina S.A., Caterpillar Financial Services Asia Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Financial Services Belgium S.P.R.L., Caterpillar Financial Services CR s.r.o., Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Services GmbH, Caterpillar Financial Services India Private Limited, Caterpillar Financial Services Leasing ULC, Caterpillar Financial Services Limited Les Services Financiers Caterpillar Limitee, Caterpillar Financial Services Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Caterpillar Financial Services Netherlands B.V., Caterpillar Financial Services Norway AS, Caterpillar Financial Services Philippines Inc., Caterpillar Financial Services Poland Sp. z o.o., Caterpillar Financial Services South Africa (Pty) Limited, Caterpillar Financial UK Acquisition Funding Partners, Caterpillar Financial Ukraine LLC, Caterpillar Fluid Systems S.r.l., Caterpillar Fomento Comercial Ltda., Caterpillar Forest Products Inc., Caterpillar France S.A.S., Caterpillar GB L.L.C., Caterpillar Global Investments S.a r.l., Caterpillar Global Mining America LLC, Caterpillar Global Mining Equipamentos De Mineracao do Brasil Ltda., Caterpillar Global Mining Equipment LLC, Caterpillar Global Mining Europe GmbH, Caterpillar Global Mining Expanded Products Pty Ltd, Caterpillar Global Mining Germany Holdings GmbH, Caterpillar Global Mining HMS GmbH, Caterpillar Global Mining Holdings GmbH, Caterpillar Global Mining Hong Kong AFC Manufacturing Holding Co. Limited, Caterpillar Global Mining Hong Kong Limited, Caterpillar Global Mining LLC, Caterpillar Global Mining Mexico LLC, Caterpillar Global Mining Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar Global Mining SARL, Caterpillar Global Mining U.S. Parts LLC, Caterpillar Global Services LLC, Caterpillar Group Services S.A., Caterpillar Holding (France) S.A.S., Caterpillar Holding Germany GmbH, Caterpillar Holdings Australia Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar Hungary Components Manufacturing Ltd., Caterpillar Hydraulics Italia S.r.l., Caterpillar IPX LLC, Caterpillar IRB LLC, Caterpillar Impact Products Limited, Caterpillar India Private Limited, Caterpillar Industrial Inc., Caterpillar Industrias Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Industries (Pty) Ltd, Caterpillar Insurance Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Insurance Company, Caterpillar Insurance Holdings Inc., Caterpillar Insurance Services Corporation, Caterpillar International Finance Designated Activity Company, Caterpillar International Finance Luxembourg Holding S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Finance Luxembourg S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Holding S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Luxembourg I S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Luxembourg II S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Product SARL, Caterpillar International Services Corporation, Caterpillar International Services del Peru S.A., Caterpillar Investment Limited, Caterpillar Investment One SARL, Caterpillar Investment Two SARL, Caterpillar Investments, Caterpillar Japan LLC, Caterpillar Latin America Services S.R.L., Caterpillar Latin America Services de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Latin America Services de Panama S. de R.L., Caterpillar Latin America Servicios de Chile Limitada, Caterpillar Latin America Support Services S. DE R.L., Caterpillar Leasing (Thailand) Limited, Caterpillar Leasing Chile S.A., Caterpillar Leasing GmbH (Leipzig), Caterpillar Leasing Operativo Limitada, Caterpillar Life Insurance Company, Caterpillar Logistics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Logistics (UK) Limited, Caterpillar Logistics Inc., Caterpillar Logistics ML Services France S.A.S., Caterpillar Logistics Services China Limited, Caterpillar Luxembourg Group S.ar.l., Caterpillar Luxembourg LLC, Caterpillar Luxembourg S.a r.l., Caterpillar Machinery Nantong Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Marine Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Marine Asset Intelligence, Caterpillar Marine Power UK Limited, Caterpillar Marine Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Maroc SARL, Caterpillar Materiels Routiers SAS, Caterpillar Mexico LLC, Caterpillar Mexico S.A. de C.V., Caterpillar Mining Canada ULC, Caterpillar Mining Chile Servicios Limitada, Caterpillar Motoren (Guangdong) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Motoren GmbH & Co. KG, Caterpillar Motoren Henstedt-Ulzburg GmbH, Caterpillar Motoren Rostock GmbH, Caterpillar Motoren Verwaltungs-GmbH, Caterpillar Netherlands Holding B.V., Caterpillar North America C.V., Caterpillar Operator Training Ltd., Caterpillar Overseas Credit Corporation SARL, Caterpillar Overseas Investment Holding SARL, Caterpillar Overseas Limited, Caterpillar Overseas SARL, Caterpillar Panama Services S.A., Caterpillar Paving Products Inc., Caterpillar Paving Products Xuzhou Ltd., Caterpillar Pension Trust Limited, Caterpillar Poland Sp. z o.o., Caterpillar Power Generation Systems (Bangladesh) Limited, Caterpillar Power Generation Systems L.L.C., Caterpillar Power Systems Inc., Caterpillar Power Ventures International Ltd., Caterpillar Precision Seals Korea, Caterpillar Prodotti Stradali S.r.l., Caterpillar Product Services Corporation, Caterpillar Propulsion AB, Caterpillar Propulsion International Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Propulsion Italy S.R.L., Caterpillar Propulsion Namibia (Proprietary) Limited, Caterpillar Propulsion Production AB, Caterpillar Propulsion Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Propulsion Singapore Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar R&D Center (China) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Ramos Arizpe LLC, Caterpillar Ramos Arizpe S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Ramos Arizpe Servicios S.A. de C.V., Caterpillar Reman Powertrain Indiana LLC, Caterpillar Remanufacturing Drivetrain LLC, Caterpillar Remanufacturing Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Renting France S.A.S., Caterpillar Reynosa S.A. de C.V., Caterpillar SARL, Caterpillar Services Germany GmbH, Caterpillar Servicios Limitada, Caterpillar Servicios Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Servizi Italia Srl, Caterpillar Shrewsbury Limited, Caterpillar Skinningrove Limited, Caterpillar Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd., Caterpillar Special Services Belgium S.P.R.L., Caterpillar Switchgear Americas LLC, Caterpillar Switchgear Holding Inc., Caterpillar Tianjin Ltd., Caterpillar Torreon S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Tosno L.L.C., Caterpillar Transmissions France S.A.R.L., Caterpillar Tunneling Canada Holdings Ltd., Caterpillar Tunnelling Canada Corporation, Caterpillar Tunnelling Europe Limited, Caterpillar UK Employee Trust Limited, Caterpillar UK Engines Company Limited, Caterpillar UK Group Limited, Caterpillar UK Holdings Limited, Caterpillar Undercarriage (Xuzhou) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Underground Mining Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar Used Equipment Services Inc., Caterpillar Venture Capital Inc., Caterpillar Work Tools B.V., Caterpillar Work Tools Inc., Caterpillar World Trading Corporation, Caterpillar Xuzhou, Caterpillar of Australia Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar of Canada Corporation, Caterpillar of Delaware Inc., Centre de Distribution de Wallonie SPRL, CleanAir Systems, Downer Freight Rail, ECM Railway Evolution Romania s.r.l., ECM S.p.A., EDC European Excavator Design Center GmbH, EMC Holding Corp., EMD International Holdings Inc., ERA Information & Entertainment (BVI) Limited, ERA Mining Machinery Limited, Electro-Motive Diesel Limited, Electro-Motive Locomotive Technologies LLC, Electro-Motive Technical Consulting Co. (Beijing) Ltd., Energy Services International Limited, Equipos de Acuna S.A. de C.V., Eurenov S.A.S., F. G. Wilson (Proprietary) Limited, F. Perkins Limited, FG Wilson (Engineering) Limited, GB Holdco (China) Inc., GFCM Comercial Mexico S.A. de C.V. SOFOM E.N.R., GFCM Servicios S.A. de C.V., Gremada Industries - Assets, Hong Kong Siwei Holdings Limited, Inmobiliaria Conek S.A. de C.V., JCS Co., Kemper Valve & Fittings Corp., Leo Inc., Locomotive Demand Power Pty Ltd., Locomotoras Progress Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Lovat, M2M Data Corporation, MGE Equipamentos & Servicos Ferroviarios, MWM, MWM Austria GmbH, MWM Benelux B.V., MWM Energy Australia Pty Ltd, MWM France S.A.S, MWM Real Estate GmbH, MaK Americas Inc., MaK Americas Inc. (Canada), Magnum Power Products LLC, Marble, Maschinenbau Kiel GmbH, Mec-Track S.r.l., Metalmark Financial Services Limited, Motoren Steffens GmbH, Nippon Caterpillar LLC, P. T. Solar Services Indonesia, PT Caterpillar Finance Indonesia, PT. Bucyrus Indonesia, PT. Caterpillar Indonesia, PT. Caterpillar Indonesia Batam, PT. Caterpillar Remanufacturing Indonesia, Perkins Engines, Perkins Engines (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd, Perkins Engines Group Limited, Perkins Engines Inc., Perkins Group Limited, Perkins Holdings Limited LLC, Perkins India Private Limited, Perkins International Inc., Perkins Japan LLC, Perkins Limited, Perkins Machinery (Changshu) Co. Ltd., Perkins Motores do Brasil Ltda., Perkins Power Systems Technology (Wuxi) Co. Ltd., Perkins Small Engines (Wuxi) Co. Ltd., Perkins Small Engines LLC, Perkins Small Engines Limited, Perkins Technology Inc., Progress Metal Reclamation Company, Progress Rail Arabia Limited Company, Progress Rail Australia Pty Ltd, Progress Rail Canada Corporation, Progress Rail Equipamentos e Servicos Ferroviarios do Brasil Ltda., Progress Rail Equipment Leasing Corporation, Progress Rail Holdings Inc., Progress Rail Innovations Private Limited, Progress Rail Inspection & Information Systems GmbH, Progress Rail Inspection & Information Systems S.r.l., Progress Rail International Corp., Progress Rail Leasing Canada Corporation, Progress Rail Leasing Corporation, Progress Rail Leasing de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Progress Rail Locomotivas (do Brasil) Ltda., Progress Rail Locomotive Canada Co., Progress Rail Locomotive Chile SpA, Progress Rail Locomotive Inc., Progress Rail Maintenance de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Progress Rail Manufacturing Corporation, Progress Rail Raceland Corporation, Progress Rail Rocklin Corporation, Progress Rail SA Proprietary Limited, Progress Rail Services Corporation, Progress Rail Services Holdings Corp., Progress Rail Services LLC, Progress Rail Services UK Limited, Progress Rail Switching Services LLC, Progress Rail Transcanada Corporation, Progress Rail Welding Corporation, Progress Rail Wildwood LLC, Progress Rail de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Pyroban Group, Pyroban Group, Pyrrha Investments B.V., Pyrrha Investments Limited, S&L Railroad LLC, SCM Singapore Holdings Pte. Ltd., SPL Software Alliance LLC, Sabre Engines, Servicios de Turbinas Solar S. de R.L. de C.V., Shandong SEM Machinery Co. Ltd., Solar Turbines, Solar Turbines, Solar Turbines (Beijing) Trading Services Co. Ltd., Solar Turbines (Thailand) Ltd., Solar Turbines CIS Limited Liability Company, Solar Turbines Canada Ltd./Ltee., Solar Turbines Central Asia Limited Liability Partnership, Solar Turbines EAME s.r.o., Solar Turbines Egypt Limited Liability Company, Solar Turbines Europe S.A., Solar Turbines India Private Limited, Solar Turbines International Company, Solar Turbines Italy S.R.L., Solar Turbines Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Solar Turbines Middle East Limited, Solar Turbines New Zealand Limited, Solar Turbines Saudi Arabia Limited, Solar Turbines Services Company, Solar Turbines Services Nigeria Limited, Solar Turbines Services of Argentina S.R.L., Solar Turbines Switzerland Sagl, Solar Turbines Trinidad & Tobago Limited, Solar Turbines West-Africa SARL, Tangshan DBT Machinery Co. Ltd., Tecnologia Modificada S.A. de C.V., Towmotor Corporation, Traction & Mining Motor Repairs Pty Ltd, Turbinas Solar S.A. de C.V., Turbinas Solar de Colombia S.A., Turbinas Solar de Venezuela C.A., Turbo Tecnologia de Reparaciones S.A. de C.V., Turbomach, Turbomach Endustriyel Gaz Turbinleri Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited, Turbomach France SARL, Turbomach GmbH, Turbomach Netherlands B.V., Turbomach Pakistan (Private) Limited, Turbomach S.A. Unipersonal, Turbomach Sp. Z o.o., Turner Powertrain Systems Limited, UK Hose Assembly Limited, Underground Imaging Technologies Inc, United Industries LLC, VALA Inc., Vasky Energy Ltd., Wealdstone Engineering, Weir - Oil & Gas Division, West Virginia Auto Shredding Inc., Western Gear Machinery LLC, Wetland Sustainability Fund I LLC, Williams Technologies, Yard Club, Zhengzhou Siwei Mechanical and Electrical Equipment Sales Co. Ltd., and okyo Rental Ltd.. Centrica plc operates as an integrated energy company in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, North America, and internationally. The company operates through British Gas, Energy Marketing & Trading, Centrica Business Solutions, Bord GAis Energy, and Upstream segments. It supplies gas and electricity to residential customers, as well as offers energy-related services; and generates power from combined cycle gas turbines and nuclear assets. The company also provides installation, repair, and maintenance services for domestic central heating, plumbing and drains, home electrical, and gas and kitchen appliances; and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment, as well as offers breakdown services. In addition, it is involved in the procurement, trading, and optimization of energy; procurement and sale of LNG; and supplies energy efficiency solutions and technologies to residential customers. Further, the company produces and processes gas and oil; develops new fields to maintain reserves; constructs, owns, and exploits infrastructure; and engages in the social enterprise investment fund activities. Additionally, it provides vehicle leasing, commercial, and insurance services, as well as energy management products and services; and operates a gas storage and franchise network. The company was formerly known as Yieldtop plc and changed its name to Centrica plc in December 1996. Centrica plc was incorporated in 1995 and is based in Windsor, the United Kingdom. Read More Close Brothers Group plc, a merchant banking company, provides financial services to small businesses and individuals in the United Kingdom. It operates through five segments: Commercial, Retail, Property, Asset Management, and Securities. The company offers various deposit products, including fixed term deposits and notice accounts. It also provides asset finance, asset-based lending, commercial vehicle hire, short-term bridging finance, insurance premium finance, invoice discounting and factoring, and property finance products. In addition, the company offers funding services for general aviation aircraft, and various leisure and commercial vessels; sale and rent back services for the brewing sector; broker finance services to agriculture, construction, manufacturing, and transport industries; leasing services for construction, manufacturing, IT equipment, and specialist assets; and loan, hire purchase, leasing, and refinancing services to the professional service sector, including dental, medical, pharmacy, and veterinary sectors. Further, it provides financial education, investment management, and financial planning and advice services; self-directed services that help investors to manage their portfolio online; and services for financial advisers. Additionally, the company offers liquidity and flexible execution services to retail stockbrokers, wealth managers, and institutional investors; market making, sales, research, and corporate broking services; and dealing, custody, and settlement services to the institutional, wealth management, and brokerage clients. Close Brothers Group plc was founded in 1878 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Crane: "CPI-Kiev" LLC, ARDAC Inc., AeroHose, Alfa Laval - The Industrial Flow Group, Armature d.o.o., Automatic Products (UK) Ltd., Automatic Products international - Assets, B. Rhodes & Son Ltd., Barksdale GmbH, Barksdale Inc., CA-MC Acquisition UK Ltd., CR Holdings C.V., CashCode Co - Assets, Coin Controls International Ltd., Coin Holdings Ltd., Coin Industries Ltd., Coin Overseas Holdings Ltd., Coin Pension Trustees Ltd., Conlux Matsumoto Co. Ltd., Consolidated Lumber Co, Corva Corp, Crane (Asia Pacific) Pte. Ltd., Crane Aerospace Inc., Crane Australia Pty. Ltd., Crane Canada Co., Crane Composites Inc., Crane Composites Ltd., Crane Controls Inc., Crane Currency, Crane Electronics Corporation, Crane Electronics Inc., Crane Environmental Inc., Crane European Financing LLC, Crane Fengqiu Zhejiang Pump Co. Ltd., Crane Fluid & Gas Systems (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Crane Global Holdings S.L., Crane GmbH, Crane Holdings (Germany) GmbH, Crane International Capital S.a.r.l., Crane International Holdings Inc., Crane International Trading (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Crane Ireland Ventures Designated Activity Company, Crane Ltd., Crane Merchandising Systems Inc., Crane Merchandising Systems Ltd., Crane Merger Co. LLC, Crane Middle East & Africa FZE, Crane Ningjin Valve Co. Ltd., Crane North America Funding LLC, Crane Nuclear Inc., Crane Overseas LLC, Crane Payment Innovations GmbH, Crane Payment Innovations Inc., Crane Payment Innovations International Ltd., Crane Payment Innovations Ltd., Crane Payment Innovations Pty Ltd., Crane Payment Innovations Sarl, Crane Payment Innovations Srl, Crane Pension Trustee Company (UK) Limited, Crane Process Flow Technologies (India) Pvt. Ltd., Crane Process Flow Technologies GmbH, Crane Process Flow Technologies Ltd., Crane Process Flow Technologies S.P.R.L., Crane Process Flow Technologies S.r.l., Crane Pumps and Systems Inc., Crane Resistoflex GmbH, Crane SC Holdings Ltd., Crane Stockham Valve. Ltd., Crane Yongxiang (Ningbo) Valve Company Ltd., Croning Livarna d.o.o., Cummis-Allison Corp, Delta Fluid Products, Delta Fluid Products Ltd., Dixie Narco, Donald Brown (Brownall) Ltd., ELDEC Corporation, ELDEC Electronics Ltd., ELDEC France S.A.R.L, Edlon - PSI division, Environmental Products USA, Etex Group - Business, Flow Technology Inc., Friedrich Krombach GmbH Armaturenwerke, General Technology Corp., Hattersley Newman Hender - Assets, Hattersly Newman Hender Ltd., Hydro-Aire Inc., Inta-Lok Ltd., Interpoint S.A.R.L., Interpoint U.K. Limited, Kessel (Thailand) Pte. Ltd., Kontron America - Mobile Rugged Business, Laminated Profiles - Assets, Lasco Composites, Liberty Technologies, MCC Holdings Inc., MEI Australia LLC, MEI Auto Payment System (Shanghai) Ltd., MEI Conlux, MEI Conlux Holdings (Japan) Inc., MEI Conlux Holdings (US) Inc., MEI Payment Systems Hong Kong Ltd., MEI Queretaro S. de R.L. de CV, MEI de Mexico LLC, MOVATS - Nuclear Valve Division, Merrimac Industries, Merrimac Industries Inc., Mondais Holdings B.V., Money Controls, Money Controls Argentina SA, Money Controls Holdings Ltd., Multi-Mix Microtechnology SRL, NABIC Valve Safety Products Ltd., Nippon Conlux Co. Ltd., Noble Composites, Noble Composites Inc., Number One Supply, Owens Corning - FRP Panel Business, P.L. Porter, P.T. Crane Indonesia, Pegler Hattersly Ltd., Resistoflex, Sequentia Holdings, Signal Technology, Sperryn & Company Ltd., Stentorfield, Streamware, Telequip, Terminal Manufacturing Co., The Dow Chemical - Plastic-Lined Piping Products division, The Krombach Group, Triangle Valve Co. Ltd., Unidynamics / Phoenix Inc., Ventech Controls, Viking Johnson Ltd., W.T. Armatur GmbH, Wade Couplings Ltd., Wask Ltd., Westlock Controls, Xomox, Xomox Chihuahua S.A. de C.V., Xomox Corporation, Xomox Corporation de Venezuela C.A., Xomox France S.A.S., Xomox Hungary Kft., Xomox International GmbH & Co. OHG, Xomox Japan Ltd., Xomox Korea Ltd., Xomox Sanmar Ltd., and Yilme Holdings B.V.. DowDuPont Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in agriculture, materials science, and specialty products businesses in the United States, Canada, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The company's Agriculture segment produces, and sells hybrid corn seed and soybean seed varieties; sunflowers, wheat, alfalfa, canola, cotton, rice, and sorghum; silage inoculants; and crop protection products that include weed control, disease control, and insect control. Its Performance Materials & Coatings segment manufactures and sells architectural paints and coatings, and industrial coatings; performance monomers and silicones; standalone silicones; and home and personal care solutions. The company's Industrial Intermediates & Infrastructure segment offers ethylene oxides, propylene oxide derivatives, cellulose ethers, redispersible latex powders, and acrylic emulsions; sustainable solutions; and chlorine and caustic soda. Its Packaging & Specialty Plastics segment provides ethylene, and propylene and aromatic products; and polyolefin elastomers and ethylene propylene diene monomer rubbers. The company's Electronics & Imaging segment offers materials and systems for mobile devices, television monitors, personal computers, and electronics. Its Nutrition & Biosciences segment provides specialty ingredients, as well as cellulosic- and alginates-based pharma excipients; and enzymes, biomaterials, biocides, and antimicrobial solutions and process technologies. The company's Transportation & Advanced Polymers segment offers engineering resins, adhesives, lubricants, and parts for transportation, electronics, healthcare, industrial, and consumer end-markets. Its Safety & Construction segment provides engineered products and integrated systems for construction, worker safety, energy, oil and gas, transportation, medical device, and water purification and separation industries. The company was founded in 1897 and is headquartered in Midland, Michigan. 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. The following companies are subsidiares of BlackRock: Acero Cooperatief U.A., Acero Holdings I B.V., Amethyst Merger Sub LLC, AnalytX Hosting LLC, AnalytX LLC, AnalytX Software LLC, Aperio, Aperio, Aquila Heywood, Asia-Pacific Private Credit Opportunities Fund I (GenPar) Ltd., BAA Holdings LLC, BFM Holdco LLC, BLK (Gallatin) Holdings LLC, BLK SMI LLC, BR Acquisition Mexico S.A. de C.V., BR Jersey International Holdings L.P., Beijing eFront Software Company Limited, BlackRock (Barbados) Finco 1 SRL, BlackRock (Channel Islands) Limited, BlackRock (Luxembourg) S.A., BlackRock (Netherlands) B.V., BlackRock (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BlackRock (Singapore) Holdco II Pte. Ltd., BlackRock (Singapore) Holdco Pte. Limited, BlackRock (Singapore) Limited, BlackRock AP Investment Holdco LLC, BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited, BlackRock Advisors LLC, BlackRock Advisors Singapore Pte. Limited, BlackRock Alternative Advisors GP Holdings LLC, BlackRock Alternatives Management LLC, BlackRock Argentina Asesorias Ltda., BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited, BlackRock Asset Management Deutschland AG, BlackRock Asset Management International Inc., BlackRock Asset Management Investor Services Limited, BlackRock Asset Management Ireland Limited, BlackRock Asset Management North Asia Limited, BlackRock Asset Management Schweiz AG, BlackRock Asset Management UK Limited, BlackRock Australia Holdco Pty. Ltd., BlackRock Brasil Gestora de Investimentos Ltda., BlackRock Cal 1 Investor LLC, BlackRock Canada Holdings LP, BlackRock Canada Holdings ULC, BlackRock Capital Holdings Inc., BlackRock Capital Investment Advisors LLC, BlackRock Capital Management Inc., BlackRock Cayco Limited, BlackRock Cayman 1 LP, BlackRock Cayman Capital Holdings Limited, BlackRock Cayman Finco 2 Limited, BlackRock Cayman Finco 3 Limited, BlackRock Cayman Finco Limited, BlackRock Cayman West Bay Finco Limited, BlackRock Cayman West Bay IV Limited, BlackRock Cayman Z Limited, BlackRock Channel Islands Holdco Limited, BlackRock Chile Asesorias Limitada, BlackRock Colombia Holdco LLC, BlackRock Colombia Infraestructura S.A.S., BlackRock Colombia SAS, BlackRock Company Secretarial Services (UK) Limited, BlackRock Corporation US Inc., BlackRock Delaware Holdings Inc., BlackRock Enterprise Management Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BlackRock Europe Development Management Limited, BlackRock Execution Services, BlackRock Finance Europe Limited, BlackRock Financial Management Inc., BlackRock Finco LLC, BlackRock Finco UK Ltd., BlackRock First Partner Limited, BlackRock France SAS, BlackRock Fund Advisors, BlackRock Fund Management Company S.A., BlackRock Fund Managers Limited, BlackRock Funding International Ltd., BlackRock Funds Services Group LLC, BlackRock Germany GmBH, BlackRock Group Limited, BlackRock HK Holdco Limited, BlackRock Holdco 2 Inc., BlackRock Holdco 3 LLC, BlackRock Holdco 4 LLC, BlackRock Holdco 5 LLC, BlackRock Holdco 6 LLC, BlackRock Hungary Kft, BlackRock Index Services LLC, BlackRock Infrastructure Management I LLC, BlackRock Institutional Services Inc., BlackRock Institutional Trust Company National Association, BlackRock International Holdings Inc., BlackRock International Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Australia) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Dublin) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Korea) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BlackRock Investment Management (Taiwan) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management Ireland Holdings Limited, BlackRock Investment Management LLC, BlackRock Investments LLC, BlackRock Japan Co. Ltd., BlackRock Japan Holdings GK, BlackRock Jersey Finco 2 Limited, BlackRock Latin America Holdco LLC, BlackRock Latin American Holdings B.V., BlackRock Life Limited, BlackRock Lux Finco S.a r.l., BlackRock Luxembourg Holdco S.a r.l., BlackRock Mexican Holdco B.V., BlackRock Mexico Infraestructura I S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Infraestructura II S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Infraestructura III S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Manager II S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Manager III S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Manager S de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Operadora S.A. de C.V. Sociedad Operadora de Fondos de Inversion, BlackRock Mortgage Ventures LLC, BlackRock Niagara LLC, BlackRock Operations (Luxembourg) S.a r.l., BlackRock Overseas Investment Fund Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BlackRock PC Holdings LLC, BlackRock Pensions Limited, BlackRock Peru Asesorias S.A., BlackRock Property Consulting (Beijing) Co. Ltd., BlackRock Property France S.a.r.l., BlackRock Property Lux S.a.r.l., BlackRock Property Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., BlackRock Realty Advisors Inc., BlackRock Saudi Arabia, BlackRock Scale Holdings LLC, BlackRock Services India Private Limited, BlackRock Singapore III Pte. Ltd., BlackRock Slovakia s.r.o., BlackRock Strategic Investors GP LLC, BlackRock Strategic Investors LP, BlackRock Trident Holding Company Limited, BlackRock UK (Alpha) Limited, BlackRock UK (Beta) Limited, BlackRock UK (Delta) LP, BlackRock UK (Gamma) Limited, BlackRock UK (Sigma) Limited, BlackRock UK 2 LLP, BlackRock UK 3 LLP, BlackRock UK 4 LLP, BlackRock UK A LLP, BlackRock UK Holdco 2 Limited, BlackRock UK Holdco Limited, Blackhawk Investment Holding LLC, CIE Automotive, Cachematrix Holdings, Cachematrix Holdings LLC, Cachematrix Integrations Private Limited, Cachematrix Software Solutions LLC, Cachematrix UK Limited, FutureAdvisor Inc., Glass Mountain Pipeline, Global Energy & Power Infrastructure Advisors LLC, Global Energy & Power Infrastructure II Advisors LLC, Grosvenor Alternate Partner Limited, Grosvenor Ventures Limited, HLX Financial Holdings LLC, MGPA (Bermuda) Limited, MGPA (Exec) Limited, MGPA Limited, Mercury Carry Company Ltd., Mercury Private Equity MUST 3 (Jersey) Limited, Object Capital Technology Inc., Phoenix Acquisition B.V., Phoenix Acquisitions Holdings LLC, Portfolio Administration & Management Ltd., Prestadora de Servicios Integrales BlackRock Mexico S.A. de C.V., SVOF/MM LLC, St. Albans House Nominees (Jersey) Ltd., State Street Research & Management, Tennenbaum Capital Partners LLC, Tennenbaum Capital Partners LLC, Tlali Acero S.A. de C.V. SOFOM ENR, Trident Merger LLC, eFront, eFront, eFront (Jersey) Limited, eFront DMLT Holdings LLC, eFront DMLT Holdings S.R.L, eFront DR S.R.L, eFront Do Brasil Solucoes Informaticas Para Sistemas Financeiros Ltda., eFront FZ-LLC, eFront Financial Solutions Inc., eFront GmbH, eFront Holding II SAS, eFront Holdings SAS, eFront Hong Kong Limited, eFront II SAS, eFront Kabushiki Kaisha, eFront Ltd, eFront SAS, eFront Singapore Pte. Ltd, eFront Software Luxembourg S.a r.l., eFront Solutions Financeieres Inc., eFront d.o.o. Beograd, iShares (DE) I Investmentaktiengesellschaft mit Teilgesellschaftsvermogen, and iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC. Greene King plc operates as a pub retailer and brewer in the United Kingdom. The company operates through three segments: Pub Company, Pub Partners, and Brewing & Brands. Its brands include Greene King Local Pubs, Hungry Horse, Flaming Grill, Farmhouse Inns, and Chef & Brewer. The company is also involved in brewing, marketing, and selling beer under the Greene King IPA, Old Speckled Hen, Abbot Ale, and Belhaven Best brands. In addition, Greene King plc engages in the employment, financing, pension trustee, and property businesses. As of April 30, 2018, it operated 2,855 managed, tenanted, leased, and franchised pubs, restaurants, and hotels. Greene King plc was founded in 1799 and is headquartered in Bury St Edmunds, the United Kingdom. Read More John Hancock Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund is a closed ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by John Hancock Investment Management LLC. It is co-managed by John Hancock Asset Management and Analytic Investors, LLC. The fund invests in the public equity markets of the United States. It seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors, with an emphasis on the utilities sector. The fund primarily invests in dividend-paying common and preferred stocks of companies which have dividends that qualify for a more favorable long-term capital gains tax rate. It invests in stocks of companies across diversified market capitalizations. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against a composite benchmark comprised of 55% Bank of America Merrill Lynch Preferred Stock DRD Eligible Index and 45% S&P 500 Utilities Index. John Hancock Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund was formed on February 27, 2004 and is domiciled in the United States. Read More NB Private Equity Partners Limited (the Fund) is a Guernsey-based closed-end investment company. The Fund's objective is to produce attractive returns by investing in the private equity asset class through income investments direct equity investments and fund investments while managing investment risk through diversification across asset class, vintage year, geography, industry and sponsor. It invests in private equity assets, which consist of direct equity investments, income investments, and private equity fund investments. Direct equity investments are direct investments in underlying companies and are made alongside private equity sponsors. Income investments include traditional corporate private debt investments and healthcare credit investments, which consist of loans to companies in the healthcare sector and royalty backed notes. NB Alternatives Advisers LLC is the investment manager to the Fund. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Prudential Financial: 210-220 E. 22nd Street SSGA Owner LLC, AIG Edison, AIG Star, AREF Cayman Co Ltd., AREF GP II Pte. Ltd., AREF GP Ltd., ASPF II - Feeder Fund GmbH, ASPF II - Verwaltungs - GmbH & Co. KG, ASPF II Management GmbH, ASPF III (Scots) L.P., ASSURANCE, AST Investment Services Inc., Adlerwerke CB Investment LLC, Administradora de Fondos de Pensiones Habitat S.A., Administradora de Inversiones Previsionales SpA, Aoba Life Insurance Company, Asia Property Fund III GP S.a.r.l., Assurance IQ LLC, Assurance Intelligence LLC, BSC CP LP, Braeloch Holdings Inc., Braeloch Successor Corporation, Brazilian Capital Fund GP Limited, Broad Street Global Advisors LLC, Broome Street Holdings LLC, CB German Retail LLC, CLIS Co. Ltd., COLICO INC., Campus Drive LLC, Capital Agricultural Property Services Inc., Chadwick Boulevard Investment Holdings Co. LLC, Cibecue LLC, Coconino LLC, Colico II Inc., Columbus Drive Partners L.P., Commerce Street Holdings LLC, Commerce Street Investments LLC, Coolidge LLC, Coral Reef GP, Coral Reef L.P., Coral Reef Unit Trust, Cottage Street Investments LLC, Cottage Street Orbit Acquisition LLC, DHFL PRAMERICA LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED, DICKENS AVENUE HOLDINGS VI LLC, DICKENS AVENUE PARTNERS VI (Ireland) L.P., DICKENS AVENUE PARTNERS VI (US) L.P., Don Cesar Investor LLC, Dryden Arizona Reinsurance Term Company, Dryden Finance II LLC, EVP II GP S.a r.l., EVP II Sweden Resi I GP S.a r.l., Edison Place Senior Note LLC, Essex LLC, EuroCore GP S.a r.l., European Value Partners GP S.a.r.l., Everbright PGIM Fund Management Co. Ltd., Flagstaff LLC, GA 1600 Commons LLC, GA 333 Hennepin Investor LLC, GA BV LLC, GA Bay Area GP LLC, GA Bay Area Investor LLC, GA Belden LLC, GA CLARENDON LLC, GA Cal Crossings LLC, GA Collins LLC, GA E. 22nd Street Apartments Holdings LLC, GA East 86 Street LLC, GA JHCII LLC, GA MENLO PARK INVESTOR LLC, GA Manor at Harbour Island LLC, GA Metro LLC, GA Mission LLC, GA TRITON INVESTOR LLC, GA W Paces LLC, GA/MDI 333 Hennepin Associates LLC, GIBRALTAR BSN HOLDINGS SDN BHD, GIBRALTAR INDIA SOLUTIONS LLP, Gateway Holdings II LLC, Gateway Holdings LLC, German Retail Income CP LP, Gibraltar BSN Life Berhad, Gibraltar International Insurance Services Company Inc., Gibraltar International Service LLC, Gibraltar Reinsurance Company Ltd., Gibraltar Universal Life Reinsurance Company, Glenealy International Limited, Global Portfolio Strategies Inc., Gold GP Limited, Gold II L.P., Gold L.P., Graham Resources Inc., Graham Royalty Ltd., Green Tree GP, Green Tree L.P., Greenlee LLC, Halsey Street Investments LLC, Hirakata LLC, IVP Fund GP LLC, Impact Investments Bridges UK S.a.r.l, Inter-Atlantic G Fund L.P., Inversiones Previsionales Chile SpA, Inversiones Previsionales Dos SpA, Ironbound Fund LLC, Jennison Associates LLC, Kyarra S.a r.l., Kyoei Annuity Home Co. Ltd., LINEUP LLC, Lake Street Partners IV L.P., MC GA COLLINS HOLDINGS LLC, MC GA COLLINS REALTY LLC, MC Insurance Agency Services LLC, Manor at Harbour Island LLC, Marble Canyon LLC, Maricopa LLC, Market Street Holdings IV LLC, Morenci LLC, Mulberry Street Holdings LLC, Mulberry Street Investment L.P., Mulberry Street Partners LLC, Mullin TBG Insurance Agency Services LLC, MullinTBG Insurance Agency Services, National Family Assurance Group LLC, New Savanna, Orchard Street Acres Inc., PAI Bay Farm LLC, PAI Bayrock Groves LLC, PAI Belvidere Farms LLC, PAI Big Cypress Farm LLC, PAI Corcoran 640 Ranch LLC, PAI DeKalb Farm LLC, PAI Delano 1500 Ranches LLC, PAI Flicker Orchard LLC, PAI Good Hope Farm LLC, PAI Hawk Creek Ranch LLC, PAI Hills Valley Ranches LLC, PAI Holly Hill Groves LLC, PAI Hunt Farm LLC, PAI Jackson Bayou Farm LLC, PAI Lake Placid Groves LLC, PAI Wallula Gap Vineyard LLC, PCP V Cayman AIV GP L.P., PEREF II Co-Invest 1 GP S.a r.l., PEREF II GP S.a r.l., PEREF II PV S.r.l, PFI EM-Tech Fund I LLC, PG Business Service Co. Ltd, PG Collection Service Co. Ltd., PGA Asian Retail Limited, PGA European Limited, PGI Co. Ltd, PGIM (Australia) Pty Ltd, PGIM (Hong Kong) Ltd., PGIM (Scots) Limited, PGIM (Shanghai) Company Ltd., PGIM (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., PGIM AVP IV GP S.a r.l., PGIM Advisory (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PGIM Agricultural Investments GP LLC, PGIM Agricultural Investors LP, PGIM Broad Market High Yield Bond Fund L.P., PGIM Broad Market High Yield Bond Partners LLC, PGIM Capital Partners Management (Feeder) VI LLC, PGIM Capital Partners Management Fund VI L.P., PGIM European Financing Limited, PGIM European Services Limited, PGIM Financial Limited, PGIM Fixed Income Alternatives Fund II L.P., PGIM Fixed Income Alternatives Fund L.P., PGIM Fixed Income Alternatives GP LLC, PGIM Fixed Income Alternatives II GP LLC, PGIM Foreign Investments Inc., PGIM Holding Company LLC, PGIM INDIA ASSET MANAGEMENT PRIVATE LIMITED, PGIM INDIA TRUSTEES PRIVATE LIMITED, PGIM Inc., PGIM International Financing Inc., PGIM Investments LLC, PGIM Japan Co. Ltd., PGIM Korea Inc., PGIM LTIF Berlin GP S.a r.l., PGIM LTIF Berlin MLP S.ar.l., PGIM LTIF GP S.a.r.l., PGIM Limited, PGIM Loan Originator Manager Limited, PGIM M Campus GP S.a r.l., PGIM Management Partner Limited, PGIM MetaProp Investor LP LLC, PGIM Netherlands B.V., PGIM Overseas Investment Fund Management (Shanghai) Company Ltd, PGIM Private Capital (Ireland) Limited, PGIM Private Capital Limited, PGIM Private Placement Investors Inc., PGIM Private Placement Investors L.P., PGIM REF EUROPE SCSp, PGIM REF Europe GP S.a r.l., PGIM REF Europe Member LLC, PGIM REF Intermediary Services Inc., PGIM Real Estate (Japan) Ltd., PGIM Real Estate (UK) Limited, PGIM Real Estate CD S.a.r.l., PGIM Real Estate Capital VII GP S.a r.l., PGIM Real Estate Carry & Co-Invest GP LLC, PGIM Real Estate Carry & Co-Invest GP S.a r.l., PGIM Real Estate Carry & Co-Invest L.P., PGIM Real Estate Carry & Co-Invest SCSp, PGIM Real Estate Co-Invest Holdings LLC, PGIM Real Estate Debt GmbH, PGIM Real Estate Finance Holding Company, PGIM Real Estate Finance LLC, PGIM Real Estate France SAS, PGIM Real Estate Germany AG, PGIM Real Estate Global Debt GP LLC, PGIM Real Estate Inmuebles S. de R.L. de C.V, PGIM Real Estate Italy S.r.l., PGIM Real Estate Loan Services Inc., PGIM Real Estate Luxembourg S.A., PGIM Real Estate MVP Administradora IV S. de R.L. de C.V., PGIM Real Estate MVP Administradora V S. de R.L. de C.V., PGIM Real Estate MVP Inmuebles IV S. de R.L. de C.V., PGIM Real Estate MVP Inmuebles V S. de R.L. de C.V., PGIM Real Estate Management Luxembourg S.a.r.l., PGIM Real Estate Mexico S.C., PGIM Real Estate S. de R.L. de C.V., PGIM Real Estate U.S. Debt Fund GP LLC, PGIM Senior Loan Opportunities Management (Feeder) I LLC, PGIM Senior Loan Opportunities Management Fund I L.P., PGIM Strategic Financing LLC, PGIM Strategic Investments Inc., PGIM USPF VI Manager LLC, PGIM Warehouse Inc., PGLH of Delaware Inc., PIFM Holdco LLC, PIIC Limited, PIISC Holdings (UK) Limited, PIM KF Blocker Holdings LLC, PIM KF Blocker V Holdings LLC, PIM USPF V Manager LLC, PLA Administradora Industrial SRL, PLA Administradora LLC, PLA Administradora S. de R.L. de C.V., PLA Asesoria Profesional II S. de R.L. de C.V., PLA Asesoria Profesional S.de R.L. de C.V., PLA Co-Investor LLC, PLA Mexico Industrial Manager I LLC, PLA Mexico Industrial Manager II LLC, PLA Mexico Residential Manager I LLC, PLA Residential Fund III Aggregating Manager LLC, PLA Residential Fund III Limited Manager LLC, PLA Residential Fund III Manager LLC, PLA Residential Fund IV Aggregating Manager LLC, PLA Residential Fund IV Manager LLC, PLA Retail Fund I Blue LP, PLA Retail Fund I LP, PLA Retail Fund I Manager LLC, PLA Retail Fund I Red LP, PLA Retail Fund II Aggregating Manager LLC, PLA Retail Fund II LLC, PLA Retail Fund II LP, PLA Retail Fund II Manager LLC, PLA Retail Fund II U.S. Carry/Co-Invest LP, PLA Services Manager Mexico LLC, PLAI Limited, PMCF Holdings LLC, PMCF Properties LLC, PPPF General Partner LLP, PR GA SCP Apartments LLC, PRAMERICA PRECAP VI GP (SCOTS FEEDER) LLP, PRAMERICA PRECAP VI GP LLP, PRECO ACCOUNT III LLC, PRECO ACCOUNT PARTNERSHIP III LP, PRECO Account IV LLC, PRECO Account Partnership IV LP, PRECO III GP LLP, PREFG Hanwha Manager LLC, PREI Acquisition I Inc., PREI Acquisition II Inc., PREI Acquisition LLC, PREI HYDG LLC, PREI International Inc., PRIAC Property Acquisitions LLC, PRICOA Management Partner Limited, PRISA Fund Manager LLC, PRISA II Fund Manager LLC, PRISA II Pooled Manager LLC, PRISA III Fund GP LLC, PRISA III Fund PIM LLC, PRREF II Fund Manager LLC, PRU 3XSquare LLC, PRUCO LLC, PRUDENTIAL CAPITAL ENERGY PARTNERS MANAGEMENT (FEEDER) LLC, PRUDENTIAL MORTGAGE SKP MEMBER LLC, PRUDENTIAL MORTGAGE SKP REIT LLC, PRUDENTIAL MORTGAGE SKP VENTURE 2 LLC, PRUDENTIAL MORTGAGE SKP VENTURE LLC, PT PFI Mega Life Insurance, Passaic Fund LLC, Pine Tree GP, Pine Tree L.P., Platinum GP Limited, Platinum II L.P., Platinum L.P., Pramerica (Hong Kong) Holdings Limited, Pramerica (Luxembourg) CP GP S.a.r.l., Pramerica (Scots) CP GP LLP, Pramerica Business Consulting (Shanghai) Company Limited, Pramerica EVP CP LP, Pramerica Financial Asia Headquarters Pte. Ltd., Pramerica Financial Asia Limited, Pramerica Fixed Income Funds Management Limited, Pramerica Fosun Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Pramerica General Partner LLP, Pramerica Holdings Ltd, Pramerica Insurance Agency (China) Company Ltd., Pramerica PRECAP I GP LLP, Pramerica PRECAP II GP LLP, Pramerica PRECAP III GP LLP, Pramerica PRECAP IV GP LLP, Pramerica Pan European Real Estate (Scots) LP, Pramerica Property Partners Fund (Scotland) Limited Partnership, Pramerica Real Estate Capital I (Scotland) Limited Partnership, Pramerica Real Estate Capital I GP (Scots Feeder) LLP, Pramerica Real Estate Capital II (Scots) Limited Partnership, Pramerica Real Estate Capital III (Scots) Limited Partnership, Pramerica Real Estate Capital IV (Scots) Limited Partnership, Pramerica Real Estate Capital IV GP (Scots Feeder) LLP, Pramerica Real Estate Capital IV GP Limited, Pramerica Real Estate Capital V (Netherlands) GP LLP, Pramerica Real Estate Capital V (Scots) Limited Partnership, Pramerica Real Estate Capital VI (Scots) Limited Partnership, Pramerica SGR S.p.A, Pramerica Systems Ireland Limited, Preco III (Scotland) Limited Partnership, Pru 101 Wood LLC, Pru Alpha Partners I LLC, Pru Fixed Income Emerging Markets Partners I LLC, PruVen Capital Partners Fund I L.P., Pruco Assignment Corporation, Pruco Life Insurance Company, Pruco Life Insurance Company of New Jersey, Pruco Securities LLC, Prudential 900 Aviation Boulevard LLC, Prudential Affordable Mortgage Company LLC, Prudential Agricultural Property Holding Company LLC, Prudential Annuities Distributors Inc., Prudential Annuities Holding Company Inc., Prudential Annuities Inc., Prudential Annuities Information Services & Technology Corporation, Prudential Annuities Life Assurance Corporation, Prudential Arizona Reinsurance Captive Company, Prudential Arizona Reinsurance Term Company, Prudential Arizona Reinsurance Universal Company, Prudential Bank & Trust FSB, Prudential Capital Energy Opportunity Fund L.P., Prudential Capital Energy Partners L.P., Prudential Capital Energy Partners Management Fund L.P., Prudential Capital Partners Management Fund IV L.P., Prudential Capital and Investment Services LLC, Prudential Chile II SpA, Prudential Chile SpA, Prudential Commercial Property Holding Company LLC, Prudential Customer Solutions LLC, Prudential Equity Group LLC, Prudential Financial Securities Investment Trust Enterprise, Prudential Fixed Income Global Liquidity Relative Value Partners LLC, Prudential Fixed Income U.S. Relative Value Partners LLC, Prudential Funding LLC, Prudential General Services of Japan Y.K., Prudential Gibraltar Agency Co. Ltd., Prudential Global Funding LLC, Prudential Holdings of Japan Inc., Prudential Huntoon Paige Associates LLC, Prudential IBH Holdco Inc., Prudential Impact Investments Mortgage Loans LLC, Prudential Impact Investments Private Debt LLC, Prudential Impact Investments Private Equity LLC, Prudential Industrial Properties LLC, Prudential Insurance Agency LLC, Prudential International Insurance Holdings Ltd., Prudential International Insurance Service Company L.L.C., Prudential International Investments Advisers LLC, Prudential International Investments Company LLC, Prudential International Investments LLC, Prudential Investment Management Services LLC, Prudential Japan Holdings LLC, Prudential Legacy Insurance Company of New Jersey, Prudential Life Insurance Company of Taiwan Inc., Prudential Mortgage Asset Holdings 1 Japan Investment Business Limited Partnership, Prudential Mortgage Asset Holdings 2 Japan Investment Business Limited Partnership, Prudential Mortgage Capital Asset Holding Company LLC, Prudential Mortgage Capital Funding LLC, Prudential Mortgage Capital Holdings LLC, Prudential Multifamily Mortgage LLC, Prudential Mutual Fund Services LLC, Prudential Newark Realty LLC, Prudential QOZ Investment Fund 1 LLC, Prudential Realty Securities Inc., Prudential Retirement Financial Services Holding LLC, Prudential Retirement Holdings LLC, Prudential Retirement Insurance and Annuity Company, Prudential Securities Secured Financing Corporation, Prudential Securities Structured Assets Inc., Prudential Seguros Mexico S.A. de C.V., Prudential Seguros S.A., Prudential Servicios S. de R.L. de C.V., Prudential Structured Settlement Company, Prudential Systems Japan Limited, Prudential Term Reinsurance Company, Prudential Trust Co. Ltd., Prudential Trust Company, Prudential Universal Reinsurance Company, Prudential Workplace Solutions Group Services LLC, Prudential do Brasil Seguros de Vida S.A., Prudential do Brasil Vida em Grupo S.A., Prudential/TMW Real Estate Group LLC, Pruservicos Participacoes Ltda., QMA JP EM All Cap Equity Partners LLC, QMA LLC, QMA Wadhwani LLP, Quartzsite LLC, Residential Services Corporation of America LLC, Rio CP LP, Rock European Real Estate Holdings S.ar.l., Rock Global Real Estate LLC, Rock Kensington Limited, Rock Marty GP S.a r.l., Rock Oxford S.a r.l., Rock UK Real Estate Holdings S.ar.l., Rock UK Real Estate II S.a.r.l., Rockstone Co. Ltd., Rosado Grande LLC, Ross Avenue Energy Fund Holdings LLC, Ross Avenue Minerals 2012 LLC, SCP Apartments LLC, SENIOR HOUSING PARTNERS VI GP LLC, SENIOR HOUSING PARTNERSHIP FUND VI GP LLC, SHP IV Carried Interest LP, SHP V Carried Interest L.P., SMP Holdings Inc., SVIIT Holdings Inc., Sanei Collection Service Co. Ltd. (Kabushiki Kaisha Sanei Shuuno Service), Senior Housing Partners IV L.L.C., Senior Housing Partners V LLC, Senior Housing Partnership Fund IV L.L.C., Senior Housing Partnership Fund V LLC, Sterling Private Placement Management LLP, Stetson Street Partners L.P., Strand Investments Limited, TBG Insurance Services Corporation, TENSATOR HOLDINGS LTD, TF Proveedora S.C., TMW ASPF I Verwaltungs GmbH & Co. KG, TMW ASPF Management GmbH, TMW Management LLC, TMW Real Estate Group LLC, TMW Realty Advisors LLC, TMW USPF Verwaltungs GmbH, TRGOAG Company Inc., The Gibraltar Life Insurance Co. Ltd., The Keynes Dynamic Beta Strategy (US) Fund GP LLC, The Prudential Assigned Settlement Services Corp., The Prudential Brazilian Capital Fund LP, The Prudential Gibraltar Financial Life Insurance Co. Ltd., The Prudential Home Mortgage Company Inc., The Prudential Insurance Company of America, The Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd., The Prudential Real Estate Financial Services of America Inc., The WMF Group, Thurloe Commercial Guernsey Limited, Times Square Center Associates, USPF V - Verwaltungs - GmbH & Co. KG, USPF V Carry LLC, USPF V Co-Invest LLC, USPF V Investment LP, United States Property Fund VI GP S.a r.l., Vailsburg Fund LLC, Vantage Casualty Insurance Company, Wabash Avenue Holdings V LLC, Wabash Avenue Partners V L.P., Wadhwani Capital Limited, Waveland Avenue Holdings I LLC, Waveland Avenue Partners I (Ireland) L.P., Waveland Avenue Partners I (US) L.P., Wellness Services Ecossistema De Bem Estar Ltda., Wellness Services SRL, Yamato Life, and Yavapai LLC. Royal Dutch Shell plc operates as an energy and petrochemical company worldwide. The company operates through Integrated Gas, Upstream, Oil Products, Chemicals segments. It explores for and extracts crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids; markets and transports oil and gas; produces gas-to-liquids fuels and other products; and operates upstream and midstream infrastructure necessary to deliver gas to market. The company also markets and trades natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), crude oil, electricity, carbon-emission rights; and markets and sells LNG as a fuel for heavy-duty vehicles and marine vessels. In addition, it trades in and refines crude oil and other feed stocks, such as gasoline, diesel, heating oil, aviation fuel, marine fuel, biofuel, lubricants, bitumen, and sulphur; produces and sells petrochemicals for industrial use; and manages oil sands activities. Further, the company produces base chemicals comprising ethylene, propylene, and aromatics, as well as intermediate chemicals, such as styrene monomer, propylene oxide, solvents, detergent alcohols, ethylene oxide, and ethylene glycol. Royal Dutch Shell plc was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands. Read More Medtronic Plc is a medical technology company, which engages in the development, manufacture, distribution, and sale of device-based medical therapies and services. It operates through the following segments: Cardiac and Vascular Group; Minimally Invasive Technologies Group; Restorative Therapies Group; and Diabetes Group. The Cardiac and Vascular Group segment consists of products for the diagnosis, treatment, and management of cardiac rhythm disorders and cardiovascular disease. The Minimally Invasive Technologies Group segment focuses on respiratory system, gastrointestinal tract, renal system, lungs, pelvic region, kidneys, and obesity diseases. The Restorative Therapies Group segment comprises of neurostimulation therapies and drug delivery systems for the treatment of chronic pain, as well as areas of the spine and brain, along with pelvic health and conditions of the ear, nose, and throat. The Diabetes Group segment offers insulin pumps, coninuous glucose monitoring systems, and insulin pump consumables. The company was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Read More Unum Group is engaged in providing financial protection benefits. It operates through the following segments: Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, Closed Block and Corporate. The Unum US segment comprises of group long-term and short-term disability insurance, group life and accidental death and dismemberment products, and supplemental and voluntary lines of business. The Unum International segment engages in the operations of UK business, which includes insurance for group long-term disability, group life, and supplemental lines of business that include dental, individual disability, and critical illness products; Poland business primarily includes insurance for individual and group life with accident and health riders. The Colonial Life segment includes insurance for accident, sickness, disability products, life products, and cancer and critical illness products. The Closed Block segment consists of individual disability, group and individual long-term care, and other insurance products no longer actively marketed. The Corporate segment refers to investment income on corporate assets and other corporate income and expenses not allocated to a line of business; and interest Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Thermo Fisher Scientific: 236 Perinton Parkway LLC, 27 Forge Parkway LLC, ABR--Affinity BioReagents, ACI Holdings Inc., ARG Services LLC, ASPEX Corporation, Abgene Inc., Abgene Limited, Acoustic Cytometry Systems Inc., AcroMetrix LLC, Acros Organics B.V.B.A., Advanced Biotechnologies Limited, Advanced Scientifics (ASI), Advanced Scientifics Inc., Advanced Scientifics International Inc., Affymetrix Biotech Participacoes Ltda., Affymetrix Biotech Shanghai Ltd, Affymetrix Inc, Affymetrix Japan K.K., Affymetrix Pte Ltd, Affymetrix UK Ltd, Afora S.A.U., Ahura Scientific, Alchematrix Inc., Alchematrix LLC, Alfa Aesar, Alfa Aesar (China) Chemical Co. Ltd., Alfa Aesar (Hong Kong) Limited, Allergon AB, Alphine Mountain Limited, Ambion Inc., Apogent Denmark ApS, Apogent Finance Company, Apogent Holding Company, Apogent Technologies Inc., Apogent Transition Corp., Apogent U.K. Limited, App-Tek International Pty Ltd, Applied Biosystems B.V., Applied Biosystems Finance B.V., Applied Biosystems International Inc., Applied Biosystems LLC, Applied Biosystems Taiwan LLC, Applied Biosystems Trading (Shanghai) Company Ltd., Applied Biosystems de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Applied Scientific Corporation, Avances Cientificos de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Avocado Research Chemicals Limited, B.R.A.H.M.S. Biotech GmbH, B.R.A.H.M.S. GmbH, B.R.A.H.M.S. UK Ltd, BAC BV, BAC IP BV, Barnstead Thermolyne LLC, Beijing Phadia Diagnostics Co Ltd, Bender MedSystems GmbH, BioTrove Corporation, BioTrove International Inc., Bioanalysis Labsystems S.A., Biochemical Sciences LLC, Biolab, BmT GmbH Laborprodukte, Bonsai Tecnologies - Sistemas para Biotecnologia e Industria Unipessoal Lda, Brammer Bio, Bumi-Sans Sendirian Berhad, CAC Limited, CB Diagnostics AB, CB Diagnostics Holding AB, CEPH International Corporation, CHK Holdings Inc., CRS Robotics, CTPS LLC, Capitol Scientific Products Inc., Capitol Vial Inc., Cellomics Inc., CellzDirect Inc., Cenduit GmbH, Cenduit LLC, Cezanne S.A.S., Chase Scientific Glass Inc., Chromacol Limited, Clintrak, Clintrak Clinical Labeling Services LLC, Clintrak Pharmaceutical Services LLC, Cohesive Technologies (UK) Limited, Cohesive Technologies Inc., Columbia Diagnostics Inc., Compendia Bioscience Inc., Comtest Limited, Consolidated Technologies Inc., Consultores Fisher Scientific Chile Ltd, Core Informatics, Core Informatics LLC, Core Informatics UK Ltd., D-finitive Technologies Inc., DCG Systems B.V., DCG Systems C.V., DCG Systems G.K., DCG Systems GmbH, DCG Systems Korea Ltd., DCG Systems LLC, DPI Newco LLC, DSM Pharmaceutical Products Inc., Dharmacon, Diagnostix Ltd., Dionex (China) Analytical Ltd, Dionex (Switzerland) AG, Dionex (UK) Limited, Dionex Austria GmbH, Dionex Benelux B.V., Dionex Brasil Instrumentos Cientificos Ltda, Dionex Canada Ltd., Dionex China Limited, Dionex Corporation, Dionex Denmark A/S, Dionex Holding GmbH, Dionex I LLC, Dionex Pty Ltd., Dionex S.A., Dionex S.p.A., Dionex Singapore Pte Ltd., Dionex Softron GmbH, Dionex Sweden AB, Distribution Solutions International Inc., Doe & Ingalls Investors Inc., Doe & Ingalls Limited, Doe & Ingalls Management LLC, Doe & Ingalls Properties II LLC, Doe & Ingalls Properties LLC, Doe & Ingalls of California Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Florida Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Maryland Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Massachusetts Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of North Carolina Operating LLC, Doublecape Holding Limited, Doublecape Limited, Drakeside Real Estate Holding Company LLC, Duke Scientific Corporation, Dynal Biotech Beijing Limited, EGS Gauging Ltd., EGS Gauging Technical Services Company, EP Scientific Products LLC, Ecochem N.V., EnviroEquip Pty Ltd, Epsom Glass Industries Limited, Equibio Limited, Erie Electroverre S.A., Erie Finance Limited, Erie LP Holding LLC, Erie Scientific Company of Puerto Rico, Erie Scientific Hungary Kft, Erie Scientific LLC, Erie U.K. Limited, Erie UK 1 Limited, Erie UK 2 Limited, Erie UK Holding Company, Erie UK Senior Holding Limited, European Laboratory Holdings Limited, Eutech Instruments Europe B.V., Eutech Instruments Pte Ltd., Eutech Instruments Sdn Bhd, Ever Ready Thermometer Co. Inc., FEI Asia Pacific Co. Ltd., FEI Australia Pty Ltd, FEI CPD B.V., FEI Company, FEI Company Japan Ltd., FEI Company of USA (S.E.A.) Pte Ltd., FEI Czech Republic s.r.o., FEI Deutschland GmbH, FEI EFA Inc., FEI EFA International Pte. Ltd., FEI Electron Optics B.V., FEI Electron Optics International B.V., FEI Europe B.V., FEI France SAS, FEI Global Holdings C.V., FEI Hong Kong Company Limited, FEI Houston Inc., FEI Italia Srl, FEI Korea Ltd., FEI Melbourne Pty Ltd., FEI Microscopy Solutions Ltd, FEI Munich GmbH, FEI Norway Holding AS, FEI SAS, FEI Saudi Arabia LLC, FEI Servicos de Nanotecnologia Ltda., FEI Technologies Inc., FEI Technology de Mexico S.A. de C.V., FEI Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., FEI Trondheim AS, FEI UK Ltd., FHP LLC, FRC Holding Inc. V, FS (Barbados) Capital Holdings Ltd., FS Casa Rocas Holdings LLC, FS Mexicana Holdings LLC, FSI Receivables Company LLC, FSII Sweden Holdings AB, FSII Sweden Holdings I AB, FSIR Holdings (UK) Limited, FSIR Holdings (US) Inc., FSUK Holdings Limited, FSWH Company LLC, FSWH II C.V., FSWH International Holdings LLC, Fermentas China Co. Ltd, Fermentas Inc., Fermentas International, Fermentas Sweden AB, Fermentas UK Limited, Fiberlite Centrifuge LLC, Finesse Scientific Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Finesse Solutions AG, Finesse Solutions Inc., Finnzymes Oy, Fisher Alder S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Asia Manufacturing Ventures Inc., Fisher Bermuda Holdings Limited, Fisher BioImage ApS, Fisher BioPharma Services (India) Private Limited, Fisher BioSciences Japan G.K., Fisher BioServices Inc., Fisher Bioblock Holding II SNC, Fisher CLP Holding Limited Partnership, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 1, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 2, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 3, Fisher Canada Limited Partnership, Fisher Chimica BVBA, Fisher Clinical Logistics LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services (Bristol) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Colombia) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Korea) Co. Ltd, Fisher Clinical Services (Mexico) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Peru) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services Colombia S.A.S., Fisher Clinical Services GmbH, Fisher Clinical Services Inc., Fisher Clinical Services Japan K.K., Fisher Clinical Services Latin America S.R.L., Fisher Clinical Services Limited Liability Company, Fisher Clinical Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Clinical Services Peru S.R.L, Fisher Clinical Services Pte Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services U.K. Limited, Fisher Emergo B.V., Fisher Germany Holdings GmbH, Fisher Hamilton China Inc., Fisher Hamilton Mexico LLC, Fisher Holdings ApS, Fisher Internet Minority Holdings L.L.C., Fisher Laboratory Products Manufacturing (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Fisher Luxembourg Danish Holdings SARL, Fisher Manufacturing (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Maybridge Holdings Limited, Fisher Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Scientific (Austria) GmbH, Fisher Scientific (Hong Kong) Limited, Fisher Scientific (M) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Scientific (SEA) Pte. Ltd., Fisher Scientific A/S, Fisher Scientific AG, Fisher Scientific Australia Pty Limited, Fisher Scientific Biotech Line ApS, Fisher Scientific Brazil Inc., Fisher Scientific Central America Inc., Fisher Scientific Chile Inc., Fisher Scientific Colombia Inc., Fisher Scientific Company, Fisher Scientific Company L.L.C., Fisher Scientific Costa Rica Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Fisher Scientific Europe Holdings B.V., Fisher Scientific GTF AB, Fisher Scientific Germany Beteiligungs GmbH, Fisher Scientific GmbH, Fisher Scientific Holding Company LLC, Fisher Scientific Holding HK Limited, Fisher Scientific Holding U.K. Limited, Fisher Scientific Holdings (M) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Scientific Holdings (S) Pte Ltd, Fisher Scientific International LLC, Fisher Scientific Investments (Cayman) Ltd., Fisher Scientific Ireland Investments Unlimited, Fisher Scientific Ireland Limited, Fisher Scientific Japan Ltd., Fisher Scientific Jersey Island Limited, Fisher Scientific Korea Ltd, Fisher Scientific Latin America Inc., Fisher Scientific Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Fisher Scientific Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Scientific Mexico Inc., Fisher Scientific Middle East and Africa Inc., Fisher Scientific Norway AS, Fisher Scientific Operating Company, Fisher Scientific Oxoid Holdings Ltd., Fisher Scientific Oy, Fisher Scientific Pte. Ltd., Fisher Scientific S.A.S., Fisher Scientific S.L., Fisher Scientific SPRL, Fisher Scientific The Hague I B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague II B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague III B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague IV B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague V B.V., Fisher Scientific U.K. Limited, Fisher Scientific UK Holding Company 2, Fisher Scientific UK Holding Company Limited, Fisher Scientific Unipessoal Lda., Fisher Scientific Venezuela Inc., Fisher Scientific Worldwide (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Fisher Scientific Worldwide Holdings I C.V., Fisher Scientific Worldwide Inc., Fisher Scientific de Mexico S.A., Fisher Scientific of the Netherlands B.V., Fisher Scientific spol. S.r.o, Fisher Servicios Clinicos (Chile) LLC, Fisher Servicios Clinicos Chile Ltda, Fisher WWD Holding L.L.C., Fisher Worldwide Distribution SPV, Fisher Worldwide Gene Distribution SPV, Flux Instruments, Fuji Partnership, G & M Procter Limited, G V Instruments Limited, GV Instruments Canada Ltd., GV Instruments Inc, Gatan Inc, General Scientific Company Sdn Bhd (M), Genomed molekularbiologische und diagnostische Produkte GmbH, Gerhard Menzel B.V. & Co. KG, Gold Cattle Standard Testing Labs Inc., Golden West Indemnity Company Limited, Goring Kerr Detection Limited, Greenville Service Company Inc., HENO GmbH i.L., Hangar 215 Inc., Helmet Securities Limited, Henogen, HighChem, HyClone International Trade (Tianjin) Co. Ltd, Hybaid Limited, I.Q. (BIO) Limited, IDnostics AG, ILS Laboratories Scandinavia AB, Inel Inc., Inel SAS, InnaPhase Inc., InnaPhase Limited, IntegenX, Intrinsic BioProbes Inc., Intrinsic Bioprobes Inc., Invitrogen (Shanghai) Investment Co. Ltd., Invitrogen Argentina SA, Invitrogen BioServices India Private Limited, Invitrogen Europe Limited, Invitrogen Finance Corp., Invitrogen Holdings LLC, Invitrogen Holdings Ltd., Invitrogen Hong Kong Limited, Invitrogen IP Holdings Inc., Invitrogen Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Ion Torrent Systems Inc., Ionalytics Corporation, JSC Thermo Fisher Scientific, Jouan LLC, Jouan Limited, Jouan SA, Kendro Containment & Services Limited, Kendro Laboratory Products Ltd, Kettlebrook Insurance Co. ltd., Keystone Scientific, KonTEM GmbH, Kyle Jordan Investments LLC, LIFE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, LTC Tech South Africa PTY Ltd., La-Pha-Pack GmbH, Lab Vision (UK) Limited, Lab Vision Corporation, Lab-Chrom-Pack LLC, Lab-Line Instruments Inc., Labomex MBP S. de R. L. De C.V., Laboratoire Service International - L.S.I, Laboratory Management Systems Inc., Laboratory Specialties Proprietary Ltd., LambTrack Limited, Laser Analytical Systems Inc., Liberty Lane Investment LLC, Liberty Lane Real Estate Holding Company LLC, Life Sciences International (Poland) SP z O.O, Life Sciences International Holdings BV, Life Sciences International LLC, Life Sciences International Limited, Life Technologies AS, Life Technologies Australia PTY Ltd., Life Technologies BPD AB, Life Technologies BPD UK Limited, Life Technologies Brasil Comercio e Industria de Produtos para Biotecnologia Ltda, Life Technologies Chile SpA, Life Technologies Clinical Services Lab Inc., Life Technologies Co. Ltd., Life Technologies Czech Republic s.r.o., Life Technologies DaAn Diagnostic (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd., Life Technologies Europe B.V., Life Technologies Finance Ltd., Life Technologies Finland Oy, Life Technologies GmbH, Life Technologies Holdings PTE Ltd., Life Technologies Inc., Life Technologies International B.V., Life Technologies Japan Ltd., Life Technologies Korea LLC, Life Technologies Limited, Life Technologies Magyarorszag Kft, Life Technologies New Zealand Ltd., Life Technologies Norway Investments US LLC, Life Technologies Polska Sp z.o.o., Life Technologies SA, Life Technologies SAS, Life Technologies s.r.o, Linkage Biosciences Inc., Linkage Biosciences S.a.r.l., Loftus Furnace Company, Lomb Scientific, Lomb Scientific (Aust) Pty Limited, MTI-GlobalStem, Marketbase International Limited, Matrix MicroScience Inc., Matrix MicroScience Ltd., Matrix Technologies Corporation Limited, Matrix Technologies LLC, Maybridge Chemical Company Limited, Maybridge Chemical Holdings Limited, Maybridge Limited, Medical Analysis Systems Inc., Medical Analysis Systems International Inc., Medical Diagnostics Systems Inc., Metavac LLC, Microgenics Corporation, Microgenics Diagnostics Pty Limited, Microgenics GmbH, Microm International GmbH, Microm Laborgerate S.L.U, Molecular BioProducts Inc., Molecular Probes Inc., Molecular Transfer Inc., NAPCO Inc., NERL Diagnostics LLC, NOVODIRECT GmbH Labor- und Industrie- Megerate, Nalge (Europe) Limited, Nalge Nunc International (Monterrey) LLC, Nalge Nunc International Corporation, Nanjing WeiKangLe Trading Industrial Co Ltd, NanoDrop Technologies LLC, National Scientific Company, Navaho Acquisition Corp., Neomarkers Inc., New FS Holdings Inc., NewcoGen PE LLC, Nihon Dynal K.K., Niton Asia Limited, NovaWave Technologies Inc., Nunc A/S, ONIX Systems Inc., OXOID CZ s.r.o., Odyssey Holdings Corporation, Odyssey Luxembourg Holdings S.a r.l., Odyssey Luxembourg IP Holdings 1 S.a r.l., Odyssey Luxembourg IP Holdings 2 S.a r.l., Odyssey Venture Corporation, Omega Data Systems, One Lambda Inc, Onix Holdings Limited, Orme Scientific Limited, Owl Separation Systems LLC, Oxoid (ELY) Limited, Oxoid 2000 Limited, Oxoid AS, Oxoid Australia Pty. Limited, Oxoid Company, Oxoid Deutschland GmbH, Oxoid Holding SAS, Oxoid Holdings Limited, Oxoid Inc., Oxoid International Limited, Oxoid Investments GmbH, Oxoid Limited, Oxoid N.V., Oxoid New Zealand Limited, Oxoid Pension Trustees Limited, Oxoid Senior Holdings Limited, Oxoid UKH LLC, PAX - DSI Acquisition LLC, PE AG, Pacific Rim Far East Industries LLC, Pacific Rim Investment LLC, Panomics L.L.C., Panomics S.R.L., Patheon, Patheon API Inc., Patheon API Manufacturing Inc., Patheon API Services Inc., Patheon Austria GmbH & Co KG, Patheon B.V., Patheon Banner U.S. Holdings Inc., Patheon Biologics (NJ) LLC, Patheon Biologics Australia Pty Ltd, Patheon Biologics B.V., Patheon Biologics LLC, Patheon Calculus Merger LLC, Patheon Cooperatief U.A., Patheon Development Services Inc., Patheon Finance LLC, Patheon France SAS, Patheon Holdings B.V., Patheon Holdings I B.V., Patheon Holdings II B.V., Patheon Holdings SAS, Patheon I B.V., Patheon I Holding GmbH, Patheon Inc., Patheon International AG, Patheon Italia S.p.A., Patheon KK, Patheon Life Science Products International GmbH, Patheon Manufacturing Services LLC, Patheon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Patheon Pharmaceuticals Services Inc., Patheon Puerto Rico Acquisitions Corporation, Patheon Puerto Rico Inc., Patheon Regensburg GmbH, Patheon Softgels B.V., Patheon Softgels Inc., Patheon U.S. Holdings Inc., Patheon U.S. Holdings LLC, Patheon UK Limited, Patheon UK Pension Trustees Limited, Pelican Acquisition Corporation, Perbio Science (Canada) Company, Perbio Science AB, Perbio Science BVBA, Perbio Science France SAS, Perbio Science Inc., Perbio Science International Netherlands B.V., Perbio Science Invest AB, Perbio Science Nederland B.V., Perbio Science Projekt AB, Perbio Science Sweden Holdings AB, Perbio Science Switzerland SA, Perbio Science UK Limited, Phadia AB, Phadia Diagnosticos Ltda, Phadia GmbH, Phadia Holding AB, Phadia International Holdings C.V., Phadia Korea Co. Ltd, Phadia Luxembourg Holdings S.a.r.l., Phadia Malta Holdings Limited, Phadia Oy, Phadia Real Property AB, Phadia Sweden AB, Phadia Taiwan Inc., Phadia US Inc., Phadia s.r.o., Pharmacaps Mexicana SA de CV, Phenom-World B.V., Phenom-World Holding B.V, Phenom-World Innovations B.V., Phinotex, Pierce Biotechnology Inc., Pierce Milwaukee Holding Corp., Pierce Milwaukee Inc., Polychromix, Power Sweden Holdings I AB, Power Sweden Holdings II AB, Power Sweden Holdings III Aktiebolag, Princeton Gamma-Tech Instruments LLC, Princeton Security Technologies, Prionics AG, Prionics Asia Ltd., Prionics Deutschland GmbH, Prionics France SAS, Prionics Italia S.r.l., Prionics Lelystad B.V., Prionics USA Inc., Priority Air Express LLC, Priority Air Express Pte. Ltd., Priority Air Express UK Limited, Priority Air Holdings Corp, Priority Solutions International, Promedica Pty Limited, Proxeon, Proxeon Biosystems ApS, Qiagen, REP GBP I-B Blocker Inc., Raymond A Lamb Limited, Remel Europe Limited, Remel Inc., Richard-Allan Scientific Company, Robbins Scientific LLC, Robocon Labor- und Industrieroboter Gesellschaft m.b.H, Rupprecht and Patashnick, Rupprecht and Patashnick (R&P), Russell pH Limited, S.C.I. du 10 rue Dugay Trouin, SCI Inno 92, STC Bio Manufacturing Inc., Samco Scientific (Monterrey) LLC, Samco Scientific LLC, Saroph Sweden AB, Schantz Road LLC, Seradyn Inc., Shanghai Life Technologies Biotechnology Co. Limited, Shanghai Thermo Fisher (C-I) Trading Co. Ltd, Shanghai Thermo Fisher (S) Trading Co. Ltd, Southern Trials (Pty) Ltd., Specialty (SMI) Inc., Spectra-Physics AB, Spectra-Physics Holdings Limited, Spectra-Physics Holdings USA LLC, Spectronex, Staten Island Cogeneration Corporation, Sterilin Limited, Stokes Bio Ltd., Sweden DIA (Sweden) AB, SwissAnalytic Group GmbH, Systems Manufacturing Corporation, TFLP LLC, TFS Breda B.V., TFS LLC, TFS Singapore HK Limited, TFSL Financing GP LLC, TFSL Senior GP Holdings 2 LLC, TK Partnership, TKA Wasseraufbereitungssysteme, TMOI Inc., TPI Real Estate Holdings LLC, TSP Holdings I LLC, TWX LLC, Technology Design Solutions Pty Ltd, Thermedics Detection de Argentina S.R.L, Thermo Allen Coding Limited, Thermo Asset Management Services Inc., Thermo BioAnalysis LLC, Thermo BioAnalysis Limited, Thermo BioSciences Holdings LLC, Thermo CIDTEC, Thermo CRS Holdings Ltd., Thermo CRS Ltd., Thermo Cambridge Limited, Thermo Cayman Holdings Ltd., Thermo Corporation, Thermo DMA Inc., Thermo Detection de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Dutch Holdings Limited Partnership, Thermo EGS Gauging LLC, Thermo Eberline Holdings I LLC, Thermo Eberline Holdings II LLC, Thermo Eberline LLC, Thermo Electron (Calgary) Limited, Thermo Electron (Chile) S.p.A., Thermo Electron (Karlsruhe) GmbH, Thermo Electron (Management Services) Limited, Thermo Electron (Proprietary) Limited, Thermo Electron A/S, Thermo Electron Australia Pty Limited, Thermo Electron Export Inc., Thermo Electron Holdings SAS, Thermo Electron Industries, Thermo Electron LED GmbH, Thermo Electron LED S.A.S., Thermo Electron Limited, Thermo Electron Manufacturing Limited, Thermo Electron Metallurgical Services Inc., Thermo Electron North America LLC, Thermo Electron Pension Trust GmbH, Thermo Electron Puerto Rico Inc., Thermo Electron SAS, Thermo Electron Scientific Instruments LLC, Thermo Electron Sweden AB, Thermo Electron Sweden Forvaltning AB, Thermo Electron Weighing & Inspection Limited, Thermo Elemental Limited, Thermo Environmental Instruments LLC, Thermo Fast U.K. Limited, Thermo Finland Holdings LLC, Thermo Finland Holdings MT1 B.V., Thermo Finland Holdings MT2 B.V., Thermo Finnigan LLC, Thermo Finnigan Limited, Thermo Fisher (CN) Luxembourg Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher (CN) Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher (CN) Malta Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher (CN-I) Luxembourg LLC, Thermo Fisher (CN-II) Luxembourg LLC, Thermo Fisher (Cayman) Holdings I Ltd., Thermo Fisher (Cayman) Holdings II Ltd., Thermo Fisher (Finland Holdings 2) LLC, Thermo Fisher (Finland Holdings) Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher (Gibraltar) II Limited, Thermo Fisher (Gibraltar) Limited, Thermo Fisher (Heysham) Limited, Thermo Fisher (Kandel) GmbH, Thermo Fisher CHK Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher China Business Trust, Thermo Fisher China Business Trust II, Thermo Fisher Costa Rica Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Thermo Fisher Cyprus Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Detection Mexico LLC, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics (Ireland) Limited, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AB, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AG, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AS, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Aps, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Austria GmbH, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics B.V., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics GmbH, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics K.K., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Limited, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics NV, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics S.L.U., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics S.p.A. , Thermo Fisher Diagnostics SAS, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Thermo Fisher Eurobonds Ltd., Thermo Fisher Financial Services Inc., Thermo Fisher GP LLC, Thermo Fisher German Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Germany B.V., Thermo Fisher India Divestco Private Limited, Thermo Fisher India Holding B.V., Thermo Fisher Insurance Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Insurance Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Investments (Cayman) Ltd., Thermo Fisher Israel Ltd., Thermo Fisher Production et Services SAS, Thermo Fisher Project Cyprus LLC, Thermo Fisher Re Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Asheville) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Australia) C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Barbados) Holdings Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Breda) Holding BV, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Bremen) GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific (CN) Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher Scientific (China) Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (China) Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (China-HK) Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (DE) Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Ecublens) SARL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance I) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance I) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance II) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance III) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance III) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Fuji) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Holding II) B.V. & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Hong Kong) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (IVGN) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (IVGN) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Johannesburg) (Proprietary) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Mexico City) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Milwaukee) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Mississauga) Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Monterrey) S. De R.L. De C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (NK) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) Austria Holding GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) UK LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) UK Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN-I) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN-II) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN1) UK Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Panama) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Panama) Dutch LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Praha) s.r.o., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Real Estate 1) GmbH & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Real Estate 1) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Schweiz) AG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Shanghai) Instruments Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Shanghai) Management Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Suzhou) Instruments Co. Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific AL-1 LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific AU II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Africa Proprietary Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Aquasensors LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Australia Pty Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific B.V.B.A., Thermo Fisher Scientific BHK (I) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific BHK (II) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics UAB, Thermo Fisher Scientific Beteiligungsverwaltungs GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Biosciences Corp., Thermo Fisher Scientific Brahms LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Brasil Instrumentos de Processo Ltda., Thermo Fisher Scientific Brasil Servicos de Logistica Ltda, Thermo Fisher Scientific C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cayman Investments LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Chemicals Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific China (C-I) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific China (S) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings I B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings III B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings IV B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Chromatography Holdings Aps, Thermo Fisher Scientific Chromatography Holdings S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus I Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus II Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus III C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus III Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus IV C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus V C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Denmark Senior Holdings ApS, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie 1 Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie Financing S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Europe GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC Finance C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSIR Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSIR Financing S.a.r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSUKHCO Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Falcon Senior Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Finance Company BV, Thermo Fisher Scientific GENEART GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Germany BV & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific HR Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings (Cayman) I, Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings (Cayman) II , Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings Europe Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific IT Services GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific India Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific India Pvt Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Malta) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Sweden) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Sweden) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments Malta (Sweden Financing) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Invitrogen Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings I B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings III B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific K.K., Thermo Fisher Scientific Korea Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific LSI Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life CV GP Holdings II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life CV GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Enterprises C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Enterprises GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing (Cayman), Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings III C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International Holdings I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments I S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments III S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments IV S.a.r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta Holding I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta Holding II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments US Financing I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments US Financing II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life NL Holdings GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Netherlands Holding C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior GP Holdings II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Switzerland Holdings GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Tech Korea Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Enterprise Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment UK I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment UK II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investments Holding LP, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Israel Investment I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Israel Investment II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Luxembourg Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Enterprise Holdings S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg German Holdings S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Life Technologies UK Holding S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Sweden Holdings I S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Sweden Holdings II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Venture Holdings I S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Venture Holdings II S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Malta Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Messtechnik GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Mexico City S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Middle East Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Milano Srl, Thermo Fisher Scientific NHK Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific New Zealand Holdings, Thermo Fisher Scientific New Zealand Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Norway Holdings AS, Thermo Fisher Scientific Norway US Investments LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Odyssey Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Odyssey Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Operating Company LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Oy, Thermo Fisher Scientific PN2 C.V, Thermo Fisher Scientific PN2 LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Panama I Cayman Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Peru S.R.L., Thermo Fisher Scientific Pte. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Re Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific SL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Senior Financing LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Senior Holdings Australia LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific South Africa Proprietary Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific SpA, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Holdings Luxembourg I S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Holdings Luxembourg II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Investments Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Switzerland Holdings C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific TR Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Taiwan Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Vermogensverwaltungs GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific West Palm Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Wissenschaftliche Gerate GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Worldwide Investments (Cayman), Thermo Fisher Scientific eCommerce Solutions LLC , Thermo Fisher Senior Canada Holdings LLC, Thermo Foundation Inc., Thermo Gamma-Metrics Holdings Pty Ltd., Thermo Gamma-Metrics LLC, Thermo Gamma-Metrics Pty Ltd, Thermo Holding European Operations LLC, Thermo Hypersil Ltd, Thermo Hypersil-Keystone LLC, Thermo Informatics Asia Pacific Pty Ltd., Thermo Instrument Controls de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Thermo Kevex X-Ray LLC, Thermo Keytek LLC, Thermo LabSystems Inc., Thermo LabSystems S.A., Thermo Life Science International Trading (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Thermo Life Sciences AB, Thermo Luxembourg Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Thermo MF Physics LLC, Thermo Measurement Ltd, Thermo Measuretech Canada Inc., Thermo Neslab LLC, Thermo Nicolet Limited, Thermo Onix Limited, Thermo Optek (Australia) Pty Ltd., Thermo Optek Limited, Thermo Optek S.A., Thermo Orion Inc., Thermo Portable Holdings LLC, Thermo Power Corporation, Thermo Process Instruments GP LLC, Thermo Process Instruments L.P., Thermo Projects Limited, Thermo Quest S.A., Thermo Radiometrie Limited, Thermo Ramsey Italia S.r.l., Thermo Ramsey LLC, Thermo Ramsey S.A., Thermo Re Ltd., Thermo Scientific Microbiology Pte Ltd., Thermo Scientific Microbiology Sdn Bhd, Thermo Scientific Portable Analytical Instruments Inc., Thermo Scientific Services Inc., Thermo Securities Corporation, Thermo Sentron Canada Inc., Thermo Sentron Limited, Thermo Shandon Inc., Thermo Shandon Limited, Thermo Suomi Holding B.V., Thermo TLH (UK) Limited, Thermo TLH L.P., Thermo Trace Pty Ltd., Thermo-Fisher Biochemical Product (Beijing) Co. Ltd., ThermoLase LLC, ThermoSpectra Limited, Trek Diagnostic Systems LLC, Trek Diagnostic Systems Ltd., Trek Holding Company II Ltd., Trek Holding Company Ltd., Trex Medical Corporation, USB Corporation, Union Lab Supplies Limited, United Diagnostics Inc., VG Systems Limited, Westover Scientific Inc., ZAO PE Biosystems, eBioscience GmbH, eBioscience Ltd, eBioscience SAS, and picoSpin LLC. The following companies are subsidiares of The Travelers Companies: 10762962 Canada Inc., 350 Market Street LLC, 8527512 Canada Inc., Aetna Life and Casualty Co, American Equity Insurance Company, American Equity Specialty Insurance Company, Aprilgrange Limited, Arch Street North LLC, Auto Hartford Investments LLC, Bayhill Restaurant II Associates, Camperdown Corporation, Constitution State Services LLC, Discover Property & Casualty Insurance Company, Discover Specialty Insurance Company, F&G UK Underwriters Limited, Farmington Casualty Company, Fidelity and Guaranty Insurance Company, Fidelity and Guaranty Insurance Underwriters Inc., First Floridian Auto and Home Insurance Company, Gulf Underwriters Insurance Company, IHP Capital Partners Fund VIII L.P., Northbrook Holdings Inc., Northfield Insurance Company, Northland Casualty Company, Northland Insurance Company, Phoenix UK Investments LLC, SPC Insurance Agency Inc., Select Insurance Company, Simply Business Holdings Inc., Simply Business Inc., St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company, St. Paul Guardian Insurance Company, St. Paul Mercury Insurance Company, St. Paul Protective Insurance Company, St. Paul Surplus Lines Insurance Company, Standard Fire Properties LLC, Standard Fire UK Investments LLC, TCI Global Services Inc., TPC Investments Inc., TPC U.K. Investments LLC, The Automobile Insurance Company of Hartford Connecticut, The Charter Oak Fire Insurance Company, The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company, The Family Business Institute LLC, The Phoenix Insurance Company, The St. Paul Companies Inc., The Standard Fire Insurance Company, The Travelers Casualty Company, The Travelers Home and Marine Insurance Company, The Travelers Indemnity Company, The Travelers Indemnity Company of America, The Travelers Indemnity Company of Connecticut, The Travelers Lloyds Insurance Company, TravCo Insurance Company, Travelers (Bermuda) Limited, Travelers Brazil Acquisition LLC, Travelers Brazil Holding LLC, Travelers Casualty Company of Connecticut, Travelers Casualty Insurance Company of America, Travelers Casualty UK Investments LLC, Travelers Casualty and Surety Company, Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America, Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of Europe Limited, Travelers Commercial Casualty Company, Travelers Commercial Insurance Company, Travelers Constitution State Insurance Company, Travelers Distribution Alliance Inc., Travelers Excess and Surplus Lines Company, Travelers Global Inc., Travelers Indemnity U.K. Investments LLC, Travelers Insurance Company Limited, Travelers Insurance Company of Canada, Travelers Insurance Designated Activity Company, Travelers Insurance Group Holdings Inc., Travelers Lloyds of Texas Insurance Company, Travelers London Limited, Travelers MGA Inc., Travelers Management Limited, Travelers Marine LLC, Travelers Participacoes em Seguros Brasil S.A., Travelers Personal Insurance Company, Travelers Personal Security Insurance Company, Travelers Property Casualty Company of America, Travelers Property Casualty Corp., Travelers Property Casualty Insurance Company, Travelers Seguros Brasil S.A., Travelers Syndicate Management Limited, Travelers Texas MGA Inc., Travelers Underwriting Agency Limited, Ultramar Travel Management, United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company, Xbridge Limited, Zensurance Brokers Inc., and Zensurance Inc.. 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 Eli Lilly and: 1096401 B.C. Unlimited Liability Company, ARMO BioSciences Inc, ARMO Bioscience, Advanced Cardiovascular Systems, Alnara Pharmaceuticals, Alnara Pharmaceuticals Inc., Andean Technical Operations Center, Applied Molecular Evolution Inc., AurKa Pharma, Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, Avid Radiopharmaceuticals Inc., ChemGen, CoLucid Pharmaceuticals, CoLucid Pharmaceuticals Inc., Dermira, Devices for Vascular Intervention(DVI), Disarm Therapeutics, Dista Ilac Ticaret Ltd. Sti., Dista S.A., Dista-Produtos Quimicos & Farmaceuticos LDA, ELCO Dominicana SRL, ELCO Insurance Company Limited, ELCO Management Inc., ELCO for Trade and Marketing S.A.E., ELGO Insurance Company Limited, Elanco Animal Health Ireland Limited, Elanco Switzerland Holding Sarl, Eli Lilly (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Eli Lilly (Philippines) Incorporated, Eli Lilly (S.A.) (Proprietary) Limited, Eli Lilly (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Eli Lilly (Suisse) S.A., Eli Lilly Asia Inc., Eli Lilly Asia Pacific SSC Sdn Bhd, Eli Lilly Australia Pty. Limited, Eli Lilly B-H d.o.o., Eli Lilly Benelux S.A., Eli Lilly Bienes y Servicios S de RL de CV, Eli Lilly CR s.r.o., Eli Lilly Canada Inc., Eli Lilly Cork Limited, Eli Lilly Danmark A/S, Eli Lilly Egypt for Trading, Eli Lilly European Clinical Trial Services SA, Eli Lilly Export S.A., Eli Lilly Finance S.A., Eli Lilly Ges.m.b.H., Eli Lilly Group Limited, Eli Lilly Holdings Ltd., Eli Lilly Hrvatska d.o.o., Eli Lilly Interamerica Inc., Eli Lilly Interamerica Inc. y Compania Limitada, Eli Lilly International Corporation, Eli Lilly Ireland Holdings Limited, Eli Lilly Israel Ltd., Eli Lilly Italia S.p.A., Eli Lilly Japan K.K., Eli Lilly Kinsale Limited, Eli Lilly Nederland B.V., Eli Lilly Nigeria Ltd., Eli Lilly Norge A.S., Eli Lilly Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd., Eli Lilly Polska Sp.z.o.o. (Ltd.), Eli Lilly Regional Operations GmbH, Eli Lilly Romania SRL, Eli Lilly S.A., Eli Lilly Saudi Arabia Limited, Eli Lilly Services Inc, Eli Lilly Services India Private Limited, Eli Lilly Slovakia s.r.o., Eli Lilly Sweden AB, Eli Lilly Vostok S.A. Geneva, Eli Lilly and Company, Eli Lilly and Company (India) Pvt. Ltd., Eli Lilly and Company (Ireland) Limited, Eli Lilly and Company (N.Z.) Limited, Eli Lilly and Company (Taiwan) Inc., Eli Lilly and Company Limited, Eli Lilly de Centro America S.A., Eli Lilly do Brasil Limitada, Eli Lilly farmacevtska druzba d.o.o., Eli Lilly y Compania de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Eli Lilly y Compania de Venezuela S.A., Glycostasis Inc, Greenfield-Produtos Farmaceuticos Lda., Heart Rhythm Technologies Inc, Hybritech, Hypnion, ICOS Corporation, ImClone GmbH, ImClone LLC, ImClone Systems Holdings Inc., ImClone Systems LLC, Imclone Systems, Irisfarma S.A., Ivy Animal Health, Kinsale Financial Services Unlimited Company, Lilly (Shanghai) Management Co. Ltd, Lilly Asia Ventures Fund I L.P., Lilly Asia Ventures Fund II L.P., Lilly Asian Ventures Fund III L.P., Lilly Cayman Holdings, Lilly China Research and Development Co. Ltd., Lilly Deutschland GmbH, Lilly France S.A.S., Lilly Global Nederland Holdings B.V., Lilly Global Services Inc., Lilly Holding GmbH, Lilly Holdings B.V., Lilly Hungaria KFT, Lilly Japan Financing G.K., Lilly Korea Ltd., Lilly Nederland Finance B.V., Lilly Nederland Finance B.V. - GCC, Lilly Nederland Holding B.V., Lilly Pharma Ltd., Lilly Portugal - Produtos Farmaceuticos Lda., Lilly S.A., Lilly Suzhou Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Lilly Trading Co. LTD, Lilly USA LLC, Lilly Ventures Fund I LLC, Lilly del Caribe Inc., Lilly ilac ticaret limited sirketi, Lohmann Animal Health, Loxo Oncology, Lylly Centre for Clinical Pharmacology PTE. LTD., Novartis Animal Health, OY Eli Lilly Finland AB, Origin Medsystems, PT. Eli Lilly Indonesia, Pacific Biotech, Pharmaserve-Lilly S.A.C.I., Physio-Control, SGX Pharmaceuticals, SGX Pharmaceuticals Inc, Spaly Bioquimica S.A., UAB Eli Lilly Lietuva, Valquifarma S.A., and Vital Pharma Productos Farmaceuticos. Jordan Zahora is one of only 40 students to be accepted into the Economics for Leaders program at Brown University, Providence, RI. Local Student Selected to Participate in National Leadership Program Jordan Zahora, a student at Bishop Fenwick High School is 2018-2019 has been selected to participate in the Economics for Leaders program being conducted at Brown University in Providence, RI from July 23-29, 2018. Jordan Zahora is one of 40 students from around the country who is honored by being accepted into the Foundation for Teaching Economics Economics for Leaders program. All of the students have selected because they demonstrated excellent leadership potential. During the week-long Economics for Leaders program, students attain an understanding of economic reasoning principles and how to employ these concepts for successful and effective leadership. Additionally, participants achieve a heightened awareness of the impact of their decisions have on others and the responsibility that awareness imposes. Economics for Leaders is an unparalleled learning and growing opportunity. Students who have attended Economics for Leaders programs in prior years have called it the experience of a lifetime. Summer Restaurant Week is here. Take advantage, go somewhere new, try something different and please report back on our Facebook page. Tag social media posts with #DSRW2018 Summer Restaurant Week 2018 Recommendations The Miami Valley Restaurant Association held another sold-out Summer Sneak Peek to Restaurant Week at The Steam Plant in Downtown Dayton Wednesday evening. Originally constructed as a power-generating plant by DP&L in 1907, The Steam Plant served as a backup steam heating system for downtown Dayton until the mid-1980s. The venue underwent an extraordinary remodel before opening in late 2017. Local designer Christopher Shay designed the impressive bar to complement Steam Plants distinctive floor to ceiling windows, exposed beams, high ceilings, and brick walls. Thirteen restaurants provided samples of items from their summer restaurant week menus . My top 7 (my sweet tooth said yes to all 3 desserts) tastes were: Amber Rose - Sauteed Shrimp with Andouille Sausage over Cheddar Grits - This dish is summer comfort food. The spicy sausage and shrimp were delicious over creamy cheddar grits. YUM! El Meson - Caribbean Curry Shrimp and Garlic Rice - Celebrating their 40th Year in Dayton with a summer delight! Shrimp with red peppers, green peppers, tomatoes, onions, curry, and cilantro served with garlic rice. ele Cake Co. Bistro & Wine Bar - Confit Pork Loin served with Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts and Craft Root Beer BBQ Sauce - Expertly seasoned pork loin and roasted veggies complimented by a unique Carolina Style BBQ Sauce Dewberry 1850 - Steamed Pork Buns with Korean Pork BBQ Sauce and Pickled Cucumber Slaw - Steaming the house made buns keeps them from browning, resulting in the uncooked appearance. Filled with BBQ pork and cucumber slaw, they were creative and are a 2nd course option during Restaurant Week. Cocos Bistro - Vanilla Creme Brule - If it aint broke, dont fix it. Served chilled they were amazing. Watermark - Chocolate Chip Canoli - The Watermark team had to work hard to meet demand for these sweet treats until they ran out of them. Brio Tuscan Grill - Tiramisu - This mouth-watering layered Italian dessert was espresso what I needed. For a list of all participating restaurants, along with their menus, see our Complete Guide to Summer Restaurant Week. Wipro expected revenue form its key IT services business for the quarter ending September to be in the range of $2.01 billion to $2.05 billion. Bengaluru: Indian IT company Wipro Ltd said it was seeing strong demand for its services from clients in banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), while it faces challenges in its India business and in the US healthcare sector. Indias No.3 IT firm said on Friday that BFSI, its biggest segment, now accounted for 30 per cent of its revenues, up from 25.7 per cent a year ago, as it reported a 2 per cent rise in net profit for the three months through June, beating analysts forecasts. Bengaluru-based Wipro said it expected revenue form its key IT services business for the quarter ending September to be in the range of $2.01 billion to $2.05 billion. That would mean growth of 0.3 per cent to 2.3 per cent from its current revenue of $2.03 billion, after adjusting for the loss of roughly $23 million in revenue due to the sale of its hosted data services business in the June quarter. While we see continuing challenges in our India business and the ACA (Affordable Care Act)-related decline in healthcare, we do see stronger momentum in the rest of our business led by BFSI and the Americas, Chief Executive Officer Abidali Z. Neemuchwala told a news conference. More than half of Wipros sales are in the Americas. Wipro also said it has been trying to restructure its India business, which along with the Middle East contributes less than 10 per cent of its revenues, while the uncertainty around ACA, commonly known as Obamacare, in the United States has pushed healthcare clients to hold off big spends. The company also said it needs to attract more big spending clients. It has only eight clients that bring in annual revenues of more than $100 million. I wish we were doing better on that, Chief Financial Officer Jatin Dalal said. We are pushing up from the base and you hopefully will see an acceleration from hereon. There was ample client demand for Wipros software services though, Dalal said. Our challenge is to make sure we harness the demand... and how quickly we convert that from a demand to opportunity, opportunity to order book, and order book to revenue. Wipro said net profit for the three months to June 30 totaled 21.21 billion rupees ($309 million), topping analysts expectations of 19.52 billion rupees, according to Thomson Reuters data. Its results came out after the stock market close. It also announced on Friday that it will partner with Alight Solutions and buy out the US based human resources solutions providers India operations for $117 million in cash. Indias $154 billion software services industry, led by Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys Ltd, faces tighter margins in legacy businesses such as routine infrastructure maintenance as clients increasingly demand more work for less money. Still, Tata Consultancy Services this month reported a record profit helped by a rebound in its financial services business. Infosys too reported a rise in net income even though it missed street estimates. Veere Di Wedding director Shashanka Ghosh has worked on various projects including Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II, Quick Gun Murugun and of course, Sonam Kapoors Khoobsurat, but he has come in limelight only after his recent movie. The director already has another project with Sonam Battle For Bittora, which was supposed to star Fawad Khan post Khoobsurat, but post the ban on Pakistani artists, he had to be replaced. But not only Sonam, after getting along with Kareena and indirectly Arjun, it seems like the director will now be working with Varun Dhawan too (who happens to be great buddy to Arjun Kapoor). Varun shared an Instagram post with the excited director, captioning it Coming Soon, thus hinting at his next project. But we only wonder why Arjun himself hasnt signed anything yet with the director? Varun Dhawan's Instagram post Richa Chadha is all geared up to play the role of a popular adult film star from the South Shakeela. Best known for her adult films, Shakeela became a rage overnight after her first mainstream film Playgirls in which she acted alongside Silk Smitha. One of the most popular names in south even today, Shakeela has a story that makes for a compelling celluloid tale for the audience to watch. She rose to stardom after Silk Smitha, grabbing every producer and directors attention in the Southern film industries also becoming the first female actor in Malayalam cinema to gain such popularity back when it was a largely male dominated business. Richa, who is known for doing experimental roles and roles which are defying, was the ultimate choice for the filmmakers of the Shakeela Khan biopic to play the titular role. She recently met Shakeela in Bangalore for the first time for an official meet and greet session. Both the real and reel Shakeela spent a great deal of time together and had a great time bonding understanding each other. Shakeela shared anecdotes from her early days and her long career, giving the Fukrey actress all the details she would need to play the part to perfection. "Potential risks to the brain can be minimised by using headphones or the loud speaker while calling. (Photo: Pixabay) Long-term exposure to radiation from mobile phones may adversely affect memory performance of certain brain regions in adolescents, a study has found. The study, appearing in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, involved nearly 700 adolescents in Switzerland. Scientists at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) looked at the relationship between exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) from wireless communication devices and memory performance in adolescents. The study found that cumulative RF-EMF brain exposure from mobile phone use over one year may have a negative effect on the development of figural memory performance in adolescents, confirming prior results published in 2015. Figural memory is mainly located in the right brain hemisphere and association with RF-EMF was more pronounced in adolescents using the mobile phone on the right side of the head. "This may suggest that indeed RF-EMF absorbed by the brain is responsible for the observed associations," said Martin Roosli, Head of Environmental Exposures and Health at Swiss TPH. The rapid evolution of information and communication technologies (ICT) goes along with an increase in exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) in our daily life. The most relevant exposure source to the brain is the use of a mobile phone close to the head, researchers said. Several studies have been conducted to identify potential health effects related to RF-EMF, though results have remained inconclusive. Other aspects of wireless communication use, such as sending text messages, playing games or browsing the Internet cause only marginal RF-EMF exposure to the brain and were not associated with the development of memory performance. "A unique feature of this study is the use of objectively collected mobile phone user data from mobile phone operators," said Roosli. He emphasised that further research is needed to rule out the influence of other factors. "For instance, the study results could have been affected by puberty, which affects both mobile phone use and the participant's cognitive and behavioural state," said Roosli. "It is not yet clear how RF-EMF could potentially affect brain processes or how relevant our findings are in the long-term," said Roosli. "Potential risks to the brain can be minimised by using headphones or the loud speaker while calling, in particular when network quality is low and the mobile phone is functioning at maximum power," he said. The eerie scenes from Wednesday have been captured in videos, which are trending on Chinese social media platforms. (Photo: Pixabay) It seems that Chinese residents have sighted UFOs after several mysterious lights were seen flashing in the sky of Chongqing. According to reports, the strange bright dots appear to move in a line with one disappearing and another one emerging in front of it. The eerie scenes from Wednesday have been captured in videos, which are trending on Chinese social media platforms. While the rumours of extra-terrestrial activities were circulating among Chinese web users, a leading UFO expert claimed that the footage could be of 'a rocket zooming into the atmosphere'. The series of baffling videos were posted yesterday on Weibo, a Twitter-like social media platform in China which showed several orange-red lights following each other in a linear motion. Some web users claimed the scene looked like a cell splitting in the sky, whilst others said aliens were visiting China. Weibo user 'wangshuashuadishua' said the phenomenon resembled 'a person making smoke rings while walking'; while 'BIM' gushed 'the aliens finally made their visit to China, they used to go to America only'. There were also web users claiming to have seen the same mysterious pattern appearing above other cities, including Shanghai in east China and Xinjiang Autonomous Region in north-west China. Chinese authorities are yet to comment on the matter. On receiving information, Manimangalam police rushed to the spot and sent injured Subbarayan to Chromepet government hospital. But he died on the way to the hospital. Police have registered a case and are investigating. Chennai: In a shocking incident, a 33-year-old man, after murdering his younger brother over property a year ago, allegedly killed his father owing to property dispute, on Saturday morning. The victim Moongilon alias Subbarayan (56) of Athanancheri near Guduvanchery was a farmer and Kancheepuram district representative of AIADMK. The incident happened when the victim was overseeing a construction work on his land on Salaimangalam Main Road near Padappai. Two persons, covering their faces with hankerchiefs, came to the spot in a two-wheeler without number plate and stopped near Subbarayan. Sensing danger, Subbarayan took to his heels but the duo chased him and hacked him with machetes and fled the scene, the police said. On receiving information, Manimangalam police rushed to the spot and sent injured Subbarayan to Chromepet government hospital. But he died on the way to the hospital. Police have registered a case and are investigating. According to police, Subbarayan had handed over his properties to his sons Senthilkumar (33) and Rajkumar two years ago by partition and kept a parcel of a land on Salaimangalam Main Road in Padappai for himself. Meanwhile, Senthilkumar demanded more property and murdered Rajkumar a year ago. He was arrested and released on bail. Recently, Senthilkumar started pestering his father to hand over the piece of land on Salaimangalam Main Road to him which Subbarayan had been refusing him. Infuriated by this, Senthilkumar attacked his father last month and the police warned him then. He also allegedly threatened his father of murder if he failed to register the land in his name, the police said. Apart from launching a hunt to nab the duo who killed Subbarayan, the police tried to question Senthilkumar only find that he went absconding after sending his family to relatives house. On suspicion, the police are searching for Senthilkumar. Fire and rescue personnel (TNFRS) from Guindy, Raj Bhavan and Teynampet fire stations rushed to the spot and searched for the girl in boats. As she could not be traced due to low visibility, police and TNFRS suspended the search operation temporarily, police said. Chennai: In a tragic incident in the city, a 19-year-old college girl, distressed by a quarrel between her parents, committed suicide by jumping into Cooum river, on Friday night. Her body was found and retrieved on Saturday. The deceased was identified as A. Ramya, a resident of TNHB apartments in Kotturpuram, and a second year B.Com student of Kumararani Meena Muthiah College of Arts and Science. According to police, the girl had come to the Kotturpuram bridge near her locality and jumped into the river. Shocked by this, motorists and passersby alerted the police and fire control room. Fire and rescue personnel (TNFRS) from Guindy, Raj Bhavan and Teynampet fire stations rushed to the spot and searched for the girl in boats. As she could not be traced due to low visibility, police and TNFRS suspended the search operation temporarily, police said. However, the TNFRS personnel from Saidapet resumed the search on Saturday morning and recovered Ramyas body. The body was sent to Government Royapettah Hospital for an autopsy. Meanwhile, Kotturpuram police registered a case and said that the girl was reportedly scolded by her father Annamalai, a plumber, for watching TV on Friday night. Her mother Parameshwari came to her support leading to a quarrel between the couple. Distressed by the incident, Ramya jumped off from Kotturpuram bridge, police said after a preliminary investigation. Further investigation is on to ascertain the exact reason for the extreme step. 'We are calling for Andhra Pradesh bandh against the injustice meted out to the state by the central government,' YSR Congress Party president YS Jaganmohan Reddy told reporters at Kakinada. (Photo: ANI) Kakinada: YSR Congress Party president YS Jaganmohan Reddy today called for Andhra Pradesh bandh on July 24 over the special category status issue. "We are calling for Andhra Pradesh bandh against the injustice meted out to the state by the central government," Reddy told reporters at Kakinada. "We will support any party at the national level. Our only demand is special category status to Andhra Pradesh," he added. Reacting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech on the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha where he said that he had warned the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) of falling into YSR Congress Party's trap, Reddy said, "We have been speaking on these things since last four years. Now TDP picked up the same and aimed at the Centre. Our sincerity appears trap to Modi?" In his speech in Lok Sabha on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: "When TDP was leaving NDA, I called up N Chandrababu Naidu, warned him that you are falling into YSR Congress's trap. I want to tell the people of Andhra Pradesh that we will keep working for them. We will do everything possible for the development of the state." Later Prime Minister Modi-led NDA government sailed through its first floor test in Lok Sabha by defeating the no-confidence Motion moved by the TDP. The government had a comfortable majority of 325 votes in its favour, who voted against the No Confidence Motion compared to 126 votes by the Opposition parties out of total 451 MPs present in Lok Sabha. The motion moved by the TDP saw Opposition accusing the NDA government of neglecting Andhra Pradesh and not giving it special status. However, Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), the other beneficiary of the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, supported the NDA. The West Bengal Chief Minister, also exuded confidence that her party will win all the 42 Lok Sabha seats. (Photo: ANI | Twitter) Kolkata: Addressing the mammoth gathering in Kolkata, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today vowed to dethrone BJP from power at the Centre and foretold that Prime Minister Narendra Modis party will get a big blow in the 2019 general elections. A confident Trinamool Congress supremo said that the BJP will get less than 100 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. "Bengal will show the path," Mamata Banerjee told at an annual rally in the heart of Kolkata to commemorate the 1993 firing outside Victoria House that killed 13 youth congress workers. The West Bengal Chief Minister, also exuded confidence that her party will win all the 42 Lok Sabha seats. "We will win all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state. It is our pledge. We will oust the BJP to save the country. We will organise a big rally here in January and invite all the (opposition) leaders," she said. The party presently has 34 Lok Sabha seats from West Bengal. Mamata Banerjee, who mooted the idea of a federal front to defeat the BJP, said, "We don't bother about the chair. We only bother about the people and the country." Taking a dig at the BJP for the collapse of a makeshift tent at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally at Midnapore, the chief minister said, "They cannot build a pandal. How can they build the country?" Nearly 90 people were reported to have been injured in the accident. Mamata Banerjee said the number of BJP's Lok Sabha seats would significantly come down in states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. "During the no-confidence vote in the Lok Sabha yesterday, they (NDA) got 325 votes, but in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, their strength will come down to barely 100 seats," she said. Mamata Banerjee also made it a point to downplay BJP's effort towards highlighting PM Modi's success in the no-trust motion as a reflection of the BJP's growing popularity in the country. The motion was negated by 325 of the 451 lawmakers, a two-third majority in excess of the NDA's strength. "That number was inside the house. Outside, in a democracy, they will not win," she said. Mamata Banerjee added that the AIADMK, which had supported the BJP, will have to pay for choosing the wrong side. "They are talking about 2024. Let them first cross 2019," the Trinamool Congress chief said, a rebuttal to PM Modi who asked Congress president Rahul Gandhi to prep for moving a no-trust motion against his party in 2024. The Trinamool Congress will launch a campaign, "remove BJP, save country" on August 15 and organise a mega rally in the state on January 19 that, she said, will be attended by all India leaders from across the country. "They will see Bengal is ready," she said. 'BJP has betrayed us yet again and that's unfortunate,' Andhra Pradesh CM and TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu said. (Photo: File) New Delhi: After Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government defeated the Opposition's no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has said that "Bharatiya Janata Party has betrayed" the state yet again. Chandrababu Naidu said that he would address the nation about the current situation of the state. "Sentiments of 5 crore people of Andhra Pradesh are hurt. I'm coming to Delhi on July 21. I want to tell the nation what is being done to the state. BJP has betrayed us yet again and that's unfortunate," said Chandrababu Naidu while speaking to news agency ANI. Meanwhile, another Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP Jayadev Galla said that the Prime Minister is tying up with the rivals to weaken the state. "For him (PM) to say that we are doing something for political gain it is ridiculous. He is tying up with our rivals while he is still in alliance with us and trying to weaken by starving our state (Andhra Pradesh) of funds," Jayadev Galla told ANI. On the other hand, another TDP MP K Srinivas said that their party was successful in showcasing the Prime Minister's failures. "It is not about majority, it is about morality. Morality won today. We wanted to showcase the failures of PM and his government. You take unemployment, farmers distress, economic slowdown and more. He has failed on every aspect and lost the trust of people of the country," said K Srinivas. On Friday, Prime Minister Modi-led NDA government had sailed through its first floor test in Lok Sabha by defeating the no-confidence motion moved by Telugu Desam Party. The government had a comfortable majority of 325 votes in its favour, who voted against the No Confidence Motion in contrast to 126 votes by the Opposition parties out of total 451 Members of Parliament present in the Lok Sabha. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) members had staged a walk-out while NDA ally Shiv Sena abstained from voting. The NDA's massive victory came after an 11-hour debate, followed by a 90-minute reply by the Prime Minister, during which he listed out the achievements of his government and underlined the failures of the Congress and its allies during their previous terms. This was also the first major unity strength of the Opposition parties that are planning to come together for `Grand Alliance` hoping to fight the BJP in the 2019 general elections. Earlier on July 15, Naidu wrote letters to non-BJP, non-Congress parties' presidents and Parliamentary party leaders seeking support on a No-Confidence Motion against the Centre in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament over the demand for special category status to Andhra Pradesh. The TDP had earlier made six-subgroups of the party leaders, who would meet and handover Naidu's letter and a booklet explaining the injustice done to the state and seek support. After independence, agriculture has mostly been a subject of 'Bhashanbaji' but in the past 10-15 years, innovative contributions from different quarters have started coming to the fore, Shah said. (Photo: File) New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modis aim to double farmers income by 2022 would be achieved before the targeted year, BJP president Amit Shah asserted on Saturday, dismissing the Oppositions claim that it was merely a political statement. Speaking at a conference on Role of Insurance in Reforming Agrarian Economy in New Delhi on Saturday, he said, The kind of changes the Modi government has brought in agriculture sector, I am convinced there will be infrastructure to not only achieve the target of doubling farmers income but go beyond that before 2022. After independence, agriculture has mostly been a subject of Bhashanbaji but in the past 10-15 years, innovative contributions from different quarters have started coming to the fore, Shah said. The goal will be achieved as the Centre and state governments are working in a mission mode, he said. The goal set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not a political statement. I firmly believe as India completes 75 years of its independence in 2022, we will achieve a big success by doubling farmers income and raising agricultures contribution in the economy to 30 per cent, Shah claimed. Crediting the Modi government with an all encompassing vision to benefit farmers, Shah claimed that the government not only managed to arrange a wider crop insurance to farmers but also effectively checked black marketing of urea in the country. The Minimum Support Price (MSP) for kharif crops announced by the government will benefit the farmers. In some cases they are getting more than 1.5 times the cost of crop, he said. Shah also praised agricultural reforms in the BJP ruled states, saying innovative farming practices in these states were mutually share, thus affecting farmers in a large part of the country NDA government is most liberal towards their needs and open to ideas to ensure that steps are taken to facilitate them in enhancing their contribution in the economy, he said. Siddaramaiah, who currently holds the post of congress Legislature party leader and the head of Congress-JD(S) coalition coordination committee, had contested the May 12 assembly polls from two constituencies. (Photo: File) Bengaluru: Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said he would not contest the next Lok Sabha polls. "..I have said that I will not contest for Parliament, I will not contest," Siddaramaiah told reporters in Bengaluru. After Siddaramaiah's recent induction into the congress working committee, speculation has been rife that he may be considering contesting the Lok Sabha polls. Siddaramaiah, who currently holds the post of congress Legislature party leader and the head of Congress-JD(S) coalition coordination committee, had contested the May 12 assembly polls from two constituencies. He won from Badami but lost from his home turf Chamundeshwari in Mysuru. Ahead of assembly elections, Siddaramaiah had announced that it was "most likely" to be his last election. Earlier, addressing party office-bearers, district congress committee heads at a meeting, organised by the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, he urged party men to "recharge" themselves to face the Lok Sabha polls. He said though there were strong expectations that the party will retain power in the assembly polls, he said "we lost due to false campaign by the BJP." "Let's prepare ourselves for the Lok Sabha polls, defeating BJP in that election should be our only target," he was quoted as saying by his office in a statement. The former chief minister also hit out the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre and targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi "for not fulfilling the promises made to people." "The prime minister is like a "drama artiste... what people need is 'Kaam ki Baat' and not 'Mann ki Baat'," he added. Chennai: The state government has informed the Madras high court that 1,400 hospitals have no valid fire safety licence in the state. The principal secretary, health and family welfare department, has filed a report regarding this before the first bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice PT Asha when the PIL from Jawahar Shanmugam came up for hearing. The petitioner sought for making ramp facility as a mandatory in all the hospitals for easy evacuation of the patients. The principal secretary also proposed to sanction Rs 8958.25 lakh for the providing fire fighting arrangements in the government hospitals across the state. Of Rs 8958.25 lakh the fire fighting arrangements will be made in 34 government medical college hospitals and institutions with a cost of Rs 3703.42 lakh, and in Chennai the Institute of Child Health and Hospital for Children and Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Government Hospital for women and children the same facility will be made available at a cost of Rs 410.00 lakh and for Tiruvannamali Rs 290 lakh and Kanyakumari Medical college and Hospital Rs 157.60 lakh. Out of total 1,938 hospitals that are mandated to have ramp only 668 hospitals has both valid fire safety license and ramp facility in their hospital. The remaining hospitals either did not have either valid fire safety license or ramp facility in their campus the counter said. After submission of the report, bench adjourned PIL to July 30 for further hearing. SALEM: A private college bus flipped to its side near Mecheri near Mettur in Salem district on Saturday, causing severe injuries to at least 23 persons including 20 girl students and three staff members. Police said that a state-level ball badminton tournament was organised at a private college at Mettur on Saturday. A group of students including 30 girls and three staff from different colleges in Chennai and Kancheepuram districts had come by train for the tournament. They were picked up by the college bus this morning at Kuttapatti station, en route to Mettur, to be taken to the tournament venue. The students were from Ethiraj Women's College, Viashanv College and Madras Christian College, police said. Police said the accident happened when the driver of the bus, Hariharan, on way to the play-venue carrying the students, lost control of the vehicle at Madhaiyan street bus stop near Mecheri. The bus capsized after hitting a roadside tree. The injured including 20 women students were rescued by the Mecheri police and admitted to nearby private hospital and some to the Salem government hospital. Traffic on the Salem-Macheri road came to a standstill for more than an hour. One of the college students, Charulatha,18, under treatment is said to be in a critical condition at private hospital in Salem. Meanwhile, Salem South MLA met the injured students at the Salem government hospital and asked hospitals administrator to ensure the best possible treatment for them. The engineering aspirants with cut-off marks 190 and above will be allowed to take part in the first round of the online counselling. Over 10,000 candidates are eligible to participate in the first round of counselling. Chennai: Ending the month-long uncertainty over online counselling, the Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA) committee announced the dates for online engineering counselling on Saturday. The counselling will be held from July 25 to August 20 in five rounds. While 1.7 lakh engineering seats available for online counselling, there are only around one lakh eligible candidates this year. The engineering aspirants with cut-off marks 190 and above will be allowed to take part in the first round of the online counselling. Over 10,000 candidates are eligible to participate in the first round of counselling. The payment of initial deposit began on Saturday. Students will be allowed to make payment till Tuesday, said V .Rhymend Uthariaraj, secretary, TNEA. The general category students have to pay Rs 5,000 as deposit and SC, SCA and ST category students have to pay Rs 1,000. For the first round, the students can make choices entry and lock them from July 25 to 27. The tentative allotment will be published on July 28 and students will get two days to confirm it. Final allotment order will be given on July 30. The students have to report for admission on or before August 3. The number of candidates in the subsequent rounds will get increased. For the second round, over 20,000 students will take part. The engineering admissions committee will allow students with cut-off marks ranging from 189 to 175 in the second round that will be held from July 30 to August 4. The students who did not get any allotment in the first round or opted to take part in the second round also be included in the second round. Around 25,000 students will be allowed in third and fourth rounds. In the fifth and final round, 26,500 students would participate. Students who enter only a few choices may not any seat allotment as well. To avoid such situations all the aspirants have to enter a maximum number of choices, Rhymend Uthariaraj said. TNEA has released the previous years cut-off marks details for all branches and colleges. Students with the help of information booklet and these cut-off marks, need to prepare a choice list by placing their preferred choices at the top. Since entering choice is very important in online counselling, students need to consult their parents and teachers before locking them. Those who cannot fill the choices from their home, have to use nearby TNEA Facilitation Centres. They should not use browsing centres or facilitation centres set up by private colleges, educationists cautioned. Vijayawada: A day after the no-trust vote in the Lok Sabha, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu travelled to the capital on Saturday to say that he had never accepted the special package offered by the Centre in place of the special category status. He said he had not agreed to the externally aided projects (EAP) contained in the special package. The Centre had stated that it would set up special purpose vehicles (SPV) for the purpose but he did not accept since it would burden the state financially, Mr Naidu said. Mr Naidu said he not taken a U-turn on special category status, and it was the BJP government at the Centre that had done so and termed Mr Modis reply to the no-trust move as irresponsible. He said he had gone to Delhi to explain to the nation why the party had moved the no-confidence motion and what they are expecting from the Centre. Mr Naidu had previously stated that he would go to Delhi to explain the BJP betrayal. He flew back to the city after briefing the media. He said that the TD was demanding the fulfilment of promises made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi before the 2014 elections at Tirupati. The AP Chief Minister recalled that Mr Modi had asked the AP government to build a capital better than Delhi. Mr Modi at that time had said that the UPA government had killed the mother to save the child. Now we are demanding that the BJP-led government to save the mother (AP), Mr Naidu said. He asked why the Centre was hesitating to accord special category status to AP on the pretext that the 14th Finance Commission was objecting to it, while extending the facility for 11 states. The Centre should honour the sentiments of the people of Andhra Pradesh, he said. Referring to no-confidence motion, Mr Naidu said the BJP majority in the House was clear, but the TD had gone ahead with the move to secure implementation of bifurcation assurances. He said the Centre had been humiliating people of AP by denying release of funds for various projects. He said that the Centre should release funds for Polavaram project and financial assistance to backward regions on par with the Bundelkhand package. Mr Naidu said that the Centre had released only `1,500 crore for Amaravati and `650 crore for central university, though the state government has allotted lands worth `1,600 crore. Hyderabad: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday said that in India, Muslims in the country have no fundamental write to live, but cows have. He was reacting to the killing of Akbar Khan, a resident of Alwar in Rajasthan, by a group of persons suspecting him to be involved in cow smuggling. The AIMIM president tweeted: Cow in India has a fundamental right to life under article 21 and a Muslim can be killed for they have no right. Four years of Modi rule - Lynch Raj (sic). Mr Owaisi said soon the ruling party members would try to justify the killing and a minister would garland the killers. Hyderabad: Fridays no-confidence motion against the NDA government has proved that forging any front by non-BJP parties will not be possible before the 2019 elections. The debate and voting on the motion showed the utter lack of unity among non-BJP parties and lack of consensus on who should lead the front in the event of its formation. The voting numbers made it clear that there were wide differences among regional parties. The BJP was expecting 316 votes in its favour and 146 against, based on the strength of various parties in the Lok Sabha. In the event, it secured 325 votes while the Opposition ended up at 126, with major regional parties staying away from voting. TRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandra-sekhar Rao who had tried to forge a Federal Front of regional parties against the Congress and the BJP is said to have deferred his plans in the wake of Fridays developments and will give it a thought only after the 2019 election results are out. The TRS itself stayed away from voting against the BJP. The AIADMK voted in favour of the BJP, while the BJD staged a walkout even before the debate, exposing the chinks in Opposition unity. Trinamul president and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the other hand is giving signals about forging an alternative front which she wants to lead. She expects to hold a massive show-of-strength rally in Kolkata in January to underline her claim. After announcing his Federal Front plan in March, Mr Rao had gone to Kolkata, Chennai and Bengaluru to meet Ms Banerjee, DMK working president M.K. Stalin and JDS leaders H.D. Deve Gowda and H.D. Kumaraswamy. He had planned to visit Bhubaneswar to meet BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik seeking support for the front. This was deferred after Mr Deve Gowda, who visited Mr Rao in Pragathi Bhavan recently, told him that no front would be possible before the elections due to lack of consensus on who should lead it; a front could be considered only after the election results. Mr Gowda had said the Karnataka model of a post-poll alliance could be worked out if both the BJP and the Congress failed to get the required majority and regional parties can be brought together to form government at the Centre with the support of either Congress or BJP depending on the situation. With the outcome of Fridays vote, Mr Rao feels that Mr Gowdas predictions had come true. As per the BJP's strategy, it should have got 316 votes: BJP 273, Shiv Sena 18, Lok Jana Shakti 6, Shiromani Akali Dal 4, Rashtriya Lok Samata Party 3, Apna Dal 3, JDU 2, PMK 1, NR Congress 1, Swabhimaan Paksha 1, Sikkim Democratic Front 1, NDP 1, NPP 1 and Independent 1. The BJP gained despite the Shiv Sena abstaining from the voting because it secured the support of 37 MPs from the AIADMK. The Opposition parties were expecting 146 votes: Congress 48, Trinamul Congress 34, TD 16, CPM 9, NCP 7, SP 4, AAP 4, RJD 4, AIDUF 3, INLD 2, IUML 2, JMM 2, Independent 2, MIM 1, NC 1, PDP 1, JDS 1, CPI 1 and RSP 1. The Opposition got only 126. Hyderabad: The Hyderabad police proposes to prevent the sale of petrol to helmetless two-wheeler riders in the city. Hyderabad Traffic DCP Babu Rao said the department was awaiting orders to implement the measure. Last week, the prisons department had made it mandatory for two-wheeler riders to wear helmets if they wanted fuel at the 13 prison-run petrol stations in the state. Mr Babu Rao said, We are seeking orders from the High Court. A meeting will be conducted soon with petrol pump owners in the city, as we believe that this move will make a difference. Lucknow: A day after winning the no-confidence motion moved by the Opposition in Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday took the debate to the people. Addressing a Kisan rally in Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, Mr Modi said that the daldal (sludge) created by the coming together of disparate Opposition parties against the BJP would help the lotus bloom better. The daldal created by the coming together of several parties will only help the lotus bloom better because the lotus blooms in daldal, he said. The Prime Minister also took a dig at Congress president Rahul Gandhis unexpected hug in Parliament on Friday and said: Yesterday in Parliament, I repeatedly asked them to give the reason for the no-confidence (motion). When they could not give a satisfactory reply, woh gale padh gaye (they gave me an unwanted hug). Jaipur: In yet another incident of mob lynching, a Muslim man was killed following attack by a group of people on suspicion of cow smuggling on Saturday. The incident took place in Alwar district. The deceased is identified as 28-year-old Akbar Khan. According to advocate Ishaq Khan, who is neighbour of Akbar, 22-year-old Aslam was also attacked and has been admitted in a hospital at Jhirka in Haryana. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has condemned the attack in a tweet. She said, The incident of alleged lynching of a person transporting bovines in Alwar district is condemnable. Strictest possible action shall be taken against the perpetrators. According to the police, Akbar was resident of Kolgaon village in Haryana. He along with one more person was walking with two cows through Lalwandi village in Ramgarh area when they were stopped and questioned by some people who soon started beating them accusing them of smuggling cows. Aslam somehow managed to escape while Akbar was rescued by the police who reached the spot after receiving information about the incident. A profusely bleeding Akbar was taken to hospital but doctors declared him brought dead. After post-mortem, the body was taken to Akbars native village. The post-mortem report was not given to us but there were grave injury marks of batons and sticks on his body, his relatives said. The police have registered case against unidentified persons. IG Jaipur range Hemant Priyadarshi said that two people have been arrested and they are being interrogated to ascertain identity of other people involved in the attack. The workers from Sevvaipettai market area urged both state and central governments to take immediate steps to resolve the truckers issue as it hit both the economy and employment. (Photo:DC) SALEM: As the truckers strike entered the second day on Saturday, the industrial hubs in western districts of Tamil Nadu continue to be paralysed, even as hundreds of lorry drivers and load workers have been forced to go without work and their daily wages. According lorry owners here, business to the tune of several crore of rupees have been lost due to the strike by the lorry owners across state as part of the national-level strike to press their charter of demands. The Tamil Nadu Lorry Booking Agents Federations president, Mr. Rajavadivelu, said, in the absence of a key means of transport goods as wide-ranging from sago, turmeric, steel to textile products and worth Rs 300 crore have been stagnating in Salem district alone in the last two days. Besides, a large number of drivers and new load workers in Salem have been rendered jobless, he said. The workers from Sevvaipettai market area urged both state and central governments to take immediate steps to resolve the truckers issue as it hit both the economy and employment. Commenting on the issue, Salem district president of Lorry Owners Association, Mr. Sennakesavan, said, Nearly 90 per cent of lorries are not being operated and remaining lorries are returning after dispatching goods. Prices of perishables in particular like vegetables and fruits have started to increase following the strike. However, prices of other goods including rice and cereals remain unchanged due to adequate stocks. But even those commodities will also be affected after next few days if lorry strike continues. It is, however, a different matter to revisit a variety of social media to see how it is affecting society the world over. We do not necessarily have to study the medical aspect to worry about Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and so on. Earlier this year, WHO classified video-gaming as a disorder. It is defined in the draft Eleventh Revision of the International Classification of Diseases as a mental health condition. Understandably, controversy has erupted round this move as many experts believe that sufficient data doesnt exist to support this drastic diagnosis. Besides, the symptoms defined are too broad to be applied to one particular area of engagement. Thus a person may have a strong preference for any activity that he enjoys to the extent that he does not stop even if there are negative consequences, the compulsion strains his life, health and relationships WHOs definition of the gaming disorder. Definitely more data is needed. It is, however, a different matter to revisit a variety of social media to see how it is affecting society the world over. We do not necessarily have to study the medical aspect to worry about Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and so on. It is important to view these entrants in the digital world in the context of communications technology and artificial intelligence (AI) and their impact on human society, politics, the growing economic divide and the lifestyles of people. Social media has dramatically transformed the communication scene for all and sundry. From oral communication that connected men and women without any help from technology, we have moved over the millennia into the digital age. Even the invention of paper in China and the printing press in Germany did not have the same far-reaching impact on human society as the Internet has had. The change driven by digital technology has been rapid and ubiquitous. This has been possible partly because the social media set out to do just this. The Facebooks website states its mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world together. People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and express what matters to them. A noble intent no doubt. But as its founder Mark Zuckerberg himself once admitted in an interview, he had not anticipated the course his creation would take. Within reasonable limits no one would have taken any objection to this activity. The Internet has made communication easier and facilitated the work of people looking for information/education. But what I worry about is the way it has taken control of human life. This is by design. Facebook, the oldest of the lot, has nearly 1.45 billion daily active users, WhatsApp has one billion and Twitter 336 million. These statistics do not tell us how much time is consumed and exactly what effect this massive interactive exercise daily has on peoples lifestyles, emotional health and physical fitness. Even in terms of bringing the world together, as social media claims to be doing, the results are questionable. Social media, in its various forms, is a tool of communication, offering advantages that have never been offered in human history. Yet, its utility cannot be taken for granted. Like other similar tools, it carries risks of fraud, breach of privacy and the global consequences of a breakdown or misuse. We have already been witness to Black Monday (1987), when the stock markets crashed, and the 2008 banking crisis. The Internet certainly had a role to play on both occasions. With users rapidly becoming its compulsive slaves and the corporate sector increasing its hold over digital space, regulation is becoming more and more difficult. It is too early to assess the long-term impact of the new narcissistic culture, the loss of privacy, the irresponsible dissemination of disinformation and paradoxically the personal disconnect social media encourages between people living in physical proximity. The most serious aspect of the social media that is difficult to regulate effectively is its misuse to spread rumours among gullible users who have no means of verifying the information that is disseminated. The Cambridge Analytica scandal conclusively proved that digital information on many social media outlets could be stolen to manipulate data with evil intentions. Our next worry should be AI that has a symbiotic relationship with the Internet. It is now creeping into our daily lives. We should not ignore scientist Stephen Hawkings words of wisdom: I believe there is no deep difference between what can be achieved by a biological brain and what can be achieved by a computer. It therefore follows that computers can, in theory, emulate human intelligence and exceed it. That could lead to the eradication of disease and poverty and the conquest of climate change. But it could also bring us all sorts of things we didnt like autonomous weapons, economic disruption and machines that developed a will of their own, in conflict with humanity. He categorically declared that the outcome was not known. His advice to scientists was to study this phenomenon and find out if AI was going to kill us or not. By arrangement with Dawn B08 In the run-up to the July 16 Helsinki summit, the media in both the United States and in West Asia had felt that this high-level engagement would focus on regional matters, particularly relating to three countries Iran, Israel and Syria. In the background of Mr Trumps aggressive posture against Iran and his strong pro-Israel positions, it was speculated that the US President would specifically demand Russian support to get Iran out of Syria. Affirming Russian President Vladimir Putins central position in West Asian affairs, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ali Akbar Velayati, foreign affairs adviser to Irans supreme leader Ali Khamenei, had reached Moscow on July 9. Mr Netanyahu, on his third visit to Moscow this year, is reported to have offered his backing for Bashar al-Assad remaining in power in Damascus in return for the full withdrawal of Iranian forces from Syria. More immediately, he accepted the entry of Syrian government troops into the south, provided that non-Syrian troops were kept about 80 km from the Israeli border. It appears that while Mr Putin showed no interest in forcing the Iranians out of Syria, the cordon sanitaire that Israel wanted in the south has been implemented successfully and the Syrian forces are moving forward to cleanse the region of all rebel elements. Mr Velayati had a broader and more complex agenda. He needed expressions of robust Russian support for the Iranian economy, following the reimposition of US sanctions. Anticipating American hostility to Irans (and Hezbollahs) military presence in Syria, Mr Velayati also highlighted the US selfish and illegal behaviour and the fact that the US would be an unreliable partner in any set of circumstances. Mr Velayati appears to have obtained the economic support he had wanted: he announced Russia would be investing $50 billion in Irans oil and gas sector, which was confirmed by Russian officials. He added that Mr Putin would be visiting Iran to take forward the Syrian peace process. The Russian energy minister has said Russia would accept oil-for-goods arrangements with Iran in terms of which Russian goods would be supplied in return for Iranian oil, which Russia would then sell in the international market. Despite hectic diplomatic activity and intense speculation, the Helsinki summit does not seem to have yielded any dramatic results. At the Putin-Trump press conference, there were no references to Iraq, the Kurdish issue in Syria, or the concerns of Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. The Russian leader applauded the operational channels of communications set up between the Russian and US militaries in Syria. He also spoke of their joint commitment to establish peace and reconciliation in Syria and to make efforts to address the humanitarian crisis in the country and facilitate the return of refugees. Both leaders upheld the importance of Israels security. But Mr Putin also made clear his support to the Iran nuclear agreement, which he pointed out had made Iran the most controlled in the world and had ensured the exclusively peaceful nature of the countrys nuclear programme. Mr Trump failed to respond to these remarks. While speaking about the separation of Syrian and Israeli forces in the context of ongoing military operations in south Syria, Mr Putin made an interesting reference to UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 338: he called for full compliance with this resolution which would bring peace to the (disputed) Golan Heights, promote peace between the two countries and provide security to Israel. He added that Mr Trump had paid special attention to this matter and that Russia would move forward on this basis. Mr Putins resurrection of an agreement that has been lost in the fog of history has led to considerable discussion in the regional media. Israel has welcomed these remarks, seeing in them a message that Iran and its allied militia should pull out of the Israeli border and possibly even leave Syria altogether. Saudi commentators see in Mr Putins remarks US acceptance of Russias presence in Syria at the expense of Iran and Turkey, both partners in the Syria peace process and rivals of the kingdom in that country. This limited understanding of Mr Putins remarks misses the resolutions history and context: UNSCR 338, issued in October 1973, besides arranging for the disengagement of Syrian and Israeli forces, also called for the full implementation of UNSCR 242 that, in turn, had demanded Israels withdrawal from territories occupied in 1967 and the initiation of negotiations between the Arab and Israeli sides. Mr Putins reference to resolutions from a bygone era is well-timed it comes just when Mr Trump, through his son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner, is promoting his own deal of the century that, according to reports, is seeking to do away with the Palestinian issue altogether by providing Palestinians with economic benefits through investments in infrastructure and industry in place of a sovereign and viable state. Gaza will then perhaps go to Egypt, while a moth-eaten West Bank will come under Jordanian control. Ergo, the Palestinian issue will cease to exist in what Mr Trump now calls the ultimate deal. Mr Putins remarks, the import of which might have been missed by Mr Trump, have him joining other Arab leaders (that is, those from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Jordan) in rejecting the Trump-Netanyahu-Kushner plan. The Arab leaders had instead insisted on the Arab peace initiative, which called for Israels vacation of the occupied territories and the setting up of a sovereign and viable state, with Jerusalem as its capital. Besides the immediate matters pertaining to Syria, the summit was important for the two world leaders to build a personal understanding and address global issues of mutual interest, besides of course the turmoil in the United States relating to Russian interference in the 2016 presidential race that had promoted Mr Trumps electoral interests. This was too early for a grand bargain on West Asian issues, though, given their differences, it might not even be possible later. This has left the region in a miasma of uncertainty. We will know soon if the ongoing competitions and rivalries will be addressed through statesmanship or descend into a war. B08 President Donald Trump has had an extraordinary series of acerbic encounters over the past two months that can only be interpreted in two ways either he is swinging from the sublime to the ridiculous or there is a method in the madness that even strategic thinkers can not comprehend. It all began at the G-7 summit in the first week of June in Quebec where Mr Trump publicly called for the admission of Russia to the group. He followed it up with withdrawing his endorsement of the joint communique issued at the end of the meeting and a public spat with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over trade tariffs between the United States and Canada. The fact that Mr Trump is mercurial is a non-sequiter, but even by his standards of temperamentalism to publicly break with the US closest allies seemed to signal something deeper than mere angst. He followed up the Quebec performance with a summit meeting with North Korean supremo Kim Jong-un in Singapore on June 12 despite serious reservations within the US deep state about the wisdom of such an interaction that was perceived as premature by the charitable and imbecile by critics. However, what took the cake was his piece at the Nato summit in Brussels on July 11-12, where he had a televised spat with leading Nato members about increasing their defence spending to two per cent of the GDP. He crowned it with an attack on the British Prime Ministers approach to Brexit during his back-to-back UK visit and then rounded it off with a ringing denouncement of his own intelligence agencies at a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki. Taken together what does it all add up to? Irrationality or the emerging contours of reshaping the world order that minds conditioned to the status quo of the past 70 years are simply unwilling to comprehend. The approach to international relations in America can broadly be classified into four schools of thought. The first are the Hamiltonians. They want the US to emulate the strategies pursued by Great Britain at the pinnacle of its power. Its approach is anchored on two prongs namely to construct a global mercantile and strategic paradigm predicated on the dominance of the maritime domain and a clear technological edge over the rest of the players in the global power dynamic. It entails both, finessing the balance of power paradigm in key geo-strategic theatres and attempting to co-opt rivals or potential rivals like China into the global order as engaged not estranged stakeholders. The second are Wilsonians. They also desire a global role for the US albeit grounded in liberal human rights practices and based upon the application of international law rather than the economic and security frameworks that Hamiltonians espouse. There are two other seminaries that are domestically oriented rather than internationally disposed in their outlook. They are primarily focused on keeping the US safe from the world. While Jeffersonians have historically sought to abjure war and avoid foreign entanglements at all costs, Jacksonians have been circumspect about foreign adventures, but are votaries of robust national defence preparedness. They support a solid military and decisive action against any peril to the US, including its nobility and its treaty partners. Jeffersonians normally oppose any conflict other than a war waged for self-protection following an attack by an adversary. Jacksonians are not entranced by worldwide change but largely support stout American responses to whatsoever they see as a strategic challenge or hazard to American honour and standing abroad. It is the Hamiltonians and Wilsonians that have shaped American foreign policy postures over the past century, including acute decisions like forsaking neutrality to enter the First World War, the subsequent creation of the League of Nations, fait accompli of the Second World War following the attack on Pearl Harbour, setting up of the United Nations and Nato and the global web of treaties and alliances that underpin American power throughout the world to name but a few. They can be found in abundance in all foreign policy-related institutions and think tanks around the US. The US global engagements are the bread and butter of the Hamiltonians and the Wilsonians. However, continuing entanglements in Afghanistan, Iraq and larger Middle East coupled with the consequent cost that the US has had to pay both in blood and treasure from 2001 onwards have made both the Americans and even policymakers weary and cagey of its continuing global role. America is drained and depleted. It badly requires an infrastructure overhaul. The last one happened after the Great Depression in the 1930s. A vast majority of Americans feel and rightly so that globalisation that it had pioneered, including putting in place the entire international trade system, has now been working to its detriment for over two decades now. The US desperately wants to withdraw from its global role and adopt a protectionist posture on trade tariffs. It wants to mitigate the inflection points that absorb American resources and compel its continuing military commitments around the world while strengthening some key relationships like with Israel which is more of a domestic rather than a foreign policy issue in American politics. This is the essence of making America great again. President Trump at heart is a Jeffersonian. Left to himself he may want to retreat into a splendid isolationism. However, even he cant unwind the commitments stretching back seven decades in a span of two years. Therefore, his policy prescriptions are Jacksonian. Even though November 2018 midterm elections to the House and Senate are critical, street wisdom in the US believes Mr Trump will get a second term. If that happens between now and 2024, he would have reset the global order and taken America into a phase of Grand Exceptionalism. The ensuing vacuum would open up space for myriad global players to position themselves. Is India even cognisant of the emerging opportunities? Israels Parliament passed a law on Thursday that defines the country as the nation state of the Jewish people. This is unfortunate. Its hard to imagine in todays world that a nation where people of different faiths and different ethnic and language backgrounds reside, who are supposed to live as equal citizens at the level of constitutional rights, should officially name itself after one of them. This is a path India rejected after Independence even after the country was vivisected on a communal and regional basis. We genuinely felt as a people that our approach was crucial to maintain this countrys unity and integrity. The action by Israel, on the other hand, is a reminder that it privileges majoritarian attitudes. After the enactment of this clause, a large part of Israels population, comprising Arabs, who are mainly Muslim, are apt to feel they are second class citizens. The Arab legislators in Israels Parliament, and the Palestinian people, the bulk of whose territories were taken away from them to create the State of Israel in 1948, have called the new Israeli law racist and the legalisation of apartheid. These are strong words. But the European Union too has voiced concern over the new Israeli move and has urged that the rights of minorities be respected. The Trump administration in the United States had recently recognised Jerusalem as Israels capital, and had directed that the American embassy be moved there from Tel Aviv. This attitude has evidently emboldened Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to adopt a hawkish stance, to the detriment of the non-Jewish population of his country. B08 The Supreme Courts observations on the right of women to enter temples are significant. The nations highest court has taken a clear stand that any religious custom that prohibits women from offering worship has no constitutional validity. The final order in the case is to be looked forward to eagerly as a historic decision is awaited on upholding the right of a substantial section of the population to enjoy the same rights as men to pray at a temple, church, mosque, gurdwara or any other place of worship. The Sabarimala temple regulation barring women between the ages of 10 and 50 from entry is being scrutinised by the judiciary. The ban, said to be based on an ancient custom in a temple whose deity is Ayyappa, considered a Naisthik Brahmachari (celibate), is aimed at menstruating women and a few of them who have sneaked in like a Kannada actress have done so controversially. In the course of arguments, the five-judge bench has been saying there can be no discrimination on the basis of gender. Further, the Chief Justice of India came out with a specific objection to women being expected to observe a 41-day penance before undertaking the pilgrimage as it would be a condition impossible to fulfil because of their physiological menstruation cycle. He said this was untenable in law. The Kerala governments current stand also supports the contention that women cannot be barred from worshiping at the famous hill shrine. Of course, the stand has fluctuated wildly, depending on which party is in power, during this long-running suit aimed at ending discriminatory practices by a patriarchal temple governance setup, in which males are not just dominant but exclude the other sex. The lawyer appearing for the Devaswom Board also suggested that he argues about the sanctity of ancient customs only as a professional, and what he says doesnt reflect his personal views or that of his political party. The fundamental issue here is discrimination against women in the matter of the right to pray. The arguments may be extended to the larger patriarchal system in which there are mostly male priests. Exceptions have been brought about by judicial intervention, but the experience has not been a great one, at least for one pioneering woman who fought for this right and won, and led a prayer as an imam in Kerala. Women have also fought and won the right to pray at Haji Ali, the famous Mumbai shrine, as well as at a Shani temple in Maharashtra. Various pronouncements in such matters lead us to believe Sabarimala may also have to throw open its doors to women of all ages, which would only be the right thing to do, however patriarchal the system has been rendered by age-old customs. B08 The no-confidence motion debate, which raged for 12 hours on Friday, and revealed some meaningful facts, was sought to be trivialised by some, including those from the treasury benches. The question they asked was: Why bring a no-confidence motion against the government when the result of the vote on the motion cannot be in serious doubt? Home minister Rajnath Singh commenced his intervention by quoting an ancient Sanskrit saying, according to which those in sanshay or doubt will come to grief. What was the need to doubt the government? That was his meaning. This is surprising, coming from a senior Cabinet minister in the worlds largest democracy. Such motions are not necessarily brought to pull down a government, which is not the usual outcome. A no-trust move is resorted to when a governments opponents feel that the running of the country is in poor shape. The first no-confidence motion was brought in 1963 against Nehrus government after the debacle of the border skirmish with China in late 1962. There was no chance of the government falling on the floor of Parliament, yet the governments opponents had every reason to be deeply dissatisfied. As for the Narendra Modi government, the catalogue of serious grievances affecting practically every section of society appears quite long. The most striking revelation the debate threw up was that the NDA has failed to maintain its allies on account of its governance style and political management, while the government side was unable to poach on the UPA parties and others who had come together on the no-trust vote. The TDP had left the NDA last March on the issue of a special finance package for Andhra Pradesh after the bifurcation of the state, a subject which Jayadev Galla, a first term TDP MP who opened the debate as the TDP had moved the motion, elaborated with elan and researched detail. The discussion showed that the Shiv Sena, another disgruntled partner of the BJP, absented itself from the Lok Sabha for the day when it should have been voting with the government as it is represented in the Union Council of Ministers. The fracture in the ruling ranks was conspicuous. The Telangana Rashtra Samiti, which has generally given the impression of being supportive of the Modi government although it is not a part of the NDA, criticised the government in the course of the debate, and then its MPs left. Odishas BJD, which except of late has not been unhelpful to the Modi government, came to the Lok Sabha but walked out before the debate commenced, in the process offering the government some succour. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said he shared the TDPs pain although it was a Congress government that had bifurcated Andhra Pradesh. Mr Gandhi was quite striking in his criticism of the government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi sharply denounced the Congress and no other party, but couldnt quite get into his political stride, and resorted to a long-winded recital of official data. The fact that Manchester Universitys student diversity officer and liberation and access officer initiate a move to erase If from their sight will not result in Kiplings works disappearing from the history of literature. (Photo: Pixabay) A noun as I was taught Is the name of a person, place or thing. Im a person in this place and the world is overwrought With Shiv Lings And chicken wings And every bird that sings. Hamlet thought it was a play Omar called them a sorry scheme St Peter said they were all to all And a wise man said they are not what they seem. From Ai Dont be Silly Yaar by Bachchoo Photographs of the Russian Communist Party from the 1920s have had Leon Trotsky airbrushed out of them. Stalin, who initiated this photoshopping, didnt succeed in removing Trotsky from history. We know about Leon. It may be that Joseph Yugashvilli (Stalins real name) wanted to hang the politburo photographs in his bedroom and preferred not to see Trotskys bearded mug. Something similar is happening today in Manchester Universitys student union. Recent decoration of the building entailed inscribing Rudyard Kiplings poem, If, on one of the large round internal pillars. The poem, as you gentle reader will know, is advice on how to live an ethical and balanced existence: If you can fill the unforgiving minute/ With sixty seconds worth of distance run/ Yours is the Earth and everything thats in it/ And which is more, youll be a Man my son! is how it concludes. It is a remarkable piece of work, the more so for being written as one long sentence! The student unions officials erased the poem by painting over it and replaced it with a poem by the Afro-American poet Maya Angelou. On reading this as news, with the photograph of a young lady called Sara Khan, who is the liberation and access officer of the union, standing next to the poetry pillar, I concluded that she had been offended by the advice being offered to Kiplings son rather than his daughter. I was wrong. Another female student called Riddi Viswanathan, the unions diversity officer, said that the elected panel of the union felt that Kipling was not in line with our values because he wrote another poem called The White Mans Burden. Ms Khan went on to say that Kipling was a racist and Angelous poem was chosen because it reclaimed the history of people who had been oppressed by the likes of Kipling for so many centuries. The poem If itself contains no racist allusions or language. I have never regarded it as offensive in any way, though The White Mans Burden and some other sentiments expressed in Kiplings work can be seen as unacceptable and were so even at the time he wrote them. Peculiarly, in a week in which British politics has been thrown into complete turmoil by the rebellions in Parliament and by the fate of Brexit and therefore the future of the nation hanging in the balance, this erasure of a poem made headline news in the nations media. It was seen by some as an illiberal act of censorship. By others, as an insult to a great writer, some of whose attitudes reflected the ideology of his times. The students are absolutely within their rights to airbrush poems they dont want to see on the walls of what is their building. Those who object to their objection are never going to set eyes on the said walls and have no concern or right to say what should or should not be on them. Its the same as Stalins right to cut old Trotsky out of the photographs if he was only hanging these in his bedroom. We think it unfair that Stalin attempted to distort history as the photographs were not only intended for his private viewing. This batch of students are not banning Kiplings works from being read by posterity. Its just their wall and will be that of the next batch who may plaster 20 Kipling poems on it if its anti-offences officer puts forward a convincing case. Many years ago, I wrote an MA thesis on the influence of Indian myth and folklore on Kiplings work with special focus on The Jungle Book. Years after writing it I was invited by Charles Allen, the distinguished historian and biographer of Rudyard, to appear on a platform to discuss his work. The symposium was in the Royal Festival Hall. Charles was chairing and as I began to present my ideas three of the audience, a young black man and two young black women, identifiable from their accents as of West Indian descent, stood up and objected to my speaking. They said I, as an Indian, should not be giving a racist writer the benefit of any analysis. I asked if theyd give me the opportunity to present a more complex view of Kiplings attitudes towards the races, religions and imperial servants of the Indian subcontinent. They said they werent interested in listening to anything about a racist. Charles, from the chair, then asked them what they had read of Kiplings work and their answer was that they had read nothing of his work because they didnt read racist writers. That brought a not-very-appreciative reaction form the rest of the audience and the three of them made their way out of it and out of the hall. The fact that Manchester Universitys student diversity officer and liberation and access officer initiate a move to erase If from their sight will not result in Kiplings works disappearing from the history of literature. I hope both the officers will take some time to read the very substantial and very important works of Rudyard Kipling and come to the conclusion that though there certainly are racist and imperialist statements in the work, there are also very many countering attitudes. His rendering of Indian idiom in English is, to date, unparalleled. And most of all that Rudy-baba has contributed a body of work to English literature comparable in importance to Dickens or maybe even no, I wont say it! B09 Among the more personal items to be auctioned are a Purdue University centennial flag from Armstrongs alma mater that travelled on Apollo 11 and his Boy Scout cap. (Photo: AP) Admirers of Neil Armstrong and space exploration have a chance to own artefacts and mementoes that belonged to the modest man who became a global hero by becoming the first human to walk on the moon. The personal collection of Armstrong, who died in his native Ohio in 2012, will be offered for sale in a series of auctions handled by Dallas-based Heritage Auctions, beginning Nov. 1-2 and continuing in May and November 2019. The collection includes a variety of artefacts from Armstrongs 1969 lunar landing and private mementoes that include pieces of a wing and propeller from the 1903 Wright Brothers Flyer that the astronaut took with him to the moon. Other items that went to the moon with Armstrong include a US flag, the largest size typically flown during Apollo missions; a United Nations flag; various state flags; and some Robbins Medallions. The sterling silver medallions were paid for by the crews of Apollo missions and were available for purchase only by NASA astronauts. Armstrongs collection also includes a rare gold medallion. Among the more personal items to be auctioned are a Purdue University centennial flag from Armstrongs alma mater that travelled on Apollo 11 and his Boy Scout cap. Armstrongs son, Mark Armstrong, said his father never talked to him about what he wanted to be done with the large number of items he kept. I dont think he spent much time thinking about it, Armstrong said. He did save all the items, so he obviously felt they were worth saving. Armstrong, who lives in suburban Cincinnati, said his father did keep all of his flown items together. Faced with the responsibility of conserving, preserving and insuring irreplaceable items and honouring their fathers legacy, Armstrong and his brother, Rick, found that some things needed restoration and that some required research to be properly identified. We felt like the number of people that could help us identify them and give us the historical context was diminishing and that the problem of understanding that context would only get worse over time, he said. The Armstrongs turned to Sarasota, Florida-based Collectibles Authentication Guaranty for help with preserving and authenticating the artefacts and memorabilia and chose Heritage Auctions for the sales. Greg Rohan, president of Heritage Auctions, said it handles numerous categories of collectables that appeal to various collectors, but items connected with space seem to have a universal appeal. Space is one of the very, very few categories that every single person seems to be interested in, Rohan said. You show somebody something from the space program, and they are fascinated by it. Bids can be taken online, by phone or in person. 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. Tesla officials say a $1.5 million grant is only the beginning of their investment in K-12 education in Nevada. Tesla officials say a $1.5 million grant is only the beginning of their investment in K-12 education in Nevada. The Nevada Appeal reports Tesla officials announced at a state Board of Education meeting Thursday that Tesla plans to contribute $37.5 million to education in Nevada over the next five years. Gov. Brian Sandoval says the funding will provide more Nevada students with access to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education. Teslas Chief Technology Officer J.B. Straubel says he expect the demand for jobs in those fields to grow dramatically in the state over the next few years. With Tesla model's selling at good a pace, especially the Model S, the company seems to be moving briskly towards taking over the electric car market the world over, The Model S has now become one of the highest selling luxury sedan cars in the US, outperforming old brands such as Audi and Mercedes. The same car has been doing commendable in the Chinese market as well. 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. A part of the plan is to introduce id cards for accessing porn websites which will make one eligible to watch the explicit content. Porn, ethically, should be watched by people over the age of 18. However, teenagers in Britain (or the world over, for that matter) who are below the age barrier continue consuming pornographic content and are expected to do it for longer. Due to the absence of a suitable mechanism in social media sites, children who aren't eligible consume the explicit content and the same goes for the X-rated websites as well. Due to not being able to implement appropriate rules and techniques to prevent the unacceptable culture, the UK government is expecting criticism in the coming weeks as it has yet failed to develop the necessary system. And, the responsibilities of it has been handed over to David Austin who is the chief executive of British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). The top official of BBFC believes that social media won't be forced to activate this age restriction system and, even if they are asked, it might end up being useless as lads will find a way to crack down the obstruction. Statistics show the hefty number of children being inclined towards watching porn as 40 per cent boys between 14 to 17 age group consume porn everyday. The culture department of Britain is about to impart the necessary adherence on social media but the details of the same have not been disclosed. The BBFC was supposed to put the plan before parliament during mid-2018 but it now seems to be getting delayed, expected to be disclosed by the end of this year. While the country, which is first to do so, is trying to curb the under-age sexual content consumption, experts believe that the road to achieving the feat is cumbersome. This is owing to the existence of as many as 5 million porn websites across the world and putting the restriction on each of the platforms could be hard to achieve. A part of the plan is to introduce id cards for accessing porn websites which will make one eligible to watch the explicit content. Although BBFC has got all the powers to stop porn websites from allowing under-age people to get the access, the authority itself is skeptical about its success as they believe children now a days are smart to get through most of the online barrier. (Source) 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. China must stop shielding terrorists based in Pakistan from United Nations' sanctions if it wants to add momentum to the process to mend its ties with India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will tell Chinese president Xi Jinping next week. Modi and Xi will meet at Johannesburg on the sideline of the summit of the BRICS a bloc comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa next week. This is going to be the third meeting between the two leaders this year, after the informal summit at Wuhan in central China in April and on the sideline of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's summit at Qingdao in eastern China in June. The informal summit at Wuhan in April brought the ties between India and China back on track, after it hit a new low over the 72-day-long military stand-off at Doklam Plateau in western Bhutan last year. The two leaders followed it up with the meeting at Qingdao in June. Prime minister and Chinese president are now likely to use the forthcoming meeting to review the outcomes of the series of bilateral engagements the two nations had after the informal summit held in Wuhan in April. China has in the past repeatedly blocked India's attempts to get the United Nations to impose sanctions on terrorist leaders based in Pakistan, including Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Moulana Masood Azhar. Modi is likely to nudge Xi to review the stand taken by China at the United Nations on the issue of bringing anti-India terrorist leaders based in Pakistan under international sanctions. He is likely to remind Chinese president that one of the outcomes of the informal summit at Wuhan was the recognition by both of them of the common threat posed by terrorism. They had not only reiterated their strong condemnation of and resolute opposition to terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, but had also committed themselves to cooperate on counter-terrorism. On Saturday, sources told the DH that prime minister would convey to the Chinese president that Beijing's support to New Delhi to bring terrorist leaders under the UN sanctions would help his government garner more support from within India to continue efforts to mend ties with China. India may make a fresh attempt to get JeM chief under UN sanctions if it receives a positive response from China, said sources. Notwithstanding the efforts by both sides to bring the ties back on track, China continued to block India's entry into the Nuclear Security Group (NSG). The last plenary of the NSG saw China continuing to resist India's entry into the cartel, which governs global nuclear commerce. Nudged by Beijing, New Delhi, however, made national carrier Air India to replace Taiwan with Chinese Taipei as a destination on its website. Beijing, however, has not signaled any reciprocity in addressing New Delhi's concerns, including on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is proposed to go through Indian territories, which are under illegal occupation of Pakistan. China's ambassador to India, Luo Zhaohui, is on a visit to Bhutan his first after Indian Army and Chinese People's Liberation Army had a 72-day-long face-off at Doklam Plateau in the western region of the tiny kingdom. On my way to BHUTAN, Luo posted on Twitter early on Saturday. Delighted to visit #Bhutan again. #Paro, a sacred and tranquil place, he tweeted later. Luo is likely to call on Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay during his stay in Thimphu. He may also have an audience with King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. China does not have formal diplomatic relations with Bhutan, which transitioned from an absolute monarchy to a parliamentary constitutional monarchy over 2007-08. Beijing's envoy to New Delhi however informally looks after China's relations with Bhutan. China has been keen to establish diplomatic relations with Bhutan and even offered to drop its territorial claim on the Himalayan Kingdom's northern areas if allowed to open its embassy in Thimphu. China and Bhutan had 24 rounds of boundary talks till August, 2016. Though the 25th round was expected to be held last year, Beijing declined to schedule the talks with Thimphu, in view of the face-off at Doklam Plateau. Beijing early last year tried to renew its efforts to open up its embassy in Thimphu a move New Delhi has been closely monitoring. Luo visited Thimphu in January and met King and Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay. He was quoted by Kuensel (the national newspaper of the kingdom) saying that he had conveyed to them Beijing's keenness to expand China-Bhutan relations. He also told Kuensel that China was keen to resolve the boundary dispute with Bhutan as soon as possible. Beijing's renewed move to warm up to Thimphu, however, was paused after China's People's Liberation Army came to Doklam Plateau on the disputed Sino-Bhutan border on June 16, 2017 and started building a road, brushing off protests by the Royal Bhutanese Army. Indian Army troops went to Doklam Plateau on June 18, 2017 and stopped the PLA soldiers and construction personnel from building the road, resulting in a face-off, which continued for 72 days and ended on August 28, 2017 with the withdrawal of troops by both sides. Sources told the DH that New Delhi had been closely monitoring Beijing's overtures to Thimphu, given the uniqueness of the close and longstanding ties between India and Bhutan and shared security concerns, as enshrined in the 1949 friendship agreement. New Delhi, according to the sources, was aware that Beijing might use its engagement with Thimphu to renew its old offer to settle the boundary dispute between China and Bhutan. Beijing offered to give up its claim on about 495 square kilometre of areas at Bayul Pasanglung in northern Bhutan if Thimphu agrees to make progress in diplomatic relations leading to the establishment of the Embassy of China in the capital of the Kingdom. Beijing, however, also made it clear to Thimphu that it would not give up its claim on about 269 square kilometre areas in Doklam, Charithang, Sinchulimpa and Dramana in western Bhutan. Sources in New Delhi told the DH that China was not ready to go soft on its claim on areas in western Bhutan ostensibly because it wanted to gain a strategic edge over India. Doklam, in particular, is adjacent to India-China-Bhutan tri-junction boundary point and very close to Siliguri Corridor, which links the north-eastern States of India with the rest of the country. The Alwar police on Saturday arrested two people in connection with the lynching of a 31-year-old man Akbar Khan. Akbar was attacked by a mob in Rajasthan's Alwar district on Friday night allegedly on suspicion of cow smuggling. The victim and his friend Aslam were taking two cows to their village in Haryana through a forested area near Lalawandi in Alwar when around five to seven men attacked them, said Subhash Sharma, station house officer of the Ramgarh Police Station. Police on Saturday arrested two persons identified as Dharmendra Yadav and Paramjeet Singh in connection with the lynching. While addressing media at Police Headquarters on Saturday, IG for Jaipur range, Hemant Priyadarshani said, "The police reached the spot after local villagers informed us. Around 12:45 AM in the midnight police saw that deceased Rakbar (alias Akbar) was covered with mud. Police immediately took him to a hospital where he was declared dead". "On the basis of information provided by Naval Kishore Sharma police reached and arrested Dharmendra Yadav and Paramjit Singh Sardar, residents of Lalavandi who were standing with two cows next to the body of Akbar", Priyadarshini added. Police said that before Akbar scummed to injuries he told the police that he and his companion Aslam were buying two cows and they were going to their village on foot through Lalavandi on foot when some locals came and thrashed them. Police are also looking for Aslam Khan who went missing after the incident. However, Akbar's father Sulaiman denied his son's connection with cow selling or smuggling. Alwar police on Saturday lodged the FIR against two accused and unknown under section 143, 341, 323, 302 and 34 of IPC at Ramgarh Police station against the two arrested and other unidentified people. The postmortem of the body of the deceased was conducted at Rajiv Gandhi memorial hospital in Alwar. As per the Initial report, the reason behind death is internal bleeding. Sharp criticism by Opposition and Social groups The Lynched has triggered reactions across the sections. Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje condemned the incident, but mentioned that the victim was "transporting bovines". The incident of alleged lynching of a person transporting bovines in Alwar district is condemnable. Strictest possible action shall be taken against the perpetrators. Vasundhara Raje (@VasundharaBJP) July 21, 2018 "We would like to ask the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, who tweeted immediately this morning, condemning this incident, whether she has any plans to call a halt to this bloody madness as now the Gau rakshaks have tasted blood and have the support of the police and administration", Kavita Srivastava General Secretary of PUCL said. Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot, blamed the BJP government, saying that people being killed "on suspicion" was sadly becoming a norm in BJP-ruled states. He said the Union home minister's statement in Parliament on Friday that it was the responsibility of state governments to stop incidents of mob lynching seemed even more hollow. Congress national general-secretary Ashok Gehlot called the incident horrific, saying the man was lynched despite the Supreme Court's warnings. A day after PM's speech Akbar Khan's killing comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged all the state governments to take strict action against those involved in mob lynching incidents and punish them to curb the menace happening in the country for the last few months. Incidentally four days ago the Supreme Court had asked the legislature to consider enacting a new penal provision to deal with mob violence and provide deterrent punishment to offenders. No citizen can take the law into their hands and the government must act, said the Supreme Court on Tuesday. "In case of fear and anarchy, the state has to act positively," said Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra. Read: Akbar's last footprints, washed away by monsoon rain Heavy rain continued to lash parts of Odisha for the second day on Saturday, prompting Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to order relief measures in the affected areas. At least two people were killed in Raygada district of the state on Saturday morning, when a wall collapsed on them due to the rainfall, official sources said. The incident comes a day after seven people were killed due to lightning strikes in Mayurbhanj and Balasore. The low pressure-induced rain has led to a flood-like situation in Malkangiri and Kalahandi districts, sources in the special relief commissioner's (SRC) office said, adding that people in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and the holy town of Puri were grappling with waterlogging problems since Friday. Patnaik, who took stock of the situation during the day, asked the district collectors to move people from the flooded areas, if required, as the state "maintains a policy of zero casualty". He also directed authorities of the Urban Development Department to ensure that the waterlogging problem was resolved at the earliest with the use of pumps. Schools in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Puri remained closed on Saturday due to rainfall. Sources in East Coast Railway Zone (ECoR) said at least three trains were cancelled and several trains had to be rerouted as water submerged railway tracks in several regions. Train services were also affected due to landslides between Rayagada-Koraput and Rauli-Leliguma areas. "The Hirakhand Express and Koraput-Vishakhapatnam DMU had to be short-terminated at Bhalumuska and Tikiri railway stations in Rayagada district," an ECoR official said. All regions, barring Sundergarh, Sambalpur and Jharsuguda districts in west Odisha, have been experiencing heavy showers since Friday, Special Relief Commissioner B P Sethi said. According to Sethi, six districts Gajapati, Kalahandi, Khurda, Kopraput, Malkangiri and Puri have received an average rainfall of over 100 mm. In the state capital, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) personnel and fire-service teams have been deployed to deal with waterlogging issues at Jaydev Vihar, Nayapalli, Acharya Vihar and Jaydurganagar areas, he said. In Cuttack, at least 181 pumps have been engaged to flush out rain water. Additionally, a sluice gate has been opened to release water of Kathajodi River, officials said. A team of ODRAF personnel has been deployed in the city to assist the marooned people and deliver food to them, they added. The return of Lord Jagannath's chariot on Sunday could get affected due to severe waterlogging in Puri district, an official said. The chariot wheels of Lords Jagannath, Shubhadra and Balaram were lying half-submerged in the rainwater, he said, adding that the district received a rainfall of 322 mm in the past 24 hours. In Malkangiri, traffic movement on NH-326 was disrupted near the Saptadhara bridge in Khairput block and the Pangam bridge in Mathili Block among other areas, District Collector Manish Kumar Agarwal said. Two ODRAF teams in Mathili Block of Malkangiri have rescued 15 people and shifted them to a nearby school building, he added. Heavy rain also pounded Kalahandi district on Friday night, forcing the authorities to open five gates of Mangalpur barrage. A portion of NH-59, along Madanpur- Tumudibundh area, has been washed away in the rain, official sources said, adding that families in Kalampur block of the district have been shifted to safer places. According to the MeT Department, the state could experience more rainfall, accompanied by thunderstorms, over the next 24 hours as the well-marked low pressure area over northwest Bay of Bengal has concentrated into a depression. "It (low-pressure area) is very likely to move west-northwestwards and cross north Odisha and West Bengal coast between Chandbali and Digha, close to Balasore, around evening today (Saturday)," it said. China is guilty of massive human rights violation in Xinjiang province, which borders the Tibet Autonomous Region and Indias Leh district to the south, Mongolia to the east, Russia to the north and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India to the west. The border province is home to several ethnic groups, namely the Uyghur, Han, Kazakhs, Hui, Tajiks, Kyrgyz, Mongols and Russians. The Uyghurs have long complained about pervasive discrimination, religious repression and cultural suppression under Chinese Communist rule. Beijings six-decade-old policy designed to limit Uyghur political and cultural rights has come a full circle with the clash of interests between the State and society today. In April 2017, the Chinese government accused the Uyghurs, who are dominant in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), of strong religious and politically incorrect views. Thereafter, several Uyghurs have been detained in political re-education camps throughout the XUAR. A recent report that on June 27, around two dozen Uyghur Muslims were killed in these re-education camps has sparked ethnic tensions in the province. Since summer 2017, the Chinese government has introduced these re-education camps in Xinjiang autonomous province. These detention centres have some aspects of a typical prison. Thus, ethnic tensions in the XUAR of China are on the rise, with attendant risk that it could spread across the border to neighbouring regions. Some Uyghurs were captured in armed combat along with the Afghan Taliban in Afghanistan and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in Pakistan, and it is very likely that several Uyghurs are in the ranks of Islamic State. In a Washington Post on May 17, Kayrat Samarkand, a Uyghur from Xinjiang, who had been detained earlier, said his only crime was being a Muslim who had visited neighbouring Kazakhstan. This was adequate grounds for the Chinese police to detain him and aggressively interrogate him for three days, thereafter dispatching him in November to a re-education camp for three months in Xinjiang. According to a former internment camp inmate, Muslims were detained for re-education by Chinas government and made to eat pork and drink alcohol. In Xinjiang today, to grow a beard, pray regularly or contact people overseas can all lead to being sentenced to prison or be sent to the so-called re-education camps to undergo thought transformation through education. According to Chinese official evidence, which was leaked, a million Muslims, particularly Uyghur Muslims, have been interned without legal proceedings. Former internees describe vast facilities that can hold nearly 6,000 persons, which are heavily secured with barbed wire, surveillance systems and armed police. The government tenders confirm these reports and provide detailed insights into the sizes and features of re-education facilities throughout the region. Those interned are subject to intense indoctrination procedures that force them to proclaim faith in the Chinese Communist Party and denigrate large parts of their own religion and culture. Another Uyghur Omir Bekali, one among perhaps a million people reportedly arrested and held in mass re-education camps, said he was detained without trial or access to a lawyer and forced to disavow his beliefs, besides praise the Communist Party. Zumret, a Uyghur political analyst based in Norway, reports that the Chinese government is rapidly building burial management centres, complete with crematoria, throughout the region in a bid to subvert ethnic traditions and remove the religious context from funerary rites. American lawmakers Marco Rubio and Chris Smith, who head the bipartisan Congressional Executive Commission on China, said recently that as many as 500,000 to a million people are, or have been, detained in the re-education camps, calling it the largest mass incarceration of a minority population in the world today, while a historian has called it cultural cleansing. Radio Free Asia (RFA) research scholar Adrian Lenz confirmed the veracity of the reports which highlight that Chinas Muslim-majority Xinjiang region is also home to re-education camps where over 200,000 suspects are under detention. RFA, in telephonic interviews with Uyghurs, describes a significant number of Uyghurs in detention camps and even described overcrowding in some facilities. In retaliation to the news about Uyghurs, on March 2, five relatives of reporters from RFAs Uyghur service have been detained by Chinese authorities. RFA said families were targeted in retaliation for its coverage of Beijings crackdown on ethnic Uyghurs. Surveillance State The Xinjiang region of China today reflects an extreme manifestation of an emergent Surveillance State in the all-powerful regime of Xi Jinping. Recently, China has deployed a flock of high-tech drones disguised to look like birds to step up surveillance levels in Xinjiang. Each drone is designed to move like a bird with flapping wings and carries on board a small camera that beams images back to its controllers. Resource-rich Xinjiang is on the boil for years following unrest among Uyghur Muslims over the increasing settlements of majority Han Chinese from other provinces. The province has witnessed some of the deadliest terror attacks which also spread to other parts of China. The attacks were officially blamed on the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), a banned militant group linked to the al-Qaeda. Clearly, Chinas authoritarian style of governance has manifested in the Xinjiang region to maintain Chinas territorial integrity at any cost. It has successfully used strong-arm measures to suppress internal dissent and contain culture and religion that could destabilise governance. President Xi Jinping is worried about regime stability and has earlier cited the collapse of the Communist Soviet Union as a fate that China should avoid at any cost. (The writer is Assistant Professor, Department of International Studies & History, Christ Deemed to be University, Bengaluru) CEDAR CITY A member of the Utah State Board of Regents proposed Friday placing college advisers in public high schools statewide to help students better prepare for entrance exams and guide them through admissions and financial aid processes. Noting that Utah students rank 34th nationwide for college readiness, regent Cristina Ortega proposed that the Utah System of Higher Education adopt a systemwide approach similar to the Utah College Advising Corps. The initiative is a university-based college access program that reaches out to first-generation college students, students of color and other students who face substantial barriers to going to college. It uses a near-peer approach to college advising, meaning recent college graduates work in high schools both as mentors and role models. Starting this academic year, the Utah System of Higher Education will send "automatic acceptance letters" to high school seniors statewide to inform them they meet admission requirements of most state colleges and universities. For those who meet the more selective admission requirements, they will be advised that they can be admitted to the University of Utah or Utah State University. Once that happens, high school counselors will likely be inundated with questions from students who need help taking the next steps. Currently, public school counselors do most of the heavy lifting, advising students how and where to apply to college. "I don't know if the high school counselors are equipped to handle the large numbers of students we'll have now knowing college is an option. I feel like they're going to be very overwhelmed," Ortega said Friday during the board of regents meeting at Southern Utah University. Beyond guiding students into post-secondary education, high school counselors are also dealing with students' increasing mental health needs, she said. The Utah College Advising Corps was launched at the University of Utah with a grant from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. However, advisers direct students into any state college or university that is the best fit for them, said U. President Ruth Watkins. "The Utah College Advising Corps model really does seem to be effective," she said. The advisers relate well to students "who maybe don't have someone in their family to be that guide," said Watkins. Utah's Commissioner of Higher Education David Buhler said one of the initiatives of the Governor's Education Excellence Commission was to secure funding for college readiness counselors in high school. "That would have gone into the public education budget. I don't know exactly what happened to it. It did not go anywhere. I don't remember if it was part of the public ed request or exactly what happened," he said. But Buhler said he would follow up with Gov. Gary Herbert's office. Even if the initiative was not part of the Utah System of Higher Education budget request to the Utah Legislature, "maybe we can add it as a note to our budget that we fully support it," Buhler said. Salt Lake Community College President Deneece G. Huftalin said public education's budget process contemplates "a ton of priorities" and this specific initiative may not surface as one of them. "I wonder if we ought not think about doing something with them so that we're not imposing anything on them. If we asked for the funding and we coordinated it, we would have control of the content. We would probably define college readiness in a more direct way than they would," Huftalin said. That said, "I don't want to go into public ed without their invitation." Higher education receives a significant amount of federal funding that enables institutions to go "into pockets of high schools" with large populations of students underrepresented in colleges, but there is a need for greater coordination across the system, she said. Buhler said he would also raise the proposal with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Sydnee Dickson. Student regent JaKell Larson, a recent graduate of Utah Valley University, said she was reminded of the challenges of applying to college when she applied to graduate school earlier this year. It can be a complicated process but also one of "intimidation," particularly for high school students, she said. Public high school counselors who can help them have heavy workloads and "the numbers (of students) they are able to follow is very, very minimal. "Then we've got FASFA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) on top of that to be able to afford to go to college," Larson said. "I really do think it needs to be addressed." The regents directed state higher education staff to report in November on various campus-based initiatives now underway at state colleges and universities intended to recruit students and ease the transition to college as a background for further discussion of the proposal. CEDAR CITY The Utah State Board of Regents on Friday authorized Snow College to participate in a public-private partnership to develop 100 units of student housing on its Richfield campus. Craig Mathie, Snow College's vice president of student success, told the regents that enrollment at the Richfield campus has "plateaued" because it is dependent on commuter students. Mathie said the campus is coming up on the 20th anniversary of the Utah Legislature merging the former Sevier Valley Applied Technology Center in Richfield with Snow College. The Richfield campus primarily offers applied technology programs while its residential campus in Ephraim offers a wide array of associate degree programs and a limited number of bachelor degree programs. "In that time we hoped the community would step up and provide some type of student-friendly housing, but it hasn't happened," Mathie told the board, meeting at Southern Utah University. The housing will be developed on college property. The campus is landlocked by I-70, Richfield High School and well-established residential neighborhoods to the north and south, he said. Under the agreement, a private developer will build and maintain the housing units and parking lots. Snow College will lease the land to the developer at low cost and provide lease payments to the winning bidder from housing fees paid by students. The facility would become college property at the end of the 40-year agreement. Now that the arrangement has been approved by the Utah State Board of Regents, Snow College will move forward with seeking requests for proposals, Mathie said. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. PARK CITY Law enforcement officials are warning parents that nearly two years after two boys overdosed in the same weekend on a dangerous synthetic opioid, juveniles in the Park City area are again getting drugs shipped to them through the mail. A community alert sent out Friday advised parents that controlled substances and synthetic controlled substances have been purchased online via the darknet an encrypted network accessible through specialty browsers and mailed to young people in Park City. Summit County Attorney Margaret Olson said her office received details about the drug shipments Friday and began immediately screening charges against multiple juveniles, noting that "one of the individuals involved in the tragedies of 2016 is also involved in procuring and receiving these 2018 shipments." In September 2016, Grant Seaver and Ryan Ainsworth, both 13, died from acute drug intoxication from a synthetic opioid purchased online from China and mailed to the resort town. The deaths devastated the community. ... I felt it was incumbent upon us myself, the sheriff, the police chief to alert the community so that they could watch their children and talk to them so that we didn't have another tragedy. Margaret Olson, Summit County attorney As prosecutors began reviewing the case for potential charges, Olson said she issued the alert in order to warn Park City families. She confirmed Friday that multiple shipments of drugs from overseas have been intercepted in Park City this summer, but it is unknown what additional substances may have been distributed in the area. "As a parent and a member of this community, we were all deeply affected by the tragedies of 2016. And to have the same fact pattern reappear, I felt it was incumbent upon us myself, the sheriff, the police chief to alert the community so that they could watch their children and talk to them so that we didn't have another tragedy," Olson said. Olson said that the drugs involved are "different controlled substances and synthetic controlled substances," but they did not include U-47700, known as "pink" or "pinky," which killed the two Treasure Mountain Junior High classmates in 2016. At the time of Ryan and Grant's deaths, U-47700 was not an illegal substance. Less than a month later, the highly potent and fast-acting opiate was classified as a Schedule I drug in the United States, meaning it is a substance with no known medical benefit. Olson said she wants parents to know that similarly dangerous substances are again in their community. She urged them to notify police about anything suspicious. "I want them to be able to be aware of suspicious packages that were not ordered by the parents, or that are addressed to, say, their children's friends and being shipped to their house. I want parents to feel comfortable calling law enforcement and not touching or disposing of unknown materials themselves because they can be lethal," she said. Search warrants from October 2016 detailed how two Park City teens purchased the drug on the darknet and received it in the mail before it made its way into Ryan and Grant's hands. One of those teens, age 16, was charged in juvenile court following the deaths and ultimately admitted to reckless endangerment, a class C misdemeanor. He was placed on probation in March 2017 and warned that, if he didn't comply, a 30-day sentence would be imposed. Olson declined to comment on whether that 16-year-old is suspected in connection with the new case. A Utah State Court official confirmed Friday that the 16-year-old has not been involved in any new felony cases since he was placed on probation, and that as of Friday, no new charges had been filed. Olson said the juveniles involved in the new drug case "will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law." SALT LAKE CITY A popular Bountiful gynecologist "conspired with the devil" when he recorded video of a girl as he removed her clothing and shared the video with another man, the girl's mother said Friday. "You deserve to be forgotten," the woman told Nathan Clark Ward, 56, moments before a federal judge sentenced him to roughly 22 years in prison. Ward still faces separate felony child sexual abuse charges in the state court system. This is one of the few cases where Ive seriously considered a life sentence. U.S. District Judge Dee Benson "You hid behind a career in which you took an oath to protect others," she continued, her voice thick with emotion, calling him a "filthy, disgusting man who created a false world to cover up your deviancy." The girl's mother said he should be punished "to the highest level" because of the position of trust he held. U.S. District Judge Dee Benson agreed. "This is one of the few cases where Ive seriously considered a life sentence," he told Ward. "I think you deserve one." Benson said he chose the strongest sentence that federal guidelines allow. Shackled and wearing a Davis County Jail jumpsuit, Ward apologized to those he hurt. "I know what I did was horribly wrong and I know that I have caused significant pain, heartache and damage to them, and also indirectly to other individuals in my family," he said. The doctor said he takes full responsibility for his actions. "I don't believe that," Benson responded. "All youve agreed with is that you produced some child pornography, which is, I imagine, what you'll tell your cellmates. I don't know what lie youll tell. You might have to, to survive in prison." I would just ask that justice be combined with mercy. Barbara Ward, Nathan Clark Ward's mother Benson said Ward's crime "is beyond my ability to comprehend," but he hopes the girl can recover and live a happy, healthy life. Court documents indicate the girl was 12 years old at the time. Ward's mother, Barbara Ward, told the judge she knew her son must serve time in prison, but she had seen a change in him over a period of months and believed he could improve. "I would just ask that justice be combined with mercy," she said. Ward's attorney, Ed Brass, sought a 15-year sentence, saying that his client had helped many people over the course of his career. "I would hope the good he's done in his life balances out the evil," Brass said. The judge ordered Ward to 262 months in federal prison in Colorado, followed by supervised release for the rest of his life. Benson said he would like Ward's 401K plan to possibly cover the cost of the girl's college tuition, fees, books and housing, and gave attorneys 30 days to seek such restitution. The girl's mother said she is grateful police didn't dismiss the case out of hand because Ward was a respected doctor and family man. He had been in practice for 25 years, specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, and was suspended from Lakeview Hospital after his arrest. Deputy Davis County attorney Nathan Lyon called the case "exceptionally sad." "I happen to have quite a few neighbors who indicated he was their physician and they frankly adored him," Lyon said. "On other hand, we have an individual who has absolutely decimated lives." About three dozen people attended the hearing, including the girl, who continues to recover from the ordeal, according to her mother. One of Ward's family members wept as she watched the proceeding. You deserve to be forgotten. The victim's mother The Deseret News typically does not identify victims of sexual crimes. The newspaper is withholding the mother's name to avoid identifying the teen. In March, Ward admitted that he streamed video on his cellphone to Robert Edwin Francis, in which he lifted up the shirt of a minor and pulled down her pants between June 2013 and August 2015. Ward pleaded guilty to production of child pornography in a plea bargain with prosecutors, who agreed to drop two other charges of possession and distribution of child pornography. Francis, of Lehi, admitted in November that he requested and received a live video chat depicting a man sexually abusing a child. He was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison. Ward also faces 11 felony charges in 2nd District Court, including sodomy on a child, aggravated sex abuse of a child and forcible sodomy, forcible sex abuse and sexual exploitation of a minor. He is scheduled to be arraigned in that case on Aug. 2. SALT LAKE CITY The dozens of Bird rentable scooters that perched briefly on downtown streets late last month are poised to return in a flock of hundreds after the company finalized a new agreement with Salt Lake City on Friday. City officials say the collaboratively constructed operating agreement for so-called "dockless" scooter and bicycle systems places limits on number of vehicles, stipulates rules for keeping sidewalks clear, establishes safety standards and provides for penalties when rules are broken. The document was sent out to five potential vendors this week. Bird is the only company to respond so far, and its scooters could be back in action in a matter of days. These (rules) came from our own knowledge and observing how these systems have worked in other cities and the kinds of issues that have been encountered and complaints raised. Jon Larsen, Salt Lake City transportation director Bird scooters made a surprise appearance on Salt Lake streets in late June, but quickly vanished after the company agreed to voluntarily removing them while it looked into getting a business license from the city. Dockless companies rent scooters and bikes for rides via a smart phone app and, instead of needing to return vehicles to a designated location, or dock, they can be left wherever users finish their trips. Locating a vehicle to rent is also coordinated by the app, which identifies available scooters or bikes with a digital map. Salt Lake City Transportation Director Jon Larsen told the Deseret News the experiences of other cities, some of which have been reportedly overrun with the arrival of dockless vehicle systems, helped guide contract language, as did recently released dockless system management guidelines from the National Association of City Transportation Officials. Vendors were also afforded the opportunity to review and suggest changes to the operating document. "These (rules) came from our own knowledge and observing how these systems have worked in other cities and the kinds of issues that have been encountered and complaints raised," Larsen said. "We're working to get ahead of that here ... and our top priority is public health and safety." To that end, Larsen said the contract covers things like maintaining ample, unimpeded space on sidewalks, keeping entrances to businesses clear and prohibiting dumping unused scooters in roadways. Space within 10 feet of UTA transit stops is off-limits, as are the areas within 15 feet of a power pole, 15 feet of any ADA ramp or access, and within 50 feet of any GreenBike station. The agreement also limits the number of vehicles a company can launch in Salt Lake City to 200, with some caveats. If the operator also places 100 bikes or scooters west of I-15, where the city is working to cultivate transportation options, the fleet size can be expanded to 500. That breaks down to 200 vehicles in a designated Central Traffic District, essentially downtown Salt Lake City, 100 west of I-15 and an additional 200 outside the downtown core. Larsen noted Bird Rides Inc., the operator of the Bird scooter system, had returned a signed operating agreement late Thursday and received its city business license Friday afternoon. In response to a Deseret News request for comment on when the scooters would be back in operation in Salt Lake City, a company spokesman replied, "We look forward to being back in the community in the coming days." The operating agreement Bird signed also comes with penalties for failure to abide by contract rules. Larsen said operators are obligated to respond within four hours to any reports of vehicles being left where they are prohibited. If a company fails to rectify reported problems 10 times or more, the city may suspend its operating agreement. Other infractions, Larsen said, are covered by standing city ordinance and could be responded to with warnings, fines and/or impoundments. With hundreds of Bird scooters on the verge of flocking to Salt Lake City, and one of the city's biggest annual events the Days of 47 parade that draws tens of thousands scheduled Tuesday, Larsen said an interesting vetting exercise could be lining up. "That (convergence) provides a very strong stress test right off the bat and could be a great learning opportunity," Larsen said. "We'll definitely get a glimpse of what works and what doesn't." We're prepared to be responsive and adapt to more of what works, and less of what doesn't. Jon Larsen, Salt Lake City transportation director Further viability tests of the city's management plan may play out as additional dockless vendors launch in Salt Lake City. Larsen said copies of operating agreement have gone out to Lime (scooters and bikes), Spin (scooters), Ofo (bikes), as well as Razor (scooters.) While China-based Ofo has recently announced it's scaling back operations in North America and notified the city it will not be doing business in Salt Lake, Lime and Spin appear likely to follow Bird into the fray. Razor is a familiar brand thanks to the long-running popularity of its kick-and-go scooters. The company has recently developed electric-powered scooters and appears ready to enter the dockless active transportation market. While Bird, Lime and Spin are operating in numerous cities, Razor has yet to launch and could make Salt Lake City one of its debut operating launches. Larsen said the city has intentionally created flexibility within its dockless vendor contract to allow for adjustments as conditions change and lessons are learned, and is already planning monthly assessments of dockless operations in Salt Lake City. "It's important that people know that we see this very much as a pilot period, a learning period," Larsen said. "We're prepared to be responsive and adapt to more of what works, and less of what doesn't." Here's How Sonali Bendre Broke The News Of Her Illness To Her Son Ranveer Sonali Bendre is fighting cancer, with her family standing strong behind her, and a smile on her face. The actor, who revealed a few days ago that she has been diagnosed with high grade cancer that has metastised, shared a new post on Instagram in which we can see her with son Ranveer and a shorter hairdo. Smiling into the camera, Sonali and her son reveal how the family has switched on the sunshine at this difficult time. Sonali has also written in the post that her 12-year-old son has become her source of strength. From the moment he was born 12 years, 11 months and 8 days ago, my amazing @rockbehl took ownership of my heart. From then on, his happiness and well-being have been the centre of anything @goldiebehl and I ever did. And so, when the Big C reared its ugly head, our biggest dilemma was what and how we were going to tell him, she says. Sonali says that instead of trying to protect Ranveer, she and husband Goldie Behl decided to be honest with him. As much as we wanted to protect him, we knew it was important to tell him the full facts. Weve always been open and honest with him and this time it wasnt going to be different. He took the news so maturely and instantly became a source of strength and positivity for me. In some situations now, he even reverses roles and takes on being the parent, reminding me of things I need to do! Sonali, who had earlier shared a video of cutting her hair short, is seen wearing her hair even shorter. She had cut her hair perhaps in preparation of chemotherapy. She adds in her post, I believe that its imperative to keep kids involved in a situation like this. They are a lot more resilient than we give them credit for. Its important to spend time with them and include them, rather than make them wait on the side-lines, not being told yet instinctively knowing everything. In our effort to protect them from the pain and realities of life, we might end up doing the opposite. She added that she is spending time with her son in New York now. Im spending time with Ranveer right now, while hes on summer vacation. His madness and shenanigans help me #SwitchOnTheSunshine. And today, we derive strength from each other #OneDayAtATime. In an earlier post, the actor had quoted author Isabel Allende and said, We dont even know how strong we are until we are forced to bring that hidden strength forward. In times of tragedy, of war, of necessity, people do amazing things. The human capacity for survival and renewal is awesome. Sonali had said that she is staying positive as she fights cancer. Each day comes with its own challenges and victories and so for now, Im taking this #OneDayAtATime. The only thing Im trying to be consistent about is maintaining a positive outlook... literally #SwitchOnTheSunshine - its my way of dealing with this. Sharing my journey is also part of this process... I can only hope it reminds you that all is not lost and that someone, somewhere understands what youre going through. A week before that, Sonali had revealed that she had cancer and was in the US to undergo treatment. Sometimes, when you least expect it, life throws you a curveball. I have recently been diagnosed with a high grade cancer that has metastised, which we frankly did not see coming. A niggling pain led to some tests, which led to this unexpected diagnosis. My family and close friends have rallied around me, providing the best support system that anyone can ask for. I am very blessed and thankful for each of them Im taking this battle head on, knowing I have the strength of my family and friends behind me, she had written. We already know that Xiaomi is prepping for the launch of a new smartphone in Madrid, Spain on July 24. The company has already confirmed that the Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite will be unveiled at the event. The Mi A2 is expected to be the second Xiaomi device running on stock Android but the first smartphone was, of course, the Xiaomi Mi A1, which was launched in India in September last year. Now, leaked renders from MySmartPrice, via Twitter user @IshanAgarwal24, reaffirm what was already speculated about the Xiaomi Mi A2s hardware. It could be based on the Xiaomi Mi 6X, a smartphone that was launched in China earlier this year with MIUI. More importantly, the renders confirm the software on the smartphone by showing a preview of the home screen: its stock Android 8.1 Oreo right out of the box without a grain of doubt. They also suggest that the smartphone will be available in at least three colours upon launch; black, gold, and red. The upcoming Mi A2 is expected to come with the same hardware as the Mi 6X. If there are no changes, then the 2.5D screen on the device will come equipped with a 5.99-inch Full HD+ IPS panel with an aspect ratio of 18:9 and a pixel density of 403 PPI. Its powered by the octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset with an Adreno 512 GPU. It might be launched in the following RAM and storage options, 4GB RAM + 32GB storage, 4GB RAM + 64GB storage, and 6GB RAM + 128GB storage. Approximate prices for these variants, as leaked by a Polish website, will be Rs 24,000, Rs 26,000, and Rs 29,510 respectively. The device could be backed by a 3,010 mAh unit, with Quick Charge 3.0 support. Along with the Mi A2, Xiaomi is also expected to launch the Mi A2 Lite in Spain this July. The Mi A2 Lite will be a toned-down version of the Mi A2. It is expected to feature a Snapdragon 625 chipset, coupled with 4GB RAM and 64GB of expandable storage. It might feature a 5.84-inch display with a 1080 x 2280p resolution and have a notch on the top. Surprisingly, the battery on the Mi A2 Lite is said to be a larger 4,000 mAh unit. In the age of Internet and email, we're sending a postcard! What's it like to send a postcard from Cuenca Ecuador to Italy? The story will make you smile. Cuenca always makes us smile. CAG pulls up Railways for its flexi-fare, GE diesel engine contract The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has pulled up the Indian Railways for the flexi-fare scheme for its premium Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto Express trains, saying the scheme was harsh on the passenger although Railways earnings increased. The CAG, in its latest report, has also been also critical on the procurement of the high horse power diesel locomotives from General Electric, which it said would have no scope for productive utilisation in the Indian Railway network in future. CAG by jacking up fares through the so-called flexi fare scheme, Indian Railways is only losing passengers to cheaper alternatives, including cheaper mail and express trains and low-coast flights. Passengers are choosing air travel over trains on routes where fares in Rajdhanis, Shatabdis and Durontos are higher due to the flexi-fare scheme, the CAG observed. This has, in fact, resulted in less passengers opting for train travel, CAG said, adding that in the past four years there is a declining trend in passengers carried by Indian Railways. Indian Railways carried 6.75 lakh less passengers in its premier trains post introduction of the scheme, despite a 3 per cent increase in berth potential, CAG said, adding that Railways passenger earnings, however, increased by Rs552 crore after the flexi-fare was introduced. Under the flexi-fare scheme, introduced in September 2016, passengers are charged a higher fare as the berths fill up. The fare increases by 10 per cent as every 10 per cent of the berths/seats get sold. There is, however, a cap of 140 per cent for AC-3 tier class and 150 per cent for all classes except AC First and Executive Chair Car. CAG has examined data between 9 September 2015 and 31 July 2016, that is the pre-flexi scheme period and between 9 September 2016 to 31 July 2017, that is the post-flexi scheme period. CAG has point out that the flexi-fare scheme and the earlier dynamic fare, schemes have only helped to deter passengers. Under the `Tatkal scheme also 30 per cent of the seats/berths were allotted at enhanced fare of 30 per cent more. This, the CAG pointed out, has led to 5 to 23 per cent of such seats remaining vacant in the AC 2, AC 3 and CC classes of all the Rajdhani, Duronto and Shatabdi trains. When the Railways is unable to fully utilise 30 per cent of seats/berths under Tatkal scheme with enhanced fare, CAG said the decision to allot 90 per cent seats under flexi-fare with higher fare up to 40-50 per cent was not judicious. Compared the AC-2 tier fares of Rajdhani and Duronto trains in 13 sectors, the CAG found economy class air fares to be cheaper. When compared to the cost and time taken for travel by AC 2 and AC 3-tier, CAG said air travel by economy class was cheaper and hence the preferred mode of travel. CAG also carried out a survey among passengers and found that they expect better quality services commensurate with the enhanced fare. On the diesel locomotives procured under an agreement with GE, the CAG said it is ill-planned and would have no scope for productive utilisation in the Indian Railways network in future. When the Railways itself has decided to significantly reduce in-house production of diesel locomotives at Varanasi from 2019-20, the CAG asked what is the need for setting up a new infrastructure for production of diesel locomotives and incurring a huge liability of Rs17,126 crore. The railway ministry proposed the setting up the Marhowra unit in September 2006. The contract was awarded to GE Global Sourcing India in November 2015, along with a maintenance depot at Roza and Gandhidham for $2.6 billion. Since a long time had elapsed, there was a need to reassess the necessity of setting up a new diesel locomotive manufacturing unit before awarding the contract. Audit analysis showed that diesel locomotives available with the Railways were sufficient in numbers, CAG said. The Indian Railways plans to complete electrification of its broad-gauge routes by 2021. It will also run freight trains in dedicated freight corridors on electricity. Even if the Railways do not go for 100 per cent electrification, it is expected that most of the high-traffic routes would be electrified and the need for diesel traction would remain only for low-traffic routes, for which high-powered diesel locomotives were not likely to be used optimally. Tata Steel to recast SE Asian operations, focus on Indian operations Tata Steel is refocusing on its India operations and is aiming to increase revenue share from domestic operations to 91 per cent of the total from 53 per cent in the financial year ended 31 March 2018. In the process, the country's oldest steel producer is also looking at simplification of subscale and non-core assets such as South East Asia operations. Tata Steel, which earlier restructured its loss-making European operations by forming an equal joint venture with Thyssenkrupp, is now looking to restructure its Southeast Asian operations. One of the things that the company is looking at is all assets that are sub-scale or non-core... what we can simplify... we are looking at that, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chairman Tata Sons, replied to a shareholder query at the companys annual general meeting, In Southeast Asia, Tata Steel operates through NatSteel Holdings Pte Ltd (Singapore) and Tata Steel Thailand, both of which have reported contraction in operational profit, despite improved selling prices. Both are also suffering due to lack of demand caused by a slump in construction activity and elevated scrap prices in Singapore and Thailand, the company said in its annual report for 2017-2018. The two units together contributed Rs9,542 crore, or 16 per cent, to Tata Steels total revenue of Rs60,519 crore in FY18 but only Rs437 crore, or 2 per cent, to the total Ebitda of Rs22,045 crore. Chandrasekaran also said funds will be required for the acquisition of Bhushan Steel. Our existing debt of Rs69,215 crore will go up to Rs85,000 crore after the acquisition of Bhushan Steel. The debt will reduce by Rs20,000 crore once the JV with Thyssenkrupp is done. The company is looking to borrow fresh funds to tune of $3.5 billion to refinance high-cost debts. Of this, 2.5 billion loans on the books of Tata Steel Europe will be refinanced before the JV with Thyssenkrupp. Tata Steels debt may rise even further if it bags Bhushan Power and Steel Limited in the insolvency proceedings against the latter. We have to strategise the acquisition. Of course, it will have a debt component, The Hindu quoted Koushik Chatterjee, Group CFO, as saying. First US-India '2+2 dialogue' to be held on 6 September: report A month after the United States postponed the `2+2 dialogue with India, planned to be held in Washington on 6 July, citing unavoidable reasons, Washington on Friday said it will now be held on 6 September in New Delhi. The United States is pleased to announce that the inaugural US-India 2+2 dialogue will be held in New Delhi, India, on 6 September, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement. He said both Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis will be travelling to India for the much-awaited dialogue. Pompeo and Mattis look forward to meeting with their Indian counterparts, minister of external affairs Sushma Swaraj and minister of defence Nirmala Sitharaman, to discuss strengthening strategic, security and defence cooperation as the US and India jointly address challenges in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond, PTI quoted Nauert as saying. The two-plus-two dialogue comes amidst prospects of India getting entangled in US-Russia and US-Iran sanctions row. The `2 + 2 dialogue was earlier scheduled for April this year but was put off after Trump fired the then secretary of state Rex Tillerson. US had proposed talks between Nirmala Sitharaman and Jim Mattis in lieu of the 2-by-2 dialogue on 9 July, but India declined the offer. The plan for a strategic dialogue between US and India was first announced in August 2017, following a telephone conersation between PM Modi and President Trump, which focussed on strengthening strategic, security and defence cooperation. However, the two countries have failed to schedule the talks many times with several dates having been considered. Trump willing to hit all Chinese goods with high tariffs: report US President Donald Trump on Friday said he is willing to slap extra tariffs on all imports from China, worth around $505 billion, as Beijing has been taking advantage of the United States for too long. "I'm ready to go 500," US network CNBC quoted the President as saying on the $505.5 billion worth of Chinese imports into the United States in 2017. Im not doing this for politics, Trump said in an interview with CNBC. Im doing this to do the right thing for our country. We have been ripped off by China for too long. United States imported goods worth $505.5 billion from China in 2017, against exports of $129.9 billion to that country, showing a trade deficit of $375.6 billion, data from the Census. Bureau showed. President Trump attacked the EU as well, saying both China and the EU were manipulating their currencies, even as he threatened to hit all imports from China with high tariffs. Trumps comments come in the wake of a growing rift between the two biggest economies. China on Thursday said that US claims of President Xi Jinping blocking talks with the US over the trade war were false, Bloomberg reported. White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow said that Xi did not want to agree to trade with the US. After weeks of apparently fruitless negotiations, the United States early this month imposed 25 per cent tariffs on approximately $34 billion of Chinese high-tech products, inviting an immediate response from Beijing. China hit back dollar for dollar and accused the United States of starting the "largest trade war in economic history." The United States is in the process of reviewing a second tranche of $16 billion in products that could soon be added to the US measures. Washington has already said it was targeting another $200 billion in imports which would see fresh tariffs imposed on Chinese goods by September. The White House in June threatened to extend punishing US duties progressively to up to $450 billion in Chinese imports. The US-China trade spat has raised the prospect of global supply chains, pushing companies to hold off on investments and making goods more expensive for consumers. 21 Indians in US get sentences up to 20 years in call centre scam As many as 21 persons of Indian origin in the US have been sentenced to up to 20 years in prison for involvement in a multimillion-dollar India-based call centre scam which defrauded thousands of US citizens of hundreds of millions of dollars. Authorities on Friday announced the sentencing of the 21 in a telefraud scam run out of India-based call centres that defrauded Americans and legal immigrants by threatening them with arrest, deportation, imprisonment and fines for purportedly unpaid dues to the government. The prison sentences for the 21 people convicted this week ranges from 4 to 20 years. All the 21 sentenced are either Indians or naturalised Americans of Indian descent, and some of them have consented to be deported back to India after the completion of their jail terms. All of them were linked to call centres based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Five of the convicts were sentenced on Friday by the same Texas federal court that had sentenced the rest earlier this week. Including the three sentenced earlier, this brings the total to 24, making it perhaps the single-largest arrest and sentencing of Indians and Indian-descent people in a single case. Announcing the sentencing, the US department of justice said 32 India-based conspirators were also named in the indictment but havent been arraigned yet presumably because they remain in India. Five India-based call centers have also been named, with similar charges against them. "The stiff sentences imposed represent the culmination of the first-ever large scale, multi-jurisdiction prosecution targeting the India call centre scam industry," US Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. "This case represents one of the most significant victories to date in our continuing efforts to combat elder fraud and the victimisation of the most vulnerable members of the US public. "The transnational criminal ring of fraudsters and money launderers who conspired to bilk older Americans, legal immigrants and many others out of their life savings through their lies, threats and financial schemes must recognise that all resources at the Department's disposal will be deployed to shut down these telefraud schemes, put those responsible in jail, and bring a measure of justice to the victims," Sessions said. According to US officials, the call center scam defrauded thousands of US residents of hundreds of millions of dollars. Prosecutors said the Indian call centers used various telephone fraud schemes to defraud mainly vulnerable Americans, including the elderly and legal immigrants. According to various admissions made in connection with the guilty pleas, between 2012 and 2016, the defendants and their conspirators perpetrated a complex fraud and money laundering scheme in which individuals from call centres in Ahmedabad impersonated officials from the Internal Revenue Service or US Citizenship and Immigration Services in a ruse designed to defraud victims located throughout America. Using information obtained from data brokers and other sources, the operators targeted US victims who were threatened with arrest, imprisonment, fines or deportation if they did not pay the alleged money owed to the government. Victims who agreed to pay the scammers were instructed how to make a payment, including by purchasing stored value cards or wiring money. Once the payment was done, the call centers turned to a network of runners based in the US to liquidate and launder the extorted funds as quickly as possible by purchasing reloadable cards or retrieving wire transfers, the Justice Department said. In a typical scenario, call centers directed runners to purchase these stored value reloadable cards and transmit the unique card number to India-based co-conspirators who registered the cards using the misappropriated personal identifying information of the US citizens. The India-based co-conspirators then loaded these cards with scam funds obtained from the victims. The runners used the stored value cards to purchase money orders that they deposited into the bank account of another person. Indian authorities have been cooperating in this case by arresting many people and shutting down call centers found involved. One of the main conspirators is Sagar Shaggy Thakkar, who was arrested by Mumbai police in April 2017. He was allegedly in touch with Hardik Patel, co-owner of one of the call centres and a key player who has been sentenced to over 15 years. The indictment for the case also charged 32 India-based conspirators and five India-based call centeres with general conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy. These defendants have not yet been arraigned. Earlier, three other Indians were sentenced for their involvement in the same fraud and money laundering scheme. A global leader in the call-centre business, India has also emerged over the years as home to fraudsters and scammers who use the same business model to target Americans. One US law enforcement agency found Indians behind tech support scams when a virus alert freezes the screen, the number provided for calling to unlock it has been traced to India on many occasions. UPL acquires Arysta in a $4.2-bn all-cash deal UPL Corporation Ltd, the international arm of India's largest generic agro-chemical company UPL Ltd (former United Phosphorus Ltd), has acquired Arysta LifeScience for $4.2 billion in an all-cash deal, a move that will further enhance its position as a leading crop protection firm in the world. Following the deal, UPL will have $5 billion in combined sales and $1 billion in EBITDA. UPL is acquiring Arysta LifeScience a global provider of crop protection solutions, including BioSolutions and seed treatment and its subsidiaries from NYSE-listed Platform Specialty Products Corp. The transaction is backed by a $1.2-billion equity investment in UPL Corp from long-term investors including a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and TPG, a leading global alternative asset firm. Both the companies will invest $600 million each for a combined stake of about 22 per cent in UPL Corp. This acquisition will create a New UPL and fulfills UPLs objective of creating an integrated patent and post-patent agricultural solutions business with a global footprint. The acquisition of Arysta is a transformational transaction for UPL. Arysta has a differentiated position in the crop protection market given its focus primarily on specialty applications and tailored local solutions. This is in line with our long-term vision of becoming a premier global provider of agricultural solutions designed to secure the worlds long-term food supply, Jai Shroff, group chief executive officer and executive director of UPL, said. This transaction is a perfect match" with powerful synergies across geographies, crops and products, strengthened through best-in-class manufacturing and differentiated R&D capabilities, he added. To finance the investment, UPL Corp intends to use a combination of newly-issued equity and debt. UPL Corp has received debt financing commitments of $3 billion for the balance of the consideration, with bullet maturity of 5 years, from MUFG Bank and Cooperatieve Rabobank UA (Hong Kong Branch). Rakesh Sachdev, CEO of Platform, said, This new company is positioned to provide deep and wide local customer solutions and selling presences for broad acre and niche crops and markets, and a leading bio-solutions business. With its scale and capabilities, we believe the combined companies will represent a compelling value proposition for growers, distributors, suppliers and innovation partners in a consolidating market. UPL expects the acquisition to be EPS accretive by Rs 10-12 per share in FY 2020. The acquisition is subject to customary conditions, including the receipt of required regulatory approvals, and is expected to be completed in late CY 2018 or early CY 2019. Lenders to pick from Liberty house, Tata Steel and JSW Steel for Bhushan Power sale The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Friday gave the go-ahead to lenders of bankrupt Bhushan Power and Steel to go ahead with finalising a bid for the company. The Committee of Creditors (CoC) will now choose from among the three bidders - Tata Steel, Liberty House and JSW Steel that have submitted bids for the company which is under the insolvency and bankruptcy process. The resolution process of BPSL comes months after group company Bhushan Steel was acquired by Tata Steel, in the first among the 12 non-performing accounts placed under IBC. In the case of BPSL, however, Liberty House is reported to have quoted a bigger sum that Tata Steel. Bhushan Power and Steel (BPSL) is among the 12 bad loan accounts that add up to 25 per cent of Indias total non-performing loans, that the RBI had picked up for immediate resolution last year. The company owes lenders about Rs37,248 crore. Although a late bidder, the NCLAT has asked the CoC to consider Liberty Houses bid, which is the highest, and select the best among the three plans, not just the highest. The choice now depends on the lenders, as per section 30(2). Of the 12 big accounts red-flagged by the RBI, two accounts - Bhushan Steel and Electrosteels Steel - have been resolved while Monnet Ispat has got the final nod for the sole bid submitted by AION Capital-JSW Steel consortium. In the case of Alok Industries, Reliance Industries-JM Financial ARC have emerged the highest bidder. The other seven accounts are at different stages of resolution. So far, the steel industry has witnessed the most successful resolution. Younger children tend to make more informed decisions A new study from the University of Waterloo has found that in some ways, the older you get the worse your decision making becomes. The study established that younger children seem to make slightly better decisions than older children. The older children get, the more they tend to ignore some of the information available to them when making judgements, which though efficient can also lead to mistakes. "It is good for us to know that kids at different ages don't necessarily treat all information similarly when we set out to teach them new things," says Stephanie Denison, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology, who co-authored the study with PhD student Samantha Gualtieri. "Children maybe aren't taking all the information we are giving them at face value. They may be thinking about it in their own way and using the data in the way they think makes the most sense, which is important for parents and teachers to understand," says Gualtieri. "Our research shows that children around four-years-old are starting to use these shortcuts, but by six-years of age they're using them at levels as high as adults." In two experiments, 288 children were assessed to determine whether they used numerical, social, or both types of information when making judgments. Ninety-five per cent of the six-year-olds depended on only the social information to make a judgement compared to 70 per cent of five-year-olds and 45 per cent of four-year-olds. The younger children were more likely to take both pieces of information into account. The researchers do not deem older children's overuse of social as negative, it simply shows how children weigh information when making decisions. Adults also tend to not use all the information at their disposal when making judgments, possibly because it is time-consuming and requires lots of mental energy. "So, while using these shortcuts is actually very efficient, we need to be aware that they can introduce errors," said Denison. "Therefore, sometimes we should be thinking harder and taking the time to put together all of the information. "How much time you spend on processing information might depend on the importance of the judgement or the decision you're making. So, thinking about where you want to spend the time is really important." Doctors rely on more than just data for medical decision making Many technology companies are working on artificial intelligence systems that can analyse medical data to help diagnose or treat health problems. Such systems raise the question of whether this kind of technology can perform as well as a human doctor. A new study from MIT computer scientists suggests that human doctors provide a dimension that, as yet, artificial intelligence does not. By analysing doctors' written notes on intensive-care-unit patients, the researchers found that the doctors' "gut feelings" about a particular patient's condition played a significant role in determining how many tests they ordered for the patient. "There's something about a doctor's experience, and their years of training and practice, that allows them to know in a more comprehensive sense, beyond just the list of symptoms, whether you're doing well or you're not," says Mohammad Ghassemi, a research affiliate at MIT's Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES). "They're tapping into something that the machine may not be seeing." This intuition plays an even stronger role during the first day or two of a patient's hospital stay, when the amount of data doctors have on patients is less than on subsequent days. Ghassemi and computer science graduate student Tuka Alhanai are the lead authors of the paper, which will be presented at the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society conference on 20 July. Other MIT authors of the paper are Jesse Raffa, an IMES research scientist, and Roger Mark, a professor of health sciences and technology and of electrical engineering and computer science. Shamim Nemati and Falgun Chokshi of Emory University are also authors of the study. How to measure feelings Doctors consider a huge number of factors including symptoms, severity of illness, family history, and lifestyle habits when deciding what kinds of exams to order for their patients. In addition to those factors, Ghassemi, Alhanai, and their colleagues wondered whether a doctor's "gut feelings" about a patient also plays a role in their decision-making. "That gut feeling is probably informed by a history of experience that doctors have," Ghassemi says. "It's sort of like how when I was a kid, my mom could just look at me and tell that I had done something wrong. That's not because of something mystical, but because she had so much experience dealing with me when I had done something wrong that a simple glance had some data in it." To try to reveal whether this kind of intuition plays a role in doctors' decisions, the researchers performed sentiment analysis of doctors' written notes. Sentiment analysis, which is often used for gauging consumer attitudes, is based on computer algorithms that examine written language and tally positive or negative sentiments associated with words used in the text. The researchers performed their analysis on the MIMIC database, a collection of medical records from 60,000 ICU patients admitted to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston over a 10-year period. This database includes doctors' notes on the patients as well as severity of illness, diagnostic imaging exams, and several other factors. The researchers wanted to determine what, if anything, the doctors' notes added on top of the information available in the medical records. They computed sentiment scores from the notes to see if there was any correlation with how many diagnostic imaging tests the doctors ordered for patients. If medical data alone was driving doctors' decisions, then sentiment would not have any correlation with the number of tests ordered. However, the researchers found that when they accounted for all other factors, the doctors' sentiments did indeed help predict how many tests they would order. This effect was strongest at the beginning of a patient's hospital stay, when doctors had less medical information to go on, and then declined as time went by. They also found that when doctors felt more pessimistic about a patient's condition, they ordered more testing, but only up to a certain point. If they felt very negatively about the patient's condition, they ordered fewer tests. "Clearly the physicians are using something that is not in the data to drive part of their decision making," Alhanai says. "What's important is that some of those unseen effects are reflected by their sentiment." Sentimental machines Next, the researchers hope to learn more about just what factors contribute to doctors' gut feelings. That could potentially lead to the development of artificial intelligence systems that could learn to incorporate the same information that doctors are using to evaluate patients. "The question is, can you get the machine to do something like that? It would be very interesting to teach the machine to approximate what the doctor encodes in their sentiment by using data not currently captured by electronic health systems, such as their speech," Alhanai says. Last week - appropriately on the 12th of July - I reviewed Dr Darach MacDonalds Hard Border book, at the end of which, I thought...no way can we go back to that again. However, unbeknownst to many of us, there are things happening which give all the indications, that in Dublin at least, there are subliminal preparations being made for Brexit. In Ballyliffin last week, most locals I spoke to were convinced that the regular blitzing of Inishowen motorists by Customs and Excise is an exercise in cynical forward planning by the authorities. Whatever about the merits of that argument, heres something which smacks to me of old regressive frontier chicanery. Theres an outdated piece of immigration legislation The Control Order 1971 which prohibits anyone from outside the EU coming to work in the UK from Ireland unless they have a full visa. This affects all categories of immigrants to the UK, but Im interested in those who are called Tier 5 Entertainers. Non-Visa nationals are from countries whose citizens are allowed into the UK visa-free for the purposes of tourism only, (countries like Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Japan, Taiwan etc.) They do, however, need paperwork in order to come here to work. Non-visa Nationals can come into the UK to perform on a Tier 5 Certificate of Sponsorship for a period of up to three months without the need to convert their CoS to a visa (now called Entry Clearance). If they are coming in for more than three months then they do need a visa. So non-visa nationals coming to the UK to perform under Tier 5 rules for less than 3 months do not need anything more than a certificate of sponsorship.except...except...If they are routing through the Republic of Ireland. They can route through any other EU country with no problem, But not the Irish Republic because of the The Control of Entry Through Ireland Order 1972. This piece of legislation states that anyone (all nationalities) coming to the UK from Ireland to work in any occupation must have a full visa. (We didnt join the EU until 1973.) When the UK government changed the immigration rules in 2008 and moved Tier 5 to an electronic application process via licenced sponsors, they did not change or rescind the Control Order Legislation. Until very recently the authorities in Dublin and the UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration) were ignoring that aspect of the Control Order for the outdated bit of nonsense that it is. However, in May 2018, a pair of US musicians in possession of valid Certificates of Sponsorship were turned back from Dublin Airport because they were travelling onward to the UK and did not have full visas. At the request of their agents they were eventually allowed to fly to France rather than being sent all the way back to California. From France they can legitimately enter the UK on their perfectly legal Certificates of Sponsorship. Most bands have been using work permits and then CoS since 2008 as entry documents since 1971. They have never been prevented from entering via Ireland until now. Basically the Control Order runs contrary to the rest of the UK immigration rules for entertainers, saying you cant do any work in the UK unless you first obtain a visa before you travel. This was widely ignored by both the Irish and UK immigration authorities until the latter half of last year. It seems someone queried it, and pushed for a policy ruling. The Home Office Policy department found the Control Order, realised it didnt allow entertainers to do any work without a visa (regardless of whether theyre carrying a CoS, a permit-free festival invitation or whatever), and told UK border posts to watch out for this, seeing it as a route open to abuse. Combined with this has been the fact that the Department of Justice seems to have taken over the immigration handling at Dublin Airport (taking over from the Garda). They are increasingly demanding to see UK paperwork if a band arrives there and is travelling on to the UK. They didnt used to ask for this. Now theyre speaking to UK ports, and those ports have been told that any work in the UK would be a breach unless they have entry visas, so Ireland is now starting to deny entry to these bands. If they go to France and enter the UK from there, their CoS or permit-free festival letter magically becomes acceptable again. As you can imagine, this is a huge cause for concern as many performers, particularly American and Canadian ones, route in through Ireland. Steve Richard is particularly concerned that the UKVI does not make it clear in the 222 page long sponsor guidance or the wider Immigration rules that entry through Ireland is different to entering from anywhere else. An American (or any non-visa national) band is suddenly required to get visas if their flights stop off in Dublin, whereas they dont if they stop off in Paris or anywhere else. Ludicrous! The report states that Suzuki could go with the Gixxer moniker for the new 250cc bike and it will be an ideal upgrade for the existing Gixxer 150 owners. Initially, Suzuki will introduce the naked version of the Gixxer 250 with an affordable price and later the company might also introduce a faired version of the Gixxer 250. The new Suzuki Gixxer 250 is expected to feature a muscular styling similar to the GSX-S750 and the GSX-S1000. But if Suzuki is developing a bike especially for the Indian market, then the Gixxer 250 might feature unique design elements. The Suzuki Gixxer 250 is likley to draw power from a 250cc engine with oil-cooling to keep the costs down. The power output of the engine is expected to be around 22 to 25bhp. The bike is expected to get a 6-speed gearbox. The Gixxer 250 could be branded as an entry-level touring motorcycle. The Suzuki Gixxer 250 is likely to be underpinned by the same frame as the Gixxer 150. But Suzuki will strengthen and tweak the frame to accommodate the bigger 250cc engine. The motorcycle will be equipped with telescopic forks up front and monoshock suspension at the rear. The braking duties of the Suzuki Gixxer 250 will be handled by disc brakes at both the ends and might get dual-channel ABS as a standard feature. But if Suzuki wants to cut down the costs for an aggressive pricing, the Gixxer 250 will do with just single-channel ABS. Thoughts On The Suzuki Gixxer 250 The Suzuki Gixxer 150 has been a successful product for the Japanese company and now it is looking to build on that name with the introduction of a 250cc bike. The Gixxer 250cc could be an ideal bike for the Indian market where the performance bike segment is booming at a rapid rate. We expect the Suzuki Gixxer 250 to be priced around Rs 1.5 lakh ex-showroom. The Suzuki Gixxer 250 will rival the likes of Yamaha FZ25. Five arrests in since 2014 at festival A Freedom of Information request has revealed just five arrests have been made at the Castletown Festival since 2014. Last year's event had to change its schedule at short notice after the organisers were threatened with prosecution. The Isle of Man Constabulary described the event as the most heavily policed on the Island outside the TT, but figures revealed by the Constabulary show just five arrests at the last four festivals. One arrest resulted in a charge which was withdrawn at court while another faced no proceedings. A statement released by police last year claimed behaviour in the evening at previous events had led to a number of arrests, including for assault, criminal damage and breaches of the Public Order Act. The response to the Freedom of Information request insists the police's job at the event involves ensuring that peace is upheld and crime is prevented and detected, and that resorting to arrest is just one of the ways this is managed. The Supreme Courts judgment on lynchings fails to address the framework that facilitates them. The Supreme Court judgment in Tehseen S Poonawalla v Union of India, delivered on 17 July, with guidelines and directions to ostensibly curb the spread of lynching across the nation, does not use the words beef, Hindu, Muslim, Dalit or Savarna. Reading the judgment without context, with repeated references to vigilantism (11 times) and law and order (five times), one would think the Supreme Court is concerned with curbing the activities of a Batman in Gotham City, rather than addressing events in 21st century India. Authored by the Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra, the judgment does not seem to suggest any real understanding of the true nature of the problem: that a lynching is not something that happens on the spur of the moment or is just another breakdown of law and order. Rather, it is primarily a tool for maintaining the social order. That it is supposed to remind oppressed communities of the price they will pay for attempting to move ahead of their station in life. That there is a performative element to the whole offence, and that it enjoys tacit or active support of the state machinery. After this weeks break neck gains in Bitcoin and a few other rival cryptocurrencies, the major digital currency appears to be consolidating its gains amid an encouraging environment of more positive thought in regards to the cryptocurrency industry as a whole. While the longer term downtrend is still not exactly broken, the propensity for a rally back towards 10k is now plausible, whereas just a few days ago it was totally unthinkable. A return of speculative interest has helped provide credibility for the rally, and investors will be hopeful that the period of extremely thin liquidity has finally come to a halt. Iron FX note sentiment change in Bitcoin The price action might have been looking better, but have the fundamentals actually improved? Analysts at Iron FX certainly believe this to be the case, as they refer to the fact that Blackrock has taken an interest in Bitcoin, which they view to be a sizeable development given the size of the hedge fund and their likely influence on other funds, Moreover, we have noticed a strong change of mind towards cryptos lately. More investors are now open towards considering coins. For example, Chief Executive Officer of BlackRock Larry Fink said in an interview with Bloomberg that their firm is currently researching crypto coins. Although the viewpoint of Fink was far from being categorised as bullish, the fact that a company like BlackRock would even take an interest is certainly good news, Though, Fink was quick to state that they have not come across investors interested in Bitcoin, the fact that they want to learn more about how the instrument works are the first step to making progress in this industry. Ultimately, Iron FX is taking the viewpoint that even though they believe Bitcoin is well ahead of its time, there is still a long way to go. Nonetheless, their conclusion finishes on a bullish note as I leave you with their final thought that, Even though we are not completely ready yet to let go of our real money and traditional ways of trade, the day when transaction will be done only between the purchaser and the seller, without a third party involved, could be getting closer. Definitely, something to consider, and apparently something that Larry Fink also considers worth his time. 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. Just after lunchtime on a Thursday afternoon, the orange and green activity room on second floor of the Calderon Boys and Girls Club was turned into a choir hall. Nearly 50 kids stood at the ready with sheet music in hand. They assumed their correct stances shoulders back, feet apart, eyes up and began to sing. For 20 minutes they practiced Bear Necessities from The Jungle Book. Then it was tunes from Aladdin and a choral rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Those are just some of the songs the choir will sing July 30 at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. The concert will be the finale of a three-week immersive choir camp led by directors from the Childrens Chorus of San Antonio. The camp is a part of the chorus community outreach program, Neighborhood Choirs. Founded in 2001, the program aims to extend the chorus musical impact, tuition-free, throughout the city. The camp, the first collaboration between the chorus and the San Antonio Boys and Girls Club, is an attempt by the program to reach beyond its usual public-school partners. Sophia Cantu, 10, has been going to the Calderon club on the West Side for six years. At the camp, she has bonded with other Boys and Girls Club kids and has learned some performance basics. We learned that we never slouch. We should sing with our backs tall, Sophia said. When asked about the final concert, she admitted she is a little nervous. Im kind of scared, she said. I mean - its the Tobin Center! The downtown performing arts center is home to the San Antonio Symphony and Opera San Antonio. Kids from the Athlos, Eastside and Mays Boys and Girls club branches are bussed to the Calderon center for the camps rehearsals. Each branch held a lottery system to decide which kids, ages 9 to 13, would attend. The camp is free to the kids who registered for the Boys and Girls clubs 10-week summer program. The kids like to be involved in new stuff and it gives them the opportunity to see what else is out there, said Loribeth Sheridan, the Calderon centers program director. They ask every morning, Are we going to choir!? Rebecca Morgan, one of the co-directors of the camp, also is director of the Neighborhood Choirs program. Though the San Antonio Childrens Chorus offers scholarships and financial aid, she said the cost of joining an ensemble and the issue of transportation can deter many families from participating. The childrens chorus has several ensembles that serve kids from 5 to 18. Each choir has a tuition, which will range from $430 to $750 for the upcoming school year. The Neighborhood Choirs mission is not to attract more kids to the chorus, Morgan said. It is to serve any child in the city who would like to sing. During the camps final concert, the choir will perform songs from various kid blockbusters in the Tobin Centers Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater. In addition to their jam-packed repertoire, they will perform choreography they created themselves at rehearsals. At the camp, the choir would sing a new verse, the directors would ask for a move, and the kids would deliver with ideas of their own. I want them to experience confidence onstage, Morgan said. Music is an outlet for emotion. Its just pent up, and music can be a release, an escape from the everyday, a point she illustrated when she modeled one of the concerts planned dance moves before a rehearsal. They want to do this, she tucked her arms close to her sides and bent over, mimicking the kids. She then demonstrated the correct movement: arms open wide, jazz hands out. Youve got to reach, she said. lizzie.stokes@express-news.net What could possibly drown out news of Kylie Jenner being worth almost $1 billion at age 20? How about the noise surrounding her 5-month-old daughter Stormis pierced ears? The reality TV star and cosmetics mogul recently posted pics and clips of her bundle of joy sporting stud earrings, sparking debate over how soon is too soon to pierce a childs ears, whether its safe, and even if the child should have a say in the matter the last echoing the debate over boys circumcision. Critical ranklings ranged from cries of child abuse, premature permanent body modification and other mommy shamings, while supportive shout-outs noted various cultures pierce their infants ears and Jenner has every right to parent as she pleases. Judging by reactions out of San Antonio, where many a baby girl parades a pair of pierced ears before she can even walk, Jenner and her child should be just fine rocking that baby bling. Its something thats been going on for generations, said Ellen Riojas Clark, professor emerita of bicultural-bilingual studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Marisa Hernandez, who runs the San Antonio-based MexiMoments lifestyle blog about Hispanic culture and empowerment, had her daughter Mariyas ears pierced when she was 7 months old. Hernandez saw it as maintaining a tradition that goes back to her own parents and grandparents. I think because of the strong Hispanic culture here that we dont see anything wrong with that, Hernandez said. And I think that theres other parts of the country where thats like, Oh, my God, I cant believe a parent is doing that. Ive never looked at it as cruel. Cultural traditions aside, Hernandez said moms also pierce baby girls ears so others will recognize the childs gender like dressing girls in pink and boys in blue. Sometimes its a choice of you want your little girl to look like a little girl, said Hernandez, who added that such a relatively minor body modification for a girl just doesnt compare to a boy being circumcised. True to her bicultural roots and academic background, Riojas Clark sees both sides of the debate and feels people should open their minds to accept or at least tolerate a mothers decision to pierce or not to pierce her babys ears. After all, infant ear piercing is common in other parts of the world, she noted, such as in Africa and India. If its not within your worldview, it does not make it wrong, Riojas Clark said. You have to look at what is the context that is bigger than you, and appreciate it, understand it and learn about it. And then your own worldview is broadened or enhanced by knowing other things. A cursory peek at Twitter reactions out of San Antonio found most supporting Jenner. Consider this sampling: I think its crazy that @KylieJenner is getting backlash for piercing her babies ears @ 5 months. Growing up Mexican you get those ears pierced ASAP like 3 months is the longest my parents waited lol Im surprised I didnt come out of the womb with ear piercings (face with tears of joy emoji) #getoverit marisa (@cloudydrizzy) My ears were pierced within months after birth and I dont and will never consider that as child abuse. wut.the.fRick (@jarickalynn) I pierced my 32 year old daughters ears when she was 5 months old and no one batted an eye. Manufactured drama. Kaye Morgan (@GarciaGirl03) But not all San Antonio moms prescribe to pierced baby ears. Melissa Hernandez posted on Facebook that while her mother pierced her ears before she turned a year old, Hernandez decided not to pierce her own daughters ears and leave that decision up to her. Fast-forward 21 years, my adult daughter has no ambition to pierce her ears, Melissa Hernandez wrote. I think it is like tattoos. Let young adults decide how to ornate their bodies. Such hoopla about ear piercings is nothing new to Jenners just-as-famous sisters. Several years ago, Kim Kardashian West was criticized when her baby girl North West was spotted with what appeared to be diamond stud earrings. And just weeks ago, Khloe Kardashian caught similar flak for piercing her 2-month-old daughter Trues ears. As for whether its safe to pierce a babys ears, the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District said it poses no risk to the childs health as long as the procedure is done in sanitary conditions with sterilized tools and that its no different from getting pricked by a shot for an immunization. In our office, we actually do ear piercing, said Dr. Leah Jacobson, a San Antonio general pediatrician and past president of the Bexar County Medical Society. Jacobson said pierced ears are very common in San Antonio for little girls, whether in infancy or in elementary school. Jacobson said she and her fellow doctors draw the line at 4 months old, though shes seen her share of requests for piercing even younger earlobes. Sometimes grandmothers ask, and they were just born, Jacobson said. At least Stormi is 5 months old. Rene A. Guzman is a Features writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | rguzman@express-news.net | Twitter: @reneguz Three Texas prison officials were arrested this month in an alleged scheme to set tractor parts on fire in a burn pit behind a Houston County lock-up as part of an apparent attempt to dispose of evidence in an investigation. Eastham Unit farm shop property manager Jason Omelina was charged with theft and two higher-ranking officials based in Huntsville, Terry Price and Rick Ellis, were charged with tampering with evidence, according to court records. Texas prison officials highlighted the trio of felony arrests as an example of accountability and diligent oversight, but lawyers for the accused framed the charges as agency overreach unfairly smearing good employees. "This isn't some big collusion out there to bury some evidence," said attorney Bryan Cantrell, who's representing Ellis. "I am honestly lost as to why they think the facts as alleged in the probable cause statement support the prosecution of a crime." TAMPERING: 4 Texas prison officials indicted after alleged screwdriver-planting incident at Brazoria lockup Aside from flagging the Office of the Inspector General to investigate the case, prison officials have forwarded the matter to the Internal Audit Division and the State Auditor's Office. It's not clear how much material was allegedly burned and buried. "Integrity is one of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's core values and the department is committed to rooting out wrongdoing and holding employees accountable," said prison spokesman Jeremy Desel. "TDCJ is moving forward with employee disciplinary action against the individuals." Officials couldn't immediately clarify what that disciplinary action entailed or whether the men had been suspended. The alleged misdeeds began when an inmate tried smuggling farm equipment off the unit, Desel said. An internal investigation at the prison determined the goods had come from the unit's farm shop. It's not clear whether any prisoners were charged, but an investigation into the theft uncovered another possible set of misdeeds. In early July, according to court filings, the Office of the Inspector General started probing allegations that prison employees had taken surplus tractor parts and farm equipment from the unit's farm shop. But there was already an ongoing investigation, so the men allegedly decided light the equipment on fire and bury it in a pit outside the prison. Investigators found the pit, and questioned a number of workers and inmates. Ultimately, they determined that Price had allegedly ordered Ellis, who had in turn allegedly told Omelina to "make the state's surplus assets disappear," according to court filings. But Ellis's attorney offered a different take on what happened. The tractor parts the prison workers were accused of stealing, he said, were surplus goods left in the back of the shop for several years, ever since they'd been moved from another facility. RELATED: At ExpressNews.com, Heat wave sparks concerns in sweltering Texas prisons The men hadn't been trying to steal them, he continued, and didn't know they would be considered evidence. Instead, they were just trying to dispose of surplus property - and didn't have any idea it would be done out of compliance with agency protocol. It's not clear if Omelina has a lawyer yet, and the Chronicle wasn't able to reach him directly for comment. Attorney Paxton Adams, who is representing Terry Price, didn't offer on-the-record comment. The arrests come on the heels of another set of charges against prison officials accused of tampering. Earlier this month, four officials at the Ramsey Unit in Brazoria County were indicted after they allegedly conspired to plant screwdrivers in an inmate's cell. At the time, a prison spokesman described it as an "isolated incident." The four were charged with felony tampering with governmental records and misdemeanor official oppression after a prisoner's mother came forward with the allegations. In the past five years, there have been more than 75 arrests or charges of tampering with evidence or records filed against TDCJ officers, records show. That figure only includes cases investigated by the Office of the Inspector General, and it doesn't indicate how the cases were ultimately resolved. No one could put their finger on the exact cause, but 2016 saw a spike in violent crime in almost every major city in the United States and San Antonio was no exception, Police Chief William McManus told residents gathered Saturday for a public safety town hall at the University of Texas at San Antonio. The event was largely an opportunity for McManus to give residents an overview of the San Antonio Police Departments initiatives for policing the nations seventh-largest city, such as the Violent Crime Task Force created in the wake of the spike in violent crime. In 2016, the city logged 151 murders, up from about 120 the year before. The SAPD doubled down by forming the Violent Crime Task Force, sharing intelligence with regional agencies and drilling down on exactly where the violent crime was happening. Instead of casting a large net over a big area and hoping to get some fish, were going after individuals, were going after specific addresses, were going after specific blocks, McManus said. I was skeptical as to whether or not this concept would work. From my experience, you cant arrest specific problems away. Its easier to deal with organized crime than it is with disorganized crime. The arrest rate rose more than 100 percent. You dont get those numbers down unless your officers are out there working hard, he said. By the end of 2017, the level of Part 1 crimes, the major ones tracked by the FBI, had dropped 6 percent. Year to date, those crimes are on track to drop an additional 13 percent. Nine other agencies have since joined the task force, including the Texas Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. McManus also talked about how police work to prevent attacks such as the ones in Sutherland Springs and Santa Fe. Local departments need to be in constant contact with the FBI and intelligence sources, he said. They also have to be vigilant about watching for warning signals that may go out on social media But they also need help from residents, he said. People who ignore the signs and dont report it lessen the chance of us preventing it, he said. We have got to know whats happening before it happens. Dozens of residents showed up for the town hall to learn more about what the SAPD is doing and how it operates. They asked about staffing levels and caseloads, rising instances of domestic violence, strip mall spas that were really fronts for human trafficking and prostitution, and the panhandling problem. McManus rebuked criticism that the department is understaffed, saying the departments vacancy level is the lowest in five years and patrols are being kept up where necessary with officers working overtime. Other cities wish they had our (low) vacancy rates, he said. The shortage doesnt exist. McManus explained that operations are divided among half a dozen substations voters in 2017 approved a bond issue for a new central-city substation covering 195 square miles. There are now 2,445 sworn police officers covering 115 patrol districts. All told, the department averages about 1.5 million calls for service a year, with emergency response time averaging under seven minutes. The police academy graduates a new class of officers about every three months. During the town hall, he also discussed the departments strategies for preventing crime. For example, he said San Antonio is one of six Texas cities (the others are Richardson, El Paso, Lubbock, Houston and McAllen) awarded grant money for an anti-gang unit. Another part of the mix is community involvement, through programs such as National Night Out, the youth Explorers and the Success Through Respect program at city high schools and social centers. McManus also pointed out that departments from across the nation are taking tips from the SAPDs Mental Health Unit, which equips officers with 40 hours of mental-health crisis-intervention training to prevent deadly police fire from being used in conflicts with people with mental illness. In addition, the SAPD was selected three years ago by the U.S. Department of Justice as one of 15 model police departments. As for domestic violence, he said the SAPD recently assigned 19 detectives to work with civilian partner agencies on those cases. McManus said the department is aware of the strip mall spas and had subject matter experts working to shut them down. But panhandling, he said, is a continuous loop problem and one you cant arrest away. With panhandling, a Class C misdemeanor, all the best officers can do is give the panhandler a ticket. Even if isnt paid, all that happens is an appearance before a magistrate who lets the offender go with time served, the chief said. McManus said police now are trying to refer homeless people and panhandlers to service providers such as the Haven for Hope homeless shelter. You cant law enforcement homelessness and panhandling away, he said. Do you want an officer tied up at the (magistrates) office, transporting that prisoner, doing the paperwork when they could be on the street answering 911 calls and being visible in areas where there might be some crime? Regarding violent crime, San Antonio residents who dont engage in risky behaviors such as gang membership, prostitution or buying or selling street drugs are unlikely to become victims of it. If not, you have a better chance of being a victim of a shark bite, he said. On land. Lynn Brezosky is a staff writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | lbrezosky@express-news.net | Twitter: @lbrezosky A San Antonio police lieutenant with a long history of disciplinary problems including four firings and 11 suspensions is in trouble again, accused of making a homophobic remark about Police Chief William McManus. Lt. Lee Rakun, a 25-year veteran of the force, was indefinitely suspended twice, just days apart in June. Once was for using the derogatory slur on Facebook to describe a pair of shorts McManus was wearing while speaking at a news conference, according to department records. Rakun was suspended again for allegedly leaving his substation before his shift was over in his personal car, not his patrol vehicle, the records show. Rakun, 49, is appealing both indefinite suspensions, which are tantamount to firings. He told Internal Affairs investigators the remark describing the shorts as fagged was an honest mistake. He said the social media post contained a typo that he later corrected and deleted. Still, he stood by his criticism of the chiefs attire. Well I do believe that its inappropriate for our commanding officer and leader of this department, such a major department, to be wearing in public that kind of stuff, Rakun told Internal Affairs investigators in April. I do believe that he should set the example and the tone by wearing a complete uniform and looking proper for people. Now Playing: A San Antonio Police lieutenant with a history of disciplinary problems was fired last month after an Internal Affairs investigation determined he had directed a 'homophobic' Facebook post at Chief William McManus. Video: San Antonio Express-News McManus, before speaking at a hastily arranged news conference regarding the arrest of a man in the shooting of a 3-year-old, had donned his usual official blue shirt and tie but wore long gym shorts, instead of pants, because he said he had recently undergone knee replacement surgery. Over Rakuns career, four police chiefs have suspended him without pay or fired him, for a total of 17 disciplinary actions. Four times, he fought and got his job back. Through appeals, he sometimes won shorter suspensions. Still, he was suspended for about 300 days, records show. Hes an example of how officers are able to reduce their penalties or save their jobs by exercising their rights under union contracts to seek outside arbitration and get chiefs decisions overturned. On June 7, the day Rakun received notification of his first indefinite suspension, his lawyer, Ben Sifuentes, appealed to the San Antonio Fire Fighters and Police Officers Civil Service Commission denying the charges. Even if true, Sifuentes said, the alleged offenses, which were first reported by KSAT, do not warrant indefinite suspensions. Rakun is requesting full reinstatement, lost pay and benefits. In a statement to the San Antonio Express-News, Sifuentes said the police unions collective bargaining agreement allows lieutenants to drive their personal vehicles if they opt not to have a take-home vehicle. If Rakun was prohibited from using his personal car, his captain should have put a stop to the practice himself, Sifuentes said. The discipline regarding the Facebook post, Sifuentes said, is retaliation because Rakun reported his captain for allegedly engaging in inappropriate behavior. More Information A long record Lt. Lee Rakun has a history of disciplinary problems but denies some of the allegations. 11/4/94: 1-day suspension - Fought with his in-laws while off-duty, requiring police officers to respond. 9/17/95: 5-day suspension - Left work without authorization and returned home to confront his wife. After Live Oak police officers arrived, he became emotional and said he wished he wasn't alive. 7/3/96: 3-day suspension - Asked a nurse at the Bexar County Detention Center where she got her training. "You don't even want to start something with me," he said. 10/19/99: 5-day suspension - Was insubordinate and discourteous after his commander asked him to make corrections to a police report. 4/14/05: 20-day suspension reduced to an agreed 3-day suspension - Told another sergeant he did not have the right skin tone for the shift. Made facial expressions and rolled his eyes during roll call, staff meetings. 4/14/05: Indefinite suspension reduced to an agreed 10-day suspension - Was disrespectful to Kendall County sheriff's deputies who responded to his home after receiving a complaint. 6/13/05: 10-day suspension reduced to 5 days - Left three voicemails for his wife's divorce lawyer that contained vulgar, profane language. 8/2/05: 10-day agreed suspension - Details unavailable. 8/23/05: 5-day suspension - Failed to wear his complete SAPD uniform while working off-duty. 10/19/05: 30-day suspension - Left two threatening and profane voicemails for a former friend. Threatened to make the person's life miserable. 12/1/05: Indefinite suspension later dismissed - Charged by the Kendall County Sheriff's Office with harassment after making obscene comments to a man. He won his job back. 1/20/06: Indefinite suspension reduced to 20 days - Disobeyed a no-contact order after an alleged dating violence incident. He won his job back. 4/4/06: 40-day suspension reduced to an agreed 30-day suspension - Made disparaging comments to a Bexar County sheriff's deputy while appearing as a witness in court. 9/9/10: Indefinite suspension reduced to 125 days - Was involved in two dating violence incidents with his girlfriend. Lied to SAPD detectives and said his girlfriend had been injured during an ATV accident. Also lied and claimed he had been sexually assaulted by his girlfriend. He won his job back. 7/10/12: Indefinite suspension reduced to 45 days - Made obscene comments and used racial slurs when talking to a off-duty Bexar County constable while drunk at a bar. Told the deputy he was a captain at SAPD who would ruin the constable's career. He won his job back. 6/6/18: Indefinite suspension - Left his substation while on duty in his own vehicle, not a patrol vehicle as mandated. He is appealing. 6/11/18: Indefinite suspension - Made a derogatory comment about Police Chief William McManus on social media. He is appealing. See More Collapse Sifuentes did not respond to questions about Rakuns history of disciplinary problems. McManus stood by his decision. The decision to indefinitely suspend Lt. Lee Rakun was based on the totality of the multiple rules and regulations he was found to have violated, McManus said in a statement. His behavior is not what is expected of any SAPD officer but especially an officer at the command level, he added. His offensive social media post would have been unacceptable no matter who it was directed to. New officer Rakun joined the Police Department in March 1993. Within two years, he received his first suspension. In November 1994, police records state, then-Police Chief William Gibson issued Rakun a one-day suspension for getting involved in a fight with his in-laws while off duty, requiring other police officers to respond. Over the next five years, Rakun received three additional suspensions, all for fairly minor infractions that amounted to suspensions of five days or less. Each time, he did not contest the allegations and ended up forfeiting vacation time in lieu of serving the suspension. On one occasion, he received a notice of merit for helping catch a man accused of robbing a business and two customers. A sergeant wrote that Rakuns quick response and ability to work with other officers helped apprehend the suspect quickly and without incident. But soon, Rakun was in trouble again. In 2005, then-Chief Albert Ortiz suspended Rakun seven times, mostly for derogatory, threatening and profane comments he made in his personal and professional life. In December 2005, he received his first indefinite suspension after he was arrested by a Kendall County sheriffs deputy for making obscene comments. The next month, he again received an indefinite suspension for disobeying a no-contact order after being involved in an alleged dating violence incident. Rakun agreed to two of the suspensions. He appealed the rest and requested a hearing before a third-party arbitrator. In 2006, the city agreed to a settlement that allowed Rakun to return to work, granted he withdraw his appeals and, in some cases, agree to a lesser disciplinary action. He was also required to withdraw a federal employment lawsuit he had filed against the city and agree to undergo medical evaluation and treatment. Rakun received his third indefinite suspension four years later, in 2010, after he lied during an Internal Affairs investigation into two alleged dating violence incidents. Rakun said his girlfriend had been injured during an ATV accident, when in fact, he had hit her. He also lied and claimed that he had been sexually assaulted by his girlfriend. Again, he fought it. The next year, Rakun got reinstated with back pay for all but 125 days. He was forced to sacrifice his top spot on the list for promotion to captain. Upon reinstatement, Rakun told the Express-News that he just wanted to live quietly and get to work. Im getting old, he said. Ive got too many battle scars. This is my last debacle, he added. Problems continue Rakun returned to patrol June 7, 2011. Within a year, he was in trouble again. According to records, Rakun spewed racial slurs at an off-duty constable working security at an Alamo Heights bar and restaurant in 2012. He was intoxicated, the records state, and threatened to ruin the mans career. Rakun appealed the decision to a third-party arbitrator, who agreed that McManus shouldnt have fired Rakun and criticized the Internal Affairs investigation, saying it was biased against the officer. The arbitrator upheld two of the four violations for which Rakun was fired, deciding instead on a 45-day suspension. Rakun received back pay for everything but the 45 days. For six years, it appears Rakun stayed out of trouble. Then, earlier this year, Internal Affairs launched two investigations into Rakuns conduct. Those comments are clearly, I believe, protected by my First Amendment rights, Rakun told investigators. I believe they do not enter the realm of derogatory comments. Emilie Eaton is a criminal justice reporter in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | eeaton@express-news.net | Twitter: @emilieeaton The city of Windcrest has begun the normal process of verifying signatures on recall petitions targeting the mayor and two city council members but the petitions also are the subject of a criminal complaint because the signers included two dead people and the mayor himself, officials said Friday. Organizers of last weeks petition drive themselves include supporters of council members who were targets of an unsuccessful recall drive last January in Windcrest, a small suburban city of 5,800 in Northeast Bexar County. They now hope to force a recall election in November against Mayor Dan Reese, Councilwoman Joan Pedrotti and Councilman Frank Archuleta. The three petitions, with nearly 500 signatures each, were submitted Tuesday to the city secretary. In perusing a copy of the petition against her, Pedrotti said, she noticed the name of Reese and his wife, Frances, among those who signed up for her recall. She said she contacted Reese, who then found his name on his own recall petition, although a single line had been drawn across it and his wifes name. The pair spoke Friday with Windcrest Police Chief Al Ballew about what they said were obvious forgeries and the chief noticed right away that there are several inconsistencies, Reese said. My name appears on all three petitions. Mine and my wifes, Reese said. Not only did I not sign my own petition, or any of the three petitions, I was never asked by anyone to sign them, naturally. Also listed as having signed the petition against the mayor on July 14 are former Windcrest residents Raymond and Margie McIntyre. Raymond McIntyres death on Nov. 9, 2016, and Margie McIntyres passing on March 13, 2018, make it impossible for the deceased couple to have signed the petition last week. Ballew confirmed Friday that his department is looking into it and has obtained copies of the petitions. It is under investigation, and I am conferring with another law enforcement agency on the matter, he said. This matter was brought to my attention, and I havent decided the direction yet that will be taken. John Gretz, a former city councilman who was allied with the three council members who survived a recall effort earlier this year, was one of the originators of the current recall drive. He said Friday that a group of about a dozen volunteers walked the streets of Windcrest for seven or eight days to collect the signatures. I would find that very strange, Gretz said when told of the questionable nature of some signatures that formed the basis of Pedrotti and Reeses complaint to the police, adding, Trust me, I have no clue who went and did each and every street. I did not. That was primarily a group of about a dozen people, but I have no clue who did those. City Attorney Mike Brenan said he expects more information to surface as Rodriguez proceeds with the certification process. For now, we will go though the process of verifying voter registration and certifying signatures, Brenan said. Someone else will be going over those pages to look for any other anomalies. There will need to be parallel scrutiny of some sort. He said the city is treading a new path, since it has never dealt with a criminal complaint involving a petition. I would call it a preliminary investigation at this point. Some of the information that has been given to me and to the chief (Ballew) looks kind of scary, Brenan said. But by the point where (the petition) has to be certified or sent back to the committee for corrections, I expect we will have enough information to make any judgement, he said. But its possible that it may not be certified if there appears to be too much fraud and such. There are dozens of instances throughout all three petitions where a single style of handwriting appears to have inscribed multiple names. Acknowledging that a voter must personally sign petitions for a signature to be valid and cannot sign for anyone else, Gretz said those will probably prove to be the exception and not the rule. There are always times where you have signatures that are invalid, and thats why (city secretary) Kelly Rodriguez has to review the signatures, Gretz said. There may be some bad signatures, there may be some invalid voters on there. And thats why when the goal is 421 (signatures to meet the threshold to call the election), thats why you want 500. jflinn@express-news.net Two months ago, this column reported on a scandal involving the husband of Cynthia Brehm, the newly elected Bexar County Republican Party chair. Norman Brehm, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, pleaded guilty to indecently exposing himself in 1999 to Cynthia Brehms then-14-year-old daughter, from a previous marriage. While Norman Brehms guilt was never in question, the Army did not forward the charge sheet to prosecutors until 2006. After submitting his guilty plea, Norman appealed the case, citing a 2008 court ruling on statute of limitations defenses. On that basis, the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals set aside the guilty findings in May 2009. When asked in May about the case, and why she has chosen to stay married to a man who exposed himself to her teenage daughter, Cynthia Brehm downplayed it. Sadly, he got into pornography, and did something absolutely stupid, she said via email. She also commended herself, saying she hung tough through prayer and Gods Grace to preserve my family. What Cynthia didnt mention, however, was that this was not the only, and hardly the most serious, criminal allegation Norman has faced. During his stint in the military, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID) looked into a series of allegations against him covering the period from 1983-88, including acts of sexual assault against children and exposing minors to pornography, according to Army documents obtained by the San Antonio Express-News. These incidents occurred at Fort Lewis, Wash., the military installation where Norman was stationed at the time. The investigation focused on three alleged victims two girls and one boy in addition to Normans stepdaughter. The CID released its investigative summary on Oct. 13, 2006, and it was damning. Investigation established probable cause to believe LTC BREHM committed the offenses of Forcible Sodomy, Indecent Acts and Liberties with a Child, when on numerous occasions he forced (name redacted) to perform oral sodomy upon him, indecently assaulting (her) and exposing her to various forms of adult and child pornography, CID concluded. CID also found probable cause to believe Norman performed oral sodomy on the male child, fondled (his) genital area and exposed the boy to various photographic images of child pornography, which belonged to LTC Brehm. In another case, CID found probable cause to believe that Norman, on numerous occasions, exposed another female child to photographic images of adult and child pornography that belonged to him. CID also concluded that Norman rendered a sworn statement, he knew to be false, in which he denied sexually assaulting one of the alleged victims. It's telling that CID found probable cause to believe that Norman exposed himself to his stepdaughter "on numerous occasions." These incidents occurred at Fort Irwin, Calif. Cynthia Brehm did not respond to an interview request concerning these allegations against her husband, who retired from the Army eight years ago and took a job in Afghanistan. Norman Brehm could not be reached for comment. Norman and Cynthia maintain a long-distance marriage, although he occasionally visits her in San Antonio and ardently cheered on her campaign for GOP chair. On March 28, Cynthia posted a Facebook photo of her husband displaying one of her campaign signs. All the way from Afghanistan, my husband is rooting for me, she wrote. Isnt this the cutest thing? In 2014, she filed for divorce against him, but later withdrew the petition. In a May email, she described that divorce filing as a moment of weakness, and added that she decided to stay in my marriage to keep my vow to God. Despite CIDs numerous probable-cause findings against Norman Brehm, the Army court system ultimately found him guilty on only two charges: indecency with a child and making a false statement. Military records also indicate that in 2007 the Army sentenced Brehm to five years of confinement. These new revelations should inflame already deep divisions within the local GOP. Tylden Shaeffer, the GOP nominee for district attorney, spoke for many local Republicans in May when he called on Cynthia to step down as party chair. Cynthias loyal allies on the partys ultra-right fringe, however, have stated that the uproar over her husbands scandalous history is much ado about nothing. Those political divisions will have a public airing on Tuesday night, when Brehm hosts her first County Executive Committee meeting as party chair. @gilgamesh470 Gilbert Garcia is a columnist covering the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | ggarcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @gilgamesh470 I am one of the hard-working San Antonians without paid sick days. I have a family (a daughter and a son) who depend on me and the income I bring in at the cake shop where I work. My co-worker was ill recently and had to take time off for surgery. She attempted to come back early to earn her pay, but ended up getting worse. I dont think that people opposed to this ordinance think about families like mine or my co-workers when they deny us the right to have health and a steady income. We work hard and we deserve the opportunity to care for ourselves and our families. Maythe Del Angel Garcia Undeserved raises Isnt it about time that the public is informed just exactly who all sits on this citizens advisory committee that recommended 7.1 percent pay raises for Bexar County commissioners? Names please. Who are they and how in the world can they justify that much of a pay raise for the commissioners? What have they done to deserve this raise ? Details please. So, County Judge Nelson Wolff is fine with the raise, but his son is not? I assume that will mean that when this raise is approved which we all know it will be Kevin Wolff will not accept it, right? This whole thing is a farce! Sabine Maytum, Universal City America, beautiful Freedom of speech and Freedom to preach, That is the American Beauty. If we all can agree to disagree, Then we have done our duty. So many races and so many faces, Greet us every day. Lets be accepting and not excepting, And the world will find its way. Sue Snyder Whats the rush? Another Supreme Court seat has opened up, and Mitch McConnell has pledged to rush the process through before the November election nears. Remember, he is the same Senate leader who used arcane Senate rules to deny even a hearing to Merrick Garland, President Barack Obamas moderate choice to fill Justice Antonin Scalias seat, with nine months left in his administration. McConnells sophistry included mentioning the Biden rule, which wasnt a rule but a theoretical idea regarding not approving appointments when a lame duck has only a few months to go. There was no Supreme Court opening at that time, yet McConnell insisted we should hear the peoples voice in that election before installing a new justice. Now, an important election looms in November, but of course the Senate Republicans really dont want to hear the people speak, so they will try to abbreviate the confirmation process of a nominee whose previous decisions indicate he may choose to overturn some laws that the majority of Americans support. Granted, the coming election does not involve the presidency, but there are Senate seats in play, which could change the Republicans very slim majority. But the elephant in the room and the most important reason to delay is not the election. Its the Mueller investigation, which may reveal some serious corruption in the Trump administration. In fact, some of Trumps campaign advisers have already been indicted, and the president has demonstrated an amazing and suspicious indifference to proven Russian meddling in our 2016 elections and possibly European elections as well. So lets wait until the people and the justice system speak before we allow a divisive president to choose who should oversee our legal conflicts. Laird Loomis A thanks Thank you for the very enjoyable art reviews (Crafting Empathy, and Ruiz-Healy exhibit dives into blue) in the Express-News. Finally something worth reading on a Sunday morning. Anita Valencia Similarities Re: What real Nazis did, Your Turn, July 8. I am 95 years old, read Mien Kamph by Adolf Hilter when I was a teenager and watched the rise of the Third Reich while in high school and junior college with its subsequent fall after my enlistment in the Army Air Corps as a fighter pilot. The rise of this evil regime has many similarities to the present Trump administration, to wit: 1. Discrediting the strength and well-being of our nation. 2. In telling lies make them whoppers as the masses are more likely to believe. 3. Strike at Freedom of the Press. They are worse enemies, uncovering lies. 4. Cleanse the nation. 5. Make friends with other dictators, 6. Discredit your nations justice system and want to staff it with personnel sympathetic to your own corrupt values. 7. Believe in military parades to put fear in the hearts of friends and foes. The above should concern the people of this nation. It scares the hell out of me. Col. Colin J. N. Chauret, USAF, retired, Universal City Plan hated Re: Committee gets briefed on Alamo Plaza, Metro, July 11: Councilman Roberto Trevino says we are listening to your input. Nothing could be further from the truth! Each of these meetings has had a gag order on the residents in the audience. And thats the way they want it because they know we all hate this plan A-Z. Perry Donop Air Serbia, Croatia Airlines and Adria Airways have been named among Eastern Europe's best carriers at the annual World Airline Awards, hosted by Skytrax, during the Farnborough Air Show this week. For only the third time, three of the largest carriers from the former Yugoslavia have been featured among the best in the category, while Air Serbia was named among the continent's top regional airlines. Unlike last year, it did not place in the world's best regional airlines. However, the Serbian carrier was voted Eastern Europes fourth best, Croatia Airlines came sixth, while Adria positioned itself as the ninth best. As a result, all three retained their positions from last year. The trio managed to outperform the likes of Russias Ural Airlines and Pobeda, as well as Czech Airlines. Aeroflot was awarded the title of Eastern Europes best carrier for a fourth year running, followed by LOT Polish Airlines and S7 Airlines. Air Serbia was trailed by Wizz Air. Air Serbia, Croatia Airlines and Adria Airways have been named among Eastern Europe's best carriers at the annual World Airline Awards, hosted by Skytrax, during the Farnborough Air Show this week. For only the third time, three of the largest carriers from the former Yugoslavia have been featured among the best in the category, while Air Serbia was named among the continent's top regional airlines. Unlike last year, it did not place in the world's best regional airlines. However, the Serbian carrier was voted Eastern Europes fourth best, Croatia Airlines came sixth, while Adria positioned itself as the ninth best. As a result, all three retained their positions from last year. The trio managed to outperform the likes of Russias Ural Airlines and Pobeda, as well as Czech Airlines. Aeroflot was awarded the title of Eastern Europes best carrier for a fourth year running, followed by LOT Polish Airlines and S7 Airlines. Air Serbia was trailed by Wizz Air. Air Serbia was also named among the top ten best regional airlines in Europe, with Adria missing out compared to last year. According to Skytrax, the category is the most important global quality distinction for airlines. For these World Airline Awards, regional airlines were defined as full service / hybrid carriers that primarily operate domestic or international flights up to approximately six hours. Whilst some regional airlines may operate a small number of longer flights, the core market for this airline classification are short / medium haul routes where customer product and service expectations are different to long haul routes. Air Serbia settled for seventh place, down from fifth in 2017, while Adria, which came ninth last year, failed to make the list this time around. Ultimately, Aegean Airlines was named the best regional carrier, followed by Air Dolomiti, Air Malta and Air Nostrum. Air Serbia, which last year ranked as the twentieth best regional airline in the world, did not make it into the top twenty this time around. None of the carriers from the former Yugoslavia were ranked among the worlds top 100 airlines. Croatia Airlines, which came 99th in 2014, failed to make the list this year. Montenegro Airlines is the only carrier from the former Yugoslavia not to have been featured in any of the several dozen categories. The World Airline Awards, described as "the Oscars of the aviation industry", are the most coveted quality accolades for the world airline industry and a global benchmark of airline excellence handed out based on passenger experience. The survey operated online between August 2017 and May 2018, with 20.4 million eligible customer surveys completed, across a range of topics, resulting in the awards for airline of the year, together with regional and best airline awards. All entries are screened to identify each IP / user information, with duplicate or ineligible entries deleted. The awards are said to be 100% independent with no payment by any airline or other outside organisation for any aspect of the customer survey or awards presentation event. Over 100 different nationalities participated in the customer satisfaction survey, which covered 335 airlines, from largest international airlines to smaller domestic carriers. The surveys measure standards across 49 key performance indicators of airline front-line product and service. The survey customer voting processes and Airline Awards results analysis were independently assessed in detail by the UK Advertising Standards Authority. Overall, Lufthansa was named as Europes best carrier. Star Alliance, of which both Croatia Airlines and Adria Airways are members of, was awarded for the best alliance in the aviation industry for a second year running. Singapore Airlines was named the worlds best airline, taking the title over from last years victor Qatar Airways. China Southern Airlines was the industry's most improved, while Air Asia was awarded the world's best low cost airline. This year marked the seventh time airlines from the EX-YU region made it into the awards list and the second time a carrier from the region was featured in three categories. Earlier this year, Skytrax named the worlds best airports , with Belgrade and Skopje ranking sixth and tenth in Eastern Europe respectively. Wall Street analysts have given iShares MSCI Netherlands 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 Netherlands ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys. View MarketBeat's top stock picks here. by Sean Fitzpatrick | Fri, Jul 20th 7:55pm EDT Yogi Ferrell agreed to terms with the Sacramento Kings after backing out of his deal with the Dallas Mavericks. Ferrell pulled a DeAndre Jordan on the Mavericks this season and will now be in line for a possible starting gig in Sacramento. (Shams Charania on Twitter) by Sean Fitzpatrick | Celtics Correspondent | Fri, Jul 20th 8:00pm EDT Marcus Smart agreed to a four-year $52 million deal with the Celtics. Smart will return to a loaded Celtics team and be the sixth man once again next season in Boston. (Shams Charania on Twitter) Place Your Advert Thousands of Active jobseekers are looking for new agricultural positions in 2020. Call us now to discuss the options for advertising your vacancy in our job section. TV presenter and naturalist Chris Packham has said the public and government need to appreciate the role of farmers in protecting and supporting wildlife. The comment comes as Mr Packham gets ready to visit Papley Grove Farm in Cambridgeshire tomorrow (22 July) to draw attention to the state of UK's wildlife. The TV presenter will highlight the positive impacts of nature friendly farming practices, as part of his UK BioBlitz Campaign nature reserves are not enough campaign. The farm visit is part of the first independent audit of its kind in the UK involving Citizen Science. His goal is to highlight the extent to which the nations species are under threat. Papley Grove Farm, is the only farm and just one of 50 sites across the country hell be stopping off as part of his UK Bioblitz Campaign. The campaign has a serious purpose, as the results of the 2018 audit will be recorded to create a benchmark: this will help measure the rise and fall in numbers of different species on these sites in the future. 'Big trouble' Chris Packham said he is doing the campaign because the UKs landscape is in "big trouble" "We should have a far greater expectation of having wildlife around us all of the time but sadly we find ourselves going to nature reserves. We need to appreciate the role of farmers in protecting and supporting wildlife. We want wildlife everywhere; nature reserves are not enough, Mr Packham said. The number of farm birds has dropped by 54% since 1970 and since 1990 the farmland butterfly index has fallen by 36%. Papley Grove Farm in Cambridgeshire, like many other farms, demonstrates that it is possible to increase wildlife and run a successful farming business. Barn Owl numbers have soared over the past year and by leaving wider field margins the farm has increased nesting habitats for birds under threat, such as skylarks and turtle doves. 'Rely on farmers' Martin Lines, the farmer of Papley Grove Farm said many species rely on farmers for their survival. "By carefully changing the way we run our farm we have found that we can play a powerful role in helping wildlife recover and thrive," Mr Lines said. "I feel lucky when I see our wildflower areas and hedgerows attract lots of bees and new butterfly species. I love the fact that rare species such as skylarks and corn buntings soar overhead singing while I work on the land. Mr Lines has encouraged others and neighbouring farms to support nature friendly farming practices, so that people across the UK can work together to boost wildlife across a wider area. Our efforts are irrelevant if other farmers do not recognise a shift to nature friendly farming is not just good for wildlife but is key to the long-term survival and success of British farming," he added. "By working together, we can enhance and improve our countryside for all to benefit, but we need the right government policies and public support in place to help us fulfil the potential farmland has for conservation. Popular television actor, Siddharth Shukla is yet again in news! According to reports, the actor was involved in a car crash in Oshiwara, Mumbai on Saturday (July 21) evening. It is being said that Siddharth lost control of his car and hit more than three cars, before hitting the divider. According to IE report, the eyewitnesses said that the actor was driving the BMW X5 and he looked quite shaken post the accident. The actor has not suffered any injury! As per reports, three people have been injured and rushed to Siddharth Municipal General Hospital, Goregaon for treatment. According to the latest report, the actor has been arrested. Siddharth Shukla Hit Three Cars! ANI tweeted, "Television actor Siddharth Shukla hit three cars, then a divider with his BMW in Oshiwara area earlier today. Police registered a case of rash driving. More details awaited." - (sic) Team Is Spot Investigating The Matter An officer at the Oshiwara police station was quoted by IE as saying, "Our team is currently at the spot investigating the matter. We will be only able to give out an official statement once they are back." Siddharth Lost Control Of His Car! Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizen's Association broke the news of the accident on its Twitter handle. , the association's founder Dhaval Shah was quoted by the leading daily as saying, "It was quite a major accident. Siddharth was driving from Mega Mall and lost control on the way." People In The Other Cars Injured "He hit a pole and the collided with close to five cars. Since the actor was driving a luxury car, he wasn't affected much. But the people in the other cars were injured. He apparently did not look drunk but only further investigations can prove the same." Siddharth made television debut in 2008 in the television show Babul Ka Aangann Chootey Na. He became a household name soon after Balika Vadhu. He also participated on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 6 and bagged Khatron Ke Khiladi Season 7 trophy! The actor was last seen on Dil Se Dil Tak. He was apparently replaced on the show due to his unprofessional behaviour. The actor was also seen in a Bollywood film Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya. Apparently, he was also involved in another car accident (in 2014). According to the latest report, the actor was released on bail after paying a penalty of Rs 5000. Major accident at Shreeji restaurant junction Oshiwara Andheri west. Kindly avoid link road from adarsh Nagar junction. pic.twitter.com/mgKyAroubL ANDHERI LOKHANDWALA OSHIWARA CITIZEN'S ASSOCIATION (@Lokhandwala_Bom) July 21, 2018 Juhi Parmar Hits Back At Ex-husband Sachin Shroff; Says Half The Truth Is Actually As Good As A Lie! By Angelo Amante ROME (Reuters) - Steel giant ArcelorMittal said on Friday it would present improved proposals for its planned takeover of Italy's troubled steelmaker Ilva, as the new government questioned how it came to be awarded the deal. Ilva has been under state-supervised special administration since 2015, after magistrates said it must be cleaned up or closed. ArcelorMittal agreed last year to buy it after outbidding competitors and promised to fix the problems. By Angelo Amante ROME (Reuters) - Steel giant ArcelorMittal said on Friday it would present improved proposals for its planned takeover of Italy's troubled steelmaker Ilva, as the new government questioned how it came to be awarded the deal. Ilva has been under state-supervised special administration since 2015, after magistrates said it must be cleaned up or closed. ArcelorMittal agreed last year to buy it after outbidding competitors and promised to fix the problems. It was due to take over the business on July 1, but the newly installed Italian government delayed the handover and has pressed ArcelorMittal to come up with a much better plan for the firm. In a statement issued on Friday, ArcelorMittal said it would unveil its new proposals in the coming days. "We have worked to increase the environmental and jobs plan, which will improve the original commitments and strengthen the environmental performance of Ilva and its support to local communities," it said in a statement. "Once an agreement has been reached on the basis of this project, we are confident that all the parties, including the unions, will be satisfied and will be ready to conclude the deal quickly", it added. The group said it had already promised to invest 4.2 billion euros in Ilva, including 1.2 billion to boost productivity and 1.15 billion to curb pollution. It has also told unions it plans to reduce the workforce in Ilva's main Taranto plant to around 7,600 from 10,900 now -- a proposal the unions have rejected. ArcelorMittal added that it had taken part in the government tender in a "clear and transparent manner". It released its statement shortly after Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio, who also serves as industry and labour minister, questioned how the tender was awarded, calling the process a "mess". Earlier this month, Di Maio asked Italy's anti-corruption unit to review the bidding process. "It has confirmed that our concerns about the Ilva tender procedure were well founded," the deputy prime minister told parliament on Friday. He provided no details and gave no indication that he was considering pulling the contract from ArcelorMittal, but said he would seek an internal ministry investigation into the deal. Di Maio's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement had promised ahead of a March national election that it would shut down Ilva if it took power because of environmental concerns. Former industry minister Carlo Calenda, who oversaw the original tender, rejected Di Maio's criticism. "(Di Maio) has said serious and false things in parliament," Calenda wrote on Twitter. "If you think the bid was rigged, assume your responsibility and cancel it." (Writing by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Kirsten Donovan) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Morocco and the European Union agreed on the content of the future sustainable fisheries agreement and its implementation protocol, they said in a joint statement, and according to media reports, the deal will be signed in Rabat on Monday (July 23). The two parties agreed on the provisions and improvements made on the texts to optimize the positive impact and benefits for local populations in the concerned zones, while respecting the principles of sustainable management of sea resources and equity, the two sides said in the joint statement. The Kingdom of Morocco and the European Union commend the constructive spirit that prevailed during these talks, which confirms both parties attachment to reinforcing their partnership in two strategic sectors: agriculture and fisheries, said the statement. The two parties pledge to take measures necessary for the enforcement of the fisheries agreement and its protocol as soon as possible while taking account of their respective procedures. They will have close contact as part of the spirit of consultation and the partnership, which unites them during the period of transition until the agreement comes into effect. The entry into force of the new deal hinges on the ratification by the European Parliament, although the EU would like a provisional implementation pending ratification. The renewal of the Morocco-EU Fisheries Agreement is a step that strengthens Moroccos position as the sole interlocutor to negotiate international agreements including the Sahara. Negotiations on the renewal of the Morocco-EU Fisheries Agreement have resulted in the inclusion of the Moroccan Sahara, a step that strengthens Morocco in its quality as the sole interlocutor to negotiate international agreements including the Sahara, said the Moroccan Foreign Ministry. The attempts by Moroccos opponents to question this exclusive jurisdiction have been both disavowed and rejected, says the Ministry, noting that this stage has turned a new page on the path of overcoming the judicial vicissitudes and vain attacks by third parties. Throughout the negotiation process, Morocco has been clear and firm on its national fundamentals: the Kingdom has never concluded and will never conclude an international agreement that compromises its sovereignty over its southern provinces, says the Ministry. Morocco has once again clearly demonstrated its determination to uphold its fundamentals, because its territorial integrity is, and will remain, a red line that cannot be subject of any compromise. At the end of the negotiations carried out in four rounds between April 20 and July 19, the two parties agreed that the adaptation of the Fisheries Agreement will be in the form of an Exchange of Letters. The negotiated text expressly mentions that the tariff preferences applied to Moroccan products also apply, and under the same conditions, to fish products caught in the waters of the Moroccan southern provinces, the Foreign Ministry said. In Madrid, the Spanish Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, expressed his countrys satisfaction at the future fisheries agreement and its protocol of application, saying the deal emphasizes the deep and stable relationship between the European Union and Morocco. This agreement is the fruit of a job well done, Luis Planas said, highlighting the importance of the agreement between Morocco and the EU from the point of view of fisheries resources and activities that will be developed within its framework. Consumer durable industry was demanding a lower GST rate on white goods since July last year, when GST was implemented. New Delhi: Consumer durable makers today welcomed the government's move to bring -- AC, washing machine, refrigerators -- in lower GST slab, saying that it will act as a catalyst for the industry. The move will also help the domestic manufacturing, and help in creating more employment opportunities, said Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association. The industry was demanding a lower GST rate on white goods since July last year, when GST was implemented. "This is a welcome move by the government which has come at an impending time, when we are just about to prepare ourselves for the upcoming festive season," said CEAMA President Manish Sharma. The GST Council in its meeting held today has decided to reduce tax rates on several general-used items like TV (below 26 inch), washing machines and refrigerators from 28 to 18 percent. According to the industry body, reduction in duty on TV sets up to 26 inch will create more demand from the rural areas. "The reduction of GST slab on television sets of up to 26 inches from 28 per cent to 18 per cent will certainly improve the products penetration and affordability in smaller towns across the country," said Sharma. Home appliances and electronic good maker Haier has also welcomed the move and said that its a boost for the industry. "This should be a good boost to the industry. This would stoke the demand. Hopefully we would see good growth in the Washing Machine for the rest of the year and good business in the AC next year," Haier India president Eric Braganza told PTI. However, he also added that government should have extended this benefit to all sizes of TV panels. Sharma who is also president and CEO Panasonic India and South Asia said: "However, in order to improve the gamut of its usage even further, we had hoped for TV sets of at least up to 43 inches to be taxed under the 18 percent tax slab". The changes would come into effect across the country from 27 July onward, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal told media after the 28th meeting of the GST Council. New Delhi: In a relief for the common man, the GST Council on Saturday reduced tax rates on over 50 items including refrigerators, washing machines and small televisions, which would now be taxed at 18 percent, down from the current 28 percent. Apart from bringing down rates, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council also exempted GST on sanitary napkins, rakhis, fortified milk and idols of deities made of stone, marble and wood. The highest tax bracket of 28 percent has been rationalised further with rates on daily-use items like perfumes, cosmetics, toiletries, hair dryers, shavers, mixer grinder, vacuum cleaners, lithium ion batteries, being lowered to 18 percent. The revised tax rates will come into effect from 27 July, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal told media after the 28th meeting of the GST Council. "Refrigerators, small televisions, of up to 25 inches, lithium ion batteries, vacuum cleaners, domestic electrical appliances, such as food grinders, mixers....storage water heaters, immersion heaters, hair dryers, hand driers, electric smoothing irons, among others have been brought to the 18 percent slab," Goyal said. Footwear costing up to Rs 1,000 will now attract 5 percent GST. So far, footwear up to Rs 500 attracted 5 percent GST, and those having retail sale price of over Rs 500 attracted 18 percent rate. Tax rate on ethanol has been slashed to 5 percent from 18 percent at present. Besides, tax rates on worked up Kota stone, sand stone and similar quality of local stones were cut from 18 to 12 percent, with the purpose of avoiding classification disputes. Among other tax reduction decisions, Goyal said, tax rate on handicraft items such as handbags, pouches and purses, jewellery box, wooden frames of paintings and photographs among others have been brought under the 12 percent slab, from 18 percent. GST on handmade carpets and handmade textile floor coverings has been reduced from 12 percent to 5 percent. The tax rate on supply of e-books has been cut to 5 percent from 18 percent. Earlier, in the press conference the minister had said that the rates were rationalised on 100 items. "Every state wanted that the rates on these items be lowered so that the middle income households are benefitted ... It has also been decided that the GST Council will rise above revenue consideration and focus more on job creation and economic growth," Goyal said. Major relief to hotel industry The Council also gave a major relief to the hotel industry by providing that tax rate shall be based on transaction value instead of declared tariff. Earlier, there was a lack of clarity on the issue causing a lot of trouble for consumers booking hotels with 'declared tariffs' of Rs 7,500 and above which incurred 28 percent GST. While hotels with tariff below Rs 1,000 are exempted from GST, those with tariff between Rs 1,000-2,500 are taxed at 12 percent, those between Rs 2,500-7,500 at 18 percent, and above Rs 7,500 at 28 percent. However, it often happened that hotels offered discounts and hence the actual transaction cost would be much lower than the declared cost, but tax would still be charged at the declared cost. Ease of return filing In his first GST Council meeting since he took charge as the Finance Minister in May this year, Goyal also allowed businesses with turnover of up to Rs 5 crore to file quarterly returns -- a move which will benefit 93 percent of the GST registered taxpayers. They will have to, however, pay taxes monthly. So far, businesses with turnover of up to Rs 1.5 crore were permitted to file returns quarterly. It also approved an amendment which will enable taxpayers to opt for multiple registrations within a state in respect of multiple places of business located within the same state. "Today's meeting has taken a number of decisions unanimously. Simplification and rationalisation has been given maximum priority," Goyal said while briefing reporters after the 28th GST Council meeting here. Asked about the revenue impact of the tax rate cut, Goyal said it will only be "nominal". "With simplification, there will be compliance buoyancy and the overall assessment will show that the revenue impact is marginal," he said, adding the revenue foregone is for the good of consumers. Sources, however, said the tax rate reduction is likely to cost around Rs 8,000-10,000 crore annually to the exchequer. However, the implementation of the revamped return filing process would take some time as corresponding changes would have to be made into the GST network, the minister clarified. Rate cut to boost productivity Union Minister Arun Jaitley said the rate reduction will go a long way in pushing productivity upward. "This is a major step towards rationalising the 28 percent tax slab, which has been narrowed to only a few commodities in the past 13 months," Jaitley tweeted. This is a major step towards rationalising the 28% tax slab which has been narrowed to only a few commodities in the past thirteen months. Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) July 21, 2018 The Council has also decided to defer implementation of reverse charge mechanism (RCM) by a year to 30 September, 2019. The RCM, which was already on hold till September 2018, is considered as an anti-evasion tool. The Council has also cleared over 40 amendments, including increasing threshold for composition scheme to Rs 1.5 crore and allowing multiple registration for businesses, to the GST law. The next meeting of the Council is slated on 4 August, which will discuss issues relating to the MSME sector as well as ways to incentivise digital transaction via Rupay cards and BHIM app. A Committee led by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi will look into ways to promote digital payments using these modes. Also a chance will be given till 31 August for businesses to migrate to the GST regime and late fee would be waived, Goyal said. EY Partner Abhishek Jain said: "Reduction in ethanol GST rate for use by oil companies is welcome as major petroleum products are outside GST, and this should help reduce their cost". This is the fourth time since the roll-out of the GST that the Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister and comprising state counterparts, has rationalised rates. In its meeting in November last year, the Council had reduced rates in over 178 items in the 28 percent tax bracket. -- With inputs from agencies The ED can do little despite penetrating the veil of secrecy in some cases due to tax havens' non-cooperation in unearthing tax evasion and fraud. New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) last month carried out the biggest crackdown on Sadesara group by attaching properties worth Rs 4,700 crore but the investigators are perplexed over maze of companies in the most secretive offshore havens that were allegedly used for routing of funds. But, little they can do despite penetrating the veil of secrecy in some cases due to tax havens' non-cooperation in unearthing tax evasion and fraud. They are pinning hope on the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, which is likely to be passed in the monsoon session of the Parliament but the lack of documentary evidence, ownership data of properties will create major hurdles in bringing them to justice. Nitin Sandesara, Chetan Sandesara and Dipti Chetan Sandesara are on the list of 31 suspected economic offenders, who have fled the country. The details reviewed by Firstpost shows the Riccioli Group SA was floated in June 2011 in British Virgin Islands and 50,000 shares of $1 each was held by Harriman Holdings Ltd BVI as nominees of Nitin and Chetan Sandesara, promoters of the group, who are absconding. The company initially held an account 926236-32-2 with Clariden Leu Zurich, a Swiss private bank that merged with Credit Suisse in 2012. The balance in the account is more than $144,700,000. For day-to-day operations of the account and the company, Sadesaras had given the address of their flat in Al Seef Tower, Dubai Marina, UAE. There are substantial transfer of funds from and to other offshore entities like European Finance Development Corp, Crownhouse International Corp, Sunshine Investment of the group and these were not disclosed to Indian authorities. Also some of these accounts are held in the name of various funds and their sub accounts like investment in Riccioli is held with Monterosa in the name of absolute Growth Fund. Albula Investment Fund Limited and Cresta Fund Limited are sub-accounts of the main account. The shareholding in group companies were further controlled by other obscure funds like Taib Securities Mauritius, Afrasia Bank Limited, Prime India Investment Fund, Elara India and Silver Stallion. The European Finance Development Corporation was floated in British Virgin Islands and entire shares were held in the name of Ramani Iyer. This offshore entity in the tax haven is operating two bank accounts -- 02945843301 at Standard Chartered Bank, Burj Dubai branch and account number 1494911 with Barclays Bank Burj, Dubai. The company was used as a vehicle to transfer $20 million to Sapphire Oil & Gas Limited Lagos, Nigeria. It also facilitated transfer $500 million to SEEPCO BVI, another offshore unit, which further received $400 million from Global Finance Ventures BVI suspected to be operating as a mailbox company for paper transactions. Sunshine investment, investigators said, was registered in Liechtenstein, another tax haven in Central Europe, in April 2006 with registration number FL-0002-192-565-4. Prokurations-Anstalt that was settler of the trust had noted: This trust has been created for the benefit of Mr. Nitin Sandesara. The First Advisory Group, trustee of the Sunshine Investment made it clear the class of beneficiary as Chetan Sandesara, Nitin Sandesara and Dipti Sandesara. The First Advisory was told by Prokurations-Anstalt that they should heed wishes of Nitin Sandesara or through his advisor Murali Mohan Vagetty regarding the management and distribution of the trust fund. Further Artemis Advisory Limited, a UK-based company was appointed as the investment manager on a fee of 1 percent per annum. Another company with a similar name Sunshine Investment Business Limited was created in British Virgin Islands and an account was opened with Bank Sarasin Alpin (ME) Limited, UAE. The company also has an account with Julius Baer Bank in Zurich, Switzerland with a balance of $41,091,444. But there is more to offshore secrecy. To camouflage the transactions and layer the money flowing from other entities another account 6012011 was opened at Sarasin Bank, Geneva and an account number 23061376 with Liechtensteinische Landesbank was opened to facilitate fund transfer to and from other offshore entities. Within a year of establishment, funds to the tune of $99 million came from American Resource, another offshore company. For the tax dodgers and economic offenders, the facilitators in tax havens operate like a crime syndicate extending not only secrecy but also trust and faith to keep away the penetrating eyes of the law enforcement agencies. Here is a classic example, the investigators have unearthed. Nitin Sandesara in his letter to First Advisory Group regarding Sunshine Investment Trust said: "During my lifetime, I would like you to heed any wishes of mine that I may communicate to you from time to time in writing or through my advisor Murali Mohan Vogety regarding the management and distribution of the Trust fund. After my death, I wish you to consider my wishes hereinafter written. I wish you to hold the Trust fund for the benefit of my brother Chetan Sandesara and his wife Deepti Sandesara and to deal with the management and distribution of the Trust fund as he shall communicate to you from time to time in writing. And, whenever the documents related to offshore companies are sent over email, the rule is to black out the name of the beneficiaries, leaving only initials visible in the documents. Then there is Sunshine Manor Properties Limited that was created in British Virgin Islands. The company later purchased a property spread across 10 acres at Hayver hill, London for $6,750,000. Two other company with more or less similar names -- Sunshine Investment Trading Private Limited and Sunshine Investment House Limited, was floated and while the former maintained an account number 01393395401 with Standard Chartered Bank, UAE, the latter had account with client Identification number 1306898 with BNP Paribas (Suisse) in Zurich. According to the investigators, none of these offshore entities appear to have any real business operations and were primarily used for the purpose of routing of funds. Sandesara group, its owners, bankers and several employees are facing multi-agency probe for tax evasion, defaulting bank loans and money laundering. According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the group defrauded banks to the tune of Rs 5,383 crore. The Panama Link Sandesaras also grabbed the advantage of Panamas tax haven business model in layering the transactions and creating obscure entities to hide ownership information from the authorities back in India. Apex Investment Foundation was floated in Panama by the group to further this interest through a company based in Dubai. The foundation received shares from three offshore companies -- Master International, Premier International and Oceanic Group, suspected to be other fronts of the group. The probe revealed that shares in all three companies are originally held by another company called Phoenix Global Limited. Nitin Sandesara address in the share transfer letter is shown as Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. Since tax havens provide greater anonymity, the investigation found out other entities as well in Panama like Energy Investment Foundation that was floated in 2010 with Nitin Sandesara to secretly hold the share capital of Sandesara Investment Corporation, British Virgin Islands. In order to gain further financial privacy, the group floated Premier Foundation in Panama with two other alternate names, Globe Foundation and Elite Foundation. All these entities are allegedly interlinked to channelize slush funds and also to hold other investments.There are two other companies called SEEPCO Zeith and CREDIOTS that has been used as a courier to move money from one location to another. According to investigators, it will be a tough task to identify the source of a particular investment or transfer of funds in the hands of any entity without having complete details. Funds have flown to other destinations using firms linked to the Trusts and Foundations and frequent bogus transactions were shown to camouflage movements of money. Citing example of Premier Foundation, sources said, the entity in Panama was basically raised to have supply line running from two oil trading companies. The Foundation, in turn, would acquire shares of these oil firms. The effort of the agencies to gather more detailed information about the ownership and multi-layered fund movements for a concerted crackdown were stonewalled citing privacy by the tax havens. Tata Steel has been scouting for buyers for NatSteel Holdings Singapore and Tata Steel Thailand for some time now but without any success Mumbai: Alloy major Tata Steel is looking at divesting its Southeast Asia business as part of a strategy to exit non-scalable businesses and to focus on domestic growth strategy, a top company official said. The steel major has been scouting for buyers for NatSteel Holdings Singapore and Tata Steel Thailand for some time now but without any success. We are looking at all the assets, which are either sub-scale, non-core or whatever, or which can be simplified. We are looking at divesting them, Tata Steel chairman N Chandrasekaran told the shareholders at the annual general meeting here. But he added that the company will continue to deploy capital in any assets that have the potential to create long- term value for its stakeholders. As part of expanding capacity in the domestic market through acquisitions (it has snapped up Bhushan Steel through an NCLT process for over Rs 35,000 crore and is has become the successful bidder for Bhushan Power and Steel for Rs 23,000 crore), it has also approved expansion at the Kalinganagar plant in Odisha to a up capacity to 8 million tonne with an investment of around Rs 24,000 crore. The expansion will be completed in 48 months, he said, adding the project will also include capability to produce value-added products including cold rolled galvanised and annealed products to serve differentiated customers. Bhushan Steel acquisition is a strategic investment which has the potential to enhance our product portfolio and market competitiveness in the near future, he said. On bidding for Bhushan Power and Steel, he said, we have bid for a price that makes sense for us. It is good if we get it. We will wait for the court process. The company will also continue to evaluate and pursue more growth opportunities in the country through organic and inorganic options, he added. Commenting on European operations, Chandrasekaran said, We are waiting for anti-trust approval and hope to close the deal. We have successfully restructured the British Steel pension scheme including closing the scheme for future accruals under the regulated apportionment arrangements, with the approval of the British Pension Regulator. On the joint venture deal signed with Thyssenkrupp of Germany last month, he said this will create a leading pan- European steel enterprise.The joint venture will focus on driving cost synergies, technology and will have a differentiated product portfolio that will drive future value creation. Bengaluru-based Wipro said it expected revenue form its key IT services business for the quarter ending September to be in the range of $2.01 billion to $2.05 billion. Mumbai/Bengaluru: IT company Wipro Ltd said it was seeing strong demand for its services from clients in banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), while it faces challenges in its India business and in the US healthcare sector. Indias Number 3 IT firm said on Friday that BFSI, its biggest segment, now accounted for 30 percent of its revenues, up from 25.7 percent a year ago, as it reported a 2 percent rise in net profit for the three months through June, beating analysts forecasts. Bengaluru-based Wipro said it expected revenue form its key IT services business for the quarter ending September to be in the range of $2.01 billion to $2.05 billion. That would mean growth of 0.3 percent to 2.3 percent from its current revenue of $2.03 billion, after adjusting for the loss of roughly $23 million in revenue due to the sale of its hosted data services business in the June quarter. While we see continuing challenges in our India business and the ACA (Affordable Care Act)-related decline in healthcare, we do see stronger momentum in the rest of our business led by BFSI and the Americas, Chief Executive Officer Abidali Z Neemuchwala told a news conference. More than half of Wipros sales are in the Americas. Wipro also said it has been trying to restructure its India business, which along with the Middle East contributes less than 10 percent of its revenues, while the uncertainty around ACA, commonly known as Obamacare, in the United States has pushed healthcare clients to hold-off big spends. The company also said it needs to attract more big spending clients. It has only eight clients that bring in annual revenues of more than $100 million. I wish we were doing better on that, Chief Financial Officer Jatin Dalal said. We are pushing up from the base and you hopefully will see an acceleration from hereon. There was ample client demand for Wipros software services though, Dalal said. Our challenge is to make sure we harness the demand... and how quickly we convert that from a demand to opportunity, opportunity to order book, and order book to revenue. Wipro said net profit for the three months to June 30 totaled 21.21 billion rupees ($309 million), topping analysts expectations of 19.52 billion rupees, according to Thomson Reuters data. Its results came out after the stock market closed. It also announced on Friday that it will partner with Alight Solutions and buy out the US-based human resources solutions providers India operations for $117 million in cash. The country's $154 billion software services industry, led by Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys Ltd, faces tighter margins in legacy businesses such as routine infrastructure maintenance as clients increasingly demand more work for less money. Still, Tata Consultancy Services this month reported a record profit helped by a rebound in its financial services business. Infosys too reported a rise in net income even though it missed street estimates. In yet another case of mob lynching, a man was reportedly killed on the suspicion of cow smuggling by a group of villagers in Rajasthan's Alwar district, as per reports. In yet another case of mob lynching, a group of villagers killed a man allegedly on the suspicion of cow smuggling in Rajasthan's Alwar district. The police launched an investigation into 28-year-old Rakbar Khan's death and have arrested two people so far. #BREAKING -- Mob lynching hits Alwar, Rajasthan. Man lynched on suspicion of cow smuggling, Rakbar Khan was transporting two cows pic.twitter.com/Daas6eYCs2 News18 (@CNNnews18) July 21, 2018 Khan, a resident of Kolgaon in Haryana, and another man were taking two cows to their village through a forest area near Lalawandi village in the district's Ramgarh region on Friday night when a group of people severely thrashed him, said the station house officer (SHO) of the Ramgarh police station, Subhash Sharma. Khan was taken to a government hospital in Ramgarh, where doctors declared him brought dead. The body has been kept in a mortuary in Alwar, the SHO said. An autopsy is expected to be conducted after Khan's family members reach the hospital. Alwar Inspector-General, Hemant Priaydarshi said that two people were arrested in connection with the case and an FIR against unknown persons was filed. "An FIR has been registered against unknown persons. Two people have been arrested after interrogation," he said, in a press briefing. The case has been registered against unidentified people under Section 302 (punishment for murder) of the Indian Penal Code. An FIR has been registered against unknown persons. Two people have been arrested after interrogation: Hemant Priyadarshi, IG, #Alwar on lynching incident pic.twitter.com/1QeUIQOgpP News18 (@CNNnews18) July 21, 2018 Speaking to reporters earlier in the day, additional superintendent of police of Alwar, Anil Beniwal, said they will make arrests soon. "It is not clear if they were cow smugglers. The body has been sent for a postmortem examination," ANI, quoted him as saying. Meanwhile, Suleiman, father of Khan who was allegedly beaten to death by a mob said the culprits must be arrested soon. "We want justice," ANI quoted him as saying. Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje said the incident "is condemnable". "Strictest possible action shall be taken against the perpetrators," she added. State home minister GC Kataria said the government will take strict action against those responsible. Meanwhile, Union minister AR Meghwal stirred a controversy by saying that as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity rose, "such incidents" were bound to happen. "The more popular Modi ji becomes, the more such incidents will happen. During Bihar election, it was 'Award Wapsi', during Uttar Pradesh election, it was mob lynching. In the 2019 elections, it'll be something else. The incident is a reaction to Modi's schemes," ANI quoted him as saying. He further said that mob lynching incidents go back in time, referring to 1984 Sikh riots. "We condemn mob lynching but this isn't a single incident. You have to trace this back in history. Why does this happen? Who should stop this? What happened with Sikhs in 1984 was the biggest mob lynching of this nation's history," he said. The incident comes just over a year after Pehlu Khan, a dairy farmer in his fifties, was brutally beaten to death by cow vigilantes in Alwar district. Khan and at least four others were injured when a mob had attacked nearly 15 persons hailing from Haryana, while transporting cows in vehicles on the Behror highway in Alwar district on 5 April. In September, the Rajasthan police had given a clean chit to the six people named in the Pehlu Khan lynching incident. Following this, Khan's family had sought a court-monitored probe into the killing and said the case must be shifted out of the state. In a similar incident in November, cow vigilantes beat up and shot at two Muslim youths in Fahari village near Govindh Gadh in Alwar district, when the youths were transporting cows from Mewat in Haryana to Bharatpur in Rajasthan. One of the two victims, identified as Ummar Khan, died in the attack. Friday's incident occurred on the same day Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged states to take strict actions against those involved in mob lynching and rapes. Alluding to mob-lynching while replying in his speech during the no-confidence motion debate, Modi said, "The incidents of violence are against the basic principles of humanity. I once again urge the states to take strict action in such cases." The instances of mob lynching in the country have been on a rise. Between 2014 and 3 March, 2018, 45 persons were killed in 40 cases of mob lynching across nine states, and at least 217 persons had been arrested, data compiled by the home ministry show. However, details on the motive whether it was cow vigilantism, communal or caste hatred, or due to rumours of child-lifting, etc as well as the location of the attack, identity of the attacker, and victim, were not available. With inputs from PTI The BJP spokesman said Mufti's claims that her party's members are receiving threats from the NIA are 'false' as she is not able to set her house in order. Srinagar: The BJP on Saturday termed former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti's reported statement as "falsehood" that her MLAs were being "threatened" with National Investigation Agency (NIA) raids to leave the party. "The statement of Mehbooba reflects that she is suffering from frustration and is now banking on lies to gain public sympathy to hide her failures," a spokesman of the BJP said in a statement. In an interview to a TV channel, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president said her party MLAs were being "coerced and threatened" to leave the party with NIA raids. Avoiding a direct reference to the BJP, she accused it of horse-trading, saying several PDP MLAs had told her in person that "tremendous pressure" was being applied on them in order to wean them away from their party. "I am not saying that New Delhi is doing it but I did talk to some people in New Delhi and told them that a perception is being created through media reports that MLAs can be bought with money or be motivated to leave the PDP for important cabinet portfolios, and if they're rejecting even this, they're being threatened with NIA raids," Mufti told the channel. The BJP spokesman said Mufti's claims that her party's members are receiving threats from the NIA are "false" as she is not able to set her house in order. "The statement is nothing but a falsehood as the fact remains that she is not able to set her house in order as there is a mass rebellion in the PDP..," he said. "Blaming New Delhi for breaking her party is a move to reach out to people to do away with all her wrongdoings she committed as head of the state," the spokesman added. He further said if Mufti's claims have some weight or are based on truth, she should not shy away from naming the PDP leaders or members who have been threatened by the NIA. "Mufti is known for shedding crocodile tears for gaining public support to keep her sinking boat afloat. At times, she claims that if New Delhi tries to break the PDP, more people like JKLF chief Mohammad Yasin Malik or Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahudin will be born. "But the fact remains, all these things are mere ploys and political gimmicks to befool people and to toe the separatist line just to tell people that she was not going to compromise, which is far from truth. She is feeling isolated at present," he said. The spokesman said the BJP leadership has clarified that it is not interested in any horse-trading or formation of government and the party's sole agenda at present is to ensure peace and development in Jammu and Kashmir through governor's rule. The bullet-ridden body of the constable Saleem Shah was recovered from Qaimoh Gath area in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam, ANI reports. The body of a Jammu and Kashmir police constable was found in Kulgam district on Saturday. Earlier in the day, he was abducted, allegedly by unknown militants from his house, a police official said. ANI reports that the bullet-ridden body of the constable Saleem Shah was recovered from Qaimoh Gath area in the district. Shah was undergoing training in Kathua, and was on leave when he was abducted, according to NDTV. The incident brings back memories of the killing of Indian Army jawan Aurangzeb, whose bullet-ridden body was found at Gusoo in Pulwama a day after he was abducted. Aurangzeb, a native of Poonch area of Jammu and Kashmir, was picked up by the militants while he was heading home for Eid, officials had said. Aurangzeb belonged to the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry and was posted with the 44 Rashtriya Rifles camp at Shadimarg in Shopian, officials said. With inputs from PTI On 1 July, mountaineers found the body of the soldier and debris of the AN-12 Indian Air Force flight that crashed near the Dakka glacier in 1968. A group of mountaineers on a cleanup operation recently found the body of a victim of the 1968 Indian Air Force plane crash near the Dakka glacier base camp in Himachal Pradesh. According to reports, the group discovered the body on 1 July at the Chandrabhaga-13 peak. They also found scattered pieces of the aircraft that crashed, The Times of India reported. Himachal Pradesh: During a cleanliness drive organised by Indian Mountaineering Foundation, a body of one of the victims of 1968 Indian Air Force plane crash was found along with some parts of the aircraft at the Dhaka glacier base camp on July 1. pic.twitter.com/VXLdKLpO6r ANI (@ANI) July 21, 2018 The body recovered was of one of the 98 soldiers aboard the Indian Air Force's AN-12 BL-534 aircraft, which had mysteriously vanished on 7 February 1968. The aircraft was heading from Chandigarh to Leh when it went missing somewhere over Himachal Pradesh. According to The Indian Express, the aircraft was going to land in Leh when the control room directed it to turn back because of bad weather. But flight AN-12 mysteriously lost all contact with the ground force, on the way back, and vanished somewhere over the Rohtang Pass. Extensive search and rescue operations, which went on for months, yielded no results. As no remains were found and no distress call was received, the theory that AN-12 had crashed remained unsubstantiated. However, the first sign of the aircraft or its passengers appeared in 2003 when a similar trekking party discovered bits of debris and another body, which was later identified to be of Indian Army soldier Beli Ram one of the passengers on board the AN-12. The search that started after the discovery revealed that the flight had descended before it was supposed to land and had fallen into the Dakka glacier. Rajeev Rawat, who led the expedition group that made the latest discovery, said that the team found the body of the soldier and some parts of the aircraft a few metres apart. The group alerted the Indin Army's High Altitude Warfare School on 16 July, which has started a search operation in the area, DNA reported. President Joseph Kabila of Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday said a presidential election in December would go ahead as planned but he declined to say whether or not he intends to enter the race. Congo, which is nearly the same size as Western Europe, is in the grip of a crisis over whether Kabila will run in crucial, long-delayed elections in December although his constitutional limit expired in 2016. Candidates must declare their bid between July 25 and August 1. According to Kabila, the government would finance the elections itself so as to avoid blackmail by foreign powers that have criticized repeated delays to the vote. A law adopted by parliament on Wednesday includes post-presidency perks, including a pension, housing, security, health care and a diplomatic passport. Former presidents already enjoy considerable legal immunity under the constitution. Kabila, who took over from his assassinated father in 2001, presides over a country with a history of corruption, poor governance and armed conflict. The United Nations says $1.7bn is needed to avert a catastrophic humanitarian crisis in DR Congo. The government says the UN is exaggerating and giving a bad image of the country. The UN Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council, on Thursday, expressed concern about remaining challenges to foster greater confidence in the electoral process. The two councils called upon all political parties, their supporters, and other political actors to remain committed to the 31 December 2016 Agreement, which is the only viable path out of the current political situation. Government has reminded foreign journalists of a dormant law, which requires them to take permission to travel to Jammu and Kashmir The central government has written to foreign journalists stationed in India advising them to obtain prior permission for visiting Jamu and Kashmir, media reports said. In a letter dated 22 May 2018, the Ministry of External Affairs has 'reminded' the journalists of a rule that states that foreign nationals require permission to travel to areas protected under the Foreigners (Protected Areas) Order, 1958, The Print reported. The said order lists out the whole of Arunachal Pradesh, parts of Himachal Pradesh, parts of Jammu and Kashmir, parts of Rajasthan, the whole of Sikkim (partly in Protected Area and partly in Restricted Area), and parts of Uttarakhand as protected areas. "Travel to these protected/restricted areas without prior approval/special permission may cause unnecessary access related issues resulting in inconvenience for the journalists," the government letter was quoted as saying in The Wire. India Today said that the journalists are required to submit the application eight weeks prior to the visit, which technically bars correspondents of international media houses from reporting on a breaking news situation. The Wire report says that journalists were aware that the said rule existed, and permission was needed to visit the northeastern states, but they were never required to submit a permit to access Jammu and Kashmir. The report said that the government first informed the journalists about the rules in December 2016, the year when the Valley saw massive protests and civilian casualties after the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani. The Haryana Police arrested 60-year-old self-proclaimed godman Baba Amarpuri in Fatehabad on Friday for allegedly raping 120 women under the guise of treatment The Haryana Police arrested a 60-year-old godman in Fatehabad on Friday for allegedly raping 120 women under the guise of treatment, reports said. Haryana: Baba Amarpuri, a Mahant at Baba Balaknath Temple in Fatehabad's Tohana, was nabbed by police y'day after videos of him allegedly raping women surfaced online. Police say 'We filed a case & started probe. His premises were also raided & we seized some suspicious articles' pic.twitter.com/RGw7HIWwdZ ANI (@ANI) July 21, 2018 According to The Tribune, the accused Baba Amarpuri, who worked in the Baba Balaknath temple, would drug the women and then rape them. He would also film the victims while in the act and then use the videotapes to blackmail his victims into doing more sexual favours for him, the report added. The accused reportedly claimed to have promised the women of treating women of their problems with his knowledge of occult practices. According to the Zee News, a relative of one of Amarpuris victims gave the clips in question to the police. Each of these clips showed different victims. We are in the process of getting details about his victims so that their statements can be recorded, said inspector Bimla Devi of the Fatehabad women police station. She added that two women are ready to give their statements against him. According to ANI, the police claims to have retrieved "suspicious articles" while raiding Baba Amarpuri's premises. The nature of these "suspicious articles" would be known only when investigations are complete. The Times of India reported that Amarpuri was accused of raping a woman inside a temple nine months ago but, he was released on bail. The godman had then told the reporters that he was being framed for not paying protection money to the police. The report also said that Amarpuri was booked for rape and criminal intimidation under the IPC. He was also booked under the Information Technology Act. In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, Jairam Ramesh speaks about his new book Intertwined Lives, which presents a compelling portrait of PN Haksar as Indira Gandhi's 'alter ego during her period of glory' In his latest book Intertwined Lives Congress MP and former Union minister Jairam Ramesh focuses on the relationship between Indira Gandhi and her principal secretary PN Haskar, between the years 1967-1973. The book has been described as the "definitive biography of arguably Indias most influential and powerful civil servant". In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, Jairam Ramesh spoke about the new book, and presenting a compelling portrait of Haksar as Gandhi's "alter ego during her period of glory". Edited excerpts: You have written two books on Indira Gandhi. The first focuses on her work as an environmentalist while the second Intertwined Lives looks at Indira Gandhis political relationship with PN Haksar. You seem to be very influenced by her. Yes... the important thing is to find primary material (when writing these books) and I found a lot of primary material relating to Indira Gandhi's role as an environmentalist from the time she was very young till she became Prime Minister. And as far as PN Haksar is concerned, there are thousands and thousands of pages of primary material available in the Haksar archives. Indira Gandhi is a very compelling figure in history in more ways than one. My choice was dictated by the fact that primary material was available. I dont believe in judgmental biographies. I believe in narrative biographies which are dependent on primary resource material. I dont want to be judgmental. I thought some judgement would always creep into even a narrative? It is very easy to have the benefit of hindsight and say this should have happened of that could have happened. I would rather tell a story. I would rather go back in time and analyse what happened. I do not relate to psycho histories or a psychological analysis when it comes to biographies. Nor am I enamoured by biographies that depend on oral recollections. For me the true test of a biography is archival material and the ability to use that archival material in a way that tells a political story. PN Haksar was Indira Gandhis 'ideological compass, moral beacon': Read an excerpt from Jairam Ramesh's book How strong was the political relationship between Indira Gandhi and PN Haksar? It was a partnership. She made him possible. She appointed him and brought him into her innermost orbit. He used that position to guide and influence her. It was a two-way, symbiotic relationship. There was trust and confidence on both their sides. And for five-and-a-half years from May 1967 to 1973 they functioned as a team, as a jugalbandi. She was the political leader; he was the ideologue. He contributed significantly to her years of glory. This is not to take away from the fact that she provided the political charisma, outreach and direction. He certainly influenced her in terms of ideas. He guided her in terms of ideology, in terms of personalities. They had a shared experience going back to the 1930s. Feroz Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Haksar, they were a trio, they were fellow activists in Krishna Menons India League in London. So the relationship goes back to the late '30s. For a two-year period, from May 1965 to May 1967, Haksar was the local guardian for both Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi. Of course he worked closely with Nehru from 1947 till 1964. Did Haksar play a key role in 1969 in influencing Indira Gandhi during the Congress split? He played a decisive role during the Congress split. The events in which he played a decisive role were the nationalisation of banks in June 1969, the Congress split of November 1969, the Abolition of Privy Purses and Princely Privileges in December 1970. In all of 1971, in relation to Bangladesh and Pakistan right up to the Simla Agreement of July 1972. And then the nationalisation of coal, of refineries of general insurance which takes place in late 1972 and finally the opening up to Iran in 1973. And the agreement with Pakistan on POWs and other humanitarian issues. These were Haksars high points. Are you referring to the exchange of the POWs? Yes, the exchange of 93,000 POWs. And then in 1987, Rajiv Gandhi sent him to China as his special envoy to begin the process of normalisation of relations with China. There was no doubt that Haksar was Indira Gandhis ideological compass. She was the political leader, he was the ideologue. In your book she comes across as having trusted Haksar but after him, she trusted nobody except possibly Sanjay Gandhi? She trusted nobody. Haksar was the first and last person she trusted with that amount of authority, and with that amount of power. She enjoyed a personal relationship with him. She saw him as being part of her extended family. It was difficult for her to replace him. But in the mid-70s, she came into her own. She had got a two-third majority in the Lok Sabha while Haksar remained a left of centre ideologue. Subsequently Sanjay Gandhi became as powerful. There was no room for a third person. Do you see two different Indira Gandhis one who was influenced by Haksar and one under the influence of Sanjay Gandhi? Indira Gandhi was her own person all through. She was not expressive. In Haksar, she found a kindred spirit, she found someone she could trust, relate to. She saw in Haksars advice, a political opportunity. Sanjay Gandhi (had) a different relationship. If you look at 16 years of prime ministership, she changes her position and ideologies. Before 1980, she was deeply suspicious of the US; after 1980, she reaches out to the US. Before 1980, she was suspicious of the private sector and foreign investment but after 1980 she changes. Indira Gandhi was quite pragmatic, but Haksar remained a Marxist throughout his life. She reached the pinnacle of her achievement in 1971, which was never to be repeated? She reached Mount Everest by the middle of 1972. Once you have reached Mount Everest, you can only climb down. By 1973, things had begun to change and by the middle of 1974, the entire political situation had changed. The glory days were behind her. Her glory days were basically 1967 to '73. If Haksar was such a seasoned bureaucrat, how did he and Indira Gandhi agree to return 93,000 Pakistani POWs without getting any assurance on Kashmir? Its a silly way of looking at what happened in Simla. What do you do with 93,000 POWs? We got two assurances we should not forget. The Ceasefire Line became the LOC. Simla established that Jammu and Kashmir is a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan. It made the UN Resolutions completely irrelevant. Ofcourse Indira Gandhi and Haksar trusted Bhutto in Simla. They did want an overall agreement that Bhutto could live with that he could sell to his people The US and China were not sympathetic to India but even our greatest friend, the Soviet Union, would not have accepted a humiliated Bhutto going back from Simla empty-handed. We cannott forget that two of her greatest critics, Rajai and Jaiprakash Narayan hailed the Simla Agreement. Rajaji called it the Pact of Good Hope and Jaiprakash Narayan welcomed the Simla pact and wanted more such agreements. But we have to judge the Simla Agreement in the context of its times. The fact that in the next 30 years our relationship with Pakistan has worsened and has tended to make us judgmental of the agreement. We cannot judge the Simla agreement from the perspective of 2018, it has to be judged in the context of its times. It was criticised even then. It was criticised by Vajpayee but by nobody else. He had called her a Durga in 1971 but he criticised India for the agreement. Did he call it a sell out? He did not use the word sell out. Did Haksar see the writing on the wall? Yes, he saw the writing on the wall in December 1972 and that is why he told Indira Gandhi he wanted to leave. Indira Gandhi did not make an effort to keep him back. Most people thought Indira Gandhi had sacked him. He saw the emergence of Sanjay Gandhi as a power in his own right. Also read on Firstpost Indira Gandhi: A Life in Nature offers a portrait of the late prime minister as an environmentalist Haksar never made any effort to warn Indira Gandhi about Sanjay? From 1968, he was cautioning her. He believed the Maruti programme was unnecessary for India which should focus on public transport. Haksar also told her that the prime ministers son should not be staying in her house as he was running a business enterprise. And this ultimately led to the problem between him and Sanjay Gandhi. But Rajiv Gandhi was also living with Indira Gandhi. Rajiv Gandhi was not carrying out a business enterprise. He was working for Indian Airlines. His (Haksar's) argument was that he was carrying on a business enterprise. One argument was ideological we need to invest more in public transport and in two-wheelers. Varun Gandhi has tweeted against your book... It was a ridiculous tweet. The Maruti that we see today has nothing to do with the Maruti of Sanjay Gandhi. The only two things in common of the Sanjay Gandhi enterprise is the land given by Bansi Lal to Sanjay Gandhi which became the place for the Maruti plant. The second common thing is the name Maruti. Maruti was started as a Japanese enterprise. It was started by Dr Suzuki and V Krishnamurthy was made chairman and managing director of Maruti by Indira Gandhi. There is nothing in common between the Maruti that has created a revolution in India and the Maruti of Sanjay Gandhi. The conditions given to Sanjay Gandhi for starting Maruti was that there would be no foreign collaboration, no use of foreign equipment and no use of foreign raw material. These were the three conditions that were listed in Sept 1970 when he was given in the letter of intent to manufacture 50,000 cars. The Maruti enterprise started in 1981 had Japanese equipment, Japanese raw material and involved Japanese collaboration. The book is factual and these do not present Sanjay Gandhi in a good light. The fact is that Haksars house was raided, Mrs Haksar was almost arrested and the Pandit Brothers' shop was raided because Mrs Haksar owned a 10 percent share in it. All this was done at Sanjay Gandhis behest. It was the intervention of Indira Gandhi that stopped Mrs Haksar's arrest. A Pakistani militant belonging to terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) was killed by the security forces in an encounter on Friday in the Handwara area of Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said. Srinagar: A Pakistani militant belonging to terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) was killed by the security forces in an encounter on Friday in the Handwara area of Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said. A foreign militant, belonging to the LeT, was killed in the encounter at Batpora in Handwara in north Kashmir, a police official said. The body of the Pakistani militant was recovered from the encounter site along with a weapon and other incriminating material, he said. More details about the identity of the slain militant are being ascertained, the official said. Security forces had launched a cordon and search operation in the area following inputs about the presence of militants. The operation turned into a gun-battle after the militants fired upon a search party, which retaliated. The firing has stopped, but the search operation was still going, the official said. The team, headed by Rijiju and accompanied by Union Tourism Minister Alphons Kannanthanam will visit rain-affected areas in Kerala. Kochi: Union minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday promised more central assistance to Kerala to deal with "unprecedented rains and floods", a day after Rs 80 crore were sanctioned to the state as initial aid. A central government team headed by Rijiju and accompanied by Union tourism minister Alphons Kannanthanam arrived in Kochi on Saturday morning. The team visited the rain-affected districts, including Kottayam, Alappuzha and Ernakulam. The state government has Rs 203 crore in its kitty and the Centre approved Rs 80 crore as immediate relief to deal with the situation. Rijiju said both the Centre and the state have fixed assistance of Rs 4 lakh to kith and kin of the people who died in to the calamity. "We have visited many relief camps and this is one of the very bad situations which Kerala had to face because of unprecedented rains," he added. "This is the situation in which the state government and the central government must come together," Rijiju said. The central team is satisfied with the manner in which the relief camps are managed by the local administration, the minister added. He also said there were predictions for more rains from 23 July and that "we have to be more prepared to face it." He said damages caused due to flooding was being calculated."We will extend whatever possible help from the Government of India because Kerala has witnessed unprecedented rains and floods. We are with the people of Kerala and the central government will do whatever is required," Rijiju told reporters. Meanwhile, a defence spokesperson said the Southern Naval Command (SNC) has sent five teams to Alappuzha district to assist the civil administration in disaster relief. The teams were dispatched after a request by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in view of widespread inundation and water-logging in the state. Each team comprises five members and is equipped with inflatable gemini boats and other equipment including diving sets, the spokesperson said. The SNC is ready to offer assistance with food and medical services if required by the administration, he added. The toll in rain-related incidents in Kerala has gone up to 41 since the onset of monsoon on 29 May. As many as 1.18 lakh people have taken refuge in 606 relief camps across Kerala, as rains continued to batter several parts of the state. A group of villagers lynched a 28-year-old man in Rajasthan's Alwar district on Friday night allegedly on suspicion of cow smuggling. A group of villagers lynched a 28-year-old man in Rajasthan's Alwar district on Friday night allegedly on suspicion of cow smuggling. The victim, Rakbar Khan, and his friend Aslam were taking two cows to their village in Haryana through a forested area near Lalawandi in Alwar when five men attacked them, said Subhash Sharma, station house officer of the Ramgarh Police Station. The incident took place merely two days after home minister Rajnath Singh said in Parliament that such crimes are a matter of grave concern for the government. It also comes the week the Supreme Court urged the Centre to frame a law against lynching. Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje condemned the incident, but mentioned that the victim was "transporting bovines". In a statement on Twitter, she said: "The incident of alleged lynching of a person transporting bovines in Alwar district is condemnable. Strictest possible action shall be taken against the perpetrators." She added that she has asked state home minister Gulab Chand Kataria to investigate the matter at the earliest and ensure strict punishment for the guilty. Opposition lashes out at BJP Raje's assurance did not assuage the Opposition, which criticised her government for failing to stop such attacks. Congress national general-secretary Ashok Gehlot called the incident horrific, saying the man was lynched despite the Supreme Court's warnings. Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot, too, blamed the BJP government, saying that people being killed "on suspicion" was sadly becoming a norm in BJP-ruled states. He said the Union home minister's statement in Parliament on Friday that it was the responsibility of state governments to stop incidents of mob lynching seemed even more hollow now. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi also criticised the BJP because of the lynching. Responding to a statement by the victim's father seeking justice, Owaisi said, "Justice! We will see ruling party members justifying Rakbar's murder and a mantri will garland the killers, saying (he is) following due process as defined in We & Nationhood by Guru of Mitro (sic)." He was referring to Union minister Jayant Sinha, who had sparked a controversy after pictures of him felicitating eight men convicted of lynching a meat trader in Jharkahand went viral on social media. Congress leader from Madhya Pradesh Jyotiraditya Scindia, too, made a reference to Singh's statement in Parliament, saying: "I cannot fathom how such heinous crimes can be allowed and ignored in any civilised society. For how long will the home minister brush this off as a state subject? The Centre must own up to its responsibility and take immediate action!" Rajasthan home minister questions 'lynching' claim Even as Khan's murder caused a political furore, Kataria was quoted as saying by News18 that it was not a case of mob lynching. He was reported to have said that only five to seven people attacked Khan, not a mob. Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said he condemns mob lynching, but added that this was was not an isolated incident. "You have to trace this back in history to know why this happens and who should stop this. What happened with Sikhs in 1984 was the biggest mob lynching of this nation's history," he said, referring to the anti-Sikh riots that year. His statement closely echoed that of Singh, who had made a similar reference in Parliament to the 1984 riots on Friday. Supreme Court has expressed concerns over mob violence The Centre is learnt to have begun preliminary discussions on the possibility of bringing a new law to curb mob lynching, and one of the options being considered is to amend the Indian Penal Code to define "mob lynching" as a penal offence. Condemning the rising incidents of lynching in India, the Supreme Court had recently asked the government to enact a law to deal with such cases. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra had called the incidents of lynching "horrendous acts of mobocracy" that cannot be allowed to become the new norm. With inputs from PTI Sexual exploitation of inmates at the shelter home had come to light more than a month ago in a report of a Mumbai-based social science institute which had conducted an audit of the state-funded establishment Muzaffarpur: Police have launched a search for the body of an inmate of a state-funded shelter home for girls in Muzaffarpur who was allegedly beaten to death by staff members. Senior Superintendent of Police, Muzaffarpur, Harpreet Kaur, said the allegation was levelled by one of the inmates while her statement was being recorded by a magistrate. Following this, a search has begun for the body of the girl, said to have died of injuries caused by beating. The shelter home has been sealed for over a month now following reports of sexual exploitation. "The matter came to light during the recording of statements under Section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code. One of the girls alleged that the inmates were often beaten up by staff members of the shelter home and one of them even died as a result of the injuries thus caused, Kaur told PTI over phone. We are now trying to trace the body which is essential to verify the girls' allegation. Once the body is found, additional charges may be framed against those who are already arrested in connection with the happenings at the shelter home, she added. Sexual exploitation of inmates at the shelter home had come to light more than a month ago in a report of a Mumbai-based social science institute which had conducted an audit of the state-funded establishment run by an NGO. More than 10 people, including all staff members of the shelter home and some government officials, have so far been arrested in this connection while all the inmates have been shifted to other districts. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a 'Kisan Kalyan Rally' in Shahjahanpur district of Uttar Pradesh on Saturday. Shahjahanpur (Uttar Pradesh): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a 'Kisan Kalyan Rally' in Shahjahanpur district of Uttar Pradesh on Saturday. The rally in Roza area would be Modi's fifth public address in Uttar Pradesh in three weeks, indicating the importance of the state which has 80 Lok Sabha seats in BJP's calculations ahead of the 2019 general elections. After reaching out to people in Azamgarh, Sant Kabir Nagar, Mirzapur and Varanasi, Prime Minister Modi's next destination is Shahjahanpur in central Uttar Pradesh. The prime minister will arrive at the rally venue via Bareilly. He is likely to make announcements for the welfare of farmers, BJP district unit chief Rakesh Kumar Anaba said. The district administration has made preparations to ensure a smooth conduct of the rally in view of the monsoon season. Waterproof tents have been installed, officials said. BJP workers and leaders of eight districts and farmers are likely to attend the rally. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had convened a meeting of officials of eight districts while making preparation for the rally. Narendra Modi's Kisan Kalyan Rally is his fifth public address in Uttar Pradesh in three weeks, indicating the importance of the state, which has 80 Lok Sabha seats. In his first public address after the government defeated the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the Opposition "gave an unwanted hug" as it was not able to provide a reason for the "lack of trust". He made the statement while addressing sugarcane farmers at a rally in Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh. Modi was referring to Congress president Rahul Gandhi unexpectedly hugging him in the Lok Sabha after his speech on Friday. The 'Kisan Kalyan Rally' in Shahjahanpur's Roza region is Modi's fifth public address in Uttar Pradesh in three weeks, indicating the importance of the state which has 80 Lok Sabha seats in BJP's calculations ahead of the 2019 General Elections. In his speech, Modi said the central and state governments had made it their priority is to ensure that the "hard work of the farmers is respected". He said several decisions have been made to benefit sugarcane farmers. After listing the key decisions his government had made, the prime minister said the Centre has decided to allow mills to produce ethanol from molasses and sugarcane juice from 1 December. He also criticised the Opposition alliance, saying that more and more parties coming together against the BJP would only help the government grow. "The lotus will have more mud to bloom as the number of parties in the alliance rises," he said, accusing the Opposition of running after the prime minister's chair and ignoring the poor, youth and farmers. The prime minister's visit to Shahjahanpur comes after reaching out to people in Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh, Sant Kabir Nagar, Mirzapur and Varanasi over the past two weeks. Besides farmers, BJP workers and leaders of eight districts in Shahjahanpur attended the rally. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath had convened a meeting of officials of the eight districts while preparing for the event. With inputs from PTI 'Ever since Nitish Kumar's return to the NDA, his image of a good administrator has taken a beating with crimes against women having become a routine affair' Patna: The Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday said that the Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar was cutting a "sorry figure" as he was being made to "beg" before the BJP for a respectable share of seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and urged the JD(U) president to do a rethink on his return to the NDA. The party's Bihar in-charge Sanjay Singh also attacked the Narendra Modi government for trying to "fool" the people of the state by claiming that money spent on national highways passing through the state were part of a special package for Bihar. He also charged the prime minister with failure to give due respect to leaders from the state who had allied with him. Nitish Kumar had betrayed the mandate of 2015 Assembly polls by walking out of the Grand Alliance and returning to the BJP-led NDA. But, today he is cutting a sorry figure. He is begging before the BJP for a respectable seat-sharing arrangement, Singh said. And ever since his return to the NDA, his image of a good administrator has taken a beating with crimes against women having become a routine affair, added the member of AAP's political affairs committee. Singh said the BJP was busy describing the current political situation in the country as Modi vs all and was reluctant to acknowledge the role of its allies. While being photographed, Modi likes the entire focus to be on himself. He feels uncomfortable sharing the space with Nitish Kumar and Union ministers like Ram Vilas Paswan. It is traits like these, besides the vindictiveness of which we have been at the receiving end in Delhi, that makes AAP feel that BJP has to be fought and defeated, Singh said. We are appalled to hear that the Modi government is of the view that money spent on national highways and other similar projects which cover other states also are being dished out as part of a special package, he said. It should cover only some specific demands of the people conveyed by the state government. The Modi government is cheating the people of Bihar. It is high time that Nitish Kumar did a rethink on his political collaboration, he added. The AAPs in-charge of Bihar also alleged that BJP leaders in the state had indulged in irregular land transactions on a huge scale prior to demonetization. He also distributed copies of one such alleged transaction in Begusarai district where a piece of disputed land was bought by BJP leaders. One of the claimants to the land was brought to the press meet where he alleged that he was being pressurized by BJP leaders to give up his claim on the land to facilitate its transfer in favour of the party, which wanted to build its office there. Morocco and the EU wrapped up negotiations for a new fisheries deal, which shall include the Sahara waters. The two parties have been negotiating the renewal of the fisheries deal in four rounds of negotiations that came to an end on July 19. The new deal is in line with Moroccos sovereignty over the Sahara and its waters. Negotiations on the renewal of the Fisheries Partnership Agreement concluded between Morocco and the European Union have resulted in the inclusion of the Moroccan Sahara, a step that strengthens Morocco in its quality as the sole interlocutor liable to negotiate international agreements covering the Sahara, said the Moroccan Foreign Ministry. The renewal of the deal with the Sahara water included deals a heavy blow to the Polisario and its mentor Algeria, which have campaigned for the exclusion of the Sahara from any deal. The attempts of the opponents of the Kingdom to question this exclusive jurisdiction, have been both disavowed and rejected, said the ministry, adding that this stage has turned a new page on the path of overcoming the judicial vicissitudes and vain attacks by third parties. Throughout the negotiation process, Morocco has been clear and firm on its national fundamentals: the Kingdom has never concluded and will never conclude an international agreement that compromises its sovereignty over its southern provinces, said the Ministry. At the end of the negotiations, the two parties agreed that the adaptation of the Fisheries Agreement will be in the form of an Exchange of Letters, including the Moroccan Sahara, the ministry said, adding that the negotiated text expressly mentions that the tariff preferences to Moroccan products also apply, and under the same conditions, to fish caught in the waters of the Moroccan southern provinces. The entry into force of the new deal hinges on the ratification by the European Parliament, although the EU would like a provisional implementation pending ratification. On July 14, EU fishing vessels left Moroccos territorial waters as the four-year deal expired. Last April, the Council of the European Union has given its green light to the European Commission to open negotiations with Morocco on new fisheries agreement, which includes the Moroccan Sahara. The Moroccan government had then welcomed the decision of the Council of Europe, noting with satisfaction the EUs coherent approach, in accordance with its internal rules and international legality. About 120 vessels from 11 EU countries (Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, The Netherlands, Ireland, Poland and United Kingdom) operate in Moroccan waters. According to an independent study, the deal not only promotes sustainable development of the fisheries sector through Halieutis strategy projects but also facilitates jobs for Moroccan sailors and fishermen via 1000 boarding contracts per year. Moreover, over 75 pc of the socio-economic benefits of the agreement, such as creation of hundreds of new jobs and improvement of working conditions of tens of thousands of people, are enjoyed by people living in the Southern provinces. Similarly, the gains of the 11 EU countries operating in Moroccan waters largely exceed the 30m EU investment for the support of Moroccan sectoral fisheries policy. Actually, every Euro invested created 2.78 value added for the EU. Rahul has repeatedly shown that he is ignorant of facts. But to insist on disclosure of financial details, which indirectly involves the disclosures of the strategic equipment on the aircraft, is to hurt national interest. A vote of no-confidence against the government is a serious business. It is not an occasion for frivolity. The lead participants in the debate are normally senior political leaders. They are expected to raise the level of political discourse. If a participant happens to be a president of a national political party nourishing prime ministerial aspirations, every word he speaks should be precious. His facts should convey credibility. Facts are always sacrosanct. None should ever trivialise the debate. Those who desire to be prime minister never blend ignorance, falsehood and acrobatics. Regrettably, the president of the Congress party missed a great opportunity. If this was his best argument for 2019, God help his party. His lack of understanding is not only confined to basic issues but also to the niceties of protocol. One should never misquote a conversation with a head of a government or a head of state. You do it once, serious people will be reluctant to speak to you or speak in your presence. Rahul Gandhi, by concocting a conversation with French president Emmanuel Macron, has lowered his own credibility and seriously hurt the image of an Indian politician before the world at large. Not to be aware of the fact that a UPA government minister had signed the secrecy pact is not understandable. He now seeks to embarrass former prime minister Manmohan Singh by implicitly insinuating that Singh was a witness to the conversation being wholly unaware that his own government had entered into the secrecy pact. Rahul has repeatedly shown that he is ignorant of facts. But to insist on disclosure of financial details, which indirectly involves the disclosures of the strategic equipment on the aircraft, is to hurt national interest. Cost gives away a clue to the weaponry in the aircraft. Is he unaware of the fact that the UPA-proposed GST amendment to the Constitution never included petroleum products as part of the GST? It is only the NDA which brought it within the GST with tax to be levied once agreed by the GST Council. He seems unaware of public issues when he equates declaration of accounts as NPA as a loan waiver. There is no minister who either desires to change or is constitutionally entitled to change the Constitution of India. The last Indian politician who wanted the power to change the Constitution was Rahul's grandmother and she too failed. Hallucinations can give momentary pleasure to a person. Therefore, to hallucinate after an embarrassing performance that he has won future election or to hallucinate that he is the reincarnation of Mark Antony being complemented by friends and foes alike, may give him self-satisfaction but for serious observers, it is more than just self-praise in fact a serious problem. Even in dynasties, many successors remind you of the virtues of their predecessors. Yesterday I reread two of Panditjis (Jawaharlal Nehru) legendary speeches Tryst with Destiny and Light has gone out of Lives. This article first appeared on Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's official Facebook page. In his speech at the no-confidence motion debate, Narendra Modi reduced Chandrababu Naidu's stature to that of a small regional party boss who focused on settling petty scores. Late on Friday, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi completed his response to the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha, Vijayawada MP Kesineni Nani got up to speak. He began by praising Modi's oratory skills and said it made him feel as though he was watching a blockbuster Bollywood movie. Nani twisted the knife further moments later when he said there would be no better actor in the world than Modi. Tired but not retired for the day, the treasury benches rose to protest. But the tinsel town-inspired Nani had a point. With the power of his speech, Modi clearly the hero of the ruling party had sought to make a villain out of Nani's boss, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, whose Telugu Desam Party (TDP) triggered the debate on the no-confidence motion in Parliament on Friday. Modispeak would have hurt Naidu, someone who takes great pride in his administrative skills. The prime minister reduced the Andhra Pradesh chief minister to a squabbler whose Telugu Desam Party (TDP), he claimed, constantly fights with the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti in the state, forcing the governor, home minister and sometimes Modi himself to intervene. Sprinkling salt on Naidu's wounds, Modi then praised Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, saying he was sagacious enough to focus on development instead of quarrels. Nothing could have riled Naidu more. But Modi was not finished. Making public his private conversation with Naidu after the TDP withdrew from the National Democratic Alliance in March, Modi told the House that he had impressed upon the Andhra Pradesh chief minister that he had walked into the trap set by the YSR Congress. Modi was, in effect, reducing Naidu's stature to that of a small regional party boss who focused on settling petty scores in his backyard while projecting himself as a statesman who saw the larger picture. Modi's pointers in the Lok Sabha reinforced one point that his friendship with Naidu is a thing of the past. Despite home minister Rajnath Singh insisting that Naidu remains a pal, it is obvious that the TDP supremo's break with the BJP is deeply personal. While Naidu is personally pleasant with the likes of Singh as well as Union ministers Nitin Gadkari and Prakash Javadekar, his chemistry with Modi and BJP president Amit Shah the two men who matter the most in the BJP has become an equation gone horribly wrong. Naidu called Modi "arrogant" in his first reaction to the prime minister's reply, but the fact of the matter is that the TDP has lost this battle for special category status for Andhra Pradesh. The chief minister cannot deny that he took a U-turn on the special status demand because it is a matter of record that his government had accepted the special financial package in 2016-17. Not only that, Naidu had even made the Andhra Pradesh Assembly move a resolution in March 2017 profusely thanking the Centre for the package, claiming that barring the nomenclature, there was nothing to distinguish it from special category status. His spin doctors at that time had gone to great lengths to project obtaining the special package as a victory for Naidu. In fact, Jaydev Galla, the TDP's lead speaker during the debate on the no-confidence motion, had said in March 2017 that the "special package is far better than special category status". The Guntur MP now saying that "special status is everything to me" is a textbook example of duplicity. Modi takes cover under the Finance Commission's recommendation against granting special category status to states, barring those in the North East and hilly regions. Naidu says talk of such a recommendation is a falsehood. The reality is that the Centre could not have ignored objections from neighbouring states such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Telangana, who feared losing potential investment to Andhra Pradesh if it was able to make a better pitch to investors. The BJP's game plan is clearly to keep up the pressure on Naidu. Its allies in the cause are the YSR Congress and Pawan Kalyan. The actor-turned-politician, in particular, has been scathing in his criticism of Naidu, making the TDP suspect that he is doing a hatchet job for the BJP. Andhra Pradesh's political theatre will see the YSR Congress, BJP and Kalyan's Jana Sena come together against Naidu. The only way the TDP can win is if the three split the anti-Naidu vote, but an understanding among them could spell trouble for Naidu and his party. On the other hand, the TDP cannot move close to the bifurcation-tainted Congress, even though the latter has promised special category status to Andhra Pradesh if voted to power in Delhi in the 2019 General Elections. But Modi demolishing Naidu's claims is only half the story. The prime minister's subtle praise of KCR is a story with 2019 on the radar. Modi has bought an insurance policy for himself, in case the BJP falls short of the 272 mark next year. And what better way to please KCR than by making him feel superior to his bete noire Naidu. The Shiv Sena has been throwing mixed signals about its stand on the BJP and appears to be confused about its political alliance. A party like the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), its ambitions confined to Odisha, is clearly hedging its bets for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. It has not indicated whether it will choose to go with the Opposition the Mahagatbandhan or whatever moniker it turns up with or the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This is why it chose to abstain from the no-confidence vote against the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), or simply put, the BJP. It has kept its options unknown to others by using the wisdom of silence. The Shiv Sena, on the other hand, has not been able to show this kind of maturity. The Sena has shown an utter lack of consistency with regard to its stand on the BJP in several ways, except that it wants to remain in the government the Devendra Fadnavis administration in Maharashtra and Narendra Modi's at the Centre. The curious aspect here is that despite its claims of promoting and sustaining Hindutva a cause it has in common with the BJP the Sena has been throwing mixed signals. While this may seem like the Sena's strategy, it appears as though the party is confused itself. After BJP president Amit Shah's visit to Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's home, the Sena has maintained a mysterious and uncharacteristic silence on what transpired during the talks and what its outcome was. On Friday, it decided to abstain from voting for or against the no-trust motion in the Lok Sabha, which does give the impression that Shah and Thackeray had reached some kind of agreement. The Sena-BJP saga does not end there. Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut praised Congress president Rahul Gandhi's speech in the Lok Sabha on Friday. But even before the debate started, the party's mouthpiece Saamana went to the extent of describing the BJP as "butchers who save animals but kill humans". The icing on the cake here is Saamana's view, which Raut edited, that "winning elections and remaining in power by hook or crook is not democracy". It calls the no-confidence motion a "sound thrashing" because of the NDA's numbers, and that it was bound to fail from the beginning. It accuses the NDA of using its majority as a "tool to indulge in dictatorship". It also accuses the BJP of winning elections by manipulating electronic voting machines and making "democracy a scarecrow". If this is indeed the case, the Sena needs to explain why it is clinging onto its share in the governments at the Centre and in Maharashtra. The Sena's decisions make it seem like a political party keen on hitting all the time but not wanting to hurt itself. Simply put, the Shiv Sena is dancing a foxtrot one dancer starting with the left foot, taking two steps forward, stepping to the side and then closing the square, while its partner does the opposite. This involves movement but does not cover any distance. This has been the state of affairs since the 2014 Assembly election results were announced: the Sena opted to be the Opposition, staked claim to a leader's position, backed out, kept haranguing the BJP, played the role of the Opposition but more of a whiner's within the government and then announced that it will go at it alone in the next elections. The Shiv Sena cannot possibly be concerned about the stability of the BJP-led government in Maharashtra. The Modi government is also not at the risk of destabilising if the Sena withdraws its support for the NDA at the Centre. The Sena is likely making its decisions only with the aim to maximise whatever pre-electoral gains it can muster for itself. However, the abstention from the no-confidence vote does smack of a Shah-Thackeray deal, at least for the nonce, regardless of what it actually is. A Class 6 student, Aryan Amit Waghmare, 10, was allegedly meted out the strange 'punishment' by his teacher Shweta Gupta, as the entire classroom looked. Pune: In a shocking incident, a schoolteacher in Pune has been suspended for snipping off a student's hair in front of the entire class, officials said. The incident happened on 17 July at the Vishrantwadi Pune International School, shocking the academic community and parents in Maharashtra's educational hub. A Class 6 student, Aryan Amit Waghmare, 10, was allegedly meted out the strange 'punishment' by his teacher Shweta Gupta, as the entire classroom looked. According to the student's mother, Aditi Waghmare, the teacher grabbed a pair of scissors and snipped off Aryan's hair from the front and the sides, spoiling his hairstyle and looks. "No reason was given to us for such a penalty... This is the second time such an incident has happened with my son. Earlier, in the third week of June, his hair was similarly cut off, but we did not take it too seriously," a distraught Waghmare told IANS. This time, the Waghmares went to the Vishrantwadi police station and complained about the incident following which the school authorities were summoned. "What happened was wrong... We warned the school management that such things should not be repeated. The school authorities informed us that the concerned teacher had been suspended," said Vishrantwadi police station inspector Sangita D Patil. However, Patil added that the parents have not lodged a formal complaint, so the police have yet to register an offence against the school or the teacher. When contacted by IANS, school vice-principal Jaishree Kadam confirmed that the teacher Shweta Gupta had been suspended, but declined to comment further. Not satisfied, the Waghmares plan to initiate legal action against the schoolteacher for "causing severe trauma to the child, who is now scared of attending school". This is the second major incident which has rocked Pune's educational fraternity in the past fortnight. Earlier this month, the MIT Vishwashanti Gurukul School, Kothrud had created a furore after it mandated that all girl students must sport only "white or beige coloured underwear" below their uniform white skirts. The bizarre order was hastily revoked on 5 July after direct intervention of education minister Vinod Tawde and a probe by the regional education department. Saudi Arabia expressed its disapproval regarding Israel adopting a law that defined it as the nation-state of Jews. Saudi said that the move could perpetuate 'racial discrimination' Riyadh: Saudi Arabia has slammed a controversial Israeli law as "perpetuating racial discrimination" against Palestinians by defining the country as the nation state of the Jewish people, state media reported. The law adopted by Israel's parliament on Thursday also defines the establishment of Jewish communities as being in the national interest and downgrades Arabic from an official language to one with special status. Citing a Saudi foreign ministry source, the official Saudi Press Agency said on Friday that the kingdom "rejects and disapproves" of the new legislation which it argued contradicts international law. The source called on the international community to "confront such a law and or other Israeli attempts, aimed at perpetuating racial discrimination against the Palestinian people", SPA reported. Saudi Arabia said the adoption of the law would also be a barrier to ending the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Earlier in 2018 King Salman reaffirmed Saudi Arabia's "steadfast" support for the Palestinian cause, after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signalled a shift in the country's approach. Prince Mohammed in April said in a magazine interview that Israelis as well as Palestinians "have the right to have their own land". Arab citizens account for some 17.5 percent of Israel's more than eight million population and have long complained of discrimination. The Israeli legislation was also condemned by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, comprised of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Adoption of the law "reflected the regime of racism and discrimination against the Palestinian people," GCC secretary general Abdullatif al-Zayani was quoted by SPA as saying. Zayani accused Israel of trying to obliterate the Palestinians' "national identity and depriving them of their legitimate civil and human rights on their occupied homeland". Expressing concern over non-utilisation of Rs 77,000 crore which was meant for environment protection fund, the Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre about how it intends to spend the 'huge amount.' New Delhi: Expressing concern over non-utilisation of Rs 77,000 crore which was meant for environment protection, the Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre about how it intends to spend the "huge amount." A bench of Justice Madan B Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta slammed the Centre for not spending the environment protection fund. The government collected Rs 91,000 crore as the environment fund, but has spent only Rs 14,000 crore, it noted. "We are talking about Rs 91,000 crore. It appears that only Rs 14,000 crore has been spent. We have no idea where these Rs 14,000 crore have gone. Maybe, the fund was used for good purposes but now Rs 77,000 crore is left. You are sitting on it. "It is meant for the sake of environment of the country and for benefit of the people. What are you doing on it? Why this is not being utilised?" the bench asked. The bench added, "Tell us for the sake of the country how you are going to spend it. Rs 77,000 is a huge amount. What's your plan?" Additional Solicitor General ANS Nadkarni told the bench that so far, out of these Rs 91,000 crore, Rs 14,000 crore has been spent by the states and the remaining funds were lying with states and not with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The court shot back, "You ask them. States are not in a different country. They are part of India. You ask them what they propose to do with these funds." The bench made it clear that the environment funds "cannot be treated as revenue of the Union of India or the states". The bench said if these funds had been used in a proper manner, Delhi would not have been facing the problem of air pollution and schemes for cleaning rivers Ganga and Yamuna could have been implemented properly by the authorities. "We are concerned about the funds; for the benefit of people as well as the environment," said the bench while observing that there has to be some supervision and monitoring of utilisation of funds. Earlier, the bench had noted that many states had diverted the environment funds to other purposes. After the top court's order, around 10 to 12 funds were created for environmental matters and the amount lying in them was nearly Rs 77,000 crore. Photos by Deshan Tennekoon *** She strikes a pose for the camera: arms akimbo, a determined look on her face as she gazes into the distance. Watching her, the group laughs and shouts encouragement. The atmosphere is light-hearted and supportive. Yet, just five minutes later, one of the girls being photographed talks about the anxiety she feels, whenever she posts photos of herself online. I feel like everyones watching everything youre doing. Even what you wear it sends a message, Deshani Dharmadasa says. It just adds to my anxiety. This group, gathered here for this photoshoot, has one thing in common: they have been all targeted online, often through vicious commentary on their appearance. The term cyber-harassment has varied definitions. The European Institute of Gender Equality steers clear of defining it, noting that there are no accepted definitions they can point to. Recent surveys by Pew Research Centre found that Americans were often divided over what online harassment constituted be it the public sharing of private messages, or sending unkind messages. Other organisations such as the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) advocate for the recognition of harassment online as a component of violence against women as a whole, impacting women offline as well. As such, the term cyber-harassment should instead be replaced with the phrase technology-based violence against women, APC says. On speaking to the group a little more, however, another commonality emerges each person has found their own way to cope, and, if possible, push back, against the hate they have received. Some use humour, others directly confront. Deshani, for instance, periodically posts screenshots of the unsolicited comments she receives on Facebook and Instagram even with privacy settings enabled, she says she still receives an average of 1-3 messages a week. Taking care to obscure their identities when posting, she often follows up by messaging them privately to take them to task for their behavior. I often tell them I have a brother and I would be ashamed if he treated and spoke about women the way they do. I want to try and make them think about the comments they post, she explains. Deshani has never once received a response to the messages she sends. Aside from that, Deshani is honest about her own complicity, in earlier laughing off these comments, for fear of being branded as humourless or bossy. Dont make the same mistake I did. Dont stay silent, she says. The recent Lanka Comic Con event, last year, saw young female cosplayers ridiculed and body-shamed, with photos from the event used to make mocking memes, which went viral. For the girls who participated in cosplay (the practice of dressing up as a character from a work of fiction, such as a comic book, video game or television show) the pushback came as a complete shock. Amaya Suriyapperuma initially didnt know about the memes her friends tried to hide it from her, as it was her birthday. She was taken aback by the viciousness, when she did see them. Amaya had chosen to cosplay as Wonder Woman many of the memes had said she was too skinny. A psychology student, Amaya found herself trying to analyse the meaning behind these comments. My first question was, Why would anyone want to do this? It could be a lack of self-esteem. Maybe they dont have a platform to express themselves. In addition, Amaya pointed out, cosplaying was relatively new to Sri Lanka. In the aftermath, Amaya found herself unexpectedly placed on a pedestal. Members of the Geek Club of Sri Lanka (who are also the organisers of the Lanka Comic Con event) banded together and mass-reported some of the Facebook pages. One person tweeted a photo of her, tagging the Director of the Wonder Woman movie, Patty Jenkins, and actress Gal Gadot, who played Wonder Woman. Both retweeted the photos, expressing their support. For Amaya, this was overwhelming; some people then said she thought she was Wonder Woman and was just looking for her 15 minutes of fame. She began wondering if she really deserved the outpouring of support. A college class dealing with degrading memes was unexpectedly distressing. I suddenly realised: Hey, this happened to me. Ultimately, Amaya reminded herself of why she enjoyed cosplay. Its important to remember why you did it, and to know yourself too. That helps a lot when people criticise. Amaya had chosen to cosplay as a method of coping with ongoing struggles with anxiety and depression, while also paying tribute to her favourite characters. The comments and memes ended up building her resilience, she says. She has another message too, If you have anything to say that could cause harm to others, to their mental health or self esteem dont say it! Shamindri De Sayrah, who cosplayed as Supergirl, was also targeted at the same time as Amaya, with many commenters body-shaming her. After Gal Gadots supportive tweet, many avoided attacking Amaya, but distressingly, continued to go after the other cosplayers at the event. Shamindri said she was outraged when she saw the first memes targeting Amaya, I couldnt help but wonder, whats to stop them from targeting me as well? She adds, We cosplayed our favourite characters because we love them. If you look in the mirror and think, Im beautiful, and I like the way I look, nothing the bullies say can ever get to you. Law student Humaiza Thassim also cosplayed as Supergirl. She found out her photos were being shared while at the second day of Comic Con. Unaware of the comments, she was wearing a costume on that day too. Humaiza spoke of her humiliation on discovering that her photos had been shared and mocked online, entirely without her knowledge. As a Muslim girl, Humaiza also received additional criticism, with many members of the Muslim community telling her she was being un-Islamic. Just because we have a fundamental right to freedom of expression doesnt mean you can just say whatever you want. Just think about whether what youre saying will harm that person, and if you even know this person. That applies not just to cyber-bullying but offline as well, Humaiza said. Vicky Shahjahan faces a different kind of harassment to the rest of the group. Identifying as androgynous, Vicky initially faced pushback from the conservative community of Slave Island, who had never met or interacted with an androgynous person before. Many members of the community felt that Vickys expression of gender identity was a sign of promiscuity. Any interaction with male or female friends was seen as proof cementing this. However, Vicky responded humourously to this commentary. Through sustained interaction, especially through art, Vicky was able to change these perceptions. Although the hate continues, neighbours and community members now stand up for Vicky more often. This is not to say that Vicky doesnt encounter the same hate online. The use of gendered terms as insults is something Vicky feels strongly about and often speaks out on. To those who might be struggling with the expression of their gender identity, Vicky encourages them to be strong. Wherever you go, you will meet people who will judge you and question you You have to prepare yourself. The calls for resilience reflect a much deeper problem the lack of proper avenues for redress, when harmful comments, images or videos are posted online without consent. As Amaya pointed out, the cosplayers were lucky as they had the support of the Geek Club of Sri Lanka, who banded together to mass report pages, and provide moral support. An ordinary girl whose photo was shared without consent would not have the same support system. Whats more, she would have limited opportunities for redress. Sri Lankas existing law on defamation doesnt adequately cover social media, and the reporting bodies often dont respond, or respond far too slowly to complaints. Even Facebooks reporting mechanism often doesnt work, due to language constraints. For the cosplayers, it took the official event photographers reporting their images as being stolen for Facebook to take the offensive memes down reporting the content itself didnt work, as many of the memes were in Sinhalese. You have to fight for yourself, Amaya says at the end of our interview, Sri Lankas law governing online harassment is not strong in any case, and it doesnt cover social media, so theres no point [in pursuing legal action]. Thats sad, she adds, trailing off. These stories echo those of other girls whose photos are leaked online, or who are mocked. Often, they have to rely on their own resources and contacts in order to receive any kind of response or action. The issues facing the group discussed here chime with the research we are currently conducting on technology-based violence against women. These incidents are not isolated, but form a larger atmosphere of misogyny and sexism online, when talking to and about women in Sri Lanka. *** If you would like to report an instance of cyber-bullying, please read this quick guide by Bakamoono. This article was originally published on Groundviews and has been reproduced here with permission. Groundviews is a citizens journalism website based in Sri Lanka. The site uses a range of genres and media to highlight alternative perspectives on governance, human rights, the arts and literature, peace-building and other issues. BJP President Amit Shah on Saturday asked party workers and leaders in Rajasthan to work for 18 hours a day for the next few months to ensure its victory in the next Assembly and the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Jaipur: BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday asked party workers and leaders in Rajasthan to work for 18 hours a day for the next few months to ensure its victory in the next Assembly and the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. According to BJP MLA Ashok Parnami, Shah's message to the party workers at the concluding session of the state BJP's working committee meeting in Jaipur was clear that they have to work with dedication. The two-day meeting began on Friday at Totuka Bhawan and the party's national president addressed the concluding session on Saturday. "The party president said that every worker of the party should dedicate 18 hours a day for the party for the next few months. The party's workers are full of energy and fully charged," Parnami told reporters after the meeting. State Housing and Urban Development minister Shrichand Kriplani said that Shah wants the party to win more Assembly seats this time compared to last state elections. "His visit has given a strength to the party and party workers and we will achieve the target of winning more than 180 Assembly seats in the upcoming elections," he said. Elections for the 200 Assembly seats in the state are due later this year. Education minister Vasudev Devnani said Shah has asked partymen to reach out to the masses on the basis of works done by the Centre and the state government. "He said the party workers should go among the masses and tell them the works done by our governments. Congress cannot do anything and victory in next elections is ours," Devnani said. Shah is also scheduled to hold meetings with the MPs and MLAs, social media volunteers, district presidents, and members of the core committee and the election campaigning committee on Saturday. The DMK has lashed out at arch-rival AIADMK for not voting in favour of the no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government, alleging the ruling party in Tamil Nadu supported the NDA as a 'quid pro quo' despite several issues. Chennai: The DMK has lashed out at arch-rival AIADMK for not voting in favour of the no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government, alleging the ruling party in Tamil Nadu supported the NDA as a "quid pro quo" despite several issues. DMK Working President MK Stalin, whose party has no members in the Lok Sabha, had urged the AIADMK to support the no-confidence motion as it has 37 MPs in the Lok Sabha, making it the third-largest party after the ruling BJP and Opposition Congress. "Support for Modi Govt in #NoConfidence despite NEET, 15th Finance Commission, GST, Hindi imposition and communal politics is further proof of the quid pro quo arrangement between ADMK and BJP," Stalin said in a tweet late Friday night. Support for Modi Govt in #NoConfidence despite NEET, 15th Finance Commission, GST, Hindi imposition and communal politics is further proof of the quid pro quo arrangement between ADMK and BJP. IT raids on Chief Minister Edapadi Palaniswami's family have achieved their objective. M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) July 20, 2018 The no-confidence motion, moved by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a former BJP ally, against the Modi government was decisively defeated on Friday night. The government won the motion by 325 against 126 votes. Tamil Nadu chief minister and AIADMK joint coordinator K Palaniswamy had indicated on Thursday that his party might not support the motion as it was moved by the TDP for an issue concerning Andhra Pradesh. "No party had backed Tamil Nadu on the Cauvery issue when AIADMK lawmakers had stalled Lok Sabha for nearly three weeks seeking the constitution of the Cauvery Management Board and the Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee," Palaniswamy had said. Several AIADMK members opposed the no-confidence motion that came as a boost to the NDA. The no-trust motion was the first after Modi assumed office in May 2014 and less than a year before the next general elections. Several political parties have criticised Governor NN Vohra for his decision, saying that if conditions in the state are conducive for Panchayat and municipal elections, there is no point in deferring Assembly elections either Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir governor NN Vohra has drawn flak for his decision to hold panchayat and municipal polls in the state, even though he has kept the Legislative Assembly in suspended animation to avoid holding Assembly elections for six months from 19 June, the date the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) withdrew support to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), causing the government to collapse. Several political parties have criticised Vohra for his decision, saying that if conditions in the state are conducive for Panchayat and municipal elections, there is no point in deferring Assembly elections either. They say that the number of candidates in the fray during panchayat and municipal elections is much higher than the corresponding numbers for Assembly elections, and therefore a greater security risk as well. With anti-establishment protests raging across Kashmir, especially the southern part of the Valley, even civilian killings haven't stopped since Governor's Rule came into effect a month ago. However, despite all this, Vohra has asked officials to gear up for the elections. The focus of the government under Vohra has now shifted to "creating a conducive environment" for the Panchayat and urban body elections. On the other hand, all political parties, except the BJP, have demanded that the Legislative Assembly be dissolved immediately and fresh elections take place. They have claimed that keeping the Assembly in suspended animation is resulting in "horse trading business". On Thursday, the state government issued a directive asking the officials to "conduct preparatory work for elections to panchayats and urban local bodies". The government constituted the committee of officers one for the entire state and two others for the regions of Kashmir and Jammu "to draw a road map and detailed schedule for conduct of elections to urban local bodies and panchayats across the state". The officers have been asked that an "assessment should be made on the ground to take into consideration security, logistical, personnel, equipment and all other requirements". The state level committee, headed by principal secretary (home), has been asked to submit its report to the government by 10 August. Secretary rural development and Panchayati Raj, Sheetal Nanda, said that "preparations are underway for holding the polls". She said that the chief electoral officer (CEO) is in the "process of finalising the constituencies" of panchs and sarpanchs which will go to polls. "We have started the preparation of finalising the constituencies and the electoral rolls," she said. She added that the finalisation of constituencies is "done on the basis of delimitation and 33 percent reservation for women". An earlier assessment by the state government revealed that as many as 18,785 panchs and 2,369 sarpanchs will be elected in Kashmir alone. But, based on the new exercise which has been launched, the numbers would vary, said an official of the Rural Development Department. Apart from the constituencies of panchs and sarpanchs, 80 municipal bodies, including municipal councils and municipal committees would also go for polls in the state, said financial commissioner, housing and urban development department, KB Agarwal. Nanda said that due to the delay in the holding of panchayat polls, the state government has lost money which would have come as a "grant to the panchayats" from the Government of India, and this has prevented women from taking part in the grassroot decision making. People's Democratic Party's women's wing president, Safina Beigh, however, said, "There is reservation for women in the panchayats at the lower level as well, but not at the higher level in the Assembly. But we have seen that these reservations are not having any benefit on the ground, as whenever decisions were taken by panchs and sarpanchs, they were made by either the brothers or husbands of the women." Congress state president GA Mir said that the party has already sought that the Legislative Assembly be placed under suspended animation. "In the all party meeting, we made it clear to Governor Vohra that if a political party claims that it intends to form the government, that party has to be given a chance. Since none of the parties have staked a claim for government formation, we are expecting the governor will come back to us on our demand to dissolve the Assembly." Congress state vice-president GN Monga said, "By keeping the Assembly in suspended animation, the governor is promoting horse trading. The Assembly has been kept in suspended animation to allow government formation, but the governor has not talked of Assembly elections at all. The decision has to be taken by the governor himself; we have put forth our views." Former minister and National Conference provincial president for Kashmir, Nasir Aslam Wani, also echoed similar views, saying that the party has sought that the Assembly be dissolved to prevent horse trading. "We are seeking that the Assembly be dissolved, or the business of horse trading will go on," he said. "If the ground situation is not conducive for polls because civilians are getting killed, there has to be a proper assessment which must be done by the governor," Wani said. Vohra had earlier kept the state Assembly in suspended animation instead of dissolving it in order to prevent holding of elections within six months. There is a constitutional obligation to hold two sessions of legislative Assembly in six months. But with Vohra keeping the Assembly in suspended animation, many PDP MLAs have raised dissenting voices against former chief minister and party president Mehbooba Mufti, purportedly to form a government with BJP. Even as Mehbooba tries to woo back the party's rebel MLAs, one of them, Tangmarg legislator Mohammad Abbas Wani, said, "It's not possible for me to join a PDP headed by Mehbooba Mufti. We're waiting for the Amarnath Yatra to conclude, and will then begin government formation talks with like-minded legislators." 'BJP is insulting Hinduism. Their hands are tainted with the blood of those who died in riots,' Mamata Banerjee said. West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Kolkata on Saturday and said that the saffron party will not win more than 150 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Addressing the Shahid Diwas (Martyrs' Day) rally in Dharmatala, Banerjee declared she would fight alone in the state. "BJP will not win more than 150 seats in 2019 elections. I don't require the assistance of the CPM or Congress in Bengal. I will fight alone here," she said. The rally comes a day after the no-confidence motion against the Modi government was decisively defeated. Announcing a list of programmes for the months ahead as a build-up to the 2019 general elections, the TMC chief said she will launch a "BJP hatao, desh bachao" (Remove BJP, save the country) campaign on 15 August. Banerjee, who mooted the idea of a federal front to defeat the BJP, said, "We don't bother about the chair. We only bother about the people and the country." Taking a dig at the saffron party for the collapse of a makeshift tent at PM Narendra Modi's rally at Midnapore, she said, "They cannot build a pandal. How can they build the country?". The chief minister said the number of BJP's Lok Sabha seats would significantly come down in states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. "During the no-confidence vote in the Lok Sabha, they (NDA) got 325 votes, but in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, their strength will come down to barely 100 seats". Banerjee also taunted the BJP over its ally Shiv Sena not supporting it during the no-confidence motion on Friday. "Shiv Sena, your ally, did not support you (BJP). TDP, TRS did not support you," she said. Banerjee had earlier said her party was supporting the motion against the BJP government at the Centre in the greater interest of the Opposition unity, and the TMC had issued a whip to its Lok Sabha MPs, asking them to be present in the House on Friday. Referring to the incidents of lynching in the country, she said, "The way lynchings are happening every where in the country, it appears that they (BJP) are creating Talibans among the people. Atrocities on Dalits, minorities should be sorted out. We must break religious extremism in the country." She added that although there are people in the BJP and RSS who she respected, but there are some who are 'playing dirty games.' On the issue of Hindutva, Banerjee said, "Being a Hindu is a synonym for sacrifice. Are we not Hindus? Do we have to take a certificate to declare we are Hindus? We don't agree with your (BJP's) Hindutva, but we follow ours. BJP is insulting Hinduism. Their hands are tainted with the blood of those who died in riots. This is a crisis for secularism." The TMC observes 'Martyrs' Day' every year on 21 July to pay homage to 13 Youth Congress workers, allegedly killed in police firing in 1993 during the Left Front regime in West Bengal. Banerjee was a leader of the Youth Congress at that time. TMC workers and people from across the state started gathering in the metropolis since midnight to attend the public meeting. The rally is of immense importance given the party's ambition to play a major role after the next Lok Sabha polls, political observers said. According to senior TMC leaders, the party's aim to play a major role at the national level can only be successful if it manages to bag the maximum number of seats out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal. The party presently has 34 Lok Sabha seats from West Bengal. With nearly 40 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state being located in villages and semi-urban areas, the party is hoping to cash in on its stupendous performance in the May panchayat polls, where it managed to win all the zilla parishads and nearly 80 per cent of the gram panchayat seats. With inputs from PTI Nanar refinery project, Navi Mumbai land scam, Shivaji memorial in the Arabian sea, Maratha quota and dairy farmers' stir dominated the monsoon session of the Maharashtra legislature which ended in Nagpur on Friday. Nagpur: Nanar refinery project, Navi Mumbai land scam, Shivaji memorial in the Arabian sea, Maratha quota and dairy farmers' stir dominated the monsoon session of the Maharashtra legislature which ended in Nagpur on Friday. Under attack from Opposition for allegedly giving his "blessings" to an alleged land scam in Navi Mumbai, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced a judicial probe into the scam as well as over 200 similar cases. During the session, the BJP-led government also announced increased rate of Rs 25 per litre of milk for dairy farmers following their four-day stir that had hit milk supplies to some of the key cities of the state. The government came under fire for reducing the height of the planned equestrian statute of King Shivaji, to be erected off Mumbai coast. The chief minister assured that the statue would be the tallest in the world. The government also announced, during the session, that it would write off farm loans of upto Rs 1.5 lakh of every individual farmer, provided he/she clears rest of the dues in advance. Earlier, the loan waiver of upto Rs 1.5 lakh was per family and not per individual. Opposition sought to corner the government, in particular the BJP, by accusing it of dilly-dallying over its promise of extending OBC quota to the Maratha community. The chief minister announced that 16 percent of the 72,000 posts the government is set to fill would be allotted to candidates from the community in the form of backlog, if the Bombay High Court allows a quota for Marathas. Announcing end of the session in the Assembly, which had started on 4 July, Speaker Haribhau Bagade said the Lower House transacted business for 86 hours and 19 minutes during 13 sittings. The business could not be transacted for 8 hours 9 minutes due to absence of ministers. The Assembly worked for an average of 6 hours and 39 minutes. In all, the Assembly passed 23 bills. The Assembly and Legislative Council together cleared 15 bills. The average presence of the members in the Assembly was 76.42 percent. The Upper House transacted business for 74 hours 12 minutes, while 8 hours 17 minutes were wasted. The Council saw 22 bills getting cleared. The winter session of the state legislature is likely to be convened on 19 November. Prime Minister Narendra Modi dared Congress to bring another no-confidence motion in 2024 and accused the party for spreading instability in the country New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the Congress's arrogance was behind the no-confidence motion against the government in the Lok Sabha and dared the Opposition party to bring another trust vote in 2024. In his reply to the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha, Modi said his fate was in the hands of 125 crore people of India and that he prayed to Lord Shiva and the countrymen that the Congress leader brings another no-confidence motion in 2024. "I pray to God to give you (Gandhi) strength to bring a no-confidence motion in 2024 also. My best wishes are with you," the prime minister said. He accused the Congress of creating instability in the country when it is not in power and cited instances of the past in this regard. "The Congress has misused no-confidence motions to spread instability in the country," he alleged in his speech. "The country is not unaware of the history of one family which stoked political instability in the country time and again for its selfish interests," he said. Terming the incidents of lynching and rapes as acts against humanity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged states to take stringent action in such cases. New Delhi: Terming the incidents of lynching and rapes as acts against humanity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged states to take stringent action in such cases. Alluding to mob-lynching while replying in the no-confidence vote, Modi said "the incidents of violence are against the basic principles of humanity. I once again urge the states to take strict action in such cases," Modi said responding to the Opposition charges during the debate on the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha. The government came under considerable fire over the incidents of mob-lynching, especially in the name of cow, across several parts of the states. Earlier in the day, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, while speaking on the lynching incidents, said the Centre will provide all assistance required, but the state governments should take stringent steps to curb such incidents. If the purpose was to use the no-confidence motion to produce a line of attack against Narendra Modi that is memorable and distinct and would resonate with a large number of people, then the Opposition failed to use it efficiently The figure of 325 to 126 is a vote of no-confidence against the Opposition, of course. Given these numbers, it was not clear to what end the issue had been moved in the Lok Sabha, and nobody was surprised at the vote. Other than the Shiv Sena (and we will look at what its intent is later) there was hardly a thing that went wrong for Prime Minister Narendra Modi inside the House. Perhaps the real intent then was for the Opposition to launch its campaign for 2019 through this effort. Was it successful? Let us examine it. If the purpose was to use the moment to produce a line of attack that is memorable, distinct and would resonate with a large number of people, then the moment was not used efficiently. From both sides, the material was the same and so was the packaging. For Modi, this was not a problem because he is operating on the same successful framing that he has for the last six years. The problem was larger for the Opposition, which must be creative if it has to change the narrative, and it does not have that much time. What do I mean by this? Six years or so ago, India Against Corruption movement and then the Jyoti Singh rape case produced mass mobilisation against the existing polity. The government was corrupt, inefficient and unable to protect citizens and it existed purely for a few. Modi launched himself into this moment and captured it. He was then, and he remains now to some extent at least, outside this framing. If the polity is corrupt, then he is trying to fix it. If the polity is dynastic, then he is trying to break it. If the system is weak and soft against terror or Pakistan then he will change that through the force of his personality. A lot of this is posturing. One man does not and cannot change a country, especially of the complexity and size of India. But if there has been a break in this narrative, it has been a slow chipping away of it, rather than a dramatic revealing of the emperors clothes. This is the sort of thing that the no-confidence motion in the Parliament should have been used for, and to my mind was not. The press does not usually cover the Parliament in our country with any degree of depth. Britain has the tradition of the parliamentary sketch. In this, the newspaper reporter reviews the events taking place inside the Parliament through the personalities of the politicians. It is colourful reporting and most enjoyable to read. Indian readers do not get this regularly, because the Parliament is chaotic when it is functional. On the days when it actually functions like it was for the no-confidence motion the moment is ripe to be seized. It wasnt. Other than the hug, there is nothing special that the media have taken away from the debate. The hug made Modi vulnerable because he did not anticipate it and he is unused to physical intimacy that is not initiated by himself. It also caught him unawares and he is not good at non-scripted engagements. The second thing that was possible for the Opposition, other than to create a new narrative, was to produce the thread that would bind the disparate alliances that are forming against the BJP. At the moment they seem to have little that binds them either in terms of ideology or ambition. The articulation of a vision was required. A vision that was, even if vague and open, expressed in lyrical fashion. That is what the best politicians are able to do. And Modi was certainly able to do it in 2014. If the dominant theme of the 2019 election is to be the BJP versus a series of alliances across India, then the logic or the need for that did not jump out in the speeches. On the other hand, the BJP has never been particularly good at building alliances, and it accepts the fact. It does not bend over when it is confronted with an obstinate ally. I have been observing the manner in which the Shiv Sena and the BJP have allied continuously since 1995 when they won the election in Maharashtra. Since that year, each time there has been an election call, the Shiv Sena has acted in the same way that it did this time. It decides to strike a path of independence, and it badmouths the BJP, while the BJP and its leaders remain silent. In the end, it is the Shiv Sena that folds and decides after all the fire and brimstone that its best interest is served through an alliance with the BJP and that is what it signs up to. In 2019 also, no doubt, that will happen. It is unclear whether there will be another such confrontational moment in our politics before we all go to vote in 2019. India does not have the tradition of the televised debate between candidates and so there is no other chance for a one-on-one between the prime minister and the individual trying to take his job. The best thing we have is the no-confidence motion, and that was, unfortunately, not helpful in producing any clarity about what the great theme of 2019 will be. After Siddaramaiah's recent induction into the Congress working committee, speculation has been rife that he may be considering contesting the Lok Sabha polls. Bengaluru: Former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said he would not contest the next Lok Sabha polls. "..I have said that I will not contest for Parliament, I will not contest," Siddaramaiah told reporters in Bengaluru. After Siddaramaiah's recent induction into the Congress working committee, speculation has been rife that he may be considering contesting the Lok Sabha polls. Siddaramaiah, who currently holds the post of Congress legislature party leader and the head of Congress-JD(S) coalition coordination committee, had contested the 12 May Assembly polls from two constituencies. He won from Badami but lost from his home turf Chamundeshwari in Mysuru. Ahead of Assembly elections, Siddaramaiah had announced that it was "most likely" to be his last election. Earlier, addressing party office-bearers, district Congress committee heads at a meeting, organised by the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, he urged party men to "recharge" themselves to face the Lok Sabha polls. He said though there were strong expectations that the party will retain power in the Assembly polls, he said "we lost due to false campaign by the BJP." "Let's prepare ourselves for the Lok Sabha polls, defeating BJP in that election should be our only target," he was quoted as saying by his office in a statement. The former chief minister also hit out the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre and targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi "for not fulfilling the promises made to people." "The prime minister is like a "drama artiste... what people need is Kaam ki Baat and not Man ki Baat," he added. Reuters The latest round of US tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods could hit the Apple Watch, health trackers, streaming music speakers and other accessories assembled in China, government rulings on tariffs show. The rulings name Apple Incs watch, several Fitbit Inc activity trackers and connected speakers from Sonos Inc. While consumer technologys biggest sellers such as mobile phones and laptops so far have faced little danger of import duties, the rulings show that gadget makers are unlikely to be spared altogether and may have to consider price hikes on products that millions of consumers use every day. The devices have all been determined by US Customs and Border Patrol officials to fall under an obscure subheading of data transmission machines in the sprawling list of US tariff codes. And that particular subheading is included in the more than 6,000 such codes in President Donald Trumps most recent round of proposed tariffs released earlier this month. That $200 billion list of tariffs is in a public comment period. But if the list goes into effect this fall, the products from Apple, Fitbit, and Sonos could face a 10 percent tariff. The specific products listed in customs rulings are the original Apple Watch; Fitbits Charge, Charge HR and Surge models; and Sonoss Play:3, Play:5 and SUB speakers. All three companies declined to comment on the proposed tariff list. But in its filing earlier this month to become a publicly traded company, Sonos said that the imposition of tariffs and other trade barriers, as well as retaliatory trade measures, could require us to raise the prices of our products and harm our sales. The New York Times has reported that Trump told Apple CEO Tim Cook during a meeting in May that the US government would not levy tariffs on iPhones assembled in China, citing a person familiar with the meeting. The way the president has been using his trade authority, you have direct examples of him using his authority to target specific products and companies, said Sage Chandler, vice president for international trade policy at the Consumer Technology Association. The toll from tariffs on the gadget worlds smaller product lines could be significant. Sonos and Fitbit do not break out individual product sales, but collectively they had $2.6 billion in revenue last year. Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi estimates that the Apple Watch alone will bring in $9.9 billion in sales this year, though that estimate includes sales outside the United States that the tariff would not touch. It is possible that the products from Apple, Fitbit, and Sonos no longer fall under tariff codes in the $200 billion list, trade experts said. The codes applied to specific products are only public knowledge because their makers asked regulators to rule on their proper classification. And some of the products have been replaced by newer models that could be classified differently. But if companies have products whose tariff codes are on the list, they have three options, experts said: Advocate to get the code dropped from the list during the public comment period, apply for an exclusion once tariffs go into effect, or try to have their products classified under a different code not on the list. The last option could prove difficult due to the thousands of codes covered, said one former US trade official. tech2 News Staff HMD Global launched the Nokia 3.1 earlier this week in India at a price of Rs 10,499 and the smartphone finally goes on sale today. Available in three colour combinations Blue/Copper, Black/Chrome and White/Iron, the Nokia 3.1 will be available beginning today on Paytm Mall and Nokia.com. There are a bunch of offers for early buyers as well. Consumers who will be buying the Nokia 3.1 from a retail outlet by scanning the Paytm Mall QR code will get 10 percent cashback on recharges and bill payments on Paytm. Customers will additionally get two Rs 250 movie cashback vouchers which can be redeemed against booking minimum two movie tickets via Paytm. If you are an ICICI Bank credit or debit card holder, you get a 5 percent cashback while Idea and Vodafone consumers also get specific offers. On a recharge of Rs 149 pack, users get 1 GB data per day, unlimited calls and 100 SMS (per day) for 28 days. Further, consumers upgrading from a 2G or a 3G phone to the new Nokia 3.1 will get 1 GB of data per day for 28 days. If you are a heavy user, for a recharge of Rs 595, you will get unlimited calls, 100 SMS per day and 18 GB data for 6 months. As far as specifications of the Nokia 3.1 are concerned, it features a 5.2-inch HD display with an 18:9 aspect ratio and a 2.5D curved glass on top. It comes with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of onboard storage which is further expandable to 256 GB via a microSD card. Inside, it packs a MediaTek 6750N chipset and features a 13 MP camera unit on the back and an 8 MP f/2.0 aperture wide-angle lens on the front for selfies. Battery duties are handled by a 2,990 mAh unit inside. Reuters NASA is preparing to send a probe closer to the Sun than any other spacecraft has ventured, enduring wicked heat while zooming through the solar corona to study this outermost part of the stellar atmosphere that gives rise to the solar wind. The Parker Solar Probe, a robotic spacecraft the size of a small car, is slated to launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida, with 5 August targeted as the launch date for the planned seven-year mission. It is set to fly into the Suns corona within 3.8 million miles (6.1 million km) from the solar surface, seven times closer than any other spacecraft. To send a probe where you havent been before is ambitious. To send it into such brutal conditions is highly ambitious, Nicola Fox, a project scientist from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, told a news conference on Friday. The previous closest pass to the Sun was by a probe called Helios 2, which in 1976 came within 27 million miles (43 million km). By way of comparison, the average distance from the Sun for Earth is 93 million miles (150 million km). The corona gives rise to the solar wind, a continuous flow of charged particles that permeates the solar system. Unpredictable solar winds cause disturbances in our planets magnetic field and can play havoc with communications technology on Earth. NASA hopes the findings will enable scientists to forecast changes in Earths space environment. Its of fundamental importance for us to be able to predict this space weather, much like we predict weather here on Earth, said Alex Young, a solar scientist at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. In the most extreme cases of these space weather events, it can actually affect our power grids here on Earth. The project, with a $1.5 billion price tag, is the first major mission under NASAs Living With a Star program. The probe is set to use seven Venus flybys over nearly seven years to steadily reduce its orbit around the Sun, using instruments designed to image the solar wind and study electric and magnetic fields, coronal plasma and energetic particles. NASA aims to collect data about the inner workings of the highly magnetized corona. The probe, named after American solar astrophysicist Eugene Newman Parker, will have to survive difficult heat and radiation conditions. It has been outfitted with a heat shield designed to keep its instruments at a tolerable 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29 degrees Celsius) even as the spacecraft faces temperatures reaching nearly 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,370 degrees Celsius) at its closest pass. LONDON (Reuters) - Charlie Rowley, one of two Britons poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok last month, was released from hospital on Friday. Rowley, 45, and Dawn Sturgess, 44, fell ill after being exposed to the poison in southwest England, close to where Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were attacked with the same substance in March. 'I am pleased to confirm that earlier today, Charlie Rowley was discharged from hospital LONDON (Reuters) - Charlie Rowley, one of two Britons poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok last month, was released from hospital on Friday. Rowley, 45, and Dawn Sturgess, 44, fell ill after being exposed to the poison in southwest England, close to where Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were attacked with the same substance in March. "I am pleased to confirm that earlier today, Charlie Rowley was discharged from hospital. Charlie has been through an appalling experience most of us could never imagine," Lorna Wilkinson, Director of Nursing at Salisbury District Hospital, said in a statement. Sturgess died earlier this month and her death is being treated as murder. Britain blamed Russia for the poisoning of the Skripals. The Kremlin denied involvement and the incident sparked mass tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions as relations between the countries soured. Police say the source of the Novichok which killed Sturgess was a small bottle they found in Rowley's house, and more than 400 items have been recovered as part of the murder investigation. Paul Cosford of Public Health England said it was safe for Rowley to leave hospital. "Mr Rowley's discharge creates no risk to anyone in the community," he added in a statement. (Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Stephen Addison) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. The US Defence Department, days after Helsinki summit said that it would give $200 million to Ukraine to help the war-torn nation bolster its military's defensive capabilities. Washington: The US Defence Department said on Friday that it would give $200 million to Ukraine to help the war-torn nation bolster its military's defensive capabilities. The amount is part of a series of Pentagon payments now totalling more than $1 billion to Ukraine since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea. Ukraine is fighting a separatist insurgency in its Russian-speaking eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk. All of the military aid, which comes from the Pentagon's security cooperation funds, will be non-lethal in nature. "The added funds will provide equipment to support ongoing training programs and operational needs, including capabilities to enhance Ukraine's command and control, situational awareness systems, secure communications, military mobility, night vision, and military medical treatment," the Pentagon said in a statement. The announcement came days after US President Donald Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin sparked outrage at home, where even some Republicans said the US leader had been far too conciliatory to his counterpart. More than 10,000 people have been killed since the Moscow-backed insurgency broke out in April 2014 following Russia's annexation of Crimea. Ukraine and its Western allies accuse Russia of funnelling troops and arms to the pro-Moscow rebels across the border. Moscow denies the allegations. The conflict has become a focal point of stresses in the Washington-Moscow relationship, with the US hitting Russia with stiff economic sanctions. By Aref Mohammed BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - Thousands of Iraqis angry about poor services protested in southern cities and Baghdad on Friday, calling for the downfall of political parties as they escalated demonstrations backed by the country's most powerful clerics. By Aref Mohammed BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - Thousands of Iraqis angry about poor services protested in southern cities and Baghdad on Friday, calling for the downfall of political parties as they escalated demonstrations backed by the country's most powerful clerics. In the oil hub of Basra, crumbling from years of neglect and under-investment, about 3,000 protesters gathered outside the headquarters of the provincial governorate. "The people want the downfall of political parties!" they chanted, a slogan similar to one used in the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, as politicians struggled to form a new government following a May 12 election marred by allegations of corruption. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is seeking a second term, promised his Shi'ite-led government would fund electricity and water projects in Basra, where the colour of tap water is often brown because it contains dirt and mud. "The promises they make are all lies," said Khaled Hassan, 42, a health worker in Basra. "We will not keep quiet." On Thursday, powerful Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose bloc finished first in the election, said politicians should suspend efforts to form a coalition until the protesters' demands are met. Sadr, whose militiamen staged violent uprisings against U.S. forces after the 2003 invasion, has in the past mobilised tens of thousands of people to press his demands. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most influential cleric in Iraq, has also expressed solidarity with the demonstrators. Protests have swept cities in the south, Iraq's Shi'ite heartland. Three protesters have died and dozens of members of the security forces have been injured. Police fired in the air and wielded batons and tear gas in the Euphrates river city of Nasiriya when hundreds protested outside the house of the provincial governor. "We are demanding the sacking of the governor and removal of all corrupt officials from the province," said Faris Abdel Karim, an activist who helped organise the protest. Some of the protests have taken place at the entrance to major oilfields. Officials say production has not been affected. On Friday, about 300 people vented their anger in one of Baghdad's main squares. One held up a posters which read: "The revolution of the poor." Riot police used water cannons to try and disperse the crowd. (Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Mark Heinrich) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Air strikes by Israel in the Palestinian territories of Gaza claimed three lives. The attack took place a week after a ceasefire agreement between Egypt and UN Gaza City: Israeli forces unleashed a wave of deadly strikes across the Gaza Strip after a soldier was shot dead along the border. A ceasefire agreement was reached early Saturday after Egyptian and United Nations (UN) mediation, a spokesman for Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas said, reducing fears of a wider conflict. On friday, three Hamas militants were killed as air raids sent fireballs exploding into the sky over Gaza, while Israel said rockets had been fired back at its territory. The UNs urged all sides to step "back from the brink" after months of increasing tensions, with a fourth Palestinian shot dead during protests along the border with Israel. The flare-up is the latest as demonstrations and clashes on the frontier since March have seen at least 149 Palestinians killed. The soldier was the first Israeli killed in that time. The army said "a terrorist squad shot" him on the border with southern Gaza, without naming him. A spokesman told AFP it was the first time an Israeli soldier had been killed in or around Gaza during operations since the most recent war in 2014. The UNs envoy for the West Asia peace process, Nickolay Mladenov, said "everyone in Gaza needs to step back from the brink. Not next week. Not tomorrow. Right NOW!" "Those who want to provoke Palestinians and Israelis into another war must not succeed," he wrote on Twitter. Later Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the UN and Egypt had helped negotiate a ceasefire, with an agreement reached "to return to the previous state of calm between the (Israeli) occupation and the Palestinian factions". Israel did not confirm the deal, which was the second such ceasefire agreement in a week. Earlier the Israeli military said its aircraft and tanks targeted 40 Hamas posts and that the strikes formed part of a "wide-scale attack" in response to the border shooting. Air raids continued into Friday evening, with a number of explosions in different parts of Gaza, AFP correspondents said. The military wing of Hamas, which has fought three wars with Israel since 2008, said three of its fighters were killed in strikes. Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman warned of a "much tougher" response to any fresh missile fire by Hamas after the army reported "three launches" from the territory, two of which were intercepted. Israeli media reported Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received an emergency briefing from the army on the violence. Last weekend saw the most severe exchange of fire between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza since the 2014 war. Israel hit dozens of sites it said belonged to militants in the Gaza Strip in last Saturday's strikes, killing two Palestinian teenagers. The same day, around 200 rockets and mortars were fired at Israel from Gaza and four Israelis were wounded when a rocket hit a house in the nearby Israeli city of Sderot. Since protests broke out on 30 March, at least 149 Palestinians have been killed. Most were shot during demonstrations and clashes along the border, but others were killed in air strikes or by tank fire. For more than a week, Israel has been hardening its response to kites and incendiary balloons launched from Gaza, which authorities say have set ablaze more than 2,600 hectares (6,400 acres) on Israeli territory. In recent days, the Israeli army has opened fire at groups launching such devices. Lieberman has raised the threat of a large-scale operation in the Gaza Strip if Hamas does not stop the kites and balloons being launched. Israeli television this week broadcast footage of army training manoeuvres for an incursion into the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu also toured the border region for the first time since the start of the clashes. Government officials such as Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan have called for systematic attacks on kite launchers. Israel has also further tightened its blockade of Gaza by restricting use of the only goods crossing, suspending oil and gas deliveries. Chutikul said his position became untenable ahead of a second full meeting of the panel with officials in Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw this week. Yangon: A key member of an international advisory panel on Myanmar's crisis-hit Rakhine state has resigned, telling AFP on Saturday that the Aung San Suu Kyi-appointed board risks becoming "part of the problem" in a conflict that forced 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee. Retired Thai lawmaker and ambassador Kobsak Chutikul was secretary for the panel hand-picked by civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi to advise her government on how to handle the aftermath of a military campaign that drove the minority out of the country. The brutal crackdown started in August last year and left hundreds of Rohingya villages razed to the ground. Refugees to Bangladesh have recounted horrifying testimony of widespread murder, rape and torture in violence the United Nations and US have branded as ethnic cleansing. Chutikul said his position became untenable ahead of a second full meeting of the panel with officials in Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw this week. "I verbally gave my resignation in a staff meeting last Tuesday (10 July)," he told AFP by phone from Bangkok. The board, he said, risks becoming "part of the problem." "It lulls authorities into thinking they have done enough to respond to the concerns of the international community, that theyve ticked that box," he added. "It becomes dangerous in terms of an illusion that something is being done... that theyre going to do something while Rome burns." Winging it The credibility of the advisory board was undermined early on by the resignation of veteran US Diplomat Governor Bill Richardson a one-time close confidant of Suu Kyi. He left the panel in January in a vicious war of words with the Nobel laureate. The government insisted it had terminated his involvement but Richardson said he stepped down due to fears the committee would only "whitewash" the causes of the Rohingya crisis. A statement made by his office on Saturday said that Kobsak's resignation "further reinforces the concerns" he held. Chutikul, however, told AFP that he thought Governor Richardson's departure had been premature. But he said the board's poor organisation and funding severely curtailed its work. "We were winging it on the fly, not really in full grasp of the full facts and figures. Everyone was all over the place we don't have a permanent office anywhere," he told AFP. Suu Kyi's reputation lies in tatters internationally for her failure to speak up on behalf of the Rohingya Muslims, a stateless group persecuted over decades in Myanmar. There was no immediate reaction from her office or the panel. The advisory board has so far dismayed rights groups for not mentioning the word 'Rohingya' a name Buddhist-majority Myanmar rejects, preferring the pejorative term 'Bengali' that implies the community are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Chutikul said the international community should rally round new UN special envoy Christine Schraner Burgener, who he said "offers the best hope in the circumstances." The Ganga Talao also known as the Grand Bassin is a crater lake situated in a secluded mountain area in the district of Savanne, deep in the heart of Mauritius. It is about 1,800 feet above sea level. Port Louis: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today visited the Ganga Talao, considered to be the most sacred Hindu place in Mauritius, and offered prayers at the temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. Modi, who held talks with Mauritius' top leadership last night, began the second day of his trip here by visiting the holy site in the morning and performing 'puja' and 'aarti' at the temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. "This morning I went to Ganga Talao. I felt a personal connection that comes from the banks of Ganga in my constituency -- Benaras," Modi said while addressing the National Assembly of Mauritius. "And, I understood the powerful links of heart that have endured time and distance in this magnificent land. Today, these links form the firmest foundation of our relationship," he said. The Ganga Talao also known as the Grand Bassin is a crater lake situated in a secluded mountain area in the district of Savanne, deep in the heart of Mauritius. It is about 1,800 feet above sea level. The first group of pilgrims who went to Ganga Talao were from the village of Triolet and it was led by Pandit Giri Gossayne from Terre Rouge in 1898. It is considered the most sacred Hindu place in Mauritius and a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is situated on the lake-side. During Shivaratri, many pilgrims in Mauritius walk bare feet from their homes to the lake. PTI UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told United Nations Security Council envoys on Friday that there needs to be concrete actions by North Korea before an easing of sanctions on Pyongyang can be discussed, said Dutch U.N. UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told United Nations Security Council envoys on Friday that there needs to be concrete actions by North Korea before an easing of sanctions on Pyongyang can be discussed, said Dutch U.N. Ambassador Karel van Oosterom. The secretary made very clear we need concrete deeds, concrete actions and only then we can start the discussion, van Oosterom told reporters after Pompeo informally briefed envoys from the 15-member council, Japan and South Korea behind closed doors at the South Korea U.N. mission. It was not immediately clear if Pompeo elaborated on what concrete actions. Van Oosterom chairs the Security Councils North Korea sanctions committee. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By James Oliphant AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Republicans on Friday voted to hold their 2020 presidential nominating convention in Charlotte, making North Carolina the road to U.S. President Donald Trump's re-election. By James Oliphant AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Republicans on Friday voted to hold their 2020 presidential nominating convention in Charlotte, making North Carolina the road to U.S. President Donald Trump's re-election. The Southern swing state is critical to Trumps chances of seeing a second term in the White House, and has been a highly coveted prize for both the Republican and Democratic parties in recent elections. Democrat Barack Obama won the states 15 electoral votes in 2008, but Republicans have captured the state since, with nominee Mitt Romney winning in 2012 and Trump doing so in 2016. The Republican National Committee, which has been holding its summer meeting in Austin, Texas, unanimously approved Charlotte's bid on Friday. "We're going to Charlotte," RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said after the vote, adding that she expects Trump and Vice President Mike Pence to be formally nominated for a second term at the convention. Trump has already formed a re-election campaign committee, which as of June 30 had $33 million in its coffers, according to federal election records. It remains possible Trump could see a primary challenge from another Republican, but no such candidate has yet stepped forward. Trump held a campaign fundraiser in North Carolina as recently as October. The only other city that was seriously considered to host the convention was Las Vegas. The party's 2016 nominating convention in Cleveland was estimated to have generated $188 million in economic benefit, according to the event host committee. But Trump, the most divisive president in recent times, also brings headaches. Charlotte may see hordes of protesters. The citys council this week voted to approve the convention bid by a single vote after a public meeting in which about 100 residents testified. Democrats held their nominating convention in Charlotte just six years ago in 2012. "It's a big day for our city," said Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, who attended the vote. Lyles is a Democrat. The Democrats have not picked a city for their 2020 convention yet, but the party has narrowed the field to Houston, Milwaukee or Miami Beach, Florida. (Reporting by James Oliphant; editing by Jonathan Oatis) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday said her government had protected Bangladesh's interests while maintaining friendly relations with India Dhaka: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday said her government had protected Bangladesh's interests while maintaining friendly relations with India even as she blamed past Bangladeshi leaders for making compromises when in power. They all Zia, Khaleda Zia and Ershad uttered anti-Indian words in public but were out to please India for their own narrow gains, she said at a reception by her ruling Awami League, as she referred to the past regimes of Ziaur Rahman, Khaleda Zia, and Muhammad Ershad. Hasina recounted her government's achievements in inking deals with India for a fair share in the Ganges waters and ending a 68-year-long pending enclave and land boundary dispute and amicable settlements of the maritime boundary in international tribunals. We did all these maintaining friendly relations . . . the LBA (land boundary agreement) was passed in the Indian Parliament in a festive manner with consent of all parties there, she said. Hasina's comments came as Bangladesh is set for its next general election in the year-end as relations with India are emerging as a political issue. Traditionally, the Awami League is largely regarded as an India-friendly party while former premier Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is generally known for its tough stance on India. Hasina also blasted the 'Prevent Boat' campaign, referring to her party's poll symbol, ahead of the election. "There is a quarter in the country who doesn't see any development and some are saying that the boat will have to be resisted. My question is do those who want to thwart the boat want to bring the Razakars and war criminals in power?" she said. The premier said the people of the country won independence and the right to speak in their mother tongue by voting for the Awami League. "Bangladesh has become self-reliant in food, entered the nuclear club, launched its first-ever satellite and brought down poverty to 22 per cent as the people gave mandate in favour of the 'boat'," she said. Unemployment protests in Iraq close in on the capital Baghdad. The police firing has so far claimed 9 lives in the southern part of the country Diwaniyah (Iraq): A man was killed on Friday in a new day of protests in Iraq, a medical source said, as authorities struggle to contain social unrest which has reached the capital Baghdad. The latest death brings the number of people killed in protests to nine as Iraqis hit out at a litany of social and economic woes. The man killed was aged around 20 and died after being shot in the southern city of Diwaniyah, a medical source said, as hundreds of people gathered outside the local headquarters of an armed group. Shots were fired by a guard from the powerful Iranian-backed Badr organisation, the source added, asking not to be name. The unrest erupted in Basra province on 8 July when security forces opened fire, killing one person as protesters demanded jobs and basic services. Others killed during July's protests were shot by unknown assailants. The Iraqi government has swiftly denounced "vandals" it accuses of infiltrating the protests. Earlier this week, authorities said more than 260 security personnel had been wounded in ongoing clashes. As southern Iraqis continued to rally against corruption, unemployment, high prices, power cuts and a lack of clean water, demonstrators also rallied in the capital Baghdad on Friday. "We believed that these politicians would improve the situation in the country, but they aren't doing anything," said Yahya Hasnawi, 50, one of thousands of protesters in Baghdad. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asked the UN Security Council on Friday to keep up the pressure on North Korea by guaranteeing full application of the sanctions on Pyongyang. United Nations: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asked the UN Security Council on Friday to keep up the pressure on North Korea by guaranteeing full application of the sanctions on Pyongyang. Pompeo, in a statement to the media, said that this punishment should not let up until North Korean leader Kim Jong-un keeps his promise to proceed toward denuclearisation, EFE reported. The United States government remains "optimistic" about the chances to make progress with North Korea, but believes that when sanctions are not adequately applied, the possibilities of success diminish, he said. Pompeo on Friday met with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha in New York and with the Japanese ambassador before addressing a closed session of the Security Council. The meeting was the first between Pompeo and the Security Council since US President Donald Trump's meeting in Singapore with North Korea's Kim. Pompeo also informed the other powers about the results of his visit this month to Pyongyang. "The UN Security Council is united on the need for final, fully verified denuclearisation of North Korea as agreed to by Chairman Kim. Members of the UN Security Council and by extension all UN member-states have unanimously agreed to fully enforce sanctions on North Korea and we expect them to continue to honour those commitments," Pompeo told reporters. "When sanctions are not enforced the prospects for the successful denuclearisation of North Korea is diminished," he said. The US reported last week to the UN that North Korea was violating the sanctions imposed on it, importing more petroleum products than the amount permitted by means of ship-to-ship transfers on the high seas. For that reason, Washington asked the Security Council to order all sales of those products to Pyongyang stopped immediately, a request that for now has been blocked by Russia and China, which have asked for additional information before proceeding. US president Donald Trump threatened to slap $500 bn worth of tariffs on Chinese imports but, he reiterated the fact that he wanted good bilateral relations with China Washington: President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to slap China with $ 500 billion worth of tariffs on import of their products into the US. "I'm ready to go to 500," Trump told CNBC News in an interview. He was referring to the $ 500 billion worth of import from China to the US every year. Trump said he is doing this in the national interest. I'm not doing this for politics. I'm doing this to do the right thing for our country. We have been ripped off by China for a long time, and I told that to President Xi (Jinping), he said. The US, he reiterated is being taken advantage of by countries like China. We are being taking advantage of and I don't like it, he said. I would have a higher stock market right now. It could be 80 percent (since the election) if I didn't want to do this, said the president. "I don't want them to be scared. I want them to do well," the US president said of China. "I really like President Xi a lot. But it was very unfair." The US-China spat is the largest and broadest of several trade fights picked by Trump. In excerpts of the interview released on Thursday Trump had broken with the long-established executive branch practice of not commenting on the Federal Reserve's decisions out of respect for its independence. "I'm not thrilled," Trump said, adding "Because we go up and every time you go up they want to raise rates again." After weeks of unproductive parleys, the US early in July slapped 25 percent tariffs on about $ 34 billion of Chinese mechanical and technological products evoking a swift response from China which said it would hit back equally. US defence secretary Jim Mattis on Friday spoke in support of waivers for sanctions being imposed against nations buying military gear from Russia. Washington: US defence secretary Jim Mattis on Friday spoke in support of waivers for sanctions being imposed against nations buying military gear from Russia. The move comes amid concerns that imposing sanctions, particularly in the case of India and other Asian allies, could threaten friendly relationships that the US has been working to bolster in recent years. India, the world's top defense importer, has purchased Russian military hardware and expertise for decades, and has been in talks with Moscow to buy S-400 long range surface-to-air missile systems. Last year, US lawmakers, seeking to punish Russia for its efforts to undermine Western democracy, passed the Counter America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, or CAATSA. "Russia should suffer consequences for its aggressive, destabilising behavior and its illegal occupation of Ukraine," Mattis said in a statement. "However, as we impose necessary and well-deserved costs for their malign behavior, providing the Secretary of State with a CAATSA waiver authority is imperative." Under CAATSA, any entity doing business with Russia's state, semi-state and private defense and intelligence sectors could face economic sanctions. Appropriate CAATSA waivers allow "nations to build a closer security relationship with the US as they continue to transition from reliance on Russian military equipment," said Mattis, who visited India last year. India has increasingly turned to the US and France for arms purchases, but is still reliant on Russian hardware and expertise to maintain its existing arsenal. Mattis said the main question is whether the US wants to strengthen "partners in key regions or leave them with no other option than to turn to Russia." Amid this week's fallout from President Donald Trump's widely criticised performance at the Helsinki summit with President Vladimir Putin, some Democrats called for a tightening of Russia sanctions. In August last year, US lawmakers, angered by Russia's alleged meddling in the US presidential election and invasion of Ukraine, passed CAATSA over objections from the White House to oblige a reluctant Trump to cast a wider sanctions net and prevent him from scaling back existing measures. The State Department did not directly comment on Mattis's suggestion of sanctions waivers. "This administration is fully committed to implementing CAATSA," a State Department spokesperson told AFP. "We have discussed CAATSA with the government of India, and the United States is working with our partners including India to help them identify and avoid engaging in potentially sanctionable activity." In a relief to telecom customers in India, TRAI in unsolicited commercial communication rules under which an individual can now revoke permission that they have granted to any commercial entity for a service. A month after the rules are notified, users can set their preferences on when they would like to receive commercial communications as well as preferred modes of communication- call or SMS. Under these new norms, TRAI has asked telecom operators to allow customers to set their preference using a mobile app that is developed by them or the regulator, by sending SMS to 1909, website, etc. without paying any money for these services. This is a new addition to existing options for subscribers to partially or fully block any commercial communication. Trai has increased the penalty cap on telecom operators Rs 50 lakh in a month from Rs 5 lakh in previous regulations for violations of the norms. Telecom operators are given 120 days to ensure the modification made by subscribers around receiving tele-marketing or business calls is updated in 15 minutes, and commercial communication is caused by the customer as per the modified choice after 24 hours of request. Furthermore, to prevent leakages of subscriber information, the regulator ordered telecom operators to take measures and ensure that in 120 days of the new data rules being notified, data of users should not be visible in clear text to even person authorised to use machines for making tele-marketing calls, says TRAI. The regulator has also barred silent calls even from registered telemarketers., but given a conditional nod to automated calls. On a different note, Mobile operators will also be forced to shut down Apple iPhones on if the company fails to install a pesky call app on its phones within the next six months. The company has been refusing to install any such app despite pressure from the telecom regulatory. However, with the new change in regulatory rules announced by TRAI, things might change for Apple soon. Mobile operators are required to provide an app which allows subscribers to report and set preferences about any telemarketing calls and SMS. The Apples in-house app must need TRAIs approval. Digging a little deep, it is found that Apple filed a fresh proposal with the regulator last month with an in-house offering, but that seems to have failed to find acceptance. In a statement TRAI said: Authority decides that request of preference registration, deregistration or modification should be done within 15 minutes and recommends that revised preferences be enforced within a time period of twenty-four hours from the time of registering preference or changes to it. Source A job change can mean a bigger paycheck, but if you're not careful, it could cost you a lot of money if the retirement plan offered by your prospective employer isn't a good one. A good 401(k) or 403(b) plan can help you save more money faster, giving you the best shot at retiring when you want to. Read on to learn what questions you should ask to find out if the retirement plan available to you makes switching jobs smart. Why the retirement plan matters According to Transamerica's 18th annual survey of American workers, only 18% of workers are very confident that they'll be able to maintain their lifestyle in retirement. Given that people are living longer than ever, there's a real risk of running out of money in retirement. In the past, retirees could count on pensions to pay them a certain percentage of their past income in retirement. Nowadays, retirees rely heavily on Social Security and savings to cover their expenses, but unfortunately, those sources of retirement income often fall short. In 2018, the average person is receiving $16,848 in Social Security income, and according to Transamerica, the typical baby boomer has just $164,000 in retirement savings. At the 4% annual withdrawal rate recommended by advisors, those savings would only provide an extra $6,560 per year. Granted, everyone's needs in retirement will be different, but I don't think it's a stretch to think many retirees will find it difficult to fulfill their retirement dreams on that amount of income. Therefore, it's more important than ever to make the most of employer-sponsored retirement plans. When am I eligible? The first question you should ask about your future retirement plan is if there's a waiting period to enroll in it. Because of compound interest, which is the ability to earn interest on interest, every month an employer makes you wait to enroll can cost your nest egg thousands of dollars, depending on your age and contribution rate. The best plans will allow you to enroll immediately. For example, a person who contributes 10% of their $48,000 salary starting at age 30 would wind up with $534,887 at age 65 if their return averages 6% per year. However, by starting one year later, that person's nest egg would drop to $500,082 at age 65. Do you match? It's also important to ask prospective employers if they'll match your contributions to your retirement plan. Most companies offer at least some matching, but the amount varies widely and some plans don't match at all. The most common matching formula offered by employers is $0.50 for every $1 up to 6% of your income. The second most common is $1 for every $1 up to 3% of pay, and then $0.50 for every $1 on the next 2% of pay. Overall, about 60% of Americans are enrolled in plans that offer some match of between 3% to 6% of pay, and across all employers, the median match is 4% of pay. If your job offer includes a match that's higher than that, then you've got a much better shot at a higher retirement income. For example, let's say you're 30 years old, you're matched $0.50 on the $1 up to 3%, you earn $48,000 per year, and your investment averages a 6% return per year. At age 65, you'd have $634,933 in retirement savings. Now let's imagine your employer matches you $1 for $1 up to 5% per year. In that scenario, you're retirement nest egg would total $828,174, or $193,241 more! When will I be vested? When you'll be vested in your plan is crucial because the vesting schedule determines how long you'll have to work for your employer before its contributions are yours to keep forever. Roughly half of plans allow immediate vesting for employer contributions, but many smaller employers use a multi-year schedule for vesting, and that means you'll give up some employer contributions if you want to switch jobs. According to Vanguard, 29% of plans use a five-year or six-year vesting schedule. Ideally, you want to work for a company that offers the shortest vesting schedule possible so you won't risk leaving money behind if you change jobs. How much will I pay in fees? According to TD Ameritrade, 37% of workers incorrectly think 401(k) and 403(b) plans are free. They're not. Plan participants are charged administrative fees and investment management fees, and they can be a big drag on your savings. The administrative fees may be paid by your employer, but you'll be on the hook for investment fees charged by the funds in which you invest. To find out how much you'll pay, look at each investment's expense ratio, or the proportion of your money that you'll pay in fees. For instance, if a fund has an expense ratio of 1.3%, you'll pay $1.30 for every $100 you have invested in that fund. While there are exceptions, passive funds, such as index mutual funds and index exchange-traded funds (ETF), usually have a lower expense ratio than actively managed mutual funds, which are run by professional portfolio managers. When considering fees, it may be helpful to consider the average fee that funds charge. The following table shows average expense ratios for common plan investment options in 2017, according to Morningstar. If your plan includes options with lower expense ratios than these, then more of your money will be allowed to compound over time, resulting in a bigger retirement savings account. Average Expense Ratios in 2017 Investment type Fee Target-date funds 0.66% Index funds 0.30% Active funds 0.72% All 0.52% Keep these things in mind, too Over half of workers are covered by plans offering managed-account advice, sometimes without a fee, and that advice can be incredibly useful when constructing a retirement savings strategy that will evolve as you get older and your financial situation changes. Also, many plans offer a feature that lets you automatically increase your contribution rate by a fixed percentage every year. Taking advantage of this option is a great way to get to a point where you're contributing the maximum amount possible to your retirement account. According to Vanguard, over one-third of workers contribute less than the maximum their employer will match every year, and only 13% of people contribute the maximum allowed amount of $18,000 to these plans every year ($24,000 if you're age 50 and up). Don't be one of them. Overall, about 1 in 3 workers has less than $10,000 saved in their workplace retirement plan. Working for a company that offers the best retirement plan possible is one way to make sure you do better than that. Yaantra sells 500k refurbished smartphone in two years News oi-Priyanka Through this service, they aim to provide customers with a one-stop solution for over 60 percent of the most common mobile phone related issues, such as broken screens, unresponsive mics, and speakers Yaantra, an online marketplace for repair, refurb, and resale of smartphones said that it sold 500,000 units of refurbished smartphones in two years. CEO and Co-founder of the company Jayant Jha said that "The response that we got from selling refurbished smartphones is extremely positive and unbelievable. Along with affordability, the shorter upgrade cycles of smartphones these days is also fueling demand for used phones. It's impractical for one to invest in a new phone every 6 months, thus innovative services that Yaantra provides gives consumers a lot of relief, as mobile phones have now become an integral part of their daily lives." He said: "The sale of half a million refurbished phones is a testimony to our understanding of the market. We are grateful for this response and hope to up these numbers in the next year." The company has also launched their doorstep repair service in Delhi-NCR, and have extended this service to Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai and other neighboring areas. Through this service, Yaantra aims to provide customers with a one-stop solution for over 60 percent of the most common mobile phone related issues, such as broken screens, unresponsive mics, and speakers etc., all in less than 2 - 4hrs, at the convenience of their doorstep. According to a statement the company has slowly established itself as a one-stop shop for each phone related issue, accessible at the click of a button as well as at one's doorstep. Additionally, users still buy second-hand phones because they would rather opt for a refurbished phone with features they need, rather than settle for a new phone with lower specifications. The massive inflow and outflow of refurbished gadgets help them champion the cause of the reduction of e-waste being a serious issue in the country 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 Huawei leverages AI to make online shopping more convenient News oi-Priyanka Huawei India will ensure the ultimate shopping experience, coupled with other new exciting features that ease users into embracing the AI-enhanced life. With an aim to provide best features to Indian consumers, Huawei Consumer Business Group (CBG) on Friday announced the 'AI Shopping' feature that will enable an immersive online shopping experience with the launch of the Nova series in India. The AI shopping feature is also available on the Huawei P20 Pro through an OTA update. Packed with the Kirin 970 AI chip, the Nova series leverages innovative AI to usher in a new era of smart living. Commenting on the new features, ahead of the launch, Allen Wang, VP, Product, Huawei Consumer Business Group, India said, "Innovation is at the heart of everything we do at Huawei and India is one of our most important markets globally. With a strong R&D ecosystem globally, we are creating a lot of AI-related solutions which are available for our customers in India". "With the upcoming Huawei Nova Series we aim to offer enhanced AI features in Shopping, photography, image recognition and more- meaningfully impacting the lives of our customers in India," he added. Huawei India will ensure the ultimate shopping experience, coupled with other new exciting features that ease users into embracing the AI-enhanced life, the company said. The company pointed out that Indian consumers can further leverage the AI feature on Huawei nova to search for on-screen objects on Amazon.in while browsing or chatting with friends and family. Simply initiating a two-finger long-press on the image of desire or just by scanning the object, users will be able to find the item online for fast and hassle-free shopping. With HUAWEI nova series, users can conduct local queries using more complex definitions. Looking up a photo inside a massive database has never been easier. The AI smart gallery can automatically identify photos of eight major themes: gatherings, sports, travels, romantic moments, and curate a collection for users to revisit these moments at any time. As per an ASSOCHAM-Resurgent joint study, 20 million Indian consumers are expected to shop online this year, with mobile phones becoming the preferred choice of shopping. 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 Vous etes confrontes a une infestation par la puce, la punaise de lit ? Voici plusieurs actions qui sont a mettre en uvre pour faire [] New renders show Samsung Galaxy Note 9 in Lilac Purple shade News oi-Rohit Samsung is expected to launch Galaxy Note 9 on August 9, 2018 in USA. South Korean smartphone giant Samsung is all set to unveil the next generation Galaxy Note device. The Galaxy Note 9 will be unveiled on August 9, 2018, in a global launch event in the US market. The new Note phablet has been making news for quite a few months now and is expected to bring a number of technological advancements in features and performance department. Moreover, a new report suggests that Samsung will also unveil the new Note phablet in an all-new color variant. As per a report on GSMarena.com, a new render has popped up online showing the Galaxy Note 9 in new Lilac Purple shade. This doesn't come up as a surprise to us as Samsung has previously introduced the same color variant in the Galaxy S9 line-up. It will be interesting to see how consumers will react to the new Purple color shade on the Galaxy Note series, which has always been considered as productivity oriented devices from the house of Samsung. Notably, Galaxy Note 9 is expected to flaunt a 6.3-inch Super AMOLED display, with a resolution of 1440 x 2960 pixels. As it goes with every generation, Samsung will unveil the new Note 9 with Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform in the US market. The new phablet will be introduced running the Exynos 9810 chipset paired with 6GB of RAM and 64GB internal memory in the Indian market. Both the chipsets are based on 10nm FinFET technology and offer an impressive flagship class performance. We are also expected Samsung to unveil Galaxy Note 9 in 128GB and 256GB internal storage variant. Samsung is expected to ship the Note 9 with a dual-lens camera setup. We might also get to see a big 4,000mAh battery unit on this year's Note device. Importantly, the new Galaxy Note 9 will be accompanied with a revamped S Pen, which as per some reports come with extended abilities. The new S Pen is expected to come with Bluetooth connectivity which will allow you to control music playback, click a picture and do a lot more without even touching the new Note 9. Coming back on the color variants, Samsung is expected to launch Galaxy Note 9 in three colors; Black, Purple, and Gray. Stay tuned on Gizbot.com for more updates on Galaxy Note 9 launch. Source 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 A2 and Mi A2 Lite pricing out prior to July 24 launch News oi-Abhinaya Prabhu Here are the alleged pricing of the Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite. It has been confirmed that Xiaomi Mi A2 will be unveiled on July 24 in Spain. There are speculations that the company could unveil two smartphones - the Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite at the launch event. Now, the alleged pricing and shipping dates of both these devices have emerged online, thanks a couple of Romanian stores. Xiaomi Mi A2 price A Romanian site QuickMobile.ro has listed the Xiaomi Mi A2 with 32GB and 64GB storage capacities for RON 1273 (approx. Rs. 22,000) and RON 1400 (approx. Rs. 14,200) respectively. Notably, both these storage variants will have 4GB RAM and will be shipped in 7 days. Contradictorily, another site PCGarage.ro has listed the same smartphone for RON 1400 (approx. Rs. 14,200) and RON 1600 (approx. Rs. 27,600) for the two variants. In addition to charging a higher amount, this website claims that the availability is 11 days for now. Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite price When it comes to the Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite, QuickMobile has listed the smartphone for RON 933 (approx. Rs. 16,000) and RON 1130 (approx. Rs. 19,500) for the 3GB + 32GB and 4GB + 64GB variants. Similar to the Mi A2, PCGarage has listed the variants of the Mi A2 Lite for a relatively higher pricing of RON 1000 (approx. Rs. 17,200) and RON 1200 (approx. Rs. 20,700) respectively. Otherwise, the availability dates appear to be the same. What we know so far Just like last year, the Xiaomi Mi A2 is said to be the global variant of the Mi 6X, which was launched in China earlier this year. While there will be no changes in terms of specifications and features, the only difference will be in the OS front. The Mi A2 will be an Android One smartphone. Talking about the Mi A2 Lite, the smartphone is expected to be the international variant of the recently launched Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro. This device is also said to run stock Android One instead of MIUI. Notably, both these smartphones have been circulating in several rumors and leaks. One of the reports tipped that the Xiaomi Mi A2 will arrive in four storage configurations and three color variants. A recent report citing a leaked image hinted that the Mi A2 Lite will be launched in Red, Blue and Black color variants. However, we need to wait for the official unveiling of these smartphones to know more. Via 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 UK using child spies in police and intelligence operations: Report Iran Press TV Fri Jul 20, 2018 02:09PM British police and intelligence agencies are using children as spies in covert operations against terrorists, gangs and drug dealers, a new UK parliamentary report has revealed. Some of the minors tasked with gathering intelligence are under 16, the report published last week by a House of Lords review committee said. The report also warned about the UK government's plan to give law enforcement bodies even more freedom over their use of children. "We are concerned that enabling a young person to participate in covert activity associated with serious crime for an extended period of time may increase the risks to their mental and physical welfare," said the committee, chaired by David Trefgarne, the second longest serving member in the UK Parliament's upper house. Home Office correspondence with the committee, published in the report, suggests children are not only used to furnish the police with information, but are also assigned to collect information on behalf of agencies. The report does not specify how many people under 18 have been deployed as a covert human intelligence source (CHIS). Britain's Home Office, the ministry responsible for law and order within the UK, said covert operatives under 18 may have unique access to information, particularly with criminal gangs, but are used "in very small numbers." "Given that young people are increasingly involved, both as perpetrators and victims, in serious crimes including terrorism, gang violence, county lines drugs offenses and child sexual exploitation, there is increasing scope for juvenile CHIS to assist in both preventing and prosecuting such offenses," Ben Wallace, a Home Office official, said in response to a request for clarifications from the committee. Rights Watch UK, a charity focused on national security measures, said Thursday it was "gravely concerned" by the proposals and the broader use of children as spies. "Under domestic and international law, decisions which affect children must be taken in their best interests. Their welfare must be the primary consideration. It is difficult to imagine any circumstance where it would be in a child's best interest to be used as an informant," the group said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address British Man Exposed To Novichok Released From Hospital July 20, 2018 A British man who was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok has recovered sufficiently to be released from the hospital, authorities say. Health officials on July 20 said 45-year-old Charlie Rowley "is well enough" to be discharged from Salisbury District Hospital and that his release into the public "creates no risk to anyone in the community." Rowley and his partner, Dawn Sturgess, 44, fell ill on June 30 after being exposed to Novichok in Amesbury, less than 20 kilometers from Salisbury, where former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were poisoned with the nerve agent in March. Sturgess died on July 8 and her death is being treated as murder. Police continue to investigate how Rowley and Sturgess may have been exposed to the toxin. The incident involving the Skripals, both of whom recovered from their exposure to Novichok after weeks in a hospital, triggered a diplomatic crisis between Moscow and the West. Britain has blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin's government for the attack with a military-grade chemical weapon that was developed in the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Russia rejects the accusation. On July 19, British media reported that investigators believe they have identified the suspects responsible for the Skripal attack using security-camera footage and records of people entering the country. The reports said investigators suspect several Russians were involved in the attack. Based on reporting by AP and Reuters Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/british-man-exposed-to-novichok- released-from-hospital/29378987.html Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russian Rights Ombudswoman Calls For Support For Accused Agent Butina RFE/RL July 20, 2018 Russian human rights ombudswoman Tatyana Moskalkova has called on international organizations and rights groups to voice support for Maria Butina, who was indicted in the United States this week on charges of conspiracy and acting as an unregistered foreign agent. "I am calling on the UN high commissioner for human rights, the Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights, representatives of international organizations, and ombudsmen to air their position on the unacceptability of prosecution of people by the U.S. authorities for their intention to pursue public activities not threatening society," Moskalkova said on July 20 in Moscow. She called the accusations against Butina "far-fetched." Butina, 29, has been accused of attempting to infiltrate political groups, including the powerful National Rifle Association, to advance Russian interests. She is being held in Washington without bail. The Russian Foreign Ministry late on July 19 launched a Twitter campaign calling for Butina's release. The ministry touted the hashtag #FreeMariaButina, changed the profile picture on its Twitter account to a photograph of Butina, and asked Butina supporters to do the same on their social media accounts. Also on July 19, Russian news agencies reported that Russian consular officials in Washington visited with Butina in the Washington jail where she is in custody and said she is in good health. "Despite the stress and the psychological pressure that the Russian citizen had to experience during her arrest, she feels well and has no complaints about her health," the Russian Embassy in Washington said in a statement. "Just like any normal person, Maria has difficulties in adapting to prison conditions," the embassy reportedly said. "However, she is holding her head up high, is sure of her innocence, and is determined to prove it in the court." With reporting by dpa, Vox, AP, Interfax, and TASS Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-urges- release-accused-agent-butina-twitter-campaign- freemariabutina/29377531.html Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN Hits Back at Indian Media Criticism of Kashmir Human Rights Report By Lisa Schlein July 19, 2018 The U.N. human rights office is criticizing the Indian media, saying it is intent on spreading misinformation about the publication last month of the first-ever U.N. human rights report on Kashmir. Indian media outlets have called the U.N. report fallacious, and described it as a nefarious conspiracy and a report authored by the Pakistani security service. The 49-page report documents mass human rights violations and abuses over seven decades of conflict in Indian-administered and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The information was gathered through remote monitoring because neither side would grant U.N. investigators access to their territories. U.N. human rights spokesman Rupert Colville says his agency is disappointed that Indian authorities have dismissed the report without examining it and without responding to the serious concerns. Instead, the report has been denigrated by the government, opposition parties, academics and the media, Colville told VOA. "There have been some very intelligent and well thought through articles, but there also has been this constant stream of I would say very simplistic and aggressive condemning the report out of hand without actually looking at what it says. And, in particular, the attacks on the credibility of the report and its sources have been kind of constant since it came out," he said. Colville says critics have ignored the facts of the report, which are based on reliable information from reputable civil society organizations and the Press Trust of India, and cited in the 388 footnotes. Colville calls the sustained attempts to divert the focus from human rights violations on both sides of the Line of Control very disturbing. A major aim of the report, he says, was to give a voice to all Kashmiris who have been rendered voiceless amid the deep political polarization. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Official: Niger Is Facing Existential Threat By Ibrahim Ahmed July 19, 2018 A senior defense official from Niger has told VOA that different militant groups operating along the country's borders are threatening the security of the state and the region. Niger Minister of Defense Kalla Mountari told VOA that the militant groups associated with Islamic State and al-Qaida pose a serious threat to Niger and could infiltrate the country if preemptive measures are not taken against them by regional powers. "Certainly, this is an existential threat to us. Even though they may look weak now, terror groups are still strong in some areas [around us] and their stated intention is to establish a caliphate and bring our countries onto their knees," Mountari said. He added that the threat of militants could also threaten the security of Europe if they manage to establish safe havens in Niger given the country's proximity to Libya and the fact that Libya does not have an effective central government to prevent militants from crossing through the country to enter Europe. Niger's senior defense official warned about the threat of militants amid reports that the United States has begun arming its reconnaissance drones in an effort to collect intelligence on militant groups' whereabouts in the region. The drones are being operated from the country's capital, Niamey. "They [the U.S.] have answered our calls. This is huge because it will serve as a deterrent to those terrorists who wish to attack us," Mountari said. "Unlike before when they attack and disappear, knowing we don't have the means of pursuing them, now they would be hunted and taken out from above," he added, referring to armed U.S drones. The U.S. military has confirmed the deployment of armed drones to Niger in an effort to respond to growing threats in the region. "In coordination with the government of Niger, U.S. Africa Command has armed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft already in Niger to improve our combined ability to respond to threats and other security issues in the region," Samantha Reho, a spokeswoman for the U.S military's Africa Command ( AFRICOM), told VOA. "Niger is in a strategic location surrounded on three fronts by terrorist organizations based in Libya, Mali and Nigeria," Reho added. Last year's deadly terror attack on a joint U.S.-Nigerien patrol, which was claimed by an Islamic State affiliated group and led to the deaths of four American and several Nigerien soldiers, was a turning point in Niger's counter-insurgency campaign against militant groups. Senior Nigerien officials say the attack prompted their government to ask the U.S. to speed up the process of arming surveillance drones in the region. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the U.S military in the region said the issue of using armed drones over Niger has been part of ongoing discussion between the U.S. and Niger since well before the October attack on the joint U.S.-Niger patrol. Lake Chad region Although Niger, a landlocked country, does not have a homegrown terror group within its territory, several militant groups operate along its borders with neighboring countries, threatening its security. Some analysts suggest that weaker and failing states sharing borders with Niger, particularly Mali, could be blamed for some of the insecurity in Niger as militants could easily cross into Niger. "Jihadist groups present since the 2012 crisis in Mali exploited local unrest and the weak presence of the state in northern Mali to launch cross-border attacks against the Nigerien army," Hannah Armstrong, a senior consultant on the Sahel region for the International Crisis Group, a global organization monitoring conflicts around the world, told VOA. Armstrong added that Lake Chad is particularly significant because it is divided among four countries Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Nigeria and various terror groups, including the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP), have made inroads in the area. "Despite direct support from Chadian troops since 2015 and closer collaboration with the Nigerian army, Nigerien forces have been unable to fully secure the border with Nigeria from attacks, including some linked to the Islamic State," Armstrong added, referring to the Boko Haram faction that now controls the Lake Chad area. French troops France has had a strong military presence in Niger as well as several other countries in the region. Currently, the French military is conducting a counterterror operation called Barkhane in the Sahel region, which includes Niger. The U.S. military said it has been working closely with French troops in the area to better coordinate military efforts against militant groups. "This mission is critical to the security of countries in the region, our European allies and the United States. We provide support to French counterterrorism operations, including ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconaissance], aerial refueling and other logistics support," AFRICOM spokesperson Reho said. Reho added that the U.S. has about 800 Department of Defense personnel in Niger, who train, advise and assist the country's security forces in their counterterrorism operations, making it the second-largest U.S. personnel deployment in Africa after Djibouti, where the U.S. Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa is headquartered. "We secure national strategic interests in Niger by working with and through allies and partners to deny safe havens to terrorists with global reach, and disrupting their ability to direct or support external operations against the U.S. homeland and its citizens, allies and partners overseas," she said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address June airpower highlights: Afghan ceasefire, op roundup in Iraq and Syria By U.S. Air Forces Central Command Public Affairs, U.S. Air Forces Central Command Public Affairs / Published July 20, 2018 AL UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar (AFNS) -- U.S. Air Forces Central Command published its monthly Airpower Summary today, highlighting U.S. and coalition airpower operations in June 2018 in the USCENTCOM area of responsibility. In Afghanistan, Airmen are involved in combat operations as part of Operation Freedom's Sentinel, while U.S. and NATO partners train, advise and assist the Afghan National and Defense Security Forces as part of the Resolute Support Mission. U.S. and coalition Airmen continue fighting ISIS as part of Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Syria, alongside partners including the Syrian Democratic Forces and Iraqi military forces. The complete summary and statistics can be found here: http://www.afcent.af.mil/Portals/82/Documents/Airpower%20summary/Airpower%20Summary%20-%20June%202018%20(Final).pdf?ver=2018-07-20-043745-390 Operations in Afghanistan In Operation Freedom's Sentinel in Afghanistan, U.S. forces recognized the historic Afghan government ceasefire June 12-29, in order to emphasize reconciliation and peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban. "As we demonstrated by supporting the historic ceasefire in June, the U.S. will continue to support the search for an end to the conflict in Afghanistan," said Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, Combined Forces Air Component Commander for U.S. Central Command. Strikes resumed against Taliban irreconcilables June 30. "Until the Taliban show they're willing to reconcile with the Afghan government, they will remain square in our crosshairs," said Harrigian. "We remain steadfast in our resolve to take Taliban fighters off the battlefield and decimate their revenue sources." Meanwhile, U.S. air mobility operations marked its third consecutive month of airdropping more than 100,000 pounds. The C-17 Globemaster III and C-130 Hercules airdropped 126,000 pounds of supplies to U.S. and Afghan ground forces. In support of the NATO Resolute Support Mission, coalition Train, Advise, and Assist Command-Air advisors continue to provide support to the Afghan Air Force. On June 1, C-208 air crews needed only six hours from mission tasking to execution to conduct their first emergency combat airdrop mission bringing ammunition to Afghan National Police and citizens fighting the Taliban in Badakshan Province. Then on June 18, C-208 air crews delivered 900 pounds of supplies via airdrop to Afghan commandos fighting in Faryab Province. Operations in Iraq, Syria In Operation Inherent Resolve, U.S. and coalition strike missions, defensive counter air and armed over-watch sorties continued to accelerate the defeat of ISIS last month. Coalition strike aircraft flew 1,335 sorties releasing 356 weapons from manned and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIS targets. "While we continue to strike ISIS fighters and positions, we remain focused on protecting ground forces from above," said Harrigian. "Our coalition and ground forces have made tremendous strides against ISIS during Operation Roundup, thanks in part to our shaping operations against ISIS and the confidence our ground forces have that we'll be overhead." Air mobility operations played a key role, dropping 170,960 pounds of equipment and supplies to ground forces operating in Iraq. Additionally, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft flew 545 sorties to develop targets and maintain battlespace awareness, and tankers flew 758 sorties to extend the range of aircraft and the duration of their missions. Meanwhile, the Coalition Aviation Advisory Training Team has sustained support to the Iraqi Aviation Enterprise. "Iraqi Airmen are making impressive strides in combat operations and in professionalizing their air force with the assistance of our CAATT," said Harrigian. "The coalition team is fully committed to continued support of the Iraqi Aviation Enterprise and will work alongside our Iraqi partners to make their air forces more capable, professional, affordable and sustainable." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pressure Mounting on ISIS as Operation Roundup Continues July 20, 2018 From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials congratulated the Syrian Democratic Forces today on their successful clearance of Dashishah, Syria, and the ongoing success of their operations to clear Islamic State of Iraq and Syria remnants from northeast Syria. The SDF ground offensive, supported by coordinated coalition ground and air strikes and Iraqi cross-border air and artillery strikes, continues south with the objective of liberating the remaining major population centers in the Middle Euphrates River Valley. ISIS remnants have been further isolated by a strong Iraqi border presence, preventing the terrorists' escape from Syria into Iraq. "Syrian Democratic Forces have cleared al-Dashishah, and are now progressing in the northern Dayr az Zawr countryside. We've also made progress in the Middle Euphrates River Valley, advancing on the Hajin frontline, clearing houses, eliminating [ISIS] terrorists and dismantling their [improvised explosive devices]," said SDF spokesman Kino Gabriel. The men and women of the multiethnic SDF continue to demonstrate immense courage, commitment and sacrifice, as they have throughout the long defeat-ISIS campaign in northeastern Syria, coalition officials said. Army Maj. Gen. James Jarrard, commander of CJTF-OIR's Special Operations Joint Task Force, said "Our SDF partners are relentless in their pursuit of [ISIS] and are deftly executing that mission. The liberation of al-Dashishah brings us one step closer to ridding northeast Syria of the evils of [ISIS] and now thousands of people can return to a safe and secure environment with a brighter future for their children." Operation Roundup is the coalition operation to accelerate the defeat of ISIS in the Middle Euphrates River Valley and Syria-Iraq border regions. CJTF-OIR remains committed to the defeat of ISIS, the destruction of their false caliphate and to helping set the conditions for follow-on operations to increase regional stability. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address United Accord Brings Together U.S., Ghanaian Troops July 20, 2018 By Army Staff Sgt. Brandon Ames U.S. Army Africa ACCRA, Ghana -- Members of Ghana's armed forces are partnered with participants from other African nations, European allies and U.S. Army Africa for exercise United Accord 2018, which began July 16 at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre here. "I'd like to thank our Ghanaian counterparts for hosting this world class, two-week exercise," said Army Brig. Gen. Eugene J. LeBoeuf, the U.S. Army Africa acting commander. "We look forward to conducting this mission and returning home to share the lessons learned and new knowledge with our home station." For two weeks, more than 800 military personnel will participate in UA18. The exercise consists of a command post exercise, company field training exercise focused on peacekeeping operations, a medical readiness exercise and Ghanaian-led jungle warfare school training. The command post exercise is designed to increase the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali's capacity to plan, deploy, sustain and redeploy a combined joint task force in support of U.N. and African Union-mandated peacekeeping operations. The field training exercise, jungle training and medical readiness exercise will build participants' readiness, capacity, security and stability through combined unit-level tactics, individual soldier skills and medical practices in forward-deployed environments. The purpose of UA18 is to promote interoperability between U.S. and partner forces and organizations, advance troop contributing countries capacity to support MINUSMA and similar operations, and increase exercise participants' abilities to execute MINUSMA sector headquarter tasks, while enhancing positive multilateral relationships. "Ghana is a defense and economic leader in the region and a valued partner, and it is because of these strengths that Ghana is an ideal host for an exercise like United Accord," LeBoeuf said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Expeditionary Combat Camera Completes Final Mission Navy News Service Story Number: NNS180720-12 Release Date: 7/20/2018 12:32:00 PM By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class David Kolmel ATLANTIC OCEAN (NNS) -- Expeditionary Combat Camera (ECC) completed its final mission off the coast of Fire Island, New York, July 19, 2018, while supporting Naval History and Heritage Command's ceremony that commemorated the centennial anniversary of the sinking of the World War I cruiser USS San Diego (ACR 6). Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Sean Furey, a native of Lavallette, New Jersey, and assigned to ECC's dive team, integrated with Mobile Diving Salvage Unit 2 embarked aboard USNS Grasp (T-ARS 51) and spent several days capturing underwater imagery of Navy divers surveying the wreck in an effort to determine if the ship was lost to a German mine or submarine-launched torpedo. The mission culminated with the divers lowering a ceremonial wreath to honor USS San Diego Sailors who lost their lives during the tragic incident. Furey represents thousands of U.S. Navy combat photographers who have recorded historical events from the land, air and sea spanning from World War I to Operation Enduring Freedom. "This last mission is unique because it covers two historical events happening simultaneously, and it just so happens that I get to be a part of both," said Furey. "If you told me when I checked into ECC that I would be documenting its last mission, I wouldn't have believed it." According to Lt. Michael Larson, the final officer-in-charge of ECC, naval combat photography began in World War I mainly to conduct aerial reconnaissance missions, and evolved into small photographic teams by World War II. The unit that is today's ECC was first established in 1951, and since then the command's mission has remained mostly unchanged for 67 years. "Our mission has been to historically preserve the nature of events, and to provide imagery to combatant commanders for a variety of purposes, including telling the Navy story," said Larson. The Navy established combat photographic units in 1942 that deployed to the Pacific and European theaters of war to document major campaigns including Normandy and Iwo Jima. Then in 1951, the Navy established what would eventually become today's combat camera, the Atlantic Fleet Motion Picture Unit. The unit first documented Navy and Marine Corps operations during the Korean War. In 1966, the unit became the Atlantic Fleet Combat Camera Group and deployed teams to document the war in Vietnam. The unit became Expeditionary Combat Camera in 2010 and continued documenting all branches of the military during major U.S. conflicts, operations and exercises. A hallmark of Navy Combat Camera's unique skill sets is the unit's ability to provide underwater photography. ECC divers have routinely documented underwater salvage operations, and research and inspection missions like the mission with the San Diego. "It's fitting that our last job is a dive job, because that is one of the things that set us apart from the other services' Combat Camera units," said Furey. "Being able to put my name in with so many other Combat Camera greats that came before me was a special experience." Larson, who served as a combat cameraman in Iraq, said he and many Sailors have done the best documentation work of their careers at Combat Camera. "Combat Camera's legacy will live on through the decades of imagery we've created telling the story of our military forces, and is forever preserved in the eyes of the viewers." The Navy's combat camera units will officially disestablish on Sept. 30, 2018, ending 67 years of service to the Navy and Department of Defense. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Afghanistan probes deaths of 14 civilians after US airstrikes Iran Press TV Fri Jul 20, 2018 10:34AM At least 14 people have been killed in an air raid in Chardara district near the northern Afghan city of Kunduz after an anti-Taliban operation which involved US airstrikes. Women and children were among those died in the Thursday attack in Chardara, a district outside Kunduz that has long been fought over between Taliban and government forces, according to Nematullah Temori, a spokesman for the Kunduz governor. The Afghan Ministry of Defense (MoD) said the incident was still being investigated, and whether the strike had been conducted by the Afghan airforce or US aircraft. Reports said US aircraft had supported Afghan security forces in the Chardara operation. Meanwhile, a UN report said Afghan civilian casualties from aerial attacks rose by over 50 percent in the first half of the year to 353 killed and wounded. The UN urged civilian protection in air operations. At least 1,692 civilians were killed in the violence during the first six months of 2018, the highest number of fatalities e recorded in the equivalent period, according to the UN report. Also on Saturday, Afghan forces killed at least 36 members of the Taliban militant group operating in Kunduz. Abdul Baqi Noristani, the provincial police chief, said the militants were killed during Afghan security forces' airstrikes and ground operations in Chardara district of Kunduz, adding that at least ten other militants were also wounded. The Kunduz police chief said several Taliban hideouts were targeted and the militants suffered heavy casualties during the Afghan airstrikes. Noristani had not offered any details about Afghan casualties. The US invaded Afghanistan in 2001 with the express aim of toppling the Taliban. Now, some 17 years on, the militant group rules supreme in the war-torn country and the US has shown interest more than ever in negotiating with the militants. Recently, the Daesh Takifiri militant group has taken advantage of the lawlessness in Afghanistan and stepped up its terror attacks in the war-torn state after losing its bases in Iraq and Syria. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Senate warns White House: No Russian interrogation of American officials allowed Iran Press TV Fri Jul 20, 2018 05:25AM The United States Senate has unanimously passed a resolution banning the questioning of any US official by Russia, in an explicit warning to US President Donald Trump, who earlier implicitly agreed to cooperate with Moscow on the interrogation of American officials before his staff walked back that notion. The Senate on Thursday voted 98-0 to pass the non-binding but clearly-worded resolution, tabled by Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii). The resolution states that the US "should refuse to make available any current or former diplomat, civil servant, political appointee, law enforcement official or member of the Armed Forces of the United States for questioning by the government of Vladimir Putin." Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin one-on-one in Finland's capital of Helsinki on Monday. With a series of remarks after that meeting, including during a joint press conference with Putin, Trump caused a ruckus at home, with Democrats and Republicans alike accusing the US president of having been outsmarted by Putin. In one particularly controversial remark, Trump said he believed the Russian government did not interfere in the November 2016 US presidential election that saw him rise to the country's highest public office. That remark was in sharp contrast to the conclusion of the US's own intelligence community if not the public mood among many ordinary Americans. "So I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial [of election meddling] today," Trump said. Standing by Trump's side, Putin, too, denied the election meddling accusations, and offered to allow the team of special counsel Robert Mueller who is conducting a probe of those allegations to travel to Russia to question the 12 Russians recently indicted in the case if the US allows Russia in return to interrogate individuals in the US "who have something to do with illegal actions in the territory of Russia." Trump seemed to relish that offer. "What he (President Putin) did is an incredible offer. He offered to have the people working on the case come and work with their investigators with respect to the 12 people. I think that's an incredible offer. OK?" he said at the Helsinki presser. The White House then said the US president would consider the offer. But a reversal came on Thursday, as public furor rose over the matter. 'How did that even come to consciousness?' Just hours later, the Senate passed the resolution. Senators expressed shock at the initial reception of the offer. "That President Trump would even consider handing over a former US ambassador to Putin and his cronies for interrogation is bewilderingThis body must agree on the importance of protecting our ambassadors. We should pass it today, not wait, not show any equivocation," Schumer said ahead of the vote. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said, "I have no idea how that's even come into consciousness." Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called the idea "absurd and naive." Meanwhile, President Trump has invited his Russian counterpart to the US for a second summit, adding to the outcry. Republicans are reportedly seeking to forestall a second Putin summit. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Despite backtracking on Russia meddling comments, Trump invites Putin to US Iran Press TV Fri Jul 20, 2018 01:49AM US President Donald Trump has invited his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to Washington, boosting a hailstorm of criticism against his administration's relations with Moscow. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced Thursday that the president has asked his national security adviser John Bolton to invite Putin. "In Helsinki, @POTUS agreed to ongoing working level dialogue between the two security council staffs," Sanders tweeted. "President Trump asked @Ambjohnbolton to invite President Putin to Washington in the fall and those discussions are already underway." The announcement followed a summit by the two world leaders in the Finnish capital Helsinki. Russia welcomes invitation On Friday, Russia's Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said his country was ready to discuss the proposed new meeting, the Interfax news agency reported. Antonov said Putin had made concrete proposals to Trump during their summit in Helsinki about resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine, without elaborating. The Russian ambassador also said it would be good to organize a meeting between Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and US Defense Secretary James Mattis. He also announced that a group of US lawmakers were planning to visit Russia. This is while Trump has been attempting to appear tough on Russia after he ignited a political firestorm by accepting Putin's denial of the US intelligence community's claims in regard to Moscow's alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election. The president has claimed that he misspoke in Finland, asserting that he could be Putin's "worst enemy." "Look at the sanctions I put on, look at the diplomats I threw out. ... Nobody else did what I've done," Trump said in an interview with CNBC, portraying himself as "far tougher on Russia than any president in many, many years, maybe ever." "Getting along with President Putin, getting along with Russia's positive not a negative," Trump said. "Now, that being said, if that doesn't work out I'll be the worst enemy he's ever had the worst he's ever had." The Helsinki bow has boosted speculations that Russia might be in possession of damaging information about the US president. "This just once again reinforces this inexplicable affinity that the president has toward basically totalitarian dictators, but in particular to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin," said Hawaii Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono. "I served on the Intelligence Committee for two years. Countries develop assets that will help them get news, et cetera. In intel language and parlance, the president is acting like he is the asset for Russia." Ever since Trump was inaugurated in January 2017, the US intelligence community has overwhelmingly maintained that Moscow sought to meddle in the 2016 election, which yielded President Trump. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Dozens Of Afghan Civilians, Police Killed In Fighting In North RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan July 20, 2018 At least 14 people, including women and children, have been killed in an Afghan-U.S. air strike near the northern city of Kunduz, officials say. Afghan officials said it was still unclear whether the casualties had been caused by Afghan or U.S. aircraft, both of which flew missions in support of an operation on the ground on July 19. A statement from the U.S. military said there was no indication that its planes were responsible. Nematullah Temori, a spokesman for the Kunduz governor, said women and children were among 14 people killed in the raid in Chardara, a district outside Kunduz. Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish confirmed the death toll, adding that two more civilians were injured in the air strike. In April, an Afghan air strike on a religious school in the Dasht-e Archi district of Kunduz left at least 50 people dead, including civilians. Military operations by both Afghan forces and militants have been stepped up in recent months, with civilian casualties reaching a new record in 2018. According to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, 1,692 civilians were killed between January 1 and June 30 -- the highest figure reported for that period in the past nine years. The UN report also said that air strikes had increased substantially, with civilian casualties from aerial attacks rising by 52 percent in the first half of the year to 353 killed and wounded. Separately, at least 12 police officers were killed when Taliban militants stormed a checkpoint in the Imam Saheb district of Kunduz, according to a provincial council member. In the eastern province of Ghazni, Taliban fighters launched a wave of attacks, killing at least eight police and wounding seven others, provincial Governor Saib Khan Elham said on July 20. A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attacks. With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and dpa Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/dozens-of-afghan-civilians-police- killed-in-fighting-in-north/29377952.html Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address NATO Hits Back at Trump: Article 5 Was Invoked Once, to Support US Sputnik News 14:24 20.07.2018(updated 14:39 20.07.2018) The North Atlantic Alliance has issued a response to President Trump following his comments about Montenegrins being "very strong" and "very aggressive people" who could pull the military bloc into a major war. A NATO official challenged the president's apparent faltering resolve on the alliance's collective defense obligations, saying that Trump made his views on the matter clear during last week's NATO summit in Brussels. "NATO's collective defense clause, Article 5, is unconditional and iron-clad. It means that an attack on one is an attack on all," an official, asking to remain anonymous, told AFP. "President Trump has made clear that the US is fully committed to NATO and our alliance is strong." "Article 5 has only been invoked once, in support of the US after the 9/11 attacks. This led to NATO's largest-ever operation, in Afghanistan, where hundreds of thousands of soldiers from Europe, including Montenegro, as well as Canadians, stood shoulder to shoulder with US troops and more than a thousand paid the ultimate price," the official added. Montenegro announced plans to increase the number of troops it had in Afghanistan from 18 to 26-28 earlier this year. The country joined the NATO alliance in 2017. The country's entry into the alliance was met with mass protests, and approved by the government without a referendum despite a majority of Montenegrins opposed to membership. Part of this opposition stems from the fact that Montenegro was attacked during the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, when it was a Yugoslav republic. Speaking to Fox News' host Tucker Carlson this week following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump said that he's given considerable thought to why American military personnel should go to Montenegro in the event of a war in the Balkan country. "Montenegro is a tiny country with very strong peopleBy the way, they're very strong people. They're very aggressive people. They may get aggressive and congratulations, you're in World War III," he said. Trump's Montenegro remarks prompted Montenegrin politicians to call Trump's words "stupid," and to charge him with being the "strangest president in the history of the United States." Podgorica issued a formal response Thursday, saying it "contributes to peace and stability not only on the European continent but worldwide, along with US soldiers in Afghanistan." Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN agency warns conditions around Yemen's key port city of Hudaydah still 'very bad', as staff rush to deliver aid 20 July 2018 - United Nations migration agency staff in Yemen say the key port city of Hudaydah remains "a difficult environment" for the delivery of aid to thousands of people displaced by heavy fighting this week. "The situation is very bad and we're doing our best to provide them with temporary shelter and support for the time being," said Stefano Pes, IOM Yemen's Officer in Charge, noting that agency staff and partners are working in a difficult environment to deliver food, and non-food items, shelter kits and good quality tents. Hudaydah the primary gateway for food and humanitarian aid for a population on the verge of starvation has been racked by fighting between Houthi rebels, who control the port, and government forces backed by a Saudi-led military coalition. Civilian casualties and mass displacements continue to mount amidst intense fighting that began on 12 June. It has caused further damage to public services which are stretched to the limit, affecting water supplies, forcing shops to close and resulting in shortages in essential commodities. This has complicated the delivery of humanitarian assistance and resulted in the closure of a temporary feeding centre in Zabid. The fortunate few who are able to leave, are traveling to the relative safely of Sana'a, Aden and Thamar but the majority of the population have already exhausted their reserves, forcing them to seek protection wherever they can, said the agency. About 50 IOM staff are working in various locations to assist migrants and an estimated 50,000 newly displaced Yemenis in Hudaydah. IOM has also provided 7,830 meals to children in three Hudaydah schools. The crisis in Yemen has its genesis in the 2011 Arab Spring uprising, which swept across the country amid ongoing rebel insurgency. Although anti-Government protests led to the ouster of the then President, the transfer of power to Mr. Hadi, his deputy, led to further instability and conflict. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pakistan: Engagements With US Over Afghanistan to 'Yield More Positive Results' By Ayaz Gul July 20, 2018 Following years of an acrimonious blame game, the Pakistan and U.S. militaries appear to be engaged again in tactical counterterrorism cooperation for promoting a negotiated settlement to the war in Afghanistan. American and Pakistani military officials have acknowledged the positive trend in mutual ties, with both sides underscoring the need for continued engagements. "Pakistan looks forward to peace in Afghanistan. Pakistan has been doing its bit in this regard with other stakeholders," army spokesman Major-General Asif Ghafoor told VOA on Friday. Ghafoor was responding to comments made by a top American general on Thursday that cooperation from Pakistan "remains key to accomplishing the overall objective of a durable political settlement in Afghanistan." The Pakistani army spokesman made a further assertion. "The military-to-military engagement is likely to yield more positive results within the overall framework of stakeholders." Speaking in Washington a day prior, General Joseph Votel, commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), told reporters in Washington he has maintained a "very robust relationship" with Pakistan's military chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa. He emphasized that other U.S. officials also have been communicating to counterparts in Islamabad and "it is important to talk." "We continue to work closely with Pakistan to help them fulfill the important role that they have indicated they want to play. Now is the time for them to step forward," the U.S. general said. President Donald Trump, under his new South Asia strategy announced last August, has suspended military assistance to Pakistan until it takes decisive action against terrorists involved in attacks in Afghanistan and other regional countries. That move strained mutual ties and halted diplomatic contacts until weeks ago when Washington restored the high-level contacts with Islamabad. Taliban 'safe havens' U.S. and Afghan officials have long alleged that Taliban leaders and those of the Haqqani network are directing the Afghan insurgency from "safe havens" in Pakistan. Votel again called for Pakistan to continue to press against insurgents on its soil by either expelling them, arresting them or by pressuring them into holding peace talks with the Afghan government. "And this, I think, really are the key things that we have asked for them, and we have seen some over the last several months some promising opportunities," said the U.S. commander. "We have seen Pakistan move in some of the directions that we have asked them to, but we need to see that in a much more strategic way and longer-term way as we press forward," Votel added, but he did not elaborate. The Taliban insurgency last month observed an unprecedented unilateral cease-fire during the three-day Eid festival, a move widely welcomed by the international community. U.S. officials at the time hinted Islamabad might have played a role. Speaking in Islamabad earlier this month, Afghan ambassador Omar Zakhilwal for the first time publicly acknowledged that Pakistan did play a role in persuading the insurgents to declare the cease-fire, though he did not explain it further. Some reports suggested that Islamabad agreed to pressure the Taliban in exchange for the U.S. killing of Mullah Fazllullah, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, and dozens of his fighters in drone strikes against their sanctuaries in Afghanistan. Islamabad maintains, however it is not solely responsible for helping to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table. Officials say Pakistan's influence with the insurgent group has receded in recent years. But other countries, including Russia and Iran, meanwhile have increased contacts with the Taliban over growing fears that Afghan insecurity is encouraging Islamic State state terrorists to solidify bases in Afghanistan. Improving Pakistan-Afghan Ties Pakistani authorities blame Afghan refugee populations in the country for sheltering Taliban insurgents over the years taking advantage of the largely porous border between the two countries. General Ghafoor says that sustained counterterrorism operations over the last four years, however, have eliminated militant's infrastructure on Pakistani territory, forcing insurgents to move back to Afghanistan. He cites U.S. military assessments that the Taliban controls or contests nearly half of the Afghan territory. The Pakistan military has also lately begun fencing the Afghan border unilaterally, hoping it would deter terrorist infiltration in either direction and further ease mutual tensions. General Votel while speaking Thursday also praised improved cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan militaries. "And what we've seen is, we've seen a corresponding decrease in confrontations and conflict and tensions and exchanges along the border. These are very positive things," Votel noted. Pakistani and Afghan leaders also acknowledge improvement in their mutual ties under their landmark framework named Afghanistan-Pakistan Action-Plan-for-Peace-and-Solidarity (APAPPS). Analysts note that the acrimony between Islamabad and Kabul has almost subsided, at least for the time being, as a result of the mutual engagements. "We've made progress on paper, but we want action. I'm neither optimistic nor pessimistic," Afghan President Ashraf Ghani remarked earlier this week when asked for his assessment of the ongoing dialogue with Pakistan. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Fears of War Run High on Gaza Border By Robert Berger July 20, 2018 Nearly four months of Palestinian protests on the border of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and Israel are raising concerns of yet another war. Israel has been fighting brush fires on the Gaza border every day for more than three months, thanks to a primitive but effective new Palestinian weapon. Militants are sending burning kites across the frontier, torching vast areas of Israeli farmland and forests. Now, Israel is running out of patience. That became clear a week ago when Israel launched its heaviest air strikes on the ruling Islamic militant group Hamas since the Gaza War in 2014. Yisrael Katz, a member of the security cabinet, said Israel has drawn a red line: It will not allow terror from Gaza to continue, whether it is attack tunnels, rockets or kites. An activist in the Hamas "kite unit" told Israel Television that there is only one way to stop the raging fires: The crippling Israeli blockade imposed on Gaza 11 years ago must be lifted. He said the Palestinians are demanding the free flow of food, medicine and fuel, which Israel has curtailed in response to the flaming kite attacks. Despite this defiance, the Israeli pressure tactics could be having an effect. Ibrahim al-Madhoun, a Palestinian journalist with close ties to Hamas, says the group is rethinking its strategy. He said stopping the burning kites may be necessary to avert all-out war with Israel. Hamas and Israel have fought three wars in the past decade, and the prevention of the fourth might come down to who blinks first. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Democrats Want to Compel Interpreter to Testify About Helsinki Summit By Megan Duzor July 20, 2018 U.S. Democratic lawmakers are trying to compel a government interpreter to testify about what was discussed during President Donald Trump's one-on-one meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, but legal analysts say that is not likely to happen unless the president allows it. Trump and Putin met privately for more than two hours at Monday's Helsinki summit. Only interpreters were present for the meeting, and details of what was discussed remain unknown to anyone else. Democrats want to compel the U.S. government interpreter, Marina Gross, to testify before lawmakers, while Republicans are blocking the move. The call for Gross to testify raises questions concerning legality, executive privilege and the ethical code for interpreters who pride themselves on their discretion and confidentiality. "There is no precedent for issuing a subpoena for the translator," scholar William Pomeranz told VOA. Pomeranz, deputy director of the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, said he did not expect the translator to be questioned by Congress, "especially because the intent of the [Trump-Putin] meeting was to be an off-the-record conversation." Subpoena request Democrats say that they are concerned about what Trump may have said to Putin and that the circumstances of the summit are exceptional. They cite the fact that the Trump's administration is already being investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller over Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election, and say the circumstances justify subpoenaing Trump's interpreter. The White House has been engulfed in controversy since the Helsinki summit, when Trump cast doubt on U.S. intelligence findings that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Trump has since walked back his comments, saying he does believe U.S. intelligence conclusions. Pomeranz said the summit "is still clouded in mystery in terms of what were the concrete results." He said, "President Putin has suggested there were certain agreements that emerged from the summit. Yet, the State Department and President Trump have not articulated them." The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff of California, formally requested Thursday that the committee issue a subpoena for Gross to testify, but he was overruled by Republicans who hold the majority in the House. Democratic Representative Bill Pascrell Jr. of New Jersey also raised concerns about whether Trump could have used the summit to pursue his worldwide business interests. "Given this history, the American people deserve to know if Trump used his position or this meeting with Putin to continue to pursue his own financial interests," he wrote in a letter requesting that the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hear public testimony from Gross. Executive privilege Conservatives in the House are arguing that executive privilege shields a president's interpreter from reporting to Congress, and many if not most legal scholars seem to agree. While Congress has an oversight role over the executive branch, conservative lawmakers say that presidents should be able to meet with world leaders and speak candidly without interference from lawmakers. They also warn that subpoenaing Gross would create a dangerous precedent that could hurt the state of U.S. diplomacy as well as future presidents of either party. Legal scholars who expressed opinions said it's likely that only Trump could permit Gross to tell anyone about what she heard. The White House has not said whether Trump has asked her to do that. Interpreters' code of ethics The move by Democrats to compel Gross to testify also raised questions about the right of interpreters to adhere to their code of ethics, which bounds them to strict secrecy. Interpreters say they view their ethics code of confidentiality similar to the lawyer-client privilege or the duty of priests not to disclose what penitents tell them during confession. Interpreters also say that it can sometimes be difficult to recall the big picture of a conversation they have listened to after relying on short-term memory to interpret. Pomeranz said the role of the translator is "focused simply on making the statements, not necessarily of the content of the discussions." "To be a simultaneous translator is a very difficult job and it doesn't necessary mean you are in the position to remember the specific details of the conversation," he said. Gross is an employee of the State Department and has served as an interpreter to high-level U.S. government officials before. She was the interpreter for Laura Bush at the Russian resort of Sochi in 2008 and interpreted for former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Moscow in 2017. VOA's Sarah Williams and Pete Cobus contributed.to this report. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Cameroon's Opposition Fails to Present Candidate to Challenge Biya By Moki Edwin Kindzeka July 20, 2018 Cameroon's opposition has again failed to present a single presidential candidate to challenge Paul Biya who has been in office for 36 years. Twenty-eight candidates will be contesting the country's October 7 presidential election, which Biya is favored to win. The youngest candidate registered to compete in the October 7 presidential election is journalist Cabral Libi. Just before the filing deadline, the 38-year old said he was still uncertain if he would run because he could not single handedly raise the $60,000 required by the election commission to run. He says he had to ask well wishers to help him. He says he has demonstrated that he is the only candidate strong enough to challenge the incumbent president because he was able to raise over $ 60,000 from well wishers within three days to pay the caution fee required by Cameroon's electoral laws for each presidential aspirant. Libi is one of the 28 candidates to contest the poll. Two women: Ze Genevieve, an independent candidate and Habiba Issa who will run for the opposition UPC party, also registered to challenge the 86-year old Biya, who has been president for 36 years. Last January, Cameroon's notoriously fractured opposition attempted to unite behind a single candidate. About a dozen opposition parties were negotiating to back Akere Muna, a prominent lawyer who specializes in fighting corruption. Muna pledged a non-partisan platform, but today is running on the ticket of his Peoples Development Front political party. Maurice Kamto, who was meeting with Muna and the main opposition political party the SDF to discuss the possibility of a single candidate, is today running for his Cameroon Renaissance Movement Party. Kamto says after discussing with some political parties, he found out that all of them wanted a single candidate, but felt they were the stronger politicians that other weaker parties should join. He says he then decided that he, like other politicians who want to run for president should present to Cameroonians their programs and projects that they will implement if elected, instead of basing their strengths on the religious, tribal and ethnic groups they represent. The SDF has chosen a 50-year old lawmaker, Joshua Osih, as their candidate and says it is sure Osih will perform better in the elections if the polls are transparent and fair. The ruling CPDM party has gathered at least 30 of the divided opposition political parties to rally behind its candidate, Paul Biya. Issa Tchiroma, president of the Cameroon National Salvation Front, says the opposition's inability to come up with a single candidate indicates how they are divided and so he will support Biya, who according to him is the only one that can bring peace and development to the troubled country. "By declaring his candidature, this is an indication, clear indication that he sent to the nation and the world that he is the man of his generation. Mr president move forward, we are ready to support you," said Tchiroma. Cameroon is dealing with attacks by Boko Haram militants in the north, separatist movements in two English-speaking regions and a spillover of violence from the Central African Republic. Biya has ruled Cameroon since 1982 and is Africa's second longest serving president, after his neighbor Theodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea. He is seen by many as favored to win the polls. If he does, he will rule the central African state up to 2025 when the next presidential election will take place. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China finishes hot-fire test of next generation rocket engine People's Daily Online (People's Daily Overseas Edition) 10:27, July 20, 2018 China has successfully finished its first joint hot-fire test of a domestically-developed liquid oxygen and kerosene engine, Xinhua reported on July 19. The engine is expected to be used in China's next generation carrier rocket, according to its developer, the No.6 Research Institute of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). A number of innovative technologies were used in the development of the engine to substantially raise its reliability and performance. For instance, special take-off and acceleration technologies were adopted to help reduce the weight of the rocket, thus making it more powerful. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China slams senior US official's remarks on trade dispute People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 07:56, July 20, 2018 China Thursday refuted the remarks made by a senior U.S. official who blamed China for the bilateral trade dispute, saying his words distorted the facts. According to reports, Larry Kudlow, head of the White House Economic Council, said the United States and China failed to reach an agreement to resolve the trade dispute, and China should take the responsibility for that. China could end the U.S. tariffs by providing a more satisfactory approach. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a routine news briefing that Kudlow's remark distorted the facts and is astonishing and beyond imagination. The United States arbitrary and unreasonable decisions and discreditable behaviors are the direct and fundamental reason for the developing and upgrading to the dispute, Hua said. China has made the utmost efforts to push for a resolution to the issue through dialogue and consultation to avoid escalation of the trade dispute, Hua said. The U.S. behavior will only seriously damage its own reputation, and it is completely unhelpful to resolving the issue, she said. "We have confidence and enough capabilities to safeguard our legitimate interests, and make joint efforts with other countries to maintain international rules and the multilateral trading system," Hua said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Trump says is 'ready' to slap tariffs on all Chinese imports Iran Press TV Fri Jul 20, 2018 04:34PM US President Donald Trump has expressed readiness to intensify his trade war with China by imposing tariffs on all $500 billion of imports from the world's second largest economy. Trump said in an interview with CNBC on Friday that he is "ready" and willing to slap tariffs on every single Chinese item imported to the US should the need arise. The US president said Washington is "down a tremendous amount" in terms of trade with Beijing, reiterating his views that China's trade surplus with the US amounts to "unfair" trading practices. "I'm not doing this for politics. I'm doing this to do this right thing for our country. We have been ripped off by China for a long time and I told that to President Xi," Trump told CNBC. In early July, Washington imposed 25 percent duties on $34 billion of imports from China in the first in a possible series of increases that Trump says could affect up to $550 billion of Chinese goods. China announced that its retaliatory tariffs had also taken effect on $34 billion of US goods that included soybeans, pork and electric vehicles. The US administration recently announced that it would impose 10 percent tariffs on an extra $200 billion worth of Chinese goods after China retaliated. Beijing, in response, blasted American unilateralism and filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against the new US-proposed tariffs. PressTV-China files WTO complaint against US over tariff plan Beijing files a complaint with the World Trade Organization against the new US-proposed tariffs on Chinese goods. China also warned the US that it would have no choice but to take "the necessary countermeasures" against Washington. Trump has also accused Beijing of intellectual property theft, obstructing US businesses, and being responsible for America's 375-billion-dollar trade deficit with China. The Trump administration has also imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from China and other North American and European countries in an effort to protect US producers. The US tariffs are just the first step in a long strategy meant to shift the US manufacturing supply chain away from China, which is increasingly seen as a geopolitical rival. The so-called Made in China 2025 initiative, a strategic plan by Beijing to upgrade Chinese industry, stands at the heart of the trade war between the US and China. The US government believes the plan is a major threat to US technological leadership and economic dominance. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Senators Drop Efforts to Cripple China's ZTE By VOA News July 20, 2018 U.S. Republican lawmakers have dropped their efforts to reimpose a crippling ban on exports to the Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE. The move Friday gives a victory to U.S. President Donald Trump who has championed for ZTE to stay in business. Republican senators Friday dropped legislation that would block ZTE from buying component parts from the United States. Senators had included the legislation in a defense spending bill passed last month, but a House version of the defense bill did not include the same provision. Lawmakers say senators decided to leave the provision out of the final compromise bill, which is expected to come to a vote in the House and Senate in the coming days. Lawmakers from both parties have been critical of President Trump over his decision to lift a ban on U.S. companies selling to ZTE. Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer blasted Friday's developments. "By stripping the Senate's tough ZTE sanctions provision from the defense bill, President Trump and the congressional Republicans who acted at his behest have once again made President Xi and the Chinese Government the big winners," he said in a statement. Republican Senator Marco Rubio called dropping the provision "bad news" in a tweet Friday.ZTE is accused of selling sensitive technologies to Iran and North Korea, despite a U.S. trade embargo. In April, the U.S. Commerce Department barred ZTE from importing American components for its telecommunications products for the next seven years, practically putting the company out of business. However, Trump later announced a deal with ZTE in which the Chinese company would pay a $1 billion fine for its trade violations, as well as replace its entire management and board by the middle of July. The Commerce Department announced last week that it has formally lifted the ban on ZTE after the Chinese company complied with all terms of the settlement. Most of the world first heard of the dispute over ZTE in May after one of Trump's tweets. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address South Korea says North has shown 'clear commitment' to denuclearization Iran Press TV Fri Jul 20, 2018 05:43PM South Korea's foreign minister says North Korea has shown a "clear commitment" to complete denuclearization amid attempts by the United States to pressure Pyongyang. "They have made a clear commitment on complete denuclearization repeatedly, and of course very forcefully at the Singapore summit with [US] President [Donald] Trump, and we will hold them up to that commitment," Kang Kyung-Wha said Friday. She made the remarks ahead of a meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and members of the United Nations Security Council in New York. Diplomats said they expected Pompeo to urge the Council to maintain a firm stance toward Pyongyang and keep sanctions in place. In June, President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a historic summit in Singapore where the two agreed to "work toward denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula. After Pompeo's third trip to North Korea earlier this month, Pyongyang complained of Pompeo's "gangster-like" demands on rapid denuclearization. Contrary to what the South Korean official said, the US intelligence chief stated on the same day that North Korea was unlikely to denuclearize in one year. China, Russia block US bid at UN to halt fuel delivery to North Korea In related news, China and Russia put a hold on a request made by Washington to cut off deliveries of refined oil to North Korea. Washington accused Pyongyang of smuggling in refined petroleum products beyond the annual quota of 500,000 barrels allowed under the UN sanctions. The hold delays action on the US request for six months. The Russians and Chinese said they needed more time to examine Washington's allegations. "We hope the relevant countries in the UN Security Council, can, based on solid evidence, make relevant decisions on whether to export oil" to North Korea, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Thursday. North Korea has been under a raft of harsh UN sanctions since 2006 over its nuclear tests as well as multiple rocket and missile launches. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address North Korea unlikely to denuclearize in 1 year: US intelligence chief Iran Press TV Fri Jul 20, 2018 03:51AM The United States' intelligence chief says North Korea is unlikely to denuclearize in one year, even though Pyongyang can, according to him, "technically" do so and as another US official has claimed it can. Dan Coats, the director of the US National Intelligence, said at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado on Thursday that he agreed with earlier remarks by US National Security Adviser John Bolton that North Korea could dismantle its nuclear program in a year but added that such a scenario was "probably not going to happen." Coats said comments by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that the North Korean denuclearization will be a drawn-out process were closer to reality. "I think Secretary Pompeo has clearly said this is hard; this is going to take some time," Coats said. "He has projected a longer time frame. ... But it's a much more complicated process than most people think." Earlier this month, Pompeo, who is in charge of the North Korea dossier, said getting Pyongyang to give up its military nuclear program is a "decades-long" process. "Look, this is a decades-long challenge, getting the North Koreans to make a fundamental strategic decision, which is that the nuclear weapons that they possess today frankly present a threat to them and not security," he said. Pompeo has made at least three visits to North Korea, discussing with officials there a potential deal to remove international sanctions on the Asian country in return for an end to the North Korean military nuclear program. The US secretary of state's remarks on North Korea's potential denuclearization process was in sharp contrast to Bolton's, who is known for his hawkish approach toward the US's putative adversaries but has reportedly taken a back seat on the North Korea issue. By commenting on a North Korean denuclearization timetable in early July, Bolton also proved to be out of sync with his boss, President Donald Trump, who said just on Tuesday that there was "no time limit" in the talks with Pyongyang. Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in a much-publicized summit in Singapore last month. At the end of that summit, Trump and Kim signed a brief, broadly-worded document, according to which both sides committed to working toward "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." The document also did not offer a specific timeline for dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal. While follow-on diplomacy has been ongoing since then, talks seem to have lost their momentum. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia, China Block U.S. Bid At UN To Halt Fuel Deliveries To North Korea RFE/RL July 20, 2018 Russia and China are blocking a U.S. effort at the United Nations to halt all deliveries of refined oil products to North Korea amid charges that Pyongyang is smuggling fuel into the country, diplomats say. The move on July 19 by Russia and China came after Washington last week asked a UN Security Council sanctions committee to ban further shipments on the grounds that fuel smuggling has enabled North Korea to already exceed a UN-imposed cap on its fuel imports for the year. Under a UN sanctions resolution adopted last year, crude oil supplies to North Korea were limited to 4 million barrels per year, with a ceiling of 500,000 barrels put on refined oil products. The cutoff of fuel has been primarily enforced by China, which supplies North Korea with most of its energy needs, but also Russia, which has delivered some oil to Pyongyang. The United States last week sent a report to the sanctions committee saying that North Korea had secured at least 759,793 barrels of oil products through ship-to-ship transfers at sea, according to documents seen by AP and AFP. The smuggling typically involves North Korean tankers siphoning clandestine cargoes of oil in international waters from ships that often switch off their satellite tracking system to prevent any monitoring of their activities. Media reported that the U.S. documents cite 89 instances in the first half of the year in which North Korean tankers likely delivered refined products "illicitly procured" by such transfers at sea. The documents say that even if each tanker delivered only one-third of its listed capacity, the total volume Pyongyang obtained through smuggling would be above its 500,000-barrel quota for the year. But if each tanker were fully loaded with fuel, the amount smuggled would be triple its quota, the U.S. documents said. In light of North Korea's apparent success at smuggling fuel, the United States argues in its report that any further scheduled deliveries of fuel by China and Russia should "immediately stop." In putting a hold on the U.S. request that will last for at least six months, China and Russia both demanded more information from the United States. "Russia is closely examining this request and is seeking additional information on every single case of 'illegal' transfer of petroleum to the DPRK claimed by the U.S.," Russia's UN mission said in an e-mail to council members. "We also request the U.S. side to provide additional factual information to facilitate all states to study and make judgment," the Chinese mission said. The council last year adopted a series of three increasingly tough sanctions resolutions targeting North Korea's economy in response to Pyongyang's sixth nuclear test and a series of ballistic-missile launches. The sanctions banned North Korea's exports of raw commodities and severely restricted its supplies of oil, which are vital to sustaining the country's military program. The skirmish over fuel smuggling comes ahead of a July 20 meeting at which U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to brief the UN council on Washington's drive to persuade North Korea to scrap its nuclear and missile programs. Diplomats expect Pompeo to push the council to keep strictly enforcing the UN sanctions. With reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-china- block-us-bid-un-security-council-halt-fuel-deliveries- north-korea/29377637.html Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pompeo Urges Nations to Keep Pressuring N. Korea By Margaret Besheer July 20, 2018 U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insisted Friday that the international community must continue to keep the pressure on North Korea to denuclearize. "Strict enforcement of sanctions is critical to our achieving this goal," Pompeo told reporters after a series of quick meetings Friday at the United Nations in New York. "When sanctions are not enforced, the prospects for the successful denuclearization of North Korea are diminished." Pompeo held one-on-one sessions with his South Korean counterpart, Kang Kyung-wha, and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. He also briefed the full U.N. Security Council plus Japan on his latest trip to Pyongyang, which occurred earlier this month. U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley accompanied the secretary. The top U.S. diplomat warned that North Korea is trying to get around the sanctions, smuggling petroleum products into the country by sea at levels that exceed what is allowed under international sanctions. "These illegal ship-to-ship transfers are the most prominent means by which these transfers are happening," Pompeo said. "These transfers happened at least 89 times in the first five months of 2018 and continue to occur." Last week, the United States asked the U.N. Security Council committee that monitors sanctions implementation to ban further fuel shipments to Pyongyang in a bid to cut off revenue to its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. On Thursday, Russia and China moved to block the U.S., putting a six-month hold on the request. Pompeo did not give any details on his meetings in Pyongyang. Asked what North Korea needed to do, the secretary said that Kim Jong Un committed to denuclearize and that he understood what that meant. "What do we need to see?" Pompeo asked. "We need to see Chairman Kim do what he promised the world he would do. It's not very fancy, but it's the truth." Trump, Pompeo optimistic The secretary of state said he and President Donald Trump were "upbeat" about the prospects of North Korea fulfilling its promise. "It is the Trump administration's hope that one day the DPRK could be in our midst here at U.N. not as pariah, but as friend," he said, referring to North Korea by its initialism. Security Council members said that during his briefing, Pompeo urged enforcement of sanctions and said that a discussion about easing them could begin only once concrete actions had been taken on the ground. South Korea's Kang said North Korea had repeatedly made clear its commitment to denuclearization and that "we will hold them up to that commitment." "China is committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula issue; we're committed to peace and stability on the peninsula, [and] we're committed to the promotion of dialogue and negotiations," China's U.N. Ambassador Ma Zhaoxu told reporters. "We will fully implement the resolutions. Everybody is doing so." "I pleaded to the Security Council that they stay the course, that they maintain the sanctions and keep on sending this strong message to North Korea that the international community cannot accept nuclear weapons," said Japan's envoy, Koro Bessho. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Sri Lanka Will Not Allow Military Use of Mattala Airport by India - Minister Sputnik News 17:25 20.07.2018(updated 20:39 20.07.2018) The Sri Lanka government has proposed to transfer 70 percent ownership of the loss-making Mattala International Airport to India. The airport is less than 30 kilometers away from Hambantota Port, in which China holds a 70 percent stake. New Delhi (Sputnik): Amid stiff resistance from opposition parties, the government of Sri Lanka has clarified that India will not be allowed to use Mattala International Airport for military purposes even if ownership of the airport is transferred to the Airports Authority of India. Sri Lanka's minister of civil aviation, Nimal Siripala de Silva, has informed Parliament that a joint venture would be formed to operate the debt-ridden airport where 70 percent of its shares would be bought by India while the other 30 percent by the Sri Lankan government. "We have set pre-conditions before transferring the airport. This is only a business venture. We will not allow anyone to use it for any military activities. Its air navigation system is operated by Sri Lankan authorities and security also provided by the Air Force and local partners," Nimal Siripala de Silva, Sri Lanka's minister of civil aviation, said. Silva said that discussions are underway on the nitty-gritty of the proposal and that a technical evaluation committee and a negotiating committee on matters regarding national security and the job security of employees of the airport would recommend the future course of actions. Earlier, Sri Lanka's opposition leader, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, made strong allegations that the Sirisena government was compromising the sovereignty of the country and national security despite knowing that airports play an important part in domestic and international wars. Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan government has indicated that the agreement with India, if and when it happens, would be presented in Parliament for final ratification. "If the airport is to be transferred to India completely, Civil Aviation Act should be amended in Parliament. Anyone can object to it and defeat it in Parliament," Silva said. The Mattala International Airport is famously known as the world's emptiest airport as it was closed earlier this year as the Sri Lankan government could afford the operational cost of LKR 250 million (roughly $1.56 million) per month. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Turkey says working to avoid repercussions of US sanctions on Iran Iran Press TV Fri Jul 20, 2018 02:35PM Turkey's Foreign Ministry says the country's officials are working to prevent Ankara from being negatively affected by the US move to re-impose nuclear sanctions against Iran in the wake of Washington's withdrawal from a historic nuclear deal signed between the Islamic Republic and the P5+1 group of countries in 2015. The ministry made the announcement in a statement on Friday after a US delegation of Treasury and State Department officials held talks with Turkish authorities in Ankara on upcoming Washington's sanctions against Tehran. US President Donald Trump announced on May 8 that Washington was walking away from a nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries in 2015. The US president also said that he planned to reinstate US nuclear sanctions on Iran and impose "the highest level" of economic bans on the Islamic Republic. Under the JCPOA, Iran undertook to put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions imposed against Tehran. The Turkish foreign ministry's statement further emphasized that Iran was an important neighbor for Turkey and that Ankara would continue to monitor the US sanctions within this framework. Washington has said it would be returning the sanctions in August and threatened the countries that maintain business with Iran despite the bans with "secondary sanctions." It has also warned countries against keeping up their crude purchases from Iran from November 4 onward. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Monday that the Islamic Republic has lodged a complaint with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the United States' "unlawful" move to re-impose "unilateral" sanctions against Tehran. "Today Iran filed a complaint [with] @CIJ_ICJ to hold US accountable for its unlawful re-imposition of unilateral sanctions," Zarif said in a post on his official Twitter account on Monday. Late last month, however, Ankara said it remained determined to maintain trade ties with Iran. Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on June 29 that his country remains determined to maintain trade ties with Iran. "If the United States' decisions are aimed at peace and stability, then we'll support them, but we don't have to follow every decision. Being allies doesn't mean following every decision word for word," Cavusoglu told the Turkish broadcaster NTV in an interview. Iran has been Turkey's leading supplier of crude oil for most of the past two decades, ceding first place to Iraq only for three years during the recent period of US sanctions. Imports last year came to 11.493 million tonnes, or 44.6% of the total supply, at an average of 230,800 barrels per day (bpd), up 66% from the 6.939 million tonnes supplied in 2016, according to reports. Iranian First Vice President Es'haq Jahangiri said on July 10 that the upcoming US move to re-impose sanctions on Iran will create "difficult conditions" for the country but the Islamic Republic will forcefully resist against the United States' economic war. "Given the enemy's economic war, we will face new and difficult conditions and must stand against this war with full power," Jahangiri said. His remarks came a day after Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the three major European signatories to the landmark nuclear deal with Iran had agreed to establish trade ties with Iran independent of the US dollar. Lavrov said the decision by France, Germany and Britain would mainly concern small and medium-sized companies. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US sends team to Turkey to discuss Iran sanctions Iran Press TV Fri Jul 20, 2018 11:01AM Turkey says it expects a delegation from the United States which it says would discuss sanctions against Iran. "A US delegation currently holding talks in India will be visiting Ankara on Friday regarding sanctions against Iran," a Turkish Foreign Ministry official told Reuters, adding that the delegation would be comprised of representatives from the US Treasury Department and State Department. "The delegation will meet with related institutions, including from the foreign and finance ministries," the official added. A US Embassy spokesman confirmed the talks and their subject. Back in May, the US pulled out of a multilateral nuclear agreement with Iran, and said it would be reinstating its nuclear-related sanctions against Tehran. The other signatories to the accord, namely Russia, China, the UK, France and Germany have strongly objected to the US's withdrawal and vowed to try to preserve the deal. Washington has said it would be returning the sanctions in August and threatened the countries that maintain business with Iran despite the bans with "secondary sanctions." It has also warned countries against keeping up their crude purchases from Iran from November 4 onwards. Late last month, however, Ankara said it remained determined to maintain trade ties with Iran. On Thursday, Britain's Daily Express said South Korea would likely seek exemptions from Iran oil bans. It cited Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha as saying during a breakfast seminar at Chatham House in London that she hoped that the bans against Iran "could be circumvented." Meanwhile, Japan's media reported that the country's oil distributors were preparing to suspend imports of the Iranian crude oil. Nikkei cited Japanese banks as saying that they had notified oil distributors that they would stop settling Iran-related transactions starting this summer "unless there is progress in government negotiations." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pompeo Reaches Out To Iranian-Americans Amid Hard-Line On Iran Golnaz Esfandiari July 20, 2018 U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will reach out to a divided Iranian-American community -- some of whom are dismayed by Washington's withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal and the reimposition of sanctions as well as a travel ban that prevents many Iranians from entering the United States -- in a July 22 speech near Los Angeles. The speech -- which will highlight issues such as "corruption of the regime," "brutal repression at home," and "religious persecution," according to a senior State Department official -- comes amid a renewed hard-line by Washington toward the Islamic republic first made public in May with Pompeo's 12 demands for Tehran, which have been interpreted as regime-change policy despite denials by U.S. officials who say Washington only wants to change Iran's behavior. The State Department has not issued a list of invitees to the speech in Simi Valley. Some members of Congress, including House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (Republican-California) and Senator Tom Cotton (Republican-Arkansas), who has specifically called for regime change in Tehran, will also be attending the speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, the State Department said. Among Iranian-Americans attending is Mariam Memarsadeghi, the co-founder of Tavaana E-learning Institute for Iranian Civil Society, who tells RFE/RL she's "deeply appreciative of a U.S. strategy that puts maximum pressure on [Iran's Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei to fundamentally alter the regime's behavior." "We should welcome international support and solidarity, and we should be especially grateful for a policy that limits the lifespan of a regime that is suffocating Iranian society," Memarsadeghi said. Other activists and intellectuals have spoken against the increased U.S pressure that they believe is likely to strengthen the hard-liners within the Iranian establishment and hurt those pushing for gradual change in the country. "Democracy will come to Iran when the people of Iran have their reckoning with their ruthless and incompetent rulers. Tragically, the new Trump strategy delays that reckoning," Iranian-American author and historian Abbas Milani wrote in The Washington Post on May 30 in a piece co-authored with Michael McFaul. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2018/05/30/why-trumps-plans-for-regime-change-in-iran-will-have-the-opposite-effect/?utm_term=.c830b247a878 Former student leader Ali Afshari, who was jailed and tortured in Iran, has not been invited to the speech, and he says he wouldn't attend the event even if he was invited. "I think this is more like a propaganda move than an attempt at bringing the two nations close," Afshari told RFE/RL. "Currently the U.S. administration has a tough line, which has affected not only the establishment but also the people. In addition, the travel limitations imposed by the administration have created problems for the Iranian-American community," Afshari added. Afshari, an analyst and commentator on Iranian affairs, says those attending "are likely to be suspected of being supported by the U.S. as an alternative to the current Iranian establishment." Ali Vaez, the director of Iran Project at the International Crisis Group (ICG), says Pompeo's outreach effort is "an exercise in futility." "Iranian opposition in exile is too fractured, too disconnected from the country's realities, and basically beyond repair. Any alternative to the Islamic republic should be homegrown, not engineered in the Golden State (California)," Vaez said in an e-mail to RFE/RL. "If the Trump administration had a smidgen of goodwill, it would abolish the travel ban against the people of Iran who have never engaged in any acts of terrorism on U.S. soil," Vaez added. The National Iranian-American Council (NIAC), which actively supported the nuclear deal with Iran, accused Washington of trying "to exploit Iranian Americans and co-opt the Iranian people to provide legitimacy for the Trump Administration's Iraq War redux for Iran." "Just as the [George W.] Bush administration cultivated a few Iraqi exiles and talked about human rights to provide legitimacy for a disastrous invasion of Iraq, the Trump Administration appears intent on using Iranian exiles to advance dangerous policies that will leave the Iranian people as its primary victims," the NIAC said in a statement posted on its website. https://www.niacouncil.org/pompeo-trump-plan/ It is not clear if the opposition Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO), which was removed from the State Department list of terrorist groups in 2012, has been invited. Some of President Donald Trump's aides and allies have been regular speakers at the group's events, including White House national security adviser John Bolton and legal adviser Rudy Giuliani. The group is despised by many Iranians for collaborating with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein during the bloody 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War. "I don't know the answer to that. I don't believe that they are," a senior State Department official said at a July 19 conference call focused on Pompeo's speech in response to a question about whether the MKO is among the invitees to the speech. In past months, the Iranian establishment has faced a range of challenges, including the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear accord under which Tehran has limited its sensitive nuclear work in exchange for relief from economic sanctions; protests over the worsening economy, water scarcity, and pollution; and unprecedented public protests by women against forced veiling. Pompeo has expressed support for the protesters on several occasions, including in a June 21 tweet. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/pompeo-reaches -out-to-iranian-americans-amid-hard- line-on-iran/29378840.html Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ex-South Korean President Park Sentenced to 8 More Years in Jail Sputnik News 09:08 20.07.2018(updated 09:41 20.07.2018) Earlier in April, the Seoul Central District Court has sentenced former South Korean President Park Geun-hye to 24 years in prison. A South Korean court sentenced disgraced former president Park Geun-hye to eight years in prison for embezzling state funds and interference in party activities, Yonhap News Agency reports. According to the court's decision, the former head of state was sentenced to six years in prison for receiving funds from the budget of the National Intelligence Agency of South Korea. The court added two years to her sentence for illegally participating in the nomination of candidates for elections from the ruling party during her presidency. The court also ruled that the ex-president, who is already serving a 24-year prison term over corruption scandal which led to her impeachment, should be fined 3.3 billion won ($2.9 million), according to the Yonhap news agency. As the penalties apply consecutively now she faces a total of 32 years in prison. The political scandal around Park broke out in October 2016, when she was accused of having allowed her longtime friend and close associate Choi Soon-sil, who did not hold any official post, to get involved in state affairs. She was also accused of being complicit in Choi's extortion of $54.9 million from big conglomerates, including Samsung, in exchange for business favors. The scandal led to Park's impeachment in December 2016. During the court hearings, South Korean prosecutors demanded that the former president be sentenced to 30 years in jail and asked the court to fine her $110 million. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Week In Russia: Summit Shortcomings, Pension Perils Steve Gutterman July 20, 2018 From Washington to Moscow, the summit in Helsinki was widely seen as a big win for Vladimir Putin. But despite President Donald Trump's follow-up invitation for Putin to visit the White House within months, the meeting may have fallen short of some of the Kremlin's more ambitious expectations. And when it was over, Putin returned home to a country facing the prickly problem of pension reform, with trepidation over planned retirement-age hikes denting his popularity. Here are some of the key developments in Russia over the past week, and some of the takeaways going forward. 'Better Than Super' Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called it "fabulous," while opponents of Donald Trump -- and some fellow Republicans -- were aghast over a meeting at which the U.S. president seemed to side with Putin on alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election and put no public pressure on Moscow over that issue or any other. Headlines in both hemispheres spoke of a win for Putin, and three days later the White House announced a glittering prize: An invitation for Putin to meet Trump in Washington in the fall. But despite Lavrov's assessment -- "better than super" - the Kremlin may still wish Putin had left with a little more to hold onto. It's true that Putin didn't need any major, concrete deals to put the stamp of success on the summit. It's also true that he didn't get any, as far as we know. The Russian ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, said on state television two days after the summit that he believes "important verbal agreements were made." And on July 19, Putin called the summit "successful overall" and said it led to "some useful agreements." What's The Deal? Those remarks are causing concern in the United States, particularly among critics of Trump who fear he could have made concessions to Putin during their more-than-two-hour one-on-one meeting with only translators present. But the only actual agreement announced by the U.S. side so far is for "working level dialogue between the two security council staffs," which White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders mentioned in her tweet about Trump's invite for Putin to come to Washington. Those developments will clearly please Putin, providing vital fuel for the Kremlin's argument that Russia is far from isolated despite U.S. and European sanctions. But to the naked eye, at least, there was no grand bargain struck in Helsinki, no sign of sanctions relief, no specific agreement on nuclear arms control. And while the comments in which Trump seemed to side with Moscow on election meddling caused an uproar that may not soon subside, some of the presummit fears about what Trump might do to please Putin were not borne out by the public comments from the two presidents. "Trump didn't recognize the Russian annexation of Crimea, announce a troop pullout from Syria, promise to disband NATO, withdraw U.S. troops from Germany or stop the deployment of U.S. anti-missile defenses in Eastern Europe," Bloomberg Opinion columnist Leonid Bershidsky wrote. Bromance With Benefits? After waiting nearly 18 months after U.S. Inauguration Day for a full-fledged meeting with Trump, Putin may have hoped the summit would turn their long-distance courtship into a "bromance with benefits." Instead, according to Bershidsky, the Trump-Putin relationship "increasingly looks like a love affair that won't be consummated." "Each would like to do something for the other. But Putin has nothing to offer that the U.S. media and the Republican establishment might support, and Trump is mindful of where he stands with both and is blocked by the Constitution from giving anything away," he wrote. That point seemed to borne out by the fate of Putin's proposal that the United States let Russian prosecutors who are pursuing Kremlin critic William Browder question several Americans, including former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, in exchange for Russia letting U.S. officials interview Russians such as the 12 military intelligence officers indicted by U.S. authorities three days before the summit over the alleged election interference in 2016. A day after she indicated Trump would consider the proposal -- prompting howls of protest from his opponents and a pithy assessment from the State Department, which called it "absurd" -- Sanders said the president "disagrees" with the idea, making clear it wouldn't happen. For Trump, of course, the fact that no deliverable was delivered may also be a disappointment, despite efforts by both sides ahead of time to play down the prospects for concrete agreements. After a summit that "accomplished very little of substance," the closing press conference "left Trump & team with all the blowback, but no deals," Olya Oliker, director of the Russia and Eurasia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, wrote in a "cooling-off take" on Twitter. Amid the firestorm over his press-conference performance, Trump tweeted on July 18 that he and Putin "discussed many important subjects" and promised: "Big results will come!" Trump did not explain what those might be, beyond stating that "Russia has agreed to help with North Korea," but Russian officials have given hints about some of the results they want to see. One appears to a be Crimea-style referendum that could tear the parts of two eastern Ukrainian provinces held by Russia-backed forces further from Kyiv's grasp but this time with the imprimatur of the U.S. president and international backing in place to lend the vote legitimacy. Bloomberg News quoted two people who attended a closed-door speech by Putin on July 19 as saying he told diplomats that he made the referendum proposal to Trump at the summit but agreed not to disclose it publicly, in order to give Trump time to consider it. Whether the referendum idea gets anywhere or not, the dissonance between the White House and State Department on the proposal for questioning Americans seems to underscore two things about Putin's approach to the United States. On the one hand, many analysts say one of Putin's main goals is to sow discord both between Western countries and within them. So he can check that box in this case. But it also seems to show how closely tied Putin now is to Trump in terms of Russian relations with the United States. When U.S. elections roll around, Russian officials normally make a show of saying they are ready to work with the winner, whoever it may be. But Kremlin bosses have also often relied on personal relationships with foreign leaders in the hope of plowing past the checks and balances in countries like the United States and getting what they want done and done faster. In Helsinki, Putin again denied that Russia meddled in the U.S. election. But for the first time, he acknowledged publicly what has seemed obvious for about two years -- that he wanted Trump to win. Ties That Bind Trump's critics say he bent to Putin's will. But Dmitry Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, says Putin took a risky step closer to Trump at the summit, where he says the two presidents "held a common front" against U.S. Democrats, special prosecutor Robert Mueller's investigation, and the U.S. media. Putin "evidently decided to make a serious bet on Donald Trump in his confrontation with the greater part of the American political establishment," Trenin wrote. "Russia, having publicly stepped into the domestic political arena of the United States, had better be prepared for various unpleasant surprises," he wrote, depicting U.S. politics as a "rollercoaster" -- the Russian term is "American hills" -- that can send you soaring for the heights at one moment and screaming toward the ground the next. 'Like A Serf' Back home, Putin faces the task of pushing through a nearly unprecedented, highly unpopular pension-reform plan that would increase the retirement age for men to 65 from 60, and for women to 63 from 55. While one of the Kremlin's mantras is that Putin does not worry about opinion polls, its approach to the pension reform so far has seemed to contradict that assertion. A day after Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev outlined the proposal in mid-June, Putin's spokesman said that the president was "not taking part in that process" and that the situation had changed since Putin promised, in 2005, not to raise the retirement age while he was president. Polls show that Putin's ratings have dropped since the announcement, and independent outlet Dozhd TV (TV Rain) has quoted sources as saying that the Kremlin has asked media, pro-government bloggers, and members of the pro-Putin ruling party United Russia not to use the phrase "pension reform." Amid protests outside the State Duma on July 19, the measure passed in its first of three readings in the lower parliament house -- with every single "yes" vote cast by United Russia. Among those voting against was flamboyant firebrand Vladimir Zhirinovsky. He called the pension reform "a yoke around the neck" that would leave the ordinary Russian citizen "like a serf who can only leave work feet-first" -- that is, when he dies. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/the-week-in-russia-summit- shortcomings-pension-perils/29378414.html Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia Dumped U.S. Bond Holdings This Year Amid U.S. Sanctions Push RFE/RL July 20, 2018 While Russian President Vladimir Putin has been seeking to mend relations with his U.S. counterpart, his government has been dumping U.S. debt in a way seldom seen in global markets, financial analysts say. Data released by the U.S. Treasury this week shows that Russia, which once ranked among the top 10 foreign holders of U.S. Treasury securities, by May had sold off all but about $15 billion of that debt -- down from nearly $100 billion in March. The unusually rapid selloff of U.S. bonds -- which many analysts are attributing to rising U.S.-Russia tensions and in particular, U.S. sanctions imposed on Russian billionaires this year -- caused Russia to fall below the $30 billion threshold for being included on the Treasury's list of its "major bondholders." Russia owned as much as $176 billion in U.S. debt in 2010, according to Treasury figures, but it began unloading its U.S. holdings after former U.S. President Barack Obama started imposing sanctions on Moscow over its aggression in Ukraine in 2014. The sanctions have continued and increased under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, who under a sanctions law enacted last summer announced new measures earlier this year targeting 38 individuals and organizations that benefit from close ties to Putin -- including seven Russian oligarchs and 17 government officials. Nearly half of the Russian selloff occurred since those sanctions were imposed in April. A $30 billion to $40 billion drop in Treasury security holdings by a foreign country during a one-month time period is significant, but not unprecedented, said Boris Rjavinski, a financial strategist at Wells Fargo bank. China's holdings of U.S. Treasuries declined by roughly $200 billion over several months when the country was going through a currency exchange adjustment process a few years ago, Rjavinski told USA Today. The market size for Treasurys is more than $15 trillion, large enough to absorb such changes, he said. China, which holds $1.2 trillion of U.S. debt, remains the top holder of U.S. Treasuries, followed by Japan, Ireland, Brazil, and the United Kingdom. As it has sold off Treasury securities, Russian Central Bank statistics show that the country has shifted into buying large amounts of gold, with Russia recently overtaking China as the world's biggest holder of gold, with $80.5 billion in holdings. Elvira Nabiullina, the head of the Central Bank of Russia, said the shift from Treasuries into gold had been due to an assessment of financial, economic, and geopolitical risks, RT reported. Nabiullina said the gold purchases were helping to diversify Russia's wealth. Russia signaled as far back as 2009, during the global financial crisis and recession, that it planned to reduce the percentage of Treasuries in its foreign-exchange reserves. Although the drop in Russia's U.S. Treasury holdings was large, it represented a "drop in the bucket" in the context of the overall U.S. Treasury market, which is the world's largest market, said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist for Allianz Investment Management. "Investors should be more worried if China were to start selling significant amounts of U.S. Treasuries in retaliation to the escalating trade tensions," Ripley said. Asked about the shift in Russia's holdings, a Treasury spokesman said that the Treasury market was the world's "deepest and most liquid" and demand remained "robust." With reporting by AFP, Business Insider, USA Today, and Bloomberg Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-dumped-us-bond- holdings-this-year-amid-us-sanctions- push-billionaires/29377638.html Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia Hunting Leaker of Hypersonic Missile Details to Western Agencies Sputnik News 23:10 20.07.2018 Russian intelligence officers have raided the offices of two missile development facilities of the Roscosmos Corporation in search of the person who leaked classified information on hypersonic missiles to Western intelligence agencies. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), a domestic intelligence agency, searched the premises of two Roscosmos facilities involved with the hypersonic missile project: the Central Research Institute of Machine Building (TSNIIMASH) and the United Rocket and Space Corporation (URSC), Friday morning. A source with knowledge of the probe told the Kommersant newspaper, "Many heads will roll, it won't be limited to people being dismissed," underscoring the seriousness of the investigation. He said "it was established that the leak came from TSNIIMASH employees who were in touch with Paison." Dmitry Paison, who is in charge at the URSC building, had his office separately raided. Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed the hypersonic weapons during a March speech, calling the Avangard, which is designed to be mounted on an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), "invincible." The other missile is the Kinzhal (dagger), which is said to be capable of destroying an aircraft carrier, Sputnik News reported. Some of the hypersonic weapons are reportedly in service already. In May, the US business outlet CNBC published a report in which a source they spoke to with knowledge of US intelligence report said Russia will have a weapon the US can't defend against ready for war by 2020. Sputnik News reported that on July 12 that Pentagon Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Michael Griffin told reporters that hypersonic weapons are "not an advantage that we can concede to people who wish to be our adversaries." Now the Department of Defense is seeking some $20 million from Congress to pay for the development of their own hypersonic weapons. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Close to 7,000 evacuated from Syrian towns after enduring nearly 3-year siege 19 July 2018 - After close to three years of siege, 6,900 women, children and men were finally able to leave the Syrian towns of Foah and Kafraya over the past few days, following a local agreement between parties to the conflict. The two largely Shia pro-Government towns, in the mostly rebel-held Idlib Governorate, had been besieged by non-state armed groups since October 2015, and people trapped there have been in dire need of life-saving assistance, including food and medical care. The United Nations has not been able to deliver humanitarian assistance to the towns since September 2017. The civilians were escorted out by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to the Al-Eiss crossing in southern rural Aleppo Governorate. In addition, 17 persons in need of urgent medical care, were brought to hospitals in Aleppo city, accompanied by 21 family members. On Monday, it was reported by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) that another 430 conflict-affected Syrians were evacuated from Dara'a Governorate to northern Syria, also following an agreement by parties to the conflict. Humanitarian agencies on the ground are responding to the best of their capacities to the most urgent needs in the various reception areas. "The United Nations was not party to the negotiated agreement or its implementation, but stands ready to provide all people in need with humanitarian assistance wherever they are," said UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq during a press briefing at UN Headquarters on Thursday, as he stressed that "any evacuation of civilians should be safe, voluntary, well-informed and to a place of their own choosing" and that "all people displaced through such agreements must retain the right of return as soon as the situation allows". As needs assessments are ongoing in areas where control has recently changed, humanitarian organisations have started delivering basic help. This week, convoys brought life-saving aid to 19,500 people in dire need in and around Beit Jin (Rural Damascus governorate), to 15,000 people in Nassib and Um Elmayathen (Dara'a governorate), and to 89,000 people in the Al-Houla area (Homs governorate) and the Harbnafseh area (Hama governorate). For Beit Jin, this was the first time that aid reached the formerly besieged area since 2013. The humanitarian crisis in Syria, now in its eighth year, continues to be characterized by unparalleled suffering, destruction and disregard for human life. Some 13.1 million people require critical aid, including close to 3 million people trapped in besieged and hard-to-reach areas. Despite enormous challenges, the UN and its humanitarian partners continue to deliver life-saving assistance and support to millions of people across the country every month. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syrian besieged towns fully evacuated IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Damascus, July 20, IRNA -- All locals of two Shia-majority Syrian towns, al-Fouaa and Kefraya, were evacuated from the terrorist-held parts of Idlib Province, Syrian local sources said. Some 7,000 people living in the besieged towns left Idlib on 121 buses, accompanied by a number of ambulances following a prisoners swap. They left the province from Tallet al-Eis corridor in southern countryside of Aleppo. The Syrian government and terrorist groups agreed to exchange some 6,900 locals of the two towns with 1,500 prisoners from various terrorist groups. Al-Fouaa and Kefraya have been besieged since 2015. 9156**1420 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 750,000 internally displaced Syrians returned home in first half of 2018, UNHCR says Iran Press TV Fri Jul 20, 2018 03:57PM United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says an estimated 750,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Syria returned to their homes in the first half of the current year, adding that the figure equals the amount for all of last year. The UN refugee agency announced in a statement on Friday that the repatriations have taken place mostly in areas that Syrian government troops and allied fighters from popular defense groups have liberated from the clutches of foreign-sponsored Takfiri militants in the country's northern province of Aleppo, central province of Homs as well as the southwestern province of Rif Dimashq. UNHCR noted that the rate of returns this year has markedly outpaced that of 2017, when an estimated 760,000 people went back to homes they had been forced to run off. The United Nations agency went on to state that it had "ramped up its capacity inside Syria" in anticipation that larger numbers of internally displaced people would return home in the wake of territorial gains scored by Syrian soldiers and their allies in battles against Takfiri militants. UNHCR also said nearly 13,000 Syrian refugees in neighboring countries have returned to their homeland through the first half of this year. The United Nations refugee agency also appealed to all sides in Syria to provide safe passage for 140,000 civilians displaced by fighting in the country's southwest region so that they can receive humanitarian aid and shelter. "We urge all parties in Syria to protect and provide safe passage to civilians displaced by the recent fighting in the south of the country. An estimated 140,000 people remain displaced across the southwest and need safe passage out of the area, plus immediate humanitarian assistance, protection and shelter," UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic said. The UN official stressed that his agency was ready to discuss with Syria and Russia their plan to set up centers for returning Syrian refugees. "We have taken note of the Wednesday's announcement by the Syrian and Russian authorities concerning the setting up of a center in Syria to help refugees who return home. "UNHCR has not yet seen the details of this plan, but we are ready to engage in discussions about these plans with the government of Syria and the Russian federation. Refugees always have the right to return. UNHCR stresses that any plan that aims to enable refugees to exercise this right must be aligned with international standards, meaning that returns must be voluntary. They need to take place in safe and dignified conditions and need to be sustainable," Mahecic said. 'Over 1.7 mn Syrian refugees to return to their homes in near future' Meanwhile, Head of the Russian National Defense Management Center Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev said on Friday that roughly two million Syrian refugees are expected to return to their homes in the near future. "According to preliminary estimates, more than 1.7 million refugees may return to their places of residence in the near future. As many as 76 settlements least affected by hostilities may accommodate 336,500 people, especially those returning from Lebanon and Jordan," he said. Mizintsev pointed out that more than 6,900,000 people have left Syria since 2011, and 45 countries are currently hosting the majority of them. "Most refugees are residing in Syria's neighboring countries, namely Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq," he noted. Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups wreaking havoc in the country. Russia has been helping Syrian forces in an ongoing battle in the province of Dayr al-Zawr as Daesh struggles to keep its last positions in eastern Syria. The Russian military assistance, which began in September 2015 at the official request of the Syrian government, has proved effective as Syrians continue to recapture key areas from Daesh and other terrorist groups across the country with the backing of Russia's air cover. On May 21, the General Command of the Syrian Army and Armed Forces announced in a statement that complete security was restored to Damascus and its countryside after al-Hajar al-Aswad district and al-Yarmouk camp had been totally purged of Daesh terrorists. The development was preceded by flushing the Takfiris out of the towns of Yalda, Babbila and Beit Sahem on the southern outskirts of Damascus. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syria moves to retake control over Golan Heights from terrorists Iran Press TV Fri Jul 20, 2018 10:15AM The government of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has started operations to evacuate terrorists from areas near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights through yet another surrender deal. A group of buses arrived in Syria's southwestern Quneitra Province on Friday to transfer anti-government terrorist groups that agreed to lay down arms earlier this week, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. The deal, brokered by Russia this week, would see the terrorists hand over the territory they control in Quneitra in exchange for a safe passage to northern Syria for those who refused to live under government control. Quneitra is a thin, crescent-shaped province wedged between the buffer zone with Israel to the west and the Syrian province of Dara'a to the east. The area bears a critical strategic significance as it border Jordan, Lebanon and the Israeli-occupied side of the Golan Heights. Since June 19, the Syrian army has been conducting a major counter-terrorism operation in both Dara'a and Quneitra provinces. The operation has already led to the liberation of more than 90 percent of Dara'a and several key areas in Quneitra, even though as many as 140,000 people are believed to be still living there, according to the United Nations. Israel has been on high alert in recent days as Syrian government forces advanced against foreign-backed terrorists near the Golan Heights. The regime seized 1,200 square kilometers of Golan from Syria in 1967 and later annexed it - a move that the international community still refuses to recognize. While Damascus has been able to retake large parts of the country through similar deals with the terrorists, it remains to be seen whether it can keep negotiating evacuation deals as it moves further north, where the situation is way more complicated due to the presence of Turkish forces, Kurdish militants and 2,000 US troops on the ground. US, allies scramble to evacuate White Helmets Meanwhile, the US and its Western allies are reportedly closing in on an agreement for a two-stage evacuation process to transfer hundreds of White Helmet "volunteer" aid workers out of Syria. Two officials familiar with the plans said Thursday that the US, Britain and Canada were putting the finishing touches on a deal that would first place the workers in Syria's neighboring countries and would then take them to third countries, including Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and possibly Canada. The White Helmets was founded in Turkey in 2013 by former British MI5 officer James Le Mesurier. Since its establishment, the group has received at least $55 million from the British Foreign Office, $23 million or more from the US Office of Transition Initiatives and untold millions from Qatar. Both Damascus and Moscow have accused the volunteer group of having staged the suspected chemical weapons attack in the town of Douma in Syria's Eastern Ghouta region on April 7. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad described the White Helmets as "a branch of al-Qaeda and al-Nusra" militant groups and a "PR stunt" by the US, the UK and France. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syria Regains Control Over Frontier With Israel In Russia-Brokered Deal RFE/RL July 20, 2018 Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is set to regain control of his country's frontier with Israel in a major victory over rebels who have agreed to surrender in negotiations with Russia, sources on both sides say. The resumption of Syrian control over areas bordering the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, one of the last remaining rebel strongholds in the country, appears to be part of a larger Russian plan to reinstitute Syrian control in the border region while clearing the area of pro-Iranian militias, as sought repeatedly by Israel and the United States in talks with Moscow this year. Backed by Russian air power, Assad's forces have swept through southwestern Syria in the last month in one of the swiftest campaigns of the seven-year civil war, forcing surrender on massively outgunned rebels. The campaign has already restored Assad's control over a critical portion of the border region with Jordan. The latest negotiated surrender marks another milestone in Assad's Russian-backed effort to reassert rule over a country fractured by a war that has killed more than 400,000 people. Syrian state media reported that a deal for Quneitra Province in the southwest had been reached and said 10 buses entered a village in Quneitra late on July 19 for the evacuation of insurgents "who refused to settle with the state" to rebel territory in the north. A copy of the surrender agreement sent to Reuters by a rebel source said insurgents had negotiated the deal with Russia. Echoing surrender terms imposed on rebels elsewhere in the country, opposition fighters agreed to give up their heavy and medium-sized weapons. Those wishing to stay in the area agreed to "settle" their status with the state, meaning accept the return of Assad's rule. Rebels who rejected the surrender terms were given safe passage and transport to the opposition-held province of Idlib in the northwest. The terms of the surrender deal were also reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based war monitor, and a military news outlet run by Lebanon's Hizballah, an Iranian-backed militia that has fought in support of Assad. Reports said an affiliate of the Islamic State extremist group continued to hold a sliver of the Golan frontier and it is not party to the agreement. What Comes Next? Once the southwestern campaign is finished, officials said Assad's focus is likely to turn to the two remaining areas outside his grasp. These are the rebel-held northwest, where the presence of Turkish forces will complicate any military campaign, and large areas of the northeast and east that are held by Kurdish-led militias, which are supported by 2,000 U.S. troops on the ground there. As Damascus and its allies continue to make substantial gains on the battlefield, chances appear to be dwindlng for a UN-brokered peace deal, which Assad's adversaries say is needed to stabilize the country and encourage millions of refugees to return. In addition to killing hundreds of thousands of people, the UN estimates that the Syrian civil war has displaced 11 million people and forced 6 million abroad as refugees. The campaign near the Golan frontier has been particularly sensitive because of Israeli concerns. Israel has signaled it has no problem with Assad regaining control of the area as long as Iranian military advisers and Tehran-backed militias do not accompany his troops. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the matter last week in Moscow, one day before a top adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met with Putin. Russia's ambassador to Syria, Aleksandr Kinshchak, told Russian news services in Moscow on July 19 that the south of Syria near Israel had now been cleared of Iranian-allied groups. "This issue has already been settled. I have repeatedly heard from different sources that there are no pro-Iranian, Shi'ite units in the south of Syria," he was quoted as saying by state-run news agency TASS. The United States may have also been involved in the deal. U.S. President Donald Trump said at a news conference after his summit with Putin on July 16 in Helsinki that the two leaders had agreed to work together to help ensure Israel's security. Israel this year has repeatedly warned Iran not to beef up its military presence in Syria, and has staged several deadly air strikes against what it said were Iranian and Hizballah positions and facilities in Syria. The latest surrender deal by rebels puts the Syrian government face-to-face with Israel along most of its frontier for the first time since 2011, when an uprising against Assad's rule ushered in the civil war. Syria and Israel fought two wars over their shared border, in 1967 and 1973, leading to Israel's seizure of the Golan Heights in what was part of Syria's Quneitra Province. The Israeli occupation has never been recognized internationally. In accepting the return of the Syrian Army to the border region, Israel has said it would demand strict adherence to a 1974 disengagement deal that created a buffer zone patrolled by a UN Disengagement and Observer Force. The rebel surrender deal seen by Reuters included a provision saying Russian military police would accompany the Syrian Army to the frontier area in a bid to ensure Damascus adheres to the 1974 cease-fire agreement. With reporting by Reuters, TASS, AP, and AFP Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/syria-regains- control-over-frontier-israel-golan-heights- russia-brokered-surrender-deal-rebels- quneitra-province/29377530.html Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syria: Scaled-up assistance, 'sustained access' needed to 140,000 made homeless, says UNHCR 20 July 2018 - Following a Government-led assault on Syria's opposition-held areas, an estimated 140,000 people in the country's south-west remain homeless and in need of help, the United Nation Refugee Agency (UNCHR) said on Friday, calling for sustained access to displaced communities. "A new scaling-up of assistance is needed and UNHCR continues to advocate for sustained access for humanitarian actors," UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic told reporters at the regular press briefing in Geneva, explaining that the UN and other partners have reached tens of thousands. During the first six months of this year, amid continued fighting and new displacements, nearly 13,000 refugees from neighbouring countries and another 750,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) are estimated to have returned to Aleppo, Homs, Hama, Rural Damascus, Damascus, south-west and north-eastern Syria. Mr. Mahecic pointed out that the UN's has continued to enhance its humanitarian response for IDPs, returnees and other crisis-affected communities. "In anticipation and recognition of this dynamic, UNHCR ramped up its capacity inside Syria already in 2017 to support refugees and internally displaced people who return spontaneously," he stated. In recognition of Wednesday's announcement of a joint Syrian-Russian initiative to set up a refugee centre in Syria to help those wishing to return home, UNHCR said that while it has not yet seen any details of the plan, it is ready to engage in discussions with both Governments and prepared to work with them towards finding solutions that meet international refugee and human rights standards. "Refugees always have a right to return," underscored Mr. Mahecic, adding that they should not be pressured, rushed or prematurely pushed into leaving the countries where they have found shelter. "UNHCR stresses that any plan that aims to enable refugees to exercise this right must be aligned with international standards meaning that returns must be voluntary, they need to take place in safe and dignified conditions, and need to be sustainable," he spelled out. Into its eighth year, the Syrian conflict continues to exact a terrible toll on the country's civilians. Over half of the population has been forced from their homes, and many have been displaced multiple times. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. 'Not Considering' Putin Proposal For Ukraine Referendum RFE/RL July 20, 2018 The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump says it is "not considering supporting" a proposal made by Russian President Vladimir Putin during his summit with Trump to hold a referendum in regions of eastern Ukraine where an armed conflict is being waged against the Ukrainian government. U.S. National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis said on July 20 that organizing a "so-called referendum" would have "no legitimacy." Shortly after the White House rejected conducting a referendum in eastern Ukraine, the Pentagon announced that it is providing an additional $200 million in security assistance to Ukraine to help it build its "defensive capacity." Earlier the same day, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said Trump and Putin discussed "concrete proposals" for resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine during the summit in Helsinki on July 16. Antonov spoke a day after Bloomberg quoted sources as saying that Putin told Russian diplomats he had proposed to Trump that a referendum be held in the region, where Russia-backed separatists hold parts of two provinces. "This issue was discussed," Antonov said, apparently referring to the conflict itself and not a proposal for a referendum. He said that "concrete proposals were made on how to resolve this issue," but did not describe them. Trump has said on Twitter that he and Putin discussed the situation in Ukraine at the July 16 summit in Helsinki, but he did not mention a potential referendum or provide any other details related to Ukraine. More than 10,300 people have been killed since April 2014 in the conflict between Ukrainian forces and the Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine's eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Although Moscow denies interfering in Ukraine's domestic affairs, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in November 2016 determined the conflict to be "an international armed conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation." Moscow's takeover of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine prompted the United States, the European Union, and others to impose sanctions on Russia. Russia seized Crimea in March 2014 after sending in troops, taking over key facilities, and staging a referendum deemed illegitimate by at least 100 countries in the United Nations. The Bloomberg report cited two people who attended a closed-door speech by Putin to Russian diplomats on July 19. The report said Putin told the diplomats that he had agreed not to disclose the referendum plan publicly, in order to give Trump time to consider it. There is no provision for a referendum in Minsk II, a European-brokered cease-fire and peace deal signed by Russia, Ukraine, and the separatist leaders in Donetsk and Luhansk in February 2015. Russia, Ukraine, and Western countries all support the Minsk agreement publicly, but implementation has been slow and Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of thwarting efforts to carry it out. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova declined to comment on Putin's reported proposal for a referendum, saying on July 20 that it was beyond her competence to comment on details of the talks between Trump and Putin. But she added that "if the global community, first and foremost the United States, has failed to make Kyiv implement the Minsk Agreements, then other options to resolve [the conflict] may be discussed." At a joint press conference with Trump following their talks in Helsinki, Putin repeated Russian calls for the United States to press Kyiv harder to implement the Minsk agreement. U.S. officials have repeatedly said that Russia must do much more to implement the agreement and create conditions under which it could succeed. Trump's special envoy on Ukraine, Kurt Volker said in January that there was "a very strong sense of disappointment and frustration in Washington that Russia has done absolutely nothing to end the conflict." Antonov called the Helsinki summit "a key event" and said that Putin and Trump should continue to be in contact after their summit. He said he was not aware of an invitation from Trump for Putin to visit Washington later this year, but stressed that Moscow was ready to discuss such a visit. In a tweet on July 19, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders wrote that Trump "asked [national security adviser John Bolton] to invite President Putin to Washington in the fall and those discussions are already under way." With reporting by Bloomberg, AP, AFP, dpa, Interfax, and TASS Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-putin- discussed-concrete-proposals-on-ukraine- envoy-says/29378363.html Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. Announces $200 Million In New Security Aid To Ukraine RFE/RL July 20, 2018 The United States will provide $200 million in additional security funding to Ukraine. The U.S. Defense Department on July 20 announced it will provide the funding for "training, equipment, and advisory efforts to build the defensive capacity of Ukraine's forces." The new funding will "support ongoing training programs and operational needs," the statement said. The United States has provided a total of more than $1 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since 2014, when neighboring Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and fomented a separatist conflict in parts of eastern Ukraine. More than 10,300 people have been killed since April 2014 in the conflict. Although Moscow denies interfering in Ukraine's domestic affairs, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in November 2016 determined the conflict to be "an international armed conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation." Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/u-s-announces-200-million- in-new-security-aid-to-ukraine/29380049.html Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pentagon to Provide $200Mln to Ukraine in Security Cooperation Funds Sputnik News 23:39 20.07.2018 WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States is providing Ukraine with $200 million in security cooperation funds for training, equipment, and advisory efforts, the Department of Defense said in a press release on Friday. "The Department of Defense announced today that they will provide $200 million to Ukraine in security cooperation funds for additional training, equipment and advisory efforts to build the defensive capacity of Ukraine's forces," the release said. The funding will support Ukraine's command and control, situational awareness system, night vision, and other operational needs, the release said. The timeline for delivering and fielding the equipment has not been determined, it added. The Pentagon said the United States has given Ukraine more than $1 billion in assistance for its security sector since 2014. In early March, the State Department signed off on a $47-million sale of shoulder-fired Javelin anti-tank missiles requested by Ukraine. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency in a statement said the transaction aims to help Ukraine defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity. The US 2018 defense budget, signed by President Donald Trump in December, allocates $350 million for security assistance to Kiev. Moscow has repeatedly warned against supplies of weapons to Ukraine saying that this would result in escalation of the military conflict in the country's eastern Donbass region, ongoing since 2014. This stance has been also supported by a number of European officials. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A new bunch of FCC documents that were published today reveal that the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Watch will be launched in two different sizes. We saw the same Watch leak yesterday with a 1.19-inch round display while todays leak reveals a larger 1.3-inch round display. This larger watch will have a larger 48mm chassis while the smaller one was 43.4mm. Source: FCC.gov In this FCC document, you can see the two sizes side by side and the slight differences between them. Based on these CAD drawings, the larger Samsung Galaxy Watch could be a sportier variant based on the shape of its chassis while the smaller one has a more traditional smartwatch design with tabs and the space for interchangeable watch bands. Both models would carry the same name and they support the same wide variety of LTE bands as well as Wi-Fi 2.4GHz b/g/n. The larger model has model number SM-R805 while the smaller one is SM-R815. We expect this new watch to be announced alongside the Samsung Galaxy Note9 in New York City on August 9. Otherwise, if it is further delayed, it may be announced along with the Samsung Galaxy X slated to become official at IFA in Berlin. Source | Via 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 Canadas Combat Ship Team submitted its final proposal for the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) project to prime contractor Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax, after four years of investment developing a solution. Canadas Combat Ship Team submitted its final proposal for the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) project to prime contractor Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax, after four years of investment developing a solution. Canadas Combat Ship Team image. Canadas Combat Ship Team combines Lockheed Martin Canadas longstanding expertise in naval integration with the worlds most advanced warship design BAE Systems Type 26 Global Combat Ship and high-tech platforms from top-pedigree Canadian innovators CAE, MDA, L3 Technologies, and Ultra Electronics. At the core of the Teams Value Proposition is the lowest risk solution that will deliver the right ship for Canadas CSC needs while also providing the best economic outcomes for Canada. Right Ship for Canadas CSC needs Purposely designed for high-end anti-submarine warfare and capable of performing a variety of missions in any part of the world, the Type 26 is acoustically quiet, versatile, highly survivable, allows for the greatest margins of growth for future modernization, and, unlike other 10 to 15-year-old designs, minimizes obsolescence risk as a bow-to-stern digitally designed warship. Best Economic Outcomes for Canada Making $17 billion in value proposition commitments to Canada, Canadas Combat Ship Team commits to spending billions in innovation across Canadas priority areas, including $2 billion in supplier development and $2 billion in Research and Development, and $200 million in Advanced Manufacturing. Employing a combined 9,000 Canadians in 40 facilities across the country and engaging a Canadian supply chain of more than 4,000 small and medium sized enterprises, the Team will develop new and enhance existing Canadian defence capabilities, which will bring tremendous exports to global markets. Lowest Risk Solution Canadas Combat Ship Team brings together a pan-Canadian team with a proven track record in delivering complex defence projects on-time and on-budget for the Canadian Armed Forces. As Canadas only major Combat System Integrator and the provider of the CMS 330, Lockheed Martin Canada has been a trusted defence partner for more than 30 years delivering on the Halifax-class modernization project and modernizing frigates from the Royal New Zealand Navy and Chilean Navy. The Type 26 requires only minor change to meet Canadas CSC needs and builds upon knowledge gained from the UKs Type 26 Global Combat Ship and Australias SEA 5000 programs. The characteristics that differentiate Canadas Combat Ship Team are a pan-Canadian presence, a track record in developing innovative Canadian technologies, supporting high-skilled Canadian jobs, the worlds most advanced warship design and exporting Canadian products and capabilities to the world. In addition, the Team is the only bid fully within the Five Eyes Intelligence Community comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States providing access to the most trusted and sensitive technology. All of this contributes to a strong Canadian team, Canadas Home Team, which is ready to begin work on Day One. Type 26 GCS scale model in CSC configuration at CANSEC 2018. Navy Recognition picture. The Type 26 Global Combat Ship is a flexible, next generation warship design that offers a low risk and affordable solution for the Canadian Surface Combatant program. With the UK Type 26 program running ahead of CSC, our Canadian ship will benefit from lessons learned on the UK and Australian programs. This schedule also enables Type 26 the opportunity to be the most advanced Canadian Surface Combatant. The Australian programme presents significant opportunities for synergies across the UK, Australian and Canadian programs, as well as for the strategic benefits of the Five Eyes intelligence cooperation. Canadian companies such as W.R. Davis Engineering in Ottawa, Rolls-Royce in Peterborough and L3 MAPPS in Montreal have already begun work on delivering high-technology systems for the UKs Type 26, demonstrating the skills and capability available from the Canadian supply chain. Anne Healey, Country Director, Canada, BAE Systems Building on our proud Canadian history of more than 70 years, CAE is honoured to join forces with this pan-Canadian team that has been assembled for CSC. We welcome the opportunity to leverage the strengths of our combined organizations to support the Government of Canada and Irving Shipbuilding to deliver a modern, capable warship with an integrated training system that aligns with the Future Naval Training Strategy. CAE is dedicated to offering customers the most innovative training solutions to achieve the highest levels of operational readiness and performance. Joe Armstrong, Vice President and General Manager - Canada, CAE Were pleased to submit our final proposal for the Canadian Surface Combatant, knowing our approach fulfills the vision for the Canadian Armed Forces and implements the Defence Policy pillars. Our CSC solution provides a ship that will ensure the Royal Canadian Navy is STRONG; offers proven Canadian companies that will assure SECURE and successful program execution; and maintains sovereignty by bringing the direct jobs on CSC back to Canada to ENGAGE and sustain CSC ships throughout their enduring lifetime. Lockheed Martin Canada stands ready to continue serving as Canadas trusted Combat System Integrator, as it has stood for more than three decades. We will continue to provide affordable solutions, sustained job creation, and technology development in Canada for export potential through our proven collaborative partnership model to successfully manage the highly complex systems integration process including integrating our CMS 330 Combat Management System with the Type 26 Global Combat Ship and leverage the innovation and talent here at home that will ultimately result in unprecedented economic outcome for Canada. Gary Fudge, Vice President and General Manager, Lockheed Martin Canada Rotary and Mission Systems We are proud to be a member of Canadas Combat Ship Team and excited to announce the submission of our teams proposal. With a strong Canadian footprint, L3 Technologies is in a unique position to leverage our established Canadian companies to deliver Canadian marine technologies, systems integration support, and through life in-service support to the team in a number of areas, including integrated communications, electro optic and infrared sensors, torpedo handling systems, and integrated platform management systems. Richard Foster, Vice President, L3 Technologies Canada MDA is extremely proud to be a core member of Canadas Combat Ship Team. MDA will lead and deliver an integrated electronic warfare suite and certain radar systems/subsystems for the ship. This project will form the basis of an MDA global product strategy, aimed at achieving long-term and significant future MDA exports from Canada. The Canadian export potential resulting from MDAs strategy is significantly larger than MDAs CSC role, resulting in a large potential economic return on investment for Canada. Mike Greenley, Group President MDA Ultra Electronics is delighted to be a member of the CSC Home Team that is bringing the Type 26 Frigate to Canada. Drawing on our more than 70 years of experience supplying world leading defence equipment to both Canadian and international customers, Ultra is the leader of the Underwater Warfare segment for the Frigate on the CSC Home Team. This work will generate high-tech jobs in Nova Scotia for sonar design, manufacturing, and through life-support, and add to our existing significant export capability. We are well positioned to be ready on day 1. Leo Gaessler, President, Ultra Electronics Canada The scene of the bizarre accident. Shocked shoppers watched in horror as a after a woman was struck by a car and became trapped underneath at CityWest Shopping Centre in Dublin yesterday. The woman, in her 20s, was on her break from her job at an outlet in the centre, when the freak accident happened after 3pm in the shopping centre's car park. It is understood that the worker was hit by a silver Audi A6 after the vehicle mounted the kerb at speed, damaging the trolley bay, along with a number of parked cars. Shock Expand Close Dublin Fire Brigade at the scene / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Dublin Fire Brigade at the scene Witnesses said that they immediately heard the woman cry out for help and attempted to remove her from beneath the car. "I ran over to try and free her, but her leg was trapped and there was nothing we could do," a worker at the shopping centre told the Herald. "I saw the whole thing. The woman driving the car was in total shock. It was a horrible accident." Emergency services were called to the scene and the area was cordoned off by gardai. Dublin Fire Brigade said that firefighters and paramedics from Tallaght and Dolphin's Barn Fire Stations responded to the shocking incident. The woman was brought to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Expand Close Damage to the trolley bay / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Damage to the trolley bay Two fire engines had attended the scene. Horrific The witness told the Herald that: "Thankfully, members from Dublin Fire Brigade got her out." Another witness said the horrific accident could have been a lot worse. "At least it was only her leg and not a head injury," the witness said. "She's lucky to have escaped with her life. You just don't know what can happen to you." Gardai said that a female pedestrian aged in her 20s sustained leg injuries when she was struck by a car. She was treated at the scene and later removed to Tallaght Hospital by ambulance. The driver of the car, a woman in her forties, was uninjured. A number of parked cars were damaged in the incident. Inquiries are ongoing. Jonathan Rhys Meyers has broken his silence about an incident at Los Angeles airport this month, admitting that drinking alcohol doesn't "suit" him. The actor (40), who was born in Dublin and raised in Cork, was detained at the airport when his plane touched down earlier this month after an on-board fight with his wife Mara Lane - with whom he has an 18-month-old son, Wolf. He has admitted he was at fault for breaking his sobriety and ordering a drink following a series of "frustrating" events. "My wife and I had been travelling since three o'clock in the morning from Peru back to Los Angeles," he said. "And they gave away our tickets - it was just a problem with the airline. "We had our baby, who was teething at the time, and it was all kind of frustrating. Angry "So we eventually got on the flight and my wife went to sleep and I very stupidly decided to order a drink. When my wife found that I'd ordered a drink, she got very, very angry with me because I shouldn't drink. It doesn't suit me and I had been sober for a long time." The Velvet Goldmine actor said he was "upset" by his actions but apologised to all involved and thanked police for being "incredibly kind and understanding". Speaking on Larry King Now, he said: "And so I felt that mistake and I got upset and I took out an e-cigarette. "And the airline staff told me that I wasn't allowed to smoke an e-cigarette so I put it away. "Then I spoke to the Los Angeles police once we got there, who were incredibly kind, incredibly understanding. "I apologised for my behaviour, and that's the entire story." Jonathan - who is trying to quit smoking so he doesn't set a bad example to his son - insists he has "learned his lesson" from the incident and is now sober again. "It is a good opportunity to apologise to anybody who was offended that that incident happened, but I learned my lesson," he said. "As soon as I got off the airplane I went and spoke to somebody and I got back on track immediately." A jealous young man who attacked and killed a mother-of-one he described as his "soulmate" after accusing her of cheating on him has been convicted of her murder. Adam O'Keeffe (27) sat with his head cradled in his hands as a Central Criminal Court jury of five men and six women returned a unanimous guilty verdict after a two-week trial. O'Keeffe, of St Vincent's Hostel, Cork, had denied the murder of his girlfriend, Amy McCarthy (22), but admitted her manslaughter. Ms Justice Eileen Creedon was told that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) did not accept O'Keeffe's manslaughter plea. Members of Ms McCarthy's family, who attended every day of the trial, became emotional as the verdict was returned. O'Keeffe received a mandatory life sentence. Expand Close Murder victim Amy McCarthy / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Murder victim Amy McCarthy Sister In a hard-hitting victim impact statement, Ms McCarthy's sister, Jessie, said they deeply mourn her loss every day. "The one thought in our minds that will remain forever is of Amy lying on the floor with no one to pick her up and get her the help she needed. We have no doubt she was pining for us that night," she said. "The one person that misses her most is her son, Adam. What we would do or give up to see them reunited and see the joy on their faces again, but we know that is never going to happen. "There is one thing we would like to ask is that Amy's son would continue to be known as Adam McCarthy - not the boy whose father killed his mother." Ms McCarthy, who was O'Keeffe's long-time partner and the mother of his young son, was found dead on the first floor of a derelict building on Sheares Street in Cork city centre on April 29/30, 2017. She had been badly beaten and strangled. Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster said she is believed to have lay dying for around four hours. O'Keeffe insisted he never intended to hurt or kill Ms McCarthy, from Greemount in Cork. The trial heard he was very jealous and had repeatedly accused Ms McCarthy of having cheated on him, something she vehemently denied. The duo had serious alcohol dependency issues. Just hours before Ms McCarthy's death, O'Keeffe had scrawled in graffiti on The Gate Cinema wall that: "Adam loves Amy forever - Amy loves Adam forever." Ms McCarthy suffered blunt force trauma injuries from multiple blows and had indications - including apparent hand grip marks on her neck - that she was manually strangled. The defendant insisted to gardai he could not remember what had happened. "I did not mean for it to happen," O'Keeffe told one garda. Begging "She never deserved me hitting her. I would never say that she was asking for it. Amy was a small girl - I should have been protecting her," he told gardai. "The next thing I remember, she was dead. Why didn't they [others in the derelict building] stop me - it should not have happened. I was crying over her, begging her to wake up. "It is the biggest regret I have - I am sorry to her family. Amy is the love of my life. She is my soulmate and the mother of my small fella. If I could change places with her I would. I really did not mean for any of this to happen." Witness Dean Nugent was with the defendant and the deceased on April 29. "She was crying. I tried to stop him hitting her but I could not do anything. I was begging him to stop...he lost the plot," he said. Brave Sophia Murphy waived her right to anonymity so her abusive father John Murphy could be named A former member of the Defence Forces has been jailed for 18 years for the "horrendous" sexual abuse of his daughter throughout her childhood from the age of three. John Murphy (61), formerly of Nephin View Manor, Foxford, Co Mayo, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to the rape, indecent assault and sexual assault of his eldest daughter, Sophia Murphy, at locations in Co Galway and Co Mayo on dates between 1988 and 2001. He also pleaded guilty to a final incident of sexual assault of Ms Murphy in 2010. Murphy is currently serving an eight-year sentence in Arbour Hill Prison for sexual abuse involving Ms Murphy's two younger sisters, imposed last February at Castlebar Circuit Court. Ms Murphy, now aged 33, was aged between three and 15 years old at the time of the majority of the offences. She has waived her right to anonymity so her father can be named. Expand Close John Murphy was jailed for 18 years for the horrendous sexual abuse of his daughter from the age of three. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp John Murphy was jailed for 18 years for the horrendous sexual abuse of his daughter from the age of three. In her victim impact statement, which she read to the court, Ms Murphy outlined that she wished to go public to encourage other people in her position to come forward. "Silence protects the abuser and imprisons the victim. Take back your life, break the silence. You are not a victim for sharing your story, you are a survivor," said Ms Murphy. Addressing her father, she said: "Dad, you stripped me of every human right, my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my confidence, my innocence, my childhood, my education, my teenage years, a normal life, even my own voice - until today." Mr Justice Michael White noted the "length, intensity and depravity of the sexual abuse". He said the garda evidence and Ms Murphy's victim impact statement had been "harrowing and exceptional". He said Ms Murphy had shown "remarkable lucidity" in her victim impact statement and was a "very dignified person" who had overcome the abuse to become a loving mother and partner, and take up fulfilling employment. In outlining the aggravating factors, Mr Justice White took into account the impact of the abuse on Ms Murphy and the particularly serious nature of the abuse, perpetrated over a period of time. Wrong He said the breach of trust from a man who should have been protecting his daughter was a "very grave wrong". He said Ms Murphy had great love and affection for her father but hated what he was doing. He said that taking into account the depth, length and nature of this abuse, the headline sentence - before taking into account the mitigating factors - had to be life imprisonment. The judge said, in his view, Murphy's remorse was genuine and he had acknowledged the great hurt he had caused his daughter. He noted Murphy's guilty pleas and his serious health problems. He imposed consecutive sentences totalling 18 years, which were backdated to when Murphy went into custody in December 2017. Garda Thomasina McHale told Patrick Reynolds BL, prosecuting, that she received a request in May 2015 to call to Ms Murphy's home, where she reported that she had been extensively sexually abused by her father as a child. A further incident was alleged to have taken place when she was 25 years old, in 2010. Ms Murphy later gave a 110-page written statement to gardai outlining the details of the abuse, which happened initially at family homes in Co Galway, as well as later in Co Mayo. She was also sexually abused in the family car while on the way to visit her grandmother. Ms Murphy outlined to gardai that throughout her childhood, there had been constant grabbing and touching. Ms Murphy told gardai she could not explain how often the sexual abuse happened, but said it was horrendous and happened at every opportunity and that her father had all the control. Murphy, who has 73 previous convictions for the sexual assault of four victims, was arrested in October 2016 and interviewed by gardai. He admitted sexually abusing his daughter two or three times a week and raping her when she was about 13 or 14 years old. He received an eight-year sentence in February for sexual abuse involving Ms Murphy's two younger sisters. Apologise Murphy, who worked in the Defence Forces and security, was aged between 31 and 44 during the time he abused his young daughter. Diarmuid Connolly BL, defending, asked the court to take into account Murphy's co-operation with gardai and the value of his early guilty plea in this case. He said he had been given very definite instructions by his client to apologise to Ms Murphy. He said a probation report from February 2016 put Murphy at low risk of reoffending and that his client had not taken up opportunities he had to avail of bail, proving his contrition and remorse. He asked the court to take into account the publicity which the case would attract. He said his client was not an old man but was a sick man, who had also suffered extensive psychiatric issues. During the sentence hearing, Gda McHale told the court that Ms Murphy first recalled being abused by her father on a bus as a three-year-old. The requested page is currently unavailable on this server. Back to [RTHK News Homepage] Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan is in Bulgaria to shoot for Brahmastra. The film, which also stars Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, is directed by Ayan Mukherjee. Amitabh has shared a photo from his trip on Twitter. He captioned it, Out in the sun after decades! Does not happen in the sunniest of places .. but happens here ..Bulgaria. T 2873 - Out in the sun after decades ! Does not happen in the sunniest of places .. but happens here ..Bulgaria .. pic.twitter.com/75GN2MAvss Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) July 20, 2018 Its not clear whether his cryptic tweet is meant to be a message about Brahmastra. He also wrote a blog post in which he said, Filmmaking from my times has undergone substantial change. Hundreds of unit and crew work assiduously on projects these days, every little detail of the making and production is looked at with such a degree of importance and a liberty it astonishes me. I feel guilty at times at what is on offer from the unit at times. He also wrote, I feel I give back less than what I receive, and this disturbs me. There were times in the past when prominence was shown in much the same manner. Well not to the extent it is nowadays, and I felt maybe it was justifiable. But now with diminished presence, I feel it not right. I try hard to skip past it but it catches up .. as does most things in life, he added. The veteran actor was also lost in nostalgia as he recounted the old times. Brahmastra is a trilogy and its first part will release on on August 15, 2019. Ranbir Kapoor is being sued by the tenant of his apartment in Pune for allegedly failing to honour the terms of the rental agreement, according to a Pune Mirror report. Ranbir owns a house in Punes Trump Towers. The resident Sheetal Surywanshi has sought damages and interest for being evicted much before the lock-in period stated in the agreement. The case has been filed in the Pune civil court and the tenant has demanded Rs 50.40 lakh as damages, the report said. She claims that she was asked to vacate the house in August 2017, 11 months after she moved in. She moved out in October 2017 and said her family suffered severe inconvenience and hardships due to the eviction. Ranbir, in his reply as per the newspaper report, has denied all claims. The actors response states that the tenant vacated the flat on her own free will and also defaulted on rent for three months, which was deducted from the deposit. The case is scheduled to be heard next on August 28. It may have been a few months since Sonam Kapoor tied the knot with Anand Ahuja but somehow, we are still not over their romance. Which is why when Sonam posted three throwback pictures from her wedding on Saturday, we couldnt help but fawn over them. Sonam shared pictures with her husband from after their wedding and they both look so adorable in each one of them. The two are seen smiling as they share a hug and also, share a tender kiss. In a solo picture, Sonam looks divine as she poses between two thick curtains while getting showered in sunlight. Best A post shared by SonamKAhuja (@sonamkapoor) on Jul 21, 2018 at 12:09am PDT A post shared by SonamKAhuja (@sonamkapoor) on Jul 21, 2018 at 12:35am PDT @shehlaakhan @anandahuja @thehouseofpixels A post shared by SonamKAhuja (@sonamkapoor) on Jul 21, 2018 at 12:41am PDT Sonam is seen in a stunning saree by Shehlaa. It is a mauve shadow work saree with crystal embellishment and a lacy, off-shoulder blouse with bishop sleeves. Anand looks dapper in a blue suit. The newlyweds recently returned from their vacation in Japan. They tied the knot on May 8 in Mumbai at her aunts home, followed by grand reception party that hosted all the biggest stars of Bollywood. Sonam will soon be seen with her father Anil Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao and Juhi Chawla in Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga. She was last seen in Rajkumar Hiranis biopic on Sanjay Dutt, Sanju. Follow @htshowbiz for more 160pp, Rs 499; Westland A few pages into the timeline at the beginning of Nadeem F Parachas Points of Entry; Encounters at the Origin Sites of Pakistan, you put down the book to check out Koko Korena on Youtube. You also make a mental note: Watch Jago, Hua Savera, Pakistans first art film scripted by Faiz Ahmad Faiz. This impulse to understand what the author is writing about through an online immersion in the cultural artefact hes discussing reasserts itself every few pages, which means it takes longer to read this 160-page book than it usually would. Since the artefacts Paracha holds up are simultaneously familiar and strange, it often feels like youve slipped through the breach in The City and The City, China Mievilles weird fiction novel, where characters are taught to unsee things in a space that might be geographically adjacent, even shared, but exists in entirely different cultural dimensions. This is what makes Points of Entry a rewarding read for an Indian accustomed to seeing Pakistan only as the place from where friends grandparents fled clutching babes in arms and as a problematic neighbour forever flashing the evil eye in this countrys direction. Can we all just get along? Rodney King wondered during the LA riots of 1992. Its a question that often pops up in the India-Pakistan context. After reading Paracha, you could say the two nations get along and also dont because they are similar while also being completely different. Much of this difference has to do with the happy chance that allowed India to be steered by men of the calibre of Nehru, Patel and Ambedkar who understood its great diversity and the impossibility and undesirability of an imposed identity. Unfortunately for Pakistan, its founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah who, in the authors words, described the country as a Muslim-majority entity whose polity and state would be inspired and driven by a progressive, multicultural, modernist and democratic interpretation and understanding of Islam died in 1948 before the nations character could be shaped according to those ideals. Of course, a secular Indian (that endangered species in what is becoming, in Shashi Tharoors apt term, Hindu Pakistan) would point out that stressing on a specific religious identity immediately makes a nation susceptible to the kind of troubles that Pakistan has encountered. But that is not the focus of this piece. Author Nadeem Farooq Paracha (Courtesy Westland) Parachas writing is smooth; quite unlike what you imagine Lions Whisky, which the author and his friends swig during a stopover in 1980s Larkana, tastes like. On the surface, his pieces seem to be talking of, say, a trip to Mohenjo-daro, or the band Vital Signs. But they are about larger things -- identity, how individuals and nations are shaped by music, poetry and popular culture, and history. A chance meeting with Tibetans in search of the mythical Dhanakosha lake, believed to be the birthplace of Buddhist sage Padmasambhava, leads him to a spot near Lower Dir bone-dry and covered with shrubs which perhaps once held the lake. He writes of the conquest of Sindh by Arab commander Mohammad bin Qasim in 8 century CE and how that event has been repurposed to invent the idea that South Asian Pakistan has Arab roots. To a non-Pakistani this might seem absurd but really, it is similar to the brahamanical origin myths that various non-Hindu communities across India hold dear. The essay on the Siddhi population of Karachis Lyari is superb and the reader is astounded that these Afro-Pakistanis have maintained familial links with Africa. The excellent piece on Karachis Goan Christian community recalls Mumbais late legendary Jazzy Joe Pereira, who spoke of arriving from Pakistan after independence, like a refugee. Like Jazzy Joe, who arranged music for many Hindi film composers, Goan Christian musicians in Karachi were an integral part of the Urdu film industry, which was sadly mauled in the 1980s by the twin onslaughts of Zia ul Haqs Islamization drive and video piracy. The essay on Jhuley Lal-Udero Lal, the saint beloved of both Hindu and Muslim Sindhis is interesting but it is Parachas rumination on Sufi music while travelling down the Indus that is particularly moving. Here he is on Yakub, the owner of the ferry, who sang Sufi songs, including Bulleh Shahs Bullah Ki Jaana Mein Kaun, as they drifted downriver: Yaqub had sailed up river Indus towards the KP province so that he could visit a Sufi shrine in one of the towns there. As he was about to enter the place, a huge explosion flattened the place. Dozens of devotees were killed. The explosion was caused by a suicide bomber belonging to an extremist outfit. So, Yaqub, the sailor of the ancient river Indus, the singer of folk songs of spiritual love and peace, befittingly took his last breath at the shrine of one of his beloved Sufi saints killed there by men full of spite, hatred and a sickness of both the mind and the soul. Read more: Roots | The Goan theory of relativity Layered and powerful, Parachas writing takes you beyond the fundamentalist mobs and the bazaar bomb blasts, the usual cliches, to present a nuanced picture of a complex nation caught, as the book flap suggests, between the modernist impulse and the theocratic one. Now that middle class Indians arent quite so smug about freedoms, about the nations supposed liberal core and about the invincibility of a certain idea of India (yes, the one that both inspired and was inspired by Manmohan Desais Amar, Akbar, Anthony), this is also a book that makes the Indian reader think about her own country, of the many ways the two fractious south Asian siblings are similar, and the numerous ways in which they are not, and what that might mean for both. Singapore remains my single most favourite destination for food in the East; consistently great at all price levels and types, unparalleled service, hygiene, safety, civic sense and a sense of quality, whether you eat at a food court, at the airport or at a fine dining restaurant. Despite the fact that Singapore today boasts more world renowned cuisines than most countries, it is still the local dishes, which send my nostrils flaring and taste buds tingling. The sight of a busy Hawker Centre where bowls of fish ball soup come piping hot to your table and dishes are whipped up in a wok in a matter of minutes - this is the soul of Singapore and this is where most Singaporeans go to eat real food. An added bonus is that you can snack in these places at any time of the day and often until quite late at night, the food is always cheap and due to Singapores stringent health laws, always very clean. Hello, have you eaten? Every dish you eat in these cavernous halls or outdoor centres will be memorable, basically because most stalls will specialise in only one or two dishes. For a first time visitor, the choice is bewildering - roast duck and pork ribs, chicken rice, fresh seafood, noodles of various descriptions and combinations, rice porridge, claypot rice, satay. Many Singaporeans work long days and therefore have little time to cook at home, much like Indians in cities, so the culture of eating local food outside the home has grown. When friends meet in Singapore, their greeting reflects the importance of food. Hello, they say, Have you eaten yet? Food is Singapores national obsession, not just mine. The local cuisine reflects three great cultures which have met here, mingled and flourished: Chinese, Indian and Malay. Within each of these three main ethnic groups of Singapore, there are a dozen different types of cooking and then there are all the short cut dishes, twists and turns and tweaks which have become quintessentially Singaporean. Fish head curry smells and tastes South Indian, but dropping a big fish head into it is not Indian at all. It is very Asian. Popiah is the local version of the Chinese spring roll, only larger and softer. And then theres chilli crab. A country in a crabshell Chilli crab is often considered the national dish of Singapore and locals love to debate where the best one can be found. For years, the little shacks by the shore in Ponggol served up the freshest and the best. There would be queues of eager beavers dying to get their fingers dirty. Alas, Ponggol is now a thing of the past, but many other Hawker Centres and of course the restaurants on the East Coast Parkway serve up this delicious dish. Chilli crab is not really all that spicy. Much of its bright red sauce is achieved with tomato ketchup! I was taken to Punggol 30 years ago by a Singaporean friend and her Sri Lankan husband. It was a tiny nondescript village on the sea about an hours drive from Orchard Road, with maybe three or four very ramshackle restaurants serving food on plastic plates. They warned me about the really simple surroundings but assured me that it was worth the long drive. The jumbo crab had just been caught and came steaming on a big plate engulfed in a pool of orangy red sauce thickened with egg. It was sweet, sour and spicy, but not chilli hot. Everyone was aglow with excitement and pleasure. I personally preferred the black pepper crab that we also ordered. Chilli crab for me is Singapore in a nutshell or crab shell. Invented in Punggol, it is a quick home-style dish which contains tomato ketchup, garlic, ginger and fresh red chillies, basically what every household would have at hand in the kitchen. Some restaurants even use the commercial red chilli sauce you find on every table instead of fresh chillies. So, theoretically you can make it at home very easily. All you need is a wok and a high flame. The India connect It was a trip down memory lane when I came across this dish at Spice Traders, the stunning Asian restaurant at the W hotel in Goa recently. For those of us who love crab but cant tackle the cleaning and claws that eating a crab entails, this is a Godsend! They remove the crab from the shell, gratinate it to add flavour, top it with the cooked sauce, fill it back into the crab shell and serve you three delicious shells of piping hot chilli crab as a starter. Mind blowing! Hats off to chef Tanveer Kwatra to come up with this. Creative genius. Strange that no Singapore restaurant has come up with this before. Like Punggol, it is certainly worth the drive to Vagator in north Goa to experience this one dish at the W Goa. Singapore Chili Crab @ Spice Traders, W Goa Ingredients Serves 4 500 g mud crab meat 70 g Japanese Mayonnaise 10 g chopped spring onion 10 g panko crumbs 5 g Parmesan 5 g garlic, chopped fine 3 g ginger, chopped fine 25 g onion, chopped fine 5 g lemon grass base, chopped fine 10 g red chili paste 3 g birds eye chili, chopped fine 10 g tomato ketchup 5gm oyster sauce 3 g sugar Salt to taste 1 egg Oil to fry Method Poach and de-shell the mud crab so you have 500g meat. Keep shell for garnish. Add mayo and mix into a crab shell. Fill the ramakin top with panko crumbs and parmesan cheese. Heat oil. Add onion, garlic, ginger, lemon grass, Thai red chilies and saute well in that order. Add sugar, salt, chili paste, tomato ketchup and oyster sauce. Add the egg and whisk into the sauce till cooked but not hard. Keep aside. Bake the crab under a hot grill till the cheese is golden. Heat the sauce and spread over the crab. Serve hot. Author Bio: Culinary expert and explorer Karen Anand has been writing extensively on the subject of food and wine for 30 years. Apart from having her own brand of gourmet food products, she has anchored top rated TV shows, run a successful chain of food stores, founded the hugely successful Farmers Markets, and worked as restaurant consultant for international projects, among other things. Her latest passion is food tours, a totally curated experience which Karen herself accompanies, the first of which was to Italy. This is a fortnightly column. The next edition will appear on August 5. From HT Brunch, July 22, 2018 Follow us on twitter.com/HTBrunch Connect with us on facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunch There was never any doubt that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would defeat the no-confidence motion brought by the Telugu Desam Party and supported by pretty much the entire opposition. The only question was the margin. Ahead of the vote, this paper reported that the BJP had set its eyes on two-thirds of the house (66.67% of members present) voting against the no-confidence motion. Late on Friday night, when the vote was taken up, 72% of the members present voted against the motion. The BJP has reason to be happy. It does have to address some points of concern, but more on that anon. The vote itself, though, because it was never in doubt, wasnt the purpose of the motion. The debate ahead of it was. With the entire country at the least, those with TV and Internet connections watching or listening, the no-confidence motion was an opportunity for the Opposition parties, which claim they are not heard in Parliament and out of it, to speak on the performance of the government on various fronts. It was also an opportunity for the Opposition, which is working to create a national coalition to take on the BJP (which now directly or indirectly governs 21 states; such has been its dominance) to showcase the unity of this grouping-in-the-making. And finally, it was an opportunity for Rahul Gandhi, named president of the Congress late last year, to present his case to be the countrys next prime minister. A day after, beyond the vote, who won and who lost? More importantly, what is the import of Fridays proceedings in the house? Heres Chanakyas own listicle. 10. The curious case of the AIADMK: Or not so curious, if you accept the theory in certain quarters that the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government in Chennai, headed by phonetic twins EPS and OPS, is actually remote-controlled from New Delhi. The AIADMK didnt issue a whip but said its members would support the government. Many seem to have done so. Unfortunately, given the current political climate in the state of Tamil Nadu, that support could be another factor that works to the AIADMKs disadvantage in next years parliamentary elections. Ergo, the BJP probably realises the need to look beyond the AIADMK, perhaps at the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam headed by TTV Dhinakaran. 9. State and Centre: The Biju Janata Dals decision to not participate in the no-confidence motion is entirely in keeping with Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaiks political philosophy ensuring that his party is dominant at all levels in the state. With some cracks beginning to appear in his dominance at the state level, and because Odisha is one of the few states where assembly and parliamentary elections take place at the same time, the BJP may sense an opportunity to forge some sort of understanding with Patnaik. It needs the numbers in 2019. 8. The new partner: There are no permanent friends or enemies in politics, only interests, but it is unlikely that the Telugu Desam Party and the BJP will patch up anytime soon. Far too much was said on Friday for that to happen anytime soon. The BJP, though, can take heart from the Telangana Rashtra Samithis decision to boycott the vote. Party chief and state chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao may be flirting with the grand-alliance-in-the-making to take on the BJP, but it is clear that he is keeping his options open. 7. The hidden threat: The Samajwadi Party has five members in the current Lok Sabha, the Bahujan Samaj Party has none. The two parties have already formed an alliance , although they have not publicised the contours of this partnership. This is the biggest threat the BJP faces in 2019 because an alliance of the SP and BSP could win a significant number of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh (the BJP won 71 of these in 2014). 6. Alternative facts: From farm distress to job creation to the real state of the Indian economy, we are now clearly in a post-truth world with alternative facts supporting pre-existing narratives being thrown around during the debate. The truth, which lies somewhere in the middle of these alternatives, is usually the casualty. The run-up to next years election will see an increase in these narratives, with people believing what they want to depending on their political affiliation. 5. Coordination and coalition: It may have been the suddenness with which the Speaker of the Lok Sabha accepted the TDPs no-confidence motion, but the Opposition was clearly not ready for the debate in terms of launching a coordinated attack against the government. Clearly, a lot of work needs to be done on this front. 4. The perfect moment: Rahul Gandhis hug of Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have been scripted or spontaneous, but it was the image of the debate. At one level, the hug could just mean that the Congress, a latecomer to the political messaging techniques the BJP has made its own, is finally catching up. At another, it could mean that the party is no longer afraid of Narendra Modi. 3. The new Gandhi: Fridays debate was another indication that Rahul Gandhi has reinvented himself. His speech was aggressive; attack, frontal; and sense of imagery and idiom, advanced. It may still not be enough to even convince other Opposition parties of his ability to take on Modi in 2019 but it was impressive. 2. The old Modi: The Prime Ministers performance on Friday was vintage Modi. The familiar ingredients were all there the attack on the family; a nod to his own humble beginnings; earthy humour; a sharp turn of phrase but in a substantive speech, Modi managed to list almost all of his governments achievements, respond to each of the allegations made against him and his government, and turn every image and idiom used by Gandhi to his own advantage. This is what Gandhi, the Congress, and the united Opposition (if there is one) is up against in 2019. 1. Parliament @ work: Now that everyone has had their say, and theres much work to be done this could well be the last serious session before everyone gets into election mode can we expect that it will be done? letters@hindustantimes.com A 35-year-old e-rickshaw driver was stabbed to death in southeast Delhis Jaipur area on Friday by two men after he allegedly passed lewd comments about the sister of one of the accused, the police said. The deceased was identified as Jagdish. The accused, Aamir (24) and Zakir (19), were on their way to Dakshinpuri after meeting the formers sister, Deputy Commissioner of Police (southeast) Chinmoy Biswal said. On their way, they met Jagdish, who was in an inebriated state. Jagdish allegedly passed lewd comments about Aamirs sister, following which a quarrel broke out and he was stabbed by the duo, the DCP said. Jagdish was rushed to a hospital where he was declared brought dead, he added. Aamir and Zakir were arrested following a tip off, he said. The weapon used in commission of crime is yet to be recovered, the DCP said. Delhiites love their pets, so much so, that theyre more like family members to them. And, while a majority still tries to buy expensive breeds, there is a rising number of those who prefer to adopt and not shop, after all, we have some great desi breeds available too. But it isnt only the denizens who seem to have taken a fancy towards bringing home an adopted dog, the demand for doggos has great international appeal too! Various shelters and NGOs provide rehoming services internationally, and help these dogs in finding a forever home, here and abroad. One such collective is Kannan Animal Welfare (KAW) an animal welfare project of the Kannan foundation which has a small care centre based out of Noida that houses around 80-90 resident dogs at any given point of time. Vandana Anchalia with one of her rescues. So, how does this relocation work? Theres great demand for adoption of desi dogs and other breeds abroad, and we tie up with rehoming partners to help us get these dogs to their new homes. Some of these partners include Operation Paws for Homes, Rescue Without Borders, TLC Canine Rescue, Street Dog Hero, Indian Street Dog Foundation, United Doberman Rescue of Minnesota, Rocky Mountain Animal Rescue and Adopt An Indian Desi Dog (AAIDD). Why we dont do anything directly is because theres always risks that in case the pet parents decide to abandon the dogs or just not keep them anymore, they may or may not contact me directly. Im not a legal entity in US or Canada (or any other place for that matter), and these rehoming partners help us with drawing up the contracts and whatever other paperwork is required in making the move, says Vandana Anchalia, founder of Kannan. In the off chance that one of our child is in danger or is going to be abandoned, or cant be kept by the parents anymore, they can always be brought back to us. Weve sent about 48 dogs till now, and none of them have been returned to us; plus I get regular updates about them, too, adds Anchalia. How the doggos travel? As far as the travel is concerned, Vandana Anchalia explains that each dog thats supposed to be sent abroad is trained well in advance. They are crate trained so that there is no unease for them during the travel. We use a pet relocation agency (AirPets Relocations Services) that helps us in transporting the pets. Every aircraft that allows a live pet, has a pet hold in their cargo section. The pet hold takes care of the pressure and temperature required for a safe transport, and the pet is lodged there in a safe crate for whatever hours it takes, says Anchalia. We never send the pets on direct flights and always try to take a halt in Amsterdam or Zurich, basically wherever there is a pet hotel. During the halt, pets are taken out, taken to the hotel, are checked and fed, and their crates are cleaned too. Since we dont recommend feeding the pets on air, we only have water provided to them in the crates and feed them wherever the halt happens, adds Anchalia. Here are some success stories of doggos who found homes abroad: JEEVITH Before and after pictures of Jeevith. The choice of adopting a desi dog was not something I consciously decided. We wanted another dog, and we wanted a special needs dog. In my search, I found my first desi girl, and once she was with us we fell in love with her. After that, it was an easy choice to adopt another desi with special needs, says, Mary-Ann Eastman from Canada. LUCKY Before and after pictures of Lucky. Lucky is special because despite what shes been through, she loves everyone, plays with children, is protective of her family, and is my special needs dog for my anxiety, says Nicole and Dan Turner from Chicago, USA. ANNIE Before and after pictures of Annie. Annie came to us scared and confused, but after only a few days she realised we were her new family and she put all her trust in us. She is extremely loving, playful, very smart, easy to train, good on leash, very gentle with children and an all around great dog. We are so lucky to have found her and we are so happy to have adopted a desi dog, says Kristi Dee and Lou Vincent from New York, USA. BUDDY Before and after pictures of Buddy. I am the proud mom of three beautiful desi dogs of India. There arent enough words to describe how truly loving, intelligent and grateful these beautiful creatures are! Their love and enthusiasm for life is amazing especially given the tough life many of them have lived while on the streets in India. I have nothing but praise to say for being blessed to have these dogs in my life, says Theresa DUrso from New York, USA. MAYA Before and after pictures of Maya. I adopted a desi dog named Maya in March 2017. Maya had been rescued by Kannan Animal Welfare as a small puppy after being hit by a car. She was brought to the United States by Operation Paws for Homes, a local rescue group based near Washington, DC. I saw Maya on their website and was intrigued by her story. We have had her for a year, and she is a delightful dog smart, loyal, playful, and energetic. She is determined to be a lap dog even though she is too big for laps she can always find a way to squeeze into any lap! She is such a unique and lovely dog that I was inspired to volunteer to help more Desi Dogs come to the US to find homes. These dogs are amazing, and KAW does amazing work to help them, says Irene Skricki, from Washington DC, USA. SUGAR Before and after pictures of Sugar. My partner, Cam and I adopted our desi dog (originally called Sugar, now named Bowie) from KAW last March during a trip to India. I had been there 10 years earlier, and was really affected by the stray dog problem, so I made a promise to myself to come back at some point and adopt a little Indian desi pup. We had considered adopting another breed or mixed dog from Canada, but desi dogs are just so incredibly sweet, smart and aware, and we fell in love with our Bowie right away. He has brought so much joy into our lives over the past year and were so grateful for everything KAW did in organizing the adoption for us, says Sarah Dickens from Canada. MEENU Before and after pictures of Meenu. I think many people might be like me. We began by spending time in India and falling in love with it but have been just heartbroken to see so many injured and ill dogs. So, of course, the number one reason is to give one of these dogs a chance for a wonderful life. But there are other reasons, too. They possess a complex intelligence that combines cleverness and wisdom that Ive rarely seen in breed dogs. They can be challenging, to be sure; but to form a bond with one of these dogs is so very rewarding. It will always be a desi for me, says Karla from Canada. Interact with the author at Twitter/@Darkequinox24 While cleaning the rampart at the Lahori Gate, the main entrance to the 17th-century Red Fort from where the Prime Minister addresses the nation every Independence Day, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) personnel have stumbled upon a hidden underground chamber. The chamber may have been originally used to store ammunition although when it was discovered it, the crypt was full of mud and no explosives or firearms were found, ASI officials said on condition of anonymity. They also said the cell was probably built during the reign (1658-1707) of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb or by the British Army after it took control of the Mughal citadel in 1857. The cell is an oval domed compartment, made of Lakhori brick, which can be accessed through a flight of stairs. It is about six meters in length, two meters in width, and three metres high and located just a few feet away from the pedestal where the flag hoisting ceremony is held every year on August 15. ASI officials said the cell was buried under a mound of earth and no one from the department had been aware of its existence until now. After cleaning it up, the ASI has now restored it to its original shape and size. It was probably used to keep ammunition as it was a common practice at that time (Mughal or British period) to place ammo under soil to protect it from hot weather as the soil works as an insulator. However, no ammunition was found in the cell. The chamber was just full of mud, said an ASI official familiar with the restoration work at the fort. In the past, ASI has stumbled upon explosives and live cartridges on the Red Fort premises. In February 2017, an ASI team found explosives and live cartridges during the cleaning of the wells inside the fort. In 2004, ammunition was found in the disused baoli (stepwell) when it was being restored. A retired police officer, who has served as a part of the Prime Ministers security unit in Delhi Police, said, At Red Fort, we check every room or corner for possible threats before Independence Day celebrations. Every corner is sanitised. We have never heard of a century-old hidden underground tunnel ever on the rampart there. If there were any explosives in the rampart, the ground sensor and radar would have detected it. ASI officials could not zero in on the exact period of construction of the vault but added that it might have been built after British gained the control of the Red Fort following the end of Mughal rule. This will require a study, said KK Muhammad,a former regional director (north) of the ASI. The structure may belong to the period during which the fort was under British control, said Shama Mitra Chenoy, who teaches history at Delhi Universitys Shivaji College, The Red Fort ramparts are an addition ordered built by Aurangzeb so the cell might have also been constructed during his reign, said an ASI official who was earlier posted at the Red Fort. Earlier, the king could see Chandni Chowk from DiwanI-Am through Lahore Gate directly. There was no obstruction in between. At that time, there was a tradition that the people could not turn their back to the ruler. When people would come to the market, there was lot of inconvenience to them. So, Aurangzeb built this rampart, which was also called ghoonghat (veil), said Sohail Hashmi, a history buff who conducts heritage walks. Chandni Chowk is an ancient market located close to the Red Fort. Diwan-I-Am is a hall in the Red Fort where the Mughal emperors used to receive audiences. As part of the ongoing fort restoration project, the ASI removed about 2.2 million kilos of dirt from the ramparts recently.An almost two-metre thick layer of earth had to be removed as it was putting pressure on the fortification. Conservators said soil used to be placed on the terrace to keep ammunition cool or neutralise possible cannonball attacks. Water being used for horticulture and rains were causing seepage, thus weakening the rampart. During the cleaning of the rampart, we also discovered an arch and a set of stairs, which were restored too along with the oval domed compartment, said the ASI official familiar with the restoration work cited above. After covering the rampart floor with red sandstone, workers are fitting drain pipes on all three sides to prevent water from stagnating on the floor. Some quantity of soil around the flag post on the edge facing Chandni Chowk has been left for a fine coat of green grass. An old iron fence is also being replaced with a brass railing and an entire arched passage from the rampart to Meena Bazaar, another ancient market, will be paved with red sandstone instead after its bitumen slabs are removed. The work at the rampart will be completed in a week or so. Development work at other locations in the fort will temporarily be halted for the August 15 function as the security agencies will take over the fort for security reasons, said the ASI official. Puducherry police on Saturday booked eight people under Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for abducting and raping a 16-year-old girl after sedating her. Police have identified Vicky, Mugilan, Kannadasan, Surya, Ashok, Deva, Kalai, P Surya, who are absconding. The girl was working in a private firm at Thirukkanur village of Puducherry where she developed a friendship with Vicky (20). Vicky kidnapped her and took her to a coconut farm in Kandampalayam near Villupuram of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday where he raped her. After giving her severe dose of drugs, he called his friends and jointly repeated the cruelty again, said a senior police officer with Thirukkanur police station. The gang left the girl on the farm and escaped after she lost consciousness. On regaining consciousness, she informed the incident to her parents who lodged a complaint to the children protection committee of Puducherry. S Devipriya, chairperson, children protection unit of Puducherry, then visited the house of the victim and directed the police to inquire into the issue based on the parents complaint. M Gunasekaran, superintendent of police, Puducherry west region, said they are getting additional details from the girl and will arrest the accused. The victim has undergone treatment at government hospital and is presently at her home. She is being counselled. Three special teams have been formed to arrest the accused. We have booked all the eight accused under POCSO Act, Gunasekaran told HT. The incident comes days after an 11-year-old girl in Chennai was sedated and raped for over seven months by 17 people. A special court in Rajasthan on Saturday awarded death penalty to a 19-year old for raping a seven-month-old infant in May, the first such sentencing in the state after a law entailing capital punishment to those convicted of raping a child below the age of 12 years came into force, according to police. The special court hearing cases of SC/ST Act and Pocso Act in Alwar awarded death penalty to Pintu, who was found guilty of raping the infant in Laxmangarh area in Alwar district on May 9. Special Judge Jagendra Agrawal, who had conducted daily hearings in the case for 30 days, had held the youth guilty on July 18, special public prosecutor Kuldeep Jain said. Pintu was convicted under IPC sections 363, 366 A (related to abduction of minor) and 376 AB (for rape on woman under twelve years of age) and 5(M)/6 of POCSO Act. The death penalty was awarded under the IPC section 376 AB, SHO of the Laxmangarh police station Prahlad Sahay said. According to DGP OP Galhotra, it was the first such judgement in Rajasthan after the criminal law (amendment) ordinance, which introduced IPC Section 376 AB came into force on April 21 this year under which the provision of death penalty for raping a girl below 12 years of age was introduced The local police had filed a challan against Pintu under sections of Pocso Act and IPC on June 6, IG Jaipur Hemant Priyadarshi said. The incident took place in on May 9 when Pintu had taken the infant from her house when she was alone with her grandmother who is partially blind. He took the infant to a nearby school building and raped her. He was caught by locals who handed him over to the police. Rajasthan state womens commission chairperson Suman Sharma said the decision will set a precedent and will bring relief to mothers who worry about the safety of their daughters. A Lok Sabha MP and three legislators of Peoples Democratic Partys (PDP) skipped a meeting chaired by chief Mehbooba Mufti in Srinagar on Saturday, signalling dissent against the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir. PDP legislators and senior leaders from north Kashmir were called for the meeting after similar discussions with representatives from south and central Kashmir on Tuesday. Legislators Javeed Baig (from Baramulla), Imran Reza Ansari (Pattan), Abas Wani (Gulmarg) and Muzuffar Hussain Baig, who represents Baramulla in Parliament, skipped Saturdays meeting. Top PDP office bearers in these constituencies were absent too. I am attending a wedding, so didnt have an idea about any meeting, said Javeed Baig. Javeed is a nephew of Muzuffar Hussain Baig, a founder of the PDP. We discussed the party affairs and the preparation of the foundation day, said a senior party leader who attended Saturdays meeting. Sources said the PDP plans a rally in Srinagar on July 28, its foundation day, to display its strength and party leaders and legislators have been asked to make the event successful. Two PDP legislators from south Kashmir skipped Muftis Tuesday meeting. After she resigned as chief minister on June 19, six legislators had accused Mufti of turning the PDP into her family fiefdom. Abdul Majeed Padder, MLA from Noorabad, met Mufti once but later joined the rebel group. Mufti, last week, warned her former ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party, that efforts to break the PDP could have dangerous consequences. Our party is intact and strong. There are problems just like we have problems in families. The breakup within the PDP can only happen with the support of Delhi. If they (Delhi) will do the same what they did to Muslim United Front (MUF)--to crush it...with the PDP it will have dangerous consequences, Mufti said. Its a remarkable thing two people struggling to have a child start a family in a petri dish, implant the embryo in the mother-to-be, and have a baby. But many couples opting for IVF in India dont know that success rates range from 30% to 35%. Since the birth of the worlds first test tube baby, Louise Brown, 40 years ago, 6 million babies have been conceived worldwide through assisted techniques. But in the absence of regulation, clinics in India are still able to claim far higher success rates than they actually have, and the results of this can be devastating. As it is, there is the physiological stress of conception, and the harrowing wait, says Dr Smita Deshpande, head of the department of psychiatry at Delhis Ram Manohar Lohia hospital. The trauma of conception failure can be immense. And because a lot of couples are led to believe there is a 50% chance of success, disappointing outcomes can lead to anxiety and depression. A 34-year-old art teacher from Gurugram says she suffered an emotional breakdown after each of her two failed IVF cycles. She was 32 when she and her husband decided to start a family. A year later, she still hadnt conceived. But I wasnt too worried because I had friends who had conceived in their 30s and it had taken time. I had also been on medication for my irregular menstrual cycle, so I knew it wouldnt be easy, she says. Then tests revealed a block in one fallopian tube, and the couple decided to opt for IVF. The doctor had told us we had a 50% chance. We were hopeful and fairly confident of success, because I was young. But the implantation didnt work, and I was devastated. Two months later, they decided to try again. This time, my test showed that I was pregnant and we were overjoyed. We told our friends and family. But the first ultrasound scan showed the embryo had implanted in my fallopian tube, so I was advised to terminate the pregnancy. It was the worst day of my life, she says. A biopsy of her uterine lining revealed that she had tuberculosis. Finally we knew the reason. After her TB had been cured, she did a third cycle of IVF and conceived in January. This time, we were very cautious. We told our parents only after the first ultrasound scan was done. With each IVF cycle costing between Rs 60,000 and Rs 2 lakh, the financial loss compounds the trauma and distress. More often than not, women either blame themselves or are criticised for not doing things right, says Dr Deshpande. Mind games Are private clinics and hospitals misrepresenting data and overselling IVF? The simple answer is that many of them do. There is no centralised data, so clinics can claim whatever they want, says Dr Hrishikesh Pai, who heads the IVF Centre at Mumbais Lilavati Hospital and Research Centre. The success rate of an IVF cycle varies greatly as it depends on many factors, but it ranges between 30% and 35% at AIIMS, says Dr Alka Kriplani, head of obstetrics and gynaecology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Indias premiere hospital and research institute in New Delhi. During a good run, its 40%, she adds. The outcomes at AIIMS are comparable with most developing nations, the chances of conception being highest for women under 35. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IVF cycles resulted in live births in 38.3% of women under 35, with the number falling to 32% for women aged 35 to 37. The success rate fell to 23.1% for those aged 38 to 40, and to 10.4% in women over 40. In the UK, IVF is successful in 29% of women under 35, 23% of women aged 35 to 37, 15% of women aged 38 to 39, 9% of 40- to 42-year-olds, and 2% of women over 44. Private clinics in India claim success rates that are two to 20 times higher. At the Go IVF Surrogacy Centre in west Delhi, for example, the claim on its website is a 70% to 80% success rate for women under 35, and a 40% to 50% chance for women over 40. According to research, it has been found that the success rate is increasing in every age group as the techniques are refined and doctors become more experienced, the website states. Doctors at the clinic did not take calls. DID YOU KNOW? The worlds first test tube baby, Louise Brown (right), was born in the UK in July 1978. She is now 39, married and a mother of two. Louises sister, Natalie, was also conceived via IVF, four years after her. By then, she was already the worlds 40th IVF baby. Since 1978, an estimated 8 million test tube babies have been born worldwide, according to data for 2017 compiled by the International Committee Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ICMART), an international non-profit organisation. The WHO estimates that there are between 120 and 160 million couples struggling with infertility worldwide. Some governments now offer free IVF treatments to boost their population. In France, for instance, married heterosexual couples diagnosed with infertility are allowed four free IVF cycles for women under 45. India too has a subsidised IVF programme, but only for the tiny Parsi community, which is in danger of extinction. Off the books The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has National Guidelines for Accreditation, Supervision and Regulation of ART Clinics in India, but these are, in effect, suggestions. They are not legally enforceable, and can be ignored without peril. There is a need for a centralised registry to record and standardise IVF data across the country. Without that, clinics can promise patients anything and if the IVF cycle fails, tell patients that they are one of the few failures, says Dr Nutan Aggarwal, former professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at AIIMS. The draft Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill of 2017 would regulate and supervise ART clinics to prevent misuse and ensure safe and ethical practices, but it hasnt been enacted. The law will ensure that all clinics submit their data to a central registry, just as is done in the UK. People seeking IVF can access this data and choose a centre based on its success rate and clinical outcomes, said Dr Pai. As a start, the ICMR has set up a National Registry of ART Clinics and Banks in India to establish a database of facilities, but enrolment does not indicate registration or accreditation with the ICMR. Anyone claiming the contrary in publicity material or any other form can be prosecuted, said a health ministry official who did not want to be named. Close to 400 centres are enrolled for now, of an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 centres across the country. The estimate is really a very rough one, because there are new IVF clinics opening all the time, says Dr Pai. New frontiers: The future of baby-making Designer babies: Scientists say you will eventually be able to select the exact shade of your babys eyes and hair, and gauge the chances of him / her getting into a top B-school. Welcome to the world of tailor-made or designer babies. Edit the gene, eliminate the disease: This is a concept slowly gaining ground since 2012. Also called molecular scissors, its a gene engineering tool that allows scientists to precisely target and edit pieces of the human genome. Three-person babies: The UK is expected to have its first three-parent babies soon. In 2015, Britain legalised mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT), which began as a way of preventing serious disorders being passed on to children by their mothers, via the mitochondria. Sperm and eggs from skin: In a lab procedure known as IVG (in vitro gametogenesis), scientists have been able to create sperm and egg cells using skin tissue. This could benefit people who are infertile, or are rendered infertile by treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy. But the technology faces battles over its legal and ethical status and potential for misuse. Baby rider Infertility, defined by World Health Organisation (WHO) as a failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse, affects more than 10% of women aged 15 to 49 worldwide. This estimate is based on women who have tried unsuccessfully and have remained in a stable relationship for five years or more. The infertility burden in men is unknown, according to the WHO, but studies show a significant fall in sperm count, motility and morphology or structure after the age of 35 in India. Many centres say their higher than normal success rates are because of their use of newer technologies, such as Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (where sperm is injected into the egg to improve the chances of fertilisation) and assisted hatching (where an incision is made on the shell outside the embryo to increase chances of implantation in the uterus). Even with the use of the new techniques, the outcome does not vary greatly unless it is male-factor infertility, says Dr Pai. What has been shown to improve the chances of success is freezing eggs before the woman is 35, for use when she is ready to start a family. Not only are a younger womans eggs healthier, it has also been observed that in case of frozen eggs the chances of implantation are better, says Dr Suneeta Mittal, director of obstetrics and gynaecology at Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram. Despite the anxiety and gut-wrenching sadness of her two failed cycles, the Gurugram teacher is happy she chose IVF. It worked for us and offers a good chance to millions of others who want children, says the mother-to-be. It was far, far harder than I had expected, I wasnt prepared for the heartbreaks. But trust me, the baby makes it all worthwhile. Rakbar Khan, the man who was beaten to death on Friday on suspicion of being a cow smuggler in Rajasthan, was the sole breadwinner of his family. Hailing from Haryanas Mewat district, Khan had gone to Lalavandi village (in Rajasthans Alwar district) with his friend Aslam to buy two cows to expand his milk supply business, his family said. Aslam Khan, who returned to Kolgaon village in Haryanas Mewat district on Saturday morning, said he hid in the fields taking advantage of the dark while a crowd attacked Rakbar. We left our village around 5pm on Friday and reached Lalavandi village at night. We had gone on Rakbars motorcycle. He had asked me to accompany him to Rajasthan as he wanted to buy two cows. They had two calves also, Khan said. Khan said they had bought the cows for Rs 60,000 from one of the villagers there and Rakbar was walking the cows while he was riding the motorcycle alongside when they heard the gunshots. Some started shouting that we were trying to steal cows. They rushed towards us. I got scared and ran towards the field. Rakbar was holding the cows then, Khan said. He said he cannot recognise any of the attackers because of the darkness, but can recognise their voices as they were abusing us very loudly. I remained hidden in the field until Saturday morning. Then I came out and took a lift to reach my village. I had a narrow escape, he said. He reached Kolgaon around 5am. Its the last village in Mewat before Rajasthan. Rakbars family members said he wanted to start his own dairy in the village with 10 more cows. He had taken a loan from his in-laws and friends to buy two cows on Friday. Read | My son is not a cow smuggler, says father of Alwar lynching victim His body was brought to the village by the Mewat police after the post-mortem on Saturday.. He lived in the village with his wife, seven children and parents. Villagers said his wife, Asmina Khan, 30, lost consciousness on hearing about the attack. Later, Asmina said the family owned three cows and did its best to care for them. They supplied milk to the dairy owners in the area. How can I lead a life without my husband? I have four son and three daughters, she said. She said she was planning to cook biryani for him on Saturday because it was his favourite food but before she would even start preparations, news of his death reached her. Rakbar Khans brother Akbar, who teaches in a village mosque and lives separately, demanded compensation for Asmina. The government should provide a job to my sister-in-law on compensatory grounds and should provide financial assistance to the family, he added. The family members denied allegations that Rakbar Khan was smuggling cattle. They said he had borrowed Rs 50,000 from his mother-in-law and the rest from friends. We keep these cows and make some money from their milk. We already have three. Why will Rakbar steal anyones cow, Asmina said. Had he indulged in illegal transport of cattle, he could have built a nice house and we would not be living in this small shabby house. Meanwhile, the victims father Sulaiman Mev rejected claims that his son was a cow smuggler. He left home on Friday morning saying he was going to take goats for grazing. This morning, I was told that he has been killed, the father said. My son is not a gau taskar (cow smuggler). I dont believe in what the people and police are saying. We are a poor family and my son used to work as a labourer in a stone mine, said Sulaiman, father of seven children. He demanded strict action against all the accused. Sher Mohammad, sarpanch of Mev Panchayat in Alwar, said that when Union ministers felicitate lynching accused, then vigilantes get encouraged to kill innocents, referring to minister Jayant Sinhas act in Jharkhand. (With inputs from Jaykishan Sharma) The head of a Bareilly NGO on Friday allegedly announced rewards for anybody who stones and shaves the heads of two women who went public with their grievances after being divorced through triple-talaq, a controversial Islamic practice that permits instant separation of married partners. The women in question are Nida Khan, who was the target of a fatwa issued by Barelvi clerics four days ago, and Farhat Naqvi, the sister of Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. Our group will award Rs 11,786 to anyone who stones Nida Khan and Farhat Naqvi, shaves their heads and scares them away from India, declared All India Faizan-e-Madina Council head Moin Siddique Noori. Incidentally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to meet both Khan and Naqvi during a rally at Shahjahanpur on Saturday. The two were formally invited by Rajesh Kumar Mishra, the BJP MLA from Bareilly. The two women have led several campaigns against the practices of triple talaq and nikah halala (a law that requires a divorced woman to marry and sleep with another man in order to return to her first husband) for some time now. Khan, who was married to Ahmed Raza Khan, was allegedly harassed by her in-laws for dowry before being given the triple talaq. She had lodged a police complaint, alleging domestic violence and harassment, in 2016. Naqvi is also pursuing a case against her in-laws after being separated from her husband. This is not the first time Noori has made a controversial announcement. Last year, he had promised to reward anybody who succeeds in decapitating Shia Waqf Board chairperson Waseem Rizvi and Canada-based scholar Tarek Fatah. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday predicted that the Trinamool Congress will register a resounding victory over the BJP at the state level in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. We will win all 42 seats in 2019 Lok Sabha elections from West Bengal, PTI quoted her as saying during her address at the partys annual Martyrs Day Rally in Kolkatas Esplanade area. The party currently holds 34 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal. Banerjee also announced the launch of a BJP hatao-desh bachao (remove BJP, save the country) campaign with the cooperation of like-minded Opposition leaders on August 15 Indias Independence Day. The 2019 Lok Sabha polls will be a big blow for the NDA, and Bengal will show the path, she said. According to ANI, the Trinamool Congress chief then went on to denounce the frequent incidents of mob violence occurring across the country. The way people are being lynched everywhere, one can see they are creating Talibanis among the people. I respect some good people in the BJP and RSS, but others are playing dirty games, she said. Banerjee who had first mooted the idea of a federal front to defeat the BJP said her party does not hunger for power. We dont bother about the chair. We only bother about the people and the country, she said. She also took a dig at the saffron party over the collapse of a makeshift tent at a recent rally held by Modi in Midnapore. How can they build the country when they cannot build a pandal? The Trinamool Congress chief also brushed away the NDA governments victory in the no-trust motion held in the Lok Sabha on Friday, stating that its days in power are numbered. During the no-confidence vote, they (NDA) got 325 votes. But in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, their strength will come down to barely 100 seats, she said, adding that the BJP will fare badly in states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. Former BJP Rajya Sabha member Chandan Mitra and four Congress MLAs Samar Mukherjee, Abu Taher, Sabina Yasmin and Akhruzzman joined Banerjees party on the occasion. Mitra had resigned from the BJP a few days ago. The Trinamool Congress observes Martyrs Day every year on July 21 to pay homage to 13 Youth Congress workers who were allegedly killed in police firing during the Left Fronts regime in 1993. Banerjee was a leader of the Youth Congress at the time. The rally came a day after a no-confidence motion against the Modi government was decisively defeated. Party workers and people from across the state began gathering in the metropolis from midnight to attend the public meeting. The rally is of immense importance given the partys ambition to play a major role after the next Lok Sabha polls, political observers said. (With agency inputs) Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to address a farmers rally at Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday afternoon, a day after his government decisively defeated a no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha. Modi, who accused Congress president Rahul Gandhi of being in a hurry to grab the Prime Ministers chair during the parliamentary proceedings, is expected to further intensify his attack on the Opposition during the rally held at Uttar Pradeshs biggest grain market. He is likely to meet Nida Khan, a 23-year-old divorcee who was unhappily married into the family of famous Sufi scholar Ahmed Raza Khan before allegedly being given the triple-talaq, during the event. Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvis sister Farhat, who also claims to be a victim of the controversial divorce practice, has been invited to the political event too. While Nidas presence would boost the BJPs attempts to woo women from the Muslim community, the focus would be on two bigger political objectives ensuring a second term in office for Modi and defeating the Oppositions attempts to cobble up an anti-BJP front ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. This will be Modis third rally in Shahjahanpur. He had addressed his first public meeting here as the Gujarat chief minister in 2009 and then as the BJPs prime ministerial face in 2014. BJP leaders say Modi may reiterate the numbers his government scored in Lok Sabha after the no-trust vote 325 votes of 451 members present and voting in the house (beating its own target of a two-thirds win) to defeat the Congress attempts to cobble up the anti-BJP front. Shahjahanpurs stature as the states biggest grain market also suits the BJPs purposes. The largely agrarian region has over four lakh farmers, of which nearly 1.5 lakh are direct beneficiaries of various government schemes. Nearly 50,000 farmers in Shahjahanpur have benefitted from the loan waiver scheme of the Yogi Adityanath government, which was among Modis biggest commitments to Uttar Pradesh in the 2017 state election campaign. This factor would come in handy for the Prime Minister to rebut the Congress charge that the BJP government is anti-farmer and anti-poor. The saffron party has also instructed its agriculturists wing the BJP Kisan Morcha to hold farmer welfare meetings across the state around the time of Modis Shahjahanpur visit. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath and state BJP president Mahendra Nath Pandey visited the region on Tuesday to review preparations for the rally, and held meetings with the district magistrates of Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Lakhimpur Kheri, Sitapur, Farrukhabad, Pilibhit, Badaun, Rampur and Bareilly (from where the crowds are expected to come). Through these meetings, the BJP plans to make the rural masses aware of the Modi governments decision to hike the minimum support price (MSP) of various crops planted in the current kharif season. The hike in MSP of various crops announced by Prime Minister Modi is truly historic. Such a massive hike has been implemented for the first time since Independence, Adityanath said. Pandey also expressed a similar sentiment, stating that the hike in MSP for 14 kharif crops would directly benefit farmers. The Congress dismissed the rally, terming it as just another platform for Modi to mouth empty promises. Nothing has been done for the farmer, except for jumlebaazi (lip service), said former Union minister and Congress leader Jitin Prasada, who hails from the region. Shahjahanpur, a reserved seat, is currently represented in the Lok Sabha by Krishna Raj a member of the backward Pasi community and a sitting Union minister of state. BJP heavyweight Suresh Khanna, also the states urban development minister, is a seven-term lawmaker from Shahjahanpur. He is leaving no stone unturned to showcase his clout as a mass leader from the region. This is clearly BJPs high point but Khanna had been winning even when the chips were down. He is staying here to supervise the arrangements himself. The Prime Minister will get a grand welcome here, a party leader said. The no-confidence motion hardly threatened Narendra Modis four-year old government, but it presented an opportunity for all political parties to position themselves for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Heres an analysis what the parties sought to gain from the no-confidence vote. Congress Given that it was certain the outcome would be adverse, the Congresss entire aim with the no-confidence motion was to attack the government and project Rahul Gandhi as a formidable leader. The party emerged with high morale, convinced that Gandhi with both his confident and aggressive speech and him hugging Prime Minister Narendra Modi had stolen the limelight. The challenge for the party would be to now translate the momentum into electoral wins. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) The BJP came out a winner in Fridays vote. It beat its own target of a two-thirds majority and exceeded 70% of the house. The party did suffer jitters in the afternoon when Rahul Gandhi launched a personalised and aggressive attack. But with PM Modis speech, the party felt it had recovered the narrative. Party chief Amit Shah tweeted that the win was a precursor to the 2019 elections. Shiv Sena The Shiv Sena stayed out of the proceedings as well. After first deciding to support the government on Thursday afternoon, then pulling back the same evening, and finally deciding to boycott the motion and the vote entirely, the partys swings reflects its complicated relationship with the BJP. It is an ally in government at the Centre and in Maharashtra. Yet, it is resentful and believes BJP has squeezed its space. It is not in, but it is not out yet. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) Tamil Nadus ruling party voted with the government. The partys proximity to the BJP, especially after the death of Jayalalithaa, was an open secret. It has supported the NDA on key political and policy issues, directly and indirectly. It was widely expected they would abstain. But the open support will have implications back in Tamil Nadu, where AIADMK is divided and faces external challengers. Telugu Desam Party (TDP) The TDP had triggered the debate in the house with its motion. It will not be entirely pleased that the discussion revolved around a range of issues that had little to do with granting Andhra Pradesh special category status. But the fact that Parliament debated a TDP motion would help the party project to its constituents back home that it had challenged the Centre and Delhi for the interests of the state. Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) TRS did not participate in the voting. The root of Fridays vote lies in the creation of Telangana, the resentment in Andhra and a special category status. TRS made it clear that since the issue was Andhra-specific, they had little to do with it. But its stand would add to speculation that TRS had some kind of understanding with BJP. At the same time, TRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao has also positioned himself as a leader of the Federal front. Biju Janta Dal (BJD) The BJD walked out of the house. Its move was a classic reflection of Naveen Patnaiks political style. He is a ferocious, even if understated, political warrior back home in the state. But he sees little point often in getting entangled into political battles in Delhi, with limited electoral resonance in the state. Even though BJD now confronts an aggressive BJP in Odisha, the move was seen as implicitly supportive of the government. Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday raised the pitch for a proposed anti-Bharatiya Janata Party Federal Front, stating that her party will hold a rally next year to bring the leaders of Opposition parties on the same stage. Speaking during her partys Martyrs Day rally, Mamata gave a call of BJP hatao and said TMC will organise a rally for all Opposition parties at Kolkatas Brigade Parade Ground on January 19 to take control of the country in 2019. I will invite leaders from across the country for the Brigade rally. Bengal will show the way (for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls), the TMC chief said. The BJP was quick to retort with its national secretary Rahul Sinha announcing that they will hold a counter rally at the same venue on January 23 with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the key speaker. Speaking during Saturdays rally, Mamata said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will not manage to win more than 150 seats in the 2019 polls. She also dismissed NDA governments victory in Fridays no-confidence vote, stating that the ruling coalition only enjoyed support inside the Parliament but outside the Parliament, the BJP has already been outnumbered. The government got 325 votes yesterday (Friday), while 126 went against it. But 2019 is going to be different. Yesterday AIADMK backed the government. But next year, they wont get any seat in Tamil Nadu, she said. The Bengal chief minister accused the NDA government of spreading hatred in the country to meet political ends. They think they are bigger dictators than (Adolf) Hitler and (Benito) Mussolini. They are preaching hatred. They assumed power through riots and still have blood on their hands, she said. The BJP, however, brushed aside Mamatas charges. It is evident that Mamata Banerjee is afraid of BJP. This is going to be the last Trinamool rally in the state. From next year, they have to hold the rally in somebodys courtyard, Sinha said. Predicting that BJPs tally will fall across the country, Mamata said: In UP, if Mayawati and Mulayam (Singh Yadav) come together, BJP will win a maximum of 30 out of 80 seats. In MP, they will get eight seats at the most. In Rajasthan, they will get a maximum of five of the 25 seats and in Gujarat, the party will not get any. She added that the right-wing partys fortunes will be no better in Bihar, Odisha, Punjab and said the TMC will bag all 42 seats in Bengal. Union minister Babul Supriyo dismissed Mamatas poll predictions as an indication of frustration. Late last year, while reading a Hindi daily, Bishan Dev came across what seemed like one last chance at fatherhood. The 39-year-old sugarcane farmer in Uttar Pradesh pored over the advertisement for an IVF centre in Bareilly, about 25 km from his village. Over eight years, he and his wife Kamla had already spent over Rs 3 lakh on Unani and Ayurvedic treatment options, and on travelling to multiple shrines across the country, all in the hopes of bearing a child. A neighbour had once talked about IVF, then Bishan saw the ad, and the couple decided to give it a try. Everyone is getting it done, he says. I have read all the details on the internet. I could now guide other people about the procedure. Kamla is now in the fourth month of her pregnancy. The procedure has cost them about Rs 1.25 lakh. The Devs are among a growing community of people driving the proliferation of assisted reproduction clinics in Tier 2 cities and small towns. Of the 18 clinics in Uttar Pradesh, for instance, 8 are in Tier 2 cities such as Meerut, Agra, Bareilly, Hapur and Muzaffarnagar, according to the National Registry of ART Clinics and Banks in India. Factors driving this growth include rising incomes and the falling cost of the procedure, changing attitudes to fertility treatments, and a virtuous cycle where successful outcomes at regional clinics encourage others seeking children to give it a shot. A common notion among people was that a test tube baby would not be their biological child. I remember telling couples that they could get DNA tests done if they had any doubts, and I would pay for the test. Until 10-15 years ago, the common perception among the less educated was that IVF was some kind of operation and should be the last resort. Now I get patients who have been married for two years. They dont want to waste time on other procedures, says Dr Latika Agarwal, medical director of the Sarthak Test Tube Baby Centre in Bareilly, which Bishan Dev and his wife have been visiting since December. Dr Agarwals centre is 15 years old, and in that time she says the number of patients she sees a month has risen from 2 to 20. With three other IVF centres in Bareilly now, the city has become a magnet for people living in nearby towns such as Pilibhit, Badaun and Shajahanpur too. Even in areas with literacy rates far below the national average (Bareillys is 60% against a national average of 74%), superstition has given way to hope. How IVF works, and why it is necessary In in-vitro fertilisation, eggs are harvested and fertilised in a laboratory and then implanted in the uterus of the woman who will carry the foetus to term. An IVF cycle takes four to six weeks and costs between Rs 60,000 and Rs 2 lakh in India. IVF is used when couples are unable to conceive the conventional way. The IVF cycle starts on the first day of the natural menstrual cycle, when the ovaries normally produce their one egg. For the first 8 to 14 days of the cycle, women are injected with hormones to produce multiple eggs and give the procedure a better chance. Mature eggs are harvested trans-vaginally in a daycare procedure under anaesthesia. Fresh, frozen or donor sperms are used to fertilise the eggs with, in a petri dish. After incubating for five to six days, the healthiest embryos are implanted into the uterus in a 10-minute procedure without anaesthesia. Multiple embryos are implanted to increase the chances of success. This is why quite a few IVF procedures result in multiple births twins, triplets, and more. After a two-week wait, a blood test is done to confirm pregnancy. A common notion among people used to be that a test tube baby would not be their biological child, says Dr Agarwal. I remember telling couples that they could get DNA tests done if they had any doubts, and I would pay for the test. Theres another interesting angle to the growing number of takers for IVF delayed motherhood in working women, and the rise of nuclear families. Over the years, I have seen women becoming more career-oriented, says Dr Neera Agarwal, Consultant Obstetrician & Gynecologist at Bareillys Manas Clinic and Infertility Centre. This is a good trend and should be encouraged. One of the consequences is that they have less fertile cells by the time they are ready to start a family. As for the nuclear family effect, one of Dr Neeras clients explains, In my father and grandfathers time, people would adopt a child from within the clan. Any decision had to be vetted by elders, says a 36-year-old construction worker waiting his turn at Dr Neeras clinic. Things have changed now. I have two brothers. We all live separately. When and how I plan a family is nobodys business. (With inputs from Chandan Kumar) A police constable abducted by unidentified gunmen from his house on Friday night was found dead with multiple bullet injuries on Saturday afternoon in Qaimoh village of south Kashmirs Kulgam district. The constable was identified as Mohammad Salim Shah. He was killed by the suspected militants after his abduction on Friday night, a police spokesperson said. Shah had been working as a special police officer and had been recently promoted, officials said. He was undergoing police training in Kathua. Special police officers are a force of volunteers. The constable had come home in Muthalhama of Kulgam district on leave. No militant outfit has so far claimed responsibility for the killing. Shah is the 25th policeman killed by militants in J&K this year. Earlier this month, police constable Javeed Ahmad Dar was abducted from his house at Vehil in Shopian district and killed by militants. Last month, Army soldier Aurangzeb was abducted from a private vehicle when he was going home for Eid in Shopian. His body was recovered from a Pulwama village. After three decades, cocoons have returned and silk has started reeling at Kashmirs century old silk factory. The walls are damp, cob webs still adore its high ceilings and the windows and doors appear decrepit, but all this is no distraction for the workers boiling cocoons and drawing silk fibres in one of the three massive filatures of Jammu and Kashmir Silk Factory situated at Solina in summer capital Srinagar. It seems a miracle. It is as if the factory has come to life after its death, said a middle aged Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, in-charge of the filature, who has been one of the men taking care of the government building all these years. Since 1989, the silk reeling machines in the three filatures and their 580 basins in which cocoons used to be processed have remained defunct after the factory shut down owing to decreased production and huge loses. The production of raw silk at the filatures which stood at 57,000 kg in 1980-81 had gone down to 16,000 kg in 1989-90, registering a decrease of 72%. The government is now attempting to resurrect the factory and give boost to the silk production in the state. In the first stage they have started reeling silk on five machines with 30 basins which were installed in one of the filatures in 1999 but have remained unused. We have hired workers from outside who know the trade. We dont want to employ people permanently. Over-employment and unaccountability played a major role in the downfall of the factory in the past, said managing director, Industries Limited, Javid Iqbal who is overseeing the revival process. Kashmirs association with silk and sericulture has been an old story to the extent that Rajtarangini- the oldest written chronicle of Kashmir- mentions it besides the accounts in 7th century AD in Xuang Zangs travelogue. The state has been producing one of the finest silk qualities in the world with high end varieties like lotus, iris, tulip and neel. The silk factory started in Srinagar in 1897 under the patronage of British while first of the filature was established in 1916, second in 1917 and third one in 1939 with total workers number at Solina around 2,000. By 1907, the silk industry of Kashmir developed to the extent that it was described as one of the largest concerns of its kind in the world by some authors. In 1961-62, the production of silk in the state stood at around 98,000 kg and reached to 20 tonne in 2006-07. For the past twenty days, the 10 odd workers, at the Solina factory, who have been brought from West Bengal, produced some 170 kg of silk from cocoons. The workers have also been training some 20 local Kashmiris. Though slowly, we want local workers to get acquainted with the production process so that we can indigenize the process, said the in-charge filature Bhat. The industries department has been planning to bring three more machines with 30 basins at a cost of 5.67 crores to increase the production. So far we have not made much investment and are treading cautiously but in the second phase we want to buy some machines and in the third phase we will focus on its infrastructure. We are taking a holistic view, said Iqbal. He said as many as 40,000 families of farmers producing cocoons are the primary beneficiary of the revival process. These 40,000 families form an unorganised sector in the state. Currently they are depended on buyers from Malda (West Bengal). Sometimes the farmers have to sell in distress because they have no other option. The start of governments own filature has given a ray of hope to the farmers, said Iqbal, adding, It will stabilise the rates and give stability to the weakest beneficiary in the market. Besides the filature at Solina, the government also plans to reestablish another filature in Jammu at a cost of 6.64 crores to achieve a combined silk reeling capacity of 240 tonne of cocoons which can yield around 80 tonneof raw silk. A 31-year-old man was allegedly beaten to death on Friday night by suspected cow vigilantes in Rajasthans Alwar district, where three people engaged in the cattle trade had already been killed since April last year. Two people suspected to be involved in the killing, which was condemned by political parties, have been arrested. The incident, which triggered tension in the region, took place just four days after the Supreme Court slammed the Central and state governments for failing to prevent frequent lynchings, terming them horrendous acts of mobocracy, and issued a slew of directions to tackle them. Two men identified as Rakbar Khan and Aslam, residents of Kol village in Haryanas Mewat region, were herding two cows when they were stopped in Lalavandi village of Ramgarh tehsil in Alwar around midnight and assaulted by a group of men, the police said. Khan and his Aslam were going to their village on foot through Lalavdi when some people stopped them and thrashed them, accusing them of being cow smugglers, said inspector general of police (Jaipur range) Hemant Priyadarshani . Khan was brutally beaten but Aslam managed to escape, said Alwars additional superintendent of police Anil Beniwal. Some locals informed the police, which reached the spot, and found Khan lying injured in a muddy field with the two cows standing next to him. Khan died on his way to Alwar hospital and his post-mortem examination revealed that the cause of death was internal bleeding caused by beating, police said. His father Sulamain Mev said Rakbar used to work as a labourer in a local stonemine and had left home on Friday morning with Aslam with some goats. Police told us about his death today morning, he said. On Saturday evening, villagers took 31-year-old Rakbar Khans body from the graveyard to the Delhi-Alwar highway and placed it on the road in protest. They demanded a government job for the wife and prompt action and arrest of the suspects. The family doesnt want to bury him till a strong action is taken against the accused. His body has been kept on the highway for now, said Liyaqat Ali Khan, a school teacher in Kolgaon village. Deputy superintendent of police Brahm Singh said the situation was under control. About 90 police personnel were deployed after the body was taken to the village. A rapid action force team was also called to the spot and was deployed near the house, Singh said. Priyadarshani said two persons identified as Dharmendra Yadav and Paramjeet Singh Sardar were arrested on the basis of testimony by locals. They (the accused) were associated with the local unit of Shiv Sena and suspected the two to be cow smugglers, said a local villager, who didnt want to be named. The IG said the police was investigating their links with any right-wing organisations. Chief minister Vasundhara Raje condemned the incident and said the strictest possible action shall be taken against the perpetrators. Congress leader and former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot slammed the Raje government for its failure to put an end to such heinous crimes despite Supreme Court warnings and instructions. Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot said the killing of people on mere suspicion is sadly becoming the norm in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states and added that the home minister Rajnath Singhs words in Parliament about state governments responsibility in stopping mob lynching seem even more hollow now. Union minister and senior BJP leader Arjun Ram Meghwal sparked a controversy by saying the Alwar lynching was related to Prime Minister Narendra Modis rising popularity and the more popular he becomes the more such incidents would take place. In April 2017, Muslim trader Pehlu Khan was beaten to death allegedly by cow vigilantes while transporting cows purchased from Jaipur to his home in Nuh in Haryana. A group of men transporting cows in November last were reportedly attacked in the same district allegedly by cow vigilantes, resulting in the death of a man identified as Umar Mohammed. A month later, Taleem Khan, an alleged cow smuggler, was killed in a shootout with police. The Alwar and Bharatpur region of Rajasthan is said to be hotbed of cow smuggling to alleged illegal slaughter houses in Haryana. The government has established police outposts in the area to prevent cow smuggling. Self-styled cow protection groups too are active in the region and carry out night patrols to thwart cow smuggling attempts. (With inputs from Leena Dhankar in Gurugram) A committee set up by the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) to devise ways to regulate online media and other Internet content has been disbanded, and its mandate will now be handed over to a panel overseen by the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY), an official aware of the development said on Friday. The committee on national in-vestment in critical national infrastructure and digital broadcast sting by MeitY will also be tasked with drafting the proposed regulations for online content, the official said on condition of anonymity. The committee has the secretary of MeitY as convener and has on board the secretaries of MIB and the department of telecommunications as well as the nat- ional cyber security coordinator. The terms of reference of the proposed online regulation committee were similar to those of the existing committee set up by MeitY. Hence, it has been decided that its terms of reference will be dovetailed with the existing committee, the official cited above said. The official said the committee will meet with stakeholders and recommend necessary support in a systemic manner. While MIB officials did not respond to queries, the government has been stressing that it is not considering regulation of news websites. I&B minister Rajyavardhan Rathore had earlier said: We believe in self-regulation of all mediums and we trust the consumer of news to be able to be able to tell right from wrong. The 10-member committee was set up in April by the then-I&B minister Smriti Irani, with representation from several ministries including home affairs, MeitY, legal affairs, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Press Council of India and the National Broadcasters Association. Citing reasons for setting up the committee, the MIB in April 4 order, said the idea was to delineate the sphere of online information dissemination which needs to be brought under regulation, on the lines applicable for print and electronic media. Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of betrayal, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday said the no-confidence motion was majority versus morality. Naidu said that the Prime Minister himself in pre-election rallies had promised special status for Andhra Pradesh and additional fund for Amravati, capital of Andhra Pradesh. I came all the way from Amravati to Delhi to explain to the nation why we moved no-confidence motion and also what we expected from the NDA government...We know that they have majority, the motion is majority versus morality, said Naidu. The motion was moved by Naidus Telugu Desam Party (TDP) demanding special category status for Andhra Pradesh that was bifurcated in 2014. Naidu said that before election they had thought they would need one national party for the special status and decided to support BJP. Yesterday PM told very clearly that it is because of 14th finance commission he is unable to extend it...You cannot betray us. We are wounded, we are suffering. Government of India has to do justice [to Andhra Pradesh]..., said Naidu. He didnt make it clear whether he will support Congress in the upcoming election but said there is no question of supporting NDA now. Telugu Desam Party leader Kesineni Srinivas took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modis speech in the Lok Sabha ahead of the Trust Vote on No-Confidence Motion. Srinivas said while hearing the Prime Minister, he felt like watching a Bollywood blockbuster film. I thought for one and a half hours I was watching a Bollywood blockbuster film. I have no doubt Prime Minister would have been the best actor in the world, Srinivas said in the Lower House of the Parliament. Meanwhile, TDP leaders staged protest in the Lok Sabha during Prime Minister Modis speech on the No-Confidence Motion. Soon after the Prime Minister started his speech, leaders of the Telegu Desam Party started shouting We want justice forcing Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to intervene in between and ask them to stop. Atal Bihari Vajpayee created three states - Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. It was done peacefully. These states are now prospering. However, on the other hand, Congress divided Andhra Pradesh and their conduct then was shameful, the Prime Minister said. When TDP was leaving NDA, I called up (Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister) N. Chandrababu Naidu, warned him that you are falling into YSR Congresss trap. I want to tell the people of Andhra Pradesh that we will keep working for them. We will do everything possible for the development of the state, he added. The No-Confidence Motion was moved by the Telegu Desam Party (TDP) over Andhra Pradesh Special Category status issue. The embarrassment the Shiv Sena faced due to its flip-flop over stand on the no-trust motion moved against the Modi government in the Lok Sabha has angered Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. A close aide of the Sena chief said Thackeray is furious with two senior Members of Parliament who were apparently behind the goof-up over a party whip directing MPs to remain present in the Lok Sabha on Friday and support the government. The whip was opposite to what Thackeray wanted his MPs to do and the party had to withdraw it within hours after it was issued on Thursday. However, no immediate action against the two MPs is likely since the party leadership is not keen on washing dirty linen in public. The flip-flop over the party first issuing whip and later withdrawing the same followed with diktat to its 18 MPs not to attend the proceedings of the no-trust motion has embarrassed the Sena. The Sena, which is the BJPs partner in power at the Centre as well as in the state, chose to boycott the proceedings in the Lok Sabha. The Thackeray aide said there was no decision taken to support the government. Uddhavji was surprised when media ran a story on Sena issuing whip asking MPs to support the government on the floor of Lok Sabha. He had spoken with each of our 18 MPs on the issue,said the aide. Prime Minister Narendra Modis aim to double farmers income by 2022 would be achieved before the targeted year, BJP president Amit Shah asserted on Saturday, dismissing the Oppositions claim that it was merely a political statement. Speaking at a conference on Role of Insurance in Reforming Agrarian Economy in New Delhi on Saturday , he said, The kind of changes the Modi government has brought in agriculture sector, I am convinced there will be infrastructure to not only achieve the target of doubling farmers income but go beyond that before 2022. After independence, agriculture has mostly been a subject of Bhashanbaji but in the past 10-15 years, innovative contributions from different quarters have started coming to the fore, Shah said. The goal will be achieved as the Centre and state governments are working in a mission mode, he said. The goal set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not a political statement. I firmly believe as India completes 75 years of its independence in 2022, we will achieve a big success by doubling farmers income and raising agricultures contribution in the economy to 30 per cent, Shah claimed. Crediting the Modi government with an all encompassing vision to benefit farmers, Shah claimed that the government not only managed to arrange a wider crop insurance to farmers but also effectively checked black marketing of urea in the country. The Minimum Support Price (MSP) for kharif crops announced by the government will benefit the farmers. In some cases they are getting more than 1.5 times the cost of crop, he said. Shah also praised agricultural reforms in the BJP ruled states, saying innovative farming practices in these states were mutually share, thus affecting farmers in a large part of the country NDA government is most liberal towards their needs and open to ideas to ensure that steps are taken to facilitate them in enhancing their contribution in the economy, he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Nida Khan, a victim of instant triple talaq against whom a fatwa has been issued by a Bareilly cleric, during his upcoming visit to Shahjahanpur on Saturday. An estimated 2 lakh supporters are expected to attend the rally. Farhat Naqvi, sister of Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, will also accompany Nida Khan. Both have been formally invited by BJP MLA from Bareilly Papu Bhartol aka Rajesh Kumar Mishra. The MLA told me that the Prime Minister would meet us in Shahjahanpur during the rally, said Farhat Naqvi. Based in Bareilly, the two women have been vocal against the practice of nikah halala and instant triple talaq. Nida (23), who was married to Ahmed Raza Khan aka Ala Hazrat and was allegedly harassed by her in-laws and was later given instant triple talaq. She lodged a police complaint against domestic violence and harassment in 2016. Farhat Naqvi is also pursuing a case against her in-laws after being separated from her husband. The duo came into spotlight again this week when Barelvi clerics issued a fatwa against Nida. Nida Khan has been ousted from Islam for questioning the practice of triple talaq and halala, Md Khurshid Alam Razvi, imam of Jama Masjid mosque in Bareilly, said in a press conference on July 16. Commenting on Farhat Naqvi, Razvi went on to say that Farhat Naqvi shouldnt comment on halala and instant triple talaq because she is from Shia community. The fatwa led to a furore and was criticised by senior clerics and politicians alike. Nida has refused to recognise the fatwa and decided to approach the Supreme Court against it. The SC has already termed the practice of instant triple talaq unconstitutional. Uttar Pradesh Minority Commission has also taken cognizance of the matter and sent a two-member team to look into it. The bill outlawing instant triple talaq and laying down punishment for Muslim men who use it the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017 was passed by Lok Sabha in December. It is yet to be cleared by the upper house. Critiquing Congress president Rahul Gandhis speech in Parliament on Friday during the debate on the no-confidence motion against the government, senior BJP leader and Union minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said, the Gandhi scion missed a great opportunity. The BJP leader parsed the speech for being low on facts and for trivialising the debate. A vote of no-confidence against the government is a serious business. It is not an occasion for frivolity. The lead participants in the debate are normally senior political leaders. They are expected to raise the level of political discourse. If a participant happens to be a President of a national political party nourishing Prime Ministerial aspirations, every word he speaks should be precious, Jaitely said in a blog. On Friday, the government won the no-confidence motion moved by the Telugu Desam Party with a comfortable 325 votes against the oppositions 126. Gandhi, who hit headlines for his impromptu hug to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, attacked the government for failing to fulfil its promise to provide jobs to the youth, and accused it of fostering crony capitalism and wrongdoing in the Rafale deal. Jaitley, however hit back, challenging Gandhis claims. He also criticised the Congress president for quoting a conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron on the Rafale deal. One should never misquote a conversation with a Head of Government, Jaitley said, adding, that by Concocting a conversation with President Macron, Gandhi had lowered his own credibility and seriously hurt the image of an Indian politician before the world at large. He [Gandhi] now seeks to embarrass Dr Manmohan Singh by implicitly insinuating that Dr Singh was a witness to the conversation being wholly unaware that his own government had entered into the secrecy pact. Rahul has repeatedly shown that he is ignorant of facts. But to insist on disclosure of financial details, which indirectly involves the disclosures of the strategic equipment on the aircraft, is to hurt national interest. Cost gives away a clue to the weaponry in the aircraft, he wrote. The Congress party however, hit back pointing out that Gandhis speech established the fact that Congress will fight 2019 on a positive agenda and BJP will fight on propaganda, and that Jaitelys blog is meant for pleasure reading of his political boss, but for others its a fictional column devoid of reality. Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said, The entire country witnessed that Mr Gandhi spoke on issues concerning the nation and Mr Modi spoke only on the opposition. The honourable PM failed miserably in giving a fact and statistics based rebuttal to Mr Gandhi and once gain used his stale, repetitive, overused rhetoric loaded with hatred for the opposition. In an oblique reference to the commendation for Gandhis speech in the Lok Sabha, Jaitley had a terse comment to make. Jaitley said, Hallucinations can give momentary pleasure to a person. Therefore, to hallucinate after an embarrassing performance that he has won future election or to hallucinate that he is the reincarnation of Mark Antony being complemented by friends and foes alike, may give him self-satisfaction but for serious observers it is more than just self-praise in fact a serious problem. Commenting on the political sparring, N Bhaskara Rao of the Centre for Media Studies, an independent multi-disciplinary research organisation said senior leaders of both sides must show the way forward by putting an end to controversies that fuel polarisation. The need of the hour is conciliation, cooperation and consultation. We need to get out of the current tangle and realise our potential and end polarisation, Rao said. Noted Hindi poet-lyricist Gopal Das Neeraj had sought euthanasia about a week before his death, an official of Aligarh administration said. In letter to the Aligarh district magistrate, the poet on July 11 expressed his wish to be free from his body, which was becoming a burden because of continued illness. Aligarh district magistrate Chandra Bhushan confirmed having received such a letter from the poet. The letter dated July 11 was sent through registered post and was received on July 16, the day Neeraj ji moved to Agra. Yet, directions were issued to the CMO (chief medical officer) for urgent action, the district magistrate said. Kundanika Sharma, the daughter of Gopal Das Neeraj, said, I came to know about it later while being in Delhi for his treatment. It was revealed that he had forwarded a letter to the district magistrate at Aligarh. This was rather surprising as he was known to be a lively man with all family members at his disposal to take his care . The letter, a copy of which is available with Hindustan Times, was written on July 11 on the poets letterhead and addressed to the Aligarh district magistrate. I have come to know that recently Supreme Court permitted euthanasia for those turning disabled because of body pain. My body and my health are now good for nothing and thus my own body has turned (out) to be a burden for me. As such I want to free myself from it, stated Neeraj in the letter, a week before his death on July 19. In the letter, the poet had sought availability of helideath injection for accepting voluntary death. Gopal Das Neeraj had reached Agra on Monday (July 16). His family members said he was having food and appeared normal but his health deteriorated on Tuesday (July 17). He was shifted to All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi on Wednesday but died on Thursday. The 93-year-old was a recipient of Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian honour in the country. He is survived by three sons and a daughter. The newly constituted Congress Working Committee (CWC) will meet for the first time on Sunday to discuss the prevailing political situation in the country and draw up the partys strategy for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Congress president, Rahul Gandhi, his mother and previous party president, Sonia Gandhi, and senior general secretary, Ashok Gehlot, will be among the key speakers at the meeting. Gandhi on July 17 reconstituted the partys highest decision-making body with a blend of experienced and GenNext leaders. Of the 51 members, 23 are in the main panel, followed by 18 permanent invitees and 10 special invitees. Apart from the state chiefs and legislature party leaders, the meeting will be attended by All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretaries, joint secretaries, heads of departments and cells, office bearers of the Congress Parliamentary Party and members of the central election committee, a panel that finalises the candidates for any state or Lok Sabha polls. The meeting will take place two days after Gandhis fiery speech in Parliament during a debate on the no-confidence motion on Friday. The Congress president launched a blistering attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and later, in an unprecedented move, gave him a hug. Gandhis aggressive speech has buoyed the Congress with its leaders expressing confidence that he will pose a formidable challenge to Modi in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. It was an excellent speech by the Congress president. The government stands completely exposed, wrote senior leader Ahmed Patel on Twitter. AICC secretary Prakash Joshi said Gandhis speech galvanised and infused confidence among the Congress leaders, workers and the cadre. The no-confidence motion was a launch pad for the Congress campaign for the 2019 elections. Rahuljis speech marked the beginning of the end of Modi and his government. The countdown has started as evident from Modis weak response and a fake smile, he said. Former union minister and Congress partys in-charge of Jharkhand, RPN Singh, said, It was a hard-hitting and factual speech. Perfect 10/10.... Unfortunately, the Prime Ministers response had nothing to do with facts and as usual attacked the Gandhi family and once again tried to play a victim card. While Modi attacked Gandhi for the hug, Congress leaders maintained that their party chiefs intention was to send out a message of love. When the Prime Minister goes abroad and hugs world leaders, what will we call that? By hugging the Prime Minister, Rahul Gandhiji only tried to give a message of love, peace, non-violence and brotherhood, Gehlot said. Rahulji also wanted to convey that there should not be any tension between the political rivals despite having difference of opinions. It was an opportunity for the Prime Minister to reciprocate Rahuljis gesture and that would have been good for the country, he added. Sanitary napkins will be exempt from Goods and Services Tax (GST), finance minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday after a meeting of the GST Council. Sanitary napkins are taxed 12% under the one-year old GST regime, which attracted serious criticism from various quarters. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the ongoing 28th GST Council meeting in the capital, Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who also handles the state finance portfolio, said many items under the 28% slab have been brought down. I think the 28% tax slab should be done away with. The issue is being unnecessarily dragged, he added. In terms of tax returns, Sisodia said quarterly returns for traders having turnover up to Rs 5 crore has been approved by the GST Council. This would mean there would be no input tax credit available, even though inputs in the production of sanitary napkins are taxed. It is expected that the council would decide on revision of tax rates on vending machines and lithium ion batteries among others. In January this year, a group of students from Gwalior had launched a campaign by writing messages on sanitary napkins to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to exempt the taxes levied on the product and make it free of cost. The NDA government cruised to an over a two-thirds (at 72%, close to three-fourths) majority in the house, decisively defeating a no-confidence motion, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi set the stage for the 2019 elections. Modi strongly defended his governments record on welfare and economy; launched a blistering critique of Congress politics and its treatment of grassroots leaders, sharply rebutted an earlier speech by Congress president Rahul Gandhi; reiterated his commitment to the development of Andhra Pradesh; and challenged the opposition to bring a no-confidence motion in 2024. Modis speech, late on Friday night, came after a day of intense debate in the house. While the Telugu Desam Party had filed a no-confidence motion against the government, a range of opposition parties, used the opportunity to target the National Democratic Alliance on its record as NDA allies and leaders defended it. Gandhis speech earlier in the day captured attention with its aggressive tone and, of course, the climax, when he hugged the Prime Minister. But the numbers told their own story: the government secured 325 votes of 451 members present and voting in the house, beating its own target of a two-thirds win. The Prime Ministers political attack was primarily reserved for the Congress. Playing on the word trust, Modi spoke of how Congress had little faith in itself. They dont have faith in the Chief Justice, Reserve Bank of India, institutions which provide economic indicators, in the power of the Indian passport, in the Election Commission, EVMs. And that is because they dont have faith in themselves. This is because some people have a strong sense of entitlement and have lost out. The Prime Minister also took on Gandhi, who had, in the course of his speech said that Modi did not look him in the eye, and used it as a peg to attack Congress treatment of its own leaders and allies. It was said the PM cannot look me in the eye. Who are we? Who can look you in the eye? I am from a poor background, from a backward caste, from a village... history is witness. When Sardar Patel looked in the eye, when Subash Bose looked in the eye, when Morarji Desai did it, when JP Narayan, Charan Singh, Chandrashekhar, Pranab Mukherjee or even Sharad Pawar looked in the eye, see what happened. The names were a reference to those who the BJP believes have directly taken on the Nehru-Gandhi family, and suffered for it. Modi also targeted the coalition-in-the-making to take him on in 2019, pointing out that the Congress has a track record of betraying allies, as it had done in 1979, 1991, and 1997 leading to short-lived governments and creating instability. Modi then spoke of the hug that Gandhi gave him earlier in the day. The Congress leader had urged him to stand up at the time. Those who are desperate to come here came and said, get up, get up. No one can make you sit here or get up. Only the 125 crore people of India can do it. Rebutting Gandhis allegations of wrongdoing in the Rafale deal, Modi said, I cant imagine truth being twisted like this on issues related to National security. On a statement made here, two governments had to issue a condemnation. I want to assure the country that the deal is between two governments, and is fully transparent. A second key theme of the PMs speech was the governments policy record, coupled with questions on the track record of past governments. Electricity reached 18,000 villages...32 crore bank accounts were opened...4.5 crore women got a new way of living with LPG cylinders we constructed eight crore toilets for women... Ayushman Bharat will give an assurance of ? 5 lakh for medical care... we will double farmer incomes by 2022. Modi also spoke of how with the use of technology, the government had saved 90,000 crores which would have otherwise got misappropriated. He highlighted improvements in the ease of doing business rankings, the innovation index, and the competitiveness index, and defended his record on job creation through multiple sectors. The PM provided a detailed policy explanation on the banking crisis, explicitly blaming the UPA governments actions between 2008 and 2014 of arbitrarily giving loans and looting banks. He claimed that his government had recognised, and addressed the problem but called it a landmine. On the issue that led to the no-confidence vote, Modi once again accused the Congress of mismanaging the division of Andhra Pradesh. He alleged that Chandrababu Naidu had, due to competitive politics with YSR CP, withdrawn from the NDA government despite having accepted a special assistance plan, and claimed that the 14th Finance Commission did not allow the Centre to give the special category status that was being demanded. But our commitment to the development and hopes and aspirations of Andhra stays. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi termed the PMs speech an old, broken record. The Women and Child Development Ministry (WCD) ministry has said that it has asked all states and Union territories to issue instructions for conducting inspection of all homes run by the Missionaries of Charity (MoC). It has also asked the states and the Union territories to identify all potential institutions and organisations which could be involved in unlawful activities. The WCD Ministry has asked the states to keep a close watch on the maternity hospitals and other facilities, which may also act as potential places for illegal activities and child trafficking. The states have been asked to submit a status report by the end of the month. The announcement comes days after WCD minister Maneka Gandhi ordered all states to get the child-care homes run by the MoC inspected immediately. The ministry also said they have instructed that all the state/Union territories should ensure that all the registered child care institutions, whether run by a state government or by voluntary or non-governmental organisations, are linked to specialised adoption agencies and are reflected in the online portal Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System (CARINGS) within one month. CARINGS is an app providing adoption services. It is linked to CARA, the apex adoption body in the country. The ministry said the move aims to address the grave concern that has come to notice, through media reports, that some organisations have been propagating illegal adoption outside the domain of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, which is tantamount to child trafficking, the WCD Ministry said in a statement. The ministry was hinting at the recent scandal at child care homes run by the MoC in Ranchi where staffers had allegedly sold four infants. For speedy execution, the state governments and Union territories have also been asked to publish this direction in a local newspaper to ensure compliance by the institutions within the stipulated period, failing which action may be taken against the non-complying institutions, it said in a statement. The Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 recognises the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) as the nodal agency for promoting and regulating in-country and inter-country adoptions, which is being facilitated through an online portal (CARINGS). When contacted by PTI, the MoC had denied the allegations and said they were ready for any kind of inspection. In 2015, an ideological row between the ministry and the MoC surfaced over issues like the MoCs denial to give children to separated or divorced parents. There was also a conflict over the MoCs not allowing adoption by single parents. Gandhi had then said the government would have to derecognise the organisation if it continued to defy the revised guidelines. They have cited ideological issues with our adoption guidelines related to giving a child up for adoption to single, unwed mothers. They have their own agenda and now when they have to come under a unified secular agenda, they are refusing it, the minister had said in a statement in 2015. Following the row, the Missionaries of Charity has decided to stop putting children up for adoption. (This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.) More lynching incidents will take place with the rise in popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Saturday said hinting at a conspiracy to defame the BJP and the central government ahead of the Lok Sabha elections next year. The more popular Modi ji becomes, the more such incidents will happen. In Bihar election it was Award Wapsi, in Uttar Pradesh election it was mob lynching. In 2019 elections, it will be something else. Prime Minister Modi gave several schemes, their effects can be seen, this (lynching) incident is just one reaction to it, Meghwal said. The minister was reacting to alleged lynching of a Muslim man in Rajasthans Alwar district over suspicion of cow smuggling on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday. Meghwal also termed the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 as the biggest case of mob lynching in India. We condemn mob-lynching but this isnt a single incident. You have to trace this back in history. Why does this happen? Who should stop this? What happened with Sikhs in 1984 was the biggest mob lynching of this nations history, he told reporters in Jaipur. The ministers statement came even as party bigwigs in Rajasthan, which goes to polls later this year, were quick to condemn the incident that took place hours before BJP president Amit Shah reached Jaipur to address the concluding session of the partys state working committee meeting. Chief minister Vasundhara Raje, who had stayed silent over lynching of dairy farmer Pehlu Khan in Alwar in April 2017 for nearly a month, was quick to condemn the latest incident. The incident of the alleged lynching of a person transporting bovines in Alwar district is condemnable. Strictest possible action shall be taken against the perpetrators, Raje said in a tweet. Such behaviour is certainly abhorrent and despicable and not characteristic of Rajasthan. We shall make all efforts to prevent such instances. Rajasthan home minister Gulabchand Kataria, who had termed Pehlu Khan a cow smuggler in the state Assembly in July 2017 and had backed the police clean chit to the six accused in that case, was also quick to condemn the Fridays incident. We will take strict action against the people responsible for this incident, he told reporters at the venue of BJP working committee meeting. Political analysts, meanwhile, slammed the BJP for rise in incidents of mob violence in the name of cow protection. Any statement from BJP leaders opposing the lynching is hypocrisy. The mob violence that is taking place has the indirect support of BJP. In Rajasthan, the communal and regional polarization is creation of BJP and its mother organisation. There has been a rise in atrocities not only against the minorities but also against Dalits and women, political analyst Rajiv Gupta said. The Rajasthan unit of Congress slammed the ruling party BJP for failing to stop such attacks. Saddened by news of a man beaten to death in Alwar. Killing of people on suspicion is sadly becoming a norm in BJP-ruled states. The Home Ministers words in Parliament about state governments responsibility in stopping mob lynching seem even more hollow now, state party chief Sachin Pilot tweeted. Congress general secretary Ashok Gehlot termed the incident horrific. He said the man was lynched despite the Supreme Courts warnings. For BJP, human life has no value. Criminals guised as vigilantes are roaming freely with out fear of law n order....The PM remains silent on such cases of lynchings and the state CM orders customary inquiries, wherein actual accused are hardly arrested or punished, he said in series of tweets. Rakbar Khan, who was in his thirties, was taking two cows to his village Kol Gaon village in Ferozepur Jhirka tehsil of Mewat district in Haryana through a forest near Lalawandi area in Alwar when some locals allegedly thrashed him brutally, suspecting him to be a cow smuggler. The police rushed the victim to a nearby hospital, where he was declared brought dead. Two suspects have been arrested and a manhunt launched for other suspects, police said. In a similar incident, 50-year-old Pehlu Khan was beaten to death by cow vigilantes in the same district in April last year. On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged state governments to take stringent action against the culprits of mob lynching. Air India temporarily grounded B777 aircraft, which was scheduled to fly from Mumbai to Newark on Wednesday for fumigation, after passengers from business class complained of bed bugs. The airline received complaints from passengers who flew in the aircraft from Newark on Tuesday. A Powai resident, Kashmira Tonsekar, who was returning with her family from a holiday in the United States, checked the seats after her younger daughter complained of rashes. She said she had seen a bed bug on her husbands seat before taking off, but ignored it then thinking it was an insect. We alerted the crew who sprayed a repellent. After a while, more bugs started coming out from that and other seats, said Kashmira. They were shifted to the economy class. Kashmiras husband , Pravin Tonsekar, who wrote an email to the airline, said, We were shocked to find bugsThe crew was shocked and apparently registered a complaint on our behalf. My wife and younger daughter were given the unsalable crew seats in the economy class which were in a bad condition. Its table was broken and TV couldnt be switched off. The crew had to put a cloth to cover it. It is such a pity that after paying a premium, we have to suffer owing to deficiency of services, stated the complaint email. Another passenger Vivek Modi from New Jersey from the same flight tweeted about the incident with pictures of bugs roaming around on the seats. A similar incident took place on Thursday when an infant was bitten by bugs in another Mumbai-Newark flight. An airline official said the two aircraft in which the incidents took place were grounded for one day each. However, an Air India spokesperson said, The aircraft have been fumigated and seat covers etc. replaced. Schedule of Mumbai-Newark flight is not affected. The second round of admissions for the first-year junior colleges (FYJC) across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) began on Thursday. The parents of students, who could not secure admission in the college of their choice, will protest outside the office of the deputy director of education today. The parents complained that despite scoring well, several aspirants are left in lurch due to the revised seat matrix, with students being anxious about what lies ahead. My daughter scored 92.6% in her board exam, but has not been able to get the college of her first preference. The earlier matrix showed that there are over 100 seats at NM College. But after the court order came in, they all had to be returned to the college to fill the minority quota seats Pankaj Jain, a parent from Malad said. On Friday, HT had reported that due to a court order, minority colleges had to surrender the seats kept available for general category students, changing the entire seat matrix. The order has left many top scorers without seats in their preferred colleges. The whole system seems disorganised. Students are left with no other option but to settle for colleges with lower cut offs because they dont want to take any risk after this mess, said another parent. The most prominent colleges in the city did not have a second merit list at all. However, almost all of these colleges still have a lot of unfilled seats from the minority quota that were not passed on to the general category for the second round. Ashok Wadia, principal of Jai Hind College, Churchgate, said: Students who were interested in securing a seat under the quota have already done so. Now most of the pending seats would be left vacant till the end of the admission procedure for minority seats, as there are no more takers left. On the other hand, we have to turn away students from the non-quota categories because we have no seats left under the general category. Today is the last day to secure admissions under the second merit list. Until Friday evening, the state education department was yet to upload a revised seat matrix on the basis of which students can decide whether or not they want to confirm admission in the college allotted on the basis of seat vacancies. A South Sudanese students fall, which ultimately led to her death, was a result of her attempt to alight a moving train, a four-member committee formed by the central railway (CR) to look into the incident concluded on Friday. However, it said the station administration took about half-an-hour to take the 24-year-old victim, Jowahir Abdullah Noah, to the hospital. On July 12, Noah boarded Koyna Express from Miraj junction. On reaching Dadar, the group alighted the moving train, but Noah lost balance and slipped on to the tracks. She succumbed to her injuries on July 18. According to the committees report, Noah tried to alight the train at 8.06pm and fell at 8.08pm. A co-passenger lifted her from the tracks and she was put on a stretcher by a porter at 8.20pm. She was taken to the emergency medical room (EMR). The report mentions on-duty RPF staff Santosh Killakar called emergency ambulance 108 at 8.16pm. She was then shifted to Sion Hospital at 8.35pm, which means it took 29 minutes for the authorities to give her further treatment. The doctors at EMR tried to revive her. On realising that her condition was deteriorating, she was rushed to Sion Hospital, said a senior central railway official. The committee report clearly specifies the victim was given immediate medical attention in the EMR. She was later referred to Sion Hospital, said SK Jain, divisional railway manager, central railway. The report also states five passengers alighted the train, with Noah being the last one. She had a lot of luggage and lost balance because of it. The committee checked the dimensions of the platform and found the parameters were within the permissible limit. The report also states the reason why they alighted a moving train could not be ascertained. Its early lazy summer morning in one obscure corner in the plateau region bordering Nepal. Nonetheless, the interior of this village has begun humming with activities. Children are on the street clutching their bags on their way to school. Male folks are leaving cottage to eke out their living, but women are still busy going about household chores. While some are washing clothes and utensils in nearby river, Jhuniya, Mamata and Kaushalya, among others, have returned from across the Indo-Nepal border, carrying, what they said, the elixir of life. Located at the distance of about 270 kms north from state capital Patna, this just yet another day at Bhikhnathori, a sleepy village ensconced in the lap of natures splendour. Here, as many as 800-odd villagers belonging to Tharu, Adivasi, Mushahar and Muslim communities are fighting against their destiny to demand their right to drinking water since time immemorial. But with every facility made available to the villagers running in poor condition, tackling the water scarcity appears to be the worst challenge facing the government here. One of the two deep borings has gone dry, while water tank attached with the one that is operational is ravaged by germs and insects. If we drink the water, we will surely fall sick, Poonam Devi, member of panchayat samiti, explained away reasons behind the villagers dependence on water fetched from Nepal. Once known as Bhikshu Thor (Abode of Budhidhist monks), Bhikhnathori is a rugged rural place on the bank of Pandarai river which inundates the area during rainy season almost every year. But ironically, villagers continue to reel under drinking water crisis for ages. In 2008, a water tank carrying 5000 litres per day was pressed into the services of villagers by the Nitish government, said Dayanand Sahani, ex-village headman, adding the facility was discontinued after two tube well borings were commissioned in 2016. But the villagers woes were far from over as one deep boring went dry in 2017. Now germs and insects have ravaged the water tank owing to the lack of maintenance by PHED, said Rajan Oraon, adding several plea for its upkeep and maintenance has remained best ignored so far. However, a mere two kilometres long journey to Thori, Nepal for water fetchers hasnt remained a smooth affair either. People on the other side of the border are not friendly with them all the time. The Nepalese government supplies two kinds of piped water to its citizens in the hilly village known as Amrit Dhara, for drinking purpose and Rahi Dhara, for household chores. The Indian villagers have to contend with water of rahi dhara instead of amrit dhara. According to villagers, there are instances galore when wordy duels and fights have taken place on some trivial and issues of eve teasing. But they have never bothered to restrain us from taking water from their country. For, they are also dependent on grocery items especially salt and spices on us since long. So neither they are doing us a favour nor we are doing them the favour, said Punnu Singh, a grocery shop owner. On why one of the two out of order deep tube well has not been repaired, PHED executive engineer Rajesh Prasad Sinha blamed the depleting water table in the area for it. One deep bore is fair enough to cater to the needs of 1000 people, but these pumps are solar powered as there is no electricity in the village. Service of pump is likely to be erratic owing to cloudy weather most of the time in the area, said Sinha. On being informed that villagers have deserted the consumption of water from overhead tank owing insect infestation, his riposte was: We will rush a team immediately to look into it. However, Shailendra Garhwal, president of Zila Parishad, said the deep bore was not drilled as deeper as it should be, so it dried up. Fear of other deep boring going dry too looms large. Hence, we need to explore some permanent solution to this malaise, said Garhwal, adding, its a shame on the state government that its citizens have to travel to foreign shore to fetch water. The Pune Police on Thursday arrested five people including, an elected member of Sangamner Municipal Council(SMC) Gajendra Abhang in Ahmednagar district and seized a tranche of demonetised currency notes estimated to be worth 3 crore from them. A FIR was lodged with the Khadak police station in this regard. Abhang belongs to the Congress party, investigators said. Rajendra Mokashi, in-charge, Khadak police station said that demonetised currency notes of 1000 and 500 of the value of 3 crore were seized from the arrested suspects. The accused have been identified as elected member Gajendra Abhang ( 48 ) Vijay Shinde (38), Aditya Ghavan (25), Navnath Bhandagale (28) who are all residents of Pune and Suraj Jagtap (40), a resident of Satara district. According to Khadak police , all the five were apprehended near Bandiwan mandir in Ravivar peth where they had come to exchange the demonetised currency worth 3 crore which they were carrying in four bags. The old currency notes were kept in travel and cloth bags. Upon questioning them, the suspects did not offer satisfactory responses after which we decided to probe further and we found that they had come to exchange the notes with some people in the city. We are trying to find out those persons who were in touch with the accused regarding the note exchange, Mokashi added. The currency notes have been taken into police possession on completion of panchnama and the accused have been booked under The Specified Bank Notes ( Cessation of Liabilities ) Act section 4,5,6 and 7, Mokashi, senior police inspector, Khadak police station. For 28-year-old Wasim Malik and his family, Friday brought an end to the agony which they endured for 16 months as the trial court allowed the Chandigarh polices plea to withdraw prosecution charges against him in the 2016 gangrape case of a call centre employee in Sector 29. Wasim, along with his mother, was relieved, but looked nervous. When asked why, he responded, Its scary, I want to get the papers (judgment/order on application) in my hand so that the police doesnt come for me again. The police on July 11 had submitted an application seeking permission to withdraw the prosecution charges against him after the Chandigarh administrations approval. As per the protocol, the home department gives approval before the police take up the plea before the court. While the Sector-52 resident was granted bail in March, the file for withdrawing the case was sent to the home department in April, after the police gave him a clean chit. My reputation, familys dignity ruined More than time, Wasim said its cost him his reputation, dignity of his family, his job and a lot of money. I tried seeking job as a driver with a taxi service, but they all seemed suspicious of me. Its been tormenting, said Malik in the court, adding that the family sold off their house in Saharanpur worth Rs 8 lakh and a car worth Rs 2 lakh, besides the jewellery. I have never driven an auto, he said. The victim had initially zeroed in on Malik during a test identification parade (TIP), but later identified Irfan and Hassan as the accused. Wasim, although, feels its the police who pressurised her in the first place to depose against him. The police arrested auto driver Mohammad Irfan on March 13 this year in a different rape case, even as Malik was undergoing trial. Irfans accomplice and cousin, Kamal Hassan, was arrested a day later. Though they were arrested for raping a Dehradun woman in November 2017, the duo had confessed to have raped a call centre employee in December 2016, the case in which Malik was the prime accused. Malik had to spend 16 months in jail for the crime touted as the Chandigarh auto gangrape case. Court frames charges against two accused A local court on Friday framed charges under Section 376 D (gangrape) of the Indian Penal Code against autorickshaw driver Mohammad Irfan, 29, and his accomplice Kamal Hassan, alias Dil, 22, for allegedly violating 22-year-old call centre employee. The case will now be heard on August 2. Hassan was arrested from Delhi on the basis of a disclosure statement of co-accused Mohammad Irfan, who is also his relative. After his identification by the victim, his DNA samples were taken. Mohammad Irfan, who is also in custody for raping a Dehradun girl, along with his accomplices, in Sector 53 last November, was also involved in gangrape of a call centre employee in Sector 29 in December 2016, UT police told the court on Tuesday. The forensic report had found Irfans DNA sample to be a contributor in womans rape. Hassan is also an autorickshaw driver. Raj Kumar, 58, a professor at the Institute of Management Studies, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), has been appointed as the new vice-chancellor (V-C) of Panjab University, Chandigarh. Talking to HT, Prof Kumar said, I am ecstatic to be appointed as the V-C of Panjab University. My interview had gone well. He said he will join PU after taking care of formalities at BHU. Till he joins, the dean of university instruction (DUI), Shankarji Jha, will be officiating as V-C. The term of the appointment will be three years with effect from July 23, 2018, or from the date he assumes charge as V-C. The announcement for the 13th V-C of PU was made four days after the three-member selection committee interacted with the candidates. The selection committee, comprising M Ramachandran, chancellor, JCFAI University, Dehradun; Kapil Kapoor, chairman, Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla; and M Jagadeesh Kumar, V-C, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, was formed by the Vice-President and PU chancellor M Venkaiah Naidu on June 27. Of the 10 candidates called for an interaction from a total of 169 shortlisted people, the committee had presented three names to Naidu. This was the first time PU advertised the V-Cs post in its history. The appointment has been made by the Vice-President by exercising powers conferred by Section 10 of the Panjab University Act, 1947. Specialty in insurance, capital market Hailing from Prime Minister Narendra Modis constituency Banaras, Prof Kumar is a PhD and D Litt in management. With a 35-year teaching and research experience, he specialises in insurance, capital market and entrepreneurship. His key interests are human values and ethics, and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Presently the director, dean and head of the Institute of Management Studies at BHU, Prof Kumar has authored nine books and published more than 130 research papers. He is also an executive member of the All-India Commerce Association and life member of the All-India Accounting Association, apart from holding various academic positions. Grovers term ends today Incumbent V-C Arun K Grovers term ends on Sunday, after completing six years as the V-C of PU since July 23, 2012. In these six years, Grover quite successfully worked to pull the university out of its deep financial crunch, bringing the revenue deficit down from 279 crore in 2015 to 29 lakh three years later. However, he remained embroiled in controversies for taking the financial and governance matters of PU to court. One of his pioneer achievements is his work on setting up the Chandigarh Region Innovation and Knowledge and Cluster (CRIKC), also acknowledged by the principal scientific adviser to central government VijayRaghavan. He will continue to be involved with CRIKC even after retirement, besides working with various educational institutes of Chandigarh. Key challenges for the new V-C Financial crunch The university is reeling under financial crunch, not having enough funds to even recruit more faculty or amplify research. In the last Board of Finance meeting, the estimated budget for 2017-18 had a deficit of 29 lakh. Governance reforms The Panjab University Teachers Association has been pushing for governance reforms at the university since 2015, that were also taken up by previous V-C Arun Kumar Grover in court. A recent report on governance reforms by a panel suggested decreasing the number of Senators by half among other reforms. The matter is in the Syndicate. Faculty shortage Several departments in the varsity are making do with less than 50% of regular faculty out of the total sanctioned posts. One of the main reasons of lack of staff is financial crunch. Some of the old departments of PU are functioning with only one professor. Properties worth over Rs 220 crore of drug smugglers arrested by the Punjab Police have been attached in the past four years, but the entire amount has gone to the Union government, said director general of police (DGP) Suresh Arora during a de-addiction programme organised by the Khanna police in Doraha in Ludhiana on Friday. The DGP said the state government has received only Rs 72 lakh in return, hitting its initiatives against drug abuse. Arora said he will take up the matter with the state government as whatever the smugglers earn is from addicts living in the state and the amount should be used in Punjab only. If more amount is given to the state government, it will help it in eradicating drugs and subsequently lead to former drug addicts join the mainstream, said the states top cop. Help police curb drug terrorism Arora also called upon the public to assist police in eradicating drug terrorism from the state the same way they assisted in eliminating militancy. Punjab is passing through a phase of change at the moment, the DGP said, adding that during this positive change, a large number of addicts are coming forward themselves to shun drugs. Arora asserted that no action will be taken against those who voluntarily come to drug de-addiction centres as police have been told not to go to the centres to conduct any inquiry. Police, too, need to change their conduct so that the residents are not afraid in informing them about drug peddlers, he said. Sharing his own experience, Arora said when he joined the department 36 years back, he used to take the help of local gurdwaras and panchayats to bring back petty criminals to mainstream. Now, again we can use religion to save the youth. Addicts should be brought in front of their family or community members to urge them to give up drugs. The government is also opening skill development centres for addicts, he said. The DGP also felicitated police officials who have helped addicts give up drugs. Two former addicts from nearby villages also shared their experiences and thanked the cops who helped them. Dope test for all cops DGP Suresh Arora said all police officials should undergo dope test. However, he rejected strict action against those who test positive. Police personnel should also be given a chance to come out of the menace like other people. They, too, are human beings, said Arora. The top cop, however, maintained that action has been taken against police officials found embroiled in drug racket. Around 200 cops have been dismissed or forcibly retired in the past three years, he said. Self-styled healer and pastor Bajinder Singh arrested on the charges of rape had allegedly raped the victim three times in the past one year. The mother of two has told the police that Bajinder, 36, president of The Church of Glory and Wisdom Chandigarh, used to take her to his flat in Sector 63 in his car, where he raped her thrice. We have recovered the accuseds Toyota Fortuner that he used to take the victim to his house, said Pawan Kumar, SHO, Zirakpur. The accused is married and has two daughters a six-year-old and an 18-month-old. He was on Thursday sent to two-day police remand. The woman, a resident of Zirakpur, who runs a roadside eatery there, also alleged in her complaint that Bajinder, using his special powers, would make her lose consciousness and assault her that she would realise on regaining consciousness. Advocate Pushpa Salaria, who helped the woman lodge a complaint, alleged, Bajinder used to lure women to become his special followers and sexually exploited them after making their objectionable videos. Bajinder, using a letter head of a church in London also used to lure followers on the pretext of sending them abroad. The victim has shared that he had even taken Rs 7 lakh each from eight people for arranging their visas, Salaria alleged. Pastor denies allegations Denying the allegations, Bajinder claimed false implication by the woman. In his questioning, Bajinder told the police that he had a fight with the woman over some financial transaction, following which she filed a false complaint. He claimed that he was being targeted owing to his mass following. Sold packaged anointing water Investigators said Bajinder sold an anointing water, claimed to be purified with special prayers that was a cure to all pains. Bajinder was selling the water at a high price, claiming that it brought along Jesus blessings, shared a pastor, not willing to be named. He used platforms like his You Tube channel and Facebook page to market and sell the water online. Meanwhile, cops at the Zirakpur police station where Bajinder is lodged in remand have been getting requests over the phone and in person to allow them to meet the accused. A cop posted at the station, requesting anonymity, said even a cop from Chandigarh Police had turned up to meet Bajinder. A high rate of myopia or near-sightedness among school students is affecting recruitment of pilots for Chinas air force, a leading military expert with the Peoples Liberation Army has said, warning it is impacting national security. As a country having a large population, China is theoretically expected to have a large number of human resources for troops. However, in fact, Chinas level of human resources for troops lies in the mid-range due to the high rate of myopia, wrote senior colonel Dai Xu, professor at the PLA National Defence University for China Military Online, an official military portal. China has the second largest air force in the world after the US and operates several types of fighter aircraft including stealth fighters and long-range bombers. Explaining the situation, Dai wrote: My colleague in charge of the PLA Air Force pilot recruitment sector and I visited a senior middle school in South China three years ago to study the vision problems of students. Based on our investigation, we found that only 8 10 students in a class of 40 students did not wear glasses, and there was a high rate of myopia of about 80%. The report didnt say if PLA air force had a shortage of pilots but indicated it was difficult to select a candidate who could be trained to fly. According to my colleague, some students without glasses might be wearing contact lenses. Combined with other indexes, in a senior middle school with almost 10,000 students, it was difficult to select a student who could qualify to be trained to become a pilot, he said. Based on later investigations, I found that this was a universal result. Undoubtedly, a high rate of myopia has already greatly influenced national defence security, Dai wrote. The high rate of myopia in Chinese students is a reflection not only on the problem of talent reserves for our PLA Air Forces pilots, but also on the overall health of Chinese teenagers, he said. One problem is that many military academies do not check for myopia. It is now rare to conduct modern warfare only by virtue of physical strength in field operations. However, physical fitness is still an important foundation, the Air Force especially, which has extremely strict requirements for vision, he wrote. US President Donald Trump on Saturday denied any wrongdoing a day after reports that his onetime attorney had recorded them both discussing buying the rights to a story by a woman who said she had an affair with Trump. The president said it was perhaps illegal for a lawyer to record a client. Inconceivable that the government would break into a lawyers office (early in the morning) - almost unheard of, Trump tweeted, in an apparent reference to an FBI raid on the office of his former lawyer Michael Cohen in April. Even more inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client - totally unheard of & perhaps illegal. The good news is that your favorite President did nothing wrong! Trump added. Trumps onetime personal attorney Michael Cohen recorded a conversation with Trump two months before the 2016 election in which they discussed buying the rights to a story by a former Playboy model who said she had an affair with Trump, one of the presidents lawyers said on Friday. Lawyer Rudy Giuliani said no campaign funding was involved in the discussion between Trump and Cohen, who has distanced himself from Trump in recent months as the FBI investigates Cohens business dealings. If campaign funds were used, that could run afoul of federal election law, legal experts say. Before the election, the Trump campaign denied any knowledge of payment to the former model, Karen McDougal, but the taped conversation could undermine those denials. The existence of the audio recording was first reported by the New York Times, which said Trump and Cohen discussed a potential payment to McDougal. Giuliani confirmed the conversation to Reuters and that it took place in September 2016 but said it involved reimbursing the parent company of the National Enquirer tabloid for McDougals story rights. The payment was never made, he said. Giuliani also denied Trump had an affair with McDougal. He said the tape would show that Trump makes clear that if there is going to be a payment, it should be done by check, which would be easily traced. Giuliani said the FBI seized the recording this year during a raid on Cohens office. The FBI investigation stemmed in part from a referral by the US special counsels office, which is looking into possible coordination during the election campaign between Trumps aides and Russian officials. Moscow denies US allegations that it interfered in the election and Trump denies any campaign ties to Russian officials. A representative for McDougal has not responded to requests for comment. The White House had also declined comment. McDougal has said she began a nearly year-long affair with Trump in 2006 shortly after his wife, Melania, gave birth. She sold her story for $150,000 in August 2016 but it was never published by the National Enquirer, a practice known as catch and kill to prevent a potentially damaging story from becoming public. David Pecker, the chairman of parent company American Media Inc (AMI), is Trumps friend. Giuliani said the discussion of payment did not mean McDougals claim of an affair was true and characterized it as an attempt to resolve false allegations that were personally damaging to Trump. Under US election law, presidential candidates must disclose campaign contributions, which are defined as things of value given to a campaign in order to influence an election. Giuliani said the proposed payment was a personal matter and not subject to campaign finance law. The New Yorker magazine reported in February that Trump had an affair with McDougal at the same time he had a relationship with porn star Stormy Daniels and that the National Enquirer prevented McDougals story being made public. The White House has said Trump denies having sex with Daniels. Federal prosecutors in New York are investigating Cohen for possible bank and tax fraud, and for possible campaign law violations linked to a $130,000 payment to Daniels and other matters related to Trumps campaign, a person familiar with the investigation has told Reuters. Cohen has not been charged with any crime. Amir Khan spent a good portion of the evening chopping it up with Caitlyn Jenner at the ESPYs, later documented the encounter on social media. People on the Internet, specifically advocates in the Transgender community took offence to Amir Khan referring to Caitlyn as "Bruce" in his social media post. Amir Khan has since tried to make amends for his lack of better judgement. TMZ caught up with the British boxer in Los Angeles shortly after the ceremony and gave him platform to issue a rather genuine apology. Amir Khan said that he and Jenner were having a good time talking about their respective experiences as amateur athletes. Before he turned pro as a boxer, Khan medalled at the 2004 Olympiad much like his counterpart Jenner who clinched the Gold at the '76 games in Montreal. Jenner retired quickly thereafter sensing there was money to be had if he renounced his amateur status. Although Khan seems genuinely apologetic, he still uses the "him" pronoun to describe Jenner several times in his TMZ interview. There is obviously an adjustment to learning proper pronouns even for those genuinely devoted to getting right. Amir Khan is at least off to a promising start. Dave East is one of the hardest working rappers out of New York City right now. While there's plenty of artists claiming the title of "King Of New York," East doesn't seem concerned about that. Instead, he's putting his focus towards dropping another dope body of work. Last week, the rapper announced his new mixtape Karma 2 with DJ Holiday. He initially said the project would drop this week but unfortunately, that isn't the case. However, it's confirmed that it will arrive next week and before we get our hands on it, he drops off a new single off the project titled, "Imagine." Harlem's own comes through with his new single, "Imagine." The rapper's latest single follows a slew of new singles he's released over the past month. "Imagine" is a track he's previewed on Instagram before so it's nice to finally have it in its entirety. On Dave East's latest single, he reflects on what life would be if he wasn't in the position he's in now and counts his blessings for the opportunities he's had. The rapper taps Street Symphone and Kangaroo for the song's production. Check out his new track and keep your eyes peeled for Dave East & DJ Holiday's Karma 2 mixtape which is expected to drop on July 27th. Quotable Lyrics Shit ain't been the same since I did that cover with Kodak Did a verse for Esco, he couldn't believe I wrote that My uncle was a crackhead, and he don't wanna believe he smoke that Me and Pooch fought but I love him, I hope he know that The debate over Masai Ujiri's integrity following the trade of DeMar DeRozan rages on. While his public apology to DeMar was an honest example more traditional GMs would never consider doing, we are in an age where the focus on worker's rights is at an all-time high. So naturally the public sided with DeMar DeRozan in his gripe with his former employer. Now a San Antonio Spurs, DeMar took a moment to thank the individuals that aren't negatively implicated in this messy divorce: Raptors' fans and the city of Toronto. DeMar's thank you message was posted on Instagram next to photo of him signing his throwback number ten jersey for a wishful fan. DeRozan has been fiercely proud of his decision to resign in Toronto, in the face of great temptation. In his message, DeMar thanked the city of Toronto for helping shaping his identity. As he mentions himself, DeMar joined the Raptors organization as a fresh-faced 19-year-old kid from Compton. A lot has transpired in the nine years since. Raptors certainly hope DeMar doesn't become "the one that got away." In every sense of the word, DeMar exemplifies what it means to be a good guy in the world of sports. An ageing rapper is not a good look. The ones who continue to make music as they age almost always end up seeming out of touch and, well, old. As Andre 3000 put it in a recent interview with GQ, " hip-hop is about freshness. You can always hop, but you wonat always be hip." That's why it's often refreshing (if also hilarious) to see rappers trading on their names to promote some other business venture, usually something more on the boring side. There's 50 Cent's Vitamin Water, Fava Flav's chicken joint (which stayed open for all of four months) and even Kanye's Yeezy clothing line. Today marks the opening of another ex-rapper's new vanilla business venture. Mark Whalberg, who was once upon a time a rapper named Marky Mark (backed by the Funky Bunch), has bought a Chevrolet dealership in Columbus, Ohio. Seemingly a strange choice, but Whalberg must know what he's doing, especially considering the trajectory of his career; he's switched around into whatever field would take him: rapper, model, actor, and now, businessman. It should also be noted that this is not the first time Wahlberg has started a business. He is an expert. There's his punny burger chain, Whalburgers, and a water company that he started with Diddy called Aqua Hydrate (another obvious name). The website for the water brand proclaim's "get more from your water" as a video that's half Wahlberg working out and half race cars plays in the background. Whalberg says of the new business: "I love cars and the chance to work with an experienced, proven dealer-operator like Jay and represent an iconic brand like Chevrolet inspired me to get involved." [via] Yesterday bore some bad news for those who know and love Offset. According to TMZ, the rapper was arrested while driving in Georgia on multiple charges. More information has now been made public about his legal issues. The Migos member is currently facing a total of four charges including two felonies two and misdemeanors: possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of a weapon during a crime, possession of marijuana and an improper lane change. His bail has been set for $17k. The police found 3 handguns in the vehicle, along with $107K in cash. These items, including the money, are all likely to be seized in their entirety. Thankfully, Offset is surrounded by people of means. It has yet to be confirmed but his bail should be posted considering his socioeconomic status. Marijuana was also found in the car. Less than one ounce was found, keeping the Atlanta rapper from being charged with trafficking. Still, these charges are serious, especially considering the fact that he is already a convicted felon. The firearm charges alone can lead to 5 years of prison. The addition of the other charges creates a stressful situation for the new father. He recently got married to Cardi B with whom welcomed his daughter Kulture earlier this month. Offset, of Migos, was arrested last night and has been charged with the crimes that many a rapper have been stuck with: possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and possession of weapon during the commission of a crime (the crime being the possession of marijuana and an illegal lane change). After much speculation, Offset's lawyer, Drew Findling has finally come out to address the public (through an interview with People magazine) and get the rapper's side of things heard. The lawyer said of the charges: He did not commit any traffic offense and he certainly was not in possession of any weapons. This was an improper arrest and I believe in his innocence and said also that Offset is "holding up as best he can considering the circumstances and knows he has not broken any laws. He is going to have his day in court. The arrest is very bad timing for the rapper, who just had a child, named Kulture Kiari, with his wife Cardi B. Offset's lawyer shared a message concerning Offset and his feelings toward his family outside: "he is concerned, very concerned, about [Cardi B]" and of course his new baby is his top priority as well as his other children." Offset will likely be released Sunday morning, since his jail has been posted already. He was expected to be released on Saturday morning, but there was a power outage in the jail. Schlitterbahn Waterparks co-owner Jeffrey Henry has denied that he knew about nearly a dozen injuries and maintenance problems on a water slide at the companys Kansas City park before a 10-year-old boy died on the ride in 2016. Henry pleaded not guilty in April to charges in Kansas including second-degree murder in connection with the July 2016 death of 10-year-old Caleb Schwab, who was decapitated while riding the 17-story Verruckt waterslide at the park. If I really believed I was responsible for the death of that little boy, Id kill myself right now, Henry said in an interview published Friday in Texas Monthly magazine. There are members of my family who would like to commit me to a facility because Im suffering from depression. Sometimes I cant get out of bed for four days. Schlitterbahn Waterparks spokeswoman Pam Renteria would not provide further comment on Henrys remarks in the Texas Monthly piece. Prosecutors allege that Henry, Verruckts lead designer John Schooley and Schlitterbahns construction firm Henry and Sons Construction Co. Inc. recklessly killed Caleb by fast-tracking the rides development, failing to make key repairs and ignoring warnings from employees about the danger the slide posed to riders. In the interview, Henry pushed back on the allegations, insisting he wasnt privy to staff reports about 11 injuries suffered by park guests while riding Verruckt and maintenance issues plaguing the ride. He said Verruckt is the state-of-the-art technology. Henry told Texas Monthly he believed a report by an outside engineering firm relied on outdated information when it found that a raft with three passengers whose combined weight was between 400 and 550 pounds could go airborne. If any raft had left the surface, that ride should have been shut down, and I would have gone straight there to figure out what was wrong, Henry told Texas Monthly. But nobody bothered to tell me something was wrong with it. Kansas prosecutors say Henry conceived of the ride to catch the attention of producers at the Travel Channels Xtreme Waterparks series and that the ride violated nearly all aspects of long-standing industry safety standards. A March indictment quotes Henrys remarks from an episode of the show. According to the indictment, Henry says in the episode that Verruckt could hurt me, it could kill me, it is a seriously dangerous piece of equipment today because there are things that we dont know about it. Every day we learn more. Ive seen what this one has done to the crash dummies and to the boats we sent down it. Ever since the prototype. And we had boats flying in the prototype too. Its complex, its fast, its mean. If we mess up, it could be the end. I could die going down this ride. Henry told Texas Monthly that he was acting when he made those comments. The real Jeff Henry was not indicted, Henry said in the interview. The actor Jeff Henry, who was trying to glamorize the ride, was indicted. Henry, Schooley and Henry and Sons Construction Co. Inc. were charged in March with second-degree murder, aggravated battery and aggravated endangering of a child. Henry and Schooley designed the ride despite having no formal education in engineering or physics, according to the indictment. I thought we had designed the biggest, baddest thing ever built, a ride that could operate safely and never have a serious accident, ever, if things were complied with and if the thing was maintained and operated as designed, Henry told Texas Monthly. Im telling you, the ride that was built by John Schooley and Jeff Henry is not the same ride that that boy was on the day he died. Schlitterbahn Waterparks and three employees also were indicted, in addition to Henry, Schooley and Henry and Sons. David Hughes, a maintenance supervisor at the Kansas City park, and John Zalsman, a maintenance worker at the park, pleaded not guilty in May in Wyandotte County Court to charges of obstruction of justice. The two men were accused of lying to two Kansas Bureau of Investigation special agents about a brake mat intended to slow rafts on the Verruckt that had fallen off the ride days before Caleb was killed. Tyler Austin Miles, former director of operations at the Kansas park, has pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter, aggravated battery, aggravated endangerment of a child, giving false information to a detective and interfering with law enforcement by concealing evidence. Miles allegedly told detectives he didnt know about complaints about Verruckts safety issues, despite receiving 17 staff reports that the raft Caleb rode the day he died had been going abnormally fast and went airborne more frequently, injuring guests, than did other rafts. Those notes were in addition to another 21 staff reports that the rides brake system was failing, prosecutors allege. Investigators later accused Miles of loading the written reports into a vehicle in November 2016 and driving them from the Kansas City park to the companys corporate headquarters in New Braunfels. Miles told detectives he was following company policy, according to the indictment. Henry was plagued with financial and legal troubles before being charged with murder in the boys death and has a history of drug arrests and domestic violence accusations. Schlitterbahn has had a bumpy ride in the past few months. In May, IBC Bank took over ownership of Schlitterbahn Riverpark & Resort on North Padre Island, a year after Upper Padre Partners, formed to build and operate the park and a surrounding development, declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy to avoid a foreclosure on the property by an Austin lender. And last week it was revealed that the company plans to tear down the Verruckt waterslide. Joshua Fechter is a staff writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | jfechter@express-news.net | Twitter: @JFreports AUSTIN There was no sign of shock or outrage in the hotel hallways and conference rooms where Republican officials gathered to discuss party business even as politicians on both sides and foreign policy experts fretted about President Donald Trump's cozy relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The men and women from all 50 states who run the Republican National Committee did their best to avoid the topic of post-Helsinki summit angst during their summer meeting, which ended late Friday. When pressed in interviews, they defended Trump's conduct or begged ignorance, citing what some claimed as a complicated policy matter. FED UP: Trump slams Federal Reserve's rate increases "You know what I know about foreign policy? Once a month I eat at the International House of Pancakes. That's my foreign policy experience," said Ron Kaufman, a longtime RNC committeeman from Massachusetts and former political director for President George H.W. Bush. Now Playing: President Trump again attacked former President Obama in a recent interview. Video: GeoBeats "People wanted change. He's changing," Kaufman said of Trump. "The foreign policy experts may not like it. I'm not qualified to say whether it's right or wrong." It was a different story last summer when the RNC formally condemned Nazis and the KKK after Trump's muddled response to violent protests by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia. Trump said in his initial response to that incident said there were "some very fine people on both sides." After Monday's summit with Putin, Trump said he had "confidence in both parties" when asked whether he trusted the Russian president or U.S. intelligence agencies. Trump later attempted to walk back the statement. By week's end, Trump had invited Putin to the White House for their next meeting. That didn't sit well with at least one prominent former RNC member. On the eve of the meeting, Jennifer Horn, a onetime New Hampshire GOP chairwoman who previously served on the RNC's executive committee, called on the RNC to support a formal resolution, as it did after Charlottesville, to clarify the party's position on Putin and Russia's continued efforts to meddle in U.S. elections. FROM TEXAS: Congressman says Putin is manipulating Trump In an open letter to the RNC, Horn said Trump repeatedly denigrated Republican values "in spectacular fashion" in Helsinki. "Unfortunately, it has become impossible to defend both the president and Republicanism at the same time," she said, adding: "I'm afraid that if our leaders can't find that courage today, we will lose our party forever." Horn's plea was ignored. Even New Hampshire's new GOP chairman, Wayne McDonald, took a swipe at Horn for attacking Trump on Russia. "The president is doing wonderful things for the Republican National Committee," MacDonald said. "And to come out against him, as I believe she has recommended, would be totally inappropriate and totally wrong and I couldn't disagree more." Bill Palatucci, the New Jersey committeeman who authored the Charlottesville resolution, said the vast majority of his colleagues felt this current situation was different. "People remain very supportive of the president and take him at his word. He says he misspoke when he was standing there with President Putin," Palatucci said. "I'll give that benefit of the doubt." GOP officials from across the country said they were willing to give Trump the benefit of the doubt, believing that he probably was much firmer with Putin in private than he was in his public performance. Arizona committeeman Bruce Ash echoed Trump's efforts to play down Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, suggesting that America hasn't always behaved properly, either. HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM OPINION: Question Trump's job performance, not legitimacy "Look, we've been doing it in other peoples' elections," Ash said, contending that President Barack Obama tried to interfere in Israel's 2015 elections. "There's nothing new." Other GOP officials struggled to reconcile their aggressive Charlottesville response and their silence on Putin, but had little appetite for condemning the Republican president. "I am as opposed to Russians interfering in our elections as I am to racists trying to divide our country. They're both immoral. They're both wrong," said Mississippi national committeeman Henry Barbour. "I don't want to get into whether or not we should or shouldn't put out a resolution." Trump's hand-picked RNC chairwoman, Ronna Romney McDaniel, suggested in an interview that the debates over Charlottesville and Russia have little in common. Asked about the president's performance in Helsinki, she said: "It's important not to cherry-pick one moment." She highlighted economic sanctions put in place by the Trump administration that have hurt both the Russian economy and Putin's approval ratings. "I don't think he's cozying up," McDaniel said of Trump's relationship to Putin. She added: "I think in the totality, the president, in terms of his policy, has been incredibly hard on Russia." The RNC didn't feel it necessary to adopt a formal resolution on Russia, however. Members instead approved language addressing so-called sanctuary cities, the Supreme Court, sex education and religious persecution in Burma. Like it or not, Donald Trump is the lawfully elected president of the United States. And although there are plenty of reasons to criticize his administration, there is no reason to question its legitimacy. I can understand why Americans would be tempted to do so, after a week like this one. It was hard to keep track of all the bombshell reports related to Russias interference in our 2016 presidential election, which was extensive. And Trump, concurrently, spent the week acting as one might expect the president of the United States to act, if he happened to be a Russian asset. Some observers have therefore concluded that Russias mischief improperly influenced the outcome of the election, and should affect how we see the administration. American law does not provide for presidential election do-overs no matter what wrongs a candidate is revealed to have committed after the fact, wrote David Frum, a former speechwriter for George W. Bush, in The Atlantic. Trump is the lawful president, but legitimacy is not decided by technicalities, Frum continued. Frum is right. Thats what worries me. A presidents legitimacy is ultimately decided by public opinion about the process that put him in power and if the process is seen as corrupted, that undermines confidence in our entire political system, as well as casting a pall over the president himself. READ MORE: Donald Trump was meek as a kitten in summit with Putin As readers know, Im not exactly a Trump fan. But its profoundly irresponsible to question any presidents legitimacy unless the evidence is dispositive, and in this case, it isnt. In fact, theres actually no evidence that Russian meddling is what ultimately tipped the scales in Trumps favor. It was a very close election; Trump didnt win the popular vote, and he carried several critical states by notably narrow margins to win the electoral college. But theres no indication that Russians stuffed a few metaphorical ballot boxes on his behalf. And Russians at the risk of stating the obvious werent the only people who participated in the 2016 presidential election. Trump was the Republican Partys presidential nominee. Roughly 63 million Americans voted for him. Some of them may have been tricked into doing so, I guess, but I would argue they were ultimately tricked by their fellow Americans many of whom were exploiting the same vulnerabilities, from positions of greater influence. Most Trump voters werent tricked, though. In Texas, at least, most of them had qualms about Trump himself or his views on issues like trade, and voted for him reluctantly, hoping he would nominate a conservative to the vacancy on the Supreme Court. Trump supporters in the economically challenged Rust Belt were comparatively enthusiastic about his candidacy, though. And Trump was, again, a major-party presidential nominee. Most Americans werent expecting him to win the election, but there was a chance that he would, obviously, and the fact that he did isnt actually evidence against his presidencys legitimacy. In fact, its evidence that Trump critics like Frum need to spend more time talking to American voters. Many of them voted for Trump, in 2016, and are happy to explain their reasoning. So in retrospect, at least, its possible to make sense of the elections outcome without invoking some kind of deus ex machina. And although itd be convenient to blame the Russians for giving us the Trump administration, doing so is a bit self-contradicting. Many Americans voted for Trump precisely because they felt ignored, or maligned, by the nations political and media elites. Im not sure if Trump will deliver on all of the promises he made to his voters, but at least he isnt implying that their votes shouldnt really count, because the Russians were also rooting for him. After a week like this one, Americans have cause to worry about Russian influence, of course. But theres no evidence, at this point, that Russians corrupted the electoral process itself--and what we should all be worried about, at this point, is their influence over Trump himself. erica.grieder@chron.com twitter.com/ericagrieder A Plano, Texas man is mourning the loss of his wife of seven years after she was found dead in a creek on Thursday, July 19. Elizabeth "Libby" Davis who had been dealing with severe depression and anxiety ran her car off the road on July 18 and fled on foot, according to a Twitter post shared by her husband, Kevin Davis. SO SAD: Vacation takes tragic turn for Houston family after medical emergency According to the Dallas Morning News, after spending the night searching, Davis' body was discovered not far from her vehicle, face down in a creek. Foul play is not expected. Now Playing: Serena Williams welcomed her daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian, Jr. in September 2017 via emergency C-section Video: People Davis' husband shared a touching tribute post to Facebook where he described his late wife as a "bright light in this world" who was a "maven of friendship." "Words can't express the loss this is for me and our baby; that Michelle will grow up without her sweet loving mother is a fact that I can hardly stomach. Thank you all for the love and support, my heart is weirdly full even as I grieve," Her husband wrote. "I feel so lucky to have been married to this stunning angel of a human being for the time I had." Davis suffered from postpartum depression since giving birth to her daughter a condition that affects about one in nine women according to the CDC and can include symptoms such as crying more than usual, anger, withdrawing from loved ones, feeling distant from your baby, worrying or feeling overly anxious, thinking about hurting yourself or your baby, or doubting your ability to care for your baby. A GoFundMe campaign was set up in order to help cover some of the costs associated with Davis' funeral expenses and future care for her daughter. If you or a loved or are suffering from postpartum depression, see your doctor or call the Postpartum Support International helpline at 1-800-944-4773. Take a look through the gallery above to see a checklist that can help moms identify and combat symptoms of postpartum depression. Daniela Sternitzky-Di Napoli is a digital producer. You can follow her on twitter at @Dani_DiNapoli. After 40 long days and nights, a Houston family on Friday woke up in Vietnam, went to court and awaited the fate of Will Nguyen, a son, brother and friend. They had no idea what was going to happen. Nguyen, 32, was on trial for disturbing the public peace, after being arrested June 10 during a rare protest in Ho Chi Minh City, where he was on vacation. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Capitol Hill lawmakers had been working on his behalf. So had family, classmates and Houstonians. There had been a lot of advocating and waiting. Waiting in the days after he was beaten at the protest to hear if he was alive. Waiting when he surfaced in jail to hear if he would be charged with a crime. And, now, finally, waiting to hear if he would be sentenced to up to seven years in prison or released. We were in shock for a while, recalled Kevin Webb, 30, a friend and former Yale University classmate. After that, the ball really got rolling. On Friday, the saga ended swiftly. Webb fell asleep Thursday night, expecting it would be several more days before the trial concluded. He woke up at 7 a.m. in New York City on Friday to what seemed like a million messages. The most important was from Nguyens cousin. I got a call from my family already Nguyens cousin wrote at 12:12 a.m. in a group Facebook message, that they had set him free. Nguyen, a Houston resident of Vietnamese descent, was convicted and deported by the country he had cared deeply about. He told his friend he was exhausted and eager to get a shower and good meal. As the family traveled back to Singapore, where they had been earlier in the month to accept Nguyens graduate diploma from a university there on his behalf, the news of his release spread fast, eliciting cheers, praise and sighs of relief. They checked into a hotel to rest. In Houston, and around the world, people had followed his case. Family and friends in those 40 days posted updates to a Free Will Nguyen Facebook page and Twitter account. They used a hashtag #FreeWilly. Local Vietnamese media in Houston covered it frequently. Everyones been paying attention to the story, said Cindy Dinh, a member of the Vietnamese Culture and Science Association here. Wills story could be any one of us. Roughly 700 members of Houston's Vietnamese community gathered Friday outside the Hong Kong City Mall off of Bellaire in support of free of speech in Vietnam. They viewed the banned documentary about a Vietnamese human rights blogger known as "Mother Mushroom." Blogger Me Nam was jailed in 2016 after condemning the Vietnamese government's actions in her writing, and the documentary reveals the hardship the single mother's two children endure in her absence. Adviser Van Dinh organized the event to raise awareness for both Nguyen and Nam. Que Pham, a 69-year-old retired pharmacist, said she came out to the screening to support the Vietnamese community and was happy to hear of Nguyen's release from prison. "This is very good news," Pham said. Volunteer David Nguyen has worked with a nonprofit called Boat People S.O.S. that originally formed to help refugees fleeing Vietnam after the Vietnam War. He said the arrest made him furious. "Hearing that he is with his family in Singapore now brings me a sense of joy," the 18-year-old activist said.His arrest and detainment in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, represented what some saw as yet another human rights violation by the Vietnamese government, which continues to detain others from the protest. Nguyen had posted some updates to the protest on Twitter, and a video of his beating circulated after the arrest. At least six have been sentenced to prison time so far. Ngyuen had the right to free expression under international human rights law, said Francisco Bencosme, the Asia Pacific advocacy manger for Amnesty International USA. The end to his story differs from the others for a reason. Dozens of U.S. lawmakers, including Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, lobbied for Nguyens release. Capitol Hill lawmakers sent a letter dated Wednesday urging Pompeo, who had brought up the matter with Vietnamese officials on a recent trip to Hanoi, to keep working on the case. Part of the reason we think William was released was that we feel the Vietnamese government doesnt want this to be an irritant in the relationship, Bencosme said. Pressure works There is leverage still within the U.S.-Vietnam relationship. On Friday, state lawmakers praised Nguyens release. Im immensely pleased that Will has been released from custody and has departed Vietnam with his family, said U.S. Rep. John Culberson, a Houston-area Republican. U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez added, "The sheer determination and resolve exhibited by the Nguyen family during this traumatic experience was nothing short of inspiring. Webb, his friend, was particularly relieved: Were just all very glad that it didnt turn out worse. Samantha Ketterer and Victoria Cheyne contributed to this report. twitter.com/emfoxhall emily.foxhall@chron.com A woman who was sexually assaulted as a teenager at a Woodlands church is demanding the resignation of its current pastor, saying he ignored her assault and did not properly inform the church why her attacker was ousted from its pews. Jules Woodsons story made national headlines earlier this year when Andy Savage admitted to assaulting her in 1998, when Woodson was 17 years old and a member of Savages youth group at Woodlands Parkway Baptist Church. Savages public confession was applauded by his new congregation at Memphis Highpoint Church, which he pastored until the attack was made public. Savage resigned as the churchs pastor in March after an internal investigation, and said the assault was immoral and met the definition of abuse of power since I was her youth pastor. Another wrong was the failure to follow due process afterward, Savage wrote in his resignation letter. Woodson deserved, and did not get, a full investigation and proper response 20 years ago. Larry Cotton, the former StoneBridge pastor to whom Woodson first reported the assault, has also stepped down from the Austin Stone Community Church. In a letter to church members, Cotton wrote that he failed to report the sexual abuse I wish I had reported to the proper authorities, he wrote. But Steve Bradley has remained at the helm of Woodlands Parkway now named StoneBridge Church despite both Savage and Cotton saying that the church failed to properly handle the assault. No reply from church Woodson said the churchs reaction has worsened her trauma. Not one person has reached out to to to talk to me, to show any concern, to offer any help, to personally apologize, she said. Nothing nothing. Neither Bradley nor a StoneBridge spokesperson responded this week to a request for comment. In a January statement, Bradley said that the church was heartbroken 20 years ago when this happened and we remain heartbroken. But he also said it is simply not accurate to say that I or anyone else on the staff at StoneBridge Church participated in a conspiracy to cover-up this sexual misconduct. Woodson said Bradleys response and his continued employment have denied her the closure she seeks. He was senior pastor then, over (Cotton) and (Savage), and hes still the senior pastor, Woodson told the Chronicle. And to me, that is absolutely mind-boggling that he is allowed to stay in that position with zero accountability when other people involved have said the truth. Baptist abuses Woodsons story comes amid a flurry of sexual abuse scandals involving Southern Baptist leaders. Two of the SBCs most prominent figures Paige Patterson and former Texas 14th Court of Appeals Judge Paul Pressler face similar allegations of misconduct. Patterson was ousted in May as president of the Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary after multiple women said he ignored their rapes by male students. Three men, meanwhile, have accused Pressler of raping, molesting or soliciting them for sex when they were teenagers or young men. Those allegations which span nearly 40 years were filed as part of an ongoing lawsuit that also accuses Patterson, the SBC, Houstons First and Second Baptist churches, and others of failing to report or stop Pressler. Earlier this month, a prominent pastor and former employee of the Southern Baptist Conventions missionary board was charged in Fort Worth for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in the mid-1990s. An internal investigation conducted by the SBC in 2007 confirmed that that man, Mark Aderholt, had likely committed the assault, but SBC leaders never reported him to authorities and instead allowed him to work for various SBC entities, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported this week. SBC churches abide by whats called local church autonomy, meaning individual congregations are largely self-governing. In Woodsons case, the statute of limitations to report the abuse to police has already passed, so she is now pleading with StoneBridge members to oust Bradley from their pews. Checks and balances She also called for StoneBridge and other churches to ensure they have procedures in place that ensure both members and leaders will be held accountable for misconduct. Its up to the church itself to have checks and balances in place so that when the person at the very top who makes all the decisions has done something wrong, there is a structure to hold him accountable, she said. robert.downen@chron.com twitter.com/robdownenchron Weathered canoes on wheels rolled through the lobby of Houstons Shriners Hospital for Children this week, and a band of barnyard animalsincluding a llama, horse and goatplodded around the hospitals grassy courtyard under the blazing sun. On the hospitals routinely quiet sixth floor, giggling children in green T-shirts zigzagged around tents and craft tables, hula-hooped in the hallway and danced to pop music. All of this meant just one thing for the pediatric hospitals patients: It was finally summer camp. Camp for All, a nonprofit that provides camping and retreat experiences to children and adults with challenging illnesses and special needs, has spent the last month bringing the camp experience to sick kids at Houston-area hospitals. It makes me feel needed, special and important, Nathan Cruz, a 14-year-old from Sugar Land, said of the camp at Shriners Hospital in Houston. Nathan, who has cerebral palsy, has been a Shriners patient for almost seven years. He commutes to the hospital with his mother for treatment and attended two days of camp this week. Hes familiar with Camp for All because hes attended the nonprofits retreats in Burton, which is about 90 miles northwest of Houston. The nonprofit occupies a sprawling campsite in Burton, where it has collaborated with Shriners for the past five years on Camp Without Limits, a February weekend retreat. This year, for the first time at Shriners in Houston, Camp for All has created the retreat experience in the form of a day camp for pediatric in-patients through a program called Camp for All 2U. The program is open to pediatric patients and their siblings. This week at Shriners, about 20 childrenages 5 to 15who have a range of orthopedic conditions, participated in each days events. The typical outdoor camp environmentwith cabins, campfires, zip lining, swimming and smoresallows children to play freely. The experience is liberating and one that many people enjoy throughout their childhood, said Lindsay Gallmore, program supervisor with Camp For All. Gallmore said she wants hospitalized children to have those same memories, too. Day in and day out were just amazed by what we see the kids do, she said. Gallmore joined Camp for All in 2014 and immediately went to work planning the week-long hospital summer camp. She coordinates with hospitals to determine where in the facility the camp will take place, comes up with the activities and forms the day-to-day schedule. Campers scurry all over the hospital for a scavenger hunt, pile into canoes on wheels and row around the lobby, practice archery with an inflatable set, make slime, dance, sing and more within the structure of themed days. They even venture outside at the end of the week for a petting zoo. Gallmore said she strove to organize a camp where no kid is left on the sidelines. Even though she and her team find ways to modify each activity for differing levels of mobility, she said the kids come up with the most creative ways to perform the tasks. Any camper can come to camp, Gallmore said. Its a very inclusive place. Physical therapys fun side Angela Anderson manages the physical therapy department at Shriners. She said from a medical standpoint, the camp offers a variety of benefits to patients. Therapy makes them mobile, active and strong, Anderson said. And this does the same thing. Physical therapists regularly accompany their patients to the camp area and work on activities with them, a fun extension of their day-to-day therapy, she said. And the leap from the therapy room to the camp setting brings out their functionality and independence. Insurance companies require physical therapists to work one-on-one with patients, so the camp facilitates a social aspect of treatment, allowing patients to interact in a group setting with team activities. Anderson said the kids wait for and play with each other and create lasting friendships. Many of the hospitals physical therapists volunteered at and participated in the camp every day. Anderson said she likes seeing her colleagues transform into bona fide camp counselors. Two of them, Winnie Powell and Leah Northcutt, drove the summer-camp collaboration between Camp for All and Shriners. Anderson said Powell and Northcutt, both physical therapists at Shriners, did the research and brought the idea to the hospitals administration which not only approved but helped fund the camp. Shriners shows dedication to the cause, Anderson said. Theyre willing and committed. Campers have fun Nathan said he likes to have fun, and the camp allows him to. Through several weekends at the Camp for All retreat center, Nathan also says he has made a lot of friends and enjoyed the various activities Nine-year-old Gavin McGee, 9, whose soon-to-be step-sister undergoes treatment at Shriners for an orthopedic condition, attends the camp with her. He said the setup is pretty fun and that he most likes the morning energizer, during which campers sing and dance, because he said he likes making his peers and counselors laugh. I like making a fool of myself, said the little boy who, like many of the excited Shriners campers, just couldnt sit still. Can I go dance now? he asked as a Bruno Mars song bellowed through the lofty sixth-floor campsite. Claudia Clemente found out she was pregnant with her third child two days after her daughter, Sophie, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. It was a stressful time, she said. We were trying to find ways to give her the best quality of life and find the proper treatment for her, Clemente said with the assistance of a translator. Clemente and her family live in Monterrey, a city in Nuevo Leon Mexico, which is about 200 miles west of Brownsville, but drove to Houston so Sophie could receive treatment at Shriners. Clemente said she heard about the Texas hospital from a parent of another child receiving physical therapy in Monterrey. She submitted an application to Shriners for Sophie, and for about three years they have traveled between Monterrey and Houston for physical therapy. Sophie, now 10, has been a Shriners inpatient for a week, and will stay for approximately two more weeks, depending on how her therapy goes. After spending Christmas in the hospital last year, Clemente said Sophie and her family feel at home there. The summer camp, set in the familiar space with familiar people, solidifies those feelings, she said. Clemente said she is given the opportunity to relax and recharge during camp hours from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., knowing her daughter is in a safe environment. Its a beautiful experience to watch her play, Clemente said. And I love that all the kids are treated the same. Kids can be kids Jason Hinestroza, an administrative assistant at Shriners, volunteered to be a camp counselor this summer. Being a camp counselor requires patience, he said, but he has fun with the kids and loves their silly sense of humor. They are all very energized, Hinestroza said. They want to go and get out and have fun. He said the camp allows the kids to be kids and do things other children do. It also challenges the adult counselors to tap into their youthful side while they lead their campers. You just have to let them have fun and see from their perspective, Hinestroza said. The 20-year-old from Cypress said his younger brother has Down syndrome, and is the inspiration for his work with children with physical conditions. This summer, Camp for All 2U has visited a handful of hospitals across Texas, including two campuses of Texas Childrens, Shriners in Galveston, MD Anderson and Dell Childrens in Austin. Next week, Gallmore and her staff will set up shop at Memorial Hermann and unpack the summer camp for yet another group of rambunctious children. Gallmore said the end of the camp is hard on the kids, citing one Shriners patient who cried during therapy Thursday as the end of the week drew near. However, it also feels bittersweet for the counselors when the week comes to a close. Its the end of a really fun week, and its sad to see the kids go, she said. But its also rejuvenating. victoria.cheyne@chron.com twitter.com/victoria_cheyne AUSTIN A lack of companies willing to handle remains from abortions could pose a problem for Texas fetal burial law, U.S. District Court Judge David Ezra said Monday, tipping his hand about what could sway him in the latest debate over reproductive rights. The comments are the first indication of what the Republican-appointed judge is looking for in the five-day trial this week to test whether Texas can lawfully require abortion providers and hospitals to ensure burial or cremation of nearly all fetal and embryonic tissue. If they cant find anybody to do it, thats an issue, said Ezra. The trial comes as the consensus of the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to tip in favor of abortion restrictions, causing some to fear an unraveling of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. Ezra opened the trial noting the possible shift, saying he would not lick my finger, put it up in the air and base my decision on what the Supreme Court might do if conservative Judge Brett Kavanaugh, nominated last week, is confirmed to the high court. This case isnt about when person-hood begins, Ezra said. BATTLE OF BURIAL: Fetal burial trial marks a new chapter in Texas abortion debate What Im interested in really here is how SB8 burdens a womans right under current law to seek and have an abortion or any abortion-related procedure, he said, referencing the 2017 legislation that went into law. The state argues required fetal burial will ensure the dignity of the unborn by treating the fetal tissue differently from other medical waste that is incinerated and spread in sanitary landfills. The law applies to all ectopic pregnancies, miscarriages and abortions where procedures to remove the tissue from pregnancy are removed at a hospital or abortion clinic. It does not apply to medical abortions performed at home. Opponents to the 2017 law say the requirement will shame and stigmatize women pursuing the procedure and create additional hurdles for abortion providers. Blake Norton, an Austin woman who miscarried a wanted pregnancy in 2015, testified that Catholic-owned Seton Medical Center Austin required she consent to a fetal burial before she could have the remains surgically removed from her uterus. She said she tried to fight the hospital, but felt trapped given that she already had an IV and nurses were about to wheel her into the procedure. I felt personally shamed and stigmatized by the policy itself and the hospitals insistence she talk to a social worker or chaplain there, said Norton, the daughter of Austin Democratic Rep. Donna Howard. She said she felt that I was doing something wrong and that somebody needed to correct me. APPEALS COURT: Ruling says Texas Bishops involved in fetal burials need not share information with abortion clinics Whole Womans Health, one of the leading abortion providers in Texas challenging the law, has had trouble securing providers to dispose of their medical waste, testified founder and CEO Amy Hagstrom-Miller. Several vendors have told her they wont work with abortion providers, or have expressed interest only to change their minds later, she said. The abortion provider landed a vendor to dispose of fetal tissue through incineration and spreading the ash remains in sanitary landfills, Hagstrom-Miller said, although she told the court she has not explored whether the company will continue working with Whole Womans Health if the new law requires the tissue to be buried or cremated. Andrea Zelinski is a staff writer who covers politics. Read her recent stories here. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter. Send her tips at andrea.zelinski@chron.com. The United States Supreme Court on Monday threw out the heart of the Texas Legislature's three-year-old abortion crackdown, saving dozens of clinics from closure, sending state officials scrambling for new ideas and reshaping the nation's debate over the procedure for years to come. The landmark ruling, the high court's most significant clarification of abortion law in a generation, was 5-3, with conservative Justice Anthony Kennedy siding with four liberal colleagues against a pair of regulations that if allowed to be implemented could have left fewer than 10 clinics in the state. The regulations, which required abortion providers to obtain hospital admitting privileges and comply with the expensive standards of ambulatory surgical centers, were ruled to be medically unnecessary and too strict. Collectively, the majority found, the rules would have forced so many clinics to close that it would be unconstitutionally difficult for women to get an abortion. "We conclude that neither of these provisions offers medical benefits sufficient to justify the burdens upon access that each imposes," Justice Stephen Breyer wrote on behalf of Kennedy and Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. "Each places a substantial obstacle in the path of women seeking a previability abortion, each constitutes an undue burden on abortion access, and each violates the federal Constitution." Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented. The larger-than-expected victory for abortion rights is expected to reverberate around the country, where several states have adopted anti-abortion laws, including nearly a dozen modeled on the Texas legislation. Many of those laws are expected to be challenged in the days ahead, and many are expected to fall, due to the new precedents establishing that abortion is safe and that courts must closely scrutinize legislative claims about the necessity of regulations to protect women's health. "Today women across the nation have had their constitutional rights vindicated," said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, a New York-based group that organized the legal challenge to the Texas regulations. "The Supreme Court sent a loud and clear message that politicians cannot use deceptive means to shut down abortion clinics." Most immediately, the ruling will rescue 10 Texas abortion clinics that could not comply with the regulations and had been preparing to close. Another two dozen clinics that shut down soon after the passage of the rules also are likely to try to reopen, although it may take months or years, due to start-up costs, licensing requirements and uncertainly about the Legislature's next move. Several state officials promised to come up with new legislation to continue the fight against abortion. Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and others decried the ruling, saying it was made by an activist court that overstepped its bounds and endangered women in the process. "This is more than a devastating ruling," said state Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, in a statement. "It borders on evil." The ruling caps more than three years of drama over the regulations, which were part of an omnibus bill that was thrust into the national spotlight when it was filibustered by then-Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis in June of 2013. The bill, which at the time was considered the most far-reaching abortion law in the country, was slowed but eventually passed as House Bill 2 and signed by then-Gov. Rick Perry. On Monday, Davis, who lost a bid for governor after the filibuster, told reporters that she was "overjoyed" by the ruling and had fought back tears while reading it. "It's incredible news for the women of Texas and the women of the country," Davis told NBC News. House Bill 2 also banned almost all abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and imposed new restrictions on the use of the so-called abortion pill. Those provisions were not challenged and remain in place. The mandates on admitting privileges and surgical center standards drew the fiercest criticism, sparking two separate challenges by abortion providers. An Austin-based federal judge struck down the law twice, but both decisions were overturned by the News Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court initially declined to hear the case but later agreed and twice stepped in to put parts of the law on hold. The providers argued that the rules erected a "substantial obstacle" to accessing abortion, the limit set by the Supreme Court's last major abortion case, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which was decided in 1992. They noted that the law had caused abortions to decrease and wait times to increase. They argued that the only clinics that could comply with the law were in the major cities of Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Fort Worth and Austin, leaving hundreds of thousands of women in more rural areas to drive more than 100 miles to clinics. The providers were joined in the case by the Obama administration. Texas officials said the regulations protected women's health and did not constitute a substantial obstacle, in part, they said, because abortion providers could comply if they wanted. The state's chances of victory dropped with the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, a fierce abortion opponent who died just before the oral arguments in Washington, D.C., in early March. Still, supporters of the rules hoped Kennedy would side with the three remaining conservatives to force a tie, which would have left in place the 5th Circuit's ruling in favor of the regulations. Instead, Kennedy joined with the liberals in the sweeping ruling, which agreed with the providers about the burden of the regulations on clinics but focused much of its attention on the safety of abortion. Breyer, who was appointed to the court by former President Bill Clinton, noted in his opinion that, "when directly asked at oral argument whether Texas knew of a single instance in which the new requirement would have helped even one woman obtain better treatment, Texas admitted that there was no evidence in the record of such a case.""In the face of no threat to women's health," Breyer wrote, "Texas seeks to force women to travel long distances to get abortions in crammed-to-capacity superfacilities." Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote a concurring opinion focused on the safety issue, concluding that "it is beyond rational belief that H.B. 2 could genuinely protect the health of women." In his dissent, Thomas said the majority ruling "exemplifies the Court's troubling tendency to bend the rules when any effort to limit abortion, or even to speak in opposition to abortion, is at issue." He also argued that the majority had misconstrued the court's precedent from Casey in an attempt to expand the right to an abortion. Roberts and Alito focused their opposition on a technical point. They said the lawsuit should have been dismissed because an earlier challenge to the regulations had already failed. "Determined to strike down two provisions of a new Texas abortion statute in all of their applications, the Court simply disregards basic rules that apply in all other case," the conservative justices wrote. The ruling quickly reached Houston on Monday, cheering abortion providers who have faced years of attacks and defeats. At the Houston Women's Clinic, Director Kathy Kleinfeld said the staff was planning to cut a chocolate cake to celebrate. At the same time, an anti-abortion activist stood outside the clinic to serve as a reminder that the fight still is underway. The activist, who would not give his name, tried to give a couple walking inside a pamphlet about a pregnancy resource center promoting alternatives to abortion. "We'll help you all the way through," he called after them as they entered the clinic. In Austin, a group of abortion-rights supporters that helped lead the challenge to the regulations held their celebratory news conference at a former clinic that had been forced to shut down. The group said they did not have any timetable for the reopening of the clinic or any other shuttered facility, noting it can take years for providers to re-obtain properties, re-hire staff and re-apply for licenses, to say nothing of the possibility of new anti-abortion legislation. Under state rules, a person seeking a license must apply at least 90 days before the projected opening date with a non-refundable $5,000 fee. The process can take months, said Carrie Williams, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of State Health Services. Still, the mood at the news conference was happy, with abortion-rights supporters exchanging high fives and making jokes. Outside, they hung a purple sign with a simple message: "We won!" Reporters Susan Carroll and Mike Ward contributed to this story. AUSTIN Texas abortion providers argued in court Thursday that it is not medically necessary to require women to undergo injections or other procedures in order to comply with a new state law restricting the most common second-trimester abortion procedure. Earlier this year the Republican-led Legislature passed Senate Bill 8, a set of comprehensive abortion regulations that banned dilation and evacuation a medical procedure used to remove a fetus using surgical tools unless the fetus is deceased. It is the most common method used to perform an abortion in the second trimester. Whole Woman's Health, Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers sued the state because they believe it will further limit access to abortions. During a dilation and evacuation procedure, doctors use surgical instruments to remove fetal tissue. Proponents of the law have called this method inhumane and refer to it as "dismemberment abortion." In the first day of the trial before U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel, two doctors testified on behalf of the Texas abortion providers, saying they do not normally demise a fetus when performing a dilation and evacuation procedure because it is not necessary. Another said she only demises the fetus beginning at 20 weeks gestation. Attorney General Ken Paxton was present for at least two hours of the trial. After the hearing, he read a statement to reporters saying the state is defending a law that prohibits "the live dismemberment of babies." "SB8 recognizes that innocent, unborn children should at least have the same rights as prisoners being executed for heinous crimes, and even animals, who would never be torn apart," Paxton said. Dr. Mark Nichols, an Oregon-based doctor, called the dilation and evacuation procedure the safest method to perform a second-trimester abortion. Nichols argued the three most common procedures used to kill the fetus before performing the abortion are often complicated to perform, require extra training and are not always effective. He also believes they are not medically necessary. "There is a real failure rate in the procedures we described," he said. If a similar law to SB8 existed in Oregon, Nichols said he would hesitate to perform the dilation and evacuation procedure out of fear that the fetus may still be alive, and he would then violate the law. Under SB8, doctors would face criminal charges for violating the ban, except in a case of a medical emergency. The law was set to go into effect Sept. 1, but Yeakel blocked its implementation with a temporary restraining order which remains in effect. Nichols said doctors may end up having to experiment on patients "to figure out how not to violate the law." According to 2015 data, the latest available, the procedure was used 4,386 times to terminate a pregnancy. In total, 55,287 abortions were performed that year, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Darren McCarty, an attorney for the state, pressed Nichols on his lack of experience with abortions in Texas. In court documents, Attorney General Ken Paxton and his legal team argue that causing fetal demise prior to performing the procedure is "less gruesome." They argue the methods used to end the fetus' life are "very safe and highly effective." Dr. Bhavik Kumar, the medical director for Whole Woman's Health in Texas, said he did not receive any training in the methods needed to demise a fetus before performing the evacuation procedure. His clinics only perform abortions for patients who have been pregnant for less than 18 weeks. "We don't need to do that," he said of demising the fetus. "Without knowing any added benefit, it's not something I would recommend." The trial is expected to last several days, and a ruling is expected by the end of the month. Alejandra Matos covers politics, education and immigration policy. Follow her on Twitter. Send her tips at alejandra.matos@chron.com. AUSTIN The Texas Attorney General paid three expert witnesses up to $500 an hour to this week to defend a state law requiring the burial or cremation of fetal remains. The witnesses a professor of divinity, a bioethicist and an Austin obstetrician-gynecologist argued in federal court that long-standing ethical and cultural norms afford dignity to the unborn by treating the remains of a pregnancy differently than medical waste. But that testimony was exactly what U.S. District Judge David Ezra said he was not interested in as the trial began. The judge was focused on whether the law would impose undue costs and thereby interfere with womens legal right to abortion. The law is being challenged by Whole Womans Health and other abortion-rightsgroups that contend the Texas Legislature enacted it in 2017 to shame women and ultimately limit their access to abortion. The issue here is what does the law do, not the sentiments of the law, Ezra said. Yet after five days of testimony, Ezra said Friday he still did not have the answers he wanted. As the trial closed, he told the lawyers to submit answers to a series of questions in writing. He said he will rule after he gets the information he needs. The judges frustration reflected the attorney generals use of expert witnesses drawn largely from the anti-abortion movement to testify in defense of abortion restrictions adopted in Texas in recent years. Opposing lawyers, and in some cases judges themselves, have complained that the witnesses, hired at taxpayer expense, are not experts but rather advocates who offer personal opinions and know little or nothing about the laws in question. The fetal burial trial was the sixth abortion-related proceeding in the past five years for which Texas has hired a total of 21 experts whose testimony judges have disregarded or given little weight. The experts, many of whom are anti-abortion activists, have been paid more than half a million dollars in past cases. The three involved in the fetal burial case billed the state another $60,000 for prep work before the trial began. The total will grow as they are paid for their time in court this week. Two of the witnesses Farr Curlin, a professor at Duke Divinity School, and Mikeal Love, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Austin have been experts for the state in the past. The third, Aasim Padela, a Chicago physician, haggled in court with the state lawyers who hired him over how they described his qualifications. The state paid Padela $20,000 from May to mid-July to prepare for the fetal burial trial, the first time Texas has used him as an expert witness. Lawyers for the state presented him as an expert in bioethics, Islamic bioethics and emergency medicine. But Padela interjected as they began to ask him questions bout the law in court. I am sorry, for a moment. I dont know if I am permitted to ask a question, Padela said. I dont know if I have been briefed about that, but I have a problem with the way you characterized my expertise. Padela went on to explain that philosophers often afford value to a fetus because it has the potential to become a human being, making clear that this school of thought is common among secular philosophers. This is my contention. Yes, Islam has analogs there, but I am speaking to you as a bioethicist, not someone just from my tradition, Padela said. This is why I dont like that characterization because you want to pigeonhole me to some faith community. The states lawyer moved on to the next question. When Curlin took the witness stand, he contended that the fetal burial law does not limit womens access to abortion because it is a regulation imposed on clinics, not on patients. Curlin, who is paid $500 per hour, earned $52,000 for his work in this case and another involving a law that sought to limit the most common second-trimester abortion procedure. Judge Ezra took issue with Curlins argument, noting a previous Texas law that regulated abortion clinics forced dozens of clinics to shut down. The Supreme Court ultimately overturned that law. In the middle of Curlins testimony, Ezra told the states lawyers they would need to show that the fetal burial law would not ultimately lead down the same path. The states lawyers said that is not their job. The burden is with the plaintiffs to prove that it doesnt work, not the defense to prove that it does, said Austin Nimocks, an associate deputy attorney general. The state looked to Love, the Austin-based physician, to help establish that embryos and fetuses are people by explaining when appendages like arms and legs begin to form. Love provided the state a video of an ultrasound to illustrate that elbows and shoulders are apparent and the heart can be detected at 10 weeks. Its a complete system, said Love, who referred to women as hosts in court documents. He told the court that term is apt, comparing a pregnancy to a foreign-exchange student living with a host family. Love said he supported legislation creating a 24-hour waiting period for abortions and requirements that minors obtain parental permission to terminate a pregnancy. A Houston Chronicle analysis earlier this month found Love had made $46,000 offering expert testimony or reports on five abortion lawsuits against the state since 2013. Judges have said in the past that they did not give much weight to his testimony. Love, who is paid $400 an hour, has collected $15,900 for his work on the fetal burial trial so far. A ruling is expected in late-August, after both sides file closing arguments and answer the judges questions. Any ruling is likely to be appealed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has already hinted it finds value in arguments supporting the dignity of the unborn. Like other Texas abortion laws, this case could also be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which will likely have a more conservative bent given recent appointees by President Donald Trump. Alejandra Matos covers politics, immigration and education policy. Follow her on Twitter. Subscribe to the Texas Take politics newsletter. Andrea Zelinski is a staff writer who covers politics. Read her latest stories here . Follow her on Twitter and Facebook . Send her tips at andrea.zelinski@chron.com. English! English! Go back to Mexico. Youre in America! Not so long ago, that response, described in an ethnography by University of Texas professor Angela Valenzuela, is what Texas schoolchildren could expect for speaking Spanish in the hallways. Punishments and reprimands were common experience for students whose open use of bilingual skills could be perceived as flauting American customs or refusing to assimilate. Fast forward 20 years. Bilingual skills are not only tolerated; theyre rewarded. Yes, some of President Trumps policies seem to be making America less welcoming to refugees, other foreigners and even sometimes non-native English speakers with noticeable accents. At the same time, policymakers in Texas and elsewhere are acting on research that has suggested the benefits of speaking more than one language range from better ease with multitasking to potentially delaying the onset of dementia. In college and the workforce, the advantages are clear: Multilingual students have improved access to post-secondary education and help-wanted signs across Texas beckon bilingual applicants. Today, Texas is one of more than 30 states that now offers a State Seal of Biliteracy. The commendation recognizes high school graduates who have attained a high level of proficiency in one or more languages other than English. Texas students and their families should consider setting this seal as an academic goal. School counselors should encourage students to seek it. Districts should proudly display the number of qualifying students prominently on their websites. In todays competitive workforce, students need every advantage they can get. For too long, the built-in advantage of speaking a different language in the home was squandered. Now, students can cultivate their language knowledge and turn it into fluency in reading, writing and speaking. The seal can open doors by signaling to colleges and potential employers that the applicants language skills arent just conversational; theyre comprehensive. An estimated 1 in 5 Americans speak a language other than English in their home. Even under current anti-immigration policies, that number is not likely to go down significantly. Businesses and schools need a way to communicate with non-English speakers. Employers posted more than three times more jobs for Chinese speakers in 2015 than they had just five years earlier, according to a report by the New American Economy, a bipartisan coalition of mayors and business leaders that supports immigration reform. During the same time period, the number of U.S. job ads listing Spanish and Arabic as a desired skill increased by roughly 150 percent, according to the report. Of the 627,000 bilingual positions posted throughout the country in 2015, roughly 70,000 were in Texas. While many employers favor bilingual applicants, there are certain businesses where it is crucial, including education, finance and health care. Here in our city a potpourri of cultures and languages the Houston Independent School District offers opportunities for bilingualism through its 56 dual-language schools. In Texas 9th-grade classrooms, populated by an estimated 47,458 English language-learners, the seals not only represent a goal for students, but a celebration of their unique skills. The seal represents great strides from a day when students were stigmatized for multilingualism. While more can be done to capitalize on the language skills of our states native and foreign-born populations, the recognition of todays policymakers that multilingualism is an asset, not a hindrance, for students and workers is key to Texas ability to thrive in the global economy. CDFA Secretary Karen Ross and Ag Leaders meet with Governor Brown on Trade Tariffs Sacramento, California - CDFA Secretary Karen Ross and State Board of Food and Agriculture President Don Cameron joined a group of agricultural leaders yesterday to discuss trade issues and tariff impacts with California Governor Jerry Brown. California is the largest agricultural producer and exporter in the nation. Recent trade actions by China and other foreign governments to increase tariffs will have a large potential trade impact on the states farmers, ranchers and farmworkers. Farm leaders and the governor discussed the need for a quick federal resolution on tariff and trade negotiations given the quickly approaching shipping season for a variety of California products. California exports 100 percent of the nations table grapes and tree nuts, 91 percent of wine, 56 percent of citrus and more than 31 percent of the nations dairy products. Tariffs are not only impacting current shipments, but also food processing and canning with increased steel costs as well as other rising on-farm expenses. California farmers and ranchers are seeking immediate resolution to the ongoing tariff and trade re-negotiations to keep exports growing and farmers farming. Every dollar of agricultural exports stimulate another $1.28 in business activity, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture. California exports more than $20 billion in agricultural products. State Board President Don Cameron, left, next to Governor Brown and CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. Other meeting attendees included: Rob Yraceburu, Wonderful Orchards LLC; Carolyn Wasem, Jackson Family Wines; David Ahlem, Hilmar Cheese Company; Dan Sumner, UC Ag Issues Center; Mike Gallo, Joseph Gallo Farms; Aaron Lange, Lange Twins; Jonathan Hoff, Monte Vista Farming; Frank Muller, Muller Ranch; Rayne Thompson, Sunkist Growers and Fruit Growers Supply Company and Paul Wenger, Wenger Ranch. Fruit fly mating driven by a tweak in specific brain circuit Washington, DC - According to a new National Institutes of Health-funded study, it is not destiny that brings two fruit flies together, but an evolutionary matchmaker of sorts that made tiny adjustments to their brains mating circuits, so they would be attracted to one another while rejecting advances from other, even closely-related, species. The results, published in Nature, may help explain how a specific female scent triggers completely different responses in different male flies. This study reveals how a very small tweak in brain wiring can result in large changes in very complex social behaviors, which can ultimately determine the fate of a species, said Jim Gnadt, Ph.D., program director at the NIHs National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), which supported the study. Understanding how variation in brain circuits leads to changes in behavior is one of the primary goals of the NIHs BRAIN Initiative and this study provides a piece of the puzzle. Vanessa Ruta, Ph.D., professor at Rockefeller University in New York City, and her colleagues used cutting-edge genetic tools to compare the brain circuits behind courtship behavior in two closely related species of fruit fly, D. melanogaster and D. simulans. Previous studies showed that although males from both species could detect a specific pheromone, or scent, called 7,11-heptacosadiene (7,11-HD), their reactions to it were very different. Male D. melanogaster flies found it attractive while D. simulans males avoided females that carried it. In this study, Dr. Ruta and her team discovered that slight differences in the way the flys brains are wired may control these opposite reactions. From a flys perspective, courtship is the most important decision it will make, and so evolutionary processes have really fine-tuned their brains to ensure optimal behaviors, leading them to their ideal mates, said Dr. Ruta. In fruit flies, pheromones are detected by sensory neurons on the legs, and that information travels to P1 neurons that sit in the lateral protocerebral complex (LPC) in the brain. In between the sensory and P1 neurons, the wiring splits so that the P1 cells can be either turned on or off. P1 neurons trigger courtship activity in D. melanogaster males but have not been studied in other fly species. When the P1 neurons were turned on in D. simulans males, they tried mating with nearby objects including unsuitable targets such as females from different species as well as rotating magnets. This suggests that P1 neurons may be important for sparking courtship behaviors across species. Dr. Ruta and her team used state-of-the-art technology to watch brain cells light up in real time as male flies were exposed to D. melanogaster and D. simulans females releasing 7,11-HD. When D. melanogaster males were exposed to females from their species, there was a lot of activity by the P1 neurons. Exposure to D. simulans females did not turn on those neurons. However, P1 neurons in the D. simulans males did not light up when they were exposed to females from their species, suggesting that differences in P1 neurons may underlie species-specific responses to 7,11-HD. Additional experiments suggested that as pheromone signals traveled from the legs to P1 neurons, that information was conveyed differently in the two species of fruit fly by brain cells that communicate directly with P1 neurons. Specifically, P1 neurons appeared to receive lots of excitation in D. melanogaster flies but got more calming signals in D. simulans flies, which led to opposite responses when the animals were exposed to 7,11-HD. These findings also suggested that in some species of flies, absence of pheromone signaling may be more attractive than the presence of certain scents. Future experiments will look at similar behaviors in other species of fruit flies. More research is needed to learn the mechanisms that drive evolutionary changes in brain circuitry, which may have important consequences for individual and social behavior. This study was supported by NINDS (NS0879422013), New York Stem Cell Foundation, the Pew Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, the Irma T. Hirschl Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, National Science Foundation and Kavli Foundation. This press release describes a basic research finding. Basic research increases our understanding of human behavior and biology, which is foundational to advancing new and better ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease. Science is an unpredictable and incremental process each research advance builds on past discoveries, often in unexpected ways. Most clinical advances would not be possible without the knowledge of fundamental basic research. The NINDS is the nations leading funder of research on the brain and nervous system. The mission of NINDS is to seek fundamental knowledge about the brain and nervous system and to use that knowledge to reduce the burden of neurological disease. Secretary Pompeo's Meeting with UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen Martin Griffiths Washington, DC - U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo met yesterday with UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen Martin Griffiths in Washington. The Special Envoy provided an update on his engagement with all parties on the conflict in Yemen. The Secretary thanked the Special Envoy for his efforts to advance a diplomatic solution to the situation in Hudaydah that avoids a further deterioration of humanitarian conditions on the ground. The Secretary underscored his support for the Special Envoys initiative and expressed the hope that all sides can work toward a comprehensive political agreement that brings peace, prosperity, and security to Yemen. Does Celebrity Separations Have Influence on our Relationships? This is What Experts Have to Say Manager: As per your performance improvement plan, if your drawer was short more than $5 you would be terminated. Your drawer was short $15 today, so this is your last day. Employee: What??? You never told me that! Manager: [slides piece of paper across desk] Is this your signature? Employee: Yes Manager: Can you please read the highlighted portion? Employee: I, John Doe, understand that if my cash drawer is short by more than $5 I will be terminated. Manager: Your drawer was short by $15 so you are fired. Burberry has already revamped its archive with a fall/winter 2018 partnership with Gosha Rubchinskiy and now the British heritage brand is releasing another nostalgia-inducing offering with Opening Ceremony. Working together for the first time, the two brands have linked for an exclusive 10-piece capsule collection inspired by Christopher Baileys final collection for the fashion house. For Burberrys February 2018 show, Bailey gave the brands iconic check a bright makeover by reimagining the print to incorporate the rainbow flag an emblem that has become an international symbol of Pride and diversity. Recommended Fashion brand Shrimps announces homeware collaboration with Habitat My final collection here at Burberry is dedicated to and in support of some of the best and brightest organisations supporting LGBT+ youth around the world, Bailey previously said. There has never been a more important time to say that in our diversity lies our strength, and our creativity. Following in the former creative officers footsteps, Opening Ceremonys capsule combines these trademark kaleidoscopic colours with its own cool aesthetic and streetwear staples to create a collection of jersey sweats and T-shirts inspired by Burberrys 1995 and 1996 winter collections. (Salvatore Caputo) Meanwhile, rainbow graphics and 1990s era logos pay tribute to European landmarks like the London Bridge and Arc de Triomphe. To promote the collection, Opening Ceremony worked with fashion photographer Salvatore Caputo who travelled to Kiev, Ukraine. (Salvatore Caputo) Here, Caputo shot young Ukrainian partygoers wearing pieces from the exclusive capsule as they danced the night away and explored the citys growing underground rave community. The collection can be purchased online and at Opening Ceremony stores in New York and Los Angeles, with prices ranging from $240 (185) to $650. If Britain cannot agree a deal with the EU then the country risks crashing out in the spring of next year with no agreements in place. Thats a pretty worrying if for anyone, but especially those who are booking their 2019 holiday to European destinations right now. After all, Theresa May might argue that no deal is better than a bad deal but theres a lot of concern that without some sort of deal to manage travel and trade, the ports will be backlogged and the planes may not even be able to fly across Europe. Theres also the risk of 30-mile tailbacks at Dover as lorries await processing and cause enormous disruption to other road users. None of it may happen, some of it may happen, all of it may happen. Theres certainly growing concern within Europe that the UK is set to crash out and the government here is now taking steps to ensure supplies of food and medicine during a tricky initial period. If we enter into the planned transition period then we may avoid any chaos altogether. But it is still a risk so many holidaymakers booking their travel for next year will be wondering if they would be covered in the event that a no-deal Brexit wreaked havoc on their plans. The good news is that a no-deal Brexit is still only a possibility, not a certainty. That means that most comprehensive travel insurance policies taken out now will protect against any disruption. A spokesperson for GoCompare says that insurance taken out before any disruption is known about will most likely protect travellers: Providing that the issues were unforeseen, you should be covered by a good comprehensive travel insurance policy. That said, if you were to take out cover after a specific incident, say a strike for instance, became public knowledge you wouldnt be able to claim against this. Its the same principle as taking out insurance after youre already ill. Thats a message repeated by Malcolm Tarling, spokesman for the Association of British Insurers, who recommends anyone booking their break now carefully checks the clauses of their insurance policy and also considers what other protections they may have. In terms of cancellation cover, its normally quite specific anyway, he explains. The policy will list eventualities when the insurer would pay out. Youre probably more looking in terms of delay and also the cover and compensation provided by air companies. There may also be Abta protection or Atol cover for your booking. Travel insurance will cover you on the basis of terms and conditions in the policy, for example, strikes, adverse weather, mechanical breakdown. In terms of whether Brexit causes large-scale travel disruption, cover will depend on the clauses in the policy. We dont know, no one knows, what will happen, but take out travel insurance because youll need it regardless. Theres also real confusion among people planning their travel over whether their European Health Insurance Card, the Ehic, will still be valid during a transition period. That card entitles British people to receive medical treatment under the same terms as a resident of that country. If it isnt guaranteed post-Brexit then there are some concerns that people with existing health conditions might find the cost of travel insurance rockets, as insurers protect themselves against potentially higher claims. Simon Williams, head of travel at Compare Cover, said: Although there is precedent for medical provisions to remain, as Switzerland is still a member of the scheme as a non-EU member, the removal of Ehic is still a very real possibility at this stage and reminds us that appropriate provisions such as travel insurance, always need to be made. He warns that if the Ehic were removed, travel insurance premiums would almost certainly rise in basic terms to meet increasing claim costs, adding: Its possible that older policy holders and those with pre-existing conditions will be disproportionately affected in the process. Whatever the political climate, its always important advice to buy your travel insurance as soon as youve booked your travel, so that if anything unexpected upsets your plans then you are protected. However, GoCompare has revealed that in 2017, 85 per cent of the travel policies arranged via its website were for travel starting within a month. Many simply booked it on the day of travel. Anyone travelling outside of the UK may also want to watch the currency markets as Brexit approaches. The value of the pound has risen and fallen considerably depending on the current state of negotiations, which means that leaving ordering cash to the last minute can mean spending power is left to a lottery. FairFX chief executive Ian Strafford-Taylor says: As negotiations with the EU continue and divorce issues are agreed, there is likely to be more uncertainty for the pound as we head towards the scheduled leave date in the next nine months. Political uncertainty has a huge impact on the stability of currency as the past two years has showcased. Its never been more important for consumers to be aware of fluctuations and the political agenda so that they can prepare as much as possible and buy currency when the pound is at its strongest. Brexit negotiations are intensifying and theres a great deal of uncertainty over what this will mean for anyone travelling outside of Britain next year. Its perhaps never been more important to take out protection as soon you youve booked your 2019 break. Thousands of people have signed a petition to drink the red liquid found in a 2000-year-old sarcophagus. Speculation and mystery has surrounded the strange black granite box since it was found in Alexandria earlier this month and some even suggested that it should not be opened, for fear that it could unleash a hideous curse. Upon finally being opened archaeologists found it was filled with dirty water and three skeletons, according to Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities. The water probably found its way into the box from a sewage trench, the ministry said. It may have caused the mummies to decompose and leave only their skeletons. The bodies are probably those of warriors. One of them appears to have a wound that is the result of being hit by an arrow, experts said. Now a petition has been started, and thousands have signed up, saying they want to drink the liquid that was found in the box. We need to drink the red liquid from the cursed dark sarcophagus in the form of some sort of carbonated energy drink so we can assume its powers and finally die, the petition says. Science news in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Science news in pictures Science news in pictures Pluto has 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen Pluto has a 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen that is doing strange things to its surface, Nasa has found. The mysterious core seems to be the cause of features on its surface that have fascinated scientists since they were spotted by Nasa's New Horizons mission. "Before New Horizons, everyone thought Pluto was going to be a netball - completely flat, almost no diversity," said Tanguy Bertrand, an astrophysicist and planetary scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center and the lead author on the new study. "But it's completely different. It has a lot of different landscapes and we are trying to understand what's going on there." Getty Science news in pictures Over 400 species discovered this year by Natural History Museum The ancient invertabrate worm-like species rhenopyrgus viviani (pictured) is one of over 400 species previously unknown to science that were discovered by experts at the Natural History Museum this year PA Science news in pictures Jackdaws can identify 'dangerous' humans Jackdaws can identify dangerous humans from listening to each others warning calls, scientists say. The highly social birds will also remember that person if they come near their nests again, according to researchers from the University of Exeter. In the study, a person unknown to the wild jackdaws approached their nest. At the same time scientists played a recording of a warning call (threatening) or contact calls (non-threatening). The next time jackdaws saw this same person, the birds that had previously heard the warning call were defensive and returned to their nests more than twice as quickly on average. Getty Science news in pictures Turtle embryos influence sex by shaking The sex of the turtle is determined by the temperatures at which they are incubated. Warm temperatures favour females. But by wiggling around the egg, embryos can find the Goldilocks Zone which means they are able to shield themselves against extreme thermal conditions and produce a balanced sex ratio, according to the new study published in Current Biology journal Ye et al/Current Biology Science news in pictures Elephant poaching rates drop in Africa African elephant poaching rates have dropped by 60 per cent in six years, an international study has found. It is thought the decline could be associated with the ivory trade ban introduced in China in 2017. Reuters Science news in pictures Ancient four-legged whale discovered in Peru Scientists have identified a four-legged creature with webbed feet to be an ancestor of the whale. Fossils unearthed in Peru have led scientists to conclude that the enormous creatures that traverse the planets oceans today are descended from small hoofed ancestors that lived in south Asia 50 million years ago A. Gennari Science news in pictures Animal with transient anus discovered A scientist has stumbled upon a creature with a transient anus that appears only when it is needed, before vanishing completely. Dr Sidney Tamm of the Marine Biological Laboratory could not initially find any trace of an anus on the species. However, as the animal gets full, a pore opens up to dispose of waste Steven G Johnson Science news in pictures Giant bee spotted Feared extinct, the Wallace's Giant bee has been spotted for the first time in nearly 40 years. An international team of conservationists spotted the bee, that is four times the size of a typical honeybee, on an expedition to a group of Indonesian Islands Clay Bolt Science news in pictures New mammal species found inside crocodile Fossilised bones digested by crocodiles have revealed the existence of three new mammal species that roamed the Cayman Islands 300 years ago. The bones belonged to two large rodent species and a small shrew-like animal New Mexico Museum of Natural History Science news in pictures Fabric that changes according to temperature created Scientists at the University of Maryland have created a fabric that adapts to heat, expanding to allow more heat to escape the body when warm and compacting to retain more heat when cold Faye Levine, University of Maryland Science news in pictures Baby mice tears could be used in pest control A study from the University of Tokyo has found that the tears of baby mice cause female mice to be less interested in the sexual advances of males Getty Science news in pictures Final warning to limit "climate catastrophe" The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued a report which projects the impact of a rise in global temperatures of 1.5 degrees Celsius and warns against a higher increase Getty Science news in pictures Nobel prize for evolution chemists The nobel prize for chemistry has been awarded to three chemists working with evolution. Frances Smith is being awarded the prize for her work on directing the evolution of enzymes, while Gregory Winter and George Smith take the prize for their work on phage display of peptides and antibodies Getty/AFP Science news in pictures Nobel prize for laser physicists The nobel prize for physics has been awarded to three physicists working with lasers. Arthur Ashkin (L) was awarded for his "optical tweezers" which use lasers to grab particles, atoms, viruses and other living cells. Donna Strickland and Gerard Mourou were jointly awarded the prize for developing chirped-pulse amplification of lasers Reuters/AP Science news in pictures Discovery of a new species of dinosaur The Ledumahadi Mafube roamed around 200 million years ago in what is now South Africa. Recently discovered by a team of international scientists, it was the largest land animal of its time, weighing 12 tons and standing at 13 feet. In Sesotho, the South African language of the region in which the dinosaur was discovered, its name means "a giant thunderclap at dawn" Viktor Radermacher / SWNS Science news in pictures Birth of a planet Scientists have witnessed the birth of a planet for the first time ever. This spectacular image from the SPHERE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope is the first clear image of a planet caught in the very act of formation around the dwarf star PDS 70. The planet stands clearly out, visible as a bright point to the right of the center of the image, which is blacked out by the coronagraph mask used to block the blinding light of the central star. ESO/A. Muller et al Science news in pictures New human organ discovered that was previously missed by scientists Layers long thought to be dense, connective tissue are actually a series of fluid-filled compartments researchers have termed the interstitium. These compartments are found beneath the skin, as well as lining the gut, lungs, blood vessels and muscles, and join together to form a network supported by a mesh of strong, flexible proteins Getty Science news in pictures Previously unknown society lived in Amazon rainforest before Europeans arrived, say archaeologists Working in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, a team led by archaeologists at the University of Exeter unearthed hundreds of villages hidden in the depths of the rainforest. These excavations included evidence of fortifications and mysterious earthworks called geoglyphs Jose Iriarte Science news in pictures One in 10 people have traces of cocaine or heroin on fingerprints, study finds More than one in 10 people were found to have traces of class A drugs on their fingers by scientists developing a new fingerprint-based drug test. Using sensitive analysis of the chemical composition of sweat, researchers were able to tell the difference between those who had been directly exposed to heroin and cocaine, and those who had encountered it indirectly. Getty Science news in pictures Nasa releases stunning images of Jupiter's great red spot The storm bigger than the Earth, has been swhirling for 350 years. The image's colours have been enhanced after it was sent back to Earth. Pictures by: Tom Momary Some had hoped that the tomb could contain the body of Alexander The Great, which would help solve one of antiquity's greatest mysteries. But there is nothing to suggest that any of the skeletons belong to that famed warrior and empire builder. Alexander's body has never been found. He asked for his corpse to be thrown into the Euphrates river but speculation has been rife ever since that his body was actually disposed of in a tomb, and that it is still buried somewhere and could eventually be found. Loved ones of six-year old Alesha MacPhail wore pink as they said farewell to the special little girl at her funeral in Scotland. Alesha had been staying with relatives on the Isle of Bute, in the Firth of Clyde, at the start of the summer break when she was found dead earlier this month. A 16-year-old boy has been charged with rape and murder following the discovery of her body in woodland on 2 July. A piper played as mourners entered Coats Funeral Home in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, most wearing pink as the family had asked. Dozens of bows were tied to the railings of the building while cuddly toys including teddies and unicorns lined the wall outside. During the service mourners heard tributes from people close to Alesha, including an emotional speech from her uncle Calum MacPhail. Funeral cortege arrives at the Coats Funeral Home, in Coatbridge, Scotland, prior to the funeral of six-year-old Alesha MacPhail, whose body was found on the Isle of Bute earlier this month (Lesley Martin/PA Wire) Alesha would rather hurt than you, she had a great amount of love for absolutely everyone, he said. "Alesha is everything that I wanted to be; she was kind, caring, smart, I just cannot believe she is gone. She was the brightest thing. He was comforted by Alesha's mother Georgina Lochrane, known as Genie, who went up to hug him as he returned to his seat near the schoolgirl's father Robert MacPhail, little sister Courtney, aged four, and other family members. Alesha was a pupil at Chapelside Primary School in nearby Airdrie where she had just finished P2 and her class teacher Emma Gibson also spoke. Alesha was a bright and bubbly little girl, she always came into class with that big beautiful smile of hers, she said. Tributes are left at a house on Ardbeg Road on the Isle of Bute, in Scotland, after six year old schoolgirl Alesha MacPhail was murdered on July 4, 2018 (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty) It was an absolute pleasure to have taught Alesha. I'm so grateful to have known this special little girl. She said that the schoolgirl loved working on her literacy and handwriting and enjoyed performing in school shows such as The Lion King. Headteacher Wendy Davie said: May your smile shine brightly wherever you are, you will always be remembered as our Chapelside star. Robert MacPhail's girlfriend Toni McLachlan also gave a tribute, saying: Sleep tight, little angel. The coffin taken from the Coats Funeral Home, in Coatbridge, Scotland, after the funeral of six-year-old Alesha MacPhail, whose body was found on the Isle of Bute earlier this month (Lesley Martin/PA Wire) The service was led by funeral director Fraser MacGregor, who said Alesha was an amazing and talented little girl and the best big sister, best daughter, best granddaughter and friend that anyone could have asked for. He said that Alesha will always be remembered as a very loving girl, friendly, good-natured and full of love who enjoyed everything from doing gymnastics and riding her bike to baking cakes, listening to music and watching Peppa Pig. Mr MacGregor also said that Alesha was fascinated by bubbles and had always wanted a bubble party on her birthday. As music played at the end of the service a bubble machine sent bubbles drifting above the mourners' heads. After the ceremony Alesha's father and uncle Calum were among those who carried her little pink coffin to the waiting hearse a white carriage drawn by two white horses with pink feathers and pink drapes. Mourners lined the street as the hearse set off for Coltswood Cemetery, followed by two black carriages carrying flowers, and family members in cars. Press Association contributed to this report More than 70,000 children, including nearly 2,000 of primary-school age, were prescribed antidepressants in England last year. The pills were handed out in large numbers despite warnings that they may harm developing brains for little benefit. Antidepressants rarely work in children, according to experts, with one saying that doctors were medicalising adolescence. NHS figures released to The Times show that one in six adults in England 7.3m used antidepressants last year a rise of almost half a million in three years. And as the number of prescriptions is rising, after more than doubling in a decade, antidepressants are increasingly becoming a long-term support among the population. Some 1,844 children aged under 10 are taking the drugs, the figures show. And more than half a million people aged 18-24 were given antidepressants last year, 11 per cent of the age group. But the over-60s are twice as likely as those in their twenties to be on the drugs. There are also big regional variations, with places such as Blackpool and Great Yarmouth showing high usage one in five people whereas in London it is fewer than one in 10. Mental-health campaigners say access to other treatments, such as talking therapies, should be made more widely and easily available as a first resort. Andrea Cipriani, a psychiatrist at Oxford University, told the paper: These are very, very high figures. People are prescribing antidepressants to those who dont really need them, who have low mood. Its important people are aware that antidepressants arent a quick fix. He added: We should be careful of prescribing antidepressants to the developing brain. We dont know the long-term consequences. In 2016 a review by Dr Cipriani found most antidepressants did not help children and teenagers with serious mental-health problems and some could even be unsafe. The review of evidence from 34 trials found that of 14 such drugs, only one, Prozac, was better than a placebo at treating young people with major depression. Another drug, venlafaxine, was associated with an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts. NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday Show all 18 1 /18 NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday Nurses test the hearing of a newborn child Reuters/Hannah McKay NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday The waiting room is busy in Milton Keynes University Hospital Reuters NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday On Ward 24, two nurses work at the nurses station Reuters/Hannah McKay NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday In A&E, a porter rushes a patient through the corridor Reuters/Hannah McKay NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday A surgical team prepares a patient for their operation Reuters/Hannah McKay NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday In the physiotherapy department, patients are treated in the hydrotherapy pool Reuters/Hannah McKay NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday On Ward 8, an inpatient awaits visitors Reuters/Hannah McKay NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday In the physiotherapy department, amputees take a class Reuters/Hannah McKay NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday A junior doctor is at work in the staff room Reuters/Hannah McKay NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday A surgical team prepares a patient for their operation Reuters NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday An inpatient has her hair washed by the staff hairdressers Reuters/Hannah McKay NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday In the audiology department, a mother watches on as her son is given a hearing test Reuters/Hannah McKay NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday On Ward 8, staff serve lunch to the patients Reuters/Hannah McKay NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday On Ward 24, a patient waits on their bed Reuters NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday On Ward 8, a cleaner is at work Reuters/Hannah McKay NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday A nurse takes blood from a patient Reuters/Hannah McKay NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday On Ward 8, an inpatient receives a visitor Reuters/Hannah McKay NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday Inpatient Donald Ritson lies in bed in Ward 24 in Milton Keynes University Hospital Reuters But his study concluded that the real effectiveness and safety of antidepressants for children and teenagers was unclear because of the poor design and selective reporting of trials, mostly funded by drug companies. Dr Cipriani said that nowadays the risk is medicalising adolescence with drugs. A high number were prescribed in south Lincolnshire, the figures showed. Its difficult to justify. There must be something wrong, he said. The figures were obtained under freedom of information laws from the NHS business services authority. Swimmers have been warned to take care when taking a dip in the water during the UKs heatwave, following a spate of drowning deaths in recent weeks. Council leaders said the public needs to be vigilant to the dangers of drowning, especially parents with children, with more people likely to be out near water during one of the longest spells of hot weather for many years. The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents 370 councils in England and Wales, said casual swimmers particularly need to be aware of the risk of cold water shock one of the biggest causes of drowning. Recommended Heatwave turns Britain from green to brown in satellite photos Last year, 255 people died as a result of accidental drowning, including seven children under the age of nine. Even strong and confident swimmers can struggle and drown after jumping into cold and unpredictable seas, rivers, canals and lakes, where temperatures can be as low as 15C in the summer half that of swimming pools which are typically heated to around 30C. UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies Show all 35 1 /35 UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies People on the beach at Croyde Beach in North Devon PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies People enjoy the sun at Carsington Water in Derbyshire PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies Sophie Todd, aged 7, and her mother Jane Todd playing in one of the Trafalgar Square fountains in London PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies A couple play catch with a ball whilst swimming in the River Stour Getty Images UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies Children play in the fountains at Granary Square, King's Cross PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies A dog under an umbrella at the Festival of British Eventing at Gatcombe Park, Gloucestershire PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies People sunbath on the clifftop at Woolacombe Beach in North Devon PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies A woman stands in a field of sunflowers at Vine House Farm near Spalding, Lincolnshire PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies A woman takes a selfie in front of St Paul's Chathedral PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies Paddle boarders off the coast at Tynemouth , Tyne & Wear PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies People on Woolacombe Beach in North Devon PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies A canal boat passes along the Regent's Canal PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies People relax in the warm weather on the beach in Brighton PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies People enjoying the hot weather and sunshine on the banks of the River Thames in Putney Rex Features UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies Spectators enjoy the hot weather during day seven of the Nature Valley International at Devonshire Park PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies Hot and sunny day in Hyde Park's Serpentine lake Rex UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies People relax in the warm weather on the beach in Eastbourne PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies People sunbathe as they enjoy the warm weather on Bournemouth beach PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies A person sunbathes on a blow up mattress in the sea off of Bournemouth beach in Dorset PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies A couple relax in the sunshine on the beach in Brighton PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies People play in water fountains in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies Chris Bryant from Basingstoke paddle boards at Boscombe Beach in Dorset PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies People shelter from the sun beneath umbrellas as they walk in St James's Park in London AFP/Getty Images UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies Arianna Espiritu Kelly, 2, eats an ice-cream in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies Victor the Polar Bear enjoys a dip in the water at Yorkshire Wildlife Park PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies People on the beach in Brighton PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies Woman relax in the sunshine on the beach in Hastings, Sussex PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies People enjoy their lunch break in the sunshine near Tower Bridge in London PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies Police horses drink from a water fountain during the hot weather in Green Park PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies Anglers fish on New Brighton beach on the Wirral, Merseyside as the sun rises over the Port of Liverpool and the River Mersey PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies A family of lemurs enjoy an ice lolly at Yorkshire Wildlife Park PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies People enjoy the sunshine in St James's Park in in London AFP/Getty Images UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies A duck swims in the algae covered lake in St James's Park, London PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies A couple cycle in the sunshine around Bewl Water in Kent PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies A man takes a break in the sun on Southbank, London PA Councillor Simon Blackburn, chairman of the LGAs Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said: The recent deaths of those who have drowned are an absolute tragedy and the numbers who die every year from drowning are shocking. Councils want to make sure everyone is safe around water, which is why we are urging people to follow our advice to be careful and vigilant to the dangers. Many people will be tempted to cool off in the water during the hot weather, but even the strongest of swimmers need to be aware of the risks of drowning and cold water shock. What might look like a safe place to take a dip or have a swim could in fact be a danger. Recommended UK could be in for hottest summer on record Our advice is always to swim in water that is clearly marked as safe and under the control of a lifeguard. Swimming in unknown water could lead to tragic consequences. Swathes of England braced for thunderstorms and heavy rains on Friday, but temperatures were predicted to remain in the high-20s across southern parts and could climb even higher going into the weekend. This summer could be the hottest on record if temperatures stay above average, the Met Office has said. It will certainly rank in the top 10 warmest summers on record if the remarkable temperatures continue, the national weather service added. Commons leader Andrea Leadsom privately attacked Theresa Mays Chequers plan for Brexit as a betrayal of the referendum result, it has emerged. The leading Brexiteer said she hated the proposals and viewed them as breaching the government's red lines, leaked minutes of the meeting at the prime ministers country retreat reveal. Unlike David Davis and Boris Johnson, Ms Leadsom did not resign and has since backed the package while warning it must be a final offer, with no further compromises. Her private comments lay bare the continued danger for Ms May, who will almost certainly have to agree to further concessions to strike an agreement with Brussels. Strikingly, two other anti-Brexit cabinet ministers Esther McVey and Penny Mordaunt have declined to give their public backing to the Chequers white paper. Meanwhile, a separate leak of the minutes shows Philip Hammond, the chancellor, and Sajid Javid, the business secretary, clashed over the free movement of workers after Brexit. Mr Javid said free movement had to end and that there could be no back door for EU workers beyond current international obligations, The Daily Telegraph reported. But Mr Hammond urged the government to keep options open, arguing a preferential system for EU citizens is very important for the chancellor of Germany. Brexit casualties Show all 10 1 /10 Brexit casualties Brexit casualties Andrea Jenkyns - Resigned from Parliamentary Private Secretary at the ministry for housing, communities and local government role May 2018 - The Morley and Outwood MP said: We want to see a new relationship with Europe, with a new model not enjoyed by other countries nothing that leaves us half-in, half-out. And in order to achieve this, we need to leave the customs union. Ms Jenkyns also said she wished to dedicate more of her time to Parliaments influential Exiting the European Union select committee, after a series of unbalanced reports produced by MPs PA Brexit casualties David Davis - Resigned from Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union role July 2018 - quit following a major row with May over her plans for post-Brexit relations with the EU. Davis resignation letter said: As you know there have been a significant number of occasions in the last year or so on which I have disagreed with the Number 10 policy line, ranging from accepting the [European] Commissions sequencing of negotiations, through to the language on Northern Ireland in the December Joint Report. At each stage I have accepted collective responsibility because it is part of my task to find workable compromises, and because I considered it was still possible to deliver on the mandate of the referendum, and on our manifesto commitment to leave the Customs Union and the Single Market. I am afraid that I think the current trend of policy and tactics is making that look less and less likely. He went on to argue that the general direction of Ms Mays policies would leave the UK in at best a weak negotiating position, and possibly an inescapable one. AFP/Getty Brexit casualties Steve Baker - Resigned from Minister at the Department for Exiting the European Union role July 2018 - Mr Baker, a key Tory figure in the Leave campaign, was David Daviss main lieutenant at Dexeu, and was hailed as courageous and principled by other Brexiteer Tories as he also left. Reuters Brexit casualties Boris Johnson - Resigned from Foreign Secretary role July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. In his resignation letter to the prime minister, Mr Johnson said: "On Friday, I acknowledged that my side of the argument were too few to prevail and congratulated you on at least reaching a Cabinet decision on the way forward. "As I said then, the government now has a song to sing. "The trouble is that I have practised the words over the weekend and find that they stick in the throat." Reuters Brexit casualties Conor Burns - Resigned from Parliamentary Private Secretary to Foreign Secretary role July 2018 - A Brexit supporter who worked alongside Boris Johnson stated in his resignation letter: I've decided it's time to have greater freedom. I want to see the referendum result respected. And there are other areas of policy I want to speak more openly on. Rex Brexit casualties Chris Green - Resigned from Department for Transport role July 2018 - The Bolton West MP said: "Parliament overwhelmingly decided to give the decision of whether to leave or remain in the European Union to the British people and they made an unambiguous decision that we ought to leave. "I have always understood the idea in 'Brexit means Brexit' is that the final deal should be clear to me and my constituents - that we have, in no uncertain terms, left the European Union. Twitter Ads info and privacy "The direction the negotiations had been taking have suggested that we would not really leave the EU and the conclusion and statements following the Chequers summit confirmed my fears. "I recognise that delivering Brexit is challenging, however I had hoped at tonight's meeting that there would be some certainty that my fears were unfounded but, instead, they have been confirmed. "I have been grateful for the opportunity to serve as Parliamentary Private Secretary and it is with regret that I offer my resignation with immediate effect." PA Brexit casualties Maria Caulfield - Resigned from Conservative Party vice-chair for women role July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. Lewes MP warned that the direction of travel did not fully embrace the opportunities that Brexit can provide. Ms Caulfield said in her letter to the PM: The policy may assuage vested interests, but the voters will find out and their representatives will be found out. This policy will be bad for our country and bad for the party. The direct consequences of that will be prime minister Corbyn. PA Brexit casualties Ben Bradley - Resigned from Conservative Party vice-chair for young people role July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. The Mansfield MP said: I admit that I voted to Remain in that ballot. What has swayed me over the last two years to fully back the Brexit vision is the immense opportunities that are available from global trade, and for the ability for Britain to be an outward looking nation in control of our own destiny once again. I fear that this agreement at Chequers damages those opportunities; that being tied to EU regulations, and the EU tying our hands when seeking to make new trade agreements, will be the worst of all worlds if we do not deliver Brexit in spirit as well as in name, then we are handing Jeremy Corbyn the keys to No10. PA Brexit casualties Robert Courts - Resigned from Parliamentary Private Secretary role July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. MP Mr Courts said: I have taken a very difficult decision to resign my position as [parliamentary private secretary] to express discontent with the Chequers [plans] in votes tomorrow. I had to think who I wanted to see in the mirror for the rest of my life. I cannot tell the people of Woxon that I support the proposals in their current form. Getty Brexit casualties Scott Mann - Resigned from Parliamentary Private Secretary role July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. "I fear elements of the Brexit white paper will inevitably put me in direct conflict with the views expressed by a large section of my constituents. I am not prepared to compromise their wishes to deliver a watered-down Brexit. "The residents of North Cornwall made it very clear that they wish to have control over our fishery, our agricultural policy, our money, our laws and our borders. I will evaluate those principles against the Brexit white paper and ensure that I vote in line with their wishes." Rex If the UK sought her help to deliver this deal, it would need to be prepared to negotiate on this point, he told the cabinet, the minutes show. Free movement is top of the EUs likely list of demands if it is to agree a version of the Chequers plan but would be almost impossible for Ms May to agree without provoking a fresh civil war in her party. Since the white paper was published, Ms Leadsom has denied Brexit red lines were breached, saying: No they're not. We are still taking back control of our money, our borders and our laws. On the day after the summit, she said it was good for the UK and, three days later, insisted that Theresa is absolutely sticking to delivering the will of the people. But the minutes, seen by The Times, reveal a very different stance at Chequers itself, where she accused a majority of fellow ministers and officials of arrogance and of having Remainer tendencies. Ms Leadsom also attacked the Treasury's ability on economic forecasting and revealed that some numbers will in future no longer be published. The minutes state: The leader of the House of Commons said that she hated the proposal and regarded it as a breaching the government's red lines and not being true to the 17.2 million people who had voted for Brexit. Those people had known what they were voting for and the government could not just congratulate itself on knowing better than them. In her view, the majority of both minister and civil servants had Remainer tendencies and what came with that was an arrogance that they knew better. The leak makes clear that Ms Leadsom did back Ms May in the meeting, even though the proposal did not look like a government trying to get the best deal it could. Warning of a slippery slope, she urged redrafting of parts of the white paper to avoid the accusation of UK become a vassal state or of 'Brexit in name only'. More than 40 cross-party MPs have demanded beefed up powers for the electoral watchdog after the official Brexit campaign was fined and reported to the police over breaches of spending laws. The Electoral Commission imposed a 61,000 fine on Vote Leave and referred David Halsall, the campaigns responsible person, to the police for making false declarations of campaign spending, after it was found to have coordinated illegally with BeLeave, another Brexit group. In a letter to John Bercow, who chairs the speakers committee on the Electoral Commission, MPs said the findings show democracy could be vulnerable to tampering and manipulation and the watchdog needs tougher powers to restore public faith in the electoral system. It comes amid calls from senior MPs for the Brexit referendum to be rerun after the sanctions against Vote Leave. Vote Leave said the electoral commissions findings were wholly inaccurate. Labour MP Stephen Kinnock, who helped to coordinate the letter, said the watchdog was an analogue regulator in a digital age and warned that dark money and dark data could flood the system without reform. The suggested reforms include allowing the Electoral Commission to impose unlimited fines and to refer breaches to specialist police officers to investigate. MPs also called for campaigns to be forced to declare their spending online, and outlined the need for tougher regulation for digital political advertising something the commission itself has backed. Until these reforms are instituted, our democracy will remain susceptible to future abuses like these, the letter said. Looking ahead, we cannot in good conscience have another election or referendum without ensuring our polls are free and fair. Mr Kinnock said the democratic system was under attack from a mixture of foreign influence and abuses of the laws, describing the Vote Leave result as the thin end of the wedge. The Electoral Commission is an analogue regulator in a digital age and is in desperate need of reform, he said. The commissions fines are laughable and seen simply as the cost of doing business. I hope its recent call for reform will represent a fork in the road. The government must act immediately otherwise abuse will continue and trust will decline more dark money and dark data will flood the system and buy influence. His concerns were echoed by Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas, who said it was fanciful to suggest fines of 20,000 were enough to dissuade people from breaking the rules. She added: I am not asking for a rerun of the referendum, but I think it strengthens the case for a peoples vote on the final Brexit deal. Kyle Taylor, director of the Fair Vote campaign group, which helped to organise the letter, said: We cannot simply allow elections and referenda to be hijacked by illegal activity. These elections decide the UKs destiny and we the people deserve better. Our politicians must now introduce measures to ensure this doesnt happen again so we can be sure our elections are free and fair, and that the UKs future actually reflects the true will of the people. The Electoral Commission welcomed support from MPs for greater powers, as the organisation says it needs the tools to regulate changes in political campaigning online. A spokesperson said: We have been calling for parliament to make changes for over a decade and most recently set these out in detail in our digital campaigning report. With the increasing use of online and targeted digital communications, action must be taken by the UKs governments and parliaments, and by social media companies, to improve transparency for voters. Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines Show all 10 1 /10 Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines The Sun, March 9 2016 This wholly false headline merited the first ruling by IPSO (the press regulator) under clause 1 of the revised Editor's Code of Practice. Clause 1 makes specific reference to newspapers printing "headlines not supported by the text" Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines Daily Mail, November 4 2016 In perhaps the most notorious front page of the past few years, the Mail derides the High Court judges who ruled that parliament must have a vote on whether to trigger article 50 and start the Brexit process Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines Daily Express, November 4 2016 In the Express' take on the same story, they manage to incorporate the Union Jack, allude to First World War propaganda, invoke memories of Churchill and, of course, state "Brexit means Brexit" Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines The Sun, March 29 2017 The Sun marked the day on which Mrs May triggered article 50 by projecting a huge and terrible pun on to the Cliffs of Dover Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines The Sun, April 4 2017 Referencing their notorious eurosceptic headline from 1990 (See: Up Yours Delors), the Sun stokes the flames of the brief Gibraltar dispute, a dispute in which Spain, the supposed aggressors, only joined to note that there was "no need for it" Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines Daily Mail, April 19 2017 This headline followed Mrs May's snap election announcement, which gave the Mail hope that dissenting opinions on Brexit would disappear Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines Daily Mail, December 14 2017 In recent months, the Mail has often forgone catchy headlines in favour of rambling rants, this is an early example aimed at Tory Brexit rebels Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines Daily Mail, January 31 2018 This headline (?) takes aim at the Lords over their repeated amendments to the EU Withdrawal Bill Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines The Sun, June 12 2018 On the day that the EU Withdrawal Bill is to be debated in the Commons, the Sun offers two choices to MPs, desperately including all conceivable imagery that might make Brits feel patriotic, which apparently includes the Loch Ness Monster Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines Daily Express, June 12 2018 On the same day, the Express lets MPs know what the consequences of the vote may be This includes implementing one of our key recommendations to change the law so that online materials produced by campaigners have an imprint stating who has created them. We also continue to call for higher sanctioning powers in order to provide an effective deterrent, and counter the risk that well-funded campaigners will come to see our current fines as the cost of doing business. It came after the watchdog said it found significant evidence of joint working between Vote Leave which was fronted by Boris Johnson and Michael Gove and BeLeave, a youth Brexit group run by Darren Grimes. BeLeave received a 675,000 donation from Vote Leave, which would have taken the campaigns spending over the 7m limit if it had been recorded as part of Vote Leaves referendum expenditure, the commission said. A Vote Leave spokesman said the Electoral Commissions report contained a number of false accusations and incorrect assertions that are wholly inaccurate and do not stand up to scrutiny. Leaving the European Union (EU) without a trade deal could leave British households almost 1,000 worse off a year, according to a new report. If Britain left the bloc and reverted back to World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, there would be import tariffs and the UK would leave the EU Customs Union and the Single Market. As a result each household is likely to be 960 worse off, the report by multi-national consulting firm Oliver Wyman has suggested. However, the exact size of the annual impact would vary between 245 and that amount, depending on the type of trade deal the UK gets and whether it can avoid EU tariffs, Households will face higher prices as they absorb costs from labour changes, tariffs, and red tape, it said, whilst consumer businesses could see profits slump by one to four per cent. A report by the House of Lords European Union Committee said food prices are likely to rise after Brexit if no trade agreement with the EU is reached and that there could be shortages of some products. The news comes as Brexiteer Andrea Leadsom admitted that quitting without an agreement would not be an "optimal solution". She told The House magazine: "The EU has simply not taken us seriously so far in terms of the future agreement. What this deal does is it says to them, 'right, now we can have a free trading area where there won't be the need for border checks and controls'. The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Show all 8 1 /8 The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Post-Brexit immigration workers sorting radishes on a production line at a farm in Norfolk. One possible post-Brexit immigration scheme could struggle to channel workers towards less attractive roles - while another may heighten the risk of labour exploitation, a new report warns. PA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Customs union A key point in the negotiations remains Britain's access to, or withdrawal from, the EU customs union. Since the referendum there has been hot debate over the meaning of Brexit: would it entail a full withdrawal from the existing agreement, known as hard Brexit, or the soft version in which we would remain part of a common customs area for most goods, as Turkey does? No 10 has so far insisted that Brexit means Brexit and that Britain will be leaving the customs union, but may be inclined to change its position once the potential risks to the UKs economic outlook become clearer. Alamy The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Northern Ireland-Irish border Though progress was made last year, there has still been no solid agreement on whether there should be a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To ensure borderless travel on the island, the countries must be in regulatory alignment and therefore adhere to the same rules as the customs union. In December, the Conservative Partys coalition partners, the DUP, refused a draft agreement that would place the UK/EU border in the Irish Sea due to its potential to undermine the union. May has promised that would not be the case and has suggested that a specific solution would need to be found. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Transition period Despite protests from a small number of Conservative MPs, the Government and the EU are largely in agreement that a transitional period is needed after Brexit. The talks, however, have reached an impasse. Though May has agreed that the UK will continue to contribute to the EU budget until 2021, the PM wants to be able to select which laws made during this time the UK will have to adhere to. Chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said the UK must adopt all of the laws passed during the transition, without any input from British ministers or MEPs. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Rights of EU citizens living the UK The Prime Minister has promised EU citizens already living in the UK the right to live and work here after Brexit, but the rights of those who arrive after Brexit day remains unclear. May insists that those who arrive during the transition period should not be allowed to stay, whereas the EU believe the cut-off point should be later. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreement (with the EU) Despite this being a key issue in negotiations, the Government has yet to lay out exactly what it wants from a trade deal with the EU. Infighting within the Cabinet has prevented a solid position from being reached, with some MPs content that "no deal is better than a bad deal" while others rally behind single market access. The EU has already confirmed that access to the single market would be impossible without the UK remaining in the customs union. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreements (internationally) The Government has already begun trying to woo foreign leaders into prospective trade agreements, with various high profile state visits to China, India and Canada for May, and the now infamous invitation to US President Donald Trump to visit London. However the UK cannot make trade agreements with another country while it is still a member of the EU, and the potential loss of trade with the world's major powers is a source of anxiety for the PM. The EU has said the UK cannot secure trade deals during the transition period. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Financial services Banks in the UK will be hit hard regardless of the Brexit outcome. The EU has refused to give British banks passporting rights to trade within the EU, dashing hopes of a special City deal. However according to new reports Germany has suggested allowing trade on the condition that the UK continues paying into the EU budget even after the transition period. Getty "It's saying to the EU, 'you better take this seriously'. In my view, it's take this seriously or we are heading for no deal. The message to the EU has to be, 'this is the final offer'. "So, when you say, 'is it flexible?', it's not in the sense of they're going to wriggle away at it and we're going to accept it. It is a very hard and fast offer to the EU that makes sense for them. But if they don't accept it, we're also ramping up our no deal preparations. That's where we will be heading and they will have forced us to do that. She added: "My message to the EU is, 'take this seriously because otherwise, you're forcing us down the road of no deal'." Agencies contributed to the report The UK is still shut out of a key EU-wide crime-fighting measure, almost three years after Theresa May announced it would join sparking warnings over her hopes for a rapid security deal to protect the public after Brexit. Ministers vowed to start the fast-track exchange of vital fingerprint, DNA and vehicle registration data by 2017, but talks with the EU are still deadlocked, The Independent has learned. The failure to secure participation in the Prum Convention which the government opted to join in way back in November 2015 comes despite the prime minister warning lives are put at risk without it. The long delay also casts huge doubt on Ms Mays hopes of signing a comprehensive security deal in time for Brexit, given that would be a far more complex task. Labour called the situation deeply disturbing, while anti-Brexit campaigners said it made a nonsense of her claim that an over-arching security deal can be struck quickly. The priority of any government should always be the safety and security of its citizens, said Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary. There could be serious implications if practical security arrangements are not made before the UKs withdrawal from the EU. Ed Davey, for the Liberal Democrats, said: By not completing Britains entry into this vital data sharing scheme, the Conservatives have failed in their duty to keep British people as safe as possible. And Layla Moran, a supporter of the anti-Brexit Best for Britain group, said: If the government cannot even deliver on a simple thing like Prum, which is in our interest, how can the prime minister deliver a security deal? Brexit casualties Show all 10 1 /10 Brexit casualties Brexit casualties Andrea Jenkyns - Resigned from Parliamentary Private Secretary at the ministry for housing, communities and local government role May 2018 - The Morley and Outwood MP said: We want to see a new relationship with Europe, with a new model not enjoyed by other countries nothing that leaves us half-in, half-out. And in order to achieve this, we need to leave the customs union. Ms Jenkyns also said she wished to dedicate more of her time to Parliaments influential Exiting the European Union select committee, after a series of unbalanced reports produced by MPs PA Brexit casualties David Davis - Resigned from Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union role July 2018 - quit following a major row with May over her plans for post-Brexit relations with the EU. Davis resignation letter said: As you know there have been a significant number of occasions in the last year or so on which I have disagreed with the Number 10 policy line, ranging from accepting the [European] Commissions sequencing of negotiations, through to the language on Northern Ireland in the December Joint Report. At each stage I have accepted collective responsibility because it is part of my task to find workable compromises, and because I considered it was still possible to deliver on the mandate of the referendum, and on our manifesto commitment to leave the Customs Union and the Single Market. I am afraid that I think the current trend of policy and tactics is making that look less and less likely. He went on to argue that the general direction of Ms Mays policies would leave the UK in at best a weak negotiating position, and possibly an inescapable one. AFP/Getty Brexit casualties Steve Baker - Resigned from Minister at the Department for Exiting the European Union role July 2018 - Mr Baker, a key Tory figure in the Leave campaign, was David Daviss main lieutenant at Dexeu, and was hailed as courageous and principled by other Brexiteer Tories as he also left. Reuters Brexit casualties Boris Johnson - Resigned from Foreign Secretary role July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. In his resignation letter to the prime minister, Mr Johnson said: "On Friday, I acknowledged that my side of the argument were too few to prevail and congratulated you on at least reaching a Cabinet decision on the way forward. "As I said then, the government now has a song to sing. "The trouble is that I have practised the words over the weekend and find that they stick in the throat." Reuters Brexit casualties Conor Burns - Resigned from Parliamentary Private Secretary to Foreign Secretary role July 2018 - A Brexit supporter who worked alongside Boris Johnson stated in his resignation letter: I've decided it's time to have greater freedom. I want to see the referendum result respected. And there are other areas of policy I want to speak more openly on. Rex Brexit casualties Chris Green - Resigned from Department for Transport role July 2018 - The Bolton West MP said: "Parliament overwhelmingly decided to give the decision of whether to leave or remain in the European Union to the British people and they made an unambiguous decision that we ought to leave. "I have always understood the idea in 'Brexit means Brexit' is that the final deal should be clear to me and my constituents - that we have, in no uncertain terms, left the European Union. Twitter Ads info and privacy "The direction the negotiations had been taking have suggested that we would not really leave the EU and the conclusion and statements following the Chequers summit confirmed my fears. "I recognise that delivering Brexit is challenging, however I had hoped at tonight's meeting that there would be some certainty that my fears were unfounded but, instead, they have been confirmed. "I have been grateful for the opportunity to serve as Parliamentary Private Secretary and it is with regret that I offer my resignation with immediate effect." PA Brexit casualties Maria Caulfield - Resigned from Conservative Party vice-chair for women role July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. Lewes MP warned that the direction of travel did not fully embrace the opportunities that Brexit can provide. Ms Caulfield said in her letter to the PM: The policy may assuage vested interests, but the voters will find out and their representatives will be found out. This policy will be bad for our country and bad for the party. The direct consequences of that will be prime minister Corbyn. PA Brexit casualties Ben Bradley - Resigned from Conservative Party vice-chair for young people role July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. The Mansfield MP said: I admit that I voted to Remain in that ballot. What has swayed me over the last two years to fully back the Brexit vision is the immense opportunities that are available from global trade, and for the ability for Britain to be an outward looking nation in control of our own destiny once again. I fear that this agreement at Chequers damages those opportunities; that being tied to EU regulations, and the EU tying our hands when seeking to make new trade agreements, will be the worst of all worlds if we do not deliver Brexit in spirit as well as in name, then we are handing Jeremy Corbyn the keys to No10. PA Brexit casualties Robert Courts - Resigned from Parliamentary Private Secretary role July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. MP Mr Courts said: I have taken a very difficult decision to resign my position as [parliamentary private secretary] to express discontent with the Chequers [plans] in votes tomorrow. I had to think who I wanted to see in the mirror for the rest of my life. I cannot tell the people of Woxon that I support the proposals in their current form. Getty Brexit casualties Scott Mann - Resigned from Parliamentary Private Secretary role July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. "I fear elements of the Brexit white paper will inevitably put me in direct conflict with the views expressed by a large section of my constituents. I am not prepared to compromise their wishes to deliver a watered-down Brexit. "The residents of North Cornwall made it very clear that they wish to have control over our fishery, our agricultural policy, our money, our laws and our borders. I will evaluate those principles against the Brexit white paper and ensure that I vote in line with their wishes." Rex I think there are real concerns that Brexit could spell the end of the UKs Europol membership and the European arrest warrant. This means we could criminals could get away scot-free. The security agreement, proposed by the prime minister in February, to maintain full cooperation, must be achieved by the planned end of the transition period, in December 2020 but meaningful talks have yet to begin. They already face the huge obstacle of Ms Mays refusal to allow full oversight by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) without which the EU has insisted it will not open up its policing and security databases. Speaking to EU leaders last month, she hailed the ability to share information through key databases and agencies, such as SIS2 [Schengen Information System], ECRIS [European Criminal Records Information Exchange System] and Prum. Our ability to do so is being put at risk, she warned, adding: I urge you to consider what is in the best interests of the safety of your citizens and mine. Under the Prum system, responses are promised within ten seconds for a number plate check, within 15 minutes for a DNA check, and 24 hours for a fingerprint match. Ms May, as home secretary, announced the UK would join in November 2015, a decision confirmed by ministers one year later after doubts were raised by the Brexit result. However, EU sources say talks have been held up by the UKs refusal to exchange the DNA profiles it holds on people arrested, but not convicted of any offence. In 2011, under pressure from civil liberties campaigners, David Camerons government agreed to stop police retaining the profiles of most suspects. However, they are still kept for three years, with a possible further two-year extension with court approval if an adult is arrested for a serious offence. The EU official said the stance failed the underlying principle of Prum that all parties will share the information they have available. The UK intends to exclude suspects' DNA files from Prum data exchange, when other member states who hold this data share it, the source said. The Independent has also learned that the home office only asked the Metropolitan Police to come up with a technical solution to joining Prum as recently as March this year. The home office refused to discuss why the UK was still excluded, but said there was a standardised evaluation process for countries joining Prum to comply with, which we are currently going through. A spokesperson said: There is a shared desire to maintain close operational cooperation in the future. We have been clear that this should include cooperation through important operational platforms such as SIS 2 and Prum. A 10-year-old girl has bled to death after undergoing female genital mutilation (FGM) in Somalia in the most high-profile case ever confirmed in the country. Deeqa Dahir Nuur, from the Olol village in Galmudug state, passed away from severe bleeding after undergoing the procedure on the 14 July. The operation severed a vein and her family were still unable to stem the haemorrhaging two days later. The was taken to Dhusmareb hospital where she bled to death, activist Hawa Aden Mohamed of the Galkayo Education Centre for Peace and Development told The Independent. The Galmudug state minister for womens affairs visited the family in hospital to offer condolences and explain the risk of death in FGM operations. The woman who performed the operation has reportedly not been arrested, with no law currently in place that would ensure she would be punished for the act. Sadly the case may just end at that a mere statistic, Ms Mohamed added. This is just one among many cases happening on a daily basis across Somalia. But it marks the most high profile FGM death confirmed in Somalia, where 98 per cent of women and girls are cut, the highest percentage anywhere in the world. Activists hope the publicity surrounding Deeqa's death may help debunk myths in Somalia that FGM is safe and bring attention to their commitment to a zero-tolerance policy to FGM. Nikolai Botev, Somalia representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) decried the suffering that continues to hound girls and women subjected to FGM, saying: We are extremely saddened by the death of Deeqa Dahir Nuur. FGM is also a factor in the very high maternal mortality that Somalia continues to experience. It is thus not just a human rights issue but also a human lives issue. Hence our commitment to zero tolerance of FGM. It comes as the first national gathering on FGM opened in the Somali capital Mogadishu, attended by Somali leaders and influencers reflecting the success and challenges to end the procedure. Somali Deputy Minister of Health Mohamed Said Abdilah was reported to have said: It is a huge health issue because of maternal mortality, child mortality... FGM is a huge priority for us. FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Show all 12 1 /12 FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl cries after being circumcised REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM The traditional practice of circumcision within the Pokot tribe is a rite of passage that marks the transition to womanhood and is a requirement for all girls before they marry Reuters FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM Pokot girls are encouraged to leave their hut and make their way to a place where they will take off their clothes and wash during their circumcision ceremony REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl, covered in animal skins, walks to a place where she will rest after being circumcised in a tribal ritual in a village about 80 kilometres from the town of Marigat in Baringo County REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM Pokot girls, draped in animal skins, sit on rocks during their circumcision ceremony REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot woman performs a circumcision on a girl REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot woman holds a razor blade after performing a circumcision on four girls REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl bleeds onto a rock after being circumcised REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl is smeared with a white paint after being circumcised REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM More than a quarter of girls and women in Kenya have undergone genital cutting, according to United Nations data REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl, covered in animal skins, walks to a place where she will rest after being circumcised Reuters FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM Pokot girls covered with animal skins squat on rocks after being stripped naked and washed during their circumcision rite in a village about 80 kilometres from the town of Marigat in Baringo County REUTERS Deputy Minister for Defence Abdulahi Olad meanwhile said: We need to start an official campaign to end FGM. Majority opinion so far seems that FGM is not a healthy choice causing all types of damage to Somali women and girls. Brendan Wynne, of international women's organisation Donor Direct Action, which runs a fund for front line FGM groups, said: "FGM is usually so hidden and takes places in secret. Groups working on it know that girls are dying from it but it is rare for cases to be confirmed as families and often doctors give other reasons for the deaths. I can't remember the last case in Somalia that reached international media. Pro-FGM lobbyists sometimes put forward the nonsensical view that it is not harmful, which is completely untrue. It often has lifelong medical and psychological consequences - and as we have seen, can cause girls to die. We have no more time for any debate on the harms of FGM and this case, like many others, proves that. FGM in Somalia is constitutionally illegal, but pressure from conservative and religious groups prevents lawmakers from passing legislation to punish offenders. Globally, the most severe form of FGM is thought to affect some 130 million women and girls, most of whom are cut by untrained midwives or healers using tools ranging from knives and razors to broken glass and sharpened sticks. A US man fired from a home improvements shop after being verbally attacked by a customer has now been offered his job back, over a week after the incident took place. Maurice Rucker, a 60-year-old black man, claimed the customer launched a racist rant towards him after he asked him to put his dog on a lead in compliance with the New York state store's policy. Home Depot fired Mr Rucker five days after the incident last week, but have now backtracked on this decision since the US media covered the story. According to Mr Rucker's retelling of the incident to news channel WYNT, the customer said: "'If [Donald] Trump wasn't president, you wouldn't even have a job.'" "You're from the ghetto, what do you know?" Mr Rucker, who did not respond to a request for comment, said the man continued with the rant until Mr Rucker decided he had enough. Maurice Rucker (Image posted on Facebook by Maurice Rucker) "You're lucky I'm at work, because if I wasn't you wouldn't be talking to me like this," Mr Rucker said he told the customer, according to newspaper TimesUnion. "I'm a black man, and I have dealt with all levels of racism all my life," Mr Rucker said. "I am not going to accept racist behaviour at work, home, the streets or anyplace else." "Firing a black man for defending himself seems unfair," Mr Rucker told Mr Churchill, adding that he had been with the company for 10 years and was named "cashier of the month" in July. After Mr Rucker's firing, Home Depot spokesman Stephen Holmes told WNYT that the "problem" was that Mr Rucker had not asked a manager to handle the situation. "We're appalled by this customer's behaviour, but we also must require associates to follow proper protocol to defuse a situation for the sake of their safety and the safety of other associates and customers," Holmes said. By Friday, the company had changed its tune, telling The Washington Post that it had "taken another look at this" and was offering Mr Rucker his job back. "Our concern was that he didn't disengage and alert management about a customer confrontation," spokesman Matthew Harrigan told The Post in an email. Mr Harrigan would not to say if Home Depot planned to provide Mr Rucker backpay. The Washington Post After being separated from his parents five months on the US-Mexico border, a 15-month-old boy did not immediately recognise his parents when reunited in Honduras. Johan Bueso Montecitos had been separated from father Rolando Bueso Castillo in Texas this past March as part of the Trump administration's zero tolerance immigration policy which put undocumented immigrants in detention facilities away from their children, though many had crossed the border seeking asylum. The baby had been placed in a facility in Arizona and remained there after Mr Castillo was deported back to his native Honduras. Johan became the embodiment of the Trump administrations policy of separating immigrant children from their parents when the Associated Press detailed his appearance alone in a courtroom for deportation proceedings per US law. Johan was laughing in a just a little while as his parents held him, kissed him, and waited for the final paperwork to be finished at the Casa Belen shelter in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. His mother, Adelicia Montecino, expressed joy at having her son back but also anger for having been separated from him for so long. She regretted missing her son's first steps, his first words, and his first birthday all because of the US' immigration policy which essentially made seeking asylum a crime. Though family's had been detained under the previous administration of Barack Obama, people were released to await asylum court hearings. Theresa May condemns Trump's family separation policy and says she will challenge him on UK visit The separating of families was a new policy undertaken by the Trump administration's Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and despite statements from the White House, Department of Homeland Security chief Kirstjen Nielsen, and Attorney general Jeff Sessions - this is not codified by law. It was a policy that could have been rescinded unilaterally by Donald Trump at any time. Johan's emotional return to his mother and father is just one of many, but the Trump administration is still tracking down guardians and their children after they were separated by ICE, failing to meet court deadlines set for children based on their age. Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Show all 14 1 /14 Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Immigrant children, many of whom are separated form their parents, are housed in Texas' tent city Reuters Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border A two-year-old Honduran asylum seeker cries as her mother is searched and detained near the US-Mexico border Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Undocumented migrants ride on the top of a freight train referred to as the beast, or La Bestia Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border A cage inside a US Customs and Border Protection detention facility in Texas Reuters Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border US Border Patrol Academy All new agents must complete a months-long training course at the New Mexico facility before assuming their posts at Border Patrol stations, mostly along the US-Mexico border Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border US-Mexico border fence A group of young men walk along the Mexican side of the US-Mexico border fence in a remote area of the Sonoran Desert Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border US-Mexico border fence in the US Man looks through US-Mexico border fence into the US in Tijuana, Mexico Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border US-Mexico border fence US Border Patrol agent Sal De Leon stands near a section of the US-Mexico border fence while stopping on patrol on in La Joya, Texas Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border US Border Patrol Academy US Border Patrol instructor yells at trainees after their initial arrival to the academy Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Memorial service in Guatemala Families attend a memorial service for two boys who were kidnapped and killed in San Juan Sacatepequez, Guatemala. Crime drives emigration from Guatemala to the United States, as families seek refuge from the danger Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Arrests on the border Undocumented immigrants comfort each other after being caught by Border Patrol agents near the US-Mexico border Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Detention holding facility A boy from Honduras watches a movie at a detention facility run by the US Border Patrol Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Mexican farm workers Mexican migrant workers harvest organic parsley at Grant Family Farms in Wellington, Colorado Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Mexican family in Arizona A Mexican immigrant family sits in the living room of their rented home in Tuscon, Arizona. The family that Arizona's new tough immigrant law had created a climate of fear in the immigrant community. Getty The chaos in reuniting families - parents and children being given different case numbers with no obvious system to match them and children being sent to facilities as far away as New York and Michigan - perhaps points to a policy that may have never intended on allowing the families to be together. As of 20 July, the administration said it only been able to connect 450 of the roughly 2,500 children separated at the US border. As NBC News reported: "Parents who are given final deportation orders must decide between leaving their children in the U.S. or agreeing to reunification and, consequently, deporting their children as well". The policy has been ended through an executive order Mr Trump signed on 20 June but 17 states and Washington DC are still suing the government for its actions. The order also did address the underlying problem - not allowing people to seek asylum in the US without being jailed. Per US law, seekers must enter the US before applying for asylum. Former Vice President Joe Biden had harsh words about the policy late last week, calling it the "one of the darkest moments in our history" and all-out assault on human dignity". Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin discussed the Syrian crisis and how to return refugees who had fled the war-torn country during their behind closed doors meeting earlier this week, secretary of state Mike Pompeo has said. Its important to the world that at the right time, through a voluntary mechanism, these refugees are able to return to their home country, Mr Pompeo said as he visited the United Nations, in New York. Asked about the proposed visit of Mr Putin to the US, he said: Im happy that the two leaders of two very important countries are continuing to meet. If that meeting takes place in Washington, I think its all to the good. Mr Trump has been criticised for the meeting in the Finnish capital Helsinki, because he spoke privately with his Russian counterpart for more than 90 minutes. Usually American presidents are accompanied by senior staff and note takers who keep a record of everything said, but Mr Trump was assisted only by an interpreter. Since then Russian officials have referred to agreements they say the two leaders reached, but there has been little explanation from the Trump camp about what transpired. Mr Pompeo said: We have our senior leaders meeting all across the world with people where we have deep disagreements with. It is incredibly valuable to the people of the United States of America that President Putin and President Trump continue to engage in dialogue to resolve the difficult issues that our countries face between each other. I think this makes enormous sense, and Im very hopeful that that meeting will take place this fall. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (ANDREW HARNIK/AFP/Getty Images) Mr Trump, meanwhile, took to Twitter late on Friday to complain about media coverage of Mondays meeting. I got severely criticised by the Fake News Media for being too nice to President Putin, he wrote. In the Old Days they would call it Diplomacy. If I was loud & vicious, I would have been criticized for being too tough. Donald Trump has been tougher on tearing immigrant children from their families than he has on Vladimir Putin, veteran senator Bernie Sanders has claimed. The former presidential candidate took aim at the US leader for failing to stand up to his Russian counterpart, whose country interfered with the 2016 election, according to American intelligence services. The Vermont senator also criticised the president for tearing children and their families apart as part of his zero tolerance border policy. We say to Trump, instead of showing us your strength by tearing children from their families, where was your strength in standing up to Putin and Russia for undermining American democracy, he told crowds at a large rally. "How courageous he is to tear children from their families, how cowardly he is to stand up to people who are trying to undermine not only American democracy but other aspects of our lives. He added: We have a president thats so tough when hes terrorising little children. When he was up against Vladimir Putin, he wasnt so tough. Mr Trump faced criticism from both sides of the political divide following a joint press conference with Vladimir Putin earlier this week. The American president appeared to side with Mr Putin's denial about Russian election meddling over his own intelligence community's assessment. Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Show all 14 1 /14 Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Immigrant children, many of whom are separated form their parents, are housed in Texas' tent city Reuters Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border A two-year-old Honduran asylum seeker cries as her mother is searched and detained near the US-Mexico border Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Undocumented migrants ride on the top of a freight train referred to as the beast, or La Bestia Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border A cage inside a US Customs and Border Protection detention facility in Texas Reuters Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border US Border Patrol Academy All new agents must complete a months-long training course at the New Mexico facility before assuming their posts at Border Patrol stations, mostly along the US-Mexico border Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border US-Mexico border fence A group of young men walk along the Mexican side of the US-Mexico border fence in a remote area of the Sonoran Desert Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border US-Mexico border fence in the US Man looks through US-Mexico border fence into the US in Tijuana, Mexico Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border US-Mexico border fence US Border Patrol agent Sal De Leon stands near a section of the US-Mexico border fence while stopping on patrol on in La Joya, Texas Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border US Border Patrol Academy US Border Patrol instructor yells at trainees after their initial arrival to the academy Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Memorial service in Guatemala Families attend a memorial service for two boys who were kidnapped and killed in San Juan Sacatepequez, Guatemala. Crime drives emigration from Guatemala to the United States, as families seek refuge from the danger Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Arrests on the border Undocumented immigrants comfort each other after being caught by Border Patrol agents near the US-Mexico border Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Detention holding facility A boy from Honduras watches a movie at a detention facility run by the US Border Patrol Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Mexican farm workers Mexican migrant workers harvest organic parsley at Grant Family Farms in Wellington, Colorado Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Mexican family in Arizona A Mexican immigrant family sits in the living room of their rented home in Tuscon, Arizona. The family that Arizona's new tough immigrant law had created a climate of fear in the immigrant community. Getty While discussing whether he thought Russia was behind hacks against the election, Mr Trump said: I dont see any reason why it would be. He later backtracked on the remarks, saying: I accept our intelligence community's conclusion that Russia's meddling in the 2016 election took place. But he added: Could be other people also. A lot of people out there. The separation of children from their parents because of Mr Trumps zero tolerance illegal immigration policy at the US-Mexico border has sparked a nationwide backlash. The policy means all cases of adult illegal entry are sent for criminal prosecution, while their children are sent to different care facilities across the US. Images emerged of youngsters in tent camps and holding facilities made up of cages. Even Mr Trumps wife Melania, said she hates to see children separated from their families. The National Rifle Association (NRA) is suing Seattle over a city law requiring gun owners to lock up their firearms. The lawsuit, brought by the NRA along with the Second Amendment Foundation and two city residents, was filed late last week in King County Superior Court in Washington state, which has a regulation prohibiting cities from issuing firearms regulations. Seattle simply cant break the law to adopt an ordinance as a political statement, Foundation founder Alan Gottlieb said in a statement. Recommended 3D printed guns seized by police during raid The legislation the lawsuit is opposing was passed earlier in July by a unanimous vote in the City Council. Proposed by Mayor Jenny Durkan, the law says a gun owner could be fined up to $500 380) if a firearm is not locked up and up to $1,000 (761) if a minor, at-risk person, or unauthorised user accesses the weapon. Gun owners can also face a fine of up to $10,000 if someone uses the weapon to injure someone or commit a crime. Ms Durkan said on Twitter that in addition to the city, the lawsuit names her and recently-chosen Police Chief Carmen Best personally as defendants. If they think we are intimidated, they are mistaken, Ms Durkan said, adding that she will continue to fight for our kids. Florida student Emma Gonzalez passionately calls for gun control at rally after school shooting Earlier this year she attended the National School Walkout protest on 14 March. Children walked out of schools to call for gun control reform in the wake of several school shootings. Ms Durkan said, holding a copy of the US Constitution: "I believe in the second amendment, but I've read this thing called the Constitution, and second amendment, meet the first amendment" about the right to free speech. Given the national debate on gun control reform in the wake of several mass shootings - Las Vegas in October 2017 and the spate of school shootings including Parkland, Florida and Santa Fe, Texas - the lawsuit was not unexpected by pro gun-control groups including the nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety and the law firm Orrick LLP, whose officials said previously they would represent Seattle at no charge. Frankly, this is no surprise, City Attorney Pete Holmes said in a statement. March for Our Lives in pictures Show all 13 1 /13 March for Our Lives in pictures March for Our Lives in pictures Demonstrators chant during the protest for gun legislation and school safety AP March for Our Lives in pictures Trevon Tre Bosley, 19, of Chicago, the brother of Terrell Bosley who was killed in 2006 in a case of mistaken identity, speaks during the rally AP March for Our Lives in pictures Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Delaney Tarr speaks at the rally AFP/Getty March for Our Lives in pictures Protestors line the streets in Washington Getty Images March for Our Lives in pictures People arrive for the March For Our Lives rally against gun violence in Washington, DC AFP/Getty March for Our Lives in pictures Protestors carrying placards in Washington AFP/Getty March for Our Lives in pictures Protestors hold up placards in Washington AFP/Getty March for Our Lives in pictures Schoolchildren wear targets ahead of the rally Getty March for Our Lives in pictures Attendees congregate in preparation for the march Getty March for Our Lives in pictures Students brought a host of innovative placards AFP/Getty March for Our Lives in pictures The movements main demand is the banning of assault rifles Getty March for Our Lives in pictures Since the Florida shooting, students have called for urgent gun reform AFP/Getty March for Our Lives in pictures In the wake of the Florida attack, President Donald Trump called for teachers to be armed AFP/Getty The Mayor and Council are trying to prevent children from accessing guns with this Safe Storage legislation. If the NRA and SAF want to be on record fighting responsible gun ownership, thats their choice, Mr Holmes said. Seattle residents Omar Abdul Alim and Michael Thyng are plaintiffs in the case and cite a fear of home invasions for keeping their firearms unlocked. This is not the first time the powerful and well-funded gun rights lobbying membership organisation has sued the city, home to headquarters of companies like Microsoft, Starbucks, and Amazon. In 2010, Seattle introduced a ban on firearms in city parks. The same groups sued the city and the law was ultimately ruled unconstitutional, violating citizens right to bear arms. Last year, however, the Washington state Supreme Court ruled in favour of Seattles tax on guns. The ordinance imposed a tax of $25 (19) per firearm and two or five cents per round of ammunition. It raised $93,000 (70, 779) in 2017. The nomination of Brett Kavanaugh Donald Trumps conservative, pro-life pick for the Supreme Court has set off a wave of activism among womens rights advocates seeking to protect abortion rights across the US. Groups like Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America have staged protests and phone drives in an attempt block Mr Kavanaughs nomination, warning of a return to the days before Roe v Wade the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalised abortion. More quietly, however, other womens groups have been laying the foundation to keep abortion accessible regardless of what happens on the Court. The Supreme Court may continue to close clinics across the country. Policies are changing all the time, said Hannah Rosenau, who works for a group providing abortion funds to low-income women. But we exist to support people in need, so well continue to support access the clinics wherever they may be, she added. Were here to continue that work, no matter what happens. Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Show all 35 1 /35 Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures London Women's rights demonstrators hold placards and shout slogans during the Time's Up rally at Richmond Terrace, opposite Downing Street in London. Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures London The Time's Up initiative was launched at the start of January 2018 as a response to the #MeToo movement and the Harvey Weinstein scandal. AFP/Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Berlin Women's March in Berlin. EPA Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures London The Time's Up Women's March marks the one year anniversary of the first Women's March in London and in 2018 it is inspired by the Time's Up movement against sexual abuse. Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Paris Women hold a banner reading "still feminist" with the Eiffel tower in background on the Trocadero esplanade in Paris. AFP/Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures London Protesters hold up placards at the Women's March in central London. Rex Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Paris A demonstator hold signs on the Trocadero esplanade in Paris during a women's march organised as part of global protests. AFP/Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures London Chanting Times Up in the cold rain - On the anniversary of the Women's March on London. Rex Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures New York Thousands of people gather holding protest signs on Central Park West. EPA Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures New York Demonstrators take part in the Women's March in Manhattan Reuters Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Chicago A woman holds a sign during the Second Annual Womens March in Chicago AFP/Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures New York People gather near Central Park before the beginning of the Women's March in New York Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Washington Supporters gather during the Women's March in Washington AFP/Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures New York The crowd lines up near Central Park Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Chicago Demostrators attend the Second Annual Womens March in Chicago AFP/Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures New York Thousands hold signs and rally while attending the Womens March in New York Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures New York People gather near Central Park before the beginning of the Women's March in New York Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Washington People participate in the second annual Women's March in Washington Reuters Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures New York People hold signs up during the women's march Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Philadelphia Oscar Janicki, 6, participates in the Second Annual Women's March in Philadelphia Reuters Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Philadelphia Crowds gather to participate in the Second Annual Women's March in Philadelphia Reuters Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Washington People participate in the second annual Women's March in Washington Reuters Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures New York Women pose as they attend the second annual National Womens March in New York City AFP/Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Washington People participate in the second annual Women's March in Washington Reuters Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures New York People gather prior to the second annual National Womens March in New York City AFP/Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures New York People take part in the Women's March in Manhattan Reuters Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures New York People gather the second annual National Womens March AFP/Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Washington People participate in the Second Annual Women's March in Washington Reuters Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Rome A woman holds a banner reading "Womwn united will never be defeated" during Rome Resists demonstration part of the Women's March in downtown. AFP/Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Rome Italian actress Asia Argento (3rdL) attends the Rome Resists demonstration part of the Women's March in downtown Rome. AFP/Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Rome The Women's March Rome, designed to show solidarity for the protection of civil and social rights, women's rights and the environment included Italian actress Asia Argento, one of the first women to accuse US film producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault. AFP/Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Zurich A US citizen holds a poster on the anniversary of the inauguration of President Trump apologising to the world on behalf of her country, in Zurich, Switzerland. A year after millions of people took to the streets across the US and countries around the world, women's marches are being held in lots of cities this weekend. EPA Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures New York People take part in the Women's March in Manhattan Reuters Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Rome A woman holds a banner reading "The rising of the women means rising of us all" during Rome Resists demonstration. AFP/Getty Images Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Rome A woman lifts her fist while holding a banner reading "Hear our voice" during Rome Resists demonstration. AFP/Getty If Mr Kavanaugh were confirmed by a Senate vote, he would solidify the Courts pro-life majority for the first time in decades. Experts say anti-abortion groups would rush to bring a case before the Court that could overturn Roe altogether in fact, many have been lining up such cases for years. Short of a complete overturn, the Court could simply refuse to shoot down restrictive state laws on who can obtain an abortion, and when. The effect, many experts say, would be akin to a reversal of Roe, without the fireworks. Its understandable why womens groups are concerned by this possibility: outlawing abortion has never stopped the practice before, just made it more dangerous. In the decades immediately before Roe was decided, experts say between one and two million women obtained secret, illegal abortions each year. Hundreds of these women attempted their own abortions, penetrating themselves with needles or coat hangers or swallowing toxic chemicals. In 1965, eight years before Roe was handed down, illegal abortion accounted for 17 per cent of all deaths attributed to pregnancy and childbirth, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Faced with this health crisis, clandestine organisations emerged to help women find safer if not always legal means of ending their pregnancies. The Clergy Consultation Service (CCS), a group of more than 1,4000 pro-choice religious leaders from across the country, quitely referred women to abortion providers they had researched and found to be safe. The Jane Collective, a service launched by then-19-year-old Heather Booth, also connected women with vetted, discreet abortion providers and eventually started providing the service themselves. Donald Trump reveals Supreme Court justice choice Brett Kavanaugh Today, 45 years since Roe was decided, the Jane Collective has been shut down, and CCS has become the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC) an organisation that provides abortion counselling, not the procedure itself. Faced with a flood of restrictive state laws in recent years, however, similar groups have sprung up around the country to help women obtain abortions who couldnt do so otherwise. Perhaps the most popular of these groups are abortion access funds, like the one Ms Rosenau helps run. There are more than 70 abortion access funds in the US today, which help women cover the cost of the procedure. Many also help with travel and lodging costs a growing necessity for many women, as state laws have left wide swathes of the country with no abortion clinics at all. Ms Rosenau's group, the Northwest Abortion Access Fund, is actually a merger of two, smaller funds from Seattle and Portland. The groups combined when they realised they were both fielding numerous travel requests from more restrictive, neighbouring states like Idaho and Alaska. This kind of interstate travel will undoubtedly become more common if Roe is overturned. At least 22 states would quickly move to outlaw abortion in that scenario, according to experts from the Centre for Reproductive Rights, leaving a womans right to choose largely dependent on her location. Ms Rosenau said her group was prepared to meet that challenge. We as abortion funds are really resilient, and we will continue to do the work that we have done to continue to get people the care that they need, she said. Women on the front line of America's abortion war Show all 3 1 /3 Women on the front line of America's abortion war Women on the front line of America's abortion war IA28-34-Abortion-2.jpg AP Women on the front line of America's abortion war IA34-Janis.jpg Women on the front line of America's abortion war IA28-34-abortion-3.jpg AP Thanks to post-Roe medical advancements, however, women today may not even need to travel to a clinic to obtain an abortion. A medication abortion, also known as the abortion pill, is a combination of two prescription drugs, taken six to 48 hours apart, that successfully ends a pregnancy more than 90 per cent of the time in the first trimester. According to multiple studies, the procedure is safer than childbirth. Much like abortion funds and clinical abortions, new grassroots groups have emerged to help women access the abortion pill. They obtain the pill usually from online retailers outside the US help administer it, and provide support before and after the procedure. These groups are usually smaller, less formal, and more secretive than abortion funds. This is by necessity, as many states still require a physician to be present for a legal medication abortion. But if states start outlawing abortion under an anti-choice Supreme Court, some experts say we can expect these clandestine abortion networks to grow. Susan Yanow, a long-time reproductive rights activist and founding executive director of the Abortion Access Project, compared these networks to the sanctuary cities that protect undocumented immigrants from ICE, or the states that pledged their commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement after the Trump administration pulled out. I think resistance to this regime is already springing up in many ways, and will continue to spring up, Ms Yanow said. Under an anti-choice Supreme Court, she added, I think people will get involved around sexual and reproductive health and rights in ways they havent before, because they felt they didnt have to be. Asked who these people might be, she said: Im waiting for the suburban woman who voted for Trump, whose daughter has an unwanted pregnancy and suddenly realises there are no resources. Abortion could be illegal in 20 states within 18 months says CNN legal analyst Not surprisingly, however, women who choose to administer their own abortions often face criminal charges. Thats where above-ground networks like the SIA Legal Team come into play. Jill Adams, the chief strategist for the SIA Legal Team, said her organisation is launching a legal helpline this autumn for women who have administered their own abortions. Women can call and leave a message, and will quickly get a response from a non-attorney advocate with advice. If the woman has been questioned by police, or fears she may be soon, helpline staff will activate their network of attorneys to secure a local defender. In anticipation of the helpline launch, the SIA team has doubled its staff, and is working overtime to bring local attorneys into their network. Just like the lawyers who flocked to support travellers stranded at airports thanks to Mr Trumps Muslim ban, Ms Adams said, lawyers are coming out of the woodwork to support this pro-choice effort. Perhaps the biggest boon to this kind of proactive organising thus far has been the internet a means of quickly and covertly connecting like-minded activists that their pre-Roe predecessors never had. Ella Dawson, a Brooklyn-based reproductive rights activist, realised the power of social media shortly after Mr Kennedy announced his resignation. In a moment of concern, Ms Dawson sent a tweet suggesting that New York women provide housing for abortion seekers from more conservative states if Roe was overturned. She was floored by the response. I saw a lot of people who had the same feeling I did: I will not go down without a fight, and I will be the one to protect women and people of any gender who need abortion care, she said. If Roe were to be overturned, I think the internet and social media will give this completely unprecedented wave of support to folks who are impacted, she added. This may well be the reality: a new coalition of activists, lawyers, and clandestine abortion providers, unified by the internet, rising up in the face of an anti-choice Supreme Court. If Roe is overturned, however they can expect some support from their forbearers, too. Molly Katz, the communications director at RCRC, said she speaks frequently with members of the original Clergy Consultation services, who connected women with abortion providers before Roe was even considered a possibility. Many of them have said, If we need to do it again, we would do it again, she said. Their commitment to it and their belief in it is just as strong as it ever was. The retirement of US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy could have dramatic repercussions for US law particularly in relation to abortion. Despite his reputation as a conservative, Mr Kennedy, 81, was long seen as pro-choice and famously sided with his liberal counterparts in Planned Parenthood v Casey in 1992, a decision that reaffirmed the courts view that access to abortion was a fundamental right protected by the constitution - first established by Roe v Wade in 1973. Donald Trump has since nominated his preferred candidate to succeed Mr Kennedy from a shortlist of 25 and chosen Brett Kavanaugh, a choice women's rights activists fear will see the ideology of the countrys highest court pulled closer to that of the Republican Party. In particular, pro-choice organisations are concerned that a conservative dominance of the Supreme Court would clear the path for the ultimate repeal of Roe v Wade, reversing the courts position and allowing conservative states to implement policies many regard as dangerously regressive. What is the case in question and how did it come to pass? Roe v Wade saw the Supreme Court rule seven-to-two on 22 January 1973 that the right to privacy given under the 14th Amendment extended to abortions, a verdict that found the criminalisation of abortion unconstitutional. Jane Roe was the legal pseudonym of plaintiff Norma McCorvey, a young woman who had sought an abortion in Texas after becoming pregnant for the third time aged 21. She had hoped to obtain a legal termination, only permitted by state law in cases of rape or incest at the time, so falsely reported that her pregnancy was the result of a sexual assault. Recommended Supreme Court strikes down law requiring notices about abortion She later admitted the lie when police failed to find evidence to support her claim and gave birth, the child later given up for adoption. Her circumstances were then brought to the attention of attorneys Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington, who sought to challenge Texas state law on the issue, filing a suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas in 1970. The pair squared off against Dallas district attorney Henry Wade, famed for having prosecuted Jack Ruby for the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963 when the latter was in police custody, charged with the assassination of President John F Kennedy. A three-judge District Court panel agreed unanimously with Ms Coffee and Ms Weddingtons contention but did not grant an injunction obliging the state to enforce the law. The issue gained additional traction in 1971 when Shirley Wheeler was charged with manslaughter in Florida after hospital staff reported her illegal abortion to the police, prompting an angry demonstration from the Boston Womens Abortion Coalition in a show of solidarity. After further trials arguing for the implementation of the District Courts ruling, the Roe case reached the Supreme Court on 13 December 1971, where Ms Coffee and Ms Weddington again faced Wade. The hearing opened with the worst joke in legal history courtesy of attorney Jay Floyd, addressing Chief Justice Warren E Burger: Mr Chief Justice and may it please the court. Its an old joke, but when a man argues against two beautiful ladies like this, they are going to have the last word. His attempt at levity was met with a deafening silence and a severe glare from Mr Berger. In the court's opinion, authored by Justice Harry Blackmun, the judges ultimately agreed with the plaintiffs' argument on the grounds that the 14th Amendment privileged personal liberty over state power, but did stress the need to balance regulatory concerns at state level with the best interests of womens health and protecting the potential of human life. The Roe v Wade ruling found that a woman had a right to an abortion until fetal viability, defined as the third trimester of pregnancy (29-40 weeks) when an infant was potentially able to live outside the mothers womb, albeit with artificial aid. In the subsequent Planned Parenthood v Casey ruling that Mr Kennedy played a part in, this definition was rejected when the Supreme Court acknowledged that viability could occur as early as 23 or 24 weeks thanks to more recent medical advances. Although Ms McCorvey was victorious, she later came to feel she had been used as a pawn by her attorneys seeking to make a name for themselves and changed her view on abortion entirely, becoming a Roman Catholic and supporting the pro-life movement. Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Show all 23 1 /23 Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists hold placards outside of the US Supreme Court ahead of an expected ruling on abortion clinic restrictions on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions An abortion rights activist holds placards outside of the US Supreme Court before the Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. The US Supreme Court on Monday struck down a Texas law placing a raft of restrictions on abortion clinics, handing a major victory to the "pro-choice" camp in the country's most important ruling on the divisive issue in a generation. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 27: Pro-life activists pray on the steps of the United States Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a 5-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down one of the nation's toughest restrictions on abortion, a Texas law that women's groups said would have forced more than three-quarters of the state's clinics to close. Pete Marovich/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 27: Texas abortion provider Amy Hagstrom-Miller looks on as Nancy Northup, President of The Center for Reproductive Rights speaks to the media outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a 5-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down one of the nation's toughest restrictions on abortion, a Texas law that women's groups said would have forced more than three-quarters of the state's clinics to close. Pete Marovich/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions An abortion rights activist holds placards outside of the US Supreme Court before the Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. The US Supreme Court on Monday struck down a Texas law placing a raft of restrictions on abortion clinics, handing a major victory to the "pro-choice" camp in the country's most important ruling on the divisive issue in a generation. Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Texas abortion provider Amy Hagstrom-Miller wipes a tear as she walks down the steps of the United States Supreme Court with Nancy Northup, President of The Center for Reproductive Rights on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a 5-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down one of the nation's toughest restrictions on abortion, a Texas law that women's groups said would have forced more than three-quarters of the state's clinics to close. Pete Marovich/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists cheer after the US Supreme Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics, outside of the Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists cheer after the US Supreme Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics, outside of the Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 27: Abortion rights activists Morgan Hopkins of Boston, left, and Alison Turkos of New York City, celebrate on the steps of the United States Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a 5-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down one of the nation's toughest restrictions on abortion, a Texas law that women's groups said would have forced more than three-quarters of the state's clinics to close. Pete Marovich/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists cheer after the US Supreme Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics, outside of the Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 27: Abortion rights activists Morgan Hopkins of Boston, left, and Alison Turkos of New York City, celebrate on the steps of the United States Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a 5-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down one of the nation's toughest restrictions on abortion, a Texas law that women's groups said would have forced more than three-quarters of the state's clinics to close. (Photo by Pete Marovich/Getty Images) Getty Images Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activist Morgan Hopkins of Boston, celebrates on the steps of the United States Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a 5-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down one of the nation's toughest restrictions on abortion, a Texas law that women's groups said would have forced more than three-quarters of the state's clinics to close. Pete Marovich/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists embrace after the US Supreme Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics, outside of the Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. AFP/Getty Images Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists hold placards outside of the US Supreme Court ahead of a ruling on abortion clinic restrictions on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists cheer after the US Supreme Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics, outside of the Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. AFP/Getty Images Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists cheer after the US Supreme Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics, outside of the Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. / AFP / MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists cheer after the US Supreme Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics, outside of the Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. / AFP / MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists embrace after the US Supreme Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics, outside of the Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. AFP/Getty Images Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Pro-choice activist, Alissa Manzoeillo, of Washington, D.C. waits for rulings in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. A ruling is expected in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, a Texas case the places restrictions on abortion clinics, as well as rulings in the former Virginia Governor's corruption case and a gun rights case. Pete Marovich/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists cheer after the US Supreme Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics, outside of the Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists hold placards outside of the US Supreme Court ahead of an expected ruling on abortion clinic restrictions on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. AFP/Getty Images Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists hold placards outside of the US Supreme Court ahead of an expected ruling on abortion clinic restrictions on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. AFP/Getty Images The Roe v Wade ruling not only guaranteed the rights of women to obtain an abortion, it also opened the debate at a national level about the individuals right to choose, dividing the country into pro-choice and pro-life factions. The debate still rages today. In June 2016, the Supreme Court again struck a blow for pro-choice activists by ruling that a new raft of restrictions on clinics by Texas legislators was unconstitutional, a decision met with jubilation by grassroots activists demonstrating outside at the courthouse steps in Washington, DC. And as recently as this July, the Supreme Court blocked a California law requiring clinics that counsel women against abortion to notify clients of the availability of abortions paid for by the state, finding that it violated the free speech rights of these Christian facilities. Africa is booming. I feel it every time I land in Nairobi, Accra and Lagos. Hotels are filled to the brim and the energy on the streets and boardrooms is tangible. The rest of the world is at long last starting to take note. But the true potential of millions of Africans is still being stunted by the lack of access to reliable and affordable energy. More than 640 million people, two-thirds of the continents population, do not have access to electricity. The African Development Bank estimates that Africas power outages sap up to four per cent of its GDP growth from its economy every year. This is crippling the continents economies and destabilising societies. Energy poverty has become a matter of national security. Europe must step up efforts to help Africa eradicate energy poverty before it irreversibly affects the ability of nations to fight poverty and save lives. Recommended How Kenya is harnessing geothermal energy to power its growing economy On average, global cities are growing by around two per cent a year. African cities are growing much faster at approx eight per cent as more of the continents population move to cities. Despite the challenges it creates, rapid urbanisation does not need to impede Africas progress. It can often translate into improved living standards and development levels. But in order for this to happen, Africas poor must have access to economic opportunity and stability something that the continents leaders can deliver only if they ensure access to reliable energy supplies. As African countries attempt to eradicate extreme poverty, including energy poverty, demand for affordable energy will be critical. The provision of energy and the infrastructure used to transport supplies is key to African national security and stability. Access to clean and fairly priced energy will improve lives in Africa. People will be able to work longer, women will be able to walk home at night under the safety of working streetlights and hospitals will be able to provide better care to patients. On the other side of the development spectrum, affordable and reliable energy supply will be crucial to emerging tech hubs such as Nairobi and Kigali. Without it, leaders will not be able to support the aspirations of young, talented Africans. Some African governments Kenya in particular have embraced policies aimed at bolstering future energy security. Looking ahead, Africas leaders must implement ambitious programmes that tap in to energy infrastructure investments, both foreign and domestic. They should do more to increase energy supply and access to electricity. There is an African proverb that says: If you want to go fast, you go alone; if you want to go far, you go together. In this spirit, Europe and the United States must also do their bit to fuel African growth. Above all, we can help the continent plug gaps in the energy infrastructure network. How do you learn about electricity... if there's no power? Show all 2 1 /2 How do you learn about electricity... if there's no power? How do you learn about electricity... if there's no power? Electricity.jpg How do you learn about electricity... if there's no power? Pg-36-electricity-rex.jpg Rex Features Africas highly centralised energy systems often bypass the poor. With no access to clean energy sources, over half of Africas population relies on biomass, such as firewood and charcoal. This is economically inefficient and harmful to the environment. Therefore, part of the answer lies in Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), a clean and efficient energy source and the most universal fuel source used for cooking and heating as well as power generation and transport. Its unique properties make it a practical energy source which can be used in more than 1,000 different applications. At present, Africas LPG market is still patchy and underdeveloped. But as the continent continues to experience robust growth, it will be imperative to make LPG easier to access and safer to use. African countries still rely heavily on external military and peacekeeping support, mostly because they are unable to respond to security threats on their own. The continent is currently host to the largest number of peacekeeping missions, including eight United Nations operations. The US alone has around 6,000 servicemen and women stationed in 50 African countries. These are important missions and must be maintained in order to counter asymmetric and complex threats, including cross-border disputes. But development aid, military infrastructure and assistance with pushing through crucial reforms will be in vain unless the West helps its African partners eradicate energy poverty. Providing affordable and reliable energy to citizens across the continent is a prerequisite for ensuring stability and security in Africa. Alexander Schaltuper is managing partner at Stonewin, a global fuel supplier What will be Britains standing in the world compared to other nation states after Brexit? Sane analysis has been overwhelmed by vituperative debate as we get closer to the day of the great rupture. Boris Johnson claimed in his resignation speech that after a full-throttle Brexit, Britain will be in a good position to become one of the great independent actors on the world stage. He feared only a failure in the necessary will-power and self-confidence to believe in this country and what it can do. But what can this country really do? How far will greater independence outside the EU be real rather than nominal? Will strength of will in pursuit of self-determination make much difference when we will always be holding a weaker hand of cards than our neighbours? This imbalance of forces is highlighted every day in the Brexit negotiations, and there is no reason why this should change in our favour after we leave. Boris Johnson's resignation letter Show all 2 1 /2 Boris Johnson's resignation letter Boris Johnson's resignation letter Boris Johnson's resignation letter Supporters of Brexit discount such realpolitik, saying that they are inspired and seek to emulate a past in which Britain as a fully independent state won victories against the odds. Critics often deride this approach as self-indulgent nostalgia, but there are real lessons to be learned from past British experience. The problem is that Brexiteers, when they take a serious view of British history that is not coloured by Shakespeares plays or Errol Flynn movies, have never shown much understanding of the roots of Britains successes. The British only stood alone during the centuries when they had miscalculated the political wind direction, or had been left with absolutely no alternative. At the heart of British strategy was the drive to join or create alliances with other countries powerful enough to overcome any enemy. It was this formula that put Britain on the winning side in the Napoleonic Wars, the First World War and the Second: the three great conflicts that shaped the contemporary world. Against Napoleon, it was the combination of Britain with Russia, Prussia and the Habsburg Empire that produced the victory for which the British traditionally claimed exaggerated credit. In the 1914-18 war, the British priority was to bring about US intervention, and the same was true in 1939-45. Britain only stood heroically alone during a relatively short period between the fall of France in 1940 and Hitlers invasion of the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941, followed later in the year by his declaration of war on the US after Pearl Harbour. Churchills record as a military leader was dubious in both wars remember Gallipoli and Norway. His greater and more valuable skill was to foster and maintain a grand alliance against Germany which was bound to win in the end. The centrality of these alliances tends to be masked by unwavering focus on Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain and the triumphs of the British codebreakers. Brexit casualties Show all 10 1 /10 Brexit casualties Brexit casualties Andrea Jenkyns - Resigned from Parliamentary Private Secretary at the ministry for housing, communities and local government role May 2018 - The Morley and Outwood MP said: We want to see a new relationship with Europe, with a new model not enjoyed by other countries nothing that leaves us half-in, half-out. And in order to achieve this, we need to leave the customs union. Ms Jenkyns also said she wished to dedicate more of her time to Parliaments influential Exiting the European Union select committee, after a series of unbalanced reports produced by MPs PA Brexit casualties David Davis - Resigned from Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union role July 2018 - quit following a major row with May over her plans for post-Brexit relations with the EU. Davis resignation letter said: As you know there have been a significant number of occasions in the last year or so on which I have disagreed with the Number 10 policy line, ranging from accepting the [European] Commissions sequencing of negotiations, through to the language on Northern Ireland in the December Joint Report. At each stage I have accepted collective responsibility because it is part of my task to find workable compromises, and because I considered it was still possible to deliver on the mandate of the referendum, and on our manifesto commitment to leave the Customs Union and the Single Market. I am afraid that I think the current trend of policy and tactics is making that look less and less likely. He went on to argue that the general direction of Ms Mays policies would leave the UK in at best a weak negotiating position, and possibly an inescapable one. AFP/Getty Brexit casualties Steve Baker - Resigned from Minister at the Department for Exiting the European Union role July 2018 - Mr Baker, a key Tory figure in the Leave campaign, was David Daviss main lieutenant at Dexeu, and was hailed as courageous and principled by other Brexiteer Tories as he also left. Reuters Brexit casualties Boris Johnson - Resigned from Foreign Secretary role July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. In his resignation letter to the prime minister, Mr Johnson said: "On Friday, I acknowledged that my side of the argument were too few to prevail and congratulated you on at least reaching a Cabinet decision on the way forward. "As I said then, the government now has a song to sing. "The trouble is that I have practised the words over the weekend and find that they stick in the throat." Reuters Brexit casualties Conor Burns - Resigned from Parliamentary Private Secretary to Foreign Secretary role July 2018 - A Brexit supporter who worked alongside Boris Johnson stated in his resignation letter: I've decided it's time to have greater freedom. I want to see the referendum result respected. And there are other areas of policy I want to speak more openly on. Rex Brexit casualties Chris Green - Resigned from Department for Transport role July 2018 - The Bolton West MP said: "Parliament overwhelmingly decided to give the decision of whether to leave or remain in the European Union to the British people and they made an unambiguous decision that we ought to leave. "I have always understood the idea in 'Brexit means Brexit' is that the final deal should be clear to me and my constituents - that we have, in no uncertain terms, left the European Union. Twitter Ads info and privacy "The direction the negotiations had been taking have suggested that we would not really leave the EU and the conclusion and statements following the Chequers summit confirmed my fears. "I recognise that delivering Brexit is challenging, however I had hoped at tonight's meeting that there would be some certainty that my fears were unfounded but, instead, they have been confirmed. "I have been grateful for the opportunity to serve as Parliamentary Private Secretary and it is with regret that I offer my resignation with immediate effect." PA Brexit casualties Maria Caulfield - Resigned from Conservative Party vice-chair for women role July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. Lewes MP warned that the direction of travel did not fully embrace the opportunities that Brexit can provide. Ms Caulfield said in her letter to the PM: The policy may assuage vested interests, but the voters will find out and their representatives will be found out. This policy will be bad for our country and bad for the party. The direct consequences of that will be prime minister Corbyn. PA Brexit casualties Ben Bradley - Resigned from Conservative Party vice-chair for young people role July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. The Mansfield MP said: I admit that I voted to Remain in that ballot. What has swayed me over the last two years to fully back the Brexit vision is the immense opportunities that are available from global trade, and for the ability for Britain to be an outward looking nation in control of our own destiny once again. I fear that this agreement at Chequers damages those opportunities; that being tied to EU regulations, and the EU tying our hands when seeking to make new trade agreements, will be the worst of all worlds if we do not deliver Brexit in spirit as well as in name, then we are handing Jeremy Corbyn the keys to No10. PA Brexit casualties Robert Courts - Resigned from Parliamentary Private Secretary role July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. MP Mr Courts said: I have taken a very difficult decision to resign my position as [parliamentary private secretary] to express discontent with the Chequers [plans] in votes tomorrow. I had to think who I wanted to see in the mirror for the rest of my life. I cannot tell the people of Woxon that I support the proposals in their current form. Getty Brexit casualties Scott Mann - Resigned from Parliamentary Private Secretary role July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. "I fear elements of the Brexit white paper will inevitably put me in direct conflict with the views expressed by a large section of my constituents. I am not prepared to compromise their wishes to deliver a watered-down Brexit. "The residents of North Cornwall made it very clear that they wish to have control over our fishery, our agricultural policy, our money, our laws and our borders. I will evaluate those principles against the Brexit white paper and ensure that I vote in line with their wishes." Rex British pre-eminence was based on defence by the Royal Navy, which prevented invasion, and the patient construction of a war-winning coalition. The last time Britain fought a major conflict without such an alliance was the American war of independence, which concluded with disappointing results for our side. Exaggerated presumptions of national superiority are scarcely a monopoly of the Brexiteers, or even of the British, but the referendum has made them peculiarly destructive. What is interpreted as unfair bullying by the EU, or unnecessary timidity on the part of Theresa May, is simply a reflection of our inferior and their superior strength. Johnson suggested that Britain might do well to emulate Trumps negotiating style of laying down the law and threatening to walk away. But he crucially missed the point that such bravado is the perquisite of the strong, and weak countries do not dare to bluff because that bluff is likely to be called. It would be a caricature of the Brexiteers mentality to imagine that they believe that what worked well at Crecy, Blenheim and El Alamein has much to do with what goes on at present. But this mythology does create a national mood that makes it difficult for the English the same is no longer true of Britain as a whole to carry out any great political enterprise. Brexit is only the latest in a series of British ventures this millennium in which political class has miscalculated what we could accomplish. The process was already evident when Britain was engaged in wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, and failed to achieve its ends in all three of them. There is nothing secret about what happened. The Chilcot Report, for instance, lucidly explained in great detail how the British government did not know what it was getting into in Iraq and ended up, after all its efforts, signing a humiliating truce agreement with a local Shia militia in Basra. Britain was repeatedly caught by surprise by events, tumbling out of Iraq into even bloodier skirmishing in Helmand province in Afghanistan. In Libya, it should have been perfectly obvious that if Gaddafi fell, there was nobody but predatory militias to replace him, and much the same was true in opposing Bashar al-Assad in Syria. At some point, the British political, diplomatic and military establishment seems to have lost its touch or capacity to learn from experience. The difficulty people have in picturing life after Brexit is that what are essentially political issues are framed in economic terms, so anxiety and hope are directed far too much towards the future economic consequences of Brexit. This diverts attention from the fact that the political disaster is already with us and visible for all to see. Britain has been generally more united than its rivals and opponents over the last three centuries, but Brexit has provoked a degree of disunity not seen since the 17th century. It is absurd for the Brexiteers to keep saying that the nation decided to leave the EU in the referendum, and act as if this were so, because nothing is clearer than that the nation is split down the middle. And the very definition of that nation is it the United Kingdom or England? is in doubt, since Scotland voted to remain, as did a majority in Northern Ireland. The Brexiteers scarcely seem to notice that they have reopened the Ulster Question, which bedevilled British politics from Gladstones efforts to pass a Home Rule Bill in the 1880s to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. In the eyes of the rest of the world, a country that once seemed to possess the secret of stability has become permanently self-absorbed in its own divisions. Johnsons puerile bombast and jingoism has its uses because it neatly sums up what is not likely to happen: A great Brexit he claimed will unite this party, unite this House and unite this nation. But nothing is less likely to happen. Brexit is exacerbating all other grievances and divisions. These will be worse after Brexit than before. Britain is already weaker than at any time since the end of the Stuart monarchy. Kids! Worried about how prime minister Jacob Rees-Mogg is flushing your future down the toilet simply so he can be even more pleased with himself? Concerned about cliff-edge exams that stake every bit of work youve done throughout your entire school career on the outcome of a three-hour paper? Looking at a future in the gig economy without any employment rights, sick pay, holiday pay or pension as an alternative to racking up 50,000 worth of debt through spending three years at university and giving yourself no chance of ever enjoying the privilege of home ownership like your parents? Fear not! Mr Rees-Moggs ministers sorry Theresa Mays ministers because shes still officially the prime minister in name have the answer: theyre planning to give you mental resilience training! Yes, mental health education is to be made compulsory in schools as part of relationship and sex education classes, at least from 2020, when the delayed plan will finally be rolled out. As if schools didnt have enough to deal with in providing the nations children with an education while coping with stressed budgets, a blizzard of Whitehall directives and teachers leaving the profession in their droves. Look, its not that I think its a bad idea in and of itself. It is very welcome that poor mental health is finally being recognised as a problem that needs addressing, although the government has spent a lot longer talking about it than it has taking action (plus ca change). Try accessing NHS mental health services if you dont believe me. The move follows a national call for evidence into which teachers, parents and most importantly, pupils, had input. So, there is clearly a demand there and it has received a guarded welcome. What concerns me with this is that it does look a bit like schools are being called upon to paper over the cracks in society again. Those cracks are contributing a great deal to the stress that kids and their teachers are under, along with the governments permanent Maoist revolution that schools have been made subject to for as long anyone can remember. One of the vanishingly rare consolations of the current Brexit lunacy is that Tory ministers have become so paralysed by their partys bitter divisions that theres been a bit less opportunity for them and their officials to make trouble. Schools fuel mental health crisis by isolating children in harsh 'consequences booths', ministers warned After nearly a decade of austerity, ministers have got into the habit of blandly reading out press releases that say everythings super in response to all evidence to the contrary. In reality, there are fewer police officers around to respond to calls about domestic violence. There arent enough social workers to provide assistance to families under pressure. Universal credit has led to an explosion of real hardship among the disadvantaged and The Trussell Trust, which campaigns against hunger in Britain, has traced a sharp rise in the use of food banks in areas where it has been rolled out. All these have a negative impact on childrens lives. Chuck in the cyber revolution and it really shouldnt come as any surprise that they have mental health problems. Talking about the issues they face while at school and helping them deal with their problems, is a good idea. And its a welcome development. But these new RSE guidances do have the whiff of an attempt to provide a band aid to patch up a bullet wound and of ministers once again trying to dump the fallout theyve generated on someone elses doorstep. Earlier this week, there was a welcome intervention from head of Ofsted, Amanda Spielman. She warned that schools cannot provide a silver bullet to tackle childhood obesity and should also not be expected to solve societys wider problems. Indeed not. That should be the job of government, but it has consistently sought to duck its responsibilities. Perhaps her organisation should convene an inspection of ministers performances? The thought of them in special measures, which is surely what would happen, would raise a few smiles in classrooms and staff rooms up and down the country. And smiles can help to improve mental health. BASING green targets on CAP payments rather than a carbon tax is key to getting the balance between agriculture and the environment right, according to a new report. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture report on climate change and farming recommended that environmental measures are linked to CAP payments or financial incentives rather than imposing a carbon tax on farmers. Chair of the committee, Fine Gael's Pat Deering, told the Farming Independent that a "carrot and stick approach" to farming and the environment would be more successful rather than imposing a carbon tax, as recommended by the Citizens' Assembly in November last year. "We were conscious of the Citizens' Assembly vote but we felt there was not enough evidence gathered from the Citizens' Assembly to give a true picture of Irish agriculture. Teagasc made no submission, so there wasn't a full contribution from the agriculture sector," he said. "We favour a more carrot and stick approach than taxation. Taxing has never been successful. "Linking CAP payments to the environment is possibly the way forward. Taxing would be totally opposed across all parties." Strategy A key recommendation of the report stated that a communication strategy be developed which would highlight the efficiency of the Irish beef and dairy sectors to the general public. Fine Gael Senator Michelle Mulherin said this would give a "fairer picture" of the measures farmers are doing to reduce their impact and added that the Citizens' Assembly vote in favour of a carbon tax "was a crude instrument that didn't reflect the predicament that farmers are in". "Farmers feed the nation and in many ways Ireland is the food basket of Europe and we need food. Farmers are out there at the coal face dealing with the fall out of climate change every day," she said. Other recommendations in the report include undertaking an immediate impact assessment of the climate change targets in Food Wise 2025 and ensuring that no forestry scheme should focus on planting a single type of tree. The IFA welcomed the report, and its environment chair Thomas Cooney stressed that "it is now time for the Government to take action and implement the plan". ESB Networks has issued a public safety warning to the farming community about transporting high loads of hay and straw which may come in contact with overhead electricity wires. Coming in contact with overhead electricity wires is extremely dangerous and can be fatal. Electricity wires are erected at best international heights that permit the transit of loads safely. However serious problems arise when loads are too high and interfere with live overhead electricity wires. ESB Networks Public Safety Manager Arthur Byrne says at this busy time for farmers, hay and straw is being saved and transported on roads around the country. ESB Networks is concerned about a number of incidents where tractors pulling high loads of hay and straw, have come in contact with the overhead electricity network. "In one case, where a high load pulled down live electricity wires, both the tractor and load caught fire. Thankfully the driver escaped injury, but it serves as a timely warning to the farming community on these hazards. "When loading hay and straw onto a tractor or lorry, our advice is to always ensure that the load is low enough to allow for safe transit, and avoid putting the public at risk. "When planning the route with a high load, identify where electricity wires cross the road. Where there is doubt, establish if there is adequate clearance and, if necessary contact ESB Networks," he said. Kerrie Leonard (26), from Culmullen, Co Meath was accompanying her father on his tractor when she fell from the vehicle and was rolled over by the tractor wheel when she was six years old. It was the May Bank Holiday weekend so I wouldve been at home," she said. "I was a tomboy as a kid and always on the farm and like most kids Id always be sitting on my parents knee on the tractor. That weekend I was bouncing up and down on the tractor. There was no door on the cab. I fell and the wheel rolled on top of me. I remember being blind for 30 seconds following the fall and panicking about that but my sight came back in less than a minute. My arm pit was split open and I could see my shoulder socket. It was traumatic. I could walk for 24-hours after the injuries but my spinal cord started swelling and I became paralysed, she added. According to the Heath and Safety Authority in the last 10 years 23 children have been killed as a result of farm accidents. Kerrie finds this alarming and thinks that its about time a clear distinction is made between the farm yard and the home. You need to be vigilant and fix things that need to be repaired in time. Safety can lapse very easily because the workplace and the home are very much intertwined. A clear distinction needs to be made between the farm and the home. Its very difficult to do that but tools need to be put in place to make it as safe as possible, she said. Following her accident, Kerrie spent eight weeks in Our Ladys Hospital in Crumlin and had a further eight weeks of rehabilitation in Dun Laoghaire. Fast forward 20 years, Kerrie has a degree in equine science under her belt from Maynooth University, holds Irelands student archery record and is hoping to compete in the 2020 Japan Paralympics. The Meath woman cites her parents, organic suckler farmers, Edward and Jacqueline as the reason behind her ability to keep going. When you live on a farm its a blessing in disguise because if you focus on the negatives like a dead animal or something, things can fall by the weigh side. It was a crisis but like any other crisis on a farm you cant down tools as its your livelihood. Even on the hardest of days you have to keep going, she added. While Kerrie couldve been forgiven for not wanting anything to do with farming after her injuries, she became more involved than ever with her hand-writing featuring in the farms herd books from the age of 11. She balances her full-time job in Dell in Limerick with her passion for horses which she now breeds on the family farm and is currently completing the Green Cert agricultural course. In August, the Meath woman completed a sky dive to mark the 20 anniversary of her accident. I did it because I dont want to be known as the girl in the wheelchair who cant do things. I say yes to everything and in a way am very much appreciative of my disability as it has given me the chance to compete internationally. Farm Safety Week took place nationwide this week aiming to reduce the number of accidents on farms and bring about a change in culture that makes unsafe practices socially unacceptable. The initiative is supported by a number of organisations, including the Irish Farmers Association, Health and Safety Authority (HSA) and members of the Farm Safety Partnership Advisory Committee. Farming continues to have one of the poorest safety records of any sector in Ireland, last year 24 people lost their lives in farm accidents and 11 people have lost their lives so far in 2018. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange The founders of listed housebuilder Cairn Homes have been awarded shares in the business worth just under 48m at current prices. It is the second major payout under a package that was part of the firms 2015 stock market flotation. The company said yesterday that 27.1m founder shares held by three directors will convert to ordinary shares on August 16, after the business met targets set out at the time of the flotation. Early stage Cairn backer Alan McIntosh is the biggest beneficiary. He will get half of the new shares with the rest shared between brothers Michael Stanley, Cairns chief executive, and Kevin Stanley, its chief commercial officer. Last year the three founders converted just over 60m of founder shares into ordinary tradeable shares under the same scheme. It means 80pc of the founders shares have now been exercised, three years into a seven-year window. The conversion of founder shares to ordinary shares is subject to the value of the company increasing by 12.5pc a year. None of the new shares can be sold for at least a year, and half of the newly-issued stock must be held for two years. The share awards will slightly dilute existing shareholders. Cairn shares were up by just under half a percent at 1.7380 a share. The Iseq index of Irish shares was weaker yesterday, though it recovered some early losses to close at 6,935.73. CRH Plc contributed the most to the decline, falling 2.4pc at one stage and closing down 1.4pc. Movers also included Ryanair, down 1.9pc, and AIB Group, down 2pc. Providence Resources reversed an early decline to close up 17pc on the day on hopes its off shore Irish oil prospects could come good, after the company said new 3D seismic data for its southern Porcupine Basin site showed the exciting exploration potential of the offshore block. Elsewhere, European shares fell yesterday as earnings updates disappointed, with car-mnakers bearing the brunt of trade tensions that caused a sell-off in the Chinese yuan overnight. The Central Bank is seeking to examine issues related to evidence in the trial of former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive David Drumm for conspiracy to defraud and false accounting. Lawyers for the bank have made an application to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for a transcript from the lengthy trial, which ended in Drumm being convicted and sentenced to six years in prison. The specific issue the bank is seeking to examine is unclear, but it is understood the application to trial judge Karen O'Connor is not a routine one. The application was brought to the judge's attention yesterday and adjourned until next week. The Central Bank had been maintaining a watching brief throughout the 87-day trial. The bank investigates and sanctions breaches of financial services law by regulated firms and individuals. It also operates a fitness and probity regime which requires individuals in designated positions within regulated firms to be competent and capable, honest, ethical and of integrity, and financially sound. Last month a jury found Drumm (51) guilty of a massive "con" on the markets. This involved a series of interbank deposits which circulated between Anglo and Irish Life & Permanent (ILP) which gave the impression Anglo's deposits were 7.2bn larger than they really were in September 2008 as the financial crisis was escalating. Judge O'Connor described Drumm's actions as "grossly reprehensible". The conspiracy also involved former Anglo executives Willie McAteer and John Bowe, as well as ILP's then chief executive Denis Casey, who were all jailed following an earlier trial. Commerzbank has cut its exposure to Aryzta, the Swiss-Irish Cuisine de France owner that has issued two profit warnings this year, according to people familiar with the matter. The German lender sold 40m of debt owed by the firm at about 93 cents on the euro, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deal is private. Commerzbank sold the block of Schuldschein - a form of promissory note popular in German-speaking countries - to a single investment fund last week, they said. Spokesmen at Commerzbank and Aryzta declined to comment on the sale. The company must show its creditors its debt levels are under four times earnings by the end of this month in order to comply with the terms of its loans, according to a report by brokerage Vontobel. It company disclosed earlier this year that the ratio stood at 4.21 times at the end of January, within a requirement set then at 4.75 times. The Aryzta management - led by former DAA boss Kevin Toland - has said it plans to shave 450m from its leverage by the end of this fiscal year through a series of asset sales. The rising cost of key ingredients in the company's products has pressured margins and the firm warned in January that annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation would be 15pc less than a year earlier. In May, it reduced guidance again by as much as 12pc and embarked on a senior management reshuffle. Aryzta's shares have dropped almost two-thirds since the beginning of the year. After a profit warning in May, Societe Generale analyst Warren Ackerman told Mr Toland that he was "struggling a little bit to see another reason for the double-digit downgrade". He added: "I'm still a bit surprised that you're still saying that you're underestimating the challenges in the group... all the factors that you're flagging today are the same factors as we've heard before." In response Mr Toland said that a number of issues were taking longer to resolve than the company had hoped and that industry conditions were "very challenging". (Bloomberg) Bohai Capital, the company behind aircraft lessor Avolon, had more than 1bn wiped off its stock market value in Chinese trading this week as shares resumed trading after a long suspension. The shares were down around a quarter in the week, while other units of debt-laden Chinese conglomerate HNA Group were also hit hard after lifting a months-long halt of shares. Flagship Hainan Airlines dropped by the 10pc daily limit to its lowest close in more than three years, and CCOOP Group also fell by 10pc to a four-year low yesterday in Shanghai and Shenzhen. The units of one of China's most indebted business groups had cited major restructurings for the suspensions, though analysts pointed out there may be other motives given that Chinese companies have a history of using trading halts to prevent their stocks from falling further. The resumption came as Hainan Airlines plans to raise as much as 7 billion yuan (882m) by selling shares to investors, including an arm of Singaporean state-investment company Temasek Holdings, as part of a restructuring. Fortunately for HNA, which pledged shares in all of its suspended units as collateral for borrowings, the risk of margin calls isn't high even if the stocks continue to fall. A margin call would mean the company had to provide additional security or pay back its loans. China's government recently restricted forced liquidations of pledged shares, according to people familiar with the matter. The government restrictions "will help fend off immediate margin calls on loans", said Zhang Gang, a strategist at Central China Securities Co. "But HNA's problems are complex. They're more than just margin calls." HNA has sold more than $17bn in assets to pay debt this year after a buying spree that resulted in the group becoming the largest shareholder of Deutsche Bank and Hilton Worldwide Holdings. Despite its success in selling out of Hilton and disposing of various real estate properties globally, borrowing costs for HNA are still high. For example, Bohai Capital last month agreed to pay pc interest - a record for the company - for a bond, according to Bloomberg data. HNA said the group will work closely with the publicly traded firms as part of HNA's overall strategy to streamline its asset portfolio and improve overall financial performance. Earlier this year Avolon, which grew after-tax profit 59pc to $550m last year, moved to insulate its bondholders against propping up Bohai. It added new covenants to existing senior unsecured bonds limiting loans it can make to Bohai Capital (Bloomberg) South Africas tax agency has filed a legal claim against local billionaire Christo Wiese and former executives at a law firm Tullow Oil has had a rough couple of weeks. It's had to shut down operations at an oilfield in Kenya which has been effectively blockaded by protesters, it's taken a very expensive loss in the court room, and now it finds itself in the headlines over an investigation into a South African billionaire. Shares in the company are down around 20pc since late May, though they are still above where they started the year as Tullow has managed to reduce a heavy debt burden and give itself a platform for future development. It's a future without Aidan Heavey - the long time chief executive, later chairman, who has just departed the company's board. His replacement as chief executive, Paul McDade, has kept a low profile since being appointed in April of last year. The company, which has no Irish oil assets and is listed in London, has been flying well under the radar too. Until the last few weeks, that is. South Africa's tax agency has filed a legal claim against local billionaire Christo Wiese and former executives at law firm ENSafrica for more than 217 million rand (14m) in unpaid taxes, court documents show. Expand Close South Africas tax agency has filed a legal claim against local billionaire Christo Wiese and former executives at a law firm / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp South Africas tax agency has filed a legal claim against local billionaire Christo Wiese and former executives at a law firm Tullow has been dragged into the claim. The papers filed in the Western Cape High Court is part of a wider 3.7 billion rand (235m) claim by the South African Revenue Service (SARS), according to a report in the 'Financial Mail' published on Thursday. ENSafrica created a tax structure to help Tullow shift assets valued at 3.9 billion (247m) rand out of the country, avoiding taxes in the process, the Johannesburg magazine said. SARS claimed ENSafrica restructured Tullow, leaving ENS in charge of a South African company that was a tax shell, and then sold this on to Mr Wiese and his Titan group, the magazine reported. Mr Wiese then allegedly moved assets out of the company and sold it to a former ENSafrica executive who told the tax agency there weren't any assets or cash to claim, it said. "Titan had nothing to do with the restructuring and gained no tax benefit," Mr Wiese said. "I will be taking legal advice on whatever is misleading. The restructure has nothing to do with me; this is a SARS and ENS matter." SARS can't comment on the affairs of taxpayers, it said. Tullow declined to comment. An entity related to ENSafrica bought one of the group companies involved in the Tullow restructure in 2007 and this was subsequently sold to Titan in the same year, ENSafrica said. ENSafrica and its affiliates have, "at all times, complied with all the requirements of the relevant tax laws", the firm said. Unwelcome for Tullow though the headlines will be, the more bitter pill to swallow is the loss of a court case against drilling rig provider Seadrill. Tullow purported to quit a contract with Seadrill when a border dispute between Ghana and Ivory Coast restricted drilling, but a court has now ruled this was invalid. The net result is a hit of around $200m (170m) for the Irish oil and gas company - exceeding a $120m provision it had made. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking as to whether Tullow will shut down operations at a project in Kenya. The project is a pilot to see if it's worth ramping up investment to bring the field into full production. Other prospects are set to be drilled over the next couple of years - and with decent production coming out of projects in West Africa the company has a solid base on which to go forward. Mr McDade will doubtless want to get back to doing things quietly. (Additional reporting Bloomberg) Chester Benningtons Linkin Park bandmates have paid tribute to their former lead singer on the anniversary of his death (Lewis Stickley/PA) Chester Benningtons Linkin Park bandmates have paid an emotional tribute to their former lead singer on the first anniversary of his death. The five remaining members Mike Shinoda, Joe Hahn, Dave Farrell, Rob Bourdon, and Brad Delson wrote a message to their brother on Friday to mark a year since he took his own life. A post from the band on Instagram said: To our brother Chester, It has been a year since your passing a surreal rotation of grief, heartbreak, refusal, and recognition. And yet it sill feels like you are close by, surrounding us with your memory and your light. Your one-of-a-kind spirit has authored an indelible imprint on our hearts our jokes, our joy, and our tenderness. Eternally grateful for the love, life, and creative passion you shared with us and the world. We miss you more than words can express. It was signed with love from M, J, D, R, B the first initial of the five remaining band members. The stars wife, Talinda, also paid tribute, tweeting: RIP my love. And speaking of the day her husband died, she told Fox News Los Angeles: Its the re-traumatisation. That day is so seared in my mind. Video of the Day Across the world, fans have been holding memorials in honour of the father-of-six, with ceremonies held in countries such as Mexico, Germany and the UK, as well in the United States. Bennington, 41, was found dead at his Los Angeles home on July 20 2017. A coroner later ruled he had taken his own life. The Grammy Award-winning musician had battled with depression and substance abuse for years before his death. A family devastated by the Carrickmines fire has been hit with tragedy again as the twin sister of one of the victims has died. Tributes have been pouring in for 29-year-old Amanda Gilbert, who passed away on Thursday. Her twin sister, Tara (27), was killed in the halting site blaze on the Glenamuck Road in Carrickmines, Dublin 18. Tara was pregnant at the time of her death. Expand Close Amanda Gilbert, sister of Tara Gilbert, during a mass to commemorate the victims of the Carrickmines halting site fire that claimed ten lives last year, at Holy Redeemer Parish Church in Bray, Co Wicklow. Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Amanda Gilbert, sister of Tara Gilbert, during a mass to commemorate the victims of the Carrickmines halting site fire that claimed ten lives last year, at Holy Redeemer Parish Church in Bray, Co Wicklow. Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins Jim O'Brien, a spokesperson for the Bray Travellers Action Group, said the community is in a state of shock. "It's a really big loss to the community. She died in tragic circumstances," he said. "She was a lovely person and well liked by everyone. We are pulling together for her father and supporting the family as best we can. "Everyone had great time for Amanda and Tara." Fassaroe Residents Facebook page paid their respects to Amanda. "A dark cloud rests over our community with the loss of yet another young life. Rest In Peace Amanda Gilbert 1988-2018 Thoughts are with Amandas family and friends at this heartaching time." Family friends have also paid tribute on Facebook. "RIP Amanda Gilbert hope the angels in heaven look after you there are no words here," one wrote. "My heart goes to the surviving family of Amanda Gilbert. A beautiful soul," another said. Five adults and five children died in the Carrickmines Fire in October 2015. Tara's partner Willie Lynch and their two children, Kelsey (4) and Jodie (9) and Willie's brother Jimmy Lynch perished in the fire. Thomas Connors (27), his wife Sylvia (30) and their children Jim (5), Christy (3) and six-month-old Mary also tragically died. Gardai investigated if there were any criminal health and safety breaches by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in relation to the placement of units at the temporary halting site. The DPP decided in May no prosecution will be brought against a county council in connection with the fatal fire. The decision means an inquest into the deaths can now resume, having been adjourned by coroner Dr Myra Cullinane. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article please contact Samaritans helpline 116 123 or Aware helpline 1800 80 48 48 or Pieta House on 1800 247 247. A Green Motion staff member pointing out the perceived damage to the car rented by Stuart Summerfield A car rental company on the receiving end of hundreds of complaints says it is retraining staff on how to assess vehicle damage and deal with customers. Green Motion International has been embroiled in controversy in recent months after customers complained of deposits being withheld for "ghost damage". Independent.ie highlighted a number of these incidents - including a businessman who had 1,205 (1,371) withheld for an alleged dent in the driver's door of the Peugeot 108. Pictures taken by Sligo man Stuart Summerfield showed no visible damage to the car. A Green Motion spokesperson said the company has "decided to refund Mr Summerfield the full cost of his excess as a gesture of good will" following an investigation. Expand Close Photograph taken by Stuart Summerfield of the Peugeot 108 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Photograph taken by Stuart Summerfield of the Peugeot 108 A number of other customers have also received their deposits back. Karen Henderson was charged 530 for damage she claimed she didn't cause but this amount has since been refunded. Ms Henderson rented a vehicle from the company's Luton Airport branch and issued a complaint on May 21. Expand Close The alleged damage caused to the car rented by Karen Henderson / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The alleged damage caused to the car rented by Karen Henderson The company authorised a full refund to her on July 5. Read More Last month, Ryanair's car hire provider, CarTrawler, suspended the services of Green Motion for the "foreseeable future" due to a spike in customer complaints. The company insists it is now taking "urgent action" to address concerns raised over damage charges at UK branches. A spokesperson said it has suspended the services of the inspection firm which provided engineering reports for the Luton and Birimingham branches. Engineering reports provided by Gray & Company did not include any description of the damage caused to vehicles. In Mr Summerfield's case, the engineers report said the cost of repairs would be 1,126 (1,281) for the mystery dent. In the general remarks section of the report, the engineer said: "The vehicle is used for the purposes of spot hire. Impact damage however renders the vehicle unfit for this particular use. "I believe that the facts that which I have stated in this report are true and that the opinions I have expressed are correct." Despite the engineer stating the alleged damage would render the vehicle unfit for rent, Green Motion continued to hire out the car. "The Green Motion UK management team has instructed all of its branches that no third party inspection organisations can be used unless vetted and authorised by Green Motion UK and Green Motion International," the statement reads. "As such the services of Gray & Company have been suspended. As part of the improvements being made to the UK operations, a new pricing matrix is being implemented that will eliminate the need for third party damage assessment in the majority of cases." Several customers have taken to Facebook and forums on TripAdvisor to complain about deposits being retained by the company in recent months. The most common complaints centre on customers being "overcharged for small blemishes that already existed" and existing damage not being noted on the rental agreement. Green Motion says it is now working to improve customer experiences by introducing the following: A woman subjected to years of rape and abuse at the hands of her father has urged others who are suffering to "take back your life; break the silence". John Murphy (61) has been jailed for 18 years for the "horrendous" sexual abuse of his daughter throughout her childhood from the age of three. Murphy, formerly of Nephin View Manor, Foxford, Co Mayo, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to the rape, indecent assault and sexual assault of his eldest daughter. Sophia Murphy suffered the litany of abuse at locations in Co Galway and Co Mayo on dates between 1988 and 2001. The former member of the Defence Forces also pleaded guilty to a final incident of sexual assault of Ms Murphy in 2010. Murphy is currently serving an eight-year sentence in Arbour Hill prison for sexual abuse involving Ms Murphy's two younger sisters, imposed last February at Castlebar Circuit Court. Ms Murphy, now aged 33, was aged between three and 15 at the time of the majority of the offences. She has waived her right to anonymity so her father can be named. In her victim impact statement which she read to the court, Ms Murphy said: "Silence protects the abuser and imprisons the victim. Take back your life; break the silence. You are not a victim for sharing your story, you are a survivor." She addressed her father during her statement. "It's the only chance I'm ever going to get to tell you how much you destroyed my life, for your own sick pleasure. You put your horrible hands all over me. I was never my own person; you touched me whenever and wherever you wanted." She described the pervasive nature of the abuse and the effect it had on her. "There is not a day in my life I don't remember you abusing me. You abused me sexually, emotionally and physically. You never left me alone," said Ms Murphy. "It was just never ending, day after day, night after night." Mr Justice Michael White noted the "length, intensity and depravity of the sexual abuse". He said the garda evidence and Ms Murphy's victim impact statement had been "harrowing", adding the breach of trust from Murphy was a "very grave wrong". Mr Justice White said that taking into account the depth, length and nature of this abuse, the headline sentence - before taking into account the mitigating factors - had to be life imprisonment. The judge said in his view Murphy's remorse was genuine and he had acknowledged the great hurt he had caused his daughter. He noted Murphy's guilty pleas and his health problems. Mr Justice White imposed consecutive sentences totalling 18 years, which were backdated to when Murphy went into custody in December 2017. Murphy has 73 previous convictions for the sexual assault of four victims. He received an eight-year sentence in February for sexual abuse involving Ms Murphy's two younger sisters. Members of her family, who attended every day of the trial and became emotional as the guilty verdict was returned. Picture: Provision A jealous young man is beginning a life sentence for murdering the young mother he had described as his "soul mate". Adam O'Keeffe (27) sat with his head cradled in his hands as a Central Criminal Court jury of five men and six women returned a unanimous guilty verdict after a two-week trial. O'Keeffe of St Vincent's Hostel, Co Cork, had denied the murder of his girlfriend Amy McCarthy (22) but admitted her manslaughter. Ms Justice Eileen Creedon was told that the Director of Public Prosecutions did not accept O'Keeffe's manslaughter plea. Members of Ms McCarthy's family, who attended every day of the trial, became emotional as the verdict was returned. O'Keeffe received a mandatory life sentence for the killing, which happened on April 29-30 last year. In a hard-hitting victim impact statement, Ms McCarthy's sister, Jessie, said they mourn her loss daily. "The one thought in our minds that will remain forever is of Amy lying on the floor with no one to pick her up and get her the help she needed. "The one person that misses her most is her son, Adam. What we would do or give up to see them reunited and see the joy on their faces again but we know that is never going to happen. "There is one thing we would like to ask - that Amy's son would continue to be known as Adam McCarthy, not the boy whose father killed his mother," she said. Ms McCarthy, the mother of O'Keeffe's young son, was found dead on the first floor of a derelict building on Sheares Street, Cork, on April 29/30 2017. The young woman had been badly beaten and strangled. Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster said Ms McCarthy is believed to have lay dying for around four hours. O'Keeffe insisted throughout the trial he had never intended to hurt or kill Ms McCarthy. The trial heard he was very jealous and had repeatedly accused Ms McCarthy of having cheated on him, something she vehemently denied. Both had serious alcohol dependency issues. Just hours before Ms McCarthy's death, O'Keeffe had scrawled in graffiti on The Gate Cinema wall that: "Adam loves Amy forever - Amy loves Adam forever." Ms McCarthy suffered blunt force trauma injuries from multiple blows and had indications - including apparent hand grip marks on her neck - that she was manually strangled. In Garda interviews the defendant insisted he couldn't remember what had happened. "I did not mean for it to happen," O'Keeffe told one garda. "She never deserved me hitting her. "I would never say that she was asking for it. [Amy] was a small girl - I should have been protecting her. "The next thing I remember, she was dead. "Why didn't they [others in the derelict building] stop me - it should not have happened. I was crying over her begging her to wake up. "It is the biggest regret I have, I am sorry to her family. "[Amy] is the love of my life. She is my soul mate and the mother of my small fella," he said. Dean Nugent, who was with the couple on April 29 last year, said O'Keeffe "lost the plot". "She was crying. I tried to stop him hitting her but I could not do anything. I was begging him to stop." The six students who lost their lives in the tragic accident, top left to bottom right: Lorcan Miller, Eoghan Culligan, Nick Schuster, Ashley Donohoe, Eimear Walsh and Olivia Burke A memorial plaque will be unveiled in Berkeley, California today to honour the six students who lost their lives in June 2015. Niccolai Schuster, Eoghan Culligan, Lorcan Miller, Eimear Walsh, Olivia Burke, and Olivia's Irish-American cousin Ashley Donohoe were all killed when an apartment balcony collapsed during a 21st birthday party. A further seven Irish students were seriously injured in the incident. The students were spending a summer in California on a J1 visa. Read More Family members of those who died are due to attend the ceremony today, which was organised by the Consulate General of Ireland, the City of Berkeley and the Irish Immigration Pastoral Center. A report last year highlighted problems with water proofing and dry rot damage at the complex where the tragedy occured. Families travelling to Europe on summer holidays should ensure they are vaccinated against measles as two cases of the disease have been confirmed this week in Dublin. The cases were diagnosed in an adult and a child who returned to Dublin after being on mainland Europe. Measles has led to 31 deaths across Europe this year. Dr Helena Murray, a specialist in public health medicine, said: "Measles can be a serious illness and is highly infectious. The best protection is to be fully vaccinated with two doses of the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine." People at increased risk are those who are not fully vaccinated with two doses of the MMR vaccine or have not had measles in the past. The risk of measles is for up to 21 days after contact with a case of the disease. "If you think you may have measles, stay at home and phone your GP for advice," she said. There is a possible risk of measles to people who may have been in the same healthcare setting as these two cases during the infectious period. The two patients attended various hospitals, including Tallaght University Hospital A&E on July 1 between 11.30am and 1.30pm. A second visit was made to the same unit on July 5 between midnight and 8am. They then went to the Mater Hospital on July 7 between 11am and 8pm. The child attended Temple St Hospital on July 13 between 3pm and 8pm. A second visit was paid on July 15 between 5pm and 1am. A visit was also made to Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin on July 16 between noon and 2.30pm. The Taoiseach opens the new Google offices at Grand Canal Street in Dublin in the same month. Picture: Tony Gavin Main image: Taoiseach Leo Varadkar opens Microsofts new 134m campus, at One Microsoft Place in Dublin last February. Picture: Naoise Culhane If you are planning a global takeover then where better to have as your base than an island "at the centre of the world". That's the message that Leo Varadkar took to Silicon Valley just weeks before Christmas, when he made his first trip Stateside as Taoiseach. Mr Varadkar broke with tradition and headed to America's west coast rather than Washington, opting for the vibrant tech 'leaders' in their open plan offices over the largely male and stale politicians on Capitol Hill. It gave the young Taoiseach a glimpse of how the other half live, fuelled by office-cooked rather than homemade meals, and a quest to be the best rather than to do their best. In the space of 48 hours, Mr Varadkar had whizzed his way through the boardrooms of Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Google, Stripe and others. He liked them and they liked him. Things went well, perhaps with the exception of Apple boss Tim Cook who was shutting down plans for an 850m data centre in Athenry, Co Galway. It was at Facebook that Mr Varadkar seemed to enjoy himself most. Their Californian base is the largest open plan office in the world. Decorated by artists, the walls also contain an endless stack of posters made by staff. It's like another dimension - but for a company that has so much information about us, they don't like us to see too much of their world. The journalists accompanying Mr Varadkar were warned not to take any photographs that might capture a computer screen. We even had to be accompanied to the toilets, in case we went rogue. Everybody was fantastically friendly, but it was clear that our presence was messing with the system. In the absence of us reporters being present, we were told it's possible to find Mark Zuckerberg sitting at a desk in the open plan office among the bank of 30-somethings in hoodies. Up on the rooftop are health bars, and deck chairs nestled among nine acres of shrubbery, and a running track that overlooks the marshlands of Menlo Park. The office walls are covered in a combination of professional art installations and posters made during 'downtime'. The motivating slogans included 'Even busy bees stop and smell the roses' and 'What would you do if you weren't afraid?' Mr Varadkar posed up with billionaire Facebook creator Zuckerberg in front of a specially commissioned 'Cead Mile Failte', bordered on one side by poster reading 'Focus on Impact' and on the other by 'Be Bold'. During their meeting the pair mainly discussed the social media network's set-up in Ireland. Issues around privacy and safety are not thought to have featured heavily. And at the end, Mr Varadkar was able to announce that Facebook plans to increases its workforce in Ireland by "several hundred" this year. At Google, the Taoiseach was similarly feted in their bright and airy offices which had been 'greened up' for the occasion. He laughed as he walked down a staircase lit up with the most-searched words of the day. Among them was All Souls' Day (It was November 2) and Tax Reform. Over at Apple the mood was far more business-like. Sources say that while Mr Varadkar found Zuckerberg to be affable, Tim Cook was stern. Apple didn't invite the media inside, although they did give us a demonstration of the new iPhone X - before promptly taking it back off us and directing us towards the on-site store. During his trip to Silicon Valley, Mr Varadkar's message was simple: Ireland wants to be the tech capital of Europe, our taxes are legal but low and the Irish people are pro-migration. But there was no notable mention of the need for tech giants to clamp down on predators who target children online or questions about how social media is becoming all-invasive. The Taoiseach said the "power is shifting west". But surely after the past few days he must begin to ask if too much power has moved to California. Clodagh Gallagher (25) said she believes Mass is one of the most important parts of her faith As the months draw closer to the World Meeting of Families (WMOF) in August, more and more people are sharing their thoughts on Pope Francis choosing Ireland as his destination. While there is the expectation that many of the attendees will be the older generation of the country, the number of young people signing up for tickets exceeds what many would expect. Over 6,000 applications for tickets for the RDS Pastoral Congress were made by those under the age of 18. According to WMOF organisers, this is the highest registration of this age group for any World Meeting to date. And the statistics are there to prove it- young Irish people are believed to be among the most religious in Europe. A recent study from the European Social Survey found that 5pc of people aged between 16 and 29 in Ireland claim Catholic affiliation. For the practicing young Catholics in Ireland, expressing their faith can sometimes be difficult, in a nation that is often seen as becoming more liberal. "Of course, its a challenge to be Catholic nowadays," Ciara Ferry (26) from Donegal told Independent.ie. "From a personal point of view, my faith challenges me every day to become the best version of myself which is not easy, and which often ends in failure and having to pick myself up and start again. From a social point of view, being Catholic in Ireland at the moment is a complicated thing. "Many people dont agree with our stance on a lot of things, which is fine. I would never want to impose my belief on anyone, but the joy that its brought me impels me to propose it as a possibility for others." Expand Close Ciara Ferry (26) from Donegal believes being a Catholic in 2018 is "a challenge" but says her faith "informs" every part of her life / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Ciara Ferry (26) from Donegal believes being a Catholic in 2018 is "a challenge" but says her faith "informs" every part of her life Ciara grew up in a faithful family in Letterkenny and says that going to mass and saying the rosary was a regular part of her life. As she grew into her teenage years, she found herself asking herself why Catholicism was relevant to her life. It was a retreat with Youth 2000, a Catholic youth organisation, that changed her life for the better. "I never felt comfortable in my own skin, never able to fully be myself, because I didnt know who I really was. At this retreat I was accepted straight away, welcomed into a group of people who didnt care what I looked like or why I was there. "Eventually it became clear that what I was missing was a relationship, one thats open to every single person, but for whatever reason I never understood that it was possible a relationship with Jesus." "Eight years on, my faith informs my life in every area." But not everyone grows up in an extremely religious family, as is the case with 20-year-old Neil Shevlin, who turned to Catholicism a year ago. "I was Catholic in the sense that a lot of people were, growing up in Catholic Ireland. I started smoking and drinking when I was 14. I went all the way to 19 and wasnt a practicing Catholic at all," he said. "I've only spent the last year as a practicing Catholic. When I was trying to get out of the drink and drugs, I examined a lot of questions. I kept looking around, reading as much as I could. I stumbled around and eventually just found Catholicism as the answer." The Meath native has spent the past year devoting his life to Catholicism and was inspired to travel to the United States this summer on a mission trip. "Catholicism makes up my life. I wake up every morning and pray for 15 minutes. I'll pray a rosary and read the bible. I pray before I eat meals. I go to mass daily, so I receive the sacraments daily. "At the moment, I'm in the United States doing mission work. It's so much different over here in Colorado. There's a more open air to the different belief systems. You'll see a lot of people wearing crucifixes and people dont have a problem, but it's different at home. "My faith means giving every bit of my life over to Jesus. It means reading as much as I can, showing everyone the dignity they deserve, but still holding strong to the church. It means everything to me." Expand Close Clodagh Gallagher (25) said she believes Mass is one of the most important parts of her faith / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Clodagh Gallagher (25) said she believes Mass is one of the most important parts of her faith However, these faithful youngsters aren't in denial towards the complaints made about the Catholic Church in Ireland. Clodagh Gallagher (25) from Waterford, explains that while she'd love to see more young people proclaiming themselves as Catholic regardless of its history, it has to be for the right reasons. "I think a lot of people are turning away from the church because of what they see in the media. It's important to remember that people who convicted those crimes aren't part of the same faith as us, but I can understand why people are affected by it," she said. "I think that has played a massive part in turning people off it. I would like to see more young people embrace it. It's not a club, I dont want to see more numbers, I want to see more people join because of what it can do for your wellbeing and happiness." For Clodagh, who grew up in Dungarvan, being "comfortable" with her religion means she has "luckily" never felt challenged because of her devotion to the church. "I'm comfortable in what I practice and what I believe in. I do go to mass every Sunday. Mass is one of the reasons I'm Catholic, it makes up a huge part of my faith. "I pray every day. I think people have the wrong idea of faith. I'm really attracted to prayer in songs, thats how I pray mostly. "I would want to share that joy with everyone, but I wouldnt force someone to be Catholic for the sake of it. I truly believe being Catholic is the best part of my life." Paul Murray and Paul Reynolds, who assisted with the recovery of a man from the River Boyne The quick-thinking action of a man prevented almost certain tragedy last week, after he rescued another man from the River Boyne. Paul Reynolds, from Cedarfield in Drogheda, Co Louth, climbed down onto slippery rocks to prevent an injured man from being carried away by the rising tide, putting his own safety at risk until emergency services arrived. "I don't think I did much except keep his head above water until the Coastguard could safely take him out of the water," the modest hero said. "I'm just glad if I could help in any way, and hope he makes a full recovery." Paul was first alerted to the incident at around 7.30pm on July 9, as he jogged along the Ramparts with running friend Paul Murray. "We are training for a charity event, and we could see a woman on the north bank at Mell shouting and motioning to our side of the river," he recalls. "I was expecting to see a pup or something in the water, but when I looked over the wall, I got a shock to see a man lying injured on the rocks, partially lying in the water." His instincts just kicked in and made his way across muddy and slippery rocks towards the man. "It was about a 9-foot drop, and you could see the man was badly cut and injured, and both his legs looked very uncomfortable under him," says the brave man. "He was in and out of consciousness and I picked up his head and rested it on my knee, to keep him out of the water." It was then Mr Reynolds noticed how fast the tide was rising. "I couldn't believe the water was coming up so fast, and within minutes, I was up to my knees. "I was afraid to move him too much, but thankfully, the rescue services arrived and were able to take him ashore." Local Cllr Tommy Byrne was passing at the time and praised the actions of Mr Reynolds. "Only he was there, it definitely would have been a lot worse," Cllr Byrne told the Drogheda Independent. "The other man could have been swept away in minutes, and as a public representative, it would be remiss of me not to mention how brave the other local man was." Dermot McConneran from the Drogheda branch of the Irish Coastguard confirmed they were called to the scene of an incident shortly before 7.30pm. "We got reports of a person in the water at the Ramparts, and when we launched, we could see someone in the water across from our boathouse," he told the Drogheda Independent. "As we drew near in a few minutes, we could see someone lying in shallow water, but the tide was coming in so we had to move quickly." Dermot says they would normally treat someone with obvious injuries at the scene, with a spinal board, however, time was not on their side in this instance. "We had to all pull him into the boat, as we were against the clock, as that time of night the tide can rise 10cm a minute," he explained. "It can be the difference between an injured person lying on their back, and being submerged in water in minutes." Two ambulances attended the scene, and the man was treated in the boat before being brought to Our Lady of Lourdes hospital, where he was treated for serious injuries. "I didn't do anything someone else wouldn't do in the same situation,' added Mr Reynolds. "I'm just glad I was there, and helped in any way I could." The funeral of a mother tragically killed in a balcony fall while on holiday in Turkey has heard how the nurse made a huge difference to the lives of so many people through her work. Seaneen McCullough had been holidaying with her son Eoin and partner Paul. Ms McCullough (37) is understood to have died after falling from a balcony on Wednesday morning while on holiday with her son and partner On Saturday mourners gathered at Corpus Christi Church in Ballymurphy in Belfast to pay their last respects. Scores of people turned out with fellow co-workers of Seaneen performing a guard of honour for her as the coffin was carried into the church. Father Patrick McCafferty told those gathered it was difficult to comprehend the tragedy which claimed her life. He said: "We are united in our grief at the loss of Seaneen, who was so much loved by Paul and Eoin, by her parents, her sisters and brother, the entire family circle and wide circle of friends those friends who have known Seaneen since her childhood and youth and those friends who got to know her later in her life." Mourners heard how Seaneen - a " bright and bubbly girl" - had "in her short life made such a difference to the world, to this city and its communities" as he paid tribute to her work as a nurse at Belfast's Mater Hospital. Fr McCafferty said Seaneens heart was drawn toward nursing and she made great personal sacrifices in order to prepare herself for what was her true calling in life "to serve, lovingly and generously, those vulnerable through illness and injury, those who had grown weak and frail under the burden of years, those suffering in body and mind". He continued: "Seaneen wasnt just a nurse she was an outstanding nurse. She ministered to the sick not only with the important skills she had acquired, in study and training, but also with the beautiful gifts of her own mind, heart and spirit, with which she was blessed in abundance and which were a blessing to so many others." The priest honoured the work, not just of Seaneen, but also her colleagues. "Seaneen has made an inestimable difference to so many lives," he added. For over 40 years, Cathy Garton (63) held on to photographs and wristbands of the babies she cared for in Temple Hill, Dublin. Photo taken on Christmas Eve, 1975. photo@ Cathy Garton "The first thing that hit me was the colours on the wall. There was a company called Berger, and they were bringing out all these colours of paint- like lilac and bright orange. I'd never seen colours like it. "My father was a smoker, so everything in our house was cream. And then there was the smell of talcum powder. The colours and the smell, they were the first things to hit you when you entered Temple Hill." Cathy Garton (63) trained as a nurse at Temple Hill, the infant hospital at St. Patrick's Guild adoption home in Blackrock, Dublin from 1974 until 1976. As a young 18-year-old with babysitting experience, the position was ideal for a young Cathy. The women were trained in everything from infant care and diseases to anatomy and child psychology, Cathy says. "We had to sit exams alongside caring for the babies," she told Independent.ie. Cathy fondly recalls her time at Temple Hill. So much so, that she held on to every identity wristband and photograph she had of the children she looked after, and now Cathy is appealing for other nurses that did the same to come forward. The former nurse started the Temple Hill Nurses campaign this year, after an encounter with child agency Tusla, who now look after the records for the adoption home. "When a social worker came out to me around three and a half years ago, they were young and had just been given paper work- they hadn't met anyone that actually worked there. I gave them all my information and showed them what I had. "They had no photos or plans of the hospital, so I gave them all the wristbands and photographs I had. I kept three photographs of children I had for the longest time, and they meant a lot to me." Expand Close Cathy pictured in her nurse's uniform in June 1976 at temple Hill, Dublin. Photo: Cathy Garton / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Cathy pictured in her nurse's uniform in June 1976 at temple Hill, Dublin. Photo: Cathy Garton Last November, Cathy says she received a call from Tusla. They wanted to meet in person and find out more about her experience at Temple Hill. "When I got up there my contact said to me, before we start, I want you to know that all the bands and photographs have been given back to the children they belonged to." The wristbands, Cathy explained, were removed when they became too tight for the young babies and replaced as they got older. The photographs she took during night shifts, to remember the children she cared for. And in January of this year Cathy says she met one of the children, now a grown adult, in person. He was one of the children she had cared for the longest and was able to present him the three photographs she held on to. "When I met him, I was able to give him these photographs of him at six months, eleven months, and one of the two of us from Christmas 1975. "He'd never seen a photo of himself before the age of three, and there was his first Christmas in one photo. It was just as emotional for me as it was for him." The experience pushed Cathy to appeal for other wristbands to be returned. She set up the Facebook page alongside her friend Muireann O'Hora. "I knew I had something so myself and Muireann set up the page. It was slow at the start. One or two people got the impression that I was glory hunting. "But it's not about me, it's not about you, it's about the children. I've met these children, this is their history and we need to give it back to them. "We need to let them know they were loved, they were cuddled and sang to. We absolutely loved them." Expand Close Temple Hill at St. Patrick's Guild closed in the 1980s. Photo: Adoption Rights Alliance. http://www.adoptionrightsalliance.com/ info@adoptionrightsalliance.com / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Temple Hill at St. Patrick's Guild closed in the 1980s. Photo: Adoption Rights Alliance. http://www.adoptionrightsalliance.com/ info@adoptionrightsalliance.com In recent months, controversies have emerged surrounding illegal adoptions that took place in St. Patrick's Guild. According to Tusla, an estimate of at least 126 births were incorrectly registered between 1946 and 1969- but Cathy says they knew nothing about it at the time. "Everyone talks about how of a sad place it must have been, but it absolutely was not. We didnt know we were supposed to be sad, we loved these children to pieces. "At the time we understood the mothers had a bad run of luck, we had a chance to give the children a new life that they couldnt give them. We were loving these children with the knowledge of them being adopted to a better home. "It is very upsetting to hear now. How could we have not seen this? When those girls came to visit their babies, they came in smiling but they all left crying hysterically. The majority of these mothers had no choice with priests knocking on their doors. "These women were so brave. I can't imagine my life without any of my children and grandchildren. I had a husband that stood by me- I was lucky, but there were so many that weren't." Since the appeal has launched, Cathy claims that parcels with wristbands and photographs have been arriving on her doorstep multiple times a week. "There are thousands of children in Ireland that are adopted, and we as the nurses can't help them all. But I've had parcels of post coming in every second day- you can see the way these things were kept. "All wrapped up, some in biscuit tins. We tell people to attach a cover letter if they want, so it will go with the items if the child wants to meet the nurse. "People kept them all these years because they loved them. You can't but be moved." Anyone with information on the belongings is encouraged to contact the Temple Hill Nurses Facebook page.: https://www.facebook.com/Temple-Hill-Nurses-859539830890236/ (L-R) Former Government Chief Whip Seamus Brennan with Dr. Martin O Donoghue in 1999 Picture/RollingNews.ie FORMER Minister Martin ODonoghue has been remembered as a true gentleman who had a long and distinguished career. The tribute was made by Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin following the death of the former TD for Dun Laoghaire at the age of 85. Expand Close (L - R) Des O Malley with Martin O Donoghue and party leader Charlie Haughey during a Fianna Fail conference for Election 1982 Pic Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp (L - R) Des O Malley with Martin O Donoghue and party leader Charlie Haughey during a Fianna Fail conference for Election 1982 Pic Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie Mr ODonoghue was an economic adviser to Taoiseach Jack Lynch before he was first elected to the Dail in 1977. He was appointed as a minister on his first day in the Dail with Mr Martin saying this was a recognition of his abilities. Mr ODonoghue served as minister for economic planning and development for two years during a challenging economic environment. Mr Martin said: Martin was widely respected as having a commanding knowledge of his brief. Mr ODonoghue was subsequently appointed Minister for Education in 1982. He was elected to the Seanad in 1983 and remained in office until 1987. He went on to have a highly successful career in academia and was a professor of economics at Trinity College Dublin until his retirement in 1995. Mr Martin said, I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former Minister Martin ODonoghue. I knew Martin and he was a true gentleman. He was a committed public representative who had a long and distinguished career in national politics Mr Martin added: On my own personal behalf and on behalf of the Fianna Fail organisation I want to extend my deepest condolences to Martins wife Evelyn, children Audrey, Raphael and Tressan and brother Tom. Ar dheis De go raibh a anam. The Government is merely paying lip service when it comes to regulating social media, claims the architect of a Bill that would clamp down on orchestrated online manipulation and political interference. Fianna Fail TD James Lawless says the Government may talk tough about regulating social media giants like Facebook, but in reality is just kicking the issue to touch. Writing in today's Irish Independent, he says: "Fear, uncertainty and doubt is the new weapon of mass destruction and the internet lends itself exceptionally well." The Kildare North TD warns: "Just like President Trump, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and his Government also seem to think that 'fake news' is a problem for someone else to deal with." Mr Lawless introduced the Online Advertising and Social Media (Transparency) Bill 2017 in December, 2017. "For reasons best known to themselves the Government opposed it," he writes, warning that a new cross-departmental group to investigate the threats posed from internet activity fails to "grasp the nettle". But revelations on Channel 4's 'Dispatches' programme this week "provided further evidence that self-regulation cannot be enough," Mr Lawless said. The programme showed that "content moderators" working for Facebook in Dublin failed to remove some images of child abuse, self-mutilation and hate speech despite complaints. Meanwhile, Communications Minister Denis Naughten is to meet with senior officials from Facebook on Monday to discuss what action, if any, the multinational is taking following the 'Dispatches' revelations. He tweeted that he was "appalled and disgusted" by the revelations. He also held an hour-long meeting with Facebook's head of public policy Niamh Sweeney in New York on Thursday. He said that "reviews and refreshers" were not good enough for real change. In the meantime, the Government is "working with" the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment on the Digital Safety Commissioner Bill 2017, he added. The Bill, tabled by Sinn Fein, proposes the establishment of a Digital Safety Commissioner and has passed the second stage in the Dail. Ryanair pilots strike outside the companys head office in Swords, Co Dublin. Photo: Mark Condren Ryanair passengers may face more disruption as further strikes by Irish-based and German pilots could be on the way next month. The Irish Air Line Pilots' Association (Ialpa) is set to announce rolling stoppages beyond a third 24-hour strike on Tuesday following no breakthrough at talks. And the result of a ballot of Germany pilots by the Vereinigung Cockpit union is due on July 31 following failed talks - which could mean rolling stoppages in August. Massive disruption is already expected next week as up to 100,000 passengers will be hit by 600 flight cancellations at major European bases. Flights to and from Belgium, Portugal and Spain will be grounded on Wednesday and Thursday as unions demand "fair" pay, an end to agency work and contracts that recognise local law. However, despite being asked Ryanair has not responded to a request for clarification as to whether there are Irish flights among the cancellations. A spokesperson for Ryanair confirmed that: "Over 90pc of Ryanair's 50,000 customers whose flights on July 25 and 26 were cancelled due to a strike by some cabin crew in Belgium, Portugal and Spain, have now been reaccommodated on alternative flights, or applied for full refunds." Up to 4,000 passengers' travel plans were disrupted yesterday when 24 flights were grounded as Irish-based pilots held a second strike in a dispute over terms and conditions. Up to 16 flights will be cancelled during a third stoppage by the directly employed pilots next week, hitting another 2,500 passengers. The pilots mounted pickets at the airline's headquarters at Airside in Dublin yesterday. "They've brought it to the company's door," said trade union Forsa spokesperson Niall Shanahan. He said he expected Ialpa to contact the airline to continue talks. "When we met the company on Wednesday at no time did the scheduled industrial actions come up for discussion," he said. "Our reading of that was that the company accepted that these actions were due to go ahead. "Clearly, they've been able to rearrange operationally in order to minimise disruption. It was 30 flights last week, it's 24 today, it's 16 next Tuesday. "Nevertheless, in terms of the effectiveness of industrial action, clearly that comes at some logistical and financial cost to the company." The pilots want a seniority system that would give those with longest service first call on promotions, holidays and base transfers. In a letter to Forsa yesterday, Ryanair's chief people officer Eddie Wilson described the strike as "pointless". He said the airline had signed two "recognition" agreements with cabin crew unions in Germany and Italy since Wednesday. During that same two-day period, he said Forsa has done nothing except hold another "pointless strike". Just before my dad's funeral last Tuesday, I called in to a little coffee shop across the road from Ringsend Church. I was already feeling very nervous. I'd never been to a funeral of a very close family member. I didn't want to be there. Who would. The lady behind the counter took my order. She asked me if I knew whose funeral it was. I looked at her and said: "My dad." She very kindly offered her condolences and said: "That coffee's on the house." It was a lovely act of kindness, one of many I felt during the whole day. My brother, Kevin, showed great kindness by organising so many details of the day. My workmates turned up to share a drink in honour of my dad. Expand Close The Great Irish Bake Off On TV3: Anna Nolan / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The Great Irish Bake Off On TV3: Anna Nolan Relatives stayed late into the evening in the Dundrum House, telling stories of a man who was loved by many. Kevin Nolan was born in Ringsend and moved to Rialto where, along with my mother, he brought up seven children. He was a great father, and I will miss him. I've already gone through some stages of grief. Last week, the anger was incredible. I've cried a bit. Not a lot. I'm a delayed reaction kind of person. I'm always good in bad situations - I can deal with catas- trophes. It's when I let things settle, allow myself to feel, that I fall apart a little. Expand Close Anna Nolan / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Anna Nolan Mostly, I'm sad. A sadness that's new to me. I can't shake it. It's the idea of "never again" that makes me so, so sad. I'll never go for a pint in Neary's with him again. We'll never have a little pate and a glass of red wine in the Trocadero. We can't plan any more trips to London. We'll never have a Christmas dinner with my siblings and Ita. I'll never again see his lovely smiling face and tell him my news. He would always listen. He would never give advice or tell me what to do. Just listen. Yes, the "never again" is troub- ling me. I don't know how to get my head around it. I suppose I'll just have to wait and see. My father was a man who loved his children and his partner. He loved jazz and classical music. He loved to go to Howth for fresh fish and he loved cooking. He loved life. What makes me happy is that I have no regrets with him. No unsaid words. I loved him and he loved me. I'll see how the next while pans out. I have no idea if I'll turn into a wreck, or just come to terms with the "never again". Whatever happens, Kevin Nolan, know you were the best. Rest in peace. Fionn Davenport with a krathong, a flower ship given to him at the hotel where he was staying in Thailand when he learned of his father's passing. Bad news, when you hear it first, has the quality of a glancing blow delivered accidentally. There must be some kind of mistake. This wasn't meant for you. You recognise the words but don't fully grasp their meaning. Eight hours ago, Laura, my girlfriend of four years, had agreed to marry me. Now, my cousin is on the phone telling me that my dad had died. It was a little after 7am, Thai time. We were in the lobby of the Four Seasons in Chiang Mai. We'd flown in the day before on what was meant to be a bucket-list 12-day holiday, the ideal way to frame a marriage proposal. There would be elephants and cooking classes; longtail boat trips on the Mekong and tuk tuk explorations of Bangkok. And, finally, a few days on the beaches of Koh Yao, because every holiday should include a bit of pure idleness. Instead there was numbness and disbelief, followed by a measure of panic: we have to get home, now. I had phone calls to make, but in that moment, I didn't even know where to start. I was frozen to the spot, gripping my phone and staring into space. Laura reminded me that it was the middle of the night back home, so we would have to wait a few hours before we could get in touch with anyone. The travel agent, for instance. Because this holiday had so many moving parts (multiple locations in Thailand, a bunch of different hotels and connecting internal flights) we made sure a travel agent did the heavy lifting. For this independent travel writer, it would prove to be pure dumb luck. While we waited to address our more temporal needs, the hotel manager suggested a spiritual distraction. I was offered a krathong, a small vessel made from banana leaves topped with flowers and a stick of incense. By floating the flower ship out on the water, I would bid farewell to sad thoughts and replace them with a fresh start. My father wasn't much of a believer in anything, let alone Thai Buddhism, but there was something profoundly moving about the experience, if only because it allowed me to graft a temporary measure of meaning onto something that made absolutely no sense. I composed an email explaining my circumstances to my travel agent - Classic Resorts in Dublin. To heap complication upon tragedy, I needed to get to Italy rather than home, as my parents had moved to Florence after my father's retirement. What would be the best - fastest, most convenient and inexpensive - way to get there? I would have returned by any means possible, but my bank balance dictated a sensible approach. The reply came within minutes of opening hours in Ireland: We're sorry to hear the terrible news; we'll do everything to come back to you with new flight options as soon as possible. Thank goodness for that. Part of my job description is charting clear paths through the jungle of travel planning, but I was in no fit state to do anything. The numbness had given way to a profound feeling of sorrow and loneliness that felt crippling to the point that the smallest tasks, like going for breakfast, seemed beyond me. Word spread throughout the hotel, and the staff went out of their way to express sympathy, but all I could do was smile wanly and try not to cry. True to their word, Classic Resorts came back within a couple of hours with a whole new travel plan. We would stick with our original carrier, Qatar Airways, but fly to Rome via Doha, arriving with a day to spare for the funeral. A huge problem solved, and the cost was under 1,000. As for the cost, we were told, we could always claim it back on our travel insurance - "you do have travel insurance, right?" A general indifference to the responsibilities of stable adulthood are essential to carving out any kind of career as a travel writer, but the importance of travel insurance was drummed into me early on. I spend a lot of time abroad, so I had annual premium cover from Blue Insurance. I've never had to use it, which has prompted the occasional thought of wasted money, but even in my most irresponsible moments I knew that the value of insurance only manifested itself in times of need. This was one of those moments. It mightn't have been as onerous as contracting a weird tropical disease or a broken leg on the Aspen ski slopes, but every little helped. I double-checked the fine print of my policy. My travel costs were indeed covered, so long as my father didn't die of a pre-existing terminal illness. Clinical and cold, but understandable: if I knew my father was dying and still went travelling, then I was on my own. No matter what, insurance companies measure everything in terms of risk. My father died of a massive internal haemorrhage that was entirely unforeseen. The agent I spoke to was very kind and sympathetic, and admitted deep embarrassment to have to spell out the terms of cover, but she reassured me that once the proper documentation was submitted, my claim would be expedited as soon as possible. In its nascent stages, grief forces the mind to focus on anything but its source. I couldn't bear to think of my poor father, so I concentrated on those things I could control. Getting home. Insurance cover. The death notice in the newspapers. And then the logistics of the following days. I had a suitcase full of beachwear, so I'd need to find a black suit. My sister asked if I'd speak at the funeral, so I started fretting about what I'd say - and being able to speak without breaking down. As we checked in for our flight, we were told that we'd been upgraded to business class all the way to Rome. I felt a surge of gratitude for the airline and our travel agent who had informed them of our plight. Nothing was going to mitigate the pain of loss, but there was solace in being able to lie down and sleep for a few hours and, somewhere in the sadness, a sense that these gestures of compassion were a reminder that kindness is always at hand. The route will come into effect next summer Photo: Wikimedia Commons Travelling halfway across the world just became a lot more easier- especially to North America, as Norwegian Air has announced flights for the Dublin-Canada route starting next summer. The airline, an Irish-registered subsidiary of the Norwegian Air Shuttle, will also restore its Cork-Boston service that was suspended in the autumn of this year. Unveiling its plans for summer 2019, the airline said that it would boost services from Cork, Dublin and Shannon airport by a total of 37pc. There will now be a daily service from Dublin to Providence-Boston, starting from March 31, 2019. Besides this, Norwegian Air will begin flying for the first time from Dublin to Hamilton airport in Canada, which is about 80 km from Toronto. Flights from Dublin to New York's Stewart Airport will continue to run twice daily. Going to the Big Apple will also be easier if you fly out from the Shannon airport, as the airline has announced plans to increase weekly flights from Shannon to New York from three to five. There will still be four flights per week from Shannon to Providence-Boston. This daily service will also commence on 31 March 2019 and lowest fares will begin at 189. Speaking about the service boost, Thomas Ramdahl, airlines chief commercial officer, said that the market presents a clear opportunity to deliver more high quality flights for low fares, as there is an increasing demand on both sides of the Atlantic. The flights are now available for booking, and will be in operation starting next spring. On Saturday night I headed for Toales Marquee where a special 21st birthday party was being held for Laura Rahill from Aclint and there to make sure she had a fantastic night were parents Phillis and Gerry, brothers Chris, Aidan, Donal and Kirk, boyfriend Paul Garvey and a huge collection of family and friends. I wasn't too long in the door when I met up with Laura who was looking stunning, she is in 4th year in Maynooth studying Science Education and wanted to thank everyone for coming to the party. Not too long later I caught up with her brother Chris who introduced me to Ignacio Garcia from Espania who was staying with the family and by all accounts was learning a very stylised version of English while he was there! Also in their company were Thomas Marron from Carrick Road and Cathal Marry from Meathill who wanted to wish Laura all the best on her big night Just arrived in the door were Tommy and Imelda Mulholland from Reaghstown who wanted to wish their neighbour all the best on her 21st celebrations. I then got a word with Charlie, Valerie, Conor, Sarah and Liam Mohan from Aclint who also wanted to wish their neighbour a very happy 21st. Valerie was having a chat with Laura's parents Gerry and Phillis who were enjoying the meal and assured me it was going to be a great night (when I left, I thought). I then headed over for a chat with Leah Murray from Reaghstown who was with Fiachra Sheridan from Tallanstown who told me that Leah had been friends with Laura since Primary School. They were enjoying a laugh with Paul's mum Yvonne Garvey who was looking well and ready to make the best of the Dundalk style celebrations. After this I got a word with Dylan Muldoon from Manydown who was with girlfriend Niamh Beggy also from Manydown who told me both she and Laura had been in the Cross-Border Orchestra together and have been mates for ages, so they certainly weren't going to miss her 21st. Just arrived in the door was Laura's uncle Philip Kirk who was in the company of aunt Estelle Shanley who had travelled all the way from Palm Springs specially to be there on the night and was in the company of her friend Peter Drumm who were looking forward to the party. Finally before I departed I met up with Niamh Conroy from Lordship who was looking really well and was delighted that Estelle and Peter had made it with Philip and wanted to wish Laura a very happy 21st. The British Foreign Office declined to comment and directed Euronews to the police. Russia's embassy in London seized on the minister's message and urged Britain "to conduct the investigation in a transparent way so as to avoid rumours and leaks". A British station in Cyprus intercepted a coded Russian message to Moscow just after the poisoning saying that the pair had left the United Kingdom, it quoted the source as saying. On Thursday authorities announced they used CCTV footage to identify the attackers, who allegedly poisoned Sergei Skripal and his daughter with a nerve agent. According to reports on the U.S. network CNN, they are thought to be members of the Russian military intelligence service who travelling under different identities. The motive for attacking Skripal, an aged Russian traitor who was exchanged in a Kremlin-approved spy swap in 2010, is still unclear, as is the motive for using of an exotic nerve agent which has such overt links to Russia's Soviet past. Moscow has repeatedly denied any involvement and accused the British intelligence agencies of staging the attack to stoke anti-Russian hysteria. Mr Rowley's brother says they found it in a perfume bottle. The attack on the Skripals led to a diplomatic dispute with Russian Federation. The inquest has heard that Ms Sturgess passed away at Salisbury District Hospital after being exposed to novichok. However, investigators have not been able to confirm that it was from the same batch used to poison the Skripals. Mr Rowley fell ill there on June 30, hours after his 44-year partner Dawn Sturgess collapsed after being exposed to the same nerve agent. Officers think several Russians were involved in the attempted murder of the former double agent and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury in March and are looking for more than one suspect. Since then, a British woman, Dawn Sturgess, died this month after coming across a small bottle containing Novichok near Salisbury where the Skripals were struck down. PA said investigators believe Sturgess was exposed to at least 10 times the amount of nerve agent as the Skripals came into contact with. They once included strategic ports and cities with military bases that were closed off to foreigners, such as Kaliningrad and Vladivostok. Inquests are medical and legal hearings conducted in Britain in cases of unnatural, sudden or violent death. They do not apportion blame. A high police presence remains in Amesbury and Salisbury as searches of properties and a clean-up of public places continues. Police do not believe the couple were targeted directly. Pictured from Dundalk are (L to R) Sharon Browne, Emma Fitzpatrick and Lisa Pepper at the Peter Mark Long Service Awards Staff from Peter Mark hair salon were honoured for their service to the company in a glitzy ceremony in Dublin last week. Four talented Dundalk based hairdressers were among 120 staff honoured at the Peter Mark Long Service Awards took place at The Westin Hotel, Dublin. The event recognised employees from salons across Ireland who have worked at Peter Mark for 10 years or more. Two hairstylists celebrated 35 years with the company, Karen O'Neill who is based at the Malahide salon and Alice McAvinney who is based in Dundalk. Also being honoured were Sharon Browne who has worked with the company in Dundalk for 10 years, as has Lisa Pepper. Emma Fitzpatrick celebrated her 25 years service. Collectively those honoured at the ceremony had almost 2,000 years of experience in the hairdressing industry! Peter Mark employs almost 1,700 people across the country, making it one of Ireland's largest employers. Peter O'Rourke, CEO Peter Mark said: 'Our Long Service Awards celebrates the fantastic contribution of our team to Peter Mark. We are proud to say that we have so many talented stylists and support staff who have worked with us for over 10 years or more, something which is almost unheard in hairdressing.' As a member of Ireland's Defence Forces who has served in the Middle East and met with world leaders at Aras An Uachtarain, Dundalk native Thomas Martin has some exciting stories to tell. However, for his first novel, he has steered away from adventures but instead seeks inspiration in the gentle story of a grandfather recording his memories. As an avid reader, Thomas began writing 'The Life and Times of Mr Joseph Soap' under a mosquito net while on UN peace keeping duties in the middle east in 2014. It was his second tour of duty to Lebanon and his room mate had gone home on leave, so Thomas began writing down the ideas which had been simmering in his head for some time. 'I've always been into reading, particularly autobiographies and had the idea for the book for a long time before I started writing it,' he said. He wanted his book to give voice to 'an ordinary everyday person' with a real story to tell, rather than the kiss and tell celebrities of contemporary society. 'It's about a 74-year-old grandfather whose sixth grandchild is born. He knows that due to his advancing years, time will not permit him to a relationship with this child so he decides to write an autobiography to leave for his grandson.' The book is set in Dublin and tells the story of Joseph Soap - a Senior Old Age Pensioner- as he looks back at a life which was less ordinary than one might expect. With the support of his wife Siun, Thomas decided to publish the book himself and entered the second draft into the 2016 International Literary Festival. Much to his delight, the book made it through the qualifying round and he made valuable contacts in the world of editing and publishing. 'Given the theme of the book, I approached Age Action Ireland and they really liked it,' said Thomas. 'They agreed to promote it through their social media accounts and to stock it in their shops around the country and 20% of the proceeds will go towards the organisation.' While stressing that the book is a work of fiction, Thomas admits that there are parts of his own grandfathers, Danny Hearty and Tommy Martin, in Joseph Soap. 'They were great characters so certain mannerisms of theirs appear in the book but I've left it open so that people can identify with Joseph as their own grandfather.' Thomas joined the Defence Forces in 1998 after completing his Leaving Cert at De La Salle College and served with the 27th Battalion in Dundalk and Monaghan. He is now a member of the Military Police, based at Aras an Uachtarain, and divides his time between Dundalk and Dublin. He is currently working on his next novel 'The Life and Times of Mr. Joseph Soap is available on paperback from Roe River Books, Dundalk and from Age Action shops nationwide. The Kindle edition is available to download at the Kindle Store, via Amazon.com and as an eBook via Apple iBooks. An Air Corps helicopter lifting water from Carlingford Lough to help put out gorse fires in Armagh The Irish Air Corps engaged in a cross border mission to help firefighters tackling a massive blaze just north of the Louth border with Armagh last week. Helicopters from the Air Corps were seen flying back and forward across the border last week as they responded to a request from the Northern Ireland Fire Service to assist in the efforts to put out huge gorse fires at Slieve Gullion in South Armagh. The fire burned for a number of days at the Slieve Gullion mountain, just two miles across the border from Louth. The blaze became extensive, covering around 100 acres and was burning close to a designated area of special specific interest. A spokesman for the Defence Forces confirmed on Tuesday last that they responded to a request from the Fire Service of Northern Ireland, deploying Air Corps assets to combat wildfires in the Slieve Gullion area. 'Thus far, over 90,000 litres of water has been dropped on the flames, making considerable inroads in controlling the blaze.' Minister with responsibility for Defence Paul Kehoe also confirmed that approval was given for Air Corps involvement following the request. The approval was granted following contact between the Defence Forces, the Department of Defence, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. A spokesman said that DFAT officials had liaised with the British authorities to ensure 'all necessary permissions were in place for the Air Corps to cross the border.' The air corps helicopters caused a flurry of activity in the skies over Dundalk as they landed at Aiken Barracks to refuel during their cross border efforts and took off again to head northwards across the border. The Argus understands that the air corps drew water from Carlingford Lough and Camlough Lake in South Armagh to carry and drop over the huge blaze. The massive cross border campaign, and the return of some rainy conditions in the middle of last week helped to quell the flames. Minister Kehoe said the Air Corps remained on standby to respond to requests for assistance with fires caused by the hot weather. 'This deployment is the latest example of how our Defence Forces and Air Corps are assisting other agencies to ensure communities are kept safe.' The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service confirmed its own extensive efforts to tackle the huge blaze which was visible from roads north of Dundalk. Fire crews battled the fires with four appliances, specialist wildlife resources and all-terrain vehicles are at the scene. Peter Fitzpatrick TD, Senator Grace OSullivan, Fergus ODowd TD, Maria Bailey TD and Pat Casey TD at the official launch of the Joint Committee on Housing, Planning & Local Government Housing Options for Older People Report at Great Northern Haven on Barrack Street The Great Northern Haven at Barrack Street was the backdrop for the Joint Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government to launch its new 'Report on Housing Options for Older People' last week. Amid the glorious summer sun politicians gathered with those working in the field of caring for older people to celebrate the launch of new strategies for the care of an ageing population. Rodd Bond, from the Dundalk based 'Nestling' project which was a key driver in the creation of the Barrack Street development led tours of the facility, outlining the design, resources and and adaptations made to ensure older people can live independently for longer. Speaking at the 'Great Northern Haven', a unique housing development at Barrack Street, which uses cutting edge technology to provide accommodation for older people, Committee Chairperson, Maria Bailey TD, said, 'Ireland as a nation is growing older and living longer and this is something to be celebrated. 'However, as the population of older people increases, Ireland will have to adapt its current housing policy to facilitate this change in demographics.' She added: 'We must begin the conversation about the changes in our society today so the future doesn't surprise us.' 'With this in mind, the Committee undertook a series of meetings and stakeholder engagement with the aim of publishing a report that would assist in the future planning in this area.' 'The report we have published makes eight practical recommendations, taking into consideration the health, social and economic needs of older people.' The chairperson added: 'In order for older people to live at home and in their own communities for as long as possible, we are recommending that the Housing Adaption Grant eligibility age be lowered from 66 to 60. This would go a long way towards making homes more suitable for an older person and allow them to have necessary adaptions made in good time, rather than perhaps at a later time when a health issue develops, perhaps suddenly.' The Committee also called for mechanisms to be developed which would incentivise and promote the construction of housing options and residential care facilities located in town centres or central locations within easy access of local services. 'Isolation is a real concern for older people and it is important that housing developments for older people are within easy access of transport links and social opportunities.' As part of the committee's 'stakeholder engagement' they met with several organisations involved in front line services and also representatives from Great Northern Haven, the Louth based development which offers a community alternative to residential care, incorporating a range of smart living technologies to make accommodation suitable for the older people who live there. 'This kind of innovation and creativity is what we want to encourage and promote in local communities right across Ireland. With the relevant Ministers, Departments, State Agencies and stakeholders, the Committee is fully committed to monitoring the progress being made on the on-going implementation of the recommendations contained in our report as well as other housing policy initiatives.' The national report launched at the Dundalk development saw eight key recommendations being made including: housing typologies in housing developments be required to match the age demographic of the area in which the development is being proposed; that mechanisms be developed to incentivise and promote the construction of housing options and residential care facilities located in town centres or central locations within easy access of local services; that the Housing Adaption Grant eligibility be lowered from 66 years of age to 60 years of age; that a cost benefit analysis be conducted into the exact costs per unit and the corresponding long term savings of implementing universal design into all housing that funding be standardised across local authorities for the Housing Adaption Grant. With almost half of all Irish households owning a dog, businesses which have yet to become dog friendly are missing out on the 'canine euro' or the 'dog pound'. A change in the legislation last year means that dogs (and cats) can be allowed into restaurants. This, however, is at the business owner's discretion and so far only a handful of local establishments are welcoming four legged customers so most dog owners are resigned to having to huddle outside in all weather if they wish to have a coffee or meal while out and about with their pets. This is in stark contrast to the situation abroad, where dogs are welcomed into restaurants, bars and even shops throughout Europe. Just a few miles down the road, tourist establishments in Northern Ireland are becoming more aware of the importance of being dog friendly, with many proudly displaying plaques boasting of their dog friendly status outside their premises. Locally, dog lovers Bobby Wain and Jerome McAteer are ahead of the pack when it comes to recognising the need for dog friendly amenities. As owners of the popular McAteers The Food House in Dundalk and Carlingford, they are among the few local restaurants who welcome dogs to their premises. 'I'm a huge dog lover and also a volunteer with Dundalk Dog Rescue and dogs are a huge part of our lives so it was a natural decision to take,' says Bobby. 'Dogs are part of the family. They are social creatures and don't like being left at home all day, so if people are going out, they should be able to take their dog with them.' 'There are regulations about keeping dogs a distance from the kitchen or food preparation area, but apart from that, they are welcome in our restaurants.' He accepts that some people might not be happy around dogs, but points out that they have plenty of places to go where they won't meet dogs, while dog owners have few choices if they want to bring their pet with them. 'Obviously, we want the owners to make sure that their dogs are well behaved and under control, that they aren't wandering around, annoying people or sniffing at tables,' continues Bobby. 'This is all new for us all and we want it to work so it's important that owners are responsible.' If someone isn't keeping their dog under control, Bobby will go over and have a quiet word with them, pointing out their responsibilities as dog owners. 'We get a lot of people who are out walking with their dogs in Carlingford, especially during the summer when people can't leave their dogs in a hot car.' 23 Seats in Crowe Street is another popular destination for dog lovers as it welcomes dogs who are happy to sit at their owners feet. 'We've welcomed dogs since we opened and we have regulars who come in with their dogs,' said a spokesperson. Panama Coffee in the Market Square is popular spot with dog owners, as they are welcome to sit at the table outside, and bowls of water are provided for the canine customers. Glen Gat Guesthouse in Dundalk extends a Cead Mile Failte to all guests and regularly accommodates visitors with pets. 'We are dog friendly and will give guests a bigger room so that they have more space,' says Catherine Mullins. 'We get a lot of people travelling with their dogs, especially from England, and we've also had people bringing their cats.' 'We've never had any trouble with pets staying. The dogs are always impeccably behaved - better than humans!' 'We find that anyone who takes the trouble to travel with their dog on holidays will make sure that their pets are well behaved and are genuine animal lovers.' They also provide accommodation for professional dog handlers and Catherine recalls a group of blind people staying with their guide dogs. 'We are going to England on holidays later in the year and will be bringing our dog. If we can't find dog friendly accommodation, we will simply go to somewhere else that welcomes us.' Tourist Officer Sinead Roche says that most people travelling with pets will have made their own arrangements before coming here on holidays. 'This summer we have had quite a few people coming in with pets, travelling in motor homes, so they've got their pet passports sorted out but don't get many enquiries from people coming in looking for places to stay.' 'People will have done their homework before travelling and will have found somewhere dog friendly to stay.' Bernadine Quinn, Irene McCauley and Sandra Gojic at the annual Dundalk Pride open day in the Outcomers Courtyard at Roden Place Edel Sloane, Pauline McKeown and Gillian Berrill at the annual Dundalk Pride open day in the Outcomers Courtyard at Roden Place The weather couldn't have been any better for the Dundalk Pride 2018 open day which took place in the Outcomers' Courtyard, Roden Place, on Saturday. The brilliant sunshine added to the party mood as members of the local LGBT community, family and friends, gathered for a day of celebration in the colourfully decorated courtyard. There was a real party atmosphere with live music from a number of local bands, arts and craft stalls, upcycled furniture, face-painting, magician and activities for children, and of course, lots of food. The previous day, Outcomers had hosted a Youth Pride event with a number of talks and workshops aimed at young people aged between 12 and 18 years. This was the third year that an event was help specifically for young people from throughout the north East. It included a workshop on the history of the LGBT movement in Ireland will be outlined to mark the 25th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Ireland so that young people will be aware of the struggles undertaken to raise awareness of LGBT rights in the past, leading up to last year's Marriage Equality referendum. As this year marks the 20th anniversary of Dundalk Outcomers moving into their drop-in centre at 8 Roden Place, an event commemorating that occasion will take place later in the year. Four employees from Peter Mark Bray were honoured last week for long standing service. Hannah Bowden, Anna Gasciencia Doyle and Ivan Kostadinov were all honoured for 10 years' service to Peter Mark while Joanne Kelly was honoured for 20 years' service. The Peter Mark Long Service Awards took place at The Westin Hotel, Dublin and recognised employees from salons across Ireland who have worked at Peter Mark for 10 years or more. Of the 120 honoured today, the average length of service was 16 years but many were celebrating even more significant milestones with the company 19 people celebrated their silver jubilee racking up an impressive 25 years on the salon floor while six members of the team were honoured for 30 years of service. Two hairstylists celebrated 35 years with the company. Peter O'Rourke, CEO Peter Mark said: 'Our Long Service Awards which celebrates the fantastic contribution of our team to Peter Mark. As a company we are proud to say that we have so many talented stylists and support staff who have worked with us for over 10 years or more, something which is almost unheard in hairdressing. 'As a brand working in the service industry for 58 years, we know how important is to attract and retain the best talent. It is the lifeblood of our company. Providing the best training and career opportunities for our team is at the very centre of everything we do. We run a world class training programme which ensures our team are continuously learning and upskilling throughout their career to ensure we stay ahead of the curve. I would like to congratulate everyone who was honoured in our ceremony today and look forward to celebrating with them again at the next milestone.' Veronica and Brendan OLeary from Purple House Cancer Support with the cylclists as they prepared to head off on their cycle to Galway A group of 25 cyclists made the gruelling 250km cycle from Bray to Galway at the weekend to raise funds for Purple House Cancer Support Centre. The Coast to Coast cycle which was the brainchild of Danny McDermott was organised both to raise funds for and raise awareness of Purple House and its services. Conor O'Leary of Purple House Cancer Support said it had been a great success. 'We had 25 cyclists taking on the trip which brought us from Bray to Salthill in Galway. It was really a very mixed cycle. On Saturday it was very hot, in the mid 20s during parts of it and we travelled 150km to Athlone. We stayed overnight in Athlone and on Sunday morning we set off for Salthill in very rainy conditions. 'It was wet all day and it was a total contrast to Saturday's cycle. We arrived in Galway after completing the final 100km soaked to the skin but it didn't dampen our spirits. 'We were delighted that everyone who set off on the cycle completed it and we made friends for life during the weekend. 'It was a tough cycle in parts and we all really had to dig deep because many of us weren't seasoned cyclists so we really had to push ourselves. 'We had a mix of men and women taking part in the two day cycle from a range of different backgrounds. Some people were cancer survivors, some people had lost family members to cancer and others were supporters of Purple House. 'We also had a tandem team, Brendan and Robbie Ferris from Bray. Robbie has cerebral palsy and wanted to take part and his dad Brendan also had treatment for pre-cancer. 'We don't know how much we raised yet and it will be a couple of weeks before all the sponsorship is in. The money will be used to provide services at Purple House. 'In addition to raising funds we wanted to raise awareness of Purple House and its services to let people know that there are supports out there. We met a lot of people in every town and village along the way and received great support from them. 'It was such a success that it looks like the Coast to Coast cycle for Purple House will be an annual event which is great. Purple House Cancer Support Centre was the first community based cancer support centre in Ireland when it was founded in 1990 and today helps over 1,100 families each year through its cancer support services which include programmes for children, counselling, practical support and support groups. Dr Rita Doyle is also the first full-time GP to be elected President of the Medical Council A general Practitioner from Bray has been elected as the first woman President of the Medical Council. Dr Rita Doyle is also the first full-time GP elected as President. Dr Doyle operates a family practice in Bray and has been a GP for over 30 years. She is also a past President of the Irish College of General Practitioners. The council's purpose is to protect the public by promoting and better ensuring high standards of professional conduct and professional education, training and competence among doctors. Dr Doyle said she was 'delighted and honoured' to be appointed president of the council. 'The primary role of the Medical Council is to protect patients and support doctors. I believe that the Medical Council should continue to support doctors and encourage them in their role as advocates for their patients, and in doing so, we will need to continue to highlight the shortcomings in our health services that are directly impacting patient care and creating too many impossible situations for doctors,' she said. 'In order to fulfil our dual remit of protecting patients and supporting doctors, we must continue to engage with the medical schools and the post-graduate training bodies to ensure that our doctors are receiving the highest standard of education and training. I am delighted to see the dramatic increase in enrolment rates in professional competence schemes and we must work with our stakeholders to ensure that continual professional development is relevant and of the highest standard,' said Dr Doyle. She also addressed the importance of supporting doctors, with the Medical Councils' Health Committee offering support to 45 doctors last year. 'Doctors get sick too and often find themselves in a position where they need additional support and guidance,' said Dr Doyle. 'Doctors should not be afraid to seek help and health managers, Clinical Directors and employers need to be aware of the options available should a colleague, employee or a friend need that assistance. 'The primary role of the Medical Council's Health committee is that of supporting the maintenance of registration and appropriate monitoring of doctors with identified health problems where there is no patient risk. There should be no fear about engaging with the Health Committee among the profession or in seeking help from any of the other bodies providing support'. A cyberattack on Singapore's public health system breached the records of 1.5 million people and targeted the prime minister, a two-time cancer survivor, officials said Friday. Of course, I also knew that the database would be attacked, and there was a risk that one day despite our best efforts it might be compromised. "Perhaps they were hunting for some dark state secret, or at least something to embarrass me", Mr. "If so, they would have been disappointed", he said. The data on Lee was "specifically and repeatedly targeted". However, details of medication was stolen from about 160,000 people, a government statement notes. However, while the attack was detected on July 4, it was later established that data "was exfiltrated" from June 27. "This cyberattack was a deliberate, targeted and well-planned one". Cybercrime is a pressing concern across the world, and even the governments aren't safe from it. "Please be assured that NO phone number, financial information or other patient medical records have been illegally accessed", it added. Iswaran will now form a committee of inquiry to conduct an independent review of the incident. Initial investigations showed that a SingHealth front-end workstation was infected with malware through which the hackers gained access to the database. The chief executive of Singapore's cyber security agency, David Koh, said they had not yet found the prime minister's information for sale online. It was confirmed to be a cyberattack six days later. SingHealth lodged a police report on July 12. It includes names and addresses, as well as prescription information in some instances - potentially allowing a hostile agency the ability to blackmail or otherwise attack the people whose data has been stolen. All patient records in SingHealth's IT system remain intact and there has been no disruption of healthcare services. "The care that we provide to patients has not been affected". Security measures, including the blocking of dubious connections and changing of passwords, were taken to thwart the hackers. Other public healthcare institutions will do the same. SingHealth said about 139,000 patients have already accessed the Heath Buddy mobile application and SingHealth website to check if they were affected by the attack. "Singapore ranks among the leaders in cyber security, and we would like to see more governments follow their lead in disclosing breaches". The review will cover areas like cybersecurity policies, threat management processes, IT system controls, among others. It is a significant breach reminiscent of one at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in the United States, when more than 21 million federal government staff's records were stolen. Wicklow's two mountain rescue teams have been allocated over 40,000 in funding under the CLAR Programme. Minister for Rural and Community Development Michael Ring made the announcement last week as he revealed the 70 beneficiaries of 1.2 million under Measure 3 (First Responders Support) of the programme. The Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team will receive 25,473 for the purchase of equipment, while the Glen of Imaal Red Cross Mountain Rescue Team is set to receive 17,723 for a vehicle upgrade and other equipment. The CLAR programme is a targeted investment programme which provides funding for small-scale infrastructural projects in rural areas that have suffered the greatest levels of population decline. Support is provided in three strands: Measure 1 - Support for Schools/Community Safety Measures; Measure 2 - Play Areas; and Measure 3 - First Response Support. SARDA (Search and Rescue Dog Association), which often trains in the Wicklow Mountains, was granted 37,873 for the purchase of a vehicle in this latest round of CLAR funding. At last week's announcement, Minister Ring said he was delighted to support the 'invaluable' contribution of voluntary organisations throughout the country. 'These community-based volunteer organisations do life-saving work. They need to have proper equipment and training in order to ensure they can perform their work; that's exactly what the funding I am announcing today will provide. This support will mean that if someone gets into difficulty, these groups will be better equipped to help them,' said Minister Ring. Night time water restrictions came into force in Bray and Shankill on Monday night. The restrictions, which are in place between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., were introduced in the Greater Dublin area (which takes in Bray and Shankill) as a response to the drought that is currently being experienced. The restrictions will remain in place until at least next Monday but could be extended. Irish Water announced the restrictions last Friday saying the move was necessary 'in a bid to protect future water supply for homes and businesses and avoid widespread outages in the autumn'. It said: 'Irish Water and the local authorities worked through over 800 district meter areas to establish where water supplies can be restricted and for how long while minimising the impact to homes and businesses. This was balanced against how much water can be saved through these restrictions. Areas around major hospitals have been protected and pressure will not be affected in those areas.' The level 2 restriction will see no day-time restrictions but will result in 'a reduction in the pressure at night-time to the minimal that is practical for normal pressure to reach the ground floor of a two storey house. 'Most customers will experience low night-time pressures, but no loss of supply. Supply to some customers on high ground and at remote end of networks may reduce to trickle at kitchen sinks during those periods. In multi-storey buildings, customers may experience low night-time pressures depending on their building pumping and storage system.' There are five levels of water restrictions, graded from one to five, with the first three resulting in no day-time restrictions. Irish Water said there are no current plans to go above Level 2, which is the level currently in force in the Greater Dublin area. Speaking about the move, Irish Water engineer and water conservation expert, Kate Gannon, said: 'Introducing restrictions was an option that Irish Water hoped could be avoided because of the inevitable impact on homes and businesses. The decision to lock down the restrictions to these areas was not taken lightly. If any customers are being adversely affected please call our Customer Care helpline on 1850 278 278 and this will allow us to identify any areas where an undue impact is being felt.' Irish Water said it will continue to monitor the situation but said the night time restrictions will remain in place for one week and will then be re-assessed. It has been referred to as the 'Tinder of the property market', and so far over 1,000 tenants, many of them from Cork, have signed up to a new property management service trying to make the moving process less painful for tenants. 'Moving' by Property Button allows tenants to show how they would be an excellent match in the scramble to find a suitable property. Property Button was founded by Jim Urell and Paddy O'Farrell. Potential tenants can find out how quickly they can get a viewing and can also improve their ranking by including validated landlord or work references to their profile. For landlords and estate agents, 'Moving' aims to help them to identify ideal tenants and move them into suitable properties quickly. It also aims to lessen the pressures of paperwork and compliance issues with GDPR, BER and Safety Certificates, as well as energy regulations, PRSA and Data Protection Commissioner Audits. This, a spokesperson said, shifts much of the burden for all the date management to Property Button. For further information go to www.propertybutton.ie A Mallow-based vet found guilty of professional misconduct over allowing his official stamp be used to certify some cattle as fit for export to Morocco, when they were not, has had his registration cancelled by the High Court. The president of the High Court, Mr Justice Peter Kelly, made the order against Cornelius Linehan (60), of Old Cork Road, Mallow. It followed an inquiry by a Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI) fitness to practice committee into a number of allegations against Mr Linehan. The Department of Agriculture applied for that inquiry arising from complaints by the Moroccan authorities in August 2011 over beef cattle exports by Murphy Hunter International Livestock Ltd (MHIL). The Moroccan authorities said that, of a batch of animals imported from Ireland on June 30, 2011, on foot of Private Veterinary Practitioner (PVP) certificates, 12 cases involved infectious bovine rhinotrachetis, 20 animals to date had died and another four were slaughtered. Haulier David Hunter, of Murphy Hunter International Livestock Ltd (MHIL), was later found guilty of making a gain by deception and was fined 100,000 and given a four-and-a-half year suspended sentence. A two-and-a-half year sentence imposed on office worker Joan Stafford was suspended on her completing 24 hours community service. During the subsequent inquiry by the Veterinary Council of Ireland, Mr Linehan admitted he provided Ms Stafford, on one or more unidentified dates, with the practice stamp for Awbeg Veterinary Clinic. While denying he did so for the purpose of her completing one or more PVP certificates signed by him, that charge was found proven and to amount to professional misconduct. Gardai in North Cork investigating the murder of a 24-year-old man in Mallow last week have contacted police in the UK for assistance in trying to trace a suspect whom they believe is now in Britain after fleeing from Ireland. Officers investigating the fatal stabbing of Conor Quinn in Mallow town centre on Thursday, July 12, had appealed to a 21-year-old local man to contact them and had made contact with people close to him in the hope that he would present himself to gardai for questioning. Gardai were confident from the feedback that they were getting from their contacts who were close to the young man that he was about to give himself up but they believe he panicked at the last moment and, with assistance, fled to the UK. Gardai were on alert at both airports and ports but they believe that the young man was smuggled out in the back of van that went on a ferry to the UK and they are now liaising through Interpol with British police in an attempt to locate him. Meanwhile, gardai say the investigation into the fatal stabbing of Mr Quinn on Bridge Street in Mallow at around 8.30pm on July 12 is progressing well with CCTV footage from premises around Mallow and footage from some dashcams proving of particular assistance. Garda sources have confirmed that they have secured footage of the fatal assault where Mr Quinn pulls up on a car on Bridge Street and gets out of the car and approaches the suspect and a brief exchange takes place before Mr Quinn is stabbed and the suspect flees on foot. Garda sources also revealed that they have secured footage of Mr Quinn then flagging down an ambulance which was driving along Bridge Street and taking off his shirt to show ambulance crew where he had been stabbed in the side before collapsing on the ground. Mr Quinn was rushed to Cork University Hospital but he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival and a post-mortem by Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster revealed that he had died from a single stab wound to the abdomen. Gardai say that they are investigating all the circumstances surrounding the fatal stabbing of Mr Quinn, including a possible link to a row at Cahirmee Horse Fair at nearby Buttevant earlier in the day amid suggestions that Mr Quinn may have been seeking to meet with the suspect. It's understood that CCTV footage from around Mallow town earlier on July 12 shows Mr Quinn being driven around in a car and emerging at various stages carrying a bar or bat and they are trying to establish if this was linked to the earlier row and Mr Quinn's subsequent stabbing. A native of Loughrea in Co Galway, Mr Quinn had grown up and gone to school in Tipperary Town and more recently resided in Killavullen. Mr Quinn, who is survived by his parents, Paul and Teresa, his brother Anthony, sister Sinead and partner Stephanie, will be buried in St Michael's Cemetery in Tipperary Town today following Requiem Mass. The construction of the 5million Harley's Street Pedestrian and Cycle Bridge - which will link Cork city centre and the Victorian quarter - will start this month. It's expected, when fully operational, that up to 11,000 pedestrians and cyclists, travelling between the city centre and the Victorian Quarter daily, will benefit from the improved connectivity and convenience provided by Harley's Street Bridge. The Victorian Quarter includes Mac Curtain Street and the surrounding area. Cork City Council has awarded the contract for the construction of the bridge to L&M Keating Contractors. L&M Keating operates nationally and internationally, and recently completed local projects such as the redevelopment of St Angela's College on St Patrick's Hill and Perrott's Inch Pedestrian Bridge at University College. Cork Lord Mayor Cllr Mick Finn said: "Thanks to the work of the bridge designers ARUP & Wilkinson Eyre Architects , the new bridge will fit sympathetically with the surrounding quays, buildings and city centre environment while maintaining the views along the river, Shandon and the northern suburbs. It will give the river the elegant crossing that it deserves." Construction activity will commence in late July, with the initial phase of work consisting of site set-up, and diversion of underground utilities. The bridge itself will be constructed off-site by Thompsons of Carlow between July this year and February 2019. Bridge sections will be transported by truck to the lower harbour for final assembly and finishing. The finished superstructure will be placed on a barge and transported by river to the city centre. The barge journey will be timed to coincide with the optimum tide level for clear passage under Brian Boru Bridge before arrival at its final destination in the city centre in April 2019. The bridge will be lifted by crane from the barge in one overnight operation which will require the complete closure of both quays for the duration. In parallel with the construction of the superstructure, minor traffic lane alterations will be required in the area where the bridge supports are being put in place. There was good news for Millstreet this week following confirmation that its full-time HSE ambulance service is set to be fully restored from September. The Millstreet ambulance service was withdrawn in 2012 and replaced by a Rapid Response Vehicle (RRV), manned by a single paramedic per shift. The move was met with considerable disquiet within the local community, resulting in repeated calls from local public representatives for the full restoration of the service. A main concern was that the RRV was unable to transfer patients, meaning that after a paramedic administered treatment patients still had to wait for an ambulance to take them to hospital. Concerns were also raised about the safety concerns for the paramedic operating alone in rural and isolated areas, particularly at night-time. In April Cllr John Paul O'Shea (FG) wrote to the head of the National Ambulance Service (NAS), Paul Gallen, asking him to confirm local speculation that the service was to be reinstated. Mr Gallen confirmed the NAS was reviewing resources in order to "establish best utilisation of same", including in the north Cork area and would inform Cllr O'Shea once a decision had been finalised. Cllr O'Shea said the Baseline and Capacity review undertaken by the HSE/NAS, known as the Lightfoot Report, confirmed the role of RRV's in rural areas such as Millstreet were ineffective and should be replaced by a transporting ambulance. Speaking to The Corkman this week Cllr O'Shea said confirmation that the service was being restored was "a positive outcome for the north Cork region and in particular the people of Millstreet." "I have witnessed first hand the need for the service, with many emergency calls from the area having to reply on ambulances from Macroom, Killarney and even as far away as Tralee and Newcastle-West in the absence of a transporting ambulance," said Cllr O'Shea. He pointed out under the current system it could take more than two-hours for an ambulance to arrive at a call. "I welcome the fact that the HSE now intends to restore the Millstreet service 24/7 from September. Enabling works have already commenced as the ambulance base in Millstreet in anticipation of its return," said Cllr O'Shea. He went on to say that the Lightfoot Report, the first of its kind to e undertaken in Ireland, had outlined how the ambulance service nationally should be improved over the coming years. "The recommendations of this report must be implemented in full which will in the first instance restore confidence in our ambulance service and most importantly improve pre-hospital emergency care services for all our citizens and this in turn will have a positive impact on the wider health services," said Cllr O'Shea. He said the report has identified a significant need for investment in staff, technology and in community engagement to improve the service. "As a local representative in north Cork, I will do my utmost to ensure the HSE ambulance service follows through with these recommendations," he added. Two men have been returned for trial after they were charged with the murder of a 40 year old father of two who died after being struck with an iron bar during a row at a filling station in North Cork last year. Polish nationals Marcin Skrzypezyk (30) and Tomasz Wasowicz (44) were both charged with the murder of Slovakian national, Ludovit Pasztor (40) on February 21st 2017 at the Amber Petrol Station, Carrignagroghera, Fermoy. Last Friday at Fermoy District Court, Insp Michael Corbett applied to have both men returned for trial to the current sittings of the Central Criminal Court and Judge Brian Sheridan granted the application and remanded both men in custody. Both Mr Skrzypezyk, a truck driver who previously lived in Macroom, and Mr Wasowicz, a truck driver who previously lived in Portarlington in Co Laois, had returned from Poland to answer the charges directed by the DPP. Last Friday, Sgt Tony O'Flynn gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution and told Fermoy District Court that Mr Wasowicz replied 'Not Guilty when the charge was put to him after caution when he was arrested. Last year, Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster told an inquest into Mr Pasztor's death that he died from traumatic brain injury with subarachnoid and intra-cerebral contusional injury with raised intracranial pressure due to blunt force trauma to the head. The inquest also heard evidence how Mr Pasztor, who lived with his wife, Andrea Koviacova and two daughters, Andrea (15) and Eva (11 at Glencullen on the Duntaheen Road in Fermoy , was pronounced dead at the scene by local GP, Dr George Treurnicht. The late Mr Pasztor had come to Ireland in 2010 and had worked in Kepak Meats in Watergrasshill and later in Silver Pail Dairy in Fermoy but had left to become a full time carer for his wife who was seriously ill at the time of his death. Alberta United Conservative Leader Jason Kenney says he regrets personally attacking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and is apologizing for doing so. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet shuffle, which saw two ministries rebranded to address diversifying trade and promoting Canadian exports, moved six existing ministers to new portfolios and promoted five other MPs to the federal cabinet. MAC looks forward to working with Minister Sohi towards the finalisation and launch of this pan-Canadian strategy, knowing that he brings to this portfolio a strong knowledge of the critical importance of new infrastructure to attracting new mining investment, as well as an understanding of Edmonton's importance as a northern hub for mining supplies and services, notably to the oilsands and diamond sectors. Many cabinet members with key roles stayed put, including McKenna, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, Finance Minister Bill Morneau, Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains and Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan. "I think there's no question that the worldwide context is constantly changing", the Prime Minister told reporters. Even without a firm handle on what passed between Putin and Trump, experts say the meeting again saw the USA president throw long-standing norms, conventions and principles out the window - many of which have formed the basis of Canada's approach to the world. Former minister of infrastructure and communities Amarjeet Sohi was named natural resources minister on Wednesday, taking over the department from Jim Carr, who was named minister for worldwide trade diversification. So far, however, no ministers have publicly signalled that they intend to skip next year's campaign. There were Liberal governments in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces. It's possible that the formation of a united Conservative party in Alberta could lead to a change of government there in the next provincial election. Liberals saw the election in early June of Conservative Doug Ford as premier of Ontario - the country's richest and most heavily populated province - as a warning shot. Dominic LeBlanc becomes Minister of Intergovernmental and Northern Affairs and Internal Trade, he had been Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard. Additionally, a spike in gang-related gun crime in Toronto has raised public concerns. Former Natural Resources minister Jim Carr arrives at a swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Wednesday, July 18, 2018. Ian Brodie, who served as chief of staff for former prime minister Stephen Harper, said in a tweet that Blair's appointment shows the Liberals are anxious Ontario's Ford government can hurt them over border security and the migrant issues. He had been Minister of Natural Resources. Something of a cosy consensus has been allowed develop around our president and the notion that he be granted a second term in office without an election. The automatic 're-election' of a President happens regularly in Ireland - tolerated, perhaps, because of the office's largely ceremonial role - but it is not a practice that should be allowed continue. Whatever your opinion of the office of President - a role many feel should be abolished altogether - the incumbent is our Head of State and should be elected by the people and not crowned by political parties with an eye on their election war chests. Michael D Higgins has enjoyed a successful tenure as President and has proved popular with the public. His part in the 1916 Centenary celebrations and his State visit to Britain have been high-points and the President's contributions on the homelessness crisis, social justice and Ireland's historic treatment of women have been insightful and impressive. However his term has not been without a degree of controversy. He has been accused of politicising the office and his praise for the murderous Cuban tyrant Fidel Castro appalled many on both side of the political aisle. There is no doubt that Michael D Higgins is popular and he has certainly enhanced the profile of the Presidency. However, that alone is not enough to warrant crowing him for a second term as head of state without going to the people. It is clear, with the possibility of a General Election at any time, neither Fianna Fail or Fine Gael have any thirst for a Presidential election. Supposed apathy among the public and the potential cost of an election have been cited as handyexcuses not to go to the polls. The fact that the Presidential Election could have been held on the same day as two referendums could have put paid to the cost issue. Conveniently for Fianna Fail and Fine Gael last week previously unaired concerns about the legality of removing the 'womans place in the home' clause in the constitution mean that vote will now, probably, be delayed until 2019. There are also the frequent, ludicrous, claims in political and media circles that President Higgins is 'universally adored'. He isn't. No politician ever has been and none ever will be. He is definitely popular, and he is held in very high esteem by many, but he most certainly isn't universally loved. In 2011 President Higgins received just over 56 per cent of the vote. That means that almost half the electorate did not want him in Aras an Uachtarain, After seven years in office he may well receive a higher vote no but those who voted against him in 2011 deserve to have their say again. The President should also tell voters why he has reneged on his, categorical, 2011 pledge that he would not seek a second term. Back in 2004, when Mary McAleese was about to be returned for a second term unopposed, one prominent TD said that the main political parties were showing 'great arrogance' when they argued that there shouldn't be a contest. And who was that TD? None other than Michael D Higgins. While people across the county are enjoying tucking into their new potatoes at dinner time, Stafford's Slaney Farms have found an alternative use for the humble spud and are embarking on an exciting new venture in the form of Jackford Irish Potato Gin. The new premium gin launched in the South East in recent months and is currently in the midst of a nationwide launch as well as having big plans for installing a state of the at distillery and visitor's centre at the current home of the 1798 Centre in Arnold's Cross. The idea was simply born from looking at doing something different with the potatoes coming out of the ground at Slaney Farms in Tomnalossett near Enniscorthy, owner John Stafford explains. 'About three years ago, we decided to look at an alternative use for the potatoes we grown here,' he said. 'Initially we looked at making crisps, but having carried out quite a bit of market research we decided upon making gin here. We spent a couple of years researching it and developing the product with expert tasters and now we're delighted to take Jackford Potato Gin to the market and so far the reception has been absolutely brilliant.' Orla Stafford, Head of Marketing with Jackford Potato Gin, explains what makes it different from other gins on the market. 'It's a premium gin and it's unique really,' she said. 'Most gins are made with grain. I think ours is the only one in Ireland made from potatoes, which gives it a much smoother taste. The emphasis is on flavour and it contains an array of over 13 classic and native Irish botanicals and it's a true gin lover's delight!' This summer, Orla says they are encouraging people not just to support Wexford on the hurling field, but with their drinks choice as well and they're promoting a seasonal speciality of Jackford Gin, Poacher's Elderflower tonic and Wexford strawberries. The launch is just the very start for John and Orla as well. Wexford County Council has already agreed to the sale of the 1798 Centre and John is hopeful that, pending planning permission, they can have a state of the art distillery complete with an interactive visitor centre situated at the Arnold's Cross site by next summer. 'The idea is that building will stay almost the same,' John explained. 'We'll fit the old building out with the distillery and then keep the visitors centre where people will be able to come and see how the gin is made and sample the product. It'll be a fully interactive experience and tour and we're hoping that we can attract quite a number of tourists to Enniscorthy. If everything goes to plan, we'd hope to move in next year and be open for next summer.' The operation will most certainly carry an employment boost for the area as well, with John outlining that initially he would foresee the operation providing work for four to five people, with plans to create up to 20 jobs with the visitor centre eventually. While the Stafford family have been farming potatoes in the South East for 300 years, this represents a new departure for them as they look to carve out their own niche in a competitive drinks market with something just a little bit different and they hope to be the toast of gin lovers right across the country. An educational initiative designed to increase students' interest in maths, science and engineering has been completed in Balbriggan Educate Together National School. The STEAM Education programme is designed for students in fifth and sixth class. It aims to increase awareness of a wide variety of careers available in STEAM sectors (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) from an early age. The innovative programme matches STEAM experts who work in the finance, industrial, pharmaceutical and engineering sectors with primary school teachers and their classes for ten weeks. During this period, students engage with maths, science and engineering in a fun and stimulating environment. This programme is the result of a partnership between Fingal County Council, Balbriggan Chamber of Commerce and STEAM Education Ltd. Grainne Bagnall, Program Lead at STEAM Education said: 'We are delighted and thankful to have Fingal County Council in collaboration with Balbriggan Chamber of Commerce on board with experts from local businesses. Working together in such a partnership with local industry experts/co-teachers, students, teachers and Principal Marian Griffin from Educate Together NS we can inspire kids to love STEAM subjects and visualise STEM+A careers for their future. We look forward to continuing this wonderful partnership in the years to come.' Deputy Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Grainne Maguire said: 'The STEAM Education programme allows students to discover science, technology, engineering and maths in an exciting and inspiring way. Balbriggan has a diverse, vibrant and talented population of young people who have the potential to contribute hugely to the future of Fingal so I am delighted to see that the programme has been implemented here.' Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, Paul Reid said: 'Fingal has the youngest population in Ireland so it is vital that we invest in their future. Introducing the subjects of Science, Maths, Engineering and Technology in primary school makes them more accessible and enjoyable for students.' Total flights handled in Irish airspace for June 2018 was recorded at 112,005 movements, an increase of +4.1% over June 2017. The figures revealed by the Irish Aviation Authority include total terminal movements (Dublin, Cork, Shannon) North Atlantic Communications flights (Europe/US flights) and overflights managed. These record-breaking figures mean that Ireland's skies are set for their busiest-ever summer. In relation to international arrivals and departures, the commercial terminal traffic for Shannon, Dublin and Cork airports were up by +4.7% in June 2018, when compared to June 2017. Commercial terminal flights at Dublin were up by +4.9% with an average of 703 daily commercial movements at Dublin. Commenting on the announcement, IAA Chief Executive, Peter Kearney said: 'These are positive and notable figures for the month of June. Aviation continues to open Ireland up to the world and management of air traffic growth is a key driver for our economy. 'The IAA continues to invest in its state-of-the-art air traffic management system and in the development of our staff, to deliver a world-class service to our airline customers.' The IAA also continues to handle all of these flights safely without (ATFM) delay, delivering a high-quality service that meets the needs of our airline customers. Additionally, there was an increase of +6.1% in Ireland's overflight traffic movements (flights, which do not land in Ireland) during June 2018, in comparison to June 2017. The IAA's analysis of North Atlantic Communications flights (Europe /US Flights) saw an increase of +1% in June 2018, when compared to June 2017. A man convicted of involvement in the 'horrendous' aggravated burglary, assault and robbery of an 81-year old farmer in rural north Co Dublin has been jailed for 12 years. Adam Marlowe (24) was convicted by a jury after his DNA profile was found on blue latex material located in the home of the elderly farmer who was beaten in his bedroom by three people wearing balaclavas. The material was described as the fingertip of a latex glove. Marlowe, of Walkinstown Drive, Walkinstown, Dublin had pleaded not guilty to aggravated burglary, robbery of 50 and assaulting Malachy Turley causing him harm at his home in rural north Co Dublin, on July 29, 2016. After a four day trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, a jury returned guilty verdicts on all three counts following less than one hours deliberation. The court heard that Marlowe maintains his innocence. Marlowe, who has 79 previous convictions, was on bail for two district court offences at the time of the burglary and was also serving the suspended portion of a sentence imposed for violent disorder. His previous offences include theft, possession of knives, criminal damage, dangerous driving, use of a mobile phone in prison as well as drugs, road traffic and public order offences. Mr Turley outlined in a victim impact statement read to the court that he suffered bruising to his legs, torso and arms and a deep cut to his hand which required five stitches. He said he had been 'traumatised' for some months after the events and had increased security measures at his home. He said his confidence and independence had been impacted and described how it was hard to get back to the way things were. He said he was more paranoid now and wary of visitors and callers. 'I was very lucky in life that everyone I met were good people until I met these three boys,' he said. Mr Turley's statement to gardai was read into evidence during the trial pursuant to section 21 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 and he did not have to give evidence from the witness box. Judge Melanie Greally said the case had been contested on a very narrow basis but the jury were satisfied that Marlowe was one of the men involved and he was ultimately convicted on the basis of DNA evidence. She said Mr Turley had been living a solitary existence in an isolated cottage, faring well and attending to all his needs. She said his victim impact statement showed remarkable stoicism. She noted he said it would be hard to get his life back to the way it was and she commented that it might be nearly impossible for someone of his age to regain their sense of safety in their own home. She said the aggravating aspects in these 'horrendous' offences were that they were premeditated and pre-planned crimes against an 81 year old man who was 'isolated, vulnerable and defenceless'. Judge Greally noted the men had been armed with weapons of varying degrees with which Mr Turley had been struck and threatened to the point of losing consciousness. She gave Marlowe credit for the fact that he was a young man who had a challenging upbringing marked by violence and drug abuse with very little in the way of positive role models. She noted he was now in a stable relationship and had a two year old child. She said his previous offending appeared to be related in some measure to his drug addiction. Judge Greally said the aggravated burglary merited a headline sentence of 15 years but taking into account the mitigating factors she reduced this to 12 years imprisonment. A sample of DNA taken from Marlowe was found to match the profile of a sample taken from the blue latex material. The court heard 93% of the DNA taken from the latex matched his profile. Vincent Heneghan SC, defending, asked that Marlowe be given some credit that he did not require the injured party to give evidence from the witness box and relive the events in that manner. Mr Heneghan said Marlowe had a 'very challenging upbringing; in a dysfunctional family where domestic and substance abuse were present. He said Marlowe had distanced himself from his family and the only brightness in his life were his partner and child. Halving night time flights in and out of Dublin Airport 'cannot be acceptable' according to the Minister for Transport who appeared to nail his colours to the mast on the future of planning conditions restricting night time flying attached to Dublin Airport's proposed new runway. Addressing the Oireachtas Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport, Minister of Transport, Shane Ross was asked if planning conditions for the runway would lead to the halving of night-time flights across then entire runway network of the airport. Minister Ross confirmed that was the daa's prediction and said that situation was 'obviously something that is not acceptable'. The comment will make local residents anxious, who have argued strongly that those planning conditions restricting night-time flying at the airport should stay in place. The daa want the conditions removed, saying they would restrict the growth of the airport and damage its business, and a new EU directive has offered the authority a possible path to getting what they want. It was the progress of primary legislation to enact that regulation that the Minister was at Committee to discuss. Earlier this year, Minister Ross announced that Fingal County council would be appointed the new noise regulator for Dublin Airport, giving the council the decision on whether those controversial planning conditions are overturned or not. Minister Ross laid out a timetable for the enacting of the legislation to put the system in place and told committee members how the system would work. Once Fingal County Council are officially appointed noise regulator for the airport, it will be open to the daa to challenge those planning conditions under the new EU directive. Fingal County Council will have to review that application and a three month public consultation process has been promised by the Minister to make sure all the stakeholders, including local residents, get their say. However, Minister Ross appeared to suggest the outcome he would like to see when he equated those planning conditions staying in place with 'everything going wrong'. He said: 'If everything went wrong and if the planning restrictions came in as they now are, it would halve the put through of night time traffic. That is what is predicted by the daa. That is obviously something that is not acceptable...' However, when challenged if that meant the decision is already made, Minister Ross said 'no'. He said the regulator would be 'absolutely independent'. 'We can't put pressure on them or tell them what to do,' Minister Ross added. The process to get the new noise regulator in place is already 18 months behind schedule. But the Minister assured the committee that the system would be in place and decision on any restrictions that might be placed on the operation of the new runway would be made in time for its opening. Fingal's newest councillor is settling into his new surroundings and is painfully aware he has some big boots to fill in replacing the long-serving councillor who built up a reputation for being a fierce defender of the interests of the people of Rush and his hometown of Lusk and for being a huge local vote-getter. Rob O'Donoghue was recently co-opted onto the council after Cllr Farrell retired and he now has the summer to bed in to the job and introduce himself to his constituents before the council resumes meetings in the autumn. Cllr Farrell has been helping the new councillor settle in and sharing the knowledge that has been hard won in decades serving on the council. It is some big shoes to fill and Cllr O'Donoghue knows it. He said: 'Nobody is more aware of the size of the shoes into which I'm stepping, than I am. One does not just replace Ken Farrell. 'I am hoping to follow in his footsteps, as do what he said he always did and that's just try to do my best. He told me that if I can't do something then just be straight with people and I suppose that's obvious but it's important not to promise things you can't deliver or you just end up disappointing people.' The new councillor has a year to prove himself to the electorate before the next local elections. With his party's consent, he intends to run in those elections and is in local politics for the long haul but how did he end up getting involved in active politics in the first place? Well unusually, it was a European issue that drew the local man in. He explained: 'The Lisbon Treaty brought me into active politics. I did a Masters in European Politics and the Lisbon Treaty came along and I was pro-Treaty and a lot of my friends were not so they told me in no uncertain terms, to either shut up or do something about it. So I said: 'Right, I will!' 'So I went through that campaign with a non-aligned group and then after that, I joined the Labour Party. I looked around the parties and looked at the values they espoused and I was closest to Labour, in terms of equality and defending workers' rights. It just seemed like the most natural fit for me.' The new councillor spent 27 years of his life in Rush and now lives in Lusk so is well placed to serve both towns. His day job has also given him an insight into broader issues nationally and across Fingal. He is a social researcher working for non-profits, principally on issues relating to equality. He also had a hand in preparing a recent strategy document for the Fingal Public Participation Network which brought him into contact with a lot of people connected with the local authority who he will be working with in the weeks and months ahead. The Labour councillor is acutely aware this year is important and he has a short window to prove himself an effective councillor for his constituents. He said: 'I have a year anyway and I would like to serve the new constituency of Rush and Lusk as well as I can. There are a few specific things 'I would like to work on like working on bike lanes from Rush and Lusk out to the train station so they could link up with the proposed walkway and cycleway to Donabate. 'I'm hoping to be able to increase the resources that go into the Rush and Lusk area. When I call around the doors, there is a perception that Rush and Lusk are being left behind some of the other towns in Fingal and I would like to see infrastructure going into both towns that would increase tourism. 'The Main Street in Rush has been an issue for a number of years. 'In Lusk there is plenty of heritage out there that can be built upon and the heritage society locally does great work preserving it and bringing in tourists and I think they could be supported a lot more.' The local councillor believes that Rush and Lusk along with the Donabate and Portrane peninsula creating its own new local electoral area will be a positive step for each of the towns surrounding the Rogerstown Estuary. He explained: 'I think it will help. The towns are very different in some ways and similar in others. 'Even with Donabate in there, we are all basically around the Rogerstown Estuary and maybe that's what they should have called the new electoral area. 'I don't see why the towns can't work together for the benefit of each other.' Cllr O'Donoghue knows that ultimately his future on the council will rest with the electorate. He said: 'I've got a year to prove myself to be effective for the area and I intend to be. If I am then I'll get elected, and if I'm not, I'm sure I won't.' He describes attaining a seat on Fingal County Council as a 'dream come true in many ways'. He explained: 'I would have liked to do it for the last 10 years really, ever since I joined up. I would have liked to run the last time but it wasn't to be. So when Ken said he was going, I decided to go for it. It's been a steep learning curve so far but sure, I'll get used to it.' Cllr O'Donoghue is now the third Labour councillor on Fingal County Council under the age of 40 and he hopes that will help him and the party engage younger voters at the next local elections. He said: 'In the past, I was a substitute teacher in St Joseph's and I'll be trying to engage ex-students politically to try and turn out and vote so I hope they didn't hate me too much. 'I think there's a great opportunity there. The last two referenda were bread and butter issues for the Labour Party for years and most of the kids I would have had in school, not all of them, but most of them, would have been on the same side in those issues. I think those campaigns show there is scope for engagement with young people.' On the party's prospects at the next local elections, he said: 'I think we are in a rebuilding process and you see that in the polls but politics is a long-term game and I would like to be in it for the long-term to work towards reviving the party's fortunes on a local level and I'm quite happy to do that.' However, the new councillor said he has no ambitions beyond the council and is not interested in a political career on the national stage, at least for now. Now He said: 'I genuinely absolutely don't have interest in that. I'm just getting my head around this position. 'It's a big step up and I have nothing but respect for anyone who takes it - but ask me in 10 years time maybe. 'I'm looking forward to being just in the middle of it and working on issues and trying to make the lot of communities in Lusk and Rush better.' Sharing more of the issue he would like to work on in the year ahead, the new councillor said: 'I'd like to see the parts of the greenway funded in Lusk and between Rush and Donabate and I'd love to see some movement on the Main Street in Rush and the Urban Framework.' Cllr O'Donoghue added: 'I'm going to put in the hard yards and see if I can be effective for the people of the two towns and I'll be going out and hitting on people's doors and asking them what they want and then I'll try to follow through for them. I think there is scope for all the Labour candidates in the area. 'I hope to keep working on projects that Ken started like the Lusk 2020 and Balleally Park which is now coming to fruition - that was a big Ken project and I hope I'll be lucky enough to be there when it finally comes through.' And what leaf is he most likely to take out of his predecessors book? Cllr O'Donoghue said: 'I suppose I'd like to be like Ken in so far as he didn't speak at every council meeting but when he did, he commanded the respect of the people around him. I'd aspire to be like that so when I do say something it is meaningful rather than just hot air, I suppose.' The new councillor joins the council in a competitive election year and will have a busy time ahead both in the council chamber and out on the stump around north Fingal, canvassing door-to-door. Eimear Broderick, Aoife Mellors, Cllr Grainne Maguire and Clarissa Walser at theLaunch of art project between Skerries Youth Support Services and Skerries Community College in Floraville Leah McGealy, JP Browne, Deputy Mayor Grainne Maguire and Emily McDermott at the launch of art project between Skerries Youth Support Services and Skerries Community College in Floraville, Skerries Young people in Skerries are using their artistic talents to focus attention on promoting positive mental health among the town's youth. Skerries Youth Support Services (SYSS) and Skerries Community College recently welcomed the new Deputy Mayor of Fingal, Grainne Maguire, to launch the second annual 'Positive Mental Health Promotional Artwork'. The local community group and secondary school teamed up for the first time in 2017 to promote positive mental health and the popular initiative has returned this summer with the resulting artwork on display in Floraville, Strand Street, Skerries. The 'Positive Mental Health Promotional Artwork' project focuses on the area of mental health and what mental health means from a young person's perspective. The colourful paintings highlight some of the challenges that young people face today and that although sometimes forgotten or ignored, it is just as important to take care of our mental health as it is our physical health. One of the artists from Skerries Community College, Gemma Keogh said: 'Our mural is dedicated to teens of the LGBTQ+ community who are learning to accept themselves for who they are. The person in the painting is a non-binary teenager waving the pride flag proudly, whilst standing on a rock which represents their struggle to be where they are today.' Speaking at the launch, Chairperson of Skerries Youth Support Services, JP Browne said: 'Skerries Youth Support Services is proud to display the wonderful works of art produced by the students of Skerries Community College and would like to thank them for all of their hard work and creativity. We'd also like to thank Ms. Claire Loughran for her assistance. We hope people will drop into Floraville and spend a few minutes taking in these fantastic pieces by young people on mental health.' Skerries Youth Support Service, SYSS, is a youth-focused community organisation that supports the local young people through the challenges many of them face. SYSS operates as a beacon for young people and their families in Skerries and surrounding areas by promoting information and services on positive wellbeing, including mental, physical and sexual health, and personal safety. Central to its purpose is to raise public awareness about mental health and to encourage conversations amongst all generations of the community in an open, honest and trusting way. Together with the North Dublin Drug and Alcohol Task Force, SYSS are currently in the process of establishing a clinical youth support worker for young people (aged 12 to 18) in Skerries and the surrounding towns. LONDON - The EU's chief Brexit negotiator has cast firm doubt over Theresa May's plan for post-Brexit customs arrangements, suggesting they could be illegal under EU law and warning that they could create "a major risk of fraud". Even in the best-case scenario, however, the European Union adds that all sectors must prepare for changes, such as an end to passporting rights in the financial sector, and a requirement for inspections at ports, which will mean recruiting more customs staff. The EU are concerned May's proposals represent a fresh effort at "cherry picking" parts of the single market. Trading companies that have no experience in commerce with third countries - non-EU members - should learn about the procedures. Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesman Tom Brake said that Mrs May's Chequers deal had been "diplomatically, but systematically, torn apart" by Mr Barnier. "We need an all weather insurance policy", he said. "That is why I'm a little bit nervous", Germany's European affairs minister Michael Roth said in Brussels on Friday. "We can not afford to lose time on this issue", he added. You have to prepare yourself for no agreement. The European Union urges all its members to accelerate preparations in case Brexit talks with Britain fail. Several other junior ministers have also resigned. The Commission's document says "planning for the worst possible outcome is not a sign of mistrust in negotiations", stressing a deal remains their goal. Barnier, who met new Brexit secretary Dominic Raab on Thursday, also reminded Britain there could be no progress on future relations until all elements of its exit were tied up - notably ensuring no hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. He also insisted that the responsibility for resolving any outstanding issues rested with the British, since they were the ones who made a decision to leave - and that they would have to be resolved probably by December, as the process of ratifying any withdrawal agreement in the European Council, European Parliament, and British Parliament would not allow for negotiations to carry on to March 2019, when Brexit is supposed to happen - on paper, at least. Pro-Brexit MPs managed to push through an amendment this week to a trade bill, that excludes the possibility of the establishment of a customs border in the Irish sea - so practically ruling out this backstop option. "We have financial markets as well". In the light of the principles set by the European Council, the negotiator will explore common ground between the EU and the United Kingdom positions regarding the framework for future relations. "I'm looking forward to with new energy, vigour and vim looking at the detail of all of this". She deviated completely from that position when she and Oliver Robbins constructed the Chequers White Paper. "We are getting close to some very important deadlines". A young man who was caught with nearly 3,000 worth of cocaine and locked his car doors telling a garda to 'f**k off' and turned violent when the garda attempted to search the car has avoided a prison sentence. Zach Parker (22) has been ordered to complete 240 hours community service work in lieu of three months in prison after he was deemed suitable by the Probation Services. He also provided the court with clear urine analysis to prove he is no longer taking drugs. Swords District Court heard the defendant claimed he chipped in with friends to purchase the drugs and was using the drug as he was "going through a bad patch." When he was stopped he assaulted Garda David Smith during a violent struggle after Gda Smith managed to get him to open the car door, Swords District Court heard. The defendant then tried to discard the cocaine but after he was arrested he made full admissions. Parker, of Jugback Lane in Swords pleaded guilty to being in possession of 2,950 worth of cocaine for sale or supply at the Malahide Roundabout in north Dublin on February 4, 2017. He also pleaded guilty to being in simple possession of the drugs, contrary to Section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act on the same date. He has two previous convictions for road traffic offences. Gda Smith told the court he observed Parker driving a car in an erratic manner near the Malahide Roundabout at 7.45pm. He signalled the defendant to stop but he drove for a further 20 metres before stopping. He then locked the car doors and told Gda Smith to 'f**k off.' A violent struggle ensued and the defendant assaulted Gda Smith. Gda Smith said he had "no lasting injuries" as a result of the assault. Defence barrister Annette Kealy said the defendant had arranged with friends that he would pick up the drugs package. 'A number of mates contributed to the cost of the drugs and the struggle ensued as he panicked,' she said. 'He apologised and made admissions,' she said. Ms Kealy explained the defendant turned to drugs as a coping mechanism after his grandmother became terminally ill. 'He cared for her and relied on her. He began to take drugs as a coping mechanism and got into a drug habit,' she said. She said the defendant, who worked as a barber for seven years, lost his job as a result. 'He is regretful and is now free of drugs,' she said, adding he has 1,000 in court as a charitable contribution if the court sees fit. 'He is fundamentally a person of good character and was going through a bad patch at the time.' Judge Dermot Dempsey handed down the community service work order ordered 1,000 in compensation to be paid over to the Merchant's Quay Project. Residents and business owners in Courtown Harbour have expressed anger and concern over a suspected arson attack that occurred on a well-known local building. The fire occurred in the Ounavarra Hotel at around 8 p.m. on Monday, July 9, and such is the concern of locals in the area that they contacted Gorey local authority over the matter. In a statement issued to District Manager, Amanda Byrne, the residents and business owners highlighted that it took three hours for fire-fighters to get the blaze under control. One of the concerned people, Michelle Ray, said there was an adverse knock-on affect because many of the residents and business people had experienced smoke damage to their properties. The residents said they were put on standby for possible evacuation of their homes while the fire was being tackled - in case it couldn't be controlled. 'That was the instruction from the fire services on the evening of the event,' said Ms Ray. 'This building has been vacant for 14 years and nothing has been done to ensure that it is safe,' said the residents in their statement. 'Last year there were three fires in this building, with one having a sofa set alight on top of the building,' they added. 'We are very concerned that this is something that could happen at any time,' said Ms Ray. The residents are worried about the possible consequences if a fire occurs or is started in the early hours of the morning. 'People's lives are at risk and who is going to take responsibility for the consequences of such an event?' claimed the residents. The residents and business people say they are concerned that with the current dry, hot weather repeat fires in the building could prove fatal. They also highlighted that anti-social behaviour involving drink and drugs is another issue of concern at the vacant building. The owners of the property erected fencing at the site to keep people out but the residents say it's inadequate and does not prevent access to the building. Those concerned are calling on the local authority to pursue ways of preventing such incidents from occurring. The owners of the property, when contacted by this newspaper, said the recent incident happened after access to the site was gained by people removing 'part of the lower fence'. 'We have repaired that since so it won't happen again,' said Tom O'Loughlin. He also said there are long term plans for the development of the site and that discussions have taken place with the local authority. 'We have been in contact with the Council about our long term plans,' said Mr O'Loughlin. 'The fencing was removed at the lower end and it seems to have been kids burning rubbish,' he added. Wexford County Chief Fire Officer, Paul L'Estrange said the fire service was first alerted to the incident at 8.32 p.m. and arrived at the scene 13 minutes later, at 8.45 p.m. Two fire appliances attended the scene and remained there until just before 1 a.m. Things got hot in the chamber when the final order of business came up. This was when Enniscorthy Cllr Johnny Mythen waded into Cllr Ger Carthy's territory in a motion about the rail line from Rosslare Europort to Gorey. Cllr Mythen called on the remaining members in the chamber to support his call for a member of Irish Rail to address the council on its current and future plans for the rail link and the plans they have for the development of the port post Brexit. 'For those of you here, thank you very much for staying,' Cllr Mythen said, addressing the half empty chamber, as around half of his peers had vacated it some 20 minutes earlier, either for the beach or for the Fianna Fail convention. Cllr Mythen said there are still rumoured plans to close the rail line. 'As councillors we can't allow this to happen. We don't know what is coming down the line with Brexit, especially for the farming community.' Cllr Carthy said: 'I am delighted Sinn Fein have come to the table. I represent the majority of workers in Iarnrod Eireann and Rosslare Europort.' Cllr O Suilleabhain said he attended worker protests in Rosslare 20 years ago, prompting the Our Lady's Island man to say: 'My father was down there for 50 years ago. We are representing the people. You don't talk to me about Rosslare Europort!' CEO Tom Enright brought some cool thought to proceedings, saying: 'There is no doubt that there needs to be much greater focus on Rosslare Europort.' He said the line's future will only be secured when Iarnrod Eireann invest in it, saying coastal erosion is having a big impact on parts of the route. Mr Enright said Rosslare Europort's development is critical, not only for Wexford, but for the region and country as a whole. Mr Enright said New Ross port is going to come into the council's ownership, adding that properly functioning ports are hugely important for the region, as is Waterford Airport, as a driver of the local economy. A priceless trove of memories of life gone by in the Kingdom has entered the public domain courtesy of a Tralee couple who have been interviewing and recording some of the county's greatest characters for many years now. The Irish Life and Lore Collection 2018 was published online last week by Tralee historian couple Maurice and Jane O'Keeffe, in their latest instalment of a series that can fairly be said to archiving some of the most fascinating testimony on the great changes in Irish life in living memory. Their latest collection won't disappoint Life and Lore fans , with 86 interviewees from right across the country - but with a strong Kerry flavour, given the historians' backgrounds - giving brilliant accounts of life in days gone by. "The new collection contains 86 interviews carried out over the years, and sadly a lot of the interviewees have passed away since the recordings were made," Maurice told The Kerryman. "None of the interviews in this collection have been published before as they didn't fit neatly into the categories we had focused on in the past, but we were always very keen to publish them in their own dedicated collection, and we're delighted to now make it available." On scrutinising the material anew ahead of publication, Maurice and Jane could see a number of other categories suggesting themselves, with the collection divided accordingly across a number of fascinating topics, from the Shannon Estuary to Celtic scholarship and mythology, Irish urban life to music, poetry and song, and more. "In the Shannon Estuary category, we interviewed the very last Foynes Islander Michael Finucane. "Michael, who sadly passed away since the recording was made, gave us a great interview in the course of which he shared his recollection of saving people from drowning after a flying boat en route to Foynes crashed in the Shannon," Maurice said. A Ballylongford namesake Michael 'Nookie' Finucane and pals Billy Walsh, Sean Morrissey and John Roche feature in another Estuary interview. "Billy was a great character who recalled walking from his native Lenamore to Tralee to get the train to Cobh in order to get the ferry to England!" Beale man Thomas Donovan also delivers a brilliant account of life in his part of the Estuary, Beale, telling of his coastguard great-great-grandfather. The late, great scholar Mons Padraig O Fiannachta features in the Celtic Mythology section, recounting his life story and how he achieved his life's three main goals: to catalogue all the great manuscripts in Maynooth; to translate the Bible into Irish and to create a dictionary of Old Irish. Tralee native Dr Eunice McCarthy shares this category with Mons O Fiannachta as another incredible Kerry scholar. A native of Tralee, Dr McCarthy went on to become Professor of Celtic Studies in UCD. "Dr McCarthy gave a fantastic take on women in mythology, which had been a rather neglected area of study until she came along," Maurice said. Killarney's Clare O'Sullivan, Dingle's Muiris Rohan, Moyvane's Dan Keane and many more comprise the rest of the audio volume available at www.irishlifeandlore.com. Journalist Vincent Browne will launch the collection at the RDS on September 12 next at 2pm as Maurice and Jane issue an open invitation to attend to Kerry people in the capital. We've all been there. A morning bus journey on a Monday in January is the last place you want someone with a winter cold or flu to sit next to you and sneeze and cough their germs up. But, we don't seem to fret the same way about allergies; perhaps maybe we should. The Asthma Society are warning people in Kerry of the serious dangers of the high pollen count during the fine weather. The excitement for the sunshine is felt by many, except for the 13,795, or one in five people, in Kerry who suffer from asthma and hay fever as the pollen count hits peak levels. Dr Eamonn Shanahan of the Farranfore Medical Centre said that there has been a huge amount of people presenting with allergy symptoms recently. "There's a huge amount of people with allergies this year, which is not surprising with the weather that we have had," he said. "It's unfortunate that the good weather usually coincides with exam season. "It's important to manage allergies during times like these. Steroid tablets or injections can be used in some circumstances." Aherns Pharmacy in Farranfore has also reported a huge increase in the amount of people looking for solutions to their allergies during the fine weather spell. "A lot of people can grow out of it, or develop it after never having it before. That has happened to many this year", a pharmacist there said. "They might have taken Neurofen Cold and Flu, it has a decongestant in it so it can work, but you wouldn't want to use it long term. "With a cold or flu, you would have aches and pains, but with hay fever you typically don't. "Antihistamine tablets are the most common product to take. They are best taken before the hay fever season starts. "Other than antihistamines, things such as saline washes and nasal sprays, eye drops, trips to the beach, and having air conditioning on in buildings can help. "Putting a little Vaseline in the nose can help to stop pollen being inhaled. Keep an eye on Met.ie to see the pollen count for a few days ahead. "There isn't an approach or product that fits all. That's why it's best to visit your pharmacist to see what suits you best." CEO of the Asthma Society of Ireland Sarah O'Connor has said that the unusual pollen counts over the past few weeks are a result of our prolonged cold winter and the extended sunny and hot start to the summer. The Asthma Society of Ireland urges people to take steps to manage their symptoms to avoid asthma attacks caused by hay fever and to keep an eye on pollen counts through their Pollen Tracker on Asthma.ie. Dr Shanahan meanwhile debunked an old wives' remedy circulating on social media - concerning the efficacy of a course of stinging oneself with nettles: "There is a desensitisation programme available that is done by a consultant in which you are exposed to allergens slowly to build immunity," he said. "It is not cheap and it has be very carefully done due to risk of anaphylaxis. "The idea of stinging oneself with nettles is not effective and should be avoided. "A nettle sting is a chemical reaction, different to pollen reactions which happen by inhalation." Cathaoirleach Councillor Norma Foley last week accepted the keys to Valentia's transatlantic cable station, as the historic station was passed on from the Pollmeier family to the local population. Cllr Foley received the keys from Ranka Pollmeier, whose family have been involved with Valentia Industries since the mid-1970s. The handover will precede the station's transformation into a major heritage and interpretative site. It marked 160 years since the first telegraphic cable message, from Queen Victoria to US President James Buchanan, travelled from the station across the Atlantic ocean. A number of agencies involved in the pursuit of UNESCO World Heritage designation are currently involved in the progression of a number of cable sites. Among those in attendance were former UNESCO Secretary General Irina Bokova, South and West Municipal Cathaoirleach Norma Moriarty, KCC Director of Services John Breen, IT Tralee President Oliver Murphy, Dr Robert Mauro of Boston College, Australian National University Professor Genevieve Bell, and Valentia Foundation Chairperson Leonard Hobbs. During the weekend, Minister Brendan Griffin spoke at a BT Ireland-hosted gala dinner at the Royal Hotel, as did representatives of Valentia Foundation, IT Tralee, and Valentia Island Development Company [VIDC]. Anthony O'Connell of VIDC and Valentia Foundation paying tribute to the work of the late Bob Joyce, a stalwart in the quest for UNESCO designation and the successful campaign to save Valentia Radio Station in 2012. BT Ireland Managing Director Shay Walsh also said that initiatives by BT Ireland, Ivertec, Kerry County Council, and the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment would help bring broadband speeds of up to 100MBs-per-second to the island. At 2pm on Friday-week, a recreation of the first successful transmission to Hearts Content, Newfoundland, will also take place, under the stewardship of the Ireland Network of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and Kerry Amateur Radio. A total of seven community projects in coastal parts of the county will receive almost 148,000 under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund Operation Programme for the seafood industry. Mol Teic Clg will receive 60,000 of this funding for its Dingle Peninsula IoT water quality data project. More than 60,000 will be given for derricks at Dromatoor and Scraggano pier, some 35,000 and 25,000 respectively. Other projects include an open-water swimming amenity from Dromatoo Pier, a Glenbeigh Shellfish oyster-tasting project, and coasteering in Dingle. The grants are co-funded by the government and the European Union. Minister Brendan Griffin TD has welcomed the news as a huge boost for Kerry's coastal communities. Extra resources sought for University Hospital Kerry - On a recent Tuesday, nurses in the accident and emergency department in University Hospital Kerry found it necessary to protest against conditions patients in the department have been experiencing over a long period, Sinn Fein Deputy Martin Ferris told the Dail. The problems in the accident and emergency department in Tralee are overcrowding and a shortage of beds, he said. Patients are admitted and are not transferred to appropriate hospital beds because beds are not available. That is the sad situation. I stood in protest with the nurses and there was a huge level of support and appreciation from the general public who passed in cars, buses, lorries and so forth. "Almost every person gave a thumbs- up or beeped the car horn to show support for the nurses. The staff are fantastic. They do a tremendous job in very difficult conditions. Every day, between 17 and 20 people wait on trolleys in the accident and emergency department in Tralee University Hospital. "That is a serious indictment on the provision of a health service that is vital for patients. He said the hospital has sought an extra 43 beds and the appropriate number of staff to provide the necessary service in the accident and emergency department in Kerry University Hospital. In response, Minister of State Jim Daly said University Hospital Kerry is experiencing a prolonged period of increased demand for its services. This is most evident in the older age group of over 75 years of age with a 10.7% increase in attendances year to date. Overall, attendances year to date are up 2.6 per cent, he said. However, the hospital is progressing a number of initiatives to support the patient pathway and improve the patient experience. Some of the examples include the implementation of a frailty intervention team, providing a second geriatrician post to provide specialist experience to care effectively for older people in the area, providing a consultant cardiologist and an additional bed capacity proposal. Recent staffing improvements at this location include the appointment of an assistant director of nursing for patient flow. Unfortunately, he said even with these appointments, there remains a nursing deficit of 1.3 whole-time equivalent posts due to maternity leave and sick leave. I understand that the hospital is currently recruiting for this shortfall in staff, he added. Call for stiffer penalties for house robberies Longer sentences and stiffer penalties for criminals who break into homes of elderly persons were called for by Independent Deputy Danny Healy-Rae. To my mind one of the worst crimes that happens in our communities is where the homes of elderly people are broken into and robbed and the elderly people are assaulted, he said. They have given their lives to bring our country to where it is. This is the most unsavoury crime that happens. I call on the Minister to treat this as such and ensure the severest penalties possible will be meted out to these criminals and that they will be put away for a long time in order that they will not perpetrate these crimes on elderly people again. In reply, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said within the parameters set by the Oireachtas, the sentence to be imposed in a given case is a matter for the courts. The Deputy will be aware that judges are independent in the matter of sentencing, subject only to the Constitution and the law," he said. The court is required to impose a sentence which is proportionate, not only to the crime but also to the individual offender, in the process of identifying where in the sentencing range the particular case should lie and applying any mitigating factor which may be present. The vulnerability of a victim, including vulnerability by reason of age, may be regarded by the court as an aggravating circumstance. He said the Deputy may be aware of recent judgments by the Court of Appeal which set down sentencing guidelines for burglary and robbery. In this jurisprudence the court stated that if a considerable number of aggravating factors were present, it would raise the offence to the highest category, meriting a sentence of nine to 14 years before mitigating factors could be taken into account, he said. In addition, I have indicated that I will be bringing forward amendments to the Judicial Council Bill 2017 which will address the matter of sentencing guidelines more generally. Taoiseach asked to intervene in gas and electricity Independent Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Taoiseach to intervene to stop the imminent increase in gas and electricity prices. We are told that the price of electricity is to rise by 9.3 per cent and the price of gas by 12.8 per cent, he said. This will affect every man, woman and child in the country. Has the Government any power to regulate these people or control them? This is going to hurt poor people, especially those in receipt of the fuel allowance. I am asking the Taoiseach to intervene, to stop this increase and to bring these people to book. Peoples incomes have not risen. Their social welfare has not risen by that much. Fianna Fail Deputy John Brassil said the Programme for Government makes a commitment to regulate and monitor energy costs and in particular domestic energy costs. At around this time in 2017, seven out of the ten providers of electricity increased their charges,he said. This year since 1 June, six out of ten have done so. Can the Taoiseach and the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment commit to carrying out a review of this situation in what seems to be an industry-wide cartel which does not serve the interests of the consume. In reply, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said electricity prices are regulated by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities. We have increased the fuel allowance, he said. We did that already this year and we will certainly consider doing it again next year. However, it is a simple fact that electricity prices are largely linked to the cost of fossil fuels, that is, the cost of oil and gas. When that cost goes up, prices must rise as well. That just emphasises the need for us to do other things, namely, move towards a greater use of renewable energy and to continue what we are doing to incentivise people to insulate their homes and to ensure that public buildings are also insulated. In this way, we can reduce the need to use fossil fuels and electricity for heating." Kirsten Rigney pictured in The Netherlands where she can access cannabis to counter her chronic ailments A North Kerry mother has been forced to leave behind everything she's ever known, including her partner and son, in order to gain access to medicinal cannabis in the Netherlands. Kirsten Rigney (32), who suffers from severe Fibromylagia, chronic fatigue syndrome and hyper mobility joint pain, travelled to Amsterdam on July 7. Kirsten said that she grew sick and tired of being "bounced around" various consultants who refused to prescribe medicinal cannabis for her. She said that there were some days that she could not bear to move her arms or legs such was the debilitating pain that often left her wheelchair bound. Since arriving in The Netherlands, however, Kirsten said she has been able to smoke cannabis in the city's coffee shops while she awaits prescription medicine from a doctor in the country and it has transformed her life, she claimed. "To be standing here in another country and to actually be able to cycle a bike and walk outside for the first time in years, it's amazing," she said on Tuesday. She plans to stay there indefinitely until she is allowed to access cannabis oil (THC) which cannot be accessed under prescription in Ireland. "I have no choice but to stay here. I won't go back to the pain that I was in. "I won't go back to the way I was living before because it wasn't really a life," she added. Wray did, however, offer a rebuttal to some Republican lawmakers who called for action against disgraced Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Peter Strzok, whose anti-Trump messages were a central focus of a stinging report released earlier this year by the Justice Department's watchdog office. "I never want to say never about anything", Mr Wray said, "but it's certainly not high on our list of investigative techniques". It seems a far more strategic and wide-ranging effort than Russia's ongoing interference efforts, which dominated headlines in the U.S. this week amid President Donald Trump's widely panned summit with President Vladimir Putin. Trump has repeatedly called Mueller's probe a witch hunt - a label Wray rejected. The White House said it was under consideration. "He wants to work with his team and determine if there is any validity that would be helpful to the process". Donald Trump may have a tough time definitively saying so, but FBI Director Christopher Wray adamantly insists that Russian interference is no mere theory. The shifting stance came in an interview with CBS on Wednesday as Mr Trump spent more time managing the fallout from his widely-criticised summit with Mr Putin in Helsinki. "The intelligence community's assessment has not changed", Wray said. FBI Director Christopher Wray said Wednesday that Russian Federation was engaging in real-time "malign influence operations" against the United States and called the country the "most aggressive actor" in the space of election interference. Those acts "aimed at sowing discord and divisiveness in this country", he added. On Monday, Trump appeared to accept Putin's denial in a press conference after their meeting in Helsinki, sparking outrage in Washington and a rare statement of disagreement by the head of the United States intelligence community, director of national intelligence, Dan Coats. On Tuesday Mr Trump walked back his comments, saying he accepted the view of USA spies that Moscow had in fact meddled. Earlier Wednesday, Trump told a reporter "no" when asked whether he believed Russian Federation continued to target the United States - although White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders later claimed that the president was simply saying "no" more questions. Yet Mr Trump continued to suggest doubts, adding: It "could be other people also; there's a lot of people out there". He said that while US officials have not yet seen an effort by Russian Federation to target specific election systems, it is aggressively engaged in influence operations to sow discord and divisiveness in America. Mr Trump's remarks after Wednesday's Cabinet meeting, where he appeared to deny the longtime United States foe was still targeting American elections, are just the latest in a growing list of statements that conflict with Mr Coats'. "To me, it's a threat that we need to take extremely seriously and respond to with fierce determination and focus", Wray said. He was sworn into the position of FBI Director in August 2017, replacing Comey, whose abrupt firing prompted the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller to investigate Russian interference and possible collusion between Russians and the Trump campaign. When asked if he had threatened to resign, Wray did not explicitly confirm that he had done so. Interested in James Comey? Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy tours the new Lios an Fhia council housing development in Killarney with Cathaoirleach of Kerry County Council, Cllr Norma Foley and Junior Minister Brendan Griffin. Photo Valerie OSullivan The Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy has opened a new 20-unit social housing scheme in Killarney. The new estate, called 'Lios an Fhia' - which was completed by Kerry County Council under the Rebuilding Ireland Programme - is situated at Park, Killarney and is located approximately two kilometres from Killarney town centre. The 3.1m scheme of two-storey, three-bedroom units will provide homes for families currently in need of accommodation in the Killarney area. The project was overseen by the Capital Infrastructure Unit of Kerry County Council and was completed by Ned O'Shea and Sons Construction. Construction began in February 2017 and tenants moved into the new homes last week. "I can see that this development has been designed and built to a very high standard. I understand there is an already vibrant community spirit in this area and the new residents here, in this new estate, will add to that," said Minister Murphy. Chief Executive of Kerry County Council, Moira Murrell said the development is a great example of the results local authorities can deliver with the support of the Rebuilding Ireland programme. The Hugh O'Flaherty Memorial Society has announced that it is planning a tour to Rome in spring 2019 to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the Rome Escape Line activities in Nazi-occupied Rome. The activities ran between the summers of 1943 to 1944 when the famous Kerry monsignor began finding safe spaces for anti-Fascists on the run. Lieutenant Colonel Sam Derry joined Monsignor O'Flaherty in autumn 1943, and together they ran the Rome Escape Line. By the end of the war, they had saved some 6,000 lives. The Monsignor's extraordinary deeds featured in the 1983 Gregory Peck film 'The Scarlet and the Black', and among the accolades he received were a CBE, a US Congressional Medal, and a memorial in his home town of Killarney. He was also the first Irishman named 'Notary of the Holy Office'. While dates for the 2019 tour are not yet set in stone, departure from Dublin is currently set for March 29, 2019, with a return billed for the following week, April 3. Among the sites on the provisional schedule are the Vatican, the German College, Gestapo headquarters, the British Embassy, the Abbey of Monte Casino, and more besides. "When plans are finalised, places on the tour will, in the first instance, be offered to those who have formally expressed an interest," Jerry O'Grady of the Memorial Society explained. "As always with these tours, places are limited to around 50, and while bookings will not be taken until the dates, itinerary and costs are finalised in early autumn." Mr O'Grady explained that expressions of interest should be made by e-mailing your name, address, phone, and e-mail details to oflahertysociety2008@gmail.com, or texting this information to (083) 397 3301. Have you ever driven a motorbike? Last Friday week, more or less on a whim, I jumped up on my motorbike in Dublin at 17.15, destination Castlegregory in West Kerry. It was sort of crazy as I had to return the following day. It meant covering approximately 700 kilometres in 24 hours.Leaving Dublin at peak rush hour was unwise. Traffic was bumper-to-bumper, which was made worse with road widening works between Naas and Newbridge. No doubt you have seen motorbikes zoom in and out between cars in long traffic jams. They make it look easy and are the envy of those sitting in stationary cars. I tried doing that on Friday but failed miserably. I attempted zigzagging but quickly grew scared and decided to drive sedately right on the edge of the hard shoulder. I'd say I looked sort of pathetic. I'm no Evel Knievel. South of Newbridge it all changed and I was as free as a bird. But a motorway is always a motorway, it's boring. There is the mouth-watering countryside to be seen and on a motorbike the vantage point is much better than in a car but a motorway always remains a motorway. No, not to save the toll fee, rather for the peace and quiet of slower roads, I left the motorway before Portlaoise. It was surprisingly quiet with little or no traffic. It made for perfect motorbiking. I could sit up on the bike and scan the fabulous Irish scenery, though it was striking how burned the countryside looked. That lush greenness was not in evidence. I had been dreading how hot and uncomfortable it would be wearing all that motorbike gear. But I was surprised, once out on the open road with my jacket partly open, how fresh and cool it was. I am reminded of this anonymous quote: 'Only a biker knows why a dog sticks his head out of a car window.' South of Limerick panic sets in. Petrol gauge is off the red. That sensation of running out of petrol on a motorbike in late evening is not pleasant. You look at the gauge and shout out an expletive. With your head encased in a helmet all your words remain silent. I was in a bit of a fix. A car pulls up outside a shop. I drive up to the parked car, raise the visor of my helmet and ask the driver how far away is the next petrol station. For a millisecond or so he looks at me, then smiles and says 'two or three miles, in Clarina'. Sounding apprehensive I ask him is it two or three. He gets the message and realises that I'm nervous. At that he says: 'You drive off and I'll follow you.' I was flabbergasted. I got to the filling station, the man turned around and drove back to where I met him. What a lovely act of kindness. The views along the Shannon were spectacular. I could see over to Clare, the stacks at Moneypoint power station. There is an elegance about wind turbines that adds to the makeup of the Irish landscape. All the different smells, something you miss in a car. And then the setting sun. It was sensational. And certainly an experience of living in the now. It was my first time to see a cruise ship at Foynes. With a few stops en route I arrived in Castlegregory close to 10.15 p.m. as high as a kite. Great fun and highly recommended. Brendan Fitzpatrick from Ballywilliam with the winner of the charollais ram lamb class Scorching hot weather couldn't keep the crowds from the Adamstown Show, which was bigger and better than ever this year. Thanks to a huge effort by the organising committee who ensured the showground arenas were watered in the five days leading up to the big event, the fields kindly donated by the Cullen, Whelan and Redmond families were thronged with people from early in the morning for the first of the equestrian events at 11 a.m. With a fantastic line-up of competitions and a great variety of fun activities to enjoy, this year's show had it all. The M&T Plant Hire sponsored Mervue Equine Grand Prix 135 event was won by Graiguenamanagh man Jack Ryan on Money Broom Dancer (owned by his mother Marguerite), followed closely in second place by Vincent Byrne on Mr Rockefeller, with Floyd O in third place and Gurtera Cara Dubh in 4th. Jack, who is the son of John and Marguerite Ryan, was one of the stars in attendance, ahead of his trip the following morning to represent Ireland in the European Young Riders Competition. The Tatterstalls Redmills Broodmare Class was won by Princess Tara of Thistletown Stud near Campile owned by Jimmy Furlong whose daughter Eimear won the young handlers' section sponsored by M&T Plant Hire. It was an all girl affair in the Cooney Furlong 11 Class which had 55 starters. The winner was Tracy Walshe on Corlands Clipper, followed by Sara Gorman on Take A Gamble and Marie Hartley on Kilpatrick Fred. The Nitrofert 120 winner was Vincent Byrne on LVS Shelby, followed in second place by Patrick Byrne on Whispering Looks and Wesley Byrne in third place on Canburca Paris Diamond. Ciara Browne was the winner of the T&A Agri Contractors event on Tykillen Impact, followed by Meabh Byrne on Ballycommon Kimberley in second and Jamie Scallan on Sigginstown Maid in third. There was a huge carnival atmosphere throughout the day with temperatures hovering in the high twenties. Children enjoyed the amusements which were on a bigger scale than previous years. Wexford Rose Saoirse Walsh was on hand to help adjudicate the most appropriately dressed lady and everyone enjoyed the dog show and the sheep competitions featuring more than 170 wooly wonders. The Hunt Chase was won by the local talented Wexford Hunt Club. Plenty of cakes and scones baked by talented local women were enjoyed throughout the day, along with refreshments for relief from the heat. The final horse events concluded shortly after 8.30 p.m. on what was a fantastic family day in Adamstown. There has been an increased demand on Wexford Local Development (WLD) services from communities across the district. Wexford Local Development CEO Brian Kehoe gave a presentation to councillors outlining the many services the body provides, from working with CE schemes and Tus workers to providing transport for people to courses. Mr Kehoe said the services help people who 'don't have the life opportunities that a lot of us here have had.' 'Some are living in a disadvantaged area where there is very little community engagement.' Wexford Local Development received 6m in funding in 2017, half of which came from the Department of Social Protection, with one third coming from Wexford County Council. Its staff engage with people on a voluntary basis. 'We have dedicated staff and commercial development staff in rural areas where people can't access transport. We offer transport and we offer counselling through the Cornmarket Project. We are finding in other programmes that counselling is a skill we increasingly need.' Mr Kehoe said there is a voluntary information service in the New Ross area, adding that the business survival rate in the county is relatively good. He said a child and family initiative was spearheaded by Fr Odhran Furlong in the late 1990s which has provided great support to local residents. Around 150 TUS and Rural Community Scheme participants were placed with local community organisations in 2017 through Wexford Local Development and several hundred people were supported through thousands of one-to-one and group based interventions in the district. Also several hundred youths engaged in local learning and personal development courses in their own New Ross communities. Across the county 180 participants progressed from the live registrar to self-employment having completed community employment work. Mr Kehoe said: 'We have a lot of Tus workers in the New Ross area. They have worked on projects in Lacken Hill, St Mullins and on the Tintern Trails project and some of the people on this really good project got a taste for carpentry and went on to study the craft.' Cllr Michael Whelan asked if Wexford Local Development workers were funding it harder to fill positions on Tus schemes. He was told the number of Tus job roles has fallen from 340 to just over 300 due to the drop off in the number of people on the live registrar. 'We have some people who refused but you have a stick and the carrot is that there is a work placement opportunity in your own community. There are still a lot of people who are available to work as far as we are concerned as they are on the live registrar. Wexford Local Development Project Manager Claire Ryan said: 'We try to incorporate an element of training in every programme.' Cllr Anthony Connick said the application process for Leader funding needs to be looked at. Describing the volume of paperwork required to be filled out as 'an absolute joke', Cllr Connick said there are too many rules and regulations involved. He said the paperwork would discourage community groups from putting forward applications. Mr Kehoe said 1.7m in funding support has been allocated so far this year through Leader, split between community and enterprise initiatives. On the issue of lengthy paperwork, Mr Kehoe said: 'We have been moaning and groaning about this. With EU programmes the paperwork is a lot less. If you have a funding application for 5,000 to 10,000 don't as it will kill you.' He said a nine month turnaround for an enterprise project is 'crazy'. Cllr Michael Sheehan said drug use is a major issue in the district. 'I know the Cornmarket Project is only starting off. There is a huge issue concerning all sorts of drugs at all levels out in our communities. We need community leadership programmes for different areas.' Mr Kehoe said WLD has been dealing with people who have been referred to it by GPs and the HSE with substance misuse problems. Cllr Willie Fitzharris questioned why the CE programmes are limited to one year. 'If you get a CE worker for 12 months they do take on the role, but volunteers can only do so much. The CE worker then has to go back into the black hole of the employment market.' He said more work needs to be made available to people who are turning the retirement age. Mr Kehoe said: 'We all know that progression rates from CE and Tus schemes also are low. We have to look at the benefit to the community.' He said Wexford Local Development is trying to extend people's duration on CE schemes. Celebrating USA and Irish heritage on July 4 were, from left, Kitty Cleary, from Ballyanne with her brother-in-law and family from California, from left, Ashleigh Vandenbrink, Diana and Jack Hayes and Barbara Hayes-Vandenbrink For one American visiting County Wexford for a family reunion the current heatwave reminded him of home. Jack Hayes, from California, spoke to this newspaper about his trip to Wexford and about how his late mother, who was from Ballyanne, received a medal from the Irish government for her work 'moving guns' in America. Mr Hayes' mother, Gertrude (Gerdy) Cleary emigrated to America in 1929 to be with the love of her life, George Hayes, who emigrated from his family home in Court Street, Enniscorthy, the year before. 'My mother emigrated just after her father died,' said Mr Hayes. 'She went to San Francisco to meet with her fiance, my father, and they got married 10 days later,' he added. 'They had known each other for years but he went over the year before.' Mr Hayes father was originally from a farm in the Tomnalossett area of Enniscorthy. He said the two met after his father stopped to help his mother who got a flat tyre on her bicycle while on the way to a dance. 'She had a flat tyre and he stopped to fix it for her,' said Mr Hayes. 'My mother was a very, quiet, smart and dignified lady and she was an authority on all things Irish in San Francisco,' he added. Mr Hayes met with this newspaper in New Ross where he was visiting his sister-in-law, Kitty Cleary, from Ballyanne. It wasn't the first time he was 'home', however, having first come to Ireland in the 1960s with his brother. 'After myself and Diana were married we came back every couple of years,' he said. 'In 1980 we came back with our six children, aged between 16 and 6 at the time, so that was an adventure,' he added. After Gerdy Cleary emigrated it was 27 years before she set foot on Irish soil again. 'It was a different time back then and it wasn't until 1956 that she returned home to Ireland for the first time since leaving,' said Mr Hayes. 'She never thought she would see Ireland again after she went over [to the States],' he added. At the time Mr Hayes' brother was in the American army, stationed in Germany, and so Ireland was an ideal place for his mother to meet him. 'She got to come back two more times but was in regular touch with relatives and friends by mail,' said Mr Hayes. 'She always knew what was going on with family.' He said the Hayes home was a veritable meeting place for a lot of Irish people in San Francisco. As a woman who was very proud of her roots Gerdy Hayes was acknowledged by the Irish Government for her work in 'moving guns' in America. 'She received a medal of commendation from the Irish Government for her work shifting guns around, among other things,' said Mr Hayes. 'She was a proud Wexford woman and Irish woman,' he added. Mr Hayes' trip to Ireland coincided with the 4th of July festival in New Ross and he said the weather was similar to what he regularly experienced at his home in California. He travelled over with his wife, Diane, their daughter, Barbara Hayes-Vandenbrink and her daughter, Ashleigh. 'It's very similar to what we get back home so yeah, it's been really great.' Labour Party leader Brendan Howlin has called for Rosslare Europort to be upgraded to a Tier One port in the context of Brexit. Addressing the Dail last week, the Wexford TD said the port is well-placed for development due to it being the nearest Irish one to continental Europe. Commenting that it is strategically important he said the fact Dublin Port is primarily focussed on Britain means Rosslare needs to be utilised to maximum effect if trade is to be shifted to Europe. 'If we want to shift even a fraction of this trade to continental Europe then we should develop the port that is nearest to our export markets,' he said in the Dail. 'It makes no economic sense for goods to be transported from across Munster to Dublin only to be shipped south within sight of Rosslare on their way to the continent,' he added. 'We should envisage upgrading Rosslare Europort to become a Tier One port like Dublin, Cork or Foynes, as opposed to being the largest Tier Two port, as it is at present, followed by Waterford,' he said. He commented on the unique fact that the port is operated by Irish Rail as opposed to a separate port company and while acknowledging that it has remained profitable throughout the downturn said it doesn't generate the kind of return that would enable the major investment required to upgrade its facilities. Deputy Howlin said dredging, modernisation of the facilities, and general maintenance are required. He went on to comment there is an argument for establishing a publicly owned Independent Port Authority for Rosslare 'to ensure a singular focus on maritime and shipping issues'. 'Such an Independent Port Authority could be formally linked to Wexford County Council as its local authority,' he said. In addition to the status and work required at the port itself Deputy Howlin said there is a need for a region-wide plan to ensure Rosslare is served by the infrastructure needed for it to expand the volume of Irish exports it can handle. He cited the road infrastructure serving the port as being something that needs to be looked at and said 'it was always understood' that the next phase of road development in the wake of the Enniscorthy by-pass being completed was in relation to the N11/N25 to Rosslare Port. 'This would involve upgrading 32km of the N11/N25 roads to motorway, stretching from Oilgate to Rosslare Harbour,' he said. 'Access to the harbour itself is on a relatively narrow road that creates a bottleneck for goods transport and this needs to be urgently resolved,' he added. 'We are faced with the stark reality that much more preparation work is needed to ensure that Ireland's economy is cushioned for the inevitable negative impact of Brexit.' The status of the port has also been raised in Wexford County Council's chamber by Cllrs George Lawlor and Cllr Jim Moore on a number of occasions. Following a number of high profile farming deaths throughout county Wexford in the past couple of years, Wexford IFA are hoping to encourage farmer's locally to really get behind Farm Safety Week which started yesterday (Monday). Members of the IFA had a strong presence at the annual Bannow-Rathangan show on Thursday and used the occasion to try and spread the word and encourage farmers to be safe and take all precautions possible. Chairperson of Wexford IFA's Farm Family and Social Affairs Committee, Alice Doyle, says that a number of local companies are getting behind Farm Safety Week this year and are offering discounts on various pieces of safety equipment. Discounts of up to 30% are being offered and among the companies pledging support are Glanbia, Cooney-Furlong, Gardiner Grain, Kehoe Bros, Donohoe Agri and Enniscorthy Motor Company. 'We're putting a big focus on older farmers in particular,' said Alice. 'The age profile of farmers is rising and a high percentage of fatalities would be in the higher age bracket unfortunately.' Another aspect that the IFA will be focusing on is the use of quads, which sadly have claimed lives of farmers in Wexford in the not to distant past. Speaking on farm safety as a whole, IFA President Joe Healy said: 'The statistics are stark, but the don't tell the whole story - they don't tell you about the devastating impact a farm fatality has on families and communities; they don't tell you the impact a farm accident can have on the rest of your life, on your ability to run the farm.' Farmers are encouraged to avail of a new farmer-to-farmer peer learning initiative being rolled out this year and more details can be found at www.ifa.ie/farm-safety. Ballycullane man Noel Whelan is strongly considering running for President of Ireland in the upcoming election. Whelan, who turns 50 in November when Michael D Higgins's current term expires, hails from a well-known Wexford political family. He is planning on running as an Independent as he feels the country needs a president who is relevant to an ever changing Ireland, one in which young people deserve a greater say. Whelan, who is taking silk next month - becoming a senior counsel after practising as a barrister from 19 years in Dublin, Wexford and Waterford, is a well-known political pundit and columnist, who appears regularly on television and in print. The brother of Fianna Fail Cllr Michael Whelan, he is Dublin based but returns often to his native Ballycullane. Whelan said he took a serious look at running for president at the start of the year and was considering mounting a campaign to run as an Independent for the role at Aras an Uachtarain if Michael D Higgins wasn't going to run again. When it became apparent that President Higgins was going to decide to pursue a second term, Whelan cooled his campaign talk as he felt the Labour man would, in all likelihood, retain the job, which comes with a salary of 250,000 plus per year. He said along with a campaign team he ran through the themes he could run his election campaign on. 'We said we would re-purpose the presidency for the 21st century and since there was a whole range of new vibrant and important issues - particularly in relation to social change and the role of young people that the president should focus on - we were confident we could put a strong campaign together.' Whelan said following the announcement that Sinn Fein are fielding a candidate, he is once again strongly considering mounting a tilt at the presidency, feeling that a non political party candidate is needed in the race, adding that even though some other potential candidates names have been mentioned, none have declared to date. 'I would see a pathway through the county councils because I am non party and because Independent councillors are eager to play a role. I think he (Michael D) has had a terrific presidency, one which was near perfect, but I think this election should be about what the president should do and should be for the coming seven years. The priorities are clearly different for the 2020s than what they were for the past seven years from when he was first elected in 2011.' He said the next president needs to be able to address changes in the psyche of the Irish people, based around how Ireland has changed 'dramatically' after the trauma of the recession. 'Also the lessons we have learned, the impact of Brexit and our political and general public debate, which needs to be more moderate and less angry. There are the voices of young people which should be better heard in the national political debate and I think there is a role for the president in that. Whether there is any point entering the race when there is a sitting president I have to give consideration to that. I also have a lot going on in my professional and personal life.' Whelan, who is actively involved in the Kennedy Summer School which is taking place in September in New Ross, said if he decides to run over the coming weeks - he will be writing to Wexford County Council in August to have his name put forward for consideration at the body's September meeting. 'I would be the youngest of all the names being mentioned. I do believe energy and perspective play a part. Also I have been involved in politics for 30 years and have campaigned on the marriage, abortion, Seanad and electronic voting referendums. Some of them weren't popular but I keep making the point that the democratic system is important and it has a delicate balance in it.' The status of Rosslare Europort needs to be assured when it comes to importing and exporting food and agri-products or it could lead to a crisis situation, post Brexit, according Verona Murphy, national president of the Irish Hauliers Association (IHA). Ms Murphy, who is from Ramsgrange, raised the matter with the Taoiseach at the annual IHA conference in Dublin. In particular, she focused attention on the fact that food produce can only be imported and exported through the port if it's destined directly for another EU country. According to Ms Murphy this will pose problems for Irish food exporters when Britain leaves the European Union in less than a year. She spoke to this newspaper about the matter and highlighted the urgent need to prepare the port for Brexit. 'From our perspective, as hauliers, it's hugely important because if you take an agri or food product through a third country you will be subject to department inspections here,' she said. According to Ms Murphy, at present there are few inspections held with regard to food and agri produce coming in from the UK, however, once Brexit comes into effect hauliers importing or exporting such goods to-and-from continental Europe will be subject to inspections as a result of travelling through the UK. The matter is compounded by the fact that only Dublin Port has the necessary infrastructure in place to carry out such inspections and that's one of the issues the IHA is very concerned about. 'If something isn't done it will mean that hauliers bringing produce into the country will have to go the Dublin route for inspection and there will be number of knock-on effects because of that,' said Ms Murphy. She said the capital's port is the only designated inspection area in Ireland for imported agri produce. 'It will have a huge impact for hauliers to have to travel through Dublin,' she said. She said having to travel through Dublin rather than Rosslare could mean the difference of 'an hour at least' for a truck travelling across the UK in the direction of London or Birmingham and on to Dover. 'That hour could lead to the driver having to remain in the UK overnight, because they can only drive for nine hours per day, whereas going to-and-from Rosslare that wouldn't be the case and they would make it through to France,' she said. 'There is no getting away from it, Rosslare will be the most valuable route after Brexit to get to France, through the UK.' Ms Murphy went on to say the crux of the matter is that as it stands, if the UK, post-Brexit, becomes a third country in Europe then food and agri-products being imported will have to go through Dublin for inspection. 'There is no adequate facility in Rosslare to carry out inspections and there should be,' she said. 'The frustrating thing about it is that it's something they can prepare for,' she added. 'There would need to be an adequate cold storage facility but that could be done in Rosslare or Wexford.' The IHA plans to hold a Brexit Forum on the matter and Ms Murphy expressed concern that the Government 'doesn't fully understand' the value of the Rosslare route. 'People in the haulage business completely understand it,' she said. The situation could also lead to devaluation of products: 'If you lose an hour because of the route and accordingly have to remain in the UK overnight then there could be devaluation of products because whereas before a company was getting their product delivered in the morning it might now be evening time and that could have a detrimental affect.' She also estimated that the potential extra cost involved for Wexford and south east based haulage companies having to travel the Dublin route could be as much as 500. 'That's a lot of money if you have a lot of trucks travelling each day,' she said. 'Everything [in the sector] that can now easily go through Rosslare will not be able to, post-Brexit,' she added. One ship that berthed in Rosslare on Thursday had 45 articulated lorries on board and 39 of those were pulling refrigerated containers. 'If you are pulling a fridge container you are carrying foodstuff,' said Ms Murphy. 'That means 39 of those 45 trucks would have to go the Dublin route and not be able to come through Rosslare.' She agreed that the situation could have a detrimental affect on shipping too: 'If the number of trucks using the Rosslare route drastically reduces then shipping companies might have to look at that as well.' Another issue that is likely to arise because of Brexit is around pallets. The pallets used in the UK are different to the ones that pass regulations for Europe. 'The UK pallets will not be passed post-Brexit because they are coated differently,' said Ms Murphy. 'Someone will have to bear the cost of that as well.' She said haulage companies operate on low profit margins and while it's good to be in profit she said potential operating cost increases that could arise as a result of having to use the Dublin route could be more than some companies could cope with. 'You have to have options and competition and the situation with Rosslare is not something that needs to be considered; it's something that should just be done.' Ms Murphy said hauliers are in the service industry and will continue to service their customers, however, she emphasised that something needs to be done to ensure Rosslare Europort remains an important route into and out of the country. In its Project Ireland 2040 strategy the Government highlighted that continued investment in Irish ports and airports is crucial - especially in a post-Brexit environment. The document also states there will be 'major development of Dublin, Cork, and Shannon-Foynes ports' but there is no specific mention of Rosslare. Israel's parliament narrowly passed a law that defines the country as a Jewish state. The law states, "Israel is the historic homeland of the Jewish people and they have an exclusive right to national self-determination in it". Speaker of the Parliament Dr. Mishaal Al-Salami said, "Today's law is totally unacceptable, as it publicly consolidates a system of segregation and apartheid against Palestinians, who are the historical owners of the land and, instead, deprives them from living on their land and their minimum rights stated by the worldwide laws, principles of human rights, United Nations resolutions and denies them the right of self-determination". Largely symbolic, the law was enacted just after the 70th anniversary of the birth of the state of Israel. The head of Israeli Joint List groups of parties Ayman Odeh denounced it as "the death of [our] democracy". Expressing concern for the situation, Spokesperson for the EU Foreign Affairs chief said, "We are concerned, we have expressed this concern and we will continue to engage with Israeli authorities in this context". The law prioritizes "Jewish" values over democratic ones in the occupied territories, declares Jerusalem al-Quds the "capital" of Israel, allows Jewish-only communities, sets Hebrew as the official language of Israel and relegates Arabic from an official language to one with "special status". "It has passed a law of Jewish supremacy and told us that we will always be second-class citizens". Israel's Arab citizens number some 1.8 million, about 20 percent of the 9 million population. Abbas said the legislation will not discourage Palestinians in their legitimate struggle to defeat the occupation and establish their independent state. It says the new law paves the way for ethnic cleansing. "The 'nation-state" bill is the exact definition of Apartheid... Yousef Bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen stressed that this law is racist and illegitimate. Arab Israelis are calling it racist and comparing it with apartheid. Even after the changes, critics said the new law will deepen a sense of alienation within the Arab minority. Israelis opposed to the bill, deeming it discriminatory, took to the streets to protest in large numbers in Tel Aviv on Saturday. The unique attraction of Kilmore Quay was in the spotlight during a photography exhibition organised by Wexford Camera Club as part of the fishing village's annual seafood festival. The Camera Club has been collaborating with the festival for many years and the theme of this year's show was 'The Essence of Kilmore Quay' with prizes awarded to the best in a variety of categories. The judge was Orla Barry, an award-winning Wexford-born artist and lecturer in art at the Wexford School of Art and Design at Carlow IT who has exhibited in the Irish Museum of Modern Art and performed at the Tate Modern in London. Orla chose the winners from entries submitted by 32 Camera Club members who trained their lens on aspects of the picturesque fishing village of Kilmore Quay over the past few months. The rule was that all the photographs had to have been taken in the parish of Kilmore. Wexford Camera Club meets every second Monday night in Wexford Harbour Boat Club but is breaking for the rest of the summer. The next meeting will be on Monday, September 3. New members are welcome to go along to any meeting. The club organises several 'shoots' every year, travelling to areas around County Wexford and beyond to take photographs and and also hosts a number of annual exhibitions including a forthcoming event in Wexford Library in September in association with Culture Night on the theme of 'The Best of Wexford' and a show during Wexford Festival Opera in the Wexford Society of Friends Meeting House in High Street. Two local women have organised an event for Bereaved parents or anyone who has been affected by the loss of a baby. It takes place at the Glencar Teashed next Wednesday the 25th of July at 8pm. The remembrance gathering will highlight the various services available to bereaved parents across the country. A spokeswoman from Feileacain - an organisation for still birth and neo natal loss - will address the event. This is a free event. Tea and coffee will be available on the night. Ireland West Airport welcomed An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD to the terminal last Friday where he met with the Board of Directors to discuss future development plans for the facility. He was joined by colleagues Minister Michael Ring, TD, Michelle Mulherrin, TD and Fine Gael candidate, Alan Dillon. The group met with board members to discuss the airports current growth and plans for future development. During his visit An Taoiseach reiterated the Governments commitment to supporting the airports plans to reach 1 million passengers. He also acknowledged its role as a critical economic driver for the West and North West regions. Welcoming An Taoiseach to the airport, Arthur French, Chairman, Ireland West Airport said: "I would like to thank An Taoiseach for taking the time to visit the airport to discuss a range of important matters. We wish to acknowledge Government's continued confidence and support and in particular the Taoiseach, Minister for Transport Tourism and Sport Shane Ross TD and his Department and our local Minister For Rural and Community Development Michael Ring TD, Senator Michelle Mulherin together with local political representatives. "We look forward to continuing to work closely with Government on a long term commitment and investment plan to support the airport's growth and development plans." Other Board members present included Peter Hynes, Ireland West Airport Board member, Fr Richard Gibbons, Ireland West Airport Board member, Archbishop Michael Neary, Ireland West Airport Board member and Pat Gallagher, Ireland West Airport Board member Chairman Arthur French presented An Taoiseach with a crystal vase gift to mark the occasion of his visit to Ireland West Airport. On the eve of the publication by Government of the new Strategy for the Future Development of Greenways, Sligo Greenway Co-op are urging more and more people to get behind the campaign for a Greenway for Co Sligo suggesting; "numbers will make it happen." The community group promoting the greenway proposal say in a recent statement: "Public opinion is beginning to swing more and more in favour of Sligo getting its own greenway but it will take more work. "The new strategy provides clear guidelines; we now need to make sure we fit these requirements." Sligo County Council will be the major player working in association with Irish Rail (licence/permission) and National Government (funding). The group, who see the new Greenway serving Sligo, town and county, are urging as many local people as possible to now join the campaign. In that regard the Greenway Co-op have just launched a new membership appeal. Membership or shareholding in the Co-op is now available throughout the county in retail outlets and also online. "This membership shows that the communities of County Sligo want this project to happen. "It is the best support people can give at this time; helping the to build numbers to ensure what the community wants, the community gets". The railway, disused since 1974, running from Collooney to Bellaghy (Charlestown), is the main piece of infrastructure being earmarked for the greenway. The proposed greenway will however have links to Sligo City. Membership or shares in the Greenway Co-op are now available in Collooney (Centra), Coolaney (O'Grady's and Mountain Inn), Tubbercurry (Computerbits and Coffee Dock), Curry (Yeats County Inn) and Charlestown (Market Cafe). A more complete list of outlets is available in the Co-op website, www.sligogreenway.com. After 40 days of little to no rain water supplies across the country continue to be restricted. In Sligo, the north of the county is worst affected. Sinn Fein Councillor Thomas Healy paid a visit to the area last week and described the public water supply for the majority of North Sligo as 'particularly vulunerable.' He said:"This is an unprecedented dry spell which really has to be seen in the context of a series of extreme weather events over the past year especially. "There are huge consequences from this drought and I would like to congratulate the people for their civic-minded approach to water conservation." He continued: "North Sligo however is especially vulnerable as the water supply is a natural one from the Gortnaleck and Lyle streams and the lack of rainfall is accelerating the reduction in this water supply rapidly. "This is the supply for Carney, Maugherow, Grange, Cliffoney, Mullaghmore and surrounding townlands and residents are increasingly concerned about their water service." Councillor Healy said he has been in touch with Irish Water: "I have been working closely with Irish Water on this issue and in fairness to them they are monitoring the dwindling water supply closely and have agreed to supply water tankers if an alternative supply is needed." Councillor Healy suggested plans to safeguard the water supply in the area for the future. "In the longer term however I think that we need to consider a more stable water supply in the form of a purpose built reservoir. "Our weather systems are changing and we need to adapt and plan ahead for a more uncertain future. "I will be lobbying Irish Water and also submitting a motion to Sligo County Council in the coming days to ensure that north Sligo and its surrounds gets an equal water supply system as the rest of the county." The Wicklow Trails Heritage Recording Project was launched in Roundwood Parish Centre and was jointly hosted by Wicklow County Council and Wicklow Uplands Council. Brian Dunne, co-ordinator for Wicklow Uplands Council, provided details on the integrated network of the trails that are being developed - with the overall vision of a route from Bray to Woodenbridge getting closer to completion. 'This project will really complement the current trails being developed in the east of the county and offer its visitors an opportunity to fully experience and appreciate the heritage found along the route. It is intended that this project will help inform the future development of visitor and tourism interpretation and to promote this area as part of Ireland's Ancient East,' said Mr Dunne. Neil Jackman of Abarta Heritage, who have been commissioned to undertake the compiling of information, outlined that the initial research has so far identified over 45 points of interest. The team led by Mr Jackman will be visiting the area in the coming weeks to engage directly with local communities to discover the rich natural, built and cultural heritage found throughout the region. 'Each section of the route tells it's own unique story whether it's from glacier activity, landlords and estates or due to industries such as mining or hill farming,' said Mr Jackman. 'The local knowledge is invaluable and no one knows it better than those who live or work there, so we very much look forward to finding the people and stories that will assist each of us in appreciating fully, the heritage surrounding us'. Deirdre Burns, heritage officer for Wicklow County Council, outlined how the project would create a public archive of historical images, written records, folklore and oral history found in the towns, villages and settlements identified in the geographical area. Each local group or individual involved in the project will essentially be the curator of the local sections and that training on digital recording will be provided. Although the main undertaking of the project is to take place over the next few months, once the digital archive is set up; new material that becomes available can continue to be added to it in the future. A number of local story sharing events will take place in the autumn to exhibit what has been discovered and recorded during the project. The community of Rathdangan came together this week to bless and celebrate the recent opening of the new local amenity park and playground. The rain which finally came did not dampen the spirits of everyone present for this wonderful occasion hosted by Rathdangan Community Council. Rev Robert Jones and Fr Seamus Whitney offered a blessing and the crowd was welcomed by chairman Will Langrell as he thanked everyone who contributed towards creating the spectacular local space. It was then time for the sound of traditional Irish music to fill the air courtesy of award winning group Hill Billy Porter, and it wasn't long before the floor of the marquee was full of dancers. In the meantime, the younger visitors were very happy to meet some unusual guests who arrived on the Jungle Bus from Gorey. Snakes, tarantulas, white rats, owls, lizards and turtles were all handled by the brave children and their presence proved a big hit with young and old, as did the complimentary ice creams for the kids and hot lattes for the rain-drenched adults making for a great day out in Rathdangan. A Coolgreany-native has discovered a megalithic passage tomb dating back some 5,500 years at the 18th century Dowth Hall in county Meath. Dr Cliodhna Ni Lionain, who hails from Plattenstown in Coolgreany, is the lead archaeologist in an excavation project which is being carried out by the agri-technology company Devenish Nutrition in partnership with University College Dublin School of Archaeology. The discovery, described as 'the find of a lifetime', is within the Bru na Boinne World Heritage Site. The structural remains of the passage tomb are estimated to date to around 3300 BC. Two burial chambers have been discovered within the western part of the main passage tomb, over which a large stone cairn was raised. A total of six kerbstones that have been identified so far would have made part of a ring of stones. One stone is decorated with Neolithic carvings and represents the discovery of megalithic art in Ireland. During the course of the project, two possible satellite tombs were also found. Works have been ongoing at Dowth Hall since the house and estate were purchased by Devenish Nutrition in 2013. Dr Owen Brennan, Executive Chairman of Devenish Nutrition, is ensuring that the Neolithic discovery will be fully conserved and made accessible to the public, who will be able to visit it during Heritage Week 2018. Since 2013, Devenish Nutrition has worked with UCD School of Archaeology to carry out research and surveys on the 430 acre Dowth Hall Estate to gain a better understanding of the important archaeological landscape. Local councillor Fionntan O Suilleabhain said this is probably the most significant Irish archaeology find in generations. 'Wholehearted congratulations from the community and county go out to our own Dr Cliodhna Ni Lionain who hails from a family steeped in heritage and tradition,' said Cllr O Suilleabhain. The tomb discovery at Dowth is in addition to other significant archaeological discoveries made in Bru na Boinne over recent days, including a large enclosure adjacent to the passage tomb at Newgrange which was discovered using drone photography. Wicklow's Mountain Rescue teams reunited a lost walker with her companions after she became separated from her party on Sunday. The Dublin and Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team and the Glen of Imaal Mountain Rescue Team were tasked by gardai to assist the woman at 3.15 p.m. She became separated from her walking group while descending from the summit of Lugnaquilla. Sarloc Rescue was used to try and locate the woman. The smartphone application was designed to help mountain rescue to deal more quickly with incidents in which a walker needing help is unable to give their location. The missing woman was tracked to the Ow Valley were mountain rescue personnel met her and transported her back to the Glen of Imaal to be reunited with the rest of her walking group. Since leaving the villa on Thursday with new bae Sam Bird, Georgia has given an interview where she has finally admitted the kiss happened and that she isn't so loyal. First Georgia said nothing happened, then Jack told Laura (who he has since split with) that Georgia kissed him, but Georgia fervently denied it. While the pair chose to split and stay, they found being apart too much and refused to recouple with other people. Speaking to The Sun, she said: "When I watched it I absolutely cringed because that is not me". Georgia soon became the meme queen after riling everyone up with her claims of being "loyal babe", but after watching it back it didn't quite go how she remembered. "I just got a little bit excited but I literally do not remember it like that". Look, being on a very high-profile reality dating show was always going to be emotionally taxing. It gets me into bother sometimes but that's the way I am. Love Island 2018 star Georgia Steel states "I don't have any regrets" after admitting big mistake from the show. But now Georgia insists Sam is the only man for her. "However, the fact that we went through that experience helped our relationship grow together and made us realise that we were meant to be because no matter who went into the villa after that, my head definitely wouldn't have been turned". Love Island continues nightly on ITV2 and 3e. A Kilpeddar man has been extradited to the United States after fighting the case on the grounds he would be detained in an inhuman and degrading manner. Gary Davis (30), of Johnstown Court, Kilpedder, was wanted by US authorities to face trial on charges of conspiracy to distribute narcotics, conspiracy to commit computer hacking and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted in the US Davis could receive a life sentence. It is probable that he will be incarcerated pending his trial. Last Friday, the Manhattan US Attorney said Davis, who allegedly helped run the 'Silk Road' website which was responsible for selling more than $200 million in illegal narcotics and other contraband, had been extradited. Geoffrey S Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said Davis who was also allegedly known as 'Libertas', was extradited from Ireland to America. Davis was arrested in January 2014 for charges arising out of his role as a member of the administrative staff of 'Silk Road'. During its operation from 2011 until 2013, Silk Road was used by thousands of drug dealers and other unlawful vendors to distribute illegal drugs and other illicit goods and services to more than 100,000 buyers, and to launder hundreds of millions of dollars derived from those unlawful transactions. His extradition was ordered by the High Court in Ireland in August 2016 and an appeal against that order was dismissed by the three-judge Court of Appeal in March 2017. Davis was immediately put into custody having been on bail since proceedings began three years ago. Davis had opposed his extradition on grounds that he suffers from both a form of autism known as Asperger's Syndrome and depression. Among his points of objection were that if he was extradited he would be detained in an inhumane and degrading manner. Last week, Manhattan US Attorney Geoffrey S Berman said: 'Gary Davis allegedly served as an administrator who helped run the Silk Road, a secret online marketplace for illegal drugs, hacking services, and an assortment of other criminal activities. Thanks to our partner agencies here and abroad, Davis now faces justice in an American court.' It is alleged that Mr Davis was an administrator of the Silk Road website from June 2013 to October 2013 using the pseudonym 'Libertas', according to the Court of Appeal's judgment. The website is said to have facilitated the sale of illicit drugs including cocaine, crack cocaine, crystal meth and other illegal drugs. Purchasers of illicit drugs from the website were paid in 'Bitcoins' and Silk Road revenue was based on a commission of between 10 per cent and 15 per cent of sale revenue. Commissions earned by Silk Road are said to run to tens of millions of dollars. It is alleged that Davis was paid $1,500 per week for his services. In the course of its investigation of the Silk Road website, the FBI arrested a US citizen Ross Ulbricht, whom it is believed was the owner and operator of the website. It is alleged that Mr Davis' involvement was identified from information extracted from Mr Ulbricht's computer. Previously in court, Davis has been described as a single man who lives with his parents in Wicklow. He is the youngest of five children, has a poor employment history, is 'obsessed with computers' and is described as a 'loner, naive and immature'. In a report dated January 21, 2014, Prof Michael Fitzgerald, Consultant Psychiatrist, diagnosed Asperger's Syndrome depressive disorder and generalised anxiety disorder. In his view, Asperger's Syndrome has been evident since childhood. The charges in the Superseding Indictment against Davis include: one count of conspiracy to distribute narcotics, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison; one count of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Last week, Mr Berman praised the outstanding joint efforts of the FBI and its New York Special Operations and Cyber Division, Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations - Chicago-O'Hare, the Drug Enforcement Administration's New York Field Division, and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation's New York Field Office. Mr Berman also thanked the Irish Republic's Computer Crime Investigation Unit of the An Garda Siochana for its assistance and support. He also thanked the US Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs for their support and assistance. This case is being prosecuted by the Office's Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Michael D Neff, Eun Young Choi, and Timothy T Howard and are in charge of the prosecution. Nikki Bradley and Rathdrum native Nigel Woulahan, who came all the way from Birmingham to take part in the Ride Against Suicide The Warg Riders Motorcycle Club getting ready to set off on their third Bikers Against Suicide ride from the Bridgewater Shopping Centre on Sunday A group of motorcyclists came together to raise funds for a worthy cause on Sunday. Members of the Warg Motorcycle Club from north Wicklow and south Dublin, along with some guests bikers, departed from Bridgewater Centre in Arklow for a leisurely road run passing through Arklow, Rathdrum, Rathnew, Kilcoole and Bray in aid of the Living Life. The charity counselling service has branches in Arklow, on the Wexford Road and on Eglington Road, Bray, run by more than 80 volunteer counsellors supporting hundreds of clients. A total of 38 riders, some with passengers took part and despite an unwelcome change in the weather conditions, enjoyed the annual road run immensely. The event, entitled 'Bikers Ride Against Suicide' ran successfully for the third year, and Warg MCC club chairperson Ciaran O'Driscoll confirmed that it will take place once again in 2019. He thanked everyone who took part and who supported the fundraiser. The total raised will be announced in the near future once the club has collected all donations. A member of the Irish Army who was only aged 17 when he was killed in an ambush in the Congo in 1960 will be honoured in Baltinglass with the erection of a commemorative monument. Private Michael McGuinn from Parkmore, Baltinglass was on a peace-keeping mission with the United Nations 33rd Infantry Battalion when he and nine others were killed in Niemba after fighting with Luba militia. In 2015, a commemorative plaque honouring Pte McGuinn was unveiled at Scoil Naomh Iosaf in the town and now, Baltinglass Municipal District is planning its own monument in memory of the local soldier. 'All members of the district are in agreement that we should honour this young brave man,' said the district cathaoirleach, Cllr Tommy Cullen. 'He was only 17 years of age when he died and it is long overdue that his sacrifice was recognised. We have selected a site in the centre of Baltinglass,' he said. Cllr Cullen said that there are also plans afoot to name the local park - which is just yards away from where he lived in Parkmore - after Pte McGuinn. 'He would have played in the park as a youngster, fished in the Slaney and attended local schools. The unveiling of the monument is also timely as this year marks 60 years of Ireland's UN membership. Baltinglass has always had a very close association with the Defence Forces, especially with the Glen of Imaal military range.' The granite monument will be funded by Baltinglass Municipal District, with assistance from the local business community. The unveiling is expected to take place in the autumn and members of the McGuinn family will be invited to attend, along with representatives from the Irish Army and the UN. In nearby Grangecon, a monument to local man Corporal Michael Nolan was unveiled in 2012. Cpl Nolan died in 1961 while serving with the 35th Battalion when an armoured car he was travelling in was hit by an anti-tank shell. Amnesty International has condemned the death sentence that was handed to a beauty queen who murdered her boyfriend by stabbing him 25 times. Ruth Kamande who won a jail beauty pageant while awaiting trial repeatedly plunged a kitchen knife into Farid Mohammed during the attack at his home in Nairobi, Kenya. The 24-year-old was furious after coming to believe her partner, also 24, had tried to infect her with HIV, the countrys High Court heard. But judge Justice Jessie Lessit dismissed claims she was acting in self-defence after the pair had fought, Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper reported. She said the wounds were not consistent with Kamandes allegations that her victim had pinned her down as they fought noting that post-mortem examinations showed his injuries were inflicted at intervals and not by a person lying down. She stabbed the deceased 25 times, and not in quick succession, but rather spaced it out as if savouring it in pleasure, said Justice Lessit while passing sentence. I want young people to know that it is not cool to kill your boyfriend or girlfriend even where you feel disappointed or frustrated - don't do it, she added. Instead, it is cool to walk away and thereafter to forgive. The judge accused Kamande of manipulative behaviour including inflicting minor stab wounds on herself and accessing the victim's mobile phone after he died. Mr Mohammeds family welcomed the sentence, which will see Kamande hanged. They said it matched the crime, which happened in September 2015. We're glad that this day came and his grandparents, his sister were actually in court today when this verdict was given, said aunt Emmah Wanjiku. He had just started his job when his life was cut short. But Amnesty International intervened to criticise the punishment. We are concerned that Kenya continues to use this cruel, inhumane and outdated mode of punishment, director Irungu Houghton said in a statement. This sentence is a blow to Kenyas progressive record in commuting death sentences to terms of imprisonment. He added there was no credible evidence the death penalty deters crime better than other punishments and asked the courts to rehabilitate Kamande instead. Her lawyer Joyner Okonjo said she would appeal the sentence but, if carried out, it would be the first state execution in the country since 1987. Most of the tech titans insisted that personal data is something they take very seriously. . Photo: Stock Image Hackers have infiltrated Singapore's government health database in the country's worst breach of personal data, stealing records on 1.5 million patients including the prime minister's own personal drug prescriptions. Government officials did not say who might have been behind the attack, but it was carried out with a high degree of sophistication. "It was not the work of casual hackers or criminal gangs," said a government statement. The hackers stole personal details and prescription records of patients who visited Singapore's outpatient clinics between May 1, 2015 and July 4 of this year. "The attackers specifically and repeatedly targeted Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's personal particulars and information on his outpatient dispensed medicines," the statement said. Prime Minister Lee said in a Facebook post he did not know what information the attackers were hoping to find. "My medication data is not something I would ordinarily tell people about, but there is nothing alarming in it," he said. Major cyber attacks have been rare in Singapore, which has invested heavily in cyber security over the past decade. The attack comes as the highly wired and digitalised state has made cyber security a top priority both at home and for its neighbours. Cyber attacks on healthcare systems have surged around the globe as medical records can provide information valuable to national spy agencies and criminal hackers looking to profit from identity theft. Funeral cortege arrives at the Coats Funeral Home, in Coatbridge, prior to the funeral of six-year-old Alesha MacPhail Photo: Lesley Martin/PA Wire Family and friends of a six-year-old girl who was killed on holiday have said farewell to a "special little girl" at her funeral. Alesha MacPhail was staying with relatives on the Isle of Bute, in the Firth of Clyde, at the start of the summer break when she was found dead. A 16-year-old boy was charged with rape and murder following the discovery of Alesha's body in woodland on July 2. A piper played as mourners entered Coats Funeral Home in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, on Saturday, most wearing pink as the family had asked. Expand Close Funeral cortege arrives at the Coats Funeral Home, in Coatbridge, prior to the funeral of six-year-old Alesha MacPhail, whose body was found on the Isle of Bute earlier this month Photo: Lesley Martin/PA Wire / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Funeral cortege arrives at the Coats Funeral Home, in Coatbridge, prior to the funeral of six-year-old Alesha MacPhail, whose body was found on the Isle of Bute earlier this month Photo: Lesley Martin/PA Wire Dozens of bows were tied to the railings of the building while cuddly toys including teddies and unicorns lined the wall outside. During the service mourners heard tributes from people close to Alesha including an emotional speech from her uncle Calum MacPhail. He said: "Alesha would rather hurt than you, she had a great amount of love for absolutely everyone. "Alesha is everything that I wanted to be, she was kind, caring, smart, I just cannot believe she is gone. Expand Close Father Robert MacPhail and mother Georgina MacPhail leaving the Coats Funeral Home Photo: Lesley Martin/PA Wire / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Father Robert MacPhail and mother Georgina MacPhail leaving the Coats Funeral Home Photo: Lesley Martin/PA Wire "She was the brightest thing." He was comforted by Alesha's mother Georgina Lochrane, known as Genie, who went up to hug him as he returned to his seat near the schoolgirl's father Robert MacPhail, little sister Courtney, aged four, and other family members. Alesha was a pupil at Chapelside Primary School in nearby Airdrie where she had just finished P2 and her class teacher Emma Gibson also spoke. She said: "Alesha was a bright and bubbly little girl, she always came into class with that big beautiful smile of hers. Expand Close A picture among tributes near a house on Ardbeg Road on the Isle of Bute in Scotland, after the body of Alesha MacPhail was found in woodland on the site of a former hotel by a member of the public Photo: John Linton/PA Wire / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A picture among tributes near a house on Ardbeg Road on the Isle of Bute in Scotland, after the body of Alesha MacPhail was found in woodland on the site of a former hotel by a member of the public Photo: John Linton/PA Wire "It was an absolute pleasure to have taught Alesha. I'm so grateful to have known this special little girl." She said that the schoolgirl loved working on her literacy and handwriting and enjoyed performing in school shows such as The Lion King. Headteacher Wendy Davie said: "May your smile shine brightly wherever you are, you will always be remembered as our Chapelside star." Robert MacPhail's girlfriend Toni McLachlan also gave a tribute, saying: "Sleep tight, little angel." The service was led by funeral director Fergus MacGregor, who said Alesha was an amazing and talented little girl and the "best big sister, best daughter, best granddaughter and friend that anyone could have asked for". He said that Alesha will always be remembered as a "very loving girl, friendly, good natured and full of love" who enjoyed everything from doing gymnastics and riding her bike to baking cakes, listening to music and watching Peppa Pig. Mr MacGregor also said that Alesha was fascinated by bubbles and had always wanted a bubble party on her birthday. As music played at the end of the service a bubble machine sent bubbles drifting above the mourners' heads. After the ceremony Alesha's father and uncle Calum were among those who carried her little pink coffin to the waiting hearse, a white carriage drawn by two white horses with pink feathers and pink drapes. Mourners lined the street as the hearse set off for Coltswood Cemetery, followed by two black carriages carrying flowers, and family members in cars. Passengers of a public service bus receive medical treatment near Luebeck, Germany, after the knife attack. Photo: Getty At least 14 people have reportedly been wounded, two of them seriously, in a knife attack on a bus in Germany. A suspect - believed to be in his mid-30s - was arrested after the stabbings in the northern city of Luebeck on the Baltic coast, north-east of Hamburg, yesterday afternoon. The motive is unclear. The packed bus was heading in the direction of Travemuende, a popular beach, when a man pulled a weapon on passengers, according to local media. The bus driver immediately stopped the vehicle, allowing passengers to escape, local newspaper 'Luebecker Nachrichten' reported. A spokeswoman for prosecutors, Ulla Hingst, told n-tv television that the bus driver stopped the vehicle and let the passengers out after the attack. She added the weapon that the assailant apparently used was a knife, although that is still under investigation. "The background to this act is completely unclear," she said. "We are investigating in all directions. We cannot currently rule anything out." Experts were also examining a backpack on the bus as a precaution. Ms Hingst said it was not clear whether the luggage belonged to the suspect, but said there had been reports of smoke coming out of the backpack. She said the identity of the suspect, who was being questioned by police, had yet to be confirmed. A police crew that happened to be nearby was able to get to the scene quickly, allowing officers to detain the suspect. "The passengers jumped out of the bus and were screaming," said Lothar H, a witness who lives close to the scene. "It was terrible. Then the injured were brought out. The perpetrator had a kitchen knife." Police spokesman Duerk Duerbrook said the attack happened in the Kuecknitz district of Luebeck - around 65km north-east of Hamburg. He said authorities were still trying to determine the circumstances of the attack. The force described it as a "major police deployment", adding that there had been no fatalities. "There is currently a major police deployment in Luebeck," the police force wrote on Twitter. "We are examining the situation and will give more information later." While the motive has not been established, Germany has been on high alert after several deadly Islamist extremist attacks. Mikoyan MiG-31K fighter jet with Kinzhal hypersonic missile flies over Moscows Red Square during Victory Day parade. Photo: Getty Images Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has raided a space research facility after a suspected leak of hypersonic missile secrets to western spies. The state space agency Roskosmos said its security staff were co-operating with FSB officers on a criminal case. Russia's 'Kommersant' daily says about 10 staff at a Roskosmos facility called TsNIIMash are under suspicion. A director's office was searched. Hypersonic missiles fly at more than five times the speed of sound (Mach 5). On Thursday the Russia defence ministry released video of two new hypersonic missile systems - called Kinzhal and Avangard. Both can deliver nuclear warheads. But Russian military expert Pavel Felgenhauer told the BBC he was very sceptical about their effectiveness and dismissed the video as "propaganda". He called the spy investigation "politically embarrassing". The suspects could be charged with high treason, 'Kommersant' reported. "It was established that the leak came from TsNIIMash employees," a source close to the FSB investigation said. "A lot of heads will roll, this case won't end just with a few dismissals." TsNIIMash is a top scientific subsidiary of Roskosmos. It is in the town of Korolyov, in the Moscow region. Some of the dead passengers were children, Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader told reporters late Thursday night. Fourteen survived, including the captain, who had the presence of mind to release the canopy allowing some to escape. "He was at every event". "This has been my community for 10 years, so just hearing about it last night I felt completely helpless at home, not feeling like there's anything I could do, so just coming out tonight was sort of my emotional way of showing support", Alyssa Ambrosier said. It capsized a Duck Tour amphibious boat and killed 17 people on the land-water craft. Allison Warmuth, 28, was killed after colliding with a Boston Duck Boat Tours vehicle while riding on a moped on Beacon and Charles Streets on April 30, 2016. The governor's office had no other information about the family members. The National Transportation Safety Board and US Coast Guard are investigating. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the agency has no authority to keep people or boats off of its lakes, even when bad weather approaches. She said she lost all her children, but she did not say how many. At the time of the accident, winds reached around 65mph (104 km/h), according to the National Weather Service. Coleman said none of the passengers put on life jackets because the captain said they were not necessary. But Mongeluzzi says the "fatal flaw" of duck boats - their canopies - remains unchanged despite findings that show they can be hazardous when sinking. A similar tragedy played out in 1999 in Hot Springs, Arkansas, when 13 people were killed when a duck boat sank to the bottom of the lake just seven minutes into the tour due to poor maintenance. "They are lethal on the land and they are lethal on the water", he said. From Seattle to Washington, D.C., tourists board specialized vehicles created to drive down the street just as easily as they can navigate a harbor. Advocates claimed that different agencies have imposed varying safety requirements on the boats, the AP reported. The boats were originally designed for the military, specifically to transport troops and supplies in World War II. The sheriff said Thursday that two duck boats were on the water at the time of the storm. "That duck, I dont know if theyre going to make it back", a man is also heard saying on the video. DUKW boats - commonly called Ducks - were built to quickly deliver cargo from ships at sea directly to the shore, driving onto the beach. Authorities expect to recover the boat later Friday. Memorials have been held in Missouri, with 300 people gathered in the auto park of Ride the Ducks of Branson. The vessel is now sitting 80 feet below the water. Eventually, the boats pull up to the lake and slowly enter the water with a small splash. "These are hard vehicles that require special operational care and attention to the safety of all whether on land or in water". In Branson, a popular family vacation destination about 200 miles southeast of Kansas City, they are driven along city streets for part of the tour before the driver uses a ramp to enter the lake. Protesters run for cover from tear gas fired by Israeli troops (Adel Hana/AP) Gazas militant Hamas rulers said they have accepted a ceasefire ending an Israeli onslaught on militant positions after a soldier was shot dead. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said it accepted the ceasefire brokered by Egyptian and United Nations officials and that calm had been restored. The Israeli military destroyed more than 60 Hamas targets on Friday, including three battalion headquarters. Expand Close Protesters gather while burning tyres near the fence of the Gaza Strips border with Israel (Adel Hana/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Protesters gather while burning tyres near the fence of the Gaza Strips border with Israel (Adel Hana/AP) The massive air strikes, which killed four Palestinians, came after a Palestinian sniper killed an Israeli soldier along the border. Hamas said three of the Palestinian casualties were its members. The second such ceasefire in a week after fierce exchanges seemed to once more pull the sides back from the brink of a full-fledged war. Israel and Hamas have fought three wars over the past decade. The attack delivered a severe blow to Hamass training array, command and control abilities, weaponry, aerial defence and logistic capabilities along with additional military infrastructure, the Israeli military said in a statement. The recent outburst of violence comes after months of near-weekly border protests organised by Hamas aimed in part at protesting against the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza. More than 130 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the protests began on March 30. Israel and Egypt have maintained a blockade on Gaza for more than a decade in an attempt to weaken Hamas. The blockade has caused widespread economic hardship. Israel says the naval blockade is necessary to protect its citizens from weapons smuggling. Israel says it is defending its sovereign border and accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover for attempts to breach the border fence and attack Israeli civilians and soldiers. Four Palestinians have been killed after Israel attacked Hamas targets in Gaza following the fatal shooting of a soldier near the border. The Israeli military said a "terrorist squad" fired at troops and one soldier was severely injured and later died. He was the first Israeli military fatality in months of violence along the Gaza border. After the Palestinian fire, Israel's military said it struck 15 Hamas positions including weapon warehouses, command and control centres and training facilities. It said "fighter jets commenced a wide-scale attack against Hamas military targets throughout the Gaza Strip" and added that "Hamas chose to escalate the security situation and will bear the consequences for its actions". The Gaza Health Ministry said four Palestinians were killed. The militant Islamic Hamas that rules Gaza said three of the dead were members of the group. Gaza media reported that gunmen had fired mortars toward the border. Sirens wailed last night in parts of southern Israel warning of incoming Palestinian rockets. Israel said two were intercepted by its Iron Dome aerial defence system. US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania visit the Forbidden City in Beijing with Chinas President Xi Jinping last year. Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters Donald Trump's former personal lawyer secretly recorded Trump discussing payments to a former 'Playboy' model who said she had an affair with him, 'The New York Times' reported yesterday. The US president's current personal lawyer confirmed the conversation and said it showed Mr Trump did nothing wrong, according to newspaper. Citing lawyers and others familiar with the recording, the 'Times' said attorney Michael Cohen made the recording two months before Trump's 2016 election. The newspaper said the FBI seized the recording during an April raid on Mr Cohen's office amid an investigation into his business dealings. People familiar with the investigation said the raid sought, among other things, any information on payments made in 2016 to former 'Playboy' model Karen McDougal, who says she had an affair with Mr Trump in 2006. He denies it. 'The Wall Street Journal' revealed, days before the election, that the 'National Enquirer' - run by Trump supporter David Pecker - had paid $150,000 (128,000) to silence McDougal. At the time, Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks said, "We have no knowledge of any of this." 'The Washington Post', citing a person familiar with the recording, said yesterday it captured Mr Trump and Mr Cohen discussing an effort the attorney planned to make to buy the rights to McDougal's story for roughly $150,000 from American Media Inc, the parent company of the 'Enquirer'. Expand Close Ex-Playboy model McDougal / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Ex-Playboy model McDougal Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani told the 'Times' the president did discuss the payments to Ms McDougal with Mr Cohen on the less than two-minute-long recording, but that the payment was never made. Mr Giuliani says Mr Trump told Mr Cohen if he did make a payment, to do it by cheque so it could be documented. "Nothing in that conversation suggests that he had any knowledge of it in advance," Mr Giuliani said. "In the big scheme of things, it's powerful exculpatory evidence." Mr Cohen, a self-described fixer for Trump for more than a decade, said last year that he "would take a bullet" for Mr Trump. But he told an interviewer earlier this month that he now puts "family and country first" and won't let anyone paint him as "a villain of this story". The latest allegations about Trump broke as he escalated his threats to punish China for its trade policies, with a fresh warning that he is prepared to impose tariffs on all Chinese imports and arguing that Beijing has manipulated its currency at the expense of America. In a taped interview with the business channel CNBC, Mr Trump warned "I'm willing to go to 500," meaning he is prepared to impose tariffs on $505.5bn (431bn) on Chinese imports - roughly the value of all the goods Beijing shipped to the United States last year. Doing so would mean American households and companies would have to pay sharply higher prices for all Chinese products, as long as the tariffs remained in effect. Mr Trump has already imposed tariffs on $34bn (29bn) in Chinese goods, and Beijing has retaliated with tariffs on an equal amount of American exports. The US president earlier threatened to target up to $550bn (469bn) in Chinese products - a figure that exceeds the $524bn ($446.5bn) in goods and services China shipped to the United States last year. His remarks caught financial markets by surprise yesterday. US stocks sank in early trading before rebounding. Global markets have remained generally calm in recent weeks and months despite the eruption of a full-blown US-China trade war and a host of other conflicts Mr Trump has ignited between the United States and key trading partners, including Canada and the EU. The tariffs the Trump administration has already imposed on Chinese imports are the outgrowth of a dispute over the predatory practices it says China has deployed to try to supplant America's global supremacy in high technology. Those include cyber-theft and an insistence American and other foreign companies hand over technology in exchange for access to the Chinese market. A baby who came to symbolise the US governments policy of separating immigrant families did not recognise his parents at first when they were reunited in Honduras. For months, the Honduran couple watched their only son grow up in videos while he was kept in US government custody. That is where he took his first steps and spoke his first words. The parents got to embrace the 15-month-old boy again on Friday, five months after US immigration officials forcibly separated the baby from his father at the Texas border. Expand Close Adalicia Montecino holds her year-old son Johan (Esteban Felix/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Adalicia Montecino holds her year-old son Johan (Esteban Felix/AP) Johan, who grabbed the worlds attention when he appeared in a US courtroom in a nappy, at first did not recognise his mother and father after he was flown to San Pedro Sula. I kept saying Johan, Johan, and he started to cry, said his mother, Adalicia Montecinos. She broke down in tears as she talked about how her son had become a poster child for outrage over the Trump administrations policy of separating immigrant children from their parents at the US-Mexico border. He suffered everything that we have been suffering, she said. His father soon won him over by playing ball. Within an hour, the tiny boy in an orange tank top, blue shorts but no shoes laughed as both parents kissed him outside a centre where they finished final legal paperwork before heading home. I feel so happy, Ms Montecinos said. Expand Close Adalicia Montecino watches her son Johan get a hair cut (Esteban Felix/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Adalicia Montecino watches her son Johan get a hair cut (Esteban Felix/AP) That ended the extraordinary journey of a baby whose short life has ranged from Honduran poverty to a desperate dash across the US border to the front pages of the worlds newspapers. Captured by Border Patrol agents almost instantly upon arrival, Johans father was deported and the 10-month-old remained at an Arizona shelter, in the custody of the US government. Over the next five months, he spoke and walked for the first time and had his first birthday: his parents, hundreds of miles away, missed it all. When his mother and father last saw him, he had two tiny teeth. Now he has a mouthful. I never thought they could be so cruel, said his father, Rolando Antonio Bueso Castillo, 37. Arvind Singh Jiyal from Devprayag in Uttarakhand is a postgraduate student and knows well how to connect to students. And he puts it to good use, for a cause which has been working for well over a year. The 22-year-old is a 'Ganga Prahari,' a volunteer for the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) under the Namami Gange programme. Today he is part of a nearly 20-strong volunteer group which works on the ground on various activities like cleaning up the river banks, creating awareness among public against polluting the river, planting trees, speaking at workshops spreading the message to give up plastic and so on. Jiyal said for him River Ganga is beyond religion and it is more about the environment. He added the group mainly focus on creating awareness among the younger generation as they are more aware of the dangers the pollution poses. "It is easy to speak to and convince the younger generation, for the older generation it is a bit difficult to give up their habits," Jiyal said. He, however, said they have been able to convince many traders in the area to give up polythene bags in favour of paper and cloth bags. Jiyal said he is happy with the progress that they have been able to make in the short amount of time and expressed hope that it will improve further in the coming days. Through our awareness programmes, we not only urge people to not pollute River Ganga but also contribute in cleaning it. I am happy to say that our efforts have started to show results. Most of the 50-60 trees which we planted about a year ago are now 8-10 feet tall. We take special care of them and it is a special feeling, he said. Ganga Praharis are a self-motivated volunteer cadre from local communities which have been trained and taken on board by NMCG and WII to make Clean Ganga Mission a mass movement. This cadre has been created to ensure the sustainability of efforts in conservation of the biodiversity in river Ganga. So far, 427 Ganga Praharis across five main stem Ganga basin states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal have been involved in this project. People using faith to abuse vulnerable women is not a new thing n India. Every now and then we come across news of such incidents. WHat worse is that the government has done absolutely nothing to stop it. Now, a 60-year-old tantric has been arrested from Fatehabads Tohana town in Haryana, for not only raping at least 120 women but also making video clips of the rapes. Police said the tantric, Baba Amarpuri alias Billu, used the clips to blackmail the women and rape them again. The cops have received at least such 120 clips, each with a different victim. The tantric made the clips himself with his cellphone. TNN cited sources, saying that a relative of the accused gave the clips to the cops in a CD. Fatehabad women police station in-charge, inspector Bimla Devi said Amarpuri has been sent to police remand for five days. We are in the process of getting details about his victims so that their statements can be recorded, she said, adding that two women have come forward and are ready to record their statements against him. Amarpuri has been booked under various IPC sections, including rape, word, gesture or act obscenity and criminal intimidation. Sections of Information Technology Act have also been invoked. Representational Image Amarpuri would threaten the women that he would make the clips public and force them to visit him multiple times, Devi said. The police said that another rape case was registered against him nine months back. Fatehabad SP Deepak Saharan told TOI that a woman, whose husband knew Amarpuri, had accused him of raping her inside his temple. The tantric, however, got bail in the case. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Amarpuri alleged he was being framed for not paying protection money to police. His real name is Amarveer. On Friday, farmers from across the country converged in Delhi in support of the opposition-backed no-confidence motion in the Parliament and to protest the governments inaction over the agricultural crisis and farmers distress. The march was organised by All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee(AIKSCC) in support of two farmer-friendly bills which are to be introduced in the Lok Sabha, although the no-confidence motion did not let that happen. The farmers, carrying black flags, marched from Mandi House to the Parliament Street in Central Delhi, demanding a minimum support price of 50 per cent above the cost of production. However, the government said that all these demands have been met already. PTI "No government tried to enhance farm incomes. This government has enhanced farm incomes," BJP leader Rajnath Singh said in Parliament on Friday. "You can argue whether farm income can be doubled by 2022 or not, but nobody can doubt the intent of our PM," he added. However, those supporting the march denied these claims. PTI "This historic MSP of the Modi government is a historic lie," said Yogendra Yadav, the leader of Swaraj India. "The government should not just look at farmer losses, we cannot afford to educate our future generations, who is evaluating the losses from that," said 65-year-old Rajkumar, a farmer from Meerut. PTI A massive farmers march has been organised in Delhi by the end of this year, like the one in Mumbai. Remembering our freedom fighters and revolutionaries who ensured independence always inspires us. However, there are some personalities whose stories are not often told and end up being lost with time. Dutt with her wife and daughter and young Dutt One such story is of Batukeshwar Dutt, a revolutionary who was the bomb expert of Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) in which the likes of Chander Shekhar Azad, Sardar Bhagat Singh, Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqullah Khan, Roshan Lal, Sukhdev, Rajguru and many others were members. Who can forget how Batukeshwar Dutt accompanied Bhagat Singh when the latter threw bombs in empty spaces in the Central Legislative Assembly, New Delhi on April 8, 1929. He could have escaped easily in the resulting mayhem but he stayed and shouted slogans against the British government. While Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged on 23 March 1931, Dutt was sent to Kala Pani. He got freedom around 1942. After India got independence, Dutt kept approaching the government for a respectable employment for him, but the government didn't give him any job. He died helplessly in the lack of resources in AIIMS Delhi. Twitter Dutt died an unknown and throughout his lives, he struggled to meet the ends despite sacrificing prime of his youth in Kala Pani and later during Quit India Movement. Here is the story of the great revolutionary: Initial years Batukeshwar Dutt aka BK, Battu and Mohan was born on 18 November 1910 to Goshtha Bihari Dutt in Oari village, Purba Bardhaman district. He graduated from PPM High School in Cawnpore where he came in touch with revolutionaries like Azad and Bhagat Singh. Learnt how to make bombs Being a member of HSRA, Dutt soon learnt how to make bombs in various secret places where HSRA used to hold meetings of the revolutionaries. It was he who made the bombs that were thrown by him and Bhagat Singh in the assembly in Delhi. The bomb incident On April 8, 1929, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw two bombs in empty space Central Legislative Assembly in New Delhi to protest against Defence of India Act 1915 implementation under which police were given free hand to nab any individual without any warrant or proof. PTI On 8 April 1929, Singh and Dutt threw two bombs inside the assembly rushing from Visitor's Gallery. The smoke from the bomb filled the hall and they shouted Inquilab Zindababd. Both could have escaped easily, but gave their arrest, so that the trial can give them the opportunity to connect with the people with the help media. The leaflet claimed that the act was done to oppose the Trade Disputes and the Public Safety Bill being presented in the Central Assembly and the death of Lala Lajapath Rai. Hunger strike in jail Dutt along with Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and several other revolutionaries initiated hunger strike in jail to protest against the abusive treatment of political prisoners by British. They succeeded in securing some rights for them as well. Without my companions, how can I eat? Let them come first. I will be absorbed in my book till then. I wont even know how the time passes,Batukeshwar was quoted saying this during his hunger strike in the second volume of Indian Revolutionaries A Comprehensive Study, 1757-1961. Sent to Kala Pani While Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged in Lahore conspiracy case in which ASP Saunders was murdered by Rajguru. Dutt was sent on Andaman Cellular jail for the bombing Central Legislative Assembly in 1929. He was released from the jail in 1942. But he participated in Quit India movement and sent to jail again Image Credit: navyuvaz.blogspot.com In 1942, he was released but soon again sent to jail because he actively participated in Quit Indian Movement started by Mahatma Gandhi. He had to spend another four years in jail. India got freedom, but Dutt remained in oblivion Dutt had contracted TB in jail and after Independence, he married in November 1947. He didnt get any recognition and despite him trying and seeking government help to get employed, he wasnt provided with any job. As a result, he was forced to start many businesses but all failed. He died an unknown in AIIMS, Delhi Dutt struggled to make ends meet and the prolonged disease of TB furthered drained up all the resources the family had. Dutt died an unknown after battling the long prolonged disease inthe paucity of the resources. Dutt outlived all his comrades and died on 20 July 1965 in the AIIMS hospital. He was cremated in Hussainiwala near Firozepur in Punjab where bodies of comrade friends Bhagat, Rajguru and Sukhdev were cremated many years before. AFP He was survived by his only child Bharti Bagchi. This is just one story of how India treated its freedom fighters and Dutt is relatively known figure yet he was accorded any recognition by government of India after independence, one can easily imagine the number of freedom fighters whos contribution was denied recognition by the very independent state they fought for. 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. The skirmish over fuel smuggling comes ahead of a July 20 meeting at which U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to brief the United Nations council on Washington's drive to persuade North Korea to scrap its nuclear and missile programs. Coats said it was not a matter of trusting the North Koreans but of ensuring proper verification mechanisms were in place. "We abide by all decisions". Pompeo and Haley also met with the South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and the U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, both of whom have supported the Trump administration's negotiations with North Korea. The United States tried to stop further shipments of refined petroleum products to North Korea, but the measure was blocked by Russian Federation and China, which are also U.N. Security Council members, Hayley said. Last week, the United States asked the U.N. Security Council committee that monitors sanctions implementation to ban further fuel shipments to Pyongyang in a bid to cut off revenue to its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. China is the North's closest ally. U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said on Thursday it was technically possible for North Korea to eliminate its nuclear weapons program within a year, but added that it was not likely to happen. Interested in North Korea? On the announcement that President Trump will be meeting Russian president Vladimir Putin at the White House in the fall, Pompeo said "we have our senior leaders meeting all across the world with people that we have deep disagreements with". The agreement however was short on details - North Korea has long trumpeted a denuclearisation goal, but one that it sees as a lengthy process of undefined multilateral disarmament, rather than a unilateral dismantlement of its nuclear arsenal. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told Mr. Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in "that he was prepared to denuclearize", Pompeo said. Chinese Ambassador Ma Zhaoxu said that "China is committed to denuclearization" and "to peace and stability on the Peninsula". He added that China will "fully implement" United Nations sanctions resolutions, adding that "everyone" else should as well. But if each tanker were fully loaded with fuel, the amount smuggled would be triple its quota, the US documents said. "We must also crack down on other forms of sanctions evasion, including the smuggling of coal by sea, smuggling by overland borders, and the presence of North Korean guest workers in certain countries", he said. On Thursday, Russia and China moved to block the USA, putting a six-month hold on the request. Haley asked. "They claim they need more information". "It is the Trump administration's hope that one day the DPRK could be in our midst here at United Nations not as pariah, but as friend", he said, referring to North Korea by its initialism. "Are they telling us that they want to continue supplying this oil?" We don't need any more information. The sanctions committee has what it needs. The United States, however, blocked that statement, which would have expressed the council's "willingness to adjust the measures" targeting North Korea, diplomats said. Security Council members said that during his briefing, Pompeo urged enforcement of sanctions and said that a discussion about easing them could begin only once concrete actions had been taken on the ground. "I think this makes enormous sense and I am very hopeful that meeting will take place this fall". However, many SMEs neglect training and testing of plans as they are time-poor and lack the available resources due to business requirements. While this poses a barrier for businesses seeking additional revenue streams via investment, Emmett says it actually offers an ideal opportunity for brokers who want to increase their value proposition. By being an integral enabler to a clients growth and their ability to list on the ASX, brokers provide support to their clients as specialist insurance and risk management advisors, he says. Ensuring their clients have robust business continuity plans as part of their risk management framework increases the value proposition brokers provide to their clients. While brokers may not be in a position to help their clients develop a business continuity plan (BCP), Emmett says they should take the time to talk to customers about the importance of implementing one that can steer them clear of several common mistakes. These include: Preparing a BCP without first completing a Business Impact Assessment The BIA is essential for identifying critical business functions, and the potential impacts of various business interruptions on these functions, Emmett tells Insurance Business. It would be difficult to implement an effective BCP without having first completed the BIA. The BCP is not easy to follow During the response to a disaster, crisis management teams will often be subject to extreme conditions and heightened stress, says Emmett. BCPs should be easy-to-follow, step-by-step procedures for crisis management teams to efficiently follow and implement. Emmett also warns that, if management teams are using a business continuity plan (BCP) for the first time during a real incident, they will not be able to implement plans quickly and efficiently. Crisis management teams should be well-rehearsed in using BCPs in response to a range of potential business impact scenarios, he advises. A well-trained team utilising tested BCPs will be able to respond to any number of scenarios as required. BCPs not approved by senior management A BCP should be able to be implemented quickly and efficiently by crisis management teams during a response to a major business interruption, says Emmett. It is essential that plans are pre-approved by senior management to reduce approval times during the response phase to an incident. Peter Emmett will be hosting an online event on 12 September where he will offer advice on effective business continuity planning. More information can be found online. Related stories: Most SMEs too busy to develop continuity plans SMEs a "soft target" for cyber crime In its latest submission to the royal commission, ASIC said the current regime falls short of adequately protecting consumers from potentially paying more in premiums than they may ever be paid out, and called for funeral insurance to be re-classified as a financial product under the Corporations Act, The New Daily reported. These legislative changes would mean that funeral insurers would be required to have an Australian financial-services licence, and be bound by the Corporations Act to provide their services efficiently, honestly, and fairly, or be exposed to penalties in case of failure to comply. ASIC said it had already raised many of the concerns about the industry in a 2015 report. While we can and do take action regarding misleading conduct, ASIC does not have a product-intervention power, the report read. If conduct is not misleading, ASIC does not have powers to prevent funeral-insurance products creating situations where consumers may pay more in insurance premiums over a long period than the benefit that will be available under the policy. Or, have to cancel a policy due to unaffordable premiums, despite having paid premiums over a long period (and potentially in excess of the benefit available under the policy). In its own submission, financial regulator APRA acknowledged the merit in treating funeral insurance consistently under the Corporations Act. Levon Blue, financial literacy and indigenous education researcher, said there needs to be full regulation of the funeral insurance industry to put an end to predatory financial practices. The funeral insurance industry appears to be enabled to exploit individuals because ASIC does not have a product-intervention power, Blue told the publication. This lack of power appears to have enabled the funeral insurance industry to design products that are not value for money in other words, products where the consumer pays more for the product than they will benefit. The steep premium increases over the life of the product appear to almost be designed to become so unaffordable that the consumer is encouraged to cancel the policy before a claim is ever made, thus making this industry very unethical and lucrative. What Are S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes? The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes, also known as simply the Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes, are a group of indexes that track changes in home prices throughout the United States. Key Takeaways The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes, also known as simply the Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes, are a group of indexes that track changes in home prices throughout the United States. S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes are based on a constant level of data on properties that have undergone at least two arm's length transactions. The Case-Shiller Home Price indexes, developed in the 1980s by three economists, are used as the underlying pricing mechanism in CME real estate futures and options. Understanding S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes are based on a constant level of data on properties that have undergone at least two arm's length transactions. Case-Shiller produces indexes representing certain metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) as well as a national index. The Case-Shiller Index was developed in the 1980s by three economists: Allan Weiss, Karl Case, and Robert Shiller. The trio later formed a company to sell their research; that company was purchased by Fiserv Inc., which tabulates the data behind the index. The data is then distributed by Standard & Poor's. The group consists of: The national home price index, which covers nine major census divisions is calculated on a monthly basis. The 10-city composite index, which covers Boston, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. The 20-city composite index, which includes all of the above cities plus Atlanta, Charlotte, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Portland (Oregon), Seattle, and Tampa. Twenty individual metro area indexes for each of the cities listed above. The indexes are published on the last Tuesday of each month at 9 a.m. EST. There is a two-month lag time in the data that is reported, so the report issued in May only covers home sales through March. Trading the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes The Case-Shiller Home Price indexes are used as the underlying pricing mechanism in CME real estate futures and options. CME real estate futures and options trade on different indexes, representing 10 different metropolitan statistical areas, and a composite index, representing 20 metropolitan statistical areas. The caveat is that the indexes are perfect representations of the housing market, because they include only single-family dwellings in their calculations. Furthermore, because some of the metropolitan areas are so large (such as New York City or Los Angeles), having just one value may not accurately represent all areas within that city. By Padraig Hoare Low-cost, long-haul carrier Norwegian Air has said it will increase flights from Irish airports next summer by more than a third while also confirming Corks first transatlantic flights to the US, which had been in doubt, would return. The airline, which has been strongly linked with a takeover by Aer Lingus owner IAG, said it would increase its offering from Dublin, Cork and Shannon to the US east coast by 37%. There was disappointment from business and political figures earlier this year when Norwegian announced it was scrapping the winter route from Cork to Providence, Rhode Island. It was feared the airline would not bring the route back for the summer 2019 schedule but it has allayed those fears by insisting it is committed to the three-times-weekly flight. Cork Airport said more than 31,000 passengers travelled between Cork and Providence on the Norwegian Air route in its first year, including 60% from the US side. The route is seen as vital in attracting business and tourist visitors to the Cork region, as US and Canadian visitors to the Republic have risen by 12% this year. Director of public affairs at Cork Chamber, Thomas McHugh said: Connectivity is essential to maximising the potential of our regions, and we now have that certainty of services and the ability to plan accordingly that drives consumer confidence across the business and broader customer base. Norwegian Air did rule out a Cork-New York flight for the foreseeable future, saying it had no immediate plans as it was concentrating on making the Providence route work. Dublin and Shannon will see routes increased to Providence, New York, while Dublin also has a Toronto route. Shannon Airport management said Norwegian would more than double its services to Providence and New York by next summer. Chief executive of the Shannon Group, Matthew Thomas said the Wild Atlantic Way has been a game-changer for its business from the US east coast and was making an ever-increasing impact on tourism in this region. The increase in flights comes as Norwegian has been the subject of intense speculation of late that it may be sold to IAG, which also owns British Airways, Iberia and Vueling. Founder and chief executive Bjorn Kjos said at Norwegians annual shareholders meeting in May that at the right price, anything is for sale. IAG bought a 4.6% stake in Norwegian in April, leading to speculation it was looking to buy it. Norwegian said two previous bids were rejected because they did not value the company highly enough. IAG boss Willie Walsh has said the group remains open-minded about Norwegian, but that it will certainly not get involved in a bidding war. Lufthansa has also not ruled out making a bid for Norwegian, with boss Carsten Spohr saying everyone is talking to everyone. The German carrier also said it remains interested in a restructured Alitalia and its position has not changed after Italy said this week it wanted a majority stake in the airline under Government control. Lufthansa has repeatedly said that the Italian market is important for it but that loss-making Alitalia must first be restructured. Additional reporting Reuters The Fianna Fail Leader has paid tribute to former minister Martin O'Donoghue, who passed away yesterday. He died at St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, surrounded by his family. Micheal Martin said he was deeply saddened to learn of his death. I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former Minister Martin ODonoghue. I knew Martin and he was a true gentleman," he said. He was a committed public representative who had a long and distinguished career in national politics. Mr O'Donoghue was elected to the Dail in 1977, representing the constituency of Dun Laoghaire until 1982. He was Minister for Economic Planning and Development from 1977 to 1979. "On my own personal behalf and on behalf of the Fianna Fail organisation I want to extend my deepest condolences to Martins wife Evelyn, children Audrey, Raphael and Tressan and brother Tom," said Mr Martin. Digital Desk Update 10.30pm: The M50 is reopen to traffic after an earlier incident where a truck carrying horses overturned at Junction 12 Southbound. Lanes were closed to facilitate the removal of the truck. Gardai now say all lanes are open to traffic. The driver of the truck is uninjured, while Dublin Fire Brigade says the horses have survived their ordeal. Luckily the horses (and humans) involved in the @M50Dublin RTC earlier survived their ordeal. Unfortunately, crews were called to an RTC on Thursday on the #M1 where, sadly, the horse involved did not survive. Livestock are very vulnerable in transit, give the vehicles space. pic.twitter.com/Gqk5KIIRKM Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) July 21, 2018 Update 7.55pm: There is a traffic alert on the M50 in Dublin tonight. The motorway southbound near Junction 12 is currently impassable due to an overturned truck that was carrying horses. Emergency services are at the scene and this stretch is expected to stay closed until a crane arrives to remove the overturned lorry. There are no reports on the condition of the horses being carried but the driver is uninjured. Motorists are being asked to avoid this part of the M50 and to take alternative routes until the truck is removed. Digital Desk I was asked in a recent interview what I thought the secret to success was, and I replied that, in my case at least, I believed hard work was key. I had made certain sacrifices in the early part of my writing career that might seem unpalatable to others. But while I worked hard, I must also remind myself that I was extremely privileged. I had parents who not only encouraged me and believed that being an artist was a viable career, but who fed and housed me while I pursued that dream. If they had refused to do so, or if they had simply been unable to accommodate another mouth to feed, maybe I would have been forced to give up on my ambitions, dismissed them as foolhardy fantasies. It is easy to say that art is something that can be done before or after your real work, that it is something that can be pushed into the margins of your life when in reality; it is something that demands space and time to breathe. I am in awe of people who hold down full-time jobs and produce extraordinary pieces of work (Donal Ryan, Im looking at you), but for many frustrated artists, their careers are so demanding that they dont have enough energy at the end of a long day to sit down at the desk or go into the studio and be creative on demand. But the bills must be paid, the mortgage must be paid, and children must be fed, and so dreams wither and die. Incredible voices are lost to us all. In order to combat financial barriers that preclude people from becoming practising artists, a grassroots, volunteer-led movement called The National Campaign for the Arts (NCFA) is working with the arts community and politicians in order to ensure that the Arts are recognised as a vital part of contemporary Irish life. The Government has promised to increase expenditure on the Arts over seven years, starting from last year, so that we can bring funding back to the 2008 level of 82 million. Crucially, it is essential that the majority of this goes towards the Arts Council, where the lives of artists themselves can be directly impacted. Having been the beneficiary of an Arts Council grant myself, before Asking For It was released, I can personally vouch for how helpful such assistance can be, especially in an industry which is notoriously poorly paid and where you are often asked to volunteer your services for free for the love of it of course. I think part of the reason why we can be reluctant to increase funding for artists is that there is a feeling that in Ireland, artists are born, not made. For a country of such a diminutive size, we punch far above our weight culturally and have produced some of the best playwrights and authors and musicians and actors and visual artists in the world. We seem to believe that these artists would have survived under any circumstances, that they didnt require encouragement and support, not to mention expensive lessons and equipment. The Irish are story-tellers and folk-artists by blood and by birth, the myths go. Past governments have been far too eager to exploit these myths for tourism purposes without taking the necessary steps to ensure that our tradition of artistry to adequately funded. (Honourable mention for the Artists Exemption here, which is, as The Irish Times wrote in 2003, the tax break that makes art possible.) There will be many people reading this who will feel uncomfortable with the idea of increasing spending on the Arts, arguing that money should be funnelled into social welfare or the health service or the charity sector. I agree that all of these areas need more money, and our state services should be run in a far more efficient and productive manner. It would be nice as we pay our tax bills to feel as if our taxes are being used appropriately. But this is not a zero-sum game, and we are capable of caring about mental health services in this country and hoping to ensure that artists will be given adequate assistance to continue with their work. Because of the Arts matter. A perfect example of the impact they can have was demonstrated in a study conducted in an Italian University in 2014. This study found that children reading passages in the Harry Potter books dealing with prejudice showed greatly improved attitudes towards immigrants after only six weeks, while the test group given more neutral passages from the series reported no attitudinal change whatsoever. It makes sense. When we read a book or watch a movie, we are obliged to see the world through someone elses eyes, which makes us more empathetic human beings. Isnt that important? Dont we want to live in a compassionate society? As the NCFA says, the Arts can bring essential qualities of awareness, emotion, truth, and creativity to everyday life. Art is powerful. It is not just a mirror, showing us our true selves, but it has the ability to shape the way in which we see ourselves. It has the power to transform the world that we live in. Culture can change culture. For more information, see ncfa.ie Syrian rebels and Iranian-backed negotiators have reached a deal to evacuate thousands of people from two rebel-besieged Shi'ite villages in northwest Syria in return for the release of hundreds of detainees in state prisons, opposition sources said. Buses carrying nearly 7,000 people departed the towns and arrived near the city of Aleppo, which is controlled by the Assad regime. Under the new deal, a total of 6,900 people will be evacuated, while the Assad regime will release 1,500 civilians and fighters. Foua and Kefraya are the only government-held enclave in Idlib's militant-held area. In April previous year, thousands of people were shuttled out of the two villages to government territory in a similar mediated agreement. Fuaa and Kafraya are the last remaining areas under siege in Syria, where government forces have also repeatedly used crippling blockades during the last seven years of war. "As the buses entered regime-held areas, the regime started releasing detainees, as per the deal", SOHR chief Rami Abdel Rahman said. There was no official word on the deal but state-owned Ikhabriyah television station said there were "reports of an agreement to liberate thousands from the two towns". Ambulances reportedly transporting prisoners realeased from regime jails. Fuaa and Kafraya came under siege in 2015 as rebels overran the surrounding province of Idlib, cutting off access to food and medicine. In exchange, hundreds of residents left two towns at the border with Lebanon, Madaya and Zabadani, which were in the hands of Sunni rebels at the time and under siege from pro-government forces. A deal reached on Tuesday between regime-backer Russian Federation and rebel-ally Turkey would see all the residents taken to government-held territory in exchange for prisoner releases from regime jails. Footage broadcast by al-Manar TV, which is run by the pro-Damascus Shi'ite group Hezbollah, showed the buses arriving at a government checkpoint in al-Eis, east of the two villages. But a blast targeting a convoy of evacuees from Al-Foua and Kafraya left 150 people dead, a lot of them civilians and including 72 children. The northwestern province borders Turkey to the northwest but is otherwise nearly totally surrounded by regime territory. Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 with protests against President Bashar al-Assad that escalated into a devastating, complex war. The retaking of second city Aleppo last year marked a major turning point and earlier this year the government retook Eastern Ghouta, the last militant-held area near the capital Damascus. Both victories followed crushing government sieges and heavy bombardment. The deadly strikes late Tuesday hit Nawa, the last town under rebel control in the southern province of Daraa, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Tens of thousands of civilians remain displaced in a part of Quneitra just a handful of kilometres (miles) from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. As audiences get ready to click their heels together for The Wizard of Oz at Cork Opera House, producer Holly Carey shares her behind the scenes diary with Ciara McDonnell of what its really like to bring a production of this magnitude to life. JANUARY Our director Wayne Jordan is one of the most creative, innovative talents working in Irish theatre and he is on a flying visit from his home in Prague to begin design conversations with the creative team and start auditions. A huge challenge for our designer is the Yellow Brick Road. The stalls in the Opera House are only very gently raked so how does our audience see it from there? Thankfully we have the award-winning designer Maree Kearns coming up with an ingenious idea, which I hope audiences will love. We are beginning three days of auditions in Cork and, once again, were really impressed with the actors we have here. We always start with local talent, theres a lot of it and were very serious about nurturing it as much as possible; its the bedrock of future shows for years to come. FEBRUARY Wayne is back, and we launch into days of auditions and creative meetings in Cork, Dublin and London were really into the heart of the auditions now, looking for talent in three cities. Weve had over 2,000 submissions from actors and performers. Were thrilled with our finalised creative team too, which boasts some serious Cork creative heavyweights like our Musical Director John OBrien and Costume Designer Joan Hickson who has created over 150 handmade costumes for this production alone. We get to see the White Card Model of the set this month, which is a 3-D scale model and theres a sense developing now of what the show might very well look like, even though we are well over five months out from opening night. The night before we fly to the London auditions, someone confesses to a missing passport a producers work is never done! Malcolm Adams (Wizard of Oz) and Simone Collins (Dorothy) in the Rehearsal Studio. Photo credit: John Allen. MARCH We hold our ensemble auditions the day after St Patricks Day in Dublin. We have people travelling from all over the UK and Ireland for these and it snowed heavily overnight so flights into Dublin airport are a mess. Im expecting our schedule to be in carnage but the Casting Director is brilliant at keeping everything moving forward and when I arrive at the venue weve lost just four performers to the weather. We see over 100 actors over the day, with three huge studios in full swing, between movement calls, vocal auditions and a warm-up space. We have a brilliant cast. One of my favourite things is that the Tinman and Scarecrow were ensemble members in Annie last year; I love to see talent get an opportunity to develop with us. I cast John Currivan, our Lion, in his first professional role straight out of drama school years ago when I was Casting Director at the Abbey Theatre. Im so happy to work with him again on this. Theres our wonderful Dorothy, Simone Collins, who will shine and Ive no doubt that she is going to be a huge star. And of course, the brilliant Malcolm Adams and George Hanover are returning Cork natives, which were thrilled about. APRIL Wayne, designer Maree and I have a meeting over a glass of wine to discuss where were at with our set and what it costs. Looks like I might need more than the one! Wayne and I head to Dublin for further design and budget meetings and then on to my old haunt, the Abbey, for an opening night. Its lovely being back and seeing old friends and colleagues, but am looking forward to getting back to Cork tomorrow; I always feel a little bit calmer when I see that Port of Cork sign! Holly Carey with John OBrien and Conor Palliser in the rehearsal studio for Cork Opera Houses production of The Wizard of Oz. Photo credit: John Allen. MAY Were really focused on Wizard, but in a producing house, you are always looking to the show beyond the next show, and the next one after that so auditions for Aladdin, the Christmas panto start today and were expecting to read the first draft of the script next month! Christmas comes early for me! Its all hands on deck for our official cast photos this month. These are the images that will be seen all over the media, on posters and on the giant billboard on the North Wall of the Opera House. Our Dorothy and Wicked Witch look stunning. JUNE Its all systems go, and Wayne moves to Cork, where he will base himself until we open. Workshop week with the principal actors begins on June 11. Its a big day for everyone as they go into an intensive week to get to the heart of this famous story. We enjoy a lot of introductions and see a few nerves as everyone gets the feel for their characters and each other. After this, we have a production meeting for a big, full-orchestra concert with chanteuse Camille OSullivan. Im also trying to spend as much time as I can with my (almost) two-year-old daughter who is beginning to wonder who this strange lady is who runs home to put her to bed every night before running back out the door again with a sandwich in her hand! On June 18, the full company rehearsals begin. This is always one of the most exciting days for me. The energy is electric and its absolutely thrilling to see everybody together for the first time. We need to keep everyone moving in the same direction now and as one. That means harnessing the brilliance and focus of almost fifty performers, a creative team, the in-house team and a number of other players. Simple! At this stage, life for the Assistant Producer Rory Murphy and I involves a hundred phone calls a day, a lot of coffee and many missed lunches. Sandwiches and ice cream keep us going. Its exciting but we are really starting to see the mountain loom up before us now time for the final push. I couldnt do what I do without Rory. I hope I tell him that often enough! Im feeling very grateful for our in-house tech team too. Ive great colleagues at the Opera House and that keeps you going. JULY The band arrives on July 8 and starts working with Maestro OBrien and then the company arrives its magic to hear them all together. The actors tell me that this is one of their favourite days on a show. Mine too. The final pieces are starting to fall into place. The final run (where we run the play right through) is on Tuesday, July 10, in our rehearsal space off Barrack Street (weve been fuelling up on pizzas from Tom Barrys Pub) and then we move into the theatre. The costumes are almost finalised they look fantastic but as always, there are tweaks here and there. The three friends costumes are a feat of modern engineering! In particular the Tin Mans. Its one thing the costumes looking good, but the actors also need to be able to move, dance, climb, fall and get up again and be comfortable. We are in the final furlong, deep in technical rehearsals from July 14 the moment where we bring all elements of the show together on the set in the theatre, from costume and lighting to sound, and we methodically work our way through the show scene by scene. George Hanover as Miss Amira Gulch in the rehearsal studio for Cork Opera Houses production of The Wizard of Oz photo credit John Allen. Its an intensively focused time for everyone involved in the production and we work from early morning until very late at night every day. Good-bye life! I wont really see my daughter Blythe, outside of an hour at breakfast, until after we open next Saturday. My husband Joe is holding the fort at home duties include keeping all of my hanging baskets and flower pots alive, which is really tough during a hose-pipe ban! After the dress rehearsal, we have our first preview. Preview audiences know that there can be some last-minute gremlins and there are no press reviews before the official opening night, but everyone is still going to be a little nervous. Next up opening night! So were off down the Yellow Brick Road. I stop and think about what weve achieved and how far weve come from that single script. Despite all the challenges, the highs and the lows, boy, do I love my job. Why? Well, because. Just Because because, because, because, because The Wizard of Oz continues at the Opera House until August 26. Conor English explores the work of architect, Frank Murphy and reassesses his legacy. People usually describe buildings and architecture from the middle of the 20th century as grey, cold, or even boring. Although in some cases, this may be perceived as true, it certainly does not describe the vibrant and eccentric work of visionary Cork architect Frank Murphy. Murphy is arguably Corks most eminent and exciting modern architect. He was a prominent figure who presided over the citys cultural and artistic circles, and for a time, was principal of the largest architecture practice south of Dublin, building nationally and even in the United Kingdom. Graduating from UCD in 1939, at the time Irelands only school of architecture), and part of a circle which included architect Michael Scott and the artist Louis Le Brocquy, he was deeply rooted in the Irish modern movement. A kind man who was never far from his pipe, he quietly strove to enhance the built environment of his native city, through many projects throughout his career. Born in 1916 to a large contracting family, life in construction was inevitable and at age 18 he enrolled at UCD to study architecture. Murphy rebelled against the inherited classical style that was being taught at the school. His early experiences would be shaped by the new style of contemporary architecture emerging from pre-war Europe and America. He headed up the student architecture society organising trips to Europe and even a meeting with Walter Gropius, one of the leading educators and architects of modernism and founder of the Bauhaus school. Like many Irish architects of the period, Murphy had a keen interest in Scandinavian architecture. For his honeymoon, he travelled to Sweden with his wife Mary [nee Wolfe of Skibbereen], for the abundance of modern architecture he could see and visit. While there he sought out buildings by architects Alvar Aalto, Sigurd Lewerentz and Gunnar Asplund. These eminent practitioners had a deep sense of place and materiality and instead of creating modern buildings that ignored their surroundings, they sought work that would settle into, and be part of the landscape around them. Murphy, in his own way, would apply this considered approach back in Cork. After the Second World War, he received his first series of commissions and immediately put his inspiration into action. Glass and steel were becoming more available after the war and he skilfully employed glazing as an ornament in its arrangement and pattern and used in projects such as Jennings Soda Water Factory, and Shield Insurance on the South Mall. Development of social infrastructure during this period in Ireland, such as schools, churches and hospitals, was entirely based on religious patronage. Architects would receive a great deal of work from religious orders in the austere 1950s. In 1951 Murphy was commissioned by the Brothers of Charity to design hospitals in Waterford and Cork. He spent three months carefully researching sanitoria and monasteries in Sweden and Scandinavia. The hospitals he designed marked the beginning or a fruitful partnership with other religious orders, one where his practice gained momentum with clients who favoured modern design. In 1953, Murphy was chosen by another order, the Presentation Sisters in Cork, to design a convent, chapel and primary school in the new and ever-expanding Cork suburb of Ballyphehane. The design is two-storeyed, short, horizontal and has a variety of surface textures, with neat timber and brick detailing, clearly influenced by the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. Murphy who would design all the Presentation schools, right up until the 70s, had now gained a reputation as a bold refreshing new voice in Irish architecture. In 1953 he received his most prestigious and contentious commission, the design for a new church in Drimoleague, West Cork. The church is highly original, forward-looking and is striking in the West Cork countryside it is credited with being West Corks first modern building. Praised in architectural publications for its materials, with a bold design that contradicted tradition and the usual cruciform plans of churches, it showed Murphy as a committed modernist who never compromised with mock styles from the past. This caused some conflict locally, as the Bishop had more traditional tastes. and tellingly, it was to be Murphys only Catholic church in his long career. Murphy fought hard for new architectural thinking in Cork at a time when the City was an isolated, insular place witha small circle of older architects of a different standing. This was to change. Unlike earlier years, where the Church or government were the only patrons of architects, Murphy began to receive work from a variety of sources as the economy started to prosper under the new economic policies by an enlightened Sean Lemass. Increasingly, private individuals and companies would employ the services of architects. Murphy received an enormous amount of success in the 1960sand it would be his most productive period. The practice was called to work in Dublin, Glasgow and London and in 1961, the firm was approached to design anew bottling plant for Cork Distillers on the North Mall. This was to be the largest of all Murphys projects and many consider this masterpiece. Cork Distillers wanted to create an image of a modern company that had facilities to rival their then, Dublin competitors, Powers and Jameson Whiskey. This project had an impressive pairing; an ambitious Cork client matched equally with a homegrown determined architect. The design is a symphony of mid-century materials and colours, yellow glazed brick, mosaic tiles, glass and remarkable cast concrete used in various shapes. Smaller but just as successful projects include Maynes Pharmacy on Pembroke St [today a wine bar], that Murphy drew in 1960. By 1964 Frank had taken on four partners, Ian White, Fred White, Denis Higgins and Ewin Uniacke and employed more than 30 staff and students in the drawing room. In 1966 Frank Murphy Partners was appointed to design a new scheme to modernise the Ford motor companys premises. The same year he and his partner Ian White designed a new state of the art Swiss roll factory for Thompsons bakery on MacCurtain St. Unlike the bottling plant, set in a lush riverside site, the bakerys urban setting relies on the glazing and materials arranged in a pattern to engage with the street. Thompsons were staking their claim to the 20th century commissioning a daring and modern building on a historic street. The building was highly distinguishable because of Murphys flamboyant inclusion of the popping executive balconies on the top floor, which cleverly broke the scale and uniform of the facade. In 1967 Murphy completedCorks first purpose-built office building, Sutton House, No 1 South Mall, after a disastrous fire destroyed the firms original Victorian headquarters. A more reticent design with slate vertical bays and clad in Portland stone, Murphy wanted it to mark the gateway to Corks financial district holding, as it did, an iconic riverside site across from City Hall. Frank Murphys work brought him to the top table of Irish architecture and in 1975 he won the RIAI National Award for Architecture and the Europa Nostra medal. He lectured in architecture at the Crawford School of Art and as a Member of the ROSC committee, an exhibition of international art, he was instrumental in bringing the exhibition to Cork in 1980. He was featured on an RTE television programme on his space-age home in Blackrock, Tir nNog, which played host to famed parties with famous guests and throughout his career, campaigned to save numerous building under threat of demolition or change. He became a highly influential conservationist, working as an advisor with An Taisce and the Irish Georgian society with his friend Desmond Guinness, the Knight of Glynn. He set up the Cork Preservation Society in 1968 to preserve Corks threatened heritage, starting with Skiddys Almshouse in Shandon, Corks oldest inhabited building. He continued to campaign for heritage, such as YoughalsClocktower, Doneraile Court and his last project, the Cork Gaol. Here lies the interesting duality in such a remarkable architect, campaigning for historic buildings, whilst also being an advocate for change and modernisation. Murphys Dublin contemporaries did not share the same sentiment, as large parts of Georgian Dublin were erased for development. Today, Frank Murphys legacy lives with FMP Architects run by his son Peter and partner Brian McKeown. A new generation has also picked up the torch Franks granddaughter Emily, a former project architect with Renzo Piano, (architect of Londons Shard), has recently set up practice in Paris. Murphys work stands out in a time when Cork and Ireland were undergoing significant change, socially and economically. He strove to enhance his home place in a modern and changing time, through new design and sensitive restoration. The sheer number of buildings he added to the citys mid-century catalogue is remarkable and his later conservation work, which saved many at-risk elements of Cork citys heritage, was unprecedented. Cork City has an incredible architectural heritage; from the gothic towers of St Finbarrs Cathedral, to the Art Deco flair of Christ the King Church, to thelatest, contemporary edge of the Glucksman Art Gallery. But time has passed, and we now need to rethink, re-evaluate and start a discourse on an overlooked period of architectural history to understand these buildings like most great architecture: unique and born through circumstance, which will always make them relevant. Bravo Frank! By Annmarie OConnor Go wild this summer with an animal print skirt. Weve got three ways to wear one... Ed Power reviews Wicked at the BGE Theatre in Dublin. [rating]4[/rating] A ridiculous politician, high on bluster, tightens his grip on power by appealing to the worst prejudices of the populace. His hair is silly, but his rhetoric is potent, and he has a powerful aversion to women who know their minds. When Winnie Holzman and Stephen Schwartz debuted Wicked on Broadway, in 2003, little could they have predicted how strongly this fantastic, hyperactive, and thumpingly allegorical Wizard Of Oz prequel would resonate years later. Yet, the contemporary parallels are undeniable, as the new UK touring production clicks its ruby slippers and materialises at BGE Theatre for a seven-week run. The politician is the Wizard of Oz. As the 1939 adaptation of the Frank L Baum novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, communicated so iconically, hes a small man taking refuge in a vainglorious image. But he meets his match, and then some, in Amy Rosss Elphaba. A green-skinned young woman raised an outcast, she is blessed with magical powers that draw her into conflict with the despicable Wizard (Steven Pinder). She will become the cackling Wicked Witch of the West, who famously menaced Dorothy and unleashed her flying monkeys in the Hollywood film. Her airhead college roommate (Helen Woolf), meanwhile, is the younger manifestation of the Good Witch Glinda. As is the way with female relationships in teenage dramas, they start off despising one another, but are soon best friends forever, albeit best friends torn by their mutual feelings for Fiyero (Aaron Sidwell), a fly boy terrified that someone might see the substance behind his shallow exterior. Savaged by critics on its debut, Wicked has become one of the great blockbuster musicals (it is reportedly beloved by teenage girls). It isnt just the political overtones. An underdog tale spiced with brimstone, Wicked frames Elphaba as the misunderstood heroine, mocked by her classmates at Hogwarts-esque Shiz university and then manipulated but only a little by the Wizard. Taking on a role made famous by Frozens Idina Menzel, Ross plays Elphaba with just the right blend of vulnerability and Hermione-esque moxie (though the bespectacled future-witch is really the Harry Potter of the piece). Every centimetre her match is Woolf, as Glinda, a ditzy tornado, who, to her eventual shame, is co-opted as the Wicked Witchs mortal foe in the Wizards propaganda war. Wicked is a bubbling, broiling concoction, to which can be added flying monkeys, whooshing broomsticks, and lurching mechanical contraptions. The biggest special effect is Schwartzs music and lyrics: a gummy bear blitz of show-stoppers that soar and swoop like cousins once removed to Frozens Let It Go (the chorus to the Elphaba v Glinda dance-off, What Is This Feeling? will be rattling around your cranium for weeks). Its a bit of a sprawl, and sometimes a syrupy mess, but the spell it casts is undeniable. BGE Theatre Dublin, until September 1 Addiction was to be found throughout the tragic story of a 22-year-old Cork woman who died at the hands of her boyfriend in a squat no more than 100m from some of the busiest nightspots in Cork city. Adam OKeeffe was beaten by his father as a child and began drinking alcohol and smoking cannabis at the age of 10. By 16, he was using amphetamines, cocaine, and heroin. He was also living on the streets. Amy McCarthy was living at home in Greenmount and she developed an addiction to tablets and alcohol. Approximately three years before her death she met Adam and it was suggested that they became addicted to each other and could be seen walking around the streets after each other like puppies. While Amy lived at home, she would go into town every morning and wait outside St Vincents hostel for Adam. They would spend the day together around Cork City. Cork Penny Dinners was one of the places they visited. The squat at 36 Sheares Street was not far from there. When Adam was in prison for nine months, Amy visited him regularly. But she also attended a treatment programme for her drinking and a mother and baby programme to help her with bringing up their baby, also Adam, who was 16 months old when Amy was killed. Top: Pictured leaving Cork Circuit Criminal Court was the sister of Amy McCarthy, Jessie (dressed in yellow) who read a victim impact statement; above left; Amy McCarthys father Brian, supported by her aunt Deborah; right; members of Amys family. Pictures: Denis Boyle She had been doing very well on both programmes but returned to drinking when Adam got out of prison the month before he murdered her. If addiction was a recurring theme in their story, so too was violence. Adam was exposed to violence as a child. He was beaten by his father from the age of eight. From the age of 12, he began to fight back during the beatings. Even before he inflicted multiple blunt force traumas to Amys head and caught her by the neck after she had consumed at least two naggins of vodka on that awful Saturday night, Adam was showing signs of violence. It was witnessed by shocked passers-by on MacCurtain St that Saturday afternoon and captured on CCTV. He caught Amy by the throat in a doorway. He head-butted his friend, Dean Nugent, a frail, young homeless man, into the face. Maura Cahill from Kerry was on a weekend visit to friends in Cork and she was shocked to encounter this violence near St Patricks Bridge. The next thing he lunged at her and caught her by the throat, said Ms Cahill. He had his head on top of her head. This was on the footpath. She asked him to get out of her face. Ms Cahill said Amy grabbed the bridge and said I feel like doing it. Adam said: Go ahead and fucking do it. He was, she said, in a rage like a caged animal. He seemed to be out of control. But a few hours later in the afternoon Garda Keith Cahill saw the couple sitting outside a cafe on Bachelors Quay, Cork, before 6pm. There was no agro, everything seemed to be OK, said Garda Cahill. They chatted about going to the cinema. Adam suggested a new Fast & Furious film but he said Amy wanted to go to a chick flick and they couldnt agree. Another thing he couldnt do was to stop asking her if she had cheated on him when he was in prison. He kept this going on and off all day. I fucked up over something I couldnt drop, he said later. Even after writing Adam loves Amy forever and Amy loves Adam forever on Saturday evening on a gate near Bachelors Quay, he kept challenging her about cheating on him. That night in the squat Amy said that, yes, she had cheated even though friends dont believe that she did. Adam exploded. He later admitted causing all the injuries found on her but could not remember inflicting any of the injuries apart from shoving her once. Adam OKeeffe: Claimed he could not remember inflicting any of the injuries on Amy. I would never say she was asking for it. She was a small girl. I should have been protecting her The last thing I remember is her admitting she cheated It shouldnt have happened. Did you kill Amy? the accused was asked in the Bridewell Garda Station. Yeah, he replied. I did not mean for it to happen It is the biggest regret I have. I am sorry to her family. She is the love of my life, my soulmate, the mother of my small fella. If I could change places with her I would. I really did not mean for any of this to happen Another man using the squat, Michael McInerney, called in to the squat to pick up a sleeping bag at around 1am on the Sunday and said he saw Adam and Amy sleeping side by side with Amy snoring. Defence senior counsel Brendan Grehan said that tragically, a medical intervention at that stage could have saved Amys life. Instead, Adam woke up on the Sunday morning in the squat with Amy dead beside him. He gave her mouth-to-mouth and CPR but she was cold, blue, and stiff. He squeezed her and thought he heard breaths. He denied it for a while and lied about what happened. Eventually, he admitted killing her. I put my hands up, he said. I did something for this to happen. I was capable of doing it. No one else. I knew she was cheating. I exploded. I do believe I did something. I put her where she is today. You are responsible for killing Amy, a garda interviewer said. He replied: I did not mean it. She is the love of my life, the mother of my child. I cannot believe it. Asked about his first account of being on another floor of the squat and coming down on Sunday morning to find Amy dead, he accepted this account was not true. I did not want them [gardai] to think I done it. For me, I did not want to think I done it, he said. He apologised to Amys family several times during interviews and, in his own words called the attack vicious, disgraceful, scummy, and outrageous. As for their relationship, he said: We loved each other, we were all over the place too. At one stage during the hours of garda interviews he said he should have gone to the chick flick that night as Amy had wanted. This might have been one of the what if thoughts that returned to him as he sat stooped over, staring at the floor through the eight days of the murder trial. Stories of their three-month deployment with the EU taskforce operating in the Mediterranean Sea emerged yesterday as the 54-strong crew returned home to joyful scenes and a reunion with their families. The ships captain, Lieutenant Commander Eoin Smyth, said the EUNAVFOR-Med Operation Sophia mission was now more focused on breaking up the business model used by people-smugglers. Its meant the LE Samuel Beckett was used by the EU taskforce to gather intelligence and to search ships suspected of defying an UN embargo on supplying arms into Libya and smuggling oil out of it. The UN Migration Agency recently reported migrant arrivals in Italy had reduced by 78% from 2017. While there were fewer migrants making the perilous crossing from Libya to southern Europe, the crew carried out one rescue mission on July 5/6. It was 90 miles north of Tripoli, which was unusual. They were from South Sudan and were crammed like sardines in a rubber boat, said Lieut Comdr Smyth. Among them were two women, one of whom was pregnant. There was also a six-month-old baby who was unresponsive. The paramedic did a fantastic job. The paramedic in question was Sgt Finola Lafferty who explained the baby boy Litha had been given medication by its mother to make him sleep on the journey. Thankfully he responded really well to treatment, she said. The captains daughter, Erin, turned 18 last week and joked that if dad didnt have some nice presents for her then he could get back on the ship. Lt Jason OBrien, Ballincollig, with his son Diarmuid, 3, on his return from duties in the Mediterranean. Pictures: Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision Meanwhile, leading hull artificer David OGorman was also at sea when his daughter, Aoibhinn, celebrated her sixth birthday. After hugs and kisses, she started to get the first of her presents from dad, proudly displaying a bracelet. David said the mission was a far different experience from his previous outing to the Mediterranean. I was on the very first ship out there in 2015. I was on LE Eithne and we had rescued 3,447 migrants, he added. Charlene OFlynn was waiting at the quayside with her two children to welcome back her husband Podge, who is a Petty Officer chef. She said he seemed to be away a very long time Ryan, 6, and Katelyn, 10, really missed him. Well go out for dinner and get daddy used to us again, said Charlene, who hails from Clondulane, near Fermoy. Nine-month-old Ethan Henson stole the show in his sailor suit as he and his brother, Nathan, 7, waited to greet his father, Colin. Nathan Henson, 7, and his brother Ethan, aged nine months, await the return of their father Colin aboard the LE Samuel Beckett. The first month he was away was very tough for us. But I got plenty of support from the family, explained their mother, Nuala. They had travelled from their home in Athlone. When Petty Officer Kevin Kinsella walked down the gangplank he was greeted by his father and brother. His father served 40 years, retiring at the same rank and his brother, Gordon, is a Chief Petty Officer, who has served for 25 years. I would have loved to have been on the type of mission Kevin was on, Paddy said. However, I was involved in resupplying UN missions in Lebanon in the 1980s and 1990s. The ship has been replaced on the mission by LE James Joyce. The terminally ill mother-of-two received a Gamechanger Ambassador Award at the Womans Way Mum of the Year Awards in Dublin yesterday. Publisher, Norah Casey, said Vicky was an incredibly courageous woman who discovered a travesty of epic proportions. As well as facing her own challenges Vicky had become a voice for women everywhere. I think she changed society enormously in Ireland, she said. On the way home from the @Womans_Way Mum of the Year Awards #motya18. My Mam and I had a fantastic afternoon being spoiled and pampered. Thank you Aine, @NorahCasey and the WW team for inviting me as one of your Ambassadors. pic.twitter.com/JBvtkIqNY9 Vicky Phelan (@PhelanVicky) July 20, 2018 Vicky was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2014 having previously been given a false negative from a smear test. She arrived at the event, held in the Gibson Hotel in Dublin with her mum, Gaby Kelly, and said it was a lovely treat for the two of them. Last month Vickys oncologist said that a drug called pembrolizumab had shrunk her tumour. I am feeling great. I dont look like someone who is on the way out at this stage, she said. The drug is working. I have had over 50% shrinkage in my tumour. So it is great. Fingers crossed long may it last. If it is giving other people hope, that is what I want. Vicky got pembrolizumab a drug used off-licence in cancer immunotherapy. She fundraised to pay for the drug and got her oncologist to sign off on it for her. However, the hospital expressed fears about her using the drug. She kept fighting for the drug until she got it and is now trying to encourage other people, particularly those with cervical cancer, to fundraise to pay for the drug. They should really go public with their story if they can and put the pressure on. Thats how I got it. If a trial is funded in September she believes those who paid for the drug will get the money back. When she first spoke out after settling her High Court action she thought she was one of 14 women affected but she now thinks there will be hundreds more. I am a Scorpio, you know. I dont like being crossed. It (the scandal) was hidden from me and it was hidden from other women. It just had to come out. But I never thought it would become as big as it has. She believes that the number of women affected, that currently stands at 221, could double. There are still 1,800 other slides that have to be reviewed. There will have to be at least 100 more, if not 200. When I went public with this I never expected it to be this big. Two families affected by the controversy contacted her on Thursday. One of the women was aged 33 and the other 25. That is a terrible indictment of health system that they have to contact a terminally ill woman for information and advice on where to go. They have been given no hope and put on palliative chemotherapy. They were not given the option of looking at immunotherapy drugs or clinical trials. She said she would consider having a huge fundraising event to help women like her get the drugs they needed. It could be a kind Live Aid. Thats a good idea I will think about it. Vicky said she wanted to spend more time with her children over the summer but found it hard to pull back from helping other women get the care they needed. She was glad that the Department of Health had agreed on Thursday to fund an independent patient support group that could deal with the general queries she was receiving. I spend three or four hours a day just replying to queries from people. I feel like I have to because they have nowhere else to go but it is a lot of work on top of all the other stuff as well. Vicky said that there were other drugs that could keep her alive if Pembrolizumab stopped working. You have to have a back-up. I have a backup clinical trial if this drug does not work. Fergus Duffy, who opened Duffys Pub a year ago, rushed to the Irish lads aid and ensured they had enough money to continue their journey. Fergus, who hails from Kells, Co Meath, was described as a gentleman on social media by one of the men who said they couldnt thank him enough. Coming up we meet Fergus Duffy from Navan he owns a pub in Krakow Poland he's a real good Samaritan who helped 2 lads who were victims of a card skim out there! He joins us from Krakow after news at 3pm pic.twitter.com/6H0tdsSHky LMFM RADIO (@LMFMRADIO) July 20, 2018 Daniel Thompson from Monaghan Town and Gerald Griffin from Claremorris, Co Mayo, both 21, were interrailing around Europe when their cards were skimmed on a night out in the Polish city. Daniel Thompson posted on Facebook: Well, what can I say? Fergus is one of a kind. Myself and my friend have been travelling around Europe interrailing and seeing what the world has to offer. When we came to Krakow, we ran into a spot of bother due to our cards being skimmed, which left us penniless. Fergus not only provided us with food, money, a place to stay and a good old pint of Guinness but he made us feel like we were at home, when all we had was a bag of clothes to our name. We will be forever thankful for everything Fergus did for us and helping us continue our trip, we cant thank him enough. The good memories of Krakow certainly outweigh the bad ones now and we will surely be back to Duffys pub in the future to visit. A true gentleman. Cheers Fergus and keep those Irish tunes playing. However, Fergus has played down the hundreds of well done messages he has received since the story emerged, saying that anyone would have done the same. It was about two weeks ago now when I was contacted by one of the guys dads from Monaghan who had looked up Irish bars in Krakow when he heard of the kids plight, he said. I found where they were staying and drove down to the hostel and picked them up. They had only eaten a pack of crisps in over a day because they had no money so I took them back to my pub for some food and gave them some extra money for the day. They were a bit distressed and disillusioned with Krakow so we had a chat and I found and paid for accommodation for the men, who are in their early 20s. They each lost about 900 from their cards on a night out. I was able to sort out a transfer of money to them from their families to get them on their way to Italy. Daniel wrote on Facebook about it and it went a bit silly because Im getting hundreds of messages to say well done. I only did what anyone would do and what I hope someone would do if I or my family found themselves in trouble. A judge has said that men questioning the paternity of babies and demanding DNA tests is an unfair weapon to pull out in child maintenance cases. Judge Patrick Durcan made his comment at the Family Law Court in Ennis where a man has stopped paying maintenance for a baby boy after questioning if he is the father or not and demanding that a DNA test be carried out to determine paternity. The man is now questioning paternity in spite of telling the mother in a text a number of months ago I am going to support him forever in reference to the baby boy. In response to him ceasing maintenance payments, the mother was seeking an interim order that the man pay 50 a week maintenance pending the outcome of the paternity test. Solicitor for the mother, Pamela Clancy said her client wasnt in a steady relationship with the man at the time but said her client has no concerns over the outcome of the paternity test. It is not fair that my client would be deprived of this maintenance payment because the man has brought this DNA request, she said. Ms Clancy submitted a booklet of text messages that the man sent to the mother. Judge Durcan said: I could write a book on texts in the context of matrimonial disputes in the district court. He read out a couple of messages that the man sent to the woman. I have on the first page I am going to support him forever and another In my own time, I want to see him, he said. In evidence, the mother said that the man has constantly admitted that he is the father. He signed the babys birth cert and went to the Garda station and signed his passport. The man was not in court but was represented by solicitor, Anne Walsh, who was acting as agent for the mans solicitor. Judge Durcan said evidence in the case puts it very much on the side of the mother in her seeking the interim order of 50 a week. I am told that this man has accepted paternity that he has paid maintenance up to a point some weeks ago, the judge said. I have to accept all of that as evidence of his accepting paternity. He said that in maintenance cases, men raising the issue of paternity and demanding DNA tests is an unfair weapon to pull out. Ms Walsh said: Ive had a number of cases where putative fathers have accepted paternity, maintenance has been paid even on an interim basis and the DNA weapon as you like to call it comes out and it emerges that the father is not the father. Judge Durcan said one way to ensure that it is dealt with expeditiously is to make an interim maintenance order that the man pay a weekly sum. After an adjournment, Ms Clancy told the court that an interim order of 50 per week could be made pending the outcome of the DNA test and the case could be adjourned to September 6. Ms Clancy said the situation would be reviewed on that date and she said her client would be then seeking 75 per week from September. "I don't know when, who and the exact number, but, of course, in accordance with the existing practice, there will be retaliatory measures", he said. The diplomats were expelled last week over allegations they were funding protests against an agreement to end Greece's long-standing name dispute with Macedonia. Russian Federation stepped up its criticism of Greece over the expulsion of two of its diplomats, accusing the Greek government Wednesday of participating in "dirty provocations" around Macedonia's plan to become a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member. Despite its support for NATO's expansion, Greece's left-wing government has advocated improved relations between Russian Federation and the West. 'The constant disrespect for Greece must stop. The Greek Foreign Ministry issued a response saying her statements "are a characteristic example of disrespect for a third country and a lack of understanding of today's world, in which states, regardless of their size, are independent and can exercise an independent, multidimensional and democratic foreign policy". Greece's foreign ministry has condemned recent statements from Russian officials and the Russian Ministry who questioned the arrest and extradition of Russian operatives in Greece and hinted at American pressure on the Greek government. Russia will expel Greek diplomats, the dates of their expulsion and the number of diplomats due to be expelled are unknown yet, Russian Ambassador to Greece Andrei Maslov informed TASS on Thursday. In addition, the Russian authorities themselves have a very good knowledge of what their people are doing. Despite the diplomatic tussle, Athens has insisted it wants to maintain friendly relations. If ratified, the deal would allow Macedonia to join North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. In the referendum, according to Macedonia's prime minister, Zoran Zaev, citizens will be asked: "Are you in favour of membership in the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation by accepting the deal between the Republic of Macedonia and Republic of Greece?" Zaev said that the referendum would be "consultative" but added that "the people's say will be final for all political parties". The Taoiseach also reiterated that any possible alternative to the backstop agreement on the Irish border must be as good or better than what was already agreed. Asked if the prospect of the UK crashing out of the EU was now closer to becoming a reality, he said: I dont, I am very confident that we will avoid a no-deal hard Brexit scenario. Nevertheless, we must prepare for that possibility no matter how remote it is. But if we are going to come up with a solution, a withdrawal agreement with a transition period, with a framework for a new relationship, with a backstop (for Northern Ireland), time is short. He was also asked about recent comments by British prime minister Theresa May in which she appeared to veer even farther away from the backstop agreement struck only last December. It is not for me to interpret what other people say, said the Taoiseach. I imagine prime minister May will answer questions on that herself. Suffice to say that as far as the Irish Government is concerned we dont want any barriers to trade or a border north-south or east-west, he said. Obviously the best way that can be avoided is for the UK, as a whole, including Northern Ireland, staying within the EU single market and customs union. They have decided they dont want to do that so we need to come up with an alternative. He said the backstop which the EU put forward in March is workable and gives the guarantee needed that there will be no hard border between north and south under any circumstances. If the UK has alternative proposals as to how we can achieve that, we are very happy to consider them, he said. But the proposal they have produced so far doesnt quite do that because it is time limited and it does not cover the issue of regulatory alignment. We are open to discussions on a backstop that achieves what we want it to achieve. But it must be better or the same as we have proposed. Mr Varadkar said the UK had been consistent that it doesnt accept the backstop that the EU proposed back in March. The onus now is on them to bring forward proposals that are workable, he said. We are very happy to talk about the wording of the backstop but the outcome must be the same. The outcome must be that in all circumstances that there wont be a hard border between north and south, he said. Mr Varadkar was speaking at the opening of a 3.75m feed mill extension at Drinagh Co-Op, in the company of Junior Minister Jim Daly, MEP Sean Kelly, and local politicians. The crowd in attendance heard that the facility will be able to better provide for farmers and other co-ops in the event of a fresh fodder crisis, while Mr Varadkar also spoke of the history of West Cork and made reference to the Dunmanway killings of April 1922, adding: In some families and communities silence was the path chosen for remembrance, but that is no longer the case. Gerry Malin Doherty was one of two people who drowned when their 16ft fishing boat capsized off the Inishowen coast on Tuesday afternoon. Both 68-year-old Mr Doherty and his nephew, 16-year-old Thomas Weir, died in the accident. A third man, Dessie Keenan, a relative of the two victims, managed to survive when he clung on to a fishing buoy for almost four hours. Mr Dohertys remains had been found washed up on a rocky outcrop close to Banbas Crown, an estimated six hours after the small boat had capsized around midday. Hundreds of mourners crammed into the small white-washed St Marys Church in Lagg, Malin, for Mr Dohertys funeral. Among those present were family and friends of Thomas who will be laid to rest in the coming days in Scotland. Thomas had been staying in Derry in recent months with Mr Keenan. John McCarter of the Lough Swilly Lifeboat, Fianna Fail TD Charlie McConalogue, and members of the Northern Ireland Fire Service were also present. Fr Charlie Logue and Fr Peter Devlin concelebrated the funeral Mass. Fr Logue remarked that Gerrys late father Patsy had also drowned almost 40 years ago near the same spot where Gerry lost his life. He said there was some consolation for the families that one person had been saved and that the bodies of Gerry and Thomas had been found and not lost to the sea. He paid tribute to the emergency services and the fishermen of the area who had helped in the operation on the tragic day. Gerrys brother-in-law John Gleeson paid tribute to Gerry, recalling how Gerrys wife Marian often said to her husband how she would love to win the lotto. However, Gerry always replied that having her, their children, and their grandchildren, he had already won the lottery. Dateline NCA: The Elephant in the Room at the Peace Conference? -- Kyaw Zwa Moe: Welcome to Dateline Irrawaddy! This week well discuss what lessons were learned at the just-completed third session of the 21st Century Panglong Peace Conference and identify the challenges faced by the Tatmadaw [Myanmars military], government, ethnic groups and other stakeholders in building peace. Dr. Min Zaw Oo, executive director of the Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security, and human rights activist Cheery Zahau join me to discuss the issue. Im Kyaw Zwa Moe. The third session of the Peace Conference has ended. A lot was discussed and some statements aroused controversy. Ko Min Zaw Oo, what stood out to you? The military chief drew criticism for saying that the Tatmadaw represents all Myanmar nationals. How would you summarize the conference? Min Zaw Oo: Id like to talk about two aspects: firstly, the content of the conference. There were fewer principles [discussed at the third session] than at the previous session. In terms of their essence, some of the principles are already enshrined in the 2008 [Constitution], but were rewritten [in the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA)] with clearer definitions to avoid ambiguity. The conference also discussed some principles not included in the 2008 [Constitution] but which are necessary for changing the systemfor example, provisions that allow state governments to adopt and implement their own economic policies. Essentially, it is a move toward decentralization. Some critics said the small number of principles discussed is insufficient for a switch to a federal Union system. Fundamentally. one of the objectives of organizing this conference, I think, is that the government, Tatmadaw, ethnic armed organizations [EAOs] and political parties want to show that the peace process is still alive, that it is still going, and hasnt stalled, and that they are building trust and have reached agreement on this or that point, despite the difficulties. So, in my opinion, they all joined hands to organize the conference to send a message to the people that the process is still going. KZM: [State Counselor] Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, in her closing address, said the number [of principles agreed] was smaller, but the peace process is moving forward. From her speech, it seems that extra caution has to be exercised in discussing security matters. Ma Cheery, what is your take on this? When it comes to security matters, the Tatmadaw plays the biggest role in the peace process. At the same time, EAOs play a large role. What is your assessment of the Tatmadaw and EAOs? Cheery Zahau: Before I discuss the third session of the Panglong Conference, Id like to take a look back at the recent past. When EAOs submitted a proposal to hold a political discussion on the NCA in 2013, many ethnic political parties also participated in the discussion. Our line of reasoning was that, because of the 2008 Constitution, progress is impossible if discussions are held in Parliament, while the Tatmadaw would have less veto power if discussions were held outside the [dictates of the] 2008 Constitution. But, as the process of drafting the framework for political dialogue continued, we found that it still gave the Tatmadaw veto power. The situation has returned to the status quo and nothing can be done without the agreement of the Tatmadaw. Thats why some EAOs are still reluctant to sign the NCA and join the peace process. So far, four rounds of peace talksthree sessions of the 21st-Century Panglong and a Union Peace Conference under U Thein Seins administrationhave been held. At all those talks, just setting the agenda required the approval of the Tatmadaw. [The EAOs] proposed discussing 11 principles in the economic sector [at the third Panglong session], but only a principle that the Tatmadaw agreed with was allowed for discussion. Similarly, [the EAOs] were not allowed to discuss separatism, self-determination, human rights or citizens rights. Only the topic of gender equality, which is a soft issue, was approved for discussion. Nothing can be done without the approval of the Tatmadaw. So the EAOs find it quite difficult to move forward. KZM: Leaders of EAOs based along the northeastern border attended the third session of the conference. Many viewed that as a sign of progress. Ko Min Zaw Oo, according to Ma Cheery Zahau, the military seems to be the major problem facing the peace process. Do you think the military is the main obstacle to peace, as it plays a major role and has the biggest say? Whats your view? MZO: Since preliminary negotiations were made to draft the NCA, the EAOs, the government and the Parliament have all treated the Tatmadaw as [an independent] entity. It is not as if the Tatmadaw only recently became a separate entity. We have all regarded the military as a separate entity since negotiations to draft the NCA began. The EAOs refusal to sign the NCA was not due to the militarys overwhelming decision-making power, but because of troubles with the all-inclusion policy. We studied the reasoning behind the Tatmadaws discussions and found that it links the security sector to other issues. The Tatmadaws reasoning is: Armed conflict is the result of a lack of political agreement, so why would [EAOs] still need arms once we have political agreements? The Tatmadaw deals with the security sector on this basis. So, the Tatmadaw asks the EAOs whether they will lay down their arms if political agreements are reached. Whereas the EAOs say that after the political system is changed, they would be willing to discuss a security system that is suitable for the new political system. So the two sides have been unable to reach agreement on what agenda to discuss first. Discussion of the security sector was postponed at both the second and third sessions. It will be difficult to make progress on other topics in the absence of progress in security sector discussions. Our assessment is that in discussions, the Tatmadaw links security with other issues. So, if we keep on discussing those issues separately in the future, it will be difficult to move forward. To overcome this difficulty, the Tatmadaw needs to consider offering a package [deal] to change the entire landscape. So should the government and the EAOs. Negotiating a single package will lead to greater progress, I think. KZM: So far, there has been none. MZO: Right there has been no progress. KZM: Lets go back to the topic of the role of the Tatmadaw. The government led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said it would hold three more sessions of the Peace Conference by 2020. It hopes to adopt certain principles relating to federalism by then. Currently, signing the NCA is a precondition for political dialogue. Ma Cheery, what do you think of that process? Is it the only way forward? CZ: In my opinion, sticking exclusively to the NCA will pose difficulties. KZM: Why do you think so? CZ: Because as Ive said, there is an elephant in the room. If we keep silent under its influence and discuss only the things that are allowed by it, and if over 700 people hold discussions [referring to the 700 delegates who attended the third Panglong session], one day people will lose patience and decide the discussions will lead to nothing. We cant stick to the NCA alone, but should seek other options. KZM: What other options would you suggest? CZ: Bilateral talks should be held continuously with non-signatories of the NCA, and their voices should be heard. Their frameworks and roadmaps should be considered too. This is an option. Another option is to find ways to reduce a particular groups ability to always dictate terms in the NCA and political negotiations. The government should think about what the best option is. KZM: Ko Min Zaw Oo, you have been continuously engaged in the peace process since U Thein Seins administration. Do you think this process can deliver good results? If so, how long do you think it will take? MZO: The number one problem is that the government and Tatmadaw still do not have a common strategy on how to achieve peace. Another problem lies in the transition to a federal system. The government and Tatmadaw should negotiate a package on how the Tatmadaw will reform and how it will withdraw from politics once the country transitions to a federal democracy. Another problem is in the beginning, the Tatmadaw didnt accept the concept of the NCA. It didnt like it because under successive military governments it had only negotiated bilaterally with EAOs. It had never engaged in collective negotiation before. At that time, senior military officers involved in the peace process criticized us, saying that collective negotiation was impossible, and that it would never happen. But we have been holding collective negotiation and were now faced with difficulties. Ma Cheery Zahau has suggested holding bilateral talks. And we do have to consider holding bilateral talks, as the military government did in the past. For example, suppose we hold bilateral talks with the United Wa Sate Army [UWSA]. But in reality, there are many political problems that cant be solved through a bilateral agreement between the UWSA and the government. The UWSA demands [an autonomous] state. In fact, the state they are asking for is part of Shan State. So, we will need to negotiate with other stakeholders in Shan State. We switched from bilateral negotiation to collective negotiation. But collective negotiation hasnt made much progress and we need to consider going back to bilateral negotiations. CZ: I dont mean [that we should aim for] bilateral agreements. What I mean is that bilateral talks should be held frequently. An annual meeting in Naypyitaw is simply not enough. Meetings should be held with EAOs based along the northeastern border monthly or bimonthly. MZO: Informal meetings? CZ: Yes, informal meetings. Then, new options will emerge at those meetings. KZM: The government has heard such suggestions and seems to accept them. In her closing speech, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi urged the government to start informal talks as soon as possible. So, it seems the government has heard the criticism, and accepted it. Ma Cheery, are you optimistic or pessimistic about the ongoing peace process? CZ: At successive peace conferences, the Tatmadaw [delegation] came not to negotiate; they simply arrived with orders [from their leaders]. When there is a disagreement, they say they need to report to their superiors, and it usually takes several months. They always make reference to the green book [the 2008 Constitution]. It is very funny. They say there is no need to discuss a certain issue because it is already covered by the 2008 Constitution. On the other hand, they say we are not allowed to discuss another issue because it is not included in the 2008 Constitution. They use the 2008 Constitution as a weapon or tool, and remove from the agenda any items they dont like. It is unacceptable, I think. Talks will get nowhere if they use the green book as a tool on the negotiation table. And whenever it doesnt like something [as a topic of discussion], it resorts to violence. EAOs do not use violence in Yangon, where many Bamar live. Only the Tatmadaw does this, attacking in the EAO regions. They have to change their mindset. It is the Tatmadaw that tries to colonize. Ethnicities live only in their regions, and dont colonize. The Tatmadaw needs to seriously consider these things. They should not always refer to the green book in negotiations. And it is wasting time to come and insist on an order [from their leaders]. And resorting to violence whenever it is unhappy will only hamper peace efforts, Id say. KZM: So, the Tatmadaw is using the constitution it draft to hinder the peace process. CZ: They need to change. KZM: Ko Min Zaw Oo, what is your take on the peace process? MZO: To get an answer that is acceptable to all in the peace process, there is a need to negotiate security and political matters simultaneously. Otherwise, there wont be an answer. And the top concern of the Tatmadaw is separatism [by EAOs]. The Tatmadaw assumes that it is necessary to discuss security matters because the EAOs might secede if federalism is established in the country. In the opinion of ethnic groups, as Ma Cheery has said, federalism cant be established as long as the Tatmadaw sticks to the 2008 Constitution. These two things need to be negotiated simultaneously. Only when there is progress on discussions of security, politics and federalism will we be able to move forward. It is not that the Tatmadaw hasnt changed its attitude at all. The topic of state constitutions was discussed during the second session of the Panglong Conference. Ultimately, the Tatmadaw accepted the idea. The 2008 Constitution doesnt provide for state constitutions. But the Tatmadaw accepted it. But it has not been officially approved because it is linked with separatism, [discussion of] which has not yet been approved. If a decision is made about separatism, it will also decide the fate of state constitutions. It is not that the Tatmadaw only sticks to the 2008 Constitution. It does have some flexibility. But generally speaking, if there is no progress in discussions on the security sector, it will be difficult to make progress in discussions on the political sector. Secondly, it is unlikely that fresh clashes will break out if talks fail. Today, neither the Tatmadaw nor EAOs want to be blamed for the failure of the peace process. Again, they fought for a long time until the recent ceasefire. If they fight again, no matter which side initiates the fighting, losses are inevitable. So, neither side wants to fight again. Usually, a ceasefire agreement lasts for three years. Unless there is further agreement within three years, fighting is likely to recur. The situation is different here. Under the military government, truces lasted for over 20 years without any official agreement. There may not be political answers until 2020. But by then, a certain degree of trust should have been established, and ways for moving forward should also have appeared. There may not be a breakthrough, but renewed clashes are unlikely. KZM: When it comes to Myanmars peace process, it is always hard to distinguish causes from effects. But the process is ongoing and well have to wait and see how successful it will be. The final hurdle to the Chinese telecommunications company ZTE Corporation resuming business in the US has been removed with the excision of language from a bill that would have reinstated the ban on the company using American components. After a deal was worked out between ZTE and the US Commerce Department for the company to resume trading, two Republicans and two Democrats inserted language in the Senate version of the National Defence Authorisation Act that would reinstate the ban. By then the House had already passed a version of the bill that does not include the sales ban. But now that language had been removed, Reuters reported on Friday. Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer said he opposed removing the provision. By stripping the Senates tough ZTE sanctions provision from the defence bill, President Trump and the congressional Republicans who acted at his behest have once again made President Xi and the Chinese government the big winners, he said in a statement. His colleague, Chris Van Hollen, was critical of Republicans for not backing the bill. Despite bipartisan support to put American national security before jobs in China, the Republican leadership refused to take any real, substantive action on ZTE. Instead, they joined President Trump in bowing to Beijing. Its weak and shameful, he said in a statement. The Chinese company was hit with a seven-year ban on using American-made parts in its equipment in April for violating the terms of an agreement over breaking sanctions on exporting products to Iran and North Korea. ZTE shut down its main business activities in the US on 9 May. But following the intervention of US President Donald Trump, a deal was worked out for ZTE to return to business by paying a fine of US$1 billion, changing its management team and depositing US$400 million in an escrow account against possible future transgressions. On what the USA needs to see happen going forward, Pompeo said, laughing, "It is really pretty straightforward". After President Donald Trump held an unprecedented summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore, China proposed that the council signal a possible easing of sanctions to welcome the diplomatic thaw. The scope and scale of that is agreed to. The illegal transfers are now disrupting the U.S. talks with North Korea and its push for the regime to completely dismantle its nuclear weapons program, according to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley. In fact, however, North Korea's nuclear disarmament started even before the Trump-Kim summit - at Pyongyang's initiative. Pompeo will likely seek to enlist support from the top United Nations body when he reports on Friday on the administration's achievements so far with North Korea, and on what lies ahead. "We also request the USA side to provide additional factual information to facilitate all states to study and make judgment", said the Chinese mission in its response to the council. But the Trump administration has said sanctions will remain in place until that process is completed and verified _ and it hasn't even begun. "I am guessing North Korea responded that they should first take a confidence-building step together, for example by declaring an end to the (1950-53 Korean) war", Roh reportedly said. It had earlier blocked imports of coal, North Korea's largest export product. "We and the Security Council and the worldwide community have to support those talks, and the best way to support those talks is to not loosen the sanctions". He claimed combined sanctions from America, Russia, and China will be leveraged against Pyongyang to keep the denuclearization process moving forward. On July 12, Haley's office sent evidence to the United Nations committee tasked with sanctions on Pyongyang that showed that North Korea breached United Nations sanctions by surpassing the annual cap for petroleum products, documents obtained by CBS News revealed. It asked the committee to order a halt to refined petroleum exports to North Korea, but Russian Federation and China put a "hold" on the request on Thursday and asked for more detail on the US accusation. "These sales and any other transfer must immediately stop", it said. "As chair of the sanctions committee on DPRK, we think it is very important that the Security Council remains closely connected to political developments on the Peninsula so that is why we welcome this conversation", Van Oosterom said, referring to an acronym for the formal name for North Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The North Korean economy saw its steepest decline in 20 years in 2017, according to South Korea's central bank, as the isolated country faces mounting sanctions. Everybody should fully implement resolutions passed by the Security Council, he told reporters. The U.S. nixed that statement within hours of it being circulated, but the divisions continue. The United Nations Security Council tightened sanctions on North Korea in August in efforts to contain its nuclear weapons and ballistic-missile program, appearing to remove some exceptions for penalties that might cause "adverse humanitarian effect". On the announcement that President Trump will be meeting Russian president Vladimir Putin at the White House in the fall, Pompeo said "we have our senior leaders meeting all across the world with people that we have deep disagreements with". "The problem that we are encountering is that some of our friends have decided that they want to go around the rules". Reddit Email 81 Shares Ankara (AFP) Turkey on Friday hosted an American delegation for talks to address concerns about the potential negative impact on its economy of the looming reimposition of US sanctions against Iran. US President Donald Trump decided in May to abandon the 2015 deal agreed with other world powers on Irans nuclear programme and reimpose nuclear-related sanctions against the Islamic Republic. The sanctions, which will seek to bar foreign companies from doing business with Iran and block its oil sales abroad, have alarmed Turkey which has a strong trade relationship with its neighbour and imports Iranian crude. Our relevant authorities are carrying out necessary work for Turkey not to be negatively impacted by the upcoming sanctions, the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement. Within this framework, we had discussions with the US delegation visiting Turkey, it said, without giving further details. It added that Iran is an important neighbour for Turkey, in view of both our bilateral economic and commercial relations as well as our energy imports. Turkish officials have vowed to continue trading with Iran despite the sanctions, which the former economy minister Nihat Zeybekci in May described as an opportunity. Asking not to be named, a US official acknowledged that the sanctions were a very important and potentially contentious issue between the two governments. He said the delegation had come to make clear what the implications of our sanction legislation are, so there are no misunderstandings and confusion. The earlier we have these high level talks, the less likely we are to wander into new areas of disagreement out of ignorance, said the official. Relations between Turkey and the US have already been strained after a Turkish banker who helped Iran evade US sanctions was convicted in the US in January. Mehmet Haka Atilla was convicted after well-connected Turkish-Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab, arrested in the US in 2016, became a government witness and admitted involvement in a multi-billion-dollar gold-for-oil scheme to subvert US economic sanctions against Iran. During his testimony, Zarrab implicated President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other officials in the scheme. In May, a Manhattan court sentenced Atilla to 32 months in jail. Annual trade between Turkey and Iran is around $10 billion but Erdogan has expressed hope of raising it to $30 billion. Iran supplies Turkey with around one half of its crude oil imports and Iranian tourists are increasingly important for the Turkish market. Featured Photo: AFP/File / Yasin AKGUL. Relations between Turkey and the US have already been strained after a Turkish banker who helped Iran evade US sanctions was convicted in the US in January. Reddit Email 132 Shares Jerusalem (AFP) Israels parliament on Thursday adopted a law defining the country as the nation state of the Jewish people, provoking fears it could lead to blatant discrimination against Arab citizens. Arab lawmakers and Palestinians called the law racist and said it legalised apartheid following a tumultuous debate in parliament. Others said it neglects to specify equality and Israels democratic character, implying that the countrys Jewish nature comes first. The European Union expressed concern and called for the rights of minorities to be respected. The legislation, adopted by 62 votes to 55, makes Hebrew the countrys national language and defines the establishment of Jewish communities as being in the national interest. Arabic, previously considered an official language, was granted only special status. The law, passed in the early hours of Thursday, speaks of Israel as the historic homeland of the Jews and says they have a unique right to self-determination there, according to its final text. The legislation becomes part of the countrys basic laws, which serve as a de facto constitution. It is our state, the Jewish state, but in recent years some have tried to question that as well as the principles of our existence and our rights, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after the vote on the legislation, backed by his right-wing government. He called its approval a decisive moment in Israeli history. Death of democracy A range of opposition politicians denounced the vote. The head of the mainly Arab Joint List alliance Ayman Odeh called it the death of our democracy. Arab parliament members who called the legislation racist ripped up copies of the bill in the chamber of the Knesset, Israels parliament, after it was passed. This is a law that encourages not only discrimination, but racism as well, lawmaker Yousef Jabareen said. Arab citizens account for some 17.5 percent of Israels more than eight million population. They have long complained of discrimination. Saeb Erekat, secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, called the legislation a dangerous and racist law that officially legalises apartheid and legally defines Israel as an apartheid system. Turkey defined the legislation as a racist attempt to create an apartheid state discriminating against Israeli Arabs. An EU official said they were concerned with the new law and were engaging with Israeli officials on the issue. We believe the basic principles, including when it comes to respect of minorities, needs to be assured and needs to be respected, said Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for EU Foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini. AFP / Menahem KAHANA. Israelis watch fireworks over Jerusalem on April 18, 2018, at the start of the countrys 70th annual Independence Day celebrations. The sponsor of the law, Avi Dichter from Netanyahus Likud party, has said it aims to defend Israels status as a Jewish and democratic state. But others pointed out that references to Jewish and democratic in earlier versions of the law had been removed and that the law lacked references to equality as specified in the countrys 1948 declaration of independence. Shuki Friedman of the Israel Democracy Institute think tank said much of the law is symbolic, but it would force the courts to consider the countrys Jewish nature and lead to a more narrow interpretation of Arabs rights. By emphasising Israels Jewish nature, it is reducing, not directly but indirectly, its democratic nature, Friedman told AFP. Rightward shift Various versions of the legislation have been debated for years. Netanyahus government, seen as the most right-wing in the countrys history, had pushed for the laws approval before the parliaments summer session ends. Israelis on Thursday appeared split over the law. Some, like Roni Pearlman in Tel Aviv, were sad and disappointed. Another part of Israeli democracy is being kicked away, she said. But others, like Yehuda in the city of Holon, welcomed it as a move that strengthens the connection of the people of Israel to the land of Israel. We need to believe in our truth and go all the way with it, he said. The passage of the law continues Israels rightward shift in recent years amid frustration with failed peace agreements with the Palestinians and steady growth in settlement building in the occupied West Bank. Netanyahu has been in power since 2009, after having also served as premier between 1996 and 1999, and religious nationalist settlement advocates wield strong influence in his current government. Parliaments term expires in November 2019, but there has been speculation that Netanyahu, facing a potential corruption indictment, will opt for polls before then and could use the passage of the law to boost his popularity with his base. Featured Photo: AFP / Marc Israel Sellem. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a Knesset session ahead of the vote on the National Law on July 18, 2018. Reddit Email 66 Shares Los Angeles (AFP) Otilia Asig-Putuls voice breaks when she recalls the interminable 45 days she was separated from her son. The nightmare began when she crossed the Mexican border into the United States to seek political asylum during the zero tolerance policy imposed by US President Donald Trump. She had completed a long and exhausting trip from Guatemala City, accompanied by her 11-year-old son, whom she is calling Geremy, and a nephew. She left behind three other children: boys of 10 and four, and a girl aged six. She had separated from her husband, who stopped giving her money, and decided to emigrate to the US in order to be able to support the children better. She offered few details of the trip, though she said she came with other families not in the infamous immigrant caravan that Trump warned about and that they were helped by a guy. At a border post in San Luis, Arizona, they turned themselves in to authorities, the first step to requesting asylum. It was a hot day in May, as both Otilia and Geremy remember well. Immigration officers placed them in a car; its windows were closed tight. It was hot, so hot, the 31-year-old mother told AFP in a telephone interview. I didnt know what to do. I started crying. They were the first tears she would shed in the long and painful days to follow but not the last. I never imagined what was going to happen, said the housewife, who has been studying to become an accountant. If I had known it was going to turn out like this, how would I ever have put my sons life at risk? Say goodbye to your son Otilia and Geremy were moved from the blistering heat of the car to what migrants call la hielera, or the cooler, a jail run by the federal authorities. GETTY IMAGES/AFP/File / JOHN MOORE. Central American immigrants are freed from US custody in a Texas facility, pending future immigration court hearings. They kept us for three days in the cold, on the floor, and gave us nothing, she said. The officers made fun of us in English. Geremy said he has one image etched in his memory from those first days in captivity: They took her away chained at the feet, at the hands, and at the belt. I felt very bad, I started to cry, the boy recounted. It was worse when the immigration official told Otilia to say goodbye to your son. He started crying too and we told each other goodbye. She was sent to the Eloy detention center in Arizona, while he was taken north to Chicago, 1,750 miles (2,800 kilometers) away. I didnt know what to do, Otilia said. What if I was deported? How would I know where my son was? I was very scared. In the shelter in Chicago, Geremy was attacked by a 14-year-old boy and suffered a head injury that required hospital treatment. The Nexus Human Rights law firm, which took up the case, has sued the shelter for negligence. My social worker treated me badly, the boy said. She did not want to have anything to do with me. Finally, a reunion With the help of other detainees, Otilia was able to figure out where her son had been taken and speak to him on the phone. GETTY IMAGES/AFP/File / JOHN MOORE. Undocumented immigrants, wearing shackles, are seen in a detention center in McAllen, Texas. I felt sad, but he was strong. I was the only one telling him to be brave, that everything would turn out in the end. She was freed a month later after making bail of $20,000, which Nexus paid after deciding to represent her pro bono. That allows Otilia to remain in the US until her asylum application is resolved. Nexus represents about 60 of the more than 2,500 cases of children separated from their parents or relatives at the border in the few weeks the policy was in effect. Nexus finally managed to get Geremy released by late June. Now he and his mother live with the boys paternal aunt in Miami Beach, and her son the nephew they crossed over with. Together free at least Otilia and her son ponder the future. Nexus said she will not be deported unless an immigration judge orders her removed. A first priority is to get a job, Otilia says. I left my three children behind and I have to fight for them and fight until the end. Meanwhile, she hopes Geremy will work hard to have a better future of his own. For all that weve been through, she said, it will be worth it. Featured Photo: US Customs and Border Protection/AFP / Handout. This recent photo from the US Customs and Border Protection agency shows border crossers waiting to be processed at a facility in McAllen, Texas. Victoria, British Columbia (FSCwire) - Erin Ventures Inc. [TSXV: EV] announces its planned 2018 summer work program on its 100% owned Piskanja boron project in Serbia. Piskanja is Erins wholly-owned high-grade boron deposit with an indicated mineral resource of 7.8 million tonnes (averaging 31 percent B 2 O 3 ), and an inferred resource of 3.4 million tonnes (averaging 28.6 percent B 2 O 3 ), calculated in accordance with the Canadian Institute of Mining Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves (CIM Standards) as disclosed in Erins filed report titled, Mineral Resource Estimate Update On The Piskanja Borate Project, Serbia, October 2016. As previously announced on May 23 2018, Erin completed its spring work program consisting of 10 diamond drill holes (3,084 meters) on time and on budget, which was required in order to keep the Piskanja exploration license in good standing. Erin confirms that it has submitted the requisite reports to the Serbian Ministry of Mining and Energy in order to obtain an extension to the Piskanja exploration license, which it expects imminently. While Erin awaits formal confirmation of its license extension, Serbian mining law prohibits the continuation of any exploration activity on the licensed area. As a result, Erins summer work program is limited to desktop activities until such time as the license extension approvals are formalized. These desktop studies will include: an environmental baseline study at Piskanja which will be prepared on Erins behalf by the Mining Institute of Belgrade; Phase 2 of an ongoing mineralogy/petrology/sedimentology study being conducted by a senior professor from the Faculty of Mining, University of Belgrade; and, geotech sampling and testing which will be conducted under the supervision of SRK Consulting (UK) Limited. All of these studies are required components of a feasibility study and the mine licencing process as Erin advances Piskanja towards a going concern operation. This work program is designed to ensure that the project continues to comply with the Canadian Institute of Mining "Best Practice Guidelines", the Republic of Serbia Ministry of Mining and Energy mine development and licensing regulations, as well as with recommendations made by Erins geological consulting firm - SRK Exploration Services Ltd from Cardiff, Wales. On behalf of the Board of Directors, Blake Fallis, General Manager About Erin Ventures Inc. Erin Ventures Inc. is an international mineral exploration and development company with boron assets in Serbia and gold assets in North America. Headquartered in Victoria, B.C., Canada, Erin's shares are traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "EV". For detailed information please see Erin's website at www.erinventures.com or the Company's filed documents at www.sedar.com. For further information, please contact: Erins Public Quotations: Erin Ventures Inc. Canada Blake Fallis, General Manager TSX Venture: EV Phone: 1-250- 384-1999 or 1-888-289-3746 USA www.erinventures.com SEC 12G3-2(B) #82-4432 645 Fort Street, Suite 203 OTCBB: ERVFF Victoria BC V8W1G2 Europe Canada Berlin Stock Exchange: EKV The technical information in this release was prepared and approved by James E Wallis, M.Sc. (Eng), P. Eng., a director of the company, who is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. 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 or refers to forward-looking information under Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding the timing of future mineral resource estimates and the PEA, estimation of mineral resources, exploration results, potential mineralization, exploration and mine development plans, timing of the commencement of operations and future production and is based on current expectations that involve a number of business risks and uncertainties. The words "believe," "expect," feel, "plan," "anticipate," project, could, should and other similar expressions generally identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected results. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement include, but are not limited to, failure to convert estimated mineral resources to reserves, capital and operating costs varying significantly from estimates, the preliminary nature of metallurgical test results, delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other project approvals, political risks, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, changes in equity markets, inflation, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in the development of projects and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, as well as those factors discussed in the section entitled "Risks of the Business" in the Company's most recent regulatory filings which are posted on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company assumes no responsibility to update them or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances other than as required by applicable securities law. These and other factors made in public disclosures and filings by the Company should be considered carefully. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. "Inferred Resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and economic and legal feasibility. Investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource reported in this news release will ever be upgraded to a higher category or to reserves. U.S. persons are advised that while mineral resources are recognized under Canadian regulations, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize them. U.S. persons are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource is economically or legally mineable. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 20, 2018) - Miramont Resources Corp. (CSE: MONT) (OTCQB: MRRMF) (FSE: 6MR) ("Miramont" or the "Company") announces that the Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) has determined that the Company is not eligible for an automatic approval of its drilling permit as it is possible that exploration drilling may affect indigenous communities. Miramont appreciates additional review to ensure that any potentially affected communities are identified and fully consulted. As the Company's Environmental Impact Statement was already approved (see News Release May 15, 2018), this is the final level of review necessary before issuance of drilling permits. The MEM, through its operating agencies, must first determine if indigenous groups will, in fact, be affected by Miramont's activities. If it determines no community will be affected, then the drilling permit should be issued without further delay. If MEM finds communities may be affected, it will be required to conduct a process known as consulta previa between itself and the local community. The purpose is to assure ensure that the community has been fully informed of the pending exploration activities. Once the consulta previa process is conducted, a permit should be issued. Bill Pincus, Miramont's President and CEO said, "Miramont welcomes this additional review as it believes it will strengthen social connections between the Company and the local community and will provide a sound, long-term basis for ongoing dealings with all stakeholders. While we have already established strong local relationships, as evidenced by our existing agreements and positive working experience, this additional review allows community relationships to be transparently demonstrated. In addition, it will add significant long-term weight to our social license." Miramont will continue to provide information on a timely basis. National Instrument 43-101 Disclosure The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. William Pincus, CPG, President and CEO of Miramont and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. About Miramont Resources Corp. Miramont is a Canadian based exploration company with a focus on acquiring and developing mineral prospects within world-class belts of South America. Miramont's two key projects are Cerro Hermoso and Lukkacha, both located in southern Peru. Cerro Hermoso is a diatreme-hosted copper dominant polymetallic prospect. Lukkacha is a classic copper-porphyry prospect. On behalf of the Board of Directors, MIRAMONT RESOURCES CORP. "William Pincus" William Pincus, President and CEO For more information, please contact the Company at: Telephone: (604) 398-4493 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. www.miramontresources.com Reader Advisory This release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical facts, including statements regarding future estimates, plans, objectives, assumptions or expectations of future performance, are forward-looking statements and contain forward-looking information. Generally, forward- looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends" or "anticipates", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would" or "occur". Forward-looking statements are based on certain material assumptions and analysis made by the Company and the opinions and estimates of management as of the date of this news release. These forward- looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward- looking statements and forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, forward-looking information or financial outlook that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. We seek safe harbor. 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. Reports suggest that a Russian warship - one that sunk 113 years ago - has been found offshore from Ulleungdo, an eastern South Korean island, by a salvage company. Shinil Group claimed to have discovered the wreck of Russian warship Dimitry Donskoi on Sunday and touted rumours that 200 tons of gold could be on board. The worldwide team say they discovered the wreck of the Dmitrii Donskoi off the coast of South Korea, where it was scuttled during the Russo-Japanese war in 1905. A spokesman for Shinil Group said on top of the salvage fee, the company plans to donate 10% of the bullion for tourism projects on nearby Ulleungdo Island, including a movie set and a memorial of the ship. The 5,800-ton ironclad cruiser was badly damaged following an attack by Japanese warships during the Russo-Japanese War and was scuttled in the Sea of Japan on May 29, 1905. Shinil Group believes there could be as much as 200 tons of gold on board the ship, which would be worth around $133.4billion. Divers said the stern of the ship is in a poor condition along with the hull which has partially split, but that the upper wooden deck remains largely intact. After Shinil said it had found the ship, Jeil's stock prices rose by 30 per cent as investors speculated that it would be linked to the salvage operation. The Dmitrii Donskoi warship of the Imperial Russian Navy is seen here on October 3, 1891, at anchor off Brest, France. Other companies have made similar claims, but none has taken actual steps toward raising the wreck. South Korea's Financial Supervisory Services on Wednesday warned against "overheated" investment. The Shinil Group hopes to pull out the ship from where it has sunk a quarter mile (400 meters) below the surface, but they haven't yet put in a request to the relevant government agency, according to the AP. The report also stated that a dedicated museum for the navy vessel would also be developed with the remainder of the treasure. The Donskoi is believed to have been carrying the gold supplies of the entire Second Pacific Squadron when it sank, which would be worth $133billion at today's prices. "We might be able to refloat the ship within three to six months after acquiring a green light", the company said. The official, who spoke anonymously because he wasn't authorized to speak media on the issue, said Shinil must deposit 15 trillion won ($13.2 billion), based on the company officials speculation how much gold is likely aboard the ship. It noted that investors already suffered great losses in 2003 when the bubble burst and Donga Construction Co, which claimed the discovery of the "treasure ship", went belly-up. A linguistics professors life sentence and conviction for direct involvement in Rwandas 1994 genocide has been overturned but his nine year sentence for downplaying the bloodshed upheld, his lawyer said Saturday. Former trade union official Leopold Munyakazi, 67, was cleared of direct involvement by the Rwandan High Courts Chamber of International Crimes on Friday. But his conviction for using his academic work to downplay the impact of the bloodshed was confirmed by appeal judges. The appeal court acquitted him of involvement in the genocide but upheld his conviction for downplaying the genocide, Munyakazis lawyer Desire Micombero told AFP. Munyakazi, from Gitarama in central Rwanda, has consistently denied participating in the genocide in which around 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis, were killed. He was initially convicted by a lower court of direct involvement and jailed for life in July 2017, a sentence he subsequently appealed. At Munyakazis request, the appeal court travelled to Gitarama where his crimes were allegedly committed to test the facts of his genocide conviction. The court heard evidence from local people, some of whom supported his version of events while others cast doubt on his actions during the 100-day-long orgy of violence. It was because of the discrepancies in the witnesses recall of events that led to Munyakazis acquittal on the more serious charges, his lawyer said. After spending time in Rwandan custody following the genocide, Munyakazi moved to the United States in 2004 and taught French in Maryland until his suspension in 2008. The academic was extradited from the US to Rwanda in 2016 to face justice after a lengthy legal battle over his failed asylum application and subsequent deportation order. Kigali had issued two arrest warrants against Munyakazi in 2006 and in 2008. He had argued that the genocide allegations were concocted and that he was really being prosecuted for opposing the regime of President Paul Kagame. Munyakazi is the most senior of four Rwandan genocide suspects so far extradited by the US. A dozen Rwandans accused of participating in the genocide have already been sent to Kigali for trial, mostly from the US, Canada, Uganda as well as the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), which closed its doors in late 2015. European countries have been reluctant to extradite accused Rwandans for fear they will not receive a fair trial. The knifeman injured the unsuspecting victims - two seriously - when he pulled out a kitchen knife and began attacking people on a bus. Nine people were reported injured, one seriously. The incident occurred on a city bus in Luebeck, near the Baltic coast and northeast of Hamburg, on Friday afternoon. "Luckily no-one was killed", said Luebeck chief prosecutor Ulla Hingst. The police added that a backpack was found in the bus from which smoke was appearing. The driver told investigators that he stopped the bus and opened all the doors to let passengers out after noticing the fire in his rear-view mirror. When the bus driver walked back to find out what was going on, he was punched by the assailant, Ms Hingst said. The suspect is a 34-year-old man who lives locally. "The perpetrator was overpowered and is now in police custody". Hingst said he is a longtime German citizen who was born in Iran. Prosecutors said in a statement they had sought the arrest warrant for the man on suspicion of attempted murder as well as bodily harm and attempted arson. "For that reason we have, as the investigation now stands, no indications that there was a terrorist background to this act". She said the weapon that the assailant apparently used was a knife, but that is still under investigation. An area surrounding a bus stop in the Luebeck neighborhood of Kuecknitz had been sealed off. Hans-Joachim Grote, center, Minister of the Interior of Schleswig-Holstein, and Jan Lindenau, right, Mayor of Luebeck, get informed by police at the scene of a knife attack in Luebeck, northern Germany, Friday, July 20, 2018. The bus was fully occupied, police said. Prosecutors will seek to have the man kept in custody pending possible charges of bodily harm and attempted arson, Hingst said. A witness told LN the bus was full of passengers when the suspected perpetrator dropped his backpack and started attacking people with what appeared to be a kitchen knife. Unconfirmed local media reports said the attacker was detained by police. The attacker also punched the bus driver. "The exact number of injured is still unclear". Schleswig-Holstein's state interior minister, Hans-Joachim Grote, said his information was that nine people were injured - six with the knife, two passengers who fell and the driver, who was punched. He was a 34-year-old German national, Luebeck's chief prosecutor, Ulla Hingst, said, according to the Associated Press. No one was killed. Police say a suspect has been arrested. Passengers then overpowered the man outside the bus and held him for police. While neither the motive nor full identity of the perpetrator have been established, Germany has been on high alert after several deadly Islamist extremist attacks. Security services estimate there are around 11,000 Islamist radicals in Germany, some 980 of whom are deemed particularly unsafe and capable of using violence. Mr. Xi met UAE Vice-President Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashed al-Maktoum, who is also the ruler of Dubai, and Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan in Abu Dhabi, the Crown Prince said. Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived here on Thursday for a state visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the first by a Chinese head of state in 29 years to the Arab state. "We have many areas of political and economic agreement and a solid base of projects in the energy, technology and infrastructure sectors". China is the UAE's second largest trading partner. China and the UAE already agreed oil and trade deals in the runup to Xi's visit. About 60 percent of China's exports to the Middle East enter the region via the UAE, which itself accounts for about 25 percent of China's trade with all the Arab world. "Today, we have exemplary relations with China and a Chinese leadership that sees the UAE as main strategic partner in the region". Chinese President Xi Jinping and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan attend a grand welcome ceremony in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), July 20, 2018. The UAE and China share strong bilateral trade and cultural relations, helped by the presence of more than 200,000 Chinese expats in the UAE and thousands of Chinese visitors the nation welcomes annually, Mr Alabbar added. The multibillion-dollar project aims to revive the ancient Silk Road and develop an equivalent sea route linking China to markets in west Asia and Europe. Before the trip, state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company announced it had awarded US$1.6 billion in contracts to oil giant China National Petroleum Corporation, to conduct a massive offshore and onshore seismic survey. The UAE sits close to both routes. "This future of cooperation is broad as both UAE and China are advocates of the economies and multilateralism". "It also forms a contrast with the US" "America first' policy, and protective diplomatic measures in trade", Wang said. He said that the UAE is the first stop of this overseas trip, and also the first country he visits since his re-election as President of the People's Republic of China. A court in the province has jailed six people for clashing with police during the protests. However, Phil Robertson, HRW's deputy Asia director, said he was concerned that Nguyen's admission of guilt "may have been coerced", in a statement published on HRW's website ahead of the Yale graduate's trial. The one-day trial of an American man of Vietnamese descent who was detained during nationwide protests in Vietnam last month opened in a Ho Chi Minh City court on Friday, a court official told Reuters. Nguyen, whose arrest brought global attention to Vietnam's crackdown on public expression and internet freedoms, is expected to fly back to the US immediately. He's seen moments later in another video standing in the back of a police pick-up truck, appearing disoriented and waving to someone in the distance, gashes now visible on the left side of his head. If he had been found guilty of public disorder charges, Nguyen could have faced up to seven years in prison, according to Vietnam's criminal code. The State Department had previously said Pompeo had raised Nguyen's case while meeting with Vietnamese officials during his visit to Hanoi earlier this month. "By charging Nguyen, Vietnamese authorities have showed a blatant disregard for the basic human rights of free expression and assembly", said Karin Karlekar, PEN America Director of Free Expression at Risk Programs. Mr Nguyen's family fled South Vietnam after its collapse in 1975. "Will is free", his sister Victoria Nguyen told AFP on Friday. As you may know, on June 9, Mr. Nguyen arrived in Ho Chi Minh City for a short vacation before his upcoming graduation at the National University of Singapore in July. Vietnam's quick resolution of the case is seen by many as proof of the country's commitment to building closer economic ties with the US being one of its largest trading partners. State media reports claimed that the 32-year-old had been "gathering and causing trouble" during the protests and stated that he had been filmed encouraging fellow protesters to climb over barricades. The proposed SEZs have incited fear in Vietnamese citizens, as such laws could allow for Chinese encroachment on Vietnamese land, and a number of demonstrations against the proposal have taken place across major cities in Vietnam in recent weeks. His actions "seriously violated public order and badly affected security order, social safety and needs to be dealt with seriously", it alleged. A number of USA elected officials became involved in Nguyen's case, sending off letters to Pompeo, Vietnam's ambassador to the US and President Donald Trump. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted later Friday that he was "tremendously pleased" Nguyen would be returning home to his family. The European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope, using the MUSE instrument and a new adaptive optics system captured this stunning view of Neptune in a demonstration of unparalled ground-based resolution. Neptune is 2.9 billion miles away from Earth and the only better pictures that many of us remember seeing is when the Voyager 2 flew by the planet back in 1989. The same turbulence in the atmosphere that causes stars to twinkle to the naked eye results in blurred images of the Universe for large telescopes. This is extremely hard to attain in the visible and gives images comparable in sharpness to those from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The Very Large Telescope, an installation located in Cerro Paranal, Chile, by the European Southern Observatory project, has recently been upgraded with so-called "adaptive optics" technology that allows for a much sharper image capture than previously possible without breaking through the atmosphere. The Neptune image on the right is without the adaptive optics system in operation and the one on the left after the adaptive optics are switched on. From the ground, you have to find a way to correct that blur that makes distant objects unclear, hence why you need a reference point. Enlarge Image Scientists installed the mirror of VLT's Unit Telescope 4 with four powerful lasers that shoots intense beam of light in the sky and excites the sodium atoms in the upper layer of the atmosphere. The telescope has achieved first light using the new optics mode and the difference in image sharpness is stunning compared to before images. Without the adaptive optics tech, photos taken of Neptune even by the Very Large Telescope remain extremely blurry and indistinct, with zero detail or form. When using the new Narrow Field Mode using laser tomography the team can correct nearly all the atmospheric turbulence above the telescope to create much sharper images, but only over a small region of the sky. The pioneering MUSE instrument in Narrow-Field Mode, working with the GALACSI adaptive optics module, can now use this new technique to correct for turbulence at different altitudes in the atmosphere. It the allows for more precise imaging over a comparatively wide field of view, capturing clusters of stars in the night sky, as well as close details of individual celestial bodies. Adaptive optics systems consists of three main components: a wave front corrector to compensate for the distortion, a wave front sensor to measure distortion, and a control system to calculate the required correction and necessary shape to apply to the corrector. Coats appeared surprised Thursday when, as he sat on stage at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado, NBC's Andrew Mitchell announced the White House was inviting Putin to Washington this fall. Coats, the nation's top intelligence official, said "Did I hear you", per the HuffPost, then paused before saying: "OK". A year later, Putin invaded Georgia largely unconcerned by the American reaction. He tweeted Thursday the Russian Federation summit was a huge success except with the "Fake News Media", who he called "the real enemy of the people". He added that he did not yet know what Mr Trump and Mr Putin discussed during their meeting, at which only their interpreters were also present. For Putin's domestic audience, it would be confirmation that the U.S. president sees him if not as a partner, then at least a competitor that he can no longer ignore. "Antonov has said he'll be knocking on doors at State and NSC to follow through, so evidently the Russians believe some kind of agreements were reached, but it may be exaggeration on his part". US intelligence agencies accuse Putin of directing interference to sway the election against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton toward Republican Trump. When Mariia Butina was indicted on conspiracy charges Monday, her name wasn't new to the House Intelligence Committee. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (right), joined by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), speaks during a news conference on President Trump's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, on July 17, 2018. During a joint press conference with Putin after their meeting in Helsinki, Trump said he didn't see "any reason" why Russian Federation would meddle, adding that Putin was "extremely strong and powerful in his denial". "Okay", Mr Coats said. On Wednesday, Trump answered "no" to a reporter's question on whether Russian Federation was still targeting the United States, only to have Sanders say later he was saying "no" to answering any questions - not to the question itself. The Senate, in a resolution adopted 98-0 by senators across the aisle, called on the U.S.to refuse to make any officials available for interrogation by Putin's government. Earlier this week, President Donald Trump said the tiny Balkan country's membership in the alliance means Montenegro's "very aggressive people" could start World War III because of NATO's mutual defense pact. "That's going to be special", he added, prompting laughter from the audience. "Hopefully President Putin will have the 12 identified Russians come to the United States to prove their innocence or guilt". Only five percent of Americans think the USA benefits from the summit more than Russian Federation, while a 34 percent say it was more beneficial to Russian Federation. The White House is still trying to clean up post-summit Trump statements on Russian interference in the 2016 election. The news out of the Washington: Russian President Vladimir Putin is coming to the White House. "There was a discussion between President Trump and President Putin about the resolution in Syria and how we might get the refugees back", he said. When Coats learned during an interview Thursday at the Aspen festival that Putin was being invited to visit the U.S.in the fall, he made no effort to hide the freaky nature of the situation. Jakarta, July 21: In a shocking and repulsive act, a 15-year-old girl in Indonesia, who was raped by her elder brother, and became pregnant, has been sent to jail for six months for having an abortion, informed an official on Saturday. The girl was given the jail term alongside her 17-year-old brother. According to media reports, it was a closed hearing at Muara Bulian district court located on the island of Sumatra. This piece of news was confirmed by the court spokesman named Listyo Arif Budiman. He was quoted saying by news agencies that the girl was charged under the child protection law for having an abortion. Her brother, who raped her, has been sentenced to two years jail-term for sexually assaulting a minor. Abortion laws in Indonesia are very strict and abortion is forbidden in the country unless a women's life is at risk or under certain 'specific' circumstances. The abortion laws in Indonesia make it mandatory that an abortion be performed only by a registered professional no later than six weeks into a pregnancy. The law also says that the woman has to undergo counselling. The girl was raped by her brother eight times, the first assault taking place in Spetember, 2017. The girl had her abortion after six months of pregnancy, said the court spokesman Budiman. The girl's mother, who helped her in the process, also faces separate charges. The siblings were arrested by police in June, after a male foetus was found near Pulau village in Jambi province at a palm oil plantation. The 2013 World Health Organisation Report states that abortions are responsible for about 30 to 50 per cent of maternal deaths in Indonesia, mentioned the Guardian, in its report. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 21, 2018 11:12 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). The Islamic Republic of Iran is reportedly seriously considering following up its threat against U.S. sanctions that it will not let oil produced by Middle East countries flow from the Strait of Hormuz if the Trump Administration continues with its plan of imposing sanctions against Irans oil trade. Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has backed this suggestion which was first made by President Hassan Rouhani who hinted earlier this month that Tehran may block regional oil exports if its own sales are stopped following the United States' withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal. Rouhanis comments could be seen as targeting the huge amounts of oil that passes through the Strait of Hormuz. This strait is a narrow strategic passageway located between Iran and Oman, where at least 18.5 million barrels of oil were transported every day in 2016, according to a U.S. energy department report. The strait is used by Gulf countries including Iran, who rely on safe passage through the narrow chokepoint to export their oil and gas to the world. Map showing the strategic Strait of Hormuz (Photo: Wikimedia Commons) "Remarks by the president ... that 'if Iran's oil is not exported, no regional country's oil will be exported,' were important remarks that reflect the policy and the approach of [Iran's] system," Khamenei's official website quoted him as saying on Saturday. These strong statements from Irans Supreme Leader come as the Trump Administration is demanding that all countries end imports of Iranian oil by November 4, 2018. The United States decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal and re-impose sanctions on it has already impacted Tehrans fledgling oil industry with major companies pulling out. Till date 10 multinational companies that had invested in Iran post the lifting of economic sanctions after the Iran nuclear deal have announced their withdrawal. The French oil company Total SA, shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk, are some of the companies who have bowed to the Trump Administrations threat of targeting anyone who deals with Tehran. Khamenei also said on Saturday it was an "obvious" mistake to negotiate with the U.S. because it does not abide by agreements." "I have previously pointed out that Americans' words or even signatures cannot be relied on; thus negotiations with the U.S. are useless. The statement went on to say, "The assumption that negotiations or establishing ties with the U.S. would solve the country's problems is an obvious error." "Negotiations with the Europeans must continue, but we must not wait for their offer indefinitely," said Khamenei. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 21, 2018 11:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). He was angry at the two American reporters, including one from The Associated Press, who asked questions at the Helsinki news conference. The White House has announced that the Russian President has been invited to Washington later this year, despite mounting criticism over US President Donald Trump's failure to take Vladimir Putin to task over Moscow's meddling in the 2016 US presidential polls. The New York Times later reported, and the former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper confirmed to CNN, that Trump was briefed on specific U.S. intelligence indicating that Putin personally ordered the 2016 Russian influence campaign. FONTAINE: The president very rarely speaks about Putin's transgressions, and when asked about him, often expresses the hope that everyone can get along. He just said it's not Russian Federation. "I was just doing my job", Coats explained of his decision to release a statement that the intelligence community has "been clear in [its] assessments" of Russia's past and ongoing efforts to undermine USA democracy. He tweeted Thursday the Russian Federation summit was a huge success except with the "Fake News Media", who he called "the real enemy of the people". The president said he'd meant to say he didn't see any reason why it "wouldn't" have been Russian Federation that interfered in the election. "Sort of a double negative". "I find that meetings between the USA and Russian presidents must return to normality", she said. But the chaos of Trump's governing style can also have an upside, even with Russian Federation. The report adds, "We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump". In exchange, Russian Federation would want to interrogate USA citizens accused of unspecified crimes. I don't think there's ever one single person that he relies on. -Russian relations are "in some ways worse than during the Cold War", but that the meeting with Trump allowed a start on "the path to positive change". "Hopefully, President Putin will have the 12 identified Russians come to the United States to prove their innocence or guilt", White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said. "Nevertheless the transatlantic working relationship, also with the U.S. president, is central to us and I will continue to maintain it". But on Thursday Mr Trump said the meeting was a "great success" and he was looking forward to their next meeting. Several lawmakers urged the interpreter of Trump in his meeting with Putin to testify before Congress for what exactly the two leaders had said in the meeting. "But can you just clarify, you don't believe that to be the case?" the reporter asked a third time. With his base still behind him, Mr Trump appears ready to press on with his efforts. But then he appears to change his mind, telling reporters "we're doing very well" and that "there's been no president ever as tough as I have been on Russian Federation". Many in the White House did not immediately see fault in Sanders' comments that the West Wing was merely considering the Kremlin offer, but it provided fresh tinder for the bipartisan firestorm. "The president is wrong", GOP Senator Susan Collins of ME said of Trump's one-word response. Critics said Trump followed the Russian line throughout his recent trip to Europe, parroting Putin's criticisms of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the European Union. It was a different story last summer when the RNC formally condemned Nazis and the KKK after Trump's muddled response to violent protests by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia. Jul 21, 2018, 5:13am ET BMW M calls front-wheel drive its "biggest challenge" BMW M might have a solution to the problem. As BMW moves to front-wheel drive architectures, its performance-focused M division needs to figure out how to turn those models into true, enthusiast-approved cars. That's easier said than done, according to M's top executive. "That challenge is the biggest challenge, because we want to have a typical M feeling which goes more naturally with rear-wheel drive. If you want to do that with front-wheel drive, I think that's the biggest challenge you can have," said BMW M boss Frank van Meel in an interview with Australian website CarAdvice. It's possible to build a front-wheel drive performance car. Honda's Civic Type R illustrates one way to do it. But while it has received universal praise, it doesn't deliver the type of driving experience enthusiasts expect from a member of BMW's M brand. Van Meel suggested the solution could be to build mid-range models sold under the M Performance umbrella rather than full-blown M cars. His comments suggest the current M2 will be the last in the foreseeable future, at least if the rumors of a front-wheel drive 2 Series successor are true. Bigger models like the 3, the 4 and the 5 will remain rear-wheel drive so the M3, the M4, and the M5 (pictured) aren't going away. However, earlier rumors claim the next-generation M3/M4 will receive a degree of electrification in a bid to keep fuel economy in check. Photo by Ronan Glon. Laois County Council has drafted new bye laws that could see people having to prove that they have an authorised method of waste disposal. The new bye laws could mean that the public will have to give documentary evidence, such as receipts, statements or other proof of payment to prove they use a method of waste disposal for their household and commercial rubbish. A draft document entitled Waste Management (Storage, Presentation and Segregation of Household and Commercial Waste) Bye-Laws 2018 published by Laois County Council outlines the possible new bye laws that could be enforced. It outlines that documentary evidence, such as receipts, statements or other proof of payment, demonstrating compliance with a bye-law of Obligation to Participate in a Waste Collection Service will need to be presented to an authorised person employed by Laois County Council. People not participating in a waste collection service will need to ensure that recyclable household waste is segregated and taken to an authorised waste facility and documentation, including receipts, is obtained and retained for a period of no less than one year. This is to provide proof that any waste removed from the premises has been managed in a manner that conforms to these new bye-laws, to the Waste Management Act and, where such legislation is applicable to that person, to the European Union (Household Food Waste and Bio-Waste) Regulations 2015. A separate Draft Litter Management Plan 2018 - 2020 published by Laois County Council outlines methods of enforcing litter management including "conduct spot checks regarding litter/waste disposal". Other changes in the new draft bye laws include stricter management of kerbside waste meaning that waste should not be left out for collection in a bin where the wheels or lid has been removed or damaged to an extent where it is not able to contain the waste without spillage. Focus will also turn to where containers are left for collection on road sides. Other than on the day before and the designated waste collection day, containers used for the presentation of kerbside waste will have to be held within the area of the premises where the waste is produced. The new bye-laws also state that bins should not be left out for collection earlier than 6.00 pm on the day before waste collection day and removed from any roadway, footway, footpath or any other public place no later than 8:00am on the day following waste collection. It also enforces that household hazardous waste or waste electrical and electronic equipment should not be placed in an appropriate waste container for kerbside collection. Further guidelines for waste management in multi-unit developments, mixed-use developments, flats or apartment blocks, combined living/working spaces or other similar complexes have also been outlined in detail. In these situations, adequate bins will need to be provided to allow correct waste disposal and documentary evidence, such as receipts, statements or other proof of payment, will also need to be kept to demonstrate the existence of correct waste management for a period of no less than two years. Evidence may need to be presented to an authorised person within a time specified in a written request from either that person or from another authorised person employed by Laois County Council. The new bye laws outline that waste collectors authorised by Laois County Council should not be disturbed or interrupted while doing their job. A person found guilty of going against these bye-laws will be liable to the penalty of no more than 2,500. A person found guilty of an offence relating to this continued contravention shall be liable to a penalty of no more than 500 per day for each day the contravention continues after that conviction. A fixed payment notice may be issued requiring a person found to have contravened or be contravening these bye-laws to make a payment of 75. Payment of this notice shall be made within 21 days of the date of the notice in order to avoid the person subject to this notice being prosecuted for the contravention of these bye-laws. Laois County Council has proposed these new Bye-Laws but there will be a procedure and public consultations process to follow before they are finalised and drafted in. The EU and Morocco have agreed on new terms of a fisheries agreement covering the Sahara. Morocco described the deal as a recognition of its sovereignty of its southern provinces and its quality as the only interlocutor in negotiating international agreements covering the Sahara. From the start of negotiations in Rabat, Moroccan officials made it clear that sovereignty over the Sahara is a red line and that agreements signed by Morocco shall cover all its territories including the Sahara. The precision came after a ruling of the European Court of Justice saying that the fisheries agreement was valid as long as it does not include the Sahara. The verdict was weathered by the realism of the European Council and the European Parliament, which gave the Commission a green light to negotiate a new agreement. Although they dealt a blow to the Polisario, which was not cited and even if the EU does not recognize the Algerian-backed separatists, the opponents of Moroccos territorial integrity tried in vain to derail the EU-Moroccan cooperation. Following the verdict, international experts expressed rejection of the ECJ interference in foreign policy issues. The court was clearly not eligible to rule on international law issues as such a verdict will open the gate to a precedent that would encourage separatist groups to challenge EU deals in the future. In legal terms, Western Sahara cannot be defined as such (occupied territory) because it does not fulfill the criteria, stipulated by Article 42 of The Hague Convention: Presence of an enemy state on the territory, exclusion of the legitimate authority and substitution by an occupying authority. In fact, when Morocco succeeded Spain in Western Sahara in 1976 in accordance with the Madrid Agreement, there was no Sahrawi State on this territory, which was part of the Moroccan Kingdom prior to the colonization, Eli Hadzhieva, Founder and Director of Dialogue for Europe said. The interference of the ECJ in the fisheries and agricultural agreements signed between Morocco and the EU brought confusion to the functioning of the court. If the court follows the pro-Polisario stands, a domino effect could occur in Wallonia or Catalonia for instance, which would put the stability of the Union in peril, she said. Legal experts also argue that the EU court is not entitled to scrutinize international treaties (which are of the order of international law). Such cases exceed the remit of the ECJ, which is not entitled to assume the role of the international court of justice. The legality of the agreement, key to the EU-Morocco partnership, has been challenged by Western Sahara Campaign (WSC), a lobbying group based in the UK. For years, WSCUK has been contesting Moroccos legitimacy to govern its Southern provinces, claiming Western Sahara should be independent. Such meddling of the ECJ in foreign policy issues involving the sovereignty of a state on its territories is doomed to lead to biased opinions that are detached from reality on the ground and are clearly politically motivated, legal experts argue. The case of the agricultural agreement illustrates the extent to which the EU needs to ensure coherence within its institutions. In November 2016, after an initial ruling declaring void the Moroccan-EU agricultural agreement, the ECJ issued a final verdict correcting its previous injustice regarding Morocco and putting the institution in line with other EU bodies in addition to asking the Polisario to pay the costs of the judicial proceedings, the foreign ministry had then said in a statement. The court slammed the Polisario as not concerned by the EU-Morocco trade deals and ineligible to plea at the court. Now, the EU commission, the European council and the European Parliament slam the ECJ blunder and express out loud that the EU court is not concerned with international agreements falling within the framework of international law. It must be a lot of fun to be a judge, though you have to assume a grave, un-fun, demeanor. You get to have opinions, picking out what supporting evidence you like and brushing aside what you do not like. It is not like being a sweaty, sleep-deprived scientist, subject to the whims of material reality. If you are a judge, material reality is subject to you, John Dizard said on the Financial Times commenting the hasty decision of the ECJ in deliberating EU-Morocco fisheries deal. A JUDGE has rejected an offer of 35,000 to a four-year-old boy, who broke his femur after he and his father slipped on the grounds of a national school in Limerick city suburbs. Limerick Civil Circuit Court heard that the plaintiff and his father were collecting his older sister from Monaleen national school when the incident happened on February 2, 2017. He was aged three at the time. Kieran Falvey BL, instructed by Jonathan Cosgrove of Aidan T Stapleton solicitors, told Judge Sinead Ni Chulachain, presiding, that there was some tarmac covered in moss at the school. The father, he was holding his [sons] hand, and they both slipped, Mr Falvey said, adding that his father fell on his son, who then broke his femur. The boy received treatment and had a spica cast fitted at Croom Orthopaedic Hospital. Mr Falvey said that the plaintiffs femur required realignment, which required general anaesthetic. A report by an orthopaedic consultant showed there were no long-term issues. Mr Falvey told Judge Ni Chulachain that, before proceedings last Friday morning, the plaintiffs father informed him that his son feels tired after long walks. The judge asked the boy to come up to the front so I can talk to you. The plaintiff then approached the judge with his father by his side. Do you remember falling? she asked and the boy nodded. Does your leg get tired sometimes? to which he nodded. Does your other leg get tired? she asked. The plaintiff shook his head. Do you like running and playing outside in the yard? she asked, and the boy nodded again. Judge Ni Chulachain rejected the offer of 35,000 and called for another medical report on the boy to be obtained. CASES of murder threats are significantly higher in the Henry Street District in Limerick city because most threats to kill are made at the courthouse, a recent meeting of the Joint Policing Committee (JPC) has heard. William Priestley of the West End Youth Centre on Childers Road asked gardai why their figures seemed to show that murder threats appear to have almost tripled in the Henry Street District. Is there an association with gangland crime? he asked. In reply, Chief Superintendent Gerard Roche explained that Henry Street records a higher number of murder threats than other districts because the majority of all threats made in Limerick are actually made at the courthouse, which is under the districts remit. Whether they are considered empty thre- ats or more sinister, all murder threats are classified in this way on the system, he added. These threats range from the very minor to serious threats detected by intelligence teams, Chief Supt. Roche said. For example, someo- ne shouting Ill kill you while in court without any real intent behind the statement would still be classified on the system as a murder threat, he added. Meanwhile, figures from the JPC show that drugs and offensive weapons crimes and crimes against the person have both decreased when compared to the same time last year. Crimes classified un- der drugs and offensive weapons decreased by 14%, while crimes against the person, which includes murder and rape, decreased by 3%. Sergeant Denis Waters of Roxboro Road also gave a presentation at the JPC on the future of community policing in Limerick. This model deals with real quality of life issues, Sgt Waters said. ONE last push is needed for the installation of a vital pedestrian crossing in Caherdavin following months of hard work by a local residents committee. A pedestrian crossing is urgently needed by the Caherdavin Church on Blackthorn Drive, according to Brid Duhan from the Caherdavin Residents Association. We really do need it, Ms Duhan explained. We have the two primary schools, with young children crossing the road at that juncture, as well as the scout hall and the Church. The area is also very busy with traffic, she added. The Caherdavin Residents Association has been meeting since November 2017, according to Ms Duhan. Much work has been done since the group first started meeting, she added. Were a small community group of volunteers and weve been working very hard. Together weve worked to get roads resurfaced, paths repaired and grass cut back in the area. Any residents in the area can make suggestions, and any inquiries that are made will be dealt with by the group. The group has also been liaising with Limerick City and County Council to help make improvements in their area, she added. We like to work hand and hand with the community, she said, adding that the Association ties in with Caherdavins Tidy Towns efforts. The group is currently in talks with the council for the pedestrian crossing and has been working with local councillor Frankie Daly and Senator Kieran ODonnell. Our next big project is the green in front of Whittys Mace, Ms Duhan said. Were looking to replant and reseed the green with new trees. It's all part of our Tidy Towns work, she added. Weve been told that the tenure has gone out now. Cllr Frankie Daly said: The association has been working with a lot of different groups, like the Mens Shed and the youth group. Theyve been working very hard to make improvements within their area and they are a pleasure to work with. Things are progressing quite well with the pedestrian crossing, the residents have been working very hard on that for the last while and I know Senator Kieran ODonnell was very active as well with the group. Confidentiality agreements are often part of the solution when large-scale organisations want to make unseemly problems go away, forever. Every so often, though, the best-laid plans come unstuck. The CervicalCheck scandal would not have been exposed but for the strength of character shown by Vicky Phelan, who refused to keep quiet about her cancer misdiagnosis and who has been an extraordinarily powerful advocate for Irish women ever since. Generally, it takes a whistleblower to upset the apple cart but it also takes courage to be a whistleblower, not least in Ireland. Those who challenge big organisations especially when theyre employed by them can pay a heavy price. Sgt Maurice McCabe is the countrys most high-profile example of that, but there are plenty of others less well known whose lives have been profoundly affected by the fallout. In the vast majority of cases, they are unprepared for the impact on their physical and emotional well-being. Such has been the experience of the two University of Limerick employees known as Persons B and C, who were suspended from their jobs in the finance department in June 2015. Stress, depression, anxiety, isolation, panic attacks, disillusionment research shows that these are classic symptoms in whistleblowers the world over and both UL employees have experienced all of them. The whole country shared the joy of Vicky Phelan and her family recently when she was awarded an honorary doctorate by UL. Nobody deserved it more. In applauding her immense contribution, UL president Dr Des Fitzgerald recognised the courage it required for her to make a stand. UL, alas, has not distinguished itself when it comes to the treatment of whistleblowers in its own back yard. Dr Fitzgerald, on taking office in May 2017, pledged to change all that. Fifteen months on, evidence of success is thin on the ground. As long-running disputes go, the one between UL Persons B and C is right up there. Now clocking in at three years and four weeks, this seemingly interminable saga has been going on longer than the Spanish Civil War (two years, eight months and 15 days) and Irelands War of Independence (two years, five months and 20 days). The suspensions were lifted by the new president last November, but nearly eight months later no agreement has been reached that would facilitate their return to work. The obvious solution was to find them new roles away from the finance department, or alternatively in a local public institution separate from UL. It was generally agreed that this was in the best interests of all parties, but an engagement process with an external HR consultant which began in January has now been effectively terminated by UL without any positive outcome. ULs position is that none of the alternative roles discussed have proved to be viable. This is a sweeping statement that does not stand up to any scrutiny. Progress, albeit slow, had been made on allowing for a return to work in new roles, until UL pulled the rug on the process. This failure, which has come at the taxpayers expense, is in large part the result of a total communication breakdown between the university and the two employees. A personal injuries claim settled in March amounted to an acknowledgement by UL that B and C were wrongly suspended. It is no exaggeration to state that the suspensions were grossly and disturbingly unjust and they also had a traumatising effect on the employees. Regrettably, there has been little understanding of the latter point by the current UL president or his predecessor, Professor Don Barry. Neither man has seen fit to meet with the two employees, to better understand how the experience has affected them. Instead, the HR department that caused this unholy mess in the first place has now swung into action and curtly informed the employees that they must return to the finance department on August 1, even though their previous positions have long since been filled, and even though the prospect of returning to the same department fills both B and C with dread. This is nothing less than an admission of failure by the university and a denial of common sense. In recent years UL has paid out around 2 million in settlements to almost 60 former employees, sometimes without seeking the necessary approval from the Department of Education for the use of taxpayers money. The severance deals included sums of 231,506, 220,332, 182,506, 155,043 and 150,000. Secrecy around these arrangements was secured by confidentiality clauses. Persons B and C were ordered off the campus a couple of weeks after declining to accept termination payments of almost 60,000 each, a sum which was of course conditional on them agreeing to the usual gagging clause. Three years later, they say they would make the same decision again, despite everything. But they are also acutely aware that if they had taken the money and signed on the dotted line, their lives since would have been very different. For UL, things would have been different too. The B and C case had a domino effect: without it, the Pandoras box which plunged the university into a prolonged crisis would most likely never have been opened. It will require leadership from the very top to steer a course through this complex problem and bring the saga to an end. So far, we have not seen enough of it. THE BENEDICTINE monks of Glenstal Abbey installed four new bells that will be tolling long after all of us are gone to our God. The custom made set were blessed by Abbot Brendan Coffey on the perfect day the feast of St Benedict last Wednesday. Br Martin Browne, bursar, said bells are important instruments in a monastery! There was quite a lot of excitement in the community about the new bells. Bells do, after all, play a big part in ordering the day in a monastery. They call us to prayer several times a day; they are peeled at times of joy on big feasts and at professions of monks; and of course they are tolled solemnly to mark the deaths of monks. We've had a number of bells in the church for many years that were acquired at different times and weren't ever intended to ring together. When they are all rung together they can sound a bit like a lot of pots and pans being clattered! So it is wonderful to now have a set of four bells that were made for us and that sound well together, said Br Martin. After the blessing ceremony they were lifted by crane and placed on top of the library, beside the church. The bells look very beautiful, and because they are outside, we can see them easily. It is traditional for bells to be named. The four are called Benedict after the author of the Rule followed by us and all Benedictines, Scholastica, his sister, Joseph and Columba, the two patron saints of the monastery, explained Br Martin. Each bell is adorned with an image of the saint whose name it bears. A short phrase connected with the saint or with the bells function of calling the people of God to worship is placed beneath the image. A lot of work has been completed on their church in recent years and it was Abbot Brendan's idea to further enrich their common prayer by getting a set of new bells. A frequent guest and very generous donor to Glenstal from America readily agreed to cover the cost. One of the very few bell manufacturers in Europe, the Jan Felczynski Bell Foundry in Poland, have an agent in Ireland, and after some discussions a plan was put together for a set of four bells, to be cast in bronze. The moulds were created just before Christmas last year and the bells were cast in the spring, but we decided to wait until St Benedict's Day to install them, said Br Martin. The bells are fully automated. All four can be swung, and two of them can also be struck to create single chimes. On ordinary week days, only one bell at a time will be rung - to call the monks to the church for each of the offices that they sing each day, to ring the Angelus three times a day, and also, for the first time, to chime the hours and half-hours throughout the day. On Sundays, two, and sometimes three bells will be rung at a time, and on important feasts all four will be rung together. We are hopeful that they will be ringing out over Glenstal and Murroe for many years to come, said Br Martin. TWO LIMERICK men have been cleared of all charges after appealing the district court case where they were found guilty on a number of counts. In Kilmallock Court last July 2017, Brendan Hennessy, aged 34, of Ballinanama, Kilfinane was found guilty of affray and assault causing harm. Michael Heffernan, aged 33, of Main Street, Kilfinane was found guilty of affray. The complainant - David Stanton, aged 23, of High Street, Kilfinane had a charge of assault thrown out. It took up to seven hours to hear the case over two days in June 2017. Judge Marian OLeary adjourned sentencing until the end of July 2017 to consider her decision. Mr Hennessy and Mr Heffernan had pleaded not guilty to all charges and were defended by solicitor, John Herbert. After finding Mr Hennessy and Mr Heffernan guilty, Judge OLeary said she would strike all matters out against them if 1,900 compensation was paid to Mr Stanton for medical expenses. And if they paid 750 each to the court poor box on the affray charges and Mr Hennessy paid a further 500 on the assault causing harm charge. Mr Hennessy and Mr Heffernan appealed this judgment. During the appeal last month in Limerick city the case was heard in its entirety again. Judge Tom ODonnell dismissed the affray charges against Mr Hennessy and Mr Heffernan, and the assault causing harm charge against Mr Hennessy. Mr Stanton told the original court hearing in Kilmallock last year that on October 2015, 2015 he was grabbed by the throat in Tread na Ri, Kilfinane by Mr Hennessy after they had exchanged words. Mr Hennessy said Mr Stanton was kicking plants out of a flower box late at night and Mr Hennessy told him, What did the flowers ever do to you? Go away, go away fast. Mr Stanton denied damaging flowers. Mr Hennessy and Mr Heffernan said they were never in Tread na Ri on the night in question. Later that night, Mr Hennessy said he was walking Mr Heffernan home when they were pushed in the door of Mr Stantons house by a number of men. Mr Stanton said they burst in. Mr Stanton said he was punched by Mr Hennessy, resulting in a cut lip, three stitches, chipped tooth which cost 1,900 for a cap that is not guaranteed to stay. Mr Hennessy admitted striking him but in self defence after Mr Stanton grabbed a knife. Mr Stanton said there was no knife. Former Bruff Superintendent William Duane put it to Mr Hennessy he wanted to confront these blow-ins for causing damage to the flower boxes. He denied this. Mr Herbert, solicitor for Mr Hennessy and Mr Heffernan, said: A drunken rabble attacked them and they are the ones charged with assault and affray. This was denied by Mr Stanton in Kilmallock Court. After the district court appeal concluded at 4pm on June 14, 2018, Judge Tom ODonnell said he would consider his verdict overnight. On the following morning, Judge ODonnell said based on the evidence before him he had to have a doubt and dismissed all charges against Mr Hennessy and Mr Heffernan. THE GOVERNMENT is already taking action to prevent a fodder shortage this winter, said Deputy Tom Neville this week. The Fine Gael TD said he has been in constant communication with Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed, raising concerns from Limerick farmers on how this years weather events may impact fodder availability. A large crowd at a fodder crisis meeting on Tuesday night in in Boher demonstrates the extent of the problem. Deputy Neville confirmed that the minister is already taking several steps to mitigate any issue and ensure there is no shortage of fodder. The minister formed a representative group chaired by Teagasc including stakeholders such as co-ops, banks, farm bodies, amongst others, to co-ordinate advisory messages to farmers this summer around replenishing stocks that have been used up, and also to manage grazing and fodder through this extended period of extraordinarily dry weather. This group will meet regularly, particularly during this difficult period, until the issue of securing adequate fodder supplies for next winter has been fully addressed, said Deputy Neville. On June 26, a national fodder census was launched and to be compiled by Teagasc through its client network as well as clients of the other fodder group stakeholders, with another census planned for September 1. The aim is to monitor and measure levels of fodder in the country and will inform further actions that may be necessary this autumn. Co-ops and feed compounders represented on the group have increased feed output to meet demand. Banking institution members are also working closely with farmer customers on effective financial planning to see them through the current difficult spell, said Deputy Neville, a strong mental health advocate. I believe it is very important that in the face of such weather related events farmers should have access to measures that improve their resilience to these occurrences. Department officials have been asked to examine all available risk management tools to determine which of these may be most appropriate to the farming sector. In addition, Teagasc has established a dedicated helpline to provide advice to farmers affected by the ongoing drought. This is being supplemented by a series of local meetings/clinics where farmers can obtain direct support from Teagasc advisors. The helpline will operate daily from 9am to 9pm - 087 7971377. This helpline service and local clinics are open to all farmers, including non-Teagasc clients. THE BROADCASTING Authority of Ireland (BAI) has confirmed to the Leader that the contract between the BAI and East Limerick Community Radio (ELCR) has now been terminated. A statement said that during 2017, the compliance committee of the BAI initiated a statutory investigation into the operation of the contract of Boherroe Broadcasting Company Limited, trading as ELCR. The compliance committee considered that there were reasonable grounds for believing that ELCR was not providing a service in accordance with the terms of its contract. Following completion of the statutory investigation in May 2018, the compliance committee recommended to the authority that the contract with ELCR should be terminated, reads the statement. The BAI considered this matter on June 28 last. Having considered all relevant documents, including a written submission from ELCR, the authority determined that the termination of ELCRs contract was necessary and proportionate. In response Tim Long, secretary/director, said ELCR is a voluntary and not-for-profit organisation. We operated four temporary 30 day community licenses in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and a full time community radio service from 2011-2016. During this period the BAI had no difficulty with us of any kind. Our operation of these services was done by volunteers from the community which included programming, administration, engineering and fundraising. Our costs were by far the lowest of any radio station in the country. In June 2016 we had to move from our studio location at Cloverfield for reasons which was well documented at the time. This move necessitated us going off air for a short period of time to facilitate that move, said Mr Long. We have at all times stated to the BAI that we would go back on air and honour our contract to provide a community radio service for east Limerick, he said. In June 2016 when we had to move from our studio we expected and needed every help we could get from the BAI and others. It must be stated what we got was every rule and obstacle put in our way to prevent us going back on air and no co-operation whatsoever with us from the BAI. The process and actions of the BAI since June 2016 towards our organisation raises very serious matters which are now being considered by us. When we have concluded our deliberations and decided on a way forward we will communicate further at that time, concluded Mr Long. The station has been off on air since June 2016. Cllr Eddie Ryan says he meets people every day asking when is ELCR coming back. My answer is generally hopefully in the near future. They miss the company of the radio, the banter, chat, music, storytelling and, of course, the hot political debate each Tuesday hosted by the one and only Tim Long . The station is a big loss to those living on their own. It kept them in touch locally and they could relate to it. RTE is simply seen as a Dublin station to a lot of people in east Limerick, said Cllr Ryan. Spain congratulated Morocco and the EU on agreeing on terms and provisions of a new fisheries deal as a milestone ushering deeper relations between the two parties. The agreement underscores the stable and deep ties between the EU and Morocco, said Spanish agriculture and fisheries minister Luis Planas in a statement. He highlighted the importance of the new agreement voicing hope that it will enter into force as soon as possible after adoption by the European Council and Parliament. According to media reports, the deal will be signed in Rabat on Monday, July 23. Morocco welcomed the agreement, which shall cover all its territorial waters including those adjacent to the Sahara. Most of the fishing vessels benefiting from the EU-Morocco fisheries deal are from Spain and Portugal. The new agreement will enable about 120 vessels from 11 EU countries to resume their activities in Moroccos waters after they had to leave on July 14 as the four-year agreement expires. Over 75 pc of the socio-economic benefits of the agreement, such as creation of hundreds of new jobs and improvement of working conditions of tens of thousands of people, are enjoyed by people living in Moroccos Southern provinces. The deal promotes sustainable development of the fisheries sector and helps to create jobs for Moroccan sailors and fishermen via 1000 boarding contracts per year "Guinness is good for you" the slogan goes, but what about for breast-feeding moms? New mothers are commonly heaped with advice some of it welcome, some not. But there's one rather unconventional piece of wisdom that stands out from the rest: For decades, women have been told they should drink Guinness the dark, Irish beer to boost their production of breast milk and nourish their newborns. To Guinness lovers, this might be a welcome nugget of advice. But does it stand up to scientific scrutiny? One thing we do know is that the idea has roots deep in history, long before Guinness came along. In fact, humans have been touting the milk-boosting benefits of beer for centuries. As far back as 2000 B.C., records apparently show that the Sumerian people prescribed beer as an aid for breast-feeding. Along with many other foods like anise, fenugreek (an herb) and oatmeal beer developed a reputation as a " galactagogue ," a food thought to stimulate lactation. Over the centuries, this became an established belief in traditions around the world. "It's cross-cultural," said Maija Bruun Haastrup, a clinical pharmacologist at Odense University Hospital in Denmark. "Something I find very interesting is that we have this same old-wives tale everywhere."[ Does Mom's Drinking Harm Breastfed Babies? ] In the early 1900s, the marketing campaign around Guinness, in particular, gave it a special identity as a "healthful" beverage. Because the beer initially was manufactured with a kind of yeast that gave it a high iron content, it was reportedly offered to blood donors back in the day, or to patients who had just undergone surgery in the hospital. This helped to solidify the drink's original slogan: " Guinness is good for you ." Nursing mothers were then encouraged to imbibe this drink as a milk-boosting tonic, too. While we now know that the campaign around this beverage may have overstated its benefits at the time, Haastrup said there is some scientific truth to the idea that beer boosts breast milk. "It's important to emphasize that the amount of research here is quite limited," she cautioned. But some studies have drawn a link between a polysaccharide, a type of carbohydrate present in barley hops, and an increase in prolactin, the hormone that aids the production of milk from breast tissue. These factors might explain why beer drinkers of the past sensed that the beverage had a beneficial effect on their capacity to produce milk. But there's a caveat: Adding alcohol to this hoppy mixture obscures any potential benefit one might get from the barley. Gary Beauchamp and Julie Mennella, two biopsychologists at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, carried out landmark research in the 1990s showing that when mothers consume alcohol and breast-feed, it seems to alter the flavor of their milk, causing infants to feed less over a certain period of time. "Essentially, the hypotheses are that the alcohol is affecting either the infant or the mother," Beauchamp, now emeritus director of the Monell Chemical Senses Center, told Live Science. In a meta-analysis of more than 40 papers, Haastrup identified another pattern in the research, highlighting how alcohol impacts the way the body discharges milk. Breasts release milk through a reflex known as the "letdown," which is triggered by a hormone called oxytocin, Haastrup said. "Oxytocin is extensively inhibited by alcohol," she said. "So if you ingest alcohol, your oxytocin production is reduced, which leads to a delayed milk letdown reflex." [ Why Do Some People Hate the Taste of Beer? ] What can this research collectively tell us about breast-feeding and booze? On one hand, Beauchamp said, "I think it is important for [mothers] to know that the still-prevalent idea that alcohol consumption somehow enhances breast-feeding has no scientific basis." On the other hand, Haastrup believes that moderate alcohol consumption is less of a hindrance to milk production than it may appear at first. The letdown seems only to be delayed by alcohol, not entirely stopped, she said. Studies have found that babies nursing from mothers who've consumed an alcoholic drink will still feed as much over a 16-hour period as babies whose mothers haven't imbibed at all. "There isn't a direct inhibition of milk production caused by alcohol, but it makes it a bit more difficult to start breast-feeding," Haastrup told Live Science. So, what's the verdict for Guinness? It seems that drinking it to enhance breast-milk production probably isn't the best course of action. For that, alcohol-free beers with all their barley-rich goodness might be a better bet. "That's why, in maternity wards in Denmark, they actually recommend alcohol-free beer," Haastrup said. "This is something we've known for ages." But breastfeeding aside, if a nursing mother just feels like having a pint to pass the time while her baby feeds, Haastrup said there's no reason why she shouldn't. "As far as I can see, there isn't a problem here as long as you follow the general recommendations, only drink occasionally, and drink responsibility," she said. For instance, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says that a nursing mother would be wise to wait for two hours after an alcoholic drink, before she feeds her infant again. And sure, the alcohol could trigger a temporary delay in milk production but then, that might just be worth it for the chance to kick back with the occasional beer. Original story on Live Science. SANDRA MCKINLEY Background: She was born in Miami in 1960. Her family moved to Auburn when she was 3 and then to Ithaca. She raised four sons, Brandon, 37, Quinton, 36, Justin, 33, and Jason, 32, and has six grandchildren. She is an administrative assistant for the state Department of Health, and a member of the congregation Freedom Christian Center Church on Delaware Avenue in Albany. You're the founder of D.I.V.A.s for Christ. What does it stand for? It stands for "Divinely, Inspired, Victoriously, Assigned sister." I see our young men and women in the South End and Arbor Hill where I've lived have no hope for a better tomorrow. They have adjusted their lives to what is, instead of fighting for what can be. Lately these communities have been dealing with shootings and stabbings. There's a lot of domestic violence. Some people have nowhere to go, nothing to do, no jobs skills. They're standing on the block. I talk to and minister and encourage people to let them know there is hope if they are willing to believe in God and themselves. I say, "Allow me to help you. It's going to take work. Nothing comes easy." What led you to this kind of outreach? My parents were migrant workers. In the summer they came up to Auburn and worked the fields, packing corn in King's Ferry. We lived in huts and ended up moving to Auburn and then to Ithaca. My father was really strict. We were sheltered, but at the age of 14 I became a girl gone wild. I was looking for a feeling that I never found. I fell for anything or anyone that made me feel good. I got hooked on crack and got into an abusive relationship. When I was stabbed by a sons' father, I heard a voice say, "If you close your eyes, you will never walk again." I truly believe I heard the voice of God. In 1995, I was dating a dealer. He was pulled over by the police and handed me his drugs, and I went to prison for possession. I still see him standing on the corner. I don't want our men and women standing on the corner when they're 50 or 60 because it's the only life they know. I lived a rough life because of the choices I made. Many of those that I work with have made bad choices and are living with the repercussions but they haven't been afforded the opportunity to make better choices. My four boys were in foster care. They were selling drugs and went to prison. I see the struggle they went through to become productive members of society. I've been at the Health Department since 2014. I work with great people. My son, Justin, died on April 30. He was struck by a truck while riding his bike near Kingston where he lived. God sent wonderful people into my life who helped me so that I was able to grieve. What do you do to help people? I have watched organizations come in and say they're going to do things to better the community and then we don't see changes. Things seem to be getting worse. Many of our young men and women are incarcerated. No jobs. No community center. Willie White of AVillage said something that really touched me. He said, "We are at a point where we need to hold everyone accountable! Ourselves, our elected officials, our community members and leaders. We need to find jobs for our people in Arbor Hill, South End, and West Hill. We need to fix our houses. We need to give our kids a safe place to grow up and a chance to succeed in life." People in our community are willing to put in the work, but they need to be given a chance. Let's give them the skill and the knowledge to rebuild their own community. I'm encouraging them to change the way they see life, change the defeated mentality, and stand on the power within them to become all that they were created to be. I'm working with AVillage. Our hope is that the work we do will ignite a passion in someone else who will get others to work with them and tackle the needs of our communities. We're trying to get some of our people into the construction union so they can be trained and have the ability to build their own business, build up their own communities, train their own people. The unions are willing to bring them in but again we come across a roadblock: they need a car and most of those I'm working with don't have a license much less a car. But we'll work on that. Are there grants available? Many of these people are discouraged. But they see my determination and it gives them hope. I won't let them fail. D.I.V.A.s also does a yearly Back to School event where we give away bookbags filled with school supplies. We try to find vouchers to help parents with school clothes and uniforms. We have a drive to help parents with Thanksgiving meals and Christmas gifts for the kids. Is there something you want for yourself personally? If I was to be granted one wish it would be to take my mom, whom I care for and who has dementia, back home to Florida. She keeps asking to go just one more time before God calls her home. Rob Brill Jerusalem Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has long demanded that the Palestinians acknowledge his country's existence as the "nation-state of the Jewish people." On Thursday, his ruling coalition stopped waiting around and pushed through a law that made it a fact. In an incendiary move hailed as historic by Netanyahu's right-wing coalition but denounced by centrists and leftists as racist, anti-democratic and potentially fatal to ideals of equality, the parliament enacted a foundational law that enshrines the right of national self-determination in Israel as "unique to the Jewish people" not to all of its citizens. The legislation, a "basic law" giving it the weight of a constitutional amendment omits any mention of democracy or the principle of equality, in what critics called a betrayal of Israel's 1948 Declaration of Independence, which ensured "complete equality of social and political rights" for "all its inhabitants" no matter their religion, race or sex. The new law promotes the development of Jewish communities, possibly aiding those who would seek to advance discriminatory land-allocation policies. And it downgrades Arabic from an official language to one with a "special status." With the political opposition too weak to mount a credible threat, and with the Trump administration providing a never-before-seen degree of U.S. support, Netanyahu's government, the most right-wing and religious coalition in Israel's 70-year history, has been pressing its advantages on multiple fronts. Opponents say the law will inevitably harm the fragile balance between the country's Jewish majority and Arab minority, which makes up about 21 percent of a population of nearly 9 million. If the new law was meant to give expression to Israel's national identity, it exposed and further divided an already deeply fractured society. It passed in the 120-seat parliament by a vote of 62-55. Just moments after the vote, Arab lawmakers ripped up copies of the bill while crying out, "Apartheid!" Despite a sleek marketing campaign, the world isn't quite ready to "Make in India." Last week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Korean President Moon Jae-in celebrated the inauguration of what Samsung Electronics called the world's largest mobile phone factory. At the splashy event just outside New Delhi, Modi said the facility was "extremely important" for his Make in India initiative to boost manufacturing to 25 percent of India's economy by 2020 and create millions of jobs. Samsung said the plant was a "shining example" of the success of the program. But the investment is more the exception than the norm. Data from the World Bank and the Reserve Bank of India show manufacturing hasn't received a significant boost since Modi took office in 2014. While India's economy has overtaken France to become the world's sixth largest, manufacturing has shrunk to about 15 percent of gross domestic product from a peak of 18.6 percent in 1995, according to the World Bank. Other data show new investments in India have dropped and stalled projects are on the rise. "The Samsung announcement is good news, but it must be seen as a one-off at present," says Vivek Dehejia, an associate professor of economics at Carleton University in Ottawa. "Make in India is a noble aspiration of the Modi government. Yet, in the absence of a supporting infrastructure and ease of doing business environment, it's a tough challenge." The initiative is a worthwhile attempt to lure global businesses, analysts say, but it hasn't been accompanied by enough meaningful changes to revive manufacturing or alter what is essentially a services-oriented economy. Spokesmen for the Prime Minister's Office and the commerce ministry didn't respond to requests for comment. Unlike Beijing's Made in China 2025 program -- which targets strategic industries from robotics to new-energy vehicles through state investment and subsidies -- Modi's Make in India plan is more of an investment promotion strategy. One of the key reforms under the initiative launched in 2014 was the loosening up of foreign investment restrictions in several sectors, including defense. However, private data shows investment is falling. The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy show new project investments have dropped to 6.62 trillion rupees ($96.6 billion) in the financial year ended March from 18.7 trillion rupees in fiscal 2015. The value of stalled projects climbed to 7.63 trillion rupees from 5.29 trillion during that period. Even data from the Reserve Bank of India's bulletin show that corporate capital expenditure has fallen since Modi came to power. Modi's Make in India project hasn't worked, in part because Indian companies invested heavily for years until 2012, well before Modi's election, and now have excess industrial capacity, said Mahesh Vyas, CMIE's chief executive officer. "It now needs to wait for these capacities to be absorbed fully before new capacities are built aggressively again," Vyas said. He added "the world has become a lot more protectionist and is more keen to retain employment on its shores than exporting these to other countries." Those capacities have done little to temper growth in imports of foreign-made goods. Rising purchases of smartphones and TVs have made electronics India's second-biggest import item after oil, and is pushing the nation's trade deficit wider. Under Modi, record foreign direct investment has flowed into India and the country's ease of doing business ranking has improved. Most investment, such as Amazon.com Inc.'s $5 billion commitment to expand operations in India, has gone into the nation's dominant services and technology industries. FDI remains just 1.2 percent of India's overall investment, according to Bloomberg Economics analyst Abhishek Gupta. High-profile investments from foreign firms "should not be confused with an overall improvement in investment activity in India," he said. With more jobs created in the services sector, Modi's program should focus on investments there, said Gupta. "Job creation in India could hugely benefit if Make in India's focus is expanded to include more services, relative to its overemphasis on manufacturing," Gupta said. "India's tough labor laws and higher bureaucratic entry barriers into manufacturing, along with its widespread fluency in English -- a boon in global services -- suggests that its comparative advantage lies in services." Even the Make in India program's mascot -- a lion composed of gears -- hasn't avoided the onerous regulations and occasional political interference that are still common in India and a key obstacle to investment. A large lion statue, built by one of India's state-owned companies to promote the manufacturing program, reportedly ran afoul of rules when it was placed outside the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion in New Delhi. And a separate branding exercise involving colorful lion structures in Mumbai led to accusations they violated local heritage regulations. "Manufacturing's share of GDP continues to stagnate in India as in other major economies. One large deal will not change that overnight," Dehejia said. CUC PHUONG NATIONAL PARK, Vietnam - In a rescue center, the pangolin slowly wakes and uncurls, sniffing out a nighttime feast of ants' eggs, then lapping it up with its implausibly long tongue. One of 74 pangolins rescued from the back of a truck in Vietnam in April, its survival has defied the odds. This almost mystical creature, looking like a cross between an anteater and an armadillo but unrelated to either, is the world's most trafficked mammal: A million of them are thought to have been poached from the wild in just a decade. Already almost wiped out in China, the pangolin is fast disappearing from the jungles of the rest of Asia and, increasingly, from Africa, to supply China's booming market in traditional medicine. Now, as China pushes to export traditional medicine around the world under the umbrella of its Belt and Road investment plan, many wildlife experts fear that the animal faces extinction - unless something changes very soon. "Traditional Chinese medicine should be a healing force for good, but not at the expense of animal cruelty or the extinction of species," said Iris Ho, wildlife program manager at Humane Society International. China's decision to ban the ivory trade at the end of last year gave hope to those battling elephant poaching, "but the real litmus test lies within China's action - or lack of action - in pangolin conservation," Ho said. The air of mystery attaching to the reclusive pangolin has been its downfall, sparking an unjustified belief that its scales have magical medicinal properties. In hospitals and pharmacies across China and Vietnam, powder made from pangolin scales is prescribed for an impossibly wide range of ailments, including rheumatism, wound infections, skin disorders, coronary heart disease and even cancer. Mothers take powdered pangolin scales to help them lactate, while men drink pangolin blood or consume fetuses in the belief that this will make them more virile. The use of pangolins in Chinese medicine dates back thousands of years: A 16th-century document recommends eating their scales to reduce swelling, invigorate blood circulation and promote lactation. A 1938 article in Nature suggests they were used to treat malaria, deafness, "hysterical crying" in children and women possessed by "devils and ogres." In fact, the scales are made of keratin, a fibrous protein that is the main ingredient of hair, feathers, claws and hoofs throughout the animal kingdom; patients might as well chew their own fingernails. Pangolins are also served at the dinner table, despite a ban on pangolin meat in China imposed during the 2002-2004 SARS epidemic amid fears that exotic meats could spread disease. In late 2016, all eight species of pangolin were listed on Appendix One of the Convention on Trade in International Species (CITES), making all international trade in them illegal. But that does not obligate China or Vietnam to curb domestic trade - except to the extent that such trade is now sourced mostly from abroad. Customs officials make regular seizures at China's ports, but the very size of those captures makes depressing reading: In the southern city of Shenzhen, 13 tons of scales were seized last November alone, representing tens of thousands of slaughtered pangolins. Nocturnal and solitary, the pangolin has an effective defense against most predators - even lions can't work out what to do when the animal rolls up into an armored ball. Its English name comes from the Malay word "pengguling," which means rolling ball; its Chinese name, "chuanshanjia," refers to its supposed ability to "bore through mountains," a reference to the powerful claws that dig into anthills and termite mounds before that sticky tongue gets to work. Mothers carry their young on their backs for the first three months and curl up around the babies if attacked until the young ones' scales are sufficiently hard. But the sensitive pangolin adapts poorly to captivity, almost always dying in a few months or years because of stress, disease or digestive problems, without reproducing. Secretive pangolin "farms" in China are basically fronts for trafficking operations, experts say. Conservation groups are trying to reduce demand by educating people about the dangers facing the pangolin and better ways to treat disease than by consuming keratin. The China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation, a nonprofit group, has publicly exposed people selling or consuming pangolin meat, including a Chinese businessman who boasted online of enjoying "pangolin blood fried rice" on a trip to Vietnam. After a social media backlash, he was sacked. WildAid, whose use of Chinese celebrities to curb demand for ivory and shark fin soup has achieved considerable success, is trying the same approach for pangolins, enlisting actors Jackie Chan and Angelababy in China and former Miss Universe Pham Huong in Vietnam to front publicity campaigns. It is also trying to persuade traditional medicine practitioners to use alternative treatments. Peter Knights, WildAid's founder, argues that traditional Chinese medicine needs to stop using endangered wildlife products if it wants to become more accepted globally. "If you want to expand it, you've got to clean it up," he says, citing as precedents the removal of tiger bone and rhinoceros horn from China's list of approved ingredients. But surveys by the Aita Foundation and Humane Society International and by the U.S. Agency for International Development Wildlife Asia project suggest that the message is not yet getting through to the small but significant percentage of Chinese who still consume pangolin products. Changing minds won't be easy as long as China's government promotes the "medicinal" use of pangolin scales. Authorities claim to have a stockpile from which they supply hospitals and pharmacies with 26 tons of scales every year but offer no transparency about that process, effectively legitimizing the entire smuggling trade. China also sparked controversy at a recent CITES meeting by arguing that it should have the right to purchase stockpiles of scales from other countries that were amassed before the Appendix One listing, an interpretation of the convention's rules not shared by the United States or many other nations. Meanwhile, on Vietnam's border with China, powerful criminal gangs control the trafficking of people, drugs and wildlife products, bribing officials to turn a blind eye. Scott Roberton of the Wildlife Conservation Society in Vietnam says it is hard to convince Asian governments of the importance of saving pangolins, as compared to elephants, rhinos and tigers. He hopes to gain traction by stressing how pangolin trafficking is caught up with other forms of transnational crime and by highlighting the public-health risks of the trade. But the odds are steep. China's traditional medicine authorities have unveiled an ambitious plan to expand along the Belt and Road trade routes, with 57 international cooperation projects due to get underway this year. And reports of Chinese companies' trying to open pangolin "farms" in Africa, and of scales being prescribed by Chinese doctors in places as farflug as South Africa and the United States, have intensified conservationists' fears. Nguyen Van Thai, the founder of Save Vietnam's Wildlife who runs the rescue center in Cuc Phuong National Park, says there is still no good strategy for curbing demand for scales or persuading the Chinese government that its support for the pangolin trade could damage its global reputation. "China wants to show its power," he said. "The more pressure you put on them, the more they resist." - - - The Washington Post's Liu Yang in Beijing contributed to this report. Mondays press conference featured Trumps favorite strongman (Russian President Vladimir Putin) and Trumps greatest adversary (himself). Photo: Yari Kadobnov/AFP/Getty Images President Trump was angry that a reporter was allowed to ask him a difficult question during his disastrous press conference with Russian president Vladimir Putin on Monday, according to sources who spoke with the Washington Post. Trump reportedly complained to his staff about having to face AP reporter Jonathan Lemires query about whether he still believed Putins denials about Russias election interference, and whether he would call out and condemn the interference in front of the Russian leader. Trump wanted to know why Lemire had been called on instead of a reporter who would ask him an easier question. Who do you believe?, Lemire had asked, referring to Trumps well- established disbelief in the U.S. intelligence communitys ironclad conclusions about Russias efforts to subvert Americas democracy. Would you now, the reporter continued, with the whole world watching, tell President Putin would you denounce what happened in 2016, and would you warn him to never do it again? Trumps answer was a slow-motion political trainwreck for the ages: Asked if he believes US intel agencies or Putin about Russia's interference in the 2016 election, Trump immediately starts pushing debunked DNC & Hillary conspiracy theories. "I don't see any reason why it would be" Russia, Trump says, affirming he believes Putin's denials. pic.twitter.com/uciAoRxbxA Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 16, 2018 The week only got worse for the president, his staff, and his party after that, though its still not clear Trump understands why just as its not clear how he could have possibly expected to avoid such an inevitable line of questioning in Helsinki, something his beleaguered aides surely tried to prepare him for ahead of time. (They told him afterward that any journalist would have asked the same question at that point in the press conference.) Over the next few days, Trump attempted a stunningly terrible walk back, called the media the real enemy of the American people, and came up with some creative ways to extend the whole mess. Trumps anger over having to answer Lemires question not his failure in attempting to do so lingered on. Speaking with CNBC, Trump later characterized (and distorted) the exchange as fools from the media saying, Why didnt you stand there, look him in the face, walk over to him, and start shouting at him? I said, Are these people crazy? I want to make a deal. After a week that arguably illustrates Trumps inability to handle reality better than any other during his fantastical presidency, he should be careful who he calls crazy. A day after Rahul Gandhi accused the government of not bringing petrol and diesel under the GST, Union Minister Arun Jaitley today reminded the Congress President that it was the UPA which did not include - while proposing GST amendment to the Constitution - petroleum products under the new taxation system. He said: "Is he (Rahul Gandhi) unaware of the fact that the UPA proposed GST amendment to the Constitution never included petroleum products as part of the GST? It is only the NDA which brought it within the GST with tax to be levied once agreed by the GST Council." Rahul Gandhi while speaking in the Parliament during no-confidence motion had said that the Congress wanted to bring petrol and diesel under a single-rate GST. Currently, crude oil, natural gas, diesel, petrol and aviation turbine fuel are out of the new taxation system. Moving on to Rafale issue raised by the Congress President on Friday, Arun Jaitley today said that Rahul Gandhi concocted a conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron and by doing so he has lowered his own credibility and seriously hurt the image of an Indian politician before the world at large. "Not to be aware of the fact that UPA Government Minister had signed the secrecy pact is not understandable. He now seeks to embarrass Dr Manmohan Singh by implicitly insinuating that Dr Singh was a witness to the conversation being wholly unaware that his own government had entered into the secrecy pact," the Union Minister said in a Facebook post. "Rahul has repeatedly shown that he is ignorant of facts. But to insist on disclosure of financial details, which indirectly involves the disclosures of the strategic equipment on the aircraft, is to hurt national interest. Cost gives away a clue to the weaponry in the aircraft," the Minister said. He was responding to the Congress President's charge that the government was lying to the nation on the issue of sharing details of the Rafale jet deal. Addressing the Lok Sabha during no-confidence motion against the Modi government, Rahul Gandhi said that the French President had in a personal conversation told him that there was no problem in sharing details relating to the Rafale deal. However, hours after Gandhi's comments, the French Foreign Ministry said that France had signed a security pact with India in 2008 which legally binds the two countries to protect the classified information which could impact security and operational capabilities of the defence equipment. Explaining the significance of a no-confidence motion, Arun Jaitley said that a vote of no confidence against the government is a serious business. "It is not an occasion for frivolity. The lead participants in the debate are normally senior political leaders. They are expected to raise the level of political discourse. If a participant happens to be a President of a national political party nourishing Prime Ministerial aspirations, every word he speaks should be precious. His facts should convey credibility. Facts are always sacrosanct. None should ever trivialise the debate. Those who desire to be Prime Minister never blend ignorance, falsehood and acrobatics," the Minister said. In September 2016, India signed an inter-governmental agreement with France for procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of around Rs 58,000 crore - nearly one-and-half years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the proposal during a visit to Paris. The delivery of the jets is scheduled to begin from September 2019. The Congress had raised several questions about the deal including the rates, and accused the government of compromising national interest and security while causing a loss to the public exchequer. It has alleged that the deal negotiated under its rule was much cheaper than the contract signed by the Modi government. The government has been refusing to divulge details of the deal citing confidentiality provisions of an Indo-French pact of 2008. A University of the Incarnate Word student accused of smuggling $900,000 of suspected drug money in a private plane waived a probable cause hearing Friday and pushed back his detention hearing until the end of July. Juan Pablo Hoyos Avila, 19, an international student who has lived in San Antonio since at least 2013, was arrested this week with a high-profile co-defendant as the plane was about to leave for Monterrey, Mexico. Looking into a tip, U.S. customs agents found more than $879,000 inside the plane, according to court records. Hoyos lawyers, Robert Jimenez and Eddie Garcia, met with federal prosecutors and agents Friday morning before Hoyos scheduled preliminary and detention hearings in federal court in San Antonio. Jimenez later told U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard Farrer that Hoyos would waive the preliminary hearing but that all lawyers had agreed to postpone the detention hearing. Jimenez told reporters afterward that waiving the preliminary hearing has nothing to say about the weight of the evidence. He added that were still in the process of gathering information for Hoyos bail hearing, which was rescheduled for July 30. Jimenez declined to discuss any of Hoyos personal details, including information from the Federal Aviation Administration showing that Hoyos has a pilots license or how Hoyos knew his co-defendant, Rafael Gabriel Martinez Leal. Both are facing a bulk-cash smuggling charge, for which they could receive up to five years in prison if convicted. Martinez, also 19, lives in a wealthy suburb of Monterrey and is a cousin of the wife of the governor of Tamaulipas, a northern Mexican state that borders Texas. Martinez is also a cousin of a politician that Mexicos incoming president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, picked to head his Morena political party in Tamaulipas. Hoyos has had a Texas drivers license since 2013, has lived in an $800,000 home in Stone Oak with his father and had declared business administration as a course of study at UIW, according to public records. According to court documents, Hoyos told customs agents he collected money for Martinez and held it for him at his San Antonio apartment. He also said he knew the money agents seized was something like undeclared cash or drug money, court record said. Martinez, meanwhile, took full responsibility for the smuggling of U.S. currency and told agents that he had transported about $1 million a week for nine months, the court documents said. Martinez is scheduled for his hearings July 26. Both remain in a federal jail in San Antonio. Hoyos relatives who attended the scheduled hearings Friday declined comment, but his father described his son as a good kid. The father said he did not know Martinez. Guillermo Contreras covers federal court and immigration news in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | gcontreras@express-news.net | Twitter: @gmaninfedland FIA should crack down online mudslinging against candidates: Senate ISLAMABAD: The Senates Standing Committee on Interior has called upon the government, especially the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), to crack down upon mudslinging against candidates online in the run-up to the general election. As objectionable material is being uploaded from abroad so it becomes difficult to take action. We are trying our best to investigate the matter and take action against the elements concerned, but there is a lack of coordination between the FIA and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the investigation agencys cybercrime director, retired captain Muhammad Shoaib, said in a statement before the committee. Dwelling upon the damage being done to electioneering via social media, Senator Ateeq Shaikh said some elements had posted disrespectful pictures of politicians that place their faces on animals such as donkeys and dogs. These elements circulating such images on social media want to sabotage election activities and bring unrest to the country, he said. The senator expressed alarm over an image of a grave being used as an election symbol. I asked the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) but was told that the grave was not included in the list of election symbols, Ateeq Shaikh said. Mr Shaikh was of the view that stringent measures had become unavoidable to contain abuse of social media by elements out to damage credibility of the election process. Muhammad Shoaib, the FIA official, said major politicians like Shehla Raza, Talha Mahmood, Pir Sadaruddin Shah, Ayesha Gulalai, Faheem Mughal, Mir Muhammad Sadiq and others had lodged complaints with the FIA that they were being defamed over social media. He claimed that his agency was doing its best to catch the culprits. Senator Rehman Malik, who chairs the committee, urged the FIA and PTA to hammer out a concerted strategy for redress of complaints. He added that to deal with cybercrime issues effectively, it was crucial that the capacity of the cybercrime cell be augmented. He suggested that the PTA buy equipment for automatic detection of derogatory remarks and objectionable material on social media because it was impossible to monitor social media manually. Alamo Plaza is perhaps the most important civic space in our city. San Antonians celebrate our heritage, demonstrate, protest, gather for vigils, watch parades, and conduct presidential politics in the Plaza. Immigrants become new citizens on the Plaza, and our militarys officers are commissioned there. As we pursue needed revitalization to preserve and showcase this sacred site with the proper reverence, the Alamo Plaza must remain at the heart of our civic life. The still-evolving Alamo plan must preserve public access to this community space. We oppose any type of barrier that that would limit access to Plaza at any time, other than for special events. A vital part of our heritage is at stake. Even before the legendary 1836 battle, the indigenous and the Spanish colonial missions grounds and plaza were the center of our communitys history. Today, almost everyone agrees that the current state of Alamo Plaza is unacceptable. The visitor and education experience is underwhelming, and the commercial activities on the Plaza are inappropriate in the context of the heritage and historic battlefield at the site. So, it is fitting that the City of San Antonio partner with the Texas General Land Office and Alamo Endowment to ensure that the Alamo can continue to define our citys heritage and civic life for the next three hundred years. While we extend due reverence to those who fought and died at the Battle of the Alamo, we must also recognize the history and tradition embodied in the Plaza. Some suggest that the Alamo should be a more reverent space, in honor of the many indigenous peoples buried at the site, as well as the defenders of Texas liberty who gave their lives there. We agree. However, while the complete story should be told and Texas heroes honored, the ultimate design for Alamo Plaza should not try to change its history as a civic space. It would be a disservice to our community to limit freedom of speech at our states most recognizable landmark. Similarly, the Alamo should be welcoming to all who wish to visit. Some cite security as a primary reason to limit access to Alamo Plaza. While sensible precautions should be included in design plans to address safety concerns, ensuring consistent pedestrian access is essential to facilitating the Alamos role as a public space. The Archdiocese of San Antonio transferred title of the Alamo property to the City of San Antonio in 1871 on the condition that the Alamo and the plaza remain open for public access. Additionally, we hope that revised designs attempt to preserve the historic buildings that define that very civic space. The Alamo Plaza Citizen Advisory Committee, by providing input to the Alamo Management Committee, continues resolving all aspects of the draft interpretive plan including final placement of the restored Cenotaph, location of a new museum and traffic rerouting. These and the many other important decisions will be determined with continued public input and due deliberation. Closing Alamo Street to daily traffic may ultimately be necessary to accommodate activities and visitors. However, any closure needs to occur thoughtfully and only in the context of a new traffic plan to provide access to the area. Special attention must also consider the parades. Does the closure of Alamo need to impact routes that would threaten the Battle of Flowers and Fiesta Flambeau parades? This is something that first must be fully investigated and addressed. We believe that every opportunity to create a solution that allows for the continuation of these traditions should be explored. In the coming months, the community will continue to be engaged in the design of Alamo Plaza. The Alamo Plaza Advisory Committee will be finding the right balance between tradition and transformation of the area. We respect their work and look forward to their recommendations to make Alamo Plaza great for Texas and San Antonio. Ron Nirenberg is mayor of San Antonio, Nelson Wolff is Bexar County Judge and Roberto Trevi no represents City Council District 1. Over the last three decades, demographers have told us that there would come a day when the white population would begin to decline and subsequently become less than half of the U.S. population. The first of these expectations is now here, about a decade earlier than projected. Mid-year population projections, prepared by the U.S. Census Bureau, indicate that there were nearly 32,000 fewer whites in the nation in 2017 than in 2016, a reduction of 0.02 percent. The white population decrease resulted from natural decline (approximately 178,000 more deaths than births), though 146,000 whites migrating from outside of the country. While the addition of multiracial individuals who identify white as one of their races creates white population gain, it is only an increase of 144,000, the smallest absolute change among single-race and multiple-race whites over the last decade. These patterns are consistent with a study that my colleague, Kenneth Johnson from the University of New Hampshire, and I, published recently. Our research shows that there are 26 states now that have more white deaths than births, including nine of the largest 15 states in the country: California, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Michigan, New Jersey, Arizona and Massachusetts. States where white deaths outnumber births have a higher share of their population being 65 and older, relatively low birth rates, and a shrinking portion of women capable of giving birth. Put simply, with an overall median age of 45, an aging white population produces more deaths than births. These trends suggest that by 2045, perhaps even sooner, whites will no longer be the numerical majority, quite a difference from 1940 when whites accounted for 88.3 percent of the U.S. population. The 21st century will increasingly see a growing Latino population and a declining white population. The Latino population increased by 1.2 million between 2016 and 2017, accounting for nearly 53 percent of the overall national growth during this period. As immigration from Mexico has plummeted over the last decade, Latino population growth is increasingly driven by natural increase (more births than deaths) associated with its youthfulness (median age of 29.8). Whereas there are only 0.95 children for every one elderly person among whites, there are 4.4 children for one elderly person among Latinos. As such, the relative presence of Latinos has increased. In 1980, there were 12.3 whites for every one Latino in the United States; today there are 3.4 whites to every one Latino and the ratio is projected to drop to 1.6 by 2060. This is the demographic reality of the United States. A country where whites have enjoyed political, economic, social, cultural, and demographic supremacy is changing fast. For many whites, this is uncharted territory. Many want their country back the one that they knew before there were so many people of Mexican origin and other non-whites. Many whites view these individuals as threats to their way of life, culture, and the comfort and security of their white space that they long enjoyed. It is this anxiety and fear that Donald Trump capitalized on as he initiated his presidential campaign. Lets make America great again, he proclaimed, promising to take the country back to 1940 when approximately nine of every ten Americans were white. On the campaign trail, Trump promised white supporters that he would make America great again. Keeping people of color out of the country and deporting those already here became a major priority with Mexicans and Muslims being particular targets. His modus operandi has been travel bans against people from certain countries with large Muslim populations, massive detention and deportation of unauthorized immigrants, and now the willful and cruel separation of children from their parents fleeing violence in Central America. These efforts are meant to stir the ire, hate, and racism of his supporters against invaders and criminals who are coming to destroy our country. Trump also uses these endeavors to stem demographic shifts making the country less white. Trump has other tricks up his sleeve to control the political strength of people of color. These have included the short-lived Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity under the leadership of Kris Kobach, set on making it more difficult for people of color to vote. And they include plans to revamp the drug wars to enhance the mass incarceration and by association, disenfranchisement of people of color. Major cuts to funding for the preparation and execution of the upcoming Census 2020, which will be conducted mostly online, along with the inclusion of a question on citizenship, will undoubtedly increase the undercount of Latinos and other persons of color. Now Trump has selected a replacement to Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court, which will tilt the Court solidly to the right and against people of color. Yet, demographic strength does not necessarily translate to political power. Look at Texas, which has the second largest Latino population in the country. With whites holding a slim 730,000 population advantage over Latinos in the state, Latinos are on track to become the numerical majority in four years. Nonetheless, Texas continues to be one of the reddest states in the country with Democrats last winning a statewide election in 1994. Despite its demographic imminence, the majority of Latinos in Texas are ineligible to vote because they are less than 18 years of age (33.1 percent) or adults who are not U.S. citizens (19.3 percent). Furthermore, Republicans have perfected political strategies to stem the political representation and voting of Latinos and African Americans. These methods include gerrymandering. Nationwide, Texas was the clear winner in population growth between 2000 and 2010 with the state gaining four new U.S. congressional seats. Texas triumph was due to a growth of 3.8 million non-white persons alongside a gain of 464,000 whites. But the new congressional seats were constructed to be white Republican congressional districts. Texas has also developed a voter ID law to make it more difficult for people of color to vote. And the Evenwel v. Abbott lawsuit that went all the way to the Supreme Court sought to change the way congressional districts are drawn, calling for the configuration of these on the basis of eligible voters rather than the total population, a method that would significantly reduce the political representation of Latinos. Fortunately, the Supreme Court voted against Evenwel in April 2016. The demographic attributes of the Latino population, along with Republican political ploys work in conjunction to keep Texas red. The aging white population in the U.S. is experiencing population decline largely because white deaths are outnumbering births. This demographic reality has major implications for the future of the country. Latinos, in particular, will be an increasingly important segment of the future of the country and all of its institutions including the economy, the healthcare system, universities, the military, places of worship, and the mass media. In his misguided vision to make America great again, Trump is taking the country to the past, a route that promotes hate and racism. In the path to make America truly great, we need to take into account the new demographic reality and look to a future that fosters hope and prosperity for all. If Bexar County is serious about ensuring people are not stuck in jail simply because they are poor, it has to ensure a public defender is present at every initial appearance to represent the indigent. Thats not happening. An initial appearance, known in Texas as magistration, is when charges are filed and bond is set for defendants. The prosecutor, judge and defendant are all present. But there is often no defense attorney, meaning there is no one to argue for a lower bond or to ensure a person does not make any incriminating statements. Its a terrible hole, said Norman Lefstein, an indigent defense expert and professor at Indiana Universitys Robert H. McKinney School of Law. You lose a lot, potentially, when you dont have a lawyer there because thats when pretrial release decisions start to be made. Bexar County can, and should, change this. As we outlined in a previous editorial, the countys far-too-small Public Defenders Office does provide some representation at initial appearances, but this representation is limited to defendants with mental health issues. Still, according to county reports, the program has made a difference in terms of better outcomes for these defendants. Those lucky enough to receive public defender representation at initial appearances are more likely to meet their bond conditions. They are more likely to receive mental health and drug treatment upon release, according to county reviews. But, alas, public defenders only represent a fraction even of those defendants with mental health issues. This alone reflects the need for public defenders to be present at magistration, but the need is magnified by the countys reaction to a years-long bail reform lawsuit in Harris County. In February, three judges with the the conservative-leaning 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals largely upheld a lower courts ruling that Harris Countys cash bail practices were inherently unfair to the indigent. In that ruling, Judge Edith Brown Clement, offered a poignant and striking example of two defendants accused of the same crime, but of different means. The wealthy arrestee could make bail, but the poor one could not. As a result, the wealthy arrestee is less likely to plead guilty, more likely to receive a shorter sentence or be acquitted, and less likely to bear the social costs of incarceration, she wrote. The poor arrestee, by contrast, must bear the brunt of all of these, simply because he has less money than his wealthy counterpart. In response, Bexar County quickly established a pilot program for 48-hour bond review hearings. The idea being to catch any defendants who might not have received an appropriate bond at magistration. In June, for example, 149 personal recognizance bonds were granted and eight bonds were reduced. In May, 96 people were released on personal recognizance bonds, and 18 bonds were reduced. Well be focusing on bail reform, the Harris County lawsuit, this bond review pilot program and the countys reliance on jail court in an upcoming editorial. But the relevant point here: the creation of these bond review hearings only underscores the need to get it right at initial appearances. Indigent defendants will still get court-appointed representation later in the process. But having a public defender provide representation at magistration, that initial phase, would go a long way in this regard. If the county is motivated on one end of the process, setting up a pilot program to backstop bond practices, it needs to be motivated on the other end and provide representation to minimize the need for these hearings. There is no question that studies have shown that representation at initial appearances, representation at bail hearings, has positive outcomes in terms of obtaining pretrial release for individuals and also has positive outcomes in preventing re-arrest and also obtaining favorable outcomes at trial, Jennifer E. Laurin, a professor with the University of Texas at Austin School of Law. This would also fit with the countys goal of reducing its jail population. As we wrote in last Sundays editorial about the countys new Justice Intake and Assessment Center (and the frustrating inability of the city of San Antonio and the county to work together), jail population is the invisible force behind much of this reform discussion. The jail is often at or near capacity, creating logistical challenges for the sheriffs office. Its also a mammoth county expense. Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff has fully endorsed having the public defenders provide representation to all indigent defendants at initial appearances, but he expressed concern the judiciary and private bar would fight this idea. Why? Providing representation at initial hearings is the standard practice for federal public defenders. The private bar would not be losing any clients although not having a client sit in jail waiting to plead guilty just might force private appointed attorneys to provide better representation. Its also not uncharted territory. Over the last year, the Harris County Public Defenders Office has provided representation to all indigent defendants at initial appearances. In an interview, Alex Bunin, chief public defender, said hed long lobbied for this practice. But it was the bail lawsuit that spurred the county to put the idea into action. You can see that if you had a lawyer there arguing for bail, then that takes away some of the issue of whether or not all considerations were made by the magistrate including the ability to pay, he said. Having a defense attorney present, he said, has also streamlined these hearings and helped defendants avoid making incriminating statements. Providing this representation 24 hours a day, seven days a week, requires six attorneys a day, he said. And, of course, Harris County is much bigger. Bexar County Chief Public Defender Michael Young said his office could do this at little additional cost. Maybe one or two more attorneys. That struck us as surprisingly low, but Young said his office is already on site representing defendants with mental illness. It wouldnt take much to expand to all indigents. We have already made most of the initial investment to get us there, he said. To be clear: We view this as only one part of a larger public defender office expansion. A more robust public defenders office akin to the office in Harris County would be a crucial competitor and complement to the private court appointed attorney system. But expanding the office to represent all indigent defendants at magistration is a crucial (and doable) step for the county to take. After all, if the county is serious about reducing the jail population, and ensuring people dont sit in jail simply because they are too poor to afford an attorney, then it needs to provide an attorney at these initial appearances. This editorial is part of the Unequal Justice series, which explores the inequities in Bexar County's criminal justice system and how they can be fixed. From cattle to horses, from sheep to the very finest in arts and crafts, you name it this weekend's Granard Agricultural Show has it. From early morning exhibitors could be seen filing through the front entrances to the north Longford town's Higginstown Complex in anticipation of what was to come. By late morning, the crowds started to emerge with young families and more seasoned show spectators all keen to take in what has readily become one of the must see agricultural events on the local calendar. Special guest, award winning author John Connell, conducted the formalities as he opened proceedings shortly after lunchtime. He spoke of the inimitable appeal occasions like this weekend offer young and old alike. "Granard is a place that looms large for all the right reasons in my life and this Show is testament to just how wonderful Granard can be and is," he said, in between joking over how he was especially keen to take in the cattle classes. "We have the best of stock here today. I am a bit biased of course as I do like the cattle but we breed horses at home too and there are wonderful, wonderful animals here on show." The best selling author and brains behind the much talked about 'The Cow Book', said the spectacle was one which also illustrated the continued relevance of country life. "The importance of rural Ireland has never been more paramount than in this moment. We here people say: 'Oh, we are moving to Dublin because the city is all important in the country we live in now'. But that's not the case as it's days like this which prove that rural Ireland has something to give back to the community, something to celebrate and that it's something of importance. "This is where are culture comes from, it's where we draw our strength and knowledge from and it's also a place where we find our joy and we can see that in the young and old who have come to celebrate what is our culture, our farming culture." Among the many interested observers the Leader managed to catch up with were Monaghan's Paddy Leonard and Cavan man Sean McGee. Both men were there to show off a handful of Texl Sheep. ALSO READ: Double the fun at the Granard Show "It's six or seven years since I was here," said Paddy, as he gazed out onto a bustling show field. "I was at the Dundalk Show last Sunday would I come up to the Granard Show and show a lock of sheep, so I said I would." A short distance away, 17-year-old Conor Craig could be seen delicately clipping one of four Aberdeen Angus' which he had brought with him from the family farm in Coolarty. "It's good to see a local show in a small town," said his proud mum, Martina as she watched her son in action. "It's great to see a small town put on a display like this and there is twice as much happening as there was last year. There are bigger towns out there with bigger populations that are struggling to have a show and there is huge work that is put in by the committee, so it's great to see." For more, see next week's Longford Leader. Judge Seamus Hughes remanded a woman who failed to appear at two previous court sittings in custody last week. Serena Maguire, 74 Rialto Court, Dublin 8 was brought before last weeks District Court sitting to face a number of road traffic charges. Sergeant James Buckley gave evidence of arresting Ms Maguire at 3:20pm the previous afternoon before charging Ms Maguire at Mullingar Garda Station. He said Ms Maguire made no reply to each of the charges before handing her a true copy of her respective charge sheets. Sgt Buckley added he also executed two bench warrants that were outstanding from Dundalk and Dublin District Courts, revealing both were effectively warrants on warrants. As he was asked by Judge Hughes how he came across Ms Maguire, Sgt Buckley said he had inadvertently stopped her at a garda checkpoint as she travelled with her partner. In defence, Brid Mimnagh said Ms Maguire was not in a good place following the untimely death of her mother. Judge Hughes was quick to respond to that pretext as he looked down at one of Ms Maguires outstanding bench warrants which dates back to February. Her mother was still alive in February and she failed to show up then, queried the judge. Sgt Buckley said Ms Maguire was no stranger to failing to appear with six previous bench warrants having been taken out against her. Ms Mimnagh swiftly interjected by contending her client had assured her she would appear at her next court date. It is Tuesday, replied Judge Hughes. If it was Friday I would listen to you. Ms Mimnagh, not for the want of trying, did her best to alter the judges thinking, adding Ms Maguire was very anxious to be granted bail. And I am anxious to give it to her, responded Judge Hughes. But she isnt getting it and she knows why she isnt getting it. He consequently remanded her in custody until last Thursday. In doing so, he also handed down a 250 fine to the defendant along with a four year driving ban after Ms Maguire entered a guilty plea to driving without insurance earlier this month in Kinnegad. She got the car for 100 and was driving to Athlone to try and sell the car, said Ms Mimnagh. The court, at that juncture, learned that Ms Maguire had been convicted of no insurance in February 2017 and also fined 250. As he issued a four year disqualification and 250 fine to Ms Maguire for having no drivers licence in place at the time, he cautioned her against being tempted to drive without insurance in the future. If you are caught driving again with no insurance it is highly likely you will go to prison, he told her. Apple has rightly received a slap on the hands from European regulators and wait, it was Google? That cant be right. Writing for Bloomberg, Leonid Bershidsky says Apple Deserves an EU Fine, Too. Sure. Why not? Heck why not give it two? Seems like two oughta do it. Three is not out of consideration. Four seems like a little much, but The Macalope would be willing to entertain serious arguments. Five is right out. (What are we talking about?) Google isnt the only tech giant with anticompetitive practices. Yes! True! Except. Heres what happened: the EU fined Google for making Android OEMs bundle its search and browser software with phones. Now, one difference between Google and Apple is that Apple doesnt license its operating system to OEMs. Another difference, and you may have read this somewhereor if youre Leonid Bershidsky, you may have actually written it somewhereAndroid has a far higher market share than iOS does. And, in cases of antitrust violations, these things matter. The European Commission had solid antitrust reasons for fining Google 4.3 billion euros ($5 billion) for violations including the bundling of certain apps with the Android operating systemand for not going after Apple for similar behavior. But what if we made up our own imaginary rules about antitrust violations and applied them without any sort of legal basis? What then? Why, then Apple should also be fined! The most important infraction by Google in the EU ruling is the illegal tying of its search and browser apps to the Android operating system. if Google is at fault for its de facto monopoly in Android app stores, Apple should be held to account for a similar violation. Not legally, no! Apples share of the market is less than 20 percent, Googles about 75 percent. And Android phones are generally cheaper than iPhones. So for some customers, their only choice is an Android phone. Its probably not surprising that Bershidsky cant wrap his skull meat around the differences. Bershidsky also seemed to think only iPhones have been made in factories with poor labor practices. When you think that Apple is the cause of every problem, it makes sense to think it should get punished for everything. When setting up a new phone, users should see a list of browser apps, with ratings from users and independent reviewers, along with a list of email applications and mapping and navigation apps. Users should also be asked if they wish to store settings in plist files or JSON and whether programming arrays should be indexed from 0 or 1. Oh, and what runtime compiler they prefer. Really, just bury them under a withering number of options, so many options they just give up and throw the phone in the trash. Make setting up a phone a real nightmare. The experience of Microsoft, which was forced by the EU to give users a choice of browsers on Windows computers (it was fined twice for not doing so) shows that letting people decide for themselves creates a level playing field for competition. And why was Microsoft fined? Because it had 98 percent of the market. APPLE WILL SOON GO OUT OF BUSINESS BECAUSE IT HAS A TINY PERCENTAGE OF THE MARKET. Oh, and it should also be regulated like its got, like, 99.99 percent. That just seems fair. Independent developers are capable of producing better apps than those created by the big platform companies. Not always. Many times independent developers are forced to use business models that make the user the product instead of the customer. Does the Macalope think, as Dan Moren argues, that Apple should let users choose their own default apps? Yes. Most people arent going to switch anyway, but its a benefit for those who want or need to use different apps. But should the company be fined until it does? No. It should at least get some kind of benefit from having to listen to people bemoan its low market share. Musa Gilani convoy attacked in Multan Convoy of Ali Musa Gilani, son of former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, was attacked by unidentified assailants in Mehmoodabad area of Multan. The incident reportedly occurred when the convoy was passing by the house of Union Council Chairman Ejaz Dogar, who belongs to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). All the people remained safe during the firing incident. Punjab Inspector General of Police Dr Syed Kaleem Imam said two of the alleged assailants have been arrested and further investigation is underway. Ali Musa Gilani is contesting the upcoming general election from NA-157 constituency. Shah Shams police has reportedly registered a case against 20 people over involvement in the attack. Those named in the FIR include Ejaz Dogar, Sajjad Ahmed, Asad Awan, Nauman, and Hanif. Later talking to reporters, Gilani said that they had demanded security from the administration but adequate security was not being provided to any of the candidates despite clear terror threat warnings by NACTA. He said that during the campaign of previous general elections, his brother Ali Haider Gilani was abducted and recovered after three years from Afghanistan. Pakistan Peoples Party is always on the hit list of assailants and terrorists, he said, adding that sufficient security should be provided to PPP candidates during the election campaign. Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has, meanwhile, taken notice of the matter and issued directives for provision of security to Ali Musa Gilani. Punjab IGP said that two culprits had already been arrested and a detailed report on the incident has been submitted to the ECP secretary. He said that Punjab Police was providing security to all the candidates as directed by the commission. While responding to the incident, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto demanded that an inquiry be initiated against those responsible for the attack. Brook,12, Sian,12, Riley, 5 needed a way to cure their school holiday boredom after playing Fortnite. Dad wanted them out of the house, the girls wanted to do something awesome so one day while on a walk up Mt Eden, the girls thought they would start a challenge of their own - The Logo Challenge. What a cool idea girls! AARP is giving the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority $10,000 to install more benches at bus stops so seniors and those those with disabilities using public transportation have a place to sit while they wait. The grant, announced last week, should pay for 10 benches, said Cindy Campbell, communications director for AARP Massachusetts in Boston. AARP awarded $1.3 million to fund 129 "quick action" projects across the country, the advocacy group said this week. It's called the AARP Community Challenge grant program. AARP received nearly 1,600 applications from nonprofits and government entities for the program, now in its second year, according to a press release from AARP. AARP, an advocacy organization for Americans 50 and over, said a lack of benches in public areas keeps people with mobility problems from walking and from using public transportation. With the benches, AARP hopes to promote active living among seniors and others. Other Massachusetts grants included $5,120 for the Old Colony YMCA to fund improvements to a hiking trail in East Bridgewater. The five-mile Hiking Viking trail begins at the town hall, links to the Council on Aging and ends at the Old Colony YMCA East Bridgewater branch. The plans call for new signs and ADA-compliant benches. AARP also granted $12,098 to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Lowell for its Critical Home Repairs program. AARP said the money will purchase new tools and additional equipment for volunteers and staff to use when they repair homes for elders that will allow them to age safely in place. "Dukes of Hazard" star Tom Wopat, 66, was sentenced Friday to one year of probation after he entered a guilty plea to a single charge of annoying and accosting a person of the opposite sex in Waltham District Court, the Middlesex District Attorney's Office said. A charge of possession of a Class B substance against Wopat was continued without a finding for one year and he was placed on a year of pre-trial probation on two counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14. He was ordered to stay away from and have no contact with the two victims and to undergo counseling. USA Today reported at the time of the August 2017 incident that Wopat was arrested after an adult cast member of a musical he was going to be in complained that he had groped her. He was arrested on Aug. 2 and charged in Waltham District Court. Wopat was in the area rehearing a production of "42nd Street" presented by the Reagle Players of Greater Boston. He starred in the Broadway production of the show for many years. About two weeks later, Waltham police interviewed a 16-year-old cast member who told them Wopat assaulted her. She told them he poked her in the stomach with his finger and in her buttocks with a rolled-up script. He was again arrested and charged. As they took him into custody, police allegedly found a plastic bag containing cocaine in Wopat's pocket. A Hyde Park man has been charged in the fatal stabbing of 58-year-old Mattapan resident Jocelin Nordeus. Kenton Thomas, 32, was arraigned on a count of murder in Dorchester Municipal Court following his arrest Friday by Boston police. He was held without bail, NBC Boston reported. The arrest follows a nearly two-month investigation into the death of Nordeus, who was stabbed in the early morning hours of June 1. Police and EMTs responded to the stabbing and Nordeus was taken to Boston Medical Center, but his wounds proved fatal. Boston Police Commissioner William Evans praised the work of the city's homicide detectives that led to the arrest. "This is a unit that never stops searching until the suspect is found. And, I gratefully acknowledge and appreciate that this is the second 2018 homicide case cleared in the last two days which means the men and women of the Homicide Unit have been able to secure justice in over half of the 29 homicides that have occurred this year," Evans said in a statement. "Additionally, my thoughts are with the victim's family and I sincerely hope that news of this arrest brings some small level of comfort and closure to the friends and loved ones of Jocelin Nordeus." CHICOPEE - Tax break details for the redevelopment of the Cabotville Mill complex still have to be worked out, but city leaders are already looking beyond converting the old factory buildings into housing to the dream of drawing customers to the nearby shops and restaurants. "I think it could revitalize the whole downtown,'' City Councilor James K. Tillotson said. "I think all those businesses are really looking forward to it. We would entice more small restaurants and markets, and some specialty shops,'' Tillotson said. Mayor Richard J. Kos calls the plan to renovate the historic, five-story Cabotville complex into 600 small apartments "a very important project for the city.'' "All potential developers want to see traffic downtown,'' Kos said. The council recently voted 11-0 to designate the Cabotville renovations proposed by 4 Perkins LLC and SilverBrick LLC as a state Housing Development Incentive Program project, making the developer eligible for tax breaks. This program provides for some state tax credits and optional tax exemptions on all or part of the increased city taxes that would come from property values going up as a result of the renovations. These municipal tax exemptions are available for qualifying projects in what are designated as Gateway Cities, which meet state income, population and educational level guidelines. The SilverBrick Group LLC, working on this project as 4 Perkins LLC, plans to put 600 residential apartments in the Cabotville complex on lower Front Street. Most would be studio or one-bedroom apartments. Plans call for a small number of two-bedroom apartments and some light manufacturing and other business uses for the factory complex, which has been mostly vacant for several years. SilverBrick founder Aaron Papowitz said state-authorized tax help for renovations like this in old mill cities is vital to the work. "The Housing Development Incentive Program is a critical tool to the economic feasibility of development in Gateway cities and we look forward to working on a Tax Increment Exemption with Chicopee leadership," Papowitz said. In addition to agreeing in principle to granting tax breaks and committing the city to negotiate with SilverBrick on the details, the City Council voted 11-0 on July 3 to allow a waiver from a city requirement for 1,085 parking spaces, instead allowing 623. The New York-based SilverBrick renovated the Morgan Street Apartments in Springfield in 2014 and is planning to spend $6.2 million to renovate the YMCA building on Chestnut Street in Springfield. "SilverBrick has a good track record in Western Massachusetts,'' Chicopee City Councilor Joel McAuliffe said. "This is not a conceptual project. It is now a real project,'' McAuliffe said. "You are talking about having an influx of people in an area that needs economic development." CHICOPEE - The city's Water Commission and its Sewer Commission have always operated separately, but Mayor Richard J. Kos thinks it is time for them to be combined into one. "We now have two commissions meeting on issues which almost every time are related," Kos said. "It makes sense to have them working in tandem," he said. The City Council's Ordinance Committee and its Utilities Committee will meet jointly Tuesday to discuss the steps that would be required to bring about the changes Kos is recommending. The two committees will meet at 6:30 p.m. in the City Council chambers. Because the Chicopee municipal water system is older than the city's charter, the state Legislature would have to weigh in and repeal laws passed in the 1800s in order for the mayor's planned changes to take effect. So Kos has asked the City Council to petition the Legislature to repeal the 1877 law that incorporated the Chicopee Water Co., repeal the 1892 law that allowed the city to take over the public water supply, and then change the city charter and authorize Chicopee to establish a combined water and sewer commission and have departments for each utility function under the Public Works Department. Petitions like this that are requested by Massachusetts cities and towns are generally approved in the Legislature. Kos said that having one commission overseeing water and sewer projects would not just be more efficient for the city but also would make life easier for city residents and others who want to attend meetings on such projects. City Councilor James K. Tillotson said that if there is enough support at Tuesday's joint meeting of the Ordinance and Utilities committees, the issue of requesting legislative changes for the water and sewer commissions could probably be acted on by the full City Council in August. City Councilor Joel McAuliffe said that after speaking with some members of the Water and the Sewer commissions, he has reservations about the mayor's plan to combine the two. "I think it centralizes more power with the mayor to make decisions with the Water Department and Sewer Department," McAuliffe said. "In some cases this is appropriate. In some it is not." The U.S. Food and Drug Administrations' Food Safety and Inspection Service is warning consumers about a specific dinner produced by an Arkansas company and sold in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia that may be contaminated with salmonella. The agency said Hungry Man Chipotle BBQ Sauce Boneless Chicken Wyngz dinners in the 15.25-ounce package and with a sell by date of 9/6/19 have been recalled. Anyone with the product should either dispose of it or return it to the point of purchase. The dinners were produced by Pinnacle Foods, of Fayetteville, Arkansas. The whey powder used in making a ranch dressing ingredient added to the mashed potatoes in the frozen dinner may have been contaminated, its manufacturer told the FDA. Associated Milk Producers Inc. voluntarily recalled the whey powder, but not before some was distributed. The FDA said there have been no confirmed adverse reactions to the product but that consumers should not consume the dinners out of caution. The Food Safety and Inspection Service said other food products may be recalled as it determines what products used the powder. A freight train derailed at Worcester's Cambridge Street overpass Saturday morning, injuring its engineer. Up to 15 train cars were thrown off the tracks, Worcester Deputy Fire Chief Martin Dyer said in an interview. The derailment involved a CSX train traveling on Providence and Worcester Railroad tracks. The fire department is investigating and there is no ongoing risk to public safety, Dyer said. The derailment did not cause the release of any hazardous materials. "Right now the area is safe and under control," Dyer said. One of the train cars struck the Cambridge Street bridge and state highway inspectors are evaluating the bridge as a precaution, Worcester Police Sgt. Kerry Hazelhurst wrote in an email. No structural problems have been observed so far. The train's engineer was injured in the crash and taken to a hospital with minor injuries, authorities said. MassLive has obtained audio from a November bail hearing for Emanuel Lopes, the 20-year-old suspect in the murder of Weymouth Police Officer Michael Chesna. The fatal encounter took place while Lopes was awaiting trial on cocaine distribution allegations, after Lopes was released on $500 bail. Lopes is now being held without bail for the killing of Chesna, a father, husband, decorated Army veteran and six year veteran of the Weymouth police force. Chesna was the first officer to confront Lopes on the morning of July 15, following reports of a car crash and erratic driver near South Shore Hospital. Lopes was allegedly attempting to vandalize a home near the scene. When Chesna approached with his gun drawn, Lopes allegedly threw a large rock at the officer's head. The impact caused Chesna to fall and drop his weapon, which Lopes allegedly then took and used to shoot Chesna repeatedly in the chest and head. Chesna's death was mourned by a crowd of thousands at his funeral Friday, as community members, police officers from across the state and public officials gathered to pay tribute to his memory. In October, Lopes was arrested after officers found him with a group of minors who had been drinking alcohol near the Weymouth waterfront. Officers described him as nervous during a pat frisk, and he allegedly fled into the woods, leaving behind a backpack containing a digital scale and cocaine. Lopes was committed to a detox program after his arraignment, his attorney said at a Nov. 1 bail hearing. At that hearing, prosecutors requested he be held on $5,000 bail, while his attorney asked for a "nominal" bail. Judge Jeanmarie Carrol set a bail of $500, and Lopes was ordered to remain drug and alcohol free. He remained out on bail despite later failing a drug test; the Norfolk District Attorney's Office did not ask for his bail to be revoked at that time, the Boston Herald reported. NAB accountability conducted to push PML-N against the wall: Shehbaz Sharif PESHAWAR: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif on Friday alleged that the interim Punjab government is following orders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Punjabs interim government is dancing to the tunes of PTI, while the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) continues to be a quiet bystander, Shebaz said during a news conference in Peshawar. The PML-N president alleged that the proceedings of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) were only being conducted to push PML-N against the wall and that many of its electables had been pressurised to join other parties. However, expressing confidence in his partys standing with the voters, Shehbaz said PML-N was due to win the upcoming general election if it is held in a free and fair manner. Nobody attended Imran Khans rally in Lahore, he said. But despite heavy rainfall in Attock, PML-Ns rally was attended by a huge crowd, he added. The PML-N president vowed to make Pakistan similar to Turkey and Malaysia if given a chance by the public in the upcoming polls. Imran neither established schools or colleges nor forensic labs. A private hospital [Rehman Institute] was established in Peshawar and a picture of it was circulated [by Imran] to take credit. Now, is that not a lie? How will the country absorb this fraud? Shehbaz said. Lashing out at his political rival, the PML-N president said PTI had destroyed the entire of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Later, at a rally in Mingora, Shehbaz said that Nawaz Sharif had left behind his ailing wife to return to Pakistan. I am first Pashtun then Punjabi, the PML-N president claimed. He said that he has promised the people of Karachi and Peshawar that he will develop their cities on a par with Lahore. WEST SPRINGFIELD -- Two groups of mosquitoes captured in West Springfield have tested positive for West Nile virus, city health officials said. Jeanne Galloway, Health Department director, said mosquitoes harvested in traps earlier this week gave a positive indication of infection. She said residents should take precautions when outside to avoid mosquitoes. She suggested using insect repellents containing deet, permethrin, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus or IR3535. She said consumers should follow directions for the insect repellents, especially when applying to children. Residents can help to reduce the numbers of mosquitoes near humans by draining standing water such as in empty flower pots, children's swimming pools and unbalanced gutters. Also, residents should reduce their time outdoors during the peak mosquito hours from dusk to dawn. People should wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants to keep mosquitoes from their skin. , Mediapool.bg, , - . - , . 18:00 . The warning from Ireland's Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, that, in the event of a disorderly exit from the European Union, British airlines could be banned from Irish airspace has helped to focus minds on what happens if the divided and shambolic UK Government fails to agree a deal with the EU before we exit on 29 March 2019.As the Independent confirms , at present the UK benefits from open skies rules, which allow EU airlines to fly between and over any European airspace. But unless an aviation agreement is reached before the final departure date, then Civil Aviation Authority rulings will not be recognised and insurance companies will cease to cover flights.Irish air space is absolutely crucial in civil aviation terms. London is the main European hub for transatlantic aviation, and most flights to and from the US East Coast, including Boston, New York and Washington DC, fly over Irish airspace. In addition, Ryanair could be seriously affected. Europes biggest low-cost airline has its largest hub at Stansted airport.All of this is still up for discussion and agreement of course, but the stakes are high. The UK cannot afford a no deal Brexit. 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 UPPER THUMB The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has approved a new medical director for Huron, Tuscola, Sanilac and Lapeer counties. Dr. Mustafa Mark Hamed will replace Dr. Russell L. Bush, who is retiring from his post as medical director. Bush will remain medical examiner in Huron and other counties. We are very excited to have Dr. Hamed joining our team at the health departments, said Ann Hepfer, health officer for Huron and Tuscola Counties, in an email to the Tribune. He has working knowledge of the obstacles we face when delivering care in rural counties." Im very excited, Hamed told the Tribune. Im looking forward to working with the community in my dream position. Hamed, who holds an M.D., a master of business administration and a masters degree in public health, said he has been interested in public health administration since before he attended medical school. The Novi resident is no stranger to the Thumb Area, as he is currently associate medical director for the Sanilac County Medical Control Authority and Emergency Services in Sandusky, and medical director for emergency medicine/hospital medicine at McKenzie Health System in Sandusky. His main position will remain at McKenzie Health System, with the medical directorship being a close second, he said. The job requires him to be on the job site once a month at the Huron County Health Department. But Hamed, who describes himself as a hands on type of person, said he plans to be there more often. Im the type of guy that likes to get out there and meet people, he said. Hepfer said Hamed will start orientation with Bush in September, and will take the reins Oct. 1. Its a solid team as it is, Hamed said. Dr. Bush is handing everything over in great shape. He added that Bush would be his mentor. Hameds work experience was listed on his resume, which was a part of a recent Huron County Board of Commissioners packet. His most recent experience also includes: Attending staff physician and faculty member at Henry Ford Health System/Wayne State University School of Medicine Assistant clinical professor, Department of Family Medicine, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine Associate clinical professor, Central Michigan University College of Medicine Hamed said he has a respect for rural communities and patients. I have a lot of pride for our Thumb farmers, he said. Hamed also noted a difference between local patients and those in the Detroit area. (Near Detroit), people want a week off work for a bladder infection, he said. A farmer could cut off his arm and say, I want to go back to work right now. Taking ownership of the community and giving back builds trust, he added, noting his support for local 4-H programs. One cause Hamed believes in is combating the opioid epidemic. Dealing with the opioid epidemic is a very passionate cause of mine, and I think it's an especially important battle that we face in our rural Michigan communities, he said. I'm excited to work with different dedicated individuals that share that goal with me. He recently returned from Washington D.C., where he presented the "Oxy-Free Emergency Department" program he developed at McKenzie Hospital to the U.S. Department of Health. Hameds appointment is provisional and contingent on Hamed obtaining two years of experience in public health administration and maintaining a mentorship with a medical director in Michigan. The governing bodies of the various counties he will serve must also approve his contract. MARLETTE TOWNSHIP A wife has been charged with her husband's murder. Wednesday's suspicious death of a man in his home in the 4500 block of Cooper Road in Marlette Township has been ruled a homicide, stated Sanilac County Sheriff Garry Biniecki in a press release. The victim, 64-year-old Richard Rager, underwent an autopsy Friday afternoon and the preliminary results confirmed the ruling. Police say 54-year-old Donna Rager, the victim's wife and suspect in the crime, was arrested Wednesday, following the sheriff's office detective's response to the residence. Donna Rager was arraigned Friday afternoon in 73A District Court in front of Magistrate Myla Ford on felony charges of homicide-open murder; tampering with evidence; weapons-felony firearm and concealing the death of an individual. CLINTON While Middlesex County is one of the most historic in the nation, some of its past is little-known. Researchers found dinosaur tracks in Middlefield that date back 200 million years. A young Dr. Seuss spent summers in Clinton; the author of Dr. Dolittle, Hugh Lofting, lived in Killingworth; and Babar the Elephants author, Jean de Brunhoff, lived in Middletown. Constance Baker Motley, the first female African-American federal judge, resided in Chester. A Portland lake has water levels that fluctuate for no apparent reason. An Essex blacksmith shop was Americas oldest continuously-run family business. Authors Robert and Kathleen Hubbard reveal these and many other unforgettable stories in the recently published book, Hidden History of Middlesex County which will be available for purchase (cash or check only) and signing at this free event at the Henry Carter Hull Library on Wednesday, Aug. 8 at 6 p.m. 60 Plus Club taking trip The Durham 60 Plus Club and Travel invites members and guests to take a cruise down the Connecticut River on the Lady Katherine. The jazz and lunch cruise will be held on Saturday, Sept. 15, boarding the boat in Haddam at 11:30 a.m. Anyone interested in celebrating the groups anniversary is asked to contact President, Sue Giuffrida at 860-346-0724. CMS hosts Cornhole Charity Challenge Aug. 13 CENTERBROOK - Community Music School will present their first annual Cornhole Charity Challenge on August 13, 2018 at 6 pm on beautiful Essex Island. Join us for live music and southern BBQ! Local charities will face off in this friendly cornhole competition. BYOB and family friendly! The event is presented by Guilford Savings Bank and proceeds will benefit scholarships and outreach programs at Community Music School. Event tickets include live music and all food: $25/adult, $12/kid, ages 5 and under free. Teams of two can enter the cornhole competition for $20. Rain or shine; covered area available. For additional information and to purchase tickets, visit www.community-music-school.org/cornhole or call CMS at 860-767-0026. Community Music School offers innovative music programming for infants through adults, building on a 35-year tradition of providing quality music instruction to residents of shoreline communities. CMS programs cultivate musical ability and creativity, and provide students with a thorough understanding of music so they can enjoy playing and listening for their entire lives. Learn more at www.community-music-school.org or call (860)767-0026. Library to hold Evening with the Gillettes KILLINGWORTH The Killingworth Library will present a program with Harold and Theodora Niver, aka William and Helen Gillette, on Thursday, Aug. 23 at 7 p.m. Not only do the Nivers talk about William and Helen Gillette, they become the Gillettes, flitting back and forth between being presenters and portrayers, library members said. The program takes place at the Killingworth Firehouse, 333 Route 81 in Killingworth. Guests can learn about Gillette Castle in East Haddam, and what famous people visited the Castle; Gillettes greater love, his wife Helen, and about Wills love of cats. Their costuming is authentic and period correct. Their knowledge of Sherlock Holmes, William Gillette and Gillette Castle is extensive. Because of their distinctive home, which is built around a Holmes theme, they have been in such magazines as US, Smithsonian, Fortune, Connecticut, and Yankee. TV segments include PM Magazine, ABC News, and CBS. Since both Harold and Theodora are professional musicians, theyll perform several songs from the English Music Hall era. The program is free; advance sign-up is required. Call the Killingworth Library at 860.663.2000 or visit www.killingworthlibrary.org for additional details. Rising Stars Theater Experience returns GUILFORD Shoreline Arts Alliance is excited to offer the extremely popular Rising Stars Theater Experience again this summer for children ages 7-15. Rising Stars will be held at the Nathanael B. Greene Community Center located in Guilford, for two, one-week sessions, Aug. 6-10 and Aug. 13-17. Each session will culminate in a performance by the children. Each week will center around a theme for the performance pieces, with the first being Joy and the second being Peace. We are thrilled to welcome teaching artists from Branfords Legacy Theatre to work with the young artists of Rising Stars. For more information on Rising Stars or to register a child, visit www.shorelinearts.org Shoreline Arts Alliance, a Regional Service Organization of CT Department of Economic and Community Development-Office of the Arts, is a 501 (C) 3 organization founded in 1981 to serve individual artists, arts, cultural and heritage organizations, educational institutions, strategic partners and the community-at-large. Shoreline Arts Alliances mission is to Transform Lives Through The Arts Through our state wides arts offerings, scholarships, and work as and Arts Council. At the heart of our mission is the desire educate, encourage, enrich and engage and we follow these principles in all that we do. Learn more at www.shorelinearts.org Legacy Theatre is a professional theatre company that enhances the Connecticut Shorelines economy, educational opportunities, and quality of life through live theater and related programs. The Legacy strives to be a premiere Arts house for local artists, professional companies, and to ensure ongoing seasons of uplifting, inspiring, and challenging professional theatre and theatre training for all. Founded by Guilford residents Keely Baisden Knudsen and Stephanie Stiefel Williams, non-profit Legacy Theatre purchased the historic Stony Creek Puppet House in Branford, which will undergo major renovations in the fall. Learn more at www.LegacyTheatreCT.org Durham Fair reunion planned DURHAM - In 2019, the Durham Fair will celebrate 100 years. One addition this year will be a reunion of all Coginchaug High School and Durham High School alumnae (Durham High School served students prior to Coginchaug being built). The committee is seeking representatives of each year since 1950 to join the group to help create an epic reunion. Those interested may call Wendy at 860-538-1221 or email wmanemeit@hotmail.com. 3 1 of 3 Bob Luckey Jr. / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Jarret Liotta / For Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 3 of 3 New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart is falling well behind her competitors in raising money for her lieutenant governor campaign, the latest finance reports show. Stewart, who needs to raise $75,000 in qualifying contributions in order to receive a clean elections grant, has raised just $44,355 as of June 30. FARNBOROUGH, England -- It was business as usual -- with billions in U.S. orders and commitments -- at the Farnborough Airshow despite concerns that politics would cast a shadow. The show came amid political upheaval in the United Kingdom, with multiple leaders in government resigning over disagreements regarding the nation's Brexit departure from the European Union, set to take place next year. It also came close on the heels of a NATO summit in which U.S. President Donald Trump lambasted allies over the level of their financial commitments, and reportedly threatened to leave the alliance. But despite the backdrop of geopolitical chaos, U.S. government officials focused on attracting top players in the commercial tech industry. Sitting in front of a U.S. Air Force military display here, Will Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics, said there's always room to bring in more talent and develop more contracts, especially in fast-developing sectors such as software and artificial intelligence. "I don't think we're attracting enough people. We're looking for opportunities to use things like small-business dollars, to use AFWERX so we can get those companies in [and talking to us]," he told reporters Tuesday, referencing the service's program to engage entrepreneurs. Related content: One of the issues deterring companies from bidding on contracts is how slowly the awards process moves, Roper said, alongside Air Force Undersecretary Matt Donovan. "In [this] business we have to move faster than we can move [under current conditions], even on our best days in the government. So we're looking for ways that we can do [contract] awards in weeks instead of months. If we end up making ourselves so slow and sporadic that we can't work with this vibrant, churning current of innovation in industry, then we could lose out to companies or nations that can," he said. Promoting Stability and Outreach The U.S. commercial industry dwarfed the U.S. military presence here, something experts said was to be expected. "Farnborough has never been much of a military show -- it's more about commercial jetliners," Richard Aboulafia, vice president of the Teal Group, told Military.com on Thursday. Jim McAleese, expert defense industry analyst and founder of McAleese & Associates, agreed. "The show was dominated by the Boeing vs. Airbus 'cage-match' of dueling new commercial aircraft orders," he said via email. Defense companies and foreign partners locked down deals. Lockheed touted its U.K. space contract to develop a first-of-its kind commercial spaceport in Scotland, while Raytheon formed a partnership with Jordan to develop cyber protections for its aircraft, McAleese said. Roper and Donovan both said they are thankful to allies, especially the U.K., for the opportunity to hold government and commercial meetings that would "strengthen alliances and expand our partners." "To paraphrase [Defense] Secretary [Jim] Mattis, 'Nations who have allies thrive and those that do not wither,'' Donovan said. "Being able to interact with allies and potential allies and new partners here at air shows like Farnborough is very, very important." Trump last week in Brussels said he wanted NATO members to double their gross domestic product spending on defense to 4 percent. The U.S. spends roughly 3.3 percent of its GDP on defense, according to defense budgets, as reported by NPR. Some questioned whether those demands might affect the airshow. But U.S. officials and companies promoted stability and outreach efforts. "We can strengthen security partnerships all over the world with our key partners and allies and encourage interoperability and all of the things we care about from that vantage point, but also support U.S. industry, support the effort to ensure that U.S. economic security and U.S. jobs are preserved," said Tina Kaidanow, acting assistant secretary for the Bureau of Political Military Affairs at the State Department. Kaidanow -- who was one of the most senior officials attending the show on behalf of the Trump administration amid the trade adviser's absence -- spoke with reporters via telephone conference call Monday. "The point is that it is exactly reflected in a place like Farnborough, where we are -- again, we're supporting U.S. economic security, and we are also achieving a number of national security goals in conjunction with our important partners and allies overseas," she said. The message was there visually, as well. The slogan on display in the USA pavilion? "Ask America: We listen. We invent. We deliver." American companies such as Lockheed Martin displayed the motto, "Great partnerships reach great heights." Fostering New Alliances The show also gave small U.S. businesses -- including individual states that came to promote commerce -- a chance at exposure. Roper said it's important to keep channels open and foster new alliances while maintaining interoperability. "In the government, we don't build things. We've got to build great partnerships with industry ... and if we're going to achieve the National Defense Strategy, we're not going to do it alone. We're going to do it as a partnership with our industry base, but also the industry bases of important allies and partners," he said. -- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214. Still undetermined is whether the impact caused the October leak, or if the line was hit by something else at a later date. Fiat Chrysler announced Saturday, July 21 that CEO Sergio Marchionne will be unable to return to work after "unexpected complications arose" as he was recovering from surgery. The Auburn Hills, Michigan-based automaker named Mike Manley, who has served as the head of the Jeep brand since 2009 and the Ram brand since 2015, will take over for Marchionne. The Associated Press reports the 66-year-old now former CEO had surgery on one of his shoulders three weeks ago in Switzerland. FCA chairman John Elkann said in a statement that he was "profoundly saddened" to hear of Marchionne's status. FCA reports in a news release that the board chose to accelerate the CEO transition "that has been proceeding over the past months" since Marchionne had already announced his plans to retire in early 2019. "In the meantime, in order to provide for his full authority and operational continuity for the company, the Board has with immediate effect granted Mr. Manley all the powers of CEO," the automaker reports in the release. "He will also assume responsibility for the NAFTA region. Mr. Manley and his management team will proceed with the implementation of the 2018 - 2022 Business Plan as presented on June 1 of this year, a plan that will further assure FCA's strong and independent future." A.P. reports that the brand Manley has been at the helm of -- also including Maserati and Alfa Romeo -- are expected to represent 80 percent of Fiat Chrysler's revenues by 2022. As it currently stands, Jeep, Ram and the Maserati, Alfa Romeo brands, which Manley does not oversee, make up about 65 percent of the automaker's revenues. Marchionne has served as the CEO of Fiat since 2004, and took over the role of FCA CEO back in June of 2009. The announcement of Manley taking over for the 66-year-old was met with positive feedback and praise from industry experts. In a prepared statement, Karl Brauer, the executive publisher of Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book, said that Jeep's success under Manley "make him the smart choice to be the new head of FCA." "It's an end of an era with the iconic, highly quotable, sweater-wearing Sergio Marchionne stepping down, with significant very concerns about his ailing health," Rebecca Lindland, executive analyst at Kelley Blue Book, said in her own prepared statement. "Mike Manley is a worthy replacement at FCA, but it's a huge job to not only fill Sergio's shoes, but to run many brands that are facing capricious fortunes in a variety of markets. But Manley's masterful management of Jeep and RAM will serve him well as he moves into this huge, global role." GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- I stopped by at HopCat Grand Rapids on Friday afternoon to hang out with Rick Martinez, the beer guru who selects what will be on tap, and when. He was excited to tell me about Belgian National Day 2018, which HopCat locations in Michigan are celebrating on Saturday, July 21, 2018. The day features a variety of Belgian beers on tap and in bottles, Martinez said. Check out the video for details on what will be on tap. In addition, those famous Crack Fries at HopCat will be called Crack Frites, served Belgian-style with blue cheese-black pepper aioli and pesto aioli. The party begins at 11 a.m. Belgian National Day is a holiday marking Belgium's birth as a constitutional monarchy in 1831. More info: Four Republicans are competing for a spot on the November ballot to represent Ottawa County's 88th District in the state House of Representatives. The candidate with the most votes will face Democrat Heidi Zuniga, who is running unopposed, in the November election. The Republican-leaning 88th District covers Allendale, Georgetown, Tallmadge, Wright, Chester, Coopersville and Polkton townships. The winning candidate in November will replace Rep. Roger Victory, R-Hudsonville, who cannot run again because of term limits and is seeking the 30th District state Senate seat. This year, MLive Media Group partnered with the League of Women Voters of Michigan to provide candidate information for readers. Each candidate was asked to outline their stances on a variety of public policy issues. Information on all state and federal races and many of Michigan's county and local races will be available at Vote411.org, an online voter guide created by the League of Women Voters. The candidates are: Michael Bosch is a 49-year-old customer home builder who serves on the Georgetown Township Board of Trustees. He's a graduate of Jenison High School and earned a bachelor's degree from Grand Valley State University, according to his bio. Luke Meerman is a 43-year-old Coopersville resident who works as a dairy farmer and is the owner of A&L Machinery and Repair. He's a former member of the Polkton Charter Township Board of Trustees, a graduate of Coopersville High School, and he completed Michigan State University's Great Lakes Leadership Academy. Jason Minier, 39, is the vice president of Star Flooring and a member of the Georgetown Township Board of Trustees. He earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from Washington University in St. Louis, according to his bio. Brent Huddleston, 31, is resident of Hudsonville. He did not fill out the online voter guide and did not respond to requests for information. Here's a look at how the candidates responded to questions about their top priorities, how they would improve educational outcomes in schools, protect Michigan's natural resources and boost the state's economy. Responses, in some instances, have been edited for clarity and grammar. What are your top three state legislative priorities and how would you address them? Bosch "Lowering the ever-increasing costs of auto insurance. By reducing/eliminating state mandates and reforming/eliminating no-fault we could see significant reductions in our rates which are the highest in the nation. Fixing our roads - using the best quality materials and practices to build roads that actually last. Enough with the excuses and increased taxes and fees. We must ensure that money allocated to roads is actually used for roads and not used to fill shortfalls in other department budgets. Reduce/eliminate state income tax and senior pension tax. This is a win for families and businesses in Michigan." Meerman "State infrastructure needs to be one of our top priorities. We need to find more to invest in our roads. Our children's education should also be a high priority. We must do all we can to ensure that future generations are given the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in today's world. In too many ways we are failing the next generation. The protection of the vulnerable and exploited is on my heart. We need to protect the most vulnerable in our society. My wife and I did foster care for 6 years. We have many heart wrenching stories, but the children are the ones caught in the middle they are the most vulnerable." Minier "Low taxes / fiscal responsibility. I would support utilizing service organizations to help offset redundant spending from the state. Support local / small businesses. As a small business owner, I would like to see some of the state and local requirements streamlined to make it easier to operate a business in Michigan. I would oppose new taxes on services which would hinder small businesses. Promote public education. I attended local public schools which propelled me to one of the top Universities in the Country. I want to see students continue to have success at the local school level." What measures do you support/propose to achieve improved educational outcomes and accessibility for Michigan students from early childhood through post-secondary education? Bosch "The current top down DC & Lansing control of education isn't working, it's led to what seems to be never ending testing and ever-changing standards. Every school is unique, one size doesn't fit all. We need to focus on local control of education. We must provide all students with a solid education whether they choose to enter the workplace or college after high school. Just as important as college preparedness, we also need to be sure students who choose a skilled career are prepared." Meerman "Local control is important. Teachers can best meet the needs of students if local school boards are able to make decisions without the often-excessive oversight of bureaucrats. Trade schools need to have more of our focus and dollars. Although four-year degrees are valuable, they are also not for everyone. To guarantee the next generation's success, we must ensure our children receive the best training in whichever career field best fits their personal skills and passion." Minier "Education is one of my top priorities. I believe in school of choice, and there needs to be accountability for schools that under perform. While there has always been a push to send every student off to college, I believe we are at a point where we need to focus on skilled trades and show students that they can have very successful lives without going to college." What policies do you support to increase jobs and help Michigan residents improve their economic positions? Bosch "Lowering/eliminating state income tax, eliminating the senior pension tax, lowering auto insurance costs, lowering health insurance costs, and lowering energy costs means we get to keep more of our hard-earned money. This increase in money leads to both economic and job growth. Eliminate tax abatements, holidays, subsidies, credits and incentive that only benefit "select" businesses. We need to put an end to government picking winners and losers." Meerman "Small business are the heartbeat of our economy. Over-burdensome regulations and excessive taxes destroy small businesses and weaken the overall economy. By eliminating regulations and reducing taxes, we can allow both large and small businesses to thrive, which will create new jobs and improve the economic positions of all Michigan workers." Minier "We need to be competitive with our neighboring states on tax policy. If we can become a more affordable place to live, we will draw residents and businesses to Michigan." What actions or policies do you support to protect Michigan's water, air and land for current and future generations, while meeting the state's energy needs? Explain how those actions or policies would affect the future of Enbridge Pipeline 5. Bosch "Those who have polluted or contaminated our resources (past and/or present) should be held accountable for their actions, not the taxpayers. I support free market energy and oppose government mandates on renewable energy. Far too often we see government create policy or new departments/agencies as the answer to a problem, often this leads to burdensome regulations and added costs for taxpayers but seldom solve the problem." Meerman "Balancing land use for agriculture, wilderness, and business is a tough assignment. Water quality is the most important environmental issue faced by Michigan. However, I believe that local control is important when solving such problems. The vast size of this state means that some areas are plagued by environmental issues unique to their own individual area. Therefore, solutions based on area problems with local solutions needs to be pursued first rather than blanket state wide mandates. Enbridge Pipeline 5 needs to be checked periodically for its integrity." Minier "I am a strong supporter of a clean environment. As a member of the Georgetown Township Board, we recently supported the use of sewer lines in lieu of septic systems to curtail pollution in our public waterways. A recent study concluded that a potential cleanup of a damage to Pipeline 5 would cost in the Billions. Enbridge should be accountable to carry an insurance plan to cover all costs for a potential cleanup, which may result in alternate fiscally viable options for them to transport the oil." Fans are starting to filter into Michigan International Speedway as day two of the Faster Horses Festival gets underway with the first main stage acts of the day. As noted in previous posts, festival officials chose to push back the start time of main stage acts this year as the crowds for the early sets just weren't cutting it. Promoter and Live Nation president Brian O'Connell said in a phone interview that this decision was just simply them using five years of data, and that If there's a giant line earlier, I'll open the doors." "We know what time people come in. It's real simple," O'Connell said. "What are we doing running the main stage with no one there. If I'm going to open the party, let's rock." The first day of the "three-day hillbilly sleepover" was highlighted by the fact that it was allowed to continue after a weather delay forced the evacuation of some-40,000 fans from the MIS grounds. Intermittent showers will continue across SE Michigan, especially the I-75 corridor, this morning. #MIwx pic.twitter.com/aE2L3wU8iX NWS Detroit (@NWSDetroit) July 21, 2018 Friday's headliner Blake Shelton took the stage nearly an hour later than he was originally scheduled to thanks to a weather delay that caused officials to clear the grounds and take down some of the stage. The delay set things back by about an hour for the rest of the night, but that didn't stop the fans from pouring back in once it was lifted. The second day of the festival is not highlighted by the weather report, but the fact that legendary duo Brooks & Dunn will reunite as they headline the main stage performances with a scheduled 9:30 p.m. Saturday night set. O'Connell said he was trying to do "something that no one saw coming" when it came to booking this year's festival. That thing that no one saw coming O'Connell speaks of, is the booking of legendary country duo Brooks & Dunn as one of its headliners after an extended hiatus from touring or performing in Michigan. "I've been accused as being the biggest Brooks & Dunn fan on the planet by both of those guys, and other people," he said over the phone Wednesday, July 11. "I was looking at lineups and things to do to keep Faster Horses feeling fresh, and on a whim, I called their manager and said 'I've got a crazy idea.' "A couple of years ago we put them back together for two nights at a festival in Chicago, and it was great. It was magic. "So, on that whim, I called and asked for Clarence (the duo's manager) to 'take Faster Horses to the guys.'" Brooks & Dunn's hits over the years include "Boot Scootin' Boogie," "My Maria," and many more spanning the past three decades. The two are now in their early 60s, and have the Country Music Association's award for vocal duo of the year more than a dozen times. See below for Saturday's full performance schedule: Main stage: Walker Hayes -- 3:25 p.m. LoCash 4:40 p.m. Chris Janson 6 p.m. Billy Currington -- 7:40 p.m. Brooks & Dunn -- 9:30 p.m. Next from Nashville: Riley Green -- 1 p.m. Delta Rae -- 1:50 p.m. The Wild Weathers -- 2:45 p.m. Cale Dodds -- 3:50 p.m. Songwriter Storyjam -- 5:05 p.m. Charlie Worsham -- 6:40 p.m. Late Night with Dee Jay Silver -- 11 p.m. Six Michigan projects were granted federal loans to upgrade water and wastewater systems in rural communities this week. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced this week that $267 million in loans would be spread across 103 infrastructure projects across the country for water and sewer system improvements in rural communities. Of those, six projects that impact nine communities were in Michigan: - A $900,000 loan for the North Houghton County Water and Sewage Authority - serving Calumet Township, Osceola Township, the village of Calumet and the village of Laurium to improve the wastewater, sewer collection and treatment system - A $475,000 loan for a water main extension in Kochville Township, in Saginaw County - A $2.14 million loan for Caledonia Charter Township in Shiawassee County for improvements to their water distribution system which obtains water from Owosso - A $468,000 loan and a $379,000 grant to Clio in Genesee County for water main replacement including service leads, hydrants and valves. - A $3.18 million loan for water system improvements in the village of Jonesville such as upgrades to the water treatment plan, replacing water meters and installation of a new water meter reading system - A $6.29 million loan for Milan in Monroe County for water and sewer system improvements such as building a new pump station and force main The Fiscal Year 2018 federal budget bill passed by Congress included $5.2 billion for USDA loans and grants and directed Secretary Sonny Perdue to make investments in rural communities with the greatest infrastructure needs, according to a USDA release. In a statement, USDA Rural Development State Director Jason Allen urged more rural Michigan communities to take advantage of the funding available through the USDA. "This $14 million investment represents significant progress in protecting the Great Lakes and ensuring clean drinking water for Michigan residents, but it represents only a fraction of resources available," Allen said. JACKSON, MI - Tracy Lawrence, accused of murder for shooting two teenagers on his property, could not do rigorous physical activity for more than a few seconds, one of his doctors testified Friday. Lawrence is 55, smokes a pack of cigarettes a day, which he should not do, and he has emphysema and intermittent asthma, Dr. Gary Lynd said when Lawrence's lawyer George Lyons asked if Lawrence could engage in sprinting. Lynd, who specializes in gerontology, was the only witness to take the stand Friday, July 20, and the first witness for the defense. The prosecution rested its case Thursday and Friday morning, jurors visited the scene of the shooting, Lawrence's property on Town Road in Springport Township. The trial resumes Monday morning, when Lawrence is expected to give jurors his account, in the courtroom of Jackson County Circuit Judge John McBain. He is charged with second-degree murder and a firearm crime for killing Matthew McMillen and Hunter Lentz, both 18, on June 8, 2016. McMillen and Lentz were on his rural land, the defense contends, for nefarious purposes. Prosecutors argue he shot them as they ran from him. He hit one of them in the back and continued to fire after Lentz dropped to the ground, according to Lawrence's own recorded account and the detective who interviewed him. Lawrence justifiably used lethal force to defend himself or to prevent the escape of a fleeing felon, the defense argues. A private person may take such action when a felony actually occurred, the suspects committed it and the use of deadly force was necessary to ensure apprehension, courts have found, according to a defense document. Lyons and Hopkins contend Lawrence could not have run after or tackled the teens on his property. Lynd listed among Lawrence's many ailments: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which limits breathing ability; low-back pain; anxiety; and postherpetic neuralgia, a complication of shingles, a viral infection that causes a rash. He said Lawrence still has pain from the shingles, though the rash is healed. He also has blood pressure and cholesterol issues and has complained of swelling in his feet When asked about his general health, Lynd said he needs to quit smoking and gets a lot of respiratory infections. He is on breathing and cardiac medications and Valium, used to treat anxiety. To address his pain, Lawrence takes opioids oxycontin and oxycodone. He is also a medical marijuana patient who has, a medical record showed, taken Dilaudid, another opioid, and methadone, which also can be used to treat pain. The opioids are prescriptions that can be abused, Lynd said, under questioning by Assistant Prosecutor Katie Hawkins, and their distribution is monitored in light of the nation's deadly opioid crisis. Lynd, however, said he did not see or have any indication Lawrence was abusing his medication. The doctor was not sure whether he prescribed marijuana, but the two had talked about it as a possibility because Lawrence has "nondescript pain" and the drug seems to be a "nondescript treatment," Lynd said. Of Lawrence's general health, Lynd said Lawrence needs to quit smoking. He did see Lawrence twice in June 2016, but not on the day or in the immediate days before or after the shooting, Lynd told Hawkins. In a recorded interview with Michigan State Police Detective Sgt. David Stamler, Lawrence said he has a hard time walking to the mail box and back. He used to be a mechanic but he quit working about a decade ago. He could not do it anymore with his asthma, he said. Lawrence said he saw the men on his property and it scared the hell out of him. He went for his gun and fired from his porch, he said, the recording shows. McMillen was hit in the back and Lentz had a gunshot wound to the side of his head, a medical examiner testified. Lentz fell less than 90 feet from the porch and McMillen's body was about 337 feet from the porch steps. This is not necessarily indicative of where they were when they were shot. Their injuries, however, would have likely been immediately or almost immediately fatal, Dr. Patrick Cho, who conducted the autopsies, testified. At the scene, police found dropped or placed implements that have been characterized as burglary tools, they arrived in a vehicle parked out of sight and they were wearing winter-like clothes in June, including gloves. McMillen wore a yellow or green cap, and Lentz had on a hood and a bandanna around his neck, testimony showed. Lawrence told Stamler he thought the teens were trying to steal his truck. A camper and mobile home also had signs of forced entry. The mobile home was said to be in disarray. To see a listing of stories on the case, click here. JACKSON, MI - Students from across Jackson County got a chance to compete for scholarships and make a difference for local businesses at the iChallengeU finals on Friday. Taking place at Baker College on July 20, the competition marks the end of a two-week project that saw 28 high schoolers work in teams to develop solutions to challenges facing businesses assigned to them. The annual event is hosted by Michigan Works! Southeast. Each team also had a teacher leader. The students came into the project knowing little about each other and the businesses they would be representing, so working together and learning quick is a valuable experience, said Robert Tebo, Michigan Works! Southeast Regional Business Fellowship director. "That concept of, 'I don't know anything about this' is an important part of the learning process," Tebo said. "I'm always overwhelmed (by the students), because I know they knew nothing (coming in), and now they know a lot." Eight teams of students participated. Participating businesses were Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, Orbitform, Lomar Machine and Tool, Anderson Development Company, Hillsdale Hospital, County National Bank, Lenawee County Cradle to Career, Hospice of Lenawee. Each team gave a 10-minute pitch to a panel of five judges. The top two teams will go on to face two teams from the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District, which hosts a similar competition. The pitches centered around answering a "driving question" challenging the assigned businesses. For Hospice of Lenawee, one of the winning teams, the question was how to "develop a countywide school plan for assisting students with the grieving process." Lee Ann Straub, a representative from Hospice of Lenawee who helped the team, attributed its success to the universality of dealing with the death of loved ones. "Bringing a group of kids together and talking about such a personal, intimate feeling about loss brings about a sense of vulnerability," Straub said. The team consisted of teacher leader Andrew Weber from Jonesville Community Schools, Aeryona Krueger and Zack Dillon from Tecumseh High School and Meg Hendricks from Adrian High School. The second winning team, representing the Orbitform manufacturing company, was Solomon Anderson from Grass Lake High School, Robert Janz and Thomas Fleming from Michigan Center High School, Brianna Lane from Northwest High School, Stephanie Moll from Napoleon High School and teacher leader Trisha Smith from Western High School. The competition taught him valuable lessons on staying focused and working with a team that has a broad range of ideas, Fleming said. "We could have gone many different routes, so deciding what we wanted to do and not get overwhelmed with all the possibilities was one of the hardest parts," he said. All participating students earned two college credits from Jackson College, a $1,000 scholarship to Eastern Michigan University and a $1,500 scholarship to Baker College. Members of the winning teams were awarded an additional three credits to Jackson College, a $1,000 scholarship from Cleary University and a $4,000 scholarship from Siena Heights University. BLACKMAN TWP., MI - Texas victims of Hurricane Harvey were the recipients of kindness and goodwill from Northwest High School's Give Hope trip. Thirteen students and 14 chaperones, some of whom were former students who participated in Give Hope trips while they were in school, made the trip to Corpus Christi and the Copano Cove area of Rockport from June 15-23. The Category 4 hurricane struck the area in late August 2017. While in Texas, the group worked on clean up, paperwork, new construction and restoration efforts at homes, in neighborhoods and even in one high school. While on the trip, students and chaperones also participated in a baby turtle release at the Padre Island National Seashore and visited the Texas State Aquarium and USS Lexington and other tourist sites. Give Hope trips are not school trips. Each student must pay for his or her transportation, lodging and meals. However, group fundraisers do help offset students' costs. All the work the students do is voluntary. Give Hope began in 2005 and has made a disaster relief trip every year since then, except 2009 and 2014. Other trips have helped people in other parts of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, Illinois and Oklahoma. MUSKEGON HEIGHTS, MI -- Gloomy weather didn't stop people in the area from joining together to promote unity. In its third year, the 2,000 Man Unity March took place on Saturday, July 21 at Rowan Park in Muskegon Heights. Eddie Sanders Jr. originally created the march following a number of youth homicides that were occurring in Muskegon Heights. "(The) inspiration was the consistent youth homicides in the city," said Sanders, who is president of ESJ Community Services Inc. "Our youth (were) being divided and I saw a need for unification. Our children don't know what unity looks like." People young and old gathered together in bright yellow shirts with the march's name on it that read "Unity" on the back. "Every step we take we're walking toward love. Every step we take we're walking toward harmony. Every step we're taking we're putting unity back in community," Sanders told participants before they began their 2.8-mile march. Marchers made their way along the route from East Broadway Avenue to Sherman Boulevard, past the East Park Manor Complex to Hume Avenue and back to Rowan Park. Vivian Mcbride, 56, of Muskegon Heights has participated in the event every year since its beginning. She said this year the march's experience was "much more." "We've been going through so much this year," Mcbride said. "We needed to bring more people out this year, distribute more information, which we have done. So we are trying to be leaders more this year." She said she feels the march will end up bringing more people together in the community. "Our community is what molds us, without a community you don't have a city," Mcbride said. "This one has been lost but we're trying to refine it." For the future of Muskegon Heights, she hopes the city "gets better" and begins to "strive." After the march concluded, participants made their way back to Rowan Park where local musicians played and partook in the activities set up like free food and a bounce house. A job and literacy fair were also set up. Sanders previously told MLive.com/Muskegon Chronicle that in years past people would come to the event unemployed and leave with a job. In his second year, Cody Mulready, 25, of North Muskegon participated in the march again to try and combat stereotypes that surround Muskegon Heights. "When you come into an environment like this, you really see the backbone of this community," Mulready said. "To be able to come in and help spread that word and get people excited, heard, (to) bring that unity back, that's why I'm here. This whole thing is amazing, it's beautiful." Officials at John Ball Zoo have announced the addition of two critically endangered Bali mynahs. The male and female arrived at John Ball Zoo from the Brookfield Zoo in Illinois. The Bali mynah is one of the most critically endangered species of birds in the world and is the most critically endangered animal at John Ball Zoo, according to zoo officials. This striking member of the starling family is pure white, except for the black tips on its wings and tail, and a featherless, sky blue eye patch. Males and females look alike, each with an elegant feather crest on the head. Along with its striking appearance, the Bali mynah is known for its ability to mimic sounds of other animals, including humans. These characteristics have resulted in a demand for and illegal trade of Bali mynahs and correspondingly a conservation crisis. The world's remaining Bali mynah population is only around 50 birds or fewer. More than 1,000 are known to live in zoos and other breeding programs. The pair at John Ball Zoo are part of a Species Survival Plan. Species Survival Plans are managed programs facilitated by accredited zoos through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums that help to conserve species and maintain stable population in human care. Bali mynahs form monogamous pairs and are thought to form a long-term pair-bond. The John Ball Zoo birds are pair-bonded and have reproduced in the past. Zoo officials are hopeful that baby Bali mynahs will be coming in the future. John Ball Zoo guests can view the Bali mynahs in the Asian aviary near the Children's Zoo. John Ball Zoo is located on Fulton Avenue, one mile west of downtown Grand Rapids. For more information, go to org or call (616) 336-4301. Televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, electrical appliances, perfumes and several handicraft items, among others, are set to get cheaper with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council on Saturday deciding to slash rates on a host of items. Millions of consumers, small traders and artisans will benefit from the move ahead of the festival season. The Council has also decided to fully exempt sanitary napkins from GST, from the existing 12 percent. A high GST rate on sanitary napkins had imposed last year had triggered howls of protest from consumer activist and women groups. In a mini-budget of sorts, the GST council significantly pruned the list of items placed in the highest tax slab of 28 percent, demonstrating the Centre and states growing confidence in the new system that seeks to unify India into one common national market. Many handicraft items such as stone, marble and wooden deities, rakhis without precious stones, brooms and commemorative coins have been made fully exempt from GST, Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said. Fortified milk has also been fully exempted from GST. Handloom items such as knitted caps priced below Rs 1,000 will now attract a lower GST rate of 5 percent. All leather items will now attract a GST rate of 18 percent, while footwear priced below Rs 1,000 will be taxed at 5 percent. Taxes on handbags, jewellery boxes, wooden photo frames, stone art wear, ornamental frame mirrors, glass art ware, aluminum art ware and handmade carpets have been cut to 5 percent from 12 percent. In a boost for the textile industry, unclaimed input tax credit will henceforth be refunded to firms. GST on hotel room rates will be now taxed at declared tariffs. The GST rate on bamboo flooring, hand-operated rubber rollers and zip fasteners have been cut to 12 percent from 18 percent, while the GST rate on ethanol has been to cut 5 percent from 18 percent, a move aimed at encouraging higher ethanol blending in petrol and diesel. The biggest rate cuts, however, came in white goods. GST rates on several consumer goods including refrigerators, lithium batteries, vacuum cleaners, grinders, mixers, food processors, water heaters, hair dryers, water coolers, ice cream freezers, scents, perfumes, powder puffs, cosmetics, and electric ironing machines have been cut to 18 percent from 28 percent. All decisions will be effective from June 27, Goyal said. The decisions will benefit 125 crore citizens, particularly low and middle income families, traders and artisans, the finance minister said. Sources said rate cuts and certain clarifications will have revenue impact of Rs 10,000 crore-Rs 11,000 crore annually. The council also approved the proposal to allow quarterly return filing for taxpayers with a turnover of upto Rs 5 crore, a move that will benefit nearly 93 percent of tax assessees as they would now be required to file returns only once in three months. A new set of simpler return filing forms Sahaj and Sugam are also in the works that would be finalised soon, Goyal said. The finance minister also said the GST Council has decided to focus on issues concerning the broader economy such as job creation rather than only on revenue targeting. The controversial reverse charge mechanism (RCM) has also been deferred until September 2019. Reverse charge is a mechanism where the recipient of the good or service will have to pay GST, which is otherwise paid by the supplier. The charge is applicable on a registered dealer, if he buys goods from a dealer not registered under GST. However, the receiver of the good/service is eligible for input tax credit, while the unregistered dealer is not. Registered taxpayers (suppliers) were not willing to take the burden of paying tax, while small or unregistered taxpayers were running out of business as these registered dealers were hesitant to buy goods from them. Keeping this in mind, GST Council in October, 2017 had temporarily suspended RCM, as it was increasing compliance burden on taxpayers. It has now been pushed till September next year. The next GST council meeting will take place on August 4. The council also approved about 50 categories of amendments in GST-related laws, with a broader idea to reduce compliance burden, simplify the indirect tax system and bring more entities under the tax net. Amendments such as the omission of liability to pay tax on the reverse charge, enabling new return filing procedures, allowing more service providers to opt for composition scheme, among others has been suggested.The amendments in the Central GST (CGST) Act, 2017 will now have to be cleared by the Cabinet and will ultimately require the Parliaments nod. MK Stalin, DMK president The DMK has lashed out at arch-rival AIADMK for not voting in favour of the no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government, alleging the ruling party in Tamil Nadu supported the NDA as a "quid pro quo" despite several issues. DMK Working President MK Stalin, whose party has no members in the Lok Sabha, had urged the AIADMK to support the no-confidence motion as it has 37 MPs in the Lok Sabha, making it the third-largest party after the ruling BJP and opposition Congress. "Support for Modi Govt in #NoConfidence despite NEET, 15th Finance Commission, GST, Hindi imposition and communal politics is further proof of the quid pro quo arrangement between ADMK and BJP," Stalin said in a tweet late last night. The no-confidence motion, moved by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a former BJP ally, against the Modi government was decisively defeated last night. The government won the motion by 325 against 126 votes. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK Joint Coordinator K Palaniswami had indicated on Thursday that his party might not support the motion as it was moved by the TDP for an issue concerning Andhra Pradesh. "No party had backed Tamil Nadu on the Cauvery issue when AIADMK lawmakers had stalled Lok Sabha for nearly three weeks seeking the constitution of the Cauvery Management Board and the Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee," Palaniswami had said. Several AIADMK members opposed the no-confidence motion that came as a boost to the NDA. The no-trust motion was the first after Modi assumed office in May 2014 and less than a year before the next general elections. A key member of an international advisory panel on Myanmar's crisis-hit Rakhine state has resigned, saying that the Aung San Suu Kyi-appointed board risks becoming "part of the problem" in a conflict that forced 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee. Retired Thai lawmaker and ambassador Kobsak Chutikul was secretary for the panel hand-picked by civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi to advise her government on how to handle the aftermath of a military campaign that drove the minority out of the country. The brutal crackdown started in August last year and left hundreds of Rohingya villages razed to the ground. Refugees to Bangladesh have recounted horrifying testimony of widespread murder, rape and torture in violence the UN and US have branded as ethnic cleansing. Kobsak Chutikul said his position became untenable ahead of a second full meeting of the panel with officials in Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw this week. "I verbally gave my resignation in a staff meeting last Tuesday (10 July)," he told AFP today by phone from Bangkok. The board, he said, risks becoming a "part of the problem". "It lulls authorities into thinking they have done enough to respond to the concerns of the international community, that they've ticked that box," he added. "It becomes dangerous in terms of an illusion that something is being done... that they're going to do something while Rome burns." The credibility of the advisory board was undermined early on by the resignation of veteran US diplomat Governor Bill Richardson a one-time close confidant of Suu Kyi. He left the panel in January in a vicious war of words with the Nobel laureate. The government insisted it had terminated his involvement but Richardson said he stepped down due to fears the committee would only "whitewash" the causes of the Rohingya crisis. A statement by his office today said that Kobsak's resignation "further reinforces the concerns" he held. Kobsak, however, told AFP that he thought Governor Richardson's departure had been premature. But he said the board's poor organisation and funding severely curtailed its work. "We were winging it on the fly, not really in full grasp of the full facts and figures. Everyone was all over the place - we don't have a permanent office anywhere," he told AFP. Suu Kyi's reputation lies in tatters internationally for her failure to speak up on behalf of the Rohingya Muslims, a stateless group persecuted over decades in Myanmar. There was no immediate reaction from her office or the panel. The advisory board has so far dismayed rights groups for not mentioning the word 'Rohingya' -- a name Buddhist-majority Myanmar rejects, preferring the pejorative term 'Bengali' that implies the community are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Kobsak Chutikul said the international community should rally round new UN special envoy Christine Schraner Burgener, who he said "offers the best hope in the circumstances". The CPI(M) hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for repeating the "jumlas" and reading out "some fudged data" in his reply to the discussion on the no-trust motion against the government in the Lok Sabha. Reacting to the prime minister's reply, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said the people of the country would defeat the polarisation in the country. "The PM continues to repeat jumlas and read out some fudged data. The status of the economy and livelihood conditions of our people is a lived reality. People will defeat this economic assault and the frenzied polarisation of our society," Yechury tweeted. About Modi's dig at the Congress and other opposition parties, Yechury said that there was no bigger indicator of no-confidence than the fact that his erstwhile ally, TDP, which had ministers at the Centre a few months ago, had moved the no-trust motion. The BJP's allies themselves don't have any confidence in this government, he said. The prime minister in his reply said that it was not the floor test of the government but a forced test of the Congress and its "so-called allies". The Left leader questioned the prime minister as to why his government was "suppressing" data on the issues of farmer suicides and incidents of lynching for the last four years. Earlier, while attacking the government on the Rafale deal, the Left leader had also questioned the government on whether the deal would be audited by the CAG. "Has the Modi govt made India's Parliament subservient to other countries? Is India's Parliament no longer sovereign? So the Rafale deal will not be audited by the CAG?." Yechury had wrote on Twitter. Yechury said that these "excuses" regarding the deal must stop now and the country must know the full facts. "It is a case of public money and a defence deal where we Indians must know the full facts," he tweeted. Yechury also accused the prime minister of spending at least Rs 4,343 crore of public money on self-publicity of the NDA government, "while the real India reels under the mess created by Centre Around 2.4 lakh automated teller machines (ATMs) will require recalibration at a cost of Rs 1 billion for the newly introduced Rs 100 notes, according to a report by Business Standard. Quoting Loney Anthony, managing director of Hitachi Payment Services, the report states that the process can take one year or more to complete. An official told the publication that the process will be carried out in phases. Experts state that the difference in size of the new Rs 100 note and the old one is one of the causes of concern. There are four cassettes in every ATM. The different dimensions of the Rs 100 note will mean that two cassettes will be used for a single denomination, leaving only two cassettes for the higher denomination notes, Sanjeev Patel, managing director of Tata Communications Payment Solutions, was quoted as saying by the paper. This will reduce the cash carrying capacity of ATMs, he added. Another concern is striking a balance between the supply of new notes and withdrawal of the old ones. If the supply of the new currency is unable to fill the gap created by the withdrawal of old currency, the dispensation of Rs 100 notes through ATMs will get affected till such time as the imbalance exists, Radha Rama Dorai, managing director of FIS, a payments service provider, told the paper. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had, on July 19, announced that the bank is planning to release a new lavender-coloured Rs 100 note which would have RBI Governor Urjit Patels signature on it. This is the fifth new banknote size to be issued by the central bank since demonetisation in November 2016. Representative Image The central governments response to the recent instances of mob violence and lynching across the country, many of them targeting minorities and Dalits, is a variation of shooting the messenger. It has blamed the medium WhatsApp instead of the message, most often fake news with a communal and polarising agenda that reflects intolerance and prejudice. The acts and statements of some Bharatiya Janata Party ministers has also resulted in conflicting signals of the governments stance. It has taken the Supreme Court to come down strongly on the State. On July 16, the apex court called such incidents 'horrendous acts of mobocracy.' In a 45-page judgment, it has said these hate crimes are a product of intolerance, ideological dominance and prejudice [and] ought not to be tolerated; lest it results in a reign of terror. It has laid down steps to tackle fake news and asked Parliament to pass a law making lynching a separate offence with severe punishment. The ruling could not have come sooner. Vigilante violence has been the bane of law and order enforcement machinery in several states. In June, two people were lynched by a 200-strong mob after a rumour spread about child-lifters entering a village in Assam. In the same month a cattle trader in Uttar Pradesh was lynched over suspicion of cow slaughter. In May, two men were killed in Karnataka by a mob after word spread that they were kidnappers. In February, an Adivasi was beaten to death by a mob in Kerala that accused him of theft. Indeed, a day after the courts observation, activist Swami Agnivesh was beaten up in public in broad daylight by a mob in Jharkhand. Some reports accuse the youth wings of the BJP and the RSS for the attack. On Wednesday, Jharkhand Urban Development Minister CP Singh called Agnivesh a 'fraud' and 'hypocrite' who staged the attack on himself. On Thursday, Home Minister Rajnath Singh condemned lynching and mob violence. He said the responsibility to prevent such attacks was with the state governments and blamed social media for the spread of fake news. The government might not be keeping count, but deflecting the issue is not the solution. Being the party in power at the Centre and in most states across India, there is naturally a greater responsibility on the BJP to be in the forefront to tackle this menace, even if some instances of such violence have been reported from non-BJP ruled states. What adds to the weight of criticism against the BJP is the actions of some of its leaders in such cases. For instance, take CP Singhs statement: rather than condemning such an attack, without providing evidence, the minister is quick to blame the victim (Agnivesh). Earlier this month, Union minister Jayant Sinha garlanded eight convicts in a lynching case in Jharkhand after they were released on bail. This was followed by Giriraj Singh, Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, visiting riot-accused in jail in Bihar. Such acts send out a message that mob violence and lynching is condoned and this goes against the governments stand that violence of any kind is condemned. Remember, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself had condemned vigilante violence in a speech last year. So will a new law on lynching help in reducing mob violence and lynching? It is not a gap in the law that is a problem. The problem is that those who commit these crimes know that there is an impunity. They know that not only will they not be punished, but that they will also get some political favours because of the ideology of some political parties, says Faizan Mustafa, Vice-Chancellor of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad. The message that we are not going to tolerate such violence must come from the top. It will have a much greater impact than changing the law. Because the law in itself will not be able to change the mindset of people. There are also economic repercussions that violence and unrest bring. Violence forces businesses and potential investors to have second thoughts about investing in India. Slip-ups in law and order enforcement will detract from the improvements in the ease of doing business that has been achieved in recent years. On its part, WhatsApp has announced that it is launching athat will restrict forwarding messages to a maximum of five people or groups. But that is really not a solution. It is imperative for the governments, both at the Centre and state, to ensure that lynching and mob violence is checked. All political parties must also do their share, the BJP more because great power demands greater responsibility. Three years later Sunaina (name changed) was working with a top IT firm when she got an offer from a Gurugram-based business process management company. Not many would have taken it, but she took a chance., she is glad she took the risk. Initially even I wasnt convinced about making the switch from IT to BPM. But three years in, I have seen that the quality of work and the kind of effort BPM companies put in is better, said a Gurugram-based employee of a large business process management firm. Once seen by urban youth as a stopgap arrangement, a means to earn an easy buck straight out of engineering college until they landed a 'proper job' with one of the large IT services providers, the business process outsourcing industry has come a long way from its call centre days and transitioned into BPM. An engineer who has worked with one of the top three Indian IT companies for over 10 years now, remembers the initial days: There was some time between when I finished college and I was going to join this company in 2007. For those few months, I and a few of my friends joined this BPO (business process outsourcing) in (then) Gurgaon and it was the best, most carefree time in my life. He remembers the late night shift and diction classes (who knew there was an American way to pronounce the 'T' sound!), the Gurugram parantha waalas and the feel of the first few thousand rupees that landed in his bank account for two months. It was never meant to be a serious job, he added. One of the most persistent themes the BPM industry has had to grapple with is that of its image. Around 2006-07, a US-based movie and television series that showed Indian BPO workers with fake accents in small town India was panned as being racist and portraying Indians in poor light. The series ran for only one season, but etched an image of call centre employees in the minds of the English-speaking world. Even in India, there were movies that portrayed the sector as being the last resort of the otherwise unemployed. This (portrayal) created a popular perception that BPO was a low-end business, said KS Viswanathan, Vice President, Industry Initiatives at The National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom). The industry wasnt helped by reports of fraud and fly-by-night operators conning clients and siphoning off money over the years that followed. The negative international press coverage did not make it any easier. With the rise of cybercrime, reports of customer details being put up for sale and siphoning off of money through smaller call centre operations also led to a negative image of the industry. What followed was a campaign to reposition and rebrand the industry around 2013-2014. Industry body Nasscom too also renamed the BPO sector as BPM. In 2016, Nasscom said it had set up a Consumer Interest Protection Task Force under the then BPM Council Chairman, Keshav Murugesh, who is also the group CEO of WNS, one of the largest BPO firms based in India. The idea was to proactively detail an action plan for the BPM industry in India to further strengthen its efforts to protect consumer interests globally from fraudulent acts perpetrated by unscrupulous elements, including those using the Internet as a medium. By 2016, the industry body had managed to reach out to 70,000 students through five colleges each in Chandigarh and Bengaluru with the message to make the BPM industry 'world worthy'. It even hired advertising firm JWT for the project. The BPO industry that began with call centres, had finally started to move to higher-value services such analytics, finance and accounting and healthcare services. Changing times But times have changed. As the Indian technology services sector grapples with slowing growth, the BPM industry has been outpacing its sister IT industry as the positive impact of automation begins to show. The BPO sector has been going through somewhat of a renaissance as it has embraced the new digital business model. Its growth rate has increased and now is greater than the IT segment, said Peter-Bendor Samuel, CEO of research group Everest Research. In 2017-18, the global BPM market grew 3.4 percent year-on-year to $189 billion, according to data from International Data Corporation (IDC). In comparison, the Indian BPM industry grew at over 8 percent YoY, a trend that is expected to continue into this year as well, according to the National Association of Software and Services Companies. In absolute numbers, the Indian BPM sector clocked $32 billion in revenue, of which $4.1 billion is the domestic opportunity and exports were more than $28 billion. IT services in India grew 7 percent in the last year according to Nasscom data. The automation pivot Analysts largely agree that the change in fortunes of the BPM industry came with automation. Automation is having a huge impact on the BPM landscape to the point where most BPM deals today incorporate 'bots plus humans' as a standard, interchangeable options for clients. I think process automation is the 'new outsourcing', where deals are spiked with robotic process automation to deliver the numbers, said Phil Fersht, CEO of research firm HfS Research. RPA, an oft-heard word at industry conferences, is essentially automating repetitive tasks with the help of software. This helps companies keep costs low and increase productivity. Automation is not a new phenomenon, and programming software to be able to perform tasks was also not unheard of. So why is it being hailed as the harbinger of good fortune for the BPM sector now? Earlier, automation was expensive, meant only for the big (IT) boys. Now, with open source and cloud technology reducing infrastructure management costs, automation has become truly democratised, said Sanchit Vir Gogia, CEO of research and advisory firm Greyhound Research. The Indian IT industry is also talking about automation, but as legacy work moves towards more efficient digital models, revenues have compressed, making growth harder for the industry, said Everests Bendor-Samuel. As new technologies refresh the voice/call centre services, there is an opportunity for higher margin higher value services. In other areas RPA has opened up new areas for the provers. All this paints a bright future for the BPS (BPM) industry, which looks to outperform its sister IT industry for the foreseeable future, he added. BPM companies are using robotic process automation for repetitive, low-end tasks that do not require human judgement, WNS Global Services CEO Keshav Murugesh told Moneycontrol in an interaction last month. Read: Automation has growing-yet-specific role in IT-BPM business: WNS Global Services CEO Some of these activities are document processing, responding to customer queries, reading and organising data, or making relevant suggestions based on records of previous queries. The efficiency impact showed in its results: the Mumbai-headquartered BPM providers profit more than doubled in the last year. Genpact, arguably one of the best known BPM firms in India, has also been building and refining its digital strategy over the last four years. Tiger Tyagarajan, Genpacts Chief Executive, told Moneycontrol in an exclusive interview last month that a year ago it launched a comprehensive automation to AI platform, which is being extremely well received in the marketplace. Read: Right now, digital disruption is on every CXOs mind: Tiger Tyagarajan, CEO, Genpact Competition rising, but India stands to win Over the years, India has been challenged by other Asian countries as low cost destinations: Philippines, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, China and Poland. As voice-based work expands to more technology-based offerings, including 'chat only deals' where clients only ask for chatbots for support, India is still at an advantage, said Fersht. In terms of BPM deals, he said it is India for non-voice, the Philippines for voice. Romania and Poland are very strong destinations too for voice. The other area where India wins is its huge talent pool: with over 3 million engineers graduating each year. There is also a host of other professionals that the industry is now employing as focus shifts to specialised skills. According to Nasscoms Viswanthan, the BPM industry employs 15 percent of engineers, 8 percent medical doctors, 8 percent PhDs, 23 percent chartered accountants, and 40 percent commerce graduates. Even though automation is taking hold, pure number crunching for big data, analytics and other technology requires statisticians and mathematicians, who are being trained. Its a big opportunity for the industry, said Gogia. With digital and analytics taking over low level work, margins are rising and the BPM firms who have invested in these capabilities are on the growth path. Prime Minister Narendra Modi Air India One Prime Minister Narendra Modi made 84 foreign trips in four years, setting the exchequer back by Rs 1,484 crore. The details of Modis travel expenditure was shared by the Minister of State for External Affairs General VK Singh in a response to a question raised in the Rajya Sabha. The aggregate expenditure has been classified under three heads aircraft maintenance, cost of leasing chartered flights and hotline facilities that were on standby during Prime Ministers overseas trips. According to data shared in the Upper House, Rs 1,088.42 crore was spent on maintaining the Prime Ministers aircraft. Modis first foreign trip as Prime Minister was to Bhutan in June 15, 2014, a couple of weeks after taking oath to the highest office in the land. Source: Rajya Sabha In the intervening months, he visited 84 countries in 42 tours, often relying on chartered planes to ferry him to distant locales. The total bill on chartered flights between June 15, 2014 and June 10, 2018 was Rs 387.26 crore. Maintaining a hotline facility cost an additional Rs 9.12 crore. While maintenance charges have largely remained constant, the money spent on chartered flights spiked in 2015-16, with Rs 117.89 crore transferred to lessors. The figure provided by Singh in the Rajya Sabha is only tentative since it does not include the cost of leasing chartered flights in 2018-19 and that of hotline facilities in 2017-18 and 2018-19. Moreover, it does not cover the cost of providing security to the Prime Minister and his entourage. According to data furnished by the minister, Modi was a more prolific traveller in the earlier years of his tenure. He visited 24 countries in 2015-16, followed by 17 in 2016-17, 19 in 2017-18 and 18 nations in 2016-17. Singh justified the expenses saying the Prime Ministers foreign trips had enhanced the countrys standing in the international community. He added that Indias diplomatic outreach led to the first-ever visit by an Indian head-of-state to many countries. Former chief minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti Senior BJP leader and former Jammu and Kashmir deputy chief minister Kavinder Gupta today said People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti should utilise her energy and time for restoration of peace in Kashmir instead of making irresponsible statements against the erstwhile partner. Mehbooba should utilise her energy and time to work on ground for the development and peace in the Valley instead of making irresponsible statements and levelling allegations which not only further tarnish her image as a politician but also invite resentment from the general public, Gupta said. He slammed the former chief minister for making highly irresponsible, false and misleading utterances that her party legislators were being coerced to leave the party with threat of National Investigation Agency (NIA) raids. He said Mehbooba had levelled false charges against the Union government and the BJP of horse trading and luring her party MLAs. "She is now dragging NIA in her politics of frustration, she has made it clear that she does not respect the premier agencies in the country." He said Mehbooba can go to any extent to cover her failure to keep her party intact. "Her own failure to take MLAs together has resulted into revolt within the party and there is no role of the BJP or Union government for the developments taking place in the PDP after coalition breakup in the state last month," he said. Saudi Aramco's potential acquisition of a stake in petrochemicals maker SABIC would affect the timeframe of its own planned initial public offering, the firm's chief executive, Amin Nasser, said in a TV interview. The offering is the centrepiece of an ambitious plan championed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to diversify Saudi Arabia's economy beyond oil, but preparations for the IPO, which could prove the biggest in history, have slowed. Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television cited Nasser as saying that buying a stake in a petrochemicals company would make the state oil giant less vulnerable to price volatility. "If the deal is completed, with relevant regulations taken into account, it will definitely affect the timeframe for the partial IPO of Saudi Aramco," he said in a transcript provided by the government media office. Aramco said on Thursday it was looking to buy a strategic stake in SABIC, which could boost its market valuation ahead of a planned IPO. When Aramco is ready to list, the IPO timing would be up to the government to decide, Nasser said. "As I said in previous interviews, when Saudi Aramco is ready, the decision of going ahead with the IPO is for the state to make," he said On Thursday, Aramco said it was in "very early-stage discussions" with the kingdom's Public Investment Fund (PIF) to acquire the SABIC stake in a private transaction, and had no plans to acquire any publicly held shares. Riyadh-listed Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), the world's fourth-biggest petrochemicals company, is 70 percent owned by the PIF, Saudi Arabia's top sovereign wealth fund. It has a market capitalisation of 385.2 billion Saudi riyals ($103 billion). Nasser also said Aramco had a long-term goal to convert 2 million to 3 million barrels of its oil products into chemicals. Nasser said the proposed deal with Sabic would help balance revenues from excavation and production with those from refining and chemicals, that normally remain strong even when oil prices dip. Reuters reported on Wednesday that Saudi Aramco had invited banks to pitch for an advisory role on the potential acquisition of a strategic stake in SABIC, citing two sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Some sources close to the Saudi Aramco IPO process have said the plans for a domestic and international listing might be pushed further into next year or beyond. A final decision has yet to be made by Prince Mohammed, who oversees the kingdom's economic and oil policies, the sources said. Saudi Arabia's energy minister, Khalid al-Falih, said last month it would be "nice" to see Aramco floated in 2019, adding that the timing was not critical to the government. Aramco plans to boost investments in refining and petrochemicals to secure new markets and sees growth in chemicals as central to its downstream strategy to cut the risk of an oil demand slowdown. Iran's supreme leader on Saturday backed President Hassan Rouhani's suggestion that Iran may block Gulf oil exports if its own exports are stopped, according to his official website. "(Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) said remarks by the president ... that 'if Iran's oil is not exported, no regional country's oil will be exported,' were important remarks that reflect the policy and the approach of (Iran's) system," Khamenei's website said. Rouhani's apparent threat earlier this month to disrupt oil shipments from neighbouring countries came in reaction to looming U.S. sanctions and efforts by Washington to force all countries to stop buying Iranian oil. Iranian officials have in the past threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping route, in retaliation for any hostile U.S. action. Khamenei used a speech to foreign ministry officials to reject any renewed talks with the United States after President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from a 2015 international deal over Iran's nuclear programme. "The word and even the signature of the Americans cannot be relied upon, so negotiations with America are of no avail," Khamenei said. It would be an "obvious mistake" to negotiate with the United States as Washington was unreliable, Khamenei added according to his website. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday it would be an "obvious mistake" to negotiate with the United States as Washington was unreliable. "The word and even the signature of the Americans cannot be relied upon, so negotiations with America are of no avail," Khamenei said in a meeting with Foreign Ministry officials, adding that negotiations with Washington would be an "obvious mistake", according to his official website. Rank 7 | Washington DC, USA | Score - 87.6 (Image: Reuters) The White House said today it "is not considering supporting" a Vladimir Putin-backed call for a referendum in eastern Ukraine in the aftermath of President Donald Trump's meeting with the Russian president. Russia's ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, earlier revealed that the two leaders had discussed the possibility of a referendum on separatist-leaning eastern Ukraine's future during their Helsinki summit. National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis said agreements between Russia and the Ukrainian government for resolving the conflict in the Donbas region "do not include any option for referendum". He added any effort to organise a "so-called referendum" would have "no legitimacy". The White House announcement comes as it laid out the agenda for an autumn summit between Trump and Putin in Washington that would focus on national security. Moscow signalled openness to a second formal meeting between the two leaders, as criticism of Trump over his first session with his Russian counterpart continued to swirl. A White House official said the next Trump-Putin meeting would address national security concerns discussed in Helsinki, including Russian meddling. The official did not specify if that meant Russia's interference in US elections. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning, said the talks would also cover nuclear proliferation, North Korea, Iran and Syria. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said at the United Nations he was "happy that the two leaders of two very important countries are continuing to meet. If that meeting takes place in Washington, I think it is all to the good. Those conversations are incredibly important." Trump asked National Security Adviser John Bolton to invite Putin to Washington in the fall to follow up on issues they discussed this week in Helsinki, Finland, the official said. A White House meeting would be a dramatic extension of legitimacy to the Russian leader, who has long been isolated by the West for activities in Ukraine, Syria and beyond and is believed to have interfered in the 2016 presidential election that sent Trump to the presidency. No Russian leader has visited the White House in nearly a decade. The announcement of a second summit comes as US officials have been mum on what, if anything, the two leaders agreed to in Helsinki during their more than two-hour one-on-one meeting, in which only translators were present. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats revealed earlier he was yet to be briefed on the private session. The Russian government has proven to be more forthcoming. "This issue (of a referendum) was discussed," Antonov said, adding that Putin made "concrete proposals" to Trump on solutions for the four-year, Russian-backed insurgency in eastern Ukraine, which has killed more than 10,000 people. He did not elaborate on what Putin's solutions would be. The move may be seen as an effort to sidestep European peace efforts for Ukraine and increase the pressure on the Ukrainian government in its protracted conflict with pro-Russian separatists in the Donbas region. Trump tweeted on Thursday that he looked forward a "second meeting" with Putin and defended his performance at Monday's summit, in which the two leaders conferred on a range of issues including terrorism, Israeli security, nuclear proliferation and North Korea. "There are many answers, some easy and some hard, to these problems ... but they can ALL be solved!" Trump tweeted. In Moscow, Antonov said it is important to "deal with the results" of their first summit before jumping too fast into a new one. But he said, "Russia was always open to such proposals. We are ready for discussions on this subject." The announcement came as the US sought to clean up days of confounding post-summit Trump statements on Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump's public doubting of Russia's responsibility in a joint news conference with Putin provoked withering criticism from Republicans as well as Democrats and forced the president to make a rare public admission of error. Then on Thursday, the White House said Trump "disagrees" with Putin's offer to allow US questioning of 12 Russians who have been indicted for election interference in exchange for Russian interviews with the former US ambassador to Russia and other Americans the Kremlin accuses of unspecified crimes. Trump initially had described the idea as an "incredible offer". The White House backtrack came just before the Senate voted overwhelmingly against the proposal. It was Congress' first formal rebuke of Trump's actions from the summit and its aftermath. Asked about the Putin invitation, Alaska Republican Senator Dan Sullivan said, "I wouldn't do it, that's for damn sure." "If the Russians want a better relationship, trips to the White House aren't going to help," he added. "They should stop invading their neighbours." House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi yesterday urged House Speaker Paul Ryan to make it clear that Putin won't be invited to address Congress if he comes to Washington. She said Trump's "frightened fawning over Putin is an embarrassment and a grave threat to our democracy." While Trump and Putin had met privately on three occasions in 2017, Trump opened the door to a potential White House meeting with him earlier this year. The Kremlin had said in April that the president had invited the Russian leader to the White House when they spoke by telephone in March. The United States called on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday to act on his promise to give up nuclear weapons and said the world, including China and Russia, must continue to enforce sanctions until he does so. After briefing UN Security Council envoys in New York, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley warned against loosening sanctions on Pyongyang after Russia and China suggested the council could discuss such a move. The UN Security Council has unanimously boosted sanctions on North Korea since 2006 in a bid to choke off funding for Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. US President Donald Trump and the North Korean leader met for the first time in Singapore last month and Pompeo followed up with inconclusive talks with North Korea this month. He reiterated on Friday that he had made progress. "Chairman Kim made a promise ... that he was prepared to denuclearise. The scope and scale of that is agreed to. The North Koreans understand what that means," Pompeo told reporters. "We need to see Chairman Kim do what he promised the world he would do." Pompeo also called for an end to sanctions violations and Haley said the best way the talks between the United States and North Korea could be supported was by enforcing, not easing, sanctions. "We can't do one thing until we see North Korea respond to their promise to denuclearise. We have to see some sort of action," Haley told reporters. The United States last week complained to the UN Security Council North Korea sanctions committee that as of May 30, there had been 89 illicit ship-to-ship transfers of refined petroleum products this year by Pyongyang, breaching a UN sanctions cap. It asked the committee to order a halt to refined petroleum exports to North Korea, but Russia and China put a "hold" on the request on Thursday and asked for more detail on the US accusation. "For China and Russia to block it - what are they telling us? Are they telling us that they want to continue supplying this oil? They claim they need more information, we don't need any more information," Haley said. "We put pressure today on China and Russia to abide and be good helpers through this situation and to help us continue with denuclearisation," she said. However, Russia's Deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy told Reuters there was no reason for Haley to reproach Russia. "We abide by all decisions. We just ask questions totally in line with sanction committee rules ... We didn't block anything - we put it on hold. She needs to study basics more." China's UN Ambassador Ma Zhaoxu said China was committed to denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and to the promotion of dialogue and negotiations. "Everybody should fully implement resolutions passed by the Security Council," he told reporters after Pompeo's briefing. Having to watch their child suffer is one of the worst things a parent can go through, and a Houston couple is having to live that experience after a family trip to Mexico took a turn for the worst. Francisco and Emily Barba took their 11-month old daughter Emma on a one-week trip to Mexico to meet some family for the first time. Everything had gone as planned until Saturday, July 14 just one day before they were scheduled to head back home to Houston. A TEXAS BIRTH: Photos of mom's 'intense' backyard waterbirth go viral Emily Barba said Emma was playing and having fun that morning, but that evening she started screaming like she was in pain. "In her eyes, I could tell something was wrong," said Barba. "After she started throwing up we knew something was wrong," so they rushed Emma to a hospital where she was diagnosed with a bacterial infection and sent home with medications. Despite the medicine, Emma continued throwing up so she was taken to a second hospital where she was diagnosed with intussusception. According to Helene Sheena, a Pediatrician at Kelsey-Seybold Clinic in Tanglewood, intussusception is a medical condition where part of the intestine telescopes into itself and can cause an obstruction. "In addition to creating an intestinal obstruction, intussusception can also cut off blood supply to the affected portion of the intestine this can lead to a perforation in the intestinal wall which may cause peritonitis this is a life-threatening condition," Sheena said in a statement. "Non-contrast barium or air enema can fix intussusception, but surgery may be required if there is a perforation in the intestine or if the barium or air enema doesn't work." Symptoms include abdominal swelling, vomiting, stool mixed with blood and mucus or diarrhea, or sudden and loud crying, fever, and a lump in the abdomen. THE BORDER CRISIS: Father of the crying immigrant child reveals she and her mother were never separated Doctors at the hospital were able to stabilize Emma and perform emergency surgery. However, after the surgery, staff found liquid in her lungs and put her on a breathing machine, but because of a lack of proper equipment, Emma had to be transferred to yet another hospital where she is now making steady progress. "She's doing well right now," said Barba "All steps forward, none back, She's breathing on her own 100 percent. They still have her on oxygen to help the swelling on the back part of the brain, which was caused by a stroke." While Barba and her husband have been happy with the care Emma received at the hospital where she is, they are hoping to get her transferred to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston soon. However, in order to transfer her, Barba and her husband will have to pay for a staffed air ambulance, which can cost about $30,000. To cover the cost, Barba's sister-in-law set up a GoFundMe page on July 17, and as of 4:45 p.m. on July 19 it was only $2,344 away from meeting the $30,000 goal. Both Barba and her husband have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and donations for their daughter. "We are so grateful for everyone's donations," Barba said. "We both work but the amount of money we needed was out of anyone's reach! We're so thankful and blessed that family and strangers have helped us raise so much for our Emma Rose! Also, all the prayers from everyone have helped so much. Prayers have as much an impact as the money." Barba wants other parents to take their experience as a lesson to be prepared with travel insurance because you never know what can happen. "We were prepared for if she got a cold or a cough or a runny nose or got a scraped knee but this we were not prepared in, no one is. Making sure you have insurance in another country is such a smart idea." Daniela Sternitzky-Di Napoli is a digital producer. You can follow her on twitter at @Dani_DiNapoli. Having to watch their child suffer is one of the worst things a parent can go through, and a Houston couple is having to live that experience after a family trip to Mexico took a turn for the worst. Francisco and Emily Barba took their 11-month old daughter Emma on a one-week trip to Mexico to meet some family for the first time. Everything had gone as planned until Saturday, July 14 just one day before they were scheduled to head back home to Houston. A TEXAS BIRTH: Photos of mom's 'intense' backyard waterbirth go viral Emily Barba said Emma was playing and having fun that morning, but that evening she started screaming like she was in pain. "In her eyes, I could tell something was wrong," said Barba. "After she started throwing up we knew something was wrong," so they rushed Emma to a hospital where she was diagnosed with a bacterial infection and sent home with medications. Despite the medicine, Emma continued throwing up so she was taken to a second hospital where she was diagnosed with intussusception. According to Helene Sheena, a Pediatrician at Kelsey-Seybold Clinic in Tanglewood, intussusception is a medical condition where part of the intestine telescopes into itself and can cause an obstruction. "In addition to creating an intestinal obstruction, intussusception can also cut off blood supply to the affected portion of the intestine this can lead to a perforation in the intestinal wall which may cause peritonitis this is a life-threatening condition," Sheena said in a statement. "Non-contrast barium or air enema can fix intussusception, but surgery may be required if there is a perforation in the intestine or if the barium or air enema doesn't work." Symptoms include abdominal swelling, vomiting, stool mixed with blood and mucus or diarrhea, or sudden and loud crying, fever, and a lump in the abdomen. RELATED: A man died of bacteria that can cause flesh-eating disease after eating raw oysters here's how concerned you should be Doctors at the hospital were able to stabilize Emma and perform emergency surgery. However, after the surgery, staff found liquid in her lungs and put her on a breathing machine, but because of a lack of proper equipment, Emma had to be transferred to yet another hospital where she is now making steady progress. "She's doing well right now," said Barba "All steps forward, none back, She's breathing on her own 100 percent. They still have her on oxygen to help the swelling on the back part of the brain, which was caused by a stroke." While Barba and her husband have been happy with the care Emma received at the hospital where she is, they are hoping to get her transferred to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston soon. However, in order to transfer her, Barba and her husband will have to pay for a staffed air ambulance, which can cost about $30,000. To cover the cost, Barba's sister-in-law set up a GoFundMe page on July 17, and as of 4:45 p.m. on July 19 it was only $2,344 away from meeting the $30,000 goal. Both Barba and her husband have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and donations for their daughter. "We are so grateful for everyone's donations," Barba said. "We both work but the amount of money we needed was out of anyone's reach! We're so thankful and blessed that family and strangers have helped us raise so much for our Emma Rose! Also, all the prayers from everyone have helped so much. Prayers have as much an impact as the money." Barba wants other parents to take their experience as a lesson to be prepared with travel insurance because you never know what can happen. "We were prepared for if she got a cold or a cough or a runny nose or got a scraped knee but this we were not prepared in, no one is. Making sure you have insurance in another country is such a smart idea." Daniela Sternitzky-Di Napoli is a digital producer. You can follow her on twitter at @Dani_DiNapoli. While Thomas Beard saw financial success in his choice of a town site, the locations earlier inhabitants simply saw it as a safe place. The 24-year-old Beard landed in a Kickapoo Indian village south of the confluence of the Sangamon and Illinois rivers in 1819. Beard befriended the Indians and built a cabin near a group of ceremonial and burial mounds of Indian tribes. French missionaries had called the site beautiful mound village when they used it as a trading post and missionary station in the 1700s. When Beard arrived, the village was composed of a cluster of buffalo and elk-skin lodges and an old, dilapidated hut believed to have been built by French fur trappers known as voyageurs. American Indians, the Mascoutens and then the Kickapoos, thought the villages greatest attribute was its strategic position. Cass County historian J. Henry Shaw reflected on this in a speech he gave on July 4, 1876. The present site of Beardstown was at one time an island, surrounded on the northeast and south by almost impassable swamps, containing dangerous quicksands and quaking bogs and which could be crossed only in canoes or by Indians jumping from hillock to hillock of the turf grass with which these swamps were interspersed, and on the west by the Illinois River, Shaw said. The Indian town of the Mascoutens was a beautiful place. It was built upon a series of beautiful mounds, covered with grass, and partially shaded by tall treesso scattered as to obstruct the view of the whole town from the river. The island had evidently been selected, not on account of its natural beauty, but for its easy defense and safety from enemies. The adventurous Beard, a native of New York state, saw a good business opportunity and a future city when he arrived by horseback in the small Indian village. He continued to live and trade among the Kickapoo until the last one left in the early 1820s. The Kickapoos had signed a treaty with the U.S. government in July 1819, relinquishing all of their old hunting grounds in the area known as the Sangamo Country. Beard was a squatter on the river front land for several years before buying land from the federal government in 1826, the same year he got the first license to operate a ferry boat across the Illinois River, according to an 1882 history of Cass County. A village of white settlers soon began to grow around Beards ferry boat landing, and, in 1829, Beard and Enoch March platted the town of Beardstown. In an 1830 letter to his father, Beard described his bustling river community. I am still keeping ferry and public house. A part of my land I laid out in town lots, which the people have given me the honor of calling by my name. The place is improving. There are now three stores and a very extensive steam [flour] mill, capable of manufacturing from 50 to 75 barrels per day. Also a saw mill and a distillery attached. With the arrival of new residents, Beardstowns landscape began to change. Beginning in the late 1820s, Beardstown residents started destroying the numerous Indian mounds scattered about town. The river ports residents used the mounds clay, which later archaeologists believed came from the bluffs a few miles away, to cover the sandy streets and town lots and to fill in potholes and lowlands around the village. And one enterprising early resident, Horace Billings, even built a flour mill on the largest mound. By the mid-1850s, most of the mounds were gone. While the old Indian landmarks were being destroyed, Beard continued to prosper and support his community until his death in 1849. The benevolent Beard gave Beardstown its first schoolhouse, its Central Park and Cass Countys first courthouse [the county seat later was moved to Virginia], thus transforming the once important Indian community into the major metropolis of Cass County. This Way We Were story was first published Jan. 22, 2001. Turning the ship before it hits the iceberg Tom McClintock, Ryan Zinke and Jeff Denham speak at Don Pedro Reservoir View Photos View Video Don Pedro, CA Water is among the latest battles being fought between federal lawmakers and the State of California. The Trump Administrations US Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke is in the Mother Lode today touring both Don Pedro Reservoir and New Melones. Zinke came at the request of Congressmen Tom McClintock and Jeff Denham, who were both in attendance. At a press conference following a morning tour at Lake Don Pedro, Denham stressed the need for not only additional above ground storage projects, but also a change in direction from the California Water Resources Control Board regarding increased water flows from regional rivers. We reported earlier that the state would like to significantly reduce the amount of water available for consumption, recreation and power supply. Denham stressed, Look, it doesnt make any sense to spend more money on conveyance, if you have no new water to convey. Congressman McClintock, who represents Tuolumne County, pointed to Don Pedro Reservoir, and added, Take a look at that lake, and take a good look at it, because under that order (State Water Resources Control Board), and if it goes through, youre going to regularly see that drawn down to dead pool levels, with the water being flushed out to the ocean. That would be catastrophic for this area. For the tourism that these lakes attract and the beneficial use this water is put to. Zinke stressed the need to get various entities together and find a solution that is acceptable for a variety of interests. Zinke added, I do believe that part of the issue in this part of California is more storage, but its also how we discharge water so that it is done in a scientifically good method.some of the demise of some of the species is not just water flow.some of it has been predationso we need to look at that too. Both McClintock and Denham have been authoring water related bills in the US Congress. Many local leaders were invited to be a part of later events, including Tuolumne County Supervisor Randy Hanvelt and Calaveras Supervisor Dennis Mills. Mills told Clarke Broadcasting he was planning to give Zinke a letter asking that President Trump take executive action to stop the State Water Resources Boards planned action. Click on the video box to view some of Secretary Zinkes opening comments. Plainviews Atomitat House already was garnering national attention in 1966, but it went international in early 1967 thanks to the U.S. Information Agency. And that foreign audience was truly unique the Arabic-speaking countries of the Middle East. The film crews visit to the local subterranean residence and some of the problems they encountered trying to get six minutes of usable footage was chronicled by Herald reporter David Bryant in an article printed on Dec. 11, 1966. Jay Swayze built the unusual residence at 2906 W. 20th in 1961-62 during the darkest days of the Cold War, and it was the first underground home to meet U.S. Civil Defense specifications as a nuclear shelter. The 3,400 square-foot structure, complete with four bedrooms and three baths inside a steel-reinforced concrete shell, is buried 13 feet underground. Swayze used it as a showplace for two years before he and his family took up residence there. In September 1967, Swayze traded the unusual home to Bill and Juanita Hamman for a more conventional above-ground residence in the 1000 block of Smyth. The Swayzes later moved to Hereford, but he built several more home underground homes, including one for the New York Worlds Fair and others in Boulder, Colo., Hershey, Pa., Duncanville and Las Vegas. Bill Hamman died in 2002, but Juanita Hamman continues to live underground in the Atomitat with two of her children. According to Bryants article, footage from the film crews visit to Plainview was incorporated into a 15-minute program entitled Ikhtartu Lakum I Have Chosen For You. The American propaganda film was shot and produced by the U.S. Information Agencys Motion Picture-Television Service. It was part of a series of programs shown on TV stations in Arabic-speaking countries that was designed to show scenes of American life. The three days of filming in Plainview by the contracted film crew from Dallas Tele-News didnt necessarily go smoothly. According to Bryant, as Swayze stood in front of his underground home and began saying, Hello, Im Jay Swa . . . a dog wandered across the yard to spoil Scene One, Take Six. Even though the commentary and sound-on-film voice would be translated into Arabic, Swayze opened the film in English with an introduction at ground level. He then stepped through the front door and continued down the stairs to his home. Filming of the opening scene was finally completed, but only after the sound technician suffered numerous setbacks from the wandering dog, other neighborhood canines who were barking at a passing mailman and finally the wailing horn of a passing railway freight. The sound technicians unsolicited observation to the reporter was that Plainview is a noisy place. But once inside, the filming went smoothly within the quiet comfort of the below-ground residence. The targeted audience for the film was television viewers in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Aden and possibly Morocco, Tunisia, Libya and Algeria. The program was never designed to be shown to American viewers. While the film crew was from Dallas, they were supervised by director Joe Royster and his assistant, Barbara Spinapolice, both from Washington, D.C. After editing and final screening, the film was ready for distribution and broadcast in early 1967. To comment: dmcdonough@hearstnp.com 806.296.1350 Meechaiel Criner has been found guilty of capital murder in the 2016 death of University of Texas freshman Haruka Weiser, according to the Austin-American Statesman. He was automatically sentenced to life in prison with a possibility of parole in 40 years. Weiser was killed more than two years ago, on April 3, by strangulation and was found lying in Waller Creek on the UT campus. The jury deliberated for more than 10 hours before delivering the verdict Friday afternoon, according to the Statesman. RELATED: UT community bracing for capital murder trial of man accused of killing freshman Criner was charged with intentionally causing Weiser's death, as well as aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping and robbery. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges and testified he had never seen Weiser before, according to the Statesman. Following the announcement of the verdict, Weiser's father, Thomas Weiser, took the stand to address him. "You almost got away with it. It was almost too easy," Thomas Weiser said. "I think you messed with the wrong girl that night." UT-Austin President Gregory Fenves sent an email out to students and faculty shortly after the jury announced its decision. "A verdict provides some closure, but it doesn't heal the pain or ease the sense of loss felt by Haruka's family and all of the students, faculty members and staff members to whom she meant so much," Fenves said. We still hurt terribly. We still feel her loss on a profound level." The trial saw seven days of testimony before the jury went into deliberations Thursday night. Several of Weiser's friends, her father, Criner and investigators testified during the trial. More than 30 witnesses total testified for the prosecution. Weiser's death was the first on-campus homicide at the University of Texas since 1966. Chase Karacostas is a staff writer for mySA.com. | Chase.Karacostas@express-news.net | Twitter: @ChaseKaracostas ECI holds a meeting with CEO/DEOs to instruct SOPs related to First Level Checking (FLC) of EVM-VVPAT Counting of votes for 3 city corporations in K'taka under way Linda Finch from Northville recently completed a triptych showing sections of historic Sacandaga Park, much of which was lost with the 1930 creation of the Great Sacandaga Lake. Her three large paintings are titled: The Station, The Midway and Sport Island. The artist used local maps, Alice Peck's book, "Sacandaga Park, Gem of the Adirondacks", interviews with the author, the Northville Northampton Historic Center, the internet and post cards, she said. Her family's farm was one of the many that were torn down to make way for the lake. Her great grandparents were transburied and moved to nearby King Cemetery. Agnes Simonds Lopuch, the artist's mother, also told her many stories about the park which often numbered 90,000 visits from New York City each summer. Finch hopes to participate in the Wood Workers and Fine Arts weekend in Northville on July 20-22. Polo by Twilight hosted by Skidmore SARATOGA Skidmore College is hosting the 39th annual Polo by Twilight event at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Saratoga Polo Fields, 2 Bloomfield Road, Greenfield Center. The event will begin with a reception and the Palamountain Cup Polo Match, followed by a silent auction and dinner prepared by Skidmore College's award-winning chefs. All proceeds will benefit the Joseph C. and Anne T. Palamountain Scholarship Fund. For details, visit skidmore.edu/palamountainbenefit. Library hosts author Donna Seaman SARATOGA Acclaimed author Donna Seaman will be visiting the Saratoga Springs Public Library from noon to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, to discuss her book "Identity Unknown: Rediscovering Seven American Women Artists." In the book, Seaman goes deeper into the lives and works of Gertrude Abercrombie, Joan Brown, Ree Morton, Lois Mailou Jones, Lenore Tawney, Christina Ramberg, and Louise Nevelson. The event is free and open to the public and is the inaugural program for the library's Eric D. Halberg Trust. For details, call the library at 518-584-7860. Vietnam veterans plan annual reunion GREENVILLE The Northeast USA Vietnam Veterans Reunion Association will be holding its 19th annual meeting at noon Saturday at the Greenville American Legion Post 291, 54 Maple Ave. This year's guest speaker will be retired Naval Officer Jim Toone. "Brown Water Navy" sailors are encouraged to attend this event for a special honoring. Food will be provided after the ceremony. For details, contact Tim Broder Sr. at 518-634-2059. Kayaking available at Grafton Lakes GRAFTON The Schenectady Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club will host a kayaking workshop from 10 a.m. to noon Aug. 4 on Long Pond at Grafton Lakes Stake Park, 100 Grafton Lakes State Park Way. The class is free, but kayaks and life jackets are available to rent for basic instruction for $28. The park also charges an $8 parking fee. To register, call 518-279-1155 or for details, email Whitewater@adk-schenectady.org. Reading of Hersey's 'Hiroshima' Aug. 6 ALBANY There will be a public reading of John Hersey's book "Hiroshima," at 11 a.m. Aug. 6 at Townsend Park, Henry Johnson Boulevard and Central Avenue. The book tells the story of the bombing on August 6, 1945 by following the story of six survivors. The event is free and open to the public and guests are encouraged to join in the reading. Those interested in reading can sign up to participate when they arrive. Folding chairs are also encouraged, and in the event of bad weather the program will be moved to the Social Justice Center, 33 Central Ave. This program is co-sponsored by the Poetry Motel Foundation, the Tom Paine Chapter Veterans for Peace, Upper Hudson Peace Action, Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace, Women Against War. For details, contact Dan Wilcox at 518-482-0262 or dwlcx@earthlink.net. Saratoga Hospital hosts annual gala SARATOGA Saratoga Hospital will hold its 36th annual gala from 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 1 at the Polo Meadow at the Saratoga Casino Hotel, 342 Jefferson St. This year's Havana Nights-themed event is presented by Julie & Co. Realty, LLC and Bonacio Construction Inc. All proceeds will benefit Saratoga Hospital's Saratoga Community Health Center. Auctions will include a Christmas excursion to Hawaii, a Maserati driving experience, a week's stay in Cape Cod and much more. Attire is summer casual. Tickets are $175 per person ($125 for those 21-35) and can be purchased at saratogahospitalgala.org. For questions, contact Ann Carroll at acarroll@saratogahospital.org or 518-583-8340. Compiled by Amanda Case Cobleskill The annual Schoharie County Sunshine Fair is set to begin its 142nd year at 9 a.m. Aug. 7 at the Schoharie County Fairgrounds, Sunshine Drive. This year, guests can enjoy new free shows, live music, exhibits, demolition derbies, truck and tractor pulls and the new Tough Truck & Quad Wars. Daily events will include free shows from the Royal Hanneford Circus, Buffalo Barfield, Camel Kingdom, Rosaire's Royal Racing Pigs, Danny Grant's strolling Cowboy Circus and Dale Scott's "Future World of Magic" show. Opening day will recognize seniors, allowing anyone over 62 a $5 all-day pass, access to rides and a light lunch at noon at Brown's Ford Theatre. The fair will also feature horse and other animal shows, pageants, plenty of food and craft vendors and much more. Thursday has been named "Young American Day Bicycle Give Away" and thanks to donations, 100 bikes equipped with helmets and water bottles, will be given away. Friday will include the New York State-sanctioned Tractor Pull, followed by a live performance by Skeeter Creek. For details and a complete list of daily events, visit sunshinefair.org. Lincoln Brower, one of the foremost experts on the monarch butterfly, who spent six decades studying the life cycle of the delicate orange-and-black insect and later led efforts to preserve its winter habitat in a mountainous region of Mexico, died July 17 at his home in Nelson County, Virginia. He was 86. He had Parkinson's disease, said his wife, Linda Fink. Dr. Brower, who taught at Amherst College in Massachusetts and the University of Florida before becoming a research professor at Virginia's Sweet Briar College in 1997, began studying the monarch butterfly in the 1950s. He made key discoveries about how it protected itself by converting a toxic compound from its sole food source, the milkweed plant, into a chemical compound that sickened its predators, primarily birds. In the 1970s, other scientists discovered that monarchs had extraordinary migratory powers, more like birds or whales than insects. Each fall, monarchs from east of the Rocky Mountains travel thousands of miles to a Mexican forest, where they spend the winters. Monarchs from western North America migrate to California. "It has the most complicated migration of any insect known," Brower told the Chicago Tribune in 1998. "Somehow they know how to get to the same trees every year. It's a highly specific behavior that is unique to the monarch butterfly." It takes three to four generations of monarchs to complete the one-year life cycle. After the migration to Mexico, the butterflies begin their return trip to North America, and a new generation is born en route, growing from larvae to caterpillars before taking flight. With the arrival of cooler weather in the fall, the great-grandchildren of the monarchs that flew south the previous year will make the same trip, returning to the mountainsides visited by their ancestors. "It's an inherited pattern of behavior and a system of navigation that we don't really understand," Brower said in 2007. "We don't know exactly how they find their way. We don't know how they know where to stop." Brower first visited the monarchs' winter quarters in a Mexican forest, about 80 to 100 miles west of Mexico City, in 1977. At an elevation of 9,500 to 11,000 feet, tall fir trees were entirely covered by hundreds of millions of butterflies. When they stir their wings, "it sort of sounds like leaves blowing in the fall," Brower's son, Andrew Brower, a biologist and butterfly expert at Middle Tennessee State University, said in an interview. "It's remarkable. You look up, and the sky is blue, but then it's orange. It's like an orange stained glass window above your head." During more than 50 trips to Mexico to study monarchs, Brower began to see that their numbers were shrinking. Their mountain habitat is now a UNESCO World Heritage site, and ecotourists have rallied to save the region from development. Nevertheless, trees continue to be cut down by loggers or burned by farmers. In North America, Brower also pointed out, the monarchs face a further problem from the growing use of herbicide, which has eradicated much of their food source, the once-abundant milkweed. "What we're going to lose," Brower said in 1998, "is this incredibly beautiful migration and everything that's associated with it. So I have called this beautiful syndrome of the migration and overwintering cycle an "endangered biological phenomenon." There are still millions of monarchs in North America, but their numbers fluctuate from year to year, in an ever-downward trend. By some counts, the population has fallen by as much as 90 percent since the 1980s. Brower joined efforts by environmental groups to have the monarch recognized as a "threatened" species. "Why should we care?" Brower told The Washington Post in 2005. "For the same reasons we should care about the Mona Lisa or the beauty of Mozart's music." Lincoln Pierson Brower was born Sept. 10, 1931, in Madison, New Jersey. His parents had a nursery and rose-growing business. He was 5 when he took notice of an American copper butterfly landing on a clover bloom. "I just stared at that tiny butterfly, and it was so beautiful to me," he told NPR. "And that was the beginning." He graduated from Princeton University in 1952, then received a doctorate in zoology from Yale University in 1957. Some of his early scientific papers were written with his first wife, the former Jane Van Zandt. That marriage ended in divorce, as did a second, to Christine Moffitt. Survivors include his wife of 27 years, Linda Fink, a professor of ecology at Sweet Briar College and a frequent scientific collaborator; two children from his first marriage, Andrew Brower of Christiana, Tennessee, and Tamsin Barrett of Salem, New Hampshire; a brother; and two grandchildren. Brower edited two books and was the author or co-author of more than 200 scientific studies. In 2016, he received the E.O. Wilson Award for his work to preserve the monarch from the Center for Biological Diversity. He also received an award from the Mexican government. In 1998, Brower recalled his first visit to the monarchs' wintering place in the mountains of Michoacan, Mexico. "All of a sudden the color of the trees changed," he told the Tribune. "I didn't realize what I was looking at. It was like a wall, turning from green to gray. It was monarch wings, folded as they roosted - the underside of their wings are grayish. "So, here was this wall of butterflies, and I just couldn't believe it. For the first time in my life, I saw millions of monarch butterflies right in front of me. They were covering the trees, they were all over the boughs. They were on the trunks. They were on the limbs. They were on the bushes. They were everywhere. It is one of the most marvelous sights you can behold in the biological world." Russia provided additional details Friday of what it said were agreements made at the presidential summit in Helsinki this week, shaping a narrative of the meeting with no confirmation or alternative account from the Trump administration. Not surprisingly, the Russian story line tended to favor the Kremlin's own policy prescriptions, at times contradicting stated administration strategy. Russia already has sent formal proposals to Washington for joint U.S.-Russia efforts to fund reconstruction of war-ravaged Syria and facilitate the return home of millions of Syrians who fled the country, following "agreements reached" by President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev, the three-star head of the Russian National Defense Management Center, said Friday. Mizintsev, speaking in Moscow at a joint session of planners from the Defense and Foreign Ministries, said that Russia had already begun work on the ground in both areas but that additional resources and international coordination are needed. Russia's U.S. ambassador, Anatoly Antonov, said separately that Syria had been the primary topic in the Trump-Putin conversations, along with "the removal of the concerns that the United States has regarding the well-known claims about alleged interference in the elections." Administration officials have said repeatedly in the past that no U.S. or European reconstruction assistance will go to any part of Syria that remains under the expanding control of Russian-backed President Bashar Assad. Asked about Russian claims that agreements had been reached, a National Security Council spokesman said: "As President Trump stated, the two sides agreed that their national security council staffs will follow up on the presidents' meetings, and these discussions are underway. There were no commitments to undertake any concrete action, beyond agreement that both sides should continue discussions." The spokesman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the NSC and its Russian counterparts were "continuing a working-level dialogue" to review suggestions by Putin for a new "cyber-group" and "restarting a counterterrorism group." The two leaders also discussed forming groups of businesspeople and of retired diplomatic and military officials to provide ideas for cooperation, the administration has said. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking to reporters at the United Nations after meetings on North Korea, said that "there was a discussion between President Trump and President Putin about the resolution in Syria and how we might get the refugees back," but he did not provide details. Pompeo said he was "happy" that Trump wants the Russian leader to visit Washington this fall to continue their talks. "I think it's all to the good," he told reporters. Russia and Iran have enabled Assad to decimate Syrian opposition forces, once backed by the United States, with airstrikes and ground forces that have been blamed for much of the civilian displacement and deaths in Syria's seven-year civil war. Withdrawal of Iranian forces "throughout the entirety of Syria" is at the top of the administration's Iran strategy, most recently spelled out in a major speech by Pompeo in May, and persuading Russia to help accomplish that goal has been a key rationale for administration outreach to Moscow. The Pentagon and U.S. allies in the region have pushed back at Trump's stated desire to withdraw the relatively small U.S. military contingent currently in Syria, where it has organized and armed local proxy forces to fight against the Islamic State. Removal of U.S. forces on the ground, currently numbering about 2,200, is seen as reducing whatever leverage the United States has to press both Russia and Iran. U.S. intelligence does not believe the Russians will deliver. "We have assessed that it's unlikely Russia has the will or the capability to fully implement and counter Iranian decisions and influence" in Syria, Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats said Thursday at the Aspen Security Forum. "Russia would have to make significantly greater commitments [in Syria] from a military standpoint, from an economic standpoint," he said. "We don't assess that they're keen to do that." On Friday, Russia's ambassador to Iran, Levan Dzhagaryan, said that Moscow has no intention of pressing Iran to withdraw and denied any strain between them. "We are actively interacting with Iran, both on the ground and on the political track," Dzhagaryan told Interfax, the Russian news agency. "Like Russia's military presence" in Syria, he said, Iran's military presence there "is legal because our military presence and Iran's is taking place at the request of the legitimate government of the Syrian Arab Republic." To the extent they focused on Syria during their Helsinki news conference, both Trump and Putin said they were working to address Israel's concerns about Iranian forces close to its border, where Assad is fighting to reclaim a remaining pocket of opposition-held territory in southwest Syria. The Kremlin press service announced Friday that Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had spoken by telephone, as had their defense ministers. Russia's ambassador to Israel said they had reached "an understanding" on the withdrawal of "certain well-known armed units . . . so many kilometers" from Syria's border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Interfax reported. Netanyahu's office said only that the two spoke about developments in the region and that he had "noted that Israel will continue to act against the Iranian military entrenchment in Syria." Coats was among several senior national security officials who have said they have not yet been briefed on the Helsinki summit. While Defense Secretary Jim Mattis met with Trump on Thursday, other top military officials are still expecting a readout from the president or his national security adviser, John Bolton, next week. Pompeo, who participated in an expanded meeting with aides after the one-on-one between Trump and Putin, is scheduled to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday. The U.S. ambassador to Russia, Jon Huntsman, provided a preliminary briefing to allied diplomats in Moscow following the summit. On Thursday, representatives in Washington from the "Five Eyes" countries - Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand - who are part of a multilateral intelligence agreement with the United States, were briefed by an NSC official who reassured them that "no agreements were made" in Helsinki and no "negotiations" took place, according to one attendee. Ukraine also was discussed in the meeting. The crisis in Ukraine has been a particularly sensitive issue for U.S. allies, given Trump's previous suggestion that the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014, should belong to Moscow. Pompeo had told Sergei Lavrov, his Russian counterpart, in a separate meeting in Helsinki that Russia's pointsman for the Ukraine, Vladislav Surkov, needed to engage constructively with U.S. envoy Kurt Volker. The two men have struggled to agree on the introduction of United Nations peacekeepers in eastern Ukraine, where government forces continue to battle Russian-backed separatists. At the NSC briefing for allies, an NSC official did not mention what Putin said Thursday was his suggestion to Trump that a referendum be held in the separatist regions of Ukraine. On Friday, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the Trump administration is "not considering supporting a referendum." Speaking earlier Friday at Moscow's Valdai Discussion Club, Antonov, the Russian ambassador who this week has been a primary conduit for Russian claims about the summit, said that "the Ukrainian issue was not at the center" of the Trump-Putin talks, Interfax reported. - - - The Washington Post's John Hudson contributed to this report. HOT SPRINGS, Va. - Sen. Tim Kaine and Republican challenger Corey Stewart clashed sharply on immigration, Russia and the economy Saturday in their first debate of the Virginia Senate race, but underlying it all was President Donald Trump. Stewart, chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, is running as a Trump acolyte who can fire up hardcore conservatives. Kaine is seeking a second term and a chance for redemption after Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton with him as her vice-presidential pick. Less than a week after a Helsinki news conference where Trump sided with Russian President Vladimir Putin over U.S. intelligence agencies, Stewart said it's important for the United States to work with Russia on nuclear weapons, international terrorism and North Korea. "We have a president who is standing up to the Russians," Stewart said. "Ha!" Kaine said as his supporters in the crowd laughed loudly. Kaine said the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller III should continue. He said Stewart often calls it a "witch hunt," echoing Trump's language. "Frankly, it is," Stewart said. Asked after the debate if he believed U.S. intelligence agencies, Stewart said Russian interference in U.S. elections is "alleged" and that wrongdoing has not been proved despite more than a dozen indictments. The 90-minute debate, moderated by PBS News Hour anchor Judy Woodruff, unfolded in the ballroom of a mountain resort in rural Bath County, where voters heavily favored Trump in 2016, although he lost Virginia by five points. Kaine has raised $18.2 million and had about $6 million cash on hand by the end of last month. Stewart raised nearly $1.1 million for his campaign and had $142,853 cash on hand. Stewart announced he would seek a Senate seat a year ago this month on a promise to run a "ruthless" and "vicious" campaign. On Saturday, he labeled Kaine a weak tool of the ultraleft who takes his cues from Democratic leadership and hasn't gotten anything done as governor or senator. A half dozen times, Kaine responded to Stewart's criticism with the same refrain, "Make it nasty, make it personal, make it up," eliciting boos from Stewart supporters. Kaine ticked off a list of legislation on jobs for military spouses, federal recognition for Indian tribes, pediatric research, and career and technical training. Picking up on Trump's "America First" campaign slogan, Kaine called himself "100 percent Virginia First" and said he would be an independent check on the president, while Stewart is "100 for Donald Trump." On the economy, Stewart credited Trump's tax overhaul for the low unemployment rate and soaring corporate profits. Kaine countered that the tax cuts for individuals are small and temporary, while corporate tax cuts don't expire. Stewart has said he supports Trump's immigration crackdown that separated more than 2,000 migrant children from their parents, including about a dozen minors being held at a facility in Stewart's home district of Prince William. While Democrats talk about the dreams of people who came to this country illegally as children, Stewart asked, what about those of legal immigrants like his wife, Maria, who is Swedish. "Corey's answer was all about pitting immigrants against citizens. . . . We are a nation of immigrants," Kaine said as several people in crowd shouted "Legal!" Stewart's rhetoric on immigration and dealings with white nationalists has made him radioactive for many Republican elected officials, who have yet to campaign with him. Woodruff asked him about past associations with white nationalist Jason Kessler and Paul Nehlen, a Wisconsin candidate barred from Twitter because of anti-Semitic and racist posts. Stewart said he doesn't have a "racist bone in my body," and said he disavowed both men. He blamed the media for failing to call on Kaine to disavow Democratic House candidate Leslie Cockburn, who Stewart called an "open anti-Semite." Kaine said Cockburn co-authored a book critical of Israeli's foreign policy, but that doesn't make her an anti-Semite. Through a spokeswoman, Cockburn said the claims of anti-Semitism are a baseless attempt to "distract from Stewart's hateful rhetoric," and noted that she has been endorsed by the liberal Jewish group J Street PAC. Stewart then accused Kaine of calling conservatives who support Trump, want to protect Confederate monuments and remove "dangerous criminal illegal aliens" racists. "That's absolutely wrong," Kaine interjected. "I'm not done. People are tired of it. They're sick of it and, frankly, that is why President Trump defeated you and Hillary," Stewart said to applause. Kaine challenged Stewart for skipping a winter 2017 supervisors meeting to campaign in Alabama for then-Senate candidate Roy Moore, after he was accused of initiating sexual contact with a teenage girl. Stewart blamed "the left wing and the media" for assuming Moore was guilty. He also repeatedly accused Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, of voting against military pay raises, housing allowance increases and expanding the Navy. "I support the military with my own flesh and blood," Kaine said. He paused and continued with a shaky voice: "My boy is an infantry commander in the Marine Corps." After the debate, Kaine said he voted in January against a stopgap budget measure that included military funding. The move led to a three-day government shutdown that at the time Kaine said he hoped would amp up the pressure to finalize a budget. Woodruff noted that Stewart and Kaine grew up about 150 miles apart in Minnesota and asked them to name their favorite Virginian. Stewart at first said he loved all Virginians and when pressed to pick one, he named his wife, who is on vacation with their sons. Kaine named his 94-year-old father-in-law, Linwood Holton, a Republican who was governor in the early 1970s and integrated Virginia public schools. Kaine is married to one of Holton's daughters, former state education secretary Ann Holton, who sat in the front row. When the debate started, Republican Donald Barden and his wife of 32 years, Democrat Kathleen Barden, sat together. By the end, they were on opposite sides of the room. "My Christianity is what makes me vote Democrat," she said. "Aren't we supposed to lift up the downtrodden." His response: "It takes all kinds to run a world I suppose." KATHMANDU, July 21: The third Nepal-China consultation meeting has been scheduled for July 30-31 in Kathmandu to give a final shape to the draft of Nepal-China transit and transport agreement. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the date has been proposed before Chinese side to hold the meeting to finalize the draft of agreement. It may be noted the previous meeting decided to hold the next meeting in Kathmandu within July this year. According to Minister for Foreign Affairs, Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, bilateral talks are underway at an intensive level to conclude the draft. The meeting to be headed by Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies; Chandra Kumar Ghimire shall be participated by high officials from the Ministry and the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. The University of Virginia's decision to hire a departing member of the Trump administration is prompting a furious rebuke by some faculty and students still angered by the president's response to a deadly white supremacist rally last year in Charlottesville. An online petition posted Thursday and signed by more than 250 people from the university community calls on U-Va. to revoke the teaching appointment of Marc Short, who until Friday served as Trump's legislative affairs director. "The university should not serve as a waystation for high-level members of an administration that has directly harmed our community and to this day attacks the institutions vital to a free society," the petition read. "While we do not object to dialogue with members of this administration, we do object to the use of our university to clean up their tarnished reputations. No one should be serving at the highest levels of this administration, daily supporting and defending its actions one week, then representing UVA the next." Short was hired to serve as a senior fellow at the Miller Center, a nonpartisan affiliate of the university that focuses on presidential scholarship and public policy, and may give guest lectures at the university's Darden School of Business, from which he received an MBA. In a statement he provided Friday, Short expressed dismay over opposition to his appointment. "There is an irony at Thomas Jefferson's university that professors are seeking to silence debate instead of fostering civil conversation," Short said. A longtime Republican operative, Short worked on Oliver North's unsuccessful 1994 Senate campaign in Virginia and served as chief of staff for Kay Bailey Hutchison when the Texas Republican was a senator. He later became president of Freedom Partners, a political nonprofit group with ties to Charles and David Koch, the billionaire industrialists who built a powerful conservative network. Trump named Short director of legislative affairs at the outset of his administration. "Marc is widely respected in both parties," William Antholis, director and chief executive of the Miller Center, said in the statement announcing Short's hiring. "We had the privilege of getting to know Marc through the presidential transition and the Trump Administration's first year, and have been impressed by his professionalism, effectiveness, and collegiality." But many at the school were taken aback and expressed disappointment the Miller Center would bring in someone they believe is fiercely partisan. Opponents voiced their displeasure Wednesday in a meeting with Antholis. Dissension over the hiring was first reported by Politico. Siva Vaidhyanathan, a media studies professor at U-Va., said he opposes the appointment because of measures that Short supported, including ending immigration that is driven by family reunification and the decision to separate migrant children from their parents at the border, a policy Trump later froze. He said Short's support of family separation "shows me that Marc Short is not a decent moral person and he has acted dishonorably. People who support family separation on the border should not be welcomed in what we used to call polite society let alone be members of this university community." Vaidhyanathan said that his opposition was not a matter of party or ideology and that he is not opposed to Short simply because he worked in the Trump White House, but because of what he did in the administration. "Someone who has worked directly for Donald Trump to execute policies that are basically inhumane and racist is beyond the line," he said. William Hitchcock, a professor and presidential historian at the Miller Center, said he would welcome Short visiting to speak, but doesn't believe he should have a paid position at the school. "The objection is that the Miller Center is a nonpartisan, scholarly institution for the study of the presidency and politics and we have a very clear statement of purpose that we foster nonpartisan inquiry and civil discourse," Hitchcock said. "Marc Short, and the appointment of Marc Short with insufficient faculty commentary, violates the principles of nonpartisanship and he has violated the principals of civil discourse over the past 18 months." Hitchcock said others at the center oppose Short because he defended Trump's statements following the white supremacist rally last summer. Trump was roundly criticized for saying there was "blame on both sides" in Charlottesville, equating the actions of white supremacists and neo-Nazis with those who protested against them. Trump also said the participants in the white supremacy march and rally included "some very fine people." The president's statements drew condemnation from leaders across the country including some in his own party. In his statement Friday, Short addressed the administration's response to last August's events in Charlottesville. "There is no doubt we could have handled it better," he said. "We must all be outspoken and unambiguous in our denunciation of white supremacy and racism." Gregory Fairchild, a Darden School professor who has known Short for 15 years, said the former Trump aide is not a "cultural warrior." "Relative to some of the boldface names that have spoken on behalf of the administration, I have found Marc to be less hyperbolic," Fairchild said. "He's a guy who comes to business school and says you should think about public service. He's never said you should be a staunch right-wing Republican." Miller Center spokesman Howard Witt said Short's appointment builds on a commitment to bipartisanship. "We understand and respect those UVA faculty members and other critics - even some from within the Miller Center - who disagree with the decision to name Marc Short a senior fellow," Witt wrote. "One of our core values is fostering robust, but civil, debate across our nation's bitter partisan divide. . . . We believe it's not really genuine nonpartisanship if the only contrary viewpoints you are willing to allow are the ones you can personally tolerate." Houston officials plan to open cooling centers on Sunday as a heat wave pushes temperatures past 100 degrees. Residents who don't have access to air-conditioned buildings can seek shelter at five cooling centers, which will be open between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday. Residents who don't have transportation can call 3-1-1 to request a free ride to the cooling centers from METRO. The city-run cooling centers are located at: Acres Homes Multi-Service Center: 6719 W. Montgomery Road Kashmere Multi-Service Center: 4802 Lockwood Drive Southwest Multi-Service Center: 6400 High Star Drive Sunnyside Multi-Service Center: 9314 Cullen Blvd. Houston Public Library (Downtown): 500 McKinney St. The city's effort comes as the National Weather Service issued its third heat advisory in as many days. Temperatures on Sunday are expected to peak between 100 and 103 degrees with heat indices at or above 108 degrees. RELATED: Texas' heat wave is going to be brutal this weekend, says National Weather Service Officials are urging high-risk groups, such as adults ages 55 and older, children under the age of 5 and residents with chronic illness to seek shelter inside air-conditioned buildings during the hottest part of the day. Residents are also urged to drink plenty of water, take frequent cool showers or baths, and wear light-colored and loose-fitting clothing. They are also urged to look out for signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, and seek medical attention immediately if there are signs of a throbbing headache, hot and dry skin, nausea or vomiting, loss of consciousness and a rapid, strong pulse. Convicted trafficker and former San Antonio attorney Mark Benavides will have to wait to hear where his next trial will be held after a judge Friday declined to immediately rule on a change of venue. In April, a Wilson County jury convicted Benavides, 48, of continous trafficking of persons and sentenced him to 80 years in prison for forcing clients charged with prostitution and drug charges into having sex with him to keep them out of jail. That case and three others pending against Benavides were transferred from Bexar County to Wilson County because many of Benavides accusers said they had sex with him in jury and witness rooms in courtrooms at the Cadena-Reeves Justice Center where their cases were assigned. Benavides former defense attorneys did not want potential jurors doing their own investigations of the rooms. Shortly before his trial, Benavides was indicted on a new charge of continuous trafficking of persons, which is the case the state has decided to pursue next. This time, the state wants to move the trial out of Bexar County. Visiting Judge Dick Alcala, who presided over the trial in Wilson County, heard arguments from prosecutor Maritza Stewart and Rico Valdez, who said potential jurors could be in the proximity of a crime scene by walking down the hallways or convening in a jury room. Defense attorneys David Singleton and Paul Belew, who was substituted as second counsel for Benavides on Friday, argued that the case could be heard in a Civil District courtroom in Bexar County, or in Impact Court, both located in the Bexar County Courthouse. Singleton also said the jurors could be admonished not to conduct their own investigations, which most judges do prior to the panels hearing testimony. Alcala did not make a ruling and said he would consult with judicial administration to see if a courtroom would be available. Although he recently tentatively set trial for October, he said he soon would decide on venue change and firm up a trial date after that. Elizabeth Zavala is a courts and crime reporter in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | ezavala@express-news.net | Twitter: @elizabeth2863 A San Antonio police lieutenant with a long history of disciplinary problems including four firings and 11 suspensions is in trouble again, accused of making a homophobic remark about Police Chief William McManus. Lt. Lee Rakun, a 25-year veteran of the force, was indefinitely suspended twice, just days apart in June. Once was for using the derogatory slur fagged on Facebook to describe a pair of shorts McManus was wearing while speaking at a news conference, according to department records. Rakun was suspended again for allegedly leaving his substation before his shift was over in his personal car, not his patrol vehicle, the records show. The man killed in a shootout Monday night has been identified by the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office. Edgar Ramon, 34, was fatally shot while allegedly trying to rob a West Side home, a spokesperson for the medical examiner's office said. A Katy woman was arrested in Wichita County on Thursday after she allegedly tried mailing meth to a high-profile Conroe double murderer in a North Texas prison, according to local reports. Sara Elizabeth Russell was jailed Thursday and held on $10,000 bond after an Allred Unit mailroom worker spotted an unexpected bulge disguising a powdery packet stashed in an incoming card, according to KFDX. The handmade note allegedly included written instructions - apparently tips for how to disguise the drugs inside. MAJOR BUST: Couple allegedly caught with 10 kilos of meth, $75K accused of dealing drugs with children present The illicit supplies were allegedly headed to prisoner Jason Aaron Burkett, a Montgomery County man who later admitted he'd made the card and mailed it to Russell, according to investigators. But he said that, despite the packaging instructions, he wasn't asking her to send him drugs. The Texas Department of Public Safety crime lab tied fingerprints on the package back to Russell, the TV station reported, and jail records show she was charged with one count of prohibited substance in a correctional facility. Burkett is serving a life sentence for his role in a brutal 2001 triple murder that left dead two teens and a mother. His co-defendant, Michael James "Romeo" Perry, was executed in 2010 for the drug-fueled slaying of 50-year-old Sandra Stotler, a nurse killed in her tony Bentwater home near Lake Conroe. READ ALSO: Boerne couple at large after deputies allegedly find several stolen Amazon packages, meth at home In 2001, two fisherman found her body wrapped in a blanket and tossed in Crater Lake. The bodies of her 16-year-old son Adam Stotler and his 18-year-old friend Jeremy Richardson were later recovered in a wooded area west of Conroe. Minutes before he was put to death, Perry called his execution an "atrocity" and blamed the woman's slaying on Burkett, saying his initial confessions were coerced through physical intimidation. "Burkett should be up there, too, on the gurney with him," Charles Richardson, Jeremy's brother, said after witnessing the execution. "This was friends stabbing friends in the back." Before trial, a jailhouse snitch apparently backed Perry's claim, writing in an affidavit that Burkett had admitted to all three killings Still, Burkett netted a life sentence for the boys' deaths. It's not clear if he'll face additional charges stemming from the alleged smuggling attempt. Kathmandu, Nepal: The Nepali Congress (NC), the main opposition party in the parliament, has strongly condemned the government for using excessive force against the peaceful demonstration launched by the party on Saturday. As Tarun Dal, the youth wing of the Nepali Congress, had organized a demonstration in New Baneshowr, Kathmandu, police had intervened the demonstration leaving about four dozens cadres injured. Police had fired dozens ells of tear gas to disperse the mob move forward towards the prohibited areas declared by the government. According to the party spokesperson Bishwo Prakash Sharma, over four dozen leaders and cadres including Tarun Dal President Jeetjung Basnet, NC Lalitpur district President Madan Amatya and Nepal Press Union general-secretary Ajay Babu Siwakoti were injured in the incident. The youth wing of the Nepali Congress had organized the demonstration demanding immediate solution of the hunger strike launched by senior Dr. Govinda KC demanding reform in the medical education sector. The Nepali Congress has already declared protest program against the medical education bill, price hike and others. Meanwhile, party president Sher Bahadur Deuba and senior leader Ram Chandra Poudel reached the hospitals, where the injured cadres were admitted, to inquire about the health condition. In an era of partisan polarization, it is rare to get agreement on anything, but about this there should be a consensus: The Supreme Court is an undemocratic institution whose power should be carefully circumscribed. The right has long been of this view, and the left is suddenly and opportunistically partway there. In an essay capturing progressives newfound skepticism, Ezra Klein of Vox wrote that the Supreme Court has always been undemocratic and is now becoming even more dangerous. This represents a welcome turnabout from cheering the high courts de facto legislating, although the left is about a half-century late to the insight that the court isnt a democratically elected legislature. In the 1960s, the court became markedly more assertive, delivering a raft of activist decisions, especially on matters of criminal justice and sexual morality. In their excellent recent book on the history of the Constitution, Michael Stokes Paulsen and Luke Paulsen write of this era: The dominance, supremacy, and near-exclusivity of judicial and especially Supreme Court interpretations of the Constitution and the free-wheeling interpretive liberty that accompanied such essentially unrestrained judicial power were new, distinctive, and profoundly important phenomena in the history of the Constitution. Progressives cheered all the while. They happily pocketed all the court-mandated policy changes to their liking, relieved of the burden of enacting them through democratic means. Needless to say, the court was never meant to be an unelected lawmaking body, and it has taken on such a highly charged role in our politics, in part, because it arrogated this power to itself. The courts legitimacy comes from faithfully interpreting laws passed by the legislature and adhering to the Constitution that is the foundational governing document of the country, adopted and amended by We the People. Anything else is a usurpation. Progressives are, perversely, taking a hostile view of the court precisely when it may get a reliable majority of justices devoted to this vision of it. Klein alleges that the court is becoming affirmatively anti-democratic, meaning it isnt striking down democratically adopted voter rules and gerrymandered districts. Klein may oppose the Ohio law that purges nonvoters from the rolls if they fail to respond to a government notice after a period of years, but there is a remedy readily at hand changing the law in Ohio, which continues to have regularly scheduled elections. As for gerrymandering, the court punted on it this term. But gerrymandering is not a partisan phenomenon. Both parties avail themselves of it when they win elections at the state level. Last month, the court slapped down a Republican challenge to a congressional district drawn by Democrats in Maryland. If the left were serious about its new worries about an undemocratic court, it would welcome the prospect of overturning Roe v. Wade. Indeed, the belief that voters in states will ban abortion or more stringently regulate it if Roe is overturned is the single biggest motivating factor in opposition to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. In other words, on this issue, the worry is that the court will allow too much democracy. Of course, the court should act as a check on the popular will at times. But in doing so, it must limit itself to enforcing the law and the Constitution. This is the goal of originalism, which should be embraced by the left as well as the right as the appropriately modest view of the courts role in our republic. But this would represent an enormous loss for progressives. First, a court that no longer envisions itself as an instrument of social change wouldnt hand the left totalist victories unachievable in the political realm. Two, the animating vision behind the Constitution written by men with a strong suspicion of centralized power runs counter to the logic of progressive government. So the left will bang on about the undemocratic court without changing its core belief that it is rightfully the vehicle for imposing its policies. comments.lowry@nationalreview.com In 2012, President Barack Obama enacted the controversial Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), granting unauthorized immigrants who qualified for the program, the opportunity to legally stay in the U.S. While growing up in the United States, these individuals have become our neighbors, our peers at school and work. The vast majority contribute greatly to our communities. In 2017, President Donald Trump announced his plans to end DACA, resulting in protests across the U.S. Unfortunately, as time went on, support behind the issue began to take a back seat to other pressing national issues. However, a related immigration concern is currently gaining attention as many thousands of people have come together to raise millions of dollars for, as well as protesting and advocating to protect and put an end to the separation of unauthorized immigrant children from their parents at the U.S. border. The images of children crying at their parents feet or in cages is igniting broad, bipartisan and socioeconomically diverse support across the U.S. for this population. Protecting this population from cruel treatment is something I fully support, but as U.S. citizens we also have to stop forgetting about others we once supported and who still need us. We must stop picking and choosing which immigrants need or deserve our help. Most DACA recipients have spent the majority of their lives in the U.S., growing up and acculturating to the only life they have ever known. However, because they are undocumented , many of these Dreamers are denied the same opportunities as their citizen peers: the right to be recognized as American citizens. Policy needs to be changed, and not through an executive order that can quickly be overturned, but through legislated federal policy that provides a track to legal citizenship for these individuals, and their families, and ultimately grants them the same rights U.S. citizens too often take for granted. Adrianna Cole Wash your feet So a few months or so after the initial Express-News story that described the potential for pollution in the San Pedro Creek Culture Park, signs are up warning folks not to swim (can a 5-year-old read or do they care? Are the signs bilingual?). Modifications ($150,000) are underway to lessen the chance folks will swim in the creek, and were told to wash our hands if we wade in the creek. I dont know of many folks who wade on their hands so kinda wonder about that suggestion. Perhaps washing ones feet might be a better idea. Obviously its incumbent on parents to monitor their children and ensure they dont swim in the creek and wash their hands and feet after wading. Heres hoping a child with a small cut or abrasion on his or her foot doesnt contract something really nasty from the apparent polluted waters of the creek. Maybe this is where the Donalds wall needs to be built. Steve Spear Thank you To all the people who put in the years of work to get the 281 expansion outside 1604 approved more important, it not being tolled; thank you. To all the ones working on it in this brutal heat. THANK YOU! Phillip Hooge More consequence Re: The Consequences, Your Turn, July 13: Fox News must have declared that elections have consequences (as stated by President Barack Obama). Its the new answer to any opinion uttered by anyone anti-Trump. This phrase is showing up frequently, as is #Walkaway a hashtag that was found to be created by Russian hacks. What I find ironic is that yes, most Americans know that elections have consequences, as we are living through the death of democracy due to the election of Donald Trump. Remember that this country is governed by the Constitution and not by any religion. Instead of walking away we must lean in to #MakeAmericaNormalAgain. Terri Nakamura, Universal City Witch hunt? Regarding Trumps constant complaining about a Witch hunt. Warlock hunt, would be more accurate . The dictionary defines a warlock as a male witch, as an oath breaker, liar, forked tongue, deceiver, and above all, a traitor. It is time to take a good look at this protester wearing a mantle of fake truth, and for Congress to realize that the emperor has no clothes. Ben Elkin Nazis revisited Re: How Nazis did it, Your Turn, July 12: Is Rick Garcia simply the victim of a lot of socialist indoctrination? It is the mobs organized and funded by George Soros that remind me of Hitlers brownshirts, not Trumps supporters. Hugh Caddess Tariff graphic It would be most helpful to your readers if you would publish a simple chart of before and after tariffs between the USA, China and Canada. When the words tariff war are invoked, it sounds ominous. But it seems its really an attempt to equalize tariffs. For example, I understand China had a 30 percent import tariff on Harley-Davidson motorcycles. But the U.S. had only a 3 percent import tariff on Chinese motorcycles. That doesnt seem fair. It is very hard to find the data anywhere online. Ken Valentine, New Braunfels FORMER cabinet minister Samuel Undenge was sent to Chikurubi maximum security prison on Friday as his lawyer vowed to appeal at High Court his conviction for fraud. Defence attorney Alec Muchadehama gave the notice of appeal after Undenge was sentenced to four years in jail by Harare magistrate Hosea Mujaya following conviction for criminal abuse of office. Muchadehama said considering the circumstances, the only option was to approach the High Court to challenge Mujayas decision as his client was innocent. Real criminals are roaming free in the streets, he said. Its on record that the Vice Presidents wife was given a contract also without going to tender and an official from the presidents office confirmed that under oath before this court. In response, the State led by prosecutor Jonathan Murombedzi and Oscar Madhume said Undenge should only concentrate on his fate and not worry about other people. The accused should not worry himself with issues of other corrupt people. Justice will soon catch up with them. He (Undenge) should appreciate that he broke the law and the trust with the people of the country. He should think about himself and apologise to the nation than continuing to erode the trust. During trial, the former energy minister told court that he was misled by the owners of Fruitful Company Oscar Pambuka and Psychology Maziwisa who made him to write a letter authorising their firm carry out public relations activities for ZESA subsidiary, the Zimbabwe Power Company. Undenge alleges that the two claimed it was a directive from the presidents office so he simply complied. The ex-minister also told court that he was under a lot pressure because of bad publicity in his ministry and companies that were under his ministry. However, Harare magistrate Hosea Mujaya found him guilty of abusing his powers as a minister. Undenge (62) will serve an effective two-and-half years jail term after Harare magistrate Hosea Mujaya suspended one-and-half years on condition of good behaviour. NewZimbabwe Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News ZANU PF chairperson Oppah Muchinguri has opened up for the first time on the Bulawayo explosion that left her and many others seriously injured during a ruling party campaign rally addressed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa last month. Muchinguri and Vice-President Kembo Mohadi were airlifted to South Africa for treatment after they were wounded in the suspected grenade attack, which claimed the lives of two top security aides. Addressing a campaign rally to drum up support for Zanu PF Dzivarasekwa candidate George Chimhini, Muchinguri said the blast was the work of detractors, some of whom were facing imminent arrest over their well-documented corruption dating back to former President Robert Mugabes era. I am alive. Others speculated in the media that I was burnt and will only reveal it after the elections, while others said I lost my brea_st and others claimed I lost my hand. Down with them, she said amid a thunderous applause from thousands gathered at Dzivarasekwa Stadium. She said those who were behind the bomb blast feared the Zanu PF leadership under Mnangagwa was closing in on them. There are crooks that bombed us. Some of them stole a lot of money and they have multiple farms and they thought by killing the four of us, they can survive, Muchinguri said. Some stole houses and land. They wanted to cover their tracks and corruption that we are fighting in our manifesto. However, there is God and ancestral spirits who fought the war that was not meant to be. Muchinguri also launched a tirade against former police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri, claiming he was corrupt and allegedly sent his juniors to take money from the public through unnecessary road blocks. She alleged Chihuri slipped out of the country to Malawi where he was feasting on his ill-gotten wealth. Muchinguri described Mnangagwa as a principled man who survived the hostile relationship created by the G40 group and had moved in to correct the mess that was left by Mugabes administration. She said Mugabes administration was captured, hence, could not do anything meaningful for the country. NewsDay Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News - The police said they have arrested about 117 persons in connection with the recent killings in Gusau, Shinkafi local government areas of Zamfara state - They warned all criminals at large to repent and surrender their arms to the Police or face dire consequences when they are caught - The repeated attacks on communities are said to have left residents in perpetual fear The Zamfara state police public relations officer, Mohammed Shehu confirmed the arrest of 117 persons suspected to be connected with the recent killings in parts of the state. News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Shehu said in a statement that the killings are in Gusau, Shinkafi local government areas and other parts of the state. According to him, the suspects were arrested during a raid carried out by the Special Tactical Squad of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) in conjunction with the Command Tactical team on Thursday, July 19, which lasted for several hours. READ ALSO: Oyetola wins Osun APC governorship primary election He also noted that the command tactical team arrested 72 suspected bandits who specialize in using unregistered motorcycles to ferry kidnapped victims to their hideouts, while 73 unregistered motorcycles were recovered from them. The command, therefore, warned all criminals at large to repent and surrender their arms to the Police or face dire consequences when they are caught. It also enjoined members of the public to sustain their cooperation by providing timely/useful information to the police on criminal activities. This comes days after bandits stormed the villages on motorbikes, shooting sporadically at residents and carting away their livestock. PAY ATTENTION: Get the Latest Nigerian News Anywhere 24/7. Spend less on the Internet! One of the villagers said 30 people were killed across the villages during the attacks, although the police authorities insisted that only three people died. However, the repeated attacks on communities have left residents in perpetual fear and anxiety. They have, therefore, called on the federal government to be more proactive in securing their lives and property, and also stop the repeated killings stemming from herdsmen-farmers clashes. Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that thirty people were reportedly killed in a raid on villages in Zamfara state by cattle rustling and kidnapping gangs. Some armed bandits on motorcycles invaded five villages in Maradun district of Zamfara state on Tuesday, July 17, afternoon, firing shots indiscriminately and stealing livestock. Jabbi Labbo, a community leader in one of the villages - Gyadde - said 26 people have so far being buried since the attack happened. Labbo said seven people were killed in Sakkida, four in Farin Zare, eight in Orawa, seven in Gyadde and four in Sabon Gari. Should Nigerians pick up arms to defend themselves against herdsmen?(Street Interview) on Legit.ng TV: Source: Legit It has been reported that a 19-year-old boy, Junior Baba, was arrested by the Edo state police command for killing his 18-year-old girlfriend and dumping her body by the roadside. Punch reports that this unfortunate incident happened around Ogida quarters in Ovia South-West local government area of the state. Baba committed this crime after engaging in an argument with late Matilda Odiri. It was further reported that Odiri suspected Baba of been unfaithful. The deceased was said to have visited Babas residence in the area, where she intended to pass the night before the argument ensued on Saturday, July 7. Late Matilda Odiri. Source: Punch READ ALSO: Lady calls out police officer for beating up a nursing mother in Ghana (video) According to Punch, the deceased was said to have accused her boyfriend of allegedly having an affair with another girl after several observation of him keeping late nights. This got the young man angry as he stepped into the kitchen, picked up a knife and stabbed her to death before dumping her body by the roadside around 11pm. After committing this crime, he fled to Aduwawa in Benin but was arrested after his father reported the case to the police. This was confirmed by the states commissioner of police, Johnson Kokumo. PAY ATTENTION: Get relationship advice on Naija Uncensored Facebook Group Legit.ng earlier reported that daughter of ex-deputy governor of Ondo state was found dead in her boyfriends house. After been arrested, the young man confessed to used her for rituals. RIP! BUSTED: Police Arrest One-Chance Tricycle Thieves, Human Traffickers | Legit.ng TV - on Legit.ng TV. Source: Legit - The Yoruba Youth Forum says Yorubas and Nigerians should not allow the Buhari govt tarnish OBJs impeccable image - The groups president said OBJ had drawn the ire of the present administration because he had been trying to make President Buhari lead the nation right - He further chided President Buhari for the persistent killings in Plateau, Zamfara and Benue states The president of the Yoruba Youth Forum (YYF), Olusegun Abiodun Bolarinwa, has urged Yorubas and Nigerians in general, not to allow the Muhammed Buhari-led administration to tarnish the impeccable image of former President Olusegun Obasanjo over what he described as political shenanigans. Bolarinwa made the comment during a press conference organized by the group in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, on Friday, July 20, Vanguard reports. READ ALSO: Why we arrested Borno governorship aspirant - Police Legit.ng gathers that Bolarinwa opined that Obasanjo had drawn the ire of the present administration because he had been trying to make President Buhari steer the ship of state in the right direction. He insisted that Obasanjo is in good stead to give the present government a sense of right direction, as the former president is an elder statesman and reputable leader who has wide and varied recognition and a good reputation in the global community. The youth leader also took a swipe at Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, for campaigning against Obasanjos efforts to rescue Nigeria from possible wreck of the ship of state. He further chided President Buhari for the persistent killings in Plateau, Zamfara and Benue states; pointing out that the president has failed to tackle the insurgency problem in those areas. According to Bolarinwa, the destruction of lives and property being perpetrated by Boko Haram, herdsmen, terrorists and others in the country is something that needs serious attention. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that former President Olusegun Obasanjo accused President Muhammadu Buhari of doing harm to Nigeria and accused his administration of being confused. Obasanjo spoke in Abuja at a summit organised by Prof Ango Abdullahi where leaders of socio-political groups met to discuss the future of the country. Obasanjo vs Buhari: Of the 2019 Elections - on Legit.ng TV: Source: Legit.ng Yves here. As weve said, tariffs are a blunt instrument. By Barkley Rosser, Professor of Economics at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Originally published at Angry Bear In the history of antitrust law, one of the most important rulings by the US Supreme Court came in 1945, when the Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA), long based in Pittsburgh with heavy Mellon family ownership, was ordered broken up for being a monopoly, following a ruling by Judge Learned Hand. This was the famous per se ruling that said that simple domination of an industry by size was sufficient in the end to justify breaking it up. However, with the entry of Reynolds and Kaiser into the industry, ALCOA was in the end able to fend off being actually broken up, and today it is still the largest aluminum company in the US and sixth in the world, with Century Aluminum second in the US and Kaiser third. While still with most activity in the US, ALCOA is a multinational company operating in many nations around the world. Until 2016 it operated in all sectors of the industry, but then spun off some of its specialized processing for auto and aerospace inputs into the Arconic company. Today, the stock of ALCOA fell over 4 percent on a report from the company of it expecting to see a , substantial decline in profits in the coming quarters due to the imposition of tariffs on aluminum by President Donald Trump. So, his imposition of tariffs on aluminum, designed to aid US aluminum producers, will be causing a substantial decline in profits for the largest aluminum producing company in the US. What is going on here? It appears that the problem is that the US is increasingly a net importer of unprocessed aluminum that is the main input for companies that process aluminum, which is what ALCOA mostly does, even after spinning off Arconic. The US has never been a major producer of bauxite, the original source of most aluminum, only producing about 1 percent of global supplies of it. In term of producing unprocessed aluminum, the US reached a peak in 1980s, with this now only about a quarter of that level today. The US imports $23.4 billion of aluminum products, with nearly half of that, 46.8 percent to be precise, being unprocessed aluminum. So ALCOA is importing a lot of the unprocessed aluminum it uses to produce aluminum products. Unlike American steel companies, whose main inputs of iron ore and coal are domestically produced, ALCOA is more like an automobile company that is hurt by the tariffs on steel, which raise its costs. Thus it is not surprising that the US aluminum industry more broadly has opposed the Trump tariffs, in contrast to American steel and coal companies supporting the steel tariffs. I note that the US exports some finished aluminum products, but far less than it imports. The top five nations from whom the US imports aluminum are Canada (36.3 percent), China (15.1 percent), Russia (7.0 percent),UAE (6.5 percent) and Mexico (4.3 percent). When the tariffs were first announced, meanie Canada and Mexico were exempted due to ongoing NAFTA negotiations, but on May 31, they were included given the apparent breakdown of the NAFTA negotiations. Back in 2006, ALCOA tried to take over Canadas Alcan, originally a started by ALCOA, but was blocked as Brazils Rio Tinto took it over instead. So ALCOA imports a lot from Canada, meaning tariffs on meanie Canada are hitting ALCOA especially hard. As for meanie China, well, the yuan/rmb has hit a new low for the year against the rising US dollar, which will mean it will still be exporting to the US even as its economic growth rate declines somewhat to about 6.5 percent. But obviously we have nothing to fear as our Art of the Deal president assures us that trade wars are easy to win. The meanies will be put in their place, and ALCOA will just have to have a stiff upper lip and be patriotic along with all our soybean farmers. A Co Tipperary company has brought a High Court action aimed at allowing its horse to compete at next month's Dublin Horse Show at the Royal Dublin Society. The action has been brought by Heritage Bloodstock Ltd, with an address in Cahir, Co Tipperary which claims that another horse, due to compete in the five-year-old's competition at the renowned Dublin Horse Show, should not be allowed to take part. The other horse, it is alleged is ineligible on grounds including it is not Irish bred, nor is not on an approved breeding list for 2018 that would allow it to compete at the show. It is claimed that allowing the other horse, called Indigo VDL, to take part would be a breach of the RDS's own rules. Represented by Cliodhna Breen Bl, Heritage Bloodstock said its horse, Heritage Vittorio, failed to qualify for the five-year-old competition at the Horse Show after finishing 12th in a qualifier held last May. Indigo VDL, finished third in the qualifier. Counsel said the top nine horses at that event qualified to jump at the RDS. The horses that finished 10th and 11th in the qualifiers subsequently secured places at the event, leaving Heritage Vittorio is next in line to participate in the five-year-old competition if Indigo is not allowed compete. In a sworn statement to the court Anne Marie O'Gorman, a director of Heritage Bloodstock Ltd said Indigo is ineligible to compete on grounds including that Indigo VDL it is a foreign-bred stallion, not bred on the Island of Ireland. She said it was eligible to complete in 2017 when the horse was listed in as an approved Stallion for breeding and was registered in the Warmblood Studbook of Ireland for 2017. However, she said that Indigo VDL is not eligible to compete in 2018 after its approval was suspended. She said her solicitor wrote to the defendants about the matter, but received no reply. She said she is no concerned that the defendants are breaching the RDS's rules by allowing Indigo VDL compete. As a result, Heritage Bloodstock brought proceedings against the Royal Dublin Society, Showjumping Association of Ireland, trading as Showjumping Ireland and Mr Ivor Broderick. of Kylebrack, Loughrea, Co Galway who is the owner of Indigo VDL. It seeks injunctions permitting Heritage Vittorio to compete at the five-year-old competition at the Horse Show, and that Mr Broderick's horse be removed from the competition. It also seeks declarations that Indigo VDL does not qualify under the qualifying criteria and is not eligible to compete under the RDS rules for the Dublin Horse Show. The application, made on an ex parte basis, for an interim injunction, came before Ms Justice Caroline Costello at the High Court on Friday afternoon. Counsel said that her client was seeking an injunction so it could make preparations for Heritage Vittorio to compete at the RDS. The Judge said she was declining Heritage Bloodstock's application for an interim injunction as she wanted to hear from the other parties first. The judge instead granted Heritage Bloodstock permission to serve short notice of the proceedings on the defendants and made the action returnable to a date next week. (Natural News) The draft of the World Health Organizations (WHO) 13th General Programme of Work was released in early January of this year. Based on what they have read, a number of academics have denounced the WHO for washing its hands of older people. This accusation is based on the fact that the five-year program makes no mention of age-related illnesses such as dementia. According to the academics whove penned this damning accusation, the program was written in spite of the fact that the global population of people above 60 years old is expected to rise by 2030. Moreover, as much as 10 percent of the population in less well-developed areas will fall into this age group by the same year. The academics, Peter Lloyd-Sherlock, Martin McKee, and Shah Ebrahim, acknowledged that older people have greater healthcare needs compared to younger people. However, they still have a lot to offer in terms of societal contributions. Specifically, its the individuals who comprise this age group that tend to take care of children (most often their grandchildren) and disabled adults without pay. Improved health of older people is an essential goal to reduce health-care costs and maintain the societal support older people provide, the researchers wrote. (Related: Senior healthcare costs skyrocket to $245,000 per year despite Obamas empty promises.) They continued: Although WHO has begun to address this key global challenge over the past decade, the proposed 13th General Programme of Work makes no reference to older people or conditions associated with later life, such as dementia, which is unacceptable. Speaking to TheGuardian.com, Lloyd-Sherlock noted that the WHO had also written a document about non-communicable diseases. It covered ailments such as cancer, stroke, and diabetes. But rather than approaching these diseases by taking all age groups into consideration, Lloyd-Sherlock stated that the document was focused wholly on those who were below the age of 70 years old. Furthermore, the document was encouraging countries to cut back their spending on older people by about 25 percent. Lloyd-Sherlock vilified the WHO further and described the document as part of a wider pattern of explicit discrimination against older people in global health policy. A spokesperson for the WHO responded to these accusations by stating that the program Lloyd-Sherlock and his colleagues read through was an old draft. A new and updated version is set to be released before May, when the World Health Assembly will take place. The spokesperson added that the WHO acknowledged the importance of aging as the top issue heard and publicly stated [their] commitment to implement [the] WHO Global Strategy and Action Plan on Ageing and Health. Fast facts about old age Four out of five older adults will have at least one chronic disease, like arthritis or osteoporosis. On average, people who are 75 years old and above visit their doctors three times more than people between the ages of 22 to 44 years. Less than four percent of people above 65 years of age are in nursing homes. Older men are more likely to be with their spouses, while older women are more prone to living alone. Visit Health.news for more facts or news about older people and their health. Sources include: TheLancet.com TheGuardian.com DoSomething.org (Natural News) Never Trump pundit and USA Today columnist, Cheri Jacobus went on a tirade against Trumps former aide Michael Caputo Wednesday and suggested his toddler daughters be sent to convicted pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein to be raped for money. (Article by Christina Laila republished from TheGatewayPundit.com) USA Today confirmed to The Wrap Thursday evening they severed ties with Cheri Jacobus over her disgusting tweets to Caputo. Our editors in the opinion section became aware of the tweet by freelance columnist Cheri Jacobus just after noon today, a spokesperson for the company told TheWrap Thursday evening. An hour later after researching the issue, our editors let Jacobus know that she would no longer be writing for USA TODAY, the spokesperson added. We have asked her to remove the USA TODAY affiliation from her bio. You may remember Cheri Jacobus for being a rabid Trump hater who lost a $4 million lawsuit against the President after he called her a dummy on Twitter. Cheri Jacobus reportedly attacked Michael Caputo out of the blue, unprovoked. Jacobus began her attacks by tweeting, Caputos one of the most lacking in self-awareness pigs of our time. And headed for prison while remaining an unimportant loser. Caputo responded to Cheri Jacobus by saying shes bitter, childless and alone. Jacobus lost it and brought his young daughters into the fight, suggesting they be raped by sex trafficker, Jeffrey Epstein. Jacobus tweeted: are your daughters ugly like you? Or can Trump use them at the Epstein parties so they can survive when youre broke, bitter, along (sic) and in prison for treason? .@usatodayopinion Im sure its totally normal for one of your columnists to Tweet suggesting the rape of toddler girls. Right? pic.twitter.com/dmTRN6yLbI Michael Caputo (@MichaelRCaputo) July 19, 2018 Jacobus continued the grotesque attack on Caputo by suggesting if his toddler daughters gain too much weight, they may not be desirable to sex traffickers and pedophiles. Jacobus even called one of Caputos daughters illegitimate and appeared delighted over the idea of his child committing suicide. (screenshot below) Cheri Jacobus is a rabid, bitter #NeverTrumper who attacked many Trump supporters as racist and morons during the 2016 election. Jacobus remained defiant on Friday and told her Twitter followers now is not the time for civility. Read more at: TheGatewayPundit.com (Natural News) If you ever needed more proof that the Left is disgusting, hypocritical, and completely willing to destroy our societal and cultural norms, this is it. As Breitbart News reported this week, a director for child-friendly Disney films, James Gunn, has a years-long history of joking about his own fantasies regarding child rape and molestation. And for grins and giggles, hes also a massive racist whos made homophobic jokes about rape, Jews, the Holocaust and wait for it Mexicans. Remember when POTUS Donald Trump was hammered by the now-absent establishment media when he said, truthfully, Mexico does not send America its best and that many of them are rapists and criminals? Gunn is most notable for directing Guardians of the Galaxy and its sequel, Breitbart noted. In addition, he was one of the executive producers for Avengers: Infinity War. Each one of those is a product of the Marvel comics brand. Oh, and by the way, Marvel is owned by Disney. John Nolte of Breitbart noted a series of ironies (hypocrisies, really) regarding Gunn, Disney, and Disney-owned ABC: Disney also owns ABC Television, the network that produced the hit series Roseanne. ABC fired Roseanne Barr after she apologized for one terrible tweet she defended as a joke. Nolte noted that, as of Friday, Gunn still had a job, though clearly in another day, another time, he wouldnt. Hed have been fired on the spot, no questions asked, after sending dozens of disgusting, indefensible tweets. (Related: Planet of the FAKES: Left-wing journalists use Roseanne distraction to pretend theyre not hate-filled bigots.) And we all know why, Nolte writes. Gunn is a rabid Hollywood leftist and Trump hater. Rosanne Barr is a vocal Trump supporter. These are not the writings of someone whos merely provocative Citing The Wrap, Nolte noted that between 2008 and 2011, in several now-deleted tweets, Gunn expressed his fascination with child rape. Expendables is so manly I f**ked the s**t out of the pu**y boy next to me, he wrote in one tweet. The best thing about being raped is when youre done being raped and its like whew, this feels great, not being raped! he wrote in another. I remember my first NAMBLA meeting. Its the first time I felt ok being who I am, he also wrote, referring to the National Association of Man-Boy Love, a group attempting to make it legal for adults to have sex with minors. Im doing a big Hollywood film adaptation of The Giving Tree with a happy ending the tree grows back and gives the kid a bl*wj*b, he tweeted in 2011. The Wrap also featured a graphic a screen grab fetched by Jack Posobiec that included 16 of Gunns warped tweets. I like it when little boys touch me in my silly place, he actually wrote in 2009. The Hardy Boys and the Mystery of What It Feels Like When Uncle Bernie Fists Me, says another. The Wrap reported that after the controversy began, Gunn squeamishly deleted his personal website. But why? According to his excuse, hes got nothing to be concerned about. Many people who have followed my career know when I started, I viewed myself as a provocateur, making movies and telling jokes that were outrageous and taboo, Gunn wrote in other tweets. As I have discussed publicly many times, as Ive developed as a person, so has my work and my humor. Really? Were expected to believe that? Provocative? Try sick. How do you even think the things mentioned above, let alone write them down and publicly share them? These are not the thoughts of a normal person. These are the thoughts of a demented, deranged, perverted predator who is, disturbingly, working for the worlds biggest producer of child movies. The fact that he remains employed proves Disney executives are just as sick and demented for allowing Gunns politics to save his job. Read more about demented Leftism at LeftCult.com. J.D. Heyes is editor of The National Sentinel and a senior writer for Natural News and News Target. Sources include: Breitbart.com TheWrap.com NewsTarget.com (Natural News) Monsanto has been at the forefront of GMOs, toxic pesticides and herbicides, and the development of other noxious chemicals and products, for decades. As the Bayer-Monsanto merger looms closer, its been revealed that the Monsanto name will likely be wiped from existence but their dirty past will not be cleaned away so easily. A name change cannot give them a clean slate, as long as the independent media is alive to keep tabs on the companys latest misdeeds. At Monsanto.news, you can find all the latest information on the biotech behemoth and their minions. Whether its the latest developments in lawsuits against Monsanto for hiding the dangers of glyphosate, the star ingredient in their flagship herbicide, Roundup, or simply reporting on the companys oft-forgotten sordid history, you can learn all you need to know about Monsanto. No matter what their name is in the future, Monsantos past will never be that far behind, as long as the public refuses to forget what theyve done. The great glyphosate deception One of the most glaring and current issues in the dark world of Monsanto is the companys active role in suppressing the truth about their most profitable herbicide, Roundup. Though widely reported as being safe, the story of Roundups key ingredient, glyphosate, has been unraveling at a rapid pace. Through court cases and other legal proceedings, it has become increasingly obvious that Monsanto didnt just know about the toxic effects of glyphosate, they went out of their way hide this information from the public and to sway regulators to make decisions in favor of their product. Internal Monsanto documents recently obtained by U.S. Right To Know prove that the biotech company set out to disparage the International Agency for Cancer Research (IARC)s finding that glyphosate was a probable carcinogen. The five-point plan outlined by Monsanto officials names off a list of industry partners, which includes phony independent science outlets, members of the food industry, agrichemical-funded lobbyists and other special interests groups all of whom apparently are Monsantos lapdogs. The plan also includes steps to orchestrate public outcry, call on third-party sources to produce pro-Monsanto, anti-IARC content for the media and other devious actions intended to undermine the integrity of the IARC a world-renowned authority on cancer and cancer-causing substances. Despite this, Monsanto basically decries the IARCs studies of glyphosate as pseudoscience, purely because it doesnt fit their agenda. The company also ran a massive Let Nothing Go campaign to promote pro-Monsanto propaganda and denigrate anyone who dared to speak ill of the company or their toxic products. Evidence presented at a recent court hearing by attorney Brett Wisner also shows that Monsanto executives ignored studies that showed an unfavorable view of glyphosate, pushing the warnings of multiple esteemed scientists aside for profits. Monsanto has specifically gone out of its way to bully and to fight independent researchers, Wisner contended. Has Monsanto ever been honest? Monsantos got a dark history, theres no doubt about that. Its recently been revealed that the company has been putting out bogus studies since the 1970s. Forty years of fraud what a record. As writer Isabelle Z. recently reported, Ever since the EPA first registered glyphosate for use, theres been a clear pattern at play: Every time its safety has been called into question, Monsanto makes sure the answers support its interests. Theyve been using their considerable influence and deep pockets to ensure EPA decisions go their way for more than four decades. The earliest evidence of this dates back to 1973 the year before glyphosate was registered. At that time, a biologist with the EPAs Toxicology Branch recommended that Roundup bear a Danger warning on its label due to potential eye irritation but Monsanto balked at this idea, insisting the irritations were not from Roundup. The EPA eventually acquiesced to Monsantos demands, changing the warning to a meager Caution instead. From there, a dangerous precedent was set in place: For years to come, Monsanto would continue to ignore the warnings of scientists at every level and demand that our own federal agencies do the same. Recent reports have also shown that Monsanto knew PCBs were toxic an entire decade before they stopped producing them. Learn more about what the worlds most evil company is doing (and hiding) at Monsanto.news. Sources for this article include: Monsanto.news NaturalNews.com It turns out diamonds might be shockingly common with over a quadrillion tons of the precious rock potentially hiding under the Earth's surface. Unfortunately, this endless diamond cache is entirely out of reach as it's buried over 100 miles deep underground. Earth Is Chock-Full Of Diamonds In the study published in the journal Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, researchers reveal that new seismic models suggest an abundance of diamonds in the Earth's cratonic roots. Cratons are ancient and immovable rock that extend through the crust and mantle, and their roots are known to be the deepest sections The team estimates that diamond may be 1 to 2 percent of the planet's cratonic roots, which means there are roughly a quadrillion tons of diamonds just lying among these ancient rocks. "This shows that diamond is not perhaps this exotic mineral, but on the [geological] scale of things, it's relatively common," study author Ulrich Faul, a research scientist in MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, explains in a press release from the university. "We can't get at them, but still, there is much more diamond there than we have ever thought before." Finding Earth's Diamond Cache Faul and the other researchers discovered Earth's secret diamond stash by tracking seismic activity, which are sound waves moving through the planet as a result of ground-shaking events such as earthquakes and tsunamis. Since sound waves travel in varying speeds depending on the rock's temperature, density, and composition, geologists can put together a picture of the planet's interior with seismic data. Cratons are expected to yield slightly faster sound waves due to their coolness and density, but the recent analysis produced sound waves that are much faster than it should be. The anomaly piqued the team's interest, leading them to hunt for the mysterious composition of cratonic roots. According to MIT, the researchers created a three-dimensional model of the seismic wave velocities as it traveled underground. Then, they tested a number of rocks against the sound waves to see which one would match the velocities that the seismologists measured. There was only one that did: a rock that contains 1 to 2 percent diamond, plus peridotite and even traces of eclogite. This much diamond is 1,000 times more than previously believed, but it's not expected to alter the cratons' density. An Intriguing Hypothesis, But There Are Some Skeptics "It's circumstantial evidence, but we've pieced it all together. We went through all the different possibilities, from every angle, and this is the only one that's left as a reasonable explanation," Faul says, but also tells Gizmodo that it's still just a hypothesis. After all, this would change a lot about what geologists know and understand about the Earth at the moment. Wendy Panero, professor in the Ohio State University school of Earth Sciences, explains that this much diamond under our feet would almost double the carbon in the mantle. In turn, this would have an effect on scientists' knowledge of the evolution of Earth's interior. "[Two percent volume] is far in excess of the amount of diamond found in kimberlite rock, which is on the order of carats per ton," Panero, who is not involved in the study, points out to Gizmodo. "I am eager to see more work in the area to see if this hypothesis holds up to further scrutiny." Car break-ins have been a huge problem in virtually every corner of San Francisco, something city leaders have been working on. It only takes a few moments for someone to bust a window, it happened more than 30,000 times last year, something police describe as epidemic levels. "I always like to make sure that my cell phone, my wallet is all out of sight," said San Francisco resident Alexis Streeter. District Attorney George Gascon said Friday that investigators have been zeroing in on so-called car burglary hotspots bringing break-ins down 20 percent, and in some cases setting up stings to catch criminals in the act. "What we did is we started looking at patterns of crime in that area," Gascon said. He said police busted two people who they believe were working together to break into cars in a Safeway parking lot on Monterey Boulevard in San Francisco. "It doesnt surprise me that any parking lot would be a hotspot," said Michelle Schurig from San Francisco. Undercover officers staked out the lot for weeks and said they ultimately caught the two men in the act and theyve now been convicted of felony auto burglary. "What made the case so strong was the fact that we were able to identify many other cases that were connected to the same people," Gascon said. The citys district attorney said since they arrested both men in January, there has not been a single reported car break-in in that parking lot. As the community in Branson, Missouri mourns the duck boat tragedy, authorities have identified those who were lost in Thursday night's accident. The crash killed 17 people, nine of whom were from one family. The victims were from Missouri, Indiana, Illinois and Arkansas. They ranged in age, with the youngest just 1-year-old and the oldest 73-years-old. Tia Coleman told Indianapolis television station WXIN that she and a nephew were the only survivors among 11 relatives aboard the boat. She said she lost her three children, Evan, Reece and Arya, her husband, Glenn, and other members of her family. Coleman said the captain told passengers that they would not need life jackets. By the time of the accident, "it was too late." She said she was trapped in the boat but managed to free herself and swim to shore. Her family likely wouldn't have been aboard the ill-fated trip except for a ticket mix-up. They should have boarded at a different location but were reassigned. The duck boat capsized and sank in stormy weather in the deadliest such accident in almost two decades. The driver has been identified by authorities as Robert Williams. He used to live in Providence, Rhode Island. There was another duck boat in the water at the same time that made it to shore. Investigators are looking into what that boat did differently to save everybody's lives. A South Korean company's claim to have found a sunken Russian warship has triggered investor frenzy amid speculation the ship was carrying an enormous amount of gold when it sank 113 years ago. South Korea's financial regulator subsequently issued a warning against possible investment losses. The Seoul-based Shinil Group said Tuesday its divers discovered what a wreck it identified as the 6,200-ton Dmitrii Donskoi, which went down during the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese war off an eastern Korean island. The company speculated about 200 tons of gold bars and coins that are worth 150 trillion won ($132 billion) would still likely be aboard the ship. Shinil released photos and videos taken by search submarines, which showed markings on the stern the company said was the ship's name in Russian. It said it hoped to hoist the ship from its depth of more than 400 meters (0.25 miles) within months. Other companies have made similar claims, but none has taken actual steps toward raising the wreck. One of them, Dong-Ah Construction, was accused of spreading false rumors to bump up its stock prices and later went bankrupt. Shinil was founded on June 1 reportedly with about 100 million won ($87,800). The company is unlisted but its president recently agreed to acquire shares in a local company, Jeil Steel. After Shinil's announcement on the Russian ship, Jeil's stock prices rose by 30 percent on South Korea's KOSDAQ market on Tuesday. They continued their steep rise on Wednesday morning before Jeil in a regulatory filing clarified that Shinil's president would be its second-largest shareholder, not the largest, if the deal goes through. Jeil also said it has "no relation to the treasure ship business." Jeil's stock prices dropped more than 20 percent after Thursday's trading. South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service said Thursday that it's closely monitoring trade activity involving the shares of Jeil Steel. An agency official said that the regulator was watching out for possible deceptive practices involving the trade of Jeil shares, including inducing investors through false information. "Investors should beware because it's uncertain whether the ship is salvageable and whether Shinil would be able to gain ownership of the assets even if it gets permission to raise it," said the official, who didn't want to be identified citing office rules. "Dong-Ah Construction made similar claims over the same ship but failed to deliver on its promises and went bankrupt, causing huge losses for investors." Russian scholars have said in the past that Russia was unlikely to put so much gold on a single ship and that it must have been much safer to move it by train. They also have said some gold coins could have been aboard the ship to pay the salaries of Russian navy officers. It's unclear whether Shinil would receive South Korean government approval of its salvage plans. Local laws aimed at preserving national territory and property require the company to deposit 10 percent of the estimated value of the shipwreck before starting its salvage works. An official at the Pohang Regional Office of Oceans and Fisheries, which has authority on Shinil's case, said it hasn't formally discussed the company's claim because Shinil has yet to submit a request to seek a salvage right. The official, who spoke anonymously because he wasn't authorized to speak media on the issue, said Shinil must deposit 15 trillion won ($13.2 billion), based on the company officials speculation how much gold is likely aboard the ship. Shinil disagreed on the amount of its possible deposit, saying what it has officially located was the shipwreck, not treasures on it. It estimated the shipwreck's value at 1.2 billion won ($1 million) and planned to put down 120 million won ($105,540) as a deposit. Company spokesman Park Seong-jin said his company will file a request for the ship's salvage right later this week. Some experts also said it's unlikely that the Donskoi, a thickly armored warship with more than 12 artillery pieces, 500 sailors and presumably 1,600 tons of coal, would have had room for 200 tons of gold, which would be double the current gold reserves at South Korea's central bank. And there's questions about the gold's worth being estimated at $132 billion the Bank of Korea's 104 tons of gold reserves are valued at around $4.8 billion. Even if the ship is hoisted and treasures are found, their ownership could be disputed. A South Korean Financial Ministry official responsible for the issue said that Russia may be able to claim ownership. Park disputed that, saying 80 percent of the potential treasures would belong to the company while the rest would go to a South Korean government coffer. He cited related South Korean law and an international court ruling on a similar case. Three people are dead and at least 18 others were wounded in shootings across Chicago on Saturday. A shooting in the city's East Garfield Park neighborhood left one person dead and six others wounded on Saturday night, according to police. The victims were gathered on a park bench when four men walked up to the group and opened fire. A 30-year-old man was shot in the head and was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital, according to police. A 22-year-old man and a 47-year-old man were both taken to Stroger Hospital after being shot in the chest, and both were in critical condition. Two of the victims, a 33-year-old man and a 31-year-old man, were both taken to Stroger in serious condition. Another of the victims, a 30-year-old man, was shot in the leg and was listed in stable condition at Stroger. Finally, a 26-year-old man was shot in the arm and leg and was in stable condition. Another fatal shooting occurred less than 10 minutes later in the 1300 block of South Avers on Saturday night, police said. A 22-year-old man was discovered laying on a sidewalk with multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body. He was taken to Mount Sinai in critical condition, and was later pronounced dead at the hospital. A third fatal shooting was reported less than a half hour later in the 200 block of East 106th Street. A 28-year-old man was shot multiple times while he was standing on a sidewalk, and he was later pronounced dead at Christ Hospital. A second victim was shot in the left hand and the back, and was listed in stable condition at Roseland, police said. Just after midnight Saturday morning, another man was taken to an area hospital in critical condition after he was shot in the 4100 block of West Adams, police said. The man was walking on a sidewalk when he heard shots. He was taken to Stroger Hospital with gunshot wounds to his neck and body, police said. No one is in custody, and an investigation is underway. Just after 11 a.m. Saturday, two men were shot in the 200 block of North Lockwood, police said. The men were standing on a sidewalk when a person opened fire, striking both victims. A 27-year-old man was shot in the left foot and is in stable condition at West Suburban Hospital, police said. A 23-year-old man was shot in both legs and was taken to Stroger in stable condition. No one is in custody, police said. Here are the rest of this weekend's shootings: Saturday: The Four Corners group is well-known for owning some of Chicago's most popular spots and now as the target in a multimillion-dollar class-action lawsuit. Attorney Tom Zimmerman is representing several employees of the 17 Four Corners bars and restaurants named in the suit. They say theyve been scammed out of their earnings. We estimate there is more than $30 million dollars in unpaid tips that are owed to the bartenders and waitresses, Zimmerman said. One complainant says he has records showing he was not paid approximately $400 in tips for each two-week pay period and over the seven-year period he worked there, adding up to $72,000 in unpaid tips just for him. Though unpaid tips are the sticking point for service staff the documents also allege Four Corners is violating minimum wage laws and IRS tax code, as well as committing fraud, corruption and conspiracy. NBC 5 took the complaints to the West Loop address listed for Four Corners, but the person inside denied that the business operated there. In a statement, Four Corners said the truth will come to light. Four Corners has been in business for over 17 years and we pride ourselves on not only the way we treat our customers, but also how we treat our employees," the statement reads. "We are confident that when the relevant facts come to light, it will be established that these claims are without merit and based on a misunderstanding. We look forward to proving that. Zimmerman believes as many as 800 current and former employees are owed money. But it wasnt until one bartender cross-referenced his records and did the math that they realized it. The servers are subject to the computer system and we will be able through the course of this lawsuit to obtain all computer records from these restaurants in order to calculate the full amount," Zimmerman said. Zimmerman said he will be in the courtroom soon to get an order that will allow him to contact all employees across the 17 spots. A man exonerated of murder after spending 23 years in prison had trouble depositing a compensation check in a Chicago bank. Attorney Kathleen Zellner tells the Chicago Tribune that Darryl Fulton was trying to deposit a check from the state of Illinois for nearly $169,900. The money is compensation for the time he wrongfully spent in prison. Zellner says a Chase Bank branch initially said she needed to endorse the check because her firm's name was under Fulton's. Fulton's second effort was stymied by where he signed the check. Zellner says she believes Chase refused to deposit the check "because he's a black male." Chase said in a statement that the bank should have accepted Fulton's check. The bank didn't address Zellner's racism allegation. Fulton was convicted with another man in 1997 for the rape and murder of Antwinica Bridgeman. Their convictions were vacated in November after DNA testing pointed to another suspect. Police were still searching on Sunday for a Special Olympics soccer player from Bangladesh who was last seen getting into an SUV days earlier in front of his Gold Coast neighborhood hotel. Rezwanul Haque, 22, was last seen in hotel surveillance footage getting into the SUV about 5 p.m. Thursday in the 100 block of East Delaware Place, Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. Haque left the hotel voluntary, and there was no evidence of foul play. Haque was supposed to meet with a group on Friday but never showed up, Guglielmi said. Group members went looking for Haque and contacted the police after several hours of unsuccessful searching. Special Olympics International officials said theyre working with authorities in the search. We have learned an athlete from the Bangladeshi Unified Cup soccer team is missing, the organization said in a statement. Were deeply concerned as our foremost priority is the well-being and safety of our athletes. Haque has autism and does not speak English, according to a police alert. He traveled to Chicago to participate in the 50th anniversary of the Special Olympics, which started Friday. Monir Choudhury, honorary consul of Bangladesh in Illinois, said hes working with other members of the embassy and community organizers to give the team all the help they need to find him. Given his special needs, Haques photo was sent to every district to get as many people to see him as possible, Guglielmi said. Haque is described as a 5-foot-8, 160-pound Asian man with brown eyes, black hair and a medium complexion, police said. He was last seen wearing a blue hat with USA on the front, a blue collared shirt with Bangladesh written in red letters on the back, black pants and white gym shoes. He also had a light-gray and red backpack. Haque won a gold medal in badminton at the 2015 games in Los Angeles as a shuttler in the mens singles event for Bangladesh, according to the teams website. Anyone with information should call Area Central detectives at (312) 747-8380, or dial 911. The Trump administration said Thursday that Somalis granted special immigration status in the U.S. can keep the designation, making them one of the few groups permitted to stay in the U.S. under a program that has allowed them to remain here for years. Somalia was first designated for the special status in 1991, following the collapse of the authoritarian Siad Barre regime, and the designation had been extended in part because nationals feared returning because of the ongoing armed conflict there. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen cited the armed conflict and other extraordinary conditions in supporting the continuation of Somalia's designation for about 500 people. But the administration will not take on new applicants, disappointing advocacy groups. Those already with the status will be able to remain in the U.S. and will be allowed to work through March 17, 2020. Many Somalis have settled in Minnesota, which has the largest Somali population in the U.S. Community and immigration advocates have said that returning to Somalia would be a death sentence for some and that it would separate families. Democratic Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton wrote a letter to President Donald Trump on Tuesday, urging him to extend the special status. Dayton's letter said the conditions in Somalia are treacherous, and he pointed to a recent State Department advisory that tells people to avoid traveling to Somalia because of crime, terrorism and piracy. The advisory says those who do travel to Somalia should draft a will before traveling, name a family member to be a point of contact in the event of a hostage situation and leave a DNA sample in case it is needed to identify remains. "Under those conditions, it would be horribly 'Un-American' to force innocent people to return to Somalia, to break up many of their families, and to forgo their chances to live safe and decent lives," Dayton wrote. Members of Congress, including Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith of Minnesota, also wrote to the president, urging that the status be extended. Advocates for Somali nationals who are living in the U.S. said Thursday they are relieved that about 500 Somalis will be able to reregister to extend their protected status for 18 months, but they are disappointed the administration didn't do more. The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said if the administration would have redesignated the status instead of just extending it, then more than 1,000 Somali nationals could have enrolled. The International Rescue Committee and Muslim Advocates also expressed disappointment. "It is not only a mistake, it is a death sentence," Muslim Advocates said in a statement. Around 437,000 immigrants from 10 countries have had temporary protected status, a designation created in 1990 to allow people from countries ravaged by natural disasters like earthquakes or man-made disasters like war to have a short-term safe haven. Those with it have generally been able to work and, with permission, travel outside the U.S. and return. Countries are added to the list as circumstances warrant, with renewals coming usually around every 18 months. While some countries were removed, others have stayed on for years, which critics say turns the program into default amnesty. Other countries that had the status for long periods of time like El Salvador or Honduras were cut off under Trump. The protections were never meant to be permanent. Under Trump, the Department of Homeland Security also ended the program for Sudan, Nicaragua, Nepal and Haiti. Several groups are suing to stay in the U.S. Protections were extended for about 1,100 Yemenis and 6,900 Syrians who already have them, but the administration has said it won't take on new applicants. Trump has said he wants to curtail legal immigration and has been cracking down broadly on illegal immigration. A major railroad connecting Connecticut to New York may not be upgrading fast enough to meet new safety standards. The federal agency tasked with overseeing railroads is concerned that Metro-North may not meet their years end deadline for installing positive train control, a potentially life-saving safety technology. Thats disappointing to Renee Soderberg of Wethersfield, who frequently rides Metro-North. You know we say you have to have something done by a deadline but we wait until the 10th hour, she said. Positive train control, known as PTC, is a technology that can automatically slow or stop trains, potentially preventing collisions and derailments like one involving a speeding Metro-North train that killed four people in 2013. PTC has been available for years but many railroads have been slow to adopt the technology. National Transportation Safety Board chairman Robert Sumwalt heads the agency that investigates these kinds of crashes, and has recommended railroads have this technology for years. Any delay in implementing positive train control from a safety perspective, is unacceptable, said Sumwalt. The Federal Railroad Administration, or FRA, is the agency overseeing the implementation of this life saving technology on trains across the country. In late April, it sent Metro-North officials an at-risk letter sharing its concerns regarding Metro Norths progress towards fully implementing a PTC system. The railroad has until December 31 of this year to have PTC installed, or at least meet milestones necessary to apply for a two-year extension. Metro-Norths most recent quarterly PTC report shows it making progress, and did not prompt an additional warning letter. But an FRA spokesman told NBC Connecticut Investigates that Metro-North is still at-risk unless it continues to make progress installing the safety systems. Data on the FRAs website shows that while Metro-North did not get the most recent warning letter, it just missed the threshold for another at risk alert. The dozen railroads that got warning letters had 85 percent or less of their PTC hardware installed. Metro-North had 86 percent complete. .instrux { font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px; } .container { position: relative; width: 100%; } .image { display: block; width: 100%; height: auto; } .overlay { position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; left: 0; right: 0; height: 100%; width: 100%; opacity: 0; transition: 1s ease; background-color: #008CBA; } .container:hover .overlay { opacity: 1; } .text { color: black; font-size: 15px; position: absolute; top: 50%; left: 50%; transform: translate(-50%, -50%); -ms-transform: translate(-50%, -50%); text-align: center; } Click for more information on the status of other railroads. Leaders from Metro-North declined an on-camera interview. A spokesman said the railroad is further along with PTC than the FRA believes, because Metro-North uses a different method to chart its progress. The spokesman added that the railroad will have its PTC pilot route in operation by December and that its nearing a goal of having PTC installed on a majority of its other tracks and locomotives by years end, over and above what the feds require to qualify for an extension. Thats a lofty goal though, based on what Metro-North Railroad president Catherine Rinaldi said at a June meeting. During the meeting, Rinaldi said, To the extent that we are still looking to try to place all lines in PTC operations by the end of the year, just given where we are at now, in terms of some of the software issues, that remains significantly at risk. The states newest passenger railroad, the Hartford Line, says all of its trains should be using PTC soon. Our new locomotives that weve taken delivery of have the latest hardware and software that will enable them for PTC at the end of the year, said Rich Andrewski, the chief of public transportation for Connecticut Department of Transportation. Most of the track the Hartford Line uses is owned by Amtrak, which said it expects PTC to be installed and operating on all the tracks it controls by years end. The FRA said Amtrak has had an earlier version of PTC running on its Northeast Corridor route since 2004. The agency said Amtrak has made significant progress installing the newer version of PTC on its Northeast Corridor route, but across its whole network it still has work to do to have it in place by years end. Amtrak did not provide an on-camera interview, but through a spokesperson, said it will decide on a case by case basis on if it will use its locomotives on tracks that arent PTC ready, and if it will allow railroads that arent PTC ready to use its tracks. [[488756161, C]] [[488756051, C]] Hartford Police have arrested a man after they say he was found with a stolen gun in a parking lot early Saturday morning. Officers responded to 107 Vine Street shortly before 3:00 a.m. after getting a report that someone named "Shawn" was in the rear parking lot and had brandished a gun. When police arrived, they say they saw a group of men standing around a car. As officers approached, one of the men, later identified as 27-year-old Shawn Robinson Jr., of East Hartford, walked to the back of the car and appeared to drop something on the ground, according to police. Once the men were detained for an investigation, police say they found a green and black Ruger SR9 with a magazine in it on the ground. Officers searched Robinson and found another live nine millimeter round in his pocket, police said. When dispatchers checked on the gun's serial numbers, officers learned the gun had been stolen. Robinson was also found to be on parole. Robinson is facing charges including criminal possession of a pistol, possession of a high capacity magazine, theft of a firearm, criminal trespass and carrying a pistol without a permit. Police have arrested a man from New Britain after they say he led them on a chase for more than eight miles on Friday night. Suffield Police say they received a 911 call saying that a white BMW was traveling at a high rate of speed going southbound on Route 159 around 10:47 p.m. It was reported that the vehicle had caused a crash and hit four other cars, police said. Suffield Police called Troop H Dispatch shortly before 11:00 p.m. to notify them of their involvement in an active motor vehicle pursuit of the BMW that had fled the crash. The officers provided a description of the fleeing vehicle as a white BMW with a partial license plate of AM. Officers in Suffield told State Police that the BMW was last seen entering I-91 south from the town of Enfield. Police later found the vehicle as it was leaving the limited access highway via the exit 38 A and B off ramps in Windsor. Members of Connecticut State Police stopped the vehicle at the exit 38B off ramp at Route 75. The vehicle's operator, later identified as 20-year-old Edward Martinez, of New Britain, responded by engaging police in a pursuit for approximately 8.3 miles through the roads of Windsor and the eastbound lanes of the Route 20 connector, police said. Martinez ended the pursuit along the northbound side of I-91 in Windsor. Officers were able to positively identify Martinez and all of his passengers. The vehicle was also positively identified as a 2006 white BMW with a Connecticut license plate of AM31037. Martinez was arrested and was transported to Troop H Barracks around 11:30 p.m. He is facing charges including reckless driving, engaging police in a pursuit and reckless endangerment. He is expected to appear in court on Monday. What to Know Dallas police motorcycle officer dies in crash while escorting the body of another officer to a funeral in Louisiana. Sr. Cpl. Earl Jamie Givens was struck while blocking an entrance ramp on I-20. Givens was a 32-year veteran of the Dallas Police Department. A vigil is set for Monday night at the Dallas Police Central Substation to remember a Dallas police motorcycle officer who died after being hit by an oncoming vehicle while escorting the body of another officer to a funeral in Louisiana early Saturday morning, according to Dallas police. According to Dallas Chief of Police U. Renee Hall, Sr. Corporal Earl Jamie Givens was part of the motorcycle escort for Officer Tyrone DaVince Andrews when he was struck by an SUV and killed. The driver of that SUV is 25-year-old Adrian Breedlove, according to police. He was placed into jail and charged with Intoxicated Manslaughter and Unlawful Carrying of a Weapon. Authorities said he bonded out of the Dallas County Jail less than 24 hours later. On Monday, Breedlove was back in court and back behind bars, not for anything he did since bonding out, but for what law enforcement didn't do. The Dallas County District Attorney's Office said Breedlove was supposed to have an ankle monitor, but he was released from custody before that happened. In court Monday, the judge set no new bond until a phychiatric evaluation can be done and the D.A.'s request to increase bond to $100,000 can be reviewed. Tuesday the judge is expected to rule on the request. A Dallas police motorcycle officer is dead after being hit by an oncoming vehicle while escorting the body of another officer to a funeral in Louisiana early Saturday morning, according to Dallas police. Officer Givens was part of Andrews' procession to Marion, Louisiana, where he was to be laid to rest Saturday afternoon. Givens was stopped, blocking traffic along the eastbound entrance ramp to Interstate 20 at Bonnie View Road with his emergency lights activated, when he was struck by Breedlove's Kia Sportage at about 5:30 a.m. Other motorcycle officers in the escort turned around and rendered aid to Givens until Dallas Fire-Rescue paramedics arrived. Givens was taken to Baylor Medical Center in Dallas where he was pronounced dead. Fellow officers and colleagues gathered at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas where paramedics rushed the officer for treatment. The body of the officer was taken from the hospital to the medical examiner just after 11 a.m. Saturday. Update on the Officer Involved Accident. The suspect is this incident has been identified as Adrian Breedlove, Black male 25 years old. He is currently in jail and charged with Intoxicated Manslaughter and Unlawful Carrying of a Weapon. Dallas Police Dept (@DallasPD) July 22, 2018 "We stand here today with our hearts broken," Chief Hall said in a news conference. Givens was a 32-year veteran of the Dallas Police Department, serving in the motorcycle unit since 2012. Dallas Police Chief Renee Hall releases details of a suspected DWI crash that killed a motorcycle officer. Fellow officers say Givens loved motorcycles, law enforcement and most importantly, his two sons. The Assist the Officer Foundation is raising money to support his two sons. Dallas police motorcycle officers escort the body of Sr. Corporal Earl Jamie Givens to the Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office. Funeral arrangements for Givens are pending. Since July 2016, six Dallas police officers have been killed in the line of duty, two in the past three months. WireImage Check back and refresh this story for the latest update. Homicide detectives have closed a second investigation into the death of a man at the West Hollywood home of a well-known Democratic Party donor. Gemmel Moore, 26, died on July 27, 2017 inside the Laurel Avenue apartment of Ed Buck, who has denied he had a role in Moore's methamphetamine overdose. The findings are now in the hands of prosecutors who will decide if there's enough evidence for criminal charges. "A case was presented to our office by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department," said LA County District Attorney's Office spokesman Greg Risling. "It remains under review." The death was initially classified as accidental, according to the LA County Coroner's Office, but Moore's family and friends said they suspected foul play after reading entries in Moore's journal and reviewing text messages and emails exchanged between Moore and Buck. One email showed Buck had sent Moore an airplane ticket to travel to Southern California the day before Moore's death, and journal entries said Moore had used drugs with Buck. "Ed Buck needs to be stopped. He needs some help, and he needs to be stopped. I just want you guys to please, put pressure on whoever needs pressure," Moore's mother LaTisha Nixon, told the West Hollywood City Council last year during an appeal for a renewed homicide investigation. The Sheriff's Department has not revealed if any new information was developed during the second investigation. "Investigators from Homicide Bureau began a review on this case in an abundance of caution, due to the circumstances of Gemmel Moore's death," said spokeswoman Nicole Nishida. "The case is still under there review and a decision of any criminal culpability on the part of Ed Buck has not yet been made," she said. The LA County Coroner's Office said Wednesday it had not changed its determination that Moore's death was accidental, and Moore's defense lawyer said that showed no crime had taken place. "This was an unfortunate situation, this was a tragedy," said attorney Seymour Amster. "But it does not justify accusing an innocent man of things that did not happen." A California forest fire just west of Yosemite National Park was steadily growing Saturday after two more firefighters were injured while battling the flames in blazing summer heat to protect mountain communities in the Sierra Nevada. The Ferguson fire was churning northward within Sierra National Forest, sending up smoke that obscured valley views in the park. Yosemite remained open, but one of its scenic routes, Glacier Point Road, was closed to stage firefighters. Crews were getting a break from light winds but were contending with rugged terrain and sweltering temperatures, said Deputy Chief Scott McLean of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. "The vegetation is so dry out there, and it's so hot. This fire will continue to grow," he said. Flames have charred about 42 square miles of timber. Two firefighters, who were hospitalized Friday after suffering back injuries, have since been released and were expected to fully recover, said fire spokesman Rich Eagan. A total of four firefighters have been injured since the blaze broke out July 13. A bulldozer operator was killed the day after the fire started while trying to stop its spread. More than 2,800 firefighters aided by a fleet of aircraft were battling the fire, but only 7 percent of its perimeter was contained. Several areas were under mandatory evacuation orders. Residents of other communities were advised to be ready to leave if necessary, but no homes had been damaged or destroyed. Wildfires burned or smoldered elsewhere in the state, including east of Los Angeles near the Riverside County city of Corona. Most evacuations ordered at the height of the fire Thursday afternoon were lifted that night, but firefighters had extensive work to do to complete a containment line around the 250-acre burn scar. In Santa Barbara County, fire crews were able get a handle on a fast-moving brush fire that broke out Friday in Buellton. It was more than 30 percent contained. The National Weather Service warned that an extended period of high heat was brewing for a large swath of the state. Excessive-heat watches and warnings were to go into effect early next week across Southern California and throughout the Central Valley as high pressure strengthened over the Southwest states, the weather service said. A memorial service for Braden Varney, who was killed while operating the bulldozer for Cal Fire, will be held Monday in Modesto. What to Know Moscow says it is ready to discuss President Donald Trump's invitation to have Russian President Vladimir Putin in Washington. The Kremlin has not yet responded to the invitation. Russia's ambassador to the U.S. said the nation has always been open to such a proposal. The White House said Friday it "is not considering supporting" a Vladimir-Putin-backed call for a referendum in eastern Ukraine in the aftermath of President Donald Trump's meeting with the Russian president. Russia's ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov, revealed Friday that the two leaders had discussed the possibility of a referendum in separatist-leaning eastern Ukraine during their Helsinki summit. National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis said agreements between Russia and the Ukrainian government for resolving the conflict in the Donbas region "do not include any option for referendum." He added any effort to organize a "so-called referendum" would have "no legitimacy." The White House announcement comes as it laid out the agenda for an autumn summit between Trump and Putin in Washington that would focus on national security. Moscow signaled openness to a second formal meeting between the two leaders, as criticism of Trump over his first session with his Russian counterpart continued to swirl. Antonov revealed the discussions amid confusion and concern in the U.S. about what the two world leaders actually agreed upon behind closed doors. "This issue (of a referendum) was discussed," he said, adding that Putin made "concrete proposals" to Trump on solutions for the four-year, Russian-backed insurgency in eastern Ukraine, which has killed more than 10,000 people. He did not elaborate on what Putin's solutions would be. The move may be seen as an effort to sidestep European peace efforts for Ukraine and increase the pressure on the Ukrainian government in its protracted conflict with pro-Russian separatists in the Donbass region. Trump tweeted that the two men discussed Ukraine, but did not mention a referendum or revealed specifics. The U.S. and Russia have been on opposing sides of the conflict in Ukraine, which was unleashed after a popular uprising in 2014 against Ukraine's pro-Russian president and Russia's retaliatory annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula a month later. Ukraine's government didn't immediately respond to the developments but former Foreign Minister Konstantin Grishchenko said, "Kiev will never agree to a referendum in the Donbass initiated by Russia." "The Kremlin already used a referendum as justification for annexing Crimea. And Moscow is trying to use this theory and spread it to the Donbass," he said on the 112.ua television network. International powers did not recognize the Crimean referendum that preceded Russia's annexation. Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions also held referendums in 2014 that were not recognized by Ukraine's government. European powers are also expected to oppose a referendum in the Donbass, where pro-Russian separatists hold sway. They have been committed to a 2015 peace deal signed in the Belarusian capital of Minsk that has helped reduce the fighting but failed to find a lasting political solution for the region. Putin has sought to become a Trump ally at a time when U.S. ties to Europe are fraying, and both presidents are critical of the EU and NATO. German Chancellor Angela Merkel pushed back Friday at Trump's questioning of NATO's central tenet of collective defense. Ambassador Antonov called Monday's summit in Helsinki a "key event" in international politics and laughed off suggestions the two leaders made any "secret deals." Antonov insisted that diplomatic discussions should remain discreet in order to be effective, but gave a few details of their discussions on arms control and said the summit notably made progress on U.S.-Russian cooperation on Syria's future. He also said Moscow is ready to discuss a possible visit by Putin to Washington after a surprise invitation from Trump. Antonov said it's important to "deal with the results" of the leaders' first summit before jumping too fast into a new one. "(But) Russia was always open to such proposals. We are ready for discussions on this subject," he said. The Kremlin hasn't responded yet to the proposal Trump made Thursday. The Russian ambassador to Washington also denounced what he saw as "anti-Russian anger" in the United States and the "severity" of the U.S. criticism of Trump's performance at the summit. He reiterated denials of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election interrupting a questioner to say "We didn't interfere!" He also reiterated denials of Russian involvement in the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Britain. Antonov also pushed for the release of a Russian gun rights activist who has been accused of being a covert agent in the U.S., calling her arrest a "farce." U.S. federal prosecutors accused Maria Butina this week of being a covert Russian agent and working to infiltrate U.S. political organizations, including the National Rifle Association, before and after Trump's election as president. Butina, 29, denies wrongdoing. The Russian Foreign Ministry started an online campaign for her release. Yuras Karmanau, Dmitry Kozlov and Geir Moulson contributed. In an interview with the Sacramento Bee, California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom admitted he was wrong to report young immigrants to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when he was mayor of San Francisco. As mayor, Newsom spearheaded a policy in San Francisco in 2008 which required law enforcement officers to report juvenile immigrants in the country illegally to ICE when charged with committing violent felony crimes. Newsom, currently a frontrunner to succeed California Gov. Jerry Brown, said looking back, he could have done things differently. These were people charged but not convicted. Some people ultimately were exonerated that got caught up in it, Newsom told The Bee. Ill just say this to my critics: Fair game. Looking back, there were things we could have done differently. Im very honest about that. Newsom, who is vociferously critical of Trump, and has called him a 'disgrace" on Twitter because of his immigration policies, made these comments as the Trump administrations policy to separate migrant families from children at the southern border comes under fire. Newsom said his stance to report juveniles to ICE was a compromise to protect San Franciscos sanctuary city ordinance which came under scrutiny when a San Francisco resident and his two sons were killed by an undocumented immigrant and MS-13 gang member from El Salvador. It was devastating and it exposed some gaps in our sanctuary policy, Newsom said. We were the poster child for the (sanctuary) policy. Then we had this tragic example where someone was in our custody a MS-13 young person (and when he was) released, came back and shot three members of a family. Newsoms chief opponent, Republican candidate John Cox, called Newsom a "flip-flopper in a Facebook post. As usual Gavin Newsom wants it both ways. As San Francisco mayor, Newsom policy reported undocumented youth to ICE he was for it before he was against it, Cox said. The new face of an emerging democratic socialist movement joined its patriarch in the most unlikely place Friday, calling on Kansans unhappy with the direction of the country to get off the sidelines in a pivotal Republican-held congressional district. "We know that people in Kansas, just like everywhere else in this country, just like families in the Bronx, just want a fair shake," Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the surprise winner in a New York House primary last month, told a frenetic crowd of more than 3,000 in a Kansas suburb of Kansas City. Headlining a rally with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez sought to infuse the final weeks of Democrat Brent Welder's congressional primary campaign with the enthusiasm that lifted her over 20-year Democratic incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley last month. In an election year defined by energized Democratic voters seeking to send President Donald Trump a message, Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez were betting they could stir up liberals in places where the left rarely competes. The 28-year-old Latina from New York and the 76-year-old Jewish senator from Vermont struck a stark contrast in the hotel ballroom, though they reflected the range of people in the racially and ethnically mixed crowd, weighted toward millennials but including gray-haired activists and parents with children. Their combined messages sought to unite not just the diverse group in the hall, but restless liberals around the country. "Whether you live in Kansas or Vermont or New York City, you want your children to have a decent life," Sanders said. "And yes, we have differences. But despite these huge differences, we have a hell of a lot more in common." Kansas, where Trump won by more than 20 percentage points in 2016, would seem inhospitable for a duo championing strikingly progressive positions such as universal, single-payer health care and government-paid tuition to public college. But Democrats see reasons for hope in a campaign year in which progressive candidates have won competitive primaries in GOP-leaning districts in suburban Philadelphia, metropolitan Omaha and Orange County, California, this year. Thirty-two-year-old registered nurse Kristen Burroughs said she'd grown tired of feeling locked out of representation in Kansas. "I wasn't sure when I'd have the chance to vote for someone this liberal in Kansas," Burroughs said, referring to Welder, a Sanders campaign activist and labor lawyer. Kansas' 3rd District, where Welder is competing, represented by four-term Republican Rep. Kevin Yoder, is on Democrats' target list as they aim to seize the GOP-controlled House in November. Nationally, the party must pick up at least 23 Republican-held seats to claim the House majority, and they are focusing on 25 districts where Clinton won, or Trump won narrowly. Democrats have been shut out of statewide and congressional races in Kansas since 2010. Earlier Friday, Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders headlined a rally in Wichita for Democrat James Thompson, a civil rights lawyer running in Kansas' 4th District. He also was an activist for Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign. Sherri Lower, a 67-year-old retired emergency medical technician, showed up at the Wichita rally wearing a t-shirt that read: "We Care. We Vote. Do You?" "This is the most important year we've ever had, and Thompson is one of our main guys," Lower said. "I want Democrats to go out and vote." But Democrats have higher hopes in the 3rd District, one of only a handful Democrat Hillary Clinton won in the general election and Sanders won in the presidential nominating caucuses. Republicans in the 3rd District outnumber their Democratic counterparts by more than 50,000, while unaffiliated voters also edge Democrats. Republicans outnumber Democrats by 2-to-1 in the 4th District. Liberals argue that they are not just convincing moderate Democrats or disaffected Republicans but also engaging new primary voters, as Ocasio-Cortez did in New York this summer and as Sanders did in his insurgent 2016 presidential campaign. While the Kansas campaign swing created a lot of buzz, Republicans were skeptical it would help Democrats make inroads in a conservative state. State Rep. Tom Cox, a moderate Kansas City-area Republican, said there are pockets of liberal Democrats in the Kansas City suburbs but questioned whether Sanders' message will resonate more broadly. He said Democrats tend to be split between liberals and moderates, with some union members and supporters holding conservative views on social issues. "Even our Democrats around here are not socialist democrats," he said. "If someone would describe the 3rd District, I would say center-right." Leading candidates in the Democratic primary for governor have said their party must rebuild its brand in rural, heavily GOP areas. And despite surging energy among leftist Democrats in the Trump era, it was unclear if there were enough votes in the 3rd District for a liberal Democrat to win. Before Yoder won in 2010, it had been held for 12 years by centrist Democrat Dennis Moore, who relied on moderate Republicans during his tenure. Yet Sanders and his brand of liberalism have proved popular. He won more than two-thirds of the votes in the state's 2016 presidential caucuses, surpassing Barack Obama's 2008 vote total. And Ocasio-Cortez said it can be done in Kansas by broadening the electorate to include previously less active voters, rather than trying to convert moderates. "It is going to take every single person in this room knocking on 10, 50, 100 doors apiece," she said. "So, if you have never knocked on a door before, I am talking to you." The Miami Police Department has released a description of the suspected gunman who robbed and shot a man in Model City. Police officers and a SWAT team was deployed to Model City to search for the suspect Friday night. A six-block perimeter was established. The incident started Friday at about 8 p.m. after police received reports of four shots fired through Shotspotter, a system that detects and reports gunfire. Police responded immediately to find a wounded man and another beat up. "According to detectives, the victim and witness were doing mechanical work on a vehicle," MPD said in a statement. "The suspect surprised the victim as he approached him with a grey shirt, covering his face and a black firearm in hand. The suspect demanded the victim's chain and a struggle ensued. The suspect then shot at the victim, striking him at least two times. The suspect then fled on foot." Officers believe there is at least one suspect on the run. The suspect or suspects are believed to be armed and dangerous. The suspect is described as a black/white mixed-race male with a slim build who was wearing a long-sleeve shirt, black pants and black footwear at the time of the incident. The victims are expected to recover. A member of congress from South Florida is demanding answers, saying migrant families are still being separated. And on Friday, South Florida officials toured a facility for unaccompanied minors located in a local community. Miami state senator Annette Taddeo was in Cutler Bay Friday delivering toys to a shelter housing unaccompanied children. She then toured another facility in Homestead, along with several other Florida lawmakers. I did witness one girl talking on the phone. She was wiping away tears and that was for me the moment where it was very difficult to watch, said Taddeo. About 100 of the children were separated from their families. We have confirmed today that the process of reunification has begun, 37 children have left this facility to be reunited with their parents, said Rep. Carlos Curbelo. The Homestead facility is accommodating about 1,300 children in all. Most children came to the country without adult supervision. While those officials toured the facility, South Florida congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz hosted a roundtable with immigration advocates, exchanging information on processes, policies and the issue of children separated from their families. I can tell you Venezuelans are being routinely taken into custody upon arrival at a port of entry based on the belief that they are going to come here and stay here, said Rnady McGrorty of Catholic Legal Services. What to Know Ayub Ali was fatally shot during an armed robbery on Tuesday in North Lauderdale. Two of Ali's children were at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the Feb. 14 mass shooting. Deerfield Beach resident Tyrone Moses Fields Jr. surrendered to police aces one charge of murder while engaged in a felony offense Farhana Ali's husband was fatally shot during an armed robbery just months after nearly losing two of her children in the Parkland school shooting. A friend told NBC 6 the family heard an arrest was made as they were driving home from 61-year-old Ayub Ali's funeral. For everyone else, the arrest means the end of the tragedy. For Farhana, a new life is just beginning as she now has to take care of four children by herself, she said. Deerfield Beach resident Tyrone Moses Fields Jr., 19, surrendered to police, the Broward County Sheriff's Office said late Friday. As of Saturday morning, Fields Jr. remained detained at Broward County's Main Jail in Fort Lauderdale. Fields Jr.'s arrest occurred one day after BSO released surveillance video of the armed robbery in which Ali was killed in his own North Lauderdale convenience store. "Following the release of the video, BSO detectives and Broward Crime Stoppers received a number of tips," BSO said in a statement. "The homicide detectives' investigation led them to an associate of Fields' who encouraged him to meet with law enforcement." Ali's friend Joaquin Nieves told NBC 6 he was happy when he heard news of the arrest. "Tears came out of my eyes happy tears. I was crying. I was so happy," Nieves said. Fields Jr. faces one charge of murder while engaged in a felony offense and one charge of robbery with a firearm. It wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney. "He took somebody's life. There's four kids without a father right now," Nieves said. According to a BSO report, Lauderdale Lakes BSO deputies and Tamarac Fire Rescue paramedics found the injured store clerk on Tuesday when they arrived at Aunt Molly's Food Store, located at 1691 S. State Road. Ali was transported to Fort Lauderdale's Broward Health Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. The suspect forced Ali to his store's back office, where he was shot. On Feb. 14, Ali's daughter was in a classroom in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School's 1200 building, where the massacre that killed 17 people occurred, according to a family friend. One of his sons was also at the school. The convenience store reopened Thursday and loyal customers placed a makeshift memorial for Ali, who was born in Bangladesh. Ali's employees are operating the store in his absence while his widow who also works at the store grieves. On Saturday, people were still arriving at the store to drop off flowers. A family friend said that during a gathering at the Ali family house Wednesday night, Ali's youngest child a 22-month-old boy was walking around the home asking for his father. Daniela S. Molina and Steve Litz contributed to this report. What to Know Officer Daniel Pantaleo has been served with departmental charges in connection to the Eric Garner case, a law enforcement source said The NYPD is proceeding with disciplinary proceedings nearly four years after Garner died, despite lack of federal action Garner was killed in a confrontation with NYPD officers in 2014; His dying words, "I can't breathe," became a slogan for Black Lives Matter A police officer has been served with departmental charges in connection to the Eric Garner case, a law enforcement source said Saturday. Daniel Pantaleo was served with the charges on Friday, the source told NBC 4 New York on the condition of anonymity because state civil rights law prevents the disclosure of an officers personnel record without judicial approval. The NYPD announced this week, nearly four years after Garners death, that it would allow disciplinary proceedings to go forward against the patrolman accused in the notorious chokehold death. The NYPD said it had run out of patience with federal authorities indecision about whether to bring a criminal case. A pointed letter from the NYPD's top lawyer informed the U.S. Department of Justice of an administrative case that could result in dismissal for Pantaleo because "there is no end in sight" to the federal probe. The Administrative Prosecution Unit (APU) of the Civilian Complaint Review Board, a police watchdog, will prosecute the case regarding Pantaleo, while the NYPD Department Advocate will prosecute Sgt. Kizzy Adonis. A lawyer for Pantaleo, who's been on paid desk duty, previously said in a statement, "We are looking forward to our day in court to be vindicated." Garner, 43, was accused of selling loose, untaxed cigarettes when he was stopped by police on Staten Island on July 17, 2014, and refused to be handcuffed. Pantaleo is seen on a widely watched cell phone video putting Garner in an apparent chokehold, which is banned under NYPD policy. The heavyset victim, who had asthma, is heard gasping, "I can't breathe." He was pronounced dead at a hospital. The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide caused in part by the chokehold. Garner's death sparked angry protests about the treatment of black men and boys at the hands of white police officers. Garners family received $5.9 million from the city in 2015 to settle a wrongful death claim. A state probe ended without criminal charges. What to Know A third set of 100 New York college students and construction workers is headed to Puerto Rico to help rebuild after Hurricane Maria New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the volunteer deployment Sunday The volunteers include State University of New York, City University of New York students and laborers Gov. Andrew Cuomo is making his fifth visit to Puerto Rico following last year's devastating hurricanes. Cuomo will travel to the island territory Monday. He'll be accompanied by students from state universities, labor leaders, healthcare and non-profit executives and other elected officials including New York City Public Advocate Tish James and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. The New York delegation will then disperse to work on rebuilding projects around the island. They follow several hundred New Yorkers who have already volunteered their time, including nurses, doctors, utility workers, police officers and SUNY students. In addition, the state has sent 4,400 pallets of drinking water, food, first aid kits and other supplies. Cuomo has blasted the federal response to hurricanes Irma and Maria and has demanded an investigation. The storms knocked out power to the island and caused widespread damage. Cuomo is scheduled to return to New York on Tuesday. "The federal government's incompetent and inhumane failure to respond to the crisis in Puerto Rico has been a national disgrace," Gov. Cuomo said. "While the federal government turns its back on Puerto Rico, New Yorkers have stood with our brothers and sisters in Puerto Rico since day one of this tragedy, and we will continue to stand with them until the job is done." Others joining the trip include Assembly members Marcos Crespo and Carmen de La Rosa; senators Martin Dilan and Gustavo Rivera; 1199SEIU President George Gresham; Ken Raske, president of the Greater New York Hospital Association; and Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, executive director of Catholic Charities. Two people have been arrested after an off-duty Long Island police officer was hurt in a shooting during an attempted robbery in the Bronx, officials say. The officer from the Hempstead Police Department was grazed in the leg at Sedgwick Avenue and Hall of Fame Terrace in the University Heights neighborhood, the NYPD said. It appeared he got into an accident, but when he got out of his vehicle to exchange information, it turned out to be a robbery attempt, the NYPD said. The car he was driving was rear-ended by a black Camry, according to police. A red Nissan pulled up after the collision took place. Police are investigating whether the officer's injuries were self-inflicted. He was treated at St. Barnabas Hospital. The two people involved in the shooting, a 19-year-old and a 24-year-old, were treated for injuries at Bronx Lebanon Hospital, police said. They were taken into custody. The occupants of the Nissan haven't yet been apprehended, according to police. The "Manhattan Madam" who boasted of providing prostitutes to New York's rich and famous, including Gov. Eliot Spitzer, says someone in special counsel Robert Mueller's office called her attorney Thursday to ask her to speak to investigators. Kristin Davis, 41, said the Mueller representative asked if she would accept a subpoena or if the FBI would need to serve it to her, NBC News reported. She said her lawyer called the representative back Friday to say she would accept it. Milwaukee officials are inviting Jay-Z to bring his Made In America music festival to the city next year because Philadelphia no longer wants the event at a location it has been held since 2012. Alderman Khalif Rainey says in a letter to Jay-Z's company, Roc Nation, that Milwaukee is known as a city of festivals because it hosts dozens of events annually, including Summerfest. The letter Thursday is signed by four or Rainey's Common Council colleagues. Made In America is held Labor Day weekend at Benjamin Franklin Parkway, which includes museums, monuments and the famed "Rocky" steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. City officials say the festival can no longer be held at that location after this year. Mayor Jim Kenney says the city is looking for alternative sites. The owners of a northern Indiana brewery have apologized after receiving criticism for their plan to give their beers contentious names such as "Flint Michigan Tap Water," ''Black Beer Matters," ''White Guilt" and "Mass Grave." Jon Duncan and Rodney Chlebek, who own the yet-to-open Lakeville Brew Crew, released a statement saying they've dropped the planned beer names, the South Bend Tribune reported. "We neglected to put ourselves in the shoes of other people," they said. "As a result of ongoing conversations, the list of beer names has been wiped clean." The apology came about a week after the owners announced the names, which they explained were intended to bring awareness to issues like the Flint's lead-tainted water crisis. "If people can come and talk to us about (the names), that would be fine," Duncan said July 11. "None of this is done out of hate, none of this is done out of making fun of it." But the announcement received overwhelmingly negative feedback. Brewers geographically closer to Flint said sparking discussion on the issues don't do enough to help the cause. "If the intent of Lakeville Brew Crew is to raise awareness of the Flint water crisis, perhaps owners instead should encourage patrons to donate to the United Way of Genesee County's Flint Water Fund," Eternity Brewing co-owner Dayna Tran told the Detroit Free Press . Chlebek said the criticism helped him and Duncan reflect on the names and ultimately decide to change them. "We appreciate the honesty of all the responses that we received and hope that the public will afford us the grace to move forward while keeping a greater sense of community in mind," the statement read. While there are no plans for the brewery to make any contributions to specifically assist Flint, the owners are exploring other philanthropic opportunities. The brewery still plans to open in Lakeville this fall with different beer names. Iranian hackers have laid the groundwork for extensive cyberattacks on U.S. and European infrastructure as well as private companies, multiple senior U.S. officials told NBC News. The U.S. is hardening its defenses, warning allies and weighing whether to counterattack, though there is no indication an Iranian operation is imminent, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Thousands of water plants, electric grids and health care and technology companies in the U.S., Europe and Middle East could be hit with denial-of-service attacks in the event of a strike. A U.S. National Security Council representative declined to comment, while a representative of Iran's mission to the United Nations claimed that it's the U.S. which is the "most belligerent cyber attacker of any nation" and said, without commenting on specific operations, that Iran's activities in the space "are defensive in nature and necessary for our country's protection." The candidates in Virginia's U.S. Senate race had a quarrelsome first debate Saturday with President Donald Trump serving as a frequent focal point of the sparring. Republican Corey Stewart, a one-time state chairman of Trump's presidential campaign, accused Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of being an ineffective elitist who puts his opposition to the president above all other considerations. Stewart said Trump-backed tax cuts and increases in military spending were helping Virginia's working class and chided Kaine for not being more supportive. "Whether it's good for Virginia or bad for Virginia, he opposes everything that President Trump does automatically," Stewart said. Kaine, a former vice presidential candidate seeking his second term in the Senate, said he's worked with Trump on areas of common agreement but always puts Virginia's interests first. Kaine said he's a needed check against the president and mocked Stewart for saying the president was "standing up" to Russia. "If there's anything that demonstrates the difference between us, it's Corey Stewart standing up here and saying that President Trump is standing up to the Russians," Kaine said. "President Trump is caving to the Russians." Officials in both political parties have grown increasingly concerned about Trump's cozy relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kaine is an early favorite to win and national attention and deep-pocketed outside groups are more focused on other Senate races. The former governor has a huge cash advantage over Stewart, who has never run a statewide general election campaign before. Stewart's full embrace of Trump puts him at odds with many elected Virginia Republicans, who have tried to keep their distance from the president. Virginia's growing urban and suburban areas have made the state increasingly friendly to Democrats. Trump lost Virginia in 2016 and Republicans haven't won a statewide election in the Old Dominion since 2009. The debate, sponsored by the Virginia Bar Association and held at the posh Homestead Resort in Bath County, featured plenty of sharp exchanges and was often punctuated by boos and jeers from the crowd. Previous VBA debates have been much more staid. A conservative provocateur who often insults politicians in both parties, Stewart launched several broadsides against Kaine's record as governor and in the Senate. "He's too weak, he's too liberal, and he's got nothing done," Stewart said. Kaine accused Stewart of lying in order to deflect criticism for his past associations with unsavory people. Kaine said it was "disgraceful" that Stewart had campaigned in support of Roy Moore, a defeated Senate candidate in Alabama who was accused of sexual misconduct. Kaine said Stewart's campaign strategy was clear: "Make it nasty, make it personal, or make it up." A Northern Virginia man has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison for threatening to murder African Americans at historically black Howard University in 2015. U.S. District Judge Liam O'Grady sentenced 27-year-old John Edgar Rust of Alexandria to 33 months in federal court Friday. O'Grady found that Rust's conduct constituted a hate crime, increasing his sentence, and also ordered Rust to pay $6,458 in restitution. Rust pleaded guilty to transmitting threats over the internet in March. According to an FBI affidavit, Rust posted his threat to a chat board in November 2015. His post spewed racial slurs and threatened to murder African Americans. He concluded by saying "After all, it's not murder if they're black.'' Howard University increased security on campus and at nearby Metro stations after the threat and students held rallies denouncing the racist message. The affidavit states investigators traced the threat to an Alexandria restaurant and determined Rust's computer was connected to Wi-Fi there. A motorcyclist is in critical condition at Rhode Island Hospital with injuries sustained in a crash. Police say that a 24-year-old man from Providence was speeding at 1 a.m. Saturday when he crossed into the opposite line of traffic in Providence, hitting a car head on. The driver of the car was not hurt. The man, who was not wearing a helmet, was thrown off the motorcycle and landed over 70 feet away. Authorities say his injuries are significant and are largely in his head and legs. Two state lawmakers said in a letter that cities and towns across Massachusetts are making agreements with marijuana shop owners that discourage the growth of legal marijuana businesses and make it more difficult to curb illegal enterprises. The letter, which was signed by Sen. Patricia Jehlen, D-Somerville, and Rep. Mark Cusack, D-Braintree, was sent to the Cannabis Control Commission on July 13. In the letter, both Jehlen and Cusack expressed concerns over community host agreements, which have been brokered between municipalities and marijuana businesses. Under state law, community host agreements are required as part of an application for either a medical or recreational marijuana license. But Jehlen and Cusack said other fees contained in the agreements run afoul of state law. Neither Jehlen nor Cusack were available Friday to comment. "Three percent of everything that's sold out of the store will go back to the city," said Keith Cooper, the chief of executive officer of Revolutionary Clinics, a medical marijuana company. Cooper, whose company owns two medical marijuana dispensaries in the Boston area, said it costs about $2 million to open one store. In its own letter, the commission responded to the lawmakers' inquiry and said it discussed community host agreements at a meeting in December 2017, where it decided not to require commission approval of such agreements. The commission, however, decided to provide guidance documents for community host agreements. The commission will finalize the guidance documents at a meeting on July 26. More than 200,000 people have visited Dippy at Norwich Cathedral and, ahead of the iconic dinosaurs final week, emergency services workers were last night treated to a special preview of the Dippy at Night farewell spectacle. More than 200,000 people have visited Dippy at Norwich Cathedral and, ahead of the iconic dinosaurs final week, emergency services workers were last night treated to a special preview of the Dippy at Night farewell spectacle. Time for the church to take action? In his two previous articles, Nigel Fox asked if we had an adequate view of Jesus is, challenging some of our preconceptions, and then explained why he believes that Jesus is now angry with the world. His final column in this trilogy is a call to action. Read more Music event at Revelation in Norwich Following last year's hugely successful and entertaining event the Trustees of Revelation will be holding another six hour 'MusicOn' marathon fundraising event at St Michael at Plea Church on Saturday October 30 between 10am - 4pm. Read more Norfolk Churches receive Historic England grants Four Norfolk churches have received Historic England grants for repairs. Read more 'Visions of Salvation' Julian retreat The Friends of Julian of Norwich present 'Visions of Salvation', a two day in-person and online retreat taking place on October 29 and 30. Read more A Kenyan farmer looks at climate change in Norwich screening To mark COP26, St Peter Mancroft Church in Norwich will host a screening of 'Thank you for the Rain' in partnership with Christian Aid. Read more Norwich musician creates songs for loss of a twin brother Norwich Christian musician Ben Lawrence is producing an album which talks openly about the loss of his twin brother Dan to cancer and the hope he has since found. Here he shares the vision. Read more Norwich dinner invitation for everyday people How many of your friends have walked in space, been a pop star, served time for murder, raised the dead? asks Norwich FGB branch president Barrie Lawrence. Read more Climate change talk at Norwich science fest In an open lecture on Monday October 25, Dr Justine Huxley will talk on the subject Climate and conflict: bridging our divisions for the sake of the Earth. This will focus on the social implications of the climate emergency in many parts of the world. Read more Norwich church hosts charity quiz and chips Norwich Central Baptist Church are taking on Tearfunds Big Quiz Night on Saturday November 20, to take the charitys fundraising efforts past the 1 million mark, helping their work in some of the worlds poorest countries. Read more We should care for Gods beautiful creation Philip Young explains his passion for Gods creation, which has prompted him to write a poem to challenge us to action. Read more Norwich church collects tools for charity Heartsease Lane Methodist Church are organising a collection tools for Christian charity Tools With a Mission on October 23, followed by a service on Climate Control on October 24. Read more Dereham Baptist Church to host free CAP money course Christians Against Poverty (CAP) is offering a free, three-session course that equips people with the skills they need to effectively manage their money well. Read more Singing celebration of Dippy's visit to Norwich More than 1,000 schoolchildren joined with Norwich Cathedral Choir to celebrate Dippy the dinosaurs visit with some new music last week. Read more Harrison family rocks the boat on the Waveney Hilary Harrisons new book Rock the Boat records the adventures of her family on the sailing barge Golden Mean. Thomas Harrison adds a story from Norfolk to bring it up to date. Read more The Dean of Norwich announces her retirement The Dean of Norwich has announced that she is to retire from her role at the helm of Norwich Cathedral in May next year. Read more New vacancies at Norfolk Christian holiday centre The Pleasaunce Christian Endeavour Holiday Centre near Cromer in North Norfolk is looking for a housekeeper, a kitchen assistant and a general assistant. Read more Dereham District Youth and Schools Worker North Breckland Youth for Christ is looking to appoint a Dereham District Youth and Schools Worker, to include running youth cafes and other projects and developing schools work. Read more Ordination is first for 25 years from St Johns Cathedral Ordination is first for 25 years from St Johns Cathedral Academic and former prison chaplain, Andrew Eburne, last night (Friday July 20) became the first parishioner from St John the Baptist Cathedral in Norwich to be ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 25 years. Keith Morris reports. Around 150 participants pound the showground in aid of charity FAMILIES turned out to cheer participants - many in fancy dress - for the annual Boys Beating Cancer race at Newbury Showground today (Saturday). Super Mario and Al Capone were spotted among the runners, while race regular Rob Faulkner was worried about taking off into the wind while sporting a burlesque outfit complete with giant feather wings. A new team has taken up the challenge of putting on the popular event, and they hope to raise its profile and attract more people next year. First past the post in the 10k today was Mark Lane from Lambourn, who was limbering up for a 100 mile event in Cirencester. Winner of the 5k was Bernie Gerard from Newbury. Inspired by the success of Race for Life, Boys Beating Cancer offers a series of races from a toddler dash and 1km family run to chip-timed 5km and 10km races. Only open to boys and men - although at least one lady with false beard and chest wig may have slipped through - it is an opportunity to dress up, get the running shoes on and raise money for Cancer Research UK. The event has raised thousands in previous years. For pictures, results and more from the event, see next Thursday's Newbury Weekly News. Jim Duda, the recently fired New Milford police lieutenant, remains something of an enigma to the community, based on conflicting appraisals of critics and supporters. On the one hand, Lt. Duda's Facebook page contains photographs and personal information about his off-duty life that New Milford's mayor and others suggest paint a less-than-flattering picture. On the other hand, Lt. Duda, 45, receives high praise from some longtime associates, including two New Milford town councilmen, some of whom are "shocked" and "saddened" at the way Lt. Duda's police career has come to an end. Lt. Duda's Facebook page reveals a list of interests, activities and friends that include a Danbury gentleman's club and adult entertainers and websites. Photos from July 2009 show him with bottles of beer and smoking cigars. Some critics suggest that such a page would not be a big deal for a cop who was not one of the department's most veteran and high-ranking officers. Or even if the page had privacy settings such that it was a for-friends-eyes-only it wouldn't cause a blink, they said. Instead, they contend, this page, which can be viewed by anyone with a Facebook account, offers a portrayal of an after-hours bachelor sporting a lifestyle that appears contradictory to his longtime role as a police commander. "I wouldn't have a page like that,'' said Mayor Pat Murphy with reference to Lt. Duda, whom she fired March 4 after he had been a member of the NMPD for nearly 25 years, the last eight-plus as a lieutenant. Mayor Murphy has said she took that action after receiving confirmation from Police Chief Shawn Boyne that Lt. Duda had repeatedly violated his oath of office by allegedly destroying police department computer equipment and possibly participating in other acts of misconduct. The mayor said she suspects that were Lt. Duda still employed at the New Milford Police Department, he would be asked to be more discreet. The department has a policy that advises police officers to be cautious about posting on social network pages. More for you Sources: New Milford police lieutenant intentionally damaged... "Once you reach the command level, I think you should have outgrown a lot of that behavior,'' Mayor Murphy said. Lt. Duda, whose termination came just 87 days before his 25th anniversary at the NMPD, continues to receive praise from some supporters. Town Council member Pete Bass, a friend of Lt. Duda's for 20 years, said he is "saddened'' to see the career of a man who devoted his adult life to the town end on such a sour note. "He is just a very funny guy who is very, very smart,'' Mr. Bass said, noting that Lt. Duda was ahead of the curve on the latest technology and gadgetry able to benefit the town and department. "He was always the kind of guy that if you needed something, he'd be there,'' he observed. More Information Duda's career Chronicle of career of former New Milford Police Department Lt. James Duda, who was fired March 4 after nearly 25 years with the force. Born in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on April 30, 1965. Graduated from Newtown High School in 1983. In 1984 was manager at Rollerland in Danbury. In 1985 worked as a dispatcher for the Newtown Police Department and as an auxiliary police officer. On May 27, 1986, was hired by the New Milford Police Department. Attended the Municipal Police Training Council from June 2, 1986, to Aug. 26, 1986. Promoted to sergeant in December 1996. In 2000, was arrested for off-duty drunken driving. Completed alcohol education program and charge was dropped. Promoted to lieutenant in May 2002. Suspended with pay Feb. 8, 2011. Fired on March 4, 2011. Internal investigation continuing into allegations of professional misconduct. Source of most information: Duda's personnel file See More Collapse Mr. Bass said he does not know all the circumstances that led to the mayor's final decision to terminate Lt. Duda's employment but said he hopes Lt. Duda is not judged just on the short term but on the long-term benefits he has provided to the citizenry over the course of his career. "Everybody makes mistakes, and you just move forward,'' Mr. Bass said. Fellow Town Council member Bob Guendelsberger, who said he represented Lt. Duda on some worker's compensation claims, said he, too, is unaware of the allegations beyond what he reads in the newspapers. "I think he's a good guy. I like Jimmy, I always have," Mr. Guendelsberger said. "I'm aware of a lot of arrests he's made and good things he's done. "I'm just shocked, really,'' he said. Repeated efforts over the past month to reach Lt. Duda, including a visit to his home in New Milford and messages left on his cell phone, have proved unsuccessful. His lawyer, Daniel Hunsberger in Ridgefield, who did not return a message on Monday, stated previously that Lt. Duda had yet to be advised of the allegations being made against him by New Milford officials. Mr. Hunsberger said he believes there has been a "rush to judgment'' and his client is being treated unfairly by town leaders. Lt. Duda's professional and personal life have come under scrutiny in recent weeks since Chief Boyne alerted Mayor Murphy about alleged misconduct he is still investigating. Lt. Duda was suspended on Feb. 8 and fired less than three months shy of reaching his 25th anniversary, the time when he would have been eligible for full retirement. Lt. Duda's annual salary was $71,500, and his anticipated pension benefits would have been just about $43,500. With his termination, Mayor Murphy said, Lt. Duda is not entitled to early retirement, but she concedes he is entitled to the 6 percent he paid into the retirement plan. Any other benefits will likely need to be negotiated, the mayor said. Mayor Murphy said she initially was willing to allow Lt. Duda to retire early. However, she revoked the Feb. 28 offer after she received Chief Boyne's report, which has not yet been publicly released as other issues reportedly have since arisen that the chief said require further inquiry. The mayor said that after speaking with Chief Boyne it was clear to her that Lt. Duda could no longer function as a police officer. Chief Boyne said last week that his investigation is unrelated to the federal investigation into an alleged steroids and marijuana ring that a federal prosecutor said in open court March 1 may have been assisted by area police departments. Four arrests have been made in the federal probe, which concluded that steroids were sold to high school athletes and others. The chain of events that led to Lt. Duda's firing was not the first time Mayor Murphy had questioned Lt. Duda's professional behavior. In September 2008, Mayor Murphy insisted Lt. Duda be reprimanded for submitting improper receipts a year earlier for uniform shirts. The receipts turned out to be for women's clothing, as well as for a $600 pair of cowboy boots, Mayor Murphy said. Supervisors deemed the matter a mistake but noted that any such future billings would lead to disciplinary action, according to a letter in Lt. Duda's personnel file. Lt. Duda, a divorced father of a daughter, 14, and a son, 10, was born in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. He grew up in Hyde Park, N.Y., where he attended Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School until his junior year, when the family moved to Sugar Hill Road in Newtown. Lt. Duda finished his high school career at Newtown High, from which he graduated in 1983. During his high school years, Lt. Duda was involved in the drama club, Student Council, the science club and debate club. A former FDR English teacher Donald Bowden described Lt. Duda as "something of a domineering personality'' who strived to be a leader, according to a job recommendation in Duda's personnel file. Prior to being hired for the New Milford Police Department just after his 21st birthday, Lt. Duda spent almost a year as a Newtown police dispatcher and was an auxiliary police officer. He also managed a recreational facility in Danbury. In his personnel file, Lt. Duda's career unfolds with numerous commendations, as well as few blemishes. In 2000, Lt. Duda was arrested for drunken driving after an off-duty motor vehicle crash that resulted in his entering an alcohol education program. The charge was then dropped. Two years after his arrest, Lt. Duda was promoted to lieutenant after spending four years as a sergeant. Retired NMPD Sgt. Joseph Hines said he always found Lt. Duda to be a "very dedicated police officer'' who was a "real leader type person.'' He recalled that Lt. Duda on more than one occasion performed life-saving rescues to victims of motor vehicle crashes. A recently retired high-ranking officer, who asked not to be named, agreed that Lt. Duda did a solid job. However, he claimed Lt. Duda not popular in the department and that his off-duty conduct posed some credibility issues with officers under his command. Lt. Duda's 2010 evaluation stated that the lieutenant accepted directions from supervisors but did not always interact with officers in his division, including the detective bureau. According to the evaluation, Lt. Duda was not one to give praise to others. The evaluation suggested he would benefit from some additional management training. Rich Kosier, a neighbor to Lt. Duda who said he has known Lt. Duda for seven or eight years, said he hopes people will not jump to conclusions. "There are always two sides to every story," Mr. Kosier observed. "To make a judgment on only one side would be totally unfair to any human being in any situation.'' Contact Nanci G. Hutson at nhutson@newstimes.com or at 860-354-2274. GamesRadar+ is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more Manila : Australian nun Patricia Fox announced on Friday that she would appeal against a deportation order issued against her by the Philippines government a day earlier over allegations of involvement in political activities against the country's President. Fox's lawyer Sol Taule said that the appeal would be filed on Monday and added that the order issued by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) set a bad precedent, Efe news reported. "We're seeing the start of this trend under President (Rodrigo) Duterte's government, to deport anyone who is doing good. What is wrong with standing for human rights?" Taule said at a press conference. The BI said on Thursday that Fox, 71, violated the conditions of her missionary visa by taking part in political activities, according to the expulsion order posted on the website of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. The immigration officials said that allowing Fox to participate in political activities "would open the floodgates for other aliens unbridled right to criticize government by joining rallies to the detriment of public peace and order". Fox is the Mother Superior of the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion and has been working as a missionary in the Philippines for the last 27 years. She was arrested on April 15 for participating in a protest against the government. The nun has openly criticized the violent anti-drug campaign launched by Duterte which has left thousands of people dead in police operation. Ten days after Fox's arrest, the BI withdrew her visa and gave her one month to leave the country. She appealed against the order and the Department of Justice upheld the challenge on June 18 and allowed her to remain in the country temporarily. Philippine Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the confiscation of Fox's visa did not have a legal basis but warned that a deportation process was in progress. New Delhi : France on Friday denied Congress President Rahul Gandhis remarks that French President Emmanuel Macron had told him that there was no secrecy pact with India on the Rafale jet deal and said there was a legally-binding agreement security agreement binding the two countries which also covers the agreement to purchase the fighter jets by India. A French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs spokesman said in a statement that they had noted the remarks of Gandhi in Parliament. "France and India concluded in 2008 a security agreement, which legally binds the two states to protect the classified information provided by the partner, that could impact security and operational capabilities of the defence equipment of India or France. "These provisions naturally apply to the IGA (Inter-government agreement) concluded on September 23, 2016 on the acquisition of 36 Rafale aircraft and their weapons. As the President of the French Republic indicated publicly in an interview given to India Today March 9, 2018, when a deal is very sensitive, we can't reveal all details," he said. Gandhi had said in his speech in the Lok Sabha on Friday during the debate on the no-confidence motion that Macron had told him that there was no secrecy pact with India on the Rafale jet deal, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had lied to the nation about it. "I personally met the French President and asked him if there was a secrecy pact with India. He told me that no such pact was signed between the two countries. He said he had no hesitation in saying this and that I can tell this to my country," he said. Gandhi said the price per plane during the UPA regime was Rs 520 crore but when Prime Minister Narendra Modi went to France and "with some magic" powers, the price per plane increased to Rs 1,600 crore. Rabat : The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) on Friday strongly condemned Israel's approval of the "Jewish nation-state" law, which considers the country as the state of the Jewish people and Jerusalem as capital. The legislation, sparking outrage of Israel's Arab community, strips Arabic of its designation as an official language, downgrading it to a "special status" to allow its use in Israeli institutions. Deeming it as "racist," ISESCO said the law was "a declaration of war against the Palestinian people and a denial of its existence and legitimate rights in its land", Xinhua news agency reported. ISESCO called on the international community to reject this "false racist law." Kuala Lumpur : Malaysia's Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced on Friday that the final report on the investigation into Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which went missing in March 2014 with 239 people on board, will be made public on July 30. "Every word recorded by the investigation team will be tabled in this report," Loke said, according to state-owned Bernama news agency. "We are committed to the transparency of this report (...) It will be tabled fully, without any editing, additions, or redactions," Loke added. The publication of the final report comes following the unsuccessful conclusion of two search missions in the Indian Ocean after Voice 370, an organization of families of the victims of the missing plane, urged Kuala Lumpur to review documents related to the disappearance of the airplane. The organization had also requested the government to conduct an "investigation into any possible falsification and/or elimination of records related to MH370, its maintenance". In May, US-based seabed exploration company Ocean Infinity finished combing 112,000 square km without finding the aircraft's debris. The area was located to the north of the 120,000 square km where the initial search operation was carried out by Malaysian, Australian and Chinese authorities, at a cost of more than $151 million and which was suspended in early 2017. The Beijing-bound MH370 disappeared from the radar on March 8, 2014, around 40 minutes after it took off from Kuala Lumpur. Someone apparently switched off the communications system and re-routed the plane towards the Indian Ocean, according to an official report. So far, 27 fragments of the aircraft have been recovered from beaches in Reunion, Mozambique, Mauritius, South Africa and Pemba Island, off Africa's east coast. The fragments were believed to have been swept across the Indian Ocean by currents, which is consistent with the official hypothesis of the incident. Experts have confirmed that three wing fragments found in Reunion, Mauritius and Pemba belonged to MH370. Another seven pieces, including parts of interior of the cockpit, were "almost certainly" from the missing plane, and another eight were highly likely to be from it. New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will go on a five-day three-nation tour of Africa from July 23 during the course of which he will attend this year's BRICS Summit that will be hosted by South Africa, it was announced on Friday. Briefing the media here, T.S. Tirumurti, Secretary (Economic Relations) in the External Affairs Ministry, said that Modi will be in Rwanda on July 23-24, in Uganda on July 24-25 and in South Africa from July 25 to 27. This will be Modi's second official visit to Africa after his visits to Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya in 2016. Tirumurti said that with the upcoming tour, India will complete ministerial visits to all African countries under New Delhi's Africa outreach initiative. Modi will first stop in Rwanda in what will be the first ever prime ministerial visit from India to the East African nation. Describing Rwanda as an important gateway to eastern Africa, Tirumurti said that India and Rwanda elevated their bilateral ties to the level of a Strategic Partnership in January last year. Modi's visit comes after Rwandan President Paul Kagame's visit to India in January 2017 for the Vibrant Gujarat event and then again in March 2018 for the founding conference of the India-initiated International Solar Alliance. Tirumurti said that India will open its first mission in Rwanda very soon. India's current High Commissioner to Rwanda has residence in Kampala, Uganda. "Rwanda has also been a recipient of our lines of credit of nearly $400 million and of our training and scholarship programmes," he said. During Modi's visit, two more lines of credit are expected to be signed - one of $100 million for industrial parks and a similar amount for agriculture and irrigation. "We expect agreements to be concluded in the areas of defence, dairy cooperation, leather, agriculture and culture," Tirumurti said. From Rwanda, Modi will reach Uganda on July 24 in what will the first bilateral visit by an Indian prime minister in 21 years. Tirumurti said that training and capacity building has been the focus of defence cooperation between India and Uganda. "India has an Indian military training team stationed in Jinja since 2010," he said. Apart from calling on Ugandan President Yowei Museveni and holding delegation-level talks, Modi will take part in an India-Uganda joint business event and address the Ugandan parliament, the first ever by an Indian prime minister. He will also address members of the Indian community in Uganda that numbers over 30,000. "We expect to extend two lines of credit for the first time to Uganda of $141 million regarding electricity lines and sub-stations and $64 million for agriculture and dairy production," Tirumurti said. From Uganda, Modi will reach South Africa on July 25 on the third and last leg of his visit to Africa. Stating that the visit to South Africa is mainly in the context of this year's BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Summit, Tirumurti said that Modi will also hold a bilateral meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa. "This will be the first visit by the Prime Minister to South Africa after the new administration led by President Ramaphosa assumed office in February this year," he said. South Africa is organising the 10th BRICS leaders' summit under the theme "BRICS in Africa: Collaboration with Developing Countries for Inclusive Growth and Shared Prosperity in the Fourth Industrial Revolution". Modi, along with other BRICS leaders, will participate in the restricted session, plenary session, leaders' retreat, outreach with leaders from Africa and outreach with leaders from the global South. "In the BRICS-Africa outreach, those invited include Rwanda, Uganda, Togo, Zambia, Namibia, Senegal, Gabon, Ethiopia, Angola and the African Union Chair," Tirumurti said. "In the BRICS-plus outreach, the invited countries of the global South include Argentina, Turkey, Indonesia, Jamaica, and Egypt." According to Tirumurti, the issues before the BRICS Summit broadly include BRICS in Africa, Fourth Industrial Revolution, multilateralism, global governance, health and vaccines, socio-economic empowerment of women, peacekeeping, network of science parks and technology, inclusive growth, sustainable development, infrastructure , youth and cooperation in multilateral fora. "BRICS leaders are expected to discuss, inter alia, global hotspot issues, international peace and security, global governance, trade issues etc, during the restricted session," he said. The Hague : The Netherlands and Turkey are restoring mutual diplomatic relations, Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok announced on Friday. The development means that there will be a Turkish ambassador in The Hague and a Dutch ambassador in Ankara, Blok was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency. Blok wrote to the Parliament that he had new conversations with his Turkish colleague recently. "These talks have led to Turkey and the Netherlands having decided to normalize diplomatic relations," said the minister. The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that a new ambassador would be sent to Ankara as soon as possible and that decision must first be approved by the Council of Ministers. It has also been agreed that the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs will make an official visit to Turkey in the near future. Relations between the Netherlands and Turkey went sour after the former banned two Turkish ministers in March 2017 to campaign in the country for their President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan then accused the Netherlands of Nazism and fascism, and declared that the Dutch ambassador was no longer welcome. New Delhi : Flick through a crime thriller that explores how a woman's blind trust in her friend leads to the tragic accident of her son; read the story of a woman, perfect as a girlfriend, trying to get a guy back into her life; skim through a complex tale, featuring many ways in which families love, betray, honour and sacrifice for one another; and know how women can identify self-defeating behaviour that holds them back. The IANS bookshelf has all this on offer this weekend. 1. Book: The Friend; Author: Teresa Driscoll; Publisher: Thomas and Mercer/Westland; Pages: 292; Price: Rs 399 On a train with her husband, miles from home and their four-year-old son, Ben, Sophie receives a phone call. Two boys are in hospital after a tragic accident. One of them is Ben. She thought she could trust Emma, her new friend, to look after her little boy. After all, Emma is a kindred spirit, someone Sophie was sure she could bare her soul to, despite the village rumours. But Sophie can't shake the feeling that she has made an unforgivable mistake and now her whole family is in danger. Because how well does she know Emma, really? Should she have trusted her at all? Time is running out. Powerless to help her child, still hours from home, Sophie is about to discover the truth. And her life will never be the same. Author Teresa Driscoll is a former BBC TV news presenter. Having covered crime for long, she was deeply moved by the haunting impact on relatives, friends and witnesses and it is those ripples, she explores now in dark fiction. 2. Book: The Perfect Girlfriend; Author: Karen Hamilton; Publisher: Wildfire Books/Hachette India; Pages: 358; Price: Rs 399 Juliette loves Nate. She will follow him anywhere. She has even become a flight attendant for his airline, so she can keep a closer eye on him. They are meant to be. The fact that Nate broke up with her six months ago means nothing. Because Juliette has a plan to get him back. She is the perfect girlfriend. And she'll make sure no one stops her from getting exactly what she wants. True love hurts, but Juliette knows it's worth all the pain. Read this book to know where her qualities eventually land her. The author is a recent graduate of the Faber Academy and, having now put down roots in Hampshire to raise her young family with her husband, she satisfies her wanderlust by exploring the world through her writing. "The Perfect Girlfriend" is her first novel. 3. Book: The Storm; Author: Arif Anwar; Publisher: Aleph; Pages: 348; Price: Rs 599 Shahryar, a recent PhD graduate and father of nine-year-old Anna, must leave the US when his visa expires. In their last remaining weeks together, we learn Shahryar's history, in a village on the Bay of Bengal, where a poor fisherman and his wife are preparing to face a storm of historic proportions. That story intersects with those of a Japanese pilot, a British doctor stationed in Burma during World War II, and a privileged couple in Calcutta who leave everything behind to move to East Pakistan following the partition. Inspired by the 1970 Bhola cyclone, in which half a million-people perished overnight, the structure of this novel mimics the storm itself. Building up to a series of revelatory and moving climaxes, it shows the many ways in which families love, betray, honour and sacrifice for one another. 4. Book: How Women Rise; Author: Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith; Publisher: Penguin; Pages: 242; Price: Rs 494 Do you hesitate about putting forward ideas? Are you reluctant to claim credit for your achievements? Do you find it difficult to get the support you need from your boss or the recognition you deserve from your colleagues? If your answer to any of these is "Yes", then "How Women Rise" will help get you back on track. Inspiring and practical by turns, it identifies 12 common habits that can prove an obstacle to future success and tells you how to overcome them. In the process, it points the way to a career that will satisfy your ambitions and help you make the difference you want to make in the world. How women rise is a great read for any woman who wants to identify self-defeating behaviours that are holding her back, gain insight into why she engages in those behaviours and develop skills to confidently achieve her goals. New Delhi : Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah on Friday said peace in Jammu and Kashmir was impossible without involving Pakistan, asking the BJP government to give up its rigid stance and be flexible in solving problems in the terror-ravaged state. "You may not like what I am going to say. We will not have peace in Jammu and Kashmir unless we strike a deal with Pakistan," Abdullah said in his speech during the no confidence motion in the Lok Sabha. He said he had high hopes on Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he would build peace with Pakistan that Atal Bihari Vajpayee could not do. "North Korea, which was making nuclear missiles, atom bombs, has made peace with US President Donald Trump. Trump and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin are meeting each other to find peace. But we have failed to do the same for Jammu and Kashmir." In his short but fiery speech, the National Conference leader said the anti-Muslim rhetoric building up in the country needed to stop because it was dangerous. "We won't be defeated by America, Russia or any other nation. We will defeat ourselves. We will not be successful unless the Hindus and Muslims unite." Pointing his finger towards the ruling bench, Abdullah asked the BJP to take note of the fact that "Muslims are as Indians as you are". Washington : In its latest gesture to counter Moscow's influence in Ukraine, the Pentagon has announced $200 million in security assistance to the country. The aid will fund additional training, equipment and advisory efforts to build the defensive capacity of Ukraine's forces, Xinhua news agency quoted a statement by the Pentagon on Friday. "This reaffirms the long-standing defence relationship between the US and Ukraine," the statement noted, adding that US security assistance to Ukraine totalled more than $1 billion since 2014. The statement came after the White House on Friday rejected a proposal from Russia to hold a referendum in eastern Ukraine on the fate of the region. "To organise a so-called referendum in a part of Ukraine which is not under government control would have no legitimacy," said White House National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis. The US media on Thursday reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin had raised the possibility of a referendum in Ukraine during his meeting with US President Donald Trump on Monday in Finland. Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov on Friday confirmed that Putin had raised the topic with Trump and made "concrete proposals" on how to handle the conflict. The conflict in eastern Ukraine started in 2014 between Ukrainian government forces and armed groups which declared independence from Kiev. Ukraine has long accused Russia of aiding the insurgents while Moscow has repeatedly dismissed the claims. Ankara : Turkey has condemned Israel for passing a new law that proclaims Israel as a "Jewish nation-state". The law adopted by Israeli parliament disregards the norms of universal law and the rights of Palestinian Israeli citizens, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday, Xinhua news agency reported. The law's declaration of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital city is null and void in the eyes of the international community, the ministry added. The ministry also called on the international community to respond to the law that eliminates the vision of a two-state solution. The controversial law, supported by the right-wing government, passed by 62 votes in favour and 55 votes against after discussions that lasted until early Thursday morning. The law defines Israel as an "exclusively Jewish state," stating that only Jews have the right of self-determination in Israel and revokes the status of Arabic as an official language. Arabs represent about 20 per cent of Israel's 9 million population. Sorry! This content is not available in your region The suspension applies to the visa applications for long-term residence with the aim of either employment or business activities, he noted. Hamacek, who is also acting Foreign Minister said the measure has been taken as a result of the long-soaring number of applications submitted to the Czech diplomatic mission in Hanoi, whose capacity is overburdened, as well as due to the risks that the National Security Council (BRS) discussed recently. At present, the priority of the Czech embassy in Vietnam is to accept residence applications for the purpose of family reuniting, he added. Czech employers demands for labour have been covered through the programme of special employee cards for citizens of Ukraine, Mongolia, the Philippines, and Serbia, which is enabled to grant a total of 24,000 such cards this year. Vietnamese Ambassador to the Czech Republic Ho Minh Tuan said, through diplomatic negotiations, Vietnam will actively implement measures to address this issue.-VNA DANBURY A new rule requiring local health inspections of day care facilities and homes is back on the table after state officials chastised the city for not completing the state-required reviews. The citys ordinance has been in the works since last fall but was tabled amid questions about whether it duplicates state inspections and what fees the city should charge for inspections. This week a City Council committee finally returned to the proposal after the state Office of Early Childhood scolded the citys Health and Human Services department in a letter last month and warned the lack of local inspections could jeopardize the licensing status of otherwise compliant day cares. This is not an issue we are encountering with any other local health departments, wrote Debra Johnson, director of the offices division of licensing. The committee voted unanimously to send the proposal back to the full council for its consideration this fall. The new day care ordinance will require commercial day care facilities and those based in homes to apply to the city and pass health department inspections at least once every two years, as outlined in state law. The rules also will officially give local health inspectors the authority to enter and inspect day cares, which city staff determined they do not technically have until the ordinance is approved, Health and Human Services Director Lisa Morrissey said. Once it is implemented we will have the power necessary to be in 100 percent compliance with the state day care regulations, she said. Although no local health department staff have inspected these locations, the citys 52 day cares licensed with the state have been inspected regularly by state officials and local fire marshals. But after state rule changes, that simply is not enough, Johnson wrote to the city. Because the state requires local inspections, some of those licensed programs could be found non-compliant without a local health inspection and could lose their status, she warned. Morrissey has been working to implement the new ordinance since she took over as director in early 2017, but it ground to a halt late last year amid council members questions about fees and possible duplication of other inspections. Now the proposal includes a $75 inspection fee and a $125 one-time plan review fee for an initial review of any new day care construction plans. Those fees are the lowest among surrounding towns, which range from $110 for an inspection in Monroe to $300 in Brookfield, according to health department analysis. Both Morrissey and Johnson explained the inspections are separate and necessary. State licensing inspections focus on administrative and medical issues, whereas local inspections are to focus on detailed environmental issues like water quality, sanitation and food service, they said. These inspections are not duplicative and this agency relies heavily on the knowledge of local health officials to assess compliance in areas that lie outside the expertise of licensing staff, Johnson wrote. Local health inspectors have already trained specifically for day care inspections and are waiting only the passage of the ordinance to begin, Morrissey said. The new rule still needs another public hearing and vote, but Council President Joe Cavo predicted the ordinance will pass easily. I felt strongly at the time, as many other council people did, that this is a necessary thing we have to do provide for the health, welfare and safety of our citizens and children, more importantly, Cavo said before the vote this week. I dont doubt the council will support this going forward, it was just a hang up on the open end of the fee schedule. Now I think youll see this move forward fairly easily. zach.murdock@hearstmediact.com NEW MILFORD An error within the spreadsheet formula for the schools budget means educators are now able to offset some of the pay to play and student parking fees. The error caused school officials to reduce the budget by $50,000 more than needed, said Superintendent of Schools Joshua Smith at Tuesdays school board meeting. That money will instead reduce the proposed fees for pay to play for student athletes and student parking, though both are still more than the last school year. Pay to Play will now be $75 per student per season with a $300 family cap. Last month the board approved in a split vote to charge $125 per athlete per season with a $500 family cap as part of the boards efforts to cut the proposed budget by $1.2 million to meet the figure adopted by voters. Pay to play was not in place last year. Smith said the pay to play fees are the lowest in the area and students who receive free and reduced lunch wont have to pay it. The $50,000 will also be used to reduce the newly approved parking fee from $225 to $215. This is still $65 more than the $150 fee paid last year and was increased to close that $1.2 million gap. These were the two areas we heard were a double whammy for high school students, particularly upperclassmen who are athletes, Smith said, adding this was a chance to address it. Board members Joseph Failla, Wendy Faulenbach and Angela Chastain all opposed the proposition, saying it was still too much of a burden on high school families who must also pay for Advanced Placement exams. The three members opposed the fees last month as well. Both Faulenbach and Chastain said there were other places in the budget were cuts could have been made instead of charging students. Chastain pointed to the $14,000 paid to ticket takers and how the district plays four more games than required. Failla said New Milford is a blue collar, middle class community and didnt care that they had lower pay to play fees compared to the wealthier neighboring towns. He said he would rather set an example and not have a pay to play fee. Its just, in my opinion, disgraceful that were going down this avenue, he said. We are better than this. kkoerting@newstimes.com; 203-731-3345 In 2008, astronomers realized an 80-ton asteroid was due to crash to Earth. They asked other observatories around the world to keep an eye out for it as it passed by. The second-to-last place where people saw it was the John J. McCarthy Observatory in New Milford on Oct. 7. Fifteen minutes later, it crashed into the Nubian Desert in Sudan. Its rocky remains are now known as the Almahata Sitta meteorite. And now, the McCarthy Observatory has a fragment of it. It also has a racket ball-sized meteorite that hit Nandan, China in 1516 and a piece from the historic LAigle meteorite that showered that town in France with space rocks in 1803. In has, in fact, 225 meteorites some tiny fragments, some large enough to hold in your hand after purchasing the collection of Don Merchant, a Rockford, New York amateur astronomer who spent 20 years assembling it. And even when tiny, theyre spectacularly valuable for teaching people about our solar system, our planet, and ourselves. Its not just the physical specimens each has a story to go along with it, said Bill Cloutier, one of the leaders of the McCarthy Observatory. Theyre tiny pieces of the history of our solar system. That story begins at least 4.5 billion years ago, when the solar system was taking form. The asteroids are the initial building blocks of Earth. Theyre the oldest things you can hold in your hand, said Monty Robson, the observatorys director. Stefan Nicholescu, collections manager of mineralogy and meteoritics at Yale Universitys Peabody Museum of Natural History in New Haven, said that because these asteroids formed the Earth, they also are the basis all life here trees, birds, animals, humans springs from. We are stardust. Or chocolate chip cookies. Think of chocolate chip cookies, Nicholescu said. All the ingredients the flour, the butter, the sugar, the chocolate chips are asteroids. When you bake them, they become something else. Robson learned from an on-line posting that Merchant was willing to sell his collection. At $6,000, the opportunity was too good the pass up. I thought, If you want it, go and get it, Robson said. In June the observatorys Board of Directors agreed, unanimously approving the purchase. Merchant who got bit by the astronomy bug as a teenager when he visited the Strasenburgh Planetarium in Rochester, New York admitted last week that if he sold the collection bit by bit, he might have made more money. But he did not want to break it up. I didnt want to sell it to some greedy dealer, he said. Instead, it will stay intact, with the observatory using it to teach people about the history of our solar system. I am absolutely thrilled, he said of the collections move to New Milford. Knowing its there, I havent lost a wink of sleep. The observatorys staff hasnt figured out exactly how theyll display the pieces some, protected by plastic cases, are fragile. But Robson said eventually, people will get to see it. Well need some security, he said. But we dont want it locked away. The collection fits in nicely with the observatorys three areas of concentration: watching near-earth objects like asteroids; observing meteors and fireballs objects flying though the sky approaching Earth; and meteorites the rocky pieces that survive the crash. Its a good mission for a modest, near-sea-level observatory, Robson said. Robson co-authored a peer-review scholarly paper about the exact landing spots of the famous Weston meteor, which landed into what was then the town Weston on Dec. 14, 1807 the first time a meteorite was scientifically studied in North America. (Weston and Easton split in 1845. Although the meteorite fragments fell in Easton and Trumbull, Weston still has naming rights.) The observatory also has two all-sky cameras that film the firmament throughout the night. It hopes to create a network of such cameras at other observatories in Connecticut. To celebrate all this, the observatory will weather permitting hold a skywatching party for the Perseid meteor show. The party will begin at dusk on Sunday, Aug 12. It will be free, but the observatory may ask for donations to help pay for the 225 meteorites that have so fortuitously fallen into its hands. We may pass the cup, Robson said, and ask people to donate something every time they seem a meteor. Contact Robert Miller at earthmattersrgm@gmail.com. Le Collectif Cheikh Yassine a organise un certain nombre dactivites et de festivites pour les enfants de Gaza sous le theme La joie des enfants de Gaza pour lAid . Ces activites ont commence le premier jour de lAid et continue jusquau 4eme jour de lAid dans la bande de Gaza. Plusieurs activites, ont ete organisees parmi lesquelles : des competitions recompensees par des prix, des jeux, des animations et des chants presentes par un groupe ainsi que des distributions de cadeaux et daides financieres. The latest in a series of machinations over whether one of the states largest water companies should be acquired by California-based SJW Group played out on Friday, both here in Connecticut and on the other side of the country. Officials with Clinton-based Connecticut Water Service and SJW Group announced Friday that they had submitted a new application to the states Public Utilities Regulatory Authority in New Britain. The announcement came hours before officials with another utility, California Water Service, announced they were extending their offer to replace Connecticut Water as SJW Groups merger partner. California Water Services offer to acquire all the outstanding stock of SJW for $68.25 per share was to have expired on Aug. 3. But with Fridays announcement, the deadline to accept the offer has now been extended to Sept. 28. In announcing the extension of the deadline, California Water Service officials issued a statement which said in part that the utility continues to believe its tender offer provides far greater value to SJW stockholders and is therefore significantly superior to the highly conditioned proposed merger with Connecticut Water. California Waters latest move comes a week after Hartford-based Eversource Energy increased its offer to acquire Connecticut Water. Connecticut Water and SJW Group had submitted their original application for change of control to PURA on May 4. PURA commissioners dismissed the application on June 8 because shortly after the change of control application was submitted, Connecticut Water officials chose, with the blessing of the SJW Group board of directors, to entertain other potential offers. The so-called go shop process was done without terminating the deal between Connecticut Water and SJW Group. And the process ultimately failed to produce any expressions of interest. With the go shop process complete, Connecticut Water officials withdrew their original application on June 19. Dan Meany, a Connecticut Water spokesman, said because the initial change of control application was dismissed by PURA, submitting a new application was the next logical step in the process. David Benoit, president and chief executive officer of Connecticut Water, said Friday that officials with the company are pleased to have restarted the regulatory approval process. We are eager to demonstrate to our regulators the clear benefits of the merger for our customers, employees and communities that can be realized through the sharing of best practices, operational expertise and resources of the combined company, Benoit said in a statement. Through the merger, we will have the unique benefit of being able to maintain our presence and locally-based teams of water professionals in Connecticut and Maine to deliver safe, reliable water service in our communities while being part of a larger, stronger national organization. Connecticut Water officials have consistently rejected Eversources offers as inferior to the deal with SJW Group. And on July 16, Connecticut Water officials accused Eversource officials of having mischaracterized their latest offer in an effort to mislead shareholders. Eversource officials have reasserted the claim that their offer is more attractive to Connecticut Water shareholders than the one being made by SJW Group. luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com Schlumberger Ltd., the world's biggest oilfield services company, and No. 3 Baker Hughes have their sights set in different directions as they move into the second-half of 2018. Schlumberger is accelerating sales in North America faster than any other region as it battles fracking king Halliburton Co. for market share. As for Baker Hughes, the words "Permian Basin" -- the premier U.S. oilfield -- never appeared in a Friday announcement that focused on plans to expand abroad. While Baker Hughes' second-quarter results fell short of analysts' estimates, both companies painted a rosy picture for the second half in statements Friday, expecting to cash in on the start of a broad-based worldwide oil recovery. By year's end, Schlumberger said it expects business to be so brisk it will sell out the services and equipment it supplies internationally. "Both are starting to see the early stages of what looks to be a very healthy international and offshore upcycle," James West, an analyst at Evercore ISI, said Friday in a phone interview. As the first major oil-servicers to disclose quarterly results, Schlumberger and Baker Hughes displayed strong indications that international theaters may be closing the gap with American shale, offering alternatives to increasingly congested regions such as the U.S. Permian Basin. International demand for the technical experts, equipment and brute strength provided by oilfield servicers is expanding after OPEC and allied crude producers agreed just weeks ago to elevate output. Seeking to plug a supply gap stemming from output declines in places like Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Russia have already boosted drilling and output. Pricing for Schlumberger's services outside the U.S. and Canada improved during the quarter and the company said it's expecting a further strengthening by 2019. Baker Hughes, wrapping its first full year of operations after merging with the oilfield unit of General Electric Co., said overseas orders expanded at a faster rate than in North America. "It's quite exciting," Schlumberger CEO Paal Kibsgaard told analysts and investors Friday on a conference call. "It's been a while since we were able to kind of talk as optimistically about the international market as we can now." Schlumberger was little changed at $66.93 at 11:38 a.m. in New York. Baker Hughes rose 0.3 percent. Although Schlumberger registered a broadly global upturn in demand for its services and gear, North American orders are piling up faster than anywhere else, the company reported. As of the end of June, North America's contribution to Schlumberger's sales had increased to 38 percent from 30 percent a year earlier. Kibsgaard warned that maxed-out pipelines in the Permian region could stall growth in West Texas and New Mexico, though for the time being activity remains high there. "We have yet to see any real impact on the activity growth or any activity on pricing," he said. The Houston- and Paris-based company's second-quarter adjusted profit of 43 cents a share matched the average estimate of 27 analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Third-quarter earnings per share should climb in the range of 10 to 15 percent and be roughly 47 cents to 50 cents, Kibsgaard said. Analysts are expecting 50 cents. "Although the last four years have been marked by the deepest downturn in generations, we have capitalized on a number of market opportunities while simultaneously transforming our company to be even more competitive in the broad-based recovery that is now emerging," Kibsgaard said in the statement. As for Baker Hughes, overseas orders in its biggest business unit increased by 8 percent during the April-to-June period, ahead of the 7 percent growth rate in its home North American market. "We are seeing signs of increasing international activity in some geomarkets," Chief Executive Officer Lorenzo Simonelli said in the statement. Beset by performance and profit pressures of its own, GE is already planning to shed its 62.5 percent stake in Baker Hughes over the next two to three years. Baker Hughes is working with GE as its evaluates the timing and structure of the separation, Simonelli said during a conference call. "We're going to continue to work on an arm's-length relationship with GE on technology," Simonelli said. "Under any scenario, we will retain the technology, capabilities and infrastructure we need to accomplish what matters most: delivering for our customers and for our shareholders." WEST HAVEN U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, and Mayor Nancy Rossi advocated Friday morning for federal funding to repair berms and dunes along the city beaches, which could be provided as part of this years Water Resources Development Act. The two held a press conference at the West Haven Beach Gazebo, standing along the coastline with the sunshine glinting off the Long Island Sound behind them. On a beautiful day like today, it may be difficult to imagine why we are talking about coastal resiliency and storm hazard mitigation, but this is exactly when we should be making plans not when a serious storm is in the forecast, said Rossi, noting that she was to meet with the United Illuminating Company and town officials to help safeguard the town during the ongoing hurricane season. Rossi said Hurricanes Irene and Sandy hit West Haven like a one-two punch in 2011 and 2012, but portions of the town, particularly from Washington Avenue to East Avenue, were guarded against flooding by berms a part of the citys defenses. The town is considering other flood mitigation strategies, such as restoring the Old Field Creek floodplain, where berms are not practical, she said. Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he and his colleagues, including U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-New Haven and U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., had fought to include a measure in the upcoming Water Resources Development Act to provide funding to rebuild the berms and dunes along the West Haven shoreline. He said he expected a vote on the bill within the next three weeks. Thats what we need to protect the homes and lives that are nearby. Those dunes are more than just beautiful. They are also immensely protective of property and life, said Blumenthal, noting that they naturally degrade, even without major storms. If the funding is provided, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would oversee the reconstruction of the dunes and berms by local contractors, Blumenthal said. The cost of the effort had not been determined, but would be in the millions, not the tens of millions, he said. He hoped the work would done within this year. The initiative would dovetail with other potential projects along the West Haven beaches, including the raising of Beach Street and reconstruct floodgates on the Cove River, said state Rep. Dorinda Borer, D-115th. The entirety of the Connecticut coastline could use efforts to improve resiliency, Blumenthal said. This hurricane season need not be a time of total apprehension and fear as long as we move ahead to provide resiliency along the coastline and what better way to start than right here in West Haven? said Blumenthal. william.lambert@hearstmediact.com NEW HAVEN It was a bonus day for the city on Friday when the State Bond Commission approved $28 million for schools, parking facilities, additional land in the port for maritime uses and money to protect the shoreline. A total of $8 million is for flood control and shoreline rehabilitation at East Shore Park and Long Wharf. City Engineer Giovanni Zinn said the funding is a signature moment for the city, which has been working to advance a living shoreline to control both vulnerable areas from flooding. He said he was grateful for the work the citys delegation, led by state Senate Democratic President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, did to get the funds approved. Zinn said living shorelines work with nature to make the areas more resilient and the state recognizes the importance of this. He said it is something the city has been studying for years. Zinn said particularly in the Long Wharf area, there are millions in infrastructure assets close by that have to be protected, from the interstate highway to multiple businesses, as well as sewer and water lines. He said we need protection not only from the worst hurricane, but for the 999 out of 1,000 other days when it rains. On the East Shore, they want to protect against erosion for the park itself and the nearby homes. Judi Sheiffele, executive director of the New Haven Port Authority, said the $751,000 in state funds will help the Connecticut Port Authority purchase just under three acres in the port that guarantees it will be saved for maritime purpose. She said the land, which had been used by the Department of Transportation while the new Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge was under construction, is needed by the current businesses already at the port. Sheiffele said having the Connecticut Port Authority there will give it a better understanding of how New Havens port, which is the busiest in the state, functions. There is also $10 million for the Cornell Scott Hill Health Centers plans to develop a 52-bed, 43,800-square-foot recovery and wellness center for substance abuse patients. The other uses funded by the bond include: Some $5.9 million for the New Haven Parking Authority for renovations, improvements and repairs to its unrestricted parking structures. Also, $1,464,510 for the Connecticut Childrens Museum in New Haven to assist with renovations and improvements to its facility. A total of $957,063 for the Beecher, Rogers, Fair Haven and Truman schools for techology and equipment upgrades for students, as well as alterations, repairs and other improvements to the facilities. There is $850,000 for the Amistad Schools debt repayment; $850,000 for the Elm City College Preps debt repayment. On July 1st the Australia Space Agency officially started operations. What most people don't know is that Australia used to have a national space agency until it was disbanded in the late 90's for economic and political reasons. Now it's back because of economic and political reasons It's an important milestone for the country as they look to space to help drive economic growth with an eye to tripling their share of the global space market by 2030. Listen into the SpaceQ podcast as SpaceRef Editor Marc Boucher discusses this new development and what ti means for Australia and the global space community. Marc's guests are Kirby Ikin and Bill Barrett of Sydney based Asia Pacific Aerospace Consultants. Kirby is the Managing Director of APAC while Bill is Senior Vice President. Kirby also serves as the Chairman of the Board of the National Space Society. Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. Until she died on March 14, 2017, Charlette Dawkins was a happy 3-year-old with a big smile, bright blond hair, and a passion for princesses and super heroes. "She liked tiaras, but she liked to dress up like Batman," said her grandmother, Renay Rodriguez. "Everyone who met her loved her." And ever since Charlette died, Rodriguez has been waiting. Waiting to see police arrest Travis W. Graham, her daughter's boyfriend, who told everyone that Charlette ended up unresponsive that day after she fell down the stairs of their Gloucester Township home. Now, according to authorities, Rodriquez won't have to wait much longer. The Camden County Prosecutor's Office, which has been investigating Charlette's death for 16 months, said Graham, 22, will be facing homicide charges in the coming weeks. He is currently being held on charges related to several armed robberies, following a detention hearing Friday. "It's anticipated, not next week but the following week, when the medical examiner returns, that the defendant's going to be charged with homicide of a 3-year-old little girl that occurred on March 13, 2017," Assistant Prosecutor Christine Shah told Judge John T. Kelley in Superior Court in Camden during Friday's hearing. Bill Townsend, chief of detectives in the prosecutor's office, said the charges come after "promising developments in the Charlette Dawkins death investigation." For Rodriguez - who had been talking with the prosecutor's office for over a year, asking when Graham would be arrested - Shah's words created an intense moment when she heard them uttered in court. "It was relief, shock, and trying to hold it together," she said. Rodriguez said her husband couldn't help clapping a few times, despite the somber courtroom. Charlette Dawkins (Provided photos) "Her injuries were so extensive, there's no way she fell down the stairs," Rodriguez said in a phone interview Friday. The nature of her injuries seems to have been an issue from the start. Rodriguez said her cause of death was blunt force head trauma, but Townsend said it had not yet been officially ruled a homicide by the medical examiner -- hence his office could only confirm it was a "death investigation. Shah's mention of the medical examiner suggests that that determination could be the missing piece. Townsend said his investigators are "awaiting documentation from another agency" before pressing charges, but he declined to specify which agency. The state Department of Children and Families is required to release some information on child deaths that are caused by abuse or neglect. Charlette's death, a spokeswoman for the child welfare agency said earlier this week, did not meet the neglect or abuse criteria, so no details would be released. Renay Rodriguez said her granddaughter, Charlette Dawkins, 3, loved superheroes. (Provided) Rodriguez said she has known Graham since he was young because he grew up in Washington Township in Gloucester County, where she still lives. She estimated her daughter, who has since married Graham, started dating him in summer of 2016, when Charlette was 2 years old. "She was fun-loving," Rodriguez said of Charlette. "If you met her you fell in love with her in a minute." Rodriguez got lots of time with her granddaughter until January of 2017. That's when she confronted her daughter about a bruise on Charlette, and her daughter cut off contact, she said. Then on March 13, 2017, she said she got a call that Charlette was unresponsive and being airlifted from one hospital to another. She was pronounced dead March 14, but kept on life support for several days so the girl's organs could be donated, Rodriguez said. "I had my suspicions," she said, about the story about the fall down the stairs. She felt her suspicions were confirmed when detectives from the prosecutor's office showed up at the hospital. But it's been 16 months, and despite regular contact with the prosecutor's office, Rodriguez said it hasn't been easy to stay patient while Graham remained free. Graham was ultimately arrested and charged on five different armed robberies. He was in court Friday for a detention hearing for three armed robberies in Gloucester Township, but Shah said he'd already been ordered held pending trial on an earlier armed robbery charge from Salem County. And he had previously been released on an earlier armed robbery charge from Gloucester County, she said. Gloucester Twp. police said Travis Graham was identified as an armed robber from this surveillance footage. Graham agreed to be held on the Camden County charges, his attorney, Amy Rivas, said in court Friday. She did not comment in court on Shah's statement that Graham would face homicide charges, and she could not be reached late Friday afternoon. In the Gloucester Township armed robberies, Graham is accused of robbing a Pantry One store with an air soft gun Feb. 3, 2017; wielding a knife while robbing the Pine Run Deli June 27; and driving the getaway car while his co-defendant, Brian Smith, 32, of Washington Township, robbed the Pine Run Deli Jan. 24, with an air soft gun. On the criminal complaints for two of the incidents, Gloucester Township Det. Joseph Cerquoni noted that the charges were based partly on a recorded interview with Graham. Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips N.J. home makeover is a regular feature on NJ.com that showcases designer, contractor and DIY renovations, large and small. To submit your renovation for consideration, email home@starledger.com with your full name, email address, phone number and town/city. Attach "before" and "after" photos of what you renovated. Like most homeowners, Ellen Martin wanted to update her Red Bank home so it would be a lovely and comfortable place. But as an artist and curator of the Oyster Point Gallery in Red Bank, she also wanted her redesigned living room and the adjacent den to be a suitable backdrop for her artwork. "The art will usually go up before the furniture goes in," says Martin, for whom displaying art goes beyond adding color or interesting details to a room. "Art is essential to my life, and it's very important to me to have it displayed in a way that adds to my general calmness in life," she said. Creating a sense of calm also was at the core of her desire to renovate her home of five years. "I want to breathe a sigh of relief every time I walk into my house," she said. But she was never able to accomplish that on her own. "Wherever I lived, I found that I was constantly moving my furniture around to find an ideal living arrangement," Martin said. "I could never get it to feel right. Everything was never in the right place. Finally, I decided that I wanted a place where I could feel completely comfortable and that I would probably need professional help to achieve that." Her choice of a professional was based on a single photo. It was a living room shown in a local newspaper advertisement, and it resonated with Martin. It was quiet, elegant, updated and simple. Much like Martin's own work, the room in the photo was tonal, with subtle variations of one or two colors. That was the aesthetic she envisioned for her home, so she hired Jana Manning, the interior designer behind the room. The process that led to her desired home design was not what she had expected, however. Homeowners who are prepared to renovate a space will often have a file with photos of rooms or particular decorative or design features that appeal to them. Martin had such a file. "She didn't even look at it," Martin said of her first meeting with Manning. "She handed me what was about a 10-inch pile of pictures and asked me to go through them and pick out what I liked. At the end of the process, my pile contained pictures that were nothing like those in the notebook I had dutifully been compiling for years. My taste had drastically changed. It was an enlightening process." Manning says it wasn't so much that Martin's taste had changed, but that the photos she was given showed rooms where the focus was on the environment rather than the furnishings. "I wanted her to see examples of spaces that could deliver for her the physiological, mental and emotional impact that she was looking for," Manning said. "Where she said she wanted her envvironment to provide her with a sense of calm and mental clarity, the photos she had didn't accomplish that. They had well-selected elements that placed the overall environment in a secondary role." Manning says her goal was to mesh Martin's skill as a curator with "the overall sense of well-being that a fully developed environment can deliver." To accomplish that, some structural changes were made. The den had been a porch area enclosed by previous owners. The resulting room still had the door that once opened to the outside. Manning had it replaced with pocket doors that would become a focal point in the updated room. A doorway between the kitchen and the living room also was moved and enlarged. "We were able to allign the door opening with the windows and the furniture to create a subliminal feeling of order," Manning said. Manning used order in the room's architectural features to create a calming design, and she also worked with color. At least six different grays complement the original pale-brick fireplace in the living room. "We chose many shades so that it all stayed harmonious and so that some elements became enmphasized but other elements just receded and harmonized," she said. Gray also is used in the den. "We added a lot of emphasis to the pocket doors," Manning said. Attention is drawn to the doors' design with a dark gray paint. "Where we had the strong contrast, that element is going to stand out more," she explained. "It created a very interesting and strong focal point at the end of the room." Martin, a painter-turned-photographer is also director of Jersey Artist Registry, an online gallery with links to the work of established and emerging New Jersey painters, photographers and sculptors. Martin considers Manning an artist working in another medium, and she says her home design changes have had the desired effect. "I also love that we tore down some very dated-looking built-in shelves in the living room so that I could really enjoy and share my art with visitors," she said. "In my main rooms, the living room and den, what I show is a very curated collection." Additionally, one bedroom of her three-bedroom, three-bathroom house serves as a studio and personal gallery space. "It's really white walls with a lot of art," Martin said. "Probably about 15 or 20 pieces are shown." The living room display shelving Martin lost was gained in the den where handmade bookcases flank the entry to the living room. "It feels cozy to have all of my books and artifacts nearby," Martin said. "The den is more informal but still comfortable and very pulled together. It's where I watch TV or just hang out." Manning says the den has a more enegetic color scheme because it's more casuual. "We're not always looking to have our pulse lowered and to slow our breath," she said. "We also want spaces that are fun to hang out in, where we feel more gregarious." In all, the project took a little more than two years to complete and cost about $110,000, including the design, construction, materials, furnishings and appliances used to update the living room, den, kitchen and entry of the 1,910-square-foot house. "We tried to make everything special," Manning said. "We did not race through the project. We made sure that what we were choosing were timeless things that Ellen would enjoy for the long haul." What she renovated The living room, den, entry and kitchen of a three-bedroom, three bathroom ranch-style house in Red Bank Who did the work? Jana Manning redesigned areas of the house, and the homeowner hired various contractors to complete the work. How long it took Two years and two months. "It was completely worth it," Martin says. What she spent About $110,000 Where she splurged Moving door openings, creating a new lighting design and changing the flooring throughout. As for furnishings, she splurged with many of the items in the living room: the four grey chairs, the wall sconces, the lighting, the window coverings, the flooring and the rug. She also had custom-made bookshelves in the den and a custom-made coffee table in the living room. Where she saved "In the den, we went with less expensive wall coverings, and some furniture from mass merchandisers such as Crate and Barrel," Martin said. The sofa was also purchased there. "We were able to get a great Mitchell Gold sofa on sale." What she likes most "I absolutely love the living room because it's a serene room where I can read, work, nap and entertain up to 20 guests comfortably," Martin said. What she'd have done differently? "Without mentioning names, I would pick a contractor with higher standards." Kimberly L. Jackson may be reached at home@starledger.com. Find NJ.com Entertainment on Facebook. French culture was on display last weekend in Downtown Jersey City during a Bastille Day festival. The French national holiday, celebrated on July 14 each year, commemorates the storming of the Bastille, a fortress/prison in Paris, in 1789 during the French Revolution. For the Bastille Day festival in Jersey City, which was organized by the French American Academy, crepes were served hot while can-can dancers kicked their legs high. A mime could be spotted interacting with people in attendance and French flags hung from buildings and trees. The festivities could be found on Third Street from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and included a variety of French wine and food, and attractions for kids such as a bounce house and crafts table. French bakery and cafe Choc O Pan had a table at the event where French bread was sold and samples handled out. Click on the photo gallery above for a look back on the festivities. A goat found wandering around the parking lot of a Walmart near a busy highway in Secaucus was rescued Thursday and turned over to an animal sanctuary, after surviving the eye of potential rescuers who wanted to catch him and bring him home for dinner (as dinner). Secaucus Animal Control Officer Kevin Kessler was able to catch the goat after employees called his office and he was turned over to the Barnyard Sanctuary, a non-profit organization located in Columbia that takes in farm animals that are sick or in need of a new home. "There were several individuals on hand who offered to take this baby to eat him," Barnyard Sanctuary Found Tamala Lester said. "Luckily, Kevin caught him in time and brought him to (us)." Lester said she does not know how the animal, which is a four-month-old fainting goat, got to the parking lot, but said he had an ear tag which showed that he originally came from Indiana. She said she thinks he could have gotten out of a transport truck as he has already escaped his "goat-proof pen" twice. Wally is in the care of employees at The Barnyard Sanctuary in Columbia and the group's founder Tamala Lester (seen above.) Photo credit: The Barnyard Sanctuary Lester said the goat, now named Wally since he was discovered at Walmart, was not in the best shape when he was captured. "In addition to being skinny, having mange and a terribly snotty nose, this poor baby also has a mouth disease called Orf," Lester said "It is highly contagious for goats and sheep, and easily transferred to humans as well" Lester said Friday evening that Wally was doing better and that he is "eating like a pig" and that he taken a liking to his hay bucket as he has been hanging out inside of it for the last day and a half. However, Wally's future still has not been decided. "Our standard protocol here is to nurse him back to health before we do anything else," Lester said. She said the sanctuary wont let people adopt any animals that have communicable diseases or behavioral issues, such as head-butting in Wally's case. The test for diseases can only be performed once the goat ages another two months. In the meantime, Lester is asking for the public's help to pay the vet bill for Wally. "He needs a wellness check, treatment for runny nose, Orf and lice, vaccinations, and when feeling better, castration," she said. "The expenses for this sweet, unexpected baby, are not in this month's budget and we need your help." Those would like to donate can do so by clicking here. Lester said this is not the first time the Barnyard Sanctuary has rescued an animal from unusual circumstances. "Last October we took in a pot-bellied pig found wandering along Route 80," she said. "The rescuers caught him with a piece of cherry danish so we named him Cherry." The sanctuary currently has a roster of over 700 farm animals with everything from chickens and horses to water buffalo and emus. Wally has taken a liking to his hay bucket since being taken in by the Barnyard Sanctuary. Photo credit: the Barnyard Sanctuary Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrsheldon Find NJ.com on Facebook. The Hamilton man charged with death by auto after striking a 13-year-old boy riding a skateboard early Thursday drank vodka at a concert hours before the crash, court documents allege. Mauricio Velastegui, 34, is also charged with drunken driving, Hamilton police confirmed Friday. Velastegui, was driving west on Nottingham Way when he crossed the double yellow line at about 12:30 a.m. and struck the boy, who was on the eastbound side near the curb, near Gregory Drive, police have said. The teen died at a Trenton hospital a short time later. The probable cause affidavit Hamilton police filed against Velastegui describes an officer talking to Velastegui at the scene. He first told police he had an alcoholic drink at about 7 p.m. on Wednesday. Based on that, police gave him field sobriety tests, and when he failed them - and police smelled alcohol on his breath - they arrested him on suspicion of drunken driving, and took him to the police station and gave him a blood alcohol test. The result was .07, the affidavit says. In New Jersey, the legal threshold for drunk driving is .08, but a person can be convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol for blood alcohol levels under .08. After the test, and after they read him his rights, Velastegui agreed to talk with police and told them he awoke at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday and never slept the rest of the day, the affidavit said. That night, he drove to Middlesex County, met up with a friend, and they went to the PNC Banks Arts Center to see a concert. (The Dave Matthews Band played that night.) Before the show, he and his friend drank vodka, and Velastegui told cops that he had two 16-ounce cups of of orange soda and vodka from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. After the concert, he ate a pretzel, and drank a shot of vodka before he drove out of the parking lot, the affidavit said. The document says another 13-year-old witnessed the crash, and police found visible marks that indicated Velastegui braked before the crash, police wrote. It was unclear Friday if Velastegui had a lawyer, or when he is scheduled to be in court. Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook. New Jersey State Police have one of their canine partners to thank for saving a suicidal woman in Wrightstown. Trooper Nicholas Rena and K-9, Raspa The police dog, named Raspa, was brought in to assist on a missing woman search on July 5. The dog and Trooper Nicholas Renna were told the woman had probably ingested 40-50 prescription pills and had last been seen near the area of a bowling alley. Tracing the woman's scent led the duo to a wooded area east of the bowling alley where they found the woman lying on the ground disoriented, police said. Troopers then carried the woman out of the woods for treatment by EMS. She was transported to a local hospital. Later they discovered the woman had taken about 60 prescription pills. State Police urge anyone experiencing a crisis to contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or go to www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org. Taylor Tiamoyo Harris may be reached at tharris@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ladytiamoyo. Find NJ.com on Facebook. An ongoing Salmonella outbreak linked to raw turkey has sickened 90 people in 26 states, including New Jersey, health officials said. Raw turkey products from "a variety of sources" were making people sick with the strain of Salmonella Reading, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "In interviews, ill people report eating different types and brands of turkey products purchased from many different location," the CDC said. No single products, brands or suppliers have been identified as a source of illnesses, officials said. The outbreak began in November and has sent 40 people to hospitals. No deaths have been reported. "The outbreak strain has been identified in samples taken from raw turkey pet food, raw turkey products, and live turkeys," the CDC said in a statement. Minnesota reported the highest number of people infected from the outbreak at 13, according to CDC data. New Jersey logged five people sick while New York reported eight cases. "The outbreak strain of Salmonella Reading is present in live turkeys and in many types of raw turkey products, indicating it might be widespread in the turkey industry," the CDC said. The agency and federal food safety officials alerted the turkey industry and questioned what steps they may take to reduce the spread of the contamination, according to officials. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service said it was monitoring the outbreak and has not identified a single source for this outbreak. Symptoms of Salmonella include diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps 12 to 72 hours after being exposed. Salmonella causes about 1.2 illnesses, 23,000 hospitalizations, and 450 deaths every year nationwide. The CDC posted on its website a range of tips for avoiding the bacteria. Salmonella outbreak linked to a variety of raw turkey products includes 90 people from 26 states. Always handle raw turkey carefully and cook it to 165F. More info: https://t.co/y3ST5ODD5R. pic.twitter.com/S84VTJO8Fj CDC (@CDCgov) July 19, 2018 Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Dresden Raceway is all set for an invasion of children on Sunday afternoon (July 22) for Kids Day. The track will be giving away special prizes for children as well as freezies. There will be a face painter on site and Dresden Raceway will also be hosting special draws for bicycles. WannaDrive will be at the track allowing guests to experience what it is like to sit behind a Standardbred, giving children and adults an opportunity to sit in the double-seated sulky. With all the excitement, Dresden Raceway will also be celebrating the lifeblood of the industry, the grooms, with Caretaker Day. Dresden Raceway will honour caretakers for the important job they do day in and day out with the care of the stables. On the track, GD Cruise For Gold will be looking for his fifth win in a row for owner, trainer and driver Donnie Rankin Jr. The four-year-old Allthatgltrsisgold gelding is the 8-5 favourite in the afternoon's 10th race finale. Post time on Sunday is 1:30 p.m. To view Sunday's harness racing entries, click on the following link: Sunday Entries - Dresden Raceway. (With files from Dresden Raceway) By George Will "This human nature is shabby stuff, as you may know from introspection." -- Peter De Vries SUMMIT -- Or from reading the "public letter of admonition" sent by the U.S. Senate's Select Committee on Ethics to Robert Menendez, the Democratic incumbent seeking a third full term representing New Jersey. Nationwide, Democrats are defending 26 Senate seats, Republicans only nine. Five Democratic incumbents are running in states that 21 months ago experienced Donald Trump swoons: He won Missouri by 18.6 points, Indiana by 19.2, Montana by 20.4, North Dakota by 35.7, West Virginia by 42.1. In New Jersey, which Hillary Clinton carried by 14.1 points, Menendez was supposed to be safe. The Republicans' most recent presidential victory in New Jersey was in 1988. In the subsequent seven elections, the Democratic presidential candidates' average margin of victory was almost 13 points. This state last elected a Republican senator (Clifford Case) in 1972. This 46-year drought might end in November. Robert Hugin, 63, grew up in blue-collar Union City, as did Menendez, with whom Hugin served as student representatives to the local board of education. Hugin became the first in his family to graduate from college (Princeton), served 14 years in the Marine Corps (his two sons are now officers), then went into business, rising to run a pharmaceutical company. This sin, although scarlet in the overheated public mind, might be less so than Menendez's transgressions detailed in the letter. With hilarious understatement, James Madison, who was not known for hilarity, said "Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm." A unanimous Senate ethics committee (three Republicans, three Democrats) in its April 26 letter to Menendez said: "By this letter, you are hereby severely admonished." Menendez, the letter said, brought "discredit upon the Senate" by the following: "Over a six-year period," Menendez "knowingly and repeatedly accepted gifts of significant value" from a friend (an ophthalmologist who, the letter did not say, is currently appealing a 17-year sentence for $73 million of fraudulent Medicare billings). The gifts included air travel on private and commercial flights, a luxury hotel stay in Paris (the committee's letter is demurely silent about Menendez's accompanying girlfriend) and 19 visits to a Dominican Republic villa. He neither publicly reported, nor received written permission for, these gifts. In addition, the committee said, Menendez improperly intervened with federal agencies with "persistent advocacy" for his friend's business interests. New Jersey Democrats -- they outnumber Republicans by nearly 900,000 -- powered Menendez to a 19-point victory six years ago. In last month's primary, however, his opponent won 37.8 percent of the vote while spending next to nothing -- not enough to require filing any financial statement. In October he was underwater, 19-59, in a poll about whether he deserves re-election. Today, polls show Menendez with small single-digit leads, but Hugin's brass-knuckle ads are saying things like this: "[President] Obama's Justice Department said [Menendez] belongs in jail." The department brought a 14-count felony corruption indictment, which resulted in a nearly three-month trial that did not convict Menendez. The government then decided against a new prosecution. Hugin might be hindered by the Republican tax cut, which limited the deductibility on federal income taxes of state and local tax payments. This particularly hurts residents of high-tax blue states such as this one. The 10 percent of New Jersey voters affected are affected substantially because property taxes are very high. Hugin says that New Jersey ranks 50th among the states in the high ratio of money sent to Washington compared to the money Washington sends back. He notes that the state has suffered from the out-migration of high earners. (One, who a few years ago decamped to income-tax-free Florida, had been sending hundreds of millions a year to Trenton.) The fastest rate of out-migration is among those ages 18 to 34. The state leads the nation in the percentage of young adults living with their parents -- a nightmare for both sides of the transaction. Most New Jersey voters get their news from New York and Philadelphia television stations that pay minimal attention to the state, and many New Jersey newspapers, experiencing resource constraints common to the industry everywhere, have reduced power to broadly inform. So, Hugin must pay for the dissemination of information about Menendez's many departures from Senate standards. This election will test whether voters think that being a luridly indiscreet (this is a discreet way of describing Menendez's behavior) senator is less objectionable than Hugin's guilt of association with the pharmaceutical industry whose products help to give millions of people sufficient longevity and vitality to nurse grievances against the products' prices. George Will is a conservative columnist at The Washington Post. Find him at georgewill@washpost.com. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. By Robert B. Engel Amazon's Prime Day is often lauded as offering some of the best deals of the year in online shopping, but a closer look at the stream of corporate welfare that has helped fuel the rapid growth of Amazon's flagship subscription service reveals that Prime is a raw deal for consumers and taxpayers alike. New Jersey lawmakers, who have already given up enough taxpayer dollars to the tech giant, must think long and hard before giving another penny to the third-richest company in the world. Analysts say the true value of the Prime package, which includes music and video streaming, books, clothing, food, and, of course, expedited shipping service, is over $780 per year. But members still only pay $119 for their Prime subscription. This seemingly-unbeatable deal for consumers only begins to make sense in light of the fact that Amazon has built its business model with a big assist from government hand-outs. In fact, Amazon has received over $39 million in subsidies from New Jersey taxpayers since 2000. New Jersey is far from the only victim of Amazon's lobbying scheme. In total, the company's far reaching lobbying efforts have resulted in $1.5 billion in subsidies from taxpayers. From 2000 to 2017, Amazon spent at least $9.8 million on state lobbying while making over $6 million in campaign contributions. According to Amazon's own reports, it spent almost $14 million on state and local "government relations efforts" between 2013 and 2017. As Amazon grows, it continues to ramp up its influence-peddling: over the last five years, Amazon has lobbied more government entities than any other tech company. Meanwhile, local communities and small businesses here and across the country have borne the cost of Amazon's strong-arm tactics. Taxpayers have lost out on more than $700 million in sales tax revenue, money that could have been used to ease crowding in schools, modernize crumbling infrastructure, or expand access to healthcare services. Amazon's refusal to pay its fair share has decimated good-paying jobs and small businesses, who are forced to try and compete with the tech behemoth. Amazon often promises economic development and new jobs at its warehouses and fulfillment centers in return for taxpayer assistance. But the company pays its employees an average salary of less than $29,000 annually, and data clearly shows that private-sector employment fails to increase after Amazon moves in. Making matters worse, when small businesses resort to selling their wares on Amazon's e-commerce site, they face exorbitant fees that make it impossible for them to compete with major brands. Third-party merchants have complained for years that Amazon uses consumer and sale trend data to manipulate and drive down prices. While the tech giant vaunts itself as a company that supports small businesses and growth, the economic turmoil each Amazon expansion and acquisition leaves in its wake tells a very different story. Amazon continues to fish for unprecedented amounts of corporate welfare from New Jersey for its second headquarters, often called HQ2. But as state and city public officials weigh their priorities, Prime Day should serve as a resounding wake-up call. Taxpayers are tired of giving up their hard-earned money to the third-richest company in the world, helping to subsidize Amazon Prime and the record profits the subscription service helps generate. Last year, Amazon reported $177 billion in revenue, more than enough to build a second headquarters on their own dime. The moment has come for principled New Jersey lawmakers to stand up to Amazon and their army of lobbyists, prioritize our local communities, and finally say enough is enough. Robert B. Engel is the chief spokesperson of the Free & Fair Markets Initiative, a nonprofit coalition focused on supporting a modern, fair marketplace that serves the best interests of small businesses and local communities. Previously, Engel served director of the Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation in Jersey City. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. By Max Boot How I miss Barack Obama. And I say that as someone who worked to defeat him: I was a foreign policy adviser to John McCain in 2008 and to Mitt Romney in 2012. I criticized Obama's "lead from behind" foreign policy that resulted in a premature pullout from Iraq and a failure to stop the slaughter in Syria. I thought he was too weak on Iran and too tough on Israel. I feared that Obamacare would be too costly. I fumed that he was too professorial and too indecisive. I was left cold by his arrogance and his cult of personality. Now I would take Obama back in a nanosecond. His presidency appears to be a lost golden age when reason and morality reigned. All of his faults, real as they were, fade into insignificance compared with the crippling defects of his successor. And his strengths - seriousness, dignity, intellect, probity, dedication to ideals larger than self - shine all the more clearly in retrospect. Those thoughts are prompted by watching Obama's speech in South Africa on the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela's birth. I was moved nearly to tears by his eloquent defense of a liberal world order that President Donald Trump appears bent on destroying. The first thing that struck me was what was missing: There was no self-praise and no name-calling. Obama has a far better claim than Trump to being a "very stable genius," but he didn't call himself one. The sentences were complete and sonorous - and probably written by the speaker himself. (Imagine Trump writing anything longer than a tweet - and even those are full of mistakes.) The tone was sober and high-minded, even if listeners could read between the lines a withering critique of Trump's policies. Obama denounced the "politics of fear and resentment," the spread of "hatred and paranoia and propaganda and conspiracy theories," and "immigration policies based on race, or ethnicity, or religion." Gee, wonder who he had in mind? He rightly noted that "we now stand at a crossroads - a moment in time at which two very different visions of humanity's future compete for the hearts and minds of citizens around the world." He then rejected the dark vision propagated by Trump and the dictators he so admires. "I believe in Nelson Mandela's vision," Obama said. "I believe in a vision shared by Gandhi and King and Abraham Lincoln. I believe in a vision of equality and justice and freedom and multiracial democracy, built on the premise that all people are created equal, and they're endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights. And I believe that a world governed by such principles is possible and that it can achieve more peace and more cooperation in pursuit of a common good." Even though I was thousands of miles away, I felt like cheering those stirring words. No, I haven't forgotten the shortcomings of Obama's administration, but I've gained a new perspective on them. Can you believe that an Obama-era scandal was that the president wore a tan suit or put his feet up on the desk? (Actual Washington Times headline from Sept. 4, 2013: "Obama's foot on Oval Office desk sends shockwaves around the world.") Oh, to have those days back again - before we had a president who was involved in indecent relationships with a Russian despot and (allegedly) a porn star. What was supposedly the worst abuse of power committed by the Obama administration - the IRS investigations of conservative organizations - has been revealed as "fake news": It turns out that the IRS was also investigating liberal organizations. By contrast, evidence continues to accumulate about Trump scandals, from alleged campaign collusion with Russia to violations of the emoluments clause. Obama may have told a few fibs, like any politician, but he was not a pathological liar. Conservatives accused Obama of hating America and going on an "apology tour." Obama never claimed, however, that poor relations with Russia were the fault of "U.S. foolishness and stupidity" rather than Russian wrongdoing. Obama may have been naive in trying to "reset" relations with Moscow, but he did not say that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a "fine" person -- and he did not endorse the Russian's lies over the truths unearthed by the U.S. intelligence community. The Iran nuclear deal was flawed, but it was infinitely stronger than the non-agreement Trump reached with North Korea. Obama even looks like a fiscal conservative compared with Trump, who is ushering in trillion-dollar deficits. It can be depressing to think about our current predicament under a president whose loyalty to America is suspect but whose racism and xenophobia are undoubted. However, Obama's speech gave me a glimmer of optimism - and not only because he cited Mandela's "example of persistence and of hope." He reminds me that just 18 months ago (can you believe it was so recently?) we had a president with whom I could disagree without ever doubting his fitness to lead. We can have one again. Max Boot, a Washington Post columnist, is the Jeane J. Kirkpatrick senior fellow for national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and a global affairs analyst for CNN. He is the author of the forthcoming "The Corrosion of Conservatism: Why I Left the Right." Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. Animal lovers and activists are really riled up in Hamilton following accusations that the township's animal shelter has a high kill rate and has management and budget problems. About 100 people showed up at Tuesday night's township council meeting to hear details of an ongoing investigation into the animal shelter only to be told two hours before the start of the session that it was being canceled. The reason: "Additional serious allegations regarding the animal shelter" had come to light and needed further scrutiny, according to a statement issued by four of the five council members. "Due to the allegations, the timing of their receipt and on the advice of one of the town's attorneys, we agree that the most prudent course of action is to postpone the hearing," said the statement signed by council members Jeff Martin, Anthony Carabelli Jr., Rich Tighe and Ileana Schirmer. Last month, Martin called for an investigation of the shelter, questioning why the number of animals euthanized has not decreased substantially despite an increase in the shelter's budget, staff and capacity. In 2015, the shelter, on Sylvan Avenue near Route 295, underwent a $1.1 million renovation that increased the number of dog kennels from 20 to 36 and doubled the space for stray cats. The facility also expanded the animal medical area and added two new adoption rooms and a grooming area. Councilman Tighe pointed out that the number of animals put down at the shelter has decreased only 1 percent while its operating budget has increased by 44 percent in the last four years. But Republican Mayor Kelly Yaede called the animal shelter investigation a "political sunt." "Council Members Martin, Carabelli and Tighe (all Democrats) are using helpless shelter pets as their 'political pawns' and are personally attacking our compassionate animal shelter staff by calling them 'killers of innocent animals.' Their politically-motivated accusations are absolutely reprehensible," Yaede said in a statement. That there is friction between Democrats and Republicans is not surprising. But we have to keep in mind that the legislative powers of the council and the executive powers of the mayor are meant to be a check on each other. If allegations of incompetence or wrongdoing were to surface in any tax-supported agency, it would be a dereliction of duty not to check it out. We encourage the council to do its job and we encourage the Hamilton administration to cooperate fully. Let's establish the facts and go from there. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. By Pat Rizzuto Model aviation hobbyists have been flying safely in the New Jersey skies for decades. Unfortunately, hobbyists who normally operate around the Bedminster area will be grounded again this weekend - the third time in the last month - due to President Trump's frequent visits. This grounding is unfair and affects many pre-planned educational model aviation events in the area. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and U.S. Secret Service should create a permanent exemption to allow responsible hobbyists to continue flying a safe distance away from the president. Anytime Trump travels, a VIP Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is placed on general aviation and unmanned aircraft operations in the surrounding area. Typically, this is comprised of two rings: an inner core (usually extending 10 nautical miles) and an outer ring (usually extending 30 nautical miles). The dimensions and shape of these rings can change. However, the inner core is almost always a no-fly zone for general aviation and unmanned aircraft. The outer ring usually permits general aviation that meets certain requirements, but unmanned aircraft, including model aircraft, are still not allowed to fly. While some flight restrictions are necessary for a presidential visit, the FAA and the U.S. Secret Service should grant a permanent exemption for model aviation hobbyists, similar to the exemption for hobbyists that already exists in the Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA) in Washington, D.C. Under this exemption, hobbyists can operate between 15 and 30 nautical miles of the city as long as the FAA's requirements are met regarding registration, size/weight of the model aircraft and height limits (400 feet). Given that the airspace over Washington, D.C. is some of the most restricted in the country, it is reasonable to consider an equivalent accommodation for model aviation hobbyists when VIP TFRs are in places outside of Washington, D.C. A permanent exemption in the outer ring of VIP TFRs in Bedminster would allow responsible model aviators to continue their risk-free operations a safe distance away from the president. I am a member of the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA), which represents nearly 200,000 members across the country and 5,000 model aviation hobbyists in New Jersey. We fly for recreational and educational purposes and frequently raise money for local charities like the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Cemetery, the Hardyston recreation program and local ambulance squads. Since our founding in 1936, AMA members have operated within the organization's strict safety guidelines. As a result, we know where and when to fly responsibly -- and we do not pose a risk to President Trump or other VIPs who may be in the area. I strongly urge the FAA and U.S. Secret Service to consider a permanent exemption for model aviation hobbyists, similar to the SFRA exemption in Washington, D.C. Sadly, without this permanent exemption, many educational and recreational events in New Jersey will be forced to cancel because of a VIP TFR. Last summer, a local AMA club in Lumberton was forced to cancel a Boy Scout event and members of the Broken Props Airplane Club were grounded at the Somerset County 4-H Fair in Bridgewater. These events are vital tools in introducing youth to model aircraft and fostering interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. We recognize that certain restrictions are necessary to ensure the security of President Trump. However, the current prohibition on model aviation hobbyists flying in the outer ring of a VIP TFR is not necessary and negatively impacts my community. I want everyone to enjoy the family-oriented and educational hobby of flying model aircraft, but that's only possible if hobbyists can continue flying safely as they always have. Pat Rizzuto is a member of the Academy of Model Aeronautics and president of Top O' New Jersey, an AMA club frequently affected by the VIP TFRs. Pat is also a former Vernon Township council member and council president, as well as a former 15-year member and eight-year president of the Vernon Township Board of Education. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. WASHINGTON -- Rep. Tom MacArthur told constituents that he acted to "make the coverage of pre-existing conditions sacrosanct" in his amendment that paved the way for House Republican repeal of the Affordable Care Act. MacArthur, R-3rd Dist., made the claim in his latest taxpayer-financed mailing, where he also pledged to "protect health insurance coverage for those with pre-existing conditions who are trying to obtain affordable health care." Health care experts, medical groups and the Congressional Budget Office say he did the opposite. "For people with pre-existing conditions, this amendment very much would have affected them," said Chris Sloan, director of Avalere Health, a research group. "It allowed states to apply for waivers to allow health plans to vary premiums based on their health status. That means people with pre-existing conditions will have to pay more in premiums." MacArthur's mailing reignited an issue that has weakened his re-election prospects. Inside Elections, a Washington-based publication that tracks congressional races, on Friday rated MacArthur as more endangered, calling the district a "credible takeover opportunity" even as the incumbent remained favored. His Democratic challenger, former national security aide Andy Kim, has made health care a major issue. "Congressman MacArthur is abusing our tax dollars to spread misinformation," Kim said. "He wrote the amendment that gutted pre-existing condition protections and he can't run away from it. His name is on it -- the MacArthur amendment." MacArthur spokesman Frank Luna said the bill included $165 billion to ensure those with pre-existing conditions could afford coverage as well as the following provision: "Nothing in this Act shall be construed as permitting health insurance issuers to limit access to health coverage for individuals with preexisting conditions." "The real debate is not whether to guarantee coverage for preexisting conditions -- people in both parties agree this should be covered -- but rather how to pay for it," Luna said. "Representative MacArthur continues to advocate for paying for it with this $165 billion fund, rather than continuing to cause premiums to rise to levels that are unaffordable for millions of Americans." The amendment, though, also paved the way for states to allow insurance policies to exclude some of the benefits they now must contain, as well enable companies to charge higher premiums to older or sicker patients. A state could, for example, allow the sale of insurance that no longer covers prescription drugs, forcing someone with diabetes to find a supplemental policy to help cover those costs. But that policy could be priced out of range, or have a high deductible, or limit how much a company would pay. "It could easily make coverage not meaningful for those with pre-existing conditions," said Karen Pollitz, a senior fellow with the Kaiser Family Foundation. "There are not any requirements in the amendment that those programs keep people whole, and there isn't enough money set aside for those programs to ensure that that would be possible." The CBO, which found that the House Republican bill would increase the number of uninsured Americans by 23 million, also said that despite the MacArthur amendment, sicker individuals, including those with pre-existing conditions "would be unable to purchase comprehensive coverage with premiums close to those under current law and might not be able to purchase coverage at all." And James Madara, chief executive officer of the American Medical Association, told House leaders last year that the pre-existing condition provision "may be illusory as health status underwriting could effectively make coverage completely unaffordable to people with preexisting conditions." Strongly backed by President Donald Trump, who during the campaign pledged that no one would lose insurance, the repeal bill passed the House only to fail by one vote in the Senate. Since then, Trump has taken several steps to weaken the existing health care law, which has driven up premiums; and he went to court to challenge the protections for pre-existing conditions. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. Inconceivable that the government would break into a lawyers office (early in the morning) - almost unheard of. Even more inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client - totally unheard of & perhaps illegal. The good news is that your favorite President did nothing wrong! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 21, 2018 President Donald Trump, who landed in New Jersey Friday, is asserting that his former personal lawyer's taping of their private phone conversations is "totally unheard of & perhaps illegal." Trump is responding to the revelation that attorney Michael Cohen made a secret recording of their discussion about a potential payment for a former Playboy model's account of having an affair with Trump. That conversation took place weeks before Trump's November 2016 election. Trump tweets: "The good news is that your favorite President did nothing wrong!" His lawyer has said the payment was never made. The recording was part of the documents and electronic records seized by authorities from the longtime Trump fixer earlier this year. Since then, Cohen has publicly distanced himself from the president and remains under investigation by the government. An Elizabeth gang member was sentenced to another 50 years - he's already serving an unrelated four-year term - for fatally shooting a 25-year-old man in 2014. During sentencing, Judge William Daniel described Gregory Torres' shooting of Bilal Fullman, of Woodbridge, as "premeditated" and "cold blooded," the Union County Prosecutor's Office announced. Gregory Torres. Courtesy of Union County Prosecutor's Office. In April, Torres was convicted of murder and two weapons charges. Police arriving to an Elizabeth housing complex near the 200 block of Parker Road in December 2014 found Fullman shot eight times. Two months later, Torres was arrested by members of the the U.S. Marshals Service in Richmond, Virginia. Torres is serving a four-year sentence for a racketeering conviction from an investigation into Elizabeth's 111 N.H.C. (Neighborhood Crips) street gang in 2015. Taylor Tiamoyo Harris may be reached at tharris@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ladytiamoyo. Find NJ.com on Facebook. As the debate continues in Trenton over legalized marijuana, one New Jersey politician's recent comments about the topic have raised some eyebrows. State Sen. Ronald Rice, D-Essex, chairman of the New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus, has long been vocal in his fight against legalization of marijuana, but in his recent sit down with NJTV he discussed his disdain for certain weed products that possibly could end up in stores. "If, in fact, we legalize recreational marijuana ... they're going to put up stores that do retail selling of cupcakes with marijuana, candies with marijuana, sex toy oils with marijuana, lipsticks with marijuana, all those kind of products that kids can get and people can get," Rice said to NJTV. "When you legalize marijuana recreationally, the number of people that have never used any type of drugs goes up substantially with drug use," he said. The state senator could not be reached for comment Saturday. NJTV also talked to Assemblyman Jamel Holley, D-Union, who argued for expungements. "Expungements have to happen. I will not support it unless there's language in there to support expungement," Holley said. "There's individuals who look like me, and those individuals who do not look like me, that are incarcerated for little, small portions of marijuana." Holley recently sat down with NJ Cannabis Insider to outline some of the top amendments to the recreational marijuana bill, which was introduced last month by state Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union. Those amendments include no limits on dispensaries, easier to clear criminal records, mandatory social equity and clear plans for tax revenue. Are you interested in the N.J. cannabis industry? Subscribe here for exclusive insider information from NJ Cannabis Insider. Taylor Tiamoyo Harris may be reached at tharris@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ladytiamoyo. Find NJ.com on Facebook NEW YORK -- There were some goodbyes being said in the quiet Yankees clubhouse following Friday night's 7-5 Subway Series loss to the Mets, most notably ace Luis Severino's to rookie pitcher Domingo German, which began with a bearhug and then a pep talk. German's bad July continued in the Yankees' first game back from the All-Star break, and this ugly four-run, 3 2/3-inning start led to an immediate post-game option back to Triple-A. This move isn't surprising at all, as the righty's 2-6 record and 5.88 ERA are worse than Sonny Gray's poor stats. German's replacement isn't a shocker either. It'l be righty Luis Cessa, who has been red hot in Triple-A this month and two Mondays ago came up to start Game 2 of a doubleheader in Baltimore and tossed six shutout innings in a Yankees' win. But with the Red Sox' lead now up to 5 1/2 games in the AL East and the second-place Yankees striking out so far in their hunt to add an impactful starting pitcher before the fast-approaching July 31 trade deadline, we ask this question: Why not roll the dice and make a more exciting call-up until that second ace comes? If that second aces comes. Why pass again on giving a first big-league shot to 22-year-old left-hander Justus Sheffield, the Yankees' No. 1 pitching prospect? While Cessa earned this opportunity, which seems like his umpteenth since 2016, Sheffield has been consistently good all season long, early on for Double-A Trenton and then from May on pitching in Triple-A. His stats are impressive, as Sheffield has a 2.53 ERA in 11 Triple-A starts and a 2-0 record with two runs allowed over 18 1/3 innings in his last three outings. So why not take a shot at adding an ace right now? Sheffield, after all, definitely has a much-higher ceiling than Cessa, whose previous small stretches of success always also were followed by struggles and/or injuries. Here's what Yankees manager Aaron Boone said when we asked what Sheffield needs to do to be called up: "I think just continued development in talking with player development and the front office in their evaluation of things. He's certainly a guy that's more and more in the conversation, but I think they want him to just kind of get finished off down there and fine tune some things." That sounds promising, but Sheffield potentially could be a top-of-the-rotation difference maker ASAP while Cessa at his best is a bottom-of-the-rotation guy. For now though, it'll be Cessa, who solidified his return Friday night by pitching a two-hitter over six shutout innings with nine strikeouts and no walks in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's 5-1 win in Columbus. Actually, the Yankees will call up a reliever for Saturday's game to replace German and he'll stay with the club through Tuesday, then Cessa will return to start Wednesday night's series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. As for German, he'll head back to Triple-A to try to get himself straightened out. As good as he looked pitching six no-hit against Cleveland in his first big-league start on May 6, he's been putting the Yankees in early deficits time and again throughout his 2 1/2-month run as a replacement starter for Jordan Montgomery, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery. On Friday night, the Mets scored three first-inning runs off German and led 4-1 when he was pulled with two outs in the fourth. "I think he's really struggling just mechanically," Boone said. "It's led to him really struggling with his fastball command ... and if you don't have that, you're going to be in trouble." German has a 6.68 ERA in his outings since that great showing against Cleveland, 12 starts and one relief outing, so something had to be done. And something was done with German being farmed out. "Definitely it's not what you want," German said. "I want to pitch up here. At the same time, I understand why. I've got to go down to Triple-A and work on certain things that I need to improve and help me get back on track. "It's minor adjustments I need to make in my mechanics. I've going to go down there and work really hard and try to get back as soon as possible." All the while, Sheffield probably will be pushing hard for a first chance with the Yankees that figures to come in the next few weeks. "He's had a very successful season," Boone said. "I think he's gotten better and I think he's very close to being an option." Randy Miller may be reached at rmiller@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Standardbred Canada continues to profile caretakers from across the country in our Faces of Racing series as we head into the National Caretaker Appreciation Day event this weekend. Twenty-six years ago, Mike Raymond paid a visit to the stable area of Stampede Park in Calgary, Alberta and he hasnt looked back since. I was never in the industry and needed a job. I asked if anyone needed help and veteran trainer-driver Serge Masse was looking. Thats where I got my start looking after horses in 1992. Since he first stepped onto the grounds of Stampede Park all those years ago, Mike has worked for several trainers and has traveled to many tracks both in western Canada and the United States. For someone who had no previous exposure to harness racing for the first twenty years of his life, Mike has accumulated many stories and lessons during the time hes been actively involved as a caretaker in the industry. In his opinion, one of the best tracks he had the opportunity to work at was Los Alamitos in California. Everyone I have worked for has taught me something along the way, but one guy I have worked for the longest and learned the most from is Doug Shaw. I spent 15 years working with Doug and we are still good friends. Now I work for his son, Preston. Raymond, 46, currently works for the Preston Shaw Stable based at Century Downs Racetrack & Casino in Balzac, Alberta. Mikes versatility is reflected in his responsibilities which range from jogging and training to helping shoe the horses and mucking stalls. I help with near everything in the barn, he says. One of Mikes favourite times of the year in the harness racing industry is when it is time to break the babies and prepare them for their role as a racehorse. Breaking babies is my all-time favourite thing to do. If I could just do that, I would love it. I love to see the progress. Sometimes progress takes time as Mike learned when he was helping to break a yearling and fell off the jog cart when the horse went for the outside of the track. I fell off and my whole helmet and head went first into the snow bank on the side of the track, recalls Mike. Seeing the horses in his care make it to the races and perform well make training moments like that worth it. Case in point was when Mike was caring for the then three-year-old pacing colt, Bombers Express in 1998 who was trained by his employer at the time, John Chappell. Bombers Express went on to win the award for three-year-old colt of the year, following a season that saw him pick up 11 wins in 25 starts, all under Mikes watchful eye. When it comes to race day, Mike is aware of how important the work hes put in during the week is. I dont believe in good luck charms. Either the horse is good that week or they arent. Your work through the week makes the difference. You have to put the time into your horses that they need. His advice for the up and coming generation of individuals wishing to pursue a profession in the harness racing community is simple, stay loyal to a barn and learn lots! Today, Century Downs, his home track hosts their National Caretaker Appreciation Day event to recognize and reward caretakers. I think its great to give the caretakers some appreciation, as we are the ones with the animals day in and day out. Standardbred Canada along with the horsemens associations and tracks across the country will partner on National Caretaker Appreciation Day the weekend of July 20-22 at racetracks across the country. Previous Faces of Racing Profiles: The Times-Picayune is marking the tricentennial of New Orleans with its ongoing 300 for 300 project, running through 2018 and highlighting 300 people who have made New Orleans New Orleans, featuring original artwork commissioned by NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune with Where Y'Art gallery. Today: sausage maker Sonny Vaucresson. The icon: Robert A. "Sonny" Vaucresson Sr. The legacy: Not too many people can brag of being at the first New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Originally dubbed the "Louisiana Heritage Fair," it was a relatively small event in 1970 and drew a relatively small crowd -- especially compared to today's teeming throngs -- with performers taking the stage in the Municipal Auditorium and food vendors lining Congo Square. Sonny Vaucresson was there from the start, though, selling po-boys stuffed with sausage made from recipes handed down through his 7th Ward family -- and adding some authentic Creole zest to the fest. Sonny died in 1998, but the family business is still cranking out its specialty as the only original Jazz Fest vendor still participating in the annual event -- and offering fest-goers a very literal taste of the festival that started it all. The artist: Connie Kittok. The quote: "I remember we took us out a few sandwiches wrapped in that aluminum foil. Sold eight-inch po-boys for 50 cents. And that was the beginning. Now, 25 years later, I can tell you that the Jazzfest is what helped Vaucresson's become a USDA registered sausage plant that's selling hot sausage, green onion sausage and our good, fresh andouille all over the world." -- Sonny Vaucresson, talking about his family-run sausage factory in 1994. Explore more of Kittok's work online at WhereYart.net and in person at the Where Y'Art gallery, 1901 Royal St. Sonny Vaucresson was born in New Orleans and grew up in the 7 Source: The Times-Picayune archives; staff research More on 300 for 300: Two brothers, one from New Orleans, were charged with multiple drug offenses by United States Attorney Duane Evans Friday (July 20). Dustin Dinet, 31, of New Orleans and his brother Steven Dinet, 44, of Jonesboro, Arkansas conspired to distribute nearly 30 grams of crack and 100 grams of heroin. The indictment alleges the duo conspired to distribute and sell the drugs, a charge that carries a mandatory minimum five years and up to forty years in prison. Dustin Dinet, also known as "Big Boy," was also charged with possessing a gun in furtherance of drug trafficking and possessing a gun after being convicted of a felony. Dustin pleaded guilty in New Orleans to possession with intent to distribute cocaine in January 2010 and May 2012. Dustin could serve five years to life for the first charge and up to ten years for the second. In 1983, Ella Brennan gathered great chefs and the national food media in New Orleans to gnaw over a question: Does America have a cuisine? Today, the question is settled. America has an array of recognized regional cuisines, and the richest -- many would argue -- is arguably right here in Louisiana. That gathering, the American Cuisine Symposium, helped convince our country to no longer feel inferior to Europe when it came to cooking. "It was considered a seminal moment in the modern American food movement," said Ti Adelaide Martin, Brennan's daughter and one of the proprietors of Commander's Palace. On September 17, the Commander's Family of Restaurants will resurrect that conference with a slightly updated name: The American Cuisine and Hospitality Symposium. Top chefs, writers and restauranteurs will gather at New Orleans' Orpheum Theater to tackle the questions facing American cuisine today. The speakers include Leah Chase, Michael Gulotta, Walter Isaacson, Danny Meyer and Ruth Reichl. The seminar will look backwards at how American cuisine has progressed since 1983. And it will look forward at the trends and issues facing restaurants in the future. The panel topics range from women in hospitality and the growth of cocktails to how technology will change restaurants. 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 Martin believes that a renewed emphasis on hospitality will be the next focus of American restaurateurs. It's why she added "hospitality" to the conference's title. "I think we can see that as the next big wave of differentiators of restaurants. I think our city can lead on that," she said. The conference is also a tribute to Brennan, the legendary New Orleans restaurateur who died this May at the age of 92. Martin hopes that the conference will become an annual or bi-annual event, making New Orleans the place where people go to debate American food. Tickets to the symposium are $225. See www.achsymposium.com for more information. *** Got a tip? Know some restaurant news? Email Todd A. Price at TPrice@NOLA.com or call 504.826.3445. Follow him on Twitter (@TPrice504), Facebook (ToddAPriceEatsDrinks) or Instagram (@tprice504). The Louisiana Board of Ethics is calling for the removal of Friends of King Schools CEO Doris Roche-Hicks after she employed her sister and son-in-law and signed checks in a contract with her daughter, according to The Lens. A three-judge panel ruled Roche-Hicks violated nepotism and ethics laws 10 times in dealings with her son-in-law son-in-law Darrin Cook, sister Iris Ponson, and her daughter Monique Cook. Ethics filings cited by NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune in 2014 stated that Cook and Ponson were hired as head custodian and hall monitor, respectively, for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Charter School. Roche-Hicks also gave her daughter a consulting contract in 2012 to provide special education services. Willie Zanders, Roche-Hicks' attorney, said her sister and daughter are still employed by the network, The Lens reported. Zanders also stated Roche-Hicks will stay in her position until the ethics board answers his rehearing request. Roche-Hicks was fined $20,000, and The Lens reported her daughter was fined $8,921. Roche-Hicks' sister and son-in-law must pay $2,500 each. . . . . . . . Wilborn P. Nobles III is an education reporter based in New Orleans. He can be reached at wnobles@nola.com or on Twitter at @WilNobles. In the most recent edition of JustSouth Quarterly, a newsletter published by Loyola University's Jesuit Social Resarch Institute, migration specialist Sue Weishar writes that "The moral imperative to treat strangers with hospitality is repeated more times in the Old Testament than any other except the commandment to worship one God." That repetition would suggest that it's a really important commandment and that mistreating the stranger is especially despicable. It is. Though you wouldn't know it by the slap on the wrist a former Kenner police officer got for targeting Hispanic drivers. Jan Gregory, 34, had been charged with five counts of malfeasance in office for stopping five Hispanic men who were driving without a license and then robbing them of a total of $3,500. Gregory pleaded guilty to five counts of misdemeanor theft and Judge Donald Rowan Jr. sentenced him to 90 days of inactive probation. In other words: nothing. Gregory is not the first police officer in this area to have his criminal exploitation of the immigrant community all but tolerated by the courts. In 2008, then-Slidell police officer Jonathan Lutman was arrested for stealing up to $3,000 from Spanish-speaking drivers, and St. Tammany Parish Judge Peter Garcia gave him a five-year sentence, all of which was suspended. If former U.S. Attorney Jim Letten was the white hat that the public said he was, a local attorney said to me about the Slidell case, then why didn't he help bring a civil rights case against an officer who was clearly singling out those drivers because of their ethnicity? Similarly, one can ask why the feds didn't charge Gregory with civil rights violations. It's obvious that he was targeting his victims for the same reason that the former Slidell officer was targeting his victims: because of who they are. In the 2011 report that the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice did on the New Orleans Police Department, investigators learned that members of Hispanic community felt targeted by the police and others. The police would see them and assume that they couldn't be licensed drivers. Others would assume they were carrying cash and rob them. And they wouldn't want to call NOPD. "We heard reports of specific incidents in which immigrant workers called to request police assistance after being victimized by crime," that 2011 report says, "but instead of providing assistance, NOPD officers questioned them about their immigration status. Consequently, we found a strong belief among some segments of the Latino community that reporting crime to NOPD may subject the reporter to unwanted attention or harassment." That report is the main reason that New Orleans police no longer ask about the immigration status of the people they encounter. Asking immigration status was rightly seen as an impediment to the department's crime-fighting strategy. Any policy that discourages people from reporting crime ought to be abandoned. After the report of the Kenner officer's plea deal and his unsupervised probation, I asked Chloe Sigal with the Congress of Day Laborers how common a problem this is, people here illegally getting robbed by people who feel emboldened to rob them because they're here illegally. "This is definitely an issue," she said. "In fact, we're currently investigating a case involving a boss who committed wage theft in Kenner and abused immigrant workers and then immediately involved Kenner police when they tried to defend their rights and demand their wages." The Congress of Day Laborers is not only looking into what the employer did, Sigal said, but how the police officer responded when he was summoned. In November 2017 at First Grace United Methodist Church, Sigal was the translator for Jose Torres, a native of El Salvador who was being threatened with immediate deportation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "I've lived here in New Orleans for 14 years," Torres said as he sought sanctuary inside the church, "working shoulder to shoulder with other people here who love this city, helping to rebuild it after the storm." I don't know when the men robbed by the Slidell officer arrived here or when the men robbed by the Kenner officer arrived here, but there's a good chance that they played an important role in helping people in the New Orleans area rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. Which makes it even more offensive that the officers have targeted those communities for theft. Weishar point about the Old Testament's commandments is included in a piece called "Immigrants and Crime: Debunking the Myth." She cites a 2017 report from the CATO Institute which finds that the incarceration rate for native-born Americans is 1.53 percent, significantly higher than the 0.85 percent rate for those who immigrated here illegally. When one subtracts those who are only in jail for immigration violations, the incarceration rate drops to 0.5 percent. We don't have as much to fear from those who are here illegally as they have to fear from us. Jarvis DeBerry is deputy opinions editor for NOLA.COM | The Times-Picayune. He can be reached at jdeberry@nola.com or at twitter.com/jarvisdeberry. The exercise is as old as the Republic, but the first thing you need to understand about redistricting is that hot-water cornbread is as ubiquitous in north Louisiana as etouffee is in the south, says Rick Gallot, the Ruston Democratic representat Heading into 2018, many market watchers pointed to corporate earnings to explain their rosy outlook for stocks. Yet despite this performance, the stock market has been lackluster. The S. & P. 500 has gained 4.9 percent this year and is off 2.4 percent from its high, on Jan. 26. So why arent stocks higher? Rising trade tensions are perhaps the most obvious answer. While stocks havent tumbled as the bellicose talk has turned to action, the trade fights have created an unease that has weighed on the market. Laurence D. Fink, the chief executive of BlackRock, told The New York Times this month that concerns about a trade war were causing investors to withdraw money from the markets or choose not to increase their positions substantially. The lack of excitement about the earnings surge shows up in stock movements. So far this earnings season, shares of S. & P. 500 companies that reported profits above expectations rose just 0.9 percent in the days surrounding the release of their results. During the first-quarter earnings season, shares of companies whose results topped estimates rose 0.2 percent, and those stocks even declined during the fourth-quarter reporting period. So why arent investors rewarding companies? Expectations and valuation. Investors have already priced in big earnings from corporate America. The forward price-to-earnings ratio of the S. & P. 500 stands at 16.5, slightly above the 10-year average of 14.4. That valuation takes into account profits rising nearly 20.6 percent this year, the best annual growth rate since 2010. With expectations already so high, there is little room for error. If the growth rate comes in lower than currently expected, the stock market will suddenly look overvalued in a bull market that is entering its 10th year. Ta-Nehisi Coates, among the most influential intellectuals and writers in the United States, is leaving his position as a national correspondent for The Atlantic after a decade with the magazine, its top editor said Friday. Mr. Coates, 42, gained a wide readership during his time at The Atlantic, where he published sweeping, painstakingly reported essays about systemic racism and white supremacy in the United States. In a memo to the staff, Jeffrey Goldberg, the magazines editor in chief, called the departure bittersweet news. As he has explained to me and as hes written in the recent past the last few years for him have been years of significant changes. Hes told me that he would like to take some time to reflect on these changes, and to figure out the best path forward, both as a person and as a writer, Mr. Goldberg wrote. On his 16th birthday, Justin Richey was at a playground near his Brooklyn home, helping his after-school group set up for a basketball tournament. A little over 24 hours later, he was dead. Known as Chuck the Chaser around the East New York neighborhood for his hustle earning money for shoveling snow and helping older residents run errands, Justin was one of the good ones, as neighbors put it. He was shot several times on July 15 in the chest, back, abdomen and ribs by three assailants, according to the police. One of the attackers was wearing a red bandanna, the police said, a symbol associated with the Bloods gang. The circumstances of the murder have raised suspicions that the killing could be gang-related, but the police have said Justin, an honors student, was not known to have any gang affiliations. Madeleine Kamman was not yet a renowned French chef and teacher in the spring of 1968 when she read a newspaper recipe for snails provencale on toast. The recipe, in The New York Times, was by Craig Claiborne, the newspapers food editor. She wrote him a letter criticizing it and impressed him with a different snail recipe and memories of cooking in France. Mr. Claiborne visited her at her home, near Philadelphia, where copper saucepans made by her grandfather lined a wall of her kitchen. From the oven, Mr. Claiborne wrote in an article two months later, she retrieved a hot, homemade ficelle a small, narrow loaf of bread and spooned warm Hollandaise sauce that shed fluffed up a moment before over the small dish. With a chilled bottle of dry white wine, both bread and snails were pure bliss. Some Russian dissidents mistrusted the Zionist movement as particularistic and unpatriotic, fearing it would distract from their broader human rights agenda. Not Sakharov. He supported the refuseniks because he recognized the right to emigrate as a gateway to democratic entitlement that opens everyone to embracing freedom in a closed society. By the mid-1970s I was serving as Sakharovs spokesman, and I remember after yet another friend of ours had been sentenced to prison, he told me: They want us to believe theres no chance of success. But whether or not theres hope for change is not the question. If you want to be a free person, you dont stand up for human rights because it will work, but because it is right. We must continue living as decent people. Sakharovs decency made him a moral compass orienting not just the East, but also the West. He insisted that international relations should be contingent on a countrys domestic behavior and that such a seemingly idealistic stance was ultimately pragmatic. A country that does not respect the rights of its own people will not respect the rights of its neighbors, he often explained. As Sakharov and his fellow dissidents in the 1970s and 80s challenged a detente disconnected from human rights, Democrats and Republicans of conscience followed suit. Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan disagreed about many specific policies, but both presidents linked human rights and foreign policy. President Carter treated Soviet dissidents not as distractions but as respected partners in a united struggle for freedom. President Reagan went further, tying the fate of specific dissidents to Americas relations with what he called the evil empire. Approaching the fight to win the Cold War as a human rights crusade as well as a national security priority energized Americans. It reminded them that, regardless of the guilt and defeatism of the Vietnam War or the shame and cynicism of Watergate, the country remained a beacon of liberty. This anniversary of Andrei Sakharovs heroic essay comes during similarly dark days for the United States. Despite the dramatic discontinuities between Donald Trump and Barack Obama, in divorcing human rights from foreign policy President Trump is following President Obamas lead. President Putin: Certainly not, Donald. Mr. Comeys timely intervention was more than sufficient. May we also say how much we admire how you have discredited the F.B.I. and the rest of your so-called deep state? To rally your supporters and confound your opponents by conjuring imaginary enemies is a method we have profitably employed for over a century, most recently in Ukraine. We are pleased to see you now use the same technique with your European allies. President Trump: Oh, theyre the worst! So full of airs and condescending. And we keep picking up the check! Its like being married to Zsa Zsa Gabor or someone: You pay for everything; next thing you know she dumps you and keeps the house. No thanks! President Putin: An apt comparison, Donald. Truly you and all American taxpayers are being swindled. And, if we may ask, for what? With so much immigration, Europeans are not even European anymore. Did you know that NATOs newest member, Montenegro, is almost the most Muslim country in the alliance, except of course for Turkey? President Trump: I did not know that! President Putin: Its true. Yet your predecessor, Mr. Obama, invited them to join NATO, and they slipped in behind your back at the beginning of your term. Just imagine, young American troops, God forbid, might have to fight World War III to defend this tiny country of too many Muslims. President Trump: Not on my watch! Its not like any of these little countries do jack for our security. President Putin: You might say the same about Estonia, for example, and other faraway countries of which, if you may permit us to say, you know nothing. President Trump: Couldnt find them on a map, frankly. President Putin: Donald, we have the same goals. We want to defend the great Christian civilization of your Scottish and German ancestors against barbarians from the southlands. Yet we are being stabbed, stabbed in the back, by the exact same people! I mean global capitalists like George Soros and Bill Browder and he-women like Hillary and Merkel and feminized men like Barack Obama who have no will to fight! A transgender woman in Arizona said this week that a CVS Health pharmacist refused to fill a prescription for hormone therapy, prompting the drugstore company to apologize, say the conduct violated its policy and note that the pharmacist was no longer employed there. Hilde Hall, who lives in Fountain Hills, Ariz., a suburb of Phoenix, said in a statement posted Thursday on the American Civil Liberties Unions website that she went to the pharmacy in April after receiving her first prescriptions for hormone therapy. Ms. Hall, 25, said a CVS pharmacist refused to fill one of the prescriptions, did not provide a reason and then declined to return her doctors prescription note. A CVS spokesman, Michael J. DeAngelis, said in a statement on Friday that the pharmacists conduct does not reflect our values or our commitment to inclusion, nondiscrimination and the delivery of outstanding patient care. Mr. DeAngelis said the pharmacist was no longer employed at CVS, but he would not clarify whether the pharmacist was fired after the company learned about Ms. Halls encounter. CHARLESTON, W.Va. Senator Joe Manchin III is just doing his homework. Thats how Mr. Manchin, Democrat of West Virginia, described a round-table discussion about President Trumps Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, with about two dozen local and state leaders on Friday. The round table, and Mr. Manchins careful contemplation of his decision, underscore the tightrope being walked by Democrats running for re-election in states Mr. Trump carried in 2016. If they vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh, senators like Mr. Manchin, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota risk fracturing the party. But if they vote against him, they risk jeopardizing their seats in Novembers midterm elections and a shot at a Democratic majority. Mr. Manchin, who is a pivotal piece of the Democratic leaderships uphill bid to block the nomination, gave few indications during the meeting of how he would ultimately vote. How do you measure the success of a short term mission team? In the first two weeks of July my wife Janice and I were leading my 14th short term mission team, our third in Uganda. There were 24 of us, from our church Fitzroy, back in Belfast. We had an age range from teens to 60s. We were working in a Primary School, that Fitzroy had funded the building of, on the edge of Arua, on the very edge of north western Uganda. For some of us it was our second, third and fourth trip to Onialeku Primary School. We know staff and pupils. Our Church sponsors 70 of the children. It is like the other half of our church family. This was part of our reasoning for the project. We did not want to be sending money, and Fitzroy gives generously, to projects that we knew nothing about. We didnt want to be just the giver. We wanted to partner in a way that we would receive. We wanted mutual mission, mutual fellowship and mutual discipleship. We were on site at Onialeku for nine days. Well, a hastily called council election did give us a day off where we visited another school and two other projects in the Arua area. The visit to the other school, Wandi Progressive Secondary School was so that we could visit three of our Onialeku alumni who we now continue to sponsor through secondary school. Anyway, on site at Onialeku we did a wide variety of activities. Some of our teachers took classes, bringing a different angle into teaching English, the national language in Uganda. We had a Childrens Bible club every morning, we taught an I Am Girl course that helps with sexual health education, there was a Christianity Explored Course, we taught knitting, guitar and played board games and lego as well as sport and just hanging out. We also encouraged our teachers. It is hard to know what you achieve in a week. Some would say, not much. I do not believe that. I hear the children shouting back at me the things we have shared over these last years. They soak up the entire experience. Indeed the entire experience might be more important than the specifics. After all Janice always tells us that turning up is enough! During the trip, two comments from Africans caught my attention and encouraged my heart. Lydia, a Kenyan and Biblica Rep for East Africa, who spent a few days with us, told me that these children would never ever forget the puppet show version of parable for the House On the Rock. In his closing speech, Pastor David, overseer of the school and our partnership, mentioned how our team reached everyone in the school. That is one of the ways that I judge our impact. A school community in Uganda, and indeed anywhere, has a myriad of members. As I, as an overseeing leader, watched this week I was proud of how our team greeted and loved every single player on that campus. The cooks, ululating every time we drove on site, the old man who cleans the ground around the gate and blew us out on a traditional instrument, the guys building the wash room, to every teacher and child. Not one was given less importance. As I put it, in a humorous poem for the final night concert: "As I looked across the playground Watched each one of you in your spot Leaving the lavish love of Jesus Whether you knew it or not. That moves us seamlessly into the other thing that I judge the success of the team on. That every member of the team finds their place and gives their all. This years team was the most varied team in age, personality, experience and gifting that I had ever been on. The thrill for me on the last day was knowing that not one of them felt like a spare part, that everyone of them found their spot, their role, and lived nine days of life in all its fulness the verse that the children of Onialeku shout at me endlessly 10:10 Amen! I did talk about mutual mission, fellowship and discipleship. Again, I am encouraged. Our team have been WhatsApping their initial feelings, arriving home. I am confident that a team who gave their all, to all of those that they were with, will have been impacted spiritually, and in so many other ways, by the experience. I believe that the transformative God at the heart of our giving, will be the same transformative God in own hearts. I know that the Spirit is making a mark on mine but that might be for another blog! When you are stealing secrets, and those guys are talking about the Trump administration, then those guys are going to be in a tricky spot, said Daniel Hoffman, a former C.I.A. operations officer who served in Moscow. Still, Mr. Hoffman disputed the idea that the charged atmosphere would create a morale crisis in the C.I.A. He said that even during the early years of the Iraq war, when many intelligence officers fought with the White House over the intensity of the insurgency there, the functions of spycraft continued. We recruited spies. We stole secrets. We did the work, he said. Mr. Trump has been at odds with most of the national security establishment since the beginning of his administration. He and his allies view members of the intelligence agencies as part of a so-called deep state opposed to his policies. Mr. Trump had been planning to ask Mr. Putin to the White House since their Helsinki meeting, two people familiar with the event said. But bringing Mr. Putin, a former K.G.B. chief, into the White House would pose stiff security risks, said James R. Clapper Jr., a former director of national intelligence. The Russians will be leaning forward to both collect intelligence, and to thwart what we do to collect against them, Mr. Clapper said. Similarly, we will be leaning forward to collect against them, and to thwart their efforts to collect against us. Some intelligence officials reacted with resignation to Mr. Trumps plan. While previous presidents would have consulted them about the risks of such a meeting, the officials have become increasingly convinced that Mr. Trump is not fully absorbing their briefs, even when they are tailored to his tastes with models, physical demonstrations and extensive use of photographs. Intelligence officials are growing concerned that Mr. Trump cherry-picks their findings to reinforce decisions he has already made, several administration officials said in interviews. They noted that in the case of North Korea, he picked up on evidence last summer of growing nuclear capabilities to bolster his threats of military action; now that he is pursuing a thaw in relations with North Korea, he is ignoring similar evidence. Reporter: Do you hold Russia at all accountable for anything in particular? And if so, what would you, what would you, consider them, that they are responsible for? Yes, I do. I hold both countries responsible. I think that the United States has been foolish. I think weve all been foolish. I think were all to blame. I think that the United States now has stepped forward, along with Russia, and were getting together and we have a chance to do some great things. I do feel that we have both made some mistakes. Reporter: For President Putin, if I could follow up as well. Why should Americans and why should President Trump believe your statement that Russia did not intervene in the 2016 election, given the evidence that U.S. intelligence agencies have provided. And will you consider extraditing the 12 Russian officials that were indicted last week by a U.S. grand jury? Well, Im going to let the president answer the second part of that question, but just to say it one time again, and I say it all the time, there was no collusion. I didnt know the president. There was nobody to collude with. Reporter: Thank you. Question for each president, President Trump, you first. Just now, President Putin denied having anything to do with the election interference in 2016. Every U.S. intelligence agency has concluded that Russia did. Who do you believe? My second question is: Would you now, with the whole world watching, tell President Putin, would you denounce what happened in 2016 and would you warn him to never do it again? So let me just say that we have two thoughts. You have groups that are wondering why the F.B.I. never took the server. Why havent they taken the server? My people came to me. Dan Coats came to me, and some others, they said they think its Russia. I have President Putin. He just said its not Russia. I will say this. I dont see any reason why it would be. But I really do want to see the server. But I have confidence in both parties. I have great confidence in my intelligence people. But I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today, and what he did is an incredible offer. He offered to have the people working on the case come and work with their investigators with respect to the 12 people. I think thats an incredible offer. O.K.? Thank you. JERUSALEM Wrapping up its business before a long summer recess, the right-wing, religious coalition that rules Israels Parliament moved aggressively this week to push through its polarizing agenda, piling up points at the expense of its already weakened foes. On Monday, it empowered the education minister to bar some groups that criticize the Israeli occupation of the West Bank from speaking in public schools. On Tuesday, it accelerated what critics call the creeping annexation of the West Bank by cutting off Palestinians access to the Supreme Court in land disputes. On Wednesday, it blocked single men and gay couples from having children through surrogacy. The capstone, though, came Thursday, with passage of a law granting the Jewish people an exclusive right to national self-determination. Is there a unifying principle to this madness? asked Donniel Hartman, a rabbi who is the president of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, which promotes Jewish pluralism and democracy. Anyone can file an open records request. It was a request from the liberal nonprofit American Oversight, for example, that gave Ms. Friedman and her colleagues a detailed accounting of Mr. Pruitts calendar which showed that he spent much of his time with major members of the industries that he was in charge of regulating and almost no time meeting with environmental and public health groups, among other things. (Documents released to the Sierra Club under FOIA provided details about Mr. Pruitts having tasked an aide with getting a used mattress from the Trump International Hotel in Washington, and led to the discovery that he had another aide arrange a conversation with the CEO of Chick-fil-A to discuss the possibility of his wife opening a franchise of the restaurant.) But to journalists, they are essential tools. Times journalists file requests every day in search of documents ranging from emails sent by top bureaucrats to records about Taser use in a particular police department. Submitting a request is often as simple as writing an email to an entitys designated open records coordinator. Eric Lipton, an investigative reporter for the Times who is currently focused on environmental regulations under the Trump administration, is a seasoned and regular FOIA-wielder. Recently, he has used the law to get correspondence between government agency officials and players in the industries they regulate, as he did for a story that came out in March about the rollback of offshore drilling safety and environmental regulations under the Trump administration. And when a public agency denies a FOIA request, or under certain other circumstances, the law allows journalists and newsrooms to appeal. If that appeal is also denied or delayed, they can sue and The Times is not afraid to do so. In fact, a 2017 report from the FOIA Project found that from 2001 to 2016, The Times filed at least 36 FOIA lawsuits, more than any other media organization. The special counsels office has expressed interest in issuing a subpoena to a woman who gained notoriety a decade ago for running a prostitution service in Manhattan, the woman, Kristin Davis, said in a brief phone interview Saturday morning. Ms. Davis, 43, said she was unaware what information she might possess that would be of interest to the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, who is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election. I dont know at this time, Ms. Davis said. But she confirmed that the special counsels office had contacted us asking where they can serve a subpoena. In 2008, Ms. Davis, known in the tabloids as the Manhattan Madam, claimed to have supplied escorts to Eliot Spitzer, who resigned as governor of New York in 2008 after The New York Times reported that he had been ensnared by a federal investigation into prostitution. Mr. Spitzer denied any association with Ms. Davis, who spent several months at Rikers Island for running a prostitution ring. Shed written the same post two years earlier and hadnt gotten a single reply. But 2016 was different: People everywhere were newly engaged in politics, debating one another and demanding fundamental changes in their government. Voters in Michigans primaries that year had chosen the anti-establishment candidates, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. These two candidates are talking about taking down the system, this extreme overhaul, Ms. Fahey said. It seems like people are really hungry for that. Her Facebook post went viral. A nonprofit group, Voters Not Politicians, was born. Its goal: getting a constitutional amendment on the 2018 ballot that would take map-drawing power from lawmakers who would never relinquish it themselves and give it to a commission made up of regular citizens who would consult with data analysts and present their progress in regular public hearings. Independent redistricting commissions, which are already functioning in California, Arizona, and four other states, can go a long way toward reducing the influence of partisan politics in mapmaking. The Michigan proposal would establish a 13-member commission made up of four Republican voters, four Democratic voters and five independents. The group initially scheduled eight town halls to make its case to the public. They ended up holding 33 in 33 days. A bunch of us with day jobs, speeding to northern Michigan after work, trying to find a public library to host the town hall in, because we dont have any money, Ms. Fahey said, recalling the hectic early days of the movement. We basically crowdsourced the campaign. Because Im a millennial, I figured this is how things work. She was right. Less than two years after her Facebook post, Ms. Fahey leads a volunteer army of 10, 000 Michiganders representing every county in the state. Five thousand of the volunteers work daily, knocking on doors, educating voters and gaining support for the initiative. Michigan requires citizen ballot measures to get 315,000 signatures; in December, Ms. Faheys group submitted more than 425,000. In June, the state approved the measure and added it to the ballot. Even Ms. Faheys family is on board. Her mother, who had no idea what redistricting was, personally gathered 700 signatures. So far, the group has raised about $1.25 million, far less than most citizen-led initiatives, and yet it has 14 times more individual donors than any other Michigan initiative this year . The initiative looks like a prime example of regular citizens rising up and making their voices heard when lawmakers are ignoring them. But the tight web of money and politics that has entrenched Michigan Republicans in power isnt tearing easily. The state Republican Party and its top politicians, including Bill Schuette, the attorney general now running for governor, are working hard to have the initiative struck from the November ballot. Theyve taken their fight to the Michigan Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments last week . The court is expected to rule by the end of July. This is the beauty of diaspora, of culture crossing, of not knowing what is around the corner, of making life anew and something new after disruption. I think he may be the only Scottish-Eritrean boy with a tartan skullcap in the whole wide world. But surely he is not the last. This family is my family because my husband came to the United States in 1981 from Eritrea, a small country in East Africa, after decades of an independence war and a scourge called the Red Terror. He was a refugee, a person who has been forced to leave his country to escape war, persecution or natural disaster. What do you picture when you hear the word refugee? What are we being asked to picture as we listen to the constant description of America as an unwelcoming place, a house with doors and windows locked shut? Ficre Ghebreyesus, my late husband, the refugee I married. He fled death squads, hid from soldiers when they broke into his home, saw classmates disappeared. This was the norm for every family he knew. At 16, he was sent away by his mother to save his life. He journeyed on foot to Sudan, then Italy, then Germany, and from there, to the United States, eventually landing in New Haven. His full name was Ficremariam Ghebreyesus. In Italy he was called Marco. I do not know what he was called in Germany. In the United States he was called Freddy by the owner of the local Chinese herb store, who was named Li-biao and whom most of New Haven called Bill. He was called Fiore by New Haven Italian-Americans, holding on to their own mother tongue in a new space. Here is what he did when he came to the United States: He worked, usually three not particularly enjoyable jobs at a time requiring multiple bus trips, long and lonely nights. And then he made friends. And then he became part of his community. And then he built and enriched that community. People from our Eritrean family came at different times of conflict. The last wave was after the Ethiopian-Eritrean border war in 1998, when some Eritreans were rounded up from their jobs in Ethiopia and put in jail. That war, which cost tens of thousands of lives, formally ended only this month, closing over a half-century of conflict. I broke my drawing arm. For the first time in my life I was not able to use my right hand to make art. About five decades ago, my mother gave me a book of cartoons by James Thurber and a piece of paper. I traced the cartoons and it made her laugh. Or at least smile. I found that I could spend hours alone doodling. I was painfully shy, so drawing was a way to express myself without having to say a word. Ive been drawing cartoons ever since then, hoping to make everyone else laugh. Moments after I broke my arm, I didnt immediately worry about being able to draw. It was something I had always taken for granted. As I sat in the emergency room waiting to be helped, my arm lay still and limp by my side. I looked at it hanging from my shoulder, and a possibility dawned on me: Can I move my fingers? I could. Thus began a new relationship with my right hand and the ability to draw that, since I was a child, had given my life purpose. The danger should be obvious. Thats why mere expressions of outrage simply are no longer adequate. It is precisely moments like this that the author of Federalist 51, generally thought to be James Madison, had in mind when he explained our system of checks and balances: Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. The interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place. It may be a reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. Lets be honest: Most Republicans have been too afraid of the presidents tweets to rise to the occasion. Their reluctance is understandable: In one poll, 79 percent of Republican voters said they were just fine with Mr. Trumps performance in Helsinki. Breaking too decisively with the president risks offending the base and perhaps inviting a primary challenge. The end of the political careers of Senators Jeff Flake and Bob Corker and the defeat of Representative Mark Sanford are cautionary tales for many Republicans. So Republicans who privately bemoan the presidents recklessness are content to rationalize, wring their hands and do nothing. But now they need to look past his tweets and even their own electoral base to the larger question of their constitutional responsibilities. Republican members of Congress need to act like a political party with principles rather than outsourcing their consciences to a handful of critics who are willing to say out loud what many of them are saying in private. Taking action now is not merely a matter of recovering political courage and integrity; it would also be a fundamental reassertion of Congresss Article I powers and our system of checks and balances. It also might save the political reputations of members of Congress who risk becoming footnotes for their complicity in Mr. Trumps march of folly. The dam is finally breaking. Thankfully, tweeted Senator Corker, who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. But it will break only if he and his colleagues actually do something. To the Editor: Re The Smart Way to Lose This Fight (Op-Ed, July 16): Michael Tomasky writes about the smart way for the Democrats to lose on the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, saying its right to focus on Roe v. Wade and Obamacare, but more important to focus on the character issue. I disagree. The smart way to lose, with confirmation all but a foregone conclusion, is to focus on Citizens United, not Roe v. Wade, and make Judge Kavanaugh and the G.O.P. defend the spending by big-money interests to influence elections. Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is leaving the court, wrote the 5-4 majority opinion in Citizens United, and Judge Kavanaugh had clerked for him. So make the G.O.P. own Citizens United, while 65 percent of Americans want to limit corporate spending to influence elections, and then make that the main issue in every single House and Senate race in the midterms. RICHARD LATIMER FALMOUTH, MASS. To the Editor: Re Democrats Lost Filibuster on Gorsuch. Some Wish They Had It Back (On Washington column, July 15): Democratic senators have an unused option to stop Judge Brett Kavanaughs confirmation that wasnt mentioned in your article. They could let the confirmation hearings drag on as long as possible and push his confirmation vote as close to the midterms as possible. Then, refuse to show up for the vote so a quorum cant be established, effectively stopping the Senate from doing business. The Constitution requires a majority of senators (51) for a quorum. Controversy: Ms. Chen began blogging about her sex life at Sex and the Ivy in the summer of 2006, right before the start of her sophomore year at Harvard, intending to share her thoughts and experiences with her friends. Ms. Chen soon found herself a celebrity, not just on the Harvard campus, but also across the broader collegiate landscape, as the defunct IvyGateBlog transformed her into a character the sites writers often referred to as their best frenemy. In 2008, an ex-boyfriend published naked photos of her online, seemingly earning more spectators than sympathy. Aftermath: After the leak, Ms. Chen took a year off from college to attend to her mental health. Years after shuttering Sex and the Ivy, she said, she was plagued by a stalker who relentlessly harassed her and other online acquaintances. In 2013, she decided to leave Boston and start a new life in Berlin, intending to research a novel. Ms. Chen adopted the name Elle Peril and stopped telling people about her past. She abandoned her writing career and started working as a nude model for artists and photographers. It was really liberating in the beginning, Ms. Chen said in an interview, but eventually a paranoia familiar from her college days returned, including a fantasy that she was being followed by government agents. Ms. Chen eventually said goodbye to her alter ego with a Berlin art show that featured the photos and journal entries from her time as Elle Peril alongside IvyGate articles and documentations the traumas she had experienced as Lena Chen. Ms. Chen said she has been able to fully process and move on from her days as the Harvard harlot. She now spends her time curating art shows and events focused on helping other women heal from trauma. Chinese are much more willing to try something new just because it looks cool, said Andy Tian, chief executive of Beijing-based Asia Innovations Group, which runs mobile apps. It sounds superficial. It is superficial. But thats the driver of progress in a lot of cases. The E-Patrol Robotic Sheriff could fill that bill. It is among several security robots that have shown up at train stations and airports around China in recent months. The E-Patrol Robotic Sheriff which looks like the camera lens from the HAL 9000 computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey mounted on a white trash tub patrols the high-speed rail station in the central Chinese city Zhengzhou, tasked with using facial recognition to find and follow suspicious characters, as well as to measure air quality and detect fires. During a winter visit to the station, the robot was nowhere to be found. First, it had missed a fire, officials said. It also had a tendency to collect so many selfie-seeking fans that it became a safety hazard. A spokesman for the train station said it was getting an upgrade and would eventually return. Robots in particular have captured the Chinese imagination. A Beijing television station this year made a robot-dominated version of the countrys annual Lunar New Year television special. Robots and humans performed tai chi and comedy routines, and sang and danced. Companies and local officials often have good reason to show off their splashiest and silliest wares. China frequently takes a top-down approach to technology, with local governments rushing to follow plans that come down from on high. Gizmos with a bit of futuristic verve are often the best symbols of progress. Dancing robots, for example, became something of a fixture of company and government presentations last year. They were everywhere, said David Li, a co-founder of Shenzhen Open Innovation Lab, a government-supported platform that supports small hardware start-ups in Shenzhen. He estimated that he had seen 10 dancing robot shows in a single week. Alibaba, the Chinese online shopping giant, has also gotten into the act, though in a more sophisticated way. At one of its new Hema grocery stores in Shanghai, rolling robots take cooked food out onto a sort of runway that connects the kitchen to seating. A team of waiters standing nearby said a human hand was required for soup and steamed dishes, lest the robots inadvertently splash someone with hot liquid. Rates From $250 a night including Wi-Fi. The Basics Rosewood Puebla, part of the luxury hospitality brand Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, opened in May 2017 in the heart of Puebla, Mexico. The colonial city, about a two-and-a-half hour drive from Mexico City, has a Unesco World Heritage downtown district and is known for its Baroque architecture and abundance of noteworthy sights and museums. Rosewood Puebla is a nod to the citys past: Its 78 rooms are spread among four buildings that date from various eras, ranging from the 16th to the 20th centuries, and surround a private courtyard. The decor emphasizes Mexican furnishings, contemporary works by artists around Mexico and traditional crafts from Puebla including colorful Talavera ceramics. Location Rosewood Puebla is centrally located and within walking distance of the citys most attractive attractions including the Puebla Cathedral, completed in the 17th century, and the Amparo Museum, which has a notable collection of pre-Columbian and colonial art from Mexico. Plenty of restaurants and stores are also nearby, and taxis are readily available right outside of the hotel. TERRE HAUTE, Ind. John Shipman, standing on an elevated platform beside a small dusty track, wiped the sweat from his eyes and tucked away a checkered racing flag. For the past 10 minutes, nine small cars had circled in front of him during a qualifying race, bolting along at speeds approaching 40 miles per hour. The catch: Not one of the nine racers had a drivers license. The eldest, in fact, was still in middle school. Some people call us bad parents, Mr. Shipman said. The Terre Haute Quarter Midget Association, where Mr. Shipman is a volunteer flagman, is one of more than 70 racing clubs many of whose members are drawn from the rural parts of the country designed for the thousands of children, ages 5 to 17, who race quarter-midget cars. WASHINGTON The nations top intelligence official played down on Saturday his seemingly astonished reaction this week to the news that President Trump planned to invite President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to Washington. My admittedly awkward response was in no way meant to be disrespectful or criticize the actions of the president, the director of national intelligence, Dan Coats, said in a statement. Mr. Coats appeared genuinely surprised on Thursday when he learned of the presidents intention to welcome Mr. Putin to the White House during a national security conference in Aspen, Colo. Upon hearing the news, he turned to the televised events moderator, Andrea Mitchell of NBC, asking, Say that again? O.K., he added, drawing the word out. That is going to be special. In his statement, Mr. Coats also laid blame on the news media. Some press coverage has mischaracterized my intentions in responding to breaking news presented to me during a live interview, he said. That attitude now appears obsolete, on matters well beyond health policy. Corey Johnson, the progressive speaker of the New York City Council, who supported Mr. Crowley over Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, urged Democrats to recognize the intensity of anger, fear and disappointment from people in our own party, especially those new to the political process. Theyre young, and a lot of them are folks that werent around or werent engaged when Obama ran for the first time, Mr. Johnson, 36, said. So this is their moment of: Lets take our country back. In a source of relief to Democratic officials, the millennial-infused left has left a lighter mark in moderate areas where Republicans are defending their congressional majorities, and where bluntly left-wing candidates could struggle to win. In House races, Democrats have mainly picked nominees well to the left of center, but to the right of Mr. Sanders and Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. Across most of the approximately 60 Republican-held districts that Democrats are contesting, primary voters have chosen candidates who seem to embody change many of them women and minorities but who have not necessarily endorsed positions like single-payer health care and abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency. Some national Democrats remain skeptical that voters are focused on specific policy demands of the kind Mr. El-Sayed and Ms. Ocasio-Cortez have championed. Former Gov. Martin OMalley of Maryland, a left-of-center Democrat who ran for president in 2016, suggested the party wants new leaders and fresh ideas more than hard-left ideology. Sometimes that may be filled by a leader who calls herself a Democratic socialist, and sometimes its not, said Mr. OMalley, reflecting on the political convulsion that touched his home state. Sometimes its with a young person. Sometimes its with a retiree. Sometimes its with a vet. Several crucial Democratic victories since 2016 have also come with avowedly moderate standard-bearers, such as Senator Doug Jones of Alabama and Representative Conor Lamb of Pennsylvania, who won grueling special elections. And unlike hard-liners on the right, Democratic activists have not contested Senate primaries in conservative-leaning states where the majority is at stake, allowing centrists to run unimpeded in Arizona and Tennessee. Mr. Trumps sweeping tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and on $34 billion of Chinese goods have thrown the global trading system into a state of upheaval. Retaliation from the European Union and China is starting to affect American businesses and consumers, and the White House is considering whether to levy a new round of duties on car imports. Brushing off cries of protectionism, Mr. Mnuchin was preparing to press for a new trade deal between the United States and the European Union that would eliminate all tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade. The idea, which Mr. Trump has broached before, has emerged as Americas latest strategy to repel accusations that it has abandoned free trade. I think the G-7 and the E.U. constantly talk about a rules-based system, eliminating tariffs and trade barriers and how good free trade is for the global economy, Mr. Mnuchin said in an interview before his meetings. If theyre sincere, were willing to sit down and negotiate those discussions. The proposal is largely conceptual at this stage, and it is not entirely clear how it would work. Mr. Mnuchin suggests that the pact would substantially reduce Americas trade deficit with the European Union as a percentage of gross domestic product. However, both sides are likely to seek exceptions and loopholes to protect vulnerable industries such as steel and automobiles in the United States. Next week, European Union officials, including Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, are to hold additional trade talks with Mr. Trump in Washington. The officials visit is an attempt to stave off new tariffs on European car imports. The United States will have about a dozen bilateral meetings this weekend and will participate in a broader meeting of the Group of 7 countries, which is intended to focus on Chinas trade practices. Mr. Mnuchin has no one-on-one meetings scheduled with Chinese officials, but he said that he expected informal talks to take place. (Liu He, Chinas vice premier and the countrys top economic official, is not in attendance.) Thus far, the trade dispute with Beijing shows no signs of abating. Mr. Trump said in an interview with CNBC that aired on Friday that he was prepared to impose tariffs on $500 billion worth of Chinese imports approximately all the goods China sends to the United States each year if necessary. WASHINGTON The doors to the Republican cloakroom off the Senate floor swung open and out walked Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat who is not usually found in the inner sanctum of the majority party. He had been buttonholing Republican colleagues, trying to persuade them that racially charged college writings by Ryan W. Bounds, a federal appeals court nominee from Mr. Wydens home state, were disqualifying and that he should be rejected. His crusade seemed unlikely to succeed, given that disciplined Senate Republicans have been pushing through Trump administration judicial picks with assembly-line efficiency over the heated complaints of Democrats. But in a stunning development, the nomination of Mr. Bounds was withdrawn at the last minute on Thursday because of Republican objections, a sharp turn of events with significant implications for both the Senate and the coming showdown over the nomination of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Today, the Senate came to its senses with respect to judges, said Mr. Wyden, who teamed up with his home-state Democratic colleague, Jeff Merkley, to try to educate Republicans about Mr. Boundss writings from his time at Stanford. (Democrats cited numerous articles they considered racist, inflammatory and offensive, and also said Mr. Bounds had not been forthright about producing them.) Mr. Schulman did not respond to requests for comment. His lawyer, Robert G. Del Greco Jr., told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that his client was a titan in the book community. The complaint sets forth serious allegations, and we are treating them as such, he said. The partnership between Mr. Priore and Mr. Schulman began in the late 1990s, according to an affidavit filed by the Allegheny County District Attorneys Office, which investigated the case. Mr. Priore told the authorities that he approached Mr. Schulman about selling some items in the library, but that Mr. Schulman later goaded him on. Mr. Priore was the sole archivist for the collection of rare books, maps and other items at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, the citys public library system. He oversaw about 30,000 items in the collection and controlled who had access to it, the affidavit said. Mr. Schulman and his wife own Caliban Book Shop, a block or so from the library, records show. He dealt in rare books, and was listed as a member of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America. Over the years, Mr. Priore told the authorities, he removed items from the library sometimes he used an X-acto knife to remove a part of a book, and other times he simply carried out a whole book or map and dropped them off at Caliban Book Shop on his way home from work. Mr. Schulman paid the archivist up front, records show, and then sold many of the items, including some to major book dealers. NAIROBI, Kenya Eritrea has appointed its first ambassador to neighboring Ethiopia in two decades, the government said on Saturday, as the two countries pushed on with a surprise rapprochement. The development was part of a head-snapping series of diplomatic moves between the two nations, after they formally declared an end this month to their state of war, a two-decade standoff that followed a brutal border conflict that claimed about 80,000 lives. The job of ambassador went to Semere Russom, who was Eritreas education minister and a former envoy to the United States, Information Minister Yemane G. Meskel said on Twitter. RIO DE JANEIRO Members of Brazils armed forces, who have largely stayed out of political life since the end of the military dictatorship 30 years ago, are making their biggest incursion into politics in decades, with some even warning of a military intervention. Retired generals and other former officers with strong ties to the military leadership are mounting a sweeping election campaign, backing about 90 military veterans running for an array of posts including the presidency in national elections this October. The effort is necessary, they argue, to rescue the nation from an entrenched leadership that has mismanaged the economy, failed to curb soaring violence and brazenly stolen billions of dollars through corruption. And if the ballot box does not bring change quickly enough, some prominent former generals warn that military leaders may feel compelled to step in and reboot the political system by force. We are in a critical moment, walking right up to the razors edge, said Antonio Mourao, a four-star general who recently retired after suggesting last year, while in uniform, that a military intervention might be necessary to purge the corrupt ruling class. We still believe that the electoral process will represent a preliminary solution for us to shift course. But such an audit is unlikely. For Guadalcanal and many other islands in the region, this is a moment to embrace competing offers from world powers, not spurn them. It is a contest seen across the South Pacific in countries like Vanuatu, where a new wharf has spurred a heated debate about Chinas ambitions, and even in communities far from major cities. An hour or two inland from the Guadalcanal coast, along the Tina River, the World Bank hopes to build a hydroelectric dam that could drive down electricity prices. But more than a decade after it was proposed, the dam has yet to be constructed, leading World Bank officials to praise the legal precedents that have been set rather than the services they have provided. Not far away, by contrast, is an obvious example of Chinese productivity: a large gold mine that was closed by an Australian company in 2014, then sold last year to a Chinese developer who made a fortune in Australian real estate. The mine reopened in May, providing jobs but in a riskier work environment. Local tribes have discovered that the new owners are less careful about worker safety than the Australians. According to a monitor they sent to investigate, employees dont wear goggles or safety boots as often as they should, and tasks that used to be closely monitored no longer are. The company that owns the mine, the AXF Group, did not respond to requests for comment. Asked whether the return of the mining jobs was worth the potential danger to workers, the tribes investigator, Densley Kesi, said he couldnt be sure. The Australians had a lot of regulation, he said. The Chinese dont. It worries me. Thousands protested in cities across Australia on Saturday to mark five years of a policy under which asylum-seekers and migrants have been turned away and detained on remote Pacific islands. Messages were read aloud from those still languishing in deteriorating conditions on the islands, years after being detained. Since 2013, anyone trying to reach Australia by boat has been sent for processing to the islands of Manus, which is part of Papua New Guinea, and Nauru. In 2013, Kevin Rudd, then the prime minister of Australia, unveiled a policy that barred the migrants from being settled as refugees in Australia as part of a resettlement arrangement with Papua New Guinea. In the years that followed, thousands were sent to offshore detention centers on the small Pacific islands as a result of the policy. Subsequent Australian administrations maintained the policy despite repeated calls from the United Nations Refugee Agency and international human rights groups, as well as Australian citizens, to end the detentions. Russias foreign minister told Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday that charges against a woman accused of infiltrating American political organizations as a covert Russian agent were fabricated and she should be released. The appeal by the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, was made in a phone call, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry. The Department of Justice has charged the woman, Maria Butina, with acting as an unregistered agent of Russia while attending conventions of the National Rifle Association and gaining access to conservative circles in an effort to influence powerful Republicans. Moscow has mounted a vigorous effort on behalf of Ms. Butina. On Thursday, the Foreign Ministry began a social media campaign on its Twitter account, declaring that it was mobilizing a digital flash mob to demand her release. The State Department had no immediate comment on Saturdays exchange, though its unlikely that the United States would suddenly release Ms. Butina. In a detailed indictment, the Justice Department has accused her of engaging in a series of deceptions over a number of years. LONDON The Iron Lady loved teddy bears. Newly released documents have pulled back the curtains on such lesser-known aspects of the life and times of Margaret Thatcher, the British prime minister from 1979 to 1990. The documents, mostly from 1988, were published online on Saturday by the Margaret Thatcher Foundation. They are searchable, and some documents can be downloaded. Here are some of the more intriguing insights from the papers: A Speech Backing a Single Market Decades before Britain voted to leave the European Union, Mrs. Thatcher gave a celebrated speech on Sept. 20, 1988, in the medieval city of Bruges, Belgium, that spoke of the need to keep ties to the bloc: Britain does not dream of some cozy, isolated existence on the fringes of the European Community. Our destiny is in Europe, as part of the community. But while not backing an exit, a draft of another speech, made in April the same year at a Lancaster House conference on the single market, Mrs. Thatcher noted: We must get this right. Too often in the past, Britain has missed opportunities. How we meet the challenge of the Single Market will be a major factor, possibly the major factor in our competitive position in European and world markets into the 21st century. Just think for a moment what a prospect that is. A single market without barriers visible or invisible giving you direct and unhindered access to the purchasing power of 300 million of the worlds wealthiest and most prosperous people. Bigger than Japan. Bigger than the United States. On your doorstep. And with the Channel Tunnel to give you direct access to it. Its not a dream. Above all, it means a positive attitude of mind: a decision to go all out to make a success of the single market. As the foundation wrote: The speech did not seem so vital at the time But from the perspective of 2018, with Britain convulsed by Brexit, Bruges grows ever larger in significance, to a degree that could cause us to overplay the speech. MT did not expect or intend it to have quite the role some would now suppose: In no way was Bruges a manifesto for withdrawal. Indeed, she expressly and emphatically asserted the opposite, lest other elements in the speech leave any doubt on that question. Thatcher Had a Thing for Teddy Bears A Thatcher Foundation spokesman told The Guardian newspaper that Mrs. Thatcher was into her teddies. Mrs. Thatcher accumulated at least two teddy bears, named Humphrey and Mrs. Teddy, the documents show. JERUSALEM The Israeli military calls it the campaign between the wars short but increasingly harsh operations against the Hamas rulers of Gaza that are meant to warn off the Islamist militant group and postpone, if not prevent, the next major conflagration. The problem is that each round of escalating violence may instead bring the next war closer. For the second time in a week, Israel and Hamas battled across the Gaza border on Friday. Israeli warplanes fiercely pounded about 60 Hamas military sites after Palestinian gunmen from Gaza fatally shot an Israeli soldier. Both sides then quickly stepped back from the brink. Hamas, which lost three of its members, said Saturday that it was resuming the cease-fire that ended the last war with Israel in 2014 after intensive mediation by Egypt and the United Nations. Calm was mostly restored but once again, none of the underlying issues fanning the tensions had been resolved, leaving the two sides in a dangerous paralysis. Israel and Hamas have fought three wars in the last decade and many on both sides think a fourth is inevitable. With all the dangers of miscalculation, any number of mishaps could spiral into a war of no choice that neither side actually wants. 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. 23 rescued after scaffolding of under-construction building collapses in Chennai Chennai pti-PTI Chennai, Jul 21: At least twenty-three people were rescued after the scaffolding and iron girders of an under-construction hospital building collapsed in Chennai's Govindasamy Nagar on Saturday. More labourers are feared to be trapped. The scaffolding was suspected to have given away due to weight and trapped some labourers after it collapsed, police said. Commenting on the incident, disaster management commissioner Rajendra Ratnoo said, "It was a four-storey structure and the building near it suffered damage because of the collapse. So far, 23 people have been rescued. There are more than 60 police officers at the site. There are 60 members from the fire and rescue department, 30 members from the State Disaster Response Force, two units of the National Disaster Response Force and eight ambulances." "The office of the chief minister has asked the state disaster team to monitor the situation. Rescue operations will continue till we ensure that no one is trapped inside. Investigation will be carried out to ascertain the cause of the collapse." Rescue operations were on to ascertain if more persons were trapped, he said. Reports suggest that the injured persons could be migrant labourers. Senior government officials visited the spot. For more Chennai news Click Here PTI Aaj ki taaza khabar: Newspapers get gripped by Rahuls hug India oi-Oneindia Staff By Oneindia Staff New Delhi, July 21: Who does not love a good hug? We all do, especially when the hug is from a loved one. But who could have thought that a hug would steal the thunder from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's usual no-holds-barred speech against his opponents. On Friday, something very interesting happened in Parliament during the no-confidence motion debate against the Modi government. After slamming the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in a speech dubbed by many as sharp and fierce, Congress president Rahul Gandhi did something unimaginable. He went ahead and hugged PM Modi. After the hug, as Rahul went back to his seat he winked and everything was captured on camera. Rahul's jappi (hug) to an awkward Modi got mixed reactions. While his supporters and others called the gesture a welcome change in Indian politics where rivals are only good at attacking each other, Rahul's critics and the BJP, including the PM, slammed him for lowering the decorum of the House. Are politicians not allowed to embrace each other inside Parliament? No rules suggest so, but a rattled BJP cried foul over a hug calling it "childish". But the nation keenly observing every minute details of Friday's 12-hour-long debate on no-confidence motion did not mind the hug. After all, it was the picture of the hug that became the talking point of the entire trust vote. While the opposition parties badly lost the no-confidence motion as 325 parliamentarians voted against it and only 126 voted in favour of it, it was Rahul's Gandigiri (a term associated with the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi like love and peace and made famous by Bollywood film Munna Bhai M.B.B.S) which was the actual winner. On Saturday, all newspapers put up the hug picture on its front page. The Rahul-Modi hug in Parliament makes it to front pages of newspapers. pic.twitter.com/My3n7Ge4gU ANI (@ANI) July 21, 2018 A twitter user pointed out the fact that a Kannada daily used the English word hug in its headline. Rahul Gandhi forced Kannada newspaper to use English headline ;) #RahulHugsModi pic.twitter.com/yzfhmGG4s2 Mathang Seshagiri (@mathangcito) July 21, 2018 The Congress maintains that the hug was spontaneous but many raised doubts that it was pre-scripted so that Rahul could score some brownie points. Looking at the number of jokes and memes on Twitter over the hug, it is sure the whole nation is currently gripped by Rahul's embrace, whether or not you like PDA (Public Display of Affection). For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, July 21, 2018, 9:19 [IST] Panneerselvam and other AIADMK MLAs arrested for staging protest in Chennai TN: Rs 34 lakh in cash and nine luxury cars seized from premises linked to ex-AIADMK minister KC Veeramani No scam in smart City project during Admk tenure: Former minister Cellur Raju AIADMK supported us says BJPs Ananth Kumar India oi-Staff By Oneindia Staff Writer New Delhi, July 21: The AIADMK supported the government and voted against the no-confidence motion, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said. The no confidence motion brought in the Lok Sabha against the government was defeated. The government won the motion by 325 against 126 votes. Talking to reporters after the vote, Kumar said the no-confidence motion was defeated by a decisive margin. "As I told you, we got support from parties outside the NDA. The AIADMK supported us. BJD and the TRS walked out," he said. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, July 21, 2018, 8:30 [IST] Body of soldier killed in 1968 IAF plane crash recovered India oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar Uttarakashi, July 21: A body of one of the victims of 1968 Indian Air Force plane crash was found along with some parts of the aircraft at the Dhaka glacier base camp. The plane's wreckage was found during a cleanliness drive organized by Indian Mountaineering Foundation at the Dhaka glacier base camp on July 1. On 7 February 1968, an Antonov An-12 twin engine turboprop transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force disappeared while flying to Leh Airport from Chandigarh International Airport. While on approach to Leh the pilot decided to turn back due to inclement weather, the aircraft then went missing with the last radio contact over the Rohtang pass. It was declared missing after the failure to find the wreck. Previous recovery: In 2003 members of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute who were trekking on the South Dakka Glacier came across the remains of a human body. The body was identified as Sepoy Beli Ram, a soldier of the Indian Army who was on the flight. On 9 August 2007 an Indian Army expedition code named Operation Punaruthan-III, recovered three more bodies. From 2003 till 2009 three search expeditions have been carried out with the recovery of four bodies. The crash location lies at a height of about 18,000 ft 0 in (5,486.40 m), at a gradient of 80 degrees. On 21 July 2018 the Times of India reported that a mountaineering team at the Chandrabhaga-13 peak had found a body at the Dhaka glacier base camp.The team has found wreckage of the plane along with the remains of a soldier. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, July 21, 2018, 11:54 [IST] CITIZENSHIP WOES & THE GREATER CAUSE: CRISIS OF TIBETANS IN EXILE Need greater access, transparency in Tibet, US tells China Tibetan govt-in-exile lauds US President Donald Trump for new Tibet policy China tells Indian media not to play the Tibet card Chinese President Xi Jinping visiting Tibet is a threat to India, says senior US Congressman Chinese military holds combat drills in Tibet International oi-Staff By Oneindia Staff Writer Beijing, July 21: The special forces of the Chinese military have conducted drills in Tibet, including ground training for helicopter pilots, to test their skills in the high altitude region, state-run media reported on Friday. The training simulated a behind-enemy-lines infiltration mission at an elevation of 4,000 metres in Tibet, the PLA Daily, the official organ of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) reported. "Pilots and special forces rappelled down to the ground from helicopters and conducted the mission together," the report said yesterday. This is the second military drill highlighted by the Chinese official media in over a fortnight in Tibet. On June 29, an official media had reported that Chinese military units stationed in Tibet carried out a drill testing armament support capabilities as well as military civil integration in the Himalayan region bordering India. The latest military exercises prepared participants for a potential military confrontation with India, Song Zhongping, a military expert and TV commentator, told state-run Global Times. The Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China covered 3,488 kms which included Arunachal Pradesh, claimed by China as part of southern Tibet. "It's normal for any military training to have an imaginary opposing force," Song said. "In this case, it's obvious who the target is, given the fact that training was conducted on the plateau in Tibet. "Infiltrating behind enemy lines was "an effective special operation that could be key to winning a battle. It's valuable for all forces to practice this kind of training," Song said. Chinese pilots have been practising joint operations with special forces this year so as to understand each other's needs and enhance battle cooperation, the PLA Daily reported. Training with special forces will also improve pilots' ability to survive out in the wild, Song noted. Military operations in Tibet are difficult because of its high elevation, low atmospheric pressure, thin air and relatively low temperature, he said. Earlier, official media also reported about China setting up an unmanned automatic weather observation station in Tibet close to the border of Arunachal Pradesh to provide meteorological support for its fighter jets and missile launches. The station's data can assist with aircraft take-off and landing and the launch of missiles, Chinese experts said. Chinese military units in general had stepped exercises simulating real-time battle conditions after President Xi Jinping came to power in 2012. Alliance was a mistake, Congress could have won more says Moily LS poll strategy to be revealed by Mamata at mega rally India oi-Staff By Oneindia Staff Writer Kolkata, July 21: All roads in the city will today lead to Esplanade, the venue of the TMC's annual Martyrs' Day rally, where West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to spell out the party's strategy for the next Lok Sabha polls. The TMC observes the Martyrs' Day every year on July 21 in its bid to pay homage to 13 Youth Congress workers, allegedly killed in police firing in 1993 during the Left Front regime in West Bengal. Banerjee was a leader of the Youth Congress at that time. "Today, we will get the directive from our supremo for the Lok Sabha polls next year. We will also give a befitting reply to allegations made by BJP leaders during Narendra Modi's (Midnapore) rally," a senior TMC leader said. The rally also comes a day after the no-confidence motion against the Modi government was decisively defeated. Banerjee had earlier said her party was supporting the motion against the BJP government at the Centre in the greater interest of the Opposition unity, and the TMC had issued a whip to its Lok Sabha MPs, asking them to be present in the House yesterday. TMC workers and people from across the state started gathering in the metropolis since midnight to attend the public meeting to be held near Victoria House at Esplanade. The rally is of immense importance given the party's ambition to play a major role after the next Lok Sabha polls, political observers said. It is also likely to see the joining of Congress MLAs and senior leaders from other parties. "We will take the pledge at the July 21 rally to oust the BJP in 2019. The country will definitely get the opportunity to see Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's developmental work nationwide after 2019," TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee had recently said. The MP, along with senior TMC leaders, had visited the venue in the heart of the city yesterday and oversaw preparations for the rally. Around 6,000 police personnel will be deployed for the rally, a senior officer of the Kolkata Police said. Besides, close to 100 CCTVs have been installed in and around the area to keep a close watch on the proceedings, including hidden cameras near and underneath the dais of the rally to foil any "sabotage" attempt, he said. According to senior TMC leaders, the party's aim to play a major role at the national-level can only be successful if it manages to bag the maximum number of seats out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal. The party presently has 34 Lok Sabha seats from West Bengal. With nearly 40 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state being located in villages and semi-urban areas, the party is hoping to cash in on its stupendous performance in the May panchayat polls, where it managed to win all the zilla parishads and nearly 80 per cent of the gram panchayat seats. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, July 21, 2018, 14:40 [IST] Madhya Pradesh horror: Teenager commits suicide after raped by 3 men India oi-Oneindia Staff By Oneindia Staff Bhopal, July 21: As rape cases against minors have increased manifold in the last few months across the country, the latest case of sexual assault against a girl has been reported from Madhya Pradesh. According to ANI, a 16-year-old girl was gang-raped by three men in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar. The traumatised victim committed suicide after the brutal sexual assault against her. The police stated that all the accused in the crime have been arrested. Further police investigation is underway, stated ANI. "Sagar: 16-year-old girl allegedly committed suicide after she was allegedly gang-raped by 3 men. SP Satendra Shukla says, 'case has been registered. All accused have been arrested. Further investigation underway.' #MadhyaPradesh (20.07.18)," tweeted ANI. Sagar: 16-year-old girl allegedly committed suicide after she was allegedly gang-raped by 3 men. SP Satendra Shukla says, 'case has been registered. All accused have been arrested. Further investigation underway.' #MadhyaPradesh (20.07.18) pic.twitter.com/B0OVMbpeUT ANI (@ANI) July 20, 2018 In the last few months, the nation has witnessed an unprecedented rise in rapes of women and girls. Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday had condemned the gang-rape of a Haryana woman by 40 men. Congress president tweeted about the incident to express his shock and disgust. This is what Rahul wrote on Twitter: "The rape of a young woman in Haryana, by 40 men, has shocked & disgusted me. Ironically, today in Parliament, I had drawn attention to the issue of growing violence against woman. As a nation, we must hang our heads in shame, for our inability to protect this daughter of India." For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, July 21, 2018, 12:56 [IST] Mamata Banerjee to wage lone battle against BJP in 2019 India oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar Kolkata, July 21: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Saturday announced that the ruling Trinamool Congress will start 'BJP hatao, desh bachao' campaign on 15th August. Mamata Banerjee was addressing party workers on the occasion of Martyrs' Day in West Bengal. Also, Banerjee announced a whole list of programs for months ahead as a build up to the 2019 general elections. "2019 will be a big blow, Bengal will show the path. BJP will not win more than 150 seats in 2019 elections. Don't require the assistance of CPI(M) or Congress in Bengal. I will fight alone here," she said. "We will continue our political fight against BJP, Congress and CPI(M). But our developmental programs will continue. Pledge to win the country and drive BJP out. Pledge to win all 42 seats in Bengal," She added. On the lynching incident in Alwar, she said, "The way lynching is happening everywhere in the country, they (govt) are creating Talibanis among people. There are some good people in BJP/RSS who I respect. But others are playing dirty games." Taking a dig at the saffron party for the collapse of a makeshift tent at PM Narendra Modi's rally at Midnapore, she said, "They cannot build a pandal. How can they build the country?". The CM said the number of BJP's Lok Sabha seats would significantly come down in states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. "During the no-confidence vote in the Lok Sabha yesterday, they (NDA) got 325 votes, but in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, their strength will come down to barely 100 seats," she said. (With PTI inputs) Nationwide truckers strike enters second day India oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar All-India Motor Transport Congress' nationwide indefinite strike continues for the second day. Truckers have declared a nation-wide strike, demanding lower diesel prices, toll fees amongst others. Locals told news agency ANI, 'We are facing a lot of problems. It is tough to send children to school on time. It's also raining so streets and stations are waterlogged. We don't even get a taxi.' The School Bus and Company Bus Owners Association of Maharashtra have also extended their support to the nation-wide truckers strike. No less than 8,000 buses in Mumbai and 40,000 buses across Maharashtra are reported to be affiliated to the association. "All these buses will be off the roads today," Anil Garg, association president was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. He also informed that their decision to support the truckers is merely to show solidarity and will last until Friday. Truckers are also provoked by the high insurance premia and demand a reduction in third-party premium, exemption on third-party premia from GST. Additionally, they are also pressing for exemptions and abolitions indirect taxes and national permits for all buses and trucks. AIMTC Secretary General Naveen Gupta informed PTI that the body decided to go on strike on Friday because "talks with Finance Minister Piyush Goyal which continued till 1.30 am remained inconclusive as nothing concrete was being offered." Gupta said, on Friday the body is scheduled to meet ministry officials concerned and earlier, transport minister Nitin Gadkari had sought three months time. "We are hopeful of some concrete solutions today," Gupta was quoted as saying. Trucks parked in Kolkata Trucks stand parked during an all India strike by truck operators, in Kolkata on Friday 20, July 2018. (PTI Photo) APMC truck terminal in Mumbai Trucks parked at APMC truck terminal following a strike called by the transporters, in Navi Mumbai on Friday, July 20, 2018. Truck owners and operators are demanding for the reduction in central and state taxes by getting diesel under the GST so that price of the deregulated commodity can be reduced. Truck terminal in Kolkata Trucks parked at a truck terminal following a strike called by the transporters, in Kolkata on Friday, July 20, 2018. Truck owners and operators are demanding for reduction in central and state taxes by getting diesel under the GST so that price of the deregulated commodity can be reduced. School Bus association support to strike The School Bus and Company Bus Owners Association of Maharashtra have also extended their support to the nation-wide truckers strike. No less than 8,000 buses in Mumbai and 40,000 buses across Maharashtra are reported to be affiliated to the association. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, July 21, 2018, 9:10 [IST] Not questioned Christian Michel in AgustaWestland case says CBI India oi-Staff By Oneindia Staff Writer New Delhi, July 21: The CBI has said it has not questioned Christian Michel, the alleged middleman in the controversial AgustaWestland chopper deal, who was arrested in the UAE last year and was facing extradition proceedings in that country. When asked about the claims of Michel's lawyer that he was being pressured by the Indian and UAE authorities to give a confession and name Congress leader Sonia Gandhi in his statement, the CBI refuted the allegation, saying its team has not examined him in the UAE, where he was taken into custody last year. "Christian Michel was arrested in February 2017 by the UAE authorities. He was not arrested this year as claimed by his defence lawyer. CBI team has neither examined the fugitive in the UAE nor influenced him to extract confession. The extradition proceedings against the fugitive is going on in the UAE and request for extradition is being followed up," CBI Spokesperson Abhishek Dayal told PTI on the allegations. The CBI filed charge sheet in the matter in September last year, naming former IAF Chief S P Tyagi as one of the accused. Besides him, the agency has also charged retired Air Marshal JS Gujral along with eight others, including five foreign nationals. Michel is one of the three foreign country-based middleman charged in the matter. The agency has alleged that there was an estimated loss of Euro 398.21 million (approximately Rs 2,666 crore) to the exchequer in the deal that was signed on February 8, 2010 for the supply of VVIP choppers worth Euro 556.262 million. The CBI had earlier alleged that during his tenure as air force chief, Tyagi and, with his approval, the Air Force conceded to reduce the mandatory service ceiling for VVIP helicopters from 6,000 metres to 4,500 metres. The Air Force was vehemently opposing the service ceiling reduction on the grounds of security constraints and other related reasons. It has claimed that reduction of the service ceiling, or the maximum height at which a helicopter can perform normally, allowed UK-based AgustaWestland to come into the fray as, otherwise, its helicopters were not even qualified for submission of bids. The CBI has alleged that the AgustaWestland managed to introduce a comparative flight trial with non-functional engine and eventually succeeded in getting the contract for supply of 12 AW-101 VVIP helicopters from the Defence Ministry mainly due to softening of the IAF on service ceiling after S P Tyagi took over as its chief. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, July 21, 2018, 10:40 [IST] PM says notion that Army, police meant for men no longer exists, lauds rise in number of women cops PM Modi launches Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission: What we know about the scheme, so far? PM hits out at 'Mahagathbandhan' in farmers' rally in Shahjahanpur India oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar Shahjahanpurm, July 21: In a first public rally after defeating no-confidence motion moved by TDP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit out at the idea of a 'Mahagathbandhan, saying 'Chahe cycle ho ya haathi, kisi ko bhi bana lo saathi'. While addressing a farmers' rally in Shahjahanpur's Roza, PM Modi said, "The priority of central government and Uttar Pradesh govt is to ensure that the hard work of the farmers of this nation is respected. This is the reason several decisions have been taken to benefit sugarcane farmers.' PM Modi said, "A few days back sugarcane farmers had come to meet me in Delhi, and I had promised them that soon they will get a good news. Today, I am here to fulfil my promise. The government recently decided to give 80 per cent additional profit over the MSP to sugarcane farmers." PM announced that Government has decided to allow mills to produce ethanol from molasses, sugarcane juice from December 1. 'What the youth from here has contributed in nation-building is an inspiration for youngsters across the nation'. According to reports, the party workers and farmers of eight districts including from Hardoi, Lakhimpur Kheri, Pilibhit, Sitapur, Bareilly and Badaun have come to attend the rally. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had recently convened the meeting of officials of the eight districts while making preparation for the rally. PM says notion that Army, police meant for men no longer exists, lauds rise in number of women cops PM Modi launches Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission: What we know about the scheme, so far? India will always be 'first responder' for Sri Lanka: PM Modi India oi-Deepika By Deepika New Delhi, July 21: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched country-wide Emergency Ambulance service for Sri Lanka through video conferencing from New Delhi. Addressing the inaugural function via video link from the national capital, PM Modi said that the event marks another major achievement in the development partnership of India and Sri Lanka. "During my visit last year, I had promised that India will work for expanding the pre-hospital Emergency Ambulance Service all over Sri Lanka. I am happy that India has fulfilled its promise in a timely manner," Modi said. Highlighting the close ties between the two neighbors, Modi said, "It is not just a co-incidence that India has t he privilege to be Sri Lanka's partner in establishing this first responder service and in its expansion." "In good times and bad, India has been, and will always be, the first responder for Sri Lanka." The service was introduced in two provinces of Sri Lanka with grant assistance from India and will be expanded to the remaining seven provinces today. In addition, four to six staff members are to be deployed f.rom India to provide management and technical expertise guidance. India has given a grant of 22.8 million US dollars - 7.6 million in the first phase - and 15.2 million for the country-wide expansion. Under the first phase, 88 ambulances were purchased for the two provinces, while another 209 ambulances are being provided to cover all districts in the country. This is the largest Indian grant project in Sri Lanka after Indian housing project. Apart from providing ambulances, the grant covers training of manpower in India and meeting operational costs for one year. The project is another milestone in the wide raging development partnership between India and Sri Lanka. The present agreement between the Indian entity, GVK EMRI Lanka Pvt Ltd and the Sri Lankan Ministry of Health Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine is to be extended. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Sri Lanka in March 2015, he had received a request for assistance for setting of the emergency ambulance service in the country. After the visit, Wickremesinghe, wrote to Modi for support for setting up of an emergency ambulance service and its operations for the first year. Modi had assured full support. The decision was formalised in September 2015 during the visit of Wickremesinghe to India. India's development portfolio in Sri Lanka is nearly 2.9 billion US dollars, out of which 545 million dollars is pure grants. SC notice to Maha govt on plea seeking transfer of Palghar lynching case to CBI Rajasthan: Man lynched on suspicion of cow smuggling, CM assures strictest possible action India oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar Alwar, July 21: Days after the Supreme Court asked Centre to consider framing a new law on lynching, a man was lynched on suspicion of cow smuggling in Rajasthan's Alwar on Saturday. Akbar Khan, a resident of Kolgaon in Haryana, and another man were taking two cows to their village through a forest area near Lalawandi village in Alwar district last night, when a group of people severely thrashed Khan, Ramgarh police station SHO Subhash Sharma told PTI. Anil Beniwal, ASP Alwar, said, "It is not clear if they were cow smugglers. The body has been sent for postmortem, We are trying to identify the culprits and arrests will be made soon." #SpotVisuals: A man named Akbar was allegedly beaten to death by mob in Alwar's Ramgarh last night on suspicion of cow smuggling, police investigation underway #Rajasthan pic.twitter.com/Vg8X4KBdDB ANI (@ANI) July 21, 2018 Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje condemned the incident in her tweet. The incident of alleged lynching of a person transporting bovines in Alwar district is condemnable. Strictest possible action shall be taken against the perpetrators. Vasundhara Raje (@VasundharaBJP) July 21, 2018 Last year in April, Pehlu Khan, a dairy farmer from Jaisinghpur village in Haryana, was lynched by cow vigilantes in Behror of Alwar district in Rajasthan. He was returning home after purchasing two cows and two calves from a Jaipur cattle fair. A year after that incident a protest was held at the Parliament Street in New Delhi, the Bhumi Adhikar Andolan called for a nationwide struggle against the increasing incidents of violence in the name of "cow protection", "vendetta" against all progressive movements and continued "attacks" on Dalits and minorities. Rape of young woman in Haryana by 40 men has shocked, disgusted me, says Rahul Gandhi India oi-Oneindia Staff By Oneindia Staff New Delhi, July 21: On Friday when the entire nation was busy following the proceedings in Parliament as both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi took part in the no-confidence motion debate, one more horrific gang-rape of a woman in Haryana has left everyone shocked. Congress president tweeted about the incident to express his shock and disgust. This is what Rahul wrote on Twitter: "The rape of a young woman in Haryana, by 40 men, has shocked & disgusted me. Ironically, today in Parliament, I had drawn attention to the issue of growing violence against woman. As a nation, we must hang our heads in shame, for our inability to protect this daughter of India." The rape of a young woman in Haryana, by 40 men, has shocked & disgusted me. Ironically, today in Parliament, I had drawn attention to the issue of growing violence against woman. As a nation, we must hang our heads in shame, for our inability to protect this daughter of India. pic.twitter.com/5rYqBeqZRq Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 20, 2018 According to reports, the 21-year-old woman was held captive for four days in a private guest house in Morni Hills area of adjoining Haryana's Panchkula district. In the guest house, she was allegedly raped by 40 men from July 15 to 18. The victim, a resident of Mani Majra area of Chandigarh, alleged that she was taken to the guest house by a man known to her husband on the pretext of getting her a job in the guest house. During his speech in the Lok Sabha, Rahul raised several issues including Rafael deal, corruption charges against son of Amit Shah, Jay Shah, and rising rapes of women in the country. However, it was his hug to Modi and a wink thereafter that became the talking point of the whole nation. Rise of political Islam in Kerala and how PFI is infiltrating feeder outfits of political parties India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Kochi, July 21: The investigations being conducted into the murder of Abhimanyu, a leader of the CPI(M)'s student outfit, SFI has thrown open several angles. He was murdered on July 1 and the police say that it was a case of political rivalry among the students wing. The scanner is on the Social Democratic Party of India, which is the political wing of the Popular Front of India, which is under the scanner of the National Investigation Agency for alleged terror links. There was an Intelligence Bureau warning that SDPI activists had infiltrated into several feeder outfits of political parties. While the parties rejected it at first, they have now started taking the waning seriously. This had even prompted a comment by senior Muslim League leader, P K Kunhalikutty who said that the SDPI should be thrown out of the state. An IB officer tells OneIndia that they had been pointing out this dangerous trend for long. The PFI and its units are radical in nature. They have a spread across Kerala, Karnataka and have even reached the North East. Their idea is to infiltrate into parties and create political Islam. They have several feeder outfits which go about propagating radical Islam, the officer adds. He also says that by getting into political parties at the feeder levels, they would want to propagate political Islam. They are also trying to influence the students' unions through their Campus Front of India. The killing of Abhimanyu was clearly a rivalry between the PFI and CPI(M). The various notes seized by the Kerala police clearly indicate the CFI had a larger agenda and was avenging the killing of some of its members. They accused had discussed wider strategies of infiltrating into unions and also revenge. The police said that the president of the CFI, Muhammad Ali arrested on the Kerala-Karnataka border had hatched the plot. It was he who had called the SDPI activists who unleashed terror on the campus that culminated in the murder. But the CPI(M) won't act: While this case clearly shows that there is rivalry galore, the CPI(M) would however not suggest or even ban the PFI. Even though there is a momentum growing to ban the PFI, the CPI(M) in Kerala has stayed mum. The CPI(M) says that both the PFI and RSS indulge in the communisation of society and states that both are two sides of the same coin. The other factor that comes into play is the sheer clout that the PFI enjoys in Kerala. With around 3 lakh sympathisers and 25,000 members, the outfit is capable of influencing outcomes of elections to a large extent. Moreover its political wing, SDPI enjoys a considerable amount of clout among the voters. The PFI is also capable of whipping up Muslim sentiments, which comes in handy during the elections. Political parties in Kerala as well as Karnataka feel that a ban on the PFI could be seen as an anti-Muslim move. Kerala Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan recently said that it is not the policy of the government to ban any communal or terrorist outfit. Any outfit that creates riots in India and divides society, then it should be banned and that organisation is the RSS, he said. On his stand on the ban on the PFI, he says that such organisations cannot be dealt with ban and our experience in the past has shown that. He said that way to deal with such groups is by taking legal action. A happy hunting ground: Kerala has often been termed as breeding ground for extremists, radicals and terrorists. The Intelligence Bureau has forever been signalling these concerns, but successive governments in Kerala have turned a blind eye to the issue. Take for instance the ban on the Students Islamic Movement of India, which was imposed by the Union Government in 2002. While the ban appeared to be effective in most parts of the country, it had no effect in Kerala. The famous Wagamon camp comprising members of the SIMI, backed by elements in the PFI was held in Kerala. The camp discussed ways of beating the ban and following the meeting, the Indian Mujahideen was born. IB officials tell OneIndia, that the activities of the PFI continue unabated. In the past 25 years the PFI has been accused of carrying out at least 30 high profile murders. It was also involved in the incident in which the hands of a professor was chopped off. The other issue is that the activities of these groups is not restricted to Kerala alone. This is a re-grouping venue for them and their activities spill over into states such as Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, July 21, 2018, 13:03 [IST] Social activists get rape and murder threat from radicals for fighting against nikah halala India oi-Vinod By Vinod New Delhi, Jul 21: A social activist, writer and film maker Amber Zaidi is getting threats of rape, assault and even life for opposing tripple talaq and nikah halala by the radicals on social media platform. Casual threats on social media handles of Zaidi were part of her life but they intensified after the ruckus during the television debate in which she was personally targeted for supporting these issues and her co-panelist Farah Faiz was assaulted during the live debate. Amber Zaidi, who is working on a film on nikah halala, told One India, "We made a formal complain at Sector 20 police station of Noida, Uttar Pradesh but I want to convert it into an FIR as I am getting continuous threats of being raped, assaulted and even getting killed from all across. I have deleted my original Facebook account but threat on my twitter and mail still continuing." She said that general people with real IDs are threatening me. Earlier some of the IDs were fake but now they are both fake and real IDs. The number of such threats have increased so much that it has gone out of control and I was forced to delete my original account. Actually a Muslim cleric Mufti Ejaz Arshad Qasmi slapped advocate Farah Faiz, who is fighting cases against tripple talaq, during a television debate. Qasmi has been arrested after an FIR was lodged against him and even bail has been denied to him and he has been sent to judicial custody. But threat against Zaidi is continuing, so Zaidi wants her complain to be changed into proper FIR. Zaidi said that she wanted her complain to be made proper FIR and will try to get it done soon. She said that she was avoiding visiting Sector 20, Noida due to looming threats. She also said that people abusing me are also trying to hack my account so I have changed my account. "Earlier I had made a complained in the Economic Offense Wing (EOW) at the Hanuman Road police station for threats unleashed on me but this time round the threat perception is really big," said Amber. She said, "Though I have been getting threats from years and EOW people told me some of them are originating from Saudi Arabia as they tried to locate them on my complain. But after the recent incidence, threats are from such social media handles that are not not fake but genuine handles and from India. "So I want action against them as my security can't be ensured without that," Added Amber. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, July 21, 2018, 15:22 [IST] Thanks to Rahuls political immaturity on Rafale jibe, world leaders would now be wary India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, July 21: When the no-confidence motion was taken up on Friday against the BJP led NDA government, all eyes during the first half were on Rahul Gandhi. He had in fact said sometime back that the day he speaks in Parliament there would be an earthquake. During his address, he launched a scathing attack on the government which earned him the cheers from the opposition Benches. He also decided to end his speech with some amount of theatrics when he hugged the Prime Minister before saying, " you may call me Pappu, but I still do not hate you." However in a few moments from that he was seen winking which once again raised the question as to how serious was about the so-called pardon he was granting the PM. While Rahul made several allegations against the PM and his government, the same was countered by Narendra Modi. However one part of his speech pertaining to the Rafale deal in particular was quite disturbing, especially the part in which he quoted French President Emmanuel Macron. He emphasised all along that the Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had lied regarding the Rafale deal. He said that the government claims that there is a secrecy clause, but during his meeting with Macron he was told there was none. His statements in fact created quite an uproar and by evening, both India and France had issued a denial. France denied any conversation with Rahul on the matter. Many analysts say that he came out as a liar and showed absolutely no political maturity. The damage caused could be quite immense. The question is will any political leader visiting India trust our leaders. They would surely be wary about what they talk in future knowing fully that something said in confidence will be blurted out and in Parliament of all places where MPs enjoy a certain amount of privilege. Former Chief of the Research and Analysis Wing, C D Sahay says that Parliament was not to place to launch the 2019 campaign. That apart what was the need to go and talk to the French president and then tell us about what the secrecy deal was. When leaders visit, they speak politely and discuss certain things out of confidence. They would not want their statements to become part of a political cause in India. Sahay says that the next time anyone going out and seeking a meeting with a foreign leader could well be refused one. They would surely be wary of the fact that there is every chance of them being quoted out of context and especially in Parliament, where not much action could be sought against the MPs. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, July 21, 2018, 12:33 [IST] Why does Siddaramaiah write so many letters to Kumaraswamy India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Bengaluru, July 21: Nine letters in 45 days led to tears rolling down Karnataka Chief Minister, H D Kumaraswamy's cheeks. Siddaramaiah, who heads the coordination committee has been dashing off one letter after another, which led to Kumaraswamy not only crying, but also saying that he is drinking poison everyday to run the JD(S)-Congress coalition government. In the last letter written by Siddaramaiah, he urged the CM to roll back the tax on fuel and also reduce the amount of rice distributed under PDS to families below the poverty line by 2 kgs. The letters dashed off by Siddaramaiah have not only kept the JD(S) on tenterhooks, but also caused a great amount of discomfort within the Congress as well. Recently Siddaramaiah was inducted into the Congress Working Committee by Rahul Gandhi. Many saw this as a move to keep him busy in Delhi, rather than meddling in Karnataka. From the day the government was formed in Karnataka, Siddaramaiah has spared no opportunity to show that he is the boss. Be it putting his foot down for a full-fledged budget or waiving off farm loans, he ensured that the JD(S) had to slog it out to have its way. Siddaramaiah as the head of the coordination committee has to be consulted on every important policy decision and he has ensured that his former party did not have it easy. Kumaraswamy has on many occasions said that running the coalition is one of the toughest tasks. So, the question now is why does Siddaramaiah write so many letters. It is clear that he has taken a leaf out of his mentor, Deve Gowda, who was a lot into letter writing when the Congress-JD(S) coalition headed by N Dharam Singh was in power. Gowda would very often write letters to Singh and also ensure that the media knew about it, through selective leaks here and there. It was Gowda's way of showing that he is the boss. In the case of Siddaramaiah, it is one way of showing that he still is the boss. It also is a way of telling people that he is very much relevant and it is not time to write his political obituary as yet. When the JD(S)-Congress formed the government, Siddaramaiah was not exactly thrilled about it. He knew he would have to deal with bosses of his former party with whom he had a bitter fall out several years back, before he joined the Congress. Had Siddaramaiah had to have his way, he would have never ensured that this government was formed. However in this case, his hands were tied as it was the decision of the Congress high command to go in for an alliance only to keep the BJP out of power. Over the past couple of weeks, Siddaramaiah has managed to remain in the news. Recently he was away for therapy, but managed to make news even then, when he was heard saying that he is not sure if this government in Karnataka would last. With Siddaramaiah driving the government as the coordination committee chief, one could expect more such letter writing, which would keep the coalition on tenter-hooks. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, July 21, 2018, 12:03 [IST] Govt yet to decide on 12 names reiterated by SC collegium for appointment as judges You have right to protest not right to block roads: SC to farmers Wokers welfare scheme should be finalised by Sep 30 says SC India oi-Staff By Oneindia Staff Writer New Delhi, July 21: The Supreme Court set the deadline of September 30 for the Centre to finalise a welfare scheme for building and construction workers across the country. A bench comprising justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta made it clear to the government that "no further time" would be granted to it for finalising the welfare scheme. The counsel appearing for the Centre referred to an affidavit filed by the government which has said that a draft scheme has been uploaded on the website of the labour ministry and suggestions have been invited from the states till August 10. The Centre told the court that others could also give their suggestion on the draft scheme till August 30 and the scheme would be finalised by September 30. Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the petitioner, told the bench that the draft scheme was "as bad as" the earlier draft which was framed by the Centre. "This draft scheme is so bad," he said, adding, "All suggestions given by the NALSA (National Legal Services Authority) and us are not there." However, the Centre said the states were supposed to give their suggestion on the draft scheme and the petitioner could also raise objections on it. When the lawyer said it would be finalised by September 30, the bench asked, "Why you want so much of time?" Responding to the query, the lawyer said all the suggestions and objections would be considered by the authorities before finalising the scheme and it would take some time. "List the matter in the first week of October. No further time will be granted (to finalise the scheme)," the bench said. On July 3, the court had pulled up the Centre for not uploading the draft of the welfare scheme on the labour ministry website and had dubbed its affidavit as "absolutely false". "You are making a joke out of it. Rs 30,000 crore is at stake. Who is suffering? These poor people. Is this the kind of sympathy and compassion which you are showing towards poor people," the top court had said and had summoned the Union labour secretary. The labour secretary had appeared in the court and assured the bench that he would look into the issues raised by the petitioner and another draft scheme would be put up on the website of the ministry. The court had earlier too lashed out at the Centre after an affidavit was filed by the comptroller and auditor general saying that a chunk of funds meant for construction workers' welfare had been spent to buy laptops and washing machines and less than ten per cent was spent for the actual purpose. This had prompted the apex court to direct the government to frame a model scheme for the welfare of construction workers across the country to address the issues of education, health, social security and pension for them. The court is hearing a matter related to implementation of two laws -- the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 (BOCW Act) and the Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Cess Act, 1996, (Cess Act) -- meant for welfare of construction workers across the country. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, July 21, 2018, 12:40 [IST] Afghan territory must not be used to carry out terror attacks against other countries: BRICS Leaders Ahead of BRICS summit, India, China to renew their Africa rivalry in this tiny nation International oi-Shubham By Shubham Kigali, July 21: Rwanda, one of the smallest countries of the African continent covering an area of just over 26,000 square kilometres, has found itself in the limelight of global diplomacy this week. While Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Rwanda for a two-day trip starting Sunday, July 22, en route his arrival at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will set his foot on the shores of the small landlocked nation on Monday, July 23, also for a two-day outing, before reaching Johannesburg. Prior to the visits that will be first both for the top leadership of China and India, the president of Mozambique - Filipe Nyusi - was on a three-day visit to Rwanda. Emphasising China's relations with Rwanda, a country which Beijing prioritises in its Africa policy, President Xi hoped that his visit to the African nation will give a new impetus to the "traditional friendship and all-round cooperation" between the two nations. In a piece in The New Times, Xi also said that China-Rwanda relations will continue to produce results that will benefit people on both sides. He also praised Rwanda's Vision 2020 Umurenge programme - a flagship initiative for poverty reduction - and said that its active implementation and China's efforts towards its centenary goals create opportunities in the two nations' ties. Rwandan President Paul Kamage, who visited China in March 2017 and was impressed by its management of a huge population, said he was looking forward to meeting Xi and that cooperation between the two countries was not limited to economy but also other social areas like health and education. India not far behind India's Modi will be doing no less to make the visit to Rwanda a memorable one. As the first Indian PM to visit the country which is one of the fastest developing in Africa, Modi will gift 200 cows - sourced locally - to the host nation, The Indian Express reported. Like the Umurenge programme, Rwanda also has a flagship Girinka programme which emphasises on "one cow for one poor family" and is personally monitored by President Kagame. The Girinka programme aims at promoting social harmony through gifting of cows in a country which had seen one of the worst genocides in history in the mid-1990s. President Kamage visited India in January 2017, a couple of months before setting his foot in China, and also took part in the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in Gandhinagar. During former vice president Hamid Ansari's visit to Rwanda in February 2017, the two countries signed three memoranda of understanding to boost their bilateral relations including setting up of en entrepreneurship development unit in the Rwandan capital. Irrespective of its small size, the significance of Rwanda is thus understood from the visits paid by the top leaders of two of the world's fastest developing economies. Rwanda is the only common destination of the African itinerary of Xi (Senegal, Rwanda, South Africa and Mauritius) and Modi (Rwanda, Uganda and South Africa) besides the hosts of the BRICS summit and it shows how much importance both New Delhi and Beijing have attached to it. Call centre scam: Over 20 Indian origin persons sentenced to 20 years in prison International oi-Staff By Oneindia Staff Writer Washington, July 21: Over 20 Indian-origin persons have been sentenced up to 20 years in prison in the US for their involvement in a multimillion-dollar India-based call center scam which defrauded thousands of US citizens of hundreds of millions of dollars. The prison sentences for the 21 people convicted this week ranges from 4 to 20 years. "The stiff sentences imposed represent the culmination of the first-ever large scale, multi-jurisdiction prosecution targeting the India call center scam industry," US Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. Several of the convicted will be deported to India after the completion of their sentence. "This case represents one of the most significant victories to date in our continuing efforts to combat elder fraud and the victimisation of the most vulnerable members of the US public. "The transnational criminal ring of fraudsters and money launderers who conspired to bilk older Americans, legal immigrants and many others out of their life savings through their lies, threats and financial schemes must recognise that all resources at the Department's disposal will be deployed to shut down these telefraud schemes, put those responsible in jail, and bring a measure of justice to the victims," Sessions said. According to US officials, the call center scam defrauded thousands of US residents of hundreds of millions of dollars. Prosecutors said the Indian call centers used various telephone fraud schemes to defraud mainly vulnerable Americans, including the elderly and legal immigrants. According to various admissions made in connection with the guilty pleas, between 2012 and 2016, the defendants and their conspirators perpetrated a complex fraud and money laundering scheme in which individuals from call centers located in Ahmedabad frequently impersonated officials from the Internal Revenue Service or US Citizenship and Immigration Services in a ruse designed to defraud victims located throughout America. Using information obtained from data brokers and other sources, call center operators targeted US victims who were threatened with arrest, imprisonment, fines or deportation if they did not pay the alleged money owed to the government. Victims who agreed to pay the scammers were instructed how to make a payment, including by purchasing stored value cards or wiring money. Once the payment was done, the call centers turned to a network of runners based in the US to liquidate and launder the extorted funds as quickly as possible by purchasing reloadable cards or retrieving wire transfers, the Justice Department said. In a typical scenario, call centers directed runners to purchase these stored value reloadable cards and transmit the unique card number to India-based co-conspirators who registered the cards using the misappropriated personal identifying information of the US citizens. The India-based co-conspirators then loaded these cards with scam funds obtained from the victims. The runners used the stored value cards to purchase money orders that they deposited into the bank account of another person. The indictment for the case also charged 32 India-based conspirators and five India-based call centeres with general conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy. These defendants have not yet been arraigned. Earlier, three other Indians were sentenced for their involvement in the same fraud and money laundering scheme. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, July 21, 2018, 16:23 [IST] Should India opt out of India-Pakistan T20 World Cup? Who said what Pakistan elections: US worried over people affiliated to LeT International oi-Shubham By Shubham Washington, July 21: The US has expressed its worry over presence of individuals who have affiliations with the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in the July 25 general elections in Pakistan and has told Islamabad about it, the state department said, according to Pakistan's leading daily Dawn. The LeT is an internationally sanctioned terror organisation. The state department, however, said in its statement that it was satisfied with the Pakistan Election Commission's act of rejecting the registration of Milli Muslim League (MML) last moth "citing its linkages to LeT", the daily, which has a copy of the statement, added. The statement also said that the state department had amended the Foreign Terrorist Organisation status of the LeT in April to include MML as a Lashkar alias, Dawn reported. "We have repeatedly expressed our concerns to the Pakistani government about LeT, including the participation of LeT-affiliated individuals in the elections," Dawn quoted from the statement. The state department had previously emphasised that the electoral process needed to be continued despite recent terror attacks targeting senior political leaders in the poll-bound country. Pakistan has seen a series of terror strikes in the run-up to the July 25 elections in which even a few candidates from secular parties have been killed. The most devastating attack occurred in Balochistan in southwestern Pakistan on July 13 where over 150 people, including an election candidate, were killed. It was the third terror attack ahead of the election day to derail the entire electoral process. In an earlier statement, the State Department had stressed the need to continue the electoral process despite recent terrorist attacks targeting senior Pakistani politicians, the Dawn report added. The European Union also expressed its concerns over the Pakistan elections and appealed to the government to ensure that elections go safely in all corners of the country, the Dawn report said, adding that Japan, too, hoped the same. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, July 21, 2018, 16:15 [IST] Afghan territory must not be used to carry out terror attacks against other countries: BRICS Leaders Putin gave Trump proposal over Ukraine conflict resolution in Helsinki: Report International oi-Shubham By Shubham Moscow, July 21: Russian President Vladimir Putin told his country's diplomats that he had proposed to his American counterpart Donald Trump at their summit in Helsinki on July 16 to hold a referendum aiming to resolve the problem in eastern Ukraine but decided not to reveal the plan so that Trump could consider it, a couple of sources who were present at his closed-door speech made on Thursday, July 18, said on the condition of anonymity, Bloomberg reported. Details of the first-ever summit between Trump and Putin remained largely unknown with the focus falling more on the former's pro-Russia words. Now, the revelations about Putin's plan for Ukraine, which the Kremlin invaded to annex Crimea in 2014, have given rise to fresh speculations over Russia's tense relations with Europe over the east European nation. "While Putin portrayed the Ukraine offer as a sign he's seeking to bring the four-year-old crisis to an end, a referendum is likely to be a hard sell with Ukraine and its backers in Europe, who remain committed to a 2015 European-brokered truce deal for the Donbas region, parts of which are controlled by Russian-backed separatists," the Bloomberg report said. The report added that the White House officials didn't immediately respond to a request to comment on the issue. It was also said that in Helsinki, Trump agreed to consider a proposal by his Russian counterpart to question a former American envoy to Russia over the US' campaign-finance violations that the critics felt Trump should have rubbished straightaway. While neither the spokesperson of the Kremlin nor the Russian ambassador to the US gave details on Putin's proposals on Ukraine, the Bloomberg report added, Trump himself also made a touching mention of Ukraine in a tweet about the summit. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, July 21, 2018, 13:24 [IST] More than 87,000 Indians returned from Singapore through Vande Bharat flights since 2020 Singapore discovering COVID-19 is a bacteria and not a virus is another conspiracy theory SingHealth cyber-attack in Singapore: Personal data of 1.5 million people; PM Lee stolen International oi-Shubham By Shubham Singapore, July 21: Singapore recently witnessed what its authorities said the "most serious personal data breach" as the personal information of 1.5 million people got stolen as a result of a cyber-attack on the database of SingHealth, the South-east Asian city-state's largest group of healthcare institutions. Even Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was not above the attack as it targeted his personal data and outpatient medication details. Singapore's 77-year-old former prime minister and currently emeritus senior minister Goh Chok Tong also said in a Facebook post on Friday, July 20, that he too was a victim of the cyber-attack as his non-medical personal specifics with SingHealth were stolen. Through the major operation, confidential data of 1.5 million patients were illegally breached and copied, reports said, adding that of these numbers, over 150,000 saw their dispensed medical records stolen as well. The problem was detected when unusual activity was detected on one of SingHealth's IT databases on July 4. The authorities swung into action soon and probed it along with putting into use extra safety measures. The activity was confirmed to be a cyber-attack on July 10 and it was said that the data were stolen between June 27 and July 4, Channel News Asia reported, adding that SingHealth lodged a police complaint in July 12. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, July 21, 2018, 16:07 [IST] Why Islamic State could spoil the Chinese party in Afghanistan Taliban launches wave of attacks in Afghanistan International oi-Staff By Oneindia Staff Writer Kabul, July 21: A district governor in Afghanistan says Taliban fighters launched a wave of attacks in eastern Ghazni province, killing at least eight police and wounding seven others. Saeeb Khan Elham said today that insurgents launched a wave of attacks on compounds and police security posts in the Qarabagh district late the night before. He said government forces meant to reinforce the district were attacked in a Taliban ambush that included roadside mines and were unable to help. Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone interview with AP. He says 16 police were killed and a government compound in the district damaged. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, July 21, 2018, 10:10 [IST] Businessman in Kolkata shot at after his car was stopped by 18 men Bengal nullifies unions in state jails Kolkata oi-Staff By Oneindia Staff Writer Kolkata, July 21: The West Bengal government has nullified union activities by the employees in the state jails to improve prevailing work culture there. The state Cabinet has given its nod to this effect, following which a notification was issued recently to prohibit union activities in any of the correctional homes. "No activities (are going) to be allowed in uniformed services at any correctional home premises," read the notification issued on Thursday last. According to a senior official of the state Prisons department, from now on, "no prison establishment could be used for any sort of union activities", as per the notification. "Unions will not be allowed to put up signboards or any sort of notice inside prison premises," the official said quoting the notification. The government order has also banned all meetings, agitations, demonstrations and deputations by the unions inside the correctional homes in the state. "No employees should be extended the privilege of exemption from routine/administration transfer" only because they are members of the union, it added. It must be mentioned that the Mamata Banerjee government had in 2012 initiated a move to ban unions in the state police force. However, a single bench of the Calcutta High Court had struck the order after it was challenged following which the state government moved the division bench of the High Court. "Unions became parallel functionaries in the correctional homes in the state making it difficult for everyday operations there. It's a wise decision to improve the work culture there," the official of the Prisons department said. The state cabinet had at its last meeting given its nod to formation of the "West Bengal Correctional Services Welfare Board" to look after the interest of the employees. "The Board will be supervised by a DIG rank officer. It will work for the benefits of the employees of the correctional homes," the official said. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, July 21, 2018, 15:59 [IST] DU cut off: 52k students have secured admission so far For passing lewd comments on woman, man stabbed to death New Delhi oi-Staff By Oneindia Staff Writer New Delhi, July 21: A 35-year-old e-rickshaw driver was stabbed to death in southeast Delhi's Jaipur area by two men after he allegedly passed lewd comments about the sister of one of the accused, the police said. The deceased was identified as Jagdish. The accused, Aamir (24) and Zakir (19), were on their way to Dakshinpuri after meeting the former's sister, Deputy Commissioner of Police (southeast) Chinmoy Biswal said. On their way, they met Jagdish, who was in an inebriated state. Jagdish allegedly passed lewd comments about Aamir's sister, following which a quarrel broke out and he was stabbed by the duo, the DCP said. Jagdish was rushed to a hospital where he was declared brought dead, he added. Aamir and Zakir were arrested following a tip off, he said. The weapon used in commission of crime is yet to be recovered, the DCP said. For more New Delhi news, Click here For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, July 21, 2018, 11:40 [IST] Comment now on redistricting plans while you still can Lapeer County and Michigan voters in November 2018 passed an anti-gerrymandering ballot proposal that will significantly change the way Michigans... READER FEEDBACK Lets look at the facts about marijuana proposal If any of you have spent time with me, you will know... SOUND OFF Not feeling the love! Youth may be the future, but trust me, Lapeers youth want nothing more than to get... Currently: Cash Looking to: Buy @ 108.337 As of 3/21/21 @ 9:21pm EST: 108.857 LAST WEEK: We suggested buying dips in USDJPY to 108.337 and holding for a run up to 111. We suggested honoring stops on longs on a close below 107.75. UPDATE: The USDJPY is up early on Monday after trading sluggishly all last week. We still feel the cross will trade down to 108.337 (or lower). No changes to last weeks trade recommendations. 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. "It is the responsibility of the school to follow the law and its authorizer to ensure this is done to the extent possible." - Debra Duardo, Superintendent Los Angeles County Office of Education While Debra Duardo, the Superintendent of LACOE, does recognize that California Education Code "EC 47604.33 does require charter schools to submit the annual audit to their authorizer, the county office and the state", she blames the LAUSD for not ensuring that the school was in compliance. She is correct in her assertion that, as the previous authorizer, the LAUSD ignored its responsibility to ensure that the audit was filed since a review of the several Notices of Concern and Notices to Cure issued by the District did not show that this specific issue was addressed. However, the fact remains that the LAUSD did reject the charter's renewal which is essentially the death penalty for a charter that is not in compliance with the law. By renewing the charter of a school that had not filed all documentation as required by law, LACOE's Board indicated their lack of concern that the management of the school was not committed to following the rules. Furthermore, the audit is required for a reason. The section of the education code that mandates this filing states that "the chartering authority shall use any financial information it obtains from the charter school, including, but not limited to, the reports required by this section, to assess the fiscal condition of the charter school". Yet, the LACOE Board approved the renewal without this information. After checking with the School Financial Services Office, LACOE's Public Information Office reported on July 11, 2018, that "our agency did not receive an audit from NVMI for 2016-17." Coincidentally, the LAUSD states that on the same day they received an email from the County requesting a copy of the audit and immediately provided it to them. Since the LAUSD reports that they received the audit on December 18, 2017, it appears that LACOE could have had the information prior to approval of the charter renewal if they had asked the LAUSD during the review process. Also left unclear is the reason why LACOE feels that it does not bear responsibility for ensuring that paperwork is properly filed with their office as required by law or if they would have even realized that they were missing the audit if a Public Records Act request had not been filed. In the past, independent financial audits have provided clues to wrongdoing at other charter schools. Without the information contained in the audit of El Camino Real Charter High School's finances, the Daily News may have never found out about David Fehte's unauthorized charges on the school's credit card. The resulting news coverage ended with Fehte's forced resignation. It was a sentence in Granada Charter High School's charter's audit that indicated that a loan had been illegally obtained from the school's Associated Student Body (ASB) bank accounts. A review of the bank records confirmed wrongdoing and a complaint was filed with the LAUSD Charter School Division. This resulted in a Notice to Cure from the District. The inability to get a copy of an audit of NVMI from the county means that the public is lacking information about a school that they are funding. The proliferation of charter schools within Los Angeles represents a transfer of scarce public funds to the private sector. The willingness of the unelected LACOE Board to approve a charter without full financial disclosure shows how little oversight there is. The Los Angeles County Supervisors who appoint members to this board have a lot to answer for. ____________________________________________ Carl Petersen is a parent and special education advocate, elected member of the Northridge East Neighborhood Council and was a Green Party candidate in LAUSD's District 2 School Board race. During the campaign, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action and Dr. Diane Ravitch called him a "strong supporter of public schools." His past blogs can be found at www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own. Toward the end of C. S. Lewis's classic memoir, A Grief Observed, he recounts in similes being visited briefly by the presence of his recently-departed wife, Joy Davidman. If this was a throw-up from my unconscious, then my unconscious must be a far more interesting region than the depth psychologists have led me to expect. For one thing, it is apparently much less primitive than my consciousness. Wherever it came from, it has made a sort of spring cleaning in my mind. The dead could be like that; sheer intellects. A Greek philosopher wouldn't have been surprised at an experience like mine. He would have expected that if anything of us remained after death it would be just that. Up to now this always seemed to me a most arid and chilling idea. The absence of emotion repelled me. But in this contact (whether real or apparent) it didn't do anything of the sort. One didn't need emotion. The intimacy was complete -- sharply bracing and restorative too -- without it. Can that intimacy be love itself -- always in this life attended with emotion, not because it is itself an emotion, or needs an attendant emotion, but because our animal souls, our nervous systems, our imaginations, have to respond to it in that way? If so, how many preconceptions I must scrap! A society, a communion, of pure intelligences would not be cold, drab and comfortless. On the other hand it wouldn't be very like what people usually mean when they use such words as 'spiritual', or 'mystical', or 'holy'. It would, if I have had a glimpse, be -- well, I'm almost scared at the adjectives I'd have to use. Brisk? cheerful? keen? alert? intense? wide-awake? Above all, solid. Utterly reliable. Firm. 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 The Hill America Democrats (Image by pixabay.com) Details DMCA Democrats are united as the patriot party, seizing the high ground and a powerful advantage throughout the nation, as the free world watched in horror when a Republican president appeared weak and submissive in the presence of a Russian dictator who is attacking our country. The secret weapon of Democrats who will retake control of the House is the surge of young, dynamic, heroic and patriotic candidates with military and security experience. Many serious people ask whether the dictator of Russia, who attacks our democracy, is blackmailing the American president, who adamantly refuses to defend democracy against these attacks and often appears to be aiding and abetting them. While Vladimir Putin was attacking democracy in America and Europe, President Trump attended the NATO meeting in Brussels where he insulted the chancellor of Germany, undermined the NATO alliance, embarrassed the NATO secretary-general and attacked Ameria's strongest democratic allies in Europe. While Putin works to covertly destroy European unity, Trump visited Great Britain where he harshly criticized Britain's prime minister, threatening an extraordinary special relationship led by Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill during the Second World War, and by Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher during the Cold War. When Trump met in Helsinki with the Russian dictator who attacks democracy, he blamed Americans for the tensions caused by the Russian attacks. Democrats resent this. Democrats deplore this. Democrats would end this. For two hours Trump met Putin in secret, with no Americans present except a translator, fomenting widespread fear about what secret deals were cut during this private collusion. Democrats deplore this. Democrats demand the American translator be invited to tell Congress what was said in this secret meeting. Standing with Putin before the eyes of a stunned and appalled democratic world, Trump gave credence to the lies from the dictator who attacks us, questioning the truth from those who courageously defend us from his attacks. The patriot party of Democrats condemns Trump. And Putin. Strongly and unequivocally. These events were the darkest hours in presidential history since George Washington put his hand on the Bible and swore to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Nobody ever wondered whether a Democratic president was being blackmailed by a foreign dictator. Democrats believe in deterring enemies. Trump appeared to surrender to Putin. Democrats believe in mobilizing allies. Trump insults our allies which brings joy to our enemies. Trump repeatedly praises dictators who despise democracy. Including Putin. Democrats repudiate this totally, aggressively and patriotically. Trump repeatedly attacks leaders of democratic nations. The patriot party of Democrats condemns this fiercely. Trump repeatedly attacks the free press. So does the dictator from Russia. Democrats deplore both. Putin seeks to destroy NATO. Trump attacks NATO. Democrats back NATO strongly and patriotically. Putin dreams of breaking apart the European Union. Trump attacks the EU. Democrats reject this. Putin illegally annexes Crimea. Trump adamantly refuses to condemn him for this. Democrats denounce this. 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. "Conscious tool. Useful idiot. Those are the choices, though both are possibly true, so that the main question is the proportions." I did not vote for Clinton specifically because she would with NO doubt whatsoever, in my mind, have quickly gotten us into an utterly unnecessary, and horrifically destructive war with Russia, beginning in Syria. Trump, while seemingly more willing to negotiate with Russia, is unfortunately, hopelessly compromised. He clearly is intimidated by, is slavishly deferential to, Vladimir Putin. This has nothing to do with any alleged "pee tape." Trump's supporters would be delighted by that--at a minimum they would give him another "mulligan." Rather, Trump's business enterprises specialize in money laundering. Russian elites, likely including Vladimir Putin himself, have vast amounts of monies which require laundering. Trump's businesses provide this service. Trump relies on Putin to conceal his felonious Russian operations. He is subject to never ending blackmail as a direct consequence. As he knew and concealed this reality, he is guilty of TREASON as Russia controls his actions via blackmail, "kompromat," while he conceals this reality from the American people who he manifestly does not represent. 18 US Code, Section 2381, states in part: "Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death"" While lesser penalties are authorized, they cannot apply to willful treason by the President of the United States. What to do? It is impossible to allow the Presidents' treason to continue. However, it is also impossible to use the Constitutional remedy of impeachment to abort this ongoing crime against America. Similarly the 25th Amendment is unavailable. The Republican Party has become the party of high treason. Taking no action is not an option. However, all Constitutional avenues are barred by those who are willfully aiding and abetting treason by the President of the United States. So what to do? First, it is necessary to wait for the Muller Investigation to finish. If this investigation uncovers clear evidence of Trump's money laundering for Russians, then the Congress must be given a brief interval to initiate impeachment proceedings. When this does not occur, then the president's Cabinet must be allowed a brief interval to remove him under the 25th Amendment. When this also fails to occur, then there is no choice. The President must be involuntarily removed from office by a military coup. To legitimate this action, all living former US Presidents would need to publicly endorse this action. Trump and his confederates would be swiftly tried before a military tribunal. Upon conviction, they must be swiftly hanged. The military tribunal would then hand over power to a technocratic caretaker government and schedule new elections for the remaining portion of the traitor's term. While there is no precedent for annulling a Presidency, there is a relevant precedent from the Catholic Church. There, for various reasons, Papacies have been annulled. All actions of the deposed Pope become null and void. Similarly, all nominations and appointments of the deposed traitor regime would be null and void--including Supreme Court nominations and appointments. All actions, executive orders of the traitor regime, would be null and void. I believe this is likely to soon be our least bad option to remove the traitor regime. (Article changed on July 21, 2018 at 18:49) 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 The Trump administration has less than a week to meet a court-ordered deadline to reunite children and parents separated at the U.S.-Mexico border under its "zero tolerance" policy. This comes as advocates say some migrant children have been released from federally contracted shelters with scabies and lice. In Illinois, officials are investigating the Chicago nonprofit Heartland Alliance over allegations it housed children separated from their parents at the border, with many of the children reportedly suffering abuse and neglect. We speak with Reveal reporter Aura Bogado, who has exposed a second office used by military contractor MVM to hold migrant children. This time, the children had to bathe in bathroom sinks. This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form. AMY GOODMAN: The Trump administration has less than a week to meet a court-ordered deadline to reunite thousands of children and parents separated at the U.S.-Mexico border under its "zero tolerance" policy. Federal officials reported Thursday just 364 of more than 2,500 families with children age five and older have been brought back together. Another 848 have been cleared for reunification, but 229 parents have been deemed ineligible, reportedly because of criminal records or because they waived reunification. More than 700 of the parents have been ordered deported. This comes as advocates say some migrant children have been released from federally contracted shelters with scabies and lice. In Illinois, officials are investigating the Chicago nonprofit Heartland Alliance over allegations it housed children separated from their parents at the border, with many of the children reportedly suffering abuse and neglect. The Washington Post reported one boy at Heartland Alliance's facility Casa Guadalupe was repeatedly injected with a drug that made him drowsy, while another boy was denied medication for weeks after injuring his arm. The Washington Post also says children were surveilled with hidden cameras, prevented from hugging their brothers and sisters. They've been separated from their parents. A report by Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting shows taxpayers paid more than one-and-a-half billion dollars in the last four years to companies operating immigrant youth detention centers that faced accusations of serious lapses in care. Children held at Shiloh Treatment Center near Houston, Texas, were restrained and injected with powerful anti-psychotic drugs against their will, making them dizzy, listless, obese, even incapacitated. Meanwhile, the U.S. military and CIA contractor MVM has admitted it detained migrant children overnight inside a vacant Phoenix office building with dark windows, no kitchen, only a few toilets. A Reveal investigation earlier this month uncovered what some are calling a "black site" for migrant children, after a neighbor filmed children in sweatsuits being led into the building. The building was leased in March by MVM, a military contractor. Now a new report by Reveal shows MVM also operated a second office nearby, where a neighbor reported seeing immigrant children bathing themselves in bathroom sinks. For more, we go to San Francisco for an update from Aura Bogado, who is immigration reporter for Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting, her latest report story headlined "Immigrant kids held in second Phoenix office seen bathing in sinks." Her other report is headlined "Immigrant children forcibly injected with drugs, lawsuit claims." Aura, give us the latest. AURA BOGADO: Hi, Amy. Thanks so much for having me back. You know, we just reported this first story out two weeks ago. Back then, we knew that children, according to neighbors, were held overnight in this office, this unlicensed, unmarked office in central Phoenix. And at that time, ICE told us that its contractor, MVM, was not authorized to hold children overnight, that their contract only allows for same-day transport and that they are allowed to use that office for what ICE calls a "waiting area." The company itself, MVM, again, this company that has strong CIA ties, a defense contractor, told us--originally said that they don't operate any kind of shelter or housing, then told us that they use some of their offices as a temporary holding place for children that it's transporting. Less than a week after our initial report came out, MVM did have to confirm to Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting that it was indeed sometimes holding children overnight. We were able to figure that out from documents that we were able to gather about some of the children that were held there. Then, just a few days later, we got some more information that there was a second office in which they were holding children overnight, also in Phoenix, less than a mile away from the first office. And MVM did also have to acknowledge that that was the case. So now we know about two places, that are, again, unmarked, unlicensed. And neighbors sometimes know about the existence of them. MVM certainly knows about the existence of them. But these are these -- they're not shelters. They're not exactly waiting areas. But they are places that have held children overnight. A lot of those children are children that were separated from their parents. AMY GOODMAN: Who are the kids? Where are they from, these separated children? 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. Mueller Get a Hand on Ukraine! (Image by pixabay.com) Details DMCA Robert Mueller is on a roll. He's making all the right moves and going nowhere with his indictments. If you read the following carefully, you'll see the shell game he's playing from every angle. He's indicted the right group, just the wrong people. Let's start with what you know. Both of Mueller's indictments are based on the political witch-hunt Washington is on to destroy Russia and Donald Trump to support Ukraine. What you don't know is that either Robert Mueller decided he loves Russia and wants the facts to come out or he just made the biggest gaffe in judicial history. His choice of evidence leads directly to Ukrainian Intel. It doesn't go anywhere else and it offers a direct path to prosecute the Ukrainian government, hackers, and Information Operations groups. This means the US Congress and former President Obama's administration have been directing billions of dollars to support a country whose Intel units attack us. You don't have to agree with me. Mueller names the one group that makes Ukraine responsible for all of it. On February 16, 2018, Mueller indicted 13 Russian nationals for trying to influence the 2016 election. The story of this group was first written about by Adrian Chen as the troll factory in St. Petersburg, Russia. Mueller's original February indictment showcased a list of supposed crimes many of the indicted people were not there to commit, and that is according to his own sources. The problem for the Troll Farm indictment is according to legal and court records in St. Petersburg, it existed only as registered on paper. There were no bills, no payroll, no employees. It didn't exist in 2016 for it to be involved in the US election. Both indictments in US Federal Courts by Robert Mueller shows why both trials were nonstarters on evidence long before it becomes a problem for him. Mueller needed a case where no defendants would show up. The evidence the FBI has was fabricated by the group Shaltai Boltai that Mueller is indicting. Their blog is where the only real evidence of the St Petersburg Troll Farm exists and Shaltai Boltai brags about creating it. This is the information Adrian Chen used for his story and the evidence used by Mueller in the February indictment. Mueller must know all this. He just never expected to get called out on it by the Russians he indicted showing up for their day in court. Mueller is going to have a huge problem using Shaltai Boltai to prove the Internet Research Agency even existed. From a foundational article by Scott Humor at the Saker.is entitled "A Brief History of the Kremlin Trolls," the Internet Research Agency which existed only on paper, ceased to exist in 2015. It was liquidated and merged with construction retail company called TEKA." Humor lays the facts on the table and left little need for any extra research on the matter. Humor notes the results of the court case in which an NGO pushed to get legal recognition of the troll farm as a working business in St Petersburg was thrown out by the courts. The woman they brought to sue for back wages could not even show the company existed. Why the Evidence Mueller has for the Indicting 13 Russian Nationals is Fraudulent Since the St Petersburg Troll Farm didn't exist in the same time and space as the 2016 election, what is Mueller proposing? Do the Russians time travel? Inter-dimensional portals? Is he some kind of meta-data truther like a few of his supporters in the private Intel Community? The article linked above laid the groundwork to look at the people inside every Fancy Bear hacker and influence group. It did so by falsifying Mueller's sources for these indictments. The source is the Russian hacker group Shaltai Boltai who are reportedly former GRU hackers convicted of treason that worked with the US and Ukraine Intel against Russia. I explored Shaltai Boltai's confession to the FBI that they were the DNC hackers. Shaltai Boltai (aka Humpty Dumpty) tried to confess to the FBI after they were caught by the Russian government for treason. They hoped to get extradited to the USA. Remember that fact for the moment. Shaltai Boltai's Yevgeny Nikulin was interviewed by the FBI. According to Disobedient Media's Adam Carter "Nikulin has stated in a letter, passed to his lawyer Martin Sadilek and reported by Moscow Times, that, after his arrest on October 5, 2016, he was visited by the FBI several times, the first of which was on 14-15 November, 2016. During those visits, Nikulin alleges that the FBI had asked him to confess to hacking John Podesta's emails. To quote the Newsweek article that reported it: the FBI visited him at least a couple of times, offering to drop the charges and grant him U.S. citizenship as well as cash and an apartment in the U.S. if the Russian national confessed to participating in the 2016 hacks of Clinton campaign chief John Podesta's emails in July." 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. A flashy parade outside the Presidential Palace in Taipei in June 2017 was billed as a march to change the international legal status of Taiwan. The parade attracted few onlookers but did get the attention of police stationed along the route. The march was Taiwan Civil Government's flexing of muscle and demonstration that it was a contender in the shaping of Taiwan's future. Taiwan Civil Government seeks the ouster of the exiled Republic of China government from Taiwan until the island status can be resolved. The ROC was installed in 1945 as a temporary occupation regime by the United States after the end of World War II combat with Japan. TCG seeks American military assistance expelling the ROC. In May of this year ROC prosecutors ordered the arrest of TCG founder Roger Lin and six group leaders, including wife Julian Lin, on fraud charges. The Lins and the 79 year-old landlord of TCG headquarters remain held in solitary confinement, incommunicado, and without bail. Prosecutors claim that the TCG leadership was an elaborate political fraud ring designed to cheat members of the group into making donations. The parade, under the prosecution theory, was an example of spending money to make money. The showy street march was an expensive proposition with all the uniforms, flags, banners, vehicles, etc. However, prosecutors argue that kind of spending was necessary in order to make even more money in donations. Like an endless pursuit of the end of a rainbow, the goal was always beyond reach and more cash was perpetually sought. Supporters say the parade was what it appeared, a public display of a political objective. The parade was a legitimate expression of a call to expel the ROC. However, neither version takes into account the timing of the parade, just a month after Julian Lin had a private session with Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway. Taiwan Civil Government began courting Donald Trump before his 2016 election, paying $83,963.71 to Washington publicist Shelley Hymes, a longtime friend of Kellyanne Conway, then Trump's campaign manager. After the election, the effort to win favor with Trump accelerated with a dramatic increase in spending with junkets, media sponsorships, event hosting, advertising and lobbying. Julian Lin came to Washington for the Trump inauguration picking up tabs as she went. TCG dropped $62,500 on POLITICO for the Inauguration Hub party site and gave $7,500 toward an inaugural luncheon of the California State Society. In May 2017, TCG's $125,000 investment in the POLITICO Powerlist reception paid off. Lin took to the stage and welcomed attendees, speaking briefly about Taiwan's unresolved status. One of the Powerlist powerful was Kellyanne Conway, who was in attendance. After Lin's remarks she and Neil Hare, the TCG lobbyist and registered Foreign Agent, went to a private alcove where they waited for Conway. Roaming the room, Conway spied Hare and approached Lin. The three huddled together talking until a photographer interrupted and persuaded Conway and Lin to pose together. One month later, after the POLITICO meet-up between Lin and Conway, TCG staged its massive parade. A hoax to deceive followers? Or, a follow-up message to the Trump Administration of TCG moxie? Watch the parade video, you decide. Quicklink Not Found Sometimes, authors delete their quicklinks after publishing them. To see if the quicklink 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. This piece was reprinted by OpEdNews with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source. From Caitlin Johnstone Website Today British foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt repeated the tired old canard that WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange "is free to walk out of the doors of the Ecuadorean embassy any time he wishes," despite the fact that the US government has been increasingly open about its desire to arrest Assange, and that the UK government has for six years refused to say whether it has received a US extradition request from the government which tortured Chelsea Manning. He's as free to leave as a man with a gun pointed at his head after being told "Don't move or I'll shoot." "Serious charges have been laid against him and we want him to face justice for those charges but we are a country of due process," Hunt said of Assange. "At any time he wants to he is free to walk out onto the street of Knightsbride and the British police will have a warm welcome for him." Hunt didn't specify what those "serious charges" are, which is weird, because as far as the public record goes, there are none. Assange was never charged in the notorious Swedish sexual assault investigation, and that investigation was dropped months ago. The closest thing to a charge on the record is a warrant for an alleged bail violation which was absurdly filed a full 12 days after he applied for asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy, and any charge arising therefrom would not be "serious" by any stretch of the imagination. So we have a UK official publicly stating that there is an agenda to arrest Assange on mysterious "serious charges" right before a visit to the UK by Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno, who recently met with US Vice President Mike Pence and reportedly discussed Assange. This follows almost four months of Assange being completely silenced and cut off from the world by the Ecuadorian government for tweeting political commentary. And, according to the editor-in-chief of RT Margarita Simonyan, there are in fact plans to turn Assange over to British authorities "in the coming weeks or even days." The above report that UK & Ecuador are preparing to turn Assange over to UK appears to be true. Big question is whether the US will indict him & seek his extradition, the way Sessions & Pompeo vowed they would. Can't wait to see how many fake press freedom defenders support that. -- Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) July 20, 2018 "The above report that UK and Ecuador are preparing to turn Assange over to UK appears to be true," commented journalist Glenn Greenwald on Simonyan's statement. "Big question is whether the US will indict him and seek his extradition, the way Sessions and Pompeo vowed they would. Can't wait to see how many fake press freedom defenders support that." How many indeed? For all the viral, click-friendly wailing and rending of garments about Donald Trump's "war on the press" because he says "fake news" and picks on Jim Acosta, does anyone expect the so-called free press to rush to the defense of a journalist who is being actively and aggressively persecuted with the full might of the western empire for publishing authentic documents about that very same empire? We are about to find out if this is the part of the movie where the empire rips off the mask of freedom and democracy and reveals its true tyranny. Assange is a soft target, a controversial figure who has been on the receiving end of wildly successful smear campaigns marketed to every major political faction across the western world. He is the logical place to begin a crackdown on press freedoms and make a public example of what happens to those who shine the light of truth upon Big Brother. If we allow them to imprison Julian Assange for practicing journalism, that's it. It's over. We might as well all stop caring what happens to the world and sit on our hands while the oligarchs drive us to ecological disaster, nuclear annihilation or Orwellian dystopia. If we, the many, don't have the spine to stand up against the few and say "No, we get to find out facts about you bastards and use it to inform our worldview, you don't get to criminalize that," then we certainly don't have the spine it will take to wrest control of this world away from the hands of sociopathic plutocrats and take our fate into our own hands. The arrest of Julian Assange would be the fork in he road. It would be where we collectively decide as a species whether we want to survive into the future, and if we deserve to. Prosecuting Julian Assange will officially open an era of rapid regression of civil liberties and the rise of automated totalitarianism. There will be no place for western dissidents, no courage to resist. The defence of Assange is an issue for all supporters of democratic rights 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. The Democratic party has a powerful weapon it doesn't use. To explain: in this country with a prevailing two-party system, each party actually or potentially consists of several sub-parties representing similar but somewhat divergent views. These sub-parties come together unofficially at election time as necessary to meet the challenge of the opposing major party. I, for example, favor the policies of the Green Party, but usually vote in the Democratic column. Bernie Sanders, identified as a Social Democrat, ran under the Democratic Party banner. The Republican party is currently composed of managers and investors in conservative oligarchical business and financial entities, right-wing white supremicists, fundamentalist Christians, traditional and reactionary conservatives, mostly from "red" states, and perhaps others of an autocratic or religious bent. The Democratic party potentially consists also of corporate and financial interests (perhaps more liberal), traditional democrats of the Jeffersonian persuasion, activist populist groups fighting for economic and social equality, the majority of the intelligentsia, and the majority of urban constituents suffering from poverty and discrimination of various sorts. By this description, it would appear that the Democratic base is much larger than the Republican. So why doesn't the Democratic Party dominate in national elections? Aside from suspected foreign influence attributed to Mr. Russolini, we all know there are much larger dirty issues of Republican election manipulation by gerrymandering, voter disqualification, vote counting, skewed campaign financing, and so forth. These issues cannot be resolved without fundamental constitutional changes establishing uniform trustworthy election practices throughout the nation. So what is the powerful weapon? If the leaders of the Democratic Party would acknowledge the great potential for a progressive movement represented by the common interests of its diversified base, it could act with the power of the incoming administration. It would tell the world now -- not just to its domestic base at election time -- what it would do to undo all the trauma and ill will caused by the Trump administration. Specifically, it would commit to greatly intensify its contribution to fight global warming. It would renew its dedication and obligations to its European partners in the search for peace and stability in the world. It would rejoin efforts to create fair trade practices with foreign countries. It would rein in the outlandish forces of rampant corporate influence. To minimize poverty at home, it would impose transparency and regulation in all business transactions and alter tax policies to promote a fair distribution of wealth. It would facilitate a high standard of health and education for all. It would protect essential public services from economic fluctuations. It would adhere to noble principles of social justice. It would redirect foreign assistance from military expenditures to peaceful, constructive purposes. It would commit all of its candidates to this program on pain of not supporting them in coming elections, as the Republicans essentially do now. * * Parts of this paragraph were included in an earlier article: Is Democracy Obsolete? 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 Robert Reich Blog Trump False Fake? (Image by pixabay.com) Details DMCA Trump's meeting with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki was a betrayal of the nation he has a sworn duty to protect. Under Article III Section 3 of the Constitution, the crime of treason is defined as "giving aid and comfort" to enemies of the United States. Trump has betrayed the American people in five ways we already know of: 1. He ignores attacks on our democracy. According to American intelligence, there's no doubt about Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. And no doubt they're continuing to attack, and planning further attacks, on our democratic institutions and even our energy infrastructure. Yet Trump casts doubt about the conclusions of the intelligence community, blames past presidents, and turns a blind eye to safeguarding America from current and future attacks. 2. He publicly undermines U.S. intelligence officials -- taking the side of Putin, a former KGB officer, when Putin claims Russia didn't interfere in the election. And Trump accuses his own government officials of being part of a so-called "deep-state" conspiracy out to get him. 3. He attacks our closest allies, weakening America's standing in the world and playing into Putin's hands. During his trip to Europe, Trump insulted German Chancellor Angela Merkel, mocked British Prime Minister Theresa May, and was rebuked by the French President. His unreasonable demands on NATO -- that members increase their military expenditures to 4 percent of their GDPs -- have frayed our most important security alliance. 4. His campaign knowingly sought help from a Russian agent. In June, 2016, senior members of Trump's campaign, including Don Jr., Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort, met with a Russian lawyer who, before they met, had promised them damaging information on Clinton. 5. Then in July 2016 Trump publicly encouraged Russia to meddle in our election, asking Russia to hack Hillary Clinton's email server and release the emails to the public. That same day Russian operatives initiated their cyberattack, and weeks later released the emails. Never before has a President of the United States so brazenly sided with a ruthless dictator intent on destroying American democracy. If this is not treason, what is it? Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. I found an email from Charlie Crist this morning which ticked me off (what a surprise) and emailed him back. If an OEN editor can attach Bobby Darin's song "Simple Song of Freedom" it would be much appreciated. Someday I'm (hoping) to go to computer school so I can do more than just type and hit 'send'. This is what I wrote him... We have been in military conflict 93% of the time since 1776. That's 21 peaceful years since the nation's birth. That percentage may be a little low, since I first saw it several years ago. Looking at our recent history, this so-called great democracy is a sham. Popular vote doesn't count. The PNAC was about building our military defenses, like we already didn't have enough. The PNAC also contains the words "nothing less than a New Pearl Harbor" will get the American people behind our going to war in the Middle East. Voila! We get 9/11, which we were either tacitly or actively involved in. "Jet fuel fires"..., "who would have ever thought"....What a crock. The US is not "for, of and by the people"...it's for global hegemony. As far as I can tell, every war in our recent history has been started by False Flag attacks.....except I found this online: "For Those Who Don't 'Believe' in 'Conspiracies' Here Are 58 Admitted False Flag Attacks". And the good guys here in the states wanting peace, JFK, MLK, and RFK, all got assassinated. That speaks volumes about what the US really is. 'Course this is not limited just to the US since there's been a lot of False Flags....I'm sure testosterone also plays a role. "Come and Sing a Simple Song of Freedom, we the people here don't want a war". -----Original Message----- From: Evan Lawlor To: Leslie Johnson Sent: Thu, Jul 19, 2018 10:23 am Subject: Fwd: what we just witnessed... I can't stop thinking about Donald Trump's comments in Helsinki. 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. Just as Chomsky encouraged turning away from looking seriously into 9/11, the most important event in America since the JFK cia assassination, he is sadly lacking here. I like that he's finally talking about it, a half century or so too late, as it just might wake up a few people. Not that it will do any good. If you want the truth about the extinction of life on earth, get "Nature Bats Last" as a link on your computer. And watch any video you missed from Guy McPherson. Or check my links and articles on abrupt climate change and near term human extinction. Or ignore it all, because you will be happier and live so until your lights go out. Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. I remember the Viet Nam War and my neighbor who was killed in it. I remember the televised return of soldiers in coffins, the fact that we weren't 'winning', and that those coffins helped spur the large anti-war protests in the San Francisco Bay Area where I lived at the time. The government now has figured out that showing coffins is not a good idea.. The Korean War lasted about 3 years, the Gulf war about 1, and the Vietnam War about 20, (the US not that long, tho). Today we just over 15 years in the ME..and not 'winning'. Today, we're spared much of much of the graphic horror of the war in the ME. Our potential outrage today isn't sparked enough by intensive graphic coverage. At the onset, we were told to "go shopping". On a return trip to North Carolina from California, I decided to take the Greyhound bus. What an adventure and an eye-opener for me. My sister-in-law had generously packed for me, 3 artichokes (yum, in my opinion), some sandwiches and bananas. I ended up sharing this with an older man who never got off the bus when we stopped at bus stations for passengers and snack breaks. He had no money. Another was an older man with a youngish child on his lap. She got the bananas. The man thanked me. Who knows their stories are... At one bus station, the ladies room had a number toilets out of order as well as 3 sinks with no running water. Passengers were told it would be best to stay in the station and not go out on the sidewalks. I did, of course, and survived 'the neighborhood' to tell about it. From my upbringing, this was a new and different world for me. The homeless hung out the Greyhound Bus station in Georgia, hitting the riders up for a some money to buy a sandwich or to bum a cigarette when they got off the bus for a stretch. In Texas, border guards boarded the bus, and removed a rider suspected of possibly haven crossed the border illegally. They actually stopped us on the freeway to do this. At another stop, a young man boarded, with enough army looking garb on, that I, sitting in the front seat by the door, asked "are you coming back from the war?" "Yeah", he replied. "I was here to visit my kids....and I killed children in Iraq". That was what was going on in his head. His eyes filled with tears and he took a seat one row behind me on the other side of the aisle. He could have simply answered yes, but aired his heartache instead... realizing that the children killed in the war had parents that loved them as well. it wasn't long before I got up and just went to sit beside him. He didn't say anything, but took my hand and held on to it hard...for a long time. He continued to cry. He simply said "thank you" when he left the bus. War is a horrible thing and I don't think a lot of our politicians have a first hand clue. I don't have answers, only the realization that the full impact of sending our troops overseas to invade and fight is a grave decision as Congress is asking our young men to possibly lay down their lives for the country's pursuit of hegemony, aka power and greed. In my lifetime, we've never been simply attacked on our soil, although we've tacitly, possibly even complicitly, allowed it. In a March 23, 2003 article in the NY Times,"A Nation At War: Children of Lawmakers; Senators' Sons in War: An Army of One". I read, "As one of 99 Senators who voted to commend GW for his leadership on Iraq, Tim Johnson, Democrat of South Dakota, wanted the troops to know that "we are proud of our military, proud of their capability and confident that they will win this war." "Mr. Johnson's pride, though, is tinged with a father's fear. He is the lone member of the Senate--and possibly the only member of Congress--whose child is helping in the fighting in Iraq." That was, like I said, 2003..but it's the only info on that subject that I've found. And on April 8, 2016 and updated on April 19, 2016 from the San Antonio Express-News, "Grim toll of military suicides reaches a new milestone." Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Myoglobin Market by Top Key Players (Abbott, Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Singulex, Alere, Siemens, Beckman Coulter, Roche, Randox, Biomerieux), Application, Challenges, Competitive Market Share and Global Forecasts 2018 2022 Myoglobin Market https://www.businessindustryreports.com/sample-request/100974 https://www.businessindustryreports.com/buy-now/100974/single https://www.businessindustryreports.com/check-discount/100974 Global Myoglobin Market Report 2018 report provides the newest industry data and industry future trends, allowing you to identify the products and end users driving Revenue growth and profitability. The industry report lists the leading competitors and provides the insights strategic industry Analysis of the key factors influencing the market.Global Myoglobin Market Overview:The report spread across 124 pages is an overview of the Global Myoglobin Market Report 2018. The Global Myoglobin Market is projected to grow at a healthy growth rate from 2018 to 2022 according to new research. The study focuses on market trends, leading players, supply chain trends, technological innovations, key developments, and future strategies.Available Exclusive Sample Copy of this Report @The Global Myoglobin Market is expected to grow at an impressive CAGR from 2018 to 2022. Myoglobin is a small-sized globular protein found in skeletal and cardiac muscles of mammals. It was the first protein to be detailed as 3D structure via X-ray crystallography. The major function of this protein is to store and provide oxygen to intensely working muscles, when blood oxygen delivery temporarily becomes insufficient. It is present in large amount in muscles of diving mammals such as whales & seals, and thus helps them to remain submerged for longer periods. Myoglobin and hemoglobin, oxygen binding blood cells protein, have similar chemical structure due to presence of a molecule heme, which is the key molecule responsible for facilitating the binding of oxygen with hemoglobin and myoglobin.Growth of the Global Myoglobin Market is driven by increase in demand for myoglobin in laboratories, owing to its potential clinical use as a marker of upcoming heart attack. Its wide-scale use in meat packing process further fuels the market growth. However, limited awareness about this product hampers the market growth.The Global Myoglobin Market is segmented on the basis of Product, Application and Region. Based on Product, the market is divided into human myoglobin and animal myoglobin. On the basis of Application, it is classified into hospitals, research institutes and others.Purchase this report online with 124 Pages, List of Tables & Figures and in-depth Table of Contents on Global Myoglobin Market Report 2018 @Major Key Players:1 Abbott Diagnostics2 Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics3 Singulex4 Alere5 Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics6 Beckman Coulter7 Roche Diagnostics Corp8 Randox Laboratories9 Biomerieux10 Boditech Med and More..Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report covers:1 North America Country (United States, Canada)2 South America3 Asia Country (China, Japan, India, Korea)4 Europe Country (Germany, UK, France, Italy)5 Other Country (Middle East, Africa, GCC)Grab Your Report at an Impressive Discount @This study answers to the below key questions:1 What will the market size be in 2022 and what will the growth rate be?2 What are the key market trends?3 What are the challenges to market growth?4 Who are the key players in this market?5 What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key players?In the end, this report covers data and information on capacity and production overview, production, market share analysis, sales overview, supply, sales, and shortage, import, export and consumption as well as cost, price, revenue and gross margin of Myoglobin Market.Major Points in Table of Contents:Global Myoglobin Market Report 20181 Myoglobin Product Definition2 Global Myoglobin Market Manufacturer Share and Market Overview3 Manufacturer Myoglobin Business Introduction4 Global Myoglobin Segmentation (Region Level)5 Global Myoglobin Market Segmentation (Product Type Level)6 Global Myoglobin Market Segmentation (Industry Level)7 Global Myoglobin Market Segmentation (Channel Level)8 Myoglobin Market Forecast 2018-20229 Myoglobin Segmentation Product Type10 Myoglobin Segmentation Industry11 Myoglobin Cost of Production Analysis12 ConclusionAbout usBusinessindustryReports.com is digital database of comprehensive market reports for global industries. As a market research company, we take pride in equipping our clients with insights and data that holds the power to truly make a difference to their business. Our mission is singular and well-defined we want to help our clients envisage their business environment so that they are able to make informed, strategic and therefore successful decisions for themselves.Media ContactBusiness Industry ReportsPune Indiasales@businessindustryreports.com+19376349940 As Per New Research, Global Digital Healthcare Market Expected to witness Substantial Growth during the Forecast Period till 2022: Top Key players like WebMD, Biotelemetry, Allscripts, Cerner Corporation https://www.researchnreports.com/request_sample.php?id=111304 https://www.researchnreports.com/ask_for_discount.php?id=111304 https://www.researchnreports.com/enquiry_before_buying.php?id=111304 www.researchnreports.com Global Digital Healthcare Market Professional Survey Report to 2022 Purchase This Report by calling ResearchnReports.com.Digital health can give people the opportunity to be provided with smart care in a homely environment, meaning that they can live an independent lifestyle. Caregivers can be provided with adequate resources and tools to be able to manage care services effectively and efficiently, whilst people can be monitored in the comfort of their own home.The Global Digital Healthcare Market is an exceptionally divided, niche market with the presence of a limited number of merchants. The report systematically analyzes the most vital details of the global Digital Healthcare market with the help of an in-depth and professional analysis. Described in a ground-up way, the report presents an all-inclusive overview of the market based on the aspects that are expected to have a substantial and measurable impact on the markets developmental prospects over the forecast period.Ask for PDF Sample Copy:Company Profiled: The Key Players operating in the Digital Healthcare Market includes WebMD, Biotelemetry, Allscripts, Cerner Corporation.The foremost business strategies such as associations, partnerships and the contracts that are implemented by the vital players in the market are recognized and analyzed in the report. Additionally, the report also offers the extensive research of the Digital Healthcare market and detailed insights on the competitiveness of the players. For each market segments, the report figures out their competitors, product type, application and specifications.Apart from this, the research report offers the vital segmentation of the market that merges on the development rate and market of Digital Healthcare. The key drivers, opportunities, difficulties and the forthcoming trends of the market are well explained to the viewers for their better understanding. Similarly, its key products, end users, applications and technological details are emphasized in this report. It also examines the growth status in the regions like North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa.To Get Reasonable Discount:Global Digital Healthcare Market is the best way to win the finest business selections. Numerous organizations are starting to know about the implication and outcome of the market in each aspect of their business. Many more are willing to spend more currency just to get the exact and precise demographics of their market. The massive rate of the customers selects products and services from an organization that has a strong and accurate marketing research.Table of ContentsGlobal Digital Healthcare Market Research Report 2018Chapter 1 Digital Healthcare Market OverviewChapter 2 Global Economic Impact on IndustryChapter 3 Global Market Competition by ManufacturersChapter 4 Global Production, Revenue (Value) by RegionChapter 5 Global Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by RegionsChapter 6 Global Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7 Global Digital Healthcare Market Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8 Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11 Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter 12 Global Digital Healthcare Market ForecastFor More Information:About Research N Reports:Research N Reports is a new age market research firm where we focus on providing information that can be effectively applied. Today being a consumer driven market, companies require information to deal with the complex and dynamic world of choices. Where relying on a sound board firm for your decisions becomes crucial. Research N Reports specializes in industry analysis, market forecasts and as a result getting quality reports covering all verticals, whether be it gaining perspective on current market conditions or being ahead in the cut throat Global competition. Since we excel at business research to help businesses grow, we also offer consulting as an extended arm to our services which only helps us gain more insight into current trends and problems. Consequently, we keep evolving as an all-rounder provider of viable information under one roof.Contact:Sunny Denis(Sales Manager),(Research N Reports)10916, Gold Point Dr,Houston, TX, Pin - 77064,+1-8886316977,sales@researchnreports.com, Wireless Audio Market Extensive Analysis of Changing Market Dynamics, Major Manufacturers, and Key Segments Wireless Audio Market - Algoro Reports https://www.algororeports.com/sample-request/global-wireless-audio-market-by-manufacturers-regions-type-and-application-forecast-to-2023 https://www.algororeports.com/enquiry/global-wireless-audio-market-by-manufacturers-regions-type-and-application-forecast-to-2023 https://www.algororeports.com/reports/global-wireless-audio-market-by-manufacturers-regions-type-and-application-forecast-to-2023 www.algororeports.com Wireless technology is beneficial for the overall growth of the global semiconductor and electronics industry. The wireless technology is mainly used in audio device and audio streaming device to get the music streaming.To know about the expectations considered for the study, downloads sample PDF:Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Wireless Audio in global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.With the wireless connectivity continues to remain an important feature of audio products, Wireless Audio industry grow quickly in recent years.CurrentlyWireless Audio industry has historically had a rapid growth driven primarily by growth in smartphone and tablet. Other driving factors include the development of Bluetooth and WIFI technology. Bluetooth and WIFI has become a basic functionality in audio products.Meanwhile, with the growth of smartphone shipment in Asia, Wireless Audio will have a fast growth in Asia region, the ODMs may elect to manufacture their own products that are similar to original brand. It will increase the additional competition from this companies, principally located in or originating from the Asia Pacific region, which offer very low cost products, including products modeled on, direct copies of, or counterfeits products. It will lead to cause market pricing pressure, customer dissatisfaction and harm to reputation and brand name.The worldwide market for Wireless Audio is expected to grow at a CAGR of roughly xx% over the next five years, will reach xx million US$ in 2023, from xx million US$ in 2017, according to a new GIR (Global Info Research) study.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report covers Apple(Beats) LG Bose SAMSUNG(Harman) LogitechJaybird Plantronics Sennheiser Sonos DEI Vizio Boston Sony Shure VOXX Philips YAMAHA Jabra Amazon GoogleMake an enquiry before buying this Report:Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers North America (United States, Canada and Mexico) Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy) Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia) South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia etc.) Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, covers Sound Bar and Wireless Speakers Wireless Headphones& Earphones Wireless MicrophoneMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided into Consumer and Home Commercial AutomotiveThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Wireless Audio market.Chapter 1, to describe Wireless Audio Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Wireless Audio, with sales, revenue, and price of Wireless Audio, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Wireless Audio, for each region, from 2013 to 2018;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the market by countries, by type, by application and by manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2013 to 2018;Chapter 12, Wireless Audio market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2018 to 2023;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Wireless Audio sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data sourceAccess Full Report and ask for the discount Details at:AlgoroReports is a part of Algororesearch Consultant Pvt. Ltd. AlgoroReports is one of the largest collections of market research reports from numerous publishers with the team of industries specialist that meet with best client requirements. Market Research is based on a research project that may also be an expansion on past work in the field. Research projects can be used to develop further knowledge on a topic, geography, culture, linguistics, and community to provide exact idea about existing market.Neel PatelManager Business Developmentneel.patel@algororeports.comPh: +19725918785 (US)info@algororeports.com Financial Management Software market to Witness Steady Growth during the Forecast Period 2017-2023 by market Segment, Type and Application Analysis https://www.itintelligencemarkets.com/request_sample.php?id=291 https://www.itintelligencemarkets.com/enquiry_before_buying.php?id=291 https://www.itintelligencemarkets.com/ask_for_discount.php?id=291 https://www.itintelligencemarkets.com/ A financial management system is a blend of the methodologies and tools that allow the businesses to keep a record of their income, expenses and other assets. Various factors are responsible for the Financial Management Software market's growth trajectory, which are studied at length in the report.Financial management software Market is expected to reach at a CAGR of +3.9% from 2017 to 2023The report, titled Global Financial management software market defines and briefs readers about its products, applications, and specifications. This report is a comprehensive investigation of the business sectors up-to-date outlines, industry upgrade drivers, and manacles. It gives market projections for the coming years. It contains an analysis of late augmentations in innovation, Porter's five force model investigation and dynamic profiles of hand-picked industry competitorGet Sample Copy of this Report @Top Key Vendors in Market:SAP, Infor, Tyler Technologies, SAS, Intacct, Microsoft, FinancialForce, The Balance, Syspro, Oracle, NetSuite, Banktivity, CountAbout, Mvelopes, Moneyspire, YNABThe research report segments the Global Financial management software Market on the basis of application into clinics, residential, and hospitals, and others. On the basis of geography, the global market is divided into North America, China, Europe, Japan, India, and Southeast Asia. The research report observes that North America will be a key regional market in the overall market.To present a clear vision of the Financial Management Software market the competitive landscape has been thoroughly analyzed utilizing the value chain analysis. The opportunities and dangers exhibit later on for the key market players have likewise been stressed in the production.For more Information:Table of Content:Global Financial Management Software Market Research Report 2017-2023Chapter 1: Industry OverviewChapter 2: Financial Management Software International and China Market AnalysisChapter 3: Environment Analysis of Financial Management SoftwareChapter 4: Analysis of Revenue by ClassificationsChapter 5: Analysis of Revenue by Regions and ApplicationsChapter 6: Analysis of Financial Management Software Revenue Market Status.Chapter 7: Analysis of Financial Management Software Industry Key ManufacturersChapter 8: Sales Price and Gross Margin AnalysisChapter 9: Marketing Trader or Distributor Analysis of Financial Management SoftwareChapter 10: Development Trend of Financial Management Software Industry 2016-2021Chapter 11: Industry Chain Suppliers of Financial Management Software market with Contact InformationChapter 12: New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis of Financial Management SoftwareChapter 13: Conclusion of the Global Financial Management Software Industry 2015 Market Research ReportAsk for discount@About IT Intelligence Markets:We at IT Intelligence Markets conduct intensive market research and generate detailed reports about the products and services offered in the IT domain. Our team is devoted to providing custom reports that are taylor-made to suit the customers requirements. We make sure to keep our customers updated with the latest market dynamics as IT industry is undergoing sea change intrinsically & extrinsically by forces such as regulatory fluctuations, rapidly evolving consumer preferences, and newer technologies. Not only do our market research analysts scrutinize market requirements but also track competitors relentlessly for obtaining the most updated scenario of the market.Contact Name: Vijay TannaAddress: Survey No-9/4, Flat# 6, Panchshil Park, Ganpati Marg, Nigidi, Pune 411044Website:Email: sales@itintelligencemarkets.comPhone: +91 976-460-7607 Courier Management Software Market Size, Application Analysis, Regional Outlook, Growth Trends, Key Players, Competitive Strategies and Forecasts, 2017 2023 https://www.itintelligencemarkets.com/request_sample.php?id=507 https://www.itintelligencemarkets.com/enquiry_before_buying.php?id=507 https://www.itintelligencemarkets.com/ask_for_discount.php?id=507 https://www.itintelligencemarkets.com/ Courier Management System is an application program that is used to help handle all transactions for the delivery business. Growth in international trade are the key factors driving this market.Courier Management Software Market is expected to reach at a CAGR of + 11% from 2017 to 2023The increasing need for this product and the growing acceptance of its concept are likely to fuel the demand for Courier Management Software market across the world in the near future. The faster deployment of these industry and the scalability and flexibility they offer are expected to add to their popularity over the forecast period are clearly mentioned.Get Sample Copy of this Report @Top Key Vendors in Market:Datatrac, Innovative Informatics, Key Software Systems, MetaFour, Softec, ASK Technology, Boolean IT Solutions, Coda Commerce, Codeless Group, Connexion Technology, Courier Softwares, Courierscripts, DA Systems, DNG Web Tech, Febno Technologies, Line FocusThe Courier Management Software Market based on regional classification is studied for North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa markets. The business in every individual nation showcase is examined in view of elements, for example, per capita wage, people, GDP, status of framework, acquiring power parity, and so forth. Technology progression, industry comprehension, end-user preference, and comparative such groundsMarket segment by Type, Courier Management Software can be split into On-premises courier management software and Cloud-based courier management software. A major portion of the report is about the segmentation of the Courier Management Software market. By various criteria, the report segments the market and studies them individually. The report also provides information such as the leading segment or sub-segment, slowest growing segment and sub-segment of the market.For more Information:Table of Content:Global Courier Management Software Market Research Report 2017-2023Chapter 1: Industry OverviewChapter 2: Courier Management Software International and China Market AnalysisChapter 3: Environment Analysis of Courier Management SoftwareChapter 4: Analysis of Revenue by ClassificationsChapter 5: Analysis of Revenue by Regions and ApplicationsChapter 6: Analysis of Courier Management Software market Revenue Market Status.Chapter 7: Analysis of Courier Management Software Industry Key ManufacturersChapter 8: Sales Price and Gross Margin AnalysisChapter 9: Marketing Trader or Distributor Analysis of Courier Management SoftwareChapter 10: Development Trend of Courier Management Software Industry 2016-2021Chapter 11: Industry Chain Suppliers of Courier Management Software market with Contact InformationChapter 12: New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis of Courier Management SoftwareChapter 13: Conclusion of the Global Courier Management Software Industry 2015 Market Research ReportAsk for discount@About IT Intelligence Markets:We at IT Intelligence Markets conduct intensive market research and generate detailed reports about the products and services offered in the IT domain. Our team is devoted to providing custom reports that are taylor-made to suit the customers requirements. We make sure to keep our customers updated with the latest market dynamics as IT industry is undergoing sea change intrinsically & extrinsically by forces such as regulatory fluctuations, rapidly evolving consumer preferences, and newer technologies. Not only do our market research analysts scrutinize market requirements but also track competitors relentlessly for obtaining the most updated scenario of the market.Contact Name: Vijay TannaAddress: Survey No-9/4, Flat# 6, Panchshil Park, Ganpati Marg, Nigidi, Pune 411044Website:Email: sales@itintelligencemarkets.comPhone: +91 976-460-7607 Copy Paper Market Insights by Size, Status and Forecast 2023 | Top Players - Deli, DoubleA, HP, Xerox, HammerMill, Staples & Reflex Paper Copy Paper Market Insights https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/908434-emea-europe-middle-east-and-africa-copy-paper-market https://www.htfmarketreport.com/enquiry-before-buy/908434-emea-europe-middle-east-and-africa-copy-paper-market https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=908434 https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/908434-emea-europe-middle-east-and-africa-copy-paper-market https://www.linkedin.com/company/13388569/ https://www.facebook.com/htfmarketintelligence/ https://twitter.com/htfmarketreport https://plus.google.com/u/0/+NidhiBhawsar-SEO_Expert?rel=author HTF MI recently introduced EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Copy Paper Market study with in-depth overview, describing about the Product / Industry Scope and elaborates market outlook and status to 2023. The market Study is segmented by key regions which is accelerating the marketization. At present, the market is developing its presence and some of the key players from the complete study are Deli, DoubleA, HP, Xerox, HammerMill, Staples & Reflex Paper etc.Request Sample of EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Copy Paper Market Report 2018 @:This report studies the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Copy Paper market size, industry status and forecast, competition landscape and growth opportunity. This research report categorizes the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Copy Paper market by companies, region, type and end-use industry.Browse 100+ market data Tables and Figures spread through Pages and in-depth TOC on " Copy Paper Market by Type (White Copy Paper & Color Copy Paper), by End-Users/Application (Home Use & Commercial), Organization Size, Industry, and Region - Forecast to 2023". Early buyers will receive 10% customization on comprehensive study.In order to get a deeper view of Market Size, competitive landscape is provided i.e. Revenue (Million USD) by Players (2013-2018), Revenue Market Share (%) by Players (2013-2018) and further a qualitative analysis is made towards market concentration rate, product/service differences, new entrants and the technological trends in future.Enquire for customization in Report @Competitive Analysis:The key players are highly focusing innovation in production technologies to improve efficiency and shelf life. The best long-term growth opportunities for this sector can be captured by ensuring ongoing process improvements and financial flexibility to invest in the optimal strategies. Company profile section of players such as Deli, DoubleA, HP, Xerox, HammerMill, Staples & Reflex Paper includes its basic information like legal name, website, headquarters, its market position, historical background and top 5 closest competitors by Market capitalization / revenue along with contact information. Each player/ manufacturer revenue figures, growth rate and gross profit margin is provided in easy to understand tabular format for past 5 years and a separate section on recent development like mergers, acquisition or any new product/service launch etc.Market Segments:The EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Copy Paper Market has been divided into type, application, and region.On The Basis Of Type: White Copy Paper & Color Copy Paper.On The Basis Of Application: Home Use & CommercialOn The Basis Of Region, this report is segmented into following key geographies, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), and market share, growth rate of Copy Paper in these regions, from 2013 to 2023 (forecast), covering North America (U.S. & Canada) {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Analysis (%) and Opportunity Analysis} Latin America (Brazil, Mexico & Rest of Latin America) {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Share (%) and Opportunity Analysis} Europe (The U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Sweden & RoE) {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Share (%) and Opportunity Analysis} Asia-Pacific (China, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Rest of Asia) {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Share (%) and Opportunity Analysis} Middle East & Africa (GCC, South Africa, North Africa, RoMEA) {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Share (%) and Opportunity Analysis} Rest of World {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Analysis (%) and Opportunity Analysis}Buy Single User License of EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Copy Paper Market Report 2018 @Have a look at some extracts from Table of ContentIntroduction about EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Copy PaperEMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Copy Paper Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 2017Copy Paper Market by Application/End UsersEMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Copy Paper Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Applications(2013-2023) table defined for each application/end-users like [Home Use & Commercial]EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Copy Paper Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2023)Copy Paper Competition by Players/Suppliers, Region, Type and ApplicationCopy Paper (Volume, Value and Sales Price) table defined for each geographic region defined.EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Copy Paper Players/Suppliers Profiles and Sales DataAdditionally Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors list is being provided for each listed manufacturersMarket Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018) table for each product type which include White Copy Paper & Color Copy PaperCopy Paper Manufacturing Cost AnalysisCopy Paper Key Raw Materials AnalysisCopy Paper Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers, Industrial Chain AnalysisMarket Forecast (2018-2023)........and more in complete table of ContentsBrowse for Full Report at:Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.About Author:HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Contact US :Craig Francis (PR & Marketing Manager)HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA 08837Phone: +1 (206) 317 1218sales@htfmarketreport.comConnect with us at Roofing Chemicals Market - Global Industry Insights, Trends, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 20182024 Roofing chemicals are generally utilized to improve the performance and shelf life of roof coatings and coverings. These chemicals are vital to keep the temperature low in the interiors of the house. Cool roofing technologies has increased awareness regarding roofing chemicals across the globe. Roofing chemicals are preferred for their various properties such as high reflectivity and insulation. Roofing chemicals are vital for thermal management of buildings and houses. The electricity costs are also reduced owing to lesser energy requirements for cooling the interiors of the house. Request For Sample Copy of this Research Report : https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/362 Prevalent Scenario in Roofing Chemicals Market Increasing construction activities have boosted the demand for roofing chemicals across the globe. Asphalt roofing material is widely used for buildings. It is the most-widely used type of roofing chemical. Asphalt provides the best performance in terms of roofing material. Factors such as wide choices in top-surfacing, insulation, reduced deformation, reduced flushing, better texture and durability have further boosted the demand for asphalt roofing chemicals. Other factors such as lower cost, lower crack formation, and flexibility also drive the demand for asphalt. Asphalt roofing also form part of fire, wind and hail resistant roof systems. In terms of application segment, bituminous roofs are in high demand owing to their rigidness and long life. Bituminous roofs are very durable and generally have extended shelf life. They can be used with conventional shingles, which makes them suitable for quick installation. Regional Outlook of Roofing Chemicals Market Currently, Asia Pacific is the leading market for roofing chemicals. Countries such as China, India, Japan, Australia, and South Korea among others drive roofing chemicals market in this region. China is the dominant player in this market not only in Asia Pacific but also globally. The demand for roofing chemicals in China is growing due to increasing construction activities as well as the real estate boom in the country. This trend is expected to continue throughout the forecast period. India is also a growing market for roofing chemicals. China and India are expected to grow at the fastest rate owing to increasing infrastructure and construction activities in these countries. In Europe, roofing chemicals is in high demand owing to the inclination of the region towards energy security, efficient housing and green buildings. Countries such as Germany, the U.K., France, Italy, Norway, Spain, and Denmark among others drive the roofing chemicals market in the region. North America has high demand for roofing chemicals. The U.S. and Canada have set high standards for energy efficiency which has boosted the demand for roofing chemicals in this region. Middle East and Africa also have huge demand for roofing chemicals. The demand is expected to increase owing to increasing interest in energy efficiency and minimum wastage in this region. Countries such as UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and South Africa among others drive the roofing chemicals market in this region. The share of Latin America in global market in roofing chemicals is expected to increase during the forecast period owing to increasing construction and housing projects in the region. Countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Chile are expected to drive the market in this region. Market Driven By R&D The global roofing chemicals market is driven by research and development and new product development by leading companies. Companies are striving to introduce new products in the market with qualities such as better solar reflectance index, longer shelf life, high elasticity, reliable adhesion, and dirt resistance among others. Some of the major companies operating in the global roofing chemicals industry include BASF SE, The Dow Chemical Company, Saint-Gobain S.A., 3M Company, Akzo Nobel N.V, and Sika AG among others. For More Information: https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/roofing-chemicals-market-362 About Coherent Market Insights: Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity. Contact Us: Mr. Shah Coherent Market Insights 1001 4th Ave, #3200 Seattle, WA 98154 Tel: +1-206-701-6702 Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com This release was published on openPR. Permanent link to this press release: Copy Please set a link in the press area of your homepage to this press release on openPR. openPR disclaims liability for any content contained in this release. Flax Crop Market Size, Share, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 2018-2025 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/1871 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/flax-crop-market-1871 Flax is also known as a common flax or linseed, which is a crop mainly cultivated in the cooler regions of the world. There are two verities of flax plants, one which yields blue flowers and the other which yields white flowers. Textiles made from flax plant are known as linen, which are mainly used for bed sheets, table linen, and under garments. Oil extracted from the plant is known as linseed oil. It is widely used in paint binder, putty and wood finish because of its drying (water repellent) properties. Flaxseed oil is extracted by cold pressing. This keeps its nutrients in their original form, making it fit for human consumption.Request For Sample Copy of this Research Report :Market DynamicsMultiple health advantages of flax crop is expected to be a major driver for rising demand for flax crops, globally. It acts as a natural laxative, aids in hormonal balance, and reduces risk related to osteoporosis. Moreover, governments of various countries have realized such health benefits and are focusing on providing health approvals for use of it in various products. For instance, in October 2013, Health Canada`s Food Directorate approved a health claim of flaxseed for serum cholesterol lowering. Such claims will aid food manufacturers to state on labels about health benefits of flax consumption to a reduce serum cholesterol, which is a major risk factor for coronary heart diseases. This is expected to positively affect demand for flaxseed in food industries.Demand for flax crop is increasing, owing to demand for seeds and fiber that is used in industries such as food, medical, and textile.Factors such as weather conditions, optimum use of fertilizers (containing nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium), and weed control are key restraints in the production of flax crop because cold weathers and optimum use of fertilizers are favorable for these crops. For instance, according to Flax council of Canada, in 2017, dry conditions have damaged the flax yields and result was 507,000 tones, which is 80,000 less than in 2016, in spite of an 11% increase in seeded area. Furthermore, some governments have stringent policies regarding use of genetically modified organisms (GMO) seeds and use of certain pesticides. For instance, in 2010, the European Union, purchased 70% of Canada's flax. The European Union has a zero-tolerance policy regarding genetically modified organisms and turned down shipments, which adversely affected the Canada's US$ 320 million flax crop industry. Moreover, in 2016, Europe rejected shipments of flax from Russia and Kazakhstan. The reason for the rejections was due to higher than acceptable levels of a chemical herbicide called Haloxyfop. This is another factor restraining growth of the market.Governments of various countries in association with several organizations are focusing on increasing yield of flax seed, in order to cater to increasing demand for these in various end-use industries. This is expected to aid in growth of the market over the forecast period. For instance, in 2015, in Canada, the Flax Council, along with the Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission and the Manitoba Flax Growers Association, developed best management practices and treatments such as row spacing, seeding rate, seeding date and fertility rate, which act as key management considerations for increased flax crop yields and improved quality against the restraint of weather condition.Moreover, in order to maintain the quality of flax seeds, governments are focusing on providing certification standards for these seeds. This is another factor that is expected to support growth of the market. There are flax seed certification standards, which are to be followed for an efficient yield of a crop. Many processing companies reject the crops that are contaminated by weed.Market OutlookNorth America held the dominant position in global flax crop market in 2017 and it is projected to maintain its dominance throughout the forecast period. This is owing to higher presence of flax crop manufacturers in the region. In North America, the U.S. is the most lucrative market for flax crops. Furthermore, according to Industrial Oil Crops Journal, in 2016, oilseed flax is primarily grown in Canada, because of favorable weather conditions for flax farming. According Flax Council of Canada, Canada is the worlds leading producer and exporter of flax seed from 1994, recording flax exports at over 500,000 tons in 2016/17.Moreover, increasing investment by governments in flax industry is expected to aid in growth of the market in the region. For instance, in December 2016, Government of Canada invested around US$ 135,000 in the Flax Council of Canada to develop four nutritious flax-based food products that may also help to lower cholesterol.Flax seed accounted for highest revenue share in the market in 2017. Flax seed is a versatile product and has wide application. Flax seed oil is used as anti-termite agent. It is useful in the process of leather conditioning and wood finishing application.Key players in Global Flax Crop MarketKey players operating in the global flax crop market are Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc., Legumex Walker Inc., Biolin Research Inc (Private-small), Cargill, Incorporated, Glanbia plc, Archer Daniels Midland Company, CHS Inc., SunOpta Inc., Grain Millers, Inc., SWM INTL, Linen of Desna LLC, and others.For More Information:About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com Yoga Accessories Market Size, Share, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 2018-2025 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/1858 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/yoga-accessories-market-1858 Increasing concerns regarding health and fitness among population, owing to rising health problems such as obesity and others has led to increasing adoption of Yoga. Rising popularity of yoga is fueling demand for yoga accessories such as yoga mats, yoga straps, yoga clothes, and yoga bricks across the world. Manufacturers are switching to recyclable raw materials and biodegradable products for development of these accessories, to avoid adverse impacts on the environment. Raw materials such as natural rubber, jute and cotton are preferred over polyurethane, nylon, leather and synthetic rubber for sustainable and ecofriendly yoga mats. Increasing number of people are opting for eco-friendly products, owing to rising awareness regarding adverse effects of using polyurethane, nylon, leather and synthetic rubber products. Lower emissions generated in manufacturing of eco-friendly, sustainable mats encourages consumer to adopt these products, which is creating conductive environment for growth of yoga mats and other yoga accessories.Request For Sample Copy of this Research Report :Yoga straps are useful for cross-legged meditation with proper alignment and balance. Ultra-light, durable, comfortable, cotton blend, soft and smooth yoga straps are on high demand. Yoga straps are available in eight to ten feet lengths, which are also useful in physical therapy, pilates, ballet, and cross-fit. Yoga clothing provides comfort and ease while practicing different postures. Soft, smooth, moisture resistant and organic fabric is provided by manufacturers to attract customers globally. Manufacturers are focusing on launching yoga clothes that are specially designed to absorb sweat while letting the skin breathe. Yoga bricks provide an improved alignment with stability and balance. These bricks or blocks are prepared from cork or high density foam. Odor proof, moisture resistant, eco-friendly yoga bricks are gaining importance and are contributing towards increasing demand of yoga accessories.Market DynamicsMajor growth driver for global yoga accessories market is increasing popularity of yoga. According to Yoga Journal report, in 2016, 36.7 million people practice yoga in the U.S. In 2017, U.S.s yoga market was valued at around US$ 16 billion, which included yoga accessories, and revenue generated from yoga classes and yoga facilities.Furthermore, healthcare and wellness sector is witnessing a steady growth, globally. Statistics published in January 2017, by Global Wellness Economy Monitor stated that, globally wellness sector represented US$ 3.7 trillion economy. Airports, hotels in Europe as well as North America are offering quiet rooms for yoga and meditation. Among hotels such as Hilton, Westin, and Fairmont are providing yoga classes to their customers to maintain their wellness routine.Moreover, governments of various countries are focusing on initiatives to promote yoga and health benefits from yoga. For instance, World Yoga Day is celebrated on 21st June, every year, by performing yoga in a large group publically. AYUSH is a governmental body in India aimed to develop education and research in Ayurveda and Yoga. These factors are expected to aid in growth of the market.Market OutlookThe global yoga accessories market is segmented into North America, South America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Middle East and Africa. North America is projected to exhibit high growth in the global yoga accessories market throughout the forecast period. This is owing to increasing trend of practicing yoga in the region, due to its health benefits. For instance, according to a study conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs in 2016, yoga practitioners in the U.S. invested over US$ 16 billion on yoga clothing, equipment, classes, and accessories in 2015, up from US$ 10 billion in 2012.Yoga accessories are sold through various distribution channels. Brand visibility of yoga accessories is playing important role in reaching out to more number of customers through distribution channels. Specialty stores is projected to be the fastest growing segment in the market over the forecast period. Specialty stores, which provide detailed information regarding the product quality, and pricing help in efficient and effective product distribution.Key players in Global Yoga Accessories MarketKey players in yoga mat market are Gaiam, Barefoot yoga, Jade Yoga, Manduka, Lululemon, and others. Prominent vendors in the yoga strap market are FitLifestyleCo, Padma Seat, Vive, Fit Spirit, OPTP, Wacces, and Peace Yoga.JBM, Gaiam, Hugger Mugger, Suesport, and Veda Yoga are manufacturers of yoga bricks. PrAna, Beyond Yoga, Decathlon, and Proyog are the key players in yoga clothing. Manufacturers are focusing on technologically advanced and innovative products to enhance the sale of yoga accessories. In May 2017, Indiegogo developed smart mat technology in which the smart mat is embedded with over 20,000 sensors, which provides the yoga practitioner vital information regarding body alignment and correctness of the postures. These smart mats can be tethered to smartphones with the help of Bluetooth technology.For More Information:About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com Global CPR Devices Market Estimated to Grow at a High rate during the Forecast Period 2018 - 2023 Automatic CPR Devices Market - Algoro Reports https://www.algororeports.com/sample-request/global-automatic-cpr-devices-market-analysis-2012-2017-and-forecast-2018-2023 https://www.algororeports.com/enquiry/global-automatic-cpr-devices-market-analysis-2012-2017-and-forecast-2018-2023 https://www.algororeports.com/reports/global-automatic-cpr-devices-market-analysis-2012-2017-and-forecast-2018-2023 www.algororeports.com Algoro Reports , recently published a detailed market research study focused on the Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Devices (CPR) Market by Type (Piston, ACD, LDB, ITD), Compressor [Manual & Automatic Mechanical (Driven - Pneumatic & Battery)], Application (Ambulance, CICU, Cardiac Catheterization) & End User (Hospital, Pre-Hospital) - Global Forecasts to 2023Ask a sample or any question, please email to: neel.patel@algororeports.com | Ph: +19725918785 (US) | info@algororeports.comCardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a lifesaving technique that utilized chest compressions and artificial ventilation (AV) for maintaining circulatory flow and oxygenation in case of cardiac arrest. The global CPR devices market is estimated to grow at a high rate during the forecast period. A number of factors such as increasing number of incidences such as heart diseases and respiratory illness; growing prevalence of lifestyle diseases; rising aging population, and increased accessibility to healthcare services are fuelling the growth of the global CPR devices market. A need for trained medical personnel to use CPR technique is one of the major challenges faced by the healthcare providers.Emerging markets such as China, India, and Brazil are offering high growth opportunities for companies engaged in the manufacturing and marketing of CPR devices. Growing unmet medical and healthcare needs, huge patients population base, rising prevalence of chronic diseases, and growing adoption of precise medical instruments in these countries are the key factors propelling demand for CPR devices in emerging nations.To know about the expectations considered for the study, downloads sample PDF:Cardiac Science Corporation (U.S.), CPR Medical Devices, Inc. (Canada), General Electric Company (U.S.), Michigan Instruments (U.S.), Koninklijke Philips N.V. (Netherlands), Physio-Control, Inc. (U.S.), St. Jude Medical, Inc. (U.S.), and ZOLL Medical Corporation (Now part of Asahi Kasei Corporation (Japan)) are some of the key players in the global CPR devices market. Market players primarily focus on the launch of technologically advanced CPR devices, and inorganic strategies such as acquisitions in order to ensure their growth in this market.Scope of the reportThis report categorizes the CPR devices market into the following segments and subsegments:CPR Devices Market, by Type Piston CPR Devices Active Compression-Decompression (ACD) Devices Load-Distributing Band (LDB) Impedance Threshold Device Phased Thoracic-Abdominal Compression-Decompression CPR with a Hand-held Device Extracorporeal Techniques and Invasive Perfusion DevicesCPR Devices Market, by Type of Compressor Manual CPR Automatic Mechanical CPRo Pneumatic Driveno Battery Driveno Mechanically Actuated and Battery DrivenCPR Devices Market, by Application Ambulances Emergency Departments Coronary & Intensive Care Units Cardiac Catheterization Labs Organ Transplant Facilities Air Medevac Units EMT Rescue UnitsIf you would like to enquire before buying report click here:CPR Devices Market, by End User Hospital Pre-hospital OthersCPR Devices Market, by Region North Americao U.S.o Canada Europeo Germanyo U.K.o Franceo Rest of Europe Asia-Pacifico Japano Chinao Indiao Rest of Asia-Pacific Rest of the World (RoW)o Latin Americao Middle Easto AfricaAccess Full Report and ask for the discount Details at:AlgoroReports is a part of Algororesearch Consultant Pvt. Ltd. AlgoroReports is one of the largest collections of market research reports from numerous publishers with the team of industries specialist that meet with best client requirements. Market Research is based on a research project that may also be an expansion on past work in the field. Research projects can be used to develop further knowledge on a topic, geography, culture, linguistics, and community to provide exact idea about existing market.Neel PatelManager Business Developmentneel.patel@algororeports.comPh: +19725918785 (US)info@algororeports.com 28% CAGR to Be Achieved by Global Cyber Insurance Market 2018- now About Growth with Trends, Analysis by Regions, Type, Application and Top Players. https://www.researchnreports.com/request_sample.php?id=197169 https://www.researchnreports.com/ask_for_discount.php?id=197169 https://www.researchnreports.com/enquiry_before_buying.php?id=197169 Cyber Insurance Market is expected to Grow at a CAGR of 28% during the forecast period 2018-2023. The cyber insurance market is flourishing owing to increase in demand for cyber insurance policies. The growth is attributed to the rise in cyber-attacks such as coordinated cyber-attack on regional energy distribution companies in Ukraine, system breach of the health insurer Anthem Inc., breach of the White House's unclassified network, and massive customer data breach faced by LinkedIn and twitter. These accidents have adversely affected the company, and the organization has suffered huge losses in this regard. As a result, awareness of different cyber risks has increased, resulting in higher rates of cyber-liability coverage in conference rooms. At the C Suite level, the market size is expected to grow to double digits, and demand for cyber insurance is expected to increase sharply.Top Manufacturers Covered In This Report are:American International Group, The Chubb Corporation, Zurich Insurance Co, XL Group Ltd, Berkshire Hathaway, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, Munich Re Group, Lloyds, Lockton Companies, AON PLC.Request Sample Copy of Report:Increased awareness of senior executive cyber risk and increased cyber related losses have helped the market. Also implementing data security legislation in emerging countries will lead the market. As a result, insurance and reinsurance providers in the cyber insurance industry have had the opportunity to achieve high margins. But the complex and changing nature of cyber risk limits the growth of the cyber insurance market.To analyze the global cyber insurance market, cyber insurance is categorized by company size, industry and geography. Companies are classified as very small companies ($ 2.5 million to $ 99 million), medium and small businesses ($ 100 to $ 2.9 billion), medium sized companies ($ 300 to $ 1 billion), and large enterprises ($ 1.1 billion or more). First of all, big companies pay higher premiums for cyber liability policies because they have to pay high costs to recover losses. The various industries covered in this report include medical, retail, financial services, information technology and services, and others (utilities, energy, education, government, manufacturing, construction and transportation). The market is analyzed in four geographic areas: North America (US and rest of North America), Europe (UK, Germany and other Europe), Asia Pacific (Australia, Singapore, Japan, Korea and other countries). Asia-Pacific), Lamea (Central and South America, the Middle East and Africa).Get the best Discount in the market here:Nowadays companies of all sizes require cyber insurance. However, cyber liability insurance is most common in large and small businesses. Financial institutions and information technology industries were early adopters of cyber insurance. With the ever-evolving technology, cyberattack technology has evolved and multiple industries such as manufacturing, education, construction, energy and utilities have become targets of cyberattacks. Of all these industries, the healthcare industry has found that the penetration rate of cyber liability insurance is higher.Without a standardized policy, companies can refrain from cyber insurance purchases. Generic cyber insurance policy provided to prevent data loss. However, since 2000, the policy has been specifically designed to prevent financial losses due to data breaches. After passing California's first state data breach notification law in 2003, there has been an increase in insurance coverage requirements specifically designed to cover the costs and liabilities associated with the breach. The complex nature of data risks and the lack of standardized policies are expected to affect market growth. The terms of insurance and insurance coverage vary from insurance company to company. As frequency, complexity and types of cyber-attacks increase, it is very difficult to manage evolving cyber risks. These dangers put multiple gray areas full of industry differences and require the flexibility of cyber risk management tools. Thus, the absence of standardized policies hampers market growth.Know More About Cyber Insurance Market at:The Cyber Insurance Market Report mainly covers following Content.Chapter 1 Cyber Insurance Market OverviewChapter 2 Global Economic ImpactChapter 3 Competition by ManufacturerChapter 4 Production, Revenue (Value) by RegionChapter 5 Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by RegionsChapter 6 Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7 Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8 Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11 Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter 12 Market ForecastContinuedAbout USOur research will change the way you think about problems. We provide global consulting that can transform businesses and give you an experience of innovative solutions and outcomes.Research N Reports helps clients harness the power of innovation to thrive on change. We have successfully guided businesses throughout the world with our market research reports. We are uniquely positioned to lead digital transformations, thus creating greater value for clients by presenting growth opportunities in the global market.Our profound experience provides a clear and confident vision to help clients navigate the future. Research N Reports techniques encompasses both qualitative and quantitative modes to provide customized and highly flexible tailored research studies so that you get information that is just the best-fit to make informed strategic organizational decisions. Research N Reports helps clients decode the future to be more successful and innovative.U.S. Address10916, Gold Point, Dr,Houston, TX - 77064sales@researchnreports.com+1 888-631-6977 Advanced Process Control (APC) Software Market: Geographic Segmentation, Statistical Forecast and Competitive Analysis to 2026 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-pdf/598 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/advanced-process-control-software-market-598 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-discount/598 In control theory, advanced process control involves deployment of a wide range of methods and technologies within an industrial process control system. Some of the key advantages of advanced process control software are improvement in operational understanding, better equipment reliability, enhanced process safety, reduction in process settle time, improved production capacity, and reduction in power consumption. The aforementioned advantages are expected to fuel demand for advanced process control software in various end-use industries.Download PDF To explore detail study @The increasing demand for energy efficient production process is one of the major drivers which is contributing in the growth of the advance process control software market globally. The improvement of energy efficiency by using the advance process control software primarily helps the companies to reduce the cost of the energy and increase the productivity. Food industry, paper industry, chemical manufacturing product industry are some of the major industries in which the energy cost makes up above 3% of the production cost. Large scale enterprises and SMEs needs to install the advanced process control systems in order to reduce the energy cost. In addition to this, the increasing demand of the software to predict the failure at the component level and improvement of data accuracy which helps to improve the system performance which accelerates the growth of the advance process control software market.Among end-use industries, oil and gas industry segment dominated the global advanced process control software market in 2016 and is projected to retain its dominance throughout the forecast period. Companies engaged in the oil & gas sector are increasingly inclined toward reducing waste production in order to curtail losses, both in terms of revenue and materials. This increases demand for APC solutions in this sector. Even minor variations in the production process in this highly capital and resource intensive sector can result in major wastage of raw material, which in turn increases production cost. Therefore, industry players are increasingly inclined toward adoption of APC software that provide accurate data processing and help solve complexity related to production.Browse More About the Market Study @Advanced Process Control Software Market Outlook Asia Pacific holds significant market shareOn the basis of geography, global advanced process control software market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa. Asia Pacific holds the dominant position in the global advanced process control software market and is projected to retain its dominance throughout the forecast period. India and China are expected to drive the market for advanced process control software in the region. The growth in chemical industry in China is projected to offer significant growth opportunities for the advanced process control software market in the country. In 2016, chemical industry in China generated a revenue of US$ 1.4 trillion (CNY 9.5 trillion), which is expected to reach US$ 2.9 trillion (CNY 19.5 trillion) by 2020.Key Players in the Global Advanced Process Control Software MarketAspen Technology, Inc., ABB Ltd., Emerson Electric Co., Honeywell International, Inc., GeneralElectric Co., Rockwell Automation, Inc., Schneider Electric SE, Rudolph Technologies, Inc., Yokogawa Electric Corp., and Siemens AG are some of the major players in the global advanced process control software market.Ask for Discount before Buying @:About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com Mobile Resource Management (MRM) Solution Market Overview, Opportunities, Demands And Growth Analysis Till 2026 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-pdf/642 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/mobile-resource-management-solution-market-642 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-discount/642 Mobile Resource Management (MRM) Solution market is rapidly gaining application importance as powerful business productivity tool owing to its ability to integrate wireless connectivity, location technologies, hardware, data interoperability server, and transaction processing onto single platforms. This system and services also known as commercial telematics, finds major applications in asset, workforce and fleet monitoring and tracking systems, is expected to considerable demand growth over the forecast period. The primary tenet of these MRM solutions is to reduce the execution risk of the field operations, through automating the business critical applications by improving management, visibility, reduce operating costs and increase mobile workforce productivity.Download PDF To explore detail study @Transportation and logistics application segment is expected to remain the primary growth driverTransportation and logistics are the prominent application segments owing to requirement of these systems and services to monitor fleet vehicles and assets such as heavy equipment and trailers. Moreover, proliferation of GPS enabled smartphones and tablets have found increased applications for management of mobile workers. According to Coherent Market Insights, the MRM applications in the segment contributes to around 10 million units, in the U.S. alone.Reduction in costs achieved and high rate of return on investments (ROI) is anticipated to be the prominent industry growth driverUtilization of these systems allows end use industry to enable efficient means of managing data, costs and increased accountability. The data received from these systems is stored in standardized database, which is easily accessible on demand. This enables end user to create meaningful reports regarding the performance of the workforce, and plan decisions accordingly. Moreover, reduced paper work related expenses, low overtime labor costs, accurate job evaluation, and high job completion rates enables increased profit margins. These factors are expected to garner increased adoption rates and propel the mobile resource management solution market over the forecast period.Browse More About the Market Study @High initial cost and reluctance of SMBs towards the mobile resource management solution is expected to present major growth challengeSignificant number of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have reported lack of requirement of these solutions for their operations. Moreover, substantial initial costs of these system deployments is a major concern, even for the large organizations can present potential growth challenge to the industry growth. High upfront costs are primarily associated with the hardware expense and the requirement for backend integration and customization costs.U.S. held the major industry share, whereas Asia Pacific is expected to witness highest growth during the forecast periodAccording to Coherent Market Insights research, even though U.S. held the major industry share in 2016, the industry penetration was still around 40% in the region. Owing to this factor, even U.S. is expected to witness significant growth potential over the forecast years. Asia Pacific has witnessed significant increase in trade activities over the past few years, primarily owing to outsourcing of production activities in the region. China, Japan, India, South Korea and Indonesia are among the major countries that may offer significant growth opportunities owing to rampant growth of end-use industries. Moreover, requirement to monitor the export of manufactured goods and amenities, will help the industry participants establish strong foothold in the region.Mobile Resource Management (MRM) Solution Market: Competitive BackgroundChief industry participants in the mobile resource management solutions market include AppLocation Systems, Inc., AT&T, CalAmp Corporation, Garmin International, Masternaut, PeopleNet Communications Corporation, SkyBitz, Inc., and Spireon, Inc. Industry participants are increasingly making efforts to provide cutting edge solutions to enhance its applications and expand their regional presence in order to strengthen their foothold in the market. For instance, CompassCom announced it plans to introduce its MRM solutions to leverage their investments in ArcGIS. Their solutions are featured with real time monitoring and asset tracking, improved safety, accountability and efficiency for assets and personnel, in June 2017.Ask for Discount before Buying @:About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com Global Biomass Moulding Fuel Market 2018 - Growth Report, Segments, Product Type, Application and Key Trends and Forecast to 2023. https://www.researchnreports.com/request_sample.php?id=79098 https://www.researchnreports.com/ask_for_discount.php?id=79098 https://www.researchnreports.com/enquiry_before_buying.php?id=79098 Research N Reports announces the addition of a new study to its growing online market intelligence repository. The report assesses the figures of the global Biomass Moulding Fuel market and presents reliable forecasts as to the markets growth prospects over the coming years. The historical development trajectory of the global Biomass Moulding Fuel market up to 2023 is examined in the report, lending solid factual support to the analysis and estimations presented in the report.Report Overview:Biomass molding fuel is an energy made from biomass materials such as agricultural wastes. It is produced by pelletizing machine or briquetting machine after various processes such as crushing, drying, mixing, molding or compressing with wood residue, wood branch, leaf, sawdust and razor etc. of straw, corn conversation, peanut shell, the product is used as a replacement for pellets, bars, briquettes, gasoline gas and other traditional fossil fuels.Request Sample Copy of Report:According to a senior analyst at Research N Reports, consumption of biomass pellets has increased steadily in major wood pellet users such as the EU, UK, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany and Belgium. All the statistics reported have demonstrated the need for biomass-forming fuels and the market is growing year by year, and Pike Research's analysis shows that biomass pellet trade will increase sharply over the next decade. Faced with rising fuel prices and the deterioration of the environment, biomass-fuels are the choice of energy sources that are widely used by private and industrial energy consumers. Due to government policy incentives and subsidies, more and more companies are turning to the biomass-forming fuel production business from streaming industries such as pellet and briquette machine manufacturing, biomass material cultivation and transportation, and streaming industries related to stove production, Firearms, boilers, etc., as well as mitigate energy and environmental pressures, provide employment opportunities and promote economic growth.Get the best Discount in the market here:As machine technology develops, the production of pellet machines and briquette machines stimulates the future development of the biomass-forming fuel industry. Finally, pellet consumer products also fuel the pellet market. It can therefore be concluded that the future of biomass-forming fuel production will have tremendous potential market and prosperity.Moreover, extensive investments are being made in research and development to enable product enhancements and improvements. With the advent of new technologies on a regular basis, players are striving hard to incorporate the latest technology to gain a competitive edge above the rest.After studying key companies, the report focuses on the startups contributing towards the growth of the market. Possible mergers and acquisitions among the startups and key organizations are identified by the reports authors in the study. Most companies in the ## market are currently engaged in adopting new technologies, strategies, product developments, expansions, and long-term contracts to maintain their dominance in the global market.The Biomass Moulding Fuel Market Report mainly covers following Content.Chapter 1 Biomass Moulding Fuel Market OverviewChapter 2 Global Economic ImpactChapter 3 Competition by ManufacturerChapter 4 Production, Revenue (Value) by RegionChapter 5 Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by RegionsChapter 6 Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7 Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8 Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11 Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter 12 Market ForecastContinuedKnow More About Biomass Moulding Fuel Market at:About USOur research will change the way you think about problems. We provide global consulting that can transform businesses and give you an experience of innovative solutions and outcomes.Research N Reports helps clients harness the power of innovation to thrive on change. We have successfully guided businesses throughout the world with our market research reports. We are uniquely positioned to lead digital transformations, thus creating greater value for clients by presenting growth opportunities in the global market.Our profound experience provides a clear and confident vision to help clients navigate the future. Research N Reports techniques encompasses both qualitative and quantitative modes to provide customized and highly flexible tailored research studies so that you get information that is just the best-fit to make informed strategic organizational decisions. Research N Reports helps clients decode the future to be more successful and innovative.U.S. Address10916, Gold Point, Dr,Houston, TX - 77064sales@researchnreports.com+1 888-631-6977 Global Travel Insurance Market was valued at US$ 17,530.5 Mn in 2016 and is expected to reach US$ 40,067.4 Mn by 2025, expanding at a CAGR of 9.9% from 2017 to 2025. https://www.researchnreports.com/request_sample.php?id=166266 https://www.researchnreports.com/ask_for_discount.php?id=166266 https://www.researchnreports.com/enquiry_before_buying.php?id=166266 The global market is at a growing stage and is an extremely attractive market thereby supporting the increase in the tourism growth levels and the business travels during the forecast period. In terms of revenue, Global Travel Insurance Market was valued at US$ 17,530.5 Mn in 2016 and is expected to reach US$ 40,067.4 Mn by 2025, expanding at a CAGR of 9.9% from 2017 to 2025.Another investigation added as of late to the store of RNR offers an exhaustive diagram of the worldwide market for Travel Insurance. The report, titled "Worldwide Travel Insurance Market Research Report 2018," takes the key patterns and other critical elements that impact this market, into thought for this examination.For Sample Pages of this report: -The key organizations working in the Travel Insurance showcase alongside their incomes, advertise measure, key business system, key innovation technique, and ongoing improvements is specified in the report. Likewise, profitable suggestions on the open doors players in the market can tap on is exhibited in the report. This will assist customers with gaining a focused edge in the Travel Insurance showcase.Some of the leading players operating in the Global Travel Insurance Market include Like : -CSA Travel Protection, USI Affinity, Seven Corners Inc., Travel Safe, MH Ross, Allianz Global Assistance, Travel Insured International, AIG Travel, and InsureandGo.In addition, angles that influence the development of the market, have been gotten out in the most ideal way to see definitely this market. Every year in the gauge time frame is inspected for better exact information regarding each viewpoint influencing the market. This report is done on the focused scene of the worldwide Travel Insurance showcase has been given, displaying bits of knowledge into the ongoing improvements, mergers and acquisitions, organization profiles, money related status, item portfolio, and the SWOT examination.Avail discount on this report: -Global Travel Insurance Industry Report is a professional and in-depth research report on the world's major regional market conditions of the Travel Insurance industry, focusing on the main regions (North America, Europe and Asia) and the main countries (United States, Germany, Japan and China).The drivers, restraints and opportunities have permitted an access to know more about the market growth and the future scope in the Travel Insurance market. Since the market is still in its development stage, small scale traders have the odds of being purchased by the rich contributors in the market. It is stated that the market rises on the basis of value, growth, advantages, distribution and advertising. To know more about the key players in the Travel Insurance market, it is recommended to do an insight and ranking analysis on the same.For more Information on This Report: -In the wake of concentrate key organizations, the report centers on the new companies contributing towards the development of the market. Conceivable mergers and acquisitions among the new companies and key associations are recognized by the report's creators in the examination. Most organizations in the Travel Insurance showcase are right now occupied with receiving new advances, techniques, item improvements, extensions, and long-haul contracts to keep up their predominance in the worldwide market.Table of Contents: -Global Travel Insurance Market Analysis & Forecast.Chapter 1 Market OverviewChapter 2 Global Economic Impact on Travel InsuranceChapter 3 Global Travel Insurance Market Competition by ManufacturersChapter 4 Global Travel Insurance Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2018)Chapter 5 Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2013-2018)Chapter 6 Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7 Market Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8 Market AnalysisChapter 9 Travel Insurance Cost AnalysisChapter 10 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 11 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 12 Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter 13 Market Forecast.Chapter 14 AppendixIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Research N Reports is a new age market research firm where we focus on providing information that can be effectively applied. Today being a consumer driven market, companies require information to deal with the complex and dynamic world of choices. Where relying on a sound board firm for your decisions becomes crucial. Research N Reports specializes in industry analysis, market forecasts and as a result getting quality reports covering all verticals, whether be it gaining perspective on current market conditions or being ahead in the cut throat Global competition. Since we excel at business research to help businesses grow, we also offer consulting as an extended arm to our services which only helps us gain more insight into current trends and problems. Consequently, we keep evolving as an all-rounder provider of viable information under one roof.Sunny Denis(Sales Manager),(Research N Reports)10916, Gold Point Dr, Houston, TX, Pin - 77064,+1-8886316977, Industrial Hearable Market - Growing Demand, Trends, Market Segment, Revenue & Forecast: Key Players - Sivantos, Sonova, Cochlear, MED-EL, Beltone, Miracle Hearing https://www.researchnreports.com/request_sample.php?id=223488 https://www.researchnreports.com/enquiry_before_buying.php?id=223488 https://www.researchnreports.com/ask_for_discount.php?id=223488 www.researchnreports.com A range of devices across the consumer electronics industry are eliminating cables and including wireless functionalities as a part of the growing trend. A hearable is a kind of wireless device that is positioned in the ear and acts as a computational earpiece. This hearable acts a microcomputer that fits in the ear canal of the user and makes use of wireless technology to complement and enhance the listening experience of the wearer. Many hearables also possess several additional features such as monitoring of the heart rate.Download Sample PDF atThe study on the global market for Industrial Hearable has evaluated the historical and current performance of this market, especially highlighting the key trends and growth opportunities. According to the study, the rising demand for this product is driving the global market for Industrial Hearable significantly. The expansion in the various related industry is also expected to reflect positively on the sales of Industrial Hearable product over the next few years.Report Highlights: Detailed overview of parent market Changing market dynamics in the industry In-depth market segmentation Historical, current, and projected market size in terms of volume and value Recent industry trends and developments Competitive landscape Strategies of key players and products offered Potential and niche segments, geographical regions exhibiting promising growth A neutral perspective on market performance Must-have information for market players to sustain and enhance their market footprintInquire About this Report atBesides this, profiles of some of the leading players operating and encouraging in the growth of the global Industrial Hearable market are included in the study. Additionally, using SWOT analysis, markets weaknesses and strengths are analyzed. It also helps the report provide insights into the opportunities and threats that these companies may face during the forecast period.There are 15 Chapters to display the Global Industrial Hearable market.Chapter 1, About Executive Summary to describe Definition, Specifications and Classification of Industrial Hearable market, Applications, Market Segment by Regions;Chapter 2, to analyze objective of the study.Chapter 3, to display Research methodology and techniques.Chapter 4 and 5, to show the Overall Market Analysis, segmentation analysis, characteristics;Chapter 6 and 7, to show the Market size, share and forecast; Five forces analysis (bargaining Power of buyers/suppliers), Threats to new entrants and market condition;Chapter 8 and 9, to show analysis by regional segmentation[North America, United States, Canada, Mexico, Asia-Pacific, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Rest of Asia-Pacific, Europe, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Spain, Russia, Rest of Europe, Central & South America, Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America, Middle East & Africa, Saudi Arabia, Turkey & Rest of Middle East & Africa ], comparison, leading countries and opportunities; Regional Marketing Type Analysis, Supply Chain AnalysisChapter 10, focus on identifying the key industry influencers, overview of decision framework accumulated through Industry experts and strategic decision makers;Chapter 11 and 12, Market Trend Analysis, Drivers, Challenges by consumer behavior, Marketing Channels and demand & supply.Chapter 13 and 14, describe about the vendor landscape (classification and Market Positioning)Chapter 15, deals with Global Industrial Hearable Market sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.Get the best Discount in the market here atResearch N Reports is a new age market research firm where we focus on providing information that can be effectively applied. Today being a consumer driven market, companies require information to deal with the complex and dynamic world of choices. Where relying on a sound board firm for your decisions becomes crucial. Research N Reports specializes in industry analysis, market forecasts and as a result getting quality reports covering all verticals, whether be it gaining perspective on current market conditions or being ahead in the cut throat Global competition. Since we excel at business research to help businesses grow, we also offer consulting as an extended arm to our services which only helps us gain more insight into current trends and problems. Consequently, we keep evolving as an all-rounder provider of viable information under one roof.Sunny Denis(Sales Manager),(Research N Reports)10916, Gold Point Dr, Houston, TX, Pin - 77064,+1-8886316977,sales@researchnreports.com New Report Focusing on Carbon Fiber Prepreg Market with Trends, Analysis By Regions, Type, Market Drivers, and Top Growing Companies New Report Focusing on Carbon Fiber Prepreg Market https://www.upmarketresearch.com UpMarketResearch offers a latest published report on Carbon Fiber Prepreg Market Analysis and Forecast 2018-2023 delivering key insights and providing a competitive advantage to clients through a detailed report. The report contains studies which highly exhibits on current market analysis scenario, upcoming as well as future opportunities, revenue growth, pricing and profitability.Carbon Fiber Prepreg Market research report delivers a close watch on leading competitors with strategic analysis, micro and macro market trend and scenarios, pricing analysis and a holistic overview of the market situations in the forecast period. It is a professional and a detailed report focusing on primary and secondary drivers, market share, leading segments and geographical analysis. Further, key players, major collaborations, merger & acquisitions along with trending innovation and business policies are reviewed in the report. The report contains basic, secondary and advanced information pertaining to the Carbon Fiber Prepreg Market status and trend, market size, share, growth, trends analysis, segment and forecasts from 2018 - 2023.The scope of the report extends from market scenarios to comparative pricing between major players, cost and profit of the specified market regions. The numerical data is backed up by statistical tools such as SWOT analysis, BCG matrix, SCOT analysis, PESTLE analysis and so on. The statistics are represented in graphical format for a clear understanding on facts and figures.The generated report is firmly based on primary research, interviews with top executives, news sources and information insiders. 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For Enquiry, Click @ https://www.upmarketresearch.com/home/enquiry_before_buying/2100The Report covers in-depth analysis as follows: Chapter 1Carbon Fiber Prepreg Market Overview Chapter 2 Economic Impact on Carbon Fiber Prepreg Market Industry Chapter 3Carbon Fiber Prepreg Market Competition By Manufacturers Chapter 4Carbon Fiber Prepreg Market Production, Revenue (Value)By Region (2013-2018) Chapter 5Carbon Fiber Prepreg Market Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import By Regions (2013-2018) Chapter 6Carbon Fiber Prepreg Market Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend By Type Chapter 7Carbon Fiber Prepreg Market Analysis By Application Chapter 8Carbon Fiber Prepreg Market Manufacturers Analysis Chapter 9Carbon Fiber Prepreg Market Manufacturing Cost Analysis Chapter 10 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers Chapter 11 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders Chapter 12 Market Effect Factors Analysis Chapter 13Carbon Fiber Prepreg Market Forecast (2018-2023)Gain Full Access of Carbon Fiber Prepreg Market industry analysis & forecast 2018-2023 along with complete TOC @https://www.upmarketresearch.com/reports/Global-Carbon-Fiber-Prepreg-Industry-Market-Analysis-Forecast-2018-2023Carbon Fiber Prepreg Market Analysis and Forecast 2018-2023 report helps the clients to take Business decisions and to understand strategies of major players in the industry. The report also calls for market driven results deriving feasibility studies for client needs. UpMarketResearch ensures qualified and verifiable aspects of market data operating in the real time scenario. The analytical studies are conducted ensuring client needs with a thorough understanding of market capacities in the real time scenario.Key Reasons to Purchase: To gain insightful analyses of the market and have a comprehensive understanding of the Carbon Fiber Prepreg Market Industry Analysis and Forecast 2018-2023 and its commercial landscape Learn about the market strategies that are Being adopted By your competitors and leading organizations To understand the future outlook and prospects for Carbon Fiber Prepreg Market industry analysis and forecast 2018-2023.Customization of the Report:UpMarketResearch provides free customization of reports as per your need. This report can be personalized to meet your requirements. Get in touch with our sales team, who will guarantee you to get a report that suits your necessities.About UpMarketResearch:UpMarketResearch () is a leading distributor of market research report with more than 800+ clients. As a market research company, we take pride in equipping our clients with insights and data that holds the power to truly make a difference to their business. Our mission is singular and well-defined we want to help our clients envisage their business environment so that they are able to make informed, strategic and therefore successful decisions for themselves.Contact Info:Name: Alex MathewsEmail: Alex@upmarketresearch.comOrganization: UpMarketResearchAddress: 500 East E Street, Ontario, CA 91764, United States By Vera Eidelman Mark Zuckerberg made several newsworthy choices this week. One -- to invoke Holocaust denial as an example of content that Facebook should keep up because "there are different things that different people get wrong" and "it's hard to impugn [their] intent" -- was ill-advised. But another -- to keep Facebook from diving deeper into the business of censorship -- was the right call. On Wednesday, Facebook announced a policy it put in place last month to remove misinformation that contributes to violence, following criticism that content published on the platform has led to attacks against minorities overseas. When pushed to go further and censor all offensive speech, Facebook refused. While many commentators are focusing legitimate criticism on Zuckerberg's poor choice of words about Holocaust denial, others are calling for Facebook to adopt a more aggressive takedown policy. What's at stake here is the ability of one platform that serves as a forum for the speech of billions of people to use its enormous power to censor speech on the basis of its own determinations of what is true, what is hateful, and what is offensive. Given Facebook's nearly unparalleled status as a forum for political speech and debate, it should not take down anything but unlawful speech, like incitement to violence. Otherwise, in attempting to apply more amorphous concepts not already defined in law, Facebook will often get it wrong. Given the enormous amount of speech uploaded every day to Facebook's platform, attempting to filter out "bad" speech is a nearly impossible task. The use of algorithms and other artificial intelligence to try to deal with the volume is only likely to exacerbate the problem. If Facebook gives itself broader censorship powers, it will inevitably take down important speech and silence already marginalized voices. We've seen this before. Last year, when activists of color and white people posted the exact same content, Facebook moderators censored only the activists of color. When Black women posted screenshots and descriptions of racist abuse, Facebook moderators suspended their accounts or deleted their posts. And when people used Facebook as a tool to document their experiences of police violence, Facebook chose to shut down their livestreams. The ACLU's own Facebook post about censorship of a public statue was also inappropriately censored by Facebook. Facebook has shown us that it does a bad job of moderating "hateful" or "offensive" posts, even when its intentions are good. Facebook will do no better at serving as the arbiter of truth versus misinformation, and we should remain wary of its power to deprioritize certain posts or to moderate content in other ways that fall short of censorship. There is no question that giving the government the power to separate truth from fiction and to censor speech on that basis would be dangerous. If you need confirmation, look no further than President Trump's preposterous co-optation of the term "fake news." A private company may not do much better, even if it's not technically bound by the First Amendment to refrain from censorship. As odious as certain viewpoints are, Facebook is right to resist calls for further outright censorship. When it comes to gatekeepers of the modern-day public square, we should hope for commitment to free speech principles. -- Vera Eidelman is a William J. Brennan Fellow at the ACLU's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. She lives in New York, NY. Firefighters from as far north as Linn County will travel to southern Oregon to aid local efforts to contain the Garner Complex Fire, the Oregon State Fire Marshal's office said Saturday. Incident management teams from Klamath and Lane counties will also join Rogue Valley firefighters as Oregon Gov. Kate Brown declared the series of fires in Jackson and Josephine counties a conflagration. The Garner Complex Fire has so far scorched 6,382 acres and is 8 percent contained, the state fire marshal's office said. The conflagration classification comes days after Brown declared a statewide wildfire emergency, opening the way for Oregon National Guard helicopters and troops to assist in battling blazes across the state at the request of the Department of Forestry. --Eder Campuzano | 503.221.4344 ecampuzano@oregonian.com A motorcycle crash in eastern Oregon left two dead after a man lost control of his vehicle, killing him and his female passenger, Oregon State Police said. Galen Joseph Rottinghaus, 79, was following another motorcycle on his Harley-Davidson Tri Glide north on State Route 3 when the lead rider began turning in to the Joseph Canyon Viewpoint. Rottinghaus steered around and lost control of his cycle, tipping over and off the shoulder of the road, police said in a release. His passenger, Patricia Ann Evans, 77, died of her injuries from the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene. Rottinghaus was airlifted to St. Joseph Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. --Eder Campuzano | 503.221.4344 ecampuzano@oregonian.com Top Oregon Democrats are calling for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide emergency relief to farmers who have been affected by the state's sweeping wildfires, according to a letter released Friday. Gov. Kate Brown and Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley appealed to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue for aid during the fires, which compelled Brown to declare a statewide emergency on Wednesday. "Our concern is that federal programs such as crop insurance, or even normal disaster assistance, are not sufficient for this type of disaster," the letter said. The worst fire is currently the 70,421-acre Substation Fire destroying parts Sherman and Wasco Counties and is considered the highest-priority fire in the nation. Lightning fires are also popping up across the state. Oregon's wheat industry, which the letter says is worth about $186 million, is one of the politicians' main concerns. Experts say $5 million of the crop share has been affected so far, and the tally adds up for farmers trying to make a living. "This type of fire has not been seen in decades and has done untold economic damage to Oregon's farmers," the letter said. Rural areas such as those affected by the Substation Fire often rely on volunteer firefighters, the letter said, and these small brigades do not have the resources to keep up with current conditions. --Lydia Gerike lgerike@oregonian.com @LydiaGerike Be on the lookout, Clark County voters: Your ballots for Washington's Aug. 7 primary are in the mail. For the first time in state history, ballot return envelopes will include prepaid postage, so you don't have to buy a stamp to ensure your votes are counted. Under the state's primary system, the top two vote getters will advance to the Nov. 6 general election regardless of party affiliation. But before you grab a pen, here's what you need to know about six federal and state races with more than two candidates and a ballot proposition: U.S. SENATE Sen. Maria Cantwell, the Democratic incumbent, has 28 challengers battling to claim the seat she's held since 2001. Cantwell, who is running for her fourth six-year term, appears to have little to worry about. She's raised more than $8.46 million as of March 31, according to data from the Federal Election Commission. She also won her last race by a landslide, toppling Republican Michael Baumgartner, 60.5 percent to 39.6 percent, in 2012. Susan Hutchison, the former state Republican Party chair and one-time news anchor, is perhaps the best known among Cantwell's challengers. She's raised more than $433,000 as of June 30, according to OpenSecrets, a campaign fund-tracking website. The U.S. Senate race features 13 Republicans, five Democrats, one Libertarian, one Green Party hopeful and nine independents. The lineup features such fringe candidates as GoodSpaceGuy and Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson, both Republicans. Then there's Roque "Rocky" De La Fuente, who's trying his luck in Washington after his defeat in California's June primary. And if he doesn't make the top two spots, the GOP businessman is poised to try again in Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Minnesota, Vermont, and Wyoming. He's raised more than $1.25 million, according to OpenSecrets. U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES In Washington's 3rd Congressional District, incumbent Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, faces four Democrats and two other Republicans. Herrera Beutler, who was first elected in 2010, had raised more than $1.45 million as of March 31, according to the Federal Election Commission. Democrats David McDevitt and Carolyn Long raised more than $729,000 and $606,000, respectively, as of June 30. All six contenders discussed gun control, tariffs and the federal deficit in an interview with The Columbian's editorial board on Wednesday night. Hererra Beutler did not attend. The 3rd Congressional District includes Clark, Cowlitz, Klickitat, Lewis, Pacific, Skamania, Wahkiakum counties and part of Thurston. 14TH LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT, POSITION NO. 1 After five terms, Republican Rep. Norm Johnson is not running for re-election. The four candidates vying to replace him are Democrats Sasha Bentley and Earl Steven Lee and Republicans Chris Corry and Kathy Coffey. Bentley and Coffey are the only two with previous elected experience. Bentley was named chairperson of the Klickitat County Democrats, and Coffey has served two terms as Yakima mayor and three terms on the city council. Among the Democrats, Bentley had endorsements from the 14th District Democrats, Young Democrats of Washington and individuals in multiple district counties. 14TH LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT, POSITION NO. 2 Republican incumbent Rep. Gina Mosbrucker will run alongside Democrats Noah Ramirez and Liz Hallock. Mosbrucker is the only candidate with previous election experience. However, Hallock is endorsed by groups such as the Klickitat County Democrats, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense and the Washington State Labor Council. 17TH LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT, POSITION NO. 1 Vicki Kraft, the 17th District's Republican incumbent, faces Democratic challengers Tanisha Harris and James Tolson. Harris has been endorsed by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., labor councils, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense and many local leaders. 20TH LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT, POSITION NO. 2 Incumbent Republican Rep. Ed Orcutt will run against Democrat Brennan Bailey and Independent Mark Smith. Bailey, who describes himself as a "fiscally conservative Democrat," is on the Chehalis School. Smith has no previous elected experience. PROPOSITION NO. 1 Under ballot Proposition No. 1, the only initiative on the primary ballot, Fire District 13 requests the ability to raise its levy rate. The district is asking for a levy cap of $1.25 for every $1,000 in property tax to buy new equipment and keep up with service demand, according to the proposition. Right now, the rate is $0.8449 per $1,000. Since its last levy increase in 2004, the district has seen a 225 percent increase in emergency calls, initiative supporters say. The first-response and reserve engines are from 1994 and 1972, respectively. Breathing cylinders and new air tanks also need to be replaced, and the tanks alone could cost almost a year's revenue at the current levy rate. -- Lydia Gerike lgerike@oregonian.com @LydiaGerike UPDATE, 4:17 p.m. July 22: Police have identified the alleged victim as 29-year-old Dallas Boyd of Portland. Portland police arrested a murder suspect after finding a woman dead when a person flagged down officers and tipped them off about the alleged crime Friday afternoon. Terry Hickman, 58, was booked into the Multnomah County Jail on one charge of murder. Portland police in a release said officers were approached by a person on the 5300 block of North Lombard Street at 3:15 p.m. Friday to report the crime. Detectives later found a woman dead and the The Oregon State Medical Examiner's Office concluded she'd been murdered. Hickman was arrested and booked into jail at 4:44 a.m. Saturday. --Eder Campuzano | 503.221.4344 ecampuzano@oregonian.com Coos Bay. Ashland. St. Helens. Portland. Up-and-coming journalists from across Oregon will converge this week at the High School Journalism Institute, a hands-on training program at Oregon State University. These 18 talented students will work alongside and learn from professional journalists as they report, write, edit and photograph stories. By next week, they will be published journalists, with article bylines and photo credits on OregonLive.com. One day they might report the daily news that matters to your community. The High School Journalism Institute has inspired hundreds of teenagers since it began more than two decades ago. During that time, the news industry has changed rapidly. Oregon has, too. But newsrooms don't always reflect the communities they inform. By helping launch the careers of aspiring journalists, the High School Journalism Institute seeks to increase diversity in newsrooms statewide. In fact, two of our professional mentors got their start at the institute. Many of the students selected for High School Journalism Institute already bring diverse perspectives to their school publications. Many students have linguistic, cultural or socioeconomic backgrounds that differ from those that predominate Oregon schools. Most will be the first in their family to attend college. They will earn one of their first college credits at High School Journalism Institute -- at no cost to students or their families. The life-changing program is a collaboration among Oregon State, The Oregonian/OregonLive and other Oregon media organizations, including EO Media Group, Oregon Public Broadcasting and Rosebud Media in Medford. Generous support from the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association, Nikon and Pro Photo Supply in Portland make the institute possible. Follow their reporting this week at OregonLive.com/teens or by following #hsji2018 on social media. Their articles and photos will also appear in The Pride, our annual newspaper distributed to more than 150 high schools. The 2018 class of High School Journalism Institute represents 12 high schools and nine cities. They are: Jane Arterberry, Oregon City High School Isabella Ash, Ashland High School Lily Caporael, Parkrose High School Fabiola Cruz, McKay High School Estefani Diaz Espinosa, Lincoln High School Zoie Gentry, St. Helens High School Hilario Gonzalez, Lincoln High School David Hoang, Franklin High School Jubilee Likayi, Parkrose High School Tayaja Lovato , Parkrose High School Maria Pena-Cornejo, Parkrose High School Rio Samaniego, Thurston High School Josue Sanchez-Valencia, Newport High School Sage Sinnott, Gladstone High School Sierra Stallings, Parkrose High School Vanessa Valencia-Lopez, Reynolds High School Sierra Ward, Marshfield High School Niyah Wilson, Parkrose High School For more information about the High School Journalism Institute, contact director Molly Young at myoung@oregonian.com. EDITOR'S NOTE -- OWI means operating while intoxicated. DWLS means driving while license suspended. (MC) is for Judge Michael D. Carpenter. (L) is for Magistrate Gerald Ladwig. (B) is for Circuit Judge Michael J. Beale. (SC) is for Circuit Judge Stephen P. Carras. Sentences may vary based on previous offenses committed by the defendant. Some sentencings include other fees imposed by the state. Compiled by reporter Kelly Dame. Beaverton Timothy Ryan Cowell, 32, failure to report accident on March 9, $125 fines and costs (MC). Jason Brian Hisey, 32, DWLS on April 1, 22 days in jail with credit for time served, $125 fines and costs (MC). Coleman Jacob Otto Dudley, 27, OWI on Feb. 1, 93 days in jail with all but 22 days suspended and credit for one day, $975 fines and costs, 18 months probation, vehicle immobilized, may not use or possess drugs or alcohol, subject to random drug and alcohol screening, may not enter bars, attend counseling as directed (MC). Midland Nichole Lynn Arnold, 26, South Nine Mile Road, methamphetamine use on Jan. 9, one year in jail suspended with credit for 14 days, $900 fines and costs, 18 months probation, driver license suspended for one year, may not use or possess drugs or alcohol, subject to random drug and alcohol screening, may not enter bars, attend counseling as directed (MC). Rachel Lyn Finney, 23, Shepherd Drive, OWI on Jan. 19, 93 days in jail with all but two weekends suspended and credit for one day, $800 fines and costs, one year probation, vehicle immobilized for 90 days, may not use or possess drugs or alcohol, subject to random drug and alcohol screening, may not enter bars, attend counseling as directed (MC). David Lee Hodges, 38, North Homer Road, unlawful use of license plate on June 14, $150 fines and costs (L). John Michael Letts, 33, West Gordonville Road, DWLS on May 29, four weekends in jail, $125 fines and costs (MC). Dillan Keith McCartney, 20, South Five Mile Road, allowing DWLS on May 7, $100 fine (MC). Tasha Ann Moore, 37, East Carpenter Street, third-degree retail fraud on April 4, 93 days in jail with all but two days suspended and credit for one day, $500 fines and costs, six months probation, may not use or possess drugs or alcohol, subject to random drug and alcohol screening, may not enter bars or Wal-Mart, attend counseling as directed (MC). Christopher Joseph Rohde, 50, East Renee Drive, second-offense OWI and attempted resist and obstruct police on July 29, 93 days in jail for the first offense and one year in jail for the second offense with each term suspended and credit for two days each, $450 fines and costs, one year probation, may not use or possess drugs or alcohol, subject to random drug and alcohol screening, may not enter bars, attend counseling as directed (MC). Karlie Lynn Shoemaker, 22, Ottawa Court, fraudulent use of financial transaction device on March 7, 2017, 93 days in jail with credit for one day, $125 fines and costs, $403.11 restitution (MC). Ashley Kay Wilbanks, 29, Jefferson Avenue, third-degree retail fraud on Feb. 24, seven days in jail with credit for one day, $125 fines and costs (MC). Francisco Javier Yanez, 23, Hedgewood Drive, second- or subsequent-offense DWLS on May 9, 14 days in jail, $125 fines and costs, vehicle immobilized (MC). Jonny Domingo Zimmerman, 29, Bay City Road, DWLS on June 9, three weekends in jail, $125 fines and costs (MC). Saginaw James Michael Faylor, 29, marijuana possession on Jan. 26, 93 days in jail with credit for one day, $175 fines and costs, driver license suspended (MC). Sanford Lynann Lee Rogers, 31, impaired driving on April 17, 93 days in jail with all but seven days suspended and credit for two days, $775 fines and costs, $250 restitution, one year probation, may not use or possess drugs or alcohol, subject to random drug and alcohol screening, may not enter bars, attend counseling as directed (MC). Kirk Richard Somerville, 49, driving with the presence of a controlled substance on Jan. 20, two days in jail with credit for time served, $300 fines and costs (MC). Elsewhere Anthony Robert Centofanti, 31, White Lake, driving unregistered vehicle on May 27, $200 fines and costs (MC). Brande Noelle Poellnitz, 26, Southfield, obtaining drugs by using false prescription and possession of controlled substance analogues on April 23, 30 days in jail with credit for 22 days, $175 fines and costs, driver license suspended for 180 days (MC). Angela May Ralston, 36, Lansing, third-degree retail fraud on March 16, three days in jail with credit for one day, $125 fines and costs, $79.99 restitution (MC). Alan James Verschaeve, 21, Bear Lake, impaired driving on April 7, $775 fines and costs, attend counseling as directed (MC). School resource officers have been around for a long time. They began appearing in the 1950s, and the first documented one was in the city of Flint. Most people know the term school resource officer, or SRO, refers to an officer that provides safety and security inside our schools. They are a valuable commodity. They can break up trouble before, during or after it happens. They can provide a sense of security for students and teachers, so those people can concentrate on the academic task at hand. Teachers have not been trained to be police officers. Today, in a world of increasing gun violence on school property, the hiring of an SRO appears to be an almost mandatory move for school leaders. These officers are an insurance policy for our children and our teachers. And while we insure our homes and our property, who would insure the things of this world before they would protect people. We are glad to see that the Beaverton Rural Schools recently found a way to finance the position of an SRO for its district. The community on the northern edge of Midland County is not awash in cash. But it has made an SRO a priority and got the job done. Midland County schools outside of the Midland district are in a difficult situation. They might need the support of a county-wide millage to finance the addition of an SRO for Bullock Creek, Meridian and Coleman school districts. Time is running out for county and school officials to band together and reach an agreement on a tax question for the November ballot. This question may also have to include Midland schools to have a good chance of success. Yet, Midland schools have a different plan in place -- with officers already on the job at the high schools. There may not be an easy solution. So it may take some exceptional, creative leadership to bring this about. To the editor: Our democracy was established with great risk to those involved so that people could live in equality and enjoy the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (reading, learning and education). Our founders set up a government for the common good. All their work is at risk. The president acts as a demagogue, the forerunner of a dictator. Congress has surrendered its duties to this demagogue. The Supreme Court is complicit in its decision to approve the travel ban against Muslims. What was predicted in George Orwells book "1984" is coming true. Voting is the antidote to this destruction of democracy. Each of us has the right and duty to exercise our right to vote responsibly in August and November for candidates who will ensure and enhance the basic values of our country of equality, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. My book, "Challenges of a 21st Century Progressive," lays this all out in detail. You can order it at www.thisonly.org NORBERT BUFKA Midland The entry-level antivirus from Bitdefender boasts the name Bitdefender Antivirus Plus, and the Plus is very much deserved. This tool totally handles all the basic antivirus tasks effectively, and then goes way beyond in terms of additional security features. Feature-wise, it could take on many security suites and win. Bitdefender Antivirus Plus remains a top choice when it comes to protecting your PC's security. Some antivirus products, such as Cylance Smart Antivirus and F-Secure, stick strictly with the essentials, wiping out existing malware infestations and defending against new attacks. Bitdefender, by contrast, packs a huge collection of security-centric features, among them password management, enhanced security for online transactions, ransomware protection, and even a VPN. To be sure you realize how much you're getting, the installer runs a slideshow detailing the features while doing its job. At $39.99 per year for one license, Bitdefender's pricing matches that of many competitors. More than a dozen others go for roughly the same price, among them Kaspersky, Webroot, Trend Micro, and ESET NOD32 Antivirus. F-Secure charges $39.99 too, but that gets you three licenses for the price. Three Bitdefender licenses will run you $59.99 per year. You can also get five licenses for $69.99, or 10 for $79.99. McAfee costs $59.99 per year, the same as Bitdefender's three-license price, but with McAfee you can protect every Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS device in your household. This would have been the 2021 edition of the Bitdefender product line. However, for some time the company has been continuously refining the feature set of each product rather than holding back new features for one big version release. The latest products no longer carry the year as a version number. Bitdefender's main window displays a security dashboard, with a left-rail menu that offers detailed access to features. Security recommendations occupy the top of the rest of the window, with a collection of what the product calls Quick Actions below. The default Quick Actions let you launch a quick, system, or vulnerability scan, open the VPN, and configure Safepay online protection. You can configure the product to put the File Shredder or Wallet password manager in the main display, in place of an action thats not your fave. Clicking Protection, Privacy, or Utilities in the left menu brings up detailed pages of features and settings, though some of the features only available at the suite level. For example, on the Protection page the Firewall and Antispam items require an upgrade. Under Privacy, the parental advisor and camera / mic protection arent available. Under Utilities, you can use the file shredder or configure the Profiles system, but thats all. For year, Bitdefender's Autopilot mode quietly handled security issues without requiring user intervention. Currently, Autopilot takes a more active role. The aim is to make sure you get the full benefit of this product's many, many features. For example, during this review it suggested that we run a scan for outdated (and hence vulnerable) applications. Autopilot might also suggest that you explore the Wallet password manager, or check the privacy of your online accounts. Glowing Lab Test Scores Three of the four labs that we follow include Bitdefender in their testing. The researchers at AV-Comparatives perform a wide variety of tests; we follow four of them. Products that pass a test earn Standard certification, while those that do significantly more than the minimum receive Advanced or even Advanced+ certification. Bitdefender took Advanced+ in all four tests, the only product I follow to recently achieve this status. Avira Free Security came close, with three Advanced+ and one Advanced. In the three-part test regularly reported by AV-Test Institute, products can earn up to six points for good protection against malware, little effect on performance, and good usability (meaning minimal false positives). Bitdefender earned the full six points for protection and performance, but lost a half-point for a few false positives. At 17.5 points out of a possible 18, it still earned the designation Top Product, along with five others. F-Secure Anti-Virus and Trend Micro topped the list this time, with a perfect 18 points. The tests performed by London-based MRG-Effitas are a bit different from the rest. To pass this lab's banking Trojans test, a product needs a perfect score; anything less is failure. Another test using a wide variety of malware offers two passing levels. If a product absolutely blocks every malware installation attempt, it passes at Level 1. If some malware gets through, but is eliminated within 24 hours, that earns Level 2. Anything else is a fail. Bitdefender passed the banking test, as did just over half the tested products. It also received Level 1 certification in the broad-spectrum test, along with Kasperky, Sophos Home Premium, Norton, and six others. SE Labs attempts to simulate the real world of malware as closely as possible for testing purposes, using a capture/replay system to present each product with a real-world Web-based attack. Certification from this lab comes at five levels, AAA, AA, A, B, and C. Alas, Bitdefender doesn't appear in the latest report from SE Labs. We have devised an algorithm that normalizes all the test results onto a 10-point scale and returns an aggregate lab score, as long as the product has results from at least two labs. Avast, Avira, and Kaspersky Anti-Virus are among the products that appear in reports from all four labs. In terms of aggregate score, Avira and Norton rule that group, with 9.8 of 10 possible points. Bitdefender holds the top score among products tested by three labs, a near-perfect 9.9. Impressive Online Protection Even though the labs heap praise on Bitdefender, we still need our own hands-on experience. Our malware protection test starts when we open the folder containing an eclectic collection of malware samples whose behavior we've analyzed. At this point, Bitdefender displayed a notification, saying, "Disinfection in progress please wait until complete." This proved to be a long waitmore than 10 minutes. When the antivirus finished, it offered a link to display just what it accomplished. The real-time on-access protection system eliminated 83 percent of the samples on sight. We continued the test by launching those samples that survived this initial culling. Bitdefender caught many of the remaining samples at or shortly after launch, though in several cases it didn't prevent the installer from planting executable files on the test system. Bitdefender detected 89 percent of the samples and scored 8.6 of 10 possible points, which isn't great. However, when the labs give a product top ratings, we give their results more weight than our hands-on tests. Tested with this same set of samples Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus achieved 100 percent detection and scored a perfect 10 points. G Data came close, with 9.8 points. Because gathering and analyzing malware takes a significant amount of time effort, we use the same sample set for many months. To check how well an antivirus handles the very latest attacks, we use a feed of malware-hosting URLs supplied by MRG-Effitas. Typically, these are no more than a day or two. We launch each one in turn, discarding any URLs that are already defunct, and record whether the antivirus diverts the browser from the dangerous URL, eliminates the malicious download, or sits on its hands idly, doing nothing. Bitdefender's Online Threat Protection did a great job, blocking access to 89 percent of the malware-hosting URLs. The regular antivirus component wiped out another 10 percent at the download phase, for a total of 99 percent protection, the same as Trend Micro and G Data. McAfee, Sophos, and Vipre Antivirus Plus eked out one more point for 100 percent protection. Phenomenal Phishing Protection Malware attacks your computer, or your data, to rake in cash for its creators, but writing malicious code that can get past modern antivirus tools is tough. Phishing attacks go straight for the most vulnerable componentyou, the user. No coding required; they just need to make a convincing duplicate of a banking site or other sensitive page. Once you log in to the fake, the fraudsters own your account. These fraudulent sites quickly get blacklisted and taken down. But the phishers just build new ones. Any competent coder could put together a protective system that steers browsers away from sites on a phishing blacklist, but that's not enough in itself. A really good phishing protection system analyzes pages for signs of fraud, and blocks even those too new to be blacklisted. Some products, such as Norton, distinguish between blacklisted sites and those identified by analysis. Bitdefender's Online Threat Protection doesnt make that distinction, and it proved extremely effective in our testing. We prepare for this test by scouring phishing-analysis sites for the latest reported frauds, making sure to get a goodly number that are too new for the blacklist. We launch each in four browsers. The product under test protects one, of course, while the other three rely on protection built into Chrome, Edge, and Firefox. If one or more browsers can't load a page, we discard it. If the page isn't clearly attempting to steal login credentials, likewise we toss it. When we have enough data points, we run the numbers. Bitdefender detected almost every one of the fraudulent pages, coming in with a 99 percent detection rate, the same as McAfee AntiVirus Plus and Norton. Kaspersky and Trend Micro did even better, managing to detect and block 100 percent of the frauds. Network Threat Prevention Bitdefenders Network Threat Protection component works alongside Online Threat Protection to detect and fend off attacks on security vulnerabilities in the operating system and popular applications. This sort of protection is more commonly associated with a firewall, but a few antivirus products such as Bitdefender and Norton include it. To see this feature in action, we bombarded the test system with 30-odd exploits generated by the CORE Impact penetration tool. This collection includes exploits aimed at Windows, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office, and several Adobe products, among others. Bitdefender flagged 45 percent of the pages hosting these attacks as dangerous, and its antivirus component nabbed another 29 percent by identifying the malware payload. Its total score of 74 percent is very good. Some products flag exploits using their official CVE name. Bitdefender didnt do so in its warnings, but when I checked the logs, I found plenty of detail. Of the exploits it detected, Bitdefender identified 60 percent by name. Norton AntiVirus Plus is typically the big winner in this test, detecting well over 80 percent and identifying the majority by name. Exploit protection isn't a core antivirus component, especially if you keep your operating system and applications up to date, but in Bitdefender's case it's a nice bonus. See How We Test Security Software Additional Browser Protection In addition to the very visible protection against dangerous and fraudulent websites, Bitdefender also includes an Anti-Tracker component. Anti-Tracker installs as a browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer. Do check to make sure its installed in all three. Note that you no longer need to install the separate Traffic Light extension, as the online threat protection system handles the task of marking up search results with colored icons, green for safe, red for dangerous, grey for not yet checked. When you visit a site that contains ad trackers, site analytics trackers, or other trackers, Bitdefender puts the number of trackers on the extension's toolbar icon. By default, its active Do Not Track system blocks them all. You can click for a summary by category, which includes an estimate of the page load time saved. And you can disable blocking of specific categories. You'll find similar Do Not Track functionality in a variety of security tools including Abine Blur Premium and Kaspersky Internet Security. Enhanced Ransomware Protection No antivirus is perfect. They'll all occasionally miss a brand-new attack. Sure, within a few days most security companies push out an update that eliminates the new threat, but once ransomware has wrecked your files, thats no help. Bitdefender has been on the cutting edge of ransomware protection, and the latest edition further enhances this technology. The Advanced Threat Defense feature supplements regular antivirus scanning with behavior-based detection, including detection of ransomware behavior. Network Threat Prevention blocks the exploit avenues that some ransomware attacks rely on. At the first hint of a possible ransomware attack, Ransomware Remediation backs up important files, restoring them after Bitdefender neutralizes the attack. Ransomware of necessity must modify your important files, replacing them with encrypted versions. One simple defense is to ban all changes to files in protected locations unless the program making the change is authorized. Thats how Bitdefenders Safe Files feature used to work. On detecting a new program, whether its a new image editor you installed or a pernicious ransomware attacker, Safe Files would ask you whether to trust the program. There are a few problems with this technique. First, it adds a speed bump any time you edit files with a new valid program. Second, and more important, it relies on the user to decide whether a file is trustworthy. Maybe you werent paying attention. Maybe your finger slipped, and you clicked Allow by accident. You could accidentally release an attack. Bitdefenders latest edition has retired Safe Files, relying instead on its enhanced Ransomware Remediation. Testing this protection layer wasnt easy. The Bitdefender Shield real-time protection components wiped out all our actual ransomware samples on sight. To even get a glimpse of the other protective layers, we had to turn off real-time protection. In fact, we couldn't copy the samples back to the test system without disabling network protection and web protection. We did make sure to leave Advanced Threat Defense and Ransomware Remediation active. Almost all our samples are the common file-encrypting ransomware, though we do have one screen locker and one whole-disk encryptor. One of the file encryptors saved itself by refraining from any activity, perhaps frightened by Bitdefenders presence. Advanced Threat Defense handled all but one of the rest, including the screen locker. The pernicious Petya ransomware got past the behavior-based detection system and encrypted the virtual drive, rending the virtual test system unusable. Remember, though, that we had to disable numerous real-time protection layers to even perform this test. We've occasionally run across ransomware protection systems that don't start early enough at boot time and hence can miss ransomware loaded at startup. To check Bitdefender's protection, we copied several samples that triggered protection into the Startup folder and rebooted. Bitdefender eliminated them all. We also tried running KnowBe4's RanSim ransomware simulator. Advanced Threat Detection eliminated the simulators essential components, making it impossible to get any detailed reports, which is a fine result. Ransomware-specific protection components are showing up in more and more antivirus products, but most don't go as far as Bitdefender. Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security is among the few others with a multi-layer approach. It blocks unauthorized changes to protected files, detects ransomware behavior, and restores any files that got encrypted before the behavior-based detection kicked in. Webroot uses behavior-based detection, and its journal-and-rollback system for handling behavior of unknown files can even reverse the effects of ransomware. A Wallet for Your Passwords Password management is a feature more commonly found in security suites than in standalone antivirus products (though Avast products, even Avast Free Antivirus, include password management). Bitdefender's Wallet feature stores passwords, personal information, and credit card details for use on websites. It also saves passwords for applications and Wi-Fi networks. Wallet has changed very little in the last few versions. It requires a strong master password, separate from your Bitdefender Central password. It allows creation of multiple wallets (password databases), and lets you choose whether to sync between devices or keep passwords local-only. And it automatically captures login credentials as you type them and replays them as needed. In testing, it managed standard password entry forms but couldn't handle some two-page login systems. Wallet doesn't store as much personal data for web forms as some dedicated password managers, but it correctly filled all the fields that it does store. When you're signing up for a new account, you can use Wallet's password generator, which defaults to creating 15-character passwords made of letters and numbers. That's a good default length, but I advise enabling the use of special characters, for even stronger passwords. Wallet completely handles the basics of password management but doesn't go much beyond that. If you want high-end features like automatic password changing, two-factor authentication, secure sharing of credentials, or handling of password inheritance, you should consider a standalone password manager utility. Bitdefender VPN Bitdefender's many layers of antivirus, web, and network protection keep your devices and their data safe. However, when you connect to the internet your data in transit could be at risk. To ensure privacy for your data, you need a VPN (virtual private network). When you connect using a VPN, nobody, not even the owner of the shady Wi-Fi network you're using, can access your network traffic, and you'll be harder to track as you move across the web. Pricing for Premium Bitdefender VPN isn't available as a standalone product. Even the feature-complete Premium VPN requires that you're already running a Bitdefender antivirus or security suite. This VPN is a rebranded version of the Hotspot Shield VPN service. Bitdefender uses Hotspot Shield's servers and services, but your information is secure with Bitdefender. Hotspot Shield cannot see your online activities and only receives a Bitdefender identifier. On installation, you get a seven-day trial of the premium service. After that, it switches to the limited free mode unless you pay for a Premium subscription. The free version of Bitdefender's VPN restricts your use to 200MB per day. That's more generous than TunnelBear VPN's free version, which offers only 500MB per month. The free version also limits which VPN servers you can access. At the other extreme, the free version of ProtonVPN doesn't impose any data limits. If you decide to upgrade to the Premium edition of the Bitdefender VPN, you get access to all available VPN servers, with no data cap. An annual subscription costs $39.99 per year, or you can pay $6.99 per month. That's a remarkably low monthly cost, comparable to very affordable Mullvad VPN, which costs 5 or $5.87 per month. It's also notably less expensive than Hotspot Shield itself, which costs $12.99 per month. The average price per month for a PCMag top-rated VPN service is about $10.14. Bitdefender is a little more than half the price of NordVPN and only a dollar or so more than Mullvad. A typical standalone VPN allows use on a specific number of devices, most commonly five. With Bitdefender, you get to use as many devices as you have licenses for the underlying antivirus or suite. The price of the Premium VPN doesn't change. Simple User Interface The Bitdefender VPN is very simple: a slender grey rectangle with a large, blue button to connect the VPN. You change the VPN server from the pull-down menu, although you can only select the country to which you will connect. Other services, like NordVPN, let you select the specific server in a given country, and even tell you what kind of load that server is experiencing. Bitdefender is more of a set-it-and-forget-it affair. That said, it has only a few options. You can turn notifications on or off, configure the VPN to connect automatically on unsafe (read: unsecured) Wi-Fi networks, and have it launch on Windows startup. Theres also a Kill Switch option that cuts off unsecured Internet connectivity if the VPN connection drops. The stripped-down nature of Bitdefender VPN Premium is understandable when you consider that it's being sold as an add-on to Bitdefender antivirus products. In fact, you cannot use Bitdefender VPN Premium as a standalone productit must be installed alongside a Bitdefender antivirus or suite product. Other VPN services, like TorGuard VPN, have a host of add-on options, like dedicated IP address and access to a 10GB network. NordVPN and ProtonVPN let you connect to the Tor anonymization network through their clients. Several VPN services also offer servers designed for specific activities, like P2P file sharing. The Bitdefender VPN doesn't have have special servers for P2P, but you can set it to automatically kick in when a P2P app is active. Streaming services such as Netflix dont get along with VPNs, because a VPN user can spoof their device location to get around location-based content limitations. Bitdefender takes an unusual approach. According to my company contact, it can "fully support Netflix US for unrestricted access to local content." If your account is US-based, you should be able to stream from a US-based server wherever you are. In testing, we had no trouble viewing The Umbrella Academy even when connected through a server in Brazil, but Bitdefender doesn't promise that will work. Netflix is very active about blocking VPNs, but VPNs are active in trying to keep their customers streaming happily. It's a bit of a cat-and-mouse game. None of the documentation we found on the Bitdefender VPN outlined how many servers are available, but we've been told it's the same as those available with the first-party Hotspot Shield client. Hotspot Shield has 1,800 servers in about 80 countries. That's a strong showing, beating out much of the VPN small fry. Server locations matter, partly because more locations means more options for spoofing your own location, but mostly because a closer server will usually yield better speed and lower latency. CyberGhost, for example, is available in 90 countries, and ExpressVPN covers an impressive 94 countries. You won't find an option to change the protocol used by the Bitdefender VPN client to create its encrypted tunnel. That's because Bitdefender always uses Hotspot Shield's Catapult Hydra protocol. We prefer OpenVPN, which has the advantage of being open-source and picked over for potential vulnerabilities, but Catapult Hydra is allegedly faster. WireGuard is a new VPN technology and the open-source heir apparent to OpenVPN. A few VPNs have moved over to WireGuard, and we expect many more to follow next year. Average Impact on Connection Speeds A major concern with using a VPN is it impact on your internet connection speeds. Using the Ookla speed test tool, we find a percent change between speed test results with the VPN and without the VPN. (Note that Speedtest by Ookla is owned by Ziff Davis, PCMag's parent company.) Our testing was carried out early this year in our New York office. That office is not currently accessible, so we cant make a direct comparison with Bitdefenders results. But given that Bitdefender uses Hotspot Shields infrastructure, its reasonable to guess it would test about the same. In any case, your results will differ depending on your location and connection. As you can see in the chart below, Hotspot Shield did extremely well in our speed tests. It put the least drag on download speed of any recent product, and also increased latency by the least amount. Surfshark VPN beat out all comers with its near-nonexistent drag on upload speed, but Hotspot Shields effect on uploads is well below the median. Its important to remember that variations in network traffic can affect speed test results. The fastest VPN today may not be fastest tomorrow; the fastest VPN in New York may not be the fastest VPN in Portland. These comparisons can give an idea of which VPN will put the least friction into your connection, but we dont recommend choosing a VPN on speed alone. If you're already paying for Bitdefender and are looking for a no-frills VPN service at a bargain basement price, Bitdefender VPN Premium fits the bill. If you're looking for more features, such as Tor-over-VPN, multi-hop connections, and so on, we recommend looking at ProtonVPN. Mullvad is slightly cheaper, and TunnelBear VPN significantly friendlier. All three of these products have received the coveted PCMag Editors' Choice award for their individual excellence. You might also consider Norton 360 Deluxe if you want powerful security that includes VPN protection. At $99.99 per year for five licenses, it looks more expensive than Bitdefender Antivirus Plus, which charges $69.99 for the same number. However, with Norton you get a full-featured VPN at no extra charge. Norton is a full security suite, with firewall, parental control, hosted storage for your online backups, and more. Safepay for Online Safety Online security is important even when you're just watching the news or posting pet pictures, but it's critical when you log in to a financial website. Bitdefender's Safepay automatically offers protection when it detects that you're about to connect with a banking site or other sensitive site. You can tell it to always use Safepay on the site in question, or never use it for that site. Safepay is a desktop all its own, with a hardened browser built in. Processes running in the Safepay desktop have no connection with the regular desktop. The Safepay browser supports Wallet, naturally, and you can install Flash if required, but other extensions arent welcome. Kaspersky's Bank Mode works in much the same way, though it doesn't open a separate desktop. The Safepay browser's process isolation should protect against any software keylogger or other keystroke-stealing spyware. Going beyond that, a virtual keyboard serves to defeat even hardware keyloggers. It also prevents programs from snapping screenshots to capture sensitive information. You can optionally configure Bitdefender to activate the VPN any time SafePay is in use, for enhanced protection. We tested Safepay by trying to log into a dozen financial sites, some big, some small. It shepherded most of them to the protective shield of SafePay. However, it did not offer SafePay for payment sites such as PayPal, VenMo, and Zelle. Of course, you're free to open the SafePay browser and navigate to whatever site you want secured. And if you no longer want to automatically open a domain in SafePay, you can just open settings and remove it. Even More Features The list of features packed into this antivirus just goes on and on. The vulnerability scan feature automatically runs in the background and warns you about missing Windows security updates, missing security patches for popular apps, and weak Windows account passwords. The related Wi-Fi Security Advisor warns about any security problems with your home, office, or public Wi-Fi hotspots, advising that you use the VPN as necessary. One great way to protect your most sensitive documents is to encrypt them. After encryption, its essential to securely delete the unsecured original, to avoid even forensic recovery. Bitdefender reserves file encryption technology for its security suite products, but the secure deletion File Shredder is present even in the antivirus. Use it when you really need to eliminate a sensitive file so that nobody, not even the NSA, can recover it. Sometimes you run into malware so ornery and persistent that even Bitdefender can't remove it. The typical solution in a case like this is to burn a bootable rescue disc, one that runs a non-Windows operating system. Bitdefender does better with its Rescue Environment. You don't have to burn a disc; you just select Rescue Environment and reboot. Windows malware can't defend itself when Windows isn't running. Bitdefender has long included configuration profiles for different types of activity. For example, the Work profile boosts email protection and system performance, while the Movie profile suppresses notifications and limits background activity. The current edition brings this feature to prominence, popping up a reminder that enabling it can optimize your experience. A Top Antivirus Choice Bitdefender Antivirus Plus offers excellent malware protection, as shown by its superb scores from many independent testing labs. Our own tests show it to be especially effective against web-based threats, including malware-hosting sites and phishing pages. For extra defense against ransomware, it watches for ransomware-like behavior and restores any files encrypted before behavior-based detection kicked in. On top of that, it piles on enough features that it could qualify as a security suite. It's truly an excellent choice, and an Editors' Choice. In the packed field of antivirus utilities, we've named several other Editors' Choice products. The labs love Kaspersky Anti-Virus just as much as they do Bitdefender. McAfee AntiVirus Plus doesn't score as high, but it offers unlimited protection for your Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS devices. And tiny Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus uses a journal-and-rollback system that should undo the effects of any malware that gets past its initial detection, even ransomware. Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 4.5 Editors' Choice Check Price Pros Outstanding scores in independent lab tests and our web protection tests Enhanced ransomware protection Active Do Not Track Banking protection Offers a virtual private network, or VPN Many security-centered bonus features View More Cons Unlimited VPN access requires separate subscription. With all real-time protection disabled, ransomware-specific features missed one uncommon sample. The Bottom Line With outstanding antivirus lab results and a collection of features that puts many security suites to shame, Bitdefender Antivirus Plus is an excellent choice for protecting your PC. Home decorating gurus, you will soon have another place in the Harrisburg-area to buy pillows, picture frames and patio furniture. At Home superstore is en route to 5070 Jonestown Road in Lower Paxton Township at the former Kmart Plaza. A sign was recently erected at the shopping center and a sign affixed to a tractor-trailer parked at the complex says the store will open in fall 2018. A company spokesperson confirmed the news on Friday by email. The Kmart closed this spring and an LA Fitness that has operated at the complex closed in 2017, leaving two major retail spaces vacant. The Texas-based chain operates more than 150 stores. The big box stores carry nearly 50,000 home decor items, from furniture, mirrors, rugs, art and housewares to patio and seasonal decor. The first At Home store to open in south-central Pennsylvania opened in 2016 at the West Manchester Town Center at 855 Town Center Drive in West Manchester Township. One also opened at 1890 Fruitville Pike in Lancaster County. A Lebanon man was arrested Thursday, accused of selling crack-cocaine from a Lebanon home. Jose Luis Medina, aka "Poe," 41, who lived in the 500 block of Pershing Avenue, was charged with possession with intent to delivery crack cocaine, possession of cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia, a Lebanon County District Attorney's Office release states. The Lebanon County Drug Task Force executed a search warrant at Medina's home, the release states. During the search, investigators found crack cocaine in a cooking vessel plus new and used drug packaging, the DA's office said. A cell phone that was used to arrange drug transactions was also found, the release states. Medina was processed by Magisterial District Judge John Ditzler and is being held at Lebanon County Correctional Facility in lieu $75,000, the release states. "Remember Sue's laugh, kind heart and generous spirit," Pastor Mindi Gochnaur told mourners on Saturday morning. "This one moment in Sue's life does not define the woman she was." Hundreds gathered Saturday morning at Mount Zion United Methodist Church in Enola to celebrate the life of Sue Lyons Grundon, who was killed in a murder-suicide in East Pennsboro on Sunday. "The memories are ours," she continued. "They stay with us, even though Sue is no longer physically with us. Hold on to that." Lyons Grundon died from four gunshot wounds, according to an autopsy performed Tuesday morning. Read the obituary for Sue E. Lyons here. The death of Lyons Grundon, 54, was classified as a homicide, Cumberland County Coroner Charley Hall, and Jim Grundon's death a suicide. The couple had been married for about six years, Pennsboro Police Chief Mark Green. said. Both had been married and divorced previously. Police said they were planning to forensically analyze the Grundons' cell phones in search of a motive. "Sue is dearly loved and will be dearly missed," Gochnaur said. "A tragic situation took Sue from us way too soon." Sue was a genuinely sweet, loving and kind woman, the pastor said. "She loved her family deeply. She loved both of her children. Aunt Sue's was where you could get away with eating all the pizza and soda you wanted," Gochnaur said. Lyons Grundon also loved flowers, the beach and yard sales -- particularly looking for things for her expected grandchild. "Sue had a great sense of humor and a great way of connecting people," Gochnaur said. She was remembered as "Sue," "Mom," "Sue Ellen when she was in trouble," "Tater, because of how many potatoes she wanted to eat," and "Sue Goose, because she was always goosing people." "Regardless of the name," said one speaker, "everyone who had the honor of knowing her was blessed by her." EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated with comments from the Diocese of Harrisburg and the Diocese of Allentown. Four men who were abused as children by their Catholic priests on Friday expressed warnings to individuals trying to block the release of an upcoming report on a grand jury investigation into clergy sex abuse. The men have either testified before a grand jury or have provided information to investigators on predatory priests. They said that the significant pushback to revise or block what is expected to be a scathing report into church mishandling or cover-up of child sex abuse signals that the grand jury's findings must be stunning. "There was no backlash after Altoona-Johnstown. No Supreme Court stay," said Shaun Dougherty, who was molested by his priest from the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese. "What and who is in this report that is so powerful? We already had Philadelphia and Altoona. What is in the report, it's gotta be damning. "We don't know what's in the report. They know what's in report. They've seen what is in the report but I know as a person with common sense that they are throwing everything at us and the kitchen sink to block this report." The report from the 18-month-long investigation remains under seal and under a stay order from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which is considering the petitions of individuals named - but not charged - in the report claiming violations of their constitutional rights. The report is expected to expose decades of abuse and cover up of child sex crimes by priests across six dioceses in Pennsylvania. Dougherty, on Friday, was joined by three other survivors of clergy sex abuse in a live forum held at PennLive. Victims of clergy sexual abuse in Pennsylvania 5 Gallery: Victims of clergy sexual abuse in Pennsylvania James Faluszczak, who grew up in Erie where he was molested by a priest from that city's diocese and testified in the current grand jury investigation, said the report is likely to be of different scope from the 2016 grand jury report into abuse in the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese. "This is not Altoona-Johnstown times six," he said. "There's something of a different nature." In sharing his personal story, Faluszczak said that in spite of the trauma of his abuse and his loss of faith in the church, he became a Catholic priest. But he left the priesthood in 2014 after much soul searching. Like many other survivors of abuse, he speculates that the current pushback to the release of the report signals that it implicates not just rank and file of the priesthood across Pennsylvania, but powerful church officials. "I don't think there would be this level of protest if they were not aiming higher," Faluszczak said. The findings of the 18-month-long report will represent one of the most comprehensive investigations into clergy sex abuse ever in this country. The report will put Pennsylvania on the map as the first state to have investigated the Catholic Church statewide. Two previous investigations uncovered systemic abuse and coverup in the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Catholic Church officials here in Pennsylvania, as across the nation, have long held that the church has shown compassion towards victims, helping them with and paying for therapy and counseling. Officials also hold that much of the abuse uncovered is historical - meaning it happened decades ago and that protections put in place in recent years have prevented the systemic abuse seen in the past. Additionally, the church holds that the payout of possibly millions of dollars in lawsuits could put at risk the good work carried out by churches and church organizations. "The Diocese of Harrisburg is committed to helping all survivors of child sex abuse, regardless of when or where those abuses occurred. We assist survivors through our Victim Assistance Coordinator. While each survivor's journey is unique, at the heart of helping each one is ensuring they have an adequate support structure. That is why we offer counseling within the Diocese and provide financial resources for outside counseling from licensed and qualified providers. The Diocese of Harrisburg takes very seriously its role in assisting survivors of child sexual abuse," the diocese said in an email. In an email message, the Diocese of Allentown says it "continues to promote healing for victims and survivors by making available counseling and treatment as well as spiritual support. Since 2003 the Diocese has had a Victim Assistance Coordinator to coordinate counseling, treatment and social service assistance. Caring for victims and survivors and keeping children safe are top priorities for the Diocese." Jim VanSickle testified before the grand jury about his abuse as a child at the hands of Father David Poulson, a former Catholic priest in the Diocese of Erie. Poulson was held for trial on May 31 after he waived his preliminary hearing on charges that he sexually abused two young boys over a period of many years. For VanSickle, the upcoming report is poised to be the beginning - not the end - of a new period in the decades-old clergy sex abuse scandal. Advocates for victims widely feel that the holdup of the report could further harm victims. "I know there are people hanging by a thread....thinking of suicide," said VanSickle, of Bradford. "But I'm looking at this as a beginning. What do we do with this information? We've seen the grand jury reports. We've seen statute of limitations....where do we go after this? How do we force the church to change? Like so many survivors, VanSickle belongs to a wide network of victims. "I want people to know that we can't let this go away. The momentum can't go away. This is huge," he said. "The world is watching." All four spoke about the loss - in one form or another - of their faith in the Catholic Church. "I don't think there is much about this church that Christ would recognize today," Faluszczak said. "If we cannot protect our most vulnerable members...then I can't say that Christ would recognize this church." Late Friday, state Rep. Mark Rozzi, an advocate for reform to change the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse, excoriated the Catholic Church for waging "legal maneuverings" to prevent the release of the report. "The millions of dollars of congregants' money spent on lawyers and lobbyists, the secrecy, scare tactics, collusion and disgraceful cover-up of pedophiles - all of it must stop," said Rozzi, a Berks County Democrat. "The saddest part is that through these nefarious dealings, the Roman Catholic Church has prevented justice for all victims," Rozzi continued. "If bishops are successful in shutting down the release of the Fortieth Statewide Investigating Grand Jury Report and blocking legislative reform with their 39 lobbyists representing the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference on the Hill, then the public will never know who is endangering their children." Rozzi was responding to an opinion issued earlier in the day by Cambria County Court of Common Pleas Judge Norman A. Krumenacker III ruling that some redacted briefs filed in the Fortieth Statewide Investigating Grand Jury be made public. In his opinion, Krumenacker writes that the "information contained in the Report is no longer protected by grand jury secrecy as the Grand Jury intended it to be released to the public in an expeditious manner." On Friday, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro said that his office is fighting "to ensure this report is released and victims' voices are heard by the people of Pennsylvania." He said Krumenacker's opinion is "an important step in that process." The grand jury was empaneled in 2016 to investigate allegations of clergy sex abuse across the dioceses of Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Scranton, Erie and Greensburg. Mike McDonnell, who was abused by two priests when he was between the ages of 11 and 12, said the statute of limitations were archaic and needed to be reformed. McDonnell shared his story of losing his faith in the church but learning that he needed a spiritual connection in his life. "I question those true faithful of the Catholic Church," said McDonnell who testified in the investigation into the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. "I question everything they do. I have found the hard way that religion is truly for those scared of hell and spirituality is for those that have been there." Compiled by Stephanie Sadowski | ssadowskI@pennlive.com The beach is a fun place to visit, and we're within driving distance of several. But recent headlines offer a reminder that nature can always be harmful. Here are some of the things you should watch out for at the shore, in light of recent news. Don't Edit Margaret Reynolds, 67, came all the way from London, England, to visit Seaside Heights, New Jersey, only to have her right ankle impaled by a blowing beach umbrella on Monday.( screen shot/6ABC via Twitter ) Don't Edit Beach umbrellas A beach umbrella impaled and injured a 67-year-old woman at the New Jersey Shore on Monday afternoon. According to the Associated Press, Margaret Reynolds came all the way from London, England, to visit Seaside Heights, New Jersey, only to have her right ankle impaled by a blowing beach umbrella. According to the AP, the umbrella pierced her right ankle and was driven completely through due to the "force of the wind." Borough Police Chief Tommy Boyd told the AP fire crews used a bolt cutter on the umbrella to free the woman and put her in an ambulance. Don't Edit Don't Edit Sea lice Sea lice - also known as beach lice or Sunbather's Eruption - are the larvae of thimble jellyfish, AL.com reported earlier this summer. They are generally found in warmer waters, such as those in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, and are most active between April and August. They are tiny specks, no smaller than a grain of pepper, and are almost invisible. The sea lice were showing up this year in the Florida Panhandle. Don't Edit Don't Edit Don't Edit Portuguese Man-of-War An intact Portuguese man-of-war with the ability to case a potentially fatal sting was found after it washed up on the shore of a Cape May County beach earlier this month. Portuguese men-of-war are zooids that have stinging tentacles that can grow up to 25 feet to catch their prey as they float along the ocean's surface. The animals originate from the tropics, but the Gulf Stream can carry them along the east coast and even to the British Isles, according to the report. Don't Edit Don't Edit Sharks Two children were reportedly attacked by a shark off Fire Island, N.Y. on Wednesday, CBS News reports. A 13-year-old boy was bitten around noon at Atlantique Beach, and a 12-year-old girl was bitten around the same time at Sailor Haven Beach, CBS reports. The 13-year-old boy had been boogie-boarding about four-and-a-half miles away from where the girl was attacked. He had not only bite marks, but a shark tooth embedded in his skin, said CBS. ola Pollina, 12, was in waist-deep water about 10 feet from shore, said the report. Don't Edit PennLive file Holes in the sand In 2017, the body of a woman was found buried in sand near Second Street in Ocean City, Md. Just her hand and forearm were exposed above the sand when she was found. According to Ocean City police, Ashley O'Conner died from asphyxia due to suffocation. Police told the Delmarva Daily Times that the sand in the hole that O'Conner was in collapsed on her. Police said O'Conner appears to have walked onto the beach at approximately 2 a.m. by herself. Richard said it was "pretty much conclusively ruled out" that someone put O'Conner in the hole. Don't Edit Don't Edit Don't Edit Rip tides Storms off the East Coast can create rip currents. It's a narrow, powerful alley of water that can pull a swimmer out into the ocean. Swimming parallel to the water is recommended. Don't Edit Safety tips Here are some saftey tips concerning rip tides, and what to do if you find yourself caught in one, from the Red Cross: Check water conditions before going into the water, and check with the lifeguard on duty Only swim at a beach with lifeguards present If you get caught in one, don't panic Signal to those on shore that you need help Try to swim parallel to the shore until you are out of the current If you can't swim to the shore, float or tread water until help arrives or until you're out of the riptide Don't Edit Don't Edit Flesh-eating bacteria Earlier this month, a New Jersey man was fighting for his life and limbs after being infected with flesh-eating bacteria while crabbing. Angel Perez, 60, of Millville, became ill a day after crabbing in the waters off Matts Landing in Maurice River, his family told NJ Advance Media. Vibrio necrotizing fasciitis is a bacteria found in salty water in summer months. Larry Hajna, a spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, said, unfortunately, this type of bacteria is not uncommon for the waters. Don't Edit Don't Edit Don't Edit Saltwater (if you're a dog) Chris Taylor told Tampa's FOX 13 and WFLA that his dog accidentally swallowed too much salt water on Monday while playing on the beach. Over the next several days, the dog's brain swelled and his organs shut down. Taylor was forced to put his pet to sleep a couple days later. Taylor told the TV stations that he wanted to tell the story of what happened to his Labrador Retriever, O.G., to keep it from happening to another pet owner. Even drinking small amounts of salt water can cause dogs to experience "beach diarrhea," where consumed salt water causes diarrhea by drawing fluids from the dog's intestines. Don't Edit PetHelpful.com has suggestions from keeping your dog from ingesting too much salt water: Keep plenty of fresh water on hand and provide it to your dog in a clean bowl while at the beach Make sure your dog isn't getting splashed by too many waves Don't let your dog drink from the ocean. They may confuse it as a source of fresh water, as what happened with Taylor's dog Keep an eye on things your dog might grab. A water-soaked tennis ball or other items can also be sources of salt water consumption. If your dog starts experiencing beach diarrhea of vomiting, contact your vet. Don't Edit Don't Edit Syringes and needles All Jersey Shore beaches are open Friday, a day after more than a dozen were closed when syringes, needles, plastic and other trash washed up in Monmouth County. The 13 beaches closed Thursday were in Allenhurst, Deal, Loch Arbour and Long Branch. Don't Edit Don't Edit For more news: Best beach reads: 50+ awesome summer book recommendations from Pa. librarians Smoking banned on New Jersey beaches, but not this season What's it like on a beach after a snowstorm? You don't need to head to N.J. or Maryland when Pa. has its own surf beaches By Mark Singel The Affordable Care Act (ACA) continues to dominate the political landscape in both congressional and state elections. It is not at all surprising that the future of this landmark measure has emerged as a pivotal issue in the battle over the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's nominee for a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court. Some Republicans on the right continue to push a "repeal and replace" strategy. This effort started the moment former President Barack Obama signed the ACA into law and has gotten nowhere because most Americans appreciate the law's many advantages and the GOP has yet to offer a viable alternative. The GOP "plans" would result in millions of Americans losing coverage, including those with preexisting conditions. Some on the left, unfortunately, are championing a "single-payer" solution like Medicare-for-All, which is not a realistic plan either. Repeal and replace has gotten nowhere; it's time to repair ACA with a focus on shoring up Medicaid and Medicare. Democrats must convince voters they will fight to keep health care accessible and affordable for all Americans; urban, rural, middle-class, and poor. That means shoring up cost-sharing subsidies and programs to get low-income individuals enrolled. It also means more participation by a wider pool of insureds to keep premiums low. This does not mean that Democrats should fall into the trap of a "single payer" solution that would die of its own weight. The Urban Institute estimates that transitioning to Medicare for All would cost $32 trillion over the coming decade, and an average $24,000 in new taxes on families every year. The reality is that such a plan would be dead on arrival in today's political climate. It would also put a quick end to any Democrat seeking to ride a blue wave this fall. Roughly 20 million Americans are now insured because of the ACA. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that there are roughly 52 million Americans with pre-existing conditions with insurance today who would have been unable to purchase a health care plan prior to the ACA. Here in Pennsylvania, 700,000 of our fellow residents are now insured thanks to the ACA. Polling nationally and here in Pennsylvania demonstrates that voters support the ACA. Health care was a critical factor in Democrat Conor Lamb's victory in this spring's hotly-contested battle for the 18th Congressional District in western PA. Lamb ran as an unabashed supporter of the Affordable Care Act. He promised to strengthen Medicaid and Medicare. Lamb scored a major upset in the heart of Trump country, and he refused to wander down the Medicare for All rabbit hole. Smart candidates should listen to the voters and resist any temptation to turn support for single payer into a litmus test. Democrats need to remind voters time and time again that the Republican answer is to take their health insurance away. And when it comes to single payer, the message to Democrats is simple: don't take the bait. Mark Singel is President and CEO of The Winter Group. He served as Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. from 1987 to 1995. 1000 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Ex-Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone was caught red-handed on Thursday, with a new report showing that he actively sought Hillary Clintons emails from WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. According to The Wall Street Journal, Former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone privately sought information he considered damaging to Hillary Clinton from WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange during the 2016 presidential campaign. The report is the latest indication that key members of the Trump campaign were working with Kremlin-connected entities to tilt the U.S. election against Hillary Clinton. More from the damning report: The emails could raise new questions about Mr. Stones testimony before the House Intelligence Committee in September, in which he said he merely wanted confirmation from an acquaintance that Mr. Assange had information about Mrs. Clinton, according to a portion of the transcript that was made public. In a Sept. 18, 2016, message, Mr. Stone urged an acquaintance who knew Mr. Assange to ask the WikiLeaks founder for emails related to Mrs. Clintons alleged role in disrupting a purported Libyan peace deal in 2011 when she was secretary of state, referring to her by her initials. Please ask Assange for any State or HRC e-mail from August 10 to August 30particularly on August 20, 2011, Mr. Stone wrote to Randy Credico, a New York radio personality who had interviewed Mr. Assange several weeks earlier. Mr. Stone, a longtime confidant of Donald Trump, had no formal role in his campaign at the time. There is a clear pattern of collusion While The Wall Street Journal notes that Stone had no formal role in his campaign at the time, his effort to get his hands on Clinton emails is consistent with what other campaign officials and Trump family members were doing. In other words, Stones apparent coordination with WikiLeaks a Russia-connected entity is not an isolated incident. Its part of a larger effort by multiple Trump campaign officials to get dirt from Russia on Hillary Clinton. Thats why, as the WSJ also pointed out, Robert Muellers team is examining Mr. Stones role in Mr. Trumps 2016 presidential campaign. While troubling, this development isnt necessarily surprising. After all, in a campaign led by Donald Trump a man who literally asked Russia to hack and release Hillary Clintons emails this is the kind of behavior one would expect. Just as the obstruction case against Trump was further bolstered on Thursday, the Roger Stone development shows that the collusion angle of this investigation is alive and well. 2.8k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard If youve been reading our recent stories about Donald Trump Jr. you know that the noose is tightening around the presidents son and namesake. It is very possible that these stories have caused panic in the White House and they may be an explanation for some of the presidents increasingly erratic behavior. Every day or two a new report emerges about Don Jr.s involvement in meetings with Russians or other foreigners trying to illegally influence U.S. elections. A pattern has emerged of Don Jr. trying to sell out the United States while helping to get his father elected president. And now some new evidence has emerged which may be the nail in Jr.s coffin. Two weeks ago Don Jr. testified in the U.S. Senate and implicated his father in the infamous June 2016 Trump Tower meeting. Yesterday a senator accused Jr. of lying to Congress during Senate testimony last year, saying he should be prosecuted for perjury. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) recently pointed out that Trumps son could be a target in the Russia investigation. Just a week ago the story broke that in August of 2016 there was a second Trump Tower meeting where Trump Jr. met with two Middle Eastern countries who illegally offered to help his father win the 2016 election. We speculated that George Nader, a cooperating Mueller witness who put that meeting together, would be the one to give sufficient damning testimony to put Jr. in jail. If you add all of this together things look really bad for the presidents son, and by extension, the president. If Jr. is indicted by Mueller and is forced to cut a deal he could give the special counsel all the ammunition he needs to take down Donald Trump. The latest piece of news may be the worst of all. Prosecutors in Spain have wiretaps of his conversations with Russian organized crime figures, according to Yahoo News: The FBI has obtained secret wiretaps collected by Spanish police of conversations involving Alexander Torshin, a deputy governor of Russias Central Bank who has forged close ties with U.S. lawmakers and the National Rifle Association, that led to a meeting with Donald Trump Jr. during the gun lobbys annual convention in Louisville in May, 2016, a top Spanish prosecutor said Friday. Jose Grinda, who has spearheaded investigations into Spanish organized crime said that bureau officials in recent months requested and were provided transcripts of wiretapped conversations between Torshin and Alexander Romanov, a convicted Russian money launderer. On the wiretaps, Romanov refers to Torshin as El Padrino, his godfather. Just a few months ago, the wiretaps of these telephone conversations were given to the FBI, Grinda said in response to a question from Yahoo News during a talk he gave at the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington. Asked if he was concerned about Torshins meetings with Donald Trump Jr. and other American political figures, Grinda replied: Mr. Trumps son should be concerned. It is well known that Torshin tried to set up a summit between Putin and Trump in 2016, and is also public knowledge that Torshin met with Donald Trump Jr. at a private dinner in Louisville during the May 2016 annual convention of the NRA. Torshin has also been under investigation by Muellers team for his Russian organized crime activities, including money laundering. It now appears that the FBI has copies of the Spanish wiretap records which might prove Don Jr.s involvement with Russian mob figures in committing various crimes such as conspiracy and money laundering. Where this story is going nobody knows for sure, but we do know that whatever happens next is not going to be good news for Donald Trump Jr. 1.8k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard House Intelligence Committee ranking member Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) highlighted the fact that Trump will be meeting with the ringleader of the attack on the United States during the 2016 presidential election. Video: Transcript via CNN State Of The Union: TAPPER: Congressman, were now less than 24 hours away from the presidents summit with Vladimir Putin, which will take place right behind me in the presidential palace. Now, the White House says theyre proceeding as planned despite calls from people like yourself to to cancel it. They also say that the indictments issued on Friday strengthen President Trumps hand when it comes to confronting Putin about election interference. Your response? SCHIFF: Well, of course, thats not the presidents intention. The president, as you pointed out, Jake, knew these indictments were coming and yet was telegraphing he thought the meeting with Putin was going to be easier easier, in fact, than meeting with our own allies. So, Putin is getting a lot just by taking this meeting. After all, part of the reason for this indictment is to stigmatize those involved in interfering in our election. Putin is essentially an unindicted co-conspirator. And not just any co-conspirator, hes the ringmaster of this conspiracy and hes going to be sitting down at the table with Donald Trump. And Trump is basically saying that the indictment is just a witch hunt. And thats a great gift for Vladimir Putin. So I think if Kim Jong-un can eat the presidents lunch, which I think he clearly did, it will be a very easy matter for Vladimir Putin. That smell that everyone smells but no one wants to talk about surrounding this summit is the stench of potential treason. Rep. Adam Schiff did a great job showing you where the odor is coming from. Trump is meeting alone with the ringleader of an attack on US democracy days after 12 members of his military were indicted for the crime. Trump isnt distancing himself from the Russia conspiracy. He isnt pushing back against it. Donald Trump is embracing the Russia conspiracy like a warm old friend. There are treasonous undertones to this meeting. Adam Schiff is doing his best to fight against and expose them, and if the will of the American people is expressed in November, he will be leading the Russia investigation by January 2019. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. 1.6k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard One side effect of President Trumps press conference with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin was destroying the morale of his White House staff. According to a new article in POLITICO, morale inside the West Wing is extremely low following the Helsinki summit and many staffers want to quit but are afraid of a backlash from other party members if they do. One Republican in Washington who is close to members of the White House staff had this to say: People are just depressed. Nobody wants to take on the public heat of resigning right now, but there are a bunch of people who were thinking maybe theyd leave after the midterms who are very seriously starting to consider accelerating their timetable. Due to their disenchantment with the president, many staffers had been planning to leave after the midterm elections in November. Now they are wondering if they can even wait that long, and many want to escape the bad environment right away. Surprisingly, the issue that drew many young staff people to want to work in the Trump White House is morality. According to POLITICO, these staffers now feel that Trump failed morally in Helsinki, just as he did after Charlottesville, and they no longer want to be associated with him and his presidency. They say that morale has sunk to its lowest level since Charlottesville, when Trump refused to condemn neo-Nazi demonstrators. This triggered public soul-searching by Trumps Jewish economic policy adviser Gary Cohn, who eventually left the administration. Similarly, the Helsinki fiasco has raised questions for those who view Russia as a serious adversary. They are asking themselves how they can continue to work for a president who has now publicly supported and even befriended a brutal dictator like Vladimir Putin. To Trumps critics, Republicans as well as Democrats, both Charlottesville and Helsinki illustrate Trumps abdication of the moral leadership which is expected for a President of the United States. Other presidents always aspired to such leadership, even when they have failed to achieve it. According to presidential historian Allan Lichtman, wanting to do good and being part of a moral administration is often a driving force for those who seek jobs in Washington. Moral leadership is critically important for the president, It sets the tone not only for the nation but for the entire world because the president is the leader of the free world, Lichtman said. But Trump has rejected that tradition and has not promoted the view that America is a moral country or that he has to be a moral leader. He used his inaugural address to describe American carnage and has repeatedly expressed his view that America is not a beacon for the world. In a February 2017 interview with Bill OReilly on Fox News Trump refused to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putins suppression of the free press. There are a lot of killers, Trump said. You think our countrys so innocent? The final straw for many may have been when Trump gave equal weight to the findings of American intelligence agencies that Russia interfered in the U.S. 2016 election and to Putins denial that he had meddled in U.S. elections. Instead of backing up his own intelligence services Trump said, after acknowledging that Russia might be partially responsible, Could be other people also, theres a lot of people out there. According to historian Lichtman, people want an American president to not only be moral but to also inspire the country through their uplifting words. You cannot understate the importance of these moral moments, going back to Lincolns Second Inaugural, Lichtman said. We are still inspired by Lincolns words. Is anyone inspired by anything Donald Trump has ever said, ever? 2.3k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard New York Governor Andrew Cuomo this week has made a criminal case against Donald Trump much more likely. First, on Wednesday, we reported that: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday opened the door to a possible criminal case against the Donald J. Trump Foundation with a statement from his counsel that Cuomo was prepared to provide a criminal referral if asked. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has indicated that he is willing to authorize a criminal investigation of the Trump Foundation https://t.co/Z4YWvw3dcs pic.twitter.com/qmyNWboswU CNN (@CNN) July 19, 2018 Cuomos office issued a statement saying: At Governor Cuomos direction, the state stands ready to provide the New York Attorney General with the appropriate criminal referral on this matter if and when she asks for it. The background is that New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood filed a civil lawsuit against Donald Trump, three of his children and the Trump Foundation in June. That lawsuit states that the Trumps illegally used the nonprofit foundation as a personal checkbook for their own benefit. The suit also says that foundation funds were used in Trumps 2016 presidential campaign. In order to move from the civil lawsuit to a criminal case, the Attorney General must receive a criminal referral. Given the facts of the case, it is reasonable to think that Underwood would be open to requesting such a criminal referral, but she has not done so. Underwoods office said in a statement after the governors action on Wednesday: We continue to evaluate the evidence to determine what additional actions may be warranted, and will seek a criminal referral from the appropriate state agency as necessary. In the June lawsuit Underwood had requested that a state judge dissolve the Trump Foundation and ban Donald Trump and his three children, Donald Jr., Eric, and Ivanka from holding any significant leadership roles in any New York nonprofit organization or charity. This civil lawsuit also claims that Trump used the foundations name and funds it raised from the public to pay off his legal debts, promote Trump-branded hotels and other businesses and to purchase personal items. In an intriguing additional comment, Underwood also said that the New York Attorney Generals office intends to hold the Foundation and its directors accountable for its misuse of charitable assets. By saying she intends to hold people accountable Understood seems to imply that she will seek criminal prosecution if they become aware of violations of New York law. And, if the State of New York convicts Donald, Don Jr, Eric or Ivanka of a crime, they cannot be pardoned by the president, who can only pardon for federal crimes. Most of the Trump familys alleged financial crimes took place in the State of New York. Yesterday the possibility of Trump being charged with crimes under the laws of New York increased significantly, when it was announced that the state has opened an investigation into whether the Trump Foundation violated state tax laws, which could lead to a criminal referral for possible prosecution. The New York Department of Taxation and Finance opened the tax law investigation based on information Underwood had obtained in the process of filing her civil lawsuit last month. The tax investigation will uncover more information than the civil suit, including possibly the presidents tax returns. If the Department of Taxation turns up criminal activity they will refer it to the state attorney generals office for possible prosecution. Underwood still has not committed to a criminal investigation or any criminal charges against the Trumps at this time. However, with the new developments from Cuomos office and the Department of Taxation, it appears that the stage has been set for New York criminal charges to be issued against Donald Trump and his children in the near future. All that needs to happen is for the state tax investigators to find violations of state tax law, which appears to be likely. If that happens then Underwood will have to ask Governor Cuomo for a referral to file state criminal charges against Trump and his three children. And if that happens, the floodgates might open, leading to even more crimes being uncovered. By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was slow and ineffective in its response to the 2014 water crisis in Flint, Michigan, and needs to improve its communications with state and local regulators when citizen complaints arise, its internal watchdog said on Thursday. The EPA inspector general said in a 74-page report that the agencys Midwest region 5 office, headquartered in Chicago, failed to use many of the authorities it had under federal drinking water law as residents consumed contaminated water. While Flint residents were being exposed to lead in drinking water, the federal response was delayed, in part, because the EPA did not establish clear roles and responsibilities, risk assessment procedures, effective communication and proactive oversight tools, the report said. Flint, a working class city north of Detroit with a population of 100,000 that is mostly African-American, switched its drinking water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River in April 2014 to cut costs. The corrosive river water caused lead, which stunts the neural development of children, to leach from pipes. The city switched back to Lake Huron water in October 2015, but the contamination continued. The water crisis prompted dozens of lawsuits and criminal charges against former government officials. It was also linked to an outbreak of Legionnaires disease that caused at least 12 deaths. The report said the EPAs Midwest office responded to citizens complaints that the water was off color, malodorous or contained contaminants including lead with form letters that recommended that citizens take their concerns to city and state regulators. In 11 instances, the inspector general found no EPA responses to the complaints. Susan Hedman, the former head of the Midwest region office, resigned in 2016 after she had played down a memo by an EPA employee that said tests had shown high levels of lead in the water, telling Flint and Michigan administrators it was only a draft report. The inspector general report urged EPA to establish a clear and credible escalation policy for agency intervention in states. The policy should provide steps the EPA will take when states do not act, it said. In addition, it urged the agency to create a system that tracks citizen complaints and gathers information on emerging issues. In a shorter initial report issued in 2016, the inspector general recommended that certain EPA officials attend training on federal drinking water law. EPA spokeswoman Enesta Jones said the agency has reviewed the findings in the inspector generals draft report from April and agrees with its recommendations. Jones said the offices of water, enforcement and compliance assurance and the Midwest regional office have taken steps to implement some of the recommendations and will continue to adopt the rest. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Leslie Adler) 1.7k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard It is no longer speculation that Donald Trump is panicking about Fridays news that Michael Cohen secretly recorded at least one campaign-season conversation they had about a payment to a Playboy model. In a Saturday morning meltdown, Trump freaked out about the development, calling it inconceivable that the government would raid his lawyers office and perhaps illegal that Cohen even recorded their conversations in the first place. Inconceivable that the government would break into a lawyers office (early in the morning) almost unheard of. Even more inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client totally unheard of & perhaps illegal. The good news is that your favorite President did nothing wrong! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 21, 2018 Trump is panicking because he knows hes guilty Innocent people dont freak out on Twitter about tapes seized by federal investigators especially if there is nothing criminal on them. This should be particularly true of a President of the United States. Trumps three-pronged meltdown on Saturday morning trashing the government, accusing Cohen of a crime and insisting that your favorite President did nothing wrong! shows that he knows the tapes are a legal nightmare for him. And Trump has good reason to freak out about all of this. As Jason Easley pointed out on Friday, Trump and Cohen engaged in criminal activity to bury a story that would hurt Trumps campaign. If Trump was discussing payments to women during the campaign in order to influence the election, that would likely constitute campaign finance violations, among other crimes. The best strategy for anybody to assert their innocence isnt to throw tantrums on social media. Its to remain silent and go about their own business. But the guilty President of the United States cant help but lash out on Twitter because he knows the other shoe will soon hit the floor. 1.7k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard In a weekend interview with MSNBCs Joy Reid, Rachel Maddow said that Donald Trumps performance in Helsinki is an indication that the worst case scenario is playing out before our eyes. Maddow said, The basic question which I think rung so loud for everybody in the country this week was: Is our president subordinate to a foreign power? Does our president answer to a foreign government and a foreign leader?' Trumps behavior while standing next to Putin and the unknown contents of his private meeting with the Russian leader seems to have answered these questions. Video: #Maddow tells #AMJoy that Trumps performance in Helsinki this week begs the question: Does our president answer to a foreign government? pic.twitter.com/1hHaYnMnAx PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) July 21, 2018 Maddow said: Weve taken so many turning points, weve turned so many corners, were back where we started. The basic question which I think rung so loud for everybody in the country this week was: Is our president subordinate to a foreign power? Does our president answer to a foreign government and a foreign leader? And that private meeting with Putin where nobody knows what he promised or what he may have given away. The way that he responded to Putin when we saw him face-to-face and then the fact that he took under consideration all of these demands from Russia, including handing over Americans to Russia for interrogation. That just you know, it makes the worst case scenario really palpable. The worst case scenario that the president is a foreign agent suddenly seems very palpable. Wake up, America: The U.S. president is playing for team Russia This is a dangerous moment for the country, and the American people need to wake up and stay engaged, particularly as we approach the critical midterm elections. What Donald Trump showed us and the world in his summit with Vladimir Putin is that his loyalty doesnt lie with his own country. Instead, it lies with himself and Vladimir Putin, who helped put him in the White House. Patriotic Americans of all political stripes particularly those in power should be alarmed as the worst case scenario plays out before our eyes. Phony finger-wagging and nonbinding congressional resolutions arent going to cut it. A president who surrenders his country to Russia should be immediately removed from office. 2.1k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Republican leaders in Congress sent a message to the White House on Friday to disclose what was discussed in the private meeting between the president and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The concern is that Putin is using Trump to try to tear apart the NATO alliance. All week Russian news services and officials have been discussing secret side deals that were made between Putin and Trump in private. Now the concerns have grown that the Kremlin is driving the conversation, leaving the U.S. to react to whatever Russia says and does. What is upsetting to Congress, the military and U.S. intelligence agencies is that they are completely in the dark about what was discussed in the meeting so they cant react to whatever comments come out of Russia. Trump has not been forthcoming, so what was said between Putin and Trump is a total mystery. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) is Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman and he thinks that in his role he should be kept informed. Instead, Corker says he has no idea what Russian ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov was talking about when he said this week that there were important verbal agreements entered into between Trump and Putin. Corker expressed much concern about rumors he has heard about the White House and the Kremlin setting up a second Trump/Putin meeting so they can begin implementation of these mysterious side agreements. Other Republicans also said they were unhappy about the lack of transparency from the White House. I dont know what happened privately, nobody does, said Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio). The president needs to publicize whatever efforts he made to push back against Putin in their private meeting, he added. Its not enough just to raise it privately because everyone is watching, including our allies, including the people of Russia, including our intelligence agencies, he said. Trump has done nothing but praise Putin in public and has not given any indication that in the private meeting he expressed any criticisms or concerns to the Russian president about interference in U.S. elections or anything else. Ambassador Antonov told reporters several days ago that Trump and Putin reached verbal agreements on two highly controversial and difficult issues: Syria and arms control. The White House better get out in front of this before the Russians start characterizing this, warned Trump critic Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), a member of the Foreign Relations Committee. The Russians will use this. Theres so little trust of this president, our president, among our allies, he added. U.S. security officials have known for a long time that one of Putins top foreign policy goals is to tear apart NATO. Members of Congress from both parties have also expressed their worries that Putin is using the Helsinki summit to worsen relations between the United States and its NATO allies. Of particular concern is the status of former Eastern Bloc countries that were Soviet states. Putin is known to view these former Soviet satellite countries as still within Russias sphere of influence and is extremely unhappy about NATO adding more countries to its military alliance. Flake said that recently he made a trip to Latvia where he saw an extensive Russian propaganda campaign to attempt to persuade the Baltic states that NATO is weak and America is an unreliable ally. These countries were all part of the Soviet Union and now are members of NATO. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is also worried about what Trump may have promised Putin, especially after Trumps disruptive performance at the NATO conference. McConnell went out of his way to assure European countries that Republicans in Congress place value on the NATO alliance and view Russia as an adversary. We believe the European Union counties are our friends and the Russians are not, McConnell told reporters. We understand the Russian threat. Democrats are also worried about what was promised in the private meeting. Sen. Chris Coons (Del.), a Democrat on the Foreign Relations committee, said we shouldnt be just guessing on the statements of the Russian ambassador about what was agreed to at the summit. And Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has also said that the U.S. government translator of the Trump-Putin meeting should testify before Congress. Schumer and other senators also have requested that the White House turn over the translators contemporaneous notes. Corker has also said he would like notes and testimony from the American translator who was present at the meeting with Putin. Corker is not alone. The American people also want to know what Trump said to Putin in private. Trump seems to have forgotten that he is working for the American people and not just for himself. Congress is right to ask for more information about this meeting and should continue to do so until the information is made public. 775 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard In an editorial entitled The Trade Casualties Mount, the editorial board of the conservative Wall Street Journal harshly criticized the trade policies of President Donald Trump and his trade representative Peter Navarro. According to the Journal, the Trump administrations trade policies are already having a very negative effect on U.S. manufacturers as well as stifling economic growth. The Journal editors began their critical opinion piece writing: President Trump is escalating his trade rhetoric, threatening China and Europe with more tariffs on more goods if they dont agree to his terms. Mr. Trump says winning these trade wars is easy, so lets take a look at the early returns on his steel and aluminum tariffs and the retaliation theyve inspired. Consider Alcoa , the top U.S. aluminum manufacturer whose shares plunged 13% Thursday and another 3% Friday after the company reported that tariffs are crimping earnings. The tariffs could wipe out $100 million of income this year, equal to about 18% of profits last year. Tariffs will not solve the challenges facing the aluminum industry, Alcoa CEO Roy Harvey said on an earnings call. CEO of Alcoa: Trump's trade war will wipe out $100 million of this one company's profits this year. Make America Broke Again. Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) July 21, 2018 Alcoa cuts its 2018 profit forecast on tariffs and energy costs https://t.co/FDkZLlcX8Q pic.twitter.com/zmLAp6scJu Bloomberg (@business) July 18, 2018 The Journal editors then pointed out that many businesses are delaying investments in the U.S. because of the uncertainty caused by the tariffs. They referred to a Texas pipeline manufacturer that announced last week that the company had frozen plans to invest $75 million in expanding production. The Journal editors seemed especially upset that Navarro so quickly and easily dismissed the economic chaos and disruption that was being caused by the economic policies he is implementing for President Trump. They wrote: Meanwhile, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told CNBC on Thursday that the damage from the trade war so far is no big deal. We got two economies that add up to around $30 trillion in annual GDP. The amount of trade were affecting with the tariffs is a rounding error compared to that. Navarro dismissed companies taking a big financial hit as a rounding error and the Journal pounced. Navarro dismissed companies taking a big financial hit as a "rounding error" and the Journal pounced. https://t.co/ljDFUyMdc6 Raw Story (@RawStory) July 21, 2018 Then they went on to say: All of this and more are examples of the real and growing damage that Mr. Trumps arbitrary and punitive trade policy is doing to U.S. companies and workers. Businesses have been relatively quiet so far because they are happy with the tax reform and deregulation. If Mr. Trump escalates his protectionism, the pain will increase and so will the political backlash before November. This is not the first time the Wall Street Journal has issued a warning to Donald Trump and the Republican Party concerning trade tariffs. Just last month we published a story entitled WSJ Tells Republicans Good Luck Running on Trumps Tariffs in November. The Journal has been sounding the alarm, saying that Trumps tariffs and trade war were hurting American consumers and businesses and there would be a backlash in Novembers midterm elections. Leaders in the Republican Congress have said they cant do anything to interfere with or stop Trump from imposing duties on imports from other countries, which is questionable. The fact that they are unwilling to stand up to Donald Trump on any of his misguided policies is a sign of weakness and a clear indication that the United States needs a change in leadership, and we should get one after the Blue Wave which is coming this November. 415 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard In April the Democratic National Committee (DNC) filed a novel lawsuit against WikiLeaks alleging they were part of a global conspiracy to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election. It is widely believed that by publishing hacked emails from the DNC and from Hillary Clintons campaign WikiLeaks hurt Clinton and helped Trump become president. The hacked emails came back into the public eye in June when special counsel Robert Mueller issued 12 new indictments against Russian military intelligence officers working for Vladimir Putin. The substance of the indictments is that the Russians illegally hacked into the DNC servers and illegally stole emails and other proprietary documents. Three months after filing the lawsuit the DNC has still not been successful in its attempts to serve WikiLeaks as is required in order to get the lawsuit started. If WikiLeaks can continue to avoid being served notice of the lawsuit then the lawsuit can never begin. So now CBS News has reported that the DNC is trying a unique new approach to get its lawsuit notice served to WikiLeaks. According to the CBS report, the DNC filed a motion Friday in federal court in Manhattan seeking the courts permission for them to serve legal notice to WikiLeaks via the social media platform Twitter. According to language in the motion, service of process via Twitter should be allowed because WikiLeaks regularly uses the website and would be sure to see the notice of the lawsuit if it were posted there. Because WikiLeaks has more of a virtual than a physical presence, the court can and should exercise its authority to authorize service by Twitter, the motion reads. The original lawsuit filed in April alleged violations of federal copyright laws and the Trade Secrets Act. Since WikiLeaks does not have a known physical location the DNC is arguing that their lawsuit can only be served electronically. The motion filed with the court lists all of the many attempts the DNC made to serve the lawsuit via email since April 20. Since all of those emails were rejected service has never occurred and the lawsuit cannot move forward. The DNC lawsuit could be very important because it alleges that there was an illegal conspiracy. It says that the Russian hacking (which was the subject of the June indictments) when combined with communications between WikiLeaks and top Trump campaign officials created an illegal conspiracy which was not only a crime but caused damages to the DNC. Whether or not they are ever found guilty of a crime, the DNC may be able to prove damages in a civil lawsuit, so it is very important to them that the lawsuit proceed on a timely basis. The DNC would like the lawsuit to begin before Novembers midterm elections, but it is increasingly unlikely that this will occur given the delays. Just before the 2016 U.S. presidential election WikiLeaks made public 20,000 private DNC emails most of which were related to Hillary Clinton and her campaign. They also released thousands of emails belonging to John Podesta, Clintons 2016 presidential campaign chairman. It is widely believed that the public release of internal Clinton campaign documents hurt her chances of winning the 2016 election. The Minister of Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah on Friday identified lack of requisite information and pessismism as core reasons why most medium and small scale enterprises (MSMEs) and entrepreneurs in Nigeria do not access government financing to grow their businesses. He said the numerous sources of financing provided by the current administration were not being explored by many, thereby causing such funds to lie dormant in the administering government entities. Mr Enelamah, who addressed a group of aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners at a skills acquisition and empowerment programme organised by The Everlasting Arms Parish (TEAP) under the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Abuja also said Nigerian business men and women should hold government officials accountable in the process of applying for government loans as these officials are paid to serve the people. Mr Enelamah, who spoke under the theme: Connect, Empower and Grow, also listed avenues through which businesses can get funding for their enterprises. Respect is reciprocal. If you serve the people, they will serve you too. If you are heavy handed, it will have negative effect on you at the end. You must remember that you are being paid to serve these people (entrepreneurs), said Mr Enelamah while responding to the difficulties businesses face in the hands of government officials while applying for funding. He urged budding entrepreneurs to explore the avenues of getting funding for their businesses from entities such as the Central Bank of Nigeria, SMEDAN and the Bank of Industry, where he said the government had deposited huge funds at interest friendly rates. He added that Nigerians hardly explore these opportunities. He also listed the measures taken so far by the government to improve the business environment which include, ease of doing business policy, the national economic action plans, digital apps to where firms can register complaints, a bill in progress to identify gaps in the business environment and panacea and also the creation of special economic zones. Some of these economic zones which we are already working on include Lekki Free Zone, Eyinmba City, Calabar, Kano and Funtua. These zones are being empowered with the necessary infrastructures and facilities to ensure that businesses thrive while having all they need to operate maximally. We also have an industrial council headed by the vice president in place. The council, which met this morning focuses on some key areas of the economy. These include: critical infrastructure provision, vocational training, trade and market access, policy for rapid economic growth and also funding, Mr Enelamah explained. Mr Enelamah said the core mandate of the present government was how to enhance private sector development by creating an enabling environment and also effect regional economic integration. We already have the Nigeria Office for Trade Negotiations in place. The office is looking at incentives available for businesses and his these can be improved, tax relief, expert expansion initiatives and specific interventions, the minister, who is also a pastor in the RCCG added. One of the organisers of the event, Bello Bissala said the programme, which is first in a series was put together to provide reliable information for entrepreneurs who were hampered by lack of funds or job/investment opportunities and are on the verge of giving up. TEAP pastor, Eva Azodoh, also reacting urged the participants to explore the funding opportunities outlined rather than griping about lack of cash to establish or sustain their enterprises. Minister of Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah in a group photograph at the skills acquisition and empowerment programme organised by The Everlasting Arms Parish (TEAP) under the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Abuja Veteran Fuji musician, Isiaka Iyanda Sawaba, popularly known as Easy Sawaba, was in the 1970s and 1980s a force to reckon with in Fuji music. In this exclusive interview with PREMIUM TIMES Oladeinde Olawoyin, the musician narrates how the acclaimed king of Fuji music, Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, betrayed him after they both abused the late Sikiru Ayinde Barrister in Ibadan in 1985. He also spoke about Wasiu Ayindes (K1 de Ultimate) claim about the origin of Fuji, his smash hit Pata Olokun, the facts behind the controversy between him and the late Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, among other issues. PT: What do you think about the face of Fuji in this age of near-total takeover of the industry by pop artistes? Has Fuji been sidelined? No, no no, they never pushed Fuji away. Nobody can sideline Fuji. Its about time factor. Fuji is in town and, besides, hip-hop is generated from Fuji. Fuji exists side-by-side with hip-hop. Most of the keys they (pop artistes) play are from Fuji. So its about time. No music can take Fuji off the scene; it has grown beyond that. PT: As an artiste, do you still perform actively like before? I do not have any other job; this is the only job I have. So I still perform. PT: What about album release plans? I had to soft-pedal on the issue of album release. Its like one is being defrauded. Once you get to a level in this job, you have to pray to be blessed with enough resources to release your records yourself. But before I release another album, it will be after I come back from America. I will be in America by the end of this month and when I come back, I will release a new album myself. PT: Whats the relationship between you and other Fuji artistes, especially your contemporaries? My contemporaries are numerous. Among them are Ramon Akanni, Bokoote Raimi Ayinde, Fancy Aye Alamu, Waidi Akangbe, Love Azeez lAgege, among many others. If we shift to other places, youd have so many others in Ilorin and other places. PT: Hows the relationship between? (Cuts in) Ah, our relationship is smooth. Very, very smooth. We had a meeting recently and even elected another president, Sikiru Ayinde, and we were all there. PT: There are people who said Wasiu Ayinde is your contemporary and others who said he belongs to the generation after yours. Can you clarify that angle? Well, if they say he was my contemporary, theres no lie about it. Again if people say he came behind me, there is no lie about it too. You know, age is inconsequential when it comes to friendship. So, we were all together and we rolled together Wasiu, myself and those I mentioned. PT: What do you think about the various innovations artistes are bringing into Fuji sound today? Many of our people do not know that they are selling off their birthright, when people who claim to be singing Fuji are doing hip-hop. Fuji goes in line with almost all of the genres of music we have today; its a combination of all genres. I am not against the idea of people singing hip-hop, but it shouldnt be done in a way that it would affect what they do originally. Fuji is a combination of all sounds so theres nothing new about anything that comes now. I am not saying they shouldnt play hip-hop but they shouldnt push it beyond their own (Fuji) line. PT: Do you have any plan to delve into pop music? No, no, no. I have no plan to bring anything into the genre. I play Fuji and I have no plan to play hip-hop. We have also done something pertaining to that but we simply did it at the time by singing in English and we never abandoned Fuji to face hip-hop. PT: Why is there always disagreement among Fuji artistes? The job is naturally about proverbs and jibes. Anyone who sings without proverbs; the songs are bound to be uninteresting because proverbs beget words and words beget music. S. Aka and Yusuf Olatunji fought in their heyday. (Sings S. Aka and Yusuf Olatunji songs). In this job, when people insult themselves, it is part of advert. In Ibadan for instance, people do not follow gentle masquerades; they only go with the violent ones. Some years ago in Chicago, two musicians killed each other and their fans also killed themselves. So, thats how it is worldwide. Now, talk of Pasuma and Saidi Osupa, thats how the (disagreement) will linger. King Sunny Ade and Ebenezer also had disagreements, ditto Haruna Ishola and Kasumu Adio. So, proverbs beget music and if there is no proverbs, people would not listen. People enjoy controversies and even I did it in the past. PT:Which artiste did you have disagreement with? It happened between myself and Sikiru Ayinde Barrister. We did it in the past. They (Pasuma et al) are the one in town now and thats what their fans desire. If there is no controversy, you may not hear about them and thats why Fuji has remained in vogue. PT: Another controversial topic in Fuji discourse is about the origin of Fuji music. Whats your take on this controversial topic? Anyone who sings Fuji today does not know what Barrister imagined before creating Fuji. You know its not easy for the son to tell the story of the father. Its impossible. So every soul that claims to be singing Fuji, with whatever system, is tapping from Barristers. Only Barrister knew what he saw before naming it Fuji. And Wasiu Ayinde himself even; Barrister said there was no way he (Wasiu) would talk about his life trajectory without mentioning his (Barristers) name. Before now, Wasiu Ayinde was called Wasiu Ayinde Barrister. So if he now says Barrister didnt create Fuji, which line did he tread before becoming a star? Is it now possible for him to recant Barristers history? It is impossible. One, by age, and everything, Barrister was his boss. So if he says anything about Fuji, he is saying that to himself. One should remember one very day; one very day someone does something good to you. So we shouldnt assume that because someone is dead, or because one is in a certain position, we can say anything. We should remember we are all going to get reward for our actions. For me and my people, Barrister created Fuji himself. It was after we stopped Were performance that we began to follow himand later with Kollington. We followed both of them. Where was he (Wasiu)? Is it possible for me to stand up and recant Barristers history? Do I know when he was born in actuality? Meanwhile, whatever one would say with repercussion, one should be cautious. Sooner or later they would talk about him too. PT: But it appears the disagreement is also between Barrister and Kollington..? (Cuts in) Thats just for the sake of competition. The likes of Saka Laigbade, Ajadi Ewenla, Bashiru Abinuwaye (Barristers brother) and others, I once competed with them in 1968 at Onala. That year I rode a horse into Onala. But they never sang Fuji there; what they sang was a mixture of Sakara and all that. When Kollington disputed Barristers claim (on Fuji origin), it was out of competition. They were fighting at the time. Even Alhaji Kollington himself cant dispute Barrister because he made us know that it was Barrister that came to invite him in Abeokuta, imploring him to join him in Lagos. Both of them hadnt left the military at the time; it was after Fuji became big that they resigned from the military. So whenever we mention Barrister, we must mention Kollington. So let us be mindful of what we say. Whatever God would do, he has done. Where is the same person we are talking about? And every one of us will eventually go to the same place he went. PT: Can you recall what the Fuji scene was in the 1980s, especially because Wasiu Ayinde sang about the days you were in Ebutte Metta and he was on the Island and? See, I am not his (Wasiu Ayindes) contemporary because I started Were in 1964, and throughout the period I was actively involved in Were performances, I never met him. I left Were performances around 1976. I never met him; I went out to Lagos, Agege, Mushin (performing) I never met him. Meanwhile, how would you (Wasiu) that I never met, sing in live performances that we were contemporaries? Where did we meet? We never met during Were days. Those I met include Alhaji Jelani Oriade we were many. There was a man called Sunday Ijero, a protegee of Kollington (Ayinla). It was Sunday Ijero that gave birth to Remi Aluko. His name was Sunday Aluko but we called him Sunday Ijero because he lived in Ijero area, at Apapa Road. He was the first Christian that sang Were. So if Remi sings today, he met it at home because his father was a musician too. Meanwhile, there were many others. Those that were my senior include Alhaji Kehinde Adaramaja (now a lawmaker), Barrister Aremu Ago-egba, Amoo Barrister Olufade, so many of them. There was also Taju Ajilekege; including a butcher in Oyingbo named Ajadi. Those were my contemporaries. I never met him (Wasiu). Why would he now say he was in Isale-eko; I was in Ebute-metta? Do you (Wasiu) even know where I lived in Ebute-metta? Yes, we later became friends shortly before we met at (Saliu) Adetunjis record company. That was at the height of Barrister and Kollingtons war. So, the likes of Isiaka Olorunoje, Ramoni Akanni, Bokote Raimi and other, we met when Fuji began and not when we were performing Were. I never met him. I was even asking my contemporaries whether, truly, did Wasiu (Ayinde) perform Were? These are what I know. But when God place people in certain positions, they often use it to ride others. I, as a person, will speak the truth till I die. Whatever I would say behind anyone and wouldnt say to his face, I would not say it. When we talk about Barrister, we were all close to him. We all returned to Fuji Chambers whenever we went out. But we also knew our contemporaries but, No, No, No, I never met him during Were. Of course, there was no basis for competition between us. When we were with Adetunji, he eulogized me in his records and I did same in mine, until things changed and we both stayed on our lanes. PT: So many things have been said about you and Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, what exactly are the issues the disagreements, the tribulations, the Kamoru Ayansola angle and all? Sawaba album art First, we should understand that there is no one without his own personal tribulations. But my elder brother (Sikiru Ayinde Barrister) May God forgive him had a way of implicating himself in other peoples affairs. There are some people who may want to harm someone but would not do the harm directly; they would rather hide behind those with whom you are fighting. So whenever there is any tribulation, people would quickly refer to him meanwhile the real evil doer is behind. But at the end of the day, after we settled the disputes, the day he was honored with MFR and he came to Ibadan, Alhaji (Sikiru Barrister) said so many curses to affirm that he knew nothing about what happened to me. He said it was over and I also said it was over. Everyone had his own cross to bear, including the prophets of God. PT: What happened exactly with regard to Ayansola? I never took Ayansola away from Barrister. Myself, Ayansola and Barristers fan boys were all friends. I was not Barristers apprentice but we were so close that we were like siblings, including Barrister. Whenever I entered Fuji Chamber, if I took the food Barrister was eating, he would not complain. But what I want people to know is that why I was angry with Barrister was that when the Fuji 78 left, it was only Kamoru Ayansola that was left as drummer with Alhaji Barrister. At the time, Alhaji Kamo had to come to Ibadan, to pick up the band members of Baba Tatalo (Alamu) to Lagos. Everyone had left at the time; only Alhaji Kamo was left. To be candid, Alhaji Kamo was battling with severe cough but it wasnt that bad to the point of being directed to become a back-up drummer for another member. I reckoned that rather than order him to become a backup drummer, being a captain in the band, he ought to have been kept somewhere respectfully. That was the cause of the rift that made Ayansola exit Barristers band and come to Ibadan. I remember there was a similar case in Liberty (Stadium) where Alhaji Kamo was ordered to play Sakara as backup to Bashiru. I think he couldnt cope; so he came back to Ibadan. When he came back, I told him Barrister was angry and would later accept pleas. Yet when it got to a stage, it was evident Barrister would not bulge, yet this man had no other job. Besides, I wasnt the only one he beat the drum for in Ibadanif you meet Tiri Ajao, Nure Bonanza and others, you could confirm. It wasnt that he deliberately left Barrister to drum for me, No! All the lead drummers you know Obeys Alhaji Tiamiyu; Sunny Ades Mutiu; Razaq thats in America now; Segun Adewale and Shina Peters Kabiru; all of them are my friends. Whenever I had recording in the studio, they were always there. The Pata Olokun we just spoke about, many of the drummers were there, even their bosses were aware they were there. Alhaji Kamo led the drummers in Pata Olokun, Barrister never knew till he died because he never mentioned it. My own drummer, Shakiru was there too. So when he (Kamoru Ayansola) came back to Ibadan, he was closer to me. You know, a generous person isnt in the same league with miser; he was closer to me than every other person which led to the insinuation that I snatched him. What Barrister was thinking at the time, I dont understand and the worse part of it was the car he (Barrister) retrieved from him. He collected 504 car from him in Mushin and I bought another car for him. We were both in Ibadan at the time but he had a house in Oloruntosi in Mushin. They asked people to come snatch the car from him and I came to Ibadan to get him another car. So that was how it happened. I never snatched him from Barrister. There are too many drummers already. At the end of the day even, was it not Deroju that led the drummers for Alhaji Barristers band before he died? Deroju was Fancy Aye Alamus drummer. Since Deroju left Fancy Aye Alamu, he (Fancy Aye Alamu) hasnt been himself. Today, Ididowo left Obesere and moved behind Pasuma, so what happened? He was his manager, to the core. Now, Morubo, Ayinla Kollingtons manager has moved behind Obesere. Will Kollington kill himself? Or will the other man too not survive? Thats how it is; its not as if someone snatched anyone. In fact, empathy is even why many people get into trouble; it was why I did too because I could have left him for fear of the possible controversies. But I felt he needed to survive. PT: After Ayansola left him and moved into your band, what happened? I just suddenly discovered that Alhaji was singing abusive songs. (Sings Barristers songs) I was wondering whom Alhaji was referring to and at the end of the day, I discovered I was the one Alhaji was referring to. PT: So you replied him? Ah, Bismillahi! (Laughs) PT: So what was the duration of the disagreement? I did about five albums, all in a spate of four years. It was between 1983 through 1985 when Ayansola died. Ayansola died in 1985; he died in Osogbo on December 31/January 1st, 1985. PT: So after Ayansola died, was there no ceasefire? Well, er, music isnt like you just put it. Many supporters have stood up at the time. It was that same 1985 that I and Wasiu Ayinde Barrister abused Barrister at Liberty Stadium. Immediately after the show, I moved to Ogbomoso for another performance. Alhaji Barrister was playing for Tunde Badmus and co in Oshogbo and that was how he (Wasiu) moved to go prostrate before Barrister, pleading that he was coerced into the act by his fans who allegedly placed guns around his neck and all that. And I know Alhaji Barrister; what he was fond of listening to was first come first served, he wouldnt listen to others. So Alhaji Barrister instantly listened to what he told him and that was what intensified the fight. PT: Was Wasiu Ayinde in any feud with Barrister at the time before you met at Liberty Stadium? Thank you. We got to Liberty Stadium, I was singing then he arrived. We both sang: Iwo lOmo Agbaje Salami Layeye, iwo ona omo Agbaje Salami laiyeye o We were making jest of Barrister on stage. It was that night he went to plead with Barrister so whether he had any rift with Barrister or not, I didnt know. He got to Lagos and took his family members to plead with Barry and it was that period that Barrister took up my case. You know, he showed me he was not straightforward because many people had warned me earlier about our relationship but I never listened because of the love I had for him. I think he knew this was the way this guy (me) could fall, so he could help plan it. He did what he wanted to do but then, is this not me now? Everybody knew and knew him and thats why I also avoided him afterwards and everyone stayed on his lane. In 2004, we settled the rift and we became a little closer but I soon realised this same character hadnt left him. Wasiu himself loves hearsay. If told about what anyone says, he wouldnt ask you; he would rather keep it to himself. You know thats a very dangerous character. Only a murderer behaves that way. I used to tell Alhaji Barrister himself that if two people commit offence and one of them comes around to complain, he should endeavor to invite the second person and hear him out. We both offended him and we were supposed to beg him together but someone went behind to plead for mercy; why should I ask him (Wasiu)? Many of those at the Ibadan party were in Oshogbo and they were just exclaiming, screaming Ah! Ah! Ah! I realised in 2004 after the rift was settled that rather than go away, that same character has become more entrenched in him. Thats how I simply moved back. May God Almighty not frustrate us. May he (Wasiu) face no tribulation; may I also face none. May we remain on the scene for long. Veteran Fuji musician, Isiaka Iyanda Sawaba, popularly known as Easy Sawaba. PT: Ayansola died in 1985, the many tribukations you faced came in..? Those had come earlier before then, before Ayansolas death. And since then, we thank God there is nothing. PT: Whats the future of Fuji in your own view? The future of Fuji is okay. Its all about time. Thats why I said one cant own the world, we can only own time. Many people are springing up already. If truly the world will come to an end, Fuji music will continue to be in vogue till the end of the world. PT: Whats your advice for young Fuji artistes? They should stay away from violence and controversies. If they abuse one another, they should refrain from abusing their parents. Its part of advert if artistes abuse themselves but they should refrain from abusing their parents. They should also do their jobs diligently. May God almighty uplift them. Penultimate Wednesday, about three days before the Ekiti gubernatorial election held, Ayodele Fayose, the garrulous governor of Ekiti State, broke the internet when clips of him shedding tears surfaced online. In the clip, which had gone viral before noon that Wednesday, the man who loved to be addressed as Peter the Rock by his admirers and other associated sycophants continuously wailed like a toddler. I am in pains, he said at a point, I am in severe pains. Addressing reporters, Mr Fayose said he was in pains after he was shot at and manhandled by security agents he claimed were carrying out the directives of the ruling APC. At some point, Mr Fayose threw caution to the wind, making no pretense to gubernatorial decency. I cannot take this anymore, he said, before calling on international community to come save Nigerias democracy which was in danger. I call on the international; community; Ekiti is under siege. How can I be governor of Ekiti State and be treated like this in my own country? My people, I call on all of you: stand and remain standing. I will go back to the hospital for a while to rest I am having a lot of pains, but I prefer to bear these pains because of you. I prefer to bear these pains because of you Mr Fayose, never to appear on screen without theatrics, thereafter wobbled away from camera with bandages on his right arm and a neck brace. His spokesperson, Lere Olayinka, had earlier claimed that his principal lost consciousness and was taken to government jouse clinic after policemen fired teargas canisters into the Government House. Fayoses theatrics, for the most part of the weekend, provided ready-made comic material for Nigerias legion of jesters, both online and offline. By Saturday, there had been more than a dozen Severe Pain video clips floating across the sea that is cyber Nigeriaon Twitter, on Instagram, on Facebook and elsewhere. If Fayoses un-gubernatorial theatrics provided comic relief for Nigerians, it turned out to be a mere rehearsal to a major pathetic performance reserved for the election day. But this time, it wasnt just about Mr Fayose; it was about the do-or-die gene in the Nigerian politician which the two major political parties in the contestthe rampaging All Progressives Congress and the epileptic Peoples Democratic Partyexhibited as seen in the massive vote-buying that characterised the exercise. Even though the two major political contenders presented by the two parties came on board with enviable academic credentials, a development that prompted the huge expectations that preceded the electioneering period, both candidates threw away their PhDs and went for gutter tactics. Of course, the justification was that in the end, its a winner takes all contest. First, a campaign period that observers imagined would be characterized by exchange of ideas and issue-based debates about the future of the state turned out to be a period of mindless propaganda and spread of fake news, especially on the part of the two major parties. Worse still, a day or so before the election, the debate put together by a civic group, Enough Is Enough, was shunned by both candidateseven when others from obscure parties attended. Kayode Fayemi, said to be urbane and far-detached from peoples realities at the grassroots in his first coming, was pre-occupied with the desperate desire to avoid a second humiliation and thus spent time scheming and showing people at the grassroots that he now understands what it means to be street-savvy. He gave the first sign when he, surprisingly, won the APC primary against all odds and was quoted to have made reference to the street slang Sha-pra-pra during one of his campaigns. Olusola Eleka, the professorial proxy with whom Fayose seemed determined to actualise a third term gambit, was way too preoccupied with research works on how best to prostrate sheepishly before ones benefactor that he nearly forgot in was actually in the race. So invisible was he that even when a chieftain of the APC accused him of not writing any academic paper, he was on his knees inside government house and never bothered to clarify what turned out to be outright lies. So in the end, Ekiti people went to the polls without anyone having an idea of what the major contenders had in stock for them. But as things turned out, the people themselves knew it was cash, raw cash, and they did harvest it last Saturday at the poll. By the time the dust would settle, more than a billion naira had exchanged hands in a contest that was bereft of ideas and watered with questionable money. But the signs are eerie if a few concerns are dissected: First, on the one hand, the Fayose-led PDP government that had, for a few months now, found it difficult to pay salaries reportedly doled out as high as N4,000 to voters. On the other hand, the APC and Kayode Fayemi, who served recently as mines minister, also doled out as high as N5000 to voters, according to reports. In all these, there is the one rational question: where are these monies coming from? In essence, beyond the post-election hoopla generated by the rift between the political gladiators, one hopes that the people of Ekiti, reputed to be one of Nigerias most educated people, and having exhausted the pot of soup prepared with the electoral fortunes, would have come to terms with the reality of the choice they made on Saturday. While one cannot discountenance the influence of poverty in the whole Ekiti money bazaarnow dubbed See and Buy one hopes that such anti-democratic template would not be replicated in other elections. SATIRE SATURDAY looks forward to how the state and its people would wriggle their ways out of the huge I-O-U they incurred on that Election Day. In the meantime, would it be out of place to parody the outgoing governor and ask, out of genuine curiosity: Isnt Ekiti treasury in severe pain already? With the recent upheavals in Nigerias political space, some members of the Senate are expected to defect from their parties in the coming days. The speculation on the defection has been on for a long time but reached new heights on July 4 when a faction of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) announced the formation of a new party bloc, tagged Reformed APC, simply R-APC. The group comprises mostly members of nPDP, and defunct CPC, ANPP and ACN. A week later, the R-APC and 37 other parties signed a memorandum for a coalition that will ensure the defeat of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC come 2019. Some senators were featured in this turn of events and several onthe-side consultations fueled the possibility of massive decamping. Below are some senator who may leave their party soon and why Bukola Saraki Since the breakaway from APC, Mr Saraki has not publicly announced whether he is part of the disgruntled R-APC or not. But many expect him to change party soon, especially as he has been seen holding meetings with PDP leaders and as some of his supporters have left APC. Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki Mr Sarakis travails in the APC is connected to his long-standing cold war with the presidency which started right from his inauguration as Senate President. After his swearing-in, Mr Saraki was slammed with forgery, false assets declaration and sundry charges by the federal government. Though acquitted, many of Mr Sarakis supporters believe he is being harasssed for standing his ground against the presidency. Dino Melaye The Kogi West Senator is not keeping silent his bias on defection. After returning to the Senate in June, Mr Melaye requested to sit in the opposition wing of the Senate chamber. He has been sitting there since then and was also spotted at the venue of MoU signing of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP). He also released a video where he claimed he missed his home, the PDP. Dino Melaye The unending political feud between Mr Melaye, and Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello is a major factor forcing the lawmaker out of APC. Having survived a recall process which he believed was orchestrated by Mr Bello, Mr Melaye will likely make his defection back to PDP in coming days. Shehu Sani The Kaduna Central Senator has hinted of his imminent defection in interviews and social media posts in recent times. Mr Sani would want out of APC primarily because of his feud with Governor Nasir El-Rufai. The crisis dates back to 2015 when, after the elections, Mr El-Rufai made some appointments, and Mr Sani and others felt disregarded and marginalised. Shehu Sani [Source: Deltabreed] Mr Sani has not been silent all along, criticising most of the policies of the state government and the governors party activities. When he was suspended from the party in 2017, he accused the governor of masterminding his ordeal. His last words on defection was that he was still making consultations. Suleiman Hunkuyi Like Mr Sani, the Kaduna North Senator may leave APC because of his feud with Mr El-Rufai. The genesis of their disagreement is difficult to trace given the fact that Mr Hunkuyis younger brother was appointed commissioner and his elder, Idris Othman, was for many years a close associate of the governor. Although his has not been as rough as the feud between him and Shehu Sani, all indications point that there is no love lost between him and the governor. Just recently, as in many other occasions, Mr Hunkuyi vowed to do everything possible to vote Mr El-Rufai out in 2019 governorship election in the state. Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi In February, the Kaduna State Governmemt demolished a building belonging to a faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state. Mr Hunkuyi, a leader of one of Restoration APC, alleged that the demolition was masterminded by the state. The score still lingers and may force the senator out of the party. Shaaba Lafiagi Though without any known confrontations, Mr Lafiagi is believed to be part of aggrieved senators who may defect from APC due to his loyalty to Mr Saraki. Kabir Marafa The struggle for political space in Zamfara state has brought the governor, Abdulaziz Yari, and Senator representing Zamfara Central, Kabiru Marafa, at loggerheads in recent times. The political quagmire took an interesting dimension in November 2017, when the senator alleged that the governor was not an indigene of the state. This followed the Senates refusal to confirm nomination of Ahmad Bello Mahmud as REC nominee for the state on the strength of a petition written to the committee on INEC by Mr Yari. In another appearance at plenary, Mr Marafa alleged that the governor and his deputy knew the militias laying siege on the state. Mr Yari, in his response to the allegation said in a statement by his Special Adviser, Salisi Isah, that the senators comments were mischievous, callous and misleading. Former APC Senator, Kabiru Marafa (Photo Credit: Daily Trust) The governor went further to threaten Mr Marafas 2019 ambition. Yes we are going to kill him politically, we are going to bury his political ambition in 2019. He wants to be governor, he is not going to get it, even the Senate, he is not going to return, he said in a statement. The feud continues even as Mr Marafa was spotted at the venue of the signing of the CUPP MoU. Sabi Abdulahi The Niger North Senator is not known to be having difficulty with his governor or any bigwig in his political party but he may defect due to his affiliation with R-APC members. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso The handwritings are clearly written on the wall, suggesting the the former Kano State governor, Mr Kwankwaso, will make official his return to PDP soon. This may be borne out of two reason: first, his feud with the state Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje and his presidential ambition. Early July, he boasted of his ability to defeat President Buhari if fielded by PDP. Rabiu Kwankwaso Im a free man now and available to try my luck elsewhere but I know that PDP is the biggest party and as long as they follow democratic principle, Buhari will easily be defeated, but if they handpick and force any candidate on the party, they will fail, he said. Abu Kyari The 2019 ambition of the senator representing Borno North appears capable of instigating his defection. His ambition is putting him at loggerheads with the Governor Kashim Shettima of the state. The senator, who is currently nursing an ambition of occupying the state government house is not in the best of relationships with the governor who many believe is eyeing the northern senatorial seat in 2019. To neutralise Mr Kyaris ambition, Mr Shettima was said to have initiated moves to draft the senator representing the central senatorial district, Baba Kaka Garbai, into the governorship race to succeed him. Mr Kyari may have to leave APC if his ambition will ever materialise. Adamu Aliero The Kebbi APC has been battling with the emergence of two warring factions: Buhari/Bagudu 4+4 (BB4+4) and Buhari/Bagudu Support Organisation (BBSO) led by different political figures in the state. Even though he had vowed to support their proscription, the crisis seems unending. Beyond this and more importantly, the preparation to win re-election in 2019 is staring the senator right in the eyes. Senator Adamu Aliero The senator , in an interview in September 2017 said, nothing good can ever comes out of PDP but he was part of a meeting of aggrieved senators in May where the options of return to PDP or seeking fresh grounds topped the agenda. Danjuma Goje The senator has been accused of hijacking the Gombe APC due to his overwhelming influence. To solve this, the national headquarters of the APC last year disbanded officials of the party in Gombe State and inaugurated a caretaker committee. Senator Danjuma Goje But the crisis continues with no love lost between the Chairman of the committee, Bala Jibrin, and Mr Goje, sometimes degenerating into physical attacks by their supporters. Mr Goje is one of the senators making consultations on their next moves. Isa Misau Mr Misau has not hidden his displeasure towards the government of President Buhari especially in his comments on the Nigeria Police and its leadership. In January, Mr Misau said the Buhari administration was populated with incompetent people who have now taken over the reins, with some of them acting as though they are above the president. His open confrontation with the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, whom he accused of corruption and incompetence also pitched him against the presidency. Isa Misau [Photo Credit: Concise News] Mr Misau also questioned Mr Buharis anti-corruption war citing the example of Babachir Lawal, the former SGF who was accused of embezzling funds meant for IDPs and still walking scot-free, including being a frequent visitor to the presidential villa. With this affront coupled with his involvement in underground consultations, the Bauchi lawmaker may be on his way out of APC. Others They may not have been involved in major crises but these senators have been part of underground meetings, especially with the CUPP: Ibrahim Gobir John Enoh Ibrahim Danbaba Suleman Nazif Muhammed Shitu David Umaru Barnabas Gemade Rufai Ibrahim Bala Ibn. NaAllah Despite the political tension in the country, the Senate, this week carried out its legislative duties as usual. As the lawmakers prepare to embark on their annual recess, they tackled issues ranging from consideration to confirmation of some of President Muhammadu Buharis nominees. Below are some of the major stories from the Senate. Tuesday: Mr Buhari transmitted the 2019 election budget to the Senate. In a letter he sent, he said Nigeria will need N254 billion (N254,445,322,600) to prosecute the 2019 general election. The letter sought the approval of the sum which will be drawn from the 2018 and 2019 budgets. President Buhari urged the lawmakers to remove projects earlier inserted into the budget and replace them with priority projects as contained in the original bill. The Senate approved the appointment of a chairman and six members of the Police Service Commission. Musiliu Smith was confirmed as chairman of the commission while Clara Ogunbiyi, Lawal Bawa, and Muhammad Najatu as members. Others are Braimoh Austin, Rommy Mom and Nkemka Oshimiri Jombo-Ofo. President Buhari rejected four bills recently passed by the National Assembly. The bills are the Corporate Manslaughter Bill, 2018; National Child Protection and Enforcement Agency (NCPEA) Bill, 2018; Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund Amendment Bill, 2018; and the Courts and Tribunal Standard Scale of Fines Bill, 2018. Mr Buharis decision to withhold assent to the bills was contained in separate letters. President Buhari nominated Muiz Banire as Chairman of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and Bello Tukur as Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC). He also nominated 12 other commissioners into the FCSC. The commissioners are: Moses Musa, Waziri Umaru, Ahmed Bello Mahmud, Ahmed Sama, Iyabode Odulate Yusuf and Shehu Umar Danyaya. Others are, Fatai Lafaye, Michael Chukwuemeka, Joe Philip, Ibrahim Muhammed, Aminu Saidu and Simon Etim. Wednesday: The Senate resolved to investigate the ongoing oil and gas lease renewal after a committee of the upper chamber reported alleged illegal rebates and discounts were denying government revenue in excess of N10 billion. It mandated its Committee on Petroleum Resources Upstream to investigate all issues relating to the lease renewal being undertaken by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, and the Department of Petroleum Resources and to report to the Senate the anomalies in the process and identify appropriate measures to correct these. The Senate approved the payment of N348 billion as outstanding subsidy claims to 74 petroleum marketers. The Senate said the payment is to enable them update all outstanding liabilities and clear all debts, interest accrued and forex differential once and for all. Thursday: The Senate plenary was thrown into a rowdy session over allegations of lopsidedness in appointments by President Muhammadu Buhari. The allegation was first raised by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who said Mr Buharis appointments of heads of agencies have recently been sourced from one geopolitical zone. His observation followed a letter from the president seeking confirmation of chairman and members of the Federal Roads Maintenance Management Agency (FERMA). Cote dIvoire President Alassane Ouattaras government faced collapse on Friday after his junior coalition partner said it had expelled party members named to a new cabinet. Ouattara reshuffled his cabinet last week because of a row between his RDR party and the PDCI party of former President Henri Konan Bedie. The changes were largely cosmetic, and Ouattara played down friction between the two parties in a public address last week. However, they went against the wishes of Bedie, who had warned party members in a letter seen by the Media not to take part in the new government. I ask all PDCI party members to not associate with this event, or participate, Bedie said in the letter dated July 13, referring to a meeting of the new government. PDCI spokesman Narcisse NDri told the media that about 10 party members named as ministers had been expelled. The PDCI move appeared to mark a break from Ouattara. This is possibly the end to a political marriage that was critical to his run-off victory in the 2010 presidential election and his re-election in 2015. The two parties had fallen out over the PDCIs insistence that it be able to choose the candidate for a joint ticket in the 2020 presidential vote. The row has aggravated the perennially volatile politics of Cote dIvoire , where a tenuous stability has held since a brief civil war in 2010-11 that killed 3,000 people. (Reuters/NAN) President Muhammadu Buhari has urged intending pilgrims from Nigeria to pray for sustained peace in the country. The president made the call Saturday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport during the iaugural flight of this years pilgrimage to Makkah. The inaugural flight which ferried pilgrims from Kogi state took off at about 3 p.m. Represented by the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mohammed Bello, Mr Buhari told the pilgrims to Pray for your family, pray for yourselves, pray for your country and pray for your leaders. The president also told the pilgrims to pray fervently for lasting peace in the country. He admonished them to be good ambassadors of Nigeria and Islamic religion. He also advised them to undertake their religious duties safely and come back with Hajj Mabrur( acceptable Hajj). Mr Buhari also commended the National Hajj Commission for the way they handled this years Hajj operations. He also said the federal government would continue to provide all that is needed to make sure Nigerians perform their Hajj successfully. Mr Buhari advised pilgrims from the country to take maximum opportunity of the opportunity God has given them to perform the Hajj in a peaceful and orderly manner. The president, who said the relationship between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia will continue to grow advised all pilgrims to respect all the rules and regulations of Saudi Arabia. You are a small group out of the many that will come from all over the world. Speaking earlier, the chairman of NAHCON, Abdullahi Muhammed, said the inaugural flight to be carried out by Max Air will ferry 460 pilgrims to Madinah. He also told the pilgrims that being the first to depart, they will also be the first to return after the Hajj. Mr Mohammed appreciated the support given to the commission by the Kogi state Hajj Commission which made the flag off ceremony successful. He said an advanced team from the commission had traveled to Saudi Arabia four days ago and would be joined by Nigerian ambassador and consul general to receive the Kogi pilgrims. He called on other states to emulate Kogi by ensuring that their pilgrims are mobilised early so as to have a smooth airlift exercise. The NAHCON chairman expressed gratitude to President Buhari for officially writing a letter of request to King Salman calling for an intervention that would lessen the burden of Nigerian pilgrims due to the newly introduced biometrics data capture of all pilgrims. He also thanked the government of Saudi Arabia for granting the request by ensuring more data capture centres were created in almost all the state capitals in the country. So far 18,000 pilgrims have been captured out of which 5000 visas have already been processed, he said. Mr Mohammed pledged the commitment of NAHCON to ensure that pilgrims get value for their money. He also called on them and officials from the states to always report poor services rendered to them so as to either get partial or full refund. I appeal to you to behave yourself in the most decent manner, move in groups and obey your officials, he said. Mr Mohammed also said officials are human and can make mistakes. Take our shortcomings in good faith. Let us work as partners in progress not as a master/boss relationship. He also said medical facilities which are free of charge courtesy of the federal government have been provided saying whenever you have any medical issue contact the nearest clinic which are often within the vicinity of your accommodation There is an emergency line available 24/7 use it in case of any emergency. For those of us who are IT literate, there is also a complaint management system provided on our website, please take advantage of it. When an officer who received a complaint refused to act, the next officer in line will get and alert and the same process continues up to my desk as CEO. Be assured we will do everything humanly possible to make you comfortable, he said. Also, the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Nigeria Adnan Mahmoud Bostaji said his government considers rendering service to pilgrims as an obligation and a source of honour. He said there has been remarkable improvements in all Hajj related facilities in the country for the service of pilgrims to ensure they perform their rites with every ease and comfort. The first batch of this years Hajj pilgrims from Nigeria will leave for Saudi Arabia today, Saturday. The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has said that it is set for the inaugural flight signaling the commencement of 2018 Hajj operations. This is coming one week after Saudi Arabia began its Hajj season. NAHCON spokesperson, Fatima Usara, in a statement Friday said the flag-off is scheduled to take place on Saturday at the Domestic Wing of the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja at 11:00 a.m. She said pilgrims from Kogi State and officials are expected to be on the inaugural flight to be flown on MAX Air directly to Madina. NAHCON is also pleased to inform the general public that the biometric data registration is progressing steadily. State Muslim Welfare Boards in conjunction with biometric data capturing officials have been doing commendably well in this regard, Mrs Usara said. She also said as at July 19, statistics shows that biometrics data of 17, 000 (seventeen thousand) intending pilgrim have been captured while over five thousand visas have been processed. Pilgrims are once again reminded that the registration is availed free of charge courtesy of Saudi Arabias generosity. Therefore, any intending pilgrim that paid for the registration hitherto is urged to return to his/her registration center for a refund, she said. She also advised other intending pilgrims to be patient and wait for their turn to be invited for the biometric registration before they present themselves at the centres. She said this is important to maintain orderliness, prevent stress and to follow the arrangements on ground to accommodate a specific number of people at a time. She assured everyone will be captured before the end of the exercise. File Photo: Pilgrims being screened at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja. [Photo credit: NAHCON] Kogi state pilgrims being screened in preparation for first Hajj 2018 flight at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja. [Photo credit: NAHCON] Kogi state pilgrims being screened in preparation for first Hajj 2018 flight at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja. [Photo credit: NAHCON] Intending pilgrims are also advised to note, for avoidance of speculations and distrust, that there are other biometric data capturing candidates that are not pilgrims but are legitimately traveling to Saudi Arabia for their different purposes. Therefore, the handlers alternate between different categories of biometric applicants, vis-a-vis pilgrims from licensed tour operators, travelers on tourism, as well as those applying for work and study visas to Saudi Arabia; everyone visits the same biometric centers for data capturing. Hence everyone is enjoined to exhibit the spirit of tolerance, she said. A Nigerian Professor of English, Pius Adesanmi, was involved in an accident along Oyo-Ogbomosho road on Wednesday. Mr Adesanmi, a PREMIUM TIMES columnist, narrated his ordeal to this newspaper in a telephone interview. He lamented how no help came for him and other victims of the accident for almost two hours after the accident. The don said he was on his way to Lagos from Ilorin to board a flight to Dakar for a meeting. Between Oyo and Ogbomosho, his vehicle a Nissan- had a head-on collision with a car from Ibadan (a Toyota Privia). Two hours after the accident, no help came. The evacuation culture was zero, he said. He explained that people just gathered at the scene of the accident, wondering and shouting. Others were screaming and cursing. No one attempted to help. Mr Adesanmi narrated how he passed out several times. He said a taxi driver eventually came to his senses, about two hours after the accident, and took the victims to the hospital. He explained that they were taken to a general hospital in Oyo town where they spent another two hours before they were attended to. It is, however, not clear the number of victims involved in the accident and their present condition as the telephone connection went dead and subsequent efforts to reach the professor was not successful. Mr Adesanmi is Director of the Institute of African Studies at Carleton University, Canada. A graduate of University of Ilorin, the don is also a novelist. Nigerian professor, Pius Adesanmi, involved in road accident. [Photo credit: Pius Adesanmi] Nigerian professor, Pius Adesanmi, involved in road accident. [Photo credit: Pius Adesanmi] Nigerian professor, Pius Adesanmi, involved in road accident. [Photo credit: Pius Adesanmi] Every year, he holds an Abiola Irele Seminar on Theory and Criticism for PhD students and lecturers at the Kwara State University the venue from which he was returning before the accident. Mr Adesanmi has used his various articles to call for good governance in Nigeria. His writings are often critical of Nigerian politicians, clerics, and other public figures. Bayelsa State governor, Seriake Dickson, has described the current spate of violence and killings in Nigeria, particularly in the northern part of the country, as the biggest threat to the nations cooperate existence, since the civil war. He faulted the nations lopsided federal structure, over-centralisation and politicisation of law and order as threats to contemporary governance in Nigeria. A statement issued by Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Francis Agbo, said Mr Dickson spoke on Friday in Abuja while delivering a lecture entitled: Cultural Values, National Security and Challenges of Contemporary Governance: Perspective From Bayelsa State Experience, organised by Institute of Security Studies (ISS). Mr Dickson condemned the recent killings and warned that the country would cease to have a future if President Buhari fails to urgently mobilise the people of Nigeria to build a non-partisan consensus to avert the nationwide senseless killings. He lamented that politicians were using the security structures of the country to torment innocent citizens for their selfish ends and by so doing, causing national insecurity and instability. The governor maintained that the wind of insecurity blowing across the nation and particularly the killing of innocent Nigerians in the northern part of the country were fuelled by the imbalance in the countrys security structure and the politicisation of security by members of the ruling party. Mr Dickson said, It is very clear that Nigerias lopsided federal system and over centralisation of security powers and the politicisation of security by several agencies are a major clause of instability and poses a threat to National stability. I was talking the politics of insecurity and the insecurity of politics occasioned by the abuse of Nigerias federal system and the ease at which those who control powers at the federal level undermine law and order in parts of our country and make it difficult for our citizens to feel safe and to feel protected under the law. When you correct this abuse of federal system, the governor of Benue and Taraba will be in the position to mobilise the security resources of their States I remember the governor of Zamfara said he didnt want to be addressed as the Chief Security Officer of the state. The Bayelsa State governor added that although the military has made appreciable progress in its fight against Book Haram, recent events in the country shows that the war against terrorism was far from over. He, therefore, called on stakeholders irrespective of their political parties to unite in order to proffer a solution to the lingering insecurity in the country. Mr Dickson said when a nation comes under under attack, the leaders, military, civil, Christians, Muslims, must come together to address it. The governor said what was going on in Nigeria was more than the historical herdsmen and farmers clashes, saying the country has lost too many innocent souls to the killings. He said, Who are the farmers having clashes with herdsmen in Sokoto, Zamfara and other places. We must call a spade a spade for the good of our country. We are dealing with a calculated attack on our country. We are dealing with machinery of violence against innocent Nigerians. Yes we have historical incidence of herdsmen and farmers clash but what is going on is far more than that. All Nigerians and people of good will should show patriotism and let us interrogate this issues properly. He said a situation where a security officer diligently doing his work is unceremoniously transfered because someone who has access to power wanted him transferred was not healthy for the nation. Mr Dickson said, Nigerians are right to demand for protection. They expect the security agencies to arise to the occasion and put an end to the killings that are moving from one state to the other. If the people are under attack by gunmen, that is the more reasons why the security forces and the President as the Commander-in-Chief-of -Armed-Forces should lead the security agencies to repel this attack. We have lost enough innocent lives. Instead of these killings abating, it continues to be spreading. That is why I said what is going on in the Middle Belt, North East, Niger Delta and other regions of the country is clearly the most potent National Security and essential threat our country has faced since the civil war. He said to address insecurity in Nigeria, there was also need for the government to invest more in education, stressing that the options are clear: it is either you build more schools or you build more prisons and cemetaries. The governor added that addressing the situation and developing the country, there was need to recognise and respect ethics and cultural differences in the country Mr Dickson, however, said that in spite of the contemporary security challenge facing Nigeria, the country has the potential of becoming country of great capability. In spite of these challenges, we believe that a new Nigeria of peace and stability, equal citizens and egalitarian Nigeria is still possible. From the north to the south, east to the west, God in His mercy and wisdom has given us everything to be great, he stressed. Gboyega Oyetola, the winner of the Osun All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary, says he has accepted to be partys flag bearer for September 22 election. Mr Oyetola, while reading his acceptance to journalists at about 11:30 pm, shortly after he was declared winner of the primary on Friday, said that he was humbled by the victory. With deep humility and a sense of duty I accept your verdict that I should carry forward the torch of our party in the next elections. I assure you that your choice will not be wasted. You have settled for a man steady in his ways, firm in his convictions about the purpose of government, which is to promote the welfare of the people, protect their rights and provide good governance, he said. Mr Oyetola, who is Gov. Aregbesolas Chief of Staff, called on his co-contestants to join him in the task of winning the governorship election. We have only won the battle. The war lies ahead of us. Our opponents from other parties increase their arsenal to fight with us. But we are ready. We are tested. Like the broom sweeping away the rot, we are set and ready. The 60 days plus ahead will not be easy but I am confident in our ability to protect what we have, he said. Mr Oyetola thanked all the partys member for ensuring his victory, adding that his emergence as the partys flag bearer was made possible by them. He also thanked Gov. Aregbesola, saying he would work assiduously to ensure continuity and consolidation of his efforts. Mr Oyetola added that the success of the direct primaries in Osun had placed the party on a path of democratic rejuvenation and a rebirth of membership faith in the party. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Oyetola scored 127,017 votes during the governorship primary to defeat 17 other contestants. Lasun Yussuff, Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, came second with 21, 975 votes. Ovie Omo-Agege, a senator, who represented Gov. Abdulazi Yari of Zamfara as the chairman of election panel, announced the results at the partys secretariat. ROCHESTER, N.Y., July 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- As co-owner of Rochester-based restaurant KHONG, Adam Civalier's knowledge of Thai cuisine is, arguably, almost second to none. Here, he reveals three of his all-time favorite dishes and talks more about his passion for Thai food and the principles behind the restaurant. "I love an entree," he begins. "Pad Peow Wan is a favorite of mine. It's a sweet and sour dish with stir-fried pineapple, celery, bell peppers, zucchini, carrots, green and white onions, tomatoes and cucumber." Pad Peow Wan Adam Civalier continues, "It's a best seller at the restaurant, too, alongside other entrees such as Pad Puk Kha-Na, or oriental broccoli, and our stir-fried eggplant in a spicy basil sauce." Second on the list for Adam Civalier is Gang Keow Wan, a sweet and spicy green curry. "It's the archetypal Thai green curry and this sweet, spicy dish delivers huge flavor and aroma with lime leaves, basil, bamboo shoots, eggplant, bell peppers, string beans and zucchini." Adam Civalier says it's a close tie between Gang Keow Wan and Gang Panang, a creamy coconut dish with added spicy curry paste and sliced lime leaves, for his favorite Thai curry. "Gang Keow Wan just edges it for me, I think," he adds, after some careful consideration. So, what's Adam Civalier's first choice? "It has got to be Pad Thai, arguably the most famous Thai noodle dish," he suggests. Stir-fried with ground peanuts, egg, bean sprouts and fresh scallions, Pad Thai is traditionally served in a tamarind sauce. "This is another best seller at KHONG and deservedly so," the restaurateur confirms. The restaurant's appetizers, soups and salads also get rave reviews from Adam Civalier. "I love everything we serve, but I'm especially partial to our pork dumplings, grilled beef salad and our shrimp dumpling soup." "I'd encourage anyone to check those out," he adds. Of his and the rest of the team's view for KHONG, Adam Civalier explains, "The primary objective in the creation of the restaurant was to provide a casual dining environment which is fast and efficient, while still capable of delivering the high-quality Thai cuisine we all know and love." "I think," he adds, wrapping up, "the neighborhood and customer base has embraced our vision, and I couldn't be happier or more proud." KHONG is open six days a week closed on Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and can be found at 260 Winton Road North, Rochester, New York 14610. To find out more, please visit http://khongthaicuisine.com/. Media Contact: Web Presence LLC Eric Blankenship 786-332-6554 SOURCE Adam Civalier PHILADELPHIA, July 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Elsevier, the global information analytics business specializing in science and health, and part of RELX Group, announced today that it has entered into an agreement to offer its STATdx online radiology diagnostic decision support tool through M*Modal Fluency for Imaging, an advanced speech recognition and workflow management system, to deliver the next generation of diagnostic decision support. This combined solution will be demonstrated during the Association of Medical Imaging Management (AHRA) 2018 annual meeting in Orlando from July 22-25. STATdx, written by renowned radiologists in each specialty and widely regarded as the "gold standard" of radiology reference solutions, increases accuracy and confidence in diagnosing complex imaging cases and includes more than 4,000 common and complex diagnoses, 200,000 expert-selected and annotated image examples, 20,000 easily sortable patient cases with cine clips for select topics and much more. Elsevier's STATdx received two prestigious awards in 2017. STATdx received Frost & Sullivan's 2017 North America Technology Innovation Award. STATdx also received top honors in the Digital and Online Resources category at the British Medical Association's awards. "The STATdx integration with M*Modal will expedite the diagnostic process by putting together two critical tools in one place, streamlining the workflow," said Hajo Oltmanns, Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Clinical Solutions, Elsevier. "Radiologists' reports will not only be more accurate, but this integrated solution will provide completeness, conformity, usability and consistency to drive actions and deliver value to the healthcare provider and, ultimately, the patient." Currently, medical knowledge is growing at such a rapid pace that clinicians cannot keep up. Reliable information sources are not easily accessible, and healthcare providers must rely on limited sets of information to determine diagnoses. Also, the content from clinician notes is not always in the correct context, which can cause confusion and errors in decision-making. This situation can be resolved by deep workflow integration with intelligent search that connects radiologists with content in the appropriate context to make quicker, more confident diagnosis. Chris Spring, Vice President Imaging Solutions at M*Modal, added, "The goal of this combined solution is to drive significantly better detection, interpretation and classification of disease so that clinicians can make the most appropriate diagnoses." To see a demonstration of this solution, please stop by the M*Modal booth (# 1306) at AHRA July 22-25. About M*Modal M*Modal is a leading healthcare technology provider of advanced clinical documentation solutions, enabling hospitals and physicians to enrich the content of patient electronic health records (EHR) for improved healthcare and comprehensive billing integrity. As one of the largest clinical transcription service providers in the U.S., with a global network of medical editors, M*Modal also provides advanced cloud-based Speech Understanding technology and data analytics that enable physicians and clinicians to include the context of their patient narratives into electronic health records in a single step, further enhancing their productivity and the cost-saving efficiency and quality of patient care at the point of care. For more information, please visit www.mmodal.com, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. About Elsevier Elsevier is a global information analytics business that helps institutions and professionals advance healthcare, open science and improve performance for the benefit of humanity. Elsevier provides digital solutions and tools in the areas of strategic research management, R&D performance, clinical decision support and professional education, including ScienceDirect, Scopus, SciVal, ClinicalKey and Sherpath. Elsevier publishes over 2,500 digitized journals, including The Lancet and Cell, 38,000 e-book titles and many iconic reference works, including Gray's Anatomy. Elsevier is part of RELX Group, a global provider of information and analytics for professionals and business customers across industries. www.elsevier.com Media contact Christopher Capot Global Communications Elsevier +1-917-704-5174 [email protected] SOURCE Elsevier Related Links http://www.elsevier.com/ NEW ORLEANS, July 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until August 20, 2018 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Newell Brands Inc. (NYSE: NWL), if they purchased the Company's shares between February 6, 2017 and January 24, 2018, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Get Help Newell investors should visit us at https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/view-newell-brands-inc-securities-litigation or call to speak to our claim center toll-free at (844) 367-9658. About the Lawsuit Newell and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws. On January 25, 2018, Newell revealed expected 2017 core sales significantly below previous guidance partly due to ongoing retailer inventory problems and that it was considering significantly restructuring business by divesting industrial and commercial assets, which it anticipated would result in a 50% reduction in its customer base and global factory and warehouse footprint. Further, the Company disclosed the resignations of three members of its Board. On this news, the price of Newell's shares plummeted 21% to close at $24.81 per share. About ClaimsFiler ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. ClaimsFiler's team of experts monitor the securities class action landscape and cull information from a variety of sources to ensure comprehensive coverage across a broad range of financial instruments. To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com. SOURCE ClaimsFiler Related Links www.claimsfiler.com LONDON, July 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- EFRA Committee calls for Government action to tackle cruel fur sales An Inquiry by the Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee, launched in response to investigations by Humane Society International UK and media partners, published its report today calling on Government to hold a public consultation to consider whether to ban the import and sale of animal fur in the UK, post-Brexit. The report, welcomed by HSI UK which leads the #FurFreeBritain campaign, also calls on the Government to introduce a new mandatory fur and animal product labelling regime to enable consumers to make informed buying choices. In response to the Committee's question 'Should the UK ban fur?', HSI UK presented detailed evidence of the inherent cruelty of fur farming and trapping, as well as the 'moral inconsistency' between the UK's ban on fur farming and the importation of fur, described by the charity as 'outsourcing cruelty'. Despite UK-wide bans of fur farming on ethical grounds since 2003, and EU bans on the sale of cat and dog fur (2007) and seal fur (2010), the UK still allows the import and sale of fur from a range of other species such as fox, rabbit, mink, coyote, racoon dog, and chinchilla. The vast majority of these animals are factory-farmed in battery cage systems in countries such as China, Poland and Finland. According to the most recent trade statistics from HMRC, in the last year* the UK imported almost 75 million of animal fur (74,154,873). It's a double standard that HSI UK hopes to see outlawed. HSI UK Executive Director Claire Bass said "The UK was the first country in the world to ban fur farming, after the British public, politicians and veterinary experts concluded that it is an inhumane and completely unnecessary industry. So it is total double standard for us to still be importing and selling fur from animals still suffering the same conditions we banned here. The UK Government has the opportunity to blaze a trail as the first country to ban the sale of all animal fur, so we are delighted that EFRA Committee members are pressing government to launch a public consultation to help inform and build that case. Our #FurFreeBritain campaign already has the support of the British public, veterinary experts, as well as an ever-growing list of retailers and designers who see that the future of fashion is fur-free. With innovation in textiles offering high quality humane alternatives to real fur, the fur trade's days are clearly numbered, but it can't end quickly enough for the hundreds of millions of animals trapped and tormented in tiny cages. A UK ban would be a major nail in the coffin of this morally bankrupt industry." The EFRA report is extremely critical of the mis-sale of real animal fur as fake fur, a scandal exposed by HSI UK, and urges decisive action from retailers and Trading Standards to ensure that consumers are not sold 'fake faux fur'. Evidence presented to the Committee by HSI UK underlined deficiencies in the current labelling laws, including that there is no legal requirement to use the specific word "fur" on items containing real fur. Evidence submitted by HSI UK showed the Committee numerous examples of real fur being sold as fake fur on the UK high street and online, commonly containing labels such as '100% acrylic'. The Committee acknowledged the extent of the problem, stating that 'the current labelling system is confusing, not-fit-for purpose, and with a high degree of non-compliance. It is also not being enforced.' The report recommends that a new labelling law should ensure that items containing fur should list the species, country of origin and method of production. HSI's campaign for a fur import ban was also discussed in Parliament on June 4th in a Westminster Hall debate at which 32 MPs from across the political spectrum passionately spoke out in favour of banning fur imports from the United Kingdom, calling the fur trade "vile", "loathsome" and the "grimmest of human activities". Some of the fur ban's most vocal political advocates include, Kerry McCarthy, Sir Roger Gale, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell MP, Tim Loughton, Daniel Zeichner, Caroline Lucas, Maria Eagle and Zac Goldsmith. The campaign has also garnered strong celebrity support; 31 of the country's biggest celebrities - including Dame Judi Dench, Ricky Gervais, Alesha Dixon, Paloma Faith, Evanna Lynch, sent a letter to the Prime Minister calling for a fur import ban. The full letter and list of signatories can be read here. And last month, Environment Secretary Michael Gove received a letter from 50 vets and animal experts speaking out against cruel fur farming. The full letter and list of signees can be read here. Fur facts: More than 130 million animals suffer each year in the global fur trade, the majority reared in terrible conditions on fur factory farms. This number does not include rabbits, whose numbers (in the hundreds of millions) are not reported by the fur trade. There is no legal requirement to use the specific word "fur" on items containing real fur. EU regulations require items defined as "textile products" that contain animal fur to carry the confusing wording "contains non-textile parts of animal origin" however this does not clearly tell consumers that it means 'real animal fur,' and in practice this wording requirement is rarely adhered to at all, as evidenced in our report 'Mislabelled and misleading'. Products sold online are exempt even from the above confusing wording requirement, and footwear or non-garment accessories such as handbags and keychains are also excluded. Around the world in countries such as the U.S., France , Poland and China , wild species are kept in small, barren battery cages for their entire lives before being killed by gassing or electrocution. Wild animals such as coyotes fair no better - they can languish in agony in cruel traps for hours or even days before dying from dehydration, starvation or attacks by predators, or being shot or crushed to death when the trapper returns. A 2018 YouGov poll commissioned by HSI UK shows that more than two-thirds of the British public support a UK fur import ban, with only 8% opposed to the idea. In recent times there has been a fast-growing list of designers banning fur - Gucci, Versace, Michael Kors, Donna Karan and Jimmy Choo - who join those with long-standing fur bans, such as Hugo Boss , Armani, Tommy Hilfiger , and Vivienne Westwood . * ( April 2017 - March 2018 inclusive) SOURCE Humane Society International Tiger Beer, Asia's number one international premium beer, has today unveiled the Rare Stripes collection at the KENZO store at Ginza Six in Tokyo, Japan. The collection represents a unique partnership between WWF in collaboration with iconic French fashion house KENZO to raise awareness of endangered wild tigers. (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/721298/KENZO_team.jpg ) Talking to guests and media at the launch event, Venus Teoh, International Brand Director for Tiger Beer, shared: "True to our spirit of uncaging creativity and providing a platform for emerging talent to the world, Tiger Beer has brought together our partner WWF, the co-creative directors of KENZO, Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, and four handpicked young artists to create the limited edition Rare Stripes collection." "This collection is another one of the ways we're raising global awareness and funds for endangered wild tigers. We want people to take action to save the wild tigers, our beloved brand icon, from extinction," she continued. Michael Baltzer, Leader of Tigers Alive Initiative (WWF) added: "Every day we see tigers used in popular culture - in fashion motifs, on premium products and on billboards. Yet, tigers in the wild are in danger of becoming extinct. WWF is a leader in an ambitious global effort to double wild tigers but the tiger needs every help it can get. We are therefore delighted to have this powerful partnership with Tiger Beer and KENZO. We hope it sets a new wave of action and awareness from other brands for wild tigers." KENZO's co-creative directors, Humberto Leon and Carol Lim and the four emerging artists that designed the collection were also present to launch the collection. Urging guests to lend their support to the cause, Humberto shared: "Carol and I had been hoping to work with WWF for some time and we were delighted that Tiger Beer brought us together. We hope our collaboration with WWF and these four great artists for this important cause will inspire people around the world to learn more about saving wild tigers. The reality is that if we don't take action now, we could very easily lose these animals forever." The four artists hailing from Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and the United States also drew inspiration from their trip to Cambodia where they worked closely with Leon and Lim to design the collection and heard from Phurba Lendhup, a WWF Wildlife Specialist from Bhutan, first-hand about the plight of wild tigers. The launch event, which hosted over 150 guests and members of the media, provided an exclusive preview of the eight unique designs available for sale in the collection, aptly displayed within coat hangers fashioned out of snare wire traditionally used in poaching, in a bid to further drive home the plight of wild tigers. The Rare Stripes collection officially drops at 3pm on July 21, with a limited number available via selected KENZO retail stores internationally from the beginning of August. 100% of the proceeds from the sale of the collection, which is made using Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) compliant organic cotton, will go to WWF in support of doubling the world's wild tiger population. This is the second year of a six-year partnership between Tiger Beer and WWF to support WWF's global efforts in tiger conservation. The first year of the WWF partnership featured the successful #3890Tigers campaign, which invited people from around the world to pledge against illegal tiger trade by merging their 'selfies' with one of six bespoke tiger artworks created by global artists using the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. For more information about the Tiger Beer x WWF partnership, their collaboration with KENZO and the Rare Stripes collection, please visit http://tigerbeer.com/rarestripes and #rarestripes. For hi-res visuals of the Rare Stripes collection and the launch event, kindly download them here. ABOUT TIGER BEER: Tiger Beer was born in 1932 on the streets of Singapore. A stone's throw away from the equator, its unique tropical lagering technique meant it was able to brew a beer that would keep Asia cool. In 2015, it started using the rays of the tropical sun for brewing, with over 8,000 solar panels installed on the rooftop of its facility in Singapore. Now, every Tiger Beer consumed in Singapore is brewed by the sun. Furthering its commitment towards global sustainability, 2017 has also seen Tiger Beer take Air-Ink, the world's first ink created from air pollution, to the streets of the world through creative collaborations with the best emerging artists, creating beautiful artworks out of pollution. Tiger Beer is the number one premium beer in Asia, and the world's fastest growing premium beer, available in more than 50 markets across the globe. For more information, please visit http://www.tigerbeer.com . ABOUT HEINEKEN: HEINEKEN is the world's most international brewer. It is the leading developer and marketer of premium beer and cider brands. Led by the Heineken brand, the Group has a portfolio of more than 300 international, regional, local and speciality beers and ciders. We are committed to innovation, long-term brand investment, disciplined sales execution and focused cost management. Through "Brewing a Better World", sustainability is embedded in the business and delivers value for all stakeholders. HEINEKEN has a well-balanced geographic footprint with leadership positions in both developed and developing markets. We employ over 80,000 employees and operate breweries, malteries, cider plants and other production facilities in more than 70 countries. Heineken N.V. and Heineken Holding N.V. shares trade on the Euronext in Amsterdam. Prices for the ordinary shares may be accessed on Bloomberg under the symbols HEIA NA and HEIO NA and on Reuters under HEIN.AS and HEIO.AS. HEINEKEN has two sponsored level 1 American Depositary Receipt (ADR) programmes: Heineken N.V. (OTCQX: HEINY) and Heineken Holding N.V. (OTCQX: HKHHY). Most recent information is available on HEINEKEN's website: http://www.theHEINEKENcompany.com and follow us on Twitter via @HEINEKENCorp. ABOUT WWF: WWF is one of the world's largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active in more than 100 countries and territories. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption. Visit http://www.panda.org/news for latest news and media resources and follow us on Twitter @WWF_media. ABOUT KENZO: KENZO was founded by Japanese designer, Kenzo Takada in Paris in 1970. With its colorful prints and declaration of freedom, KENZO shook up the couture codes of the time by irreverently breaking the rules. In 2011, Humberto Leon and Carol Lim took post as Co-Creative Directors. At the core of their approach, travel, culture and fashion manifest in all that they do. KENZO has become known for its groundbreaking collaborations with avant-garde artists, musicians, actors, and designers. During their time at KENZO, Carol and Humberto have created a successful perfume, "KENZO World", introduced a new line "KENZO - La Collection Memento" and have opened new stores in Paris, Barcelona, Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai. SOURCE Tiger Beer United Nations, July 21 : US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asked the UN Security Council on Friday to keep up the pressure on North Korea by guaranteeing full application of the sanctions on Pyongyang. Pompeo, in a statement to the media, said that this punishment should not let up until North Korean leader Kim Jong-un keeps his promise to proceed toward denuclearization, Efe reported. The United States government remains "optimistic" about the chances to make progress with North Korea, but believes that when sanctions are not adequately applied, the possibilities of success diminish, he said. Pompeo met Friday in New York with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and with the Japanese ambassador before addressing a closed session of the Security Council. The meeting was the first between Pompeo and the Security Council since US President Donald Trump's meeting in Singapore with North Korea's Kim. Pompeo also informed the other powers about the results of his visit this month to Pyongyang. "The UN Security Council is united on the need for final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea as agreed to by Chairman Kim. Members of the UN Security Council and by extension all UN member-states have unanimously agreed to fully enforce sanctions on North Korea and we expect them to continue to honor those commitments," Pompeo told reporters. "When sanctions are not enforced the prospects for the successful denuclearization of North Korea is diminished," he said. The US reported last week to the UN that North Korea was violating the sanctions imposed on it, importing more petroleum products than the amount permitted by means of ship-to-ship transfers on the high seas. For that reason, Washington asked the Security Council to order all sales of those products to Pyongyang stopped immediately, a request that for now has been blocked by Russia and China, which have asked for additional information before proceeding. Los Angeles, July 21 : Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who was detained at an airport here for being involved in a verbal fight with his wife and smoking e-cigarettes on flight, said he was at fault for losing his senses and ordering a drink following a series of "frustrating" events. According to people.com, the 40-year-old actor and his wife Mara Lane were flying into Los Angeles from Miami earlier this month with their 1-year-old son Wolf when he got into a verbal dispute with Lane. Meyers opened up about the incident on American television host Larry King's show "Larry King Now", where he spoke about his drinking habits, admitting "drinking doesn't suit" him. The actor said he was also trying to quit smoking so as to not set a bad example for his son. "It is a good opportunity to apologise to anybody who was offended that that incident happened, but I learned my lesson. As soon as I got off the airplane, I went and spoke to somebody and I got back on track immediately," Meyers said. Washington, July 21 : After the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, Facebook has now suspended Boston-based data analytics company Crimson Hexagon over concerns that it harvested users' data. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal late on Friday, the social media giant was investigating whether the analytics firm's "contracts with the US government, a Russian non-profit organisation tied to the Kremlin and the Turkish government violate the platform's policies". Crimson Hexagon has reportedly collected more than 1 trillion public social media posts from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr and other online sources. The company has had contracts in recent years to analyse public Facebook data for third-party clients, the report claimed. It was co-founded by Harvard professor Gary King in 2007 who now leads Facebook's independent research initiative titled "Social Science One" which is focused on preventing election interference, said the report. "We are investigating the claims about Crimson Hexagon to see if they violated any of our policies," Ime Archibong, Facebook's Vice President of Product Partnerships, said in a statement. Facebook, however, said the firm didn't inappropriately obtain any Facebook or Instagram user data, adding that using the data for surveillance is a violation of the company's policies. "We do not collect private data from social media providers or anyone else," Crimson Hexagon's Chief Technology Officer Chris Bingham said in a blog post. "Crimson Hexagon only allows government customers to use the platform for specific approved use cases; and under no circumstances is surveillance a permitted use case," Bringham wrote. According to Crimson Hexagon, it uses technologies including Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help clients get insights and shape marketing campaigns and develop new products. In a statement to the portal Fast Company, King said: "Even though he is co-founder and board chairman, he has never had day-to-day involvement in Crimson Hexagon." In April this year, Facebook had warned investors that more users' data scandals in the future may adversely affect the social networking giant's reputation and brand image. In its quarterly report, Facebook said that its ongoing investments in safety, security, and content review will identify additional instances of misuse of user data. "We may also be notified of such incidents or activity via the media or other third parties," Facebook said. Appearing before the US Congress, Facebook CEO Mark 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 Cambridge Analytica. Facebook warned investors that there may be more such data breaches in the future. Jerusalem, July 21 : Palestinian Islamist group Hamas said on Saturday they had agreed on a ceasefire with Israel after the fatal shooting of an Israeli soldier spurred intense strikes on Gaza that left four Palestinians dead. Egypt and the United Nations acted as mediators to arrange the cessation of hostilities, Efe quoted Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum as saying. On Friday, Palestinian militiamen killed an Israeli soldier on the Gaza border, which has been the scene for months of massive demonstrations insisting on the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their former homes in what is now Israel. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) responded by targeting eight Hamas positions in Gaza, killing three fighters from the Islamist group's armed wing. Next came a "massive operation" involving airstrikes and tank fire that destroyed 60 Hamas targets, according to the IDF. The incidents came on the 17th consecutive Friday of protests as part of what Palestinian groups call the Great March of Return. The IDF has killed 141 Palestinians since the start of the mobilization on March 30, while Israeli farmers have seen their fields scorched by burning kites and makeshift projectiles launched from Gaza. Kochi, July 21 : A team led by Union Minister Kiran Rijiju arrived in Kerala on Saturday to visit flood-hit districts amid differences over compensation promised by the Centre. Just after his arrival the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs and his team took a helicopter from the airport and headed straight to Alappuzha, the worst affected district. They will also visit Kottayam before returning to Delhi late on Saturday, an official said. Rijiju told the media here that the compensation package would be based on prescribed guidelines. "When a calamity occurs, the Centre and state jointly works and both pool in their resources. We already have cleared Rs 80 crore on Friday." Huge damage has been caused on account of heavy rains that lashed most parts of the state over two weeks. Some of the worst-hits include Idukki, Ernakulam, besides parts of Kozhikode, Thrissur, Wayanad, Palakkad and Kannur. More than 10,000 people have been put up in relief camps, he added. The death toll in these rains touched 20 and according to State Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunilkumar the total damage has crossed Rs 900 crore. "About 22,000 hectares of agricultural produce has been destroyed. The biggest lacunae is the rate of the compensation that is prescribed as these are all old norms and insufficient," Sunilkumar said on Saturday. He said the damage to the crops is around Rs 220 crore. "We will again brief the Centre the urgency to increase the old compensation rates. Explaining the lacuna in compensation, the Agriculture Minister said Rs 95,000 was being provided for a house completely destroyed. "We have sought an increase as it requires Rs four lakh," he said. New Delhi : Title: Rajasthani Miniatures: The Magic of Strokes and Colours; Author: Dr Daljeet; Publisher: Niyogi Books; Pages: 392; Price: Rs 4000 During the 1600s, the spiritual unity reflected in Rajasthani miniature paintings began giving way to a more popular trend -- sensualism; and a century later, sensualism, or rather eroticism, was the focal point of both court life and court art, says art historian-archaeologist Dr Daljeet in her new book "Rajasthani Miniatures: The Magic of Strokes and Colours", which she says is an outcome of her study focusing on "what defined Rajasthan in its totality". The "lila" between Radha and Krishna was an amalgamation of both romantic and spiritual for the Rajsthani artist, says the former curator and head of the Department of Painting in Delhi's National Museum. "Though the hero of Bhakti love poetry was Krishna, paintings depicting him in love scenes gained popularity from the 18th century, and slowly this type of depiction got more patronage from kings," Daljeet told IANS. This, the author explains in the book, allowed them "enormous opportunity for portraying various romantic moods and situations, even sensuous and erotic, and elevate at the same time the temporal to the transcendental, the mundane to the spiritual, by revealing the divine dimensions of their 'lila'". "The Rajasthani painter saw hardly any contradiction in combining romance with religion, or the mundane with the transcendental." A primer on Rajasthani art, the volume elaborates upon the stylistic sources, mediums, styles, colours and significant themes of the paintings. It also delves into the major schools of Rajasthani paintings -- Mewar, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Nagaur, Jaipur, Alwar, Bundi, Kotah, Kishangarh and Nathdwara -- according the paintings chronology and provenance. She argues that each painting can be connected to a stylistic distinction practised at different ruling seats or even under different patrons. Nature, the author says, held great value for Rajasthani artists, for the simple reason that flora is scarce in Rajasthan. "With a large part of its land a desert, the people of this western part of India had a special passion for nature, which is reflected in their paintings across centuries," the introduction says. "Surya, the sun god; Chandra, the moon god; Vayu, the wind god; and river goddesses Ganga and Yamuna are regular deities of the Brahmanical pantheon. In Rajasthani miniatures, their presence is largely symbolic and motif-based," she writes in the book. Peppered with information about the history of both art and Rajasthan, the book does not preach only to the converted, but painstakingly illustrates a larger context within which Rajasthani miniatures are placed and can be understood. Despite an evident formal similarity, what distinguishes Rajasthani miniatures from their Mughal, Deccani, Central Indian or Pahari counterparts is their spiritual unity endowed by the culture of the land, Daljeet contends in the book. The book, through a detailed narrative and exquisite photographs, allows a glimpse into the Rajasthani art that has spanned several millennia. Truly, the book is a magical journey of strokes and colours. (Siddhi Jain can be contacted at siddhi.j@ians.in) Srinagar, July 21 : An infiltration bid was foiled by the Indian Army on the Line of Control (LoC) on Saturday leading to a gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district, defence sources said. Alert troops challenged a group of militants in the Tangdhar sector of the LoC earlier in the day, escalating into the gun battle that was still on at 11.30 a.m, Defence Ministry sources said. Mumbai, July 21 : Bollywood actor-producer Aamir Khan will be the chief guest at the fifth edition of the Indian Screenwriters Conference (ISC), themed on 'Where Mind Is Without Fear. Organised by Screenwriters Association, the event will focus on the challenges facing Indian screenwriters today, read a statement. The biennial conference will be held from August 1-3, 2018 at St. Andrews Auditorium, Bandra here. Veteran journalist Vinod Dua will deliver the keynote address at the inaugural day of the conference, where a large number of screenwriters and established professionals from the film and TV industries, as well as the digital media, will be present. Panels like; Writers Vs Producers - Can they never be allies?, Writing without fear - Is a writer's mind free of fears?, Web of digital writing: Fearless of Frivolous, Has the daily soap format reached its dead end? and Southern Waves, will see some of the brightest minds in the business share their thoughts. Siddharth Roy Kapur, Akshat Verma, Somen Mishra, Amit Masurkar, Anjum Rajabali, Basharat Peer, Rima Das, Sumeet Vyas, Rajan Shahi, Vetrimaaram, Shridhar Raghavan, Swanand Kirkire, Kausar Munir and Varun Grover are some of the names who will engage in discussions as part of the various panels. Conference Convenor Sanjay Chouhan said in a statement: "This conference is gathering of not only screenwriters but also directors, producers, TV heads, academicians and creative minds. We want to bring people related to screen under one umbrella to share their experience, knowledge, mistakes, brickbats, trolls, rewards and achievement." Mumbai, July 21 : The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) announcement launching a new series of 100-rupee denomination notes has been greeted with trepidation by the major companies engaged in the manufacture and supply of Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) in the country. Like the new post-demonetisation Rs 2,000, Rs 500, Rs 200 and the new Rs 50 notes and Rs 10 notes, even the new lavender-coloured Rs 100 is a tad smaller in size compared to the blue-coloured Rs 100 notes currently in circulation. While the existing Rs 100 notes are sized 157x73 mm, the new ones measure 142x66mm, as per the RBI announcement this week. "This means that all the 237,000 ATMs in the country would again have to be re-calibrated to dispense the new Rs 100 notes. This entails a massive effort which is both time-consuming and adds to our costs," Confederation of ATM Industry (CATMi) Director V. Balasubramanian told IANS. For recalibrating all the ATMs in the country to enable them dispense the new Rs 100 notes, the operators need the concerned bank's official Cash Agency and an engineer of the machine manufacturer together. "Though the actual recalibration may take barely 20 minutes per ATM, there are huge logistical issues involved in getting the Cash Agency person and engineer together all the time. Even then, with best efforts they can recalibrate barely 15-20 ATMs per day depending on the banks' cooperation. So, this will be a huge time-consuming and high-cost exercise at a national level," Balasubramanian rued. Hitachi Payment Services Managing Director Loney Antony estimates that the entire recalibration process could cost over Rs 1 billion (Rs 100 crore) and take a minimum of one year to complete. "In fact, the recalibration of the new Rs 200 notes introduced last year is still not completed in all ATMs, so recalibration of the new Rs 100 notes could take even longer unless planned properly," Antony cautioned. The RBI said in its notification that initially, the new Rs 100 notes will be dispensed only through bank branches and printing and supply would gradually increase. Antony said it is important to have sufficient supply of Rs 100 and Rs 200 notes to ensure there are enough lower denomination currency notes in circulation for all transactions. Balasubramanian said the ATM industry is grappling with the problem of how to recalibrate the ATMs in terms of the new and old Rs 100 notes and may refrain from doing so till sufficient numbers of the new notes are available. Euronet Services India Pvt. Ltd. Managing Director Himanshu Pujara said unless all the ATMs are recalibrated, the new notes will not be available through this channel to the people, and recalibration itself is a time-consuming and expensive process for the already struggling industry. Balasubramanian -- who is also the President of FSS Company that manufactures ATMs -- said that since the old and new Rs 100 notes will co-exist till the RBI completely withdraws the old notes, "it will be difficult to recalibrate all the ATMs to support the new Rs.100 notes". "There is likelihood of an imbalance between the supply of the new notes and the withdrawal of the old notes, especially in the hinterland," Balasubramanian pointed out. In such a scenario, he thought it would be prudent to let the banks and service providers decide when to calibrate the ATMs for the new notes, depending on the "supply-withdrawal" situation of the old notes across all states over the next few quarters. At present, as per National Payments Council of India Ltd (NPCIL), there are around 237,000 ATMs functional in the country, but to adequately cater to the entire country's population, the need is almost three-four times more, or around a million ATMs. Flying in the face of the government's declarations about digitising the economy, a whopping 57 percent of all ATM transactions are only for cash withdrawals. Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) lags at 20 per cent followed by Point of Sale (PoS) 17 percent, and rest for Unified Payment Interface and mobile wallets. (Total 100 percent, as per RBI). Major industry players say that, barring the metros and urban centres, people in states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and others have to travel 40 km or more to access an ATM. "Moreover, as per official data, barely 30 per cent of bank account holders in the country regularly use their ATM cards... the others prefer cash transactions. There are problems of infrastructure and connectivity which hamper growth of ATMs network," Balasubramanian pointed out. India has among the lowest ATM penetration globally, averaging 8.9 ATMs per 100,000 population, compared to Brazil's 119.6, Thailand's 78, South Africa's 60 and Malaysia's 56.4. Incidentally, China currently has around a staggering one million ATMs, which will touch 1.5 million by 2020. (Qqaid Najmi can be contacted at q.najmi@ians.in) New Delhi : Although the Supreme Court has suggested that a law be enacted specifically to deal with the "new normal" of lynchings, it will be advisable to widen the scope of the legal remedy to include all forms of mob violence, even if doubts are likely to remain about the efficacy of the proposed solution. The wider ambit should include the killings and acts of intimidation of the kind which took place during the recent panchayat elections in West Bengal and the sporadic targeting of rivals by the followers of the Communist Party of India-Marxist and the Sangh parivar in Kerala. Politics is the direct cause of these instances of violence in the two states while the lynching of beef-eaters and meat traders in other parts of the country underlines the fascist trait of targeting those who are seen as "aliens" who are violating the culinary fetishes of the ruling dispensation. On the other hand, the killing of the suspected kidnappers of children is apparently the result of an atmosphere of anarchy which has come to prevail in the absence of a stern enforcement of law and order -- a lacuna which the judiciary wants to be rectified to instill fear in the offenders. It is this last point which offers a clue as to what has gone wrong. Since the miscreants are generally no longer afraid of the law-enforcing machinery, will a new law make any difference? As is known, conscientious officials have always known that no incidents of violence, including communal riots, can continue for any length of time unless there is political instigation. If the police have clear orders to crack down on the unruly elements at the first sign of trouble, an outbreak of lawlessness can be quickly snuffed out. The problem, however, is that not only do the trouble-makers almost invariably have political backing, the police are also told by their political masters to let them vent their ire -- at least till it becomes politically damaging because of media coverage. As the violence during the panchayat polls in West Bengal made it clear, the goons could not have gone around carrying lethal weapons without caring for the television cameras to terrorize the voters and opposition politicians unless they were sure that the ruling party would stand by them. It is the same with regard to what has been happening in the case of the gau rakshaks (cow vigilantes) or the group which opposed the screening of the film, "Padmavat". Those indulging in the murderous acts in front of cameras, or threatening to bury alive an actor and the producer in a television show, would not have been so brazenly defiant if they were not sure of being on the right side of the powers-that-be. Although influential ruling party politicians have formally berated the self-appointed protectors of cows, such admonition has had little effect on the ground if only because the large contingent of saffron trolls have unhesitatingly continued to pour their venom on the minority community, emphasising the large measure of support which the vicious "activists" enjoy. In addition, their confidence could not but have been boosted by the garlanding of a group of killers by a Union minister or the comparison which a sadhvi (Hindu nun) in Rajasthan drew between another such murderous group and Bhagat Singh, the great freedom fighter. A law against them, therefore, is likely to remain largely ineffectual in circumstances such as these where the "saviours" of cows have a special place of distinction among the denizens of the corridors of power. It is obvious that behind the present fraught conditions is the deterioration in the calibre of politicians whose only objective is to remain in power even if it means bending the administrative system for their partisan advantage by undermining the autonomy and professionalism of the various services, especially the police. The latter are perhaps the most culpable as they have patently become pliant tools in the hands of the politicians. It cannot be gainsaid, therefore, that a new law will do little other than adorn the statute book. It is in this depressing context that the Supreme Court's 2006 judgement has to be recalled, which called upon the centre and the state governments to insulate the police from politicians. Needless to say, no government has paid any heed till now to the judiciary's diktat and is unlikely to do so in the future since abiding by it would rob them of the "right" to misuse the vast powers which the law vests in the rulers. As long as the police remains a caged parrot, to quote what the Supreme Court said about the supposedly "autonomous" Central Bureau of Investigation, the lynch mobs have little to fear. (Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached at amulyaganguli@gmail.com) Vijayawada, July 21 : The YSR Congress Party has called for an Andhra Pradesh shutdown on July 24 to protest the injustice being meted out to the state by the Centre. The main opposition party on Saturday called upon all political parties to make the shutdown a success. It also demanded resignation of all MPs of the state's ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP). A day after TDP's no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government was defeated in Lok Sabha, YSRCP chief Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy said the TDP MPs should quit and sit on indefinite fast to press the demand for special category status to the status. Talking to reporters in Kakinada, Jaganmohan Reddy said if all MPs from the state resign and protest, the Centre would be forced to fulfil the commitments made in Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. YSRCP MPs had resigned last month to protest against the refusal of the central government to accord to special status. Jagan said during the debate on no-confidence motion neither Congress nor BJP spoke anything about special status. He alleged that Congress President Rahul Gandhi did not speak on Andhra Pradesh related issues even for half-a-minute. The leader of opposition slammed the NDA government for not fulfilling the commitments made to Andhra Pradesh even after four years. The YSRCP chief said Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his reply to the debate revealed that the special package for the state was announced after Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu agreed to the same. "Who is Chandrababu to agree for special package in lieu of special the status. Who has given right to the Centre and to Chandrababu to bargain on the rights of Andhra Pradesh people," he asked. Kathmandu, July 21 : Nepal and China will hold their second joint military exercise in China's Sichuan province from September 17, the Nepali Army announced on Saturday. Nepali Army personnel and a squad of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) will take part in the 10-day "Sagarmatha Friendship-2" exercise in Chengdu, the Kathmandu Post reported. The first joint exercise was conducted at the Army's Para Training School in Nepal's Maharajgunj area in April 2017. The platoon level training will be led by captains from both sides. The Nepali Army, which has long been holding joint military exercises with India and the US, has collaborated with the Chinese PLA, extending its military diplomacy. The national defence force said the drill is part of its regular bilateral and multilateral military exercises aimed at sharing experiences, skills and professional knowledge, a practice common with nations that have diplomatic ties with Nepal, the report said. The joint exercise, according to the Nepalo Army, is aimed at fighting terrorism and might also focus on disaster management. Army Spokesman Brig. Gen. Gokul Bhandari said the exercise will be conducted on a rotational basis. The participating platoon is likely to have around 15 personnel from each side. Nepal has been conducting battalion level exercises called Surya Kiran with the Indian Army for the last 13 years engaging some 300 personnel from both sides. The defence forces from Nepal and China have increased their engagement of late. On February 19, Maj. Gen. Zhao Jinsong of the western command of the PLA was in Nepal on a three-day visit. That was followed by a visit by former Chinese Defence Minister and State Councillor Chang Wanquan in the third week of March. The decision to hold the first ever joint military exercise was taken by then Defence Minister Bal Krishna Khand and Chang during the visit. Islamabad, July 21 : Pakistan has welcomed foreign observers for the July 25 parliamentary elections and two observer groups from the EU and Commonwealth are currently deployed to observe the polls. Former President of Nigeria and Head of Commonwealth Observers Group, Abdulsalami Abubakar, called on Pakistan Foreign Minister Hussain Haroon and discussed matters relating to the elections, the Foreign Ministry was cited as saying by Xinhua news agency. Abubakar is leading a 24-member delegation of Commonwealth Election Observers Group to observe the polls. The group was earlier deployed in Pakistan during 2002 and 2013 general elections. Abubakar said he was looking forward to a peaceful electoral process and conveyed his positive impressions on the preparations for the elections. "Pakistan has a tradition of welcoming international election observers," the ministry said. New Delhi, July 21 : The Public Works Department has directed its Executive Engineers to visit roads under their jurisdiction at least once in a month to identify non-functioning lights so that corrective action is taken promptly. The directives were issued at a meeting held earlier this week, chaired by Engineer-in-Chief (E-in-C) Rakesh Kumar Agrawal. "It is being reported by the public that there are many dark spots as many street-lights are not functioning. The field staff was advised that these should be promptly corrected and Executive Engineers (Elect) should visit roads under their jurisdiction at least once in a month to identify non-functioning lights so that corrective action is taken promptly," according to the minutes of the meeting. In the meeting, the E-in-C also stressed the need for auditing the requirements of staff employed on contractual basis and their performance and use. "Unnecessary staff should be discontinued. Executive Engineers were directed that no staff should be employed on contract without express approval in writing from the concerned Chief Engineer," it said. Pune, July 21 : In a shocking incident, a schoolteacher here has been suspended for snipping off a student's hair in front of the entire class, officials said. The 'barberic' incident happened on July 17 at the Vishrantwadi Pune International School, shocking the academic community and parents in Maharashtra's educational hub. A Class 6 student, Aryan Amit Waghmare, 10, was allegedly meted out the strange 'punishment' by his teacher Shweta Gupta, as the entire classroom looked. According to the student's mother, Aditi Waghmare, the teacher grabbed a pair of scissors and snipped off Aryan's hair from the front and the sides, spoiling his hairstyle and looks. "No reason was given to us for such a penalty... This is the second time such an incident has happened with my son. Earlier, in the third week of June, his hair was similarly cut off, but we did not take it too seriously," a distraught Waghmare told IANS. This time, the Waghmares went to the Vishrantwadi Police Station and complained about the incident following which the school authorities were summoned. "What happened was wrong... We warned the school management that such things should not be repeated. The school authorities informed us that the concerned teacher had been suspended," said Vishrantwadi Police Station Inspector Sangita D. Patil. However, Patil added that the parents have not lodged a formal complaint, so the police have yet to register an offence against the school or the teacher. When contacted by IANS, school Vice Principal Jaishree Kadam confirmed that the teacher Shweta Gupta had been suspended, but declined to comment further. Not satisfied, the Waghmare plan to initiate legal action against the schoolteacher for "causing severe trauma to the child, who is now scared of attending school". This is the second major incident which has rocked Pune's educational fraternity in the past fortnight. Earlier this month, the MIT Vishwashanti Gurukul School, Kothrud had created a furore after it mandated that all girl students must sport only "white or beige coloured underwear" below their uniform white skirts. The bizarre order was hastily revoked on July 5 after direct intervention of Education Minister Vinod Tawde and a probe by the regional education department. Alwar, July 21 : A 28-year-old man has been beaten to death by suspected cow vigilantes in Rajasthan's Alwar district, police said on Saturday. Two persons have been arrested. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje condemned the Friday night incident in which some villagers caught and beat up Akbar Khan, suspecting him to be a cow smuggler. "The incident of alleged lynching of a person transporting bovines in Alwar district is condemnable. Strictest possible action shall be taken against the perpetrators," Raje tweeted. Khan, a resident of Mewat in Rajasthan, was transporting the animals to his village along with another man when they were stopped by a group of villagers near Lalawandi village in Alwar. They were brutally thrashed, the office of Additional Director General Jaipur Range, Ramgarh, received this information at 12.40 a.m. When the police team reached the spot they found an injured Khan lying in the mud. Two persons were standing there with two cows, ADGP Hemant Priyadarshi told the media. Khan told the officers that he and his companion Aslam had purchased the cows from Ladpur and were on their way to their village when they were mistaken for cow smugglers and attacked. "My limbs are broken," said Khan covered in mud before collapsing. He was immediately rushed to a hospital, where he was declared brought dead. His body was sent for autopsy. The police in Ramgarh registered a case against unidentified persons under several sections of the Indian Penal Code. Police have arrested Dharmendra Yadav and Paramjit Singh Sardar who were found on the spot standing with bovines.Further probe is on. Alwar has earlier also witnessed attacks in the name of cow protectionism. The latest killing comes more than a year after Pehlu Khan was murdered allegedly by some cow vigilantes in April 2017. The central and state governments came under a sharp criticism from the Supreme Court earlier this week over frequent lynching incidents. The Supreme Court also asked Parliament to come up with a law to tackle cow vigilantism and lynching, calling such incidents "horrendous acts of mobocracy" that should be nipped in the bud. Kochi/Alappuzha/Kottayam, July 21 : A team led by Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju toured various flood-hit districts of Kerala on Saturday and announced compensation of Rs 4 lakh for each of the deceased from the heavy rains that had hit the state over the past two weeks. Just after his arrival at Kochi, the Minister told the media that the compensation package would be based on prescribed guidelines. "When a calamity occurs, the Centre and state jointly works and both pool in their resources. We already have cleared Rs 80 crore on Friday," he said, before he and his team took a helicopter to and head straight to Alappuzha, the worst-affected district. They then moved to neighbouring Kottayam district visiting both the rain-hit areas besides visiting several relief camps. Rijiju, who was accompanied by Union Minister K.J. Alphons, who hails from the state, besides state Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunilkumar, PWD Minister G. Sudhakaran, Kerala Chief Secretary Tom Jose and the local legislators besides top officials, announced the ex-gratia payment at Kottayam. "We visited the affected areas besides several relief camps. While we are happy with the relief camps and the facilities, the damages caused is too much. During a calamity, it's a practise where both the state and the Centre works together. We are capable of handling the situation. For the deceased, Rs 4 lakh would be given," he told the media. At a relief camp in Kottayam, Rijiju returned to speak to the inmates when some of them angrily noted the Minister did not interact with them. The Minister also announced that long-term measures would also be undertaken to deal with the situation and would be worked out by a team of experts drawn from various departments. "It was on the direction of Prime Minister that I have come and in 10 days time, we will submit a detailed report on this visit and follow up action would be based on it," he added. After going around Kottayam, he returned to Kochi, from where he left for Delhi. Huge damage was caused on account of heavy rains that lashed most parts of the state over two weeks. Some of the worst-hits include Idukki, Ernakulam, besides parts of Kozhikode, Thrissur, Wayanad, Palakkad and Kannur. The death toll in these rains touched 20 and according to Sunilkumar, the total damage has crossed Rs 900 crore. "About 22,000 hectares of agricultural produce has been destroyed. The biggest lacunae is the rate of the compensation that is prescribed as these are all old norms and insufficient," Sunilkumar said on Saturday. He said the damage to the crops is around Rs 220 crore. "We will again brief the Centre the urgency to increase the old compensation rates." Explaining the lacuna in compensation, the Agriculture Minister said Rs 95,000 was being provided for a house completely destroyed. "We have sought an increase as it requires Rs 4 lakh," he said. Shahjahanpur, July 21 : Flush with a decisive victory in the no-confidence vote in the Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday tore into the opposition parties, alleging that their leaders were "blinded by lust for power". He said that when a dal (party) joins another dal (party) then it becomes dal-dal (swamp). "Where there is a lot of dal-dal, you can expect a blooming lotus (BJP's symbol)," he said while addressing a Kisan Kalyan rally in this northern district of Uttar Pradesh. Without taking any names, Modi mocked at Congress President Rahul Gandhi for hugging him in the Lok Sabha on Friday, saying when "they cannot tell the reason of no-confidence, they hug him." The Prime Minister said the Opposition brought the no-trust motion when the "nation was trusting him and his government". "Their allegations and data are as weak as their conduct is," he said. "One Prime Minister from Congress had said that of the one hundred rupees sent from Delhi, only 15 paise reached the people," Modi said, asking the crowd whether they knew which 'hand' it was that did the magic trick. The Prime Minister said the no-confidence motion had exposed all parties "be it the cycle (Samajwadi Party's symbol) or elephant (BSP's symbol). He also explained various schemes and policies of his government and informed the people as to how 18,000 villages have been electrified in the past four years of his regime. He said his government would deliver on its promise to supply power to every household by 2019. New Delhi, July 21 : A 34-year-old woman, married for seven years, was allegedly killed by her husband here, police said. Deputy Commissioner of Police, Northwest, Aslam Khan said that the woman was found dead in her house in Shalimar Bagh at 10 a.m. on Friday. "Her parents said that her husband used to torture her and have alleged that he has killed her," she said, adding there were marks on the neck of the deceased but the exact cause of death is not known as yet. In 2014, the victim had filed a complaint at the Women cell, Faridabad, where her parents live. A case has been registered under section 304 B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) of dowry death and the husband is in police custody and is being interrogated. The post-mortem report will come on Monday. Toronto, July 21 : Are you highly cooperative and generous at your workplace? Well, it does not pay to be a do-gooder always. In a competitive circumstances, it can attract hatred and social punishment, researchers said. It was found that cooperative behaviour attracted punishment most often in groups whose members compete with each other. This was even the case when punishing or derogating the do-gooder lessened benefits for the entire group, including the punisher. However, if there was no competition, cooperation increased, the study, published in the journal Psychological Science, showed. "Most of the time we like the cooperators, the good guys. We like it when the bad guys get their comeuppance, and when non-cooperators are punished," said Pat Barclay, Professor at the University of Guelph, in Ontario, Canada. "But some of the time, cooperators are the ones that get punished. People will hate on the really good guys. This pattern has been found in every culture in which it has been looked at," Barclay added. Some people like to bring cooperators down a peg, especially if they think the good guys make them look bad in the workplace, boardroom or other organisation, Barclay said. It may help them to potentially dominate all things. According to the researchers, being suspicious, jealous or hostile toward those who seem better or nicer or holier than us appears to run deep in the psychological makeup of humans. Anthropological evidence from egalitarian hunter-gatherer societies suggests a similar social phenomenon prevented excellent hunters from dominating the group. "In a lot of these societies, they defend their equal status by bringing down somebody who could potentially lord things over everybody else," Barclay said. "You can imagine within an organisation today the attitude, 'Hey, you're working too hard and making the rest of us look bad.' "In some organisations people are known for policing how hard others work, to make sure no one is raising the bar from what is expected," Barclay noted. New Delhi, July 21 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday described Sri Lanka as India's special and trusted friend in South Asia and the Indian Ocean region while assuring New Delhi's continued development aid cooperation with the island nation. "When I look at Sri Lanka, I see not only a neighbour, but a very special and trusted partner of India in South Asia and in the Indian Ocean," Modi said while jointly-e-flagging off with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe the second phase of the pre-hospital emergency ambulance service set up with Indian aid. "I believe that our development aid cooperation with Sri Lanka is an important means for translating our vision of shared progress into reality," he said. Addressing the gathering in Jaffna in Sri Lanka's Northern Province via video link from New Delhi, Modi recalled that during his visit to Sri Lanka in 2015, Wickremesinghe had first broached the idea of Indian aid for an island-wide emergency ambulance service and the first phase was rolled out in the country's Western and Southern Provinces in July 2016. "During my visit last year, I had promised that India will work for expanding the pre-hospital emergency ambulance service all over Sri Lanka," he said. "I am happy that India has fulfilled its promise in a timely manner and we have marked the beginning of the second phase of the service." Stating that it is not just a coincidence that India had the privilege to be Sri Lanka's partner in establishing this first responder service and in its expansion, Modi said: "In good times and bad, India has been, and will always be the first responder for Sri Lanka." He urged the people of both countries to be in constant touch with each other so that both sides know each other better and become even closer friends. On his part, Wickremesinghe said that this free emergency ambulance service became possible only because Modi kept a promise that he had made earlier. "We are investing a lot in health and education services and for this we are getting a lot of aid from the Indian government," he said while thanking his Indian counterpart. Wcikremesinghe also congratulated Modi for winning the no-confidence motion in the Indian Parliament on Friday. Kolkata, July 21 : The Regional Meteorological Centre here on Saturday warned of "heavy to very heavy rainfall" in five districts of Gangetic West Bengal for three consecutive days till July 23. "Heavy to very heavy rain (7-20 cm) with lightning likely to occur at one or two places over E & W (East and West) Midnapore, N&S (North and South) 24 Parganas and Jhargram districts of Gangetic West Bengal," said the weather bulletin. Heavy rain is also on the cards for other districts of West Bengal, with Purulia, Bankura, one or two places over Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Coochbehar, Kalimpong, Alipurduar, and East and West Bardhaman will also witness heavy rains over next two days. According to the weather officials, Friday's Well Marked Low-Pressure Area (WML) over the northwest Bay of Bengal concentrated into a depression and lay centred on Saturday morning. It is very likely to move west northwestwards and cross north Odisha and West Bengal coast between Chandbali and Digha, close to Balasore around evening. Kolkata's maximum recorded temperature at 34.9 degrees Celsius was three notches above average and the minimum at 26.9 degrees a notch above average. The relative humidity at 92 per cent has made the climate very sultry. The rainfall recorded in the last 24 hours is 3.8 mm. The sea conditions will be rough, hence the fishermen are asked not to venture into the sea. Noida, July 21 : A 4-year-old boy was killed and three others, including his parents, both labourers, injured when the basement wall of an under construction building collapsed here, police said on Saturday. The incident took place in Sector 63 on Friday. "An FIR has been filed," a senior police official told IANS. Those injured include Prakash and his wife, who were working as labourers at the site, while their son, who was also near the wall, died. The third labourer has been shifted to AIIMS as his condition was critical. "We are investigating the matter," the officer said. Islamabad, July 21 : Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz are unlikely to be transferred to the Sihala Rest House owing to its lack of proper security arrangements needed for the high-profile prisoners, media reports said on Saturday. The accountability court that convicted Sharif and his daughter in a corruption case had ordered they be sent to Adiala Jail after they were taken into custody at the Lahore airport and produced before it on July 13. However, the Islamabad Chief Commissioner had also ordered shifting of both the father and the daughter and her husband Captain (retd) Safdar Awan, who was already in the Adiala Jail, to the Sihala Rest House situated inside the Sihala Police Training College. Authorities later said that the rest house was not safe for the Sharif family, according to Dawn News. It has six rooms, all with air conditioners, proper beds and wash rooms, but no boundary wall. One official said that it was twice or thrice attempted to shift Maryam Nawaz to the rest house but she firmly refused. A major indication that the Sharifs might not be shifted to the rest house was that the authorities were considering shifting some dangerous prisoners to somewhere else in the province to ensure proper security for the three-time Premier and his daughter, the report quoted an Adiala Jail official as saying. Later in the day, the duo and Safdar Awan met their counsels. The legal team comprised of Sharif's counsel Khawaja Haris and his daughter's lawyer Amjad Pervaiz. According to sources cited by Geo News, key legal matters were discussed during the meeting. Speaking to the media after the meeting, Advocate Pervaiz said: "The former Premier feels he was not granted the facilities that he should have been given." Speaking about Safdar Awan, Maryam Nawaz's counsel said: "He is a heart patient... but he does not want to seek any medical facilities beyond those offered in the jail manual." On Thursday, a pre-arranged meeting between the lawyers and the father-daughter duo was cancelled by authorities at Adiala Jail. New Delhi, July 21 : Two men, accused of killing a 35-year-old e-rickshaw driver afer a scuffle, have been arrested, police said on Saturday. "At about 2 a.m. on July 20, Jagdish was found lying dead near Jalebi Chowk, Madanpur Khadar (in south Delhi). He was immediately rushed to Apollo Hospital by a police team, where he was declared dead," Deputy Commissioner of Police, Southeast, Chinmoy Biswal told media here. Jagdish was unmarried and used to live with his mother and two brothers. Two residents of Dakshinpuri -- Aamir, 24, and Zakir, 35 -- involved in the murder, were arrested from Sangam Vihar. The accused told police that they had come to meet someone Aamir considered to be his sister in J.J. Colony, but on the way, had a minor quarrel with local boys over something trivial. As they were going back, Jagdish, thinking the two strangers were drunk, asked them what they were doing his locality, and this led to a scuffle in which they stabbed Jagdish with a knife and fled. Srinagar, July 21 : A Polish couple celebrated their wedding here on Saturday in the traditional Kashmiri style. The couple, Wlodek and Bata, dressed in typical local dress hosted their wedding reception on the banks of the Jhelum River. "We decided to host our wedding reception in Kashmir because we are impressed by the grandeur and beauty of the place," the couple said. The couple's reception was facilitated by a local family who are friends of the couple. The bride said she has been coming to Kashmir as a tourist for the last few years. Some of the couple's family members have also come to celebrate the wedding. The dishes served during the reception were all local dishes, forming part of the traditional local cuisine called the 'wazwan'. The bride said she has been eating the local dishes during her visits to the Valley and she loves the flavour and the taste of Wazwan. The couple would now visit the Ladakh region during their honeymoon. New Delhi, July 21 : Two men, who cheated youngsters on the pretext of providing them jobs at Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), have been arrested, the police said on Saturday. ATM cards, rubber stamps of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, booking receipts of postal department, envelopes, letters and a format for medical examination were recovered from them, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch, Alok Kumar said. Laptops, printers, a scanner and papers used for fake documents were also recovered. The police arrested the two accused -- Naveen Kumar, 38, from Sitamarhi, Bihar, and Himanshu Suman, 27, from Sivan (Bihar) -- after receiving a complaint from ONGC about fake recruitment in the company. Kumar would lure unemployed youths by posing as a Navy officer. He would boast of "connections" in government departments. Along with Suman, he would take money from the victims and promise them good jobs in ONGC. After receiving educational certificates through WhatsApp, they would send a "confirmation letter" through registered post. They would, then, arrange for a medical examination at an Ayurvedic Hospital in Kasna, Gautam Budh Nagar. The victim after receiving an "appointment letter" would present himself at the ONGC Office at Vasant Kunj, only to find out that he had been duped. Rabat, July 21 : Morocco and the EU have agreed on the content of the future sustainable fisheries agreement and its implementation of the protocol, the two parties announced in a joint statement. The previous four-year deal had expired recently, forcing EU ships to leave Moroccan waters. "The two parties agreed on the provisions and improvements made on the texts to optimize the positive impact and benefits for local populations in the concerned zones, while respecting the principles of sustainable management of sea resources and equity," the statement said on Friday. Morocco and EU commend the constructive spirit that prevailed during the negotiations, which confirms both parties' attachment to reinforcing their partnership, the statement said. The negotiations on the new deal were ongoing since April 20. The two parties pledged to take necessary measures for the enforcement of the fisheries agreement. Some 120 vessels from EU countries, including 90 vessels from Spain, were fishing in the Moroccan waters. In the previous deal, Morocco got some 40 million euros ($46.9 million) every year for allowing the EU vessels to fish in its waters. Kolkata, July 21 : Students of the 183-year-old Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata - on hunger strike since July 10 seeking accommodation in a new hostel - on Saturday found support from thespian Soumitra Chatterjee, who condemned the authorities for turning a deaf ear to their demands. "The students are on hunger strike demanding hostel accommodation and nobody is paying any heed. This is a sheer inhuman act. Can this be accepted in a civilised, democratic country?" exclaimed Chatterjee. "For fulfilling their basic demands, students have had to go as far as a hunger strike and still no one is listening. I strongly condemn it and find it extremely insensitive," said the legendary actor. A few doctors, including some alumni of the medical college - one of the oldest in Asia - visited the students to show solidarity. First-year MBBS students have been allotted beds in a new hostel building this year. Senior students have been protesting since June 24, alleging their existing hostel was in a deplorable state and, as such, they be accommodated in the new hostel. "We have faced cave-ins and mere repairs cannot help. We stay there at great risk," said a final-year student and one of the protesters. The protesting students alleged that the authorities had only promised to repair the old hostel and declined to accommodate them in the new building. The students, who had been demonstrating earlier, resorted to the "indefinite hunger strike" after the authorities called in police in the campus. The authorities have expressed their inability to house the senior students in the new hostel building citing a Medical Council of India rule that prevents the entry of senior students into a hostel where freshers are staying to prevent ragging. Hyderabad, July 21 : Orient Cement Ltd, a part of C.K. Birla Group, plans to invest Rs 2,000 crore to expand the capacity of its plant in Telangana, the state government said on Saturday. The company will expand the capacity of its factory at Devapur in Mancherial district from current 3.05 million tonnes to 7.5 million tonnes of cement per annum. Deepak Khetrapal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Orient Cement Ltd, on Saturday met Industries Minister K.T. Rama Rao and discussed the expansion plans. Orient Cements Ltd has obtained first stage of Environment Clearance from the Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry for expanding the plant. The construction of the plant is expected to start within four months once the final clearance from the ministry is received, said a statement from the minister's office. This plant is likely to give direct employment to 4,000 people. Khetrapal requested Rama Rao for limestone linkage from Telangana State Mineral Development Corporation (TSMDC) mines for long-term operation of the plant. The minister said that the state government's industrial policy continues to attract investments. "Through Ease of Doing Business (EoDB), Telangana state has succeeded in attracting new investments to the state and is helping the existing firms in expanding their business in the state," he said. New Delhi, July 21 : Current scientific evidence do not support any "harmful effect" on the human body by electromagnetic field radiation of cell phone or its towers, said a Department of Telecommunications (DoT) official on Saturday. "The radiation norms in India are below the safe limits prescribed by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection and Word Health Organization," DoT Director General Sunil Kumar said in a statement. To dispel myths about electromagnetic field emissions among citizens, a joint awareness workshop on "EMF Emission and Telecom Towers" organized by New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and DoT. Radiation Oncologist Anusheel Munshi from Manipal Hospital said that World Health Organization (WHO) has reviewed over 25,000 articles and found that the electromagnetic field emission from mobile towers have "no link on adverse impact of human health". "There is no firm scientific evidence to implicate cell phone or towers for creating tumour or other health hazards," he added. Vivek Tondon, an Associate Professor at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) said that "latest research have also found there is no link between sleep, infertility, hearing, cognition and brain blood flow disorder in human body and radiation of cell phone or its towers." Panaji, July 21 : The Goa Police's Crime Branch on Saturday arrested two Russian nationals for growing a crop of marijuana in their rented tenement, a spokesperson said. Maxim Moskvichev and Artem Seregin were arrested following a raid at their rented premises in Siolim, located around 25 km from Panaji. "The accused had grown around a crop of marijuana (ganja) in a rented premise. We have seized around 30 kg of marijuana valued at approximately Rs 10 lakh," said the Crime Branch spokesperson. The duo are expected to be presented before a local magistrate for remand on Sunday. New Delhi, July 21 : The Congress on Saturday accused the BJP of transforming the country into a land of lynchings and is also trying to "lynch" the Supreme Court's judgment that highlighted the need for a strict law. "Today's shocking incident in Alwar has once again proved that the BJP is working overtime and aggressively to transform Hindustan into Lynchistan. The nation is also witnessing how BJP rather than enforcing Supreme Court's judgment for a need of a strict law on lynching is actually now lynching the judgment and the Constitution," Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill told reporters. The BJP, rather than preventing lynching and punishing the lynching mob, is promoting and patronizing the lynch mob force, he alleged. "The nation was hoping that the government will wake up after the tight legal slap by the Supreme Court and warning issued that the Government of India must act in a concrete manner to prevent India from becoming a republic of lynchistan," Shergill said. But Alwar's horrific incident has exposed the BJP's "notorious and dubious intentions to weaken and render the judgment meaningless", he said, accusing the Rajasthan government and its ministers are behaving like lawyers of lynch mob force. Patna, July 21 : Hundreds of missing answer sheets of the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) Class 12 exam of 2017 were recovered from a scrap dealer here on Saturday and the dealer arrested, police said. Acting on specific information, a police team raided the scrap dealer's store and recovered the copies that went missing last year. Scrap dealer Rajkishore Gupra was arrested for purchasing them, police said. According to police, a peon of the BSEB along with others had sold the copies of answer sheets to the scrap dealer. Last month, a Special Investigation Team of the Bihar Police recovered thousands of missing copies of answer sheets of the BSEB Class 10 exam from a scrap dealer's shop and arrested two persons in the connection. Then shopkeeper Pappu Gupta said that peon Chotu Singh of a government-run school had sold the answer sheets to him for Rs 8,500. Kabul, July 22 : At least 11 militants affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) have surrendered in Afghanistan's Jawzjan province, officials said. The milltants surrendered in Jawzjan capital Sheberghan on Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported quoting a senior police officer. All the former IS militants, according to police officer Ghulam Ali, were active in anti-government activities in Darzab district and their reintegration to community and joining their families would encourage others to follow suit. Commander of the group, Mullah Joora said fighting between Taliban and the IS group had disheartened them to continue their war against the government and therefore, decided to give up fighting. Scores of people have been killed in clashes between Taliban and the IS group in Darzab district over the past 10 days. Total student loan debt sits at 1.48 trillion dollars with the average 2017 graduate carrying $39,400 in balances at the time of graduation. Heavy student loan debt makes headlines, but has not resulted in significant policy changes over the last few years. In the meantime balances continue to grow and students struggle with the best strategies to repay the ever-growing debt. Total student loan debt sits at 1.48 trillion dollars with the average 2017 graduate carrying $39,400 in balances at the time of graduation. An increase of six percent over 2016 graduates. While the average payment of $351, is less than the average car payment, the higher debt amounts can keep student loans on the balance sheet for over two decades. The traditional repayment of loans is only ten years. Yet more and more students find they must extend payments through the new extended repayment plans, allowing payments to last as long as 25 years. There are strategies you can employ that will reduce debt balances faster, paying off loans sooner, without requiring larger monthly payments. 1. Choose to Work in Public Service the First Decade of Your Career One of the most popular routes to loan forgiveness of Federal student loans is through public service employment, which will lead to loan dismissal after ten years of work. If you carry high loan balances, it might be a small sacrifice to make at the beginning of your career. There are a limited number of jobs that count, and you must file for employment certification to qualify for forgiveness. You can certify each year, with each employer, or at the end of ten years. Many find it easiest to certify employment each year. Doing so will identify any issues early in the process. Other requirements include enrollment in an income-based repayment plan and full-time employment during the ten-year period, which does not need to be consecutive. Qualifying jobs include public service, non-profits and the military. You can also work in education with the federal or state government or a qualified 503 (C) agencies for employment credit. Working as a contractor for a qualifying agency is not considered public service employment under current rules. 2. Join the Military The military has one of the most generous loan repayment programs, called the Military College Loan Repayment Program or CLRP. It consists of a series of payments towards student loans, rather than requiring monthly payments, and relying on loan forgiveness after a set period. You must enlist with existing student loans and file the proper paperwork each year. The student loan program also offers waivers, which allow for a single annual payment in place of monthly payments. Using the waiver can eliminate the need to make ongoing payments during military service. The Army, Navy, and Air Force will repay up to $65,000, with the National Guard repays a maximum of $50,000. You are required to pay taxes on the payment as income each year. You can combine the CLRP with the Public Service Loan Forgiveness, for any remaining balance if you stay in the military for at least ten years. 3. Look for an Employer with Student Loan Repayment Benefits More employers, looking to attract recent graduates, are offering student loan repayment as part of the benefits package. Essentially the way it works is your employer will pay a certain percentage of your pay up to a maximum dollar amount for each year of employment. While the benefit will not replace your monthly payment, it can speed the payoff. You are not required to be in a certain repayment plan to qualify, and many employers will pay both private and federal loans associated with the cost of higher education. Congress currently has a bill in the works that would make such payments tax free to employees up to a certain limit which could increase the number of employers offering the benefit. 4. Identify Special Loan Forgiveness Programs in Your Profession Many states and organizations have programs for in-demand fields like nursing and teaching, to attract talent. These programs are separate from Federal student loan forgiveness options. For example, nurses certified to work in Florida could receive loan forgiveness of up to $4,000 annually for a maximum of $16,000 over four years if they work in areas with nursing shortages. Those willing to work in a critical shortage facility can have up to 60% of their loans repaid within two years. Similar to nursing, teachers can choose from multiple programs, if you teach in areas of critical need. Teaching in subjects such as math, science, and special education qualify, along with employment in schools located in low-income districts. There are two federal programs, in addition to the public service loan forgiveness, and several state programs which can whittle down loan balances faster. In some cases, you could qualify for multiple programs to expedite the loan payoff. 5. Take Advantage of Tax Breaks You can use tax breaks to pay down student loans even before repayment begins. Unless you qualify for subsidized loans, the interest on the balance borrowed accumulates while you are in school. To get the balances down before graduation, re-direct tax credits for college expenses toward applicable loan balances. Most students qualify for the American Opportunity Tax Credit which will directly reduce the amount of taxes owed. After you begin repayment, you can also deduct up to $2,500 in paid student loan interest from taxable income. There is an income limit of $80,000 for those filing as single and up to $160,000 for couples filing a joint return. Both Federal and qualified private student loans meet the requirements for the deduction. Conclusion With 70% of college graduates carrying student loans, finding faster and more efficient ways to eliminate student loan debt can free up money for other financial needs. Whether you want to beef up your retirement accounts or pay off credit card debt, the lack of student loan payments can add up to thousands of extra dollars to your bottom line. If you are burdened with high amounts of credit card debt and are struggling to make your payments, or youre just not seeing your balances go down, call Timberline Financial today for a FREE financial analysis. Our team of highly skilled professionals will evaluate your current situation to see if you may qualify for one of our debt relief programs. You dont have to struggle with high-interest credit card debt any longer. Call (855) 250-8329 or get in touch with us by sending a message through our website at https://timberlinefinancial.com/. Digi-Me has announced that shortly after partnering with RPO firm Endevis, headquartered in Ohio, the company's video job ad solution has dramatically impacted a healthcare client with recruiting tough-to-fill roles. The video job ads attributed to 79 hires in only 3 weeks. Digi-Me, a digital technology company that is revolutionizing the talent acquisition industry with 60-second dynamic, professional quality video job ads, has announced that shortly after partnering with RPO firm Endevis, headquartered in Ohio, video job ads have dramatically impacted a healthcare client with recruiting tough-to-fill roles. The organization is a post-acute healthcare company with over 20 locations in the Midwest. Many of these locations have received the AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award. This is one of the most prestigious awards in post-acute healthcare. In 2018, the organization received 13 of the 26 AHCA/NCAL Bronze Quality Awards. Digi-Me and Endevis partnered to provide and promote video job ads for roles like Certified Nursing Assistants or CNAs and Registered Nurses or RNs. The video job ads attributed to 79 hires in only 3 weeks. Most views came from social media outlets including Facebook. With the unemployment rates so low, it is even more critical to find innovative methods to attract top talent, including leveraging video job ads on social media. To offer more details on the success of the Digi-Me and Endevis recruitment campaign, the organizations will be teaming up on August 2nd, 2018 to present a free joint educational webinar. "Our partnership with Endevis is driving amazing success through efficient and effective hiring for their clients in post-acute healthcare. I am very much looking forward to the upcoming webinar showcasing this success and how to drive phenomenal results and ROI. Endevis has been such a great partner to work with. Our tremendous success in only a few short months of working together reaffirms the importance of teamwork," says Lindsay Stanton, Chief Client Officer of Digi-Me. To learn more about Digi-Me's video job ad solution, visit http://www.digi-me.com. About Digi-Me With our short, customized recruitment videos spotlighting career opportunities and corporate culture, Digi-Me delivers information to job seekers in a way that is more engaging and more accessible across all media platforms and devices. Our professional-quality video solutions include the latest cloud-based tracking technology for up-to-the-minute reporting on candidate behavior, as well as automatic integration into your ATS. Harness the power of video to boost SEO, improve candidate self-selection, and stand out from the competition with Digi-Me video solutions. Visit http://www.digi-me.com. Press Contact: Allison Sima, Director of Marketing, Digi-Me Phone: 630-780-9454 Email: asima(at)digi-me.com Mobile Sense Technologies, Inc. (Mobile Sense), a medical wearable technology company, today announced that Steven J. Gray, Former CEO of GE Healthcares Detection & Guidance Solutions (DGS), has joined as an independent director on the companys board of directors. I am excited about Mobile Senses wearable technology for arrythmia detection, said Gray. The upper arm-based design and the embedded algorithms into smart watches offers a distinct approach to cardiac monitoring. The team has strong partners and a solid technology and I look forward to helping shape their commercialization efforts. Mobile Sense is building foundational technology enabling off-the-chest wearables for long-term management of cardiac arrhythmias. The traditional cardiac monitoring market relies on seeing a specialist known as an electrophysiologist (EP) to make a diagnosis. Mobile Sense enables users to do a first pass screen of their own cardiac signals using smart watch technology, with the possibility for long-term monitoring on the upper arm as prescribed by a cardiologist. The company recently won the Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABS @ NYC Quickfire Challenge and is now a JLABS @ NYC resident company. The addition of Steve Gray to our board adds significant insight and knowledge into the cardiac monitoring space and advances our efforts towards commercialization, said Justin Chickles, CEO and co-founder. We are also thrilled about winning the QuickFire challenge and we are looking forward to the amazing opportunity this represents to connect into the startup community. Mobile Sense continues to be a part of UConns Technology Incubation Program facility in Farmington. With investments from Connecticut Innovations and SBIR grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health, Mobile Sense aims to expand diagnosis of patients with arrhythmias through long term, non-invasive digital health monitoring. Steve brings leadership and deep medical device and diagnostic experience to the Mobile Sense Board of Directors, said Patrick ONeill, Director of Investments for Connecticut Innovations. As the company continues to progress forward and engage with investors, Steves arrival at this time is a welcome addition to the companys already solid foundation. About Mobile Sense Technologies, Inc. Mobile Sense provides platform technology enabling off-the-chest medical wearables for highly sensitive and specific detection and long-term management of cardiac arrhythmias by peering through the noise to capture clear signals. They are replacing todays invasive and inconvenient cardiac monitoring technology which includes wires and patches, with simple easy to use, wearable devices. Mobile Sense is led by CEO and Co-Founder, Justin Chickles, a serial entrepreneur and startup veteran and former medical device innovator and leader at Johnson & Johnson. Prof. Ki. Chon, Chair of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Connecticut, is the CTO and Co-Founder of Mobile Sense and developed the technology while at the University of Connecticut, Worcester Polytech Institute, and the State University of New York. Mobile Sense investors include Connecticut Innovations and angel investors. Mobile Sense is in process of raising their Series A - http://www.mobilesensetech.com/ Mobile Sense Technologies, Inc. is a resident company of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABS, a premier life science incubator program. JLABS is a global network of open innovation ecosystems, enabling and empowering innovators to create and accelerate the delivery of life-enhancing health and wellness solutions to patients around the world. As a leader in innovation, JLABS helps entrepreneurs in pharmaceutical, medical device, consumer, and health tech bring healthcare solutions to patients and consumers. Monster Energy's James Foster Defends Gold in BMX Big Air at X Games Minneapolis 2018 I came out here not even knowing if I could ride. I got hit by a car last week on my motorcycle - James Foster Monster Energy congratulates the unstoppable James Foster who took gold in BMX Big Air at X Games Minneapolis 2018. In a heated contest that saw eight riders give it their all, it was Foster who reigned king on the biggest jump at X Games with a progressive run that will change the future of the sport. Alex Nikulin, meanwhile, became the first Russian athlete to place top three at X Games in over fifteen years. Owning as much charisma as talent, Foster showed up to X Games Minneapolis with one goal in mind to defend his hard won Big Air title from last year. There was just one problem however. I came out here not even knowing if I could ride, he explained after the event. I got hit by a car last week on my motorcycle! That said it is insane and commendable that he even showed up, let alone take gold. However, whatever he was thinking before his second run as he stood atop the 73-foot mega ramp on Friday night might have been crazier than his decision to compete just days after his accident. The first time I even thought about doing it was about a minute before the run, he would say, gold medal around his neck. The it he is referring to was a mind-bending quadruple downside tail whip he managed to pull off just moments prior. Foster has been progressing the sport for years, and tonight was just another example of the unmatched progressive and artistic talent the 32-year-old from Redlands, California has. Choosing to drop into the 65-foot gap, the crowd knew Foster was up to something when he chose a massive Superman seat grab as his set up trick before racing towards the monolithic 27-foot quarterpipe. What happened next caught everyone off guard because as soon as Foster shot off the lip his bike started spinning two full rotations before he even reached the climax of his air and another two on the descent back toward the ramp, making for a quadruple downward tail whip, a first at X Games. Speaking to the press after he said, I only decided I would do it as I dropped inand it worked! Foster then added, And now I have this, holding up his gold medal, before smiling, And I dont have the words to describe how I feel! Whether its thrilling crowds on the Nitro Circus tour, inventing crazy tricks on custom made ramps or now, winning back-to-back X Games gold, Foster is at the essence of what it means to be a Monster Energy athlete daring, talented, creative... and just a little bit crazy. Download photos for editorial use. ESPN and ABC will televise a combined 19 hours of live X Games Minneapolis 2018 coverage, reaching more than 500 million homes and viewers in 192 countries and territories. X Games Minneapolis coverage will also be accessible via the ESPN App to viewers who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider. Dont miss out on the action in the Twin Cities. Score all the exclusive updates from X Games Minneapolis 2018 including photos and contest results as they happen visit http://www.monsterenergy.com. Follow Monster Energy on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram & Twitter, and watch the official Monster Energy hashtag #unleashedatx on social media. ### About Monster Energy Based in Corona, California, Monster Energy is the leading marketer and distributor of energy drinks and alternative beverages. Refusing to acknowledge the traditional, Monster Energy supports the scene and sport. Whether motocross, off-road, NASCAR, MMA, BMX, surf, snowboard, ski, skateboard, or the rock and roll lifestyle, Monster Energy is a brand that believes in authenticity and the core of what its sports, athletes and musicians represent. More than a drink, its the way of life lived by athletes, sports, bands, believers and fans. See more about Monster Energy including all of its drinks at http://www.monsterenergy.com. It was phenomenal to see these children and see the wonderful environment they are being raised in. - Doug Hutchins Kentwood Real Estate Broker Associate Doug Hutchins recently traveled to Nepal with Hopes Promise, a non-profit adoption and orphan care agency. Hopes Promise has two orphan homes in Nepal that were visited. It was phenomenal to see these children and see the wonderful environment they are being raised in, said Hutchins, Chairman of the Board of Hopes Promise. This was the first time Ive gone to Nepal. The charity usually does one trip a year, to one of the homes in Kenya, Nepal, or Vietnam. This is something I will want to do for many years to come. In order to encourage others to sponsor a child, Hutchins posted pictures and stories while in Nepal. He also supports Hopes Promise through his real estate business and donates a portion of his closings to the organization. Its something that I truly believe in and support. Over the last two years, we raised over $16,000, noted Hutchins, whose three children were adopted through Hopes Promise. If the charity wasnt there, I would not have the children that I have today. Hopes Promise is like my family. The orphaned children in these countries are often hungry, dont have enough water or clean water, and have limited, if any, medical care. Going to school and developing themselves is not something they think about. They are just worried about day-to-day survival and the ability to provide not only what they need from the nutritional and physical standpoint, but also from an emotional standpoint. Hopes Promise places the children in a loving home where they can thrive. While in Nepal, Hutchins met a young boy that was in one of the homes who took a simple crayon and in about 20 minutes sketched out an amazing scene of the Himalaya mountains, with trees, a river and birds. It was unbelievable, with just a simple crayon. He is 11 years old and the talent is just amazing, concluded Hutchins. He has an opportunity to develop his talent because of Hopes Promise and all of the sponsors. To donate directly to Hopes Promise Adoption & Orphan Care, please visit https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E103098&id=12. For more information about adopting, please visit https://www.hopespromise.com/adoption/adopt-a-child/. About Doug Hutchins, Kentwood Real Estate Doug Hutchins works with both buyers and sellers. He specializes in South Metro Denver real estate, including Castle Pines, Castle Pines Village, Castle Rock, Centennial, Greenwood Village, Highlands Ranch, Littleton, Lone Tree, and Parker, CO. For more information, call (303) 886-3437, or visit http://www.doughutchinshomes.com. Kentwood Real Estate is located at 5690 D.T.C. Blvd., Suite 600W, Greenwood Village, CO 80111. About the NALA The NALA offers small and medium-sized businesses effective ways to reach customers through new media. As a single-agency source, the NALA helps businesses flourish in their local community. The NALAs mission is to promote a business relevant and newsworthy events and achievements, both online and through traditional media. The information and content in this article are not in conjunction with the views of the NALA. For media inquiries, please call 805.650.6121, ext. 361. In An American Odyssey: The Life and Work of Romare Bearden (Oxford, Sept.), Spelman College president Campbell examines the career and legacy of the Harlem Renaissance muralist Romare Bearden (19111988). The book chronicles how Bearden evolved from a painter to a collagist. Why did he choose that path? Collage allowed Bearden to reconcile a lot of vastly different directions into something unified. He could pull in a Western Renaissance painting, a piece of African sculpture, a Japanese painting. He was an artist who lived at the intersection of all of those diverse cultures. And I think he saw the identity of black people as being this kind of archaeological mix of cultures as well. Some of Beardens themes include the Great Migration of African-Americans from the South to the North in the 20th century. How did these manifest in his art? A painting such as The Visitation, where two elderly women are greeting each other in a rural setting, is clearly a reference to Beardens birthplace in Charlotte, N.C. In Factory Workers, three men are idle on a street corner in a modern, industrial city, which is clearly a reference to Pittsburgh, where Bearden spent some time during his childhood. As you look at Beardens paintings, you get rhythms, rituals, and ceremonies from the South and the North that define so much of black culture. What was the influence of writer Ralph Ellison, choreographer Alvin Ailey, and cultural theorist Albert Murray on Beardens art? Ralph Ellison, who was probably the most profound and insightful commentators on the essence of Beardens work, created an existential narrative of what it is to be black in America, and I think that Beardens collages also had that same [kind] of existential presence. In terms of Aileywhom he met in ParisBearden had conversations with [Ailey and other] choreographers about the black body as an expressive element. Albert Murray, in the last decade of Beardens life, was probably his closest friend and associate. What Al saw in Beardens work was his relationship to jazz: not only in the final product, but by the way Bearden improvised, moved, and added pieces, shapes, and colors. What other art forms are comparable to Beardens work? Hip-hop is very comfortable in appropriating bits and pieces of other cultures inside of its own cultural framework. Thats exactly what Bearden was doing. He created an enormously affirmative vision of black life and black people, which we now see in visual culture in general, in the film Black Panther, Ava DuVernays Selma, and in the many television shows that reflect black life and culture. In Learning to Speak God from Scratch (Convergent, Sept.), Merritt considers how the meanings of religious words have changed over time. How did the idea for this book develop? The book was born when I relocated to New York City from the Bible Belt and encountered an unexpected language barrier: I could no longer speak God. As a person of faith and a religion writer who makes a living communicating about sacred realities, this was a startling experience. That sent me on a journey to understand why Iand so many like mefound it difficult to have spiritual conversations. What do you mean by speaking God? We are experiencing a massive decline in speaking God across America, and this is manifesting in two ways. First, there is a decline in spiritual conversations. I found that, despite widespread religiosity in America, less than 10% of Americans say they have a spiritual or religious conversation once per week. Second, there is a decline in sacred words. We can now map the frequency of certain words and phrases in the English-speaking world. This data reveals a ski-slope decline in religious, moral, and spiritual words stretching back at least 50 years. What makes words sacred? All words are signposts pointing to something else. When I call a word sacred, I mean that the word overtly points to moral, spiritual, religious, or metaphysical realities. Both theological words, such as grace and sin, and virtue words, such as joy and kindness, are in decline. We are also less likely to speak communal words and more likely to use individualistic words. Why do you feel that certain sacred words have been lost or hijacked? One of the biggest reasons people give for not speaking about God more often is that religious and spiritual words have become overly political. Also, some people say theyve been hurt by sacred language. When our experience of certain words is associated with being shamed or scolded, its not surprising that we might choose to avoid them altogether. Do the meanings of biblical passages change as words change? Words have a range of meanings at any given time and each of those meanings is shaded with connotation. Ancient writers such as those who wrote the Bible knew this. They did not use words assuming that there was a single meaning to every word they spoke and largely held an imaginative, not static, understanding of language. Understanding this is the key to understanding why sacred words are vanishing and how we can revive them. With this year marking the 110th anniversary of the publication of Canadian author L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables, there has been no shortage of attention given to the plucky, redheaded heroine of one of the most iconic children's series of all time. Anne is the subject of a Netflix series entering its second season this fall, and Anne of Green Gables also appeared on PBS's recent The Great American Read. She is also being given new life in a series of titles from Tundra Books to be published in the U.S. and Canada. Two board books, Kelly Hill's Anne's Colors and Anne's Numbers, are already available. Two more books will publish in September: Goodnight, Anne, a picture book written by Kallie George with illustrations by Genevieve Godbout, and Anne Arrives, the first book in an early reader series adapted by George from the original novels, with illustrations by Abigail Halpin. The character's current appeal and the conviction that Anne has a great deal to offer new fans are what inspired Tundra to revisit Anne in these new titles. Noting that Anne has long been geared to middle grade readers, Tara Walker, v-p and publisher, Penguin Random House Canada Young Readers, says she and her team want "to bring Anne to all ages." "Most of us had read the Anne books as middle graders," Walker says. "But Anne herself is a character that younger readers will fall in love with, too." With this in mind, Walker says, Tundra set out to "introduce Anne to toddlers, preschoolers, and picture bookage children." For the toddlers, Tundra is publishing Anne's Numbers and Anne's Colors, which feature beautiful hand-embroidered images. These books are meant to be "very tactile, a style that resonates" with the youngest readers. The picture book, Goodnight, Anne, is written and drawn with "a soft, dreamy quality perfectly suited to a bedtime story," Walker says. Anne Arrives takes its inspiration from Montgomery's original book, with a story about Anne's struggles and triumphs as she adapts to life on the Cuthberts' farm. Halpin's artwork, Walker says, is "very classic" and shows "a fine attention to details that a slightly older reader can appreciate." The strength of the artwork in the new Anne titles will be a lynchpin of Tundra's marketing efforts. Art from all four titles will appear in various promotional itemsfrom posters to luggage tagsthat stores will be able to use as giveaways and in contests. A deluxe consumer prize package will also be unveiled in the fall, featuring items, such as a tea towel, created in partnership with Anne Arrives illustrator Halpin. Tundra will also be working with Netflix, promoting its books alongside the streaming service's popular family show, Anne with an E, whose second season is set to air in the fall. Walker, who fondly recalls discovering Anne as a small-town Canadian girl, says she "deeply identified with, and adored, the spirited, romantic, irrepressible" redhead she found in Montgomery's original books. And it is that spirited character that Tundra wants to bring to today's young readers. With all its new Anne titles, the publisher strives to "maintain Anne's effervescent spirit and worldview." Keeping the character of Anne intact was also key, because Walker feels she will be particularly resonant with today's young readers. "I think we need characters like Anne," she says. "Her confidence, strong sense of justice, fierce intelligence, and love of nature and her fellow human beings are all qualities that feel more important now than ever." Welcome to our Fall 2018 Childrens Announcements issue! In our first feature, we speak with publishers about the unsung value of early chapter books in hooking young readers. We also profile author-illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka, who makes his YA debut this fall with a deeply personal graphic memoir. Finally, as someone who knows both sides of the publishing process, Leila Sales shares 10 things that authors wish editors knew, and vice versa. All this, plus our comprehensive A-to-Z listings of titles being released by childrens and YA publishers between Aug. 1, 2018, and Jan. 31, 2019. Happy reading! Books for Emerging Readers Publishers discuss the unsung value of early chapter books in fostering literacy. What Authors and Editors Wish They Could Say to One Another Leila Sales shares 10 truths every editor knows, and 10 truths every author knows, as someone who wears both hats. A New Direction for Jarrett J. Krosoczka The author-illustrator mines difficult childhood memories for his YA debut. Fall 2018 Children's Announcements: Publishers A-E Fall 2018 Children's Announcements: Publishers F-L Fall 2018 Children's Announcements: Publishers M-Q Fall 2018 Children's Announcements: Publishers R-Z Spring 2019 Children's Sneak Previews About Our Cover Artist Serge Bloch has worked in a wide range of media across the globe, but his passion for childrens illustration, in particular, was kindled at an early age by artists in and around his native France. Growing up, he recalls, I loved comics: Tintin, Asterix, Spirou. And Babar, tooits a little masterpiece. After graduating from the Claude Lapointe illustration studio at the Strasbourg School of Decorative Arts, Bloch says, I started by making books for children, having come out of an art school where we were trained to do that. I subsequently diversified my workwith exhibitions as well as drawings for advertising and communicationsand as a result I got to work around the world, in Europe, in the U.S.A., and in Asia. I feel very lucky! To date, Bloch has illustrated hundreds of books; his accolades include a Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators, a Bologna Ragazzi Award, and a Prix Baobab, among others. He divides his time between two of the worlds art capitals: Paris and New York City. In Paris, I have a large workshop with a team and assistants, Bloch says. We can do more work that way, from cartooning to graphic design and scenography. And for a break from the city, Bloch says, I also have a workshop in the South of France. It is hot and very beautiful; you can share your time between work and walks in nature. Describing his creative life in Manhattan, Bloch says, I am alone and I focus more on my work for galleries and exhibitions. I take advantage of the time I spend in New York by seeing my friends and my work relations[editors] Neal Porter and Jill Davis, among others. At the moment, Bloch notes, I am working on some exhibitions in China, Switzerland, and Colombia. Stateside, he has a new, as-yet-untitled project forthcoming with Porter at Holiday House, which he describes as a book to explain to children that its important to vote and to vote well, if we want to have good elected officialsnot like some today. Back in France, he says, I have another book coming out. Its a book about my family, my grandfather, and my parents; it took me 30 years to dare to do it. E.K. Ray Washburne is expected to meet Kenyan officials to outline his agency's three-year, $1 billion "Connect Africa" initiative. OPIC, the United States government's development finance institution, is seeking to support the 470-kilometre, $3 billion Nairobi-Mombasa Expressway scheduled to begin construction this month under American contractor, Bechtel. The visit comes at a time when China's influence as an investor in Africa has grown tremendously in recent years with the US seeking ways on how to better compete with the East Asian nation. The Chinese are in with ports and railroads and highways -- things that we need to be in as a competitor," Mr Washburne said last week during a stop in South Africa. Turnaround He also repeated Trump administration warnings that China's $126 billion "Belt and Road" investment initiative is saddling African countries with crushing levels of debt. The new legislation recently approved by the US House would double Opic's access to US government credits to a total of $60 billion. The scale up points to a turnaround in the White House's approach to both OPIC and Africa. President Trump had previously sought to kill Opic while at the same time offering few positive remarks about Africa. READ MORE: OccupyGhana condemns assault of woman at Midland Savings and Loans Limited We have known Skalla as an amiable person, very caring and considerate and his conduct as captured on the tape is very unusual of him, the statement said. "That notwithstanding, we are pleading with the good people of Ghana to find that forgiving heart deep down within to forgive our son," the family said. In a passionate appeal, the family said no amount of money, words or expressions can restore the violations Ms Patience Osafo suffered. "However, human as we are, offending one another is inevitable," the statement said. "We are therefore pleading with Ghanaians to join us to apologize to Ms Osafo Patience for the savage beatings she suffered at the hands of our son."We are deeply sorry and pray that the Good Lord heals and consoles her. We are passionately pleading with Ghanaians to remember our son in their prayers for the good Lord to reform his twisted mind and steer him on a decent and humane path."We are grateful that notwithstanding the sad images this video lives in your memory, you will not dwell on the negative but help us to pray to reform such characters in the service." A leaked video on social media on Friday captured Skalla mercilessly assaulting Patience Osafo at the banking hall of Midland Savings and Loans branch in Accra. He has been arrested on the orders of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) for criminal processes to begin. The men were gunned down in response to an armed robbery attack in Manso Nkwanta in the Ashanti Region in which two police officers were shot, leading to the death of one and the other receiving treatment at the hospital. In a statement signed by a Deputy Minister of Information, Curtis Perry Okudzeto, government said the formation of the committee has become necessary due to the conflicting accounts by the police and families of the seven men. Since the Police and the families of the seven young men have different versions of the occurrence, the government has decided to set up an Independent Committee to investigate the matter, the statement revealed. While the police say the men were armed robbers, their families say they are decent hardworking Ghanaians and activists of the governing New Patriotic Party. Government yesterday sent a delegation led by the Minister for Inner City and Zongo Development Abu-bakaer Saddique, to console the bereaved families and assure them of government's commitment to establish the truth. Other members of the delegation included Minister for Information, Dr Mustapha Hamid, the Inspector General of Police, David Asante- Apeatu and the Ashanti Regional Minister, Hon. Simon Osei Mensah and the Municipal Chief Executive for Asokore Mampong, Hon. AIidu Seidu to the Zongo Community in Asawase to meet with the aggrieved parties. Many Ghanaian social media users have accused the savings and loans company of complicity and bad customer service following the assault. A news anchor at TV3 wrote on Twitter: "Midland Savings and loans is equally irresponsible and a disgrace for allowing the police officer to beat up this woman simply because she arrived at the bank late! And insisted she takes money. What if she had no money and that was the only thing she had to rely on that day?" Pulse Ghana former Editor and now Head of Current Affairs at Citi FM and TV, Godfred Akoto Boafo, tweeted: "Midland Savings and Loans should just wait for Monday. Lawsuit coming at full speed." "Midland Savings and Loans, so is that how you handle your customers? Calling armed policeman to drive away a nursing mother who is coming to withdraw her own money? The most annoying part is, no one was ready to separate them. Shame on you Midland Savings and Loans,"a Twitter user wrote. Midlands Savings and Loans Limited on Friday said the Management of company condemns in no uncertain terms the act of brutality meted out to a customer by a Security Officer at one of our branches. We wish to render an unqualified apology to the customer in question and the general public for the uncivilised act, it added. The statement said the matter has been reported to the police to "ensure our client gets justice." The statement did not state when the incident was reported to the police. Police say investigation has commenced into the conduct of officials of the company. The woman who was assaulted has alleged that they stood by and watched as she was being assulted. She also said a staff was laughing at her when was beaten. Wife of the deceased, narrating the incident to Joy News David Andoh on Friday said Mr Essuon arrived home in his Chevrolet salon car around 8:00 pm when the unfortunate incidence occurred. When I came out to meet him, I saw a man loitering around and some other two people riding a motorbike. In a jiffy, the men attacked my husband and shot him in the neck she said. When I tried to shout, they warned me to shut up or they will shoot me as well, she added. The suspected robbers made away with all the sales the victim made for the day and also took away unknown amount of recharge phone cards. READ MORE: Outrage over police assault on woman at banking hall On Friday, the IGP ordered for his arrest after watching the distressing video, according to the police public relation unit. In addition, the police said staff of the financial institution are under investigation. "Police men are meant to protect citizens, not to assault citizens," the president tweeted on Saturday. "The measures that the IGP (Inspector General of Police) has taken to sanction the erring police man, and to make sure these things don't happen again have my complete support," he said. President Akufo-Addo said he supports "100% the measures he (IGP) has taken, so that we can stop these incidents from proliferting." --Family apology-- The family Skalla issued a public on Saturday, calling on Ghanaians, the president, the IGP and the victim to forgive their "son." The family admitted thethe conduct of Corporal Amanor was barbaric, inhumane and antithesis to the professional training in the police. We have known Skalla as an amiable person, very caring and considerate and his conduct as captured on the tape is very unusual of him, the statement said. "That notwithstanding, we are pleading with the good people of Ghana to find that forgiving heart deep down within to forgive our son," the family said. In a passionate appeal, the family said no amount of money, words or expressions can restore the violations Ms Patience Osafo suffered. "However, human as we are, offending one another is inevitable," the statement said. "We are therefore pleading with Ghanaians to join us to apologize to Ms Osafo Patience for the savage beatings she suffered at the hands of our son."We are deeply sorry and pray that the Good Lord heals n consoles her. We are passionately pleading with Ghanaians to remember our son in their prayers for the good Lord to reform his twisted mind and steer him on a decent n humane path."We are grateful that notwithstanding the sad images this video lives in your memory, you will not dwell on the negative but help us to pray to reform such characters in the service." A leaked video on social media on Friday captured Skalla mercilessly assaulting Patience Osafo at the banking hall of Midland Savings and Loans branch in Accra. The helpless woman had gone to the bank to withdraw her savings but she was told banking hours had closed. She insisted on withdrawing her money after failed previous attempts. READ MORE: Outrage over police assault on woman at banking hall The woman had gone to the bank to demand her savings but was told banking hours had closed. The police officer was called in to escort her out, but the woman insisted on getting her savings since she had no money on her. He was dragged on the floor, punched and landed multiple slaps on the face by the policeman for her defiance. "We will never do this in Nigeria," Assistant Commissioner Shogunle tweeted. "A Ghanaian policeman beating a nursing mother in Rambo-style inside a banking hall in Accra today. Hope people can see the real police brutality." Assistant Commissioner Shogunle, in his tweet, appeared to be justifying the work of the notorious Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), accused of harassing and abusing ordinary Nigerians. Nigerians have on a number of occasions called for SARS to be dissolved due to the group's extraordinary human rights abuses. The hashtage #EndSARS has been used by social media users in Nigeria to highlight the abuses of the Anti-Robbery Squad. READ MORE: Policeman arrested for assaulting woman in banking hall Meanwhile, the Ghana Police Service say the abusive officer, Corporal Godzi Fredrick Amanor, has been arrested for criminal processes to begin. According to reports, the woman has also been advised by the contributors to get a lawyer to sue Midland Savings and Loans Company under whose watch she was brutalized. On Friday, a video of an officer assaulting a hapless woman popped up on social media, causing outrage among the general public. In the said video, the Police officer is captured beating up a woman who was carrying a baby in her hands. The woman had entered the Midland Savings and Loan banking hall after transaction hours to withdraw some money. The assault by the police has drawn worldwide condemnation, forcing the police to arrest him and Midland Savings and Loans company apologising to the woman and announcing a compensation package for her. Wading into the matter, OccupyGhana says it is "horrified at the videos showing the senseless assault and battering of a woman simply on account of her alleged refusal to leave a banking hall, insisting on being paid her money." "We are gratified to read the statements issued by the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Bar Association on the matter, and we do not intend to repeat any of the matters they have stated," the statement said. "We would however add other comments and observations on the matter, particularly on the role of the Midland Savings and Loans Company and its officers." Below is the full statement 21st JULY 2018 OCCUPYGHANA PRESS STATEMENT OCCUPYGHANA CONDEMNS ASSAULT OF WOMAN BY POLICE AT MIDLAND SAVINGS AND LOANS COMPANY PREMISES OccupyGhana, like several Ghanaians, is horrified at the videos showing the senseless assault and battering of a woman simply on account of her alleged refusal to leave a banking hall, insisting on being paid her money. We are gratified to read the statements issued by the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Bar Association on the matter, and we do not intend to repeat any of the matters they have stated. We would however add other comments and observations on the matter, particularly on the role of the Midland Savings and Loans Company and its officers. First, the Company, as the occupier of the property where the harm was caused to the lady, should not escape blame and sanctions. We believe that the Company owes a duty of care to the lady and all those who visit those premises, whether invited or permitted, to ensure their safety while on the premises. Thus even if the Company was not directly involved in the harm caused to the lady, it should be liable to compensate her for the harm caused to her while on its premises. Second, and worse, it appears the lady was assaulted as a result of an instruction by the Companys officers to the offending police officer to remove her from the premises. Then they either stood by while she was subjected to the beatings or only made half-hearted attempts to stop it. That suggests that the Company and its officers, at the very least, instigated, facilitated, encouraged or promoted the policemans offences. Without meaning to show the police how to do its work, we believe that the ongoing criminal investigations should also explore bringing abetment of crime charges against the Company and its officers. Third, we are concerned that the underlying cause of this matter was the failure or refusal of the Company to return to a depositor, funds to which she was legitimately entitled. In the wake of the recent administrative and other actions and sanctions taken against banks and deposit-taking entities by the Bank of Ghana, involving the possible endangering and misuse of depositor-funds, we are extremely worried that the Company was unable to refund to a depositor, an amount that was less than GHS300. We believe that the Bank of Ghana ought to investigate the circumstances surrounding this. Maybe this criminal beating of the lady, masks or portends some financial danger where that Company is concerned. Fourth, and as a general comment, we wonder whether poor Ghanaians are still being subjected to such gross human rights abuses by law enforcement agencies. It is important that servants of the state who are provided with the force of arms that are supplied with our tax monies primarily for our protection are continuously trained in the rudiments of respecting the human rights of the citizen. Ghana is not and cannot be allowed to be a lawless nation. Yours in service of God and Country. "Investigation has also commenced into the conduct of officials of the Midland Savings and Loans Limited, where the incident happened and all persons who are implicated would face the full rigours of the law," according to the police. The company has condemned the assault, apologised to the woman, Patience Osafo, and reported the incident to the police for "justice." "We wish to render an unqualified apology to the customer in question and the general public for the uncivilized act," the statement said. "We have reported the matter to the police for the necessary action to be taken to ensure our client gets justice. Even more inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client totally unheard of & perhaps illegal. The good news is that your favorite President did nothing wrong! With his tweet, the latest in a week of dizzying statements by a president whose advisers say has become more unwilling than ever to listen to advice, Trump signaled open warfare on Cohen, a longtime fixer he had until now tried to keep by his side. The Justice Department is investigating Cohens involvement in paying women to quash potentially damaging news coverage about Trump during the campaign. The investigation into Cohen, the onetime keeper of Trumps personal and business secrets, remains a source of deep concern for the presidents lawyers, and in recent months, Trump has offered public messages encouraging Cohen to stay loyal to him. But this month, Cohen suggested that he was looking seriously at cooperating with prosecutors. While the president suggested Saturday that Cohens recording may have been illegal, New York law allows one party to a conversation to tape it without the other knowing. After learning about the tape, The New York Times approached Trumps personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. A person familiar with the discussions said that once The Times approached Giuliani, the presidents legal team chose not to assert attorney-client privilege over the recording. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday. In the past, though, the presidents aides have called the account of the affair by the former model, Karen McDougal, an old story that is just more fake news, and have denied that the president was involved. In response to the presidents tweet Saturday, Lanny J. Davis, Cohens lawyer, hit back at Trump and Giuliani. Their legal strategy was flawed, he said, addressing a comment by Giuliani that the recording could ultimately clear the president of wrongdoing. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. The former wife of South Africa's first black president Nelson Mandela was, along with her husband, an international symbol of resistance against white-minority rule. Here are some of the reactions to her death: Anti-oppression symbol Desmond Tutu, Nobel laureate archbishop: "She refused to be bowed by the imprisonment of her husband, the perpetual harassment of her family by security forces, detentions, bannings and banishment. Her courageous defiance was deeply inspirational to me, and to generations of activists." Resilience and courage Ace Magashule, Secretary General of African National Congress: "We mourn the passing of this great patriot and Pan Africanist, whose resilience and courage inspired freedom struggles not only in South Africa, but across Africa and her diaspora. Comrade Madikizela-Mandela dedicated her life to the betterment of her people and she worked for this realisation right until the end of her life." "She was an inspiration to both young and old who shared her vision of an egalitarian, prosperous and free South Africa - and generations of activists not just in South Africa but around the world today deeply mourn her as we do." Fearless campaigner Moussa Faki Mahama, African Union commission head: "The entire @_AfricanUnion family joins the Continent and beyond in grief at the passing of Ma Winnie Madikizela-Mandela who will forever be remembered as a global icon, a fearless campaigner who sacrificed much of her life for freedom in South Africa and for women everywhere." Indebted to Winnie Professor Njabulo Ndebele, Nelson Mandela Foundation Chairman: "She was a member of a generation of leaders which survived the most brutal period of state terror in apartheid South Africa... All South Africans are indebted to Mama Winnie, whether they acknowledge it or not. From the witness of her life, we knew we could stand tall; we knew also we could falter and stumble. Either condition was an affirmation of life. Her cry was our cry, and in 2018 we can say we did triumph." Uncommon determination Muhammadu Buhari, Nigerian President: "She was a woman of uncommon determination, steadfastness and perseverance who held aloft the torch of the struggle against institutionalised discrimination even while her ex-husband, the late Madiba, President Nelson Mandela was incarcerated... she remained a pride not only to the African woman, but indeed all Africans." Inspiration to millions Raila Odinga, Kenya opposition leader: "Winnie Madikizela Mandela... led a bitter and dedicated struggle against the brutal Apartheid regime in South Africa, holding fort when her then husband Nelson Mandela was in detention." "In the course of the courageous struggle, Winnie became an inspiration to millions across the world who were fighting for freedom and dignity of their people. She particularly inspired women to move to the frontlines of struggles for justice and freedom across the world." Liberation of a nation Idris Elba, actor: "Rest in peace Mama Winnie. My heart is heavy right now. You lived a full and important life contributing to the liberation of a nation by force and ACTUAL ACTIVISM. You will never be forgotten." Woman of strength Naomi Campbell, actress: Emmanuella, a nine-year-old girl and grade five pupil of Skycrest School Lagos, has already established herself in Information and Communication Technology as she showcased the website and a mobile app she designed on Friday, July 20, 2018. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Oziofu, who is passionate about ICT has diploma certificates in Desktop Publishing, Advance Excel, Adobe Page Maker, Advance PowerPoint and Corel Draw. While showcasing her website and the mobile app in Lagos, Oziofu said they were created to teach the younger generation about ICT. ALSO READ: 12 Universities to choose from if you want to study Computer Science My mobile app is available for download on Google play store. The purpose of the mobile app is to teach the younger generation like me ICT skills I have acquired, the app is free and adults can also download and use it as well. Uziofu is planning to build a website for free ICT training While speaking about her future plans Uziofu said, My plans are to build some websites focusing on health, offer free ICT training for children my age on Saturday, Sundays and during holidays. Im also planning a boot camp for young people in the near future. My target is to become a professional web designer and analyst at age nine and I have accomplished it, she said. The 9-yr-old ICT prodigy Oziofu also said she had previously created a chat site, a personal website and had at the age of eight, created three websites for her former school, Fortune Schools in Benin, Edo. The teenager murdered Odiri in his home on Akugbe Street in Ovia South-West Local Government Area of Edo State on July 7, 2018. The deceased, Matilda, was aged 18 years. LindaIkeji Blog reports that Baba has been arrested by the police in Edo state for the death of his lover. How it all happened It was further reported that Matilda had arrived Baba's house on July 7, 2018 when she accused him of being unfaithful to her as she suspected he was keeping another girl. ALSO READ: Woman stabs husband to death over secret child After the incident, Baba had reportedly abandoned Matilda's remains and fled his home to seek refuge in Auduwawa area of Benin city where he was apprehended. Mr Sunday Jika, the Officer-in-Charge (OC) Gombe State Marshal, a local security outfit, who was amongst the ministers motorcade confirmed this to newsmen on Saturday in Gombe. We received the minister at the airport and on our way back to town a Peugeot 406 car entered the motorcade of the minister hitting the pilot car. The Peugeot car went ablaze. We were able to bring out three persons from the Peugeot car while the driver got burnt in the car. In the other bus among the ministers motorcade, we also brought out people. All the injured persons have been taken to Gombe Specialist Hospital and Federal Teaching Hospital (FTH) Gombe, he said. A NAN correspondent, who was at the Specialist Hospital and FTH, saw doctors attending to patients at the casualty department of the hospital. When contacted, Dr Zainab Kaltungo, Deputy Medical Director FTH Gombe declined comment. The Commissioner of Police, Mr Damian Chukwu, explained this in a statement issued on Friday in Maiduguri. Chukwu, who was reacting to reports that Terrab was detained by the police, said the arrest was necessitated by the murder and other allegations against the politician. The command wishes to state categorically that while it is true that one Alhaji Grema Terrab has been arrested over his role in the offences of culpable homicide, inciting disturbances and sundry other offences, which occurred at his residence on 15th April, 2018 most of the claims in the report under reference are false in its entirety. It is worthy of note that Terrab, on 15th April, 2018, organised a political event at his residential quarters, contrary to security advice by the police. Expectedly, the meeting attracted large crowd of people. In the course of the event, and right inside his residential premises, one Maina Mustapha Babagana, a 20-year-old welder, was stabbed to death by persons present at the event, he said. Chukwu explained that contrary to speculations, Terrab did not present himself to the police to report the incident. He said that the politician also refused to honour series of invitations extended to him by the police, rather went into hiding. The commissioner added that the police subsequently declared the politician wanted after due processes. According to him, the police evacuated the corpse at the politicians resident and invited those present at the scene of the crime for questioning. Chukwu disclosed that on April 16, one Saadatu Muhammad Ali, who was also at the scene of crime fell ill and referred to Umaru Shehu Ultramodern Hospital, Maiduguri, for treatment. In the course of the treatment, a comprehensive test and an abdominal-pelvic scan were conducted on her at the Jidere Diagnostic and Clinical Services, Maiduguri. The result of the medical tests indicated normal-sized anteverted empty uterus without any complication or miscarriage as alleged in the media reports. She was not released on bail by the police as alleged by the media, but charged to court alongside other suspects, the police boss said. Chukwu confirmed that Terrab was arrested by the police on July 17, during a political visit by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in Maiduguri. Atiku, in a condolence message by his media aide, Mr Paul Ibe, said that he and the late Coomassie shared a special bond that he (Atiku) would personally miss. Alhaji Ibrahim Coomassie and I had a special bond of friendship. He shall be sorely missed, Atiku said. According to him, Coomassie was a patriot and an exceptional police officer whose dream was always about making the Nigeria Police Force an effective and efficient police force. The Minister stated this while addressing staff of the Nigerian Embassy to the United States in Washington, DC on Friday, July 20, 2018. Mohammed who urged Nigerians in the diaspora to depend on only credible media outlets for news about happenings in the country cautioned them against relying on posts via the social media. Most of what emanate from social media about the situation in Nigeria is fake news, the minister declared. ''Despite such crises as the farmers-herders clashes and communal conflicts, Nigerians - for the most part - are living together harmoniously. Nigeria is not at war,'' stated said. Mohammed said the tempo of the killings arising from the farmers-herders crisis is going down, and that the government is committed to ending the incessant clashes once and for all. The minister was received by the Nigerian Ambassador to the US, Sylvanus Nsofor. Meanwhile, Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, has reiterated the commitment of the federal government to ending the killings in the country. Premium Times reported that the committee said the release is for salaries to cushion the impact of the stalemate in the June 2018 meeting. The impact of the meeting resulted into none payment of the June salary to many civil servants across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Hence, FAAC resolved to release May 2018 revenues meant for distribution in June to enable the various the governments meet their obligations to their workers. A statement released on Friday, July 21, 2018, by the spokesperson of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Hassan Dodo, said, The urgent need to cushion the undue hardships experienced by workers nationwide has made it necessary to distribute the May figures totalling N668.898 billion to the three tiers of government, while efforts are being intensified to address the unsatisfactory remittances. Dodo said the N668.9 billion is made up of statutory distributable allocation of N575.5 billion and N93.4 billion from the Value Added Tax (VAT). The federal government got about N282.2 billion, state governments got N181.7 billion, while local government councils received N136.5billion. The oil producing states received N53 billion as 13 percent derivation, with about N15.947 billion paid to the revenue generating agencies as costs of collections. Disagreement follows sharing of N147 billion from NNPC The meeting of the FAAC in June ended in a deadlock without members agreeing to share the N147 billion revenue provided by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). In the same vein, two other attempts to resolve the disagreement failed leaving members to postpone the meeting indefinitely last week. ALSO READ: Governors meet to discuss FAAC deadlock May revenue according to Ministry of finance The statutory revenue of N575.5 billion received for May was lower by N37.582 billion than the N613 billion in April 2018. For May 2018, about N93.4 billion realised from the Value Added Tax (VAT) was about N5.5 billion higher than the N87.965 billion distributed in April 2018. Ambode made this call when he visited the Senate Committee on Interior on Retreat For the Review of Amendment to Nigeria Prison Act in Lagos. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Senate committee on Interior was chaired by Senator Andy Uba representing Anambra North in the National Assembly. The reformation of Nigeria Prison is necessary especially the decongestion of the prison. Some inmates are suffering as a result of not being able to pay their fine. We will set up a committee in Lagos that will go round all the prison formations, Gov Ambode said. The Gov. commended the committee for their hard work in making laws that would benefit the people and constituents to the growth of the country . Ambode was represented by the Deputy Gov. of Lagos state, Dr Idiat Adebule The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for the command, SP. Muhammad Shehu, said this in a statement he issued to journalists in Gusau on Friday. Shehu said the incident occurred on Thursday evening at the Karakai market. There were sporadic gun shots by unknown gunmen at the market; we recorded the death of two persons while three others were injured. During the attack, the police team at the market could not exchange fire with the attackers to avoid further loss of lives and property. However, the attackers used the crowd as human shield to escape from the scene. Normalcy has been restored with patrol teams keeping vigilance in the affected environs. Governor Bello, in an interview with Osasu Igbinedion on The Osasu Show, said Melaye is an attention seeker who be seeking public sympathy for burning his own project. The project that was embarked on by him that was burnt down is highly condemnable. I condemn it in its entirety. Remember the person in question is an attention seeker, remember he has orchestrated self-attacks severally in the state and I wont be surprised in order to draw public sympathy if he organised that for himself. This is a project he started; nobody stopped you from starting it. You continued it and you completed it, nobody stopped you. You are about commissioning it, why would anybody go and burn it down? Why would any right thinking person go there and burn it down?" Bello said. That is not my style of politics - Bello Bello said neither he nor his supporters played a role in the attack, adding that his style of politics is not associated with destroying projects for the people. He said,That is not our character, that is not my own style of politicking. If anything, any development is for the people. The money did not come from his pocket, it is public fund meant for the people. So, if he tries to do that, and turn around to seek for public sympathy and orchestrated that on himself again, it is most unfortunate. That is the only way I can attribute it. In Kogi state remember, that we inherited a volatile state where a lot of insecurity, violence used to be an order of the day but upon assumption of office, Kogi state is the safest today. Melaye's constituency project burnt ahead of inauguration One of the projects by Senator Melaye was torchedin the early hours of Wednesday, July 18, 2018. The projects that were burnt down include: four block of classroom each at Government Girls secondary school, Sarkin Noma; Lokongoma Secondary School, Phase 1; and Adankolo Secondary school. According to Vanguard, Ekweremadu said that Buharis style of leadership has caused more disaffection in the country. Speaking on the Presidents appointment of service chiefs, the Deputy Senate President wondered why Buhari appointed all the service chiefs from a particular region of the country. Vanguard reports that Ekweremadu said that the Presidents loopsided appointments, particularly of the security chiefs was not only nepotic but dangerously aimed at destroying the bond that held the country together. Action speaks louder than voice. It is not enough as a Priest to preach love. It is more inspiring to live love. As a teacher, it is not enough to preach to the students to behave well. They will be better influenced and inspired by your exemplary conducts as a teacher. We cannot preach against hate speech in heterogeneous society like Nigeria and still go ahead to appoint service Chiefs, heads of security agencies and paramilitary agencies from a section of the country. Today, when the National Security Council meets, some sections of the country are totally shut out. All pleas to the President to address this dangerous precedent have not been heeded despite various promises, he added. Preach love, live love The Deputy Senate President also called on Nigerians not to only preach love, but to live love. Ekweremadu said this on Saturday, July 21, 2018, at the installation of the Governor, District 9142, Rotary International Nigeria. ALSO READ:Why Buhari was invited to The Hague by ICC He urged members of the Rotary Club to help uphold the sanctity of human life, dignity of human person and superiority of Justice, equity, tolerance, love and peace. According to Vanguard, the Deputy Senate President urged Nigerians to exemplify the kindheartedness of Mother Teresa, the non- violence and selfishness of Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi and the tenacity of Chief Awolowo in his commitment to human capital development and excellence through hard work. Also, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that The rally, which had supporters of the PDP from various state chapters of the PDP in the North-East, was held at Ribadu Square in Yola, Adamawa state on Saturday, July 21, 2018. Notable among the guests at the rally were: Senator Ben Bruce and the PDP chairman, Uche Secondus. APC has failed Speaking to the PDP supporters, Atiku said that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has failed in every area. According to Vanguard, he said I want to plead with all of you (Nigerians), you know the Party that gave you good economy, security and improved infrastructure in 16 years. That Party is Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). My fellow brothers and sisters from Adamawa State, it is time we take back our state, Adamawa State and that time is almost here you can see the mammoth crowd in Adamawa today. This shows that our party, the PDP is the only Party of choice in Nigeria. In the coming weeks, there shall be political tsunami in Nigeria, many people are warming up to return to our Party as you are already aware, the President Muhammadu Buhari led APC has failed in all ramifications. The APC has failed to provide security, economy and the officials of this government are swimming in corruption. The APC as a Party has collapsed. APC swimming in corruption Also, the PDP chairman, in his speech, accused the APC of swimming in corruption. Secondus told the PDP supporters at the rally that PDP has been rebranded and repositioned to rescue Nigerians from the APCs mess. ALSO READ: Atiku Abubakar says a lot of Nigerians suffering under Buhari He also assured members of the party in Adamawa state that there will be a level playing field for all aspirants. Secondus said PDP is determined to end the circle of continued bloodletting in the country A sign of a drowning party, the APC administration is threatening everybody, the lives of reformed APC leaders are now in danger but we are not afraid, they cant kill everybody. The PDP also called on the APC to name those involved in the attack. Speaking on the alleged attack on the Senators life, the PDP wondered why the Kogi state government did not do anything when Melaye complained of the threats he was getting. According to Daily Post, the partys spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan said It is indeed reprehensible that the APC, which cannot boast of any development project in the state, could be so vicious to sponsor the destruction of education facilities meant for the benefit of Kogi children, just for political reasons. The people of Kogi state are not in any way fooled by the statement from the APC-led Kogi state government, wherein it merely condemned the arson without taking any concrete step to produce those behind the dastardly act. The PDP challenges the Kogi state government and the APC to come clear and tell Nigerians those behind the use of earth moving machines to block the way for Senator Melayes convoy on his way to commission the projects on Wednesday. Furthermore, the fact that the state government did nothing after Senator Melaye reported of threats to him, by unknown persons, ahead of the commissioning ceremony, thoroughly indicts the government and raises very strong issues of official conspiracy. Police investigation Ologbondiyan also called on the police to launch a full scale investigation into the attack on the Senator. Melaye had alleged that an assassination attempwas made on his life recently. The PDP also called on Nigerians to hold the APC responsible if anything happens to the lawmaker. Buhari, represented by the FCT Minister, Malam Musa Bello, gave the assurance while inaugurating first flight for the 2018 Hajj with pilgrims from Kogi State, at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja. He said that government would do everything possible within the ambit of the law to ensure the comfort and security of Nigerian pilgrims from the point of departure until they return to Nigeria. He, however, advised the pilgrims to be good ambassadors of the country and to fervently pray for Nigeria to overcome its security, socioeconomic and political challenges. The Federal Government will continue to provide all the needed support to ensure that Nigerian pilgrims leave the soil of Nigeria safely, go to Saudi Arabia and perform hajj successfully and come back, Buhari said. Earlier, the Executive Chairman, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Abdullah Muhammad, thanked the President for his support and understanding whenever the commission sought for assistance to diligently deliver its mandate. Muhammad also applauded the Kogi State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board for keeping to the arrangement, which ensured a smooth inaugural ceremony of the first batch of Nigerian pilgrims from Kogi at the Airport. In his speech, the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Nigeria, Adnan Bostaj, assured that the Kingdom had made all necessary arrangements to ensure the comfort and well being of pilgrims before, during and after the Hajj rites. He, however, appealed to Nigerian pilgrims to strictly adhere to Saudi Arabia rules and regulations, which are not punitive, but meant to serve them better. The Chairman House Committee on Nigeria-Saudi Inter-Parliamentary Relations, Dr Abdullahi Silame, urged Nigerian pilgrims to reciprocate government gestures in ensuring that they perform Hajj, which is an important pillar of Islam with little or no stress. Buhari also said the decision would give the All Progressives Congress (APC) enough time to prepare for the polls. The President offered this explanation when he received members of the Buhari Support Group Centre (BSGC) at the State House, Abuja. According to him, speculations are already constituting distraction to governance and stirring unnecessary tension so he had to declare his intention during the National Executive Committee meeting of the party. I had to announce before the National Executive Committee of our party about my intention to ask for the partys nomination for next years election so that we can save a lot of time and cool tempers. A lot of people were trying to make it a habit of being a nuisance to themselves and many Nigerians, so when I came out I said those who are serious let them come out. And I tried to make sure that the party is organised and consolidated so that we start from the bottom to the top and that Nigerians will be involved in a way that each constituency will pick those that are going to represent them at various levels, whether as local government chairmen, in the State Assembly, House of Representatives, Senate and finally the president, he said. Buhari said early declaration could guarantee more participation and inclusiveness within the party and further strengthen the bond with supporters and Nigerians. Some of the people thought to be uneducated and unsophisticated could be very educated and sophisticated during elections. For those who have money to give, they say bring the money we will still do what we want to do, he added. The President noted that Gods divine intervention and the use of technology during the 2015 elections, exposed the weakness of previous processes where a privileged few sat and allocated figures to constituencies during elections. They just sit and look at a constituency and they award the numbers, then they say anybody who disagrees should go to court. Now, for somebody, who is looking for the next meal where does he get money to pay Senior Advocates of Nigeria? Thank God for technology. With the PVC you know where you registered and it can be shown whether you voted or not, the Buhari said. He, therefore, advised Nigerians to get their voter cards for the 2019 elections and ensure that they voted to please their conscience with pride as citizens. The President commended the BSGC members for their sacrifices and steadfastness in championing his candidacy. I thank you very much for the sacrifice you have been making. I am happy to use this opportunity to meet you and thank you for the sacrifices and steadfastness. I dont think I can thank you enough because by identifying yourself as a group for all these years and getting nothing for it visibly I think its worthy of commendation, he said. The Coordinator of the group, Alhaji Umaru Dembo, said through thick and thin, rain or sun shine, hot or cold we are here to assure Mr President that since 2014 we have been working, expanding and helping to explain the new life that your government has ushered in for the good people of Nigeria. He said the BSGC had initiated the documentation of the presidents achievements in a book authored by Dr Sani Muktar Bichi and himself. Dembo assured the president of a bottom-up process of mobilising more supporters for the administration, while appreciating him for reversing the trend of impunity, corruption and lawlessness that reigned before 2015. Hence, the probing question, who is Oyetola, the man in whom Osun APC has entrusted its fate to succeed Aregbesola? Chief of Staff to Aregbesola for 8 years Oyetola served in Governor Rauf Aregbesola's eight-year-administration as the Chief of Staff and one of the pillars behind the administration. In a report by TheCable, Oyetola earned favour in the sight of Ogbeni Aregbesola for working behind the scene as one of the pillars behind the governor's administration. Though Oyetola has on several occasions denied being endorsed by Aregbesola, sources say he interfaces with the workers and has shown commitment to the continued growth of Osun state. ALSO READ: Aregbesola's aide emerges APC governorship candidate in Osun 20 years of active politics Unknown to many political observers outside Osun state, Oyetola has been achieving political feats without attracting attention to himself since 1997. Oyetola is said to be among the prominent Nigerians who founded the Alliance for Democracy, AD, in 1998. The politician had remained a notable figure in the political party in Osun so much that when the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, berthed, he was one of the party's notable chieftains. Oyetola remained in the party without contesting or seeking any position till the ACN metamorphosed to APC. He is also said to be close to Bola Tinubu, a national leader of the APC. The APC flagbearer is said to have amassed supporters and a strong followership in all the 332 wards in the local governments in Osun state. First time at the polls Interestingly, Oyetola is seeking political office for the first time despite his incursion into politics in the early '90s. Despite being in active politics for over 20 years, Oyetola has never sought for a political office; though he served in a major position in the Governor Aregbesola led administration for eight years. Though he is contesting a political office for the first time, Oyetola is indeed prepared for the task ahead. "I have toured every nook and cranny of this state consulting the stakeholders. I dont discuss campaign issues with the governor," he said. Oyetola turns 64 seven days after governorship election Oyetola was born on September 29, 1954, in Iragbiji, Boripe local government area and will turn 64 exactly seven days after the Osun state governorship election scheduled for September 22, 2018. Though Oyetola has no reason for the coincidence, he is cocksure of his victory at the polls; saying he will continue to campaign across all the local governments of the state to ensure continued good governance for the people of Osun state. Certified Insurance broker After his primary school, Oyetola attended Ifeoluwa Grammar School in Osogbo before proceeding to the University of Lagos, UNILAG. On the campus of UNILAG, Oyetola obtained a Bachelor of science degree in insurance in 1978 and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in 1990 from the same institution. He is an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute, London and Nigeria and a member of the Nigerian Institute of Management. ALSO READ: Aregbesola's aide leads as results of Osun APC Primary come in After he completed his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Potiskum, Yobe state, in 1980, Oyetola started his career as an insurance broker with Leadway Assurance Company as an Assistant Manager. Senator Adeleke got 1, 569 votes and his closest contender, Akin Ogunbiyi, 1, 562 votes after a recount was done. The Osun PDP primaries which held today, Saturday, July 21, 2018, was supervised by the Bayelsa state Governor, Seriake Dickson. Dickson in his statement after the election, said"We are here for the party, and not for any of the aspirants. We recounted at the request of some agents. This is a contest amongst brothers. No aspirant is being shortchanged. This exercise marks the beginning of a very long journey. By the power conferred of this committee, Senator Adeleke scored majority of votes is hereby declared and returned winner of this election." According to the Bayelsa Governor, the total number of delegates was 3, 448, out of that number, 3, 246 accredited voters cast their votes and 56 votes were void. Also speaking on the outcome of the election, Babangida Aliyu, former Governor of Niger state, urged anybody who is not satisfied with the results to approach the PDP appeal committee, The Cable reports. Adeleke denies certificate forgery allegation Senator Adeleke recently reactedto reports on social media saying that he did not use his original O level certificate when he contested the Osun West Senatorial District by-election in July 2017. A group known as Renewal Youth Movement called out the lawmaker, threatening to drag him to court if he does not present his certificates. According to the lawmaker, the allegations levelled against him are false. The Senators younger brother, Dele Adeleke who spoke to Punch on his behalf, said How can anybody believe such a story? You know the kind of opposition that rose up against him last year. Do you think the APC would not have raised the issues if he did not have the authentic certificates? Also, you are free to go to the school he attended and verify. That will be better than hearing from me or him. That story is not true and it should be discountenanced. So far, the All Progressives Congress (APC),African Democratic Congress (ADC), Social Democratic Party (SDP) have announced their candidates for the September 22, 2018 Osun governorship election. The man is just so confused at the moment. The other day, Ortom told the world that the APC had issued him a red card. Former Edo State Governor and APC Chairman Adams Oshiomhole,first chose to wallow in denial over the Ortom drama. I know that Gov Ortom is a very senior member of the party and he has said so repeatedly in print and has said to me one on one that he will not leave the APC unless he was pushed out. Since I assumed the chairmanship of this party along with my colleagues in the NWC, I know of a fact that we have not shut out any governor and certainly not Gov Ortom", Oshiomhole said. When Oshiomhole eventually accepted that one APC governor was about to deplete the ranks of Nigerias governing party, the party chairman summoned Ortom to Abuja and talked him out of dumping the APC. Even then, Ortom wasnt so sure if he was still an APC member. "I am here in APC, a member of APC, am still flying the flag of APC and I only said I was given a red card but I have been corrected by the national chairman, Ortom announced. I was given a red card by a senatorbut the leadership of the party told me that the decision of the party leadership at the national level is superior to any individual and I think that is good enough. "We have spoken to him, he has spoken to me, stakeholders are going to be spoken to and that is where I belong. We have not concluded the matter, it is an ongoing process because I have always stood for peace and I always want peace to prevail," the Benue governor added. The man Ortom has a problem with in Benue is Senator George Akume. What is happening in Benue is the battle for supremacy between Akume and Ortom.Both men badly want total control of the APC structure in Benue. But Ortoms cry baby display is rooted in the fact that there is really no difference between the APC and PDP at the moment. We essentially run political platforms--not political parties--in Nigeria. Our politics is cash based and money driven. No more, no less. Political parties do have ideologies. Political platforms do not. Which explains why Ortom, who only joined the APC just days before the 2015 general election and was handed the governorship ticket on a platter with no questions asked by his new platform, is conflicted and doesnt know where he really belongs. And he doesnt know what platform he really should join because the lines between the PDP and APC are so blurred, you can swim from one platform to the next and it would still feel like you never left that platform for another. Six and half a dozen. Ortom is therefore a metaphor of the ideology and value deficit in Nigerian politics. His confusion mirrors the confusion in our politics. He is a child of the pseudo democracy and faux multi-party democracy we run in Nigeria. The election, in which Kayode Fayemi emerge as the winner, was held on Saturday, July 14, 2018. The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have at different times, accused each other of buying votes during the election. Arkwright condemned the act, describing it as illegal and the same as vote rigging and ballot stuffing. He said this while speaking to newsmen on Friday, July 21, 2018, after he met with the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu. Arkwright also said I was there in Ekiti to monitor elections and I heard a lot of reports of alleged vote buying and we are convinced that some vote buying went on. I condemn it. Vote buying is illegal; it is against the law, it is just as vote rigging, it is just as bad as ballot stuffing. We cannot make a distinction when all these activities are illegal so I condemn that. What are we going to do about it? Well we just had a meeting with the chairman of INEC, we have been talking about public awareness and how the political parties themselves can take responsibility for condemning this action and not continuing it. We do hope that 2019 will be free, fair, credible and of course, peaceful election. Commends INEC The diplomat also commended INEC on its handling of the election saying: I think the election process itself went well, the materials were there, the security forces kept their distance and did manage to keep a peaceful election and we are seeing progress in how INEC is carrying out each election. So, we have confidence in INEC and the chairman. ALSO READ:Video exposes party agent allegedly bribing voters in Ekiti The UK has been a very strong supporter of INEC and together with the USAID, we are spending about $60m over a six-year period in support of deepening democracy in Nigeria," Daily Post reports. ADCs spokesman, Chief Ananyo Arinze, while speaking to the delegates, thanked them for their peaceful conduct. Arinze said I want to sincerely appreciate our ADC Osun members for your doggedness and the way you have comported yourself in making this historic event a peaceful one, I am confident that with you, Osun shall be delivered from the government you have no stake in, I thank the representatives of the INEC who came out in good numbers. I am prepared to serve Adio, during his acceptance speech, said that he is ready to serve and banish poverty in Osun state. We are gathered here today because we have seen the need to change the status quo in our land. We have the backing of Almighty God, and we shall get to the Promised Land, a land where poverty is banished, a land that is characterised by progress, a land that is characterised by development, a land where salaries are paid as and when due and where pensioners can go back to their various homes and be happy to have something to fall back on, a land where we can grow what we eat and be proud of it, a land where we can embark on profitable ventures and be assured that we have reaped that which we have sowed. Osun State belongs to us and it is high time we took it back. ADC is the only reliable political vehicle that will take us there. ALSO READ:7 aspirants withdraw ahead of PDP primaries in Osun So, Im calling on all the good people of Osun and all that are in solidarity with us, to join hands with us to take back our land. In a related development, the National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC),Adams Oshiomhole, has described the September 22, 2018 Osun governorship election as a walk-over for the party. In a news conference on Saturday in Osogbo, the leader of the group, Mr Wale Adebisi, said that the direct primary reduced manipulation and inducement of voters with money, observing that it would strengthen internal democracy. From all variables and indices available to us on the field, the direct primary is actually the best so as to encourage internal, all inclusive democracy, because every party member is involved. It eliminates the emerging trend where aspirants camped delegates and bribe each with huge amount of money. It also eliminates manipulation to a large extent. We hereby encourage every other political party to embrace this process of direct party primary so as to improve the internal democracy of the party politics which will gradually reduce the issue of financial inducement. Direct primary election process truly attests to the fact that democracy is truly for the people. Irrespective of all shortcomings and drawbacks observed during the exercise, the process is still the best because it is transparent, free and fair, he said. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that direct method was used in conducting APC primary in all the 332 wards across the state. A direct primary is a process whereby all card carrying members participate in the process of choosing the flag bearer of the party. Investigative judges have already denied several requests for bail. The request came after the first accuser, Henda Ayari, was questioned with Ramadan present for the first time by judges on Thursday. Lawyers for both said judges uncovered discrepancies on the dates of the alleged assaults in Ayari's account, which prompted the request to drop the charges. Ayari, a feminist activist who previously adhered to the strict Salafist branch of Islam, had told investigators that Ramadan raped her at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Paris on May 26, 2012. But investigators later determined she was attending her brother-in-law's wedding in Rouen, northern France, on that date, prompting Ayari to admit she could not remember the exact date. In a three-page ruling seen by AFP, the judges said that despite her "uncertainty" about the dates, "the serious or collaborated elements which prompted the charges remain." It also found the testimony given by his second accuser, identified in the media only as Christine, "has proved to be exact." Last month the judges dismissed a third rape allegation against Ramadan by a French Muslim woman who accused him of raping her nine times between 2013 and 2014. Kosovo declared independence a decade later but is still not recognised by Serbia. The two governments recently resumed EU-mediated talks to normalise relations, which Brussels has set as a condition for the entry of either country into the 28-member bloc. As negotiations between their presidents drag on, speculation has swirled in the media of a proposal that would see Kosovo trade a northern region home to its ethnic Serb minority for a part of southern Serbia dominated by ethnic Albanians. There has also been talk of dividing Kosovo into separate entities along ethnic lines. Yet Kosovo's premier made his opposition to that deal clear when asked about it by a reporter on Friday. "Division for me is war, I say this without hesitation and it is dangerous to talk about division," Haradinaj told reporters. A day earlier he insisted that there would be "no division, exchange of territories or change of borders". International observers have also cautioned that a land swap could be calamitous in a conflict-scarred region still simmering with ethnic tensions. In an interview on Thursday published on the website of the US Embassy in Kosovo, ambassador Greg Delawie declined to comment on his stance regarding a possible territory exchange. "I'm not going to get at what could be the elements of a deal, of an agreement, at this point. I dont think that is really helpful," Delawie said according to an official transcript. The 1998-1999 war in Kosovo ended after a NATO bombing campaign forced troops under command of Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic to withdraw. Around 120,000 Serbs are estimated to still live in Kosovo, with Muslim Albanians making up the vast majority of the population of 1.8 million. The PiS insists the changes tackle corruption and overhaul a judicial system still haunted by Poland's communist era. But the opposition, democracy watchdogs and the European Union have warned they undermine judicial independence, the rule of law and ultimately democracy. The new legislation, passed in a vote of 230 to 24 with four abstentions, speeds up the process of choosing a successor to Supreme Court chief justice Malgorzata Gersdorf. It allows a replacement to be chosen when 80 judges are appointed to the Supreme Court, down from 110, in a near-full roster of its 120 justices. The legislation is expected to pass easily in the Senate before being signed into law by PiS-allied President Andrzej Duda. 'Chief justice in exile' "I'll be the chief justice in exile," Gersdorf told reporters Friday in Karlsruhe, Germany's judicial capital, where she was invited to speak. The new legislation comes amid weeks of turmoil over the forced early retirement of Supreme Court judges under a law lowering their pension age from 70 to 65. The law, which came into effect two weeks ago, affects 27 of the court's sitting 73 judges including Gersdorf, who is 65. Slamming the measure as a "purge" that breaches her constitutionally guaranteed six-year term ending in 2020, Gersdorf has refused to go, saying, "I'm fighting for the rule of law". Gersdorf won backing from Europe's top judicial and bar authorities as well as rights groups. 'Sad day for democracy' Insisting, however, that Gersdorf was "no longer the Supreme Court chief justice", PiS Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told parliament that "we need this law to break the deadlock," ahead of Friday's vote on the measures to speed her replacement. The opposition insists the PiS law "destroys the rule of law" in Poland by putting the courts under political control. Other critics accuse the PiS of attempting to stack the Supreme Court -- responsible for guaranteeing free and fair elections -- ahead of autumn local elections. "It's a sad day for Polish democracy," liberal opposition leader Grzegorz Schetyna said. Meanwhile the EU has launched legal action against Poland over the controversial Supreme Court retirement rules introduced by the PiS that could end up in the European Court of Justice (ECJ), where the bloc's top tribunal can strike them down. Brussels also triggered Article Seven proceedings against Poland in December over "systemic threats" to the rule of law posed by the judicial changes, which could eventually see Warsaw's EU voting rights suspended. Adding to the chaos, new details emerged this week about the communist past of Supreme Court judge Jozef Iwulski, who agreed to "stand in" for Gersdorf during her recent holidays, while the PiS and President Duda regard him as the interim Supreme Court chief justice. Communist-era court documents quoted by Polish media suggest Iwulski took part in kangaroo court trials that sent dissidents to jail, something the 66-year-old said he "cannot recall". Gersdorf dismissed criticism of Iwulski's activity in military courts during the Communist Party's brutal 1981 martial law crackdown on the Solidarity trade union. The sanctions, which will seek to bar foreign companies from doing business with Iran and block its oil sales abroad, have alarmed Turkey which has a strong trade relationship with its neighbour and imports Iranian crude. "Our relevant authorities are carrying out necessary work for Turkey not to be negatively impacted by the upcoming sanctions," the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement. "Within this framework, we had discussions with the US delegation visiting Turkey," it said, without giving further details. It added that "Iran is an important neighbour for Turkey, in view of both our bilateral economic and commercial relations as well as our energy imports." Turkish officials have vowed to continue trading with Iran despite the sanctions, which the former economy minister Nihat Zeybekci in May described as an "opportunity". Asking not to be named, a US official acknowledged that the sanctions were "a very important and potentially contentious issue between the two governments." He said the delegation had come "to make clear what the implications of our sanction legislation are, so there are no misunderstandings and confusion." "The earlier we have these high level talks..., the less likely we are to wander into new areas of disagreement out of ignorance," said the official. Relations between Turkey and the US have already been strained after a Turkish banker who helped Iran evade US sanctions was convicted in the US in January. Mehmet Haka Atilla was convicted after well-connected Turkish-Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab, arrested in the US in 2016, became a government witness and admitted involvement in a multi-billion-dollar gold-for-oil scheme to subvert US economic sanctions against Iran. During his testimony, Zarrab implicated President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other officials in the scheme. In May, a Manhattan court sentenced Atilla to 32 months in jail. Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! RadioLIVE Drive co-host Lisa Owen is off on holiday, so in the meantime, Ryan Bridge has been welcoming a new guest host every day, ACT Party leader David Seymour was in the hot seat on Friday in his first-ever full on-air radio session. The Drive duo discussed the free speech debate following Auckland Council's ban on two right-wing speakers from a council venue, along with the consequences of freedom camping in New Zealand. Dont miss the moment where Mr Seymour takes a cheeky bite of a pastry, but is quick to be called out by his co-host for eating on-air. Watch the first hour of Drive with guest co-host David Seymour. Drive with Ryan Bridge and David Seymour, filling in for Lisa Owen, 3pm - 6pm Weekdays and streaming live on 'rova' channel 9 - available on Android and iPhone. RadioLIVE. A BBC One science documentary will employ the latest police cold-case techniques to these gruesome Jack the Ripper murders. 130 years ago, the most infamous serial killer of all time began his reign of terror in the East End of London. Between August and November 1888, five horrifically violent murders took place in Whitechapel. The victims were all poor or working-class women. A huge manhunt ensued involving hundreds of officers, but Jack the Ripper was never caught. Yet Donald Sutherland Swanson was the detective in charge of the investigations into the so-called Whitechapel Murders and in fact identified the perpetrator as Aaron Kosminski.In the new programme, produced by BBC Studios , actor Emilia Fox and Professor David Wilson, Emeritus Professor of Criminology at Birmingham City University, will be joined by some of the UKs top forensic and crime experts to re-analyse the murders using original crime-scene photographs and a virtual-reality dissection table. With the 21st Century technology, they hope to get closer than anyone has before to answer vital questions, including who was Jack the Ripper, what motivated his crimes, how did he escape justice and could he have been responsible for even more brutal murders?Having worked on crime drama for many years, this project has been a truly fascinating insight into how current real police procedure, forensics and technology can be applied to the most famous of unsolved historical crimes - the Jack the Ripper murders, said Fox. Working alongside Professor David Wilson, a leading expert in the psychology of criminals, we have approached it as a cold case might be investigated now, and with the help of other leading experts, have taken another look at the mind and actions of this brutal murderer. This documentary appealed to me hugely because of my interest in crime, forensics and pathology and also because it looks at the victims - the women Jack the Ripper chose and what left them so vulnerable to his brutality. Its been an immense privilege to get this behind-the-scenes insight into real crime solving on such a fascinating case.Craig Hunter, BBC commissioning editor, added: Jack the Ripper is synonymous with murder and intrigue even if you dont know all the details, you will have heard of the case. It is remarkable to think that todays scientific techniques can be used to help try and tackle unanswered questions which are more than a century old. The political war being waged against President Trump is both despicable and effective. Despicable because the basis of the animus alleged collusion with Russia in the 2016 election has no basis in fact, and effective because it is perpetrated by the U.S. legal and intelligence community who, in the minds of most Americans, are seen as defenders of the United States. The indictments by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein of Russian intelligence officers allegedly involved in the 2016 presidential election was rather transparently meant to undercut Trump and his summit with Vladimir Putin. Instead it looks like payback to the administration for having the temerity to question the intelligence communitys assessment that Russia interfered in the election. The indictments gave lie to the assertion that the Justice Department and the intelligence community are not political. These indictments were meant for domestic political consumption. Their purpose was to arm the presidents political enemies with the on-going charge of Russian involvement in his election and to undercut his presidency. The central campaign in this political war has been to pit Trump against the intelligence community. Needless to say, many within the various agencies, including the CIA, FBI and NSA, are devoted public servants with the best interest of the country at heart and who do their jobs honestly and effectively. But many are also committed leftists in whom progressivism, anti-Americanism, multiculturalism, and moral relativism are deeply embedded. Witness that this is the same intelligence community that had been led, under President Obama, by CIA chief John Brennan -- who admitted in a polygraph test that in 1980, at a dangerous point in the Cold War, he voted for Communist Party candidate Gus Hall for president. That the Communist Party USA was loyal to the Soviet Union should be lost on no one. That Brennan would have been allowed to run the Central Intelligence Agency is itself nothing short of amazing. Such was the lack of moral and intellectual seriousness exercised by Congress during the Obama administration. That he should call President Trumps press conference with Putin nothing short of treasonous is the act of an intelligence operative who wishes to bring down a government. Both Brennan and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper are hard-core leftists who, although they lacked any credible evidence, lent credibility to this notion of Russian collusion and hence gave credence to the Mueller investigation. It appears that their purpose was to signal to Washingtons ruling class that the intelligence community was going to resist the transformation of American politics that the election of Donald Trump had ushered in. Even stranger, that ruling class is now the protectorate of the US intelligence community. The testimony and actions of the FBIs Peter Strzok bear this out. For the record, let us state that Russia meddles in the affairs of the United States and has done so for the past century. It is what a great nation would do to influence world events to its liking. Russian intelligence services are masters at manipulations great and small. When called upon they can do everything from foment domestic insurrections to sponsor terrorism while ensuring plausible deniability. Hacking into the DNC servers is not quite so challenging. At the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union annually spent billions in an attempt to demoralize the United States and undermine the West. Its method was to engage in sophisticated disinformation campaigns and deception operations around the Korean and Vietnam Wars, the cultural conflicts of the 60s and 70s, and the campaign for nuclear disarmament, to name but a few. During that time, Soviet intelligence had agents of influence in Washington and around the U.S. In this effort, the Soviets had thousands of university professors, left-wing intellectuals and journalists who were useful idiots in the anti-Americanism that pervaded Washingtons political discourse, and the universities that educated Americas children. The world we live in today and many who lead this country on the political left have been shaped by this anti-Americanism. Such is world politics. As I have written previously, it was not in the interest of Russia to help elect a candidate like Donald Trump, who had pledged to rebuild the American military, build a national missile defense, and guarantee total energy independence. Each is antithetical to the strategic and economic interests of Russia. If Trump gets just one of these three things right, and he is likely to get all three, it will have dramatic negative ramifications for Russias position in the world. Trumps bold announcement recently about a Space Force capable of ensuring American security against Russia and China is further evidence of that. If Hillary Clinton had won, Russia would have had to deal with a liberal interventionist who had demonstrated little strategic comprehension of world affairs. This is the same Hillary Clinton whose behavior as secretary of state was a daily exercise in collusion and general malfeasance. In that role, Clinton, with her unsecured server, laid bare the inner workings of the Obama State Department to the Russians, Chinese, Iranians, and every other enemy intelligence service. She also saw no problem in using her office as a fundraising arm of the Clinton Global Initiative, allowing her husband to collect speaking fees from countries doing business before her, including Russia. All things considered, the Russians know well how to manage crooked politicians. A Hillary presidency would have been a dream come true. As it stands, the Russians are being charged with hacking into computer systems and manipulating various internet sites and social media to somehow give Donald Trump the advantage. The purpose of Russias interference is perhaps exactly how it has played out: the creation of a useful narrative that can be exploited in the press and the U.S. intelligence community to undermine the president and somehow foster the despicable meme that he and his family are traitors. The unfortunate part is that the intelligence community took the bait. Given the political leanings of Brennan and Clapper, it is not surprising. This political war is far from over. Thankfully, Donald Trump is not giving an inch to his political enemies. Unfortunately, despite their lack of success, his enemies are not giving in either. Most likely, this is the best-known picture of a flag ever taken: Buzz Aldrin standing next to the first U.S. flag planted on the Moon. For those who knew their world history, it also rang some alarm bells. Only less than a century ago, back on Earth, planting a national flag in another part of the world still amounted to claiming that territory for the fatherland. Did the Stars and Stripes on the moon signify the establishment of an American colony? When people hear for the first time that I am a lawyer practicing and teaching something called space law, the question they ask most frequently, often with a big smile or a twinkle in the eye, is: So tell me, who owns the moon? Of course, claiming new national territories had been very much a European habit, applied to non-European parts of the world. In particular the Portuguese, the Spanish, the Dutch, the French and the English created huge colonial empires. But while their attitude was very Europe-centric, the legal notion that planting a flag was an act of establishing sovereignty quickly stuck and became accepted worldwide as part and parcel of the law of nations. Obviously, the astronauts had more important things on their mind than contemplating the legal meaning and consequences of that planted flag, but luckily the issue had been taken care of prior to the mission. Since the beginning of the space race the United States knew that for many people around the world the sight of a U.S. flag on the Moon would raise major political issues. Any suggestion that the moon might become, legally speaking, part of U.S. backwaters might fuel such concerns, and possibly give rise to international disputes harmful to both the U.S. space program and U.S. interests as a whole. By 1969, decolonization may have destroyed any notion that non-European parts of the world, though populated, were not civilized and thus justifiably made subject to European sovereignty however, there was not a single person living on the moon; even life itself was absent. Still, the simple answer to the question of whether Armstrong and Aldrin by way of their small ceremony did transform the moon, or at least a major part thereof, into U.S. territory turns out to be no. They, nor NASA, nor the U.S. government intended the U.S. flag to have that effect. The first outer space treaty Most importantly, that answer was enshrined in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, to which both the United States and the Soviet Union as well as all other space-faring nations, had become a party. Both superpowers agreed that colonization on Earth had been responsible for tremendous human suffering and many armed conflicts that had raged over the last centuries. They were determined not to repeat that mistake of the old European colonial powers when it came to decide on the legal status of the moon; at least the possibility of a land grab in outer space giving rise to another world war was to be avoided. By that token, the moon became something of a global commons legally accessible to all countries two years prior to the first actual manned moon landing. So, the U.S. flag was not a manifestation of claiming sovereignty, but of honoring the U.S. taxpayers and engineers who made Armstrong, Aldrin, and third astronaut Michael Collins mission possible. The two men carried a plaque that they came in peace for all mankind, and of course Neils famous words echoed the same sentiment: his small step for man was not a giant leap for the United States, but for mankind. Furthermore, the United States and NASA lived up to their commitment by sharing the moon rocks and other samples of soil from the lunar surface with the rest of the world, whether by giving them away to foreign governments or by allowing scientists from all over the globe to access them for scientific analysis and discussion. In the midst of the Cold War, this even included scientists from the Soviet Union. Case closed, no need for space lawyers anymore then? No need for me to prepare University of Nebraska-Lincolns space law students for further discussions and disputes on the lunar law, right? No space lawyers needed? Not so fast. While the legal status of the Moon as a global commons accessible to all countries on peaceful missions did not meet any substantial resistance or challenge, the Outer Space Treaty left further details unsettled. Contrary to the very optimistic assumptions made at the time, so far humankind has not returned to the moon since 1972, making lunar land rights largely theoretical. That is, until a few years ago when several new plans were hatched to go back to the moon. In addition at least two U.S. companies, Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries, which have serious financial backing, have started targeting asteroids for the purpose of mining their mineral resources. Geek note: Under the aforementioned Outer Space Treaty, the moon and other celestial bodies such as asteroids, legally speaking, belong in the same basket. None of them can become the territory of one sovereign state or another. The very fundamental prohibition under the Outer Space Treaty to acquire new state territory, by planting a flag or by any other means, failed to address the commercial exploitation of natural resources on the moon and other celestial bodies. This is a major debate currently raging in the international community, with no unequivocally accepted solution in sight yet. Roughly, there are two general interpretations possible. So you want to mine an asteroid? Countries such as the United States and Luxembourg (as the gateway to the European Union) agree that the moon and asteroids are global commons, which means that each country allows its private entrepreneurs, as long as duly licensed and in compliance with other relevant rules of space law, to go out there and extract what they can, to try and make money with it. Its a bit like the law of the high seas, which are not under the control of an individual country, but completely open to duly licensed law-abiding fishing operations from any countrys citizens and companies. Then, once the fish is in their nets, it is legally theirs to sell. On the other hand, countries such as Russia and somewhat less explicitly Brazil and Belgium hold that the moon and asteroids belong to humanity as a whole. And therefore the potential benefits from commercial exploitation should somehow accrue for humanity as a whole or at least should be subjected to a presumably rigorous international regime to guarantee humanity-wide benefits. Its a bit like the regime originally established for harvesting mineral resources from the deep seabed. Here, an international licensing regime was created as well as an international enterprise, which was to mine those resources and generally share the benefits among all countries. While in my view the former position certainly would make more sense, both legally and practically, the legal battle by no means is over. Meanwhile, the interest in the moon has been renewed as well at least China, India and Japan have serious plans to go back there, raising the stakes even higher. Therefore, at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln we will need to teach our students about these issues for many years to come. While ultimately it is up to the community of states to determine whether common agreement can be reached on either of the two positions or maybe somewhere in between, it is of crucial importance that agreement can be reached one way or another. Such activities developing without any law that is generally applicable and accepted would be a worst-case scenario. While not a matter of colonization anymore, it may have all the same harmful results. Frans von der Dunk, Professor of Space Law, University of Nebraska-Lincoln This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. , We're sorry, this article is not currently available It's the mining world's biggest dilemma: everyone's hunting for copper deals, but even the richest producers just can't pull the trigger. The largest miners all say they're bullish on copper and looking for growth in the metal that's forecast to be in ever-greater demand as cities expand and electric vehicles gain traction. The industry has deep pockets for deals right now -- Rio Tinto Group may end the year having raised $8.5 billion from asset sales and rivals like BHP Billiton and Glencore are churning out massive profits. So what's the problem? For a start, nobody who owns a copper mine wants to give it up. Even when Glencore and Anglo American were crippled by debt during the 2015 commodity slump, neither was willing to entertain an offer from Rio for their holdings in the giant Collahuasi deposit in Chile, according to people familiar with those talks, who asked not to be identified. When it comes to listed companies, there aren't that many options -- U.S.-based Freeport-McMoRan and Canada's First Quantum Minerals are among the only copper-focused producers of any real size. "Any company with half a balance sheet is not going to be selling a copper asset at this point," said Richard Knights, an analyst at Liberum Capital Markets. "The only place they can extract value is development assets, where they buy and develop themselves." Despite the growing cash piles, mining companies and their investors will be wary of pricey deals after much of the industry got burned by overpaying for assets during the last commodities boom. Still, copper's appeal may be tough to resist. "There's no question" that both Rio and larger rival BHP Billiton would look at big copper deals, said Knights. "They would have to pay up though, that's where investor support and and management conviction could waiver.'' And at the smaller end of the market, Lundin Mining Corp. showed Monday that going hostile might be the only way. The company made a $1.1 billion all-cash offer for Nevsun Resources, the owner of the prized Timok copper-gold deposit in Serbia, after its previous attempts were spurned. Here's how things might shake out among the world's biggest miners: - Rio Tinto: Rio is best-positioned to capitalize on potential deals. The company is making more cash then it knows what to do with, has almost no debt and, aside from a simmering dispute in Mongolia, none of the distractions dogging its rivals. Rio agreed to sell its interest in the Grasberg copper and gold mine for $3.5 billion last week, and has pending coal and aluminum sales also set to close this year. Rio approached Anglo and Glencore in 2015 with an offer for their holdings in Collahuasi, which is one of the world's most profitable copper mines, but was quickly rebuffed by both companies, according to the people familiar with the matter. All three companies declined to comment. Today, Rio is keeping a "watching brief" on potential M&A and would like to add more copper, Chief Executive Officer Jean-Sebastien Jacques said in a Bloomberg TV interview last week. Still, the company's appetite for big deals is uncertain. The No. 2 miner may prefer working with a partner on any acquisitions and focusing on smaller opportunities. It would also need to sell any deal to skeptical shareholders. - BHP Billiton: BHP is also cash rich and keen for more copper. Yet it's got more pressing concerns in the form of activist shareholder Elliott Management Corp. and an ongoing sale process for its $10 billion shale business. The biggest miner has also stated that big deals are not its priority, with new Chairman Ken Mackenzie saying earlier this month that the asset portfolio will be close to ideal once the U.S. oil and gas assets have been sold. - Glencore: The world's most acquisitive miner, Glencore is currently facing a probe from U.S. authorities that may dampen its ability to pursue big deals. The company will spend up to $1 billion buying back its own shares this year to soothe the fallout from the probe. - Anglo-American: Anglo's response to the lack of opportunities has been to build its own new copper mine, with the company's board set to approve a new $6 billion project in Peru. While partner Mitshubishi Corp. will help share the burden of funding, the large price tag makes the London-based miner unlikely to make any big purchases. Anglo's own copper assets might be of interest though. India's LiveMint reported this month that top shareholder Anil Agarwal is considering a plan to split the miner's South African assets into a new company, citing unidentified people. Such a deal would leave the rump of the international business dominated by copper and diamonds. TORRINGTON William G. Bill Battle, a Torrington resident who was often an outspoken advocate for children, economic development and education, died Friday. A funeral service is scheduled for Saturday, July 28 at 11 a.m. at Workman Memorial AME Zio Church in Torrington, at 60 Brightwood Avenue. Battle was a former economic development commissioner and was U.S. Sen. Joe Liebermans campaign coordinator for the primary and general election in 2006. He served on the board of directors for the local community group CAFTA. Teresa Graham-Sullivan, executive director of Connecticut Academy of the Arts in Torrington, was shocked by word of her friends death. Battle and his wife, Darlene, were regulars at CAFTA for its Friday night international film forum. Hes been part of the fabric of CAFTA for many years, and he was definiltely the reason we started our international film forum on Fridays, Graham-Sullivan said. He really enjoyed it. He loved anything intellectual and artistic, talking about ideas ... when I think of Bill, I think of someone who loved the idea of learning. He loved to read, and he was a champion for education. Even after he left office, Battle took an interest in city politics and especially the schools and how they were run, frequently attending and speaking at public meetings. He often wrote letters to the editor and op/ed columns in the local newspapers about his political views and what he thought needed to change in the community, including keeping Latin at the high school as it is the language of scholars. To create our brand, we must, I believe, market ourselves as ready for prime time, celebrating our educational excellence that will attract young families to want to live in Torrington while we revive our new iteration of business, art and industry, Battle wrote in a 2015 letter to the editor. Battle moved to Torrington from New Haven in 2003. At a 2011 forum, where he was honored for his contributions to the community, he spoke of Torringtons familial atmosphere and the receptive ears of town leaders that helped the city rebuild after the industries left, and helped keep crime rates down. Something dawned on me, Battle said after his initial meetings with then-Mayor Ryan Bingham. The old guys wouldnt listen to me, but the young guys would. Upon learning of Battles death, Bingham wrote a tribute on Facebook about his friend. There are a few people in your life that are not related to you but have an impact on your life like they were family, Bingham wrote. Bill Battle was one of those people to me while serving our great city and afterwards. He was passionate about Torrington, its health, safety and future, and more importantly he was willing to get involved to help. He was a great Torringtonian and has left behind a wonderful family that he cared deeply about. My heart is with the Battles today and my prayers are with you Bill. ... You will be missed dearly. He was the best such a big heart, Bingham added. He had a great sense of humor. Graham-Sullivan said she and others at CAFTA jokingly called him the flaneur, the first definition of which, according to Wikipedia, is a literary type from 19th-century France, essential to any picture of the streets of Paris. The word carried a set of rich associations: the man of leisure, the idler, the urban explorer, the connoisseur of the street. Battle was a voracious reader, she said, and loved to discuss a good book. He was a very special human being, Graham-Sullivan said. Hell be missed. He touched many in different parts of the community. He attacked ideas, but never people. He loved having a good argument, but it was about the ideas, not the person. Battle, 82, and his wife, Darlene, have one son, Darnell, who began his first year at Yale University in fall of 2017. His sons acceptance to Yale was a great source of pride for Battle, and everyone who knew him knew that, Graham-Sullivan said. His dream was to see Darnell graduate (from Yale), but he did get to see him go there, and that meant a lot, she said. That was his pride and joy. Matt DeRienzo, former publisher of the Register Citzen, came to know Battle well during his years working in Torrington, in the newsrooms on Water Street and then on Field Street, both where Battle was a frequent visitor. DeRienzo regarded Battle as an engaged citizen who made sure the newspapers reporters were aware of what was going on in the city. He recognized the crucial role the local newspaper and the media played, DeRienzo said. He not only made our jobs easier, but he provided motivation to the reporters, because he showed us that readers were acting on the information that we helped facilitate to make the community better. Thats what was important to him. JoAnn Ryan, executive director of the Northwest Connecticut Chamber of Commerce, was saddened to hear of Battles death. From the moment I met Bill when he moved to Torrington, we connected, she said. He brought with him the experiences of economic development from New Haven. I was so fortunate that he shared his stories and kept a close eye on what we were doing at the Chamber. We were happy to discover that his lovely wife, Darlene, and I both received our degrees from Albertus Magnus in New Haven. Ryan appreciated Battles input on local issues in Torrington. Bill served on the Economic Development Commission and certainly made us aware of what we needed to accomplish, she said. Above all, he made Torrington his community and we are the better because of Bill. My heart goes out to Darlene and their wonderful son who continues to make Torrington proud. Rick Dalla Valle, a longtime member of the Republican Town Committee, was a close friend of Battles. He and I went through some crazy things together politically, and we didnt see eye to eye, but we never argued, Dalla Valle said. I met him the day he moved here. His son went through Forbes School with my daughters oldest son and my wife was a substitute teacher there. Theyre a great family. Dalla Valle remembered Battle as someone who wanted to help Torrington do better. He had a lot of good ideas, coming up from New Haven, and wed talk about economic development, but sometimes I had to say to him, Youre not in New Haven anymore, youre in Torrington. He had different opinions, and we talked a lot. He wanted to see Torrington do better; thats all he ever wanted. A registered Democrat, Battle took part in election gatherings on both sides of the aisle, Dalla Valle said. During elections, hed come down to the Republican headquarters and eat with us, even though he was a Democrat, because his wife was a Republican, he said. He just wanted to talk to people about politics. Hell be sadly missed by a lot of people, he said. The sextoy market is growing quite rapidly in India right now. Although it is not a big trend, it is a hot topic on the internet as it is secretly expanding its market. In this article, we will focus on sextoy and introduce recommended sextoy for Indian beginners of sextoy by gender. India, the birthplace of the Kama Sutra, is very strict about sex. Also, premarital sex is basically not allowed. Therefore, there are many people who are sexually restricted. But what happens when you continue to be sexually restricted? Frustration may build up and you may end up taking your sexual stress out on your partner. If you are able to adopt sextoy in a timely manner, you can get rid of those problems. I want to have more exciting sex than Im having now. I want more variation in masturbation I want to get even stronger pleasure than I do on my own. If you have any of these problems, please stay with me until the end. What is sex toys for Indian? Sextoy, as the name implies, is a toy used during sex and masturbation. It is a generic term for vibrators, Egg-vibrators, Electric massagers, dildo, handcuffs and condoms. They are used to make regular sex more exciting or to make masturbation more pleasurable. Because sextoy is very stimulating, it can help you to get rid of the problems and frustrations of being in a rut of sex with your partner for a long time, or if you are unhappy with the lack of pleasure in sex with your partner. The ability to satisfy your desires with movement, texture, and size, which cannot be done by a normal human being, can help you to be satisfied with sex and, as a result, improve your relationship with your partner. It is also said to help improve sexual dysfunction (inability to get an erection or ejaculate) and difficulty in feeling during sex (insensitivity), which is attracting more attention than in the past. In recent years, the demand for sextoy has increased due to the spread of smartphones and the Internet and the increasing number of people using online shopping. Even those who are concerned about the appearance of sextoy (and find it difficult to purchase) can now easily obtain it by using mail order. In the case of online shopping, most of the stores have taken steps to ensure that the contents of the products delivered to you are not revealed, so you can purchase them without your family members knowing. Until a while ago, you had to go to the store where the adult goods were sold to buy them, so it was quite a hurdle to overcome. Also, many people may have an image that sextoy is somehow embarrassing to own. But nowadays, some of them are so stylish and cute that you cant believe they are sextoy at a glance. More and more people are using them for travel and outdoor use because they are not too bulky and are suitable for carrying around. Sextoy situation in India Before introducing the recommended sextoy for Indians, lets talk about one of the sextoy situations in India in recent years. In India, due to the high concentration of population, the following six cities have particularly high sales of sextoy in India. Mumbai Kolkata Bangalore Delhi Chennai Hyderabad These cities account for roughly 70 percent of sextoy sales in India. In the future, the percentage of sextoy use will gradually increase in other cities in India as well. If you never talk about sextoy publicly, that girl in your neighborhood might be a sextoy user too. If you are interested in sextoy, you dont have to suppress your desire for it. What are Sextoys for beginner? Among all sextoys, sextoy for beginners are vibrators, dildo, masturbators, Sex Lubricants, and condoms. Sex Lubricants and condoms, which are familiar to people who have had sex, are also a great beginners sextoy. I will explain the details of each toy later, but there are many sextoy products that are painful to use and can only be used after some anal expansion. I assume that the Indian readers of this article are people who have not had much experience with sextoy. If such people use professional sextoy suddenly, they are at risk of injury or trauma. Therefore, to introduce sextoy, you need to start with a beginners version and gradually become familiar with it. Advantages of using sextoy for Indians There are three advantages of using sextoy for Indians You can masturbate in a wide variety of ways. Can have stimulating sex Can develop new sexual zones If you try to masturbate with your own fingers or hands, it tends to be a pattern. However, with sextoy, you can easily masturbate in a variety of ways. You will definitely be fascinated by the attraction of new stimulation. Also, your daily sex life will be more exciting than ever. There are many things in sextoy that are visually stimulating and give you a strong and intense feeling of pleasure. This allows you to see your partners promiscuity in a way that you wouldnt normally see it. When you are in a relationship, sex with your partner may become a pattern, but it can also eliminate these problems. It can also lead to the development of new sexual zones (which is the training of sexual stimulation to allow you to feel orgasms). For more information on the development of new sexual zones, see the following articles [Women's Erogenous Zone]How to find and develop, 7 hidden sexual zones !![In India] In this issue, we will dissect the female erogenous zone! ..." Many of you may be like that. Men, in particular, shou... Thus, the use of sextoy can only be a good thing for the men and women of India. Sextoy for beginner men in India So, lets continue with the recommended goods for Indian sextoy beginners. For ease of understanding, we will introduce them by gender. Lets start with the men! The following five goods are recommended for novice Indian sextoy men Masturbator Cock rings Love Doll Sex Lubricants Toys for the prostate Lets check each one in detail. Masturbator The masturbator is a sextoy for men that elaborately reproduces a womans vagina, mouth, and anus, and is one of the most popular sextoy products. It is used by men to masturbate, and it is popular because it provides stronger stimulation and pleasure more easily than using hands. Most are made of good quality silicone, and their softness is something that cannot be achieved with ones own hands. They can provide stronger pleasure than a real womans vagina, so be careful not to overuse them. (You wont be able to have an orgasm in a womans vagina anymore.) Again Male masturbators are a wonderful toy. I do not need any favourite timing, bothersome bargaining. You do not have to worry too much. Revolutionize your masturbation time! ! ! Made in Japan is a wonderful kinky toy.#sextoysindia #SexToyIndia #Japanhttps://t.co/4k70QGzoTP pic.twitter.com/tRVdxTKPpa SEXToys India PR (@SextoysIndia) November 12, 2018 Some of them are disposable, while others can be washed and used over and over again, so its fun to buy a few to use depending on your mood. If you want to know more about masturbator, please click here Really pleasant male masturbation and how to do it Are you in a rut with your daily masturbation routine? I'm going to show you five ways men masturbate that you might ... [For Beginners] How to choose and use a male masturbator without fail Gentlemen.Have you ever used a masturbator? The person who sees this article is probably the one who has not experien... Cock Ring A cock ring is literally a ring-shaped sextoy that is worn on a mans penis. It maintains an erection by binding the penis with a ring of rubber and blocking blood flow. It is sometimes used as an accessory to be worn on the penis, and may be made of metal or plastic as well as rubber. In some cases, cock rings have parts or vibrators attached to them that stimulate the vagina, so they kill two birds with one stone, giving a woman pleasure while maintaining an erection. Cock rings are also sometimes used to treat erectile dysfunction. It can help with erectile dysfunction, where the penis doesnt get hard when you get an erection or doesnt last long when you try to insert it. Men who are prone to breakage or who are unsure of the hardness and size of their erections can use a cock ring to increase the size of their penis and maintain an erection for a longer period of time. Cock rings vary in price from around RS700 to over RS2000 with a vibrator function. Some of them do not fit your penis, so you should check the size of the cock ring before you buy. You should know the size of your partners or your own penis when it is erect. [Penis enlargement] What is a cock ring? Types and usage Cock rings can make your penis bigger and harder. It also makes sex with women more fulfilling and increases your sat... Love Doll Love dolls, also known as Dutchwives, are dolls with the appearance of a woman who can experience simulated sex. There are dolls that look like a woman, but they have no face and only have their breasts and lower torso cut off, and some dolls are so realistic that they can actually be mistaken for real women. Some expensive dolls can cost more than 1 million yen, and the quality of the doll is easily influenced by the price. The higher the price, the higher the quality of the doll will be, the closer it will be to the real woman, and the cheaper the doll will be, the less elaborate it will be, making it look like a real doll! Something is wrong! That is also true. You cant go wrong if you choose a balance between price and taste. There are stores that allow you to make custom-made love dolls, so you can create a girl of your choice. You can make a girl of your choice. You can start with inexpensive love dolls at first, and once you get used to it, you can try custom-made love dolls. If you want to know more about Love doll, please click here Thorough explanation of the charm of sex dolls! Have you ever heard of sex dolls that are used primarily for pseudo-sex purposes? It is a doll that is quite close to... Sex lubricants Sex lubricants are used as a substitute for lubricating fluid during sex or as a lubricant for men to use masturbator rules. It is not uncommon for women to have difficulty getting wet, depending on their physical condition, or to have difficulty getting wet due to their constitution. Forcing the penis into the vagina at such times can cause painful intercourse. There are various types of Sex Lubricants, some with a warming effect, some with a cooling effect, and some with a scent. Changing the Sex Lubricant used during play is recommended as a good sex accent. If you want to learn more about Sex Lubricants, click here. What is sex lubricant?Explain the difference and usage of each ingredient The word "sex toy" may seem like a hurdle to overcome, but lotion is actually one of the most familiar sex toys. Many... Toys for the Prostate Another sextoy for men is prostate toys. The most famous prostate toys include Enemagra, which was originally a prostate massager developed by an American urologist to treat an enlarged prostate line. Modern prostate toys are imitations of Enemagra that have spread as sextoy for men. Many people think of prostate toys as being used by gay men, but in fact they are often used by straight men. What is the prostate? The prostate is an organ found only in men. It is a walnut-sized organ located deep in the pelvis, just below the bladder, and its primary role is to protect and nourish sperm. You cannot touch the prostate gland from outside the body, but you can touch it by inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus. By inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus and touching the prostate and developing it, you can feel intense orgasms. Orgasms felt in the prostate are mainly dry orgasms, which are orgasms that do not involve ejaculation. (You can also feel orgasms with ejaculation through prostate stimulation.) The prostate is called the male G-spot, and dry orgasms can be much more intense than ejaculation. Therefore, men who are able to develop a prostate can become addicted to the pleasure. sextoy for beinner women in India The following are the recommended goods for Indian women who are new to sextoy. The following three are recommended for use by women who are new to sextoy. Vibrator. Dildo Electric Masserger Lets check out what each one is in detail. If you want to check out womens toys, click here. [BEST25]Sex Toys for Women in IndiaThat Can Help You Have an Orgasm There are many women who pretend to feel orgasm during sex. But don't worry, you don't have to pretend to feel orgasm... Vibrators A vibrator is a sextoy that vibrates with an Egg-Vibrator to provide stimulation and is often referred to simply as a vibrator. Some vibrate as well as rotate, and there are many variations of sextoy. It is quite a popular sextoy, and is well recognized by people who do not know much about sextoy. Its usage is similar to that of a massager, but it is more compact and easier to carry than a massager, and many of them look as cute as a lipstick or a macaroon, so they are popular among women. For a while, a famous influencer on twitter said, This is good! You may have heard of the topic of this article by introducing the recommended vibrators. Vibrators are great for women to use on their own, but they are also recommended for men who have difficulty satisfying women with sex. Since it is powered by electricity, it is far less tiring than moving your hands by yourself. This makes it easier to satisfy a woman with sex because you can caress her for longer than usual. Vibrators are mainly used on the female side, but they can also be used on men. When used on men, they are used to attack the nipples and glans, and in both cases it is recommended to wear a condom for hygiene reasons. Introducing how to use the vibrator, its purpose, and how to choose it! Vibrator uses the vibrations caused by the rotation of the motor to provide stimulation. It is one or two of the most... Dildo A dildo is a model sextoy made to mimic a male penis. It can be made of silicone, elastomer (think of it as a material similar to PVC), metal or glass. A dildo can be used by a man for his female partner during sex, or by a woman for masturbation to get pleasure from it. They are mainly inserted into women, but some can be used in the male anus as well. It is sometimes used synonymously with vibrators, but the vibrator is not the same thing as a vibrating device. A model of a penis that does not vibrate is a dildo. Some of them have suction cups that can be attached to the floor or wall so that you can enjoy realistic masturbation without using your hands. For fun, there is a dildo made in the shape of your partners penis. This one is also popular as a gift, and if youve been together for a long time and are having trouble finding a gift for your partner, you might want to pick one. To learn more about dildo, please click here. What is Dildo: Orgasms with Dildos for Men and Women A dildo is a model of a male organ that is used by women for masturbation and by men to stimulate the prostate gland. Th... Electric Masserger A Electric Masserger is a hand-held electric massager, also known as a handheld massager, and can usually be purchased at electronics stores. It was originally designed to relieve stiff shoulders and back pain, so the hurdle of buying one in a physical store is quite low. Many people may have seen or used it in some form or another, as it is often installed in leisure hotels. Such a massager is highly recommended for beginners because it is easy for women to get pleasure from it when they use it during masturbation. It is larger than Egg-Vibrator and vibrations are stronger than those of Egg-Vibrators and vibrators, so even just hitting the clitoris can give you a great deal of pleasure. For those women who have never had an orgasm during sex with their man, the massager may be a good way to get a feel for what it feels like to have an orgasm. It looks and feels like an electric massager, so you wont have to feel awkward if your roommate finds out. If you are in a rut of having sex with your partner, if you want to feel an orgasm through masturbation, or if you are thinking of using a sextoy, why dont you try it from a simple massager? To learn more about Electric Masserger, click here. What is a massager? Introducing types, selection methods, and usage Originally, the Magic-wand vibrator and the massage machine were sold as a home massage machine used for the back and th... How to choose a sextoy for Indian Now that weve covered the different types of sextoy, heres how to choose one. Especially if you are trying sextoy for the first time, pay attention to the following three points: Does the size fit you (the partner)? Does the size fit you (your partner)? Is the environment able to produce sound without problems? Price range First of all, the choice of size is quite important. Most sextoy are used against or inserted into the genitals, but the genitals are very delicate organs for both men and women. For this reason, using an inappropriate size may cause damage. Secondly, the environment should be able to produce sound without problems. Some sextoys not only wear, but also rotate and vibrate. Its easier to get pleasure from something that moves than something that doesnt, but the fact that it moves means that the internal rotors make some noise. If you live in a house with thin walls or if you have roommates, you may not be able to concentrate because of the noise, so it is best to choose one that is silent or has a low noise level. Especially in India, where many people live with their families, it is very important that you dont have to worry about sound when you use it. Finally, there is the price range. The price range of sextoy ranges widely, from around RS500 at the cheapest to RS10,000 or more at the highest. Its good to consider how much money you can afford and how much you want to buy. Do you want your family to not find out about sextoy? I live with my family and want to use sextoy without them finding out! If you are a man, you should buy a camouflage sextoy that does not look like a sextoy at first glance. For men, there are many masturbators that do not look like a sextoy, and for women, there are vibrators that only look like cosmetics. If you choose such a type, youll be safe in case your family members find out. How to buy sextoys in India The best way to purchase sextoy is through online shopping. For more information on how to purchase sextoy, please see the article below. Sextoy is one of them. Therefore, you can easily get sextoy in India by using online shopping. SexToysINDIA is a long established and stable sextoy store and you can have sextoy delivered to any place in India. They also offer cash on delivery, so those who are worried about shopping with a credit card do not have to worry. Of course, the latest security is in place, so your information will not be taken out when you use your credit card. To begin with, many people may be concerned about whether they are legally allowed to purchase sextoy. ikmAs it turns out, its not illegal. Right now, it is not open to the public because the Indian adult market is still in the development stage, but it will gradually spread from now on. Take advantage of sextoy and open the door to new pleasures and culture. Cautions for Indians using sextoy When using sextoy, keep the following three things in mind Keep sex toys clean Watch out for electrical leakage Beware of the heat generated by the body while using a sex toy As I mentioned earlier, many sextoy products are used for the delicate zone. Therefore, it is most important to keep the sextoy itself clean. It is very important to keep the sextoy itself clean, because if a slight scratch is created by friction, bacteria can enter and breed there. It is safe to wear a condom when using the masturbator, just in case. In addition, many sextoy devices are powered by a power source, so if they are not waterproof, there is a possibility of electric shock or malfunction due to wetness. Some may even develop heat during continuous use. If the fever becomes too much, you may get burned, so be careful. If you get a fever during use, stop driving the sextoy immediately and refrain from using it. You will enjoy sex more if you keep it safe and use it correctly. Summary What did you think? In this article, we have introduced the recommended sextoy for the beginners of sextoy in India. The sextoy market is growing rapidly in India and it will continue to grow steadily in the future. As India is a rather closed-minded country, it can be difficult to be open about ones sexual habits and values. However, being faithful to ones desires by properly dissolving ones sexual desire is very effective for ones physical and mental health. If this is your first time to learn about sextoy, or if you are interested in using sextoy, why not give it a try? Indian Sextoys for ur best! will introduce you to sextoy and other trivia about sextoy, sexuality, and sexuality for men and women. I want to read more! If you think its a great idea, please bookmark it. U.S. President Donald Trumps director of national intelligence (DNI) says he did not mean to be disrespectful toward the president when he responded to news that Russian leader Vladimir Putin would likely soon visit the White House. Dan Coats on July 21 issued a statement after U.S. media reported Trump was angry with an interview that Coats gave at the Aspen Institute security forum in Colorado on July 19, when he laughed and at times appeared to mock the president. Some press coverage has mischaracterized my intentions in responding to breaking news presented to me during a live interview. My admittedly awkward response was in no way meant to be disrespectful or criticize the actions of the president," Coats said in his statement. "I and the entire intel community are committed to providing the best possible intelligence to inform and support President Trumps ongoing efforts to prevent Russian meddling in our upcoming elections, to build strong relationships internationally in order to maintain peace, denuclearize dangerous regimes, and protect our nation and our allies," Coats added. In the televised interview, the 75-year-old Coats said he wished Trump had not met one-on-one with Putin and expressed disappointment that Trump had publicly undermined U.S. intelligence agencies. He was on stage when he was informed by MSNBC journalist Andrea Mitchell about Trump inviting Putin to a second summit in Washington. "Say that again. Did I hear you?" he asked, while chuckling and appearing confused. "OK. That's going to be special." Trump has faced sharp criticism from U.S. lawmakers -- including key Republicans -- and others who denounced his performance at a joint press conference with Putin following their Helsinki meeting. Trump appeared to give credence to denials by Putin that Russia had interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election or was planning to act similarly in the future, despite the conclusions of U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies and congressional committees that Moscow intervened in the 2016 election with a state-directed campaign of e-mail hacking and public opinion manipulation. Many critics also complained that there was no record of agreements, if any, that were reached between the two during their one-on-one meeting. During his presidential campaign and into his presidency, Trump has consistently said he seeks better relations with Russia and Putin in particular. With reporting by Reuters, AP, and Politico Congressional aides say legislators are abandoning an effort to crack down on Chinese telecom giant ZTE, deferring to a White House deal to save the company despite accusations that it violated U.S. sanctions and sold sensitive technology to Iran and North Korea. A provision reimposing tough sanctions on the company on July 20 was dropped from a massive defense policy bill that House and Senate negotiators are drafting, provoking outrage from senators who had sponsored the Senate's provision to get tough on the company. ZTE was almost forced out of business when the Commerce Department in April barred the company from buying components for its cells phones and other equipment from U.S. suppliers, citing alleged violations of U.S. sanctions against Iran and North Korea. The company's move to shut down operations -- potentially destroying thousands of jobs in China and the United States -- prompted President Donald Trump in May to negotiate a new deal to save the company with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The White House announced in June that it would lift the ban on ZTE, allowing the company to stay in business, if it paid another $1 billion in fines for its alleged sanctions violations and shake up its management. In recent days, the company has moved to comply with the new deal, prompting the department to lift the ban. Senator Marco Rubio (Republican-Florida), an architect of the anti-ZTE language in the Senate's version of the defense bill, said on Twitter he was surprised that House and Senate leaders negotiating over the bill "caved so easily" to the White House's wishes. Senator Mark Warner (Democrat-Virginia) called the removal of the penalties on ZTE "a huge mistake." "Beyond frustrated that Republican leaders are caving to the Trump Administration's demands on ZTE. This can only make our country less safe," he tweeted. Both lawmakers are members of the Senate Intelligence Committee and have raised concerns about the Chinese company and the White House's approach to it. But Congress was pressured by the White House on the matter, with lawmakers saying the administration demanded removal of the Senate ZTE provision, which would have essentially reversed the White House reprieve for the company. The House version of the defense bill is not as punitive on the company, requiring only that the U.S. government refrain from purchasing anything from ZTE. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (Democrat-New York) charged that the decision to defer to the White House was just another example of Trump "being weak" against foreign leaders "while Republicans just follow along." "By stripping the Senate's tough ZTE sanctions provision from the defense bill, President Trump -- and the congressional Republicans who acted at his behest -- have once again made President Xi and the Chinese government the big winners and the American worker and our national security the big losers," he said. With reporting by AP and AFP France and Russia will jointly deliver humanitarian aid to the former Syrian rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta, the two countries announced in a joint statement. A Russian cargo plane arrived late on July 20 in Chateauroux in central France to load 50 tons of medical equipment and essential goods provided by France, to be transported to the former rebel area which was recaptured by Syrian troops this spring. Undertaken as part of a UN Security Council resolution, "the aim of this project is to enable civilian populations better access to aid," the statement said. It is the first joint humanitarian aid operation between Russia and a western country. The French foreign ministry said that the cargo plane is headed towards Russia's Hmeimim air base in western Syria and the aid will be distributed on July 21 under the supervision of the UN's humanitarian aid office. The aid aims at treating 500 seriously wounded people and 15,000 others with more minor injuriies. "Humanitarian assistance is an absolute priority and must be distributed in accordance with principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality ,and independence across all Syrian territory without exception, where international humanitarian law must be fully respected," the joint statement said. The French ministry said it secured "guarantees" from Russia that the Syrian government would not obstruct distribution of the aid, and that it would not be misappropriated or diverted for political purposes. Damascus regained control of Eastern Ghouta, a rebel enclave on the outskirts of the Syrian capital, in April, ending a five-year siege. More than 1,700 civilians were killed during the Syrian army's operation there. According to the Russian military, more than 160,000 people, both military and civilians, were evacuated from the region. Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on July 21 backed President Hassan Rohani's suggestion that Iran may block oil exports from the Persian Gulf if its own exports are stopped. Khamenei's website said Khamenei supported Rohani's statement earlier in July that "if Iran's oil is not exported, no regional country's oil will be exported." The website said Rohani's comments were "important remarks that reflect the policy and the approach of [Iran's] system." Rohani's apparent threat to disrupt oil shipments from neighboring countries came in reaction to imminent U.S. sanctions and efforts by Washington to force all countries to stop buying Iranian oil. Iranian officials have in the past threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, the oil sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and one of the world's most strategically important choke points, in retaliation for any hostile U.S. action. If the Strait of Hormuz was successfully blocked at its narrowest point, a 54-kilometer wide waterway between the coasts of Iran and Oman, it would cut off sea shipments of oil by Iraq, Saudi Arabi, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The Gulf coastal areas of those countries contain the largest source of crude oil in the world. Tehran has harshly criticized the decision in May of U.S. President Donald Trump to unilaterally pull the United States out of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers and reimpose sanctions. Khamenei told officials in Iran's Foreign Ministry earlier on July 21 that it would be an "obvious mistake" to negotiate with the United States because Washington is unreliable. "The word and even the signature of the Americans cannot be relied upon, so negotiations with America are of no avail," Khameneis official website quoted him as saying. During the past week, with Khamenei and other hard-liners questioning whether Tehran should continue honoring its obligations under the nuclear deal after Trumps decision, Iran announced it is continuing to acquire uranium and is close to finishing a plant where it can build more centrifuges to enrich uranium. Vice President Ali Akbar Salehi, who heads the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, said Iran will continue adhering to the nuclear deal and that the country's stepped up nuclear activities will remain within the limits set by the accord. Iran also filed a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against the United States on July 18 in response to Trumps decision. Iran says its nuclear program is strictly for civilian purposes, while Washington has accused it of attempting to develop nuclear weapons. Trump said during a NATO summit earlier in July that with the U.S. increasing sanctions on Iran, he expected Iranian negotiators at a certain point to call me and say, 'Let's make a deal, and we'll make a deal." But Irans Foreign Ministry responded by saying that if Trump wants to negotiate after pulling out of the international agreement, he would have to "initiate the call himself" because Irans top leadership is now rejecting any talks with the United States. With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, Al-Jazeera, and Tasnim Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has complained to his U.S. counterpart, Mike Pompeo, about the U.S. detention of Russian national Maria Butina on charges of conspiracy and acting as an unregistered foreign agent. During a July 21 telephone conversation, Lavrov told Pompeo that Butina had been arrested on "fabricated charges" and called for her immediate release, according to a statement posted by the Russian Foreign Ministry. Butina, 29, has been accused of attempting to infiltrate political groups, including the powerful National Rifle Association, to advance Russian interests. She is being held in Washington without bail. "Lavrov emphasized that the steps of the U.S. administration, which arrested Russian citizen Butina in the United States based on fabricated charges, are unacceptable and that she should be released as soon as possible," the statement said. According to the Foreign Ministry, the two ministers also discussed bilateral relations in the wake of the July 16 summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The diplomats "exchanged opinions on the perspectives of the further development of relations between our countries with the goal of normalizing them on an equal and mutually beneficial basis," the statement said. Also on July 21, the Russian Council for Civil Society and Human Rights sent a letter to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights urging it to take whatever measures you consider best to defend Butinas rights. Relations between the two countries have been strained since Moscow's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region. In response to that and to Russia's political, military, and economic support of a separatist campaign in parts of eastern Ukraine, the United States, the European Union, and others have imposed sanctions against Russia. The Helsinki summit was the first meeting between the leaders of the two countries since then-Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev met in Prague in 2010. Lavrov and Pompeo also reportedly discussed the situations in Syria and in North Korea during their telephone conversation. The Russian Foreign Ministry's statement said the July 21 conversation took place "at the initiative of the United States." Irans semiofficial Tasnim news agency reported on July 21 that militants killed 10 soldiers from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) during an overnight attack near the border with Iraq. It was the latest deadly clash in an area of Iran where armed opposition Kurdish groups are active. Tasnim quoted an IRGC statement as saying that several of the attacking "terrorists" also were killed in the fighting and that an ammunition depot was blown up. Irans Fars news agency said the clash involved Iranian border guards. Earlier, provincial security official Hosein Khosheqbal told Iranian state television that 11 members of the IRGCs Basij forces were killed in the overnight violence in the Marivan area. Khosheqbal blamed the attack on militants from the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK) -- an outlawed Kurdish armed opposition group that seeks self-governance for Irans Kurds and has links to Turkeys outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). PJAK operates in the border area along with other armed Kurdish groups that are based in northern Iraq. There is little coordination between Iranian and Iraqi forces over security of the porous border that has also been used by Islamic State (IS) militants to infiltrate Iran. Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, Fars, and Tasnim Russia's government has summoned the Greek ambassador in Moscow to protest Athen's expulsion of two Russian diplomats, in the latest episode of a diplomatic spat stemming from Macedonia's plans to become a NATO member. The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it summoned Ambassador Andreas Friganas on July 20 to express a "decisive protest against continued anti-Russian statements by the Greek side." Greece last week expelled the Russian diplomats from Athens and barred two other Russian envoys from entering the country, charging that they helped fund protests against a settlement of a longstanding name dispute between Greece and Macedonia that has accelerated Skopje's bids to join NATO and the European Union. Moscow has denied trying to block the settlement by helping to foment protests against it by opposition parties in both Greece and Macedonia, but it has severely criticized the agreement and its goal of facilitating Macedonia's NATO ambitions. Russian Ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov on July 20 called the agreement legally "dubious," Russian news agency Interfax reported. Earlier this week, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the Greek government of participating in "dirty provocations" against Moscow, and promised a "tit-for-tat" response to the expulsions. The Greek Foreign Ministry in response denounced what it called "the constant disrespect for Greece" coming from Moscow and said it "must stop." Macedonia is one of several Western Balkan nations that have ambitions to join NATO and the EU. Russia strongly opposes NATO expansion in the area, which during the Soviet era was under Moscow's orbit of influence. Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, and Interfax The Russian Defense Ministry says it has sent a proposal to Washington to jointly organize the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland following agreements reached between the Russian and American presidents at their summit this week. The ministry said on July 20 that it sent Washington a proposal for drawing up a joint action plan to bring Syrian refugees living in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and elsewhere back to the places where they lived before Syria's civil war broke out in 2011 -- a goal repeatedly espoused by U.S. President Donald Trump since taking office. "Specific proposals on how work could be organized to ensure that refugees can return home have been sent to the American side," senior ministry official General Mikhail Mizintsev said in a statement. He said the proposals "take into account the agreements reached by the Russian and American presidents during their meeting in Helsinki" on July 16. The summit included a two-hour meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin during which they discussed Syria, Ukraine, and other world affairs with no staff present other than interpreters. Little is known publicly about what was said or agreed to in that meeting. But U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed on July 20 that the return of Syrian refugees had been part of the presidents' talks. "There was a discussion between President Trump and President Putin about the resolution in Syria and how we might get the refugees back," Pompeo told reporters at UN headquarters in New York. "It's important that at the right time, through a voluntary mechanism, the refugees are able to return to their home country," he said. "There is lots of work to do to figure out how to implement that, but the United States certainly wants to be part of helping to achieve that resolution in Syria." Washington and Moscow back opposing sides in the Syrian war, with Russia's intervention on the side of President Bashar al-Assad having helped turn the conflict in favor of the government, particularly in the last year. The proposed joint plan of action on refugees is remarkable in that it appears to presuppose that the war is coming to an end without a negotiated settlement and the country is now in a resettlement and reconstruction phase -- a view often espoused by Russia but not previously openly endorsed by Washington. Assad's troops, backed by Russian air power, have made substantial gains on the battlefield in the last year, including retaking rebel-held areas in the largest cities of Aleppo and Damascus, and most recently regaining control of Syria's frontier with Israel and Jordan -- gains which were all made possible by Russian-brokered surrender agreements with rebel groups. In addition to putting forward a plan to deal with Syria's refugee problem, Mizintsev said Russia has also suggested forming a joint group with the United States to finance the reconstruction of Syrian infrastructure, which he said in most cities has been 70 percent destroyed by the war. "The Russian proposals are currently being examined by the U.S. side," he said. Russia has frequently sought help from the West to help resettle and rebuild Syria, but Western nations in the past have refused to assist in efforts that did not involve the UN or proceed from UN-sponsored efforts to negotiate a settlement of the conflict. The proposed deal with Trump may be the first to officially endorse Russia's leading role in efforts to rebuild and resettle the country without UN involvement and with Assad still fully in control of the government. In the refugee resettlement plan, Mizintsev said Russia has proposed setting up a joint Russian-U.S.-Jordanian monitoring group in Amman and a similar group in Lebanon -- two of the countries where most of Syria's estimated 6 million refugees are living in refugee camps. The Russian ministry estimates that over 1.7 million Syrian refugees would be able to return to Syria in the near future, including an estimated 890,000 refugees from Lebanon, 300,000 from Turkey, and 200,000 who are living in European Union countries. While most refugees fled to neighboring countries, thousands sought to start new lives in Europe and the United States, with an unprecedented wave of migrants from the embattled country contributing to a historic migrant crisis in Europe in 2015 and 2016. Since taking office, Trump has put a high priority on stemming the flow of refugees from Syria, claiming they represent a security threat to the United States and its allies. One of his first acts was to issue an executive order temporarily halting the U.S. refugee program for Syrians and barring the entry of all other visitors from Syria and six other mostly Muslim-populated countries. Putin has frequently criticized Europe's effort to take in and accommodate the hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees who have sought asylum there, while Trump has called for efforts to make it possible for the migrants to return home. The U.S. and Russia currently have a communications link in Syria to avoid accidental military clashes, but the Russian proposals to work on refugee resettlement and rebuilding together would significantly expand their cooperative efforts. With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and Interfax Thousands of people turned out at a funeral ceremony in Almaty on July 21 to bid a final farewell to Kazakhstan's Olympic figure skating medalist Denis Ten, the 25-year-old athlete and national hero who died in an Almaty hospital two days earlier after being stabbed with a knife during an assault. In Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, a simultaneous memorial ceremony was attended by hundreds of others. Two police officers in the Kizilyurtovsky District of Russia's volatile Daghestan region were killed on July 20 when their patrol was attacked by gunmen, a police spokesman said. The Muslim-majority republic borders Chechnya, where Moscow has waged two wars against separatists since the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, and security forces there often face militant violence. "One was killed at the spot, another died in hospital when gunmen attacked the police patrol from a car," the spokesman said. The number of attackers was not known. In February, a man shot into a crowd leaving a church in Daghestan, killing five people and wounding at least five others. Based on reporting by Reuters and TASS KYIV -- When it comes to the court system in Belarus, "you don't get a fair chance," says journalist Dzmitry Halko. The Belarusian got an inside look over the past few weeks, during which he was arrested, put on trial, convicted of assaulting a police officer, and then sentenced by a Minsk court on July 17 to four years of "limitation of freedom." "Limitation of freedom," in Halko's case, means he will serve his four-year term in a guarded dormitory and work regular hours at a production facility chosen by the penitentiary authorities. In theory it is a step down from a regular prison, where prosecutors had asked for him to be put away for three years. Halko believes his sentence may, in fact, be "worse." "I will have to pay [to stay at the guarded dormitory]. I will have to work somewhere I don't want to. And pretty soon it can be turned into a real prison [sentence] because of some petty 'violations,'" Halko says in his first interview since his arrest. 'I Feel Trapped' Halko, a journalist and fixer who has reported on the conflict in eastern Ukraine for Western, Ukrainian, and Belarusian media, spoke to RFE/RL over Facebook Messenger on July 19, using the computer of a friend with whom he is staying in Minsk while he appeals his sentence -- an effort he believes is important but futile. The 38-year-old married father of three expects to remain free for at least several weeks, or even a couple of months, until a court decides on his appeal. The chance of the court overturning the sentence is slim to none. "I feel trapped," Halko says. International rights groups have denounced the sentence and demanded that Belarus let Halko go free. "We call on Belarusian authorities to immediately release independent journalist Dzmitry Halko," said the Committee to Protect Journalists' Europe and Central Asia research associate, Gulnoza Said. "Belarus has never been a safe place for independent reporting, but jailing Halko is a new stain on official Minsk's reputation as one of the world's most repressive societies." The calls have gone unanswered by Belarusian authorities. RFE/RL was unable to reach the Interior Ministry for comment for this story. 'It's Not Easy To Hold Up' Halko is barred from leaving Minsk and must make himself available to police at a moment's notice during the appeal process. The prospect of doing four years of what is essentially forced labor and living in close quarters with convicts weighs heavily on his mind. "It's not that easy to hold up. But I am a strong man," Halko says. "I've been through the war in Donbas, after all." Halko says his health is fine and he was not physically harmed while in pretrial detention, despite the rough conditions. "Just intimidated to some extent," he adds. Halko says police officers called him names, like "banderovets," a term derived from the name of the late Ukrainian nationalist leader Stepan Bandera that is often used to smear Ukrainians or Ukrainian supporters who criticize Russia, and "Navalny," referring to Aleksei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader and Kremlin critic. 'Pure Provocation' About the incident that landed him in trouble, Halko says it was a "pure provocation" on the part of police. The authorities' story is this: After responding to a noise complaint by neighbors about Halko's apartment, where he was hosting a birthday party for his teenage son, the journalist assaulted two police officers, grabbing one by the arm. Halko tells it like this: "There was absolutely no clear and rightful reason for the police to invade the apartment. And I never tried to attack them or be rude at my doorway. Quite the contrary, I opened the door, talked to them politely, promised to show my papers. And just after I turned away to go for the papers inside, they ran into the apartment, pushing me." "Then they started to talk about 'drug stash or porn studio,' something like this," Halko says. "I said c'mon, really? Let's have a look then, if it's all about this kind of stuff." And at some point after inviting the police officers inside his apartment, one of the officers began to videotape the teenage partygoers, which angered Halko. He says he told the officers that to "videotape the minors you have to get [permission from] their parents first." "I began trying to stop him from filming," he explains, saying that the officer "covered the camera with my hand." That's when the officer started to yell: "There's an attack here!" according to Halko. "Two additional officers rushed inside, then another two, then...gosh...SWAT," Halko says, using the American term for a heavily armed special elite unit. In Belarus, the unit is called OMAN. The teenagers at the party backed Halko's story, The Kyiv Post newspaper reported. Shrug. 'It's Belarus.' At the trial, the police officers who arrested Halko were not called to testify. But the prosecutor gave statements from them about what occurred at the apartment that contradicted each other, Konstantin Charukhin, a friend of Halko's who attended his trial, told RFE/RL. Halko says his lawyer had "tried her hardest to help me...But the system is soooooo corrupted." "It's Belarus, after all," he says. 13 killed when combi slams into parked truck Ecatepec, State of Mexico The government of the State of Mexico says that a combi accident that occurred in the early morning hours of Friday has left 13 dead. The accident happened at 5:00 a.m. when a public combi van hit the back of a parked dump truck at high speed. Reports say the combi, which was carrying a load of passengers, tried to pass a car while traveling at excessive speed along the Mexico-Pachuca highway. The driver of the combi ended up crashing into the back of a broken down dump truck that was parked along side the highway. The government of the State of Mexico says that so far, 13 people have died and another 8 were taken to area hospitals. They report that 12 people died at the scene, with one more, a woman, dying after being transferred to a Mexico City hospital. The General Directorate of Federal Autotransport says the accident occurred at kilometer 18 of the Mexico-Pachuca Highway in Ecatepec, when Jose Luis N, who was driving the combi, tried to pass a car using the right lane. Instead, he encountered the parked dump truck. Emergency personnel were on scene until 11:30 a.m. Traffic was heavily affected. The driver of the parked dump truck was reported injured. He was also arrested and remains under guard at an area hospital. Investigations continue. Puerto Aventuras says no water for more than a week Puerto Aventuras, Q.R. Residents of Puerto Aventuras say they are more than eight days without water due to failure on the part of authorities. Antonio Hernandez Marrufo Antonio Hernandez Marrufo, delegate of Puerto Aventuras, says the town is fed up with the negligence of authorities. He says that even though they have made complaints, no one supports them. Were fed up, but we cannot do anything. Who do we fight against, Aguakan, CAPA? he said adding, If you stop paying them, they come to cut the service and then want you to pay interest and more. Hernandez Marrufo says that Aguakan is only saying that theyre working on the problem, but without giving a real solution to the issues that the families of Puerto Aventuras are living through. He says they have made complaints, and that the only pipes that have arrived were sent by the municipal government, not by the water commission. Two years ago, residents of Puerto Aventuras blocked the federal highway in protest of a lack of water in the town. Residents of Holbox demand security after string of robberies Holbox, Q.R. Residents of the island of Holbox resorted to protesting after a slew of robberies have left them feeling unsafe. On Friday, residents of the island protested outside the mayors office demanding better security. Signatures were collected from locals who want the police and ministerial authorities to put an end to the wave of house and business thefts. Jenny Escobedo, administrator of the Golden Paradise hotel, said that although they have reported being robbed several times, the authorities do not take any action. I hope that now they do take action on the matter because the public could take other more drastic measures that can affect the image of Holbox, she said. In the height of high season, she said robberies are occurring almost every day, mostly in the early hours when people are sleeping. Due to a lack of budget, the Attorney Generals Office in Holbox was shut down several months ago which now forces people to lodge complaints in Kantunilkin, which residents say, only stays on paper. Home Minister Rajnath Singh Countering the opposition attack on the BJP-led government over instances of mob lynching, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the 1984 anti-Sikh riot was "biggest" such incident. Speaking on the lynching incidents, one of the issues cited by the opposition to attack the government, Singh said the Centre will provide whatever assistance required but the state governments should take stringent steps to curb such incidents. "The biggest incident of the mob-lynching happened during 1984," Singh said, referring to the anti-Sikh riot that took place in the aftermath of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination in October 1984. The minister said the government has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and assured that justice would be given to the Sikh community. Speaking on the opposition-sponsored no-confidence motion, Singh said the opposition had doubt about who will be the leader and what will the policies be. Advertisement Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination "Against whom are you bringing no-confidence? The appeal of the prime minister is such that several people gave up the gas subsidy after he urged them to do so. "They (the opposition) do not trust each other. And when it comes to talking about the leadership, then 'gayi bhains paani mein (they lose their steam)," Singh said. The minister said the BJP has made a mark in states like Kerela and won Tripura by a two-third margin, which was unthinkable some time ago. Expressing displeasure for introducing the no-confidence motion despite numbers favouring the NDA, he said the BJP never thought of doing so while it was in opposition from 2004-2014 as it was convinced that Manmohan Singh was safe. He also took a dig at the Congress saying former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had ridiculed the BJP for having two MPs in the Lok Sabha in 1984, but "one should not be arrogant as time changes and the same party has a majority in Parliament." Advertisement 1984 anti-Sikh riots Hitting out at Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's 'Hindu Pakistan' remark, the senior BJP leader said, "Where do they (Congress) want to take the country and what does it want India to become. "Here, there is talk about Hindu Taliban. India is the only country where minorities are prospering. Do they not want such an India," the Home Minister said. Singh said the pride of the country has risen due to the steps were taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India has climbed the table of being the largest economy from number 9 to number six over the last four years. Referring to India's membership in the Missile Technology Control Regime club in 2016, Singh even China has not been able to become a member of the elite club. Caparol Paints, the German leader in the global paints industry, said it had recently hosted a delegation of interior designers from China at its state-of-the-art facility in the UAE. The 28-member strong delegation was here to learn about the interior design industry in the UAE and the Middle East as a whole, said the German firm in its statement. They were given a tour of the Caparol UAE facility along with expert insights into the products developed by the company. The Caparol team also gave them valuable insights into the local market and a peek into other countries in the region, it stated. Caparol products including ArteTwin, Makhmalia, Armareno, DecoLasur, ArteLasur, Stucco Di Luce and Metallocryl interiors, which make up the decorative paints in the vast portfolio of product ranges, were showcased to the delegates. Managing director Martin Roshocha said: "At Caparol, we believe that knowledge-sharing is important for growth. Our understanding of the interiors and paint industry in the UAE and Middle East has only grown stronger over the years.' "As a leading player in the global paints industry, we understand the needs of people for their spaces around the region. Having developed our product ranges in-house with an up-to-date research and development team, we believe that providing insights into the industry to fellow interior designers is a rare and great opportunity. We hope to continue doing this and hosting delegations from more countries in the UAE," he added. Heba Ali, the design studio manager at Caparol, said: It was our pleasure to host such a talented delegation of interior designers from China. We showcased Caparol products while also giving them insights into the industry here." "The delegation was impressed with our product range and were very excited to learn about our decorative paints. We look forward to hosting more such groups in the future," he added.-TradeArabia News Service A new online portal has been officially launched by Denis Manturov, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, for the second edition of the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS), to be held next year in Russia, said a report. GMIS is the pioneering cross-industry forum that aims to unify the world in shaping the future of manufacturing. The unveiling of the #GMIS2019 portal took place at INNOPROM 2018, Russia's Industrial Trade Fair, launching a one-year countdown to #GMIS2019, reported state news agency Wam. Announced by the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, during the plenary session at the recent St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), the summit will coincide with the 10th staging of INNOPROM and will be held in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg in July 2019. The summit which will continue to build on the success and momentum generated by its inaugural event held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, last year, will promote the development of a roadmap for the future of manufacturing across the world, with economic and social development at its core. A global audience of government and business leaders, as well as representatives of nongovernmental organisations, academics and biologists, will engage in debates, plenary sessions and workshops on nature-inspired technologies, also known as biomimetic design and biomimicry, to highlight innovative strategies and designs that advance sustainable industrial development, and collaborate on global initiatives that are designed to empower and inspire the next generation of manufacturing entrepreneurs, innovators and pioneers, added the report. The UAE government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China concerning joint co-operation on the Silk Road Initiative and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative, said a report. The deal was inked by Dr Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State, and He Lifeng, Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) during the landmark state visit of President Xi Jinping of China to the UAE. It will contribute to facilitating exchange and integration of commodities, technology and capital through mutual education and co-operation, reported state news agency Wam. Also the agreement will advance concerted development and joint progress in areas of economy, community, environment and other sectors, stated the report. ''The MoU is a clear indicator of the strong ties between the UAE and China and underscores the commitment of leaderships in both friendly countries to further consolidate their joint action to serve mutual interests and interests of the region and the world as well,'' remarked Dr Al Jaber. ''The MoU reflects the longstanding friendship between the UAE and China as well as cooperation and ambition of the governments in several fields,'' said the minister. The agreement underscores the political will of the Emirati and Chinese leaderships to jointly promote the Belt and Road Initiative with the aim of elevating the spirt of the Silk Road for peace, openness and mutual education and cooperation in a manner that serves mutual interests, he added. Many technology companies are working on artificial intelligence systems that can analyze medical data to help diagnose or treat health problems. Such systems raise the question of whether this kind of technology can perform as well as a human doctor. A new study from MIT computer scientists suggests that human doctors provide a dimension that, as yet, artificial intelligence does not. By analyzing doctors' written notes on intensive-care-unit patients, the researchers found that the doctors' "gut feelings" about a particular patient's condition played a significant role in determining how many tests they ordered for the patient. "There's something about a doctor's experience, and their years of training and practice, that allows them to know in a more comprehensive sense, beyond just the list of symptoms, whether you're doing well or you're not," says Mohammad Ghassemi, a research affiliate at MIT's Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES). "They're tapping into something that the machine may not be seeing." This intuition plays an even stronger role during the first day or two of a patient's hospital stay, when the amount of data doctors have on patients is less than on subsequent days. Ghassemi and computer science graduate student Tuka Alhanai are the lead authors of the paper, which will be presented at the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society conference on July 20. Other MIT authors of the paper are Jesse Raffa, an IMES research scientist, and Roger Mark, a professor of health sciences and technology and of electrical engineering and computer science. Shamim Nemati and Falgun Chokshi of Emory University are also authors of the study. How to measure feelings Doctors consider a huge number of factors -- including symptoms, severity of illness, family history, and lifestyle habits -- when deciding what kinds of exams to order for their patients. In addition to those factors, Ghassemi, Alhanai, and their colleagues wondered whether a doctor's "gut feelings" about a patient also plays a role in their decision-making. advertisement "That gut feeling is probably informed by a history of experience that doctors have," Ghassemi says. "It's sort of like how when I was a kid, my mom could just look at me and tell that I had done something wrong. That's not because of something mystical, but because she had so much experience dealing with me when I had done something wrong that a simple glance had some data in it." To try to reveal whether this kind of intuition plays a role in doctors' decisions, the researchers performed sentiment analysis of doctors' written notes. Sentiment analysis, which is often used for gauging consumer attitudes, is based on computer algorithms that examine written language and tally positive or negative sentiments associated with words used in the text. The researchers performed their analysis on the MIMIC database, a collection of medical records from 60,000 ICU patients admitted to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston over a 10-year period. This database includes doctors' notes on the patients as well as severity of illness, diagnostic imaging exams, and several other factors. The researchers wanted to determine what, if anything, the doctors' notes added on top of the information available in the medical records. They computed sentiment scores from the notes to see if there was any correlation with how many diagnostic imaging tests the doctors ordered for patients. If medical data alone was driving doctors' decisions, then sentiment would not have any correlation with the number of tests ordered. However, the researchers found that when they accounted for all other factors, the doctors' sentiments did indeed help predict how many tests they would order. This effect was strongest at the beginning of a patient's hospital stay, when doctors had less medical information to go on, and then declined as time went by. advertisement They also found that when doctors felt more pessimistic about a patient's condition, they ordered more testing, but only up to a certain point. If they felt very negatively about the patient's condition, they ordered fewer tests. "Clearly the physicians are using something that is not in the data to drive part of their decision making," Alhanai says. "What's important is that some of those unseen effects are reflected by their sentiment." Sentimental machines Next, the researchers hope to learn more about just what factors contribute to doctors' gut feelings. That could potentially lead to the development of artificial intelligence systems that could learn to incorporate the same information that doctors are using to evaluate patients. "The question is, can you get the machine to do something like that? It would be very interesting to teach the machine to approximate what the doctor encodes in their sentiment by using data not currently captured by electronic health systems, such as their speech," Alhanai says. The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Neuroimaging Training Grant, the Abu Dhabi Education Council, the NIH Critical Care Informatics Grant, and the NIH Research Resource for Complex Physiologic Signals Grant. A new approach to 'lazy grounding' is set to make a viable and attractive solution for many fields of industry and large multi-nationals dealing with complex systems. Antonius Weinzierl of Aalto University and Bart Bogaerts from KU Leuven have just presented their paper at a recent scientific conference on artificial intelligence, JCAI-ECAI-18 in Stockholm. For tasks with hundreds of parameters and thousands of possible combinations, solutions have long required time and effort. For example, when a freight train engine breaks down, the train operator is left with the challenge of finding a replacement engine that can pull the train's weight and is compatible with all kinds of requirements, like the track's signaling system, power grid, and track gauge. Maybe the operator has a suitable engine available, but the solution may only become clear after shuffling around several engines. In human hands, this process can take hours. 'Quickly finding a replacement saves resources across the board, because larger delays incur penalties and may even bring business to a halt,' says postdoctoral researcher Weinzierl. Yet even state-of-the-art computational methods for solving these kinds of problems have met their limits in industry. Current methods of searching for solutions that are both absolutely correct and viable require more memory than is available in today's computers. A recent method to 'ground' the computation in a way that only the most urgent and relevant tasks are taken care of -- hence the laziness -- frees up memory, but may get stuck in searching for a solution and suddenly require an unreasonable amount of time. To avoid such jams and tackle the root issue of memory consumption, the researchers have suggested a new way to pinpoint the small subset of decisions that actually contribute to a wrong turn somewhere down the line -- and ignore the rest. 'It's similar to finding your way out of a labyrinth, with or without a map. Without one, you have to explore every path and corner to find the exit. Current programmes solve complex tasks like this by first drawing a complete map of the labyrinth and only then starting to work their way out,' explains Weinzierl. But drawing the whole map takes up a lot of memory. Lazy grounding would let you navigate without a map altogether, but when you eventually wind up lost, having the right part of the map would come in handy to not get stuck. 'Our approach essentially draws a local part of the map on demand and allows you to pinpoint where exactly the initial wrong turn was and how to get straight back on track,' Weinzierl says. The paper was presented on 18 July 2018 at JCAI-ECAI-18 in Stockholm, Sweden. A STUDY RELEASED BY INSTITUTE OF OBJECTIVE STUDIES Vision-2025: Socio-economic Inequalities Why does Indias Economic growth need an inclusive agenda, edited by Amir Ullah Khan and Abdul Azim Akhtar and published by Genuine Publications and Media Pvt. Ltd. on behalf of the Institute of Objective Studies, was released by Prof. Amitabh Kundu, former Dean, School of Social Sciences, JNU at a well-attended function jointly organised by the IOS and the publisher on July 7, 2018 at the conference` hall, FTK, CIT, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. In his key-note address, Prof. Kundu, remarked that the study expressly indicated that Muslims stood deprived in every respect. In this connection, he referred to two other reports, viz., Asian Development Bank Report and the Brookings Projections carried out by Brookings Institution. There was another report commissioned by the World Bank. The ADB Report had projections till 2030. That way it was certainly more exhaustive and an improvement on the Vision-2025. Quoting from the document, he said that the percentage of Muslim urban migration had gone up to 38 from 34 percent. But the growth of Hindus slowed down. The question, therefore, was if the migration of vulnerable sections from the rural areas would grow. He said that the study revealed that the Muslim male work force was higher than the women of the community. But Muslim women too were coming to the job market. Referring to the rate of drop-outs among Muslim girls, he said that it had registered a rising trend. This was due mainly to gender disparity. Deprivation of education among Hindu girls, too, was not much different from that of the Muslims. Commenting on life expectancy, he said that Muslim women lived, longer than their Hindu counterparts. Similarly, infant mortality rate among Muslim women was less than among Hindus due to gender equality. So far as consumption expenditure was concerned, it was higher among Muslims than the Scheduled Castes population, but less than the Hindus. He said that data made available in the document must be relooked due to the nature of their variation, and be critically analysed and reused. Lauding the efforts of the IOS in collecting and using data for cross-purposes, he said that he, too, benefited from the statistics made available to him by the Institute while preparing the Post-Sachar Evaluation Committee Report, popularly known as Kundu Committee Report. The report was not made public and Narendra Modi used to call it Kundu Committee during electioneering in 2014. He said that whenever the question about the report was raised in Parliament, the government always replied that it was under consideration. He urged those interested in the study of the vision document to purchase the book, so that the IOS earned some money and prepared itself for the next report. Support TwoCircles Presenting the introductory report, Prof. Amir Ullah Khan, member, Commission of Inquiry on Socio-Economic Conditions of Muslims, Government of Telangana; explained that this journey began some 16 years ago when Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Contemporary Studies commissioned a study focused on madrasas. Scio-economic plight of Muslims and the methodology of the study was initiated by the noted statistical expert, Dr Abusaleh Shariff and perfected by Prof. Kundu. He said that the data used in the study came from the government and was supplemented by Dr. Sharif. During the course of study, the foremost question was how to rebuild the data to project the condition of Muslims 10 years later. It was also a problem to deduce conclusions at a time when some experts were already working on the inclusiveness of Muslim community. Meanwhile, there was a chance meeting with Dr. Mohammad Manzoor Alam, who encouraged him to take up the study. He admitted that after the defeat of the Congress Party in the last parliamentary elections, the new government coined attractive slogans. It was a difficult time for the community as a hostile government came to power. Explaining the scope of the study, he said that a pilot project was launched in selected cities to collect relevant data. About six workshops organised in different places focused on the issues like health, education, security, employment and political representation. He predicted that employment was going to be the greatest issue of Muslims in the next 10 years. Similarly, Muslims nurtured a secular concern today and if made to speak, they would say that these were difficult times for them. Citing the case of Telangana, one of the areas where workshops took place, he said that housing was the main issue for Muslims there unlike other apprehensions in several states. The issue of political representation of Muslims in assemblies and panchayats also formed a part of the study. One of the findings was that Muslims had the lowest representation in legislatures after Independence. One of the questions put to the respondents was if the Muslims would elect a Muslim or a Hindu representative or if Hindus would also elect a Muslim as their representative. The answer to the question was not clear. In order to determine the opinion in real terms, a large number of non-Muslims were also included in the survey. He said that questions regarding demand for increase in Muslim representation and the ways to bring them back into the political process, were also put to them. Emphasising the need for doing something tangible for the communitys employment needs, he noted that the lack of jobs hampered their progress to a great extent. The study also revealed that the number of unregistered voters among Muslims was very high. This number was abnormally high in the states with large Muslim populations. According to him, the good thing in the entire exercise was that both Muslims and non-Muslims shared the same concerns. He pleaded that more and more Muslims should be provided employment and participation in the political process. In his presidential address, the chairman, IOS, Dr. M Manzoor Alam, said that it was he who fist mooted the idea to commission a survey for projecting the period till 2025 based on the available indicators in different sect ors of economy. While talking of 2018, one must not oblivious to the situation that obtained in 1947, he pointed out. He added that though the times had since changed, the politics continued to be the same as the communal clashes in places like Bhagalpur, Ahmedabad and elsewhere haunted Muslims even today. The situation was more awful today. The function began with the recitation of a verse from the Quran by Shah Ajmal Farooq Nadwi. The proceedings were conducted by Prof. M Afzal Wani, Professor of law, GGSIP University and asstt. secretary general, IOS. A large number of scholars, economists, university teachers, research scholars, social activists and prominent citizens were present. In the early years of San Francisco, one neighborhood was synonymous with vice, crime, degradation and all-around sleaze: Sydney-Town. Sydney-Town was located in the waterfront area around Pacific and Montgomery streets, at the southern edge of Telegraph Hill. It took its name from its Australian denizens, known as the Sydney Ducks. Word of the Gold Rush led thousands of Australians to head for California. As Sherman Richards and George Blackburn note in The Sydney Ducks: A Demographic Analysis, an article in the Pacific Historical Review in February 1973, the first Australians showed up in San Francisco in April 1849. By mid-1851, a staggering 11,000 had arrived, including 7,500 from Sydney. Most of these immigrants were not criminals. But some were ex-convicts who had been transported from Britain to the penal colonies in New South Wales, later known as Australia. These ex-cons were known as ticket-of-leave men, after a document of parole showing that the possessor had served his time. As Jay Monaghan notes in his 1966 book, Australians and the Gold Rush: California and Down Under 1849-1854, the largest number of ex-cons to ship to California were not from Sydney but from the island of Van Diemens Land, now called Tasmania. In late 1849 and early 1850, more than 21 percent of immigrants from Hobart and Launceston, the two main towns on the island, were ex-cons, compared with 12 percent from Sydney. But no Americans had ever heard of Van Diemens Land, and so the expression Sydney Ducks, not Hobart Ducks, has gone down in history. The Sydney Ducks settled in San Francisco just east of a tent neighborhood called Little Chile that was populated by Chileans, Peruvians and Mexicans. Prostitution there was rampant. According to the classic 1855 book The Annals of San Francisco, The women of all these various races were nearly all of the vilest character, and openly practiced the most shameful commerce. In The Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld, published in 1933, Herbert Asbury writes, Sometimes as many as half a dozen Chileno women used the same rude shelter, receiving their visitors singly or en suite, with no regard whatever for privacy. ... A few made pretense of operating wash-houses, but there were scarcely any who did not devote the nights to bawdy carousal and to sexual excesses and exhibitions. Sydney-Town soon swallowed up this den of vice, but scarcely improved it. The district was filled with dives, gambling dens and lodging houses bearing such colorful names as the Noggin of Ale, the Hilo Johnny, the Magpie, the Bobby Burns, the Tam OShanter and the Jolly Waterman. A contemporary journalist described these places as hives of dronish criminals, shabby little dens with rough, hangdog fellows hanging about the doorways. Some Australians, familiar with convicts, immediately recognized the ticket-of-leave men by the way they walked. According to Monaghan, an Australian 49er named Davison noticed that some of these hangdog fellows walked with the peculiar swinging gait a man learns during years in leg-irons. More Information Trivia time The previous trivia question: How did the Golden Gate get its name? Answer: Explorer and politician John C. Fremont christened the strait "Chrysopylae," or Golden Gate, after Istanbul's famous Golden Horn. This week's trivia question: How many native inhabitants (called Yelamu or Ramaytush) were living in what is now San Francisco when the Spanish arrived? Editor's note Every corner in San Francisco has an astonishing story to tell. Gary Kamiya's Portals of the Past tells those lost stories, using a specific location to illuminate San Francisco's extraordinary history - from the days when giant mammoths wandered through what is now North Beach to the Gold Rush delirium, the dot-com madness and beyond. His column appears every other Saturday, alternating with Peter Hartlaub's OurSF. See More Collapse The San Francisco Herald reported, The upper part of Pacific Street, after dark, is crowded by thieves, gamblers, low women, drunken sailors, and similar characters, who resort to the groggeries that line the street, and there spend the night in the most hideous orgies. ... Unsuspecting sailors and miners are entrapped by the dexterous thieves and swindlers that are always on the lookout, into these dens, where they are filled with liquor drugged, if necessary, until insensibility coming upon them, they fall an easy victim to their tempters. According to Asbury, three of the most debased Sydney-Town dives were the Boars Head, the Goat and Compass and the Fierce Grizzly. The Boars Head featured a woman having sex with a boar, the Fierce Grizzly featured a chained grizzly bear outside the door, and the Goat and Compass was the haunt of a Sydney-Town character called Dirty Tom McAlear, whose claim to fame was that he would eat literally anything offered him for a few cents. When arrested on the novel charge of making a beast of himself in 1852, McAlear testified that he had been drunk for seven years and thought he had last bathed 15 years ago. 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 most serious charge leveled against the Sydney Ducks, and the one that finally led to the demise of Sydney-Town, was arson. Gold Rush San Francisco was devastated by no fewer than six catastrophic fires, and the Sydney Ducks were strongly suspected of starting most of them, in order to facilitate looting and burglary. When the different fires took place in San Francisco, bands of plunderers issued from this great haunt of dissipation to help themselves to whatever money or valuables lay in their way, the Annals noted. With these they retreated to their dens, and defied detection or apprehension. Outrage over the fires was partly responsible for the formation of the Committee of Vigilance in 1851, the first of San Franciscos two famous vigilante groups. In June 1851, when a Sydney Duck named John Jenkins was caught while trying to row to Sydney-Town after stealing a safe, the newly formed committee sprang into action, gave him a cursory trial, and hauled him to Portsmouth Square. As the procession passed the corner of Clay and Kearny streets, several Sydney Ducks tried to free Jenkins, but were driven back. Jenkins was hanged from a flagpole. Anther ruinous fire, also blamed on the inhabitants of Sydney-Town, soon followed. The Committee of Vigilance lynched two more Sydney Ducks, deported 14 back to Australia and ordered an equal number to leave the state on pain of death. The derelicts from Down Under realized the jig was up and fled. Many later returned, but were scattered for good by the second Committee of Vigilance of 1856, which deported a number of Ducks and scared away the rest. The squalid heyday of Sydney-Town was finished. Its place would be taken by the Barbary Coast, which will be the subject of a future Portals. Gary Kamiya is the author of the best-selling book Cool Gray City of Love: 49 Views of San Francisco, awarded the Northern California Book Award in creative nonfiction. All the material in Portals of the Past is original for The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: metro@sfchronicle.com A woman charged with killing a Chihuahua during a San Francisco auto burglary that ended with her hurling the dogs body off the seventh story of a downtown parking garage was found guilty Friday. A San Francisco Superior Court jury found Wakeen Best, 34, guilty of animal cruelty, auto burglary and vandalism after just one day of deliberation. Best was arrested shortly after the Feb. 10 incident, during which she broke into a white Mercedes on the seventh story of the high-rise parking structure at Stockton and Sutter streets and encountered a 5-year-old Chihuahua named Dunky. This defendant showed no remorse and is responsible for the death of a little, defenseless animal, District Attorney George Gascon said. This verdict is a small step toward bringing justice for Dunky. This verdict also sends a clear message that in San Francisco there are consequences for harming our beloved pets. Dash-camera footage inside the vehicle captured audio of the break-in, in which the dog is heard yelping as the car alarm blares. A voice that prosecutors alleged was Best is heard twice saying shut yo ass up! and then bitch as the yelping stops. A second recording from the camera captured Best walking in front of the car to an exit after prosecutors said she threw the dog over a nearby railing. Bests attorney, Deputy Public Defender Alexandra Pray, admitted during the weeklong trial that her client was the figure captured in the second video but argued that it was someone else who broke into the car and killed Dunky. Many San Francisco parking garages, including the Sutter-Stockton Garage, have since installed fencing, signage and more security cameras to discourage car burglars, police said. The dogs owner testified that he left the animal in the car while grabbing lunch in Chinatown and came back to see a crowd gathered around his deceased pet in the middle of the street. He then returned to his vehicle and found broken glass and blood on the seats. 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. Prosecutors played security video from the parking garage showing the dog plummeting off the building and smacking down below onto the pavement. Court records show that Best has a lengthy rap sheet of car break-ins in San Francisco and was well known to the employees of the Sutter Street garage, where she was often spotted on the seventh floor. Best was on probation for a previous auto burglary in the garage and a judge had issued a stay-away order from the area. The particularly cruel circumstances of this case spurred SFPD investigators to quickly identify the suspect from prior contacts and make an arrest, Police Chief Bill Scott said in a statement Friday. The crime came at the height of an auto-burglary epidemic in San Francisco that saw about 30,000 break-ins in 2017, the most on record. Police said auto burglaries in San Francisco are down 20 percent this year. Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky Its is a historic time in California and the Bay Area, almost like living in the middle of the Gold Rush. In a single generation, Californians have invented a whole new world. California has been powered by high tech and sweeping demographic change. Its become a state of both riches and poverty million dollar houses and tent camps, billionaires and beggars. The face of California has changed, too. The Census Bureau says that 39.1 percent of Californians are Latino, people with roots from the other side of the wall President Trump wants to build. Latinos now outnumber non-Hispanic whites, who are 37.2 percent of the population. This polyglot population close to 40 million people has built a place like nowhere else. Its amazing. Somebody should write a book. If California were a country, it would have the fifth-largest economy in the world, larger than the United Kingdom, which has 26 million more people. Los Angeles has the 18th-largest domestic economy in the world, and the Bay Area ranks 19th, just behind the Netherlands and just ahead of Switzerland. Even the Inland Empire, the vast area around Riverside, San Bernardino, Ontario and Rancho Cucamonga in Southern California, has an economy bigger than the entire state of Kansas, or the proud ancient nation of Hungary. All of this taken together is a big story. Its history in the making, said Charles Fracchia, an author and teacher who founded the San Francisco Historical Society. Fracchia has always believed that San Francisco was someplace special. But now, said Peter Richardson, a San Francisco State University teacher and author, this region has become one of the most important places in the world. Jessica Christian / The Chronicle You might say it began just 20 years ago, when Google was developed by two Stanford doctoral students. Or the next year, when Salesforce got started in a Telegraph Hill apartment. Or in the spring of 2006, when Twitter was invented next to the playground slide in South Park. The first tweet just setting up my twttr is the stuff of history. Who could imagine in a scruffy little South of Market park that spring day that tweets would be the preferred method of communication by the president of the United States? The historians will mark Jan. 9, 2007, when Steve Jobs a native San Franciscan, by the way stood in the Moscone Center and said, Every once in awhile a revolutionary product comes along and changes everything. He was introducing the iPhone at the Macworld conference that year. Or the day not long afterward when three new San Franciscans discovered a way to accommodate visitors when the hotels were full. They bought three air mattresses and rented space in their living room, served muffins and cream cheese for breakfast, and charged each guest $80. They called it Air bed and breakfast. Now Airbnb is in over 80,000 cities in 191 countries. Another idea, this one from Garrett Camp: What if you could request a ride from your phone? The result? Ubercab. The first Uber cars went into service in San Francisco in 2010, the first Uber app a year later. Uber has headquarters in San Francisco and operates in 633 cities. While all this was going on, the demographics of California changed dramatically. The U.S. census says Los Angeles County, with 10 million people, is 48.6 Latino, 15 percent Asian American and 26.2 percent non-Hispanic white. Its a young population, too. One of every five Angelenos is under 19. The demographic shifts are all over California. Monterey County celebrated as Steinbeck country is 58.8 percent Latino. Fewer than half the people of the county speak English at home. 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. Santa Clara County, with 1.9 million residents, is a quarter Latino, 37 percent Asian American, and 31 percent non-Hispanic white. There is also another development. The African American population in San Francisco has declined. Thirteen percent of San Franciscans were black in 1970. Now its down to 5.5 percent. Meanwhile, 35.9 percent of San Franciscans are Asian American, 15 percent are Latino and 40 percent are white. All this is the stuff of books, but no one has yet written the new California story. Kevin Starr, the preeminent historian of California, wrote nine books in a series called Americans and the California Dream. The books won all kinds of prizes, were best-sellers and never went out of print. His vision, like California itself, was bigger than life, Gov. Jerry Brown said. But Starr died last year, and no one has replaced him. Somebody has to step up, Richardson said. Its history waiting for a historian. Carl Nolte is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. His column appears every Sunday. Email: cnolte@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @carlnoltesf HONG KONG Wang Shidong and his two partners were still finishing graduate school two years ago when they raised $45 million in less than two months to start a venture capital fund. His wife, an elementary school teacher in their home village, was terrified that he got to manage so much money, Wang said. Things are different this year. After three months and visits with more than 90 potential investors all over China, Wang and his partners raised only $3 million for a second fund. In June, they shut down the firm. Their fund, East Zhang Hangzhou Investment Management Ltd., was one of nearly 10,000 founded over the past three years amid a technology gold rush powered in part by Chinas government-guided economic growth engine. Now they have become the latest sign that Chinas engine is slowing down. All industries, institutions and individuals are running short of cash, said Zhang Kaixin, founder and chief executive of an online asset management company in Shenzhen called Jinfuzi, which means golden ax. Jinfuzi, which manages over $4.5 billion in assets, is the type of investor that technology funds court. Many investors in private-equity and venture capital funds want to take their money back, Zhang said. Venture capital is a small part of the Chinese economy, which by most accounts is still growing at a quick pace compared with many other countries. But the industrys fundraising problems may be a symptom of a widening malaise. After many years of easy credit and go-go growth, China is struggling with weakened investment and household consumption, and increasing corporate and local government defaults. It could present President Xi Jinping with his most difficult problem since he became the countrys top leader in 2013. Will Chinas 40 years of continuous economic expansion stop under his rule? If so, how will 1.4 billion Chinese react when they realize that the countrys upward trajectory is coming to an end? Many Chinese still believe that the central government has the capacity to keep the economy from sliding into a recession, just as it did during the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and the Great Recession in 2008. Beijing controls the banks, land, foreign exchange rates and the media, so it can mobilize and manipulate them when necessary. In China we believe in Keynesian economics, said Zhang, the Jinfuzi chief executive, referring to the economic theory that favors a bigger role for government. If whats going on in China were happening in the U.S., it would have been called a recession. But in China, the government will step in to interfere in significant ways. Under Xi, even economics has become a delicate topic. Many people in China are not willing to speak publicly because even economists are not allowed to make downward forecasts. Yet in private conversations, investors, entrepreneurs and economists admit that with the high debt level and a trade war with the United States, the room for government maneuvering is shrinking. The degrees of pessimism vary, but many of them are bracing for a tough ride ahead. They advised changing all my savings into gold, a risk-management measure for extreme times. They worry that the trade war will hurt the tech and the venture capital industries because they operate globally. They even envision the possibility of the worlds going back to the Iron Curtain era, the pre-1989 world order of distinct political, economic and ideological barriers between the Soviet bloc and the West. Wu Xiaoling, a former deputy central bank governor and now dean of Tsinghua University PBC School of Finance, told the graduates last week to brace for global economic and political uncertainty. We dont have much time left to revel in the carnival of bubbles, she said in a speech. Every country, every individual should be prepared to face the reality after the tide retreats. The speech was circulated widely on the Chinese social media, possibly because she said what is on many peoples minds. Chinas venture capital industry may be a sign of whats to come. It is sensitive to both money flows and capital sentiment, and therefore could offer a good gauge of the health of key parts of the Chinese economy. The Chinese government on Monday reported that the economy grew 6.7 percent in the second quarter from a year ago. So far, funding this year is weak. In the first three months, private equity and venture capital funds raised less than two-thirds of what they had raised over the same period a year ago, according to Zero2IPO Research in Beijing. Their investing activity dropped by nearly half. Funding has slowed in the past when the economy hit bumps, but both the data and the people involved say the current slowdown is unprecedented. Venture funds like East Zhang came into existence in part because, starting in 2014, Beijing made innovation and entrepreneurship top priorities. Leaders hoped that startups would help elevate China from a manufacturing power to a technology power. Corporations, banks and wealthy individuals fought to give money to venture funds to invest in startups. We ended up with a lot of dumb money, managed by inexperienced investors, said Ran Wang, chief executive of the investment bank CEC Capital Group in Beijing. Wang Shidong of East Zhang said his firm raised funds in 2016 without having to answer tough questions. They decided to set it up in the eastern city of Hangzhou, which to attract funds likeWangs provides streamlined business registration, tax cuts and below-market office rents, as many other Chinese cities do. They invested in 17 projects in e-commerce, internet, biotech and agriculture. Only one of them is doing well. The rest either have failed or are barely surviving, Zhang said. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes The funding climate changed completely this year, he said. Investors started paying attention to our numbers. It is not just newbie firms like East Zhang that are having a hard time finding investors. Funding is getting hard to come by for almost every venture capital firm. Under pressure from the government to improve their finances, banks pulled away from risky investments. This years ailing Chinese stock market has cost companies and wealthy investors alike a great deal of money. The government has cracked down on the risky and informal sources of money within China that provided a lot of venture capital funding. Even venture capital firms with good track records are taking longer to reach their money-raising targets, said Ran Wang of CEC Capital. Some firms have to settle for smaller funds than planned, Wang said. There is another sign Chinas boom in startups may be over: They are going public. More than two dozen of Chinas star startups hope to sell shares on public stock markets this year. Generally, as in the United States, startups prefer not to go public as long as they have plenty of access to private money. China is home to more than 70 unicorns, or startups with valuations over $1 billion. Its getting increasingly harder for companies with high valuations to raise funding from venture capital investors, said Wang of CEC Capital. As for Wang Shidong of East Zhang, he has sold his apartment and car to repay some of his investors and is getting ready to start anew. He is considering an offer from an acquaintance to work for an online payment venture in Nigeria. Im an adventurer, he said. Li Yuan is a New York Times writer. Battle lines are forming over what could be one of the most contentious fights about housing in California in decades. Im talking about Proposition 10, the November ballot initiative that would overturn Californias Costa-Hawkins Rent Control Act and let local governments impose any form of rent control on any type of rental housing within their jurisdictions. The future of California is at stake here, said Ken Rosen, chairman of the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Economics at UC Berkeley and a fierce opponent of the measure. What the measure boils down to is whether housing is an essential, like a human right something that everyone needs and deserves, or whether one views housing as just another commodity that should be bought and sold and rented without limits, said Prop. 10 supporter Dean Preston, executive director of Tenants Together, a statewide nonprofit for renters rights. The Legislature passed Costa-Hawkins in 1995, after some cities had enacted aggressive rent control rules in response to housing shortages and affordability issues. The law said cities (and counties for their unincorporated areas) could limit rent increases what we think of as rent control. But it said rent control could not apply to single-family homes or condos of any age or to multifamily buildings first occupied after Feb. 1, 1995 (or earlier if a city already had rent control with a previous cutoff date). It also said owners of rent-controlled properties could charge whatever they want after a tenant moves out, but once the new tenant moves in, rent increases would be subject to the annual limit. This is known as vacancy decontrol. If Prop. 10 passes, local jurisdictions could impose rent control on all property types, including single-family properties and new construction. They also could prevent landlords from charging whatever they want when a unit turns over. This is known as vacancy control. If voters approve the measure, most local governments or their citizens through the initiative process would still have to adopt rent control, or modify an existing program to tighten their rules. However, some cities that had strict rent control ordinances before 1995 still have them on the books and just stopped enforcing provisions that Costa-Hawkins struck down. If Prop. 10 passes, they wouldnt have to pass a statute, they could just flip a switch and start enforcing the old provisions, said Debra Carlton, senior vice president with the California Apartment Association. Richmonds rent control ordinance, passed in 2016, would automatically apply to single-family and new construction homes if Costa-Hawkins is overturned, Carlton said. Richmonds rent program attorney, Charles Oshinuga, said hes researching what impact Costa-Hawkins repeal would have on the ordinance and hasnt reached a conclusion. Tenant organizations and other groups got enough signatures to place Prop. 10 on the ballot after recent legislative attempts to strike down Costa-Hawkins got nowhere. Last weekend, the California Democratic Party voted to support Prop 10. Its main sponsors are the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and its president, Michael Weinstein, and the Coalition for Affordable Housing. Other backers include the Service Employees International Union, the California Teachers Association, the California Nurses Association and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Backers have raised $2.36 million. The Republican Party is against it. Other opponents include the California Apartment Association and the California Rental Housing Association, which represent landlords, the California Chamber of Commerce, the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California (a labor union), the California Realtors Association and the NAACP. Opponents have raised $15.3 million, much of it from large apartment developers. Costa-Hawkins does not prevent cities from imposing eviction controls on any type of rental housing including single-family homes and apartment buildings of any age. Most cities with rent control, and a few without, have adopted some type of eviction controls on some or all types of rental units. They typically say landlords cannot evict tenants, even after their lease has run out, except for certain reasons. These can include the tenant failing to pay rent or dealing drugs on the premises; the owner or a relative moving in; or the owner taking the unit off the rental market. Prop. 10 will not impact eviction controls. In California, 55 percent of households are occupied by owners and 45 percent by renters. Nationwide, that ratio is 64 percent owners and 36 percent renters, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Opponents say abolishing Costa-Hawkins will aggravate the states housing shortage by discouraging new construction and encouraging some landlords to take existing units off the market. But Prop. 10 proponent Daniel Saver, senior attorney with Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto, said California cities generally have not applied rent control to new construction and are not likely to if Costa-Hawkins dies. However, some cities with rent control are talking about applying it to units built since 1995 but before a certain date, or to newly built units after they reach a certain age. Berkeleys Rent Stabilization Board has recommended exempting new construction from rent control for the first 12 to 15 years if Costa-Hawkins is repealed. This approach is the equivalent of putting it on new construction. Its a confidence issue. No one will ever trust a locality again, Rosen said. Ive had 30 calls from people thinking about investing in (existing) units or new construction. They are putting their plans on hold pending the outcome of Prop. 10. Michael Schall, the CEO of Essex Property Trust a big apartment developer and Prop. 10 opponent discussed Costa-Hawkins in a May earnings call. He said the measure did not seem to impact transactions (the purchase or sale of apartment buildings) in the first quarter. As we get closer to November, perhaps (it will) a little bit. About 37 percent of Californias rental stock is single-family homes, Rosen said, and most of those are owned by mom-and-pop landlords who own one or a few properties. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes Noni Richen, president of the Small Property Owners of San Francisco, owns a four-unit apartment building across from her home in the Western Addition. It has been a good investment for us, but it certainly has its headaches and heartaches. We are often required to do upgrades that are expensive, she said. All four two-bedroom units are rent-controlled, and all four tenants have been there for many years. The newest one pays $1,700 a month, the others around $1,000. If she renovated and re-rented them, theyd probably rent for $2,500 each, she said. Richen is turning a small profit, and the building is worth far more than she and her husband paid in 1984. But the appreciation doesnt pay for maintenance. Our plumber doesnt take equity for his repairs, she said. If Prop. 10 passes and San Francisco put single-family homes under rent control and implemented vacancy controls, it would devastate the citys rental market, Richen added. It would make it almost impossible to make needed upgrades and would encourage people to take units off the market. In my neighborhood, all kinds of units used to be rental, now they are tenancies in common or condos. Some are just sitting vacant awaiting their next life. Saver argues that most property owners are better off financially than most renters. If you are having a really hard time and you have a multi-family building in San Francisco, you can sell it, he said. Prop. 10 opponents point out that virtually every economist in the country opposes rent control. And because there is no means testing, it benefits rich people as well as poor ones. If vacancy decontrol goes away, We have suggested that means testing be part of anything going forward, Carlton said. The tenants organizations dont like to talk about means testing. Preston, the tenant advocate, agrees that rent control certainly protects everyone who rents. But really rich people in our society tend not to rent property. They tend to own it. Most tenants cannot and will not ever be able to afford a home, he said. They deserve the security of being able to live in a community, pay reasonable increases and not be threatened with massive increases or displacement for no reason. As for the argument that rent control tramples on property rights, Preston said its just one way that governments limit what property owners can do. Homes are subject to zoning laws and landlords must follow many laws, such as when they can enter a home. The courts, he added, have established that investors are entitled to a fair return on rent-controlled units. What that fair return is could become the subject of much litigation if Costa-Hawkins is overturned. Kathleen Pender is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: kpender@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kathpender Two more firefighters were injured as crews struggled to gain containment Saturday of a relentless inferno fueled by dry terrain and hot weather near Yosemite National Park, officials said. The Ferguson Fire swelled to 29,045 acres by Saturday growing by more than 6,000 acres since Friday and was still only 6 percent contained, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Two firefighters suffered back injuries and were taken to hospitals Friday, said Jim Mackensen, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service. Theyve been released and are going home to recover, Mackensen said. A total of four firefighters have been injured and one killed since the blaze started July 13. Braden Varney of Mariposa, a bulldozer operator for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, died last weekend when his vehicle rolled down a ravine near El Portal. Another firefighter broke a leg, and one suffered a heat-related illness, Cal Fire spokesman Richard Eagan said. The tough and often inaccessible landscape, triple-digit heat and low humidity posed challenges to fire crews trying to control the blaze, said Michael Whitaker, also a spokesman for Cal Fire. The bulk of the fires growth overnight occurred north of Highway 140 near Neds Gulch, Cal Fire said. On Saturday, firefighters were scouting the area to find the best routes to establish containment lines. Crews made progress on the southeast side of the blaze near El Portal and Wawona Road. Most of the containment lines in that area were complete, and crews were lining the area Saturday with hoses to put more water on the blaze, Cal Fire said. Mandatory evacuations remained in place along Incline Road, in the Jerseydale/Mariposa Pines area, the Cedar Lodge/Indian Flat Campground area, Savages Trading Post, Sweetwater Ridge, El Portal Trailer Court, Rancheria Flat, Old El Portal, Yosemite View Lodge and Foresta. Evacuation centers were open at the New Christian Fellowship in Mariposa and Yosemite Valley Elementary School in Yosemite National Park. 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. As of Thursday, the cost of fighting the blaze was $8.4 million, and officials expect that amount to rise with 204 engines, 38 water tenders, 17 helicopters, 70 crews and 40 bulldozers working the Ferguson Fire, Whitaker said. No homes or buildings have been destroyed, but 216 structures remain threatened. Yosemite National Park remains open. The stubborn blaze is one of more than a dozen wildfires burning around the state. The latest fire to erupt in California came Saturday afternoon in Lake County, Cal Fire said. The Carder Fire ignited around 2:40 p.m., prompting evacuations as it quickly grew to 60 acres, devouring dry grass, brush and trees south of Kelseyville. The fire was 20 percent contained as of Saturday evening, Cal Fire reported. Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani Rachel Swan/Santa Barbara County Sheriff A Fresno man accused of robbing nine banks throughout California died Friday of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after fleeing the scene of a bank heist in southern Santa Barbara County, authorities said. Keith David Goodwin, 41, of Fresno, allegedly robbed the First Republic Bank in Danville on July 12. He was identified on a license plate-reading surveillance camera, taking off in a red Nissan Altima. Mark Wineman / Getty Images Richmond police searched Saturday for suspects after a 38-year-old woman was found dead in her home in an apparent homicide, authorities said. Officers conducted a welfare check Thursday morning at the Monterey Pines Apartments near the 500 block of Berk Avenue, said Lt. Felix Tan, a spokesman for the Richmond Police Department. A payroll blunder at the Oakland Unified School District caused a failure to withhold state income taxes from its employees for the first half of the year, leaving teachers, principals and other staff members to make up the difference. In a memo emailed to employees this month, district payroll director Qaiser Shakh blamed the error on a previous accounting system, which he identified as Sungard. School officials believe the majority of the districts 7,000-odd employees will be affected. Keith D. Brown, president of the Oakland Education Association, said the union fielded several calls from its members following the memo, who were angry and frustrated by OUSDs incompetence. He said the flub is reminiscent of a December 2017 payroll error that resulted in 2,800 employees' payroll direct deposits being reversed. Oaklands educators are already the lowest paid in both Alameda and West Contra Costa counties, Brown said in an email. As OEA bargains to recruit and retain high quality educators for our students, working conditions and district mismanagement drives 300 to 500 teachers out of Oakland Schools annually. Our students deserve better. Shakh said tax tables are loaded into the payroll system on an annual basis, and the districts previous vendor introduced errors into the percentages and base amounts when it loaded the tables in January. These errors were discovered during payroll comparisons with our new Payroll/HR system (Escape), Shakh said in the July 6 memo. Brown said OEA is working with legal counsel on the matter, requesting more information, filing a grievance and submitting a demand to bargain over the impacts. The error comes as Oakland Unified tends to a number of other financial woes. Earlier this month, a state oversight agency found that the district disregarded standard accounting practices and inappropriately manipulated taxpayer funds, an action that, in some cases, amounted to misuse of state or federal funding. The district additionally faces an imminent $5.8 million in budget cuts, plus an estimated $20 million shortfall next year and $60 million the year after that. The latest accounting errors began in January and werent corrected until the beginning of July, when the district switched to the new vendor, officials said. Employees will probably see smaller but accurate paychecks for the remainder of the year. Shakhs memo said it will be up to individual employees to adjust their withholdings if they want to offset the error before the 2019 tax season. The email gave instructions on how staff can update withholdings, and employees will be required to complete a new W4 form. But, Shakh said, the OUSD payroll department cannot provide tax advice. When asked why the problem wasnt flagged for six months, John Sasaki, a school district spokesman, responded, Thats a good question. COVID Resources Coronavirus Map Tracking COVID-19 cases across the Bay Area and California. I think it had something to do with getting ready for the switchover to the new vendor, he added. This was the first issue of its kind for the prior vendor, Sasaki said, and it did not contribute to the districts decision to switch. The district could not provide an average percentage or dollar figure that employees will owe in back taxes. Sasaki said it would be a good idea for employees to consult a tax expert. We want to make sure all of our staff understand that this is something that needs attention paid to it, to ensure they dont run into problems come tax time, he said. Chronicle staff writer Jill Tucker contributed to this report. Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy President Trump complained to Fox News, a.k.a. state television, that its a shame journalists asked him and Vladimir Putin about the Russia witch hunt in Helsinki. He later tweeted, yet again, that the fake news media was the real enemy of the people. Actually, that news conference showcased the value of an independent media willing to ask tough questions (sorry, Sean Hannity). Trump was asked whether he believed Putin or his own intelligence agencies (he dodged). Putin was asked whether he wanted Trump to win the 2016 election (he did). Trump was asked whether he would call for the extradition of 12 Russians accused of hacking into U.S. campaigns and voting systems (he deflected). Putin was asked whether he had compromising material about Trump (he denied). Trump was asked with the whole world watching whether he would denounce the 2016 interference and warn Putin never to do it again (he ducked). The questions were on point. The answers, and nonanswers, were telling. John Diaz, editorial page editor Uprooted Palestinians are at the heart of the conflict in the M.E Palestinians uprooted by force of arms. Yet faced immense difficulties have survived, kept alive their history and culture, passed keys of family homes in occupied Palestine from one generation to the next. Under orders of the Trump administration, the Internal Revenue Service has effectively walked away from any meaningful regulation of tax-exempt groups that are shielding their real purpose political advocacy and the identity of their donors. These campaign financing schemes, known as dark money, have proliferated since the U.S. Supreme Courts 2010 Citizens United ruling that gave corporations, labor unions and other interest groups the green light to spend unlimited sums for the election or defeat of individual candidates. But the judges preserved the ability for laws requiring the disclosure of the source of donations. With the new IRS order, announced last week, say farewell to disclosure. Dark money just got darker. Under the new IRS rule, nonprofit groups claiming to be social welfare organizations under the tax code no longer need to report the names of donors who contribute more than $5,000 in the span of a year. While the identity of those donors had been redacted from public view, those reports enabled the IRS to determine whether a nonprofits primary mission was election activity if so, it would be subject to public disclosure of its donors. Dark money groups have been exploiting this corner of the tax code to conceal the efforts of billionaires, corporations and other special interests to influence elections. The IRS policy change was certainly a political one, to preclude the ability to investigate ... on the other hand, it was not like they were investigating anyway, said Ann Ravel, former chair of the California Fair Political Practices Commission who in 2013 was appointed by President Obama to serve on the Federal Election Commission. In the Orwellian doublespeak that has become a trademark of the Trump era, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said, It is important to emphasize that this change will in no way limit transparency. He described it as a way to protect private taxpayer information from undue IRS scrutiny. This must have given Moscow yet another reason to cheer last week. As we know, there has been a lot of foreign money, that is clearly illegal, that has been used to fund these independent groups, Ravel said in a phone interview. Its also good news for front organizations funded by conservative benefactors such as the Koch brothers and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson who prefer to keep their often seven-figure election meddling in the dark. Ravel said it really galls me that the IRS withdrawal from such regulation was mostly driven by the myth that gained near-hysterical heights among congressional Republicans: that the IRS was unfairly targeting conservative groups. In fact, a comprehensive review by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration last year found scores of cases in which the IRS similarly targeted liberal-leaning groups. More Information A Montana story with national resonance "Dark Money," a new Sundance-nominated documentary by filmmaker Kimberly Reed (director of "Prodigal Sons"), examines the effects of big money made possible by the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 "Citizens United" decision. It focuses on Montana, with its citizen Legislature and resistance to corporate control of public policy resulting from exploitation by copper barons a century ago. Main characters: John Adams, an investigative reporter who chases down the most significant campaign finance case in the state's history; Gov. Steve Bullock, who as attorney general led a legal challenge against Citizens United; Ann Ravel, former chair of California's Fair Political Practices Commission who was appointed by President Obama to the Federal Election Commission in 2013. In Berkeley: John Diaz will moderate a Q&A session with Adams and Ravel following the 7 p.m. screening at Landmark's Shattuck Cinemas on Saturday, July 28. For tickets: www.landmarktheatres.com Director Kimberly Reed: "When I heard my home state of Montana would be the only state to fight back against Citizens United in the U.S. Supreme Court, everything changed. I knew I could tell a compelling story of campaign finance through the eyes of real people." See More Collapse If anything, the climate for campaign-finance regulation could grow even dimmer with the impending confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. Asked in March 2016 if he believes that money spent during campaigns represents speech and thus deserves First Amendment protection, he answered: Absolutely. Against this backdrop, the new documentary Dark Money has arrived not a minute too soon. It opens this weekend in Berkeley and San Francisco. Filmmaker Kimberly Reed does a remarkable job of putting the often abstruse issue of campaign finance in poignantly human terms. As Ravel, the ultimate campaign-reform warrior, acknowledged, When most people talk about campaign finance, their eyes glaze over. There is no such danger in Reeds film, set in her native Montana. The eyes gaze, not glaze. The cinematography is striking, both in the natural beauty of the Big Sky state and the devastation to barren hillsides and toxin-tinted lakes long abandoned by the copper industry. The documentary is at once a political thriller and a love letter from Reed to the people and the topography of her home state. Montana, in both its history and contemporaneous politics, offers a fascinating case study about campaign finance. Resentment over the exploitation by the copper barons who had a yoke on the statehouse, the media and the states economy a century ago continues to guide public policy. The state has among the nations toughest campaign finance laws. Its reformer-governor, Democrat Steve Bullock, was twice elected in a red state after making a valiant, but ultimately unsuccessful, challenge to Citizens United when he was state attorney general. He has been testing the waters for a presidential bid in 2020, and his portrayal in Dark Money will only add to the intrigue. Perhaps most of all, the power of the film is that it transcends the usual partisan divide and wooly arguments about campaign finance. The candidates featured in the film are not slick career politicians; they are citizen-legislators in the purest sense. The Legislature convenes for just 90 days every other year. Reed captures them in their day jobs: the farmer, the teacher, the Porta Potti vendor. The film provides plenty of fodder to despair, from the GOP legislative candidate whose campaign was foiled by a mysterious mailer that accused him of pedophilia to the scenes of the FEC meetings in Washington where Chairman Don McGahn now serving as White House counsel systematically stymied attempts to enforce campaign finance law, to Ravels everlasting frustration. With three Republican and three Democratic appointees, the FEC was designed to provide a bipartisan check on campaign-law abuses. Under McGahn, deadlocks by design were the order of the day, every day. McGahn once said at a public forum, I plead guilty as charged to avoiding enforcement of laws passed by Congress. He was the architect of the 3-3 vote, Ravel said. Yet the uplifting upshot of the film is that it showed that citizens can care, they can get engaged, and when they do, the results can be delivered in court and at the ballot box. Ravel came away from a San Jose screening last week with a measure of hope from friends and acquaintances. They emailed her to ask: What can I do? This is incredible! I didnt know about this. Dark Money is an essential warning reel before the coming deluge of 30-second spots and glossy mailers of the midterms. It also serves as a reminder of the need to vote. Our democracy is being challenged as rarely before, and it needs to be defended by a citizenry united. John Diaz is The San Francisco Chronicles editorial page editor. Email: jdiaz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JohnDiaz Nearly four households are evicted every single minute in this country. In many ways, California is the epicenter of this crisis. In nearly 95 percent of jurisdictions in the state, renters can be evicted for any or no reason, and tenants face the constant threat of unchecked rent increases. Without protections, millions of Californians are threatened with loss of home and community. Proposition 10 responds to this crisis directly by allowing the protections that California renters so desperately need. The consequences of eviction are devastating, as it often leads to homelessness or severely substandard living conditions. Displacement rips neighborhoods apart and separates families from important resources. As evidenced by the more than 440,000 signatures collected to place Prop. 10 on the ballot this November, an extraordinary tenant-led movement for rent stabilization and just-cause eviction protections is gaining steam across the state. But even as momentum builds, misinformation lingers. Lets unpack these policies and debunk the myths. Rent stabilization: Does not prohibit landlords from making a profit. Rent stabilization sets a reasonable limit on the amount that rent may be increased each year but always allows higher rent increases if it is necessary for the landlord to earn a fair return. A just-cause eviction policy limits the reasons a tenant may be evicted and typically provides relocation assistance if a tenant is evicted for reasons that are not their fault. Does not hurt the local economy. We know that rent stabilization protects social and economic diversity and empowers low-income renters to achieve economic mobility. Policies are cost neutral cities with rent stabilization experience high rates of new construction, and when renters spend less on housing, they spend more in their communities. Unfortunately, two state laws undermine the full potential of rent stabilization: The Ellis Act, enacted in 1985, creates an enormous loophole for speculators to evict entire buildings in one fell swoop in many cases only to convert units to condominiums and avoid rent stabilization. The Costa-Hawkins Act, enacted in 1995, prohibits rent stabilization for single-family home rentals and any rental units constructed after February 1995, or earlier in cities that had already adopted rent stabilization. For example, Costa-Hawkins prohibits rent stabilization for any buildings constructed after October 1978 in Los Angeles. The law also allows for unlimited rent increases whenever a new vacancy occurs creating a perverse incentive to push out longtime tenants when neighborhoods begin to gentrify. Opponents of rent stabilization question its efficacy by pointing to gentrification in cities such as San Francisco. This misses the point: The problem would be even worse without rent stabilization. More Information Tenant protections in California Nineteen cities provide rent stabilization or "just cause" eviction protections: Berkeley Beverly Hills East Palo Alto Emeryville Glendale Hayward Los Angeles Maywood Mountain View Oakland Palm Springs Richmond San Diego San Francisco San Jose Santa Monica Thousand Oaks Union City West Hollywood Source: Tenants Together See More Collapse This argument obscures intentional efforts to weaken renter protections. Take, for example, a recent study from Stanford University frequently cited as evidence against rent stabilization. This study actually found that rent stabilization offered large benefits to covered tenants. But critics instead focused on the negative consequences of landlords evading rules through Ellis Act evictions, condo conversions and exploiting vacancy decontrol. If rent stabilization is good for tenants in covered units and the harms come from efforts to circumvent the law, then we ought to strengthen and expand rent stabilization, not avoid it. Come November, California voters have a chance to do just that. Prop. 10 will empower cities to design the tenant protection policies that match their needs. Cities will have the ability to decide whether to enact rent stabilization policies and will have the freedom to consider important questions like at what age buildings come under control, whether there are appropriate exemptions and full or partial vacancy control, and how to regulate condo conversions and demolitions. Repealing Costa-Hawkins simply unties the hands of our communities to better respond to this unprecedented crisis. Of course, no one should view rent stabilization as a cure-all. Confronting our staggering eviction crisis and ensuring that everyone is able to live and thrive in their community will require complementary housing and land-use policies. But a holistic housing strategy must start with a foundation of stability and certainty, where tenants are protected against enormous rent increases and unjust evictions. With a growing tenants movement leading the way, California has a chance to make significant progress in protecting housing and stabilizing communities. Joan Ling is a lecturer in the UCLA Urban Planning Department. Doug Smith is a staff attorney with the Community Development Project at Public Counsel, the nations largest not-for-profit law firm. To comment, submit your letter to the editor at SFChronicle.com/letters. Should a person of principle somehow accorded a position of influence within the Trump administration resign in protest or, for the good of the country, try to get by? Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats has in recent days provided a third answer: neither. Despite President Trumps astonishing suggestion this week that he was inclined to believe Vladimir Putins assessment of Russias role in the 2016 election over that of the U.S. intelligence chief he chose, Coats hasnt resigned. But he hasnt kept his head down either. A former ambassador to Germany and Indiana senator banned from Russia for his stance on Ukraine, Coats has instead told so much of the plain truth that a White House official was quoted as saying he had gone rogue, which in this administration is tantamount to going reasonable. Coats strategy has the advantage of keeping an apparently responsible official in power, at least for the time being, while refusing to ratify the presidents deceptions. Coats told an audience at the conservative Hudson Institute last week that the warning lights are blinking red over the Russian threat to the midterm elections, adding, Today the digital infrastructure that serves this country is literally under attack. This was so at odds with Trumps incessant whitewashing that he contradicted it the next day in an interview with CBS News Jeff Glor, saying, I dont know if I agree with that. That foreshadowed the public contradiction of Coats and the nations intelligence agencies by the president as he stood next to Putin in Helsinki, causing such a bipartisan furor that Trump preposterously tried to revise his remark the next day. One of the most powerful rebukes came from Coats, who in short order issued a statement reaffirming the Russians meddling in the 2016 election and their ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy while reiterating that intelligence officials would continue to provide unvarnished and objective intelligence in support of our national security. Coats candor continued in an interview Thursday with NBC News Andrea Mitchell at the Aspen Security Forum, where he suggested that Trump should not have met privately with Putin, said he doesnt know what the two discussed behind closed doors, and made no effort to seem aware of or pleased by the presidents plan to reprise their meeting in Washington this fall. The intelligence chief thereby provided a healthy contrast with officials such as Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who at the same forum signed on to Trumps propaganda by pretending the Russians werent striving to elect him. Indeed, precious few Republican members of Congress, the coequal branch designed to check the executive, have been as bold in doing so as Coats, a man who works for the president. Employing an epithet that was, ironically, favored by another Vladimir Lenin Trump tweeted Thursday, The Summit with Russia was a great success, except with the real enemy of the people, the Fake News Media. If the presidents definition of the term encompasses all who dare challenge or contradict him, he has a formidable enemy within. 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. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images The 100 Percent Clean Energy for California legislation, Senate Bill 100, would help the state continue its jobs-creating path toward clean energy and also catalyze the nation (and arguably the world) to follow. Thats why 28 major companies, including Adobe and Salesforce and the sustainability nonprofit Ceres, sent letters to the California Assembly, Senate and governor, urging SB100s passage. Californias economy has flourished under the market-based climate policies it has implemented over the past half-decade as innovators flock to the challenge, start new businesses, employ workers and turn out revenue-generating technologies for energy efficiency, renewable energy, battery storage and more. Now the fifth-largest economy in the world, California is a prime example that strong climate protection and a strong economy can go hand-in-hand. The campaign to overturn Californias newly enacted gas tax will hit three Bay Area cities next week, as organizers search for volunteers to post lawn signs, write opinion pieces and spread the taxpayer revolt on social media. With less than four months to go before the November election, the crusade wont be easy. Proposition 6, the tax repeal measure, takes aim at a $5 billion-a-year funding stream to fix Californias crumbling roads and boost its mass transit systems. Environmentalists, transportation officials, construction unions and Gov. Jerry Brown are all fighting to protect those funds, and they have raised $14 million far more than the $5 million haul of the Yes on 6 campaign. But none of that has deterred Prop. 6s core supporters or its campaign chairman, conservative talk radio host Carl DeMaio. Were going to win, he told The Chronicle, insisting that his side has the more compelling argument. Supporters of the repeal say the 12 cents-per-gallon gas excise tax and increased vehicle registration fees passed last year by the Legislature and signed by Brown create hardships for working-class families. They also cast doubt on the governments ability to manage the money and use it in the way it was intended. This tax affects everybody, but it hits the working poor the hardest, DeMaio said. Prop. 6 would strike down the gasoline excise tax and the new vehicle fees along with a 20 cents-per-gallon tax increase on diesel fuel approved as SB1. If it survives, SB1 is expected to raise $5.2 billion annually to pave potholed highways, repair aging bridges and boost public transit. Michael Macor / The Chronicle Yet the ballot initiative isnt solely about taxes. Its also a rallying point to drive Republicans to the polls in the hope they might also support their partys gubernatorial candidate, John Cox, and GOP candidates in several key California House races, including in nine districts the Democrats hope to flip in their favor. And Prop. 6 campaign flyers acknowledge that strategy. As one of the campaigns flyers says: Polling shows the repeal initiative will motivate lazy (low propensity) Republican voters to turn out in November ... and will persuade voters to favor the candidates who are opposed to the gas and car tax hikes over the candidates who support it. Opponents call the repeal effort a cynical play to protect a few House seats at potentially great cost to Californias roads and transit systems. I think that the outcome of their policy would be that Californias infrastructure would continue to degrade, and the roads would be less safe, said Michael Quigley, executive director of California Alliance for Jobs, a trade and labor coalition thats leading the effort to defeat Prop 6. So far, 6,000 projects throughout the state have received SB1 funds. They include lane realignment of Highway 101 to unclog traffic at the Marin-Sonoma Narrows, remodeling of four bridges at the MacArthur Maze to meet vehicle height standards, and repaving much of Interstate 80 in Alameda County, to name three examples. These efforts could be at risk if the money dries up, Quigley said. Next week, the Yes on 6 campaign will focus on cities on the Peninsula and in Solano County, holding meetings Monday in the cities of Santa Clara and San Mateo, and then traveling north to Fairfield on Tuesday. Beyond that, it appears the propositions backers will spend little time in the liberal, mass-transit-rich Bay Area. Most of the other campaign events will take place in Southern California and the Central Valley. Polling by Prop. 6 consultants shows that the measure appeals to voters in suburbs and rural areas, especially the Inland Empire, where some residents drive upward of 100 miles a day to get to their jobs. These are places where people have long drives, and theyre the ones who will be most angry about these taxes, said campaign consultant David Gilliard. Yet the measure has also found favor with some long-distance commuters in the Bay Area. Among them is Ken Loo, a San Francisco resident who drives to Pittsburg five days a week for work, clocking more than 100 miles a day. The gas tax definitely hits me, Loo said. It will be impacting me quite a bit. Advertisements for Prop. 6 say the gas tax costs families nearly $800 a year, a figure that opponents dispute, saying it applies to households with two gas-guzzling vehicles. Californias secretary of transportation offered a much lower estimate: $120 a year for a family with one fuel-efficient car. While the campaign has focused its message on struggling families, its largest donations come from prominent Republicans who view the gas taxs defeat as part of their national agenda. House Speaker Paul Ryan donated $50,000 from his congressional committee. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, who is running for re-election, chipped in $300,000. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana contributed $25,000. Cox has made the repeal message a centerpiece of his campaign for governor. Some political observers speculate that DeMaio and his allies are playing the long game, building a coalition of conservative voters to tap for other causes and campaigns. DeMaio, who once served on the San Diego City Council, showed hints of political ambition when he considered a primary challenge to Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine (San Diego County), this year. He ultimately decided against it. DeMaio acknowledged that he hopes to rally Prop. 6s ground troops behind other causes, such as an initiative to trim public pensions, which he is pressing with former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed. He deflected questions on his political future. Right now, leading citizen initiatives is where I can make the most impact, he said. Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan Barb Chamberlain sees Seattle from the seat of a bicycle. As director of active transportation at the Washington State Department of Transportation, she walks the walk. Or, rides the ride, rather. Chamberlain works to improve, enhance, increase, walking and biking for Washington for any purpose, anywhere. That means making it easier to walk or bike to the bus or light rail, improving safety and efficiency on bike routes, and making all modes of transportation work better together. I was riding the Second Avenue bike corridor and the people behind me were trying to figure out where they were. I realized the street signs were all for drivers. This is the kind of problem Chamberlains work hopes to address. Still, Seattle is ahead of many cities when it comes to bike lanes and paths. Because I was eavesdropping, I missed my turn, and then I thought, How far does this lane go? I overshot my destination, I was so excited. For people from cities that dont have protected bike lanes, this is an experience they can have here and ask their city for when they go home. Chamberlain describes Seattle as though shes on a bike, even when shes not. And she favors places in Pioneer Square and points south, because thats her primary route. Here are some of the places Chamberlain would steer visitors, on two wheels or not. Big breakfasts My introduction to Seattle was in the downtown core. The worst part at the time was not having places for a big breakfast. You could duke it out with tourists at Lowells in Pike Place Market, but then we found Planet Java Diner in Pioneer Square (www.planetjavadiner.com). They serve what Id call a trucker breakfast, with hash browns and eggs, and I dont eat meat, but my husband can get a pile of bacon. Now we live in White Center, we go to GreenBridge Cafe (www.greenbridgecafe.com) , where the poblano cream sauce is to die for. She (Chef Blanca Rodriguez) does eggs Benedict. On polenta cakes instead of English muffins, with butternut squash and mushrooms and, OK, weve moved away from classic eggs Benedict, but its still eggs on the thing with the sauce and its really good. And coffee Chamberlain likes Zeitgeist (www.zeitgeistcoffee.com) for coffee she broke up with another coffee shop near her office because they put up a sign saying not to lock bikes on the rail outside the shop. Zeitgeist is close to King County and Metro transit offices; shell find fellow transit policy wonks drinking lattes in the lofty brick space. Panama Hotel Toward the back of the historical hotel in the International District, past the counter where you order your tea, past the old turntable where you can play Japanese records from the 40s, you can look down into the basement. Theres a pile of belongings left behind by Japanese American families sent to internment camps. Chamberlains voice breaks as she talks about the significance of this place. People should see what happens when you tear families apart. We need to be reminded of that right now. 605 S. Main St., Seattle. Big Johns PFI For more international flavors, Chamberlain goes to Big Johns PFI specialty food shop (www.bigjohnspfi.com) for spices and people-watching. That woman with those clothes goes to those barrels, and that one, with the other clothes goes to those other barrels. You can see world cuisine unfold as you watch what people buy. And they have an amazing cheese case. Riding in the city Im glad the Duwamish Trail is here; I use it every day. But I wouldnt recommend it for everyone. But she suggests that anyone who can get out and ride to do so. Information: www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/duwamish-trail Pam Mandel is a Seattle-based freelance writer. Email: travel@sfchronicle.com. Twitter and Instagram: @nerdseyeview Two more firefighters were injured as crews struggled to gain containment Saturday of a relentless inferno fueled by dry terrain and hot weather near Yosemite National Park, officials said. The Ferguson Fire swelled to 29,045 acres by Saturday growing by more than 6,000 acres since Friday and was still only 6 percent contained, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Two firefighters suffered back injuries and were taken to hospitals Friday, said Jim Mackensen, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service. Theyve been released and are going home to recover, Mackensen said. A total of four firefighters have been injured and one killed since the blaze started July 13. Braden Varney of Mariposa, a bulldozer operator for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, died last weekend when his vehicle rolled down a ravine near El Portal. Another firefighter broke a leg, and one suffered a heat-related illness, Cal Fire spokesman Richard Eagan said. The tough and often inaccessible landscape, triple-digit heat and low humidity posed challenges to fire crews trying to control the blaze, said Michael Whitaker, also a spokesman for Cal Fire. The bulk of the fires growth overnight occurred north of Highway 140 near Neds Gulch, Cal Fire said. On Saturday, firefighters were scouting the area to find the best routes to establish containment lines. Crews made progress on the southeast side of the blaze near El Portal and Wawona Road. Most of the containment lines in that area were complete, and crews were lining the area Saturday with hoses to put more water on the blaze, Cal Fire said. Mandatory evacuations remained in place along Incline Road, in the Jerseydale/Mariposa Pines area, the Cedar Lodge/Indian Flat Campground area, Savages Trading Post, Sweetwater Ridge, El Portal Trailer Court, Rancheria Flat, Old El Portal, Yosemite View Lodge and Foresta. Evacuation centers were open at the New Christian Fellowship in Mariposa and Yosemite Valley Elementary School in Yosemite National Park. As of Thursday, the cost of fighting the blaze was $8.4 million, and officials expect that amount to rise with 204 engines, 38 water tenders, 17 helicopters, 70 crews and 40 bulldozers working the Ferguson Fire, Whitaker said. No homes or buildings have been destroyed, but 216 structures remain threatened. Yosemite National Park remains open. The stubborn blaze is one of more than a dozen wildfires burning around the state. The latest fire to erupt in California came Saturday afternoon in Lake County, Cal Fire said. The Carder Fire ignited around 2:40 p.m., prompting evacuations as it quickly grew to 60 acres, devouring dry grass, brush and trees south of Kelseyville. The fire was 20 percent contained as of Saturday evening, Cal Fire reported. Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani Gary Beach, a Tony Award-winning actor who could enliven a stage whether wearing a lavish gown, dressed as King Arthur or decked out as a candelabra, died on Tuesday night at his home in Palm Springs. He was 70. His agent, Steven Unger, announced the death. The cause was not given. Beach won the 2001 Tony for best featured actor in a musical for The Producers, the Mel Brooks megahit that riffed about a Hitler musical, in which he originated the role of the cross-dressing director Roger De Bris. He began his acceptance speech at the Tonys memorably. Heil Mel! he shouted. Beach was also Lumiere, the genial candelabra featured in the song Be Our Guest, in the original Broadway cast of Beauty and the Beast in 1994, earning a Tony nomination for the performance. He was nominated for another Tony for his turn as Albin in the 2004 revival of La Cage aux Folles. Beach brought a fine singing voice and an actors arsenal to whatever role he was playing. In 2003, when Ben Brantley, chief theater critic of the New York Times, checked in on The Producers to write about some of the replacement players in what was by then a long-running show, he felt compelled to single out Beach, who was still in the role. Actually, the freshest performance in The Producers at the moment comes from Gary Beach, who after nearly two years remains an unqualified treat, Brantley wrote. He added, In the shows high point, the Springtime for Hitler sequence of the musical-within-the-musical, Beach proves himself fluent in every idiom of vintage musical comedy, variously bringing to mind Al Jolson, Judy Garland, Robert Preston, Van Johnson and Eddie Cantor. Beach was born on Oct. 10, 1947, in Alexandria, Va. He said that though his parents were not really theatergoers The first Broadway show my folks saw, I was in, he once noted he was interested in theater from a young age. He was a freshman at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., when he read an article in Parade magazine, the Sunday supplement. I can remember the name of the article, he said in a 2010 interview for On Stage With Iris Acker, a Florida arts program. It was Show Business Goes to School. The article mentioned a new program at the North Carolina School of the Arts. He auditioned and was accepted into its drama program, earning a degree. One of his first roles was as Edward Rutledge in 1776, a part he played in a road company and as a replacement player on Broadway, where the musical ran from 1969 to 1972. He was in the short-lived Somethings Afoot in 1976 and was a replacement player in Annie after it opened in 1977, taking the role of Rooster Hannigan. His breakout Broadway role, in Beauty and the Beast, was not without its painful moments, in a very real sense. I was Lumiere, standing on the top of the dishes, he recalled, and all of a sudden the next thing I knew I was on the stage floor and out of the show for six weeks with an avulsion fracture, whatever that is. Perhaps it was a weird foreshadowing of his role in The Producers, in which his character had to step into the role of Hitler in the musical-within-the-musical. Mr. Beachs Roger, Brantley wrote in his 2001 review of the original cast, who winds up filling in for the original Adolf (he breaks a leg, natch) on the opening night of Springtime, becomes every aging crooner who played the Palace rolled into one brilliantly mismatched package. Beach was also in the 2005 film version of the stage musical (which was itself based on a 1967 movie directed by Brooks). He appeared extensively in Broadway tours and regional productions. In 2008 he took on the role of King Arthur in a tour of Monty Pythons Spamalot. He is survived by his husband, Jeffrey Barnett. Beachs last Broadway role was as Thenardier, the crooked innkeeper, in the 2006 revival of Les Miserables, which in its first incarnation had run for 6,680 performances over 16 years. In his interview with Acker, he joked about how he got that part. My agent called and said, Tara Rubin whos a big casting director in New York City wants to know if youd like to be part of the most popular musical in the world, Beach recalled. And I said, Is there something for me in Mamma Mia!? Neil Genzlinger is a New York Times writer. WASHINGTON President Trump, responding to companies struggles with a shortage of skilled workers that has left more than 6 million jobs unfilled nationwide, has signed an executive order geared at better aligning government training programs with the demands of industry. The order creates a Council for the American Worker, led by the secretaries of commerce and labor, that will focus on consolidating existing federal programs and funding new job training initiatives, with a special concentration on expanding apprenticeship programs and retraining older workers without college degrees. As part of the effort, companies and trade unions have committed to funding nearly 4 million slots for apprenticeships, retraining and continuing education programs over the next five years. Job training has emerged as one of the few coordinated policy initiatives generated in the West Wing with broad appeal across income and party lines. In part, that is because many labor and corporate leaders are struggling to expand their workforce, and several top White House officials, including Kevin Hassett, the chairman of Trumps Council of Economic Advisers, have made the issue a top priority. In the run-up to Thursdays announcement, R. Alexander Acosta, the labor secretary, announced $150 million in funding pegged to a June 2017 executive order that was intended to strengthen apprenticeship programs targeting new industries, veterans and their spouses, women, people of color and ex-offenders. It isnt as massive as Id like to see, but there is a lot of activity going on now at the federal and state levels on apprenticeships and worker training, said Bob Lerman, a fellow at the nonpartisan Urban Institute who studies apprenticeship programs. Its all helpful, even if Id like to see something that is a little better coordinated. Trump will also convene an advisory panel of industry, union and corporate leaders to ensure federal programs are more closely aligned to the labor demands of industry. In June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated there were 6.7 million job openings, with only 6.4 million workers available to fill them. Today, 23 companies and associations are pledging to expand apprenticeships. Thats an interesting word for me to be saying, right? The Apprentice, Trump said at a White House signing ceremony. I never actually put that together until just now, he said, calling to his daughter Ivanka, who is working on the jobs initiative. Isnt that strange? Ivanka, I never associated, but here we are. The initiative is meant to underscore Trumps commitment to the mainly working-class forgotten Americans whom Republicans are hoping to attract in the 2018 midterm elections, aides said. Every day we are getting our forgotten Americans off the sidelines, the president said. True to Trumps Apprentice reference, Thursdays ceremony had the pomp of a reality-show reveal episode. The trade association officials, corporate executives, union leaders and politicians sat at a table and signed, one by one, a Pledge to Americas Workers, promising to create enhanced career opportunities, beneath a gilded presidential seal. It is not clear exactly how many workers will be assisted by the pledges made Thursday. Companies made their commitments in terms of slots placements in various programs with Walmart vowing to create 1 million such opportunities, and a buildings trade union promising another half-million. Most of the companies and organizations in attendance had already planned to greatly increase their job training and apprenticeship programs, as part of an effort to counter what many business executives see as a labor crisis that could limit their growth. White House staff members had initially asked participants to base their numerical pledges on the number of slots their organization planned to set aside. That number totaled about 500,000, according to two trade association representatives. But earlier in the week, aides to Trump, apparently disappointed with that number, expanded the definition of career opportunities to include many other initiatives, including retraining of workers inside companies for different jobs, continuing education programs and other measures intended to burnish worker skills. Trade groups like the Aerospace Industry Association included initiatives to create skills certification programs that would be portable from company to company. Industry executives applauded Trumps actions. We are encouraged by the administrations commitment to ensuring American workers develop the appropriate skills and have access to the training needed for todays in-demand jobs and the jobs of the future, said Frederick Smith, chairman and chief executive of FedEx, which committed to 512,000 workforce development slots, including tuition assistance programs. While workforce development advocates praised the executive order, some expressed puzzlement at the seeming disconnect with Trumps budget proposals, which included a 40 percent cut to the Labor Departments funding for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, the biggest federal worker retraining program. Its been a little bit of a Jekyll and Hyde thing, said Kermit Kaleba, federal policy director for the nonpartisan National Skills Coalition. The real test is whether the administration comes back next year with the same proposal to slash spending. Glenn Thrush is a New York Times writer. WASHINGTON The maker of a permanent contraceptive implant subject to thousands of injury reports and repeated safety restrictions by regulators said Friday that it will stop selling the device in the U.S., the only country where it remains available. Bayer said the safety of its Essure implant has not changed, but it will stop selling the device at the end of the year due to weak sales. The German company had billed the device as the only non-surgery sterilization method for women. As complaints mounted and demand slipped, it stopped Essure sales in Canada, Europe, South America, South Africa and the United Kingdom. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has placed multiple restrictions on the device following patient reports of pain, bleeding, allergic reactions and cases where the implant punctured the uterus or shifted out of place. In May, the FDA said doctors must show women a checklist of the devices risks before implanting it. More than 16,000 U.S. women are suing Bayer over Essure. One of them, Amanda Rusmisell, of Charlotte, N.C., said shes immensely thrilled by Bayers action. Rusmisell said she got the device in 2008 and developed severe pain and bleeding. She took part in patient-organized rallies accusing Bayer for not disclosing potential risks and said, choking back tears, Our very grassroots effort has worked. Bayer received FDA approval to sell Essure in 2002 and promoted it as a quick and easy permanent solution to unplanned pregnancies. Essure consists of two thin-as-spaghetti nickel-titanium coils inserted into the fallopian tubes, where they spur the growth of scar tissue that blocks sperm from fertilizing a womans eggs. Because of the reported complaints, the FDA added its most serious warning to the device in 2016 and ordered the company to conduct a 2,000-patient study. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said Friday the agency would work with Bayer to continue the study, but said Bayer will not be able to meet its expected enrollment numbers for new patients. The study was designed to follow patients for three years to better assess complications. More than 750,000 women worldwide have received Essure. Demand has declined in recent years and plunged 70 percent after the 2016 boxed warning, the FDA said. Gottlieb said the FDA will continue to monitor adverse events reported to its database after Essure is removed from the market. More for you Scooter 'treasure hunt': Nighttime chargers make big money I also want to reassure women whove been using Essure successfully to prevent pregnancy that they can continue to do so, he said. Those who think its causing problems, such as persistent pain, should consult with their doctors, Gottlieb added. Essures original label warned that the devices nickel can result in allergic reactions. Its current labeling lists hives, rash, swelling and itching as possible reactions. But many women have attributed other problems to the implant, including mood disorders, weight gain, hair loss and headaches. Those problems are listed in the current FDA labeling for the device, with the qualifier: It is unknown if these symptoms are related to Essure or other causes. Informational material Bayer supplied to doctors and patients lists potential problems and says the devices are meant to be permanent. It also says removal may require complicated surgery, including a hysterectomy, that might not be covered by insurance. Matthew Perrone and Lindsey Tanner are Associated Press writers. If you missed it ... In a week that wasnt not completely insane, this happened: Loon, one of the new offspring from Alphabet, chose Kenya for its first announced commercial deal for delivering internet access to hard-to-reach areas using high-altitude balloons. The balloons have already been deployed in emergencies in Peru and Puerto Rico, where they helped regions devastated by floods and hurricanes. Apple might face tougher competition in the race to be the first U.S. company with a market value of $1 trillion. Although the Cupertino company is still clearly the leader, Amazons success with Prime Day despite technological glitches briefly moved its market cap over $900 billion for the first time. Headline from the Onion: Elon Musk Insists Hed Be Much More Innovative Pedophile Than Thailand Rescue Worker. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and business writer Erin Meyer are writing a book about the Los Gatos company, its culture and Hastings leadership strategy, an industry source told CNN. And upbeat tweets from Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda are being turned into a book, Gmorning, Gnight! Little Pep Talks for Me & You. Krispy Kreme bought a majority stake in Insomnia Cookies, a late-night bakery from Philadelphia that specializes in warm cookie deliveries. Seen on CNBC: Netflix gets hammered after hours. Yeah, it was that kind of a Monday. Daily Briefing is compiled from San Francisco Chronicle staff and news services. See more items and links at www.sfgate.com. Twitter: @techchronicle So you think your only choice during a long layover or a flight delay is to suffer in the airport terminal? Think again. But be prepared to pay handsomely one way or another for the alternative. The airline lounge competition is heating up around the globe, and two new entrants, American and United, have, somewhat belatedly, become serious contenders. Like the difference between first-class and economy seats, the luxury lounges offered by many major airlines are yet another way in which air travel is separating the haves from the have-nots. Entry usually requires a business- or first-class ticket, and some VIP lounges charge thousands of dollars per visit by individuals or small groups of travelers. There are some exceptions for holders of certain credit cards, and occasionally a traveler can make a one-time visit for a relatively low fee. But regardless of the cost, lounge access has become paramount for business travelers, especially those on overnight flights from the Northeastern United States to Europe, experts say. They want to shower and eat fresh food in the lounge, and then sleep on their flight, so when they arrive in Europe they can head directly to their meeting. For other travelers, lounges can provide a reprieve from the chaos of the airport, an oasis from the storm, said Jack Ezon, president of New Yorks Ovation Vacations, an upscale leisure travel agency. To Michael Holtz, owner of SmartFlyer, another upscale travel agency, a lounge can extend a luxury hotel experience. Guests staying in certain high-end suites at the Rosewood London, for example, qualify for free access to the VIP private terminal at Londons Heathrow Airport. Qatar Airways Al Safwa first-class lounge at Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar, offers 12 private bedrooms. American Airlines offers Flagship Lounge access to first- and business-class passengers on transcontinental and international flights, and has opened new ones at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Miami International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport and OHare International Airport outside of Chicago since last year. The lounges have hot and cold buffets, wine, Champagne and create-your-own cocktails, showers and quiet rooms. All lounges except OHares also have restaurant-style dining for first-class passengers. United opened its first Polaris Lounge available only to passengers flying in its Polaris, or business class, and to first-class passengers on Star Alliance airlines flights at OHare in December 2016. Since spring, it has opened other lounges at San Francisco International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. Other Polaris lounges are also planned in Los Angeles and at Washington Dulles International Airport. These will feature a restaurant offering local cuisine; relaxation areas, including daybeds with Saks Fifth Avenue bedding; and shower suites with valet service. But Americans and Uniteds lounges are in many ways overshadowed by older and newer top-tier airport lounges operated by carriers from outside the United States. Take for example Lufthansas First Class Terminal, which opened at Frankfurt Airport in 2004 and was refurbished in 2014, and Cathay Pacific Airways Pier first-class lounge at Hong Kong International Airport, which opened in 2001 and was refurbished in 2014. Luxury lounges are also operated by the airline alliances. They are often at highly competitive hub airports and their costs are jointly shared by alliance members. The Star Alliance has seven lounges worldwide, with an eighth scheduled to open in Amsterdam early next year. The SkyTeam Airline Alliance has six worldwide, with new ones scheduled to open in Istanbul and Santiago, Chile, next year. Since 2013, American Express has opened a Centurion Lounge at eight airports in the United States and in Hong Kong. New lounges are scheduled to open next year at New Yorks JFK, Denver and Los Angeles airports. The lounges are only for holders of its Platinum and Centurion credit cards. These lounges offer menus designed by well-known chefs, shower suites, noise-buffering work spaces, family rooms and staff members who provide credit-card and concierge services. Tyler Dikman, co-founder of LoungeBuddy, an app that rates airport lounges worldwide and sells access to many of them, said elaborate lounges introduced by many carriers from outside the United States raised the bar, requiring U.S. airlines to compete. Many carriers use their top-tier lounges as an extension of their premium onboard experience, promoting them on their websites, said Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst and president of Atmosphere Research Group. Indeed, Paul Priestman, director of PriestmanGoode, a London industrial design company that was hired by United to help develop Polaris, including its website and lounges, said his companys concepts for the Polaris experience were designed to create consistency, which he called everything in the travel experience. Its what people remember. We try and make sure all touch points are similar, so the overall effect is calmer, and travelers enjoy the experience more, so they repeat, become regular. Jane L. Levere is a New York Times writer. Just a few years ago, Thomas Siebel often faced skepticism when encouraging big companies to adopt internet-style cloud computing. Many companies, he said, had qualms about relying on the faraway data centers. Now his customers have a different concern: One cloud service isnt enough. They dont want to be tied to one big tech company, said Siebel, chief executive of C3 IoT, a software company that uses cloud computing to analyze data coming from industrial machines. And Siebel is adapting. After initially working closely with Amazon, a pioneer in cloud computing, C3 IoT now also has a technology and marketing partnership with Microsoft. And it is negotiating a similar agreement with Google. For a few years, it looked as if Amazon would run away with the cloud computing business, piling up market share as it has with online shopping. But in the past couple of years, many companies have decided that they dont want to depend on Amazon alone and are spreading out their business. That has helped Microsoft most of all. And the software giant has emerged as a strong No. 2 in the cloud market. Microsoft provided further evidence of its rise in the cloud business Thursday when it reported its most recent quarterly financial results. Microsofts Azure unit, which supplies cloud computer processing and storage, and competes most directly with Amazon Web Services, grew by 89 percent over the same period a year ago. The company also reported strong growth in its other cloud offerings. The competition to supply the foundation layer of computing and software the cloud-era equivalent of an operating system is heated and costly. The biggest players, analysts estimate, are spending up to $10 billion a year on their global networks of data centers. This core cloud business is a $60 billion-a-year market, which grew by 50 percent in the first quarter of this year, according to Synergy Research Group. In that fast-growing market, Amazon holds a 33 percent share, unchanged since the end of 2015. Over the same span, Microsofts share climbed from 7 to 13 percent, and Googles doubled to 6 percent. John Dinsdale, chief analyst at Synergy Research, predicted that the cloud giants would get bigger and capture a steadily rising share of corporate technology spending especially as they add capabilities, like machine learning and artificial intelligence. The information technology market is going to increasingly gravitate toward a small number of hyperscale cloud providers, Dinsdale said. In a recent research report on that market, Gartner identified three top-tier companies Amazon, Microsoft and Google. And it listed only three others, Alibaba, Oracle and IBM, as their competitors. Its a two-horse race between Amazon and Microsoft at this stage, said Raj Bala, a Gartner analyst. Google is making headway, nipping at their heels, but its still behind the leaders. For Amazon and Google, cloud-computing services were a natural outgrowth of their original businesses e-commerce for Amazon and search for Google. Both companies were born on the internet. Not so for Microsoft, which has made the most striking transition to the cloud. Its heritage, corporate wealth and industry dominance were based on selling packaged software and its Windows operating system for personal computers. Amazon holds some formidable advantages in the cloud market. It has the most customers some spending more than $100 million a year and more than 2,000 consulting partners to help companies use increasing amounts of Amazon cloud services. But Microsoft has the advantage of being mainly a supplier of technology to businesses, unlike Amazon and Google. Its long-standing relationships with corporate customers, analysts say, are helping Microsoft gain ground as mainstream companies increasingly move to cloud technology. Microsoft has recently announced cloud deals with companies including Walmart, General Electric, Bayer, Starbucks and Campbell Soup. Steve Lohr is a New York Times writer. When Kathleen Knight isnt teaching belly dancing classes in Tulsa, Okla., shes often searching for bargain clothes, nail art and knickknacks from overseas merchants on Wish. But the one product Knight wishes shed never bought from the e-commerce app is makeup. The 41-year-old purchased cosmetics last year that she said were listed as Urban Decay and MAC products. The makeup took about two months to arrive, and when they did, she saw immediately something was off. The eyeliner fell out of its tubes, and some of the eyeshadows had to be chiseled to get any of the product out. The powders smelled vaguely sulfuric, she said, and when she applied them onto her right eye, her skin promptly broke out. It looked like somebody had punched me in the face, Knight said. There was pus coming out of my eye. San Franciscos Wish, reportedly valued at more than $8 billion, has built one of the fastest-growing e-commerce businesses by offering a dizzying range of products that sometimes sell for as much as 90 percent off regular prices. The bulk of merchandise available through the app comes from distributors overseas. A $30 smartwatch on Wish might take longer to ship, come in nonstandard packaging and lack the specs of an Apple Watch, but shoppers dont mind because it costs a fraction of the price. That calculus becomes riskier, though, when it comes to cosmetics. Fake makeup is a widespread problem online. In a recent report, the U.S. Government Accountability Office tested frequently counterfeited consumer products from Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Sears Marketplace, Newegg and eBay. Officials found that of the 13 cosmetics they purchased, none were authentic. The companies said at the time that they were committed to ferreting out counterfeits. Wish has largely avoided scrutiny over sales of potentially counterfeit or harmful consumer goods. Thats despite a Danish Consumer Council advisory in April warning consumers against purchasing cosmetics from the app, which is the fifth-most-popular online store in the country. Out of 39 cosmetic products purchased for the study, the group found 21 did not display an ingredients list as required by European Union regulations, and one face cream in the sample contained two prohibited preservatives. Online on sites like Reddit and Twitter and in comments on beauty blogger YouTube videosand echoed in interviews with several customers who spoke to Bloomberg, complaints abound of rashes, pink eye and other skin problems resulting from cosmetics purchased on Wish. The company didnt respond to multiple requests for comment. Estee Lauder Cos., the maker of MAC, said shoppers should buy from its stores or an authorized retailer listed on its website. Wish got its start in 2011 as an e-commerce shop for everything from ultra-discounted makeup, to clothing, to home supplies. The companyco-founded by a pair of Google and Yahoo veteransquietly generated more than $1 billion in revenue last year and currently lists more than 200 million items, largely from sellers in Asia. The ascendance of Wish into the global shopping ecosystem was swift. It has been among the 100 most-downloaded mobile apps in the U.S. almost every day since 2015, according to research firm App Annie, and was the 17th most-downloaded iPhone app last year, just ahead of Twitter. Its backed by more than $1 billion in venture capital. But with great scale comes greater room for error. The site is among the top 10 global platforms with the most counterfeits, said Joan Porta of brand protection company Red Points. That places Wish alongside eBay, Amazon, Facebook and Instagram. We find hundreds to thousands of counterfeit listings every week, Porta said. Emily McCormick is a Bloomberg writer. About a decade ago, backstage at Zanies comedy club in Nashville, Tennessee, Bobcat Goldthwait felt so sick of doing the whinnying shriek and guttural grunt of the character that made him famous that he decided to kill him off. Then he walked onstage and shocked everyone by acting like himself. It was shaky, he said of the response to his composed manner. One frustrated fan yelled, Do the voice! He had heard it before, and knew a quick howl would appease the crowd. Instead, he dug in and has remained there since, with a few fleeting exceptions. But his tortured relationship with his own persona remains a preoccupation, including in the first episode of his darkly satirical Bobcat Goldthwaits Misfits & Monsters, a Twilight Zone"-like anthology series that has its premiere Wednesday on TruTV. It tells the macabre story of a beloved cartoon character named Bubba the Bear who enters the real world to terrorize the actor who gave him his dopey voice (Seth Green). Goldthwait, who wrote and directed the series, imagined the episode as Who Framed Roger Rabbit meets Cape Fear, but once it was finished, his daughter, Tasha Goldthwait, the shows costume designer, helped him understand its real subtext when she pointed out that he has a Bubba haunting him. Ive always been battling this perception people have of me, this character, he said over coffee in downtown New York during a recent trip from Southern California to finish editing. It follows me around. Bubba the Bear shows up when Im checking into a hotel, when Im on a plane. I cant get upset with people if theyre only aware of a small part of my body of work. But inside I do. Goldthwait, 55, projects a cerebral and cheerful presence offstage, but its not quite the polar opposite of his former persona. His eyes still sometimes dart around, often downward, and hes jarringly comfortable displaying vulnerability and sharing his insecurities. Talking to him makes you think theres more connective tissue between him and his alter ego than you might assume. Monsters represents the latest step in a remarkable comeback for a stand-up prodigy, who started killing in front of crowds as a teenager, became a superstar a few years later, then plummeted fast like so many 1980s character comics (Pauly Shore, Andrew Dice Clay) had before him. The compromises of success have found their way into his work but have also led to his reinvention, helping him move behind the camera to make eccentric independent movies (Shakes the Clown, Worlds Greatest Dad) and an acclaimed documentary (Call Me Lucky). It all began with that voice, whose origins can be traced to a sketch group called the Generic Comic in 1970s Syracuse, New York, run by Goldthwait, born Robert, and his childhood friend Tom Kenny, known now as the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants. As teenage oddballs with a love of punk rock, Andy Kaufman and classic comedy, they pushed each other to perform. It helped that Goldthwaits father was a sheet metal worker who specialized in Budweiser-inspired performance art like putting on a cape and telling neighbors he would jump off the refrigerator into a mayonnaise jar. (He would stop, then say, No, its Hellmanns, thats the wrong brand.') Goldthwait developed a gullible, gibberish-spouting character who tells the local news about seeing aliens or Bigfoot. After some success, he started to go onstage at comedy clubs in Syracuse and later Boston as this wild-eyed fool, Kenny recalled. It was a mindblower, he said, adding that it seemed as if a maniac had accidentally stumbled onstage until he started telling jokes. They didnt know if he was for real, and then there was this big relief laugh. As the character developed, Goldthwait adopted an adversarial stance to stand-up itself. My wife is so fat, he yelled, and when the crowd responded, How fat is she? he retorted with a mixture of anger and hurt. Shes real fat. I dont have a joke for everything, you know. His formally experimental early stand-up arrived a decade before alt comedy, which made it seem all the more out of place amid comics in sweaters making fun of commercials and airline food. But his work holds up remarkably well, and his inspired album Meat Bob is one of the absolute funniest of the 1980s. But the freshness of his act was eventually lost as he crossed over into rock-star-level fame. He played 4,000-seat arenas, embraced a rock aesthetic, wearing eyeliner and mascara, and became friends with David Bowie, who invited him to do a double act. (Goldthwait said no.) At the height of his fame, Goldthwait even attended a costume party at Princes house. Dressed as Peter Pan, Prince greeted him warmly, asking if he wanted a drink. When I said no, Prince said, Its good not to drink because theres lot of weird people here. And I go, Yeah, you and me, were the regular Joes.'" Goldthwait laughed recalling the episode. Princes voice, he added, dropped 10 octaves and said, Thats funny.' But as he starred in forgettable movies like the talking-horse comedy Hot to Trot, his act hardened into gimmickry. I started out making fun of comedy, he said. Then I became the thing I was making fun of. His rebellion against his character, Id argue, began on talk shows in the early 1990s when he set the chair of The Tonight Show on fire and destroyed the set of The Arsenio Hall Show. I felt like I was turning into Richard Simmons, a novelty, and I had anger about that," Goldthwait said. Kenny had another theory: He was trying to burn himself down, consciously or not. If so, it worked. Goldthwait had increasing trouble selling tickets, once playing a show at a casino for only two people. When he tried to pivot to directing, he couldnt get any work until Jimmy Kimmel, who knew him from radio, asked him to make taped segments for The Man Show and then his talk show. Kimmel hired me to direct his show when most people were using my name as a punch line, he said. Kimmel said he was looking for a director who could add jokes the way Hal Gurnee did for David Letterman. I noticed that Bobcat would get scenes much quicker than other directors because he already knew what was funny, Kimmel said, adding that he would rib him on set, responding to an instruction by saying: Do the voice. Do the voice!' After leaving talk shows, Goldthwait dedicated himself to independent movies, making as few artistic compromises as possible. To pull this off, he radically scaled back his expenses, even moving in with three roommates to save money. A lot of people would never do that, he said. But it was super freeing. I could say no to things I didnt want to do. Hes still doing stand-up, recently going onstage in Los Angeles to talk about the death of his friend Robin Williams. (We were comedians. We talked about suicide for 31 years. Sometimes we talked about other stuff.) He says he may want to do a Netflix special, but right now, he just wants to connect with audiences. Theres such an emphasis in our society on making it as opposed to the quality of your life, he said, flashing a smile. Success is for creeps. This article originally appeared in The New York Times There are two types of travelers: the kind that travel to explore a city and the kind that travel to explore a food scene. A recent ranking conducted by U.K.-based Bott + Co. listed the top 50 metropolitan areas around the world known to charm foodies and food aficionados alike. Each city on the list was selected based on the number of different international cuisines it offers its population. Culinary dishes were extremely wide-ranging and include fare from countries on every continent minus Antarctica. For the ranking, Bott + Co. looked at cities that had a population of one million or more and then looked at the number of different international cuisines each city offered. They relied on Google Maps to verify each city had restaurants dedicated to a specific national cuisine. Its no surprise that many of the top 20 cities on the list have well-known food halls that summon hungry crowds, like Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia which offers more than 30 restaurants inside. San Francisco, also known for its food hall at the Ferry Building, is considered a foodie mecca to some, ranked 10th with a total of 60 different national cuisines. San Francisco offered everything from Australian to Yemini dishes. MORE: Eat your way around the world without leaving San Francisco Having a wide selection of international dishes is one thing, but let's not forget the foodie experiences that draw crowds to these cities in the first place: San Francisco has an ongoing list foodie staples like the California Sisig burrito served at Senor Sisig to the Secret Breakfast ice cream found at Humphry Slocombe. MORE: Bay Area foodie bucket list: All the dishes you must try whether youre a newcomer or native Other West Coast cities that made the top 20 include Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle. To check out the full city rankings, click here. Click on the slideshow above to see the top 20 foodie cities around the world. Follow Susana Guerrero on Twitter and email her at sguerrero@sfchronicle.com A Madison Bumgarner start in an American League park creates intrigue. Will manager Bruce Bochy let Bumgarner bat? The answer was always no until June 30, 2016, when Bochy ceded the designated hitter in Oakland and wrote Bumgarner into the ninth spot in the lineup, the first time a team had used a pitcher instead of a DH in 40 years. Bumgarner doubled and scored in the Giants 12-6 win. He is not expecting to hit again when he pitches Saturday night. I havent talked to him, but I dont think I will be, Bumgarner said Friday. I feel weve got plenty of guys. We were running a little short at the time, meaning the bench in 2016. Bumgarner did not pitch in Oakland last year. Bumgarner has not gotten untracked at the plate since his return from a broken hand. After hitting .206 with three homers last year, he has one single in 18 at-bats in 2018. He did hit into two hard outs in his final first-half start against the As on July 13. Like any hitter, he said, he feels more comfortable with more at-bats. I think more than anything its repetition, he said. I didnt hit much when I was rehabbing. Longoria timetable: Evan Longoria could be activated as early as Tuesday, less than seven weeks after a Dan Straily pitch in Miami fractured his glove hand. Longoria went 2-for-3 with an RBI double Friday in his first rehab game for Triple-A Sacramento. He played five innings on defense and is expected to play seven Saturday. The Giants will use Mondays off day to assess whether the third baseman is ready to return for Tuesdays series opener in Seattle. Belt out: First baseman Brandon Belt started the second half on paternity leave awaiting the birth of his and wife Haylees second son. To replace him, the Giants recalled Ryder Jones from Sacramento. Jones started at third base in his first big-league game this season. He hit .173 in 150 at-bats as a rookie last year and was hitting .299 with nine homers for the River Cats. Machado reaction: Bochy reacted to a question about the Dodgers acquisition of Manny Machado the way he always does when asked about another teams move. He always says the Giants need to worry about themselves. This time he expressed it more emphatically, saying, Weve got to pick it up over here. Playing a couple games over .500 is not going to work. Panik update: Second baseman Joe Panik (groin strain) took batting practice and could begin his rehab assignment next week. Henry Schulman is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Facing condemnation from allies and enemies alike on Capitol Hill, President Trump was outnumbered even in the Oval Office. Top aides gathered to persuade the president to issue a rare walk-back of the comments hed made raising doubts about U.S. intelligence conclusions of Russian election interference as he stood alongside Vladimir Putin. Vice President Mike Pence, National Security Adviser John Bolton and chief of staff John Kelly stood united in the West Wing on Tuesday in their contention that the commander in chief had some cleanup to do. They brought with them words of alarm from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, as well as from a host of congressional leaders and supporters of the president for whom Trumps public praise of Putin proved to be a bridge too far. Even for Trump, a leader who has increasingly come to cast off the constraints and guidance of aides, the him-against-the-world position proved untenable. Trump may like doing things his way, eschewing advice and precedent like no president before, but he never likes being alone. Walking offstage with Putin after their joint news conference in Helsinki, Trump was riding high after his second summit with an adversarial leader in as many months. The highly choreographed affairs with Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had been sought by Trump as a way to boost his credibility abroad and his favorability at home, and he believed the latest one had accomplished the task. But as Air Force One took from Finland on Monday night, Trumps mood darkened. The president started to stew about negative media coverage, even from usually friendly Fox News, according to five outside allies and Republicans close to the White House. By the time he arrived home, the parade of critical statements had become a stampede, leaving Trump the most isolated hed been in the White House since last years controversy over white supremacist protesters in Charlottesville, Va. Some in the presidents circle saw parallels in the response to that incident, when the president walked back his August comments critical of both sides for protests in the Virginia city, only to later revert to his initial position that both white supremacists and their detractors shared blame for the violence. Trump waited 27 hours after his initial comments in Helsinki before saying hed used a confusing double negative and meant would instead of wouldnt in a key sentence at his news conference about who was responsible for election meddling. The sentence should have been: I dont see any reason why I wouldnt or why it wouldnt be Russia, the president said of the Kremlins meddling in the 2016 campaign. Zeke Miller and Jonathan Lemire are Associated Press writers. WASHINGTON The Trump administration disclosed Saturday a previously top-secret set of documents related to the wiretapping of Carter Page, the onetime Trump campaign adviser who was at the center of highly contentious accusations by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee that the FBI had abused its surveillance powers. Democrats in February rejected the Republican claims that law enforcement officials had improperly obtained the warrant, accusing them of putting out misinformation to defend President Trump and sow doubts about the origin of the Russia investigation. But even as Republicans and Democrats issued dueling memos characterizing the materials underlying the surveillance of Page, the public had no access to the records. On Saturday evening, those materials an October 2016 application to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to wiretap Page, along with several renewal applications were released to the New York Times and other news organizations that had filed Freedom of Information Act lawsuits to obtain them. Trump had declassified their existence this year. This application targets Carter Page, the document said. The FBI believes Page has been the subject of targeted recruitment by the Russian government. A line was then redacted, and then it picked up with undermine and influence the outcome of the 2016 U.S. presidential election in violation of U.S. criminal law. Mr. Page is a former foreign policy adviser to a candidate for U.S. president. Page has denied being a Russian agent. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday. The documents made public Saturday were heavily redacted in places, and some of the substance of the applications had become public in February, via the Republican and Democratic Intelligence Committee memos. Visible portions showed that the FBI in stark terms had told the intelligence court that Page has established relationships with Russian government officials, including Russian intelligence officers; that the bureau believed the Russian governments efforts are being coordinated with Page and perhaps other individuals associated with Trumps campaign; and that Page has been collaborating and conspiring with the Russian government. The fight over the surveillance of Page centered on the fact that the FBI, in making the case to judges that he might be a Russian agent, had used some claims drawn from a notorious Democratic-funded dossier compiled by Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence agent. Republicans portrayed the Steele dossier as dubious and blasted the FBI for using material from it while not telling the court that the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign had funded the research. But Democrats noted that the application also contained evidence against Page unrelated to the dossier, and an unredacted portion of the application discussed efforts by Russian agents in 2013 to recruit Americans as spies. It has previously been reported that Page was one of their targets, although any discussion of Pages interactions with them is still censored. Charlie Savage is a New York Times writer. BRANSON, Mo. Grab the baby! Those were the last words Tia Coleman recalls her sister-in-law yelling before the tourist boat they were on sank into a Missouri lake, killing 17 people, including nine of Colemans family members. A huge wave hit, scattering passengers on the vessel known as a duck boat into Table Rock Lake near Branson, Coleman said, recounting the ordeal from a hospital bed. When the Indianapolis woman came up for air, she was alone. She prayed. I said, Jesus please keep me, just keep me so I can get to my children, Coleman told television station KOLR. She spotted a rescue boat and swam as fast as she could. Colemans husband and three children, ages 1, 7 and 9; her 45-year-old sister-in-law and 2-year-old nephew; her mother-in-law and father-in-law and her husbands uncle all died Thursday night in the deadliest accident of its kind in nearly two decades. Others killed included a Missouri couple who had just celebrated a birthday; another Missouri couple who were on what was planned as their last extended vacation; an Illinois woman who died while saving her granddaughters life; an Arkansas father and son; and a retired pastor who was the boats operator. State and federal investigators were trying to determine what sent the vessel, originally built for military use in World War II, to its demise. An initial assessment blamed thunderstorms and winds that approached hurricane strength, but it wasnt clear why the amphibious vehicle even ventured into the water. Coleman said the crew told passengers they were going into the water first, before the land-based part of their tour, because of the incoming storm. The area had been under a severe thunderstorm watch for hours and a severe thunderstorm warning for more than 30 minutes before the boat sank. Twenty-nine passengers and two crew members were aboard. Fourteen people survived, including two adults who remained hospitalized Saturday. Coleman and her 13-year-old nephew were the only of the 11 members of her family who boarded the boat to make it out alive. Tia Coleman says the crew showed passengers where the life jackets were but said, Dont worry about it; you wont need it. When the swell crashed into the boat, they were told to stay seated, she said. When that boat is found all those life jackets are going to be on there Coleman said. Nobody pulled them off. Margaret Stafford is an Associated Press writer. In Cerro Gordo, there is a single saloon with swinging doors, two out-of-tune pianos and a mysterious bloodstain on the wall beneath three bullet holes. It is one of Brent Underwoods favorite places in the ghost town nestled in the Inyo Mountains, near Death Valley. Now that he owns it, Underwood plans on sharing it with the world. (He is still trying to learn the story behind the bloodstain.) Friday, Underwood and his friend Jon Bier became the latest owners of Cerro Gordo, which translates to fat hill, after buying it for $1.4 million. They plan to restore the town while preserving its past, Underwood said, adding that they hope to attract a variety of visitors. He said they expected to spend about $1 million to get things started. Jake Rasmuson of Bishop Real Estate said that he received hundreds of inquiries after the sale was announced in early June. Twelve of the offers were serious, he said, noting that the original asking price was $925,000. The previous owners of Cerro Gordo, who prefer to remain anonymous, are brothers who had inherited the town from their family, Rasmuson said. They felt it was the right time in their lives to sell the town, but they wanted to preserve its long history, he said. They felt that the offer from Underwood and Bier, while not the highest bid, aligned with their hope, Rasmuson said. The sellers really liked their vision, he said, adding that they closed the sale on Friday the 13th in true ghost town fashion. The town, which is about 200 miles north of Los Angeles, is just over 300 acres. It is known for its part in Wild West history and used to average about a murder a week during the 1870s, the height of the mining era, Rasmuson said. The property includes houses, an eight-bed bunkhouse, a church that also serves as a small theater, a general store and a museum. As with any credible ghost town, there have also been reported ghost sightings, he said. Underwood, 31, heard about the sale from a friend. As founder of HK Austin, a hostel located in Austin, Texas, he had been looking for other opportunities for a place that could combine his passions of hospitality and history. He researched the town and read books about its history. About three weeks ago, he flew out to meet with the owners and Rasmuson. He toured the town and met its current caretaker, Robert Desmarais, who will continue to live there as they restore buildings. In 1865 a man named Pablo Flores discovered silver at the site, near where Mexicans had been searching for precious metals, and he began mining operations there, according to the towns website. By 1869, the town became the largest producer of silver and lead in the state, until falling prices and setbacks ended most of the activity. It was revived once more in the early 1900s, when high-grade zinc was excavated, and Cerro Gordo became the largest U.S. producer of zinc carbonates, according to the site. But by 1920, only about 10 men were employed by a Cerro Gordo mining company. By the 1950s, the town was largely abandoned. In the mid-2000s, the owner at the time tried to restore parts of the town with the help of volunteers. He also catered to large parties in the American Hotel, a two-story building attached to the saloon. Desmarais is currently the only resident in town, but Underwood said his plan is to soon make it comfortable enough for more groups to stay. He said that Desmarais had recently installed a water pump in the bunkhouse, which will be the first building restored. Some of the plans include creating a music studio within the bunkhouse for musicians and building an observation deck in the town, Underwood said. On the night they closed the deal, he said, he saw shooting stars in the clear skies. Underwood, who lives in Austin, plans on moving to Cerro Gordo in August, managing his hostel from afar as he and Bier restore the town. The first year will likely be a labor of love, he said. We might get quite a bit more done because theres not too many distractions when youre up miles away from anybody else, he said. From a balcony in the hotel, Underwood said, Mount Whitney is visible. On the other side of town, Death Valley National Park is within view. The saloon, with its wood stove and antique bottles, is an experience unique to the town, Underwood said. He said he hoped to attract both individual travelers and groups on retreats. You very much feel like youre back in time, he said. Melissa Gomez is a New York Times writer. DANVILLE (BCN) A highly-sought-after suspect in a Danville bank robbery and more than six other bank robberies in California killed himself today in Goleta in Santa Barbara County, police and sheriff's officials said. Keith Goodwin, 41, of Fresno, allegedly shot himself to death in a bathroom in a Goleta business in the 100 block of Carlo Drive. An employee of the business had called the sheriff's office at 12:25 p.m. to say that a suspicious person had come into the business, discarded clothing and was in the bathroom. Deputies surrounded the business, evacuated about 15 people from several small businesses in the area and when they opened the bathroom door, Goodwin was found dead with an apparent gunshot wound to the head, according to sheriff's officials. Goodwin was being sought in at least nine other bank robberies in California in the last two months, police and sheriff's officials said. The FBI was involved in the search. Before killing himself, Goodwin allegedly robbed the Rabobank at 5956 Calle Real in Goleta where he passed a note demanding cash from a teller and made threatening statements. Sheriff's officials said someone allegedly saw Goodwin with a gun during the robbery. Goodwin allegedly robbed the First Republic Bank at 680 Hartz Ave. in Danville on July 12. Danville police said Goodwin flashed a firearm in that bank robbery too. A law enforcement investigation continues into whether Goodwin is connected to the bank robberies outside of Danville and Goleta. 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. STANFORD (BCN) Physicist Burton Richter, a Stanford professor emeritus, former director of SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and winner of the 1976 Nobel Prize in physics, died Wednesday in Palo Alto, according to the Stanford News Service. He was 87. Richter was the Paul Pigott professor in physical sciences at Stanford. His Nobel Prize-winning discovery of the J/psi subatomic particle, a triumph shared with MIT's Samuel Ting, confirmed the existence of the "charm quark" and led to an overhaul of long-standing theories. One Nobel committee member at the time described the event as "the greatest discovery ever in the field of elementary particles." "Burt was unique in that he was both a particle physicist and an accelerator physicist, whereas most people are one or the other," SLAC Director Chi-Chang Kao said in a statement. "Burt was an inspiration for us all to be bold in what we aim for." Richter was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1931. His love of science began during nightly blackouts during World War II. While meant to foil potential air raids, the dark nights instead inspired a young Richter to shoot for the stars. He received his undergraduate degree in 1952 and his doctorate in physics from MIT in 1956. In 1984, Richter became director of SLAC and held that position through 1999, overseeing construction of the Stanford Linear Collider. After stepping down from SLAC, Richter focused on public policy issues in science and energy. In 2010, he published "Beyond Smoke and Mirrors: Climate Change and Energy in the 21st Century." Richter is survived by his wife, Laurose, his two children and two grandchildren. 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. SANTA CRUZ (BCN) The Santa Cruz Fire Department is warning residents about a local company that is attempting to defraud local businesses. The company has been presenting itself as a fire extinguisher service company, has been approaching local businesses and telling them they need to have their fire extinguishers serviced, Santa Cruz Fire Department Division Chief Jason Hajduk said in a release Thursday. The company tries to mislead businesses by claiming it is with a state fire agency and presents itself as representing the fire department, according to the release. Representatives from the company may be in uniform and in a marked vehicle and say they were sent by the fire department to service fire extinguishers and fire protection systems. The company requests payment in cash. In his statement, Hajduk said the Santa Cruz Fire Department does not endorse, recommend or send fire extinguisher servicing companies to local businesses. 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. SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) A woman charged with throwing a Chihuahua to its death from the seventh floor of a downtown San Francisco parking garage earlier this year was found guilty today on all charges. Following three weeks of trial and a day of jury deliberation, Wakeen "LaLa" Best was found guilty of animal cruelty, auto burglary and vandalism. "This defendant showed no remorse and is responsible for the death of a little, defenseless animal," District Attorney George Gascon said in a statement. "This verdict is a small step toward bringing justice for Dunky. This verdict also sends a clear message that in San Francisco there are consequences for harming our beloved pets." According to prosecutors, around 2 p.m. on Feb. 10, Best entered the Stockton-Sutter Street Garage and broke into a Mercedes that was parked on the seventh floor. During the trial, the car's owner testified that he had left his 4-year-old male Chihuahua named Dunky inside while he went to lunch. He found Dunky's lifeless body on the street a short while later. Prosecutors played several garage surveillance videos for the jury, many of which placed Best at the scene around the time Dunky's death happened. A former security guard at the parking garage testified that Best frequented the seventh floor and often had to be told to leave. A dash cam inside the Mercedes that was activated but was facing away from the car, captured audio from inside the Mercedes. In the audio, a dog can be heard barking as a car alarm is going off. A person's voice can then be heard saying, "Shut your a** up." Seconds later, the dog's barking comes to a halt and the voice can be heard saying, "You little b****." Prosecutor Asha Jameson argued that Dunky had caught Best off-guard and foiled her plans to burglarize the Mercedes. Although the crime was unplanned, Jameson said, "she needed to stop the barking." Jameson said Best then walked over to a balcony on the other side of the garage and held Dunky over it before dropping him. In a second dash cam video, a person enters the Mercedes and says, "Oh my god." Seconds later, a person with long dark hair carrying a large bag is seen walking away from the vehicle. Minutes later, Best is seen exiting the garage from the first floor. Defense attorney Alexandra Pray contended that while the person seen in the dash cam video walking away from the victim's car is indeed Best, another person broke into the Mercedes and killed Dunky. Pray argued that Best was not Dunky's killer, as the ledge from which Dunky fell was about 144 feet away from the parked car. "It doesn't make sense. There were closer barriers," Pray said. Additionally, Pray argued that if Best were attempting to burglarize the Mercedes she would have taken personal property from it after dropping Dunky. No property, however, was taken from the Mercedes. The day after Dunky's death, based on the surveillance videos, investigators identified Best as a suspect and arrested her near Polk and Bush streets. "This particularly cruel circumstance of this case spurred San Francisco Police Department investigators to quickly identify the suspect from prior contacts and make an arrest," Police Chief William Scott said in a statement. "We are thankful to the San Francisco District Attorney's Office for their diligent work to secure a conviction in this case. In the weeks following this crime, city garages including the Sutter Street and Stockton Street parking structure have installed fencing, signage, better lighting and surveillance cameras to discourage would-be thieves. Today, thanks to collaborative efforts among city agencies, local businesses and residents, auto burglaries in our city are down 20 percent year to date." In a statement, Virginia Donahue, San Francisco Animal Care and Control's executive director, said, "We are grateful to the jury for the verdict in this case and for the hard work of the district attorney's office and the San Francisco Police Department. We hope that this gives Dunky's family some-comfort." Best is set to return to court for sentencing on Aug. 17. 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. FAIRFIELD (BCN) Police in Fairfield have arrested a man in connection with the 2016 shooting death of his roommate. Jeremy Fisher, 22, of Fairfield, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of homicide, according to the Fairfield Police Department. On May 30, 2016, officers responded to a report of a shooting in the backyard of a residence in the 1000 block of Harding Street. The victim, identified as Anthony Gaines, 46, of Fairfield, suffered a gunshot wound to the head. Gaines was transported to the hospital but died from his injuries a month later, police said. Investigators used DNA evidence to identify Fisher as a suspect in the case, and on Thursday, he was detained by detectives, questioned about his involvement in the shooting and was ultimately arrested, according to police. Police said Fisher and the victim lived in the same residence at the time of the shooting. 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. SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) Mayor London Breed today appointed a new trustee to the City College of San Francisco Board of Trustees. In a ceremony at the school at 150 Phelan Ave., Breed introduced Ivy Lee as the board's newest trustee, filling the seat previously held by newly elected Supervisor Rafael Mandelman. Lee, 46, has worked for the past five years as the Chief of Staff for Supervisor Jane Kim, assisting with the legislation that established the Free City College program, making the school the first free higher learning institution in the U.S. "When I was thinking about this appointment, of course I met with Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who occupied this seat, and asked what do you want in a person, what do you want in this particular seat," Breed said today. Breed said that Mandelman said he wanted someone who is going to take care of the college and be able to make tough financial decisions. "When thinking about it, I couldn't think of anyone better than Ivy Lee to occupy this seat," Breed said. "Not only has she led the effort for Free City College with Supervisor Kim, but she has led a number of equity programs and things that matter to bridge the gap between our communities of color, and education plays a critical role in getting young people to a better place." Lee said, "I was genuinely surprised and honored to be offered this opportunity to serve by our new mayor. I am truly honored that you would reach out to me and place your faith in me to do this work. Because education and teachers, both in and out of school, have made all the difference in the world in my life." Lee credited her immigrant grandmother, who raised her, as her best teacher in life. "I have no regrets about dedicating my life to trying to create opportunities and trying to break down barriers for other people, especially for folks who have no safety net," she said. Lee is a civil rights attorney and her practice has focused on defending and advancing the rights of survivors of human trafficking, domestic violence and sexual assault for more than a decade. Prior to serving as Kim's Chief of Staff, Lee directed the Immigrant Rights and Human Trafficking Project at Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach in San Francisco. Lee has also worked as a staff attorney at the Asian Law Caucus. Lee, a resident of the city's Sunset District, is married to San Francisco Superior Court Judge Victor Hwang and together they have three children. Lee will serve as trustee through November 2019. 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. SAN BRUNO (BCN) Police in San Bruno have arrested a man in connection with a bank robbery that occurred at a Wells Fargo bank Wednesday. Gerald Billman, 62, of San Francisco, was arrested on suspicion of crimes related to bank robbery and making criminal threats, according to the San Bruno Police Department. Officers responded Wednesday at 11:42 a.m. to the Wells Fargo bank at 875 El Camino Real on a report of a bank robbery. Police said a suspect entered the bank, threatened to shoot the teller and demanded cash. The suspect then fled the area on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash. Responding officers were able to obtain a description of the suspect, identified as Billman, and he was later located and taken into custody. Police did not locate a firearm and said there was no firearm seen during the robbery. There were no reported injuries during the robbery. 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 highly-sought-after suspect in a Danville bank robbery and more than six other bank robberies in California killed himself Friday in Goleta in Santa Barbara County, police and sheriff's officials said. Keith Goodwin, 41, of Fresno, allegedly shot himself to death in a bathroom in a Goleta business in the 100 block of Carlo Drive. An employee of the business had called the sheriff's office at 12:25 p.m. to say that a suspicious person had come into the business, discarded clothing and was in the bathroom. Deputies surrounded the business, evacuated about 15 people from several small businesses in the area and when they opened the bathroom door, Goodwin was found dead with an apparent gunshot wound to the head, according to sheriff's officials. Goodwin was being sought in at least nine other bank robberies in California in the last two months, police and sheriff's officials said. A woman charged with throwing a Chihuahua to its death from the seventh floor of a downtown San Francisco parking garage earlier this year was found guilty Friday on all charges. Following three weeks of trial and a day of jury deliberation, Wakeen "LaLa" Best was found guilty of animal cruelty, auto burglary and vandalism. "This defendant showed no remorse and is responsible for the death of a little, defenseless animal," District Attorney George Gascon said in a statement. "This verdict is a small step toward bringing justice for Dunky. This verdict also sends a clear message that in San Francisco there are consequences for harming our beloved pets." According to prosecutors, around 2 p.m. on Feb. 10, Best entered the Stockton-Sutter Street Garage and broke into a Mercedes that was parked on the seventh floor. During the trial, the car's owner testified that he had left his 4-year-old male Chihuahua named Dunky inside while he went to lunch. He found Dunky's lifeless body on the street a short while later. The San Jose Police Officers Association Friday has again called for the firing of independent police auditor Aaron Zisser, who they allege has supported violence against officers. POA President Paul Kelly took issue with Zisser's attendance at a rally on July 7 protesting the July 2016 police killing of 18-year-old Anthony Nunez, but Zisser maintains that he attended a pre-rally gathering to listen to the family's concerns. At the protest, Kelly claimed an attendee directed comments at an individual police officer, saying, "We're coming for you, you murdered Anthony Nunez in front of his home." Kelly said Zisser's attendance at the pre-protest gathering showed support for the message. Zisser said he did not hear the statements and wouldn't have considered them inappropriate, but Kelly said he should have known better before associating himself with the group. Two of three men suspected of kidnapping and murdering a Cloverdale man over marijuana last month appeared in Sonoma County Superior Court Friday morning. Socorro Sierra, 34, of Healdsburg, and Climmie Smith-Hall, 30, of Santa Rosa, were appointed attorneys and served a criminal protective order to stay away from the family of the murder victim, 46-year-old Jose Martinez. They were arrested this week and are being held under no bail in the Sonoma County jail. Sierra and Smith-Hill were arraigned Thursday on kidnapping and first-degree murder charges and will return to court Aug. 7 to enter pleas. A third man, Felix Fernando Carreon, 43, of Santa Rosa, has not yet been charged in the case, Deputy District Attorney Barbara Nanney said Friday. Carreon is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Tuesday on a felony charge of possessing a leaded cane, or billy jack, and on misdemeanor charges of possessing methamphetamine and an opium pipe. He has been in custody on those charges since July 10. A man and a woman were injured in a shooting in West Oakland late Thursday night, police said. Officers who responded to reports of a shooting in the 3200 block of Adeline Street at about 11:56 p.m. on Thursday found the man and woman suffering from gunshot wounds, according to police. Oakland fire personnel and paramedics provided medical treatment to the victims at the scene and they were then transported to a local hospital for additional treatment, police said. No information has been released about a motive or suspects in the shooting. An Alameda County fire battalion chief who was mauled by a pit bull and seriously injured while fighting a fire at a home in unincorporated San Leandro last Saturday has been released from the hospital, according to the firefighters union. Battalion Chief John Whiting was released from Stanford Hospital this week and was said to be in good spirits, but still has a long road to recovery and will continue to work with doctors to develop a treatment plan for his injuries, union officials said. Whiting was part of a crew battling a house fire in the 16000 block of Maubert Avenue near Bayfair mall. He was attacked by a male pit bull while speaking with a 15-year-old girl who had been rescued from the two-story dwelling. Nearly 20 dogs were also rescued from the home. Anyone interested in donating to a fund to help with Whiting's recovery may write a check payable to the Local 55 Charity Fund and mail it to I.A.F.F. Local 55, 369 15th St., Oakland, Ca. 94612, or visit www.iafflocal55.org. 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. DUBLIN (BCN) A transient man from San Francisco was convicted today of two counts of forced oral copulation and one count of rape for sexually assaulting an intoxicated woman in San Leandro who he met after she boarded a BART train in San Francisco. Jurors, who deliberated for less than a day and a half, also convicted 29-year-old Meini Foster of multiple kidnapping clauses. He faces a state prison term of up to 75 years to life when he's sentenced by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Paul Delucchi on Sept. 28. However, they found him not guilty of an attempted sodomy charge, according to prosecutor Tim Wellman. Police and prosecutors said the victim, who's in her 20s, works in San Francisco and after work on the night of Dec. 15, 2016, she drank alcohol with work colleagues at a holiday party for more than six hours before she entered the Powell Street BART station in San Francisco at about 11:20 p.m. BART surveillance camera footage shows that the woman was "swaying back and forth and had trouble maintaining her balance" and "is so intoxicated she falls forward onto her hands and knees," San Leandro police Officer Deborah Trujillo wrote in a probable cause statement. The woman boarded a Dublin/Pleasanton train at 11:30 p.m. and was seen leaving the Bay Fair BART station in San Leandro with Foster at about 1:04 a.m. the next day, the police report says. Trujillo said Foster pulled her close to him when she tried to walk away from him and then led her down the stairs toward the station's exit. Foster then continued to lead the woman as she stumbled and took her into the BART station's parking lot, according to Trujillo. Foster next forced the woman onto nearby railroad tracks between Hesperian Boulevard and Halcyon Drive and forced her to orally copulate him by using physical force and verbal threats, Trujillo said. The woman yelled for help and tried to free herself from Foster but he raped and sodomized her, according to Trujillo. The woman continued to try to run and fight and yell for help but Foster again forced her to orally copulate him, Trujillo said. Foster finally left the woman in the mud at the railroad tracks but she had a hard time finding her way and when she knocked on a family's door at 3 a.m. to ask for help the residents mistook her for a burglar, ordered her to leave and called 911, according to Trujillo. However, police finally found the woman and took her to a hospital, where they conducted a sexual assault examination on her, Trujillo said. The DNA that was found on the woman matches Foster's, which was in the criminal justice system database because he had a prior sexual assault conviction, police said. Wellman said that during Foster's trial he was allowed to present evidence that in 2015 Foster sexually assaulted a homeless woman at the Pittsburg/Bay Point BART station and in 2016 he sexually battered a 16-year-old girl on a San Francisco Municipal Railway bus. 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. RICHMOND (BCN) A woman was found dead Thursday morning in a Richmond apartment, a police spokesman said today. Richmond resident Kishana Harley-Cadogan, 38, was found dead in an apartment in the 500 block of Berk Avenue after police went to the unit at 9:45 a.m. to conduct a welfare check, spokesman Lt. Felix Tan said. The apartment is part of Monterey Pines Apartments at 680 S. 37th St., which is near Kennedy High School, the Richmond Swim Center and Caliber: Beta Academy, a kindergarten through eighth-grade school. Tan said officers entered the apartment and found Harley-Cadogan dead with trauma to her torso. Police are not yet providing more details on how Harley-Cadogan was killed. Tan said investigators do not have a motive yet but they are looking for a vehicle, which they believe was the victim's. Police are looking for a Mercedes R500, which is a multi-purpose vehicle. 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. Reimposing sanctions aimed at Irans crude oil exports could prove harder than some members of the Trump administration apparently believe, speakers suggested at a July 18 Atlantic Council discussion. The rest of the world is not with us now, observed Brian OToole, an Atlantic Council nonresident senior fellow who previously worked 13 years in the federal government, including as a senior advisor in the Department of the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control. As Oil&gas journal writes in an article "Reimposing Iran oil sanctions may be difficult for US, speakers say", OToole said European governments were unhappy when the US withdrew in May from the Iran nuclear arms control agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). But the most consternation is with outliers like Turkey and India, which import a lot of Iranian oil, he said. I dont know if there are going to be waivers. The first negotiating team arrived in India today. But this administration has some breathing room because crude oil prices arent $100/bbl, said Amos J. Hochstein, a senior vice-president for marketing at Tellurian Inc. who previously was US Special Envoy for Energy Affairs and led the US Department of States Bureau of Energy Resources. Several European governments have announced they wont support companies based in their countries that try to avoid sanctions, Hochstein said. The biggest difference from 2012-15 is there at least was a process then. Now, some countries are wondering where this will end, he said. Sara Vakhshouri, founder and president of SVP International who formerly worked in public and private sectors of Irans oil industry, agreed that an uncertain expiration date is troublesome, while lower oil prices currently could become a problem if they start to rise quickly. During the previous embargo, Europe provided the backbone. Now, Saudi Arabia looks as if it could play that role this time, she said. We expect that by September, after sanctions have been in place for about a month, well have a better idea of whats happening. Russia may have impact Anna Borschevskaya, the Ira Weiner Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy who focuses on Russias policies in the Middle East, said the countrys relationship with Iran has been complicated, but the two governments could find common ground in opposing US sanctions once they are reimposed. Russia already has improved its relations with Iran, Borschevskaya told the group. Given its foreign policy stance toward the US, this could grow if it believes it would undermine the US position. Russia is taking a long-term view. It sees several obstacles, which it is determined to overcome. Robin Mills, chief executive of Qamar Energy, who spoke via a video hookup from the United Arab Emirates, said, The response of other regional countries will matter. Their key role will be to control production and exports, which they do relatively well. Other members in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are moving in as Venezuelas production continues to drop, he noted. Asked how new sanctions might be enforced, Hochstein said people still may be around in the federal government who learned how during the Obama administration. The questions will arise during implementation, he said. There will be cooperation between Treasury, which is responsible for financing, and State, which handles diplomatic moves. But the third leg on the stoolfinancial institutionsis more conservative and will move more slowly. OToole said, Another problem may be that so much oil trades in dollars. Policies will be the biggest question when it comes to details. This administration reacts more to the president, who changes his mind frequently. Possible problems in Turkey Turkey could present problems, some speakers suggested. It would be very difficult for it to cut off supplies from Iran. The Turks have said they would not comply with sanctions, and they intend to take as much oil from Iran as possible, Mills said. Hochstein added, There are serious infrastructure problems in Turkey. You could flood Istanbul with Russian gas, but that doesnt mean it could go to where its needed to satisfy winter heating demand. OToole added, The whole US relationship with Turkey could deteriorate with Turkey, regardless of whether [President Donald] Trump is fist-bumping [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Ordogan. That could bring condensates and other streams to the table. The question remains whether new sanctions will succeed, Hochstein said. Iran is not a passive player. Taking a couple of actions in the Strait of Hormuz could cause some traders to react, he said. The minute risk premiums are imposed, prices will go up and neighboring countries will be affected. Vakhshouri said, If something happens somewhere and 1 million b/d is suddenly off the market, whos going to comply with US sanctions? The market doesnt have that big a buffer. Spare capacity is much different from actual production. How much would Saudi Arabia be willing to provide, and for how long? OToole noted, China already has several trade issues with the US, so it probably wouldnt worry much about complying with US sanctions on Iranian oil. Saudi Arabia rejected concerns that its planning to oversupply global oil markets and said it will actually trim crude exports next month. As Bloomberg writes in the article Saudi Arabia says it wont oversupply the global oil market, under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to cool rallying prices, the kingdom bolstered production by the most in three years last month, pumping almost 10.5 million barrels a day. Yet it signaled on Thursday that it wont go any further for now, saying exports this month will be roughly equal to June, and will drop by 100,000 barrels a day in August. Saudi Arabia only exports barrels that are earmarked to match confirmed lifting requests by end users, and does not try to push oil into the market beyond its customers needs, the Energy Ministry said in a statement, citing Saudi Arabias liaison to OPEC, Adeeb Al-Aama. Oil prices reversed losses, rising briefly above $70 a barrel in New York. The worlds largest oil exporter is fulfilling a pledge made in late June that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia would raise output by about 1 million barrels a day. The result has been a retreat of about 6 percent in oil prices this month, helped by escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China and signs that supply disruptions in countries including Libya might not be as bad as initially feared. Saudi Arabia was said to have initially planned record crude output in July. Even with higher Saudi output, international markets are well-balanced this quarter, according to Al-Aama. Stockpiles are set to decline in the second half of the year because of robust demand and seasonal increases in consumption, he said. Holding production steady from June to July would mean shipping less crude than Saudi Arabia indicated after the OPEC deal. The kingdom initially planned to reach record output of 10.8 million barrels a day, people briefed on production policy said late last month, although that level was always dependent on the strength of domestic and international demand. Theres still some discord within OPEC and its partners over how much oil should be added to the market. The Saudis and Russians said they would implement an increase of about 1 million barrels a day, but Iran, which is seeing customers flee because of U.S. sanctions, insists it should be much less. Theres also plenty of external pressure. The group faces twin threats from the U.S. -- exhortations from the president to pump more crude, plus a bill working its way through Congress that could expose the cartel to lawsuits. A serviceman of the Azerbaijani army, soldier Samad Alyshov was killed as a result of the gross violation of the ceasefire by the Armenian armed forces, Trend reports. Azerbaijan's Ministry of Defense expresses its deep condolences to the relatives and friends of the martyr. Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called for continuation of negotiations with the Europeans after withdrawal of the US from nuclear deal. Khamenei made the remarks during a meeting with Iranian ambassadors and heads of Irans missions abroad on July 21, Trend reported citing the official website of the leader. Negotiations with the Europeans need not to stop, Khamenei said, adding that however, we should not linger, waiting for the European pack. Meanwhile, the numerous tasks that need to be carried out inside the country should be followed up. He further said that resolving the country's problems through negotiation or relations with the US is a clear mistake. I have previously pointed out that US governments words or even signatures cannot be relied on, thus negotiations with the US are useless. DAKAR, Senegal Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Africa on Saturday on a four-nation visit seeking deeper military and economic ties while his rival in a bitter trade war, the Trump administration, shows little interest in the worlds second most populous continent. This is Xis first trip abroad since he was appointed to a second term in March with term limits removed, allowing him to rule for as long as he wants. That rang familiar to some of Africas long-entrenched leaders. China is already Africas largest trading partner, and it opened its first military base on the continent last year in the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti, which this month launched a China-backed free trade zone it calls the largest in Africa. After surpassing the U.S. in arms sales to Africa in recent years, China this month hosted dozens of African military officials for the first China-Africa defense forum. Xi is stopping in Senegal and then Rwanda ahead of his participation in a summit of the BRICS emerging economies in South Africa that starts on Wednesday. The summit comes amid the United States trade war with China and tough trade negotiations with other key economic partners. Last month the foreign ministers of BRICS members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa criticized what they called a new wave of protectionism, saying U.S. measures undermine global trade and economic growth. Xis Africa visit also highlights Chinas sweeping Belt and Road initiative that envisages linking Beijing to Africa, Europe and other parts of Asia via a network of ports, railways and economic zones. While such high-profile projects bring badly needed infrastructure and generate economic growth, U.S. officials and others have warned that African nations are putting themselves into debt to China. Its government, banks and contractors loaned more than $94 billion to African governments and state-owned companies from 2000 to 2015, according to the China Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University. Public debt in the median sub-Saharan African country rose from 34 percent of GDP in 2013 to an estimated 53 percent in 2017, says a report in January by Wenjie Chen and Roger Nord of the International Monetary Fund. From oil in countries like Nigeria and Angola to rare minerals in Congo, Africas natural resources are a major draw for Chinas economy. Babacar Dione and Cara Anna are Associated Press writers. When a mysterious, extremely cursed-looking black sarcophagus was unearthed by archaeologists in Alexandria, Egypt this week, people very reasonably had some questions and qualms about opening it. Questions like, what will we do when the locusts come and darkness falls upon the Earth? Is this viral marketing for the new "Mummy" movie that nobody wanted? When it was opened, a mummified family of three, or possibly a trio of military officers, was found floating in a soup of blood-red sewage that's believed to have entered the sarcophagus through cracks in the side. Also, it smelled so bad that people trying to open it had to take a break for a while after they first cracked the lid open to air things out a bit. "I was the first to put my whole head inside the sarcophagus," said Mostafa Warizi of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, "and here I stand before you." "I am fine," he added in an apparent attempt to tempt fate. Some were disappointed at the lack of immaculately preserved mummies and/or curses. But one Scottish man appears to have had a very different reaction. Innes McKendrick has launched a Change.org petition to drink the liquid sewage, and more than 2,300 people have signed it. The petition is entitled "let people drink the red liquid from the dark sarcophagus." You might ask, a petition to whom? (It is addressed to "king of skeletons, egypt.") And why? "We need to drink the red liquid from the cursed dark sarcophagus in the form of some sort of carbonated energy drink so we can assume its powers and finally die," the petition helpfully explains. Reasons signees have provided for signing include "We've just run out of milk and it's breakfast time"; "I want the power of the old gods"; "It's the right thing to do"; "I wanna get crunk on bone juice"; "I want to drink the skeleton juice"; "I would like to drink some of the sarcophagus liquid"; "We want the forbidden Juice"; and "why the f not." McKendrick is not interested in hearing from the naysayers who say the liquid is sewage. "Please stop trying to tell me the skeleton juice is mostly sewage that's impossible everyone knows skeletons cannot poop," he wrote as an update. Unfortunately, interest in drinking the skeleton sewage cocktail may be growing unsustainably fast. "Okay please stop sharing this now," tweeted McKendrick after 648 had signed the petition, "or there might not be enough bone juice for everyone." McKendrick told SFGATE he found the level of support for drinking the forbidden juice "overwhelming," but not altogether surprising. "When news of the Dark Sarcophagus was first announced, people united behind the idea of an optimistic and self-determined future, where merely prying open the lid of a cursed tomb could propel us into a hopeful new world where ancient Egyptian gods block out the sun and tear apart each atom of the earth," he said via Twitter message. "After opening the Black and Accursed Sarcophagus failed to reap the results we sought, consuming the extremely hexed liquid inside seems like the natural evolution." "By consuming the Cursed Skeleton Juice in the form of a Carbonated High Caffeine Energy Drink I expect it to both harness the maximum level of power possible from the ancient tomb," he continued, "thus maximizing the probability of the catastrophic destruction of the earth, and also bring the great and refreshing Soda taste we know and love." "I've never before consumed anything comparable in power level to this," said McKendrick, "but I did used to drunk (sic) Buckfast" a highly-caffeinated fortified tonic wine "which is also deeply cursed." Filipa Ioannou is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at fioannou@sfchronicle.com and follow her on Twitter TEL AVIV The sudden thaw between longtime enemies Eritrea and Ethiopia is opening up possibilities for the neighboring countries residents: new economic and diplomatic ties, telephone and transport links and the end to one of Africas most bitter feuds. But the fledgling peace is raising new questions for Eritreas diaspora, tens of thousands who fled their governments tight grip, rigid system of compulsory military conscription and endemic poverty. Now they are cautiously waiting to see how the truce will shape their homeland and perhaps offer them a chance to return. I want to go to my country, said Salamwit Willedo, a 29-year-old Eritrean living in Israel. Everywhere I am a refugee. . But my country is my homeland. I feel home there. So I hope, I wish, that (peace) will happen. Tiny Eritrea, with 5 million people, gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after years of rebel warfare. It has been ruled by President Isaias Afwerki since then and has become one of the worlds most reclusive nations. The war with Ethiopia has kept the Red Sea country in a constant state of military readiness, with a harsh, indefinite conscription system that has drawn criticism from rights groups and sent thousands fleeing to Europe, Israel and other African nations. The Horn of Africa arch-foes fought a bloody border war from 1998 to 2000 that killed tens of thousands and left families separated. But the antagonism faded abruptly last month when reformist Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced that Ethiopia was fully accepting a peace deal signed in 2000 that hands key disputed border areas to Eritrea. The hostility between the nations has evaporated dramatically since. The leaders have visited each others countries to jubilant receptions, diplomatic and other ties have been restored, and the flagship Ethiopian Airlines resumed flights to Eritrea this week. Now eyes are turned to Eritrea and how peace might prompt it to loosen up and drop its long defensive stance. While the diaspora is split into government supporters and critics, many Eritreans abroad are skeptical of change so long as the current government remains in power. I think its not going to bring a solution inside the country, because we still have thousands of prisoners in the country, we dont have a constitution, we dont have internal peace, said Bluts Iyassu, who came to Tel Aviv in 2010 and is a member of United Eritreans for Justice, a group of Eritrean expatriates who are working to promote democracy in their home country. Caron Creighton is an Associated Press writer. BERLIN Prosecutors are charging a 34-year-old man who allegedly attacked passengers on a crowded city bus with a knife in the northern town of Luebeck with attempted murder. Luebeck prosecutors said in a statement Saturday theyre also charging the German-Iranian dual citizen with serious bodily harm and arson for trying to set the bus on fire. The suspect, who wasnt identified by name, was arrested at the scene Friday and remains in custody. Ten people were injured in the attack, three of them seriously, including a 21-year-old Dutchman who was operated on overnight. The incident started when the assailant set fire to a backpack, prosecutor Ulla Hingst said. The driver told investigators that he stopped the bus and opened all the doors to let passengers out after noticing the fire in his rearview mirror. He then walked back to find out what was going on and was hit by the assailant, Hingst said. As he left the bus, he allegedly stabbed people around him with a 5-inch kitchen knife. The suspect was overpowered by passengers outside the vehicle, then quickly arrested by police nearby. Hingst said the suspect hasnt spoken to investigators, and his motive remains unclear. There are no indications that the man was in any way politically radicalized, Hingst said. For that reason we have, as the investigation currently stands, no indications that there was a terrorist background to this act. She added the motive is still open, and we are investigating in all directions. German news channel Spiegel TV quoted the suspects father as saying his son, who lived locally, suffered from psychological problems. The bus was traveling from Luebeck to the neighboring seaside resort of Travemuende, where an annual regatta, the Travemuender Woche, opened later Friday. PARIS Investigators on Saturday raided the house of one of French President Emmanuel Macrons top security aides, who was caught on camera beating a protester in May, prosecutors said. The presidential Elysee Palace fired Alexandre Benalla a day before police raided his home in the Parisian suburb of Issy-Les-Moulineaux. Benalla was identified earlier last week by the Le Monde newspaper as the man who beat a young protester during May Day rallies while wearing a police helmet. He and a second man are facing potential charges. Benallas involvement in the beating is turning into Macrons biggest crisis since he took office last year. The belated referral of the issue to judicial authorities and what was widely viewed as insufficient action at the time by the Elysee Palace caused a firestorm from the opposition. Regular parliamentary work has been stalled by questions about why it took 2 months to inform judicial officials and why Benalla stayed in his post. Questions over whether there was an official hush-up also have been raised, and whether Elysee employees have a measure of impunity not granted to others. A parliamentary investigative committee is examining the matter. The presidents spokesman said Thursday that Benalla had been authorized to follow police operations as an observer on May Day, his day off, and was suspended for two weeks in May and given a desk job as punishment. France has been shocked by the video of the May 1 event in Paris showing Benalla, in a helmet with police markings and surrounded by riot police, brutally dragging away a woman from a demonstration and then beating a young man on the ground. The man is heard begging him to stop. Elaine Ganley is an Associated Press writer. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Award-winning musician John Legend contributed over $2,000 to Democratic congressional candidate Max Rose in June. Legend gave Rose, a St. George resident, a $2,500 campaign contribution online on June 4, according to Federal Election Commission campaign finance filings. Rose, a decorated U.S. Army combat veteran, is challenging Rep. Daniel Donovan (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn), a three-year incumbent, in a midterm election year where Democrats are looking to take back control of the House of Representatives. "If I had known John Legend was a fan of our grassroots campaign, Leigh and I would have invited him to our wedding at Flagship Brewery," said Max Rose. Legend, a 10-time Grammy award winner, has previously called President Donald Trump "corrupt" and a "terrible" president. Legend's wife, model Chrissy Teigen, has also been a frequent critic of President Trump and was blocked by him on Twitter last July after she tweeted "no one likes you" to the 45th president. Rose -- who most recently worked as chief of staff at a nonprofit healthcare clinic and special assistant to the late Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson -- has criticized Donovan for not standing up to some of Trump's policies and actions. He earned a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Combat Infantryman Badge during his service in Afghanistan in 2012 and 2013. Rose has been endorsed by several high-profile Democrats in Congress, including U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Minority Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 House Democrat, and outgoing No. 4 House Democrat, Rep. Joseph Crowley. He's also racked up a slew of endorsements from liberal advocacy groups and labor unions, such as Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union Rose decisively won a June 26 Democratic congressional primary, trouncing five other candidates and receiving 63 percent of the vote. The general election is on Nov. 6. FOLLOW CLIFFORD MICHEL ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Information about this is published on the official website of the Russian Foreign Ministry. The parties discussed the situation in Syria and the region. The heads of departments noted the possibility of cooperation between Russia and the United States for the joint resolution of humanitarian problems in Syria. The problem of denuclearization of the Korean peninsula was also discussed during the conversation. STATEN ISLAND -- Armed with a clipboard, a questionnaire and a massive linen cloth, a team of four from Columbia University make their way down Poillon Avenue in Annadale, which is surrounded by Blue Heron Park. The team drove from Queens and New Jersey to Staten Island. Why? Because they want to get to the bottom of what's driving the Island's sharp rise in Lyme disease and ticks. After a tick sweep conducted by researchers last summer found all of the borough's parks had ticks infected with the Lyme disease bacteria, they helped launch a tick app and decided to come to the borough this summer to conduct more fieldwork. From 2012 to 2016, Staten Island saw a 250 percent rise in cases of Lyme disease -- the sharpest jump in the disease of the five boroughs over the last five years, according to data the Advance compiled from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "DRAGGING FOR TICKS" Going door to door, the team asked Island homeowners about their living conditions and how they maintain their lawns. Next, they go into their yard and start "dragging for ticks" -- a process where a long linen cloth is dragged across their yards to pick up ticks. Ticks do not jump, they rub up against an animal or host, so the linen cloth mimics an animal and after 10 minutes they pull aside the cloth and carefully examine it for ticks. Since the team started working in the borough in early June, they have surveyed 111 homes in areas near parks, found 151 ticks around people's homes, and 6,728 ticks in Island parks. Most of those ticks they found were Blacklegged ticks, or deer ticks, which transmit Lyme disease as well as Lone Star ticks. They said most of the ticks were found in the Mid-Island and South Shore areas of the borough. "This is very interesting for us as researchers because again this is not the typical Lyme area where people think it's a high risk area, so urban areas have always been lagging behind all these high endemic areas but people here are exposed to ticks, they're getting Lyme disease, and we need to understand why," said Maria del Pilar Fernandez, a postdoctoral research fellow from Columbia University who is part of the tick team. A rise in Lyme disease cases comes as the borough's white tail deer population has boomed, which many, including researchers from Columbia University, believe is one of the biggest contributors to the growing number of Lyme cases on the Island. Fernandez said one of the things she and her team hear from Island residents with ticks in their backyards is that they report seeing deer almost everyday. To curb the Island's growing deer population, the city has undertaken a controversial three-year $3.3 million vasectomy program on the Island's bucks. The city says the program thus far has been successful, but many argue it is not doing enough. "The deer coming into the island and reproducing has been a really important component," said Maria Diuk-Wasser, an associate professor at the university's Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology who is leading the team of researchers. "In areas where you don't have deer at all, there's really very unlikely to be Lyme disease." She also said mice are common hosts of ticks. A researcher from Columbia University holds up a vile with a deer tick the size of a poppy see found in Blue Heron Park. (Advance photo/Sydney Kashiwagi) Although they have not collected exact figures, the team says in most of the high risk tick areas on the Island, many people mentioned they or someone they know had been diagnosed with Lyme disease. During the Advance's visit with the tick team, a woman said last summer 40 ticks were found on her and she contracted Lyme disease. Since that summer the woman began spraying her yard with a tick repellant. During the team's visit last week, they found no ticks in her yard. "I'm concerned about [ticks], but it's something we're gonna have to learn to live with because the deer aren't going to go away," Robert Lawson, a homeowner on Poillon Avenue, told the Advance as the tick team surveyed his yard. The team found no ticks in Lawson's yard, but did find one on the other side of his fence, a deer tick, on Blue Heron Park's property. CITY, STATE EFFORTS Last summer, the city's Department of Health expanded its tick surveillance efforts from 7 to 21 sites citywide with an additional 11 sites on Staten Island alone. Before the city expanded the sites, there were only two tick survey sites on Staten Island. In addition to tick surveillance, the Health Department said its efforts around combating the spread of ticks and Lyme disease is focused around outreach and education, including putting signage at city parks known to have ticks to tell people how to prevent tick bites. At the state level, the Department of Environmental Conservation has taken on a more direct approach to combating ticks. Earlier this year, DEC expanded efforts statewide to allow communities to operate feeding stations that apply tick pesticides to the deer's head and neck as they eat. The stations cost between $2,159 to $2,429 during the first year, and between $1,480-1,750 to continue operating them. So far, DEC says it has neither received an application nor issued any permits for communities in New York City or Staten Island to use the devices. The Health Department could not be reached for comment on whether it considering bringing the stations to Staten Island. INTERVENTION After the team wraps up their door-to-door fieldwork in August, they plan to develop a survey for borough residents to ask them everything from what they think about Lyme disease, about controlling deer, mice, and what type of interventions they think are needed to control the spread of ticks. Diuk-Wasser said a tick intervention needs to be twofold. In parks, the government needs to step in, but at the neighborhood level, she said the community can play a role too. "In a park of course, it has to be the state or the city that runs the park," Diuk-Wasser said. "There's also neighborhood level interventions where you can control deer in a certain neighborhood so everybody has to get together in that certain location." STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Get fit with New York's Finest this summer! The New York Police Department is offering a free workout program -- for kids and adults -- every Wednesday at 10 a.m. in Bloomingdale Park (weather-permitting). Each week, officers from across the NYPD run the fitness hour. This week's program, which included a warm-up and an obstacle course, was attended by a group of kids ranging in age from 3 to 12. And what was the best part? Six-year-old David Beck shared that his favorite activity on the obstacle course was throwing the balls through the hoop! To hear what some of the other young participants thought about the event, view the video below. ANZ Bank's CEO Shayne Elliott has apologised to a former employee who was interrogated by the bank's legal team in New York about her sexual history, describing the questioning as "wrong and not acceptable". Mr Elliott took to social media on Saturday in a series of tweets following calls for him to respond to the incident, after various customers said they were considering changing to other banks. ANZ Bank's CEO Shayne Elliott took to social media to address the incident. Credit:Louise Kennerley "I apologise. This is wrong & not acceptable. We were not aware of our external NY lawyers [sic] strategy & should have been. We have instructed them that this is not to be used during trial & and [sic] I will apologise to the complainant personally," he wrote on Saturday. Mr Elliott's apologies followed revelations that the bank's legal representatives forced a former employee to recount details of her sexual assault which took place when she was at college years earlier, and state whether she had any sexually transmitted diseases. I AM WEARING a grey jacket from Saba, a suit and shirt from Benjamin Barker and Christian Louboutin heels. I actually met the man himself two weeks ago and got my shoes signed. He was here to launch the Chadstone Louboutin boutique and I was in Thailand for a holiday. I'd only been there for a day but I flew back to meet him, then I flew back to Ko Samui that night. What can I say? I love my Louies. MY STYLE IS simple and minimalistic. This is my workwear, which is mainly suits and shirts. On my days off I wear jeans and a shirt, just very simple. I ADMIRE THE STYLE OF Blake Lively, effortlessly glam. MY FAVOURITE PLACES TO SHOP Because I'm very petite, I struggle to find Australian brands that are cut for my size. But for workwear it's Benjamin Barker, which is a Japanese fit, otherwise Saba, which I love because it's simple with clean lines. I also love Bec and Bridge and obviously Louboutin. MY BIGGEST FASHION MISTAKE WAS I don't think I have one. WHEN I WAS A KID I WORE I grew up quite poor so all of my clothes were hand-me-downs from other family members. I didn't choose my clothes, I wore what was available. But now I work hard and reward myself with clothes that I love. This incident would have been unlikely a couple of decades ago, and not just because iPads hadnt been invented yet. This was the moment I knew the gentrification of my inner-city suburb was complete even if the graffiti in the railway tunnel still says die Yuppie scum. Someone had clearly lost the device, while another person had put it aside so the owner could find it but no one would tread on it in the meantime. I was walking down the street the other day when I found an iPad on the footpath, propped against a neighbours fence. When I was a teenager in the 1990s, almost everyone I knew had been burgled at least once, thieves broke into my dads car to steal CDs from the glove box almost every time we went to the beach, and on one memorable occasion a school friend had his brand-name sport shoes stolen from his feet at knifepoint in a suburban shopping mall on Sydneys north shore. I never felt that Australia was especially crime-ridden but a certain amount of property crime used to be a given. And that's no longer the case in both Sydney and Melbourne. Figures from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research show the raw incidence of most crimes including robbery, break and enter, and motor vehicle thefts is down since 1990, even without adjusting for the massive growth in population. For a fair comparison that takes population into account, the key metric is the rate of criminal incidents for every 100,000 people. In 1990, for every 100,000 people in NSW there were about 96 cases of robbery (both armed and unarmed), while in 2017 the rate was less than 32 in 100,000. In 1990, the rate of break-and-enter crimes (both dwellings and non-dwellings) was about 1639 in 100,000 while in 2017 it was down to less than 496 in 100,000. In 1990, there were about 935 cases of motor vehicle theft for every 100,000 people, while in 2017 it was down to 170. A coaster changed my life. It was a gift from my friend Kate, wrapped in cheery pink tissue paper. On it was a picture of two haughty women and a speech bubble saying, "Let's go somewhere and judge people." I laughed but that coaster sat there, taunting me, making me think uncomfortable thoughts. Was I really so judgmental that this coaster would leap out of the 3000 things in the shop as "perfect for Cath"? Really? I asked my mother, "Am I judgmental?" and she snorted. "Er, yes, dear," she replied, in a stating-thebleeding-obvious tone. I was like a lighthouse, scanning the landscape for people or actions I deemed to be wrong, and illuminating them with the full glare of my moral beam. Look, everyone! Credit:Getty Images Once I was attuned to it, I realised judgmental comments were constantly flying out of my mouth. I judged people for drinking too much (I drank way too much myself); I judged them for calling in sick to work (and did it myself); I judged colleagues for leaving uptight notes about washing-up in the staff kitchen (when I did it, it was "different"); I judged my friends for cancelling social engagements (also "different" when I did it); I judged my boyfriend for stuffing rather than emptying the already overflowing bin (you guessed it: guilty as charged). I was like a lighthouse, scanning the landscape for people or actions I deemed to be "wrong", and illuminating them with the full glare of my moral beam. "Look, everyone!" Otherwise engaged: Meghan and Harry avoiding the phone. Credit:AAP In what is possibly the least surprising turn of events since the outbreak of World War II, Meghan Markle's dad has decided to weigh in on his daughter's new life as a royal - again. Thomas Markle, 74, who vowed to keep his mouth shut after airing a full front-load's worth of dirty laundry to the media in May, opened up to UK newspaper The Sun earlier this week. Markle, who was busted staging his own photos in the lead up his daughter's wedding, freely shared his opinion on everything from Meghan's dress-sense (Why do they have to cover their knees?) to her countenance in public (My thing about my daughter right now is that I think she is terrified. I see it in her eyes, I see it in her face and I see it in her smile, he said. Ive seen her smile for years. I know her smile. I dont like the one Im seeing now. This one isnt even a stage smile this is a pained smile.) There's really nothing like a dad with poor personal boundaries and a deep sense of entitlement to publicly undermine you. The thing about seeing your daughter's smile "for years" is that if you're a semi-normal parent, that fact is assumed. Besides which, what is pointing out her "terror" going to do? Make her feel less self-conscious? Make her call you? Things only improved from there. The women soon realised they shared an interest in spirituality. "When we get together we have some quite deep spiritual conversations about life and what it means and how we're travelling," says Carol. The trio get on so well they decided to go away for "Christmas in July" last year, joined by Antony and Carol's daughter, for what Carol calls an "extended-family weekend". They all stayed in the same unit, with Antony and Adrienne sharing one room and Carol and her daughter the other. "We had a Secret Santa thing and we found a place that did a roast dinner and had their own roaring fire," says Adrienne. The four of them drove around together and spent time perusing markets, going out for meals and just lounging around in the unit, playing board games. "You know when you go away with your family on holidays? It was just one of those really lovely things," says Adrienne. She describes how everyone woke up at different times, did their own thing in the morning and then met up and came together when they felt like it. "It was just very easy." Having been married to the same man means Adrienne and Carol share an extra bond, and they occasionally chuckle at Antony's foibles together. On the weekend away, for instance, Carol says Antony came out with a "bad dad joke" which both she and Adrienne had heard many times before. "And Adrienne and I both looked at each other and rolled our eyes," she laughs. "But it's all in good humour." They admit that their friendship has attracted second glances. "I certainly have friends where there's just no way they would have that kind of relationship with their ex's new partner," says Adrienne. But they don't allow other people's views to prevent them from nurturing their friendship, now so warm they view each other as family. Adrienne says watching friends who have divorced made her determined "to not make it something that separated the family, but something that made a bigger family. And that's what we've done." THE FORMER MOTHER-IN-LAW AND DAUGHTER-IN-LAW Yvonne Melling (right) was Sandy Edwards' mother-in-law. Yvonne, 76, is a TAB agent while Sandy, 59, is a freelance production runner and Uber driver. Sandy and Yvonne. When Rick brought his girlfriend Sandy home to meet his mum Yvonne, he had no idea how close the two women would become. Sandy was immediately drawn to Yvonne's loving, down-to-earth demeanour, while Yvonne adored Sandy's bubbly personality. Yvonne, a mother of two, had always wanted another daughter. And when she met Sandy, Yvonne recalls, she immediately thought she'd found her. Sandy also felt that instant connection. Her own mother had been just 22 when she left her four children, all aged under five. Sandy longed for a mother figure after that and grew up with her girlfriends' mums acting as surrogates. "But then when I found Yvonne it was just, 'Oh yeah.' It was perfect." The pair were as thick as thieves during the time Rick and Sandy dated, had a baby and got married. But eight months after the young couple tied the knot, their marriage turned sour and Sandy packed up her baby along with her belongings and left Rick. She had no intention, though, of giving up her relationship with her mother-in-law. Thankfully, Yvonne felt the same. Staying friends with Sandy "felt like the most natural thing in the world". She was thrilled that Sandy never kept her granddaughter from her or complained about her son to her, and Sandy was grateful that Yvonne never took sides. When Rick remarried, his new wife wasn't happy about Sandy and Yvonne's relationship. "So I said, 'Oh well, we're not going to be seeing the second wife much!' " Yvonne laughs. The pair grew even closer after Yvonne's husband, Ron, passed away nine years ago. Sandy could see that Yvonne was heartbroken so she suggested they go travelling together. The pair jetted overseas. One evening, in a restaurant in Japan, Yvonne and Ron's wedding song was played. Sandy says, "She just broke down. I hadn't seen her cry at all, ever, and I said, 'Good, get it out.' We both sat there crying our eyes out." When they got home, Yvonne was touched to receive a card from Sandy saying what a great travel companion she was, and asking Yvonne to join her in America for their next trip. Rick and Sandy are on good terms nowadays, and while Rick jokingly laments the fact that his mother always takes his ex's side over his, he understands their close bond. "Sandra's just a part of our family," Yvonne says. "You can't ask for any more than that." THE TEACHER AND STUDENT Julie Rollinson (left), 63, was a visual arts teacher when Carni Brown, now 51, first entered her classroom. The pair have been friends ever since. Julie and Carni. Carni was a year 9 student who'd just started at a new school when she joined the visual arts program, which Julie taught. At first, the pair had a typical student-teacher relationship. But that relationship deepened as they spent more time together. Carni would often visit the visual arts room at lunchtime or after school, and was always blown away by Julie's "infectious energy", while Julie lapped up Carni's passion. Over time, Carni, whose parents are Spanish and don't speak English, began to see her relationship with Julie as "like having another mum". For her part, Julie was more than happy to guide and nurture her young student. Over time, a friendship flourished. The pair would chat about artists, music, art projects and were delighted to share a similar sense of humour. Carni still went to Julie for career advice, but Julie recalls they also started chatting about "all the usual teenage things", too. When Carni graduated, the pair stayed close. Julie was there for all of Carni's key milestones, from her 21st to her wedding and having her first baby. When it came to choosing a career, Carni credits Julie with inspiring her to follow in her footsteps. Calvary Hospital is set for a managerial shake up, with staff at both the public and private hospital to fall under the one umbrella. A new organisational structure will see employees in both sectors of the Bruce hospital report to a single chief executive, rather than separate bosses. Staff at Calvary Hospital will operate under the one chief executive. Credit:Jamila Toderas The overhaul comes as part of similar changes taking place at other Calvary-owned facilities in both New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. The management changes at Calvary Hospital in Canberra will come into effect on September 3, with an eight-week transition period taking place. Matthew Toohey is no stranger to hospitals. The Canberra resident said he's experienced three rounds of brain surgery and many MRI and CT scans due to a neurological condition. "I have a condition called hydrocephalus, which basically means that I have too much fluid in my brain," Mr Toohey said. "It can cause severe headaches and other symptoms as well. I had four days in Canberra Hospital because I had a migraine that was so bad [doctors] thought I had a stroke." Matthew Toohey has opted out of the government's My Health Record scheme. Credit:Elesa Kurtz Despite the complexities of his medical condition, the Narrabundah resident said he does not want to have a personal health record detailing his medical history stored online. A feature of Russia's policy in the sphere of interethnic relations has always been the realization that the foundation of a statehood should be based on the harmonious relations between numerous ethnic groups, the analyst of Vestnik Kavkaza, Nikita Vlasov, said in the aired today on Vesti FM National Question program, speaking about the differences in the migration policy of the European Union and Russia. He explained that the basis of the existence of the Russian state has always been the policy of building harmonious interethnic relations, and Europe in this sense is historically a more complex and diverse object. The interethnic relations policy has long been built up differently in the south of Europe or, for example, in Scandinavia or the UK. And the participation, for example, of Yakuts or Tuvinians in the all-Russian building, is a result of long historical, economic and social processes," the expert said. Referring to the events of the modern times, the expert noted that the discovery of Europe for external migration had a serious impact on the development of the social and political institutions, and, of course, became the subject of internal political discussion. "In Europe, there are NGOs that welcome migration and do their best to help migrants and refugees. Conservatives do not welcome migrants and some people share this view, "Nikita Vlasov said, noting that in Europe this problem is a cleavage line. "Moreover, in the EU, there is no consensus in case of Syrian or North African migrants, although there are pan-European values of tolerance and universal acceptance that are tailored to help those in trouble. Some Europeans are wondering why they should share part of their own income with migrants. If some Syrian comes, why they should help him. In many EU countries, the demographic balance also changes amid so many refugees coming. Further, the analyst drew attention to the fact that unlike the European migration policy, the Russian migrant policy is based on a deep historical and social memory of the Russian Empire, the USSR, relations with the countries of Central Asia or the South Caucasus. "That is why Russia has always advocated unity among the Eastern states, regardless of their national or confessional composition and against the fact that the national and confessional contradictions were the subject of political bargaining," Nikita Vlasov concluded. Elgar Cello Concerto with cellist Christopher Pidcock. National Capital Orchestra, cnducted by Leonard Weiss. Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, Sunday, August 5, 3pm. Pre-concert talk by Chloe Sinclair at 2.15pm. theq.net.au. The National Capital Orchestra's third concert for 2018 features a world premiere performance by Canberra composer Chloe Sinclair and three classic British works by Edward Elgar, Gustave Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams. The concert opens with Holsts A Somerset Rhapsody, for orchestra, Op. 21/2, H. 87, weaving together three folk melodies found in collections by folk-song collector Cecil Sharpe (to whom the work is dedicated) evoking images of the British countryside. Cellist Chris Pidcock will be the soloist in the Elgar Cello Concerto. Conductor and artistic director Leonard Weiss says award-winning Canberra cellist Christopher Pidcock - a member of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra since 2012 with an international reputation - will be the soloist in Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85. Weiss says, "it's probably the most iconic and timeless cello concerto" since the one by Antonin Dvorak. Patrick Bacon is unfortunately used to pulling illegal nets out of Canberra's waterways. He's just not used to them being so big. The Access Canberra environment protection officer on Tuesday pulled a 25-metre net from Franklin Pond in Gungahlin after a concerned community member reported what they rightly suspected was illegal fishing activity. Access Canberra environment protection officer Patrick Bacon with a 25-metre net pulled from Franklin Pond in Gungahlin. Credit:Access Canberra The find was, in every sense, the largest net of Mr Bacon's career. Im taking this to the EPA national conference," Mr Bacon said. "Im going for the world record." Phoebe Hettinger loves animals, particularly snakes, unicorns and dogs. But her passion for the latter was tested when she was bitten on the face by an American Staffordshire-Border Collie cross at the O'Connor shops when she was three. Phoebe and her parents had approached the dog's owner to ask permission to pat the animal. It was granted - but the dog attacked Phoebe, tearing open an area above and on her mouth and cheek. She was hospitalised and treated by a plastic surgeon. Phoebe Hettinger, seven, was attacked by a dog when she was three years old. Credit:Jamila Toderas Now seven, Phoebe's scars are barely visible, save for a line like a puzzle piece that runs around her mouth. But the memories and anger continue to run deep. "I am still so bitter and twisted," her mother, Donna, said. Green waste bins will continue to pop up in their thousands around Canberra as the rollout progresses to Belconnen in September. The ACT government's green waste bin program had 22,400 residents in Tuggeranong and Weston Creek signed up by the end of June. Corkhill Bros green waste inspector, Robbie Steele, inspects incoming truck loads of household green waste for contaminants. Credit:Elesa Kurtz Of that, 9700 were in the pilot areas of Weston Creek and Kambah. More than 3100 tonnes of green waste had been collected in green bins to June 30, a Transport Canberra and City Services spokesman said. When Detective Sergeant Garry Noble took the reins at ACT Policing's Exhibit Management Centre last October he realised he had a problem. A problem the size of 200 cars, to be precise. Powers granted to ACT Policing in 2016 meant police could seize any car that failed to stop for them, a law aimed at limiting high-speed police pursuits after a series of deaths. There have been no deaths related to police pursuits since 2015 - but, together with stolen cars and those involved in other crimes, the police's Mitchell warehouse was in danger of being overrun with vehicles. Detective Sergeant Garry Noble outside the ACT Policing Exhibit Management Centre. Credit:ACT Policing "That was my first sort of concern because it was apparent that our centre may not be big enough to hold all this," Detective Sergeant Noble said. So the Exhibit Management Centre staff got to work. They combed through the updated legislation to find and enforce markers that could more quickly move seized vehicles. In cases where a car was linked to criminal activity, Detective Sergeant Noble and a colleague contacted case managers to request an update. They investigated opening another site. They made progress. An Australian company is testing whether medicinal cannabis product could be used to treat medical conditions in family pets. After a successful trial of cannabis-based medicine to help treat conditions in dogs, CannPal is now expanding its testing to cats. CannPal founder and Canberran for more than two decades Layton Mills is helping to develop cannabis-based treatments for pets. The company's managing director Layton Mills, who was previously based in Canberra, said the products could be used to treat a range of illnesses. "For dogs, we've been able to treat conditions like osteoarthritis and hip dysplaysia and skin health and other areas like epilepsy and behavioural issues," Mr Mills said. Australian Border Force officials have smashed an alleged Chinese syndicate smuggling tobacco and cigarettes into Australia hidden in children's toys. A Sydney man, who police allege was using his position as a delivery driver to assist the criminal gang, has been arrested and charged with illicit tobacco offences. Concealed cigarettes and tobacco imported from China by an alleged syndicate. Credit:Australian Border Force Border Force officials say that syndicate members in China were sending consignments of tobacco to fake addresses in Panania, Picnic Point and Revesby, and the delivery driver was allegedly intercepting them. He is no longer employed by the delivery company and will next appear at Bankstown Local Court on August 15. A fire in a unit block in Sydney's west which destroyed multiple apartments overnight has been linked to a heater left "too close to a bed". Dozens of people were evacuated from a building in Lakemba on early Saturday morning, shortly before a blaze ripped through the top floor. "They had a heater on overnight too close to the bed, and it's ignited the bed," said Gary Meagher, spokesman for Fire and Rescue NSW. The fire destroyed multiple apartments. Credit:Seven News "Luckily [the resident] woke up and saw the fire, tried to douse it with a bucket of water, did no good, and got out. A man has been injured when he was struck by a car on a street in inner west Sydney. The 26-year-old pedestrian was struck by a car early on Sunday morning in King Street, Newtown. He suffered a suspected shoulder injury and was taken to hospital in a stable condition. The driver of the car, a 65-year-old man, was uninjured. He was breath-tested at the scene and returned a negative result. Police are appealing for information and witnesses. AAP News this week that the Queensland government will be able to meet 21 per cent of its energy needs from renewable sources by mid-2019 suggests Labors push to reach 50 per cent renewable energy supply by 2030 is not just ideological. It could be achievable. However, Queenslands opposition says it is being subsidised and could be costly. In a formal reply to a parliamentary question on notice published this week, Energy Minister Anthony Lynham put the cat among the pigeons for doubters. At the end of 2017, renewable energy contributed 9 per cent of the electricity produced in the sunshine state; however, it is expected that the contribution will be as high as 21 per cent by 2019, which is clearly an unprecedented rate of growth, Dr Lynham said. The Pentagon said it will provide $200 million in defensive aid to Ukraine, Daily Sabah reports. The funds will be used "for additional training, equipment and advisory efforts to build the defensive capacity of Ukraine's forces," the Pentagon said in a statement. According to the statement, the aid "reaffirms the long-standing defense relationship between the United States and Ukraine and brings the total U.S. security sector assistance to Ukraine to more than $1 billion since 2014." The Future Fund owns a major investment in Quadrant Private Equity No. 4, which includes the "Rockpool Dining Group and includes over 16 amazing brands and over 60 restaurants" ("Future Fund wins from Rockpool wages theft", July 22). The restaurant group has been underpaying chefs by not paying overtime that is almost comparable to another working week. Bet the directors are paid in full on time. No wonder we need so many chefs on 457 visas. Ingrid Radford, Waverton Your waste is my lifeline The last straw is exactly what the disabled and elderly think about banning plastic straws ("Last straw nears as plastic goes down tubes", July 22). Having to drink from a container without a straw is nearly impossible. Weak arms and hands that won't function as they should makes lifting the container to drink from impossible. Why should they be further ostracised as part of the community because they need plastic straws to drink from? The alternative, if any, is the ridiculous and flimsy paper straw, which breaks down while still being used, is not flexible and is a waste. As for using them to drink hot beverages, that's just dangerous. What would happen if food outlets tried to ban takeaway cups and the plastic lids to drink from them? What creates more waste, straws or coffee cups? Illustration: Matt Golding. Jennifer Richardson, Sydney Hungry Jack's has joined the increasing number of companies pledging to end the use of plastic straws. "Hungry Jacks is committed to proactively building its environmental and sustainability credentials across the business and is currently looking at how the phasing out of plastic straws can best be adapted," the company, which has 400 restaurants throughout Australia, said in a statement to the Herald. Marina DeBris collects plastic straws from Gordons Bay, Coogee. Credit:Janie Barrett Furnishing giant IKEA told the Herald it would be taking similar steps. IKEA said that, along with current plans to completely ban plastic straws from its restaurants this year, it will also be phasing out all single-use plastic from their home furnishing range by 2020. The prospect of sending more skilled migrants to the bush to work appears to be gathering steam with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull saying it is certainly feasible and a Labor senator signalling the party is open to the idea. The Turnbull government has indicated it will take a tougher approach to population growth amid voter concerns in big cities in particular that infrastructure is struggling to cope. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull addresses the media with Liberal party candidate for Braddon Brett Whiteley on Friday. Credit:AAP Campaigning on Saturday for the Longman byelection in Queensland, Mr Turnbull said the government was always reviewing our migration policies and always seeking to improve them. One of the things we're always seeking to do is to ensure we can encourage migrants to work in regional areas where there are more labour shortages and skills shortages than there are in the big cities, Mr Turnbull said. Berlin: A man armed with a knife has attacked people on a bus in the northern city of Luebeck injuring several including two seriously before he was arrested. The Luebecker Nachrichten newspaper, without citing its source, said the attacker was a 34-year-old man originally from Iran who now had German nationality and had lived in Luebeck for years. Firefighters attend to victims of a stabbing on a bus in Luebeck, northern Germany, on Friday. Credit:DPA/AP The interior minister of Schleswig-Holstein, the state where Luebeck is located, did not assume there was a terrorist motive to the attack on Friday, local time, the local paper added. Prosecutors later said he was refusing to speak with investigators. "The exact number of injured is still unclear. There were no dead," the police and prosecutor's office said in a statement. "The background to the crime is still unclear and the subject of the on-going investigation." Gaza: Hamas, the armed Islamist movement which controls Gaza, has announced it has agreed on a ceasefire with Israel after the fatal shooting of an Israeli soldier spurred intense Israeli strikes on Gaza on Friday. The fighting left four Palestinians dead and more than 100 injured. A medic covers the bodies of militants at the morgue of the European hospital east of Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on Friday. Credit:AP "With Egyptian and United Nations efforts it has been agreed to return to the era of calm between [Israel] and Palestinian factions," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said. Israeli officials did not immediately comment on the announcement but an army spokeswoman said that in the early hours of Saturday, there was no known military activity in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian residents said the area was calm. Amman: The Syrian army and allied forces made advances in the south-west that bring it closer to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights as rebels refusing to return to state rule boarded buses for opposition controlled northern Syria, state television and rebels said. The army, backed by a Russian air campaign, has been pushing into the edges of Quneitra province following an offensive last month that routed rebels in adjoining Deraa province who were once backed by the US, Jordan and Gulf states. Syrian troops flash the victory sign next to the Syrian flag in Tell al-Haara, the highest hill in the south-western Daraa province, earlier this week. Credit:SANA The offensive has restored Syrian government control over a swathe of the south-west, strategic territory at the borders with Jordan and Israel. In Australian defence policy the age of certainty, characterised by a naive attachment to an American security umbrella in perpetuity, is over or, at least, it should be. This naivety extends to a mistaken interpretation of the ANZUS treaty as a gilt-edged American security guarantee. Article III simply requires the parties to "consult" in the event of a threat to each others security. This contrasts with Article 5 of the NATO treaty that specifies "armed attack on one or more shall be considered an attack on all". A Chinese H-6K bomber patrols the islands and reefs in the South China Sea. Credit:Liu Rui No amount of silly "100 years of mateship" marketing campaigns to remind America of its obligations to a steadfast ally alters this reality. In light of what proved to be a disastrous Donald Trump foray into Europe in which he insulted NATO allies, humiliated a British Prime Minister, and made a fool of himself in his interactions with a Russian president, Abbotts intervention is timely. His speech came on the eve of Trumps catastrophic (as far as Americas Western allies are concerned) European tour, and thus did not have the benefit of further evidence - if that was needed - of an unravelling global order. "My instinct is that acquiring a capacity to strike harder and further and the need to give our country and our armed forces greater protection could soon require military spending well beyond 2 per cent of GDP. Our armed forces need to be more capable of operating independently even against a substantial adversary because that is what a truly sovereign nation must be prepared to do," he said. Penny Wong: canvassed a call for Australia to recalibrate its relations with Washington. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Abbott does not specify what he means by a "substantial adversary", but clearly he is referring to China. Put colloquially and making allowances for some typical Abbott sabre-rattling, what he is saying is Australia needs to give itself the capacity to send this simple message. "Dont f--- with us." Those, again, are my words. Provided defence dollars are spent wisely, and not on vainglorious projects like an open-ended $50 billion submarine project that no one believes will be completed on time and within budget, Abbotts views are worth noting. Loading Well return to the vexed issue of defence expenditures. Interestingly, Abbotts speech preceded a contribution to the debate from Labors foreign policy spokeswoman, the super-cautious Penny Wong, who canvassed a call for Australia to recalibrate its relations with Washington. "The global community is still coming to terms with this new America. The reconfigured way the US is setting about conducting itself in the management of global affairs is generating something of a global rethink about how best to work with the US," she told the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. Illustration: Matt Davidson While Wong strives to limit any possibility of criticism Labor is weakening its commitments to Washington, she nevertheless edged in that speech towards the Gareth Evans view that Australia should rely less on the United States. Or, as the former Labor foreign minister puts it, "Australian foreign and defence policy for the foreseeable future is going to have to be founded on three core principles: more self-reliance. More Asia. Less United States." Thus Abbott on the right and Wong-Evans on the centre-left are reaching similar conclusions from different perspectives, at least when it comes to self-reliance. Abbotts calls for increased defence spending beyond a statutory 2 per cent of GDP would likely separate him from Wong and Evans. Given Australias security environment is likely to become more not less fraught, the case for increased spending will become difficult to resist. In this years defence budget Australia is more or less on track to achieve its target of 2 per cent of GDP by 2020-21. Spending in this financial year will represent 6 per cent growth in real terms and 1.9 per cent of GDP. Globally, Australia ranks 11th in defence spending, ahead of Brazil and behind South Korea, according to Janes. American expenditures dwarf those, in aggregate, of the next seven military powers: China, India, Russia, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and France. In other words, American firepower far exceeds that of its likely adversaries and friends combined; but as the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) makes clear, the weight is shifting to the Indo-Pacific, and away from the Euro-Atlantic. Chinas share of world military expenditure has risen to 13 per cent in 2017 from just 5.6 percent in 2008. Chinas expenditures at $228 billion are now getting close to half those of the US at $610 billion. Abbott concludes his Heritage Foundation speech thus in reference to Trumps calls for American allies to do more to provide for their own security. "When you think of what Trump is making clear to us and to others is what should always have been screamingly obvious: that our nations safety rests in our own hands, far more than in anyone elses." Whatever you might think of Abbotts judgment on a range of issues, on this, as we said, he has a point. Bogota: Colombia's new Congress has held its inaugural session with the unprecedented presence of lawmakers and senators from the former guerrilla movement FARC, whom outgoing President Juan Manuel Santos welcomed "to this temple of democracy". From left, Carlos Lozada, Victoria Sandino, Pablo Catatumbo, Marco Calarca and Olmedo Ruiz, all former members of the demobilised FARC arrive at Congress to take up their seats in Bogota on Friday. Credit:AP "Many won't like seeing [FARC members] at this scene," but "it fills me with satisfaction" because people "who fought the state and its institutions with weapons for half a century ... submit to Colombian laws," said Santos, who won the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to seal peace with the guerrillas. Loading "From now on, their only weapon will be the word," he added. SpaceX launched its first Block 5 Falcon 9 rocket from Florida in May 2018 as part of the Bangabandhu Satellite-1 Mission. SpaceX will launch a powerful Telstar communications satellite into orbit early Sunday morning (July 22), testing out the spaceflight company's new Block 5 version of the Falcon 9 rocket for the second time. The launch is set to occur Sunday between 1:50 a.m. and 5:50 a.m. EDT (0550 to 0950 GMT) from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, and you can watch it live online here at Space.com, courtesy of SpaceX. You can also follow the action directly at SpaceX's site. SpaceX successfully completed a test-fire of the two-stage Falcon 9 Wednesday (July 18), firing the first stage's nine Merlin engines at full power to test them before lowering the rocket to attach the satellite payload, according to SpaceflightNow. See more The Telstar 19V satellite, from the Canadian company Telesat, will end up in a high, geostationary orbit orbiting at the same rate as Earth turns, so it hovers over one point and provide broadband access across the Americas and Atlantic Ocean, according to Telesat. After the Falcon 9 lofts the satellite into space, the rocket's first stage will return to Earth for a landing on the SpaceX drone ship Of Course I Still Love You. This launch is SpaceX's second to use the company's new Block 5 Falcon 9, which first launched May 11 carrying Bangladesh's first communications satellite into orbit and whose first stage was recovered for analysis. This launch will use an all-new Block 5, although the rockets' first stages are designed to last for 10 or more flights with no refurbishment in between in fact, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has said they could ideally last for 100 launches with some refurbishment. The Block 5 also has increased thrust over the previous version and is designed to meet NASA's commercial crew requirements. While additional minor changes might be made, Musk has said the Block 5 will be the final version of the Falcon 9, freeing up SpaceX to work on newer rocket designs, such as the potentially Mars-bound BFR. As of Friday (July 20), the weather forecast from Patrick Air Force Base's 45th Space Wing showed a 60-percent chance of acceptable launch weather; the potential problem spots are thick clouds. If SpaceX is unable to make the launch window, the backup will be the next night. This launch will be the first in a busy streak for SpaceX, if launch dates hold. The company is set to launch 10 satellites for the Iridium Next mobile communications fleet on July 25 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Then, on Aug. 2, the company will launch a communications satellite for Telkom Indonesia from Cape Canaveral in Florida. Email Sarah Lewin at slewin@space.com or follow her @SarahExplains. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. Please note that the views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpoilerTV. Lets make something clear at the outset. There is one person, and one person alone, at fault for James Gunn being fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: James Gunn. His tweets about paedophilia are inexcusable; edgy, dark comedy can often be funny, but theres a line and he very clearly crossed it a fact Gunn himself acknowledged in a statement on Friday. And yet across social media there is disagreement over Disneys decision whod have thought people would argue on Twitter? stemming from the importance of the tweets, the reason they resurfaced, how this bears resemblance to similar scenarios faced recently by the same company, among other things. There was no perfect decision here. No matter what Disney did, it was going to be the recipient of mass criticism; circumstances backed it into a corner. Suggestions that the tweets should be ignored seem, on face value, absurd. Yes, its worth remembering that they were publicised most notably by Mike Cernovich, the right-wing conspiracy theorist who was one of the most active promoters of Pizzagate. He is by no means a moral compass, if any single opinion hes ever tweeted is anything to go by (his suggestion that there is date-rape does not exist is particularly repulsive). His views are, to the rationally minded, nothing to associate with. But that doesnt mean he is without a point here, because one bad thing does not excuse another. Gunns tweets are fundamentally worrisome, of course, particularly given that he was in his early-40s. Those defending him by suggesting that he has grown up since sending those tweets are being naive; he was far too old at the time for that to be a valid claim. His comedy style may have changed and he may have improved as a person, but that doesnt make it okay. There is no reason to be making jokes in any sort of forum about an issue as serious and sensitive as paedophilia. In 2012, before starting production on the first Guardians, Gunn apologised for blog posts he wrote the previous year that were criticised for being sexist and homophobic. He did not apologise for the tweets, which had been posted previously to the walk-back of his blog posts, and one of the tweets that have been called attention to this week even came a month after his apology. It was at this moment, and no later, that he should have been fired for this. Is there a statute of limitations on tweets? Should there be? Your mileage may vary on this one; the simple answer, of course, is to have some sort of moral boundary on what is posted on social media. But we come back to this being Gunns fault alone. If he didnt tweet those things, he would still be employed. Disneys response to all this is curious. Make no mistake: Disneys decision is not because of the tweets, but because of a desire to salvage its image. Its the same reason people look smart for dates and when they go to work; appearance is all. With the tweets having resurfaced, how could the largest media conglomerate with its brand targeted primarily at children and families possibly retain this man? They simply could not. Heres where the Roseanne Barr similarities come in. Two months ago, the star of Roseanne was fired and the show cancelled after a tweetstorm in which she likened Valerie Jarrett, Barack Obamas top advisor, to an ape. This was not a right-wing blogger drudging up old skeletons of a high-flying Hollywood elite: this was a woman who led the third-highest rated television show last season making racist claims in real time. Gunn, at least, did not do this, although the desperate deletion of his tweets after they had been rediscovered this week did little to help him, youd imagine. But Barrs outburst was nothing new. She also promoted Pizzagate, believes 9/11 was an inside job, and once tweeted about an Islamic rape pedo culture. And yet Disney-ABC made the decision last May to bring the series back for a tenth season, and to bring Barr along with it. It calls into question the background the company is running on its hires, and how much it truly cares about a high-profile employees past controversial comments. In 2012, when Gunn was hired, one of two things happened. Either Disney, supreme as it is, missed the tweets completely. The alternative is that it overlooked them with the promise that it was a mistake and that he wouldnt go down this road again. (Perhaps it was at this stage that he should have removed the comments, and certainly avoided making more.) Barrs re-hiring does little to decipher what the truth here is. How is either option acceptable? The pitchforks and torches are out in force for Gunn, but Disney is by no means devoid of responsibility here. This is not some indie company searching for pennies behind the couch. It could hire virtually anyone in the business it wanted to, such is the power it holds. It made its own bed here. The statement by Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn on Friday was troubling. It read: The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsistent with our studios values, and we have severed our business relationship with him. Again: these attitudes are not new. They have been discoverable for years. Why were they not? Disney can freely take this stance today, but it borders the embarrassing that this issue was allowed to come so far. We arent in some new Disney era, either. Horn was appointed chairman three months before Gunn was initially hired, and Bob Iger has been CEO of The Walt Disney Company since 2005. Between the precedent set by the Roseanne Barr situation and there was a precedent set there, for the better and Disneys own prior dereliction of duty, it made the decision to jettison Gunn a difficult one. Its options, having failed to appropriately deal with the issue six years ago, were both bad. Keeping Gunn in place would have looked appalling on a company that, since hiring him, has made a domestic gross of nearly $14 billion. Yet firing him just reminds us the insanity of the fact that were in this situation, and that it has taken this long and this outrage for the company to realise how damaging Gunns comments were, and are. No matter what it did on Friday, Disney was going to be utterly lampooned. In the end, it came to a decision that is difficult to argue with. What is absolutely inarguable is that comments like Gunns deserve to be renounced and rejected as strongly as possible. And it is unthinkable that this could happen again. United States Deputy Defense Secretary John Roode supported the decision of President Donald Trump to invite Russian Presient Vladimir Putin to the United States. "Sharing experience and frank discussion between our leaders is what needs to be done, I consider it quite normal and practical," Roode said, answering the questions asked by the American journalists. At the same time, the deputy head of the Pentagon stressed that Russia is the most important player on the world stage, RIA Novosti reports. Reboot Writer Addresses fans' concerns 20th Century Fox Television, who produced the original Joss Whedon drama, have put a new take on the beloved Sarah Michelle Gellar drama in development. Writer Monica Breen, who worked with Whedon on ABC's Agents of SHIELD, has been hired to pen the adaptation.Whedon will be an exec producer on the series and has been working with Breen on the script, which features a black actress stepping into the role of Buffy made famous by Gellar.Producers Fox 21 TV Studios will pitch the Buffy re-do to streaming and cable outlets later this summer in a package bound to ignite a bidding war. Comic-Con Sizzle Reel + Blooper Reel Lobo to Be Introduced Source: Read More on The Hollywood Reporter Lobo is from the peaceful planet of Czarnia. He was born a devil in the midst of utopia. Loosely translated from his native language, his name means "he who devours your entrails and thoroughly enjoys it." As a teenager, he single-handedly slaughtered his entire civilization, becoming the last of his race. Now, the mercenary roams the universe on his motorcycle, getting paid for what he loves most: murder and mayhem. Comic-Con Details Discover the origin story that's never been told. Join us on #Krypton. pic.twitter.com/smhME6ExM6 Krypton (@KryptonSYFY) July 21, 2018 #Doomsday was only unleashed in Season 1. Weve got a lot more to learn about the ultimate killing machine. #Krypton #SDCC Krypton (@KryptonSYFY) July 21, 2018 One thing well be playing with in Season 2 is the origin of Nightwing & Flamebird. We officially cant wait until 2019. #Krypton #SDCC Krypton (@KryptonSYFY) July 21, 2018 Season 2 will be stranger. Yes, that means were going to meet some of Adams people in Season 2. #Krypton #SDCC Krypton (@KryptonSYFY) July 21, 2018 Things can get dangerous when you know you have more than one life. -@wallisday on how Nyssa will evolve in Season 2. #Krypton #SDCC Krypton (@KryptonSYFY) July 21, 2018 The #Krypton we come back to in Season 2 is vastly different. Zod has knowledge of the future and that feeds into his actions in our present day. @CamWelsh_ on where Season 2 picks up. #SDCC Krypton (@KryptonSYFY) July 21, 2018 This is just another aspect of the multiverse. We might not even be changing continuity. Its a multiverse people. - VP of Creative Affairs @DCComics, Dan Evans. #Krypton #SDCC Krypton (@KryptonSYFY) July 21, 2018 #Krypton will also visit Brainiacs home world, and planet earth. But is it our Earth? #SDCC doddleNEWS (@doddleNEWS) July 21, 2018 Not only will Brainiac return in #Krypton season 2, but we'll visit his home planet of Colu! #SDCC Mike Cecchini (@wayoutstuff) July 21, 2018 Apparently there were hopes to work some Green Lantern mythology into #Krypton last year but there was something that prevented it from happening. #SDCC Mike Cecchini (@wayoutstuff) July 21, 2018 We'll see the inside of the Phantom Zone in #Krypton season 2 will be a "freaky acid trip fever dream" Mike Cecchini (@wayoutstuff) July 21, 2018 Dan Evans mentions calls with @CamWelsh_ where he says I cant promise you every character will make it until the end. #Krypton #SDCC Krypton (@KryptonSYFY) July 21, 2018 Q: Will any other heroes time travel to #Krypton? A: Im not saying they wont. - Dan Evans #SDCC Krypton (@KryptonSYFY) July 21, 2018 DC Comics' Lobo, is set to be the villain of the upcoming second season of Syfy's Superman prequel, Krypton. Casting has not been announced for the drama returning in 2019. Per The Hollywood Reporter , the new season will "examine the consequences of season one and, in some ways, will see the series start anew". The Hollywood Reporter notes that the decision to bring Lobo to the small screen is because it is "eyeing the big bad for a feature film". "Warner Bros. Pictures is developing Lobo as a possible directing vehicle for Michael Bay". During the Comic-Con panel, multiple things were teased including meeting Adam Strange's people, the introduction of Lobo, Brainiac's world be visited, venturing inside of the Phantom Zone and a 4-5 month time jump. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on members of the United Nations to enforce sanctions against North Korea more strictly and for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to keep his promise to denuclearize, CNN reported. Pompeo said he and President Donald Trump remain "upbeat" about the prospects of reaching a denuclearization agreement with Kim, even as he seemed to betray some frustration when asked what he needs to see from North Korea. "It's really pretty straightforward, right," Pompeo said. "And it's not my -- it's not my description of what needs to take place. Chairman Kim made a promise. Chairman Kim told not only President Trump, but (South Korean) President Moon that he was prepared to denuclearize. The scope and scale of that is agreed to. The North Koreans understand what that means. There's no mistake about what the scope of denuclearization looks like." BRIDGEPORT Three years ago, Joe Ganim asked a court to reduce his alimony and child support payments to his ex-wife. I understand he is not making much money, so whatever the guidelines are is fine, Ganims former spouse, Ellen Jennifer White, told a judge at that time. What a difference getting re-elected mayor and having wealthy parents makes on ones personal finances. Today Ganim earns six figures as Bridgeports chief executive, owns two condominiums one purchased with his dads help. He bought a three-family home last November and recently lent his gubernatorial campaign $60,000. Im far from a millionaire or trust (fund) baby, said Ganim, who ran the city in the 1990s and returned to office in 2015. It is true that Ganims personal bank account might not rival that of opponent Ned Lamont, the Greenwich millionaire, cable entrepreneur and the Democratic Partys endorsed candidate for governor. Ganim hopes to beat Lamont in an August primary. Ganim has criticized Lamont as out-of-touch. He has mocked the eight bathrooms in Lamonts home, his prior membership in an exclusive Greenwich country club and, most recently, called for Lamont to make public his personal financial records. But for Bridgeports mayor to show disdain for big money and the related trappings is a little ... well ... rich, given Ganims personal history and his Easton-based familys wealth, which has supported his dreams and cushioned his failures. George Ganim Sr. is a successful attorney who, with his wife or other family, and under the Ganim name or limited liability corporations, owns multiple commercial and residential properties in Monroe, Easton, Bridgeport, Fairfield and Milford appraised at nearly $10.9 million, according to public real estate documents. The Ganim family started with my grandfather coming to this country with no money (who became) a fruit peddler, Joe Ganim said. Its a matter, certainly, of living the American Dream to a certain extent. Family blessings First elected mayor in 1991, Ganim ran the city until 2003, when he was convicted of 16 counts of racketeering, extortion and bribery crimes that allowed him a taste of a millionaires lifestyle: fancy meals, custom-made shirts, cases of fine wine, improvements to Ganims house and other luxuries. As reported in 2001, Ganim received a $250,000 loan from his father to pay for his legal defense. Then, following the mayors conviction, the elder Ganim bought his sons Bridgeport home for $302,500 and quickly sold it for $605,000. When Ganim was released from prison in 2010 after seven years, his parents provided lodging at the familys Easton property and work at the law office as a legal assistant. Ganim, himself a lawyer, lost his license because of his criminal conviction. I do think he did a lot of good for Bridgeport and his reward was an indictment and conviction, which I still believe was a terrible miscarriage of justice, George Ganim, who did not return a request for comment for this story, said in 2010. Jump ahead five years. In 2015, Ganim won an astonishing comeback after finally publicly admitting wrongdoing and apologizing. According to real estate records, in June 2016 the returned mayor borrowed $67,500 from his father for a $75,000 condominium at 65 Ellsworth St. Recently George and Josephine Ganim contributed the maximum $3,500 a piece to their sons gubernatorial bid, while a Political Action Committee run by the father pitched in $5,000. Asked if the $60,000 Ganim has loaned himself during his quest for governor $35,000 on March 30 and $25,000 on June 30 actually came from his parents, family or friends, the mayor said no. Ganim said he was never blessed with millions like Lamont, who was born into wealth, but then earned even more after founding Lamont Digital Systems in 1984. The company provided satellite-delivered cable TV and video services on college campuses. From Zero to 30 Lamont is sinking some of his fortune into his run for governor. That Ganim can afford to spend $60,000 on his campaign is impressive, given where his finances stood when he reduced his alimony and child support payments to his ex-wife in February 2015 nine months before Bridgeport voters returned the fallen mayor to City Hall. Their uncontested divorce was finalized the prior September. Ganim was to pay $4,000 a month in alimony and $2,230 a month in child support, based on state guidelines for a husband earning $200,000 annually and a wife making $49,400. But by November 2014, Ganim, who had been working as a consultant, had wanted those amounts reduced. He told Hearst in 2015 that one of the companies that I did a substantial amount of work for was recently sold. Now, however, happy days are here again. In 2017, Ganim was the 30th highest paid Bridgeport employee, earning $152,876 and recently benefiting from a raise that political hires received along with the supervisors union. And after his re-election, Ganim was allowed to bridge his years of service. So, benefits-wise, he has worked for the city for a consecutive 14 and a half years, receives an annual longevity bonus and has more vacation days to cash in if they are left unused. The mayor was recently paid $5,595 for about a week and a half of unused time off left over from last year. Ganim also brought in an extra $1,500 co-teaching a part-time government course at the University of Bridgeport a job he landed after pledging during 2015s mayoral race to develop a closer relationship between City Hall and the college. Besides the Ellsworth Street condominium, Ganim since 2016 has also owned a $50,000 condominium at 80 Cartright Street and, last November, bought a $275,000 three-family home on Monroe Street. Records show he borrowed $40,000 for the Cartright property from the Bank of Greenwich and $297,020 for the Monroe Street house from Prime Lending Inc. Im not ashamed. Im not proud. ... Ive certainly had some success, but its a whole different world (from Lamont), Ganim said. Has that recent success been shared with his ex-wife? Nothing is reflected in their divorce records, and she could not be reached for comment. Yes, Ganim said. P olice are hunting a man after a woman was stabbed in west London. Detectives said they wanted to trace 51-year-old Shuguang Xue after the knife attack in Ladbroke Grove on Friday morning. The victim, who is in her 30s, was taken to hospital with stab wounds but is not thought to be in a life-threatening condition. A spokesman for the Met said: "Detectives from Kensington and Chelsea CID are investigating. Officers are seeking to trace a man, who is known to the victim, in connection with the incident." A young woman who was found fatally injured outside her familys pizzeria died from hanging, police have said. Police were called to Uxbridge Road in Hanwell, just after noon on Thursday to reports of a woman seriously injured outside the LOro di Napoli Italian restaurant. The woman, named locally as Lilia Djairine, 24, was pronounced dead at the scene after efforts by passers-by to save her failed. A 28-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of murder has now been released, police said. Scotland Yard revealed a post-mortem examination held at Fulham mortuary on Friday found that the cause of death was hanging. The force said there was no evidence the woman was stabbed. J acob Rees-Mogg has said Britain is heading for a no-deal Brexit but insisted it is nothing to be frightened of. The hardline Brexiteer insisted that leaving on World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms was now likely. But the Tory MP said talks should continue with Brussels, stating: "I think we should carry on negotiating until the end. "I don't think we necessarily need the theatrics of walking away, but the truth is that WTO is likely to be all that they will offer us." The comments came as Theresa May was digging in on her Brexit deal offer to Brussels after the EU publicly doubted the controversial proposals were workable. Theresa May takes swipe at Boris Johnson over Irish border Government sources insisted the Prime Minister was "standing over" the Chequers Cabinet compromise on withdrawal plans despite a mauling of the initiative by EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier. Digging in: Theresa May / Getty Images Mr Barnier openly questioned the credibility of the UK's proposals in his first response to the Government's white paper on Brexit. And in comments that will likely alarm arch-Brexiteers in Tory ranks, the vice president of the European Parliament, and MEP for Ireland's governing Fine Gael party, Mairead McGuinness, made it clear that Mrs May would need to abandon some of her red lines to clinch a deal. Speaking to the BBC, she said of London's proposals: "It's a starting point, it's not an end deal. "I think the British Prime Minister set out red lines too early on and too deeply. European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier questioned Theresa May's White Paper / EPA "We are prepared to show flexibility if the British Prime Minister can show flexibility." Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood insisted the white paper was a workable compromise. He told the BBC: "There is no yes/yes solution here which will balance out the extreme views of the Brexiteers and the extreme views of the Remainers. "It is therefore essential that we have compromise. Barnier: Brussels will not be intimidated by a Brexit blame game "And this is exactly what the white paper does. "It means that we have for the Remainers, we have access to goods and services, a deal with Europe as well. We have financial markets as well. "And on the Leave campaign side of things, the bill, the EU bill stops. We leave the customs union, we leave the agricultural policy, we leave the common fisheries policy, and, of course, we are able to strike our own deals." The comments came after Mr Barnier expressed concern that Mrs May's proposal for a "facilitated customs arrangement" opened up the risk of major fraud, additional bureaucracy and damage to EU businesses. A rail company has apologised after a disabled comedian was left stuck on a moving train for an hour after rail staff failed to bring her a ramp meaning she missed her stop. In yet another rail-related blow, the comedian was left stranded in Darlington after boarding a train from Peterborough to York for the Greater Yorkshire Fringe on Friday. A ramp, which had been pre-arranged with a guard to be made available so she could alight the London and North East Railway service, was not brought. Disabled comedian 'humiliated' on GWR train The company has apologised over the incident and an investigation has been launched. Ms Davis said she was forced to stay on the train and be diverted "an hour out of my way". In a YouTube post Ms Davis, who has dwarfism and relies on her specially-modified mobility scooter, said: "We get to York. I am waiting and nobody is coming. People get off and they just assume that the guard will be coming and all of a sudden the train doors close and now I am off to Darlington." She said that a helpful guard on the train had done "everything he could possibly do", but the incident reflects a "another day, another trial" for a passenger with a disability. A London and North Eastern Railway spokesman said: "We are very sorry for the unacceptable experience Ms Davis had whilst travelling with us. "We are fully investigating the incident to understand what went wrong and to ensure that lessons are learnt for the future." The incident comes days after Canadian-born Ms Davis gained public attention after being reduced to tears when a railway guard made her move so that a woman could put her pram in the wheelchair area. Her partner Kevin Bolden filmed the incident on his phone while they were travelling from Plymouth to Norwich on Sunday. She said the guard announced over the Tannoy said: "We're going to be stopping in Taunton indefinitely because the woman in the mobility scooter is causing problems. "They are videotaping me and threatening to put it on the internet." "That was the most despicable part - all of a sudden you have everybody's eyes on you - and people are freaking out because they have connections to Gatwick and all of a sudden they know it's because of me," she added. "It was so humiliating that I wanted to crawl under a rock and die. "When he announced it, it was so embarrassing. I had to sit there for the next two hours crying. "He threatened to call the police and have us arrested because we were videotaping him." Great Western Railway (GWR) said the incident "should not have happened" and has apologised to Ms Davis. H uge plumes of thick black smoke billowed over Heathrow Airport after a grass fire broke out just yards from the runway. Passengers posted pictures of plumes of smoke from Terminal Four of the airport as London Fire Brigade battled a blaze in Feltham, west London. Four fire engines rushed to Hatchett Road to reports of a grass fire close to Bedfont Lakes, an LFB spokesman said. The blaze broke out around 4.30pm on Saturday as temperatures soared towards 30C in the capital. Billowing smoke: A grass fire in Feltham was visible from Heathrow Airport / Twitter/Timmyg2001 The UK is currently experiencing its longest heatwave in 40 years. As of Wednesday, the UK had just 1.85in (47mm) of rain, making it the driest start to summer in modern records which date back to 1961, followed by 2013 with 2.3in (59mm) of rain. T oblerone fans have been left delighted after it was announced the bars were to revert to their original shape. The makers of the Swiss chocolate bar sparked anger when it introduced wider gaps between its distinctive pyramids in 2016. Its US-based maker, Modelez International, admitted the shape change was not "perfect" for customers, and said it now plans to increase bars' weight from 150g to 200g. The bars will revert to their previous shape, without the wide gaps which some people likened to bicycle racks on the previous bars. The news delighted fans who had reacted angrily to the shape change back in 2016. Darren Wood said he was "so happy right now", while another Twitter user wrote: "The end of the toast rack toblerone. The alps have been restored!" Mark Dexter added: "Changing the size & shape of Toblerone bars was perhaps the most misguided & bizarre decision ever made in the history of humanity. "At last, the manufacturers have (finally) acknowledged their giant balls-up. I shall scoff one of the reverted bars as soon as they are back." At the time of the shape change, Mondelez International said it was forced to make the move because of rising costs. A baby who was separated from his parents as part of Donald Trump's controversial immigration policy did not recognise them when they were finally reunited. For months, baby Johan's Honduran parents watched their only son grow up in videos while he was kept in US government custody. That is how they saw him take his first steps and spoke his first words. The parents were reunited the 15-month-old boy on Friday, five months after US immigration officials forcibly separated the baby from his father at the Texas border. Johan's father won him round after playing a ball game with him / AP Johan initially did not recognise his mother and father after he was flown to San Pedro Sula in Honduras. "I kept saying Johan, Johan, and he started to cry," said his mother, Adalicia Montecinos. "He suffered everything that we have been suffering." Suffering: The boy's parents earlier this month, waiting for his return / AP His father soon won him over by playing a ball game with him. Within an hour, the boy was laughing and kissing his parents, they said. Johan was earlier widely pictured in media after he appeared a US courtroom in a nappy, becoming a kind of poster child for the highly criticised separation policy. Captured by Border Patrol agents almost instantly upon arrival, Johan's father, Rolando Antonio Bueso Castillo, 37, was deported - and the 10-month-old remained at an Arizona shelter, in the custody of the US government. He did not expect to be separated from his son. "I never thought they could be so cruel," he said. D onald Trump has hit out at former lawyer Michael Cohen over reports he secretly recorded the president discussing payments to a former playboy model. The tapes were allegedly made before the 2016 presidential election and reportedly discovered by the FBI in a raid on Mr Cohens property earlier this year. According to the New York Times, the tape reveals Mr Trump talking to his former lawyer about paying model Karen McDougal over claims she had an affair with the president. Mr Trump lashed out at Mr Cohen on Saturday morning in a tweet in which he claimed he had done nothing wrong. He said a lawyer taping a client was totally unheard of and perhaps illegal. He added: "The good news is your favourite president did nothing wrong." The Department of Justice is investigating allegations that money was paid to Ms McDougal in a bid to silence the former model. Mr Cohens lawyer Lanny J Davis said in a statement on Friday: "Suffice it to say that when the recording is heard, it will not hurt Mr Cohen. Any attempt at spin cannot change what is on the tape." A US judge has agreed to halt a lawsuit against President Donald Trump's lawyer for 90 days / AP Ms McDougal claimed to have had a year-long affair with Mr Trump in 2006 shortly after his wife Melania gave birth to the couples son Barron. She sold her story to the National Enquirer for $150,000 (115,000) during Mr Trumps election campaign but it was never published, the New York Times reported. Mr Trumps lawyer Rudolph W Giuliani confirmed to the newspaper that the president had discussed payment of Ms MsDougal with Mr Cohen in person on the recording. He said Mr Trump did not know he was being recorded and insisted he had done nothing wrong. M eghan Markle is scared to speak to her father Thomas in case he leaks their conversation to the media, according to reports. The Duchess of Sussexs estranged father shared details of his conversations with Prince Harry and his wife during a bombshell interview with Good Morning Britain last month. According to US Weekly, 36-year-old Meghan is now too afraid to speak to her dad amid fears he will recount their conversations to the press. A source told the publication she was so upset over the turbulent relationship. They said: "She doesnt even know how to communicate with her dad without knowing he wont exploit her. Thomas Markle on Good Morning Britain last month / Good Morning Britain She lives in fear that hell leak their communication. If hes spoken this much already, why wouldnt he leak their conversation?" He source added that Meghan felt unable to rebuild trust with her father. Mr Markle, 74, was unable to attend his daughters wedding in May after undergoing a heart operation just days before the ceremony. Meghan Markle on her wedding day (Left) and father Thomas / Getty The surgery came shortly after it was revealed Mr Markle had posed for paparazzi shots in the lead up to the wedding. He said on Tuesday that he had only spoken to the press in a bid to grab his daughters attention. I was silent for a full year and the press beat me up every day saying I was a hermit hiding in Mexico, so I gave my story, Mr Markle told celebrity news website TMZ. Thomas Markle told Prince Harry 'Never raise a hand to my daughter' Apparently that interview put the royal family in their silence mode ... so I gave another interview to break the silence. All they have to do is speak to me. Tomorrow (Wednesday) is my birthday, 74 years old, and Im enjoying the fact that I can make the entire royal family not speak and maybe I can get a laugh out of the duchess, he added. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry attend Nelson Mandela exhibition 1 /11 Meghan Markle and Prince Harry attend Nelson Mandela exhibition AP Reuters AP REUTERS PA REUTERS PA AP AP AP The comments came days after Meghans estranged half-sister Mr Markles daughter Samantha claimed she would hold the Duchess of Sussex responsible if her father dies. Last week, the retired film director said Meghan seemed terrified of her new role. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron have discussed a number of pressing global and regional issues over the phone, TASS reported citing the Kremlin press service. "Particular attention was paid to the humanitarian aspects of the Syrian settlement, including the implementation of the joint Russian-French initiative to provide humanitarian assistance to the population in Eastern Ghouta," the Kremlin said. M osul is about to mark one year since its liberation from ISIS but there is still a long way to go to rebuild Iraqs second largest city, experts say. In June 2017, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi declared victory saying that the city had finally been liberated after three years of conflict. ISIS left a wake of destruction in the city it called its own caliphate. Over 650,000 people are still living in camps or displaced in other people's homes. Omar Ali, the head of Mission in Iraq for Human Appeal, has been in Mosul for over a year and seven months and said the process has been a long journey and that there is still some way to go. Victory: Iraqi forces celebrate after the liberation of Mosul from Islamic State Mosul remains in a terrible situation, more than $1bn is needed to reconstruct the city, there are eight million tonnes of conflict debris and it is the most heavily contaminated area in the world with unexploded devices. There is indescribable damage to homes, to schools, infrastructure. Half a billion dollars is needed just to restore electricity, water and sewage. A lot of this work is ongoing but it almost feels sometimes were a bit of a drop in the ocean because its a massive task. Mr Ali arrived in Iraqs second largest city during the conflict. At that time he said the focus was on emergency food assistance, emergency water and supporting female headed households who were on their own along with unaccompanied children who had lost their families along the way. Refugees pictured in a camp on the outskirts of Mosul / Human Appeal Now the focus is on trying to get people in Mosul back to some kind of normality as it tries to rebuild and look forward to the future without ISIS. Weve moved into the assistance of helping displaced people to return safely and in a dignified manner, voluntarily helping them with shelter, reconstructing homes and schools. Were provided school meals to 144 schools, 85,000 primary school ages children which has helped enrolment post ISIS quite significantly, Mr Ali said. Many people have been left without identification following the conflict. Families have lost birth certificates, marriage certificates and proof of land ownership which has left some people stuck, unable to move between checkpoints and in other cases left people stuck looking for work. A girl makes her way to school following the liberation of Mosul / Human Appeal Essentially if you dont have identification or a number of documentation, your children cant go to school, you cant prove that you own your house which is incredibly problematic for a number of reasons, you cant access public services. You are unable to move and it causes a number of problems with a security perspective, you cant prove who you are, its complex. Its a massive challenge. "Probably one that the average person wouldnt think was a huge problem looking at a humanitarian crisis but we have a large team of lawyers across the country and they are facilitating this process to help families get their identification in order so they can try to start rebuilding their lives. A report by Human Appeal and the UNHCR found that only a third of homes in the city are in a good condition. Mr Ali says that the rebuilding process is going to take some time. Islamic State named Mosul as its "caliphate" / AP Its incredibly difficult. 650,000 people just from Mosul and the greater area are still living in camps or are displaced and living in other peoples homes, so its going to take a long time. Some of the projections say it will take around 10 years before Mosul returns to normality. I would like to imagine that there is a more optimistic forecast that we could believe in but its tough. The Iraqi government has promised compensation to families over the damage to their homes however it is unclear when the compensation will come and where the budget for it will come from. The report also found that 42 percent of households have at least one child under 15 contributing to the household income. General view of a destroyed hospital in Mosul, pictured July 2018 / REUTERS Mr Ali said: Child labour is massive problem. 15 sounds reasonably old in the age of children but there are very young children who are working, sometimes bringing back less than a dollar a day in Mosul. As a result, they are not in education, their families are resorting to that simply because they are desperate and dont have much at all. There are many ways of assisting families in Mosul, whether its from a food perspective or a livelihood perspective in the terms of creating new jobs or rebuilding markets or farms and revitalising parts of the industry that existed inside the city. It could be in terms of providing cash assistance to vulnerable households to get them back on their feet and reconstructing homes. There is a huge humanitarian activity responding to those sectors of needs from health to education, food and water, human rights and legal issues. T he father of two survivors of the February shooting in Parkland, Florida, has been shot dead in his own convenience store. Ayub Ali, 61, was shot by a robber while working at Aunt Molly's in North Lauderdale, Florida, on Tuesday. Two of Mr Ali's four children were students at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where a former pupil shot and killed 17 people on February 14. CCTV footage shows a man dressed in red shorts and a bobble hat going behind the counter and putting a black object to Mr Ali's back. The Parkland shooting sparked protests against gun violence / Getty Images An unnamed family member told CBS News in Miami that the robber made off with about $500 in cash. But he then returned and forced Mr Ali into the shop's back office to shoot him, according to NBC News in Miami. He was taken to Broward Health Medical Centre but paramedics could not save him and he was pronounced dead. After a police appeal, the sheriff's office for Broward County said they have arrested Tyrone Fields Jr, 19, in connection with the shooting. Mr Ali's daughter and son both survived the Parkland massacre, which ranks as the second-greatest loss of life from gun violence at a public school in modern US history, after a 2012 shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School that left 20 first-graders and six adult educators dead. The U.S. oil and gas industry is lobbying against tighter sanctions on Russia that could impact U.S. investments there, congressional sources said on Friday, Reuters reported. The U.S. Senate has revived a bill, called DETER, that would allow for swift sanctions if Moscow was found meddling in future U.S. elections. Top U.S. energy company Exxon Mobil is among the firms that have previously opposed U.S. sanctions on Russia. Opponents claim sanctions unfairly penalize U.S. companies while allowing foreign energy rivals such as Royal Dutch Shell and BP to operate in the worlds biggest oil producer. Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen told Reuters on Friday there was growing bipartisan support for his DETER bill. When asked whether energy industry lobbyists were either opposing the bill or seeking revisions, Van Hollen said that a range of issues need to be discussed including ... ones related to U.S. and European energy projects. Van Hollen said that while he was willing to address reasonable concerns from industry representatives and other lawmakers, the legislation needed to be robust enough to discourage Moscow from meddling in future U.S. elections. Dont trip the wire because if you do, sanctions are automatic and harsh should be the message, Van Hollen said. He said he had not been directly contacted by energy lobbyists. Minister Natalia-Elena Intotero has requested the support of Spanish local authorities in the provinces of Seville and Huelva for providing Romanian language courses in schools in those areas, according to a press release issued by the Ministry for Romanians Abroad (MRP). The situation of Romanians in the Spanish region of Andalusia was at the heart of the talks that the Minister for Romanians Abroad Natalia-Elena Intotero carried on Friday with officials from the provinces of Seville and Huelva, informs MRP according to agerpres During a working visit to the Kingdom of Spain on the occasion of the "100 for the Centennial" Gala, the Romanian dignitary, accompanied by the Ambassador of Romania to Spain, Gabriela Dancau, met with Carlos Toscano Sanchez, the Spanish Government's subdelegate in Seville, with Rafael Lopez Fernandez, the delegate of the province of Huelva, and with other representatives of the local authorities.Minister Natalia-Elena Intotero thanked the Spanish authorities for the support given to Romanians in Andalusia and stressed good cooperation on the issues related to the field of labour and social security. At the same time, the importance the new Spanish government is granting to the phenomenon of immigration was highlighted.The Romanian official has shown that the MRP is in constant contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Education, for the successful integration of the Romanians in the countries where they live, but also for the protection of their rights and obligations.In this context, Minister Intotero mentioned the important impact of prevention and information campaigns, such as the National Campaign "Get informed at home, be safe worldwide", which continues starting August.At the same time, the Romanian official said that the Romanian Government is developing policies to convince as many Romanians as possible from the mobility diaspora to return to their home country, arguing that they want to return home.Natalia-Elena Intotero also presented the MRP projects and demarches in support of the Romanian communities in the direction of preserving identity, coagulation of the associative environment and involvement in the life of local communities."We have a very high number of Romanian children born in Spain, and one of MRP priorities focuses on education and the preservation of national identity, and we want to cultivate their love for Romania and our mother tongue, so I welcomed the existence of Romanian language, culture and civilization courses in Spain, currently serving 8,000 children. I have requested the support of the Spanish authorities for providing Romanian language courses in local schools," Intotero said, according to the press release.Also, during the meetings with Rafael Lopez Fernandez, delegate of Huelva Province, and with representatives of the local authorities, the Minister for Romanians Abroad discussed the case of the two minors placed in custody of the Spanish authorities after the death of their mother, a Romanian victim of gender violence. Natalia-Elena Intotero visited the child care center in Huelva and thanked the specialists for their support, says MRP A new era for the EU and Japan, the champions of global free trade and multilateral agreements, has begun. A landmark event that will change the global economic landscape has taken place. The EU and Japan signed a massive free trade deal at the 25th EU-Japan Summit on July 17 in response to recent geopolitical developments. The parties sent what they are calling a "clear message" against protectionism. The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) will provide a powerful impetus to the economic growth of its signatories and also set the standards for their other trading partners. The EPA creates a large free-trade area (FTA) with no tariffs whatsoever, encompassing almost a third of the world's GDP and 600 million people. Now that the deal has been signed, it will also apply to the UK during the two-year Brexit transition period that will begin in March 2019. The mega-trade deal will affect 40% of global trade (up to 70% in high-tech sectors). A drop in prices is likely to boost spending and spur growth. The European Union annually exports more than $100bn (75bn) in goods and services to Japan. EU agricultural exports could increase by up to 180%. The Japanese computer, electronic, and automobile industries are all expected to benefit. The prices for Japanese cars will decline in Europe, as import tariffs are gradually reduced to zero. The EPA includes modern provisions that apply to property rights (IPR), labor protections, a procedure for settling accounts, and a commitment to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change the one rejected by the United States. The news about the signing of the EPA contrasts starkly with the tariff wars launched by Washington. On July 15, President Trump called the EU a foe that takes advantage of the US in trade. The United States rattled international markets by threatening a trade war with China. Washington imposed 25% tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese goods, and Beijing was quick to retaliate. Henceforth EU officials and Japan will present a united front against US tariffs on steel and aluminum. In turn, China is offering to join forces with the EU in an effort to stand up to the US trade policy. The United States had been in talks with Japan and other Asia-Pacific countries on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement before President Trump made the decision to unilaterally withdraw. Washington has abandoned the talks on the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and insists on rewriting NAFTA. Meanwhile, the EU and Japan continue to discuss the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA), the EPAs political twin, which will soon be finalized. The SPA will consolidate all areas in which the parties are politically engaged into a binding agreement to facilitate those joint efforts on such issues of mutual concern as North Korea. Brussels and Singapore have committed themselves to promoting the ratification of their 2014 trade and investment deal by the end of 2018. The EU plans to launch FTA negotiations with Australia and New Zealand, making that alliance the driving force that is propelling the global process of integration. The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the EU and Canada (CETA) took effect in September 2017. The eleven remaining TPP partners, including Australia, Mexico, and Vietnam, signed the agreement, which has been renamed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), in March, leaving the US on the sidelines. The deal applies to a market of nearly 500 million people. America could be a big loser, forgoing a boost to its GDP of 0.5% (worth $131bn). If those eleven join the EU-Japan agreement, the world will drastically change. There are other examples of regional integration happening in the world. Despite Western sanctions, Russia is part of that process. The Russia-led Eurasian Union has an FTA with Vietnam and is negotiating similar agreements with several countries, including India, Iran, Indonesia, and Singapore. In May, another milestone event took place that was undeservedly left out of the media spotlight. China signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in Astana, Kazakhstan. This turns the EAEU-China into a unified zone that sits between Europe and Japan. Goods can be transported from Japan to China by sea and then via train through Kazakhstan, Russia, and Belarus directly to the borders of the EU. The two trade entities could easily agree to make this happen. Russias Northern Passage could also become a trade route for shipping goods from Japan to Europe and vice versa. A new world order is emerging without the US. Washingtons prominence is waning as the global integration process gains traction while America marches out of step. The US just cannot imagine a world it does not dominate. It made the fundamental mistake of adopting a policy of arms twisting, insisting that others dance to its tune or else. Now other actors are shaping the economic and political world map while the US is gradually losing its status as the global leader that is essential to any integration process. Nile BOWIE Malaysias previous Najib Razak-led government appealed to the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) seeking American support to form his countrys next government ahead of a closely fought election on May 9, according to a recent expose published by local news portal Malaysiakini. Five days before the historic general election, an intelligence unit in the Malaysian Prime Ministers Department penned an official letter to then-CIA director-designate Gina Haspel acknowledging the competitiveness of the contest, while noting that Najib was expected to win the election adequately to form the next government. The letter, signed by the divisions director general Hasanah Ab Hamid, underscored the need to have US support for the present government even if we are to win the election by a simple majority or just one seat, and requested that the CIA relay the complexity of managing this election to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Najibs long-ruling Barisan Nasional coalition was roundly defeated at the May 9 polls after garnering just over one-third of the national vote. Pakatan Harapan, Malaysias former opposition coalition, now leads the federal government under the premiership of Mahathir Mohamad, who was previously prime minister from 1981 to 2003. US-Malaysia relations had improved significantly during Najibs tenure, but bilateral ties notably cooled in 2015 when the premier became implicated in a massive corruption scandal involving the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a state development fund that launched in 2009 with Najib as its advisory board chairman. Dealings at the fund, now considered among the worlds largest ever embezzlement schemes, have been the subject of a global corruption probe involving investigators from at least six countries including Singapore, Switzerland and the United States. Malaysias former first family is widely cited as the schemes major beneficiary. US President Donald Trump greets then Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak at the White House, September 12, 2017, Washington, DC. Photo: AFP/Mandel Ngan Despite being investigated by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) for his role in the scam, Najib controversially visited the White House last September in an attempt to boost ties with US President Donald Trump. Investigators believe as much as US$4.5 billion was pilfered from the fund between 2009 to 2014. Najib maintains his innocence and has staunchly denied any wrongdoing. The letter to the CIA director alleged that the now 93-year-old Mahathir had joined the opposition for his own self-interest and that he was not a reformer that could enhance Malaysias national interest. In the past, Mahathir has been anti-West, anti-Semite, autocratic, silenced dissent through force, totally disregarded human rights and the rule of law, the exposed secret letter said. Unlike Mahathir, Najib is known to be a strong US ally and would continue to support [a] US presence in the region, according to the letter, which heaped praise on the sound and progressive foreign policies undertaken during Najibs nine-year tenure, which the letter said sought to promote peace and stability in the region. Without Najib in charge of the country, the letter said, the US stands to lose a reliable partner in Southeast Asia, given that the Philippines have broken away from Washington, Singapore and Brunei being too small to make an impact and Thailand as well as Indonesia immersed in their own domestic problems. Meanwhile, the Indo-China countries, except for Vietnam, are too inclined towards China, the letter said. Following accusations of corruption stemming from 1MDB, Najib deepened economic and security ties with Beijing. Critics widely accuse him of entangling Malaysia in costly infrastructure projects that could potentially undermine national sovereignty. Najibs government, according to the letter, welcomed Americas presence in the region, especially the South China Sea, to hedge against Chinas maritime assertiveness. Malaysia, a claimant to territorial disputes in the contested maritime area, had largely soft-pedaled its claims to avoid confrontation with Beijing during Najibs tenure. Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad speaks during an interview before his election win at Putrajaya, March 30, 2017. Photo: Reuters/Lai Seng Sin In 2016, Malaysia took part in the largest ever naval drills between China and a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) regional grouping. A state visit to Beijing saw Najibs government clinch US$34 billion worth of deals, including Malaysias first significant defense deal with China, an agreement to buy four Chinese naval vessels. Since the publication of the three-page letter by Malaysiakini, Najib has denied having given instructions to write it and also claimed he had no knowledge of the document. He said that agencies related to intelligence matters have the autonomy to perform their duties for reasons they think would benefit them, according to Malaysiakini. Malaysiakini has claimed that well-placed sources linked to the Harapan government have confirmed the authenticity of the letter. (Asia Times could not independently confirm its authenticity in time for publication.) Najib, who some now accuse of treason, claimed the letter appeared to be written with the best of intention in order to preserve the stability of the government after the election in the event of a narrow win. It is unclear whether the letter was ever sent to the CIA or if the American intelligence agency ever issued a response. The US State Department issued a statement following the May 9 election congratulating the people of Malaysia for their participation and calling for the results to be implemented in accordance with the federal constitution. Malaysiakini launched in 1999 as countrys first independent news portal and is today regarded as one of Asias most influential news sites. Despite attempts to levy criminal charges against the portals founders over its critical coverage of 1MDB, ex-premier Najib recently sat for an extensive interview with the portal after his electoral defeat. Najib was arrested and charged earlier this month with abuse of power and criminal breach of trust for dealings at SRC International, a former 1MDB unit. He has since been released on bail but still faces a maximum 20-year prison sentence if convicted when his case goes to trial in February. He has been barred from foreign travel since Mahathir took office. Then Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, November 10, 2014. Photo: Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon Veteran opposition parliamentarian Lim Kit Siang has demanded the former premier explain the letter to parliament and said that descriptions of Mahathir as being anti-West should have never been sent by any self-respecting government or official. Mahathir was often postured in opposition to the West during his earlier 22-year tenure. Though he initially reached out to the George W Bush administration following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, he soon became a vociferous critic of the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and regarded the war on terrorism as a pretext for reasserting Western geopolitical dominance. He was accused of anti-Semitism in 2003 when he claimed Jews rule the world by proxy, referring to Israels alleged influence over the US political system, causing an international furor. Mahathir has never retracted the remark and has also in the past been critical of social liberalism and Western cultural values. While Mahathirs return may have been regarded with some skepticism in the West, the fact that he now leads a reform-oriented government alongside veteran opposition activists and pro-democracy figures has at least initially sent a reassuring signal. New Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad speaks during a news conference in Kuala Lumpur, May 11, 2018. Photo: Reuters/Athit Perawongmetha Since returning to power, Mahathir has attempted to portray Malaysia as a neutral actor amid looming fears of a US-China trade war. Striking a different tone from his predecessor, the nonagenarian premier has called the presence of warships the biggest threat to peace in the South China Seas disputed waters. Mahathir recently proposed that warships be kept out of the region in favor of joint small-boat patrols, a position not likely to endear him with either the US or China. At a speech at the American Chamber of Commerce in Kuala Lumpur last month he defended his governments approach to curbing national debts that ballooned during Najibs term. Mahathir also reassured the audience that his government would remain business-friendly and welcoming to foreign direct investment. Malaysian media reported last month that the US would explore the possibility of Trump visiting Malaysia in November. Mahathir protested Trumps recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital city last year and previously struck a dismissive tone toward the American president, describing him as a person who changes his mind overnight. atimes.com The U.S.-Saudi-UAE Operation Restoring Hope has become their plan to bomb the food-supply route that the residents in the Shiite Houthi area of Yemen rely upon in order to receive food, and thereby for the U.S.-Saudi-UAE alliance to win their war against the Houthis who are Shiites and to take full control over Yemen, by forcing this Houthi population to either surrender to the Sauds strict Sunni rule, or else starve to death. Saudi Arabia, on occasion, bombs its own Shia areas; so, doing it in its neighbor Yemen is no stretch for them. However, the Shiites inside Saudi Arabia arent also being starved to death. Starving Shiites to death is something new for Saudi Arabias troops. And, therefore, the troops who have this assignment, seem to be, perhaps, squeamish about it; but, in any case, they evidently need some moral guidance, in order to do it. On July 10th, the owner of Saudi Arabia, the royal Saud family (by means of the Crown Prince), issued a proclamation providing absolution in advance for any bloodshed, torture, rape, or anything else, that their troops perpetrate in their Operation Restoring Hope. Now, whatever the troops of Saudi Arabia do, to conquer Yemen, has been officially approved in advance. These soldiers wont need to fear any repercussions against themselves. Whatever they do, is officially okay its been authorized in advance. Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Salman al-Saud who will inherit ownership of Saudi Arabia when the current King Salman al-Saud dies issued the July 10th decree, and this decree will be presented here, in full. For some reason, which the decree doesnt state, this decree was viewed by Prince Salman to be necessary, in order for the U.S.-Saudi-UAE alliance to carry Operation Restoring Hope to a successful completion victory. (Restoring Hope to the victors.) And, once victory is achieved, the royal Saud family, who are the worlds largest purchaser of U.S.-made weapons (other than the U.S. Department of Defense) and thus are the U.S. Governments chief global ally, will control that adjoining country, too, no longer just control Saudi Arabia. The seven royal families who own UAE are followers of the Sauds (the worlds richest family) and are also followers of the Sauds fundamentalist-Sunni form of Islam, which was founded in the 1700s by Muhammad ibn Wahhab and so is called Wahhabism. Outside Saudi Arabia, however, its called Salafism. (Egyptian clerics in the 1800s who agreed with what Wahhab wrote, started calling themselves Salafists, instead of Wahhabists; thus, the Salafist movement started.) U.S. military firms such as Lockheed Martin supply their products to both of those Wahhabist-Salafist nations markets, which means selling to the Sauds and to the seven Emirs or Kings in UAE. And, of course, Americas oil and gas corporations, and oilfield services firms such as Halliburton, likewise could increase those Wahhabist-Salafist (i.e., fundamentalist-Sunni) markets, by building oil-pipelines through conquered countries, etc. This is the U.S. alliance to conquer Yemen. They all are at war against Shia Muslims, and especially against the most-Shia country, which is Iran. Of course, the Houthis, as Shia, support Iran and are rejected by the Sauds. So, this is a religious war, and not merely a war between nations, and also not merely a war between national economies or aristocracies. The apartheid theocracy, the Jewish government in Israel, is, furthermore, allied with the U.S.; and, so, whereas the Sauds and UAE are at war against Shia Muslims, the Sauds and UAE arent at war against either Christians or Jews. Moreover, Israel isnt participating in the alliances war to conquer Yemen. Israel has no interest in Yemen neither to participate in controlling the land, nor to sell weapons to kill Houthis. Terrorism, likewise, isnt an issue in this war. Al Qaeda, which is exclusively a fundamentalist Sunni organization, is funded entirely by the U.S.-allied Muslim aristocracies, all of which are Sunni none are Shia. Al Qaeda, and ISIS (an Al Qaeda spin-off) are entirely in the Sunni-controlled part of Yemen, none in the Houthi-controlled part, because Shia and fundamentalist-Sunni groups are enemies of one-another never (except in Israel) allies of one-another. Shia, furthermore, dont participate in terrorism against Christian-majority countries, except, rarely, on occasions when those countries troops are (in order to protect Israel or the Sauds or other allies) fighting, or are stationed in, Muslim-majority countries. Virtually all of the Islamic terrorism that The West experiences, comes from Americas fundamentalist-Sunni allies (these monarchies and their respective aristocracies), all of which are in a long war against Shia and especially against Iran after the fall of the U.S.-installed Shah occurred in 1979. The Shia faith is built upon rejection of monarchies; and, so, that overthrow of the U.S.-installed hereditary monarch, the Shah, in Shia Iran in 1979, frightened the Sunni monarchs and heightened their hatred against Shiites. The anti-Houthi war is a reflection of these monarchs fear of Shia. Islamic terrorism, otherwise known as jihadism, is done entirely by fundamentalist Sunnis (Salafists and Wahhabists) except in Israel, where both fundamentalist Sunnis and fundamentalist Shia sometimes participate in it. Therefore, the war against the Houthis in Yemen isnt anti-terrorist: it has nothing to do with the U.S. alliances relationship to either Al Qaeda, ISIS, or any similar group, since those groups are part of the U.S. alliances war against Shia. Al Qaeda and ISIS both are strongly anti-Houthi. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia produces more suicide-bombers than any other country. And the bagman who picked up, in person, each one of the million-dollar-plus cash donations to Al Qaeda prior to 9/11, said, without the money of the of the Saudi, you will have nothing of Al Qaeda; and he listed then some of the Saud Princes, such as Bandar, Salman (now King), Waleed, and Turki, from whom he had picked up such huge cash donations. So: the alliance is to serve and protect the aristocracies, not to serve and protect their respective publics. The aristocracies determine the alliances; the publics do not. The publics are merely to be fooled, so as to pay taxes, and to fight (as cannon fodder) for their aristocracy, against the nations this aristocracy wants to conquer. Thus, the pressures from the aristocracy are to get the public to support higher defense spending (expenditures which benefit the billionaires) and lower domestic spending (expenditures which benefit the public). Getting the public to support increased defense spending is achieved by demonizing certain dictators while praising even real dictators who are allied with ones own aristocracy. Ones allies are, for example, the free world, while ones targets to be destroyed are dictators; and, so, thats one way of fooling the public. Increasing the hate against the enemy, while praising the allies (whomever endorses that hate), is part of this standard ancient aristocratic business-plan. Another part of this business-plan is advocating small government and cutbacks in government-spending for health, education and welfare, in order for the government to be able to raise defense expenditures (taxpayers subsidies to the aristocracys warfare-industries). And, if fooling the public about a given matter fails, then the government just ignores what the public wants (since none of these countries is actually a democracy). Getting the job done is all that really matters, if and when push comes to shove; and aristocrats know how to get the job done. Its a team-effort, first on the part of each alliance, and then by each team (such as the PR team, the aerospace team, etc.) that each aristocracy which is in the alliance controls; and, ultimately, by each employee or other agent of each organization thats within each team. They all are business-partners; and Operation Restoring Hope is just one of its many operations. Shortly after Donald Trump became the U.S. President, he finalized a global all-time-record weapons-sale, which was to the Sauds, for $350 billion in U.S.-manufactured weapons. To Trump and official Washington, Shiite Iran is the number one terrorist state and thats just about as false an assertion as is imaginable. In fact, Robert Mueller, James Comey, and the Sauds themselves (especially Prince Bandar), were crucially involved in originating that charge against Iran in order to shift blame away from the Sauds themselves, for the 1996 Khobar Towers terrorist incident inside Saudi Arabia. The U.S. Government represents the U.S. aristocracy, not the U.S. public. At the Deep State level, there are actually no political Parties, just the united aristocracy (and its agents), which encompasses both Parties; and, in effect, its comprised of both the U.S. and the Saudi aristocracies. So: the war in Yemen is part of that U.S.-Saudi alliance. And, in order to clarify the context for Prince Salmans July 10th edict regarding this portion of it, here is some of the important historical background: Whereas Islam started as one faith in 610, the separation into Shia Islam and Sunni Islam started in 680, at the Battle of Karbala, where Hussain (or Husayn) ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad, along with many other prominent Muslims, not only disapproved of Yazid's nomination for Caliph (or leader of Islam) but also declared it against the spirit of Islam (because only an imam or cleric, a scholar of Islam, should lead the faith). Yazid was the first hereditary Caliph; and Hussain, on principle, rejected hereditary dynasties. This Battle was between supporters (Sunnis) of monarchies (hereditary caliphs, or kings), versus opponents (Shia) of monarchies. Husain ibn Ali believed the appointment of Yazid as the heir of the Caliphate would lead to hereditary kingship, which was against the original political teachings of Islam. Therefore, he resolved to confront Yazid. Obviously, then, the Sauds, and the other hereditary monarchies in the Islamic world (all of whom are major importers of U.S. weapons), are frightened by Shia, and by Shiism itself Shia belief. There also are many Sunni followers who reject monarchy (hereditary/dynastic rule), even though Sunni Islam itself doesnt reject it. Unlike with Shiism, the rejection of monarchies isnt part of the Sunni faith. Furthermore, in Sunni monarchic countries, the aristocracy are funding clerics who accept monarchies. Therefore, the split that was initiated in 680, escalated greatly after the 1979 Iranian revolution, which actually carried out a monarchs defenestration it therefore terrifies todays Islamic monarchs. They are determined to conquer it. To protect their dynasties, for themselves and their descendants, they aim to destroy Iran and conquer all Shia. Heres what happened at that seminal event in 680: The Caliph, Yazid I, was opposed by imam Husayn ibn Ali, whose forces became massacred at Karbala; and, as the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations correctly noted: Karbala became a defining moral story for Shias, and Sunni caliphs worried that the Shia Imams the descendants of Husayn who were seen as the legitimate leaders of Muslims (Sunnis use the term imam for the men who lead prayers in mosques) would use this massacre to capture public imagination and topple monarchs. This fear resulted in the further persecution and marginalization of Shias. Kevin Barrett, a scholar of Islam, tells me, further, that the founder of Irans 1979 revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini, didnt reject only the Sunni acceptance of monarchies but also what Khomeini perceived to be the injustice of those Sunni monarchies, where the royal subjects are treated as intrinsically inferior beings. This injustice is, of course, part of monarchies, royalty, and all other forms of aristocracy. Consequently, Khomeini, and the Islamic republic that he created in 1979, raised, to the forefront, in a way that never had been done before, the Shiite threat that had been created against monarchs. This is a threat against the very same regimes that are the U.S. aristocracys key allies, and that now buy, more than ever before, the weapons which are made by the U.S. aristocracys firms such as General Dynamics and Boeing. The more fear that those monarchs have, the better are the profits of U.S. weapons-manufacturers. So, Americas aristocrats benefit from those Arab aristocrats increased fear of Shia. Whereas Israel is afraid of Iran for its being not U.S.-allied and therefore not following U.S. guidance against the Palestinians, Americas Sunni monarchs are afraid of post-1979 Iran for its having been born from a repudiation of monarchy itself. Iran thus is considered an existential threat by the rulers in both Israel and Saudi Arabia (and in the other Arab monarchies), and this causes them all to buy lots of U.S.-made weapons. The Middle-Eastern conflicts are thus very profitable for Americas weapons-firms, because they fuel the biggest foreign market for American-made weaponry. And, of course, Americas oil companies also profit from the U.S. Governments alliance with fundamentalist Sunnis against Shia. So: the historical roots of the war in Yemen are deep. The origins go back to the founding of Shia Islam, and of Sunni Islam, in 680, and to the great intensification of that split, in 1979. Therefore, even the U.S. (which claims to be a democracy) acknowledges that it supports monarchies in the Islamic world. It does so despite the fact that those monarchies (and their subordinate aristocrats including such people as the bin Ladens) are the main financial backers the people who hire and pay, train and buy the arms for Islamic terrorists such as Al Qaeda and ISIS, in order to placate their local clergy, who, as fundamentalist Sunnis, dont consider non-believers (in their particular fundamentalist-Sunni faith) to be people of God. The aristocracy and the clergy thus jointly share power in these monarchic countries. (By contrast, in Shia countries, the aristocracy are less strong, because there is no monarch; and, thus, hereditary status which is the basis of any aristocracy is lacking in Shia countries.) Here, then, is Prince Salman's decree, in full: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Pardons all Military men, Taking Part in Restoring Hope Operation, of Military, Disciplinary Penalties Tuesday 1439/10/26 2018/07/10 Jeddah, Shawwal 26, 1439, Jul 10, 2018, SPA In appreciation of the services of all military men, across the armed forces, taking part in the Operation Restoring Hope and due to the heroics and sacrifices they offer and his noble willingness to pay interest to whatsoever act they may bring pleasure and happiness into the military men and their families, and based on reports submitted by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Crown Prince, Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Defense, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has issued a noble royal order pardoning all military men, who have taken part in the Operation Restoring Hope of their respective military and disciplinary penalties, in regard of some rules and disciplines. This is authorization not only by the aristocracy (the monarchy), in a direct fashion, but also by the clergy, in an indirect fashion. The royal Saud family, specifically its King, is provided, by their clergy, the Wahhabist sect clergy, authorization to be the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques of Islam, which empowers the Saudi King (or his assignee) to issue any decree he may wish. So, the country of Saudi Arabia is both an aristocracy and a theocracy. Neither can rule without the other. No member of the royal Saud family can be selected by the rest of the family to become the King, unless, in advance, the Wahhab clergy give their blessing to the person whom they select. Therefore, whereas the Saud family possess the power and authority of the government, the Wahhab clergy possess the veto-power over anyone whom the Saud family might choose; and, so, the ultimate power over Saudi Arabia is actually shared between the Saud family and their Wahhab clergy not 100% possessed by the Saudi King. The ultimate moral authority in Saudi Arabia is the Wahhab clergy, and the ultimate legal authority in Saudi Arabia is the King. The consequence of this new decree is therefore that any Saudi soldier who disobeys will not only be killed, for having violated the Kings command, but will be assigned, by the Wahhab clergy, to hell; and, so, in such an aristocratic-theocratic system, a Saudi soldiers only possibility for salvation is obedience to the King. This system is being supported by the U.S. Government, even though the U.S. Government is not (technically, at least) subject also to the control by the Saud family and by its clergy. Its the Saudi-American way, not only in this war, but ever since the formation in 1933 of what became the worlds largest energy-producing corporation, the Arabian-American Oil Company or Aramco the fusion of the Saud family, and the Rockefeller family of America, specifically the Rockefellers Standard Oil of California (Chevron Corporation). That fusion of interests was also a fusion of aristocracies. It was like the fusion, in 1744, between the Saud family and the Wahhab clergy, except that this was international, between aristocracies, instead of intranational, between the aristocracy and the clergy. Those are the alliances that are core to the war to conquer Yemen. It is also a war against Shia Islam, because the original sworn oath, between the fundamentalist-Sunni cleric Muhammad ibn Wahhab and the marauding desert-gangster Muhammad ibn Saud, entailed specifically an oath to destroy Shia. That oath in 1744 intensified the Sunni-Shia split; and the overthrow of the Shah in 1979 created, in the Muslim world, the equivalent of the Protestant-Catholic Thirty-Years War in Europe, which lasted from 1618-1648. The Houthis in Yemen are Shia, and therefore the Sauds war against Houthis, is also a part of the Wahhabists holy war. This is the Saudi and American way, in international relations. Leadership is shared between the two main aristocracies the aristocracy of the United States, and the aristocracy of Saudi Arabia. Other national aristocracies in the U.S.-Saudi alliance, such as the aristocracies of UAE, Israel, Europe, and Japan, are subordinate to that core alliance, the Saudi and American way. Different allies join in different wars that the core Saudi-American alliance wage. And, for example, when the U.S. and UK in 2003 invaded and conquered Iraq, the participants included only a few of the other European allies, and did not include any of the theocratic either Jewish or Islamic governments. It was entirely a conquest by the participating Christian countries, against Iraq. (Of course, after they won, what they had won wasnt clear only that they had won was clear. But military corporations in the victor countries clearly did win large no-bid contracts; and, so, aristocrats did win financially from that invasion, as customarily does happen from invasions.) And this explains American policies in the Middle East: the Saudi-American way. Like any alliance, not all members participate together in a given war. For example, the fact that Poland, which is another U.S. ally, is not participating in the invasion of Yemen, doesnt mean that Poland isnt part of the U.S.-Saudi alliance. And, if there will be a World War III, then all members of the alliance will be actively engaged, on the same side of it (against Russia and any of its allies). These alliances are purely between and against groups of aristocracies, not between and against publics, who are merely the subjects that those aristocracies rule over. This is the reason why any attempt to understand, for example, the war in Yemen, on the basis of the war on terrorism or other such PR phrases that are directed to the concerns of the public, is fundamentally misdirected. One cannot understand international events by applying such bromides to them. Although those bromides are the standard explanations, they dont actually explain anything at least not honestly. At least the White House can be happy that the resident Hitler-in-Chiefs inhuman separation of innocent migrant children from adults caught illegally crossing the US border with Mexico matters to nobody anymore. Everyones moved on. Children in cages is yesterdays news. The issue now is treason, a crime carrying the death penalty. On that score America and the entire world owe former CIA Director and onetime communist voter John Brennan a debt of gratitude for pointing out that President Donald Trumps expressing the slightest hint of doubt about conclusions reached by the US Intelligence Community is both impeachable and treasonous. Brennan didnt just make that up, you know. Its in the Constitution of the United States, right there in black and white: Article II, Section 1: The executive Power shall be vested in an Intelligence Community of the United States of America. Article III, Section 3: Treason against the United States, shall consist in doubting the Intelligence Community in any way, shape, or form. There you have it, its an open and shut case of treason, committed in full view of the global public within feet of Russian President Vladimir Putin who, as the crack journalists of our intrepid Fourth Estate have now revealed through their diligent investigative work, was once an officer in the Soviet KGB! Trumps unmasking, through his very own perfidious words, now adds traitor to all the other terms of opprobrium already justly appertaining to him. We all know what happens to traitors, dont we? A day later Trump hastily sought to cover up his treachery with the lame suggestion that he had inadvertently dropped the semi-syllable -nt during his Helsinki press conference with his Russian handler. (Actually, that wouldnt/would dodge is pretty cute. Who thought it up Steve Miller? Sarah Huckabee Sanders? Trump himself? Genius! One can almost hear them brainstorming over what explanation would most insult the limited intelligence of their critics.) But try as he might, Trump cant escape. His media pursuers have caught on to his Houdini routine: President Donald Trumps attempt on Tuesday to backpedal on his disastrous remarks siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which the stone-faced president read from a monotone prepared statement but deviated several times from it, was eerily reminiscent of the way he handled his infamous false equivalence in response to the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last summer. After accepting Putins denial instead of affirming U.S. intelligence agencies conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 election, Trump on Tuesday tried to reverse course. Reading from prepared remarks, he said that he accepts the intelligence agencies conclusion and claimed that he misspoke during Mondays press conference. (He added that perhaps other people were responsible, and reverted to his usual talking point that there was no collusion between his campaign and Russia, which appeared to be unscripted.) [ ] Many reporters, commentators and other political observers made similar observations, noting that Trump could quickly reverse himself again, just as he did in his response to the events in Charlottesville. Indeed, just the day after his stone-faced, monotone semi-contrition, Trump was right back at it, colluding with fellow Putin-puppet Tucker Carlson on Fox News. (Even worse, the Trump-Carlson duo even blasphemed against the holiest of holies of US national security, Americans willingness to risk nuclear annihilation in World War III over tiny, corrupt Montenegro.) Not only did this two-man, latter-day analogue to the Gunpowder Plot belittle the supposedly proven fact of Russian hacking of the 2016 election (which nonetheless is still disbelieved by almost 40% of Americans!), they took the opportunity to inject a note of you guessed it! racism: Carlson used literal white supremacy to defend Trumps news conference. I mean Im not a shrink, so I dont fully understand it. I mean I dont think Russia is our close friend or anything like that. I mean, of course, they tried to interfere in our affairs; they have for a long time. Many countries do. Some more successfully than Russia, like Mexico which is routinely interfering in our elections by packing our electorate, Carlson said, suggesting Mexican immigrants who become naturalized citizens and vote are somehow illegitimate voters. Former FBI Director James Comey criticized Trump for sitting down with Hannity and Carlson. Having sold out our nation on an international stage, Mr. Trump will now explain it all to Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson? Im guessing RT and [Sputnik] were unavailable. But aside from Carlson, virtually all of Trumps supposed defenders (mostly on Fox News) agreed entirely with the Presidents accusers that questioning the intelligence community was totally impermissible. Indeed, both his defenders and even Trump himself have tried to deflect criticism by citing the myriad ways in which his Administration has been tough on the Russians: sanctions, expelling diplomats, striking Syria twice, and most of all reveling in the slaughter of Russian contractors in Syria. This reflects a troubling fact that undermines optimism that the Helsinki summit will herald a change for the better in the US-Russia relationship. The fact is, Putin is master in his own house but Trump is not. There is no order or instruction Trump can give that he can be sure will be carried out, either by the Pentagon or the intelligence community and certainly not the Justice Department, which blatantly tried to sabotage the summit with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosensteins issuance of avacuous indictment of 12 GRU officers. As described by former CIA intelligence officer Michael Scheuer: Why should any American worry about the unending, manic claims that Russia interfered in the 2016 election? This story, after all, has been made up and perpetuated by aspiring traitors like Clapper, Hayden, Tapper, Acosta, Hillary Clinton, Comey, John Podesta, Maddow, McCabe, Brennan, Page, Strzok, Wray, the reporting staffs of the Washington Post and the New York Times, the Council on Foreign Relations, and most of all, by the foreign-born Obama. To believe this crews statements about anything at all is to believe that John McCain and Lindsay Graham can open their mouths without lying us into yet another interventionist war. [] In the face of what Jefferson surely would call a long train of perfidy, treason, obsessive avarice, and murder by the national government, one must ask why would any commonsensical American fail to see that the Russian-meddling narrative is transparently an attempt by Obama leftovers and the seething, quite mad Neocons to push the United States into a new Cold War with Russia, one that would lead to a hot war, as well as a means of keeping themselves out of the slammer and off the gallows. Indeed, there is not a loyal American citizen who has a single credible reason to believe any intelligence-based claims made by the Obama administration, or the Obama leftovers in Trumps administration, about Russian interference in the 2016 election. The citizenrys only fair-minded conclusion is that Obama ordered his intelligence and military lieutenants to stand down on responding to Russian hacking in summer, 2016, because no such hacking occurred. Certainly, the two indictments of Russians written by Obama acolytes led by Rosenstein, Strzok, and old-man, disgrace-to-the-Marines Mueller and his merry band of Trump-hating attorneys are clearly dreamed-up travesties that would disgrace a first-year law-school student and get him the boot therefrom. The bottom line is that, even after Helsinki, Trump remains besieged inside his own Administration. It cannot be said with any assurance that there is a single high official, including Trumps own appointees, who agrees with the Presidents desire for rapprochement with Russia. Congress is almost entirely against him, as evidenced by a virtually unanimous Senate vote on a nonbinding resolution against treaty-based law enforcement cooperation with Russia (as discussed by the two presidents) and talk of fast-tracking more sanctions legislation. Even in areas theoretically under Trumps full control, most importantly his constitutional command of the military, there is pushback. One early deliverable of the summit should be US-Russia cooperation in Syria to help wind down that war. But General Joseph Votel, who leads U.S. Central Command, was quick to point out that hes received no instructions and that under prohibitory legislation enacted in 2014 no such cooperation would be legal without Congressional action to create an exception which will not be forthcoming. In a rule of law state, law enforcement should be politically neutral. In most countries its not, with those in power using police, prosecutors, and courts as weapons against the opposition. Only in America, and only since Trumps election, has anyone seen the bizarre phenomenon of election losers abusing law enforcement against the winner. Even as Trump talks optimistically of a second summit with Putin in Washington in a few months, the criminal Deep State conspiracy against him rolls on with the complicity of top appointees like Rosenstein. Every effort will continue to be made to ensure no concrete progress can be made on whatever was discussed in Helsinki while maintaining the 24/7 drumbeat of demonization. (Theres even an attempt to force Trumps interpreter in Helsinki, Marina Gross, to divulge what transpired in private between the presidents. Gross herself may draw suspicion on account of an unconfirmed report that she may actually speak Russian) For his part, Trump must seek support from the only direction he can: the tens of millions of Deplorables who voted for him. The more the media, the Democrats, and the GOP establishment trash him, the more they are convinced he is on the right track. By doubting the truth of Russian hacking and our sacred NATO obligation to every insignificant country few ordinary Americans could find on a map, he has increasingly mainstreamed those notions with his base. Trumps only way forward is continuing to be the wrecking ball he was elected to be. Twitter and his ability to change the subject with outrageous and impermissible utterances and actions are his main weapons. In that vein, as long as hes being accused of treason, he might as well make the most of it: Mr. Trump, fire Rosenstein and let the chips fall where they may. Militants continue to launch UAVs in the area of the Khmeimim air base in Syria. On Saturday night, in the area of the air base, a UAV launched from the territory controlled by the militants in the north of Latakia was shot down, the head of the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria, Major General Alexey Tsygankov said. "On July 21, the airspace control of the Russian airbase Khmeimim detected a UAV launched from the territory controlled by the illegal armed formations in the north of the province of Latakia," the Major General said. A call for a shift in the way public decisions are made in New Zealand has been met with some cynicism by Tauranga Mayor Greg Brownless. Local Government New Zealand and The New Zealand Initiative, a public policy think tank and business membership organisation, say instead of relying on central government to decide what is good for our communities, it is time to empower councils and communities themselves to make such decisions. The two groups used the recent LGNZ conference to launch a Localism project, with a draft discussion paper to review the evidence to be prepared later this year and launched at the 2019 LGNZ conference. LGNZ president Dave Cull says New Zealand needs to restore the balance between local and central government. Both tiers of government must work together, each contributing what they do best, says Dave. Centralised countries tend to be less wealthy and have lower standards of living. New Zealand is among the most centralised countries in the world. We should not expect central government in Wellington to be the best decision-maker for every local problem. Communities often know best what they need. But Greg Brownless says local decision-making is all very well, but there needs to be the necessary funding to go with it. For example, the government is responsible for social welfare issues, but more and more were being faced with the problem of homelessness and begging on our streets, says Greg. I feel this sort of stuff is being pushed on us without the accompanying funding. Im happy to try to solve those problems, but I would like the government to fund that because traditionally that is what they have done. Another example cited is the funding of security cameras. We receive no contribution to that yet they are used to solve crime in many cases, he adds. Greg says rates are not a sustainable way for councils to solve these sorts of problems in the future. Without the associated funding streams, why would we want to take on more and more responsibilities of central government? he asks. If every single council needs to reinvent the wheel then thats not good either. There are certain things government is there for diplomacy, health and environmental issues for example. Devolving the decision-making on Easter trading is a recent example of localism, says Greg. That was forced onto us because the government of the day didnt have the fortitude to make a decision. I get a little bit cynical about it. Everyone has what is deserved. You will not be the exception, Pena-Nieto. You will pay for all your crimes, a protester said. | Read More Iran has laid the groundwork for a massive cyberattack on the United States and its allies around the globe, media reported Friday citing US officials. The senior officials, who spoke with NBC on condition of anonymity, said the attack was not imminent. The report comes as Washington prepares to re-impose sanctions on Iran after pulling out of the 2015 nuclear pact. The news network claimed Iran planned to target public infrastructure and private companies in the United States, Europe and the Middle East for denial-of-service attacks. Irans spokesman to the UN, Alireza Miryousefi, said on Twitter his country wasn't planning a cyberwar against the United States and accused the US government of using rumors to justify a potential cyberattack on Iran, Sputnik reports. Mr Everingham said the taskforce was gathering enrolments data and would devise some short, medium and long term plans of attack. He said a quick step that would be taken in the 2018 calendar year would be to speak to new engineering students and let them know about the potential shortage so they specialise in mining. According to employment surveys mining engineers in WA were some of the highest earning first-year graduates, with an average salary of between $80,000 and $100,000. Longer term Mr Everingham said a lot of work was needed to get school students into science, technology and maths subjects and improve awareness about mining as a potentially lucrative career path beyond traditional social media campaigns. Weve got to be making sure those students know what careers are available to them in our sector and if they want to be a part of our sector what subjects should they be studying, he said. Research shows students dont take career advice from social media, they take most notice and recognition from people with experience in the industry who know what theyre talking about and can tell them what a career looks like and how they can get into that career. If personal engagement is what it takes our industry has to be smart enough and proficient enough to go and do that. The WA School of Mines operates under Curtin University and Vice Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry said they were also trying to address the drop. Were working with or first year engineering students to ensure theyre aware of the options of studying mining engineering and are aware of whats happening in the industry, where the opportunities are, she said. Well also look at the extent to which we can provide that sort of training for students who are already trained in another field of engineering... but of course the resources sector does make use of engineers from a broad range of areas. The 2008-2013 resources boom caught government and universities off guard and they couldnt pump out skilled graduates quick enough. Professor Terry said it wasnt a matter of not learning lessons from the last boom but rather overcoming years of negative press in the downturn that turned prospective students away from the mining sector. "Unfortunately with an industry that is so cyclical of course the downturns affect student demand and perceptions of areas that they should be going into, she said. When there is a downturn that reality affects perceptions of prospective students, of teachers and guidance officers in schools, of parents and all the myriad of people that influence choices of school leavers. Nickel, copper, cobalt and gold miner Independence Group have plenty of work in the pipeline and were all to aware of the impending mining engineer shortage. The company's head of people and culture Sam Retallack said they were looking at expanding their mining engineer graduate program but needed the talent to fill it. She said the biggest problem was changing the perception in school leavers' minds that mining was a dirty and dangerous occupation. "You ask kids in high school what about mining and they look at you blankly," she said. "It's a marketing issue. We need to get all the people that have had fabulous careers in mining that have taken them amazing places to speak to these kids." NIB chief executive Mark Fitzgibbon is hoping the private health insurance fund can get permission from its 1.5 million customers to access their digital health record, despite mounting privacy and security concerns. In an interview with Fairfax Media, Mr Fitzgibbon said Australians opting out of the federal governments digital My Health Record system were preventing health providers from accessing vital information that could be helpful in a medical emergency. "If I get a hit by a bus tomorrow, I want the hospital to have my [digital] record," Mr Fitzgibbon said. NIB CEO Mark Fitzgibbon says the benefits of My Health Record outweigh the risks. Credit:MARINA NEIL The system creates a shared digital medical record for every Australian unless they opt out in a three-month period that started on Monday. Gig economy workers would get legal rights to minimum pay and safe working conditions under a NSW Labor Party plan to rewrite state industrial laws. NSW Labor has announced plans to revamp industrial relations laws to protect online platform workers including food delivery riders and those contracted to do individual job tasks. NSW Opposition leader Luke Foley with delivery rider Kirby Weller. Credit:Brook Mitchell Labor leader Luke Foley said the reforms would be a big priority for a new Labor government. We are not going to scrap the digital economy, but we are going to make sure they treat the people that work for them fairly," he said. The power and passion of people is on display throughout the ACT, but particularly evident in Gudgenby Valley. The former pine plantation, located in Namadgi National Park, has been transformed over the past 20 years thanks to the Gudgenby Bush Regeneration Group. The volunteer group was established in 1998 with the ambitious goal of rehabilitating 380 hectares of introduced pine in the heart of the Gudgenby Valley. Sonja Lenz, Martin Chalk and Kevin McCue are part of the Gudgenby Bushies volunteers group, pictured with Brett McNamara, ACT Parks and Conservation manager Namadgi National Park. Today, after countless hours of continuing hard work, the former Boboyan Pines is home to a forest of native eucalyptus trees, banksia, and acacias. Volunteer Kevin McCue became a Gudgenby bushie in 2002, spending one day a month picking pine wildings from the ground. A single day could net 1000 wildings per volunteer, he said. The next task was to scour the surrounding forest and remove larger trees with saws. Many Australians dont have a high level of awareness of the Commonwealth governments Future Fund, originally set up by the Howard government in 2006. Established to help future-proof the government against the cost of generous defined benefit superannuation schemes for public servants and defence personnel, the fund has grown in scope and ambition. These days, it pitches itself as Australias sovereign wealth fund, investing for the benefit of all future Australians. Credit:James Brickwood It is a far-sighted and worthy initiative, repaying its federal masters in Canberra handsomely. It has turned its original investment of around $60 billion into more than $140 billion in 2018. It aims to grow this even further over the next decade, with a target of more than $250 billion. However todays Sunday Age revelations that the Future Fund is among the investors standing to gain from the systemic underpayment of chefs and culinary staff employed by the high-profile Rockpool Dining Group are troubling. The Future Fund holds its stake in Rockpool indirectly, through an investment of several hundred million dollars in a private equity vehicle known as the Quadrant Private Equity Fund No.4 fund. Private equity took over the Rockpool group of restaurants from celebrity chef Neil Perry in 2016, although Perry retains a high-profile role with the group as culinary director and remains a shareholder. The Rockpool name has near-iconic status in the highly competitive restaurant world, associated with quality and entrepreneurial flair. But that image has taken a blow with The Sunday Age investigation exposing excessive unpaid overtime being worked by the groups permanent chefs, some of whom have put in as much as 20 to 30 hours of unpaid overtime a week. A Fair Work Ombudsman probe is now under way, while the company, after initially denying the claims, says it is looking into the issues. Worryingly however, a pattern is emerging whereby it seems underpayment for long hours is endemic in the hospitality industry. Last year, Age reporters uncovered widespread underpayment of wages among Dominos Pizzas franchises. A Sydney magistrate has launched a blistering attack on alcohol-fuelled violence by women, telling one eastern suburbs woman that "it's about time sentences are imposed [on] females that are imposed on males for the same thing. Magistrate Michael Barko on Wednesday handed British national Elizabeth Hasler 250 hours of community service for attacking her Gai Waterhouse colleague in what he called a "drunken rage of jealousy". Elizabeth Hasler, 27, was given 250 hours of community service for assaulting her fellow stablehand in a drunken jealous rage Credit:Facebook According to the agreed police facts, Hasler and her co-workers were having drinks at The Doncaster Hotel in Kensington on March 3 after a race meeting at Royal Randwick racecourse. Hasler and the victim, both stablehands, left the pub together just before midnight, when she shouted at the victim: "What the f--- are you looking at? She claimed the victim had been looking at Hasler's fiance throughout the night. "If Ireland can do it, it's about time Queensland did it quite frankly." Those were the words of Deputy Premier Jackie Trad on Saturday morning as a strong crowd of pro-choice supporters gathered outside Parliament House with purple umbrellas, T-shirts and signs. In May, more than two-thirds of Irish voters supported repealing the countrys Eighth Amendment, which in 1983 had enshrined in the constitution the right to life of the unborn equal to the right of the mother, effectively banning almost all abortions. Pro-choice supporters made their voices heard in the heart of Brisbane. Credit:Toby Crockford - Fairfax Media Ms Trad had organised the rally after Labor announced on Monday it would move to decriminalise abortion in Queensland and introduce 150-metre safe zones around clinics. Sadiq Husseini was stabbed near a Doveton milk bar. A man has been charged with murdering a young tradie who was fatally stabbed in Melbourne's south-east this week. The 23-year-old victim, Sadiq Husseini, was stabbed after leaving his local milk bar in Linden Place, Doveton, about 9.20pm on Thursday. CCTV footage captured of his final moments shows Mr Husseini smiling and talking with his friends inside the milk bar as he tries on a striped beanie. He then walked from the store towards the car park where he was stabbed and died moments later. Curator Amber Evangelista at Victoria Police museum's new exhibition 'The dark room: photographs and stories from Victoria's 1930s crime scenes'. Credit:Eddie Jim At first glance, they look like quaint photos of Melbournes streetscapes and shops in the 1920s and '30s, all frozen in time on black-and-white glass plate negatives. But look again. A blood spot here, a smashed window there, and suddenly the scene transforms. These are not ye-olde scenery shots; we are looking at some of the first crime scene photographs in Victorias history. Researchers manning a University of Western Australia telescope in Gingin were always going to be in for a challenge on Wednesday night, as cloudy conditions threatened to lay waste to an astronomical plan several months in the making. The goal was to take advantage of an incredibly slim window of opportunity, and try to capture the moment Saturns largest moon, Titan, passed in front of a distant star. Known as an occultation, the celestial event similar to a lunar eclipse promised to give up reams of valuable data on the curious moon, as light from the star illuminated Titans thick atmosphere. To take full advantage of the opportunity, last captured back in 2003, UWA astronomers and NASA scientists planned to work together and observe the phenomenon from two different points on the globe. Special operations forces conduct an airborne insertion during the Rim of the Pacific exercise. Credit:US Navy The Australian Defence Force has deployed new surveillance planes to help sink a ship in live fire drills with the US and Japan that experts say shows a significant readying for high-end warfare. In a demonstration of force that will have been watched closely by China, one of Australias new P-8 Poseidon aircraft fired a Harpoon missile as part of a barrage of firepower to sink the USS Racine, a decommissioned American navy ship. The way the Racine was sunk was particularly significant because it also involved the launch of missiles by the US and Japan from trucks on land in Hawaii, consistent with a US military doctrine that the respected American site DefenseNews reported had been developed to deny China control of the South and East China Seas. The RIMPAC or Rim of the Pacific exercise is one of the largest annual military drills in the world, hosted by the US in Hawaii and involving 25 nations. While China has taken part before, the Peoples Liberation Army forces were disinvited this year because of Beijings militarisation of its artificial islands in the South China Sea. I have been working in the IT industry and know that putting everything in the one place never ends well, Joyce says. The government wasted five hours of my time with their errors and incompetence Father Lukas Linecker of Carseldine in Brisbane Lukas Linecker of Carseldine in Brisbane is another, who says he and his wife decided at their son's birth that they didnt want a health record created for him but were shocked to find out this week that one was made against their wishes. "The government wasted five hours of my time with their errors and incompetence," Linecker says. Thinking of the children: Opt-out or not? Fairfax Media has heard from dozens of families and individuals in similar situations who have found they, or their children, already have a record they did not know about or are coming up against administrative-related problems when attempting to opt-out. By Friday morning, the Privacy Commissioner had received 19 inquiries about My Health Record and three complaints. On the other hand, parents who support the system speak highly of its potential for convenience, particularly for separated families and those with sick children. Australians with allergies, chronic conditions and those who travel or are located in regional areas are also likely, government says, to reap significant benefits. In earlier trials, less than two per cent of people opted out. A major concern for some when deciding whether to opt-out their children is that while a digital health file can be cancelled when their kids grow older, it cannot be deleted; the government says it will be kept for 30 years after a persons death, meaning future generations will not have the opportunity to choose whether they wanted a record in the first place. After cancellation, the record will, however, be made unavailable to health practitioners, but kept on archive. This is one of the reasons Belinda Barnet, a senior media lecturer at Swinburne University with a research background in data privacy, is choosing to opt-out her family. Belinda Barnet and her daughter Laura. Credit:Belinda Barnet Children should not have a record created for them until theyre old enough to consent, Barnet says. In absence of that, its the duty of parents to step in and opt-out for them. Originally, the shared record system was opt-in, with former Labor health minister Nicola Roxon telling an audience in 2011 that the alternative would be a serious mistake. Former Labor health minister Nicola Roxon warned against an opt-out model. Credit:Fairfax Media Labor has since changed its position and supports opt-out, but remains concerned. Sadly, we think the governments implementation of the opt-out process has undermined that public trust, says Labor shadow health minister Catherine King. We believe the government has failed to effectively communicate with the public about what the My Health Record is and what potential benefits it could bring. It has also failed to explain to people how their rights will be respected and their privacy protected. Shadow Health Minister Catherine King says she has concerns about how the rollout is being managed. Credit:AAP This approach has fuelled suspicion and scepticism which may be why tens of thousands of people have rushed to opt-out this week. The systems to do so have clearly been under strain and that has also fuelled concern. Could data be the best medicine? Despite the criticism, Health Minister Greg Hunt says the government has got the balance right. My Health Record has been operating for six years and just under six million Australians are already on the system, says a Hunt spokesman. This opt-out approach has bipartisan support and is overwhelmingly supported by consumer and health groups in Australia. Health Minister Greg Hunt has assured the public about security of My Health Record. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Every state and territory government also supports this approach. Importantly Australians are given choice. Choice if they want to opt-out and choice to decide how their medical information is controlled It is subject to some of the strongest legislation in the world to prevent unauthorised use and backed up by a world-leading cyber security team. Loading They all listed convenience, improving the co-ordination of care (particularly for chronic illnesses), reducing test duplication, and lowering hospital admissions among benefits. CHF chief executive Leanne Wells described the information available on My Health Record, such as discharge care plans, as "vital". Consumers Health Forum CEO Leanne Wells says her organisation supports opt-out. Credit:Dean Sewell Prompt access to a complete and current health record is particularly important for those with complex and chronic conditions requiring a range of different treatments and medicines, often urgently," Wells said. Technology experts have security concerns, with the digital health record system recording 35 reported data breaches in the past financial year, according to the federal Privacy Commissioners office a relatively low figure given almost six million people already have a digital record. The breaches are also administrative and human error rather than security breaches, with fraudulent Medicare claims being put through on some peoples accounts in some instances that made it appear as though they had been prescribed drugs they hadnt sought. Under the global stethoscope Privacy and security experts in the US are astonished by the events unfolding in Australia, with executive director of non-profit organisation World Privacy Forum Pam Dixon describing it as a dystopian nightmare and a huge error. Loading In their view, digitisation isnt the problem, as electronic health records come with great benefits; the issue is a centralised database that could be accessed by many organisations and individuals. Whoever said there was going to be zero possibility of a breach will live to regret those words, Dixon says. The centralisation here and the way its being done is the issue, you dont see other systems being created in this way and there are very good reasons for this. You shouldnt allow widespread access to it. If 900,000 individuals [in the health industry] can gain access to a record, that means there are 900,000 potential misuses of that record. That is an unusual threat vector, you dont usually see this in other healthcare systems. An expert advisor to the OECD regarding health data uses, Dixon points to then-US president George Bush pushing a similar plan in 2004, called The Nationwide Health Information Network, which failed as originally planned because, she says, the risks were too great. She is a mother of four, and a widow her police officer husband died of a heart attack three years ago. She has built a career on activism on behalf of farmers, fisherfolk, unionists, dispossessed Indigenous people and the poor. But politics in this country has always been an elite game, and as Hontiveros admits with a laugh, I am a petit-bourgeois girl. The role of dissident It was 1978 when Hontiveros joined her family in the first big noise barrage protest on the eve of that years general election. The countrys opposition leader, Benigno Ninoy Aquino, was contesting the election against Marcos from jail, where he had been sent on trumped-up murder and firearms charges. November 2016: Protesters oppose the burial of former Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the People's Power Monument in Quezon city, north of Manila. Credit:AP Hontiveros stood with her family in their backyard, banging on pots, pans and washing basins with ladles and sticks. It was very noisy, she recalls, and it went on until dawn. She was 12. At 15 having just starred as one of the Von Trapp family children in a high school production of The Sound of Music she decided to throw her energies into the campaign against the building of a nuclear power station at Bataan. Influenced heavily by the liberation theology inspiring Latin America at the time, she chose to go to the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University because of its tradition of civic activism. In her first year, 1983, Ninoy Aquino was assassinated after returning from three years exile in the United States. After that, a thousand flowers bloomed, she says. The student movement, the mass movement. Some of the people she was working with disappeared or were shot. Eventually the breakthrough came: her graduation coincided with the people power revolution and the end of Marcos regime. The Communist Party split in the early 1990s between those who wanted to continue armed rebellion and those with faith in the new constitution. Eventually, a coalition of left-wing forces coalesced to become Akbayan. Hontiveros represented Akbayan in the House of Representatives from 2004 to 2010 and then, after two unsuccessful attempts, entered the Senate. A fatal encounter The jail threat hanging over Hontiveros began last August with the killing of a 17-year-old student, Kian Loyd delos Santos, in one of the bloodiest nights of the drug war. Delos Santos was shot dead by police in a back lane in Caloocan, part of the crowded honeycomb of metropolitan Manila. The police narrative was the standard line - that delos Santos was a drug user, that he was armed and shot at police, that he was killed in self-defence. Protesters march with the hearse of Kian delos Santos during his funeral in Caloocan, Manila, August 2017. Credit:AP Contrary to normal practice, though, the CCTV cameras in the area had not been switched off. Footage showed the police dragging a young man, apparently delos Santos, into the lane where his corpse was later found. Three eyewitnesses - two of them children - said they had seen the police punch and slap Delos Santos before shooting him as he begged for his life. The witnesses, in fear of their lives, sought refuge from local bishop Pablo Virgilio David. He called Hontiveros, who gave the children her personal protection and then, after a special Senate hearing, put them into the Senate's custody. The hashtag #justiceforkian went viral. In an echo of times past, another noise barrage was organised. It felt, for the first time, as though the people might have had enough. People were confronted with that visual proof of what was done to a child, Hontiveros says. I think even a population that by then was so almost numbed and terrorised and frightened, possibly more cowardly than brave, was just Oh my God, they did this to a kid?. October 2016: Jimji, six, cries out in anguish, saying Papa as workers move the body of her father, Jimboy Bolasa, found murdered during Rodrigo Duterte's "war on drugs". Credit:New York Times As for the child witnesses, she will not release their names. They are both teenagers and they witnessed the killing of their friend Kian, she says. They were in fear of their lives but still they said to me, We want to tell the truth about what happened to Kian because we know him. We know what he did and what he didnt do. We know what was done to him. During the Senate hearing, a journalist snapped a picture of the mobile phone screen of Dutertes then justice secretary, Vitaliano Aguirre, while he was texting a member of the organisation Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, urging them to press charges against Hontiveros for kidnapping the children. The VACC, while independent in theory, is in fact close to the president, who has appointed its principals to important government positions. It was the VACC that initiated the charges against de Lima and against the recently sacked chief justice of the Supreme Court, Maria Lourdes Sereno, another Duterte critic. Former supreme court chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, ousted by Rodrigo Duterte's government. Credit:New York Times Hontiveros showed the Senate a picture of Aguirres text message and called on him to resign, but the kidnapping charges against her went ahead anyway, along with new wiretapping allegations over her distribution of the photo of Aguirres phone. The woman responsible for investigating charges against government officials, ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, is an appointee of the previous administration, and seen as independent. But she reaches the age of compulsory retirement this month, and Hontiveros expects a new ombudsman to be appointed close to the presidents heart. And then the charges against me, which have been stuck for months, will move very fast. Both cases against her are weak, she tells me. But then the charges against Senator De Lima were also weak. Hontiveros also believes that the Delos Santos case is part of a slowly changing attitude to Dutertes war on drugs among the population. People will say, Yes, I support the president, yes, I support the war on drugs, but they are also saying, Im afraid that my family or relatives will be the next victim. I support the war on drugs but I prefer that the suspect be arrested, not killed. State of confusion It is hard, Hontiveros says, to build a party at the same time as pursuing reform, all the while under duress from the government: We are building our house and living in it at the same time. 'A leader must be a terror to the few who are evil': A poster for President Duterte on the window of a store in Manila. Credit:New York Times Political parties in the Philippines are more flags of convenience than machines for pursuing policy programs and contesting power. New ones are born and die with great rapidity. Politicians routinely switch allegiance. Other candidates run as "guests" in one party without leaving their party of origin, some running under a number of party banners simultaneously. Its not hard to find people who cast one vote for Duterte as president in 2016, and another for opposition candidates. I met a man who had voted for both Duterte and Hontiveros, because he believed both to have courage and integrity. What insights can Hontiveros offer about the bundle of contradictions that is Rodrigo Duterte? In the early days, she says, there was debate among comrades about his game plan. We were saying, Is there a game plan or is he just making it up as he goes along? But I think he does have a game plan and in fact it is very simple. Its not a platform of governance, but simply to centre all power on himself, and to do what he wants and to get away with anything. USPresident Donald Trump with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte at the ASEAN summit in Manila last year. Credit:New York Times "He has a lot of things on many different burners all at the same time and whichever seems to make headway, whichever group of his supporters is working on that, then he will give a signal to that to advance it. He is quite Machiavellian, and hes not stupid. Hes very smart. Under the constitution, presidents are limited to a single six-year term. But Duterte has already announced that he wants to change the constitution to introduce what he describes as a federal system of government. Exactly what that will mean in practice is not clear, but Hontiveros suspects that the aim is to allow him to serve more than one term, or at least to select his successor. A new survey by the respected pollster Pulse Asia Research found that two-thirds of respondents oppose changes to the constitution. 'We made mistakes' Dutertes hold on public popularity faces its first true test at the midterm elections next May, and it will also be a test of Akbayan. In an engaging display of frankness, the opposition partys website proclaims that its coalition character is both a strength and a weakness: On the one hand, it provides wider space and latitude for a pluralist exercise and consensus building. On the other hand, it remains relatively loose and slow in responding to challenges, opportunities and threats. Akbayan has pushed measures to prevent and even outlaw political dynasties, and yet it is largely dependent for its impact on one of those dynasties. Suppressed during the administration of Gloria Arroyo between 2001 and 2010, it made serious political headway only from 2009, when it aligned with the Liberal Party, dominated by the Aquino dynasty. Street hawkers on an overpass above Epifanio de los Santos Avenue in Manila. The decades of democracy have not alleviated the plight of the poor. Credit:New York Times That democratic institutions are so under threat in the Philippines is not, as Hontiveros acknowledges, entirely Dutertes fault. The blame is shared with her own side of politics. Through the three decades since the fall of Marcos, including those of the Aquino administration, poverty has continued to define the lives of most Filipinos, even when the economy improved. According to government statistics, more than a quarter of Filipino families lack the income needed to meet basic food needs. Another quarter live precariously, saved from desperation only by an insecure job or a remittance from a family member working overseas. The middle class live alongside the poor, constantly aware of the ease with which they could slip down. During the preceding administration of Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino - Ninoy Aquino's son - the economy improved, though largely thanks to many Filipinos effectively voting against their country with their feet. More than one in 10 now work overseas, mainly in menial jobs, and the remittances they send home to their families are the largest single contributor to GDP. Workers install a street lamp in Manila. Corruption has meant the Philippines has failed to improve services and living standards even in times of economic growth. Credit:New York Times Our beautiful people power revolution we made mistakes, says Hontiveros. Apparently, we werent able to broaden it enough physically and deepen it economically and socially over the past three decades to the majority who are still poor. Meanwhile, the Liberals have had their own corruption and pork-barrelling scandals. The hopes of the people power revolution are now so discredited that the term yellow - the Liberal Party colour - is used as a term of political abuse. This, Hontiveros says, is the challenge for the future. She has attracted a strong personal following and almost celebrity status, fuelled, she hopes, by her legislative record, most recently on mental health. She is committed to continued reform if she gets the chance. She has visited De Lima in jail. The 58-year-old has been refused an airconditioner despite bouts of pneumonia and difficulty breathing in the punishing heat. A collection of her handwritten letters from jail has just been published and distributed with messages of support from politicians - including Noynoy Aquino - and journalists. In one letter, De Lima reflected that she was probably safer in jail than she would be outside. Jailed senator Leila de Lima. Credit:AP Washington: We've known for a while Michael Cohen taped some of his conversations and investigators had those tapes. What we did not know was whether a tape of President Donald Trump was included or whether the two discussed legally problematic things. We now know the answers to those questions: Trump was, and they did. The Washington Post has confirmed that potential turning point of a story. Michael Cohen taped his conversation with Donald Trump. Credit:AP Investigators have a tape of Cohen and Trump discussing purchasing the rights to Playboy model Karen McDougal's story of an alleged affair with Trump from the National Enquirer's parent company, about two months before the 2016 election. The New York Times first reported the story. Emojiland By Hayley Levitt It's not scientific law, but prospects are generally poor for a musical whose eleven o'clock number is delivered by a poop emoji (even when you have someone as belt-tacular as Jessie Alagna playing said Pile of Poo). The fringe benefit of such grim expectations is that Emojiland, directed by Thomas Caruso, breezily surpasses them in the surprise of this year's New York Musical Festival. Husband-and-wife team Keith and Laura Nicole Harrison not only pair memorable melodies with thoughtful and clever lyrics, but they actually meet their subtitle "A Texistential New Musical" with more than just a few passing thoughts on how you can't judge an emoji by its interface. We certainly do hear those grievances from Smize (short for Smiling Face With Smiling Eyes, played by Laura Nicole Harrison), a girl who feels stuck in her cheerful demeanor despite her well of complex underlying emotions (she and her fellow emojis are dressed by Sarah Zinn in mercifully subtle homages to their iPhone illustrations). A world that roots itself in fixed identities, however, naturally becomes a world that fears otherness, and we see that fear come to a head when Prince and Princess (self-centered monarchs played by the perfect comic duo of Josh Lamon and Lesli Margherita) scare the residents of Emojiland into supporting the construction of a firewall to prevent future cell phone updates that will bring new and unknown emojis. It's not a subtle metaphor, but it's a surprisingly apt one that the authors track all the way to the quarantine of the newest emojis upon suspicion of spreading a virus through Emojiland (you don't expect an allusion to Japanese internment to make it into a musical comedy, but there you have it). To supplement the political commentary, the Harrisons have gone philosophical with an overarching thought experiment that pits nihilists against existentialists. Philosophy (and science fiction) buffs have probably heard of the Simulation Hypothesis the proposition that our entire universe, most likely, is actually a computer simulation. Seeing as our cell-phone-based characters are aware of their origin story, Emojiland skips the what-if and moves on to the what-then which is by far the more interesting question. Skull (a powerfully voiced Jordon Bolden) is all-too-painfully aware of his artificial existence and decides he would rather have no life at all than a life absent of meaning. On the contrary, Nerd Face (played ever so endearingly by Keith Harrison), appreciates the beauty of his mathematical coding and asserts his own significance in his synthetic cosmos. Call me a Pile of Poo, but Emojiland might inspire the most exciting postshow conversation you've had in quite some time. Alexis Floyd (on chairs) leads the company of If Sand Were Stone, directed by Tyler Thomas, for NYMF at the Acorn Theatre. ( Shira Friedman Photography) If Sand Were Stone By David Gordon If Sand Were Stone, a musical with a book and lyrics by Carly Brooke Feinman and music by Cassie Willson, explores the emotional and physical journey of a family dealing with early onset Alzheimer's. Billie (Trish Lindstrom) is the afflicted party, a poet and mother growing increasingly more erratic. Her husband Marvin (Jonathan Christopher) is growing less and less patient, and has taken to sleeping with Billie's look-alike assistant Tracy (Tracy McDowell). Billie and Marvin's college student daughter Margaux (Alexis Floyd) knows something's up, but is unaware of the severity. If Sand Were Stone is reminiscent of a NYMF selection from more than a decade ago: Next to Normal (or, Feeling Electric, as it was then titled). Willson's score has the same moody folk-rock feel (with fewer up-tempos), while Feinman's book is similarly concerned with the way a majorly difficult diagnosis plays out on the various members of a tight-knit family. This show has potential, but what it needs is a little more levity and a lot more development. We don't get under the skin of the characters, particularly Billie and Margaux, nearly enough. Too much of the focus is inexplicably placed on Marvin's affair with Tracy, which should simply be a minor subplot. The audience can also see a lot of lyrics coming from a mile away, while other theatrical devices just plainly don't work. A quartet of "Spirits" underscores each scene as though they're living in the characters' minds feels particularly amateur. The "spirits" bog down the production. Their M&M-colored jumpsuits by costume designer Machel Ross are distracting, as is their angular, movement-based choreography by Nora Thompson. Tyler Thomas's staging could also use some rethinking; in a scene where a deteriorating Billie sits to watch a movie, the back wall of the stage fills with a Three Stooges video, making it hard to pay attention to the rest of the scene. Performance-wise, If Sand Were Stone is filled with very good ones. Lindstrom is wrenching as Billie, and Floyd's Margaux is tough as nails until she's not. If we got to know those characters a little better, it would firm up the sand and turn it into the rock-solid stone that this new musical could eventually become. Joshua Stenseth, Juliana Wheeler, Kyle Acheson, Sam De Roest, and Lindsay Zaroogian star in Thicket & Thistles What's Your Wish?, directed by Jonathan Eric Foster, for NYMF at the Acorn Theatre. ( Shani Hadjian) Thicket & Thistle's What's Your Wish? By Pete Hempstead Don't let the sinister-looking tree-and-book advertisement for What's Your Wish? on the NYMF website fool you. The five-member troupe of actor-musicians who call themselves Thicket & Thistle have brought one of the liveliest, funniest shows of the festival to the Acorn stage at Theatre Row. Filled with campy humor, demented puppets, fun songs, and angsty teenagers trying to find their way home from a magical land, What's Your Wish? spins across the stage like an overcaffeinated Wizard of Oz with a PG-rated sex scene. Whiny Nicholas (Kyle Acheson) wants only one thing for his 16th birthday a car. But his mom (Juliana Wheeler) and her lame boyfriend (Joshua Stenseth) give him a pocket watch instead. Totally disappointed and misunderstood, he runs upstairs to the attic with his friend Brian (Sam De Roest) where they find an enchanted book that pulls them into a fantastical realm called Death Forest, ruled by an evil enchantress (Wheeler) and her reluctant servant, a wingless fairy named Gort (Lindsay Zaroogian). The enchantress needs the blood of two virgins (the only part of the show that skews dark) to really amp up her wicked powers and put an ecological blight on the land, so she sends Gort to fetch them. Once captured, Nicholas and Brian are determined to find their way home and escape the enchantress, and with the help of some woodland creatures, they find that the things they once wished for are no longer the things they need most. All five members of this talented troupe sing and play a variety of instruments, including the accordion, mandolin, and banjolele. Acheson and De Roest are terrific dueting in the ode to teenage disappointment "When You're 16!," and Stenseth adds his brilliant comedic talent to the mix in "The Traveling Song." The folksy, almost improvisational quality they bring to the show is reflected in Travis George's set with a ladder, chairs, a white sheet for shadow puppets, and a Foley artist table where the actors create hilarious sound effects. Wheeler, in a garish red sequined costume designed by Genevieve Beller, is every bit the tyrant to Zaroogian's wingless fairy. There are political metaphors in their relationship that resonate today, but What's Your Wish? never delves too deeply into anything other than its theme of finding what you really want in the people you care about. And that's just fine for this lighthearted delight of a musical, a good choice for families with young teens. The contagious fun these five have onstage is all we could wish for now. Kristin Davis. Photo: Joe Kohen/WireImage Special counsel Robert Mueller and his team are seeking to speak to Kristin Davis, the infamous Manhattan madam who once called former New York governor Eliot Spitzer a client, CNN reports. A source close to the matter told CNN that Mueller has reached out to the attorney representing Davis, although it is unclear at this time why he is hoping to speak with her. CNN notes that she previously worked for President Donald Trumps outside political adviser Roger Stone, who is also the godfather to her son. TMZ first reported that Muellers office was seeking to speak to Davis earlier Friday afternoon. The gossip publication noted that Davis had worked for Stone for a decade. TMZ also reported that Davis had numerous interactions with former Stone associate Andrew Miller, who ran her campaign for governor and was subpoenaed by Mueller last month. Davis was jailed for four months after getting caught allegedly providing call girls to Spitzer in 2008 while he was in office. She later served a 19-month federal prison sentence after being accused of selling prescription pills in 2013. An attorney for Davis, Daniel Hochheiser, told CNN that neither he nor Davis have been subpoenaed by Muellers team. If the special counsel subpoenas her I will be representing her, Hochheiser said. However, he declined to comment on what role Davis may play in the investigation or her relationship with Stone. NAIROBIEritrea has appointed its first ambassador to neighboring Ethiopia in two decades, the government said on Saturday, as the former foes pushed on with a rapprochement. The job went to Semere Russom, Eritreas current education minister and former ambassador to the United States, Information Minister Yemane Meskel said on Twitter. Since signing an agreement in Asmara on July 9 to restore ties, Eritrean and Ethiopian leaders have moved swiftly to sweep away two decades of hostility since conflict erupted between the two neighbours in the Horn of Africa in 1998. On Thursday, Ethiopia named Redwan Hussien, formerly Ethiopian ambassador to Ireland, to become Addis Ababas representative in Asmara. The rapprochement was triggered by the taking office in April of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who announced he wanted to implement a peace deal that ended the war. Both leaders have visited each other and Isaias this week reopened his countrys embassy in Addis Ababa. Ethiopias national carrier Ethiopia Airlines on Wednesday made its first flight to Asmara in two decades and was greeted by dancers waving flags and flowers as families separated by the war and the ensuing hostilities made an emotional reunion. By Omar Mohammed Tyrone Fields Jr. turns himself in on July 20, 2018. (the Broward County Sheriffs Office) Father of 2 Florida Shooting Survivors Killed, Suspect Turns Himself In A man who killed the father of two Florida high school shooting survivors after an armed robbery turned himself in on Friday, July 20. Tyrone Fields Jr., 19, from Deerfield Beach was arrested on July 20, Two days after he allegedly had killed 61-year-old Ayub Ali, the Broward County Sheriffs Office announced in a news release. He was charged with one count of murder and another count of robbery with a firearm. Ali was a father of four. Two of his children, a son and a daughter, survived the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting on Feb. 14, 2018, in which 17 people died, WFOR-TV reported. The robbery and shooting happened in a local store named Aunt Mollys Food Store around 12:40 p.m. on July 17. In a surveillance video from police, a manwho was later identified by the authorities as Fieldsis spotted putting a black object to Alis back, following him around the counter, taking money from the register, and then leaving. Ali can be seen putting his hands up at one point. The security camera footage doesnt show any struggle or fight during the armed robbery. But shortly after Fields left with money, he returned and shot Ali, police said. The Tamarac Fire Rescue transported Ali to Broward Health Medical Center and he was pronounced dead there. A family member of the victim told WFOR-TV that Fields got away with $500 in cash. Who is this person? Around 12:40 p.m. July 17, our homicide detectives say he robbed and killed Ayub Ali at Aunt Molly's Food Store in North Lauderdale. pic.twitter.com/2VDoztwWnP Broward Sheriff (@browardsheriff) July 19, 2018 Fields turned himself in at the Fort Lauderdale Polices station at about 12:30 p.m. on July 20. Police said Frieldss friendwho had seen the surveillance footage police released to the publicencourged him to meet with authorities. He was held in jail without bail. The case is still under investigation, anyone with further information is encouraged to contact with the Broward County Sheriffs Office Homicide Detective James Hayes at 954-321-4231. From NTD.tv Watch Next: Father Who Lost Child Tells Trump: I remember the hug you gave me Khaled Ali, a British man who had made bombs for the Taliban in Afghanistan and was plotting an attack near London's parliament was jailed for life with a minimum term of 40 years at the Old Bailey court on July 20, 2018. (UK Metropolitan Police) Man Arrested With Knives Near UK Parliament Jailed for Life LONDONA British man who had made bombs for the Taliban in Afghanistan and was plotting an attack near Londons parliament was jailed for life with a minimum term of 40 years at the Old Bailey court on Friday. Khalid Ali, 28, was carrying three knives when he was arrested by armed police in April last year. Only just over a month earlier, a British-born convert to Islam had ploughed a car into pedestrians on nearby Westminster Bridge, killing four people, before stabbing a policeman to death in the grounds of parliament. Ali had intended to kill a police officer, a member of the armed forces or even a Member of Parliament, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said. Five days before he was stopped, Ali visited potential targets such as Westminster Bridge, the Houses of Parliament and Whitehall. His fingerprints matched those found on bomb-making components recovered in Afghanistan in 2012 and held on an FBI database, the CPS said in a statement. Some of the prints were on the sticky side of adhesive tape used in their manufacture which the prosecution argued indicated he had made the devices and was not merely handling them. Khalid Ali planned to carry out a vicious knife attack in London that could have injured many and endangered life, said Sue Hemming from the CPS. By Stephen Addison Mississippi K-9 Dies From Heat Stroke in Hot Car A K-9 in Mississippi died in a hot car after the vehicles engine shut down, authorities said. Dex, the K-9, was left inside the Hinds County deputys vehicle while the deputy, Lafayette Martin, went inside of a restaurant to eat his lunch on Thursday. The engine of the 2016 Chevy Tahoe shut down during the lunch and the dog died within an hour, officials told Mississippi News Now. The cause of death was a heat stroke. Major Pete Luke told the broadcaster that Dex, a 6-year-old Belgium Malinois, was the county sheriff departments top drug-detecting officer, recovering over $600,000 in combined assets during his career. After the death, the sheriff authorized equipping vehicles with K-9s with alarms that are designed to sound if the interior of the vehicle gets too hot. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, people in general shouldnt leave dogs unattended in a vehicle. The temperature inside a vehicle can rise almost 20 degrees in just 10 minutes. In 20 minutes, it can rise almost 30 degrees, and the longer you wait, the higher it goes. At 60 minutes, the temperature in a vehicle can be more than 40 degrees higher than the outside temperature. Even on a 70-degree day, thats 110 degrees inside the vehicle, the association said in a press release. Even on a day that doesnt seem hot to you, a vehicle can quickly reach a temperature that puts pets at risk of serious illness and even death. Cracking the windows makes no difference, it said. From NTD.tv Special Counsel Robert Mueller at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C., on June 21, 2017. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images) Mueller Offers Limited Immunity to 5 in Manafort Case Special Counsel Robert Mueller offered limited immunity to five potential witnesses in the case against campaign consultant Paul Manafort. One of the witnesses is Tony Podesta, according to unnamed sources, though this claim is inconsistent with court documents. Its not clear when Muellers team struck the immunity deals, but on July 17 it asked the court to seal them, so that the potential witnesses wont face undue harassment and reputational harm, court documents show. Podesta being granted immunity was reported by Fox News Tucker Carlson on July 19, based on two anonymous sources. Carlsons sources diverge from information provided to the court by Muellers prosecutors, who stated the witnesses have not been identified publicly with the case. Podesta has been linked to the Manafort case, though only through anonymous sources. The Special Counsels Office declined to comment. A spokeswoman for Podesta declined to speak on record. Podestas lobbying firm, the Podesta Group, worked with Manafort and another lobbying firm, Mercury LLC, to boost the Ukrainian governments image in the United States between 2012 and 2014. Podestas brother John was a campaign chair to Hillary Clintons 2016 presidential bid. While Manafort has been charged with a failure to register as a foreign agent, the Podesta Group hasnt. The limited immunity offer, called use immunity, only covers a testimony to Mueller and doesnt shield the witnesses from charges based on other evidence. Mueller charged Manafort in two separate lawsuits (in October and February), saying he hid from authorities millions of dollars in payments from former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, dodging taxes in the process. He also allegedly lied to banks about his income to get better loans, lied to investigators, and failed to register as representing foreign interests. Manafort joined the campaign of then-candidate Donald Trump in March 2016 and served as the campaign manager from June to August that year. He stepped down after The Associated Press revealed his previous work in Ukraine. The Podesta Groups CEO, Kimberley Fritts, said their work for Ukraine was paid by a nonprofit, which provided a signed statement affirming its independence from Ukraines government. But one former Podesta employee anonymously told the AP that Manaforts partner, Richard Gates, told them in 2012 that the nonprofits role was to supply funding that could not be traced to the Ukrainian politicians who were paying him and Manafort. In October, Podesta quit his firm after news of the Ukraine work emerged. The firm virtually ceased to function that year. Manafort and Gates, as well as the Podesta Group and Mercury ultimately registered as foreign agents in 2017. Last month, Manafort was charged with witness tampering after he allegedly called and messaged a former associate to give him a heads-up about the work the two did connected to lobbying for Ukraine in Europe. The work may have also involved lobbying the U.S. government and Congress, according to court documents, which would have triggered the foreign agent registration requirement. Federal Judge Amy Berman Jackson then sent Manafort to jail to prevent further contact with witnesses. Hes been reportedly held in solitary confinement. Manafort is scheduled for trial on July 25, 2018. Based on court documents, the five witnesses with immunity offers havent been charged in the case, but will not testify or provide other information on the basis of their privilege against self-incrimination. Granting immunity is a way to compel a testimony, as a witness who then refuses to testify to a federal grand jury may be held in contempt. Muellers team only asked to keep the immunity motions sealed until the witnesses are actually called to testify, because their identities would then likely become public anyway. Rare Charge Lobbyists are rarely punished for failing to register as foreign agents. In the past half a century, there have only been a handful of cases. Manaforts lawyers said the charges against him are politically motivated as his activities have been known to authorities for years, but only prosecuted after he joined the Trump campaign. Mueller was appointed a year ago to take over a previous FBI counterintelligence probe into Russian meddling with American elections and whether the Trump campaign colluded with the meddling. Mueller indicted 25 Russians and three companies for allegedly running a social media troll farm and hacking voters information and Democrats data. He also indicted several Trump campaign associates, but none of the charges substantiate the Trump-Russia collusion allegations. The Manafort charges are especially far removed from Muellers original mandate, but Deputy Attorney general Rod Rosenstein issued a memo on Aug. 2, 2016, that, in its unredacted part, specifically authorizes Mueller to investigate Manaforts work in Ukraine. That didnt stop Mueller from having Manaforts home raided a week earlier. The raid was authorized based on allegations about his work in Ukraine. President Trump has called the Mueller investigation a witch hunt. Last month, he questioned why the FBI didnt tell him back in 2016 that Manafort was being investigated for his past business. We should have been told that [then-FBI Director James] Comey and the boys were doing a number on him, and he wouldnt have been hired! Trump wrote on Twitter on June 3. Watch Next: Why did the US Leave the UN Human Rights Council We are withdrawing from the UN Human Rights Council, an organization that is not worthy of its name. A boy sits at a desk outside a subway station of the Pyongyang metro in Pyongyang, North Korea, on June 17, 2018. (ED JONES/AFP/Getty Images) North Korea Has Suffered Its Biggest Economic Drop-off in 2 Decades The North Korean economy shrank 3.5 percent last year, according to a report released on Friday, July 20, by South Koreas central bank. It was the biggest drop-off since 1997, when North Koreas Gross Domestic Production (GDP) decreased sharply by 6.5 percent. In contrast, the economy of the democratically governed, South Korea grew by 3.1 percent in 2017. The Bank of Korea (BOK) attributed the economic contraction in North Korea to a drop in its mining output and a contraction in its heavy & chemical industry. Data shows production in the sector decreased by 10.4 percent, which was viewed as the result of the newly adopted and implemented U.N. bans last year in response to Kim Jong-Uns series of disturbing nuclear tests. Exports of North Korean minerals, including coal, are banned under U.N. resolution 2371, adopted in August last year. The U.N. Security Council also unanimously imposed another set of sanctions on North Korea in resolution 2397 on Dec. 22, 2017. Apart from the rare violation, those sanctions are basically being held, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told NPR. A BOK official also noticed transactions between North Korea and China had tumbled significantly in the first half of this year, Yonhap News Agency reported. Kim Jong-Un is unlikely to be given good news this year on the economic side of things. The U.N. resolution 2397 limits North Koreas annual refined petroleum inflow to 500,000 barrels starting on Jan. 1, 2018. It also requires countries using North Korean laborers to send them back no later than 24 months from the adoption of the resolution. The U.N. imposed fresh sanctions against the North in August and December, and those will make a serious dent in the North Korean economy this year, the BOK official told Yonhap News Agency. North Koreas last economic downturn in 1997 happened amid a severe famine in which two to three million people, according to estimate of a range of experts, died between 1995 and 1998, the New York Times reported. The BOK has been estimating the GDP of North Korea annually since 1991 using basic data supplied by relevant institutions. In the absence of reliable data from the communist regime, the BOKs estimation is widely regarded as the most dependable source on the economic status of North Korea. Watch Next: A Story of Opportunity for North Korea President Trump showed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a video resembling a movie trailer in preparation for their meeting. A woman holds a copy of the Polish constitution as she takes part in a protest in support of free courts outside the Parliament building in Warsaw July 18, 2018. (REUTERS/Kacper Pempel) Poland Passes Controversial Supreme Court Law, Sparking Protests The Polish Parliament adopted rules on Friday that will expedite the naming of a new Supreme Court chief under a sweeping and contentious judicial overhaul, sparking street protests. Warsaw Police Department spokesperson Sylwester Marczak told TVP that a very dangerous incident took place shortly after 7 pm in front of the Parliament in Warsaw. A crowd was pushing against the police, and two officers were injured. One of them sustained an injury to his shoulder, another suffered a cut to the face, said Marczak. Then, in reference to several protesters who reportedly engaged in a scuffle with deputies, Marczak told of several arrests. Police officers had to and must always react decisively to outbreaks of aggression, particularly when that aggression is directed against the police. Those who behaved most aggressively were arrested. Footage of the detention of one of the protesters, Dawid Winiarski, was shared on social media following the incident. Brutalne zatrzymanie Dawida Winiarskiego. pic.twitter.com/etPLLQLti0 Obywatele RP (@ObywateleRP) 20 lipca 2018 Local media reported demonstrations were also held in other major Polish cities, including Poznan and Wroclaw. But Fridays demonstration was a far cry from related rallies last year outside the Supreme Court and the presidential palace. According to Onet, an estimated 50,000 protesters assembled in front of the court on July 21, 2017, in opposition to a bill introduced a day earlier by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party that would force sitting Supreme Court judges to retire. Earlier this month, 22 Supreme Court judges were forced into early retirement, but chief Judge Malgorzata Gersdorf has refused to go, insisting her constitutional term expires in 2020. She has become a symbol of resistance to a judicial revamp that critics said undercuts democracy. Gersdorf said she will continue to lead the Supreme Court until she is physically prevented from entering the premises. She was asked by reporters last Wednesday what it would take for her to submit. When Im [physically] prevented from entering the court, Gersdorf replied, according to TVN24. Do you fear that you might really be blocked from entering the court? a TVN24 reporter asked. Im sure of it. Two years ago, [PiS leader] Kaczynski said that he would not physically throw me out of court, but he would take this away, she said, holding up her security pass. Dominated by PiS, Polands lawmaking body has adopted waves of legislation in a manner that opponents allege disregards the system of checks and balances that is a hallmark of rule of law. Since coming to power in 2015, PiS has said deep reforms are needed to cleanse Poland of the remaining vestiges of communism, and fears a hostile judiciary could thwart their plans. If we dont reform the judiciary, all the other reforms will make little sense, because sooner or later these would be overturned or negated by the kind of courts that we have now, PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski said in an interview with Sieci, a Polish weekly, on July 9. Kaczynski has said on many occasions that he believes the judiciary harbors communist-era attitudes and practices and so must be purged. While admitting that some reforms may be necessary, Kaczynskis opponents argue that shedding the residue of communism is just an excuse to secure the subservience of independent-minded judges and push through laws that may be inconsistent with the constitution. Under PiS rule, dozens of judges have been fired at the Constitutional Tribunal, the National Judiciary Council, which decides judicial appointments, and now the Supreme Court. New appointments have been made using procedures that give Parliamentwhere PiS holds a majoritymore say over the courts and the government more control over judges. In hasty proceedings on Friday, the Lower Chamber of Parliament approved amendments enabling a swift appointment of a new Supreme Court head. The Upper Chamber is likely to endorse the new rules as soon as next week and President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally, is expected to sign them into law soon afterward. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Thursday it was necessary to replace Gersdorf quickly to avoid damaging legal chaos and that Poland would not heed demands by the EUs executive commission to reverse its laws on courts. A Supreme Court representative, in a July 16 press statement, criticized the bill ahead of its tabling for Fridays parliamentary debate. Before getting into a detailed analysis of the specifics of the draft bill, it unfortunately must be concluded that they are an example of a highly instrumental use of the law to achieve political ends, Supreme Court Justice Jozef Iwulski wrote. This way of adopting new laws stands in obvious opposition to the rule of law. Legal experts warn that the questionable manner of adopting new laws risks undermining the legal order and could invalidate court rulings. Constitution expert Marek Chmaj told Reuters that as a result, some court cases might have to be repeated. This will be a big problem. Someone can challenge regular cases of people considered by the courts, including the Supreme Court. They can be rerun in the future, he said. The EU has launched several legal cases, as well as an unprecedented rule of law probe against Warsaw that risks losing billions of euros in funding from the bloc. The head of the European Unions judicial advisory body visited Poland on July 6 in support of the forcibly retired chief justice of Polands Supreme Court, saying an overhaul of the judiciary by Warsaws government was endangering democracy. Kees Sterk, chief of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ), which advises the EUs executive on upholding rule of law in the bloc, met Gersdorf in her Warsaw office. Were here to express our concerns about the situation, about the independence of judges, independence of the Supreme Court, Sterk told reporters. At stake is, in the end, the liberty of citizens of Poland. An independent judiciary is essential for all the member states of the European Union, so also in Poland, and we are very worried about the independence of the judiciary in the Polish Republic, Sterk said. We also support the judges who are brave enough to defend their independence and we as a network, we see it as a duty of every judge to defend their independence, he said. Since taking office, PiS has taken a hard-line stance on attempts by Brussels to compel Poland to accept migrants according to a quota system. The ruling party has also gotten tough on tax fraud and has disbursed a monthly benefit of 500 zlotys ($120) per child to familiesmoves popular with the public. PiS enjoys broad support, with a recent poll by Kantar Public giving them a comfortable lead of 34 percent, and their closest challenger, Civic Platform, polling at 23 percent. Reuters contributed to this report. Swiss Rolls Recalled Nationwide Recalled Over Possible Salmonella Outbreak The popular Swiss Rolls snack has been recalled across the United States due to a possible salmonella outbreak. The recalled Swiss Rolls are sold under a number of brand names: Mrs. Freshleys, Food Lion, H-E-B, Bakers Treat, Market Square, and Great Value are the brand names distributed nationwide. Another brand, Captain John Dersts Old Fashioned Bread, is distributed in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Flowers Foods said the recall was due to the potential presence of Salmonella in an ingredient, whey powder. The ingredient recall was initiated by a third-party whey powder manufacturer and supplier. No illnesses have been reported in connection with the recalled items, the company stated. To see specific UPC numbers and best by dates affected, click here. Salmonella affects hundreds of thousands of people in the United States every year, with the latest outbreak linked to turkey. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a federal agency, estimates that salmonella causes about 1.2 million illnesses every year, with around 23,000 people needing hospitalization and 450 people dying annually fro the illness. Food is the primary source of salmonella. People can institute a number of food safety measures to attempt to prevent salmonella, including cooking meat and eggs thoroughly and washing hands, surfaces, and utensils that have been in contact with raw meat immediately after the contact. Symptoms include diarrhea and fever, and a test is required to confirm the presence of the illness. From NTD.tv Meechaiel Khalil Criner was convicted of killing of University of Texas at Austin student Haruka Weiser. (Austin Police Department) Texas Youth Gets Life for Assault, Murder of 18-Year-Old College Dance Student A 20-year-old Texas man has been sentenced to life in prison for raping and killing a University of Texas freshman dance student in 2016. Meechaiel Criner will spend at least 40 years behind bars for his crimes. He could not be executed because he was only 17 when he committed the crimes. Criner was living on the streets of Austin when he committed the crime. Criner was convicted of assaulting and killing 18-year-old Haruka Weiser on April 3, 2016, as she crossed the UT Austin campus, heading home after a leaving a late class at 9:30 p.m. Her body was found two days later alongside Waller Creek, a wooded area of the campus. Criner came to the attention of law enforcement when he started a fire in a large bin, Austin Patch reported. Some of the burning items turned out to belong to Weiser. Information from firefighters, coupled with a tip called in saying Criner looked like a person seen following Weiser in security camera footage, led to Criners arrest. After his arrest authorities found Criner had more of Weisers possessions, including her MacBook, NBC reported. During his trial, it was revealed that for years, Criner had been writing stories describing sexual assaults similar to the one he perpetrated upon Weiser, KXAN reported. Weisers father, Thomas Weiser, referenced those stories in his victim impact statement prior to sentencing. Haruka did not choose to sacrifice herself. You made that choice for her. But she did not die in vain. We will never know how many lives she saved through the events of her death, Weiser told the judge,according to KXAN. I wish she was still here where I could see her, but I do find comfort in knowing that she helped stop a serial killer in his tracks, he said. Talented, Motivated, Murdered Haruka Weiser, originally from Portland, Oregon, was a dance major who specialized in ballet and hip-hop. In an interview with Dance West, a Beaverton, Oregon, dance academy she attended for four years, Weiser explained, Ive been dancing in my living room for as long as I can remember but I began training at ACMA in the 6th grade. (ACMA is the Arts and Communication Magnet Academy, a specialty school in Beaverton.) My favorite styles of dance are ballet and hip-hop, she added. I love the precision and grace of ballet, but at the same time I enjoy the freedom and challenges I find in hip-hop. In a 2014 article in the Portland Tribune, Weiser explained how the cycle of preparation and performance consumed her life. Every time before a show, for me at least, it gets really rough. Ill be like, I want to quit. I never want to dance again. And as soon as the show happens, Im back in it, she said. It really is a rush. There really is nothing like it, and it is so short. To people who maybe are more logical than me, its not worth it. But somehow that cycle of it just keeps happening over and over again and keeps you going. Weiser had even bigger dreams. She planned to declare pre-med a double-major, a family member told the Austin Statesman. Her father, Dr. Thomas Weiser, was a military veteran who focused his career on improving medical care for Native Americans. From NTD.tv Apple, iPhone, and iPad are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Book Review: A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II NORWALK If you were served alcohol before noon, or after 9 p.m., on a Sunday at a club, hotel or restaurant in Norwalk, you broke a dated and largely unknown city ordinance. The 1957 ordinance allows the sale, dispensing or consumption of alcohol in such establishments only between noon and 9 p.m. on Sundays. And thats news to many Norwalk restauranteurs and even elected officials to whose attention the matter was recently brought. Councilwoman Eloisa Melendez, chairwoman of the Common Councils Ordinance Committee, said shes had a mimosa before noon during Sunday brunch as well as a glass of wine after 9 p.m. Just because its not being forced and its like, Whatever (for some), I think that this committee should change it so that the businesses in Norwalk dont continue to violate the law, and for future businesses who want to maybe one day open business in Norwalk, not read this and decide, No, Melendez said. At least one prospective business, apparently, had that very concern. Thats kind of what happened here, said Darin Callahan, assistant corporation counsel in the citys law department. I had received a phone call from a business that was interested in coming into Norwalk. Such local laws are not uncommon, according to city attorney Brian Candela. Most of these ordinances from other municipalities were also from around the same time period, sometimes a little bit after, Candela said. But somewhere between the 1950s and the 1970s, they were drafting these ordinances and really none of them have been updated at least since the 1980s. This month, the Ordinance Committee began discussing whether to amend the ordinance to conform with Connecticut state law, which allows Sunday alcohol sales and consumption at such establishments from 10 a.m. until 1 a.m. Monday. A survey of several SoNo restaurants found they were serving up beer, wine and other alcohol before noon and/or after 9 p.m. Sundays. They expressed surprise upon learning of the local ordinance and said theyd welcome it being changed to match state law. Were used to the (state) hours already, said Henry Lopez, manager of Public Wine Bar on Washington Street in SoNo. Were never going to close the restaurant at 9 oclock p.m. While the local ordinance doesnt prohibit restaurants from remaining open after 9 p.m. on Sundays, it would be hard to draw customers after that hour without alcohol being available, according to Lopez. Breaking the local ordinance, at least in the morning, is difficult for Cask Republic on Washington Street. On Sunday, the restaurant serves brunch from 11:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner from 3 to 9 p.m. But the bar remains open to 1 a.m., according to its website. Upon learning of the local ordinance, Assistant General Manager Daniel Sosa said it should be changed to match state law. He said religion may have been behind the 1957 ordinance. More Information A 1957 city ordinance restricts the sale, dispensing or consumption of alcohol to between noon and 9 p.m. on Sundays. The forgotten blue law has not been enforced. See More Collapse Maybe it was based on a religious background as to why they made the law in the first place, Sosa said. Now that were a more open society and free, we should follow the state law and not base things based on religious values. At least one Ordinance Committee member reached a similar conclusion. While committee members appeared receptive to expanding the Sunday hours to match those of the state, theyre not ready to do so until they understand why the 1957 ordinance was adopted and which establishments it applies to. Is there is a separate city ordinance for bars? asked Councilman Thomas Livingston. What are people operating under now. This says, Hotels, Restaurants and Clubs. Is there another ordinance that we could compare? Councilman Michael Corsello, another attorney on the committee, said club has a very specific definition. State statute, he added, defines various types of permits for establishments that serve alcohol. I would want to be sure what is a restaurant permit, Corsello said. NORWALK Its the week of the Triwizard Tournament, and Hogwarts students have stolen the dragons egg from Ilvermorny. At least, thats the premise for the latest escape room by the Norwalk Public Library. For the uninitiated, escape rooms are games in which you and a team of friends, family or co-workers enter a room filled with puzzles and clues that you have to piece together racing against the clock. They usually cost around $25 a person, but a team at the library has spent months putting together this challenge for free. Friday afternoon, they decided to test it out on library staff, which gathered in the shadow of an evil, faceless dementor that floated above the hallway as Lisa Story and Evelyn Cunningham prefects, in this scenario set the scene. The egg had been tracked to a Hogwarts student dorm room, and the team had one hour to find it and win their school glory. If this all sounds like gobbledegook, never fear theres no need to have read the J.K. Rowling books to solve the challenges, though it does help with appreciating the details worked throughout. The room is decorated like that of a young music-junky wizard, with concert tickets pinned to a bulletin board and band posters Neville and the Longbottoms, anyone? on the wall. Once inside, theres no further instruction. Its game time. Cunningham remembered her introduction to escape rooms. The first time, the first few minutes, I was angry, the childrens librarian said. I was like, Im in an empty room, what am I supposed to do now? But it takes a minute, so dont get frustrated. Andre St. Surin, a veteran escaper, lost no time. His tip? Look underneath everything. Peering under the bedsheets, the librarians assistant explained, Everything is misleading everything is not a clue and is a clue. The team spread out, standing in clumps around items people found promising. A clock on the wall marked the time, its minute hand seeming to move more quickly than usual. Im shook. Im very shook, Jay Wilson said as he examined a pile of to-do notes left on the student wizards desk. I like it. Its got my mind thinking. When the dragons egg was finally recovered, the room burst into applause. Adrenaline morphed into relief, then exuberance. After selecting props for a Harry Potter-themed photo shoot, the team lingered in the hall and debriefed parts of the puzzle raucously. As though from Madam Pince, a call came from down the hall, reminding the triumphant witches and wizards, This is a library! To book a slot at the escape room, which runs from July 21-29 (times can be found on norwalklib.org), call 203-899-2780 ext. 15131. rschuetz@hearstmediact.com; @raschuetz 5 hours ago To The Moon? Teslas Price Is Going To Mars Tesla Wows Market With Q3 Results Love him or hate him, Elon Musk has taken Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) to new heights and the climb has only just begun. While the EV story here on earth is a compelling driver of the stocks value, in our opinion it is the Mars angle that will keep it moving up over the long term. Read Article Auspicious holidays brings two-day alcohol ban PHUKET: The series of major public holidays next weekend will bring a ban on the sale of alcohol for two consecutive days and see all major government offices close for a four-day weekend. culturereligionalcohol By The Phuket News Saturday 21 July 2018, 10:30AM Buddhist holidays will see a ban on alcohol sales across the country, including Phuket, next Friday and Saturday (July 27-28). The auspicious Buddhist holidays Asarnha Bucha Day and Khao Phansa (Buddhist Lent), also called Vassa, will be observed next Friday and Saturday (July 27-28), respectively. As both are major religious holidays, the sale of alcohol is banned across the nation on both days. Asarnha Bucha Day and the beginning of Buddhist Lent have been mandated National No Alcohol Days since 2009 by an order that also banned the sale of alcohol on the major Buddhist holidays Makha Bucha Day and Visakha Bucha Day. Also, with the 66th birthday of His Majesty The King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun this year falling on a Saturday (July 28), the country will observe the national public holiday on Monday (July 30), with all government offices closed. To mark the month of special events, the government is calling on households, workplaces and government offices to be decorated with images of HM The King and national flags together with Royal Standards of the monarchy. Thai flags are to be set at the right side of the buildings and flags of the monarchy are to be set at the left. A national cleanup day held in honour of HM The King, with the event led by the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, will be held near Government House next Thursday (July 26), with separate Big Cleaning Day projects conducted in every province across the country on the Saturday (July 28). To honour the occasion, a merit-making ceremony will be held nationwide at the same time, 7am. Also held simultaneously nationwide from 7pm on Saturday, July 28, will be a candle-lighting blessing ceremony in the name of the Thai people. (See story here.) Ugandan females arrested on Bangla Rd for Phuket overstays PHUKET: Two Ugandan women have been arrested on Bangla Rd in Phukets main entertainment hub Patong after it was found they had overstayed their visas. crimeimmigrationpolicepatong By The Phuket News Saturday 21 July 2018, 12:44PM The two Ugandan women were arrested on Phukets famed walking street Bangla Rod in Patong. Photo: The Phuket News / File However, no details on how long the women had overstayed or how they managed to fund their stays has been forthcoming. Patong Police Deputy Chief Lt Col Jessada Sangsuree confirmed the arrest of the two women following a report titled Suppressing Human Trafficking and Alien Overstaying being issued on Thursday (July 19) and addressed to Patong Police Chief Col Anocha Jindamane. The report noted that Patong Police officers Lt Nikorn Chuthong and Lt Narubodin Pangsenson had placed two women under arrest while the officers were on patrol and checking areas along Bangla Rd. The two women were named as Shaniyah Nyongonga, 31, and Latifah Hazziwa, 28. Nyongonga was arrested and charged for illegally staying in the country after her permit-to-stay had expired, while Hazziwa was arrested and charged for illegally entering the country and for staying in the country without permission. We are worried that more and more women are coming here to Phuket, especially Patong, and are doing the same like this, Col Jessada guardedly told The Phuket News. The same is happening in other areas like Pattaya, he added. They arrive as if on a vacation, but stay longer, he said. HALIFAXWomen with a Vision hosted the 11th annual North Preston Day on Saturday to celebrate the history of Canadas oldest and largest Black community. North Preston Day is one day that the whole community comes together and looks forward to this, said Vivian Cain, who started the event in 2007. They get all dressed up in their costumes and everybody just enjoys it. The day of celebration began at 8 a.m. with a pancake breakfast at the North Preston Community Centre, followed by a parade and a carnival in the community centres parking lot, culminating with fireworks at 10 p.m. Coinciding with the celebration was the grand opening of the Arnold D. Johnson sports field, named after the former city councillor and community leader. The event is one of many that the community group Women with a Vision organizes throughout the year. Women with a Vision is a non-profit organization. Its to celebrate the community, give the kids something to look forward to, said LaToya Cain, Vivians daughter. Our main purpose is just to keep the kids active and to celebrate our rich community and our heritage and everything. Vivians nephew, Neville Provo, is also heavily involved in the event. Provo said hes happy to see how the event has grown over the last decade. [Im] just happy that it grew this big. It was [Vivians] vision. We used to call it Vivians day and then, you know, she kept being persistent and then everybody in the community finally bought into it, Provo said. Provo, who started the youth basketball team North Preston Bulls, said hes been involved in the community as much as possible since he moved to North Preston from Toronto when he was 12. I wouldnt want to live anywhere else, he said. When I moved here it was nothing but blue skies, I just tried to do whatever I could to try to help the people and then so far so good and like I said, I love the place, my adopted home. North Preston Days is, at its base, a chance for the community to unite together in positivity. The community has long suffered from a stigma painting it as a dangerous place rife with crime and violence. Provo said that events like these help to celebrate North Preston for what it really is: a strong and united community. It really hurts us as a people going out there and saying that were from North Preston and that people think about us always in a negative light, so this type of stuff always shines the real light on the community, he said. Theres a lot of history, so much history and we have try to preserve it and keep it going and, you know, hopefully in another four or five hundred years well still be doing it. I wont be around but its some kind of legacy left behind. Its so very important for us to let our kids know who we are and be proud of who we are and where were from. Read more about: WINNIPEGManitobas public-sector unions lost a bid Friday for a temporary court injunction against a provincial government bill that would freeze wages for 110,000 workers. Court of Queens Bench Justice James Edmond rejected a request from more than a dozen unions representing teachers, nurses, civil servants and others to delay the wage freeze until a full court hearing on its constitutional validity can be held. Courts will rarely order that laws that Parliament or the legislature have duly enacted for the public good will not operate or be enforceable in advance of a full constitutional review, Edmond wrote in his 50-page ruling. I am not satisfied that this is one of those clear cases of a charter violation (where) an interlocutory injunction or stay should be granted pending a trial on the constitutionality of the (bill). The legislation would impose a two-year wage freeze across the public sector as each collective agreement expired. That would be followed by a 0.75 per cent pay increase in the third year and one per cent in the fourth. The bill was passed by the legislature more than a year ago, but the Progressive Conservative government has yet to declare it in effect. Still, union leaders say it has affected contract talks because government and public-agency negotiators have used it as a guideline. Last year, the unions filed a lawsuit that alleges the bill violates the right to collective bargaining and the freedom of association under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The government has argued it is within its right to legislate wage freezes as part of its effort to reduce the deficit. It also said the wage freeze is lawful because it only applies to new collective agreements and does not reopen existing ones. Kevin Rebeck, president of the Manitoba Federation of Labour, said getting a temporary injunction was far from guaranteed, and the battle will continue when a court hears the main constitutional argument. Were not entirely surprised. We knew it was a stretch to get an injunction, but we will always stand up and fight for public-sector workers to have collective bargaining, Rebeck said Friday. Were pleased with the decision and look forward to ongoing collective bargaining in the public sector, Finance Minister Cameron Friesen said in an emailed statement. Our approach will continue to be guided by our commitment to repair and protect the front-line services Manitobans depend upon, while avoiding tax increases. We have always said this effort will require everyone to do their part. Edmond wrote in his ruling that lawyers for the government and the unions should appear in court Aug. 31 and be ready to set a date for the constitutional hearing. Read more about: MONTREALA Haitian asylum seeker who fled violence at home says hes worried about being sent back, especially as the situation in his country deteriorates due to civil unrest. Claude, who would not give his real name for fear of reprisal, said he came to Canada after criminals ransacked his home and threatened his wife and children. They charged me ransoms, came to my place and looted my home, he said Saturday. Thanks to God they did not rape my wife and kids, my daughter. Now, the 44-year-old father said hes scared to be sent back to Haiti, where he believes his possessions will be gone and he wont be able to protect his family. He stood on the margins as about two dozen protesters held a rally in Montreal on Saturday to call on the Canadian government to declare a moratorium on deportations to Haiti due to civil unrest in the country. Read more: Immigration Minister warns Haitian border-crossers that Canada will probably reject them Daddy, lets go to Canada find our way out: Haitians seek refuge from Trump north of border Opinion | Canada has an obligation to help Haitians fleeing Trump Holding handmade signs some taped to hockey sticks they chanted No one is illegal! during a two-hour demonstrations in front of Citizenship and Immigration Canadas Montreal office. Organizer Frantz Andre said they are asking Canada to reinstate a moratorium on deportations to Haiti that was previously in place between 2004 and 2014. He said federal officials shouldnt be deporting people to Haiti at the same time theyre warning Canadians to avoid all non-essential travel to the Caribbean nation due to political unrest and the risk of violence. If it is not a safe place for Canadians, why should it be a safe place for Haitians who have fled the country? Andre said. The Canadian government issued a travel advisory earlier this month, warning against all non-essential trips to Haiti, citing high crime rates in various parts of the country and ongoing political and social tensions. Citizenship and Immigration Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday. Claude said his problems began when he returned to Haiti after vacationing in Canada, when he and his family became a target for criminals due to their perceived affluence. He said he sent his family away and booked a ticket back to Canada, landing in December 2017. Since then, hes found sporadic work at a temp agency as he waits to be given a date for a hearing on his asylum claim. He said an original date for June was cancelled, and he hasnt yet received a new one. In the meantime, hes watched friends get deported, which stokes his fears that hell meet the same fate. Immigration and refugee board data shows that between February 2017 and March 2018, 68 per cent of processed claims by Haitian asylum seekers were rejected, while only 9 per cent were approved. But the board cautions the numbers represent only a small percentage of total claims and they are not a representative sample. Claude said hes still hopeful that people will show understanding towards Haitians, whom he said have suffered for years due to poverty, natural disasters and political instability. I hope they allow us to come here and find peace and tranquillity, to live a life that is respectable and acceptable, he said. Read more about: WARNING! Graphic content Men in dress shirts thrashing men in dress shirts. A high-pitched shrieking as the targets of all those blows and kicks scrunch their bodies on the floor in a vain attempt to protect themselves. The melee spills out into a stairwell. This appalling scene was captured on Tuesday, in an Indian courthouse, where 17 males were brought for a first appearance on charges of gang-raping and otherwise sexually molesting a 12-year-old girl with a hearing disorder over a seven-month period. Those inflicting the wallops are lawyers. Those receiving them are supposed to be their clients. Except the Chennai High Court Advocate Association has declared none of their attorneys will take the case to represent any of the defendants. The communitys anger is understandable, expressed in furious and incendiary postings on the comment section of Indian newspapers: Shoot them! Hang them! Burn them! On the opposite end of the rage spectrum, following the rape and murder of an eight-year-old Muslim girl in a separate incident earlier this year, a government minister who attended a protest rally in support of the accused was anonymously quoted in the New York Times as saying, So what if a girl died? Many girls die every day. There is a sectarian subtext to the rhetoric, with Hindus blaming Muslims, Muslims blaming Hindus, opponents of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party several of its members have publicly defended the accused slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi for unacceptable silence in the face of high-profile sexual assaults against young girls across the country, and intellectuals tying the can to the long-gone East India Company imposing western culture on India, as if the sexually diabolical were a cascading outcome of laws that abolished suttee and legalized the remarriage of widows. I dont know what any of that has to do with vile crimes against children, but theres no dispute that India, most populous democratic country in the world, has been plunged into an existential maelstrom, with many incidents of sexual assault against minors deepening religious, political and ethical divides, as accounts of unspeakable violence grips the public. Vigilante mobs, infused by a lust for vengeance and apparently corralled via rumours on social apps about child kidnappings and assaults, have been responsible for 20 lynching or beating deaths in the past two months, according to Indian media reports. While a horrified citizenry recoils, a Thomson Reuters Foundation poll released in June named India as the most dangerous country in the world for women, ahead of such war-torn nations as Afghanistan and Syria a rape occurring at least every 20 minutes, as per data from the National Crimes Records Bureau. Yet India, in recent years, had also been characterized as one of the countries with the lowest per capita rates of rape, according to a UN comparative study. Its difficult to reconcile these two counter claims. But theres little doubt that something sinister happened in Chennai, a coastal city in the southeast, and, in January, in the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir. In the latter event, the eight-year-old from a seminomadic Muslim community, was abducted, imprisoned for a week in a temple so says the police charge sheet drugged, starved, repeatedly raped before she was slain and her body thrown into the forest. One of the accused was also a police officer, and, claims the prosecution, asked his co-conspirators to hold off killing the child so that he could rape her a last time. Sex crimes against children are hardly exclusive to any country on the planet or any ethnicity. Toronto has sadly seen its share of them. Theres an extra dimension of savagery, however, in the Chennai Horror, as its being called, which provoked the chaotic courthouse brawl on Tuesday. Police say the men allegedly took turns raping the child, feeding her drinks laced with drugs, and videotaping the assaults in them they are brandishing knives threatening to make the contents public if the girl told her family. The girl lives with her mother in an upscale gated community apartment complex, with a jungle gym and a pool, home to some 350 families in multiple blocks. The childs businessman father resides in another city with an older daughter. It was the sister who, on a visit home last week, concerned about the youngers girl fatigue and depression, first raised suspicions. When the 11-year-old finally revealed her harrowing experience, the family filed a complaint with the local all-women police department. (India has about 200 all-female police substations, formed specifically to investigate and help curb gender crimes.) All of the defendants worked in the complex, in security, as elevator operators, handymen and housekeeping staff. Police say the first sexual assault was by an elevator operator who subsequently encouraged others, including colleagues, to join the episodes of sexual wretchedness, most of it taking place in isolated niches of the complex and vacant units, in the evening, when her mother believed her to playing with other kids. They threatened the child at knife-point, said the captain of the all-woman police station, after arresting the men. This is the worst crime this world has seen yet, as far as Im concerned. Few of them raped her; some have fondled her during this act. Some others have sexually harassed her, while others have watched the assault video. They are all guilty, because not one of them tried to stop this brutality. They will all be punished. Three of the accused are in their 60s, four in their 50s, three in their 40s, the rest in their 30s and 20s. They have been variously charged with aggravated penetrative sexual assault, sexual assault, harassment upon a child, attempted murder and criminal intimidation. Since the news exploded, women who live at the complex have taken it upon themselves to guard the community, also preventing both journalists from entering and citizens from the wider city whove been demonstrating for swift, lethal justice against the defendants. If left to us, we will murder them with our bare hands, one woman told the Times of India. How can they do this to a small child? Victim assistance groups have also been barred, despite arguing that every child in the complex must be questioned about sexual abuse, because they do not believe that there was just one victim. The alleged crimes are sickening. But sexual terrors inflicted on children are apparently hardly unknown across India, especially in rural towns and villages where local justice is malleable and many such crimes go unreported, with families fearful of reprisals, or vengeance is exacted directly. The mob has no patience with jurisprudence, with reports of men attacked, even killed, for simply offering candy to children or striking up conversations. The atmosphere has become that tense and fraught with menace. India is no different, in the promulgation of fake news, circa 2018 claims of child kidnappings, harvesting of childrens organs, gang rape with appeals to baser human instincts, in a nation of more than 200 million social media users. The real, the allegedly real, is bad enough. Correction July 23, 2018: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly said two of the accused are police officers. Read more about: The Crown is appealing the controversial acquittal of Peter Khill in the shooting death of an Indigenous man, Jon Styres, in a high-profile self-defence case. The Crown argues Justice Stephen Glithero did not properly instruct the jury on what the law says about self-defence. The Crown Law Office in Toronto, which falls under the Ministry of the Attorney General, filed the appeal with the Court of Appeal of Ontario on Thursday. Generally, an appeal can be granted if new evidence arises or if an error in law has been made during the trial. Jeffrey Manishen, the lawyer who won the acquittal for Khill during the 12-day trial in Hamilton, issued a statement: After all of the attention that his case has received, Mr. Khill was disappointed to learn that he will now have to retain counsel to respond to the Crown appeal against his acquittal. He believes that the trial was conducted with fairness for all concerned and without error on the part of the trial judge or the jury. He wants the appeal to be heard as soon as possible. Read more: Opinion | Shree Paradkar: Echoes of Colten Boushie verdict as Hamilton-area man acquitted in shooting death of Indigenous man Peter Khill found not guilty of second-degree murder in death of Indigenous man Pathologist describes shotgun blasts that killed Indigenous man in Hamilton Khills wife, Melinda Benko, is about seven months pregnant. Styres left two small children. The Styres family says the appeal by the Crown is good news and that the weeks since the verdict have been very difficult. Barb General, director of the Six Nations Justice Department, praised the decision to appeal and said in a statement: The verdict has left people feeling like it is open season for violence on Indigenous people. We are grateful that the Crown is continuing to fight for justice in this case. On June 27, a jury of seven men and five women found Khill, who is white, not guilty of second-degree murder and not guilty of manslaughter in the Feb. 4, 2016, shotgun shooting of Styres, who was from Six Nations. Khill was surrounded by police and escorted out a back door of the courthouse after the verdict because of concerns for his safety. The case drew the anger of Indigenous people across Canada and divided the public at large because of the perception among some of racism in the justice system. There was never any evidence or suggestion by anyone directly involved with the trial that Khill, 26 at the time, shot Styres, 29, because he was Indigenous. The jury heard it was very dark at 3 a.m. when Khill blasted Styres twice with a shotgun after finding him rummaging through his truck in the driveway of his Binbrook area home. Khill testified he shot Styres because he believed he had a gun and was going to use it. The trial heard Styres did not have a gun. The acquittal meant the jury believed Khill feared for his life and that his training as a former military reservist possibly kicked in and caused him to react on auto-pilot to eliminate the threat, as Khill had put it. Under Canadian law a person cannot kill someone to defend property like a truck but can lawfully kill someone to protect a life. Prosecutors argued at trial that Styres homicide could have been avoided if Khill had simply called 911 and stayed in his house. The Crowns appeal also says the judge erred by allowing an unqualified witness to give opinion evidence about the long-term impact of military training. There was considerable debate among the trial lawyers about whether Florida psychologist Lawrence Miller qualified as an expert able to provide opinion evidence. Miller who ended up testifying for only a matter of minutes said military training can be stamped into the brain, causing an automatic response. Where the issue of potential racism did come into the trial was in the jury selection process. The Crown team, the defence and Glithero agreed that the impact of another acquittal in a somewhat similar case in Saskatchewan earlier in the year could have repercussions on the Khill trial. So it was decided all potential jurors would be screened for racial bias. All 12 members of the jury answered no when asked if the fact Khill is white and Styres was Indigenous would cause them any bias. In the wake of the verdict, a new wave of anger aimed at racism in the justice system and this countrys long history of colonialism flared. On Canada Day, a Justice for Jon rally was held at Queens Park. Six Nations elected band council voted to ban Khill for life from Six Nations of the Grand River territory. And Six Nations Elected Chief Ava Hill was joined by all of Ontarios Indigenous chiefs in demanding the acquittal be appealed. The Spectator asked the Ministry of the Attorney General on Friday if that demand had any influence on the decision to file the appeal. A ministry spokesperson said he would provide an answer shortly. So far, an answer has not been provided. The Styres family has launched a $2-million lawsuit against Khill. Toronto Police have made an arrest in the homicide investigation of a man found dead in Leslieville early Saturday morning. Roger Foreshaw of Toronto, 45, was arrested for one count of second-degree murder. Police identified the victim as Kerry Romain, a 47-year-old man from Toronto. They said Romain was found face down on the sidewalk in front of a building on 356 Eastern Ave. with injuries to his chest at 1 a.m. on Saturday. He was taken to hospital through an emergency run, during which he was pronounced dead. Police arrested Foreshaw on Saturday afternoon, shortly before 5 p.m. They did not release his name at the time of the arrest. While the investigation is in its early stages, Dunkley said police believe the attack was targeted but unprovoked. He would not confirm if the victim and suspect knew each other but said the incident posed no danger to the public and that police are not looking for more suspects. The investigation was helped by an extensive surveillance video and witness canvas in the area, Dunkley said during an update in front of Toronto polices 55 Division Saturday evening. Foreshaw was scheduled to appear at court in Old City Hall at 10 a.m. on Sunday. With files from Ilya Banares and Premila DSa GAZA CITY, GAZA STRIPHamas has declared a ceasefire with Israel in the Gaza Strip, a Hamas spokesman said early Saturday, after a day of violence that saw four Palestinians and one Israeli soldier killed. Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum said on Twitter an agreement with the occupiers (Israel) had been reached with assistance from Egypt and the United Nations. An Israeli military spokesperson said she could not discuss political matters, but said Israel was not currently conducting any attacks in Gaza. Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Jonathan Conricus said the military had since Friday attacked 60 targets, including three Hamas battalion headquarters. The Israeli army said earlier its airstrikes were in response to a shooting attack on its soldiers posted along the southern Gaza border, where Palestinian protesters had gathered along the fence. Four Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in the ensuing clashes, the Gaza Health Ministry said. According to Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, three of those killed were Hamas members. Read more: Israeli airstrikes in Gaza kill four after soldier shot dead Two Palestinian teens killed in largest daytime Israeli airstrike on Gaza since 2014 Toronto student arrested for protesting demolition of Palestinian-Bedouin village Israel said one of its soldiers, who was wounded by the Palestinian gunfire at the border, later died. Israeli jets pounded Hamas storage and training facilities, observation posts and military offices, in what the army described as a wide-scale assault. In a statement, the army claimed the shots fired along the border in addition to Hamas activities in recent months proved that the radical Islamic organization was seeking to intensify the violence. The UN Middle East envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, who had recently worked with Egypt to de-escalate the situation in the region, urged those involved to show restraint and calm. Everyone in #Gaza needs to step back from the brink. Not next week. Not tomorrow. Right NOW! Mladenov wrote on Twitter. Friday saw renewed demonstrations along the Gaza border, with Palestinians burning tires, attempting to damage its perimeter fence and sending flaming kites and balloons into Israeli territory, according to eyewitness accounts. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, protests have seen 146 Palestinians killed and thousands injured by Israeli soldiers since the end of March. Palestinians have been demanding an end to the blockade of Gaza that was imposed more than 10 years ago, as well as a right to return to the territory from which they were expelled when Israel was founded in 1948. Israeli media reported that Egypt had sent Hamas an ultimatum from Israel, stating that if the attacks did not stop by the weekend, it would launch a new military offensive in the coastal strip. Hamas and Israel fought a war lasting 50 days in the summer of 2014. In total, 2,250 Palestinians were killed or later died from their injuries, while 74 Israelis died in the conflict. Read more about: Israels air force carried out strikes Friday evening against Hamas targets throughout the Gaza Strip after Palestinian snipers shot and killed an Israeli soldier at the border, amid warnings that the conflict was sliding toward war. Hamas, the militant group that leads the Gaza Strip, said that four of its members were killed in the airstrikes. The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that the strikes came after a severe shooting attack against troops Friday afternoon, with one soldier later dying of his wounds. Almost 140 Palestinians have been killed in a series of weekly protests that began in late March, which have grown increasingly violent after a largely peaceful beginning. The soldier shot Friday was the first Israeli killed in the confrontations. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a meeting of his top advisers Friday afternoon to evaluate the situation. Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman claimed that Hamas was dragging Israel toward war, which he said would be a larger and more painful conflict than the previous round of major fighting between the sides in 2014. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the will of the Gazan protesters wont be broken by the Israeli attacks. As the airstrikes began, militants fired three rockets into Israel, with two brought down by the Iron Dome missile-defence system, Israels army said. Residents of Israeli communities near the Gaza border, which came under bombardment by more than 100 rockets and mortars from Gaza last weekend, were ordered to stay indoors. Egyptian and United Nations officials were trying to convince Hamas not to respond further to the airstrikes, Ynet reported. Everyone in Gaza needs to step back from the brink, Nickolay Mladenov, the UN special co-ordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, wrote on Twitter. Those who want to provoke Palestinians and Israelis into another war must not succeed. Read more: Israeli parliament passes controversial Jewish nation bill Two Palestinian teens killed in largest daytime Israeli airstrike on Gaza since 2014 300 academics sign letter urging Trudeau to condemn Israels use of force against Gazans Read more about: A transgender woman in Arizona said this week that a CVS Health pharmacist refused to fill a prescription for hormone therapy, prompting the drugstore company to apologize, say the conduct violated its policy and note that the pharmacist was no longer employed there. Hilde Hall, who lives in Fountain Hills, a suburb of Phoenix, said in a statement posted Thursday on the American Civil Liberties Unions website that she went to the pharmacy in April after receiving her first prescriptions for hormone therapy. Hall, 25, said a CVS pharmacist refused to fill one of the prescriptions, did not provide a reason and then declined to return her doctors prescription note. A CVS spokesperson, Michael J. DeAngelis, said in a statement Friday that the pharmacists conduct does not reflect our values or our commitment to inclusion, nondiscrimination and the delivery of outstanding patient care. DeAngelis said the pharmacist was no longer employed at CVS, but he would not clarify whether the pharmacist was fired after the company learned about Halls encounter. Hall wrote that her experience at a CVS in Fountain Hills was embarrassing and distressing. I was finally going to start seeing my body reflect my gender identity and the woman Ive always known myself to be, said Hall, who declined through an ACLU spokesperson to be interviewed for this article. After years of working to affirm my identity in a world where transgender people are questioned constantly about how well they know themselves, the pharmacist refused to fill one of the prescriptions needed to affirm my identity, she said. Hall wrote that the pharmacist repeatedly and loudly asked her why she needed the prescriptions, which nearly brought her to tears. After filling the prescription at Walgreens without trouble, Hall said she called CVS corporate phone line multiple times to complain, but that no one addressed her concerns. DeAngelis said the company did not appropriately respond to Halls complaint because of an unintentional oversight. He said the company learned of Halls post Thursday and spoke with her Friday to apologize directly. Based on federal and some state laws, CVS does allow a pharmacist to refuse to fill specific medications if doing so would violate the persons religious convictions, DeAngelis said. But the pharmacist would be required to notify the company in advance so it could ensure that the patient would promptly receive the medicine. Hall made her story public about a month after a Walgreens pharmacist refused to fill an Arizona womans prescription for misoprostol, a medication that can be used to end a failed pregnancy. The womans doctor had told her the pregnancy was unviable, and another Walgreens filled her prescription. Arizona has a law allowing pharmacists to object to providing abortion medication or emergency contraception if it interferes with their religious beliefs. The state law does not mention hormone therapy prescriptions. The state also has no law prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity in public accommodations. Steve Kilar, a spokesman for the civil liberties union in Arizona, said Hall had filed a complaint with the organization in May after she was having trouble getting a response from CVS. She also filed a complaint with the Arizona Board of Pharmacy, which investigates concerns about pharmacists conduct. Kilar said the ACLUs objective in helping publicize Halls experience was ensuring that CVS makes clear to customers that it will not tolerate discrimination from employees on the basis of gender identity. DeAngelis said CVS was discussing ways to reinforce its guide for helping LGBTQ patients. In April, the Trump administration said it planned to roll back a rule issued under former president Barack Obama that prevents doctors and hospitals from discriminating against transgender people. The 2016 rule says that sex discrimination, which is forbidden by the Affordable Care Act, includes discrimination based on gender identity and stereotypical notions about how men or women should present themselves. An example of sex discrimination, according to an Obama administration training guide issued in 2016, would be a pharmacist not providing a flu vaccine to a woman and questioning her on her non-gender-conforming appearance. Scott Skinner-Thompson, an associate professor of law at the University of Colorado, Boulder, who specializes in LGBTQ issues, said that even if the Trump administration curtails the rule, federal case law generally interprets sex discrimination as including gender identity. Skinner-Thompson said that holding companies like CVS accountable to anti-discrimination policies in high-profile instances helps further the LGBTQ rights movement. But ensuring that federal and state law protects people from this sort of discrimination is also critical, he said. Public pressure has been and can be a powerful ally for LGBTQ rights, he said. But, certainly, we cant be relying on corporate responsibility alone. James Jordan hit the road shortly after midnight, cruising into the summer darkness in his red Lexus SC400. Jordan had spent that day July 22, 1993 at the funeral of a former co-worker in Wilmington, N.C., later visiting with friends. Now he was headed 3 1/2 hours toward his home in Charlotte, scheduled to fly to Chicago the following day. He never made it. On the same evening, Daniel Green and Larry Demery gathered at a cookout in Lumberton, N.C., two teenage friends hanging out. Within hours, though, their lives converged with the father of the worlds most renowned basketball player. Jordan wound up in a South Carolina swamp, his dead body draped over a tree limb. Green and Demery wound up with life sentences for first-degree murder. Yet 25 years later, key questions remain unanswered. And with Green bidding for a new trial in the North Carolina justice system, somehow the back cover on the case has still not been closed. Green is now awaiting a superior court judges ruling on a motion that contends, among other things, that the initial investigation into Jordans death overlooked or ignored important evidence. Greens defence team hopes to present new evidence that they contend will show that the blood evidence and testimony were misrepresented at the original trial; that a bullet hole found in Jordans shirt is suspect; and that there were failures by the prosecution to properly disclose information that would have connected the sheriffs drug-trafficking biological son to the investigation. Folded within that complex legal battle is a straightforward question: Is the accepted narrative of James Jordans murder an accurate account of what happened? Johnson Britt, the prosecutor in the case, sees Greens legal fight as little more than desperation. I just think thats his personality, Britt says. Hes never going to own up to what he did. Hes never going to own up to what the jury said he did. He just wont accept it. The North Carolina attorney generals office is representing the state and maintains the evidence against Green is overwhelming, according to court filings. Among the general public, many remember the crime as follows: that James Jordan, a little more than an hour into his drive from Wilmington to Charlotte, stopped to nap in his Lexus alongside a highway; that he was shot as he slept during a botched robbery; that his body was found and two troubled teens were charged, tried and convicted soon after. Yet so many odd circumstances surrounded Jordans death. Jordans body was not discovered in his car but turned up in a swamp in McColl, S.C., 11 days after the murder. Jordan was cremated Aug. 7 by a South Carolina coroner as a John Doe before his body had been identified. His 1992 Lexus was not discovered on the side of the road where he had purportedly slept but abandoned in the woods near Fayetteville, N.C., 97 kilometres from where his body was found and after it had been stripped. A total of 21 days passed before family members reported Jordan missing. His 57th birthday came and went on July 31, nine days after he had last been seen alive. On the 22nd day, his body was identified with dental records. Michael Jordans father had been murdered, shot once in the chest. Less than five weeks earlier, Michael and James Jordan were on top of the world, together in Phoenix celebrating the Bulls third consecutive NBA championship. James was, in Michaels words, his best friend, perhaps his most loyal supporter, the man affectionately known as Pops. When Michael won his first NBA championship in 1991, James arms were draped around his son as Michael hugged the Larry OBrien trophy. In 1993, when Michaels gambling habits drew intense scrutiny, James defended his son and helped mollify Michaels temporary media boycott. Throughout Michaels life, James always seemed to be around for the biggest moments. Now, suddenly, he was gone. Ultimately, Green and Demery faced a mountain of evidence that connected them both to James Jordans disappearance, the disposal of his body and the theft of his car and many of his possessions. Eventually they both were convicted and sent to prison for life. But with Jordan killed by one .38-calibre bullet to the heart, the task of concluding who pulled the trigger was complicated from the start. And it remains so. Recalling the day Daniel Green settles into a wooden chair and scoots forward from the cinder block behind him. To his right, a framed map of North Carolina hangs on the wall. To his left, a clock ticks away. Green is in an office inside Lumberton Correctional Institution, again attempting to recount the early hours of July 23, 1993, when he became involved in a murder. Green sits up, wearing black-rimmed glasses. The shirt of his light grey inmate suit is tucked into the elastic band of his pants. He is 43 now and remains haunted by the decisions he made as a teenager, trying once again to explain how he and Demery wound up with Jordans dead body beside a road that night. More than anything, Green says that, contrary to what prosecutors told jurors, he did not shoot James Jordan; that he was not even present when Jordan was killed; that he does not believe, based on things he says he was told, that Jordan was inside his car when he died. If youre innocent of something, Green says, it makes you want to keep fighting. Because youre really fighting for reality If you know what reality is, youre trying to protect it. Its almost a matter of protecting your own sanity. Green freely admits that he helped dump Jordans body into a swamp, that he and Demery stole the Lexus and snatched a collection of prized possessions from Michael Jordans father. Most damning, in the days after the murder, Green filmed a rap video in which, preening and strutting, he wore an NBA championship watch that Michael Jordan had given to his father as well as the Bulls stars 1986 NBA All-Star ring. Still, had Green been convicted only of the crime he owns up to accessory to murder after the fact he would have received a maximum sentence of 10 years under North Carolina law. Instead, Green continues serving his life sentence in a medium-security prison a little more than 160 kilometres south of Raleigh. Demery, also 43, is imprisoned for life 47 kilometres away at Scotland Correctional Institution. The party The evening before the murder began ordinarily enough. Green says he was with Demery and other friends at a cookout at his godmothers home in a nearby trailer park. But Green says that Demery left around 1:30 a.m., saying he needed to tend to business for a drug-related trip to New York the next day. Green contends that Demery asked him to come along but that he declined in order to spend more time with a female acquaintance. Before dawn, Green says, Demery returned and seemed shaken. I had never seen him like that before, Green says. I had seen him in situations where he was upset. I had seen him in situations where he was scared. But this was just a different level. Demery did not respond to a letter sent to him in prison requesting an interview. His former defence attorney, Hugh Rogers, did not respond to emails and phone calls requesting an interview. Green, meanwhile, alleges that Demery told him he had been involved in an altercation and shot a man near the Quality Inn just off U.S. 74 and I-95. Demery, Green says, begged for help. The two teens, according to Green, then drove back to the motel. And it was there, Green says, that he saw the dead body for the first time, in a ditch beside a small store next to the Quality Inn. Green describes the choice he faced: either turn his back on a longtime friend whom he considered a brother, or help Demery cover up the murder. Not long after, the two friends stood on Pea Bridge just across the South Carolina border and dumped Jordans body into Gum Swamp. I just didnt know how to listen to my conscience back then, Green says. I didnt recognize that voice I guess (it was) maybe the mentality of saying, OK, this is my dude. Im a real man. Like, Im a real man because my friend needed me and I was there for my friend. Twenty-five years later, Green says he wishes he had had the strength to deny Demerys urgent requests. When I was a kid, Green says, I used to read these books called Choose Your Own Adventure books when you make one decision and turn the page. Thats kind of like it was. You look back and think, man, if I had done this (instead). The evidence Twenty-three days after originally crossing paths with James Jordan, Green and Demery were arrested and charged with murder, done in largely by calls theyd made from Jordans car phone. Still, court records show there is no physical evidence incriminating Green as the triggerman. And that, he and his attorneys assert, should be a determining factor in whether he ultimately walks free or remains in prison for the rest of his life. Greens lead attorney, Christine Mumma, is the executive director of the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence, a non-profit that focuses on wrongful convictions and whose efforts have led to criminal justice reform. In spearheading Greens current bid, Mumma highlights inconsistencies and potential flaws in the states case against Green in a court filing, called a motion for appropriate relief, that also makes allegations of corruption within the Robeson County criminal justice system. Among the most perplexing issues to Greens lawyers: How could authorities be so certain of the murders timing, its location and how it occurred when there were no outside witnesses and so little physical evidence to corroborate that account? The prosecutions version of events relying almost entirely on Demerys testimony maintains that Jordan was shot through the heart at close range while sitting in the drivers seat of his Lexus. Yet the coroners report shows there was no exit wound to Jordans body. There was also no blood definitively found inside the car. No gunshot residue either. In addition, according to news reports, on the day the murder was confirmed, authorities announced to the news media their belief that the killing had not happened inside the vehicle, an assertion the prosecution would later contradict. During Greens 1996 trial, the state presented expert testimony from Jennifer Elwell, a special agent at the State Bureau of Investigations, to support Demerys story. Elwell testified that two chemical tests suggested a pretty good indication of blood but only in the back crevice of the passenger seat. But in Greens post-conviction motion, his legal team argues that prosecutors did not disclose at trial that multiple other chemical tests performed by Elwell on the leather taken from Jordans front seat were inconclusive in their attempted detection of blood. The state has conceded that there was little evidence to show much, if any, blood inside Jordans car. But Britt, the lead prosecutor, also asserts that never concerned him as he built his case. There was a lot of blood found inside Mr. Jordan, Britt says. He bled internally. So the fact that we couldnt confirm there was blood in the car is of little consequence, really That was just one piece of the puzzle in a multi-faceted case. Still, Greens attorneys contend that absence of blood raises significant questions as to whether Jordans death could have occurred the way it has long been depicted in the vehicle, with Jordan startled awake from a nap. The shirt Beyond the lack of blood, Greens lawyers have raised questions about the shirt James Jordan was wearing a collared knit Grand Slam pullover. On the official autopsy report, Dr. Joel Sexton, a pathologist, concluded that Jordans death had come from a single .38-calibre gunshot wound to the right chest. Yet the autopsy states, There is no hole in the shirt at that point. Directly below that location in the lower abdominal region are three holes that would line up with the hole in the chest if the shirt were pulled up approximately one foot. According to Greens motion, that finding is in direct conflict with the testimony of R.N. Marrs, an agent with the State Bureau of Investigations. At Greens trial, Marrs identified a single hole in the upper right chest area of Jordans shirt and also said that tests had indicated the presence of burned gunpowder around the hole. At the time of the autopsy, however, before Jordans body had been identified, Sexton hadnt found a hole in that right chest area of the shirt. Nor, according to the autopsy report, had he found the presence of gunpowder. There is also the unusual chain of custody with Jordans shirt in the days between the autopsy and when his body was identified. Immediately after the autopsy, Sexton gave the pullover to an agent in the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. That agent instead passed the shirt on to an employee of a company that provided services for funeral homes. That employee turned Jordans shirt over to a superior who later acknowledged burying the pullover in a bag outside the companys warehouse because of its overpowering stench, according to court documents. After the shirt was dug up in that yard in South Carolina and later transported to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations, the bullet hole in the chest was found. That, Greens attorneys contend in their motion, suggests at least the possibility of evidence tampering. The call Then there was the phone call, the one made from the cellular phone inside James Jordans Lexus. The one made on July 23, 1993, at 10:36 a.m., approximately seven hours after Jordan had been murdered and his car stolen. The one to a number in Pembroke, N.C., that showed airtime of one minute. Three hours and 31 minutes earlier, a two-minute call from that same car phone went to a 1-800 sex line. Thats the call authorities and attorneys agree was the first made from the Lexus phone following Jordans death. The second went to that Pembroke number, 919 area code, registered to a man named Hubert Larry Deese. During a four-day period immediately after Jordans murder, 36 calls were made from the Lexus phone. Thirty-six calls between 7:05 a.m. on July 23 and 1:37 p.m. on July 26, most of them to Greens and Demerys friends and family. Thirty-six bread crumbs dropped so carelessly that they led investigators to their prime suspects. Still, as Greens attorneys continue to argue, a greater attempt needed to be made to connect certain dots particularly with that 10:36 a.m. call to the number registered to Deese. Deese, after all, was a co-worker of Demery at Crestline Mobile Homes, a trailer manufacturing company less than a mile from the swamp where Jordans body was discovered. Deese also was a drug trafficker who wound up being arrested in February 1994 and linked to a Colombian cocaine pipeline that had connections in New York and Lumberton, N.C. He later was sentenced to 10 years after pleading guilty to a single trafficking count. Deese is the biological son of Hubert Stone, the Robeson County sheriff whose office oversaw the Jordan murder investigation. A phone call to Pembroke Daniel Greens defence team highlights an exchange in the August 1993 interrogation of Larry Demery in which Detective Capt. Art Binder of the Cumberland County sheriffs department is pressing Demery on what happened on the day after James Jordans murder. That telephone call to Pembroke, Greens attorneys are convinced, has to be the one on July 23, 1993, at 10:36 a.m. to a Pembroke number registered to Hubert Larry Deese. Deese was a high-volume cocaine trafficker and the biological son of Robeson County Sheriff Hubert Stone. And Greens attorneys continue to argue that authorities failed in not investigating more thoroughly whether Deese was connected to the murder. In addition, Greens attorneys emphasize in court filings, Deese was a friend of Mark Locklear, one of the lead detectives on the Jordan case. In its motion, Greens legal team argues that the prosecution knew definitively about Deeses connections to Stone and Locklear at the time of Greens trial yet failed to disclose that information to the defence. Most significant, there is no documentation that authorities ever formally questioned Deese, court records show. How, Greens attorneys argue, can an investigation be trusted if the first person whose number was dialed from Jordans car phone after his murder was never formally questioned? How, Greens attorneys argue, can an investigation be trusted if the first person whose number was dialed from Jordans car phone after his murder was never formally questioned? And how should that oversight be interpreted when that dialed number belonged to a known drug dealer, the son of the sheriff and a buddy of the lead detective? Locklear told the Chicago Tribune that Green and his attorneys were grasping for straws. Locklear, now 53, acknowledged his social relationship with Deese and that Deese had periodically ridden along with him in his patrol car. At one point in time in his life, he was interested in law enforcement, Locklear said. Or at least he led us to believe that. Locklear said he couldnt deny Deeses name or telephone number coming up in connection with the investigation into Jordans murder but that he also couldnt recall it. There are errors made in every investigation, Locklear said. If in fact (Deese) was not approached or at least asked why would your name be on the contact list of a potential homicide suspect, then in hindsight you look back and say thats a red flag. Still, Locklear rejected any insinuation that the investigation was compromised in an effort to protect Deese. Thats a line I would never cross and have never crossed, he said. The accusation Green, however, alleges that at the time of the murder, Demery was working as a mule in a Lumberton drug network where Deese was near the top of the totem pole. Green insists it was Demery who called Deese on the first full morning after Jordans murder. In their current motion, Greens attorneys argue that, based on physical evidence alone, its impossible to conclude that Jordan was shot while napping inside his car near the Quality Inn. It is more likely, the defence motion contends, that Demery, Deese or someone else involved in a drug transaction encountered Jordan in the parking lot and mistook him for someone connected with the drug deal, leading to the killing of Mr. Jordan by Demery, Deese, or someone meeting them there. The state, however, rejects that hypothesis, calling it a theory completely unsubstantiated from evidence at trial or even any information submitted to this Court. Britt, the district attorney who prosecuted Green in 1996, barely bats an eye when asked to explain the call to Deeses number. Britt says there is no confirmation that the call was even answered and that there is nothing to prove who placed it; nor is there any evidence to show that Deese and Demery had subsequent contact. Overall, Britt remains skeptical that the call has any significant connection to the case. Merely showing that Demery knew Deese, the state argues, and that Deese was a high-volume drug dealer, does nothing to illuminate any link to Jordans murder. The state emphasizes that repeated attempts by Greens legal team to interpret the call to Deese are based only on conjecture and speculation to create a theory of what happened. You could throw a lot of stuff into this if you really wanted to just chase rabbits, Britt adds. And thats what they really want everybody to do is chase this rabbit. Theyre taking this little snippet of information and trying to turn the case on its head. Reached by the Tribune via phone for comment on the allegations made against him in Greens court filings, Deese quickly hung up. R. Dale Godfrey, a Lumberton attorney who has represented Deese, maintains his client had nothing to do with Jordans murder. Godfrey contends that, while a biological connection between Deese and Sheriff Stone existed, the two were never close. Stone died in 2008. They didnt have a typical father-son relationship, Godfrey says. He wouldnt have felt a desire to protect Deese. They had no contact. Godfrey further wonders why, if Deese had ties to Jordans murder, Demery and Green would wait nearly nine hours before calling him. Instead, Godfrey theorizes that the two teenagers might have tried calling Deese in an unsuccessful effort to unload Jordans Lexus on a well-known cocaine trafficker who would have had both the cash and character to purchase a stolen luxury vehicle. Greens original attorneys attempted to introduce evidence of the Deese call during the 1996 trial but were not allowed by the judge, who at the time ruled that there was no concrete proof of a biological relationship between Stone and Deese, no evidence to determine who had made that phone call and no indications of what the purpose of that call to Deeses number might have been. The prosecutions objection was sustained, and jurors never heard about the call. But in an affidavit signed last year, the judge in the case, Gregory Weeks, said that if he had known that Deese was Stones biological son, and worked with Demery, as well as of Deeses role in drug trafficking, he would have allowed the call into evidence. Greens attorneys assert that Britt knew all of that but failed to disclose that to the judge. Godfrey, meanwhile, remains adamant that Deese had no ties to Jordans murder. At the same time, he says he has never gotten past the lack of blood in Jordans Lexus and has never put much stock in Demerys testimony. On the whole, Godfrey says, he believes Greens legal fight has merit. Im in favour of him getting released, he says. Im just not a proponent of my client getting blamed for it. The criminal history Britt, the Robeson County district attorney, says the legal system provided a just result with both Green and Demery put away for the murder. Both teens, he says, were unfortunate products of their environment but were still on a path toward self-destruction. I was dealing with two kids who were on a crime spree, Britt says. And that culminated with the death of Mr. Jordan. And each crime they committed together became increasingly more violent. Britt points out that Green and Demery had been partners in at least two other armed robberies that summer. Green was sentenced for both crimes at the same time and received 28 years to be served consecutively to his life sentence. In the second robbery, Britt asserts, Green stole a .38-calibre gun from an elderly country store clerk whom he was alleged to have also shot and who survived. Britt contends that stolen firearm was the one found in the canister of a Shop-Vac in Greens home after his arrest. That was also, Britt contends, the weapon that killed James Jordan. (Greens attorneys point out, however, that ballistic tests never matched the bullet that killed Jordan with the .38-calibre Smith & Wesson that Green possessed.) Still, Britt maintains that Green was the leader in the crime. He also believes it is significant that Green drove Jordans red Lexus on a double date the night after the murder. It cannot be overlooked, Britt says, that Green wore Jordans jewelry, most notably in that home video he made in the days after the murder, rapping and seemingly flaunting the spoils of the crime. Daniel was the one who walked away from this robbery and murder with all the loot, Britt says. Britt says he believes Green has an aversion to the truth and highlights the many different stories Green fed to authorities in the hours after he was taken into custody. Greens attorneys counter that their client has always been adamant that he was not the triggerman. Still, Britt maintains, it is notable that Green had been released from the North Carolina Department of Corrections that year, having served more than two years after pleading guilty to the charge of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious bodily injury. That conviction came after a 1990 fight in which Green had struck another teen in the head with the blunt end of an axe. Cracked his skull like it was an egg, Britt says. Green has always maintained he was acting in self-defence, and his attorneys point out that that conviction was vacated in 1995 when a superior court judge found that Green had received ineffective assistance by trial counsel in juvenile court. Still, Britt says that episode was a snapshot of character that should not be overlooked. He was a bad guy, he says. This was somebody who had no regard for what he did to people Im not saying people cant change. But Daniel Green, in the day, was a really bad person. The falling out In the early hours of Aug. 15, 1993, Demery and Green were down the hall from each other at the Robeson County sheriffs department, each being interrogated about his involvement in Jordans murder Inside the narcotics room, Jimmy L. Henley, a detective on the case, bluffed to Demery, saying police had accepted a statement from Green pinning the murder on Demery. Green had made no such statement. Youre here because youre under arrest, OK? Henley told Demery, according to a transcript of the interrogation. Now, exactly what were gonna charge you with is gonna be determined by whose story is the most believable, yours or his. Right now, his is. And his makes you the shooter. In pushing Demery for details, officers also made certain the 18-year-old suspect understood he could face the death penalty. First-degree murder. Capital, Detective Sgt. Don Smith told Demery, according to the interrogation transcript. You understand capital? Thats the needle up your ass, son, and you dont wake up from it. In April 1995, 21 months after Jordan was shot and killed, Demery agreed to a plea deal, accepting his own murder conviction, hoping for leniency during sentencing and agreeing to testify against Green. As the district attorney who made that plea agreement, Britt points out the mountain of evidence that had stacked up against Demery related to the Jordan murder and three other armed robberies he had been involved in that summer. At the conclusion of one of those robberies, Demery had smashed an elderly woman over the head with a brick, Britt says. His lawyers, Britt says, recognized he was in a jam. We showed Larry what they had against him, and what could happen to him if he went to trial, Demerys attorney Hugh Rogers told reporters at the time of the plea. He looked at all the options, talked it over with his family and decided this was the best option. The testimony Green says he was upset but not shocked when Demery turned against him. Less than a year later, Demery sat on the witness stand and offered jurors one of his many versions of how James Jordan was killed. With a shortage of physical evidence, the state relied heavily on Demerys testimony to make its case against Green. The plan, Demery testified, was for him and Green to commit a robbery near I-95 and U.S. 74 in the middle of the night near a Quality Inn where the teens hoped to run across unsuspecting tourists. While preparing for their crime, Demery said, the two teens noticed Jordans red Lexus parked on a gravel strip just off U.S. 74. At some point, Demery testified, Green made it known he wanted more than just money. He wanted the Lexus, Demery said. Therefore, Demery testified, the friends hatched a scheme to wake the driver, to hold him at gunpoint and tell him to drive to a bridge near Greens home. Once there, Demery said, he and Green planned to bind their victim with duct tape and leave him by the roadside as they stole his Lexus. The two friends, Demery said, spent several minutes building each others nerves. Daniel said, Were in this together. We gave each other the high five, Demery testified. The plan, according to Demery, hit a snag when Jordan began to wake as Green pointed his gun through the open passenger-side window. Without warning, according to Demerys testimony, Green fired. We both stood there and watched the man die, Demery testified. I asked Daniel why did he do it He just said, Hurry up and lets get him moved. A gurgling sound In his handwritten statement drafted while in custody, Larry Demery describes the moment when he and Daniel Green dumped the body of James Jordan off a bridge: When we picked the body up from the car the body made a gurgling sound for about 5 seconds. The sound scared me so bad I almost dropped the body. When we dropped the body off the bridge, we got back into the car and left. Greens attorneys, however, contend that Demerys accounts of what happened not just on the night in question but at the exact moment of the murder shifted significantly over time. In the 15-page handwritten confession Demery signed at the time of his arrest, he asserted he had left the intersection of I-95 and U.S. 74 before Green ever approached Jordans vehicle. Demery maintained he had driven back to Greens house, then walked to a nearby bridge when Green drove up in the Lexus with Jordans dead body pushed into the passengers seat. Nearly two years later shortly after accepting his plea agreement Demery was interviewed by authorities over parts of four days at the Robeson County Jail. It was then that Demery offered a statement asserting he was running away from the Lexus and toward his own car and was about 60 feet from Jordans vehicle when Green fired the gun. On the witness stand, however, Demery testified that he was beside the Lexus when Jordan was shot. At the close of Greens trial, with a first-degree murder conviction delivered, the jury filled out its verdict sheet for the court. Within that detailed questionnaire, jurors concluded that Green was a major participant in the underlying felony and exhibited reckless indifference to human life, enough by North Carolina law to merit a conviction. But jurors also acknowledged that they did not find beyond a reasonable doubt that Green killed, attempted to kill or intended to kill James Jordan. That, Greens lawyers assert, is proof the jury did not find Demery credible. Also included within Greens current motion is a November 2015 affidavit signed by Connee Brayboy, the former editor-in-chief of the Carolina Indian Voice, a now-defunct publication. In the sworn statement, Brayboy said she had spoken with Demery at the Robeson County Jail shortly after his 1993 arrest. During my conversation with Larry Demery, the signed statement reads, Mr. Demery stated to me that he was the person who had shot and killed Mr. James Jordan Larry Demery told me that he killed Mr. Jordan because he had witnessed a drug transaction. Larry Demery stated that the murder had taken place outside and not inside of Mr. Jordans Lexus, as he later claimed at Daniel Greens 1996 trial. According to the affidavit, Brayboy knew Demerys mother, Virginia, and chose not to publish Demerys confession out of concern for the effect it would have on his mother It was also not apparent to me at the time that Mr. Demery intended to testify that Daniel Green had shot James Jordan. The loss States Exhibit 16. A snapshot from the 1996 murder trial of Daniel Green. A corpse hangs face down over a tree limb in Gum Swamp in South Carolina. Three days earlier, James Jordan would have celebrated his 57th birthday. Instead, the father of Michael Jordan was an unidentified dead man in a swamp in the middle of nowhere. Jordans body was found Aug. 3, 1993, by a local fisherman. It had been in the water for about 11 days, decaying in such a manner that it was difficult to determine whether it was a man or a woman. For the Jordan family, the emotional toll of James death was pronounced. It was more than just the sudden loss of a loved one. It was the sudden loss of a loved one to a horrific murder that created so many questions and so much grief. And all of it under the intense spotlight that followed Michael Jordan everywhere. Ultimately, James Jordans ashes were interred at a small cemetery beside Rockfish AME Church in Teachey, N.C. In a private ceremony on Aug. 15, Michael said goodbye to his father. Only 52 days later, he bid an abrupt farewell to basketball. On the first Wednesday of October, at a packed news conference inside the Berto Center in Deerfield, Jordan delivered seismic news, announcing his retirement from the NBA. The Bulls star handled the avalanche of attention with his usual charm and grace. Yet because of his larger-than-life presence and effervescent smile, it was easy to forget he was still a 30-year-old man dealing with the largest loss of his life. The most positive thing I can take from my father not being here with me today, he said, is that he saw my last basketball game. And that means a lot. For the past 25 years, Jordan and his family have dealt with James death in a private manner, offering little public contemplation on the murder. Through a spokesperson, Michael Jordan declined an interview request for this article. Multiple messages left for his mother, Deloris, at the James R. Jordan Foundation went unreturned. Attempts to reach Michaels siblings Larry, James Jr., Roslyn and Deloris were also unsuccessful. When Demery and Green were sentenced in 1996, each given life on first-degree murder convictions, no one from the Jordan family offered a victim impact statement. Thats a rarity in murder cases. Yet the family expressed aversion to commenting publicly about the case and has stuck to that approach. In the earliest weeks after the murder, questions arose on the array of oddities surrounding the case. Why, for instance, would James Jordan choose to park and sleep by the roadside when he was just a few hundred yards away from a Quality Inn that had rooms for less than $30 per night? More significant, why had his family waited until Aug. 12 to officially report him missing, a full three weeks after he had last been seen and seven days after his Lexus had first been found by police in those far-off woods? Three weeks after announcing his retirement, with the pain and confusion still raw, Jordan sat inside Harpo Studios, less than a mile from Chicago Stadium. Visiting with Oprah Winfrey for his first extended interview after his fathers death, Michael remained stoic as he was pushed to explain the odd timeline of his fathers disappearance. Winfrey pressed Jordan on whether his family members wished they had sounded alarm bells earlier. Jordan explained that his family knew James as someone who chooses to do things very independently and noted that his father would often venture off on his own for days at a time. Thats how he was. He loved to get his time for himself, Jordan said. Jordan also noted how his mother, Deloris, had offered reassurance about James absence and insisted he felt no initial worry. That, Jordan said, was a relationship that she knew better than I. Next February, Michael Jordan will turn 56, the same age his father was when he was murdered. In that October 1993 visit with Winfrey, Jordan was challenged on his characterization that his father had passed. I know he had to pass, Winfrey countered. But I think he was murdered. And the fact that he was murdered is a searing kind of pain. I mean, have you dealt with that? Have you accepted the fact that he was murdered? No, Jordan responded. Because Im a very optimistic person in the sense that I dont look at the real bad part of it. I looked at it that no matter what happened to my father, hes not here. Winfrey pressed Jordan on whether hed ever want to ask Demery or Green why they had killed his father. No, Michael said, because I dont want to know. Because it probably would hurt me even more just to know their reasons. Because if it is, its going to be totally meaningless for the reasons. Its better that I dont know. A quarter-century later, many of the same questions about the murder remain unknown. Decriminalize all drugs, health board urges feds, July 17 Torontos board of health is demonstrating courageous leadership in urging a public health approach to drug policy. Despite the dedication and efforts of many health professionals, peer workers, and community volunteers, the death toll from the opioid poisoning crisis continues to rise. In 2013, 104 people in Toronto suffered opioid-related deaths. The death toll rose in 2016 to 186 people, and in 2017, there were 303 opioid-related deaths most of them preventable. Making criminals out of those who use drugs increases their risk of death by forcing them into unsafe drug practices. Many of them also die due to poisoned drug supplies because, for now, it is impossible to regulate contaminated substances of unknown potency as they are illegal. Decriminalizing drugs for personal use is a pragmatic way to address the overdose crisis and is a step in the right direction. As with other drugs such as tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis, the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario supports legalization with strict government control and regulation based on potential for harm. Political sparks fly over bulletproof vest remark, July 19 I am extremely disappointed to see the way NDP Leader Andrea Horwath has been conducting herself since the Progressive Conservatives came into power. No matter the issue, Horwath will oppose it, and seemingly attempt to blow things out of proportion! Yes, as the Leader of the Opposition she should hold issues to task. However, after the disappointing Liberal reign, you would expect cooler heads to prevail at this early stage of governance. Her latest rant calling MPP Michael Tibollo blatantly racist for wearing a bulletproof vest while on a ride-along with Torontos police is totally out of line, and just adds fuel to an already raging fire. It was an irresponsible remark, and I think an apology is in order from Ms. Horwath. With the way she has been conducting herself using this bully approach to things, I would also suggest the NDP begin looking for a new leader, someone who will work with the current government to help get the engine of Canada back into gear. Richard Chadwick, Halton Hills, Ont. Wearing a bulletproof vest during a ride-along should not carry any shock factor for any neighbourhood. Doctors wear masks in all hospitals, labourers wear gloves on all worksites and those on patrol wear vests even if in a church in Rosedale. A vest is part of an officers uniform, and is necessary for ride-along participants no matter who they are. And yet Tibollo, while trying to understand policing first hand, gets labelled a racist! Protection is necessary in todays world but what will protect the citizens from these hot buttons being pressed for political brownie points? Ernie Ilson, Mississauga Once again the Doug Ford Conservatives, purporting to be sensitive listeners to the community, just dont get it. Minister Tibollo failed miserably in understanding a vital Toronto community that is framed by love, caring and a sense of compassion; instead, Tibollo stirred up stereotypes of violence, anger and fear. In the process, he criminalized an entire community. In not appreciating the Jane-Finch neighbourhood for what it is a collection of vibrant, diverse citizens trying to live their multidimensional lives fully Tibollo served to reduce the community to a group of others. Shame on you, minister. Next time, get rid of the bulletproof vest and do a walkabout. Meet people, and most of all, listen! John Cooper, Whitby Read more about: This story is part of the Stars trust initiative, where, every week, we take readers behind the scenes of our journalism. This week, we look at how the Stars wine critic, Carolyn Evans Hammond, responded to reader inquiries about why she reviews American wines in the midst of a trade war with the U.S. Late last month, the Stars wine reviewer, Carolyn Evans Hammond, wrote an article in which two of the five wines she recommended were American. Her review happened to come at a time when the Canada-U.S. trade war was reaching a fever pitch as Canada prepared to slap retaliatory tariffs on imports from its southern neighbours. Evans Hammond discovered that her recommendations of American wines did not sit well with some readers. I generally enjoy your Saturday columns in the Star, but in light of the current state of Canada/U.S. trade relations, I find it curious to find you recommending two out of five wines coming from the U.S. this week, one reader wrote to her. Surely, you have heard the gathering talk on boycotting U.S. wine (and many other products) coming from this side of the border in response to the bullying tactics from the U.S. regarding trade tariffs. Surely there are enough great wines in the world that we do not need to promote those from the U.S. at this time. Is it possible for you to discontinue the review of U.S. wines? asked another. One reader stated bluntly: Its time to stop pushing America wines in your Star column. While Evans Hammond says she understands the concerns of these readers, she notes her job is to recommend wines based on value for money, relative to similar wines at that price point. And that means American wines are fair game, regardless of the political climate. Have your say From my perspective, I cant not include wines because I dont agree with a political situation going on in a region. Thats a huge kettle of fish, she said in an interview. Evans Hammond says if she were to start taking a nationalist stance on her reviews, she would be doing a disservice to wine consumers and producers. As a wine columnist, I recommend wines from all over the world based on those that offer the best value for money within the context of a respective column. It is up to individual readers whether they want to buy American wines, she said. Whats important to know is this: fierce global competition in winemaking is constantly pushing quality up and prices down, so its a very exciting time to be a wine enthusiast. With that in mind, I try hard to keep abreast of whats out there and to recommend only the wines I think offer the very best value for money. Then, I give each wine I recommend a score out of 100 and qualify that score with a lengthy tasting note to communicate what makes the wine special. The Stars public editor Kathy English said while the emails Evans Hammond received from readers were not unreasonable given the current trade situation between the U.S. and Canada, she stressed that columnists, including Evans Hammond, are fully within their remit to choose what they write about. Columnists have the prerogative and latitude here to select the topics they write about, and in the case of reviewers, to select the products they review, said English. There are no policy issues at play here whatsoever. BURNABY, B.C.On the day the City of Burnaby said they would be evicting Camp Cloud, representatives of the camp announced that they will refuse to leave. While the deadline would give them until 6 a.m. on Saturday, representatives of the camp gathered outside their structures for a press conference later that morning, with no sign of city officials. Kwitsel Tatel, a spokesperson for the camp who refers to herself as a water protector, said occupants have no plans to leave. We are armed with prayers. We will not be evicted, she said. We have the right to express opposition to the further genocide of our water and out land. On Wednesday, the City of Burnaby issued an evacuation notice to the camp, giving them 72 hours to to remove all structures and extinguish fires. The notice warns that the city will take steps to enforce compliance, if their instructions arent followed. Camp Cloud, an amalgamation of hand-built structures and tents, has stood outside the gates to the Kinder Morgan property on Burnaby Mountain since 2017, in resistance to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project. According to residents, approximately 1520 people are living there. Tatel said that she would be meeting with representatives from the city to discuss safety measures at the camp on Monday. Read more: Protesters fighting eviction of anti-Trans Mountain pipeline camp say they have religion on their side Canada to miss Trans Mountain quick-resale deadline Key questions answered about Ottawas takeover of the Trans Mountain pipeline project In a previous statement to the Star, Burnaby city manager Lambert Chu said the structures, fires and traffic around Camp Cloud were violating several city bylaws, and that residents are required to obtain the correct permits. He said that for the past several months, the city has been trying to working with camp residents to comply with the bylaws. At the news conference, Tatel also said the removal of the sacred fire, which is kept burning at the centre of the camp away from cameras, is a violation of religious rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Read more about: ALTON Recently, the state capital of Springfield has been in the news, mostly for the wrong reasons. Had Alton city fathers succeeded 180 years ago, those controversies would have been closer to home. In the mid-1830s, Alton made a serious run at becoming the capital of Illinois. As the state became dissatisfied with its political center in Vandalia, Alton was one of several competitors to make a bid to lure the capital away, but fell short to eventual winner Springfield. In 1819, the capital of the state, which was less than a year old, moved from Kaskaskia to the newly created town of Vandalia. Like the town itself, the move was primitive. Twenty-year-old Sidney Breese, a U.S. Senator, was paid $25 to move the state archives, which only required a small ox-cart. However, the trip took a week, since trees and underbrush were thick across the trail to Vandalia. As years passed, dissatisfaction with Vandalia increased. The first permanent capitol building was destroyed by fire in December 1823, and a second structure was hastily erected. The flaws, though, were dangerously evident, including heavily sagging floors and bulging walls. By 1836, some people refused to enter the building, citing safety issues. Others criticized the town itself for what one modern writer called a ramshackle aspect. In 1833, the Illinois House authorized the selection of a new capital, and several candidates made a pitch. They included Alton and Springfield, which was founded in 1821 and only had 600 residents nine years later. Peoria and Jacksonville were also interested, while Vandalia wanted the capital to stay in town. Also in the mix was a new settlement east of Springfield called Illiopolis, as well as an unspecified location in the geographic center of the state. That spot was, and remains, a matter of debate. Some believe that Illiopolis and the geographic center may have been the same thing. Today, the idea of Alton as the state capital seems a stretch, but in 1834, it was entirely plausible. Alton was one of the largest towns in the state with a population of 2,222 in 1830, and one period source described it as a flourishing city with important business interests. Alton was also near a navigable river, unlike Jacksonville and some of the others. Springfield, which was greatly disappointed when it learned steamboats could not sail up the Sangamon River, faced a similar dilemma. In August 1834, Illinois voters were presented with a referendum to choose the next state capital. Turnout proved light, as the capital question was addressed by over 7,000 fewer voters than the gubernatorial election on the same day. Alton was the winner, edging Vandalia by a mere 427 tallies with 33.4 percent of the overall vote. Springfield was a close third, with 28.9 percent. The question then switched to the Tenth General Assembly, a legislature that some consider the most politically talented in Illinois history. The assemblymen in that session included Abraham Lincoln and his Long Nine, as well as future U.S. Senators Stephen A. Douglas, Edward Baker, James Shields, Orville Browning, William A. Richardson, and James Semple, the founder of Elsah. Among the duties of the Tenth G.A. was the selection of the next state capital. Springfield made the best offer, a donation of the town square and $50,000 to construct a new capitol building. Vandalia desperately sought to drum up support to retain the capital, but it was clear that Springfield was the frontrunner. In joint session on Feb. 28, 1837, Springfield jumped to the front with 35 votes, followed by Vandalia and Peoria with 16 each and Alton with 15. Jacksonville was next with 14, with the rest of the votes scattered. Decatur received four votes, while in Greene County, Carrollton received three. Springfield rose to 43 votes on the second ballot, while Alton ran second with 16 votes. Alton stayed around on the third ballot, coming in third at 14 votes while Springfield jumped to 53 tallies. The fourth ballot proved the last, as Springfield clinched the bid with 73 votes. Several historians have accused Lincoln of trading his vote to promote the internal improvements plan to build statewide infrastructure. Among those pointing the finger at Lincoln was Thomas Ford, who would be elected governor in 1842 and later wrote a two-volume history of Illinois. Ford declared the whole state was brought up and bribed and that Lincoln and his fellow Long Nine legislators engaged in political logrolling, promising railroads for various towns in return for votes to move the capital to Springfield. Clearly, Lincoln was a supporter of the Springfield effort, but claims that he traded votes are highly suspect. Recent historians, including Paul Simon, have debunked any deals on Lincolns part, citing the voting record. Lincoln himself vociferously denied any such activity. Despite the loss, Alton remained a leading city of Illinois for the rest of the century. One of the states top manufacturing centers, Alton was the tenth-largest community in the state in 1860 with 6,332 residents. In 1890, it ranked nineteenth in population at 10,294. Still, that respect did not match the status of a state capital, since enjoyed by rival Springfield. Eighteen decades later, Alton residents are left to wonder, what might have been. Tom Emery is a freelance writer and historical researcher from Carlinville, Ill. He may be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com. ALTON Officials are still investigating a fatal weekend car accident. The deceased man was identified as Robert S. Dorsey, 42, of Wood River, Illinois and was an employee of Auto Butler Car Wash, 1706 Homer Adams Parkway. Chief Bernie Sebold, of Alton Fire Department, said his department was notified by Alton police at 4:08 p.m. of a single-car motor incident,where the vehicle went into a ravine near Home Depot and Baron Commerce Parkway. Officials say Dorsey entered a 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee in order to drive from the car wash garage area to a pre-designated area to be dried. As a customers car came out of the dryer tunnel, the employee got in, started spraying Windex on the windows, and hit the gas. The car went straight into the ditch north of the business, said Alton Police Chief Jason Jake Simmons. When firefighters attempted to extricate the victim from the Jeep, they discovered he was deceased. He was pronounced dead at 5:15 p.m. Sebold said ARCH Air Medical Services Inc. was notified and on standby, but did not arrive on scene. A Telegraph photographer on scene Sunday said a tow truck was being used to drag the vehicle up the steep ravine to level ground around 6:20 p.m., ahead of nightfall, where the man was still inside the vehicle. Routine toxicological tesiting for the presence of drugs and alcohol will be performed. The incident remains under investigation by the Alton Police Department and the Madison County Coroners Office. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Cathy Williams and Sons Mortuary in Alton. ALTON Had it not been for a heated exchange with Abraham Lincoln, James Shields would be remembered as the only man to serve in the U.S. Senate from three different states. But Shields, an Irish immigrant, is best known as the man who challenged Lincoln to a duel near Alton. This year marks the 175th anniversary of the seriocomic affair, which ended with no bloodshed, but embarrassed Lincoln for the rest of his life. Shields was a rambunctious, hot-blooded Irishman, kind of a strange fellow, said Dr. Wayne Temple, who recently retired as the Deputy Director of the Illinois State Archives in Springfield, Ill. I dont think he was really that popular. He was more politician than anything else. Born in Altmore, Ireland in 1806, Shields came to America in 1823 and was admitted to the Illinois bar nine years later. He set up a practice in the former Illinois capital of Kaskaskia and earned a spot in the Illinois House as a Democrat in 1836. Five years later, he was sworn in as state auditor. Along the way, he became acquainted with Lincoln, though not always on the best of terms. In August 1842, a letter, purportedly from a widow named Rebecca, in a Springfield newspaper referred to Shields as a conceity dunce. Shields demanded the identity of the letter from the editor, and was told that Lincoln, a Whig, was the author. Days later, Rebecca struck again, claiming that she could fight Shields if he wore petticoats and she dressed in britches. This second letter was actually written by Lincolns high-spirited fiancee, Mary Todd, and a friend. The short-fused Shields then challenged Lincoln to a duel. Reluctantly, Lincoln accepted, but clearly thought the situation through. Believing he could not compete with Shields with pistols, the long-armed Lincoln selected broadswords, as his opponent was seven inches shorter in height. Despite his size disadvantage, Shields was undeterred. Lincoln, his second, and two other friends arrived in Alton around 11 a.m. on Sept. 22, 1842, followed by Shields and his party. From there, everyone went on to Bloody Island, a renowned dueling spot on the Mississippi River near St. Louis on Missouri soil. Friends finally intervened and the matter was called off, to Lincolns relief. That duel risked Lincolns political future, commented Temple. Under Illinois statute, anyone who engaged in a duel or accepted one in the state could be banned from public office. Since Lincoln and Shields were on Bloody Island in Missouri, there was the debate that they may have accepted and planned the duel there, rather than in Illinois. But that could have cost Lincoln everything. Lincoln never spoke of the duel afterward. While some writers claim Lincoln and Shields became friends, Temple believes otherwise. I cant see Lincoln being that close to Shields afterward, he remarked. I dont think Lincoln completely forgot it. But I do think that the proposed duel changed Lincolns whole life. Before, he had written some cutting comments in papers under assumed names, which we now believe to be his, continued Temple. Afterward, he didnt do those kind of things, and was better with other people. In contrast, Shields often let his temper dictate relationships. Though his law partner wrote that Shields could make friends quite readily, he added that Shields was exceedingly vain and very ambitioushe did not fail to show his displeasure and to become an open enemy. Shields was wounded in Mexican War service before earning a seat in the U.S. Senate from Illinois in 1848. He was defeated for re-election six years later, partially due to efforts from Lincoln. Shields then relocated to Minnesota, where he became one of the states first two U.S. Senators upon statehood in 1858. One of those terms was a shorter, one-year stint, and Shields drew lots with the other Senator, Henry Rice, to see who would serve the longer term. Shields lost the draw, and proceeded to lose a re-election bid 10 months later. He then left for California, declaring he was sick and tired of public life. He subsequently was part-owner of a mine in Mexico, but was hardly through with politics. Though in 1860 he had declared never to helpimpose a Northern man on the South as President, Shields enlisted in Civil War service in August 1861, and President Lincoln appointed him brigadier general. I, and others who have studied him, think he was a third-rate general, remarked Temple. But Lincoln was known for appointing neutral or in-between Democrat politicians to those sort of positions, to stand well with Republicans and make the Democrats happy. It also earned good support from the Irish population. Shields resigned from the Army in 1863 and went back to California, but moved to Carrollton, Missouri after the war. He twice won a seat in the Missouri legislature, and in 1879, was appointed to a five-week unexpired term in the U.S. Senate from that state, the third he had represented in the upper chamber. Claiming poor health, he did not seek re-election. I think Shields was kind of in the right place at the right time on many occasions, said Temple. He never was re-elected to the Senate after any of his terms, which kind of says that he wasnt that great of a Senator. A beloved figure among Irish immigrants throughout his public life, Shields died on June 1, 1879 and is buried in Carrollton, Missouri. In 1893, the state of Illinois placed a statue of him in the U.S. Capitol. His proposed duel with Lincoln is the namesake of the Lincoln-Shields Access Area on the Mississippi across from Alton, near the Clark Bridge. Tom Emery is a freelance writer and historical researcher from Carlinville, Illinois. He may be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com. More than 60 cyclists from the Illinois Chapter of Concerns of Police Survivors traveled through Macoupin and Morgan counties Thursday during the 14th annual Cycle Across Illinois. The charity bicycle ride is to support the Illinois families of law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty. The group began its travels at the Mississippi River in Alton and continued to Lake Michigan in Chicago. This year, the group honored 12 Illinois law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty, including seven during the past year. Morgan County Sheriff ARRESTS, CITATIONS Ryan D. Rahn, 33, of 410 Leetham St., Murrayville, was booked into the Morgan County jail at 5:34 p.m. Thursday on two counts of retail theft. Tyler D. Craddock, 21, of 456 Northwood Lane was booked into the Morgan County jail at 5:17 p.m. Friday on a domestic battery charge. Jacksonville Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Moana S. Lou, 30, of 1611 Illinois Route 78 was arrested about 7:50 p.m. Thursday on a charge of driving while license is suspended. Walter L. Sanders, 27, of 328 E. Walnut St. was arrested about 7:55 p.m. Thursday on a charge of driving while license is suspended. Riley J. Powell, 21, of 101 Walnut Court was arrested about 1:30 a.m. Friday on a charge of resisting a peace officer and cited on charges of disturbing the peace and disorderly conduct. BURGLARIES, THEFTS Sometime between December 2017 and July 13, a turquoise arrowhead necklace was taken from a home in the 300 block of Marion Avenue, according to a report filed at 12:02 p.m. Friday. Greene County Sheriff ARRESTS, CITATIONS John P. Chapman, 35, of Carrollton was lodged in the Greene County Jail at 12:30 p.m. Thursday on a Greene County arrest warrant accusing him of failing to report for periodic imprisonment. Shanda L. Griffin, 48, of Carrollton was lodged in the Greene County Jail at 12:10 a.m. July 14 on charges of driving while license is suspended, operating an uninsured motor vehicle and unlawful use of a registration sticker. Christy A. Plogger, 47, of Greenfield was lodged in the Greene County Jail at 9:10 p.m. July 11 on a domestic battery charge. Carrollton Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Ashley L. Hamilton, 31, of St. Louis was lodged in the Greene County Jail at 12:30 a.m. Sunday on a possession of drug paraphernalia charge. Victor W. DeLong, 55, of Hardin was lodged in the Greene County Jail at 12:15 a.m. Sunday on a driving under the influence charge. Chad R. Cordes, 30, of Jerseyville was lodged in the Greene County Jail at 12:15 p.m. July 14 on a Greene County arrest warrant accusing him of felony retail theft. Greenfield Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Kayla L. Skinner, 35, of Jerseyville was lodged in the Greene County Jail at 11:16 a.m. July 13 on charges of criminal damage to property and possession of a stolen motor vehicle. Stephen E. Galbreath Jr., 35, of Jerseyville was lodged in the Greene County Jail at 10:15 a.m. July 13 on charges of criminal damage to property and possession of a stolen motor vehicle. Roodhouse Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Logan D. Basham, 28, of White Hall was lodged in the Greene County Jail at 10:40 a.m. Thursday on a charge of driving while license is suspended. Kody L. West, 25, of White Hall was lodged in the Greene County Jail at 12:58 a.m. Thursday on charges of possession of methamphetamine and delivery of methamphetamine. Deborah A. Jackson, 51, of Roodhouse was lodged in the Greene County Jail at 1:11 a.m. Wednesday on charges of possession of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm by a felon. Brandon K. Edwards, 26, of Roodhouse was lodged in the Greene County Jail at 11:35 a.m. Tuesday on two counts of burglary to a motor vehicle and possession of burglary tools. Kylie B. Shatswell, 22, of Independence, Missouri, was lodged in the Greene County Jail at 8:44 p.m. Monday on a charge of driving while license is suspended. Crystal L. Mitchell, 34, of Roodhouse was lodged in the Greene County Jail at 7:02 p.m. Monday on a charge of driving while license is suspended. Robert I. Castleberry, 42, of Roodhouse was lodged in the Greene County Jail at 6:50 p.m. Monday on a charge of driving while license is suspended. Chelsea L. Rexroad, 26, of Roodhouse was lodged in the Greene County Jail at 2:18 p.m. Monday on a charge of driving while license is suspended. Cody C. Crum, 28, of Roodhouse was lodged in the Greene County Jail at 2:50 p.m. Sunday on a Greene County arrest warrant accusing him of driving while license is suspended. David A. Depper, 32, of Roodhouse was lodged in the Greene County Jail at 9:44 p.m. July 13 on charges of home invasion, criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct. Heidi M. Driver, 37, of Carrollton was lodged in the Greene County Jail at 6:13 p.m. July 13 on a possession of methamphetamine charge. Geoffery J. Scott, 37, of Jerseyville was lodged in the Greene County Jail at 4:31 p.m. July 13 on a possession of drug paraphernalia charge and on a Jersey County warrant accusing him of failing to appear in court. Tammy J. Smith, 43, of Roodhouse was lodged in the Greene County Jail at 2:40 p.m. July 13 on a Greene County arrest warrant accusing her of deceptive practice. Steven L. Castleberry, 55, of Roodhouse was lodged in the Greene County Jail at 12:43 p.m. July 13 on a possession of a controlled substance charge. White Hall Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Sheena M. Maxon, 32, of Carrollton was lodged in the Greene County Jail at 1:17 a.m. Wednesday on a charge of aggravated assault to a police officer. Jacob K. Weinant, 25, of White Hall was lodged in the Greene County Jail at 11:05 a.m. Tuesday on a charge of driving while license is suspended. David A. Depper, 32, of Roodhouse was lodged in the Greene County Jail at 9:37 a.m. July 11 on charges of driving under the influence, two counts of reckless driving, operating an uninsured motor vehicle and improper use of a turn signal. Compiled by Greg Olson, David C.L. Bauer and Samantha McDaniel-Ogletree A group that emphasizes socialization and sponsors a variety of activities marked its 15th anniversary Thursday at Community Park Center. Jacksonville Area Senior Center hosted an open house celebration to recognize how the organization has grown in membership and activities. To honor the occasion, Mayor Andy Ezard read a proclamation recognizing the Senior Centers contributions to the community. The city is very fortunate to work with a great group of seniors, Ezard said. Our relationship with the Senior Center has grown over the years, and we look forward to many more years of having a good partnership with the Senior Center. Senior Center founder Davalie Fisher of Jacksonville said the organization continues to grow. People are coming, and I think we are a valuable asset to the community, she said. Senior Center President Barb Becker of Jacksonville spoke about the groups activities. We are proud of the Senior Center and all the various activities we offer and the volunteers who help pull everything together, Becker said. Among the things the organization hosts are quilting and sewing groups. The sewing group is very active and has made such things as mail bags for the Land of Lincoln Honor Flight, said Linda Wyatt of Jacksonville, a member of the Senior Center board of directors. Every veteran who goes on the Honor Flight receives a bag. The Senior Center also is known for hosting all types of games, including bingo, Rummikub, bunco, pinochle, bridge and Wii bowling. I look forward to coming to the Senior Center for the camaraderie and just for a chance to visit with people my age, Becker said. The Senior Center is open to anyone 50 years of age and older. Dues are $12 a year or $100 for life. We have several active members in their 90s, but most of our members are in their 60s and 70s, Becker said. Food is a big part of the Senior Center. Bread of Love provides lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Reservations are required. A potluck is held at 11:30 a.m. the first Wednesday of each month. During most potlucks, a nurse from Walker Nursing Home in Virginia provides free blood pressure screenings for seniors. On the third Wednesday of each month, Senior Center members put on a bash, which includes entrees and desserts selected by a committee of members. Reservations are required for the bash, which costs $6 for members and $7 for non-members. On the fourth Tuesday of each month, the Senior Center holds a birthday bash with cake and ice cream. The organization also hosts a book club, a greeting card class, a craft class, a Rules of the Road class and informational speakers. The Senior Center is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday at Community Park Center, 1309 S. Main St. Greg Olson can be reached at 217-245-6121, ext. 1224, or on Twitter @JCNews_Greg BEARDSTOWN A Beardstown businessman is contesting an ordinance violation citation and threatening to sell one of his renovation projects over grievances against the citys mayor. Mike Mullen of Beardstown aired his grievances at Tuesdays city council meeting, with little response from city council members and none from the mayor. After renovating the former Texaco gas station on East Fourth Street, Mullen bought the former Studebaker dealership on North State Street with plans to renovate it as storage for his vintage car collection. Now Mullen said he intends to sell the property and abandon the project because of recent citations he has received from the city. Whats going on here? Were trying to get business into town, Mullen said. I cut the head off. I said Im going to sell it. Im out. Im out, if this is what youre going to do. Mullen bought the property around three months ago. While Mullen was working on the property, the citys code enforcement officer cited him for improperly parking a work trailer at the site. Mullen appeared in court July 12 to contest the citation and take it to a hearing. Mayor Leslie Harris confirmed that the citation is in litigation, which prevents her from discussing the matter, but she did note that city representatives had talked to Mullen about the trailer on several occasions. The dispute grew Saturday, when workers Mullen had contracted for the site needed a water source for about 15 minutes, he said. With water to the building not yet connected, Mullen called Harris several times. Harris, who was not working that day, did not answer Mullens calls nor was she obligated to. Mullen, recalling a previous instance in which he was allowed to use a park water hookup, then attached a hose to the parks water supply without permission. Shortly after, Mullen was issued a ticket for theft of city water. I called to see if they would send an officer down there to see if they would ask Mr. Mullen what problem he had, Harris said. There was an agreement two months ago with our department head, Gary Hamilton. At that time (Hamilton) said yes. (Mullen) knows he was in the wrong Saturday. Hamilton confirmed that such an agreement had been made for a single use. Mullen was fined $100 for Saturdays water usage. Mullen also claims that Harris interfered in a potential business deal Mullen was working on for the renovated Texaco building. He came here to talk to the mayor about getting a license to open this place up, Mullen said. A couple other people showed up to see about renting or leasing it. She told them that she would advise them not to have anything to do with it because I have (Tax Increment Financing) funds on it and she hasnt got to it yet, but theres going to be legal matters against Mr. Mullen, she said. Theres no litigation involving the property and theres no planned litigation, Harris said. I know what hes saying is not true, Harris said. Ive always been pro-business and you can look at our current activities and our future planned activities as evidence to that. Regardless of the dispute between Mullen and Harris, the sale of the Studebaker building would be unfortunate, Beardstown Chamber of Commerce Director Kim Hance said. Its very disappointing, Hance said. You dont get these opportunities very often. Not everybody is beating down your door to fix up empty old buildings and make them something that could cause money to be brought into town. I just hope in the future were better about reaching out to people who want to make our community more than it is and supporting them. Maybe we need to develop a plan to do so. Former Mayor Steve Patterson, who felt the citations were detrimental to projects that would benefit the city, also spoke in support of Mullen. A lot of people may not like Mike, but to have someone thats putting money into these old buildings, you want to help him, Patterson said. Help him; dont put him down. Harris said she has no personal vendetta against Mullen and noted that the city has helped him in the past, including one instance when they created two public parking spots in front of his business. She said she encourages him to continue doing business in Beardstown and stressed that nobody is out to stop him. I dont know where hes coming from. You cant control what people say, Harris said. I do know my city and my employees are 100 percent honest. Nick Draper can be reached at 217-245-6121, ext. 1223, or on Twitter @nick_draper. A potent personality plus tact, talent, and tenacity took Mary Hosbrook from the farm to a career as an artist and entrepreneur. Her life linked the 1860s to the 1960s, a century of expanding civil rights and women asserting their place in society. Mary Hosbrook, my great-aunt, was a pioneer in this post-Civil War period. Educated at an art institute, one of Marys oil paintings made its way to the Corcoran Art Gallery in Washington, D.C., and she helped carve the pipe organ panels in Cincinnatis Music Hall. But a single train trip provided a platform for Marys embrace of life, new experiences, and social change. Mary boarded the train in rural Ohio, bound for a new job as an art instructor in Virginia. The sun was already setting, the year was 1895, and no one tells her story better than Mary Hosbrook herself. Come along for the ride. The moon was so lovely that I looked out the window until 11 oclock. Then we changed trains at a little two-for-a-cent station Paris was the name, whod a thought it where the railroad agent was so excessively polite that I feared he was going to carry me bodily in to make me sit down. I got acquainted with two girls from Iowa who were going to Cumberland Gap to teach in a mission school, and we had a jolly time. There was a blind musician on the train who gave us quite a concert. He sang a song about a womans tongue, and, as we had been having quite a gay time, I think one old fat man had called for it on purpose. We cheered the musician, and let the fat man pay him which he did. This scene of songfest took place as the train wound its way through the nighttime darkness of Kentucky, arriving at Cumberland Gap at sunrise. For Mary, the fun was just beginning. The train tunnel had collapsed. When we got to Cumberland Gap, they told us we would have to cross the mountain in a wagon. The tunnel through it caves in continually, and they were repairing it. We got out at five in the morning and into spring wagons with black covers. The horses were bony and so were the drivers. I climbed into one with six men and the driver so I could sit in the front seat. I never expected that the horses could get us over the mountain, but they did by stopping to rest every 100 yards on the way up. Im glad the tunnel wasnt fixed, for the experience was great. The rocks rose straight up on one side, straight down on the other, and a little jump to one side of the road would have made pressed beef of me. On the summit we were in three states at once Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee, and I was in a fourth, a state of bliss. Six men behind me, one at my side, and the loveliest mountain scenery all around. As far as the eye could see rose one mountain after another. Some of them were above the clouds, and some below, but a blue haze hovered around the tops of all of them. The road was rocky, solid sandstone in some places but with beautiful flowers growing out of the stones and ferns that would have set one wild had there not been so many other things to take your attention first. Mary Hosbrook obviously had an artists eye for natural beauty and an appreciation of flowers that could take root in rocks. And the wagon ride proved that Mary Hosbrook took a back seat to no one. She embodied Americas spunk and spirit. Mary Hosbrook got married in 1901 and partnered with her husband in the book business in Kansas City. He did the office work, and she called on customers, plying the muddy streets of early Kansas City in a horse-and-buggy to place libraries with the works of Spencer, Wordsworth, and Shakespeare in the stately homes of the citys elite. My wife and I visited Aunt Mary shortly after her 98th birthday in 1964. She said that the candles on her birthday cake were a blaze of glory, thrusting her hand out to illustrate the magnificence of the moment. She was magnificent and now a millionaire herself. Mary Hosbrook Kincaid lived to age 101 and left her estate to local charities. James F. Burns is a retired professor at the University of Florida. The adage that failures can teach many lessons seems quite... N. Gopalaswami is not only a believer in astrology, but also a practitioner of it. Dont know if he ever used his soothsayer skills for divining the results of the polls which he oversaw as Indias election boss. He learnt the science of jyotish from a south Delhi academy, while serving as home secretary. He already had a masters in chemistry. Not sure which of these qualified him to head a panel of dons tasked with spotting 10 institutions that could be groomed to Ivy League glory. Gopalaswami and the dons have performed an act that satvik jyotishis are loathe to do. They have made the birthchart of an unborn child. They have declared the Jio Institute, which the Ambanis are yet to father, as an institution of eminence. When trolled, they said it has the potential to be eminent. Hail the creation of a garbha shrimant, or damn the move as a case of pre-natal merit determination, but Arvind Panagaria, who vice-headed the NITI Ayog, has dubbed Modi a courageous leader for this act of eugenics. Any PM would think twice or thrice before announcing something like this, says Panagaria. He means it as a compliment! Illustration: Bhaskaran Successive PMs have been pretty peeved that India that is Bharat, which once hosted Taxila and Nalanda, doesnt have a world class university today. Manmohan Singh, who had enough degrees to give a complex to every PM till the end of this century, worried about this day in and day out. So, in 2005, his finance minister P. Chidambaram promised to make a beginning with one institution, and gave Rs 100 crore to IISc to try and get ranked alongside Oxford and Cambridge or Harvard and Stanford. The next year, PC put his pennies and paise in the three grandmother institutionsthe universities of Calcutta, Madras and Mumbai which had turned 150and another Rs 100 crore in the Punjab Agricultural University. Thus it went on every yearG.B. Pant, Tamil Nadu and Mahatma Phule farm universities, Mysore, Delhi, Aligarh Muslim and Banaras Hindu and several more. But excellence eluded them like the Holy Grail. The Modi regime found that this naming-and-faming wasnt getting them anywhere. So, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley divided the kitty into small bundles and began funding all and sundry, and the mandarins began coining acronyms. Thus they created 36 centres of excellence under the scheme training and research in frontier areas of science & technology (FAST), 30 centres of excellence under technical education quality improvement programme (TEQIP), one research park, 15 universities with potential for excellence (UPE), 21 centres with potential for excellence in particular areas (CPEPA), 172 colleges with potential for excellence (CPE), and 14 colleges of excellence (CE). By last year, they got tired of acronyms, dumped excellence, and began a hunt for eminence, semantically a nobler goal. They tasked Gopalaswami and Co to name 10 public and 10 private institutes which could achieve eminence. From among 144 applicants, the team found only IISc, IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi (no one would quarrel) in the public sector, BITS Pilani and Manipal Academy (no quarrel again) in the private sector, and Jio in the unborn sector (all quarrel). Gopalaswami says, Jio has been selected because the Ambanis have promised to do well in the college. By the same logic, would Jio be giving grades and degrees on the basis of what its students promise? Gentlemen, the sacred mantra that ought to resonate in the groves of academe is: perform or perish. Not promise or perish. Indeed, Shakespeare wrote, Some are born great; some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon em. But the Bard put the words in the mouth of Malvolio, a self-obsessed clown in Twelfth Night. prasannan@theweek.in The summer holidays are in full swing and protests against overtourism have begun (yet again) in a number of popular European cities. Overtourism is not a new problem. Barcelona, in particular, is at the centre of these mounting concerns about the rapid growth of tourism in cities, especially during peak holiday periods. In fact, Destination Barcelona estimates that there were 30m overnight visitors in 2017, compared to a resident population of 1,625,137. But across southern Europe protests and social movements are growing in number. This has led to the formation of organisations such as the Assembly of Neighborhoods for Sustainable Tourism (ABTS) and the Network of Southern European Cities against tourism (SET). They are at the forefront of the fight against overtourism and the impact it has on local residents. While many tourists want to live like a local and have an authentic and immersive experience during their visit, the residents of many tourism-dependent destinations are seeing the unique sense of place that characterised their home towns vanish beneath a wave of souvenir shops, crowds, tour buses and rowdy bars. They are also suffering as local amenities and infrastructure are put under enormous strain. It is a truly global issue. Other destinations where overtourism has reached disruptive proportions include Palma de Mallorca, Paris, Dubrovnik, Kyoto, Berlin, Bali and Reykjavik. Recently, Thai authorities were forced to act when the number of tourists visiting Maya Bay, the beach made famous by Danny Boyles film The Beach, led to shocking environmental damage. What does overtourism look like? We define overtourism as the excessive growth of visitors leading to overcrowding in areas where residents suffer the consequences of temporary and seasonal tourism peaks, which have enforced permanent changes to their lifestyles, access to amenities and general well-being. The claim is that overtourism is harming the landscape, damaging beaches, putting infrastructure under enormous strain, and pricing residents out of the property market. It is a hugely complex issue that is often oversimplified. It can have an impact in multiple ways. The international cruise industry, for example, delivers thousands of passengers daily to destination ports. While comparatively little is returned to communities, cruise activity creates physical and visual pollution. City residents also bear the cost of tourism growth. As cities transform to cater for tourists, the global travel supply chain prospers. This coincides with increasing property speculation and rising costs of living for local communities. AirBnB, for example, has been accused of reducing housing affordability and displacing residents. Amsterdam wants to take direct action to prevent this by banning short-term rentals and directing cruise passengers away from the city centre. AirBnB is also making efforts to address the problems they are accused of creating. Things are made worse by the fact that key destinations are mostly unprepared to deal with overtourism. According to the Italian sociologist Marco dEramo, in 1950 just 15 destinations were visited by 98% of international tourists, while in 2007 this had decreased to 57%. This indicates the rapid expansion of global tourism beyond established destinations. Overcrowding and the establishment of typical tourism-focused businesses, such as clubs, bars and souvenir shops, overwhelm local businesses and rowdy and unmanageable tourist behaviour is common. This diminishes the unique ambience of destinations and leads to crowd and waste management pressures. Clearly, tourism brings jobs, investment and economic benefits to destinations. But overtourism occurs when tourism expansion fails to acknowledge that there are limits. Local government and planning authorities have so far been powerless to deal with the overwhelming influence of the global tourism supply chain. This has led to widespread tourist-phobia first described by Manuel Delgado more than a decade ago as a mixture of repudiation, mistrust and contempt for tourists. Dealing with overtourism Dealing with overtourism must now be a priority. But despite the mounting howls of protest, tourism promotion endures and unsustainable hordes of tourists continue to descend on cities, beaches and other natural wonders. Managing the flow of tourists seems an improbable and unwelcome task. But some cities have taken drastic measures to limit the effects of overtourism, including the introduction of new or revised taxation arrangements, fines linked to new local laws, and demarketing, whereby destinations focus on attracting fewer, high-spending and low impact tourists, rather than large groups. But its a fine line to tread. If tourist arrivals to a destination decline suddenly and dramatically it would likely have considerable economic repercussions for those who rely on them. Overtourism is a shared responsibility. City administrators and destination managers must acknowledge that there are definite limits to growth. Prioritising the welfare of local residents above the needs of the global tourism supply chain is vital. Prime consideration must be given to ensuring that the level of visitation fits within a destinations capacity. The global tourism supply chain also bears a major responsibility. It must ensure that product development achieves a balance between the optimal tourist experience and a commensurate local benefit. Tourists must also play their part by making travel choices that are sensitive to the places they visit and those who live in and around them. Tourism should be part of the wider destination management system, which must also consider transport and mobility, the preservation of public spaces, the local economy and housing, among other aspects of daily life. Research, planning and a close and ongoing dialogue between city administrators, the tourism industry, civil society groups and local residents are essential. Perhaps overtourism is a symptom of the present era of unprecedented affluence and hyper mobility, a consequence of late capitalism. We need to urgently rethink the way cities are evolving to uphold the rights of their residents. Claudio Milano, Researcher, Lecturer and Consultant in Tourism, Ostelea - School of Tourism and Hospitality; Joseph M. Cheer, Lecturer, School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures & Linguistics, Monash University, and Marina Novelli, Professor of Tourism and International Development, University of Brighton This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Sanitary napkins will be exempt from Goods and Services Tax (GST), Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said after a meeting of the GST Council. Sanitary napkins are taxed 12 per cent under the one-year old GST regime, which attracted serious criticism from various quarters. A group of students from Gwalior had written messages on sanitary napkins to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to eliminate the tax. Also, more than 300 female students affiliated to the Students Federation of India (SFI), the student's wing of the CPI(M), had posted sanitary napkins to Union minister Arun Jaitley as a mark of protest. The tipping point was the governments decision to exempt articles such as bindi, sindoor, and kajal from GST. This would mean there would be no input tax credit available, even though inputs in the production of sanitary napkins are taxed. It is expected that the council would decide on revision of tax rates on vending machines and lithium ion batteries among others. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 28th GST Council meeting, the minister also said that tax on bamboo, too, has been slashed to 12 per cent. Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday predicted that the BJP would be reduced to 150 seats in the upcoming 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Mamata Banerjee also asked her party to prevent the grand design of the BJP to win seats in West Bengal in 2019. "Outsiders have entered Bengal and they are scattered in all blocks of Bengal. Prevent their design," she said in her speech on the occasion of Martyrs' Day celebration in Kolkata. Saturday's Martyr's day proved to be a day of strength for the TMC with a few famous faces joining the party. As speculated, the day saw BJP former MP Chandan Mitra join the TMC. Earlier this week, soon after his resignation from the BJP, THE WEEK had reported that Chandan Mitra was expected to join the TMC. Chandan Mitra joined the TMC along with 40 other BJP members who had won in the recent Panchayat elections. Former CPI(M) MP Ritabrata Banerjee and four Congress MLAs from West Bengal also followed Chandan Mitra's steps and joined the TMC. Sounding the poll bugle for the 2019 general elections, Mamata Banerjee said she would ensure that all 42 seats of West Bengal would be won by the TMC. She said she was planning to hold a huge rally in Kolkatasimilar to what Jyoti Basu did in 1989 against Rajiv Gandhito bring all anti-BJP leaders in the country on one stage. All roads led to Kolkata's Esplanade for the TMC rally on account of Martyr's Day | Salil Bera Predicting the number of seats that the BJP would win in the Lok Sabha elections, Mamata said in Madhya Pradesh the saffron party would get only one-fourth of the seats they won last time. In 2014, the BJP had won 26 seats, whereas the Congress secured only three seats in Madhya Pradesh. In Uttar Pradesh, she said, the BJP would be reduced to 30 from the current 68, while in Rajasthan and Gujarat it would have no seats at all. Mamata Banerjee also had a word of caution for the AIADMK. She said the party would draw a blank with Stalin-led DMK going for a whitewash in Tamil Nadu. "Had Jayalalithaa been alive today, the AIADMK would not have voted in favour of the BJP in yesterday's no-confidence motion," Mamata said, referring to Friday's no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha. Narendra Modi-led BJP had won the no-confidence motion the support of 325 members against 126 who opposed the government. Several AIADMK members had opposed the motion, in a boost to the NDA. Criticising the government for its inability to prevent the rising atrocities against minorities in the country, Mamata Banerjee said Swami Vivekananda used to smoke hookah with lower castes and the Ramakrishna Mission, which he was a part of, used to control Kanyakumari before they were stopped by the BJP. Ramakrishna Mission refused to comment on this. TMC observes Martyrs' Day on July 21 every year to pay homage to 13 Youth Congress workers, allegedly killed in police firing in 1993 during the Left Front regime in West Bengal. But for the first time ever, Mamata Banerjee on Saturday raised slogans like Jai Hind and asked her minister to sing the national anthem during the rally. On this day, 49 years ago, man achieved a millennial yearning and set his mortal, unworthy feet on a heavenly body. On July 21, 1969, at 02:56:15 UTC, Neil Armstrong, a corn fed, hayseed Yankee boy from Wapakoneta, Ohio, took his first steps on the moon. Above him, the Soviet unmanned spacecraft, Luna 15, was hurtling towards the lunar ground. One breathless hour later, US President Richard Nixon picked up the receiver and made the most historic phone call ever. He told the boys, Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin: Because of what you have done, the heavens have become a part of man's world. For one brief moment, the riven mass of squabbling humanity united in spirit and gave out a collective hurrah. And America descended into a moon-crazy summer. The moon landings were watched by 530 million people worldwide, as history was made before their very eyes. The world hailed them as Homeric heroes. Their odyssey in space was at a time when mankind had boldly gone into the vast steppe spaces of the cosmos. The message of man in the space age was to dream and dare. The dreaming, and the daring, and the willing have long since diminished. It is the unpalatable truth that space programmes around the world are languishing in. True, we still send satellites into space and occasional probe or rover to Mars. We have even exported private men and capitalism into space. But the space age is truly gone. The collective ambition, when US President John F. Kennedy bravely said, We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all people.... We choose to go to the Moon! We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard. That spirit which moved the Americans, Russians, Europeans and Indians to reach for the stars is now largely a figment of memory. Space exploration was at the heart of national governments across the world and heads of government took personal interest in it. It is now a curious department that occasionally does interesting things. Why this degeneration? The space race began when the Russians punted little Sputnik into the stars in October 1957. Beep beep beep the signal from Sputnik sent waves of wonder and fear across the west. The Americans, leader of the free world, were mortified that an alternate system of government, those godless commies had first conquered space. Free men in the land of liberty had to take up the challenge and the leviathan, that is the US government, put in its heart and soul into the mission. The Sputnik Crisis, as it was called, spurred the US to overhaul everything from public science funding to education. Money poured in from the federal government coffers for the comprehensive effort and there were no taxpayer alliances, no conservative anti-government lobby trying to stymie the effort. Within a few months of Sputnik, President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, creating NASA. It began with a budget of $89 million. Eight years later, its budget had ballooned to $5.933 billion dollars. That was 4.41 per cent of the federal government budget. In glaring contrast, by 2017, NASAs budget had shrunk to $19.5 billion dollars or a mere 0. 47 per cent of the federal government budget. After Sputnik, there were fears that science education in the US was inferior to that in the USSR and young Americans must be equipped for the space age. The US Congress passed the National Defense Education Act (NDEA), a four-year programme that poured billions of dollars into the US education system. Over a billion dollars were directed towards improving American science curricula. In classrooms, educational tools began to change. Lab kits and overhead projectors were added, and educational films became part of the curriculum. The US mass media, too, swung into the act. In a welcome break from showing bands of drug-addled youths traipsing around the country in search of free love, a new sensation appeared on American TV screens. In a faraway corner of the Milky Way, a smartly attired gang of heroes and heroines were exploring spacethe final frontier. In September 1966, Star Trek was broadcast for the first time. It showed a multiracial team of heroes working towards fulfilling a united mission and even featured the first interracial kiss. Civil rights had now gone into space. All of this put together unleashed a cascade of effort on both sides of the iron curtain. Sputnik, Apollo, Mercury, Voshkod, Vostok, Gemini, Skylab, Salyut... it was the saga of spacefaring. In the year of Apollo 11, India, too, leaped earnestly into the mission by creating the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Space research in the country had begun earlier under the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, but received a big boost by the creation of a dedicated agency. There is still collective enthusiasm and wide-ranging public support for space in India. But, in rest of the world, it has waned. The Cold War had provided much of the impetus for such big science projects. Like atomic energy, the public effort and taxpayer money were sustained by the Cold War competition. The desire not to be outdone by the other, the desire to better the other provided the propellant for such efforts. With the end of the Cold War, big science ran out of the fuel of national competition. Budgets were mercilessly slashed and vested interests and political infantilism almost froze the space and nuclear energy programmes. The US government has shut down all NASA rocket development as a result of which the space giant is forced to use Russian or private space taxis. As a New York Times op-ed lamented, One of the most important attributes of a manned space program is its ability to inspire young people to pursue careers in science. Killing NASAs storied manned space program and doing away with a timeline for space travel will snuff out much of inspiration and awe that has come to be associated with NASAs endeavors. The modest space missions are now the norm, even at the European Space Agency. Grand plans for asteroid capture and inter-planetary travel are now effectively shelled as budget cuts have culled all such missions. David Bowies haunting song Space Oddity best captures this mood of gloom in the NASA. For here Am I sitting in a tin can Far above the world Planet Earth is blue And there's nothing I can do For the sake of the youth of the world, the US and the west must galvanise their efforts in space exploration. Only then will young men and women across the globe warp their minds into the future. Once again, Kashmir has found no mention in election rallies in Pakistan and major political parties have briefly touched upon the issue in their election manifestos. The Pakistan Mulsim League (Nawaz) (PML-N) of disqualified three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who along with his daughter Maryam Nawaz has been convicted in the Avenfield case that began with the Panama Leaks, says in its election manifesto, ''Through talks relations with India will be strengthened. The issue of Kashmir will be resolved without compromising the moral, diplomatic and political support to the people of Indian occupied Kashmir.'' There is no mention of settling the Kashmir issue as per UN resolutions which have been the traditional stand of Pakistan. Under pressure from opposition and military, Sharif had mentioned slain Hizbul Mujahideen, Burhan Muzaffar Wani, in a UN General Assembly session in his speech in 2016. He had called him a martyr. The move had irked India. This was for the first time that the name of a Kashmiri militant was mentioned in the UN. Sharif had often been criticised by a vast section of media in Pakistan for being soft on India on Kashmir. At the moment he and his daughter are serving 10 years and seven years imprisonment, respectively, for failing to provide the money trail of the Avenfield Apartments in London. His party has appealed for stay on the sentence. The appeal will come up for hearing after elections. The manifesto of Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaaf (PTI) led by Imran Khan says the party will work on a blueprint towards resolving the Kashmir issue within the parameters of UNSC resolutions. It says, For lasting peace within our own region, especially with our neighbour India, conflict resolution and the security route to cooperation is the most viable. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in its elections manifesto says, The decades of political repression and the denial of the Kashmiris peoples inalienable right to self-determination as per the UN Resolutions are the root causes of the pervasive conflict in Indian occupied Kashmir. India has persistently sidestepped efforts to bring an end to the conflict through peaceful negotiations. The manifesto goes on to say that PPP believes that there is no military solution to the Kashmir dispute. Our partys policy stands firm in the belief that the rights of the Kashmiri people, as per the UN Resolution, must be safeguarded even as we push for resuming a constructive dialogue with New Delhi. Despite the talks of resolving the Kashmir issue through dialogue and UN resolution, it is widely believed that all three parties want to improve relations with India. A peaceful relationship with India helps the civilian government to focus on governance and development. It also reduces the role of Pakistan military in determining Pakistan's foreign policy, especially towards India. The President of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) Sardar Masood Khan, on April 20, while addressing the Kashmir Self-determination Conference at Mirpur urged the political parties of Pakistan to comprehensively include the issue of Kashmir in their election manifestos. The PTI, which has been a bitter critic of PML-N on Kashmir, will find it equally hard to push the case of Kashmir internationally, if it comes to power. Poh Kok Wee POH KOK WEE, 57, was one of two known Singaporeans involved in the Tham Luang cave rescue. The other was rescue diver Douglas Yeo. Wee spoke to THE WEEK on the sidelines of the cleanup operations in the common area of the cave complex. Based in Nonthaburi province, he runs a business fixing signages and solar panels on high-rise buildings. He has been in Thailand for 28 years, and is a liaison officer for the Royal Thai Police. So, how did a Singaporean join the Thai police? Well, in short, I have been doing business near Bangkok for so long that I have had opportunities to work with the local police, mainly translating for them. That relationship eventually got me into the liaison team that handles public relations. And, you were asked to be here? No, I volunteered. So did four of my employees. Only specialists were permitted to be here. Certified divers and medics and so on. Because of your business, your speciality is climbing. I am a hobby climber, too. I have climbed in Malaysia, and extensively in Thailand. Singapore has only one hill to climb, so to speak. So, when we volunteered, we were interviewed by the Royal Thai Army and then flown to Chiang Rai. From there, we got here on army transport and started climbing on June 27. Was climbing here different, and how? Very different. When I started climbing, I was far younger and fresh from my two-year compulsory military service. So, age and fitness were on my side. And then, the rock here is limestone. Very sharp, jagged edges. And, deceptive. Might seem strong, but might not be. Were you in Tham Luang cave complex? No, like I said, specialisation was key. I had no diving experience, so there was no reason for me to be there. I was at the other end of the cave. Or, maybe at one of the many ends of this cave. I was in a team with Mr Thanet, a geologist. He and others studied possible entrances, and then we scouted for them. How many openings do you think this cave complex has? At least 10, I think. Of varying sizes, of course. The most promising one was the one where we had to climb 100m to the cave mouth. It was on higher elevation than the main mouth at Tham Luang. Our thinking then was that as the boys had probably climbed to higher ground, they would be closer to us, than to Tham Luang. Did you lose hope at any point? No, we did not. Mr Thanet said that as floodwaters rise, even ants climb to higher ground. So, we were confident that the boys had reached somewhere. But, where? And, how to reach them? Those were the questions. What would be your biggest learning from this? Good things will come out of this, I am sure. More tourists will come to visit the caves. And, a proper mapping of the cave network will be done. Do you see yourself as a hero? Not at all. I am just a little candle from Singapore. There were candles from all over the world. Together, we lit up the cave and found the kids. Last question. People say this cave network extends to Myanmar. I have heard that, too. It is probable, yes. But, I wouldnt know for a fact. In fact, when the mapping is done, I would be very excited to know! 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 Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. The company's personal banking products and services include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, and financial and investment advice services; and commercial banking products and services comprise business deposit accounts, commercial credit cards, business loans and commercial mortgages, cash management solutions, foreign exchange, specialized banking programs, treasury and payment solutions, and risk management products for small business and commercial banking customers. It also offers investment and wealth advisory services; digital investing services; financial services and solutions; and investment management, and trust and custody services to institutional, retail, and high net worth investors. In addition, the company provides life insurance, accident and sickness insurance, and annuity products; creditor and travel insurance to bank customers; and reinsurance solutions. Further, it offers client's debt and equity capital-raising services, as well as loan origination and syndication, balance sheet management, and treasury management; strategic advice on mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, and recapitalizations, as well as valuation and fairness opinions; and trade finance, risk mitigation, and other operating services. Additionally, the company provides research and access to markets for institutional, corporate, and retail clients; trading solutions that include debt, foreign exchange, interest rate, credit, equity, securitization and commodities; new product development and origination services, as well as risk management advice and services to hedge against fluctuations; and funding and liquidity management services to its clients. It operates through approximately 1,400 bank branches and 4,800 automated banking machines in Canada and the United States. The company was founded in 1817 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada. Read More Brookdale Senior Living, Inc. engages in the operation of senior living communities. The firm manages independent living, assisted living and dementia-care communities and continuing care retirement centers. It operates through the following segments: Independent Living Assisted Living & Memory Care, CCRCs, Health Care Services and Management Services. The Independent Living segment is primarily designed for middle to upper income seniors who desire an upscale residential environment providing the highest quality of service. The Assisted Living & Memory Care segment offer housing and 24-hour assistance with ADLs to mid-acuity frail and elderly residents. The CCRCs segment offers a variety of living arrangements and services to accommodate all levels of physical ability and health. The Healthcare Services segment provides home health, hospice and outpatient therapy services, as well as education and wellness programs, to residents of many communities and to seniors living outside communities. The Management Services segment composes of communities operated by the company pursuant to management agreements. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Brentwood, TN. 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 EDUCATION ALBANY LAW SCHOOL Kaitlyn Lounsbury joined as director of annual giving. Lounsbury previously served as a regional advancement officer at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Professor Raymond Brescia was appointed as the Hon. Harold R. Tyler Chair in Law and Technology. Professor Peter Halewood was appointed as the Gov. George E. Pataki Distinguished Professor of International Commercial Law. Professor David Pratt was appointed as the Jay and Ruth Caplan Distinguished Professor. Professor Donna Young was appointed as the President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law and Public Policy. FINANCIAL BANK OF AMERICA Jillian Pasco joined the Albany office as market manager. Pasco previously served as a project manager in Albany and the Hudson Valley. HEALTH CARE SOUTHWESTERN VERMONT MEDICAL CENTER Themarge Small was elected as president. Small is an obstetrician and gynecologist. Marie George was elected as vice president. George is an infectious disease specialist. Margaret Thompson joined as a certified advanced registered nurse practitioner at the Centers for Living and Rehabilitation. NONPROFITS CATHOLIC CHARITIES DISABILITIES SERVICES Analese Dublin joined as a direct support professional. Lindsay Feulner and Jazmin Thomas joined as self-direction support professionals. Shannon Burns joined as an in-home behavior specialist. PROFESSIONS LECHASE CONSTRUCTION SERVICES LLC Anthony DeSousa was promoted to project manager in the Albany office. DeSousa previously worked as a project engineer. C.T. MALE ASSOCIATES Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Daniel Reilly was named chief operating officer, responsible for overseeing division managers. Reilly joined in 1993 as an environmental engineer and held various management positions, most recently as division manager of environmental services. Charles "Chad" R. Kortz joined as director of engineering and was named to the board of directors. Kortz has 20 years of experience in civil and environmental engineering, public works operations and administration and construction. Gregory L. Badger joined as division manager of the newly formed electrical engineering division. Badger has more than 25 years of experience in design, operations and maintenance of electrical power generation and power distribution systems. Nancy E. Garry joined as a senior environmental engineer in the environmental services division. Garry has more than 20 years of experience in site investigation and remediation projects and environmental compliance. Brad Garrison joined as an electrical engineer with a background in HVAC/DC design and operations. Garrison has more than 13 years of experience in the power electronics and energy industries. Charles Stead joined as head of the energy and building systems division. Stead has more than 20 years of engineering experience. Dominick F. Arico joined as a division manager in the land services division. Arico previously served as president and principal engineer at Arico Associates. Alseny Diop joined as geotechnical team leader in the civil engineering division. Diop has 15 years of experience in geotechnical engineering. RIVKIN RADLER LLP Cassandra Rivais joined the Albany office as an associate in the Health Services Practice Group, representing various health care providers on regulatory and transactional matters. Rivais previously completed a two-year clinical ethics fellowship at Alden March Bioethics Institute of Albany Medical Center. Jennifer Patterson ALBANY With New York's primary for attorney general less than two months away, some are calling for a televised debate between the four Democratic contenders, most of whom are largely unknown upstate. Democratic candidate Leecia Eve, an attorney, accepted a challenge from opponent and Fordham Law professor Zephyr Teachout to participate in six televised debates across the state this week, but the other two aren't quite there yet. New York Public Advocate Letitia James, who has the backing of the state Democratic Party, and Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, of the lower Hudson Valley, had previously said they were holding out to see which candidates got on the ballot. All the Democratic candidates collected enough signatures to petition onto the ballot, but the legality of Maloney running for two incompatible seats the statewide office and his current congressional seat at the same time has been challenged by Republican opponents. Delaney Kempner, a spokeswoman for James' campaign, said that the public advocate would debate "anybody and everybody" as soon as the Board of Elections and court have certified the candidates for attorney general in early August. "Letitia James looks forward to a robust and healthy debate among candidates qualified to run for Attorney General. The people of the State of New York deserve no less," Kempner said. Maloney's campaign manager Caitlin Girouard shot back that the congressman, too, would like to debate his opponents as often as possible, "but it's a waste of time to do without all the candidates that includes Tish James." Among those would would like to see televised events around the state is the League of Women Voters, which is trying to organize a debate for the general election. Jennifer Wilson, legislative director for the League, noted that many voters are unclear of what the attorney general position entails or who the candidates are. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. "I would love to see a televised debate here upstate, so that the people out here could hear what they have to say," Wilson said. In there meantime, there will be a number of candidate forums held by New York State Indivisible groups this month including one in New York City on July 26, which has not yet gotten confirmation that Maloney and James will attend. "We think there's an opportunity now more than ever to highlight what the attorney general does. We are hoping to really talk about the issues and peel away the differences between the candidates," said the event's organizer, Ricky Silver, of Empire State Indivisible. ALBANY Citing the 2008 stray-bullet murder of 10-year-old Kathina Thomas in West Hill, District Attorney David Soares called on the public Friday to come forward with information to help authorities battle recent gun violence that continues to put lives at risk. "In 2008, this community lost a young child because of an errant bullet. I want to assure you that there are a number of bullets out here," the Albany County prosecutor told reporters during a discussion in his office on the recent rash of shootings. "It's putting everyone at risk and therefore the incentive to reach out to law enforcement, to cooperate with law enforcement, it's in everyone's best interest to do that." Soares spoke after Shaquille Moore, 26, was arraigned in County Court on a charge of second-degree murder in the killing of Equan Fallen, 20, outside 448 Livingston Ave. on June 13. A surge in violence left three people dead and a dozen injured in Albany in just a matter of weeks. A little more than halfway through 2018, the city has already tied its 2017 total of eight homicides. To solve crimes, police and prosecutors throughout the region have struggled to overcome an anti-snitching culture in which witnesses fear retaliation if they come forward. "I know that people are concerned about their own safety," Soares said "We have the means and the ability to move people and to protect the identification of people who come forward with information. We understand that in order for us to get through this situation, it's going to require a lot of creative communication back and forth." Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Soares said he wants to encourage the public to reach out to law enforcement to hold "violent actors" using handguns accountable. Soares highlighted a similar time a decade ago when Kathina Thomas, whose family had moved to Albany from Guyana just 16 months earlier, was hit by a stray .45 caliber bullet as she played outside her home on First Street on May 29, 2008. The shooter, Jermayne Timmons, is serving 15 years to life for murder. "In the almost 20 years that I've been here, the death of Kathina Thomas was a low for this community it was a new low," Soares said. "I have never in all of my time here had gang members come up to me in community to provide information so openly like that. So there is a standard here. It's about the community coming together to help us enforce those standards." Corinth Toxic mold has forced the closure of the post office in Corinth, and likely the operation will be moving to a new location and reopen before the Christmas rush, said town Supervisor Richard Lucia on Friday. A burst water pipe several months ago in the building at 97 Main St. sparked the mold outbreak that forced the building's closure July 13, said Lucia. "There was black mold all over the place, and they had to close it for health reasons," he said. For now, people with mail boxes at the shuttered Corinth facility will have to travel five miles to the Post office in Lake Luzerne, said Lucia. Box owners will have to show identification at that office to be given access to a mailbox. Home mail and rural deliveries will not be affected. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Postal officials are likely moving the Corinth operation to a new location "within the next several months," said Lucia. "We hope that it is before Christmas ... and I can say this: We will not be losing our Post Office or our ZIP code." The Saratoga County town is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year. The news about concerns of people regarding violence and deaths in our communities requires education in the uses of peaceful resolution of personal problems and conflicts. The Bible states in Matthew 18:15 "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother." I understand gangs, drugs and guns are causing a lot of violence in our communities, but I think learning to mediate conflicts, or be a peacemaker, can reduce dependence on gangs, guns and violence. Chris McGrath First, President Donald Trump picks fights with allies over trade and defense spending, attacks their leaders and calls them names and says our top foe is the European Union. Then the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin happened. Russia is guilty of many crimes: Ukraine, Crimea, Georgia, Estonia, Syria, murders of opposition politicians and journalists, and even using nerve gas in Britain. And our intelligence services, the FBI, and Senate intelligence committee determined that Russia subverted our 2016 election. It's been doing likewise throughout Europe. PG&E SHAREHOLDER ALERT: ClaimsFiler Reminds Investors with Losses in Excess of $100,000 of Lead Plaintiff Deadline in Class Action Lawsuit against PG&E Corporation - PCG ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until August 13, 2018 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against PG&E (News - Alert) Corporation (NYSE: PCG), if they purchased the Company's shares between April 29, 2015, and June 8, 2018, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Get Help PG&E investors should visit us at https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/view-pgampe-corporation-securities-litigation-1 or call to speak to our claimcenter toll-free at (844) 367-9658. About the Lawsuit PG&E and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws. On June 8, 2018, post-market, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection released the results of its ongoing investigation into the October 2017 California wildfires, concluding that twelve fires "were caused by electric power and distribution lines, conductors and the failure of power poles." Further, the department's findings regarding eight of the fires, all caused in relation to PG&E's lines or equipment, had been referred to county prosecutors "due to evidence of alleged violations of state law." On this news, the price of PG&E's shares plummeted. About ClaimsFiler ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. ClaimsFiler's team of experts monitor the securities class action landscape and cull information from a variety of sources to ensure comprehensive coverage across a broad range of financial instruments. To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180720005511/en/ Several Australian Securities Exchange listed companies including Newcrest, Highlands Pacific and St Barbara Limited operate mines in PNG, which has significant resources including gas, gold, copper, cobalt and nickel. The proposed law changes have sparked warnings from the country's peak mining body that they would pose significant deterrents to investment in future projects and threaten the existing operations of current mines. SYDNEY - Major Australian mining companies face the prospect of higher royalties, tough restrictions on fly-in fly-out workers and the potential nationalisation of assets under reforms under consideration by the cash-strapped Papua New Guinea government. The PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum says the proposed changes to the Mining Act could clamp down on international fly-in fly-out workers, impose a right for the state to compulsorily acquire mining projects (on commercial terms) after 24 years and result in an increase in royalties. It says some of the proposed changes which have been under discussion for years would have "severe negative impacts in the immediate and long term on both existing operations and proposed projects". But the Resource Owners Federation of PNG claims existing laws are primitive, unjust and self-harming, and mining companies continue to reap benefits while keeping the landowners and citizens who own the resources poor. PNG deputy prime minister Charles Abel told Fairfax Media the government was concerned about a number of factors including increasing the share of benefits to landowners. Any proposed amendment must address the underlying concerns and keep PNG competitive as an investment destination, he said. New copper and gold projects including the Newcrest-led Wafi-Golpu mine and PanAust's Frieda River mine are currently awaiting special mining leases from the PNG government. At an update last month Abel said the PNG government was bringing on Wafi-Golpu, the expansion of a ExxonMobil-operated PNG liquefied natural gas plant and Papua LNG under an improved fiscal template. The Wafi-Golpu project, a joint venture between Newcrest and Harmony Gold, is a key part of Newcrests future and is considered the companys top growth asset. Australian company PanAust holds an 80% interest in the Frieda River copper-gold project, which has an estimated initial mine life of 18 years. PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum executive director Albert Mellam said some of the proposed changes had undermined investor confidence in PNG. We are concerned that some of the draft amendments are internationally uncompetitive, are a serious deterrent to investment in future mining projects in PNG and will threaten the existing operations of current mines in the country," he said. Dr Mellam said the transitional arrangements were inadequate to protect existing operations and could affect permit applications that already been submitted. He also said businesses would have to wear increased royalties, fees and levies and unreasonable penalties. He said the passing of legislation in February which removed industry representation on the Mineral Resources Authority Board and doubled the production levy rate from 0.25% to 0.5% had already created a great deal of uncertainty in the minerals sector and for international investors watching PNG. The industry has already observed a gradual decline of investment into mineral exploration over the past two years. Abel told Fairfax Media the current system had yielded good returns to government from mining projects in the past but a number of circumstances had combined to greatly reduce these flows as a share of government revenue. These included projects approaching maturation, tax concessions, low prices, PNG LNG and Lihir, the gold mine owned by Newcrest, accessing accelerated depreciation provisions and greater use of the tax credit scheme. The state is not necessarily seeking to increase its take but wants earlier returns and smoother flows at lower cost, Abel said. On the other hand the economy is in a very precarious state and the government is desperately looking for stimulus from new resource projects, said Professor Stephen Howes, director of the Development Policy Centre at ANU. Thats the tension I think the government is in a difficult position." Professor Howes said he did not believe big new projects would go ahead until the uncertainty was resolved. DANSKE BANK INVESTIGATION INITIATED by Former Louisiana Attorney General: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Investigates Danske Bank A/S for Possible Securities Fraud - (DNKEY) Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a partner at the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF"), announces that KSF has commenced an investigation into Danske Bank A/S (OTC: DNKEY). On July 18, 2018, the Company revealed that it would waive income relating to "suspicious transactions" at its Estonia branch, presently the subject of a money laundering investigation, noting that the amount was not yet determinable but that gross income related to the branch was estimated to be around $230M. Further, the Company expected net profit for 2018 "to be at the lower end of the [target] range." On this news, the price of Danske's shares plummeted $1.43, or over 9.4% on July 18, 2018. KSF's investigation is focusing on whether Danske and/or its officers and directors violated state or federal securities laws. If you are a Danske sharehlder and have suffered losses, 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/otc-dnkey/ to learn more. About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC KSF, whose partners include the 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. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180720005535/en/ [July 21, 2018] Noble Profit Introduces BFlow Network, Token And Protocol To Improve Global Sustainability Reporting And Validation SAN FRANCISCO and PARIS, July 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Founder Amy Seidman among experts who will present blockchain solutions to support UN SDGs during meeting of United Nations environmental agencies July 23-24 in Paris. Noble Profit is taking sustainable business and investing to new levels of accountability with BFlow, the blockchain technology solution to report and validate environmental impact and other sustainable metrics. Using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a common language across all industries, BFlow is a blockchain technology protocol and network being designed to demonstrate "proof of reputation," a requirement that is increasingly in demand by investors and consumers. Bringing a unified method of reporting to a fragmented sustainability metrics system, BFlow's mission is to create the transparency and accountability businesses need to report, track and measure their sustainability initiatives. "BFlow is being designed to make it easy to transact, report and validate sustainable commitments of all kinds," said Amy Seidman, founder and CEO of Noble Profit. "Our vision is to give companies, governments, NGOs and financial institutions a mechanism to report their commitments for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), in turn enabling the United Nations to track their progress and invite third parties to track and to validate them." Seidman is among a panel of experts advising the UN Environment and other United Nations agencies in Paris on July 23 and 24. During the meetings, she will present BFlow and explore other ways blockchain technology can support the UN SDGs. Seidman is also a member of the newly formed Climate Chain Coalition, a partner organization of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is committed to using blockchain technologies and the UN SDGs to solve climate change. "Corporatios, governments and other institutions have committed to the UN SDGs, but how do we track all of that data?" asked Seidman. "Managing and enabling the information to be accessible to groups like the United Nations is very difficult when it sits behind a firewall or within a PDF on a website. We're creating a method for this data to be published and seen. Allowing corporations to report UN SDGs, to the blockchain in a uniform way is just the beginning. Other examples of BFlow reporting on social and environmental issues may include tracking environmental, social and governance investing by wealth managers, tracking education and volunteer activities by corporate employees, empowering supply chains with transparency and helping small producers to scale their businesses. BFlow's blockchain distributed ledger technology has the potential to make compliance verification and validation processes more effective since it is being designed to enable the transparent tracking of environmental data. As a result, the environmental commitments of countries and companies should become more visible, with the added benefit of addressing inaccuracies with validations to address manipulation. As officials at the UN Environment agency explained, "One of the potential application of the blockchain technology for the UN is to monitor compliance with Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). UN Environment is the secretariat of a number of MEAs and leads UN-system coordination on MEAs." ~ Toyo Kawabata, United Nations Environment on the UN Environment's Blockchain Dialogue at UNESCO in Paris July, 2018 BFlow's vision is to map sustainable metrics across all industries. The transparency offered by reporting on the blockchain, and the ability for others to validate such claims, can create a secure "proof of reputation" metric. Using the BFlow token to access reporting protocols APIs, BFlow will be available for use by banks, governments, auditors, data providers and other interested parties to easily report their sustainability metrics to the blockchain. About BFlow BFlow is a blockchain solution being developed by Noble Profit to make it easier to report sustainability metrics. By establishing proof of reputation using data validated by trusted third parties, BFlow is creating a protocol with a self governing network to track commitments and validate claims by public and private organizations, such as corporations and investment funds. BFlow technology is being designed to enable efficiency in business that drives. For more information, visit http://bflow.io, Telegram http://t.me/BFlow, Twitter http://twitter.com/BFlowtoken. Some of the statements in this press release are forward-looking statements or statements of future expectations based on currently available information. Such statements are naturally subject to risks and uncertainties. Noble Profit does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness or updated status of such statements. In no case whatsoever with Noble Profit be liable to anyone for any decision made or action taken in conjunction with the information and/or statements in this press release. Press Contact: Tony Winders, The Winders Group, tony@thewindersgroup.com, (818) 554-9236 View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/noble-profit-introduces-bflow-network-token-and-protocol-to-improve-global-sustainability-reporting-and-validation-300684534.html SOURCE Noble Profit [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] KANSAS CITY, Mo. - There's been a lot of discussion in Missouri about legalizing marijuana, but so far nothing has passed into law. KC Stark, who's leading a seminar Saturday, July 21, in Kansas City, hopes to inspire more people to push for legalization. Right now, hemp is legal in the state of Missouri. The defendant in a murder and arson trial was involved in five other fires for which she collected insurance money, an expert witness testified Thursday. Thu Hong Nguyen is accused of torching L&N Nails, an Independence Avenue nail salon that she operated, in October 2015. Missouri Boat Sinking Victims 'Told Not to Wear Life Jackets' "A lot of people could have been spared" if the captain had not told passengers to leave their vests, one victim says. One of worse local deets to come out of an increasigly horrific story . . . Kansas City 1st Responder At Risk KCFD firefighter escapes injury in Raytown blaze KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A firefighter with the Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department was briefly trapped battling a blaze at 6005 Fairley Road in Raytown. A mayday call went out over the scanner, indicating that the ceiling had partially collapsed, but the firefighter was freed within two to three minutes, according to Raytown Fire Protection Battalion Chief Ty Helphrey. Midtown Traffic Warning 2 pedestrians struck at 43rd, Main in KC Two pedestrians were struck in Kansas City on Friday afternoon in the area of 43rd and Main. One person has critical injuries. The condition of the other person is currently unknown. It appears that the vehicle that struck them stayed at the scene. KCTV5 News is sending a crew to the scene to gather more information. Meth Town Po-Po Help Wanted Independence Police asking for help to identify gun theft suspect The Independence Police Department is asking for help to identify and locate the man seen in the attached photos. Police say they want help identifying the subject regarding the theft of two firearms from a display case at a gun shop in the 10500 block of E. U.S. 40 Highway. Downtown Real Estate Gambit CrossHarbor Capital Partners, Lingerfelt CommonWealth Partners buy KC office tower - Kansas City Business Journal A 28-story Kansas City office tower has new owners, and renovations are on the way. CrossHarbor Capital Partners LLC and Lingerfelt CommonWealth Partners bought 2345 Grand for an undisclosed price. At 630,000 square feet, it's one of the area's largest multitenant office buildings and is 73 percent occupied, including such tenants as law firms Lathrop Gage LLP and Armstrong Teasdale LLC. Show-Me Hollywood Discovery How Sharp Objects Brought Wind Gap to Life Sharp Objects would be nothing without Wind Gap, Missouri. Location is a crucial part of HBO's moody, visually arresting mini-series, so before director and executive producer Jean-Marc Vallee and cinematographers Yves Belanger and Ronald Plante could work their magic in bringing Gillian Flynn's novel to life, location manager Gregory Alpert had to work his to find the ideal setting. Thing Are Better After Brownback Kansas job growth now exceeding national average TOPEKA - After several years of lagging behind the national average, job growth in Kansas outpaced the nation in June, posting a 1.8 percent increase in jobs compared with a year ago, the Kansas Department of Labor reported Friday. Overall, the Kansas economy added 24,800 jobs over the year, including 1,900 jobs just since May, [...] KCMO Knitting Dudes Wanted Now in Crossroads, Rightfully Sewn ready for male sewists (Photos) The secret to any startup venture is to move forward one stitch at a time, said Rightfully Sewn founder Jennifer Lapka. "Start small, struggle, have success, then scale," she said, quoting one of her many mentors. Freshly moved into a 2,200-square-foot atelier, or design studio, at 1800 Wyandotte St. Just a quick look at some important celeb news . . .Closer to home, these news links are worth consideration tonight:And this is thefor tonight . . . Southwest Airlines passengers will no longer be able to get peanut on their flights starting this summer. This was done to protect people with allergies. The low-cost carrier announced that it will stop serving nuts on board its aircraft starting on Aug. 1. The airline is one of the large carriers which has bid goodbye to the favorite packet snack because some of its passengers suffer from peanut allergies, which can make way for life-threatening reactions. In a statement, the airline said that the snack will forever be part of its history and DNA. However, the difficult decision to discontinue its serving was done to ensure a better onboard experience for everyone, especially those who are allergic to it. The airline has offered peanuts since the early 1970s and has consistently been giving it to passengers since about 1980. Food and Drug Administration reported that in the country, over 2,000 hospitalizations and 150 deaths are caused each year by severe allergic reactions to selected food items. Southwest Airlines said that it will still continue to serve complimentary snacks which include pretzels, veggie chips, cookies, and corn chips, on longer routes. The company hopes to please its customers who are sad to see their favorite peanut snack go. The airline envisions to create a safe environment where all of its customers, including those with peanut-related allergies, feel at ease and welcome on every flight. How Other Airlines Cope With Peanut Allergy Airlines including United and American has also stopped serving peanuts on board its flights. However, both airlines still warn its passengers that some snacks and food may still contain nuts or other ingredients which some passengers may be allergic to. The airlines cannot guarantee that each flight will be free of peanuts. On the other hand, Delta Airlines said that it won't serve nuts on board if a passenger will notify about his or her allergy. It also allows its passengers to board early to clean their seats and trays for any dash amounts of the food. Southwest also said that customers should not fail to take note of their peanut allergy whenever they are booking a flight. Disagreeing Body Peanut industry group National Peanut Board has disagreed with Southwest's decision. According to a statement, the board said that it is disappointed to learn about the news, especially because the airline considers it as a part of its history. The group added that it is an unnecessary step which will disappoint many airline customers. It is also not at par with the latest rules such as allowing passengers to pre-board flights to be able to wipe down seats. This benefits the 1 percent of Americans with peanut allergy. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Fire officials report that the deadly wildfire that has been in flames near Yosemite National Park's west end has doubled in size in just a single night. According to officials, they had not determined the cause of the fire that started on Friday night. Evacuation orders were already issued for communities, as the blaze has forced the closure of a key route into the park. About The Fire The wildfire also killed California firefighter Braden Varney. Public Information Officer of California Department of Industrial Relations Frank Polizzi said that the 36-year-old heavy truck equipment operator was seriously injured when his bulldozer rolled over while he was operating to make a fire line. CalFire Chief Nancy Koerperich said that his death will undeniably be devastating not only to his family members but those in the CalFire Unit who call him family as well. Known as Ferguson Fire, the incident put around 7 square miles of dry brush along the steep and remote hillside of the park in flames. The blaze was mostly out of control, and to promote safety precaution in the area including Yosemite Valley, officials have shut off electricity. Furthermore, guests of the Yosemite Cedar Lodge were also ordered to leave on Saturday when the flames went up the slopes and enveloped the air with thick smoke. Spencer Arebalo, a front desk clerk and one of the few employees who chose to stay in the famous hotel inside the park, said that people cannot see anything anymore because of how smoky it is outside. Arebalo added that seeing the property empty especially on the height of tourist season is unreal. People who are staying in nearby lodges and motels were told to be ready to leave should the flames reach their area. A portion of State Route 140 into Yosemite was also closed. Drivers and motorists are encouraged to find alternate routes. The inaccessible terrain and the scorching 203 Fahrenheit temperature has made it hard for the crew to get rid of the flames, said Mike Seymour, U.S. Forest Service Fire Captain. Other Wildfire Cases The Ferguson Fire in the well-known park is just one of the wildfires burning in the state and among the 56 large fires that are active in the country, mostly in the American West, an area that is known to have intense drought and heat. A blaze, which happened close to the California-Oregon border even killed a 72-year-old resident and hurt three firefighters, was almost completely controlled after blazing through over 60 square miles of dry brush. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 What's better than riding a glass train to see the beautiful changing colors of the Canada and New England foliage? Probably nothing. Now, everyone's idea of heaven is coming to life with the Adirondack and Downeaster trains. The vintage car has upped its game by equipping its upper level, sides, and overhead windows with glass. This was done to give its passengers an awesome view of the scenic route, which includes passing through pristine coastlines, marshes, panoramic villages, streams, and other landscapes. Picture-Worthy Views The amazing fall travel experience is coming to life with the modern Amtrak's Great Dome Car itineraries. The train will travel four times a day from Brunswick via Portland to Boston on Aug. 11 to Sept. 23. While riding the train, passengers can enjoy the amazing tree colors brought by fall, and the Lake Champlain vistas as they take the Montreal via Albany to New York route from Sept. 27 to Nov. 2. The train runs north on Adirondack train 69 from Albany every Thursday, Saturday, and Monday. Additionally, it operates south on Adirondack train 68 from Montreal every Friday, Sunday, and Tuesday. Although the seats located in the upper deck of the famous dome car have no extra cost, it is available on a first-come, first-served basis. This is why the company encourages its passengers to rotate in and out of seats on the top deck to let everyone have the chance to enjoy the lush view. Furthermore, because of its amazing views that are perfect for hikers, snow lovers, and leaf peekers, the Adirondack was voted as one of the "Top 10 Most Scenic Train Ride in the World." History Of The Car The Great Dome was built in 1955 by the Budd Company for the Great Northern Railway. It was known by its number 1391, and its name, "Ocean View." According to Amtrak's website, the said vehicle is the only remaining dome car in the Amtrak service. Previously labeled as car number 10031, it was initially used to travel through the Chicago-Seattle Empire Builder route when the train was controlled by the Great Northern Railway and the Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad. Additionally, the train was conveyed to Amtrak in 1971, where it was modified a few times. It was also used for daily services on the company's auto train to and from the Washington, DC and Orlando from 1985 to 1994. After its 1999 refurbishment, it was used for Amtrak services such as Pacific Surfliners and other excursions and charters. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 The International Council on Clean Transportation has released a report which states that supersonic jets will harm the environment and worsen the effects of climate change. Fifteen years after the last flight of the Concorde, a new fleet of around 2,000 supersonic business jets, which are in the works to provide faster travel, is facing issues concerning environmental legislation. The said planes are likely to hit the runway within the next 10 years. About The Study According to the US non-profit research group ICCT, the aircraft will not fulfill the regulations for fuel efficiency and pollution compared to subsonic planes. The report stated that the engines, supposed to enable faster travel time; e.g. from Los Angeles to Tokyo in just three hours, will burn five to seven times as much fuel than a normal subsonic jet engine. The study also found out that the supersonic jets will also be greater than the global limits for aircraft carbon dioxide emissions by a staggering 70 percent and nitrogen emissions by 40 percent. Aircraft manufacturing companies such as Boeing and Boom Technology are already making serious steps forward new supersonic commercial jets that will supply the aviation market demand left by the last Concorde when it flew its last ultra-fast transatlantic flight in 2003. The companies are planning to modify existing plane engines instead of spending billions to make a new one. Effects On The Environment ICCT aviation director and study co-author Daniel Rutherford said that people should be troubled about the detrimental environmental effects that would be brought by reintroducing supersonic planes. He added that the first step that should be undertaken is for the manufacturers to give an effort so that the aircraft could meet the existing standards, or for the policymakers to adjust the standards to accommodate the supersonic jets. The United States already has a new standard for the supersonic aircraft. However, it is facing negative comments from European nations, which insist on strict rules on noise. Furthermore, President Donald Trump has declared the revival of the ultra-fast planes as a manifestation of the "Great American Spirit." On the other hand, NASA has spent $247.5 million on a Lockheed Martin contract to make quieter jets that could break the sound barrier. The ICCT also found out about the Volkswagen diesel emission that has caused a scandal. The organization warns people about the large environmental consequences that the planes will bring and suggested that this is just the tip of the iceberg. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 New York City Council has unanimously voted to put a restriction on online home rental services including Airbnb. The city council has mirrored the same initiative made by many cities to step up its regulation. The bill will require Airbnb to give the names and addresses of its host to the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement and identify whether the rental is just for a single room or a whole apartment. Restrictions On Hosts Due to New York firm laws on homes that are permitted to be listed, a lot of hosts has chosen to go around it. This could affect the host more since the city can find and fine them easier. Should the bill be signed into a law, the "City That Never Sleeps" will be on the same league as Barcelona, Spain, Vancouver, British Colombia, San Francisco, and New Orleans, in setting the same ground rules for companies who earn money from taking charge of short-term rentals. The city of New York is the largest market of the home-sharing startup. The law dictates that renting apartments in most buildings for less than 30 days is illegal unless the tenant is in the apartment at the same time as the guest. Furthermore, the disclosure requirement would make it easier for the authorities to enforce the state law which could lead to over 50,000 Airbnb units to be unavailable on the market. According to reports, the similar rule taken out in San Francisco decreased the listings by half. New York Crisis Before the voting happened, Council speaker Corey Johnson said that the vacancy rate in the city is low. It is in a cheap housing crisis, even a homelessness crisis, and Airbnb would not give the city the needed data. A city hall spokeswoman stated that Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to sign the said bill into a law. The mayor considers affordable housing as one of his priorities. Home-sharing companies will face a fine of up to $1,500 for every listing it does not disclose, which is a substantial decrease from the initially proposed amount of $25,000. Airbnb, as expected, is against the bill. The company argues that it will have a negative impact on New Yorkers who were renting out the spare rooms in their apartment to save money and pay the bills. In the debate, Airbnb has released a list of the hotel industry's contribution to the campaigns of Council members. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 amansharma@tribunemail.com Tribune News Service Gurugram, July 19 Three class-9 students were on Saturday sent to correction home after a bid to sexually assault a school boy at Bhangrola village in Manesar. They have been booked under POCSO Act. According to police, the victim and two accused studied in a government school, while the third accused was a student of a local private school. They were friends and used to play together. As it rained today evening they rushed out to play in water. It was then that the accused allegedly tore off the victim's clothes and pinned him to ground to allegedly sodomise him. As the victim shouted for help, villagers rushed to his rescue and called police. "They forcibly dragged me behind a public health centre and tore off my clothes. I thought they were playing a prank but soon they undressed me and one of them tried to do bad thing to me. As I was screaming, the other two gagged me. Some women, who were nearby heard my wails and called villagers," the victim told police. Following his statement and medical examination, an FIR was registered under the POCSO Act and the trio was produced in juvenile court which sent them to a correction home in Faridabad. editorial@tribune.com Deepender Deswal Tribune News Service Narwana (Jind), July 21 All-India Congress Committee (AICC) communication in charge Randeep Surjewala on Saturday alleged that government jobs in the state were being given for money and question papers were being leaked. He was addressing a rally in Narwala town of Jind district. If the Congress is voted to power in Haryana in the next Assembly elections, it will institute an inquiry into job appointments done by government agencies, said Surjewala, Kaithal MLA. The state government has stated in the Assembly that it has given jobs to 8,500 youths while the fact is that it has sacked around 40,000 teachers, computer professions and health employees, he alleged. Surjewala said that before the 2014 elections, Narendra Modi had promised to provide the minimum support price (MSP) of 50 per cent above the input costs of crops to farmers. The recent hike in the MSP indicated that it was a hollow promise. Even after four years, the promise has not been fulfilled and the increase in the support prices was well below the criteria of 50 per cent beneficial cost of crops such as paddy, guar, cotton. The cost of diesel, agriculture implements and seed and pesticides has increased due to GST, he said. He alleged the government had introduced a Munafa Yojna as seven insurance firms posted profits of Rs 15,000 crore the previous year while farmers got Rs 5,600 crore as compensation. Surjewala said that Haryana had a debt of Rs 60,000 crore when the BJP came to power. Now, the state has a whopping debt of Rs 1.62 lakh crore. The figure indicates that the state government has been taking loan of Rs 72 crore every day. While we are sitting in the rally for five hours, the debt burden has risen by Rs 5 crore, he added. pardeepdhull@gmail.com Hisar, July 21 Unidentified robbers allegedly looted Rs 8.95 lakh cash from an ATM of a public sector bank after injuring its security guard in Sector 16 here, police said on Saturday. The incident took place at around 3 am today, they said. The security guard, identified as Satbir Singh, was beaten up mercilessly with bricks by assailants and sustained serious injuries, they said. A scrutiny of the footage acquired from the ATM CCTV camera showed a masked man in a white shirt entering the ATM kiosk, the police said. The place where the incident took place is about 500 metres away from the police station. A probe into the matter is underway, the police added. PTI editorial@tribune.com Selja launches Shakti Mahila app in Karnal Tribune News Service Karnal, July 21 With an aim to establish direct contact with party president Rahul Gandhi and central leadership, the state women Congress on Saturday launched Shakti Mahila app. Rajya Sabha member Kumari Selja launched the app for the women workers and supporters of the district here. Selja explained the functioning of the mobile app. With this app, the party workers would be able to communicate directly with the party president and central leadership. It is a two-way communication wherein women workers could share their views and ideas on the party functioning and provide feedback from the grassroots level. Even, party president Rahul Gandhi can get feedback of any district or booth by calling any worker, she said. Lambasting the Central and state governments, Selja said, Both the governments have failed to check crime against women and also to ensure their safety. About alleged gang-rape in Panchkula, she said the Congress would raise the issue in Parliament. editorial@tribune.com Lalit Mohan Tribune News Service Dharamsala, July 21 The venue for Bal Mela, organised to mark the birthday of Congress leader GS Bali every year, is yet to be finalised, with the administration denying permission to party workers for holding a medical camp at Senior Secondary School in Nagrota Bagwan. Balis supporters are peeved as the school has been the venue for the camp for the past 20 years. Ajay Verma, member of the organising committee, who is close to Bali said: We hold the camp in the school as it is closed in July. A blood donation camp is also held. The decision has disappointed us all, he said. Bali has been organising the mela on his birthday (July 27) since the first time he won the elections from Nagrota Bagwan in 1998. On the first day, a medical camp is held. Doctors from leading health institutes of the country, including the PGI, Chandigarh, and AIIMS-Delhi, examine patients. On the last day of the mela on July 27, prominent personalities are invited. Verma said: We are looking for an alternative venue for the camp. The other events will be organised at Gandhi Ground. On the denial of venue, Bali said: I hope the government understands that all such events are for the welfare of the people and it wont interfere in it. editorial@tribune.com Our Correspondent Anantnag, July 21 Militants on Saturday carried out attacks on security forces in Anantnag and Kulgam districts of the state, the police said. In the first incident, security forces were targeted in the Mattan area of Anantnag district along the Khannabal-Pahalgam road. The road is heavily guarded these days in view of the ongoing Amarnath yatra. There was, however, no pilgrim movement along the road when the attack took place, sources said. No loss of life or injuries was reported. Altaf Khan, SSP, said the attack took place around 1 pm. They fired at a joint party of the police and the CRPF. The fire was retaliated. No one was injured. A hunt to nab the militants is on, said Khan. In the second incident, militants opened fire at an Army patrol in Havoora village of Kulgam around 3:30 pm.No one was hurt in the firing, a senior police officer said, adding that a hunt had been launched to nab the militants. Gunfight along LoC in Tangdhar A brief gunfight broke out near the LoC in the Tangdhar sector in Kupwara district on Saturday when a group of infiltrating militants fired at an Army patrol in the Balthedyan area. The Army has launched a massive combing operation in the sector, sources said. Meanwhile, two overground workers of the Lashkar-e-Toiba were arrested in Sopore on Saturday, the police said. TNS/PTI rchopra@tribunemail.com Srinagar, July 21 Militants on Saturday attacked a team of security forces in Anantnag district by opening fire, but the attack was repulsed by them, police said. The militants attacked the security forces by opening fire upon them at the Bamzoo area of Mattan in the south Kashmir district, a police official said. He said the attack was repulsed by the forces and there are no reports of injuries yet. The official said a search operation had been launched to nab the attackers. PTI rchopra@tribunemail.com Srinagar, July 21 A Jammu and Kashmir police constable, who was on leave, has been kidnapped by militants from his house in Kulgam district, a police official said on Saturday. Saleem Shah was kidnapped from Mutalhama area of Kulgam on Friday night, he said. Security forces had launched a manhunt to trace him, the official said. PTI editorial@tribune.com Majid Jahangir Tribune News Service Srinagar, July 21 Four Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rebel lawmakers continue to be defiant as they boycotted a crucial meeting of party leaders from north Kashmir which was chaired by Mehbooba Mufti. The dissident legislators from north Kashmir who did not attend the meeting included former minister and Pattan MLA Imran Ansari, MLAs Javeed Baig and Mohammad Abbas Wani and MLC Yasir Reshi. Incidentally, Member Parliament from north Kashmir and one of the founders of the party Muzaffar Baig also skipped the meeting. According to family sources, Baig could not attend the meeting as he was not feeling well. Except the five leaders, the meeting was attended by other party legislators from north Kashmir, a Rajya Sabha member, zonal and district presidents. Mehbboba has already held similar interactions with party leaders of central and south Kashmir separately in the past over a week. I was invited, but did not attend Saturdays meet, PDP legislator Javeed Baig said. According to party insiders, the main agenda of the party meet was to discuss about the partys foundation day that will be observed on July 28. The main focus of the meeting was to discuss preparations for the partys foundation day, said a party leader who attended the meeting. Every party leader was asked to ensure good public participation in the public rally on the foundation day, he said. It is learnt that Mehbooba asked party leaders to stay in touch with party workers to ensure that have good liaison with the party leadership. Mehbooba also sought feedback from members about the party. The meetings chaired by Mehbboba in recent past are part of outreach programme aimed to rejuvenate the party at the grassroots level. After the fall of the government, Mehbooba is facing a rebellion within the party. At least five party MLAs have spoken against her. Mehbooba has warned New Delhi of serious repercussions if it tries to split her party. In a recent TV interview, Mehbooba alleged that the National Investigation Agency was being used to pressure her MLAs. MP also stays away The dissident legislators from north Kashmir who did not attend the meeting included former minister and Pattan MLA Imran Ansari, MLAs Javeed Baig and Mohammad Abbas Wani, and MLC Yasir Reshi Member Parliament from north Kashmir and one of the founders of the party Muzaffar Baig also skipped the meeting. According to family sources, Baig could not attend the meeting as he was unwell. PDP welcomes Farooqs statement in LS Srinagar: The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Saturday welcomed the statement made by Farooq Abdullah in Parliament, stating that the party hopes the NC president sticks to what he has said this time about the resolution of the Kashmir issue. In a statement, former minister and senior PDP leader Naeem Akhtar said the PDP welcomed Farooqs change of heart and hoped it would not be a mere poll gimmick by the NC president. We hope Farooq sticks to it and contributes to the resolution of Kashmir in a positive manner. It is high time the Centre utilises this consensus among the political groups in the Valley vis-a-vis the peaceful resolution of Kashmir, Akhtar said. TNS amansharma@tribunemail.com Srinagar, July 21 Mesmerised by the beauty of Kashmir, a Polish couple hosted their wedding reception at the banks of river Jhelum according to the traditions of the Valley. The bride and the groom - Bata and Wlodek- were dressed in the traditional wedding attire for the function. "We were inspired by the culture and the cuisine of the Valley," they said. The arrangements for the reception were facilitated by a Kashmiri family the couple was friends with. "I was inspired by the culture and the food here, so I decided to have the celebration here. "We wanted to look like Kashmiris. We choose the attire. I love everything about Kashmir," Bata, who has been coming to the Valley as a tourist for the last three years, said. Some family members of the couple were also present at the occasion. Local chefs, known as 'wazas', cooked traditional 'wazwaan' dishes for the reception on the demand of the couple. "We have all the local preparations. I have been eating it for long now. I make it at home also," Bata said. Owais Ahmad, who belongs to the family which facilitated their reception, said the couple were inspired by the wedding of one of his cousins recently and that is when they decided to have a reception in a traditional Kashmiri manner. "They loved the celebration, the food and everything of a Kashmiri wedding. So, they decided to have their own reception here," he said. The couple would be travelling to Ladakh for their honeymoon. - PTI rchopra@tribunemail.com Barabanki, July 21 Four people were killed and a man was injured when their car dashed against a stationary truck near Safedabad crossing here, police said on Saturday. The driver of the car lost control over the vehicle and dashed against the truck, killing four people on the spot on Friday, they said. The deceased, identified as Pavan (38), Shailesh (40), Rajiv (41) and Nagendra (38), were on their way to Lucknow to attend a meeting, police said, adding that the driver was seriously injured and admitted to the Lucknow Trauma Centre. PTI rchopra@tribunemail.com Rameswaram, July 21 Processed sea cucumber weighing about 750 kg and worth around Rs 80 lakh, meant to be smuggled to Sri Lanka was seized on Saturday off Mandapam coast and three persons arrested in this connection, Marine police said. A patrolling team found the sea cucumber stuffed in sacks in a country boat anchored in the sea and arrested the trio, they said. Sea cucumbers are classified as endangered species and their harvest is banned under the Wildlife Protection Act. These are in great demand in South-East Asian countries. PTI rchopra@tribunemail.com Jammu, July 21 A 30-year-old man from Delhi died of suspected heart attack en route to the cave shrine of Vaishno Devi in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir, a police official said on Saturday. Mukesh Sharma, a resident of Delhis Rohini, fell unconscious near battery car point along the new track to the cave shrine on Friday evening and was later declared brought dead by doctors at a dispensary near by, the official said. He said the pilgrim was accompanied by his wife and the couple were on way to the shrine to offer their prayers when he apparently suffered the massive heart attack and fell down. His body was brought to a health centre at Katra and is being handed over to his family for last rites, the official said. PTI FRENCH GULCH, Calif. - Fire crews are battling a 50-acre fire in Shasta County near French Gulch on BLM land. The fire started just before 1:30 p.m., and the smoke can be seen from Redding. CAL FIRE quickly responded with 4 air tankers, 10 engines, 4 bulldozers, and 3 helicopters, but they're having difficulty accessing the fire because of the steep terrain in the area. No homes are threatened, and no evacuation orders are in place. ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM Shubhadeep Choudhury Tribune News Service Kolkata, July 21 Blowing the election bugle, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday called upon people to gear up to defeat the BJP in the next General Election. She tore into the saffron party even as former Rajya Sabha Member of the BJP Chandan Mitra and four Congress MLAs in the state Assembly joined the ruling TMC. The Congress MLAs who joined the TMC are Samar Mukherjee, Abu Taher, Sabina Yasmin and Akhruzzman. Mitra had resigned from the BJP a few days ago. All of them joined the TMC at its annual Martyrs Day rally in Kolkata. The BJP is already on a losing curve, Banerjee said, citing that the partys old ally Shiv Sena had abstained during the no confidence vote on Friday. The BJD and TRS too abstained from voting, she said, addressing the mammoth rally. Banerjee said the BJP could sail through the no confidence vote because of the support it received from AIADMK. She said had Jayalalithaa been alive, AIADMK MPs would not have backed the BJP and the government would have faced defeat. The West Bengal CM, however, claimed that tie-up with the AIADMK would not benefit the BJP in next years Lok Sabha polls which the Stalin-led DMK would win handsomely in Tamil Nadu. She said similarly in Uttar Pradesh, the SP-BSP combine would drastically reduce the number of seats won by the BJP in 2014. Lalu Prasad, Naveen Patnaik and Amarinder Singh will cut into BJPs seats in their respective states, Banerjee said. The BJP might not even get five seats in Rajasthan; in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh also, it would do poorly, Banerjee said. The BJP will get 100 seats or may be 150 at best in next years Lok Sabha elections, she claimed. The WB Chief Minister, who has been playing a key role in cobbling up the Federal Front consisting of various parties to challenge the BJP, reminded the crowd about her plan of holding a massive rally at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata in coming January where members of the proposed coalition would address the crowd. She said she wanted Bengal to play a central role in the electoral fight against the BJP and added that Bengal must show the way. rchopra@tribunemail.com Sanjeev Sharma Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 21 Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday targeted Congress President Rahul Gandhi for his speech in the no-confidence motion against the Modi government saying god help the Congress if this is Gandhis best argument for the 2019 elections. In a Facebook post titled, Frivolity and No Confidence Motion, Jaitley launched a scathing attack on Rahul accusing him of ignorance, falsehood and acrobatics in his Lok Sabha speech and hugging Prime Minister Narendra Modi after that. If a participant happens to be the president of a national political party nourishing prime ministerial aspirations, every word he speaks should be precious. His facts should convey credibility. Facts are always sacrosanct. None should ever trivialise the debate. Those who desire to be prime minister never blend ignorance, falsehood and acrobatics, Jaitley said. Jaitley went on to say that if this is Rahuls best argument for the 2019 elections then god help the Congress. Regrettably, the President of the Congress Party missed a great opportunity. If this was his best argument for 2019, God help his party, he said. Jaitley said Gandhis lack of understanding is not only confined to basic issues but also to the niceties of protocol. One should never misquote a conversation with a Head of Government or a Head of State. You do it once, serious people will be reluctant to speak to you or speak in your presence. Rahul Gandhi, by concocting a conversation with President Macron, has lowered his own credibility and seriously hurt the image of an Indian politician before the world at large, he said. Jaitley was alluding to Gandhis charge during his speech on Friday that French President Macron had said that there was no secrecy clause in the Rafale aircraft deal. Jaitley said the Congress President seemed unaware of public issues. Is he unaware of the fact that the UPA-proposed GST amendment to the Constitution never included petroleum products as part of the GST? It is only the NDA which brought it within the GST with tax to be levied once agreed by the GST Council. He seems unaware of public issues when he equates declaration of accounts as NPA as a loan waiver, Jaitley said. Accusing Gandhi of hallucinating after an embarrassing performance, Jaitley said it is a serious problem. Therefore, to hallucinate after an embarrassing performance that he has won future election or to hallucinate that he is the reincarnation of Mark Antony being complimented by friends and foes alike, may give him self-satisfaction but for serious observers it is more than just self-praisein fact a serious problem, Jaitley said. monicakchauhan@gmail.com Yash Goyal Jaipur, July 21 A man was allegedly lynched by a group of people on suspicion that he was smuggling cows in Alwar district of Rajasthan, a police official said on Saturday. Akbar Khan, 28, and another man were taking two cows to their village in Haryana through a forest area near Lalawandi in Alwar district on Friday night, when a group of people severely thrashed Khan, Ramgarh police station SHO Subhash Sharma said. The people suspected that Khan was smuggling cows but the allegation is yet to be verified, Sharma said. The other man accompanying Khan managed to escape. Khan was rushed to a government hospital in Ramgarh, where doctors declared him brought dead. The body has been kept at a mortuary and the postmortem is expected to be conducted after Khan's family members reach the hospital. Two people have been arrested and are currently being questioned, Additional Director General of Police Hemant Priyadarshi said. The suspects have been identified as Dharmendra Yadav and Paramjeet Singh. The incident of alleged lynching of a person transporting bovines in Alwar district is condemnable. Strictest possible action shall be taken against the perpetrators. Vasundhara Raje (@VasundharaBJP) July 21, 2018 Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, who is preparing to receive BJP President Amit Shah at the Jaipur airport, called the incident unfortunate". The incident of alleged lynching of a person transporting bovines in Alwar district is condemnable. Strictest possible action shall be taken against the perpetrators, Vasundhara said in her tweet. Home Minister GC Kataria, who was attending BJP President Amit Shah's lecture series here at Totuka Bhawan, told reporters that police were currently investigating if the two men were cow smugglers and that those found guilty of the crime would not be spared. The incident happened a little more than a year after Pehlu Khan, a dairy farmer, was lynched by cow vigilantes in the district, He was transporting cattle to his village in Haryana. Pehlu Khan died at a hospital two days after the incident on April 3 last year. He was attacked as the mob suspected him of smuggling cattle. Over the past year, several such attacks have happened in Alwar. Cow vigilante groups have targeted people transporting cattle. Umar Khan, 35, was found dead near railway tracks in the district in November. His family members have alleged that he was killed by cow vigilantes. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court had described the cases of lynching by cow vigilantes as a crime and not merely a law and order problem. It put the onus on the states to check such incidents, saying no one can take law into their hands. In September last year, the apex court had directed all state governments to appoint a senior police officer as a nodal officer in each district to ensure that incidents of cow vigilantism are prevented and dealt with effectively. With PTI pardeepdhull@gmail.com New Delhi, July 20 The Supreme Court on Friday termed as frightening the deaths in accident caused due to potholes on roads across the country and said that number of fatalities in such incidents was more than those in terror attacks. While hearing a matter related to road safety in India, a Bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta also said that persons who have lost their lives as a result of accidents caused due to potholes should be entitled to compensation. The Bench said it was a matter of common knowledge that a large number of people have died in accidents caused due to potholes on roads and authorities, who were supposed to maintain the roads, were not doing their duties properly. Referring to media reports, it said, So many people are dying in the country due to accidents caused by potholes on roads. Reports say that more people have died due to accidents caused by potholes than the deaths in terrorists attacks. It asked the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety, headed by former apex court judge Justice KS Radhakrishnan, to look into this very serious issue and file a report within two weeks. This is obviously a very serious issue and persons who have lost their lives as a result of accidents caused due to potholes should be entitled to compensation, the court observed. The Bench also said the committee should give recommendations on potholes on roads as the issue was a part of road safety. PTI amansharma@tribunemail.com Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 21 A retired IAS officer has moved the Supreme Court against the Centre's decision for lateral entry in the bureaucracy at the Joint Secretary level on a contractual basis, saying it was an "arbitrary" decision which will make it difficult for bureaucrats selected on "merit" through a competitive examination. The Department of Personnel and Training had on June 10 invited applications from "outstanding individuals" for the post of 10 joint secretaries willing to contribute towards nation building. Joint secretary is considered to be the third highest non-political executive rank in Indian bureaucracy. Terming the decision as "shocking" and "arbitrary", petitioner Chandrapal, who retired as Secretary in the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, expressed the apprehension that such selection would be influenced by political considerations and there could be conflict of interest in allowing individuals from private sectors in administration. He said the decision was "arbitrary" as the DoPT notification did not specify any criteria for selection of joint secretaries on contractual basis. Hence it is violative Article 14 of Constitution of India". "...the lateral policy notification makes the choice of a lateral entrant arbitrary. Anyone who is close to the incumbent government will get the position, making it difficult for bureaucrats who came through UPSC," the petitioner submitted. "appointment to such a superior post on contract basis for a period as short as three years and that too of persons, who has no experience in serving the nation as is required by duly appointed Civil Servants to attain this rank is an arbitrary exercise of power, which cannot remain uninfluenced by political interference," the petitioner, who has also served as principal adviser in Planning Commission, contended. He requested the top court to quash the decision on the ground that the DoPT did not have any power to make any appointment without recommendation by the Union Public Service Commission and, particularly on a contract basis. Maintaining that civil servants were the backbone of administration and implement policy decisions taken by the public through their elected representatives, Chandrapal emphasized, "The members of Civil Services are recruited on basis of merit and they are required to serve the nation right from the level of sub-division, while moving up the ladder of promotion up to the rank of the Secretary to the Union or State Government." Article 311 of the Constitution guaranteed protection of civil servants from any political influence, Chandrapal said. Lateral entry would bypass the three stages of UPSC Civil Services Exam -Preliminary, Main Exam, and Interview, he added. vinaymishra188@gmail.com Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 20 ATM operators on Friday said the dimensions of the new lavender coloured Rs 100 note would require recalibration of 2.4 lakh ATMs across the country and cost over Rs 100 crore, stretching the entire process to several months. They said since the recalibration of the machines for the new Rs 200 note was still underway, this could take even more time. In addition, they wondered how the calibration would be done since the old and new Rs 100 notes both would be in circulation. ATM operators said it was important to maintain circulation of low denomination currency through banks. As per RBI, the newly designed Rs 100 note will be in circulation through banking channels first. Their printing and supply will gradually increase. It is important to have sufficient supply of Rs 100 and Rs 200 notes to ensure there is enough lower denomination currency in circulation for ease of transactions, said Loney Antony, Managing Director, Hitachi Payment Services. ATM operators have warned there could be an imbalance in the supply of new currency. Since it will be difficult to recalibrate all ATMs till the government withdraws all older notes, the supply would be impacted, especially in the hinterland said Radha Rama Dorai, MD, ATM & Allied Services, FIS. It would be prudent to let banks and service providers decide when to recalibrate the ATMs for the new currency note, depending on the supply-withdrawal situation in each state over the next few quarters, he said. vinaymishra188@gmail.com New Delhi, July 20 The Supreme Court today termed as frightening the deaths in accident caused due to potholes on roads across the country and said that number of fatalities in such incidents was more than those in terror attacks. While hearing a matter related to road safety in India, a bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta also said that persons who have lost their lives as a result of accidents caused due to potholes should be entitled to compensation. The Bench said it was a matter of common knowledge that a large number of people have died in accidents caused due to potholes on roads and authorities, who were supposed to maintain the roads, were not doing their duties properly. Referring to media reports, it said, So many people are dying in the country due to accidents caused by potholes on roads. Reports say that more people have died due to accidents caused by potholes than the deaths in terrorists attacks. It asked the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety, headed by former apex court judge Justice KS Radhakrishnan, to look into this very serious issue and file a report within two weeks. This is obviously a very serious issue and persons who have lost their lives as a result of accidents caused due to potholes should be entitled to compensation, the court observed. The Bench also said the committee should give recommendations on potholes on roads as the issue was a part of road safety. PTI editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 21 The Special Task Force (STF) arrested a Uganda national, Rabia, from New Delhi on Friday on the charge of drug peddling. Following her disclosure, the STF seized 1-kg heroin hidden at a place along the Tarn Taran-Patti road. Rabias name was revealed by another drug trafficker, Kuldip Singh, who was nabbed by the STF with 260-gm heroin last month. Kuldip had told the police that he used to get the consignment from her. Rashpal Singh Ghuman, AIG, said here on Saturday that Rabia had been arrested earlier by the Fazilka police on similar charges. She remained in jail for at least eight months before being released on bail. Rabia was arrested near Chhatarpur Metro railway station. She was produced in a court and brought on three-day police remand. Sukhwinder Singh Randhawa, incharge, STF, Tarn Taran, said the contraband appeared to have been smuggled from across the border. The STF is also trying to find out if the woman was staying in India illegally. Visitor caught with drugs in prison Amritsar: A visitor to the Amritsar Central Jail on Saturday was caught while allegedly trying to pass on drugs to an inmate. The accused, Bhagian village in Qadian, Gurdaspur district, was arrested for possessing 30 intoxicating tablets. He had come to meet a convict. The police have registered a case against the accused. According to information, he had come to meet Surjan Singh of the same village, a convict in an attempt to murder case in Qadian. Sukhdev Singh, Assistant Superintendent of the jail, said the police found him possessing 30 intoxicating tablets. A case under Sections 21, 22, 61, 85 of the NDPS Act and Section 42 of the Prisoners Act has been registered against him. Meanwhile, security has been jacked up across all jails in the state, following the government campaign against the drug menace. Sources said steps were afoot to further increase security of prisons to foil any bid to smuggle drugs. TNS amansharma@tribunemail.com Ludhiana, July 21 Senior Congress leader and former Union minister Manish Tewari on Saturday claimed that thousands of Indian youths, a substantial number of them from Punjab, were detained at the detention camps along the US-Mexico border. He said he had personally visited the border area during his recent US visit and was alarmed by the situation there. Addressing a party workers' meeting organised by Punjab Congress secretary Satwinder Jawaddi here, Tewari said that he was told during his visit that 60,000 Indians, who had tried to sneak illegally into the US through Mexico, had been detained by the US authorities. "Of these, over 90 per cent are Punjabis," he added. Expressing concern over the plight of these stranded youth, Tewari said their release has to be dealt at the level of the Ministry External Affairs and he had already raised the matter. He added that Punjab also needed to create job avenues for the youth. Speaking about the Congress' prospects for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the former Ludhiana MP said that the "countdown" of the NDA government had started. "Their despair and frustration were revealed during the Prime Minister's speech in the Parliament during the no-confidence motion," he said. - PTI sanjiv@tribunemail.com Tribune News Service Dehradun, July 21 The police have begun a probe into the complaint filed by Rajni Rawat, wife of Chief Minister TS Rawat, against former BJP leader Subhash Sharma for allegedly raising questions on her qualifications and denting her reputation. The former BJP leader, in his social media posts, had demanded investigations into the qualifications of Sunita Rawat, a teacher at a government primary school. In her complaint, Rawat stated that Sharma had launched a false propaganda against her, which was damaging her reputation. Dehradun SSP Nividita Kukreti said a case had been registered against Sharma under Sections 469 and 504 of the IPC and also under relevant sections of the IT Act. A headmistress of a junior school had a verbal altercation with the Chief Minister on the issue of transfer, sources said. An RTI query at that time had revealed that Rajni Rawat had evaded transfers. Later, questions were also raised on her qualifications. SHASTA COUNTY, Calif - A fire weather warning and watch is in effect for parts of Northern California. But crews with the Shasta-Trinity National Forest aren't taking this lightly and are taking every step to protect our area. "From last weekends lightning we are continuing to fly daily reconnaissance flights and we will continue to do that through the weekend especially with the lightning coming," said Ben Newburn a Firest Fire Management Officer with the National Forest. Lightning is expected to roll in Friday night and with each lightning strike that hits the ground , there's a chance for a fire. Crews tell Action News Now they've called in crews from all over the state to aid in the fire prevention. At this time, crews are monitoring possible strikes through various methods including aerial detection, ground searches, and other technologies. "There are a number of ways to detect lighting strikes mostly through satellite detection. Those technologies in combination with our various reconnaissance missions you know mountain top look outs, aviation and such things," said Newburn. Their biggest concern being, even if lightning strikes this weekend, a fire may not pop up right away. "If a strike were to happen a few days ago a fire could take a day or two to pop up," said Newburn. Crews add while they're working on preventing one fire, they ask residents to please remain vigilant and not start another. "There is always that chance of a human caused fire so make sure they're having thier camp fires in a safe and prudent way," said Newburn. A burn restriction is in affect for the forest during the weekend of July 20th. The restrictions include: 1. No fires outside designated sites. Designated sites include developed recreation sites and designated fire safe sites. Please refer to the list of designated sites available for free at forest offices or online at: https://go.usa.gov/xUNgQ. 2. No smoking, except in an enclosed vehicle, building, or at a developed recreation site or designated fire safe site. 3. No operation of internal combustion engines, except below the high waterline on Shasta Lake, Trinity Lake and Iron Canyon Reservoir or on designated National Forest System roads or trails. Please refer to the 2014 Shasta-Trinity National Forest Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) available for free at offices or online at https://go.usa.gov/xU5Ya. 4. No welding or operating an acetylene or other torch with an open flame. sanjiv@tribunemail.com Tribune News Service Dehradun, July 21 Uttarakhand could witness investments from countries like Singapore and Panama as representatives of the two countries, who were in the state, have expressed their interest for the same. Indian Ambassador to Panama Ravi Thapar and Indian High Commissioner to Singapore Jawed Ashraf conducted a meeting with Chief Minister Trivendra Rawat and also Chief Secretary Utpal Kumar Singh and explored possibility of investments in the state in various sectors such as higher education, agriculture, animal husbandry, food processing and skill development. Ravi Thapar said Panama investors would be interested in education, dairy and tourism. On the other hand, Jawed Ashraf said Singapore could play a significant role towards skill development. pardeepdhull@gmail.com Gaza, July 21 Hamas said on Saturday it had agreed a truce with Israel in the Gaza Strip, a day after clashes killed an Israeli soldier and four Palestinians along the border. Israels army declined to comment on the reported ceasefire, but a spokeswoman said there was no known military activity in the area. There were no other reports of unrest by Saturday morning. On Friday, Palestinian gunmen killed an Israeli soldier and the Israeli military launched dozens of strikes that killed four Palestinians, including three Hamas fighters. At least 120 Gazans were wounded. With Egyptian and United Nations efforts it has been agreed to return to the era of calm between (Israel) and Palestinian factions, said Fawzi Barhoum, spokesman for the Hamas Islamist group that controls Gaza. Israels government and army rarely comment on ceasefires in the enclave, but a military spokeswoman said civilian life should return to normal in areas next to Gaza. No (special) instructions were given to the public, she added. The soldier was the first member of Israels army to be killed on the Gaza front since a 2014 war between Israel and Hamas, a military spokesman said. During the flare-up which lasted several hours, the Israeli military said its jets and tanks hit 68 Hamas targets, and destroyed buildings and infrastructures and revoked significant military and command and control capabilities. Egyptian security officials and a diplomat from another unnamed state held contacts with Hamas and Israel in an effort to restore calm and prevent further deterioration, a Palestinian official told Reuters. If confirmed, it would be the third ceasefire between Israel Islamist Hamas to be brokered by Egypt this year and the second truce to be agreed this week after a day-long flare up last Saturday. Weekly clashes at the Israel-Gaza border have kept tensions high for months. At least 140 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces during protests at the frontier held every week since March. Protest organizers say the demonstrations aim to press demands such as for a right to lands lost to Israel in the 1948 war of its foundation and for an Israeli-Egyptian blockade to ease. Israel says Hamas has been orchestrating the demonstrations, dubbed The Great March of Return, to provide cover for militants cross-border attacks. Hamas denies this. The surge in violence comes as Palestinian hopes for an independent state have dwindled and peace talks remain stalled. Gaza, home to 2 million people, most of whom depend on foreign aid, has been under Israeli economic sanctions for 12 years. Reuters laxmi@tribune.com Gaza/Jerusalem, July 21 A truce between Israel and Hamas, the Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip, largely held on Saturday a day after one of the most fierce flare-ups along the volatile border in years. Hamas said it had agreed to the truce with Israel, a day after clashes killed an Israeli soldier and four Palestinians, three of them Hamas fighters. A senior Israeli official confirmed a truce was in place. The Israeli military declined to comment on the ceasefire but a military spokeswoman said civilians could resume normal activities. In what appeared to be an isolated incident, with no reports of casualties, an Israeli tank fired on a Hamas post in Gaza after Palestinian suspects breached the border fence and entered Israeli territory before retreating back into Gaza, the military said. There were no other reports of unrest in the area on Saturday. On Friday, Palestinian gunmen killed an Israeli soldier and the Israeli military launched dozens of strikes that killed three Hamas fighters. A fourth Palestinian was killed by Israeli gunfire during a protest near the border. With Egyptian and United Nations efforts it has been agreed to return to the era of calm between (Israel) and Palestinian factions, said Fawzi Barhoum, spokesman for the Hamas Islamist group that controls Gaza. The soldier was the first member of Israels army to be killed on the Gaza front since a seven-week 2014 war between Israel and Hamas, a military spokesman said. During the flare-up which lasted several hours, the Israeli military said its jets and tanks hit 68 Hamas targets, and destroyed buildings and infrastructures and revoked significant military and command and control capabilities. Hamas took a huge blow yesterday and through the Egyptians asked for a ceasefire, said an Israeli official. The Israeli strikes shook buildings in Gaza and fire lit the night sky. Pillars of thick smoke rose from the sites that were bombed. The sounds of sirens from ambulances racing through the streets were heard by residents bracing for an escalation. Israel says Hamas has been orchestrating the demonstrations, dubbed The Great March of Return, to provide cover for militants cross-border attacks. Hamas denies this. Reuters Preventing an upsurge in violence pardeepdhull@gmail.com Washington, July 21 US President Donald Trumps onetime personal attorney Michael Cohen recorded a conversation with Trump two months before the 2016 election in which they discussed buying the rights to a story by a former Playboy model who said she had an affair with Trump, one of the presidents lawyers said on Friday. Lawyer Rudy Giuliani said that no campaign funding was involved in the discussion between Trump and Cohen, who has distanced himself from Trump in recent months as the FBI investigates Cohens business dealings. If campaign funds were used, that could run afoul of federal election law, legal experts said. Before the election, the Trump campaign denied any knowledge of payment to McDougal, but the taped conversation could undermine those denials. The existence of the audio recording was first reported by the New York Times, which said Trump and Cohen discussed a potential payment to the former model, Karen McDougal. Giuliani confirmed the conversation to Reuters and that it took place in September 2016 but said it involved reimbursing the parent company of the National Enquirer tabloid for McDougals story rights. The payment was never made, he said. Giuliani denied Trump had an affair with McDougal. He said the tape would show that Trump makes clear that if there is going to be a payment, it should be done by check, which would be easily traced. Lanny Davis, an attorney for Cohen, said in a Twitter post that, when the recording was heard, it would not hurt Cohen. Any attempt at spin can not change what is on the tape. Reuters has not heard the audiotape. A representative for McDougal did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters. The White House also declined comment. McDougal sold her story for $150,000 in August 2016 but it was never published by the National Enquirer, a practice known as catch and kill to prevent a potentially damaging story from becoming public. David Pecker, the chairman of parent company American Media Inc (AMI) is Trumps friend. McDougal has said she began a nearly year-long affair with Trump in 2006 shortly after his wife, Melania, gave birth. Giuliani said the discussion of payment did not mean McDougals claim of an affair was true and characterized it as an attempt to resolve false allegations that were personally damaging to Trump. The way it was going to be structured is very important, Giuliani told Reuters on Friday. It was basically going to be a reimbursement to AMI not from campaign funds. There was no discussion of the campaign or campaign assets. Under U.S. election law, presidential candidates must disclose campaign contributions, which are defined as things of value given to a campaign in order to influence an election. A payment intended to silence allegations of an affair just before an election could constitute a campaign contribution, said Joshua Douglas, a professor at the University of Kansas. Giuliani said the proposed payment was a personal matter and not subject to campaign finance law. The New Yorker magazine reported in February that Trump had an affair with McDougal at the same time he had a relationship with porn star Stormy Daniels and that the National Enquirer prevented McDougals story being made public. The White House has said that Trump denies having sex with Daniels. Federal prosecutors in New York are investigating Cohen for possible bank and tax fraud, and for possible campaign law violations linked to a $130,000 payment to Daniels and other matters related to Trumps campaign, a person familiar with the investigation has told Reuters. Cohen has not been charged with any crime. Giuliani said the FBI seized the recording this year during a raid on Cohens office. The FBI investigation stemmed in part from a referral by the US special counsels office, which is looking into possible coordination during the election campaign between Trumps aides and Russian officials. Moscow denies US allegations that it interfered in the election and Trump denies any campaign ties to Russian officials. Reuters laxmi@tribune.com Islamabad, July 21 Jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharifs daughter Maryam has refused to shift to the Sihala Rest House, saying she would prefer staying at the high-security Adiala Jail with her father and husband, according to a media report. Sharif, 68, and his daughter Maryam, 44, were arrested in Lahore on July 13 on their arrival from London after an accountability court found them guilty over his familys ownership of four luxury flats in London. They were later taken to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. Both Sharif and Maryam have been sentenced to 10 and seven years in prison, respectively, for corruption charges linked to the Panama Papers scandal. Maryams husband Captain (retd) Safdar was sentenced to one year. PTI uttara@tribuneindia.com YANGON, July 21 Myanmar violated its obligations to the United Nations child rights convention in its crackdown on the Rohingya that led to an exodus of hundreds of thousands of people from the minority community, legal experts have found. Children make up around half of the more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims who have fled Buddhist-majority Myanmar to neighbouring Bangladesh since the start of a military crackdown last August. The UN has called the Myanmar military operations a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing". Myanmar denies the allegation and has said it waged a legitimate counter-insurgency operation after Muslim militants attacked security posts. Legal experts commissioned by Save the Children Norway analysed research by UN bodies and international human rights groups who have alleged that mass killings, arson, and torture were conducted by Myanmar security forces on the Rohingya. "The research finds that the response by the Myanmar Government to the August 2017 attacks on police posts, together with the ongoing discrimination against Rohingya, constitute violations of at least seven key articles of the (UN convention on the rights of the child)," their report said. The analysis found both the government and the security forces at fault. The Myanmar government "took positive steps" to assist the military operations and there was no evidence to suggest it did anything to curtail or condemn the security forces' actions, the report said. Myanmar acceded to the United Nations convention on the rights of the child in 1991 and is bound to it by law. Representatives of the Myanmar government and military did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The violations highlighted in the report include failure to protect children from violence, abuse, neglect, sexual and other exploitation, inhumane treatment and detention. It refers to "indiscriminate and extrajudicial killing of Rohingya children, and the torture, ill-treatment and gender-based violence" committed against them. The government's failure to conduct an independent investigation into the events following the August 2017 attacks, and ongoing discrimination against Rohingya children by denying them citizenship also are in violation of Myanmar's obligations to the child rights convention, the report said. The report was shared exclusively with Reuters ahead of its release next week. "The list of violations we have found is not exhaustive," said Guy Goodwin-Gill, emeritus professor of international refugee law at Oxford University, who co-authored the report. "It represents only the most serious violations and there most likely are several others." Reuters laxmi@tribune.com LONDON: Most hosts would be quite happy to have Paul McCartney come to a shindig. But that wasnt the case with Denis Thatcher in 1988 when planning a gala reception at 10 Downing Street. Newly released papers show that the husband of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher put a question mark next to the former Beatles name on a proposed guest list he was reviewing. The papers, released on Saturday, show Denis Thatcher putting check marks next to the guests he approved and question marks next to those he was less comfortable with. AP After 15 yrs, thieves behind French heist surface in Serbia UZICE: They believed they were safe but a few blood drops betrayed them: 15 years after a daring robbery at a French jewellery store, the four alleged perpetrators have been found, in Serbia. Between 1999 and 2015, these criminals are thought to have carried out at least 380 armed robberies, targeting high-end jewellery stores and snatching 334 million euros worth of loot, Interpol says. But the thieves themselves were never caught. Nor were they identified until 2013. All four come from Uzice, a once prosperous industrial town some 150 km southwest of Belgrade which has since fallen on hard times. AFP laxmi@tribune.com Washington, July 21 US President Donald Trump on Saturday denied any wrongdoing a day after reports that his onetime attorney had recorded them both discussing buying the rights to a story by a woman who said she had an affair with Trump. The President said it was perhaps illegal for a lawyer to record a client. Inconceivable that the government would break into a lawyers office (early in the morning), almost unheard of, Trump tweeted, in an apparent reference to an FBI raid on the office of his former lawyer Michael Cohen in April. Even more inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client, totally unheard of and perhaps illegal. The good news is that your favourite President did nothing wrong! Trump added. Trumps onetime personal attorney Michael Cohen recorded a conversation with Trump two months before the 2016 election in which they discussed buying the rights to a story by a former Playboy model who said she had an affair with Trump, one of the Presidents lawyers said on Friday. Lawyer Rudy Giuliani said no campaign funding was involved in the discussion between Trump and Cohen, who has distanced himself from Trump in recent months as the FBI investigates Cohens business dealings. If campaign funds were used, that could run afoul of federal election law, legal experts say. Before the election, the Trump campaign denied any knowledge of payment to the former model, Karen McDougal, but the taped conversation could undermine those denials. The existence of the audio recording was first reported by the New York Times, which said Trump and Cohen discussed a potential payment to McDougal. A representative for McDougal has not responded to requests for comment. The White House had also declined comment. Reuters Karen McDougals affair with US President Re: best way to get from Adelaide to Cairns 1. Re: best way to get from Adelaide to Cairns You can choose between Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin or Tiger. Look on for comparisons ... best to book direct with the airline. That's it ... there are just the four to choose from. Help please with timing of visit to Australia 2019 Help please with timing of visit to Australia 2019 Hi My wife and I will be visiting next year to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary and her 50th! We have a draft 3 week itinerary but cannot decide on the better time weather wise. Due to one thing or another we will either come 30/31 March to 20/21st April OR 17/18th August to 7/8th Sept. Our itinerary includes Sydney, Uluru, Brisbane, Fraser Island, Hamilton Island, Mossman, Port Douglas. Many thanks for any advice. JB Note: Can you imagine ANYthing like this in America, where politicians and corporate executives have immunity from just about EVERY crime? Here in the good ole USA, HHS has not followed up on 30 years of vaccine safety mandates (thanks, RM.) T-H-I-R-T-Y Y-E-A-R-S. RFK, Jr. Proves HHS is in Violation of the Mandate for Safer Childhood Vaccines as Stipulated in the Vaccine Injury Compensation Act When Congress granted economic immunity to pharmaceutical companies in 1986 for vaccine injury, Congress recognized it eviscerated the economic incentive for pharmaceutical companies to create safe vaccines or make existing ones safer. Congress therefore placed the responsibility and burden for vaccine safety directly and virtually entirely on the shoulders and in the hands of the Secretary of HHS. This requirement is codified at 42 USC 300aa-27 (note that the 1986 Act is very short and codified in 42 USC 300aa-1 through 300aa-34) which is the section underpinning the entire mandate for safe and safer vaccines in this country this section is literally entitled Mandate for safer childhood vaccines. This section first lists the HHS Secretarys obligation to assure vaccine safety and then requires the HHS Secretary to submit a report to Congress every two years detailing what improvements in vaccine safety were made in the preceding two years. But, amazingly, as seen from the so ordered stipulation, it does not appear that HHS has ever, not even once, submitted a bi-annual reported to Congress as required by 42 USC 300aa-27 listing what improvements it has made to vaccine safety. This speaks volumes to the lack of seriousness by which vaccine safety is treated at HHS and heightens the concern that HHS doesnt have a clue as to the actual safety profile of the now 29 doses, and growing, of vaccines given by one year of age. Ronald Reagan. George Bush. Bill Clinton. George W. Bush. Barack Obama. And now Donald Trump. Dereliction of duty to our nation. Treason on behalf of the pharmaceutical/CDC cabal. They should all stand in front of this nation, of every child, every grave, and every family of every child who has died, been injured, compensated, DENIED compensation for a vaccine injury and beg for forgiveness. On their way to prison. Or hell, if deceased. Invite Julie Gerberding as well - she, the former CDC chief who became Wealthy Goddess of All things Vaccine at MERCK the moment the gate opened after she left CDC. ### MANILA, Philippines Former president Benigno Aquino III may not leave the country amid a string of criminal charges he is facing over the controversial Dengvaxia vaccine, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said yesterday. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra revealed that the lookout bulletin order (LBO) issued against Aquino, former health secretary Janette Garin and former budget secretary Florencio Abad Jr. stays as the DOJ has yet to resolve the charges of multiple homicide and physical injuries through negligence under the Revised Penal Code, malversation of public funds and violations of Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) and RA 9184 (Government Procurement Reform Act) filed against them by Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption and Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution Inc. last February. The DOJ is keeping the LBO, which was issued by former justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II in December last year when a key witness surfaced to spill the beans on the P3.5-billion dengue immunization program, also after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) filed charges of technical malversation of public funds against Aquino, Garin and Abad before the Office of the Ombudsman earlier this week. Yes to all. If you have to check-in for your 2nd flight, the only way is via the check-in desks in the departure level. If you had both flights on the one ticket (usually more expensive), you could go via the transit point located as you enter the immigration hall. You'll usually have been given the boarding pass for the 2nd flight when you first checked in. As to having no visa, it's down to the airline but most would stop you boarding (almost certain if it's a LCC airline) if you don't have a visa to enter the country - they are liable to return you back to whence you came from if you are denied entry. If you are flying with a LCC, they are point to point carriers and as such, if you miss your connection, tough. Your problem to sort. Edited: 3 years ago I will be in Japan for 30 days, March 21-April 20. I would like to minimize the number of hotels to stay in and rather take day trips using the JR Pass where possible. The high level initial itinerary is: Tokyo- Kyoto-Hiroshima- Kanazawa- Takayama-Matsumoto-Nagano-Tokyo. I am considering Tokyo, Kyoto, Kurashiki OR Hiroshima, Kanazawa and Matsumoto as potential "bases" for stays. I have reservations for 6 nights in Tokyo and 8 nights in Kyoto (a total of 14 nights). This leaves 14 more nights for the rest of the trip. Please help with the following: - would Hiroshima OR Kurasiki be a better base with easier access to transportation, assuming day trips to Miyajima, Himeji and maybe a few other locations accessible w. the JR Pass? How many nights would you use for this leg of the trip? - how many nights would you allocate to Kanazawa? The only day trip at this time that is on the list is to Toyama. Any other place worth going to? - knowing that we would be in the Japan Alps area during mid-April (maybe still cold ???) and that we are not hikers, how many nights would allocate to Matsumoto? We are considering day trips to Takayama, Nagano, maybe Snow Monkey park from Nagano, etc. - would you add another base someplace else (not on the initial itinerary)? Thanks in advance. after being helped from wonderful members here in choosing hotel area i have several practical questions. never been before in japan. first about public trans. we are going to be in Tokyo for around 10 days. i am over 65 with my 16 years old daughter maybe will do a day trip to Kamakura, but most pf the time only in Tokyo.. if around Tokyo are kind of a same things maybe we will skip it. is there any weekly /daily metro tickets? and how do you use tickets at the metro, do you have to stamp every time you get in? is there discount for age of 16 or over 65? what is the best reasonable priced to go from the airport to Kudanshita or Jimbocho stations? coming to tokyo to heneda airport and leaving from NARITA. how much can i use a credit card in places? is there free wifi in many public areas/places? someone told me that some outside japan phones not working there , is it so? is it recommended to bring umbrella? coming in the beginning of august Edited: 3 years ago - Lugari MP Ayub Savula led other Luhya legislators in criticising NASA coalition - The politicians were speaking during an event graced by DP William Ruto - They said they will work with the DP as NASA does not portend any future for the region - This comes days after NASA co-principal Moses Wetangula declared the outfit was dead Deputy President William Samoei Ruto's tour of western Kenya has left the Opposition NASA politically crippled with more politicians declaring the outfit dead. It got more complicated for the Opposition after embattled Busia Governor Sospeter Ojaamong declared he was ready to work with the DP insisting time for politics was over. Ojaamong was speaking on Friday, July 20, at Kolanya Boys High School in Teso North during a funds drive in aid of the construction of a dormitory and classrooms where Ruto pledged many goodies for the county. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens. READ ALSO: Moses Wetang'ula shakes hands with fiercest Luhya political rival Eugene Wamalwa DP Ruto laying a foundation stone for construction of Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC), Navakholo, Kakamega County. Photo: William Samoei Ruto/Twitter. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Kiminini MP dismisses Wetangulas threat to exit NASA Lugari MP Ayub Savula and his Lurambi counterpart Titus Khamala became the latest the latest to warm up to Jubilee as 2022 politics gains momentum everyday. I am not going to lie to our people that they join NASA. That sea has dirty water such that our ship cannot sail through, said Savula, who was elected on ANC party, an affiliate of NASA. Savula's remarks were echoed by his ANC counterpart Khamala who was categorical the time for opposition politics was long gone, calling on the Luhya community to unite for the common good. I have moved on. I am going to support the government and its development agenda, he added amidst a thunderous applause. The legislators accompanied Ruto to Navakholo constituency where the DP laid a foundation stone for construction of Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC), Kakamega campus. Ruto however steered clear of politics, opting to enumerate some of the projects the government intended to initiate in the greater western Kenya region. I call upon the youths to make use of these facilities to boost their capacity. We are also modernising technical colleges across the country to instill the young people with skills that will help the government in attaining the Big Four agenda, he noted. Other MPs present during the event include Benjamin Washiali (Mumias East), Malulu Injendi (Malava), Emmanuel Wangwe (Navakholo) and Bernard Shinali of Ikolomani. 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. Anne Ngirita at The Center of The NYS Scam Probe - On Tuko TV Source: Tuko.co.ke - Ray Washburne will be visiting the country to seek support of the construction of the Nairobi- Mombasa express way - He will also be meeting with Kenyan officials in an effort to enable the US better compete with Chinese investments - His visit comes barely a week after former President Barrack Obama visited the country to launch his sister's Sauti Kuu Foundation - He also comes days after Uhuru announced Kenya will double its contribution to Africa50 to boost its funding capacity The head of a US government agency, Ray Washburne, is expected to visit Kenya just days after former President Barrack Obama with a plan seeking to enable the US to better compete with China's investments in Africa. Washburne, president of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), which helps US private companies to do business in developing countries is expected to land on Saturday, July 21. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens A report by Daily Nation indicates Washburne will be meeting with Kenyan officials to outline his agency's three-year, $1 billion (KSh 99.96 billion) Connect Africa initiative. READ ALSO: Barack Obama arrives in Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta greets US President Donald Trump during the G7 Summit in Italy on May 26, 2017. Photo: Uhuru Kenyatta. Source: Twitter READ ALSO: Barrack Obama narrates his first visit to Kenya The report further indicated Opic will be seeking to support the 470-kilometre, Nairobi-Mombasa expressway whose building is scheduled to begin before the end of July 2018, under contract with the US-based engineering company Bechtel. The Chinese are in with ports and railroads and highways things that we need to be in as a competitor," Washburne sduring a stop in South Africa. The investor also echoed Trump's warnings that China's Belt and Road investment initiative in Africa is saddening the continent with crushing debts. READ ALSO: Here is what Barack Obama will do during his visit to Kenya Washburne's trip also comes after President Uhuru Kenyatta announced on Thursday, July 19, Kenya will double its contribution to Africa50 to KSh 10.07 billion by the end of 2018. This was after the pan-African infrastructural investor sought to increase its support for the governments development agenda. This will see an increase in Kenyas share capital from the current KSh 5 billion, becoming a significant shareholder of the financial institution. US President Donald Trump greets First Lady Margret Kenyatta during the G7 Summit in Italy on May 26, 2017. Photo: Uhuru Kenyatta. Source: Twitter READ ALSO: Barrack Obama visit to Kenya: 10 things you didn't know Uhuru claimed the move will increase Africa50s total capital to about KSh 88.7 billion boosting the investors funding capacity in infrastructural projects across Africa. I am delighted to note that the Africa50 is leading a fresh approach to infrastructural investment, one that merits the support of every government on our continent," Uhuru said. "Today I am pleased to announce that Kenya will double its current shareholding in Afriac50, raising its investment now to USD 100 million, he added. He added that the government will work more closely with Africa50 in the countrys infrastructural projects. 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. Top-5: How to be an African president - detailed guide by Tuko - On Tuko TV Source: Kenya Breaking News Today - The tycoon said he legally acquired multi-billion land from Mzee Jomo Kenyatta's brother and the late billionaire Njenga Karume among other - Mburu was categorical he was considerate to the State by selling more than half of the land at half market value - He accused Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko of attempting to grab his land and soliciting KSh 82 million bribe - According to him Kenya needed a dictatorship president to overcome graft and abuse of office by other leaders Francis Mburu the man at the centre of the controversial multi-billion Ruaraka land says he legally purchased the parcel from among others Peter Kenyatta, the elder brother of Kenya's first President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. Mburu who had been accused of illegally obtaining KSh 1.5 billion from government which was paid to him as part of KSh 3.2 billion payment for the sale of 13 out of his 96 acres parcel instead accused Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko of grabbing 800 plots from his property. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens. READ ALSO: 10 Cabinet Secretaries among 30 people implicated in KSh 1.5 billion Ruaraka land scam Francis Mburu said Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko misused his powers to grab his land. He said he legally obtained property and would not surrender it to government. Emmanuel Saito/Facebook. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Nairobi tycoon in Ruaraka land saga claims Sonko owes him KSh 30 billion for allegedly grabbing his land Speaking to NTV, in an interview monitored by TUKO.co.ke, on Saturday, July 20, a visibly agitated Mburu said many Kenyan leaders were abusing their offices to swindle from hardworking Kenyans. He observed the current Constitution had watered down powers of the president making other leaders unnecessarily equate themselves to the Head of State. "It is time fro Kenya to vote and bring back powers of the president which we have lost. We will lose our country by taking powers of president. A developing country like Kenya needs needs dictatorship for development. It is sad currently everybody is powerful and has no respect for the law hence this impunity," he said. Governor Mike Sonko had alleged Francis Mburu conspired with some government officials to defraud the State of the parcel of land. Photo: Mike Sonko/Twitter. Source: Twitter READ ALSO: Detectives raid home of man who sold government its own land in Ruaraka at KSh 3.2 billion He said, lack of a central point of authority would make every greedy leader think they can rule and trample over people as they wished. Mburu who claims to be a humble and self-made billionaire alleged Sonko was not straightforward and was lying to the residents by claiming he had surrendered 13 acres to the government. "I have owned this land which is a freehold property from 1981 after purchasing it from Peter Kenyatta, Arthur Magugu, Duncan Ndegwa late Njenga Karume when I was 30 years old. I have sold 54 acres to government at half market price of KSh 200 billion per acre instead of KSh 400 million," Mburu added. Francis Mburu vowed to take the government and Nairobi City Council through a grueling legal battle to repossess his rightfully acquired property. Photo: The Star. Source: UGC He lamented the government had shut him out of his land for close to 40 years. "Somebody demanded KSh 82 million saying if I dont pay I will be famous like Waiguru. There is no scam as the scandal is with the governor. He lied to the people and now he is now excusing city council and I have sued them for KSh 30 billion," Mburu explained. The tycoon who acknowledged he owns numerous companies in Kenya and abroad denied the KSh 1.5 billion he received from government was distributed to different suspicious accounts, saying the mentioned accounts belonged to his enterprises. READ ALSO: War on corruption is not targeting communities but individuals - Raila Odinga "Parliament and the Finance Ministry approved the payment after assessing all the documents. They are not fools. Besides I signed indemnity forms to assure I would repay the money if there was any shortcoming from my side," he added. The businessman decried how the matter had been presented to the public and accused most media owners of underpaying journalists thus contributing to compromised reporting. 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. How street Women In Kenya Deal With Periods | Tuko TV Source: Tuko - Former Kasipul MP Oyugi Magwanga filed petition against Cyprian Awiti dismissing his victory - He argued the election was conducted in a credible and verifiable manner - The High court nullified Awiti's election granting Magwanga his requests and ordered for a fresh election - Dissatisfied by the verdict Awiti went to the Court of Appeal seeking reversal of High Court decision in vain - He has finally announced he will give the legal battle a last shot at the Court of Appeal - According to Awiti , Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader advised him to consider the option Embattled Homa Bay Governor Cyprian Awiti has announced he will move to the Supreme Court to challenge the Thursday, July 19, nullification of his election by the Court of Appeal. The county chief who had his victory in the Tuesday, August 8, 2017 General Election cancelled twice by the High Court and Court of Appeal respectively said he had decided to pursue a last legal attempt to secure his seat following consultations with Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader Raila Odinga. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens. READ ALSO: Court of Appeal nullifies election of Cyprian Awiti as Homa Bay county governor Governor Cyprian Awiti and ODM party leader Raila Odinga when the latter visited his home. He said the party leader had advised him to seek redress at Supreme Court. Photo: Cyprian Awiti/Twitter. Source: Twitter READ ALSO: Homa Bay county staff locked out of office following governor Awitis election loss Awiti's move comes in the wake of former Kasipul MP Oyugi Magwanga who contested against him in the gubernatorial battle and later filed the election petition challenged him not to make another appeal at the apex court and instead accept to face him in a by-election. "After consultations with my party leader, I am proceeding to the Supreme Court to appeal the judgement of the Court of Appeal on Homa Bay County gubernatorial election petition. May God bless Homa Bay," read a tweet by Awiti, seen by TUKO.co.ke on Saturday, July 21. Governor Cyprian Awiti and Oyugi Magwanga battled for the Homa Bay gubernatorial seat in a tight clontest. Magwanga challenged Awiti's victory citing massive irregularities. Photo: TUKO. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Ruto milked Mau Forest to get his deputy president position - Tiaty MP William Kamket says Awiti clarified that his decision was not solely influenced but Raila, explaining his legal team had consented to the decision after a keen assessment of verdicts issued by the two other courts which worked against their prayers. READ ALSO: Kanjuri High school students admitted, teachers injured as residents clash with rioting students Awiti who expressed confidence he would reclaim his seat thanked his supporters for offering incessant and solid support throughout the tough journey. Justice Fatuma Sichale who read the judgement nullifying Awiti's election on Thursday, July 19, upheld an earlier similar decision by the High Court delivered on Friday, February 20. 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. Matiangi Talks Tough as He Burns Gambling Machines - On Tuko TV Source: Tuko.co.ke - Catholic Diosese of Nakuru finally confirmed it owned the vehicle involved in the accident - Father Peter Mbugua of Kabarnet Parish is said to have hit a pregnant woman and fled from the scene - Police have rolled out investigations with senior officers said to have visited Father Thuo of the Catholic Diosese of Nakuru Father Peter Mbugua of Kabarnet Parish, which is under the jurisdiction of the Catholic Diosese of Nakuru has been accused of hitting a pregnant woman using a vehicle belonging to the diocese in a hit and run accident. The incident occurred on the night of Tuesday, July 3, near Botto Solar St Mary's pastoral center, where the vehicle with registration plate number KBB 587K hit the woman a fled from the scene, leaving behind its broken side mirror. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens. READ ALSO: Vehicle belonging to Catholic Diocese of Nakuru hits expectant woman, flees from scene The woman recorded a statement at the police station. Photo: Wahome Thuku/Facebook Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Explicit female version Lamba Lolo song is out and many parents will not like it According to family member of the victim who is still in hospital, Father Thuo, in charge of the Nakuru Diocese called them on Thursday, July 5, at 12.00pm and confirmed that indeed the vehicle belonged to the CDON and had been assigned to Kabarnet Parish. Father Thuo informed the victim's family that Father Peter Mbugua drove off from Nakuru after the accident and parked his vehicle in Kabarnet. It was in the morning when Peter realised he did not have a side mirror(left at the scene of the accident) and the bumper was damaged. Peter Mbugua left his side mirror at the accident scene. Photo: Wahome Thuku/Facebook Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Uhuru Kenyatta pays emotional tribute to Mama Oliech The Kabarnet Parish Father thought the side mirror had fallen off as he was driving from Nakuru and immediately took the vehicle to a mechanic who fixed it. Father Thuo father told the victim's family that Peter in a phone conversation with him claimed he did not recall hitting the lady and was shocked by the news. Father Mbugua of the Kabarnet Parish did not know she had hit the woman. Photo: Wahome Thuku/Facebook Source: Facebook According to Father Thuo, Father Mbugu presented himself to the Kabarnet police station where he reported the matter as well as recorded a statement. All these was made public by the family's lawyer Wahome Thuku through a Facebook post on Saturday, July 21. TUKO.co.ke has learnt that police have rolled out investigations with senior officers said to have visited Father Thuo at his office on Thursday, July 19. As reported by TUKO.co.ke earlier, Diocese of Nakuru officials had reportedly been evading police summons following the incident. READ ALSO: Dennis Oliech's mother dies after long battle with cancer TUKO.co.ke also learnt from some of the witnesses of the sad incident that the church officials had allegedly tried to 'kill' the story in vain. The incident comes just months after yet another man of the clothe Pastor James Nganga of Neno Evangalism allegedly killed a pedestrian in a hit and run accident. 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. ALSO WATCH: Socialite Bridget Achieng wants to be Kenya's next president on Tuko / Tuco - Kenya Source: Tuko.co.ke - Savula defied Uhuru's directive freezing all new government financed projects - He said it was not logical for government to deliberately limit development - The Legislator said Uhuru's statement hinted the government was broke - The MP was categorical he would take ongoing projects to perfect conclusion and initiate new ones nonetheless Lugari MP Ayub Savula has strongly differed with President Uhuru Kenyatta's directive freezing all new government development projects until ongoing ones are complete. The MP elected on Amani National Congress (ANC) said the president was wrong on putting ceilings on development projects at a time the country was an upward economic track, saying he would not halt ongoing projects or stop initiating new ones. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens. READ ALSO: Uhuru freezes all new government projects, orders completion of old ones first Lugari MP Ayub Savula said the directive by President Uhuru Kenyatta was sending wrong signals insinuating government was broke. Photo: Nation. Source: UGC READ ALSO: Uhuru orders all procurement, accounting officers to step aside for fresh vetting Savula straightly opposed Uhuru's directive to freeze new developments saying the utterances apparently insinuated the government was broke which was not the case, adding that government departments have liberty to utilise budgetary allocations approved by the National Assembly. "I heard president say we need to stop initiating new development projects. Are too broke to commence new projects? On my end, there are new are institutions I had begun to develop which I will not stop. There are others I had planned to initiate which I will also not stop," he said. President Uhuru Kenyatta had on Friday, July 20, directed all public accountants, parastatals' bosses and heads of departments to freeze all new developments. Uhuru Kenyatta/Twitter. Source: Twitter READ ALSO: Ruto milked Mau Forest to get his deputy president position - Tiaty MP William Kamket says Speaking in Likuyani, Kakamega county on Friday, July 21, the MP said he will implement all his projects as budgeted under the National Government CDF despite the order by the president. "The national government cannot put a limit for development unless it is broke. We pay taxes as Kenyans and its obligation is to continue developing the country. We passed a budget for recurrent expenditure and for development which need to be used as approved by Parliament," he argued. The legislator who declared he would vie for Kakamega county gubernatorial seat in 2022 called on the president to revisit the directive for the sake of national development. When issuing the directive on Friday, July 20, Uhuru said the move was aimed at reducing wastage of public funds because government had a habit of abandoning ongoing projects whenever it initiated a new one leading to unnecessary losses. 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. Matiangi Talks Tough as He Burns Gambling Machines - On Tuko TV Source: Tuko.co.ke Strong evidence of financial links has been discovered between Trump Tower developer and top ranking Russian government officials. This was revealed after an investigation was carried out on the controversial development, formerly known as the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Toronto. According to documents revealed by the Financial Times in a 10-month probe, Alex Shnaider, the Russian-Canadian billionaire who developed the building, paid the sum of $100 million to a Moscow-based fixer representing Kremlin-backed investors was the Toronto tower was under construction. Trump Organization licenced the Trump name over to Shnaider, as the building was never developed nor owned by Donald Trump. Rather, there was a contract for the organization to manage the property. The $100-million payment was meant to aid the sale of a stake in a Ukrainian steel mill that Shnaider owned, to buyers acting "on behalf of the Russian government, according to the Financial Times. The deal was successful, and Shnaider was reportedly paid $850 million for his share in the steel mill. In a 2017 report in the Wall Street Journal, the sale of the steel mill was financially backed by Vnesheconombank (VEB), a Russian government-owned bank that had Vladimir Putin as the chairman. "Given that the ultimate backer of the deal was the Kremlin, that raises the possibility that money passed from Trump's business partner to Russian officials," stated the Financial Times. However, SymonZucker, Shnaiders lawyer, denied the link to VEB, saying in a 2017 report that the Wall Street Journal had got their facts all wrong. He stated that Midland Resources, the company which Shnaider owned a stake in the Ukrainian steel mill, never had any business with VEB. Shnaider reportedly made an extra $40-million investment into the construction of the Toronto Trump Tower after the deal was successful, reported Financial Times. While Zucker has vehemently denied that the money from the sale was put into the Toronto Trump Tower, the Journal cited that he said some $15 million from the asset sale went into the project. According to the Times, Donald Trump made an estimated $4 million from licensing out his name and offering managing services to the Toronto Trump Towerthought the figure could be possible higher considering Trump only made his finances public from 2014 onwards. From construction delays to reports of falling glass, the Toronto Trump Tower was riddled by problems from the time it was initiated in 2007. The building battled with poor occupancy rates right after launch, prompting some individual investors to file legal action against Talon, Shnaiders company. The law suit was filed in 20616, where the group of investors called the project an investment scheme and conspiracy. In 2017, afterShnaider Talon defaulted on an approximately $300-million loan to Austrian bank Raiffeisen, the tower was traded in a court-ordered sale. JCF Capital received loan for the bank, and last year they took ownership of Toronto tower. After the management contract with the Trump Organization expired, the new owners promptly removed the Trump name from the building. The sort of payment Shnaider made to a fixer is a common practice in Russia, but can be quickly interpreted as a bribe, says experts. In an interview with Times, one anonymous expert aid that if it were seen a bribe, it could be argued that the Trump Organization received "proceeds of crime." There is no difference whatsoever that Trump was aware ofthe transaction Shnaider made. According to the Canadian Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Acts, it is illegal for Canadian business to bribe government officials in other countries. To organize a so-called referendum in a part of Ukraine which is not under government control would have no legitimacy, according to the U.S. National Security Council spox. The White House said Friday that President Trump is not considering supporting Russian President Vladimir Putins proposal to hold a referendum in eastern Ukraine. The Administration is not considering supporting a referendum in the eastern Ukraine, National Security Council spokesman Garret Marquis said in a statement, according to The Hill. Marquis said the Minsk Agreements, a 2015 deal on the conflict in eastern Ukraine, is the process that should be followed to achieve peace in the region, and that these agreements do not include any option for referendum. Furthermore, to organize a so-called referendum in a part of Ukraine which is not under government control would have no legitimacy, he said. As UNIAN reported earlier referring to Bloomberg, Putin had raised the possibility of a such a referendum during his meeting with Trump on Monday. Russias ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov, confirmed Friday that Putin had raised the topic with Trump, saying Putin made concrete proposals on how to handle the ongoing conflict. According to Iryna Gerashchenko, Ukraine's vice parliament speaker and humanitarian envoy to the Tripartite Contact Group on Donbas settlement, "no referendum" will be held in eastern Ukraine "at gunpoint," with "Russian tanks parked near schools and kindergartens." The Foreign Minister believes that Russia will resort to steps aimed at the collapse of Ukrainian statehood. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin emphasizes that the Russian Federation is not interested in normalizing the situation in Donbas because in fact the Kremlin is willing to ruin Ukraine. "Many experts and journalists are calling me to comment on the Russian proposal for a "referendum in Donbas. I've not seen the proposal, and, as a rule, I don't comment on what I haven't seen. But I will briefly address this brazen idea: no one, literally no one believes in any possibility of free and fair expression of will in Donbas in the conditions of Russian occupation," Klimkin stressed. "Besides, everything is clear about political and legal aspects, but one thing should be correctly understood: Russia doesn't care about Donbas and about our Ukrainian citizens in Donbas, of course, either," the Foreign Minister stressed. "Remember the Russian passages about the federalization of Ukraine, and you will immediately understand that this is not about Donbas. It is a kind of 'rehearsal' that the Kremlin regime will be pushing through to ruin our country. They will not succeed!" Klimkin assured. As UNIAN reported, according to Bloomberg, Vladimir Putin during a June 16 meeting in Helsinki with Trump suggested holding a referendum on the status of the territories in the occupied Donbas. At the same time, the White House said Friday that President Trump was not considering supporting Russian President Vladimir Putins proposal to hold a referendum in eastern Ukraine. National Security Council spokesman Garret Marquis said the Minsk Agreements is the process that should be followed to achieve peace in the region, and that these agreements do not include any option for referendum. Russian proxy forces opened fire on Ukraine positions 29 times over the past 24 hours. In the past day, July 20, Donbas militants opened fire 29 times at positions of Joint Forces, including one time using weapons proscribed by the Minsk accords, JF HQ reports. As a result of enemy attacks, three Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in action. "Russian occupation forces fired on the defenders of Troyitske, Luhanske, Novoluhanske, Svitlodarsk, Avdiyivka, Krasnohorivka, Berezova, Maryinka, Novomykhailivka, Bohdanivka, Lebedynske, Pavlopil , Talakivka, Hnutove, Shyrokyne and Vodiane. In addition, the enemy in the area of Hnutove used a 120-mm mortar, while the defenders of Pavlopil were fired upon by anti-tank guided missiles," the report reads. Read alsoOSCE reports 325 explosions within 24 hours amid "harvest ceasefire" in Donbas "According to our intelligence, one invader was killed and one more was injured," the Joint Forces press center says. Since midnight, the militants opened fire three times on the positions of Ukrainian defenders near Krymske, Prychepylivka, and Avdiyivka. Shellings brought no casualties among JF troops. As UNIAN reported, on July 20, Russian occupation forces attacked a detachment of Ukrainian border guards near Mariupol with an anti-tank guided missile. The UAV was not damaged in the incident. Russian-controlled militants fired from a machine gun on a Special Monitoring Mission's UAV that spotted military equipment which had not been withdrawn in breach of Minsk agreements. "Machine gun rounds were fired in the direction of an SMM long-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)," the OSCE SMM daily spot report reads. In particular, on the evening of July 18, an SMM long-range UAV "spotted a PK machine gun (7.62mm) with one person behind it and three people around in the yard of a factory in Khrustalnyi (formerly Krasnyi Luch, non-government-controlled, 56km south-west of Luhansk) and recorded the machine gun opening fire towards the UAV." The UAV was not damaged in the incident. It was reported that the SMM continued to monitor the withdrawal of weapons in implementation of the Memorandum and the Package of Measures and its Addendum. "In violation of withdrawal lines in a non-government-controlled area, on 18 July, an SMM long-range UAV spotted 17 multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) (BM-21 Grad, 122mm) in and near Khrustalnyi," reads the spot report. "Beyond withdrawal lines but outside designated storage sites in non-government-controlled areas, on 18 July, an SMM long-range UAV spotted a self-propelled howitzer (2S1), 14 towed howitzers (2A65 Msta-B, 152mm) and two tanks (one T-80 and one undetermined) near Khrustalnyi. On 19 July, the SMM saw five towed howitzers (D-30 Lyagushka, 122mm) and a self-propelled howitzer (2S1 Gvozdika, 122mm) inside a training area near Myrne (28km south-west of Luhansk)." Read alsoRussia ignoring proposals to allow OSCE access to 25 km zone closed to observation at border with Ukraine - General Staff The SMM observed weapons that could not be verified as withdrawn, as their storage did not comply with the criteria set out in the October 16, 2015, notification from the SMM to the signatories of the Package of Measures on effective monitoring and verification of the withdrawal of heavy weapons. "In areas of Donetsk region outside government control, the SMM saw two towed howitzers (D-30) present and noted that 11 MLRS (BM-21) and eight anti-tank guns (MT-12 Rapira, 100mm) were again missing," the report reads. "The SMM revisited a heavy weapons permanent storage site in an area of Luhansk region outside government control whose location corresponded with the withdrawal lines and noted that seven towed howitzers (D-30) remained missing." Fake Microsoft domain was tied to attacks this year against congressional campaigns. In a panel discussion at the Aspen Institute's Security Summit on Thursday, Microsoft Corporate Vice President for Customer Security and Trust Tim Burt said that in the course of hunting for phishing domains targeting Microsoft customers, members of Microsoft's security team detected a site set up by Russian actors that was being used in an attempt to target congressional candidates. "Earlier this year," said Burt, "we did discover that a fake Microsoft domain had been established as the landing page for phishing attacks, and we saw metadata that suggested those phishing attacks were being directed at three candidates who are all standing for election in the midterm elections," according to Arstechnica. While Burt would not disclose who the candidates were, he did say that they "were all people who, because of their positions, might have been interesting from an espionage standpoint as well as an election disruption standpoint." Microsoft alerted U.S. law enforcement and worked with the government to take down the sites. "We took down that domain and, working with the government, were able to prevent anyone from being infected by that particular attack," Burt said. "They did not get in, they tried, they were not successful, and the government security teams get a lot of credit for that." Referencing the indictment issued last week against officers of Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), Burt noted that phishing attacks are the primary method for state actors to gain access to political organizations' networks. To blunt that attack, "you need to have two-factor authentication," Burt explained. "It's a huge, if not perfect, defense." Read alsoReuters: U.S. grand jury indicts 12 Russian spies in 2016 election hacking Burt noted that, based on collaboration with other Internet services and security firms, "the consensus of the threat community is that we're not seeing the same level of activity" that was present at this point during the 2016 election cycle. The industry, he said, had not seen anything equivalent to the targeting of think tanks and academia nor the use of social media networks to build up a disinformation campaign that they saw in 2016. "But that doesn't mean we're not going to see it," he added. "There's a lot of time left before the election." In April, Microsoft launched the "Defending Democracy" program, providing support to state election authorities, as well as to campaign organizations, in an effort to help better safeguard the electoral process. "We've been working with secretaries of state," Burt said, "and we did two three-day seminars with the Republican and Democratic communities to strengthen the security of campaigns." Burt appeared on the panel with Facebook Head of Product Policy and Counterterrorism Monika Bickert, Former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Cybersecurity and Communications Jeannette Manfra, and Washington State Secretary of State Kim Wyman. Wyman said that Washington had seen unsuccessful efforts to gain access to electoral systems in 2016 from Russia and was expecting more to come. Meduza also recalls that the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal (Dagger) nuclear-capable air-launched ballistic missile is one of the futuristic weapons Vladimir Putin mentioned in his March 2018 address to the Federal Assembly. The Federal Security Service is reportedly investigating a treason case in connection with leaked data about Russias hypersonic weapons program. According to the newspaper Kommersant, federal agents raided the office of the Central Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering (TsNIIMash) outside Moscow on July 20, and the office of Dmitry Paison, the director of the United Space Missile Corporations research and analysis center. Sources told Kommersant that officials believe the information leaked from someone at TsNIIMash in close contact with Paison, according to Meduza. Both TsNIIMash and the United Space Missile Corporation are part of Roscosmos, Russias federal space agency. The Tactical Missile Armament Corporation, which is not part of Roscosmos, is responsible for developing Russias hypersonic projects, but sources say the company collaborates closely with TsNIIMash and the United Space Missile Corporation. Read alsoFacebook gave Russian internet giant special data extension - media Roscosmos confirmed to RIA Novosti that the FSB raided TsNIIMash. A source at the United Space Missile Corporation told Interfax that Paison had no personal access to classified information about hypersonic development programs, and another source claimed that Paison has not been charged with any crimes. Meduza also recalls that the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal (Dagger) nuclear-capable air-launched ballistic missile is one of the futuristic weapons Vladimir Putin mentioned in his March 2018 address to the Federal Assembly. In a follow-up to the story, CrimeRussia on Saturday reported that Dmitry Paison filed for resignation. The press service of Roscosmos confirmed that their chief analyst would leave his post in early August. January 17 2017 USP and USI, ground and upper floor owners of Glasgows at-risk Egyptian Halls, have brought forward proposals for a facade retention scheme at the A-listed landmark after deciding that restoration is now all but structurally undeliverable .Past attempts to restore the Halls stumbled after the Heritage Lottery Fund ruled out grant funding which would have seen the historic building refurbished for a hotel operator , casting doubt on the delivery of this latest scheme which still requires some grant funding to progress in addition to agreement with NCP.Should a stalemate continue USP have left a new build option on the table although full preservation scheme could still be delivered, including a rebuilt rear wall and roof, if funding is confirmed.The latest plans would establish a mews through route connecting Union Street to Mitchell Street, helping to reinforce the legacy of two of the citys greatest architects; Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Alexander Greek Thomson, by creating a direct pedestrian link from The Lighthouse through to Central Station.In a statement USP wrote: Its been documented that the Rennie Mackintosh Lighthouse building is seriously underused and therefore financially compromised due to its cul-de-sac like and out of the way location. Also, the 36-year delay to reconcile the Egyptian Halls repairs issues has certainly curtailed the now long overdue regeneration of Union Street and arguably this continually deteriorating building makes an increasingly negative contribution to the urban realm. This project reconciles this.Plans drawn up by The Morrison Partnership envisage a street level concourse threading through a central atrium with a hotel, restaurants and retail populating newly built accommodation behind a retained facade to a modernised NCP car park. October 16 2017 Plans for a new urban village within the South Lanarkshire town of Hamilton have come to a head with an application for planning in principle for up to 365 homes, hotel, refurbished office space, care home and retirement flats with complementary retail and restaurants A masterplan framework devised by Ironside Farrar on behalf of South Lanarkshire Council and University of the West of Scotland calls for wholesale redevelopment of the 7.5 acre town centre campus following the universitys relocation to an out of town technology park next year Fleshing out their approach at Hamilton Green Ironside Farrar wrote: The proposed design strategy takes its cue from the former barracks use of the site to form a large rectangular public greenspace which provides the development with a clear central focus and the area with a civic greenspace.The principal / Almada St entrance to the development will take the form of a public space set back from the street and framed by apartment blocks with ground floor cafes and shops presenting strong frontages onto Almada St.Situated close to Hamilton West train station indicative plans place an emphasis on density, walkability and mixed-use with improved connections to the adjacent civic centre, centerpiece of which is the A-listed Lanark County Buildings.Delivery of the full masterplan is expected to take at least 20 years. (@ChaudhryMAli88) The UAE Embassy in Cuba recently hosted a ceremony at the House of Arabs Museum to celebrate the 'Year of Zayed 2018', and coinciding with the anniversary of the establishment of a friendship club between the two countries. HAVANA, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 21st Jul, 2018) The UAE Embassy in Cuba recently hosted a ceremony at the House of Arabs Museum to celebrate the 'Year of Zayed 2018', and coinciding with the anniversary of the establishment of a friendship club between the two countries. A film about the history and achievements of the UAE and its Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, was screened at the event, which was attended by Badr Abdullah Al Matroushi, UAE Ambassador to Cuba. Ambassador Al Matroushi emphasised the importance of human and cultural communication among peoples, referring to the biography of Sheikh Zayed. In turn, Rigoberto Menendez, Director of the museum, praised Arab culture and the UAE's role in preserving and promoting cultural heritage. At the same time, Zainia Gomez, Director of Friends of the Emirates, expressed her pride for being a friend of the UAE, close to its history and its distinctive role in various fields. (@FahadShabbir) The Iranian envoy Mohammad-Hassan Fadaeifard has criticized the western media's attempts to project an unreal image of Islamic Republic of Iran. TEHRAN, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Jul, 2018 ) :The Iranian envoy Mohammad-Hassan Fadaeifard has criticized the western media's attempts to project an unreal image of Islamic Republic of Iran. Speaking to the Spanish daily, Expansion, he said the image presented on Iran is so distorted that when the Western citizens visit Iran, they face a totally different reality from what they have been told."This makes the media unreliable." Noting the differences between cultural values in Iranian community and the West, the senior diplomat said the idea that western cultures should be implemented in Iran, is totally rejected as well as impossible. 'In a community with a Muslim majority, people are committed to honor Islamic values; therefore, in Iran, not only the culture and community, but also policies are in line with the Sharia laws,' the ambassador said. Religious freedom in Iran is much more than that in Europe, he said arguing that some 600,000 followers of Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism in the country have five lawmakers in the Parliament and are enjoying legal rights; whereas, there are no such special legal rights for religious minorities in European countries. Respecting each other's values is a prerequisite for peaceful co-existence of cultures and nations, he said. WWF-Pakistan reaffirms its commitment to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and achieving Agenda 2030. The global WWF Network has always highlighted natures contribution to social and economic development WWF-Pakistan reaffirms its commitment to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and achieving Agenda 2030. The global WWF Network has always highlighted natures contribution to social and economic development, and helped develop an integrated Agenda 2030 with a strong environment dimension. Most of the seventeen SDGs are directly or indirectly linked to environmental sustainability, particularly those that address poverty, hunger, health and well-being, water and sanitation, clean energy, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, climate action, life below water, and life on land. WWF, thus, aims to drive national action on SDGs implementation around the world. Unfortunately, Pakistans performance on these goals is comparatively low. The country was ranked 147 out of 188 on the Human Development Index (2016), and 106 among 119 developing countries in the Global Hunger Index (2017). With an annual per capita availability of water at around 1000 cubic metres, Pakistan is fast becoming a water scarce country; many areas, including metropolises like Karachi, are in the grips of acute water crises already. Pakistan has one of the lowest forest covers and one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world. In addition, climate change impacts, such as the recent melting of a glacier in Ghizer district in Gilgit-Baltistan that has damaged infrastructure and rendered many families insecure, exacerbate these issues. Without healthy ecosystems, which can be measured by the richness of biodiversity and various other indicators outlined for the SDGs, there can be no integrated sustainable development. Commenting on this, Hammad Naqi Khan, Director General WWF-Pakistan, shared that the country is home to rich biodiversity and unique ecosystems, from mountains in the north to mangroves along the coast. The organization works closely with local communities living in important ecoregions, protected conservation areas, and fragile ecosystems. Raising awareness about important environmental challenges is key for WWF-Pakistan, and advocating for responsible voting is a crucial step towards ensuring environmental sustainability in country, he added. It is the responsibility of the citizens of Pakistan to elect leaders who are committed to building a future where clean air and water, livelihood opportunities, adequate nutrition, clean energy, sustainable and equitable access to natural resources, among other necessities, are provided for everyone across the country. WWF-Pakistan urges all citizens, those working in the public and private sectors, civil society organizations, academia, and others to take collective action aimed at bringing together the agendas for sustainable development, climate change adaptation, and biodiversity conservation. Therefore, WWF-Pakistan in collaboration with Pakistan Votes (PV), a non-partisan voter platform operating since January 2012, released a short video of WWFs project community members demanding citizens vote responsibly in the upcoming general elections to be held on 25 July 2018 across Pakistan. Local communities now realize the importance of environment conservation for sustainable development as a result of various awareness raising initiatives by WWF-Pakistan. (@rukhshanmir) Humanitarian aid sent by France and Russia arrived in Syria on Saturday as the two countries' leaders discussed a joint mission to distribute much-needed relief supplies in a ravaged former rebel enclave. Chteauroux, France, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Jul, 2018 ) :Humanitarian aid sent by France and Russia arrived in Syria on Saturday as the two countries' leaders discussed a joint mission to distribute much-needed relief supplies in a ravaged former rebel enclave. The joint humanitarian aid operation -- the first between Russia and a Western country -- was agreed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and French leader Emmanuel Macron during talks in Saint Petersburg in May. A Russian Antonov-124 Ruslan military cargo plane carrying more than 40 tonnes of medical aid and humanitarian supplies arrived at the Russian military base in Hmeimim after departing from the central French city of Chateauroux early Saturday, the Russian defence ministry said. The aid, including medicine, medical equipment, clothes and tents, will be given to residents of Eastern Ghouta on the fringes of the capital Damascus, which was retaken by government forces in April after a five-year siege. It will be distributed under the supervision of the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid (OCHA). Russian representatives and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent will also participate in the process. The supplies will also be distributed to hospitals run by the Red Crescent, Moscow said. On Saturday, Putin and Macron discussed "humanitarian aspects of the Syria settlement" including the joint mission "to render assistance to the population of Eastern Ghouta" and other international issues, the Kremlin said. Undertaken as part of a UN Security Council resolution, "the aim of this project is to enable civilian populations better access to aid," a joint Franco-Russian statement said earlier. "Humanitarian assistance is an absolute priority and must be distributed in accordance with principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence across all Syrian territory without exception," it added. France had secured "guarantees" from Russia that the Syrian regime would not obstruct the distribution of the aid, and that it would not be misappropriated or used for political purposes, the foreign ministry said. - 'Considerable risks' - But some observers asked if it was wise for France to cooperate with Russia. "We cannot be against humanitarian assistance but France is taking considerable risks by working with Russia and the Syrian Red Crescent," tweeted former French ambassador to Syria Michel Duclos. "What mechanisms guarantee that this aid will not be diverted or exploited by (Syrian President Bashar al-)Assad for political purposes?" said Duclos, an analyst at the Institut Montaigne in Paris. The Russian defence ministry insisted that the aid would be distributed in accordance with "international humanitarian law." More than 1,700 civilians were killed during the Syrian regime's operation in Eastern Ghouta in March and April. According to the Russian military, more than 160,000 people, both military and civilians, were evacuated from the region. The medical aid is aimed at some 500 people who have been seriously injured and the 15,000 others who have received lighter injuries during the fighting in Eastern Ghouta. Turkey and the Netherlands on Friday ended months of enmity and agreed to restore diplomatic ties snapped last year. The Hague, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Jul, 2018 ) :Turkey and the Netherlands on Friday ended months of enmity and agreed to restore diplomatic ties snapped last year. The thawing of relations came after the foreign ministers of both countries met on the sidelines of NATO summit in Brussels last week, the two governments said in a statement. They discussed "the regretful events" of March 2017 that led to "a deterioration of the relations," the English-language statement said. Following a letter and a telephone call between Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok and his Turkishcounterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, they "agreed to normalise the diplomatic relations between theNetherlands and Turkey". (@ChaudhryMAli88) Peru's Supreme Court chief justice resigned Thursday after the publication of a series of audio recordings sparked a growing scandal over the sale of sentences and influence peddling. Lima, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Jul, 2018 ) :Peru's Supreme Court chief justice resigned Thursday after the publication of a series of audio recordings sparked a growing scandal over the sale of sentences and influence peddling. "Given the institutional crisis that the judicial branch is going through, I present my irrevocable resignation from the post," judge Duberli Rodriguez in a short letter published on the Supreme Court's Twitter account. Rodriguez had been under pressure from Supreme Court colleagues demanding he resign so someone else -- completely untouched by the scandal -- could be tasked with reorganizing the judicial system. Peru's judicial branch had announced a 90-day emergency on Wednesday, signed by Rodriguez and published in the El Peruano newspaper. "In response to the judicial problems it is imperative that urgent and immediate measures are adopted to restore the normal, efficient and transparent development of jurisdictional activities," the judicial authority's resolution stated. The National Council of the Magistracy's (CNM) president Orlando Velasquez also resigned on Thursday after just three days in the job, saying he did so for "dignity." The CNM is the body that nominates judges and prosecutors. The news comes less than a week after Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra dismissed Justice Minister Salvador Heresi over the embarrassing revelations. "For the health of the justice system reform, I've asked minister Heresi to resign," Vizcarra had said on Twitter. "The period Peru is going through requires firm action." Vizcarra appointed a committee of six jurists headed by ex-chancellor Allan Wagner to deliver a judicial reform proposal. He has called an extraordinary session in parliament for Friday to discuss the possibility of a blanket resignation of CNM magistrates. The diffusion of inflammatory audio recordings began 10 days ago on investigative journalism website IDL-Reporteros and the Panorama program on television station Canal 5, after which the public prosecutor's office opened an investigation into suspected influence peddling. A number of judges and judicial officials implicated in the scandal have been suspended. Heresi was sacked after a conversation between him and Supreme Court judge Cesar Hinostroza, also implicated in the affair, was played on television. In the recording, Heresi asks Hinostroza to come to his office to talk to him about a legal initiative. On Thursday evening, thousands of Peruvians shouting anti-corruption slogans marched in several cities in rallies called by labor unions and civil society groups. A linguistics professor's life sentence and conviction for direct involvement in Rwanda's 1994 genocide has been overturned but his nine year sentence for downplaying the bloodshed upheld, his lawyer said Saturday. Nairobi, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Jul, 2018 ) :A linguistics professor's life sentence and conviction for direct involvement in Rwanda's 1994 genocide has been overturned but his nine year sentence for downplaying the bloodshed upheld, his lawyer said Saturday. Former trade union official Leopold Munyakazi, 67, was cleared of direct involvement by the Rwandan High Court's Chamber of International Crimes on Friday. But his conviction for using his academic work to downplay the impact of the bloodshed was confirmed by appeal judges. "The appeal court acquitted him of involvement in the genocide but upheld his conviction for downplaying the genocide," Munyakazi's lawyer Desire Micombero told AFP. Munyakazi, from Gitarama in central Rwanda, has consistently denied participating in the genocide in which around 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis, were killed. He was initially convicted by a lower court of direct involvement and jailed for life in July 2017, a sentence he subsequently appealed. At Munyakazi's request, the appeal court travelled to Gitarama where his crimes were allegedly committed to test the facts of his genocide conviction. The court heard evidence from local people, some of whom supported his version of events while others cast doubt on his actions during the 100-day-long orgy of violence. It was because of the discrepancies in the witnesses' recall of events that led to Munyakazi's acquittal on the more serious charges, his lawyer said. After spending time in Rwandan custody following the genocide, Munyakazi moved to the United States in 2004 and taught French in Maryland until his suspension in 2008. The academic was extradited from the US to Rwanda in 2016 to face justice after a lengthy legal battle over his failed asylum application and subsequent deportation order. Kigali had issued two arrest warrants against Munyakazi in 2006 and in 2008. He had argued that the genocide allegations were concocted and that he was really being prosecuted for opposing the regime of President Paul Kagame. Munyakazi is the most senior of four Rwandan genocide suspects so far extradited by the US. A dozen Rwandans accused of participating in the genocide have already been sent to Kigali for trial, mostly from the US, Canada, Uganda as well as the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), which closed its doors in late 2015. European countries have been reluctant to extradite accused Rwandans for fear they will not receive a fair trial. Archbishop Henryk Hoser, appointed by Pope Francis as Apostolic Visitor to St James Parish in Medjugorje, begins his assignment on Sunday. By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp Archbishop Henryk Hoser, retired Archbishop of Warsaw-Prague in Poland, begins his mandate on Sunday as Apostolic Visitor to St James Parish in Medjugorje. He will inaugurate his ministry with solemn Mass in the evening and has invited all of the faithful and pilgrims present to participate. First mandate Archbishop Hoser was first appointed by Pope Francis as a special envoy from the Holy See to St James Parish on 11 February 2017. At that time the Holy Sees Press Office stated that the mission entrusted to the then Archbishop of Warsaw-Prague has the aim of acquiring a deeper knowledge of the pastoral situation there and above all, of the needs of the faithful who go there in pilgrimage, and on the basis of this, to suggest possible pastoral initiatives for the future. The mission will therefore have an exclusively pastoral character. The statement said that his mandate was expected to conclude by the end of summer 2017. The same day the Press Office released this statement, Director Greg Burke underlined that the mission of the Special Envoy is a sign of the Holy Fathers attention toward the pilgrims. The scope is not inquisitorial, but strictly pastoral. The Envoy will not enter into questions regarding the Marian apparitions, which are the competence of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He will be in contact with the diocesan bishop, the Franciscan Friars Minor to whom the parish of Medjugorje is entrusted and with the faithful of the area. And he concluded, It is a mission for the pilgrims, not against anyone. Second mandate Pope Francis nominated Archbishop Hoser a second time as special apostolic visitor for the parish of Medjugorje on 31 May 2018. According to the statement released by the Holy Sees Press Office, the mandate will last for an undefined period and ad nutum Sanctae (at the Holy Sees disposition). Once again, Archbishop Hoser will exercise an exclusively pastoral office in continuity with his first mandate which came to an end recently. The Holy Sees Press Office explains, the mission of the Apostolic Visitor has the aim of ensuring a stable and continuous accompaniment to the parish community of Medjugorje and to the faithful who go there as pilgrims, and whose needs require particular attention." Australian nun Sister Patricia Fox NDS has been given deportation order by the Philippine Immigration Bureau. (AFP or licensors) The Immigration bureau (BI) of the Philippines on July 19 ordered the immediate deportation of Sister Patricia Fox NDS for violating the conditions of her missionary visa. By Robin Gomes The Catholic bishops of the Philippines have criticized the governments order to deport an Australian Catholic missionary nun who has been working in the country for 27 years, saying the government is systematically harassing people who criticize its policies. The governments Immigration Bureau (BI) on Thursday ordered the immediate deportation of Sister Patricia Fox, declaring her an "undesirable alien", saying she violated the conditions of her missionary visa. It also ordered her to be put on the bureau's "Blacklist, thus barring her re-entry into the country". Listen to our report Close to the suffering people The July 19 deportation order accused the 71-year old regional superior of the Sister of Our Lady of Sion congregation of openly and actively participating in activities such as rallies, press conferences and fact-finding missions which the immigration authority said violated the terms and conditions of her missionary visa. The missionary has declared that the role of the religious is to be close to the people who are suffering. Bishop Arturo Bastes of Sorsogon, the chairman of the Commission on Mission of the Catholic Bishoops' conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said the order only confirmed the suspicion that the government is systematically harassing people who criticize their policies. He called it a very sad development and said he was ashamed of the government. He said President Rodrigo Dutertes administration considers the nun a threat because of her defence of the rights of the poor and the marginalized Filipinos. The missionary visa, which allowed Sister Fox in the country for 27 years, is only valid until Sept. 5 this year. The latest deportation order said the nun should be deported to Australia within 30 days. Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo of Manila wondered why the government was afraid of criticism of its policies. He said Sister Fox has been serving our poor people for decades and this is how the government rewards her just because it is so insecure in what it is doing. He described it as another instance of creeping authoritarianism. Last week, at a press conference in Manila to present a pastoral exhortation, the CBCP commended the work of Sister Fox. Speaking at the July 9 press conference CBCP vice-president Bishop Pablo David of Kalookan , said that the work of persons like Sr. Fox should be regarded as positive and welcomed. The Ecumenical Bishops' Forum has also called on Christian Churches to extend support to Sister Fox and to missionaries subjected to persecution because of their work with the poor. "It is our responsibility as Christians to defend the faith and enlighten the government and those who judge us," said Bishop Emeritus Deogracias Iniguez of Kalookan who heads the forum. "We should reiterate that the government cannot limit the definition of missionary work," bishop Iniguez said. Appeal against deportation Sister Fox, had been arrested and detained overnight earlier on April 16 for the same reasons. She was asked to leave the country in 30 days. However, the Philippines on June 18 nullified the deportation order. The nuns lawyers said they are considering an appeal to the Department of Justice to challenge the deportation order. The United States says it has rejected a proposal from Russia for a referendum to be held to decide the fate of eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists fight against Ukrainian government forces. By Stefan Bos The announcement that the US rejected a Russian-backed proposed referendum on eastern Ukraine came after Washington agreed to provide more military aid to Ukraine amid domestic pressure on US President Donald Trump over his recent summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Russia's ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov made a stunning announcement. He suggested that US President Donald Trump was open to the idea of supporting a referendum in eastern Ukraine on the future status of the troubled region. Ukrainian Government forces continue to clash there with independence-seeking pro-Russian separatists in a conflict that has killed more than 10,000 people. Ambassador Anatov said President Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin discussed the possibility of a referendum on eastern Ukraine during their Helsinki summit. In separate remarks, Ambassador Anatov said through an interpreter that the two leaders discussed several ideas but complained that Ukraine's government refuses to implement what a peace agreement that was signed in Minsk, Belarus. White House rejection But the White House was quick to reject the Putin-backed effort to hold a referendum in eastern Ukraine on the region's future. Instead, the US announced it would provide Ukraine $200m to strengthen its defense capabilities. In a statement, the Pentagon said the funds would be for training, communications, medical, and other non-lethal operational needs. The US said it had given more than $1bn in defense support to Kiev since 2014. Russia annexed Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula that year and is also accused of arming separatists in the east of the country. The remarks also come in the aftermath of President Donald Trump's controversial summit with the Russian leader. Mayor Debra March will host her next March On community meeting on July 23 highlighting the Henderson Police Departments efforts to enhance public safety and how Henderson continues to be one of the safest cities in America. Mayor March will be joined by Henderson Chief of Police LaTesha Watson, who will discuss her vision for a new approach to community policing and the initiation of data-driven law enforcement policies that are already working to improve the quality of life for Henderson residents. There will also be presentations by Deputy Police Chief Thedrick Andres and Deputy Police Chief Michael Denning, who will discuss the Henderson Police Departments new L.E.A.A.D.S. and S.A.R.A. Model initiatives as well as how community engagement is boosting the departments ability to protect and serve. Attendees will be able to take officer-guided tours of the North Police Station, see exhibits of police equipment and interact with staff at display booths highlighting Henderson Polices areas of focus, including the K-9 Unit and S.W.A.T. Team. All ages are welcome and refreshments will be served. The Mayors monthly March On meetings are designed to encourage open dialogue between neighbors and city leaders regarding issues of importance to those who live in Henderson. Mayor March is joined at each event by City of Henderson staff and community partners who answer questions and provide information to residents. Three former opposition party officials in Battambang province have been reported to the National Election Committee by the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) over a post on Facebook in which they endorsed an election boycott known as the Clean Finger Campaign. The boycott campaign, spearheaded by exiled members of the opposition, has provoked the ire of Cambodian authorities, who have repeatedly declared that it is illegal to urge people not to vote, despite there being no law to this effect. According to a copy of a complaint filed by a CPP official on July 20, Chea Chiv, the former head of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) in Battambang province, and two other men are being accused by the ruling party of incitement over a photograph posted on Facebook in which they held up their index fingers at a noodle-eating party. They were accused of violating Article 142 of the Election Law, which imposes a fine of up to 20 million riel (around $5,000) on those who prevent citizens from casting votes, among other offenses. However, the complaints use of the term incitement, which is a serious crime carrying prison time, could indicate an intention to file a criminal complaint against the men. It is just intimidation and threatening the freedoms spelled out in the constitution, Chea Chiv, 39, said of the complaint against him. He said that on Thursday, he hosted a gathering of around 30 former CNRP officials at his home in Battambang to eat noodles. After their meal, they took group photos. Three of the ex-officials posted these pictures on Facebook the same day, and were sued the next day. The two other accused men are former CNRP district councilors Pov Tang, 42, and Kruy Kimsaing, 44. I have a good mind, not good looks, but my finger is clean, said Pov Tang, recalling what he had posted on Facebook along with the clean finger photos. I posted a headline that my finger is clean without the CNRP, said Kimsaing. I dont incite. It is my individual right to say so, he added. Piv Houy, the CPP deputy commune chief who filed the complaint against the men, said he did so because they had indeed incited people to stay home on election day. It is because they have 20 to 30 people raising clean fingers, he said. It is like incitement. Their boss ordered them to do the clean finger campaign. If they were just ordinary people, I would not sue, but they are officials from the dissolved party and their leader ordered that, he said. Former CNRP president Sam Rainsy, who has been living in exile since 2015, has repeatedly called on Cambodians to boycott the upcoming poll and is using the Clean Finger Campaign as a catchy name to capture public interest. The term refers to the purple ink used to mark the fingers of people who vote in an election. The campaigners claim that the opposition is being unlawfully excluded from the upcoming national election after it was dissolved by court order last year, and say that the only way now for voters to express their displeasure with the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen is to boycott the poll as a sham. If you go to vote, it means that Cambodia will be in ruins because this fake election just allows Hun Sen to maintain his power, he said in a video posted on his Facebook page. Hang Puthea, the spokesman for the National Election Committee, confirmed the receipt of the CPPs complaint and said the NEC would attempt to negotiate a compromise between the ruling party and the accused men before taking further action. However, he added: If they are found intentionally gathering to [urge] people not to vote, that is a problem. Rhona Smith, the UNs special rapporteur on human rights in Cambodia, has called on the Cambodian government to condemn the intimidation of non-voters, and respect peoples right to freedom of expression, including those calling for an election boycott. I am concerned about reports of voter intimidation in the lead up to the national election, she said in a statement posted online by the United Nations Human Rights Cambodia office. Vietnams suspension of a popular news website known for hard-hitting stories is the latest move in a burgeoning effort to limit expression that rattles the image-conscious Communist leadership, experts say. On Monday the head of media under the Ministry of Information and Communication shut down the Tuoi Tre website for three months. The news outlet is known for reports on issues such as corruption. Tuoi Tre is also a newspaper run by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, and was faulted with posting fake news. The site was asked to correct the false information and fined $9,500, according to fellow domestic media outlet Viet Nam News. The sites suspension follows the June passage of a cyber-security law governing internet use and earlier arrests of bloggers whose writings question the government. The mass media as a whole should take note, said Murray Hiebert, deputy director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. I think shutting down the Tuoi Tre website was a warning shot across the bow to the paper and other papers to be more cautious, Hiebert said. The government has been nervous about the media and bloggers for a few years. Wariness of free expression Since Vietnams media, mainstream as well as social, reported a massive coastal fish kill caused by pollution linked to a Taiwanese-owned steel plant two years ago, the government has sought increasingly to control content, Hiebert said. Vietnamese security officials visited China last year to discuss ways to better control the internet, he added. China is known for its tight policing of internet content. Unlike China, Vietnam seldom blocks websites. A series of arrests of bloggers in 2016 and 2017 showed the Vietnamese governments sensitivity to public views about graft and inefficiency among officials, experts have said. A blogger who suggested poor government follow-up to the fish die-off received a 10-year prison term last year. The Ministry of Public Security had proposed the Law on Cybersecurity a year ago to give it more power over prohibited content and anti-government activities. It may ultimately require foreign social media to store Vietnamese data locally and remove content quickly if asked, Hiebert said. After its finalized in about half a year, the law might let the government ask internet providers to share information about what ordinary users say online, some fear. The law fueled some of the street demonstrations around the country last month. The cybersecurity law definitely raises the ante for people publishing on the net, for sure, said Frederick Burke, partner with the law firm Baker McKenzie in Ho Chi Minh City. Theyll have to be more careful. Tuoi Tres suspension is a first for major media organization in Vietnam, Burke said. Quest for national unity Advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said Thursday in response to the news websites suspension it was alarmed to see that, after persecuting independent media outlets, the authorities are now targeting those that usually toe the party line. Tuoi Tre was suspended for a report quoting Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang, said Carl Thayer, Southeast Asia-specialized emeritus professor at the University of New South Wales in Australia. He said that report cast the president as sympathetic to the countrys anti-China demonstrations in June. The people behind that coverage were accused of undermining national unity, Thayer added. The government takes pride in unifying north and south Vietnam, which were divided until the Communists came to power in the 1970s. Officials may frown on over-reporting of corruption, said Trung Nguyen, international relations dean at Ho Chi Minh University of Social Sciences and Humanities. Vietnam has arrested scores of people from its state-run oil firm PetroVietnam over corruption in what analysts call moves to show the public it takes clean government seriously. Ordinary Vietnamese had been calling for cleaner government, which they associate now with police bribery and irregularities in the business permitting process. At a plenum in May, the partys Central Committee approved a resolution to review its members more stringently for any graft, Viet Nam News reported at the time. Officials want the media to reflect trends in society impartially but speak for the government and report with a unifying voice, Nguyen said. I think that the government will try to impose like a full control on the content of the media because, in line with the anti-corruption campaign, some newspapers have been reprimanded for pushing too far, Nguyen said. China's President Xi Jinping pledged during a visit to Senegal on Saturday to strengthen economic ties with Africa, a continent already awash with cheap Chinese loans in exchange for minerals and huge construction projects. Xi arrived in Senegal on Saturday for a two-day visit to sign bilateral deals, the first leg of an Africa tour that will also take him to Rwanda and South Africa, the latter for a summit of BRICS countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. China now does more trade with Africa than any other nation does, and its consistent overtures to the continent contrast sharply with the United States, whose President Donald Trump has shown little interest in it. The visit was Xi's first trip to West Africa as president, but his fourth to Africa, he told a joint news conference with Senegalese President Macky Sall after their meeting, the third one they've had. "Every time I come to Africa, I have seen the dynamism of the continent and the aspirations of its people for development," Xi said. "I am very confident in the future of Sino-African relations." Earlier, Xi was greeted by a brass band and hundreds of people waving Chinese and Senegalese flags and wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the two leaders' faces. Political support Africa is in the midst of a boom in infrastructure projects, managed and cheaply financed by China, part of Xi's Belt and Road Initiative to build a transport network connecting China by land and sea to Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa. China has pledged $126 billion for the plan, which has been praised by its supporters as a source of vital financing for the developing world. In Senegal, Chinese loans have financed a highway linking the capital, Dakar, to Touba, its second main city, and part of an industrial park on the Dakar peninsula. China's ambassador to Senegal, Zhang Xun, was quoted by the local press in March as saying China had invested $100 million in Senegal in 2017. "Senegal takes a positive view of China's role in Africa," Sall said at the news conference. "For its contribution to peace and stability and equally ... for the financing of budgets." But critics say Africa is loading itself up on Chinese debt that it may struggle to repay, with estimates ranging in the tens of billions of dollars. That could leave African nations with no choice but to hand over controlling stakes in strategic assets to the Chinese state. U.S. officials have warned that a port in the tiny Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti, a host to major U.S. and French military bases, could suffer this fate, although Djibouti rejects the fear. In Guinea, meanwhile, one of the world's poorest nations, China is lending $20 billion to the government in exchange for aluminium ore concessions. As well as trade and minerals, China has also seen Africa as a source of political support. Chinese diplomacy has, as of May this year, succeeded in getting every African country except Swaziland to break off diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which China sees as a renegade province. A cholera outbreak in Cameroon has claimed at least a dozen lives in the central African nation. Hundreds of people have been rushed to several hospitals. It is feared some of the cases were imported from Nigeria and may infect refugees fleeing the Boko Haram insurgency. The first cases of cholera were reported two months ago along the country's northern border with Nigeria, said Arabo Saidou, the highest government official in charge of health in Cameroon's north region. The disease has continued to spread since four cases of cholera were recorded May 18 in the northern Cameroon town of Mayo Oulo, Saidou said. He added that the deaths, especially of children, have occurred both in and outside of hospitals. In May, the Word Health Organization reported that Nigeria's Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states had been experiencing recurrent cholera outbreaks since February, with a total of 1,664 suspected cases and 31 deaths. Many people from the three Nigerian states travel to Cameroon for business. At least 100,000 are in Cameroon as refugees fleeing the Boko Haram insurgency, with over 90,000 at the Minawao refugee camp. Issac Bayoro, a Cameroonian epidemiologist working in the Mokolo administrative area where the Minawao refugee camp is located, said staff members are educating refugees about hygiene practices and are also screening Nigerians coming to the camp in a bid to protect the refugees and their host communities. Bayoro said many people continue to defecate in the open air or in streams and river beds from which both humans and animals drink, thereby facilitating the spread of cholera. He said that many people do not wash their hands with soap and that many believe Africans are naturally vaccinated and cannot die of infections from dirt. Cameroon's ministry of health indicated that the disease quickly spread to Yaounde and Douala, major cities in the central African state. The case reported in Yaounde was of a teenager who traveled to Yaounde from northern Cameroon with his mother. He later died in a hospital, the government reported. Thomas Tawe, a university student and Yaounde resident, said he fears cholera may spread rapidly in the city because just 30 percent of the population has access to good drinking water. "In the city of Yaounde, only those who can pay can have water. When you go into the quarters," he said of the neighborhoods, "you see that people are carrying water from unhygienic sources. If the water is contaminated, automatically we will be contaminated." China is waging a quiet kind of cold war against the United States, using all its resources to try to replace America as the leading power in the world, a top CIA expert on Asia said Friday. Beijing doesnt want to go to war, he said, but the current communist government, under President Xi Jinping, is subtly working on multiple fronts to undermine the U.S. in ways that are different than the more well-publicized activities being employed by Russia. I would argue ... that what theyre waging against us is fundamentally a cold war a cold war not like we saw during THE Cold War (between the U.S. and the Soviet Union) but a cold war by definition, Michael Collins, deputy assistant director of the CIAs East Asia mission center, said at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado. Rising U.S.-China tension goes beyond the trade dispute playing out in a tariff tit-for-tat between the two nations. Stealing secrets, building islands There is concern over Chinas pervasive efforts to steal business secrets and details about high-tech research being conducted in the U.S. The Chinese military is expanding and being modernized and the U.S., as well as other nations, have complained about Chinas construction of military outposts on islands in the South China Sea. I would argue that its the Crimea of the East, Collins said, referring to Russias brash annexation of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula, which was condemned throughout the West. Collins comments track warnings about Chinas rising influence issued by others who spoke earlier this week at the security conference. The alarm bells come at a time when Washington needs Chinas help in ending its nuclear standoff with North Korea. Other wary voices On Wednesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray said China, from a counterintelligence perspective, represents the broadest and most significant threat America faces. He said the FBI has economic espionage investigations in all 50 states that can be traced back to China. The volume of it. The pervasiveness of it. The significance of it is something that I think this country cannot underestimate, Wray said. National Intelligence Director Dan Coats also warned of rising Chinese aggression. In particular, he said, the U.S. must stand strong against Chinas effort to steal business secrets and academic research. Susan Thornton, acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said increasing the publics awareness about the activities of the hundreds of thousands of Chinese students or groups at U.S. universities could be one way to help mitigate potential damage. China is not just a footnote to what were dealing with with Russia, Thornton said. Military upgrades Marcel Lettre, former undersecretary of defense for intelligence, said China has the second-largest defense budget in the world, the largest standing army of ground forces, the third-largest air force and a navy of 300 ships and more than 60 submarines. All of this is in the process of being modernized and upgraded, said Lettre, who sat on a panel with Collins and Thornton. He said China also is pursuing advances in cyber, artificial intelligence, engineering and technology, counter-space, anti-satellite capabilities and hypersonic glide weapons. Army Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told a congressional committee earlier this year that China is developing long-range cruise missiles some capable of reaching supersonic speeds. The Pentagon has noted that the Chinese have already pursued a test program that has had 20 times more tests than the U.S. has, Lettre said. Franklin Miller, former senior director for defense policy and arms control at the National Security Council, said Chinas weapons developments are emphasizing the need to have a dialogue with Beijing. We need to try to engage, Miller said. My expectations for successful engagement are medium-low, but that doesnt mean we shouldnt try. Dan Coats, the U.S. director of national intelligence, said Saturday that he in no way meant to be disrespectful toward President Donald Trump with what he called his "awkward response" to news of a second planned Trump summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Coats issued a statement seeking to control the damage from an interview he gave at the Aspen Institute security forum in Colorado on Thursday in which he expressed surprise when the news broke that Trump was planning another Putin summit. "Some press coverage has mischaracterized my intentions in responding to breaking news presented to me during a live interview. My admittedly awkward response was in no way meant to be disrespectful or criticize the actions of the president," Coats said. "I and the entire intel community are committed to providing the best possible intelligence to inform and support President Trump's ongoing efforts to prevent Russian meddling in our upcoming elections, to build strong relationships internationally in order to maintain peace, denuclearize dangerous regimes and protect our nation and our allies," Coats added in his statement. The White House had no comment Saturday on Coats' statement. 'Did I hear you?' Coats was on stage at the Aspen Institute taking questions when he was informed by Andrea Mitchell, the MSNBC anchor who moderated the event, about the second summit. "Say that again. Did I hear you?" he asked, appearing amused. "OK, that's going to be special." Coats' appearance at the Aspen Institute had generated some frustration at the White House. One source said there was a belief that if Coats had been in Washington instead of Colorado, he would not have been surprised by the news. Trump has drawn heavy criticism from both Republicans and Democrats over his summit last Monday in Helsinki, Finland, with Putin, when he seemed reluctant to blame Russia for meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Trump later made clear he supported the U.S. intelligence community's findings about Russian meddling. On Saturday, The Salt Lake Tribune published a letter from Jon Huntsman Jr., the U.S. ambassador to Moscow, that appeared to reject a suggestion from a columnist for the newspaper that he resign after Trump's remarks in Helsinki. "I have taken an unscientific survey among my colleagues, whom you reference, about whether I should resign. The laughter told me everything I needed to know," the letter said. A State Department spokeswoman had no immediate comment on Huntsman's letter. With the swipe of a taupe shade of eye shadow and the swearing of an oath, Sandra Ramirezs transformation from rebel guerrilla to senator was complete. Eight ex-combatants with Colombias once-largest rebel group were sworn into office Friday in another crucial step in implementing the countrys peace accord, taking seats in Congress alongside some lawmakers who for years were bitter enemies. This is a big responsibility well be shouldering, said Ramirez, the widow of a legendary guerrilla leader. Its a change from life in the mountains, from boots in the mud. The fledging politicians represent a small faction in a Congress that has the task of pushing forward key aspects of the peace agreement. The rebels were guaranteed 10 seats in the legislature as part of the accord, a stipulation that has angered many Colombians. In his address to the new legislature, outgoing President Juan Manuel Santos acknowledged the hesitation of Colombians to embrace the former rebels as lawmakers, but he said including them in politics is a powerful demonstration of democracy. It fills me with satisfaction that those who for more than half a century fought the state and its institutions with arms today bow to the constitution, Santos said. Shaky ground for peace accord The oath ceremony comes just weeks before conservative Ivan Duque assumes the presidency amid signs that the peace accord remains on shaky ground. Duque vowed throughout his campaign to modify important aspects of the agreement, though he has softened some of his positions since the polarizing election. Two of the former leaders of the disarmed Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia didnt take their seats in Congress on Friday. Seuxis Hernandez remained jailed in Colombia on U.S. drug charges while Ivan Marquez is holed up in a rural camp for former guerrillas, telling comrades he fears for his safety. Adam Isacson with the Washington Office on Latin America said the absence of Marquez, the rebels chief negotiator during peace talks, was concerning. It sends a signal of skepticism that may influence a lot of midlevel leaders decisions about whether to give up and join a dissident group, he said. War still haunts nation Colombias conflict between leftist rebels, paramilitaries and the state left at least 250,000 dead, 60,000 missing and millions displaced in a war that still haunts many. Even as the number of homicides drops to a four-decade low, in many parts of the country drug traffickers and smaller illegally armed groups still wreak havoc. Since the signing of the accord, more than 300 social leaders and dozens of former rebels have been killed. Many fear the wave of violence could portend a repeat of events in the 1980s, when dozens of leftist politicians affiliated with the Patriotic Union party were gunned down. Ramirez said the ex-combatants taking office Friday were aware of the threats they face. It worries us immensely, she said. Preparing for life as legislator Ramirez was the partner of chief commander Manuel Marulanda until his death in 2008 and still goes largely by her alias, Sandra Ramirez. In Congress, she was sworn in with her birth name, Griselda Lobo. She eventually plans to legally change her name to Sandra Lobo, reflecting the dual identity many rebels harbor after years of being called by a nom de guerre. To prepare for life as legislators, she and her comrades took a crash course at a university that taught them about the role of congress, the various types of laws and how to introduce a bill. They are calling their coalition the Group for Peace and plan to focus on implementing the accord and defending human rights. Among their first proposals are ideas to improve conditions for young children in remote, rural parts of the country and better guarantee access to water. We never imagined ourselves here in Congress, debating bills, rebel leader-turned-senator Carlos Lozada said as he entered the stately legislature building. Big challenges The former guerrillas face a steep challenge in winning over Colombians and exercising any pull in Congress. They won less than 1 percent of the votes in the legislative elections and remain deeply unpopular in much of the country. Many Colombians think the rebels should go before a special peace tribunal before taking roles in Congress. They should pay first for all the bad things they did, for all the hurt they caused Colombia, Harold Gonzalez, a hotel administrator, said as he watched a group of teens playing a game of outdoor chess blocks from Congress. Ramirez said the ex-rebels are doing their part in taking responsibility, by meeting with victims and apologizing for their crimes. She said they are now looking to embark on a new chapter, though not forget the struggles of the past. She said she awoke Friday with mixed emotions. She felt ready to take on her new role, but couldnt help thinking of comrades who had dreamed of a day like this, but died before it came. It brings up memories and longings, wishing they were here for this moment, she said. A report by UNAIDS, "Miles to goclosing gaps, breaking barriers, righting injustices", warns that the global response to HIV is at a critical point. Eastern and southern Africa remain the regions most affected by the HIV epidemic, accounting for 45 percent of the world's HIV infections and 53 percent of people with HIV globally. An estimated 800,000 people in eastern and southern Africa acquired HIV in 2017, and an estimated 380,000 people died of AIDS-related illness, the report indicated. Mozambique, South Africa and Tanzania accounted for more than half of the new HIV infections and deaths from AIDS-related illness in the region last year. The survey also indicated that there was discrimination against HIV positive persons in healthcare settings, especially towards key populations. Key populations include men who have sex with men, drugs users, transgender persons and sex workers, considered to be most at risk at contracting HIV. There are nearly 1 million sex workers estimated to need services in the region. "For us it is important in fact we do have within NASCOP, a key population program, mainly targeting the key populations, the female sex workers, men who have sex with men and injecting drug users," said Dr. Kigen Barmasai, the director at Kenya's National Aids and STI Control Program, NASCOP "One, we know that this contributes to 33 percent of new infections in Kenya, from this key populations, of course the prevalence varies, we have prevalence from 29 percent in female sex workers to 18 percent among the injected drug users. So as a program we are working on this and we are spearheading the HIV prevention, treatment and care efforts to reverse the epidemic. For the last ten years we have been working on that." More than half of the people surveyed who inject drugs said they avoided health-care services, citing discrimination or fear of law enforcement authorities. In Kenya homosexuality is illegal and being found guilty can lead to a sentence of up to 14 years in prison. Sex work is also illegal in Kenya. "The criminal nature of Key populations, and the acts of Key populations that make people shy away from accessing health care and even organizing, coming together so that they can organize," said Grace Kamau, chairperson of the Key population consortium in Kenya. "The main thing is the criminal nature. People fear to be arrested" The report said about two-thirds of all people living with HIV in the region were accessing antiretroviral therapy in 2017. Kamau attributes the successes in reaching large numbers of Key populations in Kenya to availability of HIV resources made possible by donor funding, but she says more people are yet to be reached. "One of the things we have in Kenya is private clinics that are donor funded," said Kamau. "That is where the sex workers feel comfortable and that is where they access their services. And that is what has made the number to go high." The report indicates that there were 19.6 million people living with HIV in eastern and southern Africa at the end of 2017. Out of this number 81% were aware of their HIV status, an increase from 77% in 2016. West and central Africa continues to lag behind as statistics indicated AIDS-related deaths have fallen by only 24% in western and central Africa, compared to a 42% decline in eastern and southern Africa. Nigeria has more than half of the HIV burden in the region and there has been little progress in reducing new HIV infections there in recent years. The sudden thaw between longtime enemies Eritrea and Ethiopia is opening up a world of possibilities for the neighboring countries residents: new economic and diplomatic ties, telephone and transport links and the end to one of Africas most bitter feuds. But the fledgling peace is raising new questions for Eritreas diaspora, tens of thousands who fled their governments tight grip, rigid system of compulsory military conscription and endemic poverty. Now they are cautiously waiting to see how the truce will shape their homeland and perhaps offer them a chance to return. I want to go to my country, said Salamwit Willedo, a 29-year-old Eritrean living in Israel. Everywhere I am a refugee. But my country is my homeland. I feel home there. So I hope, I wish, that (peace) will happen. Suddenly, peace Tiny Eritrea, with 5 million people, gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after years of rebel warfare. It has been ruled by President Isaias Afwerki since then and has become one of the worlds most reclusive nations. The state of war with Ethiopia has kept the Red Sea country in a constant state of military readiness, with a harsh, indefinite conscription system that has drawn criticism from rights groups and sent thousands fleeing to Europe, Israel and other African nations. The Horn of Africa arch-foes fought a bloody border war from 1998 to 2000 that killed tens of thousands and left families separated. But the antagonism faded abruptly last month when reformist Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced that Ethiopia was fully accepting a peace deal signed in 2000 that hands key disputed border areas to Eritrea. The hostility between the nations has evaporated dramatically since. The leaders have visited each others countries to jubilant receptions, diplomatic and other ties have been restored, and the flagship Ethiopian Airlines resumed flights to Eritrea this week. Ethiopias embrace of the peace deal was the boldest change yet by Abiy as the country moves away from years of anti-government protests demanding wider freedoms in Africas second-most populous nation of more than 100 million people. Now eyes are turned to Eritrea and how peace might prompt it to loosen up and drop its long defensive stance. Diasporas divided opinions Hate, discrimination and conspiracy is now over, the 72-year-old Eritrean leader said this week to cheers and people chanting his name during his first visit to Ethiopia in 22 years. While the diaspora is split into government supporters and critics, many Eritreans abroad are skeptical of change so long as the current government remains in power. I think its not going to bring a solution inside the country, because we still have thousands of prisoners in the country, we dont have a constitution, we dont have internal peace, said Bluts Iyassu, who came to Tel Aviv in 2010 and is a member of United Eritreans for Justice, a group of Eritrean expatriates who are working to promote democracy in their home country. Israel has become a prime destination for fleeing Eritreans and is home to about 26,000. Most live in downtrodden neighborhoods in south Tel Aviv and work in menial jobs in restaurants or hotels. While many say their lives are better than in Eritrea, they have not received a warm welcome in Israel, which has struggled to cope with an influx of migrants from Eritrea and Sudan. Israel sees the migrants as job-seekers who threaten the Jewish character of the state. It has detained migrants and sent them to third countries in a bid to lessen their numbers. Rights groups say that Israel may use the reconciliation between Eritrea and Ethiopia as an excuse to encourage the migrants to leave. Gamut of emotions For the roughly 170,000 Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers living in Ethiopia, the peace in the short term means a newfound ability to communicate by telephone with their loved ones back home. I cant put my joy into words. I have already talked to my sisters in (the port city of) Massawa since the phone line was restored, said Alemnesh Woldegiorgis, 64, an Eritrean living in Ethiopia. He said he hopes to be issued a passport to visit family he hadnt seen for 20 years. In Germany, where nearly 70,000 Eritreans have settled, most are refugees who came to the country over the past five years, according to Germanys Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. Hintsa Amine lives with other Eritreans in temporary migrant housing near Berlins former airport. The 22-year-old arrived in Germany a year and a half ago, and while he supports the peace deal, he said it hasnt changed his plans because he still doesnt feel safe in his home country. I want to stay here in Germany, he said. For Mohammed Lumumba Ibrahim, 61, who has been living in Germany for 45 years, the truce has sparked hope that he might take his children to see his homeland. I would love to go with the whole family. But I need to make sure myself that we have peace, that there is no war so that I can take my children and show them their fatherland, he said. Defending the government Some diaspora members defended Eritreas government, saying it wasnt to blame for all the countrys ills. Essey Asbu, 47, who came to the United States in the 1980s as a refugee, returned to Eritrea for the 10th anniversary of independence and again about two years ago for the 25th anniversary. Eritreans mark their independence from 1991, when they captured their future capital, Asmara. He said he doesnt believe the current regime would have a problem letting any members of the diaspora return, unless they have committed a crime. I dont know why anybody would not be very comfortable to return, he said, adding that Eritreans who are professionals or have been educated in other countries could be the countrys greatest resource if they return. According to the most recent data from the U.S. Census American Community Survey, there are roughly 34,000 people born in Eritrea now living in the U.S. California has the largest number, about 6,200. About 1,150 live in Minnesota, according to the survey. Mohamed Salih Idris, 49, of Minneapolis, left in the 1970s and came to the U.S. in 1999. Idris has not tried to return to Eritrea, citing danger for himself and his family and the threat of not being allowed to leave. He said the peace agreement is bringing some optimism, but that feeling is laced with mistrust. There is no trust in the current regime at all. The hope is that now with this peace agreement, there is no excuse for them to continue doing what they have been doing, he said. He said fear of imprisonment is very real. That fear is making it very difficult for anyone to think about going back right now, he said. One of several Iranian women attacked with acid in the city of Isfahan in 2014 says her yearslong legal battle for justice remains on course despite an Iranian lawyer saying this week that the case has closed. In an interview with state news agency ISNA published Friday, Soheila Jorkesh said she does not know lawyer Hossein Abbas Alizadeh, who declared the case closed in an ISNA interview posted Wednesday. Jorkesh said she has received some of a blood money payment known as Diyah, but plans to appear in court next week to seek the full payment after someone raised an objection to her request. Under Irans Islamic laws, Diyah is paid as financial compensation to victims or heirs of a victim in cases of murder, bodily harm or property damage. Full payment of Diyah In his interview with ISNA, Abbas Alizadeh said he had been representing three of the female Iranian victims of the 2014 Isfahan acid attacks. He said the victims, whom ISNA did not name, had received court-ordered blood money payments from the Iranian government after authorities failed to find those behind the attacks and bring them to trial. Abbas Alizadeh said the receipt of the payments meant the case was closed, but added that it could re-open if the perpetrator or perpetrators are arrested in the future. Jorkesh told ISNA that she needs her blood money to be paid in full in order to complete surgical procedures to preserve sight in her left eye. The 2014 attack blinded her right eye and badly damaged her left one, prompting her to travel to the U.S. city of Boston for surgery last year, according to Irans state-authorized IFP news service. Jorkesh said a doctor in the U.S. had told her to return from Iran within two months for more surgery on her left eyelid, but she postponed the procedure because of the legal issues with her blood money. She said she has been trying to preserve the sight in her left eye with the help of eye drops sent to her by friends in the U.S. She said she thanks God that she still has some vision and hopes to keep it. Acid attack in Isfahan An assailant or assailants on motorcycles threw acid at Jorkesh and three other women who had their car windows open while driving in the central city of Isfahan in October 2014. The attacks sparked public protests in Isfahan and elsewhere by Iranian women who said they believed the victims were targeted because they were deemed not to be properly wearing an Islamic hair covering or hijab. Iranian officials at the time denied that the attacks were motivated by Islamist anger toward women perceived to be dressed immodestly. But authorities have not apprehended the attacker or attackers. This report was produced in collaboration with VOAs Persian Service. The charity Proactiva Open Arms has filed a complaint with Spanish police against a cargo ship for failing to help migrants adrift on a destroyed dinghy in the Mediterranean. The captain of the charity's rescue boat said Saturday that he also planned to file a separate suit against the Libyan coast guard. The migrant rescue boat Open Arms docked in Spain on Saturday carrying a woman and the bodies of another woman and a 4-year-old boy, all of whom were found among the remains of a dinghy off the coast of Libya last week. The boat took four days to arrive in the Spanish port of Palma after finding the migrants adrift about 80 miles (130 kilometers) off Libya's coast, having been abandoned by the Libyan coast guard, the charity said. "We have filed a complaint against the captain of the [merchant ship] Triades for failing to help and for involuntary manslaughter, and we'll also do it against the captain of the Libyan patrol," Oscar Camps, the Open Arms captain and founder of the NGO, said at a news conference. Open Arms claimed the ship's crew had seen the migrant dinghy but had failed to provide help. Reuters could not find a way to contact the captain of the Triades, which flies a Panamanian flag. The ship is currently moored in the Libyan port of Misrata, where officials could not be reached for comment. The Libyan coast guard also left the three migrants to float amid the shattered remains of the raft after the two women and the boy had refused to board their patrol ship, the charity said. Libya's coast guard disputed the account Tuesday but offered no explanation for how the three migrants came to be stranded on the remains of the dinghy. The Spanish charity operates in the central Mediterranean, one of the deadliest areas of the sea and favored by people smugglers operating out of Libya. Charity boats have been locked out of Italian ports, the closest European landing point, since Italy's new government vowed to crack down on illegal immigration from North Africa. Open Arms found itself at the center of the European immigrant crisis at the start of the month when it rescued 60 migrants off Libya and took them to Barcelona after being refused docking in Italy and Malta. For the past several months, intelligence and security officials in the U.S. government and private sector have cautiously marveled at the seemingly slow pace of Russian cyberattacks and influence operations using social media. Unlike in the run-up to the 2016 U.S. presidential elections, officials say so far there has been no frenzy of hacks, phishing attacks or use of ads and false news stories to penetrate voting systems, alter voter rolls or influence voters ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. Some have suggested the slowdown is the result of better preparation and better cyber tools that have allowed social media companies to thwart Russian efforts. But among Western intelligence agencies, there is also concern that Russia may not be relying on bots and trolls because they have real people who can do the work instead. We [Estonian intelligence] have detected a network of politicians, journalists, diplomats, business people who are actually Russian influence agents and who are doing what they are told to do, Mikk Marran, the director general of Estonias Foreign Intelligence Service said Friday, speaking of Moscows efforts in the West. We see clearly that those people are pushing Russia's agenda, Marran told an audience at the annual Aspen Security Forum in Aspen, Colorado. Marrans comments come during a week that saw U.S. President Donald Trump casting doubt on the U.S. intelligence communitys assessment that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election, while standing alongside his Russian counterpart, President Vladimir Putin, following their meeting in Helsinki. Since returning from Europe, Trump has backtracked on his initial statement, reading a prepared statement during Tuesdays Cabinet meeting and in an interview Wednesday with CBS News. Still, senior U.S. intelligence and security officials remain concerned, publicly asserting Russia did indeed meddle with the 2016 election. A U.S. special counsel, Robert Mueller, appointed to investigate Russian involvement in the 2016 election and possible collusion by members of the Trump campaign, on July 13 indicted 12 Russian intelligence officials for hacking the computer networks belonging to the Democratic party, and has previously secured indictments against Trump campaign staffers, including campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Yet despite the publicity from the U.S. investigation and greater awareness across the West of Russias influence operations, Estonian intelligence officials assert Moscow has not been deterred. Instead they say the Kremlin has ratcheted up efforts to make use of influence agents, many of whom Moscow has been cultivating for years. Politicians that have been in the margins of local politics some years ago are actually right now in national parliaments or national governments, Marran said. They have made some bad investments but they have also made some very good investments. What they [the Russians] have provided to those people is media support, political support. They have proposed or provided some exclusive business opportunities, he added. In some occasions we have also seen that they have provided financial aid. Marran declined to name any politicians, diplomats or journalists suspected of being in Moscows pocket. And while it is not the first time that Estonia, a U.S. ally and a NATO member, has warned of Russia's cultivation of influence agents in Western Europe, there are growing concerns that such operations have taken hold in the United States. Former U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper suggested Thursday that Russian efforts may even have reached into the White House. Ive been trying my best to give the president the benefit of the doubt and always expressed potential other theories as to why he behaves as he does with respect to Russia generally and Putin specifically, Clapper told CNN when asked about Trumps refusal to back the findings of the U.S. intelligence community during his joint news conference with Putin Monday in Helsinki. But more and more I come to a conclusion after the Helsinki performance and since, that I really do wonder if the Russians have something on him, Clapper said. There have also been persistent rumors that some members of Congress could also be doing Russias bidding a notion reinforced Thursday by Bill Browder, the chief executive officer of Hermitage Capital and a driving force behind the Magnitsky Act, which allows Washington to withhold visas and freeze financial assets of Russian officials thought to be corrupt or human rights abusers. There's one member of the U.S. Congress who I believe is on the payroll of Russia its a Republican Congressmen from Orange County [California] named Dana Rohrabacher who is running around trying to overturn the Magnitsky Act, Browder said at the Aspen Security Forum. I dont have the bank transfers to prove it, but I believe that thats the case, Browder said when he was pressed on the accusation, citing Rohrabachers behavior. VOA contacted Rohrabacher's office regarding the accusation, but has not yet gotten any response. U.S. intelligence and security agencies also declined comment on the allegations that Russian influence agents have infiltrated the U.S. government, though The New York Times reported in May that intelligence agents had warned Rohrabacher, long been considered to be one of the most Russia-friendly members of Congress, as far back as 2012 that Kremlin agents were actively trying to recruit him. And during a private meeting in June 2016, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy told fellow Republican lawmakers, Theres two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump, according to a recording obtained by The Washington Post. It was a bad joke, McCarthy told reporters after the tape emerged. That was all there was to it. Nobody believes it. Katherine Gypson contributed to this report. The U.S. Defense Department says it will give $200 million to Ukraine to help bolster its militarys defensive capabilities. The Pentagon said in an announcement Friday the money will be used to help fund military training, equipment and advisory assistance. All the military aid is nonlethal in nature. A timeline for delivery of the aid and equipment is to be determined later, the Pentagon said. The latest military aid brings the total U.S. security sector assistance to Ukraine to more than $1 billion since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea. Ukraines government has been working to make its armed forces more compatible with those of the NATO alliance. The implementation of these reforms will bolster Ukraines ability to defend its territorial integrity in support of a secure and democratic Ukraine, the Pentagon said. The new assistance comes during a time of political debate over U.S.-Russian relations in the aftermath of the Helsinki summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. A physicians group working with Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh says medical and scientific evidence indicates the extent of the violence they suffered at the hands of the Myanmar military and civilians. In Please Tell the World What They Have Done to Us, Physicians for Human Rights detailed the findings of forensic medical evaluations of 22 Rohingya survivors of an August 2017 assault on the village of Chut Pyin in Myanmars northern Rakhine state. PHR said that Chut Pyin is a prime example of a brutal campaign of violence carried out by Myanmar authorities against the Rohingya people, and that what happened in Chut Pyin, and elsewhere in Rakhine state, should be investigated as crimes against humanity. Fleeing Rohingya have given harrowing accounts of the military burning their villages in northern Rakhine state, and using rapes, killings, looting and the laying of land mines to prevent them from returning to their homes. We saw multiple gunshot wounds that are consistent with people having been shot while fleeing and heard numerous accounts of rape and other sexual violence, said Dr. Homer Venters, PHRs director of programs. We rigorously and meticulously analyzed the injuries, first-hand testimonies, and eyewitness accounts and all our forensic examinations were highly consistent with the events that the survivors described. Seventeen of the 22 Chut Pyin survivors seen by PHR had at least one gunshot wound and the mobility of nine of the survivors was severely compromised. The survivors suffered various injuries, including gunshot wounds, blunt-force trauma, lacerations and more. The injuries serve as medical evidence to corroborate the survivors accounts of shootings, beatings, stabbings, and other forms of violence which occurred on that day, PHR said. The power of science, of medicine, is that injuries do not lie, Venters said. Each laceration, blunt-force trauma, burn and gunshot wound tells a story, and we use this forensic medical evidence to shed light on what likely happened on that day. More than 700,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmars northern Rakhine state since August 2017, after attacks by Rohingya militants against state security forces led to military reprisals. The United Nations says the military retaliated in a well-organized, systematic and coordinated manner, calling the response a textbook example of ethnic cleansing. PHR is a U.S.-based advocacy organization that uses science and medicine to document and call attention to mass atrocities and severe human rights violations. PHR shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for their work for the banning and clearing of anti-personnel mines. After a meeting at the United Nations with his South Korean counterpart and U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is calling on the international community to fully enforce sanctions against North Korea. Pompeo said the U.S. will need to see concrete actions from Pyongyang before the sanctions can be eased. VOA's Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from Washington. UN agencies are extremely worried that the upsurge in fighting in Yemen's Hodeida Governorate could result in the closure of the port. This, they warn would be catastrophic for millions of starving people. More than three years of war has pushed Yemen to the brink of famine, with more than eight million extremely hungry people totally dependent on international aid for their survival. Most of the food and other essential humanitarian aid arrives in Yemen through the Port of Hodeida. For now, the port is open. But, World Food Program spokeswoman, Bettina Luescher tells VOA heavy fighting around this strategic city is putting the delivery of crucial aid at risk. "We are continuing to provide emergency rations to the people fleeing the violence and we are making sure that wheat and other food stocks are available." Luescher said. "We are concerned that the upsurge in the fighting in Hodeida could lead to 1.1 million people being either displaced or trapped within Hodeida. That is the concern that we have." The United Nations reports an estimated 50,000 Yemenis have been newly displaced since fighting broke out in Hodeida on June 12. It calls Yemen the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Since the Saudi-led coalition began bombing rebel Houthis in support of the government in March 2015, more than 10,000 peoplemost civilians-- reportedly have died and more than two million people displaced. UN special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffith is in negotiation with the warring parties to prevent an all-out attack on the city and port of Hodeida. He reportedly has presented a proposal that would see the UN playing a role in keeping the peace in the city and port. The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone on Saturday to discuss joint humanitarian efforts in Syria, a day after France sent 50 tons of medical aid. France sent the aid after Russia agreed to facilitate transport of the aid to government-controlled eastern Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus that until April was controlled by rebels. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also discussed efforts to solve the humanitarian crisis in Syria, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry. Earlier Saturday, a Russian military plane left the French city of Chateauroux with 50 tons of medical aid and humanitarian supplies bound for Syria. The aid is to be distributed by an agency of the United Nations that coordinates humanitarian aid. A French news agency photographer who saw the plane being loaded told AFP the supplies included tents, medical equipment, blankets, and cooking utensils. A joint statement by France and Russia said "Humanitarian assistance is an absolute priority and must be distributed in accordance with principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence" across Syria without exception. Meanwhile Saturday, Syrian media and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported a new group of rebels has begun evacuating territory in Quneitra province that recently was re-taken by government troops. The Syrian Observatory said about 4,000 people are expected to be evacuated. The United Nations and human rights organizations have condemned the evacuations as forced displacement. The evacuations are part of a deal reached with the rebels controlling that area until the government launched an offensive earlier this year. The location of the territory is strategically important, as it is in a corner of the country near the borders with Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights territory seized from Syria in 1981. In a mass, terror-related trial, a special court in Senegals capital, Dakar, has sentenced more than a dozen suspected militants to serve prison sentences ranging from five to 20 years on charges of supporting terrorism and providing material support to militant groups in the country. The court announced its verdict Thursday against several individuals including Makhtar Diokhane and his lieutenants, who were found guilty of membership in Boko Haram and al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). A total of 14 militants were convicted while another 15 individuals were acquitted of the charges brought against them by the prosecutors for lack of evidence. Those sentenced could appeal their convictions in the countrys appeals court. Makhtar Diokhane, the leader of a terror cell, received the harshest sentence of 20 years in prison. According to court documents, Diokhane was a religious teacher in Senegal and was linked to the Boko Haram terror group, who has been working to establish the groups footprint in Senegal. Reactions Many in Senegal predicted Diokhanes conviction. However, Alioune Ndaos sentence caught everyone by surprise. The court gave him a 30-day probation period for illegally possessing a weapon. Ndao is allegedly a Salafist imam with close ties to those convicted of terror charges in Thursdays trial. The court could not give him a harsher punishment because of lack of evidence against him. People are especially stunned by the verdict given by the court especially for the case of Imam Ndao, Baye Abdou Cisse, a Dakar-based journalist who covered the trials from the beginning, told VOA. For many Senegalese, the mountain gave birth to a mouse, Cisse added referring to Ndaos light sentence of only 30 days probation. The public prosecutor had requested a 30-year sentence against Ndao. Analysts like Jacob Zenn of the Washington-based Jamestown Foundation, who has been researching terror groups in Senegal, believes the trial is a step in the right direction in Senegal and demonstrates the countrys seriousness in cracking down on terror cells operating in the country and undermining its security. I think Senegal sought to send a message to the international community [that] it was responsible in its prosecutions while also putting future jihadists on notice [that] the country will take the issue of terrorism and foreign fighting seriously, Zenn said referring to Senegalese going overseas to fight for terror groups in the region. Zenn, however, added that Diokhane deserved more time in prison for his terror-related activities. Diokhane was a key facilitator, especially for the Senegalese who fought in Nigeria with Boko Haram, Zenn said. He was responsible for dealing with Boko Haram leadership, receiving finances from Boko Haram, trying to get fighters out of prison in Niger, and setting up a cell in Senegal. Dakar-based journalist Cisse echoed Zenns description of Diokhane and said court documents also showed that Diokhane met with Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, where he allegedly received nearly $30,000 (6 million Nigerian naira) to set up a terror cell in Senegal. During the court proceedings, Diokhane reportedly confirmed the meeting between him and Boko Harams leader, which lasted for eight hours, but did not elaborate on the issues that were discussed between the two. Hidden cells The trial of suspected militants will continue as several other terror suspects are awaiting their court hearings before the Special Criminal Court, which only takes cases related to national security. The Jamestown Foundations Zenn believes there may be more hidden cells in the country. Chances are there are other Senegalese who have been to Mali, Libya or Nigeria and are still under the radar, Zenn said. Nevertheless, a wide network has been broken up, and I think with ongoing surveillance of jihadist networks in Senegal, sleeper cells will have little breathing room to operate, he added. A group of villagers, mostly women and children, had gathered to watch. "What's his name?" Mitja asked as he sat down on a low wooden bench, pulled on disposable gloves, and gestured to the sobbing kid to come sit on his right leg. "Jeremiah," his mother said. Soon, a young woman pushed a crying boy about five years old toward Mitja. The boy was barefoot; he had a mop of blond curly hair, like most kids here, and was dressed only in dirty blue shorts. "Any children with ulcers here?" he asked in Tok Pisin. "Can we see them?" LIHIR ISLANDIn a small village 15,000 kilometers from home, Oriol Mitja jumped out of a white van one early May afternoon and started to look at people's legs. Oriol Mitja examines a young patient, Jeremiah, who has an active infection which can be cured with a dose of azithromycin (Brian Cassey) Mitja, 38, a physician-scientist from Spain with earnest eyes and a friendly smile, has a way of putting kids at ease. As Jeremiah calmed down and began to wipe the tears from his eyes, Mitja took a close look at his legs. On each, the boy had a glistening pink ulcer the size of a coin, with slightly raised edges. Nearby were whitish, warty splotches. Mitja also checked Jeremiah's arms, hands, and the soles of his feet; they looked fine. Jeremiah's mother didn't seem overly concerned. The ulcers were common, and she said she hadn't taken the child to a clinic. "Does Jeremiah play with the other kids?" Mitja asked. She nodded. "Does he go to school?" No, she saidnot yet. The ulcers and splotches, or papilloma, are symptoms of a tropical skin disease called yaws, Mitja's professional and personal obsession. Yaws affects people in hot, humid areas in PNG and at least 13 other countries in the western Pacific, Southeast Asia, and Africa. The disease is caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pertenue, a close relative of the organism that causes syphilis, and it spreads primarily through skin contact, often between children. Yaws isn't fatal, but if left untreated it can disfigure the skin and bones, causing lifelong pain and disability. When Mitja arrived in PNG in 2010 to work at a local clinic, he had no idea what yaws was; the disease was so neglected that it didn't appear on many lists of neglected tropical diseases. And yet eradicating it was once a major global public health goal. In the first half of the 20th century, colonial health administrators recorded staggering numbers of casesan estimated 50 million worldwide in 1952in 90 countries girdling the equator. Then, in 1948, scientists discovered that a single injection of penicillin cured yaws, and in 1952, the World Health Organisation in Geneva, Switzerlandfounded four years earlier and brimming with optimismembarked on an audacious plan to wipe it out. But the campaign fizzled out in the 1970s and '80s. Penicillin had its drawbacks. The injectionsin the buttock, with a thick, hollow needleare painful and can introduce bloodborne pathogens if not done safely; penicillin allergy is a problem as well. After cases had been slashed by some 95%, the campaign became a victim of its own success. Yaws faded from a global priority to a forgotten disease. That is now changing, thanks largely to Mitja, an assistant professor at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health in Spain. In 2012, he published a paper in The Lancet showing that yaws can be cured with a single dose of the oral antibiotic azithromycin. That much safer and easier treatment can be given not only to infected people, but also to entire at-risk populations. The study"perhaps the most important [paper] on yaws in the past 50 years," as David Mabey of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine wroterevived the dream of eradication. WHO is now spearheading a new global attack plan. If it succeeds, it would be a major feat, because only one human disease has been eradicated: smallpox, in 1980. (Campaigns to end polio and Guinea worm disease are in their final stages.) Yaws would also be the first bacterial disease to be wiped out. But success isn't guaranteed. The scale of the challenge is uncertain because no one knows how many yaws cases remainor just how many countries are still afflicted. Global health's usual benefactors, having picked other priorities, have refused to open their wallets. And some scientists say Mitja and WHO ignore an inconvenient fact: Unlike other agents marked for eradication, the yaws bacteriumor a close relativealso infects monkeys and apes, suggesting the disease could jump back into the human population at any time. Those questions haven't deterred Mitja, whose tireless campaignmixing science, medicine, and advocacyhas made him a celebrity in Catalonia, his native region of Spain. This year, together with PNG health officials and with modest funding from a group of donors, he launched the first of three mass treatments with azithromycin, each six months apart, to test the feasibility of eradication. Jeremiah's village on the island of New Ireland is part of the study area. "Tomorrow, a team will come with yaws medicine. Everybody will get the drug," Mitja said after the boy, now smiling faintly, had hopped off his lap. "Jeremiah's ulcers will be gone within a few weeks," he promised the boy's mother. In 2010, a medical centre on Lihir advertised a temporary position for a doctor. Lihir has 18,000 inhabitants and one of the world's biggest gold mines, operated by an Australian company, Newcrest Mining Limited, which also supports the clinic. Mitja, who had finished his residency and taken a course in tropical medicine, answered the ad. Yaws often starts with a single ulcer, which can last for months if not treated; in the second stage, lesions can turn up elsewhere on the body, as they had in Jeremiah. In the long term, the bacterium can infect joints and the outer layer of bones, causing them to swell. It also can cause painful hardening of the skin on the palms and soles of the feet, as well as eruptions on the face. One afternoon in May, Mitja went to see a 15-year-old Lihir boy named Stanis Malom, who had suffered long-term damage from yaws. The bacterium had caused a symptom sometimes called sabre shin, in which the shinbone curves forward. This had likely made the leg prone to tearing of the skin, Mitja said, and caused a permanent open wound the diameter of a teacup, which he covered with a bandage. Stanis had stopped going to school because of the pain, his father said, and was now helping him grow vegetables. (Mitja believed the stigma of disease may also have played a role.) Stanis had been treated with antibiotics and no longer had yaws, but the damage had been done; the open wound made him vulnerable to all sorts of infections. In a richer country, an orthopaedic surgeon might be able to repair the leg"You'd have to break the bone and put it back together in a better position," Mitja saidbut that option did not exist here. "The bottom line is, he's not going to have a happy life." At home, his fight against yaws had made Mitja a star and turned pian, Catalan for yaws, into a household word. But in the wider world, the disease remained almost as unknown as it was eight years ago. "Making people aware of this disease, not only in Barcelona but also in the rest of the world," he said, "that would be my dream." For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. Here are the instructions how to enable JavaScript in your web browser The U.S. government has sentenced 21 people to jail terms for their involvement in a call center scam based in India that targeted U.S. victims. The prison sentences for the convicted ranged from 4 to 20 years. The stiff sentences imposed this week represent the culmination of the first-ever, large scale, multijurisdiction prosecution targeting the India call center scam industry, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement Friday. Thousands defrauded U.S. officials say the call center scam defrauded thousands of U.S. residents of hundreds of millions of dollars. Prosecutors say the Indian call centers used various telephone fraud schemes to defraud mainly vulnerable Americans, including the elderly and legal immigrants. Justice Department officials say some of the schemes included impersonating employees of the Internal Revenue Service or the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Officials say the callers duped victims into believing that they owed money to the U.S. government and would be arrested or deported if they did not pay immediately. Victims were instructed to wire money or purchase stored value cards. Once a victim provided payment, the call centers turned to a network of U.S.-based runners who would quickly move the money by using anonymous reloadable cards. India and US defendants Prosecutors say Miteshkumar Patel, 42, of Illinois, was the head of a Chicago-based crew of runners and also coordinated directly with the Indian side of the conspiracy. He was given the longest prison term of the group 20 years. This case represents one of the most significant victories to date in our continuing efforts to combat elder fraud and the victimization of the most vulnerable members of the U.S. public, Sessions said. The indictment for the case also charged 32 India-based conspirators and five India-based call centers with general conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy. Those defendants have not yet been arraigned. 3 Former U.N. secretary general Kofi Annan with Nelson Chamisa, leader of the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance in Harare, July 20, 2018. He is accompanied The Elders group members Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland, and Lakhdar Brahimi, an Algerian career diplomat look on. (S. Mhofu/VOA) Zimbabwe's president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, extended a hand of reconciliation Saturday to whites and ruled out more invasions of their land. In a sharp departure from his ruling ZANU PF party, which used to treat whites as foreigners and seized land under Robert Mugabe's regime, President Mnangagwa appealed to whites to vote for him in Zimbabwe's July 30 general election, and promised them land. "We are saying many of our, especially, white farmers, who remained behind and did not go away, we are very grateful for accepting this change, and you must come on board and must be issued with the 99-year leases, wherever the pieces of land which they hold," said Mnangagwa. "And as we go forward, we are acquiring so much land that is getting reviewed as a result of the exercise we are doing now from those who have acquired multiple farms. And again, we are racially blind. It doesn't matter whether it's Chiwenga, who has a farm bigger than what is required in the area. We will downsize it and we forget that he is the vice president. He is a citizen like anybody else, the same with me, and the same with everybody. We are going to make sure we don't have the animal farm mentality, which you did this morning." Mnangagwa was speaking at what his ZANU-PF party called a "white interface rally" to garner votes from the race about whom his predecessor, Mugabe, used to say, "The only good ones are the dead ones." President Mnangagwa now wants their votes in the July 30 election in which he locks horns with Nelson Chamisa of the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance, along with other candidates for Zimbabwe's number one job. On Saturday, Mnangagwa said whites now would be eligible to get a 99-year lease for land. Mugabe's regime seized most of the white-owned land in the early 2000s in what he said was land reform meant to address colonial imbalances. The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. New United States ambassador to Zimbabwe, Brian A. Nichols,speaks about issues facing the country. Ambassador Nichols joins the U.S. Mission in Harare from Washington D.C., where he most recently served as a Senior Advisor in the State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. #voazimvotes 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: Tours dedicated to usually a single volcano currently in eruption. These trip, sometimes offered only last-minute through our newsletter, are among the most adventurous and most popular in our program. We offer you private geology tours to get to know the extraordinary geology and natural history of the island, but also aspects of the deep connection with its cultural history and archaeology. Stromboli provides one of the most remarkable opportunities to watch volcanic eruptions from close: a natural ridge located 150 m above the active vents. A classic and all-time favorite tour by anyone interested in seeing active volcanoes! We're proud to present our 2018 volcano calendar: 13 different and attractive images of volcanoes, volcanic landscapes and phenomena taken during volcano tours over the past few years. 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: ArcelorMittal SA subsidiary AM/NS Calvert LLC wants a waiver to Section 232 tariffs for 755,000 tonnes of carbon and alloy steel slabs from Mexico. That volume amounts to more than 90% of the 836,181 tonnes that Mexico shipped to the United States last year, according to data from the US Commerce Department's Enforcement and Compliance division. About 1,900 jobs at the Alabama slab reroller, one of the most modern flat-rolled steel processing plants in the United States, could hinge on whether the exclusion is granted, the company warned. AM/NS Calvert is unable to domestically source these slabs, which it must have in order to continue its steel rolling operations, the company said in a petition to the Commerce Department dated Monday June 18 but not posted online by the US government until July 18. Can you spare 4 million tonnes? Calvert, Alabama-based AM/NS Calvert makes about 4.9 million tonnes of flat-rolled steel annually from slabs sourced from its US operations as well as from material imported from its mills in Mexico and Brazil, the petition indicates. The mill makes a full range of hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coated flat-rolled steels for a wide spectrum of end-use markets, including automotive, energy transmission and distribution. ArcelorMittal can produce 14.9 million tonnes of slabs per year from its mills in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania. About 13.6 million tonnes are rolled into sheet and plate, which in theory leaves 1.3 million tonnes for AM/NS Calvert to roll. But in practice that number amounts to about 900,000 tonnes per year, once such factors as maintenance outages and yield loss are taken into account, the company said. The result is that AM/NS Calvert needs about 4 million tonnes from outside sources. "This necessitates purchasing slabs from other sources to keep the mill viable," the company added. One big problem is that there were only 447,967 tons of slabs available on the merchant market from other US producers in 2017, the company said, citing data from the American Iron and Steel Institute. There is little or no functioning commercial market for slabs in the United States. And AM/NS Calvert isn't counting on restarted US blast furnaces to make up that shortfall, given the "hundreds of millions of dollars" necessary to reline and restart idled capacity and complementary casting facilities. Mexico or bust Mexican tonnage is critical for ArcelorMittal to supply AM/NS Calvert in 2018 and 2019 both due to limited US slab supplies and the US import quota against Brazil, the company said. Brazil has agreed to limit semifinished steel exports to the US to 3.5 million tonnes annually, of which about 1.4 million tonnes had been filled as of mid-June. But that pace will probably accelerate because no one in the Brazilian government appears to be in charge of administering that quota celing, AM/NS Calvert said. The result of that administrative vacuum is that there is a rush to export slab from Brazil, including from Brazilian mills that have not previously supplied slab to US producers, the company said. That rush to the doors means Brazil could hit its slab quota well before the end of this year, according to AM/NS Calvert. As a result, access to slabs from ArcelorMittals Mexican operations has become critical to the continuation of operations at AM/NS Calvert." Should AM/NS Calvert lose access to Mexican slabs, the disruption could flow downstream to customers in the energy transmission and automotive sectors. The company supplies almost all major automakers including General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co, Fiat-Chrysler, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, BMW and Toyota, it noted. AM/NS Calvert also risks losing business with ArcelorMittal Mexico, another subsidiary of Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal SA. The Mexican unit supplies slabs to AM/NS Calvert, which rolls them into hot-rolled coil and re-exports them to Mexico. If the exclusion is not granted, the business will simply be lost, the company warned. AM/NS Calvert was built in 2010 by German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp. It was acquired in 2014 for $1.55 billion and operates as a 50-50 joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. Last year (without my mother-in-law) was the first time we did not see any of them even once for holidays, and I realized it's because even though both sisters reached out to try to make plans, my husband never quite committed or passed along the information to me. It used to be that his mother would communicate with all of them, making sure family plans were made and held to. The university should not serve as a waystation for high-level members of an administration that has directly harmed our community and to this day attacks the institutions vital to a free society, the petition read. While we do not object to dialogue with members of this administration, we do object to the use of our university to clean up their tarnished reputations. No one should be serving at the highest levels of this administration, daily supporting and defending its actions one week, then representing UVA the next. To pay his bills, Williams has had to use money once reserved for preservation work. Historic gravesites have suffered, such as the Rives Family Vault, which houses 25 members of a family that was prominent before the Civil War, he said. The vaults outer shell is more than 150 years old and crumbling, but the cemetery has had to postpone its preservation, Williams said. Jealous agreed that there should have been laws in place to prevent Jarrod Ramos, the suspect in the Annapolis shooting who had been charged with criminal harassment, from buying a weapon. He also said there should be a multistate effort to shut down the illegal gun trade across state lines. Jealous added that everyone should have access to mental health care and there should be social workers in every school. They were very much aghast at the prospect of not having collections, Skorton said. They were gentle with me, and kind and polite, and they said in the nicest possible way theres a different way of using technology and that is, show us the authentic object and use technology to help us put in context. My experience with this is that nobody focuses on this until it happens. And then when it happens, its like, Why didnt I know about it? said Jack Evans, chair of the Metro board, as he considered the commuting chaos that may come on Monday. We will do as much as we can to relieve the inconvenience thats going to happen. You could say Smithfield is a little obsessed with pork products, but that would understate how deeply hogs are woven into the history and life of this town of about 8,300 on a hill over the Pagan River. So it has come as a shock that Smithfield Foods is shuttering the last smokehouse that produces the areas signature product, the genuine Smithfield ham. 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 A 70-year-old New Mexico man who regularly fed wildlife at his home suffered multiple injuries when he was bitten by a bear as he stepped outside, officials said. The state Game and Fish Department says conservation officers went to the man's Cloudcroft home Friday after his wife drove him to an Alamogordo hospital for treatment of injuries that included arm puncture wounds and leg scratches. According to the department, the man acknowledged feeding cracked corn to wildlife and that multiple bears routinely entered the residence. Officers found pet food bowls near the house, bear prints on windows and scratch marks on the porch. Schiffman a pediatric oncologist who also treats humans with cancer and colleagues have found that elephants have 40 copies of the TP53 gene, which suppresses tumor cells before they can grow and spread. By comparison, humans and most other animals have only two copies. Schiffman and research partner Carlo Maley of Arizona State University say they suspect that the extra copies may give elephants a powerful ability to keep mutant cells at bay. Scientists have long known that TP53 helps the body kill rogue cells before they can transform into tumors. But until Schiffman and Maleys work, no one realized that any animal had 40 copies of the gene. The elephants approach appears to be a unique evolutionary strategy for fighting cancer. Police in Manila disperse protesters at U.S. Embassy: Philippine riot police used shields and a water hose to disperse more than 100 left-wing activists in front of the U.S. Embassy in Manila in a confrontation that injured more than a dozen protesters. The flag-waving demonstrators first converged at a Chinese consulate to protest Beijing's assertive actions in the disputed South China Sea, then marched to the heavily secured U.S. Embassy in Manila to protest alleged U.S. meddling in the Philippines. For our meeting, Nickloes arrived punctually with two unpaid staff members. Wearing a navy-blue dress, a single strand of white pearls and medium heels, she resembled the flight attendant she once was en route to becoming a military pilot. Already a trained pilot, and having initially been turned down by the Tennessee National Air Guard because they felt she couldnt handle the physical demands, she took the airline job at her fathers urging. Also a pilot, he told her to get to know the pilots, who often also serve in the Guard, and take any Guard pilot job she could get. Coats was caught so off guard when NBCs Andrea Mitchell reported the news in the middle of a televised interview at the Aspen Security Forum that he did what much of the rest of the world did at that moment, responding with a startled, Say that again? There was no effort to hide the fact that he was as much in the dark as anyone outside of government. Did I hear you right? he said with a laugh, and to much laughter from the audience. And then this about the possible meeting: Thats going to be special. Trumps sustained unpopularity in these states has freed up these incumbents to be more forceful in their challenges to the president. Casey, for example, announced his opposition to any Supreme Court nominee of Trumps several hours before the president announced Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh as his pick. Stabenow waited a couple days but rejected Kavanaugh without even the courtesy meeting with the nominee. Nocturnal and solitary, the pangolin has an effective defense against most predators even lions cant work out what to do when the animal rolls up into an armored ball. Its English name comes from the Malay word pengguling, which means rolling ball; its Chinese name, chuanshanjia, refers to its supposed ability to bore through mountains, a reference to the powerful claws that dig into anthills and termite mounds before that sticky tongue gets to work. Coats and Trump do not have a contentious relationship, officials say, though its not close. That Coats spoke at all, and so candidly, was somewhat out of his step with his custom. Some national security officials have referred to Coats as Marcel Marceau, after the French mime, because Coats never says anything, said one person familiar with the nickname. A low point from the perspective of U.S. officials came during Pompeos third visit to Pyongyang on July 6 when he pressed North Korean officials for details on their plans to return the remains of U.S. soldiers killed during the Korean War, as they had agreed to do in Singapore. The issue had been discussed in several meetings and was viewed by the United States as an easy way for North Korea to demonstrate its sincerity. Russia and Iran have enabled Assad to decimate Syrian opposition forces, once backed by the United States, with airstrikes and ground forces that have been blamed for much of the civilian displacement and deaths in Syrias seven-year civil war. Withdrawal of Iranian forces throughout the entirety of Syria is at the top of the administrations Iran strategy, most recently spelled out in a major speech by Pompeo in May, and persuading Russia to help accomplish that goal has been a key rationale for administration outreach to Moscow. Cubas legislators are expected to take a major leap this weekend toward adopting those and other changes in the island nations most significant bid for constitutional reform in decades. The move follows the April retirement of Raul Castro brother of revolutionary Fidel Castro, who died in 2016 as the countrys head of state and suggests a cautious advance in the remaking of Cuba in an era when other communist countries, including China and Vietnam, have embraced the free market. Option one is to divide families. The family stream takes about 47,000 people, most of them spouses who come with their Australian partners. Are some of them to be turned away? Britain did exactly this last year by setting an earnings threshold of 18,600 ($32,860) on citizens who want to bring in a spouse. It broke my heart, one British husband told the BBC when his Chinese wife was kept out. Option two is to punish employers. The skilled stream takes about 111,000 people, a combination of workers sponsored by employers and those who come independently after proving they can fill a labour shortage. How low can this go? The Turnbull government toughened the rules last year by increasing visa fees and cutting the list of skills in shortage. This means the intake is already falling but every additional cut brings a risk to economic growth. Option three is to turn away refugees. The humanitarian intake is 16,250 and the only area in the population debate where political parties compete to go higher. Labor promises to lift this to 27,000 by 2025. The Greens want 50,000 a year. (This intake is counted separately to the permanent migration program but these are permanent arrivals nonetheless.) Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, right, swears in Australian Border Force commissioner Michael Outram in May. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The most important new factor in this debate is the release of figures from Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton showing a fall in the permanent intake. Dutton is reviled by some for his rejection of asylum seekers who come by boat but makes no apology for his stance. He now signals a similar hard line on the migration program. Official figures from the ministers office show Australias permanent migration program shrank by 21,191 places in the year to June 30, a bigger fall than many thought possible. This is no longer an issue where Left lines up against Right behind the usual barricades. Conservative commentators now find themselves on the same ground that union leaders staked out a few years ago when warning about rorts in the skilled migrant intake and the damage to Australian workers. Former prime minister Tony Abbott argues for a cut to the permanent intake that is four times the size an 80,000 reduction to an annual level of 110,000. The hard part is saying exactly who should be turned away. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, right, with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters after signing their coalition agreement. Ardern came to power with a vow to cut migrant intake. Credit:AP The closest laboratory for this experiment is across the Tasman. New Zealands Labour government, led by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, came to power last September on a promise to cut the 70,000 annual migration program by 20,000 to 30,000 places every year. Arderns promise is yet to be put in place but shows the flipside of her softer policy her offer to Australia to take 150 refugees currently in detention on Nauru and Manus Island. What of the economic cost? Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief James Pearson says politicians are playing with fire by turning away skilled workers and fuelling community doubts over migration. They are stoking the unfounded fears of some in the community who are being told that skilled migrants take jobs off Australians, said Pearson. By starving business of the skills it needs, current policy and practice puts Australian business and jobs at risk. Yet the economic case may not satisfy Australians who are seeing their cities and suburbs change around them. Melbourne is experiencing unprecedented population growth. Credit:Nicole Emanuel The nations two biggest cities are magnets for migrants. The population of Greater Sydney grew by 102,000 in the year to June 2017, with migration making up 85,000 of the total. Melbourne grew by 125,000, including net migration of 80,000. More than half of all the nations population growth is in these two big cities, with very little growth in regional Australia. Is that sustainable? It is certainly inevitable, said Peter Macdonald, one of Australias most respected demographers and a professor at the University of Melbourne. Thats the way the world is going to large cities, global cities. There are some 33 cities in the world with more than 10 million people and the number is growing. Can infrastructure keep pace with Australia's current rate of growth? Credit:John Veage Sydney and Melbourne are not reaching 10 million any time soon and their growth is not all grim. Theres a lot of research about the value of large cities the diversity of life attracts skilled people, said Macdonald. The key question is whether infrastructure is being built fast enough to deal with the growth. Not so far. Trams are packed, highways are choked and trains are jammed. The social cost is obvious while the financial pain is greatest for the young and the disadvantaged. Rapid migration and restricted housing supply are imposing big costs on people who dont already own their homes, the Grattan Institute warned earlier this year. If planning and infrastructure policies dont improve, the government should consider cutting the migration intake. But there is a catch in all the argument over the permanent intake. The fact is that many of the people coming into Australia are on temporary visas that give them the right to work. Many are counted in the population but they are not considered permanent arrivals. The number of temporary visa holders in this country grew to about 2.1 million people last September, according to an analysis by Henry Sherrell of the Parliamentary Library. That means there are 380,000 more in Australia than there were five years earlier. A visitor does not have to be permanent to push up rents in the suburbs around a university. Nor does he or she have to be permanent to take a job that might otherwise go to an Australian citizen. About 160,000 of these temporary visitors are on bridging visas as they wait for permanent entry a reminder that a cut to the permanent intake can mean someone remains in the country in another category. Another 674,000 are New Zealanders. There are 137,000 visitors on working holidays like the backpacker tax fruit-pickers. Nothing highlights the pressure on the system better than the arrival of more overseas students, who gain visas that give them limited work rights and a pathway that can one day lead to permanent residency. There are now 513,000 of these students in Australia, up from 342,000 five years ago. There is no cap on the intake. Universities depend so heavily on the fees from these students that Australia cannot afford to break the link between the visa program and education funding. This is a reinforced steel cable that constrains any attempt to reduce the numbers, even though no political leader ever told voters that the policy settings would lead to an intake so large. We shouldnt be stopping people doing higher education here that would be calamitous for the higher education sector, said Bob Birrell, a former Monash University researcher who now heads the Australian Population Research Institute. What we should do is stop the visa churning when students finish their courses. Many overseas students switch to other visas to stretch out their stay in Australia and get jobs while they apply for permanent residency. The government has curtailed the ability to switch to a skilled worker visa but other avenues remain. In a global contest for talent, Australia benefits from this brain gain. But how many do we need? Is an uncapped program really sustainable? The quality concerns over higher education are already apparent as university degrees become licences to enter the country and get a job. In New Zealand, Arderns pledge to reduce the migration program includes a plan to cut back on low value courses that are seen as a back door to permanent migration. Is this Australias future as well? These are hard questions and they highlight the inadequacy of so much of the political debate. It is all very well to talk about cutting the intake but how should it be cut? To be brutal: who should be turned away? It will take a mammoth investment in Sydney and Melbourne, beyond the current list of infrastructure projects, for the countrys two big cities to deal with this relentless increase. Unless that happens, the calls to slam the door will only increase. Where do we want to be in the future? How many migrants should Australia take every year? Wrong question, said Carla Wilshire, the chief executive of the Migration Council. She and others say the population debate should be much bigger than this. What we need to do is ask ourselves where we want to be in the future. What population do we need to maintain our security? Where do we want to be positioned in our region? What muscle do we need and which industries do we need to grow? said Wilshire. Then we need to work out what population size we will need to maintain our standing and what skills we will need to bring in to develop the industries of the future. This is vital. The rise of China and the doubts over US power under Donald Trump are a reminder that Australia cannot take its security for granted. Slamming the door on migration risks the growth that underpins security over the long term. Demographer Peter Macdonald warns against a severe cut to the intake, adding that turning away skilled workers would return Australia to the 1980s migration program, dominated by family reunion. Australias strategic future is fundamental but easily lost in the political argument. And there is no guarantee that another study is the answer. Liberal senator Dean Smith has called for a population inquiry but it looks like this idea could run for a full year, led by politicians in federal parliament, with an election right in the middle of the process. That could be another platform for political rhetoric rather than policy action. It might even become an avenue for the naked racism that sometimes passes for debate on migration. Barnaby Joyce has been given a rock star reception at a crisis meeting of more than 1000 farmers in a WA country town where the former federal agriculture minister labelled opponents of live sheep exports "zealots". Two of three major exporters are now not trading with the Middle East during its sweltering summer, which peaks in August, after 2400 sheep last year died from heat stress on the Emanuel Exports-chartered Awassi Express. Livestock Shipping Services voluntarily suspended its northern hemisphere sheep business while Emanuel had its licence suspended. Mr Joyce said those who wanted to shut down the sector were "zealots" but the industry could fight back and win, citing the resumption of the cattle trade to Indonesia and NSW's abandoned proposal to ban greyhound racing. Police in riot gear have broken up a party with more than sixty teenagers at a house in Perth's northern suburbs that also hosted an "Out of Control Gathering" in January. Mounted police and the canine squad supported officers from the Regional Operations Group as they dispersed the party on Hyland Crescent in Clarkson around 9.15pm on Friday night. Police said they observed "in excess of 60 teenagers in the yard, with many consuming alcohol and intoxicated, and further people were inside and also expected to attend." Police moved around 100 people on from the area. Credit:Cathryn Tremain Police said they attended the same address in January 2018 to respond to a party which was declared an Out of Control Gathering - and on Friday police returned to the home to respond to the party planned for that night. Martin Frieberg (number 17), Mark Regev's father, survived the Nazis by hiding in the German countryside until liberation. My father's family were German Jews who didn't get out before the war, they were stuck in Europe in the years of the Holocaust and they arrived in Australia in the late 1940s as postwar refugees." Regev's father spent much of the war hiding with his parents, brother and newborn sister in the countryside around Magdeburg. Loading "And so the idea that I grew up with, that I was born with, was Jewish people have to be conscious of their history and we have to make sure that we're no longer defenceless in the way we were in the 1930s and the 1940s," he says. Safely in Australia, Regev was educated at Mount Scopus College, the Jewish day school that has turned out some of Australias highest achievers, including businessman Solomon Lew, cabinet minister Josh Frydenberg and fashion designer Peter Alexander. But one school could not fulfil all his ambitions. Mount Scopus didnt offer politics for the matric [final exams], so I went to Kew High once a week to [study] I even remember the textbook, Regev recalls. His early politics were socialist. He lived on a kibbutz when he left Australia in 1982 for Israel then, after joining the diplomatic corps in 1990, he enjoyed a stellar rise through the ranks, with postings to China and Washington, DC. US ambassador to Britain Lew Lukens (left) with Mark Regev at the candlelight vigil in Trafalgar Square to remember those who lost their lives in the Westminster terrorist attack. Credit:PA In 2006, he took on the high-profile job of prime ministerial spokesperson for Ehud Olmert and later Benjamin Netanyahu, fronting the worlds media to defend Israel against increasing international criticism of its actions in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Since 2016, he has been posted to London, but visits his family - a mother, his father's sister, two sisters and brother, all still in Melbourne - every 12 to 18 months. A front-row seat As Israel's ambassador to London, Regev is in the front seat for one of the most tumultuous times in Britain's recent political history, with the vote to leave the European Union and the rise of the hard Left in Jeremy Corbyn, a Labour leader often criticised for his lacklustre response to issues of anti-Semitism in the party. Is it right that you stay here and enjoy Australia, and people are fighting and dying? Israeli ambassador to Britain, Mark Regev Regev wont detail his private discussions with Corbyn and is uncharacteristically short when pressed. The Labour Party leadership has said that they understand that this is a challenge, this is a problem and they are dealing with it, he says. Asked if he believes Labours assurances, Regev simply says: I ... that's what they say. While insisting it is not the job of an ambassador to scorecard individual British politicians, Regev is as blunt as a diplomat can be when asked if he believes Corbyn is personally anti-Semitic: He's always stressed that he is not." Britain's Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, joins a march opposed to the visit of Donald Trump. Credit:AP One politician Regev is willing to discuss is Donald Trump and with good reason. Trumps decision to move the US embassy to contested Jerusalem, to the dismay of allies including Britain and Australia, sparked the recent deadly protests on the Gaza border but caused jubilation in Israel. Regev says the broadly critical Western European view of Trump is not shared by those in the Middle East, who feel let down by Obamas failure to insist on his red lines when Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad deployed chemical weapons on his own people in 2013. In my part of the world, his popularity is pretty good, says Regev. Trumps withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal is also welcomed in the region, something Regev says the European states, which continue to stand by Obamas deal, should consider. A Palestinian medic treats a protester shot in the face with a teargas canister during protests in the Gaza Strip in June. Credit:AP I would say to the Europeans ... Arabs and Israelis don't automatically agree on everything. When we do agree, people in Europe should pay attention. As ambassador, Regev spends more time with MPs than with the media but his core mission remains the same. Wherever he goes, he is repeatedly questioned about the Netanyahu governments increasing heavy-handedness against the Palestinians. But he has a ready supply of well-rehearsed answers, regardless of who is asking. Loading Like Netanyahu he blames the Hamas terrorists who he accuses of wanting to create as many victims as possible for propaganda a trap that, by that measure, Israel repeatedly falls into. I agree with that, says Regev. From our point of view every casualty is bad for Israel and good for Hamas and that's why we don't want to see casualties so that's why we make a maximum effort to avoid casualties. Peace through technology In the 1970s, Regev says the Arab world had the advantage over Israel. "We were in conflict with the Arab world and they had [oil]. And because they had this huge commodity that everyone in the international community needed they had leverage and they could galvanise international support for their positions," he explains. Back then Israels attempts to build a car were so bad that the only customer was the government, who forced the clunky vehicles upon public servants. Last year, Intel paid $15 billion for the Israeli company Mobileye, which develops software for driverless cars. Eventually, he says, paraphrasing Netanyahu, technology will provide the Israelis a way to protect themselves from Hamas incursions and potentially contribute to building a path to peace. Amnon Shashua, co-founder and chief technology officer of Mobileye, speaks during a keynote address at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Credit:Bloomberg I remember when I was sitting with my prime minister half a decade ago in my previous job and the tunnelling issue became very serious and he would approach foreign leaders and say 'do you have technology to deal with tunnelling?' And he spoke to specific countries about their experiences and there wasn't a technology. We developed that technology. Israels reputation as a startup nation is one of the nation's leading exports. Regev, now 58, sees it as critical to catching up to the Arab states now facing a reckoning in a world weaning itself off oil. Maybe in the 21st century Israel has the metaphoric oil and it's because we have the technology and the innovation that we are producing the ideas and the products that the global economy requires. We have leverage that we didn't use to have, and that's why countries like India, like China, like Japan, like South Korea, Singapore are all strengthening their relations with Israel. It is Israel's economic confidence that gives Regev optimism for peace. Washington: President Donald Trump on Saturday denied any wrongdoing a day after reports that his one-time attorney Michael Cohen had recorded them both discussing buying the rights to a story by a woman who said she had an affair with Trump. The president said in a tweet it was "perhaps illegal" for a lawyer to record a client. An attorney for Cohen called Trump's statement "false." "Inconceivable that the government would break into a lawyers office (early in the morning) - almost unheard of," Trump tweeted, in an apparent reference to an FBI raid on Cohen in April. "Even more inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client - totally unheard of & perhaps illegal. The good news is that your favourite President did nothing wrong!" Trump added. Jim was a hard-working man who always had a smile for everyone Hordes of performers have already taken over downtown as part of the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival, and this year, the Exchange District BIZ has decided to get in on the action with a show of sorts of their own. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/7/2018 (1192 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Hordes of performers have already taken over downtown as part of the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival, and this year, the Exchange District BIZ has decided to get in on the action with a show of sorts of their own. Touring around town The Exchange District Biz isnt the only company doing tours heres a few other Winnipeg tour companies and what they have on their schedule this summer: click to read more The Exchange District Biz isnt the only company doing tours heres a few other Winnipeg tour companies and what they have on their schedule this summer: The Winnipeg Trolley Company Offers two types of tours: city tours lasting about two hours and hit up all of Winnipegs biggest and best sites; tickets are $27.25 for adults. The Ale Trail is a brewery tour that stops at three locations and includes guided tours of the citys breweries, a crash course in expert beer evaluation and tasting flights or one pint at each location. Tickets for this one are a bit pricier, at $64.95 per person (or $39.95 with no alcohol tastings). The Winnipeg Trolley Company is also about to introduce the Trolley of Terror, a haunted tour that will begin running this fall. For more information on times and routes, and to book tickets, visit winnipegtrolleycompany.ca. Manitoba Legislature Building The Manitoba legislature is open to visitors who would like to take a free guided or self-guided tours of both the interior and outdoor grounds. The tours are available all year and folks interested in a self-guided tour can come almost any time the building is open. Those who want guided tours are asked to reserve in advance. Registration forms, maps and other information is available at gov.mb.ca/legislature/visiting/tour.html. SquarePeg Tours Has the largest variety of Winnipeg tours with 11 different themes that range from ghost walks to exploring the boom and bust of Winnipeg to uncovering the secrets behind symbols at the Manitoba Legislature Building. All of their tours range in price from $12-$20 for adults, and last anywhere from 90 to 150 minutes. SquarePeg also has numerous tours specifically designed for students that are just one hour in length and are aligned with the Manitoba school curriculum, as well as tours built to accommodate seniors groups and organizations. All of their information can be found at squarepegtours.ca. West End BIZ The West End BIZ is getting into the neighbourhood tour game with a trio of options of that highlight all the area has to offer. First up, they have Around the World in a Few Blocks a restaurant walking tour that allows participants to sample four dishes in the West End, all while hearing stories and history about the area; tickets for this tour are $47. Next, they have a mural tour during that guides will share the meaning and purpose of many of the murals that decorate West End walls. This tour is just $5 for adults. Finally, there is an artisan tour that visits several businesses and, for just $10, takes groups down some of the most scenic streets in the city. To book a spot in any of these tours, visit westendbiz.ca. Close Running for a limited time during the fringe fest, the BIZs new theatrical walking tour, Rebels, Riots and Revolutionaries, tells the stories of Winnipegs politically charged past, including women earning the right to vote, the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike and the 1934 Nazi riots, through the use of newspaper headlines from the era. The guides lead the tour in character and in costume; this is the first theatrical tour the BIZ has ever done, and tour director Sabrina Janke says the fringe festival seemed like the perfect opportunity to roll something like this out. "It seemed like a good time to do a theatrical tour was during our theatre festival... so this year will be a bit of a test launch for us to see how it goes, but we definitely want to look into doing more of this in the future," says Janke. In addition, Rebels, Riots and Revolutionaries tours running on July 28 are "pay what you can." Typically, this tour costs $10, while the others on offer from the BIZ are just $5 a pop for kids and students, and $8-$10 for adults. Alexandra Chase, left, and Hannah McKenna, performing tour guides, lead tours through the Exchange District and its history. (John Woods photos / Winnipeg Free Press) Interest in walking tours is on the rise, and the BIZ has already expanded their offerings to include eight one-hour or 90-minute walking tours with various themes and routes, as well as three food tours, which are more expensive ($65-$85) and are two-and-a-half hours long. The response? Attendance numbers have dramatically increased; in June 2017, Janke says about 500 people had taken tours, and in June 2018, that number had risen to more than 1,000 people. Of the eight tours on the roster, three are new this year, each of which took about a month for guides to develop and find interesting nuggets of Winnipeg history that wont be found on any other tour. Janke who has been studying Winnipeg history for four years digs deep in the city archives for content and its almost guaranteed that even life-long Winnipeggers will learn a thing or two about the often shocking (and sometime hilarious) history of the city. The Rebels, Riots and Revolutionaries walking tour tells the stories of Winnipeg's politically charged past. On the new Punks & Anarchists tour, for example, Janke talks about rule-breakers and game-changers in Winnipeg from the late 1800s all the way up to the 1990s and 2000s punk music scene and reveals the areas deep-seated propensity for protests and rebellions, both for noble and not-so-noble causes. Spoiler alert: Winnipeggers have really liked to solve all of their social and political problems with violent riots. Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. These types of historic walking tours are a draw for tourists who are just getting acquainted with the city, but for locals, the benefits can reach much deeper. These tours encourage a new kind of appreciation for Winnipeg and the cast of characters that made the city such a quirky and complicated place to live. "I mean, Winnipegs history is way cooler than it tends to get credit for," Janke says. These tours encourage a new kind of appreciation for Winnipeg and the cast of characters that made the city such a quirky and complicated place to live. "I know one of the things that a lot of locals tend to do is go, Oh, Winnipeg is not that exciting, when we compare ourselves to other cities that have bigger and grander histories than Winnipeg might. Were not a huge city... but our history impacts so much going forward that a lot of Winnipeg makes sense when you know what we come from and how Winnipeg developed." For more information about tours and prices visit exchangedistrict.org. Tours can be customized for content or adjusted for mobility concerns. erin.lebar@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @NireRabel Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/7/2018 (1192 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion Canadian wineries, it would appear, have an ally in Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister. Earlier this month, Pallister sent a letter to his counterparts in other provinces in advance of a premiers meetings in New Brunswick. In it, he urged other provinces to remove limits on in the interprovincial transportation of alcohol for personal use. On July 17, the Canadian Vintners Association issued a press release in support of Pallisters call to his provincial counterparts, specifically as they relate to wine, claiming that "direct-to-consumer (sales) would lead to important growth for the countrys highest value agricultural industry." Manitoba is one of only three provinces to allow the importation of wine directly from any province the other two being British Columbia and Nova Scotia. Some provinces regulations around the interprovincial shipping of wine (or any alcohol) are murky Saskatchewan, for example, allows wine to be shipped directly to consumers from B.C. wineries, but not from those found in other provinces while others forbid it. The movement of liquor in Canada was largely a federal jurisdiction until 2012, when Stephen Harper and the Conservative government introduced Bill C-311, which amended the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act enacted 90 years ago and essentially deferred to provincial laws to set regulations about the interprovincial movement of wine for personal use. (The act was subsequently amended further to include beer and spirits in 2015.) In April of this year, the Supreme Court upheld a ruling in New Brunswick that saw a man, Gerard Comeau, fined $240 for bringing a bunch of beer back in his vehicle from Quebec, where the brews sold for less. The court deemed the province was within its rights to restrict Comeau, based on the fact that it had another overriding purpose namely, the desire to control the availability and supply of alcohol in the province. Manitoba is one of the most progressive when it comes to the interprovincial movement of alcohol. The Manitoba Liquor Marts website states, "(There) are no restrictions on the amount of beverage alcohol individuals can bring interprovincially on your person and for personal consumption and with the passing of Bill C-311, the stipulation to come through the Liquor Mart if you wish to order from a Canadian winery has been lifted. So that great wine you discovered while on vacation in Niagara that isnt carried in Manitoba? You now have the ability to order it directly to your home." Why would Pallister want to promote the loosening of interprovincial movement of alcohol at this point? In the letter, he claims it could lead to the easing of restrictions on interprovincial trade in other areas and also that the idea has widespread public support. It could be beneficial to the provinces breweries and distilleries, as well, allowing more made-in-Manitoba products to land on shelves throughout Canada. With the recently introduced tariffs in the U.S. and on some U.S. products imported into Canada, theres more reason than ever to drink Canadian. But our massive country still has a splintered wine industry. B.C.s Okanagan Valley and Ontarios Niagara Peninsula, Canadas two largest wine-producing regions, are thousands of kilometres apart and rarely work together on initiatives to grow the relatively young Canadian wine industry within our country. Here in Manitoba located roughly halfway between the two regions the B.C.-Ontario split of Canadian wines in Liquor Marts and on private wine store shelves is roughly 50-50. We see some decent but fairly commercial, mass-market Canadian wines, a handful of very good producers and just a small trickle of the best that Canadian winemakers have to offer. Thankfully, were able to take matters into our own hands and order direct from those producers who dont make it into our market. uncorked@mts.net Twitter: @bensigurdson Wines of the week In order to encourage readers to explore Canadian wines not in our market, here are a few wines recently tasted that can be ordered online from winery websites: Try our Dish The latest on food and drink in Winnipeg and beyond from arts writers Ben Sigurdson and Eva Wasney. Dish arrives in your inbox every other Friday. See sample. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. JoieFarm 2017 "En Famille" Muscat (Okanagan Valley, B.C. $24.26, winery website) This Naramata, B.C.-based winery located between Kelowna and Penticton tends to stick to cooler-climate grape varieties. A highly aromatic white, this Muscat brings all manner of fresh floral, apricot, red apple, orange rind, melon and spice notes. It's mostly dry, and on the light-bodied palate the stone fruit, crunchy apple and pear notes are fleshed out by complex spice notes. There's also an incredible freshness that's perfect for summer. An outstanding example of the Muscat grape made in a non-sweet style. 1/2 Bartier Bros. 2016 Cerqueira Vineyard Merlot (Okanagan Valley, B.C. $23.49, winery website) From Don and Michael Bartiers Oliver, B.C-area vineyard comes this Merlot, which includes just a splash of Cabernet Franc. Bright plum, violet, blueberry, mocha and chalky aromas come through here. Its a medium-plus bodied, plush Merlot, but not in an overripe, extracted way rather, the dark fruit flavours bring just enough depth to work beautifully with the chalkier white-pepper notes, the modest tannin and the medium finish. Its quite expressive and elegant now and hard to imagine exercising patience to put it away. Megalomaniac 2017 Narcissist Reserve Riesling (Niagara Peninsula, Ont. $18.95, winery website) This single-vineyard Ontario Riesling offers the best aromatics typically associated with the grape: fresh red apple (including seeds and skin) and peach notes as well as bright lemon-candy and a waxy/petrol component. On the off-dry, light-bodied palate the fruit is bright and zippy, with lemon notes picking up the medium acidity and running with it while the red-apple notes remain fresh and pure. Its quite a fun expression of the grape, from a region that does Riesling so well. Anyone driving west of Saskatoon during the third week of July gets a surprise just as they pass the small town of Langham. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/7/2018 (1192 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion Anyone driving west of Saskatoon during the third week of July gets a surprise just as they pass the small town of Langham. Rising up from the prairie horizon is another city of sorts, one filled with grain bins, long lines of farm equipment and rows of tents housing more than 450 exhibitors. The balloons and drones hovering over the site give it a festive feel but the farmers, often with young children trying to match them stride for stride as they make the rounds, are there on a mission. Now in its fourth year, the annual Ag in Motion outdoor farm show hosted by Glacier FarmMedia has evolved into a show that attracts more than 30,000 farmers from all over the world. Its turned into a new way to do its job for a company traditionally rooted in connecting farmers with industry innovations through publications. The appeal for farmers is the fact that its held outdoors on a site big enough that they can actually see new technology in action. The daily demonstrations of new equipment on field-scale plots attract thousands of farmers who flock like seagulls to the test sites at the appointed times. There is also room for seed developers to plant plots to show off the latest in new crops, new varieties, and to demonstrate new developments in crop protection or fertilizer management. But innovations on display dive much deeper into some of the complex issues farmers face. A University of Saskatchewan researcher was recognized for her research that found grain damaged by the common crop disease fusarium head blight can be fed to mealworms, which then become protein that is usable for poultry feed. Normally, high infestations of fusarium make grain unfit for human or animal consumption. Xarvio, a division of Bayer Crop Science, launched a free crop-scouting app that combines artificial intelligence (AI) with crowdsourcing of photos of commonly found weeds. When farmers photograph a plant with a mobile phone, it feeds into the identification algorithm, essentially making the app more robust the more it gets used. Spokesman Warren Bills said the app would eventually be able to reliably identify up to 50 of the most common weeds farmers face. Less visible is the surge in sensor technology that has created a collision between Big Iron and Big Data unlike anything thats ever been experienced in agriculture, says David Yee, vice-president of operations for the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI), an independent research agency funded by the Manitoba and Saskatchewan governments. "The latest John Deere tractor has anywhere from 110 to 300 sensors on it depending on the features you put on," Yee told audiences in his daily presentations in one of the speakers tents. The ability to monitor, measure and analyze combined with blockchain distribution systems is making it possible to deliver traceability to end users, which fosters trust in the system, he noted. In some cases, cost is an issue, but more often than not, the biggest factor delaying adoption of new ideas is user friendliness. And with all the focus on the new stuff increasing productivity, sometimes the simple basics such as harvest loss get lost in the shuffle. 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. When it comes to food waste, consumers are by far the worst offenders in the food chain. But reducing the amount of grain that is lost or damaged during harvest affects how much farmers get paid. That prompted PAMI and the Canola Council of Canada to develop a mobile-friendly interactive "combine optimization tool" (not an app) that helps farmers find the causes of grain losses, quality damage or efficiency during harvest. When engineers delved into the issue, they found more than 50 ways a farmer can lose money during harvest, many of them related to calibration and speed. Its not shiny. It is information a farmer can find elsewhere, but its more accessible and using it pays off. Saved money is worth twice as much as dollars earned. There is no shortage of ideas for making farming better. The trick for farmers is deciding which ones work best for their operations. Laura Rance is editorial director at Glacier FarmMedia. She can be reached at 204-792-4382 or lrance@farmmedia.com Fifty years ago today, Philippe Mailhot stood in the cemetery in front of St. Boniface Basilica and watched as the beating heart of the community went up in flames. This article was published 20/7/2018 (1192 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Fifty years ago today, Philippe Mailhot stood in the cemetery in front of St. Boniface Basilica and watched as the beating heart of the community went up in flames. That was the day the 60-year-old basilica the fifth Roman Catholic edifice built on the site since the first church rose in 1818 was destroyed in one of the most significant fires in Manitoba's history. Phil Mailhot, former director of the St. Boniface Museum, poses in front of the St. Boniface Cathedral ruins in Winnipeg. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press) In less than two hours on July 22, 1968, the symbol of the Roman Catholic Churchs 150-year history in St. Boniface was reduced to a pile of smouldering rubble encased in a charred shell of stone. "I was 13 years old and visiting my cousin Claude who lived on Goulet Street," Mailhot, who grew up to become a historian and director of the St. Boniface Museum for a quarter-century, recalled Friday morning during a tour of the ruins, inside of which a new cathedral opened in 1972. "We were going to go swimming," Mailhot, now 63, said. "It was a very hot summer day. We were just leaving the house when my aunt Eveline came running up shouting: 'The cathedral is on fire! The cathedral is on fire!" 'I was told to call in everyone' It's a moment former St. Boniface Fire Department member Art Desmet will never forget. "I received a call on 999, that there was a fire in the rectory at St. Boniface Cathedral," the 80-year-old said this week. "I was told to call in everyone," he said. "I was calling people who were off duty, guys who were on vacation. We needed everyone." click to read more It's a moment former St. Boniface Fire Department member Art Desmet will never forget. He was acting district chief on July 22, 1968, when the 999 emergency phone line (it later became 911) rang at 12:08 p.m. "I received a call on 999, that there was a fire in the rectory at St. Boniface Cathedral," the 80-year-old said this week. "I received the call from someone working in the cathedral." Desmet immediately began calling for fire crews to rush to one of the most prominent and beloved buildings in St. Boniface. "I was told to call in everyone," he said. "I was calling people who were off duty, guys who were on vacation. We needed everyone." Firefighter Art Desmet worked on the day of the St.Boniface cathedral fire. Even firefighters who were at their cottages an hour or two out of the city rushed back as soon as they heard about the fire, he said. Desmet still has copies of the alarm report from that day pages he rightfully calls "history." They show the first alarm was called out at 12:08 p.m., followed by the second at 12:13 p.m. The deputy chief got to the scene at 12:09 p.m., the police were called at about the same time, and by 12:31 p.m. the deputy chief was calling Desmet to request an aerial ladder truck from the neighbouring Winnipeg Fire Department. (The two departments would later meld in 1974, as part of the formation of what is now the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service.) Desmet's notes show he first tried calling the St. Boniface fire chief to make the request to Winnipeg, but when staff couldn't locate him, they called Winnipeg anyway and, at 12:38 p.m., the aerial truck was on its way. Official alarm notes taken by firefighter Art Desmet from the St.Boniface fire department the day of the fire. Media accounts at the time show the aerial truck was delayed and had to detour to get across the Red River because so many Winnipeggers were rushing across the Provencher Bridge to watch the blaze. Firefighters on scene knew the building was doomed when the cathedral's twin spires fell into the interior of the basilica, followed by the explosion of the large stained-glass window at the front. Desmet said he went home after his shift, and had just enough time to eat dinner before he got the call to return, this time to the fire. "Everybody was working there were no lazy guys there," he said. "I was there when the window blew out, but I was so busy I didn't see it... But when the big front, round window let go, it was pretty devastating." Desmet said workers did a good job retaining the old cathedral walls when they built a new rectory inside the ruins at 190 Avenue de la Cathedrale, but it also brings back memories for any firefighter who was there five decades ago. "Your heart pumps a little more today when you go past it," he said. kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca Close Which is when Mailhot and his cousin hopped on their bikes and pedalled like mad to the cemetery in front of the historic cathedral, joining a throng of thousands gathered to watch the out-of-control blaze that began in the rear of the church's attic and spread quickly up its twin turrets. "What I remember was this ball of flame in the roof basically chewing its way toward the bell towers at the front," he said, pointing at the top of the stone ruins. "This was one of the tallest buildings in the city. It was the equivalent of a six-storey building. "We parked in front of the cathedral and the crowd just kept getting bigger and bigger. There were thousands and thousands of people. It was quite the crowd." The thousands of people watching the fire are said to have impeded fire trucks attempting to respond to it. (Winnipeg Free Press files) Mailhot doesn't remember much about the smoke or the heat, although reporters at the time claimed you could feel the fire at least two blocks away and the size of the group watching made it difficult for firefighters to get equipment to the scene. Firefighters train a hose on the interior of the basilica in an effort to save part of the building from the flames. (Winnipeg Free Press files) "A firefighter told me they couldn't get trucks over the Provencher Bridge or the Norwood Bridge because it was just gridlocked," Mailhot said. "Nobody was moving. The cars were just stopped and people were watching the fire. "Then smoke started coming out of the bell towers, which started to burn. When the bell towers collapsed into the church, there was a collective groan from the crowd. They had hoped if they could save the towers, they could save the church. Bell towers are designed, in the event of a fire, to collapse inside a church." In the years to come, Mailhot was told that had the cathedral's massive stone facade fallen forwards, he and his cousin could have been flattened. "As a 13-year-old know-it-all, I figured 'this place is a goner,'" he said. "Thirteen-year-olds don't have long attention spans. After the bell towers went down, we went swimming." The cathedral on fire. (Winnipeg Free Press files) The fire began at about noon and is believed to have started as the result of a carelessly tossed cigarette from one of the workmen repainting and repairing the basilica's roof. Action outside the fire. (Bill Rose / Winnipeg Free Press files) By 1:10 p.m., the turrets went crashing into the building, and the bells, which had been brought over from England in 1840, also plunged into the basement. After fire destroyed the third cathedral in 1860, the bells were sent back to England for recasting and later returned to the church. When the smoke finally cleared, all that was left was the facade, the charred stone walls, the marble altar and the sacristy. The fire had consumed the spiritual and cultural heart of St. Boniface, then a separate city. In an editorial the day after the blaze, the Free Press opined: "Not just the city of St. Boniface but all Manitoba and indeed all Canada suffered a grievous loss in the destruction by fire on Monday of St. Boniface Cathedral. "It is particularly heart-rending that the disaster should have struck when the city had just celebrated its 150th anniversary as a community the community from which Christianity spread throughout Western Canada and of which the Basilica was the focus." St. Boniface basilica seen from the air the day after the fire. (Winnipeg Free Press files) Walking through the cemetery Friday, Mailhot pointed out a monument paying tribute to all the churches built on the site, erected just six days before the basilica was gutted by fire. On that sweltering day in July 1968, St. Boniface Archbishop Maurice Baudoux spoke with Free Press reporters as he watched flames lick through his beloved cathedral. Citizens look at the gutted remains of the basilica. (Winnipeg Free Press files) "Sentimentally, it is the greatest loss that can be imagined," he said, quietly. "We had been thinking of the possibility this might happen but one cannot imagine that it has happened." As the archbishop walked through the crowds, it was reported that elderly parishioners and small children rushed up to him to offer comfort or express their grief. While the archbishop and the 13-year-old version of Philippe Mailhot were watching the fire, reporter Michele Veilleux was interviewing community members, who were heartsick about the loss of an institution they held dear. "For me, its my whole life," said a 70-year-old sister of the Order of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, who would not reveal her name. Interviewed in French, the sister explained: "I was baptized in the previous church that was demolished to build this one, but I made my first communion in the basilica. "My fathers and mothers funeral ceremonies were held here and they were buried in the shadow of the cathedral. Our family pew was just opposite that door its as if it was my own house that was burning." Aerial photo of the St. Boniface basilica the day after the fire. (Winnipeg Free Press files) Once the fire began in the attic, nothing could have been done to stop it from gutting the whole structure, St. Boniface fire chief Emery Proulx told the Free Press's Ron Campbell the day after the tragedy. "If you go back into the history of fires in these churches, once a fire starts in them, they are usually destroyed," he said, because unlike an apartment block or a house, there are no partitions or walls inside to contain the fire. "It was so vast in there, there was no way you could have stopped it." A model of the St. Boniface Cathedral, made with materials salvaged from the original cathedral. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press) Mailhot said the community was determined, even if it took 100 years, to see their church rise from the ashes. Doug Speirs | Uplift A weekly review of funny, uplifting news in Winnipeg and around the globe that is delivered to your inbox each Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "It was 1968 and organized religion was more important than today," he noted. "It was the heart of St. Boniface. The city's tagline was: 'St. Boniface: the Cathedral City.' "St. Boniface is the mother church of Catholicism in Western Canada ... In the 1960s, if you were a French-Canadian, you were still going to church. The church was still a pretty important player. The St. Boniface Cathedral was the jewel in the French Catholic sense of place in Western Canada. "It's still considered a cultural centre for the community. I'd encourage everyone to go to the St. Boniface museum and learn about this cathedral... it's still one of the hottest tourist destinations in the province. Tens of thousands of people visit it every year. The new cathedral is a remarkable facility." And it no doubt has smoke detectors. The St. Boniface Cathedral ruins as seen today, 50 years after the fire. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press) doug.speirs@freepress.mb.ca A Winnipeg Police Service officer whose stolen badge and identification remain missing had strong words for two men who admitted breaking into his truck and stealing the items. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/7/2018 (1192 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A Winnipeg Police Service officer whose stolen badge and identification remain missing had strong words for two men who admitted breaking into his truck and stealing the items. "Although the items that were taken had ramifications in regards to my profession, it's me, the person, that has been victimized, not (the) constable," he said in court this week. "It's my house that they came to, not the police station. JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Winnipeg Police Service badge. "I am a human and a citizen first. My profession is secondary." The officer -- whose name can't be published because of a court-ordered publication ban -- is just one identity-theft victim in a city that has experienced an increase in similar crimes. In the first six months of this year, the WPS laid 44 charges for identity theft and identity fraud. "I would like my identification back, and my badge back," the officer said, speaking in person at separate hearings for each of the men who broke into his Dodge Ram truck on May 2, and stole a backpack that contained the officer's uniform, warrant card, badge, identification and credit card. Jordan Joseph Getty, 22, and William Jon Stewart Johnson, 23, pleaded guilty to several identity theft-related charges and were sentenced Thursday. Getty, who had a bigger role in the thefts, was sentenced to six months in jail, and has two months left to serve. Johnson was to be released on time served, after he spent 71 days behind bars. The pair went on a spree in the spring, breaking into cars and using any credit or debit cards they found to eat at McDonald's or buy items at convenience stores across Winnipeg. They used the tap feature on the stolen cards to purchase food, cigarettes, prepaid phone cards and prepaid credit cards. By the numbers Charges laid by the Winnipeg Police Service in 2018 (as of April 30) Identify theft: 15 Identity fraud: 29 click to read more Charges laid by the Winnipeg Police Service in 2018 (as of April 30) Identify theft: 15 Identity fraud: 29 Charges laid in 2017 Identity theft: 145 Identity fraud: 94 Charges laid in 2016 Identify theft: 81 Identity fraud: 124 source: Winnipeg Police Service Close They didn't know they were breaking into a police officer's personal vehicle early on the morning of May 2, nor did they know they were being recorded on home video surveillance. They spent about four minutes rifling through the truck, stealing the officer's backpack, and then about eight minutes hanging out on his back deck having a conversation while the family slept inside the home, the officer said when he spoke in court. In separate statements to Getty and Johnson, who each appeared via video link from Milner Ridge and Headingley, respectively, the officer told them his children were afraid to go in the backyard after they found out about the break-in. Getty and Johnson also rifled through a neighbour's Honda Civic and found the keys in the vehicle. They drove off together, and stashed the backpack containing the officer's uniform in a wooded area of a city park. They claimed they got rid of the officer's identification by stuffing it down a manhole on Magnus Avenue, but each said the other had the officer's badge and claimed not to know where it ended up. "Nobody seems to know what happened with this badge," Crown attorney Shaun Sass said in court. The next day, after abandoning the stolen Honda, Getty went to a 7-Eleven store where he'd previously used a stolen payment card. Police officers, who had just seen surveillance video footage of Getty from other businesses, happened to be in the store asking for that location's video footage. They arrested Getty, who was wearing the same clothes the officers had seen in the videos. Getty and Johnson both spent time in the care of Child and Family Services. Getty was abused as a child, assessed as having a low IQ, and Johnson's older sister ran away with him to escape their mother, who had addictions issues and later died of an overdose. Both men have criminal records. 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. Both apologized to their victims before they were sentenced by provincial court Judge Lee Ann Martin, but initially tried to make excuses. "I did not specifically direct any kind of harm to come their way, but I was only doing stuff to provide for me to live. I was only doing it to be able to eat and not go to dumpsters and feed myself. I have had a rough past, and it was not directed at (the victims)," Getty said. In court, the officer expressed doubts his identification had been thrown into a manhole because, he said, city crews went looking for it and didn't find it. He wondered if his badge had been sold on the street, but didn't get answers from the men. "I don't know where it is," Johnson said during his hearing. "I would tell him if I did, I honestly would. I would do anything to get back to my kid." katie.may@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @thatkatiemay The Canadian National Railway did not report the string of brush fires along its track in Winnipeg this spring to the Transportation Safety Board, the independent agency responsible for investigating rail accidents and occurrences. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/7/2018 (1192 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The Canadian National Railway did not report the string of brush fires along its track in Winnipeg this spring to the Transportation Safety Board, the independent agency responsible for investigating rail accidents and occurrences. In the aftermath of those fires, which witnesses and video footage suggest were sparked by a CN train, it appears the rail giant was allowed to self-report and self-investigate the incident as it saw fit. JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Firefighters and police were on scene on Wilkes to fight a brush fire Sunday, May 6, 2018. While the relevant legislation states a railway occurrence "must be reported" to the TSB when a trains "rolling stock... causes or sustains a fire," CN left to make the call for itself did not report the fires which broke out along its track in Winnipeg on May 6. That day, five fires broke out in the immediate aftermath of a single CN train making its way through the city, from St. Boniface, down through The Forks and out south Charleswood. The fires threatened numerous businesses and homes, burning down trees, fencing, building materials and Manitoba Hydro poles in the process. Had CN notified the TSB, it appears an independent investigation would have been triggered. Instead, CN conducted its own investigation into the incident, announcing this week it found no evidence its operations sparked the fires despite video footage, eye witnesses and fire department reports that suggest otherwise.In an internal Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service email obtained by the Free Press through a freedom of information request, Chief John Lane hinted it was likely the railway company would find itself not at fault. "I have been warned that CN has a pattern in other province of denying responsibility," Lane wrote. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES A Canadian goose sits on its nest, which is right in the middle of a burned area by the CN tracks along Wilkes Avenue in Winnipeg on Tuesday, May 8, 2018. Roslyn Silver, a resident of Shaftesbury Park Retirement Residence, which was evacuated as the fire raged and burned down fencing at the home, said she was speechless after reading in the Free Press Friday morning that CN was denying responsibility. She added she wasn't the only resident of the retirement community shocked by CN's findings. "I had to laugh when I saw it. We were right there. We saw what happened. Everyday we see sparks flying from the railway tracks. We were there when the fire started. How can they deny it? I had to laugh at the stupidity of it," Silver, 96, said. Silver said during the evacuation residents with mobility issues had to be carried down multiple flights of stairs by the staff to escape the building. "My friend, who's in a wheelchair, had to be carried down when people were evacuated, obviously, she couldn't manage the stairs on her own. She's 85 and she said it was frightening for her, because she wasn't mobile and had to depend on others." This map show the locations of the fires on May 6 that WFPS acting Deputy Chief Tom Wallace said were 'likely all related and associated with rail activity' in an email obtained by the Free Press. (Winnipeg Free Press/ Mapbox) When reached for comment, a TSB spokesman said it remained unclear whether CN contravened legislation by choosing to not notify the agency. "In this case, no occurrence notification was received, and the circumstances regarding whether a notification should have been made is unknown. You may wish to contact the railway company to obtain more information on this occurrence," a TSB spokesman wrote in an email. 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. When contacted by the Free Press, CN confirmed it had not notified the TSB of the incident, providing no further comment. Helen Vassilakos, co-founder of Safe Rail, a national advocacy organization, wasnt surprised to learn CN had failed to notify the TSB, saying there is a culture of self-regulation in Canadas rail industry. "Everything is voluntary, essentially. Theyve been given this responsibility and our federal government has not been doing enough to ensure whats supposed to be done is being done," Vassilakos said. "Whenever theres an incident like this I would encourage people to report it. The Transportation Safety Board should be taking a look at this, or at the very least be notified. If residents think these incidents are being caused by a train then they should be reporting it, because (CN) isn't." ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @rk_thorpe Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/7/2018 (1192 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion Gii niisototum na? Do you understand? supplied Red River Rising began as a volunteer effort and has grown to be an international phenomenon. This is the question asked by Anishinaabe writer Johnny Hawk in Red Rising Magazine: Language, the eighth edition of the Winnipeg-based publication thats taken the world by storm. Thats right, the world. "We ship our magazines to New Zealand, Europe and across the United States," says magazine co-founder Kevin Settee, "even Russia." The newest issue is being launched today from 2-5 p.m. at the Broadway Neighbourhood Centre at 185 Young St. All are invited. Red Rising Magazine began as a platform for local urban Indigenous youth to share their experiences and stories. Meeting after an activist event three years ago, a dozen 20-something Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth felt they were not being heard, particularly by media and leadership. They decided to change that. Calling themselves the Red Rising Collective, the group put a call out to everyone they knew. They invited them to share poetry, stories, art and speeches and everything in between. They had no money, no resources and only volunteers. "No one funded us," Settee said. "We just came together and did it." Bringing together all of their skills in social media, writing, editing and publishing, the collective published their first issue on the theme of empowerment. Hundreds of copies flew out the door at the first launch. Thousands more were sold as word spread on social media. Within weeks, the collective had decided to do seven more issues on such themes as education, love, land and water, and truth and reconciliation. They decided to invite well-known writers such as Katherena Vermette and Pamela Palmater to contribute alongside new voices. The magazine has become an international phenomenon. With no budget for publicity, issues are on order well before publication and collective members are invited across the United States and Canada to speak on their work. More than 30,000 people follow the magazine on its Facebook page and the group now has a Patreon page to help in its expansion. Still, the collective remains volunteer-driven and income comes from workshops, fundraisers and sales of the magazine. Theyve adopted new members in the collective, such as University of Winnipeg Collegiate teacher Christine MLot. She has helped the magazine find places in classrooms and has published four unit plans on issues of the magazine. Two more will be released in August. The magazine has hosted contributions from Indigenous writers as young as nine and up to elders. "If you have something to say," MLot says, "we want to hear it." Still, regardless of success, the magazine remains community driven. "Next, we want to ask everyone what theme we should do next: parenting, women and girls, or international issues," Settee said. "Were going to hold a vote on Instagram." The eighth edition on Indigenous languages is one of the most vibrant yet. Containing Indigenous languages from the east to the west coast including writing in syllabic writing Red Rising Magazine: Languages is intended to recognize "the importance and relevancy of our traditional languages." This issue is paramount in most Indigenous communities. With the number of fluent Indigenous-language speakers now on the decline, some Indigenous languages are on the verge of completely disappearing due to legacies of policies such as residential schools. Many of Canadas Indigenous languages are estimated to have fewer than one hundred speakers and those that are generally cited as having the greatest chance of survival are Inuktitut, Cree and Ojibwe. Most of the contributors address this issue and what they are doing about it. "I cant remember when I learned that our languages were dying," Denzel Sutherland-Wilson writes. "I cant remember who told me that there were two options: learn the language, or fail my ancestors. Maybe I cant remember because I was born with that feeling." The special contributor for this issue is longtime Anishinaabe language advocate Pat Ningewance, who calls for Indigenous young people to "become literate in our languages to write novels, create plays and more media." "This issue is evidence that our languages can grow and be revived if we dedicate ourselves," says MLot, who helped edit the issue. "Languages can be as strong as they always have." "A Sci-Fi Geeks Ojibwe," by Darren Courchene, is perfect evidence of this. In it, he provides the following translations: Science fiction is nothing new to Ojibway people, Courchene explains: "Our gaagiikidoo gaagii-bi-izhisemaagoowinan (oral histories) are filled with aadizookaanan (sacred stories) of beings who came from the stars." 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. One thing is for sure, Red Rising shows no sign of slowing down. In a time filled with stories of the over-incarceration of Indigenous youth, the murders of Colten Boushie and Tina Fontaine and the fall of Neechi Commons and the Thunderbird House, Red Rising is a welcome story. Its a story of youth refusing to do anything but rise. Grow. Write. Speak. Gii niisototum na? Do you understand? niigaan.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca A coalition of 25 labour unions has lost its bid for a court injunction to immediately block the Manitoba governments public-sector wage-control bill. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/7/2018 (1192 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A coalition of 25 labour unions has lost its bid for a court injunction to immediately block the Manitoba governments public-sector wage-control bill. Court of Queens Bench Justice James Edmond ruled Friday there was insufficient evidence Bill 28 clearly violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The unions had sought an injunction until a larger court case could be heard to challenge the constitutionality of the bill. The Public Services Sustainability Act (PSSA), passed in the Manitoba legislature last year, has yet to be proclaimed into law. It imposes four years of wage controls on new collective agreement for 110,000 Manitoba public-sector workers. Salary increases and improvements to benefits are to be zero for the first two years. In the third year, a maximum pay increase of 0.75 per cent is permitted, and in the fourth year, a maximum increase of one per cent is allowed. Edmond ruled the trial to determine the constitutionality of the Public Services Sustainability Act will proceed on an expedited basis. He has summoned lawyers for the two sides to meet with him Aug. 31 to set a trial date. Kevin Rebeck, president of the Manitoba Federation of Labour (MFL), said he was not entirely surprised by the ruling. A successful injunction exempting parties from legislation before the case goes to trial is difficult to obtain. The courts set a high bar for issuing such directives and rarely grant them. "We knew this was a stretch for us to get an injunction, but we were determined to stand up for public-sector members every way we can," Rebeck said. Rebeck said hes pleased the judge ruled the trial on the PSSAs constitutionality will proceed on an expedited basis. "Were hopeful that means (sometime) in the next year," he added. Union and government lawyers argued their case for and against an injunction before Edmond in May. "The government has the right to legislate in the field of collective bargaining, in the field of labour relations, in the field of associational activity in the workplace, to the point of substantial interference," government lawyer Heather Leonoff argued this spring. She said Bill 28 does not violate the constitutional test of substantial interference in bargaining. Garth Smorang, the lawyer representing the unions, contended Canadian courts have consistently supported workers rights to collective bargaining free from government interference. 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. He said if the judge granted the injunction bargaining would proceed normally, with employers unable to claim they were negotiating within the terms of Bill 28 without putting themselves in the position of bargaining in bad faith. Finance Minister Cameron Friesen said the government is pleased with the decision and is looking forward to ongoing public-sector collective bargaining. "Our approach will continue to be guided by our commitment to repair and protect the front-line services Manitobans depend upon, while avoiding tax increases," the minister said. "We have always said this effort will require everyone to do their part." The Progressive Conservative government led by Premier Brian Pallister has promised to balance the provinces books by 2024. This year, the province is expected to incur a summary budget deficit of $521 million. larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca There was probably a moment, sometime early in the St. Boniface byelection campaign, when Manitoba New Democrats thought they might just be able to retain the seat that former premier Greg Selinger had held for nearly two decades. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/7/2018 (1192 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion There was probably a moment, sometime early in the St. Boniface byelection campaign, when Manitoba New Democrats thought they might just be able to retain the seat that former premier Greg Selinger had held for nearly two decades. For the optimists in the NDP fold, the argument was pretty reasonable. Selinger had made the riding safe for the NDP and the party is still producing strong poll results in Winnipeg, where it is running neck and neck with the Tories. Meanwhile, the Liberals were on a downward poll trajectory, lagging well behind in third place. However, it became fairly clear as the truncated byelection campaign carried on that chances of holding on to the riding were rather slim. Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont staked his future, and the future of his party, on a desperate bid to win a seat in the Manitoba legislature. And despite some early conflict that saw a few longtime party strategists resign over Lamonts choice of campaign managers, the Liberals showed up in force. When all the votes were counted, Lamont had cruised to victory in surprisingly strong fashion. He collected 2,625 votes, 42 per cent of all those cast. NDP candidate Blandine Tona was a distant second with 1,770 votes, which translated into just 28 per cent of votes cast. It was a plurality that surprised both Liberal and NDP strategists. And it should be noted that voter turnout 48 per cent of registered voters was very high for a byelection. Liberal voters clearly saw an opportunity for a breakthrough and showed up to vote. New Democrats, on the other hand, did not venture out to vote, despite the fact losing St. Boniface would deal yet another huge blow to a party still reeling from its trouncing in the 2016 election. With the loss and the expulsion of Maples MLA Mohinder Saran following allegations of harassment, the NDP now has only 12 MLAs in its caucus. The last time the NDP had so few MLAs was following the 1988 election, considered by most insiders to be the lowest point in the partys history. Selinger was much beloved in St. Boniface and not just because he served as minister. He was a tremendous riding politician, always available to his constituents and a visible presence at the most important community events. His French may have been coarse, but his willingness to engage with French-language media and converse in French in any situation earned him the respect of the Franco-Manitoban community, which still largely sets the tone for politics in the riding. However, following the 2016 election, Selinger had clearly become the bete noire of the Manitoba NDP. His 2013 decision to raise the provincial sales tax by one point to fund infrastructure after promising to never undertake the measure was a political disaster. An internal campaign to convince him to step down before the election failed, prompting a public uprising led by senior cabinet ministers, which ended with Selinger earning a very narrow victory in a leadership battle with former cabinet minister Theresa Oswald. Party insiders suggested Selingers long tenure in St. Boniface had convinced many within the party that it was a safe seat, even in the wake of his retirement. That analysis was, the insiders argued, rather flawed given the political baggage Selinger had accumulated in his last years as an elected politician. Although its true Selinger had held the seat for a very long time, his retirement from politics was an awkward, even painful affair that followed allegations last year that he had failed to take action to discipline former cabinet minister Stan Struthers, who had been the subject of several allegations of sexual harassment while Selinger was leader. At first, Selinger refused to resign his seat amid the Struthers revelations. Then, after current leader Wab Kinew publicly challenged Selinger to do the right thing, he reluctantly announced he was leaving politics. It was a sad end to an otherwise remarkable political career, which left many New Democrats with hurt feelings. That was hardly the foundation on which to build a successful byelection campaign. And with the loss of St. Boniface, the NDP is faced with several harsh realities and several immediate needs. Among the first of those realities is the fact there really are no safe seats. Party insiders concede there is a sense among remaining NDP MLAs that the party has reached rock bottom, and that all remaining seats are safe. "They think that any seat we won in 2016 is safe. I think we know now that isnt true. There are no safe seats for us." Poll results may have contributed to the false sense of security. Research polls have shown the NDP lagging behind the Progressive Conservative government by a significant margin provincewide. In Winnipeg, however, the Tories and NDP have been in a statistical tie for much of the last year, a dynamic created largely by the governments controversial health-care reforms, which have seen several emergency rooms closed or repurposed. However, as was demonstrated in St. Boniface, those poll results will provide little comfort once an election is called. NDP MLAs need to look at what happened in St. Boniface and realize that the 2020 election is going to be an uphill battle in every riding. The other harsh reality, which also turns out to be among their biggest challenges, is that this is not a party with a common vision. At least, not among its elected representatives. The NDP caucus is appearing increasingly like a collection of desperate freelancers, all concerned about their own political identities but with almost no consideration for the partys brand and fortunes. Dan Lett | Not for Attribution A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world that is sent every Tuesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. This discord was probably best revealed by the actions of a group of female NDP MLAs who, last month, appeared alongside Liberal MLA Judy Klassen to accuse Premier Brian Pallister of intimidating them in the chamber with a threatening gaze. The allegation against Pallister was largely unfounded. Yes, the premier can be a source of contempt and hostility when responding to opposition questions, but so, too, are the opposition MLAs who ask those questions. More importantly, there has been no confirmation among senior NDP staffers that this publicity stunt was discussed in advance with the NDP caucus or endorsed by Kinew. A more thoughtful consideration of the strategy might have revealed that there was more risk than reward in accusing Pallister of using non-verbal tactics to intimidate female opposition MLAs. Instead, it looks more like a group of NDP MLAs called their own number and forged ahead without worrying about the fallout for their team. The next year and a half will be very trying for the NDP. If there is a silver lining in losing a long-held seat in St. Boniface, it will be that the smell of freshly brewed coffee is now wafting through the NDP caucus room in the Manitoba legislature. Those MLAs who fail to wake up and take in the aroma may find themselves on the wrong end of the vote count come election time. And if so, they will only have themselves to blame. dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca SYDNEY Australian and New Zealand officials are examining allegations that members of their countries special forces units committed crimes in Afghanistan, including possibly carrying out executions of unarmed prisoners. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/7/2018 (1192 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. SYDNEY Australian and New Zealand officials are examining allegations that members of their countries special forces units committed crimes in Afghanistan, including possibly carrying out executions of unarmed prisoners. A senior Australian judge and a former New Zealand prime minister are conducting inquiries into separate but remarkably similar incidents during the war, which will soon enter its 18th year. Australian media outlets, citing anonymous complaints by serving and retired soldiers, have reported that members of Australias Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) may have killed prisoners while hunting for a soldier from the Afghan National Army who deserted after killing three Australian soldiers on a military base in southern Afghanistan in 2012. Two years earlier, a unit of the New Zealand SAS the British and Commonwealth equivalent of navy SEALs or the U.S. armys Delta Force led a raid on a village north of Kabul the SAS suspected was home to fighters responsible for a roadside bomb that had killed a New Zealand soldier. Six civilians were killed and 15 injured in the raid, most of them women and children, according to a book by two New Zealand journalists, Hit & Run: The New Zealand SAS in Afghanistan and the Meaning of Honour. No enemy fighters were found, they wrote, contradicting the official account. Although Australia withdrew combat forces from Afghanistan in 2013, at one point it was the largest contributor outside NATO to the U.S.-led mission. New Zealands force was much smaller, although it sent its most prestigious military unit. In Australia, a judge and a former head of the domestic intelligence service are conducting separate but related investigations into Australian soldiers behaviour in Afghanistan and the changes made to improve the culture of the armys special forces. The New Zealand government and military have taken similar steps, under the pressure of media coverage. This year, a former top judge and prime minister were asked to investigate the 2010 incident. The defence forces are also conducting a legal review of a battle six years earlier involving New Zealands most decorated soldier. In one of the incidents under investigation in Australia, an SAS soldier is alleged to have been coerced by his fellow soldiers into executing an elderly Afghan prisoner as part of an initiation ritual, the Sun-Herald and Sunday Age newspapers have reported. Members of the unit also allegedly used another dead Afghans prosthetic leg as a beer tankard. Australian military officials have said they are responding to complaints from their own soldiers. A separate official inquiry two years ago reported some members of Australias special forces had described a "complete lack of accountability" in their units as well as "unsanctioned and illegal application of violence on operations." Some of the Australian soldiers have told journalists that repeated combat tours undermined respect for the rules of armed conflict and consideration for Afghan civilians. "There is a view among many former operators that we were there too long and they deployed too often," Chris Masters, the author of No Front Line: Australias Special Forces at War in Afghanistan, said in an interview. "Desensitization set in." One sensitive aspect of the allegations in both countries is a connection to soldiers awarded the Victoria Cross. In 2004, a New Zealand SAS unit was ambushed in a pre-dawn attack in southern Afghanistan by about 20 fighters, according to an official account. A corporal carried a severely injured colleague nearly 80 yards to safety while being shot at. He then returned to the fight and helped defeat the attackers. 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 soldier, Willie Apiata, was awarded the Victoria Cross, the first New Zealander to be so honoured since the Second World War. He became a national hero. Last year, an online documentary suggested there was more to the battle than revealed in Apiatas short, official citation for valour. Based on interviews with Afghan villagers, it reported that the New Zealand SAS soldiers may have provoked the fight by roughing up nearby villagers beforehand. The next day, after the firefight, the soldiers dumped the bodies of the dead Afghan fighters back at the village, where they kicked in doors and restrained 15 or 16 residents with plastic handcuffs, according to the documentary makers, who did not suggest Apiata had not behaved bravely. Now, New Zealand defence officials are re-examining the case. Several Australian media organizations, including the Age newspaper, reported recently that questions have been raised about the conduct in Afghanistan of an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, Ben Roberts-Smith, along with that of other soldiers. Roberts-Smith has defended his actions forcefully. Washington Post On nights lit by a full moon, thieves leap from trucks onto trains as they roll through Chiles Atacama Desert, before throwing 80-kilogram slabs of copper to the ground and disappearing into the dark. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/7/2018 (1192 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. On nights lit by a full moon, thieves leap from trucks onto trains as they roll through Chiles Atacama Desert, before throwing 80-kilogram slabs of copper to the ground and disappearing into the dark. Its a tactic known as "the cat" and the robbers are "moles" because no one knows where they come from or where they hide their loot. Whats worse for the mines that dot the desert, the robberies are becoming more common and more audacious. About 40 incidents were reported in the first half of this year, according to the prosecutors office in Antofagasta, up from just six in all of 2014. The thefts started to increase late 2017 as copper prices rose to the highest in more than two years. While prices have slumped in the past month, the thieves seem immune to the trade-war turmoil thats rattling metal markets. "Specialized gangs assaulting moving convoys has become common," Valeria Ibarra, Antofagastas regional co-ordinator of public safety, said by telephone on Thursday. "These are professionals. If they see that one company is taking security measures, theyll just move on to the next one." The sheets of stolen copper cathode are taken to illegal yards and sold as scrap at a 30 per cent discount to market prices, Ibarra said. In June, thieves stole 2 metric tons of the metal, worth more than US$15,000 on the London Metals Exchange, from a moving train. Operators only noticed when they saw the dust the gangs vehicles left behind as they escaped through the desert, according to local newspaper Mercurio de Calama. A common target for the thieves is Antofagastas logistics unit Grupo FCAB, which owns and operates about 700 kilometres of railway lines used to transport cathode and semi-processed copper known as concentrate from mines to ports. State-owned Codelco has also reported thefts, according to a statement by the prosecutors office in Antofagasta. Codelco didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. BHP Billitons Spence and Escondida copper mines, Antofagastas Zaldivar, Mantos Coppers Mantos Blancos and Yamana Golds El Penon have all reported smaller robberies, prosecutors said. "To avoid the frequency of these robberies and to protect workers, the company has strengthened its controls and preventive measures," FCAB said in an emailed response to questions. 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. Robbers are getting more creative and more violent, Ibarra said. A new method is known as "the anchor." When trains slow down in steeper areas, gangs hook a mooring line to a pile of cathodes and throw an anchor onto the railway lines. As the train advances, the pile weighing about 350 kilos is dragged off the wagon and quickly picked it up by trucks. Antofagastas regional government recently set up a permanent working group that includes the police, the government, FCAB and mining companies to address the issue and co-ordinate surveillance and investigations. One of their first tasks will be to solve a mystery why so many of the robberies happen on Thursdays. Government officials are wondering if it coincides with a change in shifts, or if it has to do with the proximity to the weekend. "The most worrying thing is the integrity of workers and security guards because criminals are acting with more violence and aggressiveness," Ibarra said. "We need to take action before its too late." Bloomberg Wall Street analysts have given BlackRock Enhanced Global Dividend Trust 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 BlackRock Enhanced Global Dividend Trust wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys. View MarketBeat's top stock picks here. Wall Street analysts have given iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys. View MarketBeat's top stock picks here. First BanCorp (Puerto Rico) is a holding company, which engages in the provision of personal, commercial, and corporate banking services through its subsidiaries. It operates through the following segments: Commercial and Corporate Banking, Consumer (Retail) Banking, Mortgage Banking, Treasury and Investments, United States Operations, and Virgin Islands Operations. The Commercial and Corporate Banking segment consists of the company's lending and other services for large customers represented by specialized and middle-market clients and the public sector. The Consumer (Retail) Banking segment includes consumer lending and deposit-taking activities conducted mainly through FirstBank's branch network in Puerto Rico. The Mortgage Banking segment focuses on the origination, sale, and servicing of a variety of residential mortgage loan products and related hedging activities. The Treasury and Investments segment deals with treasury and investment management functions. The United States Operations segment represents all banking activities conducted by FirstBank on the United States mainland. The Virgin Islands Operations segment includes all banking activities conducted by FirstBank in Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.: 2235158 Alberta Limited, A.J. Amer Agency, AHC Digital LLC, AIX Limited, AJG Coal LLC, AJG Financial Services LLC, AJG Meadows LLC, AJG North America ULC, AJG RCF LLC, AJGRMS of Louisiana LLC, ARM RE Ltda., AVIATION INSURANCE SERVICES, AVRECO, Ace IRM Insurance Broking Group, Acumus Holdings Limited, Acumus Interco Limited, Acumus Ltd, Adams & Associates International, Adaptive Marketing LLC, Adco General Corporation, Advanced Benefit Advisors, Aequus Trade Credit, Affinity Marketing Group, Ahrold Fay Rosenberg, Aires Consulting Group, Alesco Risk Management Services Limited, Alize Limited, Allied Claims Administration Inc., Alternative Market Specialists, Altman & Cronin Benefit Consultants, American Freedom Carriers Inc., American Security Services Corp., American Wholesalers Underwriting Ltd, Andrew-Anthony Insurance Agency, Anthony Hodges Consulting Limited, Antrobus Investments Limited, AquaSurance, Argentis, Argentis Financial Group Limited, Argentis Financial Management Limited, Argus Benefits, Armstrong/Robitaille/Riegle, Artex (SAC) Limited, Artex Cedar Hill, Artex Corporate Services (Malta) Limited, Artex Corporate Services Limited, Artex Holdings (Gibraltar) Limited, Artex Holdings (Malta) Limited, Artex Insurance (Guernsey) PCC Limited, Artex Insurance (Tennessee) PCCIC Inc., Artex Insurance Brokers (Malta) PCC Limited, Artex Insurance ICC Limited, Artex Intermediaries Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Bermuda) Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Cayman) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Gibraltar) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Guernsey) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (International) Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Malta) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (UK) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions Inc., Arthur J Gallagher (Norway) Holdings AS, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AUS) Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Bermuda) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Illinois), Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Insurance Brokers of California Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher (Aus) Pty Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (Bermuda) Holding Partnership, Arthur J. Gallagher (Life Solutions) Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (U.S.) LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher (UK) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Asesoria S.A.C., Arthur J. Gallagher Australasia Holdings Pty Ltd., Arthur J. Gallagher Brokerage & Risk Management Services LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Broking (NZ) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Financial Services Professionals Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Group Quebec ULC, Arthur J. Gallagher Holdings (UK) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Latin America LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Management (Bermuda) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Real Estate Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services (Hawaii) Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services of Utah Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher School Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Service Company LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Services (UK) Ltd, Ashmore & Associates Insurance Agency, Atlantic Risk Management Corp., Atrex Insurance (Cayman) SPC Limited, Avantek Pty Ltd, Axe Insurance PCC Limited, BIS Insurance Services, Baker - Tillys employment benefits solutions, Ballard Benefit Works, Bankers Financial Benefits, Barmore Insurance Agency, Behnke & Co. Inc., Bellisle Pty Ltd, Belmont Associates Consultants, Belmont Insurance Holdings Limited, Belmont International, Belmont International Limited, Benefit Development Group, Benefit Management Group, BenefitLink Resource Group, Benefits Planning & Insurance Agency, Benefits Unlimited, Bennett & Shade Co., Bergvall Marine, Bergvall Marine A.S., Besselman & Little Agency, Big Savings Insurance Agency Inc., Blenheim Park Ltd, Blenheim Park Services Limited, Blue Holdings Pty Ltd, Blue Horizon Insurance Services, Blue Water Benefits, BluePeak Advisors, Blueleaf Consulting Pty Ltd., Bluewater Incorporated Cell Insurance Company, Bollinger Inc., Bollinger Insurance Services Inc., Bowen Miclette Britt & Merry of Arkansas Inc., Brendis & Brendis, Brim AB, Broker Benefit Services, Brokerage Professionals, Brown Hobbs & McMurray Insurance, Bultman/Bell Associates Inc., Burkwald & Associates, Burns-Fazzi Brock & Associates, Bushong Insurance Associates, C&B Consulting Group, CGM Gallagher Insruance Brokers (Trinidad & Tobago) Limited, CJM Solutions Inc., CMA Solutions LLC, Cairnstone Financial, California Insurance Center, Capital Bauer Insurance Agency, Capitol Benefits Group, Capsicum CRLA LLP, Capsicum Re Brasil Participacoes Ltda, Capsicum Re Latin America Corretora De Resseguros Ltda, Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers Bermuda Limited, Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers Miami Inc., Carefree Marketing Inc., Carpenter Cammack & Associates, Cashan & Co., Castle Insurance Associates, Centennial Insurance Agency, Charity First Insurance Services Inc., Charles Allen Agency, Charter Lakes Insurance Agency, Chris Schroeder Insurance, Christie-Phoenix, Cintran Claims Canada Limited, Classic Insurance Services, Cleaveland Insurance Group, Cohen & Lord Insurance Brokers, Cohn Financial Group, Coleman Group Holdings Limited, Coleman Holdings Limited, College and University Scholastic Excess Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Commercial Insurance Brokers, Complete Benefit Alliance, Complete Financial Balance, Complete Financial Balance Pty Ltd, Consolidated Casualty Specialties LLC, Construction Risk Solutions, Contego Underwriting Limited, Contego Underwriting Ltd, Continental Excess & Surplus, Convergence Risk Services Ltd, Copper Mountain Assurance Inc., Cornwall & Stevens Co., Corporate Benefit Advisors, Corporate Life Consultants, Countrywide Accident Assistance Limited, Coverdell & Company Inc., Coverdell Canada Corporation, Cowles and Connell, Craig M. Ferguson & Co., Crist Elliott Machette Insurance Services, Crombie Lockwood (NZ) Limited, Davis-Poston & Associates, Denman Consulting Services, Detlefs Johnson & Partners, DiBrina Group, Dickinson & Associates, Discount Development Services L.L.C., Discovery Benefit Solutions, Dodson-Bateman & Co., Donald P. Pipino Co. Ltd., E. S. Susanin Inc., EHE Holdings LLC, EHS Holdings Limited, Elantis Premium Funding (NZ) Limited, Elantis Premium Funding Limited, Elite Benefits Insurance Marketing Services, Employee Benefits Analysis Corp., Employee Benefits of The Carolinas, Encore Insurance & Bonding, Everett James, Evolution Risk Services Limited, Evolution Technology Services Limited, Evolution Underwriting Group, Evolution Underwriting Group Limited, Evolution Underwriting Limited, Excel Insurance Services, FYI Direct Canada Corporation, FYI Direct LLC, Farallone Pacific Insurance Services, Fenchurch Faris Limited, Fidelity Benefits & Insurance Services, Financial Profiles Inc., Finergy Solutions Pty Ltd, First Agency, First Iowa Insurance Agency, First Premium Inc., First Premium Insurance Group, Fish & Schulkamp, Fishermans Insurance Services, Foley Healthcare Limited, Fortress Financial Solutions Pty Ltd, Fortress Insurance LLC, Foundation Strategies, Fox Lawson & Associates, Franklin-Case Agency LLC, Fraser MacAndrew Ryan Limited, Friary Intermediate Limited, Fuller & O'Brien, G.S. Chapman & Associates Insurance Brokers, G.S. Levine Insurance Services, GBS (Australia) Holdings Pty Ltd, GBS Administrators Inc., GBS Insurance and Financial Services Inc., GBS Retirement Services Inc., GBS Specialty Markets LLC, GGB Finance 1 Limited, GGB Finance 2 Limited, GGB Finance 3 Limited, GGB Finance 4 Limited, GPL Assurance, GPL Assurance Inc., Gabor Insurance Services, Gale Smith & Co. Inc., Gallagher (Bermuda) Insurance Solutions Ltd., Gallagher - Grace/Mayer Insurance Agency, Gallagher Bassett Aires Inc., Gallagher Bassett Canada Inc., Gallagher Bassett Insurance Services Ltd., Gallagher Bassett International Ltd., Gallagher Bassett NZ Pty Ltd., Gallagher Bassett Services Inc. , Gallagher Bassett Services Pty Ltd., Gallagher Bassett Services Workers Compensation Victoria Pty Ltd., Gallagher Benefit Services (Canada) Group Inc., Gallagher Benefit Services (Holdings) Limited, Gallagher Benefit Services Inc., Gallagher Benefit Services Management Company Limited, Gallagher Benefit Services Pty Ltd, Gallagher Benefits Consulting Limited, Gallagher Bomford Couch Wilson, Gallagher Burgess, Gallagher Canada Acquisition Corporation, Gallagher Caribbean Group Limited, Gallagher Clean Energy LLC, Gallagher Communications Limited, Gallagher Community Clinic RPG LLC, Gallagher Consulting Ltda, Gallagher Corporate Services LLC, Gallagher Coyle, Gallagher CyberRisk, Gallagher Energy Risk Services Inc., Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC, Gallagher Holdings (UK) Limited, Gallagher Holdings Bermuda Company Limited, Gallagher Holdings Four (UK) Limited, Gallagher Holdings Three (UK) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (Barbados) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Kitts & Nevis) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Lucia) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Vincent) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers Jamaica Limited, Gallagher International Cash Management s.r.l., Gallagher International Holdings (US) Inc., Gallagher Investment Advisors LLC, Gallagher Inwest Group, Gallagher Koster, Gallagher Lambert Group, Gallagher Madison Risk & Insurance Services, Gallagher Mauritius Holdings, Gallagher Mississippi Brokerage LLC, Gallagher RE Colombia Ltda Corredores de Reaseguros SA, Gallagher Risk & Reward Limited, Gallagher Risk Group LLC, Gallagher Risk Placements Pty Ltd, Gallagher SKS, Gallagher Service Center LLP, Gallagher-Tarantino, Galtney Group, Game Day Insurance Inc., Gardner & White Corp., Gardner Marine Agency, Garza Long Group, Gatehouse Consulting Limited, Gault Armstrong Kemble Pty Ltd, Gault Armstrong SARL, Giles Group, Giles Holdings Limited, Giles Insurance Brokers, Gillis Ellis & Baker Inc., Goodman Insurance Agency, Grandy Pratt Co., Greenseed Alternative Mangaers Platform Ltd, Grossman & Associates, Group Benefits of Arkansas, Group Insurance Associates, Gruppo Marcucci, HLG Holdings Limited, HMG-PCMS Limited, HPF Investments LLC, HR Owen Insurance Services Limited, Hagan Newkirk Financial Services, Hagedorn & Company, Hardman & Howell Benefits, Harlequin Insurance PCC Limited, Hartstein Associates Inc., Healthcare Professionals Purchasing Group LLC, Healthcare Risk Solutions, Heath Lambert Group Ltd., Heath Lambert Limited, Heath Lambert Overseas Limited, Heiser Insurance Agency, Henderson Phillips Fine Arts Insurance, Herbruck Alder & Co., Heritage Insurance Brokers (CI) Limited, Hesse & Partner AG, Hesse Consulting, Hexagon ICC Limited, Hexagon Insurance PCC Limited, Hill Chesson & Woody, Hogan Insurance Services, Home & Travel Limited, Honour Point Limited, Horseshoe Corporate Services Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services (Cayman) Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services USA Inc., Horseshoe ILS Services UK Ltd, Horseshoe Insurance Advisors US LLC, Horseshoe Insurance Advisory Ltd., Horseshoe Insurance Services Holdings Ltd, Horseshoe Insurance Services Holdings US Inc., Horseshoe Management (Gibraltar) Limited, Horseshoe Management (Ireland) Ltd, Horseshoe Management Ltd., Horseshoe PCC Limited, Horseshoe Re Limited, Horseshoe Services (Cayman) Ltd, Horseshoe Services (Pty) Ltd, Horton Insurance Agency, Housing Authorities Services Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Human Resource Management Systems, I-Protect Underwriting Pty Ltd, IBIS Advisors, IBS Reinsurance Singapore Pte Ltd, ILS Fund Services Ltd., ISG International, ITI Solutions, Igloo Insurance PCC Limited, Independent Benefit Services, Independent Fiduciary Services, Ink Underwriting Agencies Limited, InsSync Group Pty Ltd, Inspire Underwriting Limited, Instrat Insurance Brokers, Instrat Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd, Instrat Integration Holdco Pty Ltd, Insurance Acquisitions Holdings Limited, Insurance Associates Inc., Insurance Dialogue Limited, Insurance Dialogue Ltd., Insurance Plans Agency, Insurance Plus Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Insurance Point, Insurance Risk Managers of Missouri Inc., Insure My Villa Limited, Insure Pty Ltd, Integrated Healthcare Strategies, InterNational Insurance Group, InterPacific Underwriting Agencies, Intermountain Financial Benefits, Interstate Insurance Underwriters, JPGAC LLC, James F. Reda & Associates, James R. Weir Insurance Agency, Jenkins and Associates, Joe E. Martin Inc., John P. Woods Co. Inc., Jones Brown, Jones Brown Group Inc., Jones Brown Insurance Solutions Inc., Joseph Distel, Joseph James & Associates Insurance Agency, Just Landlords Insurance Services Ltd, KDC Associates, KRW Insurance Agency, Kahl Insurance Services, Kaler Carney Liffler & Co. Inc., Kane Group - Insurance Management Operations, Kelly Financial, Kent Kent & Tingle and RBS, Keyser Benefits Corp., Kingspark Enterprises Pty Ltd, L&R Benefits, LSG Insurance Partners, Learn About Money Limited, Lewis & Associates Insurance Brokers, Leystone Insurance & Financial, Life Plans Unlimited, Lincoln Financial Management, Longfellow Financial, Lucas Fettes Limited, Lucas Fettes and Partners Limited, Lutgert Insurance, MA Underwriting Pty Ltd, MDM Insurance Associates, MG Advanced Coal Technologies-1 LLC, MGA Insurance Services, MRS Holdings Ltd., Madison Scott & Associates, Managed Healthcare Solutions, Mannequin Insurance PCC Limited, Marchetti Robertson & Brickell Insurance, Marine Insurance Service, Martin Gordon & Jones Inc., McDowall Associates Human Resource Consultants, McIntyre Risk Management, McLean Insurance Agency, McNeary, McPherson Benefits Group, McRory & Co., Mecacem Insurance SPC Ltd, MedInsights Inc., Melton Insurance Associates, Memberworks Canada LLC, Merit Insurance, Metcom Excess, Metzler Bros. Insurance, Meyers-Reynolds & Associates, Mid America Group, Midwest Surety Services, Mike Henry Insurance Brokers, Mike Henry Insurance Brokers Limited, Mike Henry Insurance Funding Limited, Miller Buettner & Parrott, Miller-Harrison Insurance Services, Milne Alexander Pty Ltd, Minvielle & Chastanet Insurance Brokers, Monument Insurance (NZ) Limited, Monument Llc, Monument Premium Funding Limited, Mortgage Insurance Agency, Murphy Consultants, Mutual Insurance Services, NationAir Aviation Insurance, National Administration Co., National Ethics Association, National Transportation Adjusters, Nelson/Monarch Insurance Services, Nicoud Insurance Services, NiiS/Apex Group Holdings, Nonprofit Insurance Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Noraxis Capital Corp, Nordic Forsakring & Riskhantering AB, North Alabama Insurance, Nourse Insurance Brokers, O'Gorman & Young, OAMPS (UK) Limited, OAMPS Gault Armstrong Pty Ltd, OAMPS Limited, OAMPS Special Risks Ltd, Offshore Market Placements Limited, Optimum Talent, Orb Financial Services, Orb Financial Services Limited, Osprey Insurance Brokers Limited, Oval Group, Oval Healthcare Limited, Oval Insurance Broking Limited, Oval Limited, Oval Management Services Limited, Oxygen Insurance Managers, P2 Group, PEN Insurance Management Advisors Ltd, PT IBS Insurance Broking Service, Pacific Insurance Agency, Palmer Atlantic Insurance, Palmer Atlantic Insurance Ltd, Palmer Atlantic Risk Services Ltd., Park Row Associates, Parkstar Enterprises Pty Ltd, Parmia Pty Ltd, PartnerSource, Pastel Holding (NZ) Company, Pastel Holdings Pty Limited, Pastel Purchaser (NZ) Limited, Pastel Purchaser Pty Limited, Pavey Group Holdings (UK) Limited, Pavey Group Holdings Limited, Pavey Group Limited, Pearson Dunn Insurance Inc., Pen Underwriting Canada Limited, Pen Underwriting Group Pty. Ltd., Pen Underwriting Limited, Pen Underwriting Pty Ltd, Persing Dyckman & Toynbee Inc., Personal Advice Services Pty Ltd, Petty Burton Associates, Pointer Insurance Agency, Portmore Insurance Brokers (Wilshire) Limited, Portmore Insurance Brokers Limited, Potter-Holden & Co., Powell Insurance Agency, Premier Insurance Services Inc., Premier Risk Services, Premium Finance Corporation, Preston-Patterson, ProSource Financial, Professional Agents Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Professional Claims Managers, Proinova AB, Proinova Agency AB, Pronto California Agency LLC, Pronto California General Agency LLC, Pronto Florida Claims LLC, Pronto Florida General Agency LLC, Pronto Franchise LLC, Pronto General Agency Ltd, Pronto General Agency Management LLC, Pronto Holdco Inc., Pronto Holding California LLC, Pronto Holding Florida LLC, Pronto Insurance Agency of Laredo Inc., Pronto Premium Finance LLC, Property & Commercial Ltd., Property Insurance Initatives Limited, Property and Commercial Limited, Protected Insurance Company, Protection Plan Association Inc., Protek Group Limited, Providium Consulting Group, Ptarmigan Underwriting Agency Limited, Ptarmigan Underwriting UK Limited, Purple Bridge Claims Management Limited, Purple Bridge Finance Limited, Purple Bridge Group Limited, Purple Bridge Investments Limited, Purple Bridge Online Services Limited, Purple Bridge Publishing Limited, Quantum Underwriting Solutions Limited, Quillco 226 Limited, Quillco 227 Limited, R. L. Youngdahl & Associates, R.G. Speno Inc., R.W. Scobie, RA Rossborough (Guernsey) Ltd., RA Rossborough (Insurance Brokers) Ltd, REGENCY Group inc., RGA Referencing Limited, RGA Underwriting Limited, RIL Administrators (Guernsey) Ltd., RJ Dutton Inc., RSM Insurance Services Limited, Reassurance Holdings Inc., Rebholz Insurance Agency, Reid Manson Ltd., Reimbursement Services, Rentguard Limited, Reward Management Limited, Reynolds & Rodar Insurance Group, Riley & Associates, Rio 587 Limited, Rio 588 Limited, Risk & Reward Group, Risk Management Partners Limited, Risk Placement Services Inc., Risk Planners, Risk Services (NW) Limited, Risk Services (NW) Ltd., Risk Solutions Group Limited, Robert A. Schneider Agency, Robert Keith & Associates, Roberts & Roberts Insurance Service, Robinson-Adams Insurance, Rossborough Healthcare International Ltd, Rossborough Insurance (IOM) Ltd., Rossborough Insurance Services Ltd. (Jersey), S. A. Freerks & Associates, SEG Insurance Ltd, SGB-NIA Insurance Brokers, SHILLING Ltd, SKANCO International, SMERI AB, SRS Underwriting Pty Ltd, Secure Enterprises Pty Ltd, Securitas Re, Sellers Group, Sentinel Indemnity LLC, Septagon Insurance PCC Limited, Shuford Insurance Agency, Sigma II Insurance Agency, Sinclair Billard and Weld Limited, Sobieski & Bradley, Solid Benefit Guidance, Spanjers Insurance Agency, Spataro Insurance Agency, Specialised Broking Associates, Specialty Risk, Stackhouse Poland, Stackhouse Poland Bidco Limited, Stackhouse Poland Group Limited, Stackhouse Poland Holdings Limited, Stackhouse Poland Midco Limited, Stackouse Poland Limited, Stanton Group, Stark Johnson & Stinson Inc., Steel Agency, Strata Solicitors Ltd, Strategic Health Plans Corp., Strathearn Insurance Brokers, Strathearn Insurance Brokers (Qld) Trading Trust, Strathern Insurance Group Pty Ltd, Strathern Integration Holdco Pty Ltd, Strathern Unit Trust, Strong Financial Resources, Summit Insurance Group, Sunday and Associates, Sunderland Insurance Services, Super Advice Corporate Services Pty Ltd, Taylor Benefits, Texas Insurance Agency, Texas Insurance Managers, The BeneTex Group, The Buchholz Planning, The Chapman Group, The Commonwealth Consulting Group, The Daniels Group Inc., The EHE Group LLC, The EHE Insurance Agency LLC, The Eagle Insurance Agency LLC, The Eriksen Group, The Forker Company, The Gleason Agency, The Great Lakes Agency, The HR Group, The Hawk Agency, The Human Capital Group, The Lance Group, The Levitt/Kristan Co., The MW Bagnall Company, The Old Greenwich Consulting Group, The Parks Johnson Agency, The Plus Companies Inc., The Presidio Group, The Producers Choice, The Rains Group, The Splinter Group, The Titan Group, The Treiber Group, The Woodsmall Companies Inc., Title & Covenant Brokers Ltd., Title Investments Limited, Tom Sherwin Insurance Agency, Total Reward Group, Total Rewards Group (Holdings) Limited, Towle Agency, Transwestern, Tri-State General Insurance Agency, Triad Insurance Agency, Triad USA, Tribeca Strategic Advisors, Trinder & Norwood, Trip Mate, Trissel Graham & Toole, Tropp & Co., Tudor Risk Services, Tyloma Holdings Limited, Uni-Care Inc., Unison Inc., Universico Group, Unoccupied Direct Limited, V2V Holdings LLC, VEBA Service Group, Vasek Insurance Services Limited, Velo ACU LLC, Velo Holdings Inc., Verbag AG., Vertrue LLC, Victory Insurance Agency, Vincent L. Braband Insurance, Vital Benefits, Voluntary Benefits Solutions, W. E. Kingsley Co. Inc., WM. W. George & Associates, Walker Taylor Agency, Welling Associates, Wesfarmers Insurance - Insurance Brokerage Operations, Western Benefit Solutions, White & Company Insurance, Whitehaven Insurance Group, William Gallagher Associates Insurance Brokers, William H. Connolly & Co., Williams Insurance Agency Inc., Williams-Manny Insurance Group, Winn & Company Insurance Brokers, Wischmeyer Benefit Partners, Woodbrook Underwriting Agencies, Woods & Grooms, WorkCare Northwest, Worksite Communications, Y. S. Liedman & Associates, YOA Capsicum Reinsurance Broker Limited, Zenor Limited, Zuber Insurance Agency, and e3 Financial. The Bank of New York Mellon pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and currently has a dividend yield of 2.28%. The Bank of New York Mellon does not yet have a strong track record of dividend growth. The dividend payout ratio of The Bank of New York Mellon is 33.92%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%. Based on earnings estimates, The Bank of New York Mellon will have a dividend payout ratio of 29.44% next year. This indicates that The Bank of New York Mellon will be able to sustain or increase its dividend. View The Bank of New York Mellon's dividend history. 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 contact@marketbeat.com | (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. Our portfolio of high quality UK commercial property is focused on London Offices and Retail around the UK. We own or manage a portfolio valued at A13.7bn (British Land share: A10.3bn) as at 30 September 2020 making us one of Europe's largest listed real estate investment companies. Our strategy is to provide places which meet the needs of our customers and respond to changing lifestyles - Places People Prefer. We do this by creating great environments both inside and outside our buildings and use our scale and placemaking skills to enhance and enliven them. This expands their appeal to a broader range of occupiers, creating enduring demand and driving sustainable, long term performance. Our Offices portfolio comprises three office-led campuses in central London as well as high quality standalone buildings and accounts for 65% of our portfolio. Our Retail portfolio is focused on retail parks and shopping centres, and accounts for 31% of our portfolio. Increasingly our focus is on providing a mix of uses and this is most evident at Canada Water, our 53 acre redevelopment opportunity where we have plans to create a new neighbourhood for London. Sustainability is embedded throughout our business. Our places, which are designed to meet high sustainability standards, become part of local communities, provide opportunities for skills development and employment and promote wellbeing. In April 2016 British Land received the Queen's Award for Enterprise: Sustainable Development, the UK's highest accolade for business success for economic, social and environmental achievements over a period of five years. Read More Everest Re Group Ltd. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of reinsurance and insurance services. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Reinsurance, International, Bermuda, and Insurance. The U.S. Reinsurance segment writes property and casualty reinsurance and specialty lines of business, including marine, aviation, surety, and accident and health business, on both a treaty and facultative basis, through reinsurance brokers, as well as directly with ceding companies primarily within the U.S. The International segment offers foreign property and casualty reinsurance through Everest Re's branches in Canada and Singapore and through offices in Brazil, Miami, and New Jersey. The Bermuda segment comprises reinsurance and insurance to worldwide property and casualty markets through brokers and directly with ceding companies from its Bermuda office and reinsurance to the United Kingdom and European markets through its UK branch and Ireland Re. The Insurance segment writes property and casualty insurance directly and through brokers, surplus lines brokers, and general agents within the U.S., Canada, and Europe. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartere Read More Comerica, Inc. engages in the provision of financial services. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Bank, Retail Bank, Wealth Management, Finance and Other. The Commercial Bank segment involves in the middle market businesses, multinational corporations, and governmental entities by offering various products and services such as commercial loans and lines of credit, deposits, cash management, capital market products, international trade finance, letters of credit, foreign exchange management services, and loan syndication services. The Retail Bank segment includes small business banking and personal financial services, which consist of consumer lending, consumer deposit gathering, and mortgage loan origination. The Wealth Management segment offers fiduciary services, private banking, retirement services, investment management and advisory services, investment banking and brokerage services. The Finance segment comprises corporation's securities portfolio and asset and liability management activities. The Other category consists of income and expense impact of equity and cash, tax benefits, charges of an unusual or infrequent nature that are not reflective of the n Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Darling Ingredients: B.V. CTH Groep, Best Commodity Trade B.V., Boca Industries, CTH B.V., CTH Belgie BVBA, CTH GmbH, CTH Porto - Industria Alimentar Unipessoal Lda, CTH US Inc., Changchun Sonac Biotechnology Co. Ltd, China Millers Ltd, Craig Protein Division Inc., Custom Blenders, DII Holdings (Gibraltar) Limited, Darling (GI) Limited, Darling (Shanghai) Management Co. Ltd, Darling Global Finance B.V., Darling Global Holdings Inc., Darling Green Energy LLC, Darling Ingredients Belgium Holding BV, Darling Ingredients Germany Holding GmbH, Darling Ingredients International Holding B.V., Darling Ingredients International Rendering and Specialties B.V., Darling Ingredients Nederland B.V., Darling Ingredients Nederland Holding B.V., Darling International Canada Inc., Darling International NL CV, Darling International NL Holdings B.V., Darling International Netherlands B.V., Darling National LLC, Dentrans BV, EV Acquisition LLC, Ecoson B.V., Global Ceramic Materials Ltd, Griffin Industries, Griffin Industries LLC, HR-Service Nederland B.V., Harimex do Brazil Ltda, Hepac B.V., Hunan Teijsen Casings & Food Co. Ltd, IT Services B.V., Kanzler GmbH, LARU GmbH, MD Entsorgungsges. fur Schlachtnebenprodukte mbH, National By-Products, Nebraska By-Products, Nevada Darmen- und Schlachtnebenprodukte Handels GmbH, Qionglai Sonac Biotechnology Co. Ltd, RVO BioPur, Rendac B.V., Rendac BVBA, Rendac CES SA, Rendac Icker GmbH & Co. KG, Rendac Jagel GmbH, Rendac Lingen GmbH, Rendac Rotenburg GmbH, Rendac Son B.V., Rendac Transport BVBA, Rendac UDES SPRL, Rendac Udes Transport SPRL, Rothsay, Rousselot (Da'an) Gelatin Co. Ltd, Rousselot (Guangdong) Gelatin Co. Ltd, Rousselot (M) SDN.BHD, Rousselot (Whenzou) Gelatin Co. Ltd, Rousselot (Zhejiang) Gelatin Co. Ltd, Rousselot Angouleme SAS, Rousselot Argentina SA, Rousselot B.V., Rousselot BV, Rousselot Dubuque Inc., Rousselot Gelatin SL, Rousselot Gelatinas do Brasil Ltda, Rousselot GmbH, Rousselot Inc., Rousselot Isle sur La Sorgue SAS, Rousselot Japan KK, Rousselot Peabody Inc., Rousselot SAS, SNP Handels- und Beteiligungs GmbH, Sanrec GmbH, Schmalzbaron Handels GmbH, Siping Sonac Biotechnology Co. Ltd, Sobel GmbH, Sobel Luxembourg Sarl, Sonac (China) Biology Co. Ltd, Sonac (Guangdong) Biotechnology Co. Ltd, Sonac (Luohe) Biotechnology Co. Ltd, Sonac Almere BV, Sonac Australia PTY Ltd, Sonac Bad Bramstedt GmbH, Sonac Belgie BV, Sonac Bergheim GmbH, Sonac Brunen GmbH, Sonac Burgum B.V., Sonac Eindhoven B.V., Sonac Elsholz GmbH, Sonac Erolzheim GmbH, Sonac Functional Products B.V., Sonac Gelsenkirchen GmbH, Sonac Gent BV, Sonac Harlingen B.V., Sonac Kiel GmbH, Sonac Lingen GmbH, Sonac Loenen B.V., Sonac Lubien Kujawski spolka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia (sp.z.o.o.), Sonac Mering GmbH, Sonac Osetnica Sp.z o.o., Sonac Son B.V., Sonac Transport BV, Sonac USA LLC, Sonac Usnice Sp.z o.o., Sonac Versmold GmbH, Sonac Vuren B.V., Sonac do Brasil Industria e Comercio de Sub Produto Animal Ltda, Terra Renewal Services, Treuhand SNP Icker GmbH, Triperia CTH Espana SL, Vion, and Zhejiang Sonac Biotechnology Co. Ltd. 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. (GGP) (NYSE:GGP) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July, 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.01. The real estate investment trust had revenue of $583.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $593.94 million. The business's revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. View (GGP)'s earnings history. Fortis Inc. operates as an electric and gas utility company in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean countries. It generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 433,000 retail customers in southeastern Arizona; and 98,000 retail customers in Arizona's Mohave and Santa Cruz counties with an aggregate capacity of 3,233 megawatts (MW), including 59 MW of solar capacity. The company also sells wholesale electricity to other entities in the western United States; owns gas-fired and hydroelectric generating capacity totaling 65 MW; and distributes natural gas to approximately 1,048,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in British Columbia, Canada. In addition, it owns and operates the electricity distribution system that serves approximately 572,000 customers in southern and central Alberta; owns 4 hydroelectric generating facilities with a combined capacity of 225 MW; and provides operation, maintenance, and management services to five hydroelectric generating facilities. Further, the company distributes electricity in the island portion of Newfoundland and Labrador with an installed generating capacity of 143 MW; and on Prince Edward Island with a generating capacity of 130 MW. Additionally, it provides integrated electric utility service to approximately 67,000 customers in Ontario; approximately 270,000 customers in Newfoundland and Labrador; approximately 31,000 customers on Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; and approximately 15,000 customers on certain islands in Turks and Caicos. The company also holds long-term contracted generation assets in Belize consisting of 3 hydroelectric generating facilities with a combined capacity of 51 MW; and the Aitken Creek natural gas storage facility. It also owns and operates approximately 91,000 circuit Kilometers (km) of distribution lines; and approximately 49,500 km of natural gas pipelines. Fortis Inc. was founded in 1885 and is headquartered in St. John's, Canada. Read More Wall Street analysts have given iShares MSCI EAFE Value 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 EAFE Value ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys. View MarketBeat's top stock picks here. Kinder Morgan, Inc. operates as an energy infrastructure company. The firm engages in the operation of pipelines and terminals that transport natural gas, gasoline, crude oil, carbon dioxide (CO2) and other products and stores petroleum products chemicals and handles bulk materials like ethanol, coal, petroleum coke and steel. It operates through the following segments: Natural Gas Pipelines, CO2, Terminals, Product Pipelines and Kinder Morgan Canada. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment engages in the ownership and operation of major interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline and storage systems, natural gas and crude oil gathering systems and natural gas processing and treating facilities. The CO2 segment focuses on the production, transportation and marketing of CO2 to oil fields that use CO2 as a flooding medium for recovering crude oil from mature oil fields to increase production. The Terminals segment consists of the ownership and operation of liquids and bulk terminal facilities located throughout the U.S. and portions of Canada that trans load and store refined petroleum products, crude oil, chemicals, ethanol and bulk products, including coal, petroleum coke, fertilizer, Read More Mechel PAO is a holding company, which engages in the mining and production of coal and steel, iron core, and nickel products. It operates through the following business segments: Steel, Mining, and Power. The Steel segment sells semi-finished steel products, long products of a wide range of steel grades, carbon and stainless flat steel products, and high value-added metal products. The Mining segment includes metallurgical coal, steam coal, iron ore and iron ore concentrate, coke and chemical products. The Power segment generates and supplies power resources. The company was founded on March 19, 2003 and is headquartered in Moscow, Russian Federation. Read More Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. is a supplier of precision instruments and services. The firm manufactures weighing instruments for use in laboratory, industrial, packaging, logistics, and food retailing applications. It also manufactures several related analytical instruments and provides automated chemistry solutions used in drug and chemical compound discovery and development; and also, metal detection and other end-of-line inspection systems used in production and packaging and provides solutions for use in certain process analytics applications. Its operations are conducted by the following segments: U. S. Operations, Swiss Operations, Western European Operations, Chinese Operations and Other. The U.S. Operations segment represents certain of the company's marketing and producing organizations located in the United States. The Swiss Operations segment includes marketing and producing organizations located in Switzerland, as well as extensive R&D operations that are responsible for the development, production, and marketing of precision instruments, including weighing, analytical, and measurement technologies for use in a variety of industrial and laboratory applications. Th Read More Reinsurance Group of America, Inc. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of traditional and non-traditional life and health reinsurance products. It operates through the following segments: U.S. and Latin America; Canada; Europe, Middle East, and Africa; Asia Pacific; and Corporate and Other. The U.S. and Latin America segment markets individual and group life and health reinsurance to domestic clients for a variety of products through yearly renewable term agreements, coinsurance, and modified coinsurance. The Canada segment offers individual life reinsurance, and to a lesser extent creditor, group life and health, critical illness and disability reinsurance, through yearly renewable term and coinsurance agreements. The Europe, Middle East, and Africa segment serves individual and group life and health products through yearly renewable term and coinsurance agreements, reinsurance of critical illness coverage that provides a benefit in the event of the diagnosis of a pre-defined critical illness and underwritten annuities. The Asia Pacific segment comprises individual and group life and health reinsurance, critical illness coverage, disability, and superannuation thr Read More The following companies are subsidiares of SAP: Abakus, Abakus Europe Limited, Abakus Ukraine Limited Liability Company, Adatfeldolgozasban Informatikai Kft., Altiscale, Ambin Properties Proprietary Limited, AppGyver, Ariba, Ariba Czech s.r.o., Ariba Inc. Palo Alto, Ariba India Private Limited, Ariba International, Ariba International Holdings, Ariba International Singapore Pte Ltd, Ariba Slovak Republic s.r.o., Ariba Software Technology Services (Shanghai) Co., Ariba Technologies India Private Limited, Ariba Technologies Netherlands B.V., Beijing Zhang Zhong Hu Dong Information Technology, Business Objects, Business Objects Holding B.V., Business Objects Option LLC, Business Objects Software Limited, CNQR Operations Mexico S. de. R.L. de. C.V., Callidus Software, CallidusCloud, Christie Partners Holding C.V., Clear Standards, ClearTrip Inc., ClearTrip Inc. (Mauritius), Cleartrip MEA FZ LLC, Cleartrip Private Limited, Coghead, ConTgo Consulting Limited, ConTgo Pty. Ltd., Concur (Austria) GmbH, Concur (Canada), Concur (France) SAS, Concur (Germany) GmbH, Concur (Japan) Ltd., Concur (New Zealand) Limited, Concur (Philippines) Inc., Concur (Switzerland) GmbH, Concur Czech (s.r.o.), Concur Holdings (France) SAS, Concur Holdings (Netherlands) B.V., Concur Technologies (Australia) Pty. Limited, Concur Technologies (Hong Kong) Limited, Concur Technologies (India) Private Limited, Concur Technologies (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Concur Technologies (UK) Limited, Concur Technologies Inc. Bellevue, Contextor, Coresystems, Crystal Decisions (Ireland) Limited, Crystal Decisions Holdings Limited, Crystal Decisions UK Limited, Emarsys, EssCubed Procurement Pty. Ltd., Extended Systems, Factory Logic, Fedem Technology AS, Fieldglass Europe Limited, Financial Fusion, FreeMarkets Ltda., Frictionless Commerce, Gigya, Gigya Australia Pty Ltd, Gigya Ltd., Gigya UK Ltd, GlobalExpense Limited, Highdeal, Hipmunk, Hybris (US) Corp., Hybris GmbH, Inxight Federal Systems Group, KXEN, Khimetrics, LLC "SAP Labs", LLC "SAP Ukraine", LLC SAP CIS, MaXware, Merlin Systems Oy, Multiposting Sp.z o.o., Nihon Ariba K.K., OpTier, OutlookSoft, OutlookSoft Deutschland GmbH, PLAT.ONE, PT SAP Indonesia, PT Sybase 365 Indonesia, Pilot Software Inc., Plat.One Inc., Plat.One Lab Srl, Plateau Systems LLC, Quadrem Africa Pty. Ltd., Quadrem Brazil Ltda., Quadrem Chile Ltda., Quadrem Colombia SAS, Quadrem International Ltd., Quadrem Netherlands B.V., Quadrem Overseas Cooperatief U.A., Quadrem Peru S.A.C., Qualtrics, Recast.AI, Right Hemisphere, Roambi, Ruan Lian Technologies (Beijing) Co., SAF, SAP (Beijing) Software System Co., SAP (Schweiz) AG, SAP (Schweiz) AG Biel, SAP (UK) Limited, SAP (UK) Limited Feltham, SAP AZ LLC, SAP America, SAP America Inc. Newtown Square, SAP Andina y del Caribe, SAP Argentina S.A., SAP Asia (Vietnam) Co., SAP Asia Pte Ltd, SAP Australia Pty Ltd, SAP Australia Pty Ltd. Sydney, SAP Belgium NV/SA, SAP Beteiligungs GmbH, SAP Brasil Ltda, SAP Brasil Ltda Sao Paulo, SAP Bulgaria EOOD, SAP Business Compliance Services GmbH, SAP Business Services Center Nederland B.V., SAP CR, SAP Canada, SAP Chile Limitada, SAP China Co., SAP China Co. Ltd. Shanghai, SAP China Holding Co., SAP Colombia S.A.S., SAP Commercial Services Ltd., SAP Concur, SAP Costa Rica, SAP Customer Experience, SAP Cyprus Limited, SAP Danmark A/S, SAP Deutschland SE & Co. KG, SAP Deutschland SE & Co. KG Walldorf, SAP Dritte Beteiligungs- und Vermogensverwaltungs GmbH, SAP EMEA Inside Sales S.L., SAP East Africa Limited, SAP Egypt LLC, SAP Erste Beteiligungs- und Vermogensverwaltungs GmbH, SAP Espana - Sistemas Informatica, SAP Estonia OU, SAP Fieldglass, SAP Financial, SAP Finland Oy, SAP Foreign Holdings GmbH, SAP France, SAP France Holding, SAP France Levallois Perret, SAP Global Marketing, SAP Hellas S.A., SAP Holdings (UK) Limited, SAP Hong Kong Co., SAP Hosting Beteiligungs GmbH, SAP Hungary Rendszerek, SAP India (Holding) Pte Ltd, SAP India Private Limited, SAP India Private Limited Bangalore, SAP Industries, SAP Industries Inc. Newtown Square, SAP International, SAP International Panama, SAP Investments, SAP Ireland Limited, SAP Ireland US - Financial Services Designated Activity Company, SAP Israel Ltd., SAP Italia Sistemi Applicazioni Prodotti in Data Processing S.p.A., SAP Italia Sistemi Applicazioni Prodotti in Data Processing S.p.A. Vimercate, SAP Japan Co., SAP Japan Co. Ltd. Tokyo, SAP Kazakhstan LLP, SAP Korea Ltd., SAP Labs, SAP Labs Bulgaria EOOD, SAP Labs Finland Oy, SAP Labs France SAS, SAP Labs India Private Limited, SAP Labs Israel Ltd., SAP Labs Korea, SAP Latvia SIA, SAP MENA FZ L.L.C., SAP Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., SAP Malta Investments Ltd., SAP Mxico S.A. de C.V., SAP National Security Services PA, SAP Nederland B.V., SAP Nederland B.V. s-Hertogenbosch, SAP Service and Support Centre (Ireland) Limited, SAP SuccessFactors, SAP d.o.o., SeeWhy, Signavio, SuccessFactors, SuccessFactors Inc. South San Francisco, Sybase, Syclo, TopTier Software, Triversity, Vimercate, Virsa Systems, Visiprise, Wicom Communications, and conTgo limited. Wall Street analysts have given iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond 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 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond 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.. Bunge Ltd. operates as a holding company, which engages in the supply and transportation of agricultural commodities. It operates through the following segments: Agribusiness, Edible Oil Products, Milling Products, Sugar and Bioenergy, and Fertilizer. The Agribusiness segment involves in the purchase, storage, transportation, processing, and sale of agricultural commodities and commodity products. The Edible Oil Products segment includes production and sale of vegetable oils, shortenings, margarines, and mayonnaise. The Milling Products segment consists of production and sale of wheat flours, bakery mixes, corn-based products, and rice. The Sugar and Bioenergy segment comprises manufacture and marketing of sugar and ethanol derived from sugarcane, as well as energy derived from the sugar and ethanol production process. The Fertilizer segment focuses on producing, blending, and distributing fertilizer products for the agricultural industry. The company was founded by Johann Peter Gottlieb Bunge in 1818 and is headquartered in Chesterfield, MO. Read More Swallowfield plc engages in the development, formulation, and supply of personal care and beauty products in the United Kingdom and internationally. The company offers aerosol products, including personal care aerosols, bag on valve systems, and bag in can systems; and bath and body care products, such as body scrubs, body butters/lotions, shower gels, and bath foams. It also provides color cosmetic products comprising loose powders, pressed powders, blushers, liquid foundations, mineral foundations, illuminators, concealers, cheek stains, and bronzing powders; eye color cosmetic products, such as loose and pressed eyeshadows, eyeshadow sticks, eye brow powders, eyebrow gels, eye liner pencils, brow pencils, and mascaras; face and lip cosmetic products, including lip stains, lip glosses, lipsticks, and lip liner pencils. In addition, the company offers antiperspirant and deodorant products, such as body sprays, roll-ons, and stick deodorants; fragrance products, including eau de toilette, eau de perfumes, body mists, solid perfumes, colognes, shimmer fragrances, fragrance oils, essential oils, candles, and diffusers; and haircare products consist of shampoos, conditioners, hair styling gels, hair waxes, hair putties/clays, and other gel products. Further, it provides hot pour products, including body and lip balms, body and lip butters, molded pencils, butter/shimmer sticks, and deodorant sticks; men's grooming products comprising shave gels, shave foams, aftershave balms, and men's cosmetics; and design and packaging services for perfume, cosmetic, makeup, beauty, and lipstick products. Additionally, the company offers self-tanning and bronzing products, such as tan sprays, tan lotions, and tan mousses, as well as instant tanning and gradual tanning products; and shaving and depilatory products. Swallowfield plc was founded in 1876 and is headquartered in Wellington, the United Kingdom. Read More thyssenkrupp AG operates in the areas of automotive technology, industrial components, plant technology, marine systems, steel, and materials services in Germany, the United States, China, and internationally. The company's Automotive Technology segment develops and manufactures components and systems and automated production systems for the automotive industry. Its Industrial Components segment manufactures and sells forged components and system solutions for the resource, construction, and mobility sectors; and slewing rings, antifriction bearings, and seamless rolled rings for the wind energy and construction machinery sectors. The company's Plant Technology segment builds plants for the chemical, cement, and mining industries. Its Marine Systems segment provides systems in the submarine and surface ship building, as well as in the field of maritime electronics and security technology. The company's Materials Services segment distributes materials and offers technical services for the production and manufacturing sectors. Its Steel Europe segment provides flat carbon steel products, intelligent material solutions, and finished parts. thyssenkrupp AG was founded in 1811 and is headquartered in Essen, Germany. Read More UBM plc organizes business-to-business events worldwide. The company offers face-to-face interaction in the form of exhibitions, tradeshows, conferences, and other live events. It also provides Website sponsorships and banner advertising services, as well as online directory and data products; and publishes magazines and trade press to specialist markets. In addition, the company offers data and broadcasting services. It serves advanced manufacturing and technology, brand licensing, business services and infrastructure, fashion and jewelry, food and agriculture, leisure and hospitality, lifestyle, pharma and healthcare, transport and logistics, and other sectors. The company was formerly known as United Business Media Limited and changed its name to UBM plc in May 2011. UBM plc was founded in 1843 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Vodafone Group: 360 Connect S.A., [email protected] Telecom, A-ccelerator B.V., A-ccelerator Holding B.V, AAA (Euro) Limited, AAA (MCR) Limited, AAA (UK) Limited, Acorn Communications Limited, Africonnect (Zambia) Limited, Ag Mercantile Company Private Limited, Al-Amin Investments Limited, Amsterdamse Beheer- en Consultingmaatschappij B.V., Apollo Submarine Cable System Limited, Array Holdings Limited, Asian Telecommunication Investments (Mauritius) Limited, Aspective Limited, Astec Communications Limited, Autoconnex Limited, Aztec Limited, BelCompany BV, Bluefish Apac Communications Pte. Ltd, Bluefish Communications, Bluefish Communications Limited, Business Serve Limited, C&W Worldwide Nigeria Limited, C.S.P. Solutions Limited, CCII (Mauritius) Inc., CGP India Investments Ltd., CGP Investments (Holdings) Limited, COOP Mobil s.r.o, CT Networks Limited, CWGNL S.A., CWW Operations Limited, Cable & Wireless Access Limited, Cable & Wireless Americas Systems Inc., Cable & Wireless Aspac Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless CIS Services Limited, Cable & Wireless CIS Svyaz LLC, Cable & Wireless Capital Limited , Cable & Wireless Communications Data Network Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Communications Starclass Limited, Cable & Wireless Communications Technical Service (Shanghai) Co. Ltd (Beijing Branch), Cable & Wireless Europe Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless GN Limited, Cable & Wireless Global (India) Private Limited, Cable & Wireless Global Business Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Global Holding Limited, Cable & Wireless Global Telecommunication Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Holdco Limited, Cable & Wireless Networks India Private Limited, Cable & Wireless Trade Mark Management Limited, Cable & Wireless UK Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless UK Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Waterside Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Pension Trustee Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Voice Messaging Limited, Cable & Wireless a-Services Inc, Cable & Wireless a-Services Limited, Cable and Wireless (India) Limited, Cable and Wireless (India) Limited Indian Branch Office, Cable and Wireless Nominee Limited, Cable and Wireless Worldwide South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Cavalry Holdings Ltd, Celfocus Solucoes Informaticas Para Telecomunicacoes S.A, Cellops Limited, Cellular Operations Limited, Central Communications Group Limited, Central Telecom (Northern) Limited, Centurion GSM Limited, Chelys Limited, City Cable (Holdings) Limited, Cobra do Brasil Servicos de Telematica ltda., Commnet Cellular Inc., Complete Network Technology, Connect (India) Mobile Technologies Private Limited, Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Limited, Dataroam Limited , Device Insight, Digital Island (UK) Ltd, Digital Mobile Spectrum Limited, East Africa Investment (Mauritius) Limited, Emtel Europe Limited, Energis (Ireland) Limited, Energis Communications Limited, Energis Holdings Limited, Energis Local Access Limited, Energis Management Limited, Energis Squared Limited, Erudite Systems Limited, Esprit Telecom B.V., Eudokia Limited, Euro Pacific Securities Ltd., Eurocall Holdings Limited, Europolitan Holdings AB (now Europolitan Vodafone AB), FB Holdings Limited, FM Associates (UK) Limited, FinCo Partner 1 B.V., FireFly Networks Limited, Flexphone Limited, GS Telecom (Pty) Limited, Gateway Communications Africa (UK) Limited, Gateway Communications Tanzania Limited, General Mobile Corporation, Generation Telecom Limited, Ghana Telecommunications, Ghana Telecommunications Company Limited, Global Cellular Rental Limited, Globe Limited, GrandCentrix GmbH, Grupo Corporativo ONO S.A.U., H3ga Properties (No 3) Pty Limited, HBO Nederland Cooperatief U.A., HBO Netherlands Channels sro, HBO Netherlands Distribution B.V., Hellas Online, How2 Telecom Limited, Hutchison Essar Ltd, Indus Towers Limited, Intercell Communications Limited, Internet Network Services Limited, Invitation Digital Limited, Ipergy Communications NV, Isis Telecommunications Management Limited, Jaguar Communications Limited, Jaykay Finholding (India) Private Limited, Jupicol (Proprietary) Limited, KABELCOM Braunschweig Gesellschaft Fur BreitbandkabelKommunikation Mit Beschrankter Haftung, KABELCOM Wolfsburg Gesellschaft Fur BreitbandkabelKommunikation Mit Beschrankter Haftung, Kabel Deutschland, Kabel Deutschland Holding, Kabel Deutschland Holding Erste Beteiligungs GmbH, Kabel Deutschland Holding Zweite Beteilgungs GmbH, Kabel Deutschland Neunte Beteiligungs GmbH, Kabel Deutschland Siebte Beteiligungs GmbH, Kabelfernsehen Munchen Servicenter GmbH & Co. KG, LG Financing Partnership, LGE HoldCo V B.V., LGE HoldCo VI B.V., LGE HoldCo VIII B.V., LGE Holdco VII B.V., LLC Vodafone Enterprise Ukraine, Le Bunt Holdings Limited, Legend Communications Limited, Liberty Global, Liberty Global Content Netherlands B.V., London Hydraulic Power Company, M-PESA Foundation, M-PESA Holding Co. Limited, ML Integration Group Limited, ML Integration Limited, ML Integration Services Limited, MV Healthcare Services Private Limited, Mannesmann AG, MetroHoldings Limited, Mezzanine Ware Proprietary Limited (RF), Mirambo Limited, Misrfone Trading Company LLC, MobiFon S.A., Mobile Commerce Solutions Limited, Mobile Phone Centre Limited, Mobile Wallet VM1, Mobile Wallet VM2, Mobile by Sainsburys Limited, Mobiles 4 Business.com Limited, Mobileworld Communications Pty Limited, Mobileworld Operating Pty Ltd, Mobilvest, Motifpros 1 (Proprietary) Limited, Multi Risk Indemnity Company Limited, Multi Risk Limited, ND Callus Info Services Private Limited, Nadal Trading Company Private Limited, Nat Comm Air Limited, National Communications Backbone Company Limited, Navtrak Ltd, Netforce Group Limited, Netgrid Telecom SRL, Number Portability Company (Proprietary) Limited, ONO, Omega Telecom Holdings Private Limited, Oni Way Infocomunicacoes S.A, Oskar Mobil S.R.O., Oxygen Solutions Limited, P.C.P. (North West) Limited, PPL Pty Limited, PT Network Services Limited, PTI Telecom Limited, Peoples Phone Limited, Pinnacle Cellular Group Limited, Pinnacle Cellular Limited, Plex Limited, Plustech Mercantile Company Private Limited, Prime Metals Ltd., Project Telecom Holdings Limited, Quickcomm Software Solutions, Radio Opt GmbH, Rian Mobile Limited, SBC SMART CITY 1517 B.V., SMMS Investments Pvt Limited, Safaricom Limited, Safenet N.P A., Sarmady Communications, Scarlet Ibis Investments 23 (Pty) Limited, Scorpios Beverages Pvt. Ltd, Silver Stream Investments Limited, Singlepoint (4U) Limited, Singlepoint (4U) Ltd., Singlepoint Payment Services Limited, Siro Limited, Spar Aerospace (Nigeria) Limited, Sport TV Portugal S.A, Starnet, Stentor Communications Limited, Stentor Limited, Storage Technology Services (Pty) Limited, T.W. Telecom Limited, T3 Telecommunications Limited, TKS Telepost Kabel-Service Kaiserslautern Beteiligungs GmbH, TKS Telepost Kabel-Service Kaiserslautern GmbH & Co. KG, TNAS Limited, TSM NZ Limited, Talkland Airtime Services Limited, Talkland Australia Pty Limited, Talkland Communications Limited, Talkland International Limited, Talkland Midlands Limited, Talkmobile Limited, Tele2 Italia SPA, Tele2 Spain, Telecom Investments India Private Limited, Telecommunications Europe Limited, Ternhill Communications Limited, The Cobra Group, The Eastern Leasing Company Limited, The Old Telecom Sales Co. Limited, Thus Group Holdings Limited, Thus Group Limited, Thus Limited, Thus Profit Sharing Trustees Limited, TnT Expense Management LLC, Tomorrow Street GP S.a r.l., Tomorrow Street SCA, Torenspits II B.V., Townley Communications Limited, Trans Crystal Ltd., UMT Investments Limited, UPC Nederland Holding I B.V., UPC Nederland Holding II B.V., UPC Nederland Holding III B.V., Unified Communications, Uniqueair Limited, Urbana Teleunion Rostock GmbH & Co.KG, Usha Martin Telematics Limited, VAPL No. 2 Pty Limited, VBA (Mauritius) Limited, VBA Holdings Limited, VBA International (SL) Limited, VBA International Limited, VEI S.r.l., VM SA, VND S.p.A, VSSB Vodafone Shared Services Budapest Private Limited Company, Verwaltung Urbana Teleunion Rostock GmbH, Victus Networks S.A., Vizzavi Finance Limited, Vizzavi Limited, Voda Limited, Vodacall Limited, Vodacash s.p.r.l., Vodacom (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Business (Angola) Limitada, Vodacom Business (Ghana) Limited, Vodacom Business (Kenya) Limited, Vodacom Business Africa (Nigeria) Limited, Vodacom Business Africa Group (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Business Africa Group Services Limited, Vodacom Business Cameroon SA, Vodacom Business Cote Divoire S.A.R.L., Vodacom Congo (RDC) SA, Vodacom Financial Services (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Group Limited, Vodacom Insurance Administration Company (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Insurance Company (RF) Limited, Vodacom International Holdings (Pty) Limited, Vodacom International Limited, Vodacom Lesotho (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Life Assurance Company (RF) Limited, Vodacom Payment Services (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Properties No 1 (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Properties No.2 (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Tanzania Limited Zanzibar, Vodacom Tanzania Public Limited Company, Vodacom UK Limited, Vodafone (NI) Limited, Vodafone (New Zealand) Hedging Limited, Vodafone (Scotland) Limited, Vodafone 2, Vodafone 4 UK, Vodafone 5 Limited, Vodafone 5 UK, Vodafone 6 UK, Vodafone Albania Sh.A, Vodafone Alternatif Telekom Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Americas 4, Vodafone Americas Virginia Inc., Vodafone And Qatar Foundation L.L.C, Vodafone Asset Management Services S.a r.l., Vodafone Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Automotive Deutschland GmbH, Vodafone Automotive Electronic Systems S.r.L, Vodafone Automotive France S.A.S, Vodafone Automotive Iberia S.L, Vodafone Automotive Italia S.p.A, Vodafone Automotive Japan K.K, Vodafone Automotive Korea Limited, Vodafone Automotive SpA, Vodafone Automotive Technologies (Beijing) Co Ltd, Vodafone Automotive Telematics Development S.A.S, Vodafone Automotive Telematics S.A, Vodafone Automotive UK Limited, Vodafone Belgium SA/NV, Vodafone Benelux Limited, Vodafone Bilgi Ve Iletisim Hizmetleri AS, Vodafone Business Services Limited, Vodafone Business Solutions Limited, Vodafone Canada Inc, Vodafone Cellular Limited, Vodafone Central Services Limited, Vodafone China Limited (China), Vodafone China Limited (Hong Kong), Vodafone Connect 2 Limited, Vodafone Connect Limited, Vodafone Consolidated Holdings Limited, Vodafone Corporate Limited, Vodafone Corporate Secretaries Limited, Vodafone Czech Republic A.S., Vodafone DC Pension Trustee Company Limited, Vodafone Dagitim Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Data, Vodafone Distribution Holdings Limited, Vodafone Egypt Telecommunications S.A.E., Vodafone Elektronik Para Ve Odeme Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Empresa Brasil Telecomunicacoes Ltda, Vodafone Empresa Mexico S.de R.L. de C.V., Vodafone Enabler Espana S.L., Vodafone Enterprise Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Austria GmbH, Vodafone Enterprise Bahrain W.L.L., Vodafone Enterprise Bulgaria EOOD, Vodafone Enterprise Chile SA, Vodafone Enterprise Communications Technical Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Corporate Secretaries Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Denmark A/S, Vodafone Enterprise Equipment Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Europe (UK) Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Europe (UK) Limited Czech Branch, Vodafone Enterprise Europe (UK) Limited DubaiI Branch, Vodafone Enterprise Finland OY, Vodafone Enterprise France SAS, Vodafone Enterprise Germany GmbH, Vodafone Enterprise Global Businesses S.a r.l., Vodafone Enterprise Global Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Global Network HK Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Global Network Pte. Ltd., Vodafone Enterprise Hong Kong Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Italy S.r.L, Vodafone Enterprise Korea Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Luxembourg S.A., Vodafone Enterprise Netherlands BV, Vodafone Enterprise Norway AS, Vodafone Enterprise Regional Business Singapore Pte.Ltd., Vodafone Enterprise Singapore Pte.Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Spain S.L.U. Portugal Branch, Vodafone Enterprise Spain SLU, Vodafone Enterprise Sweden AB, Vodafone Enterprise Switzerland AG, Vodafone Erste Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Vodafone Espana S.A.U., Vodafone Euro Hedging Limited, Vodafone Euro Hedging Two, Vodafone Europe B.V., Vodafone Europe UK, Vodafone European Investments, Vodafone European Portal Limited, Vodafone Finance Limited, Vodafone Finance Luxembourg Limited, Vodafone Finance Sweden, Vodafone Finance UK Limited, Vodafone Financial Operations, Vodafone Financial Services B.V., Vodafone Fixed Ltd, Vodafone Foundation, Vodafone Foundation Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Gestioni S.p.A, Vodafone Ghana Mobile Financial Services Limited, Vodafone Global Content Services Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise (Hong Kong) Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise (Italy) S.R.L., Vodafone Global Enterprise (Japan) K.K., Vodafone Global Enterprise (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Vodafone Global Enterprise Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise Russia LLC, Vodafone Global Enterprise Taiwan Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise Telecommunications (Hellas) A.E., Vodafone Global Network Limited, Vodafone Global Network Limited Slovakia Branch, Vodafone Global Services Private Limited, Vodafone GmbH, Vodafone Group (Directors) Trustee Limited, Vodafone Group Pension Trustee Limited, Vodafone Group Services GmbH, Vodafone Group Services Ireland Limited, Vodafone Group Services Limited, Vodafone Group Services No.2 Limited, Vodafone Group Share Trustee Limited, Vodafone Hire Limited, Vodafone Holding A.S., Vodafone Holdings (Jersey) Limited, Vodafone Holdings (SA) Proprietary Limited, Vodafone Holdings Europe S.L.U., Vodafone Holdings Luxembourg Limited, Vodafone Hutchison Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Hutchison Finance Pty Limited, Vodafone Hutchison Receivables Pty Limited, Vodafone IP Licensing Limited, Vodafone India Digital Limited, Vodafone India Limited, Vodafone India Services Private Limited, Vodafone India Ventures Limited, Vodafone Institut fur Gesellschaft und Kommunikation GmbH, Vodafone Intermediate Enterprises Limited, Vodafone International 1 S.a.r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone International 1 S.a r.l., Vodafone International 2 Limited, Vodafone International Holdings B.V., Vodafone International Holdings Limited, Vodafone International M S.a r.l., Vodafone International Operations Limited, Vodafone International Services LLC, Vodafone Investment UK, Vodafone Investments (SA) Proprietary Limited, Vodafone Investments Australia Limited, Vodafone Investments Limited, Vodafone Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l., Vodafone Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone Ireland Distribution Limited, Vodafone Ireland Ltd., Vodafone Ireland Marketing Limited, Vodafone Ireland Property Holdings Limited, Vodafone Ireland Retail Limited, Vodafone Italia S.p.A., Vodafone Jersey Dollar Holdings Limited, Vodafone Jersey Finance, Vodafone Jersey Yen Holdings Unlimited, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland Field Services GmbH, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland GmbH, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland Kundenbetreuung GmbH, Vodafone Kenya Limited, Vodafone Leasing Limited, Vodafone Libertel B.V., Vodafone Limited, Vodafone Luxembourg 5 S.a r.l., Vodafone Luxembourg 5 S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone Luxembourg S.a r.l., Vodafone Luxembourg S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone M-PESA SH.P.K., Vodafone M-Pesa S.A, Vodafone M.C. Mobile Services Limited , Vodafone Magyarorszag Mobile Tavkozlesi Zartkoruen Mukodo Reszvenytarsasag, Vodafone Malta Limited, Vodafone Marketing UK , Vodafone Maroc SARL, Vodafone Mauritius Ltd., Vodafone Mobile Commerce Limited, Vodafone Mobile Communications Limited, Vodafone Mobile Enterprises Limited, Vodafone Mobile NZ Limited, Vodafone Mobile Network Limited, Vodafone Mobile Operations Limited, Vodafone Mobile Services Limited, Vodafone Multimedia Limited, Vodafone Nederland Holding I B.V., Vodafone Nederland Holding II B.V., Vodafone Nederland Holding III B.V., Vodafone Net Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Network Pty Limited, Vodafone New Zealand Foundation Limited, Vodafone New Zealand Limited, Vodafone Next Generation Services Limited, Vodafone Nominees Limited1, Vodafone ONO S.A.U., Vodafone Oceania Limited, Vodafone Old Show Ground Site Management Limited, Vodafone Overseas Finance Limited, Vodafone Overseas Holdings Limited, Vodafone Panafon International Holdings B.V., Vodafone Panafon UK, Vodafone Partner Services Limited, Vodafone Payment Solutions S.a r.l., Vodafone Portugal Comunicacoes Pessoais S.A., Vodafone Procurement Company S.a r.l., Vodafone Property Investments Limited, Vodafone Pty Limited, Vodafone Qatar Q.S.C., Vodafone Retail (Holdings) Limited , Vodafone Retail Limited, Vodafone Roaming Services S.a r.l., Vodafone Romania S.A, Vodafone Romania M - Payments SRL, Vodafone Romania Technologies SRL, Vodafone Sales & Services Limited, Vodafone Satellite Services Limited, Vodafone Servicios SL.U, Vodafone Servizi E Tecnologie S.R.L, Vodafone Servicos Empresariais Brasil Ltda., Vodafone Shared Services Romania SRL, Vodafone Specialist Communications Limited, Vodafone Stiftung Deutschland Gemeinnutzige GmbH, Vodafone Technology Solutions Limited, Vodafone Teknoloji Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Tele-Services (India) Holdings Limited, Vodafone Telecel-Comunicates Pessoais S.A., Vodafone Telecommunications (India) Limited, Vodafone Telekomunikasyon A.S, Vodafone Towers Limited, Vodafone UK Content Services Limited, Vodafone UK Investments Limited , Vodafone UK Limited1 , Vodafone US Inc, Vodafone Ventures Limited1 , Vodafone Vierte Verwaltungs AG, Vodafone Worldwide Holdings Limited, Vodafone Yen Finance Limited , Vodafone m-pesa Limited, Vodafone-Central Limited Vodaphone Limited, Vodafone-Panafon Hellenic Telecommunications Company S.A., VodafoneZiggo Group Holding B.V, Vodata Limited , Vouchercloud SA (Pty) Ltd, Wataneya Telecommunications S.A.E, Waterberg Lodge (Proprietary) Limited, Wayfinder, Wheatfields Investments 276 (Proprietary) Limited, Wireless Interactions & NFC Accelerator 2013 B.V., Woodend Cellular Limited, Woodend Communications Limited, Woodend Group Limited, Woodend Holdings Limited, XB Facilities B.V, XLink Communications (Proprietary) Limited, Your Communications Group Limited, ZUM B.V., ZYB, Zelitron S.A., Zesko B.V., Ziggo B.V., Ziggo Bond Company B.V., Ziggo Deelnemingen B.V., Ziggo Finance 2 B.V., Ziggo Financing Partnership, Ziggo Holding B.V., Ziggo Netwerk B.V., Ziggo Netwerk II B.V., Ziggo Services B.V., Ziggo Services Employment B.V., Ziggo Services Netwerk 2 B.V., Ziggo Zakelijk Services B.V., and Zoranet Connectivity Services B.V.. Wall Street analysts have given iShares Russell 2000 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 Russell 2000 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 ABB: A88 for Electrical Industries (ABB ARAB) S.A.E., AABB Business Services Sp. z o.o., ABB (China) Investment Limited, ABB (China) Ltd., ABB 0y, ABB A/S, ABB AB, ABB AG, ABB AS, ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd, ABB Australia Pty Limited, ABB Automacao Ltda., ABB Automation GmbH, ABB Automation Products GmbH, ABB B.V., ABB Beijing Drive Systems Co. Ltd., ABB Beijing Switchgear Limited, ABB Beteiligungs- und Verwaltungsges. MbH, ABB Bulgaria EOOD, ABB Canada EL Holding GmbH, ABB Capital AG, ABB Electrical Control Systems S. de R.L. de C.V., ABB Electrical Industries Co. Ltd., ABB Electrical Machines Ltd., ABB Electrification Canada ULC, ABB Electrification Norway AS, ABB Elektrik Sanayi A.S., ABB Eletrificacao Ltda., ABB Engineering (Shanghai) Ltd., ABB Engineering Trading and Service Ltd., ABB Finance (USA) Inc., ABB Finance B.V., ABB France, ABB Global Industries and Services Private Limited, ABB Group Investment Management Pty. Ltd., ABB Holding AS, ABB Holdings (Pty) Ltd., ABB Holdings B.V., ABB Holdings Inc., ABB Holdings Limited, ABB Inc., ABB Inc., ABB India Limited, ABB Industrial Solutions (Bielsko-Biala) Sp. z o.o., ABB Industrial Solutions (Klodzko) Sp.z o.o., ABB Industries (L.L.C.), ABB Information Systems Ltd., ABB Installation Products Inc, ABB Installation Products International LLC., ABB Investment Holding 2 GmbH, ABB K.K., ABB Limited, ABB Ltd., ABB Management Services Ltd., ABB Mexico SA. de C.V., ABB Motors and Mechanical Inc, ABB N.V., ABB Norden Holding AB, ABB Pte. Ltd., ABB S.A., ABB S.p.A., ABB SAS, ABB Schweiz AG, ABB Shanghai Free Trade Zone Industrial Co. Ltd., ABB Shanghai Motors Co. Ltd., ABB South Africa (Pty) Ltd., ABB Sp. z o.o., ABB Stotz-Kontakt GmbH, ABB Treasury Center (USA) Inc., ABB Xiamen Low Voltage Equipment Co. Ltd., ABB Xiamen Switchgear Co. Ltd., ABB Xinhui Low Voltage Switchgear Co. Ltd., ABB s.r.o., APS Technology Group, ASTI Mobile Robotics, Asea Brown Boveri S.A., Asea Brown Boveri S.A.E., Asea Brown Boveri SA. de C.V., B + R Industrie-Elektronik GmbH, B&R Holding GmbH, B&R Industrial Automation, B&R Industrial Automation GmbH, Baldor Electric Company, Busch-Jaeger Elektro GmbH, Chargedot, Codian Robotics, Cylon Controls, DynaMotive Ltd., ELBI Elektrik, Edison Holding Corporation, Envitech Energy, Epyon, GE Industrial Solutions, Gomtec, Gresin Grupo Estudios Industriales, Industrial C&S Hungary Kft., Industrial C&S of RR. LLC, Industrial Connections & Solutions LLC, KEYMILE - Business, Kuhlman Electric Corp., Lorentzen & Wettre, Los Gatos Research, Mincom, NUB3D S.L., Newave Energy Holding, Newron System, Power-One, Powercorp, RGM - Rail vehicle power business, SVIA, Spirit IT, Thomas & Betts, Trasfor, Tropos Networks, Validus DC Systems, Vectek Electronics, and Ventyx. At the heart of the Democratic Party-led anti-Russia hysteria is the claim that Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin threaten our democracy. What are the indices of our democracy which the master conspirator in the Kremlin has worked so hard to undermine? Inequality and oligarchy The two richest peopleJeff Bezos and Bill Gatespossess almost the same amount of wealth as the poorest half of the population. The richest 5 percent of the population owns 67 percent of the wealth. The poorest 60 percent of the population owns 1 percent of the wealth. The wealthiest Americans live on average 20 years longer than the poorest Americans. Seventy percent of Americans have less than $1,000 in savings. Banks have foreclosed on over 7 million homes since 2004. There are 554,000 homeless people on a given night. Indigenous people who first inhabited the country remain the most impoverished and exploited section of the population. In large parts of 10 states, women must travel over 100 miles for abortion access, which is threatened by the most right-wing majority on the Supreme Court in a century. Police repression and mass incarceration Three percent of American adults6.8 million peopleare either in jail or prison or on parole or probation. There are 1.2 million police officers in the USalmost equal to the population of the state of New Hampshire. The police have killed 15,000 people since 2000. There are 55,000 children presently in juvenile detention. A third of states have a form of debtors prison, where the poor are locked up for failure to pay fines or debts. The costs of the war on terror The US killed over one million people in the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The intelligence agencies lied to the population about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The US operated a network of black site CIA torture chambers throughout the world and continues to indefinitely detain dozens at the Guantanamo Bay prison. The Obama administration asserted the right to assassinate US citizens without due process when it assassinated Anwar Al-Awlaki with a drone strike in 2011. The US has spent almost $6 trillion on the wars in Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa since 2001. The military-industrial complex Military spending accounts for over half of discretionary spending10 times more than federal housing spending and nine times more than education spending. The Defense Department, with an annual budget now over $700 billion, is the nations largest employer, with 2.1 million employees, and the US military has active duty soldiers deployed in 150 countries. Elections and corporate control of government Corporations spent roughly $3 billion lobbying the government in 2017 alone. Six billion dollars was spent influencing the 2016 electionthe majority by corporations and the wealthy who can give unlimited amounts after the 2010 Supreme Court decision Citizens United v. FEC. Ballot restrictions make it impossible for third parties to challenge the domination of the Democratic and Republican parties. Thirty-three states have implemented voter identification laws, which studies show bar up to 6 percent of the population from voting. The attack on immigrants The US Navy is planning to build concentration camps to detain 120,000 immigrants. 5.4 million immigrants have been deported since 2001, and 1 million people currently face deportation orders in the US. Over 2,900 immigrant children remain separated from their parents and have been detained for weeks. Sexual, physical and psychological abuse of immigrants in detention is widespread. Jailing and deporting immigrants is a $1 billion per year industry for American corporations. The government has built an army of 20,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and 45,600 Customs and Border Protection agents to deport and detain immigrants. Immigrants have no right to counsel and many never appear before a judge at all. Censorship and state surveillance Five media companies own 90 percent of the countrys media outlets. In December 2017, the Federal Communications Commission ruled to abolish net neutrality, giving corporations and the government the right to censor and control internet access. The National Security Agency collected 534 million records of phone calls and text messages from US telecommunication providers in 2017triple the figure from 2016. Google and Facebook are censoring socialist, anti-war and progressive websites by manipulating algorithms and downgrading search results to limit the potential audience of oppositional views. The government has pressed charges, prosecuted, or sought to extradite whistleblowers like Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, and Julian Assange for exposing details of US war crimes and mass surveillance. This is the reality of our democracy, and Mr. Putin, whatever else he may have done, cannot be blamed for any of the conditions enumerated above. The roots of this degeneration lie in the capitalist system and the growth of unprecedented levels of social inequality. The intense political infighting between the factions of the ruling class over Russian interference in our democracy confirms that there is no constituency for democratic rights within the ruling class. Their abandonment of democratic forms of rule poses a great danger to the working class. The only way to defend democratic rights is through a fight against imperialist war, inequality, and capitalism. The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), the countrys peak union body, held a revealing national congress in Brisbane on Tuesday and Wednesday. Behind empty rhetoric about mounting inequality, the assembled officials adopted plans to try to corral their dwindling memberships behind the return of another Labor government that will only deepen the attacks on working class conditions. And while falsely claiming to oppose the corporate assault on workers, they called for a much closer integration of the unions into big business and the state apparatus, including via the appointment of union bureaucrats onto company boards. The 800 or so delegates at the congress represented organisations in terminal decline. They are widely discredited after decades of imposing the dictates of governments and the financial elite, particularly since the ACTUs Accords with the Hawke and Keating Labor governments in the 1980s and 1990s. Union membership is at record lows of barely 10 percent across the private sector and about 5 percent among young workers. There is intense hostility among workers over declining wages, which have fallen in real terms for six years, a rapidly rising cost of living, the gutting of full-time employment and an endless corporate offensive against conditions and wages. The political establishment is terrified that the unions will be unable to suppress the emerging industrial and political struggles of workers, as they have for the past four decades. To shore up their position as an industrial policing agency, the unions are seeking to channel the anger among workers behind Labor, which has long been a party of the financial elite. To that end, the unions last year initiated a change the rules campaign. This cynically criticises aspects of the draconian Fair Work Australia industrial legislationintroduced by the previous Labor government with the full support of the unions, which have invoked the anti-strike provisions time and again to isolate and betray workers struggles. The congress underscored the fraudulent character of this campaign. The keynote speaker was Wayne Swan, Labors new national president, who was treasurer throughout the last Labor government from 2007 to 2013. He declared that society was becoming more unequal, unfair and unjust. Like other speakers, he claimed to oppose the worsening inequality, and deplore the plight of low-paid workers in casual and precarious employment. Swan said there was something fundamentally wrong with our economy that calls for rebellion. He must hope that workers have poor memories. In office, he imposed the dictates of global capitalism and bailed out the finance houses after the 2008 economic crash. In 2011, Euromoney magazine named him global finance minister of the year. Swan not only ensured Australias banks remained among the most profitable in the world. He was a senior figure in Julia Gillards government as it slashed funding to education and healthcare, and kicked 100,000 single parents off their welfare benefits and onto the poverty-level Newstart unemployment allowances. Swan is not seeking to lead a rebellion, but to prevent one. He alluded to fears that the political establishment would not be able to contain social and political opposition, declaring that our future may very well depend on leadership from Labor and the unions. Labor leader Bill Shorten was also a featured guest. Like Swan, he was a key minister in the last Labor government, enforcing its austerity measures. Before that, as national secretary of the Australian Workers Union from 2001 to 2007, Shorten oversaw enterprise workplace agreements with major employers, slashing the wages and penalty rates of cleaners and other low-paid workers. Shorten reportedly made references to the deepening social hardships facing workers. The press, however, was excluded from covering his speech. Over recent months, while accusing the Turnbull Liberal-National government of pandering to big business at workers expense, Shorten has also sought to reassure the corporate elite that a Labor government will advance its interests. Just as revealing was the installation, unopposed, of Michele ONeil as the new ACTU president. Her predecessor, Ged Kearney, resigned early this year and was parachuted into federal parliament, just like many previous ACTU presidents, going back to Bob Hawke. ONeil has been depicted in the media as a union militant. In reality, she personifies the anti-working class character of the unions. As the head of the Textile Clothing and Footwear Union (TCFU) for almost three decades, ONeil was pivotal in the destruction of thousands of jobs, and sweeping attacks on the wages and conditions of impoverished textile workers. In 2009 alone, the TCFU, working with the Labor Party, helped clothing manufacturer Pacific Brands enforce the destruction of more than 1,850 jobs across the country. Early this year, the TCFU amalgamated with the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union and the Maritime Union of Australia, both of which have substantial financial resources. By that point, ONeils union had just 2,000 members, having enforced the pro-business shutdown of large sections of the industry that it covered. Representing employers, Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Wilcox welcomed ONeils elevation. According to the Australian Associated Press, he said employers had dealt constructively with Ms ONeil for many years through her work at the textiles union and we look forward to continuing to work together on the many issues of mutual benefit. These warm relations underscore the bogus character of the unions claims to be leading a campaign to change industrial legislation in the interests of workers. The real concern motivating the change the rules campaign is that the unions maintain their position at the negotiating table, where they bargain away the jobs, wages and conditions of the workers they falsely claim to represent, and ensure the privileges of the officialdom. The unions are fearful that some employers are seeking to dispense with their services. This was made clear by the industrial relations program adopted by the congress. Its recommendations include prohibiting non-union enterprise agreements, in a bid to reverse declining union coverage and membership rates. Most significantly, it calls for union representation on company boards, declaring that this would allow for a culture of honesty, transparency and joint ownership in the future of the enterprise. This mutually beneficial exchange would lead to better wages and higher company performance. The references to improved wages are a sham. The mutually beneficial exchange would be one solely between the companies and the union bureaucrats, with the latter functioning ever more openly as the representatives of wealthy shareholders, tasked with suppressing wages, slashing conditions and eliminating jobs. Already, the union bosses sit on the boards of multi-billion-dollar superannuation funds, joint management-union committees, and run lucrative union charities and training companies that receive corporate subsidies. Now, facing an accelerating collapse in their membership, the union bureaucrats are seeking even greater collaboration with employers. The ACTU congress was another milestone in the right-wing, pro-business evolution of the unions. As workers enter into increasingly explosive social and political struggles, they will confront these thoroughly corporatised entities, along with the Labor Party, as their enemies. Protests are being organised in London and internationally in response to credible sources claiming that the Ecuadorian government is on the verge of reneging on the political asylum it granted to WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange and handing him to British police. Anonymous Scandinavia, a twitter account believed to be closely linked with WikiLeaks, has published a video announcing a Condition Red and stating that the situation is critical. This follows a July 20 tweet by Russia Today editor Margarita Simonyan, which stated: My sources say that Assange will be handed over to UK authorities in the coming weeks or even days In a lengthy article published in the Intercept on July 21, journalist Glenn Greenwald reported that he also had a source close to the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry and the Presidents office who had confirmed that Julian Assange will be evicted from Ecuadors London embassy as early as this week. The protest in London will be taking place at 10am, Monday, July 23, at the Ecuadorian embassy. Protests in other cities have been called at US embassies and consulates, to take place the day after Assange was evicted. Rallies are organised so far in Melbourne, Australia; Wellington, New Zealand; Paris; and Los Angeles. Click here for details. The WSWS endorses all protest action against the persecution of Julian Assange and urges its readers to participate. Ecuadors President Lenin Moreno arrived in London on July 21 to deliver the keynote speech at the 2018 Global Disability Summit. Greenwald reported in the Intercept: The concealed, actual purpose of the Presidents trip is to meet with British officials to finalize an agreement under which Ecuador will withdraw its asylum protection of Julian Assange, in place since 2012, eject him from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, and then hand over the WikiLeaks founder to British authorities. Assange was granted political asylum in its embassy by Ecuador in 2012 after his legal appeals against extradition to Sweden, to answer questions on manufactured allegations of sexual assault, were rejected by the British courts. Assange legitimately feared that he would be rapidly extradited from Sweden to the US to face charges over WikiLeaks publication of leaks that exposed American war crimes and diplomatic intrigues around the world. If Assange leaves the embassy he will be imprisoned by Britain for breaching bail and almost certainly face an application to extradite him to the United States to stand trial on manufactured charges of espionage. On the Moreno governments orders, the Ecuadorian embassy in London has deprived Assange of all external communication, and all visitors apart from his lawyers, since March 28. After six years of confinement due to the British threat of immediate arrest if he sets foot outside the small building, Assanges health has been seriously compromised. The deprivation of communication is a vindictive attempt to add immense psychological pressure on him to leave the embassy, as well as to silence him while lurid accusations permeate the American and international media that WikiLeaks was part of a nefarious Russian conspiracy to interfere in the 2016 US presidential election. Ahead of Morenos visit to London, his national secretary of political management, Paul Granda, asserted on July 19 that there is no specific meeting planned on Assange. The same day, acting Ecuadorian foreign minister, Andres Teran, claimed that Morenos government is not in talks with the United States over the WikiLeaks editor. These statements have no credibility. All evidence, reinforced by the Intercept report, points to the opposite conclusion: A conspiracy is well advanced, involving the US, British, Ecuadorian and Australian governments, to have Assange hauled before a show trial in the US. The American intelligence agencies are determined to prosecute Assange as a spy. The campaign to arrest him was escalated to a priority in April 2017, after WikiLeaks began publishing the Vault 7 leaks that revealed how the CIA had developed malware to hack phones, PCs, servers, smart televisions and vehicle computer systems in every part of the world. Morenos government has betrayed Assange as part of its venal attempts, on behalf of the Ecuadorian business elite, to restore economic and political relations with Washington. The London embassy cut off Assanges communications just one day after top-level meetings in Ecuador with representatives of US Southern Command on re-establishing military cooperation. Moreno will speak with leading figures in the Conservative government of Prime Minister Theresa May over the coming days. The UK-Ecuadorian talks will take place amid total hysteria in the American political and media establishment, following Trumps meeting with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki this week, over purported Russian meddling and interference. At the centre of the allegations is the July 2016 publication by WikiLeaks of a trove of emails sent by the Democratic National Committee (DNC), revealing that ostensibly impartial party officials conspired to undermine Bernie Sanders campaign against Hillary Clinton in the Democratic Party primaries. The information outraged millions of Sanders supporters, especially young people who had voted for the Vermont senator due to his claims to be a democratic socialist and to oppose the billionaires. Top DNC officials were forced to resign in disgrace for their attempt to manipulate and rig the primaries for Clintons benefit. History, however, has since been rewritten by the Democratic Party, the American media and the US intelligence agencies. The DNC leaks were instead transformed into purported evidence of a Russian-orchestrated attempt to manipulate the 2016 presidential election in favour of Donald Trump. WikiLeaks and Assange were accused of being accomplices of the Putin regime. On January 6, 2017, the US Office of National Intelligence alleged: We assess with high confidence that the GRU [Russian General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate] relayed material it acquired from the DNC and senior Democratic officials to WikiLeaks. Moscow most likely chose WikiLeaks because of its self-proclaimed reputation for authenticity. Claims of Russian fake news and meddling also have been used to justify the sweeping and ongoing campaign to censor oppositional publications on the Internet, including WikiLeaks and the World Socialist Web Site. At the same time, the assertions of Russian interference have been used to stoke a frenzy of demands in the American establishment for a stepped-up economic and military confrontation with Russia, threatening to trigger war between nuclear-armed states. The allegation that Assange is a Russian agent is crucial to both the assault on freedom of speech and democratic rights, and to the preparations for war. A media organisation cannot be prosecuted for publishing leaks. So, in November 2010, Vice President Joe Biden labelled Assange a high-tech terrorist. In April 2017, CIA director Mike Pompeo, now secretary of state, branded WikiLeaks a non-state hostile intelligence agency. If Assange were charged as a Russian spy, it would establish a far-reaching precedent. International media organisations and journalists that publish leaked information could be pursued and prosecuted without recourse to any constitutional and legal protections of freedom of speech. The slander of Assange as a Russian tool serves definite ideological purposes. It has been seized upon internationally by the ex-liberal and pseudo-left milieu in the media and political establishment to align with US imperialism, the Democratic Party and the American intelligence agencies and justify their refusal to defend WikiLeaks and democratic rights. The truth is that, regardless of the source, WikiLeaks published information that was both newsworthy and further clarified people as to the corrupt, militarist and big business character of the Democratic Party and its candidate Clinton. Any genuine media organisation that received such leaks would have published them. The immense danger Assange faces was underscored on July 20 by comments made during a media conference held by UK Foreign Affairs Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who was in Britain for annual ministerial talks. Hunt gloated: Serious charges have been laid against him [Assange] and we want him to face justice for those charges but we are a country of due process. At any time he wants to, he is free to walk out on to the streets of Knightsbridge and the British police will have a warm welcome for him. Bishop exuded the utter contempt of successive Australian governments for the rights of an Australian citizen and journalist being persecuted by the US. She indifferently responded to Hunts threats, effectively washing her governments hands of Assanges fate. She told the media: We understand there are still matters where Mr Assange is subject to British legal proceedings so therefore that would be a matter of British law enforcement authorities and agencies. In fact, the only charges that Assange faces in Britain arise from breaching bail when he sought asylum, a necessary step to avoid the sinister warrant to extradite him to Sweden. No charges were ever laid by Swedish prosecutors, who finally agreed to question him in London in December 2016. Sweden abandoned the bogus investigation in April 2017, yet the British authorities and courts refused to drop the now-redundant alleged bail offences. The only serious charges against Assange are likely to be espionage-related charges in the United States, which could result in life imprisonment or even the death penalty. The ongoing motive behind the persecution of Assange is to terrorise and intimidate whistleblowers and independent media organisations into remaining silent on imperialist war crimes and intrigues, corporate abuses and corruption, and US-led war preparations. All defenders of media freedom and democratic rights must step up the fight to demand the unconditional right of Julian Assange to leave the London embassy and the UK unhindered and return to Australia, if he chooses to do so, with a guarantee against extradition to the US. The author also recommends: The Turnbull government must act to repatriate Australian citizen Julian Assange to Australia [19 June 2018] The Campaign to Free Julian Assange On July 9, the Goodyear tire company fired about 50 workers in its San Luis Potosi plant in retaliation for a strike action that took place in April, when about 600 workers walked off the job to fight for better working conditions and to defend the right to form their own union. Workers at the plant have announced a work stoppage to protest the firings. The workers are in an open struggle against the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM) protection union, which signed a deal with the company to represent the workers more than two years before the plant had even opened. The agreement with Goodyear was reportedly negotiated by Tereso Medina, an Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) politician who is leading efforts in the Senate to undermine workers rights and strengthen the power of the companies. The fired workers said that they were shoved into a room and notified that they were being let go without any justification by the company. Several others reported that Goodyear representatives visited their homes and asked that they not return to work. An elected spokesman of the workers told Codigo San Luis: The companys lawyer, Jose Maria de la Garza, approached me at home with a very despotic attitude, verbally harassing me and threatening me, telling me that I was fired. When I asked why, he just told me that they were cleaning house. He said: You know what you have been doing, meaning promoting a genuine movement of workers. The firings took place even though management had explicitly agreed not to take reprisals against those who participated in the April 24 -25 strike. After workers announced that they would shut down the plant the night of the firings, Goodyear, with the backing of the CTM, brought in armed thugs to try to intimidate them. State and municipal police, acting at the behest of the company, were also called in to prevent further protests. We are not sure if we can protest or not because people are afraid. We fear for our safety because there are outsiders intervening in this and they are armed, said one worker in a press conference. We are afraid that something will happen to us, they are threatening us, provoking us. They are taking reprisals against us, some workers are even being denied the right to leave the facilities. Workers reported that the mood inside the plant is very tense, with armed thugs monitoring employees as they perform their duties. Several workers report being physically harassed by union representatives. There is about one thug per machine, or patrolling the area, so that [workers] do not join our movement. There are workers that are resisting and refusing to work. The plant is basically shut down, said a representative of the group. Individuals at the plant earn 223 pesos per day (about $11 US) and reportedly last only an average of three months due to difficult working conditions. The Goodyear plant in San Luis Potosi, which opened in 2017, has a capacity of six million tires a year and is the companys largest in Latin America. As they continue their struggle for a living wage and the right to representation of their choice, workers can expect no support from the state and federal governments, which are firmly in the pockets of the transnational corporations. While acknowledging that the firings were not justified, Manuel Lozano Nieto, the secretary of labor of San Luis Potosi, urged workers to keep things calm and wait for dialogue with the company and the government. This empty appeal is simply a call for blanket protection for the company while doing nothing to defend those who were fired in a clear violation of labor laws. Laborers at the plant have now formed the rank-and-file Independent Workers Union of Goodyear Mexico. The new organization promptly joined the Federation of Democratic and Independent Unions, an initiative announced earlier this month by 10 independent unions of workers in the auto, mine, and aviation sectors. The group represents over 25,000 Mexican workers, including 9,500 Volkswagen workers and 4,000 Audi workers. The federation is seeking a direct channel of communication with the president-elect, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, popularly known as AMLO. By orienting to this conventional capitalist politician, the Federation of Democratic and Independent Union exposes the dead-end of such groupings, however radical its slogans or sincere the intention of rank-and-file workers. The objective logic of the pro-capitalist and nationalist orientation of these unions will inevitably lead to their collaboration with management and the state, despite their promises not to become another corporate union like the CTM. The blatantly pro-company position of unions like the CTM is not due merely to corrupt or malicious leaders, but is tied to their acceptance of the right of corporations to own the means of production and move to any corner of the world in search of lower labor costs and higher profits. The rise of globalization has undermined any basis for national organizations to obtain concessions from transnational corporations. Instead, unions all around the world are assisting the financial elite in clawing back gains that were won by the militant struggles of entire generations. Goodyear workers must unite not with capitalist politicians like AMLO, but with workers in all sectors of the economy, including the 300 Audi workers in Chiapas who were also fired earlier this month. Workers and youth who are looking to improve their living conditions and guarantee their social rights need more than a nominally independent organization. They require, above all, a socialist political perspective to put an end to the capitalist system. We urge workers to contact the World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter to create links between workers at plants internationally and coordinate the future mass struggles of the working class. Workers at Fiat Chryslers transmission operations plants in the Kokomo, Indiana area voted Thursday and Friday on a request by United Auto Workers Local 685 for strike authorization over a reported backlog of grievances. While a final tally was not available at the time of this writing, preliminary reports indicate an overwhelming yes vote. Over 3,000 hourly and salaried workers are employed at FCAs Kokomo area transmission facilities, which supply FCA North American vehicle assembly plants on a just-in-time basis. The workers are members of UAW Local 685. A letter issued by UAW Local 685 President Rick Ward to members said the strike vote was in response to serious violations of the local agreement, without going into more specifics. Workers should have no illusions that the UAW will carry out a fight. From the standpoint of local officials, the calling of a strike vote is aimed at diverting anger over deteriorating conditions, themselves the product of the UAWs shameless collaboration with management. The strike vote by Kokomo transmission workers comes in the midst of continuing revelations relating to the bribery of high-level UAW negotiators by FCA officials. Among those indicted or implicated in the scheme to divert more than $1.5 million from the UAW-Chrysler National Training Center to union officials are four of the eight members of the UAW negotiating committee overseeing the 2015 contract talks with FCA that resulted in a pro-company sellout agreement. Despite claims by the UAW leadership that the corruption only involved a few bad actors, there is a widespread feeling among autoworkers that the entire organization is rotten. This feeling was amplified by the behavior of UAW executives at the recent Constitutional Convention in Detroit, where delegates voted to give UAW International President Gary Jones a 30 percent ($46,000) pay raise and equally provocative increase to other top officers. A veteran Kokomo worker noted, Theres been a strong turnout for the vote to strike. The general consensus from members is that in light of the scandal, workers want strong representation. Other Kokomo transmission workers contacted by the World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter said that the companys mistreatment of temporary part-time (TPT) workers was a major concern. A veteran worker at the Tipton Transmission Plant outside of Kokomo said, We have a lot of TPT workers on the 8 speed [transmission] line that they are forced to work overtime, even though TPT workers are not supposed to work overtime. Thats unheard of. That is a major, major issue. They are sending them from department to department to fill in the gaps. You are putting an unskilled worker in a spot where they are not properly trained. That is a safety issue. She said that TPT workers as well as second-tier and first-tier workers had voted overwhelmingly to authorize strike action. Another veteran Kokomo transmission worker reported that there were 300 grievances over health and safety issues that have been repeatedly ignored and suppressed by FCA management. He added that management has been changing the time of scheduled grievance meetings and sending low-level representatives instead of the proper officials to the meetings. The Kokomo transmission facilities are critical to Chryslers US operations, and a strike could quickly shut down assembly plants, putting Kokomo workers in a potentially powerful position. The brutal exploitation of TPT workers has been facilitated by the UAW, which eliminated all restrictions on the hiring of temporary workers in the 2015 contract. Management is determined to drive out as many senior legacy workers as possible to replace them with lower-paid TPT and second-tier workers to slash costs. This is particularly true at the Kokomo transmission operations, where large numbers of senior workers are nearing retirement age. The unserious nature of the strike threat by the Local 685 leadership is underscored by the fact that the union has not spelled out in detail the precise issues that it wants to resolve. This follows a pattern where the UAW will announce a phony strike deadline only to announce a last minute settlement based on an agreement dictated by management. By their votes, Kokomo workers are demonstrating their determination to fight. However, to be successful, workers need to establish their complete independence from the machinations of the UAW by forming a rank-and-file factory committee headed by the most trusted militants. Such a committee would advance clear demands, including the immediate conversion of all TPT workers to full time, the elimination of tiers and workers control over line speed and safety. Serious preparations for a struggle must involve establishing links between FCA workers in Kokomo with workers throughout FCA, Ford and General Motors, as well as other sections of workers, such as United Parcel Service drivers who are rebelling against attempts by the Teamsters and management to impose a rotten sellout deal. The issues facing Kokomo workers are not purely local issues. They reflect the brutality of the UAW-management gang-up against workers that has resulted in a decades-long assault on the conditions of autoworkers, dismantling the gains won in the struggles of previous generations. On Wednesday, Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) officials representing nearly 9,000 Metro workers from Local 689 in the Washington, D.C. area met with representatives of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to discuss ways to contain the growing demand of transit workers for strike action. Metro employees have been working without a contract since summer 2016, when their federally-mandated agreement with WMATA expired amid negotiations over job cuts and pay. Following a series of closed-door meetings with metro officials in which good progress was made but no formal agreements were reached, the union announced on social media that parties will enter into a cooling off period for a few days and plan to meet again on Monday. The announcement came just days after workers delivered an overwhelming 94 percent Yes vote for strike action to combat years of degrading and dangerous working conditions, including the privatization of services and the termination and punishment of workers despite existing contractual protections. Clearly troubled by the strike vote of thousands of metro employees in the second largest transit system in the United States, the Washington Post editorial board, the mouthpiece of the Washington political establishment, weighed in on the dispute Wednesday, warning the ATU: The union is playing with fire Collective bargaining and arbitration are meant to buy labor peace; the trade-off is that strikes are illegal under Metros founding charter. Despite the contracts expiration and WMATAs clear disregard for the workers contractual rights, employees have been told by Metro and local Democratic Party officials that a strike would be declared illegal, placing workers in jeopardy of job loss and even jail time. Rather than go ahead with a work stoppage which could threaten its institutional and financial status, the ATU has sought to channel the anger of its members behind impotent appeals to the Democratic Party. The transit union followed its call for a cooling down period with letters to elected officials in the District, Maryland and Virginia to get [WMATA General Manager Paul] Wiedefeld to follow the law, abide by the collective bargaining agreement, and bargain in good faith on all matters under his obligation. WMATA has been plagued by longstanding budget and infrastructural crises. As a part of a regional compact signed this year among the different jurisdictions that it serves, Metro is required to keep the growth of its operational costs below three percent, placing the transit systems 12,000 workers in constant threat of pay cuts. The bankruptcy of the unions plea to local officials is demonstrated by the fact that all jurisdictions previously agreed to the restrictions on workers pay, which were a prerequisite to obtaining a dedicated source of funding. Contrary to the feeble backpedaling of the transit union, Metro workers have embraced the call to strike while heavily criticizing the unions attempts to avoid it. Stand strong against those that would call for us to have no rights, to be hanged because we dare to stand up for all. Workers rights, due process, fair pay, and health care are not outrageous demands, said one worker on social media. [Theyre] stringing us along, declared another, referring to the unions decision to wait a week without taking action. [WMATA is] buying time till they figure out their next checker move See what they can contract out, how much can be contracted out. What company has the man power. How much can be pushed in court. Disproving the claims of WMATA and political officials that supposedly exorbitant pay for workers is causing a funding crisis at Metro, a 2017 study by the private consulting firm WSP USA, reported by the Post, found that pay and benefits were in line with those of other major transit systems. The study found hourly worker pay at WMATA to be $2 less than several transit systems which also outlaw work stoppages, and over $5 less than four systems which do allow strikes. The ATU is preparing to sell out the struggle of metro workers before it even begins. It is of utmost importance that the struggle for decent pay, job protections and high quality benefits be removed from the hands of the ATU bureaucrats immediately. The ATU officialdom is not opposed to attacks on its members, only so long as its representatives are accorded a place at the negotiating table as such decisions are made. To take their struggle forward Metro workers must break from the straitjacket of the ATU by forming politically independent rank-and-file committees to transform their struggle into a region-wide movement of working people. Threats from management and politicians must be met by appeals to other government workers, including postal workers, as well as United Parcel Service workers, who are also undergoing a fight against a sellout deal accepted by the Teamsters union to impose lower pay and increased exploitation. Such committees must demand a significant wage hike to compensate for years of lost pay, full funding of healthcare and other benefits, and the democratic control of the rank-and-file over safety. Rank-and-file committees must be independent of the trade unions and the Democrats and Republicans, both parties of big business. We urge metro and other transit workers to establish contact with the World Socialist Web Site, which will assist in the formation of such organizations in a fight against the entire capitalist social order. The passage on Thursday by the Israeli Knesset of the Nation-State Law enshrining Jewish supremacy as the legal foundation of the state marks a new stage in the crisis wracking Israel. It puts paid to the already discredited claim that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. With the enactment of this openly racist basic law, the legal foundation of the state is brought into alignment with the reality of a garrison state based on the brutal oppression of an entire people, the Palestinians. The law declares that The right to exercise national self-determination in the State of Israel is unique to the Jewish people. It proclaims Jerusalem complete and united as Israels capital. It sanctions state-supported segregation and the exclusion of Arabs from exclusively Jewish communities, declaring, The state views the development of Jewish settlement as a national value and will act to encourage and promote its establishment and consolidation. This is a green light for an explosion of ethnic cleansing and the dispossession of Palestinians within the borders of Israel itself. The law makes no mention of non-Jewish citizens of Israel, who comprise over 20 percent of the population, nor of democracy and equality. In the name of the supposed unity of the Jewish people, it removes Arabic as an official state language, granting this status to Hebrew alone. And it gives official and exclusive standing to Jewish symbols, including by declaring Hatikva the national anthem. The attempt to assert Jewish national unity by elevating the Hebrew language and Hatikva only highlights the forced and artificial character of the entire Zionist project. Hatikva is the product of the reworking of an Italian folk song by the Bohemian composer Bedrich Smetna. Similarly, Hebrew, the supposed national language of the Jews, represents the resurrection of a dead liturgical language for a people whose actual native tongue was Yiddish. There is widespread opposition to the enactment of the new law among Jews both within Israel and without. This opposition, however, could find no expression in the Knesset due to the cowardice and complicity of the opposition Labour Party. Reflecting the stunned anger of large sections of workers, youth and intellectuals, Bradley Burston wrote in Haaretz: Look around. The country looks the same. But it doesnt feel the same. Not even close. This week, he continued, marks the week that this country, as we have known it, effectively ended Gone is any mention of equality. In its place, directives that veer Israel toward genuine apartheid, including a downgrading of the status of the Arabic language and therefore of Arab citizens of Israel. Several thousand Israelis marched in the streets of Tel Aviv to protest the law. A group of 14 American Jewish organizations declared deep concerns about the bill, saying it would eliminate the defining characteristic of a modern democracyprotecting rights for all. The European Union expressed concern over the laws impact on the effectively moribund two-state solution to the crisiswhich would condemn the Palestinians to an impoverished and militarily surrounded Bantustan-like mini-state. The EU stopped short of issuing an outright condemnation or suggesting any measure in retaliation. It was impossible find any response on the website of the US State Department. However, the Trump administration, with the support of both major parties, paved the way for the law by moving the US embassy to Jerusalem in May and supporting the murder and wounding of thousands of unarmed Palestinian protesters at the Gaza-Israel border by the Israel Defense Forces. The American corporate media signaled its tacit support by relegating the story to the back pages in most major newspapers and barely reporting it on the television news programs. The New York Times ran a front-page story in its Friday print edition that sought to present the new law in the most favorable possible light, choosing as its headline Israel Enshrines Rights For Jews. This exercise in Orwellian newspeak was followed by a sympathetic account of the dilemma posed to the Israeli ruling class by the demographics of a growing Arab population in Israel and the occupied territories, which will soon outstrip the size of the Jewish population. The Times wrote: Proponents of the new law cite continuing demographic threats. Some in Israels Arab minority are demanding collective rights and already form a majority in the northern Galilee district. The Israeli Nation-State Law is part of, and will further encourage, the rise of extreme nationalist governments and parties that promote the myths of nationality based on race and blood. The Netanyahu regime in Israel is allied with such forces in Eastern Europe and beyond. The same day as the passage of the new law in the Knesset, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban paid a friendly visit to Netanyahu, where he faced popular protests against his embrace of the World War II dictator Admiral Milos Horthy, who collaborated with the Nazis in the extermination of Hungarian Jews. Israels open turn to such politics will increase the precarious position of Jews outside of Israel. What is to prevent the same rationale that Israel uses against the Palestinians from being turned against Jews, who have been traditionally baited by fascists and extreme nationalists as outsiders and cosmopolitans? Internally, the stepped-up attack on Palestinians will be accompanied by increased attacks on the social and democratic rights of all workers, Jewish and Palestinian alike. Netanyahu is already cracking down on oppositional media and seeking to criminalize political dissent. For all the talk of Jewish unity, Israel is bitterly divided along class lines. A major factor in the passage of the Nation-State Law, along with Israels push for a military confrontation against Iran, in alliance with Saudi Arabia and the US, is the growth of working class opposition within the country. Israel is one of the most economically unequal countries in the world, with a poverty rate above 21 percent, the highest in the developed world. Recent months have seen a rise in working class protests and strikes, and the regime is seeking to contain this movement and channel it behind a policy of anti-Arab racism and Jewish chauvinism. The open turn to racist policies is the product of two major factors: the acute crisis of the Zionist state and the logic of Zionism itself. Zionism is a cruel mockery of the progressive and enlightened conceptions that have historically characterized the best elements of the Jewish population. Because of their persecution and enforced isolation, Jews typically strove to be accepted as full citizens on a par with Christians. They were inspired by the great achievements of European culture and its promotion of the universal and democratic. This drove them to make up a disproportionate section of the socialist movement. Isaac Deutscher, in his Message of the Non-Jewish Jew, wrote: The Jewish heretic who transcends Jewry belongs to a Jewish tradition They all went beyond the boundaries of Jewry. They allSpinoza, Heine, Marx, Rosa Luxemburg, Trotsky and Freudfound Jewry too narrow, too archaic, and too constricting. They all looked for ideals and fulfillment beyond it, and they represent the sum and substance of much that is greatest in modern thought, the sum and substance of the most profound upheavals that have taken place in philosophy, sociology, economics and politics in the last three centuries They lived on the margins or in the nooks and crannies of their respective nations. They were each in society and yet not in it, of it and yet not of it. It was this that enabled them to rise in thought above their societies, above their nations, above their times and generations, and to strike out mentally into wide new horizons and far into the future. Israel is the result of the appropriation of a 19th century ethno-nationalist ideology based on exclusivist conceptions of racial, religious and linguistic hegemony to justify the establishment of a Jewish state through the violent dispossession of the indigenous Arab population. The tragic irony contained in the very origins of Israel is that the horrors of the Holocaust became the rationale for the oppression of another people. The Nation-State Law marks the historic bankruptcy and reactionary culmination of the Zionist project and all such nationalist programs. A new upsurge of the working class is beginning, pointing the way forward for the masses of Jewish and Arab workers alike in the form of a united struggle to overthrow and replace the Zionist state and the various Arab bourgeois regimes and forge the United Socialist States of the Middle East. This is the perspective of permanent revolution fought for by the International Committee of the Fourth International. Sections of the ICFI must be built in Israel and across the Middle East to provide the leadership necessary to conduct this struggle. Whistleblowers Australia is one of the numerous organisations that lodged submissions to the Australian parliament opposing the new espionage and foreign interference laws, which passed with bipartisan support late last month. A voluntary organisation that champions those seeking to expose government and business corruption, its submission denounced the laws and existing terrorism legislation. The submission said the laws discard longstanding legal principles and criminalise benign conduct, social justice concerns and ethical professional obligation; stifle political debate and association and reinforce the ability of government to protect itselfin secretfrom the consequences of its own sometimes illegal acts. Cynthia Kardell, photo credit: The Whistle Whistleblowers Australia president Cynthia Kardell spoke with the World Socialist Web Site this week about the measures and their political and social consequences. The following discussion has been edited. Richard Phillips: How will the new laws impact on your work? Cynthia Kardell: Our organisation exists to help whistleblowers assist themselves. If people cant talk to us, or speak to and provide information to a journalist without being under threat of going to jail if that became known, then it makes the business of talking to anyone very difficult indeed. Were in the age of digital encryption but I suspect that well become a little bit old-fashioned in the way we go about things so that we dont leave a digital footprint. It might be a return to old becoming new again. RP: Was your organisation shocked at the broad-ranging and unprecedented character of these measures? CK: Not really. Theres been a steady erosion of criminal law in Australia since 9/11. Most of these sorts of changes have been implemented by conservative governmentsfirst by the Howard administration and then the Abbott-Turnbull governmentsbut a number of similar laws have been introduced by Labor governments. So no, we werent surprised by the new measures. Theres been a steady erosion of basic rights and concerted efforts right across the political spectrum to frighten people and divert their concerns about government policy by blaming particular groups or individuals as the main problem. These methods are as old as time. RP: The measures were pushed through in the context of increasing anti-China xenophobia in the media and parliament. They also follow calls by various US politicians and military leaders visiting Australia demanding these laws. Could you comment on this? CK: There is a fair bit of anti-China hysteria about, and it reminds me of the reds under the bed slogans used in the post-WWII and McCarthy era and up until the middle 1970s. This was a common political method of attempting to blame others for our problems and not our own governments. The Menzies [Liberal-Country Coalition] government was fixated with this. But 9/11, and the rhetoric about terrorism that followed, has allowed governments to build up a bogey and impose a whole range of anti-democratic laws. Were now being told that China is rising up to take us over and do terrible things. The government has used the idea of national security to stop people looking at things and to silence opposition and quietly introduce legislation. We are faced with a rush to the right from across the political spectrum and a retreat into authoritarian platforms. I look at all of this with shame. Democracys future lies in sharing more power and involving more and more players. RP: The punishments for espionage, treason, mutiny and related charges have been redefined, with much heavier punishments, clearly designed to silence and intimidate opponents. Can you speak about that? CK: Thats true. It takes law and order techniques to the extreme. The political method is two-fold: to look like theyre keeping people safe whilst at the same time scaring the bejesus out of anyone contemplating challenging the status quo. The government wasnt able to prosecute workers from the Save the Children charity who started making public the situation facing refugees on Nauru and the rising number of self-harm incidents, because the existing laws werent sufficiently all encompassing. This was one of the drivers behind the new measures. The government speaks about upgrading the laws but what they really mean is making it illegal to expose what is going on. Now, if charity workers or others reveal whats going on in the detention centres they can be prosecuted under criminal law and jailed. The most chilling thing is that people working in these areas will have to fall into line. Revelations about these issues will now become a very unusual occurrence. The government is creating a deeply intimidatory atmosphere. RP: Could you speak about how the news laws would impact on Julian Assange and WikiLeaks? CK: Assange faces a similar situation to the young Australian David Hicks, who was captured in Afghanistan and sent to Guantanamo Bay. He was eventually forced to admit to something that he didnt do just to get out of Guantanamo Bay. He has since been exonerated. RP: Why do you think Assange has been ferociously attacked by journalists and media outlets that previously defended him? CK: What Assange does is so threatening to power because he just takes information and puts it out there. The hypocritical thing in all the attacks on Assange is that the US and other governments are not going after the Washington Post, the Guardian, the New York Times, Der Spiegel and other media outlets who republished material from WikiLeaks. The double standards are horrific. Most of the big media giants are private and their primary concern is to make money and so theres probably an accommodation between them and governments. The big corporate giants have been asked to toe the line and theyve done so. Theres also self-censorship by journalists who are intimidated. RP: The ABC here in Australia has played a particularly dishonourable role in all this. CK: Yes thats true, but the ABC is not a monoculture. There are plenty of people in there who have explained what Assange is doing and justified it. I think it comes back to money and power as the root cause of this. I like to think that we are reaching a position where theres a critical mass of people who are deeply unhappy with the fruits of neo-liberalism over the last 40 to 50 years and know that markets dont have all the answers or do things best. Its a question of getting that discussion going politically so that governments of both persuasions feel pushed by the need to stay in power and do something different. RP: Theres certainly a shift in political consciousness but thats why the foreign interference laws have been imposed. These measures are in preparation for war and to suppress mass anti-war opposition. CK: Thats right. The laws are there for a particular purpose and its about controlling the public space and attempting to intimidate the population. Our organisation, however, will continue to campaign for whistleblowers rights. Those who decide to become whistleblowers will, of course, continue to be slandered and smeared by governments and businesses, who dont want to be exposed. But in todays world it has become more and more urgent for them to be protected. Society is literally screaming out for more openness and accountability in all sectors. The author also recommends: SEP to hold meetings in Melbourne and Newcastle on new foreign interference laws: A move towards dictatorship and war [3 July 2018] Democratic rights under attack in Australia Webcam hosting service has been discontinued as of October 21, 2021. Read more about our decision here. Photo credit: Getty Images From Esquire If I didnt know that there is a murder of crows sitting upon the capitol these days, I might even applaud the move as an immortal masterpiece of pure trolling. If the threat to democratic institutions werent so imminent, Id buy a beach chair and a cooler full of coldies, sit back, and watch the show. For ten days or so, ever since the Helsinki in a Handbasket press conference, the president* has seemed to go out of his way to prove himself at the very least a useful device in an autocrats toolbox. He has spent a couple of days flopping around like a bass in a boat, trying to explain that would meant wouldnt, and that he wasnt really considering shipping a former ambassador to Russia for questioning. Evidence has piled up that his presidential campaign, and his subsequent administration*, may have functioned primarily as laundromat for ill-gotten currencies of many lands. Evidence has emerged that much of conservative Republican politics may have served to fluff and fold the proceeds of the Volga Bagmen. The president*s one-time campaign manager is about to begin the first of what may be a prolonged miniseries of trials, most of them centering on work he did in what we used to call The Former Soviet Union. So, in the face of all of these unprecedented developments, what does he do? He does this. From CNN: "President Trump asked (national security adviser John Bolton) to invite President Putin to Washington in the fall and those discussions are already underway," Sanders tweeted Thursday, hours after Trump tweeted he is "looking forward" to meeting again with Putin to "begin implementing" issues they discussed during their summit earlier this week. The invitation was extended to Putin by Bolton earlier on Thursday, according to a National Security Council spokesman. The pair of tweets were the latest indication that Trump is doubling down on his Russian rapprochement strategy even as his approach to Putin continues to draw bipartisan criticism and questions abound as to what Trump and Putin agreed to during their first meeting. Story continues Well-struck, old bean. (I just had another horrible thought. The president* is supposed to have his idiotic parade this fall, too. I am conjuring up the vision of Donnie and Vlad, together on the reviewing stand, while the Joint Chiefs of Staff sneak out and apply en masse for citizenship on Fiji.) It was going to be an eventful autumn anyway. The future of the Supreme Court for the next 30-odd years is going to be hanging fire as the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh comes before the Senate. Robert Mueller is due to produce his report. And we will be winding into the homestretch of one of the most crucial midterm elections most of us have ever experienced. Now, with all of that going on, the president* has presumed to invite his favorite thuggish kleptocrat to town. There will be bands and bunting. There will be a state dinner to which many influential Republicans, and members of Congress, many of whom will be running for re-election at the time, will be invited. I predict a staggering number of unbreakable tonsorial appointments. The announcement caught the Director of National Intelligence flatfooted on live television. This would be delicious if the whole thing werent so poisonous. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats informed on stage at Aspen Security Forum that the Trump administration has invited Vladimir Putin to the White House. "Say that again," he responds. https://t.co/FZ5WmbwnUU pic.twitter.com/UJy822WH2f - ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) July 19, 2018 They have something on him. Almost everyone is convinced of that now. And, at least in the fog of the president*s head, what they have on him is sufficiently lethal for him to act like an autocrats apprentice all over the world. On Thursday night, a former CIA Moscow station chief, one of the spookiest of the spooks, told Anderson Cooper, "Before the Helsinki summit, I was not prepared to go to the darkest corner in the room and say there is kompromat-there is compromising information-on Donald Trump," Hall said. "After ... I saw Donald Trump treat (Putin) in a fashion that is just inexplicable, the only conclusion that I can come to is ... I think there is information and data out there that implies there is indeed compromising information that Vladimir Putin has on Donald Trump. Why else would he treat him that way?" The squirming already has begun. Mitch McConnell huffed and puffed and pretended he still has dignity on which to stand while his colleagues all try to cram themselves behind the drapes of the caucus room at the same time. From The Hill: There is no invitation from Congress, McConnell spokesman David Popp said in an email to The HillSenate Republicans are generally opposed to the prospect of another Trump-Putin meeting so soon after the pair's one-on-one meeting in the Finnish capital this week, which sparked controversy after Trump appeared to side with Putin's denials over the U.S. intelligence community's assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election. Thatll show him. Photo credit: Getty Images The rest of us have to come to grips with the fact that there is no real mystery any more. The president* of the United States is a reckless vandal who is in thrall to a man whose only real goal in life is to loot his own failing country and hobble this one. Putin is a brutal con-man who has found a transparently bad one that he can play like a cheap violin. How the president* got into this situation almost seems irrelevant at this point; there well may be a video of some icky water-sports in a Moscow hotel, but I still think its all about money that Russians needed to clean, and that the president* needed to keep his Potemkin empire afloat. In that context, this latest, scarcely believable plot twist has a certain mad logic to it. In for a dime, in for a ruble. Respond to this post on the Esquire Politics Facebook page here. ('You Might Also Like',) [MUSIC] What would I put Megan in? Something very sleek and clean, quite bodied with a long train and I'd put her in a clinging silk crepe, but you know, she can't be the sex pup on her wedding day. She can look smoldering and wonderful, but it's got to be regal. If you're a royal family fanatic like we are, you've probably heard the exciting rumor that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will soon jet off on a royal visit abroad. Unconfirmed sources are saying that the newlyweds might be heading to the United States soon, which has everyone in a tizzy. Which states will they visit? Which famous people will they see? Will Harry finally meet Meghan's infamous dad, who lives a hop, skip and a jump away in Mexico? Here's the thing: Nobody knows if this trip is even happening. While the anonymous source said the groundwork is already being laid for two visitsone for Markle by herself, and one for her and Harrythere are some issues with the theory. First of all, if Markle were to take a solo vacation to her homeland to pal around with friends, we likely wouldn't know about it. At all. That means no pictures, no greeting dignitaries, no royal visit wardrobe (cue the gasps). It means blurry photos of the Duchess of Sussex in a White Sox cap in Chicago, just like when she visited weeks before her wedding. (Don't remember? That's the point.) RELATED: Meghan Markle's Dad Says She's "Terrified" of Her New Royal Role Private visits aren't publicized, and don't involve press, so the chances of Markle coming here for personal reasons while still firmly on the world's radar are slim to none. Nobody could even figure out exactly where she and Harry honeymooned (some say Namibia, some say Canada), so a covert trip to her home country would likely happen right under our noses. But what about a formal visit? After all, rumor has it that one is planned. While it is basically certain that we'd see Meghan and Harry in that case (considering the dog and pony show that is an official royal visit), nothing is confirmed yet by Kensington Palace. Story continues In fact, the Us Weekly sourcewho sparked all this talk by claiming Meghan and Harry were thinking over different states they could visit despite there being "no official itinerary yet"is probably spinning a bit of a tale. If Meghan and Harry coming here on an official royal visit, it would be planned to a tee, and the royal couple wouldn't have a ton of say in where they'd go. RELATED: We Now Have a Never-Before-Seen Photo of Baby Prince George Thanks to Prince Charles As Town & Country reports, official royal tours are instigated by the U.K. government or an invite by the host country (in this case, the United States). The itinerary isn't based on the royals's wants so much as it is on "matters of national importance the host government would like to draw attention to." In the event that the royals are planning a trip to the United States, the planning process would not look like Harry and Meghan mulling over which states they think are fun to visit. Despite that, we're keeping our fingers firmly crossed that the talk will ultimately turn out to be true. Because who wouldn't want to kick off 2019 with a royal American crossover? Northrop F-5 fighters take off during a military drill at Zhi-Hang Air Base in Taitung, Taiwan January 30, 2018. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu Ian Easton Security, Asia And the answer is... Would China Really Invade Taiwan? Given the gravity of the threat facing Taiwan, it is important that the international community understands China's intentions and plans. Americans need to understand why their country might one day find itself locked in deadly embrace with China over this island nation, and allies need to know what parts they might be asked to play. If a war breaks out between the United States and China over Taiwan, it will change the course of history and produce after effects that reverberate for generations to come. A Chinese diplomat in Washington recently threatened that China would invade Taiwan if the U.S. Navy sent a ship to visit the democratic island, something that Congress has called upon the Pentagon to do in 2018. Is this just empty rhetoric? Or does it reflect Beijing's actual intentions? It's actually a bit of both. (This first appeared last December.) According to leaked Chinese military documents (analyzed here), Taiwan stands to lose more from the rise of China as a twenty-first-century superpower than any other country in the world. Indeed, China's emergence as the worlds second largest political, economic and military power threatens the interests of many nations, but only Taiwan has its life at stake. Only Taiwan is held at risk of seeing its trade lines severed, its cities bombed and its shores invaded. Only Taiwan faces the possibility of having its president assassinated and its democracy destroyed. China's authoritarian government challenges many countries in many ways, but it only has war plans for the invasion and occupation of Taiwan. Recommended: Why Doesn't America Kill Kim Jong Un? Recommended: 1.2 Million Casualties: If North Korea Attacked Los Angeles with a Nuclear Weapon Recommended: Uzi: The Israeli Machine Gun That Conquered the World China's rapid military buildup is focused on acquiring the capabilities needed to annex, or conquer, Taiwan. Chinese publications euphemistically call this "achieving national unification." The war plan for fighting a Taiwan invasion campaign is tattooed onto the PLA's corporate memory. It is something that has been indoctrinated and encoded into the minds of all top-level officers. For them, the interests of the regime, not the people of China, are paramount, and their "main strategic direction" (supreme objective) is to end Taiwan's life as a de facto independent country. Story continues The good news is that the Chinese military almost certainly could not prosecute a full-scale invasion of Taiwan today and succeed. Even if a few hawkish generals were prepared to roll the dice, the costs and risks entailed by the war would be enormous and potentially fatal for the regime. PLA strategists know they still have a long way to go before they will be able to achieve their objective. The bad news is that China's leaders recognize the roadblocks in their path and will continue to invest heavily in strategic deception, intelligence collection, psychological warfare, joint training and advanced weapons. Barring countervailing efforts, their investments could result in a world-shaking conflict and an immense human tragedy. War Plans and Politics Any conflict between China and Taiwan will almost certainly involve America. The U.S. government does not recognize Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan and regards the island's sovereign status as unresolved. Moreover, the White House is legally obligated by the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) to provide defensive arms and services to Taiwan, and to maintain the U.S. military's capacity to respond to any Chinese use of force against the island. Should China seek to blockade, bomb and invade Taiwan, the United States would be compelled to help its democratic friend. While not as binding as a mutual defense treaty, the TRA (U.S. Public Law 96-8) makes it clear that Washington is likely to intervene if China uses force. In addition to being a matter of principle and honor, the United States needs Taiwan for geostrategic reasons. It has become increasingly clear to American strategists that China has embarked on a long and intense competition for dominance over the Indo-Pacific. Taiwan is at the geographic and political heart of this competition. Maritime tensions in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, while serious, pale in comparison to this flashpoint. Separated by the Taiwan Strait for sixty-eight years and counting, China and Taiwan each exercise authority only over the territory under their respective control. Neither is subordinate to the other, and neither recognizes the legality of the other. From the perspective of Beijing, the Chinese Civil War never ended. As a result, the two governments have no official relationship and are still ideologically and militarily hostile. China's desire to annex Taiwan keeps cross-Strait relations perpetually strained. Rationalizing Aggression While acknowledging the huge risks entailed, Chinese military writings use many arguments to justify the invasion of Taiwan. They point out that critical geostrategic issues are at stake. Internal PLA materials argue that Taiwan sits in a controlling position along China's eastern seaboard, making it a gateway to the Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean. They assert that since the great majority of Chinas shipping traffic passes through the Strait, it is a vital area affecting the security of their coastline, national economic growth, and future prosperity. The Course Book on the Taiwan Strait's Military Geography is a restricted-access PLA manual, used to teach senior officer seminars in Beijing. It warns readers that an external military might one day use Taiwan to cut-off Chinas trade lines, hinting that the island could be used as a military base by the United States to blockade China and undermine its rapid rise to great power status. On this basis, the manual argues that physical control over the island is vital for safeguarding against foreign blockades. Chinas seaborne oil imports, which pass through the Strait, are highly vulnerable, so protecting the security of this strategic maritime passageway is not just a military activity alone, but rather an act of national strategy. This source then goes a step further, telling readers that Taiwan is a chokepoint of great utility for blockading Japan. The Taiwan Strait, it notes, is a Japanese maritime lifeline that runs from Europe and the Middle East, and based on PLA studies, Japan receives 90 percent of its oil imports, 99 percent of its mineral resources and 100 percent of its nuclear fuel needs from ships that travel across these sea lanes. In total, 500 million tons of Japanese imports pass by Taiwanese waters each year, with 80 percent of all Japans container ships traveling right through the Strait, the equivalent of one Japanese cargo ship every ten minutes. Consequently, these waters will, directly affect Japans life or death, its survival or demise. PLA intentions and plans for a conquered Taiwan are made plain in another internal document, The Japanese Air Self Defense Force, a handbook studied by mid-career officers at the PLA Air Force Command College in Beijing. The stated purpose of the text is to help Chinese pilots and staff officers understand the strengths and weaknesses of their Japanese adversaries. Buried amidst hundreds of pages of detailed maps, target coordinates, organizational charts, weapons data and jet fighter images are the following lines: As soon as Taiwan is reunified with Mainland China, Japan's maritime lines of communication will fall completely within the striking ranges of China's fighters and bombers...Our analysis shows that, by using blockades, if we can reduce Japan's raw imports by 15-20%, it will be a heavy blow to Japan's economy...After imports have been reduced by 50%, even if they use rationing to limit consumption, Japan's national economy and war-making potential will collapse entirely...blockades can cause sea shipments to decrease and can even create a famine within the Japanese islands. These writings illustrate the immense value placed upon Taiwan by the PLA, and they clearly articulate strategic rationales for invading the island and turning it into an "unsinkable aircraft carrier." They are quick to point out that Taiwans location in the center of the First Island Chain means that once it falls under Chinese control, the PLA Navy will have assured access to the Pacific and tremendous leverage over neighboring states, giving them command over the worlds most important waters. The PRC, then, has compelling political, economic and military reasons to want to control Taiwan. In the eyes of Chinese strategists, this island's importance is unparalleled. For historical and practical reasons, the PLA assumes that it will have the leading role in the campaign. Military theorists in the PLA write that, sooner or later, the attack will be ordered and the island invaded and turned into a giant base for projecting China's strength and prestige across the region. They envision a world in which Chinese troops, planes and ships stand watch over this chokepoint, controlling all its activities. They contemplate a future where China dominates the Indo-Pacific. To reach this future vision, PLA writings assert the Chinese military must master all domains of warfare. Books such as the Science of Military Strategy and Science of Campaigns indicate that units assaulting Taiwan will have to be capable of amphibious assault, maneuver, indirect fires, urban warfare and mountain warfare. The field manual, Informatized Army Operations, written by a team of officers at the PLA Nanjing Army Command Academy, indicates that it would be an ugly, brutal and bloody fight. Surprise attacks would first have to be executed to clear the way for the army to cross the Strait. Operations would include everything from ballistic missile attacks to drone strikes, from cyber infiltration to space warfare, and from commando raids to psychological operations. However, at its core, the invasion of Taiwan would be about putting boots on the ground and tanks in the streets on Taipei. In the words of the PLA field manual, We must annihilate our (Taiwanese) enemies in large numbers, then conquer and control the entire island. Looking Ahead Given the gravity of the threat facing Taiwan, it is important that the international community understands China's intentions and plans. Americans need to understand why their country might one day find itself locked in deadly embrace with China over this island nation, and allies need to know what parts they might be asked to play. If a war breaks out between the United States and China over Taiwan, it will change the course of history and produce after effects that reverberate for generations to come. No one can know with any certainty how such a war would start, how it would play out, and what would follow it. But we can and should do more to understand the drivers of conflict and the assumptions that underpin military plans and preparations for it. No other flashpoint is as potentially dangerous to the national security of the United States. It is clearly in the American interest to develop a nuanced understanding of the threat China poses to Taiwan, and to cultivate a strategy that takes this into account. Indeed, it is often the case that only by thinking tragically can tragedy be avoided. It is also true that in the absence of understanding many will buy into Chinese propaganda. Going forward, American policymakers need to realize that North Korea is not the only threat to peace in Asia, nor is it the worst. China is planning to invade a pro-American democracy at the center of the first island chain, something likely to spark World War III. In light of this reality, the sooner the U.S. Navy begins port calls and exercises with Taiwan the better. Ian Easton is a research fellow at the Project 2049 Institute and author of The Chinese Invasion Threat: Taiwan's Defense and American Strategy in Asia. Editors Note: This article draws from the author's new book, The Chinese Invasion Threat: Taiwan's Defense and American Strategy in Asia. This first appeared in December of last year. Read full article Life imitates Scarfolk: Civil Service tells parents to shoot rabid children Wow! This has made my week, says Richard Littler. This is from the governments *own* publication about the history of government communications. They mistakenly included a Scarfolk poster which encourages the killing of children. Clearly, nobody thought it was too extreme. You can download your own copy of this Scarfolk/UK government collaboration from the governments own site: quarterly.blog.gov.uk/download-a-pdf (Hurry before they realise!). They did realise that the fictional town of Scarfolk created by Richard as a dystopian satire of the 1970s that somehow leaks into and reflects on current affairs had become Government approved. And chances are whoever compiled the collection realised, too. The image has now been removed. The advice to shoot your children appears in the July edition of Civil Service Quarterly. Produced by the Cabinet Office A century of government communications , the publication tells us that top-down communiques have helped to shape modern Britain and have themselves been shaped by the changing media landscape and changes in society. We are warned: In an era when the spread of social media and the proliferation of digital information sources makes us question the very nature of news and what constitutes a fact, it is worth remembering two things. First, we have been here before: communications can, often deliberately, distort and mislead. A royal proclamation in 1688 specifically referred to tackling the spread of false news (echoing the fake news of today). And, second, at their best honest, open, informative and effective communications can help to shape, improve and even save lives. Adding: As we continue to listen, we are more likely to act appropriately on what people are telling us about what they need and earn their trust if we understand the public we serve. The Civil Services ambition to be the most diverse and inclusive employer in the UK by 2020 supports this aspiration. Excellent communication that people trust is essential to a properly functioning democracy. That trust, built on the dialogue between public and state, is the touchstone of modern government communications. Its all about trust. I have never seen the government move so quickly in my life (and certainly not because of me)! says Richard. From my announcement of their error to them deleting and editing the documents was about 5 mins. Richard adds: On the last page of Discovering Scarfolk (2014), I warned about the dangers of a Scarfolk-based, apocalyptic cult infiltrating the civil service Youre welcome. To prevent unnecessary bloodshed, Scarfolk Council has issued the following cease and desist letter to HM Government: The Government has tried replacing the Scarfolk poster with something patriotic. Is this some kind of photoshop challenge? But its not gone. You can download the original pamphlet here. Anorak Posted: 21st, July 2018 | In: Key Posts, News, Politicians, Strange But True Comment | TrackBack | Permalink David Spades family recently had a little meet and greet with his Hotel Transylvania 3 co-star, Selena Gomez, at the premiere of the new movie in June. And boy, was it awkward. They all want to see Selena Gomez, of course. Shes a huge star; theyre sort of bored of me Ive sort of leveled out at this point on the excitement meter, he told host Jimmy Fallon during his Tuesday appearance on The Tonight Show. The 53-year-old comedian said he introduced his daughter, Harper, niece, Bea, and mother, Judith, to the singer at the premiere, and Spade said the singer was nothing but nice. She gives Harper a hug, very sweet, gives Bea a hug. And then my moms across the aisle, and you know moms, he said. And I go [to Selena] say hi to my mom, and my mom goes, LUPUS! And I go AH! because Selena has lupus, and so does my mom, Spade added. Judith, David and Harper Spade at the world premiere of "Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation" on June 30. (Christopher Polk via Getty Images) And I go Is this what were opening with? And she goes You have it, I have it like its fun, Spade said. And then Selena goes Oh yeah... lupus. I know, Im always tired. Are you tired a lot? and Spades mother just said, Nope! Full of energy! Embarrassed, the actor said he told his mother Mom! Play along! Shes trying to relate to you! Shes making small talk! But my moms so star-juiced to meet her shes so excited. The group parted ways quickly after that, much to Spades relief. Adam Sandler, David Spade and Selena Gomez promote "Hotel Transylvania" at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 8, 2012. (Fred Thornhill / Reuters) Lupus is an autoimmune disease that causes the bodys immune system to attack its own tissue and organs. Symptoms range from chronic fatigue, like the singer mentioned, to joint pain and skin lesions. Gomez publicly revealed her lupus diagnosis in a 2015 interview with Billboard where she spoke about why she disappeared from the public eye. Story continues I was diagnosed with lupus, and Ive been through chemotherapy. Thats what my break was really about. I couldve had a stroke, the singer said. She also received a kidney transplant from her friend, actress Francia Raisa, in 2017 to help battle the disease. It was what I needed to do for my overall health, Gomez said in an Instagram post about her transplant, later adding, Lupus continues to be very misunderstood but progress is being made. A post shared by Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) on Sep 14, 2017 at 3:07am PDT For more celebrity news visit Yahoo View. London (AFP) - A pair of Dutch nationals appeared in a British court on Saturday after authorities seized one of their largest-ever hauls of cocaine, aboard a yacht off the south-west coast. Maarten Peter Pieterse, 59, and Emile Adriaan Jeroen Schoemaker, 44, appeared via video-link at Bristol Magistrates' Court in south-west England charged with drug importation offences. Pieterse did not enter a plea, while Schoemaker pleaded not guilty. They have been remanded in custody and are due to appear next in court on August 20. The two were arrested Thursday after the Netherlands-registered boat that they were travelling on was intercepted by a Border Force cutter 120 miles (193 kilometres) off the far southwestern county of Cornwall. Officers discovered an estimated two tonnes of cocaine, wrapped in plastic bagging in a compartment beneath the decking area at the rear of the vessel, the SY Marcia, Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) said in a statement. Its National Maritime Intelligence Centre aided the operation alongside a European analysis and operations centre for narcotics in Lisbon and law enforcement partners in Portugal, France and the Netherlands. "This is a huge haul of class A drugs, one of the largest seizures of class A ever in the UK, and with a potential street value likely to be in the hundreds of millions," said Andy Quinn, NCA regional head of investigations. "The criminal trade in drugs is driven by financial gain, and the loss of the profit that would have been made from this seizure it will be a major hit to the international criminal networks involved," he added. The largest seizure of top category drugs in recent times in Britain remains the April 2015 capture of around 3.2 tonnes of cocaine, which was recovered from the tug boat Hamal, sailing off the coast of Scotland. Turkish sailors Mumin Sahin and Emin Ozmen were later jailed for at least 20 years following a trial in the case. A Chinese serviceman takes part in the Paratrooper's platoon competition for airborne squads, part of the International Army Games 2016, at the Rayevsky shooting range outside the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, Russia, August 8, 2016. Harry J. Kazianis Security, Simple: Beijing fears the past. Everyone Knows China Is Building a World-Class Military. But They Need to Ask Why. At present, even though China possesses the second-largest economy in the world, it still does not have the economic or technological base to challenge America in a symmetrical military matchup. What China can do is devise an asymmetric strategy that is designed to inflict maximum damage on American forces if they were to intervene militarily close to Chinas perceived interests along its coasts and out towards the first island chain. Over several years in this publication, I have been exploring the dynamics of the budding U.S.-China security dilemmaa high-tech drama pitting anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) against what we used to refer to as Air-Sea Battle (ASB)and have offered several different ways to lessen the possibility of such a dynamic from becoming cemented into the Asia-Pacifics security architecture. However, Chinas development and implementation of A2/AD clearly has various origins. One such origin that deserves to be explored is the historical nightmare of Chinas subjugation at the hands of various colonial and Asian powers. (This first appeared several years ago.) In many respects, China is trying to solve a centuries-old problem that never went away: how to defeat in battle military forces that are at least in a symmetrical sense superior to its own and will be for some time to come. If we alter our perspective and take a much longer view of Beijings own military obsolescence, a strategy that emphasizes anti-access makes tremendous sense. According to Admiral Wu Shengli, former commander of the PLA Navy, in Chinas modern history, imperialist and colonists initiated more than 470 invasions of China, including 84 large ones, from the sea. If Chinas military were to deter or halt the deployment of superior military forces into areas of Chinese territory or areas Beijing perceives as a core interest, another period of what leaders in China might see as a new form of subjugation could theoretically be avoided. A2/AD allows Beijing to compete with the United States asymmetricallyan important point when one thinks through how many years away China is from competing with America ship for ship or plane for plane. Story continues (Recommended: How America Could Go to War with Iran) The following serves as an account of what many Chinese consider their own historical nightmare at the hands of foreign forces and why A2/AD would protect China from being subjugated yet again. (This first appeared in 2015.) A Lost Opportunity There are several events in Chinese history that mainland scholars, politicians and academics point to that weakened the collective power of the Chinese nation and diminished its global standing for generations. Indeed, Chinese strategic planners are keenly aware they have missed multiple revolutions in military affairs looking back several centuriesa driving factor in Chinas subjugation by the West and other Asian powers. Critical transitions from cold-weapon warfare (knives or blunt striking instruments) to hot-weapon warfare (such as guns and firepower) and from hot-weapon warfare to mechanized warfare (tanks, armored naval vessels, airplanes and so on) were lost opportunities to transform the military establishment into a modern fighting force. (Recommended: Exposed: China's Super Strategy to Crush America in a War) The consequences were shocking. When well-armed Western powers forced their way into China two centuries ago, the Chinese were defenseless, thanks to obsolete technology. When Western powers developed mechanized weapons during and after World War II, China was in the midst of internal turmoil and suffered from foreign invasion (i.e., the Chinese Civil War and Japanese invasion); it did not have the capacity to keep up with the developments of new military technology. Century of Humiliation Begins: The First Opium War Numerous current Chinese scholars speak of Chinas century of humiliation or subjugation by various powers that led, according to their line of argument, to the loss of China's great-power status, loss of territory, and in many respects, national sovereignty. Defeat on the battlefield marked the beginning of this century of loss and humiliation. The first major military loss at the hands of Western powers that had wide-ranging repercussions for China and large parts of the Asia-Pacific was its defeat at the hands of the British during the First Opium War (1839-1842). As scholar Richard Harris explained: The Chinese have one very broad generalization about their own history: they think in terms of up to the Opium war and after the Opium war; in other words, a century of humiliation and weakness to be expunged. (Recommended: Japan's Master Plan to Defeat China in a War) The consequences of the conflictChinas crushing defeatwere felt far and wide. Beijings geostrategic position in Asia was weakened dramatically. Chinas military was crushed in a series of defeats by a vastly smaller, but technologically superior, British force. Chinese military technology, tactics and strategy were not on par with the Wests. This defeat sparked the first of what has been referred to as the unequal treaties. Five ports were opened to foreign traders, and the British colony at Hong Kong was founded (which would not be returned until 1997). The Sino-Japanese War A second military defeat, this time at the hands of Japan, during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, also had wide-reaching consequences for Beijing. For several decades, Japan and China had spared in various domainslargely political and diplomaticover control and influence on the Korean Peninsula. For China, Korea had been a vassal state, having been heavily influenced by Chinese culture. Japan, having undertaken a massive effort to Westernize under the Meiji Restoration, was undertaking efforts to bring Korea under its sphere of influence. Both nations were actively pursuing efforts to modernize their armed forces. While a larger study of the conflict has been done across many formats and is beyond the scope of this article, the war and its aftermath are of extreme importance. Japan would defeat China convincingly, most importantly at the Battle of the Yalu, an important naval victory. While China had by this time been clearly passed by Western powers and had lost considerable stature and territory, to now be defeated by a neighboring Asian nation-state was even more humiliating. Korea would be declared free of Chinese influence and placed effectively under Japanese control. China would be forced to pay large reparations to Japan. Tokyo would also receive the Liaodong Peninsula, which it was forced to give up, due to Western pressure. A Chaotic 1930s, Civil War and World War II A series of events from the early 1930s until the eventual victory of Maos communists in 1949, establishing the Peoples Republic of China, would also have a lasting effect on todays China. While each event is worthy of its own larger study, a narrow focus will be utilized for the purposes of this article. In 1931, Japan occupied the Chinese territory of Manchuria, creating a puppet state named Manchukuo. In 1937, tensions flared once more when an incident at the Marco Polo Bridge would become the catalyst for full-scale war between China and Japan. Both nations waged a bloody conflict until the end of World War II in 1945. Large sections of Chinese territory were held by Japan, and vast areas of Chinese commerce, industry and farmland were destroyed. China was also in the midst of a civil war from 1927 until 1937, which was halted to combat the Japanese invasion. The civil war resumed in 1946, when China once again suffered severe losses. The Kuomintang or KMT under Chiang Kai-shek fled to Taiwan in 1949. The status of Taiwan to this day has yet to be resolved and is a major factor in Chinese strategic thinking on A2/AD. China suffered dearly during this period of its history. Countless lives were lost during Japan's invasion and during the civil war. In 1937, China suffered the Rape of Nanking among other countless humiliations at the hands of imperial Japanese forces. Even though almost seven decades have passed since the end of World War II, Chinese and Japanese emotions on the subject are considerably heated, serving as a source of tension, which drags on positive bilateral relations. Such a tumultuous period of Chinese history would have far and wide repercussions on the Chinese people, its collective sense of history and its national psyche. Chinese scholars have debated for several decades the role of such a period when thinking about its place in todays international order. During this century, China would have to redefine itself, its place in the global order, its place in Asia and its own sense of history. As one scholar notes: China had to redraw its world map: where it had for millennia sat comfortably at the center of a ring of tributary relationships with neighboring countries, it now found itself a weak competitor in a world of dozens or even hundreds of nation-states. Where Chinese rulers and intellectuals had before had little concept of an international arena, they now had to grapple with the notion that there existed a global system of power relationships whose dynamics though almost entirely out of Chinas control would determine her fate. Chinese History: Chinese A2/AD? As noted by many analysts (including myself), Chinese A2/AD strategy seeks to target selected perceived weaknesses in U.S. military technology, force structure and strategic doctrineall while not having to match U.S. forces in all combat domains. At present, even though China possesses the second-largest economy in the world, it still does not have the economic or technological base to challenge America in a symmetrical military matchup. What China can do is devise an asymmetric strategy that is designed to inflict maximum damage on American forces if they were to intervene militarily close to Chinas perceived interests along its coasts and out towards the first island chain. History clearly shows us China has suffered from technological obsolescence on the battlefield for some timeallowing various nations to take advantage. A century of humiliation has taught Chinese planners that to allow military forces to be able to approach the coast and be able to build up forces for a possible attack invites strategic weakness and possible subjugation by foreign powers. Beijing does not feel it has the luxury of time to wait for the development of a first-class military if it were challenged by Washington or another great power. A2/AD solves an age-old problem for China and might just be able to at least deter America and others from possible infringement on China's core interests. And if history is any guide, it seems clear that is exactly the outcome Beijing wants. Harry J. Kazianis is Director of Defense Studies at the Center for the National Interest. Read full article Britain's defence minister, Gavin Wiliamson (UNSEEN), unveiled a model of a new jet fighter, called 'Tempest' at the Farnborough Airshow, in Farnborough, Britain July 16, 2018. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo Sebastien Roblin Security, Europe But will London pull the trigger? Forget the F-35: The Tempest Could Be the Future (Armed with Lasers, Hypersonic Missiles and Swarms) With a flourish of a silk curtain at the Farnborough Air Show on July 16, British defense secretary Gavin Williamson unveiled a full-scale model of the Tempest, the UKs concept for a domestically built twin-engine stealth fighter to enter service in the 2030s. The Tempest will supposedly boast a laundry list of sixth-generation technologies such as being optionally-manned, mounting hypersonic or directed energy weapons, and capability to deploy and control drone swarms. However, it may also represent a Brexit-era gambit to revive defense cooperation with Germany and France. London has seeded Team Tempest with 2 billion ($2.6 billion) for initial development through 2020. Major defense contractor BAE System is leading development with the Royal Air Force, with Rolls Royce contributing engines, European firm MBDA integrating weapons, and Italian company Leonardo developing sensors and avionics. Design will supposedly be finalized in the early 2020s, with a flyable prototype planned in 2025 and production aircraft entering service in 2035, gradually replacing the RAFs fourth-generation Typhoon fighters and complementing F-35 stealth jets. This seventeen-year development cycle is considered ambitious for something as complicated and expensive as a stealth fighter. Recommended: Air War: Stealth F-22 Raptor vs. F-14 Tomcat (That Iran Still Flies) Recommended: A New Report Reveals Why There Won't Be Any 'New' F-22 Raptors Recommended: How an Old F-15 Might Kill Russias New Stealth Fighter The Tempest mockup suggests a relatively large single-seat, twin-engine delta-wing fighter with a cranked trailing edge and two vertical stabilizers (tail fins) canted inwards as on the F-22 stealth fighter. According to analyst Justin Bronk, these last improve maneuverability and suggest emphasis on kinematic performance over pure stealth. The larger airframe also implies a desire for greater range and weapons load than an F-35 can muster in stealth mode. However, reportedly no performance parameters such as maximum speed, range, radar cross-section etc. were stated in the presentation. Story continues Rolls Royce boasts that the Tempests stealthily recessed adaptive-cycle turbofans will be made of lightweight composite materials, feature superior thermal management and digital maintenance controls, and generate large quantities of electricity through magnets in the turbine cores. Surplus electricity may be of particular interest for powering directed energy weapons, which could range from lasers to microwaves. The U.S. Air Force plans to test a defensive anti-missile laser turret for its jets in the early 2020s, but the Tempest presentation mentions using direct energy weapons for non-kinetic purposes, which may imply disrupting or damaging adversary sensors. The Tempest is to have a modular internal payload bay which can be reconfigured for various sensors or weapons. A Meteor long-range air-to-air missiles and a SPEAR-3 cruise missile were displayed next to the mock-up, and compatibility with next-generation Deep Strike missiles is also listed. The presentation at Farnborough also lists hypersonic missiles (which travel over five times the speed of sound, making interception extremely difficult) and swarms of deadly drones as offensive capabilities. To ease the workload on the pilot, the aircraft would utilize artificial intelligence and machine learning to optimize the drones behavior. Like the F-35, the Tempest would employ a diverse array of passive and active sensors, and a Tempest pilot may able to gaze through his or her own plane using a helmet-mounted device, which may also replace conventional cockpit display panels. Cooperative Engagement technology would also allow a Tempest to fuse sensor data with friendly aircraft, ships or ground forces using reconfigurable communication systems and data links. This could allow one platform to hand off sensor data to another platform, which could then launch missiles without exposing itself. However, the F-35s networked computers have aroused fears that it is vulnerable to hackingthus the presentation lists resilience to cyberattack as a characteristic of the Tempest. This could pose additional challenges given plans for the Tempest to be optionally mannedwhich means it can be flown remotely without an onboard pilot if preferred. Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles are generally thought to be the future of air warfare, but air forces so far are opting to test the waters by contemplating optionally-manned fighters. However, though optionally manned fighters offer a means to avoid putting pilots at risk on dangerous missions, they still come with the cost and performance disadvantages of manned aircraft. The Tempest was unveiled alongside a new Combat Air Strategy document marking the UKs reorientation to preparing for high-intensity conflicts and the danger posed by modern anti-aircraft weapons. However, the document largely focuses on industrial and financial matters, particularly on keeping British military aerospace sector sustainable despite constrained defense budgets and the steadily increasing cost of high-performance platforms like the Type 26 frigate. In any context, seeing through the Tempest project to completion would prove daunting. The Tempest itself is a successor to the BAE Replica, a two-seat British stealth-fighter concept that was abandoned in 2005, though BAE leveraged technology used in its creation to become a major partner in the F-35 program. Currently, the UK is currently receiving forty-eight F-35B stealth jump jets for its Queen Elizabeth-class carriers, and theoretically plans to order another ninety F-35s for the Royal Air Force. While an RAF officer at Farnborough claimed Tempest would have no impact on F-35 acquisitions, it is difficult to foresee where else in the budget the money would come from. However, at this stage the Tempest is surely a political game piece in a Brexit-bound UK, which risks being isolated from European markets. It happens that only a few months earlier, Germany and France trumpeted that Dassault and Airbus would work together on their own sixth-generation stealth jet program, Future Combat Air Systemnotably without inviting British companies, though their eventual participation was not ruled out, likely depending on how Brexit plays out. In truth, both stealth-fighter program could easily prove prohibitively expensive without buy-in from multiple countries. Two billion pounds is a lot of money, but is far less than one-tenth of what a successful Tempest program would cost. The preferred scenario might be for a European stealth fighter combining the two stealth-fighter programs. A glance at the FCASs projected capabilities shows they are broadly similar to those of the Tempest. The Tempest therefore may not only be an attempt by London to retain a domestic aerospace sector capable of building stealth jets, but also part of an elaborate courtship to entice EU nations into reconsidering joint-development of one. Indeed, Airbus Defense CEO Dirk Hoke made a comment welcoming the Tempest program. Possible British partnership with Swedenproducer of the capable Gripen fighteris also frequently speculated for the Tempest, and its worth noting that BAE recently signed on to assist Turkish TAI in producing a TF-X stealth fighter. The UK, France and Germany have all now proclaimed their intent to develop sixth-generation stealth jets and backed that up with initial investments. However, it will likely be a while before we can tell whether the respective governments can sustain the long-term financial outlays, international cooperation, and technically challenging development processes to produce Europes first stealth jet. Sebastien Roblin holds a masters degree in conflict resolution from Georgetown University and served as a university instructor for the Peace Corps in China. He has also worked in education, editing and refugee resettlement in France and the United States. He currently writes on security and military history for War Is Boring . Image: Britain's defence minister, Gavin Wiliamson (UNSEEN), unveiled a model of a new jet fighter, called 'Tempest' at the Farnborough Airshow, in Farnborough, Britain July 16, 2018. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo Read full article By U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Kamaile O. Long - http://www.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/photos/100710-F-7478L-590.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10880490 Robert Farley Security, Americas The decision would have had ripple effects across the Air Force and the Department of Defense, with a not inconsequential impact on the Vietnam War. Imagine a U.S. Air Force That Never Built the B-52 Bomber Since 1955, the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress has flown at the front lines of Americas national defense. Initially intended to deliver strategic nuclear weapons against the Soviet Union, the B-52 has kept that mission long after the USSR itself ceased to exist. Over the years, it has been assigned to other missions, including conventional strategic bombing against Vietnam, anti-shipping missions against Soviet naval forces, conventional interdiction and attrition against deployed Iraqi forces, and a multitude of different tasks during the Wars on Terror. Current projections have the B-52 outliving the B-1B, the B-2, and nearly every human who was alive during its first flight, with final retirement not coming until after 2050. But what if the BUFF had not survived the procurement battles that embroiled the Air Force and the rest of the U.S. defense establishment in the 1940s? How would the Air Force, and the broader U.S. defense establishment, have filled the hole vacated by the B-52? 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 Vanishes: The months and years following the end of World War II saw a bewildering array of different bomber designs. The U.S. Army Air Force (soon to be the U.S. Air Force, or USAF) had put advanced design work on hold until the end of the war in order to concentrate on the B-29. The introduction of jet propulsion and of nuclear weapons transformed the procurement agenda, and left the piston-engined Convair B-36 Peacemaker as the only viable transcontinental strategic bomber. But the B-36, which saw initial development in the early 1940s as an anti-German weapon, was clearly insufficient to the demands of the jet age. Thus, new design work ensued even as the USAF went to bat for the Peacemaker. The earliest versions of what would become the B-52 hit paper in late 1945. Story continues The B-52 design underwent several severe design changes in its first two years, shifting from a straight wing piston-engined bomber to a swept wing jet-engined aircraft. But in December 1947 the project was very nearly cancelled due to cost overruns and concerns about the viability of its engines. Several other firms offered viable (and no so viable) alternatives, and the survival of the Stratofortress was by no means assured. Alternatives: The cancellation of the B-52 would have left the USAF in a dire position. The B-36 fleet had been obsolete before the first aircraft left the factory, elaborate fixes such as attaching short-range fighters to the bombers wings notwithstanding. The Soviet interceptor fleet would have devoured the Peacemaker alive, one reason why Curtis Lemay had declined to deploy the bomber over Korea. The USAF did possess medium bombers, including the Boeing B-47 Stratojet and the Boeing B-50, an update of the B-29. Both of these had limited range and limited payloads, however, necessitating the use of foreign bases or inflight refueling in order to reach targets in the USSR. The Convair B-58 would enter service in 1960, but was not generally regarded as satisfactory. All told, a return to medium bombers after the Peacemaker would have been viewed as a substantial setback for USAFs bomber force. The USAF might have turned to the B-60, Convairs update to the B-36. The jet-engined bomber shared a great deal in common with its predecessor, including enormous size and lack of substantial maneuverability. The B-60 could carry a heavier bomb load than the B-52, although at a significantly lower speed. In the real world, the Air Force cancelled the B-60 after test flying a single prototype, in large part because of the acceptability of the B-52. On the upside, as the B-60 used many of the same parts as the B-36, it was considerably cheaper than the Stratofortress. But the B-60 would have struggled to adapt to the new environment posed by Soviet adoption of the SA-2 surface-to-air missile. Handling problems and enormous size would not have made it ideal for the low-altitude penetration mission that the B-52 evolved into, although extra space for a sophisticated electronics suite probably would have helped. But overall, it seems unlikely that the Air Force would have accepted the B-60 as a long-term solution to its bomber problem. All of this would have made the Air Forces argument on behalf of the B-70 much stronger. The Department of Defense cancelled the B-70 not simply because of developments in Soviet military technology, but also because of the B-52 remained satisfactory. Without an effective strategic bomber, the case for the B-70 would have become much more compelling, SAMs and fast interceptors notwithstanding. Unfortunately, the B-70 lacked the flexibility of the B-52, and would have struggled to adapt to many of the missions that the United States has assigned to the BUFF. Conceivably, the USAF might have gone with a foreign design. The USAF went with the English Electric Canberra (built by Martin under license as the B-57) to fill its medium bomber gap in the 1950s, and its not inconceivably that in the absence of a decent domestic design the Americans could have considered a British design. However, while each of the Avro Vulcan, Handley Page Victor, and Vickers Valiant had some advantages over existing U.S. medium bombers, none could carry a payload equivalent to the B-52 or the B-60. Finally, the Air Force could have just diverted its efforts wholly towards ballistic missiles in order to fulfill the nuclear mission. Ballistic missiles, while having enormous advantages over manned bombers, ran strongly counter to the USAFs culture, especially in the years immediately after World War II when memories of the Combined Bomber Offensive continue to run strong. But the lack of a viable bomber before the development of the USSRs integrated air-defense network might have forced the USAF to rely more heavily on the missiles, a choice that would undoubtedly have affected procurement in other area. Broader Implications: The B-52 survived where other bombers failed because it could continue to fulfill a very special set of roles in the Missile Age, including long-range low-altitude penetration strategic bomber, heavy conventional bomber, and more generally flexible large long-range weapons-carrying platform. None of the replacements of the B-52 would have performed these duties nearly as adequately. This would have negatively affected U.S. warfighting in Vietnam and in the first Gulf War, although probably not to a decisive extent. The vanishing of the B-52 may have produced an even more dramatic shift towards tactical aviation during the Rise of the Fighter Generals in the wake of Vietnam. Indeed, the prospect of B-60s or B-70s (or both in combination) conducting World War II style formation bombing over Hanoi during Linebacker II might have been so absurd that even the most committed bomber advocates would simply have given up. To be sure, the rise of net assessment in the 1970s gave new life to the idea of a strategic bomber force, if only as a bluff, and its possible that the bomber lobby would have remained vital enough to bring the B-1B into existence (or perhaps even its abortive sister the B-1A), but much of the hole left by the B-52 would probably have been filled with non-bomber capabilities, either on the missile or the fighter side. Parting Bombs: It is difficult to conceive of a world in which the United States had never acquired the B-52. The decision would have had ripple effects across the Air Force and the Department of Defense, with a not inconsequential impact on the Vietnam War. Indeed, the Air Force today would look very different if it could not rely on the B-52 as both a conventional and a nuclear bomber. The B-70 Valkyrie might well still be in service; the B-1B Lancer might never have been built, and its not completely impossible that the B-60 would have survived to the present day in some form. Robert Farley , a frequent contributor to TNI, is author of The Battleship Book . He serves as a Senior Lecturer at the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky. His work includes military doctrine, national security, and maritime affairs. He blogs at Lawyers, Guns and Money and Information Dissemination and The Diplomat . Image: By U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Kamaile O. Long - http://www.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/photos/100710-F-7478L-590.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10880490 Read full article Bravo Teresa Giudice is celebrating her recent engagement to boyfriend Luis Louie Ruelas with a romantic getaway to Greece. The Real Housewives of New Jersey cast member sizzled while lounging poolside with her fiance in a teeny blue bikini. Teresa took to Instagram to share a peek into her dreamy vacation with her husband-to-be. In the sweet snapshot posted on October 24, the couple can be seen posing alongside each other in front of a sparkling pool. While Luis donned a white bathing suit and a ba Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi attends a military ceremony in the courtyard of the Invalides in Paris, November 26, 2014. REUTERS/Charles Platiau Andrew Miller, Michele Dunne Security, Middle East Cairo is no long a prize to be won, but a weak state in need of reform. Losing Egypt to Russia Isn't the Real Problembut Collapse Is While most attention regarding U.S.-Russian competition in the Middle East is concentrated on Syria and Iran, Russian president Vladimir Putin has quietly been trying to make inroads into Egypt. For instance, a recent article by Anna Borshchevskaya presents an alarming picture in which the United States is on the verge of losing Egypt to Russia. We have heard this argument before, usually articulated by those who oppose attaching any conditions to U.S. military assistance to Egypt. Watch out, the argument goes, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi no longer believes he can count on the United States due to bilateral tensions in recent years. The theory then warns that Cairo is turning to Russia, potentially depriving America of a critical regional ally. The germ of truth in this argument is that Sisi seems to be trying to revive the tried-and-true Cold War game of playing the United States and Russia off each other. And he seems to admire Putin a good deal, as they are fellow intelligence officers and autocrats. But we have our doubts as to whether the Egyptian military establishment really is prepared to switch from Western to Russian patronage, and we also question whether Egypt is as critical a military ally to the United States as it once was. The increased tempo of Egyptian-Russian cooperation in recent years needs to be seen in a context far broader than the U.S.-Egypt-Russia triangle. Egypt is not seeking to replace the United States, but rather to supplement it with Russian support. Furthermore, post-revolution Egypt has sought to return to a more independent foreign policy in which it plays patrons off of each other. For example, this constantly happens between Egypt and its Saudi and Emirati patrons. This was also Gamal Abdel Nassers original design before he openly allied with the Soviet Union following the 1956 Suez War. Egypt no more wants to be dependent on Russia than it wants to be dependent on the United States. Moreover, Sisi has sought to expand defense and commercial ties with Germany and France as avidly as with Russia. Story continues Amidst the flurry of bilateral visits and announcements, it is also easy to overstate what Russia is offering to Egypt. Russia's loans, which Egypt must repay, are not substitutes for U.S. grant assistance, and Russia is not in the same position as the United States to facilitate Egypts entree into European capitals and international financial institutions. What Egypt needs is private investment and lots of itnot what Putin can provide. Additionally, it is not easy to switch military operating systems on a dime, especially after four decades of Egypt relying on American equipment and training in all areas except for missile defense. Also, Putin has not been as unconditionally supportive of Sisi as some would suggest, nor has Sisi welcomed all of Putins overtures. Putin is holding out on restoring all Russian commercial flights to Egypt, cut off since the disastrous October 2015 terrorist bombing of a Russian jet that departed from Sharm al-Shaykh. Putin recently agreed to allow flights to Cairo, but not yet to the Red Sea beach airports, which were the principal attraction for Russian tourists who used to travel to Egypt in droves. For his part, Sisi seems to be holding out on a Russian request for access to Egypts military airfieldsperhaps because it would jeopardize his relations with the U.S. military. But what if the U.S.-Egyptian military relationship did fall apart for whatever reason, and Sisi sought to compensate by openly allying with Russia? On the surface, this would look like another retreat of the United States from its once-dominant position in the region. But on a practical level, the impact on U.S. interests would be much less than it once would have been. Due to years of internal erosion of the Egyptian state, it is a less capable regional actor than it was several decades ago and its military is a poor reflection of the force that acquitted itself well in 1973. The Jordanian and Emirati militaries, for example, are now far more capable of projecting power within the region and are more interoperable with U.S. forces than are the Egyptians. Excepting Libya, which is more important to European than U.S. interests, Egypt has been unwilling to deploy its forces abroad. Power in the region has shifted to the Gulf, as economic influence has become increasingly important, while other Arab and North African countries have come to eclipse Egypt in areas such as human development. And, while the Trump administration seems to believe Egypt is key to Israeli-Palestinian peace, neither Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is likely to move off of avowed redlines at Sisis request. The Israeli-Egyptian Treaty of Peace is on firm footing and the bilateral relationship, warm at the official level and cool at the popular level, is no longer dependent on U.S. encouragement or management. Egypt would most likely continue to allow U.S. ships access to the Suez Canal, for which the U.S. Navy pays handsomely. Egypt might deny overflight and landing rights to U.S. military aircraft, but those are much less valuable than they once were as the United States continues to entrench its position in Qatar. Arab states more relaxed attitude towards Israel also could open up new routes for civilian and military aircraft alike. Finally, it is hard to assess the net value of Egyptian counterterrorism (CT) cooperation with Washington, but we know that Egyptian policies are in some ways making the terrorism problem worse and it is in Cairos interest to maintain its own CT operations, whatever the state of relations with the United States. The real danger for the United States is not that it might lose Egypt, but that this nation of nearly one hundred million could sink into obscurity or even state failure due to poor governance, rapid population growth, and economic fragility. That would be unfortunate because a strong Egypt could serve as an important source of stability in the Middle East. But competing with Moscow for Egypts fealty is not going to reverse the countrys decline. Indeed, by pandering to Sisi and his misguided policies out of fear that he might turn to Russia, the United States would only be increasing the likelihood of such dark outcomes. Egypt is no longer a strategic prize for the United States or Russia to win. It is a challenge to be managed through careful, and where necessary coercive, diplomacy. Andrew Miller is the deputy director for policy at the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) and is a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He previously worked at the Department of State and as the director for Egypt and Israeli Military Issues at the National Security Council from 20142017. Michele Dunne directs the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC. A former State Department officer who served at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and the National Security Council, among other assignments, she has also taught at Georgetown University and headed the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East at the Atlantic Council. Image: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi attends a military ceremony in the courtyard of the Invalides in Paris, November 26, 2014. REUTERS/Charles Platiau Read full article A blue moon comes out of a lunar eclipse as it sets past an ocean pier in Oceanside, California: Reuters The blood moon is coming. The lunar eclipse that will soon pass over much of the Earth is going to be the longest this century. And it is notable not just for its length, but also its breadth: it will cover almost the entire world, meaning that people nearly everywhere will be able to spot it. The event begins on 27 July. The maximum eclipse happens at 9.30pm UK time that evening and will last for about 50 minutes but it will be partially visible for a long time either side of that moment. North America is the only continent where the eclipse will not be visible at all. For everyone else, it should be at least a little visible how much of it you will see depends where you are. Nasa has provided a full path of where the eclipse will be visible. The more light a place is on this map, the more of it you will be able to see. (Nasa) The lunar eclipse happens when the Earth moves between the Sun and the Moon. That has the effect of largely blocking out the sun's rays, making the moon go darker and as what light does get through makes its way around our planet, it is lengthened, turning the moon an eerie red colour. This time around, it also happens to coincide with when Mars reaches its opposition, making it shine brightly in the night sky. As such, you might be able to spot two bright red neighbours hovering up in the sky in one night. By Suleiman Al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) - The Syrian army and allied forces made advances in the southwest that bring it closer to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights as rebels refusing to return to state rule boarded buses for opposition controlled northern Syria, state television and rebels said. The army, backed by a Russian air campaign, has been pushing into the edges of Quneitra province following an offensive last month that routed rebels in adjoining Deraa province who were once backed by Washington, Jordan and Gulf states. The offensive has restored Syrian government control over a swathe of the southwest, strategic territory at the borders with Jordan and Israel. The capture of a string of villages, announced by the army on Saturday, comes as evacuation of rebels and their families resumed for the second day from villages along the Golan frontier towards rebel-controlled northern Syria. "We are in a bus with around sixty people young men and families and about to leave and become uprooted from our homes," said Maher Ali, 38, an activist who decided with his family to leave than risk retribution for his long record of peaceful opposition to President Bashar al Assad's authoritarian rule. The army was consolidating its control of a series of commanding heights that overlook the Golan frontier that had allowed mainly Islamist rebels who once controlled it a strong position in the sensitive border area. A deal negotiated by Russian officers with rebels in the Quneitra area last week allows safe passage to rebels opposed to a return to state rule, while offering others who decide to stay Russian guarantees against army encroachments in their own localities, rebels say. It also allows the return of Syrian army brigades, that existed before the 2011 conflict, back to where they were stationed near a 1974 demilitarized zone with Israel on the Golan frontier. FIGHTERS LEAVE More than 2,500 people, among them fighters from Islamist groups who have rejected the deal, left on Friday headed to opposition areas in northern Syria. Russia's Interfax news agency, citing the Russian military, confirmed the same number have been taken by bus to the Idlib zone. The Syrian army wants full control over Quneitra province where Israel has deep concerns over the presence of Iranian backed militias in the so called Triangle of Death area. The area is a bastion of Iranian-backed militias including Hezbollah, according to Western intelligence sources. Israel signaled it would not impede the Syrian army presence in Quneitra as long as it steered away from the demilitarized zone, and said it will continue to escalate attacks along its frontier and elsewhere in Syria where it suspects Iranian-backed forces are stationed. A commander in the regional alliance that backs Assad said the army's victory in southwestern Syria forced Israel to accept the Syrian army's return to the old 1974 armistice lines. "The Israelis has been forced into submission.....the file of the south has ended in favor of the Syrian army," the commander told Reuters, saying Quneitra's complete recapture was expected in the coming days. Some rebels say Russia, which led the military campaign and negotiated most of the surrender deals and committed military police to oversee its implementation, has been trying to push back the army and its Iranian-backed militias from committing excesses in former rebel-held towns. Other phases of the agreement, which includes the handover of weapons and the entry of Russian military police to some villages, were expected to be implemented in the coming days, a rebel source said. Tens of thousands of people have been sheltering at the frontier since the Russian and Syrian aerial bombing campaign that the opposition called a scorched earth policy began a month ago. Russia has been exerting pressure on the Syrian army to facilitate the return of many of the displaced and has also asked the United Nations to send regular convoys of aid to ease the humanitarian crisis triggered by the offensive, U.N. officials said. A senior Western diplomatic source said Moscow, which has reached understandings with Israel and Jordan that made it possible to move on with the offensive, was keen to stabilize the border area to prove that its Syria intervention sought a political settlement to the seven-year-old conflict. (Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; additional reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin in Moscow and Laila Bassam in Beirut; Editing by Andrew Bolton) Trump Putin: Getty Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin discussed the Syrian crisis and how to return refugees who had fled the war-torn country during their behind closed doors meeting earlier this week, secretary of state Mike Pompeo has said. Its important to the world that at the right time, through a voluntary mechanism, these refugees are able to return to their home country, Mr Pompeo said as he visited the United Nations, in New York. Asked about the proposed visit of Mr Putin to the US, he said: Im happy that the two leaders of two very important countries are continuing to meet. If that meeting takes place in Washington, I think its all to the good. Mr Trump has been criticised for the meeting in the Finnish capital Helsinki, because he spoke privately with his Russian counterpart for more than 90 minutes. Usually American presidents are accompanied by senior staff and note takers who keep a record of everything said, but Mr Trump was assisted only by an interpreter. Since then Russian officials have referred to agreements they say the two leaders reached, but there has been little explanation from the Trump camp about what transpired. Mr Pompeo said: We have our senior leaders meeting all across the world with people where we have deep disagreements with. It is incredibly valuable to the people of the United States of America that President Putin and President Trump continue to engage in dialogue to resolve the difficult issues that our countries face between each other. I think this makes enormous sense, and Im very hopeful that that meeting will take place this fall. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (ANDREW HARNIK/AFP/Getty Images) Mr Trump, meanwhile, took to Twitter late on Friday to complain about media coverage of Mondays meeting. I got severely criticised by the Fake News Media for being too nice to President Putin, he wrote. In the Old Days they would call it Diplomacy. If I was loud & vicious, I would have been criticized for being too tough. The ongoing Washington and Beijing trade war, could push automobile companies to produce more in China , the CEO and founder of Shanghai-based consultancy Automobility told CNBC on Thursday. Tesla (TSLA) has raised prices on its automobiles in the China market in response to the tit-for-tat American and Chinese tariffs. Beijing imposed a 25 percent additional tariff on imported American cars in response to U.S. tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese goods, including the automotive sector. China's auto market is massive, with 28.8 million cars sold in 2017, Automobility CEO Bill Russo said. That being the case, he reasoned that automobile companies importing to China may move to localize their production within the country in order to avoid the tariffs. "China only imports out of their 28.8 million units about 1.2 million vehicles and above, less than 300,000 a year are sold or produced in the United States. So yeah the tariffs are actually working to make the companies who are doing business with imported vehicles less competitive in the market," he explained. Russo added that tariffs will negatively affect the automobile industry and several brands that import to China may have to reconsider where the "footprint of your (their) production should be" in order to be cost effective. The relocation of production to China could come at a cost of fewer jobs available for Americans in the automotive industry, Russo said. On Thursday, a duck boat carrying 31 people across Table Rock Lake near Branson, Missouri, capsized in a sudden squall, leaving 17 dead. The tragedy, possibly compounded by a lack of life vests, as state law does not require them for all passengers, claimed the lives of people aged 1 to 76 who boarded the amphibious vehicle in hope of exploring and learning more about the scenic Ozark landscape. Authorities say a full investigation is currently underway. These are the victims: The Coleman Family Nine members of this Indiana family across three generations perished in the accident. Eleven Colemans were aboard; only Tia Coleman of Indianapolis and her teenage nephew survived. The deceased include Colemans husband Glenn, 40, and the couples children, Reece, 9; Evan, 7; and Arya, 1; along with Colemans sister-in-law Angela, 45, and her 2-year-old, Maxwell. Colemans mother-in-law, father-in-law and an uncle living with them also died. They were Belinda, 69; Ervin, 76; and Horace, 70. Horace Coleman was involved in a youth football organization for more than 40 years, the Kansas City Star reported. A former player expressed his grief over Facebook, where he said the former coach was like a father figure. My heart is very heavy I lost all my children, Coleman told CBS Indianapolis affiliate WTTV. She said none of her family members took life jackets because the captain said they would not need them, adding that by the time of the accident it was too late. Robert Bob Williams Bob Williams, 73, was one of two crew members aboard, responsible for driving the boat. Known as Pastor Bob, he served as a pastor at The Kings Cathedral in Providence, Rhode Island, for more than a decade, the Kansas City Star reported, before moving to the Branson area with his wife. He was an outstanding individual and one of the most humble people Ive ever known, a friend, Tony Krukow, told the local paper. Family members tell CNN that the driver of the duck boat- Robert Captain Bob Williams- died in the accident on Table Rock Lake. His wife, Judy, said: "My husband was a man of God. He'd talk to anybody. He made an effect on many lives. He would give up his life for somebody pic.twitter.com/prQOhwAzWP Dianne Gallagher (@DianneG) July 20, 2018 Steve and Lance Smith Story continues Steve Smith, 53, was aboard the boat with his two children. Although his daughter Loren survived, his son Lance, 15, did not. Steves wife, Pamela, had gone shopping instead of joining her family on the tour. Steve was a deacon at Osceola Church of Christ in a small Arkansas town about an hour north of Memphis, the Christian Chronicle reported. His father told Arkansas Online that Steve was a retired math teacher who loved old Westerns. In an online request for prayers for the Smiths, a friend of the family recounted how Lance had recently gotten more involved in the church. This past Sunday I finally was able to get Lance to do a devotional and break out his shell! Will Hester wrote on Facebook. He was like a son to me, and I will miss him greatly. He was the perfect example of humility and compassion! Leslie Dennison Illinois resident Leslie Dennison, 64, was aboard the tour boat as part of a special trip taken with her 12-year-old granddaughter, Alicia, who survived the accident. Todd Dennison, Leslies son, said his daughter recalled her grandmother pushing her upward when the two were submerged underwater. She said her grandmother saved her, Dennison told the Kansas City Star. William Bill Asher and Rosemarie Rosie Hamann Bill, 69, and Rosie, 68, who were dating, were known to friends and family as the life of the party, the Kansas City Star reported. Neighbors recalled how involved the couple was with their St. Louis County community. One told local affiliate Fox 2 that the couple had the fire department out here for the children to play once a year. Another said the couple had been celebrating Rosies birthday when the tragedy struck. Denny Eads, a longtime friend of Bills, told local affiliate KMOV that the couple liked listening to the oldies together. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. William Bill Bright and Janice Jan Bright William Bright, 65, and Janice Bright, 63, were married for 45 years and attended Higginsville Baptist Church in Missouri, local news affiliate Fox 4 reported. The couple, who had 16 grandchildren, were vacationing at Table Rock Lake from Higginsville to celebrate their anniversary. Wills sister Karen Abbott said she had been planning to meet the couple before learning of the accident. Most people say they dont like their sister-in-laws. Ive loved Janice for 47 years. She was my friend before she was my sister, Abbot told the Kansas City Star. Neighbor Barbara Beck told Fox 4 that she would frequently visit the couple at their home, saying, I sat with them every day. Her husband Bob Beck added, They were nice people. Real nice people. Especially Jan, she was just wonderful. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. By Sankalp Phartiyal and Krishna V Kurup MUMBAI/BENGALURU (Reuters) - Facebook Inc's WhatsApp is rolling out a global test measure to rein in messages forwarded by users, the messaging app said, after the spread of rumors led to several killings in India and sparked calls for action from authorities. Violence triggered by incendiary false messages in India, WhatsApp's biggest market with more than 200 million users, has spurred government demands to prevent circulation of false texts and provocative content and caused a public relations nightmare. False messages about child abductors on WhatsApp have led to mass beatings this year of more than a dozen people in India, some of whom have died. "We believe that these changes - which we'll continue to evaluate - will help keep WhatsApp the way it was designed to be: a private messaging app," WhatsApp said in a blog post on Thursday, announcing its worldwide test of limits on forwards. WhatsApp did not say what the limit on forwarded messages would be elsewhere, but in India specifically, they will be limited to five chats at a time, whether among individuals or groups. Also in India, WhatsApp will remove the quick forward button placed next to media messages. Both moves are designed to deter mass forwards in India, a country that WhatsApp says forwards more messages, photographs and videos than any other. The latest changes were welcomed by technology experts. "This change is going to make it difficult for people to forward messages, it's going to add a layer of friction to the process," said Nikhil Pahwa, a co-founder of advocacy group Internet Freedom Foundation. WhatsApp will also meet non-government bodies and other groups in New Delhi, the capital, on Friday to discuss ways to curb the spread of false messages, said one source at the company, who asked not to be named, invoking company policy. India's technology ministry, which had already this month demanded that WhatsApp rein in misuse, said in a statement late on Thursday that it wanted more effective measures to ensure accountability and ease law enforcement. "When rumors and fake news get propagated by mischief mongers, the medium used for such propagation cannot evade responsibility and accountability," it said. "If they remain mute spectators they are liable to be treated as abettors and thereafter face consequent legal action." WhatsApp has been told the issue is very serious and "deserves a more sensitive response," it added. Responding to the ministry's earlier call, WhatsApp had rolled out a new feature to label forwarded messages and alert recipients that the sender had not created the message. In its first such effort to combat the flurry of fake messages, the firm took out advertisements last week in key Indian newspapers aiming to dispel misinformation. But it has also said a partnership with the government and society is required to curb the spread of false information. Last weekend police arrested more than 48 people they said were part of a mob that killed a tech industry worker in southern India over suspicions that he and a group of friends were child abductors. (Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal in Mumbai and Krishna V Kurup in Bengaluru; Additional Reporting by Rishika Chatterjee in Bengaluru and Euan Rocha in Mumbai; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier) For centuries Montenegro never had a Jewish communitynever, began Jasa Alfandari, the man who would take it upon himself to change that. The last known Jewish community was somewhere in the 17th or 18th century, comprised of Portuguese Jews running to Turkey. That remained the situation until a dynamic force called Jasa (pronounced Yasha) decided it needed to change and descended upon the region intent on revitalizing not only Montenegro, but the Balkan region as well. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter When I had the opportunity to meet Jasa several weeks ago I was immediately reconciled to the belief that this larger-than-life man could, indeed, pull-off what we had already been informed was a self-inflicted mission to traipse across the length and breadth of the country finding one Jew at a time to become another link in the first Jewish communal chain after three centuries. What I didnt know is that it would be the last time I would see Jasa. He died unexpectedly on July 13 in a hospital where he was being treated for back pain and contracted angitis. Jasa Alfandari, former president of Montenegro's Jewish community. (Photo: Felice Friedson/The Media Line) Our meeting was arranged by Rabbi Ari Edelkopf, who upon hearing our interest in Montenegros story informed us that what we sought was a 72-year-old man named Jasa who will be pleased to travel an hour to meet us. And he did. Who, upon first introduction, admonishes his new acquaintance with a warning that you no doubt are opposed to cigarette smoking, but Im not stopping? In the very first minutes of our conversation a distinct melding of the great strength that clearly served him well as he pursued classified security missions for the state of Israel and a loving persona that made his lost flock a personal responsibility that would consume the remainder of his days. Prior to his sudden death, Jasa had single-handedly identified and contacted each Jew living in Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro, worked with the government of Montenegro to have Judaism formally recognized as the nations fourth official religion, and created the Machar (Tomorrow) conferencea veritable ingathering of Jews from the Balkan nations. In a rented apartment in the capital city of Podgorica, set up as a small synagogue and repository of holy books, some dating back one hundred years, wearing his hat as president of Montenegros Jewish community, Jasa Alfandari explained that the nations ten Jewish families at the time fled when World War Two broke out. In 1941, Jews from Yugoslavia escaped to Albania which was also under Italian occupation until 1943 when the Germans came in to Montenegro and Albania. Montenegro and Albania are the only two countries in Europe, where after the war, there were more Jews (1000) than before (200) the war, with the exception of Denmark because they saved all the Jews, and they had 7,000 Jews before the war, remarked Jasa. Of the Jews in Montenegro, ninety percent are Ashkenazim (Jews of European descent), and all are intermarried. We had a couple of intermarriages and its a total acceptance of non-Jewish culture, with no Jewish tradition left in the families. Jasa himself grew up in a very mixed family. Using the Yiddish word for religiously observant, Jasa said, My mothers mother was really frum, a fanatical Jew, who was somewhere from Galicia. My grandfather, my mothers father originally came from Germany and he was a Bundist, the movement that countered Zionism. They didnt want the Jews to leave Europe before the forming of the Jewish state. They called Israel Palestina and said if Jews leave Europe it would be very dangerous. My father was a Sephardi (Oriental) Jew, born in Belgrade where ninety percent of the Sephardi Jews in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia were fans of Hashomer Hatzair, a distinctly anti-religious movement very active in the states early days. Can you imagine this house I grew up in? In the morning, my grandmother was teaching me prayers and Jewish things; and then in the afternoon my father and mother were teaching me assignments and about Hashomer Hatzair and leftism. So, I picked up everything. Plus there was no one left from my family, so I grew up alone without anybody, Jasa explained. In 1968, Jasa left for kibbutz life in Israel followed by army service as a paratrooper. There, he was an outstanding soldier who participated in many serious undercover operations. In 1991, Jasa left Israel to return home where his elderly mother was ailing. Four children and seven grandchildren live in Israel today. All the time, Jasa was determined to create a Jewish community, to find the Jews of Montenegro. He visited each family one by one. We visited all 300 families. They asked me, What for do I need a community? Im now 65okay, you told me that Im Jewish. Good, so what? I found them through the police, through the election list, through informers. Look I used my knowledge from those years in Israel to scratch out the Jews. I have a neighbor and she asked me not to come to her house. Her brother is the president of a European Jewish community. One by one, Jasa began to build a community for the Jews, almost all of whom had assimilated because they felt no danger. Almost all knew nothing of Judaism, the rituals, traditions or history. We have a Jew here who even has a sefer Torah (scroll of the Five Books of Moses) given to him by his mother in his house. Jasa sent another young girl to Israel several times and nothing changed, but after the second time she started to wear a Magen David (Jewish star). Five years before there was no chance, but now, he told The Media Line. Ivana was one of the many people Jasa helped by sending her young children to a Jewish day camp. My mother and grandmother were Jews but both married Montenegrins. I started to go deeper into Judaism for my children. They will have choices whether to follow or not that I did not have. Jasa was proud of what he called the special relationship between the community and government citing the official contract with the government that made Judaism an official religiona document Jasa signed on behalf of the Jewish community. Its not like the US. Here it is law. The government officially recognizes us as the fourth religion in Montenegro including the Jewish holidays. With a broad grin Jasa explained how he called on former Israeli chief rabbi Yona Metzger whom he had known years ago in the army, invited him to Montenegro and told the government that a chief rabbi is like a pope to the Jews. So, a meeting was arranged with the prime minister, the president and the speaker of the parliament. As Jasa told it, before the meeting the prime minister asked me, So what do I request? He replied, nothing. But he added that, I want recognition of the Jewish religion and the community, and they said ok. Three months later, they called me from the cabinet of the prime minister telling me in three days to be the signature on the contract between the Jewish community and the state. A recent addition was Rabbi Ari Edelkopf, a Chabad protegee who was chosen to lead the Jewish community. It was one of Jasas final moves to infuse religious rituals and practice into Montenegro, as plans for a Jewish community center and synagogue are underway. Rabbi Ari Edelkopf, a Chabad protegee who was chosen by Jasa Alfandari to lead the Montenegro Jewish community. (Photo: Felice Friedson/The Media Line) Rabbi Edelkopf grew up in Los Angeles where his father was a Rabbi for many years. He served in Sochi, Russia, until he was one of the rabbis who were deported by President Putin. Rabbi Edelkopf sat in our meeting that day as Jasa spoke of the 300 people who came to celebrate Hanukkah. Most of them are Jews and they never stepped foot into the community. But they came to see the rabbi and sing songs and lay the cornerstone for the synagogue. The synagogue and Jewish Community center will stand on prime property donated by the government, right next to the Turkish Embassy. Its the most expensive land in Podgorica, Jasa boasted. Plans call for a 500-seat center. Such a center, such a place does not exist in the Balkans. As the synagogues building plans were moving along, Rabbi Edelkopf and his wife decided to celebrate their son becoming a Bar Mitzvah with the Montenegro community. What the Edelkopfs believe will be a first, the festivities will take place in a hotel in Budava City, the same venue that hosted a real Seder (Passover celebratory meal) with kosher food! Six years ago, Jasa created Mahar (which in Hebrew means tomorrow) whose goal is to teach to those who do not even know what Israel is. This years special guest for the three-day event in October, celebrating Israels 70th anniversary, at which more than 500 participants are expected as in previous years, is legendary Israeli general Avigdor Kahalani. Jasa summed up the purpose of Mahar by telling us that, I dont know if you can believe that on the first Mahar six years ago, 50 percent of the participants didnt know the Israeli national anthem, Hatikva. Now, everyone knows Hatikva. Its enough for me. Jasas parting words are just the beginning of what lies ahead for the Jewish community leaders. Jelena Djurovic, who is one of the founding members of the community and a vice president says that it is still a mystery how Jasa found her years ago. A politician and a journalist professionally, Jelenas family was prominent in Balkan life. Her late grandmother was Lotika Zellermeier who was the inspiration of the main character of Ivo Andrics noble prize-winning novel The Bridge on the Drina, a story about the Jews of Bosnia. But, Jelena only was told she was Jewish at 11 years of age when the book was about to launch. Her grandmother forbade her mother to disclose her identity until the last moment because people in the community were not aware her family was Jewish. Government contract signed by Jasa Alfandari recognizing Judaism as an official religion in Montenegro. (Photo: Felice Friedson/The Media Line) We grew up in a completely non-Jewish home and we lived together because my grandmother lost some part of her family in Belgrade and some in Dachau. In 1936, she obtained false papers to keep herself and her parents alive and were able to move to Belgrade without being recognized as Jews because we had money. Until I am alive you cannot come to be involved in anything Jewish my grandmother told me. And the next 13 years, while my grandmother was alive, I became Jewish but not on the outside. This is irrational, but I needed to fulfill her wish. From the moment my grandmother died I started wearing a Magen David and never took it off. My mother helped me understand more about religion, politics, history and the Holocaust. Today we have 300 members of the Jewish community and we have a rabbi. People are getting in touch, people didnt practice religion and even more complicated didnt know they were Jews. We need to take baby steps. We now have a full house of up to 150 people for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, she told The Media Line. Jelena is still in shock over Jasas sudden death. She called him a substitute father, a mentor, teacher and friend. I can never express what he meant to me. I was ten years old when my father, a Montenegrin and famous lawyer died, she said. The community will now need to divide the tasks and determine who will be the president after the Mahar conference in October. They are looking toward their partners, The World Jewish Congress, the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, and Jewish National Fund to assist them in moving forward. Hana, Jasas youngest daughter, told The Media line that her father established two other Jewish communities in the Balkans: Albania and Kosovo, bringing 150 and 100 Jews into the open. Hana explained that, It means Jews living here forgot who they are and pushed people to see if they had Jewish roots. Growing up I knew I was special but I was not connected with other families. It changed when I was 15, when we started celebrating holidays, learning about tradition and today we have a Rabbi. I dont feel alone anymore. Jasa Alfandari in a makeshift synagogue in Montenegro. (Photo: Felice Friedson/The Media Line) His daughters description of her dad reveals the strength and other attributes that one would need to seek out and reunite the missing Jews in three nations. My Dad was a simple man who started from the bottom. He hunted Nazis in South America, Argentina, Uruguay, and Venezuela. He was like the Europeans (didnt look Jewish), fluent in 12 languages including Arabic and German. He was basically an undercover spy acting as a German who was able to disguise himself in the German Nazi communities in South America. As the community plans its memorial for Jasa, all agree it will take several to do his work of one and that the greatest tribute will be to continue his work. Co-vice president Giorgio Raicevic is temporarily filling the office of president of the community. As daughter Hana told The Media Line, We cannot replace all the great things he did, we can just follow his path and it is an honor to do so. Mahar will continue, the synagogue will be built and the Jewish community will continue to exist. We will continue to carry his torch. We need to make him proud. Israel and Hamas have agreed to restore calm in the Gaza Strip, a spokesman for Hamas, the terror organization that controls the Gaza Strip, said on Saturday. "With Egyptian and United Nations efforts it has been agreed to return to the era of calm between (Israel) and Palestinian factions," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum told Reuters. Israeli officials did not immediately comment on the announcement but an army spokeswoman said that in the early hours of Saturday, there was no known military activity in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian residents said the area was calm. On Friday, an IDF soldier was killed near Kissufim by sniper fire from the Gaza Strip on Friday afternoon, leading for a retaliatory strike by the IDF that killed at least four Hamas members. The soldier was the first to be killed on the Gaza front in active duty since a 2014 war between Israel and Hamas, an Israeli army spokesman said. During the flare-up which lasted several hours, the Israeli military said its tanks had hit 68 Hamas targets and had "eliminated about 60 buildings and infrastructures and revoked significant military and command and control capabilities." Egyptian security officials and a diplomat from another unnamed state held contacts with Hamas and Israel in an effort to restore calm and prevent further deterioration, a Palestinian official told Reuters. The White House has rejected a Vladimir Putin-backed effort to hold a referendum in eastern Ukraine on the region's future, distancing itself from the idea in the aftermath of President Donald Trump's controversial summit with the Russian leader. Russia's ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, said the two leaders had discussed the possibility of a referendum in separatist-leaning eastern Ukraine during their Helsinki summit. But Trump's National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis said Friday that agreements between Russia and the Ukrainian government for resolving the conflict in the Donbas region do not include any such option and any effort to organize a "so-called referendum" would have "no legitimacy." US envoy to the Middle East Jason Greenblatt slammed Hamas Saturday after an IDF soldier was killed near Kissufim by sniper fire from the Gaza Strip on Friday afternoon, leading for a retaliatory strike by the IDF that killed at least four Hamas members. "As Israelis work tirelessly on their northern border to treat Syrian refugees, Hamas works relentlessly to destroy Israeli lives (and Gazans suffer as a result of Hamas). Today a young Israeli soldier was murdered by Hamas. Our thoughts and prayers are with that young man's family. Hamas announced early Saturday it had agreed to a ceasefire with Israel, after another round of hostilities Friday, during which Palestinian snipers killed an IDF soldiers and Israel responded with extensive strikes across the Gaza Strip. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter "With Egyptian and United Nations efforts it has been agreed to return to the era of calm between (Israel) and Palestinian factions," said Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman. Following a special situation assessment held Saturday morning and a calm night on the border fence, the IDF's Home Front Command said Israeli communities on the Gaza border can return to civilian routine. The Zikim beach, which was closed Friday amid the volatile situation, was reopened Saturday morning. Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Lieberman and IDF Chief Eisenkot hold situation assessment at the Kirya IDF headquarters (Photo: Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry) On Saturday morning, an IDF tank fired at a Hamas post in northern Gaza after several Palestinians crossed the border fence into Israel. The infiltrators immediately returned to Gaza's territory, and no casualties were reported. Apart from that incident, the truce has been holding, with no further retaliation from Gaza. Hamas came under pressure not to retaliate to the extensive Israeli strikes, and the terror group exercised restraint throughout the night, only responding with moderate short-range rocket fire. IDF strikes Gaza (Photo: AFP) An IDF soldier was killed near Kissufim by sniper fire from the Gaza Strip on Friday afternoon, leading to a retaliatory strike by the IDF that killed at least four Hamas members. The IDF soldier, who was wearing a ceramic vest, was killed by a bullet hitting his chest. A helicopter was called to evacuate the severely wounded soldier, but he was pronounced dead in the field, the IDF said. This incident marks the first time an IDF soldier is killed on the Gaza frontier in active duty since the 2014 Operation Protective Edge and since the "March of Return" campaign had been launched. Gaza border violence (Photo: AFP) During the flare-up, which lasted several hours, IDF tanks had hit 68 Hamas targets and had "eliminated about 60 buildings and infrastructures and revoked significant military and command and control capabilities." The Hamas Zaytun battalion headquarters in northern Gaza, as well as Hamas headquarters in Bureij in central Gaza and in Khan Yunis in the southern part of the strip, were completely destroyed. Photo: Hamas Zaytun battalion headquarters (Photo: IDF's Spokesperson's Unit ) The IDF's Home Front Command instructed Israelis living in communities near the Gaza border to remain within a 15 second distance from a bomb shelter or a safe room as well as to avoid mass gatherings. The army also closed the Zikim beach for the weekend as a precaution. Hamas headquarters in Khan Yunis (Photo: Hamas Zaytun battalion headquarters) At around 8:30pm, a Code Red rocket alert siren was sounded in Shaar HaNegev Regional Council and Sdot Negev Regional Council. Three rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip, with two of them intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system and the third falling in open area. The IDF's spokesperson's Unit called Friday's offensive "The Headquarters Night" and stressed that it had severely damaged Hamas's arms depots, training facilities, observation posts, battalion situation rooms, battalion commander's offices and other infrastructures. "Among the terror targets we hit were weapons manufacturing factories, an entry shaft to a series of terror tunnels, a factory for manufacturing underground infrastructure components, drones depot, Hamas battalion situation rooms, and observation posts," the IDF elaborated. "The attack demonstrated the IDF's aerial, intelligence and operational abilities. The measures (taken by the IDF) will expand as needed," the army added. "Hamas continues promoting terror against Israel's citizens and security infrastructures, violates Israel's sovereignty and endangers its citizens and security forces," the IDF stated. In the wake of the conflagration the political and security brass, headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, convened in the Kirya Headquarters in Tel Aviv for a situation assessment on Friday evening. US envoy to the Middle East Jason Greenblatt slammed Hamas Saturday tweeting, "As Israelis work tirelessly on their northern border to treat Syrian refugees, Hamas works relentlessly to destroy Israeli lives (and Gazans suffer as a result of Hamas). Today a young Israeli soldier was murdered by Hamas. Our thoughts and prayers are with that young man's family." The Syrian army and its allies made advances in the southwest that bring it closer to Israel's Golan Heights border, state television and rebels said on Saturday. The army, backed by a Russian air campaign, has been pushing into the edges of Quneitra province following an offensive last month that routed rebels in adjoining Deraa province who were once backed by Washington, Jordan and Gulf states. The offensive has restored Syrian government control over a swathe of the southwest, strategic territory at the borders with Jordan and Israel. A senior official said Saturday, "Hamas has taken a hard pounding yesterday and asked for a truce via Egypt while committing to halt the fire terrorism and the Gaza border terror, with Egypt vouching for that." "The actions in the field are those to determine what happens next. If Hamas breaks (the agreement) it would pay even a more severe price," the official asserted. As part of the ceasefire agreement with Israel, Hamas has committed to put an end to incendiary balloons and kites, a senior Israeli official said Saturday. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter "Hamas has taken a hard pounding Friday evening, which led it to ask for to a truce with Israel, while committing to halt the fire terrorism and the Gaza border violence," the official said. "The actions on the ground would determine what happens next. If Hamas breaks (the ceasefire), it would pay even a more severe price," the official warned. Incendiary kite terrorism (Photo: AFP) Following a special situation assessment held Saturday morning and a calm night on the border fence, the IDF's Home Front Command said Israeli communities on the Gaza border can return to civilian routine. The Zikim beach, which was closed Friday amid the volatile situation, was reopened Saturday morning. "With Egyptian and United Nations efforts it has been agreed to return to the era of calm between (Israel) and Palestinian factions," said Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman. Nevertheless, shortly after that an IDF tank fired at a Hamas post in northern Gaza after several Palestinians crossed the border fence into Israel. The infiltrators immediately returned to Gaza's territory, and no casualties were reported. Back to routine in Zikim beach (Photo: Roee Idan) Apart from that incident, the truce has been holding, with no further retaliation from Gaza. Hamas came under pressure not to retaliate to the extensive Israeli strikes, and the terror group exercised restraint throughout the night, only responding with moderate short-range rocket fire. An IDF soldier was killed near Kissufim by sniper fire from the Gaza Strip on Friday afternoon, leading to a retaliatory strike by the IDF that killed at least four Hamas members. The IDF soldier, who was wearing a ceramic vest, was killed by a bullet hitting his chest. A helicopter was called to evacuate the severely wounded soldier, but he was pronounced dead in the field, the IDF said. IDF pounds Gaza (Photo: AFP) This incident marks the first time an IDF soldier is killed on the Gaza frontier in active duty since the 2014 Operation Protective Edge and since the "March of Return" campaign had been launched. The soldier's death sparked a retaliatory strike by the IDF that killed at least four Hamas fighters. During the flare-up, which lasted several hours, IDF tanks had hit 68 Hamas targets and had "eliminated about 60 buildings and infrastructures and revoked significant military and command and control capabilities." The Hamas Zaytun battalion headquarters in northern Gaza, as well as Hamas headquarters in Bureij in central Gaza and in Khan Yunis in the southern part of the strip, were completely destroyed. The IDF's spokesperson's Unit called Friday's offensive "The Headquarters Night" and stressed that it had severely damaged Hamas's arms depots, training facilities, observation posts, battalion situation rooms, battalion commander's offices and other infrastructures. An Iranian news agency is reporting 10 border guards have been killed in an attack by unidentified gunmen near the Iraqi border. The semi-official Fars news agency reported Saturday that the attack took place the night before near the town of Marivan, in a Kurdish area of Iran some 620 kilometers (385 miles) west of the capital Tehran. Fars reported that during the shootout with the Iranian border guards, several of the attackers were killed and others were injured but gave no further details. It described the attackers as "bandits and counterrevolutionary terrorists." It was the largest number of Iranian troops killed in a single attack on the Iraqi border in recent years, though the area has seen occasional fighting between Iranian forces and Kurdish separatists as well as militants linked to the Islamic State extremist group. Gottfried Waldhausl, a member of the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPO), has proposed this week to limit the sale of kosher meat in the country only to Jews whose names appear on a special list. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Oskar Deutsch, the head of Austrias Jewish community, explained that under the initiative, the sale of kosher meat will be restricted only those registered as Jews who observe Kashrut on a regular basis. Furthermore, export of kosher-slaughtered meat will be completely barred. Vienna's kosher restaurants and businesses receive most of their kosher meat from the Lower Austria region, where the proposal was initiated. If the proposal is passed into law, it would restrict ritual slaughter for both Jews and Muslims, as both religions require animals to be slaughtered without prior anesthetization. The Department of Environmental Protection in the Lower Austrian government, which is responsible for animal welfare, approved the proposal on Tuesday, stressing however that it is merely a draft. Waldhausl, who heads the department, said that, "to prevent cruelty to animals, I support the kosher slaughter restrictions in any legal way possible." The initiative sparked uproar mainly since it proposes to have lists of Jews who keep kosher. "Waldhausl is seriously suggesting that Jews and Muslims who want to purchase kosher meat will have to register," Austria's former chancellor Christian Kern wrote on his Facebook page. "The proposed registration reminds one of the darkest chapter in our history. Animals slaughter without prior anesthetization as required by the Halacha is forbidden in several countries throughout Europe, including Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland. Austria has strict supervision over animal slaughter, and animal slaughter without prior anesthetization requires the presence of a veterinarian. Similar initiatives appear to be a prevalent trend across Europe. Nevertheless, the fact it was formulated by the FPOa prominent partner in Austria's coalition since December 2017causes its critics unease, to say the least. The far-right party, which gained a quarter of the votes in the last elections, was established in the 1950's by a former S.S officer and became one of Austria's largest parties in the 1990's. "We are not sheep that just accept everything," the head of Austrias Jewish community vented. "I've spoken to Lower Austria's prime minister, who promised me the proposal will not pass. However, Waldhausl's remarks are an indication of the nature of the Freedom Party's members and (is the proof) we have to be our guard." Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, who is scheduled to arrive in Israel on September 3 for a two-day visit, will be the first ever Filipino president visiting the Jewish state. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Much like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who visit Israel this week, Duterte also is not schedule to visit the Palestinian Authority. The Philippines is considered relatively friendly country toward Israel, including in UN votes. Duterte was supposed to visit Israel in May 2017, but the visit was canceled due to internal matters in the Philippines. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte (Photo: AP) Among the issues on the agenda for Duterte's visit: signing long-term care agreements between the two countries, combating drug trafficking, examining the possibility of direct flight routes between Israel and the Philippines, agricultural cooperation and security deals. Duterte will be accompanied by a delegation of Filipino businessmen. The controversial president has a rich record of both domestic and international scandals. In 2016, Duterte sparked international uproar when he said he would be happy to slaughter three million drug addicts as Adolf Hitler slaughtered six million Jews in the Holocaust. In that speech, the brash president said without elaborating that he has been "portrayed or pictured to be a cousin of Hitler" by his critics. Moments later, he said, "Hitler massacred 3 million Jews ... there's 3 million drug addicts. There are. I'd be happy to slaughter them." His remarks drew shock and outrage across the world, leading the Filipino president to apologize and even pay a special visit to the Beit Yaakov Synagogue in Manila during the Jewish New Year. I would like to apologize and it comes from the heart, Duterte told members of the Jewish Association of the Philippines. Deriding critics who had compared him to Hitler, Duterte acknowledged he erred in referencing what happened to Jewish people under the Nazi leader. "I mentioned the word Jewish and that was what was terribly wrong and for that I apologize," Duterte said, drawing an applause. "But I'm not one of the racist members of this republic." Duterte at the Beit Yaakov Synagogue (Photo: AFP) He said he had never intended to derogate the memory of the 6 million Jews murdered under Hitler before and during World War II. Duterte and Israel's ambassador to the Philippines Efi Ben Matityahu, who also arrived at the synagogue, had an interesting conversation, on which the ambassador then reported to the Foreign Affairs Ministry. "Duterte praised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his steadfastness in safeguarding Israel's national interest from any element," Ben Matityahu wrote. "He stressed his friendship to Israel and to the Jewish people, which he said he expresses to the many Israeli officials he meets with." The grandfather of Duterte's ex-wife, Elizabeth Zimmerman, was a Jewish refugee who received a visa to the Philippines during World War II. One of their grandsons is called Yair, a Jewish name. Duterte has been dubbed the "cursing president" and has cursed former US President Barack Obama, Pope Francis and the UN, while giving the finger. Last month, he brought a woman on stage during a speech in South Korea and kissed her in front of the audience and media cameras. He has also made violent comments against women. In February, when he met with Filipino soldiers, he told them they should shoot female rebels in their genitals. Egypt condemned Israel's new nationality law on Saturday, saying it "hurts the chances of reaching peace as well as a fair and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue." Cairo also said that the new law "strengthens the idea of the occupation and of racial separation," as well as "hurts the right of return of the Palestinian refugees." No two words in the English language create the feeling of relaxation as perfectly as summertime weekend. But the two days of physical and spiritual rest we enjoy each week are not the inevitable products of the cosmic order: They have been made possible by the unique marriage of the free market and faith. In the state of nature, rest follows work or precedes death. Abraham Maslow codified in a precise way the fact that, only after we have met our physical needs can we relax and rejuvenate. Thankfully, providing these necessities is easier now than it has been at any time in the last two millennia, as the table below demonstrates: The pronounced uptick in global wealth coincides with the growth of the free market of entrepreneurship, technological progress, and freer trade within and among nations. (Fr. Robert Sirico discussed this chart during his plenary address to Acton University 2018, which you can see here.) However, this chart only shows the picture in aggregate. A closer look shows that not all of the planet has shared equally in these benefits: Socialist nations such as North Korea and Cuba have been caught in a virtual time-warp since data collection began. Of course, despite socialisms pretences, North Koreas wealth is far from evenly distributed. But if it were, the average North Korean today would have the same GDP-per-person as the average American had in the 1770s and the average Briton enjoyed a century earlier. Remember that the next time socialists accuse us of wanting to turn back the clock. To take another example, modern China has experienced tremendous economic growth since Deng Xiaoping instituted market reforms in the late 1970s. But South Korea had already reached the same average GDP-per-person that China enjoys today around the time Seoul hosted the 1988 Olympic games. Hong Kong had the same prosperity shortly after Bruce Lee died. The UK reached that level the year that four lads from Liverpool formed the Beatles. And the U.S. had accrued the same wealth shortly before Pearl Harbor. Some are tempted to believe this wealth has come about because Americans and British are working longer hours every year. One politician recently asserted, erroneously, that unemployment is low because everyone has two jobs. The truth is that Americans less likely to work two jobs than any time in decades bivocational priests and pastors aside. Others claim that capitalism stimulates an insatiable consumerism, fueling the never-ending treadmill of work-and-consumption necessary to keep up with the Joneses. In fact, citizens of developed capitalist countries work about 20 hours a week less than they did in 1870, despite a real growth in income, as this chart shows: The nine- to ten-fold increase in real incomes seen in industrialised countries between 1880 and 2000 coincided with a near halving of working hours, wrote Christopher Snowdon of the Institute of Economic Affairs. On the other hand, socialism grinds down the alleged crown and summit of its society, the worker, with unending labor. Collectivist states consume their citizens leisure by forcing them to toil at inefficient and outmoded systems and conscripting them into various forms of state servitude. During his stay in North Korea, French cartoonist Guy Delisle observed, With a six-day work week, one day of volunteer work, and preparation for big events, the average citizen has almost no spare time. Body and soul serve the regime. The workers paradise has honored the worker by confining him exclusively to that role. Capitalism, Marian Tupy observed for the invaluable website Human Progress, has delivered what Marx had long desired less work and higher income. By incentivizing productivity, innovation, and cooperation for mutual advantage, the free market creates abundance, including technological advances that help workers create more goods in less time. With fewer working hours necessary for survival, the flourishing citizen has more money for luxury and more time for leisure. The capitalist achievement, wrote Joseph Schumpeter, does not typically consist in providing more silk stockings for queens but in bringing them within reach of factory girls in return for steadily decreasing amounts of effort. But free-market economics had an unsung and unappreciated assistant in this effort. Christianity: The silent partner of progress Prosperitys silent partner has been the Christian religion. Christianity teaches that work is holy and that uncovering scientific discoveries helps unlock the mystical order God wrote into all of creation. As James Hannam, author of The Genesis of Science: How the Christian Middle Ages Launched the Scientific Revolution, has written: Until the French Revolution, the Catholic Church was the leading sponsor of scientific research. Starting in the Middle Ages, it paid for priests, monks and friars to study at the universities. The church even insisted that science and mathematics should be a compulsory part of the syllabus. The cathedrals themselves were designed to double up as astronomical observatories to allow ever more accurate determination of the calendar. [T]he era which was most dominated by Christian faith, the Middle Ages, was a time of innovation and progress. Inventions like the mechanical clock, glasses, printing and accountancy all burst onto the scene in the late medieval period. Even the so-called dark ages from 500AD to 1000AD were actually a time of advance after the trough that followed the fall of Rome. Agricultural productivity soared with the use of heavy ploughs, horse collars, crop rotation and watermills, leading to a rapid increase in population. (Emphasis added.) This weekend, perhaps you might take a few moments to enter one of those church buildings cum astronomical observation towers and give thanks for the religion that made this time of rest possible and to the Author of creation Whose mercies have brought all things from non-existence into being. (Photo credit: Dushan Hanuska. This photo has been cropped. CC BY-SA 2.0.) Saleh Awaysi, 28, from Nazareth drowned Saturday morning while trying to rescue a stranger from drowning. His body was discovered near the Students Beach in the northern city of Haifa. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter This is the third drowning case this week in which a man drowned while trying to save another. Last Saturday, a man drowned in the undeclared shore in the northern Achziv Beach, and another man almost drowned this Saturday on the same Haifa beach. He was pulled out of the water in moderate-to-serious condition. Awaysi drowned early Saturday in Haifa's Dado Beach. According to information received by the police, he entered the water when he heard a stranger calling for help. The stranger was rescued and evacuated to a nearby hospital, but Awaysi could not be found. Saleh Awaysi Police were called to the scene and found Awaysi's personal belongings on the beach. Family members who arrived at the scene identified his belongings. The search was carried out by large police forces, including Israel's Marine Police force operating in deep sea, as well as ground forces operating on the coast. At dawn, a helicopter, a marine motorbike, and police volunteer divers joined the search. All the while, the family received constant updates from policemen on the beach. At about 11:30am on Saturday morning, the police found the body of a man floating near the Students Beach. The MDA teams arriving at the scene pronounced him dead, and the deceased's brother identified the body. Dado Beach (Photo: Police spokesperson) Lior Sudri, a meteorologist from Meteo-Tech, said that in recent days the sea, especially in the north, has been high and turbulent. On Friday the waves reached 2.5 meters in height. "By Wednesday, there will still be a great danger of bathing in the sea, and people have to be careful," Sudri said. This is Haifa's second case of drowning this week. Dudi Caspi, 49, drowned while trying to rescue a young man from drowning. The young man was pulled out of the water and evacuated to a hospital in moderate condition. Caspi was rushed to Rambam Hospital, and died the following day. The late Dudi Caspi The deceased's brother, Eric Argento, said that Caspi was strolling on the beach with his girlfriend when he heard someone calling for help. "He wasnt even in the water, but he took off his jeans, handed them to his girlfriend, jumped in the water to save the stranger, and drowned. They managed to save the other guy, and my brother got to the shore unconscious, after drowning and probably suffering from cardiac arrest. He, who wanted so much to help others, did not survive," Argento said. CAIRO - Egypt on Saturday said Israel's new Nationality Law, which gives Jews the exclusive right to self-determination in the country, undermined the chances for peace in the Middle East and the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The law, which was passed on Thursday , has drawn rebuke from the European Union and was denounced by the Palestinian Authority and Arab citizens of Israel as racist legislation. "The Arab Republic of Egypt announces...its rejection of the law passed by the Israeli Knesset on the 'national state for the Jewish people' law ... for its ramifications that consecrate the concept of occupation and racial segregation," the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (Photo: AFP) "It undermines the chances for achieving peace and reaching a just and comprehensive solution for the Palestinian issue," it said. It said the law would also have a potential impact on the right of Palestinians displaced from their homes in 1948 when Israel was founded, and their descendants, to return to their homes under United Nations resolutions. Egypt in 1979 became the first Arab country to forge a peace treaty with Israel under the US-sponsored Camp David accord that provided for the Jewish state to withdraw from the Sinai Peninsula. But relations between two countries remained lukewarm, with Egypt demanding that Israel quit other lands it captured in the 1967 Six-Day War, including the Golan Heights, the West Bank and Gaza Strip and Arab east Jerusalem. On Friday, Egypt's al-Azhar Mosque, the most prestigious Sunni Muslim institution, denounced the Israeli law calling it "a step that reflects repugnant racism." Many of the alleyways flanking Jaffas Flea Market are lined with eateries, but one short street is home to only one Selas: Or Ginsberg Hosts. The former home of the late, lamented Lima Nippo restaurant is now the base of operations of young chef Or Ginsberg, a sailing skipper and divemaster whose culinary gifts were revealed to the country on the television show Game of Chefs. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Most of the time, Selas operates as a venue for private events catered by Ginsberg. Two evenings a week, however, it is open to the public, in a format that Ginsberg calls a concept restaurant. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays each week, Selas offers fixed-menu meals built around rotating themes. Wednesdays are always reserved for sushi and sashimi (along with Asian cuisine), reflecting Ginsbergs love of the sea, as well as his personal relationships with local fishermen, who supply him their fresh catches. Selas' Or Ginsberg (Photo: Dalia Ratiner) By contrast, on Tuesdays, the themes of the dinners constantly change: this month, for example, will see three different foci: Greek, charcuterie, and Mexican. The night we visited was devoted to Greek and Balkan cuisine, which Ginsberg says is close to heart, as the food he grew up with at home; in fact, the name he bestowed on his restaurant, Selas, is Greek, meaning a ray of light. The Wednesday menus are bilingual, but the Tuesday menus are in Hebrew only. Fortunately, the friendly and attentive waitresses speaks excellent English, and are happy to translate. Along with the menus outlining the upcoming seven-course meal, we were brought the house mineral water, Zaros, from Crete, available as sparkling and still. We were also offered a choice of wine or the evenings specialty cocktail: ouzo with lemongrass and ginger syrup, uniquely topped with a mound of cucumber whipped cream dotted with chili pepper powder, and garnished with purple basil leaves. Interestingly, the drink was served with a small spoon for eating the chiffony cream, which otherwise would have been overwhelmed by the cocktails pungent licorice flavor. The refreshing drink was an intriguing first glimpse into the creativity of our chef for the evening. Cocktail (Photo: Buzzy Gordon) As is de rigueur for any Greek meal, it began with a spread of mezze, featuring the ubiquitous dishes fava and tzatziki. The ultra-creamy fava puree with shavings of grilled purple onion and a thin slice of chili was superb, certainly as good as you would find in any self-respecting Greek restaurant; it was accompanied by a plate of assorted olives seasoned in-house with a terrific melange of honey, chili and rose hips. The mezze which also included a lovely tzatziki flavored with ouzo and lime and containing beets, cucumber and coarsely chopped baby zucchiniwere served with rustic Greek bread and crostini. It was about this time that live ethnic music, an electric bouzouki and acoustic guitar, began to accompany our meal. Mezze (Photo: Buzzy Gordon) Another mezze dish served separately consisted of a salad of yellow and red cherry tomatoes, arugula and chili, with crumbled bryndza cheese, and unique balsamic vinegar caviar pellets made by Chef Ginzberg employing molecular cuisine techniques. This dish represented a nice interplay of flavors and textures, building up to significant heat. Tomato salad (Photo: Buzzy Gordon) An intermediate course following the mezze was melitzana: peeled, roasted eggplant with lime, labaneh, arugula, black garlic and burnt eggplant cream. The simple eggplant, enhanced greatly by the other ingredients, melted in the mouth. Next cama pipino: delicate ravioli fashioned from razor-thin cucumber and filled with homemade labaneh cream, herbs and green oil-grapeseed oil infused with herbs and pistachio. Finished off with lime zest and a ponzu-shiso sauce, this was a fascinating fusion of Greek and Japanese influences. Pipino Ravioli (Photo: Buzzy Gordon) Our crudo (raw) course was tuna gently cured in Maldon (umami) salt and green oil -- this time infused with oregano and thyme. Served with a dollop of mild tomato salsa, the extremely fresh fish once again delighted us with its Japanese overtones. Tuna gently cured in Maldon (Photo: Buzzy Gordon) The cooked fish course was red drum fish wrapped in vine leaf and drenched in a cherry tomato sauce flavored with ouzo, tassos olives and capers. The fish was perfectly fine, and the vine leaves al dente -- but the outstanding sauce stole the show, and we mopped up every last drop with the last bits of soft bread. Vine leaf stuffed with fish (Photo: Eitan Waxman) The sole meat course was gyros: lamb shoulder cooked sous vide and coarsely cut shawarma-style, then served with caramelized onion on grilled flatbread. The slightly fatty meat was juicy and rich, with the caramelized onion adding a touch of sweetness. Gyros (Photo: Buzzy Gordon) Dessert was mastika-saffron malabi with pistachio and caramelized figs. It was a light and sweet finale that deftly combined an exotically flavored pudding with fresh seasonal fruit. It was gone in just a few bites, but the sweet taste lingered. Malabi (Photo: Buzzy Gordon) If there was one complaint we had about an otherwise flawless evening, it was the lateness of the service. The doors only opened at 20.30; and given the ever-slowing pace of service, we did not get our heavy meat course until 22.30, while dessert came at 23.00 -- too much food, as good as it is, to sit on the stomach so close to bedtime. While people who prefer to eat that late should continue to have that option, It is to be hoped that Ginzberg will decide to start earlier in the evening, so that more people can enjoy his artful cuisine. Selas Not kosher Rabbi Tanhum St. 6, Jaffa Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the death of First Sergeant Aviv Levi, the IDF dolfier who was killed yesterday by sniper fire on the Gaza Strip border. "I sent heartfelt condolences on behalf of the citizens of Israel to the parents and brothers of Aviv Levi." Netanyahu said. "Aviv fought with with determination and bravery against terrorism from the Gaza Strip, and unfortunately, this struggle sometimes exacts an unbearable price on us," concluded the prime minister. The UN Security Council will discuss the latest escalation in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, called on the council members to condemn Hamas: "In recent weeks Hamas deliberately created confrontations with Israel. Hamas is solely responsible for the escalation in the Gaza Strip, the Security Council and the international community must unequivocally condemn Hamas," Danon said. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres referred to recent events in the Gaza Strip, and said he "regrets the loss of life." Guterres called on Hamas and other Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip to stop firing rockets and incendiary kites and carrying out further provocations along the Gaza Strip border. In addition, he called on Israel to maintain restraint in order to avoid escalation. Apple Inc. has expressed its support of the LGBT community's protest against the surrogacy law, saying that "some of Israel's greatest gifts is creativity, diversity and talent for all. Unfortunately, the recent legislation in the Knesset undermines these values. Apple will always uphold values of equality and mutual respect. We stand by all employees who seek equality before the law," the tech company stated. The quick end to the round of hostilities on Friday was due to the tragic fact that Hamas's snipers were able to shoot an IDF soldier and kill him . Hamas is doing macabre math, according to which it doesn't matter how many of its fighters were killed by Israel, so long as it avenges them and responds to their death with fire. Based on this bloody bit of accounting, the death of an Israeli soldier or civilian evens the score. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter That is why Hamas's military wing tried two weeks ago to hurt an IDF officer with a hand grenade thrown at him. The officer was wounded, but to them it was not enough. After IDF aircraft and tanks killed some of their fighters last week, Hamas terrorists fired at an IDF soldier and killed him this week. To them, that is enough, and that is why they could do without rocket and mortar fire this time. Hamas settled for three rockets that caused no damage, and then rushed to ask for a ceasefire from the Egyptians and the UN envoy to the Middle East, Nickolay Mladenov. IDF attacks in Gaza (Photo: AFP) It's important to note, though, that the sniper fire that killed the Israeli soldier was likely carried out by a group within Hamas's military wing that did not coordinate it with the more moderate elements in the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades or with the political leadership. That is why Ismail Haniyeh was right by the border fence not long before the incident, and that is also why some of the Hamas positions along the border fence were manned at the time. This indicates not all members of the terror organization and its inner factions were aware of the intention to target Israeli soldiers with live fire. But not all factions, including Hamas's political leadership, considered the death of an IDF soldier to be an achievement that would allow them to ask for a quick ceasefire without humiliation. Still, Hamas had at least two other considerable reasons to ask for a ceasefire. One, the IDF attacks on Friday were the biggest since Operation Protective Edge, and destroyed three battalion command headquarters, which joined another one destroyed in an Israeli bombing two weeks ago. The damage to the military infrastructureincluding the weapons Hamas had planned to use to surprise Israel in the next big round of fightingalongside the loss of lives Hamas suffered, must have been too hard to bear. The terror group must have also been worried that if Israel continued with these strikes, it could stand to lose a considerable part of its military infrastructure. The second reason that led Hamas to seek a quick ceasefire is the real fear of both Hamas's political and military wings of an IDF incursion into Gaza as part of a large-scale military campaign. Hamas believes that Israel is serious in its intentions to overthrow its regime if the IDF enters the strip for another big operation. This is something Hamas wants to prevent at all costs, and this is the strategic reason to its rush to reach a ceasefire. Hamas prefers to leave the negotiating table with at least one card up its sleeve, rather than lose all of its cards in a single round of fighting. Destruction to Hamas battalion headquarters in Israeli strike (Photo: IDF Spokesman's Office) Furthermore, the sniper fire and the ongoing arson terrorism greatly angered both the Egyptians and Mladenov, and they were the ones to contact Hamas, accusing the terror group of deceiving them. Hamas realized it had gone too far, and agreed to the terms of the ceasefire. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman accepted the recommendation of the IDF to stop the strikes for two main reasons. One, because the IDF's bombings on Friday were able to cause great damage to Hamas's military infrastructure. Furthermore, despite the fatalities it suffered in these strikes, Hamas hardly retaliated with fire and was quick to ask for a ceasefire. Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Lieberman and IDF Chief Eisenkot hold situation assessment at the Kirya IDF headquarters (Photo: Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry) This means that the "equation of terror" Hamas has been trying to implement on the ground no longer exists. Israel attacked relentlessly, and there was only one Code Red siren on the Gaza border. Therefore, Hamas has stopped acting based on the principle of fire being met with fire. The restraint recently shown by Israel and the IDF was perceived on the other side as weakness and caused partial erosion of the IDF's deterrence. Friday's strikes appeared to have at least partially restored the lost deterrence. Another reason that led Israel to agree to a ceasefire as soon as Hamas proposed it was the terror group's commitment to Egypt to stop the arson terrorism and the terrorism on the border fence. According to a senior diplomatic official, Egypt will guarantee that Hamas keeps its word. And so far, it appears Hamas is indeed trying to stop the incendiary kites and balloons from Gaza. Hamas committed to stop the arson terrorism (Photo: Zohar Shafek) No rockets were fired Saturday, and there are signs we're heading towards a temporary truce. However, on the long term, the story is not yet over. The basic situation in the Gaza Strip, and the relationship between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, remains the same. The Egyptians and Mladenov may be able to mediate ceasefires, but they are unable to uproot the reasons behind the escalations that erupt from time to time. This is why the residents of southern Israel will continue living under threat, and the residents of Gaza will continue drinking dirty water and getting four hours of electricity a day. And we all know what comes next. News Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of State, in partnership with the United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA), is pleased to announce the selection of the annual U.S. Youth Observer to the United Nations. Mr. Michael Scott Peters of Utah was chosen from a competitive pool of applicants that included top-ranked university students and young professionals from across the United States. Mr. Peters graduated Summa Cum Laude from Utah State University, where he earned a double major in International Business and Marketing while serving as student body president. He also served as the president of the Utah Student Association during the 2017 2018 academic year, where he helped spearhead a statewide voter participation campaign engaging 180,000 students. Mr. Peters is a committed advocate for human rights, and is particularly passionate about raising global awareness on human trafficking through his work as a volunteer for Operation Underground Railroad. The U.S. Youth Observer to the United Nations program was launched in 2012 to increase youth engagement in global affairs. As the Youth Observer, Mr. Peters will represent American youth at the 73rd UN General Assembly in New York and other UN events throughout the coming year, traveling within the United States and overseas to share his impressions and experiences. Mr. Peters follows Ms. Munira Khalif, who served as a voice for American youth at major global events in New York, Geneva, and Hyderabad as the U.S. Youth Observer for 2017 2018. News Washington, DC - On July 26, Vice President Mike Pence will deliver remarks at the first-ever Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC. The Vice President will address government and international organization representatives about the importance of international religious freedom and its role in American foreign policy. The Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom will take place at the U.S. Department of State, July 24-26, and will convene religious leaders, rights advocates, and members of civil society organizations, government officials, and representatives of international organizations from around the world to discuss the challenges facing religious freedom, identify concrete means to address persecution of and discrimination against religious groups, and promote greater respect for religious freedom for all. Latest News Wellton, Arizona - Feeling overwhelmed by ever-evolving technology? Beginning Saturday, August 4th, the Wellton Library will host Tech Talk every Saturday in August at 10:30 a.m. Learn more about popular technology with hands-on experience, or simply listen and watch. There is no charge to attend. Saturday, August 4th @ 10:30 a.m. Getting Acquainted with Personal Computers Saturday, August 11th @ 10:30 a.m. 3D Printers What They Are and Why You Care Saturday, August 18th @ 10:30 a.m. Podcasts the 21st Century Version of Gathering Around the Radio Saturday, August 25th @ 10:30 a.m. Whats Coding? Basic Information The Wellton Library is located at 28790 San Jose Avenue. For more information, call (928) 785-9575. Living Section Wellton, Arizona - Share your love of books and reading! The Wellton Library Book Club will meet Friday, August 3rd, to discuss Love and Other Consolation Prizes by Jamie Ford at 10:00 a.m. All are welcome to attend. The club meets the first Friday of every month through October. Books are available for checkout at the service desk at the Wellton Library, located at 28790 San Jose Avenue in Wellton, AZ. For more information, call (928) 785-9575. Living Section Wellton, Arizona - Beginning Friday, August 3rd, the Wellton Library will host a Bilingual Beginning Drawing Workshop every Friday in August at 1:00 p.m. Adults can learn basic drawing techniques through creative activities. Supplies will be provided. No prior training needed! Instruction will be provided in English and Spanish. There is no charge to attend. The Wellton Library is located at 28790 San Jose Avenue in Wellton, AZ. For more information, call (928) 785-9575. YEN.com.gh has sighted a video containing alleged rubber yam. In the video, a couple claims they bought the yam from the market to prepare for their children only to realize that it was a rubber yam. Interestingly, the said rubber yam looks just like real yam, and it has been sliced and made ready for the fire. Tubers of original yam. Photo source: Bellermart.com READ ALSO: Fante men are the best in bedmatics - Afia Schwarzenegger Both the man and his wife squeezed the yam and water drops from it as they did so. According to the woman, it was when she was washing the sliced yam that she realized that it was fake. Therefore, she decided to blow the alarm to alert others to be on the lookout when they go shopping for food items. The accent of the couple indicates that they are Nigerians. READ ALSO: Shatta Wale addresses Michy as my wife in latest video READ ALSO: Exclusive photos from Sarkodie and Tracy's traditional marriage ceremony YEN.com.gh cannot say if the plastic yam has found its way onto the Ghanaian market because so far no such alarm has been raised by anyone. Sometime ago, an alarm was also raised on an plastic rice allegedly hitting the Ghanaian market. However, both the Food and Drug Authority (FDA) and Ghana Standard Authority (GSA) rubbished the reports claiming that no plastic rice had been allowed into the country. The two institutions allayed the fears of Ghanaian, assuring that they were wide alert to things that are imported into the country, especially, with regards to food items. READ ALSO: Sarkodie blamed for the leakage of his poor quality wedding photos Yenkasa: How Bad is the Healthcare in Ghana? | Yen.com.gh READ ALSO: What was Sarkodie hiding from Ghanaians about his wedding? Have national and human interest issues to discuss? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page Source: Yen.com.gh - The interior minister has called for immediate investigation to the assault on a nursing mother - A viral video on social media saw a police officer assault a nursing mother at Midland Savings and Loans in the Ashanti Region - Management of the company has condemned the act by the police officer The interior minister, Ambrose Dery has described the assault of a nursing mother by a police officer at Kumasi as "wicked and barbaric". Reacting to this development, the minister revealed the IGP has been ordered to ensure the policeman is arrested. So far, YEN.com.gh can report that the police officer has been arrested at Kumasi and on his way to Accra to be processed for court. READ ALSO: Akufo-Addo government calling GFA corrupt is a very laughable irony - Aduana Stars CEO It all happened when the nursing mother got into the hall of the micro finance company to cash out her funds of 250 cedis. She was asked to return and that the bank had closed but she refused. There was an attempt to get her out which caused the attack. The bank attracts more customers. Assault on nursing mother by police officer wicked and barbaric - Interior minister (Photo: Sourced) There is the suspicion of the bank having issues hence panic withdrawals. She was there earlier and seems she was having issues getting her money of 250 cedis. Meanwhile, management of Midland Savings and Loans has condemned the act stating it has issued a statement to the IGP reporting the matter and also calling for a thorough investigation. READ ALSO: What was Sarkodie hiding from Ghanaians about his wedding? "The management of Midland Savings and Loans condemns in no uncertain terms the act of brutality meted out to our customer. We wish to apologize for the uncivilized act. We have reported the issue to the police," he revealed. Ghana News: Problems with WAEC, BBC Denies Partnering with Anas: Your stories and photos are always welcome. Send us a message via YENs official Facebook page. Source: Yen.com.gh Some social media users have expressed mixed feelings about some comments made by veteran Ghanaian broadcaster, Gifty Oheneyere Anti. The famous journalist is reported to have said she will be a submissive wife, and will gladly kneel before her husband any day and anywhere if possible. According to Gifty Anti, her act of respecting her husband does not change anything about her feminism. READ ALSO: Woman beaten by police officer in viral video narrates her story It could be recalled that a photo of the famous broadcaster, who got married at age 47, together with her husband, Nana Anash Kwao went viral on various social media platforms. The photo, which captured Gifty purported to be kneeling before her husband angered some young Ghanaian feminists, who claim to be looking up to the top journalist. Some of the young feminists who registered their displeasure at the broadcaster, argued that she was far empowered to kneel before a man. However, breaking her long silence recently, Gifty Anti told her detractors that being feminists does not warrant any women to antagonize men. READ ALSO: This video shows police officer openly assaulting woman carrying a baby The broadcaster further stated that feminism does not encourage women to disrespect their husbands. Meanwhile, some Ghanaians on social media have expressed their diverse opinions about Gifty Antis recent media comments. See some social media comments below: READ ALSO: I have secrets that can send Anas to jail Owusu Bempah Yenkasa: How Bad is the Healthcare in Ghana? | Yen.com.gh 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 or Instagram Source: Yen.com.gh The Ghana Police Officer who assaulted a nursing mother at Midland Savings and Loans on Friday could be entirely dismissed from the police service. The police officer who has been identified as Lance Corporal Frederick Godzi Amanor is stationed at the Accra Regional Police Operations Unit. Apart from being a woman beater, there are other facts Ghanaians do not know about Lance Corporal Amanor. READ ALSO: Social media users open more 'fire' on Gifty Anti over 'I will kneel before my husband' comment From further search conducted by Yen.com.gh, the police officers full name is Frederick Godzi Amanor. The embattled officer is an active member of an Accra-based Church, Revival International Ministries, who plays drums and other instruments at church every Sunday, and other major activities of the church. The police officer, who has made infamous media headlines for his skillful way of beating women studied Business at the Yilo Krobo Senior High School, and later got recruited into the police service. Lance Corporal Godzi Amanor according to his Facebook profile hails from Akosombo in the Eastern Region of Ghana. READ ALSO: Hajia4Real 'confuses' social media fans with more eye-popping photos The police officer, per our investigations is not yet married, and he is widely known among his colleagues as Skalla. A terrifying video of the police officer in uniform has gone viral on various social media platforms, after he was seen brutally assaulting a woman who was holding a two-months-old baby at a banking hall. The victim, who has been identified as Patience Osafo, has revealed that aside being beaten mercilessly by the wicked officer, he also hit her head with his gun, a scene that was not captured on video. Following public outrage and intense social media campaign, the Inspector General of police has ordered the interdiction of the police officer for further investigations. Meanwhile, some human rights groups and advocates have vowed to pursue the matter in court until the victim is given justices. READ ALSO: Damongo SHS headmaster 'Angry' over WASSCE results; burns 300 mobile phones Yenkasa: How Bad is the Healthcare in Ghana? | Yen.com.gh 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 or Instagram Source: Yen Short term loans can be a good solution to help overcome temporary cash flow or expenditure issues. Here is a list of four popular, leading fintech players to consider for hassle-free borrowing. New Delhi: How many times have you found yourself short of cash near the end of the month? When, the salary day seems far away. You have to scrounge hard to complete the month with your bank account teetering on a triple-digit balance. At this critical juncture of the month, what if you had a sudden need for a bit of money? What if you could borrow just a little amount that you can repay in a few days? Short term loans can be a good solution to help overcome temporary cash flow or expenditure issues. These instant loans can make your life much easier without having to run around banks as they are disbursed online with minimum documentation. Short term loans are essentially personal loans made available 'instantly' and for a short tenure. They are mostly approved and disbursed either in a matter of a few hours or within a day or two. Here is a list of four popular, leading fintech players to consider for hassle-free borrowing: EarlySalary The Pune based company essentially offers a mobile app that allows salaried individuals to avail instant loans for an average tenure of 30 days or till the next salary cycle. Users can avail these loans in the form of salary advances or credit card cash withdrawals. The mobile app is available on both the Google Play Store and App Store. Besides, users can also use the loan limit to shop online on credit. Faircent Faircent.com provides a virtual marketplace where borrowers and lenders can interact directly, without having to go through the traditional financial intermediaries like banks. Interested individuals can register themselves on the platform, following which Faircent undertakes a verification process that includes authenticating KYC norms stipulated by regulators besides assessing the creditworthiness of the user. The company uses a proprietary automated feature that matches a lender's investment criteria with the borrower's requirements and automatically sends proposals to the borrower on behalf of the lender, based on pre-selected lending criteria such as loan tenure, amount, and risk profile. Rubique Rubique's online platform is built on an AI-based recommendation engine, which has been integrated with financial institutions' systems for real-time processing and provides instant online loan approvals to the customers. The company has partnered with leading financial institutions such as Qbera to offer short term loans to young salaried professionals. CASHe CASHe is India's fastest loan giving app for young salaried professionals. CASHedisburses multiple loan products ranging from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 1,00,000 payable over 15, 30, 60, 90 and 120 days. Powered by a proprietary algorithm that creates a sophisticated credit profile of consumers totally different from conventional banks and credit agencies, CASHe enables young professionals to get hassle free loans within minutes. Ali Zafars first Pakistani film and debut production Teefa In Trouble hasnt had the smoothest of openings in his home country. Ali Zafars first Pakistani film and debut production Teefa In Trouble hasnt had the smoothest of openings in his home country. Sources from across the border reveal that there were protests against its release. Though Ali ignored these protests, theres no denying the fact that the harassment allegations have affected his grandiloquent plans of producing the most expensive Pakistani film. Teefa In Trouble is a family film for Ali. His wife and brother are involved in the production and writing, and he hoped to rectify his image through it. But his troubles havent gone away, says a Pakistani colleague of the actor. The film is being criticized for its weak script and vapid humour. It seems to be a platform for Ali Zafar to showcase his comic virtuosity rather than a genuine attempt to take Pakistani cinema forward. Sparing no expense, Ali has shot his film in Poland, but Teefa In Trouble doesnt signal the end of Ali Zafars troubles, even though a large section of the Pakistani film industry believes him to be innocent and wrongfully accused of sexual harassment. Chandigarh-- joint capital of Haryana and Punjab-- remains one of the most contentious and long-standing issues between two states. In his letter to the Home Minister, Singh said the pending territorial dispute should be solved by restoring Chandigarh to Punjab, being its legitimate and original capital. (Photo: File) Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh wrote to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh reiterating his demand for making Chandigarh the capital of the state. The Union Territory of Chandigarh-- the joint capital of Haryana and Punjab-- remains one of the most contentious and long-standing issues between the two neighbouring states. In his letter to the Home Minister, Singh said the pending territorial dispute should be solved by restoring Chandigarh to Punjab, being its legitimate and original capital. Chandigarh undoubtedly was an integral part of Punjab, the chief minister said, adding that being Punjab's capital, no other state can stake claim over it. Nevertheless, subsequent to the Punjab Reorganization Act, 1966, territorial dispute remains unresolved, Singh said as he sought Rajnath Singh's intervention to ensure the "fine balance" of sharing of resources between Haryana and Punjab is not disturbed. "During this period a fine balance in sharing officers/officials and other resources of Union Territory, Chandigarh between Haryana and Punjab has been achieved with an advantage of hard earned peace in Punjab," Singh said. "Unfortunately, during the past few years, it has been observed that there is a constant effort to disturb this fine balance... The Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, has been inducting more officers of UT cadre and other Union Territories into administration of Chandigarh without realising implications of such avoidable decisions," he added. A decision was taken to induct more deputy SPs of UT cadre in Chandigarh whereas such positions are filled by officers from Punjab and Haryana in a pre-determined ratio. These decisions were clearly avoidable as they can cause bigger unrest in the region, he added. "There has been a reduction in the departments allocated to officers of Punjab and Haryana as also an increase in the number of UT cadre officers in Chandigarh," he said further. The responsibilities of the officers of Haryana and Punjab should not be curtailed, Singh said, adding that the role of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Chandigarh, as the head of the district police as earlier must be restored. Recently, the powers of SSP, who is an IPS Officer of Punjab cadre were curtailed, making him SSP (Law and Order). The chief minister asked the Home Minister to consider the matter and issue appropriate instructions accordingly. Rahul said PM Modi using 'hate, fear and anger' in hearts of some people to build his narrative and Congress countering it with love. New Delhi: A day after creating a splash in the Lok Sabha by hugging Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that only way to build a nation was by harnessing love and compassion of people. He said Fridays debate in Parliament on the no-confidence motion was about the prime minister using "hate, fear and anger" in the hearts of some people to build his narrative, and the Congress countering that through love and compassion. The point of yesterday's debate in Parliament... PM uses Hate, Fear and Anger in the hearts of some of our people to build his narrative. We are going to prove that Love and Compassion in the hearts of all Indians, is the only way to build a nation (sic), he said on Twitter. The point of yesterdays debate in Parliament.. PM uses Hate, Fear and Anger in the hearts of some of our people to build his narrative. We are going to prove that Love and Compassion in the hearts of all Indians, is the only way to build a nation. Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 21, 2018 Gandhi gave a 45-minute fiery speech during the no-confidence motion debate in the Lok Sabha on Friday, accusing the prime minister of unleashing "jumla strike" on people in the form of demonetisation, joblessness, Rafale deal, poor state of economy, mob violence, lynching, and incidents of alleged atrocities on Dalits and women. After concluding his speech, Gandhi walked across the aisle to where the PM was sitting and hugged him, capping his blistering attack on Modi. Read: Watch: 'You may call me Pappu but I don't hate you,' Rahul hugs PM Modi The Prime Minister shook Gandhi's hands but ignored his call to stand so that he could hug the BJP leader. The Congress chief, however, embraced him as he remained seated. Modi initially looked nonplussed and did not stand up to hug him, but recovered quickly and called Gandhi back and patted him on the back. He also appeared to say a few words, which were inaudible. During his reply to the debate, the prime minister shot back at Gandhi giving a point-to-point rebuttal on the attack on him. Among items on which GST was reduced include footwear, small televisions, refrigerators, hair dryers, food appliances. 'GST Council cuts tax rate on an array of products. Rakhis have been exempted from GST, tax on ethanol has been cut to 5 per cent, small handicrafts have been exempted,' Goyal said. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: Following the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Council meeting in New Delhi on Saturday, Interim Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal announced reduced GST rates for a variety of commodities. Addressing a presser, Goyal said, "After careful considerations and discussion with the state finance ministers, we (the GST Council) have decided to implement these changes for the welfare of the middle classes and small businesses and traders. Besides revenue collection, the GST council will now focus on job creation as well." Apart from a 100 per cent waiver of GST on sanitary pads, the council has decided to nullify tax on raw materials such as stone, marble and wood, used by for making handicrafts like sculptures. Also, rakhis, sal leaves, the raw materials used to make regular brooms have also been fully exempted from being charged under GST. The GST charged for commodities such as lithium-ion batteries, vacuum cleaners, food grinders, mixers, storage water heaters, head dryers, hand dryers, paint, varnishes, water cooler, milk cooler, ice cream coolers, perfumes, toilet sprays and other toiletries has been slashed from 28 per cent to 18 per cent. The GST on handbags, jewellery box, wooden box for paintings, glass art ware, ornamental framed mirrors, handmade lamps, wax, natural gum, iron and brass products have been reduced from 18 per cent to 12 per cent. The GST on some commodities has been slashed from 18 per cent to five per cent, including ethanol, and solid bio-fuel pellets. Goyal asserted on the importance of reducing the tax on ethanol, as not only is it used for blending with petrol and diesel, it is also vital for the sugar industry, and will thus be very beneficial for the sugarcane farmers. Various fabrics, like Chenille fabrics, mats made via handlooms, fertilizer-grade phosphoric acid, which were earlier under the 12 per cent bracket, will be charged 5 per cent, while the GST on washing machine reduced from 28 per cent to 18 per cent. The changes that were announced today will be implemented from July 27. Quoting media reports, the bench said So many people are dying in the country due to accidents caused by potholes on roads. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday expressed serious concerns over increasing accidents due to potholes on roads and said these are much more than deaths due to terror attacks. A bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta, dealing with a petition on road safety, observed that persons who have lost their lives as a result of accidents caused due to potholes should be entitled to compensation. Justice Lokur observed, It is a matter of common knowledge that a large number of people have died in accidents caused due to potholes on roads and authorities, that are supposed to maintain the roads, are not doing their duties properly. It was not known where one would find potholes on roads and which one would lead to fatal accident. This is frightening. It is about life and death of a person and this problem should be addressed. The bench also made it clear that from September 1 onwards, automobile companies in the country cannot sell four-wheelers and two-wheelers without a mandatory third party insurance for a period of two years and five years. In view of unsatisfactory third-party insurance offered to vehicles, the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety has asked the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India to offer a mandatory three-year policy for cars and a five-year policy for motorbikes at the time of sale and registration. Currently, maximum one-year comprehensive policy for car and three years comprehensive policy for two-wheelers can be offered by insurers. The long-term policy for three years for car and five years for two-wheelers will be offered only for third party insurance and not for the comprehensive cover. Quoting media reports, the bench said So many people are dying in the country due to accidents caused by potholes on roads. Reports say that more people have died due to accidents caused by potholes than the deaths in terrorist attacks. It asked the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety, headed by former apex court judge Justice K S Radhakrishnan, to look into this very serious issue and file a report within two weeks. The bench also said the committee should give recommendations on potholes on roads as the issue was a part of road safety. It must be noted that the same bench while hearing the sealing matter had raised the issue of deaths in accidents due to potholes on roads, particularly in Mumbai and had observed people are dying due to potholes in roads and the officials are counting potholes. Amicus curiae informed the court that as per the existing scheme, Rs 25,000 was paid to a victim of hit-and-run accident in case of death and Rs 12,500 compensation was given to a person who was grievously injured in such accident. He said the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill 2016, which has revised the amount of compensation to Rs 2 lakh in case of death and Rs 20,000 for injury in road accidents, was tabled last year in the Parliament and it was passed by the Lok Sabha. Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand, appearing for the Centre, said the Bill was pending in the Rajya Sabha and yet to become a law. Then the amicus said that since the Bill was pending in the Rajya Sabha for almost a year, the Centre should frame a scheme to give more compensation to the victims of road accidents. He said nobody can say that the Government of India cannot give Rs 2 lakh for deaths and Rs 20,000 for injury in road accidents even if the Bill is not passed or is pending. When the bench asked the ASG whether the Bill would be taken up by Rajya Sabha in the current session, she said it was likely to be taken up but if Parliament is adjourned the government would look into it. The Bench posted the matter for further hearing after four weeks. Not in race with China in Africa, says India. New Delhi: India on Friday said it is not in competition with China in the African continent, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi will begin an official visit to three African countries Rwanda, Uganda and South Africa from July 23 to 27. Apart from bilateral visits to Rwanda and Uganda, PM Modi will visit South Africa for the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Summit. India is expected to ink a defence agreement with strategic partner Rwanda and also gift 200 cows for a social protection scheme of the Rwandan government meant for the poorest families there. India which has already extended a $400 million line of credit (LoC) to Rwanda earlier is expected to conclude two LoCs worth $100 million each for economic development of the African country where New Delhi is also expected to open its diplomatic mission soon. A broad defence framework agreement will also be inked with Rwanda. During his visit to Uganda, Mr Modi will address the Ugandan Parliament. New Delhi will also extend, for the first time, two LoCs to Uganda for its economic development that are collectively worth more than $200 million. In South Africa, PM Modi, along with other Brics leaders, will discuss the situation in various global hotspots that are of concern to the world and also trade issues. He will also participate in various other engagements, including the first-ever Brics leaders Retreat, where the five Brics leaders will discuss various issues in an informal setting. Chinese President Xi Jinping is also expected to attend the Summit and it seems likely that the two leaders will have a bilateral meeting although the MEA did not confirm it at this stage. In response to a question, the MEAs secretary (economic relations) T.S. Tirumurti said, I dont think we (India) see ourselves in a competition with China in Africa at all. Our relations with African countries goes back a very long way ... It is on a very solid foundation of development, cooperation and security. I dont think we look at the relationship with African countries through the perspective of relations with another country. It is well-known that while China has already made investments worth billions of dollars in Africa that has boosted its influence there enormously. New Delhi is also doing its utmost to give economic aid to African countries and engage with them. PM Modi will be accompanied during his visit by an official delegation but a large Indian business delegation is also expected to be visiting there at that time. PM Modis visit is being seen as part of the Indias Africa-outreach initiative. Mr Modi will first visit Rwanda on July 23 and 24. He will visit Uganda on July 24 and 25 and then South Africa from July 25 to 27. India had elevated its ties with Rwanda to strategic partnership in January, 2017. India will also be opening a mission in Rwanda very soon, MEA officials said. Rwanda has been a recipient of our Line of Credit to the tune of US$ 400 million. During the visit, we expect to conclude two lines of credit. One for US$ 100 million for development of industrial parks and another US$100million for agriculture and irrigation, Mr. Tirumurti said. PM Modi will also pay homage at the Kigali genocide memorial there. In Rwanda, the gifting of 200 cows will be a contribution by India as part of a social protection scheme of the Rwandan Government wherein the poorest families are gifted dairy cows by the Government there, the MEA said. We will be buying local cows (in Rwanda), the MEA said. The MEA also said there would be agreements in the field of defence, dairy cooperation and agriculture with Rwanda including a broad defence framework agreement. During the next leg of his visitto Uganda, PM Modi will address the Ugandan Parliament. Two LoCs for Uganda for the first timeUS$ 141 million for electricity and US$64 million for agriculture and dairy farmingwill be extended by India . The MEA also said Ugandan authorities have invited many Indians to return to Uganda and has assured them of their safety. It may be recalled that a large number of Indians had been driven out of Uganda decades ago by the then notorious Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. In South Africa, PM Modi will hold talks with the new South African leadership led by President Cyril Ramaphosa. South Africa is organising the 10th BRICS leaders summit under the theme BRICS in Africa: Collaboration with developing countries for inclusive growth and shared prosperity in the fourth industrial revolution. There will be a Restricted session, plenary session, leadersretreat as well as an outreach with leaders from Africa and another outreach with leaders from the Global South. For the BRICSAfrica outreach, the countries invited are Rwanda, Uganda, Togo, Zambia, Namibia, Senegal, Gabon, Ethiopia and Angola. For the BRICS plus outreach with the Global South, the countries invited are Argentina, Turkey, Indonesia, Jamaica and Egypt. Inclusive growth, the fourth industrial revolution, multilateralism, global governance, health, socio-economic empowerment of women, peacekeeping, science park, sustainable development and youth are some of the issues expected to be discussed at the BRICS Summit which is also expected to discuss global hotspot issues and trade issues. The BRICS NSAs meeting report will also be presented. D04 'Rahul Gandhi, by concocting a conversation with President Macron, has lowered his own credibility,' Jaitley said. Jaitley hit out at the Congress President accusing him of trivialising the no-confidence motion debate stressing 'facts are always sacrosanct'. (Photo: PTI | File) New Delhi: Accusing Rahul Gandhi of "concocting" a conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said the Congress President has seriously hurt the image of an Indian politician before the world at large. Participating in the debate on 'no-confidence motion' in the Lok Sabha on Friday Gandhi said that Macron told him that there was no binding secrecy clause in the Rafale deal. The statement was denied by the French government. Read: French PM told me, says Rahul after France debunks Rafale secrecy claim "Rahul Gandhi, by concocting a conversation with President Macron, has lowered his own credibility and seriously hurt the image of an Indian politician before the world at large," Jaitley said in a Facebook post. The minister also hit out at the Congress President accusing him of trivialising the no-confidence motion debate stressing "facts are always sacrosanct". "None should ever trivialise the debate. Those who desire to be Prime Minister never blend ignorance, falsehood and acrobatics." In the post titled "Frivolity and the No Confidence Motion", Jaitley said the lead participants in the debate are normally senior political leaders. They are expected to raise the level of political discourse. "A Vote of No Confidence against the Government is a serious business. It is not an occasion for frivolity," he said. The minister said if a participant in the debate happens to be a president of a national political party nourishing prime ministerial aspirations, every word he speaks should be precious. His facts should convey credibility. The NDA government on Friday faced the no-confidence motion brought in by the opposition in Parliament on Friday. The government won the motion by 325 against 126 votes in the Lok Sabha. In his speech, Gandhi had launched a frontal attack on the NDA government over unfulfilled promises and questioned the Rafale deal, demanding answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on why he allegedly favoured a particular businessman in the contract. Stating that Gandhi missed a great opportunity, Jaitley said: "if this was his best argument for 2019, God help his party". Attacking Gandhi, Jaitley said his lack of understanding is not only confined to basic issues but also to the niceties of protocol. "One should never misquote a conversation with a Head of Government or a Head of State. You do it once, serious people will be reluctant to speak to you or speak in your presence," the minister said. On Gandhi's accusation about the secrecy of the Rafale fighter jet deal, Jaitley said the UPA government itself had entered into the secrecy pact. "Rahul has repeatedly shown that he is ignorant of facts. But to insist on disclosure of financial details, which indirectly involves the disclosures of the strategic equipment on the aircraft, is to hurt national interest. Cost gives away a clue to the weaponry in the aircraft," Jaitley said. He said there is no minister who either desires to change or is constitutionally entitled to change the Constitution of India. Referring to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Jaitley said the last Indian politician who wanted the power to change the Constitution was Rahul's grandmother and "she too failed". Taking a dig at Gandhi, he said hallucinations can give momentary pleasure to a person. "Therefore, to hallucinate after an embarrassing performance that he has won future election or to hallucinate that he is the reincarnation of Mark Antony being complemented by friends and foes alike, may give him self-satisfaction but for serious observers it is more than just self-praise in fact a serious problem. Even in dynasties many successors remind you of the virtues of their predecessors. Yesterday, I reread two of Panditji's (former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru) legendary speeches Tryst with Destiny' and Light has gone out of Lives', Jaitley said. The lawyers said such arguments should not be allowed to be made which has no relevance to the case. The lawyers said such arguments should not be allowed to be made which has no relevance to the case. (Representational image) New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday reserved its verdict on a preliminary issue in the Ayodhya title dispute whether the 1994 ruling, viz a mosque is not an essential aspect of Islam and namaz (prayer) by Muslims can be offered anywhere, even in open requires to be revisited by a five-judge Constitution bench. A three-judge bench of CJI Dipak Misra and Justices Ashok Bhushan and Abdul Nazeer agreed to examine this as a preliminary issue after senior counsel Rajeev Dhavan, appearing for one of the Muslim parties, submitted that the 1994 verdict was wrong and required reconsideration. Before arguments began, there was a ruckus in the court when senior counsel C.S. Vaidyanathan and several others appearing for Hindus, objected to Mr Dhavans earlier remarks that Hindu Taliban had destroyed the Babri mosque in 1991. The lawyers said such arguments should not be allowed to be made which has no relevance to the case. They pointed out that Mr Dhavans argument had put Hindus in a bad light. Mr Dhavan told the court, I stand by my statement. This Constitution has preserved our democracy and rule of law. It is my view that just as Bamiyan statue was destroyed by Taliban, the Babri mosque was destroyed by Hindu Talibans on December 6, 1992. The CJI told Mr Dhavan that as a senior advocate he should exercise restraint in his arguments and said the use of the word (Taliban) was inappropriate, out of context and not relevant to the issue. Mr Dhavan said he did not agree with the CJI on exercising restraint as his argument stemmed from Hindu Taliban demolished the mosque and that Hindus must bear the cost. Mr. Dhavan repeated that those Hindus who demolished Babri Mosque are Taliban and some advocates behave like that in this court. Mr. Dhavan said he meant every word and December 6, 92 was an instance of Hindu terror I dont think my using Hindu Taliban was inappropriate as it is an act of terrorism. The CJI replied, You may think what you may, but the court thinks it was completely inappropriate. Lawyers must maintain decorum inside the court. A lawyer took serious objection to Mr. Dhavans words and shouted at Dhavan You are comparing Hindus with Taliban, what kind of word is this. He was later escorted out of the court hall. After 20 minutes of heated exchanges, Mr. Dhavan pleaded for revisiting the 1994 verdict. Stressing the need for relook at the 1994 verdict, Mr Dhavan contended that a mosque enjoys a particular position in Muslim law and once a mosque is established and prayers are offered in such a mosque, the same remains for all time to come as a property of Allah and the same never reverts back to the donor or founder of the mosque and any person professing Islamic faith can offer prayer in such a mosque and even if the structure is demolished, the place remains the same where the Namaz can be offered. Counsel faulted the finding that Ayodhya is said to be of particular significance to the Hindus as a place of pilgrimage because of the ancient belief that Lord Rama was born there, whereas the mosque was of significance for the Muslim community as an ancient mosque built by Mir Baqi in 1528 A.D. This indicates the comparative significance of the disputed site to the two communities, the court said while ordering `status quo on worship by Hindus. He said when religious practices are common to all religions, reading down religion of Islam and raising the status of Hindus by way of comparative significance cannot be accepted. Mr. Dhavan pointed out that the 1994 verdict ordering `status quo on installation of Ram Idol in the disputed site, recognised Hindus right to worship at that place but completely ignored the rights of Muslims to offer namaz in the Babri Masjid. The observation that a mosque is not an essential part of the practice of the religion of Islam and Namaz. (Prayer) by Muslims can be offered anywhere, even in open, required to be revisited as the Allahabad High Court while deciding the title suit in 2010 had apportioned one third of the land to Hindus, one third to Muslims and one third to Ram Lulla relying on the status quo order of 1994. He said the question What constitutes an essential practice; and How it is to be established is a pure question of law and not amenable to res judicata (not a binding precedent). He said the test of essentiality is not pilgrimage which may be one desirable part. This is clearly an attempt to make a distinction between. Faiths that have pilgrimage in India and Faiths that have pilgrimage outside India. He said its effect is to make Islam and Christianity outside religions and unprotected in terms of essentiality. This is an invidious distinction made by divisive Hindu fundamentalists; All religions are protected equally under the Constitution. This attempt to distinguish between faiths is simply unacceptable and will tear apart Indias secular fabric, he maintained. According to police, Yagnik had requested him to hear his side if the woman journalist files a police complaint against him. The police suspect that on the night of July 12 Yagnik jumped off the roof of the three-storey building on AB Road in Indore that houses the office of the newspaper. (Photo: Facebook) Indore: An FIR was filed on Friday against a woman scribe for allegedly abetting the suicide of senior journalist Kalpesh Yagnik, group editor of Dainik Bhaskar, the police said. The woman, was miffed with Yagnik (55) after being sacked from the newspaper and had allegedly threatened to implicate him in false cases if she was not reinstated, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Shailendra Singh told PTI. He said a first information report had been filed at the MIG police station in Indore against the 40-year-old woman scribe on the basis of initial investigation and statements of Yagnik's relatives. "The woman journalist has not been arrested yet and a detailed investigation is underway," the ASP said. The police suspect that on the night of July 12 Yagnik jumped off the roof of the three-storey building on AB Road here that houses the office of the newspaper. Shortly before his death, Yagnik had met Additional Director General (ADG) of Indore Range Ajay Kumar Sharma and complained that a woman scribe was allegedly threatening to implicate him in false cases if he did not take her back in the job. According to the ADG, Yagnik had requested him to hear his side if the woman journalist files a police complaint against him. Sharma had said Yagnik had given a formal application to him in this regard. "But he did not demand any legal action against the woman journalist," the ADG had said. The accused planned to kidnap his nephew hoping that a pall of gloom would drastically cut down the number of guests. Aman was kidnapped at the behest of his maternal aunt's husband, Suresh Kumar Chand, whose daughter is getting married on Saturday, police said. (Photo: File | Representational) Mathura: A three-year-old boy, kidnapped allegedly at the behest of his relatives who wanted to minimise wedding-related expenses, was recovered within 38 hours, the police said on Friday. Aman was playing outside his maternal aunt's house in Pushp Vihar Colony on Wednesday afternoon when he was kidnapped, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Babloo Kumar said, adding that he was recovered on Friday from an isolated area near the Garud Govind temple following a tip off. Aman was kidnapped at the behest of his maternal aunt's husband, Suresh Kumar Chand, whose daughter is getting married on Saturday, the SSP said. Sharma planned to kidnap Aman, who had come from Ludhiana with his parents to attend the wedding, hoping that a pall of gloom would drastically cut down the number of guests, he added. The accused roped in his brother and his sister's son to execute the plan, Kumar said. No arrests have been made in the case so far and a manhunt is on to arrest the kidnappers, he said. The police is likely to arrest Sharma on Saturday, post his daughter's wedding. Cong prez alleged that there was no secrecy pact with France. NEW DELHI: A very strong and caustic attack alleging corruption by the Narendra Modi-led government in the Rafale fighter aircraft deal landed Congress President Rahul Gandhi on a sticky wicket as France issued a rebuttal. On Friday, Gandhi charged the government of lying in the Rafale jet deal and described PM Narendra Modi as a bhagidaar (collaborator) in cases of alleged corruption, not a chowkidaar (guard). Rahul Gandhi said the French president had clearly conveyed to him that there was no problem in sharing details relating to the Rafale deal worth Rs 58,000 crore. I personally met the French president and asked him if there is such a pact between the French and Indian governments. The French president told me that there is no such pact and he told me that I have no objection to it (details of Rafale deal) being made public. Vociferously countering Gandhis allegations, defence minister Sitharaman said the secrecy agreement with France was signed in 2008 and the Rafale deal was covered under it when A.K. Antony was the defence minister. As per article 10 of the Inter Governmental Agreement (IGA) between India and France, on purchase of Rafale aircraft, protection of classified information and materials exchanged under IGA shall be governed by provisions of security agreement signed on January 25, 2008, she said. Supporting the Indian governments stand, a French government said, We have taken note of the statements of Mr Gandhi before the Indian Parliament. There is a security agreement between France and India, signed in 2008, which commits the two states to protect the classified information provided by the partner, which could, in particular, impact the security and operational capabilities of the defense equipment. As the minister spoke, TDP members started demanding that he should speak on the Andhra issue and created ruckus in the House. New Delhi: As the NDA government continues to face all round criticism over growing incidents of mob lynching, home minister on Friday tried to turn the tables on the Opposition in the Lok Sabha by claiming that the biggest example of mob lynching in Indias history were the Sikh riots of 1984. Participating in the discussion on the no-confidence motion moved by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) against the government, Mr Singh while referring to Congress MP Shashi Tharoors Hindu Pakistan comment, said, where do they (Congress) want to take the country and what does it want India to become. Here, there is a talk about Hindu Taliban. India is the only country where minorities are prospering. Do they not want such an India. Countering the opposition attack on the BJP-led government over instances of mob lynching, home minister Rajnath Singh said the 1984 anti-Sikh riot was biggest such incident. Speaking on the lynching incidents, one of the issues cited by the opposition to attack the government, the home minister said the Centre will provide all assistance required, but the state governments should take stringent steps to curb such incidents. The biggest incident of the mob-lynching happened during 1984," Singh said, referring to the anti-Sikh riot that took place in the aftermath of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhis assasination on October 31, 1984. The minister said the government has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and assured that justice would be given to the Sikh community. Speaking on the opposition-sponsored no-confidence motion, Mr Singh said the opposition had doubt about who will be the leader and what will the policies be. He said, Against whom are you bringing no-confidence? The appeal of the prime minister is such that several people gave up the gas subsidy after he urged them do so. They (the opposition) do not trust each other. And when it comes to talking about the leadership, then gayi bhains paani mein (they lose their steam). He also took a dig at the Congress saying former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had ridiculed the BJP for having two MPs in the Lok Sabha in 1984. One should not be arrogant as time changes and the same party (BJP) today has majority in Parliament. As the minister spoke, TDP members started demanding that he should speak on the Andhra issue and created ruckus in the House. When TDP MPs started walking towards Mr Singh, there was an alteraction between them and the members of the BJP. With the TDP members threatening to sit in the Well, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan adjourned the House for 15 minutes. Rajnath Singh could resume his speech only after the House re-assembled. The Shiv Sena, a partner of the BJP in the Maharashtra government, had decided to abstain from the no trust vote in Parliament. Raut said Gandhi's hug to the prime minister at the end of his speech was actually a shock for Narendra Modi. (Photo: PTI) Mumbai: The Shiv Sena on Friday was all praise for Congress chief Rahul Gandhi after his speech in the Lok Sabha during a debate on the no-confidence motion, saying he had now "graduated from the real school of politics". The Shiv Sena, a partner of the BJP in the Maharashtra government, had decided to abstain from the no trust vote in Parliament. "The Congress chief has now graduated from the real school of politics," party leader Sanjay Raut said, after the Sena decided to abstain from the no-trust vote in the House. Raut said Gandhi's hug to the prime minister at the end of his speech was actually a shock for Narendra Modi. "This wasn't a hug, but a shock to Modi," Raut said, adding that there would be more "tremors" like today for the BJP. Capping a power-packed speech in which he attacked the government on multiple issues, from farmer distress to the Rafale jet deal, Gandhi strode across the Lok Sabha to hug a surprised PM Modi to the amazement of the House members and millions who watched the debate live on TV. The party's praise of Gandhi came after its apparent flip-flop on issuing a whip to its MPs asking them to be present in the Lok Sabha during the opposition-sponsored no-confidence motion and vote for the government. The NDA ally on Friday said there was a "mistake" in issuing the whip. "There was a mistake. No such whip could be issued by the chief whip when a decision (on no-trust motion) was not even taken then," a Sena source told PTI. Read: Issuing whip to MPs to support Modi govt in trust vote was mistake: Shiv Sena Sena MP Chandrakant Khaire, the party's chief whip in the House, in a three-line whip issued on the letter head of the party on July 18 had asked the party lawmakers to support the NDA government during the no-trust motion. Handles belonging to the BJP were critical of Mr. Gandhi while the Congress handles were abuzz with the hashtag Rahul Hugs. Congress President Rahul Gandhi hugs Prime Minister Narendra Modi after his speech in the Lok Sabha on 'no-confidence motion' during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, in New Delhi. (LSTV GRAB via PTI) New Delhi: Congress chief Mr. Rahul Gandhi's surprise gesture to hug Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha after his speech during the no-confidence debate had Twitter abuzz. While Congress MP, Mr. Shashi Tharoor tweeted that the unscripted hug that has literally taken the BJPs breath away, other tweets recalled jadu ki jhappi and described Mr. Gandhi as Rahulbhai MBBS. Another tweeter handle exclaimed- Loves in the air. RJD leader, Tejashwi Yadav tweeted, Oh that wink my friend! Hit them hard where it hurts. Congratulations for unearthing their mines of lies & a fantastic speech. Videos of wink of Mr. Gandhi was all over social media sites also juxtaposed with Prya Varrier the South Indian actress video. Handles belonging to the BJP were critical of Mr. Gandhi while the Congress handles were abuzz with the hashtag Rahul Hugs. Rahul had already been a hot topic on the micro-blogging site Twitter with #bhookampaagayahai as one of the top trending topics since the morning and his wink took Twitter by storm as people took to the social media platform to tweet about it. Several handles congratulated him while the others were critical. Mr. Gandhi launched an aggressive attack on PM Modi and his government's policies. But no one expected his speech to end with a hug to the PM and then wink at a party colleague. Mr Rahul called the promises and claims of the PM as Joomla, and added that the assurances which had won PM Modi elections in 2014 are still awaited and that the ground reality is far from what is being projected. Dmitry Luchin murdered and ate his elder lover after developing an obsession with vampire killings. According to reports, Luchin "roasted" his girlfriends brain, ate it while "drinking her blood", and tore out her insides. A Russian man turned into a cannibal and a vampire after endlessly reading about ritualist serial killers online. Olga Budunova, 45, was brutally killed by her toy boy lover Dmitry Luchin, 21, smashing a wine bottle over her head 25 times before dismembering her body with a meat cleaver. According to reports, he then "roasted" her brain, ate it while "drinking her blood", and tore out her insides, cops say. The court heard that former army conscript Luchin was sane and fit to stand trial. He had carefully planned the "ritualistic cannibalistic murder" after becoming obsessed with reading about serial killers on the web, claimed prosecutors. The alleged maniac admitted to police that he got sexual pleasure from the attack. He told police he carried out the killing to get inspiration to write poetry. The grotesque murder came when he went to the victimss flat in Valdai for romantic drinks to mark International Womens Day, a major public holiday in Russia, the court heard. After killing her he used blood from her cracked skull to daub "a sign of the devil" on a door, said Alexandra Dedova, 21, a witness to the crime scene and Luchins initial police interrogation. According to her Luchin wanted to summon the devil. He waited for 5 minutes for the devil to appear before taking the meat cleaver and smashing her skull to the brain. "He cut pieces out of her brain. He roasted and ate them. He then poured a glass of her blood and drank, reports say. Prosecutor Olga Bondarenko said Luchin copied the actions of a ritual murder carried out by a serial killer which he had read about online. He was "especially obsessed with Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer, known as the Milwaukee Cannibal. Dahmer raped, murdered and dismembered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991. Luchin faces a life sentence if convicted of murder and the desecration of the dead. These tours cover exotic places including those in Bali, Cambodia, Myanmar, etc. Kolkata: Indians form the largest number of visitors for cruise tourism from Singapore, which is the homeport of many international cruise lines, a Singapore Tourism Board official said here on Friday. The number of Indian tourists availing cruises from Singapore has risen by about 25 per cent from that of 2016 to 1,27,000 passengers in 2017, said Yuemin Li Misra, Singapore Tourism Boards area director for north and east India said. There are several cruise companies operating from Singapore which offer a range of vacations from two nights to as many as eight or nine nights, Misra said. These tours cover exotic places including those in Bali, Cambodia, Myanmar, etc. The city state, had more than a million visitors from India for the third consecutive year in a row till 2017. There were 613,461 visitors from India from January to May this year, Misra said. In a bid to provide more attraction to the visitors, the Singapore Tourism Board is taking a new inside-out approach, wherein tourists are encouraged to interact more with the natives of the country, she said. Its about how the Singapore people connect with the visitors and nurture the passions of tourists in different fields, Misra said. The Clackamas Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Directors will be holding a work session and special meeting for the purpose of addressing design changes in the Conservation Resource Center project. The meeting will be held on July 25, 2018, at the District office. The work session begins at 2:00 p.m. and the special meeting will begin at 3:00 p.m. The District office is located at 221 Molalla Ave Suite 102 in Oregon City. The work session and special meeting are both open to the public. Shiv Sena chief had conveyed his decision of boycotting trust vote to his partys 18 MPs just half an hour before LS proceedings began. The Sena doubted the mandate with which the Modi government came to power in 2014, alleging 'elections were won through money, misuse of power and tampering of electronic voting machines (EVMs)'. (Photo: File) Mumbai: NDA ally Shiv Sena said there was a mistake in issuing the whip to its MPs asking them to be present in the Lok Sabha during the no-confidence motion and vote for the government. There was a mistake. No such whip could be issued by the chief whip when a decision (on no-trust motion) was not even taken then, a Sena source told PTI on Friday. The party, which is an ally in government at the Centre and in Maharashtra, stayed out of the proceedings in Parliament on Friday, announcing it had boycotted the vote. Sena MP Chandrakant Khaires, its chief whip in the Lower House of Parliament, in a three-line whip issued on the letter head of the party on July 18 had asked the party lawmakers to support the NDA government during the no-trust motion. Hours after issuing the whip, the Sena shifted its stance and said party chief Uddhav Thackeray had asked his party MPs to remain in Delhi and a final decision on supporting the Modi government would be taken the morning before the debate started. The whip issued in Khaires name also bore his signature. When asked by a local news channel if it was indeed his signature, Khaire said, Somebody played a mischief. On Thursday, he had said the notice (whip) issued to the party MPs had asked them to remain present in Parliament all-day long. All party MPs were told that the final decision (on taking a stand on the no-trust motion) will be taken by Uddhavji (Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray) and conveyed to them, Khaire had said. Speaking to reporters earlier in the day, Khaire said no such whip had been issued and the partys decision on the no-confidence motion was taken on Friday morning. The Shiv Sena has 18 Lok Sabha MPs. Ahead of the crucial discussion on the motion, the Sena, in a harshly-worded editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana, slammed the Narendra Modi government, saying those ruling the country are butchers, who save animals but kill humans. The Sena also doubted the mandate with which the Modi government came to power in 2014, alleging elections were won through money, misuse of power and tampering of electronic voting machines (EVMs). The party has appointed a vistarak in every Assembly constituency on this basis of its position on the ground. Mumbai: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Amit Shah will be in Mumbai on Sunday to meet Lok Sabha Members of Parliament (MP) of Maharashtra and Goa. He will hold a meeting with state MPs on Sunday morning where he is expected to guide them on the upcoming general elections. Later, Mr Shah will be meeting the MPs from Goa. This state sends 48 MPs to Lok Sabha (LS), the second highest after Uttar Pradesh's 80. In preparations for the 2019 general elections, Mr Shah is reaching out to every state capital and addressing a wide range of people. His meeting on Sunday will be a part of this initiative. "Our Rajya Sabha (RS) MPs have also been given the responsibility of one Lok Sabha constituency where the party lost in 2014. So, all Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs will be present for the meeting," said a senior party functionary. It is expected that Mr Shah will ask for the preparation details of various constituencies. "We have already built a 'One Booth 10 Youth' team at the ground level. The LS MPs were asked to include more team members from the women and social media wings at every booth. So, Mr Shah will take stock of this," party functionary added. Mr Shah will also meet two MPs from Goa in Mumbai itself for the same purpose. The BJP chief will meet the party vistarak for Maharashtra on Sunday afternoon. The party has appointed a vistarak in every Assembly constituency on this basis of its position on the ground. He is taking forward his organization-building work through them and is also getting direct feedback about his party leaders through these pracharaks, said sources. Initially, Libya, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Venezuela, North Korea, Iraq and Chad were named in the travel ban; Chad and Sudan were later removed. President Donald Trump has little reason to rejoice over the slim majority (5-4) by which the US Supreme Court upheld his travel ban on several Muslim countries, for all nine judges recalled in detail his hate speeches against Muslims and put them on permanent judicial record for all time to come. They also recalled the courts own shameful decision in 1944, to uphold Roosevelts order to force Japanese Americans into internment camps during the Second World War, in the infamous Korematsu vs United States. The majority purported formally to overrule it now. But, as Justice Sotomayor said in her strong dissent, This formal repudiation of a shameful precedent is laudable and long overdue. But it does not make the majoritys decision here acceptable or right. By blindly accepting the governments misguided invitation to sanction a discriminatory policy motivated by animosity towards a disfavoured group, all in the name of a superficial claim of national security, the court redeploys the same dangerous logic underlying Korematsu and merely replaces one gravely wrong decision with another. Initially, Libya, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Venezuela, North Korea, Iraq and Chad were named in the travel ban; Chad and Sudan were later removed. The state of Hawaii, three individuals with foreign relatives affected by the ban, and the Muslim Association of Hawaii challenged Trumps proclamation except with regard to North Korea and Venezuela. The Immigration and Nationality Act says: (N)o person shall... be discriminated against in the issuance of an immigrant visa because of the persons race, sex, nationality, place of birth, or place of residence. The US Constitutions first amendment says: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof... The question before the court was whether the presidential proclamation was significantly affected by religious animus against Muslims or based essentially on considerations of national security. Only 258 student visas were issued to applicants from Iran, Libya, Yemen and Somalia in the first quarter of this year. Born with a silver foot in his mouth, President Trump supplied ample evidence to support the plaintiffs case. Justice Sotomayor said at the very outset: (The US) is a nation built upon the promise of religious liberty The courts decision today fails to safeguard that fundamental principle. It leaves undisturbed a policy first advertised openly and unequivocally as a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States because the policy now masquerades behind a facade of national security concerns. But this repackaging does little to cleanse Presidential Proclamation No. 9645 of the appearance of discrimination that the Presidents words have created. She proceeded to recite some of his diatribes against Muslims including his belief that the Muslim faith, ...hates us (W)e cant allow people coming into this country who have this hatred of the United States (a)nd of people that are not Muslim. That same month, Trump asserted that (w)ere having problems with the Muslims coming into the country. He therefore called for surveillance of mosques in the United States, blaming terrorist attacks on Muslims lack of assimilation and their commitment to Sharia law. A day later, he opined that Muslims do not respect us at all and dont respect a lot of the things that are happening throughout not only our country, but they dont respect other things. His plea to one of his key advisers on the Muslim ban, on January 28, 2017, gave him away: Show me the right way to do it legally. On September 24, 2017, Trump issued his proclamation restricting entry into the US of certain nationals from Muslim-majority countries. This case provides a useful precedent for judicial note of ministers pronouncements, which lay bare the real intention behind the laws they make, but which the texts of the laws try to hide. Justice Sotomayor concluded: Ultimately, what began as a policy explicitly calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States has since morphed into a proclamation putatively based on national security concerns. But this new window dressing cannot conceal an unassailable fact: the words of the President and his advisers create the strong perception that the proclamation is contaminated by impermissible discriminatory animus against Islam and its followers. Yet, faced with these very explicit words by Trump, the majority took a different view. Chief Justice Roberts said that the proclamation is facially neutral towards religion regardless of the fact that it was demonstrably inspired by presidential bigotry. The courts can and must look beyond the letter of the law to ascertain its real purpose and purport. By arrangement with Dawn The approach to international relations in America can broadly be classified into four schools of thought. President Donald Trump has had an extraordinary series of acerbic encounters over the past two months that can only be interpreted in two ways either he is swinging from the sublime to the ridiculous or there is a method in the madness that even strategic thinkers can not comprehend. It all began at the G-7 summit in the first week of June in Quebec where Mr Trump publicly called for the admission of Russia to the group. He followed it up with withdrawing his endorsement of the joint communique issued at the end of the meeting and a public spat with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over trade tariffs between the United States and Canada. The fact that Mr Trump is mercurial is a non-sequiter, but even by his standards of temperamentalism to publicly break with the US closest allies seemed to signal something deeper than mere angst. He followed up the Quebec performance with a summit meeting with North Korean supremo Kim Jong-un in Singapore on June 12 despite serious reservations within the US deep state about the wisdom of such an interaction that was perceived as premature by the charitable and imbecile by critics. However, what took the cake was his piece at the Nato summit in Brussels on July 11-12, where he had a televised spat with leading Nato members about increasing their defence spending to two per cent of the GDP. He crowned it with an attack on the British Prime Ministers approach to Brexit during his back-to-back UK visit and then rounded it off with a ringing denouncement of his own intelligence agencies at a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki. Taken together what does it all add up to? Irrationality or the emerging contours of reshaping the world order that minds conditioned to the status quo of the past 70 years are simply unwilling to comprehend. The approach to international relations in America can broadly be classified into four schools of thought. The first are the Hamiltonians. They want the US to emulate the strategies pursued by Great Britain at the pinnacle of its power. Its approach is anchored on two prongs namely to construct a global mercantile and strategic paradigm predicated on the dominance of the maritime domain and a clear technological edge over the rest of the players in the global power dynamic. It entails both, finessing the balance of power paradigm in key geo-strategic theatres and attempting to co-opt rivals or potential rivals like China into the global order as engaged not estranged stakeholders. The second are Wilsonians. They also desire a global role for the US albeit grounded in liberal human rights practices and based upon the application of international law rather than the economic and security frameworks that Hamiltonians espouse. There are two other seminaries that are domestically oriented rather than internationally disposed in their outlook. They are primarily focused on keeping the US safe from the world. While Jeffersonians have historically sought to abjure war and avoid foreign entanglements at all costs, Jacksonians have been circumspect about foreign adventures, but are votaries of robust national defence preparedness. They support a solid military and decisive action against any peril to the US, including its nobility and its treaty partners. Jeffersonians normally oppose any conflict other than a war waged for self-protection following an attack by an adversary. Jacksonians are not entranced by worldwide change but largely support stout American responses to whatsoever they see as a strategic challenge or hazard to American honour and standing abroad. It is the Hamiltonians and Wilsonians that have shaped American foreign policy postures over the past century, including acute decisions like forsaking neutrality to enter the First World War, the subsequent creation of the League of Nations, fait accompli of the Second World War following the attack on Pearl Harbour, setting up of the United Nations and Nato and the global web of treaties and alliances that underpin American power throughout the world to name but a few. They can be found in abundance in all foreign policy-related institutions and think tanks around the US. The US global engagements are the bread and butter of the Hamiltonians and the Wilsonians. However, continuing entanglements in Afghanistan, Iraq and larger Middle East coupled with the consequent cost that the US has had to pay both in blood and treasure from 2001 onwards have made both the Americans and even policymakers weary and cagey of its continuing global role. America is drained and depleted. It badly requires an infrastructure overhaul. The last one happened after the Great Depression in the 1930s. A vast majority of Americans feel and rightly so that globalisation that it had pioneered, including putting in place the entire international trade system, has now been working to its detriment for over two decades now. The US desperately wants to withdraw from its global role and adopt a protectionist posture on trade tariffs. It wants to mitigate the inflection points that absorb American resources and compel its continuing military commitments around the world while strengthening some key relationships like with Israel which is more of a domestic rather than a foreign policy issue in American politics. This is the essence of making America great again. President Trump at heart is a Jeffersonian. Left to himself he may want to retreat into a splendid isolationism. However, even he cant unwind the commitments stretching back seven decades in a span of two years. Therefore, his policy prescriptions are Jacksonian. Even though November 2018 midterm elections to the House and Senate are critical, street wisdom in the US believes Mr Trump will get a second term. If that happens between now and 2024, he would have reset the global order and taken America into a phase of Grand Exceptionalism. The ensuing vacuum would open up space for myriad global players to position themselves. Is India even cognisant of the emerging opportunities? Imran Khans meetings have been well attended, generally, bar maybe one or two occasions where the crowd was rather thin. The election is just a few days away. People have already decided who they are going to vote for. Analysts are trying to figure out who is going to win the contest. To a large extent, their estimates are based on what they have seen during the election campaign, the past records of parties offering another very useful source to base their evaluations on. Its been a lopsided campaign. The others have not even come close to matching the speed and consistency of the Kaptaan. His run has been relentless, and while there are perhaps areas he could not physically reach out to despite a desire to go there, he can be satisfied with what he has done. Imran Khans meetings have been well attended, generally, bar maybe one or two occasions where the crowd was rather thin. His speeches have been, as expected, caustic, a few sentences earning him a call from the Election Commission to explain his position. Surprisingly, to many, after Imran Khan, it is Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari who has run a campaign in this build-up to election that is worth the name. His visit to interior Sindh was always on the cards but his tour of Punjab (and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa) against great odds has been noticed, even if it is not going to get the PPP enough votes where it can be considered a threat to domination of the PML(N) and PTI in the province. That was one deterrent the experts pointed to the lack of PPP votes in Punjab. It was thought that there was not enough potential in the biggest province for BBZ to waste his precious pre-poll time here, that too in the face of the security threat that is still there for some parties and their leaders. It was a tough trail towards the unknown nobody having any idea where it would lead the party in its quest to re-establish itself. On the way, BBZ was bound to face challenges, the most serious of them posed by an almost complete erosion of PPP cadres in parts of Punjab. Also, the PPP alleged that its chairmans caravan was unfairly stopped at a couple of places this being one instance among many that have been cited by those who describe the situation as far from being a level playing field. BBZs run in Punjab was far from ideal. Many would say that he was desperately needed in Sindh, from where reports suggest that the PPP may be up against problems this time because of an alliance between the Grand Democratic Alliance and PTI. However, provided that the young PPP leader has the stamina to carry on, he might be on to something here. A small spark to hang on to. A glimmer of hope. For others, the campaign may end in a few days from now. For BBZ, it has to continue well beyond that, until other general elections beckon. There is, of course, an element of risk here, but that is a choice perhaps the PPP leadership has already made. Now the party needs to find ways in which BBZ can maintain his presence in Punjab, building on material the two big parties, the PML(N) and PTI, cannot somehow accommodate in their schemes. He should do it and then see what happens a few years down the road and not be too disappointed by the vote tally on July 25. Many in Punjab have consigned the PPP to the dustbin of history. Some have written it off many times over. There is no shortage of people out to ridicule the party as an unwanted item from the past, the more charitable holding on to memories of its founder for antique value. But then, it has to be said that during the tour of BBZ to Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, his party has generated more positive vibes through him than it has in the last five years put together. It is a tiny light but light still with the promise to break the long spell of pitch darkness so long as BBZ can control his urge to tip father dear as the next Prime Minister. That task should be left to the main contenders. To Imran Khan who seemingly believes that he will form a government on his own after the July 25 election. To Shahbaz Sharif who is at best aiming for a PML(N)-led coalition government, and at worst fighting for survival of the Sharif brand. The realities that the PML(N) is faced with have led the party to undertake a very strange poll campaign. In Lahore, as in Punjab overall, this is dull even by PML(N) standards. At times, the party appears to be caught between wanting to canvass vigorously and the belief that it stands no chance of winning this contest in Punjab against the PTI which is out to overwhelm the proceedings with its very loud and boisterous antics. It sometimes seems as if Shahbaz Sahib is campaigning all by himself and even he is somehow lacking the confidence that was his trademark when he was in power. The other senior leaders of the PML(N) are there in the picture, some more active than the others but the overall picture is not one that fits a party which has so dominated Punjab politics over the last many years. Someone has likened election 2018 to the general poll held in 2002 when the PML(N) was in a quandary but still managed to win many seats in Lahore, the most eagerly contested city which formed the basis of the PTI movement against rigging after the 2013 election. The difference between 2002 and 2018 is the PTI challenge now as opposed to the rather meek PML(Q)-PPP opposition then. The feeling amongst everyone is that the PML(N) voters will come out in large numbers to the surprise of all. This is an assertion based on experience but at the same time the PML(N) leadership has to ensure that its own cadres do not fall prey to the impression. By arrangement with Dawn The Parker probe is set to fly into the Suns corona within 3.8 million miles (6.1 million km) from the solar surface. The project, with a $1.5 billion price tag, is the first major mission under NASAs Living With a Star program. (Photo: NASA) NASA is preparing to send a probe closer to the Sun than any other spacecraft has ventured, enduring wicked heat while zooming through the solar corona to study this outermost part of the stellar atmosphere that gives rise to the solar wind. The Parker Solar Probe, a robotic spacecraft the size of a small car, is slated to launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida, with August 6 targeted as the launch date for the planned seven-year mission. It is set to fly into the Suns corona within 3.8 million miles (6.1 million km) from the solar surface, seven times closer than any other spacecraft. To send a probe where you havent been before is ambitious. To send it into such brutal conditions is highly ambitious, Nicola Fox, a project scientist from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, told a news conference on Friday. The previous closest pass to the Sun was by a probe called Helios 2, which in 1976 came within 27 million miles (43 million km). By way of comparison, the average distance from the Sun for Earth is 93 million miles (150 million km). The corona gives rise to the solar wind, a continuous flow of charged particles that permeates the solar system. Unpredictable solar winds cause disturbances in our planets magnetic field and can play havoc with communications technology on Earth. NASA hopes the findings will enable scientists to forecast changes in Earths space environment. Its of fundamental importance for us to be able to predict this space weather, much like we predict weather here on Earth, said Alex Young, a solar scientist at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. In the most extreme cases of these space weather events, it can actually affect our power grids here on Earth. The project, with a $1.5 billion price tag, is the first major mission under NASAs Living With a Star program. The probe is set to use seven Venus flybys over nearly seven years to steadily reduce its orbit around the Sun, using instruments designed to image the solar wind and study electric and magnetic fields, coronal plasma and energetic particles. NASA aims to collect data about the inner workings of the highly magnetized corona. The probe, named after American solar astrophysicist Eugene Newman Parker, will have to survive difficult heat and radiation conditions. It has been outfitted with a heat shield designed to keep its instruments at a tolerable 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29 degrees Celsius) even as the spacecraft faces temperatures reaching nearly 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,370 degrees Celsius) at its closest pass. Most of the social media platforms have been becoming the subject of enquiry owing to the chaos-leading content being published on them. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday that social media platforms needed to take responsibility for the content on their networks. (Photo: AFP) German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday that social media platforms needed to take responsibility for the content on their networks. Everyone who operates such big platforms should be responsible for certain standards being adhered to on them, Merkel told a news conference. Most of the social media platforms have been becoming the subject of investigation owing to the chaos-wreaking content being published on them. Although the founders state that they try their best to filter out faux content, cases of rumour and false news-spreading have been coming across quite often lately. Merkel's statement comes after encountering all the havoc spreading around due to social media platforms. Recently, countries such as Myanmar and Sri Lanka saw cases of violence due to Facebook posts and people from both the countries criticised the platform to a huge extent. However, Facebook ensured that it is working towards curbing the spread of such posts for the coming days. If Facebook were to ban Holocaust denial, it might also be called on to prohibit the denial of other historical events. Denying the Holocaust happened is probably OK on Facebook. Calling for a mob to kill Jews is not. Mark Zuckerbergs awkward and eyebrow-raising attempt this week to explain where Facebook draws the line illustrates the complexities social media platforms face as they take on the unwanted role of referee in this age of online misinformation, manipulation and hate speech. Facebook, with 2.2 billion users, disallows such things as nudity, the selling of guns, credible threats of violence, and direct attacks on people because of their race, sex or sexual orientation. Hours after the Facebook founders comments about Holocaust deniers aired on July 18, the company announced it will also start removing misinformation that could lead to bloodshed. The policy will begin in Sri Lanka and expand to Myanmar, where Facebook users have been accused of inciting anti-Muslim violence. But beyond those guidelines, there are large gray areas. What, exactly, qualifies as supporting terrorist groups versus merely posting about them? Or mocking someones premature death something that is also prohibited? If Facebook were to ban Holocaust denial, it might also be called on to prohibit the denial of other historical events, such as the Armenian genocide or the massacre of Native Americans by European colonizers. This, Facebook might argue, could lead to a slippery slope where the company finds itself trying to verify the historical accuracy of users posts. So, where it can, Facebook stays out of policing content. While thousands of Facebook moderators around the world are assigned to review potentially objectionable content, aided by artificial intelligence, executives like to say the company doesnt want to become an arbiter of truth and instead tries to let users decide for themselves. This is why fake news isnt actually banned from Facebook, though you might see less of it these days thanks to the companys algorithms and third-party fact-checking efforts. Instead, Facebook might label disputed news stories as such and show you related content that might change your mind. YouTube recently started doing this too. Twitter has been even more freewheeling in what sorts of content it allows, only recently ramping up a crackdown on hate and abuse. Facebook doesnt want to put time and resources to policing content. Its costly and difficult, said Steve Jones a professor of communications at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Its a difficult job, Im sure an emotionally draining job, and given the scale of Facebook, it would take a lot of people to monitor what goes through that platform. At the same time, Jones said he has his doubts that throwing more moderators (Facebooks goal is to increase the number from 10,000 to 20,000 this year) and more technology at the problem would make a difference. He said he has no idea how Facebook can fix things. If I knew, he said, Id probably be sitting next to Mr. Zuckerberg asking for a big fat check. Why these companies try to stay out of regulating speech goes back to their roots. They were all founded by engineers as tech companies that shun labels such as media and editor. Facebooks chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, even said in an interview last year that, as a tech company, Facebook hires engineers not reporters and journalists. Then theres the legal shield. While a newspaper can be held responsible for something printed on its pages, internet companies by law are not responsible for the content others post on their sites. If they start policing content too much editing, if you will tech companies risk becoming media companies. Zeynep Tufekci, a prominent techno-sociologist, said on Twitter that the notion that you can fight bad speech with good speech doesnt really work in a Facebook world, if it ever did. Facebook is in over its head, she tweeted Thursday, but she also confessed that nobody has a full answer. In an interview with Recode, Zuckerberg, who is Jewish, said posts denying the Nazi annihilation of 6 million Jews took place would not necessarily be removed. Zuckerberg said that as long as posts are not calling for harm or violence, even offensive content should be protected. While this has been a longstanding position at the company, Zuckerbergs statement and his reasoning that he doesnt think Holocaust deniers are intentionally getting it wrong caused an uproar. The Anti-Defamation League said Facebook has a moral and ethical obligation not to allow people to disseminate Holocaust denial. Zuckerberg later tried to explain his words, saying in an email to Recodes Kara Swisher that he personally finds Holocaust denial deeply offensive, and I absolutely didnt intend to defend the intent of people who deny that. Still, for now the policy is not changing. Whatsapp limits message forwarding to five chats in order to control the dissemination of fake news in India. Whatsapp, probably the most popular social messaging service, is making some noteworthy changes in the application in an effort to stop people from spreading fake news. The Facebook-owned application has made it harder for people to forward messages to very large groups. The changes have been made in light of various allegations that have surfaced against Whatsapp for its role in spreading dangerous and inaccurate information, which according to the critics have fueled violence in Myanmar and India. According to the information provided by the social networking giant in a blog post, its plan is to limit the number of people to whom users can forward messages, theoretically, making it harder for fake information to go viral. Globally, users will now be able to forward messages to just 20 people, although that will be limited to only five in India. The previous limit was over 250. It is also eliminating the quick forward (a button next to multimedia messages that made photos and videos even faster to pass along) option in India. Whatsapp will now allow users to send forward messages to just 20 people, which is limited to only five in India Verizon has opted to end the 3G WCDMA network and is encouraging users to upgrade to 4G LTE. 4G VoLTE network is getting increasing support from consumers, owing to faster speeds and consistent network coverage. In India, Reliances Jio brought the 4G VoLTE technology at affordable price rates, thus enabling consumers to move to a faster network from the older 3G infrastructure. However, the US market had adopted the LTE network long before India did and one of their carriers is taking a drastic step by stopping all activations for their 3G WCDMA network. Verizon, one of US prominent telecom service provider, has stopped accepting activation requests for its 3G network, thus requiring newer customers to opt for 4G LTE network. Therefore, all devices that do not support 4G LTE wont be allowed activation on the Verizon network. "For several years we've been publicly saying that our 3G CDMA network will remain available through the end of 2019. Virtually all traffic on our network is on our 4G LTE network. To facilitate a smooth transition to 4G LTE capable products and services, we are no longer allowing devices that are not 4G LTE capable with VoLTE to be activated on our network, stated Verizon in a statement to CNET. For all those using smartphones that only support 3G, it is advised to upgrade to devices that support 4G VoLTE services. In Apples portfolio, devices before the iPhone 6 will be rendered useless as they dont support 4G LTE. The iPhone 5 and iPhone 5S support 4G networks, but dont have native support for VoLTE. Similarly, all other devices that dont support VoLTE will be rendered useless for now. In India, 4G VoLTE exclusive network such as Jio doesnt allow to make calls from the iPhone 5S, unless the user installs the Jio 4G Voice and SMS app. (source) Nate Snelbaker is the retail wine specialist at the Fine Wine & Good Spirits Store in Hummelstown. The store is located at 1158 Mae St.., which is in Dauphin County. Nate Snelbaker He, like his colleagues across the state, arrange the free tastings and offer purchasing suggestions to customers among their many tasks. To tap into a little of their wine IQ, this week will continue a "5 Questions With" series that I'd like to continue for awhile, hoping to provide some answers to my (and hopefully your) wine questions, whether it's about a special product or price point or just something related to wine. If you have one, email me at pvigna@pennlive.com. Now, on to the questions. Q. With you doing your Discovery series on the Loire Valley, give the readers some basics on why you find the region so appealing as a wine region and what kind of wines/grapes characterize it? And, you might as well share a couple of your favorite wines from the region. A, I've always been a big fan of French wines and the Loire Valley offers some fantastic values. With regions like Muscadet producing what I think is the perfect wine for shellfish and Vouvray making a range of whites from dry to sweet, I think there is a wealth of wonderful bottles that your readers could try. The Loire valley is the No. 1 producer of quality white wines in France, though I do enjoy a good Cabernet Franc from Chinon or a Pinot Noir from Sancerre. The majority of the wines are light bodied and zesty, and it is that acidity that makes these such good wines for food pairing. Some good options to try out would be : Code 73796 J Moreau and Fils Chenin Blanc Vouvray 2016, $14.99- With a hint of sweetness that make this style my favorite pairing for spicy dishes, the notes here are redolent with honeysuckle and green apple accented by a touch of fennel greens. The residual sugars give it a fuller feel on the palate, which helps it stand up to foods both hearty and hot, or it could be enjoyed on its own as a lovely patio sipper on these warm summer nights. Code 74591 Domaine les Pins Les Rochettes Bourgueil Rose 2017, $13.99- A soft and delicate style of rose that brings soft berry notes to the table with hints of cantaloupe and marshmallow cream. Code 73771 Domaine Charles Joguet Chinon Les Petites Roches 2015, $22.99- From my favorite wine importer Kermit Lynch, this is a red that is light bodied enough to pair with fish or chicken and has a lovely flavor of red raspberry, cranberry and baking spice. Q, You always hear the terms New World vs. Old World when it comes to wines. What are the main differences between the two? Can I assume French wines, in general, are made in an Old World style? A, That would certainly be a safe assumption, though some newer producers have started to blur those lines in both New World and Old World regions. Generally, we would consider France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and any other European countries to be Old World, while the USA and the Southern Hemisphere countries like Chile, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand would be New World. The main difference is that Old World countries often treat wine as a part of their cuisine, focusing on how the wine pairs with lunch and dinner. This means the wines aren't as big, bold and brash as New World wines, which tend to focus on purity of fruit and notes of new oak, making them better standalone wines to be enjoyed for their own sake as a cocktail or aperitif. Q, I've written very little on South African wines. What are a couple of basic things to know about that country as a wine producer and a couple of your favorites from there? A, Well, the two most important grapes to think about with South Africa are Chenin Blanc, which is the same white grape you find in the wines of Vouvray, though they refer to it as Steen, and Pinotage, a red grape that is only found here. It is a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsaut. The wine tradition was started by the Dutch East India Company and their Cape Town supply station as a way to fight off scurvy. It has evolved and changed since then, with many delicious international varieties cropping up like Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Sauvignon Blanc. I have had plenty of great, inexpensive wines from Man Family Wines, as well as Code 45297, Painted Wolf "The Den" Chenin Blanc for $11.99, which I've had in multiple vintages and it never fails to impress. A picture of several of the wines that wine specialist Nate Snelbaker lauds in the story. Q, Well, I like the answers I have gotten to the question about the best bang-for-the-buck wines? Why don't you give me (and my readers) your list. A, Most of these are going to come from the Chairman's Selection program because I really believe they are fantastic values. Code 78855 Mazzei Ser Lapo Chianti Classico Riserva 2013, $16.99- A classic choice for Italian cuisine, this bottle sold for $29.99 in the last few vintages we carried, so this is quite an impressive value. Code 78828 La Spinetta Fontana Vi Barbera d'Asti 2013, $14.99- another Italian classic, this time from the Northern part of the country, Barbera is a great barbecue wine, with tame tannins and lots of great fruit flavor. Code 78840 Simi Chardonnay Russian River Valley Reserve 2014, $15.99- If you need to get a seriously oaky Chard, this is a great option with an approachable price tag. Code 78745 Humble Pie Cabernet Sauvignon Central Coast 2014, $9.99- At face value a $10 cab seems like an iffy choice, but I found that if you pop this one open a good hour or two before you pour, this wine is stunning. Code 73999 Commanderie de la Bargemone Rose Coteaux d'Aix en Provence 2017, $14.99- My favorite rose for three years running, this Provence beauty has all of the lovely fruit notes of the big name brands like Whispering Angel or Miraval at a much friendlier price point. I'd also like to give an honorable mention to the line of wine in a can from Underwood, a great option for BYOB restaurants and picnic occasions. We just started getting their sparkling varieties, though many stores carry the Pinot Noir, Rose and Pinot Gris versions. It's just the right size to split without any waste and they go where bottles don't. Finally ... Q, Favorite red grape and favorite white grape and a couple of your favorite wines made from both. A, Ooh, that's tough. I'm going to have to say Pinot Noir and Riesling, mostly because of the versatility. Pinot Noir can be found in many places, but my favorite region has to be Burgundy. The wines are so distinct and varied from place to place. I've always been partial to the wines from Gevrey-Chambertin, partly because it is so much fun to say, but also for the delicate fruit and earthy flavors. Another area in Burgundy that I enjoy is Chassagne Montrachet, with Code 74277 Chateau de la Maltroye Pinot Noir Chassagne Montrachet 2015, $47.99 being a fantastic example I've tried recently. My second go-to region for Pinot has to be Oregon. From the light, fruit-forward options like the aforementioned Underwood (in a can or a bottle, I'mnot picky) to the heavier, more serious options like those from Ken Wright Cellars. For $27.99 you can get code 46294 Ken Wright Cellars Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 2014, which is a good introduction to the line with light, delicate cherry berry notes and food friendly acidity levels, or you can try one of their many single vineyard options that range from $47 to $59. I have Code 73939 Ken Wright Cellars Pinot Noir Yamhill Carlton Tanager Vineyard 2016 for $54.99 in my store at the moment, which has scored in the high 90s in previous vintages and really shows off the fantastic nuance and flavor the grapes there can produce. For Rieslings, Washington state is a great option, as well as Germany if you want sweet, or Alsace France if you want to dry a bone dry option. I really love the Chateau St. Michelle Eroica Riesling, which is available in many stores for $22.99 or even go for a Finger Lakes producer like Dr. Konstantin Frank or Ravines. Trimbach is a fantastic producer for Alsace, showing off the wonderful slate and floral aromas the wine presents when you dial back the sugar, but if you want to pair this with a spicy dish, Germany is a fantastic place to try. Dr. Loosen produces Riesling ranging from dry to semi-dry to sweet, or you could try Code 47657 Thanisch Riesling Mosel Qualitatswein 2015 Mosel, $17.99, an excellent "off dry" wine with great flavor and the perfect balance of sugar and zip. It gives you a wine that tastes fruity and sweet, but the acidity cleans and refreshes your palate, leaving you ready for another bite of food or sip of wine. -- Snelbaker's weekly tasting times are 4 to 6 p.m. Fridays and 2 to 4 p.m. Saturdays. He said they do a sweet wine tasting on Saturday as well, but the time varies. I let other clerks who are interested host these. -- Here's what has run already in the series. A terrorist tried to kill the mayor of Ganca. In the demonstrations that followed for his release, two police officers were killed. The motive would seem to link Tehran to Moscow and Damascus. For Iran it is "false news" with the aim of damaging Tehran. Baku (AsiaNews / Agencies) - An Azeri terrorist with a Russian passport, 35-year-old Junis Safarov, has carried out an attack on the life of Elmar Veliev, mayor of the city of Ganca, where his bodyguard, Sergeant Gasym Ashbasov,was seriously injured. According to the investigation that followed, the attack - which occurred last July 3 - was part of a subversive plan aimed at overthrowing the regime of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev, to establish a radical Islamist government. The Azerbaijani Interior Ministry pointed out that the attack was linked to the unrest in Ganca on July 10th, when about 200 members of a radical Shia group gathered in front of the town hall, armed with knives and weapons. Two local police officers were killed in clashes with police. The demonstrators demanded the liberation of Safarov, originally from Ganca, where he was radicalized while still in school, before moving to Moscow. For some years the terrorist has taught history in a professional institute in the Russian capital, also carrying out Islamist propaganda in favor of the Iranian regime of the ayatollahs. He later enrolled in Syria in the regular army of Bashar Assad, after receiving a special eight-month training at the Iranian University of Qom. The Ganca plot would thus appear part of a Iran and Syria pro-Shiite plot, including the murderer of Veliev and a subsequent uprising across the country. More than 60 people have been arrested so far, on charges of "attempted coup d'etat of Shiite matrix". These include Safarov's cousin and some protesters who would have assured the rebels the support of local criminal thugs. From the interrogations the group's connection with a mullah from Ganca, Tohid Ibragimbeil, resident in the Iranian "holy city" of Qom emerged. He would have coordinated the actions of Safarov and several other Azerbaijani fighters in Syria between 2013 and 2016, also providing them with financial support. The attempted assassination of the mayor of Ganca was planned in early 2017, and was inspired by the Azerbaijani Shiite radical website, nur-az.com. The Azerbaijani police managed to stop the activities of the terrorist sect, and to break off ties with Iran. On July 16th, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Bahram Qasemi, condemned the Ganca attack and wished a speedy recovery for those affected. For Qasemi there are "some centers" that "disseminate false news to foment charges against Iran". Yesterday Israeli air raids and gunfire continued throughout the day. Hamas launched three rockets. An Israeli soldier died from injuries. Four Palestinian deaths. UN Envoy: Step back from the brink, right now.. Jerusalem (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The ceasefire declared overnight by Hamas and respected - even if not declared by Israel - after a day of violence that led to the death of an Israeli soldier and four Palestinians, seems to be holding. According to the Gaza health ministry, two Palestinians were killed in Khan Younes, in the south of the Strip, at a Hamas observation post. The third victim was killed in Rafah; the fourth at the eastern border of the city of Gaza. The military command of Hamas describes the killing of "fighters", but only three of them were members of the militant Islamist movement that controls the Strip. Yesterday evening the Israeli soldier died, hit by some shots fired at the border. He is the first Israeli killed since March 30, since the Palestinians in Gaza demonstrate every Friday against the Israeli blockade and the return of the refugees. Over the past few months, over 100 Palestinians have been killed. In retaliation, yesterday Israel continued air raids and gunfire. Hamas responded by launching three rockets, which did not do any damage. The Israeli Defense Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said that if Hamas continues to launch rockets, "Israel will react even harder". Some analysts think that Israel is planning a military operation inside the Strip. The UN envoy for the Middle East, Nickolay Mladenov, has appealed, asking that "Everyone in Gaza needs to step back from the brink. Not next week. Not tomorrow. Right NOW!" Lieberman has called the demonstrations that take place at the border "violent clashes". IN reality they have been peaceful, although among the demonstrators there are some who fly burning kites. According to the Jewish state they have caused fires on 2,600 hectares of Israeli land. This week the army decided to open fire on those who launch kites. According to the authorities, the new link with China will reduce the cost of exports, consumer goods and promote socio-economic development. The companies involved in the project foresee its realization by 2021. The government had announced 291 million US dollars to be distributed starting from last June. Ventiane (AsiaNews / RFA) - Thousands of Laotian families, forced to abandon houses and land to make way for a railway that connects the country with China, are still awaiting the compensation promised by the government. Nonetheless, construction continues reports Rfa reports, citing local sources. The Chinese companies involved in the project envisage its construction by 2021, despite the challenges posed by the creation of tunnels in the mountainous areas of the north of the country. A landlocked nation, Laos expects the railway to reduce the cost of exports and consumer goods while at the same time fostering its socio-economic development. A decree issued in April 2016 states that citizens whose land is forcibly requistioned for development projects must be compensated for loss of property and income. The proponents must also ensure that the living conditions of displaced persons are the same as before the beginging of work. A resident of the village of Chaengsavang, in the district of Na Xaythong (Vientiane), says that the teams of workers have already begun to build a section of the railway link. However, no one has yet discussed the due compensation with the displaced families. "There are at least 20 houses that will have to be demolished and the families who live there will have to move elsewhere," says the woman. The village school was demolished at the beginning of last year. This forced the children to attend classes at another institution, located in a nearby. Another source reports that 12 families from the city of Muang Xay, in the province of Oudomxay, had to be compensated last month. However, the authorities have announced that the payment will be postponed "to a date to be defined" and the villagers doubt that it will be made. Over 1000 families living in villages along the railway line, which runs from the northern province of Luang Namtha to Vientiane, have not yet received any reimbursement. However, many of them have already been evicted from their homes. Speaking at the National Assembly at the beginning of the year, the Minister of Transport and Public Works, Bounchanh Sinthavong, said that the payments would start in June and that the funds would have amounted to 291 million US dollars. Am I alone seems to be quite apt as I begin to form sentences, thoughts and concerns regarding the state of this country. I feel like I am alone trying, somehow, to justify Trump and understand why he is constantly in the middle of chaos. Now coined as the Liar-in-Chief, Chief Foreign Affairs Coordinator acting for his pal Russian Dictator, Putin. The silence of the Republican Party is astounding. The GOP has been placed in the corner for an extended time out complete with chairs pointing towards the walls. Even our Congressional representative, silent Chuck, is not even seen anymore except to collect more donations to his re election. Corker speaks, but he is cowardly leaving the Senate. Poor John McCain, dying and not quiet, speaks for many of us, as does Jeff Flake, but three cannot make an army. I cannot make the fourth either, so I ask, what can we do with this person? The only person Donald Trump cares about is Donald Trump. He is president of what, who does he represent? I ask this question. Can someone answer for me? Robert Brooks * * * Of course you aren't alone, Mr. Brooks. If you feel that way, I would suggest that you join any number of left-wing groups out there so that you can feel more connected. If you prefer to stay more local, there's the Chattanooga Democratic Socialists of America. Of course it's becoming more difficult to distinguish where the Democratic Socialist of America ends and the Democratic Party begins. More to your point, I don't think most people care about President Trump's antics. The things they do care about are the policies that he represents (decreasing/elimination of illegal immigration, tax cuts, deregulation, jobs, fair trade policies that help the US, etc). In short, things that help every American and not just select groups of people. Case in point, illegal immigration has had a devastating impact on wages for a large portion of the black community. Yet, it seems that the Democratic Party has largely abandoned the black community in favor of illegal immigrants. Maybe a better question you should be asking is who exactly does the Democratic party represent? John Hodge Hixson * * * Mr. Brooks, despite what other people snarkily say about joining groups, you sir are by no means alone. There are a great number of us who feel so defeated and disgusted by the current climate of supposed "leadership" in this country, that we feel alone and alienated. Your feelings about Trump are true. He only cares about himself. That is evident with his own spoken words and tweets. He is destroying everything our great nation represents. He has alienated the U.S. with all our major allies. He sides with Russia over his own country's intelligence agencies, which spells out treason to me, but nobody is really taking action to stop him or even barely stand up to him. His die-hard supporters can't back up anything he has actually done to improve things with any real facts or data, because it doesn't exist. He has not invoked any real good that we can tangibly see. He needs to be stopped before any more cataclysmic damage is done. This has nothing to do with party affiliation, race, left, right, liberal or extremist. This has reached a point of our country slowly being torn apart. This is about real patriotism and being able to take a stand. The establishment may be too wimpy to do anything about it, but November is coming. We can make a difference then. All of us, regardless of party needs to vote our truth and our values. It has to change. Richard Smith * * * Mr. Hodge, Hixson. Please don't use and exploit the black community to serve some right-wing agenda. Immigrants, illegal or otherwise, are not to blame for the issues and problems that have largely and negatively impacted America's black population, present or past. Racism, mass incarceration and the purposeful targeting of black communities have led to the devastation and decimation of those communities throughout the decades. From last hired to first fired and before, on up to the present war on drugs. Although the drug issue was never a black only issue, as America is finally being forced to come to terms with and admit today. The drug issue was just an excuse to target America's black communities. The purposeful targeting of black communities in America has always been a defining issue plaguing those communities in America. Immigrants, illegal or not, are none of those issues. As a then military wife, when I returned to Chattanooga in the '70s and began work at a local company I recall a co-worker telling me to the effect, "Y'all (blacks) want jobs y'all 'ain't' qualified for." I reminded her, "Baby, I've never worked at a job where I wasn't over qualified to handle, and ended up having to teach people like you how to do the work." If someone's aim isn't to turn poor whites and blacks against one another, they can always throw in the immigration issue. If none of those issues are useful in dividing and conquering, then use religion as a division and throw in a few Muslims and call them terrorists. Just say NO, Mr. Hodge, to hateful rhetoric that serves no purpose and should have no place in a free nation. Hopefully, members of the black community are smart enough and won't fall for these type right-wing divisive tactics. Brenda Washington * * * Mr. Brooks, you are definitely not alone. There are quite a few of us concerned with the direction this country is taking under Trump. People will justify his behavior because they think what he is doing is best for our country and, perhaps in some instances, it is. However, I feel the harm he is doing definitely outweighs the good. I am personally working to get out the vote and write and email our elected officials, rather than using my time to read mean-spirited letters to the editor. Vicki Lane Hill Hixson * * * Mr. Brooks, You are not alone at all. We are all right there wondering what in the world you are babbling about. If the president is only about himself, then why did he cut taxes, bring back much needed jobs and reduce unemployment? He has given our troops a much needed and deserved pay increase and is trying to fix the veterans healthcare problem. For the first time after the past administration of division, we finally have a president who backs and supports our law enforcement. We voted Mr. Trump into office to do what he said he would do. Sorry that doesnt match with your socialist and liberal ideals. Mike Cox * * * Mr. Brooks, You are not alone, but may be in a shrinking minority. I think most people are happy with the direction of the country. A group of people seem to have push narratives until the general public is sick of hearing the sky is falling every day. And yet in their everyday life many things we should all be able to agree are good for all of us, show to be getting better. These are many good things that have happened in a short time. Some media doesnt seem to be reporting these. Lowest black unemployment on record, lowest Hispanic unemployment on record, economy is stronger and American workers have more opportunity to provide for their families, manufacturing jobs are increasing that we were once told would never, overall unemployment is currently 3.8 percent, jobless claims reached the lowest level in 45 years, consumer confidence is at a 17 year high, more people have more money in their pocket, American families received $3.2 trillion in gross tax cuts, and saw the child tax credit double, veterans have health care choices now, theres a blueprint to lower drug prices, the insurance mandate was removed, there are 2.6 million less people on food stamps than five months ago, and this year, the Small Business Administration lent approximately $500 million more than last year in capital to women-owned businesses, These are all things that help all people, while being blind to race, gender, or sexual preferences. I too have heard a lot about the chaos of in the current administration, but when you look at all they have accomplished, in a very short time, one must be impressed. Through all that chaos, look how much is getting done. Please don't listen to others to form your opinions, do your own research with diverse sources. Stan Conner * * * While our previous president was fundamentally changing America for eight long years , it left us with an empty chair in the White House. Take heart snowflakes. What you're witnessing is called leadership. Not perfection mind you, but leading and fighting for the U.S.A. Michael Burns * * * I have just read, some with great dismay, all posts under this headline. I thought, I guess misguided, that with the anniversary of the Terror Attack in Chattanooga just passed, some patriotic swelling of the hearts would occur. President Donald Trump is not perfect, I will give you that. The last man to walk on this Earth that was perfect was Jesus Christ. I think your expectations are just a little high. I always thought Chattanooga was a deeply patriotic community, red blooded, Toby Keith singing, butt kicking Americans. I am dismayed that any of you cannot see the change, wow, America is coming back. I am thrilled, let's keep on doing everything we are doing. Another thing, Ms. Washington. Please lets talk about the issues without always "The Black Community" or the Black this or that. How about, The Community, The all of us this or that. If I wrote on here "The White Community" all hell would break loose and I would be hung in effigy from the nearest light pole. Walk by the portraits of the Fallen Five painted on the side of the building and not feel anger and great respect. It should make every Chattanoogan be patriotic and support our President. We are headed down the right path after the previous eight years of "Fundamentally Changing America". Thank God Mr. Trump has undone tObama"s work. Mitch Thurmer Polk County The East Brainerd Kiwanis Club will host its annual BBQ to benefit the Tennessee Baptist Children's Home on July 27-28, from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. It will be at 6623 Lee Highway. The cost of the meal is $10, for a lunch box meal of pork, chicken, or beef, or a plastic bag of beef or pork BBQ (no chicken in bulk) and sauce. The lunch box has ample beef, chicken or pork with sauce, bun, slaw and beans, napkin and plastic eating utensils. Good News for Oregon Coast Razor Clamming, Sunset Bay; Trail Meeting Published 07/20/2018 at 5:42 PM PDT By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff (Manzanita, Oregon) Good news for razor clamming on the southern Oregon coast as well as fans of one beach in Coos County, while a public meeting will be held soon on the famed Salmonberry Trail in Tillamook County. (Razor clamming photo above courtesy Seaside Aquarium). The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) have announced another part of the Oregon coast is back open to razor clamming after demoic acid levels closed it recently. Now open is the area from Tillamook Head all the way down to Cape Arago on the southern Oregon coast. A section there from Arago to near Yachats had remained shut down after other areas opened back up. Still closed to clamming because of the toxin is the section of Oregon coast from Cape Arago to the California border. Meanwhile, recreational razor clamming is closed for the ODFW annual conservation closure from the Columbia River to Tillamook Head, which includes the towns of Seaside, Gearhart and Warrenton. This closure is not related to biotoxins. Harvesting of mussels, bay clams and crabs remains open along all beaches and Oregon coast bays. For more information please call ODA's Shellfish Safety Information Hotline at (800) 448-2474 or click on the ODA link. Another bit of good news for the southern Oregon coast: the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) today lifted a public health advisory for contact with marine water at Sunset Bay State Park Beach located in Coos County. The health authority issued the advisory July 18 after water samples showed higher-than-normal levels of fecal bacteria in ocean waters Results from later samples taken by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) showed lower bacteria levels. Contact with the water no longer poses a higher-than-normal risk. However, officials recommend staying out of large pools on the beach that are frequented by birds, and runoff from those pools, because the water may contain increased bacteria from fecal matter. State officials will be holding a public meeting on the Salmonberry Trail in Tillamook on August 3. The Salmonberry Trail Intergovernmental Agency (STIA) will meet at 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on that day to discuss the proposed Salmonberry Trail corridor. The meeting will be held in the second floor of the Tillamook County Courthouse, commissioners meeting rooms A and B, 201 Laurel Ave., Tillamook. The meeting is open to the public. The meeting will cover fundraising and communication efforts; updates on Valley Segment planning; discussions on funding STIA administrative expenses; and a tour of the new City of Tillamook Cross Town Connector Trail. The proposed Salmonberry Trail is an 84-mile corridor connecting eight cities and two counties. The proposed route follows the Port of Tillamook Bay Railway and terminates in Banks. For more information contact Dennis Wiley, Salmonberry Trail project manager, at 503-986-0723 or dennis.wiley@oregon.gov. Individuals needing special accommodations to attend should contact Dennis Wiley at least three days in advance. Oregon Coast Hotels in these areas - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours More Oregon Coast below: 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 30 years after their creation, with nearly the last twenty of those spent apart, The Smashing Pumpkins came together again for their reunion tour, Shiny and Oh So Bright, which made a Friday night stop at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Canadian rock band, Metric opened the show playing a nine song set, including their newest track Dark Saturday, which was just officially released last week. When The Smashing Pumpkins took to the stage featuring founding members Billy Corgan, Jimmy Chamberlin, and James Iha, the audience was in store for a special set of 31 songs trailing easily into three hours of music. They played seven tracks from their 1995 album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, including hits Bullet with Butterfly Wings, Thirty-Three, and Muzzle. The played an equal number of released from their 1993 album, Siamese Dream. The set also featured four covers including classics Space Oddity, Landslide, Stairway to Heaven, and even the lullaby Baby Mine to end their show. The U.S. portion of the tour continues into Atlanta on Sunday, July 22, and ends in Denver in September. The Most Extensive and Reliable Source of Information Related to the Mexican Drugs Cartels. You will not find this level of coverage anywhere else, join us! Send information, pictures or videos, you remain 100% anonymous. Envia fotos, videos, notas, enlaces o informacion todo 100% Anonimo. Want to be a contributor or citizen reporter for Borderland Beat? We love to have you in our team, send Sol Prendido or HEARST an email! WARNING: Posts may contain strong violent material, discretion is advised. COMMENTS: We do not publish all comments, and we do not publish comments immediately. ST. CLAIRSVILLE A Belmont County tweet in the wake of an international press conference has brought national attention to the former head of the countys Republican Party. Chris Gagin announced his resignation Monday as Belmont County Republican Chairman over social media. In it, he said the press conference between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin led to his decision. I certainly didnt wake up (Monday) morning thinking I was going to resign, he said during a Tuesday interview. I watched the press conference between the president and President Putin, and I became deeply, deeply concerned about the presidents ability to secure the interests of the United States. Gagin described the precipitating moment that acted as his tipping point. The president was asked point-blank whether he believed his intelligence community and the consensus view that Russia meddled in the election, or if he believed President Putins denial, and he would not support the conclusions of the intelligence community, and went on to say that President Putin had been very strong and forceful in his denials, said Gagin. Thats just not a position I believe the president of the United States can take on foreign soil. Gagin also said he found his reservations in conflict with his duties as head of Belmont Countys Republican Party. You have to remember that my position is truly political, he said. As party chairmen, we exist to help get Republican candidates elected, and Ive been committed to that, but I also think even though were not quite through the midterms, its very important for a chairman to be fully supportive of the presidents positions when that president is part of his or her party. By Tuesday evening, Gagins tweet had been seen 4 million times and had been quoted in national outlets. I have interviews right now with the BBC, Fox News, possibly CNN (Wednesday morning), Gagin said. I am greatly surprised at the national reaction. He said he expects this focus to quickly shift back to national politics. Gagin said he remains a Republican and said he hopes his decision is regarded as a personal one. Serving as chairman has been one of the great honors of my professional life, he said. The executive committee of the Belmont County Republican Party will choose a new chairman at the upcoming August meeting. Treasurer Cynthia Fregiato said the announcement came as a surprise. Without any consultation or notice from the chairman, the committee and the officers received an email notifying us of his resignation, she said. We received that (Monday). It was a surprise Theres never been any issues as far as Im concerned or I am aware of with the chairman. Vice Chairman David Jones also said he was surprised. As far as the reason why he resigned, I have no idea, he said. There were no internal issues. Well proceed. Ill be chairman until we appoint someone else. Jones and Fregiato mentioned two county commissioners and the majority of judges who are GOP members as possible candidates for chairman. They intend to continue the campaigning for candidates. Chairmen come and go, Jones said. The partys alive and doing well and better than we have done in many years. Jones and Fregiato also expressed surprise at the degree of national attention that greeted th announcement. I was not aware of all the national attention, Jones said. We did not put any of that out at all. Shawna Roberts, candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in Ohios 6th District, also commented. Whether we are Democrats or Republicans, most of us here in eastern Ohio are patriots dedicated to keeping America strong, said Roberts in a prepared statement. This is not a partisan issue, and all of us should be concerned. (Gagin), you made a difficult choice, with honor and integrity. Belmont County Democratic Party Chairman Phil Wallace had no comment on the internal workings of the GOP. We of the Democrat Party are focusing on our Democrat issues for the November election, and that is education, health care and work with the unions, he said. I dont know what the Republicans are doing, but thats what were focusing on Im not going to make any comments about what Mr. Gagin did. The Belmont County Republican Party meets at 7 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month at the party headquarters, 7 W. Main St., St. Clairvsille. However, Augusts meeting was changed to the first Tuesday because of scheduling conflicts. A time will be set and announced later. I find that it is disgusting that the Mayor of London who at one time defended the 9/11 terrorists who killed over two thousand people in the USA in the 9/11 attacks being allowed to float these baby Trump balloons over London during President Trumps official visit to Great Britain. It should not matter, whether you like the man or dislike the man, he is the Leader of a very powerful country on an official visit to Great Britain, and should be shown the respect that his office holds and not your personal dislike of the man. Thomas James McLuskey There is an excellent chance that western Washington is going to be hit by a major lowland snow event. And yes, the mountains will be b... Each year, more so each year, we seem to have a losing battle with natural disasters and forest fires but struggle to complete the fight. Our military, army and air force are still bombing, destroying and killing in Iraq and in Afghanistan. To date more than $30 billion Canadian tax dollars have been wasted over there doing just that: destroying and killing and one dead child is one too many. Our army and air force could train much better at home without the killing and destroying if they concentrated on Canadian work i.e. forest fires for bombing and logistics, floods and other disasters for off season work. An air force pilot can train much better at home on forest fires where he will not be shot at and the army will be in familiar territory doing their work fighting fires from the ground. Just think of the valuable training each year and the reaping of good results from this work. Are we involved in killing and destroying in Afghanistan and Iraq to please Uncle Sam or do our armed forces need this fix of destroying and killing to make them feel needed? Spending Canadian dollars overseas to destroy and kill is not what Canadians want especially if Canadian mothers and fathers could see their own children killed by foreign bombs and bullets. Another question: will Canada spend more Canadian dollars cleaning up the mess they have made in these two nations? No they will not, they do the same as the Americans, leave and someone else will clean up after their fun and picnic. There have been no concrete gains made in either country so why do we continue? Bring our boys and their toys home, after we have cleaned up of course. Jorgen Hansen It has been taking place for decades, but the Queen Silver Star Excellence program is in jeopardy. A tradition for 58 years, the program has helped more than 275 young ladies since 1961. However, more candidates are needed for the program to continue, Currently there are five candidates, but the program requires between eight to 10 to run successfully. Queen and Princess Silver Star the 59th would be crowned on Jan. 31, 2019 at the Performing Arts Centre. This is such an amazing program for the young ladies aged 15-18, said Deb White, carnival chairperson. They learn so many life skills including interview skills, automotive, financial planning, etiquette and this is just to name a few. There is also the possibility of earning scholarships! For more information email [email protected] or call 250-545-2236. Photo: File photo Nicole Bell, left, Deanna Wertz, Nicole Simpson and Caitlin Potts have all gone missing over the past couple or years. Jody Leon refuses to give up. Neither do a lot of other people who are continuing the search for four missing women. Ashley Simpson, Nicole Bell, Caitlin Potts and Deanna Wertz have all gone missing from the North Okanagan-Shuswap area over the last couple of years. Leon is the chairperson of the MMIW Drone Search team which will once again be heading out this weekend to continue the search. Leon said searchers will be gathering at the Splatsin community centre in Enderby Saturday and Sunday at 10 a.m. Members of the Potts, Simpson and Bell families will be in attendance, as will a number of volunteer searchers. We're rousting up more support as we go and are continuing to grow the movement to help find the four missing women, said Leon. The BC Nurses Union is bringing out a bus (of volunteers). The group is also receiving donations of materials and even seven campsites for out-of-town searchers. Bernie Williams will also be in attendance. Williams is a vocal advocate for missing and murdered women, having lost her mother and two sisters to murder and was an active spokesperson during the Picton investigation. Leon said there will be a search using drones as well as a ground search of the hills around Enderby. We have maps including al the access roads of where we can go. We will be heading in four different directions over the next two days, she said. Photo: CTV Vancouver Protesters at an anti-pipeline camp in Burnaby say they are ready to defy an eviction notice handed out from the city. The City of Burnaby issued a 72-hour notice to those occupying "Camp Cloud" on Wednesday, but protesters said in a news release issued Friday that three days wasn't enough time to comply with concerns raised over safety. The release says Camp Cloud will not be evicted, and the notice was wrongly issued without adequate consideration of a recent court decision or consultation with camp residents. "We are doing the right thing, raising awareness about the collectively deadly impacts of the pipeline," said camp resident Elauna Boutwell in the release. The B.C. Supreme Court ruled in March that both the camp and a nearby watch house could remain in place in response to a court injunction filed by Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd., the company behind the Trans Mountain expansion project. Protesters who defied a court injunction preventing them from demonstrating from within five metres of two pipeline work sites in Burnaby have been arrested with regularity since the judge issued the order in March. They are angry over the expansion of the pipeline between Alberta and B.C. that would triple its capacity to carry bitumen destined for export. In May, the federal government announced it would buy the pipeline in an effort to see the expansion completed. No one from the City of Burnaby could be reached for comment, but city manager Lambert Chu said on Wednesday there were concerns about safety and how the footprint of the site had grown to include a two-storey house and showers. Protesters say the notice has a list of demands, including removing their sacred ceremonial fire and all the dwellings they need in order to continue their work. "If we want fewer forest fires in the future due to global warming and fossil fuelled climate destabilization, we need to protect this sacred fire and all that it represents," the release said. The notice is set to expire Saturday morning, and instead of moving out, protesters say they'll hold a news conference to relay their side of the story. Photo: Contributed Interim Fire Chief David Lind The number of full-time firefighters in Vernon is lower than officials would like, but it won't be long before Vernon Fire Rescue is back up to full strength. Interim Fire Chief David Lind said the department has six fewer firefighters than they should, but he expects the ranks to be bolstered by the end of the summer or early fall. Lind stressed in no way have the depleted numbers put public safety at risk. We've had some situations within the department over the last little while that has left us short staffed, said Lind. We're working toward hiring career firefighters and that process is well underway. Lind said the department has enough personnel to cover the city and to fulfil mutual aid agreements with surrounding communities. However, staffing levels will not allow the department to send firefighters to assist in the Central or South Okanagan areas. We're still in a position to support very close to home, but for longer deployments away from the city, we just don't have the staffing levels to accommodate that, he said adding they will be hiring five to six firefighters. We are maintaining out staffing levels to protect the city of Vernon, what we are lacking is that extra capacity to send our folks away. We're in good shape, but we're a little thin right now. We are working to address that and it should be taken care of in short order. Lind said the department is getting applications from across Canada as well as from the local pool of volunteer firefighters who want to become career firefighters. Colton Davies The BC Wildfire Service says it has utilized "all available resources" to respond to an outbreak of wildfires around the Okanagan this week. "We did commit as many resources as were available and continue to commit more as time goes on," Glen Burgess, the BCWS incident commander for the Okanagan, told media at a news conference at the Penticton Fire Centre, Friday afternoon. Burgess says there are about 14 different incidents between Peachland and West Kelowna that fire crews are working on, and adds more than 200 ground crew and more than 20 aircraft are fighting those fires. He says the BCWS is continuing to ask for more resources. None are being asked for from other provinces More than 200 provincial firefighters are presently in Ontario and Quebec, and, while the province does have the right to recall them, that is not in the works right now. Burgess also defended the provincial response to the Goode's Creek wildfire which sat as an unattended spot fire for about 18 hours until winds sent it out of control. That fire started in Okanagan Mountain Park in similar circumstances to the devastating wildfire of 2003 that destroyed more than 26,000 hectares of timber and 240 homes. Gerry Zimmermann, Kelowna's fire chief during the 2003 fire, was one of those who questioned the response. "I think part of the concern there is people are reliving the past a little bit with that fire, and rightly so," said Burgess. "The reality is the fuel type is completely different that it was in the past. It's no longer standing timber, it was severely burned a number of years ago." He says that fire did not advance at all on Thursday. Burgess says resources need to be prioritized, saying they need to be deployed to areas where high risk values (structures, infrastructure, lives) are threatened. At the time, he says that was not the case. "That's part of what we do with a limited resource we have to put them where the immediate threat is. "If we had unlimited resources, we would go after everything all at once. We just don't have that capacity." The full news conference can be viewed in its entirety above. Photo: Colton Davies Smoke and flame from the Mount Eneas wildfire near properties in Garnet Valley, on July 19, 2018. The RDOS has issued evacuation alerts for 49 more properties in the vicinity of Meadow Lake Road, Fish Lake Road, Marsh Lane, Osborne Road, Relkey Road and Savannas Road. The areas are all north of Faulder. The alerts are in response to the threat posed by wildfires in the area. Click here for a list of addresses affected by the alert. Those people on evacuation alert should be prepared to leave their homes at a moments notice. Photo: Contributed Steve Lornie with the controlled burn in the background. Owners of Okanagan Crush Pad in Summerland are offering up a big thank you to those who helped save the property from the advancing Mount Eneas Wildfire. The fire, sparked by a lightning strike Tuesday evening, reached Crown land adjacent to the ranch late Thursday night. It became a threat to both the eastern and northern perimeters of their 312-acre Garnet Valley ranch, as well as to nearby properties and neighbours. A co-ordinated effort kept the fire at bay. "They (BC Wildfire Service) worked all night to create a two-mile long fire guard, and then did a controlled back burn," said owner Steve Lornie. "We all owe so much thanks to how hard they all worked to protect our properties." Lornie says the fire guard and back burn, along with helicopter water drops from water drawn from the ranch's pond, helped keep the fire at bay. Residents along Garnet Valley Road have been evacuated and the road is partially closed. Lornie thanked the Summerland Fire Department and volunteer team, BC Wildfire Service, vineyard and hospitality teams along with friends and family. He says a fire suppression plan, created due to the growing number of wildfires in the Okanagan, helped in efforts to fight back the fires. A pond was enlarged to make more water available, additional fire hydrants were placed on the property, while members of the local fire department were invited to get familiar with the property in case of a fire. The Mount Eneas fire has now grown to more than 1,300 hectares in size. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 21) Binibining Pilipinas-Universe 2016 Maxine Medina is not keen on having transgender women vying for the Miss Universe crown. "Well, kung gusto niya talaga sumali, may mga pageants naman na for them. So, let's give them an idea na meron naman talagang pageant for them. Para man equal din sa girls di 'ba," she said in an interview Friday. [Translation: If she wants to join, there are pageants for them. So let's give them an idea that there are pageants for them, so that it's also equal for girls, right.] Medina echoed the sentiment of beauty queen Teresita "Winwyn" Marquez, who thinks candidates should only be cisgender women or women who were born female. "Siyempre may gusto din tayong i-share. Lalo na sa mga women," he said. [Translation: Of course, we want to share something, especially to women.] The beauty queens' comments came after Angela Ponce, a transgender woman, was crowned Miss Spain in June. In 2012, Miss Universe President Paula Shugart announced transwomen are now allowed to join the international pageant. The change in ruling happened after a contestant from Canada, Jenna Talackova, was initially disqualified from the Miss Universe contest for not being a 'naturally born female.' To this, Medina replied, "I don't have anything to say na. 'Yung president na 'yung nagsabi [The president already said so]. It's with them." Photo: Allan VanGasbeck UPDATE: 9:35 a.m. The BC Wildfire Service says there have been no homes impacted by any of the wildfires across the Okanagan this week as far as they're aware. Fire crews saw a positive day on the front lines yesterday and overnight, taking advantage of relatively cooler temperatures and lighter winds during the day. While stronger winds picked up as night fell, fanning flames and fears, the wind didn't last through the night. While fire information officer Noelle Kekula says she has heard that some small outbuildings have been burned in some areas, she believes no homes have been lost to any of the fires. The Mount Eneas fire has grown to 1,374 hectares, but Kekula says the growth was somewhat expected, and none of the growth breached any of their containment lines. The fire hasn't crossed Highway 97 in more than 24 hours. Kekula couldn't provide a percentage of the containment they have on the large fire, but she said they are focusing laying down lines specifically where the fire is threatening homes. The Goode's Creek fire in Okanagan Mountain Park hasn't grown recently, and remains at 400 hectares. Winds blew the fire south yesterday, away from homes on Lakeshore Road, prompting the regional district to remove an evacuation alert in the area. Twenty-one firefighters are working to establish control lines on the fire today. Kekula says they have also been working hard on the Law Creek fire in West Kelowna's Glenrosa area, which has grown slightly to 10 hectares. Of the 198 homes that were put on evacuation alert in the area Friday morning, just 69 now remain on alert, which Kekula says is a sign of the progress they're making. There remains about 200 firefighters and 18 helicopters working on the several fires in the Valley, collectively referred to as the "Okanagan Complex," and Kekula says more resources are arriving today. While conditions have proved relatively favourable the last 24 hours, Kekula says they are looking towards Monday, when temperatures are expected to hit the 30 C mark again. ORIGINAL: 8:30 a.m. The Mount Eneas Wildfire has now grown to an estimated 1,374 hectares as of Saturday morning, and it is still considered out of control, but crews managed to keep the blaze within their containment lines throughout the day yesterday and overnight. Crews are flying over the fire this morning to assess the fire, but the large blaze hasn't crossed Highway 97 in more than 24 hours. Today, crews plan on strengthening containment on the fire by using heavy equipment, hose lay and air support. Firefighters remained on the scene overnight, and 49 are expected on the fire today. Dozens of homes remain evacuated to the east and south of the large fire, and hundreds more are on evacuation alert in the Garnet Valley area and near Antlers Beach. Photo: qriyo.com The fastest manmade object is the Juno spacecraft, which reached a speed of about 265,000 km/h. At that speed, we could get to the moon in about 90 minutes, not counting the difficulties of starting and stopping. Let's assume that using some sort of as yet unknown technical improvement we could make an engine that would accelerate a spacecraft to a million kilometres an hour. That would get us to Mars in a few days, and to the outer reaches of the solar system in less than a year: tough for a manned mission, but workable. It would open the solar system to manned and robotic exploration as never before. One catch though is to reach such a speed without killing the passengers. If we are going to be accelerating for a long time, then the optimum acceleration is "one gravity" where the passengers would feel the same weight as they do on Earth. It would take continuous acceleration for about eight hours to reach a million kilometres an hour and as long again to decelerate to a stop. Of course, robots can be built to be far tougher, and survive much stronger accelerations and decelerations. However, when we consider venturing beyond the solar system, things get more difficult. Proxima Centauri, the nearest star other than the sun, lies about 4.3 light years away; the light from this star takes 4.3 years to get here. That is a distance of 43e12 (43 followed by 12 zeros) kilometres. Our spacecraft, travelling at a million kilometres an hour, full speed, would take almost 5,000 years to get there. If we want to get to even that nearest star, we will need to do better. Maybe, assuming we have unlimited amounts of fuel, and the engines can stand it, we can leave them on for longer. In a year, we might reach a billion kilometres an hour, and we would get to the star in about five years. Even then, exploring our neighbourhood in the Milky Way will involve journeys of thousands of years. Can we leave the engines on for longer, and continue to accelerate? After a year, we will have reached almost 90 per cent of the speed of light, how about leaving the engines on for longer; can we cut the journey time down to something more reasonable? Not really. As we reach speeds close to that of light, roughly 1.1 billion kilometres an hour, we run into the universe's fundamental speed limit. You cannot travel through space-time faster than light. As Einstein famously showed, the faster you go through space, the slower time goes for you compared with everyone who stays home. If you travel to that nearest star at 99.9 per cent of the speed of light, and you go straight there and then come straight home, your onboard clock will tell you just under 10 years have passed. However, you will find when you get home that over 220 years have gone by. Leaving friends and family and returning home eight or nine generations later is not much of an incentive to make the trip. If you go faster, it gets worse. Passengers on longer, faster trips could return to find the Earth does not exist any more. Author C.S. Lewis described cosmic distances as "God's Quarantine Precautions." Maybe he was not far off the truth. That is not to say that cosmic distances will make the rest of the universe permanently inaccessible to us. The technologies we have now would appear to be little less than magic to our ancestors of just a few generations ago. Would they have believed we can cross the Atlantic in a few hours? Arthur C. Clarke, the famous science fiction writer said, "When an eminent scientist says that something is absolutely impossible, he is almost always wrong." The solution is out there. From the Wright brothers to walking on the moon was only 63 years. Maybe we won't have that long to wait. Colton Davies UPDATE: 7:35 p.m. At the start of Saturday, 113 properties were emptied due to the Mount Eneas wildfire, and now only 30 properties are still evacuated. Those are in the Garnet Valley area of Summerland the only evacuations currently in place in the Okanagan. The wildfire was mapped at 1,374 hectares on Friday night, and no growth has been recorded since then. Fire information officer Noelle Kekula says some growth will likely happen, but adds crews have had success holding the fire. "Anything is still a possibility, right? The hot, dry trend is coming. But as we can see it's holding in our control lines." While many evacuations have been rescinded, there are just under 900 properties still on evacuation alert due to the Mount Eneas wildfire. Of those, 698 are in the Central Okanagan Regional District and 200 more are in the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen and District of Summerland. No structures have been impacted by the Mount Eneas wildfire or any other fires burning in the Okanagan, the BC Wildfire Service says. UPDATE: 5:30 p.m. The evacuation alert for the remaining 69 properties in West Kelowna's Glenrosa area has been rescinded, as fire crews get a good handle on the 10-hectare Law Creek wildfire. Friday morning, an evacuation alert was put in place for 198 homes in the area, as heavy winds kicked up fire behaviour on the Law Creek fire, but the alert for all but 69 homes was rescinded by that afternoon. There are now no more alerts or orders in place for the Law Creek fire. UPDATE: 3:35 p.m. More evacuees are returning home today, after the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen rescinded its evacuation order for all homes east of the Mount Eneas fire, including homes on Callan Road, North Beach Road, Greata Ranch and the Okanagan Lake Provincial Park campground. The downgrading of the evacuation order comes just two hours after the Regional District of the Central Okanagan rescinded its evacuation order for the Brent Road neighbourhood. The RDOS has kept an evacuation order in place for the area west of Highway 97, north of Okanagan Lake Provincial Park, but there are no homes in this area. Access remains restricted here though, as the wildfire is still active. The District of Summerland still has evacuation orders in place for homes in the Garnet Valley area. UPDATE: 1:30 p.m. Some more good news from the fire front Saturday as the evacuation order for 38 homes in the Brent Road neighbourhood, south of Peachland, has been rescinded Saturday afternoon. The evacuation was ordered Wednesday night, after the Mount Eneas fire began encroaching on the block. Thursday, the Peachland and West Kelowna fire departments were called to the road to help protect the homes from the threatening fire. The rescinding of the evacuation order comes after a positive day on the fire lines across the Valley Friday. While residents of the Brent Road homes, east of the fire, can now return home, the Finlay Creek cabins, located west of the fire were put on an evacuation alert Saturday afternoon, suggesting the 1,374-hectare fire is moving west. Additionally, the District of Summerland rescinded an evacuation order for two homes on Callan Road, east of the large fire, Saturday, but added a single home to their evacuation alert 951 Meadow Valley Road, east of the fire. All the homes that were taken off evacuation orders remain on evacuation alert. ORIGINAL: 10:55 a.m. Despite calmer fire behaviour across the Okanagan over the past 24 hours, 113 homes remain evacuated, all due to the 1,374 hectares Mount Eneas wildfire. Due to the sheer size of the fire, the evacuated homes fall under the jurisdiction of the Regional District of Central Okanagan, Regional District of Okanagan-Similikameen and the District of Summerland Saturday morning, the RDOS said they would be determining the current risk to the 43 evacuated properties under their jurisdiction, and reassessing the evacuation orders. These properties are along Okanagan Lake, and include homes on Callan Road and North Beach Road. West of the fire, in the Meadow Valley area, 49 homes were placed on evacuation alert Friday night, suggesting the fire may be growing in that direction. Meanwhile, 32 properties remain on an evacuation order from the District of Summerland in the Garnet Valley area, south of the fire, while an additional 105 homes are on alert in the area. Farther south, the Penticton's Indian Band's evacuation alert for 13 homes due to the Mount Conkle wildfire remains in effect. To the north, the RDCO has 38 homes still under an evacuation order in the Brent Road neighbourhood, along Highway 97. Axelle Bazett with the RDCO Emergency Operations Centre says they are continually monitoring the situation, but can't provide a timeframe for when residents may be allowed to return home, as the fire remains very much active. The evacuation order for three homes along Log Chute Road near Antlers Beach Thursday night were rescinded Friday, but an alert remains in effect for almost 600 homes in the area south of Princeton Avenue. In West Kelowna's Glenrosa area, 69 homes remain under an evacuation alert, due to the Law Creek wildfire, down from the 198 homes under the original alert issued Friday morning. The BC Wildfire Service says no homes have been impacted by any of the fires across the Valley. Photo: Darren Handschuh BCGEU members walk the picket line in Vernon. The number of people walking the picket line in front of Gateway Casino in Vernon is expected to grow exponentially today. A variety of other unions will be hitting the bricks with striking Vernon workers in a show of solidarity today. Chelsea Leece, BCGEU representative, said members of CUPE, CUPW, electrical union, iron workers union and others are expected to be at the Vernon location at 3 p.m. today. We're going to show our company that we not only have the support of our members, but also of our community, said Leece. Leece is expecting up to 100 people to show up. The strike is in week four. We're hoping to put the pressure on them today and show we are in for the long haul, she said. Similar shows of support are planned for Kelowna at 5:30 p.m. and Penticton at 8 p.m. Mediated talks last week did not make any progress in resolving the strike. Vowing to never give up, once again people gathered in Enderby to search for clues to the whereabouts of four missing women. Deanna Wertz, Caitlin Potts, Ashley Simpson and Nicole Bell have all gone missing from the Enderby area over the past few years and searchers say they will keep looking until answers are found. A search involving members of the public and family members of some of the missing women was organized by Jody Leon, who is also the chairperson of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Drone Search Team. Searchers fanned out across the area Saturday on foot and also used drones to search from above. They will be gathering at the Splatsin First Nation Community Centre in Enderby Sunday at 10 a.m. for another search. Leon said the searches are to not only look for clues, but to keep the missing women in the public eye. The end goal is to let the public know and to let the world know we are not going to allow the women to be forgotten, said Leon. We're going to continue to do rallies, to do searches, walks to keep their voices alive. John Simpson, father of Ashley, said the search efforts have gotten larger each year. Simpson, who lives in Ontario, has travelled to Enderby three times since his daughter went missing just over two years ago. It's been really tough. It's been hard to deal with at most times, but we're not going to give up, said Simpson before the search started Saturday. We're going to keep plugging away at it until we get some answers. Photo: Nich Johansen Smoke blowing south from the Glenfir Road wildfire near Naramata on Saturday evening, as seen from Summerland. UPDATE: 9:35 p.m. A large amount of smoke from one of two wildfires north of Naramata continues to be highly visible, as it has been most of Saturday. Castanet's Nich Johansen captured a shot of smoke blowing south from the Glenfir Road wildfire, and says flames are now very visible as the sun goes down. That fire, burning above some properties on North Naramata Road, is now estimated to be 25 hectares a significant increase after being mapped at 2.5 hectares on Friday. It started during Tuesday night's thunderstorm and showed very little growth for its first four days. Another fire burning on the mountainside north of Naramata, the Paradise Ranch wildfire, is now believed to be 55 hectares after being estimated at 7.5 hectares on Friday. Both fires are classified as out of control. BC Wildfire Service information officer Noelle Kekula says crews are on those fires, but it's unclear exactly what resources are being used to battle the two blazes. ORIGINAL: 2:25 p.m. Two wildfires burning north of Naramata appear to have grown substantially, according to mapping by the BC Wildfire Service. The Glenfir Road wildfire is now estimated at 25 hectares while the Paradise Ranch wildfire is believed to be 55 hectares. The fires were last estimated to be 2.5 hectares and 7.5 hectares, respectively. The fire near Glenfir Road, burning about 10 kilometres north of the town centre, was sparked during Tuesday's thunderstorm. It was identified as a "wildfire of note" by the BCWS on Wednesday but that classification was dropped on Thursday, when it was estimated at 1.5 hectares in size. The Paradise Ranch blaze is burning in Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park, a few kilometres northwest of the Glenfir Road fire. It began on Thursday, likely because of lightning as well. While neither blazes are wildfires of note, both have been very visible in the valley this week. Castanet is awaiting a response from a fire information officer for further details on these two fires. Photo: Contributed A police incident on Drought Hill has closed Highway 97 Saturday afternoon. UPDATE: 10:30 p.m. West Kelowna RCMP say a blue Mitsubishi Lancer involved in a crash with a police cruiser Saturday, near Peachland, had been stolen from Oliver about 45 minutes earlier. Cpl. Jesse O'Donaghey says police had been deployed to support emergency crews at the Mount Eneas wildfire when they first noticed the stolen Lancer entering the south end of Peachland, at about 2 p.m. O'Donaghey says after the theft, multiple complaints were made to police about the vehicle driving erratically, and adds the driver evaded police in Penticton and continued driving northbound on Highway 97. Police successfully deployed a spike belt on the Lancer along the highway near Buchanan Road. However, the suspect continued driving, and rammed an unmarked police SUV before being steered off the road by another police cruiser. The driver was then arrested without incident. A 29-year-old Oliver man is now remanded in custody in Kelowna and could face criminal charges, police said. Witnesses who have not yet spoken to police are asked to call West Kelowna RCMP at 250-768-2880. UPDATE: 4:00 p.m. A witness to the collision that closed Drought Hill earlier Saturday says a police officer in an RCMP SUV was waiting at the bottom of the hill, and pulled out into traffic in an attempt to stop a blue car that was heading northbound. The witness said the car tried to go around the police cruiser, but the officer managed to block the car, resulting in the collision. Another unmarked police SUV moved in to block the driver of the car from escaping, and ended up forcing the blue car into the ditch. It's unclear why police were targeting the blue car, or if anyone was injured in the collision. UPDATE: 3:25 p.m. The incident on Drought Hill Saturday afternoon involved an RCMP SUV, and Castanet has received reports that a police-involved chase ended in the crash. A motorist who was stuck in the backup said he saw a smashed up Mitsubishi Lancer get towed away from the scene on a flat-deck truck, followed by an RCMP SUV on a separate truck. The motorist said traffic has begun to move, and he has since gotten past the crash scene. The cause of the crash has not yet been confirmed. ORIGINAL: 3:05 p.m. An incident on Highway 97, north of Peachland, has brought traffic in the southbound lanes to a standstill Saturday afternoon. One motorist tells Castanet he's been stuck near the Okanagan Connector junction since 2:30 p.m., and he's seen several police cars go by. Traffic cameras in the area show hundreds of vehicles at a standstill on Drought Hill, backed up past Glenrosa Road. DriveBC reports that an assessment is in progress, and warns of heavy delays. The nature of the incident is unknown at this time. The Mount Eneas wildfire closed the highway between Summerland and Peachland earlier in the week, and caused heavy delays once the highway opened to single-lane, alternating traffic, but there are no wildfire-related closures on the highway today. Castanet will provide more information as it becomes available. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to visit a small, land-locked east African country, Rwanda on Monday and would be gifting 200 cows to the hosts. This would be the first-ever Prime Minister-level visit and Modi believe that this would a small token of gratitude for Rwandan President Paul Kagames flagship Girinka programme. Sources confirmed that the cattle are adapted to local habitat so they would be sourced from the region. In the year 2006, the government of Rwanda launched the Girinka programme that is "one cow for one poor family. This programme has benefitted some 3.5 lakh families to date. As a part of the programme, underprivileged families are given one dairy cows by the government. The first female calf of that cow is gifted to the neighbour in order to promote brotherhood in the community. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame Secretary Economic Relations, T S Tirumurti told that the gift is a very important element of the Rwanda visit. The term 'Girinka' means have a cow. This is a centuries-old practice in Rwanda, whereby a cow was gifted by one person to another as a sign of respect. During the visit, Modi will visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial and express Indias gratitude to the Rwandan people as no Indian was injured in 1994 genocide. Also Read:80,000 Pak prisoners denied right to vote in upcoming election Pakistan General Election is just four days away and unrest continues. From deadly clashes, detention, blasts to suicide, Pak is on alert. On Friday, during a corner meeting of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) firing incident happened. This incident happened when one of the candidates Asad Umar was addressing a corner meeting. But, there have been no accidents and everyone including the party workers are safe. PTI vice president for Islamabad Farid-ur-Rehman confirmed that Umar and other party members were safe and uninjured. Party workers filed FIR against of the incident in the nearby local police station and they chanted slogans of their party as well. The superintendent of police, Zeeshan Haider said that the area had been cordoned off an investigation is being done and accused would be arrested soon. The aim of the suspects was to spread fear ahead of the upcoming elections, he said, adding that this was a common instance in the polls season. Also Read:Pakistan General Election: Independent candidate from Faisalabad commits suicide Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 20) Consultative Committee(ConCom) Chair Reynato Puno does not agree with postponing elections next year. "I don't agree. The elections provided for by the constitution (should) push through," Puno told CNN Philippines' The Source. "That is the will of the people when they ratified the (1987) Constitution." However, the former Chief Justice said that they would leave the fate of the mid-term elections to Congress. In line with preparations for federalism, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez wants to cancel the elections slated for May next year and hold them in 2022. This would effectively extend the terms of congressmen and senators. However, the Senate believes this cannot be done unless the constitution is amended. Another ConCom member, former Senate President Nene Pimentel, warned that canceling or postponing the elections will leave the impression that the shift to federalism is only meant to perpetuate those in power. Transitory provisions Puno also clarified some transitory provisions under the draft charter. In their proposed set-up, President Rodrigo Duterte cannot run for President in 2022. Vice President Leni Robredo is allowed to do so. This is a change from its initial proposal, which did not bar Duterte from running again. Critics raised the concern that this would allow Duterte to serve for a total of 14 years as head of state, because the proposed constitution provides for a four-year term and re-election. Duterte said he was not interested, and urged the ConCom not to revise the provision. Duterte is still allowed to run for other elective positions, except for President. Meanwhile, lawmakers are set to serve in holdover capacity during the transition. "Under the new Constitution, they will be continuing in office a holdover capacity," said Puno. "Otherwise, if you completely eliminate them, there will be a paralysis in government." The draft constitution allows for a transition commission, led by a transitory president and vice president elected by the people. The transition president will then appoint ten regular members of the commission. According to Puno, these members are expected to be "independent experts in different fields" whose mandate is to ensure the transition is not "characterized by partisanship." The government is on a tight deadline to shift to federalism. Puno is gunning for a plebiscite as early as next year, after Duterte expressed interest in stepping down early. Other administration allies believe Duterte should serve until 2022. Pimentel suggested a plebiscite by 2021. However, Senators said they are not in a rush to implement federalism at all. Pakistan general election is scheduled for July 25 and many areas are witnessing a law and order problem. On Saturday, an independent candidate Mirza Mohammad Ahmed Mughal from Faisalabad has committed suicide, reported police authorities. It is alleged that the candidate committed suicide because of the feud with his son. The deceased candidate was contesting on the electoral symbol of a pickup truck. The police report stated that he contested the polls as an independent candidate from NA-103 and PP-103 constituencies. He shot himself dead on Saturday early morning. Also Read:Gun Violence: 2-year-old accidentally shot by 4-year-old cousin in US Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 21) The country's top cop has ordered the Bicol police to prioritize its investigation on the killing of radio broadcaster Joey Llana. Philippine National Police Chief Oscar Albayalde made this directive to Bicol Police Regional Director Police Chief Superintendent Arnel Escobal on Friday, the same day Llana was shot dead in Albay on his way to work. "Let there be no stone unturned as we seek justice for the victim and his family," Albayalde said in a statement. He asked the police to regularly update the public and Llana's family about the status of the case. The regional police will also coordinate with the Presidential Task Force on Media Security, which is conducting a separate probe, as Malacanang condemned the journalist's killing. "The Presidential Task Force on Media Security will be relentless in according justice to this latest victim," Presidential Spokersperson Harry Roque said. The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said Llana is the 13th journalist killed since President Rodrigo Duterte took office in 2016. Llana is the fifth journalist reported killed this year, following Edmund Sestoso, Carlos Matas, Dennis Denora and Manuel Lacsamana. International media watchdog Reporters Without Borders condemned the latest killing as a serious violation of press freedom. "The Philippines, which is one of the most dangerous countries for journalists in Asia, must do everything possible to effectively combat violence against the media and impunity for this violence," it said in a statement. Uh-oh! It could be you, or it could be us, but there's no page here. Chino, CA (91710) Today Showers this morning, becoming a steady rain during the afternoon hours. Potential for heavy rainfall. High around 60F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Some clouds. Low 51F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. In a unanimous opinion, the Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed the convictions of Lindsey Lowe for first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse, stemming from the deaths of her newborn twins caused by her smothering the infants shortly after birth. Prior to trial, Ms. Lowe moved to suppress evidence obtained under a search warrant, based on the fact that one of the three copies of the search warrant stated the warrant was executed at 11:35 p.m., when the other two copies stated that the warrant was executed at 11:35 a.m. The trial court denied the motion to suppress, relying on the Exclusionary Rule Reform Act (the ERRA). Ms. Lowe raised the suppression issue, and other issues, on appeal following her convictions. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the judgments of the trial court, and the defendant filed an application for permission to appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court. The Supreme Court granted appeal in this case to address the issue of whether the ERRA violates the Separation of Powers Clause of the Tennessee Constitution and other alleged errors raised by Ms. Lowe. The Court also requested briefing on the additional issue of whether the Court should expand the good-faith exception adopted in State v. Davidson to include technical violations during the service of a search warrant when the search is otherwise constitutional. In its decision, the Court first held that the ERRA encroaches on the judiciarys authority by legislatively mandating an exception to the exclusionary rule. As a result, the Court held that the statute violates the Separation of Powers Clause of the Tennessee Constitution. The Court determined that the trial court erred in relying upon the ERRA in denying the defendants motion to suppress. However, the Court then adopted a good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule set forth in Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 41 when a magistrate has issued a warrant in compliance with constitutional requirements but, in good faith, fails to comply with Rule 41s technical requirement of three exact copies. When a defendant has established that a search warrant, or its supporting affidavit, fails to comply with the technical requirements of Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 41, the State then has the burden of establishing that the technical noncompliance was due to a good-faith error and that the error did not prejudice the defendant. In this case, the Court concluded that the record established that the error was made in good faith and that the error did not prejudice Lowe. Based on this conclusion, the Court upheld the trial courts admission of the evidence seized under the search warrant. Finally, the Court rejected the other issues raised by Ms. Lowe and affirmed her convictions. To read the Supreme Courts unanimous opinion in State of Tennessee v. Lindsey Brooke Lowe, authored by Chief Justice Jeff Bivins, go to the opinions section of TNCourts.gov. Metro Manila (CNN Philipines, July 21) Several municipalities have been placed under a state of calamity due to Tropical Depression Josie. According to a situational report by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) issued 6:00 p.m., four municipalities have declared a state of calamity. These are Paombong in Bulacan, Naic and Ternate in Cavite, and Lamut in Ifugao. The city of Dagupan, Pangasinan also declared a state of calamity over a radio interview this morning. Josie is the third tropical depression in a week that hit the Philippines, following Tropical Depressions Henry and Inday. READ: Tropical Depression Josie brings more rains to Luzon Two people were reported dead, one was reported injured and one was reported missing during the successive tropical depressions, the NDRRMC added. Brix Boticario, 17 years old, from Cainta, Rizal, was reported missing by his mother. Boticario jumped over a bridge by Bronco Creek on July 17. Local authorities are still searching for him. NDRRMC is monitoring 28 incidents of landslides, strong winds, soil erosion, coastal erosion, collapsed structures, and maritime incidents in Regions I, III, CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, VI, and CAR. As of July 21, 307 areas have reported floods in Regions I, III, CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, CAR and NCR. Floods have subsided in 89 of these areas. Meanwhile, 92 passengers and 2 motor bancos were reported stranded in the ports of Pasacao, Camarines Sur and Infanta, Quezon. The NDRRMC is expected to release another situational report Sunday. I think if we work together to get it across the finish line its going to be great. Based on everything else Sterling Bay has done in their years of doing this, it should be fantastic. Chicago is a city known for its robust drinking scene. From top cocktail bars like Aviary and The Whistler to neighborhood haunts like Inner Town Pub and Map Room, to cozy wine boites like Webster's Wine Bar, there's a watering hole for all manner of palates. This month, the Tribune's Food & Dining team is diving into bar culture, exploring dive bars, neighborhood bars, wine bars, new cocktail spots and even bar food. We'll be checking in with storied bartenders and owners, trying drinks, even recommending best times to visit and get a sense of local flavor. Check back every day in May for a new (or old!) bar to add to your must-visit list. Frenesia begins with a loud, full-orchestra chord that recalls the start of Richard Strauss Ein Heldenleben. However, the reference to heroics is dissonantly broken down before the music suffers a series of quiet collapses. The inspiration seems to have been the finale of Mahlers Sixth Symphony, which gathers strength repeatedly only to be struck down again. But much of the muscularity of Mahler has been replaced by the glint and delicacy of Ravel. And for Glanert contemporary composition may go beyond exhilaration to a good deal of plaintive mewling and even a whimper. Best journey without ever leaving Chicago: Moses Sumney is a delicate, but commanding artist. It's in the way he plays his guitar with his fingers barely brushing the strings; in the way his angelic vocals float above a crescendoing wall of percussion built by a subdued bass drum and the lightest tap of a cymbal. Accented by a violin and clarinet, it was as if Sumney was hypnotizing the crowd into joining him on his journey. Now, if only a few of those crowd members would just stop talking. Putting the guitar down, Sumney's tales of lost lovers, set to visuals of the sea from his long-awaited debut LP "Aromanticism," came alive through simple R&B grooves and the singer encouraging the crowd to move. Most of them did as they were told. One worry regarding a set like Sumney's in an outdoor space is that it would be drowned out by the noise -- traffic, ambulances, people talking, sound bleed from other stages -- but the singer held his own. He took a more centered role, a showman quality coming out in his live performance that feels new and exciting. The crowd grew as he moved into the song "Make Out in my Car," followed by a new song, "Rank and File," -- a far cry from his Pitchfork Music Festival debut on the Blue Stage a few years ago. Hope y'all took notes. (JR) But immigrant rights advocates say the Trump administration has been unusually aggressive in revoking TPS status, often on flimsy grounds. Advocates have noted that many immigrants have been in the United States for so many years that it makes little sense to compel them to leave, especially if they have U.S.-born children. Defenders of the administrations policy argue that TPS is, by definition, temporary and should end when living conditions improve in an immigrants homeland. Like many families, mine has not been spared having at least one member who suffered from addiction. What others tend not to understand is how cunning these people can be. It doesnt matter how they ended up using the drug; it becomes their main focus in life. Though the love for them might remain, their addiction often makes them hard to like. Does hater seem too strong? In the spirit of the times, Ill use it anyway. Anyone who has spent the week with the news knows that hate is now a synonym for disagreement and hater is the insult that millions of Americans hurl at anyone who disagrees with them on anything. In the video clip, Augustus is seen wearing a holstered handgun at his side. After officers walk up, including one who appears to be speaking to him, Augustus is seen opening a wallet then moves his hand toward his holster just before three other officers swiftly surround him with one appearing to grab at his wrist. In the video, Augustus then twists away and darts between two parked cars. As he is fleeing, his arm appears to move toward the holstered gun. The lawsuit also says it is highly likely that consumers will view the perfume as being affiliated with the Vibes Media brand, possibly resulting in reverse confusion. They have asked KKW Fragrance to cease selling and advertising any goods or services that include the confusingly similar logo, and to destroy all related inventory, advertisements and materials displaying similar to the logo. Quezada said she would like the signs to also include warnings about rip and structure currents, like the one that swept Darihanne away. She said the signs should use diagrams, so that regardless of the language people speak, they can be informed about how to escape a rip current or aid someone who is caught in one. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 21) Hundreds of thousands of contractual workers were regularized during the last two years, according to the labor department. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello issued a statement Saturday, noting that 321,964 workers have been regularized since the start of the Duterte administration. "As President Rodrigo Roa Duterte renders his third State of the Nation Address, we at the Department of Labor and Employment reaffirm our commitment to the reforms initiated by his administration," Bello said. He added that among these initiatives is to end the practices that circumvent the law prohibiting illegal labor contractualization. Broken down, about a third of these workers were regularized through voluntary means, while the remaining were regularized after a Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) inspection. The DOLE has already facilitated the regularization of 243,418 in 2018, close to its goal of being able to regularize 300,000 employees by the end of the year. Around 9,000 of those workers are from Dole Philippines, the multinational fruit products company. "In the face of challenges, we are undaunted and remain committed to endeavor for the realization of decent job for the Filipino workers in an atmosphere of freedom where their rights are respected and welfare upheld," Bello said. However, some workers are not satisfied with the administrations initiatives to end illegal contractualization. Around 500 displaced contractual workers whose services have been terminated by their employers and members of militant groups are conducting a four-day protest in Mendiola. They will join the mass demonstration at Batasang Pambansa on Monday, during President Dutertes SONA. Anthony Gugliemi, chief spokesman for the Chicago Police Department, said Brown was taken into custody after numerous requests were made to him and other protestors by a lieutenant to stop blocking traffic. Citing an arrest report, he said Brown became resistant and officers had to physically restrain him to take him into custody. The standoff with Cathey began in April when he was discharged from Dixon Correctional Center, where he had been sent because of a parole violation. County deputy sheriffs took him into custody at the prison because of his pending criminal charges and planned to drive him to Cermak Health Services, the medical facility that cares for jail detainees. But Cermak refused to take him, instead directing sheriffs to admit him to Loyola. He is described as Asian, has black hair and brown eyes, is about 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs about 160 pounds, police said. He was last seen wearing a blue hat with the letters USA on the front, a blue polo short with Bangladesh written in red on the back, white gym shoes and black pants, according to the alert. He has a light gray and red backpack, police said. It would be unfortunate if the mayors allies chose to go after aldermen who have been leading the fight on issues of importance to working class families in Chicago, Klonsky said in a statement. But if history is any guide, initiatives to target progressive aldermen have only backfired on the mayor and his allies and strengthened the Progressive Caucus. The indictment alleged that Concord paid $1.25 million a month to the St. Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency for projects such as setting up rallies for President Donald Trump or various advocacy groups in the United States, creating Twitter and Facebook accounts to spread false information and "to interfere in U.S. political and electoral processes without detection of their Russian affiliation." The company was charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. A middle-school girl in the district also died from an illness in June. A school board subcommittee met Thursday to discuss potential solutions to try to prevent future suicides, including possibly hiring therapists and social workers in the schools. The district has been applying for grants to get additional social-services programming at the school and has been looking for a therapist to work for the district, Salerno said. Officials and community members agreed that any solution would require cooperation and community input. The district should also continue creating a plan that prioritizes mental health, they said. "Unless we do it all together ... we're not going to do the job we have to," school board member Rod Hise told the State Journal. Salerno said the district wants to listen to people's concerns and hear their input. The swift evolution is latest evidence of a nationwide surge in the strength and popularity of an organization that, until recently, operated on the fringes of the liberal movement's farthest left flank. But as Donald Trump's presidency stretches into its second year, democratic socialism has become a significant force in Democratic politics. Its rise comes as Democrats debate whether moving too far left will turn off voters. "But maybe Nixon was wrongly decided heresy though it is to say so. Nixon took away the power of the president to control information in the executive branch by holding that the courts had power and jurisdiction to order the president to disclose information in response to a subpoena sought by a subordinate executive branch official. That was a huge step with implications to this day that most people do not appreciate sufficiently...Maybe the tension of the time led to an erroneous decision," Kavanaugh said in a transcript of the discussion that was published in the January-February 1999 issue of the Washington Lawyer. They seem to be holding out hope of an eventual return to normal. But normal i.e., the pre-Trump world is gone for good. When in history has a social upheaval and that's surely what this is ever brought us back to where we started? So instead of pining for what was, Democrats must figure out how to thrive in what is. Besides, it's not as if the people are without reason for rage. From the corruption at the EPA to the caging of immigrant children to a nonstop litany of lies and alibis to the betrayal summit in Helsinki, the reasons could not be more clear or righteous. Regulations and oversight alone are not solutions to these problems. Illinois must improve its financial investment in disability and human service systems in order to make a real difference. Advocates across Illinois are ready and willing to work with the governor, legislature and state human services professionals to ensure that we have the best disability system possible. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 21) Local government units in Luzon have announced class suspensions Saturday due to inclement weather, despite 'Inday' leaving the country early Saturday morning. Here is the list of class suspensions: All levels (public and private) Quezon City Bataan Severe Tropical Storm Inday has already left the Philippines, but its strong winds brought on heavy rains for almost a week. Meanwhile, weather bureau Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration is monitoring a new low pressure area found near Laoag. Please refresh the page for updates. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 21) A former vice mayor of Sultan sa Barongis town in Maguindanao province was shot dead Friday, police said. Roger Mamalo, 63, was shot by unidentified suspects on his way home at Barangay New Isabela in Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat at 8:20 in the evening. Police said the former vice mayor sustained gunshot wounds in different parts of his body, and was declared around 8:30 p.m. dead on arrival at the hospital. Six empty cartridges believed to be from a .45 caliber pistol were recovered from the crime scene. The police are investigating the incident. Mamalo's death comes amid outrage on the spate of killings of local officials. In July alone, four local chief executives Tanauan City, Batangas Mayor Antonio Halili; Gen. Tinio, Nueva Ecija Mayor Ferdinand Bote; Trece Martires City, Cavite Vice Mayor Alex Lubigan; and Sapa-Sapa, Tawi-Tawi Vice Mayor Al-Rashid Mohammad Ali were gunned down in broad daylight. The Palace and the Philippine National Police said these assassinations were not related to each other, as investigations show different motives in the killings. With everything going on, we knew it was going to take several days, Maddon said of the time needed for Bass to heal from an ailment near his shoulder. Well back him off, give him the full 10 (days) and evaluate him at that point. "Many Puerto Ricans found temporary refuge in Aurora after Hurricane Maria. Some decided to stay. It's going to take a long time for Puerto Rico to return to what it was. The need is still there," she said. West Aurora was first notified by the state board in a June 28 letter that it had fallen into the top 20 percent for its discipline rates between the 2014-15 and 2016-17 school years, though the letter stated it was informational and districts were not required to take any action at that time. The state board has twice updated the discipline data provided to districts since then, most recently on July 16. Oedzes later denied using a racial slur of any time, and that he fired the gun only because he felt threatened by the man. He said he had yelled at the man only because he was walking down the middle of the street and he didnt want him to get hurt. The Chicago area is home to about 40 species of mosquitoes, Slamecka said. Not all of them bite people but the ones that do can cause reactions that range from a nip that is hardly noticeable to a huge itchy welt that can last for days, depending on your physiology, he said. Dominguezs memo states the parish is working with architects to develop plans that will satisfy building and budget requirements and also intends to work with the diocese, the citys planning and zoning commission, the Downtown Neighborhood Association and the Gifford Park Association to do so. It hopes to ensure whatever is built is good physically, spiritually and financially for the Catholic people of this parish for many years to come. Their experience (in Naperville) has some of them saying, believing nothing can ever happen to them, he said. This idea that this cant happen to them, it just compounds the denial. Andy Michaelis, owner of All American Reclaim in Crystal Lake, was chosen by Oak Hill Builders to take down the structures and reclaim materials that can be used for new purposes. This week Michaelis crew picked through the last pieces of the front and back barns on the property. It was easy for me to see why they were denied admission: Their application essays were uninteresting and just plain boring! Some actually sounded stupid, and I knew them to be smart students some with higher grades and test scores than I had. So I asked them to rewrite their essays, make them more personal and revealing and apply again next year to the same law schools. I asked them to write a short autobiography including warts and all. I wanted to know the highs and lows in their lives both on and off campus. With their hopes and aspirations, failures and disappointments now on paper it was easy to tie everything together in a new essay. Most were accepted to their chosen school the second time around. (CNN) Turkey lifted a state of emergency Thursday, two years after a dramatic coup attempt nearly toppled President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The news was announced by the state-run Anadolu news agency. "To enact a state of emergency, the government must foresee serious indications of widespread violence which may interfere with the democratic environment or basic constitutional rights and freedoms of its citizens," it said in a report. A state of emergency was declared on July 20, 2016, after the deadly coup attempt left at least 290 people dead and more than 1,400 injured in a chaotic night of violence. Tanks rolled into the streets of Turkey's two largest cities as soldiers blocked the famous Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, bombs struck the parliament building in the capital Ankara, and a helicopter stolen by rogue pilots was shot down by an F-16 jet. President Erdogan was hundreds of miles away at a seaside resort when the coup, mounted by a faction of the military, got underway. By the time Erdogan emerged to address the nation via FaceTime hours later, it had already begun to fizzle. Thousands of alleged plotters were rounded up the following day, as Erdogan claimed his exiled former ally Fethullah Gulen was behind the attempt, a charge the US-based cleric denied. Turkey has been under a state of emergency since then, and Erdogan has tightened his grip on power while overseeing a massive purge of those who he says rose up against him. Erdogan was reelected last month, seeing off the most serious challenge yet to his political dominance in a vote which granted him unprecedented power to shape the future of Turkey. Responding to the lifting of the emergency order Thursday, Fotis Filippou, Amnesty International's deputy Europe director, said it was a "step in the right direction," but needed to be accompanied by "urgent measures if it is to be anything more than a cosmetic exercise." "Over the last two years, Turkey has been radically transformed with emergency measures used to consolidate draconian powers, silence critical voices and strip away basic rights. Many will remain in force following the lifting of the state of emergency," Filippou said. He added that tens of thousands of people had been "locked up by a judiciary that lacks the most basic independence and incarcerates real or perceived critics of the government without evidence of any actions that can reasonably constitute offenses." "The lifting of the state of emergency alone will not reverse this crackdown," Filippou said. "What is needed is systematic action to restore respect for human rights, allow civil society to flourish again and lift the suffocating climate of fear that has engulfed the country." Ive had my library card since I was 12 years old and it has made a difference in my life, he said, as he stopped in at the recent Martin Luther King Park session. I totally support the library and their mission. I believe that everyone should be aware of what they can do for Hammond residents there really is so much. During the 16 years Ive written the From the Farm column, Ive published a few favorite recipes from both twins, with Ann Landers meatloaf recipe being the most famous, and even included in my More From the Farm cookbook published in 2007, with the blessing of Margo, Anns only daughter. Margo herself spent her career span as an advice columnist, first as the alter-ego Ask Prudence, and later a column distributed by Creators Syndicate called Dear Margo. In August 2011, Margo even shared her mothers meatloaf recipe in her column at the request of readers, explaining the original originated from her mothers older sister Helen, who lived in Omaha. If an individual like Paul is denied an immigration benefit like work eligibility, however, consequences could be far more dire than a marriage proposal. "If a benefit is denied, they want that NTA to go out, where before the agency might have sat on it if the person wasn't a priority," said Chicago immigration attorney Daniel Thomann. "What the memos are trying to do is nudge the agencies to initiate more of these proceedings against people that are denied benefits." While he wasn't denied this benefit, Paul's journey isn't over: he still doesn't have a hard copy of his visa in hand, and he has to go to an embassy or consulate outside of the U.S. to get it; he thinks he'll return to South Korea to visit family. For international students in college and beyond, the only thing that may appear certain is more change. The Temple of Heaven, a 600-year-old royal altar and a UNESCO world heritage site, celebrated its 100th anniversary of opening to the public on Friday with an exhibition covering its history. The exhibition, with 217 items and over 300 pictures, presented the temple's history of transitioning from a royal altar to a public park. Built in 1420, the Temple of Heaven was where Ming and Qing Dynasty emperors worshipped heaven for good harvests. It was turned into a public park in 1918 after the demise of China's final dynasty. 2018 also marks the 20th anniversary of its inclusion in the UNESCO world heritage list. "We hope to prompt the dissemination of our cultural legacy, and to attract people's attention to treasure our traditional culture," said Li Gao, head of the Temple of Heaven Park during the opening ceremony. "This exhibition also shows China's achievements in the protection of our cultural heritage and the promotion of the park's landscape," said Li. Before 1918, the temple was an off-limits royal sanctuary. The temple received nearly 20 million visitors in 2017. "Compared to my first visit here in the 1990s, there are a lot of changes," said Yin Changju, a tourist from Hebei, who came to the temple with his granddaughter. "There weren't as many exhibitions back then, and the displays are better maintained." His 9-year-old granddaughter said she was most impressed by the golden bell in the middle of the hall. The bell, together with 15 other lost bells, was looted by the British army in 1901 and then displayed in an army club in India. The bell was returned to China in 1994. Restoring the completeness of the Temple of Heaven is one of the most important requirements when it was listed as a UNESCO world heritage site. As of July, 26.4 percent of the total area of the temple is still occupied by residential apartments and government institutions. The park administration aims to demolish all extraneous constructions and reinstate its former appearance by 2030, according to Li. Located in southern Beijing, the Temple of Heaven covers an area of 270 hectares, and is one of the largest existing architectural complexes in the world, with a collection of over 12,000 artifacts. From July 14 to September 2 two exhibitions revolving around a singular theme, the Buddhist grottoes of Kizil, Xinjiang are presented at M WOODS in Beijing. A program supported by the China National Arts Fund, Collected Reproductions of the Kizil Grottoes and Overseas Murals represents a culmination of twenty years of research led by Kucha Research Institute of Xinjiang. The other exhibition shares three murals originating from the sacred caves of Kizil. The two exhibitions explore the beauty and originality of Kizil Grottoes that located at the ancient Silk Road. The Kizil Grottoes The Kizil Grottoes are located on the northern bank of the Muzal river, in Baicheng County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Known in China as one of the "Four Great Grottes" - a list including the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, the Yungang Grottoes, and the Longmen Grottoes, the Kizil Grottoes were registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, archaeological expeditions to the historical Western Regions of China attracted many foreign explorers. These expeditions removed the different number of murals and painted status from Kizil Grottoes. Currently, the majority of the overseas Kizil murals are in Germany, while the rest are scattered across institutions in Russia, France, Hungary, the United States, Japan and South Korea. Others belong to undocumented private collections or may be lost entirely. Replicas of the Kizil Grottoes and Overseas Murals By collaborating with other international institutions in possession of murals from the Kizil Grottoes, the Kucha Research Institute has led an initiative to digitize every piece and bring these into a central collection in Xinjiang. The Kucha Research Institute of Xinjiang started research on the overseas collection of Kizil Grotto Murals in 1998. After twenty years of efforts, the Institute has documented 465 pieces from different museums in the world. Parts of these digital images are showing at M WOODS this summer. With the help of 3D digital scanning, researchers at the Institute have measured the murals and compared them with the pieces left in the original grottoes. Now many of their original locations have been identified. The exhibition not only presents images of the overseas murals but also replicas of two caves belonging to the Kizil Grottoes. The Return of National Treasures As the only public institution in the Chinese mainland to own original fragments from Kizil Grottoes, M WOODS presents these three masterpieces in this exhibition. The returned three masterpieces are Head of a Deity, Mystery Figure with Five Hair Knots and also Millennium Smile, which has significant meaning in Kizil Grotto research and cultural transmission. One of the extraordinary pieces is Millennium Smile that depicts a royal family member from Ancient Kucha. Like Mona Lisa, a coy smile brightens her face, an enigmatic glance that has captivated viewers for over a millennium. Details are shown on the mural point to a talented painter with ample knowledge of Buddhism. This marvelous piece still has the power to move people's hearts. The original grottoes were sites for self-cultivation for monks. "The creation and collection of art is yet another self-cultivation, and art is timeless. Collecting fragments from the Kizil Grottoes is also a kind of self-cultivation." Founder of M WOODS Lei Wanwan said. A state-owned financial services firm will be set up in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Abu Dhabi's financial hub to offer lending facilities to Chinese companies operating in the emirate's industrial zone, the National newspaper reported Friday. The Industrial Capacity Co-operation Financial Group Limited (ICCFG), which is owned by east China's Jiangsu provincial government, will be the first of such Chinese financial services firm in the UAE bank free zone Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). ADGM said the firm has been approved by its Financial Services Regulatory Authority to conduct the regulated activities of providing and arranging credit via the ADGM platform. The firm will provide strategic investment and financial support to Chinese enterprises as part of the Belt and Road Initiative, said the statement. The agreement was signed by Wang Bin, chairman of China Jiangsu International and Ahmed Al Sayegh, chairman of ADGM in Abu Dhabi. Al Sayegh said as part of Abu Dhabi's economic blueprint, ADGM is honored to contribute constructively to the Belt and Road Initiative and work closely with their Chinese partners in fulfilling business goals. "ADGM remains committed in enhancing the cross-border connectivity and creating new opportunities between the two economies," added Al Sayegh. Wang said that "the Capacity Cooperation Demonstration Zone serves as a vital bridge between China and the UAE, and it is a vital measure supporting the Belt and Road Initiative." Wang added that "in the future, we expect about 2 billion U.S. dollars of investment will be managed by this financial services platform to support the Chinese enterprises in the demonstration park." Established in 2013 and fully open for business since 2015, ADGM is the UAE's second financial free zone behind the 2004-founded Dubai International Financial Center. You are here: China A total of 75,000 disabled people have been lifted out of poverty in northwest China's Gansu Province since 2014, local authorities said Friday. The provincial disabled person's federation said that 183,000 people in the province had been registered in a database of the impoverished disabled as of the end of 2014. There remain more than 100,000 impoverished disabled people in Gansu. The province has invested around 1.3 billion yuan (192 million U.S. dollars) in poverty alleviation for the impoverished disabled. "Since traffic is one of the elements hindering poverty alleviation among impoverished disabled people in the mountainous province, the local government has increased efforts to develop e-commerce for them," the federation said. More than 1,200 online stores have received support over the past five years, with the annual sales volume reaching over 600 million yuan. E-commerce has helped 7,300 impoverished disabled people find jobs and escape poverty during the period. "Local agricultural products can be sold for good prices online. This approach is very popular with young people," said Zhang Wei, a disabled man, adding that he could earn more than 30,000 yuan a year as a graphic designer for online stores. "Around 254,000 disabled people have found jobs after receiving training in the past five years, while the employment rate of the province increased from 60 percent in 2015 to 80 percent currently," said Hua Wenzhe, an official with the federation. Police across Guangdong province have detained 6,020 suspected telephone fraudsters after cracking 10,230 cases involving telephone fraud and related online crime in the first six months of the year. The figures represent a year-on-year increase of 37.2 percent and 17.3 percent respectively, according to Liang Ruiguo, political commissar of the Criminal Investigation Bureau with the Guangdong Provincial Department of Public Security. "The economic losses for the telephone fraud victims is estimated to have been more than 413 million yuan ($63.5 million) from January to June," Liang told a news conference in Guangzhou on Wednesday. "Meanwhile, police successfully helped prevent more than 150,000 other people from becoming victims of telephone fraud and other online crime, helping them avoid economic losses of more than 2 billion yuan," Liang said. Police have shut down more than 80,000 telephone numbers suspected of being used for telephone fraud, Liang said. "Police urge people not to transfer any money to designated bank accounts provided by people they do not know," Liang said. "Fraudsters seize every opportunity to con their victims, and people should improve their awareness to guard against being taken in by scams," he said. The crackdown in the first half of the year has dealt a heavy blow to telephone fraud in the southern province, one of the country's economic powerhouses, Liang said. He hinted more special campaigns will be launched in cooperation with relevant departments and companies, including banks and telecommunication companies, to focus on fighting telephone fraud and other online crime. Liang promised more new measures, equipment and technologies will be introduced to combat online and telecom fraud as criminals upgrade their methods to target victims. Huang Yingqi, a Guangzhou white collar worker, has also called for more effective and concrete measures to be taken to fight the crimes. "Telephone fraud and other online crime have become active in Guangdong, and many of my friends and neighbors have been defrauded or encountered online and telephone fraud in recent months," she said. As predicted, there was, after all, no grand bargain made at Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin's meet in Helsinki. As Trump completes his "global reorder" tour, as named by some international relations experts, all eyes were on Finland, where the leaders of the two superpowers were set to meet. After Trump's passive-aggressive talk at NATO, and his bizarre U.K. tour marred by controversy as he interfered in Brexit talks and committed the diplomatic gaffe of walking in front of the Queen there was some expectation that he might be mercurial in his meeting with Putin. The idea was that Trump might come to a deal with Putin, giving out Syria and other Middle Eastern countries, and perhaps recognizing Crimea. Had that been the case, it would have been the most significant change of direction in U.S. foreign policy since the end of World War II. However, nothing of that sort happened. In the joint press conference, President Putin said that the Cold War is a thing of the past, from a bygone era of acute ideological confrontation. He said the world has changed dramatically and new relations should reflect the new reality. Putin also said that Russia and America are not geopolitical allies and that the interests of the two nations might therefore naturally differ, but called upon both countries to deal with each other based on common interests. Asked about his views on the U.S. presidential election, Putin avoided accepting responsibility for any interference on Russia's part, but simply stated that he did want Trump to win, because Trump is the only one who wanted a shift in the U.S. relationship with Russia. The usual talking points were of course covered. Putin said that global American anti-missile defense is a knock to the already fragile balance of power and is therefore not in Russia's interest. He also warned against any future space race and weapons in space. Putin also maintained that there are areas where the U.S. and Syria can cooperate. "We favor the continued cooperation in counter-terrorism and maintaining cyber-security," he said, adding that establishing peace in Syria and working jointly on reconciliation is an example to emulate. In turn, President Trump acknowledged that Russia didn't interfere in American elections and avoided putting the blame on his counterpart, as expected. When asked what he thinks about Russian gas in the EU, Trump said, "I think that we will be completing when you talk about the pipeline. I'm not sure, necessarily, that it's in the best interests of Germany or not, but that was a decision that they made." Most strikingly, when asked about the ongoing investigation and its impact on diplomatic relations, Trump stated, perhaps in terms which are striking, that both the U.S. and Russia are to blame, but that things are changing. "I think that the United States now has stepped forward along with Russia, and we're getting together and we have a chance to do some great things, whether it's nuclear proliferation in terms of stopping you have to do it, ultimately that's probably the most important thing that we could be working on," President Trump said, adding that both sides have made mistakes, in particular with the probe. Despite the bonhomie, however, there was no material change. There were no new START talks, only lip service paid to terrorism and space cooperation, no new treaties signed, no specifics given about business or student exchanges. There was no grand bargain on Syria, or change of force posture in Middle East, and Ukraine wasn't even mentioned. The reality is that Trump likes Putin personally maybe, but that will not change the fundamental differences between the U.S. and Russia. This is not a pre-Magna Carta monarchy, and the great power foreign policies are defined by structural forces and interests, not by individuals, who are unlikely to have any agency. Unfortunately, due to Trump's capitulating performance, and the timing of indictments against Russian agents in the U.S., whatever goodwill Russia had among the Republicans will disappear, and U.S.-Russia relations will continue to hurtle toward a freefall. Sumantra Maitra is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/SumantraMaitra.htm Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors only, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. Flash President Xi Jinping said China and Senegal should deepen pragmatic cooperation under frameworks of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation to leverage their complementary strengths. Xi made the remark in a signed article published by the Senegalese daily newspaper Le Soleil ahead of his state visit to the country on Saturday. Xi said China is ready to deepen cooperation with Senegal in areas including trade and processing of agricultural and fishery products, infrastructure construction, production capacity, industrial parks and human resources development as well as help the country improve its self-development capacity. The two countries should stay committed to equality and mutual trust and handle bilateral relations from long-term perspectives, he said, adding that they should firmly support each other in issues relating to their core interests and major concerns. "We should be good friends and good partners who treat each other sincerely, trust each other and help each other," he wrote. Xi noted that China is now the second-largest trading partner of Senegal and bilateral trade volume has expanded by 16 times in the past decade. China is also the largest financing source for the country. A fund provided by China helped build 251 wells and 1,800 kilometers of pipelines in rural areas, providing water for drinking and daily use for one-seventh of the population, according to the article. Bilateral relations have opened a new chapter since the two countries reestablished diplomatic relations in 2005, and China supports Senegal in following a development path that suits its national conditions, Xi said. Senegal has provided China with firm support on issues related to its core interests, and political trust has risen continuously, giving rise to fruitful cooperative outcomes, he said. The two countries also should seek greater synergy in strategies, and China is willing to share with Senegal its experience of governance as well as its successful experience in industrial development, rural vitalization and poverty alleviation over the past 40 years in its reform and opening-up, Xi said. Xi also called on the two nations to bring their peoples closer and urged continuous bilateral exchanges in education and research institutions, art groups, media and youth. The two sides should also enhance cooperation in international and regional affairs, and China is willing to step up communication and coordination with Senegal over major issues including United Nations affairs, safeguarding the multilateral trading system, climate change and the peaceful development of Africa, Xi said. Xi added that China is willing to strengthen cooperation with Senegal within the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and seek greater development for the forum and China-Africa relations. (CNN) The goal of China's influence operations around the world is to replace the United States as the world's leading superpower, the CIA's Michael Collins said Friday. Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum during a session on the rise of China, Collins, the deputy assistant director of the CIA's East Asia Mission Center, said Chinese President Xi Jinping and his regime are waging a "cold war" against the U.S. "By their own terms and what Xi enunciates I would argue by definition what they're waging against us is fundamentally a cold war, a cold war not like we saw during the Cold War, but a cold war by definition. A country that exploits all avenues of power licit and illicit, public and private, economic and military, to undermine the standing of your rival relative to your own standing without resorting to conflict. The Chinese do not want conflict," Collins said. RELATED: Xi Jinping heads to Africa to clinch China's hold over the continent "At the end of the day they want every country around the world, when it's deciding its interests on policy issues, to first and foremost side with China and not the United States, because the Chinese are increasingly defining a conflict with the United States and what we stand behind as a systems conflict." By looking at the writings of Xi, whose "thought" or world view was recently enshrined in China's constitution, it's clear, Collins says, that the threat China presents is the greatest global challenge the U.S. currently faces. "It sets up a competition with us and what we stand behind far more significantly by any extreme than what the Russians could put forward," Collins said. Collins' comments on the third day of the forum echoed those of other senior U.S. officials there, including FBI Director Christopher Wray and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, who both pointed to China as the most significant danger for the US today. "I think China, from a counterintelligence perspective, in many ways represents the broadest, most challenging, most significant threat we face as a country," Wray had told his audience on Wednesday. "And I say that because for them it is a whole of state effort. It is economic espionage as well as traditional espionage; it is nontraditional collectors as well as traditional intelligence operatives; it's human sources as well as cyber means." Coats said Thursday that the U.S. needed to decide if China was a "true adversary or a legitimate competitor." He criticized Chinese state efforts to steal business secrets and academic research. "I think that's where we begin to draw the line," he said. China's growing defense posture Marcel Lettre, a former undersecretary of defense for intelligence, said that influence operations in which the ruling Communist Party uses political, financial and military strategies to establish and solidify its presence in countries in its region and beyond were only one tool China deploys as part of a larger effort to expand and grow. "It's a country that has the second largest global defense budget, the largest standing army of ground forces, the third largest air force in the world, a navy of 300 ships including more than 60 subs all of this is in the process of being modernized and upgraded," he said, adding that those upgrades were "oriented around the innovations we've been taking on the U.S. side for the last decade or two." China unveiled its first homegrown carrier, a 50,000-ton ship, in May. The carrier's maiden sea trial followed a speech by Xi on April 12 in which he announced plans to build a "world-class" navy under the banner of the Chinese Communist Party. While the new carrier will enhance China's military power in the region, experts said it was still outdated and lagged far behind the standard of American aircraft carriers. At the same time, China has established ports along the Indian Ocean that extend to Djibouti, where last year it dispatched two warships carrying an undisclosed number of troops to its first overseas military base. Susan Thornton, who serves as the acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, pointed to the impasse in the South China Sea as an area where the US presence might press Beijing to negotiate with other nations in the region that claim territory in the disputed waters. In recent years, the Chinese government has built a number of artificial islands in the South China Sea with military installations, including radar facilities and airstrips. Beijing asserts that much of the South China Sea is its sovereign territory, claims most of the internationally community view as spurious. "Will China be bound by rules and will it negotiate with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) multilateral partners or will it try to pick off one by one each individual and get more leverage that way?" she asked. Thornton, who was initially President Donald Trump's nominee for the assistant secretary position, resigned in June when she was notified she was no longer his choice. She told Friday's audience that her service would conclude at the end of the panel discussion. 'Our soft power is ... more powerful than their soft power' Part of Trump's new national security strategy announced in December includes moves to combat China on the technological and cyber fronts, but also to work with partners around the world to contest Chinese practices and persuade Beijing to agree to international conventions and standards. While much of the world's attention has been focused on crises including the terror attacks of 9/11, the Chinese have maintained a singular focus for years. "They are learning to be more coercive, learning to be more aspirational, learning to be more assertive by what they're getting away with," said the CIA's Collins. "9/11 is one example where the international community had to shift its attention to something else and the Chinese drove through that decade to especially expand where they are, so it's a long way of saying that there are things that happened in the international system, things that ... helped to explain to some degree the speed and expanse of where the Chinese have gotten to where they are today." Both Thornton and Collins pointed to events over the past decade to partly explain China's rapid expansion and growth. "The Chinese are very good at taking advantage of opportunities, which they may have been able to do in the recent past with our focus on the Middle East for the first part of the 2000s and following that the financial crisis," Thornton said. "We have to get back to doing what we do well. Our soft power is incredibly more powerful than their soft power. They don't really have that same kind of attractiveness that the US system has, and I think that's because our partners around the world know we stand by them and know we won't impose our will on them, that we'll work together with them." Collins said that even China's partners would not want to subscribe to the country's way of life. "I too am optimistic that in the battle for norms and rules and standards of behavior, that the liberal national order is stronger than the repressive standards that the Chinese promulgate," he said. "I'm confident others won't want to subscribe to that." This story was first published on CNN.com, "CIA official: China wants to replace US as world superpower." Flash Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming state visit to Senegal will be a historic one with great importance to the future of bilateral ties, said Senegalese President Macky Sall on Thursday. China-Senegal relations have maintained sound development over recent years, with bilateral practical cooperation bearing rich fruit and a series of large cooperation projects either completed or in steady progress. In an interview with Chinese media, Sall said he and his country are deeply honored to welcome Xi on his visit, the first by a Chinese head of state in nine years and Xi's first to a West African country. The two countries, he said, have upgraded bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership through joint efforts and will continue to enhance their relationship within the framework of China-Africa cooperation. "We have many expectations for President Xi's visit," said the Senegalese president. During Xi's visit, the governments of the two countries will sign a series of agreements on bilateral cooperation, said Sall, expressing the hope that China will be a more active participant in the Emerging Senegal Plan. Talking about China's development model and path, Sall said China has shown the world the concrete achievements the Chinese development model has made in economic, social and cultural areas. While preserving its rich history and culture, China has embarked upon the path of modernization, he added. China's successful experience is worth learning from for Africa, said the president, stressing that Africa's development path needs to suit its own characteristics, just as the Agenda 2063 of the African Union was formulated on the basis of Africa's development conditions. Noting that China has improved its infrastructure through railways, highways and bridges, he said Africa also needs to deal with such issues as infrastructure construction. Africa, he suggested, should make full use of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation to learn from China's experience and improve its own infrastructure. In addition, the Senegalese leader applauded the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, saying it developed from the ancient Silk Road, and that the initiative will traverse oceans and continents and connect people across the world. (CNN Money) WhatsApp is restricting the ability of users worldwide to forward messages as viral hoaxes on its platform continue to be blamed for a spate of mob violence in India. The messaging app, owned by Facebook, currently allows users to forward messages simultaneously to as many people and groups as they want. "Today, we're launching a test to limit forwarding that will apply to everyone using WhatsApp," the company said in a blog post late Thursday. "In India where people forward more messages, photos, and videos than any other country in the world we'll also test a lower limit of 5 chats at once and we'll remove the quick forward button next to media messages," it said. WhatsApp did not say what restrictions would apply outside India, but a source familiar with the situation told CNNMoney users would be limited to forwarding messages to 20 chats. This is the third major attempt by the company in three weeks to stop fake rumors from spreading on its platform. It has rolled out a feature globally that will label messages that are forwarded rather than composed by the sender. Last week, it began publishing full-page ads in Indian newspapers with tips for identifying fake news. It also recently added a feature allowing group administrators to control who can post messages. More than a dozen people all accused of child abduction based on rumors spread on WhatsApp have been killed in a series of lynchings across the country over the past two months. The latest attack last week, in which one man was killed and three others were seriously injured, prompted the government to send its second warning to WhatsApp in less than a month. RELATED: WhatsApp fights hoax messages in India after rumors led to killings The company is not doing enough to combat the "rampant circulation of irresponsible messages in large volumes," India's technology ministry said in a statement released Friday. "There is a need for bringing in traceability and accountability when a provocative [or] inflammatory message is detected and a request is made by law enforcement agencies," it added. "When rumors and fake news get propagated ... the medium used for such propagation cannot evade responsibility." Facebook has been struggling for months to deal with questions about the kind of content it allows on its website and other platforms. CEO Mark Zuckerberg had to issue a clarification this week after outrage over his comment that Facebook doesn't need to remove posts by some Holocaust deniers. WhatsApp's latest experiment may do little to halt the spread of inflammatory rumors in India. The app allows up to 256 people to be part of a single group chat, which means one message forwarded in India could still reach 1,280 people at the same time. RELATED: WhatsApp is using newspapers to fight fake news in India India is WhatsApp's biggest market worldwide, with more than 200 million users, and the company has been expanding its efforts to combat the spread of misinformation in the country. It is working with Indian researchers and authorities to help curb the spread of hoaxes ahead of the country's 2019 election in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will seek a second term in office. "WhatsApp recently engaged with the Election Commission and political organizers in India to discuss best practices for using WhatsApp as well as how to prevent misuse ahead of the election next year," a company spokesperson told CNNMoney on Friday. "WhatsApp was built for personal and small group conversations and we've always taken a strong stand against spam of any kind." Aayushmaan Thakur contributed to this report. This story was first published on CNN.com, "WhatsApp is adding new restrictions as killings continue in India." President Xi Jinping exchanged congratulatory messages on Thursday with Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties. In his message, Xi said that China and Cambodia have always supported and helped each other on issues related to their core interests, and have forged a profound friendship over the past 60 years. The ties have made substantial achievements in the new era, political mutual trust has been enhanced and Belt and Road cooperation has seen remarkable outcomes, Xi said. HK entrepreneur blasts 'masked' US trade data Updated: 2018-07-20 07:09 By Sun Feier in Hong Kong(HK Edition) A prominent businessman has lambasted what he calls the United States' "incomprehensive trade figures" that have concealed the true data, underpinning the current trade tensions between the world's two largest economies. "The US only emphasizes total exports minus imports without deducting their profits generated in China through direct foreign investment," said Siegfried Lee Siu-fung, chairman and chief executive officer of Frankfurt-listed ceramic sanitary ware maker ROY Ceramics. "Such a rough valuing system of the US hinders revelations of the true figures concerning trade deficits," Lee, who founded Hong Kong-listed Siu Fung Ceramics Holdings, told China Daily. As a third-generation overseas Chinese entrepreneur, Lee witnessed the historic opening-up of the Chinese mainland market and saw his business collapse in the wake of the Asian financial crisis in mid-1997. He was one of the first investors to take foreign ceramics into the Chinese market in the 1990s by building model plants at a cost of 500 million yuan in five mainland provinces. Twenty years later, he launched a German-listed smart toilet fitting brand targeting the European and North American markets. "It's inevitable that disputes between both sides will arise when they hold different perspectives of opinion on a single issue," said Lee. Both countries use a different statistics formula in calculating their exports and imports, resulting in a big gap in valuing China's trade surplus with the US, he explained. The US merchandise trade deficit with China in 2017 reached $375.2 billion - up from $367.3 billion in 2015 - according to the US Census Bureau. However, China Customs statistics put the US' trade imbalance at $275.8 billion for the same year. A lack of detailed response measures has also put China in a passive situation although the central government had clarified that the US trade deficit claimed by the Donald Trump administration is far from the real imbalance. Billy Mak Sui-choi, a Hong Kong Baptist University economist, said: "The point is who gets the profit and which country benefits from exports and imports. Take iPhone for example, most of the money goes to the US, while China merely provides the assembling facilities." He said that apart from merchandise trade, trade in services is another major part of international trade. "The US global trade imbalance sheet hasn't included the services import and export sector, in which it enjoys comparative advantages." According to US Commerce Department data, US services exports to China had seen a five-fold rise in the past decade, hitting $55.7 billion in 2016 - 40 times that of the previous 10 years. Thus, the Trump administration has ignored America's overall trade system in which bilateral trade deficit is quite normal, but only cited its "worsening" trade deficit with China in recent years. Foreign-owned enterprises have also played a significant role in Chinese exports to the US, with foreign companies accounting for 43 percent of China's total exports. China Customs statistics showed that foreign companies made up some 70 percent of the top 100 exporting companies to the US in 2016. For US importers, Lee pointed out another way for them to survive. "If you can prove that the cost of your imported goods from China is the lowest and they are of the same quality compared with those of other countries, then you'll probably get a tax exemption." Mak said, however, customs exemption isn't easy to deal with as applicants have to take into account bilateral laws and cultural differences. On the macro level, a 10-percent tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports is equivalent to 0.16 percent of China's GDP, while affected exports account for 8.8 percent of the country's total exports and 2.23 percent of national GDP, according to a JP Morgan research report. Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah has warned that Hong Kong, as the "middleman" between the Chinese mainland and the US, is bound to be hit directly by the trade tension. If the fresh round of US tariff threats is enforced, it would cut the SAR's GDP by 0.1 to 0.2 percent, he said. Considering that US merchandise exports to China amounted to $130 billion last year, Mak suggested that if China were to retaliate in kind, it would have to impose additional import tariffs at higher rates. joycesun@chinadailyhk.com (HK Edition 07/20/2018 page7) As the Stalinist right-hand man of Jeremy Corbyn, Seumas Milne has an iron grip on the Labour leadership. Back at home, however, the all-powerful spin doctor has been forced to let go. I hear he has left the home he shared in Richmond upon Thames with his wife of 26 years, Cristina Montanari. Seumas has moved out and his wife has filed for divorce, claims one of his associates. Married spin doctor Seumas Milne in a cinch with blonde barrister Jennifer Robinson Has the hard-Left son of late BBC director-general Alasdair Milne now joined the Notting Hill set? For Seumas, 59, has been spotted skulking round the swanky area of West London that is home to David Cameron, George Osborne and their well-heeled Tory chums. Last summer, Milne was pictured canoodling with high-powered Australian lawyer Jennifer Robinson, 36, at the five-star Courthouse Hotel in East Londons trendy Shoreditch. Unmarried Jennifer is a close friend of Amal Clooney and was a bridesmaid when her fellow human rights lawyer married George Clooney in Venice in 2014. After pictures were published of Jennifers clinch with Milne, one newspaper was briefed, ungallantly, that the former Guardian journalist was not a willing participant in the encounter, provoking much amusement. Has the hard-Left son of late BBC director-general Alasdair Milne now joined the Notting Hill set? Miss Robinson has worked for controversial Wikileaks founder Julian Assange for eight years. He has been holed up at the Ecuadorean embassy in Knightsbridge since 2012, after Sweden issued an international warrant for his arrest over allegations of sexual assault and rape. Before she was snapped with Milne, she already appeared to be a fan, congratulating him on becoming Labours top spin doctor with the message: This is brilliant news for Jeremy Corbyn. Congrats. Her barristers chambers, Doughty Street, represented Corbyn at the High Court during one of his leadership battles. Miss Robinson was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, where she attended Balliol College, Milnes alma mater. Milne was previously a pupil at 40,000-per-year Winchester College, where he stood in a mock election in 1974 as a Maoist Party candidate. He has two grown-up children with Italian-born Cristina, who is said to work as a private tutor. Their son and daughter were educated at selective grammar schools, reportedly at Cristinas insistence. Last night, Milne declined to comment. The smart set's talking about... Prince Harry's model ex love Sarah Ann Macklin was reported to have secretly courted Prince Harry at the same time as he was trying to woo Meghan Markle. Now, the 28-year-old Burberry model appears to have found an aristocratic replacement among the Princes pals. I hear that Sarah Ann, who has a degree in nutrition, is going out with Viscount Erleigh, 32-year-old heir to the Marquess of Reading and brother of girl-about-town Lady Natasha Rufus Isaacs. They are a couple, one of their friends confirms. Investment banker Julian Erleigh and Sarah Ann revved up their romance last weekend at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in West Sussex. The pair were introduced to each other by Julians sister Lady Nats, who is something of a matchmaker extraordinaire. The fashion designer also introduced the Prince to Zimbabwe-born Chelsy Davy back in 2004. Chelsy and Harry went on to enjoy an on-off relationship that spanned six years. Lord Erleigh quietly split up recently with his beautiful girlfriend of four years, Olivia Callaghan, 26, who runs a toy company. Sarah Ann is signed to leading agency Select Model Management and has worked for brands including Abercrombie & Fitch and Matthew Williamson. She turned heads in a racy photo-shoot for Esquire magazine in 2012, wearing a lace bra. Her new boyfriend may have a grand title, but will he measure up to Sarah Anns former boyfriend, the supermodel David Gandy? Lily Collins splashes out as dad Phil falters Lily Collins, who plays frail Fantine in BBC1s forthcoming adaptation of Les Miserables, is the picture of health as she frolics in the sea at Ischia in Italy. Wearing a 176 Stella McCartney swimsuit, the 29-year-old actress is on holiday with friends, staying at the five-star Hotel Regina Isabella. Her father, the Eighties pop star and former Genesis drummer Phil Collins, meanwhile, looked more like her grandad than her father as he hobbled aboard a yacht in the South of Frances St Tropez. Phil, 67, who fathered Lily with the second of his three wives, Jill Tavelman, needed a walking stick following a hotel room fall last summer. The poor chap, who can no longer play the drums or piano, had to perform recent concerts while sitting in a chair. Cressie ditches the 'pretty blonde' look Do gentlemen no longer prefer blondes? With Prince Harry now married to dark-haired Meghan Markle, his ex-girlfriend Cressida Bonas has undergone a radical transformation. The blonde 29-year-old actress shared a photograph online yesterday of herself with brunette locks. Well, aristocratic Cressie did declare earlier this year: I really dont want to be typecast as a pretty blonde. Oscar-winner Jeremy Irons has castigated U.S. star Scarlett Johansson after she pulled out of a film in which she was to play a transsexual. She bailed in the wake of criticism that the role should have gone to a trans actor. Acting is about playing different sorts of people, Irons tells me at the Xerjoff Royal Charity Polo Cup. You dont have to be a murderer to play a murderer, you dont have to be a trans-sexual to play a transsexual. Its ludicrous she shouldnt have done it. Are the owners of Londons royal haunts feeling the pinch now that Prince Harry has given up his boozing in favour of cosy nights in with his clean-living wife? His former favourite nightclub Boujis closed down just after he met Meghan Markle. Now, another of his regular venues, Alberts Club in South Kensington, has shut its doors. A spokesman insists it will be launched again in a different location. The Duchess of Cambridges parents are often accused of taking advantage of their connections with royal-themed ranges at their party paraphernalia business, but the Middletons are rank amateurs compared with Prince Charles. Hes marked the birth of his third grandchild, Prince Louis, by flogging a pair of gold embroidered baby shoes on his Highgrove website. Described as a classic keepsake memento created especially to celebrate this historic day, they will set you back 11.95 plus a whopping 5.95 P&P. And theyre not even made by his future subjects, but handcrafted by skilled master embroiderers in India. Charles marked the birth of his third grandchild, Prince Louis, by flogging a pair of gold embroidered baby shoes Rod brands Dylan 'very disappointing' Sir Rod Stewart called Sir Elton Johns farewell tour dishonest earlier this year, claiming it stinks of selling tickets. And hes not much kinder about his fellow rock legends Bob Dylan and Sir Van Morrison. Of 77-year-old Dylan, controversially awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016, Rod declares himself very disappointed, explaining: I went to see him in concert. He doesnt acknowledge the audience. The songs are nowhere near to what theyre meant to sound like. His verdict on Belfast-born Van Morrison, 72, is grimmer still. He just puts his head down and gets on with it, says Rod. I got my three daughters tickets to see him. Within two songs, they were on their cell phones . . . (Very) modern manners Lounging round all summer should be relaxing, but BBC radios Fi Glover is unable to enjoy the experience. I have often found while floating in the pool or the shallows of the Med that my stresses and strains wont drain from me because Im unable to lie totally flat due to my heavin cleavage, admits the 49-year-old, whose marriage to then BBC editor Mark Sandell ended after he cheated on her with her Radio 5 Live colleague Victoria Derbyshire. Entire holidays have been ruined by having to be 176 degrees to the horizontal on an inflatable, not 180. Both hail from ancient aristocratic families, hold strong views and have their own farms. So perhaps its not surprising that Prince Charles is a secret fan of Ross Poldark. During a visit to Fowey, Cornwall, Charles hinted he was a regular viewer of the hit BBC 1 period drama set in the county. The series, which stars Aidan Turner as the often-shirtless Ross, is based on the 12 novels by Winston Graham. At the shop Bookends, the Prince remarked: What I cant get over watching that Poldark stuff on TV is how many he wrote . . . One of Charless titles is Duke of Cornwall, but who is the bigger heart-throb? Keep it to yourself but... A senior member of the Royal Family arrived an hour-and-a-half late for a reception at which he was guest of honour and failed to offer so much as a word of apology or regret to his hosts. Among the tens of thousands of protesters who gathered in London for the anti-Trump rally was the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, Jo Swinson. She was pictured cradling her newborn son Gabriel in a sling, holding aloft her 'Lib Dems against Trump' banner. All well and good exercising her democratic right to protest and all that. But the same Ms Swinson is now at the heart of a row that could force the sacking of the Tory Chief Whip. Liberal Democrats deputy leader Jo Swinson's synthetic outrage is utterly unedifying It centres around her decision to stay away from the Commons on maternity leave for the crucial Brexit debate on Tuesday that the Tories won by a mere six votes. She did so under an arcane parliamentary convention called 'pairing', which allows MPs on different sides of the House to pair up and agree not to vote when one of them is away due to illness, travel or, as in Ms Swinson's case, maternity leave. Her 'pair', Tory chairman Brandon Lewis, broke the convention by voting on Tuesday night apparently at Chief Whip Julian Smith's request while Ms Swinson was away. And now the Lib Dems and Labour are demanding Smith's resignation. All of which leaves the huge question: if the Lib Dem deputy leader was able to take time off from her precious maternity leave to march against the U.S. President, why on earth couldn't she manage to get to the House on a vote of such crucial importance? Jo Swinson's absence from the Commons merely feeds into a narrative gaining increasing currency among voters that female MPs indulge in special pleading and are not serious about their parliamentary work. Only recently, Labour's Danielle Rowley told the House she was late for a debate because she was 'on her period', for goodness sake. Too often women MPs gain notice for weeping in debates, or for hysterical rants such as the one we witnessed from the Tory's Europhile Anna Soubry this week. At a time when bitter party infighting over Brexit means our political class has seldom looked more shabby, 38-year-old Ms Swinson's synthetic outrage is utterly unedifying. If she truly wants to be a trail-blazer for women in politics, she should re-examine her priorities and decide whether attending a protest march against the President of a country that's been our greatest ally was really more important than voting in a parliamentary debate that could have brought down our Prime Minister. Mara's silly stunt Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Mara Martin strode down the catwalk in a bikini, breastfeeding her five-month-old baby daughter who was wearing a nappy and headphones, perhaps to protect her from the shrieks of awe-struck fashionistas. A great moment for mums everywhere? No. Just a cynical politically correct stunt in the middle of a flesh parade. Mara Martin strode down the catwalk in a bikini, breastfeeding her baby daughter Kate and William, married for seven years, have taken their three children on holiday in the Caribbean with her parents, Carole and Michael, and pregnant sister Pippa with her husband James. What a contrast to the sorry debacle that is the Markle family. A picture of mother love We've become inured to vacuous selfies, but the picture Clare O'Neill posted of herself battered and bruised in a hospital gown holding her four-week-old baby Eliza could not be more different. She had clung on and been dragged along as thieves stole her car from her driveway and drove off with baby Eliza inside. They dumped the little mite at a health centre 45 minutes later. Despite poor Clare's broken teeth and bloodied face, it's a picture of mother and child as moving as Michelangelo's sculpture Pieta. Madonna's marvellous mission When Madonna adopted David Banda and Mercy James, both now 12, from an orphanage in Malawi, many, including me, raised doubts about how the children would turn out. Especially when she adopted twin girls Estere and Stelle, now five, from the same institution. Since then, she has built the first paediatric hospital in that poverty-stricken country which, locals say, has saved thousands of lives. On behalf of all of us doubters, Madonna, I apologise. In interviews for the forthcoming ITV adaptation of Vanity Fair, its star Olivia Cooke complains she had to move to America to get a break into acting, as thespians here sneered at her Mancunian accent. It didn't hold back Ben Kingsley, Ian McKellen and Christopher Eccleston now, did it, love? It was billed as the Love Island for over-50s, yet the first episode of ITV's Our Shirley Valentine Summer was missing a key ingredient men. Eight single celebrity women were shipped out to Greece and spent the entire time whingeing about their betrayal by former partners. Chris Tarrant's ex-wife Ingrid admitted she hadn't had sex for 11 years. No worries there, as the rapacious Italian Nancy Dell'Olio assured us she'd made up for the rest of them. The sun may have been smiling, but I wasn't it was television to slit your wrists to. Full-time partygoer Princess Eugenie and fiance Jack whose job is ambassador for a tequila brand are deigning to allow 1,200 ordinary folk to share their wedding in October in the grounds of Windsor Castle. Who do they think they are? The cost of security to us taxpayers will run into millions. A little steep for the privilege of seeing the worst dressed mother-of-the-bride in history: that fatuous, freeloading frump Fergie. Westminster noticeboard In the fortnight since her catastrophic Chequers summit, Theresa May has had more outfit switches than Meghan and changed her nail polish colour more times than she's changed her mind on Brexit. Theresa, no amount of flash outfits will save you if you betray Britain. Former Home Office Minister David Maclean, now a lord, says gluttony and laziness are killing the NHS. 'Obesity is not an illness, it is a lifestyle choice. We are creating a nation of fat, idle people who will bankrupt the NHS,' he says. Well said. But has he cast his eye over his portly, ermine-draped fellow peers recently? Due to her Chequers debacle, Mrs May will embark upon on a tour of Britain in an attempt to win back sceptical grassroots Tories. Hasn't she noticed that, after this hot summer of discontent, the grass has given up and died? Fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg says Viagra is the worst thing that happened to women of a certain age, as their men are empowered not only with a false sense of masculinity but an ability to perform all night. A woman I know slips half a crushed sleeping pill into her husband's wine before they go to bed on his 'blue tablet' nights. Fifteen minutes later, the only thing that keeps her awake is his snoring. Lord Lothario? I can't believe it My eyes were on stalks reading the lascivious tale of the former Tory chief executive Lord Prior's home being desecrated with 16 pints of pigs' blood by his enraged mistress of eight years. She'd discovered the man she described as 'a madman in bed' in the arms of another woman. Lord alive! Can this be the same meek, bald, bespectacled David Prior I used to work with under William Hague? He was the least likely Lothario in the world and happily married with two children. He'd blush scarlet if an even vaguely pretty girl entered the room. Perhaps he suffered a classic mid-life crisis. He lost his Commons seat in 2001, and was then investigated and cleared for financial irregularities in his next job as chairman of an NHS trust. Perhaps he had to re-establish his virility in the arms of a woman who gave every sign of being a bunny boiler. Whatever the case, I just can't get out of my head how happy he and his adorable wife Caroline and their children used to look together. Victoria Beckham is selling the gloomy 'funeral dress' she wore at the Megs and Harry wedding for just 1,495, while Stella McCartney has flogged 23 white and 23 black copies of the evening dress she designed for Meghan to wear at the wedding party. Talk about cashing in on the royals! In the mid-1980s, there was a political scandal in Ireland. Now forgotten, it did, however, enhance our language. One observer described the affair as grotesque, unbelievable, bizarre and unprecedented a phrase which was promptly shortened to GUBU. After two years of negotiating ineptitude which would be laughable if it were not so very serious, Brexit has entered the GUBU phase. How will it end? Boris Johnson giving a statement to the House of Commons on Wednesday Nobody knows. Certainly, we are no nearer a deal. The new Brexit Secretary, Dominic Raab, a good choice for the role, will try to exercise grip with the help of Olly Robbins, the Whitehall official handling negotiations with Brussels on Theresa Mays behalf. Robbins has been demonised by some bone-headed Brexiteer Tory MPs who should know better. In reality, he is one of the ablest civil servants of his generation. He did indeed have to take a more prominent role in talks with the EU than is customary for civil servants, but what else could he have done? There was no leadership from No 10 while David Davis and Boris Johnson seemed uninterested in grasping detail. Someone had to take charge. On Wednesday, Boris did try to sound serious. But in his two years as Foreign Secretary, what did he actually achieve? Boris Johnson 'made no contribution to Brexit', writes Bruce Anderson He made no contribution to Brexit. And as a result of his crassness, a British wife and mother is trapped in an Iranian jail. A few years ago, Boriss biographer, Andrew Gimson, said that putting him in charge of anything important was as wise as entrusting an ape with a Ming vase. Prophetic words. Yet he is now again on manoeuvres, hoping to position himself for a crack at the Premiership. God help us. Meanwhile, David Davis has returned to the role he most enjoys: a dagger in search of a shoulder-blade. In my view, any government without those two is immediately stronger, but there are still mountains to climb. The likelihood must be that the negotiating period will end without a deal. If so, that is bad news all round. The argument against Brexit is that it ignores the economic interdependence between the UK and Europe. A campaign of mutual aggression and retaliation would be in no ones interests, yet it could well happen. In a rational world, this danger would be averted. But we are not only dealing with rationalism. The EU is less of an economic concept than a religious cult. To devotees, we British are heretics. So a hard and hostile Brexit is all too likely. How bad would that be? No one knows. Sense may still prevail. Some European governments do want a deal. At home, Theresa May says she will tour the country explaining herself and by implication showing leadership. Can she manage that? Can she change? We shall see. In a GUBU world, anything is possible. Theresa Mays Chequers plan for Brexit, it is fair to say, has come in for some flak over the past fortnight since it was published. Some Cabinet Ministers toasted its conception at the country house retreat on the Friday, only to resign over it by the Monday. Meanwhile, the EUs chief Brexit negotiator warned it could give Britain a competitive advantage over the EU in services after we leave. This, of course, is a harsh criticism from Michel Barnier from his side of the Channel, that sort of prospect for Britain is to be discouraged. So it is perhaps worth reminding ourselves what is actually in the proposals, before such pesky things as facts are utterly obscured by the howls of rhetoric and disdain. The first thing to state, though it should be obvious, is that the proposals actually mean leaving. So no more MEPs, no sitting around the Council of Europe table, no vast annual contributions to the EU budget, no more free movement. Ruth Davidson, the leader of the Conservative Party in Scotland, has called on the public to back Theresa May who is trying to give the public what they voted for In addition, the Chequers agreement makes clear that under these proposals the UK would re-establish its own independent seat at the World Trade Organisation. It would allow us to strike independent free trade deals with other countries, take us out of the Common Agricultural Policy, the hated Common Fisheries Policy and, on EU law, it would ensure Parliament had a democratic lock on any regulations we were asked to incorporate, while restoring the supremacy of UK courts. As a prominent Remainer, that may be a bit Brexity for my blood, but I have to recognise my side didnt win the referendum, so we will actually be leaving the EU. It is where the Prime Minister has sought to be pragmatic over future trading arrangements and the UKs unique constitutional situation that she has come in for the most criticism from high-profile supporters of Brexit. The agreement proposes a UK-EU free trade area, with a common rulebook for all goods. This would be complemented by a customs model designed to smooth access to each others markets. This is where the screams of betrayal lie. And I have to say, I dont understand them. During the referendum campaign, any suggestion that it might not be in the UKs interest to interrupt export arrangements with the worlds largest free trade area or to have lorry parks at Dover for customs checks was shouted down. This was Project Fear 2.0 and, we were told, there would be no disruption of course there would be a deal over trade, customs and market access. The Chequers deal proposes exactly that. In practice, goods could still move between the UK and the EU without any friction at the border. Food and drink exports could still come and go without any checks. The supply chains for car manufacturers in the UK which reach right across Europe would remain intact. Ruth Davidson: 'As Conservatives, we should know better than anyone what a parliamentary party in revolt over Europe leads to' Removing the need for customs checks at the border would also respect the need for no hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. This is important. It is not enough for us to focus only on negotiations with Europe we have to make sure in the weeks and months ahead that we do nothing to weaken our own internal market and the bonds that keep the UK together. It is simply not acceptable to destroy the agreements and arrangements which have resulted in peace on the island of Ireland, nor to give succour to the assertive nationalist movements in Northern Ireland and Scotland by leaving one part of the UK behind or putting a hard border down the middle of the Irish Sea. If Brexit was supposed to be about sovereignty, then it cant be achieved by making the very fabric of the UK weaker in the process. For this reason, Theresa May made her first big post-Chequers speech on Brexit in Belfast on Friday. As well as seeking to reassure people and businesses on both sides of the border that she understands the need to find a practical solution, it was also a challenge to the EU itself. The UK has had to compromise; it is time the EU does the same. Theresa May's Chequers plan should get the backing it deserves according to Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson And the pain of compromise is what is at the crux of the sound and fury weve seen these past two weeks. What Brexit would look like was never defined on the ballot paper, so there were infinite ideas of what it could mean. Because the result 52 per cent versus 48 per cent was so close, theres no national agreement on the way forward. The Prime Minister is in a hellish position, trying to construct a practical, pragmatic roadmap which means nobody gets exactly what they want. All the time the clock is ticking, the parliamentary arithmetic is working against her and EU members are watching the domestic discord and thinking their job is getting ever easier. Robin Swann, the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, let his frustrations boil over last week, declaring the Brexit uncertainty for Northern Ireland was being exacerbated as a result of some of the shenanigans going on in Westminster where party political manoeuvres and future career prospects seem to be taking precedence over the national interest. He has a point. As Conservatives, we should know better than anyone what a parliamentary party in revolt over Europe leads to. Labour is now leading in the polls and Jeremy Corbyn is so emboldened that hes summoned his front bench to start planning his first 100 days in power. He has taken advice from former prime ministers and civil service chiefs about which laws to bring forward first. If that doesnt give some of the louder or more tribal voices pause, I dont know what will. This is a man with a self-confessed Marxist as Shadow Chancellor and outriders who are now wearing I am literally a communist T-shirts. A Corbyn government would be catastrophic for our country. We have a duty to serve the public in the national interest, to deliver the Brexit referendum result in a way that mitigates risks and maximises opportunities, and keeps the fabric of our own United Kingdom together. That means compromise, whichever side of the debate we were on two years ago. And, for all the siren voices, in those two years no one has brought forward a serious, detailed alternative plan. The Prime Minister has one on the table. Yes, it requires compromise, but it is now crunch point. We are sending our Prime Minister to negotiate on the nations behalf against the massed ranks of 27 other countries and the entire apparatus of the EU. It is time to get behind her. Tiffany Trump and her mother, Marla Maples, are touring the English countryside together, and the proud mom couldn't resist sharing a scenic photo of herself posed with her daughter and a friend on top of Glastonbury Tor. The 54-year-old mom took to Instagram on Friday evening to post a snapshot of herself sitting with Tiffany, 24, and their pal Cat Faith while enjoying the view from the top of the hill near Glastonbury home of the world famous music festival. 'Secrets unfold high above #Glastonbury,' Marla captioned the image, which was taken at sunset. Scroll down for video What a view: Marla Maples, 54, took to Instagram on Friday to share a photo of herself sitting on top of Glastonbury Tor with her daughter Tiffany, 24, and their friend Cat (from left to right) Magical trip: Around the same time, Marla posted a video of herself being driven past Stonehenge in Wiltshire, calling the prehistoric monument' stunning' 'Felt as if worlds were coming together as Tiffany, Cat and I (plus some very talkative Sheep) arrived at the top of Glastonbury Tor just as the sun began to set... loved walking this ground and following the signs that led us each on our own path to the Tower and then brought us together again.#findyourpath and is it belongs to you [sic].' Although a portion of Marla's face is cut off in the selfie, she has a smile on her lips while next to her daughter. Tiffany, meanwhile, is pictured looking at the camera with dark sunglasses shielding her eyes, and Cat is sitting next to her with a smile on her face and a brimmed hat on her head. Around the same time, Marla posted a video of herself being driven past Stonehenge in Wiltshire, calling the prehistoric monument' stunning.' Morning walk: Tiffany has also been sharing snippets from their trip to Somerset Cheers: On Thursday, Cat shared a snapshot of herself enjoying some green juice with Marla in London, writing: 'Green juice makes you glow!' 'And it appears,' she captioned the footage of the ring of standing stones. Tiffany has also been sharing photos of their trip, and while on an early morning walk on Friday, she posted clips of the stunning scenery of the countryside in Glastonbury. The peaceful morning views she shared on her Instagram Stories showed sheep and lambs meandering beneath the shade of trees as the sun rose. Tiffany and Marla jetted into Heathrow Airport on Wednesday, and just hours after they touched town, they visited Mayfair and Soho, two affluent areas in London. The mother-daughter duo spent the first part of their night at the exclusive Arts Club, before heading to MNKY HSE, a Latin American bar in Soho. United Kingdom: After arriving at Heathrow Airport on Wednesday, Tiffany and Marla met friends out at the exclusive Arts Club in London Night out: The mother-daughter duo enjoyed some time at the Arts Club (left) before meeting Tiffany's friend Karen Shiboleth (right) Tiffany, who is enjoying a break from her studies at Georgetown Law School, happily posed for photos with her friend Karen Shiboleth during her night out on the town. When posting the images on Instagram, she wrote: 'Finally reunited with my best @karenshiboleth (definitely worth the trip to London to see my girl!)' Karen, 25, a long-time friend of Tiffany's, is originally from New York, but she moved to London is September 2016 to work towards a master's degree in international relations at King's College. Marla also posted photos from the night out, including a snapshot of herself posed with Tiffany and Karen. 'Hanging with these intelligent young beauties,' she captioned the image. 'Thx for including momma in the fun.' All smiles: Marla struck a pose with her friend Melissa Hannan and Cat at MNKY HSE, a Latin American bar in Soho Model move: The first daughter struck a pose with Karen while enjoying their night out 'Definitely worth the trip to London to see my girl,' the socialite captioned her Instagram post, which showed her and her pal Karen posing together for a mini shoot On Thursday, Cat shared a snapshot of herself enjoying some green juice with Marla in London, writing: 'Green juice makes you glow!' After enjoying the sights and sounds of the capital, Marla, Tiffany, and Cat left the buzz of the big city behind for a more relaxing stint in the countryside. Tiffany is basking in Britain's bucolic splendor just a week after her father, Donald Trump, was met with large protests when he made his first official visit to the UK. During the trip, he met with British Prime Minister Theresa May and had tea with the Queen at Windsor Castle; however, he acknowledged that the protests in London kept him from almost entirely avoiding the British capital. Tiffany, who appears to be soaking up every moment of her summer break, enjoyed nights out in the Hamptons and New York City before her latest getaway. Protected: The first daughter was under the watchful eye of her Secret Service detail (right) during the night out in London Family style: Tiffany donned a baby blue suit and a see-through black top, while Marla showed off her trim figure in a dark jumpsuit If her recent photos are any indication, she looks to be worlds away from the controversy her father is facing back in Washington, D.C. Trump's daughter and his ex-wife flew out of New York first thing on Wednesday as he continued to face criticism over his Helsinki summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Around this time last year, Tiffany and Marla jetted off on a similar summer getaway as they soaked up the sun on a luxury yacht off the coast of Capri, Italy. They sailed around the Italian coast for close to two weeks before ending their trip in the seaside town of Portfofino. Their two-week journey was later revealed to have cost taxpayers $117,489.44 in car rentals alone. A cafe is bringing the quirky coffee craze on social media to a whole new level by creating a selfie coffee or 'selfieccino'. Located in the Myer Centre in Brisbane, ChanGe Cafe is the first to serve the unique beverage in Queensland. The cafe lets customers have their own personalised drink within minutes. A cafe is bringing the quirky coffee craze on social media to a whole new level by creating a selfie coffee or 'selfieccino' Located in Brisbane, ChanGe Cafe is the first to serve the unique beverage to Queensland Owner of the cafe, Angela Wang wanted to give her customers something different before opening the doors in February. Ms Wang told ABC that her friend advised her that Brisbane needed something other than 'just another cafe'. It was that same friend that bought her the machine, allowing pictured to be printed on foam coffees. Owner of the cafe, Angela Wang was advised to give her customers something different before she opened the doors in February 'Coffee is a culture, but we can make the culture even more interesting in Australia,' Ms Wang said. Although she prefers her cafe to have a reputation for her good quality coffee and service, Ms Wang said that the printed coffee was an extra selling point to bring customers in. 'The best thing is that it makes customers come in without them knowing whether my coffee is good or not, so it's been helpful for me as I don't have a lot of marketing experience,' she said. The printed coffee was most popular with younger customers who were excited to see their picture on the top of their coffee. 'The majority of the customers are Generation Y and tourists some of the older people can't accept it and they don't want their face on anything,' Ms Wang said. Advertisement It was once home to Princess Margarets lover Group Captain Peter Townsend. Now Adelaide Cottage, nestled in the heart of the Home Park in Windsor, is set to welcome the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. According to a source, the Queen has offered the Grade II listed property to the newlyweds as a gift. The source claimed that the couple had been for a viewing, liked it and will move in soon. Last night Kensington Palace declined to comment. Adelaide Cottage, nestled in the heart of the Home Park in Windsor, is set to welcome the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The property was once home to Group Captain Peter Townsend (left) the lover of Princess Margaret (right) Built in 1831 as a retreat for William IVs wife Queen Adelaide, it has been home to Royal dignitaries and courtiers, most recently Simon Rhodes, son of the Queens cousin and best friend Margaret Rhodes, who died in 2016. But Group Capt Townsend equerry to King George VI when he and his wife Rosie Marchioness Camden were given the grace-and-favour property in 1945 is its best-known former resident. Soon after the couples divorce in 1952, his doomed romance with Princess Margaret became public. Adelaide Cottage, which underwent renovation in 2015, is described as picturesque by the heritage organisation Historic England. It says the main bedroom in the generously sized cottage boasts a coved ceiling with gilded dolphins and rope ornament from a 19th Century Royal yacht. There is also a marble Graeco-Egyptian fireplace. Offering quick access to London, the secluded property is close to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburghs private apartments and only a few miles from the Guards Polo Club in Windsor Great Park, which Harry regularly visits. The source added: There are seven gated entrances and exits to Windsor Castle so the newlyweds could come and go without worrying about being photographed. St Leonards 70 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4QX Rating: Solecisms, growls Rowley with a gruff shake of the head. Pure culinary solecisms. He casts aside the menu, deeply unimpressed. The chef and food writer is not in the best of moods, having battled from west to east on a sticky, sweaty Tube, on this most sticky and sweaty of close summer days. Were at St Leonards in Shoreditch, the new place from chefs Andrew Clarke and Jackson Boxer, also of Brunswick House. The former is broad and heavily inked, his hair flowing past his shoulders, his beard tightly plaited and hanging down to his chest. The latter is clean-cut and boyish. They make an incongruous couple but share a gentle charm and clear-eyed intensity, working the pass with the minimum of fuss. Vast: The restaurant in Shoreditch, East London, combines modern and ancient features The room is vast and sunny, warmly industrial, the back wall dominated by an old-fashioned hearth, filled with a roaring fire, and various medieval-looking pieces of iron racks and hooks from which hang various haunches of flesh. Adjacent is an aluminium-clad open kitchen, with shelves filled with various jars of pickled whatever, and a great monolithic block of marble, upon which sits a raw bar of oysters, fish and clams. So fire and ice, ancient and modern, the raw and the cooked. Theres brisk, bright, breezy service and seriously yeasty Fino, served ice- cold. And comfortable chairs and the feeling that this will be a lunch to remember. But Rowley still aint content. Hes an exacting eater, and one not given to hyperbole. Or even faint praise. Foie gras custard, he says, barely able to conceal his disdain. That just doesnt work. And beurre blanc with rhubarb? Animal fats clashing with acidity? Right: Sichuan clam at St Leonards in Shoreditch, the new place from chefs Andrew Clarke and Jackson Boxer, also of Brunswick House He harrumphs, and goes back to the wine list. Then, 9 for a single cherrystone clam doesnt make things any better. But its one hell of a bivalve, and these babies dont come cheap. Scented with the most subtle of Sichuan pepper oils (yup, seriously, a subtle Sichuan pepper oil, a phrase I never thought Id write), with the merest nudge of numbness and tiny pieces of chopped coriander stalk, its meaty and magnificent. Leigh nods his approval. Albeit grudgingly. There are oysters, flamed with pork fat and blitzed chicharrons, where seashore meets farmyard to exquisite effect. All that lard teases out the clean, luscious salinity of the shellfish. While the kiss of the fire is subtle and understated. Dressed sees them covered with pickled garlic scrapes, so the liquor has bite. But neither smothers the oysters natural charm. What Tom ate last week Thursday Lunch at Satay House in Paddington. Excellent chicken satay, flaky roti canai, dried anchovy with peanuts, and a rich, subtly spicy kari laksa. Friday A proper long lunch at Sabor. Prawn croquettes, frit mariner, Iberian duck and ajo blanco, ox tongue carpaccio, anchovies, plus shrimps with fried egg. Saturday Down to the country for a wedding. Beautifully cooked salmon for 300, plus new potatoes and good vegetables. Sunday A boiled egg with my father, then a rather hungover McDonalds. Advertisement Mackerel is sensationally fresh, sashimi-grade, blissfully rich, with bitter dandelion leaves to shock the taste buds out of their sensuous stupor, and a gentle soy butter that flatters the fish and brings the whole dish together. The flavours are immaculately balanced but never over-complicated. While the dish is as pretty as a sylvan meadow. As is another lithe, lovely plate with sliced courgettes and fresh peas, topped with soft slices of razor clam for extra texture, and scattered with purple borage flowers. Theres something surreal about these vast, bearded Vikings in the kitchen (the chef de partie, Keith, is equally hirsute), plating these incredibly dainty dishes. White asparagus (so underrated, says Rowley) comes in the sort of beurre blanc that would make Anatole grin, and is scattered with tiny slivers of pink grapefruit. Such elegance, and technique, and restraint. Classic cuisine, yet thrustingly modern too. What were you saying about animal fats and acidity? I ask. He pauses. It reads badly but tastes OK. What about the foie gras custard? The acidity is just right, the smoked eel immaculate. Japan meets France in an entente shiawase. A curl of chicharron adds porky crunch. For me, its sensational. I look to Rowley. OK, he admits, Im really enjoying this. A piece of bavette, lavished with frozen bone marrow, is somewhat of a step down. Like returning to Kansas after the Technicolored thrills of Oz. Its a mite overdone and needs more seasoning. Duck, though, and lots of it, has the crispest of skin and most buxom and juicy flesh, and fistfuls of green olives, and charred endive, a salty, bitter, fatty riot of delight. Rowley, whos eaten the original at Allard in Paris, reckons it comes close but no cigar. Unsullied by comparisons, I fall in love. Even the vegetables demand ones attention. Hispi cabbage, that ubiquitous ingredient, is slathered with a fierce Sichuan paste and is both forthright and fierce. It would wow in Chengdu. And thats the joy of St Leonards. Poise and subtlety when needed, but then no fear of going balls-out on the big flavours. Theres real art here, and startling originality too. We linger over a glass of vin jaune. By now, the place is empty and tables are being set for dinner. So what did you think, I ask as we totter out into the late- afternoon fug? Not bad, he says with a nod, and the beginnings of a smile. Not bad at all. About 40 per head. Tory MP David Davies said it could be a scandal and 'the NHS needs to fully investigate' Autistic teenagers are being given powerful drugs which pave the way for a sex change, despite experts fears that they might not be transgender at all. Up to 150 youngsters have been given puberty blocker drugs, which stop the body maturing, after being seen at Britains only NHS transgender clinic for children. These drugs, which can permanently weaken bones, are often the first step to changing sex. The figure is based on an official report which found that a third of those referred to the Tavistock Clinic in London have strong signs of autism. By comparison, just one in 100 of the general population is thought to be autistic. Up to 150 youngsters have been given puberty blocker drugs, which stop the body maturing, after being seen at Britains only NHS transgender clinic for children (stock image) Experts last night warned that autistic youngsters could end up having irreversible sex change treatment after latching on to the mistaken belief they were born the wrong sex and that new guidelines meant doctors are often too afraid to challenge them. Tory MP David Davies said: The NHS needs to fully investigate this. It would be an absolute scandal if, 20 years from now, we discovered a load of people who are not transgender at all had been stuck on to a medical pathway because NHS personnel were told not to challenge young people who said they were transgender. The proportion of youngsters with autistic traits seen at the Tavistock is revealed in a new practice review written by leading clinicians at its Gender Identity Development Service. It states: A range of psychometric measures are used to assess behavioural and emotional functioning, including features of autistic spectrum disorder and self-harm. Around 35 per cent of referred young people present with moderate to severe autistic traits. University College Hospital, in central London: Britains only NHS transgender clinic for children Co-author Bernadette Wren, a consultant clinical psychologist, said the figure was based on 1,069 children and teenagers referred to the clinic between 2011 and last year. Of those, 372 (35 per cent) were assessed as having autistic traits. Overall, four in ten of the Tavistocks patients go on to receive puberty blockers. If the proportion of potentially autistic patients going on to blockers is the same, around 150 will have done so. Dr Wren said they had not yet analysed the figures to confirm that was the case. Puberty blockers prepare the ground for a sex change by making surgery physically easier. They are administered to the Tavistocks young patients at University College Hospital. Upon turning 16, most of those on blockers are given powerful cross-sex hormones which alter their appearance. Testosterone helps those born female put on muscle and gives them body hair, while oestrogen promotes the growth of breast tissue in those born male. Tory MP David Davies said: The NHS needs to fully investigate this. It would be an absolute scandal if, 20 years from now, we discovered a load of people who are not transgender at all had been stuck on to a medical pathway because NHS personnel were told not to challenge young people who said they were transgender' Autism expert Dr Sally Powis said that autistic teenagers searching for a reason why they did not fit in could fixate on the idea that they were born into the wrong body. If you know youve been different since you were a small child, theres the possibility you consider its your gender thats the issue, rather than autism, she said. Psychotherapist James Caspian claimed that many clinicians felt unable to question gender beliefs, due in part to a recent Memorandum of Understanding banning conversion therapy by the UK Council for Psychotherapy. I have been contacted by psychotherapists who work with adolescents on the autistic spectrum who have expressed concern over the current climate, he added. Psychotherapist Bob Withers, who has treated a number of transgender patients, said: I think the Tavistock is under pressure because the trans lobby has become so dominant and powerful. The cheapest place for British families to go on holiday in Europe has been revealed, thanks to new research. Turkey comes top of the list for places for bargain-hunting Brits, with the sea-side resort of Mararis coming in at 36 percent cheaper than last summer. Thanks to the pounds growth against the lira, savvy holiday makers can bag a bucket and spade for 82p at the Turkish resort, as well as a banana boat ride for 6.53, a tasty magnum ice cream for 73p and an inflatable lilo for 1.45. Marmaris is a Mediterranean resort town along the Turkish Riviera (also known as the Turquoise Coast) Its known for its lively nightlife on Bar Street, which is home to open-air clubs and music venues. The second cheapest location on the list was Sunny Beach, Bulgaria, where prices are down 6.4% year on year. Spain's Costa del Sol was in third place despite a 5% price rise, followed by the Greek islands of Crete (down 1.1%) and Corfu (down 24.2%). The most expensive destination in the report was Sorrento, Italy, where the same basket of goods is almost three times more expensive than in Marmaris. The Costa del Sol - which came in at third cheapest despite a five percent price rise Post Office Travel Money compared the price of a basket of beach shopping in 15 popular European holiday destinations, researchers found that prices have fallen in Turkey, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, the Balearic islands, the south of France and Italy. A drop in local prices ad a small rise in the value of sterling against the euro and other European currencies accounts for the increased spending power of UK holidaymakers. Andrew Brown, of Post Office Travel Money, said there are 'big variations in costs between the European resorts'. He went on: 'It really will pay dividends to do some homework to get a realistic view of the holiday cash you will need for meals, drinks and other tourist staples. 'If you haven't already booked and are looking for a late deal, the low resort prices in Turkey and Bulgaria make these countries great bets for wallet-watchers. 'In the eurozone, Spain is still great value and the low prices we found in Corfu make Greece a good tip too.' Tour operator Thomas Cook reported in April that the number of UK visitors to Turkey this summer is surging, with package holiday bookings up 84% year on year after security concerns eased. The growth is driven by families, who make up 61% of bookings to the country. Allelujah! Bridge Theatre, London until Sep 29, 2hrs 35 mins Rating: Alan Bennetts new play is about a bunch of geriatrics on a ward in the Beth (Bethlehem), an old-style cradle-to-grave hospital in Yorkshire thats threatened with closure. Bennett, aged 84 and a cancer survivor, clearly warms to these old bats, all wondering if theres life beyond the next dollop of turkey mince. Alan Bennetts new play is about a bunch of geriatrics on a ward in the Beth (Bethlehem), an old-style cradle-to-grave hospital in Yorkshire thats threatened with closure A really choice cast playing past-it northerners is directed by Nicholas Hytner, and every so often they all leap up and kick their heels to a tune. Imagine A Chorus Line with bunions. Hits include Love And Marriage, Good Golly Miss Molly and On The Sunny Side Of The Street. Bennett pinched this singing business from Dennis Potter, but he manages to make it his own. It helps divert us from a lack of plot save in Act Two when some unexplained deaths give the evening a jab of fortuitous NHS topicality. Of the cast, Deborah Findlay is superb as the hard-boiled ward sister, Peter Forbes is the Beths puffed-up chairman, and Samuel Barnett is the heartless young man from the hostile health ministry and the semi-estranged son of a male patient (the superb Jeff Rawle in jim-jams). Bennett airs some predictable prejudices on immigrant doctors (good), privatisation (bad), Brexit (awful) and Mrs Thatcher (evil). Expect, too, references to Angel Delight, sexual intercourse and Scunthorpe. The play is at its most eloquently serious on the mixed blessing of longevity and the hypocrisy of farmed-out care. If people love their parents, why do they put them away?, as one nurse puts it. Allelujah! is no masterpiece, but it comes with a warm glow of human charity, plus the great bonus of laughter, which means that you can forgive it pretty much anything. The Lehman Trilogy Lyttelton stage, National Theatre, London, until Oct 20, 3hrs 20mins Rating: This excellent evening tells the story of the three German-Jewish Lehman brothers, who arrived in America in 1844 from Bavaria and started a cotton shop. Over 150 years the business grew from cotton shop to cotton brokers, finally becoming a Wall Street bank. The dream ends in 2008 when Lehman Brothers went spectacularly bust. This excellent evening tells the story of the three German-Jewish Lehman brothers, who arrived in America in 1844 from Bavaria and started a cotton shop Director Sam Mendes chucks the works at this tale of risk and high finance. The show has a no-expense-spared set, with a revolving glass cube containing an office, and there are dazzling projections of burning cotton fields, the Manhattan skyline and so on. But for nearly all the three-plus hours running time, this vast stage is inhabited mainly by just three multi-tasking actors. Yet it works. Simon Russell Beale plays Henry Lehman, the rock-solid, hard-working brother whos never wrong. Ben Miles is his pushy younger sibling, while Adam Godley is the piggy in the middle, the diplomat who keeps the peace. The three, all in sombre frock coats, emerge reborn as the generations change and the actors turn into their descendants. The trilogy has something of the epic sweep of the Godfather films but without the violence. When the Wall Street crash comes, gun shots ring out as ruined brokers put a gun to their temple. Beale is terrific as Henrys Aspergic nephew, but for me, Godley is the shows chief delight in the Sixties as the lethally entrepreneurial Bobby. Growth, greed, ambition and catastrophe its all here. The five-star staging is perhaps better than Stefano Massinis slightly sagging script. But its still a major theatrical event, and well worth the investment. A Monster Calls The Old Vic, London, until Aug 25, 2hrs 20mins Rating: Thirteen-year-old Conor OMalley is dealing with his mums galloping cancer. His dad is in America with a new wife, his grandma is a neat-freak and hes being bullied at school. But then a yew-tree monster calls at night with stories that lead Conor down a terrifying path of liberating truth. The killer asset here is Matthew Tennyson (above), who has us totally rooting for Conor. Selina Cadell (also above) as Grandma and Marianne Oldham as Conors mum provide strong support Fans of Patrick Nesss fabulous book have probably already seen the emotionally diluted film with Liam Neeson hamming the voice of the monster. This stage adaptation (a co-production with Bristol Old Vic) by Sally Cookson is very good, loyal to the novel, and has the audience snuffling by the end. But I have reservations. The demonic tree monster is an actor (Stuart Goodwin) swathed in white ropes very un-gnarly and Conors internal emotions often feel locked inside the shows artful choreography. The killer asset here is Matthew Tennyson, who has us totally rooting for Conor. Selina Cadell as Grandma and Marianne Oldham as Conors mum provide strong support. Inventively staged though this is, Id say the extraordinary book packs a heavier punch. The One Soho Theatre, London, until Aug 25, 1hr 5mins Rating: This show opens with a couple having sex on a sofa, during which the woman flips TV channels and munches Wotsits. Who said romance in the theatre was dead? Fans of Fleabag flocked to this play, written by Vicky Jones for her friend Phoebe Waller- Bridge, who starred in it in 2014. It is now revived with Tuppence Middleton (terrific in the BBCs War & Peace) playing a smirking young woman in her late 20s. John Hopkins is her smug boyfriend, ten years older, who You can bank on this Wall Street kerfuffle John Hopkins and Tuppence Middleton taught her at university. Vicky Jones's play is revived with Tuppence Middleton (above) playing a smirking young woman in her late 20s. John Hopkins (also above) is her smug boyfriend Their relationship is built on seeing who can be the cruellest. This sweary, compassionless comedy spills into violence, rough sex and pain. Its a bit like a twisted modern prequel to Noel Cowards Private Lives. Things in the flat turn a corner when a friend (Julia Sandiford) turns up late at night believing shes been raped by her boyfriend. Was she raped or sort of raped? The question is met with a daring that would seem topical. But Im afraid the current West End hit Consent has stolen this plays thunder. Director Steve Marmion uses snatches of Lloyd Webbers Music Of The Night mockingly, as if to underline the importance of this supposedly probing drama of human desire. But hearing that hit song made me wish I was watching Phantom instead of this sordid tosh. The image of the hairy, beer-swilling bikie cruising back roads in a formation of Harley-Davidsons is as dated as the notion they are all harmless social rebels. Today's outlaw motorcycle gang (OMCG) members are more likely to be found posing on Instagram with bikini-clad babes than playing pool in clubhouses with their mates. Where once alcohol and cannabis were the drugs most associated with bikies the gangs are now major distributors - and sometimes users - of substances such as methylamphetamine, or ice. OMCGs still outwardly insist they are 'clubs', 'family' and 'brotherhoods' rather than 'gangs' but many are considered sophisticated international crime syndicates. In an era when OMCG members in some Australian jurisdictions are no longer allowed to be seen together in their club colours, bikies are perhaps more visible than ever. One senior bikie who found himself blocked from re-entering the country even turned to crowd-funding - offering PayPal to supporters who wanted to buy T-shirts and keyrings - to help pay for his legal fees. Scroll down for video Long hair and beards were the order of the day for Australia's early bikies. Pictured are members of the Gypsy Jokers, including leader Brownie (in T-shirt), at Stroud, NSW, in 1981 Australian bikie gangs were once scruffy bands of brothers who rode motorcycles, drank beer together and rejected social norms. Pictured are Hells Angels members in Sydney in 1974 Ben Geppert (pictured) is an ex-Hells Angel who is believed to have patched over to the Finks. He is one of a new breed of Australian bikie who is happy to flaunt his life all over social media Brett 'Kaos' Pechey (right), the ex-president of a Queensland Bandidos chapter, pictured with Rikki-Louise Jones (left) the cousin of Ben 'Notorious' Geppert's partner Allaina Jones Many members do not even ride motorcycles, preferring luxury European cars. And 'real ol' ladies' - or girlfriends - have been replaced with buxom Instagram stars. While codes of not cooperating with authorities or speaking publicly on club business still apply, bikie gangs have embraced social media to preen and posture online. Young gang members are happy to post pictures of themselves and their girlfriends on Facebook and clubs have long had their own websites. Australian bikies use Instagram to flaunt their wealth, taunt their rivals and announce personal matters such hook-ups, break-ups and pregnancies to their followers. The new brigade's members are more heavily tattooed than ever - sometimes head to toe - work out in gyms and wear flash jewellery with designer clothes. They look more like rap artists than AC/DC fans and can be found sipping vodka, lime and soda in nightclubs rather than draining schooners in front bars. Earlier this year feuding Instagram fans Ben 'Notorious' Geppert, a former Hells Angels enforcer, and ex-Bandidos chapter president Brett 'Kaos' Pechey engaged not in a fistfight but a brutal social media stoush. Members of the Gypsy Jokers join with members of the Finks and Mobshitters clubs for the wake of fellow bikie Leo 'Brains' Martin at the Millers Hotel in Sydney's Fairfield in 1977 Ben 'Notorious' Geppert and his girlfriend Allaina Jones (pictured) strike an Instagram pose Ben 'Notorious' Geppert (left) is part of a new breed of bike who love posing on social media Geppert and Pechey's falling out came after weeks of friendly displays alongside their glamorous Instagram star partners Allaina and Rikki-Louise Jones. Meanwhile, senior Rebels bikie Chris Rymer celebrated his release from prison last year with a series of Instagram posts including a shot taken in the dock as he was acquitted of a torture attack and a prison cell covered in blood. Weeks after his acquittal Rymer also shared a snap with his glamorous partner announcing they were expecting a child. Rymer told his followers: 'Straight out and straight into it. Love my lil fam can't wait till August to meet my new baby Rymer', with the charming hashtag #freshouttajailknockingbitchesup. He also shared pictures of himself enjoying shopping trips to Louis Vuitton and visiting theme parks on the Gold Coast. Denim and leather-clad members of the Gypsy Jokers raise their right fists as they attend the funeral of their comrade Willie Bull at St James Church at Smithfield in Sydney in 1974 Mourners at Mahmoud 'Mick' Hawi's funeral in February are led by a man carrying a picture of the slain bikie. Hawi took over the once mostly white Comanchero from William 'Jock' Ross Within weeks of being acquitted over a brutal bashing, Chris Rymer (pictured) shared a snap with his glamorous partner on Instagram announcing the couple was expecting a baby It is all a long way from the 1970s and 1980s when bearded bikies styled themselves as denim-clad rebels who liked riding motorcycles with their mates and kept largely to themselves. The current crop of bikies might look like they've stepped off a music video but Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission takes them seriously. 'Outlaw Motor Cycle Gangs (OMCGs) are one of the most high-profile manifestations of organised crime, with an active presence in all Australian states and territories,' it states. 'They see themselves as the "one percenters" who operate outside the law. 'Their criminal activities distinguish OMCGs from recreational motorcycle riding clubs, which are made up of people who get together solely to ride their motor cycles and socialise.' While OMCGs featured prominently in public discussions of organised crime in Australia, it was difficult to gauge the percentage of organised crime attributed specifically to their members. An officer from Strike Force Raptor takes part in the execution of a search warrant on the clubhouse of the Odin's Warriors at Tweed Heads on the NSW-Queensland border in 2014 Police from Strike Force Raptor raid a Comanchero clubhouse on the NSW Central Coast Federal and state police found bikie colours, firearms, ammunition, explosives, ice and cannabis during a series of raids on properties including this one across Tasmania in May 2016 'Australian OMCG activities are mostly domestic, but they increasingly have international connections,' the ACIC states. 'This includes Australian OMCGs expanding offshore or cooperating with overseas chapters and sophisticated and high threat organised crime groups operating in Australia and internationally.' The ACIC's most recent assessment of OMCGs identified there were 40 main gangs operating in Australia, with more than 4,420 patched members, 740 prospects and at least 4,230 associates. THE EARLY YEARS: FROM THE 1960s TO MILPERRA According to author Arthur Veno's 2002 book The Brotherhoods, the first of Australia's US-style outlaw clubs was the Gladiators, which proclaimed itself a one percenter club in 1963. 'However, it wasn't until the late 1960s and early 1970s that the outlaw bikie clubs hit Australia in any significant numbers,' Veno wrote. 'The first Australian Hells Angels chapters were officially inaugurated in Melbourne and Sydney on 23 August 1973.' The Hells Angels are the world's oldest and by far best-known outlaw motorcycle gang The Comanchero made headlines in 1984 after a clash between the gang and their rivals, the Bandidos, killed seven people. Pictured is a United Motorcycle Council ride in Sydney in 2009 The website of one of Australia's most organised and dangerous gangs, the Comanchero, states it was founded by five men on the New South Wales Central Coast on April 15, 1966. Those five men claimed three common interests: brotherhood, respect and loyalty. One of those men was Comanchero Supreme Commander William 'Jock' Ross, a Scot and former solider. That brotherhood was never just a casual social club. Its members were sworn to adhere to Ross's Ten Commandments, including that they not take hard drugs, and operated along para-military lines. 'During the early 1970's the club developed into a Brotherhood of COMOS that just wanted to have fun with their Brothers and Ride free on their motorcycle,' the Comanchero website still states. 'But The Club soon caused nervousness among the local police as they never understood the lifestyle The Club chose to live.' 'During the 1980's The Club began to develop a certain cognizance amongst the public. They were known as a Brotherhood that lived and loved the Australian Culture. William George Jock Ross (pictured) founded the Comanchero in New South Wales in 1966 'Despite many of The Clubs tragic events that took place, nothing could divide the Brothers In Arms... ' MILPERRA: THE END OF INNOCENCE The most tragic of those events occurred at Milperra, in Sydney's south-west, on Father's Day 1984 when a 14-year-old girl was killed in the cross-fire of a gun battle outside the Viking Tavern. Four Comanchero and two rival Bandidos members were also shot dead in an event that changed the public perception of bikies in Australia forever. Until Milperra, bikies in Australia were something of a novelty, men who largely stayed out of the public eye and seemed dangerously odd rather than a serious criminal threat. The late Ron Stephenson, a distinguished detective who commanded the police task force that investigated the Father's Day Massacre and brought the perpetrators to trial, wrote a book called Milperra: The Road To Justice. 'Until that September day, outlaw bikie gangs (OMGs) did not hold a very high profile in Australia,' he noted. 'What the NSW Police Force did not understand was that we were standing toe-to-toe with a criminal network that was bigger, tougher and more powerful than the Mafia. Comanchero Ten Commandments 1. The President is the Supreme Commander of the Comanchero. 2. Any member found guilty of cowardice will be thrown out of the Club. 3. Any member found guilty of stealing from a member of the Club itself will be thrown out of the Club. 4. Any member found guilty of screwing another member's Real Ol' Lady or taking advantage of a rift between them for future 'conning up' will be thrown out. 5. Any member found guilty of breeding dissension in the Club (ie Running down the President of the Club or Club policies in any way, shape of form - or bad s*** rumours) will be thrown out. 6. Any member found guilty of selling, distributing or using hard drugs will be thrown out. 7. Any member found guilty of using their superior ability to 'con' another member or nominated member out of their bikes, money or valuables will be severely dealt with. 8. Any member found guilty of not helping another member who is in genuine trouble, not bulls*** trouble, will be severely dealt with. 9. Any member found guilty of divulging Club business to anyone not a member, unless directed by the President, will be severely dealt with. 10. Any member found guilty of wearing his Colours on or around anything other than a British or American motorcycle of 500cc or more will be severely dealt with. Source: Milperra: The Road To Justice by Ron Stephenson Advertisement 'The OMG were the most terrifying form of organisation we had faced and they were here, in Sydney.' Stephenson quickly began researching the outlaw gangs, consulting the FBI and US Justice Department. He was worried about what he learnt. That research led to Stephenson understanding the threat posed by other groups including the Hells Angels, Nomads, Gypsy Jokers, Rebels, Black Uhlans, Coffin Cheaters, Odin's Warriors, Outlaws and Finks. 'The FBI in Washington documents criminal behaviour of some gangs with crimes such as murder, extortion, drug trafficking, kidnapping, witness intimidation, arson, prostitution, fraud and theft,' Stephenson wrote. 'Yet there was no such thing as a stereotypical bikie among these men. 'And during the investigation of the massacre we were to learn that it was a mistake to think of them all as scruffy, puerile misfits. 'Indeed, we were astounded to discover that their line of work ranged from long-term unemployment to truck diver, pay clerk, cleaner, marine engineer, optical mechanic and a clerk with 15 years' service in the NSW Department of Lands. A social media feud that started with former Hells Angels bikie Ben 'Notorious' Geppert (left) and ex-Bandidos chapter president Brett 'Kaos' Pechey (right) later escalated without violence Former Bandidos chapter president Brett 'Kaos' Pechey (pictured) loves an Instagram post 'Another member had managed a family plumbing business for 25 years. Again we were astonished to discover that one of them even played classical piano.' It is difficult to imagine too many Nike bikies playing classical piano today. Justice Adrian Roden, who sentenced the Milperra bikies had this to say: 'Throughout the sentence hearing, I sought a greater understanding than I was able to obtain of the nature of the clubs and the relationship between their respective members.' 'There was, I thought, a very good reason for that. Some are in their thirties and forties, have no significant prior convictions and have good family and work backgrounds. 'I felt that there had to be some explanation for the marked and perplexing difference between their behaviour in other contexts.' Justice Roden spoke of a way of life that could make killers of citizens, 'many of whom would in all other respects be regarded as law abiding and responsible citizens of commendable character.' Chris Rymer posts a picture of himself wearing designer sunglasses and heavy gold jewellery ALEX VELLA AND WHERE THE BIKIE GANGS ARE NOW An insight into how far OMCGs had moved from riding motorcycles to becoming crime gangs came when Rebels national president Alex Vella was refused permission to re-enter the country from his native Malta in 2014. That decision by the federal government relied on detailed intelligence provided by a task force led by the ACIC's forerunner, the Australian Crime Commission. The Attero task force was established in 2012 to 'disrupt, disable and dismantle criminal activities of the Rebels MC - one of Australia's highest risk criminal threats', a document tendered to the Federal Court stated. Attero investigators alleged that under Vella's leadership the Rebels had engaged in drug dealing, money laundering, serious assaults, kidnapping, extortion, firearms offences, threatening law enforcement officers and intimidating court witnesses. 'The Rebels MC membership in Australia includes a significant number of individuals with criminal convictions,' the court document stated. Alex Vella says he is a law-abiding family man who likes riding motorcycles with his mates. Police say the exiled president of the Rebels leads a violent gang involved in serious crime Alex Vella, president of the Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang since 1973 (centre), has been exile since the federal government cancelled his visa while he was visiting his native Malta 'Between January 20012 and June 2013, 718 Rebels MC members, nominees and associates were either reported or arrested in relation to 1211 charges for offences ranging from violence related offences (including serious assault, stalking, kidnapping and affray), firearms and weapons offences, drugs offences, and property, street and traffic offences. 'Rebels MC members have used violence in a premeditated manner to discipline Rebels MC members who have been perceived to have breached Rebels MC rules, in disputes with other OMCGs, threaten law enforcement officers, intimidate court witnesses and extort businesses and individuals.' Vella, who is regularly described as a multi-millionaire, denies running a criminal organisation and has found another novel use for technology in his battle against the federal government. Through his website alexvella.com.au the man known as the Maltese Falcon is selling $34.99 T-shirts, for which he was asking $50 four years ago. 'Bring Him Home': Supporters of Alex Vella were asked to help fund the Rebels president's legal fight against the cancellation of his visa while he was visiting Malta 'To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity'. Alex Vella quoted Nelson Mandela on T-shirts in his failed bid to be allowed to return to Australia True patriot: Rebels bikie boss Alex Vella says he is not a criminal and just wants to return to Australia so he can rejoin his family, run his motorcycle club and continue his charitable works The T-shirts feature a picture of Vella under the slogan 'BRING HIM HOME' on the front and a quote from Nelson Mandela on the back: 'To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.' He is also offering a stubby holder, car sticker and key ring package for $25. For those who don't need a T-shirt or any other Vella-branded paraphernalia there is another option. 'If you're not interested in purchasing any support gear but still want to support financially, you can donate safely by using the PayPal donate button below,' the website states. Vella still describes the Rebels as 'family' and a 'brotherhood', not a criminal organisation. 'I have always worked hard and given back to community,' he states on his website. 'I have always voted and paid tax. All I want is to be able to return to my home of 46 years and be reunited with my family.' Chris Rymer (left) was accused of bashing a man in jail who he believed was linked to the murder of his friend and fellow Rebels bikie Michael Davey (centre) Jock Ross founded the Comanchero on the principles of brotherhood, respect and loyalty The Attero task force sees him differently, according to court documents. 'The Rebels MC presents a high threat to the Australian community,' the court documents says. 'This OMCG has demonstrated an ability to increase its geographical influence, diversify across illicit drug markets and launder illicit profits. 'Alessio Emanuel Vella has been the National President of the Rebels MC since 1973. During this 40 years he has overseen the expansion of the OMCG from three original chapters to the largest OMCG in Australia. He has and continues to exert significant influence over the Rebels MC in Australia. 'Mr Vella acknowledges he is the National President of the Rebels MC. He also acknowledges he is aware that several members of the Rebels MC have been involved in criminal activities. 'The fact that Rebels MC members remain members despite criminal convictions including convictions obtained whilst members of the OMCG contradicts Mr Vella's assertions the Rebels MC does not condone criminal activity by its members, and allow them to remain members. 'The Rebels MC have remained cohesive and disciplined through Mr Vella's strong leadership.' Not any more. The Rebels have been in disarray and constantly hounded by police. Sam Ibrahim (left) took over the Nomads chapter at Parramatta in 1997 and recruited Middle Eastern members, breaking the stranglehold Anglo-Saxon men had on the OMCG scene. Former Comanchero boss Mahmoud 'Mick' Hawi (right) was murdered in broad daylight Mourners lift an empty coffin above their heads at the burial of murdered former Comanchero president Mick Hawi in February Australia is now an exporter of bikies and bikie gangs, with local OMCGs such as the Rebels and Comanchero establishing chapters overseas. Gang members are also routinely deported or not allowed re-entry to the country, such as was the case with Vella, who never took out citizenship. Vella is unusual in that he maintained control of an OMCG for decades when so many of those around him were displaced or fell. The changing nature of OMCGs in Australia can be seen in the evolution of the Comanchero. For the club's first two decades it was led without challenge by Jock Ross, until a splinter group formed the first Australian chapter of the Bandidos. It was Ross who led the Comanchero into their battle with the Bandidos at Milperra which left seven dead and many of the gangs' members in jail. Like most Australian bikie gangs the Comanchero had begun as a predominantly Anglo-Saxon group of men but that began to change. Police raid a Rebels clubhouse in Tasmania during an operation in which drugs were found Bikie clubhouses like this Rebels one in Coffs Harbour have been raided and dismantled By the early years of this century Australian gangs were recruiting well outside their traditional white base. The greying older gang members who had been forced to go through lengthy initiations were being replaced by young men who wanted everything yesterday. Nightclub identity John Ibrahim's older brother Sam become president of the Nomads chapter in Parramatta in 1997 and is often credited with turning Australian OMCGs into Middle Eastern crime groups. MICK HAWI AND THE FUTURE OF AUSTRALIAN BIKIES Unlike in the past when many gangs had strict non-association rules preventing contact with other groups - and nominally still do - rivals now sometimes work closely together. The modern bikie also has fewer qualms about moving from gang to gang, a practice that was once rare and can still have serious repercussions. Gangs have merged and disappeared and public displays of violence rage on. Among the new OMCG leaders was Beirut-born Mahmoud 'Mick' Hawi who wrested control of the Comanchero, eventually left the gang, and was shot dead in his Mercedes SUV on February 15 this year. The ACIC's national task force Morpheus replaced Attero which by the time of its closure in December 2014 had resulted in 4,149 Rebel members, nominees or associates arrested or reported and 5,756 charges laid. 'Morpheus is a joint initiative of all law enforcement agencies, with a broader focus on all Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (OMCGs) that pose a risk to our community,' the ACIC states. The heavily-tattooed Rebels bikie Chris Michael Rymer (picutred) has built a cult social media following for his ostentatious displays of wealth and posting details of his personal life 'Morpheus is providing the intelligence to underpin national projects focused on OMCG leadership, wealth, pathways (recruitment), movement across international borders and monitoring of Australian and international OMCG members.' Consorting laws in some states such as NSW mean bikies cannot gather or wear their club colours in public. Communication between bikies has shifted from face-to-face meetings in clubhouses to encrypted digital devices. The ACIC's last report on organised crime in Australia noted 'high-end encrypted smartphones continue to be preferred by serious and organised crime groups to reduce visibility of their activities to law enforcement.' OMCGs were using software applications such as Phantom Secure BlackBerry and Wickr as their primary means of communication, due to the content protection features available on these devices and applications. Chris Rymer posted on Instagram a picture of what appears to be his blood-spattered jail cell Since his release from prison in November last year for kidnapping and torture charges, Chris Rymer has posted a series of social media pictures of himself enjoying his newfound freedom The ACIC reported that two thirds of the groups on its national crime target list were involved in the sale and distribution of methylamphetamine and/or its precursors. 'These figures include members of OMCGs as well as domestic and transnational serious and organised crime groups,' the report states. 'Many groups that previously operated in isolation now work collaboratively to access broader distribution networks and ultimately maximise profits. 'Serious and organised crime groups also seek access to legitimate industry to enhance or conceal their activities. 'The transport sector, licensed premises, the security industry and the chemical industry are targets for infiltration and exploitation by participants in the methylamphetamine market'. The Rebels have expanded from Australia to include international chapters in 20 other countries: Cambodia, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, England, Fiji, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, Laos, Lebanon, Malta, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Thailand and the US. The Comanchero brag they are now a 'global empire' with chapters Across Australia, Europe, Russia and the US - 'All with the same core values it started with: BROTHERHOOD, RESPECT AND LOYALTY.' Justin Waiki (pictured) was killed and an officer was injured during the shootout, according to Hawaii County Managing Director Wil Okabe A man suspected of gunning down a Hawaii police officer was killed during a shootout with officers Friday after a three-day search across the Big Island, authorities said. Justin Waiki was killed and an officer was injured during the shootout, Hawaii County Managing Director Wil Okabe told The Associated Press after receiving confirmation from the police chief. The injured officer was taken to Hilo Medical Center, Okabe said. Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim told the AP in a phone interview that the officer wounded in Friday's shootout will survive. 'Chief of police just called to say that the wounds were not life threatening, and he will be OK,' the mayor said. 'The party is no longer a threat to the population, and the police officer is not suffering life-threatening wounds and will be fine.' A woman who was with Waiki was also shot and wounded during the shooting at the extreme southern end of the Big Island, police spokesman Alan Richmond said. Her condition was not immediately known. Local and U.S. authorizes launched a manhunt for Waiki after Officer Bronson Kaimana Kaliloa was shot and killed during a shootout Tuesday following a traffic stop near Hilo. Waiki suspected of killing Big Island police officer Officer Bronson Kaimana Kaliloa (pictured), the first in the island's history Harvey Damo Jr. (L) and Shevylyn Klaus (R) are named as two associates of a man suspected of killing Big Island police officer Officer Bronson Kaimana Kaliloa The suspect fled into the brush on a dark and rainy evening. A 24-hour task force followed up on tips and information about Waiki's whereabouts. Maj. Samuel Jelsma said police believed his associates were helping hide him on the vast island, where the erupting Kilauea volcano has attracted worldwide attention in recent months. Two of Waiki's associates were arrested after an undercover officer approached a suspicious pickup truck with a man and woman inside on Thursday on the other side of the island from where the shooting took place. Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim (pictured) told the AP in a phone interview that the officer wounded in Friday's shootout will survive Harvey Damo Jr. and Shevylyn Klaus were later named as the two associates and were taken into custody for questioning. The officer drew his weapon and ordered the two people to leave the truck. Instead, they fled and police chased them. Kaliloa, 46, was the first police officer to be fatally shot on the Big Island. He had been married for 23 years and had three children. He was 'Officer of the Year' for his district in 2014. According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, a website dedicated to honoring fallen cops, the state of Hawaii has seen 47 officers killed since 1903. All 47 have been recorded on the island of Oahu. Kaliloa's niece Kawehi Haug sent a Facebook message Thursday to The Associated Press. 'He was strong and kind and funny and smart and chivalrous and served his community every day as an honest and upstanding police officer whose convictions guided him to always do the right thing,' she wrote. She also said he was a loving husband and father. Kaliloa and his wife adopted their three children, ages 3, 4 and 7, through the state foster care system, Haug said. The U.S. Marshals Service, FBI and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had each offered $10,000 rewards for information leading to the capture of Waiki. A woman who was with Waiki was also shot and wounded during the shooting at the extreme southern end of the Big Island and is being treated at Hilo Medical Center (Pictured) The violence has had a profound effect on the Big Island community, Kim said. 'The entire island is a small community. This kind of violence is not your everyday thing, thank God. But I think this is a wakeup call and you can just see all around people's appreciation for our police department,' he said. 'I'm glad they see the value of the officers.' The officer injured in Friday's shootout 'had a vest on, the bullets did not his any of the so-called vital organs,' he said. 'None of the wounds were life-threatening, and he'll be fine.' When the mayor drove up to the hospital he saw family, friends and many other police officers gathering there. 'To see their sadness and care for their fellow officer and friend, it really impacts you, it really, really does, to see how much of a family they are,' he said. 'When I saw them all in a circle holding hands in prayer form, that's when you know it's a good community.' The killing of Officer Kaliloa has left a scar, however, Kim said. 'It takes something like this for people to step back a little bit and see the tough job (police) have,' he said. The suspect 'did harm and left a void and an emptiness and a darkness that I don't think will ever be filled.' A jury on Friday found Meechaiel Criner, 20, guilty of capital murder in the killing of Haruka Weiser A 20-year-old man has been convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the 2016 slaying of a University of Texas freshman on campus. Meechaiel Criner was found guilty of capital murder in the death of 18-year-old Haruka Weiser, a dance major from Portland, Oregon, who was walking to her dorm after a rehearsal when she was strangled and sexually assaulted. Criner, a foster care runaway at the time of the killing, received an automatic life sentence but was not eligible for the death penalty because he was 17 at the time of the murder. He will be eligible for parole after serving 40 years. In a victim's impact statement Weiser's father, Dr Thomas Weiser, said he believed that Criner would have killed others had he not been arrested and charged in his daughter's death. 'She was the first victim in what you hoped to be a long run of unsolved murders,' he said. In a victim's impact statement Weiser's father, Dr Thomas Weiser, said he believed that Criner would have killed had he not been caught this time Haruka Weiser, a dance major from Portland, Oregon, was walking to her dorm after a rehearsal when she was strangled and sexually assaulted in 2016. She was 18 Weiner said the clues Criner left behind about the killing kept that from happening. 'I think you messed with the wrong girl that night,' Weiser said. Shortly before Weiser's death, a man wearing a bandanna around his neck is seen on surveillance video following her on a bicycle. The next morning, detectives found an orange bandanna and Weiser's belongings in a trash can at the vacant building. Prosecutors also showed the jury a selfie of Criner wearing an orange bandanna. Eyeglasses found at the crime scene match the model, style and prescription of glasses worn by Criner, according to testimony from two eye experts. In his own testimony, Criner denied killing the woman, further denying that he had ever seen her. He said the night Weiser died, he'd gone to a hospital to charge his cellphone and tablet and then slept in a vacant building. 'She was the first victim in what you hoped to be a long run of unsolved murders,' her father said. 'I think you messed with the wrong girl that night' The freshman at University of Texas was seen on CCTV heading towards her dorm on her phone when a man believed to be Criner began following her with a 'shiny rigid' object Criner admitted it looked bad that police found him at the vacant building with items belonging to Weiser, including a boot he was burning in a makeshift fire pit. He also had her schoolwork and phone, prosecutors said. Criner said he found the items at a trash bin. Criner had a violent and chaotic upbringing in Texarkana that included several incidents where he was abused by grandmother Mary Waldey Defense attorney Ariel Payan said evidence shows Criner was using his computer tablet around the time of Weiser's death. The device's operating system was running from 8.43 to 9.33 pm, according to testimony. Weiser was killed about 9.40pm. Prosecutors say no one was using the tablet at the time it was operating, noting the absence of internet searches or files accessed during that window of time. Criner had a violent and chaotic upbringing in Texarkana that included several incidents where he was abused by grandmother Mary Waldey. Documents show that, in August 2015, he was forced out of the home he shared with grandmother Mary Wadley, 63, because she believed people his age should 'make their own way in the world.' Video courtesy of CBSAustin A Guatemalan man living illegally in the U.S. pleaded guilty Friday to driving drunk in a crash that killed Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson and his Uber driver. Manuel Orrego-Savala, 37, pleaded guilty to two counts of operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content of .15 or more, causing death. Orrego-Savala had a BAC of 0.19 percent, or more than twice Indiana's legal limit of .08 percent, when his truck crashed into Uber driver Jeffrey Monroe, 54, of Avon and Jackson, 26, as they stood outside Monroe's car on the shoulder of Interstate 70. Manuel Orrego-Savala walks out of a courtroom in Indianapolis on Friday, July 20, 2018 Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson was killed in the incident along with his Uber driver on Feb. 4, 2018 Investigators have said Monroe was transporting Jackson for the ride-sharing service on Feb. 4 and had pulled over after Jackson became ill. Orrego-Savala is due to be sentenced Sept. 14 and faces a possible maximum sentence of 16 years in prison and a possible fine of up to $20,000. Orrego-Savala had a BAC of 0.19 percent, or more than twice Indiana's legal limit of .08 percent, when his truck crashed into Uber driver Jeffrey Monroe (pictured) Under a plea agreement, prosecutors agreed to drop two counts of failing to remain at the scene of an accident. Orrego-Savala was deported from the U.S. in 2007 and 2009 and was back in the country illegally at the time of the crash, authorities said. The case became a flash point in the nation's immigration debate, with President Donald Trump tweeting about it and Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Braun featuring it in an Indiana campaign advertisement. 'So disgraceful that a person illegally in our country killed @Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson,' the president tweeted in February. 'This is just one of many such preventable tragedies. We must get the Dems to get tough on the Border, and with illegal immigration, FAST!' Trump added in a separate tweet: 'My prayers and best wishes are with the family of Edwin Jackson, a wonderful young man whose life was so senselessly taken.' Deb Monroe, the widow Jeffrey Monroe, lashed out at Braun during an interview with The Washington Post earlier this year, saying that she was upset at the Republican for politicizing her late husband's death and not asking permission to use his image in campaign ads. Orrego-Savala is due to be sentenced Sept. 14 and faces a possible maximum sentence of 16 years in prison and a possible fine of up to $20,000 The case became a flash point in the nation's immigration debate, with President Donald Trump tweeting about it and Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Braun (pictured) featuring it in an Indiana campaign advertisement Trump has railed against illegal immigration since launching his campaign for presidenand has used the issue to rally support among his Republican base 'I would never let anybody use my husband's name that way.' Asked about Orrego-Savala, she added: 'I don't think his immigration status had anything to do with my husband's death.' Savala also faces charges of perjury, forgery, identity deception and false informing out of Boone County for allegedly using the alias of Alex Cabrera Gonsales 2017 for driving without a license. Savala initially identified himself as Cabrera Gonsales to police following the February crash. Additionally, federal immigration officials have filed charges of illegal re-entry by a previously deported alien against Savala. Two men have been charged following the seizure of 300 million of cocaine from a yacht off the Cornwall coast. Dutch nationals Maarten Peter Pieterse, 59, and Emile Adriaan Jeroen Schoemaker, 44, were charged with drug importation offences, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said. The yacht, the Marcia, they were on was intercepted off the coast of south-west Cornwall on Thursday and escorted to Newlyn. Officers estimate that the yacht was carrying two tonnes of cocaine. Pictures show drugs being unloaded from a boat by officers at Newlyn harbour Officers at Newlyn harbour use the Border Force cutter HMC Vigilant to unload the drugs A source told MailOnline: 'At this stage it is hard to put a street value on the size of the haul. But cocaine costs around 70 a gram. 'The purity of the drugs have not yet been determined and cocaine on the streets has normally been cut quite extensively. 'Gangs do not smuggle drugs in this quantity that has already been cut, so it is reasonable to assume that this haul is worth at least 300 million.' Photographs show officers from the NCA unloading a large number of parcels wrapped in coloured packaging. The pair will appear at Bristol Magistrates' Court on Saturday. Newlyn harbour was closed for several hours while the bomb squad investigated an item recovered from the boat. The NCA called the operation a 'major seizure of cocaine'. A spokesman said: 'As part of a National Crime Agency-led operation, the Border Force cutter HMC Vigilant intercepted a sailing yacht off the south-west coast of Cornwall and escorted the vessel into Newlyn harbour where it arrived on Thursday. The Newlyn harbourmaster later confirmed the harbour had been reopened. The operation was co-ordinated by the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre - Narcotics in Lisbon. The vessel was intercepted on Wednesday and a search began on Thursday. Dutch nationals Maarten Peter Pieterse, left, and Emile Adriaan Jeroen Schoemaker, right, appeared at Bristol Magistrates' Court following the seizure of two tonnes of cocaine Drugs are loaded after the National Crime Agency seized the yacht in the English Channel The search was briefly suspended after a suspicious device was found onboard. However, it resumed once Navy bomb squad officers completed an inspection. NCA regional head of investigations Andy Quinn said: 'Intercepting this vessel took international co-operation and Id like to pay tribute to all those involved, not least our Border Force colleagues who located and boarded the boat and then brought it back into port to be searched. Newlyn harbour was closed for several hours while the bomb squad investigated an item Officers unload the drugs after the yacht was intercepted off the south-west of Cornwall Officers from the National Crime Agency found two tonnes of cocaine on the vessel 'This is a huge haul of class A drugs, one of the largest seizures of class A ever in the UK, and with a potential street value likely to be in the hundreds of millions. 'The criminal trade in drugs is driven by financial gain, and the loss of the profit that would have been made from this seizure will be a major hit to the international criminal networks involved. 'While the end destination is unclear at this stage, Ive no doubt that this was destined for the European market. At least a proportion of this cocaine would have ended up here in the UK, sold by drugs gangs who are also involved in intimidation, exploitation and violence. 'The NCA continues to provide a key role in tackling organised criminal networks supplying class A drugs into the UK, and our work with partners at home and abroad to tackle the supply chain is vital to this. Rod Lowson, head of Border Forces Border Protection Squadron, said: 'This is a major seizure, one of the largest detections of cocaine ever made in the UK and a testament to the multi-agency approach we take to secure the UK's border and territorial waters. 'That collaboration with the NCA and international partners, combined with excellent work from the crew of the Vigilant and officers from our specialist deep rummage team ensured that the SY Marcias X million cargo did not reach its intended destination. 'Working together, we will continue to do all we can to put the organised crime groups involved in drug smuggling behind bars.' A motorist who shot and killed a man who shoved him to the ground during a heated row over a handicapped parking space likely won't be charged, police have said. Michael Drejka, 47, was cleared by police in Thursday's shooting of 28-year-old Markeis McGlockton in Clearwater, Florida, where an argument over proper parking etiquette took a deadly turn. The shooting 'is within the bookends of stand your ground and within the bookends of force being justified,' Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said at a recorded press conference on Friday. 'I'm not saying I agree with it, but I don't make that call,' the sheriff added. Surveillance video of the incident shows that McGlockton was riding in a 2016 Chrysler 2000 driven by his girlfriend Britany Jacobs, 25, when she pulled into the parking lot of the Circle-A Food Store at 3.27pm. Killed: Markeis McGlockton, 28, was shot after shoving a man to the ground in a dispute The location of the incident is seen, with the handicapped spot marked with blue. The shooter was arguing that McGlockton's girlfriend shouldn't park there when McGlockton pushed him Jacobs is seen parking in a handicapped spot on the side of the building, although there are several other spaces free in the parking lot. McGlockton and his five-year-old son get out of the car and go into the convenience store while his girlfriend Jacobs waits in the driver's seat. Soon after, Drejka parks in a Toyota 4-Runner and gets out, quickly spotting that the car parked in the handicapped spot does not have a placard or decal. Drejka begins scolding the driver and gestures toward the other empty spots in the parking lot. Police say the argument became 'heated' but did not involve any threats. As the drivers remonstrated, a witness entered the store and informed the clerk that there was a disturbance outside, police said. McGlockton, leaving his son in the store, rushes outside and directly up to Drejka, shoving him hard onto the ground. Drejka is seen gesturing to the empty spaces as he scolds the driver Jacobs for parking in a handicapped spot without the proper tags McGlockton is seen standing over Drejka after rushing outside and shoving him to the ground Drejka, who has a valid concealed carry permit, pulls out a handgun and fires within seconds of being slammed to the ground, striking McGlockton in the chest. Police say the men did not exchange words through the entire incident. McGlockton turned and stumbled back inside the store and was soon pronounced dead at an area hospital. Drejka remained at the scene and placed the gun inside his vehicle before police arrived, cops say. Investigators say he was cooperative and spoke openly with investigators about what had transpired. McGlockton's girlfriend was devastated when police declined to bring charges against Drejka. 'It's a wrongful death. It's messed up. Markeis is a good man He was just protecting us, you know?' she told the Tampa Bay Times on Friday. 'And it hurts so bad.' Seconds after he was pushed, Drejka pulls out a gun, aims and fires it at McGlockton McGlockton turns and stumbles back inside the store as Drejka trains the gun at him Florida's self-defense law, like the laws in 26 other states, is known as 'stand your ground', authorizing deadly force in self-defense with no duty to retreat from an attacker. The Florida law stirred controversy in particular when it was successfully invoked in the shooting of Trayvon Martin. Sheriff Gualtieri said that Drejka appeared to act out of fear for his safety within the bounds of the law, but that the case would be handed over to prosecutors for a final determination. 'I'm a firm believe in the adage just because you can doesn't mean you should,' Gualtieri said. 'But I'll also say this, I'm also not going to substitute my judgement for Drejka's judgement sitting on that ground, after having been slammed to the ground.' 'He made a decision. So it really doesn't matter what I would have done or what anybody else would have done... he's just a citizen, and he felt he had to defend himself.' Kimberly Guilfoyle is officially out at Fox News, with the network releasing a statement announcing its decision on Friday afternoon. It was then confirmed an hour later, when The Five kicked off with Katie Pavlich filling in for Guilfoyle, who was not allowed to appear on one last program to say goodbye. A source had previously told DailyMail.coim that Guilfoyle, 49, would not be appearing on the show, and in her place was Pavlich in a red dress and nude heels that were remarkably similar if not identical to ones previously word by her predecessor. That look stood out even more due to the fact that the rest of the panels was dressed in dark blues and black. Pavlich, 30, has appeared on The Five before, and is not replacing Guilfoyle at this time, with that decision still to be made by the network. The Five kicked off with Katie Pavlich filling in for Kimberly Guilfoyle, who was not allowed to appear on one last program to say goodbye A source had previously told DailyMail.coim that Guilfoyle, 49, would not be appearing on the show, and in her place was Pavlich in a red dress and nude heels that were remarkably similar if not identical to ones previously word by her predecessor That look stood out even more due to the fact that the rest of the panels was dressed in dark blues and black There was no acknowledgement of what had happened earlier in the day or mention of Guilfoyle at the top of the show on Friday. And there was also no special attention paid to the fact that Pavlich was joining the group, which was also missing Dana Perino on Friday. Guilfoyle has yet to piblkicly comment on what happened, and her Twitter bio still reads: 'Co-Host of Fox News Channel- The Five at 5pm ET.' She had been at the network for 12 years, and Thursday night will now be her last ever episode as host of The Five. The network shared news of her departure with a statement that read: 'FOX News has parted ways with Kimberly Guilfoyle.' Huff Post had reported earlier in the day that three sources claimed Guilfoyle was not leaving the cable news network 'voluntarily,' and that her team was busy working out the details of her separation package on Friday. Sources close to both Guilfoyle and her boyfriend Donald Trump Jr denied those claims at the time, saying it was her choice to exit Fox News and begin a new job at America First. There has been complete silence from Guilfoyle herself and Don Jr. Vanity Fair writer Gabirel Sherman first posted the news to Twitter on Friday, writing: 'Per 3 sources briefed on matter, Don Jrs girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle is leaving Fox News. More details TK.' That was then followed by a post from John Santucci of ABC News that read: 'Sources familiar with plan tell me Kimberly Guilfoyle expected to take a role with America First - super PAC that supports Trump agenda.' Guilfoyle is seen meeting Donald Trump alongside her boyfriend Donald Trump Jr. The couple are seen holding hands during a visit to the White House Guilfoyle (right) is seen with her first husband Gavin Newsom (center) and Bill Clinton (left) at a news conference in 2003 The news that Guilfoyle would be leaving Fox News and taking a job with America First come four months after she started dating Donald Trump Jr. Guilfoyle had long been one of Fox News' most loyal and dedicated employees. She was often one of the first and most vocal supporters of any co-worker or boss who is maligned in the press, having publicly gone to bat for both Roger Ailes and Bill O'Reilly at times when few supported the men. Those two were eventually let go by the network, and with the departure of Megyn Kelly, Greta Van Susteren and Gretchen Carlson, Guilfoyle became one of the most senior female members of the Fox News family. In the past few months however, she has been getting more and more press for her life outside the office thanks to her relationship with Don Jr. It is a relationship that Guilfoyle believes could land her in the role of first lady, a position she has some experience in after her first husband Gavin Newsom served as mayor of San Francisco. Guilfoyle has an 11-year-old son from her second marriage to Eric Villency She said in an interview with Breitbart Radio that she believes Don Jr has a future in politics, and that she is so happy to have 'finally got it right this time' with her new boyfriend. Guilfoyle called Don Jr 'the number one up-and-coming political figure on the right,' and said that he 'is the base.' 'He has a compelling political voice, he is incredibly bright. I have seen him at these different rallies,' explained Guilfoyle. 'He is a person that people can understand, he's very approachable. He is very relatable with his background and his interests.' Most importantly, Guilfoyle said, is the fact that Donald Jr is a man of the people. 'He actually puts the time in and the effort to understand the base, because he is the base,' said the Fox News host. 'He gets out there and actually talks to the real people, the men and women who have been left behind in this country.' There is a chance that Donald Trump Jr could in fact get himself on the ballot for the election this November. The seventh district of New York, which encompasses parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan, has no Republican set to run in the race for a seat in the US House of Representatives. The political calendar released by the New York State Board of Elections reveals that a vacancy can be filled in a race up until September 19, and since no Republicans ran in the primary that spot could be open for Don Jr. And Guilfoyle is very good on the campaign trail, as Newsom learned almost 20 years ago when he won his race for mayor. She continued to support him during his time in office too, with appearances on a number of high-profile progams. In fact, her remarks about Donald Jr. were incredibly similar to ones she made back in 2004 about Newsom during an appearance on Charlie Rose. 'He was very much interested in public service and had a keen mind just in term of the political issues of the time,' said Guilfoyle. 'I knew that he had the vision, the discipline and, as it turns out, the courage to be in politics and to do the right thing so I'm really happy it worked out.' That interview quickly turned into a counseling session however, with the pair discussing their bi-coastal lifestyles and the fact that they barely saw one another due to their careers. Two years later they were divorced. Don Jr and his wife Vanessa are currently in the process of divorcing. The couple has five children, and Guilfoyle has an 11-year-old son from her second marriage to Eric Villency. Cast members from the now-cancelled ABC show Roseanne have taken to social media to hint that the spinoff may already have begun shooting. Since disgraced star Roseanne Barr 's racist Twitter rampage got the hit show cancelled in May, ABC has announced it will shoot a spinoff based on the Connor family without Barr to air in the fall. The young stars from the show Emma Kenney and Jayden Rey, who play Roseanne's granddaughters, posted photos to Instagram on set which suggest that filming may already be underway. This comes as Barr defended her racist tweet about former Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett in a bizarre new video. Two young stars from the Roseanne spinoff have posted behind-the-scenes photos on set which suggest filming is already underway Emma Kenney and Jayden Rey, who play Roseanne's granddaughters, both took to Instagram to post photos of their personalized canvas chairs on set The Roseanne reboot (pictured) was cancelled after the tweet, but ABC has since announced a Roseanne spinoff about the Conner family which will air in the fall without the disgraced star The pictures posted to Instagram last week show the canvas chairs' with the young stars' names printed on them. Fans commented on the photos showing their excitement for spinoff of what was the number one show in America. Yet on Thursday, Barr posted a bizarre video in which she literally screams as she defends the racist tweet about Valerie Jarrett which got her show cancelled. 'I thought the b***h was white! God dammit! I thought the b***h was white! F**k! she roared in the video, posted to herYouTube page with the caption: 'Roseanne, like always, cuts through the bullsh** and gets the heart of the matter.' The clip comes two months after Roseanne's eponymous reboot was axed when she tweeted that former Obama advisor Jarrett, who is African American, looked like the 'Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby'. Scroll down for video Roseanne Barr has posted a bizarre new video where literally screams her defense of why she posted the racist tweet about Valerie Jarrett which got her show cancelled The 65-year-old immediately backtracked in the wake of furious backlash, claiming it was a 'joke', blaming her Ambien sleeping tablets, and claiming she didn't know Jarrett was African American but believed she was Jewish and Persian. In a since deleted Twitter rant from May, she says she told President of Disney-ABC Television Group Ben Sherwood: 'I thought she was white, she looks like my family!' In other tweets she wrote: 'I mistakenly thought she [Jarrett] was white' and 'I honestly thought she was Jewish and Persian'. Barr is of Jewish descent. Jarrett was born in Iran to African-American parents and her great-grandfather was the first credited African American architect. Barr followed through with her promise when she posted the bizarre video of her speaking about the tweet on her YouTube page on Thursday The actress looked disheveled and increasingly agitated, smoking a cigarette and repeatedly running her hands through her hair as she was interviewed by someone off camera 'I thought the b***h was white! God dammit! I thought the b***h was white! F**k!' she roared in the video Barr's son Jake also shared text exchanges with his mother to seemingly prove she was not racist. 'Her and her dad, I thought they were white,' Barr wrote in a text message she purportedly sent her son. She followed that up by saying: 'I would never have called a black woman an ape I'm not stupid!' That is a lie however, with Barr having called former national security advisor Susan Rice just that in a 2014 tweet. The third text stated: 'I thought she was Jewish of Iranian.' Her son captioned the image by writing: 'Mom and I are too dumb for the internet lol.' Barr tweeted that former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett (pictured), who is African American, looked like the 'Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby'. Roseanne Barr posted the initial offending tweet on May 29, which she attempted to backtrack on minutes later, claiming 'Muslims r NOT a race' then apologizing Barr, who claimed her whole life has been about fighting racism', also claimed she had been 'Ambien tweeting' when she sent the offensive tweet. 'I'm not a racist, I never was & I never will be. One stupid joke in a lifetime of fighting 4 civil rights 4 all minorities, against networks, studios, at the expense of my nervous system/family/wealth will NEVER b taken from me.' The pharmaceutical firm which produces Ambien later hit back saying 'racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication.' Barr has faced huge backlash in the wake of her tweets, including from her former costars, who lost their jobs when ABC axed the series. Several of her costars, including Wanda Sykes, announced they would be leaving the show over the racial slur. In the early hours of May 30, just 24 hours after posting the racial slur, Roseanne claimed in two tweets minutes apart she believed that Jarrett was Jewish and Persian, or white Contextual: Her son shared text messages that he and his mother purportedly exchanged in which Barr writes that she thought Jarrett was 'white' and 'Iranian,' posted eight hours after the show was cancelled On May 30, Barr claimed she had begged Ben Sherwood, then president of the Disney-ABC Television Group, to not cancel her show and let her 'make amends' She said that she thought Jarrett 'was white, she looks like my family!' she tweeted The shamed star also blamed her racist rant on sleeping pill Ambien. Users have previously reported going into blackouts and performing complex actions such as driving and making food without recalling it The network has since announced a Roseanne spinoff about the Conner family which will air in the fall without the disgraced star. Meanwhile, Roseanne is reportedly working on her own talk show which she will host on her YouTube channel. She's been working with her son Jake's Full Moon & High Tide studio to interview friends and family, including Barrs boyfriend Johnny Argent, former Roseanne crew member Allan Stephan and ex campaign manager Thomas Muhammad, TMZ reported. Thursday's YouTube clip was reportedly a preview of the shows first episode. There is no set release date or name for the show. Barr has apologized for her tweets, saying she didn't mean to hurt anyone and that she's regretted the tweets, even before saying in an interview she 'lost everything.' She later stated that she would not be speaking to the media any more, but would be addressing her fans 'directly' to 'cut out any middlemen who use for clickbait/ad revenue while seeking to divide rather than unite.' Barr followed through with her promise when she posted the bizarre video of her speaking about the tweet on her YouTube page on Thursday. The actress looked disheveled and increasingly agitated, smoking a cigarette and repeatedly running her hands through her hair as she was interviewed by someone off camera. 'I'm trying to talk about Iran!' said a frustrated Barr. 'I'm trying to talk about Valerie Jarrett wrote the Iran deal!' 'I know,' the interviewer replied, sounding amused. 'You've told me this 300 times.' 'That's what my tweet was about!' Barr shouted in response. 'I know,' the interviewer said. 'You've explained this literally 300 times.' Losing her temper completely, Barr screamed back: 'I thought the b***h was white! God dammit! I thought the b***h was white! F**k!' A Melbourne woman has died following an attack in the city's CBD. It is understood the woman, 19, was attending a party in an apartment building on A'Beckett Street when a second group of people crashed the event. Authorities were called to the scene of the rented 56th floor apartment just after 5am on Saturday. The woman, from Pakenham, ultimately died from what commander of the North West Metro region Tim Hansen called 'assault related injuries'. She was stabbed to death, according to unverified reports. A Melbourne woman has died from possible stab wounds following an attack in the city's CBD It is understood the woman was injured at an apartment building on A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, with authorities being called just after 5am on Saturday She was treated at the Eq. Tower residential building (pictured), but ultimately died from her injuries 'My understanding is this wasn't a random attack,' Mr Hansen told reporters. 'There's no sign of forced entry but we're trying to clarify what brought [the second group] there.' Mr Hansen further noted that the only known link between the two groups was that both groups were of 'African-Australian heritage' and all were aged around 19-20 years old, News.com.au reports. The victim was treated at the Eq. Tower residential building, but died from her injuries. While the exact circumstances of the incident are yet to be determined, a resident of the apartment building told the Herald Sun she heard prolonged and 'horrendous' screaming. 'It went on for about 20 minutes,' said the woman, who neglected to call the police because such noises were 'not unusual coming from this building'. 'You couldn't hear anything but this horrendous screaming... I just thought they were drunk,' she said. 'They were shouting and screaming and the girl's scream was incredibly loud just screeching.' Homicide squad detectives are investigating the suspicious death. A new government policy move could see new migrants being pushed to live in country towns and regional areas. It comes after growing fears that Australia's booming population is causing overcrowding in cities, particularly Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Melbourne added a staggering 1 million to its population and Sydney 800,000 from 2006-16. Scroll down for video A new government policy could see new migrants being pushed to live in regional Australia.It comes after growing fears that Australia's booming population is causing overcrowding in cities, particularly Sydney (pictured) The new policy move by the Turnbull government aims to move migrants to country towns and regional areas (stock image) Politicians are divided on whether Australia has the capacity to take more migrants by better utilising regional land. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and former prime minister Tony Abbott have both demanded cuts to the number of migrants entering Australia. Yet fears have arisen on the impact of migration cuts to the nation's economy. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton (left) and former prime minister Tony Abbott (right) have called for cuts to the number of migrants accepted in Australia each year The policy move by the Turnbull government aims to move migrants to country towns and regional areas Treasurer Scott Morrison argued that a migration cut of 80,000 persons could cost the budget $4-5billion over the next four years, The Australian reports. Cabinet minister Christopher Pyne said Australia had the capacity to support more people. 'We have a continent the size of the US yet we have 25million people versus their over 200million people,' Mr Pyne told Sky News. ABC's Four Corners revealed earlier this year that immigration is the primary driver of population growth in the nation. In 1997, it was estimated that Australia would reach a population of 25million in 2050. Yet the nation is set to hit that figure in just days. Australia's current population is 24,981,608 as of Saturday, July 21. The nation is set to reach 25million about 4am on August 8. This is the painful moment a circus performer flew over a safety net and crash landed after being blasted from a human cannonball. Crowds of spectators gasped in horror as they watched Jaime Almarza Quezada, 40, fly through the air and land in the stands. The performer, known as 'Hombre Bala' (Bullet Man), broke his jaw and knees after the cannon operator fired him into the air with too much pressure. A circus performer flew right over the safety net after being blasted from a human cannon The video was recorded at the American Circus in the Arauco Maipu shopping centre in the Chilean capital Santiago. In the video, a circus ring can be seen complete with spotlight and a large crowd when a performer comes flying over the back curtain having been fired from a cannon. The performer flies through the air but crashes to the floor in between two stands packed with spectators. He fractured his jaw and knees after crash landing in the stands in front of shocked spectators The Bullet Man reportedly was rushed to a local hospital where he was treated for fractures to his jaw and knees. The injured performer is reportedly still under observation but in a stable condition. The operator of the cannon took the blame for the incident, telling local media: 'It was a mistake on my part, my apologies especially to the audience. The cannon operator took full blame for the accident, saying he made an error while setting the pressure 'I did not disconnect the air-supply hose and the compressor made the air return from the accumulator which then raised the pressure causing a longer distance than what is always programmed.' American Circus told reporters that their programmed shows will continue as planned. When it comes to lifestyle diversity, Sydney is a city hard to beat. From pristine beaches to misty mountains and a seemingly endless range of fitness options, those seeking wellness may be hard-pressed to find something that doesn't appeal to their preference. But it has now been revealed residents' health, and which illnesses they contract, may have more to do with their suburb than deliberate daily habits. And it's not good news for those living on the Central Coast, with young people twice as likely to contract chlamydia than their city counterparts. It has been revealed Sydney residents' health, and which illnesses they contract, may have more to do with their suburb than more deliberate daily habits While the sexually transmitted disease affects 15 to 24-year-olds at a rate of 977.8. per 100,000 in Sydney, this spikes to 1418.8 for those in the coastal region. Meanwhile the ageing population in Sydney's south-west can be largely held responsible for the heightened rate of dementia in the area, according to The Daily Telegraph. Those over the age of 65 were hospitalised for the condition at a rate of 2014.5 per 100,000 people almost twice the figure in Sydneys north at 1165.2. Comparatively, people living in the city's south-western suburbs were more likely to die from diabetes, with the disease killing almost 700 people in the area during 2015. Data from the NSW Ministry of Health also revealed respiratory conditions are rampant in Penrith and the Blue Mountains - affecting one in every 10 adults. And according to Asthma Australia's chief executive Michele Goldman it was environmental factors could be blamed for triggering the condition's symptoms. Figures suggest those in the western suburbs are more likely to develop asthma and young people on the Central Coast have a higher chance of contracting chlamydia 'In areas with high exposure to common triggers for asthma, like pollen, dust, variations in weather, bushfire smoke and traffic pollution, we see higher incidences,' she told the publication. The revelations come 18 months after Melbourne became blanketed in a freak asthma-inducing thunderstorm. Eight people died in the week following the event and another death from the weather event the following January brought the death toll to nine. An additional 8,500 people were forced to seek hospital treatment when weather changed abruptly on November 21, and unprecedented thunderstorms swept across certain suburbs in the city. Pictured: Lilia Djairine, 24, has been named locally as the woman who died The death of a young mother-of-one in west London was the result of hanging, police have revealed. Medics were unable to save the woman, named locally as Lilia Djairine, 24, after they rushed to her family's pizza restaurant in Hanwell, West London on Thursday afternoon. The area of the Uxbridge Road was cordoned off by police and a murder investigation launched, with detectives arresting a 28-year-old man on suspicion of killing her. But he has now been released and officers have revealed she was not stabbed and died as a result of hanging. A Metropolitan Police spokesman said in a statement: 'Police were called by the London Ambulance Service at 12:11hrs on Thursday, 19 July to reports of a seriously injured woman in Uxbridge Road, W7. 'There is no evidence that she was stabbed. Officers, the London Ambulance Service and London's Air Ambulance attended. 'Despite the best efforts of the emergency services, the woman, believed to be aged in her 20s, was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:50hrs. Her next-of-kin has been informed. A tent was erected outside the restaurant her family run in Hanwell, west London on Thursday 'At post-mortem examination carried out at Fulham Mortuary on Friday, 20 July gave the cause of death as death by hanging. Formal identification will take place in due course. 'At this stage this matter continues to be dealt with by detectives in Ealing. Enquiries into the full circumstances are ongoing. 'A 28-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder and has since been released under investigation. 'The Met's Homicide and Major Crime Command has been informed as is routine. 'Enquiries into the circumstances continue. 'Anyone with information is requested to call police on 101 quoting reference 3314/19 July or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.' In a bid to tackle obesity in children, a plan proposed by the Global Obesity Centre (GLOBE) wants to measure children's height and weight in primary school. The plan proposes to conduct checks at schools for all Australian children in Year 1 and Year 6, or every two years, unless parents choose to formally 'opt out'. Australia currently ranks sixth highest in the world for having an overweight or obese population. Statistics say that one in five children between two and four are overweight, and one in four children between the ages of five and 17 are overweight or obese. In a bid to tackle obesity in children, a plan proposed by the Global Obesity Centre (GLOBE) wants to measure children's height and weight in primary school (stock image) GLOBE believes that the actual number of overweight Australians is likely to be higher, The Daily Telegraph reports. The centre, operating at Deakin University, believes that the measurements will help in determining the actual scale of Australia's obesity crisis. GLOBE put in a submission to the federal government's inquiry into the country's 'obesity epidemic', and Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt confirmed that the government is considering the proposal. Mr Hunt believes that a child's health is the responsibility of the parents and states who run the schools, but is willing to refer the proposal to the Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council to provide advice. He said that exercise and a healthy lifestyle is important for children and shouldn't be underestimated as it can provide a lifelong platform for good health. 'Being healthy as a child sets you up for life and we encourage children and parents to work together on adopting healthy lifestyles,' Minister Hunt said. Health at Every Size Australia (HAES), a group that encourages healthy lifestyle behaviours and doesn't focus on body shape or size, believes that the measurement checks could have a negative effect. Spokeswoman for HAES Fiona Willer, said that the checks could give an impression that weight control is important, and lead to eating habits that could be destructive. Ms Willer also said that analysing population trends through random samples of Australians was sufficient to determine official figures. GLOBE believes that the measurements at school will help in determining the actual scale of Australia's obesity crisis (stock image) 'Doing it to everyone is very heavy handed, unnecessary and will cause more entrenchment of stigmatisation of high body weights in the population,' she said. GLOBE's Professor Steve Allender believes the measurement checks are critical as obesity is currently a million-dollar crisis affecting two-thirds of Australian adults. He said that the checks will help gather better information that can help inform decisions about improving the health of children. 'There are probably communities in Australia who are doing a really good job of improving the health of our kids and we can't learn from them and improve the health of the whole nation unless we understand who is doing well,' Professor Allender said. The checks have been trialed in Victoria over the last two years, and have checked about 20,000 students. Professor Allender said that the trial in Victoria proved the checks could be implemented safely and wouldn't lead to 'any potential problems around body image'. He believes the data may assist the government to deliver better resources to tackle obesity. Ghulam Haider, 61, was jailed for six years in 2006 after a court heard he brutally raped a 16-year-old at a derelict churchyard The home of a convicted rapist is being used as an unregulated Islamic school for children. Ghulam Haiders wife is teaching around 17 children of primary school age at the madrassa that she runs from their front room at weekends. Former taxi driver Haider, 61, was jailed for six years in 2006 after a court heard he brutally raped a 16-year-old at a derelict churchyard. The madrassa highlights a safeguarding loophole around children attending out of school education centres, which require no monitoring from education watchdog Ofsted or local authorities. There is also no requirement for Haiders wife, Sadiqqa, who teaches classes in their front room, to submit to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks. The checks would flag up Haiders conviction and are intended to prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children. Ofsted described the madrassa, run from Haiders semi-detached home in Acocks Green, Birmingham, as deeply worrying. The watchdogs head, Amanda Spielman, has previously warned that Islamic hardliners are preaching extreme doctrines in underground schools across the UK. Her predecessor Sir Michael Wilshaw said: I raised this issue time and time again when I was at Ofsted. Unregistered schools by their very nature are outside of the law and I was concerned that they were increasing in number, particularly in cities like Birmingham. The Government needs to think about how both schools outside of mainstream education and madrassas such as this need to be properly regulated and inspected. Birmingham City Council said the situation was nothing short of appalling and the case highlighted the need for an overhaul of regulations. Last Saturday, the Mail watched as 17 boys and girls were dropped off at Haiders home for a two-hour session learning the Koran. Only two of their parents said they were aware of Haiders past. Haider's wife Sadiqqa, who teaches around 17 children of primary school age in their Birmingham home at weekends One father angry that he had not been told confronted Mrs Haider, 50, and vowed never to send his daughter back to the lessons. The father, who would only give his first name, Hussain, said: Im shocked. I know the teacher, Sadiqqa, she is a good lady and I see him [Haider] sometimes at the house. Another father, who paid 25 a month for his son to attend on Saturdays and Sundays, admitted he knew about Haiders conviction and was concerned about it. He said: When my son comes home he does get questioned. I ask him what the mum is saying and whether the husband is around... I just hope hes a changed man. Other parents seemed unconcerned when informed of Haiders past. Some said they didnt even know who was teaching their child. One mother said: We were recommended the madrassa by people we know. We call the teacher Sister. Some of the parents said the lessons were free because they knew the family. There was no sign of Haider who is understood to work at a dairy when Mail reporters were watching, but he was seen coming and going in a silver Kia car on another occasion. Haider was 49 when he was found guilty of indecent assault and rape and put on the sex offender register for life. When approached last Saturday, his wife said her husband was at work and claimed his victim had made up the allegations. She added: This is not a proper madrassa. All the children are my neighbours and things like that. She said the conviction was not right he didnt do it. When reminded of Haiders crime, she said: You dont need to repeat that, I dont want to go through that again. Mrs Haider, who has four children with her husband, said her was not involved in running of the school. Time for lessons: A pupil entering the Haiders' home for a weekend class The Haiders share the home with one of their daughters and son Ammar, 31, a convicted fraudster who was released from prison on licence in March. Their home is a short drive from the constituency office of Labour MP Jess Phillips and yards from a junior and infant school. One neighbour said: The regulations need to be tightened. How can a childminder need to be registered, but classes at a rapists house dont? Its just not right. Lorna Fitzjohn, Ofsteds regional director for the West Midlands, said: While the majority of these places provide enriching extra-curricular activities and education to children, we remain worried that a minority are putting children at risk of harm by failing to adhere to basic safeguarding standards, or by exposing them to unsuitable or extremist individuals. She added that Ofsted could do little without extra powers. A Birmingham City Council spokesman called for better regulations and said it was working with police and the Government to see what could be done. There is a vetting system for those working with children in youth clubs, or similar settings, under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006. But those running schools under the radar can easily flout the law by saying they are only hosting family friends. A Department for Education spokesman said: No child should be placed at risk and we are committed to protecting them from harm. It said there are clear powers for police and local authorities to intervene in concerning cases, and a 3million fund had been allocated for local authorities to deal with such cases. The three-year-old boy who died after being left in his daycare's sweltering hot bus for four hours has been identified. Raymond Pryer's father arrived to pick up his son from the Discovering Me Academy in Houston, Texas, on Thursday after returning from a field trip. But when he showed up he discovered staff were looking for his young son. They eventually found his body in the bus, where temperatures had hit 117F. He was left inside when the children got off the bus between 2.30pm and 3pm. His father didn't arrive until 7pm. Raymond Pryer was found dead after he was left on a hot bus for four hours after returning from a field trip The toddler was left on this bus at Discovering Me Academy in Houston, Texas, on Thursday for four hours as temperatures soared to 113F By the time his father arrived to pick him up at 7pm, staff were looking for the boy. They found him on the bus (above, taped off) while his father was there Afterwards, witnesses said they heard the man screaming in the parking lot. It remains unclear why the boy did not get off the bus as he should have. There were 28 children on the bus at the time and staff claim that the toddler was accounted for when he returned from the trip. Overnight, the day care's bus driver, director and the chaperone who was also on the van were questioned by police. Raymond's father (left) arrived to pick up his son, but instead found staff desperately looking for him The daycare bus driver and a chaperone were both questioned overnight by police but no charges have been filed. The daycare center is pictured It remains unclear why the boy did not get off the bus as he should have No charges have yet been filed. Harris County Constable Alan Rosen said it was an example of 'gross negligence'. He told ABC the case was his 'worst nightmare' and said it was an 'absolute tragedy'. In 2013, the daycare center was cited for not having technology in its vehicles which forces drivers to walk through the entire bus before getting off to ensure that no child is left behind. The technology triggers an alarm once the ignition has been switched off which can only be turned off at the back of the vehicle. The idea is that the driver must walk the entire length of the bus to silence it and encounter any child that has been left behind accidentally on the way. One of Britain's most notorious baby killers was reportedly battling for her life with suspected sepsis last night. Beverley Allitt, 49, fell ill on Sunday and is now receiving round-the-clock care for the life-threatening condition, according to staff at Rampton high-security hospital in Nottinghamshire. Allitt - dubbed the 'Angel of Death' - was convicted of killing four children while working as a nurse at Grantham and Kesteven, Lincolnshire in 1991. 'There are genuine concerns as to whether she'll pull through', a source reportedly told The Sun. Angel of Death baby killer Beverley Allitt (pictured in 1993) is reportedly fighting for her life after contracting sepsis at her high security psychiatric hospital in Nottinghamshire The former paediatric nurse claimed her first victim on February 23 1991. She injected eight-week old Liam Taylor with a large dose of insulin, before killing three more infants. Allitt - dubbed the 'Angel of Death' - was convicted of killing four children while working as a nurse at Grantham and Kesteven, Lincolnshire in 1991 Allitt seriously injured nine others during the 59-day killing spree at the hospital's now-infamous Ward 4. The sudden spike in infant mortalities sparked an urgent investigation in their deaths. Some were left with life-long injuries resulting from the damaging injections administered. Despite being the only nurse on duty during every attack, Allitt pleaded not guilty at trial at Nottingham Crown Court in 1993. However, she was convicted of four counts of murder, three attempted murders and causing grievous bodily harm. She was given 13 life sentences, with a minimum of 30 years. The jury heard that psychiatrists who had examined her had concluded she was suffering from Munchausen Syndrome by proxy, a mental illness which caused her to inflict injury on others to attract sympathy or attention. She was sent to Rampton High Security Psychiatric Hospital and held indefinitely after medics ruled her as a risk to herself. In 2005 the BBC made a dramatisation of the story, Angel of Death, in which Charlie Brooks played Allitt. Sepsis is a life-threatening condition which occurs when the body overreacts to an everyday infection or virus. For example, it can be triggered by a skin infection, pneumonia or the flu. But it is notoriously difficult to diagnose and a patient's risk of death significantly increases for every hour delay in giving them antibiotics. There are 250,000 cases of sepsis in the UK each year and it claims 44,000 lives, meaning one in six patients die. Last night a spokesperson for Nottinghamshire Healthcare declined to comment. Patients are being allowed to jump growing NHS queues by paying up to 15,000 for a hip replacement. Hospitals are encouraging people to self-fund procedures that are either heavily rationed or have very long waiting times. A Daily Mail investigation uncovered how two-thirds of hospitals allow patients to pay out of their pockets for hip and knee replacements and cataract surgery. It follows revelations that patients are having to wait for up to a year for surgery on the NHS. Many hospitals offer all-inclusive packages that work out significantly cheaper than charging separate fees for the operating theatre time, the consultant and occupying a hospital bed. But they are still very expensive, with patients paying for a hip replacement at the Royal Free Hospital in North London charged between 13,000 and 15,000. This is twice as much as the procedure would cost the NHS. An average hip replacement is 7,500 depending on the patient's condition. Hospitals are encouraging people to pay for procedures that are either heavily rationed or have very long waiting times. At King's College, it's 9,850 for a hip replacement Similarly patients wanting cataract surgery are charged a maximum of 5,125 at Derby Teaching Hospitals. The NHS typically pays just 800 for the procedure, though it involves a less advanced lens. In return, patients are treated almost immediately. Patients awaiting the same procedures on the NHS wait up to a year and many are refused treatment altogether as they are deemed 'ineligible'. Earlier this year the Mail revealed three-quarters of trusts were refusing to fund hip and knee operations unless patients were in very severe pain. For cataract surgery, patients must be near-blind. The Bedford charges 9,000 for a hip replacement. Many hospitals offer all-inclusive packages that work out cheaper And last week the BMJ said 1,700 patients had been refused hip and knee operations even though their doctors had pleaded their cases. But campaigners said it was 'deeply worrying' that patients were having to choose between finding the money themselves or enduring very long waits. Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK said: 'It is deeply worrying that we're apparently sleepwalking towards a situation in which if you want a routine operation such as a hip or knee replacement you either have to pay privately or wait a long time on the NHS. What about the many older people who cannot possibly afford to pay thousands and who are left in pain and distress for months on NHS waiting lists?' Labour's health spokesman Jonathan Ashworth MP said years of cuts have meant we have been left with 'a two-tier NHS with quick surgery for those with cash while the majority are forced to wait longer and longer in pain'. Waiting time of just days... or up to a year on the NHS Bedford Hospital Prices: 9,000 upwards for hip replacement, cataracts price depends on complexity Waiting time if you pay: Whenever patient wants NHS wait: Up to 18 weeks What does the website say? 'You don't need insurance to have access to private healthcare, and our prices are affordable. 'You can see the consultant you want at a time suited to you and have fast access to a diagnosis, any tests required and the treatment which is right for you.' One patient testimonial reads: 'After being cancelled at short notice from the NHS recently, I wanted to thank you all for your help in arranging ... to have my operation within a few days.' Kings College, South London Prices: 9,850 for a hip replacement, 1,500 for cataracts but consultant fees are extra Waiting time if you pay: No wait NHS wait: Just over a year for a hip replacement (average 52 weeks, 4 days) What does the website say? 'A dedicated service for patients who wish to have the comfort of their own hotel style room and a more flexible choice of dates for treatment.' Epsom and St Helier, Surrey Prices: Up to 11,000 for a hip replacement, up to 1,200 for cataracts Waiting time if you pay: No waiting time and it depends on patient's and consultant's availability NHS wait: Up to three and a half months What does the website say? 'Offers patients the best of both worlds; the independence of private healthcare in a trusted and safe NHS environment.' Derby Teaching Hospitals Prices: Up to 12,500 for a hip replacement, up to 5,125 for cataract surgery depending on the type of lens Waiting time if you pay: 1-2 weeks NHS wait: Up to 16 weeks What does the website say? 'We can quickly treat you for a wide range of procedures ... Our procedures are competitively priced and with the knowledge that your money is supporting the NHS we are a great option.' The Royal Free, North London Prices: Up to 15,000 for a hip replacement, up to 3,250 for cataracts Waiting time if you pay: Surgery carried out at mutually convenient time NHS wait: Up to 23 weeks What does the website say? 'Combines the convenience, comfort and personalised attention of a private hospital with the very best state-of-the-art services, technology and professional excellence.' Advertisement The Epsom where it's up to 11,000 for a hip replacement, up to 1,200 for cataracts The Mail sent Freedom of Information requests to all 150 hospital trusts in England asking them if they allowed patients to self-fund hip and knee replacements and cataracts and if so, the prices and waiting times. Of the 103 which replied, 65 said they allowed patients to self-fund for one or both procedures. The majority said there was no wait and patients were treated at a mutually convenient time for them and their consultants. By contrast, NHS waits for the same operations ranged from ten weeks to 52 and a half weeks. Many of the hospitals offer patients the 'best of both worlds' treatment by world-class NHS consultants with the comfort and dignity of private care. They reassure patients their money will be used to support the NHS. Self-funding is different to having private health insurance as patients pay a one-off fee for an operation or scan. They are treated by NHS consultants who are allowed to top-up their salaries with private work. The hospitals did not provide figures for who had self-funded but experts say demand is increasing in response to lengthening waiting lists and rationing. According to the Private Healthcare UK Self-Pay Market Study 2017, the numbers of patients paying for one-off care increased by 25 per cent on 2016. NHS England said: 'Over the coming year the NHS is funding more waiting list operations, including for hip and knee conditions.' Theresa May's Chequers plan has been rejected by the EU's Brexit chief partly because it would give UK firms a competitive edge. Michel Barnier also said the Prime Minister's customs proposals would create red tape and potentially fraud. He insisted the four core principles of the single market free movement of goods, services, capital and people were indivisible and Britain could not cherry pick. Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator, rejected Theresa May's Chequers blueprint because it creates red tape, opens up potential for fraud and give the UK a competitive edge His comments enraged Eurosceptic MPs. Jacob Rees-Mogg said the 'aggressive' statement showed 'why we are right to be leaving the mafia-like European Union'. Tory MP Andrew Rosindell said: 'He has let the cat out of the bag by acknowledging British firms could be more competitive. 'He knows if Brexit is a success the whole of the EU will be called into question.' Mr Barnier started by attacking the British proposal to stay aligned with the EU on goods but not services. Holding up his mobile phone at a press conference in Brussels, he said: 'Between 20 and 40 per cent of the value of this good is linked to services. Jacob Rees-Mogg said the 'aggressive' statement showed 'why we are right to be leaving the mafia-like European Union' 'So how will we avoid unfair competition via the services because the UK would be free to diverge on services. How can we allow that? How can we avoid the UK companies having a significant competitive edge vis-a-vis the EU companies? 'Our aim is to protect the interests of the EU in these negotiations.' Revealed: Britain is borrowing a THIRD less than feared with country now on course for 30billion deficit this year Britain is borrowing a third less than feared as the economy continues to prosper ahead of Brexit, official figures showed yesterday. With employment at a record high and tax receipts pouring in, the Office for National Statistics said the Government borrowed 16.8 billion in the first three months of the fiscal year. That was the smallest shortfall for the April to June period since 2007, and put the country on course for a deficit of around 30 billion this year, according to analysts. That compares with the 37.1 billion the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the Treasury's official forecaster, pencilled in at the Budget in March. It is also a third less than the 46.5billion the OBR predicted in the aftermath of the referendum when it sharply downgraded the outlook for Brexit Britain. But those forecasts were far too gloomy, with the country borrowing just 2 of every 3 that the OBR said it would following the Brexit vote. Analysts said the improvement in finances gives Chancellor Philip Hammond room for manoeuvre as he looks to find extra cash for the NHS in the Autumn Budget. The doom-laden warnings issued by former chancellor George Osborne before the referendum have proved even wider of the mark with the deficit around half the size he claimed it would be. John Longworth, the former director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: 'It is remarkable how wrong George Osborne has proved to be. The public finances are in far better shape than when he was chancellor. So much for 'Project Fear'.' Advertisement Mr Barnier also tore into Mrs May's customs plans, under which Britain would apply either UK or EU tariffs depending on the destination of the goods in question. The EU negotiator claimed it could create costly bureaucracy for firms and play into the hands of fraudsters. He said: 'Is there not a major risk of fraud? What would the financial and administrative extra costs be for businesses given this new dual system? Brexit cannot, and will not, justify additional bureaucracy. What would the impact be if the UK has tariffs lower than the EU tariffs?' Mr Barnier also questioned whether it was legally feasible for the EU to let the UK collect customs revenues on its behalf. He criticised the UK's proposal for alignment on rules for agriculture and foods, saying this did not guarantee that products containing genetically-modified organisms or pesticides would not enter the EU market from the UK. And he spelt out that the Brexit white paper would not be accepted in its current form. But he said there were several elements in it that would open the way to a constructive discussion on Britain's relationship with the EU after Brexit. The negotiator noted that there was agreement on restricting state aid, on security cooperation and on the continued role of the European Court of Justice. Responding to Mr Barnier's comments, Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen said: 'Why would we want to give our services an advantage and handicap ourselves on goods? Mr Barnier's negotiating stance is the same each time, he banks the concessions and then asks for more. What we need is a free trade deal like Canada.' Eurosceptic MPs have said the Brexit white paper breaches red lines set out by Mrs May. Tory MP Nigel Evans said: 'Mrs May has already conceded too much and he wants more. Mr Barnier should bite her hand off at what he's already been offered. 'There are a lot of people in the UK who voted to leave who already feel she has conceded too much. He's continued to put up obstacles where they don't exist and he clearly wants Brexit in name only so we will still be paying huge sums of money.' Mr Barnier held face-to-face talks with new Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab for the first time on Thursday and described the meeting as very useful and cordial. He confirmed there had been no progress on the issue of the Irish border. Brussels has set a deadline of October to reach a deal on the withdrawal agreement, which is 80 per cent agreed. This allows it to be ratified by the remaining 27 member states and the European Parliament in time for next March 29, when Britain is scheduled to leave the EU. The UK has rejected the EU's proposed 'backstop', which would effectively keep Northern Ireland within the EU customs union in the event that no deal is reached on the future trading relationship by the end of the standstill transition period at the close of 2020. Record numbers of visitors flocked to Britain last year as tourists were enticed by spectacular attractions and the weak pound, figures show. There were 39.2million visits from travellers all over the globe to the UK in 2017, up 4 per cent on the previous year to the highest number ever. The country welcomed record numbers from China, India and the Gulf states, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the US, Australia and the European Union. Crowd pleaser: Stonehenge has become one of the country's massive draws in recent years Tourist flocked to attractions such as the Tower of London, which had 2.74million visitors from home and abroad in 2016. Stonehenge, Chester Zoo and the Lake District have also become massive draws. Visits to the UK from the rest of the EU hit a record 25.6million last year. Figures show Europeans are still travelling to Brexit Britain with 10billion spent. Spending by overseas visitors also hit a new high in 2017, rising by 9 per cent to 24.5billion, according to the Office for National Statistics and Visit Britain. Mike Saul, head of hospitality and leisure at Barclays, said: Visitors from overseas cant seem to get enough of Destination UK, and its world class attractions with almost 40million foreign tourists making the trip to these shores during last year, the highest recorded figure. Boosted by the weakness of sterling, the UKs position as a leading draw continues to bring benefit to our hospitality and leisure businesses, as well as to the retail sector. In uncertain economic and political times, its reassuring to see an increase year on year in the number of overseas travellers coming here as well as spending more than 24billion on visits in 2017, which bodes well for the sector. Tourism minister Michael Ellis said: Britains tourism industry is booming. Last year was another record-breaker and we welcomed more people than ever from important markets including China, India and the Gulf states. The Natural History Museum in London is one of Britain's many world renowned, free attractions We are working hard to sustain this excellent growth and encourage international visitors to travel around the UK, ensuring that more communities can benefit. Visit Britain director Patricia Yates said: Tourism is one of Britains most valuable export industries and the strong growth across many of our high-value markets demonstrates our ability to attract international visitors in a fiercely competitive global industry, and to deliver economic growth right across the country. Visits from the US rose 13 per cent to 3.9million, the highest since 2000, with American spending up 9 per cent to a record 3.6billion. Chinese visitor numbers were up 29 per cent to a record 337,000 last year, with spending up 35 per cent to 694million. There were also 1.1million from Australia in 2017, up 11 per cent, with spending up 13 per cent to 1.2billion. Although the 812,000 Gulf state visitors accounted for just 2 per cent of the total, their total outlay jumped 55 per cent to 2.2billion some 9 per cent of spending. Ten of thousands of children are being prescribed potentially brain-harming antidepressants, it was reported last night. More than 70,000 people under the age of 18 and nearly 2,000 children of primary school ages in England were treated medically for depression last year, according to NHS data obtained by the Times. However, experts believe that antidepressants provide little benefit to children and that doctors are medicalising adolescence. Ten of thousands of children are being prescribed potentially brain-harming antidepressants, it was reported last night. However, experts believe that antidepressants provide little benefit to children and that doctors are medicalising adolescence Up to three per cent of children are thought to be depressed. However, talking therapies are often recommended as the first choice of treatment, according to scientists. The freedom of information request also discovered that one in six adults used the pills in the same year a rise of nearly half a million since 2015. The data reportedly shows that 7.3million people in England were prescribed at least one antidepressant last year. Out of those, a fifth of people were taking the pills in towns such as Great Yarmouth and Blackpool but the figure was less than one in ten in London. More than 70,000 people under the age of 18 and nearly 2,000 children of primary school ages in England were treated medically for depression last year, according to NHS data obtained by the Times Meanwhile, people over the age of 60 were twice as likely to be on antidepressants than those in their twenties. The data was obtained from the NHS business services authority. The agency processes prescription payments on the amount of individual patients prescribed with the drugs. Andrea Cipriani, a psychiatrist at Oxford University, said: People are prescribing antidepressants to people who dont really need them, who have low mood. Its important people are aware that antidepressants arent a quick fix. Two years ago Dr Cipriani carried out an overview of 34 trials, which discovered that apart from antidepressant Prozac, none treated both adults and children any better than a placebo. Antidepressant prescriptions have doubled in a decade. Britain has the fourth highest use of the drugs among western countries and they cost the NHS 235million a year. According to scientists, the increase was due to people being more willing to seek help. It comes after a study published in April this year found that women who take antidepressants during pregnancy may be more likely to have children who suffer from anxiety. Approximately 3 per cent of British women suffer from prenatal depression and take antidepressant pills while pregnant. Now a study has found babies born to these women have brains different from those of other children which may make them more susceptible to anxiety disorders in later life. This could be because serotonin, the so-called happy hormone, affects the development of the childs brain in the womb. Antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are believed to increase levels of the hormone. Dr Cipriani said that nowadays the risk is medicalising adolescence by using drugs to treat depression in young people. We should be careful of prescribing antidepressants to the developing brain. The freedom of information request also discovered that one in six adults used the pills in the same year a rise of nearly half a million since 2015. The data reportedly shows that 7.3million people in England were prescribed at least one antidepressant last year We dont know the long-term consequences. In South Lincolnshire 1.66 children in 1,000 under 11 were prescribed antidepressants, which is six times the national average. Dr Cipriani added: Its difficult to justify. There must be something wrong. Tom Madders, of the charity Young Minds, said: Long waiting times and high thresholds for treatment mean that GPs may feel under pressure to prescribe antidepressants to children. There can be a place for medication . . . but it shouldnt be used as a sticking plaster for poor access to talking therapies. Amulya Nadkarni, a consultant psychiatrist at the Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, said: The welfare of patients is always the most important factor . . . we follow Nice guidelines. Helen Stokes-Lampard, chairwoman of the Royal College of GPs, said of the overall numbers: Its important that these figures arent automatically seen as a bad thing, as more people had sought help. However, she added that there was a severe lack of other options available to family doctors. It has come to be regarded as the ultimate Eurosceptic text. But Margaret Thatcher had to walk a tightrope when she delivered her landmark Bruges speech in 1988, newly-declassified files reveal. Drafts and surviving notes indicate some parts were watered down to avoid offending Europeans, while in other places the prime minister strengthened the criticism of Europe. Margaret Thatcher had to walk a tightrope when she delivered her landmark Bruges speech in 1988, newly-declassified files reveal Notes on her speech on the future of the continent reveal she wanted to call for a United Europe but not European Union. The notes add: National provincial cultures v important must not be lost. The reference was removed after Mrs Thatcher was advised that her remarks might prompt Jacques Delors the European Commission president to make some unhelpful comments. She was warned: He will of course be in the front row of the audience, and is scheduled to speak about ten minutes after the conclusion of the prime ministers speech. There is also a suggestion in the notes that Lady Thatcher removed the word socialism from her speech, which argued against EU federalism, to avoid offence. Chris Collins, of the Margaret Thatcher Foundation, said: The Bruges speech contained a famous phrase warning against the imposition of a European super-state, but it did not use the word socialist to describe it. Anyone knowing Margaret Thatchers mode of thinking would suspect that there was a deliberate act of restraint here, because this was precisely what she meant by socialism. She removed remarks that may have offended Jacques Delors, the European Commission president Mr Collins argued that Lady Thatcher never intended the Bruges speech to be a Eurosceptic text. Bruges was taken as Thatcher bashing Europe and, actually, when you look at it, thats a bit too simple, he said. It is still true, as a historical fact, that this begins the trend towards a more Eurosceptical outcome. Its not a predetermined outcome of course, no one knows where this is going, and I think you can add to that that its partly the reception of the speech that determines this. When you give a speech, what you intend to do and how people take the speech are obviously different things. An Australian author has slammed New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for not leading the country 'like a woman'. Ms Ardern became the first world leader in 30 years to give birth to a baby while in office when daughter Neve was born last month. The 37-year-old mother, who continued her national role until she went into labour on June 21, was slammed despite being internationally praised for paving the way for working women. An Australian author has slammed New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (pictured weeks before she gave birth in June) for not leading the country 'like a woman' Natalie Ritchie (pictured) said Ms Ardern was pretending 'mothering doesn't exist' in parliament because she hardly made reference to 'fatigue, excitement or bub-preparations' Natalie Ritchie claimed the New Zealand Prime Minister was 'acting like' the leading role was 'not for women' by failing to share pregnancy truths, in an opinion piece written for the NZ Herald. The Roar Like a Woman author said Ms Ardern was pretending 'mothering doesn't exist' in parliament because she hardly made reference to 'fatigue, excitement or bub-preparations'. 'What the women of New Zealand would have loved to hear was defiant honesty and connect - "does this feathered cloak make my ankles look puffy? ... Pregnancy is harder than being PM",' Ms Ritchie said referring to Ms Ardern's outfit she wore to meet the Queen at Buckingham Palace. The author also claimed the mother-of-one said she was on 'leave of absence' and did not say the 'cringe-worthy words "maternity leave"'. 'To dump the care of a newborn on the child's father, and then crow, as Helen Clark did, that "having a baby while being prime minister can be managed," seems to broadcast the very opposite - that having a baby while being Prime Minister can't be managed,' the author claimed. The Australian writer said the PM, who was the second world leader in history to give birth in office, should 'make history again' by being the first nation to 'accommodate motherhood's sleeplessness and physical debilitation and the time consuming and unpredictable daily childcare routine'. The New Zealand Government is currently being led by Winston Peters, 73, until Ms Ardern's maternity leave ends however she previously played down her absence and confirmed she would be on call. Ms Ardern became the first world leader in 30 years to give birth while in office when daughter Neve was born last month (pictured with partner Clarke Gayford and newborn daughter) The Roar Like a Woman author said Ms Ardern (left and right with baby Neve) said she was on 'leave of absence' and did not say the 'cringe-worthy words "maternity leave"' 'The thing to keep in mind is: I'm not dead,' the new mother previously told TVNZ. Ms Ardern's partner Clarke Gayford will be a stay-at-home dad when she returns to work. 'I'll be Prime Minister and a mum, and Clarke will be "first man of fishing" and stay at home dad,' Ms Ardern said when she announced her pregnancy. 'I think it's fair to say that this will be a wee one that a village will raise, but we couldn't be more excited.' Dr Kashif Samin, now 42, has been permanently banned from practising A Doctor has been struck off after claiming he had 46 years of medical experience... despite only being 41 years old. Dr Kashif Samin, now 42, has been permanently banned from practising after fabricating his experience, his university degree and his links to societies in job applications. Earlier this month the General Medical Councils (GMC) Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) heard how he told a string of lies. Applying for a job at at Glan Clwyd Hospital in North Wales, Samin boasted that he had a masters degree in emergency medicine from Manchester Metropolitan University. In fact, he had quit the course. He also posted a CV online which claimed he had more than 46 years experience as a doctor, despite then being aged only 41. The GP also made claims on his social media account profiles that he had studied at a university in New York only later to admit he simply visited their library. He also boasted of having an article published in the Journal of Gastroentology, yet no evidence was ever found and it was deemed entirely fictitious. He even claimed to be a fellow of the American Association of Aesthetic Surgeons but no such organisation exists. Now Samin, of Llandudno, North Wales, has been struck off the medical register after a week-long tribunal in Manchester. MPTS panel chairman Damian Cooper said Samins conduct undermined patients trust in doctors and brought the medical profession into disrepute. Mr Cooper said: The tribunal determines that Dr Samin has been persistently dishonest and has demonstrated no insight into the seriousness of his actions and their consequences. Dr Samins actions have the potential for an adverse impact on the standing and perception of the regulatory process and the medical profession as a whole. The tribunal is concerned that it has had no evidence to show that Dr Samin has reflected on the events at all. The tribunal therefore concludes that it is necessary in the public interest to direct that Dr Samins name be erased from the Medical Register. In the light of all the evidence presented to it, the tribunal is satisfied that erasure is the necessary, proportionate and appropriate sanction. Dr Samin, who qualified as a doctor at Peshawar University in Pakistan in 2001, has been given 28 days to appeal against the decision. It comes after he appeared at Mold Crown Court last year when he admitted forging his doctor wifes signature on a house sale document. He pleaded guilty to two charges and was given a 12-month community order and told to pay 535 costs. Samin, who had previously worked at Four Seasons Medical Centre in Orford, Warrington, Cheshire, then faced a GMC inquiry. In November last year, an initial MPTS tribunal banned him from the profession for four months after ruling that his fitness to practise was impaired. That first panel accepted Dr Samins evidence that his dishonesty was not persistent and it was a one-off incident. However, a review tribunal held this year dug deeper into his professional qualifications and online boasts and uncovered a series of blatant lies. This months tribunal, held in Samins absence, heard how he had given misleading and false information to the first hearing last year. It added that his dishonesty had been persistent, repeated and over a long period of time. Donald Trump offered to give Theresa May a list of his favourite New York lawyers when he advised her to sue the European Union. The US President first suggested she take legal action against Brussels rather than pursue negotiations last July. In a one-on-one meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg he told the Prime Minister to litigate and offered to help with the names of lawyers he respected. Mr Trump then repeatedly raised the suggestion with Mrs May in a series of telephone conversations over the course of the past year. Donald Trump told Theresa May he had a list of good lawyers At their joint news conference at Chequers last Friday, the US President said he had offered his thoughts on how she should approach the talks, but declined to go into detail. 'She found it maybe too brutal,' he said. 'I could fully understand why she thought it was a little bit tough.' Mrs May disclosed on the BBC on Sunday that Mr Trump had urged her to pursue legal action. 'He told me I should sue the EU. Not go into negotiations, sue them,' she said. Mr Trump's visit to Britain was almost blown off course after he made a series of incendiary comments criticising Mrs May's premiership in a newspaper interview. Mr Trump advised the Prime Minister to sue the EU rather than negotiate Brexit He denounced her negotiating style, lavished praise on Boris Johnson and attacked her Brexit plan, warning the proposals would kill off a trade deal with America. But hours after the remarks were published, Mr Trump backtracked, heaping praise on 'incredible' Mrs May and hailing UK-US relations as the 'highest level of special'. Alexander Wood was jailed for pretending to be the Duke of Marlborough A champagne-loving violinist who was jailed for pretending to be the Duke of Marlborough has been sent back to prison over a 2million cyber fraud. Alexander Woods partner in crime Muhammed Azhar was also jailed for the scam, which saw the pair blowing the cash on champagne, Bentleys, Rolex watches and five-star hotels. Wood, 36, a former child prodigy who studied at the Royal College of Music, was recruited by 40-year-old Azhar while serving three-and-ahalf years after posing as the 12th Duke, Lord Jamie Spencer-Churchill, as he ran up bills of 10,000 at hotels such as Claridges in Mayfair. He had embarked on a life of crime after throwing away his promising career as an international violin soloist due to his taste for the high life. Azhar had been imprisoned at HMP Wandsworth for his role in a 113million fraud run by Feezan Hameed Choudhary, who masterminded the UKs largest ever cyber fraud. But unknown to police, while in jail the fraudster hatched a new plan with Wood. He persuaded him he could soon be back living in five-star hotels if he joined him in conning family firms out of millions of pounds by tricking them into believing they had been hit by the Wannacry virus. The online virus, which was used to target the NHS last year, is used by criminals to extort money from victims. Just days after his release, Azhar who had been given a new identity and witness protection at taxpayers expense after giving evidence against Choudhary set the scam in motion. At least 12 family firms unwittingly transferred money to the pair, who told them they were fraud experts working for banks such as Barclays, RBS and Natwest and instructed them to transfer all their cash to avoid it falling into hackers hands. In a single phone call, one demolition company transferred them 1.2million after being duped into thinking their savings were at risk. In the call, which was recorded by the victims telephone systems, Wood could be heard saying to Azhar: Im going to buy you a Rolex tomorrow mate. They blew the cash on luxury goods and stays at five-star hotels such as Chewton Glen Hotel, Hampshire, where celebrities such as Kate Moss have stayed in 1,200 a night suites. Wood (right) has now been sent back to prison over a 2million cyber fraud. His partner in crime Muhammed Azhar (left) has also been jailed They tried to cover their tracks by buying a new 1,000 iPhone every ten days. But the scam was uncovered when police became suspicious about Azhars activities. They discovered Wood was living in a 2million townhouse in Camden, north London, where he kept a stash of Rolexes, and spent the weekends at luxury hotels. Officers found the pair had been searching for small family-run firms around the UK on Google, knowing they would not have the same security checks as a major corporation. In a matter of months they managed to con firms including an estate agency, a removals firm and two building contractors. One of their victims became unwell and others had to make scores of redundancies after suffering devastating losses. Wood, 36, was a former child prodigy who studied at the Royal College of Music Melvyn Cross, of Total Reclaims Demolition, which was conned out of 1.2million, said: The crime really hit me hard ... My brother has been in a downward spiral of depression that resulted in him being hospitalised. 'He has been forced to re-mortgage his house as the majority of the investment into the company was against his personal house. Last Thursday the pair were jailed at Blackfriars Crown Court for 16 years for defrauding firms out of 1.8million. Wood was sentenced to seven years after pleading guilty to 11 counts of fraud and one of money laundering. Azhar was jailed for nine years after pleading guilty to eight counts of fraud and one of money laundering. Detective Inspector Phil McInerney, of the Mets Specialist Cyber Crime Unit, said: Wood and Azhar carried out a series of despicable offences ... They targeted hard-working, family-run businesses. The impact on their victims has been horrific, they have destroyed lives. Yesterday Woods musician father Christopher said he didnt know why his son had turned his back on a promising music career. He was very talented. It is very sad, he added. An Australian digger who had his skull removed and displayed in an American museum has finally been given a proper farewell. Thomas Hurdis was shot twice in the face during World War I combat in Belgium in 1917. The 27-year-old was transported to USA General Hospital in Le Treport, France, for treatment but died later from his wounds. A US medic is understood to have removed Private Hurdis' head to extract his skull that had a bullet intact. Thomas Hurdis' skull (pictured) was removed from his body after he died from his wounds in 1917 On Friday, the skull was rightfully returned to the rest of his remains in France where a farewell ceremony was organised (pictured) Private Hurdis' skull appeared in a museum in Philadelphia (pictured) after a US doctor reportedly removed the skull The skull was sent to Mutter Museum in Philadelphia which The Australian acknowledged was a common practice for the time as soldiers' remains were preserved as medical specimens. On Friday, Private Hurdis was properly laid to rest after his skull was returned to France - more than a century after his skull was removed from his body. Merelyn McKenzie, 80, a distant cousin who was unable to attend the farewell ceremony said: 'We hope it will mean that his soul will be at peace now.' Veterans Affairs Minister Darren Chester said that he hopes the return of the skull will provide closure for the digger's family. 'Australia will not stop caring for the memory and commemoration of its servicemen and women, wherever they may be,' he said. Mr Chester's department assisted in the rightful return of the skull to France. 'Australia will not stop caring for the memory and commemoration of its servicemen and women, wherever they may be,' Veterans Affairs Minister Darren Chester said Two years after Private Hurdis died, his mother - who had lost her other son, John, to war in France - wrote to seek information about his death and the whereabouts of his body. 'It was awfully sad, the two sons went to the front with the AIF and were both dead in less than two years, now I am all alone in the world,' she wrote. Private Hurdis was 26 when he enlisted in September 1916. A year later he was believed to be wounded at the battle for Polygon Wood which claimed the lives of 5,000 Australians. Private Hurdis, who was blinded and disoriented, reportedly bled to death when he ripped the bandages from his wound. It is understood that ophthalmologist and surgeon WT Shoemaker removed Private Hurdis' skull and the rest of his remains were buried at Mont Huon Military cemetery. Traditionally the end of the summer term at Radley College has been marked by the sort of high-jinks common in boarding schools since time immemorial. On one occasion leavers set the fire alarms off late at night, on another the Islamic call to prayer was broadcast around the establishment at 5am. But in recent years the japes have become noticeably more personal. Last year the end of term speech by recently arrived headmaster John Moule was disrupted by a carefully co-ordinated fireworks show. Every time he tried to resume, another rocket would soar into the air, further drowning out his words. This time there was more aerial action in the form of a plane flying overhead. Behind it a huge banner was towed bearing the slogan: 'Make Radley Great Again'. Radley College in Oxfordshire (pictured) is one of the most exclusive schools in the country, but not all is well in education paradise As before, the flypast was timed to disrupt the 47-year-old's big moment. Not that it couldn't have been worse for Mr Moule, known in Radley jargon as The Warden. The leavers, who had each chipped in 5 to raise 750 to pay for the stunt, had heated discussions on what their message should say.Some wanted 'Moule Out', others the more prosaic 'F*** Moule'. Moderniser: Warden John Moule is pictured In the end they plumped for their Trump-like slogan fearing that the aviation company would balk at the other options. But, while toned down, pupils and their parents say there can be no doubting the sentiment behind the stunt. 'Make no mistake, this was a direct comment on the head and the changes he has made,' a source told the Daily Mail. 'It was driven by some really angry boys. They are very loyal to the school and hate to see its name in the papers but at the same time aren't prepared to sit around and do nothing.' The charge against Mr Moule is that he is a moderniser who has brought in numerous unwanted, changes. His aim? Admirably, some will think, to open up the school to pupils who might not otherwise be able to enjoy such a privileged education. Among them are tweaks to Radley's admissions policy, meaning parents can no longer guarantee their child a place by simply putting their name down at birth. Instead, academic tests have been introduced at the age of 11, while a large programme of bursaries has been rolled out to encourage less well-off students to apply. Foreign students are also being targeted. As part of the school's rebranding, Mr Moule has been accused of tearing up school traditions by replacing its coat of arms with a new 'corporate' logo. A number of popular teachers left following his arrival from Bedford School in 2014 and his tenure has also been marred by controversy. In 2016, the school was at the centre of a sex scandal after a married history teacher was shamed by a love rival who suspected he had been conducting an affair with his wife, a head of department. The traditional school logo has been replaced by a controversial new modern one (pictured) Richard Jackson is said to have discovered that his wife Theresa, the head of history, had been cheating on him with Richard Greed, a fellow history teacher and head of rugby. The cuckolded husband then destroyed his love rival's collection of expensive wines, which was stored in the school cellar. He also reportedly took the last remaining bottle and delivered it to Mr Greed's doorstep, along with a brief note that is believed to have said simply: 'You will need this.' And the criticisms are not just confined to the campus. The Mail can reveal that locals are up in arms over the school's plans to sell off swathes of land for construction bringing in 40 million for the school. As well as a 240-home estate that has already been given the go-ahead, this would include building on a village recreation ground and knocking down its village hall. 'We feel that Radley College is riding roughshod over the character of the area,' said one fed-up villager. 'This is a beautiful part of the countryside which is being pushed to saturation point by over-development. Before: Radley College used to have a traditional crest of arms for its school logo They proceed under the pretence that they are operating as some kind of altruistic force but in reality they are simply trying to sell off the Green Belt for private profit.' Mr Moule's plan to modernise the school the Radley 'vision' as it is grandly known was launched in October 2016 with a presentation at London's Connaught Rooms and a glossy brochure full of buzzwords. It was his intention, he said, for Radley 'to raise its head up, look beyond its gates, become more international in outlook' and to create 'global citizens of the future'. 'To do this, we must seek an increased number of boys from different backgrounds; boys with different outlooks and experiences, from different social, cultural and economic circumstances,' he added. All well and good but as Mr Moule has found to his cost, at any institution, let alone a British boarding school, change does not come easily. Founded in 1847 by William Sewell, an Anglican priest, Radley College is a boys-only establishment located in countryside four miles from Oxford. Old boys include former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion and the late comedian Peter Cook. Yearly fees for its 690 pupils are 38,325 not including extras such as the 3 charge for a day's beagling or the 4.75-a-term fee for the dry-cleaning of school gowns. While not considered to be quite in the same league as the likes of Eton, Harrow and Winchester, Radley has traditionally provided a solid public school education for the nation's upper classes. 'Radley is a bit like a London club,' said one prospective parent who recently toured the school. 'It has its own ridiculous rules and they produce really 'nice' boys.' Founded in 1847 by William Sewell, an Anglican priest, Radley College (pictured) is a boys-only establishment located in countryside four miles from Oxford Another added: 'It's always been referred to as 'Rah Rah Radley' turning out the sort of chaps who feel comfortable in mustard cords and loafers.' But today's public schools are under growing pressure to justify their charitable status and their role in society. At Eton one in five boys is now on some sort of bursary. Meanwhile Marlborough College, a rival of Radley's, has just appointed its first female head, Louise Moelwyn-Hughes. At Radley, the plan is to increase the number of students on scholarships and bursaries so that up to 20 per cent of the intake is financially supported. These pupils would come from state schools or from families who struggle to afford the full fees. In doing so the size of the school would grow to 750 pupils. Mr Moule, who was educated at a comprehensive school in Telford and is married with three children, is also seen as keen to improve the academic performance of the school. Traditionally, parents put boys' names down at birth on something called the 'Radley List'. They would then be admitted by simply passing the Common Entrance, an exam taken aged 13 by those applying to public schools. While the list continues, now all potential pupils have to pass an academic test at 11 before going on to sit the Common Entrance. Those not on the list also have the opportunity to fill a number of places, subject to meeting strict academic standards. The changes have not gone down well with some parents. Last year's leaver speech was interrupted by a 'Make Radley Great Again' banner in the sky 'The introduction of a pre-test aged 11 has worried many people,' said the source. 'Radley has traditionally been perfect for the late-developing boy, who would come in pretty mediocre and come out with glowing A-levels. That was the 'value added' of Radley. This guy has come along and completely done away with what made Radley so special.' It is claimed that there has already been an influx of foreign students mainly Chinese higher up the school. While they are said to have found it hard to fit in, they are expected to improve the school's Oxbridge entry rates. There have also been other issues at the school since Mr Moule's arrival. The fallout from the teachers' love triangle rumbled on last summer after it emerged that while Mr Greed had kept his job, Mrs Jackson had left the school. It has been reported that having resigned, she then changed her mind but was unable to remain. Mr Greed, meanwhile, continues to not only teach but now promotes Radley to prep schools and overseas students. There was more controversy last summer when Radley was caught up in an exam 'cheating' scandal after a whistleblower alleged pupils' work had been altered by a teacher. It was found to have committed 'technical breaches' in its GCSE art course, although the school insisted that no malpractice was identified nor pupils' grades affected. The modernisation of the school has also had an impact on more superficial levels. 'He (Mr Moule) has done away with the school's crest and its Latin motto and decided to have a new logo, as part of a corporate-style rebranding,' another source complained. 'I think it is his idea of modernising 'We must have a logo'. But the motto and crest were deeply important to the school.' Radley College's motto, 'Sicut Serpentes, Sicut Columbae', means 'Be ye wise as serpents, and harmless as doves'. It is taken from the Bible and is at the centre of the crest. The new logo takes just one element of the crest the cross keys in remembrance that the school is dedicated to St Peter, the traditional gatekeeper to heaven. The changing intake to Radley also has financial implications for the school. It plans to build a new boarding house and to extend the chapel. It is also amassing a huge cash fund to cover the cost of the bursaries. Again, this has caused even further controversy. In the Twenties and Thirties the school increased the land it owned from 140 acres to almost 800 acres the idea being to prevent it becoming a 'suburban school'. But parts of the estate, much of which was until recently designated as Green Belt, are now being sold off for housing. 'At a time of great change has also come a great opportunity,' Andrew Ashton, the school's bursar, wrote last year in reference to two potential development sites. 'The planning process, and preparing for responsible development, both take time. However we envisage the possibility of financial gains in excess of 40 million for the college, realisable over the next two to eight years.' At the end of May, the first development of 240 family houses in Radley village was granted by the Vale of White Horse district council. Several years ago the land had been removed from the Green Belt by the council to facilitate the new housing. Planning permission was granted despite objections from 30 villagers who warned that it would devalue their properties, increase traffic and change the character of the village. There were also protests from environmentalists who warned it would impact on badgers and destroy other wildlife. Even more controversial are plans to develop a piece of land in the village owned by Radley College that is currently home to the village hall and recreation field. The school has offered to relocate both and to give 800,000 to the village primary school so that it can double in size. It has not gone unnoticed that Mr Ashton, the bursar of Radley College, is also a governor of Radley primary school. Again, locals are not happy. Why, they ask, if Radley is so keen to help the local school couldn't they just donate the money rather than link it to the redevelopment of the village hall and playing field? 'The village hall is really well used for children's parties and local community events, the Brownies, the Guides, the Scouts, and the local parish council all meet there,' said one villager. 'It's the epicentre, the heart of the village.' Another added: 'They have lots of money and they don't like anyone saying 'no' to them. This plan is splitting the village and causing lots of anxiety to lots of people.' Neither Radley College nor Mr Moule responded to a number of questions posed by the Mail regarding the planning issues within the village and the concerns of parents and pupils about the direction the school was taking. With the summer holidays under way and with those behind the speech day stunt now having left the school, no doubt the head will be hoping for a peaceful few months. But the true test will come next speech day. When all eyes will be not just on Mr Moule but on the sky above as well. Nurse Doris Miles nursed Winston Churchill back to health During the winter of 1943, a young nurse sat down to write a letter to her husband, far away on wartime active service. Her note was addressed Somewhere in Whitehall and dated February 21, 2am. Darling heart, she wrote. You will observe from the somewhat cryptic address that I am not in my usual position, and certainly up beyond my usual bedtime. Reason being that on Friday evening I was summoned to Matron and asked if I would go straight away to a case a very important case under the care of the great Sir Charles Wilson. I cant say much now, but put two and two together and you get V for Victory. Mysteriously, she added: The Patient is all he is cracked up to be. The Patient, it would later be revealed, was Britains Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, who had been taken dangerously ill with life-threatening streptococcus pneumonia. And that brief note from Somewhere in Whitehall was the first in what would become an extraordinary, unique series of letters chronicling in intimate detail not only the Prime Ministers sickness and convalescence, but the intriguing relationship that developed between him and the woman who nursed him back to health: 28-year-old Doris Miles. The severe, sudden onset of Churchills illness had surprised both his doctors and colleagues. Five days after he gave a report in the Commons on the progress of World War II, his temperature had shot up alarmingly and his personal physician, Sir Charles Wilson, was called in. He diagnosed pneumonia, which was confirmed the next day by Dr Geoffrey Marshall, a respiratory expert from Guys Hospital. Winston Churchill sits in the sunshine in Marrakesh, Morocco, in December 1943 during a period of convalescence after falling ill with pneumonia You will have to relinquish the conduct of affairs for a fortnight, Marshall is said to have told the Prime Minister. How dare you? Churchill replied. The war is at a critical stage! Very well, Marshall told him. But you know what we call this illness? We call it old mans friend because you fade away so gradually that you arrive in the next world before you know youve left this one. Am I as ill as that? asked Churchill. You certainly are, was the reply. Very well. Ill do as you say. The two physicians had prescribed bed rest, plenty of fluids and treatment with M&B, a new anti-bacterial medicine. The patient would need skilled nursing care, and Sir Charles then head of St Marys Hospital, Paddington turned to his colleagues to send the brightest and best. As the recipient of a gold medal for excellence in nursing and the wife and daughter of doctors, Doris was the obvious first choice. I went straight away in a taxi, Doris recalled many years later. I was met by Sir Charles, who said: Glad to see you, nurse. I must warn you, the Prime Minister doesnt wear pyjamas. And neither he did, she remembered. Only a silk vest, a velvet jacket with a diamond V on the lapel and slippers of velvet with PM embroidered on the front. And so began what was, for the newly married Doris, an intense, unforgettable experience that would eventually define the rest of her life. I had to give him a tepid sponge as he had a high fever, she recalled. WC took great interest in this, and I knew that if the temperature didnt go down I would have very little authority. Luckily, it did. Her first challenge satisfactorily completed, Doris settled into her new life at 10 Downing Street. 10 Downing Street, London, Feb 22, 3.30am Hello darling, she wrote the next day to her husband Roger, who was then serving as a medic on board a Royal Navy destroyer. I think theres a turn for the better. Hes had two Seconal [sleeping pills] tonight, and has only woken once since ten oclock to have his temperature taken and finding it had gone down two degrees after I had sponged him at nine, he said I should have a bar to my gold medal. A further bar was awarded for being able to find him some cold, jellied consomme without having to wake anyone up, so I gather I am approved of. The trouble is that, feeling a bit better, he thinks he is cured and will probably walk down the corridor to have a bath with only a towel round him in the morning. Doris goes on to describe an unexpected visit in the middle of the night from Churchills wife, Clementine. Interrupted by Mrs C wanting to look at his chart, she writes. Luckily I hadnt got my feet up and my cap off! Made her a cup of tea and explained the relations of pulse to temperature, etc. Charming woman. After the departure of Mrs C, Doris continues at 5.30am: Been having a long chat with the old boy. Hes been telling me his daily habits. Did you know that he stays in bed until 12, sleeps from 3 to 5, never goes anywhere before 5 and never goes to bed before 2. What a man. He also tells me that he hates cigars, and never smokes more than a quarter of one. We have also discussed the progress of the war, and the Beveridge Report [a 1942 document outlining proposed welfare reforms]. Hes not particularly clear-headed at night and apt to ramble off at a tangent. I tried to persuade him to take some Ovaltine, but he declares he hates pap cant stand milk or porridge, kind of steak and beer for breakfast type. A day on, and Doris is clearly beginning to find her feet in the corridors of power. 10 Downing Street, Whitehall, Feb 23 Darling Roger. Isnt this a beautiful address! Dearest, you would laugh if you could see me now. Im in the PMs study, sitting in that odd-shaped chair he sits in for his photographs, and using a blotter stamped First Lord, Cabinet Room on the outside. The study is next to his bedroom, and there is a connecting bell which usually goes off with a loud buzz about 2am. He usually requires me to bath him at night, and he holds court to Sir Charles, one or more secretaries and any odd visitors who may be around while Im doing it! One thing that might amuse you is his fluid intake chart. It goes something like this: Champagne oz 10 Brandy oz 2 Orange juice oz 8 Whiskey and soda oz 8 Doesnt that make your tongue hang out? There seems to be no lack of it here. As Churchill was a renowned trencherman and drinker, the appearance of champagne at the top of his fluid intake chart is no surprise he is said to have told a granddaughter of the eponymous vintner Pol Roger: I could not live without champagne. In victory I deserve it. In defeat I need it. For Doris and the rest of Churchills medical team, getting him to stay in bed was one thing; getting him to rest, however, was quite another. Even George VI had written urging him to slow down. My dear Winston, wrote the King, I am very sorry to hear that you are ill, and I hope that you will soon be well again. But do please take this opportunity for a rest. You must get back your strength for the strenuous coming months. Lacking his usual vigour, Churchill put up only a token resistance. We reached agreement on the following lines, he later wrote in his six-volume account of World War II. I was to have only the most important and interesting papers sent to me, and to read a novel. It was a strategy that appeared to bear fruit. February 26 Darling Roger, wrote Doris. The Patient is greatly improved, and all the nursing now is to appear at the correct hours with the correct doses of M&B, Pot Cit [potassium citrate, to reduce acidity in the urine] etc., take temperatures and prepare orange drinks. Even the latter is not strenuous, as the butler prepares the tray for me, and all I have to do is cut up the oranges and squeeze them! The PM is most considerate, and always the first thing he asks when I come on duty at night is how I have slept, and when Ive tucked him up and wished him a very good night, he says he hopes Ill get some sleep too. Hes very keen on people getting enough sleep, and we have long talks at night about that and many other subjects. Last night it was religion and dreams, and the night before it was mostly political, very interesting. Westminster, Monday, March 1 Darling Roger. Our Patient is making rapid strides to health and is taking me with him to the country for a few days, which will be very pleasant. My job will be to see that he does his breathing exercises, give him his tonic, and be there when he wakes up at night. As he gets better so his cigars get larger, and tonight after dinner he was smoking one that I swear was over a foot long. I wish I could get one for you. Its midnight and the Old Man is still working away, with a couple of secretaries and several whiskeys. I will take my courage in both hands and suggest very firmly that its quite time he went to sleep. I can hear most of whats going on, and from the laughter it sounds like lowies [Doriss word for risque jokes]! Later: Well, I made my appearance and its not lowies, but his latest speech being read to Anthony E. [Anthony Eden, Leader of the House of Commons]. However, he submitted like a lamb and took a Seconal [for insomnia], so in about half an hour he should be beginning to feel sleepy. At the beginning of March, a trip to Chequers, the Prime Ministers official country retreat, was mooted, and on March 3 an excited Doris travelled there in the Prime Ministers convoy. My darling. The journey here was magnificent! Two cars, I came in the second with a private secretary, naval ADC and the detective. We whistled down in just over an hour, and I arrived to find my bags had come down earlier and been unpacked for me, and everything laid around in true country house style. Its a lazy life, except that he usually wakes at about 5am and requires jelly and whatnot, but apart from that theres only tonics and breathing exercises, and upholding the honour of Marys [hospital] by looking as decorative as possible! For Doris, the next few days would prove to be a golden period. Although she was on call through the night, she was able to explore the beautiful house and its surroundings and take long walks in the Chiltern Hills during the day. Somewhere in Bucks, Saturday, March 6 My darling. Weve got a wonderful organisation of hours of work here. The Old Mans theory is that no one was meant to work 12 and 14 hours at a stretch, and that if you go properly to bed and sleep for a couple of hours in the daytime, you can work till the small hours with no trouble at all. My day really begins at 7pm, when Im called with a cup of tea and the evening papers. If I can persuade the Patient to do his breathing exercises before he gets up for dinner I do, but his usual excuse is that he is too tired or too busy (too lazy, really). After dinner we have a film. The whole staff, guards, policemen, guests, family all go, and its usually very pleasant. Some of the films are rather stupid and if the OM [Old Man] doesnt like any of it he comes out with some pretty cutting remarks. As dinner is never over much before 10, the show hardly ever ends before midnight. From 12 until 1, 2 or 3am the Patient usually puts in some solid work, and there is much telephoning and rushing up and down stairs with dispatch boxes. In the morning I either sit by my roaring fire or go out for a walk, coming back at lunchtime to supervise the breathing exercises. In the afternoon I can do what I like, and then at 3, 4 or 5 we both go to bed again (sounds suspicious!) until dinner time, when the whole thing starts again. Not a bad way of life, you must admit. I live like a queen. Clementine Churchills hopes that her husband would be able to have a rest at Chequers turned out to be wishful thinking; now he was feeling better, Churchill was virtually carrying on business as usual, following events in North Africa with particularly close attention. Every day brought visitors Cabinet ministers, advisers and friends, even the King. Chequers, Tuesday, March 9 My dearest. Yesterday was a great day because the King came to see the Patient! Great excitement. A guard of honour was formed and marched around for some time, finally settling in three long rows right in front of the door. After about ten minutes they realised that no car would be able to get near the door and no one would be able to get in or out, so they were forced to re-form. We didnt see much of HM, but it was a big thrill just the same. Today, with the PMs blessing, Im going up to Town. Later: I went to Marys and saw all the girls. I arrived back this evening in state in the PMs own car. The old boy asked me if I had enjoyed myself in London, and said he would like me to stay here another week. 1am: Im pushing back hot coffee and biscuits while waiting for the Patient to finish his whiskey and come and do his exercises before going to bed. Theres going to be trouble over said exercises, I foresee! He will argue, quite rightly, that 1.30am is not the time do be doing exercises. I wonder who will win? Later: Well, I won the argument and the exercises were duly performed. I just said: Youve got to do some more exercises and he said: No I wont, Im too tired. So I said no more, and in about five minutes he said: Oh well, if you want to youd better do them. If I wanted to! Thursday, March 11 Darling. Ive done the right thing by Mrs C Ive been tending her hand where she burnt it on a hot water bottle. She came to my room the other day to have it dressed and found me reading Anna Karenina. She asked if I had read War And Peace and I said no, I hadnt been able to get a copy. So the next thing I knew she had given me a lovely copy, suitably inscribed by her. Wasnt that very nice of her? Just been tucking the old boy up for the night. Its quite a performance and involves undressing him, plying him with cold soup, soda water, sleeping tablet, and trying to make him do the breathing exercises he avoided earlier! Poor old boy, you know its taken it out of him and he says ruefully hes not the man he was. After all, hes 68. Ive got awfully fond of him in spite of his occasional tantrums and rather overbearing ways. Hes very sweet to me, and always thanks me so nicely when I do anything for him. AS March progressed, the war dragged on, with no obvious indication of a speedy or favourable outcome. Only in Tunisia, where Allied troops under General Montgomery had broken through the German defensive line, was there clear hope of an immediate victory. On March 13, Doris wrote to Roger that her time at Chequers is almost over, and I must admit Ill leave with great regret. Three days later, Churchill was back in the House of Commons. For Doris and her famous patient, March 15, 1943 would mark the parting of their ways, which she recorded in a poignant letter to Roger. Monday, March 15 Had a very touching farewell this morning, she wrote. He thanked me very kindly for all I had done for him, and made me sign the visitors book Doris Miles SRN next to Anthony Eden and five away from the King of Greece! I was presented with a signed portrait and a signed copy of My Early Life [Churchills autobiography]. He is the most amazing natural, and the whole time he treated me more as an intimate friend than as a nurse. He would talk on the phone when I was in the room, and have Most Secret documents lying around the bed. Darling, I wish so much that you could have been there, even invisibly, to watch the goings on! I used to undress the old boy every night peeling off first the rompers, then the long silk pants, and down to the little silk vest in which he slept. Very clean man, though, two baths a day and a complete clean set of clothes after each one I shouldnt like to have had his laundry bill. I was shown the historical treasures before I left the whole place is simply stacked with antiquities, flags, pictures and whatnot. Living there is like being in another world. MORE THAN 60 years later, when the Churchill War Rooms museum was reopened in London in 2005, Doris was asked if some of her letters could be included among the exhibits. She readily agreed, and was invited to attend the official opening by the Queen, where among the guests was Winston and Clementines daughter, Mary Soames. It was a huge pleasure for Doris to revisit the memories of a short but very important time in her long life. On September 3, 2016, Doris and her family celebrated her 100th birthday in the nursing home where she lived near Chichester, West Sussex. A few weeks later, she ate her lunch, then lay down for her afternoon nap much as she had always done when she was nursing Churchill. She never woke up. Adapted by Katherine Whitbourn from Nursing Churchill, by Jill Rose (Amberley Publishing, 18.99). Jill Rose 2018. To buy a copy for 15.19 (a 20 per cent discount), call 0844 571 0640, or go to www.mailshop.co.uk/books. P&P free on orders over 15; offer valid until August 5, 2018. A savvy Melbourne enterprise selling tiny homes for a pocketful of cash could be the answer to Sydney and Melbourne's housing crisis. Social enterprise Nestd - a branch of youth homelessness charity Kids Under Cover - has created compact homes that offer an affordable entry in the market for new homeowners. The tiny houses, priced from as little as $35,000, are up for grabs in Melbourne - but there's a catch. (Pictured) A social enterprise selling tiny homes for as little as $35,000 could be the answer to Sydney and Melbourne's housing crisis It works by the small units being bought and installed in a homeowner's backyard and operating like a sort of granny flat arrangement. (Pictured) is another small house company's design Tiny House Listing, with a similar concept The tiny home models on the market Melbourne social enterprise Nestd is offering five different tiny home models. The Studio- 19sq m, kitchenette, one-bedroom, bathroom. Price: $35,000 The Loft - double-storey, two bedrooms, bathroom. Price: $95,000 The Peak - built-in kitchen, seating areas, bed, bathroom. Price: $139,000 Advertisement The small unit come delivered in a flat-packed delivery which is installed in a backyard, like a sort of granny flat arrangement. Buyers also have the option of getting the tiny homes constructed before being transported to the site. The tiny homes are 'a viable choice for Australian homeowners wanting to make the most of their existing backyard space,' Nestd managing director Kieran Callan said in a statement. 'Whether thats keeping older family members at home in comfort for longer, providing respite for growing young adults, or creating a new business space or a holiday rental,' he added. The small unit (pictured) come delivered in a flat-packed delivery which is installed in a backyard, like a sort of granny flat arrangement (Pictured) The Peak designed by Grimshaw architects. Nestd's premium model 'The Peak' is a deluxe tiny home which features a built-in kitchen, seating areas as well as bed and bathroom It also allows people who would be otherwise be unable to enter the housing market, like first homeowners and young people, to buy a home for a fraction of the price. The most affordable model is a one-bedroom studio that is 19sqm - featuring a self-contained bathroom and kitchenette - for $35,000. Mid-range model 'The loft' is a two-level home with two-bedrooms and a bathroom that's on the market for $95,000. The tiny homes are a viable choice for Australian homeowners wanting to make the most of their existing backyard space, Nestd managing director Kieran Callan said. (Pictured) is another small house company's design Tiny House Listing, with a similar concept Tiny homes are a viable choice for existing Australian homeowners to make the most of their existing backyard as well as allow new buyers enter the market for a fraction of the price. (Pictured) is another small house company's design Tiny House Listing, with a similar concept Mr Callan said the homes can be bought for any venture. 'They could be used as teenage retreats, granny flats for elderly parents, home offices, yoga studios, Airbnb rentals or first homes,' he told realestate.com. While the homes can cost as little as a cost of a small car, Mr Callan said potential buyers should budget $15,000-$30,000 extra for permit and installation costs. All profits from every Nestd home sold is given to the charity Kids Under Cover which aims to tackle youth homelessness. A psychologist has weighed in on the 'Pyrmont Pooper' and why people choose to defecate on the street after two high-profile incidents have occurred in recent times. On Tuesday, a blonde woman dressed in active wear was caught on CCTV defecating outside a bottle shop in Sydney. The shocking incident - which made headlines on Friday - came after notorious 'Poo Jogger,' Andrew Macintosh, was outed in May for repeatedly emptying his bowels outside a Brisbane apartment block. Tim Watson-Munro, a criminal psychologist, claims the incidents are indicative of a rare psychological condition, the Daily Telegraph reported. Scroll down for video The 'Pyrmont Pooper' made headlines on Friday after CCTV footage from Tuesday showed a blonde woman dressed in active wear defecating outside a bottle shop (pictured) 'For some people its' a sexual thing they're excited by the danger it's the high end of the spectrum for exhibitionism,' he said. 'In this case, I think it's exhibitionism: she's taking toilet paper, so there's a degree of planning and doing it under full view of a camera.' Watson-Munro said that other explanations for the actions could relate to anger and taking revenge against the business. Research from a 2012 US study published in the National Library of Medicine Institutes of Health found that the a person's need to defecate can be increased by running due to muscular movements and hormone surges. Phil Pembroke, the manager of Porter's Liquor in Pyrmont, Sydney, initially thought a large dog was responsible for the fecal matter repeatedly left at his doorstep. After checking CCTV footage, Mr Pembroke said he was gobsmacked to discover who the real culprit was. 'She didn't fit the stereotype of someone who would do this she's a fit, attractive lady, not a junkie or a homeless person.' Mr Pembroke said a number of other deposits had been found, similarly placed, in recent weeks. Criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro (pictured) claims the incidents fit a rare psychological condition similar to exhibitionism He claims that a normal person who was in desperate need to release would choose a more discreet location than in the middle of a driveway, in the full view of the camera. The woman, who did not want to be identified, told the Daily Telegraph that she was suffering from a medical condition and was unable to control her bowels. Despite this, psychologist Watson-Munro claims that sufferers with bowel problems make sure that these situations do not occur. Jim Schwilk, the licencee of the establishment, told Daily Mail Australia he and his staff were all amazed by the incident, which first occurred on Tuesday. The woman pulled out toilet paper and left the dump in its place before leaving (pictured) 'We are shocked and dismayed that someone would be in the position to do that,' Mr Schwilk said. 'It was somewhat out of character for someone in the area to do something like that.' Mr Schwilk said they were 'concerned on the woman's behalf' and hoped she stopped excreting on their property. 'We would like this young lady to desist with what she's doing,' he said. 'As long as she desists her habits we won't take it any further.' A 35-year-old delivery driver has been arrested after he was caught smuggling a tobacco shipment hidden inside kids' toys which was travelling from China to Sydney. The 350,000 illicit cigarettes and 1,200kg of tobacco was stashed inside children's playmats and Disney-printed drums that were found by the Australian Border Force (ABF). The driver was arrested for assisting in the illegal cross-border smuggling operation of tobacco worth more than $1.5million in excise value. A 35-year-old delivery driver has been arrested after he was caught smuggling tobacco hidden inside kids' toys from China to Sydney (pictured) (Pictured) 350,000 illicit cigarettes and 1,200 kg of tobacco stashed in children's playmats and Disney-printed drums were found by police Tonnes of the illicit substance was intercepted before it could be sent to fake Sydney addresses including Panania, Picnic Point and Revesby, police allege. In a police statement, ABF Investigations Commander Graeme Grosse said he believes more tobacco is yet to been found. 'These cigarettes and tobacco are worth more than $1.5 million in evaded duty, however, we expect that figure to increase as the investigation continues,' he said. The delivery driver has been charged with illicit tobacco offences will face Bankstown Local Court in August. In Australia, the maximum penalty for tobacco smuggling is 10 years in prison. The driver also faces paying up to five times the amount of evaded duty. Police intercepted the shipment which was travelling from China to Sydney (stock image) An Australian woman miraculously cheated death after she was thrown from - and subsequently run over by - her own fishing boat in crocodile-infested waters. Sandy Laverty, 34, was setting crab pots at the mouth of the Cato River in East Arnhem, Northern Territory on the afternoon of June 17, 2017 when the incident occurred. She was accompanied by her husband Brendon, her daughters Ava, 7, and Mia, 8, and an ominous horde of saltwater crocodiles lurking in the muddy waters below. Sandy Laverty (centre), 34, miraculously cheated death after she was thrown from - and subsequently run over by - her own fishing boat in Australia's Northern Territory A near-tragic accident saw Sandy submerged in waters that were infested with deadly saltwater crocodiles 'We were just collecting our crabpots to work our way up to the boat ramp,' Sandy told the NT News. She was sitting at the front of the boat, on top of an Esky, while Brendon took care of the steering. As Brendon accelerated, the crab pots stacked in the middle of the boat fell back, prompting him to momentarily let go of the controls in order to grab hold of them. Within seconds, the boat had swung violently to the right. 'Because I was sitting up on top of the Esky I slid right to the side,' says Sandy. 'And I was holding onto the rail, knowing that I didn't want to go into that water. But I just couldn't keep it any longer. I just fell in, screaming.' She was setting crab pots at the mouth of the Cato River (pictured) in East Arnhem, Northern Territory on the afternoon of June 17, 2017 when the incident occurred Sandy was thrown from her boat when her husband Brendon momentarily let go of the steering - seconds before the vessel ran over her (pictured: a similar model boat to the one Sandy was cruising in) She was rushed to Gove District Hopsital in Nhulunbuy (pictured) with serious lacerations across her back and buttocks, a punctured lung, a damaged spleen and broken nine ribs The boat continued to veer wildly, turning around in the water and ploughing over the top of Sandy before Brendon managed to hit the kill switch. By that time, however, Sandy's shirt had become entangled in the motor, pinning her tightly to the underside of the vessel beneath the water. Brendon jumped in and cut his wife free - but the propellor had sliced open her back and blood was flowing out into the river. 'That's when I was worried about crocs - when I was off the motor and waiting in the water,' she says. 'I was holding onto the boat and looking down into the water... knowing there were crocodiles in there, thinking 'This is s**t. Get me the f*** out. I'm done. I need to get out'.' With Brendon's help she eventually managed to get back into the boat, collapsing into a chair as her husband gunned it for the nearest hospital. Having made an incredible recovery, Sandy (pictured with husband Brendon) says it 'felt right' when she returned to the area of the Cato River where she almost lost her life Sandy had suffered serious lacerations across her back and buttocks, punctured her lung and damaged her spleen. She'd also busted her collarbone and broken nine ribs. She was rushed to Gove District Hospital in Nhulunbuy, where she was treated with morphine and other drugs before being flown on to Royal Darwin's Intensive Care Unit. After a week there she was transferred to the hospital's burns unit, where she spent a further three weeks recovering from the horrific incident. It was a near-death experience that easily could have ended in tragedy - but Sandy isn't one to dwell on what could have been. Having made an incredible recovery, she says it 'felt right' when she returned to the area of the Cato River where she almost lost her life four months later. 'Continue on,' she declared. 'Get on with the story.' A delicate rescue mission is underway to save a man who has fallen off a waterfall. The man fell from a rock at Irrawong Waterfall, in Sydney's northern suburbs, on Saturday afternoon. New South Wales Police told Daily Mail Australia rescue crews were winched down to the man and were preparing to pull him out. A delicate rescue mission is underway to save a man who has fallen off a waterfall (pictured) The man fell from a rock at Irrawong Waterfall, in Sydney's northern suburbs, Saturday afternoon (rescue crews left and right) The man reportedly obtained head, shoulder and possible spinal injuries after falling from a height yet to be confirmed. The rescue could take some time as the victim is believed to be in a 'very difficult position for access', according to Media Circus. There are multiple emergency service crews on scene at North Narrabeen. A week ago, Maine Democrat Zak Ringelstein wasn't quite ready to consider himself a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, even if he appreciated the organization's values and endorsement in his bid to become a U.S. senator. Three days later, he told The Associated Press it was time to join up. He's now the only major-party Senate candidate in the nation to be a dues-paying democratic socialist. Ringelstein's leap is the latest evidence of a nationwide surge in the strength and popularity of an organization that, until recently, operated on the fringes of the liberal movement's farthest left flank. As Donald Trump's presidency stretches into its second year, democratic socialism has become a significant force in Democratic politics. Its rise comes as Democrats debate whether moving too far left will turn off voters. Corey Butler, center, stands as he explains what democratic socialism is to him during a meeting of the Southern Maine Democratic Socialists of America at City Hall in Portland, Maine, Monday, July 16, 2018. On the ground in dozens of states, there is new evidence that democratic socialism is taking hold as a significant force in Democratic politics 'I stand with the democratic socialists, and I have decided to become a dues-paying member,' Ringelstein told AP. 'It's time to do what's right, even if it's not easy.' There are 42 people running for offices at the federal, state and local levels this year with the formal endorsement of the Democratic Socialists of America, the organization says. They span 20 states, including Florida, Hawaii, Kansas and Michigan. The most ambitious Democrats in Washington have been reluctant to embrace the label, even as they embrace the policies defining modern-day democratic socialism: Medicare for all, a $15 minimum wage, free college tuition and the abolition of the federal department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also known as ICE. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Congress' only self-identified democratic socialist, campaigned Friday with the movement's newest star, New York City congressional candidate Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year-old former bartender who defeated one of the most powerful House Democrats last month. Her victory fed a flame that was already beginning to burn brighter. The DSA's paid membership has hovered around 6,000 in the years before Trump's election, said Allie Cohn, a member of the group's national political team. Last week, its paid membership hit 45,000 nationwide. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, (left) the DSA endorsed candidate who unseated the 20-year incumbent, gave a fresh boost to the movement There is little distinction made between the terms 'democratic socialism' and 'socialism' in the group's literature. While Ringelstein and other DSA-backed candidates promote a 'big-tent' philosophy, the group's constitution describes its members as socialists who 'reject an economic order based on private profit' and 'share a vision of a humane social order based on popular control of resources and production, economic planning, equitable distribution, feminism, racial equality and non-oppressive relationships.' Zak Ringelstein (pictured) is now running for a Senate seat as a fee-paying member of the Democratic Socialists of America Members during public meetings often refer to each other 'comrades,' wear clothing featuring socialist symbols like the rose and promote authors such as Karl Marx. The common association with the failed Soviet Union has made it difficult for sympathetic liberals to explain their connection. 'I don't like the term socialist, because people do associate that with bad things in history,' said Kansas congressional candidate James Thompson, who is endorsed by the DSA and campaigned alongside Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, but is not a dues-paying democratic socialist. 'There's definitely a lot of their policies that closely align with mine.' Thompson, an Army veteran turned civil rights attorney, is running again after narrowly losing a special election last year to fill the seat vacated by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Even in deep-red Kansas, he embraces policies like 'Medicare for all' and is openly critical of capitalism. In Hawaii, 29-year-old state Rep. Kaniela Ing isn't shy about promoting his status as a democratic socialist in his bid for Congress. He said he was encouraged to run for higher office by the same activist who recruited Ocasio-Cortez. 'We figured just lean in hard,' Ing told the AP of the democratic socialist label. He acknowledged some baby boomers may be scared away, but said the policies democratic socialists promote - like free health care and economic equality - aren't extreme. Jon Torsch, center, wears a t-shirt promoting democratic socialism during a gathering of the Southern Maine Democratic Socialists of America at City Hall in Portland First time guests raise their hands during introductions during a meeting with members of the Southern Maine Democratic Socialists of America in Portland Republicans, meanwhile, are encouraged by the rise of democratic socialism - for a far different reason. They have seized on what they view as a leftward lurch by Democrats they predict will alienate voters this fall and in the 2020 presidential race. The Republican National Committee eagerly notes that Sanders' plan to provide free government-sponsored health care for all Americans had no co-sponsors in 2013. Today, more than one-third of Senate Democrats and two-thirds of House Democrats have signed onto the proposal, which by one estimate could cost taxpayers as much as $32 trillion. The co-sponsors include some 2020 presidential prospects, such as Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and California Sen. Kamala Harris. Those senators aren't calling themselves democratic socialists but also not disassociating themselves from the movement's priorities. Most support the push to abolish ICE, which enforces immigration laws and led the Trump administration's recent push to separate immigrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border. Of the group, only Booker hasn't called for ICE to be abolished, replaced or rebuilt. Yet Booker's office notes that he's among the few senators backing a plan to guarantee government-backed jobs to unemployed adults in high-unemployment communities across America. 'Embracing socialist policies like government-run health care, a guaranteed jobs program and open borders will only make Democrats more out of touch,' RNC Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel said. Despite Ocasio-Cortez's recent success, most DSA-endorsed candidates have struggled. Gayle McLaughlin finished eighth in last month's Democratic primary to become California's lieutenant governor, earning just 4 percent of the vote. All three endorsed candidates for Maryland's Montgomery County Council lost last month as well. And Ryan Fenwick was blown out by 58 points in his run to become mayor of Louisville, Kentucky. A patron puts a bill in a donation bucket, which features a red rose symbol, during a meeting of members of the Southern Maine Democratic Socialists of America in Portland Bernie Sanders (pictured) is perhaps the movement's most well-known member Ringelstein, a 32-year-old political neophyte, is expected to struggle in his campaign to unseat Maine Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats. He is refusing to accept donations from lobbyists or corporate political action committees, which has made fundraising a grind. At the end of June, King's campaign reported $2.4 million cash on hand while Ringelstein had just $23,000. He has tapped into the party's national progressive movement and the southern Maine chapter of the DSA for the kind of grassroots support that fueled Ocasio-Cortez's victory. As he has done almost every month this year, Ringelstein attended the group's monthly meeting at Portland's city hall last Monday. More than 60 people packed into the room. The group's chairman, 25-year-old union organizer Meg Reilly, wore a T-shirt featuring three roses. She cheered the 'comrades' softball team's recent season before moving to an agenda that touched on climate change legislation, a book share program 'to further your socialist education,' and an exchange program that lets community members swap favors such as jewelry repair, pet sitting or cooking. Near the end of the two-hour gathering, Ringelstein thanked the group for 'standing shoulder to shoulder with us throughout this entire campaign.' 'We could win a U.S. Senate seat!' he said. 'I want to say that over and over. We could win a U.S. Senate seat! So, let's do this.' Zak Ringelstein, center, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, talks with a passerby while climbing the stairs inside City Hall to attend a meeting of the Southern Maine Democratic Socialists of America in Portland A bold switch behind the wheel has caused two brazen drivers to be nabbed by police for drink driving - in the same car - during the same night. The pair, a man and woman, were initially spotted by police during a random breath test at Mascot, Sydney, shortly before 2am on Saturday. The female driver returned a positive result and was arrested. A bold switch behind the wheel has caused two brazen drivers to be nabbed by police for drunk driving - in the same car - during the same night (file image) At 0.183, the woman's reading was almost four times the legal limit. However, for the 37-year-old and her Fijian companion, a one brush with the law wasn't enough to curb their escapades behind the wheel. Forty-five minutes later, the same Holden Captiva was again spotted by police, allegedly with the twosome still inside. This time the 52-year-old male was at the helm and was presented with a roadside breath test at Mascot Police Station which he allegedly failed. At 0.183, the woman's reading was almost four times the legal limit and she is set to face court in September charged with drink driving (file image) And his reading of 0.159 was almost on par with his female counterpart, at over three times the legal limit. Due to his status as an overseas resident, the Fijian man had his his visiting driver privileges within, in addition to being charged with high-range drink driving. And while his female companion is set to face court in September, the one-time passenger will too feel the force of the law and is expected to appear at local court in August. Books may be off the menu for a new stream of high school students, with a curriculum update giving way to more technology-focused texts. The changes are part of a new English syllabus for Queensland students that is set to include street art and DJ playlists. But the new age course won't be for everyone, and instead will act as part of Essential English, which caters for student who don't plan on further study after Year 12. Books may be off the menu for a new stream of high school students, with a curriculum update giving way for more technology-focused texts Also on the curriculum are online games and the opportunity to analyse and engage with Facebook posts and tweets. But the more practical skill-set explored in the course will put be well-utilised through resume writing and the study of work-related legislation. And while mainstream students throughout the state will continue to dissect more traditional texts, analysis of thoroughly modern means including vlogs and apps. One assignment task in particular asks for 'an explanation of a DJ's playlist that has been designed for a function or event'. The changes are part of new English syllabus for Queensland students that is set to include street art and DJ playlists And another focuses on 'selling or explicating a website designed to enhance the public image of a popular text producer'. According to the syllabus, text producers can include: tattoo artists, authors, photographers, musicians and make-up artists. However, the flexible curriculum is not impressing all experts, drawing criticism from education academic Kevin Donnelly who told The Courier Mail it endorsed 'edu-tainment'. Swimmers at a popular Australian beach have responded to the controversial plans to ban surfing at the hotspot due to overcrowding fears. On a typical summer day, more than 50,000 people cram onto the sand at the world-famous Bondi Beach, with the numbers soaring above 100,000 when there are special events. Due to what has been labelled 'pandemonium' and frequent physical clashes between surfers and swimmers, the local council is considering a ban on surfers at the northern end near the rock pool. Waverley Council, which has responsibility for Bondi, drew attention to the issue in a council survey. Swimmers are responding to proposals to ban surfing on Bondi Beach after Waverley Council survey (stock image) On a typical summer day, more than 50,000 cram on to the sand at the world-famous Bondi Beach, with the numbers soaring above 100,000 when there are special events Veteran swimmers spoke to Fairfax in support of the proposed changes, saying the current situation is 'out of control.' Garry Beath said that lots of people were getting hit when boards sit and maneuver through the safety flags. 'From a public safety point of view, a policy that lets boards sit up to, and in practice surf through the flags, is just a recipe for disaster, and eventually someone's going to be injured or killed,' he said. Beath, who has been calling for 20-metre buffer zones either side of flagged areas, said that a band of surfing on the north end would be a harsh outcome. Another swimmer, Chris Shelby acknowledged that there needed to be a better plan to balance all people using the 900-metre strip. 'It creates pandemonium. You can get hit by the boards, you can get hit by the fins, you get leg ropes around your neck, you get leg ropes around your arms,' he said. Shelby argues that a solution should address the safety of beach-goers rather than self-interest. Council are to consider whether a board with a fin will be permitted to enter the southern side of the beach, among other enforced board-based rules. Soft boards are the only type currently allowed access to the entire beach apart from flagged patrol areas. Fibreglass boards are only allowed at the southern end of the beach during patrolled hours. Veteran swimmer Gary Beath said that 'eventually someone's going to be injured or killed' (stock image) The proposed ban comes just two years after Bondi Beach was named a National Surfing Reserve by the sport's peak national body. Mayor John Wakefield said the survey suggestions were based on concerns from beach users and it would help inform the council's yearly beach safety review. Kelvin Thomson, a former federal Labor MP who campaigned against higher immigration during his 17 years in parliament, said overpopulation in Sydney and Melbourne could soon see surfing rationed for environmental reasons. 'Beaches are very well loved and people gravitate to them and you can certainly get pressure on what becomes a scarce resource,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'There are rationing risks. Beaches in other parts of the world are manifestly overcrowded and people don't have a genuine capacity to enjoy the beach. 'Sydney and Melbourne have experienced unprecedented population growth and countries that have 80 and 100 million populations have certainly had problems in relation to their beaches and access to them.' Former New South Wales premier Bob Carr, who lives at nearby Maroubra, said in decades to come, Sydney's beaches would be too full for families to visit on weekends. 'Finding any space on the beach, the pressure of numbers will just render it as not a viable option for people who might want to be there with their kids,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'The things that make Australia attractive are threatened by this mad pursuit of numbers. Mayor John Wakefield said the survey suggestions were based on concerns from beach users and it would help inform the council's yearly beach safety review The proposed ban comes just two years after Bondi Beach was named a National Surfing Reserve by the sport's peak national body 'As night follows day, there's going to be crowd control on Sydney beaches - it might not be for 10 or 15 or 20 years but the price for our unbridled population growth will catch up with us.' Mr Carr, a former Labor foreign minister who has since the 1990s championed lower immigration, predicted turnstiles and ticketing would be used in 30 years' time to rationalise access to Bondi Beach and the coastal walk to Coogee. 'The inevitability of turnstiles and restricted access is going to be mandated on safety grounds,' he said. 'The crush of people will mean you won't be able to do that wonderful stroll looking over the sparkling ocean, casting your eye out for whales. 'The coastal walkway will resemble Judgement Day in a medieval precipice.' Greens Waverley councillor George Copeland said Sydney's eastern suburbs were already some of the most densely populated parts of Australia. 'In a practical, local sense we are full,' he said. 'We don't really think we need to shoulder more of the pressure.' Former New South Wales premier Bob Carr, who lives at nearby Maroubra, said in decades to come, Sydney's beaches will be too full for families to visit on weekends Police are investigating the death of a young woman who was killed after an inner-city apartment party she was attending was gatecrashed. The 19-year-old, from Pakenham in Melbourne's south-east, was attending the party on the 56th floor of an apartment building on A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, when a group of uninvited youths showed up. 'A dispute of some nature has occurred, resulting in the victim ... being assaulted,' Victoria Police commander Tim Hansen told reporters on Saturday afternoon. Authorities were called to the rented apartment just after 5am on Saturday, arriving to what Mr Hansen described as 'a fairly chaotic scene'. According to unverified reports, the victim had been stabbed to death. Police are investigating the death of a young woman who was killed by gatecrashers at an inner-city apartment party on A'Beckett Street, Melbourne Authorities were called to the rented apartment just after 5am on Saturday, arriving to what was described as 'a fairly chaotic scene'. According to unverified reports, the victim had been stabbed to death 'My understanding is this wasn't a random attack,' Victoria Police commander Tim Hansen told reporters. 'There's no sign of forced entry but we're trying to clarify what brought [the second group] there' 'My understanding is this wasn't a random attack,' Mr Hansen said. 'There's no sign of forced entry but we're trying to clarify what brought [the second group] there.' The police commander further noted that the only known link between the two groups was that both groups were of 'African-Australian heritage' and all were aged around 19-20 years old, News.com.au reports. Mr Hansen described the crowds of people out the front of the party as being 'quite upset and emotive' when police arrived. The woman, from Pakenham in Melbourne's south-east, died from possible stab wounds after the attack She was treated at the Eq. Tower residential building (pictured), but ultimately died from her injuries The victim was treated at the Eq. Tower residential building, but ultimately died from her injuries. A resident of the building where the incident took place told the Herald Sun she heard prolonged and 'horrendous' screaming. 'It went on for about 20 minutes,' said the woman, who neglected to call the police because such noises were 'not unusual coming from this building'. 'You couldn't hear anything but this horrendous screaming... I just thought they were drunk,' she said. 'They were shouting and screaming and the girl's scream was incredibly loud just screeching.' Homicide squad detectives are investigating the suspicious death. Organisers of Splendour in the Grass are offering free VIP passes to festival patrons who undergo an STD test at the festival. Health experts revealed a thousand music fans will test positive to a dangerous sex disease at Splendour in the Grass. In order to gain entry into the VIP tent, festival goers need to take the five-minute test. Organisers of Splendour in the Grass are offering free VIP passes to festival patrons who undergo an STD test this weekend Authorities hope to lure in Byron Bay punters inside the VIP tent with 'squeaky clean' toilets, phone charging stations, ice water, a glitter bar and a chill out lounge. Music fans will simply have to 'pee in a cup' in the 'luxury VIP toilets' and supply their details to get access to the tent rife with perks. The initiative is part of the award-winning Down to Test program and was launched in 2017, The Daily Telegraph reported. Last year more than 2500 festival patrons provided urine samples and 71 tested positive to chlamydia. Of the 30,000 festival goers expected to attend the 2018 event, about one thousand of them will be carrying chlamydia health experts report. Of the 30,000 festival goers expected to attend the 2018 event, about one thousand of them will be carrying chlamydia health experts report NSW Healths STI Program Unit head Dr Chris Bourne said the growing number of people infected was worrying. 'Music festivals present an opportunity to reach our target audience, raise awareness of STIs and reduce the stigma around testing. And results show this program is working he said. 'We hope record numbers will visit our VIP tent and in return we offer a chill out area, free phone charging, clean toilets, a make-up bar and peace of mind.' The test and its results are confidential and participants will receive their results within days. The sexually transmitted disease doesn't always show symptoms, with many people unaware they have the infection. In New South Wales alone, 28,000 chlamydia notifications were issued. Health experts have revealed a thousand music fans will test positive to a dangerous sex disease at Splendour in the Grass (pictured) Of the 30,000 festival goers expected to attend the three-day New South Wales event (pictured), about one thousand of them will be carrying chlamydia The Down To Test VIP tent will be erected at the festival encouraging concert-goers to take the free five-minute test to determine if they are infected or not. The NSW Health run tent, which is working with Pash Consortium, will be the first, large scale STD testing station. Franklin John-Leader from Pash Consortium said they were aiming to eradicate the stigma around sexual disease testing. Music fans will simply have to 'pee in a cup' in the 'luxury VIP toilets' and supply their details to get access to the tent rife with perks at the festival (left and right) 'It's as easy as peeing in a jar. People think it's so complicated and cumbersome. But it's simple and we want to normalise testing,' he told Sydney Morning Herald. 'We're also expecting to give out thousands of free condoms.' The tent will only determine whether participants have chlamydia, a disease which can lead to infertility, as it is the most common STI affecting one in 20 young people. The STD tent follows several smaller testing stations held at other festivals where 71 out of 2500 people tested positive to chlamydia - a result which has almost doubled over the last decade. A 23-year-old woman has been charged after allegedly leading police on dramatic car chase before striking one officer and dragging another along the ground with her car. Stephanie Boody, 23, attended the Southport Magistrates Court on the Gold Coast on Saturday after a dramatic scene that saw one officer hit with flying debris and another dragged along the ground by the moving vehicle, The Gold Coast Bulletin reported. Abound 11.44pm on Friday night a police patrol attempted to intercept a white Toyota Hilux utility when the female driver allegedly became aggressive towards officers and accelerated away at speed. Stephanie Boody, 23, was charged after police were lad on a dramatic car chase As she sped off, the Utes tray struck one of the officers causing minor injuries. Officers located the car in a nearby street but as they attempted to stop it, the driver crashed into an unmarked police car on the M1. Boody then allegedly reversed back before taking off down the highway, prompting a police pursuit. A tyre deflation device was used by police in an attempt to stop the car but it was unsuccessful. Boody allegedly sped off again, dragging one of the officers a short distance. She allegedly injured one officer and dragged another one along with the car Boody then allegedly got out of the car and fled on foot but was tracked by the police helicopter. The 23-year-old driver was arrested by the police as she tried to escape on foot. She was charged with two counts each of assault police, fail to stop motor vehicle, one count each of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, possess dangerous utensils and unlawful possession of suspected stolen property. Magistrate Kerrie O'Callaghan granted Boody bail on the condition that she report to Southport Police Station weekly. Boody is due to appear in Southport Magistrates Court on Monday, August 19. A motorist has revealed how he feared for his life when targeted in a shocking road rage attack on a busy motorway. Saul Harris was on his morning commute to work on Auckland's Upper Harbour motorway when he moved to the middle lane to overtake a slow motorist. The slow motorist retaliated by allegedly ramming into the back of his car three times. Mr Harris said that marked the beginning of the terrifying attack. Saul Harris claimed his car was rammed into three times before he was choked and assaulted on Auckland's Upper Harbour motorway (pictured) Mr Harris told Stuff the motorist then pulled over to the side of the motorway and signalled to him to do the same. 'That's when he reached through the window, grabbed me by the throat and then tried choking me,' Mr Harris said. 'When he released his grip, he gave me a palm up bash in the head couple of times and then started to walk away.' But his attacker was not finished. Mr Harris said the motorist returned to slam the car door on his leg and tried to rip the door off his car. New Zealand Police (stock image) attended the scene after the incident and are investigating the shocking road rage attack Mr Harris insisted he did nothing to antagonise the driver. 'I just can't believe someone would react the way he reacted ... you don't have to turn it into a dangerous situation which he did,' he said. It was the first time Mr Harris has experienced road rage in the four years he has driven to and from work on the Upper Harbour motorway. Police confirmed they were investigating the incident. A ceasefire announced by Hamas largely held on Saturday after a wave of deadly air strikes across the Palestinian enclave sparked by the death of an Israeli soldier shot near the border. Israel did not confirm the deal announced by Gaza's Islamist rulers, which went into effect around midnight Friday reducing fears of a wider conflict. But the Israeli army said a tank struck a Hamas observation point east of Gaza City on Saturday morning, saying it was retaliation for an attempted border infiltration in northern Gaza. There were no reports of injuries in that strike and there was no major Israeli bombing campaign overnight or mortar fire from Gaza toward Israel. 'With Egyptian and UN efforts, we reached (an agreement) to return to the previous state of calm between the (Israeli) occupation and the Palestinian factions,' Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement early Saturday. Scroll down for video An explosion is seen following an Israeli air strike in the southern Gaza Strip on July 20 Paramedics push a youth, who was injured during Israeli bombardment, as he lies on a gurney A Palestinian man who was wounded by Israeli troops is treated at a hospital in Khan Yunis Israeli aircraft and tanks hit targets throughout the Gaza Strip. Pictured a fireball exploding in Gaza City A senior Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP the deal involved 'the cessation of all forms of military escalation' including Israeli air strikes and Hamas mortars and rockets. The source said that balloons and kites attached with incendiary devices, which Palestinians have been floating over the border for months to spark fires inside Israel, were not included in the agreement. Israeli politicians have been calling for a fierce response to the kites and balloons, which have caused damage amounting to millions of shekels (hundreds of thousands of dollars). Israel's army and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office declined to confirm a truce was reached. 'All we can say is that there have been no incidents or Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip since the last wave of airstrikes on Friday night,' a military spokeswoman told AFP. On Friday, three Hamas militants were killed as air raids sent fireballs exploding into the sky over Gaza, while Israel said rockets had been fired back at its territory. A fourth Palestinian was shot dead in protests near the border. The United Nations urged all sides to step 'back from the brink' of war after months of increasing tensions. Protesters hurl stones while others throw back teargas canisters near the Gaza Strip border A protester hurls stones while others take cover near the fence of the Gaza Strip border A Palestinian boy who was wounded by Israeli troops is treated at a hospital in Khan Yunis Smoke rises following an Israeli air strike in Gaza City. Israel's military said it struck Hamas positions after its soldiers came under fire Pictured, smoke plumes rising from Israeli bombardment in Gaza City in the strikes today Smoke and flames rise into the air after Israeli air strikes targeted points, reported to belong to Hamas, in Ez-Zeitoun town south of Gaza City Protesters set tyres on fire as Israeli forces intervene to disperse demonstrators taking part in the 'Great March of Return' demonstration The soldier, shot dead along the border in southern Gaza, was the first to be killed in and around the Palestinian enclave since a 2014 war between Israel and Hamas. Friday's flare-up is the latest as demonstrations and clashes on the frontier since March have seen at least 149 Palestinians killed. In response, the Israeli army said they struck 60 Hamas sites including weapon manufacturing sites, a drone warehouse and a military operations room. It came only a week after most severe exchange of fire between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza since the 2014 war. Jason Greenblatt, US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace envoy, laid the blame for weeks of increasing tensions solely with Hamas. 'Hamas works relentlessly to destroy Israeli lives (& Gazans suffer as a result of Hamas),' he tweeted, while offering condolences to the soldier's family. Israel's military said it struck eight Hamas positions after its soldiers came under fire The military has not commented on the condition of the soldiers shot but has described the attack as 'severe' Hamas and Israel have fought three wars since 2008, most recently in 2014. Israel has tightened its already crippling blockade of Gaza in recent weeks as it seeks to pressure Hamas to end the incendiary kites and balloons. Hugh Lovatt, Israel-Palestine fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations think-tank, told AFP another round of conflict remained highly possible. 'The ceasefire is crucial and shows neither side wants war but it's only temporary reprieve.' 'Unless it can be consolidated and translated into a more permanent agreement that includes an easing of Israeli restrictions then we will continue to witness ever more frequent flare ups.' Hamas vowed it will continue weekly protests and the launching of incendiary devices at Israel. Shots were fired at troops along the border, the army said, with Gaza's health ministry reporting three Palestinians killed A woman who was raped and sexually assaulted by her father during more than a decade of abuse has spoken out and said he had 'stripped me of my childhood'. Sophia Murphy, now 33, waived her anonymity after her father John was jailed for 18 years for the horrendous sexual abuse of his daughter from the age of three to 15. Former Defence Forces member Murphy, 61, pleaded guilty to the rape, indecent assault and sexual assault of his eldest daughter at locations in Co. Galway and Co. Mayo between 1988 and 2001. He also admitted to a final incident of sexual assault of Ms Murphy in 2010. Sophia Murphy, pictured outside court yesterday, waived her anonymity after her father John was jailed for 18 years for the horrendous sexual abuse of his daughter In her victim impact statement, which she read to the court, Ms Murphy said that she wished to go public to encourage other people in her position to come forward. Silence protects the abuser and imprisons the victim, she told the Central Criminal Court. Take back your life; break the silence. You are not a victim for sharing your story; you are a survivor. Addressing her father during her statement: Dad, you stripped me of every human right, my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my confidence, my innocence, my childhood, my education, my teenage years, a normal life, even my own voice until today. There is not a day in my life I dont remember you abusing me. Her father, formerly of Nephin View Manor, Foxford, Co. Mayo, is currently serving an eight-year sentence in Arbour Hill prison in Dublin, for sexual abuse involving Ms Murphys two younger sisters, imposed last February at Castlebar Circuit Court. Ms Murphy, now aged 33, was aged between three and 15 years of age at the time of the majority of the offences. She has waived her right to anonymity so her father can be named. Jailing her father, Mr Justice Michael White noted the length, intensity and depravity of the sexual abuse. He said the Garda evidence and Ms Murphys victim impact statement had been harrowing and exceptional. He said Ms Murphy had shown remarkable lucidity in her victim impact statement and was a very dignified person who had overcome the abuse to become a loving mother and partner and take up fulfilling employment. Sophia Murphy (left) spoke out after her father John (right) was handed an 18-year jail term Outlining the aggravating factors, Mr Justice White took into account the impact of the abuse on her and the particularly serious nature of the abuse, perpetrated over a period of time. He said Ms Murphy had great love and affection for her father but hated what he was doing. Mr Justice White said that taking into account the depth, length and nature of this abuse, the headline sentence before taking into account the mitigating factors had to be life imprisonment. The judge said in his view, Murphys remorse was genuine and he had acknowledged the great hurt he had caused his daughter. He noted Murphys guilty pleas and his serious health problems. Mr Justice White imposed consecutive sentences totalling 18 years, which were backdated to when Murphy went into custody in December 2017. Garda Thomasina McHale told Patrick Reynolds, prosecuting, that she received a request in May 2015 to call to Ms Murphys home, where she reported that she had been extensively sexually abused by her father as a child. A further incident was alleged to have taken place when she was 25 years old, in 2010. Ms Murphy later gave a 110-page written statement to gardai outlining the details of the abuse , which occurred initially at family homes in Co. Galway, as well as later in Co. Mayo. She was also sexually abused in the family car while on the way to visit her grandmother. In her victim impact statement, which she read to the court, Ms Murphy said that she wished to go public to encourage other people in her position to come forward Ms Murphy outlined to gardai that throughout her childhood, there had been constant grabbing and touching. Ms Murphy told gardai she could not explain how often the sexual abuse happened, she said it was horrendous and happened at every opportunity. She said that her father had all the control. Murphy was arrested in October 2016 and interviewed by gardai. He admitted sexually abusing his daughter two or three times per week and raping her when she was about 13 or 14 years old. Murphy has 73 previous convictions for the sexual assault of four victims. Murphy, who worked in the Defence Forces and security, was aged between 31 and 44 years old during the time he abused his young daughter. Diarmuid Connolly, defending, asked the court to take into account Murphys co-operation with gardai and the value of his early guilty plea in this case. He said he had been given very definite instructions by his client to apologise to Ms Murphy. He said a probation report from February 2016 put Murphy at low risk of re-offending. Mr Connolly said his client had not taken up opportunities he had to avail of bail, proving his contrition and remorse. He asked the court to take into account the publicity which the case would attract. He said his client was not an old man but was a sick man who had also suffered extensive psychiatric issues. A young bride had to teach herself how to read and write again after suffering a massive stroke after her dream honeymoon, aged just 27. Sarah Revill-Dews had only just returned from her dream honeymoon in Sri Lanka and the Maldives when she was struck down by a devastating stroke. Doctors initially blamed her symptoms on a migraine, but later realised she had suffered a stroke, possibly caused by a combination of the flight home and the contraceptive pill. After getting back to the UK in May, 2017, Sarah was laid low with a painful headache, which she put down to jet lag. Scroll down for video. Sarah Revill-Dews, 28, lost the ability to speak, read or write after suffering a stroke But when Sarah, now 28, returned to work as a project manager after her holiday, she was socked to find she couldn't speak, read or write. As excited colleagues gathered to ask her about the wedding and honeymoon, she could only say: 'It was ok.' Sarah told the Nottingham Post: 'When I couldn't speak properly I knew something was wrong. 'My colleagues called 111 and the first responder gave me an aspirin as he thought I'd had a stroke. 'However, when I got to hospital, they believed it was a migraine and I was discharged. 'Fortunately the first responder had booked me in with the stroke ward the next day but even when we went to see the consultant, they didn't believe I'd had a stroke until an MRI proved it. 'No one seemed to think it could happen to a 27-year-old. It was a crushing moment to be told I'd had a stroke. My whole world just crashed around me.' She said it was 'a process of elimination' and the only thing that doctors believed could have triggered it was the contraceptive pill she had been taking. The Stroke Association warns that 'although the risk of a stroke in young women is generally low, pregnancy and contraceptive pills are both significant stroke risk factors.' Doctors thought the young bride was suffering from jet lag migraines, but later realised a combination of contraceptive pills and jet lag had caused her to have a massive stroke 'I am very healthy,' Sarah said. 'I go to the gym every day.' She added: 'It was a very difficult initial four months of recovery, but I have the most amazing husband and family who supported me, whether that was taking me to appointments, making me do lots of crosswords and Sudoku to work my brain or taking me to Thai Chi classes to work on my balance. 'At the time I felt quite isolated because I didn't even think people of my age had strokes and I was very angry; wondering why me? 'After having every test under the sun and seeing various consultants, it appears that my stroke was caused by a combination of the contraceptive pill and the flight home.' Sarah is now determined to teach others how to look out for stroke warning signs at a younger age. She's preparing to cycle 100 miles during the Prudential RideLondon to Surrey cycle, to raise funds for the Stroke Association. Sarah, from The Meadows, Nottingham, will be joined by her father Robin Dews and her sister Anna Dews. Stroke symptoms: These are the signs to look out for It can happen to anyone, of any age, at any time. It's vital to know how to spot the warning signs of a stroke in yourself or someone else. Using the FAST test is the best way to do this. Face: Can the person smile? Has their face fallen on one side? Arms: Can the person raise both arms and keep them there? Speech: Can the person speak clearly and understand what you say? Is their speech slurred? Time: If you see any of these three signs, it's time to call 999. A stroke is a medical emergency. Always dial 999. Other symptoms: - There are other signs you should take seriously, including: - Sudden weakness or numbness on one side of the body, including legs, hands or feet. - Difficulty finding words or speaking in clear sentences. - Sudden blurred vision or loss of sight in one or both eyes. - Sudden memory loss or confusion, and dizziness; or a sudden fall. - A sudden, severe headache. If you spot any of these signs of a stroke, don't wait. Call 999 straight away. (Source: www.stroke.org.uk) Advertisement Emma Evans, events manager at the Stroke Association, said: 'For many stroke survivors, getting their life back on track after a stroke means overcoming life-changing disabilities and emotional trauma. 'But they can't do this on their own. Every day people across the UK are regaining their independence with the support of the Stroke Association and others. 'We're incredibly grateful to Sarah for taking on this gruelling challenge to help raise funds for people affected by stroke; she is a real inspiration and proof that there is life after stroke.' Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust did not wish to comment on individual cases, but said it followed routine procedures in the case of Mrs Revill-Dews. The young woman who died in a brawl at a high-rise apartment overnight has been identified. Laa Chol, the 19-year-old woman killed when a fight broke out at a Melbourne apartment Laa Chol, 19, died after a fight broke out between two groups of African Australians in the early hours of Saturday morning. It is understood Ms Chol was attending a party in an apartment building on A'Beckett Street when a second group crashed the event. Authorities were called to the scene of the rented 56th floor apartment shortly after 5am. Ms Chol, from Pakenham, ultimately died from what commander of the North West Metro region Tim Hansen called 'assault related injuries'. She was stabbed to death, according to unverified reports. Tributes have begun pouring in via social media, with many taking to Facebook to pay their respects. 'Hard time for all her family and friends, when they came here to give their kids a better life,' one said. 'Very sad for any young person to lose their life,' said another. 'So very sad, she was an amazing young lady to know, will be sadly missed by all,' another wrote. Ms Chol, from Pakenham, ultimately died from what police have called 'assault related injuries' She has been remembered as being the 'rock of her family' in a touching social media tribute She died from possible stab wounds following an attack in Melbourne's CBD It is understood the woman was injured at an apartment building on A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, with authorities being called just after 5am on Saturday She was attending a party at the EQ Tower residential building (pictured), before another group crashed 'My understanding is this wasn't a random attack,' Mr Hansen told reporters. 'There's no sign of forced entry but we're trying to clarify what brought [the second group] there.' Mr Hansen further noted that the only known link between the two groups was that both groups were of 'African-Australian heritage' and all were aged around 19-20 years old, News.com.au reports. Ms Chol was treated at the EQ Tower residential building by paramedics, but died from her injuries. While the exact circumstances of the incident are yet to be released, a resident of the apartment building told theHerald Sun she heard prolonged and 'horrendous' screams. 'It went on for about 20 minutes,' the woman said. 'You couldn't hear anything but this horrendous screaming... I just thought they were drunk. 'They were shouting and screaming and the girl's scream was incredibly loud just screeching.' Homicide squad detectives are investigating the suspicious death. A murder probe has been launched after a man was gunned down in Wolverhampton last night. Police were called to Valley Road, Park Village, an inner city area, after gunshots were heard at around 9pm. Minutes later officers were then told a man with serious injuries had been taken to nearby New Cross Hospital. A murder probe has been launched after a man was gunned down in Wolverhampton last night Police were called to Valley Road, Park Village, an inner city area, after gunshots were heard at around 9pm Officers were told a man with serious injuries had been taken to nearby New Cross Hospital (pictured) The hospital was cordoned off by police while a nearby car was said to have been roped off by officers Medics fought to save the man's life but he died from his injuries at around 2am today, police confirmed. The hospital was cordoned off by police while a nearby car was said to have been roped off by officers. It is believed that this is the vehicle that the injured man was driven to hospital in, the Sun reported. A West Midlands Police statement said: 'The victim, who has not yet been formally identified, died in hospital at around 2am today. His family will be supported by specially trained officers. 'The investigation is in its early stages and officers are carrying out house-to-house enquiries. A cordon remains in place at Valley Road in the Park Village area of Wolverhampton, where police are carrying out a murder investigation after a man has died Police were called to Valley Road, in Park Village, following reports of gunshots being heard at around 9.10pm Medics at New Cross Hospital (pictured) fought to save the man's life but he died from his injuries at around 2am today, police confirmed 'Anyone with information has been asked to contact the Homicide team on 101, quoting log 2914 of 20 July. 'Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.' It had originally been claimed gunshots were fired by the hospital, but this was quickly dismissed. A spokesman for the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, said: 'A man was brought in to the emergency department at New Cross Hospital with a gun shot wound. 'There were no gun shots fired at New Cross Hospital. The hospital is functioning as normal. No further comment can be made.' A post from the Trust later added: 'The Trust would like to reassure members of the public that New Cross Hospital is fully functioning as normal this morning with no safety issues to patients, staff or visitors.' A mother who mowed down a crowd of pedestrians before speeding off after a heavy afternoon of drinking has escaped a jail sentence. Lisa Webber, 36, had been drinking at the Plough Inn, at South Bank, for several hours before she got kicked out and decided to drive home. CCTV footage shows Webber's black car driving onto the footpath and straight into pedestrians shortly after 6pm on December 10 last year. Lisa Webber, 36, (pictured) had been drinking heavily before she mowed a crowed down One man was hit while three others managed to jump out of the way. Webber then sped off, leaving the injured pedestrian on the footpath. The mother-of-three drove to Toowoomba, more than an hour away from Brisbane, before she was intercepted and arrested. She pleaded guilty on Friday to dangerous operation of a vehicle and public nuisance, Yahoo7 reported. Prosecutor Miles Leslie told the court Webber did nothing to help the person she hit. 'The defendant didn't make any attempt to render any assistance to the people she ran into,' Prosecutor Miles Leslie said. Webber's defence attorney told the court his client's marriage was breaking down at the time of the horrific incident. The driver has been ordered to pay $1000 to the injured victim (pictured) who still has pain in his shoulder and may need surgery Webber (pictured) pleaded guilty to dangerous operation of a vehicle and public nuisance 'She sustained a number of knocks to her head, and she wasn't in the right headspace,' her lawyer Isaac Munsie argued. Magistrate Wendy Cull sentenced Webber to two years' probation and suspended her from driving for six months. She was also ordered to undergo a mental health assessment and receive counselling. Webber was also ordered to pay her victim, who still suffers from pain in his shoulder and might require surgery, $1,000 compensation. 'Everyone in this room must be thinking thank goodness this wasn't more serious,' Magistrate Wendy Cull said. As Nash Molloy's parents were preparing to bring him into the world, they weren't expecting to confront a condition that would threaten his ability to walk or ever tell them he loved them. Nash, who is the third son of Sydney couple Melanie and Heath, was born with a rare genetic condition that attacks his motor skills and threatens his potential to walk and talk. The two-year-old toddler is a picture of perfection but behind his huge smile is a serious medical condition. Scroll down for video Nash Molloy (pictured) was born with a rare condition the effects his nervous system Angelman syndromea genetic condition that effects the nervous system and is characterized not only by a happy, excitable demure but also delayed development, movement problems and a high risk of seizures. Melanie and Heath first noticed his motor skills weren't developing in the same way that his brothers, Zach, 9, and Jett's 5, had, just days after Nash was born. 'From day one he had issues, began with feeding then not meeting milestones,' Melanie tells Daily Mail Australia. 'Being our third child, deep down we knew there was something just not right quite early.' The condition effects one in 25,000 children and more than 80 per cent of those effected will never walk or talk. 'The cause is from a lack of function in chromosome 15, in Nash's case a deletion.' The two-year-old toddler, pictured here with dad heath and his two brothers, may never be able to walk or talk to his parents The condition is so rare that the doctor who told Melanie and Heath about their son's diagnosis had to read it from a book. 'He went through all the test results and said they have found something in the blood sample, gave us the diagnoses, then read word for word on what Angelman Syndrome was from one of his medical books.' 'Which wasn't great and makes the diagnosis hard to talk about.' Sufferers also experience rigid jerky movement and can have regular seizures, which Nash is no stranger to. Nash is pictured here playing with his two brothers Zach, 9, and Jett's 5, Another characteristic of the condition is a happy demure which lead to the condition originally being called Happy Puppet Syndrome. But despite the odds being stacked against their baby boy, Nash's parents know he's determined to walk. 'Yes, definitely,' is all his mum says when asked if she thinks he will walk one day. 'Family is the best thing for Nash, his brothers we believe, are what makes him so determined, and the reason he is doing so well. 'We explained Nash's diagnosis to both boys and they are beyond supportive. Angelman syndrome effects one in 25,000 children and 80% will never walk 'They have and are still processing it. It was harder to take for Zach, and then Jett due to their age and there are many questions daily'. Nash is definitely determined. He has started slowly crawling over furniture and can make small steps with assistance. He has also got some big fans. Rabbitos players Damien Cook and Sam Burgess have both posted their support for the toddler and their hope of finding a cure. Currently there is no treatment for the condition but doctors and families across the world are working together to find a cure. Damien Cook posted this photo of him with Nash on his Instagram account, asking his followers to vote for the film about him Nash's own family are no exception. His aunt has recently made a film to raise awareness about her nephews condition. It is an entrant in the 2018 'Focus on Ability' Short Film Festival. 'Being a rare condition, the key is awareness. More awareness will bring better and earlier diagnosis as well as much needed funds to support families.' Melanie says her little family are for now, just concentrating on taking one day at a time. 'We don't look at the future anymore, instead we just take each day as it comes.' Tory rebel Anna Soubry, has accused Theresa May of being consumed by 'the forces of darkness' in her party and warned that, as a result, she and her fellow soft Brexiters may not back the final Brexit deal obtained from Brussels. The former minister accused Jacob Rees-Mogg's faction of pursuing a hard Brexit that would cost 'hundreds of thousands of jobs' and said they were 'now running Theresa'. Speaking to The Guardian, Soubry pledged to carry on fighting for a soft Brexit but said that the balance of power within her party had changed. With an 'ultimate elite, who are playing politics with real lives' becoming dominant, she said. Sourby has been an avid campaigner of a soft-Brexit deal and said she will continue to keep fighting for this Her intervention followed a drama-filled week at Westminster, in which Conservative factions have battled for control, while May tried desperately to keep her job and negotiate Brexit. On Monday, the Broxtowe MP gave a barnstorming speech during the debate on the customs bill, voicing anger at May's decision to do a deal with Rees-Mogg's European Research Group to head off a damaging rebellion. Until then Soubry had supported the prime minister's new softer Brexit strategy that was signed off at Chequers a fortnight ago. Reflecting on this, Soubry said: 'Since the referendum, the forces of darkness have taken over and they have continued to take over and this week if there was ever any doubt who was running this government it was quashed.' Soubry has previously said she would leave the party if Jacob Rees-Mogg was to become the leader and earlier this week said she had been told by the Tory chief whip, Julian Smith, that '80 Conservatives, including a large number of members of the government' had told him they would not support the customs bill unless May accepted the ERG (European Research Group) amendments. The MP said she believed the ERG were 'ruthless bastards' who would stop at nothing because they believed their cause was 'bigger than anything else'. Soubry said the PM is now being run by MPs such as Jacob Rees Mogg and that May has openly embraced these people 'Now that the forces of darkness have got the prize in sight, they are going for it. I'm afraid that Theresa has embraced these people, they are now running Theresa.' ERG members, (of which Rees-Mogg is chair), and supporters include a range of Tory backbenchers, from veteran anti-Europe campaigners, such as John Redwood and Bill Cash, through to former ministers David Jones and Steve Baker, and young MPs including Andrea Jenkyns, who want to force out May. Soubry accused May and party whips of operating a double standard, saying: 'Jacob Rees-Mogg gets his tummy tickled when the ERG threatens to vote against a government bill unless it is amended on policy.' However, when her ally Dominic Grieve 'suggested parliament should have a vote in the event of no deal', he and his potential Tory supporters were treated differently. 'You are threatened, you are called a traitor, you are threatened with deselection, threats the like of which have never been seen before,' she said. Soubry warned the prime minister that she and her smaller group of about a dozen 'mutineers' had not given up and could not be relied upon to vote for whatever the prime minister brought back from her Brexit negotiations. 'If she [May] stands a chance of getting her deal through she has to satisfy the mutineers, as we are called,' Soubry said. 'I will vote on the basis of whether it protects jobs and prosperity for my constituents'. The 61-year-old MP said her view of the tight parliamentary arithmetic was that May would have to rely on about a dozen or so Labour MPs to vote with her because she believed that a hardcore of Tory ERG members would not vote for whatever was proposed. About five Labour MPs, including Kate Hoey and Frank Field, have consistently voted with the government on Brexit, but Soubry said more Labour MPs would be needed for May to see off any Tory rebellions: 'She needs the likes of Caroline Flint to get it through.' Soubry conceded that the Tory remainer faction lacked the strength and discipline of the ERG up until now, adding that she and like-minded colleagues 'needed to grow a pair' because they had failed to pull out or pulled back from the brink when confronting the government on Brexit. Soubry said the remainers needed to muster 16 rebels if they were to defeat the government, assuming all the opposition parties voted alongside them. 'We did have at least 16 when the EU withdrawal bill came back, and the big mistake was that we did not do what we said we would do, which was have a vote on the Kerr amendment, which was very tame. That is recognised as being a mistake.' Soubry had previously campaigned for the UK to stay in the EU and was has openly critcised the Brexit process If passed by MPs last month, that amendment, proposed by the former diplomat now crossbench peer John Kerr, would have forced ministers to explain what they had done to pursue remaining in the customs union. Despite her frustrations, Soubry said it would be 'deeply irresponsible' for anybody to challenge May and accused the prime minister's rival Boris Johnson of 'naked, blind ambition'. She said the former foreign secretary and his supporters were engaged in 'willy-waving', making light of the consequences of Brexit. 'This is deeply grownup, serious stuff. Egos and this sort of willy-waving ambition is deeply unacceptable.' Soubry, who was narrowly re-elected with a majority of 863 last year, said she had no intention of leaving the Conservative party, although she cooperates closely in parliament with pro-European Labour backbenchers Chuka Umunna and Chris Leslie on Brexit. 'I shall be true to what I believe. It is my intention to stand again in Broxtowe as a Conservative candidate. I just want my party back, please,' she added. There's new hope for a Victorian toddler who continues to defy the odds after being given months to live. Kristian Kozul was just 15-months-old when he was diagnosed Anaplastic Astrocytoma grade 3 glioma, a rare malignant brain tumor. He began intensive chemotherapy for the aggressive tumour, which continued to grow despite the treatment. Scroll down for video Kristian Kozul, pictured this week with dad Steve continues to defy the odds Kristian (pictured) was just 15-month-old when he was diagnosed with a rare malignant brain tumor. Doctors gave Kristian less than year to live because he was too young for radiation. The family's luck changed when Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital oncologist Dr Jordan Hansford approached Kristian's parents Marie and Steve about other options. They offered the desperate parents access to a national trial that offers personalised treatment to children with high risk brain cancers. Faced with every parent's worst nightmare and no other options left, they agreed. 'No one could figure out what was wrong and I remember sitting down wondering whether this doctor would be able to help us,' Mrs Kozul told Yahoo 7. Kristian during treatment with his big brother Tomislav Kristian (pictured) was given less than a year to live until he started a clinical trial in Sydney last November The test identified a rare genetic change, which helped doctors find a treatment that could help Kristian. He was put on an innovative new drug as part of a clinical trial in Sydney last November. 'When he had his first MRI after being on the drug at the end of December, it showed the tumour wasn't getting bigger, and it was actually a bit smaller,' Mrs Kozul told The Herald Sun. 'We're incredibly fortunate that the government decided to fund these trials and Kristian qualified for it, because what he has is extremely rare and if they didn't fund it, the reality is my son would have passed away.' Kristian's tumour currently remains stable as he continues to defy the odds Kristian's parents say the youngster (pictured) is returning to his cheerful self Now two-and-a-half, the brave youngster has responded well to the treatment and is gradually returning to his happy, cheerful self. The tumour currently remains stable. 'He's a fighter. He's defied all the odds and even though he's been sick along the way and there were so many close calls, he just comes out of it,' Ms Kozul said. 'We are extremely hopeful and positive it will continue to do what it's there to do.' Now two-and-a-half, the brave youngster (pictured) has responded well to a new drug Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull met Kristian and his family at Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne earlier this week when he announced a $5 million funding boost for the Zero Childhood Cancer program. It was the first instalment of the federal government's Brain Cancer Mission and will help other youngsters like Kristian fight cancer. Brain cancer kills more Australian children than other disease, according to Zero Childhood Cancer. Of the 200 children and teenagers diagnosed with high risk brain cancer each year in Australia, statistics show that less than 30 per cent will survive. A new housing estate has created the newest million-dollar post code for New South Wales with 10,000 new homes expected by 2025. Just two years ago Box Hill, 42km North West of Sydney, was home to nothing more than farmland but in less than 100 days the new estate has began to boom. The farmland has been transformed to make way for 10,000 new homes, 9 News reported. A heavy investment into a new housing estate has created the newest million-dollar post code for New South Wales with 10,000 new homes expected by 2025 Property projects such as The Gables have played a large part in driving the new estate. The Gables is a 'master planned community' with a $4 billion investment. Real estate agent Tony Hourigan has been active in selling off plots of land and homes in the up-and-coming area. Mr Hourigan said the area was very much running against current trends and was a perfect location for any type of buyer. 'The north west sector is bucking the trend, the demand is quite good and suits a lot of people, families, investors and older couples,' he told 9 News. Development Manager for The Gables Jude Adikari said he was not surprised by the boom in Box Hill. Just two years ago Box Hill, 42km North West of Sydney, was farmland and homesteads but in less than 100 days the new estate has began to boom 'To date we have sold about 750 lots and we still have a fair way to go. It doesnt come as a surprise to us because we investing an amount of capital into this development,' he said. Prices for a plot of land start at $400,000 while three completed homes recently sold for six figures. Some Sydney residents have already made the move north west, hoping to escape the rat race and cost of living in Sydney's centre. Prices for a plot of land start at $400,000 while three completed homes recently sold for six figures One of those residents is Anthony McQuillan who recently moved his young family into the area and by all accounts is thrilled with the choice. 'We moved out here because Sydney is a bit unaffordable. Better priced out here, the infrastructure is a lot better out here, its all new and its an up and coming area he said. 'The Australian dream as they say.' Once the new estate is fully completed it will boast a new school campus, diversity in housing types, new sporting fields, integrated recreation areas and a new and vibrant town centre. Adding to the appeal of Box Hill will be the completion of the North West Rail Line which will allow residents of the area to reach the Sydney CBD within 30 minutes. The new rail link is projected to be operational by 2019 and will service a sector of the region which has the highest concentration of cars per household. The New South Wales Government also expects a further 200,000 people to move to the north west in the coming decades. This is the moment Sir Richard Branson enthusiastically danced on tables during a party to celebrate his new cruise ship. Guests were left astonished as the 68-year-old bounced between place settings at a shipyard in Genoa, Italy. The celebration came after he named his first Virgin Voyages ship Scarlet Lady - the same title bestowed on his first Virgin Atlantic planes. This is the moment Sir Richard Branson enthusiastically danced on tables during a party to celebrate his new cruise ship Guests were left astonished as the 68-year-old bounced between place settings at a shipyard in Genoa, Italy Sir Richard was captured in another unusual stunt when he smashed up a water bottle with a hammer. This was to demonstrate that all single-use plastics are to be banned from his vessels. 'Nothing makes me prouder than seeing companies like Virgin Voyages striving to make a positive impact on the world we live in,' said Branson. 'Business is a force for good and can and must be the catalyst for global change.' The celebration came after he named his first Virgin Voyages ship Scarlet Lady - the same title bestowed on his first Virgin Atlantic planes Sir Richard was captured in another unusual stunt when he smashed up a water bottle with a hammer Various well-being spaces on the ship were revealed including a spa, a gym and a tonic bar that will serve fresh-pressed juices. The day also saw the first steel cut on his second ship, which is yet to be named. Scarlet Lady will set sail from Miami in 2020, followed by her sister ship a year later. A third in the fleet is planned for 2022. Each ship will carry more than 2,700 passengers and 1,500 crew on Caribbean itineraries. This was to demonstrate that all single-use plastics are to be banned from his vessels Friends and family have paid tribute to a British youngster who died hours after jetting into the Ibizan party resort of San Antonio. Jack McDonnell, who turned 22 on Tuesday, shared a video on social media three days ago of an Ibiza Rocks Hotel pool party and told friends: 'Where I'll be in 48 hours.' Police are now investigating whether drugs were involved in Mr McDonnell's death. Today loved ones were grieving the untimely death of the former business studies student from Stafford, West Midlands. Jack McDonnell, who turned 22 on Tuesday, died just hours after jetting into the Ibizan party resort of San Antonio Police are now investigating whether drugs were involved in Mr McDonnell's death Tom McDonnell said of his cousin: 'It has taken me so long to even be able to type this. 'Jack was an amazing person, golden heart throughout. Anyone who knew him would have known he would have done anything for anyone, no matter who you were or where you came from. He would be his true self. Jack, who worked for a retail merchandising company, had arrived in Ibiza the night of his death and headed straight out to go partying with friends 'I honestly cannot put into words the feelings we have felt. Jack was not just a cousin but he was a brother to me. 'There are so many memories that we can look back on, but so many things in the future he will be looking down over us all and sending his love. 'You will always be my bright shining star. RIP Jack (Bucky) McDonnell, you will be so sadly missed by your friends and family.' Brennie Harvey added: 'Such tragic news, only worked with him a short time but he was always a top bloke. 'Thoughts with your whole family.' Former work colleague David Whitfield added: 'Absolutely stunned to hear such sad news. Remembered him at work and taken far far too soon.' Jack, who worked for a retail merchandising company, had arrived in Ibiza the night of his death and headed straight out to go partying with friends. One of his friends took to social media ahead of the trip to write: 'One week of chaos starts tomorrow.' Tom McDonnell said of his cousin: 'Jack was an amazing person, golden heart throughout. Anyone who knew him would have known he would have done anything for anyone, no matter who you were or where you came from' The holidaymaker was rushed to a health centre in San Antonio in the early hours of yesterday morning by friends he was out with and members of a Christian charity who work on the streets in the high season. He went into cardiac arrest shortly after arriving at the clinic following his earlier collapse. Health workers at the centre tried to save him by practicing CPR but were unable to save him. A health official confirmed afterwards: 'A 22-year-old British man has died at the San Antonio health centre after going into cardiac arrest. 'He was taken to the centre by friends and members of the NGO called 24/7. 'Health professionals at the centre and emergency medical responders were unable to save him. 'He was pronounced dead at 1.30am yesterday. A judicial report on the death was prepared because the death could have occurred in the context of drug consumption.' If you want to make the most of the hot weather, it really does make sense to apply suncream. But these hapless sunseekers clearly didn't get the message, as can be seen from their epic tan fails - from bra lines (on men) to awkward flip-flop markings. For Heatwave Britain, this weekend is set to be another scorcher, with temperatures expected to reach 84F (29C) in London. Next week could be the hottest yet this summer, with forecasters expecting highs of 95F (35C) in the South East by the end of the week. So if you don't want to feel the burn, slap on the cream, and don't stay in the sun for too long, otherwise you might end up like one of these jokers... What time is it? Try Calamine o'clock. This sun worshipper didn't get the suncream memo. And Brits had better watch out this weekend - Sunday will see the mercury rising above 30C (86F) Mind your back, mate: This 'idiot' must be the talk of the tan with that ironic sunburn. If you've spent hours in the sun, you could even give yourself a first degree burn, which is no different from a burn from a flame One can only hope this shopper is buying essentials, like aftersun, a parasol - and suncream. Brits are being encouraged to 'use common sense' when enjoying the sun and protect themselves from damaging UV rays, Public Health England has urged That's got toe hurt: If you're going to apply the cream, don't forget your extremities. Next week could be the hottest yet this summer, with forecasters expecting highs of 95F (35C) in the South-East England by the end of the week Looks like someone's been walking the Highway To Hell: This AC/DC fan is going to have to face the music over his epic tan fail That's some bottle: It looks like somebody's had a few too many drinks recently. A sunburn warning has been issued across the UK after hundreds were hospitalised as Britain struggles to cope with the heatwave Another drink, bra-tender: This man's earlier attempt at a cover-up probably raised eyebrows Stirring up trouble: Looks like someone took a long time to finish their soup or cereal... A chap with a sunburn tattoo. All it takes is some sun, a sunscreen and a design - but it's unwise and definitely unhealthy Need a hand with the aftersun? This guy appears to have been pledging allegiance to something (probably 'Stupidity') for quite a while, judging by that mark near his heart Here's a man who needed to get something off his chest - a bikini top. A sunburn warning comes after 220 people were admitted to hospitals in Northern Ireland over the past two months for sunburn treatment A half-baked idea: Why embrace the full tan when can go for the dashing two-tone look? Sunburn warning across the UK A sunburn warning has been issued across the UK after hundreds were hospitalised as Britain struggles to cope with the heatwave. People are encouraged to 'use common sense' when enjoying the sun and protect themselves from damaging UV rays, Public Health England has urged. The warning comes after 220 people were admitted to hospitals in Northern Ireland over the past two months for sunburn treatment. There are now concerns that more could be hospitalised across the UK in order to treat sunburn as the hot weather continues. And here's the science... If you've spent hours in the sun, you could even give yourself a first degree burn, which is no different from a burn from a flame. Surface skin cells start simply dying off, so that the body cuts its losses and doesn't over-expend energy on dispensable body parts too damaged to function. But in the deeper layers of the skin, enzymes go to work making repairs to DNA. Sometimes, however, the enzymes don't target the DNA accurately and can corrupt it, leading to the development of the two most common forms of skin cancer. Advertisement Toe-tally ridiculous: Note to self... sun, sea, sand - and socks, perhaps? Hue must be joking: This man should have stayed in the shade - but instead became various shades... of Neopolitan ice cream Shoe cannot be serious! Never mind those bikini strap lines... what about the ones on your feet? Cassandra Grant was given a four year sentence today for masquerading as a nurse at the Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials A dangerous fantasist who pretended to be a hospital consultant and tried to help a man who was having a heart attack has been jailed for four years. Cassandra Grant masqueraded as a nurse at the Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials before helping with the man's treatment by shouting 'cardiac arrest, cardiac arrest' repeatedly. Her trickery was uncovered when she volunteered to help with the insertion of a cannula on another patient but asked where she should insert it. She previously conned people into believing she was a doctor and even wrote the instructions 'do not resuscitate' on genuine patient's medical files. The 39-year-old imposter was sentenced today for three years for fraud and common assault. Judge Peter Ross described her as a 'dangerous fantasist' and added an extra year for breaching a suspended sentence for a previous similar offence. Mr Ross said that her actions would have caused 'mayhem' had there been an actual emergency. Sitting at Oxford Crown Court, he added: 'Cassandra Grant, you are a dangerous fantasist. 'Within your medical records there is a worrying frequency of occasions where you have chosen to discharge yourself from treatment for your personality disorder. 'You attended the July volunteer session for stewards at Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials to volunteer there. 'There is an uncertainty as to whether at that point you held yourself as a qualified nurse but what is true is that you used a false name because you knew that if you found your way into the medical team, inquiries might reveal your real identity. 'You then engaged in emails pretending to be an A&E nurse, and medical nurse and a mental health nurse. 'It is a surprise and a mystery that checks were not made, such as to whether you were on the nursing register. You wanted to put yourself in a position where you would be less likely to be supervised. After a patient had a heart attack at the trials she shouted 'cardiac arrest' repeatedly. Her trickery was uncovered when she volunteered to help with the insertion of a cannula but asked where she should insert it Grant pretended to be a nurse at horse trials taking place at Blenheim Palace (pictured) 'You asked to be allocated to the section of the course that could only be allocated to a doctor. 'You volunteered yourself in more than one medical incident and it is right to say that you would have created financial mayhem had there been claims because of your involvement in medical treatment. 'In my eyes, it is not speculation but an overwhelming inference that, had the circumstances arisen... you could have been assigned to a critical role had there been an emergency. The medical team had in mind the terrorism situation in the UK at the time [last summer].' He said that had Grant been assigned to sole care of a patient what could have followed was one of two scenarios. Mr Ross said: 'One: You had medical equipment and drugs and you may have used that inappropriately or wrongly. 'Two: Because of your complete lack of knowledge, a life-saving opportunity may have been missed.' Grant's previous convictions included selling prints of art on Facebook to raise money over a fake cancer diagnosis and pretending to be a doctor so she could refer herself to be treated at hospital. Judge Ross was told that on two occasions Grant used the names of real patients but received the treatments herself and also got 'do not resuscitate' orders placed on the genuinely ill people's hospital files. Luckily this was noticed before any of them collapsed. The court also heard how Grant had taken part in the treatment of two patients at the Blenheim Horse Trials in September last year and that she had 'behaved strangely' when it came to treating patients. Michael Roques, prosecuting, said: 'One event took place where a patient was suffering from, or potentially suffering from, a cardiac arrest. Judge Peter Ross described her as a 'dangerous fantasist' for her actions. Grant's previous convictions included selling prints of art on Facebook to raise money over a fake cancer diagnosis 'In particular here, her behaviour caused witnesses distress. The defendant was shouting "cardiac arrest!" loudly, and she was told to stop because she was causing distress. That patient was taken to hospital. 'Then one of the riders hurt themselves after a fall and was taken to the first aid post. Part of the treatment for them required the insertion of a cannula [medical needle]. 'There was difficulty with the first person inserting it into the patient, so the defendant volunteered but she was stopped when she asked where the cannula should go.' Anne-Marie Critchley, defending, said: 'It was thought my client had Munchausen syndrome but that is not what the experts are saying. 'They say it is a factitious disorder. She does things for no reason and cannot explain them, nor can experts, nor can I.' Grant, from Coombe Dingle in Bristol, admitted one count of fraud by false representation and one count of common assault. She was jailed for three years for the fraud and three months for the common assault, but these will be served at the same time. She will spend four years in jail after the judge added on a year from the previous suspended sentence. The common assault charge related to the fact she was involved in the treatment of patients at the horse show. Grant was also told that she would have to attend mental health treatment as part of her sentence. Hardline Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg has said Britain is heading for a no deal exit from the EU. The Tory MP said that leaving the EU on World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms was now likely. Presenting a phone-in on LBC, Mr Rees-Mogg said: 'I think we are heading to WTO and I think WTO is nothing to be frightened of.' Hard-line Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg, pictured, said he believed Britain would crash out of the EU without any deal and rely upon World Trade Organisation rules Andrea Leadsom, pictured, has remained in the cabinet despite reportedly 'hating' the Chequers agreement which she signed up to earlier this month Prime Minister Theresa May has insisted her Brexit deal is the best option for Britain But he said talks should continue with Brussels, stating: 'I think we should carry on negotiating until the end. 'I don't think we necessarily need the theatrics of walking away, but the truth is that WTO is likely to be all that they will offer us.' Prime Minister Theresa May is continuing to defend her Chequers agreement despite the resignation of her former Brexit Secretary David Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. The two former cabinet members appeared to support Mrs May's proposals on the night of the deal but left the government after returning to London. Yesterday, the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier responded to the Chequers proposals. One of the major stumbling blocks for a deal between the UK and the EU is the future of Northern Ireland border. The PM has appeared to moved away from an agreement she reached with the EU over the Irish border in December following pressure from the Democratic Unionist Party. EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier, pictured, responded to the PM's plan yesterday Mrs May is reliant on the DUP's ten MPs to push through her Brexit plans. Although, North Antrim MP Ian Paisley Jr is likely to be suspended for 30 sitting days once parliament returns in September over a junketeering scandal. Irish MEP Mairead McGuinness said Mrs May would need to erase some of her red lines to avoid crashing out of the EU. Commenting on the Chequers deal, she said: 'It's a starting point, it's not an end deal. 'I think the British Prime Minister set out red lines too early on and too deeply. 'We are prepared to show flexibility if the British Prime Minister can show flexibility.' Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood insisted the white paper was a workable compromise. He told the BBC: 'There is no yes/yes solution here which will balance out the extreme views of the Brexiteers and the extreme views of the Remainers. 'It is therefore essential that we have compromise. 'And this is exactly what the white paper does. 'It means that we have for the Remainers, we have access to goods and services, a deal with Europe as well. 'We have financial markets as well. 'And on the Leave campaign side of things, the bill, the EU bill stops. We leave the customs union, we leave the agricultural policy, we leave the common fisheries policy, and, of course, we are able to strike our own deals.' The comments came after Mr Barnier expressed concern that Mrs May's proposal for a 'facilitated customs arrangement' opened up the risk of major fraud, additional bureaucracy and damage to EU businesses. Meanwhile, Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom said she 'hated' the Chequers compromise, according to The Times which said it was quoting minutes of the Cabinet meeting at the PM's country residence earlier in July. Cabinet in fresh Brexit battle as Philip Hammond demands EU workers get 'preferential treatment' while Sajid Javid says free movement 'has to end' Two of Theresa May's surviving government ministers have had a major row over EU migrants during a tense cabinet meeting about Brexit. Chancellor Philip Hammond said EU citizens should get preferential treatment in order to facilitate a deal on Brexit. However, newly-installed Home Secretary Sajid Javid disagreed, as he insisted freedom of movement had to end. Hammond firmly believes that allowing freedom of movement in post-Brexit Britain will increase chances of a favourable trade deal. Chancellor Philip Hammond and Home Secretary Sajid Javid had a major row over the right of EU citizens to live and work in Britain following Brexit Mr Javid, pictured, insisted that EU nationals should not have priority over anyone else According to the Telegraph, the pair had a row during the Cabinet away day in Chequers. According to minutes of the meeting Hammond 'disagreed with the Home Secretary on labour mobility and ending free movement'. The Home Secretary insisted that following Brexit, freedom of movement must end. However, the Chancellor countered that 'such an agreement would be very important for the people of Germany.' Despite the reported row, a cabinet source insisted there was unity in the cabinet following the departure of Boris Johnson and David Davis. A government source insisted there was 'difference of opinion between two people'. The pair had a row at the cabinet meeting at Chequers, pictured, where the PM lost two ministers, Boris Johnson and David Davis, following their return to London Mr Hammond, left, believes a post-Brexit trade deal will be far easier if the British government allows EU citizens to live and work in the UK A source added: 'The Prime Minister has said many times that we will set out our future immigration plans in the White Paper. It is completely non-negotiable that free movement will end.' Prime Minister Theresa May robustly defended her Chequers agreement despite the resignations of Boris Johnson and David Davis. The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier noted the proposal but was highly sceptical that it would receive the agreement of the remaining 27 EU member states and the European Parliament. Mr Barnier openly questioned the credibility of the UK's proposals in his first response to the Government's white paper on Brexit. And in comments that will likely alarm arch-Brexiteers in Tory ranks, the vice president of the European Parliament, and MEP for Ireland's governing Fine Gael party, Mairead McGuinness, made it clear to BBC2's Newsnight that Mrs May would need to abandon some of her red lines to clinch a deal. She said of London's proposals: 'It's a starting point, it's not an end deal. 'I think the British Prime Minister set out red lines too early on and too deeply. 'We are prepared to show flexibility if the British Prime Minister can show flexibility.' Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood insisted the white paper was a workable compromise. He told the BBC: 'There is no yes/yes solution here which will balance out the extreme views of the Brexiteers and the extreme views of the Remainers. 'It is therefore essential that we have compromise. 'And this is exactly what the white paper does. 'It means that we have for the Remainers, we have access to goods and services, a deal with Europe as well. 'We have financial markets as well. "'And on the Leave campaign side of things, the bill, the EU bill stops. We leave the customs union, we leave the agricultural policy, we leave the common fisheries policy, and, of course, we are able to strike our own deals.' The comments came after Mr Barnier expressed concern that Mrs May's proposal for a 'facilitated customs arrangement' opened up the risk of major fraud, additional bureaucracy and damage to EU businesses. Tory arch-Eurosceptic Jacob Rees-Mogg said Mr Barnier's 'aggressive' comments 'show why we are right to be leaving the mafia-like European Union'. MailOnline has approached both the Home Office and the Treasury department for a comment. Roseanne Barr has posted another bizarre video about being axed from her TV sitcom, this time claiming she was fired because she voted for Trump. In the nearly minute-long video posted to Barr's YouTube page on Friday, the comedian explains why she thinks ABC canceled her show and the public labeled her a racist. 'It's because I voted for Donald Trump and that is not allowed in Hollywood,' she exclaimed. Barr, 65, then repeated claims she made on Twitter and in an earlier video saying that she called former Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett an 'ape' because she thought she was white. Jarrett is, in fact, African American. 'When ABC called and asked me to explain my egregious and unforgivable tweet, I told them I thought Valerie Jarrett was white,' she says in the video. Roseanne Barr posted a YouTube video on Friday claiming that she was fired from her show because she voted for president Donald Trump The 65-year-old comedian then alleged that voting for Trump 'is not allowed in Hollywood' Barr said she told ABC executives that she would go any talk show they wanted and explain the situation to her audience but they fired her. 'Instead, 40 minutes after that my show was canceled before even one advertiser pulled out and I was labeled a racist,' Barr says. Barr says the video is her 'official statement' on the incident and it will 'continue to be forever because it is the truth'. The actress and comedian previously said that she won't be doing anymore television interviews because it's too 'stressful and untrustworthy'. She urged fans to check out her YouTube page for statements on her firing and other announcements. In a video posted on Thursday, Barr puffs on a cigarette and screams at the camera as she defends her tweet about former Obama advisor Jarrett. Barr posted a bizarre video on Thursday where she puffed on a cigarette and yelled that she thought former Obama Valerie Jarrett was white Barr tweeted that Jarrett (pictured), who is African American, looked like the 'Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby'. 'I thought the b***h was white!' she yells. 'God dammit! I thought the b***h was white. F**k!' The videos come two months after her reboot show was canceled after she tweeted that Jarrett, who is African American, looked like the 'Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby.' Barr initially said the tweet was a 'joke' and blamed it on her taking Ambien sleeping pills and claiming that she thought Jarrett was Persian and Jewish. In a since-deleted tweeted, Barr said that she told the president of Disney and ABC that she thought Jarrett was white because 'she looks like my family'. Barr faced major backlash over the racially charged tweet, including from her former Roseanne co-worker Wanda Sykes who announced that she was leaving the show as a writer over Barr's comments. ABC network has since announced a Roseanne spinoff starring the Conner family - but without Barr. The new show will air in the fall. Natalie Wood's sister Lana has continued her relentless crusade against Robert Wagner who she believes is still hiding something about her famous sister's 1981 death. In a recent podcast, Lana implored Wagner, now 88, to 'tell the truth once and for all' about the night her sister drowned off Catalina after vanishing from the Splendour, the luxury yacht she was staying on with Wagner, her husband at the time, and Christopher Walken. Wagner has always told police that it is a mystery how his former wife died. Her body was found in the water the day after she apparently ventured off the yacht in a dingy, angry after an argument. In February, Wagner was named a person of interest as the case. Detectives decided to reopen the case in 2011 after Dennis Davern, the captain, came forward to say he had lied about his statements decades earlier. He gave details of the argument Wood and Wagner had on the boat and while he would not implicate Wagner directly, he suggested that her death was not the innocent accident it appeared to have been. Lana Wood is pictured (right) with her sister Natalie in 1981, months before her death. She has always believed that her sister was killed and did not drown accidentally as claimed by her husband Robert Wagner Since February, no other developments have been made. Lana has continued her pursuit of the 'truth' in multiple media interviews. Robert Wagner, 88, is pictured in May. In February, he was named a person of interest in the case but he is reportedly reluctant to talk to police about it because he says he cannot rely on his memory This week, she was interviewed for Fatal Voyage: The Mysterious Death of Natalie Wood, where she offered an alternative chain of events which she thinks is how her sister, who was afraid of water and would 'never in a million years' have gone into the depths alone at night, died. She says Wagner should be arrested and claims that the LAPD would 'love' to put him in handcuffs. 'Yes, I do. And they would love to. They have literally told me that,' she said. Offering her version of events, she said: 'I believe that there was a horrible fight on board the Splendour. 'I think the evidence is also not just what Dennis Davern, the captain, has said, but the broken wine bottle and the threat that was first denied by Robert Wagner and then later in another book that he wrote he admitted to it. 'I think that things got out of hand. I know Natalie can verbally push, and Natalie was a very by-the-rule person She did not put up with a great deal that she felt was harmful to her. 'I think it escalated to a point where she was either struck or pushed. I dont believe that it was planned. 'I dont believe in any of those bizarre stories, but I do know she would not have ended up somewhere where she would completely never ever go in a million years or certainly not go out not dressed. 'Theres just too much that doesnt add up to who Natalie is,' she said. The broken wine bottle she was referring to was discovered on the boat the day after Natalie vanished. According to Davern's version of events, Wagner smashed it in a jealous rage because he had been watching Walken and his wife flirt and get along. The group had earlier gone for dinner on the island of Catalina where Davern claimed Wagner became angry at the sight of his wife and Walken getting along at the bar. Natalie and Wagner were on board the Splendour off Catalina (above) when she died. They were staying on the boat with Christopher Walken and its captain, Dennis Davern The medical examiner's report suggested that Natalie had been beaten or assaulted before she was found in the water According to Natalie's sister, the couple (shown in 1958) had been arguing about her returning to work and his jealousy According to the boat's captain, Wagner was jealous about how Natalie was getting along so well with their friend Christopher Walken (seen left in March and right with her on the set of Brainstorm, her final film) Back on the Splendour, the rage grew and eventually resulted in an angry fight between Wagner and Wood in their room, Davern said. Walken was in his own room at the time, he claimed. Lana believes the argument was down to her sister's desire to return to work after having the couple's children. She thinks Natalie was 'done' with their marriage and ready to ask for a divorce. 'The continual fights; the sudden push that she wanted towards her career; her feeling that the kids were old enough and had been given enough of a basis where she could go off to work. 'Theres jealousy involved. Its particularly difficult for a man who has a wife whos doing better,' she said. Dismissing her former brother-in-law's claims that Natalie ventured off into the water by herself, she explained that she would not have dreamed of it because she could not swim and was terrified of drowning. Police found Natalie's body floating in the water the day after she apparently ventured off the boat in a dinghy 'She was terrified of water going all the way back to when I was a kid and Natalie was a teen and my mother would continually tell the story of the gypsy who told my mothers fortune in China who said that she would have a world-famous daughter and that somebody would die by drowning. 'It further terrified Natalie, who wasnt exactly fond of the water as it was. My mother never learned to swim either. 'Natalie never learned to swim,' she said. Lana claims Wagner now does not want to be interviewed because he says he cannot rely on his memory at the age of 88. A representative for Wagner did not respond to DailyMail.com's inquiries on Saturday morning. A chemical emergency at an industrial site exposed five workers to a deadly gas, prompting concerns it would spread to surrounding suburbs. The Jetty terminal south of Perth was shut down and surrounding roads were closed during the emergency which started around 10.30am on Saturday, The Sound Telegraph reported. Five people were rushed to hospital following the leak and witnesses said they saw a cloud of thick white smoke roll down the road. Five men were taken to hospital after a chemical emergency at the CSPB plant in Perth (pictured) The plant (pictured) was shut down, sirens blared and workers were told to evacuate One witness, who was sitting in his car close to the plant said the smell alone was enough to burn. 'I thought it was just rain coming through until I was hit with the smell of ammonia,' said John Majkovski. 'It burnt my throat and eyes and I just wound my windows up immediately.' The plant fell into chaos as sirens blared and a voice over the loudspeaker shouted to evacuate. Fourteen fire crews rushed to the scene after someone had reported there had been an explosion. Things calmed down after the leak was quickly shut off by an automated computer that detected the issue. The five men are now in a stable condition and one has returned home from hospital. One witness who saw the thick cloud of smoke said it burnt his eye and throat St John Ambulance confirmed it had taken people to hospital after they inhaled ammonia and later tweeted that their exposure to the chemical was not life-threatening. The leak occurred during a routine unloading of liquid form of the ammonia from a supply ship to a CSBP storage tank. During the process a small amount of ammonia gas was released into the atmosphere. A spokesperson for the plant said that he did not think the leak was a result of system failure. 'There was no impact on any of the surrounding industries and no explosion.' President Donald Trump is not happy his former lawyer Michael Cohen secretly recorded a conversation they had about a payment to a Playboy model who alleged she had a year-long affair with Trump. The president broke his silence on Saturday morning tweeting that it was 'inconceivable' and possibly illegal that Cohen recorded him without his knowledge. 'Inconceivable that the government would break into a lawyers office (early in the morning) - almost unheard of. Even more inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client - totally unheard of & perhaps illegal,' he wrote. Trump broke his silence on Saturday and is not happy Cohen recorded their conversation about a payment to Playboy model Karen McDougal Trump said Cohen recording their private conversation, which took place before the 2016 election, is 'possibly illegal' 'The good news is that your favorite President did nothing wrong!' Trump added. On Friday, it was reported that authorities have obtained a copy of a recording of a conversation Trump had with Cohen two months before the 2016 election about a Playboy model who claims she had an affair with Trump. The model, Karen McDougal, got a $150,000 payment from the National Enquirer for her story, although it never ran. The FBI seized Cohen's devices during a raid on his home and office in New York this spring. A court then oversaw the culling of millions of documents and files to determine which ones might be protected by attorney-client privilege. Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani says the recording is two minutes long, the New York Times reported. McDougal says she had a year-long affair with Trump after the birth of his son Baron CNN reported on air that Trump only learned of the existence of the tape this week and exclaimed, 'I can't believe Michael would do this to me.' Cohen is under criminal investigation on possible tax and campaign finance charges, and it is unclear if the tape would apply added pressure to him. President Trump and his associates are closely watching Cohen to see if he decides to cooperate with authorities should charges be brought against him. If payments to McDougal are deemed to have been an effort to circumvent campaign finance laws and their strict limits on monetary contributions to a political campaign, it could provide legal exposure for Cohen. Giuliani said the recording would play to Trump's benefit. McDougal is seen far right in this photo with Melania Trump (third from left), Donald Trump (center), and Ivanka Trump (third from right) McDougal received a $150,000 payment in exchange for her story, which never ran Cohen is under criminal investigation. Authorities obtained tape he made of a conversation with Trump about McDougal 'Nothing in that conversation suggests that he had any knowledge of it in advance,' Giuliani said, according to the Times, and said Trump told Cohen that if he made a payment to McDougal, he should write a check, rather than using cash, so it could be properly documented. In the case of another woman who claimed an affair with Trump, porn star Stormy Daniels, Cohen did write her a check, using an LLC he set up immediately beforehand. Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani said the phone call would be 'exculpatory' for his client Cohen has retained new legal representation, a possible signal he may be preparing to cooperate with prosecutors The alleged affair began shortly after the birth of Trump's son, Baron One of Cohen's lawyers, Lanny Davis, said 'any attempt at spin cannot change what is on the tape' 'In the big scheme of things, it's powerful exculpatory evidence,' said Giuliani. Lawyer Peter Stris, who negotiated a settlement between McDougal and American Media Inc., tweeted: 'When @realDonaldTrump said we were lying, do you think he meant we WEREN'T?' in a play on Trump's walk-back of his statement about Russian election meddling. The Washington Post reported that the September 2016 story two months before the election involved a plan by Cohen to buy the rights to McDougal's story. But the deal never happened. When the Wall Street Journal broke the story on the payment and the alleged affair days before the election, Trump spokeswoman and later White House communications director Hope Hicks said, 'We have no knowledge of any of this.' Under the arrangement, David Pecker, chairman of American Media, which owns the National Enquirer, oversaw a $150,000 payment to McDougal. Pecker is a longtime friend of Trump's and a political supporter. Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani said it is 'powerful exculpatory evidence' for Trump Cohen met with MSBNC host and New York figure Rev. Al Sharpton, who he says he has known for 20 years. Sharpton posted a tweet on Friday teasing a possible interview with Cohen to air on MSNBC. 'Just spent an hour w/ Michael Cohen, Trump's former attorney. I bet you're wondering what we could be talking about! Stay tuned,' Sharpton posted. 'I've known [Cohen] for maybe 20 years. He was a Democrat. He used to broker meetings between Trump and I when we were fighting,' Sharpton followed up. Cohen replied to one of Sharpton's tweets, writing: 'I have known Rev for almost 20 years. No one better to talk to!' Porn Star Stormy Daniels' lawyer Michael Avenatti said there are more Cohen tapes out there. 'I know for a fact that this is not the only tape,' Avenatti told MSNBC. 'I think this is a very serious matter and I think that any or all audio tapes that Michael Cohen has in his possession relating to this president should be released for the public,' he said. 'There's nothing that's stopping Michael Cohen from releasing the audio recordings that he made between him and the president concerning my client, Ms. McDougal, and others,' Avenatti added. Former Trump lawyer Jay Goldberg (pictured) lashed out at Cohen calling him 'weak' and saying he made the recording to protect himself in case he was ever accused of any wrongdoing One of Cohen's lawyers, Lanny Davis, said 'any attempt at spin cannot change what is on the tape.' 'When the recording is heard, it will not hurt Mr. Cohen,' Davis said in a statement. Former Trump lawyer Jay Goldberg, who represented the now-president decades ago, said on MSNBC that he believes Cohen recorded his conversation with Trump to protect himself in case he was ever accused of any wrongdoing. 'Michael Cohen was concerned about his own position. He wanted to stay in the good graces of Trump because Trump essentially was his only client, but he had the presence of mind to know that he was treading on shaky ground and he had to have something that he could sell to a prosecutor should the matter explode,' Goldberg speculated. According to Goldberg, Cohen most likely viewed himself as a 'co-conspirator' and made the recording so it could be later used 'to win the cooperation of the government'. The former Trump attorney went on to slam Cohen as 'weak' saying he would 'cave in' if he was ever suspected of wrongdoing. 'He couldn't be counted on to protect the person who's paying him' Goldberg stated. The brother of Amesbury Novichok victim Charlie Rowley has told of his shock at his sibling's recovery after he was released from hospital. Mr Rowley was discharged from Salisbury Hospital three weeks after being poisoned by the deadly nerve agent. The 45-year-old collapsed at home in Amesbury, Wiltshire, when coming into contact with the substance on June 30, alongside his partner Dawn Sturgess, 44, who died shortly after. 'I'm very suprised because when I first saw him I thought he'd be there for months,' his brother, Matthew Rowley, revealed. 'Obviously he's stronger than I thought, which is a great thing.' Scroll down for video Charlie Rowley, 45 (pictured) who was poisoned with deadly nerve agent Novichok in Salisbury has been discharged from hospital three weeks after falling ill Mr Rowley's partner Dawn Sturgess, 45 (pictured) died as a result of the poisoning on July 8 He added: 'I saw him on Wednesday and he was very weak then. He could barely lift his head off the pillow and had lots of tubes and things supporting him.' Lorna Wilkinson, director of nursing at Salisbury District Hospital, said in a statement: 'I am pleased to confirm that earlier today, Charlie Rowley was discharged from hospital. 'Charlie has been through an appalling experience most of us could never imagine. 'Today is a very welcome milestone in his recovery and all of us at Salisbury Hospital wish him well as he continues to get better. 'The progress he has made is a testament to the remarkable clinical team who have worked tirelessly, supported by brilliant behind the scenes staff. I want to take this opportunity to thank them again. 'I'm very suprised because when I first saw him I thought he'd be there for months,' his brother, Matthew Rowley (pictured), revealed 'But it is also a day tinged with sadness for everyone as we remember Dawn Sturgess, who tragically lost her life on Sunday July 8. 'We continue to think of Charlie and of Dawn's family, and support them as they go through the difficult process of coming to terms with her death.' Victim: A murder investigation has been launched after Dawn Sturgess died of her catastrophic injuries Public Health England has said Mr Rowley, 45, poses no risk to the community, but said the public should not pick up random items off the street. Mr Cosford added: Our advice to the public remains unchanged. Do not pick up any items such as syringes, needles, cosmetics or similar objects made of materials such as metal, plastic or glass. If you didnt drop it, then dont pick it up.' Wiltshire Police Chief Constable Kier Pritchard, who is leading the investigation along with counter terror experts, said: 'On behalf of all my officers, staff and volunteers, we welcome today's news that Charlie Rowley has been discharged from Salisbury District hospital. We wish him the best with his ongoing recovery. 'I would also like to pay tribute to the staff at Salisbury District Hospital for the outstanding care and compassion they have shown to everyone involved in both this incident and the incident in March. 'The last few months have had an unprecedented impact on all the local emergency services and partner agencies and the response from all has been outstanding. Investigators (pictured in Salisbury in Hazmat suits) have spent the last three weeks scouring several areas of Amesbury and Salisbury, where former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned by the nerve agent earlier this year 'Wiltshire Police will continue to co-ordinate activity with partner agencies at a local level to ensure that Mr Rowley continues to receive the support he needs in his ongoing recovery.' It comes months after former Russian spy Sergei Skirpal, 67, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were poisoned with the same substance nearby in Salisbury. Police working on the Skirpals case have now identified the perpetrators of the attack. Detectives believe a team of Russians assassins were sent to the UK to murder the former Kremlin double agent back in March and are hunting up to six suspects. It is understood the kill team have been recorded on CCTV, which police are not releasing to the public, as they carried out their mission in Salisbury. A young couple has lost everything after flames engulfed their home and destroyed everything they owned. Fire brigade crews were called to the complex in Sydney's south-west at 4am Saturday morning, evacuating 30 residents. The fire started when a tenant left his gas heater on too close to his bed sheets, which caught alight in the middle of the night. Among residents left without a home are Saiful Islam and his wife Fahmeda (pictured together) Fire crews were called to the unit block in Sydney's south-west, after a resident left a gas heater on too close to their bed, setting their sheets alight Firefighters arrived at Lakemba to see the flames burnt through the roof, causing billowing black smoke to engulf the entire suburb, one resident told 9News. The resident who caused the fire apparently tried to douse it with a bucket of water, and fled when they were unsuccessful. The entire top floor was decimated, with some residents left homeless after their apartments were consumed by flames. Among these unfortunate tenants was Saiful Islam and his wife Fahmeda, who say they've lost everything. Both are international students. Fahmeda is doing her Masters of Accounting. Saiful said that he had only been in Australia for five months, and doesn't know where he'll go now. In a recent Facebook post before the fire, he said: 'It is not the destination where I end up but the mishaps and memories I create along the way.' Saiful and his wife are both international students, with Saiful saying he has only been in Australia for five months A resident in a neighbouring unit captured as the flame burnt through the roof of the complex The entire top floor was decimated by the flames, and the rest of the complex left with immense smoke damage Others in the area are doing what they can to help residents affected by the fire. Even though it was only the top level that was completely burnt by the fire, the rest of the complex has been damaged by smoke. Firefighters had to act quickly when they arrived, as there were fears that two LPG gas cylinders threatened to explode. Located on the lower levels of the unit block, firefighters were able to put out the blaze before it reached the canisters. The parents of murdered teenager Daniel Morcombe have shared a harrowing insight into the difficult forensic and legal processes that added to the grief of losing their son 15 years ago. The Queensland couple and relatives of other homicide victims have spoken out about the psychological toll the system places on grieving families who endure long coronial and trial processes that strip their deceased loved ones of their humanity. Bruce and Denise Morcombe's son Daniel was just 13 when he was abducted and murdered from a Sunshine Coast bus stop in 2003. Scroll down for video Remains of Daniel Morcombe (pictured) were found in 2011, eight years after he was abducted and murdered on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. It would be another year before his family could hold his funeral Bruce Morcombe, pictured with his wife Denise said it got to a stage where Queensland Police, State Coroner and the DPP were all fighting over who had 'control' over their son's remains Some of Daniel's remains weren't found until 2011 and it would be another year before his funeral could be held. Mr Morcombe told The Weekend Australian Magazine how his son's body was treated as evidence by the authorities. He recalled a meeting where they were told their son's remains would not be released until all avenues of appeal had been exhausted by his killer Brett Peter Cowan. 'There wasn't a lot of Daniel's remains retrieved but whatever was is incredibly precious to us,' he told the publication. 'We had to fight the system to have Daniel's remains released to the family for his funeral. This was cruel and unjust.' Mr Morcombe said it got to a stage where Queensland Police, State Coroner and the DPP were all fighting over who had 'control' over Daniel's remains. 'We had to fight the system to have Daniel's (pictured) remains released to the family for his funeral,' Bruce Morcombe said Gold Coast mother of three Kym Cobby (pictured) was buried with her brain missing after she allegedly killed by her estranged husband last November 'We were horrified. Daniel was not a recovered stolen TV we felt bullied by the system,' Mr Morcombe said. Cowan was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2014 but will be eligible for parole in August 2031. Many homicide victims are buried without their brains, including Kym Cobby, a Gold Coast mother of three who was allegedly killed by her estranged husband last November. Her sister Kaye Eden told The Weekend Australian Magazine that her family was shocked to learn three months after they buried her that Kym's brain was being held in a lab. Homicide Victim's Support Group co-founder Peter Simpson believes the system can always be improved. He recalled how the system referred to his nine-year-old daughter Ebony as 'The Deceased' after she was abducted and murdered southwest of Sydney in 1992. The system referred to schoolgirl Ebony Simpson (pictured) as The Deceased' after she was abducted and murdered in Bargo, southwest of Sydney in 1992 Mr Simpson says he still finds it difficult telling people what happened to Ebony and how the family was treated afterwards. Kally Hawkins told the publication how the authorities kept half of her mother Dianne's skull for the trial after she was beaten and stabbed to death in her Brisbane unit in 2010. After finding out it would cost $3000 tor another funeral, the authorities cremated her mother's skull for Kally when it was released three years later. Kally Hawkins (pictured) considered having another funeral after the the last of her mother Dianne's remains were released three years after her murder Sheffield's new Lord Mayor has been slammed after designing a poster warning festival-goers to not be a 'p****' or to 'kiss a Tory'. Magid Magid has come under fire for the advertisement of his '10 commandments' published at Hillsborough Park during Sheffield's Tramlines music festival. The Green Party councillor tweeted a picture of the poster which lists rules such as: 'Don't be a p****', 'do epic s***', and 'don't kiss a Tory'. He also suggested for people to 'be kind' and to 'tell ya ma you love her'. Sheffield's new Lord Mayor has been slammed after designing a poster warning festival-goers to not be a 'p****' or to 'kiss a Tory' But the controversial display has split opinion with many labelling the sticker 'embarrassing' and 'overstepping the line'. Social media users also questioned how the 28-year-old could include the line regarding Conservative party members while claiming to be a tolerant individual. In response, the Lord Mayor said: 'Please [don't] take it serious, it's just tongue and cheek.' Yet one social media user wrote: 'Magid, I've respected your term in office up until now - but replace "tory" with, "gay", "lesbian" or even "ugly person" and it's pretty "serious" when seen in that light.' Magid Magid has come under fire for the advertisement of his '10 commandments' published at Hillsborough Park during Sheffield's Tramlines music festival The youngest person to ever be elected to his role, Magid, has prided himself on being unconventional throughout his term Social media users were quick to react to the poster - and not all were happy with what it said Another said: '11th - don't make Sheffield a laughing stock ...oh wait ...' Some parents also took issue with the swearing featured on the sticker, with one writing: 'I was taking the kids to Sheffield this afternoon but seriously reconsidering. Child: "whats a pri*k mummy?" Me: "er...."' Yet it wasn't all criticism for the unique poster, with one tweeting: 'Awesome! My 10-year-old loved seeing you at his school recently and describes you as a legend!' Others said: 'Wise words!' and 'I'm moving to Sheffield'. The youngest person to ever be elected to his role, Magid, has prided himself on being unconventional throughout his term. The ex-refugee, who came to the UK aged five from Burao in northern Somalia (now in Somaliland), promised to bring the ceremonial role 'into the 21st century'. His inauguration image, which showed him squatting on a stair column in Sheffield town hall, proved highly popular. The ex refugee, who came to the UK aged five from Burao in northern Somalia (now in Somaliland), promised to bring the ceremonial role 'into the 21st century' Yet it wasn't all criticism for the unique poster with some enjoying the Mayor's fresh style Magid, who featured on popular Channel 4 show The Hunted, also caused quite a stir after labelling Donald Trump a 'wasteman' while banning the US President from the city. He made the announcement on Twitter, citing Mr Trump's 'Muslim ban', the detention of children at the border, and withdrawing the US from the Paris Climate Agreement as reasons. Afterwards he tweeted: 'Magid Magid, Lord Mayor & first citizen of this city hereby declare that not only is Donald J Trump a WASTEMAN, but he is also henceforth banned from the great city of Sheffield! 'I further declare July 13th to be Mexico Solidarity Day!' However, as Mayor, Magid has no powers to ban the president - or anyone - from Sheffield. The Mayor, according to the council in Sheffield is an 'ambassador for the area; promoting it as a place to live, work, visit and invest in'. Advertisement The empty streets are punctuated by barrels and barbed wire, buildings lie in ruin, while weeds grow in size and number under the hot sun. This is the no-man's land which lies on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, and things have been this way for 44 years now - frozen in time, as another anniversary is ticked off in a decades' old rift. Pictured here are haunting scenes inside the city of Nicosia, which is now the only divided capital city in the world, and separated by a UN 'green line' buffer zone. Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey sent in troops following a coup by supporters of union with Greece. The city of Nicosia, on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, is now the only divided capital city in the world, and is separated by a UN 'green line' buffer zone (above). Cyprus was split when Turkey sent in troops on July 20, 1974, following a coup by supporters of union with Greece Only Turkey recognises a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence in the island's northern third where it keeps more than 35,000 troops. The military operation of 1974 - codenamed Operation Attila by Turks - uprooted 165,000 Greek Cypriots, while about 40,000 Turkish Cypriots were displaced in intercommunal violence in the 1960s and a population transfer in 1975 The 1974 intervention resulted in some 37 per cent of the island being captured by Turkish forces. UN peacekeepers have patrolled the area for years to try and prevent clashes between the populations of the two halves of the island Only Turkey recognises a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence in the island's northern third where it keeps more than 35,000 troops. The military operation of July 20 that year - codenamed Operation Attila by Turks - uprooted 165,000 Greek Cypriots, while about 40,000 Turkish Cypriots were displaced in intercommunal violence in the 1960s and a population transfer in 1975. Tensions between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots had reached a peak in 1963 when President Makarios proposed constitutional reform. Around this time, both communities suffered hundreds of casualties during widespread fighting - with hundreds more missing, presumed dead. Tensions between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots had reached a peak in 1963 when President Makarios proposed constitutional reform. Around this time, both communities suffered hundreds of casualties during widespread fighting - with hundreds more missing, presumed dead With seven crossing points now open across the de facto border, visitors can stay in the south and cross to the north as often as they like Its not yet quite as straightforward the other way around (cars rented in the north, for example, are not allowed to cross to the south), but things appear to become more relaxed each year The 1974 intervention resulted in some 37 per cent of the island being captured by Turkish forces. UN peacekeepers have patrolled the area for years to try and prevent clashes between the populations of the two halves of the island. The demilitarised zone is restricted to the general public and no Greek or Turkish Cypriots are allowed inside. With seven crossing points now open across the de facto border, visitors can stay in the south and cross to the north as often as they like. Its not yet quite as straightforward the other way around (cars rented in the north, for example, are not allowed to cross to the south), but things appear to become more relaxed each year. In places, the neutral zone spans miles, but in the old town of Nicosia, it is barely 10ft wide - and still filled with echoes of the past... 1974: The year that changed the island Smoke rises from bomb explosions during the Turkish intervention of Cyprus on July 20, 1974 Grief-stricken relatives contemplate the fate of their loved ones who have gone missing during the Turkish military operation British troops are seen handing out food rations to Cypriot refugees during the crisis Desperate islanders clasp photographs of their loved ones who have vanished since Turkey moved into Cyprus Turkish troops during the July invasion. The resultant UN buffer zone stretches 180 km (111 miles) across the whole island measuring 7.4 km (4.6 mi) at its widest and 3.3 m (11 ft) at its narrowest point A displaced islander ponders what the future holds as he sits all alone in a refugee camp following the conflict Beds, possibly in a dormitory or hostel, are caked in rubble after this building received a vicious pounding Advertisement Greece and Turkey focus on easing tensions in the Aegean Greece and Turkey agreed earlier this month to focus efforts on easing tensions in the Aegean, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said after meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of a Nato summit. 'I put to the Turkish president this increase in Turkish violations in the Aegean .. And we finally agreed to give emphasis to our efforts to reduce tensions,' Tsipras told a news conference in Brussels on July 12. The two countries, which are members of the military alliance, are at odds over a host of issues ranging from ethnically split Cyprus to sovereignty over airspace and overflights. Turkey says its jets carry out regular patrols along the Aegean as part of its right to protect its borders. Greece and Turkey agreed earlier this month to focus efforts on easing tensions in the Aegean, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said after meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan (pictured) on the sidelines of a Nato summit While tensions have long simmered, the rhetoric between the two neighbors has sharpened in the past two years: Two Greek soldiers detained by Turkey and eight Turkish soldiers seeking asylum in Greece have been the focal point of verbal jousting in recent months. The meeting with Erdogan, which lasted almost two hours, was not 'the easiest of meetings', Tsipras told journalists. The Greek soldiers were arrested in March after crossing a borderline between the two countries and face charges of illegal entry in Turkey. The eight Turkish commandos, who commandeered a helicopter to flee Turkey as a coup against Erdogan crumbled in July 2016, have sought asylum in Greece. Turkey says they were involved in the putsch and demands they be returned to face trial. Tsipras said he raised the issue of the Greek soldiers, whom, he said, were in custody without charge. In turn, he said, Erdogan raised the matter of the Turkish commandos who fled to Greece. 'I stressed, once more, I made clear, that in Greece, the Greek judiciary is totally independent,' Tsipras said, referring to applications by those individuals to claim asylum. 'At the same time I underlined what I have repeatedly stated, that for the Greek government, coupists, from any country - from Turkey in this case - or anyone who attempts the breakdown of democratic order, are not welcome in our country.' The two countries also agreed that their foreign ministers maintain contact on ethnically-split Cyprus, divided since a Turkish invasion in 1974 after a brief Greek-inspired coup. The latest bid to unite the island under a federal umbrella collapsed exactly one year ago. A woman has been mauled by a lion after she got into its enclosure to pose for a photo with the big cat. Olga Solomina, 46, was enjoying a day out at the Taygan safari park in Crimea, Ukraine, when she got into the lion's enclosure. She posed for a picture next to an apparently placid lion but, according to reports, got herself into trouble when she placed her hand on the ferocious feline's mane. The enraged lion launched into a vicious attack, mauling Ms Solomina and trying to drag her her away by the arm. Scroll down for video. Ms Solomina posed for a picture with the seemingly placid lion, who launched a brutal attack minutes after this picture was taken Luckily, zoo director Oleg Zubkov was nearby and managed to save Ms Solomina by chasing the lion away. He then got Ms Solomina into a nearby vehicle and drove her to safety. But incredibly, Ms Solomina then says Mr Zubkov refused to call her an ambulance, ordered a vet to treat her and gave her alcohol to soothe the pain. Ms Solomina told the Metro: I squatted down and put my hand on the lion as I was told. Next moment it grasped my arm and dragged me like a rag doll,' said Ms Solomina. The other lions jumped to their feet. I closed my eyes in fear waiting to be torn apart by the pride. It lasted several seconds that felt like eternity for me. Since the accident Ms Solomina and Mr Zubkov have been bickering about who was to blame for the incident, and about the way Ms Solomina was treated afterwards. According to reports, Ms Solomina was taken to hospital the next day, where doctors found she had a serious infection from the lion's bite Ms Solomina eventually had surgery on the arm, but doctors say it's uncertain when she will regain the full use of her injured arm Mr Zubkov, who rose to fame after a video was shared online of him breaking up a lion fight with his slipper, has said Ms Solomina was to blame for the lion attack because she was drunk and had also tried to the stroke the lions mane. Ms Solomina was eventually taken to the hospital the next day where doctors found she had a serious infection from the lion's bite. Hospital spokesman Nikolai Vlasov said: The infection got into her body from the teeth of the animal. It is a very dangerous infection. She underwent surgery. Her health condition became better, but she needs further treatment. At the moment its still not clear if she will regain full usage of her arm. Now, the safari park is holding out on the 1,000,000 RUB (12,000) compensation Ms Solomina is apparently demanding, saying she signed a disclaimer. Mourners of Anthony Avalos, 10, wore Batman and Superman tee shirts and capes to his funeral in Lancaster, California on Friday Mourners wore Batman and Superman t-shirts at the funeral of a courageous 10-year-old boy who authorities say was beaten to death by his mother and her boyfriend. More than 150 attended his funeral, held in Lancaster, California on Friday. His family's intent was to honor the courage of Anthony Avalos, who died on June 21, after prosecutors said he had been tortured by Heather Barron, 28, and Kareem Leiva, 32, for at least five days and found unconscious in his home on June 20. Anthony's uncle, David Barron, told the Los Angeles Times his nephew was braver than most adults and always stood up for what was right. 'With everything going on, with what he was going through, he was always smiling,' his uncle said. 'It just shows what kind of kid he was.' Anthony had 'said he liked boys' within the weeks leading up to his death, according to LA County's Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). When asked if homophobia may have contributed to his murder, the Sheriff's Department saying it's 'too early' to be thinking about motive. His aunt, Maria Barron (center), joined others in wearing a t-shirt printed with a photo of Anthony that read, 'Forever In Our Hearts,' with his name written below Anthony's love for protectors is what prompted the super hero theme at his funeral service Anthony's love for protectors like Batman and Superman is what prompted the theme at his funeral service. At school, Anthony was known for being the only student to befriend a classmate who was being bullied, protecting him after he was surrounded by pushing the others away. At home, he had six siblings, and was said to have often stepped in to protect them from beatings, taking the brunt of his mother's and her boyfriend's alleged abuse, himself. Mourners were superhero shirts to celebrate Anthony's courage at his funeral on Friday Pallbearers are shown here, overcome with emotion, at Anthony's funeral on Friday Mourners struggled to contain their emotions as Anthony's service was underway on Friday His aunt, Maria Barron, joined others in wearing a tee shirt printed with a photo of Anthony that read, 'Forever In Our Hearts,' with his name written below. 'I promise you that we will not stop fighting for justice,' his aunt wrote to her nephew, on a Facebook post in the Justice For Anthony group, including a photo of herself standing with loved ones at Anthony's grave site. 'You have your whole family and community behind you. We Love You So Much.' His injuries when he was found included bruises, abrasions, red dots, scabs, cuts and a traumatic brain injury, according to court documents. Prosecutors said Heather Barron and Leiva, who have both been charged in Anthony's murder, poured hot sauce on Anthony's face and mouth, whipped him with a belt and cord, held him upside-down and dropped him on his head, multiple times. At school, Anthony was known for being the only student to befriend a classmate who was being bullied, protecting him after he was surrounded by pushing the others away Mourners cried, as Anthony Avalos' body was carried to his grave site in a baby blue casket The couple are believed to have alternated between denying Anthony any food, at all, and force-feeding him, slamming him against the floor and furniture, denying him use of the bathroom and enlisting other children who found in the home, ranging in age from 11 months to 12 years old, to inflict pain on the boy. Since 2013, there have been 88 documented calls to LA County's DCFS regarding alleged abuse by the couple, with at least 15 of those having been determined to be 'substantiated,' according to an attorney who represents Anthony's extended family. It was reported by the Times that family members, school administrators, at least one teacher and one counselor had told DCFS that Anthony and his siblings 'had been denied food and water, beaten, sexually abused, dangled upside-down from a staircase, forced to crouch for hours, locked in small spaces with no access to the bathroom and forced to eat from the trash.' Anthony's family has now called for prosecutors to include criminal investigations of the social workers who had been associated with those calls in their case related to Anthony's murder. 'This is not a case of negligence. This is not a case of 'the social workers are overworked. This is a case of flat out, deliberate indifference toward the life of Anthony Avalos,' family attorney Brian Claypool said during a news conference on Tuesday. Prosecutors say Anthony had been tortured by his mom, Heather Barron, 28, and her boyfriend Kareem Leiva, 32 (pictured), for at least five days before he died on June 21 Anthony's mother, Heather Barron, 28, is shown here in court in California DCFS Director Bobby Cagle would not dicuss why Anthony was not removed from the home as a result of these reports, citing the ongoing investigation. 'Since this is a part of the criminal investigation, I must refer you to the sheriff to avoid the possibility of hindering prosecution,' he said in a statement. 'I am focused on cooperating with their investigation and getting to the bottom of what happened, and it would be wrong to speculate while that process is moving forward.' On June 25, Brandon Nichols, deputy director of the LA County DCFS told the Times that Anthony had 'said he liked boys' within recent weeks. For him to have made such a statement under his living conditions 'only reinforces how brave Anthony was,' his aunt Maria said. When asked at a news conference on June 27 on whether homophobia may have been a motivating factor for Anthony's suspected killer or killers, LA County Sheriffs Capt. Chris Bergner said, 'That has not come up in our investigation as motivation at this time, no.' Sheriff McDonnell added that it was 'too early' to discuss motive, at this point in the investigation. The Homicide Bureau and Special Victims Bureau are working closely with the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office Complex Child Abuse Unit and DCFS as this case proceeds, the LA County Sheriff's Department said. So far, Heather Barron has been charged with one count each of murder, torture and child abuse, the LA County District Attorneys Office said. Leiva was also charged with murder, torture and one count of assault on a child causing death. For Barron, the charges carry a maximum possible sentence of 22 years to life in state prison, and for Leiva, these charge may result in a sentence of up to 32 years to life in prison. They each remain in custody on a $2 million bond, with their arraignments continued until August 3. The former Olympic showjumper who sprayed pigs blood over her ex-lover's flat said she found it 'excruciatingly funny' when neighbours called police fearing he'd been murdered. Lizzie Purbrick, 63, smeared insults on Lord Prior of Brampton's walls and drew a three-foot penis on the carpet. After writing 'big d*** lord' and 'lady sl**' on the walls she tipped the rest of the two gallons of blood in the doorwell, leaving it pouring down to the road in Kennington which worried neighbours. Mrs Purbrick told the Times: 'It was so harmless. It was just funny, excruciatingly funny.' Lizzie Purbrick (left) said she found it 'excruciatingly funny' that neighbours called police when the pigs blood she threw over the flat of her ex-lover Lord Prior of Brampton After writing 'big d*** lord' and 'lady sl**' on the walls she tipped the rest of the two gallons of blood in the doorwell, leaving it pouring down to the road which worried neighbours The equestrian even claimed she enjoyed the media attention surrounding the case, saying: 'He would have got the wall repainted and nobody would have ever known but it went fabulously my way. 'Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think it would go so well.' Mrs Purbrick met Lord Prior, who has been nicknamed Lord Legover, at a dinner party in Norfolk - which she refers to as 'the hotbed of sex' - and moved in with him four days later. She says it was like 'love at first sight' after she moved back to the UK for the first time since the 1990s to be with him. Their relationship turned sour after two years when he said he was breaking it off to focus on his career. She then found out he was seeing someone else. Lizzie Purbrick with her mount Frederick The Great ahead of the Badmington horse trials in 1983 Mrs Purbrick said she snapped when she caught her ex lover in bed after he told her he was breaking off their relationship to focus on his career Mrs Purbrick told the Times: 'It was just so unkind the way he did it. He's just a dirty, dirty scoundrel.' She snapped after finding him in bed with the woman, and told a butcher she was playing Lady Macbeth to get the blood before throwing it over his home. Camberwell Magistrates heard Mrs Purbrick also wrecked Mr Prior's apartment by tearing clothes from cupboards and sticking ripped fabric to the wall in the shape of a cross. Mrs Purbrick who was part of the Equestrian team for the 1980 Moscow Olympics, was sentenced to 120 hours' community service for the crime following a hearing at Camberwell Magistrates' court on Tuesday. After her crime sge left a cheque for 1,000 to Mr Prior labelled 'payment for the bull', but Prior is said to have billed her 15,000 for damages, which she has not paid. Despite being found guilty of criminal damage last week, Mrs Purbrick said: 'It was revenge 100 per cent but it was also cathartic.' The family and friends of two teenagers who were killed in a horrific car crash have been left devastated after the boys' roadside memorial was chopped down. The memorial, which is on Secret Harbour Boulevard, south of Perth, has been a gathering place for people wanting to pay their respects and remember Mason Hooton, 17, and Callum Mummery, 16, who were killed in October last year. The two boys had been passengers in their friends Toyota Supra when it spun out of control and slammed into the tree, Yahoo7 reported. A West Australian council has chopped down a tree at a roadside memorial (pictured) Callum Mummery, 16, (left) and Mason Hooton, 17, (Right) were killed in a car crash last year Joel Payne, 19, who was on his probationary licence at the time was driving the car and was subsequently jailed in May for dangerous driving causing death. On Thursday morning relatives were shocked to find that the tree had been cut down by council workers who were concerned it was dying. None of the boys relatives or their friends were notified before the tree was cut down. 'The first time I saw it, I was in complete shock,' Ella Saltmarsh, a friend of the victims, said. 'I heard there was only a trim done. There's about six-foot left of the tree. 'It was like a communal spot for all of us and they took it away without any notice.' Mason Hooton, 17, (left) and Callum Mummery, 16, (right) had been passengers in their friends Toyota Supra when it spun out of control City of Rockingham mayor has apologised for the lack of communication, saying there were no excuses, The West Australian reported. 'For community safety reasons it was lopped to just above the height of the memorial items to allow them to remain as a sign of respect to the families,' mayor Barry Sammels said. 'The City understands the sensitivity of the community when these tragedies occur. The City regrets that it did not take the opportunity to inform the family of this decision and will ensure that its processes are reviewed to ensure this does not happen again. 'The City will reach out to the family to discuss what has happened and to consider future options for the memorial site.' A man has wolfed down 20 hot dogs in just ten minutes to claim the crown at Luna Park's fifth annual hot dog eating competition. The Melbourne amusement park hosted male and female competitive eaters from across Australia on Saturday afternoon. After travelling from Sydney, Jesse Freeman was crowned the male winner and awarded $500. 23-year-old Jesse Freeman ate 20 hot dogs in only ten minutes, and was awarded $500 Sarah Gilbert took out the women's title for the third year running, consuming eight hot dogs Sarah Gilbert took out the women's title for the third year in a row, managing to consume eight hot dogs. Last year's winner, Cal Stubbs, managed to hold down 16 hot dogs. Freeman isn't a typical competitive eater, however. The 23-year-old is a surf instructor and was nominated for Cosmopolitan's Bachelor of the Year. He told The Daily Telegraph how he manages to stay in shape. 'Exercise is essential. I've got a physical lifestyle and I go to the gym six days a week and do high intensity stuff,' he said. 'On days off from my challenges I have to be very strict about what I eat.' A grandfather in California has been arrested, hours after his two-year-old granddaughter was fatally shot in the chest by her cousin after a gun was left unattended in their home. The two-year-old child, identified only as Alia, was killed on Friday morning at her home in Muscoy after her four-year-old cousin grabbed a gun he found and accidentally shot her. Neighbors told KTLA that they heard several people in the home screaming for someone to call 911 moments after the little girl was struck by the bullet. Two-year-old Alia was accidentally shot and killed by her four-year-old cousin on Friday after the little boy found a gun that was left unattended in their home Police said the girl was taken to the hospital with a gunshot to the chest but died of her injury Neighbors said they heard several family members in the home screaming for someone to call 911 moments after Alia was shot Police arrested 53-year-old Cesar Lopez, the grandfather of the victim, on Friday charging him with child endangerment and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Authorities said Lopez had left his gun in an area the children had access to. Because he is a convicted felon, Lopez was not even allowed to have a weapon. Bubba McBath, who lives in the neighborhood, said he saw Alia being taken into an ambulance. Officials pronounced the girl dead at the hospital, less than an hour after she was shot in the chest. Investigators said the children were cousins and lived in the same house with their mothers. Video from the scene show the girl's mother being led out of the home by family members. Video shows Alia's mother (pictured in the center) crying as she was led from the home. Police arrested the victim's grandfather for leaving the weapon unattended The victim's father (pictured) was also seen leaving the home following the accidental shooting Neighbors said the little boy was crying as deputies took him away in a sheriff's vehicle. 'That was her only daughter,' neighbor Citlaoy Plascencia told NBC Los Angeles. 'She was a good mom.' Another neighbor told the San Bernardino Sun that the tragedy could have been avoided. 'This is negligence here,' Dantra Lewis said. 'I know these people are hurting, but a four-year-old shouldn't know where a gun is kept, let alone have access to it.' Conor McGregor is on the verge of a plea deal which will see him avoid jail, according to sources. He is pictured on June 14 when he appeared before a judge in Brooklyn Conor McGregor is said to be on the verge of striking a plea deal which means he avoids prison time and will not be permanently banned from the US for attacking a rival fighter's bus earlier this year. TMZ reports that the Irishman is in the final stages of negotiating the deal with prosecutors in New York City who are prepared to reduce his felony criminal mischief charge to a misdemeanor. McGregor was facing up to seven years imprisonment for the charges - felony criminal mischief and three counts of misdemeanor assault. In April, the 30-year-old was filmed hurling a steel dolly at the bus of rival fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov. It shattered the windows of the bus and bloodied some of the people on board. Nurmagomedov was at odds with McGregor's friend Artem Lobov. McGregor flew over from Ireland to support Lobov but it also coincided with him being stripped off his lightweight belt. He had failed to defend it, as is required by UFC, since claiming it in 2016 and instead spent all of 2017 preparing for a lucrative, circus-like showdown with Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas. On April 6, McGregor was filmed throwing a metal dolly at a rival fighter's tour bus in Brooklyn McGregor was not fighting at the time but flew to New York a day before attacking the group On April 6, Nurmagomedov was leaving the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn with his posse when McGregor and his entourage charged at their bus. McGregor was filmed picking up the dolly and throwing it at the bus, screaming as he did so. He spent the night in jail then posted bond and was allowed to fly back to Ireland to await his next court date. When he returned to the US in June, he appeared before a judge and said he regretted his actions. McGregor is due back in court in New York City on Thursday. Last week, his long-term partner Dee Devlin announce that she was pregnant with their second child. The pair are already parents to one-year-old Conor Junior. Iran may block oil tankers from using the Strait of Hormuz in response to possible US sanctions over the country's nuclear programme. US President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled out of a 2015 deal signed by President Obama. The international accord allowed experts to inspect Iranian nuclear sites. Tehran also agreed to reduce its stocks of enriched nuclear material. Iran has threatened to block oil tankers transiting through the Strait of Hormuz President Hassan Rouhani, pictured, made the threat in response to a plan by US President Donald Trump to impose new sanctions on Iran after he pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal Trump has threatened to impose sanctions on Iran. In response, Iranian president Hassan Rouhani said Tehran could block oil tankers using the narrow Strait of Hormuz - cutting off supplies from the Gulf. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei backed his president and said: 'If Iran's oil is not exported, no regional country's oil will be exported. Rouhani's apparent threat earlier this month to disrupt oil shipments from neighbouring countries came in reaction to looming US sanctions and efforts by Washington to force all countries to stop buying Iranian oil. Iranian officials have in the past threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping route, in retaliation for any hostile US action. Khamenei used a speech to foreign ministry officials to reject any renewed talks with the United States after President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from a 2015 international deal over Iran's nuclear programme. Khamenei added: 'The word and even the signature of the Americans cannot be relied upon, so negotiations with America are of no avail. He claimed it would be an 'obvious mistake' to negotiate with the United States as Washington was unreliable. A full-grown great white shark estimated at 17 feet long was spotted less than a mile from a Southern California pier on Thursday, feasting on the body of a dead whale. The shark was caught on camera enjoying its meal offshore from the San Clemente pier by Marc Levine, owner of AllWater Charter, after he first saw the whale carcass at around 10am Pacific, and then returned to the scene. 'It was my first large great white. I grew up working on the water, Ive spent about 25 years working on the water,' Levine told the OC Register. 'This was the first big one.' The dead whale is believed to have been a juvenile, measuring about 28 feet long. Levine was out on the water that day on a 23-foot fishing boat, on a privately chartered fishing expedition out of Dana Point. After seeing the whale's body floating, he continued on with his group of anglers. A fishing boat nearby had already seen the shark by that time, and when another one of Levine's charters that had hung around the whale reported it had returned, he quickly made his way back to see the large creature for himself. 'It was surreal when I got the first shot of him, or her. It kind of didnt hit me,' Levine said. 'I kind of blacked out. It was just, an animal that size is not something you see, ever.' A 17-foot-long great white shark was seen taking a bloody bite out of a dead whale, floating less than one mile from the San Clemente pier in Southern California on Thursday The longest great white sharks might reach up to 20 feet long, but that's not the norm, according to the Smithsonian Institution's Ocean department. The average female great white shark reaches 15-16 feet in length, with males usually growing to 11-13 feet. Ryan Lawler, owner of Newport Coastal Adventure, told the Register he believed the dead whale was a juvenile, and estimated it to be about 28 feet long. 'The shark was not that much smaller than the whale,' he said, having made the trip from Newport Harbor to see it for himself, in person, on Thursday. 'It was pretty awesome. I had never seen a shark that big before.' Lawler's company captured aerial footage of the massive fish, showing it swimming between boats and circling around the area where the dead whale was floating. 'The shark was not that much smaller than the whale,' Ryan Lawyer, owner of Newport Coastal Adventures said, after having made the trip from Newport Harbor to see it for himself Lawler's company, Newport Coastal Adventures, captured aerial footage of the shark swimming between boats and circling around the area where the dead whale was floating Ralph Collier, founder of the Shark Research Committee, told the Register that it's not that uncommon for such a large shark to be so close to shore. 'Ive seen 17-foot white sharks on the other side of surf breaks,' he said. While San Clemente Marine Safety Officer Ian Burton noted that there are always safety concerns associated with a shark being near shore, Collier said the shark will most likely not be concerned with humans, thanks to its full belly. 'They can always leave the whale satiated and full and theyll just cruise around and they might cruise by the shoreline. Or they will go to deeper water and that will be that,' he said. 'Their attention is going to be on the whale. They are worried about that.' Between 5,000 to 7,000 service members are expected to march in President Donald Trump's military parade this fall. Preliminary planning documents from the US Department of Defense indicate the service members will be joined by 100 vehicles, 50 aircraft and 100 horses for the parade on November 10, the eve of Veteran's Day. Earlier this week the Pentagon revealed the parade, which Trump formally requested in January, will cost taxpayers an estimated $12million. There are already 50 DoD employees working on the parade plans, and that number is expected to double by September and hit an estimated 3,000 the week of the parade. Scroll down for video Between 5,000 to 7,000 service members are expected to participate in President Donald Trump's Veterans Day Military Parade on November 10 in Washington DC, sources say Trump requested the grand procession from the Capitol to the White House back in January Trump was inspired to host the large show of military pride in Washington, DC, after he attended France's Bastille Day parade, featuring military tanks and ranks of soldiers marching down the Champs-Elysees, alongside President Emmanuel Macron last summer. It wasn't until months later that his loosely-formed dream was heard as a presidential directive in a closed-door meeting with top military officials in January. In March the Pentagon issued a planning memo about the parade which said it would 'include wheeled vehicles only, no tanks - consideration must be given to minimize damage to local infrastructure'. It also promised to include 'a heavy air component at the end of the parade', meaning lots of airplane flyovers. Older aircraft will be included as available. The parade was originally going to be held on Veteran's Day itself, but was pushed forward a day to coincide with the 100th anniversary of World War I. Service members will be joined by 100 vehicles, 50 aircraft and 100 horses for the parade from the Capitol to the White House on November 10, the eve of Veteran's Day This week a US defense official with knowledge of the most recent planning documents told ABC News there would be as many as 7,000 service members marching in the procession from the Capitol to the White House. Another official for US Northern Command would not confirm the exact number, but told ABC News: 'It is anticipated that several thousand Armed Forces personnel will participate in the parade, as well as provide ceremonial support including musical units, marching bands, and color guards, to render appropriate ceremonial honors to our Nation's military members, Veterans and their Families. 'The parade will honor the contributions of veterans, the current force, and the future force. More details and specifics about the Veterans Day Military Parade will be announced at a later date.' Trump was inspired to host a parade of his own after watching Bastille Day festivities last summer in Paris alongside French President Emmanuel Macron (right) The traditional Bastille Day parade in the French capital featured military tanks and ranks of soldiers marching down the Champs-Elysees in Paris Officials have referred to the $12million estimate revealed this week as a 'planning figure', noting that costs associated with the celebration could still change. In February, White House budget director Mick Mulvaney told the House Budget Committee that the cost could range between $10million and $30 million. At the time Trump said he would be willing to give up the grand parade plans if the price is too high. 'We'll see if we can do it at a reasonable cost. If we can't, we won't do it,' Trump said during a phone interview with Fox News host Jeanine Pirro. 'The generals would love to do it, I tell you, and so would I.' While he didn't specify what a 'reasonable cost' would be at the time, the new $12million figure is nearly as high as the suspended exercises with South Korea, which the President described as 'tremendously expensive.' The Pentagon said the Freedom Guardian joint exercise originally schedule with Seoul next month would have cost the US about $14million. Work on Melbourne's long-awaited airport rail link is set to begin within four years, after the state government pledged up to $5billion towards the project. A train connecting the central business district to Tullamarine Airport has been rumoured for decades. But an announcement from Victorian premier Daniel Andrews on Saturday will finally see the plans in motion. The Victorian state government has announced it will pledge up to $5billion towards a train link to Tullamarine Airport (pictured) The state government announced that it will match any federal government commitment up to $5billion towards a rail line from for Tullamarine Airport, which is estimated to cost between $8billion and $13billion. The premier said his commitment meant the new line would be built at the same time as the final stages of the $11billion Melbourne Metro rail tunnel under the CBD. Construction on that project is due to start by 2022. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced in April that he was committed to getting the project underway, and said it would become a reality with the support of the Victorian state government. Four different routes are being considered for the rail line, with the connection to regional areas being factored into the decision. Four different routes are being considered for the CBD to Tullamarine train line (Parliament Station in Melbourne's CBD pictured) The announcement comes as Victorians are gearing up to vote in their state election this November. Federal opposition leader Bill Shorten and state opposition leader Matthew Guy have also backed the idea of a train link, but have not yet laid out any plans to do so. Governments have constantly said that the world's 'most liveable city' needing a rail line to its major airport, with plans never coming to fruition. Jerome Pippins, 24, was arrested after police said he snatched his daughter and fled Police in New York canceled an Amber Alert after a missing eight-month-old baby girl was found safe at a home in Harlem hours after her father ran off with her. Authorities issued the alert Friday evening saying 24-year-old Jerome Pippins snatched baby August from the Lincoln Motor Inn, a family shelter in Queens where the mother and child had been staying. Police said he fled the area on foot. The unidentified mother and Pippins had gotten into a dispute before he took the girl, police said. The mother has custody of the child. Pippins and the child were found Saturday morning at a home in Harlem, authorities said. The father, who has five prior arrests, including one for assault, was taken into custody around 8.15am. His charges are pending. August was said to be in good physical condition, but was taken to a hospital in Harlem for observation. Authorities found eight-month-old August safe in Harlem, hours after her father ran off with her Prince Edward looks relaxed as he rides his horse along the banks of the River Thames with his daughter Lady Louise Windsor. The 53-year-old and his teenage daughter look they are enjoying each other's company and crack a smile as they canter along the riverbank on their horses in the scorching heat. The Earl of Wessex has donned a colourful red and black riding hat, with a tan short sleeve shirt, grey trousers and dark brown riding boots. His daughter is wearing a black riding hat with a white stripe, a riding safe body protector, a pink short sleeve shirt, black riding trousers and boots. Prince Edward Earl of Wessex riding his horse with his daughter Lady Louise Windsor along the banks of the River Thames Lady Louise Windsor enjoying the plush weather while riding her horse along the banks of the River Thames Prince Edward and his daughter Lady Louise Windsor looking happy as they ride their horses along the River Thames Despite wearing riding gear, the pair appear unconcerned with the heat as they move along in the banks of the Thames with the lush British countryside clear in the background. The 14-year-old royal looked perfectly poised as she rode alongside her father and smiled as they appeared to share a joke. The teenager, daughter of Prince Edward, 53, and Sophie Wessex, 53, inherited a love of horses from her grandmother the Queen, 91, and was taught to ride at a young age. She is currently 11th in the line of succession and the youngest granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II. At the christening of Prince George earlier this month he was seen wearing the traditional Honiton replica robe- which has been worn by every royal baby since the christening of Lady Louise Windsor. Father and daughter appear to share a joke as they enjoy a ride along the banks of the River Thames Lady Louise Windsor riding her horse along the banks of the River Thames. She inherited a love of horses from her grandmother the Queen, 91 Lady Louise Windsor, 14, looks perfectly poised and in control as she enjoys a ride with her father, Prince Edward The 14-year-old appears a natural with her equine friends. Earlier this year demonstrated her skill as she drove a carriage through the grounds of Windsor Castle on Sunday morning. Lady Louise has taken up carriage-driving, a past-time beloved of her grandfather, Prince Philip, 96, who is credited with popularising the sport in Britain. Earlier this year, the active young royal was seen hobbling on crutches after taking a tumble during a family ski trip to St Moritz, Switzerland. Edward and Sophie took Louise and their son, James, Viscount Severn, 10, to the trendy resort during the half-term holiday in February this year. China has waged a modern cold war against the US and is determined to overtake it as a superpower, a CIA official has warned. Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum on Friday, deputy assistant director of the CIA's East Asia Mission Center Michael Collins said that Chinese President Xi Jinping was exploiting 'all avenues of power' to overtake America. 'By their own terms and what Xi enunciates I would argue by definition what they're waging against us is fundamentally a cold war, a cold war not like we saw during the Cold War, but a cold war by definition. 'A country that exploits all avenues of power licit and illicit, public and private, economic and military, to undermine the standing of your rival relative to your own standing without resorting to conflict. 'The Chinese do not want conflict,' he said. President Trump shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping on November 9, 2017 Collins went on to say that Jinping wants 'every country in the world' to side with his nation and not with the US 'because the Chinese are increasingly defining a conflict with the United States and what we stand behind as a systems conflict.' He went on to say that China is a bigger threat than Russia to the US, adding: 'It sets up a competition with us and what we stand behind far more significantly by any extreme than what the Russians could put forward.' He also told how the global fight on terror shifted the US's focus on monitoring Chinese progress and allowed it to flourish. 'They are learning to be more coercive, learning to be more aspirational, learning to be more assertive by what they're getting away with. '9/11 is one example where the international community had to shift its attention to something else and the Chinese drove through that decade to especially expand where they are, so it's a long way of saying that there are things that happened in the international system, things that ... helped to explain to some degree the speed and expanse of where the Chinese have gotten to where they are today,' he said. He was not alone in his warnings about China. Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum on Friday, Michael Collins (center) described China as 'coercive and aspirational' Earlier in the week, other US officials singled it out as the country's most dangerous adversary. FBI Director Christopher Wray accused the country of 'economic espionage' while Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said the US had to decide if it was a 'true adversary or competitor'. Susan Thornton, who serves as the acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said the Chinese had a unique ability to 'take advantage of opportunities'. 'We have to get back to doing what we do well. Our soft power is incredibly more powerful than their soft power. 'They don't really have that same kind of attractiveness that the US system has, and I think that's because our partners around the world know we stand by them and know we won't impose our will on them, that we'll work together with them,' she said. The US and China have been locked in trade tariff disputes for months. Men asking women for sex in return for free rent have been exposed, as a worrying number of homeowners atttmpt to exploit struggling females. 'Sex for rent' deals are being struck up across the UK as vile 'landlords' lure vulnerable women in financial trouble into their home. The Liverpool Echo investigated the scandalous arrangements offered by men who said women could live rent free if they had regular sex with their landlords. One man - referred to as Dave - told reporter Emilia Bona he wanted her to move in with him. The 48-year-old man had advertised a space in his bed using an advert on Craigslist, in which said he was seeking a 'slutty young lady' Sex for rent adverts have been placed on sites like Craigslist even though the landlords are breaking the law One man said he would reduce the rent if the woman moving in would come to an 'arrangment' with him Dave in Wallasey , Merseyside, said: 'I enjoy the company of younger ladies and I enjoy sex. If I could, and if there was an Olympic [event] in it I'd be winning gold every day of the week. 'I'm probably a very unusual character, you ask me a question, I'll give you the answer - you might not like it but it will be the truth.' Dave was persistent in messaging the women who he thought would move into his home use sex to pay for her rent Another man, Paul, asked for sex and ironing to be done around his flat. He said: 'We would come to an agreement, yeah. An adults' agreement. You know, we might like each other. 'Have you got a boyfriend?' Offering accommodation in return for sex violates Section 52 of the Sexual Offences Act of 2003 carries a jail sentence of up to seven years. A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Justice said the Government is 'determined to crack down' on this kind of advertising. Paul offered a room but was keen to see a picture of the reporter who was investigating sex for rent deals in Liverpool The advertising is likely to be aimed at women who cannot afford rent and are desperate enough to use sex for a roof over their head. The cases in Liverpool are not the only ones reported in recent years. Last year, Craigslist, carried more than 100 such listings in a single day, a BBC investigation found. A female student who answered one of them said she felt it was her only option. She added: 'He took me into his living room, got me drinks, and then after that it was just straight upstairs He would do what he wanted, forcefully, and I just sort of went along with it.' Labour MP Peter Kyle said classified websites should stop allowing the adverts or Parliament should intervene. 'If [websites] don't stand up to this and then accept their responsibility, I will be pushing for legislation to do it for them,' he said. The National Landlords Association also condemned the practice in a damning Statement to the ECHO. Emilia Bona responded adverts on the internet which told women they could pay their rent in sex A spokeswoman for the landlords' union said: 'People advertising sex for rent are not landlords, they are criminals. They are exploiting the vulnerable in our society, and should be ashamed of themselves. 'It's unfortunate that there needs to be a complaint lodged for police to take action. However, websites like Craigslist should be proactive in preventing these ads from being published.' Detective Chief Inspector Martin Earl, said: 'We would urge anyone who believes they, or someone they know, have been exploited to contact police. 'Exploitation can take many forms, including sexual exploitation, forced labour and domestic servitude. 'The force has officers who are specially trained to investigate any allegations with expertise and sensitivity and I would encourage anyone who is a victim or has information to find the courage to come forward and speak to us. We will make sure all reports are properly and thoroughly investigated.' Gruesome footage shows the moment a Waitrose customer found a grisly mass inside her porridge oats. Kerry Hopkins, from Hampstead in north London, tipped out the last of the bag and heard a thud in her bowl. She was horrified to discover a strange lump had tipped out - and was worried it could be a dead animal. The managing director of Broadcast Ready had happily munched her way through the bag after buying it from the Finchley Road branch in north west London about a month ago. But as she poured out the last of the bag on Friday morning she discovered the strange mass, which measured about 6cm long. Footage shows her picking it up with some kitchen tongs and prodding it with a spoon while trying to work out what it is. 'It fell out with an almighty thump and I thought what on earth is it,' she says in the gruesome clip. 'It really is disgusting.' This is the moment a Waitrose customer examines a mystery object she found at the bottom of a bag of porridge oats Kerry Hopkins, from Hampstead in north London, had been munching on these porridge oats for the last month and only made the gruesome discovery when she tipped out the last of the bag Managing director Ms Hopkins, who is curious to know what the strange object is She told MailOnline: 'At first I thought it was something dead a rat or mouse or mould. 'I was shocked to think that I had finished the entire bag before realised. I cant believe this is good for my body. 'I would be really curious to know what it is.' The product, from the essential Waitrose range, has the best before date '25 Jan 2019' printed on the back. A Waitrose spokesperson said: 'We are sorry to hear about this and are keen to investigate further. 'We would ask that the customer sends it back to us so we can look into this further.' With its long sweep of beautiful sandy beaches, shady parks filled with picnicking families and swanky clubs for the party crowd, Rimini is firmly established as one of the favourite Italian destinations for British holidaymakers. As the summer season shifted into full swing, bronzed tourists sprawled on lines of sun loungers before hitting the bars and trattorias as dusk fell over the countrys biggest Adriatic resort. But few of the holidaymakers thronging packed piazzas last week realised this friendly town, with its Roman ruins and Renaissance cathedral, stands at the centre of growing concerns over the worlds most infectious disease. For Rimini is the stronghold of a populist revolt against vaccinations that is seeing measles a deadly disease that should have been consigned to history in wealthy nations surge across both Italy and Europe. Cases quadrupled on the Continent last year, with a spike in Italy making it the fifth worst place for measles worldwide. The number of European incidents will soon surpass the total for the whole of 2017. Elle Macpherson, 54, is dating discredited former doctor Andrew Wakefield, 60, a driving force behind the anti-vaxxer movement In England there have been three times as many cases already this year than were confirmed for all of last year with several clusters sparked by infected people returning from trips to countries such as Italy before symptoms become apparent. Last week, health authorities in London and Rome issued a joint plea for travellers to be aware of the risks, saying measles can cause severe complications including encephalitis, pneumonia and even death. Behind the fears, the fatalities and the misery for families struck by measles lies the frighteningly influential figure of a disgraced British doctor spreading damaging and widely debunked theories. Andrew Wakefield is a former London specialist who was sacked and struck off for dishonest and irresponsible conduct after linking the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine to autism. Yet after decamping to the United States with his credibility shredded, Wakefields cause was adopted by Hollywood stars, promoted by online conspiracy theorists and picked up by populist politicians. His powerful supporters include Donald Trump, whose inauguration ball Wakefield attended, while leaders of two populist parties in Italy exploited his claims to win an election earlier this year. Now, to cap his astonishing resurgence, it has emerged that Wakefield a divorced father of four has landed a supermodel girlfriend in Elle The Body Macpherson. This is, bear in a mind, a man vilified across the medical world. Last year I visited Minnesota after he was blamed for a measles epidemic and branded Public Health Enemy No 1 in a nation that had declared the disease wiped out in 2000. Now he is seen as primary cause of the crisis across Europe. Hes a crook and the worst possible enemy of ethical healthcare, said Walter Ricciardi, president of Italys National Health Institute. Its incredible he is still around just disgraceful. Rimini, Italy, where cases of measels have risen. Theories developed over links to autism have been blamed Elle Macpherson is one of the many celebrities in Andrew Wakefield's company despite him being unloved in England Dr Wakefield was the first clinician to suggest a link between autism in children and the triple vaccination for measles, mumps and rubella known as MMR. A GMC ruling stated that he had acted "dishonestly and irresponsibly". Pictured with ex wife Carmel in 2010 Professor Ricciardis group joined Public Health England to warn travellers to check their vaccinations, revealing seven measles cases had been carried from Italy to the UK since the start of last year. A 33-year-old woman from London also ended up in a Rome hospital six weeks ago after contracting the disease. Measles associated with travel is a major problem because it is so infectious, said Mary Ramsay, PHE head of immunisation. Studies have shown you can get it even going into a room after someone infected has left. Yet Wakefield heads a global movement fighting enforced childhood inoculations. These jabs tackle diseases that once killed, maimed and infected vast numbers yet his fanatical followers believe a massive conspiracy is covering up their risks. Nowhere demonstrates the dangers more than Italy, which also highlights how this corrosive issue feeds into populist political discourse with its distrust of expertise by playing on parental fears over the safety of their children. Last year Italy had more than 5,000 confirmed cases of measles, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). There were another 1,716 cases in the first five months of this year more than half in the holiday hotspot of Sicily with four deaths. They include a six-year-old boy with leukaemia, who died last month in Monza after catching measles from unvaccinated siblings; a ten-month-old boy in Catania whose mother was not vaccinated; and a 25-year-old unvaccinated mother, also in Sicily. The WHO recommends 95 per cent of a regions population should be inoculated for herd immunity, ensuring sufficient protection against epidemics. But in parts of Sicily the numbers have dropped below 80 per cent. Similar levels have been seen in Rimini, the heartland of Italys anti-vax movement since Comilva, a national campaign group, was launched there 25 years ago. Originally they voiced general concerns over vaccinations. But their cause exploded in 2012 after a court in the city awarded compensation to the family of an autistic child on the grounds the condition had probably been caused by the MMR injection. This official endorsement of Wakefields discredited research which the British Medical Journal disclosed was fraudulent with data manipulated was thrown out on appeal three years later. But the damage was done. Before this only a few Italians knew the Wakefield story, said Andrea Grignolio, a medicine historian at Romes La Sapienza University in Rome. After this case appeared, a lot of Italians saw there were claims of a relationship between MMR and autism. Wakefield was a gastroenterologist at a North London hospital in 1998 when he raised issues over the safety of MMR vaccine. This was based on work looking at just 12 cases published in The Lancet, which suggested a link through a bowel disorder with autism and was later retracted as utterly false by the journal. Comilva insists it just wants to warn parents about vaccination risks, calling on the government to hold an investigation of Wakefields claims. Two prominent Italian doctors supporting its cause have been struck off recently. Claudio Simion, the groups president, said Wakefield should not be condemned, especially as incidence of autism rises. I see him as a researcher who raised an important question: is MMR the right choice to immunise against measles? The shamed doctor even visited the region two years ago to promote his views and a self-aggrandising film he directed called Vaxxed. His cause was fanned by two anti-establishment parties Five Star Movement, founded by comedian Beppe Grillo, and the hard-right League. They used to be on the fringe but now these populists run a coalition government. (L to R) Jane Carrey, Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy hold up photos of her son Evan Asher, who has Autism, during the Green Our Vaccines press conference. They support the suggestions made by Dr Wakefield Gastroenterologist Dr Andrew Wakefield arrives at the GMC (General Medical Council) on July 16, 2007, accused of gross misconduct Vaxxed: From Cover-Up To Catastrophe. A film was made about the link between the MMR vaccine and autism and showed at the Tribeca Film Festival Grillo has even claimed vaccines can carry risks as severe as the diseases they protect against, while three years ago his party proposed a law against them, pointing to supposed links with cancer, autism and allergies. League leader Matteo Salvini, the deputy premier and anti-migration hardliner seen as Italys most powerful politician, claimed in May that making children have a barrage of jabs was useless, and in many cases dangerous, if not harmful. Both parties are focusing on a law introduced last year forcing children to have official certification of ten vaccines before being allowed to enrol in state schools. It came as Germany and France also cracked down on non-compliant parents. They have already proposed self-certification. And I understand two leading figures one from each party plan to introduce a bill to parliament overturning a measure credited with instantly lifting vaccination levels. The resort that fell for shamed doctor's claims Rimini became the epicentre of the global anti-vaccine campaign in 2012, when a court in the Italian resort awarded compensation to the family of an autistic child on the grounds that the condition had probably been caused by the MMR injection. The ruling was thrown out on appeal three years later, but the damage had been done. Advertisement They insist it is a matter of personal freedom. We are not against vaccines, said Five Stars Raffaella Sensoli, a Rimini MP who was cradling her baby son when we met. But I have followed this closely and they should not be obligatory. She said medical experts could advise but politicians had to decide what was best for citizens. Many parents have doubts and if you oblige them to vaccinate their children then you are putting petrol on the fire of these doubts. This is the extraordinary legacy of Wakefields discredited research after 20 years, with fearful parents and the resurgence in rich nations of a disease that killed 2.6 million people annually before these vaccines were introduced in 1963. Most measles cases in countries such as Italy and the UK are people who have not been inoculated. British vaccination rates crashed below 80 per cent after the Wakefield furore a generation that is now heading off alone on holidays. This is a big problem if children grow up without vaccinations, since they are susceptible to serious diseases, said Roberto Burioni, a professor of virology in Milan. It is not just measles but polio and diphtheria. We are in danger of seeing diseases return that we have not seen in our countries for many years. It is an emergency. Professor Burioni became active online debunking conspiracy theories from anti-vaccination fanatics, which led to death threats. One Facebook page even organised measles parties to infect children so they had natural immunity. Alice Pignatti, a graphic designer from near Rimini who started a group posting information to counter false claims, has also suffered abuse and attempts to destroy her reputation. One doctor told Mrs Pignatti the climate had become so hostile that parents were terrified of getting children vaccinated. He said they felt like they were sending their children to Iraq since the risks were so high, she told me. Yet thousands of miles away across the Atlantic, the defiant doctor who fostered such fear hangs out with celebrities, presidents and now one of the worlds most famous models despite being drummed out of his profession in ignominy. He is hailed by fans as a martyr hounded by the medical establishment. Hollywood stars including Robert de Niro, Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy have backed the anti-vaccination cause, leaving a third of Americans with concerns. Perhaps they should remember the words of author Roald Dahl, whose daughter Olivia died aged seven from inflammation of the brain caused by measles. He dedicated The BFG to her memory. In an hour, she was unconscious. In 12 hours, she was dead. There was nothing the doctors could do to save her, he wrote later. In 1962 there was no reliable measles vaccine to protect children. Today there is but thanks to this disgraced doctor, aided by the advent of social media, angry activists and foolish politicians, many parents in places such as Rimini choose instead to flirt with the deadly disease. A brave student used martial art skills to beat off an armed mugger when he tried to rob her mobile phone in broad daylight. The victim, Lorrana Braga, who had a gun pointed at her, said she fought back because she believed the gun was a fake and looked like a toy. Using a martial art called Morganti Jiu-Jitso, which is a mixture of Jiu Jitsu, karate and judo, the feisty student landed several kicks on her assailant as she refused to give up the phone while holding her bags close to her body. Apparently surprised by her courage, the armed thug abandoned the attempted assault and fled the scene. But police warned the victim's actions were ill-advised as she could have been wrong and 'no object is worth a life, so it's better to surrender and not react.' Last Wednesday, on July 18, the 23-year-old was filmed hurrying down a residential road in Recanto das Emas in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, around 12:47pm, when a car drove past and appeared to stop around the corner at the bottom of the road. Security cameras show that seconds later a man appears and runs towards the student, with his hand by his waist demanding she hands over her phone. The white Renault drove past the student down a residential road in Recanto das Emas in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, around 12:47pm The mugger ran towards the victim with his hand by his waist, but little does he know the feisty student has trained in martial arts The armed robber runs towards the victim with his hand by his waist but is about to be shocked by this student's bravery The armed bandit demanded the the victim's mobile phone, while down the quiet residential street It's believed the alleged gunman jumped out of the white Renault Sandero which was parked on the corner. Braga said: 'Everything happened so quickly, and I wasn't thinking straight. But I just didn't want to hand over my cell phone. 'I told him I was not going to give it to him because this was the second time I had been robbed. He grabbed my hand and started pulling my hair. He pointed the gun at me and said he was going to shoot me.' She said the threat came in the midst of the fight, but the moment she saw the weapon she remembered thinking it was 'super thin'. 'It looked like a plastic toy and I instantly thought, this gun is a toy, it's not real. I didn't want to fight but on the last occasion I hadn't reacted and I think I was a bit fed up with being in the same position again,' she added acknowledging she is not an arms expert and didn't sincerely know whether the revolver was real or not. 'I didn't have a comparison and haven't had a real gun pointed at me before, so I must have reacted on instinct,' she said, admitting that while it was foolhardy it was the right thing to do on this occasion. The gunman pulled the victim's arm and hair when she refused to give up her phone, a struggle ensues The moment the assailant pulled away the victim attacked with a number of martial arts kicks Lorrana Braga landing several kicks on her attacker. The 23-year-old is trained in a martial art called Morganti Jiu-Jitso, which is a mixture of Jiu Jitsu, karate and judo. She revealed she has been practising Morganti Jiu-Jitso for 18 months and said her skills kicked in. She said: 'My training came to the fore instantly' 'When he pulled away, I saw that it was the ideal moment to fight back, I got into my stance and delivered several kicks.' The first kick hit the bandit's face and the other blows landed on his body. She even ran after the attacker but stopped when he jumped into the car. The victim told police there were two women waiting in the vehicle which sped off. Further up the road an elderly woman sweeping the street outside her property looked on but didn't get involved. The armed bandit starts to plan his escape after the assault from the 23-year-old student martial artist The brave woman chases off her attacker who doesn't stick around to try and take any of her possessions Military police major Michello Bueno said cops had received several reports of a vehicle with the same number plate being used in similar opportune assaults. He said: 'This young woman was fortunate on this occasion, but she could have lost her life. We do not advise people to react in this way because the risks are huge.' Giving some tips on how to behave when confronted with a violent mugger the major said: 'It is not advisable to look the perpetrator in the eyes because he might think you are trying to memorise his face and he sees it as a threat. 'You shouldn't react or make sudden movements, but talk in a low voice telling the assailant, all the time, what you are doing. In these dangerous situations the perpetrator's nerves are on edge and he is liable to react violently if confronted.' Investigators are following up the descriptions given by the victim and with the footage from the security cameras detectives said they are confident in capturing the suspects. Dennis Quaid is opening up about his marriage to Meg Ryan in a new interview with Megyn Kelly that will air Monday on Today. The actor, who has only spoken about his marriage to Ryan a handful of times since the two split, confessed that his ex-wife's fame did weigh on him during their union. 'When we met you know I was the big deal and then my career [came to a halt],' Quaid tells Kelly, driving the point home by making the sound of screeching brakes. 'And I have to admit it, I actually did feel like i disappeared.' In the clip, obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com, Quaid then added: 'I didn't think I was that small... but I was.' Scroll down for video Made in the Quaid: Dennis Quaid will appear on Megyn Kelly Today this Monday at 9am to talk about his new role playing Ronald Reagan in an upcoming biopic (Quaid above on Today) He opens up about his decade-long marriage to Meg Ryan (pair above in 1995) in the interview, one of the few times he has ever spoken publicly about their union Quaid and Ryan were Hollywood's golden couple throughout the 90s, with the pair tying the knot on Valentine's Day of 1991 after falling in love on the set of their film D.O.A. It was the second gilm they had done together after Innerspace. Quaid was a huge star in the 80s, having appeared in hit films including The Big Easy, The Right Stuff, Postcards from the Edge and Great Balls of Fire. His past success did not stop his wife's ascent from shaking his nerves and rattling his brain. Ryan was also a household name in the wake of her role in the 1989 classic When Harry Meet Sally, but two years after she and Quaid wed she suddenly became the biggest star in Hollywood with the release of Sleepless in Seattle. This boost was aided in great part by the late writer and director Nora Ephron's affinity for Ryan. Ephron wrote both Harry and Sleepless, wrote and directed Ryan's 1997 hit You've Got Mail and produced Hanging Up in 2000, which was released just as Quaid and his wife announced their split. Timeline: Quaid and Ryan were married on Valentine's Day of 1991, had a son Jack the next year and divorced in 2001 amidst rumors Ryan and Russell Crowe had an affair (pair above in 20000 Gone, girl: Quaid, 64, said that his carrer cme to a halt while Ryan's took off after their marriage, noting: 'And I have to admit it, i actually did feel like i disappeared' Down under: Quaid and Ryan were married on Valentine's Day of 1991, had a son Jack the next year and divorced in 2001 amidst rumors Ryan and Russell Crowe had an affair (Ryan and Crowe above during filming of Proof of Life in 2000) The couple, whose son jack was born in 1992 and starred in The Hunger Games, were divorced by 2001 with Ryan geting almost all the blame amidst rumors she had an affair with Russell Crow. Ryan would later claim it was Quaid who strayed during their marriage, and since 2010 has been in a relationship with John Mellancamp. Santa baby: The thrice married Quaid now dates Santa Auzina, a 32-year-old model 'It was a growth opportunity, I did learn from that,' Quaid tells Kelly of his marriage to Ryan in his Today interview. He also recalls how almost overnight he found himself walking alongside his wife on the street as fans screamed: 'MEG! MEG! MEG!' Quaid would later remarry but split from third wife Kimberly Buffington in 2016. The younger brother of Randy Quaid is now dating Santa Auzina, a 32-year-old model. More about Quaid's marriages will be revealed on Today this Monday when the interview airs on NBC at 9am on Megyn Kelly Today. Kelly sat down with Quaid to talk about playing Ronald Reagan in an upcoming biopic about the Republican leader. And for that interview, Kelly flew out to the Reagan Ranch near Santa Barbara, California. The Oscar-nominated actor also talks with Megyn about being a father, a few of his memorable co-stars and which roles have been his favorite over the years. Sajid Javid has been forced into an embarrassing climbdown by Jeremy Corbyn after the Labour leader threatened legal action against him for implying that he was a Holocaust denier. The Home Secretary has had to issue a clarification after directing a comment at a Twitter user who doubted whether the Nazis had carried out the mass extermination of Jewish people in the Second World War. Mr Javid wrote: How can you even question the Holocaust... dont be misled by Corbyn. The tweet led to a furious response from Mr Corbyn, who ordered Labour Party lawyers to send a letter to Mr Javid threatening a libel action if the message was not retracted. Sajid Javid (right) was widely criticised after accusing Jeremy Corbyn (left) of being a Holocaust denier Late on Friday evening, Mr Javid posted a second message which said: Corbyn is not a Holocaust denier. I am happy to make that clear. The own goal has been greeted with dismay in Downing Street, which had been making political capital out of the Labour Partys convulsions over anti-Semitism. Labour grandee Margaret Hodge was embroiled in an extraordinary bust-up with Mr Corbyn in the Commons chamber last week when she called him an anti-Semite and a racist. Dame Margaret, who is the granddaughter of a Holocaust victim, was furious that Labours ruling NEC had approved a new anti-Semitism code which had been condemned by the Jewish community, following months of bitter recriminations in the party over the issue. Some Holocaust deniers contend that any deaths of Jews that did occur under the Nazis were the result of wartime privations, not of systematic persecution and state-organised mass murder. Unlike countries such as Germany and Israel, being a Holocaust denier is not against the law in the UK but it would be potentially defamatory to falsely accuse a politician of holding those beliefs. Within minutes of Mr Javid posting his original message, another Twitter user had written: I think this is libel. Mr Javid, the Muslim son of a bus driver and the first Home Secretary from an Asian background, is seen as one of the frontrunners to succeed Theresa May as Tory leader. Meanwhile, Mr Corbyn will today promise to boost the pay of rural workers in England by reinstating an Agricultural Wages Board. He will tell the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival an annual commemoration of trade unionism and the struggle by agricultural workers for fair pay that the board would ensure that rural employees are entitled to minimum rates of pay which may be above the National Minimum Wage and certain other benefits. He is expected to say: This decision will bring back millions of pounds to workers across the English countryside, in addition to guaranteed paid holiday, sick pay and rest breaks. Rural workers have been consistently ignored by the Tories. Three military jets part of a fleet costing taxpayers an astonishing 10.5 billion are being used to fly holidaymakers to sun-kissed resorts because the RAF has no use for them. The aircraft are supposed to transport British troops to military bases around the world and refuel fighters and bombers in mid-air during combat sorties. But a Mail on Sunday investigation can reveal that while the cash-strapped Ministry of Defence shells out tens of millions of pounds a year for the planes, holiday firms Thomas Cook and Jet2 have been using them to fly thousands of tourists to Majorca, Tenerife, New York and Florida. Military service: The jets were meant to be used by the RAF to transport British troops Prince Harry, right, took this Voyager back to the UK after a tour of Afghanistan in 2013 The aircraft are among 14 Airbus A330s acquired by the MoD under a controversial leasing agreement which costs about 400 million a year. The deal with a consortium of aviation manufacturers called AirTanker allows the commercial group to potentially make millions more by renting up to four of the unused aircraft to holiday firms. Last week, The Mail on Sunday boarded one of the planes in Manchester and flew with hundreds of tourists on Jet2 package breaks to Tenerife. We also tracked two other RAF planes over the past week as they flew Thomas Cook holidaymakers from Manchester to New York, Seattle, Boston and Orlando. MoD documents seen by The Mail on Sunday reveal that all three aircraft, which in their military role are called Voyager, remain part of the RAFs fleet. It is understood they have never been used on operations, although the MoD refused to confirm this last night. The military jets are supposed to be used to refuel fighters and bombers in mid-air during combat sorties (pictured) We can also reveal that: - The MoD is forced to pay more for any of the planes if they fly into war zones because AirTanker does not insure them; - AirTanker charged 94 million for an aircraft hangar which experts say should have cost much less; - The Australian Air Force bought the same model of aircraft for tens of millions of pounds less. Heading for the sun: Our view inside the Jet2 A330 which was destined for Tenerife last week Documents, pictured, show it was operated by AirTanker - the aviation manufacturer which leased MoD the jets The astonishing revelations come just weeks after Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson threatened to sweep Theresa May from power in a bitter Cabinet row over military cuts, demanding an extra 20 billion over the next decade. The Mail on Sunday understands Mr Williamson is frustrated about the cost of Voyager, while Lord Dannatt, the former head of the British Army, described the deal as a national scandal. A source close to Mr Williamson said: Poor historic deals like this are squeezing the defence budget and leaving no room to manoeuvre. Voyager is one of the reasons we have to fight for more funds to avoid devastating cuts elsewhere. The controversial agreement between the MoD and AirTanker was signed off in March 2008 when Gordon Brown was Prime Minister, Alistair Darling was Chancellor and Des Browne was Defence Secretary. They agreed to lease 14 Voyagers from AirTanker, a consortium which included French-based manufacturer Airbus and engine-maker Rolls-Royce, under a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) arrangement. According to one contract seen by the MoS, Airbus was selling A330s for around 50 million in 2007, so a fleet of 14 would have cost 700 million to buy outright. Our investigation suggests the deal the MoD signed was based on a figure closer to 200 million for each plane, with the rest of the 10.5 billion covering financing, operating the service and infrastructure. The total could even rise to 12.3 billion once staffing and fuel costs are included. The costs are paid back over 27 years, with repayments expected to peak at 593 million in 2034. The deal also allows AirTanker to lease aircraft to commercial airlines when the RAF is not using them. But the MoD continues to pay huge sums for the right to take back the planes and use them on military operations if required. Last night, defence officials refused to confirm the cost, claiming the figure was commercially sensitive. Jet2 have been using them to fly thousands of tourists to Majorca, Tenerife, New York and Florida It takes less than a month to refit the jets to switch between military and civilian use. The Voyager deal was heavily criticised soon after it was signed. A report by the National Audit Office said it was too expensive, uncompetitive and overly complicated, and that the MoD lacked the expertise to manage the project. Our disclosures highlight the problems with PFIs, under which the private sector takes on major public projects such as schools and hospitals, but saddles the taxpayer with debts which some experts say total 300 billion. The Mail on Sunday also understands that it would cost the MoD 3.5 billion to buy its way out of the Voyager contract. Military experts say the money spent on this deal would have been better used on equipment which could have saved soldiers lives in Iraq and Afghanistan, such as armoured vehicles to protect squaddies from roadside bombs. Getaway: One of the aircraft, in Thomas Cook livery, heads from Manchester to Orlando last week Last night, former Armed Forces Minister John Spellar said: The bottom line is that bad deals like this cost lives. Voyager has left the MoD so short of cash that troops have gone without top-grade equipment. Theyve also been paid less and been forced to live in inadequate accommodation. Billions of pounds have been wasted and a private consortium has been able to cream off huge profits. It is unclear how much military service the Voyager fleet has seen. But some aircraft are being used as troop carriers to and from bases in the UK, Cyprus and the Falkland Islands. In April this year, a Voyager refuelled Tornados in the international mission to destroy alleged chemical weapons facilities in Syria. One of the Voyagers was also given a 10 million refit so it could be used by the Prime Minister, senior Ministers and members of the Royal Family, including Prince Charles, for use on official long-distance trips. Prince William used it for a recent trip to the Middle East. As part of the deal, AirTanker built a hangar at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire for maintenance work. Its accounts say this hangar cost 94 million, but aviation industry sources believe it could have been built for significantly less. It would also appear cheaper for the MoD to purchase Voyagers directly from the manufacturers. In 2015, the Royal Australian Air Force bought Airbus refuelling and passenger jets for just over 100 million each. The Mail on Sunday supplied AirTanker with a detailed list of questions about the Voyager deal, but it declined to comment. The MoD said: Voyagers are playing a key role in protecting British airspace and in the fight against Islamic State, and while our core fleet is doing the job we need it to, we can call in the extra aircraft at short notice if we need them. When were not using them it makes sense to have them performing other roles, as that reduces our costs and means they can be ready for operations quicker than if they were held in storage. This is a cost-effective deal that is delivering an outstanding service for the RAF. As bad as PFI deals go, this was the worst of the lot Comment by LORD DANNATT, former Army head Buying something you couldnt really afford was taken to a new level in the 1990s under the Private Finance Initiative. The government of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown seized on the concept to produce shiny new schools and hospitals across the country, especially in marginal constituencies. But the Voyager PFI deal has to rank as the worst of the lot. Even at face value, 10.5 billion to lease 14 aircraft does not seem like value for money. The project was led not by an RAF officer, but by an Army brigadier, so that there was no undue service bias. But this brigadier was so alarmed at the way it was going that he came to me in 2008, while I was Chief of the General Staff, to ask if I could try to get this deal stopped. I asked for a briefing, having been told there were much cheaper ways to meet the RAFs air-to-air refuelling and strategic lift requirement. At the briefing, all other options were dismissed for one spurious reason or another, leading to the curious conclusion that the 10.5 billion procurement of 14 A330 airliners, assembled at Airbus Industries factory near Madrid, was the answer. In the end, the politics of European industrial collaboration was the winner, the MoD was the loser, and now bucket-and-spade holiday-makers are travelling to sunny places overseas at British taxpayers expense. Is that value for money? Defence Secretary Gavin Williamsons Modernising Defence Programme must put a stop to scandals like this. A school crowned the best in Britain has been accused of cheating, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. The results of two SATs tests taken by pupils at Broadford Primary School in Romford, East London, have been annulled following an investigation by Government inspectors. The school, which won the prestigious Times Educational Supplement School of the Year award at a glitzy ceremony at Londons Grosvenor House hotel last year, is accused of feeding correct answers to children. Justine Greening, the then Education Secretary, praised this truly outstanding school during a visit in December Following a tip-off from a whistleblower, inspectors from the Standards and Testing Agency (STA) went into Broadford. According to an informed source, nine Year Six pupils out of 90 were able to complete a complex maths question normally answered by only the brightest students in the country. Despite the difficulty of the question, none of the children, aged ten or 11, had written down any of their workings-out. There was also a dramatic drop in the number of questions answered by pupils when an inspector sat in on the test compared with the previous day. And investigators found a bundle of maths test papers that had been opened ahead of an exam. Broadford, located in a deprived part of East London, has been hailed as model for other schools to follow. It was in special measures in 2011 but is now rated as outstanding by Ofsted. It is also in the top one per cent of schools for SATs scores, with 81 per cent of pupils meeting the expected standards in reading, writing and maths, compared with 53 per cent nationally. The development will be a blow to Malcolm Drakes, the 118,000-a-year executive head teacher of Broadford Judges on the TES awards panel said it went far beyond traditional expectations of education and Justine Greening, the then Education Secretary, praised this truly outstanding school during a visit in December. The development will be a blow to Malcolm Drakes, the 118,000-a-year executive head teacher of Broadford and another primary, although there is no evidence he was involved in any wrongdoing. The Department for Education confirmed that results for the third papers taken by pupils in reading and maths had been annulled. In a letter to parents on Friday, Mr Drakes and school governor Chris Kent wrote: We would like to apologise for any failure on our part that has led to the STA making this decision. We wish to assure you that the decision by the STA is not seen as a reflection on your child. Staff and governors are deeply saddened and disappointed and did not agree with the STAs decision. The results of two SATs tests have been annulled following an investigation by Government inspectors The affected children will not receive their SATs results for the void tests, the outcomes of which are used to put pupils into sets when they start secondary school. Mr Drakes and Mr Kent declined to comment, but a source said: The STA decision was based on them having enough doubt to declare papers as null and void. It does not mean there has been maladministration. There is no right of appeal and the whole process is shambolic. The STA has not given the school a fair opportunity to put its case. Havering Council said: Parents can also be reassured that their childrens education will not in any way be affected. A female police liaison officer was brought to the ground during a scuffle at an EDL protest in Worcester. Footage shared online shows the officer being brought to the ground during a confrontation in Broad Street, in Worcester. She is seen lying face down on the ground before being helped up by another officer and a member of the public. Two police officers were injured and three people were arrested after clashes during the far-right rally. The English Defence League (EDL) staged the protest in the centre of Worcester against plans to build a mosque in the city. Scores of police formed a barrier in Broad Street between English Defence League supporters and approximately 200 vocal counter-protesters comprising of students, trade union members, local councillors and members of the local muslim community 200 vocal counter-protesters comprising of students, trade union members, local councillors and members of the local muslim community (pictured) A number of other groups held counter demonstrations on Saturday afternoon against the group. West Mercia Police said two officers were injured, 'but thankfully neither is thought to be seriously hurt'. Three people were arrested for minor public order offences, the force said. The English Defence League (EDL) staged the protest in the centre of Worcester against plans to build a mosque in the city- with counter protesters meeting them head on (pictured) There were angry scenes and a strong police presence as 200 vocal counter-protesters stood up to the EDL rally The English Defence League (EDL) staged the protest in the centre of Worcester against plans to build a mosque in the city Two police officers were injured and three people were arrested after clashes during the far-right rally Superintendent Damian Pettit thanked the public for their 'co-operation and patience' during the event and said a 'small minority of people were more confrontational in their attitude than we wanted'. He added: 'Worcester enjoys positive relationships among its diverse communities and we will continue to work with our partners to build on this in the future.' Officers are investigating reports of 'items being thrown into the EDL group', he said. California police have apprehended a man who was allegedly seen biking naked down a highway earlier this week. On Wednesday several motorists reported seeing a 'birthday suit biker' riding down Highway 101 near San Jose, capturing the unusual scene on video. Police were unable to make contact with the free-wheeler, but the following day an officer spotted someone believed to be the same man walking through a neighborhood wearing only a shirt, police officer Gina Tepoorten told the Mercury News. Authorities determined the suspect was mentally unstable and brought him by ambulance to a hospital for evaluation. A naked man was spotted riding his bike in the middle of traffic on Highway 101 in San Jose, California, on Wednesday morning The 'Birthday Suit Biker' was caught on video by a passing motorist. In addition to breaking the law by riding his bike on a highway, the suspect was likely violating indecent exposure laws California Highway Patrol officials received numerous calls about an naked man biking on both sides of the busy freeway between Story Road and Alum Rock Avenue on Wednesday morning between 9 and 10am. 'We were having many calls; he was moving around quite a bit,' CHP spokesman Ross Lee said. 'The last call that came in for us was that he was riding northbound on the southbound side.' Multiple officers responded to the calls, but the suspect couldn't be located. Lee said there were no collisions and no one was hurt as a result of the biker. 'More than anything, I think people's sensibilities were offended or they thought it was funny.' For safety reasons it is illegal to ride a bicycle on US highways and interstates, Lee added. 'If it became a recurring thing, now we're going to have to take some definite enforcement action,' he said. In addition to his mode of transportation, the suspect was also likely violating indecent exposure laws. A British oil executive whose son was killed in a horrific speedboat accident in Greece has spoken for the first time of his devastation. Paul Finnett, 53, was at the helm when his son Toby, 15, fell off their rented boat and into the blades of the propeller. The managing director at energy company Aon jumped in and dragged Toby back on to the boat. The teenager was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Paul Finnett and wife Amanda, second right, with Toby, circled, and brothers Benjamin and Kai, far right, earlier this year 'We are numb there is no pain like losing a child,' said Mr Finnett. 'Nothing can prepare you for the shock and disbelief that this can ever happen to you. 'Toby lived life to the full in his short 15 years and was an inspiration to us all. He was one of a kind passionate about learning about the world, cultures and adventure. He had big dreams and was confident they would be fulfilled.' Mr Finnett is originally from Littlehampton, West Sussex, but has lived in Houston, Texas, since 1994. He described Toby, a talented filmmaker and keen runner who competed for St Francis Episcopal School in Houston, as 'my best friend and travel companion'. The accident happened last Saturday after Mr Finnett, an experienced and licensed sailor, rented a rigid inflatable speedboat for a day trip with Toby, his elder son Benjamin, 17, and stepson Kai Stark, 14. The rented rigid inflatable speedboat used for the family's day trip which ended in tragedy The holiday was a boys' trip to the Ionian island of Paxos, south of Corfu. On the day Toby died, the four had set off to explore the nearby small island of Mogonisi, but they found themselves in turbulent waters. Explaining what happened, Mr Finnett said: 'Toby lost his balance in the blink of an eye trying to get closer to his brothers who were at the front of the boat.' Kostas Karavonioti, who works at the Paxos health centre where Toby was taken, said: 'It was instant. In 39 years I have never seen anything like this.' Mr Finnett was arrested on suspicion of driving negligently but was released. An official said: 'Everything points to bad weather and choppy waves that made the boy lose his balance and fall into the sea.' Toby's body was due to be flown to Britain, where most of his family still lives. Mr Finnett has lived in Houston since moving there with his first wife, Justine Warburton, who is the mother of Toby and Benjamin. Kai posted a video on Instagram of the boys jumping from a cliff into the sea, with the message: 'I'll never forget you brother, and my best friend.' Theresa May will mobilise her most senior Cabinet Ministers this summer to try to sell her Chequers deal in sceptical EU capitals. Amid growing concern across Europe over the political impasse in London, Mrs May hopes to put the onus on Brussels to ramp up the pace and intensity of the negotiations. David Lidington, her de facto deputy, will travel to France, while Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt will visit Germany, Home Secretary Sajid Javid will go to Spain and Business Secretary Greg Clarke will fly to Italy. The Prime Minister said last night: Over the summer our negotiating team will be travelling to Brussels to negotiate our vision for the future relationship with our EU partners. We must step up the pace of negotiations and get on to deliver a good deal that will bring greater prosperity and security to both British and European citizens. We both know the clock is ticking lets get on with it. Theresa May will mobilise a team to step up negotiations with the Europen Union over suggestions a 'no deal' situation could become reality But the Tory revolt against Mrs Mays Chequers plan for a soft Brexit together with the cool response from Brussels has led to claims that the UK is on course for a hard Brexit. Both the Government and the EU have stepped up contingency plans for such an eventuality. It means that when the UK cuts all ties with Brussels on March 29 next year at 11pm (we had to bring it forward one hour because it will be midnight in the EU), all current arrangements with Brussels will end immediately. And there will be nothing to replace them. It has been described as falling off a cliff edge and Armageddon by some. Others say such doom-laden forecasts are a continuation of Project Fear, the label pinned to warnings during the 2016 referendum. Until we actually leave the EU, we wont know the truth. But with the prospect of a hard Brexit or No Deal growing daily, Project Fear is turning into Project Near. Today, The Mail on Sunday looks at the possible impact of a No Deal or hard Brexit on a wide range of issues, from flights to food and even travelling musicians. Economic damage Privately, many Brexiteers admit the UK is in for a bumpy ride when we leave the EU, but argue we will be better off in the long-term. Some experts have claimed Britain will lose up to 400 billion in lost economic growth by 2030. Pro-Brexit Cabinet Minister Liam Fox says the EU would face catastrophic economic consequences in the event of No Deal and Irelands economy could collapse by 8 per cent. The International Monetary Fund says No Deal could cost the EU nearly 200 billion in lost output. European giant Airbus, which employs 15,000 people in the UK, has warned it may have to cut British operations under a hard Brexit. Aviation Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar was called an airhead by Tory Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg after threatening to ban British planes from the skies above his country. Michael OLeary, Ryanair chief executive, has said: There is not a legal mechanism in which the airlines can operate in a hard Brexit or No Deal outcome. Chancellor Philip Hammond says while it is theoretically conceivable flights could stop straight away, no one thinks thats where we will end up. Ports The Port of Dover says a two-minute delay in the time taken to process lorries if there is No Deal could result in 17 miles of tailbacks. Customs chiefs say customs declarations at ports such as Dover could increase fivefold to more than 250 million a year. Brexiteers say the current trouble-free handling of 80 billion of goods a year at Felixstowe, Britains busiest port including to and from non-EU countries shows such claims are scare stories. Britain's Minister for Europe David Lidington will be sent to France to carve out a deal while others visit Germany, Italy and Spain Cars The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, which represents UK car makers, has said a cliff edge Brexit is its biggest fear. It is claimed tariffs could increase the cost of imported cars by 1,500 on average. British motorists face having to apply for international permits to drive on the Continent. Londons Japanese Embassy which represents 1,000 Japanese companies with UK operations, including Nissan, Toyota and Honda says a No Deal Brexit would be impossible for us to accept. The City According to some estimates, up to 35,000 jobs in the financial sector could be at risk, as well as about 4 billion of tax revenues. Brexiteers dispute claims that Paris or Frankfurt will replace London as Europes financial HQ, but Bank of China UK boss Sun Yu said a No Deal would threaten Londons status as a hub for international banks. Medicines The British Pharmaceutical Industry says more than 1,000 medicines made in the UK would need to be relicensed elsewhere in the EU so they can carry on being sold. This is not like transferring a filing cabinet from one location to another, said a spokeswoman. The supply of drugs and medical supplies could be affected by changes to current European regulations, overseen by the European Medicines Agency. MPs voted last week against plans for Britain to quit the EMA. Farming Once the UK is out of the EU, animal and food products can be exported to France only via Le Havre and Dunkirk. There have been reports that neither can cope with the amount of UK exports which currently do not need checking. The National Farmers Union has warned of huge disruption in terms of cost. Food and drink Under a Brexit Armageddon scenario, some supermarkets could run out of food within a couple of days. Nearly a third of food in UK supermarkets comes from the EU and reaches shelves in two days. Some estimates say food prices could go up by 20 per cent. The British Retail Consortium says the average tariff on EU food imports would be 22 per cent. Wine could rise in cost by a quarter according to some analysts if Britain fails to make a Brexit deal with the European Union Alcohol Britain imports 1.8 billion bottles of wine a year worth 2.8 billion with more than half from the EU. According to some experts, tariffs could help push the cost of French, Spanish and other EU wines up by a quarter after March sparking the resurgence of alcohol smuggling. A spokesman for the Wine and Spirit Trade Association said: There must be mechanisms to allow cross-border trade of wine and spirits the moment we leave the EU. If not, wine and spirits may not get on to the shelves and there could be an influx of bootleggers. Extra checks in Paris could cause major delays on the Eurostar, it has been claimed Eurostar Passengers face the threat of queues and extra checks at the Gare du Nord in Paris. The French authorities are refitting the station, but failure to reach a Brexit deal could make delays worse. The Anglo-French Treaty of Le Touquet currently allows for both countries passport checks to be conducted as passengers board the train enabling them to walk straight out of the station when they arrive. Restaurants What could a 'no deal' Brexit look like? The critics' glasses are half-empty A predicted rise in the price of EU wines is bad news for bibulous European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker who denied he was drunk during a stumbling appearance at a Nato summit meeting last weekend, left when he buys a round during his visits to London The '17 mile tailbacks Critics say that delays at the Port of Dover caused by the processing of lorries could lead to 17-mile queues Is it all over for Rover? Families will no longer be able to travel freely around Europe with their pets Advertisement The British Hospitality Association has warned of a staffing crisis caused by the loss of EU workers. In some restaurant chains, as few as one in 25 job applicants are British. But claims that the industry faced chaos were dismissed by anti-EU campaigner Tim Martin, boss of pub chain JD Wetherspoon. Pets There would be no more pets passports enabling families to travel freely with their pets to Europe. About 250,000 British cats and dogs travel to the EU every year. Chemicals Exports and imports under the EU rules for industrial chemicals would cease by law. These include chemicals used in toothpaste and shampoo. The Chemicals Industry Association has warned of a catastrophe if the UK is excluded from EU markets. Orchestras The Association of British Orchestras has warned that money-spinning EU tours by British orchestras could be hit. EU rules that stop musicians having tax and social security deducted from fees while abroad would end. Simon Clarke left fellow Eurosceptics stunned when he used a meeting of the Conservative Partys 1922 Committee last week to formally revoke his demand for a new Tory leader The bitter in-fighting among pro-Brexit opponents of the Prime Minister deepened last night after a Tory MP who withdrew a letter of no confidence in Theresa May was accused of being a double agent. Simon Clarke left fellow Eurosceptics stunned when he used a meeting of the Conservative Partys 1922 Committee last week to formally revoke his demand for a new Tory leader. He has been accused by hardcore Brexiteers of sharing the confidential names of anti-May plotters with party whips a claim he categorically denies. Mr Clarke sent his no confidence letter to the 1922 following the resignations of Boris Johnson and David Davis from the Cabinet earlier this month in protest at Mrs Mays Chequers deal on Brexit. Under party rules, 48 MPs need to submit letters of no confidence to the 1922 to trigger a vote of no confidence. If a majority of Tory MPs back the vote then a leadership contest is called. The number of letters received by the 1922 and the identity of the senders is kept a closely guarded secret by Sir Graham Brady, the committees chairman. But pro-Brexit plotters have been sharing a spreadsheet containing 35 names of Tory MPs who say they have sent letters. Indignant Brexiteers have claimed to The Mail on Sunday that Mr Clarke wrote down the names shortly before performing his U-turn on Wednesday. One of the Brexiteers who has written to the 1922 is Andrea Jenkyns At 5pm on the same day, Mr Clarke stood up at a meeting of the 1922 and said he wanted to retract his letter. He has a majority of just 1,000 in his Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency and will be reliant on support and funding from Tory HQ if he wants to retain the seat at the next Election. One Brexiteer who has submitted a letter said: We all think he was a double agent, writing down the names of those who have sent in the letters so the whips can work on them over the summer bribing them with money and other promises to retract them. But Mr Clarke said last night: This is categorically untrue. It would be laughable if it werent so serious. He has admitted that he continues to have concerns about the Chequers deal, but added: Ive come to the conclusion the Prime Minister deserves the chance to deliver the deal which we all, in the end, want to see. One of the Brexiteers who has written to the 1922 is Andrea Jenkyns. She warns in todays Mail on Sunday that if Mrs May doesnt ditch the Chequers plan, she would let Jeremy Corbyn into Downing Street. Britains hopes of a Brexit deal may have been boosted by the Cabinet exit of Brussels bogeyman Boris Johnson, according to Philip Hammond. The Chancellor claims that the resignations of Brexiteer Ministers Mr Johnson and David Davis could ease negotiations because of the EUs hostility to both men. But while it could make talks easier, the revolt by Mr Johnson and Mr Davis had raised fears that Mrs May could find it impossible to win Conservative backing for any EU agreement, the Chancellor fears. Britains hopes of a Brexit deal may have been boosted by the Cabinet exit of Brussels bogeyman Boris Johnson (pictured), according to Philip Hammond Mr Hammond told friends the resignation of the two men in protest at what they saw as Mrs Mays soft Brexit had upsides and downsides. The upside was that the two main (EU) bogeymen have been taken off the board, he said, comparing the Cabinet to company directors. The downside was there are now serious questions we can deliver on a deal. Mr Hammonds comments were disclosed as Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, defended Mrs Mays Chequers Brexit deal. Pro-European Ms Davidson aimed a series of thinly veiled side swipes at Mr Johnson. Writing in todays Mail on Sunday, she denounces those who toasted Mrs Mays Chequers Brexit plan on Friday only to resign over it on Monday. Ms Davidson does not name Mr Johnson but leaves little doubt as to her target, going on to lambast the howls of rhetoric and disdain of Mrs Mays Brexit critics. The Chancellor (pictured) claims that the resignations of Brexiteer Ministers Mr Johnson and David Davis could ease negotiations In his Commons resignation speech, delivered on Wednesday, Mr Johnson mocked Mrs Mays fog of doubt over Brexit. Ms Davidson, seen by some as one of Mr Johnsons main Tory leadership rivals, rejects Brexiteer claims that the Prime Ministers proposal was a betrayal. She says it was time to get behind Mrs May, who was in a hellish position and the rebellious antics of Brexiteers were making the EUs job easier. Conservative dissidents risk the catastrophe of handing power to Jeremy Corbyn, says Ms Davidson. She says: If that doesnt give some of the louder or more tribal voices pause, I dont know what will. We have a duty to serve the public in the national interest. That means compromise, no matter how uncomfortable, whichever side of the [EU] debate we were on two years ago. Mr Hammond was at the centre of a fresh Cabinet split yesterday after it was revealed that he clashed with the Home Secretary Sajid Javid at the Chequers summit over freedom of movement. Leaked official minutes from Chequers said that the Chancellor had disagreed with the Home Secretary on labour mobility and ending free movement, and called for European Union workers to be given preferential treatment in an attempt to strike a post-Brexit trade deal. Mr Javid argued that free movement had to end and that there could be no back door. European Union negotiators have made clear that the retention of access to the single market for goods, set out in the Chequers deal, is unlikely without reciprocal concessions on free movement from the UK side. A separate leak of the Chequers minutes showed that Leader of the House of Commons, Andrea Leadsom, privately attacked the Prime Ministers plan for Brexit as a betrayal of the referendum result, saying she hated the proposals and viewed them as breaching the Governments red lines. It is one of the most famous places of worship in Britain but St Pauls Cathedral is banning Christians from preaching from the Bible on its doorstep. One man was arrested while reading the scriptures aloud within the cathedrals grounds after security staff called police. And another pastor has told of how he, too, was asked to leave after preaching about sin in the shadow of the London landmark. Different rules: The Occupy London anti-capitalist camp that blighted the landmark in 2011 Their treatment is in stark contrast to Occupy London anti-capitalists, who were allowed to set up a sprawling tent city outside the cathedral for four months in 2011. Christian groups last night condemned the cathedrals stance against preachers as an attack on religious freedom and called on the Government to intervene. Bus driver Allan Coote was arrested for a breach of the peace when he started reading from the Bible on the cathedrals land in March. The 55-year-old, from East London, says he never received a complaint from the public, but was asked to move on by St Pauls security staff. When he refused, saying he had the right to spread the word of God, police were called. Mr Cootes wife, Marie-Shirley, recorded the ensuing encounter on her mobile phone and the footage, showing an officer reading the street preacher his rights, was recently posted on YouTube. Mr Coote says he was put into a police van, driven a few hundred yards from the cathedral and released without further action. Undeterred, he returned in April to read the Sermon On The Mount aloud. Three officers from City of London Police approached and told him to stop. He again refused, but this time the officers allowed him to finish and leave. Allan Coote being arrested after refusing to stop reading bible scriptures aloud on its grounds Yesterday, as he again returned to the cathedral to read aloud from the Bible, Mr Coote said: I am not hurt or angry, but very surprised that St Pauls would support the Occupy London people but not support the reading of the Bible. The Reverend Peter Simpson, a pastor at the Free Methodist Church in Penn, Buckinghamshire, said he endured a similar experience outside St Pauls two years ago, when he and a colleague were ordered to leave. We did not say anything inflammatory as far as I can recall, he said. We were just preaching from the Bible but were told to move. We did not want to break the law so we moved to the edge of the grounds marked by bollards and preached from there. The Barnabas Fund, which campaigns against the persecution of Christians, has launched an online petition urging Parliament to intervene. Dr Martin Parsons, head of research at the charity, said: This illustrates the slippery slope down which the UK is losing its heritage of religious freedom. One of the first aspects of freedom of religion to be established in England was the freedom to read the Bible in public. A Royal decree specifically forbade clergy from stopping anyone reading the Bible in public. Now St Pauls Cathedral is trying to stop someone reading the Sermon On The Mount in public. A spokesman for the cathedral said: In order to provide a prayerful and safe space for all, St Pauls has a policy of limiting any form of public oration, protest, demonstration, preaching or other source of disturbance to people. Our policy is to allow a short interval and then ask the person to stop, and to involve the police if they refuse to do so or to move off the cathedrals land. Arguments within St Pauls about how to deal with the protest by Occupy London divided the Church and led to the resignations of the cathedrals dean and canon chancellor before the protesters were eventually evicted. New labels to help shoppers distinguish between real and fake fur are set to be introduced once Britain leaves the EU. The clampdown comes after items advertised as faux fur by retailers including TK Maxx, Amazon, Tesco and Boots were found to contain the real thing. The scandal prompted a parliamentary inquiry into the 75 million-a-year UK fur trade, and members have now made the recommendation. The post-Brexit labels are set to help shoppers distinguish between real and fake fur Neil Parish, the Tory MP who headed the inquiry, said: Ministers are minded to support new labels for fur. This could happen post-Brexit, which gives us an opportunity to step up our game on labelling. The committee stopped short of calling for a complete ban on fur, but do want a public consultation. Claire Bass, of the Humane Society International, said: The Government now has the opportunity to blaze a trail as the first country to ban the sale of all animal fur. The British Fur Trade Association backs the labelling proposals, which Whitehall officials will respond to in September. Chicago has been named 'the rat capital of the US,' according to a new study published by online apartment search service 'RentHop.' The survey found that 50,963 complaints were made to the city last year about the pesky rodents - far more than any other city in America. '[When] comparing the number of complaints per 100,000 residents,' RentHop said, 'Chicago topped the list with 1876.09 complaints per 100,000 residents.' The survey found that 50,963 complaints were made to the city last year about the pesky rodents - far more than any other city in America New York City came in second with 19,152 complaints, followed by Washington, D.C. (5,036 complaints), and Boston (2,488 complaints). The study also found that the number of complaints made by Chicago residents jumped 55 per cent since 2014. 'It's part of living in a city,' Norma Rios-Sierra told The Chicago Tribune. 'Even during the day, you'll see them fly through the alley.' Logan Square, Englewood, and West Ridge marked the epicenters for most complaints called into Cook County, with data suggesting that the rats tended to gravitate towards neighborhoods with higher concentrations of dog poop. Disputing the figures, however, was the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation, who claimed to have received 42,670 requests for rodent abatement from residents in 2017. The department attributes the lower figure to screening out duplicate calls and not counting cases where the city has taken proactive abatement measures following a complaint. 'Rodent complaints are not an accurate indicator of the rat population in an area, however they do show that Chicagoans care about the health and safety of their communities,' said department spokeswoman Marjani Williams. '(Streets and Sanitation) encourages residents to report rodent activity to 311 so that our crews can quickly investigate and address every sighting.' The study also found that the number of complaints made by Chicago residents jumped 55 per cent since 2014 Graph showing the city of Chicago and areas most affected by rat infestations. The areas in dark red have recorded the most complaints: At the top is West Ridge; just below that is Logan Square and at the bottom is Engelwood Williams said that at least 26 crews are baiting rats city-wide, and boasted that the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation addresses complaints in five days or less. Despite efforts made by the city, Chicago residents are still unsettled to see the sheer volume of rats populating the area. 'I've never seen anything like the rat infestation that we have in Chicago,' said Veterinarian Dr. Dylan Frederickson, noting that he administers treatments to dogs multiple times a year due to rodent activity. Rat bites 'can cause acute kidney failure, which is sometimes fatal,' he said. 'It's relatively easy to prevent your dog from getting into a fight with a rat, it's much more difficult to prevent them from taking a drink from a random puddle that might be contaminated.' According to the Tribune, areas with the fewest complaints included Greektown, the Museum Campus and Millenium Park. Buying a luxury apartment in the Alps is widely perceived as the preserve of winter sport enthusiasts. Of course, you can visit in summer - and the mountains are beautiful then too - but some resorts that thrive in winter can be a bit of a ghost town once the snow goes. But if the purchase is in what is known as a dual-season season resort, buyers can get the benefits of using the property in both the winter and summer. Les Gets in France is one such resort that caters as much for mountain bikers and hikers, as it does for skiers and snowboarders. MailOnline Property visited Les Gets to check out a new development of luxury freehold apartments and what summer sport facilities are on offer. Annapurna is a new development of 38 apartments in the centre of Les Gets in the French Alps The village of Les Gets is a dual-season resort open in both the winter and summer seasons At 900 to 1,820 metres above sea level it may be fairly low altitude for the French Alps, but Les Gets is a favourite of British skiers. The key to that is that it is a pretty village with an abundance of classic ski chalets and a distinct absence of high-rise blocks. Les Gets is between Geneva Lake and Mont Blanc, and belongs to the Portes du Soleil ski area, which includes a total of 12 resorts linked by 650km of ski runs - including its popular neighbour Morzine. When the summer arrives, the ski runs in Les Gets turn into the ideal terrain for mountain bikers and hikers - particularly those who value a helping hand up the steep alpine slopes, as chairlifts are in operation with attachments to carry bikes to the top of the green hills. Back in the village and the ski hire shops swap their stock in the summer to provide the bikes and all of the robust clothing required for the adrenaline-inducing two-wheeled sport. There are also plenty of certified instructors at hand to help mountain bikers master hitting the trails at speed. Apartments at the new development can be rented out from 189 a night The Annapurna apartments are 150 metres from the Mont Chery gondola A six-bedroom penthouse costing 2.56million has already been sold at the development The mountains in Les Gets are a haven for hikers, runners and cyclists during the summer Furniture can be provided to buyers, including sofabeds from SITS and coffee tables from Notre Monde In the centre of Les Gets is a new development of 38 luxury apartments called Annapurna. It includes apartments starting at 295,000 - the equivalent of 260,000 - for a one-bedroom flat of 430 sq ft, through to a six-bedroom penthouse costing 2.9million - the equivalent of 2.56million - and covering 3,434 sq ft. The penthouse has already been sold and a second phase of development is being constructed next door, with a further 34 apartments. It will also include a gym and beauty spa, in addition to the swimming pool and leisure suite that is already available at Annapurna. Unlike leaseback apartments which are often found at French ski resorts, these apartments can be bought without having to rent them out. However, buyers can sign up to what is called a flexi-lease if they want to rent out their properties and still benefit from reclaiming VAT. The flexi-lease is run by operator Alpine Residences, which oversees the rentals. If buyers sign up for a minimum of nine years, it means buyers can then apply to claim back the VAT paid on the purchase. They don't have to rent out their property if they don't want to and can pull out of the lease agreement at any time with the penalty of paying back the VAT benefits. Les Gets attracts professional and amateur mountain bikers during the summer months The apartments are bought on a freehold basis, but buyers can sign up to what is called a flexi-lease to get a rental income Management of the rentals, including cleaning, can be arranged through Alpine Residences Leaseback vs flexi-lease Leaseback is a common way of buying a ski apartment in France, but has its limitations as it locks buyers into renting out their apartment, often at times when they might want to use them for themselves. The apartments at Annapurna in Les Gets offer a flexi-lease, which has some key differences to leasebacks. Morgan Bientz, of Alpine Lodges explains some of the main differences. He says: 'A leaseback is a nine-year commercial contract where the property is handed over to a management company. This management company is selected by the developer and future buyers do not have a say in the company that they want to use. 'A leaseback contract also limits buyers to how much they can use their property, typically two to six weeks a year depending on rental return sought. Owners are not able to enjoy their property whenever they want as the access rules are strict and so an owner is considered to be more of an investor who rents out their property.' Mr Bientz goes on to explain that a flexi-lease is a different proposition as owners are not obliged to rent out the property. He said: 'A flex-lease is a three-year lease contract and the owner can decide if they want to change the operator after this period of time. 'There is no maximum or minimum occupation for owners, meaning they can use it when they want. However, if they use the property more, they will receive less rental income.' > Read our guide to leaseback and how buying a property works Advertisement There a range of finishes and accessories available for buyers wanting to use the interior design options provided at Annapurna (alternatively, buyers can use their own interior designers). They include sofabeds from SITS and coffee tables from Notre Monde. The apartments can be rented out via Alpine Residences from 215 - the equivalent of 189 - a night on a self-catering basis for a two-bed apartment sleeping six people to 430 - or 379 - a night for a five-bed penthouse apartment. There is a fantastic restaurant on site, with plenty of further eating out options in and around Les Gets. For hungry hikers and trail runners, there is a hidden gem in terms of a place to eat called Les Chevrelles, about half an hour's walk from the top of the Mont Chery gondola, which is 150 metres from Annapurna. Head along the trail towards Mont Caly and you will find it, along with breath-taking views of Mont Blanc on a clear day. If you fancy a mini-break centred around fizz and food, there is no finer place than the Champagne region of France. And if you drive your own car on an indulgent three-night whizz across the Channel, you can load up with wine, cheese, cured meats, pate and baguettes to bring home with you. Book priority boarding/offloading on a DFDS ferry crossing from Dover and you can also relax in the spacious premium lounge on board with snacks, beverages and blasphemy! prosecco included. Its an easy three-hour run from Calais on major toll roads to the town of Epernay, the centre of all things fizzy, including hundreds of champagne houses. Grape expectations: Vineyards and the hilltop village of Mutigny Accommodation-wise, youre spoilt for choice. We stayed in a spacious two-bedroom apartment in quiet Cramant, a 15-minute drive from Epernay. The property wasnt fancy but it had a well-equipped kitchen, a lounge/dining room, and a bathroom. More to the point, it had a huge terrace with vineyard views, where we enjoyed post-prandial tastings of the spoils from our cellar visits. That way we could imbibe without having to argue about whose turn it was to be the designated driver. DAY ONE Its never too early for fizz, so the first stop on our mini-break was Champagne Voirin-Jumel (champagne-voirin-jumel.com) in Cramant, close to our holiday apartment. Handily, they were holding their annual Tasting Party, where 2 (1.80) bought a champagne flute to keep and a first glass of wine. Free cellar tours are offered, too, and the festival included a food market, so we lunched on the hoof. Next stop was Avenue de Champagne in Epernay, where you get an overview of the many cellars and their surroundings on an hour-long tuk-tuk tour (tuktukchampenois.fr). It costs from 15 (13.40) per person. Then take your pick of the tastings on offer. Celebrated: The charming village of Hautvillers is the final resting place of Dom Perignon To start, we chose Champagne Boizel at Atelier 1834 (boizel.com/en), which opened its cellars to the public for the first time on April 30 this year. Its chic and tasteful, with pristine cellars; visits with tastings cost from 22 (19.60) per person for two champagnes. Vineyards offer a variety of tasting packages at different costs, depending on the number and types of champagne you try. You soon learn how different fizz can taste depending on the grapes used chardonnay, pinot noir, pinot meunier, or a mix. Fortunately, the excellent Epernay Tourist Office offers regular free yes, free! champagne tastings over the summer months. Our best tasting was at C. Comme Champagne (c-comme.fr) under the excellent tutelage of Frederic Dricot. This characterful bar is stuffed with the creations of smaller producers a birthday bottle of Alain Leboeuf Blanc de Blancs is chilling nicely in my fridge. For dinner, we strolled to La Table Kobus (la-table-kobus.fr), an Epernay must-do apparently, but it was having an off-night. The food was ok, but the service was slow. DAY TWO We headed for the charming village of Hautvillers, a 20-minute drive from Cramant, for a guided canalside and vineyard bike ride (from 55, or 49 per person) from the tourist office (tourisme-hautvillers.com). Theres good news and good news the bikes are electric, which makes tackling hills easier, and the three-and-a-half-hour excursion includes a tasting at a champagne producer. For us it was a trip to Guy Charbaut (champagne-guy-charbaut.com) in Mareuil-Sur-Ay. Pioneer: A statue of Dom Perignon in Epernay Hautvillers is the final resting place of Dom Perignon, the monk who reputedly invented champagne he didnt, but he did perfect techniques used to create great fizz. He arrived at the abbey in 1668 and stayed for 47 years until his death hes buried in the abbey church. Hautvillers is also celebrated for the wonderful iron signs signifying champagne-related jobs that adorn streets and houses. The Office de Tourisme Intercommunal dHautvillers runs guided tours (tourisme-hautvillers.com). We had a lunch of tapas-style regional goodies at Au 36 (au36.net), plus a tasting of four champagnes. Afterwards, we visited the hilltop village of Mutigny, and walked the Sentier du Vigneron, a signposted, circular, 90-minute trail. Information panels in English explain the champagne-making process. On our last night we drove to Le Mesnil-sur-Oger for dinner at La Gare (lagarelemesnil.com) and a final glass of champagne sante! The cellar at Champagne Boizel was opened to the public for the first time on April 30 this year Continuing our series featuring the holiday memories of famous people, this week author Wilbur Smith, 85, recalls his lifetime of adventures My first holiday: I was eight and my sister was six. In the darkness around us lay the wild country of the Zambezi Valley. This was the untamed land, yet to be touched by road or rail, that my father had led us into two weeks beforehand at the start of the long dry season. Our annual safari in Zambia would become the highlight of my year, the trip around which my young life was built. I loved the sounds of the bush at night: the whoop of hyena, the chorus of cicadas, the distant growl of a leopard hunting in the dark. First trip abroad: I grew up in Zambia and my first trip overseas was to London, when I decided to see what reaction there was to my first novel, When The Lion Feeds. I didnt find it in a single bookshop window and went back to Africa feeling very small. Wild life: Wilbur (above) looks back over his best and worst travel adventures First school trip: I dont remember my first school break, but I do remember my trips to school. The train journey from Zambia back to boarding school in South Africa after every holiday was purgatory. My mother would fight back tears as I said goodbye at Lusaka station, and the dread in the pit of my stomach felt like lead as I boarded the train. It was a journey spread over two nights and three days, and I had to change trains at Bulawayo in what is now Zimbabwe, and again at Johannesburg to go on to Natal. I spent the whole time staring out of the window, yearning to be free, as I watched the countryside I loved disappearing into the distance. The school was a constant torment. Best holiday: The best one is always the next. Ive been from San Francisco to Moscow and back many times. Ive had too many good holidays to decide which one was best. Worst holiday: Ive had my fair share. The dreaded Delhi Belly. The unrelenting fog of jet-lag in Japan. An elephant almost trampling me in Botswana. The less said about them the better. My perfect companion: My beautiful wife Niso and a few good books. Essential holiday item: It may sound silly, but it would be my prized Joseph Rodgers clasp knife. I love knives and collect them with relish. Any time a friend gives me a knife as a present, I write my thanks with my signature on the back of a 10 note. During my first year at school, my clasp knife was stolen. Grandpa Courtney had given it to me when I was seven. Id watched him slaughter pigs with it: hed used it with astonishing expertise. It was my link to home, that rough, tough devil-may-care world Id left behind. And now it belonged to somebody else just another stolen item. I knew I would never see it again and I was inconsolable. Dreamland: Wilbur aged eight with his father and three slain lions in Africa in 1941 Dream destination: Africa is the dreamland and inspiration behind so much of my writing. Im lucky to be able to travel whenever and wherever I wish from the Kalahari Desert to the Bonaventure River in Quebec. I have criss-crossed the world and never tire of new places. Ive just returned from a wonderful holiday in Botswana and were planning to go again in September. Maybe Ill fit in some fishing in Iceland in the meantime. David Spade said the healing process has begun for his family in the wake of sister-in-law Kate Spade's tragic suicide. Just a month after funeral services for his sister-in-law, the Saturday Night Live alum, 53, was back to business, promoting his new movie. But he also offered a few words about his family tragedy. Kate, a renown fashion designer, was married to David's brother, entrepreneur Andy Spade. Recovering: David Spade, 53, said the healing process has begun for his family in the wake of sister-in-law Kate Spade's tragic suicide. He was snapped in April in NYC In an interview, David Spade said 'everyone's pulling it together, adding, 'I think we're getting in the best place we can at this point,' according to the AP. Less than three weeks after Spade's death, her father, Earl Brosnahan, died at age 89 0 the day before his daughter's funeral. Shortly after his wife's death, Andy Spade released a statement noting she had 'suffered from depression and anxiety.' The Joe Dirt star, in the wake of the series of tragedies, made a $100,000 donation to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, which provides education and support for families impacted by the disease. Memories: David shared a shot he took with Kate on social media after her death Better times: (L-R) Andy Spade, Courteney Cox Arquette, David Spade and Kate Spade posed for a group shot in 2006 in LA When asked about the donation, Spade replied, 'Well, I think there's a lot of people that are at a lot of different levels of situations.' The Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star actor referenced Kate's hometown of New York City, calling it 'a tough town' that 'gets stressful' on people's psyches. 'Everybody feels like they're an inch away from a breakdown,' David said. 'It's very hard. So, you can't look down at those people. You just say, "Hey! You help each other out if you can."' Spade's new film, the comedy Father of the Year, made its Netflix debut Friday. She catapulted to fame after playing Victoria 'Vicky' Lathum in 1999s American Pie. And Tara Reid showed that she's still got what it takes while greeting fans at Comic-Con in San Diego on Friday. The 42-year-old actress looked great in a plunging, emerald blue jumpsuit and waved at the crowd while on her way to promote her latest Sharknado movie. Comic Con 2018: Tara Reid, 42, looked great in a plunging, emerald blue jumpsuit and waved at the crowd while on her way to promote her latest Sharknado movie on Friday in San Diego The Big Lebowski star showed off her slender figure and long legs in a satin emerald blue jumpsuit. The outfit came with a white collar and no sleeves. It's plunging neckline and sheer sides that ran from top to bottom showed off some of the beauty's best assets. Six gold embellishments were put into place down the stomach, adding the perfect pop and the stunner wore high black heals with a peek a boo toe. Walking the carpet: The Big Lebowski star posed with her Sharknado co star in front of cameras as she showed off her slender figure and long legs in a satin emerald blue jumpsuit Still styling: The Big Lebowski star showed off her slender figure and long legs in a satin emerald blue jumpsuit Luscious locks: The blonde beauty wore her wavy platinum tresses untied and cascading down her shoulders Sexy in satin: Tara's plunging neckline and sheer sides ran from top to bottom showed off some of the beauty's best assets The blonde beauty wore her wavy platinum tresses untied and cascading down her shoulders. Tara completed the look with smokey eye makeup and a slash of bright red lipstick. Also at the event was Tara's Sharknado 6 co-stars Ian Ziering, 54, and Cassie Scerbo, 28. Also at Comic Con San Diego was Tara's Sharknado 6 co-stars Ian Ziering, 54, and Cassie Scerbo, 28. Comfortable and casual: The Saved by the Bell alum dressed in a dark blue and black checkered button up short sleeve shirt with black jeans and black boots The Saved by the Bell alum dressed in a dark blue and black checkered button up short sleeve shirt with black jeans and black boots. Cassie went the more daring route wearing a blazer as a dress that came with a daring neckline and showed off her fit legs. White embellishments ran along the top of the outfit and on the bottom of her sleeves. Co-stars: Like Tara, Cassie went the more daring route wearing a blazer as a dress that came with a daring neckline and showed off her fit legs On the Make It Or Break It vet's feet were simple black high heels. The trio were at the convention to promote Sharknado 6 and to sit down with fans and answer questions during a panel discussion. According to TVLine, Syfy has decided to conclude the Sharknado franchise with the sixth film. The 2014 sequel, Sharknado 2: The Second One, pulled in major ratings with 3.9 million viewers, but that number dropped by more than half by the time the fifth movie, Sharknado 5: Global Swarming, debuted in 2017. Group photo: The cast of Sharknado 6, including Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, and Cassie Scerbo, pose for a picture as they attend their panel discussion at Comic Con 2018 in San Diego Chatting it up: Tara Reid spoke onstage at The Last Sharknado: It's About Time panel during Comic-Con International 2018 at San Diego Convention Center Lais Ribeiro has revealed her ten-year-old son Alexandre was diagnosed autism five years ago. The Victoria's Secret model, 27, got a new tattoo inked alongside her rib cage in his honor. The tattoo is of a ribbon, which is a symbol for autism. Proud mom: Victoria's Secret model Lais Ribeiro just got a new tattoo in honor of her little boy with autism The Brazilian bombshell revealed the news about her son's diagnosis posting a picture of herself sprawled on a tattoo chair with her arm above her head and shirt raised up exposing her ribs. Beside her was the tattoo artist drilling away at her skin. She explained the meaning behind her latest piece of art in the photo's caption. 'So this just happened guys! I always wanted to do a second tatto (sic) and I couldn't find anything meaningful enough till a meeting that I had couple weeks ago about autism and kids with special needs. Don't know if you guys know and I was never open about it but my son was diagnosed with autism 5 years ago,' the beauty started out. Opening up: The Brazilian bombshell revealed the news about her son's diagnosis posting a picture of herself sprawled on a tattoo chair with her arm above her head and shirt raised up exposing her ribs 'My first tatto is his name on the back of my neck and finally I found what I wanted to be my second. I decided to do the symbol of autism( and kids with special needs) as a tatto and it's beautiful and perfect just the way I wanted to be,' she concluded. The Angel then shared a photo of herself looking gorgeous showing off the final product in a shirtless selfie. The stunner captioned the shot with a simple heart emoji. Lais officially became an Angel for the lingerie brand in 2015. Last fall, she was chosen for the first time to wear the Victoria's Secret fantasy bra at the VS Fashion Show in Shanghai, China. It's the highest honor an Angel can receive. The bra was handset with diamonds, yellow sapphires, and blue topaz in 18-karat gold on a custom Victoria's Secret Dream Angels Demi Bra and embellished with nearly 6,000 precious gemstones. Australian actress Rachel Griffiths is set to debut in SBS crime drama Dead Lucky alongside Asian stars Yoson An and Xana Tang. And in Saturday's BW magazine, the 49-year-old revealed just how important it is to include racial diversity on screen. Referencing multicultural actors Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman and Chadwick Boseman in Black Panther, the actress said: 'American culture is realising that audiences were getting bored with white Marvel movies.' 'Audiences are getting bored with white Marvel movies': Australian actress Rachel Griffiths, 49, said that including racial diversity on screen is a guaranteed hit with punters Rachel explained: 'It's just such a lost opportunity. The texture and the stories, the different funnies that come from different cultural backgrounds.' 'American culture is realising that audiences were getting bored with white Marvel movies, but throw in a girl [Wonder Woman] or an African-American hero [Black Panther] and it's a hit,' she continued. Rachel, who has starred in US TV drama Six Feet Under as well as Brothers & Sisters, is back in Australia to promote new SBS crime drama, Dead Lucky. New role: Rachel (right) is back in Australia to promote new SBS local crime drama, Dead Lucky, also starring Yoson An (left) The mother-of-three stars as Detective Grace Gibbs in the four-part series, alongside Chinese-born Yoson An, Chinese-Vietnamese star Xana Tang and Australian Mojean Aria. Dead Lucky is centred on two feuding detectives who hunt down a cop killer who is leaving a trail of broken lives across Sydney. In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday, Rachel said the opportunity to work with Yoson, 26, was enticing. 'He has unique cultural history to draw from': In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday, Rachel said the opportunity to work with Yoson was enticing 'Yoson is adorable and very talented and he has unique cultural history to draw from. He would tell me what a Chinese mother would say, and the kind of pressures that would be on him from his culture,' Rachel told the publication. 'That's been fascinating. For me, that was the most compelling reason to make the series because it was about this woman intersecting with worlds she didn't know and didn't choose,' she added. Dead Lucky premieres Wednesday July 25 at 9.30pm on SBS They made the shock decision to quit the villa. And following Georgia Steel and beau Sam Bird's departure, Love Island viewers were left less-than-impressed with the drama-free episode on Friday night. Fans of the hit ITV2 show took to Twitter to beg producers to bring back the dynamic couple, calling it a 'snoozefest' without them. Bring them back! Following Georgia Steel and beau Sam Bird's departure, Love Island viewers were left less-than-impressed with the drama-free episode on Friday night Viewers watched budding romances form on Friday's show, with Dr Alex George rekindling his fling with Alexandra Crane, while sparks flew between Laura Anderson and Paul Knops. Meanwhile, Jack Fowler's usual cool and collected stance was temporarily thrown when he and new Laura went on their first date together, a picnic on the beach. With Jack declaring: 'Today has I know been the best day I've had on this island', the pair moved in for a kiss. 'Snoozefest': Fans of the hit ITV2 show took to Twitter to beg producers to bring back the dynamic couple, calling it a 'snoozefest' without them Back together; Viewers watched budding romances form on the show, with Dr Alex George rekindling his fling with Alexandra Crane Steamy smooch: Meanwhile sparks flew between Laura Anderson and Paul Knops Must be love: Jack Fowler's usual cool and collected stance was temporarily thrown when he and new Laura set off on their first date together, a picnic on the beach However, fans didn't seem content with the lovey-dovey scenes and called for producers to reinstate Georgia, 20, and Sam, 25, to inject some drama back into the show. One wrote on Twitter: 'Boring Boring Boring Bring back @geesteelx and @SamRobertBird for God's sake at least they brought a bit of excitement to the Island. #losingthewilltolive', while another added: 'Just caught up with tonight's @LoveIsland. It was boring without @geesteelx @SamBird. Missed them on my screen tonight. Big mistake letting them go @LoveIsland'. Another typed: 'Am I the only one thinking Love Island is boring without Georgia?', while a different viewer chimed: 'Love island just isnt the same without cute little baba gee so sad #loveisland!!!' Georgia made the decision to leave with her beau Sam, with the pair refusing to recouple with other partners in the ultimate act of loyalty on Thursday night. During the recoupling, she told her fellow islanders: 'We cant be kissing in the toilet, we cant be having cuddles on the sofa because thats wrong. And, I thought I cant not do that in here with Sam. Secret smooches: Before making the final decision to follow their hearts and leave the villa, they stole a series of kisses in the bathroom away from the other islanders prying eyes 'Bored': However, fans didn't seem content with the lovey-dovey scenes and called for producers to reinstate Georgia, 20, and Sam, 25, to inject some drama back into the show During Friday's show, Laura made no secret of her thrill at being recoupled with Paul. She said to him: 'Im obviously really happy that youve picked me. I thought (you might) yesterday a little bit because I saw you making such an effort. Then I saw you speaking to Alexandra a bit. 'I know its weird to say thanks but I am really grateful that you picked me. I am and it was probably the most nerve-wracking thing ever. My heart was racing and I was like I have no idea how this is going to go".' Delighted: During Friday's show, Laura made no secret of her thrill at being recoupled with Paul Shock factor: Delving into Pauls past, Laura then asked about his previous jobs, with Paul revealing he had kissed Britney Spears Delving into Pauls past, Laura then asked about his previous jobs, but was not expecting the anecdote he had to share. He told her: 'When I was in LA, I think it was one of the first jobs I did out there, they called me up and said "Paul, do you fancy doing a music video?" and I was like "ah yeah, cool" and I said "whos it for?" and they were like "were not supposed to tell you who its for, you have to go for a casting for it, but its for (whisper) Britney Spears".' As the conversation ensued, Paul admitted he kissed Britney, which left Laura quizzing the 31-year-old carpenter if she was single at the time, while pointing out she was younger than the music icon. Sealed with a kiss: Meanwhile, Jack Fowler had also moved on with surfer Laura. During their romantic beach date, he said: 'With yourself, I felt like it was so natural' Meanwhile, Jack Fowler had also moved on with surfer Laura. During their romantic beach date, he said: 'With yourself, I felt like it was so natural. I didnt feel like I was on edge. I felt a little bit nervous. Especially in the villa when I see you. 'This is the happiest Ive been. I know that, and I think the boys know that too. Which is down to you. Youve got a bit about you girl. Perfect scenery, perfect sangria, perfect girl. And back in the Beach Hut, new Laura is echoed Jacks sentiments. She said: 'The date was so good. It was just so nice to be at the beach, which is somewhere I spend so much time, and to be there with Jack was just so special.' Mackenzie Standifer and Ryan Edwards have announced their departure from MTV's Teen Mom. 'We're not returning to Teen Mom this season,' Standifer, 21, told E! News on Friday. Standifer, who tied the knot with Edwards in May of 2017, said that MTV presented conditions for their participation on the show moving forward. Gone: Mackenzie Standifer, 21, and Ryan Edwards, 30, on Friday announced their departure from MTV's Teen Mom in a chat with E! News 'The network told us they don't want to show Ryan as a recovering addict,' said Standifer, who's expecting her first child with Edwards. 'But they did want to enter a contract with our unborn baby and have the baby film with Ryan's parents so it would look like someone else is raising it.' Edwards, who has a nine-year-old son named Bentley with Teen Mom star Maci Bookout, said that MTV is taking Bookout's 'word on how [he's] doing,' as well as leverage her status with the network to dictate his future with them. The Chattanooga, Tennessee native, 30, said Maci wouldn't film the show unless he entered rehab and left the series. 'But I'm sober,' he said. Revealing: Mackenzie told the outlet she believes Bristol Palin was brought in to replace the void left by Farrah Abraham Edwards told the outlet that MTV presented them with a one-sided business arrangement: 'They want to want to talk about us but they don't want to pay us and film us.' Standifer opened up about the behind-the-scenes details leading to the parting. 'The show had been paying for my healthcare and for the baby so they could film the visits and then a week ago they let me know that would no longer be the case,' she said. 'They're not going to film the birth. We're not going to be on at all. Expecting: Mackenzie revealed earlier this year that she's expecting her second child Speaking out: Edwards opened up in an Instagram post Friday of his drug issues and bashed the network for their actions, with the following graphic 'Maci can't speak to Ryan and Ryan can't speak to Maci - that was a mutual decision. But she doesn't know what's going on in our lives.' Mackenzie also said, 'Theyre writing us out of the show right now and making it seem like we dipped out on our baby, on Bentley and on everyone. And thats just not the case.' Standifer made clear that she and Edwards leave the show with a bitter taste, noting that this was likely the end of their business relationship with the network. 'If they don't want to film now,' she said, 'then we don't want to film later.' Edwards opened up in an Instagram post Friday of his drug issues and bashed the network for their actions. 'I will never stop speaking out against this horrible disease! It consumes your life and turns you into someone you dont even know.' He advised fans not to 'take everything you see on MTV as factual truth. 'They dont want to show me or Mack in a happy light or that I am active in my recovery. I AM,' he said. 'They want me to look angry, passive aggressive and uncaring regarding things that mean the most to me. 'Im done taking their s*** and letting the world believe this by standing up for myself. Youre believing a lie. And soon... very very soon, you WILL see the TRUTH behind the LIAR.' It was recently announced Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol will be the next cast member on Teen Mom OG, following the departure of Farrah Abraham. He confirmed his exit from the show earlier this week. And the new trailer for season nine of The Walking Dead has given fans a first look at Andrew Lincoln's last ride, as he boards a motorcycle with brother-in-arms Norman Reedus for a moment that could have been plucked from his final scenes. The preview, released as the cast appeared at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday, showed Lincoln's Rick Grimes holding the hips of Daryl Dixon (Reedus) before tension seems to build between them, as they end up questioning if they are on the same side. Vroom vroom: The new trailer for season nine of The Walking Dead shows one last motorcycle ride between him and his brother-in-arms Norman Reedus Their joyride ends up being the turn in the teaser which hints at a civil war within Rick's group. Some of it seems to come to a head after the two get off the motorcycle as Daryl throws the two-wheeler down before staring down Rick. They are later seen in a dark room when Reedus' character queries: 'Are we on the same side Rick?' Fracture: Their joyride ends up being the turn in the teaser which hints at a civil war within Rick's group Tense: The duo are later seen in a dark room when Reedus' character queries: 'Are we on the same side Rick?' Guns drawn: The five minute clip focuses on the civil war within the group, as star Andrew Lincoln prepares to say goodbye to the show after eight years in the role Lincoln's character quickly answers: 'Well you tell me.' One interesting thing to note is that Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Negan) is not seen in the trailer but could be heard saying 'you think you got this all on lock' as Rick is seen looking over the camp. Only the silhouette of his face could be seen as he is locked up in a cell while speaking to Rick but his voice could be heard loud and clear. Interesting: The dynamic of this season seems to have completely shifted Leader of the pack: No doubt it is shaping up to be an interesting season as lead actor Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) will be departing in the first half of it Gone? Comic book creator and executive producer of the series Robert Kirkman confirmed Lincoln's departure at the convention on Thursday Tough times: Obviously not a lot is revealed in the short clip but there does seem to be tension which will be coming to a head between those in Rick's group Tense: There are some interesting tidbits as the end includes a short monologue by Danai Guerira (Michonne) 'We need to start making some rules an agreement between all the communities': She could be seen talking to Lauren Cohan (Maggie Rhee) Alpha: The trailer seems to indicate that Maggie wants to be more of a leader role in the group Smashing success: She also brutally kills a zombie to signify her new edge There are some interesting tidbits as the end includes a short monologue by Danai Guerira (Michonne) who is talking to Lauren Cohan (Maggie Rhee). She says: 'We need to start making some rules an agreement between all the communities. 'Like this is how we treat each other and this is what happens when we don't.' Maggie does not say a word but it is interesting to note that it has been reported that Cohan will have a more limited role in the upcoming season. However the trailer seems to indicate that Maggie wants to be more of a leader role in the group. Oh no: Maggie does not say a word but it is interesting to note that it has been reported that Cohan will have a more limited role in the upcoming season Just the two of us: She is featured prominently in the short teaser, however, as she could be seen walking alongside Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon) on a deserted road She is featured prominently in the short teaser, however, as she could be seen walking alongside Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon) on a deserted road. It all culminates in a fight between Daryl and one of the members of the group which seems to be new castmember Zach McGowan who will be playing Jed. The Walking Dead will return for season 9 in October. Still swinging: It all culminates in a fight between Daryl and one of the members of the group Not a good first impression: It seems to be new castmember Zach McGowan who will be playing Jed Haymaker: Daryl punches the man in the face with tons of force Coming soon: The Walking Dead will be returning for season 9 in October Old school cool: The group could be seen taking a carriage from what seems to be the Capitol Building Iconic: Rosita (Christian Serratos) could be seen covering herself in mud to avoid the zombies in a scene much like the comics She has joined the cast as the supervillain Typhoid Mary for the second series of Netflix drama Iron Fist. And Alice Eve looked ready to mean business as she posed up a storm on day two of Comic Con in San Diego on Friday. The Star Trek actress, 36, flaunted her tremendous pins in a figure-hugging black mini-dress for the smouldering photoshoot to promote her joining the show. Glam: Alice Eve looked ready to mean business as she posed up a storm on day two of Comic Con in San Diego on Friday Resting her lithe limbs on a steel desk, Alice showed off her incredible figure in the LBD as she channeled Thyphoid Mary's character. She accentuated her leggy frame with a pair of black sky-scraper stilettos while the fluted sleeves of the dress showcased her toned arms. The Star Trek icon styled her long blonde locks in a sleek centre-parting and amped up the glamour with fluttery eyelashes, blush-swept cheeks and a slick of pink lipstick. Supervillain: The Star Trek actress, 36, flaunted her tremendous pins in a figure-hugging black mini-dress for the smouldering photoshoot to promote her joining Marvel's Iron Fist on Netflix Keeping a secret: During the panel, Alice discussed her villain Typhoid Mary, while Finn Jones revealed that the fight sequences in the show were all done by the actors Gorgeous: The blonde beauty accentuated her leggy frame with a pair of black sky-scraper stilettos while the fluted sleeves of the dress showcased her toned arms Iron Fist is the only Marvel-Netflix production to have a panel at San Diego Comic-Con. According to EW, several clips were played to the fans, showing impressive fight sequences. During the panel, Alice discussed her villain Typhoid Mary, while Finn Jones revealed that the fight sequences in the show were all done by the actors. Speaking of the fiery character, Alice said Typhoid Mary will be 'very, very violent'. Challenging: During the panel, she said: 'The reason I took the role is because I got to play someone with multiple personalities' She said: 'The reason I took the role is because I got to play someone with multiple personalities.' The second series will see the return of Jessica Stroup and Tom Pelphrey as the Meachum siblings Joy and Ward. Also returning is Sacha Dhawan's Davos aka the Steel Serpent. However, there is no news on whether Mike Colter's Luke Cage will return the favour and appear in Iron Fist, after Danny Rand stopped by Luke Cage season 2. The actor, when asked if he will be appearing in any other Marvel Netflix series, replied: 'I cannot say'. The official synopsis for Iron Fist season 2 is: 'Season 2 furthers the transformation of Danny, a character with a fish out of water coming of age story making his way in a harsh new world, battling to work out who he is. 'This season, Danny has promised that with Matt Murdock gone, he will step up and protect his city. But a sinister plot twist threatens his very identity and he must conquers his villains to protect the town and people he holds close to his heart.' THE World Health Organ- isation (WHO) has donated medical supplies worth 2.5 million US dollars (about 5.5bn/-) to the government meant to fight pandemic diseases in the country. Resident Coordinator of the WHO, Dr Adiele Onyeze, while handing over the items yesterday, said that the equipment would strengthen the capacity of the government to identify and take im- mediate interventions on diseases in protecting peoples health. Speaking after receiv- ing the donation, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Community Devel- opment, Gender, the Elderly and Children, Dr Mpoki Ulisubisya, said the medical supplies would mainly be used to combat diseases such as cholera, Ebola, Dengue, Yellow Fever and others. The WHO has helped us on a better way to control these diseases, by giving us the facilities, so now we stand a better chance to fight these diseases, he said. Despite the fact that the country has yet to record any Ebola case, cholera has been a common disease affecting Tanzanians. The disease has been a major challenge in the regions of Songwe, Rukwa and Arusha where the ministry deployed a team in the areas to contain the situation and control spread of the disease. For instance, in Rukwa Region, seven people died of cholera following an outbreak that hit five wards along the Lake Rukwa Basin in Sumbawanga District of Rukwa Region, with 138 others diagnosed with the disease from November last year. On the wake of the out- break of the deadly disease, the Sumbawanga District Commissioner (DC), Dr Halfany Haule closed fish- ing camps and banned all fishing activities carried on Lake Rukwa on the side of Sumbawanga District, until assurance from health providers is issued that the deadly disease has been brought under control. Bindi Irwin is set to turn 20 on Tuesday. And the wildlife warrior has now revealed how she plans to mark the milestone. Unsurprisingly, the down-to-earth star is eschewing pomp and ceremony in order to spend the day feeding her beloved crocodiles at Australia Zoo in Queensland. All grown up! Bindi Irwin (right) has revealed how how she's spending her 20th birthday... so will boyfriend Chandler Powell (left) propose on her big day? According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Bindi will also meet with fans on the day. She will also reportedly cut a birthday cake inside the 'Crocoseum', the world-famous feeding pit at Australia Zoo where her late father, Steve, performed for fans. Bindi's long-term love Chandler Powell, 21, is expected to be by her side for the celebrations, and has already gifted her with a big bunch of flowers. 'Patiently waiting for the proposal': A photo shared by Bindi to Instagram in June was inundated with comments from fans urging her to marry Chandler Powell (left) Bindi shared a snap of the florals to Instagram last week, writing: 'July 24 is when I celebrate my birthday. My love decided to surprise me early with this stunning bouquet.' She added: 'Every day is special with you, @chandlerpowell. I love you so much.' It's unclear whether Chandler will go one better on Bindi's actual birthday and present her with an engagement ring. 'Every day is so special with you': Bindi recently celebrated her anniversary with boyfriend Chandler in a loved-up social media tribute Fans have been speculating that the American will soon be popping the question to his superstar girlfriend. Last month, fans flooded the comments section beneath a couple selfie Bindi uploaded to Instagram. 'Every time you post a picture together I'm always sure it will be your engagement announcement. Wishful thinking!' one wrote. Goodbye teens! Bindi is all grown up, turning 20 next Tuesday Another echoed the sentiment, writing: 'Patiently waiting for the proposal photo.' One follower tagged Chandler directly, writing: '@chandlerpowell propose already, man! Come on!' They've recently been snapped spending a lot of time in Los Angeles with sons Rocket, 3, and 21-month-old Racer. And on Thursday night, Lara Worthington (nee Bingle) and her movie star husband Sam enjoyed a night out with their brood in West Hollywood. Clad in a one-shoulder asymmetrical black top and matching wide-legged pants, Lara looked chic as the group waited outside The Little Door restaurant. Family night out! Lara Bingle (pictured) and movie star husband Sam Worthington was spotted stepping out for dinner in Los Angeles with son Rocket, 3, and 21-month-old son Racer on Thursday night Flaunting her natural features with minimal make-up, the blonde stunner allowed her choppy locks to take centre stage. Stepping out in a pair of black strappy heels, Lara appeared to be on official mum duty as she rallied her brood outside the eaterie. At one point, Lara was seen speaking animatedly with a female friend while husband Sam carried young Racer, who was contentedly sucking on a pacifier. Chatterbox: Lara (second from left) was seen speaking animatedly with a female friend while husband Sam (second from right) carried Racer, who was contentedly sucking on a pacifier Dad duty: Sam, who is shooting the Avatar movie sequels with director James Cameron, went casual in a grey T-shirt emblazoned with the slogan, Fight of the Century 1971 NYC Lara mingle: The model later allowed Racer to walk by himself while she chatted to another member of their party, a man who appeared to be holding the hand of Rocket Sam, who is shooting the Avatar movie sequels with director James Cameron, went casual in a grey T-shirt emblazoned with the slogan, Fight of the Century 1971 NYC. Sporting a noticeable 'dadbod', the 41-year-old star also wore glasses, faded black pants and black and white trainers. He later passed young Racer to his mum to carry, while keeping a military green bag slung over his shoulder. Father's figure: Sporting a noticeable 'dadbod', 41-year-old star Sam wore glasses, faded black pants and black and white trainers Lara then allowed the little tot to walk by himself while she chatted to another member of their party, a man who appeared to be holding the hand of Rocket. Shortly afterwards, Sam was seen again carrying blonde Racer, while keeping a watchful eye out for traffic. In step: Lara strode confidently behind Sam while holding what appeared to be car keys A harried Sam at one point was spotted walking around the other side of the couple's black car while carrying the bag. Lara strode confidently behind the duo while holding what appeared to be car keys. It's been a busy time for year for the model turned entrepreneur. Back in black: The mum of two rocked a chic look in the monochrome ensemble Acting as creative director for Australian label Zulu & Zephyr and stylist for MatchesFashion, Lara was also recently announced as the new face of luxury jewellery brand, Tiffany & Co. However, she sparked rumours earlier this month that her cosmetics empire may be shutting down after she held an online fire sale on The Base by Lara Bingle website. The site, which has now been now 'temporarily' deactivated, had been flogging products at bargain basement prices over the past few months, according to The Daily Telegraph. But Patrick Devlin, former Buying Director for Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop, whom Lara recently hired to help grow her business, has denied claims The Base is closing down. 'We are working on a relaunch,' he told The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday. She is the Real Housewife of Orange County star who has previously admitted to having had rhinoplasty and a chin implant. And in an interview with Daily Mail Australia on Friday, Vicki Gunvalson revealed that she will 'keep tweaking' when it comes to her health and body. The 56-year-old also admitted to having gained 'six pounds [three kilograms] in the last year'. EXCLUSIVE: 'Stay tuned': Real Housewives of Orange County's Vicki Gunvalson, 56, revealed she will 'keep tweaking' her appearance and admitted to gaining 'three kilos in the last year' 'When you get to [age] 56, it's constantly trying to tweak and understand your body,' Vicki said, while promoting the 13th season of the show on hayu. 'I just went and got my hormones all re-checked because I've put on, like, six pounds in the last year, which I don't know why,' the TV personality continued. Vicki however joked that her medico said it's simply down to ageing: 'My doctor said it's called age. Your metabolism and everything starts slowing down.' 'I do my best. I work out an hour a day, but beyond that I can't really do much more,' the businesswoman added. Weight battle: 'I got my hormones all re-checked because I've put on, like, six pounds in the last year, which I don't know why,' Vicki (pictured) said in an interview with Daily Mail Australia Fitness aside, Vicki admitted that she will 'keep tweaking' her appearance: 'I will keep tweaking as I try to improve my health and improve my body. But yes, stay tuned for some more tweaking that will be done.' And while the reality TV veteran is open to future enhancements, one procedure she won't be signing up for is the Brazilian butt lift. 'Personally, I don't understand the butt lift because I want my butt smaller,' Vicki said in between laughs. Dedicated: The veteran TV personality said that she works out for an hour a day and does a mix of cardio and weights Vicki, who has starred in all 13 seasons of The Real Housewives of Orange County, has previously admitted to having had rhinoplasty and a chin implant in 2013. And in 2016, Vicki confirmed to Bravo's Andy Cohen that she had undergone an eye lift. Quizzed during the show's reunion episode as to whether the rumours were true, Vicki told Andy: 'Oh, my God, of course I did, I'm not going to deny it.' In the best hands: Vicki is pictured with cosmetic dermatologist to the stars Dr Simon Ourian Surprised by her admission, Andy responded: 'You did? When?' 'I was filming when it happened,' she answered. 'You guys didn't even know, I was only out for four days.' The Real Housewives of Orange County Season 13 streams on hayu every Tuesday, same day as the U.S. Since first shooting to fame back in 2004, Dr Andrew Rochford has appeared on all three commercial TV networks. But the 38-year-old personality now says he almost walked away from his showbiz career for good. Ahead of his return to screens following a two-year hiatus, the star told Sydney Confidential on Saturday: 'It can be a really sad and miserable and toxic place, the media.' 'The media can be a miserable and toxic place': Dr Andrew Rochford (pictured) has said he almost turned his back on TV, as he makes a return to screens in Ten's new quiz show, Pointless Andrew, who gained a medical degree from the University of Sydney, found fame at age 24 when he appeared with his wife, Jamie Nicholson, on the second series of The Block. The couple went on to win the popular Channel Nine series, and Andrew was catapulted into an accidental career in television. In 2010, he became a panelist on Channel Ten's The Project, often filling as the show's co-host alongside Carrie Bickmore, 37. Claim to fame: Andrew (left) and wife Jamie Nicholson (right) won the 2004 series of Channel Nine's popular reality series, The Block Way back when: In 2010, Andrew became a panelist on Channel Ten's The Project, often filling as the show's co-host alongside Carrie Bickmore He then appeared on the network's ill-fated morning show, Breakfast, before joining The Living Room. Andrew jumped ship to Channel Seven in 2014, appearing as the network's National Medical Editor before leaving two years later. The star now claims it was then that he began wondering whether he ever work in the industry again. Small screen veteran: Andrew has appeared on three commercial TV networks, and is now heading back to Channel 10 'The hardest bit (of TV) is seeing people really chewed up and spat out by the space and I just don't like that,' Andrew explained to Sydney Confidential. However, the medico is about to return to screens in Ten's new quiz show, Pointless, which premieres on Monday night. Starring alongside Mark Humphries, 32, the show is replacing Grant Denyer's recently axed Family Feud. The private investigator accused of planting a tracking device on Richard Simmons' car has been charged with a crime. Scott Brian Matthews was charged with two counts of unlawfully using a GPS tracker, according to TMZ. The Reclusive aerobics guru had filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles PI last month for 'placing a tracking device on his car for over a year.' The private investigator accused of planting a tracking device on Richard Simmons' car has been charged with a crime (Simmons pictured 2013) The fitness flamboyant expert - who turned 70 last week - and his live-in caretaker/driver Theresa Reveles discovered the unauthorized Live View GPS device in December, according to THR. Simmons and Reveles are seeking punitive and treble damages for invasion of privacy and trespass after suffering 'mental anguish, anxiety, feeling of powerlessness, frustration, and humiliation.' Richard (born Milton) claimed Matthews was providing information about his hospital visits to the National Enquirer, which published a cover story in June 2016 alleging he had gender-reassignment surgery. Beneath the blanket: The fitness flamboyant expert - turning 70 next month - and his live-in caretaker/driver Theresa Reveles discovered the unauthorized Live View GPS device in December (pictured in 2017) In September, the FSU grad lost his libel/defamation lawsuit against the magazine, Radar Online, and American Media, Inc.; and he was ordered to pay the defendants' attorney's $130K fees. The New Orleans-born personality - 'who helped humanity lose approximately 12M lbs' - quietly closed his Beverly Hills exercise studio Slimmons in November 2016. Among Richard's last onscreen appearances were guest judging a 2014 episode of ABC's Sing Your Face Off and playing a dramaticized version of himself on ABC soap General Hospital in 2013. Legal woes: Simmons and Reveles are seeking punitive and treble damages for invasion of privacy and trespass after suffering 'mental anguish, anxiety, feeling of powerlessness, frustration, and humiliation' 'I am a male': Richard (born Milton) claimed Matthews was providing information about his hospital visits to the National Enquirer, which published a cover story in June 2016 alleging he had gender-reassignment surgery He's appealing: In September, the FSU grad lost his libel/defamation lawsuit against the magazine, Radar Online, and American Media, Inc.; and he was ordered to pay the defendants' attorney's $130K fees (pictured in 2013) Sweatin' to the Oldies no more: The New Orleans-born personality - 'who helped humanity lose approximately 12M lbs' - quietly closed his Beverly Hills exercise studio Slimmons in 2016 She is the daughter of a modelling icon and a rock legend. So it is little wonder Georgia May Jagger knows how to work it in front of the camera as she was spotted throwing herself expertly into a high-fashion swimwear shoot during a recent sun-drenched day on Miami Beach. The 26-year-old stunner, whose parents are Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall, looked phenomenal in a red two-piece which left little to the imagination before nailing retro-chic in a black one-piece while rocking edgy glasses. Lady in red: Georgia May Jagger knows how to work it in front of the camera as she was spotted throwing herself expertly into a high-fashion swimwear shoot during a recent sun-drenched day on Miami Beach Georgia proved she has the model look nailed as she smouldered in the tiny red number as she frolicked in the sea between smouldering snaps. She wore her hair in stylish beachy waves while larking around on the surf while her make-up was flawless with lashings of foundation making her camera ready. The superstar offspring she gave a dazzling flash of her famous gap-toothed grin while she played up to the cameras. Larking around: The 26-year-old stunner, whose parents are Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall, looked phenomenal in a red two-piece which left little to the imagination before nailing retro-chic in a black one-piece while rocking edgy glasses Cheeky! Georgia proved she has the model look nailed as she smouldered in the tiny red number as she frolicked in the sea between smouldering snaps Blonde beauty: The shoot comes at the perfect time for Georgia, who is in the Floridian coastal city as it launches the annual Miami Swim Week Grinning all around: The superstar offspring she gave a dazzling flash of her famous gap-toothed grin while she played up to the cameras Stunner: She looked sensational on the beach as she displayed her lithe physique The shoot comes at the perfect time for Georgia, who is in the Floridian coastal city as it launches the annual Miami Swim Week. And the budding fashion designer has been making the most of her time there by hosting the Volcom Miami Swim Week Cocktail Event in South Beach, during which she showed off her new clothing range. The collection is latest in a series collaborations between Volcom and Georgia, who signed up as the brand's ambassador in 2016. Lights, camera, action! Her glam squad were on hand to make sure she looked perfect Woo! The blonde beauty was turning heads of beachgoers as she larked around in the surf Do you sea(weed) me? She looked sensational for the fun-filled shoot Stylish: She wore her hair in stylish beachy waves while larking around on the surf while her make-up was flawless with lashings of foundation making her camera ready Strutting her stuff: She looked phenomenal in the red two-piece Working it out! It is hoped that Georgia's mainstream appeal will help Volcol expand into lucrative womens business, with the company already forging a working relationship with Topshop in the two-years since signing her It is hoped that Georgia's mainstream appeal will help Volcol expand into lucrative womens business, with the company already forging a working relationship with Topshop in the two-years since signing her. 'Georgia has allowed us to reach a much broader audience and a broader consumer but from a very authentic point of view,' Lyndsey Roach, Volcom global head of the womens business, told WWD. 'She naturally connects to skateboarding, art and music.' Stunner: The collection is latest in a series collaborations between Volcom and Georgia, who signed up as the brand's ambassador in 2016 Wrapping up: She kept herself warm later on with an edgy biker jacket He first burst onto the big scene as Jamal Malik in the Oscar-winning drama Slumdog Millionaire in 2009. Yet Dev Patel looked barely-recognisable as he donned Victorian garb while filming scenes for The Personal History of David Copperfield in East Anglia on Friday. The esteemed actor, 28, ditched his rugged facial hair for a clean shaven look, and transformed into the titular character in a navy blue jacket and sophisticated tails. Changing it up: Dev Patel, 28, transformed into David Copperfield as he filmed scenes for the upcoming Dickensian drama in East Anglia on Friday Dev was fully in character with a crisp white waistcoat, linen trousers and black leather shoes, and polished off the historic look with a monochrome ascot tie. The Lion heartthrob styled his glossy raven locks with tight curls and tucked his tresses underneath a striking top hat. Dev later stripped off his formal jacket and hat for a scene alongside a black carriage horse, and enjoyed a moment stroking his four-legged co-star. The big screen star was joined on set by Dunkirk actor Aneurin Barnard, 31, who donned a fetching spotted waistcoat and patterned black trousers. Unrecognisable: The esteemed actor ditched his rugged facial hair for a clean shaven look All the part: Dev got into character with a crisp white waistcoat and polished off the historic look with a monochrome ascot tie Traditional: The Lion heartthrob styled his glossy raven locks with tight curls and tucked his tresses underneath a striking top hat With layers of corkscrew curls underneath his own grey top hat, Aneurin looked exactly the part as he sauntered around the set with a silver handle cane. Filming began in June in Norfolk, with Gwendoline Christie, Benedict Wong, Paul Whitehouse, and Daisy May Cooper joining the cast. The film will see him co-star alongside the likes of Peter Capaldi and Tilda Swinton. Ready to go: Dev received some assistance from a crew member has he rearranged his costume for an upcoming scene On the move: Dev looked just the part in crisp white linen trousers and black leather shoes And action! Dev later stripped off his formal jacket and hat for a scene alongside a black carriage horse, and enjoyed a moment stroking his four-legged co-star Professional: Dev calmly approached the large animal while clad in blinkers and traditional carriage gear Smartening up: Dev completed the look with cream suspenders and ruffled white shirt During July, scenes were shot in Hull and King's Lynn, with producers drawing upon the architecture, civic buildings and cobbled streets to set the scene. The Personal History Of David Copperfield is being directed by Armando Iannucci and is said to be a modern take on Dickens' chronicle of the life of the iconic character. The film will follow Copperfield navigate a chaotic world; from his unhappy childhood to the discovery of his gift as a storyteller, while Peter Capaldi will play David's landlord, Wilkins Micawber, who is arrested for debt and sent to the King's Bench Prison. Dashing: The big screen star was joined on set by Dunkirk actor Aneurin Barnard, 31, who donned a fetching spotted waistcoat and patterned black trousers Looking the part: The Personal History Of David Copperfield is being directed by Armando Iannucci and is said to be a modern take on Dickens' chronicle of the life of the iconic character He's a male model who turned from an overweight child into a star with one of the most finely tuned physiques in the business. But for Kris Smith, stripping off for the stage production of The Full Monty - a musical about a troupe of male strippers - brought back some of his body image demons. The 39-year-old tells BW magazine of his body image issues: 'They've not gone. They're far from gone, they're definitely still there.' Scroll down for video 'I remember being really nervous': Kris Smith reveals he struggled with body image when stripping off for the stage production of The Full Monty and still feels like a 'fat kid' after ballooning to 125kg as a child (pictured walking for Myer in 2014) Changed: The statuesque catwalk star has in the past said that he still feels like 'that fat kid' inside after battling weight issues in childhood. Kris is pictured as a child The father-of-one admits that he used to drink vodka before strutting the catwalk as an underwear model, but the Dutch courage option was banned on The Full Monty. 'I remember being really nervous doing swimwear on a catwalk and would have one or two vodkas before, then everything was fine,' he tells the publication. Without his elixir against nerves, Kris says he 'had to literally bare all and just be comfortable and confident with it.' Naked ambition: for Kris Smith, stripping off for the stage production of The Full Monty - a musical about a troupe of male strippers - brought back some of his body image demons Fighting fit! For The Full Monty, Kris says he, 'had to literally bare all and just be comfortable and confident with it' The catwalk star has in the past said that he still feels like 'that fat kid' inside after battling weight issues in childhood. The Myer ambassador has struggled with life-long body demons after playground bullying over his weight led him into a negative spiral of self-loathing, which still plagues him today, New Idea reports. 'When I walk down the catwalk for Myer in Speedos, I'm still that fat kid,' says the former rugby player. Tough: The Myer ambassador has struggled with life-long body demons after playground bullying over his weight led him into a negative spiral of self loathing Troubled past: The torment started at school when he was just age eight and lead him to a vicious cycle of comfort eating The torment started at school when he was just age eight and lead him to a vicious cycle of comfort eating, which resulted in him piling on the pounds he was 125kg at his heaviest. 'Not a day goes by that I don't still battle those demons. I'm still very insecure,' he says despite revealing he now has a body fat of 12-13 per cent. He concluded: 'It took me a long time to get over it myself. I still get upset talking about it.' He recently returned home from hospital after surviving a dangerous chest infection. And Richard Bacon was putting on a jovial display on Friday as he exited his car outside his London abode, looking the picture of health after surviving his battle with illness. The 42-year-old TV presenter sported a casual ensemble as he shielded his eyes from the sun with aviator sunglasses, after taking to Instagram to confirm that he was back home with wife Rebecca and their two children. On the mend: Richard Bacon, 42, was putting on a jovial display on Friday as he continued his recovery from a serious chest infection at home in London Richard was finally released from hospital on Thursday after 12 days battling the double chest infection, which eventually led him to be placed in a medically-induced coma. Speaking to MailOnline about his recovery, Richard's father Paul Bacon said: 'He's going to stay with relatives while he convalesces. He'll just be resting up so that he can fully recover. 'We're still not clear about what has happened to him. But he's looking forward to being at home and he's going to make the most of this time to be with his wife and his children. 'He remains very grateful to be getting out of hospital and also to the hospital staff for all that they've done for him.' Relaxed: The TV presenter looked to be in good spirits as he exited his car just a day after leaving hospital following 12 days battling the double chest infection Happy: Richard took to Instagram to post a snap of his son Arthur, six, and Ivy, four, welcoming him home, after he spent ten days in a medically-induced coma Richard also took to Instagram on Thursday to share a snap of him reunited with his son Arthur, six, and daughter Ivy, four, as he stood alongside a Welcome Home banner outside is London home. The former Blue Peter star was also seen leaving the hospital Lewisham using the help of a walking frame alongside wife of ten years Rebecca, after he posted another snap thanking the medical staff for saving his life. He wrote in the caption: 'Gone within the hour. I don't know whether I see this as the bed I nearly died in or the bed that saved my life. Beaming: Richard was admitted to hospital earlier this month with suspected pneumonia, which was later revealed to be a double chest infection which left him fighting for his life Getting better: Richard's father told MailOnline he will be staying with relatives in London while he recovers, as he currently lives in Los Angeles with wife Rebecca and two children 'Either way. I won't miss it. But I will miss the 50 staff of Lewisham Hospital who definitely saved my life. Every. Single. One. Of. Them.' Richard was originally admitted to hospital following a flight from the US to the UK earlier this month with suspected pneumonia. After his condition worsened, hospital staff in London put him into a coma to allow his body to fight the infection. He awoke on Friday. She's been sunning it up in Ibiza for her 25th birthday celebrations. And Amber Turner certainly set pulses racing as she continued to soak up the sun in the sunny haven with friends on Friday. The TOWIE stunner, 25, looked slightly annoyed as she quickly marched through the beach club with her pals - but still looked ever the beach babe in a scanty red bikini. Beach babe: TOWIE's Amber Turner, 25, looked annoyed as she flaunted her toned curves in a skimpy red tassel bikini during her birthday celebrations in Ibiza on Friday Amber paired the saucy scarlet two-piece with a slinky tassel halterneck, which cascaded down her eye-popping cleavage and toned curves. The reality TV star slipped into a pair of Givenchy sliders for her poolside amble, and clutched onto a chic Louis Vuitton clutch bag. Amber shielded her eyes from the glaring sunshine in classic tinted aviator shades, while her glossy blonde locks fell past her shoulders in glamorous waves. On her way: Amber paired the saucy scarlet two-piece with a slinky tassel halterneck, which cascaded down her eye-popping cleavage and toned curves The blonde beauty kept her make-up fresh faced for her birthday celebrations, but didn't look best pleased while trudging through the beach venue with her equally stylish pals. Despite the apparent disgruntled display, things between Amber and her on-off beau Dan Edgar have been going from strength to strength - with the couple looking totally smitten during a date night in London on Thursday. Amber and Dan recently rekindled their relationship after a year of casually dating and much heartache. The blonde beauty had her heart set on Dan since she first joined the TOWIE cast with then-boyfriend Jamie Reed in 2017. Turning heads: The blonde beauty kept her make-up fresh faced for her birthday celebrations, but didn't look best pleased while trudging through the beach venue with her stylish pals The television personality was unable to resist the dark-haired hunk's advances and she cheated on Jamie during the cast break away in Tenerife. Amber then embarked on a turbulent romance with Dan - with the pair splitting up and reconciling numerous times. Dan finally made things official again with Amber on the TOWIE finale in May. After more than a year of on-off romance, the Lothario was finally ready to commit to the reality star. Dan asked the question she had been waiting to hear at Tommy Mallet's birthday party. Happy: Things between Amber and her on-off beau Dan Edgar have been going from strength to strength - with the couple looking totally smitten during a date night on Thursday THE East African Com- munity (EAC) Vehicle Load Control Act, 2016, will come into effect in January 1, next year, with stiff penalties awaiting defiant transporters and weigh in bridge personnel, government has revealed. The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communications, Eng Joseph Nyamhanga, said the Act will come into use as President John Magufuli has assented to it. Opening a transport and works stakeholders meeting, to equip them with the details of the Act, Eng Nyamhanga said Tanzania will be the fifth East African Community country to make use of the Act, with Burundi becoming the only one left. He said the Act is intended to ensure road infrastructure last long, with stiff penalties awaiting transporters who will fail to obey the agreed load capacity. He outlined the new control areas that will use Demerits Point System which will keep records of all transporters who frequently overload their vehicles. These will in turn be suspended for a given period or banned from the business. Moreover, he said, overload charges have been hiked to 15,000 US dollars (35m/-) or a three-year jail term contrary to the present situation whereas such an offence carries 2,000 US dollars fine. The penalty will also in- clude weighbridges personnel who collude with transporters and allow vehicles with over- load to pass freely in the check points said Mr Nyamhanga He said the Act has set day vehicle detention fees at 50 US dollars, compared to the current 20 US dollars, while parking fees stand at 50 US dollars a day after the of- fenders pay the overloading fees. Eng Nyamhanga said much as the on transit permit fees have been reduced from 20 US dollars to 10 US dollars, but there are new categories apart from the abnormal load that will need special permits. He named those new categories as awkward load, hazardous load, super load and unstable load, saying all these measures are intended to ensure roads are durable for a long time. As you can see, the Act bears stiff penalties for overloading; I call upon our transporters, to familiarise themselves with the Act and observe the rules and regu- lations, he said. He added that the government will see how best it can reward transporters with clean load records, so that they set an example to others. He cited one of the reasons the countrys roads wear within a short period as the use of axles with super single tyres to carry a load capacity which is supposed to be transported by vehicles with dual tyres. Eng Nyam- hanga directed The Tanza- nia Roads Agency (Tanroads) to conduct massive awareness campaign to all works and transport stake- holders, so that they get the details of the Act. Tanroads should com- plete all key preparations including Weighbridge Op- eration Manual and set up new computer systems, to match with the Act terms before January 1, 2019, ordered Eng Nyamhanga. Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan are already applying the Act which was announced in the EAC Gazette-Legal Notes in 18th November 2017 and endorsed alongside rules and regulations in 2017. She's had a laundry list of roles, cementing herself among some of Hollywood's greatest ever stars. But Joan Collins was forced to pull away from an overexcited fan on Friday, as he insisted on more selfies after she already posed for a snap while shopping in St Tropez. The 85-year-old actress was seen trying to pull her arm away from the fan who struggled to let go as he asked for more photos with her, and reportedly called him a 'rude and obnoxious person.' No thanks! Joan Collins was forced to pull away from an overexcited fan on Friday, as he insisted on more selfies after she already posed for a snap while shopping in St Tropez Showing off her typically glamorous style sense, Joan was sporting a chic black and white printed dress as she strolled through the sunny French town. Shielding her ageless complexion with a wide-brimmed hat, the screen star accessorised her look with gold platform wedges. The Dynasty star was seen being approached by a fan who asked for a photo, to which she happily obliged, with the pair posting together. However it appears he later insisted for more selfies, with Joan wrenching her arm out of his grasp, where she reportedly called him a 'rude and obnoxious person' before continuing her stroll through the shops. No problem! The 85-year-old actress was originally seen happily posing for a snap with a fan who approached while she enjoyed some shopping in the French town Get off! But when the fan insisted on more selfies, Joan appeared less impressed, pulling her arm out of his grasp Irate: Joan reportedly called the fan a 'rude and obnoxious person' as she pulled out of his grip Let's go! The legendary Dynasty star was then seen continuing her walk through St Tropez with her female pal Annoyed: Joan appeared to tell the amorous fan to stop back before continuing her walk with a friend A representative for Joan told MailOnline: 'Joan agreed to a photo and then the man roughly grabbed at her afterwards and tried to pull her towards him.' In May, Dame Joan revealed her top tip for 'lasting marriage' to Hello! magazine after tying the knot sixteen years ago with husband Percy Gibson, 53, saying it works because they 'really support each other'. She explained that in a lasting marriage, the key is to 'understand that there will be highs and lows'. She said: 'You won't always agree about everything, but you need to enjoy each other's company. Percy is such an amazing man, he is so kind and so caring.' On point: Joan was once again showcasing her effortless sense of style as she sported a black and white printed dress with gold platform wedges Let go! The famous star looked less-than impressed as she pulled her arm away from the fan's grasp Just keep walking! While the fan appeared delighted with his photo, Joan seemed keen to hurry along the walk with her friend Busy: Despite more than half a century in showbusiness Joan shows no signs of slowing down, as she was recently confirmed to be starring in American Horror Story: Apocalypse And after decades of acting Joan shows no signs of slowing down, as she is set to appear in the upcoming eight series of American Horror Story, which was revealed on Friday to be sub-titled Apocalypse. Starring alongside series regulars Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters and the returning Kathy Bates, Joan will appear in the anthology show, which is said to be a cross-over of previous instalments Murder House and Coven. As of yet little is known about Joan's character in the show, but the series will return to FX on September 12th 2018. Looking good! Despite the surprise encounter, Joan looked to be in good sprits as she sported the stylish black and white dress and heels, shielding her face with a wide-brimmed sunhat They've been dating for six years and haven't made any secret of their plans to get married and start a family. And on Monday, Imogen Anthony and Kyle Sandilands whipped their loyal fans into a frenzy after taking to social media to tease a potentially huge milestone. 'Kyle and I are happy to announce that we are officially...' Imogen wrote on her Instagram account. 'Kyle and I are happy to announce that we are officially...': Imogen Anthony reveals some big news on Instagram... but it's NOT what you think She continued: '... hosting the Zambi Wildlife Celebrity Charity Ball at The Star Casino in Sydney together this October 18th!' The socialite acknowledged the cheeky nature of the post, laughing at any followers who had fallen for the trick. 'P.S sucked in o'clock if you thought I was gonna say something else,' she wrote, followed by emojis of a diamond ring and a pregnant woman. 'Sucked in o'clock if you thought I was gonna say something else!' Imogen revealed that the big news was just a charity gig that she and Kyle were hosting Kyle recently admitted that Imogen, who he began dating in 2012, is keen to settle down and have children. 'Some of our friends have had babies and Imogen's like, "oh, look at the baby," and I'm like [inaudible groans],' Kyle said on The Kyle and Jackie O Show in May. The outspoken couple have been teasing a potential engagement for years. Ready to start a family? Kyle recently admitted that Imogen, who he began dating in 2012, is keen to settle down and have children Back in 2016, Imogen told Sydney Morning Herald that Kyle could get down on one knee that year. 'We talk about it all of the time,' she said. 'Maybe this year, but it's open-planned.' The couple currently live together on a farm in the Southern Highlands. She often flaunts her unique sense of style. And Amber Heard did just that as she slipped into an elegant rock chick ensemble before making her way to Comic-Con in San Diego, California on Saturday. The actress, 32, teamed a plain white cropped T-shirt with a black lace pencil skirt and a skinny waist belt which drew attention to her svelte frame. Stylish: Amber Heard, 32, slipped into an elegant rock chick ensemble before making her way to Comic Con in San Diego, California on Saturday Amber opted for a wide brimmed black fedora, and hid her blonde locks away in a bun tucked inside the hat. Contrasting against the Parisian vibe of her ensemble, the Rum Diaries star added a punk rocker twist with a pair of scarlet red Doc Marten style boots complete with pointed toe and lace-up font. Amber clutched onto the handle of a briefcase as she strolled towards the limousine waiting to take her from Hollywood, California to the annual comics convention. Finishing off her look with a pillar-box red manicure, statement earrings and a silver pendant, the London Fields actress opted for rosy cheeks and bold red lipstick. Slim: The actress teamed a plain white cropped T-shirt with a black lace pencil skirt, and a skinny waist belt with gold hardware which drew attention to her svelte frame Mixing it up: Contrasting against the Parisian vibe of her ensemble, the Rum Diaries star added a punk rocker twist with a pair of scarlet red Doc Marten style boots complete with pointed toe and lace-up font Taking to Instagram to share her fabulous ensemble with her 1m followers, Amber posed seductively cross-legged, while perched atop of the bonnet of a classic red Mustang for the artistic shot. The actress was heading to Comic Con to promote and release the trailer for 'Aquaman.' Amber will star as Mera in the flick, which is due to be released on December 21 this year. Stunning: Taking to Instagram to share her fabulous ensemble with her 1m followers, Amber posed seductively cross-legged, while perched atop of the bonnet of a classic red Mustang for the artistic shot The DC Comics adaptation will see Aquaman (Jason Momoa, 38) battling his evil half-brother (Patrick Wilson, 45) after returning to the Kingdom of Atlantis. Before jetting back to America, Amber caught up with her boyfriend, Vito Schnabel, 31, in London. The duo began dating in May of this year. Prior to their relationship, Amber was in a relationship with Elon Musk. She was also married to Johnny Depp for nearly two years. She shared two sons - Bobby and Freddie - with partner Jeff Brazier. And the late Jade Goody's eldest child Bobby, 15, bore a striking resemblance to his late mum in a selfie shared to his 9,636 followers on Instagram on Friday. The teenager - who lost mum Jade to cervical cancer in 2009 - showed off the strong family genes in a photo to celebrate the end of the school term. Striking resemblance: Jade Goody's son Bobby Brazier, 15, looked the spitting image his mum as he shared an arty snap to Instagram on Friday Bobby - clad with corkscrew curls and a smart outfit- hinted he could be looking at a modelling career as he pouted for the snap - which also tagged a modelling agency. Clearly eager to kick off the summer holidays, Bobby captioned the snap simply: 'excited... have a good summer x' Bobby - who was only five years old when mum Jade passed away - received lots of well wishes from fans in the comments. One commentator wrote: 'U have grow into a handsome young man. ur mum would be so proud and ur dads done a fantastic job have a beautiful summer all of u [sic]. Spitting image: The teenager - who lost mum Jade to cervical cancer in 2009 - showed off the strong family genes in a photo shared to celebrate the end of the school term Elated: Meanwhile, dad Jeff, 39, has revealed his teenage sons will be his best men at his forthcoming wedding to fiancee Kate Dwyer Meanwhile, dad Jeff, 39, has revealed his teenage sons will be his best men at his forthcoming wedding to fiancee Kate Dwyer. The TV presenter told MailOnline his children were the right people for the job and their 'incredibly powerful' speeches will stay with him for the rest of his life. Jeff explained the trio had been 'through a lot together' after his kids' mother, aged 27, following a short battle with cervical cancer in 2009. Protective: Jeff explained the trio had been 'through a lot together' after his kids' mother, aged 27, following a short battle with cervical cancer in 2009 He told MailOnline: 'They are my best men! Weve been through a lot together and to hear their speeches will be incredibly powerful for me, very poignant, a moment that will stay with me for the rest of my life. 'Theyre probably it like me, were very in the moment, we cant see four days let alone four months away. Were all about enjoying half term. 'What we do as a family after school to make sure we get what we need from each other.' Family: Four months away from heading down the aisle, Jeff insisted he is marrying the 'right person' because his fiancee has made 'sacrifices' for his children Four months away from heading down the aisle, Jeff insisted he is marrying the 'right person' because his fiancee has made 'sacrifices' for his children. The presenter credited the PR guru for having earned the title of step mum from his kids as well as his wife-to-be seeing his boys as her own 'family'. He told MailOnline: 'Weve all learnt to adjust to each other. Kate has adjusted very well now to becoming a step mum and what it entails. And the sacrifices that have to be made in order to give the children what they need first and for most.' Roxy Jacenko continued to enjoy her lavish Italian vacation on Friday, by taking a dip in the Mediterranean with her husband Oliver Curtis and son Hunter, four. The businesswoman - who is staying aboard a $376,000-a-week superyacht which is moored off Capri - slipped her toned physique into a Baywatch-inspired red swimsuit on the day. The 38-year-old looked nothing short of glamorous as she played with an inflatable boat in the sea with her boys. Red hot! Roxy Jacenko, 38, flaunts her incredibly toned figure in a Baywatch-inspired swimsuit as she swims with her family off their superyacht in the Mediterranean Roxy's swimsuit was backless and high-cut, which accentuated her toned legs. The blonde had her short locks tied back off her face on the day, and appeared to wear natural-looking makeup. Roxy covered her eyes with dark designer sunglasses and wore a diamond necklace. Long and lean! Roxy's swimsuit was backless and high-cut, which accentuated her toned legs Oh derriere! The blonde bombshell showcased her pert derriere in the skimpy swimwear Family: She appeared in high spirits on the day, smiling and laughing as she lapped up quality time with her family She's a big fan! Roxy kept cool in the warm weather with a handheld fan She appeared in high spirits on the day, smiling and laughing as she lapped up quality time with her family. At one point, Roxy was seen walking along the boat's deck and holding her phone. She could be seen helping Hunter get into the inflatable boat, before Oliver took him around for a swim on his shoulders. She means business! Despite being on vacation, the 38-year-old PR queen couldn't keep away from her phone Nice and dry! Despite getting in the water, Roxy made sure that she didn't wet her hair or face Helping hand: The doting mother held Hunter's hand so he wouldn't stumble Floating away: The proud mother placed little Hunter into an inflatable boat This week, the group have sailed around the island of Panarea. Roxy has shared a number of loved-up snaps with Oliver from their idyllic holiday, including one where the pair went swimming and joking that sunburnt Oliver was a 'lobster.' 'Oliver aka The Lobster,' she captioned the snap. Joining in! Roxy jumped on the inflatable boat and soaked up the sunshine Careful! The PR superstar wriggled around in the raft with mischievous Hunter by her side 'People like a trainwreck': Roxy recently revealed why she thinks she's attracted widespread public interest. She said her colourful personal life is a likely part of her appeal The personality previously told Daily Mail Australia about how she keeps in shape, saying that she works out with a personal trainer at least two times a week, does the occasional Pilates class and enjoys a big walk around Bondi every weekend. Roxy, who is a self-made millionaire, recently revealed why she thinks she's attracted widespread public interest. Speaking on Who magazine's Who Are You podcast on Friday, the 38-year-old said her colourful personal life is a likely part of her appeal. Just chilling: Oliver casually gazed down at his wife, who was busy playing in the sea Safe and sound! Oliver proved to be the perfect protective father as he held Hunter 'People like a trainwreck - and I've done plenty of that,' she laughed, after referencing a series of her headline-hitting antics. Roxy was diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2016, just weeks after her husband Oliver Curtis was sentenced to twelve months jail for 'insider trading'. The powerhouse publicist was later captured kissing her former lover Nabil Gazal by the paparazzi whilst Oliver was behind bars, an incident which led to even more notoriety. Squad goals! Roxy's Sweaty Betty staffers flaunted their gym-honed physiques Fit and fantastic! Roxy's husband Oliver revealed his toned and muscled physique in a pair of blue board shorts Doting daddy! Oliver swam through the sea with Hunter glued firmly to his back What's going on here? The happy couple had a chat on the yacht Her husband Oliver Curtis was released from prison in June last year. And on Saturday, PR guru Roxy Jacenko, 38, made a joke about Oliver's jail stint, as they holiday aboard a $376,000-a-week superyacht off Capri. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Roxy remarked how the lavish break is 'so nice for Oli. A Far cry from his last holiday!' Scroll down for video 'It's a far cry from his last holiday!' Roxy Jacenko jokes about husband Oliver Curtis' prison stay as they relax aboard a $376,000-a-week superyacht in Capri The Sweaty Betty founder was referring to the 12 months the businessman spent in jail for conspiracy to commit insider trading. Oliver served the majority of his time at Cooma Correctional Centre, before his release in June 2017. Roxy previously admitted that at first she told their children Pixie, six, and Hunter, four, that their father was away on holiday in China, instead of revealing he was in prison. Yacht life: The Sweaty Betty founder was referring to the 12 months the businessman spent in jail for conspiracy to commit insider trading Jailed: Oliver served the majority of his time at Cooma Correctional Centre before his release in June 2017 (pictured) In April, Roxy told Daily Mail Australia that Oliver was still struggling to overcome his time behind bars. At the time, she said the former investment banker got emotional when they drove past Sydney's Surry Hills holding cells. 'We don't really talk about (his sentence). Oli has said previously it's something he has blocked out of his mind,' Roxy said. 'We don't really talk about his sentence': In April, Roxy told Daily Mail Australia that Oliver was still struggling to overcome his time behind bars Getting away from it all! The pair are putting the jail stint behind them, with Roxy and Oliver looking carefree while holidaying with family and friends in Europe 'Just last weekend when we drove past Surry Hills holding cells after a meal and he was quite distressed, he mentioned being in there was the worst two weeks of his life.' She added: 'I'm told these cells are usually for prisoners for 24 to 48 hours. For him, it was two weeks and something he never wants to remember.' The pair are putting the jail stint behind them, with Roxy and Oliver looking carefree while holidaying with family and friends in Europe. As well as their immediate family, they have a sizable entourage with them, including Roxy's mother Doreen and friends, among whom is chicken heiress Jessica Ingham. Her friend and employee, Grace Garrick, is also with them on the lavish trip. They've been relaxing: Her husband Oliver could be seen in board shorts, not a worry on his mind during the trip She's been busy filming her new flick Murder Mystery with her Just Go With It co-star Adam Sandler. And Jennifer Aniston looked completely in her element as she touched down in Portofino, Italy to continue rolling on the Netflix comedy on Saturday. The A-list star, 49, drew attention to her slender pins in skimpy khaki shorts as she joined her comedian co-star for a quick dip in the hotel pool. Chilling out: Jennifer Aniston, 49, cut a laid-back figure as she continued to film Netflix comedy Murder Mystery with Adam Sandler in Portofino, Italy on Saturday Jennifer pounded the grass in sophisticated black strappy sandals and toted a chic brown tan satchel bag. The Bruce Almighty went incognito for the laid-back outing, opting for a wide rimmed black at and mirrored sun glasses. Jennifer upped the glamour with a glistening gold necklace and matching watch as she opted for a soft nude make-up to highlight her natural beauty. Taking the plunge: Adam cooled off ahead of their filming schedule in a sun drenched pool Stylish: Jennifer pounded the grass in sophisticated black strappy sandals and toted a chic brown tan satchel bag Low key: The Bruce Almighty went incognito for the laid back outing, opting for a wide rimmed black at and mirrored sun glasses Earlier on in the day, Jennifer took a moment to relax as she enjoyed a quick bite to eat with a pal and continued to flash her lengthy stems. Meanwhile, Grown Ups star Adam, 51, stripped down to his skivvies for a dip in the luxury pool - taking off an oversized blue shirt and black shorts. Later on, Jennifer continued her tour of the historic Italian village and cut a minimalist figure in a black sleeveless shirt and matching joggers. Sharp style: Jennifer upped the glamour with a glistening gold necklace and matching watch as she opted for a soft nude make-up to highlight her natural beauty On the move: Jennifer flashed her slim stems once again as she made her way up some leafy steps towards the pool The Friends icon styled her signature sun-kissed tresses in a sleek straight 'do while leaving the glitzy accessories at home and opting for a single silver chain. Jennifer ditched the make-up for a fresh-faced glow as she soaked up her surroundings before getting in front of the camera. She has also been filming Murder Mystery in LA in recent weeks. Aniston and Sandler previously appeared in the 2011 romantic comedy Just Go With It. Cooling off: Meanwhile, Grown Ups star Adam, 51, stripped down to his skivvies for a dip in the luxury pool - taking off an oversized blue shirt and black shorts Soak up the sun: Adam concealed his eyes from the glare in rectangular sunglasses and sported a new mustache and short do According to a source in US Weekly, she seemed to be in great spirits while shooting the comedy in late June. 'She was very upbeat when they started shooting. In fact, Jen seems happy every time shes on the set. The vibe here is great,' said a friend. Jennifer and former husband Justin Theroux ended their marriage in February 2018 after just two years. They had been together a total of seven years. According to People: She is very happy being single. She is focused on her own happiness. Chilled out: Later on in the day, Jennifer took a moment to relax as she enjoyed a quick bite to eat with a pal Taking a moment: The Along Came Polly continued to draw attention to her enviable pins in her skimpy khaki shorts Cheers to that: According to a source in US Weekly, Jennifer seemed to be in great spirits while shooting the new film in late June Time out: In UsWeekly , they claimed the beauty has been 'dating again.' A source has told the weekly that two men are vying for the Emmy winner's attention. And neither one is an actor And in June's UsWeekly, they claimed the beauty has been 'dating again.' A source has told the weekly that two men are vying for the Emmy winner's attention. And neither one is an actor. The first man is a 'tech titan' who has taken to the blonde. They were introduced by a 'close friend.' The star also reportedly just landed another new role for a Netflix show costarring Tig Notaro where she plays the first female President of the United States who also happens to be openly gay. New roles: The star also reportedly just landed another new role for a Netflix show costarring Tig Notaro where she plays the first female President of the United States Lights, camera, action! Later on, Jennifer continued her tour of the sun drenched Italian village and cut a minimalist figure in a black sleeveless shirt and matching joggers Taking direction: Jennifer looked effortlessly stylish in her minimalist getup, and shielded her eyes from the sun in classic wide rimmed glasses She's mom to five children with husband Dean McDermott. And Tori Spelling's partner was nowhere to be seen as she shepherded four out of five of her brood around a pop-up art installation in Los Angeles on Friday. The 45-year-old actress enlisted nine-year-old Stella to give a helping hand with her youngest, Beau, one, as they visited Candytopia in Santa Monica, California. Busy! Tori Spelling's partner was nowhere to be seen as she shepherded her four out of five of her brood around a pop-up art installation in Los Angeles on Friday She wore a cerise maxi dress, looking every inch the casual summer mom, which she teamed with funky ankle boots. The blonde daughter of late television mogul Aaron Spelling parted her tresses to the side, and had classic Californian waves framing her - at times fractious - facial features. The star, who hasn't worn a wedding ring since 2017, looked akin to herding cats, as she guided Stella, 10, Hattie, six, Finn, five, and Beau, age one around the exhibition. Family day out: The 45-year-old actress was joined by Hattie, six, and enlisted a nanny to give a helping hand as they visited Candytopia in Santa Monica Liam, 11, appeared to be absent - perhaps spending time with dad, McDermott, 51. Tori appeared to have brought along a nanny to help her for the outing In a recent interview with E! News, McDermott addressed the idea of having more children. Summer days: She wore a cerise maxi dress, looking every inch the casual summer mom, which she teamed with funky ankle boots 'Never say never,' he said. 'But our hands are pretty full right now. We'd like to just enjoy the little ones we have now.' On Thursday, the 90210 star shared a photo of Dean and her youngest son Beau. 'Dad Days of Summer!' she captioned the image. 'Love watching my boys together...' Spelling and McDermott celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary on May 7. The actress - who has been beset by money problems, left her first husband, actor Charlie Shanian, for McDermott, just 15 months after their lavish $1 million 2004 vows. Her current underemployed husband was busted having an affair in 2013, but they remained together. She's renowned for her sartorial elegance and lithe physique. And Lady Victoria Hervey ensured all eyes were on her as she flaunted her sensational figure while soaking up the sun in Ischia, Italy on Saturday. The 41-year-old 'It Girl' looked straight out of a James Bond film as she leapt out of the glistening waters in a barely-there blue and purple studded bikini. Beach babe: Lady Victoria Hervey, 41, sizzled in a scanty turquoise bikini as she topped up her tan in Ischia, Italy on Saturday Victoria put her washboard abs and staggering stems on full display in the scanty two-piece, with the turquoise blue tied bikini bottoms. The stunning socialite swept back her glossy platinum blonde tresses into a sophisticated ballerina bun. Victoria upped the glamour of her beach ensemble with glittering diamond earrings and an array of sparkling bangles. All eyes on her: Victoria put her washboard abs and staggering stems on full display in the scanty two-piece, with the turquoise blue tied bikini bottoms Having fun! Larking around on the pier, Victoria took a number of playful photos with a bright pink life float around her neck The London native flaunted her flawless complexion with minimal make-up while sauntering through the sun kissed pier before reclining on a sun-lounger. Larking around on the pier, Victoria took a number of playful photos with a bright pink life float around her neck. Victoria's picturesque getaway comes after trips to Mykonos and Cannes in recent months - typical of the jet-set stunner. Eye-catching: The stunning socialite swept back her glossy platinum blonde tresses into a sophisticated ballerina bun Flawless: Victoria upped the glamour of her beach ensemble with glittering diamond earrings and an array of sparkling bangles While she has been travelling all over the world, Victoria discussed her future plans to settle down and become a mother, after realising her dream for a baby. She revealed to The Mail On Sunday that she started freezing her eggs in a fertility clinic, costing 11,000, after letting years of partying slip away. Victoria said: 'Like many women, Ive realised nearly too late that I am desperate to have a child. In fact, I want two. Which is why Im hoping science might be able to stop the clock until I can find the right man to be a father to my babies.' Soaking up the sun: Victoria's picturesque getaway comes after trips to Mykonos and Cannes in recent months - typical of the jet-set stunner Family planning: While she has been travelling all over the world, Victoria discussed her future plans to settle down and become a mother, after realising her dream for a baby And relax: The London native flaunted her flawless complexion with minimal make-up while sauntering through the sun kissed pier before reclining on a sun-lounger The blonde beauty then added during an interview on Lorraine: 'It was tough, it was emotional, I cried a lot... 'Not just the injections that you had to do daily, but you are put on the pills. You just feel like it is an emotional rollercoaster.' Her figure-flaunting look comes after she wowed the style brigade in an array of haute couture looks during the Cannes Film festival. It has been non-stop for the model, who jetted to France after attending the wedding of brother Fredrick Harvey, the Marquess of Bristol, to his American bride Meredith Dunn. She revealed to The Mail On Sunday that she started freezing her eggs in a fertility clinic, costing 11,000, after letting years of partying slip away Beach babe: Her figure-flaunting look comes after she wowed the style brigade in an array of haute couture looks during the Cannes Film festival Jenna Dewan is hitting the beach this weekend. On Friday the World Of Dance star posted several images to her Snapchat account that made it obvious she was in Paradise Cove Beach in Malibu, California. The ex of Channing Tatum wore a mauve bikini with straw sun hat and large sunglasses. Beach babe: Jenna Dewan is hitting the beach this weekend. On Friday the World Of Dance star posted several images to her Snapchat account that made it obvious she was in Malibu Good shape: She also shared a photo of her tan and lean leg that was so flawless it could pass for a Barbie leg. The former pro dancer - who used to back up Janet Jackson - was sitting on the sand as she added an umbrella and drinks emoji The star added a smiling sun emoji. She also shared a photo of her tan and lean leg that was so flawless it could pass for a Barbie leg. The former pro dancer - who used to back up Janet Jackson - was sitting on the sand as she added an umbrella and drinks emoji. Then Dewan added a photo of her daughter with the caption 'We pack light.' So much stuff! Then Dewan added a photo of her daughter with the caption 'We pack light' Jenna's posts come a week after she and her best friend of 18 years - Super Troopers 2 stunner Emmanuelle Chriqui - revealed they were introduced by her ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake. Dewan - who was employed as his back-up dancer around 2002 - also worked for NSYNC, Pink, and Christina Aguilera. 'I remember one day being told [by Justin] that I had to meet this girl, Emmanuelle. You girls have to meet,' the USC drop-out recalled. 'He basically best friend matched us.' The Canadian 42-year-old agreed: 'I had done the [2001] NSYNC film On the Line, which is how I got close to Justin. And Justin was telling me, "Oh my god, you have to meet this girl Jenna."' The Man with a Plan guest star's July 12 vlog also included a cute cameo from her daughter Everly with estranged husband Channing Tatum. BFFs: Jenna's sighting came a week after she and her best friend of 18 years - Super Troopers 2 stunner Emmanuelle Chriqui (R) - revealed they were introduced by her ex Justin Timberlake Grammy Awards gig: Dewan - who was employed as his back-up dancer around 2002 - also worked for NSYNC, Janet Jackson, Pink, and Christina Aguilera 'Sagittarian sisters': The USC drop-out recalled, 'I remember one day being told [by Justin] that I had to meet this girl, Emmanuelle. You girls have to meet. He basically best-friend matched us' The 'sassafras five-year-old' explained on camera that she and her friend were making 'crowns and wands and princess dresses' for a 'mass ball.' Jenna's 38-year-old ex of eight years - whom she separated from on April 2 - joined his Smallfoot co-star LeBron James on Saturday to work on the Warner animated flick due out September 28. 'We're still figuring out [co-parenting], to be honest,' Dewan said in the August edition of ELLE Australia. THE High Court yesterday dismissed an application by nine senior officials of Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema), including National Chairman Freeman Mbowe, challenging conduct of criminal proceedings on seditious charges they are facing before the Kisutu Resident Magistrates Court. Judge Rehema Sheweji ruled against the leaders of the opposition party after granting some preliminary points of objections raised by the prosecution, led by Principal State Attorneys Faraja Nchimbi, Paul Kadishi and Dr Zainabu Mango as well as State Attorney Wankyo Simon. The judge agreed with the prosecutions submissions that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the application for revision by Chadema leaders, because it had not been properly moved. She noted that the law relied upon to support the application was no longer in operation. Furthermore, the court found that the orders issued by the Dar es Salaam Court sought to be challenged by way of revision were interlocutory, meaning that the court, through such impugned orders, could not determine the criminal trial into finality. During hearing of the application, Advocate Peter Kibatala, for the accused, had maintained, among others, that the application was prop- erly filed and that the court was vested with powers to determine the same. Before the Kisutu Court, the accused had challenged the legality of the criminal charges preferred against them by the prosecution and invited Principal Resident Magistrate Wilbard Mashauri to dismiss, or strike them. However, the Magistrate turned down the defences application despite finding them not being proper and thus, directed the prosecution to make some amendments. Having making such amend- ments, the defence lodged another set of objections to the new charges. It was argued by counselor for the accused that the amendments made by prose- cution went beyond the order of the court. However, in yet another ruling on the matter, the Magistrate dismissed the defences arguments. It was at that point when the accused decided to seek the High Courts intervention. Following the High Courts decision, the leaders of the opposition party would be required to go back to the lower court for continuation of trial. In the trial, the prosecution has completed investigations and the court has already expressed the next move to conduct preliminary hearing of the case. Other accused, apart from Mbowe are: Vicent Mashinji , who is the partys Secretary General; John Mnyika, the Deputy Sec- retary General (Mainland); Salum Mwalimu, who is Deputy Secretary General (Zanzibar) and Peter Msigwa (Member of Parliament (MP) for Iringa Urban. The rest are: Ester Matiko (Tarime Urban MP), Halima Mdee (Kawe MP), John Heche (Tarime Rural MP) and Ester Bulaya (MP for Bunda Urban). Accused are charged with 11 counts of conspiracy to commit offences, unlawful assembly, rioting after proclamation and inciting commission of offences, raising discontent and ill will for unlawful purposes and sedition allegedly committed between February 1 and 16, 2018 in the city. She's set to star in the highly anticipated DC Comics film Aquaman. And Amber Heard looked positively radiant after a busy day promoting the movie at the popular Comic Con in San Diego. The 32-year-old actress flashed peeks of her toned tummy in a casual white crop top while greeting fans as she left the Hard Rock Hotel. Beaming: Amber Heard looked positively radiant after a busy day promoting the movie at the popular Comic Con in San Diego Heard looked care-free as she waded through a sea of supporters outside of the hotel in the Gaslamp District of the bustling city. Her slender form was on display in the short white T-shirt which covered her shoulders and upper body. Amber added a pit of spice to her otherwise casual ensemble with a snazzy pair of black patent leather pants from J Brand that were hemmed just above her ankles to reveal a pair of kitten heels with matching leather bows. Lovely: The 32-year-old actress flashed peeks of her toned tummy in a casual white crop top while greeting fans as she left the Hard Rock Hotel Out and about: Heard looked care-free as she waded through a sea of supporters outside of the hotel in the Gaslamp District of the bustling city Her biggest accessory was a wide-rimmed hat with her bright blonde hair twisted into two braided ponytails, opting for a small crystal pendant wrapped around her neck. Making sure to take notice of the adoring crowd, Amber stopped for a few photos and autographs with fans. The Texas-born beauty will star as Mera in the flick, which is due to be released on December 21 this year. Beauty: Her slender form was on display in the short white T-shirt which she paired with some patent leather pants from J Brand Cute! Her biggest accessory was a wide-rimmed hat with her bright blonde hair twisted into two braided ponytails, opting for a small crystal pendant wrapped around her neck The DC Comics adaptation will see Aquaman (Jason Momoa, 38) battling his evil half-brother (Patrick Wilson, 45) after returning to the Kingdom of Atlantis. Before jetting back to America, Amber caught up with her boyfriend, Vito Schnabel, 31, in London. The duo began dating in May of this year. Prior to their relationship, Amber was in a relationship with Elon Musk and was previously married to Johnny Depp for nearly two years. Dressed for success: Amber added a pit of spice to her otherwise casual ensemble with a snazzy pair of black patent leather pants hemmed just above her ankles to reveal a pair of kitten heels with matching leather bows She was recently forced to hit back at cruel trolls who accused her of editing her snaps. And Zara McDermott put the drama behind her as she flaunted her enviable figure as she joined beau Adam Collard at Kisstory On The Common at Streatham Common, London, on Saturday. The former Love Island star, 21, set pulses racing in a tiny red tropical print plunging crop top and hot pants combo. Scroll down for video Glamorous couple: Zara McDermott flaunted her enviable figure as she joined beau Adam Collard at Kisstory On The Common at Streatham Common, London, on Saturday Zara teamed her revealing ensemble with a pair of flat cut-out patterned suede sandals with laces. The former Government Adviser from Essex styled her glossy brunette locks into a blow-dried curly hairdo. She added a glamorous slick of festival make-up which included silver gems on her eyebrows and a touch of sparkly glitter on her cheekbones. Work it: The former Love Island star, 21, set pulses racing in a tiny red tropical print plunging crop top and hot pants combo Strike a pose: Zara teamed her revealing ensemble with a pair of flat cut-out patterned suede sandals with laces Zara knew how to work her best angles as she put her best foot forward and posed up a storm on the green carpet. The brunette beauty was joined by her beau, Adam, who she met on Love Island, who looked dapper in an unbuttoned beige shirt. He teamed the item of clothing with black skinny jeans and a pair of black suede trainers. Brunette beauty: The former Government Adviser from Essex styled her glossy brunette locks into a blow-dried curly hairdo Festival babe: She added a glamorous slick of festival make-up which included silver gems on her eyebrows and a touch of sparkly glitter on her cheekbones Stylish duo: The brunette beauty was joined by her beau, Adam, who she met on Love Island, who looked dapper in an unbuttoned beige shirt Lithe limbs: Singer Lisa Maffia put on a leggy display as she took to the stage in a black mini dress Putting on a show: The Wah Gwarn hitmaker appeared to be having the time of her life as she sang to the crowd Clearly taking inspiration from his girlfriend, Adam also rocked the festival make-up look as he copied a similar styled of silver gems and sparkly glitter on his face. The couple, who have gone from strength-to-strength since leaving the villa, appeared in good spirits as they cosied up to each other. Zara's outing comes after she was forced to hit back at online trolls who tormented her over a swimsuit selfie she posted to Instagram on Friday. After sharing a sizzling snap, the reality TV star, 21, was soon compelled to blast followers for criticising her figure and accusing her of using Photoshop on her bust, as she revealed a medical condition meant she could not wear bras. Love Island: Earlier this week, Zara slammed online trolls who criticised her for a VERY busty bikini snap posted to Instagram on Friday and denied using Photoshop on social media Zara drew attention to her minuscule waist and slender limbs in the high-rise bikini bottoms and swept up her brunette locks into a messy top bun. Flaunting her sun-kissed glow, she teased that she 'missed the sunshine' in the Love Island villa, but many fans were left puzzled by Zara's bustier appearance. One fan wrote: 'Shes breathing in soooo much it hurts to look at... Hahahah think that bikini is a bit to small for you love', while another added: 'I think your a lovely girl but since when did you get boobs the whole of love island all I saw was a flat chest'. Not taking any of the criticisms lying down, Zara quickly confirmed the snap was taken during a beach getaway a year ago, and hit back at the haters. Claim to fame: Flaunting her sun-kissed glow, the small-screen queen teased that she 'missed the sunshine' in the Love Island villa, but many fans were left puzzled by her busty appearance Replying to a number of comments, Zara wrote: 'I dont mean to be rude but I dont understand what you (and others) get from leaving negative comments on peoples pictures. Everyone is beautiful theres no need for comments like these!' In another reply, Zara explained that she's never used Photoshop to alter any images, and that she struggles with her cleavage due to a medical issue. 'I can assure you this isnt photoshopped at all' she responded.'As I have said before and I will say again, my boobs are completely natural and I absolutely love them. Not OK: Not taking any of the criticisms to heart, Zara quickly confirmed the snap was taken during a beach getaway a year ago, and hit back at the haters 'Although it can be annoying sometimes when in some outfits they look big and some they look small, and I cant really wear a bra most of the time due to a medical reason, so hence why it depends on what outfit Im wearing that the size can seem to fluctuate. 'I really dont photoshop my pics and the reason its blurry is because it was taken off my Facebook page and the picture isnt great quality, as this photo was taken last year. Zara admitted she found it 'frustrating' to keep commenting on trolling posts and said online bullying 'drives girls to getting plastic surgery when everyone is perfect the way they are'. Body positive: Zara admitted she found it 'frustrating' to keep commenting on trolling posts and said online bullying 'drives girls to getting plastic surgery when everyone is perfect' She added: 'I am confident in my body and I dont need body shamers on my page! Its all love!' After one commentator suggested she 'found' her boobs following her stint on Love Island, Zara reassured fans that 'they'd always been there'. 'I'd love for them to look big in everything, but thats not real and I pride myself on being as real as possible! Its frustrating to see beautiful girls like you leaving comments like these on my posts. 'They are so unnecessary and also they encourage online bullying. Please think before you comment things like this. Its all love and as I have said, you are beautiful!' No alterations: In another reply, Zara explained that she's never used Photoshop to alter any images, and that she struggles with her cleavage due to a medical issue Fans got behind the government adviser to show their support, with one commentator writing: 'Ignore them, just b****s and bullies. Your beautiful, you will always get social media trolls [sic]. Another supportive fan wrote: 'Ignore them! Your a beauty!... At least shes 100% real. Nothing fake about her. No photoshop just the real deal. You keep slaying girl...' Zara is currently smitten with Island Lothario Adam, 22, and the couple have been inseparable since they both left the villa - with the brunette beauty telling MailOnline that Adam is now living at her family home since the pair became boyfriend and girlfriend. Jennifer Connelly is in talks to star in Top Gun 2. The 47-year-old actress is believed to be lined up for the leading female role in the sequel to the hugely popular 1986 movie. If she gets the role, she will star alongside Tom Cruise, 56, who was the leading man in the original movie. They look good together: Jennifer Connelly is in talks to star in Top Gun 2 with Tom Cruise, according to The Hollywood Reporter They made screen gold: Cruise had chemistry with Kelly McGillis in the 1986 version According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jennifer will play a single mother who runs a local bar near the Navy base. Not much else is known about her connections to the fighter pilots, including Tom's famous character Maverick. Jennifer's potential casting comes after the movie recently confirmed Miles Teller had bagged the leading role, and will be playing the son of Goose, Maverick's wingman, played by Anthony Edwards in the original movie. Elsewhere, Val Kilmer is set to play the iconic Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky, having teased in 2015 that he had been offered a part. They were mad for each other: The two made out on his motorcycle Mav! Not much else is known about her connections to the fighter pilots, including Tom's famous character Maverick. Here is Tom from the 1986 film In a post on Facebook, he said: 'I just got offered #topgun2 - not often you get to say yes without reading the script... (sic)' He added: 'We will all miss Tony Scott one of the kindest gentlemen I've ever met in the film biz, but let's fire up some fighter jets again!!! ' Meanwhile, director Joseph Kosinski previously hinted at what fans can expect from the follow-up. Her main man: Connelly is wed to Paul Bettany - seen here at a Solo: A Star Wars Story premiere in May in Cannes, France Teasing that that film will focus on Maverick's time in the modern armed forces, he said: 'The Navy is very different now than it was in 1986. Back then, they hadn't been in any war for 15 or 20 years at that point. 'Now, here in 2017, the Navy's been at war for 20 years. It's just a different world now, so you can't remake the first movie. It has to adapt.' Top Gun 2 is set to start production in San Diego in September. Viewers hearts melted when they watched Frankie Foster, 22, drum up the courage to make their relationship official, live on Love Island's spin-off show Aftersun. And Samira Mighty, 22, and her beau looked as loved-up as ever when they arrived at Kisstory On The Common in Streatham Common, London, on Saturday. The former Love Island star flaunted her sensational figure in a gold sequinned playsuit, which had a deep plunging neckline to show off a glimpse of her cleavage. Loved-up: Love Island stars Frankie Foster and Samira Mighty looked smitten at Kisstory on Saturday ...after dismissing claims he 'played-up their romance in the villa' Adding a casual flair to her look with a pair of black Converse canvas shoes, the theatre performer completed her look with a simple choker necklace. Styling her luscious brunette tresses into loose waves that cascaded over her shoulders, Samira brushed on a glamorous palette of make-up to accentuate her stunning features. Dismissing claims that Frankie told pals he wasn't bothered about their romance, the pair packed on the PDA as she draped an arm lovingly around her beau's waist and he did the same to draw her closer to him. Striking: Styling her brunette tresses into loose waves that cascaded over her shoulders, Samira brushed on a glamorous palette of make-up to accentuate her stunning features Frankie, meanwhile, looked dapper in a light blue flannel shirt, which he kept partially unbuttoned to tease a glimpse of his muscular torso. Pairing the top with a pair of white shorts, he complemented his outfit of choice with a pair of matching trainers. He sported a 5 O'Clock shadow, and slicked his brunet locks back into a dapper hairstyle. Handsome: Frankie, meanwhile, looked dapper in a light blue flannel shirt, which he kept partially unbuttoned to tease a glimpse of his muscular torso Their date comes after claims Frankie told friends he was not bothered about his romance, hours before Samira left the villa to be with him. According to The Sun, the hunk was overheard telling a pal that producers 'played up' his fling with the West End performer during their time on the show. However, Samira quit the ITV2 show to be with him only hours later - with Frankie later surprising her at the airport, and asking her to be his girlfriend on show spin-off Aftersun. The business management student was overheard discussing his Love Island stint in a Shoreditch branch of Pret A Manger, when he made the awkward confession. Back together again: Samira and Frankie also posed for photos with their fellow dumped islanders Darylle Seargeant, Charlie Brake, Ellie Brown A fellow customer told the paper: 'He mentioned that obviously there's a lot of stuff that isn't shown and a lot more goes on... And his relationship was made out to be bigger than it actually was... 'He was shrugging it all off and looked really cheerful to be out of it. It was not like he was pining for Samira.' The conversation allegedly occurred on the same day that Samira decided to leave the villa, after realising she would not develop feelings for anyone other than Frankie. Dramatic: Their date comes after claims Frankie told friends he was not bothered about his romance, hours before Samira left the villa to be with him The theatre performer immediately jetted home to the UK - with Frankie sweetly surprising her at the airport, before asking her to be his girlfriend live on Love Island: Aftersun on Sunday. A representative for Frankie told MailOnline: Frankie and Samira are together and they have been inseparable since he surprised her at the airport. 'He has never felt like this with anyone and hes very happy with Samira and they are both excited for the future as boyfriend & girlfriend. Abby Lee Miller has just completed yet another round of chemotherpay in her struggle to fight off cancer. And the Dance Moms vet thought she would treat herself by adding some glam. In a Friday post to Instagram, the 51-year-old wrote, 'I just finished my 5th round of Chemo!!! I think I deserve a little treat today, so Im putting on my make-up just in case!' Nice smile: Abby Lee Miller has just completed yet another round of chemotherpay in her struggle to fight off cancer. And the Dance Moms vet thought she would treat herself by adding some glam on Friday Miller had on a black bandanna and a black shirt as she laid in bed. The TV vet was holding onto her Nars makeup as she pretended to apply mascara. This comes a week after she shared a picture of herself suspended in a harness as she walked on a treadmill during a therapy session after cancer surgery. Glam days: With the cast of Dance Moms in 2015 - Mackenzie Ziegler, Jojo Siwa, Maddie Ziegler, Kalani Hilliker, Kendall Vertesm and Nia Frazier 'Look at me, way up high,'' the former reality TV star captioned the smiling photo as she held onto the bars of the machine. She added to the caption, 'I never thought I'd be cast in the role of Peter Pan, but I'm harnessed up and ready to fly!!' Fans instantly started commenting on the dance teacher's photo and gave her uplifting words of encouragement. Path to recovery: She seemed to be in great spirits while taking to Instagram to update her followers as she learns to walk again One user wrote, 'U are one of the toughest women in this world Abby. Keep the faith and keep fighting girl.' The author was wearing a hot pink T-shirt from her Abby Lee Dance Company paired with black pants. Her hair was tied on top of her head and hidden underneath a thick black scarf. The professional choreographer seemed to be in high spirits, though, talking up visits from friends and family on Instagram, too. Cool visitors: Abby shared a photo of her God daughter visiting her along with a selfie with Seat Belt Psychic Thomas John, who was apparently there to give her a touching reading Abby shared a photo of her goddaughter visiting, in addition to a selfie with Seat Belt Psychic Thomas John, who was apparently there to give her a touching reading. The Pennsylvania native was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma after an emergency spinal surgery in April. Miller learned she had cancer when she was hospitalized for excruciating back pain shortly after being released from prison. The star had been staying in a halfway house following her release from jail, where she was serving a year and one day after being found guilty of bankruptcy fraud. The Dance Moms star started undergoing chemotherapy in June, posting a selfie on Instagram and writing, 'Hair today, gone tomorrow.' Gal Gadot made a colorful entrance into Comic-Con in San Diego, California on Saturday for Warner Bros. The 33-year-old Israeli actress wore a tight, deep purple mini dress with fringe on the bottom hem with a pair of very high heels. The brunette bombshell was there to talk up Wonder Woman 1984 - which is due in US theaters November 1, 2019 - with her co-star Chris Pine. Happy lady: Gal Gadot made a colorful entrance into Comic-Con in San Diego, California on Saturday for Warner Bros Star power: The 33-year-old Israeli actress wore a tight, deep purple mini dress with fringe on the bottom hem with a pair of very high heels In the movie, Wonder Woman squares off against the Cheetah, a villainess who possesses superhuman strength and agility. Cheetah will be played by SNL vet Kristen Wiig, who also worked on Bridesmaids and Ghostbusters with Melissa McCarthy. Lynda Carter from the WW TV series of the 1970s is rumoured to be making a cameo. The movie is directed by Patty Jenkins, who was also at Comic-Con. A fresh tan: The stunner looked sunkissed suggesting she had just been on a summer vacation In top shape: She has been working out nonstop to play Diana Prince/Wonder Woman again A lot to say: Gadot has said she wanted to make Wonder Woman fearless so she could be an inspiration to young girls Pine looked ready for a summer barbecue with his pink shirt and yellow slacks. He seemed at east as he took questions from the crowd. He returns to WW: 1984 as Steve Trevor which has confused some fans because he was believed to have died in the first Wonder Woman which took place during WWI. A good team: The brunette bombshell was there to talk up Wonder Woman 1984 - which is due in US theaters November 1, 2019 - with her co-star Chris Pine The director: Also there was Patty Jenkins who is at the helm of the sequel Jenkins told the audience that she chose 1984 as her setting because it was 'mankind at its best and worst' and 'us at our most extreme.' According to PolyGon, there was a small teaser. 'First we see Diana in her uniform, saving a young girl at a shopping mall from two gun-carrying goons. She crushes the guns, pushes the girl out of the way, sending her into two giant stuffed bears, then lassos the two men and jumps off the second floor. Powerful: Jenkins told the audience that she chose 1984 as her setting because it was 'mankind at its best and worst' and 'us at our most extreme' Giggles: Gal laughed backstage of the event with Chris Pine 'The colors are bright, the action was tough yet mesmerizing (the lasso, in full slow-motion, looks gorgeous), and even though Tiffany wasnt serenading the scene in her usual 1980s-mall-tour mode, the energy was high.' 'The thing that mattered to me the most,' Jenkins said, 'is I wanted to make great movies in my lifetime. 'And I found myself saying I have these characters I love and this world that I love and we can make a movie about something completely new, pure and strong and as unique as the first one. Of course I want to do that.' 'The colors are bright, the action was tough yet mesmerizing (the lasso, in full slow-motion, looks gorgeous), and even though Tiffany wasnt serenading the scene in her usual 1980s-mall-tour mode, the energy was high,' the director said He was recently arrested for carrying a weapon while on probation stemming from a 2016 incident. And while Offset was released on bond from the Clayton County Jail in Georgia, his lawyer Drew Findling admitted the rapper is thinking of his family during the difficult time, according to PEOPLE magazine. The 26-year-old Migos star told his legal team that 'he is concerned' about his wife Cardi B and their newborn daughter Kulture. Worried? Offset told his legal team that 'he is concerned' about his wife Cardi B and their newborn daughter Kulture; seen in June 'He is concerned, very concerned, about [Cardi B],' Findling says. 'Of course his new baby is his top priority as well as his other children.' Offset - real name Kiari Kendrell Cephus - was behind bars after his SUV was pulled over by police in Atlanta, Georgia, TMZ reported on Friday. He was charged with possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of marijuana (one ounce or less), possession of a weapon during a crime and an improper lane change. His wife and their daughter, who was born July 10, were not in the car at the time. Safe and sound: Cardi and their newborn daughter Kulture were not in the vehicle at the time of Offset's arrest; seen in June Behind bars: Cardi B's husband was arrested in Georgia on Friday; seen in April 'He did not commit any traffic offense and he certainly was not in possession of any weapons,' Findling said. 'This was an improper arrest and I believe in his innocence.' The attorney added: '[Offset's] holding up as best he can considering the circumstances and knows he has not broken any laws. He is going to have his day in court.' Cardi later took to social media to share a blurry image of the couple with the word 'home' scrawled across the photo. Safe: Cardi later took to social media to share a blurry image of the couple with the word 'home' scrawled across the photo 'For the record Offset is NOT ON PROBATION,' she wrote in another snap shared to her millions of followers 'For the record Offset is NOT ON PROBATION,' she wrote in another snap shared to her millions of followers. The Georgia native said he escaped punishment earlier this month after police released him following a traffic stop, after the officer took a selfie with his superstar wife, Cardi B, who was on FaceTime with him at the time. He tweeted July 2: 'Just got let go on a pull over for a FaceTime pic with my wife (SHES THE BEST).' Offset was previously taken into custody two years ago in Atlanta in connection with for driving with a suspended license. He was arrested the year before after a show at Georgia Southern University in connection with drug and gun charges. Fast-paced: It's been the best of times and the worst of times for Offset, who welcomed a new child with wife Cardi B amid legal issues and an auto accident Power couple: The breakout songstress and rap phenom were snapped last month in Atlanta It's been an eventful time for the performer, as in May, he was hospitalized with injuries to his neck and arm after crashing his crashed his Dodge Challenger in Atlanta. He's been in the limelight as result of his relationship with the Bodak Yellow songstress, as it was revealed by TMZ last month that he and the I Like It songstress actually tied the knot September 20, 2017, before he and Cardi B staged an onstage engagement at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center during a concert in October. In April, the breakout beauty, whose real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almanzar, announced her pregnancy during an episode of Saturday Night Live following months of speculation. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire has informed her that he will resign from state parliament following a corruption scandal. Mr Maguire last week quit the Liberal party and his role as parliamentary secretary after a corruption inquiry heard secret recordings of him discussing potential commissions with a local councillor from property deals with a wealthy Chinese developer. He will resign some time next week, before parliament resumes on August 7, and there will be a by-election for the seat of Wagga Wagga. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has backed a federal government proposal to tackle Australia's obesity crisis by recording the weight and height of every primary school student. Parents would be able to opt out of the proposal put forward by the Global Obesity Centre (GLOBE) with Australia now the sixth most overweight or obese nation behind only Mexico, the US, New Zealand, Finland and Chile, News Corp reports. Ms Palaszczuk said on Saturday that she would "not be against regular health checks for our young people", but said it should be done by a GP and not in a school setting where children could be embarrassed in front of their peers. Today's Birthday, July 22: Josh Lawson, Australian actor, comedian, (1981 - ). Considered the "everyman" actor, Lawson has the ability to disappear seamlessly into a role, whether it's playing a drug smuggler in Underbelly, or a comedic network boss on Anchorman 2. This year the multifarious performer garnered attention as an Oscar nominee for The Eleven O'Clock, a script he'd written for a theatre competition 13 years ago. "I was a bit overwhelmed," Lawson told Fairfax media in 2018. "I'd had that story with me for 13 years and I've seen some of my best friends perform some of those roles, including one of my dear friends, Mark Priestley, who's no longer alive." He shared the emotional moment he found out with his 16,000 Instagram followers. Lawson was raised in Brisbane and went to St Joseph's College in Gregory Terrace. He studied acting at NIDA from which he graduated in 2001, and went on to learn improvisation techniques at The Second City in Los Angeles. After being awarded the Mike Walsh Fellowship in 2003, he appeared on Aussie shows including Blue Heelers, Home and Away, and Thank God You're Here. In 2013 he appeared in one of the most highly-anticipated films of the year, Anchorman 2 alongside Will Ferrell. Lawson's first feature film The Little Death premiered at The Sydney Film Festival in 2014. Being Lawson's directorial debut coupled with the film's risque content, funding was difficult to come by and the film was made over eight years. While starring in critically acclaimed American comedy series House of Lies between 2012 and 2016, Lawson spent most of his time in Los Angeles. When Lawson was first offered the role of playing veteran actor Paul Hogan in Seven's mini-series Hoges (2017), he turned the part down out of fear. Eventually, he acquiesced and donned a questionable wig for the part. In March this year it was announced that Lawson was set to lead CBS sitcom pilot Welcome to the Neighbourhood. The story centres around uber-nice guy Dave, played by Lawson, and his family's transition to the rough side of LA. MINISTER of State in the Vice-Presidents Office (Union Affairs and Environment), Mr January Makamba has applauded the Christian Council of Tanzania (CCT) for its special programme on sustainable energy. Addressing a symposium on sustainable energy here yesterday, the Minister pointed out that the programme was vital to mitigate climate change. The government will invite the religious institutions to take part in the Environment Week event to promote sustainable energy uses, said the Minister while opening a two-day symposium which was organised by CCT. Earlier, the CCT Chairman, Dr Alikisa Cheyo, appealed to the government to involve religious institutions and other key stakeholders in environment, to promote sustainable energy for climate change mitigation. We appeal to the government to curb bureaucracy in investment of sustainable energy projects, he said. Dr Cheyo added CCT had taken steps to prepare the public on sustainable energy uses to mitigate climate change, saying the Church had teamed up with the government and other stakeholders to encourage the uses of sustainable energy. He urged the government to involve religious institutions in policymaking, laws and other guidelines on sustainable energy uses, noting that religious institutions have been implementing a number of programmes on sustainable energy. The government should also set up standard and regulations for technology and devices of sustainable energy, he said. Dr Cheyo further noted that the Church came up with the idea to set up sustainable energy programme due to increase of trees being cut for charcoal which in turn produces carbon dioxide, adding that CCT has no commercial partnership with any profit organisation. He explained that CCT has teamed up with Germanbased Bread for the World, a nonprofit organisation, to carry out a sustainable energy programme and that the Church involves Mobisol for mobilising communities on the use of sustainable energy. Voters in Wagga Wagga will go to the polls twice in the space of a few months with the resignation of disgraced MP Daryl Maguire forcing a by-election ahead of next year's general election. Mr Maguire on Saturday told Premier Gladys Berejiklian he would quit parliament before members return from the winter recess on August 7 after he became embroiled in a corruption scandal. The premier expects the Wagga Wagga MP will officially hand in his resignation letter this coming week leading to a by-election in the Riverina electorate that will almost certainly be won by the Liberal Party after the Nationals agreed not to run a candidate. "There will not be a three-cornered contest," Ms Berejiklian told reporters. "The Liberal Party's held that seat for half a century and the Liberal Party has opened nominations." Mr Maguire has apologised for causing "distress and embarrassment" after conversations recorded in 2016 were played to the Independent Commission Against Corruption some 10 days ago. He was heard boasting about a Chinese client with "mega money" and discussing potential commissions from property deals as he spoke with the Canterbury City Councillor at the centre of the investigation . Mr Maguire initially quit the Liberal Party but insisted he'd serve on the crossbench until the March 2019 election. But in the face of growing condemnation from the public, the state opposition and his ex-coalition colleagues Mr Maguire relented on Saturday and accepted his political career was over. Police are interviewing a dozen partygoers and combing through evidence after a young woman died of her injuries after a fight at a Melbourne CBD apartment. Laa Chol, 19, died during an out-of-control party in the short-term stay unit on the 56th floor of the EQ Tower early on Saturday morning. A group of young African Australians, aged in their late teens and early 20s according to media reports, had rented the apartment for the party when a second group arrived and a fight broke out. Police were not forthcoming with details, saying merely Ms Chol had been "assaulted" when asked about the cause of her death. The second group cleared out before police arrived, but media report that detectives are confident CCTV footage will help them arrest the killer or killers quickly. US-born Eleny Ramirez embraces her grandmother Atanacia Carvete during a family reunion for 18 US-born Mexican children in their parents' homeland in Puebla, Mexico They know the skyscrapers of Manhattan better than this small village in rural Mexico, but these 18 children are here to meet their extended families and learn about the world their parents left behind. Born in the United States, they have made the trip without their parents, who remain undocumented immigrants and -- unlike their US citizen children -- cannot travel back to Mexico for fear of being detained and deported by American border authorities. But the children wanted to meet their grandparents and other relatives for the first time back in their parents' native Teopantlan, a remote village of modest brick houses tucked into the hills of central Mexico. "My little niece, the four-year-old, keeps talking to me in English. But I don't speak a word of it," said 57-year-old Maria with a smile after meeting her four nieces. The trip was organized by charitable organizations, which got the parents' permission to take their children out of the country. After a long and winding trip from the Mexico City airport, some 120 kilometers (75 miles) away, the kids got out of their mini-bus in Teopantlan's central square. Beneath a canopy of colorful balloons, excited Mexican-American children met their equally excited Mexican relatives, who were waiting for them with flowers and gifts. "I had seen pictures of them, but it's nothing like seeing them in real life," said a beaming Mauro Ramirez, 60. "I'm so emotional I want to cry," he told AFP. After the initial embraces, though, the communication problems set in for many. Some of the older villagers only spoke the indigenous Nahuatl language, while some of the children only spoke English. The lapsed years also suddenly made themselves painfully apparent. One grandfather wearing a giant sombrero brought his 15-year-old grandson -- a nearly grown adult -- a giant children's stuffed animal. They proceeded to sit down together, side by side, in silence. - 'Mexican there, American here' - Teopantlan, a corn- and sugar cane-farming community, has long been a village of emigrants. Mexican Atanacia Carvete teaches her US-born granddaughters to feed hens during a family reunion "Around 40 percent of our young people emigrate, because there are no jobs here," said the mayor, Esteban Ramirez Rosales. He estimates about 2,000 villagers have left over the years, mainly for New York, where they have their own enclave in the borough of Queens. This is the first time anyone has organized a reunion. "It's a symbolic event reuniting families in their native community, rather than in the United States," said Francisco Romero, one of the organizers. "It gives families an alternative in the current climate of irrational immigration policy in both the United States and Mexico," he said. The children's parents joined in as best they could from afar. "Sometimes the kids don't believe us when we tell them about where we come from. They don't realize all they have," one mother told AFP from New York by telephone. The woman, who asked not to be named because of her migration status, had sent her three daughters on the trip. One group of young New Yorkers were thrilled to see their first live turkey, which their grandmother wanted to teach them to feed. "I'd like to teach them how to weave and wash clothes by hand, too," said the 60-year-old woman, Tanassia. "It's so quiet here. You don't even hear any cars. I'd like to come with my parents next time," said 14-year-old Vanessa. She neatly summed up the difficulties of growing up in a family that straddles the border. "I feel Mexican there and American here." - Overcoming the distance - Vanessa said US President Donald Trump's arrival in the White House had made her very anxious for parents and other undocumented immigrants -- there are more than 11 million in the United States, according to the Pew Research Center. She now dreams of helping get papers for her mother and father, a restaurant worker. Like the other children on the trip, the teenage Beyonce fan is learning the region's traditional dance, the "danza de las moras" (blackberry dance). They performed it for their families -- their way of showing they are carrying on the local culture. "This dance binds us together, despite the distance," said Mauro Ramirez. Some 700,000 Rohingya have fled a Myanmar military crackdown that some have described as wthnic cleansing A key member of an international advisory panel on Myanmar's crisis-hit Rakhine state has resigned, telling AFP on Saturday that the Aung San Suu Kyi-appointed board risks becoming "part of the problem" in a conflict that forced 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee. Retired Thai lawmaker and ambassador Kobsak Chutikul was secretary for the panel hand-picked by civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi to advise her government on how to handle the aftermath of a military campaign that drove the minority out of the country. The brutal crackdown started in August last year and left hundreds of Rohingya villages razed to the ground. Refugees to Bangladesh have recounted horrifying testimony of widespread murder, rape and torture in violence the UN and US have branded as ethnic cleansing. Kobsak Chutikul said his position became untenable ahead of a second full meeting of the panel with officials in Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw this week. "I verbally gave my resignation in a staff meeting last Tuesday (10 July)," he told AFP by phone from Bangkok. The board, he said, risks becoming a "part of the problem". "It lulls authorities into thinking they have done enough to respond to the concerns of the international community, that theyve ticked that box," he added. "It becomes dangerous in terms of an illusion that something is being done... that theyre going to do something while Rome burns." - 'Winging it' - The credibility of the advisory board was undermined early on by the resignation of veteran US diplomat Governor Bill Richardson a one-time close confidant of Suu Kyi. He left the panel in January in a vicious war of words with the Nobel laureate. The government insisted it had terminated his involvement but Richardson said he stepped down due to fears the committee would only "whitewash" the causes of the Rohingya crisis. A statement by his office Saturday said that Kobsak's resignation "further reinforces the concerns" he held. Kobsak, however, told AFP that he thought Governor Richardson's departure had been premature. But he said the board's poor organisation and funding severely curtailed its work. "We were winging it on the fly, not really in full grasp of the full facts and figures. Everyone was all over the place -- we don't have a permanent office anywhere," he told AFP. Suu Kyi's reputation lies in tatters internationally for her failure to speak up on behalf of the Rohingya Muslims, a stateless group persecuted over decades in Myanmar. There was no immediate reaction from her office or the panel. The advisory board has so far dismayed rights groups for not mentioning the word 'Rohingya' -- a name Buddhist-majority Myanmar rejects, preferring the pejorative term 'Bengali' that implies the community are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Kobsak Chutikul said the international community should rally round new UN special envoy Christine Schraner Burgener, who he said "offers the best hope in the circumstances". burs-rs/apj/jta British actor Andrew Lincoln has appeared as Sheriff Rick Grimes in almost every episode since "The Walking Dead" first aired in 2010 The world's largest fan convention bid a poignant farewell to the star of the most successful show in cable TV history on Friday as zombies took over San Diego Comic-Con. An extensive line-up of stars descended on the city's sprawling convention center to whet appetites for AMC's "The Walking Dead" and its sister show "Fear the Walking Dead." The departure of British actor Andrew Lincoln, who has appeared as Sheriff Rick Grimes in almost every episode since the 2010 pilot, has been an open secret since May, confirmed inadvertently by executive producer Robert Kirkman. But the official announcement was reserved for Comic-Con, an annual pop culture celebration that attracts more than 100,000 devotees to southern California, many in elaborate costumes, every July. "There seems to be an elephant in the room. This will be my last season playing the part of Rick Grimes," Lincoln, 44, told the packed 6,500-seat Hall H, prompting a dismayed murmur that spread throughout the arena. "I love this show. It means everything to me. I love the people who make this show. I promise not to cry. I've done enough crying on screen," Lincoln promised. Based on a comic book of the same name by a trio of writers including one of the show's executive producers Robert Kirkman, the post-apocalyptic zombie-ridden vision of the United States portrayed in "The Walking Dead" has proved uniquely resonant. Dwarfing competition like HBO's "Game of Thrones" in the US, it has the highest total viewership in cable history and, crucially, the highest audience of 18-49s for any kind of US television between 2013 and 2017. - 'Tensions rising' - Actors Andrew Lincoln and Norman Reedus, at the Comic-Con International photo call for "The Walking Dead," whose post-apocalyptic zombie-ridden vision of the United States has proved uniquely resonant The show centers on Lincoln's Grimes, who wakes up in a hospital bed after getting shot, only to find he is alone in a world of vicious, flesh-eating reanimated corpses -- known as "walkers" on the show. "I got kind of choked up. It's been nine years of coming here," Lincoln told reporters after what will be his last sojourn to San Diego on behalf of "The Walking Dead." "I love this place and I love seeing the fans, and you've been such a vital part of this experience. But my relationship with Mr Grimes is far from over." It was unclear if he was talking about the current shoot for his final episodes, the possibility of appearing in one of the franchise's numerous side projects, or something else entirely. The ninth season, coming in October, takes place two years after the "All Out War" saga of the previous two, with story editor Angela Kang taking over from veteran showrunner Scott Gimple. AMC dropped a trailer lasting almost six minutes at Comic-Con which shows Rick in more peaceful times as the leader of a sprawling settlement of survivors -- but with tensions rising among his lieutenants. "Fear the Walking Dead" kicked off the two-hour zombocalypse earlier with a presentation that critics agreed seemed to be drawing a line under all storylines past and presenting an almost entirely new show. - 'Fermentation process' - Aired since 2015, "FtWD" doesn't get the history-making numbers of the main show -- but is still one of the top-rated US cable series with just under two million viewers per episode. "Fear" shocked its legion of ardent fans by presaging its parent show and killing its protagonist -- Kim Dickens's Madison Clark -- just before the halfway break of season four. The remaining cast -- including established stars Colman Domingo, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Danay Garcia and newcomers Lennie James, Garret Dillahunt, Maggie Grace and Jenna Elfman -- spoke passionately about their work. But it wasn't long before the conversation with journalists descended into a conversation about whether zombies were able to "poop," as well as snarling and shuffling. The tone was lowered as Gimple mentioned in passing that James's character Morgan, a crossover from the main show, is seen on the toilet in an upcoming episode and was asked if zombies "poop." "What did I say? It's going to be the next thing people want to know! It's exactly what I said!" grandstanded a faux-exasperated James. "I think there's a fermentation process that could result in projectiles," offered a wry Gimple, clearly amused by the prospect. Grace, most famous for ABC's "Lost" and the "Taken" movies, was disdainful, however, explaining that she didn't really go in for matters "scatalogical." Actor Norman Reedus at the "Fear the Walking Dead" panel during Comic-Con International, an annual pop culture celebratoin in San Diego She was game enough to suggest, though, that we might already be witnessing the effect of many a zombie call-of-nature in every episode. "That's why they walk so strangely," she said. Season four of "Fear The Walking Dead" resumes on August 12. Hackers specifically targeted Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong's medical records State-actors were likely behind Singapore's biggest ever cyberattack to date, security experts say, citing the scale and sophistication of the hack which hit medical data of about a quarter of the population. The city-state announced Friday that hackers had broken into a government database and stolen the health records of 1.5 million Singaporeans, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong who was specifically targeted in the "unprecedented" attack. Singapore's health minister said the strike was "a deliberate, targeted, and well-planned cyberattack and not the work of casual hackers or criminal gangs". While officials refused to comment on the identity of the hackers citing "operational security", experts told AFP that the complexity of the attack and its focus on high-profile targets like the prime minister pointed to the hand of a state-actor. "A cyber espionage threat actor could leverage disclosure of sensitive health information... to coerce an individual in (a) position of interest to conduct espionage" on its behalf, said Eric Hoh, Asia-Pacific president of cybersecurity firm FireEye. Hoh told national broadcaster Channel NewsAsia that the attack was an "advanced persistent threat". "The nature of such attacks are that they are conducted by nation states using very advanced tools," he said. "They tend to be well resourced, well-funded and highly sophisticated." Russia -- which is accused of meddling in the US presidential election -- China, Iran and North Korea are believed to have the capability to carry out such attacks. Analysts, however, would not be drawn into speculation on who might be behind the hack or why Singapore was targeted. The attack started two weeks after the wealthy city-state hosted the historic summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Jeff Middleton, chief executive of cybersecurity consultancy Lantium, said healthcare data is of particular interest to hackers because it can be used to blackmail people in positions of power. "A lot of information about a person's health can be gleaned from the medications that they take," Middleton told AFP Saturday. "Any non-public health information could be used for extortion. Russian spy services have a long history of doing this." Medical information, like personal data, can also be easily monetised on criminal forums, said Sanjay Aurora, Asia-Pacific managing director of Darktrace. "Beyond making a quick buck, a more sinister reason to attack would be to cause widespread disruption and systemic damage to the healthcare service -- as a fundamental part of critical infrastructure -- or to undermine trust in a nation's competency to keep personal data safe," he told AFP. - Hyper-connected - Today, cybercriminals are targeting more than just individuals or banks, said Shahnawaz Backer, regional security specialist at F5 Networks. Wealthy Singapore is hyper-connected and on a drive to digitise government records and essential services "Government services, from healthcare to education, are targets that are just as likely, as evidenced by the recent attacks in Singapore," Backer said. "As Singapore embraces the digital revolution, security breaches are bound to happen. Our growing digital footprint is growing every day, and enterprises need to take strict measures to safeguard and protect their data." Wealthy Singapore is hyper-connected and on a drive to digitise government records and essential services, including medical records which public hospitals and clinics can share via a centralised database. But authorities have put the brakes on these plans while they investigate the breach. A former judge will head an inquiry looking into the hack. Singapore officials have cautioned against jumping to conclusions about the attackers. "With regard to the prime minister's data and why he was targeted, I would say that it's perhaps best not to speculate what the attacker had in mind," said David Koh, head of Singapore's Cyber Security Agency. The hackers used a computer infected with malware to gain access to the database between June 27 and July 4 before administrators spotted "unusual activity", authorities said. The government says it fends off thousands of cyberattacks every day and has long warned of breaches by actors as varied as high-school students in their bedrooms to nation-states. Earlier this month, US intelligence chief Dan Coats described Russia, China, Iran and North Korea as the "worst offenders" when it came to attacks on American "digital infrastructure". A Syrian child looks through the windows of a bus carrying rebels and their families from the southern province of Quneitra to northern Syria on on July 21, 2018 More rebel fighters with their families boarded buses to leave southern Syria on Saturday under deals with the regime, a war monitor said, after hundreds reached opposition territory in the north. On Saturday evening, a second bus convoy prepared to leave Quneitra province, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. State news agency SANA published images of white buses it said were leaving Quneitra's Umm Batna area on the ceasefire line, watched by men in military uniform. In neighbouring Daraa province, 19 buses carrying rebels and civilians hit the road north, more than half from the town of Nawa, the Observatory said. Earlier in the day, an AFP correspondent said around 50 buses carrying opposition fighters and civilians from Quneitra reached the Morek crossing on the edge of northwestern rebel-held Idlib province. Just over a month into a Russia-backed regime campaign to retake Daraa and Quneitra from rebels, Moscow-brokered surrender deals are paving the way for government institutions to return to nearly all parts of these provinces. Syrian government soldiers wave national flags after retaking control of the city of Quneitra from rebels, on July 19, 2018 The deals provide for rebels who do not agree to a government takeover to board buses with their families to join other opposition fighters in the north of the country. Damascus has been determined to retake Daraa and Quneitra, which borders the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, with Daraa seen as the cradle of Syria's seven-year uprising. - 'Six dead' in air strikes - But the surrender agreements do not include jihadists, and Russian air strikes on Saturday killed six civilians in an Islamic State group holdout in Daraa province, the Observatory said. The deadly raids came just a day after strikes in the same area took the lives of 26 non-combatants including 11 children. On Saturday, clashes between loyalists and jihadists in the area also killed 13 regime fighters, including eight in a car bombing. The first bus convoy on Saturday carried around 2,800 people, more than half women and children, and has reached rebel held territory, according to the monitor. Near the parked buses in Morek, a woman and five children waited by a cluster of small suitcases, the eldest among them carrying bottles of water and a blanket. Men with light weapons slung on their backs shared a bite to eat and some water as they stood around waiting. Several wore scarves wrapped around their faces. Syrian government soldiers hold portraits of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the city of Quneitra on July 19, 2018 Syrian forces launched their southern offensive on June 19, targeting the province of Daraa that borders Jordan to the south, then turning their attention to neighbouring Quneitra. With a mix of military power and negotiated surrenders, President Bashar al-Assad's troops this month captured more than 90 percent of Daraa, where protests against him first erupted in 2011. Syria's conflict has killed more than 350,000 people and displaced millions since it began in 2011 with a brutal government crackdown on protesters. A picture taken on July 20, 2018 shows a fireball exploding in Gaza City during Israeli bombardment A ceasefire announced by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas largely held Saturday after a wave of deadly air strikes across Gaza sparked by the death of an Israeli soldier shot near the border. The soldier's death was the first linked to Gaza violence since a 2014 war and raised fears that Israel's response could spiral into full-out war. But the decision of Hamas, which rules the enclave, to accept a ceasefire and not further retaliate reduced those fears for now. As has been the case with previous such truces, Israel did not confirm the deal announced by Hamas that went into effect around midnight Friday. There was relative calm on Saturday except for one incident, with the Israeli army saying a tank struck a Hamas observation point east of Gaza City in retaliation for an attempted border infiltration in northern Gaza. Gaza Strip There were no reports of injuries in that strike and there was no major Israeli bombing campaign overnight or mortar fire from the Palestinian enclave towards Israel. "With Egyptian and UN efforts, we reached (an agreement) to return to the previous state of calm between the (Israeli) occupation and the Palestinian factions," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement early Saturday. A senior Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP the deal involved "the cessation of all forms of military escalation" including Israeli air strikes and Hamas mortars and rockets. The source said that balloons and kites attached with incendiary devices, which Palestinians have been floating over the border for months to spark fires inside Israel, were not included in the agreement. There was however one reported fire in Israel near the Gaza border on Saturday, a fire department spokesman said, although its cause was not immediately clear. Israeli politicians have been calling for a fierce response to the kites and balloons, which have caused damage amounting to millions of shekels (hundreds of thousands of dollars). Israel's army and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office declined to confirm a truce was reached. - Increasing tensions - On Friday, three Hamas militants were killed as air raids sent fireballs exploding into the sky over Gaza, while Israel said rockets had been fired back at its territory. A fourth Palestinian was shot dead in protests near the border. The United Nations urged all sides to step "back from the brink" of war after months of increasing tensions. A picture taken on July 20, 2018 shows an Israeli Merkava tank patrolling along along the border with the Gaza Strip near the Kibbutz of Nahal Oz in southern Israel The soldier, shot dead along the border in southern Gaza, was the first to be killed in and around the Palestinian enclave since a 2014 war between Israel and Hamas. Friday's flare-up is the latest as demonstrations and clashes on the frontier since March have seen at least 149 Palestinians killed. In addition to the shooting attack, Israel's army said explosive devices and around seven hand grenades were used, while a number of rockets were launched. The army said it struck 68 Hamas sites including weapon manufacturing sites, a drone warehouse and a military operations room. It came only a week after the most severe exchange of fire between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza since the 2014 war. Jason Greenblatt, US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace envoy, laid the blame for weeks of increasing tensions solely on Hamas. "Hamas works relentlessly to destroy Israeli lives (& Gazans suffer as a result of Hamas)," he tweeted, while offering condolences to the soldier's family. - 'Temporary reprieve' - Hamas and Israel have fought three wars since 2008. Israel has tightened its already crippling blockade of Gaza in recent weeks as it seeks to pressure Hamas to end the incendiary kites and balloons. Hugh Lovatt, Israel-Palestine fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations think-tank, told AFP another round of conflict remained highly possible. "The ceasefire is crucial and shows neither side wants war but it's only a temporary reprieve," he said. "Unless it can be consolidated and translated into a more permanent agreement that includes an easing of Israeli restrictions then we will continue to witness ever more frequent flare ups." Mustafa al-Sawaf, a political analyst close to Hamas, told AFP that the shooting was seen as a reaction to the killing of a number of Hamas fighters by Israeli strikes in recent days. Hamas, he said, would consider its strategy "successful after this round of confrontation and escalation". Protesters march against Israel's nation-state law in the city of Tel Aviv on July 14, 2018 Saudi Arabia has slammed a controversial Israeli law as "perpetuating racial discrimination" against Palestinians by defining the country as the nation state of the Jewish people, state media reported. The law adopted by Israel's parliament on Thursday also defines the establishment of Jewish communities as being in the national interest and downgrades Arabic from an official language to one with special status. Citing a Saudi foreign ministry source, the official Saudi Press Agency said late Friday the kingdom "rejects and disapproves" of the new legislation which it argued contradicts international law. The source called on the international community to "confront such a law and or other Israeli attempts, aimed at perpetuating racial discrimination against the Palestinian people", SPA reported. Saudi Arabia said the adoption of the law would also be a barrier to ending the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Earlier this year King Salman reaffirmed Saudi Arabia's "steadfast" support for the Palestinian cause, after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signalled a shift in the country's approach. Prince Mohammed in April said in a magazine interview that Israelis as well as Palestinians "have the right to have their own land". Arab citizens account for some 17.5 percent of Israel's more than eight million population and have long complained of discrimination. The Israeli legislation was also condemned by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, comprised of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Adoption of the law "reflected the regime of racism and discrimination against the Palestinian people," GCC secretary general Abdullatif al-Zayani was quoted by SPA as saying. Zayani accused Israel of trying to obliterate the Palestinians' "national identity and depriving them of their legitimate civil and human rights on their occupied homeland". Ethiopian hotel owner Taeme Lemlem, 75, sips a coffee at his hotel which was once destroyed during the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea Eighteen years after the guns fell silent following Ethiopia's bloody border war with Eritrea, the frontier town of Zalambessa is a quiet, rubble-strewn outpost crossed by a road to nowhere. But change could be on the horizon after the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea agreed to re-establish relations, raising hopes that trade will resume and towns like Zalambessa will boom again. "There's no question," said Tirhas Gerekidan, a hairdresser in the town. "If the road opens, things will change." Both small and large businesses in Ethiopia, one of Africa's fastest-growing economies despite widespread poverty, would be expected to benefit from the border re-opening. But analysts warn that Eritrea, which under President Isaias Afwerki has become one of the world's most closed societies with an unwelcoming business climate, may not share the economic spoils of the new era of engagement. "The potential for this accord... to revitalise its economy is huge," said Seth Kaplan, a professor at Johns Hopkins University in the United States who has studied Eritrea's economy. "The great unknown is what will Isaias do." Eritrea, once a province of Ethiopia that incorporated the single nation's entire coastline, fought a decades-long independence war before voting to leave in 1993. The decision landlocked Africa's second-most populous country -- although Ethiopia continued to export through Eritrean ports until a border dispute erupted into war in 1998. - 'Systematically bulldozed' - Eritrean troops poured south into Zalambessa which is the last Ethiopian town on the main road between the countries' capitals. Eritrea then "systematically bulldozed" it, the local Catholic bishop wrote in a 2003 letter to the United Nations Secretary General. "There wasn't anything left. All we found were rocks that weren't even a metre in size," said Taema Lemlem, the owner of a cafe in the town. A peace treaty ended fighting in 2000, but hopes that the frontiers would re-open were scuppered when Ethiopia rejected a UN-backed effort to definitively settle the border question two years later. Hairdresser Terhas Gerekidan foresees an economic boom The road from Zalambessa to Eritrea is blocked by the military, and the once-bustling trade hub where cactuses sprout from conflict-damaged buildings is eerily quiet. Barred from Eritrea's ports, Ethiopia shifted its sea trade to neighbouring Djibouti, investing heavily in a railway and other infrastructure as it became one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. But facing soaring debt and a foreign exchange shortage, Ethiopia's new prime minister Abiy Ahmed announced in June that he would privatise key state-owned companies including Ethiopian Airlines and Ethio telecom. - Like slavery - Getachew Teklemariam, a consultant and former Ethiopian government adviser, said that while the economic reforms and warming relations were not necessarily linked, they could both reinvigorate the economy. "The rapprochement relieves resources from the military buildup that has been going on over the years," Getachew said. Eritrea responded to Ethiopia's rejection of the UN border settlement with an extensive crackdown on dissent that in turn deterred investment. Repressive policies stifled its emerging entrepreneurial class, dissidents were arrested and an indefinite military service programme was mandated that drew comparisons to slavery from the UN. "Eritrea has done almost everything it can to keep foreign investment out," Kaplan said. Hundreds of thousands of Eritreans have fled abroad, partly to avoid conscription which many migrants say contributes to poverty. - 'Listening to gunfire' - Isaias insisted the mandatory national service was necessary to deter Ethiopian aggression, but has not commented on the scheme's future since the thaw with Addis Ababa. Kaplan suggested Eritrea may not change its hardline policies or become more welcoming to foreigners, but could instead seek investment for two of its most promising sectors -- ports and mining. The Ethiopia - Eritrean border Getachew added that trade between Ethiopia and Eritrea had been fraught even before the war. The smuggling of Ethiopian contraband through Eritrean ports and Asmara's manipulation of its nakfa currency strained relations and contributed to the border conflict. "My fear is now, even after all these years, our regulatory capacity is not really strong enough to avoid those sorts of malpractice," he said. And even though Ethiopia is eager to access Eritrea's more cost-effective ports of Assab and Massawa, Getachew warned that both are believed to be run-down after trade dried up following the war. In another sign of the rapid rapprochement, Ethiopia's foreign ministry spokesman Meles Alem this week that roads to Assab were already being repaired to enable rapid use of the port. Residents living along the frontier are hopeful that cross-border trade will begin to flourish and occasional shootouts between Ethiopian and Eritrean troops will end. "While other people were listening to music, we were listening to gunfire," said Taema, the cafe owner. "Being open is better than being closed, and peace is better than war." Hundreds gathered in Hong Kong to protest against a ban on a pro-independence party Hundreds of people protested Saturday in Hong Kong after police sought to ban a pro-independence political party, as Beijing ups pressure on challengers to its territorial sovereignty over the city. Authorities said the Hong Kong National Party (HKNP), a well-known but small group with a core membership of around a dozen, is a potential threat to national security and public safety. Around 500 protesters from different pro-democracy parties gathered in Hong Kong's Wan Chai district for a march organised by the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF), a group that does not support independence. They included around 50 supporters of pro-independence groups, who waved flags and banners -- including one that read "only two countries have two systems", a reference to the "one country, two systems" arrangement under which Hong Kong is currently governed. "No matter what political ideology you have, we need to protect our freedom of speech and freedom of association," said Chung Hon Lam, high school student and convenor of pro-independence group Studentlocalism. Lam accused the government of using "national security" as an excuse to target pro-independence parties, and warned it other pro-democracy parties could be targeted too. The protest came after John Lee, Hong Kong's secretary for security, said he was considering a police request to ban the HKNP. Lee did not elaborate how the party was damaging national security, but said under the city's laws, national security includes safeguarding the "territorial integrity and the independence of the People's Republic of China". Semi-autonomous Hong Kong enjoys freedoms unseen on the mainland, which are protected by the 50-year handover agreement between Britain and China. But fears are growing that Beijing is trampling the deal. It is the first time such a ban has been sought since Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997, and is the latest move to stifle any calls for independence, which have infuriated Beijing. Britain has voiced concerns over the suppression of political activity in the city. "The UK does not support Hong Kong independence, but Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy, and its rights and freedoms, are central to its way of life, and it is important they are fully respected," the British foreign office said in a statement on Wednesday. Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa speaks to people after assuring white farmers their land is safe at a rally in Harare President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Saturday assured Zimbabwe's white farmers that their land will not be taken, calling on them to work together with the government ahead of landmark elections on July 30. Under his predecessor Robert Mugabe, white farmers were evicted in favour of landless black people from 2000 by a controversial policy that wrecked agriculture and triggered an economic collapse. But less than two weeks to go before Zimbabwe's first elections since Mugabe's ouster, Mnangagwa moved to quash any fears the practice would be repeated. "This issue of new (land) invasions is a thing of the past. The rule of law must now apply," Mnangagwa told a group of about 200 white and Asian people gathered in the capital Harare, adding that the "animal farm mentality," was a thing of the past. "I am saying we should cease to talk about who owns the farm in terms of colour. It is criminal talking about that. A farmer, black farmer, a white farmer is a Zimbabwean farmer." Mnangagwa said his government was "racially blind" and needed the expertise of everyone across the economy. Zimbabwe's white population has fallen to less than one percent of the country's 16 million after Mugabe imposed the policy to expropriate farms in 2000. Agricultural output crashed in the aftermath, with investors leaving and mass unemployment forcing millions of Zimbabweans out of the country to seek work. - 'A lot of encouragement' - Mnangagwa acknowledged the failure of the land reforms, saying the expertise of white people in the farming sector was still needed Mnangagwa acknowledged the failure of the land reforms, saying the expertise of white people in the farming sector was still needed and encouraging them to take part in rebuilding Zimbabwe. "We must build the Zimbabwe we want. We want to restore the status of Zimbabwe as a food basket of the region," he said. "He gave us a lot of encouragement. We came here to ask for options for farming," Louisa Horsely, 51, told AFP. "I wanted to know if my husband's expertise is still needed if he wants to farm and wants to help other people to farm and that is what we are interested in. It sounds (like) he wants us to be part of it." Tara Chatterton, 39, who runs an auctioning business, said she attended the rally to hear what Mnangagwa's plans were since the military intervention last year that resulted in the removal of Robert Mugabe after nearly four decades. "We are here just to see... what he is aiming at in trying to bring the country back up and trying to get people to work together as one nation," Chatterton said. Paul Sexton, 71, who works for a printing company, said he was impressed that the leader "didn't make any outlandish promises". "It's going to take time and that's the truth." (COMBO) This combination of pictures created on April 11, 2018 shows Michael Cohen (L), and US President Donald Trump Donald Trump on Saturday said his ex-lawyer Michael Cohen may have acted illegally after it emerged he had secretly taped a discussion about payments to a former Playboy model who claims she had an affair with the US president. In his first direction reaction to a report broken by the New York Times a day earlier, Trump added: "The good news is that your favorite President did nothing wrong!" The Times reported the FBI had seized the recording during a raid on Cohen's office earlier this year, quoting lawyers and others familiar with the recording. Cohen has not yet been arrested or charged. "Inconceivable that the government would break into a lawyer's office (early in the morning) - almost unheard of," Trump tweeted. "Even more inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client - totally unheard of & perhaps illegal." Former Playboy model Karen McDougal claims she had a months-long affair with Trump after they met in 2006, shortly after Trump's wife Melania gave birth to their son Barron. She told CNN previously that he tried to pay her for sex. The Wall Street Journal said the September 2016 conversation between Trump and Cohen was about buying the rights to McDougal's story, which she sold a month earlier to The National Enquirer for $150,000. The tabloid ultimately sat on it, preventing it from becoming public. The chairman of its parent company, American Media, is a friend of Trump. Friday's reports raised questions about why Trump's campaign denied knowledge of the deal between McDougal and American Media when it became public and fanned speculation about how much damage Cohen can inflict on the president. Trump's current personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, had confirmed to the Times that the Cohen tape existed, but said it showed the president had done nothing wrong. Michael Blanc's case sparked outrage in his native France over Indonesia's tough narcotics laws A Frenchman who served 18 years in custody for smuggling drugs into Bali was deported Saturday in a case that sparked outrage in his native country over Indonesia's tough narcotics laws. Police arrested Michael Blanc on the day after Christmas in 1999 at the tropical island's airport with 3.8 kilogrammes (8.4 pounds) of hashish hidden inside scuba diving canisters. The now 45-year-old was originally given a life term -- narrowly escaping the death sentence handed to some other foreign drug traffickers, including two members of the notorious Bali Nine who were executed in 2015. Blanc's prison term was later cut to 20 years and then in 2014 he won something that few foreigners get in Indonesia -- parole. The former cook arrived at the airport in Jakarta escorted by Indonesian immigration officials, and accompanied by his mother, Helene Le Touzey, who gave up her life in France to spend nearly two decades in Indonesia campaigning for his release. The two departed on a Turkish Airlines flight at 9:00 pm (1400 GMT). They are expected in Paris on Sunday around 11:00 am. The life sentence handed out by an Indonesian court, which rejected Blanc's claim that he was carrying the drug-filled gear for a friend, was criticised in France as overly harsh. Paris raised the issue at the highest levels, with the then-prime minister Francois Fillon bringing it up during a visit to Indonesia in 2011. In 2008, Blanc's sentence was cut to 20 years thanks in large part to his mother's efforts. Le Touzey later helped secure her son's parole in 2014, despite the fact that Indonesian law does not usually allow conditional release of foreigners after serving just two-thirds of their sentence. The French government raised Blanc's case with Indonesia at the highest levels Blanc's three-year parole period ended in July 2017, after which he was required to finish one year of probation. Indonesia has some of the world's toughest drug laws. More than 70 people, including 42 foreigners, are facing the firing squad for drug offences, according to the Coalition for the Abolition of Death Penalty in ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). Indonesia has executed several drug traffickers since President Joko Widodo took office in 2014. Among them were foreign nationals, including two Bali Nine members arrested in 2005 for an attempt to smuggle heroin from Indonesia to Australia. The executions of Australian ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran sparked diplomatic outrage and a call to abolish Indonesia's death penalty. Although Jakarta suspended executions last year, Widodo has said the country is facing a "drug emergency" and previously ordered police to shoot traffickers who resist arrest. High-profile cases like that of Australian national Schapelle Corby, who spent more than nine years behind bars for smuggling marijuana into Bali, have stoked concern that Indonesia is becoming a drug destination. Corby was deported in 2017 after several years of parole. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin arrived in the Argentine capital at the end of a week in which US President Donald Trump has ramped up his inflammatory remarks and threats with regard global trade US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Saturday he will be pushing China and the EU to agree to a more "balanced" relationship on trade when he meets with finance ministers at the Group of 20 convention in Buenos Aires. Mnuchin arrived in the Argentine capital at the end of a week in which US President Donald Trump has ramped up his inflammatory remarks and threats with regard global trade. Trump described China, the EU and Russia as trade "foes" and threatened to hammer the entire $500 billion in goods the US imports from China with punitive tariffs. "It is definitely a realistic possibility so I wouldn't minimize the possibility. We've been very clear with our objectives," Mnuchin told reporters ahead of the start of the two-day G20 summit amongst finance ministers and central bankers from the world's 20 leading economies. "We share a desire to have a more balanced relationship and the balanced relationship is by us selling more goods (to China)." The US trade in goods deficit with China stood at almost $376 billion in 2017. - 'Tremendous opportunity' - "Although the objective is to cut the trade deficit, the desire to do that is for them to open up their markets so we can compete fairly and increase our exports," he said. "I think it's a tremendous opportunity for us and a tremendous opportunity for China. "China has a large, growing population that will consume more products and that likes American products." He pointed to energy, agriculture and technology as areas in which the US could boost its Chinese presence. But Mnuchin said joint ventures were a major stumbling block between the two countries, particularly when it comes to technology, stating that other than in certain "security" related cases, "companies are free to do business in the US without setting up joint ventures." He added: "They're very interested in technology and we're pleased for them to have our technology companies there as long as they do it in a way that our technology companies don't in any way feel the pressure to form joint ventures or transfer technology. "There's a very large, growing opportunity, if we can reach agreement, that is good for China, good for their economy and good for US companies." - Message to EU - As for the EU, Mnuchin said it would have to make considerable concessions in order for there to be a free-trade agreement between the two. "My message is pretty clear, it's the same message the president delivered at the G7: if Europe believes in free trade, we're ready to sign a free trade agreement with no tariffs, no tariff barriers and no subsidies. It has to be all three." The Treasury Secretary also spoke of current and possible future trade sanctions, mentioning North Korea, Iran, Venezuela and Nicaragua. Despite Trump's landmark meeting with North Korean supremo Kim Jong-un in Singapore last month that saw a significant thawing in previously explosive ties, a softening of sanctions isn't on the table. "We're pleased with the dialogue but there will not be sanctions relief until there is real progress," Mnuchin said. He acknowledged that the US and EU "don't see eye to eye on every single aspect" of the Iran nuclear deal but insisted there's a "consistent view that Iran should never have nuclear weapons" and that they should be prevented from exporting "terrorism" to the Middle East. He said the repression in crisis hit Venezuela by the government of President Nicolas Maduro was "unacceptable" and that US sanctions targeting those in power were to "encourage better behavior." Further sanctions could also be heading Nicaragua's way after three months of unrest in which more than 280 people have been killed as protests escalate against the ironfisted rule of President Daniel Ortega. "It's a reasonable guess that (sanctions are) something we'd be looking at," said Mnuchin. Tiger Woods plays from the second fairway during his third round at Carnoustie Tiger Woods rediscovered his golden touch on Saturday with six birdies in his third round moving him into a share of the lead at the British Open. After two underwhelming even-par rounds, Woods needed something special in the third round at Carnoustie and he was on course for just that after reaching the 16th hole at six under for a tournament he has won three times. Three successive birdies from the ninth to the 11th sent the 42-year-old to five under and a birdie on the par five 14th into a share of the lead with fellow Americans, defending champion Jordan Spieth, overnight leaders Kevin Kisner and Zach Johnson and Englishman Tommy Fleetwood. Spieth had got his round going with an eagle at the par-four first hole which signalled his intent, and a birdie on the fourth to six under. The later starters were hoping the afternoon conditions would remain as calm as the morning, when Justin Rose fired a superb seven-under-par round of 64 to move to four-under overall. Rose's effort equalled the lowest round in an Open on the Scottish links, although it was not quite good enough to trouble Fleetwood's overall course record of 63, set last year. US prosecutors say Maria Butina, 29, exploited her close links with the powerful NRA gun lobby while posing as a visiting graduate student to endear herself with senior Republicans, guided by one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's major political supporters Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told his US counterpart Mike Pompeo on Saturday that the arrest of a Russian gun rights enthusiast on espionage charges in the United States was "unacceptable", his ministry said. US prosecutors say Maria Butina, 29, exploited her close links with the powerful NRA gun lobby while posing as a visiting graduate student to endear herself with senior Republicans, guided by one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's major political supporters, Alexander Torshin. She was charged this week in Washington of acting illegally as an unregistered agent for the Russian government while she lived in Washington over the past three years with her boyfriend, a veteran Republican operative. In a telephone call with Pompeo, Lavrov "stressed that the actions of American authorities who arrested the Russian citizen Butina based on false accusations is totally unacceptable," the foreign ministry said in a statement. Lavrov said Butina must be released "as soon as possible," according to the statement. The two diplomats also "exchanged views on ways to develop the relationship between our countries with the objective of normalising them". Butina's arrest on Sunday added to the political turmoil in Washington over Moscow's meddling in the 2016 presidential election and allegations that President Donald Trump's campaign collaborated with the Russians. The arrest was announced Monday hours after Trump finished a summit and a press conference with Putin in Helsinki, Finland, where the US leader rejected the US intelligence community's verdict that the Russians interfered to support him over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 race. Trump reversed that stance a day later under heavy attack from US politicians of both parties. Turkey claimed in April 2018 that its intelligence service had brought back 80 alleged supporters of Fethullah Gulen arrested in 18 different countries Britain said on Saturday it had arrested Akin Ipek, a Turkish businessman accused of links to US-exiled preacher Fethullah Gulen, following an extradition request from Turkey. "We can confirm that Mr Ipek has been arrested in relation to an extradition request from Turkey," a Home Office spokeswoman said in a statement. His case will be heard at a central London court in September, the spokeswoman added, noting it could not confirm whether he had been released on bail. Anadolu, Turkey's state-run international news agency, reported he was arrested on May 23 and had since been released. Ipek is the former head of the Kozi-Ipek media conglomerate, which has been targeted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan amid a crackdown over the 2016 failed coup to unseat him. Ankara accuses Gulen -- a one-time Erdogan ally turned arch-foe -- of orchestrating "a terrorist organisation" and being behind the failed putsch. It accuses Kozi-Ipek of helping to finance his efforts. The organisation's two newspapers and their sister television stations in Istanbul were stormed by riot police in October 2015. Ipek was then listed among 65 arrest warrants issued by Turkish prosecutors in December 2015 as part of a vast probe into suspected Gulenists, according to Anadolu. It reported he had fled on a private jet to England that August. The state-run agency said he is on a list of "wanted terrorists" and could face life imprisonment for "attempting to overthrow the Turkish government" and "violating the constitution". He also faces charges related to establishing and directing a terrorist organisation, it added. Turkey claimed in April that its intelligence service had brought back 80 alleged supporters of Gulen arrested in 18 different countries. Based in the United States, Gulen denies any involvement in the aborted July 2016 coup in Turkey. An explosion flare into the sky from an Israeli bombardment in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on July 20, 2018 After seven chaotic and violent hours, quiet returned to the Gaza Strip overnight. Yet on Saturday, civilians in the Palestinian enclave and Israel remained fearful of the potential for a new war. The fatal shooting by a Palestinian of an Israeli soldier during protests along the border Friday sparked a widespread wave of Israeli bombing, with three fighters from Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas killed and dozens of targets struck. After intensive indirect mediation by the United Nations and Egypt, a truce came into force at midnight, yet both populations remained on high alert of another all-out conflict between Israel and Hamas. "War is coming. I know that the (Israeli) occupation is carrying out raids to pave the way with their home base," Somaya Rabaya, 21, from Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, told AFP. A picture taken on July 20, 2018 shows tear gas canisters fired by Israeli forces landing among protesters along the border with Israel east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip While the ceasefire deal included an end to rockets and mortars, it didn't include a commitment by Hamas to stop what Israeli media have dubbed "terror kites," a senior Hamas source said on condition of anonymity. During months of border protests, young Palestinians in Gaza have attached incendiary devices to kites and balloons and floated them over the largely sealed border, sparking hundreds of fires. Ofir Libstein, 44, lives with his wife and four sons in the Kfar Aza kibbutz near the border with northern Gaza. The land around their community has seen extensive damage caused by kites and balloons. "You see all the fire, all the trees, all the flowers, everything on fire," he said. He said no fires had been started near his home so far Saturday, but worried there could be later. Balloons loaded with incendiaries are flown towards Israel during a confrontation between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli troops east of Gaza City, along the border between the Gaza strip and Israel, on July 13, 2018 The flare up in violence has also sent Israelis near Gaza repeatedly running for bomb shelters in recent weeks due to rockets and mortars fired by Palestinian militants. "It's scary, but this is life next to the Gaza Strip," Libstein said, pledging to remain. Israeli politicians have threatened tougher responses against the perpetrators of the firebombs in recent days, with the army targeting groups of young men releasing them near the border. On Saturday morning in Gaza, 17-year-old Wissam was with a number of other youths fitting kites with small bottles full of diesel, while sheltering behind a sandbank for fear of Israeli strikes. "This morning, they bombed a Hamas observation post near here. I was afraid they would hit us with a missile," he said. - 'Don't want war' - The border was largely quiet Saturday, but there have been months of major protests and clashes there, peaking on Fridays. At least 149 Palestinians have been killed since late March. Friday's death was the first Israeli killed. For Israel, the army is defending its borders and halting infiltrations. It accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover to carry out attacks. Palestinian paramedics wheel an injured man into the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City after he was injured by Israeli forces during protests along the border east of Gaza City on July 20, 2018 Palestinians and rights groups say unarmed protesters are being shot while posing no real threat to soldiers. People in Gaza also view the kite firebombs as legitimate resistance against Israel's blockade of the strip. In recent weeks, the situation has escalated. Last weekend saw the worst exchange of fire between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza since a 2014 war. Israeli strikes hit dozens of what the army described as military targets in Gaza. Some 200 rockets and mortars were also fired back at Israel from the territory. "We don't want a new war," said Khaled Barbakh, 22, from Khan Yunis in southern Gaza. "We are tired and want to live like humans," he added, referencing Israel's decade-long blockade. Israel says the blockade is necessary to isolate Hamas, with whom it has fought three wars with since 2008, most recently in 2014. Palestinian relatives react as they arrive at the morgue of the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City where the body of Mohammed Badwan was brought after he was shot dead by Israeli forces during protests along the border east of Gaza City on July 20, 2018 Critics say it amounts to collective punishment of the strip's two million residents and leads to further radicalisation. While civilians remain wary of another conflict, if it were to start many would likely rally behind their leaders, Nathan Thrall of the International Crisis Group think-tank told AFP. "If a war broke out now, I suspect most would (be in favour)," Thrall said. "If it had broken out last night, Gazans would have supported Hamas retaliation and many Israelis would have supported Israeli action to try and stop the incendiary kites and balloons." Malawi's vice president Saulos Chilima quit the ruling party last month, accusing it of corruption and nepotism Malawi's vice-president Saulos Chilima launched his own political party Saturday to run against the government in elections next year, persisting in his public attack on President Peter Mutharika's cabinet. Chilima, 45, was handpicked Mutharika to run alongside him in 2014 on the Democratic People's Party (DPP) ticket. But Chilima quit the DPP last month citing corruption and nepotism. Following mounting calls for him to run in the May 2019 vote, he launched the United Transformation Movement (UTM) in the capital Lilongwe, seeking to unseat the 79-year-old Mutharika. "It is because of the rot that we are seeing all over that we are launching UTM," Chilima said. "We should not allow people to continue treating us like fools. Everyone should have a bright future regardless of where they come from or the political party they support." The ruling party has been plagued by calls from civil action groups for its leader to resign after a leaked report by the Anti-Corruption Bureau accused Mutharika of receiving a $195,000 (167,000 euros) kickback from a contract to supply food to the police. Chilima continued his scathing attack on the DDP and Mutharika, accusing it of failing Malawians since gaining power four years ago. He said his party's mission was to guide Malawi on the path to prosperity by tackling unemployment, power shortages, corruption and creating viable markets for farmers. The UTM also unveiled influential politicians as party members, including the Speaker of Parliament Richard Msowoya, and former first ladies Callista Mutharika and Shanil Dzimbiri. University of Malawi political analyst Henry Chingaipe said while there was a clear articulation of policy positions on selected issues by the UTM, some of its aims appear unrealistic. "The creation of one million jobs in the first year is politically sexy, especially for the youth but the broad framework or strategy that he described for this is unlikely to be pulled off within a year," he told AFP. "On agriculture, there was nothing new... the solutions came across as hot air." Successive Malawian heads of state have been embroiled in graft and corruption scandals in the aid-dependent country. In April, thousands of Malawians took part in the country's first nationwide anti-government demonstrations since 2011. The marches, organised by civil action groups, were against alleged corruption and poor governance under Mutharika. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres encouraged all parties to work with the UN to find a peaceful solution to the crisis UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Saturday on Israelis and Palestinians to avoid "another devastating conflict" after resurgent violence claimed five lives on Friday. "I am gravely concerned over the dangerous escalation of violence in Gaza and southern Israel," he said in a statement. "It is imperative that all sides urgently step back from the brink of another devastating conflict." The recent violence in Gaza marks the most serious escalation between Israel and Hamas since the 2014 war. Four Palestinians and an Israeli soldier died in clashes Friday. More than 130 Palestinians have died so far during violent protests, and the Red Cross says more than 13,000 have been wounded. "I call on Hamas and other Palestinian militants to cease the launching of rockets and incendiary kites and provocations" along the fence separating Israel from Gaza, Guterres said. "And Israel must exercise restraint to avoid further inflaming the situation." He encouraged all parties to work with the UN to find a peaceful solution to the crisis, saying that it endangered lives on both sides while aggravating the "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza. Diplomats at the UN said there had not yet been a call for an urgent Security Council meeting to find ways to lower tensions. A regular monthly meeting on the Middle East is on the council's agenda for Tuesday. A cease-fire with Israel, announced by Hamas, was generally being respected on Saturday. Egypt had brokered a cease-fire a week earlier. The architect of Trump's nationalist-populist campaign and his election victory, White House chief strategist Steve Bannon was nicknamed the Prince of Darkness and the Shadow President US President Donald Trump's controversial former advisor Steve Bannon plans to set up a foundation in Europe called "The Movement" to spark a populist rightwing revolt, according to a report. Bannon envisages the organization rivalling George Soros' Open Foundation, which has given away $32 billion to liberal causes since it was established in 1984, according to the report by the Daily Beast published late Friday. The non-profit will be a central source of polling, advice on messaging, data targeting, and think-tank research. He told the Daily Beat he was convinced the coming years will see an end to decades of European integration. "Right-wing populist nationalism is what will happen. That's what will govern," he said. "You're going to have individual nation states with their own identities, their own borders." He added he had held talks with right-wing groups across the continent, from Nigel Farage and members of Marine Le Pen's Front National (recently renamed Rassemblement National) in the West, to Hungary's Viktor Orban and the Polish populists in the East. The organization will likely be based out of Brussels initially and has set its sights on the 2019 European parliament elections. The architect of Trump's nationalist-populist campaign and his election victory, White House chief strategist Steve Bannon was nicknamed the "Prince of Darkness" and the "Shadow President." His economic nationalism became the lynchpin of Trump policies, even as many of his other ideas were rebuffed by policy rivals. After new Chief of Staff John Kelly arrived, Bannon's constant clashes with other advisors became untenable, as did his ties to the extreme right, which drew accusations that Trump fostered racists. Bannon left the White House last August. RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) - Nearly 74 years after he was killed in a ferocious World War II battle, Staff Sgt. David Rosenkrantz has been laid to rest in Southern California. Flags were lowered to half-staff as relatives gathered Friday for Rosencrantz's funeral at Riverside National Cemetery, where four of his brothers are also buried. The U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced in March that Rosenkrantz's body was recently recovered not far from where he died in the Netherlands. Phil Rosenkrantz receives the flag from his uncle's casket from a member of an Honor Guard during services Friday, July 20, 2018, at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, Calif., for U.S. Army Staff Sgt. David Rosenkrantz, who was killed on Sept. 28, 1944, while on a mission to disrupt German defensive lines in the Netherlands during World War II. His remains weren't identified until 2017 and were laid to rest Friday. (Terry Pierson /The Orange County Register via AP) David Rosenkrantz was a member of the 82nd Airborne Division's Company H, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment when it made a daring landing in the early days of September 1944. It took decades to locate his body. Rosenkrantz grew up in Los Angeles and enlisted in the Army soon after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Phil Rosenkrantz holds the flag from his uncle's casket as his wife Judy Rosenkrantz, left, looks on during services Friday, July 20, 2018, at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, Calif., for U.S. Army Staff Sgt. David Rosenkrantz, who was killed on Sept. 28, 1944, while on a mission to disrupt German defensive lines in the Netherlands during World War II. His remains weren't identified until 2017 and was laid to rest Friday. (Terry Pierson /The Orange County Register via AP) LOS ANGELES (AP) - California's medical board has revoked the license of the former dean of the University of Southern California's medical school who was accused of using drugs and partying with prostitutes. The decision , which was handed down Friday, strips Dr. Carmen Puliafito of his medical license and takes effect Aug. 17. Medical board documents show Puliafito admitted to using methamphetamine, heroin, ecstasy and marijuana. Authorities alleged Puliafito had provided drugs to a prostitute and was misled authorities when she overdosed in a hotel room. Puliafito blamed his behavior on bipolar disorder. His attorney didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Friday. He gave up his dean post in 2016 and was fired from the USC faculty the next year after the Los Angeles Times reported on his behavior. MEXICO CITY (AP) - President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Friday that a fund set up by his party to support those affected by last September's earthquake was above board and all transfers documented. Mexico's electoral authority levied a $10 million fine on the party over the fund this week, suggesting it may have been a vehicle to hand out money to potential voters. Lopez Obrador said at a news conference that his Morena party would fight the "unjust" fine and charged that his party was targeted by those who don't want change. Mexico's President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador speaks to reporters from his party's headquarters in Mexico City, Sunday, July 15, 2018. Lopez Obrador says he plans to earn 40 percent of what his predecessor makes when he takes office in December as part of an austerity push in government. (AP Photo/Anthony Vazquez) "There was no diversion of funds," he said. "The money wasn't used to ask people to vote for Morena." He said the fund collected more than $4.4 million and helped 28,000 people affected by the earthquake, with each receiving about $125. Remaining funds have been frozen, but he wants to reach their commitment of distributing more than $5.4 million before the quake's Sept. 19 anniversary. Lopez Obrador also said he would not attend the Pacific Alliance Summit in Puerto Vallarta next week. He was invited by current President Enrique Pena Nieto, but said the electoral authority had still not certified his landslide July 1 victory, so technically he could not attend the official event as president-elect. He said Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland planned to meet with him in Mexico City on Wednesday. Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and White House adviser Jared Kushner were part of a U.S. delegation that met with the president-elect, who is to take office Dec. 1. JONESBORO, Ga. (AP) - Offset of the hip-hop group Migos is facing two felony gun charges after he and his bodyguard were pulled over outside of Atlanta. Clayton County Police Sgt. Ashanti Marbury tells WXIA-TV that an officer pulled over a Porsche 911 Friday afternoon for failing to maintain its lane. Police say Offset, whose real name is Kiari Kendrell Cephus, was behind the wheel. FILE - In this Dec. 13, 2017, file photo, Offset, of Migos, arrives at the U.S. premiere of "Bright" at the Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles. Offset is facing two felony gun charges after he and his bodyguard were pulled over outside of Atlanta. Clayton County Police Sgt. Ashanti Marbury tells WSB-TV that an officer pulled over a Porsche 911 Friday afternoon, July 20, 2018, for failing to maintain its lane. Police said the vehicle smelled of marijuana, prompting authorities to search the car and find three guns and marijuana. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File) Police say the vehicle smelled of marijuana, prompting authorities to search the car and find three guns and less than an ounce of marijuana. The 26-year-old is on probation for a 2015 arrest on drugs and weapons charges. He is now charged with possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of a weapon during a crime. He also faces misdemeanor charges for marijuana possession and making an improper lane change. It's unclear whether he has an attorney. ___ Information from: WXIA-TV, http://www.11alive.com/ MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (AP) - With the scope of the devastation still sinking in, business owners and residents of the central Iowa city of Marshalltown on Friday began picking up bricks from collapsed buildings, dragging away downed trees and trying to return to the lives they knew before a powerful tornado roared through their community. Structures throughout Marshalltown were hit by the Thursday afternoon tornado but some of the worst damage was to the historic courthouse and brick buildings that line the city's quaint town square. For years, officials and property owners have slowly worked to spruce up the buildings, only to see them devastated in minutes. "Since 2002 we've spent $50 million in building renovations and now to see these, I'm just sick," said Jenny Etter, executive director of the Marshalltown Central Business District, a nonprofit group. "We were making giant strides in restoring the downtown so this is really devastating to us because we were on a roll. These buildings were beautiful." Vehicles are covered in rubble from a tornado damaged building, Friday, July 20, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged Thursday evening by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) At the 132-year-old courthouse, a blue tarp flapped over a gaping hole atop the clock tower after the cupola tumbled to the ground. Local officials promised to rebuild, but some residents were too shocked to make plans. Crystal Jensen, tears running down her face, said the storm passed in just three minutes, but it left her house in ruins and blew away photos and a bracelet from her father. "I just lost my dad two months ago and this happened," she said. "I'm kind of at a loss." Terri Shetler, owner of an embroidery shop on the town square, was digging out her 2017 Toyota Sienna, missing a front quarter panel, windows blown out and filled with mud, shingles and wood slivers. "I'm pretty shaken. I came out and saw the courthouse and all this," she said. "But it can be replaced." The tornado that hit Marshalltown was among a flurry of unexpected twisters that swept through central Iowa on Thursday, injuring at least 17 people and flattening buildings in three cities. The National Weather Service said Friday that at least five tornadoes and likely more struck. Meteorologist Jeff Johnson said it will take days to determine their strength and total number. Marshalltown, a city of 27,000, was hit hardest. Officials said 10 people were injured and at least 28 people were relocated to an emergency shelter. About 200 workers from several states were scrambling to replace 500 utility poles and restore power to thousands of customers, said Alliant Energy spokesman Justin Foss. Natural gas service remains shut down in part of the city, he said. The local hospital will be closed for an undetermined period after the building was damaged and 43 patients were taken to nearby communities. The hospital emergency and urgent care services were moved for now to another building in Marshalltown. Tornadoes also ripped through the central Iowa cities of Pella and Bondurant, damaging homes and a factory. Gov. Kim Reynolds toured the cities Friday and then said she'd signed proclamations that would immediately provide help from state agencies, including providing dump trucks to remove debris and asbestos removal. "This is the widest area and the most destruction," she said in Marshalltown. "Multiple buildings and facilities. It's just unbelievable when you take a look at the devastation and destruction that we see." In Pella, seven people suffered minor injuries when a tornado hit the agricultural machinery maker Vermeer Manufacturing, scattering huge sheets of metal through a parking lot and leaving one building with a gaping hole. The National Weather Service confirmed it was an EF3 tornado, with winds about 144 mph. Several homes were destroyed in Bondurant. ___ Associated Press writers Margery Beck and Nelson Lampe in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this report. ___ For the latest updates on this story: https://apnews.com/3fa25b7a12774652917f3ca6214fd251 A local resident runs past a tornado-damaged building on Main Street, Thursday, July 19, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) Roy Schweinebart, of Marshalltown, Iowa, shovels bricks from a tornado-damaged building near Main Street, Thursday, July 19, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) Terri Shetler, of Marshalltown, Iowa, removes debris surrounding her tornado damaged van, Friday, July 20, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged Thursday evening by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) A local resident leaps over rubble from a tornado damaged building, Friday, July 20, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged Thursday evening by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) Utility workers repair downed power lines, Friday, July 20, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged Thursday evening by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) Damage to production plants at Vermeer Corp., a farm and construction equipment manufacturer in Pella, Iowa, is seen in an aerial view, Thursday, July 19, 2018, after a tornado went through the area. (Rodney White/The Des Moines Register via AP) Local residents walk past a tornado-damaged building on Main Street, Thursday, July 19, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) A local resident rides his bike past a toppled street sign on Main Street, Thursday, July 19, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) A worker cleans up debris from the tornado damaged Marshall County Courthouse's tower Thursday, July 19, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) A flag sits in rubble in front of tornado damaged building on Main Street, Friday, July 20, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged Thursday evening by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) A local resident looks inside a tornado damaged building, Friday, July 20, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged Thursday evening by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) A tarp covers the top of the tornado damaged Marshall County Courthouse, Friday, July 20, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged Thursday evening by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) Debris lies on the ground as residents clean up after a tornado swept through Bondurant, Iowa, Thursday, July 19, 2018. A flurry of tornadoes swept through central Iowa Thursday afternoon, flattening buildings and damaging the courthouse in Marshalltown and hitting an agricultural machinery plant in Pella as people were working. (Brian Powers/The Des Moines Register via AP) A flag sits in rubble in front of tornado damaged building on Main Street, Friday, July 20, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged Thursday evening by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) Jenny Etter, of Marshalltown, Iowa, surveys tornado damaged businesses on Main Street, Friday, July 20, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged Thursday evening by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) Vehicles are covered in rubble from a tornado damaged building, Friday, July 20, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged Thursday evening by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) KANSAS CITY, Kansas (AP) - The new face of an emerging democratic socialist movement joined its patriarch in the most unlikely place Friday, calling on Kansans unhappy with the direction of the country to get off the sidelines in a pivotal Republican-held congressional district. "We know that people in Kansas, just like everywhere else in this country, just like families in the Bronx, just want a fair shake," Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the surprise winner in a New York House primary last month, told a frenetic crowd of more than 3,000 in a Kansas suburb of Kansas City. Headlining a rally with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez sought to infuse the final weeks of Democrat Brent Welder's congressional primary campaign with the enthusiasm that lifted her over 20-year Democratic incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley last month. Kansas congressional candidate James Thompson, left, U.S Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democratic congressional candidate from New York, stand together on stage after a rally, Friday, July 20, 2018, in Wichita, Kan. (Jaime Green/The Wichita Eagle via AP) In an election year defined by energized Democratic voters seeking to send President Donald Trump a message, Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez were betting they could stir up liberals in places where the left rarely competes. The 28-year-old Latina from New York and the 76-year-old Jewish senator from Vermont struck a stark contrast in the hotel ballroom, though they reflected the range of people in the racially and ethnically mixed crowd, weighted toward millennials but including gray-haired activists and parents with children. Their combined messages sought to unite not just the diverse group in the hall, but restless liberals around the country. "Whether you live in Kansas or Vermont or New York City, you want your children to have a decent life," Sanders said. "And yes, we have differences. But despite these huge differences, we have a hell of a lot more in common." Kansas, where Trump won by more than 20 percentage points in 2016, would seem inhospitable for a duo championing strikingly progressive positions such as universal, single-payer health care and government-paid tuition to public college. But Democrats see reasons for hope in a campaign year in which progressive candidates have won competitive primaries in GOP-leaning districts in suburban Philadelphia, metropolitan Omaha and Orange County, California, this year. Thirty-two-year-old registered nurse Kristen Burroughs said she'd grown tired of feeling locked out of representation in Kansas. "I wasn't sure when I'd have the chance to vote for someone this liberal in Kansas," Burroughs said, referring to Welder, a Sanders campaign activist and labor lawyer. Kansas' 3rd District, where Welder is competing, represented by four-term Republican Rep. Kevin Yoder, is on Democrats' target list as they aim to seize the GOP-controlled House in November. Nationally, the party must pick up at least 23 Republican-held seats to claim the House majority, and they are focusing on 25 districts where Clinton won, or Trump won narrowly. Democrats have been shut out of statewide and congressional races in Kansas since 2010. Earlier Friday, Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders headlined a rally in Wichita for Democrat James Thompson, a civil rights lawyer running in Kansas' 4th District. He also was an activist for Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign. Sherri Lower, a 67-year-old retired emergency medical technician, showed up at the Wichita rally wearing a t-shirt that read: "We Care. We Vote. Do You?" "This is the most important year we've ever had, and Thompson is one of our main guys," Lower said. "I want Democrats to go out and vote." But Democrats have higher hopes in the 3rd District, one of only a handful Democrat Hillary Clinton won in the general election and Sanders won in the presidential nominating caucuses. Republicans in the 3rd District outnumber their Democratic counterparts by more than 50,000, while unaffiliated voters also edge Democrats. Republicans outnumber Democrats by 2-to-1 in the 4th District. Liberals argue that they are not just convincing moderate Democrats or disaffected Republicans but also engaging new primary voters, as Ocasio-Cortez did in New York this summer and as Sanders did in his insurgent 2016 presidential campaign. While the Kansas campaign swing created a lot of buzz, Republicans were skeptical it would help Democrats make inroads in a conservative state. State Rep. Tom Cox, a moderate Kansas City-area Republican, said there are pockets of liberal Democrats in the Kansas City suburbs but questioned whether Sanders' message will resonate more broadly. He said Democrats tend to be split between liberals and moderates, with some union members and supporters holding conservative views on social issues. "Even our Democrats around here are not socialist democrats," he said. "If someone would describe the 3rd District, I would say center right." Leading candidates in the Democratic primary for governor have said their party must rebuild its brand in rural, heavily GOP areas. And despite surging energy among lefist Democrats in the Trump era, it was unclear if there were enough votes in the 3rd District for a liberal Democrat to win. Before Yoder won in 2010, it had been held for 12 years by centrist Democrat Dennis Moore, who relied on moderate Republicans during his tenure. Yet Sanders and his brand of liberalism have proved popular. He won more than two-thirds of the votes in the state's 2016 presidential caucuses, surpassing Barack Obama's 2008 vote total. And Ocasio-Cortez said it can be done in Kansas by broadening the electorate to include previously less active voters, rather than trying to convert moderates. "It is going to take every single person in this room knocking on 10, 50, 100 doors apiece," she said. "So, if you have never knocked on a door before, I am talking to you." ___ Hegeman contributed reporting Wichita, Kansas. Correspondent John Hanna contributed from Topeka, Kansas. BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) - Facing condemnation from allies and foes alike on Capitol Hill, President Donald Trump was outnumbered even in the Oval Office. Top aides gathered to convince the president to issue a rare walk-back of the comments he'd made raising doubts about U.S. intelligence conclusions of Russian election interference as he stood alongside Vladimir Putin. Vice President Mike Pence, National Security Adviser John Bolton and chief of staff John Kelly stood united in the West Wing on Tuesday in their contention that the commander in chief had some cleanup to do. They brought with them words of alarm from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, as well as from a host of congressional leaders and supporters of the president for whom Trump's public praise of Putin proved to be a bridge too far. Even for Trump, a leader who has increasingly come to cast off the constraints and guidance of aides, the him-against-the-world position proved untenable. Trump may like doing things his way, eschewing advice and precedent like no president before, but he never likes being alone. In this July 20, 2018, photo, President Donald Trump walks from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, to board Marine One for a short trip to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., en route to Bedminster N.J., for the weekend. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) Walking off stage with Putin following their joint press conference in Helsinki, Trump was riding high after his second summit with an adversarial leader in as many months. The highly choreographed affairs had been sought out by the U.S. leader as a way to boost his credibility abroad and his favorability at home, and he believed the latest one had accomplished the task. But as Air Force One took off into Finland's endless sunlight on Monday night, Trump's mood darkened. He told confidants in the days that followed that he was pleased with how his summit with Putin went, believing he had taken the measure of the man and opened the door to deals down the road on a number of thorny issues. But that was not how it was being portrayed back home. On the long flight back to Washington, the president began dialing around to allies and aides and started to stew about negative media coverage, even from usually friendly Fox News, according to five outside allies and Republicans close to the White House not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations. The reviews he received were muted - Trump rarely takes kindly to direct confrontation - but it was a taste of what awaited him on his return in Washington, where stalwart allies like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich were speaking out. By the time he arrived home, the parade of critical statements had become a stampede, leaving Trump the most isolated he'd been in the White House since last year's controversy over white supremacist protesters in Charlottesville. Some in the president's circle saw parallels in the response to that incident, when the president walked back his August comments critical of "both sides" for protests in the Virginia city, only to later revert to his initial position - that both white supremacists and their detractors shared blame for the violence. Trump waited 27 hours, sent five tweets and sat for two television interviews after his initial comments in Helsinki before claiming he'd used a confusing "double negative" and meant "would" instead of "wouldn't" in a key sentence at his press conference about who was responsible for election meddling. "The sentence should have been: I don't see any reason why I wouldn't -- or why it wouldn't be Russia," the president said Tuesday before a meeting with Republican members of Congress. The next day brought a fresh challenge. Trump appeared to answer "no" to a reporter's question asking whether Russia was still targeting the U.S. Hours later, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders emerged to say Trump had merely tried to put a stop to the questioning by saying "no," although he continued discussing Russia after that. And Sanders created a fresh headache for the administration when she said the White House was still reviewing a proposal from Putin to allow access by Russian law enforcement officials to Americans whom the Kremlin accuses of unspecified crimes in return for U.S. access to interrogations of Russian agents indicted for their alleged roles in interfering in the 2016 election. The State Department, by contrast, rejected the proposal - which Trump days earlier had called an "incredible offer - as "absurd." Many in the White House did not immediately see fault in Sanders' comments that the West Wing was merely considering the Kremlin offer, but it provided fresh tinder for the bipartisan firestorm. As each White House effort to clean up the situation failed to stem the growing bipartisan backlash, Trump's mood worsened, according to confidants. He groused about his staff for not better managing the fallout. He was angry at the two American reporters, including one from The Associated Press, who asked questions at the Helsinki news conference. And he seethed at the lack of support he believed he received from congressional Republicans. Also a target of the president's ire was Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, who issued a rare statement rebutting the president's Monday comments. But it was Coats' televised interview Thursday at a security conference in Aspen, Colo., that set off the president anew, as the intelligence director questioned the wisdom of the Putin meeting and said he had hoped Trump wouldn't meet alone with the Russian leader. It all left White House staffers in a fresh state of resignation about their jobs. "I saw the screaming headline on cable TV that there is malaise in the West Wing and I look forward to meeting her," quipped presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway. "I don't see that." ___ Lemire reported from New York. Associated Press writer Ken Thomas contributed to this report from Washington. ASPEN, Colo. (AP) - China is waging a "quiet kind of cold war" against the United States, using all its resources to try to replace America as the leading power in the world, a top CIA expert on Asia said Friday. Beijing doesn't want to go to war, he said, but the current communist government, under President Xi Jingping, is subtly working on multiple fronts to undermine the U.S. in ways that are different than the more well-publicized activities being employed by Russia. "I would argue ... that what they're waging against us is fundamentally a cold war - a cold war not like we saw during THE Cold War (between the U.S. and the Soviet Union) but a cold war by definition," Michael Collins, deputy assistant director of the CIA's East Asia mission center, said at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, left, gestures to Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, with Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, second left after reviewing the Guard of Honour, at the Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Friday, July 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Malak Harb) Rising U.S.-China tension goes beyond the trade dispute playing out in a tariff tit-for-tat between the two nations. There is concern over China's pervasive efforts to steal business secrets and details about high-tech research being conducted in the U.S. The Chinese military is expanding and being modernized and the U.S., as well as other nations, have complained about China's construction of military outposts on islands in the South China Sea. "I would argue that it's the Crimea of the East," Collins said, referring to Russia's brash annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, which was condemned throughout the West. Collins' comments track warnings about China's rising influence issued by others who spoke earlier this week at the security conference. The alarm bells come at a time when Washington needs China's help in ending its nuclear standoff with North Korea. On Wednesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray said China, from a counterintelligence perspective, represents the broadest and most significant threat America faces. He said the FBI has economic espionage investigations in all 50 states that can be traced back to China. "The volume of it. The pervasiveness of it. The significance of it is something that I think this country cannot underestimate," Wray said. National Intelligence Director Dan Coats also warned of rising Chinese aggression. In particular, he said, the U.S. must stand strong against China's effort to steal business secrets and academic research. Susan Thornton, acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said increasing the public's awareness about the activities of the hundreds of thousands of Chinese students or groups at U.S. universities could be one way to help mitigate potential damage. "China is not just a footnote to what we're dealing with with Russia," Thornton said. Marcel Lettre, former undersecretary of defense for intelligence, said China has the second-largest defense budget in the world, the largest standing army of ground forces, the third-largest air force and a navy of 300 ships and more than 60 submarines. "All of this is in the process of being modernized and upgraded," said Lettre, who sat on a panel with Collins and Thornton. He said China also is pursuing advances in cyber, artificial intelligence, engineering and technology, counter-space, anti-satellite capabilities and hypersonic glide weapons. Army Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told a congressional committee earlier this year that China is developing long-range cruise missiles - some capable of reaching supersonic speeds. "The Pentagon has noted that the Chinese have already pursued a test program that has had 20 times more tests than the U.S. has," Lettre said. Franklin Miller, former senior director for defense policy and arms control at the National Security Council, said China's weapons developments are emphasizing the need to have a dialogue with Beijing. "We need to try to engage," Miller said. "My expectations for successful engagement are medium-low, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try." JERUSALEM (AP) - Gaza's militant Hamas rulers said Saturday they had accepted a cease-fire ending a massive Israeli onslaught on militant positions after a soldier was shot dead, once again pulling the sides back from the brink of a full-fledged war. Israel and Hamas have fought three such wars over the past decade and Hamas agreed to the second such cease-fire in a week under heavy Egyptian and international pressure. Even after last week's cease-fire ended the fiercest exchange of rocket fire and Israeli airstrikes since the 2014 war, incendiary kites and balloons continued to float from Gaza into Israel, setting off damaging fires to farmlands. Israel has stepped up strikes since then to signal its new threshold for engagement after months of largely refraining to act. Palestinians inspect a military observation post that was hit by an Israeli tank shell east of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Friday, July 20, 2018. Israel pummeled Hamas targets in Gaza killing four Palestinians on Friday in a series of air strikes after gunmen shot at soldiers near the border, officials said. The Gaza Health Ministry said four Palestinians were killed. The militant Islamic Hamas that rules Gaza said three of the dead were members of the group. (AP Photo/Adel Hana) Israel says it has no interest is engaging in another war with Hamas, but says it will no longer tolerate the Gaza militant campaign of flying the incendiary devices into Israel. On Friday, a Palestinian sniper killed an Israeli soldier along the border - the first casualty it has sustained in four years - and Israel unleashed an offensive it says destroyed more than 60 Hamas targets, including three battalion headquarters. Four Palestinians were killed, of which three were Hamas militants. "The attack delivered a severe blow to the Hamas' training array, command and control abilities, weaponry, aerial defense and logistic capabilities along with additional military infrastructure," the Israeli military said in a statement, adding that the strikes "will intensify as necessary." Israel's top leadership convened late into the night Friday at military headquarters to discuss potential actions. In a brief statement early Saturday, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the movement accepted the cease-fire brokered by Egyptian and United Nations officials and that calm had been restored. Later, the Israeli military announced a return to civilian routine along the volatile border. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Saturday he was "gravely concerned" about the escalation and called on both sides to step back from the prospect of another devastating conflict. "Any further escalation will endanger the lives of Palestinians and Israelis alike, deepen the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and undermine current efforts to improve livelihoods," he said. The recent outburst of violence comes after months of near-weekly border protests organized by Hamas aimed in part at protesting the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza. Over 130 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the protests began on March 30. Israel and Egypt have maintained a blockade on Gaza for over a decade in an attempt to weaken Hamas. The blockade has caused widespread economic hardship. Israel says the naval blockade is necessary to protect its citizens from weapons smuggling. Israel says it is defending its sovereign border and accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover for attempts to breach the border fence and attack Israeli civilians and soldiers. "Hamas terrorists opened fire today on Israelis. Those are not 'protesters,'" Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon wrote Friday on Twitter. "We will not tolerate attacks endangering Israelis. Under no circumstance." The Israeli retaliation Friday to the soldier's killing was fierce, but Hamas' response was far meeker with just a few projectiles launched that were intercepted by Israel. Israel announced late Saturday that the casualty was Staff Sgt. Aviv Levi, a 21-year-old infantryman. Protesters try to throw back teargas canisters fired by Israeli troops near the fence of the Gaza Strip border with Israel, during a protest east of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Friday, July 20, 2018. Israel targeted Hamas positions in Gaza, killing four Palestinians on Friday in a series of air strikes after gunmen shot at soldiers near the border, officials said. (AP Photo/Adel Hana) TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) - The sudden thaw between longtime enemies Eritrea and Ethiopia is opening up a world of possibilities for the neighboring countries' residents: new economic and diplomatic ties, telephone and transport links and the end to one of Africa's most bitter feuds. But the fledgling peace is raising new questions for Eritrea's diaspora, tens of thousands who fled their government's tight grip, rigid system of compulsory military conscription and endemic poverty. Now they are cautiously waiting to see how the truce will shape their homeland and perhaps offer them a chance to return. File - In this Monday, Feb. 25, 2008, file photo, Eritrean refugees sit in a shelter in Tel Aviv, Israel. The startling and sudden thaw between longtime enemies Eritrea and Ethiopia is opening up a world of possibilities for the countries' residents: new economic and diplomatic ties, telephone and transport links and the end to one of the most bitter feuds between neighbors. But the fledgling peace is raising new questions for Eritrea's diaspora, tens of thousands of people who fled the Eritrean government's tight grip, a rigid compulsory military and endemic poverty who are cautiously waiting to see how the truce will shape their homeland and perhaps offer them a chance to return. (AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill, File) "I want to go to my country," said Salamwit Willedo, a 29-year-old Eritrean living in Israel. "Everywhere I am a refugee. . But my country is my homeland. I feel home there. So I hope, I wish, that (peace) will happen." Tiny Eritrea, with 5 million people, gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after years of rebel warfare. It has been ruled by President Isaias Afwerki since then and has become one of the world's most reclusive nations. The state of war with Ethiopia has kept the Red Sea country in a constant state of military readiness, with a harsh, indefinite conscription system that has drawn criticism from rights groups and sent thousands fleeing in to Europe, Israel and other African nations. The Horn of Africa arch-foes fought a bloody border war from 1998 to 2000 that killed tens of thousands and left families separated. But the antagonism faded abruptly last month when reformist Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced that Ethiopia was fully accepting a peace deal signed in 2000 that hands key disputed border areas to Eritrea. The hostility between the nations has evaporated dramatically since. The leaders have visited each other's countries to jubilant receptions, diplomatic and other ties have been restored, and the flagship Ethiopian Airlines resumed flights to Eritrea this week. Ethiopia's embrace of the peace deal was the boldest change yet by Abiy as the country moves away from years of anti-government protests demanding wider freedoms in Africa's second-most populous nation of more than 100 million people. Now eyes are turned to Eritrea and how peace might prompt it to loosen up and drop its long defensive stance. "Hate, discrimination and conspiracy is now over," the 72-year-old Eritrean leader said this week to cheers and people chanting his name during his first visit to Ethiopia in 22 years. While the diaspora is split into government supporters and critics, many Eritreans abroad are skeptical of change so long as the current government remains in power. "I think it's not going to bring a solution inside the country, because we still have thousands of prisoners in the country, we don't have a constitution, we don't have internal peace," said Bluts Iyassu, who came to Tel Aviv in 2010 and is a member of United Eritreans for Justice, a group of Eritrean expatriates who are working to promote democracy in their home country. Israel has become a prime destination for fleeing Eritreans and is home to about 26,000. Most live in downtrodden neighborhoods in south Tel Aviv and work in menial jobs in restaurants or hotels. While many say their lives are better than in Eritrea, they have not received a warm welcome in Israel, which has struggled to cope with an influx of migrants from Eritrea and Sudan. Israel sees the migrants as job-seekers who threaten the Jewish character of the state. It has detained migrants and sent them to third countries in a bid to lessen their numbers. Rights groups say that Israel may use the reconciliation between Eritrea and Ethiopia as an excuse to encourage the migrants to leave. For the roughly 170,000 Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers living in Ethiopia, the peace in the short term means a newfound ability to communicate by telephone with their loved ones back home. "I can't put my joy into words. I have already talked to my sisters in (the port city of) Massawa since the phone line was restored," said Alemnesh Woldegiorgis, 64, an Eritrean living in Ethiopia. He said he hopes to be issued a passport to visit family he hadn't seen for 20 years. In Germany, where nearly 70,000 Eritreans have settled, most are refugees who came to the country over the past five years, according to Germany's Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. Hintsa Amine lives with other Eritreans in temporary migrant housing near Berlin's former airport. The 22-year-old arrived in Germany a year and a half ago, and while he supports the peace deal, he said it hasn't changed his plans because he still doesn't feel safe in his home country. "I want to stay here in Germany," he said. For Mohammed Lumumba Ibrahim, 61, who has been living in Germany for 45 years, the truce has sparked hope that he might take his children to see his homeland. "I would love to go with the whole family. But I need to make sure myself that we have peace, that there is no war so that I can take my children and show them their fatherland," he said. Some diaspora members defended Eritrea's government, saying it wasn't to blame for all the country's ills. Essey Asbu, 47, who came to the United States in the 1980s as a refugee, returned to Eritrea for the 10th anniversary of independence and again about two years ago for the 25th anniversary. Eritreans mark their independence from 1991, when they captured their future capital, Asmara. He said he doesn't believe the current regime would have a problem letting any members of the diaspora return, unless they have committed a crime. "I don't know why anybody would not be very comfortable to return," he said, adding that Eritreans who are professionals or have been educated in other countries could be the country's greatest resource if they return. According to the most recent data from the U.S. Census American Community Survey, there are roughly 34,000 people born in Eritrea now living in the U.S. California has the largest number, some 6,200. About 1,150 live in Minnesota, according to the survey. Mohamed Salih Idris, 49, of Minneapolis, left in the 1970s and came to the U.S. in 1999. Idris has not tried to return to Eritrea, citing danger for himself and his family and the threat of not being allowed to leave. He said the peace agreement is bringing some optimism, but that feeling is laced with mistrust. "There is no trust in the current regime at all. The hope is that now with this peace agreement, there is no excuse for them to continue doing what they have been doing," he said. He said fear of imprisonment is very real. "That fear is making it very difficult for anyone to think about going back right now." ___ Associated Press writers Miriam Karout in Berlin and Amy Forliti in Minneapolis contributed to this report. File - In this Monday, June 25, 2018, file photo, Eritrean asylum seekers hold a rally in front of Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem. The startling and sudden thaw between longtime enemies Eritrea and Ethiopia is opening up a world of possibilities for the countries' residents: new economic and diplomatic ties, telephone and transport links and the end to one of the most bitter feuds between neighbors. But the fledgling peace is raising new questions for Eritrea's diaspora, tens of thousands of people who fled the Eritrean government's tight grip, a rigid compulsory military and endemic poverty who are cautiously waiting to see how the truce will shape their homeland and perhaps offer them a chance to return. (AP Photo/Caron Creighton, File) File - In this Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018, file photo, Eritrean migrants wear chains to mimic slaves at a demonstration against the Israeli government's policy to forcibly deport African refugees and asylum seekers from Israel to Uganda and Rwanda, outside the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem. Hebrew signs read, "no for deportation, Rwanda equal to death" and "slaves for sale." (AP Photo/Oded Balilty, File) File - In this Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015, photo, Eritrean migrants mourn during a memorial gathering for Habtom Zarhum, in Tel Aviv, Israel. Zarhum died of his wounds after an Israeli security guard fired at him and later was beaten by a mob that mistakenly believed was a Palestinian attacker during a shooting in the southern city of Beersheba. The startling and sudden thaw between longtime enemies Eritrea and Ethiopia is opening up a world of possibilities for the countries' residents: new economic and diplomatic ties, telephone and transport links and the end to one of the most bitter feuds between neighbors. But the fledgling peace is raising new questions for Eritrea's diaspora, tens of thousands of people who fled the Eritrean government's tight grip, a rigid compulsory military and endemic poverty who are cautiously waiting to see how the truce will shape their homeland and perhaps offer them a chance to return. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File) Here's your look at highlights from the weekly AP photo report, a gallery featuring a mix of front-page photography, the odd image you might have missed and lasting moments our editors think you should see. This week's gallery includes children in Johannesburg celebrating the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela's birth; tornado damage in Iowa; and a joint news conference by Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Helsinki. ___ A woman with pink hair walks along Hollywood Boulevard past a colorful storefront shutter Wednesday, July 18, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) This gallery contains photos from the week of July 14-20, 2018. See the latest AP photo galleries: https://apimagesblog.com ___ Follow AP photographers on Twitter: http://twitter.com/AP/lists/ap-photographers Follow AP Images on Twitter: http://twitter.com/AP_Images Visit AP Images online: http://www.apimages.com http://www.apimages.com/ ___ This gallery was produced by Patrick Sison in New York. A Syrian soldier walks through rubble in the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk in the Syrian capital Damascus, Syria, Monday, July 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar) A local resident runs past a tornado-damaged building on Main Street in Marshalltown, Iowa, on Thursday, July 19, 2018. Several buildings were damaged by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) Relatives of 15-year-old Othman Hilles mourn during his funeral at the family's home in Gaza City on Saturday, July 14, 2018. The previous day, Hilles was killed by Israeli fire during a border protest Gaza's Health Ministry said. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra) Police prevent protesters from storming the provincial council building during a demonstration in Basra, Iraq, 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, on Sunday, July 15, 2018. Iraqis demanding better public services and jobs took to the streets again on Sunday in the southern oil-rich province of Basra, as authorities put security forces on high alert and blocked internet on the sixth day of protests in the country's Shiite heartland. (AP Photo) Friends and family carry the coffin of Gerald Vasquez, an engineering student who was killed during the July 14 attack by police and paramilitary forces to the National University of Managua, during his burial ceremony in Managua, Nicaragua, on Monday, July 16, 2018. The onslaught was televised by local media outlets and covered by three local journalists who reported via Facebook Live. Students fearing for their lives sent farewell messages to friends and family. "I did it for the country and I don't regret it," a crying girl said in a video that went viral. "Forgive me mama, I love you." (AP Photo/Alfredo Zuniga) Counter-protesters try to open the door of a pickup truck occupied by two men who drove near the Los Angeles office of U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters in Los Angeles on Thursday, July 19, 2018. Counter-protesters gathered at the field office of Waters, a black Democrat critical of President Donald Trump, to respond to a planned rally by members of a self-styled militia group who didn't appear to protest at Waters' office. Counter-protesters later took the U.S. flag from the back of this truck and burned it. Someone yelled, "This is not the American flag, this is their flag." (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and U.S. President Donald Trump give a joint news conference at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, on Monday, July 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) People sunbathe on the beach near the Peter and Paul Fortress, as noon is marked by artillery fire in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Tuesday, July 17, 2018. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky) BEIJING (AP) - Macau authorities took in more than 500 greyhounds abandoned following the closure Saturday of Asia's only legal dog-racing track. The former Portuguese territory has been the only place in China where dog racing is legal. However, betting on dog races at Macau's Canidrome - a tradition of more than 50 years - soured after animal rights groups accused the stadium of mistreating the dogs and euthanizing ones that underperformed on the track. It was ordered closed on Saturday. Macau's government said the Canidrome faces legal measures under the Animal Protection Act for failing to move the dogs from their shuttered premises. Authorities found on the company's property 533 greyhounds, including a dozen suffering from skin disease and other conditions, and are now making arrangements for their care. In this March 11, 2018, photo, a dog handler escorts the greyhounds walking at the track at the Yat Yuen Canidrome in Macau. Macau authorities took in more than 500 greyhounds abandoned following the closure of Asia's only legal dog-racing track on Saturday, July 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) Macau ordered the Canidrome to move out of the downtown area last year amid urban redevelopment efforts. The demise of the stadium, which saw massive crowds at its peak in the 1960s, comes as China seeks to cut Macau's dependence on the high-rollers who helped propel the city's transformation from a seedy backwater into a global gambling powerhouse. The city is now shifting its focus toward middle-class Asian tourists. The Canidrome is owned by Angela Leong, a billionaire Macau businesswoman. Phone calls to the Canidrome rang unanswered Saturday afternoon. Animal rights activists have expressed concern about the fate of the race dogs, most of which were bred in Australia. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, urged Macau to give custody of the greyhounds to local animal protection groups that will put them up for adoption. In this March 11, 2018, photo, dog handlers escort the greyhounds walking at the track of the Yat Yuen Canidrome in Macau. Macau authorities took in more than 500 greyhounds abandoned following the closure of Asia's only legal dog-racing track on Saturday, July 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) In this June 2, 2018, photo, dog handlers escort the greyhounds walking at the track of the Yat Yuen Canidrome in Macau. Macau authorities took in more than 500 greyhounds abandoned following the closure of Asia's only legal dog-racing track on Saturday, July 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) In this March 11, 2018, photo, a dog handler escorts the greyhounds walking at the track at the Yat Yuen Canidrome in Macau. Macau authorities took in more than 500 greyhounds abandoned following the closure of Asia's only legal dog-racing track on Saturday, July 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) The case involves Iyman Faris (pictured), who was sentenced in 2003 for aiding and abetting Al-Qaeda by scoping out the bridge The government can't strip a terrorist of his U.S. citizenship, a federal judge ruled this month in a decision siding with a Pakistan-born man serving the last few years of a 20-year prison sentence for his guilty plea to plotting to destroy New York's Brooklyn Bridge. The case involves Iyman Faris, who was sentenced in 2003 for aiding and abetting Al-Qaeda by scoping out the bridge as part of a plot to cut through cables that support it. His case was among the first and highest-profile terrorism cases after the September 11 attacks. Faris met with Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan and worked with Sept. 11 architect Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, although some critics questioned how realistic the plot was, given post-Sept. 11 security in New York. A court filing last year in U.S. District Court in southern Illinois argued that Faris lied on immigration papers before becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1999 and that his terrorist affiliations demonstrated a lack of commitment to the U.S. Constitution. The plot was allegedly aimed at cutting the cables that support the Brooklyn Bridge (pictured) in New York Faris met with Osama bin Laden (L) in Afghanistan and worked with Sept. 11 architect Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (R) 'The U.S. government is dedicated to ... preventing the exploitation of our nation's immigration system by those who would do harm to our country,' Chad Readler, acting assistant attorney of the Department of Justice's civil division, said in a statement at the time. The government filed in Illinois because Faris was imprisoned there then. He has since been moved to federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. Faris, who's 49, was known as Mohammad Rauf before becoming a U.S. citizen, worked as a truck driver in Columbus and was married to an American woman for a while. Federal Judge Staci Yanle (pictured) said there's not enough evidence to prove Faris' misrepresentations influenced the decision to grant him citizenship He is scheduled for release Dec. 23, 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. Federal Judge Staci Yanle said this month there's not enough evidence to prove Faris' misrepresentations influenced the decision to grant him citizenship. 'American citizenship is precious, and the government carries a heavy burden of proof when attempting to divest a naturalized citizen of his or her citizenship,' she wrote on July 11. The Department of Justice declined to comment. One of many objections raised by Faris' attorney is that the government's action violated the terms of his 2003 plea agreement, which never included the possibility of denaturalization or deportation. 'We look forward to defending this case,' Chicago defense attorney Thomas Durkin said. 'It's a wrong-headed decision by the government to proceed in this fashion.' PARIS (AP) - French investigators on Saturday raided the house of one of French President Emmanuel Macron's former top security aides, a man who was caught on camera beating a young protester in May. Alexandre Benalla's involvement in the beating and questions about the government's handling of the affair is turning into Macron's biggest political crisis since he took office last year. The presidential Elysee Palace fired bodyguard Benalla a day before police raided his home Saturday morning in the Parisian suburb of Issy-Les-Moulineaux, according to the Paris prosecutor's office. FILE - In this Wednesday April 26, 2017 file photo, Emmanuel Macron, right, is flanked by his bodyguard, Alexandre Benalla, left, outside the Whirlpool home appliance factory, in Amiens, northern France. Investigators have detained for questioning on Friday, July 20, 2018 one of President Emmanuel Macron's top security aides caught on camera beating a protester in May, a turn of events now evolving into a major political crisis for the president. The presidential Elysee Palace said it is taking steps to fire Alexandre Benalla, who was identified earlier this week by the newspaper Le Monde for beating a young protester during May Day protests while wearing a police helmet (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File) Benalla was identified earlier this week by the Le Monde newspaper for beating a young protester during May Day protests while wearing a police helmet. He and a second man are facing potential charges and are in police custody until Sunday. Regular parliamentary work has been paralyzed for two days with questions about why it took 2 1/2 months to inform judicial officials and why Benalla stayed in his post during that time. Questions over whether there was an official cover-up of his actions have also been raised, and whether Elysee employees have a measure of impunity not granted to others. French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb will face questions from parliament next week to see if the government failed to properly discipline Benalla. Despite his official change to a desk job, Benalla was seen this month on the ground with police at several high-profile events, including the return home Monday of France's soccer World Cup-winning team, an event attended by hundreds of thousands. The belated referral of the issue to judicial authorities and what was widely viewed as insufficient action at the time by the Elysee Palace has triggered a firestorm from the opposition. Macron has continued to keep a low profile and has, thus far, not spoken about the events. FILE - In this Wednesday April 26, 2017 file photo, Emmanuel Macron, right, is flanked by his bodyguard, Alexandre Benalla, left background, outside the Whirlpool home appliance factory, in Amiens, northern France. Investigators have detained for questioning on Friday, July 20, 2018 one of President Emmanuel Macron's top security aides caught on camera beating a protester in May, a turn of events now evolving into a major political crisis for the president. The presidential Elysee Palace said it is taking steps to fire Alexandre Benalla, who was identified earlier this week by the newspaper Le Monde for beating a young protester during May Day protests while wearing a police helmet (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File) French President Emmanuel Macron waits for the arrival of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev prior to their meeting at the presidential Elysee Palace, in Paris, France, Friday, July 20, 2018. A top security aide for President Emmanuel Macron, caught on camera beating a protester, has been detained and is being questioned by authorities. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) French President Emmanuel Macron waits for the arrival of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev prior to their meeting at the presidential Elysee Palace, in Paris, France, Friday, July 20, 2018. A top security aide for President Emmanuel Macron, caught on camera beating a protester, has been detained and is being questioned by authorities. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) FILE - In this Wednesday April 26, 2017 file photo, Emmanuel Macron, right, is flanked by his bodyguard, Alexandre Benalla, left, outside the Whirlpool home appliance factory, in Amiens, northern France. Investigators have detained for questioning on Friday, July 20, 2018 one of President Emmanuel Macron's top security aides caught on camera beating a protester in May, a turn of events now evolving into a major political crisis for the president. The presidential Elysee Palace said it is taking steps to fire Alexandre Benalla, who was identified earlier this week by the newspaper Le Monde for beating a young protester during May Day protests while wearing a police helmet (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File) BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - Rising conservative politician Pablo Casado has been elected as new leader of Spain's Popular Party in a landslide victory, ending a bitter and divisive election. The 37-year-old lawyer beat his opponent, former deputy prime minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, with 1701 votes against 1250 on Saturday. Casado succeeds former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy who stepped down last month after losing a parliamentary vote to his socialist opponent, Pedro Sanchez, in the wake of graft convictions for members of the PP. FILE - In this file photo dated Thursday, May 31, 2018, Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Popular Party leader listens to speeches during the first day of a motion of no confidence session at the Spanish parliament in Madrid. Former Spanish prime minister and veteran politician Mariano Rajoy on Friday July 20, 2018, vowed loyalty to his Popular Party in an emotional farewell. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, FILE) "We must return to the center of Spanish society to make sure our work is not undone," Casado said in his victory speech. He also promised to defend the values of "life and family." Casado was chief of staff to then Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar from 2009 to 2012. BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) - Donald Trump said Saturday he finds it "inconceivable" that a lawyer would tape a client, as the president weighed in after the disclosure that in the weeks before the 2016 election, his then-personal attorney secretly recorded their discussion about a potential payment for a former Playboy model's account of having an affair with Trump. The recording was part of a large collection of documents and electronic records seized earlier this year by federal authorities from Michael Cohen, the longtime Trump fixer. In a tweet, Trump called such taping "totally unheard of & perhaps illegal." He also asserted, without elaborating, in post: "The good news is that your favorite President did nothing wrong!" FILE - In this April 26, 2018 file photo, Michael Cohen leaves federal court in New York. President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer secretly recorded Trump discussing payments to a former Playboy model who said she had an affair with him, The New York Times reported Friday, July 20. The president's current personal lawyer confirmed the conversation and said it showed Trump did nothing wrong, according to the Times. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File) Cohen had made a practice of recording conversations, unbeknownst to those he was speaking with. Most states, including New York, allow for recordings of conversations with only the consent of one party; other states require all parties to agree to a recording or have mixed laws on the matter. It was not immediately clear where Trump and Cohen were located at the time of the call. Cohen's recording adds to questions about whether Trump tried to quash damaging stories before the election. Trump's campaign had said it knew nothing about any payment to ex-centerfold Karen McDougal. Transparency groups and Democrats have argued that the secret efforts to silence Trump accusers, including a payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, should be investigated by the Federal Election Commission as potential violations of campaign finance laws, which require disclosure of campaign expenditures. Trump's attorneys have argued that any payments to accusers would have been made regardless of his presidential candidacy, and that no violation occurred. The recording could also further entangle the president in a criminal investigation that for months has targeted Cohen. The erstwhile Trump loyalist has hired a new attorney, Clinton White House veteran Lanny Davis, and disassociated himself from the president as both remain under investigation. Cohen has not been charged with a crime. Current Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani said the payment was never made and the brief recording shows Trump did nothing wrong. "The transaction that Michael is talking about on the tape never took place, but what's important is: If it did take place, the president said it has to be done correctly and it has to be done by check" to keep a proper record of it, Giuliani said. Davis said "any attempt at spin cannot change what is on the tape." "When the recording is heard, it will not hurt Mr. Cohen," Davis said in a statement. The recording was first reported Friday by The New York Times. The FBI raided Cohen's office, home and hotel room in April, searching in part for information about payments to McDougal and porn actress Stormy Daniels, who received a $130,000 payment from Cohen before the election to keep quiet about a sexual relationship she says she had with Trump. The FBI investigation is separate from special counsel Robert Mueller's probe of election interference in 2016 and potential obstruction of justice by those in the president's orbit. Referring to that raid, Trump called it "inconceivable that the government would break into a lawyer's office (early in the morning) - almost unheard of. Even more inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client." In past comments Trump has also referred to the court-ordered seizure as a "break-in," though Cohen has been more sanguine, saying the FBI agents were courteous and respectful. A self-described fixer for Trump for more than a decade, Cohen said last year he would "take a bullet" for Trump. But he told ABC News in an interview broadcast this month that he now puts "family and country first" and won't let anyone paint him as "a villain of this story." On Twitter, he scrubbed mentions and photos of Trump from a profile that previously identified him as "Personal attorney to President Donald J. Trump." ___ Associated Press writers Eric Tucker in Washington, Jennifer Peltz and Jake Pearson in New York and Michael Balsamo in Los Angeles contributed to this report. AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - There was no sign of shock or outrage in the hotel hallways and conference rooms where Republican officials gathered to discuss party business even as politicians on both sides and foreign policy experts fretted about President Donald Trump's cozy relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The men and women from all 50 states who run the Republican National Committee did their best to avoid the topic of post-Helsinki summit angst during their summer meeting, which ended late Friday. When pressed in interviews, they defended Trump's conduct or begged ignorance, citing what some claimed as a complicated policy matter. "You know what I know about foreign policy? Once a month I eat at the International House of Pancakes. That's my foreign policy experience," said Ron Kaufman, a longtime RNC committeeman from Massachusetts and former political director for President George H.W. Bush. Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and U.S. President Donald Trump give a joint news conference at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, on Monday, July 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) "People wanted change. He's changing," Kaufman said of Trump. "The foreign policy experts may not like it. I'm not qualified to say whether it's right or wrong." It was a different story last summer when the RNC formally condemned Nazis and the KKK after Trump's muddled response to violent protests by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia. Trump said in his initial response to that incident said there were "some very fine people on both sides." After Monday's summit with Putin, Trump said he had "confidence in both parties" when asked whether he trusted the Russian president or U.S. intelligence agencies. Trump later attempted to walk back the statement. By week's end, Trump had invited Putin to the White House for their next meeting. That didn't sit well with at least one prominent former RNC member. On the eve of the meeting, Jennifer Horn, a onetime New Hampshire GOP chairwoman who previously served on the RNC's executive committee, called on the RNC to support a formal resolution, as it did after Charlottesville, to clarify the party's position on Putin and Russia's continued efforts to meddle in U.S. elections. In an open letter to the RNC, Horn said Trump repeatedly denigrated Republican values "in spectacular fashion" in Helsinki. "Unfortunately, it has become impossible to defend both the president and Republicanism at the same time," she said, adding: "I'm afraid that if our leaders can't find that courage today, we will lose our party forever." Horn's plea was ignored. Even New Hampshire's new GOP chairman, Wayne McDonald, took a swipe at Horn for attacking Trump on Russia. "The president is doing wonderful things for the Republican National Committee," MacDonald said. "And to come out against him, as I believe she has recommended, would be totally inappropriate and totally wrong and I couldn't disagree more." Bill Palatucci, the New Jersey committeeman who authored the Charlottesville resolution, said the vast majority of his colleagues felt this current situation was different. "People remain very supportive of the president and take him at his word. He says he misspoke when he was standing there with President Putin," Palatucci said. "I'll give that benefit of the doubt." GOP officials from across the country said they were willing to give Trump the benefit of the doubt, believing that he probably was much firmer with Putin in private than he was in his public performance. Arizona committeeman Bruce Ash echoed Trump's efforts to play down Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, suggesting that America hasn't always behaved properly, either. "Look, we've been doing it in other peoples' elections," Ash said, contending that President Barack Obama tried to interfere in Israel's 2015 elections. "There's nothing new." Other GOP officials struggled to reconcile their aggressive Charlottesville response and their silence on Putin, but had little appetite for condemning the Republican president. "I am as opposed to Russians interfering in our elections as I am to racists trying to divide our country. They're both immoral. They're both wrong," said Mississippi national committeeman Henry Barbour. "I don't want to get into whether or not we should or shouldn't put out a resolution." Trump's hand-picked RNC chairwoman, Ronna Romney McDaniel, suggested in an interview that the debates over Charlottesville and Russia have little in common. Asked about the president's performance in Helsinki, she said: "It's important not to cherry-pick one moment." She highlighted economic sanctions put in place by the Trump administration that have hurt both the Russian economy and Putin's approval ratings. "I don't think he's cozying up," McDaniel said of Trump's relationship to Putin. She added: "I think in the totality, the president, in terms of his policy, has been incredibly hard on Russia." The RNC didn't feel it necessary to adopt a formal resolution on Russia, however. Members instead approved language addressing so-called sanctuary cities, the Supreme Court, sex education and religious persecution in Burma. MOSCOW (AP) - Russia's Foreign Minister has held a telephone call with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in which he complained about the Americans' arrest of a Russian woman on allegations of being a covert agent. U.S. prosecutors have accused Maria Butina of working to infiltrate political organizations, including the National Rifle Association, before and after Donald Trump's election as president in 2016. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov "stressed the unacceptability of the actions of the U.S. authorities who arrested Russian citizen Butina on the basis of fabricated charges, and the need for her early release," the ministry said about the Saturday call. In this photo taken on Sunday, April 21, 2013, Maria Butina, leader of a pro-gun organization in Russia, speaks to a crowd during a rally in support of legalizing the possession of handguns in Moscow, Russia. Butina, a 29-year-old gun-rights activist, served as a covert Russian agent while living in Washington, gathering intelligence on American officials and political organizations and working to establish back-channel lines of communications for the Kremlin, federal prosecutors charged Monday, July 16, 2018. (AP Photo) The two diplomats also "exchanged views on prospects for further building relations" in the wake of the Helsinki summit of Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the ministry said. BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) - Top-seeded Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia returned to the Bucharest Open final after semifinal opponent Polona Hercog retired hurt after their first set on Saturday. Sevastova won the set 6-1, and the eighth-seeded Hercog, of Slovenia, retired. Hercog started the match with her right thigh heavily strapped. Sevastova also reached the Bucharest final in 2016, only to lose to local star Simona Halep on the clay. On Sunday in the final, she will face fourth-seeded Petra Martic after the Croatian beat local hope and second seed Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-4, 6-4. Buzarnescu hadn't dropped a set all week until Martic converted her fourth set point to take the first. The Romanian showed her frustration throughout, easily out-hitting Martic for winners, 28, but also committing far more errors, 34. Martic has reached her second career WTA final, six years after the first. She seeks her first title. Meanwhile, Sevastova will be going for her third WTA title. She lost to Martic in their only previous match, at the 2017 French Open third round. SAN DIEGO (AP) - Riz Ahmed, who shattered glass ceilings as the first Asian man to win an acting Emmy, is celebrating fellow trailblazer Sandra Oh. The "Grey's Anatomy" actress became the first nominee of Asian descent in the leading drama actress category when Emmy nominations were announced earlier this month. "I'm incredibly happy for her. Massively well deserved," Ahmed said Friday at Comic-Con. "I think we're living in a moment where we are all realizing that it's not enough to just carry on with business as usual. If we just sleep walk forward, we can end up walking off a cliff and I think a lot of people think we've done that politically, both in Europe and in America." Riz Ahmed attends the "Venom" press line on day two of Comic-Con International on Friday, July 20, 2018, in San Diego. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Last year, Ahmed took home an Emmy for "The Night Of." Oh received five bids for "Grey's" and has earned critical praise as a spy hunter in BBC America's "Killing Eve." Comic-Con attendees got a look at Ahmed's upcoming Spider-Man spinoff "Venom." His co-star is Tom Hardy. NEW YORK (AP) - The New York Police Department has begun disciplinary proceedings against a white officer accused in the chokehold death of an unarmed black man who gasped, "I can't breathe." A police spokesman says departmental charges were presented Friday to Officer Daniel Pantaleo. NYPD officials had said they'd start the disciplinary process against Pantaleo in Eric Garner's July 2014 death, which sparked protests about police treatment of black people. The officials had been waiting to see whether federal prosecutors would bring criminal charges but decided to move forward. A police watchdog agency called the Civilian Complaint Review Board will prosecute Pantaleo. Pantaleo appears on a cellphone video putting Garner in an apparent chokehold, which is banned under NYPD policy. Pantaleo's lawyer says he used a takedown move taught by the police department and expects to be vindicated after trial. MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (AP) - Businesses and volunteers are pitching in to provide more than cleanup in the wake of the destructive tornadoes that swept through three cities in central Iowa earlier this week. A meatpacking plant provided hot meals to those in need Saturday in Marshalltown, a city of 27,000 people that was hardest hit, the Times-Republican reported . The Animal Rescue League joined with local emergency management officials and a veterinary clinic to care for animals hurt or displaced. The tornado that hit the city was among a flurry of unexpected twisters on Thursday that injured at least 17 people and flattened buildings in Marshalltown, Pella and Bondurant. A group of people work to clear rubble surrounding a car in downtown Marshalltown, Iowa, on Saturday, July 21, 2018, two days after a devastating tornado blew through the city. The tornado here was among a flurry of unexpected twisters that swept through central Iowa on Thursday. (Kelsey Kremer/The Des Moines Register via AP) Residents and weather forecasters were surprised by the storms, which left gaping holes in the sides of factories and homes. Vehicles were buried under topped buildings . Among the buildings hit in Mashalltown was the city's historic, 132-year-old courthouse. The Marshalltown Historical Society said Saturday that despite the exterior damage, "there was miraculously little damage to our collection." The organization will temporarily move its headquarters to a nearby location. The JBS pork processing plant in Marshalltown also suffered extensive damage. Trailers and railcars were flipped and a static freezer that held 24 million pounds of pork was heavily damaged. "We will probably lose all of this product," general manager Todd Carl said, but added that he expects production to resume next week. Alliant Energy said it hopes to have power in Marshalltown fully restored by mid-week. About 4,000 customers remained without power midday Saturday. ___ Information from: Times-Republican, http://www.timesrepublican.com Clean up continues outside homes in Marshalltown, Iowa, on Saturday, July 21, 2018, two days after a devastating tornado blew through the city. The tornado here was among a flurry of unexpected twisters that swept through central Iowa on Thursday. (Kelsey Kremer/The Des Moines Register via AP) Clean up continues outside homes in Marshalltown, Iowa, on Saturday, July 21, 2018, two days after a devastating tornado blew through the city. The tornado here was among a flurry of unexpected twisters that swept through central Iowa on Thursday. (Kelsey Kremer/The Des Moines Register via AP) A local resident runs past a tornado-damaged building on Main Street in Marshalltown, Iowa, on Thursday, July 19, 2018. Several buildings were damaged by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds hugs Marshalltown Mayor Joel Greer, center, before a tour of tornado damage, Friday, July 20, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged Thursday evening by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) MARIPOSA, Calif. (AP) - A California forest fire just west of Yosemite National Park was steadily growing Saturday after two more firefighters were injured while battling the flames in blazing summer heat to protect mountain communities in the Sierra Nevada. The Ferguson fire was churning northward within Sierra National Forest, sending up smoke that obscured valley views in the park. Yosemite remained open, but one of its scenic routes, Glacier Point Road, was closed to stage firefighters. Crews were getting a break from light winds but were contending with rugged terrain and sweltering temperatures, said Deputy Chief Scott McLean of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. FILE - In this Monday, July 16, 2018, file photo, the Ferguson Fire burns along a ridgeline in unincorporated Mariposa County, Calif. Officials said Saturday, July 21, 2018, that the Ferguson fire is churning northward, sending up smoke that has been obscuring valley views in the park. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File) "The vegetation is so dry out there, and it's so hot. This fire will continue to grow," he said. Flames have charred about 42 square miles (110 square kilometers) of timber. Two firefighters, who were hospitalized Friday after suffering back injuries, have since been released and were expected to fully recover, said fire spokesman Rich Eagan. A total of four firefighters have been injured since the blaze broke out July 13. A bulldozer operator was killed the day after the fire started while trying to stop its spread. More than 2,800 firefighters aided by a fleet of aircraft were battling the fire, but only 7 percent of its perimeter was contained. Several areas were under mandatory evacuation orders. Residents of other communities were advised to be ready to leave if necessary, but no homes had been damaged or destroyed. Wildfires burned or smoldered elsewhere in the state, including east of Los Angeles near the Riverside County city of Corona. Most evacuations ordered at the height of the fire Thursday afternoon were lifted that night, but firefighters had extensive work to do to complete a containment line around the 250-acre (101-hectare) burn scar. In Santa Barbara County, fire crews were able get a handle on a fast-moving brush fire that broke out Friday in Buellton. It was more than 30 percent contained. The National Weather Service warned that an extended period of high heat was brewing for a large swath of the state. Excessive-heat watches and warnings were to go into effect early next week across Southern California and throughout the Central Valley as high pressure strengthened over the Southwest states, the weather service said. A memorial service for Braden Varney, who was killed while operating the bulldozer for Cal Fire, will be held Monday in Modesto. BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump and his onetime personal attorney (all times local): 4:20 p.m. Donald Trump says he finds it "inconceivable" that a lawyer would tape a client, as the president weighed in on a report of a taped conversation. In the weeks before the 2016 election, his then-personal attorney secretly recorded their discussion about a potential payment for a former Playboy model's account of having an affair with Trump. FILE - In this April 26, 2018 file photo, Michael Cohen leaves federal court in New York. President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer secretly recorded Trump discussing payments to a former Playboy model who said she had an affair with him, The New York Times reported Friday, July 20. The president's current personal lawyer confirmed the conversation and said it showed Trump did nothing wrong, according to the Times. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File) The recording was part of a large collection of documents and electronic records seized by earlier this year by federal authorities from Michael Cohen, the longtime Trump fixer. In a tweet Saturday, Trump called such taping "totally unheard of & perhaps illegal." He also asserted, without elaborating, in post: "The good news is that your favorite President did nothing wrong!" ___ 2:45 p.m. Attorney Michael Cohen's recording of a conversation with President Donald Trump about a payment to a Playboy model adds to questions about whether Trump tried to quash damaging stories before the election. Trump's campaign had said it knew nothing about any payment to ex-centerfold Karen McDougal. It could also further entangle the president in a criminal investigation that for months has targeted Cohen. The erstwhile Trump loyalist has hired a new attorney, Clinton White House veteran Lanny Davis, and disassociated himself from the president as both remain under investigation. Cohen has not been charged with a crime. Current Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani said the payment was never made and the brief recording shows Trump did nothing wrong. The nomination of Mike Manley as CEO of Fiat Chrysler marks a turning point for the carmaker, putting a brand with historic Italian roots in the hands of someone with no ties to Italy - a Brit who showed his mettle by growing the quintessentially American Jeep into a global brand. Manley has been one of the closest collaborators with the company's longtime leader Sergio Marchionne and had been seen as a possible successor since Marchionne announced in January that he planned to step down next year. Those plans were pushed up Saturday after Marchionne's health deteriorated following surgery. The 54-year-old Manley also headed the Ram truck brand, which together with Jeep have been the focus of Fiat Chrysler's growth strategy in North America, whose market represents two-thirds of Fiat Chrysler's earnings. In this photo taken on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, Mike Manley, head of Jeep Brand, introduces the 2019 Jeep Cherokee during the North American International Auto Show, in Detroit. Fiat Chrysler's board recommends Jeep executive Mike Manley to replace seriously ill CEO Sergio Marchionne, Saturday, July 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) "The success of the Jeep brand under Mike Manley and his global background make him the smart choice to be the new head of FCA," said Karl Brauer, executive publisher of Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book. "His international experience in growing that brand will play a key role as he applies those techniques to all of the Fiat Chrysler divisions." Manley had joined the company in 2000. He took over management of the Jeep brand in 2009, just after Chrysler emerged from bankruptcy protection funded by the U.S. government. At the time, the all-SUV Jeep mainly was a U.S. brand, where sales languished at around 232,000 for the year. By 2017, though, sales had nearly quadrupled to more than 828,000 as Americans snapped up all-wheel-drive SUVs. The brand also grew internationally, especially in China, under Manley, and has a difficult goal of hitting 2 million in sales worldwide this year. Manley stayed at the company through tumultuous times when other executives were ousted, and his roles were expanded because he performed, said Autotrader.com analyst Michelle Krebs. "He's low-key and the opposite of Sergio," she said. "He just went about his business." Krebs attended Fiat Chrysler's five-year business plan unveiling in Italy earlier this year. "A large part of it was the Mike Manley show," Krebs said. "My sense is he helped develop the plan." Krebs doesn't see any major changes in the way FCA is run under Manley, but says the company does face challenges as the U.S. auto market cools down a bit after record sales. The company also will have to deal with possible tariffs imposed on vehicles and parts both by the U.S. and in retaliation from other countries. Fiat Chrysler exports Jeeps and other vehicles from the U.S., and it also imports some of its models from Italy and Mexico, especially the growing Alfa Romeo sport luxury brand, she said. Manley has a master's degree in business administration from Ashridge Management College. He was born in Edenbridge, Great Britain. FILE - In this Friday, May 21, 2010 file photo, Chrylser CEO Sergio Marchionne, left, is seen with Jeep brand President and CEO Mike Manley at the Jefferson North Assembly Plant, in Detroit. Fiat Chrysler's board recommends Jeep executive Mike Manley to replace seriously ill CEO Sergio Marchionne, Saturday, July 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File) In this photo taken on Monday, Jan. 15, 2018, Mike Manley, head of Jeep Brand, introduces the 2019 Jeep Cherokee during the North American International Auto Show, in Detroit. Fiat Chrysler's board recommends Jeep executive Mike Manley to replace seriously ill CEO Sergio Marchionne, Saturday, July 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) FILE - In this Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015 file photo, Sergio Marchionne, left, Chief Executive Officer, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles; Michael Manley, President and Chief Executive Officer, Jeep Brand and Reid Bigland, President and CEO of Alfa Romeo, North America watch at media previews for the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' board of directors has recommended that Jeep executive Mike Manley replace seriously ill Sergio Marchionne as CEO of the automaker. A company statement said the decision was made at an urgently convened board meeting Saturday, July 21, 2018 because Marchionne's health had suddenly deteriorated following recent surgery and he "will be unable to return to work." (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File) BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) - The top U.S. intelligence official said Saturday he meant no disrespect to President Donald Trump in a televised interview discussing the summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said his Thursday comments at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado were not intended to be critical of the president's decision to invite Putin to a meeting in Washington later this year. "Some press coverage has mischaracterized my intentions in responding to breaking news presented to me during a live interview," Coats said. "My admittedly awkward response was in no way meant to be disrespectful or criticize the actions of the president." In this image from video provided by the Aspen Security Forum, National Intelligence Director Dan Coats speaks at the Forum in Aspen, Colo., on Thursday, July 19, 2018. Coats says his Thursday comments at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado were not intended to be critical of the president's handling of the summit. (Aspen Security Forum via AP) Coats has been under scrutiny since he said he wished Trump had not met one-on-one with the Russian leader and expressed dismay that the president had publicly undermined U.S. intelligence agencies. Coats issued a rare statement rebutting the president's Monday comments during a press conference with Putin doubting the findings of the intelligence community on Russian election interference. White House aides were fearful that the former lawmaker might resign over the president's comments, and the president spoke positively of Coats in a television interview Wednesday. But Coats' display of surprise upon learning that Trump had invited Putin to Washington this fall for a follow-on meeting drew the president's ire. "Say that again," Coats said, cupping his hand over his ear on live television. He took a deep breath and continued: "OK. That's going to be special." Coats also revealed in the interview with NBC's Andrea Mitchell that he was unaware of what transpired in the private meeting between Trump and Putin in Helsinki, and restated without equivocation his belief that Russia continues to pose a threat to the American electoral system. "Basically, they are the ones that are trying to undermine our basic values and divide with our allies," Coats said of Russia. "They are the ones who are trying to wreak havoc over our election process." Coats, who oversees the nation's 17 intelligence agencies, also said that if he had been asked, he would have advised Trump against meeting Putin alone, with just interpreters. "That's not my role. That's not my job. It is what it is," Coats said. The statement Saturday from Coats, more than 48 hours after the initial interview, capped a week of public walk backs by the Trump administration relating to Russia. Trump's public doubting of Russia's culpability for interference in 2016 - though he later tried to "clarify" his remarks a day later - sparked bipartisan condemnation in Washington and sparked congressional lawmakers to look once again for ways to tighten sanctions on the longtime U.S. foe. Coats, a former GOP senator from Indiana, has until this week been a largely invisible figure in Trump's Cabinet. Earlier in the administration, his voice was drowned out by the more outspoken Mike Pompeo, who was CIA director before Trump tapped him as secretary of state. Now with Pompeo heading the State Department, Coats has been thrust into the limelight as the voice of the intelligence community. ___ Associated Press writer Deb Riechmann contributed from Aspen, Colorado. MOSCOW (AP) - Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk unified the cruiserweight division by beating Russian Murat Gassiev by unanimous decision on Saturday. Despite facing a hostile crowd in Moscow, Usyk controlled the fight with his jab to add Gassiev's WBA and IBF titles to his own WBC and WBO belts. Gassiev landed some heavy body shots when he got inside Usyk's reach, but started to tire and the Ukrainian was utterly dominant in the later rounds as Gassiev swung wild haymakers. Usyk, a former Olympic gold medalist, holds all four major titles after just 15 professional fights, all of which he won. "Moscow, 2018. Bang! Daddy's in the building," Usyk said. Usyk added he could move up to heavyweight to fight the experienced British fighter Tony Bellow. "If he doesn't want to drop down (to cruiserweight), I'll happily go up to meet him," Usyk said. "I'll just eat extra pasta." It was Usyk's third fight in 10 months as part of the World Boxing Super Series, in which he also beat German Marco Huck and the then-WBC champion Mairis Briedis. Gassiev's record dropped to 26-1 with one no contest. "I had the best opponent in my professional career," Gassiev said. "I do my best, just today is Oleksandr's day." Usyk was born in Crimea and has said he was forced to leave the peninsula after Russia annexed it from Ukraine in 2014. Despite the tension between the two countries, Usyk and Gassiev embraced warmly after the fight with broad smiles. On the undercard, Cecilia Braekhus remained the undisputed women's welterweight champion after beating the relatively inexperienced Russian Inna Sagaydakovskaya by unanimous decision. The Norwegian, who first won a world title in 2009, has a 34-0 record. Bust-ups over Brexit lead many of Saturdays papers after the EU questioned the Prime Ministers plans, raising concerns of a no-deal outcome to negotiations. The Daily Mail suggests Brussels reaction to Theresa Mays Chequers proposals was unsurprising, saying the plans were rejected because they would give UK firms a competitive edge. Brexiteers accused the EU of being mafia-like after chief negotiator Michel Barnier said the plans would be unworkable, the Daily Express reports. What the papers say The Independent says the snub came a matter of hours after Mrs May said she would not make any more concessions in the negotiations. INDEPENDENT DIGITAL: EU rips up Chequers plan #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/ryH3Niqe1n Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) July 20, 2018 And the i says Leave-supporting ministers have threatened to quit if the PM gives any more ground to Brussels. I WEEKEND: EU tears up Britains exit plan #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/joFZS4vxpo Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) July 20, 2018 In a separate Brexit development, the Daily Telegraph leads with a report that the Home Secretary and Chancellor clashed on plans for freedom of movement after Britain leaves the EU. The front page of tomorrow's Daily Telegraph: 'Cabinet at war over free movement' #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/RbpzOAiow0 The Telegraph (@Telegraph) July 20, 2018 In other news, the Education Secretary has told The Guardian he will do more to help stressed teachers and has called for more funding for schools. Guardian front page, Saturday 21 July 2018: Schools need less stress and more cash minister pic.twitter.com/dWoJCmW065 The Guardian (@guardian) July 20, 2018 The Times says tens of thousands of children are being prescribed anti-depressants, despite warnings of potential harm to developing brains. Tomorrow's front page: Over 70,000 children put on pills for depression #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/N3s8JWe69c The Times (@thetimes) July 20, 2018 The head of UK pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline is considering splitting up the company, the Financial Times reports. Just published: front page of the Financial Times UK edition Saturday July 21 https://t.co/7YsVbZpk6F pic.twitter.com/6kT9Mi1Ety Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) July 20, 2018 The Sun leads with a report on the death of late pop star George Michael. Tomorrow's front page: Tragic George Michael committed suicide, his lover claims - and it was his fifth attempt. https://t.co/jzV3osP9yy pic.twitter.com/ETUAw9ELf8 The Sun (@TheSun) July 20, 2018 And the Daily Star leads with comedian Keith Lemon, who revealed he was mugged by moped thieves. Prince George will celebrate his fifth birthday on Sunday a little boy who is growing up fast. The future king is likely to spend the weekend celebrating his big day with his parents the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. But according to reports the party may be taking place in the Caribbean, as William and Kate are rumoured to have taken their children on a summer break to the exclusive island of Mustique. George has made a number of eventful public appearances over the past 12 months, from starting school to a cheeky moment on Buckingham Palaces balcony, as the royal family celebrated the Queens official birthday. But he can sometimes appear a little shy and reluctant in front of the cameras understandable for a young boy who is slowly getting to grips with life in the limelight. Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge was born at the private maternity unit of St Marys Hospital, Paddington, the Lindo Wing, at 4.24pm on July 22, 2013, weighing 8lbs 6oz. When baby brother Louis was born he joined younger sister Princess Charlotte outside the Lindo Wing in April as they visited their new brother with their father. In June George and his family joined the Queen and other royals on Buckingham Palaces balcony as the monarchs official birthday celebrations drew to a close with the traditional fly-past. But the young prince was seen playing up with seven-year-old Savannah, the daughter of Peter and Autumn Phillips, who jokingly put her hand over his mouth. George was last seen at the christening of his baby brother Louis at the Chapel Royal at St Jamess Palace on July 9, and in official photos marking the royal baptism. Two men have appeared in court after 1.6 tonnes of cocaine was seized from a boat in the English Channel. Dutch nationals Maarten Peter Pieterse, 59, and Emile Adriaan Jeroen Schoemaker, 44, faced Bristol Magistrates Court where they were each accused of a drug importation offence. The Netherlands-registered SY Marcia was intercepted off the coast of south-west Cornwall on Wednesday and escorted to Newlyn. The National Crime Agency called the operation a significant seizure of cocaine but is yet to disclose the exact quantity recovered. UPDATE: Two Dutch men have been charged following the huge seizure of cocaine on a yacht at #Newlyn harbour. Our operation on the ground continues @ukhomeoffice @DC_Police Read more: https://t.co/KIenVvMTxa pic.twitter.com/BgolINPObW National Crime Agency (NCA) (@NCA_UK) July 20, 2018 Pieterse and Schoemaker appeared before the court via videolink from Camborne for the brief hearing before magistrates. The pair are accused of being knowingly concerned in the carrying or concealing of controlled drug of Class A, namely cocaine, on the SY Marcia knowing or having reasonable grounds to suspect that the drug was intended to be imported or had been exported contrary to Section 3(1) of the Misuse of Drugs Act. Pieterse and Schoemaker spoke only to confirm their names, dates of birth, Dutch nationalities and to say that they did not have UK addresses. English Channel drugs seizure Prosecutor Andy Young applied for the two defendants to be remanded into custody and asked for the case to be sent to the crown court. I would invite you to send this case to Bristol Crown Court on August 20, Mr Young said. On Wednesday this week Dutch-registered sailing yacht Marcia was intercepted. Thus far 1.6 tonnes of cocaine has been recovered. The SY Marcia The searches are ongoing and therefore more maybe on there. Two crew members were onboard. Solicitors representing the two defendants did not make bail applications. Paul Deegan, chairman of the bench, said: We are remanding you into custody until August 20. It will probably be by videolink. We are not granting you bail. Lewis Hamilton qualified only 14th for the German Grand Prix after he suffered a mechanical failure in qualifying. Hamiltons title defence has been derailed by a series of problems at Mercedes this season. Here, Press Association Sport looks at the issues which have now cost Hamilton at six of the 11 rounds this term. Lewis Hamilton has had plenty of problems this season Australia HAM: "What's happened, guys?" Can the Mercedes man get back past Vettel on the restart?#AusGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/tMmzpao4ME Formula 1 (@F1) March 25, 2018 Hamilton was on course to win the opening race with ease, but a timing glitch on the Mercedes pit wall during a Virtual Safety Car period enabled Sebastian Vettel to snatch victory from the Briton. Bahrain 9th to 3rd is a good result for damage limitation this weekend, thank you to the fans and the team for your hard work. My thoughts are with the injured pit stop mechanic and I wish him a speedy recovery. Looking forward to next weeks race in Shanghai! #F1 @MercedesAMGF1 pic.twitter.com/XfDrOfiLuX Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) April 8, 2018 At the next race, Hamilton started only ninth after he was penalised with a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change. He recovered to finish third, but lost further ground to winner Vettel in the title race. China Mercedes were slow to react to a late safety car in Shanghai by failing to bring Hamilton in for new tyres. Daniel Ricciardo, who did stop for fresh rubber, won, while Hamilton was fortunate to finish fourth after Max Verstappen crashed into Vettel. Canada We will come back stronger for the next race. Its how you get back up that matters the most. We win and lose together, thank you so much for the support and positivity #TeamLH. Looking forward to France and until then we will keep our heads down and keep pushing @MercedesAMGF1 pic.twitter.com/6PDJpPDHaP Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) June 10, 2018 Unlike their rivals, Mercedes failed to bring their planned engine upgrade to Canada. Hamilton encountered problems with his old engine in the race meaning he had to stop earlier than planned and lost his place to Ricciardo. Team boss Toto Wolff also admitted they did not bring enough sets of the faster hypersoft tyre compound with them to Montreal which contributed to Hamilton qualifying only fourth. He finished fifth in the race as rival Vettel won. Austria Hamilton led but, as in China, Mercedes were slow to react, this time to a VSC period. Hamiltons rivals stopped for new tyres, but the Englishman did not which left him exposed. He eventually came in at the end of lap 25, but lost three places and dropped to fourth. He then retired for the first time in 33 races with a loss of fuel pressure. Germany Hamiltons qualifying session came to a dramatic and abrupt end, following a loss of hydraulics pressure on his Mercedes. He qualified only 14th for Sundays race. Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov has told US secretary of state Mike Pompeo that the Americans arrest of a Russian woman on allegations of being a covert agent is unacceptable. US prosecutors have accused Maria Butina of working to infiltrate political organisations, including the National Rifle Association, before and after Donald Trumps election as president in 2016. One more Russian was arrested in the US without any plausible reason. We demand her immediate release. Lets support her with a tag #FreeMariaButina pic.twitter.com/KBpAcLlAkT Dmitry Polyanskiy (@Dpol_un) July 20, 2018 Mr Lavrov stressed the unacceptability of the actions of the US authorities who arrested Russian citizen Butina on the basis of fabricated charges, and the need for her early release, the ministry said about the call. Maria Butina The two diplomats also exchanged views on prospects for further building relations in the wake of the Helsinki summit involving Mr Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin, the ministry said. By Michael Hirtzer and Tom Polansek CHICAGO, July 20 (Reuters) - Chinese importers of the livestock feed sorghum feasted on tabbouleh salad and chipotle tortillas made with the U.S. grain at a Texas barbecue this week, as farmers try to woo buyers in the middle of an escalating U.S.-China trade war. The delegation heads to Kansas next week for meetings with top U.S. sorghum exporters, including Archer Daniels Midland Co , Cargill Inc and Gavilon, a unit of Marubeni Corp, participants and other sorghum traders said. Despite the overture to the world's top sorghum buyer, deals have so far remained elusive because the trade dispute is making importers nervous, according to traders. Beijing imposed a tariff on U.S. sorghum on July 6 in a blow to U.S. farmers already harvesting the crop. Sorghum was one of the first casualties of the U.S.-China trade war, which has also pushed China to buy more soybeans from Brazil because of a duty on imports of the U.S. oilseed. The United States and China have slapped tariffs on $34 billion of each other's imports and U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he was ready to place tariffs on all $500 billion of imported Chinese goods. China, which in 2017 bought about $839 million worth of U.S. sorghum, has not purchased significant volumes since February, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. Tensions have been high since China launched an anti-dumping probe of U.S. sorghum in February, though it dropped it in May. On the trip, planned before Beijing implemented tariffs, the Chinese importers visited a farm in Texas, the port of Houston and the home of Wayne Cleveland, executive director of the industry group Texas Sorghum Producers, for a down-home barbecue that included beef brisket. Buyers are afraid to strike deals because of the risk for China to impose additional tariffs and steered clear of talking politics at the party, Cleveland said. "We need that market back," Cleveland told Reuters in an interview. Sorghum farmers in coastal Texas are among the first growers to harvest crops since the world's two largest economies started announcing tariffs on each other's goods, leaving them scrambling to find buyers. Colin Chopelas, who farms near the Texas port of Corpus Christi, finished harvesting his sorghum fields three weeks ago. His crop is in a grain elevator awaiting buyers. A Chinese sorghum buyer not participating in the trip told Reuters that U.S. prices will decline as more sorghum is harvested. "We will definitely buy when prices are at a reasonable level, even with the 25 percent tariff," the buyer said. The United States accounts for more than 90 percent of total sorghum shipments to China, which uses it to feed livestock and ducks and make a fiery liquor called baijiu. Florentino Lopez, executive director of the United Sorghum Checkoff, an industry group, said Chinese buyers at the dinner were concerned U.S. farmers may cut back on sorghum plantings because of the trade war, which could tighten up supplies available for sale next year. "They are looking forward and being prepared for when they can actually make some purchases," Lopez said. 'DEMAND DOWN' Prices have dropped on the slowdown in sales. An elevator operated by ADM at Corpus Christi was bidding roughly $3.65 per bushel to buy sorghum. Earlier this year, sorghum fetched as much as $4.80 per bushel, according to Reuters data. "I want to sell and they want to buy," one trader said, though he acknowledged that 25 percent tariffs were impeding deals. ADM and Gavilon said they were participating in the trade mission. ADM said in May it would take a $30 million hit to its second-quarter trading profit related to disrupted sorghum shipments. Cargill had no comment. Mexico, another big market for U.S. sorghum, has been canceling sales. It exited deals for 114,000 tonnes of sorghum to be shipped by Aug. 31 and 38,000 tonnes of grain that would be shipped during the next marketing season beginning on Sept. 1, USDA data showed on Thursday. "All I can say is demand is down on sorghum," another U.S. trader said. "Last year (at Corpus Christi), there were boats getting loaded left and right at harvest and this year the ports are actually closed." The Chinese importers on the trip accounted for more than 50 percent of China's total sorghum imports from the United States, according to the Sorghum Checkoff. At a tour of an Attebury Grain facility in Saginaw, Texas, some buyers said they still want to purchase U.S. sorghum but are worried about the tariff making deals too expensive, said George Gurganus, a grain buyer for the company who met the group. With China's demand down, Gurganus is looking for other places to sell sorghum, including Mexico and U.S. ethanol plants. "China's demand has really fallen off because of the tariff talk so we're looking at every other outlet we can find," he said. (Additional reporting by Hallie Gu in Beijing; Editing by Caroline Stauffer and Dan Grebler) Sri Lanka and Japan had agreed to enhance collaboration between the Japan Maritime Self Defence Forces and the Sri Lanka Navy, Sri Lanka Air Force and Sri Lanka Coast Guard, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said on Friday. The delegations of the two nations discussed about military ties and maritime safety at the 3rd Sri Lanka Japan Dialogue on Maritime Security, Safety and Oceanic Issues which was held on July 19 at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Colombo In a statement, the ministry said the discussion at the Dialogue centred on the areas of the situation in the Indo-Pacific and Indian Ocean region, cooperation on ports and shipping, cooperation in the areas of maritime safety and security and regional multilateral initiatives. Sri Lanka expressed appreciation for the extensive support extended by Japan to improve the maritime safety capabilities of the Sri Lanka Coast Guard including through the provision of two patrol vessels and numerous training opportunities. The two sides also discussed augmented cooperation in multilateral frameworks including the ASEAN Regional Forum and the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) recognizing the importance of increased engagement in these fora, it said. The ministry said the Dialogue forms an important pillar of cooperation envisaged in the Joint Declaration on Comprehensive Partnership between the two countries concluded during the official visit of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to Japan in 2015. The Sri Lanka delegation to the Dialogue was led by Sashikala Premawardhane, Director General, Ocean Affairs and Climate Change division of the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the delegation of Japan was headed by Shogo Yoshitake, Director, Southwest Asia Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said yesterday the government had presented the Buddhist Temporalities (Amendment) Bill and Theravadi Bhikkhu Kathikawath (Registration) Bill in Parliament on a request made by the Maha Sanga since 1956 to maintain discipline among Buddhist monks. However, he said Ven. Medagoda Abayatissa Thera had requested MPs not to support these bills as it was a great sin. "These two bills were long pending, even from the time of Sirimavo Bandaranaike in 1972. Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga appointed a presidential commission in 1999 and obtained recommendations in 2001, he said. However, the minister said these bills needed to be introduced forthwith because several Buddhist monks had acted indecently during the recent past. It was reported that a novice monk of the Ruhunu University had been stripped and beaten by fellow monks. In another incident, a police sergeant had been killed by a Buddhist monk, he said. (Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera) ZURICH (REUTERS): Rothschild Bank AG and one of its subsidiaries committed serious violations of anti-money laundering rules in relation to 1MDB, the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, Switzerlands financial regulator said yesterday. The regulator, FINMA, said in a statement it was nonetheless closing its probe into Rothschild. It will review the steps the institution has taken to tighten up its procedures. Rothschild Bank AG said it noted the regulators comments and regretted the breaches that occurred. We constantly strengthen our systems and procedures and are determined to continue to do so to identify and combat the increasingly sophisticated financial crime faced by the industry, the bank said in a statement. The investigation is the seventh and last undertaken by FINMA into 1MDB. Malaysias former Prime Minister Najib Razak, has been charged with abuse of power and breach of trust in a graft probe into the fund, which he set up. He has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. Rothschild Bank AG is part of Paris-listed Rothschild & Co. 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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 government should set up the proposed three permanent trials-at-bar at least by renting out a building, JVP MP Vijitha Herath told Parliament yesterday. He said the excuse made by the government for the delay in setting up these special courts was limited building space. "If the government was unable to find building space, how can it govern the country, develop the economy and prevent crime? If it can rent out buildings for millions of rupees to house ministries, then why cant it do the same thing for a worthy cause? The government should take immediate steps to prevent fraud and corruption. There is political intervention when it comes to taking action against wrongdoers. The former Director General of the Bribery Commission, who acted impartially, had to resign due to political interference. The DG had to pack her bags while she was taking action against three powerful government ministers," he said. (Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera) President Maithripala Sirisena today assured that he would not change the decision taken to implement the death penalty, despite the objections raised by some factions against the move. He expressed these views while addressing a ceremony held in Polonnaruwa to commence the construction works of the National Nephrology Hospital. The President said he would summon the heads of the fields of judiciary, prisons and law and order next Tuesday to appoint a committee in this regard. "This committee, which will consist of representatives of all the relevant fields, would make decisions about the convicted personnel who should be executed," he said. Related article SL risks losing GSP+ if death penalty implemented We need to learn from the right in order to defeat it Democrats must strive to take Republican talking points as Republicans do, which is not seriously at all. The White House released predictions this week that the budget deficit will burst over $1 trillion by 2019, nearly matching the deficits hit during the worst of the Great Recession as America continues a record financial expansion that began in Obamas first term and not let up since. The White House OMB now projects the deficit will rocket to $890B this year and top $1T through 2021. cc, uh, Larry Kudlow. pic.twitter.com/feaKaLWbPa Steven Dennis (@StevenTDennis) July 18, 2018 This news of rampant fiscal imbalance resulted in ZERO Tea Party rallies. And this has shocked no one, not even the people who once pretended the Tea Party had nothing to do with race. Now that the worlds worst birther is president, making the point that racism was a central motive of the Tea Party movement may seem unnecessary. As I pointed out in USA TODAY this week, no president in a century has given more aid and comfort to white supremacists than Donald Trump. But there are two important lessons we cannot forget because history keeps repeating itself and its bound to happen again if Democrats can overcome the four-headed hydra of gerrymandering, big money, voter suppression, and hacking to take back power. First, the media will always imbue anything the right does with good faith and spin critiques from the left as conspiracy theory. The notion that the Tea Party was a non-partisan effort that leapt up out of fears of deficit and over-regulation of banks during the worst fiscal crisis of this millennium was readily accepted by the press. The racism bubbling over in the inappropriate rage against Obama was often dismissed or ignored. Mainstream thinkers wanted to believe the rage on behalf of corporations and rich people wasnt racially motivated because the agenda slicing government and setting business free to rein was their own. This same phenomenon was repeated in 2015-2016 as Trumps obvious racism, like his indebtedness to Putin, was treated as an unserious critique as the press went out of their way to legitimize the concerns of Trump voters without unpacking the rage at demographic change firing up the movement. Next, Democrats should use the deficit in the exact same way Republicans do. Democrats have become the party responsible for cutting the deficit after Republicans explode it. They should feel no such responsibility once they regain power. Instead they should care as little about the deficit as Paul Ryan actually does. This means, bring it up only when its convenient. For instance, when supporting policies that will promote economic equality emphasize the genuine deficit reduction they also promote. When you call for repealing Trumps tax cuts for the rich and big corporations, call out the deficit. Same for promoting new tax brackets for millionaires and billionaires or a financial transaction tax on Wall Street. Then when promoting programs like free college which we could have paid for THREE TIMES OVER with just the deficit increase from 2017 to 2018 or expanding Medicare, use the best line of BS Republicans ever came up with: IT WILL PAY FOR ITSELF. This promise is far more true for programs that promote child care or housing assistance than it will ever be for tax cuts for the rich. Republicans have proven adept at turning their greatest failures and most appalling weaknesses into strengths. Democrats need to become as immune as the right is to critiques from its opponents and seize on the rhetorical tools the right as developed to sell policies that are not only popular, but good. MILK in the Balance is the theme of the WAFarmers 2018 Diary Conference that will be held at Abbey Beach Resort, Busselton, on Thursday, July 26. WAFarmers dairy section president Michael Partridge will welcome guests before the official opening from WAFarmers chief executive officer Trent Kensett-Smith who will talk about the organisations work and how it will benefit local dairy farmers. There will be plenty of interest in the presentation from Australian Dairy Foundation (ADF) chief executive officer David Inall who will provide his view on the recent Australian Competition and Consumer Commission inquiry into the dairy industry. In the report the ACCC identified a range of market failures, resulting from the strong bargaining power imbalance and information asymmetry in farmer-processing relationships. These features of the industry result in practices which ultimately cause inefficiencies in dairy production, the ACCC said after releasing the report on April 30. The WAFarmers dairy council panel will give an update on its advocacy for the local industry on a national level. This will be followed by Louise Cashmore, Reality Consulting, who is co-ordinating the Perth Royal Show Dairy Pavilion. She will tell farmers how they plan to get city people to understand the WA dairy industry at the annual show in September. Industry consultant Steve Hossens talk on Price Analysis - what it means to you will focus on how farmers can maximise their returns in relation to their processors pricing systems. Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release SubCategory Select Sub-Category Richie Sambora is continuing to support his ex-wife, Heather Locklear. On Thursday, the Bon Jovi guitarist told the Daily Mail that he put together a team of doctors and specialists to make sure that both Locklearwho he was married to from 1994 to 2007and their 20-year-old daughter, Ava, were taken care of. "I will of course always be there for Heather and especially Ava," Sambora, 59, told the outlet. "I am very proud of my daughter for her composure and strength during this difficult time," added the musician, who also showed his support for the former "Melrose Place" star by flying a fighter pilot with Locklear's initials featured on it. Earlier this month, TMZ reported that the actress voluntarily agreed to check herself into a long-term treatment center for substance abuse and mental health issues days after she was arrested. On June 24, Locklear was arrested for battery against a police officer and emergency personnel. The Ventura County Sheriff's Office said they responded to a 911 call at Locklear's home shortly after 11 p.m. Locklear appeared "heavily intoxicated" and was "arguing with other subjects at the residence." "The responding deputy believed it was necessary to separate her from the others," a spokesperson for the police department told Fox News at the time. "In the process of trying to separate her, she battered the deputy...There was no injury to the deputy. That action caused her to get arrested." Due to her "behavior and level of intoxication," police called an ambulance to check on the star. Locklear then proceeded to allegedly kick an EMT, who was attempting to put her on a gurney, in the chest. She was then taken to the hospital to be examined before being taken to jail, where she spent the night before posting $20,000 bail. A seven-time Jeopardy! winner who taught history at a Michigan college was put on probation on Friday for inappropriately logging into the email accounts of fellow professors, administrators and students. Stephanie Jass, who taught history at Michigans Adrian College, appeared to acknowledge her actions when she issued an apology. "I am sorry for all the pain I have caused," said the 48-year-old, who must return to court after serving a year of probation for unauthorized computer access. Police told the Associated Press that the college professor logged into other email accounts without permission over a four-day period causing the school to reset passwords and assigned everyone the same temporary password. The AP also reported that Jass had a document that listed "comments and problems" of faculty members. One professor who blew the whistle on Jass told police she believed that the "Jeopardy" winner was downloading and snooping through emails to gain leverage over others. "Nations fear this type of behavior," Lenawee County Judge Margaret Noe said. "I can't even imagine the level of the college's embarrassment." Jass hit her seven-episode "Jeopardy!" winning streak in 2012, creating a new record for female contestants. In 2014, Jass performed at Croswell Opera House in Adrian, singing songs and sharing stories about the TV game show. Adrian College president, Jeffrey Docking, told the court that he thought of his private communications with family when he learned that Jass had also gained access to his email. Docking' said, "In the midst of this whole thing, in my opinion, we've wasted over $16,000 in attorney fees that could've gone to those kids in scholarship support." The Associated Press contributed to this report. Its safe to say Colorado photographer and graphic artist Rob Decker knows a thing or two about Americas national parks. Studying under famed photographer Ansel Adams in Yosemite National Park at age 19 sparked a passion in Decker for the park system, which has inspired his creative work ever since. After retiring from a 30 year career in the arts as an independent producer, he has launched a mission to design posters of all major protected areas. To that end, Decker chatted exclusively with Fox News about just why The National Park Poster Project is so important to him, the best national parks and his thoughts on tentatively escalating admission costs throughout one of our greatest national treasures. FOX NEWS: What inspired this journey of recreating iconic images of every national park? RD: Ive been a big fan of the national parks my whole life. I grew up in Northern California and spent a lot of time in Yosemite National Park. The first time, I was just six years old, camping in the valley with my family. Even before this project started, I had visited more than half of Americas national parks. What was it like to study under Ansel Adams in Yosemite when you were 19? Studying under Ansel Adams in Yosemite National Park when I was just 19 was an experience that solidified my love of photography and the national parks. I was pretty awe-struck at the time, but as time goes by, I appreciate that experience now even more. There were so many lessons learned, but perhaps most important was the idea of pre-visualization - to create the image in your minds eye. TEXAS WOMAN REELS IN 7-FOOT SHARK: 'THANK GOD FOR CROSSFIT' What inspired you to launch the project? The inspiration for this project actually started about five years ago when my daughter got married. She found a vintage-style dress and I created the save the date cards, table cards, and even a poster that all the guests could sign. The images were from places around Colorado, and I designed them in this retro, WPA-style. And, although it was my daughters special day, I got a lot of encouragement to do something more... I started working with photographs I had taken of the national parks over the years, and ran three successful Kickstarter crowdfunding campaigns over the next 18 months. The campaigns were so popular, that I decided to leave my day job in the rear-view mirror and focus on The National Park Poster Project full-time. What exactly are your methods for creating the posters? Each poster starts with a photograph that I take at each park. I try to capture that iconic view - the Teton Range (Grand Teton National Park), the Delicate Arch (Arches National Park), the Bass Harbor Head Light (Acadia National Park) - one that hopefully represents a visitors own experience at the park. The photographic images are then run through a digital process Ive created that transforms them into graphic art in a style reminiscent of the WPA artists of the 1930s and 40s. One of the biggest challenges in all of this is creating the text that appears at the top of each poster - crafting a dozen or so words that captures the essence of the park. BILL TO ALLOW IMPORTING OF EXOTIC ANIMALS FOR HUNTING SHUT DOWN BY RHODE ISLAND LAWMAKERS Which national park is your favorite? Why? Yosemite National Park is by far my favorite national park. My history there goes back well beyond my first visit - my grandparents honeymooned there in the 1920s! In addition to the many camping trips with my family and backpacking with friends, we celebrated my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary there, and my brother was married in the Yosemite Valley Chapel. Of course, the time spent there with Ansel Adams is at the top of the list! Whats next for this project? For you as an artist? My goal has always been to create posters for each of the 60 national parks in the country, and Im well on my way to reaching that mark, having visited 43, and will probably get to a couple more this year. The big challenge will be the eight national parks in Alaska. Beyond this, I am looking to create and publish a book of black and white photographs Ive made in the national parks. That project will really allow me to get back to my roots as a photographer. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS What are your thoughts on the National Park Service tentatively increasing admission fees at select, popular parks in order to fund infrastructure projects? Clearly there has been a lot of backlash from the proposal to raise rates at some of the most popular national parks, and I believe the National Park Service has tabled that for now. There is no question that we need to do something to help fund the backlog of infrastructure projects and there are a few in Congress who are looking at ways to do this through the federal budget. One of the things that I have been able to do with this project is to give back, and I donate 10% of annual profits to many organizations that support our national parks. NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! New York, Connecticut, Maryland and New Jersey four of the highest-taxing states in the nation filed a breathtakingly foolish lawsuit this week against the federal government alleging that the tax cut and reform legislation signed into law by President Trump last year is unconstitutional because it unfairly targets Democratic-controlled states. The states claim that the federal tax overhaul is nothing more than an attempt by Republicans to pressure them into cutting taxes and reducing the size of government. But the new economic reality brought about by the tax cuts may soon serve as a strong incentive for high-tax states to revisit their tax policies. Thats because private sector jobs are being added at an 80 percent higher clip in the low-tax states in the first half of the year. The tax reform passed without receiving any Democratic votes in Congress and was signed into law by President Trump Dec. 22. The old tax code allowed taxpayers to deduct all of their state and local taxes if they itemized their deductions on their federal income tax returns. The new law, in effect this year, caps the state and local tax deduction at $10,000 per tax return. The 11 states with the highest claimed state and local tax (SALT) deductions are: California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont. Not all of these high-tax states are run by Democrats: seven have Democratic governors, while four have Republicans. Legislative control in these high-tax jurisdictions is divided as well, with eight having both chambers controlled by Democrats, two featuring split control, and one controlled by Republicans. Higher-earning taxpayers from New York had the nations highest SALT deductions under the old tax law, with somewhere between 30 to 40 percent of filers deducting an average of $21,000 in state and local taxes on their 2014 federal tax returns. New York calculates that its taxpayers will pay $14.3 billion more to the federal government this year. New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood said of the lawsuit filed by her state and the three others: New York will not be bullied. This cap is unconstitutional going well beyond settled limits on federal power to impose an income tax, while deliberately targeting New York and similar states in an attempt to coerce us into changing our fiscal policies and the vital programs they support. Legislators in high-tax states have been looking for ways to circumvent the new federal tax law by reclassifying taxes as charitable deductions but the Internal Revenue Service is unimpressed and taxpayers who avail themselves of such a ruse expose themselves to federal liability. The deductibility of SALT on federal taxes has been a feature of the federal income tax from the start. But it has been under scrutiny for decades as well. The last serious attempt to limit or eliminate the SALT deduction was in 1986 under President Reagan. The 1986 Tax Reform Act did eliminate sales tax deductibility but continued deductibility for income and property taxes. There were no successful state lawsuits then. And while the recently appointed New York attorney general decries the potential for the change in the federal tax code to coerce the state into cutting taxes, real economic conditions may provide all the persuasion that state lawmakers in high-tax states need. As of June, there were: A total of 43.3 million private sector workers in the 11 high-tax states. A total of 41.6 million private sector workers in the 21 states with average SALT deductions. Some 40.8 million such workers in the 18 states with the lowest SALT deductions, including the seven states with no tax on earned income as well as on income from dividends and investments the most populous being Texas and Florida. Prior to the changes in the federal tax code, semiannual employment growth over the 18 months ending in December 2017 averaged 0.86 percent in the high-tax states, 0.66 percent in the mid-tax states, and 1.07 percent in the low-tax states. According to government statistics released Friday, in the first six months of this year employment growth has picked up throughout the nation, but it has accelerated even more rapidly in the low-tax states clocking in at 1.48 percent. Thats 80 percent faster than the growth rate of only 0.82 percent in the high-tax states. The states with an average tax load experienced 1.04 percent job growth 27 percent higher than that in the high-tax states. This large disparity in economic performance will, if it continues, place lawmakers in high-tax states under increasing pressure to reform their tax codes and reduce the size of state and local government to attract job-growing investment. The acting watchdog at the CIA, who has been accused of retaliating against whistleblowers, is resigning, the agency confirmed Friday. Christopher Sharpley, whose nomination for the agencys inspector general post had stalled in the Senate, said in a memo to employees that he is stepping down within 30 days. "After three decades of public service, he has decided to continue his career outside the agency, and we wish him the best in this new chapter," CIA spokesman Ryan Trapani said in a statement. "CIA's commitment to rigorous, independent oversight is unwavering, and the Office of Inspector General will carry on that important mission through the transition." Sharpley is also withdrawing his inspector general nomination, CNN reported. His reason for resigning from the agency and withdrawing his nomination was not immediately clear. The Senate wasn't prepared to advance Sharpley's nomination until a resolution to complaints from two former CIA employees-turned-whistleblowers who alleged retaliation, according to a congressional aide who wasn't authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke only on condition of anonymity. "Sharpley figured out he wasn't going to be confirmed and decided to step aside," said John Tye, executive director of Whistleblower Aid, who is representing two of the complainants alleging retaliation. One complainant is Jonathan Kaplan, 59, a former special agent and investigator in the inspector general's office who spent 33 years at the CIA. A second is Andrew Bakaj, 35, who worked in that office as a special agent from 2012 to 2015. He was instrumental in developing agency regulations governing whistleblower reprisal investigations. "I'm unaware of any open investigations on me, the details of any complaints about me," Sharpley testified at his confirmation hearing last October. Sens. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Ron Wyden say they find it hard to believe Sharpley didn't know about the complaints when he testified. "How is it possible that he could have been unaware of any open investigations against him at the time he testified?" Grassley, R-Iowa, and Wyden, D-Ore., asked in a letter they wrote to Senate Intelligence Committee leaders. They said one of the open cases was being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security's internal watchdog. Representatives for those former CIA employees told the Associated Press last year that there has been friction for several years within the inspector general's office, an independent unit created in 1989 to oversee the spy agency. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Former Vice President Joe Biden, mulling a possible 2020 presidential run, ripped into the Trump administrations immigration policies on Friday -- calling them one of the darkest moments in our history at a rally held by a Latino civil rights organization. Biden made his fiery remarks in Phoenix, Arizona, at an event for the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). He specifically targeted the Justice Departments zero tolerance policy on prosecuting all illegal border crossers. Grotesque lies, lies about immigrants, about crime, about costs to the community, said Biden. This administrations policies that literally rip babies from the arms of their mothers and fathers its one of the darkest moments in our history. The zero tolerance policy, in turn, led to an increase in the number of children separated from their parents until Trump signed an executive order ending the practice. Not only is it a national shame, it tarnishes the very idea of America and diminishes our standing in the world, Biden said. TRUMP SAYS HE DREAMS ABOUT BIDEN RUNNING AGAIN, OBAMA 'TOOK HIM OUT OF THE GARBAGE HEAP' Trump officials immediately fired back. Trump aide and former secret service agent Dan Bongino noted that Trump had stopped the separation of families and that similar separations had occurred under the Obama administration. This policy was in effect during the Biden/Obama years and was enforced even more grotesquely to use his words, Bongino said on "Fox & Friends." He starts that thing off by talking about a series of grotesque lies and then doubly ironic goes to lie about what the policy is. Bidens remarks added fuel to a months-long war of words feud with Trump. In March, the former vice president boasted how he would "beat the hell" out of Trump "behind the gym," with Trump responding that if the two fought, Biden "would go down fast and hard, crying all the way." Biden has not yet ruled out a bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination and has said that he will decide by January whether to run. "I know I have to make up my mind and I have to do it by January," Biden said, according to USA Today. In an interview with CBS News this week, Trump said running against Biden in 2020 would be a dream. Well, I dream, I dream about Biden. That's a dream, Trump said. Look, Joe Biden ran three times. He never got more than one percent and President Obama took him out of the garbage heap, and everybody was shocked that he did. I'd love to have it be Biden. Trying to find love in D.C. can be tricky. If youre a young Trump administration staffer, it might be near impossible. GOP employees and other right-wingers have been complaining that dating in one of the most Democratic cities in America is a political minefield. Theyve been called out, flipped off and told they are personally responsible for the death of democracy. One 29-year-old lobbyist told Fox News that learning to date in a Trump world is absolutely insane. Its getting so bad, the lobbyist, who asked to remain anonymous because she works with the administration, said. She, like several people Fox News spoke to, says theyre often raked over hot coals by prospective dates online or simply denied when someone finds out they work or even voted for President Trump. WHATABURGER PATRON, BULLIED FOR WEARING 'MAGA' HAT, GETS NEW CAP SIGNED BY TRUMP: REPORT Another person who works for the Trump administration said she has endured insults for simply posing with the American flag. Guys say, Are you one of those Trumpies? Its ridiculous, she laments. How did posing with the American flag turn me into a country-hating loser? Capitol Hill staffer Daniel Jativa said he got the brush off when a girl he was dating found out he accepted a job with a Republican congressman who aligned closely with the House Freedom Caucus. I always considered myself a more moderate Republican so some of the things we did talk about, I generally agreed with things like frustration over partisanship, gridlock, how the discourse against certain groups of people have become unfortunately darker, he said. GOP INTERNS: UBER DRIVER REFUSED US SERVICE BECAUSE OF MAGA HATS He says when the girl found out his boss leaned conservative, Jativa was immediately called disgusting and an enabler of racism of misogyny. Suffice it to say, they called it quits. Another senior Hill staffer told Fox News that shes been harassed on dating sites so much that she and her friends stick to our own these days. Its disheartening, she said. Basically, we now all date one another. Its safer that way. I have a group of friends who are all pretty conservative and we end up dating in the same circle. I didnt think coming to the heart of the nations capital would be like this, but its a reality these days. I try to steer the conversation away from politics as much as humanly possible. It doesnt help in the long run but it gets me out of a lengthy lecture about how I am ruining the country. Janine Olsen Ted Dooley, executive director of the college Republican National Committee, says hes heard numerous horror stories of conservatives being berated for their beliefs. It reflects the larger tone of our environment that extremists like (Rep.) Maxine Waters, (D-Calif.), are encouraging fringe extremists on the political left to verbally and physically berate those with differing opinions, he told Fox News. Its no surprise that her encouragement has seeped into the personal interactions young people have in all aspects of their lives. Relationship expert Christine Bacon said she isnt surprised by the open hostility from the left. It saddens me, she said. Bacon, an evangelical Catholic who met her husband in a nightclub 35 years ago, adds that opposites attract but not in terms of politics because its typically based on personality introverts versus extroverts type of thing. One 31-year-old woman Politico interviewed laid out a typical date: You do the small-talk thing, and you have a very good conversation, and then they might say, 'You didn't vote for Trump, right?' She adds, As soon as I say, 'Of course I did,' it just devolves into all-caps 'HOW COULD YOU BE SUCH A RACIST AND A BIGOT?' And 'You're going to take away your own birth control.'" Given the backlash, some pro-Trump supporters looking for love say they arent above bending the truth. I try to steer the conversation away from politics as much as humanly possible, conservative lobbyist Janine Olsen told Fox News. It doesnt help in the long run but it gets me out of a lengthy lecture about how I am ruining the country. Im not lying. Im just not offering up my political positions on the first date anymore. Part of the problem Olsen admits is there arent as many Trump-friendly watering holes as there were during the Obama and Bush administrations. Just four percent of the Districts votes in 2016 went to Trump. While the Benjamin Bar & Lounge at the Trump International Hotel in D.C. is widely considered a safe space for Republicans, basic Bellinis start at $15 with other signature cocktails going as high as $100 a pop. Such prices are not financially feasible for the average Washington worker. Im more of a Guinness gal anyway, Olsen said with a laugh. Dooley, who met his wife while campaigning for Charlie Baker in 2014 in Cape Cod, Mass., suggests Republicans look to the party for love. The number of friends I have who have met their significant others through their involvement in campaigns of CRs is significant, he said. Get out there, elect Republicans, and enjoy the people you meet doing it. Who knows who they might become! Democratic House nominee Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez appeared to get her political colors mixed up on Friday, when she said in a video that she wanted to turn a Kansas House seat red. Ocasio-Cortez, who has become one of the leading figures of the Democratic Partys left wing after her shock win over Rep. Joe Crowley, D-NY, in a primary last month, is in Kansas City to help Democratic hopeful Brent Welders challenge against Republican Kevin Yoder. In a video with fellow left-wing darling Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., she then made what appeared to be a gaffe. Hello, everybody! So excited to be here on Sen. Sanders account and were here in Kansas City to rally for Brent Welder, Cortez said to the camera. Were gonna flip this seat red in November. Democrats traditionally use blue as their color while Republicans use red. However, some commentators noted that red is the traditional color for socialism -- a label Ocasio-Cortez has not shied away from. Ocasio-Cortez said earlier in the day that ideas once considered to be radical are now part of the mainstream conversation. She has touted ideas such as single-payer healthcare and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). OCASIO-CORTEZ AND SANDERS, IN JOINT RALLY, SAY THEIR AGENDA IS NOW DEMOCRATIC 'MAINSTREAM' Ocasio-Cortezs arrival onto the Democratic scene has split the party, exciting the base on one hand while also sparking criticism from the partys center -- who fear that far-left ideas could end in electoral defeat in swing states. Joe Lieberman, who was the Democratic Party's candidate for vice president in 2000, in an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, said that Ocasio-Cortezs ideas will struggle to gain support across America. "When I see somebody who really says she's a socialist -- she's a very captivating, charismatic candidate -- when you look at those policies, those policies will not be supported in many places across America," Lieberman said. Fox News' Alex Pappas and Gregg Re contributed to this report. U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., pledged Friday to look into legislative solutions to improve the safety of amphibious vehicles like duck boats after 17 people died in the Table Rock Lake tragedy Thursday. While McCaskill didnt provide specifics for her planned bill -- after a briefing in Washington with leadership from the U.S. Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board -- she released a statement obtained by FOX5 Springfield. Its encouraging to see the professionalism and cooperation between state and local officials and the two federal agencies investigating this tragedy, said McCaskill, who is up for re-election in November. Im grateful to [Branson, Mo.] Mayor [Karen] Best, the Red Cross, and the brave men and women of the Missouri Highway Patrol particularly the divers, who had the worst job of all today. My deepest condolences continue to go out to those families torn apart by this tragedy. McCaskills midterm election opponent, Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, also released a statement on the disaster. Terrible tragedy on Table Rock Lake last night, the Republican said. Erin and I are praying for the families involved and for the missing. My office ready to assist law enforcement as needed in investigation. The tragedy has renewed safety concerns regarding duck boats that have dated back years, but apparently went largely ignored. Officials recommended the vessels improve buoyancy so they remain afloat even when flooded, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported, citing an NTSB evaluation after a duck boat took on water and sank in Arkansas in 1999, killing 13 people, including three children. The rules from the agencys report were never enacted, according to the paper. Since 1999, 37 people have been killed in duck boat accidents, including the Missouri tragedy. Discussions on duck boat safety are likely to continue as local and federal agencies investigate the tragedy. Fox News Bradford Betz and the Associated Press contributed to this report. President Trump on Saturday described former lawyer Michael Cohens taping of a private conversation between them as totally unheard of & perhaps illegal, but he reassured supporters that he has done nothing wrong. Trump did not mention Cohen by name but appeared to be responding to reports that Cohen recorded a conversation with him in September 2016 in which they discussed possible payments to former Playboy model Karen McDougal -- who claimed she had an affair with Trump in 2006. The New York Times first reported that the FBI seized the recording during the raid earlier this year on Cohens office as part of an investigation into the former Trump lawyer's payments to women to shut down stories about his client leading up to the 2016 election -- a practice known as catch-and-kill. Fox News has confirmed the details of the tape. On Saturday, Trump appeared to slam both the FBI raid and Cohens behavior as inconceivable. Inconceivable that the government would break into a lawyers office (early in the morning) - almost unheard of, he tweeted. Even more inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client - totally unheard of & perhaps illegal. But, possibly in reference to questions about whether he had violated any campaign finance laws, Trump added that your favorite President did nothing wrong! COHEN TAPED DISCUSSION WITH TRUMP ABOUT POSSIBLE PAYMENT TO PLAYBOY MODEL Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani had expressed a similar sentiment when he told the Times that while there was a discussion, the payment was never made and the tape showed that Trump had done nothing wrong. Nothing in that conversation suggests that he had any knowledge of it in advance, Giuliani told The Times. He also said that Trump told Cohen that any payment should be by check, not cash, so it could be documented properly. In the big scheme of things, its powerful exculpatory evidence, he said. The Wall Street Journal reported in November 2016 that McDougal was paid $150,000 by American Media Inc. -- the parent company to the National Enquirer -- for the rights to the story, but it never ran. The FBI is also investigating Cohens payment of $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the weeks leading up to the election in exchange for silence about an alleged one-time encounter with Trump. Trump has denied any affair with either Daniels or McDougal. Fox News John Roberts contributed to this report. Maine beachgoers were surprised to find a mysterious sea creature washed up on Higgins Beach earlier this week. HUMPBACK WHALES LUNGE TOWARD CALIFORNIA TOUR BOAT IN SHOCKING VIDEO The creature was found Thursday morning and was possibly the decomposing body of a basking shark, Dr. James Sulikowski, a shark expert at the University of New England, told WCSH. The carcass, which weighed roughly 600 pounds and was 15 feet in length, was removed by officials with the Portland Department of Public Works, the news station reported. It was later buried in a nearby landfill. TEXAS WOMAN REELS IN 7-FOOT SHARK: 'THANK GOD FOR CROSSFIT' One beachgoer, Chris Blair, told WCSH that the carcass was pretty gross and smelled like a bad, hot day at a fish market. "It was pretty foul, he added. Basking sharks are the second-largest fish in the world, according to Oceana, which added that this type of shark can reach up to 40 feet in length. Unlike other species of shark, however, this one doesn't pose a threat to humans. It mainly eats plankton and can be found throughout the worlds oceans. Millennials are carefully choosing where they are traveling to next based on how the places would look on their social media, a survey found. A survey by Schofields, a British-based vacation rental home insurance provider, found 40.1 percent of those surveyed valued their travel stay due to how Instagrammable the holiday will be. The other choices were: cost/availability of alcohol, personal development, chances to experience the local cuisine and opportunities for sightseeing." Runners-up were alcohol availability and personal development. A thousand people between the ages of 18 to 33 responded to the survey. Mark Ellwood, a contributing editor for Conde Nast Traveler, told CBS This Morning that New Zealand and Iceland have become popular destinations due to their scenery. HALF OF AMERICAN PET OWNERS HAVE NEVER LEFT THE COUNTRY SINCE OWNING THEIR PET, STUDY FINDS "Think about that: 40 percent of millennials who won't go somewhere unless they can Instagram it," he said. "That's baking Instagram into travel." He continued: "New Zealand is one of the hottest destinations in the world, partly because its scenery is so Instagrammable. New Zealand has an area that focused on Instagram in its tourism marketing. Numbers went up 14 percent." Ellwood explained a new trend is travelers posting photos of hotel lobbies. "When you walk into a hotel lobby, take a moment and look around and think, 'What about the design here is intended to be photographed?' They're not white anymore. They're bright colors," Ellwood said. "The hotels want you to take pictures." LION KING DANCER SUES DISNEY WORLD, CLAIMS SHE WAS FIRED AFTER MATERNITY LEAVE Phil Schofield, the head of inbound marketing at Schofields, said he was a little astonished by these results. To see how the holiday snaps appear online being identified as the number one reason to choose a holiday destination really did take us all a little bit by surprise, he wrote. One appalled United Airlines passenger is calling out the carrier, claiming that flight attendants started making jokes after she requested to move away from her male seatmate who was masturbating during a June flight. The Chicago woman further alleges that she is only sharing her story now as United took six weeks to respond to her complaint, declaring that their lack of action is disgusting. Last week, Genevieve Pascolla took to Instagram to detail the incident, which reportedly occurred aboard a June 4 flight from London's Heathrow Airport to Chicago. The 26-year-old Chicago photographer was appalled to awake from a nap to find her unnamed male seatmate touching himself under a blanket, BuzzFeed News reports. UTAH TRAIN WORKER CALLED FEMALE PASSENGERS 'PORN STARS,' ASKED ABOUT TAMPONS, REPORTS SAY I woke the woman next to me and got out of there to tell a flight attendant the attendants checked and confirmed that he was masturbating in public. Once I got up the woman next to me saw and she also got up. They gave us new seats, she wrote in the caption. They then started making jokes about the situation, asking, 'What perfume are you wearing?' and excusing him saying, 'Hes had a bit of wine' [and] no one stopped him." Pascolla further stated that the man was allowed to finish, with a child sitting closely by. Upon deplaning, she says she immediately approached a security guard who asked if shed like an apology from the offender, which she rejected. She further claims that it took United a month and a half to respond to her complaint via email, in which a representative apologized for the uncomfortable situation she experienced in the skies. The rep further declined to grant her a refund for the trip or goodwill compensation, according to the photo of the purported email Pascolla shared to Instagram. I am appalled at the lack of action taken in this situation in which as a woman, I was terrified. This man is clearly capable of much more, Pascolla wrote. (See email) your lack of action is disgusting. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS In a July 19 interview, Pascolla told BuzzFeed that she received half of her ticket refunded in the form of a voucher, but remains shaken from the encounter. They were excusing his disgusting behavior and making jokes. I understand you can't control the situation, but you can control how you handle it, she said. Representatives for United returned Fox News request for additional comment on the story with the following statement: Inappropriate and offensive conduct like this on our aircraft is exceedingly rare, but we have a protocol to ensure our customers safety because it is our top priority, a spokesperson for the carrier said. Thats why, in this case, our customers were promptly moved to different seats in a different section of the plane and law enforcement officials were summoned in advance to meet the perpetrator when the plane pulled into the gate. Our team also called Ms. Pascolla the same day her flight landed in Chicago for a wellness check, they added. A college students sleuthing has helped solve a 44-year-old missing persons case involving a 17-year-old girl in Ohio. Christina Scates quest to unlock the mystery led authorities to exhume a body in an unmarked paupers grave in a Cleveland Potters Field, WEWS-TV reported Thursday. On July 12, the authorities announced that the remains belonged to Linda Pagano who disappeared nearly 44 years ago after an argument with her stepfather in Strongsville, Ohio. Police said she had been murdered. We have identified finally the victim of that tragedy, Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner Thomas Gilson said. He said DNA clinched the identification. Three boys found the remains in February 1975 along the banks of the Rocky River in Strongsville, according to the station. Pagano was reported missing five months earlier. An autopsy determined the remains were that of a woman in her early 20s who had been shot in the left temple with a small caliber weapon. Scates, who is also from Strongsville, told the station that her search began after she came across an entry for a grave in the cemetery that said unidentified white female bones. It was in the back of my mind for a couple months every day, thinking this isnt right. This isnt how things should be, Scates told the station. Thats why I looked into it further than I originally did. According to the station, she obtained the case file from police and uploaded the documents to Reddit and Websleuths in a search for answers. At one point, Carl Koppelman, a forensic artist in California, contacted her and used a photo in the case file to create a sketch that he posted on Facebook. He also mentioned the unidentified remains to Gilsons office. "He passively asked about the case and they had no idea, so then that ended up with her being added into the database for missing people, she said. In 2016 an Akron police detective working on Lindas missing persons case logged into the database and saw a potential match. Her DNA was eventually matched to her siblings'. Scates told WEWS she learned of the identification on a Wednesday night from one of Lindas relatives. She said she choked up at the news. "I was perfectly fine just bringing the case interest back to the case, she said. Police said the stepfather was a person of interest but not a suspect. Linda was his favorite before she disappeared, Linda's brother Michael Pagano said of the stepfather. He was with Gilson when the identification was announced. I thought this day would never come, so I figured Id die wondering, he said. Im amazed all of this came to light like it did. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A father of two high school students who survived February's school massacre in Parkland, Fla., was fatally shot this week by a robber, authorities said. On Friday, a 19-year-old man surrendered to police in connection with the death, Miami's FOX 7 reported. Police identifed the suspect as Tyrone Fields Jr. and said he faces one count of murder and an armed robbery charge, the report said. The victim, Ayub Ali, 61, was stocking shelves in his North Lauderdale convenience store when the suspect walked in, video footage released by the Broward County Sheriffs Office shows. The gunman appeared to linger in the aisles before approaching Ali behind the store's front counter. Ali opened the register and the gunman appeared to pocket some cash before leaving the store. According to police, the gunman returned to the store a short while later and shot Ali. Ali was taken to a nearby medical center and pronounced dead, the Miami Herald reported. The gunmans motive for returning to the convenience store was not immediately known. The sheriff's office released the surveillance footage Thursday. Ali was an immigrant from Bangladesh who had been in the United States for 20 years. A family spokesman said he worked long hours to save up enough money to buy the convenience store. He was a very, very nice person, a friend of Alis told FOX 7. He was very friendly with the customers. Everybody likes him in the community. Ali leaves behind a wife and four children. Two of Alis four children are students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., where a lone gunman massacred 17 people in February. Ali's children were not among those killed. A Dallas police officer was killed after being struck by a suspected drunk driver while on a funeral escort early Saturday morning, authorities said. Sr. Cpl. Earl Jamie Givens, a 32-year veteran of the force, was killed after a Kia Sportage struck him while he was blocking an entrance ramp on Interstate 20, Chief U. Renee Hall said. The officer was doing a courtesy escort for fellow officer Tyron Andrews who died from cancer. Givens had been part of the motorcycle unit since 2012. Givens was transported to the Baylor University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead on arrival, FOX 4 reported. The officer was stationary with his motorcycle's lights on at the time when he was struck "at a high rate of speed" by the car. All eastbound lanes on I-20 were closed following the crash. The SUV collided into a concrete divider and the driver of the vehicle was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and a field sobriety test was conducted. Dallas police identified the suspect as Adrian Breedlove, 25, and said he'd been charged with intoxicated manslaughter and unlawful carrying of a weapon. Fred Frazier, the vice president of the Dallas Police Association, said he was friends with Givens. "He was a great guy with a great, big heart," Frazier told Dallas News. "How tragic could this be. He's escorting a fallen officer to make sure that he's honored the way he would want to be honored, and he gets killed by a drunk driver." Frazier said Givens did a lot of fundraising for charities, including the Assist the Officer Foundation. Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings expressed his condolences. "Our hearts are broken once again. Please pray for the Givens family and for the brave @DallasPD officers who protect us every day," he tweeted. Fox News' Elizabeth Zwirz contributed to this report. At least 17 people lost their lives Thursday when a tour boat traveling amid intense waves churned by a sudden storm capsized in a lake near the popular tourist destination of Branson, Mo. Among the fatalities were people ranging in age from 1 to 70, officials said Friday. The dead included nine members of a family from Indiana; a father and son visiting from Arkansas; a couple from the St. Louis area; another couple from the Kansas City area who were celebrating their anniversary; a grandmother from Illinois whose granddaughter managed to survive the tragedy; and the boat's driver, who was known as Captain Bob. People who knew the victims share their memories, and thoughts about the tragedy, below. Coleman Family Nine members across three generations of the Coleman family from Indiana died in the duck boat incident. Tia Coleman was one of two family members that survived, Fox 59 of Indianapolis reported. The other survivor is her nephew. My heart is very heavy. Out of 11 of us, only two of us surviving thats me and my nephew, Tia told the station. I lost all my children, my brother-in-law. Coleman said the captain told passengers that they would not need life jackets. By the time of the accident, "it was too late." The only thing that I would like to be done but cant, is to bring my family back, Tia said. Family member Ingrid Coleman Douglas told the Indianapolis Star that "it's unimaginable" what happened. "They were very loved. Its a huge family on all sides," Coleman Douglas said from her Indianapolis home. "I would never have thought I would have lost this number of people this way." Tracy Beck, of Kansas City, Mo., said she recalled the family members waiting in line. After they stopped for a photo, she said, a ticket taker realized they should have boarded at a different location and reassigned them. If Beck's account is true, the Coleman family likely wouldn't have been on the ill-fated trip if it weren't for the ticket mix-up. Authorities said the Colemans who died included four children and five adults. They identified the children as Arya Coleman, 1; Maxwell Coleman, 2; Evan Coleman, 7; and Reece Coleman, 9. The adults were identified as Glenn Coleman, 40; Angela Coleman, 45; Belinda Coleman, 69; Horace Butch Coleman, 70; and Raymond Coleman, 76. Steve and Lance Smith Carroll Smith said in a telephone interview Friday that his son, Steve, 53, and grandson, Lance, 15, were killed when the Ride the Ducks boat sank on Table Rock Lake. The family is from Osceola, Ark. Steve Smith's wife, Pamela, was with the family on the visit to Branson but did not go on the boat. Steve's 14-year-old daughter, Loren, suffered a concussion, but survived. Carroll said his son was a retired math teacher who loved old Westerns and was active in his church. Lance would have been a freshman at Osceola High School. "It's a hard thing," Carroll said of losing his only child and his only grandson. "It's a very difficult day." William Asher and Rosemarie Hamann The tourist boat accident claimed the lives of William Asher, 69, and Rose Hamann, 70, a longtime couple from Affton, Mo., the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. "They were two of the nicest people you will ever meet in your entire life," Patti Zimmer Lewis told the paper of her friends. The couple was celebrating Hamann's 70th birthday, which was on Monday, FOX 2 of St. Louis reported. A friend told KSDK-TV of St. Louis that the couple was debating whether to celebrate in Nashville or Branson, and picked Branson at the last minute. "It is incredibly tragic, neighbor Omar Helal told the station. The neighborhood has lost two of its favorite people, and it will never be the same, Helal and a neighbor said. William and Janice Bright Husband and wife William and Janice Bright of Higginsville, Mo., died in the accident while riding the boat to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary, the Kansas City Star reported. Karen Abbott was supposed to drive to Branson to meet her brother William, 65, and sister-in-law Janice, 64, the report said. Abbott told the paper that her brother was her "best friend in the whole world." "It was just he and I," she said. Most people say they dont like their sister-in-laws. Ive loved Janice for 47 years. She was my friend before she was my sister, Abbott added. Abbott sobbed as she veered into the Ride The Ducks parking lot, the report said. I think this company should have their ass sued off of them and every penny they made should be returned to every victim thats ever lost their lives in this, she told the Star. Leslie Dennison Leslie Dennison's body was still missing, but she has been declared dead. She died saving her granddaughter Alicia, according to what the 12-year-old told her father, Todd Dennison of Sherrard, Ill. Alicia said she could feel her grandmother from below pushing her upward, Todd recounted to the Kansas City Star. "She said her grandmother saved her," Todd said. Leslie, 64, was in Branson for a "special trip" with her granddaughter, the Star reported. Alicia was still in a hospital Friday night. Robert Bob Williams Branson Mayor Karen Best confirmed the death of duck boat driver Robert Williams to the Washington Post, saying she knew the man well. Every time you saw him he was smiling, Best told the newspaper. He was a great guy. He loved Branson. He loved promoting Branson. He will be sorely missed. Friends of Williams, 73, who was known as Captain Bob, shared news of his death on social media, remembering him for his Christian faith. Tony Krukow said Williams was in the arms of Jesus and asked for prayers for Williams wife, Judy. Friends told Kansas City's KSHB-TV that Williams used his job as a driver on the popular tour boat to talk about his faith. His Facebook page, which includes many religious memes and posts, said he was employed at Ride the Ducks in Branson as a CDL driver, meaning he carried a commercial driver's license. 'Grieving and crying' Duck boats, named for their ability to travel on land and in water, have been involved in other serious accidents in the past, including the deaths of more than 40 people since 1999. Five college students were killed in 2015 in Seattle when a duck boat collided with a bus. Thirteen people died in 1999 when a boat sank near Hot Springs, Ark. Immediately after Thursday's tragedy, heroic tales emerged of members of the Branson community, including an off-duty police officer, who quickly jumped into the choppy waters to rescue survivors. The grief-stricken Branson community hosted two separate vigils Friday night. In one, about 300 people gathered in the parking lot of Ride the Ducks of Branson and sang "Amazing Grace." Mourners at a church sang the same words. At the rally at the duck boat business, the Rev. Zachary Klein said he had no words of comfort to offer the families of victims "because there simply are no words to comfort them." "Even though we may not know any of them it doesn't matter," said Tammy Miesner, 54, of Branson. "It's a part of our lives to be there for each other." Branson is typically a city "full of smiles," Mayor Best said. "But today we are grieving and crying." Fox News' Kaitlyn Schallhorn and The Associated Press and contributed to this report. A Florida jail is housing a 39-year-old man and his father who were both Palm Beach County sheriffs deputies before getting into trouble with the law in separate cases, the Sun Sentinel reports. Dad Carlton Nebergall Jr., 61, is awaiting trial in the Feb. 19 murder of his daughters estranged husband, according to the paper. The son, Jason Nebergall, was convicted by a jury July 13 of trying to rape a woman while on duty in 2016. They are both behind bars at the Palm Beach County Jail, the paper reported. Its sadly and unfortunately coincidental, defense attorney Michael Salnick told the paper. He represents both men and is working to get them released. FLORIDA DEPUTY HOSPITALIZED AFTER HOMELESS MAN ALLEGEDLY RELEASES PIT BULL ON HER The Sun Sentinel reported that both men were veterans of the U.S. Army. The son was in Iraq for two tours. The elder Nebergall served as a Palm Beach deputy for 27 years. He was recognized with a good conduct medal for 25 years of exemplary conduct in 2010, according to the paper. He retired in 2012. His son became a Palm Beach deputy in 2013. He remains on unpaid leave following his conviction. FLORIDA DEPUTY FATALLY SHOOTS ALLIGATOR WHO CHASED TEEN GIRL UP TREE The son met his accuser when he responded to a call. Prosecutors said DNA evidence supported her attempted rape claim. It's founded in the illusion that individuals possessing firearms are safer than those not having them. And that's true to a very limited extent. Yes, safer perhaps from a home intruder, that's about it. But safer from a oppressive government, able to resist, defy and even over throw such a government. VERY questionable. If the Govt. wants you badly enough you're toast, that's all there is to it. In such a "revolt' small arms such as rifles & pistols would be useful only for assassinations of Govt. agents, perhaps raids on isolated rural National Guard Armories to obtain serious weapons. Basically the guy with a stack if AR-15's with 10,000 rounds of ammo in his basement is like the guy sitting at a stop light in city traffic in a Dodge Charger with 707 HP. He's just having a macho-man fantasy, that he has POWER and he sure LOOKS good! As i said, it fosters an illusion of individual power, control. Flags flew at half-staff Saturday at several hotels, motels and inns along the way to Table Rock Lake in Missouri to honor the 17 lives lost after Thursdays grisly duck boat accident. At the Welk Resort Hotel in Branson, four women stood quietly in a circle near the American flag, holding hands and praying for the victims of the tragedy. Among them were Tina Abraham, of Chicago; Tiffany Tuttle and Lisa Cardell, of New York; and Sandra Ingle, of Silver City, Missouri. None of the women knew the victims. They didnt even know each other. It doesnt matter, Abraham told Fox News. People come together when things like this happen. That could have been any one of us or our families on the duck [boat]. We saw [Abraham] standing there. Tears were in her eyes. Were all mothers. We decided to come over, Cardell said. We didnt know the people on the boat, but our hearts hurt for them. It was the same sentiment echoed Friday night by hundreds of mourners who attended impromptu vigils on the shore of Table Rock Lake, at the Brookside Church in Branson and at the Ride the Ducks parking lot. "This has been my community for 10 years, so just hearing about it last night I felt completely helpless at home, not feeling like theres anything I could do, so just coming out tonight was sort of my emotional way of showing support," Alyssa Ambrosier told a reporter Friday. "Even though it's not much I just felt like it was my way of being part of the community, sharing my heart however I could." By midday Saturday, a makeshift memorial in the parking lot of Ride the Ducks in Branson had tripled in size from the morning. Members of the community passed out bottles of water to those coming to offer prayers and condolences. For the Cater family of Arkansas, it was an important reminder of the importance of community. Weve been coming here for years, Andy Carter told Fox. We may not be from here but were all family. He added: Weve done the duck (boat) before. That could have been us. Mayor Karen Best said her community of smiles has turned into a town of tears but said Branson is strong and will get through the tragedy thats claimed so many lives. The captain of the boat was among the 14 survivors, seven of whom were injured. Named for their ability to travel on land and in water, duck boats have been involved in other serious accidents in the past, including the deaths of more than 40 people since 1999. Five college students were killed in 2015 in Seattle when a duck boat collided with a bus. Thirteen people died in 1999 when a boat sank near Hot Springs, Arkansas. "Duck boats are death traps," said Andrew Duffy, an attorney whose Philadelphia law firm handled litigation related to two fatal duck boat accidents there. "They're not fit for water or land because they are half car and half boat." Safety advocates have sought improvements and complained that too many agencies regulate the boats with varying safety requirements. The boats were originally designed for the military, specifically to transport troops and supplies in World War II. They were later modified for use as sightseeing vehicles. Passengers on a nearby boat described the chaos on the lake as the winds picked up and the water turned rough. "Debris was flying everywhere," Allison Lester said in an interview Friday with ABC's "Good Morning America." Lester's boyfriend, Trent Behr, said they saw a woman in the water and helped to pull her into the boat. He said he was about to start CPR when an EMT arrived and took over. The Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident. Weather conditions at the time the boat capsized are likely to play prominently in the investigation. The weather service had issued a severe thunderstorm watch around midday Thursday, followed by a warning at 6:32 p.m., about 40 minutes before the boat tipped over. Both the watch and a statement issued at 7:02 p.m. mentioned the risk of 70 mph winds. "When we issue a warning, it means take action," said Kelsey Angle, a weather service meteorologist in Springfield. The boat sank in 40 feet of water and then rolled on its wheels into a deeper area with 80 feet of water. Divers located the vessel, which came to rest on its wheels on the lakebed. Survivor Tia Coleman said that the captain told passengers they didnt need life jackets. But when the winds kicked up and the boat began to rock violently before capsizing, those jackets could have been the difference between life and death. I believe that a lot of people could have been spared, Coleman said. My heart is very heavy. Out of 11 of us, only two of us surviving thats me and my nephew, Coleman told the station. I lost all my children, my brother-in-law. Among those who lost their lives in the incident are nine members of Colemans family; a father and son visiting from Arkansas; a couple from the St. Louis area; another couple from the Kansas City area who were celebrating their anniversary; a grandmother from Illinois whose granddaughter managed to survive the tragedy; and the boat's driver, who was known as Captain Bob. Fox News Amy Lieu, Elizabeth Zwirz and The Associated Press contributed to this report. A Florida father was arrested and charged with attempted murder after he jammed a baby wipe down his infant sons throat, authorities said. On Tuesday evening, Michael Hurley, 32, of Tarpon Springs, was alone with his son when he allegedly shoved the baby wipe down the 5-month-olds throat. When the boys mother, who has not yet been named, came home from work, she found Hurley with his fingers down the babys throat as the baby was choking. Hurley allegedly claimed that he was attempting to pull something out of the childs throat but was unable to because his fingers were too big, the Tampa Bay Times reported. OHIO DEATH ROW INMATE'S SENTENCE COMMUTED BY KASICH AFTER EXTENT OF CHILDHOOD ABUSE REVEALED When the childs mother began to scream, the sound alerted neighbor Caliyah Anderson, who lives two doors down from Hurley and the boys mother at the Riverside Apartment complex. When Anderson rushed over to help, she walked in to the apartment to see Hurley standing behind the kitchen counter while the boys mother was attempting to pull something from the boys mouth, which she said was bleeding. The two eventually managed to pull the wipe from the boys throat. When authorities with the Tarpon Springs Police Department arrived, they said the wipe was covered in blood and securely balled up, the Tampa Bay Times reported. "Its by divine intervention we were all there." Caliyah Anderson This led authorities to believe that the wipe was purposely shoved down the childs throat, though Hurley claimed it was a freak accident. He also claimed that he could not remember what happened. The baby was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition and was placed on a ventilator. TRANS WOMAN SAYS SHE WAS 'HUMILIATED' AFTER CVS PHARMACIST REFUSED TO FILL HER HORMONE PRESCRIPTION Police then arrested Hurley, who has since been charged with attempted murder in the first degree, according to jail records. He is being held at the Pinellas County Jail on $500,000 bail. "He [Hurley] wasnt doing anything so somebody had to be there for her and help her out," Anderson told the paper, adding that Hurley was slow to call 911 as the two women worked to remove the wipe from the babys throat. "Its by divine intervention we were all there." A 4-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his 2-year-old cousin at a home in a Southern California town Friday, and their grandfather was later arrested for allegedly leaving the gun in a place accessible to the children, authorities said. Cesar Lopez, 53, was charged with child endangerment and being a felon in possession of a firearm, the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Office said in a news release. Deputies and medical crews responded to the mid-morning shooting in Muscoy, a small town of around 10,000 people located east of Los Angeles, and found a toddler suffering from a gunshot wound, police said. Neighbor Bubba McBath told KTLA-TV he heard the family's screams to call 911, and later saw the girl taken into an ambulance, apparently shot in the chest. The young girl died less than an hour later at a local hospital, police said. "That was her only daughter. She was a good mom." Citlaoy Plascencia, neighbor Investigators identified the children, who reportedly both lived in the same house with their mothers, as cousins. Family and neighbors were overwhelmed by the tragedy. "That was her only daughter. She was a good mom," neighbor Citlaoy Plascencia told NBC Los Angeles. This is negligence here, neighbor Dantra Lewis told the San Bernardino Sun. I know these people are hurting, but a 4-year-old shouldnt know where a gun is kept, let alone have access to it. Investigators interviewed several adults who were at the home during the shooting and determined Lopez had left the gun in an unsecured spot where the kids could find it. The names of the children weren't released. The investigation is ongoing, police said. A man living in Florida was arrested after allegedly raped and impregnated a 12-year-old girl last fall, police said. Jorge Estuardo Cobon-Juarez, originally from Guatemala, was arrested on July 13 in West Palm Beach on charges of sexual assault on a minor and child cruelty, the West Palm Beach Post reported. The victim, who has not been identified, allegedly gave birth to baby on July 1, later telling officers about her encounter with Cobon-Juarez, CBS12 reported. The 28-year-old was arrested after a paternity test determined he was the child's father, though he denied ever inappropriately touching" the girl, the West Palm Beach Post reported. He is being held in the Palm Beach County jail and is expected back in court on August 13, according to CBS12. A spokesperson for the West Palm Beach Police Department was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Fox News on Saturday. A historic C-47 twin-engine prop plane crashed at the Burnet Municipal Airport in Texas on Saturday; all 13 passengers onboard survived, officials said. The Burnet County Sheriff's Office said the C-47 "Bluebonnet Belle" was trying to takeoff when it crashed. All 13 passengers onboard were able to exit the aircraft with one person suffering significant burn injuries and had to be airlifted to the hospital. Seven others had minor injuries. After the crash, the aircraft caught on fire, igniting some grass around it, which was put out by firefighters on the scene. The Texas Department of Public Safety and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the cause of the crash. The World War II-era aircraft was owned by the Highland Lakes Squadron, FOX 7 reported. KVUE reported the plane was en route to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, before the crash. Top American intelligence official Dan Coats is saying he meant no disrespect to President Trump in a televised interview discussing the recent summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Finland. Director of National Intelligence Coats says his Thursday comments at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado were not intended as criticism of how the president handled the summit. In the days since the summit, Trump has faced criticism from officials on both sides of the political aisle over his handling of Putin and Russia, which intelligence officials say meddled in the 2016 presidential election. According to The Associated Press, Coats has been under scrutiny since he said he wished Trump had not met one-on-one with the Russian leader, expressed dismay that the president had publicly undermined U.S. intelligence agencies, and appeared surprised by the revelation that Trump invited Putin to a meeting in Washington later this year. "Some press coverage has mischaracterized my intentions in responding to breaking news presented to me during a live interview. My admittedly awkward response was in no way meant to be disrespectful or criticize the actions of the President," Coats said. "I and the entire intel community are committed to providing the best possible intelligence to inform and support President Trumps ongoing efforts to prevent Russian meddling in our upcoming elections, to build strong relationships internationally in order to maintain peace, denuclearize dangerous regimes and protect our nation and our allies." Fox News' Catherine Herridge and The Associated Press contributed to this report. A federal judge ruled against stripping away the U.S. citizenship of a convicted terrorist tied to a plot to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge, citing a lack of evidence to prove that the status had been granted based on misrepresentations. Iyman Faris, 49, was sentenced in 2003 for aiding and abetting al-Qaida by scoping out the iconic New York bridge as a part of a plot to cut through the cables supporting the structure. He had met with Osam bin Laden in Afghanistan and worked with 9/11 architect Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Faris is set to be released on Dec. 23, 2020, but a court filing last year in a U.S. District Court argued that Faris lied on immigration papers and that his terrorist affiliations demonstrated a lack of commitment to the Constitution. Originally born in Pakistan, Faris became a citizen in 1999. He worked as a truck driver in Ohio and was married to an American woman. Federal Judge Staci Yanle ruled this month in favor of Faris, saying that there was not enough evidence to prove that any misrepresentations influenced the decision to grant him citizenship. American citizenship is precious, and the government carries a heavy burden of proof when attempting to divest a naturalized citizen of his or her citizenship," she wrote on July 11. The Department of Justice declined to comment to The Associated Press. Faris case was one of the first terrorism cases to follow the 9/11 attacks. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A woman attending a popular country music festival in Wisconsin was struck by lightning while she was apparently talking on her cellphone, according to reports. Brittany Prehn, 22, of Woodstock, Illinois, was attending the Country Thunder Music Festival in Twin Lakes at the time of the accident around 12:30 a.m. Friday, authorities said. She was in critical condition Friday afternoon, Fox 6 Milwaukee reported. LIGHTNING STRIKES 186-YEAR-OLD NEW HAMPSHIRE CHURCH, SPARKING FIRE A lightning bolt went through her entire body, the station reported. "It almost appears she was struck while talking on the phone," a paramedic working at the hospital told WLS-TV. There's significant damage to the phone that caused the injuries to her face, and the electricity exit was through her foot. Prehn wasnt carrying identification when she was struck. She was identified after her parents contacted deputies with the Kenosha County Sheriffs Office, according to the station. The four-day festival began Thursday. A three-day manhunt across Hawaii's Big Island came to an end Friday after the suspect in the fatal shooting of a Hawaii police officer was killed during a shootout with police, authorities said. The suspect, identified as Justin Waiki, 33, was killed and an officer was injured during the shootout, a Hawaii County official told the Associated Press. The injured officer was flown to Hilo Medical Center in stable condition, Honolulu's FOX 2 reported. A woman with Waiki was shot and wounded during the confrontation, but her medical condition was not immediately known, a police spokesman said. Three other individuals at the scene were arrested on suspicion of aiding Waiki, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported. Local and federal authorities began searching for Waiki after Officer Bronson Kaimana Kaliloa was fatally shot during a shootout Tuesday following a traffic stop near Hilo. The suspect fled into the brush on a dark and rainy evening. A 24-hour task force followed up on tips from the public and other information on Waiki's whereabouts. Police said they believed his associates were helping hide him on the vast island, where the erupting Kilauea volcano has attracted worldwide attention in recent months. Two of Waiki's associates were arrested Thursday after an undercover officer approached a suspicious pickup truck with a man and woman inside, on the other side of the island from where the shooting took place. The officer drew his weapon and ordered the two people to leave the truck. Instead, they fled and police chased them. Kaliloa, 46, was the first police officer to be fatally shot on the Big Island. He had been married for 23 years and had three children. "He was strong and kind and funny and smart and chivalrous and served his community every day as an honest and upstanding police officer whose convictions guided him to always do the right thing," Kaliloa's niece, Kawehi Haug, wrote in a Facebook message to AP. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The suspect who allegedly killed five people in last month's mass shooting at a Maryland newspaper office was indicted by a grand jury Friday on 23 charges, a prosecutor said. Jarrod Ramos, 38, of Laurel, was indicted on five counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of five employees of the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, according to a news release. Ramos also now faces charges of attempted murder, assault and gun crimes related to the June 28 attack. He is scheduled to appear July 30 in Circuit Court, according to online court records. If convicted, Ramos faces life in prison, the Baltimore Sun reported. County police responding to the scene arrested Ramos in the newsroom. They said he blocked an exit and then used a shotgun to blast his way through the entrance. The paper had written about Ramos pleading guilty to harassing a former high school classmate in 2011, and Ramos unsuccessfully sued the writer and the newspaper's publisher for defamation. The new attempted murder charge alleges Ramos tried to kill photographer Paul Gillespie. Gillespie told the Sun this week he believes Ramos fired at him as he fled the newsroom. "When I ran, I didn't look back, but I did hear him chase me," Gillespie told the paper. "I did hear a gunshot. I did feel a breeze blow past my right side." The grand jury also indicted Ramos on six counts of assault of Gillespie and five other people in the newsroom that day. Ramos also faces 11 charges of using of a firearm in commission of a crime of violence. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Twisted Sister said: You are the second person I heard mention Saul Alinsky and the first was my old shipmate in Florida. Cutting to the chase my old shipmate said Saul is a Commie and the only good commie is a dead commie. Click to expand... To Twisted Sister: Anyone whos studied Hillary Clinton knows she wrote her college thesis on Saul Alinsky who was a self-proclaimed Marxist/Socialist/Communist and was the person who mentored her. But what youre probably unaware of is Alinskys 12 Rules for Radicals which shes implementing to run her campaign. Alinsky was a criminal, an adviser to the mafia on a variety of crimes and in college, figured out a great scam that he theorized, implemented and watched work. This scam was the basis for his book 12 Rules for Radicals which for some reason, eludes Democrats and liberals everywhere. Ignorant Clinton supporters are allowing her to run her scam on them while she builds her supreme state of being which Alinsky wrote about in his How To Create a Social State. One by one, shes using both of these to build herself up, while at the same time destroying America. HOW HILLARY CLINTON IS USING MARXIST COMMUNIST SAUL ALINSKY'S 12 RULES FOR RADICALS TO RUN HER CAMPAIGN | Conservative Commentator and Activist HOW HILLARY CLINTON IS USING MARXIST COMMUNIST SAUL ALINSKYS 12 RULES FOR RADICALS TO RUN HER CAMPAIGN Nwolfe35 said: if Putin had something on Hillary then why was he helping Trump win the election? Click to expand... To Nwolfe35: A death row inmate convicted more than 20 years ago for fatally beating and stabbing his wife and another man was spared Friday by Ohio Gov. John Kasich. The Republican governor commuted the sentence of condemned killer Raymond Tibbetts to life without the possibility of parole, citing fundamental slows in the mans sentencing. Specifically, the defenses failure to present sufficient mitigating evidence, coupled with an inaccurate description of Tibbetts childhood by the prosecution, essentially prevented the jury from making an informed decision whether Tibbetts deserved the death sentence, Kasich said. Tibbetts, now 61, received a death sentence for stabbing Fred Hicks to death at Hicks Cincinnati home in 1997. He also received life imprisonment for killing his wife, 42-year-old Judith Crawford during an argument that same day over Tibbetts' crack cocaine habit. Hicks, 67, had hired Crawford as a caretaker and allowed the couple to stay with him. The case against Tibbetts seemed closed until a former juror, Ross Geiger, came forward and said information about the extent of Tibbetts tough childhood wasnt properly presented at trial. He said he came across materials presented to the Ohio Parole Board that documented horrific facts about Tibbetts early years, which jurors never heard. When Tibbetts was a boy, he and his brothers were tied to a single bed at night, were not fed properly, were thrown down stairs, had their fingers beaten with spatulas and were burned on heating registers, according to Tibbetts' application for mercy last year. Geiger wrote Kasich in January citing his concerns and asking that Tibbetts be spared. He also testified before the parole board last month in a rare follow-up clemency hearing. The board had voted 11-1 against mercy for Tibbetts last year. Geiger told the board that Tibbetts' upbringing was presented as a debate between his attorneys, who said his background was terrible, and prosecutors, who said it wasn't that bad. "I was just struck and frankly upset that information that was available was not even addressed, other than in very summary fashion," Geiger told the board. Geiger's comments didn't sway the panel, which again recommended against mercy for Tibbetts with an 8-1 vote. Kasich's decision Friday rejected that ruling. Erin Barnhart, a federal public defender representing Tibbetts, said Kasich performed the state a great service in sparing the inmate. Also Friday, Kasich delayed the September execution of condemned killer Cleveland Jackson until May 2019 after the inmate's former attorneys stopped working on the case, according to the governor. Jackson was sentenced to die for the 2002 shooting of a 17-year-old girl in Lima during a robbery. The Associated Press contributed to this report For nine members of an Indiana family and a Missouri couple celebrating a birthday, Thursday's duck boat tragedy on a lake near Branson, Mo., may have been a cruel twist of fate. According to friends and family members, the Coleman family was supposed to board a different boat, but got delayed while snapping a photo, and the Missouri couple opted for a Branson-area vacation after also considering a Nashville trip. Tracy Beck, of Kansas City, Mo., said she recalled seeing the Coleman family waiting in line to board a different duck boat. After they stopped for a photo, she said, a ticket taker reassigned them. If Beck's account is true, the Coleman family likely wouldn't have been on the ill-fated trip if it weren't for the photo and reassignment. Family member Ingrid Coleman Douglas told the Indianapolis Star that "it's unimaginable" what happened. "They were very loved. Its a huge family on all sides," Coleman Douglas said from her Indianapolis home. "I would never have thought I would have lost this number of people this way." The Missouri couple -- William Asher, 69, and Rose Hamann, 70, from Affton -- were celebrating Hamann's 70th birthday, which was on Monday, FOX 2 of St. Louis reported. A friend told KSDK-TV of St. Louis that the couple was debating whether to celebrate in Nashville or Branson, and picked Branson at the last minute. "It is incredibly tragic, neighbor Omar Helal told the station. The neighborhood has lost two of its favorite people, and it will never be the same, Helal and a neighbor said. "They were two of the nicest people you will ever meet in your entire life," Patti Zimmer Lewis told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch of her friends. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A Virginia auto technician has been hailed a hero after he rescued a kitten that was stuck in a cars fender well. The kitten, which was not discovered in the fender well until after Eunika Brown drove 45 miles from Capron to Petersburg, miraculously survived with no injuries, Petersburg Animal Care and Control wrote on Facebook. After Brown realized the kitten was stuck under her car, she called local animal control. SEMI-TRUCK BACKS UP TRAFFIC AFTER DANGLING OFF OVERPASS Debbie Broughton, the chief warden with Petersburg Animal Care and Control, arrived at the scene and quickly called technicians at a local auto repair shop called Leete Tire and Auto Service for additional help. Shortly after, Warren Strum, the shops manager, jumped to the rescue and and quickly extracted a scared but unharmed kitten, the auto shop wrote on Facebook, sharing a video of Strum exctracting the critter. The video, which was posted Thursday, had in excess of 2,000 views as of Saturday afternoon. The kitten, which was taken to a veterinarian after it was removed from the car, was adopted on the spot by a Leete Tire employee named Chuck, according to animal control. So this happened to me yesterday while leaving out for lunch. Grateful that the kitten wasn't hurt and that she found a great home, Brown, who was not immediately available for comment, wrote on Facebook following the rescue. MICHIGAN FIRE DEPARTMENT RECEIVES HUNDREDS OF DONATED PET OXYGEN MASKS It's not currently clear how the kitten got stuck in the fender well. Neither Warren Strum nor a spokesperson for Petersburg Animal Care and Control immediately responded to Fox News request for additional comment on Saturday.